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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c3f9b93 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #64807 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/64807) diff --git a/old/64807-0.txt b/old/64807-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index b387d19..0000000 --- a/old/64807-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6705 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Turkish fairy tales and folk tales collected -by Dr. Ignácz Kúnos - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Turkish fairy tales and folk tales collected by Dr. Ignácz Kúnos - Translated from the Hungarian version by R. Nisbet Bain. - Illustrated by Celia Levetus. - -Author: Ignácz Kúnos - -Translator: R. Nisbet Bain - -Illustrator: Celia Levetus - -Release Date: March 13, 2021 [eBook #64807] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Turgut Dincer, Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book was - produced from images made available by the HathiTrust Digital - Library.) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TURKISH FAIRY TALES AND FOLK TALES -COLLECTED BY DR. IGNÁCZ KÚNOS *** - - - - - TURKISH FAIRY TALES - - - - - [Illustration: - - TURKISH FAIRY TALES - - AND FOLK TALES - - Collected by Dʳ. Ignácz Kúnos - - Translated from the Hungarian version - - BY - R.NISBET.BAIN. - - Illustrated by - Celia Levetus - - London - A. H. Bullen - 18 Cecil Court, W.C. - 1901] - - - - -PREFACE - - -These stories were collected from the mouths of the Turkish peasantry by -the Hungarian savant Dr. Ignatius Kunos, during his travels through -Anatolia,[1] and published for the first time in 1889 by the well-known -Hungarian Literary Society, “A Kisfaludy Társaság,” under the Title of -_Török Népmések_ (“Turkish Folk Tales”), with an introduction by -Professor Vámbery. That distinguished Orientalist, certainly the -greatest living authority on the primitive culture of the Turko-Tartaric -peoples, who is as familiar with Uzbeg epics and Uiguric didactics as -with the poetical masterpieces of Western Europe, is enthusiastic in his -praises of these folk-tales. He compares the treasures of Turkish -folk-lore to precious stones lying neglected in the byways of philology -for want of gleaners to gather them in, and he warns the student of -ethnology that when once the threatened railroad actually invades the -classic land of Anatolia, these naively poetical myths and legends will, -infallibly, be the first victims of Western civilization. - -The almost unique collection of Dr. Ignatius Kunos may therefore be -regarded as a brand snatched from the burning; in any case it is an -important “find,” as well for the scientific folk-lorist as for the -lover of fairy-tales pure and simple. That these stories should contain -anything absolutely new is, indeed, too much to expect. Professor -Vámbery himself traces affinities between many of them and other purely -Oriental stories which form the bases of _The Arabian Nights_. A few -Slavonic and Scandinavian elements are also plainly distinguishable, -such, for instance, as that mysterious fowl, the Emerald Anka, obviously -no very distant relative of the Bird Mogol and the Bird Zhar, which -figure in my _Russian Fairy Tales_ and _Cossack Fairy Tales and Folk -Tales_ respectively, while the story of the _Enchanted Turban_ is, in -some particulars, curiously like Hans Andersen’s story, _The Travelling -Companion_. Nevertheless, these tales have a character peculiarly their -own; above all, they are remarkable for a vivid imaginativeness, a -gorgeous play of fancy, compared with which the imagery of the most -popular fairy tales of the West seem almost prosaically jejune, and if, -as Professor Vámbery suggests, these _Népmések_ provide the sort of -entertainment which beguiles the leisure of the Turkish ladies while -they sip their mocha and whiff their fragrant narghilies, we cannot but -admire the poetical taste and nice discrimination, in this respect, of -the harem and the seraglio. - -I have Englished these tales from the first Hungarian edition, so that -this version is, perhaps, open to the objection of being a translation -of a translation. Inasmuch, however, as I have followed my text very -closely, and having regard to the fact that Hungarian and Turkish are -closely cognate dialects (in point of grammatical construction they are -practically identical), I do not think they will be found to have lost -so very much of their original fragrance and flavour. - -I have supplemented these purely Turkish with four semi-Turkish tales -translated from the original Roumanian of Ispirescu’s _Legende sau -Basmele Românilorŭ_. Bucharest, 1892. This collection, which I commend -to the notice of the Folk-Lore Society, is very curious and original, -abounding as it does in extraordinarily bizarre and beautiful variants -of the best-known fairy tales, a very natural result of the peculiar -combination in Roumanian of such heterogeneous elements as Romance, -Slavonic, Magyar, and Turkish. - - R. NISBET BAIN. - -_July 1896_ - - - - -CONTENTS - - - PAGE -THE STAG-PRINCE 1 - -THE THREE ORANGE-PERIS 12 - -THE ROSE-BEAUTY 30 - -MAD MEHMED 42 - -THE GOLDEN-HAIRED CHILDREN 53 - -THE HORSE-DEVIL AND THE WITCH 74 - -THE CINDER-YOUTH 84 - -THE PIECE OF LIVER 97 - -THE MAGIC TURBAN, THE MAGIC WHIP, AND THE MAGIC CARPET 102 - -THE WIND-DEMON 112 - -THE CROW-PERI 134 - -THE FORTY PRINCES AND THE SEVEN-HEADED DRAGON 143 - -THE WORLD’S MOST BEAUTEOUS DAMSEL 154 - -THE PADISHAH OF THE FORTY PERIS 166 - -THE SERPENT-PERI AND THE MAGIC MIRROR 176 - -STONE-PATIENCE AND KNIFE-PATIENCE 188 - -THE GHOST OF THE SPRING AND THE SHREW 196 - - -ROUMANIAN FAIRY TALES - - PAGE - -THE STORY OF THE HALF-MAN-RIDING-ON-THE-WORSE-HALF-OF-A-LAME-HORSE 209 - -THE ENCHANTED HOG 222 - -BOY-BEAUTIFUL, THE GOLDEN APPLES, AND THE WERE-WOLF 244 - -YOUTH WITHOUT AGE, AND LIFE WITHOUT DEATH 260 - - - - -TURKISH FAIRY TALES - - - - -THE STAG-PRINCE - - -Once upon a time, when the servants of Allah were many, there lived a -Padishah[2] who had one son and one daughter. The Padishah grew old, his -time came, and he died; his son ruled in his stead, and he had not ruled -very long before he had squandered away his whole inheritance. - -One day he said to his sister: “Little sister! all our money is spent. -If people were to hear that we had nothing left they would drive us out -of doors, and we should never be able to look our fellow-men in the face -again. Far better, therefore, if we depart and take up our abode -elsewhere.” So they tied together the little they had left, and then the -brother and sister quitted their father’s palace in the night-time, and -wandered forth into the wide world. - -They went on and on till they came to a vast sandy desert, where they -were like to have fallen to the ground for the burning heat. The youth -felt that he could go not a step further, when he saw on the ground a -little puddle of water. “Little sister!” said he, “I will not go a step -further till I have drunk this water.” - -“Nay, dear brother!” replied the girl, “who can tell whether it be -really water or filth? If we have held up so long, surely we can hold up -a little longer. Water we are bound to find soon.” - -“I tell thee,” replied her brother, “that I’ll not go another step -further till I have drunk up this puddle, though I die for it,”--and -with that he knelt down, sucked up every drop of the dirty water, and -instantly became a stag. - -The little sister wept bitterly at this mischance; but there was nothing -for it but to go on as they were. They went on and on, up hill and down -dale, right across the sandy waste till they came to a full spring -beneath a large tree, and there they sat them down and rested. “Hearken -now, little sister!” said the stag, “thou must mount up into that tree, -while I go to see if I can find something to eat.” So the girl climbed -up into the tree, and the stag went about his business, ran up hill and -down dale, caught a hare, brought it back, and he and his sister ate it -together, and so they lived from day to day and from week to week. - -Now the horses of the Padishah of that country were wont to be watered -at the spring beneath the large tree. One evening the horsemen led their -horses up to it as usual, but, just as they were on the point of -drinking, they caught sight of the reflection of the damsel in the -watery mirror and reared back. The horsemen fancied that perhaps the -water was not quite pure, so they drew off the trough and filled it -afresh, but again the horses reared backwards and would not drink of it. -The horsemen knew not what to make of it, so they went and told the -Padishah. - -“Perchance the water is muddy,” said the Padishah. - -“Nay,” replied the horsemen, “we emptied the trough once and filled it -full again with fresh water, and yet the horses would not drink of it.” - -“Go again,” said their master, “and look well about you; perchance there -is some one near the spring of whom they are afraid.” - -The horsemen returned, and, looking well about the spring, cast their -eyes at last upon the large tree, on the top of which they perceived the -damsel. They immediately went back and told the Padishah. The Padishah -took the trouble to go and look for himself, and raising his eyes -perceived in the tree a damsel as lovely as the moon when she is -fourteen days old, so that he absolutely could not take his eyes off -her. “Art thou a spirit or a peri?”[3] said the Padishah to the damsel. - -“I am neither a spirit nor a peri, but a mortal as thou art,” replied -the damsel. - -In vain the Padishah begged her to come down from the tree. In vain he -implored her, nothing he could say would make her come down. Then the -Padishah waxed wroth. He commanded them to cut down the tree. The men -brought their axes and fell a-hewing at the tree. They hewed away at the -vast tree, they hewed and hewed until only a little strip of solid trunk -remained to be cut through; but, meanwhile, eventide had drawn nigh and -it began to grow dark, so they left off their work, which they purposed -to finish next day. - -Scarcely had they departed when the stag came running out of the forest, -looked at the tree, and asked the little sister what had happened. The -girl told him that she would not descend from the tree, so they had -tried to cut it down. “Thou didst well,” replied the stag, “and take -care thou dost not come down in future, whatever they may say.” With -that he went to the tree, licked it with his tongue, and immediately the -tree grew bigger round the hewed trunk than before. - -[Illustration: The Damsel and the Old Witch.--p. 5.] - -The next day, when the stag had again departed about his business, the -Padishah’s men came and saw that the tree was larger and harder round -the trunk than ever. Again they set to work hewing at the tree, and -hewed and hewed till they had cut half through it; but by that time -evening fell upon them again, and again they put off the rest of the -work till the morrow and went home. - -But all their labour was lost, for the stag came again, licked the gap -in the tree with his tongue, and immediately it grew thicker and harder -than ever. - -Early next morning, when the stag had only just departed, the Padishah -and his wood-cutters again came to the tree, and when they saw that the -trunk of the tree had filled up again larger and firmer than ever, they -determined to try some other means. So they went home again and sent for -a famous old witch, told her of the damsel in the tree, and promised her -a rich reward if she would, by subtlety, make the damsel come down. The -old witch willingly took the matter in hand, and bringing with her an -iron tripod, a cauldron, and sundry raw meats, placed them by the side -of the spring. She placed the tripod on the ground, and the kettle on -the top of it but upside down, drew water from the spring and poured it -not into the kettle, but on the ground beside it, and with that she kept -her eyes closed as if she were blind. - -The damsel fancied she really was blind, and called to her from the -tree. “Nay but, my dear elder sister! thou hast placed the kettle on the -tripod upside down, and art pouring all the water on the ground.” - -“Oh, my sweet little damsel!” cried the old woman, “that is because I -have no eyes to see with. I have brought some dirty linen with me, and -if thou dost love Allah, thou wilt come down and put the kettle right, -and help me to wash the things.” Then the damsel thought of the words of -the little stag, and she did _not_ come down. - -The next day the old witch came again, stumbled about the tree, laid a -fire, and brought forth a heap of meal in order to sift it, but instead -of meal she put ashes into the sieve. “Poor silly old granny!” cried the -damsel compassionately, and then she called down from the tree to the -old woman, and told her that she was sifting ashes instead of meal. “Oh, -my dear damsel!” cried the old woman, weeping, “I am blind, I cannot -see. Come down and help me a little in my affliction.” Now the little -stag had strictly charged her that very morning not to come down from -the tree whatever might be said to her, and she obeyed the words of her -brother. - -On the third day the old witch again came beneath the tree. This time -she brought a sheep with her, and brought out a knife to flay it with, -and began to jag and skin it from behind instead of cutting its throat. -The poor little sheep bleated piteously, and the damsel in the tree, -unable to endure the sight of the beast’s sufferings, came down from the -tree to put the poor thing out of its misery. Then the Padishah, who was -concealed close to the tree, rushed out and carried the damsel off to -his palace. - -The damsel pleased the Padishah so mightily that he wanted to be married -to her without more ado; but the damsel would not consent till they had -brought her her brother, the little stag: until she saw him, she said, -she could have not a moment’s rest. Then the Padishah sent men out into -the forest, who caught the stag and brought him to his sister. After -that he never left his sister’s side. They lay down together, and -together they rose up. Even when the Padishah and the damsel were -wedded, the little stag was never far away from them, and in the evening -when he found out where they were, he would softly stroke each of them -all over with one of his front feet before going to sleep beside them, -and say-- - - “This little foot is for my sister, - That little foot is for my brother.” - -But time, as men count it, passes quickly to its fulfilment, more -quickly still passes the time of fairy tales, but quickest of all flies -the time of true love. Yet our little people would have lived on happily -if there had not been a black female slave in the palace. Jealousy -devoured her at the thought that the Padishah had taken to his bosom the -ragged damsel from the tree-top rather than herself, and she watched for -an opportunity of revenge. - -Now there was a beautiful garden in the palace, with a fountain in the -midst of it, and there the Sultan’s damsel used to walk about. One day, -with a golden saucer in her hand and a silver sandal on her foot, she -went towards the great fountain, and the black slave followed after her -and pushed her in. There was a big fish in the basin, and it immediately -swallowed up the Sultan’s pet damsel. Then the black slave returned to -the palace, put on the golden raiment of the Sultan’s damsel, and sat -down in her place. - -In the evening the Padishah came and asked the damsel what she had done -to her face that it was so much altered. “I have walked too much in the -garden, and so the sun has tanned my face,” replied the girl. The -Padishah believed her and sat down beside her, but the little stag came -also, and when he began to stroke them both down with his fore-foot he -recognized the slave-girl as he said-- - - “This little foot is for my sister, - And this little foot is for my brother.” - -Then it became the one wish of the slave-girl’s heart to be rid of the -little stag as quickly as possible, lest it should betray her. - -So after a little thought she made herself sick, and sent for the -doctors, and gave them much money to say to the Padishah that the only -thing that could save her was the heart of the little stag to eat. So -the doctors went and told the Padishah that the sick woman must swallow -the heart of the little stag, or there was no hope for her. Then the -Padishah went to the slave-girl whom he fancied to be his pet damsel, -and asked her if it did not go against her to eat the heart of her own -brother? - -“What can I do?” sighed the impostor; “if I die, what will become of my -poor little pet? If he be cut up I shall live, while he will be spared -the torments of those poor beasts that grow old and sick.” Then the -Padishah gave orders that a butcher’s knife should be whetted, and a -fire lighted, and a cauldron of water put over the fire. - -The poor little stag perceived all the bustling about and ran down into -the garden to the fountain, and called out three times to his sister-- - - “The knife is on the stone, - The water’s on the boil, - Haste, little sister, hasten!” - -And thrice she answered back to him from the fish’s maw-- - - “Here am I in the fish’s belly, - In my hand a golden saucer, - On my foot a silver sandal, - In my arms a little Padishah!” - -For the Sultan’s pet damsel had brought forth a little son in the fish’s -belly. - -Now the Padishah was intent on catching the little stag when it ran down -into the garden to the fountain, and, coming up softly behind it, heard -every word of what the brother and sister were saying to each other. He -quietly ordered all the water to be drained off the basin of the -fountain, drew up the fish, cut open its belly, and what do you think he -saw? In the belly of the fish was his wife, with a golden saucer in her -hand, and a silver sandal on her foot, and a little son in her arms. -Then the Padishah embraced his wife, and kissed his son, and brought -them both to the palace, and heard the tale of it all to the very end. - -But the little stag found something in the fish’s blood, and when he had -swallowed it, he became a man again. Then he rushed to his sister, and -they embraced and wept with joy over each other’s happiness. - -But the Padishah sent for his black slave-girl, and asked her which she -would like the best--four good steeds or four good swords. The -slave-girl replied: “Let the swords be for the throats of my enemies, -but give me the four steeds that I may take my pleasure on horseback.” -Then they tied the slave-girl to the tails of four good steeds, and sent -her out for a ride; and the four steeds tore the black girl into little -bits and scattered them abroad. - -But the Padishah and his wife lived happily together, and the king’s son -who had been a stag abode with them; and they gave a great banquet, -which lasted four days and four nights; and they attained their desires, -and may ye, O my readers, attain your desires likewise. - - - - -THE THREE ORANGE-PERIS - - -In the olden times, when there were sieves in straws and lies in -everything, in the olden times when there was abundance, and men ate and -drank the whole day and yet lay down hungry, in those olden, olden times -there was once a Padishah whose days were joyless, for he had never a -son to bless himself with. - -One day he was in the path of pleasure with his Vizier, and when they -had drunk their coffee and smoked their chibooks, they went out for a -walk, and went on and on till they came to a great valley. Here they sat -down to rest a while, and as they were looking about them to the right -hand and to the left, the valley was suddenly shaken as if by an -earthquake, a whip cracked, and a dervish, a green-robed, -yellow-slippered, white-bearded dervish, suddenly stood before them. The -Padishah and the Vizier were so frightened that they dared not budge; -but when the dervish approached them and addressed them with the words, -“Selamun aleykyum,”[4] they took heart a bit, and replied courteously, -“Ve aleykyum selam.”[5] - -“What is thy errand here, my lord Padishah?” asked the dervish. - -“If thou dost know that I am a Padishah, thou dost also know my errand,” -replied the Padishah. - -Then the dervish took from his bosom an apple, gave it to the Padishah, -and said these words: “Give half of this to thy Sultana, and eat the -other half thyself,” and with these words he disappeared. - -Then the Padishah went home, gave half the apple to his consort, and ate -the other half himself, and in exactly nine months and ten days there -was a little prince in the harem. The Padishah was beside himself for -joy. He scattered sequins among the poor, restored to freedom his -slaves, and the banquet he gave to his friends had neither beginning nor -end. - -Swiftly flies the time in fairy tales, and the child had reached his -fourteenth summer while yet they fondled him. One day he said to his -father: “My lord father Padishah, make me now a little marble palace, -and let there be two springs under it, and let one of them run with -honey, and the other with butter!” Dearly did the Padishah love his -little son, because he was his only child, so he made him the marble -palace with the springs inside it as his son desired. There then sat the -King’s son in the marble palace, and while he was looking at the springs -that bubbled forth both butter and honey, he saw an old woman with a -pitcher in her hand, and she would fain have filled it from the spring. -Then the King’s son caught up a stone and flung it at the old woman’s -pitcher, and broke it into pieces. The old woman said not a word, but -she went away. - -But the next day she was there again with her pitcher, and again she -made as if she would fill it, and a second time the King’s son cast a -stone at her and broke her pitcher. The old woman went away without -speaking a word. She came on the third day also, and it fared with her -pitcher then as on the first two days. Then the old woman spoke. “Oh, -youth!” cried she, “’tis the will of Allah that thou shouldst fall in -love with the three Orange-peris,” and with that she quitted him. - -From thenceforth the heart of the King’s son was consumed by a hidden -fire. He began to grow pale and wither away. When the Padishah saw that -his son was ill, he sent for the wise men and the leeches, but they -could find no remedy for the disease. One day the King’s son said to his -father: “Oh, my dear little daddy Shah! these wise men of thine cannot -cure me of my disease, and all their labours are in vain. I have fallen -in love with the three Oranges, and never shall I be better till I find -them.” - -“Oh, my dear little son!” groaned the Padishah, “thou art all that I -have in the wide world: if thou dost leave me, in whom can I rejoice?” -Then the King’s son slowly withered away, and his days were as a heavy -sleep; so his father saw that it would be better to let him go forth on -his way and find, if so be he might, the three Oranges that were as the -balsam of his soul. “Perchance too he may return again,” thought the -Padishah. - -So the King’s son arose one day and took with him things that were light -to carry, but heavy in the scales of value, and pursued his way over -mountains and valleys, rising up and lying down again for many days. At -last in the midst of a vast plain, in front of the high-road, he came -upon her Satanic Majesty the Mother of Devils, as huge as a minaret. One -of her legs was on one mountain, and the other leg on another mountain; -she was chewing gum (her mouth was full of it) so that you could hear -her half-an-hour’s journey off; her breath was a hurricane, and her arms -were yards and yards long. - -“Good-day, little mother!” cried the youth, and he embraced the broad -waist of the Mother of Devils. “Good-day, little sonny!” she replied. -“If thou hadst not spoken to me so politely, I should have gobbled thee -up.” Then she asked him whence he came and whither he was going. - -“Alas! dear little mother,” sighed the youth, “such a terrible -misfortune has befallen me that I can neither tell thee nor answer thy -question.” - -“Nay, come, out with it, my son,” urged the Mother of Devils. - -“Well then, my sweet little mother,” cried the youth, and he sighed -worse than before, “I have fallen violently in love with the three -Oranges. If only I might find my way thither!” - -“Hush!” cried the Mother of Devils, “it is not lawful to even think of -that name, much less pronounce it. I and my sons are its guardians, yet -even we don’t know the way to it. Forty sons have I, and they go up and -down the earth more than I do, perchance they may tell thee something of -the matter.” So when it began to grow dusk towards evening, ere yet the -devil-sons had come home, the old woman gave the King’s son a tap, and -turned him into a pitcher of water. And she did it not a moment too -soon, for immediately afterwards the forty sons of the Mother of Devils -knocked at the door and cried: “Mother, we smell man’s flesh!” - -“Nonsense!” cried the Mother of Devils. “What, I should like to know, -have the sons of men to do here? It seems to me you had better all clean -your teeth.” So she gave the forty sons forty wooden stakes to clean -their teeth with, and out of one’s tooth fell an arm, and out of -another’s a thigh, and out of another’s an arm, till they had all -cleaned their teeth. Then they sat them down to eat and drink, and in -the middle of the meal their mother said to them: “If now ye had a man -for your brother, what would ye do with him?” - -“Do,” they replied, “why love him like a brother, of course!” - -Then the Mother of Devils tapped the water-jar, and the King’s son stood -there again. “Here is your brother!” cried she to her forty sons. - -The devils thanked the King’s son for his company with great joy, -invited their new brother to sit down, and asked their mother why she -had not told them about him before, as then they might all have eaten -their meal together. - -“Nay but, my sons,” cried she, “he does not live on the same sort of -meat as ye; fowls, mutton, and such-like is what _he_ feeds on.” - -At this one of them jumped up, went out, fetched a sheep, slew it, and -laid it before the new brother. - -“Oh, what a child thou art!” cried the Mother of Devils. “Dost thou not -know that thou must first cook it for him?” - -Then they skinned the sheep, made a fire, roasted it, and placed it -before him. The King’s son ate a piece, and after satisfying his hunger, -left the rest of it. “Why, that’s nothing!” cried the devils, and they -urged him again and again to eat more. “Nay, my sons,” cried their -mother, “men never eat more than that.” - -“Let us see then what this sheep-meat is like,” said one of the forty -brothers. So they fell upon it and devoured the whole lot in a couple of -mouthfuls. - -Now when they all rose up early in the morning, the Mother of Devils -said to her sons: “Our new brother hath a great trouble.”--“What is it?” -cried they, “for we would help him.” - -“He has fallen in love with the three Oranges!”--“Well,” replied the -devils, “we know not the place of the three Oranges ourselves, but -perchance our aunt may know.” - -“Then lead this youth to her,” said their mother; “tell her that he is -my son and worthy of all honour, let her also receive him as a son and -ease him of his trouble.” Then the devils took the youth to their aunt, -and told her on what errand he had come. - -Now this Aunt of the Devils had sixty sons, and as she did not know the -place of the three Oranges, she had to wait till they came home. But -lest any harm should happen to this her new son, she gave him a tap and -turned him into a piece of crockery. - -“We smell man’s flesh, mother,” cried the devils, as they crossed the -threshold. - -“Perchance ye have eaten man’s flesh, and the remains thereof are still -within your teeth,” said their mother. Then she gave them great logs of -wood that they might pick their teeth clean, and so be able to swallow -down something else. But in the midst of the meal the woman gave the -piece of crockery a tap, and when the sixty devils saw their little -human brother, they rejoiced at the sight, made him sit down at table, -and bade him fall to if there was anything there he took a fancy to. “My -sons,” said the Mother of the Devils to her sixty sons when they all -rose up early on the morrow, “this lad here has fallen in love with the -three Oranges, cannot you show him the way thither?” - -“We know not the way,” replied the devils; “but perchance our old -great-aunt may know something about it.” - -“Then take the youth thither,” said their mother, “and bid her hold him -in high honour. He is my son, let him be hers also and help him out of -his distress.” Then they took him off to their great-aunt, and told her -the whole business. “Alas! I do not know, my sons!” said the old, old -great-aunt; “but if you wait till the evening, when my ninety sons come -home, I will ask them.” - -Then the sixty devils departed and left the King’s son there, and when -it grew dusk the Mother of the Devils gave the youth a tap, turned him -into a broom, and placed him in the doorway. Shortly afterwards the -ninety devils came home, and they also smelt the smell of man, and took -the pieces of man’s flesh out of their teeth. In the middle of their -meal their mother asked them how they would treat a human brother if -they had one. When they had sworn upon eggs that they would not hurt so -much as his little finger, their mother gave the broom a tap, and the -King’s son stood before them. - -The devil brothers entreated him courteously, inquired after his health, -and served him so heartily with eatables that they scarcely gave him -time to breathe. In the midst of the meal their mother asked them -whether they knew where the three Oranges were, for their new brother -had fallen in love with them. Then the least of the ninety devils leaped -up with a shout of joy, and said that he knew. - -“Then if thou knowest,” said his mother, “see that thou take this son of -ours thither, that he may satisfy his heart’s desire.” - -On arising next morning, the devil-son took the King’s son with him, and -the pair of them went merrily along the road together. They went on, and -on, and on, and at last the little devil said these words: “My brother, -we shall come presently to a large garden, and in the fountain thereof -are the three. When I say to thee: ‘Shut thine eye, open thine eye!’ lay -hold of what thou shalt see.” - -They went on a little way further till they came to the garden, and the -moment the devil saw the fountain he said to the King’s son: “Shut thine -eye and open thine eye!” He did so, and saw the three Oranges bobbing up -and down on the surface of the water where it came bubbling out of the -spring, and he snatched up one of them and popped it in his pocket. -Again the devil called to him: “Open thine eye and shut thine eye!” He -did so, and snatched up the second orange, and so with the third also in -the same way. “Now take care,” said the devil, “that thou dost not cut -open these oranges in any place where there is no water, or it will go -ill with thee.” The King’s son promised, and so they parted, one went to -the right, and the other to the left. - -The King’s son went on, and on, and on. He went a long way, and he went -a short way, he went across mountains and through valleys. At last he -came to a sandy desert, and there he bethought him of the oranges, and -drawing one out, he cut it open. Scarcely had he cut into it when a -damsel, lovely as a Peri, popped out of it before him; the moon when it -is fourteen days old is not more dazzling. “For Allah’s sake, give me a -drop of water!” cried the damsel, and inasmuch as there was no trace of -water anywhere, she vanished from the face of the earth. The King’s son -grieved right sorely, but there was no help for it, the thing was done. - -Again he went on his way, and when he had gone a little further he -thought to himself, “I may as well cut open one more orange.” So he drew -out the second orange, and scarcely had he cut into it than there popped -down before him a still more lovely damsel, who begged piteously for -water, but as the King’s son had none to give her, she also vanished. - -“Well, I’ll take better care of the third,” cried he, and continued his -journey. He went on and on till he came to a large spring, drank out of -it, and then thought to himself: “Well, now I’ll cut open the third -orange also.” He drew it out and cut it, and immediately a damsel even -lovelier than the other two stood before him. As soon as she called for -water, he led her to the spring and gave her to drink, and the damsel -did not disappear, but remained there as large as life. - -Mother-naked was the damsel, and as he could not take her to town like -that, he bade her climb up a large tree that stood beside the spring, -while he went into the town to buy her raiment and a carriage. - -While the King’s son had gone away, a negro servant came to the spring -to draw water, and saw the reflection of the damsel in the watery -mirror. “Why, thou art something like a damsel,” said she to herself, -“and ever so much lovelier than thy mistress; so she ought to fetch -water for me, not I for her.” With that she broke the pitcher in two, -went home, and when her mistress asked where the pitcher of water was, -she replied: “I am much more beautiful than thou, so thou must fetch -water for me, not I for thee.” Her mistress took up a mirror, held it -before her, and said: “Methinks thou must have taken leave of thy -senses; look at this mirror!” The Moor looked into the mirror, and saw -that she was as coal-black as ever. Without another word she took up the -pitcher, went again to the spring, and seeing the damsel’s face in the -mirror, again fancied that it was hers. - -“I’m right, after all,” she cried; “I’m ever so much more beautiful than -my mistress.” So she broke the pitcher to pieces again, and went home. -Again her mistress asked her why she had not drawn water. “Because I am -ever so much more beautiful than thou, so thou must draw water for me,” -replied she. - -“Thou art downright crazy,” replied her mistress, drew out a mirror, and -showed it to her; and when the Moor-girl saw her face in it, she took up -another pitcher and went to the fountain for the third time. The -damsel’s face again appeared in the water, but just as she was about to -break the pitcher again, the damsel called to her from the tree: “Break -not thy pitchers, ’tis my face thou dost see in the water, and thou wilt -see thine own there also.” - -The Moor-girl looked up, and when she saw the wondrously beautiful shape -of the damsel in the tree, she climbed up beside her and spake coaxing -words to her: “Oh, my little golden damsel, thou wilt get the cramp from -crouching there so long; come, rest thy head!” And with that she laid -the damsel’s head on her breast, felt in her bosom, drew out a needle, -pricked the damsel with it in the skull, and in an instant the -Orange-Damsel was changed into a bird, and pr-r-r-r-r! she was gone, -leaving the Moor all alone in the tree. - -Now when the King’s son came back with his fine coach and beautiful -raiment, looked up into the tree, and saw the black face, he asked the -girl what had happened to her. “A nice question!” replied the Moor-girl. -“Why, thou didst leave me here all day, and wentest away, so of course -the sun has tanned me black.” What could the poor King’s son do? He made -the black damsel sit in the coach, and took her straight home to his -father’s house. - -In the palace of the Padishah they were all waiting, full of eagerness, -to behold the Peri-Bride, and when they saw the Moorish damsel they -said to the King’s son: “However couldst thou lose thy heart to a black -maid?” - -“She is not a black maid,” said the King’s son. “I left her at the top -of a tree, and she was blackened there by the rays of the sun. If only -you let her rest a bit she’ll soon grow white again.” And with that he -led her into her chamber, and waited for her to grow white again. - -Now there was a beautiful garden in the palace of the King’s son, and -one day the Orange-Bird came flying on to a tree there, and called down -to the gardener. - -“What dost thou want with me?” asked the gardener. - -“What is the King’s son doing?” inquired the bird. - -“He is doing no harm that I know of,” replied the gardener. - -“And what about his black bride?” - -“Oh, she’s there too, sitting with him as usual.” - -Then the little bird sang these words: - - “She may sit by his side, - But she shall not abide; - For all her fair showing - The thorns are a-growing. - As I hop on this tree, - It will wither ’neath me.” - -And with that it flew away. - -The next day it came again, and inquired once more about the King’s son -and his black consort, and repeated what it said before. The third day -it did in like manner, and as many trees as it hopped upon withered -right away beneath it. - -One day the King’s son felt weary of his black bride, so he went out -into the garden for a walk. Then his eye fell on the withered trees, and -he called the gardener and said to him: “What is this, gardener? Why -dost thou not take better care of thy trees? Dost thou not see that they -are all withering away?” Then the gardener replied that it was of but -little use for him to take care of the trees, for a few days ago a -little bird had been there, and asked what the King’s son and his black -consort were doing, and had said that though she might be sitting there, -she should not sit for ever, but that thorns would grow, and every tree -it lit upon should wither. - -The Bang’s son commanded the gardener to smear the trees with bird-lime, -and if the bird then lit upon it, to bring it to him. So the gardener -smeared the trees with bird-lime, and when the bird came there next day -he caught it, and brought it to the King’s son, who put it in a cage. -Now no sooner did the black woman look upon the bird than she knew at -once that it was the damsel. So she pretended to be very ill, sent for -the chief medicine-man, and by dint of rich gifts persuaded him to say -to the King’s son that his consort would never get well unless he fed -her with such and such birds. - -The King’s son saw that his consort was very sick, he sent for the -doctor, went with him to see the sick woman, and asked him how she was -to be cured. The doctor said she could only be cured if they gave her -such and such birds to eat. “Why, only this very day have I caught one -of such birds,” said the King’s son; and they brought the bird, killed -it, and fed the sick lady with the flesh thereof. In an instant the -black damsel arose from her bed. But one of the bird’s dazzling feathers -fell accidentally to the ground and slipped between the planks, so that -nobody noticed it. - -Time went on, and the King’s son was still waiting and waiting for his -consort to turn white. Now there was an old woman in the palace who used -to teach the dwellers in the harem to read and write. One day as she was -going down-stairs she saw something gleaming between the planks of the -floor, and going towards it, perceived that it was a bird’s feather that -sparkled like a diamond. She took it home and thrust it behind a rafter. -The next day she went to the palace, and while she was away the bird’s -feather leaped down from the rafter, shivered a little, and the next -moment turned into a most lovely damsel. She put the room tidy, cooked -the meal, set everything in order, and then leaped back upon the rafter -and became a feather again. When the old woman came home she was amazed -at what she saw. She thought: “Somebody must have done all this,” so she -went up and down, backwards and forwards through the house, but nobody -could she see. - -Early next morning she again went to the palace, and the feather leaped -down again in like manner, and did all the household work. When the old -woman came home, she perceived the house all nice and clean, and -everything in order. “I really must find out the secret of this,” -thought she, so next morning she made as if she were going away as -usual, and left the door ajar, but went and hid herself in a corner. All -at once she perceived that there was a damsel in the room, who tidied -the room and cooked the meal, whereupon the old woman dashed out, seized -hold of her, and asked her who she was and whence she came. Then the -damsel told her her sad fate, and how she had been twice killed by the -black woman, and had come thither in the shape of a feather. - -“Distress thyself no more, my lass,” said the old woman. “I’ll put thy -business to rights, and this very day, too.” And with that she went -straight to the King’s son and invited him to come and see her that -evening. The King’s son was now so sick unto death of his black bride -that he was glad of any excuse to escape from his own house, so the -evening found him punctually at the old woman’s. They sat down to -supper, and when the coffee followed the meats, the damsel entered with -the cups, and when the King’s son saw her he was like to have fainted. -“Nay, but, mother,” said the King’s son, when he had come to himself a -little, “who is that damsel?” - -“Thy wife,” replied the old woman. - -“How didst thou get that fair creature?” inquired the King’s son. “Wilt -thou not give her to me?” - -“How can _I_ give her to thee, seeing that she was thine own once upon a -time,” said the old woman; and with that the old woman took the damsel -by the hand, led her to the King’s son, and laid her on his breast. -“Take better care of the Orange-Peri another time,” said she. - -The King’s son now nearly fainted in real earnest, but it was from sheer -joy. He took the damsel to his palace, put to death the black -slave-girl, but held high festival with the Peri for forty days and -forty nights. So they had the desire of their hearts, and may Allah -satisfy your desires likewise. - - - - -THE ROSE-BEAUTY - - -Once upon a time in the old old days when straws were sieves, and the -camel a chapman, and the mouse a barber, and the cuckoo a tailor, and -the donkey ran errands, and the tortoise baked bread, and I was only -fifteen years old, but my father rocked my cradle, and there was a -miller in the land who had a black cat--in those olden times, I say, -there was a King who had three daughters, and the first daughter was -forty, and the second was thirty, and the third was twenty. One day the -youngest daughter wrote this letter to her father: “My lord father! my -eldest sister is forty and my second sister is thirty, and still thou -hast given neither of them a husband. I have no desire to grow grey in -waiting for a husband.” - -The King read the letter, sent for his three daughters, and addressed -them in these words: “Look now! let each one of you shoot an arrow from -a bow and seek her sweetheart wherever her arrow falls!” So the three -damsels took their bows. The eldest damsel’s arrow fell into the palace -of the Vizier’s son, so the Vizier’s son took her to wife. The second -girl’s arrow flew into the palace of the Chief Mufti’s son, so they gave -her to him. The third damsel also fired her arrow, and lo! it stuck in -the hut of a poor young labourer. “That won’t do, that won’t do!” cried -they all. So she fired again, and again the arrow stuck in the hut. She -aimed a third time, and a third time the arrow stuck in the hut of the -poor young labourer. Then the King was wroth and cried to the damsel: -“Look now, thou slut! thou hast got thy deserts. Thy sisters waited -patiently, and therefore they have got their hearts’ desires. Thou wast -the youngest of all, yet didst thou write me that saucy letter, hence -thy punishment. Out of my sight, thou slave-girl, to this husband of -thine, and thou shalt have nought but what he can give thee!” So the -poor damsel departed to the hut of the labourer, and they gave her to -him to wife. - -They lived together for a time, and on the tenth day of the ninth month -the time came that she should bear a child, and her husband, the -labourer, hastened away for the midwife. While the husband was thus away -his wife had neither a bed to lie down upon nor a fire to warm herself -by, though grinding winter was upon them. All at once the walls of the -poor hut opened hither and thither, and three beautiful damsels of the -Peri race stepped into it. One stood at the damsel’s head, another at -her feet, the third by her side, and they all seemed to know their -business well. In a moment everything in the poor hut was in order, the -princess lay on a beautiful soft couch, and before she could blink her -eyes a pretty little new-born baby girl was lying by her side. When -everything was finished the three Peris set about going, but first of -all they approached the bed one by one, and the first said: - - “Rosa be thy damsel’s name, - And she shall weep not tears but pearls!” - -The second Peri approached the bed and said: - - “Rosa be thy damsel’s name, - The rose shall blossom when she smiles!” - -And the third Peri wound up with these words: - - “Rosa be thy damsel’s name, - Sweet verdure in her footsteps spring!” - -whereupon they all three disappeared. - -Now all this time the husband was seeking a midwife, but could find one -nowhere. What could he do but go home? But when he got back he was -amazed to find everything in the poor hut in beautiful order, and his -wife lying on a splendid bed. Then she told him the story of the three -Peris, and there was no more spirit left in him, so astounded was he. -But the little girl grew more and more lovely from hour to day, and from -day to week, so that there was not another like her in the whole world. -Whosoever looked upon her lost his heart at once, and pearls fell from -her eyes when she wept, roses burst into bloom when she smiled, and a -bright riband of fresh green verdure followed her footsteps. Whosoever -saw her had no more spirit left in him, and the fame of lovely Rosa went -from mouth to mouth. - -At last the King of that land also heard of the damsel, and instantly -made up his mind that she and nobody else should be his son’s consort. -So he sent for his son, and told him that there was a damsel in the town -of so rare a beauty that pearls fell from her eyes when she wept, roses -burst into bloom when she smiled, and the earth grew fresh and green -beneath her footsteps, and with that he bade him up and woo her. - -Now the Peris had for a long time shown the King’s son the beautiful -Rose-damsel in his dreams, and the sweet fire of love already burned -within him; but he was ashamed to let his father see this, so he hung -back a little. At this his father became more and more pressing, bade -him go and woo her at once, and commanded the chief dame of the palace -to accompany him to the hut of the labourer. - -They entered the hut, said on what errand they came, and claimed the -damsel for the King’s son in the name of Allah. The poor folks rejoiced -at their good luck, promised the girl, and began to make ready. - -Now this palace dame’s daughter was also a beauty, and not unlike Rosa. -Terribly distressed was the dame that the King’s son should take to wife -a poor labourer’s daughter, instead of her own child; so she made up her -mind to deceive them and put her own daughter in Rosa’s place. So on the -day of the banquet she made the poor girl eat many salted meats, and -then brought a pitcher of water and a large basket, got into the bridal -coach with Rosa and her own daughter, and set out for the palace. As -they were on the road (and a very long time they were about it) the -damsel grew thirsty and asked the palace dame for some water. “Not till -thou hast given me one of thine eyes,” said the palace dame. What could -the poor damsel do?--she was dying with thirst. So she cut out one of -her eyes and gave it for a drink of water. - -They went on and on, further and further, and the damsel again became -thirsty and asked for another drink of water. “Thou shalt have it if -thou give me thy other eye,” said the palace dame. And the poor damsel -was so tormented with thirst that she gave the other eye for a drink of -water. - -The old dame took the two eyes, pitched the sightless damsel into the -big basket, and left her all alone on the top of a mountain. But the -beautiful bridal robe she put upon her own daughter, brought her to the -King’s son, and gave her to him with the words: “Behold thy wife!” So -they made a great banquet, and when they had brought the damsel to her -bridegroom and taken off her veil, he perceived that the damsel who now -stood before him was not the damsel of his dreams. As, however, she -resembled her a little he said nothing about it to anybody. So they lay -down to rest, and when they rose up again early next morning the King’s -son was quite undeceived, for the damsel of his dreams had wept pearls, -smiled roses, and sweet green herbs had grown up in her footsteps, but -this girl had neither roses nor pearls nor green herbs to show for -herself. The youth felt there was some trickery at work here. This was -not the girl he had meant to have. “How am I to find it all out?” -thought he to himself; but not a word did he say to any one. - -While all these things were going on in the palace, poor Rosa was -weeping on the mountain top, and such showers of pearls fell from her by -dint of her sore weeping that there was scarce room to hold them all in -the big basket. Now a mud-carrier happened to be passing by who was -carting mud away, and hearing the weeping of the damsel was terribly -afraid, and cried: “Who art thou?--A Jinn or a Peri?”--“I am neither a -Jinn nor yet a Peri,” replied the damsel, “but the remains of a living -child of man.” Whereupon the mud-raker took courage, opened the basket, -and there a poor sightless damsel was sobbing, and her tears fell from -her in showers of pearls. So he took the damsel by the hand and led her -to his hut, and as the old man had nobody about him he adopted the -damsel as if she were his own child and took care of her. But the poor -girl did nothing but weep for her two eyes, and the old man had all he -could do to pick up the pearls, and whenever they were in want of money -he would take a pearl and sell it, and they lived on whatever he got for -it. - -Thus time passed, and there was mirth in the palace, and misery in the -hut of the mud-raker. Now it chanced one day as fair Rosa was sitting in -the hut, that something made her smile, and immediately a rose bloomed. -Then the damsel said to her foster-father, the mud-raker: “Take this -rose, papa, and go with it in front of the palace of the King’s son, and -cry aloud that thou hast roses for sale that are not to be matched in -the wide world. But if the dame of the palace comes out, see that thou -dost not give her the rose for money, but say that thou wilt sell it for -a human eye.” - -So the man took the rose and stood in front of the palace, and began to -cry aloud: “A rose for sale, a rose for sale, the like of which is -nowhere to be found.” Now it was not the season for roses, so when the -dame of the palace heard the man crying a rose for sale, she thought to -herself: “I’ll put it in my daughter’s hair, and thus the King’s son -will think that she is his true bride.” So she called the poor man to -her, and asked him what he would sell the rose for? “For nothing,” -replied the man, “for no money told down, but I’ll give it thee for a -human eye.” Then the dame of the palace brought forth one of fair Rosa’s -eyes and gave it for the rose. Then she took it to her daughter, plaited -it in her hair, and when the King’s son saw the rose, he thought of the -Peri of his dreams, but could not understand whither she had gone. -Nevertheless he now fancied he was about to find out, so he said not a -word to any one. - -Meanwhile, the old man went home with the eye and gave it to the damsel, -fair Rosa. Then she fitted it in its right place, sighed from her heart -in prayer to Allah, who can do all things; and behold! she could see -right well again with her one eye. The poor girl was so pleased that -she could not help smiling, and immediately another rose sprang forth. -This also she gave to her father that he might walk in front of the -palace and give it for another human eye. The old man took the rose, and -scarcely had he begun crying it before the palace when the old dame -again heard him. “He has just come at the nick of time,” thought she; -“the King’s son has begun to love my rose-bedizened daughter; if I can -only get this rose also, he will love her still better, and this -serving-wench will go out of his mind altogether.” So she called the -mud-raker to her and asked for the rose, but again he would not take -money for it, though he was willing to let her have it in exchange for a -human eye. Then the old woman gave him the second eye, and the old man -hastened home with it and gave it to the damsel. Rosa immediately put it -in its proper place, prayed to Allah, and was so rejoiced when her two -bright eyes sparkled with living light that she smiled all the day, and -roses bloomed on every side of her. Henceforth she was lovelier than -ever. Now one day beautiful Rosa went for a walk, and as she smiled -continually as she walked along, roses bloomed around her and the ground -grew fresh and green beneath her feet. The palace dame saw her and was -terrified. What will become of me, she thought, if the affair of this -damsel comes to be known? She knew where the poor mud-scraper lived, so -she went all alone to his dwelling, and terrified him by telling him -that he had an evil witch in his house. The poor man had never seen a -witch, so he was terrified to death, and asked the palace dame what he -had better do. “Find out, first of all, what her talisman is,” advised -the palace dame, “and then I’ll come and do the rest.” - -So the first thing the old man did when the damsel came home was to ask -her how she, a mere child of man, had come to have such magic power. The -damsel, suspecting no ill, said that she had got her talisman from the -three Peris, and that pearls, roses, and fresh sweet verdure would -accompany her so long as her talisman was alive. - -“What then is thy talisman?” asked the old man. - - “A little deer on the hill-top; - If it die, I also dead drop,” - -answered she. - -The next day the palace dame came thither in the utmost misery, heard -all about it from the mud-scraper, and hastened home with great joy. She -told her daughter that on the top of the neighbouring hill was a little -deer which she should ask her husband to get for her. That very same day -the Sultana told her husband of the little deer on the top of the hill, -and begged and implored him to get her its heart to eat. And after not -many days the Prince’s men caught the little deer and killed it, and -took out its heart and gave it to the Sultana. At the same instant when -they killed the little fawn fair Rosa died. The mud-raker sorrowed over -her till he could sorrow no more, and then took and buried her. - -Now in the heart of the little fawn there was a little red coral eye -which nobody took any notice of. When the Sultana ate the heart, the -little red coral eye fell out and rolled down the steps as if it wanted -to hide itself. - -Time went on, and in not more than nine months and ten days the Prince’s -consort was brought to bed of a little daughter, who wept pearls when -she cried, dropt roses when she smiled, and sweet green herbs sprang up -in her footsteps. - -When the Prince saw it he mused and mused over it, the little girl was -the very image of fair Rosa, and not a bit like the mother who had borne -her. So his sleep was no repose to him, till one night fair Rosa -appeared to him in his dreams and spoke these words to him: “Oh, my -prince! oh, my betrothed! my soul is beneath thy palace steps, my body -is in the tomb, thy little girl is my little girl, my talisman is the -little coral eye.” - -The Prince had no sooner awakened than he went to the staircase and -searched about, and lo! there was the little coral eye. He picked it up, -took it into his chamber, and laid it on the table. Meanwhile, the -little girl entered the room, saw the red coral, and scarcely had she -laid hold of it than she vanished as if she had never been. The three -Peris had carried off the child and taken her to her mother’s tomb, and -scarcely had she placed the coral eye in the dead woman’s mouth than she -awoke up to a new life. - -But the King’s son was not easy in his mind. He went to the cemetery, -had the tomb opened, and there in her coffin lay the Rose-beauty of his -dreams, with her little girl in her arms and the coral talisman in her -mouth. They arose from the tomb and embraced him, and pearls fell from -the eyes of both of them as they wept, and roses from their mouths as -they smiled, and sweet green herbs grew up in their footsteps. - -The palace dame and her daughter paid for their crimes, but beautiful -Rosa and her father and her mother, the Sultan’s daughter, were all -re-united, and for forty days and forty nights they held high revel -amidst the beating of drums and the tinkling of cymbals. - - - - -MAD MEHMED - - -Once upon a time in the old old days when the camel was only a spy, when -toads rose in the air on wings, and I myself rode in the air while I -walked on the ground, and went up hill and down dale at the same time, -in those days, I say, there were two brothers who dwelt together. - -All that they had inherited from their father were some oxen and other -beasts, and a sick mother. One day the spirit of division seized upon -the younger brother (he was half-witted besides, Allah help him!), and -he went to his brother and said: “Look now, brother! at these two -stables! One of them is as new as new can be, while the other is old and -rotten. Let us drive our cattle hither, and whatever goes into the new -stable shall be mine, and all the rest shall be thine.” - -“Not so, Mehmed,” said the elder brother; “let whatever goes into the -old stable be thine!” To this also the half-crazy Mehmed agreed. That -same day they went and drove up their cattle, and all the cattle went -into the new stable except a helpless old ox that was so blind that it -mistook its way and went into the old stable instead. Mehmed said never -a word, but took the blind old ox into the fields to graze; every -morning early he drove it thither, and late every evening he drove it -back again. One day when he was on the road, the wind began to shake a -big wayside tree so violently that its vast branches whined and -whimpered again. “Hi! whimpering old dad!” said the fool to the tree, -“hast thou seen my elder brother?” But the tree, as if it didn’t hear, -only went on whining. The fool flew into such a rage at this that he -caught up his chopper and struck at the tree, when out of it gushed a -whole stream of golden sequins. At this the fool rallied what little -wits he had, hastened home, and asked his brother to lend him another -ox, as he wanted to plough with a pair. He found a cart also, and some -empty sacks. These he filled with earth, and set out forthwith for his -tree. There he emptied his sacks of their earth, filled them with -sequins instead, and when he returned home in the evening, his brother -well-nigh dropped down for amazement at the sight of the monstrous -treasure. - -They could think of nothing now but dividing it, so the younger brother -went to their neighbour for a three-peck measure to measure it with. -Now the neighbour was curious to know what such clodpoles could have to -measure. So he took and smeared the bottom of the measure with tar, and, -sure enough, when the fool brought the measure back a short time -afterwards, a sequin was sticking to the bottom of it. The neighbour -immediately went and told it to another, who went and told it to a -third, and so it was not long before everybody knew all about it. - -Now the wiser brother knew not what might happen to them now that they -had all this money, and he began to feel frightened. So he snatched up -his pick and shovel, dug a trench, buried the treasure, and made off as -fast as his heels could carry him. On the way it occurred to the wise -brother that he had done foolishly in not shutting the door of the hut -behind him, so he sent off his younger brother to do it for him. So the -fool went back to the house, and he thought to himself: “Well, since I -am here, I ought not to forget my old mother either.” So he filled a -huge cauldron with water, boiled it, and soused his old mother in it so -thoroughly that her poor old head was never likely to speak again. After -that he propped the old woman against the wall with the broom, tore the -door off its hinges, threw it over his shoulders, and went and rejoined -his brother in the wood. - -The elder brother looked at the door, and listened to the sad case of -his poor old mother, but scold and chide his younger brother as he might -the latter grew more cock-a-hoop than ever--he fancied he had done such -a clever thing. He had brought the door away with him, he said, in order -that no one might get into the house. The wise brother would have given -anything to have got rid of the fool, and began turning over in his mind -how he might best manage it. He looked before him and behind him, he -looked down the high-road, and there were three horsemen galloping -along. The thought instantly occurred to the pair of them that these -horsemen were on their track, so they scrambled up a tree forthwith, -door and all. They were scarcely comfortably settled when the three -horsemen drove up beneath the tree and encamped there. The dusk of -evening had come on at the very nick of time, so that they could not see -the two brothers. - -Now the two brothers would have done very well indeed up in the tree had -not one of them been a fool. Mehmed the fool began to practise -pleasantries which disturbed the repose of the horsemen beneath the -tree. Presently, however, came a crash--bang!--and down on the heads of -the three sleepers fell the great heavy door from the top of the tree. -“The end of the world has come, the end of the world has come!” cried -they, and they rushed off in such a fright that no doubt they haven’t -ceased running to this very day. This finished the business so far as -the elder brother was concerned. In the morning he arose and went on his -way, and left the foolish younger brother by himself. - -Thus poor silly Mehmed had to go forth into the wide world alone. He -went on and on till he came to a village, by which time he was very -hungry. There he stood in the gate of a mosque, and got one or two -paras[6] from those who went in and out till he had enough to buy -himself something to eat. At that moment a fat little man came out of -the mosque, and casting his eyes on Mehmed, asked him if he would like -to enter his service. - -“I don’t mind if I do,” replied Mehmed, “but only on condition that -neither of us is to get angry with the other for any cause whatever. If -thou art wroth with me I’ll kill thee, and if I get wroth with thee thou -mayest kill me also.” The fat man agreed to these terms, for there was a -great lack of servants in that village. - -In order to make short work of the fat little man the fool began by at -once chasing all the hens and sheep off his master’s premises. “Art -angry, master?” he then inquired of his lord. His master was amazed, but -he only answered: “Angry? Not I! Why should I be?” At the same time he -entrusted nothing more to him, but let him sit in the house without -anything to do. - -His master had a wife and child, and Mehmed had to look after them. He -liked to dandle the child up and down, but he knocked it about and hurt -it, so clumsy was he; so he soon had to leave that off. But the wife -began to be afraid that her turn would come next, sooner or later, so -she persuaded her husband to run away from the fool one night. Mehmed -overheard what they said, hid himself in their storebox, and when they -opened it in the next village out he popped. - -After a while his master and his wife agreed together that they would go -and sleep at night on the shores of a lake. They took Mehmed with them, -and put his bed right on the water’s edge, that he might tumble in when -he went to sleep. However, the fool was not such a fool but that he made -his master’s wife jump into the lake instead of himself. “Art angry, -master?” cried he.--“Angry indeed! How can I help being angry when I see -my property wasted, and my wife and child killed, and myself a -beggar--and all through thee!” Then the fool seized his master, put him -in mind of their compact, and pitched him into the water. - -Mehmed now found himself all alone, so he went forth into the wide world -once more. He went on and on, did nothing but drink sweet coffee, smoke -chibooks, look about over his shoulder, and walk leisurely along at his -ease. As he was thus knocking about, he chanced to light upon a -five-para piece, which he speedily changed for some lebleb,[7] which he -immediately fell to chewing, and, as he chewed, part of it fell into a -wayside spring, whereupon the fool began roaring loud enough to split -his throat: “Give me back my lebleb, give me back my lebleb!” At this -frightful bawling a Jinn popped up his head, and he was so big that his -upper lip swept the sky, while his lower lip hid the earth. “What dost -thou require?” asked the Jinn.--“I want my lebleb, I want my lebleb!” -cried Mehmed. - -The Jinn ducked down into the spring, and when he came up again, he held -a little table in his hand. This little table he gave to the fool and -said: “Whenever thou art hungry thou hast only to say: ‘Little table, -give me to eat;’ and when thou hast eaten thy fill, say: ‘Little table, -I have now had enough.’” - -So Mehmed took the table and went with it into a village, and when he -felt hungry he said: “Little table, give me to eat!” and immediately -there stood before him so many beautiful, nice dishes that he couldn’t -make up his mind which to begin with. “Well,” thought he, “I must let -the poor people of the village see this wonder also,” so he went and -invited them all to a great banquet. - -The villagers came one after another, they looked to the right, they -looked to the left, but there was no sign of a fire, or any preparations -for a meal. “Nay, but he would needs make fools of us!” thought they. -But the young man brought out his table, set it in the midst, and cried: -“Little table, give me to eat!” and there before them stood all manner -of delicious meats and drinks, and so much thereof that when the guests -had stuffed themselves to the very throat, there was enough left over to -fill the servants. Then the villagers laid their heads together as to -how they might manage to have a meal like this every day. “Come now!” -said some of them, “let us steal a march upon Mehmed one day and lay -hands upon his table, and then there will be an end to the fool’s -glory.” And they did so. - -What could the poor, empty-bellied fool do then? Why he went to the -wayside spring and asked again: “I want my lebleb, I want my lebleb!” -And he asked and asked so long that at last the Jinn popped up his head -again out of the spring and inquired what was the matter. “I want my -lebleb, I want my lebleb!” cried the fool.--“But where’s thy little -table?”--“They stole it.” - -The big-lipped Jinn again popped down, and when he rose out of the -spring again he had a little mill in his hand. This he gave to the fool -and said to him: “Grind it to the right and gold will flow out of it, -grind it to the left and it will give thee silver.” So the youth took -the mill home and ground it first to the right and then to the left, and -huge treasures of gold and silver lay heaped about him on the floor. So -he grew such a rich man that his equal was not to be found in the -village, nay, nor in the town either. - -But no sooner had the people of the village got to know all about the -little mill than they laid their heads together and schemed and schemed -till the mill also disappeared[8] one fine morning from Mehmed’s -cottage. Then Mehmed ran off to the spring once more and cried: “I want -my lebleb, I want my lebleb!” - -“But where is thy little table? Where is thy little mill?” asked the -big-lipped Jinn. - -“They have stolen them both from me,” lamented the witless one, and he -wept bitterly. - -Again the Jinn bobbed down, and this time he brought up two sticks with -him. He gave them to the fool, and impressed upon him very strongly on -no account to say: “Strike, strike, my little sticks!” - -Mehmed took the sticks, and first he turned them to the right and then -to the left, but could make nothing of them. Then he thought he would -just try the effect of saying: “Strike, strike, my little sticks!” and -no sooner were the words out of his mouth than the sticks fell upon him -unmercifully, and belaboured him on every part of the body that can -feel--the head, the foot, the arm, the back--till he was nothing but one -big ache. “Stop, stop, my little sticks!” cried he, and lo! the two -sticks were still. Then, for all his aches and pains, Mehmed rejoiced -greatly that he had found out the mystery. - -He had no sooner got home with the two sticks than he called together -all the villagers, but said not a word about what he meant to do. In -less than a couple of hours everybody had assembled there, and awaited -the new show with great curiosity. Then Mehmed came with his two sticks -and cried: “Strike, strike, my little sticks, strike, strike!” whereupon -the two sticks gave the whole lot of them such a rub-a-dub-dubbing that -it was as much as they could do to howl for mercy. “Now,” said Mehmed, -who was getting his wits back again, “I’ll have no mercy till you have -given back to me my little table and my little mill.” - -The people of the village, all bruised and bleeding as they were, -consented to everything, and hurried off for the little table and the -little mill. Then Mehmed cried: “Stand still, my little sticks!” and -there was peace and quiet as before. - -Then the man took away the three gifts to his own village, and as he now -had money he grew more sensible, and there also he found his brother. He -gave all the buried treasure to his brother, and each of them sought out -a damsel meet to be a wife, and married, and lived each in a world of -his own. And there was not a wiser man in that village than Mad Mehmed -now that he had grown rich. - - - - -THE GOLDEN-HAIRED CHILDREN - - -Once upon a time, in days long gone by, when my father was my father, -and I was my fathers son, when my father was my son, and I was my -father’s mother, once upon a time, I say, at the uttermost ends of the -world, hard by the realm of demons, stood a great city. - -In this same city there dwelt three poor damsels, the daughters of a -poor wood-cutter. From morn to eve, from evening to morning, they did -nothing but sew and stitch, and when the embroideries were finished, one -of them would go to the market-place and sell them, and so purchase -wherewithal to live upon. - -Now it fell out, one day, that the Padishah of that city was wroth with -the people, and in his rage he commanded that for three days and three -nights nobody should light a candle in that city. What were these three -poor sisters to do? They could not work in the dark. So they covered -their window with a large thick curtain, lit a tiny rushlight, and sat -them down to earn their daily bread. - -On the third night of the prohibition, the Padishah took it into his -head to go round the city himself to see whether every one was keeping -his commandment. He chanced to step in front of the house of the three -poor damsels, and as the folds of the curtain did not quite cover the -bottom of the window he caught sight of the light within. The damsels, -however, little suspecting their danger, went on sewing and stitching -and talking amongst themselves about their poor affairs. - -“Oh,” said the eldest, “if only the Padishah would wed me to his chief -cook, what delicious dishes I should have every day. Yes, and I would -embroider him for it a carpet so long that all his horses and all his -men could find room upon it.” - -“As for me,” said the middling damsel, “I should like to be wedded to -the keeper of his wardrobe. What lovely splendid raiment I should then -have to put on. And then I would make the Padishah a tent so large, that -all his horses and all his men should find shelter beneath it.” - -“Well,” cried the youngest damsel, “I’ll look at nobody but the Padishah -himself, and if he would only take me to wife I would bear him two -little children with golden hair. One should be a boy and the other a -girl, and a half-moon should shine on the forehead of the boy, and a -bright star should sparkle on the temples of the girl.” - -The Padishah heard the discourse of the three damsels, and no sooner did -the red dawn shine in the morning sky than he sent for all three to the -palace. The eldest he gave to his head pantler, the second to his head -chamberlain, but the youngest he took for himself. - -And in truth it fared excellently well with the three damsels. The -eldest got so many rich dishes to eat, that when it came to sewing the -promised carpet she could scarce move her needle for the sleep of -surfeit. So they sent her back again to the wood-cutters hut. The second -damsel, too, when they dressed her up in gold and silver raiment, would -not deign to dirty her fingers by making tents, so they sent her back -too, to keep her elder sister company. - -And how about the youngest? Well, after nine months and ten days the two -elder sisters came sidling up to the palace to see if the poor thing -would really be as good as her word, and bring forth the two wondrous -children. In the gates of the palace they met an old woman, and they -persuaded her with gifts and promises to meddle in the matter. Now this -old woman was the devil’s own daughter, so that mischief and malice -were her meat and drink. She now went and picked up two pups and took -them with her to the sick woman’s bed. - -And oh, my soul! the wife of the Padishah brought forth two little -children like shining stars. One was a boy, the other a girl; on the -boys forehead was a half-moon and on the girl’s a star, so that darkness -was turned to light when they were by. Then the wicked old woman -exchanged the children for the pups, and told it in the ears of the -Padishah that his wife had brought forth two pups. The Padishah was like -to have had a fit in the furiousness of his rage. He took his poor wife, -buried her up to the waist in the ground, and commanded throughout the -city that every passer-by should strike her on the head with a stone. -But no sooner had the evil witch got hold of the two children, than she -took them a long way outside the town, exposed them on the bank of a -flowing stream, and returned to the palace right glad that she had done -her work so well. - -Now close to the water where the two children lay stood a hut where -lived an aged couple. The old man had a she-goat which used to go out in -the morning to graze, and come back in the evening to be milked, and -that was how the poor people kept body and soul together. One day, -however, the old woman was - -[Illustration: The Golden-Haired Children.--p. 57.] - -surprised to find that the goat did not give one drop of milk. She -complained about it to the old man her husband, and told him to follow -the goat to see if perchance there was any one who stole the milk. - -So the next day the old man went after the goat, which went right up to -the water’s edge, and then disappeared behind a tree. And what do you -think he saw? He saw a sight which would have delighted your eyes -also--two golden-haired children were lying in the grass, and the goat -went right up to them and gave them to suck. Then she bleated to them a -little, and so left them and went off to graze. And the old man was so -delighted at the sight of the little starry things, that he was like to -have lost his head for joy. So he took the little ones (Allah had not -blessed him with children of his own) and carried them to his hut and -gave them to his wife. The woman was filled with a still greater joy at -the children which Allah had given her, and took care of them, and -brought them up. But now the little goat came bleating in as if in sore -distress, but the moment she saw the children, she went to them and -suckled them, and then went out to graze again. - -But time comes and goes. The two wondrous children grew up and scampered -up hill and down dale, and the dark woods were bright with the radiance -of their golden hair. They hunted the wild beasts, tended sheep, and -helped the old people by word and deed. Time came and went till the -children had grown up, and the old people had become very old indeed. -The golden-haired ones grew in strength while the silver-haired ones -grew in feebleness, till, at last, one morning they lay dead there, and -the brother and sister were left all alone. Sorely did the poor little -things weep and wail, but was ever woe mended by weeping? So they buried -their old parents, and the girl stayed at home with the little she-goat, -while the lad went a-hunting, for how to find food was now their great -care and their little care too. - -One day, while he was hunting wild beasts in the forest, he met his -father, the Padishah, but he did not know it was his father, neither did -the father recognize his son. Yet the moment the Padishah beheld the -wondrously beautiful child, he longed to clasp him to his breast, and -commanded those about him to inquire of the child from whence he came. - -Then one of the courtiers went up to the youth, and said: “Thou hast -shot much game there, my Bey!”--“Allah also has created much,” replied -the youth, “and there is enough for thee and for me also,” and with that -he left him like a blockhead. - -But the Padishah went back to his palace, and was sick at heart because -of the boy; and when they asked what ailed him, he said that he had -seen such a wondrously beautiful child in the forest, and that he loved -him so that he could rest no more. The boy had the very golden hair and -the same radiant forehead that his wife had promised him. - -The old woman was sore afraid at these words. She hastened to the -stream, saw the house, peeped in, and there sat a lovely girl, like a -moon fourteen days old. The girl entreated the old woman courteously, -and asked her what she sought. The old woman did not wait to be asked -twice; indeed, her foot was scarce across the threshold when she began -to ask the girl with honey-sweet words whether she lived all alone. - -“Nay, my mother,” replied the girl; “I have a young brother. In the -day-time he goes hunting, and in the evening he comes home.” - -“Dost thou not grow weary of being all alone here by thyself?” inquired -the witch.--“If even I did,” said the girl, “what can I do? I must fill -up my time as best I may.” - -“Tell me now, my little diamond! dost thou dearly love this brother of -thine?” - -“Of course I do.” - -“Well, then, my girl,” said the witch, “I’ll tell thee something, but -don’t let it go any further! When thy brother comes home this evening, -fall to weeping and wailing, and keep it up with all thy might. When -then he asks what ails thee, answer him not, and when he asks thee -again, again give him never a word. When, however, he asks thee a third -time, say that thou art tired to death with staying at home here all by -thyself, and that if he loves thee, he will go to the garden of the -Queen of the Peris, and bring thee from thence a branch. A lovelier -branch thou hast never seen all thy life long.”--The girl promised she -would do this, and the old woman went away. - -Towards evening the damsel burst forth a-weeping and wailing till both -her eyes were as red as blood. The brother came home in the evening, and -was amazed to see his sister in such dire distress, yet could he not -prevail upon her to tell him the cause of it. He promised her all the -grass of the field and all the trees of the forest if she would only -tell him what was the matter, and, to satisfy the desire of his sister’s -heart, the golden-haired youth set off next morning for the garden of -the fairy queen. He went on and on, smoking his chibook and drinking -coffee, till he reached the boundaries of the fairy realm. He came to -deserts where no caravan had ever gone; he came to mountains where no -bird could ever fly; he came to valleys where no serpent can ever crawl. -But his trust was in Allah, so he went on and on till he came to an -immense desert which the eye of man had never seen nor the foot of man -trodden. In the midst of it was a beautiful palace, and by the roadside -sat the Mother of Devils, and the smell of her was as the pestilence in -the air all round about her. - -The youth went straight up to the Mother of Devils, hugged her to his -breast, kissed her all over, and said: “Good-day, little mother mine! I -am thine own true lad till death!” and he kissed her hand. - -“A good-day to thee also, my little son!” replied the Mother of Devils. -“If thou hadst not called me thy dear little mother, if thou hadst not -embraced me, and if thy innocent mother had not been under the earth, I -would have devoured thee at once. But tell me now, my little son, -whither away?” - -The poor youth said that he wanted a branch from the garden of the Queen -of the Peris. - -“Who put that word in thy mouth, my little son?” asked the woman in -amazement. “Hundreds and hundreds of talismans guard that garden, and -hundreds of souls have perished there by reason thereof.” - -Yet the youth did not hold back. “I can but die once,” thought -he.--“Thou dost but go to salute thy innocent, buried mother,” said the -old woman; and then she made the youth sit down beside her and taught -him the way: “Set out on thy quest at daybreak, and never stop till -thou dost see right in front of thee a well and a forest. Draw forth -thine arrows in this forest and catch five to ten birds, but catch them -alive. Take these birds to the well, and when thou hast recited a prayer -twice over, plunge the birds into the well and cry aloud for a key. A -key will straightway be cast out of the well, take it to thee, and go on -thy way. Thou wilt come presently to a large cavern; open the door -thereof with thy key, and, as soon as thy foot is inside, stretch forth -thy right hand into the blank darkness, grip fast hold of whatever thy -hand shall touch, drag the thing quickly forth, and cast the key back -into the well again. But look not behind thee all the time, or Allah -have mercy on thy soul!” - -Next day, when the red dawn was in the sky, the youth went forth on his -quest, caught the five to ten birds in the forest, got hold of the key, -opened therewith the door of the cavern, and--oh, Allah!--stretched -forth his right hand, gripped hold of something, and, without once -looking behind him, dragged it all the way to his sister’s hut, and -never stopped till he got there. Only then did he cast his eyes upon -what he had in his hand, and it was neither more nor less than a branch -from the garden of the Queen of the Peris. But what a branch it was! It -was full of little twigs, and the twigs were full of little leaves, and -there was a little bird on every little leaf, and every little bird had -a song of its own. Such music, such melody was there as would have -brought even a dead man to life again. The whole hut was filled with -joy. - -Next day the youth again went forth to hunt, and, as he was pursuing the -beast of the forest, the Padishah saw him again. He exchanged a word or -two with the youth, and then returned to his palace, but he was now -sicker than ever, by reason of his love for his son. - -Then the old woman strolled off to the hut again, and there she saw the -damsel sitting with the magic branch in her hand. - -“Well, my girl!” said the old woman, “what did I tell thee? But that’s -nothing at all. If thy brother would only fetch thee the mirror of the -Queen of the Peris, Allah knows that thou wouldst cast that branch right -away. Give him no peace till he get it for thee.” - -The witch had no sooner departed than the damsel began screaming and -wailing so that her brother was at his wit’s end how to comfort her. He -said he would take the whole world on his shoulders to please her, went -straight off to the Mother of Devils, and besought her so earnestly that -she had not the heart to say him nay. - -“Thou hast made up thy mind to go under the sod to thy innocent, buried -mother, I see,” cried she, “for not by hundreds but by thousands have -human souls perished in this quest of thine.” Then she instructed the -youth whither he should go and what he should do, and he set off on his -way. He took an iron staff in his hand and tied iron sandals to his -feet, and he went on and on till he came to two doors, as the Mother of -Devils told him he would beforehand. One of these doors was open, the -other was closed. He closed the open door and opened the closed door, -and there, straight before him, was another door. In front of this door -was a lion and a sheep, and there was grass before the lion and flesh -before the sheep. He took up the flesh and laid it before the lion, then -he took up the grass and laid it before the sheep, and they let him -enter unharmed. But now he came to a third door, and in front of it were -two furnaces, and fire burned in the one and ashes smouldered in the -other. He put out the flaming furnace, stirred up the cinders in the -smouldering furnace till they blazed again, and then through the door he -went into the garden of the Peris, and from the garden into the Peri -palace. He snatched up the enchanted mirror, and was hastening away with -it when a mighty voice cried out against him so that the earth and the -heavens trembled. “Burning furnace, seize him, seize him!” cried the -voice, just as he came up to the furnace. - -“I can’t,” answered the first furnace, “for he has put me out!” But the -other furnace was grateful to him for kindling it into a blaze again, so -it let him pass by too. - -“Lion, lion, tear him to pieces!” cried the mighty voice from the depths -of the palace, when the youth came up to the two beasts. - -“Not I,” answered the lion, “for he helped me to a good meal of -flesh!”--Nor would the sheep hurt him either, because he had given it -the grass.--“Open door! let him not out!” cried the voice from within -the palace.--“Nay, but I will!” replied the door; “for had he not opened -me I should be closed still!”--and so the golden-haired youth was not -very long in getting home, to the great joy of his sister. She snatched -at the mirror and instantly looked into it, and--Allah be praised!--she -saw the whole world in it. Then the damsel thought no more of the -Peribranch, for her eyes were glued to the mirror. - -Again the youth went a-hunting, and again he caught the eye of the -Padishah. But the sight of the youth this third time so touched the -fatherly heart of the Padishah that they carried him back to his palace -half fainting. Then the witch guessed only too well how matters stood. - -So she arose and went to the damsel, and so filled her foolish little -head with her tales that she persuaded her not to give her brother rest -day and night till he had brought her the Queen of the Peris herself. -“That’ll make him break his hatchet anyhow!” thought the old woman. But -the damsel rejoiced beforehand at the thought of having the Queen of the -Peris also, and in her impatience could scarce wait for her brother to -come home. - -When her brother came home she shed as many tears as if she were a cloud -dripping rain. In vain her brother tried to prove to her how distant and -how dangerous was the way she would fain have him go. “I want the Queen -of the Peris, and have her I must,” cried the damsel. - -So again the youth set out on his journey, went straight to the Mother -of Devils, pressed her hand, kissed her lips, pressed her lips and -kissed her hand, and said: “Oh, my mother! help me in this my sore -need!” The Mother of Devils was amazed at the valour of the man, and -never ceased dissuading him from his purpose, for every human soul that -goes on such a quest must needs perish.--“Die I may, little mother!” -cried the youth, “but I will not come back without her.” - -So what could the Mother of Devils do but show him the way? “Go the same -road,” said she, “that led thee to the branch, and then go on to where -thou didst find the mirror. Thou wilt come at last to a large desert, -and beyond the desert thou wilt see two roads, but look neither to the -right hand nor yet to the left, but go right on through the sooty -darkness betwixt them. When now it begins to grow a little lighter, thou -wilt see a large cypress wood, and in this cypress wood a large tomb. In -this tomb, turned to stone, are all those who ever desired the Queen of -the Peris. Stop not there, but go right on to the palace of the Queen of -the Peris and call out her name with the full strength of thy lungs. -What will happen to thee after that not even I can tell thee.” - -Next day the youth set out on his journey. He prayed by the wayside -well, opened all the gates he came to, and, looking neither to the right -hand nor to the left, went on straight before him through the sooty -darkness. All at once it began to grow a little lighter, and a large -cypress wood appeared right in front of him. The leaves of the trees -were of a burning green, and their drooping crowns hid snow-white tombs. -Nay, but they were not tombs, but stones as big as men. Nay, but they -were not stones at all, but men who had turned, who had stiffened, into -stone. There was neither man, nor spirit, nor noise, nor breath of wind, -and the youth froze with horror to his very marrow. Nevertheless he -plucked up his courage and went on his way. He looked straight before -him all the time, and his eyes were almost blinded by a dazzling light. -Was it the sun he saw? No, it was the palace of the Queen of the Peris! -Then he rallied all the strength that was left in him and shouted the -name of the Queen of the Peris with all his might, and the words had not -yet died away upon his lips when his whole body up to his knee-cap -stiffened into stone. Again he shouted with all his might, and he turned -to stone up to his navel. Then he shouted for the last time with all his -might, and stiffened up to his throat first and then up to his head, -till he became a tombstone like the rest. - -But now the Queen of the Peris came into her garden, and she had silver -sandals on her feet and a golden saucer in her hand, and she drew water -from a diamond fountain, and when she watered the stone youth, life and -motion came back to him. - -“Well, thou youth thou,” said the Queen of the Peris, “‘tis not enough, -then, that thou hast taken away my Peri branch and my magic mirror, but -thou must needs, forsooth, venture hither a third time! Thou shalt share -the fate of thy innocent buried mother, stone thou shalt become and -stone shalt thou remain. What brought thee hither?--speak!” - -“I came for thee,” replied the youth very courageously. - -“Well, as thou hast loved me so exceedingly, no harm shall befall thee, -and we will go away together.” - -Then the youth begged her to have compassion on all the men she had -turned to stone and give them back their lives again. So the Peri -returned to her palace, packed up her baggage, which was small in weight -but priceless in value, filled the little golden saucer with water, and -sprinkled therewith all the stones and the whole multitude of the stones -became men. They all took horse, and as they quitted the Peri realm, the -earth trembled beneath them and the sky was shaken as if the seven -worlds and the seven heavens were mingled together, so that the youth -would have died of fright if the Queen of the Peris had not been by his -side. Never once did they look behind them, but galloped on and on till -they came to the house of the youth’s sister, and such was their joy and -gladness at seeing each other again that place could scarce be found for -the Queen of the Peris. But now the youth was in no great hurry to go -hunting as before, for he had changed hearts with the lovely Queen of -the Peris, and she was his and he was hers. - -Now when the Queen of the Peris had heard the history of the children -and their parents, and the fate of their innocent mother, she said one -morning to the youth: “Go a-hunting in the forest, and thou wilt meet -the Padishah. The first thing he will do will be to invite thee to the -palace, but beware lest thou accept his invitation.” And so indeed it -turned out. Scarcely had he taken a turn in the wood than the Padishah -stood before him, and, one word leading to another, he invited the youth -to his palace, but the youth would not go. - -Early next morning the Peri awoke the children, clapped her hands -together and called her Lala,[9] and immediately a huge negro sprang up -before them. So big was he that one of his lips touched the sky while -the other swept the earth. “What dost thou command me, my Sultana?” -cried the Lala. - -“Fetch me hither my father’s steed!” commanded the Peri. - -The negro vanished like a hurricane, and, a moment afterwards, the steed -stood before them, and the like of it was not to be found in the wide -world. - -The youth leaped upon the horse, and the splendid suite of the Padishah -was already waiting for him at the roadside. - -But--O Allah, forgive me!--I have forgotten the best of the story. The -Peri charged the youth as he quitted her to take heed, while he was in -the palace of the Padishah, to the neighing of his horse. At the first -neighing he was to hasten back. - -So the youth went to meet the Padishah on his diamond-bridled charger, -and behind him came a gay and gallant retinue. He saluted the people on -the right hand and on the left all the way to the palace, and there they -welcomed him with a pomp the like of which was never known before. They -ate and drank and made merry till the Padishah could scarce contain -himself for joy, but then the steed neighed, the youth arose, and all -their entreaties to him to stay could not turn him from his set purpose. -He mounted his horse, invited the Padishah to be his guest on the -following day, and returned home to the Peri and his own sister. - -Meanwhile the Peri dug up the mother of the children, and so put her to -rights again by her Peri arts that she became just as she was in the -days of her first youth. But she spake not a word about the mother to -the children, nor a word about the children to the mother. On the -morning of the reception of guests she rose up early and commanded that -on the spot where the little hut stood a palace should rise, the like of -which eye hath never seen nor ear heard of, and there were as many -precious stones heaped up there as were to be found in the whole -kingdom. And then the garden that surrounded that palace! There were -multitudes of flowers, each one lovelier than the other, and on every -flower there was a singing bird, and every bird had feathers aglow with -light, so that one could only look at it all open-mouthed and cry: “Oh! -oh!” And the palace itself was full of domestics, there were black harem -slaves, and white captive youths, and dancers and singers, and players -of stringed instruments--more than thou canst count, count thou never so -much, and words cannot tell of the splendour of the retinue which went -forth to greet the Padishah as a guest. - -“These children are not of mortal birth!” thought the Padishah to -himself, when he beheld all these marvels, “or if they _are_ of mortal -birth a Peri must have had a hand in the matter.” - -They led the Padishah into the most splendid room of the palace, they -brought him coffee and sherbet, and then the music spoke to him, and the -singing birds--oh! a man could have listened to them for ever and ever! -Then rich meats on rare and precious dishes were set before him, and -then the dancers and the jugglers diverted him till the evening. - -At eventide the servants came and bowed before the Padishah and said: -“My lord! peace be with thee! They await thee in the harem!” So he -entered the harem, and there he saw before him the golden-haired youth, -with a beautiful half-moon shining on his forehead, and his bride, the -Peri-Queen, and his own consort, the Sultana, who had been buried in -the earth, and by her side a golden-haired maiden with a star sparkling -on her forehead. There stood the Padishah as if turned to stone, but his -consort ran up to him and kissed the edge of his garment, and the -Peri-Queen began to tell him the whole of her life and how everything -had happened. - -The Padishah was nigh to dying in the fulness of his joy. He could -scarce believe his eyes, but he pressed his consort to his breast and -embraced the two beauteous children, and the Queen of the Peris -likewise. He forgave the sisters of the Sultana their offences, but the -old witch was mercilessly destroyed by lingering tortures. But he and -his consort and her son and the Queen of the Peris, and his daughter, -and his daughter’s bridegroom sat down to a great banquet and made -merry. Forty days and forty nights they feasted, and the blessing of -Allah was upon them. - - - - -THE HORSE-DEVIL AND THE WITCH - - -There was once upon a time a Padishah who had three daughters. One day -the old father made him ready for a journey, and calling to him his -three daughters straightly charged them to feed and water his favourite -horse, even though they neglected everything else. He loved the horse so -much that he would not suffer any stranger to come near it. - -So the Padishah went on his way, but when the eldest daughter brought -the fodder into the stable the horse would not let her come near him. -Then the middling daughter brought the forage, and he treated her -likewise. Last of all the youngest daughter brought the forage, and when -the horse saw her he never budged an inch, but let her feed him and then -return to her sisters. The two elder sisters were content that the -youngest should take care of the horse, so they troubled themselves -about it no more. - -The Padishah came home, and the first thing he asked was whether they -had provided the horse with everything. “He wouldn’t let us come near -him,” said the two elder sisters; “it was our youngest sister here who -took care of him.” - -No sooner had the Padishah heard this than he gave his youngest daughter -to the horse to wife, but his two other daughters he gave to the sons of -his Chief Mufti and his Grand Vizier, and they celebrated the three -marriages at a great banquet, which lasted forty days. Then the youngest -daughter turned into the stable, but the two eldest dwelt in a splendid -palace. In the daytime the youngest sister had only a horse for a -husband and a stable for a dwelling; but in the night-time the stable -became a garden of roses, the horse-husband a handsome hero, and they -lived in a world of their own. Nobody knew of it but they two. They -passed the day together as best they could, but eventide was the time of -their impatient desires. - -One day the Padishah held a tournament in the palace. Many gallant -warriors entered the lists, but none strove so valiantly as the husbands -of the Sultan’s elder daughters. - -“Only look now!” said the two elder daughters to their sister who dwelt -in the stable, “only look now! how our husbands overthrow all the other -warriors with their lances; our two lords are not so much lords as -lions! Where is this horse-husband of thine, prythee?” - -On hearing this from his wife, the horse-husband shivered all over, -turned into a man, threw himself on horseback, told his wife not to -betray him on any account, and in an instant appeared within the lists. -He overthrew every one with his lance, unhorsed his two brothers-in-law, -and re-appeared in the stable again as if he had never left it. - -The next day, when the sports began again, the two elder sisters mocked -as before, but then the unknown hero appeared again, conquered and -vanished. On the third day the horse-husband said to his wife: “If ever -I should come to grief or thou shouldst need my help, take these three -wisps of hair, burn them, and it will help thee wherever thou art.” With -that he hastened to the games again and triumphed over his -brothers-in-law. Every one was amazed at his skill, the two elder -sisters likewise, and again they said to their younger sister: “Look how -these heroes excel in prowess! They are very different to thy dirty -horse-husband!” - -The girl could not endure standing there with nothing to say for -herself, so she told her sisters that the handsome hero was no other -than her horse-husband--and no sooner had she pointed at him than he -vanished from before them as if he had never been. Then only did she -call to mind her lord’s command to her not to betray her secret, and -away she hurried off to the stable. But ’twas all in vain, neither horse -nor man came to her, and at midnight there was neither rose nor -rose-garden. - -“Alas!” wept the girl, “I have betrayed my lord, I have broken my word, -what a crime is mine!” She never closed an eye all that night, but wept -till morning. When the red dawn appeared she went to her father the -Padishah, complained to him that she had lost her horse-husband, and -begged that she might go to the ends of the earth to seek him. In vain -her father tried to keep her back, in vain he pointed out to her that -her husband was now most probably among devils, and she would never be -able to find him--turn her from her resolution he could not. What could -he do but let her go on her way? - -With a great desire the damsel set out on her quest, she went on and on -till her tender body was all aweary, and at last she sank down exhausted -at the foot of a great mountain. Then she called to mind the three -hairs, and she took out one and set fire to it--and lo! her lord and -master was in her arms again, and they could not speak for joy. - -“Did I not bid thee tell none of my secret?” cried the youth -sorrowfully; “and now if my hag of a mother see thee she will instantly -tear thee to pieces. This mountain is our dwelling-place. She will be -here immediately, and woe to thee if she see thee!” - -The poor Sultan’s daughter was terribly frightened, and wept worse than -ever at the thought of losing her lord again, after all her trouble in -finding him. The heart of the devil’s son was touched at her sorrow: he -struck her once, changed her into an apple, and put her on the shelf. -The hag flew down from the mountain with a terrible racket, and -screeched out that she smelt the smell of a man, and her mouth watered -for the taste of human flesh. In vain her son denied that there was any -human flesh there, she would not believe him one bit. - -“If thou wilt swear by the egg not to be offended, I’ll show thee what -I’ve hidden,” said her son. The hag swore, and her son gave the apple a -tap, and there before them stood the beautiful damsel. “Behold my wife!” -said he to his mother. The old mother said never a word, what was done -could not be undone. “I’ll give the bride something to do all the same,” -thought she. - -They lived a couple of days together in peace and quiet, but the hag was -only waiting for her son to leave the house. At last one day the youth -had work to do elsewhere, and scarcely had he put his foot out of doors -when the hag said to the damsel: “Come, sweep and sweep not!” and with -that she went out and said she should not be back till evening. The -girl thought to herself again and again: “What am I to do now? What did -she mean by ‘sweep and sweep not’?” Then she thought of the hairs, and -she took out and burned the second hair also. Immediately her lord stood -before her and asked her what was the matter, and the girl told him of -his mother’s command: “Sweep and sweep not!” Then her lord explained to -her that she was to sweep out the chamber, but not to sweep the -ante-chamber. - -The girl did as she was told, and when the hag came home in the evening -she asked the girl whether she had accomplished her task. “Yes, little -mother,” replied the bride, “I have swept and I have not swept.”--“Thou -daughter of a dog,” cried the old witch, “not thine own wit but my son’s -mouth hath told thee this thing.” - -The next morning when the hag got up she gave the damsel vases, and told -her to fill them with tears. The moment the hag had gone the damsel -placed the three vases before her, and wept and wept, but what could her -few teardrops do to fill them? Then she took out and burned the third -hair. - -Again her lord appeared before her, and explained to her that she must -fill the three vases with water, and then put a pinch of salt in each -vase. The girl did so, and when the hag came home in the evening and -demanded an account of her work, the girl showed her the three vases -full of tears. “Thou daughter of a dog!” chided the old woman again, -“that is not thy work; but I’ll do for thee yet, and for my son too.” - -The next day she devised some other task for her to do; but her son -guessed that his mother would vex the wench, so he hastened home to his -bride. There the poor thing was worrying herself about it all alone, for -the third hair was now burnt, and she did not know how to set about -doing the task laid upon her. “Well, there is now nothing for it but to -run away,” said her lord, “for she won’t rest now till she hath done -thee a mischief.” And with that he took his wife, and out into the wide -world they went. - -In the evening the hag came home, and saw neither her son nor his bride. -“They have flown, the dogs!” cried the hag, with a threatening voice, -and she called to her sister, who was also a witch, to make ready and go -in pursuit of her son and his bride. So the witch jumped into a pitcher, -snatched up a serpent for a whip, and went after them. - -The demon-lover saw his aunt coming, and in an instant changed the girl -into a bathing-house, and himself into a bath-man sitting down at the -gate. The witch leaped from the pitcher, went to the bath-keeper, and -asked him if he had not seen a young boy and girl pass by that way. - -“I have only just warmed up my bath,” said the youth, “there’s nobody -inside it; if thou dost not believe me, thou canst go and look for -thyself.” The witch thought: “‘Tis impossible to get a sensible word out -of a fellow of this sort,” so she jumped into her pitcher, flew back, -and told her sister that she couldn’t find them. The other hag asked her -whether she had exchanged words with any one on the road. “Yes,” replied -the younger sister, “there was a bath-house by the roadside, and I asked -the owner of it about them; but he was either a fool or deaf, so I took -no notice of him.” - -“‘Tis thou who wert the fool,” snarled her elder sister. “Didst thou not -recognize in him my son, and in the bath-house my daughter-in-law?” Then -she called her second sister, and sent her after the fugitives. - -The devil’s son saw his second aunt flying along in her pitcher. Then he -gave his wife a tap and turned her into a spring, but he himself sat -down beside it, and began to draw water out of it with a pitcher. The -witch went up to him, and asked him whether he had seen a girl and a boy -pass by that way. - -“There’s drinkable water in this spring,” replied he, with a vacant -stare, “I am always drawing it.” The witch thought she had to do with a -fool, turned back, and told her sister that she had not met with them. -Her sister asked her if she had not come across any one by the way. -“Yes, indeed,” replied she, “a half-witted fellow was drawing water from -a spring, but I couldn’t get a single sensible word out of him.” - -“That half-witted fellow was my son, the spring was his wife, and a -pretty wiseacre thou art,” screeched her sister. “I shall have to go -myself, I see,” and with that she jumped into her pitcher, snatched up a -serpent to serve her as a whip, and off she went. - -Meanwhile the youth looked back again, and saw his mother coming after -them. He gave the girl a tap and changed her into a tree, but he himself -turned into a serpent, and coiled himself round the tree. The witch -recognized them, and drew near to the tree to break it to pieces; but -when she saw the serpent coiled round it, she was afraid to kill her own -son along with it, so she said to her son: “Son, son! show me, at least, -the girl’s little finger, and then I’ll leave you both in peace.” The -son saw that he could not free himself from her any other way, and that -she must have at least a little morsel of the damsel to nibble at. So he -showed her one of the girl’s little fingers, and the old hag wrenched -it off, and returned to her domains with it. Then the youth gave the -girl a tap and himself another tap, put on human shape again, and away -they went to the girl’s father, the Padishah. The youth, since his -talisman had been destroyed, remained a mortal man, but the diabolical -part of him stayed at home with his witch-mother and her kindred. The -Padishah rejoiced greatly in his children, gave them a wedding-banquet -with a wave of his finger, and they inherited the realm after his -death. - - - - -THE CINDER-YOUTH - - -Once upon a time that was no time, in the days when the servants of -Allah were many and the misery of man was great, there lived a poor -woman who had three sons and one daughter. The youngest son was -half-witted, and used to roll about all day in the warm ashes. - -One day the two elder brothers went out to plough, and said to their -mother: “Boil us something, and send our sister out with it into the -field.”--Now the three-faced devil had pitched his tent close to this -field, and in order that the girl might not come near them he determined -to persuade her to go all round about instead of straight to them. - -The mother cooked the dinner and the girl went into the field with it, -but the devil contrived to make her lose her road, so that she wandered -further and further away from the place where she wanted to go. At last, -when her poor head was quite confused, the devil’s wife appeared before -her and asked the terrified girl what she meant by trespassing there. -Then she talked her over and persuaded her to come home with her, that -she might hide her from the vengeance of the devil, her husband. - -But the three-faced devil had got home before them, and when they -arrived the old woman told the girl to make haste and get something -ready to eat while her maid-servant stirred up the fire. But scarcely -had she begun to get the dish ready than the devil crept stealthily up -behind her, opened his mouth wide, and swallowed the girl whole, clothes -and all. - -Meanwhile her brothers were waiting in the field for their dinner, but -neither the damsel nor the victuals appeared. Afternoon came and went -and evening too, and then the lads went home, and when they heard from -their mother that their sister had gone to seek them early in the -morning they suspected what had happened--their little sister must have -fallen into the hands of the devil. The two elder brothers did not think -twice about it, but the elder of them set off at once to seek his -sister. - -He went on and on, puffing at his chibook, sniffing the perfume of -flowers and drinking coffee, till he came to an oven by the wayside. By -the oven sat an old man, who asked the youth on what errand he was -bent. The youth told him of his sister’s case, and said he was going in -search of the three-faced devil, and would not be content till he had -killed him.--“Thou wilt never be able to slay the devil,” said the man, -“till thou hast eaten of bread that has been baked in this oven.”--The -youth thought this no very difficult matter, took the loaves out of the -oven, but scarcely had he bitten a piece out of one of them than the -oven, the man, and the loaves all disappeared before his eyes, and the -bit he had taken swelled within him so that he nearly burst. - -The youth hadn’t gone two steps further on when he saw on the highway a -large cauldron, and the cauldron was full of wine. A man was sitting in -front of the cauldron, and he asked him the way, and told him the tale -of the devil. “Thou wilt never be able to cope with the devil,” said the -man, “if thou dost not drink of this wine.” The youth drank, but: “Woe -betide my stomach, woe betide my bowels!” for so plagued was he that he -could not have stood upright if he had not seen two bridges before him. -One of these bridges was of wood and the other was of iron, and beyond -the two bridges were two apple-trees, and one bore unripe bitter apples -and the other sweet ripe ones. - -The three-faced devil was waiting on the road to see which bridge he -would choose, the wooden or the iron one, and which apples he would eat, -the sour or the sweet ones. The youth went along the iron bridge, lest -the wooden one might break down, and plucked the sweet apples, because -the green ones were bitter. That was just what the devil wanted him to -do, and he at once sent his mother to meet the youth and entice him into -his house as he had done his sister, and it was not long before he also -found his way into the devil’s belly. - -And next in order, the middling brother, not wishing to be behind-hand, -also went in search of his kinsmen. He also could not eat of the bread -his inside also was plagued by the wine, he went across the iron bridge -and ate of the sweet apples, and so he also found his way into the -devil’s belly. Only the youngest brother who lay among the ashes -remained. His mother besought him not to forsake her in her old age. If -the others had gone he at least could remain and comfort her, she said. -But the youth would not listen. “I will not rest,” said Cinderer, “till -I have found the three lost ones, my two brothers and my sister, and -slain the devil.” Then he rose from his chimney corner, and no sooner -had he shaken the ashes from off him than such a tempest arose that all -the labourers at work in the fields left their ploughs where they stood, -and ran off as far as their eyes could see. Then the youngest son -gathered together the ploughshares and bade a blacksmith make a lance of -them, but a lance of such a kind as would fly into the air and come back -again to the hand that hurled it without breaking its iron point. The -smith made the lance, and the youth hurled it. Up into the air flew the -lance, but when it came down again on to the tip of his little finger it -broke to pieces. Then the youth shook himself still more violently in -the ashes, and again the labourers in the field fled away before the -terrible tempest which immediately arose, and the youth gathered -together a still greater multitude of ploughshares and took them to the -smith. The smith made a second lance, and that also flew up into the air -and broke to pieces when it came down again. Then the youth shook -himself in the ashes a third time, and such a hurricane arose that there -was scarce a ploughshare in the whole country-side that was not carried -away. It was only with great difficulty that the smith could make the -third lance, but when that came down on the youth’s finger it did not -break in pieces like the others. “This will do pretty well,” said the -youth, and catching up the lance he went forth into the wide world. - -He went on and on and on till he also came to the oven and the cauldron. -The men who guarded the oven and the cauldron stopped him and asked him -his business, and on finding out that he was going to kill the devil, -they told the youth that he must first eat the bread of the oven and -then drink the wine in the cauldron if he could. The son of the cinders -wished for nothing better. He ate the loaves that were baked in the -oven, drank all the wine, and further on he saw the wooden bridge and -the iron bridge, and beyond the bridges the apple-trees. - -The devil had observed the youth from afar, and his courage began to -ooze out of him when he saw the deeds of the son of the ashes. “Any fool -can go across the iron bridge,” thought the youth, “I’ll go across the -wooden one,” and as it was no very great feat to eat the sweet apples he -ate the sour ones.--“There will be no joking with this one,” said the -devil, “I see I must get ready my lance and measure my strength with -him.” - -The son of the ashes saw the devil from afar, and full of the knowledge -of his own valour went straight up to him. - -“If thou doest not homage to me, I’ll swallow thee straight off,” cried -the devil. - -“And if thou doest not homage to me, I’ll knock thee to pieces with my -lance,” replied the youth. - -“Oh ho! if we’re so brave as all that,” cried the three-faced monster, -“let us out with our lances without losing any more time.” - -So the devil out with his lance, whirled it round his head, and aimed it -with all his might at the youth, who gave but one little twist with his -finger, and crick-crack! the devil’s lance broke all to bits. “Now it’s -my turn,” cried the son of the cinders; and he hurled his lance at the -devil with such force that the devil’s first soul flew out of his -nose.--“At it again once more, if thou art a man,” yelled the devil, -with a great effort. “Not I,” cried the youth, “for my mother only bore -me once,” whereupon the devil breathed forth his last soul also. Then -the youth went on to seek the devil’s wife. Her also he chased down the -road after her husband, and when he had cut them both in two, lo and -behold! all three of his kinsfolk stood before him, so he turned back -home and took them with him. Now his brothers and sister had grown very -thirsty in the devil’s belly, and when they saw a large well by the -wayside, they asked their brother Cinder-son to draw them a little -water. Then the youths took off their girdles, tied them together, and -let down the biggest brother, but he had scarcely descended more than -half-way down when he began to shriek unmercifully: “Oh, oh, draw me up, -I have had enough,” so that they had to pull him up and let the second -brother try. And with him it fared the same way. “Now ’tis my turn,” -cried Cinder-son, “but mind you do not pull me - -[Illustration: The Cinder-Youth and the Three Damsels.--p. 91.] - -up, however loudly I holloa.” So they let down the youngest brother, and -he too began to holloa and bawl, but they paid no heed to it, and let -him down till he stood on the dry bottom of the well. A door stood -before him, he opened it, and there were three lovely damsels sitting in -a room together, and each of them shone like the moon when she is only -fourteen days old. The three damsels were amazed at the sight of the -youth. How durst he come into the devil’s cavern? they asked--and they -begged and besought him to escape as he valued dear life. But the youth -would not budge at any price, till he had got the better of this devil -also. The end of the matter was that he slew the devil and released the -three damsels, who were Sultan’s daughters, and had been stolen from -their fathers and kept here for the last seven years. The two elder -princesses he intended for his two brothers, but the youngest, who was -also the loveliest, he chose for himself, and filling the pitcher with -water he brought the damsels to the bottom of the well, right below the -mouth of it. - -First of all he let them draw up the eldest princess for his eldest -brother, then he made them pull up the middling princess for his -middling brother, and then it came to the youngest damsel’s turn. But -she desired that the youth should be drawn up at all hazards and herself -afterwards. “Thy brethren,” she explained, “will be wroth with thee for -keeping the loveliest damsel for thyself, and will not draw thee out of -the well for sheer jealousy.” - -“I’ll find my way out even then,” answered the youth, and though she -begged and besought him till there was no more soul in her, he would not -listen to her. Then the damsel drew from her breast a casket and said to -the youth: “If any mischief befall thee, open this casket. Inside it is -a piece of flint, and if thou strike it once a negro efrit will appear -before thee and fulfil all thy desires. If thy brethren leave thee in -the well, go to the palace of the devil and stand by the well. Two rams -come there every day, a black one and a white one; if thou cling fast to -the white one, thou wilt come to the surface of the earth, but if thou -cling on to the black one thou wilt sink down into the seventh world.” - -Then he let them draw up the youngest damsel, and no sooner did his -brethren see their brother’s bride and perceive that she was the -loveliest of all, than jealousy overtook them, and in their wrath they -left him in the well and went home with the damsels. - -So what else could the poor youth at the bottom of the well do than go -back to the devil’s palace, stand by the well, and wait for the two -rams? Not very long afterwards a white ram came bounding along before -him, and after that a black ram, and the youth, instead of catching -hold of the white ram, seized the black one and immediately perceived -that he was at the bottom of the seventh world.... He went on and on, he -went for a long time and he went for a short time, he went by day and he -went by night, he went up hill and down dale till he could do no more, -and stopped short by a large tree to take a little rest. But what was -that he saw before him? A large serpent was gliding up the trunk of the -tree and would have devoured all the young birds on the tree if -Cinder-son had let him. But the youth quickly drew forth his lance and -cut the serpent in two with a single blow. Then, like one who has done -his work well, he lay down at the foot of the tree, and inasmuch as he -was tired and it was warm he fell asleep at once. - -Now while he slept the emerald Anka, who is the mother of the birds and -the Padishah of the Peris, passed by that way, and when she saw the -sleeping youth she fancied him to be her enemy, who was wont to destroy -her children year by year. She was about to cut him to pieces, when the -birds whispered to her not to hurt the youth, because he had killed -their enemy the serpent. It was only then that the Anka perceived the -two halves of the serpent. And now, lest anything should harm the -sleeping youth, she hopped round and round him, and touched him softly -and sheltered him with both her wings lest the sun should scorch him, -and when he awoke from his sleep the wing of the bird was spread over -him like a tent. And now the Anka approached him and said she would fain -reward him for his good deed, and he might make a request of her. Then -replied the youth: “I would fain get to the surface of the earth again.” - -“Be it so,” said the emerald bird, “but first thou must get forty tons -of ox-flesh and forty pitchers of water and sit on my back with them, so -that when I say ‘Gik!’ thou mayest give me to eat, and when I say ‘Gak!’ -thou mayest give me to drink.” - -Then the youth bethought him of his casket, took the flint-stone out of -it, and struck it once, and immediately a black efrit with a mouth as -big as the world stood before him and said: “What dost thou command, my -Sultan?”--“Forty tons of ox-flesh, and forty pitchers of water,” said -the youth. In a short time the efrit brought the flesh and the water, -and the youth packed it all up together and mounted on the wing of the -bird. Off they went, and whenever the Anka cried “Gik!” he gave her -flesh, and whenever she cried “Gak!” he gave her water. They flew from -one layer of worlds to the next, till in a short time they got above the -surface of the earth again, and he dismounted from the bird’s back and -said to her: “Wait here a while, and in a short time I shall be back.” - -Then the youth took out his coffer, struck the flint-stone, and bade the -black bounding efrit get him tidings of the three sisters. In a short -time the efrit re-appeared with the three damsels, who were preparing a -banquet for the brothers. He made them all sit on the bird’s back, took -with him again forty tons of ox-flesh and forty pitchers of water, and -away they all went to the land of the three damsels. Every time the Anka -said “Gik!” he gave her flesh to eat, and every time she said “Gak!” he -gave her water to drink. But as the youth now had three with him besides -himself, it came to pass that the flesh ran short, so that when the Anka -said “Gik!” once more he had nothing to give her. Then the youth drew -his knife, cut a piece of flesh out of his thigh, and stuffed it into -the bird’s mouth.[10] The Anka perceived that it was human flesh and did -not eat it, but kept it in her mouth, and when they had reached the -realm of the three damsels, the bird told him that he might now go in -peace. - -But the poor youth could not move a step because of the smart in his -leg. “Thou go on first,” he said to the bird, “but I will first rest me -here a while.” - -“Nay, but thou art a droll rogue,” quoth the bird, and with that it spit -out of its mouth the piece of human flesh and put it back in its proper -place just as if it had never been cut out. - -The whole city was amazed at the sight of the return of the Sultan’s -daughters. The old Padishah could scarce believe his own eyes. He looked -and looked and then he embraced the first princess; he looked and looked -and then he kissed the second princess, and when they had told him the -story he gave his whole kingdom and his three daughters to Cinder-son. -Then the youth sent for his mother and his sister, and they all sat down -to the banquet together. Moreover he found his sister a husband who was -the son of the Vizier, and for forty days and forty nights they were -full of joyfulness. - - - - -THE PIECE OF LIVER - - -Once upon a time there was an old woman who felt she would very much -like to have a piece of liver, so she gave a girl two or three pence, -and bade her buy the liver in the market-place, wash it clean in the -pond, and then bring it home. So the girl went to the market-place, -bought the liver, and took it to the pond to wash it; and while she was -washing it a stork popped down, snatched the liver out of her hand, and -flew away with it. Then the girl cried: “Stork, stork! give me back my -liver, that I may take it to my mammy, lest my mammy beat me!”--“If thou -wilt fetch me a barley-ear instead of it, I’ll give thee back thy -liver,” said the stork. So the girl went to the straw-stalk, and said: -“Straw-stalk, straw-stalk! give me a barley-ear, that I may give the -barley-ear to the stork, that the stork may give me back my liver, that -I may give the liver to my mammy.”--“If thou wilt pray Allah for rain, -thou shalt have a little barley-ear,” said the straw-stalk. But while -she was beginning her prayer, saying: “Oh, Allah, give me rain, that I -may give the rain to the straw-stalk, that the straw-stalk may give me a -barley-ear, that I may give the barley-ear to the stork, that the stork -may give me back my liver, that I may give the liver to my mammy,” while -she was praying thus, up came a man to her and said that without a -censer no prayers could ever get to heaven, so she must go to the -bazaar-keeper for a censer. - -So she went to the bazaar-keeper, and cried: “Bazaar-keeper, -bazaar-keeper! give me a censer, that I may burn incense before Allah, -that Allah may give me rain, that I may give rain to the straw-stalk, -that the straw-stalk may give me a barley-ear, that I may give the -barley-ear to the stork, that the stork may give me back my liver, that -I may give my liver to my mammy!” - -“I’ll give it thee,” said the bazaar-keeper, “if thou wilt bring me a -boot from the cobbler.” - -So the girl went to the cobbler, and said to him: “Cobbler, cobbler! -give me a boot, that I may give the boot to the bazaar-keeper, that the -bazaar-keeper may give me a censer, that I may burn incense before -Allah, that Allah may give me rain, that I may give rain to the -straw-stalk, that the straw-stalk may give me a barley-ear, that I may -give the barley-ear to the stork, that the stork may give me back the -liver, that I may give the liver to my mammy.” - -But the cobbler said: “If thou fetch me a hide thou shalt have a boot -for it.” - -So the girl went to the tanner, and said: “Tanner, tanner! give me a -hide, that I may give the hide to the cobbler, that the cobbler may give -me a boot, that I may give the boot to the bazaar-keeper, that the -bazaar-keeper may give me a censer, that I may burn incense before -Allah, that Allah may give me rain, that I may give the rain to the -straw-stalk, that the straw-stalk may give me a barley-ear, that I may -give the barley-ear to the stork, that the stork may give me back my -liver, that I may give the liver to my mammy.” - -“If thou gettest a hide from the ox, thou wilt get a hide fit for making -a boot,” said the tanner. - -So the girl went to the ox, and said to it: “Ox, ox! give me a hide, -that I may give the hide to the tanner, that the tanner may give me -boot-leather, that I may give the boot-leather to the cobbler, that the -cobbler may give me a boot, that I may give the boot to the -bazaar-keeper, that the bazaar-keeper may give me a censer, that I may -burn incense before Allah, that Allah may give me rain, that I may give -the rain to the straw-stalk, that the straw-stalk may give me a -barley-ear, that I may give the barley-ear to the stork, that the stork -may give me back my liver, that I may give the liver to my mammy.” - -The ox said: “If thou get me straw I’ll give thee a hide for it!” - -So the girl went to the farmer, and said to him: “Farmer, farmer! give -me straw, that I may give the straw to the ox, that the ox may give me a -hide, that I may give the hide to the tanner, that the tanner may give -me shoe-leather, that I may give the shoe-leather to the cobbler, that -the cobbler may give me a shoe, that I may give the shoe to the -bazaar-keeper, that the bazaar-keeper may give me a censer, that I may -burn incense before Allah, that Allah may give me rain, that I may give -rain to the straw-stalk, that the straw-stalk may give me a barley-ear, -that I may give the barley-ear to the stork, that the stork may give me -back my liver, that I may give the liver to my mammy.” - -The farmer said to the girl: “I’ll give thee the straw if thou give me a -kiss.” - -“Well,” thought the girl to herself, “a kiss is but a little matter if -it free me from all this bother.” So she went up to the farmer and -kissed him, and the farmer gave her straw for the kiss. She took the -straw to the ox, and the ox gave her a hide for the straw. She took the -hide to the tanner, and the tanner gave her shoe-leather. She took the -shoe-leather to the cobbler, and the cobbler gave her a shoe for it. She -took the shoe to the bazaar-keeper, and the bazaar-keeper gave her a -censer. She lit the censer and cried: “Oh, Allah! give me rain, that I -may give the rain to the straw-stalk, that the straw-stalk may give me a -barley-ear, that I may give the barley-ear to the stork, that the stork -may give me back my liver, that I may give the liver to my mammy.” Then -Allah gave her rain, and she gave the rain to the straw-stalk, and the -straw-stalk gave her a barley-ear, and she gave the barley-ear to the -stork, and the stork gave her back her liver, and she gave the liver to -her mammy, and her mammy cooked the liver and ate it. - - - - -THE MAGIC TURBAN, THE MAGIC WHIP, AND THE MAGIC CARPET - - -Once upon a time that was no time there were two brothers. Their father -and mother had died and divided all their property between them. The -elder brother opened a shop, but the younger brother, who was but a -feather-brain, idled about and did nothing; so that at last, what with -eating and drinking and gadding abroad, the day came when he had no more -money left. Then he went to his elder brother and begged a copper or two -of him, and when that all was spent he came to him again, and so he -continued to live upon him. - -At last the elder brother began to grow tired of this waste, but seeing -that he could not be quit of his younger brother, he turned all his -possessions into sequins, and embarked on a ship in order to go into -another kingdom. The younger brother, however, had got wind of it, and -before the ship started he managed to creep on board and conceal -himself without any one observing him. The elder brother suspected that -if the younger one heard of his departure he would be sure to follow -after, so he took good care not to show himself on deck. But scarcely -had they unfurled the sails when the two brothers came face to face, and -the elder brother found himself saddled with his younger brother again. - -The elder brother was not a little angry, but what was the use of -that!--for the ship did not stop till it came to Egypt. There the elder -brother said to the younger brother: “Thou stay here, and I will go and -get two mules that we may go on further.” The youth sat down on the -shore and waited for his brother, and waited, but waited in vain. “I -think I had better look for him,” thought he, and up he got and went -after his elder brother. - -He went on and on and on, he went a short distance and he went a long -distance, six months was he crossing a field; but once as he looked over -his shoulder, he saw that for all his walking he walked no further than -a barley-stalk reaches. Then he strode still more, he strode still -further, he strode for half a year continuously; he kept plucking -violets as he went along, and as he went striding, striding, his feet -struck upon a hill, and there he saw three youths quarrelling with one -another about something. He soon made a fourth, and asked them what they -were tussling about. - -“We are the children of one father,” said the youngest of them, “and our -father has just died and left us, by way of inheritance, a turban, a -whip, and a carpet. Whoever puts the turban on his head is hidden from -mortal eyes. Whoever extends himself on the carpet and strikes it once -with the whip can fly far away, after the manner of birds; and we are -eternally quarrelling among ourselves as to whose shall be the turban, -whose the whip, and whose the carpet.” - -“All three of them must belong to one of us,” cried they all. “They are -mine, because I am the biggest,” said one.--“They are mine by right, -because I am the middling-sized brother,” cried the second.--“They are -mine, because I am the smallest,” cried the third. From words they -speedily came to blows, so that it was as much as the youth could do to -keep them apart. - -“You can’t settle it like that,” said he; “I’ll tell you what we’ll do. -I’ll make an arrow from this little piece of wood, and shoot it off. You -run after it, and he who brings it to me here soonest shall have all -three things.” Away flew the dart, and after it pelted the three -brothers, helter-skelter; but the wise youth knew a trick worth two of -that, for he stuck the turban on his head, sat down on the carpet, -tapped it once with the whip, and cried: “Hipp--hopp! let me be where my -elder brother is!” and when he awoke a large city lay before him. - -He had scarce taken more than a couple of steps through the street, when -the Padishah’s herald came along, and proclaimed to the inhabitants of -the town that the Sultan’s daughter disappeared every night from the -palace. Whoever could find out what became of her should receive the -damsel and half the kingdom. “Here am I!” cried the youth, “lead me to -the Padishah, and if I don’t find out, let them take my head!” - -So they brought the fool into the palace, and in the evening there lay -the Sultan’s daughter watching, with her eyes half-closed, all that was -going on. The damsel was only waiting for him to go to sleep, and -presently she stuck a needle into her heel, took the candle with her, -lest the youth should awake, and went out by a side door. - -The youth had his turban on his head in a trice, and no sooner had he -popped out of the same door than he saw a black efrit standing there -with a golden buckler on his head, and on the buckler sat the Sultan’s -daughter, and they were just on the point of starting off. The lad was -not such a fool as to fancy that he could keep up with them by himself, -so he also leaped on to the buckler, and very nearly upset the pair of -them in consequence. The efrit was alarmed, and asked the damsel in -Allah’s name what she was about, as they were within a hair’s-breadth of -falling. “I never moved,” said the damsel; “I am sitting on the buckler -just as you put me there.” - -The black efrit had scarcely taken a couple of steps, when he felt that -the buckler was unusually heavy. The youth’s turban naturally made him -invisible, so the efrit turned to the damsel and said: “My Sultana, thou -art so heavy to-day that I all but break down beneath thee!”--“Darling -Lala!” replied the girl, “thou art very odd to-night, for I am neither -bigger nor smaller than I was yesterday.” - -Shaking his head the black efrit pursued his way, and they went on and -on till they came to a wondrously beautiful garden, where the trees were -made of nothing but silver and diamonds. The youth broke off a twig and -put it in his pocket, when straightway the trees began to sigh and weep -and say: “There’s a child of man here who tortures us! there’s a child -of man here who tortures us!” - -The efrit and the damsel looked at each other. “They sent a youth in to -me to-day,” said the damsel, “maybe his soul is pursuing us.” - -Then they went on still further, till they came to another garden, where -every tree was sparkling with gold and precious stones. Here too the -youth broke off a twig and shoved it into his pocket, and immediately -the earth and the sky shook, and the rustling of the trees said: -“There’s a child of man here torturing us, there’s a child of man here -torturing us,” so that both he and the damsel very nearly fell from the -buckler in their fright. Not even the efrit knew what to make of it. - -After that they came to a bridge, and beyond the bridge was a fairy -palace, and there an army of slaves awaited the damsel, and with their -hands straight down by their sides they bowed down before her till their -foreheads touched the ground. The Sultan’s daughter dismounted from the -efrit’s head, the youth also leaped down; and when they brought the -princess a pair of slippers covered with diamonds and precious stones, -the youth snatched one of them away, and put it in his pocket. The girl -put on one of the slippers, but being unable to find the other, sent for -another pair, when, presto! one of these also disappeared. At this the -damsel was so annoyed that she walked on without slippers; but the -youth, with the turban on his head and the whip and the carpet in his -hand, followed her everywhere like her shadow. So the damsel went on -before, and he followed her into a room, and there he saw the black -Peri, one of whose lips touched the sky, while the other lip swept the -ground. He angrily asked the damsel where she had been all the time, and -why she hadn’t come sooner. The damsel told him about the youth who had -arrived the evening before, and about what had happened on the way, but -the Peri comforted her by saying that the whole thing was fancy, and she -was not to trouble herself about it any more. After that he sat down -with the damsel, and ordered a slave to bring them sherbet. A black -slave brought the noble drink in a lovely diamond cup, but just as he -was handing it to the Sultan’s daughter the invisible youth gave the -hand of the slave such a wrench that he dropped and broke the cup to -pieces. A piece of this also the youth concealed in his pocket. - -“Now didn’t I say that something was wrong?” cried the Sultan’s -daughter. “I want no sherbet nor anything else, and I think I had better -get back again as soon as possible.”--“Tush! tush!” said the efrit, and -he ordered other slaves to bring them something to eat. So they brought -a little table covered with many dishes, and they began to eat together; -whereupon the hungry youth also set to work, and the viands disappeared -as if three were eating instead of two. - -And the black Peri himself began to be a little impatient, when not only -the food but also the forks and spoons began to disappear, and he said -to his sweetheart, the Sultan’s daughter, that perhaps it would be as -well if she did make haste home again. First of all the black efrit -wanted to kiss the girl, but the youth slipped in between them, pulled -them asunder, and one of them fell to the right and the other to the -left. They both turned pale, called the Lala with his buckler, the -damsel sat upon it, and away they went. But the youth took down a sword -from the wall, bared his arm, and with one blow he chopped off the head -of the black Peri. No sooner had his head rolled from his shoulders than -the heavens roared so terribly, and the earth groaned so horribly, and a -voice cried so mightily: “Woe to us, a child of man hath slain our -king!” that the terrified youth knew not whether he stood on his head or -his heels. - -He seized his carpet, sat upon it, gave it one blow with his whip, and -when the Sultan’s daughter returned to the palace, there she found the -youth snoring in his room. “Oh, thou wretched bald-pate,” cried the -damsel viciously, “what a night I’ve had of it. So much the worse for -thee!” Then she took out a needle and pricked the youth in the heel, and -because he never stirred she fancied he was asleep, and lay down to -sleep herself also. - -Next morning when she awoke she bade the youth prepare for death, as his -last hour had come. “Nay,” replied he, “not to thee do I owe an account -of myself; let us both come before the Padishah.” - -Then they led him before the father of the damsel, but he said he would -only tell them what had happened in the night if they called all the -people of the town together. “In that way I shall find my brother, -perhaps,” thought he. So the town-crier called all the people together, -and the youth stood on a high daïs beside the Padishah and the Sultana, -and began to tell them the whole story, from the efrit’s buckler to the -Peri king. “Believe him not, my lord Padishah and father; he lies, my -lord father and Padishah!” stammered the damsel; whereupon the youth -drew from his pocket the diamond twig, the twig of gems, the golden -slipper, the precious spoons and forks. Then he went on to tell them of -the death of the black Peri, when all at once he caught sight of his -elder brother, whom he had been searching for so long. He had now -neither eyes nor ears for anything else, but leaping off the daïs, he -forced his way on and on through the crowd to his brother, till they -both came together. - -Then the elder brother told _their_ story, while the younger brother -begged the Padishah to give his daughter and half the kingdom to his -elder brother. He was quite content, he said, with the magic turban and -the magic whip and carpet to the day of his death, if only he might live -close to his elder brother. - -But the Sultan’s daughter rejoiced most of all when she heard of the -death of the Peri king. He had carried her off by force from her room -one day, and so enchanted her with his power that she had been unable to -set herself free. In her joy she agreed that the youth’s elder brother -should be her lord; and they made a great banquet, at which they feasted -forty days and forty nights with one another. I also was there, and I -begged so much pilaw[11] from the cook, and I got so much in the palm of -my hand, that I limp to this day. - - - - -THE WIND-DEMON - - -There was once upon a time an old Padishah who had three sons and three -daughters. One day the old man fell ill, and though they called all the -leeches together to help him, his disease would not take a turn for the -better. “I already belong to Death,” he thought, and calling to him his -sons and daughters, he thus addressed them: “If I die, he among you -shall be Padishah who watches three nights at my tomb. As for my -daughters, I give them to him who first comes to woo them.” And with -that he died, and was buried as became a Padishah. - -Now as the realm could have a Padishah in no other way, the eldest son -went to his father’s tomb and sat there for half the night, said his -prayers upon his carpet, and awaited the dawn. But all at once a -horrible din arose in the midst of the darkness, and so frightened was -he that he snatched up his slippers and never stopped till he got home. -The next night the middling son also went out to the tomb, and he also -sat there for half the night, but no sooner did he hear the great din -than he too caught up his slippers and hurried off homewards. So it now -came to the turn of the third and youngest son. - -The third son took his sword, stuck it in his girdle, and went off to -the tomb. Sure enough, when he had sat there till midnight, he heard the -horrible din, and so horrible was it that the very earth trembled. The -youth pulled himself together, went straight towards the spot from -whence the noise came loudest, and behold! right in front of him stood a -huge dragon. Drawing his sword, the youth fell upon the dragon so -furiously that at last the monster had scarcely strength enough left to -say: “If thou art a man, put thy heel upon me and strike me with thy -sword but once more!” - -“Not I,” cried the King’s son, “my mother only bore me into the world -once,” whereupon the dragon yielded up its filthy soul. The King’s son -would have cut off the beast’s ears and nose, but he could not see very -well in the dark, and began groping about for them, when all at once he -saw afar off a little shining light. He went straight towards it, and -there in the midst of the brightness he saw an old man. Two globes were -in his hand, one black and the other white; the black globe he was -turning round and round, and from the white globe proceeded the light. - -“What art thou doing, old father?” asked the King’s son. - -“Alas! my son,” replied the old man, “my business is my bane, I hold -fast the nights and let go the days.”--“Alas! my father,” replied the -King’s son, “my task is even greater than thine.” With that he tied -together the old man’s arms, so that he might not let go the days, and -went on still further to seek the light. He went on and on till he came -to the foot of a castle wall, and forty men were taking counsel together -beneath it. - -“What’s the matter?” inquired the King’s son.--“We should like to go -into the castle to steal the treasure,” said the forty men, “but we -don’t know how.” - -“I would very soon help you if you only gave me a little light,” said -the King’s son. This the robbers readily promised to do, and after that -he took a packet of nails, knocked them into the castle wall, row after -row, right up to the top, clambered up himself, and then shouted down to -them: “Now you come up one by one, just as I have done.” - -So the robbers caught hold of the nails and began to clamber up, one -after another, the whole forty of them. But the youth was not idle. He -drew his sword, and the moment each one of them reached the top, he -chopped off his head and pitched his body into the courtyard, and so he -did to the whole forty. Then he leaped down into the courtyard himself, -and there right before him was a beautiful palace; and no sooner had he -opened the door than a serpent glided past him, and crawled up a column -close by the staircase. The youth drew his sword to strike the serpent; -he struck and cut the serpent in two, but his sword remained in the -stone wall, and he forgot to draw it out again. Then he mounted the -staircase and went into a room, and there lay a lovely damsel asleep. So -he went out again, closed the door very softly behind him, and ascended -to the second flight, and went into a room there, and before him lay a -still lovelier damsel on a bed. This door he also closed, and went up to -the third and topmost flight, and opened a door there also, and lo! the -whole room was piled up with nothing but steel, and such a splendid -damsel lay asleep there that if the King’s son had had a thousand -hearts, he would have loved her with them all. This door he also closed, -remounted the castle wall, re-descended on the other side by means of -the nails, which he took out as he descended, and so reached the ground -again. Then he went straight up to the old man whose arms he had tied -together. “Oh, my son!” cried he from afar, “thou hast remained a long -time away. Everybody’s side will be aching from so much lying down.” -Then the youth untied his arms, the old man let the white globes of day -move round again, and the youth went up to the dragon, cut off its ears -and nose, and put them in his knapsack. Then he went back to the palace, -and when he drew nigh to it he found that they had made his eldest -brother Padishah. However, he let it be and said nothing. - -Not very long afterwards a lion came to the palace, and went straight up -to the Padishah. “What dost thou want?” asked the Padishah. “I want thy -eldest sister to wife,” replied the lion. “I give not my sister to a -brute beast,” said the Padishah, and forthwith they began chasing the -lion away; but now the King’s son appeared and said: “Such was not our -father’s will, but he said we were to give her to whomsoever asked for -her.” With that they brought the damsel and gave her to the lion, and he -took her and was gone. - -The next day came a tiger, and demanded the middling daughter from the -Padishah. The two elder brethren would by no means give her up, but -again the youngest brother insisted that they should do so, as it was -their father’s wish. So they sent for the damsel and gave her to the -tiger. - -On the third day a bird alighted in the palace, and said that he must -have the youngest of the Sultan’s daughters. The Padishah and the -second brother were again unwilling to agree to it, but the youngest -brother stood them out that the bird ought to be allowed to fly back -with his sister. Now this bird was the Padishah of the Peris, the -emerald Anka. But now let us see what happened in that castle of which -we have before spoken. - -In this castle there dwelt just about this time a Padishah and his three -daughters. Rising one morning and going out, he saw a man walking in the -palace. He went out into the courtyard, and saw a serpent cut in two on -the staircase, and a sword sticking in the stone column, and going on -still further, and searching in all directions, he perceived the bodies -of the forty robbers in his castle moat. “Not an enemy, but only the -hand of a friend could have done this,” thought he; “and he has saved me -from the robbers and the serpent. The sword is my good friend’s, but -where is the sword’s master?” And he took counsel with his Vizier. - -“Oh, we’ll soon get to the bottom of that,” said the Vizier. “Let us -make a great bath, and invite every one to come and bathe in it for -nothing. We will watch carefully each single man, and whosoever has a -sheath without a sword will be the man who has saved us.” And the -Padishah did so. He made ready a big bath, and the whole realm came and -bathed in it. - -Next day the Vizier said to him: “Every one has been here to bathe save -only the King’s three sons, they still remain behind.” Then the Padishah -sent word to the King’s three sons to come and bathe, and looking -closely at their garments, he perceived that the youngest of the three -wore a sheath without a sword. - -Then the Padishah called the King’s son to him and said: “Great is the -good thou hast done to me, ask me what thou wilt for it!”--“I ask nought -from thee,” replied the King’s son, “but thy youngest daughter.” - -“Alas! my son, ask me anything but that,” sighed the Padishah. “Ask my -crown, my kingdom, and I’ll give them to thee, but my daughter I cannot -give thee.” - -“If thou givest me thy daughter I will take her,” replied the King’s -son, “but nought else will I take from thy hand.” - -“My son,” groaned the Padishah, “I will give thee my eldest daughter, -I’ll give thee my second daughter, nay, I’ll give thee the pair of them -if thou wilt. But my youngest daughter has a deadly enemy, the -Wind-Demon. Because I would not give her to him, I must needs fence her -room about with walls of steel, lest any of the devil race draw near to -her. For the Wind-Demon is such a terrible monster that eye cannot see -nor dart overtake him; like the tempest he flies, and his coming is like -the coming of a whirlwind.” - -But whatever the Padishah might say to turn him from seeking after the -damsel fell on deaf ears. He begged and pleaded so hard for the damsel -that the Padishah was wearied by his much speaking, and promised him the -damsel, nay they held the bridal banquet. The two elder brothers -received the two elder damsels, and returned to their kingdom, but the -youngest brother remained behind to guard his wife against the -Wind-Demon. - -Time came and went, and the King’s son avoided the light of day for the -sake of his lovely Sultana. One day, however, the King’s son said to his -wife: “Behold now, my Sultana, all this time I have never moved from thy -side, methinks I will go a-hunting, though it only be for a little hour -or so.” - -“Alas! my King,” replied his wife, “if thou dost depart from me, I know -that thou wilt never see me more.” But as he begged her for leave again -and again, and promised to be back again immediately, his wife -consented. Then he took his weapons and went forth into the forest. - -Now the Wind-Demon had been awaiting this chance all along. He feared -the famous prince, and durst not snatch his wife from his arms; but as -soon as ever the King’s son had put his foot out of doors, the -Wind-Demon came in and vanished with the wife of the King’s son. - -Not very long afterwards the King’s son came back, and could find his -wife nowhere. He went to the Padishah to seek her, and came back again, -for it was certain that the Demon must have taken her, no other living -soul could have got near her. Bitterly did he weep, fiercely did he dash -himself against the floor, but then he quickly rose up again, took -horse, and galloped away into the wide world, determined to find either -death or his consort. - -He went on for days, he went on for weeks, in his trouble and anguish he -gave himself no rest. All at once a palace sprang up before him, but it -seemed to him like a mirage, which baffles the eye that looks upon it. -It was the palace of his eldest sister. The damsel was just then looking -out of the window, and lo! she caught sight of a man wandering there -where never a bird had flown and never a caravan had travelled. Then she -recognized him as her brother, and so great was their mutual joy that -they could not come to words for hugging and kissing. - -Towards evening the damsel said to the King’s son: “The lion will be -here shortly, and although he is very good to me, he is only a brute -beast for all that, and may do thee a mischief.” And she took her -brother and hid him. - -[Illustration: The King’s Son and the Lion.--p. 121.] - -In the evening the lion came home sure enough, and when they had sat -down together and begun to talk, the girl asked him what he would do if -any of her brothers should chance to come there. “If the eldest were to -come,” said the lion, “I would strike him dead with one blow, if the -second came I would slay him also, but if the youngest came, I would let -him go to sleep on my paws if he liked.” - -“Then he has come,” said his wife. - -“Where is he--where is he? Bring him out, let me see him!” cried the -lion; and when the King’s son appeared, the lion did not know what to do -with himself for joy. Then they began to talk, and the lion asked him -why he had come there, and whither he was going. The youth told him what -had happened, and said he was going to seek the Wind-Demon. - -“I know but the rumour of him,” said the lion; “but take my word for it, -thou hadst better have nothing to do with him, for there is none that -can cope with the Wind-Demon.” But the King’s son would not listen to -reason, remained there that night, and next morning mounted his horse -again. The lion accompanied him to show him the right way, and then they -parted, one going to the right and the other to the left. - -Again he went on and on, till he saw another palace, and this was the -palace of his middling sister. The damsel saw from the window that a -man was on the road, and no sooner did she recognize him than she rushed -out to meet him, and led him into the palace. Full of joy, they -conversed together till the evening, and then the damsel said to the -youth: “In a short time my tiger-husband will be here, I’ll hide thee -from him, lest a mischief befall thee,” and she took her brother and hid -him. - -In the evening the tiger came home, and while they talked together his -wife asked him what he would do if any of her brothers should chance to -look in upon them. - -“If the elder were to come,” said the tiger, “I would strike them dead, -but if the youngest came, I would go down on my knees before him.” -Whereupon the damsel called to her youngest brother, the King’s son, to -come forth. The tiger was overjoyed to see him, welcomed him as a -brother, and asked him whence he came and whither he was going. Then the -King’s son told the tiger of all his trouble, and asked him whether he -knew the Wind-Demon. “Only by hearsay,” replied the tiger; and then he -tried to persuade the King’s son not to go, for the danger was great. -But the red dawn had no sooner appeared than the King’s son was ready to -set out again. The tiger showed him the way, and the one went back and -the other went forward. - -He pursued his way, and it was endlessly long, but time passes quickly -in a fairy tale, and at last a dark object stood out against him. “What -can it be?” thought he, but when he drew nearer he saw that it was a -palace. It was the abode of his youngest sister. The damsel was just -then looking out of the window. “Alas! my brother!” cried she, and very -nearly fell out of the window for pure joy. Then she led him into the -house. The youth rejoiced that he had found all his sisters so well, but -the lack of his wife was still a weight upon his heart. - -Now when evening was drawing nigh the girl said to her brother: “My -bird-husband will be here anon; conceal thyself from him, for if he see -thee he will tear thy heart out,” and with that she took her brother and -hid him. - -And now there was a great clapping of wings, and the Anka had scarce -rested a while when his wife asked him what he would do if any of her -brothers came to see them. - -“As to the two elder,” said the bird, “I would take them in my mouth, -fly up to the sky with them, and cast them down from thence; but if the -youngest were to come, I would let him sit down on my wings and go to -sleep there if he liked.” Then the girl called forth her youngest -brother. - -“Alas! my dear little child,” cried the bird, “how didst thou find thy -way hither? Wert thou not afraid of the long journey?” - -The youth told what had happened to him, and asked the Anka whether he -could help him to get to the Wind-Demon. - -“It is no easy matter,” said the bird; “but even if thou couldst get to -him, I would counsel thee to let it alone and stay rather among us.” - -“Not I,” replied the resolute youth; “I will either release my wife or -perish there!” Then the Anka saw that he could not turn him from his -purpose, and began to explain to him all about the palace of the -Wind-Demon. “He is now asleep,” said the Anka, “and thou mayest be able -to carry off thy wife; but if he should awake and see thee, he will -without doubt grind thee to atoms. Guard against him thou cannot, for -eye cannot see and fire cannot harm him, so look well to thyself!” - -So next day the youth set out on his journey, and when he had gone on -and on for a long, long time, he saw before him a vast palace that had -neither door nor chimney, nor length nor breadth. It was the palace of -the Wind-Demon. His wife chanced just then to be sitting at the window, -and when she saw her husband she leaped clean out of the window to him. -The King’s son caught his wife in his arms, and there were no bounds to -their joy and their tears, till at last the girl bethought her of the -terrible demon. - -“This is now the third day that he has slept,” cried she; “let us hasten -away before the fourth day is spent also.” So they mounted, whipped up -their horses, and were already well on their way when the Wind-Demon -awoke on the fourth day. Then he went to the girl’s door and bade her -open, that he might at least see her face for a brief moment. He waited, -but he got no answer. Then, auguring some evil, he beat in the door, and -lo! the place where the damsel should have lain was cold. - -“So-ho, Prince Mehmed!” cried he, “thou hast come here, eh, and stolen -away my Sultana? Well, wait a while! go thy way, whip up thy fleet -steed! for I’ll catch thee up in the long run.” And with that he sat -down at his ease, drank his coffee, smoked his chibook, and then rose up -and went after them. - -Meanwhile the King’s son was galloping off with the girl with all his -might, when all at once the girl felt the demon’s breath, and cried out -in her terror: “Alas, my King, the Wind-Demon is here!” Like a whirlwind -the invisible monster was upon them, caught up the youth, tore off his -arms and legs, and smashed his skull and all his bones till there was -not a bit of him left. - -The damsel began to weep bitterly. “Even if thou hast killed him,” -sobbed she, “let me at least gather together his bones and pile them up -somewhere, for if thou suffer it, I would fain bury him.”--“I care not -what thou dost with his bones!” cried the Demon. - -So the damsel took the bones of the King’s son, piled them up together, -kissed the horse between the eyes, placed the bones on his saddle, and -whispered in his ear: “Take these bones, my good steed, take them to the -proper place.” Then the Demon took the girl and led her back to the -palace, for the power of her beauty was so great that it always kept the -Demon close to her. Into her presence, indeed, she never suffered the -monster to come. At the door of her chamber he had to stop, but he was -allowed to show himself to her now and then. - -Meanwhile the good steed galloped away with the youth’s bones till he -stopped at the door of the palace of the youngest sister, and then he -neighed and neighed till the damsel heard him. She rushed out to the -horse, and when she perceived the knapsack, and in the knapsack the -bones of her brother, she began to weep bitterly, and dashed herself -against the ground as if she would have dashed herself to pieces. She -could hardly wait for her lord the Anka to come home. At last there was -a sound of mighty wings, and the Padishah of the Birds, the emerald -Anka, came home, and when he saw the scattered bones of the King’s son -in the basket, he called together all the birds of the air and asked -them, saying: “Which of you goes to the Garden of Paradise?” - -“An old owl is the only one that goes there,” said the birds, “and he -has now grown so old that he has no more strength left for such a -journey.” - -Then the Anka sent a bird to bring the owl on his back. The bird flew -away, and in a very short time was back again, with the aged owl on his -back. - -“Well, my father,” said the Bird-Padishah, “hast thou ever been in the -Garden of Paradise?” - -“Yes, my little son,” croaked the aged owl, “a long, long time ago, -twelve years or more, and I haven’t been there since.” - -“Well, if thou hast been there,” said the Anka, “go again now, and bring -me from thence a little glass of water.” The old owl kept on saying that -it was a long, long way for him to go, and that he would never be able -to hold out the whole way. The Anka would not listen to him, but perched -him upon a bird’s back, and the twain flew into the Garden of Paradise, -drew a glass of water, and returned to the Anka’s palace. - -Then the Anka took the youth’s bones and began to put them together. The -arms, the legs, the head, the thighs, everything he put in its proper -place; and when he had sprinkled it all with the water, the youth fell -a-gaping, as if he had been asleep and was just coming to himself again. -The youth looked all about him, and asked the Anka where he was, and how -he came there. - -“Didn’t I say that the Wind-Demon would twist thee round his little -finger?” replied the Anka. “He ground all thy bones and sinews to dust, -and we have only just now picked them all out of the basket. But now -thou hadst better leave the matter alone, for if thou gettest once more -into the clutches of this demon, I know that we shall never be able to -put thee together again.” - -But the youth was not content to do this, but said he would go seek his -consort a second time. - -“Well, if thou art bent on going at any price,” counselled the Anka, “go -first to thy wife and ask her if she knows the Demon’s talisman. If only -thou canst get hold of that, even the Wind-Demon will be in thy power.” - -So again the King’s son took horse, again he went right up to the -Demon’s palace, and as the Demon was dreaming dreams just then, the -youth was able to find and converse with his wife. After they had -rejoiced with a great joy at the sight of each other, the youth told the -lady to discover the secret of the Demon’s talisman, and win it by -wheedling words and soft caresses if she could get at it no other way. -Meanwhile the youth hid himself in the neighbouring mountain, and there -awaited the good news. - -When the Wind-Demon awoke from his forty days’ sleep he again presented -himself at the damsel’s door. “Depart from before my eyes,” cried the -girl. “Here hast thou been doing nothing but sleep these forty days, so -that life has been a loathsome thing to me all the while.” - -The Demon rejoiced that he was allowed to be in the room along with the -damsel, and in his happiness asked her what he should give her to help -her to while away the time. - -“What canst thou give me,” said the girl, “seeing that thou thyself art -but wind? Now if at least thou hadst a talisman, that, at any rate, -would be something to while away the time with.” - -“Alas! my Sultana,” replied the Demon, “my talisman is far away, in the -uttermost ends of the earth, and one cannot fetch it hither in a little -instant. If only we had some such brave man as thy Mehmed was, he -perhaps might be able to go for it.” - -The damsel was now more curious than ever about the talisman, and she -coaxed and coaxed till at last she persuaded the Demon to tell her about -the talisman, but not till she had granted his request that he might sit -down quite close to her. The damsel could not refuse him that happiness, -so he sat down beside her, and breathed into her ear the secret of the -talisman. - -“On the surface of the seventh layer of sea,” began the Demon, “there is -an island, on that island an ox is grazing, in the belly of that ox -there is a golden cage, and in that cage there is a white dove. That -little dove is my talisman.” - -“But how can one get to that island?” inquired the Sultana. - -“I’ll tell thee,” said the Demon. “Opposite to the palace of the emerald -Anka is a huge mountain, and on the top of that mountain is a spring. -Every morning forty sea-horses come to drink at that spring. If any one -can be found to catch one of these horses by the leg (but only while he -is drinking the water), bridle him, saddle him, and then leap on his -back, he will be able to go wherever he likes. The sea-horse will say to -him: ‘What dost thou command, my sweet master?’ and will carry him -whithersoever he bids him.” - -“What good will the talisman be to me if I cannot get near it?” said the -girl. With that she drove the Demon from the room, and when the time of -his slumber arrived, she hastened with the news to her lord. Then the -King’s son made great haste, leaped on his horse, hastened to the palace -of his youngest sister, and told the matter to the Anka. - -Early next morning the Anka arose, called five birds, and said to them: -“Lead the King’s son to the spring on the mountain beyond, and wait -there till the sea-horses come up. Forty steeds will appear by the -running water, and when they begin to drink, seize one of them, bridle -and saddle it, and put the King’s son on its back.” - -So the birds took the King’s son, carried him up to the mountain close -by the spring, and as soon as the horses came up, they did to one of -them what the Anka had said. The King’s son sat on the horse’s back -forthwith, and the first thing the good steed said was: “What dost thou -command, my sweet master?” - -“There is an island on the surface of the seventh ocean,” cried the -King’s son, “there should I like to be!” And the King’s son had flown -away before you could shut your eyes; and before you could open them -again, there he was on the shore of that island. - -He dismounted from his horse, took off the bridle, stuck it in his -pocket, and went off to seek the ox. As he was walking up and down the -shore a Jew met him, and asked him what had brought him there. - -“I have suffered shipwreck,” replied the youth. “My ship and everything -I possess have perished, and only with difficulty did I swim ashore.” - -“As for me,” said the Jew, “I am in the service of the Wind-Demon. Thou -must know that there is an ox on this island, and I must watch it night -and day. Wouldst thou like to enter the service? Thou wilt have nothing -else to do all day but watch this beast.” - -The King’s son took advantage of the opportunity, and could scarce await -the moment when he was to see the ox. At watering-time the Jew brought -it along, and no sooner did he find himself alone with the beast than he -cut open its belly, took out the golden cage, and hastened with it to -the sea-shore. Then he drew the bridle from his pocket, and when he had -struck the sea with it, the steed immediately appeared and cried: “What -dost thou command, sweet master?”--“I desire to be taken to the palace -of the Wind-Demon,” cried the youth. - -Shut your eyes, open your eyes--and there they were before the palace. -Then he took his wife, made her sit down beside him, and when the steed -said: “What dost thou command, sweet master?” he bade it fly straight to -the emerald Anka. - -Away with them flew the steed. It flew right up to the very clouds, and -as they were approaching the Anka’s palace the Demon awoke from his -sleep. He saw that his wife had again disappeared, and immediately set -off in pursuit. Already the Sultana felt the breath of the Demon, and he -had all but overtaken them when the steed hastily bade them twist the -neck of the white dove in the cage. They had barely time to do so, when -the Wind died away and the Demon was destroyed. - -With great joy they arrived at the Anka’s palace, let the horse go his -way, and rested themselves awhile. On the next day they went to their -second brother, and on the third day to their third brother, and it was -only then that the King’s son discovered that his lion brother-in-law -was the King of the Lions, and his tiger brother-in-law the King of the -Tigers. At last they reached their home which was the domain of the -damsel’s. Here they made a great banquet, and rejoiced their hearts for -forty days and forty nights, after which they arose and went to the -prince’s own empire. There he showed them the tongue of the dragon and -its nose, and as he had thus fulfilled the wishes of his father, they -chose him to be their Padishah; and their lives were full of joy till -the day of their death, and their end was a happy one. - - - - -THE CROW-PERI - - -Once upon a time that was no time there was a man who had one son. This -man used to go out into the forest all day, and catch birds for sale to -the first comer. At last, however, the father died and the son was left -all alone. Now he did not know what had been his fathers profession, but -while he was searching all about the floor he came upon the -fowling-snare. So he took it, went out into the forest, and set the -snare on a tree. At that moment a crow flew down upon the tree, but as -the snare was cunningly laid the poor bird was caught. The youth climbed -up after it, but when he had got hold of the bird, the crow began -begging him to let her go, promising to give him in exchange something -more beautiful and more precious than herself. The crow begged and -prayed till at last he let her go free, and again he set the snare in -the tree and sat down at the foot of it to wait. Presently another bird -came flying up, and flew right into the snare. The youth climbed up the -tree again to bring it down, but when he saw it he was full of -amazement, for such a beautiful thing he had never seen in the forest -before. - -While he was still gazing at it and chuckling, the crow again appeared -to him and said: “Take that bird to the Padishah, and he will buy it -from thee.” So the youth took away the bird, put it in a cage, and -carried it to the palace. When the Padishah saw the beautiful little -creature he was filled with joy, and gave the youth so much money for it -that he did not know what to do with it all. But the bird they placed in -a golden cage, and the Padishah had his joy of it day and night. - -Now the Padishah had a favourite who was grievously jealous of the good -fortune of the youth who had brought the bird, and kept cudgelling his -brains how he could get him beneath his feet. At last he hit upon a -plan, and going in to the Padishah one day he said: “How happy that bird -would be if only he had an ivory palace to dwell in!” - -“Yes,” replied the Padishah, “but whence could I get enough ivory to -make him a palace?” - -“He who brought the bird hither,” said the favourite, “will certainly be -able to find the ivory.” - -So the Padishah sent for the little fowler, and bade him make an ivory -palace for the bird there and then. “I know thou canst get the ivory,” -said the Padishah. - -“Alas, my lord Padishah!” lamented the youth, “whence am I to get all -this ivory from?” - -“That is thy business,” replied the Padishah. “Thou mayest search for it -for forty days, but if it is not here by that time thy head shall be -where now thy feet are.” - -The youth was sore troubled, and while he was still pondering in his -mind which road he should take, the crow came flying up to him, and -asked him what he was grieving about so much. Then the youth told her -what a great trouble that one little bird had brought down upon his -head. - -“Why this is nothing at all to fret about,” said the crow; “but go to -the Padishah, and ask him for forty wagon-loads of wine!” So the youth -returned to the palace, got all that quantity of wine, and as he was -coming back with the cars, the crow flew up and said: “Hard by is a -forest, on the border of which are forty large trenches, and as many -elephants as there are in the wide world come to drink out of these -trenches. Go now and fill them with wine instead of water. The elephants -will thus get drunk and tumble down, and thou wilt be able to pull out -their teeth and take them to the Padishah.” - -The youth did as the bird said, crammed his cars full of elephants’ -tusks instead of wine, and returned with them to the palace. The -Padishah rejoiced greatly at the sight of all the ivory, had the palace -built, rewarded the little fowler with rich gifts, and sent him home. - -So there was the sparkling bird in his ivory palace, and right merrily -did he hop about from perch to perch, but he could never be got to sing. -“Ah!” said the evil counsellor, “if only his master were here he would -sing of his own accord.” - -“Who knows who his master is, or where he is to be found?” asked the -Padishah sadly. - -“He who fetched the elephants’ tusks could fetch the bird’s master -also,” replied the evil counsellor. - -So the Padishah sent for the little fowler once more, and commanded him -to bring the bird’s master before him. - -“How can I tell who his master is, when I caught him by chance in the -forest?” asked the fowler. - -“That is thy look-out,” said the Padishah; “but if thou find him not I -will slay thee. I give thee forty days for thy quest, and let that -suffice thee.” - -So the youth went home, and sobbed aloud in his despair, when lo! the -crow came flying up and asked him what he was crying for. - -“Why should I not cry?” said the poor youth, and with that he began to -tell the crow of his new trouble.--“Nay, but ’tis a shame to weep for -such a trifle,” said the crow. “Go quickly now to the King and ask him -for a large ship, but it must be large enough to hold forty -maidservants, a beautiful garden also, and a bath-house.” So the youth -returned to the King and told him what he wanted for his journey. - -The ship was prepared as he had desired it, the youth embarked, and was -just thinking whether he should go to the left or the right, when the -crow came flying up, and said to him: “Steer thy ship always to the -right, and go straight on until thou perceive a huge mountain. At the -foot of this mountain dwell forty Peris, and when they perceive thy ship -they will feel a strong desire to look at everything on board of it. But -thou must allow only their Queen to come on board, for she is the owner -of the bird, and while thou art showing her the ship, set sail and never -stop till thou reach home.” - -So the youth went on board the ship, steered steadily to the right, and -never stopped once till he came to the mountain. There the forty Peris -were walking on the sea-shore, and when they saw the ship they all came -rushing up that they might examine the beautiful thing. The Queen of the -Peris asked the little fowler whether he would not show her the ship, -especially the inside of it, and he took her off in a little skiff and -brought her to the vessel. - -The Peri was monstrously delighted with the beautiful ship, walked in -the garden with the damsels on board the ship, and when she saw the -bath-room she said to the waiting-maids: “If I have come so far, I may -as well have a bath into the bargain.” With that she stepped into the -bath-room, and while she was bathing the ship went off. - -They had gone a good distance across the sea before the Peri had -finished her bathing. The Peri made haste, for it was now growing late, -but when she stepped upon the deck she saw nothing but the sea around -her. At this she fell a-weeping bitterly. What would become of her? she -said; whither was she going? into whose hands was she about to fall? But -the youth comforted her with the assurance that she was going to a -King’s palace, and would be among good people. - -Not very long afterwards they arrived in the city, and sent word to the -King that the ship had come back. Then he brought the Peri to the -palace, and as she passed by the ivory palace of the bird, it began to -sing so beautifully that all who heard it were beside themselves for -joy. The Peri was a little comforted when she heard it, but the King was -filled with rapture, and he loved the beautiful Peri so fondly that he -could not be a single moment without her. The wedding-banquet quickly -followed, and with the beauteous Peri on his right hand, and the -sparkling bird on his left, there was not a happier man in the world -than that Padishah. But the poison of envy devoured the soul of the evil -counsellor. - -One day, however, the Sultana suddenly fell ill, and took to her bed. -Every remedy was tried in vain, but the sages said that nothing could -cure her but the drug which she had left behind her in her own fairy -palace. Then, by the advice of the evil counsellor, the young fowler was -again sent for to the palace, and commanded to go and seek for the drug. - -So the good youth embarked on his ship again, and was just about to sail -when the crow came to him and asked him whither he was going. The youth -told her that the Sultana was ill, and he had been sent to fetch the -drug from the fairy palace. “Well then, go!” said the crow, “and thou -wilt find the palace behind a mountain. Two lions stand in the gates, -but take this feather and touch their mouths with it, and they will not -lift so much as a claw against thee.” - -The youth took the feather, arrived in front of the mountain, -disembarked, and quickly beheld the palace. He went straight up to the -gates, and there stood the two lions. He took out his feather, and no -sooner had he touched their mouths than they lay down one on each side -and let him go into the palace. The Peris about the palace also saw the -youth, and immediately guessed that their Queen was ill. So they gave -him the drug, and immediately he took ship again, and returned to the -palace of the Padishah. But the moment he entered the Peri’s chamber -with the drug in his hand, the crow alighted on his shoulder, and thus -they went together to the sick Sultana’s bed. - -The Sultana was already in the throes of death, but no sooner had she -tasted of the healing drug than she seemed to return to life again at a -single bound. She opened her eyes, gazed upon the little fowler, and -perceiving the crow upon his shoulder thus addressed her: “Oh, thou -sooty slave! art thou not sorry for all that this good youth hath -suffered for my sake?” Then the Sultana told her lord that this same -crow was her serving-maid, whom, for negligence in her service, she had -changed into a crow. “Nevertheless,” she added, “I now forgive her, for -I see that her intentions towards me were good.” - -At these words the crow trembled all over, and immediately a damsel so -lovely stood before the young fowler that there was really very little -difference between her and the Queen of the Peris. At the petition of -the Sultana, the Sultan married the youth to the Crow-Peri, the -evil-minded counsellor was banished, and the fowler became Vizier in his -stead. And their happiness lasted till death. - - - - -THE FORTY PRINCES AND THE SEVEN-HEADED DRAGON - - -There was once upon a time a Padishah, and this Padishah had forty sons. -All day long they disported themselves in the forest, snaring birds and -hunting beasts, but when the youngest of them was fourteen years old -their father wished to marry them. So he sent for them all and told them -his desire. “We will marry,” said the forty brothers, “but only when we -find forty sisters who are the daughters of the same father and the same -mother.” Then the Padishah searched the whole realm through to find -forty such sisters, but though he found families of thirty-nine sisters, -families of forty sisters he could never find. - -“Let the fortieth of you take another wife,” said the Padishah to his -sons. But the forty brothers would not agree thereto, and they begged -their father to allow them to go and search if haply they might find -what they wanted in another empire. What could the Padishah do? He could -not refuse them their request, so he gave them his permission. But -before they departed he summoned them into his presence, and this is -what their father the Padishah said to them: “I have three things to say -to you, which bear ye well in mind. When ye come in your journey to a -large spring, take heed not to pass the night near it. Beyond the spring -is a caravanserai; there also ye must not abide. Beyond the caravanserai -is a vast desert; and there also ye must not take a moment’s rest.” The -sons promised their father that they would keep his words, and with -baggage light of weight but exceedingly precious, they took horse and -set out on their journey. - -They went on and on, they smoked their chibooks and drank forty cups of -coffee, and when evening descended the large spring was right before -them. “Verily,” began the elder brethren, “we will not go another step -further. We are weary, and the night is upon us, and what need forty men -fear?” And with that they dismounted from their horses, ate their -suppers, and laid them down to rest. Only the youngest brother, who was -fourteen years of age, remained awake. - -It might have been near midnight when the youth heard a strange noise. -He caught up his arms, and turning in the direction of the sound saw -before him a seven-headed dragon. They rushed towards each other, and -thrice the dragon fell upon the prince, but could do him no harm. “Well, -now it is my turn,” cried the youth; “wilt thou be converted to the true -faith?” and with these words he struck the monster such a blow that six -of his seven heads came flying down. - -“Strike me once more,” groaned the dragon. - -“Not I,” replied the youth, “I myself only came into the world once.” -Immediately the dragon fell to pieces, but his one remaining head began -to roll and roll and roll till it stood on the brink of the well. -“Whoever can take my soul out of this well,” it said, “shall have my -treasure also,” and with these words the head bounded into the well. - -The youth took a rope, fastened one end of it to a rock, and seizing the -other end himself, lowered himself into the well. At the bottom of the -well he found an iron door. He opened it, passed through, and there -right before him stood a palace compared with which his father’s palace -was a hovel. Into this palace he went, and in it were forty rooms, and -in each room was a damsel sitting by her embroidery frame with enormous -treasures behind her. “Art thou a man or a spirit?” cried the terrified -damsels.--“A man am I, and the son of a man,” replied the prince. “I -have just slain a seven-headed dragon, and have followed its rolling -head hither.” - -Oh, how the forty damsels rejoiced at hearing these words. They embraced -the youth, and begged and prayed him not to leave them there. They were -the children of one father and one mother they said. The dragon had -killed their parents and carried them off, and they had nobody to look -to in the whole wide world. - -“We also are forty,” said the youth, “and we are seeking forty damsels.” -Then he told them that he would first of all ascend to his brethren, and -then he would come for them again. So he ascended out of the well, went -to the spring, lay down beside it and fell asleep. - -Early in the morning the forty brothers arose and laughed at their -father for trying to frighten them with the well. Again they set out on -their way, and went on and on till evening overtook them, when they -perceived a caravanserai before them. “Not a step further will we go,” -said the elder brothers. The youngest brother indeed insisted that it -would be well to remember their father’s words, for his speech could -surely not have been in vain. But they laughed at their youngest -brother, ate and drank, said their prayers, and lay down to sleep. Only -the youngest brother remained wide awake. - -About midnight he again heard a noise. The youth snatched up his arms, -and again he saw before him a seven-headed dragon, but much larger than -the former one. The dragon rushed at him first of all, but could not -overcome him, then the youth dealt him one blow and off went six of the -dragon’s heads. Then the dragon wished him to take one more blow but he -would not; the head rolled into a well, the youth went after it, and -came upon a palace larger than the former one, and with ever so much -more treasures and precious things in it. He marked the well so that he -should know it again, returned to his brothers, and wearied out with his -great combat slept so soundly that his brothers had to wake him up with -blows next morning. - -Again they arose, took horse, went up hill and down dale, and just as -the sun was setting, behold! a vast desert stood before them. They fell -to eating straightway, drank their fill also, and were just going to lie -down to sleep when all at once such a roaring, such a bellowing arose -that the very mountains fell down from their places. - -The princes were horribly afraid, especially when they saw coming -against them a gigantic seven-headed dragon. He vomited forth venomous -fire in his wrath, and roared furiously: “Who killed my two brothers? -Hither with him! I’ll try conclusions with him also!” - -The youngest brother saw that his brethren were more dead than alive -from fear, so he gave them the keys of the two wells, in one of which -was the vast heap of treasure, and in the other the forty damsels. Let -them take everything home, he said; as for himself he must first slay -the dragon and then he would follow after them. The thirty-nine brothers -lost no time in mounting their horses and galloping off. They drew the -treasure out of one well and the forty damsels out of the other, and so -returned home to their father. But now we will see what happened to the -youngest brother. - -He fought the dragon and the dragon fought him, but neither could get -the better of the other. The dragon perceived that it was vain to try -and vanquish the youth, so he said to him: “If thou wilt go to the -Empire of Chin-i-Machin[12] and fetch me thence the Padishah’s daughter, -I will not worry the life out of thee.” To this the prince readily -agreed, for he could not have sustained the conflict much longer. - -Then Champalak, for that was the dragon’s name, gave the prince a bridle -and said to him: “A good steed comes hither to feed every day, seize -him, put this bridle in his mouth, and bid him take thee to the Empire -of Chin-i-Machin!” So the youth took the bridle and waited for the good -charger. Presently a golden-maned charger came flying through the air, -and the moment the prince had put the bridle in its mouth, the charger -said: “What dost thou command, little Sultan?” and before you could wink -your eyes, the Empire of Chin-i-Machin stood before him. Then he -dismounted from his horse, took off the bridle, and went into the town. -There he entered into an old woman’s hut and asked her whether she -received guests. “Willingly,” answered the old woman. Then she made -ready a place for him, and while he was sipping his coffee he asked her -all about the talk of the town. “Well,” said the old woman, “a -seven-headed dragon is very much in love with our Sultan’s daughter. A -war has been raging between them on that account these many years, and -the monster presses us so hardly that not even a bird can fly into our -realm.” - -“Then where is the Sultan’s daughter?” asked the youth.--“In a little -palace in the Padishah’s garden,” replied the old woman, “and the poor -thing dare not put her foot outside it.” - -The next day the youth went to the Padishah’s garden, and asked the -gardener to take him as a servant, and he begged and prayed till the -gardener had not the heart to refuse him. “Very well, I will take thee,” -said he, “and thou wilt have nought to do but water the flowers of the -garden.” - -Now the Sultan’s daughter saw the youth, called him to her window, and -asked him how he had managed to reach that realm. Then the youth told -her that his father was a Padishah, that he had fought with the dragon -Champalak on his travels, and had promised to bring him the Sultan’s -daughter. “Yet fear thou nothing,” added the youth, “my love is stronger -than the love of the serpent, and if thou wilt only have the courage to -come with me, trust me to find a way of disposing of him.” - -The damsel was so much in love with the prince, and so eager to escape -from her captivity, that she consented to trust herself to him, and one -night they escaped from her palace and went straight towards the desert -where dwelt the dragon Champalak. They agreed on the way that the girl -should find out what the dragon’s talisman was, that they might destroy -him that way if they could do it no other. - -Imagine the joy of Champalak when he perceived the princess! “What joy, -what rapture, that thou hast come!” cried Champalak; but fondle her and -caress her as he might, the damsel did nothing but weep. Days passed by, -weeks passed by, and yet the tears never left the damsel’s eyes. “Tell -me at least what thy talisman is,” said the damsel to him one day, “if -thou wouldst see me happy and not wretched with thee all thy days.” - -“Alas, my soul!” said the dragon, “my talisman is guarded in a place -whither it is impossible ever to come. It is in a large palace in a -neighbouring realm, and though one may venture thither for it, no one -has ever been able to get back again.” - -The prince needed no more, that was quite good enough for him. He took -his bridle, went with it to the sea-shore, and summoned his golden-maned -steed. “What dost thou command me, little Sultan?” said the steed. “I -desire thee to convey me to the neighbouring realm, to the palace of the -talisman of the dragon Champalak,” cried the youth--and in no more time -than it takes to wink an eye, the palace stood before him. - -Then the steed said to the youth: “When we reach the palace thou wilt -tie the bridle to two iron gates, and when I neigh once and strike my -iron hoofs together, a door will open. In this open door thou wilt see a -lion’s throat, and if thou canst not kill that lion at one stroke, -escape, or thou art a dead man.” With that they went up to the palace, -he tied the horse to the two iron gates by his bridle, and when he -neighed the door flew open. The youth struck with all his might at the -gaping throat of the lion in the doorway and split it right in two. Then -he cut open the lion’s belly, and drew out of it a little gold cage with -three doves in it, so beautiful that the like of them is not to be -found in the wide world. He took one of them and began softly stroking -and caressing it, when all at once--pr-r-r-r!--away it flew out of his -hand. The steed galloped swiftly after it, and if he had not caught it -and wrung its neck it would have gone hard with the good youth. - -Then he mounted his steed again, and in the twinkling of an eye he stood -once more before Champalak’s palace. In the gateway of the palace he -killed the second dove, so that when the youth entered the dragon’s -room, there the monster lay quite helpless, and there was no more spirit -in him at all. When he saw the dove in the youth’s hand he implored him -to let him stroke it for the last time before he died. The youth’s heart -felt for him, and he was just about to hand the bird to him when the -princess rushed out, snatched the dove from his hand, and killed it, -whereupon the dragon expired before their very eyes. “‘Twas well for -thee,” said the steed, “that thou didst not give him the dove, for if he -had got it, fresh life would have flowed into him.” And with that the -steed disappeared, bridle and all. - -Then they got together the dragon’s treasures, and went with them to the -Empire of Chin-i-Machin. The Padishah was sick for grief at the loss of -the damsel, and after searching for her in all parts of the kingdom in -vain, was persuaded that she had fallen into the hands of the dragon. -And lo! there she stood before him now, hand in hand with the King’s -son. Then there was such a marriage-feast in that city that it seemed as -if there was no end to it. After the marriage they set out on their -journey again, and travelled with a great escort of soldiers to the -prince’s father. There they had long held the King’s son to be dead, and -would not believe that it was he even now till he had told them the tale -of the three seven-headed dragons and the forty damsels. - -The fortieth damsel was waiting patiently for him there, and the prince -said to his wife: “Behold now my second bride!”--“Thou didst save my -life from the dragon,” replied the Princess of Chin-i-Machin, “I -therefore give her to thee, do as thou wilt with her!” So they made a -marriage-feast for the second bride also, and they spent half their days -in the Empire of the prince’s father, and the other half in the Empire -of Chin-i-Machin, and their lives flowed away in happiness. - - - - -THE WORLD’S MOST BEAUTEOUS DAMSEL - - -There was once upon a time a Padishah who had an only son. His father -guarded him as the apple of his eye, and there was not a desire of his -heart that was not instantly gratified. - -One night a dervish appeared to the King’s son in a dream, and showed -him the World’s most beauteous Damsel, and there he drained with her the -cup of love. After that the prince became another man. He could neither -eat nor drink. Sleep brought him neither pleasure nor refreshment, and -he all at once grew sallow and withered. They sent for doctor after -doctor, they sent for wizard after wizard, but they could not tell the -nature of the malady or find a cure for it. - -Then the sick prince said to his father: “My lord Padishah and father, -no leech, no wise man can help me, wherefore weary them in vain? The -World’s most beauteous Damsel is the cause of my complaint, and she will -be either the life or the death of me.” - -The Padishah was frightened at the words of his son, and his chief care -was to drive the damsel out of the lad’s head. “‘Tis dangerous to even -think of such a thing,” said he, “for her love will be thy death.” But -his son continued to pine away daily, and life had no joy for him. Again -and again the father begged his son to tell him his heart’s desire and -it should be instantly fulfilled, and the eternal reply of the son was: -“Let me seek the World’s most beauteous Damsel.” Then the Padishah -thought to himself: “If I do not let him go he will only perish, and he -cannot therefore be worse off if he goes.” Then said he: “Go, my son, -after thy love, and may the righteous Allah be merciful to thee.” - -So the next day the prince set out on his journey. He went up hill and -down dale, he crossed vast deserts, he traversed rugged wildernesses in -search of his beloved, the World’s most beauteous Damsel. On and on he -went, till he came at last to the sea-shore, and there he saw a poor -little fish writhing in the sand, and the fish besought him to throw it -back into the sea again. The youth had compassion upon the fish, and -threw it back into the sea again. Then the little fish gave him three -scales, and said to him: “If ever thou dost get into any trouble, burn -these scales.” - -Again the youth went on his way till he came to a vast desert, and -there on the ground in front of him he saw a lame ant. The little -creature told him that he was going to a wedding, but could not overtake -his comrades because they hastened so quickly. Then the youth took up -the ant and carried him to his comrades. As they parted the ant gave him -a little piece of its wing and said: “If ever thou shouldst get into any -trouble, burn this bit of wing.” - -Again the youth followed his road, full of weary woefulness, and -reaching the borders of a large forest he there saw a little bird -struggling with a large serpent. The little bird asked help of the -youth, and with one blow he cut the serpent in two. The bird then gave -him three feathers. “If ever thou shouldst get into trouble,” it said, -“burn these little feathers.” - -Again he took up his pilgrim’s staff and went beyond the mountains, -beyond the sea, till he came to a large city. It was the realm of the -father of the World’s most beauteous Damsel. He went straight into the -palace to the Padishah, and begged the hand of his daughter in the name -of Allah. “Nay,” said the Padishah, “thou must first of all accomplish -three tasks for me. Only after that canst thou make known thy wishes to -my daughter.” - -With that he took a ring, cast it into the sea, and said to the King’s -son: “If thou canst not find it for me in three days, thou art a dead -man.” Then the King’s son fell a-thinking till he bethought him of the -three scales, and he had no sooner burnt them than the little fish stood -before him and said: “What dost thou command, O my Sultan?”--“The ring -of the World’s most beauteous Damsel hath been cast into the sea, and I -want it back again,” said the prince. Then the fish sought for the ring -but couldn’t find it; it dived down a second time and still it couldn’t -find it; a third time it descended right down into the seventh ocean, -drew up a fish, cut it open, and there was the ring. So the youth gave -the ring to the Padishah, and the Padishah gave it to his daughter. - -Now there was a cave near the palace full of gravel and grain. “My -second task,” said the Padishah, “is that thou dost separate the grain -from the gravel.” Then the youth entered the cave, took out the ant’s -wing and burned it, whereupon the whole cave was swarming with ants, and -they set to work upon the grain in hot haste. The day was now nearly -over, and the same evening the youth sent word to the Padishah that the -second task also was accomplished. - -“The third task still remains,” said the Padishah, “and then thou mayest -have my daughter.” With that he sent for a maid-servant, had her head -cut off straightway, and then said to the youth: “Thus shall be done to -thy head also if thou restore not this damsel to life again.” The youth -quitted the palace in deep thought, and at last he bethought him that -the bird’s feathers might help him. So he took them out and burned them, -and lo! the bird stood before him ere yet his lips had commanded it to -appear. And the youth complained bitterly to the bird of the task that -was set him. - -Now the bird had friends among the Peris, and, flying up into the air, -in no very long time was back again with a cruse of water in its beak. -“I have brought thee heavenly water which can give life even to the -dead,” said the bird. So the prince entered the palace, and no sooner -had he sprinkled the damsel with the water than she sprang up as if she -had never been dead at all. - -Now the rumour of all these things reached the ears of the World’s most -beauteous Damsel, and she ordered the prince to be brought before her. -The damsel dwelt in a little marble palace, and before the palace was a -golden basin which was fed by the water of four streams. The courtyard -of this palace also was a vast garden wherein were many great trees and -fragrant flowers and singing-birds, and to the youth it seemed like the -gate of Paradise. - -Suddenly the door of the palace was opened, and the garden was so -flooded with light that the eyes of - -[Illustration: The World’s most Beauteous Damsel.--p. 159.] - -the youth were dazzled even to blindness. It was the World’s most -beauteous Damsel who had appeared in the door of the palace, and the -great light was the rosiness of her two radiant cheeks. She approached -the prince and spoke to him, but scarcely did the youth perceive her -than he fainted away before her eyes. When he came to himself again they -brought him into the damsel’s palace, and there he rejoiced exceedingly -in the World’s most beauteous Damsel, for her face was as the face of a -Houri, and her presence was as a vision of Peris. - -“Oh, prince!” began the damsel, “thou that art the son of Shah Suleiman, -canst aid me in my deep distress. In the vast garden of the Demon of -Autumn there is a bunch of singing-pomegranates: if thou canst get them -for me I will be thine for ever and ever.” - -Then the youth gave her his hand upon it, the hand of loyal friendship, -and departed far far away. He went on and on without stopping, he went -on, and for months and months he crossed deserts where man had never -trod, and mountains over which there was no path. “Oh, my Creator,” he -sighed, “wilt thou not show me the right way?” and he rose up again each -morning from the place where he had sunk down exhausted the night -before, and so he went on and on from day to day till the path led him -right down to the roots of the mountains. There it seemed to him as if -it were the Day of Judgment. Such a noise, such a hubbub, such a -hurly-burly of sounds arose that all the hills and rocks around him -trembled. The youth knew not whether it was friend or foe, man or -spirit, and as he went on further, trembling with fear, the noise grew -louder and the dust rose up round about him like smoke. He knew not -where he was going, but he might have known from what he heard that the -smaller garden of the Demon of Autumn was now but a six-months’ journey -off, and all this great hubbub and clamour was the talisman of the gate -of the garden. - -And now he drew still nearer and could see the gate of the smaller -garden, and could hear the roaring of the talismans in the gate, and -could perceive the guardian of the gate also. Then he went up to him and -told him of his trouble. “But art thou not afraid of this great -commotion?” asked the guardian of the gate. “Is it not because of thee -that all the talismans are so impatient? even I am afraid thereat!” - -But the youth did nothing but inquire continually about the cluster of -singing-pomegranates. - -“‘Tis a hard task to reach that,” said the guardian, “yet if thou art -not afraid, perhaps thou mayest get it after all. Three-months’ journey -from hence thou wilt come to such another place of talismans, there -also there is a garden, and the guardian of that garden is my own -mother. But whatever thou dost, take care not to draw nigh to her, nor -let her draw nigh to thee. Give her my salaams, but tell her nothing of -thy trouble unless she ask thee.” - -So the youth went on towards the second garden, and after a -three-months’ journey such a monstrous din and racket arose around him -as to make the former noise seem nothing. This was the greater garden of -the Demon of Autumn, and the great din proceeded from the talismans of -the garden. The youth lay down beside a rock, and when he had waited a -little he saw something like a man approaching him, but as it came -nearer he perceived that it was an old woman, a little beldame of thrice -thirty winters. The hairs of her head were as white as snow, red circles -were round her eyes, her eyebrows were like pointed darts, the fire of -hell was in her eyes, her nails were two ells long, her teeth were like -faggots, her two lips had only one jaw, she shuffled along leaning on a -stick, drew in her breath through her nose, and coughed and sneezed at -every step she took. “Oh-oh! oh-oh!” she groaned, shuffling painfully -along in her large slippers, till it seemed as if she would never be -able to reach the new-comer. This was the mother of the guardian of the -lesser garden, and she herself was the guardian of the larger one. - -At last she got up to the youth, and asked him what he was doing in -those parts? The prince gave her the compliments of her son. “Ah, the -vagabond!” said the old woman, “where didst thou meet with him? That -wicked lad of mine knew that I would have compassion on thee, so he sent -thee hither. Very well, let us make an end of thee.” And with that she -seized hold of him, and cried: “Hi, Earless!” and something came running -up to him, and before he knew where he was, the youth found himself -seated on its back. He looked down upon it and saw beneath him a -creature like a shrunken huddled toad, that had neither eyes nor ears. -This was Earless, and away it went with him. When he first saw it, it -was as small as a worm, but the moment he was on its back it took such -leaps that every three of them covered as much space as a vast ocean. -Suddenly Earless stopped short and said to him: “Whatever thou mayest -see, whatever thou mayest hear, take care not to speak, or it will be -all up with thee,” and with that it vanished. - -There in the rippling water in front of the prince, like a dream-shape, -lay a large garden. This garden had neither beginning nor end, and -within it were such trees and flowers and sweet fruit as the eye of man -hath never seen. Whithersoever one turned nothing was to be heard but -the rustling of soft wings and the songs of nightingales, so that the -whole atmosphere of that garden seemed to be an eternal song. The youth -looked all about him, his reason died away within him, he entered the -garden. But then he heard quite near to him such a woeful wailing that -his heart was like to break, and the thought of the cluster of -pomegranates occurred to his mind. His eyes sought for them in every -direction but in vain, till he came to the centre of the garden, where -was a fountain and a little palace made of flowers, and the pomegranates -hung down from the flowery palace like so many shining lamps. The youth -plucked a branch, but no sooner had he done so than there was a horrible -cry, and a warning voice exclaimed-- - - “A son of man of us hath ta’en, - We by a son of man are slain!” - -The youth scarce had time to escape from the garden. “Hasten! fly!” -cried Earless, who was waiting again at the gate. The youth jumped on -its back, and in a couple of leaps they were beyond the ocean. Then only -did the youth think of looking at the cluster of pomegranates. There -were fifty pomegranates on it, and each one had a different voice, and -each voice had a different song--it was just as if all the music in the -wide world was gathered together in one place. By this time they had -reached the old grandmother, the old old beldame of thrice thirty -winters. - -“Guard well thy pomegranate cluster,” said the old woman, “never leave -it out of thy sight. If on the first night of thy wedding thou and thy -bride are able to listen to their music all night without going to sleep -once, these pomegranates will love thee, and after that thou wilt have -nothing more to fear, for they will deliver thee from every ill.” Then -they went from the old mother to the son; he also bade them take to -heart his mother’s words, and then the youth went on his way to his -sole-beloved, the World’s most beauteous Damsel. - -The girl was awaiting him with the greatest impatience, for she also -dearly loved the prince, and her days were passed in anxiety lest some -mischief should befall the youth. All at once she heard the sound of -music, the fifty pomegranates were singing fifty different songs with -fifty different voices, and she opened her heart to the beautiful music. -The damsel rushed forth to meet the youth, and at their joyous embrace -the pomegranates rang out with a melody so sweet that the like of it is -not to be found in this world, but only in Allah’s world beyond the -grave. Forty days and forty nights did the wedding-feast last, and on -the fortieth day the King’s son went in unto his bride, and they lay -down and listened to the pomegranates. Then when the day was born again -they arose, and the pomegranate cluster rejoiced again in their love, -and so they went on their way to the prince’s own kingdom. There all the -feasting began again, and in his joy the old Padishah resigned his -kingdom to his son, the Padishah of the cluster of Pomegranates. - - - - -THE PADISHAH OF THE FORTY PERIS - - -In the old, old time, in the age of fairy tales, there was once the -daughter of a Padishah who was as fair as the full moon, as slim as a -cypress-tree, with eyes like coals, and hair like the night, and her -eyebrows were like bows, and her eyeballs like the darts of archers. In -the palace of the Padishah was a garden, and in the midst of the garden -a fountain of water, and there the maid sat the livelong day sewing and -stitching. - -One day she put her ring upon her sewing-table, but scarcely had she -laid it down when there came a little dove and took up the ring and flew -away with it. Now the little dove was so lovely that the damsel at once -fell in love with it. The next day the damsel took off her bracelet, and -immediately the dove was there and flew off with that too. Then the -damsel was so consumed with love that she neither ate nor drank, and -could scarce tarry till the next day for the dove to come forth again. -And on the third day she brought her sewing-table, put upon it her lace -handkerchief, and placed herself close beside it. She waited for the -dove, and waited and waited, and lo! all at once there he was right -before her, and he caught up the handkerchief and away he flew. Then the -damsel had scarce strength enough to rise up; weeping bitterly she went -into the palace, and there she threw herself on the ground in a passion -of grief. - -Her old waiting-woman came running towards her: “O Sultana!” cried she, -“wherefore dost thou weep so sorely?--what ails thee?” - -“I am sick, my heart is sick!” replied the daughter of the Sultan, and -with that she fell a-weeping and a-wailing worse than ever. - -The old waiting-woman feared to tell of this new thing, for the damsel -was the only daughter of the Padishah, but when she perceived how pale -the damsel was growing, and how she wept and sobbed, the waiting-woman -took her courage in both hands, went to the Padishah, and told him of -his daughter’s woe. Then the Padishah was afraid, and went to see his -daughter, and after him came many wise men and many cunning leeches, but -not one of them could cure her sickness. - -But on the next day the Padishah’s Vizier said to him: “The wise men -and the leeches cannot help the damsel, the only medicine that can cure -her lies hidden elsewhere.” Then he advised the Padishah to make a great -bath, the water whereof should cure all sick people, but whoever bathed -therein was to be made to tell the story of his life. So the Padishah -caused the bath to be made, and proclaimed throughout the city that the -water of this bath would give back his hair to the bald, and his hearing -to the deaf, and his sight to the blind, and the use of his legs to the -lame. Then all the people flocked in crowds to have a bath for nothing, -and each one of them had to tell the story of his life and his ailment -before he returned home again. - -Now in that same city dwelt the bald-headed son of a bed-ridden mother, -and the fame of the wonder-working bath reached their ears also. “Let us -go too,” said the son; “perchance the pair of us shall be cured.” - -“How can I go when I can’t stand on my legs?” groaned the old -woman.--“Oh, we shall be able to manage that,” replied bald-pate, and -taking his mother on his shoulders he set out for the bath. - -They went on and on and on, through the level plains by the flowing -river, till at last the son was tired and put his mother down upon the -ground. At that same instant a cock lighted down beside them with a big -pitcher of water on its back, and hastened off with it. Then the young -man became very curious to know why and whither this cock was carrying -water; so after the bird he went. The cock went on till it came to a -great castle, and at the foot of this castle was a little hole through -which water was gurgling. Still the youth followed the cock, squeezed -himself with the utmost difficulty through the hole, and no sooner had -he begun to look about him than he saw before him a palace so -magnificent that his eyes and mouth stood wide open with astonishment. -No other human being had ever stood in the path that led up to this -palace. All over it he went, through all the rooms, from vestibule to -attic, admiring their splendour without ceasing, till weariness overcame -him. “If only I could find a living being here!” said he to himself, and -with that he hid himself in a large armoury, from whence he could easily -pounce out upon any one who came. - -He had not waited very long when three doves flew on to the window-sill, -and after shivering there a little while turned into three damsels, all -so beautiful that the young man did not know which to look at first. - -“Alas, alas!” cried the three damsels, “we are late, we are late! Our -Padishah will be here presently, and nothing is ready!” Then one seized -a broom and brushed everything clean, the second spread the table, and -the third fetched all manner of meats. Then they all three began to -shiver once more, and three doves flew out of the window. - -Meanwhile the bald-pate had grown very hungry, and he thought to -himself: “Nobody sees me, why should I not take a morsel or two from -that table?” So he stretched his hand out from his hiding-place, and was -just about to touch the food with it when he got such a blow on the -fingers that the place swelled up. He stretched out the other hand, and -got a still greater blow on that. The youth was very frightened at this, -and he had scarcely drawn back his hand when a white dove flew into the -room. It fell a-shivering and immediately turned into a beautiful youth. - -And now he went to a cupboard, opened it, and took out a ring, a -bracelet, and a lace handkerchief. “Oh, lucky ring that thou art!” cried -he, “to be allowed to sit on a beautiful finger; and oh, lucky bracelet, -to be allowed to lie on a beautiful arm.” Then the beautiful youth fell -a-sobbing, and dried his tears one by one on the lace handkerchief. Then -he put them into the cupboard again, tasted one or two of the dishes, -and laid him down to sleep. - -It was as much as the bald-pate could do to await the dawn of the day. -But then the beautiful youth arose, shivered, and flew away as a white -dove. Bald-pate too came out of his hiding-place, went down into the -courtyard, and crept once more through the hole at the foot of the -tower. - -Outside he found his poor old mother weeping all alone, but the youth -pacified her with the assurance that their troubles were nearly at an -end, took her on his back again, and went to the bath. There they -bathed, and immediately the old woman was able to stand on her legs, and -the bald-pate got his hair back again. Then they began to tell their -stories, and when the Sultan’s daughter heard what the youth had seen -and heard at midnight, it was as though a stream of fresh health -instantly poured into her. She rose from her bed and promised the youth -a great treasure if he would bring her to that tower. So the youth went -with the princess, showed her the walls of the palace, helped her -through the little hole, brought her into the chamber of the doves, and -pointed out to her the armoury where he had been able to hide himself. -After that the youth returned home with great treasure and perfect -health, and lived all his days with his old mother. - -At eventide the three doves flew into the room. They scoured and -cleaned, brought the meats for the table, and flew away again. Soon -afterwards the white dove came flying in, and how did that damsel feel -when she saw her darling little dove once more? But when the dove had -turned into a youth again, and stood there like a glorious full moon, -the damsel scarcely knew where she was, but gazed continuously on his -dazzling face. - -Then the youth went to the cupboard, opened it, and took out the ring, -the bracelet, and the lace handkerchief that belonged to the daughter of -the Sultan. “Oh, thou ring! how happy shouldst thou be to sit on a -beauteous finger! Oh, thou bracelet! how happy thou shouldst be to lie -on a beauteous arm!” he cried. Then he took the lace handkerchief and -dried his tears, and at the sight thereof the heart of the damsel was -nigh to breaking. Then she tapped with her fingers on the door of the -armoury. The youth approached it, opened the door, and there stood his -heart’s darling. Then the joy of the youth was so great that it was -almost woe. - -He asked the damsel how she had come thither to the palace of the Peris. -Then she told him of her journey, and how sick for love she had been. - -Then the youth told her that he also was the son of a mortal mother, but -when he was only three days old the Peris had stolen him, and carried -him to this palace and made him their Padishah. He was with them the -whole day, and had only two hours to himself in the twenty-four. The -damsel, he said, might stay with him, and walk about here the whole day, -but towards evening she must hide herself; for if the forty Peris came -and saw her with him they would not leave her alive. To-morrow, he said, -he would show her his mother’s palace, where they would live in peace, -and he would be with her for two hours out of the twenty-four. - -So the next day the Padishah of the Peris took the damsel and showed her -his mother’s palace. “When thou goest there,” said the Padishah, “bid -them have compassion on thee, and receive thee in memory of Bahtiyar -Bey, and when my mother hears my name she will not refuse thy request.” - -So the damsel went up to the house and knocked at the door. An old woman -came and opened it, and when she saw the damsel and heard her son’s -name, she burst into tears and took her in. There the damsel stayed a -long time, and every day the little bird came to visit her, until a son -was born to the daughter of the Sultan. But the old woman never knew -that her son came to the house, nor that the damsel had been brought to -bed. - -One day the little bird came, flew upon the window-sill, and said: “Oh, -my Sultana, what is my little seedling doing?”--“No harm hath happened -to our little seedling,” replied she, “but he awaits the coming of -Bahtiyar.”--“Oh! if only my mother knew,” sighed the youth, “she would -open her best room.” With that he flew into the room, turned into a man, -and fondled in his arms his wife and his little child. But when two -hours had passed he shivered a little, and a little dove flew out of the -window. - -But the mother had heard her son’s speech, and could scarce contain -herself for joy. She hastened to her daughter-in-law, fondled and -caressed her, led her into her most beautiful room, and put everything -in order against her son’s arrival. She knew that the forty Peris had -robbed her of him, and she took counsel with herself how she might steal -him back again. - -“When my son comes to-morrow,” said the old woman, “contrive so that he -stays beyond his time, and leave the rest to me.” - -The next day the bird flew into the window, and lo! the damsel was -nowhere to be seen in the room. Then he flew into the more beautiful -room, and cried, “Oh! my Sultana, what is our little seedling -doing?”--And the damsel replied: “No harm hath befallen our little -seedling, but he awaits the coming of Bahtiyar.” Then the bird flew into -the room and changed into a man, and was so taken up with talking to his -wife, so filled with the joy of playing with his child and seeing it -play, that he took no count of time at all. - -But what was the old woman doing all this time? - -[Illustration: The Padishah of the Peris.--p. 174.] - -There was a large cypress-tree in front of the house, and there the -forty doves were sometimes wont to alight. The old woman went and hung -this tree full of venomous needles. Towards evening, when the Padishah’s -two hours had run out, the doves who were the forty Peris came to seek -their Padishah, and alighted on the cypress-tree, but scarcely had their -feet touched the needles than they fell down to the ground poisoned. - -Meanwhile, however, the youth suddenly remembered the time, and great -was his terror when he came out of the palace so late. He looked to the -right of him and he looked to the left, and when he looked towards the -cypress-tree there were the forty doves. And now his joy was as great as -his terror had been before. First he fell upon the neck of his consort, -and then he ran to his mother and embraced her, so great was his joy -that he had escaped from the hands of the Peris. - -Thereupon they made them such a banquet that even after forty days they -had not got to the end of it. So they had their hearts’ desires, and ate -and drank and rejoiced with a great joy. May we too get the desires of -our hearts, with good eating and drinking to comfort us! - - - - -THE SERPENT-PERI AND THE MAGIC MIRROR - - -There was once upon a time a poor wood-cutter who had an only son. One -day this poor man fell sick and said to his son: “If I should die follow -thou my handicraft, and go every day into the wood. Thou mayest cut down -whatever trees thou dost find there, but at the edge of the wood is a -cypress-tree, that thou must leave standing.” Two days afterwards the -man died and was buried. - -But the son went into the wood and cut down the trees, only the -cypress-tree he left alone. One day the youth stood close to this tree -and thought to himself: “What can be the matter with this tree, seeing -that I am not allowed to lay a hand upon it?” So he looked at it, and -considered it curiously, till at last he took his axe and went with evil -intent towards the tree. But he had scarcely lifted his foot when the -cypress-tree drew away from him. The wood-cutter mounted his ass and -pursued the tree but could not overtake it, and in the meantime eventide -came upon them. Then he dismounted from his ass and tied it to a tree, -but he himself climbed to the top of the tree to await the dawn. - -Next morning, when the sky grew red, he descended from the tree, and -there at the foot of it lay only the bones of his ass. “Never mind, I’ll -go on foot,” said the wood-cutter, and he continued his pursuit of the -cypress, the tree going on before and he following after. All that day -he pursued but could not come up with it. The third day also he -shouldered his axe and pursued the tree, when he suddenly came upon an -elephant and a serpent fighting with each other. Believe the truth or -not as you will, but the truth is this, that the serpent was swallowing -the elephant; but the elephant’s great tusk stuck in the serpent’s -throat, and both beasts, seeing the youth staring at them, begged him to -help them. - -What didn’t the elephant promise him if only he would slay the serpent! -“Nay, but all I would have thee do,” said the serpent, “is to break his -tusk off; the work is lighter, and the reward will be greater.” At these -words the youth seized his axe and chopped the elephant’s tusk right -off. The serpent then swallowed the elephant, thanked the youth, and -promised to keep his word and give him his reward. - -While they were on the road the serpent stopped at a spring and said to -the youth: “Wait while I bathe in this water, and whatever may happen, -fear not!” With that the serpent plunged into the water, and immediately -there arose such a terrible storm, such a tempest, such a hurricane, -with lightning-flash upon lightning-flash, and thunder-bolt upon -thunder-bolt, that the Day of Judgment could not well be worse. -Presently the serpent came out of the bath, and then all was quiet -again. - -They went a long way, and they went a little way, they took coffee, they -smoked their chibooks, they gathered violets on the road, till at last -they drew near to a house, and then the serpent said: “In a short time -we shall arrive at my mother’s house. When she opens the door, say thou -art my kinsman, and she will invite thee into the house. She will offer -thee coffee but do not drink it, she will offer thee meat but do not eat -it; but there’s a little bit of a mirror hanging up in the corner of the -door, ask my mother for that!” - -So they came to the house, and no sooner had the Peri knocked at the -door than his mother came and opened it. “Come, my brother!” said the -serpent to the youth behind him.--“Who is thy brother?” asked his -mother.--“He who hath saved my life,” replied her son, and with that he -told her the whole story. So they went into the house, and the woman -brought the youth coffee and a chibook, but he would not take them. “My -journey is a hasty one,” said he, “I cannot remain very long.” - -“Rest awhile at least,” said the woman, “we cannot let our guests depart -without anything.” - -“Nothing do I want, but if thou wilt give me that bit of mirror in the -corner of the door I will take it,” said the youth. The woman did not -want to give it, but the youth insisted that perhaps his life might -depend upon that very piece of mirror, so at last she gave it to him, -though very unwillingly. - -So the youth went on his way with the bit of mirror, and as he looked -into it he turned over in his mind what use he should make of it. As he -was still turning it over and looking at it, suddenly there stood before -him a negro efrit, one of whose lips touched the heavens, and the other -lip the earth. The poor youth was so frightened, that if the negro had -not said: “What are thy commands, my Sultan?” he would have run away for -ever and ever. As it was, it was as much as he could do to ask for -something to eat, and immediately there stood before him a rich and rare -banquet, the like of which he had never seen at his father’s, the -wood-cutter’s. - -Then the youth felt very curious about the mirror, and looked into it -again, and immediately the black efrit stood before him again and said: -“What dost thou command, my Sultan?” Nothing would occur to his mind at -first, but at last his lips murmured the word “Palace,” and immediately -there stood before him a palace so beautiful that the Padishah himself -could not have a finer one. “Open!” cried the youth, and immediately the -gates of the palace flew open before him. - -The youth rejoiced greatly in his bit of mirror, and his one thought was -what he should ask it to get him next. The beautiful Sultana-damsel, the -Padishah’s daughter, occurred to his mind, and the next moment his eye -sought his mirror and he desired from the big-lipped negro efrit a -palace in which the world-renowned daughter of the Padishah should be -sitting beside him, and he had scarce time to look around him when he -found himself sitting in the palace with the Sultan’s daughter by his -side. Then they kissed and embraced each other, and lived a whole world -of joy. - -Meanwhile the Sultan learnt that his daughter had disappeared from her -own palace. He searched for her the whole realm through, he sent heralds -in every direction, but in vain were all his labours, the girl could not -be discovered. At last an old woman came to the Padishah and told him to -make a large casket, line it well with zinc, put her inside it, and cast -it into the sea. She would find the daughter of the Sultan, she said, -for if she was not here, she must be beyond the sea. So they made ready -the great casket, put the old woman inside it, put food for nine days -beside her, and cast it into the sea. The casket was tossed from wave to -wave, till at last it came to that city where the Sultan’s daughter -dwelt with the youth. - -Now the fishermen were just then on the shore, and saw the huge casket -floating in the sea. They drew it ashore with ropes and hooks, and when -they opened it an old woman crept out of it. They asked her how she had -got inside it. - -“Oh, that my enemy might lose the sight of his little eye that is so -dear to him!” lamented the old woman; “I have not deserved this of him!” -and with that she fell a-weeping and wailing till the men believed every -word she said. “Where is the Bey of your city?” cried she; “perhaps he -will have compassion upon me and receive me into his house,” she said to -the men. Then they showed her the palace, and exhorted her to go -thither, as perhaps she might get an alms. - -So the old woman went to the palace, and when she knocked at the door, -the Sultan’s daughter came down to see who it was. The old woman -immediately recognized the damsel, and begged her (for the damsel knew -not the old woman) to take her into her service. “My lord comes home -to-night, I will ask him,” replied the damsel; “meanwhile rest in this -corner!” And the damsel’s lord allowed her to receive the old woman into -the house, and the next day she waited upon them. - -There the old woman was for one day and for two days, for a week, for -two weeks, and there was no cook to cook the food, and no servant to -keep the place clean, and yet every day there was a costly banquet and -everything was as clean as clean could be. Then the old woman went to -the damsel and asked her whether she did not feel dull at being alone -all day. “If I were allowed to help thee pass the time away,” added she, -“perhaps it might be better.”--“I must first ask my lord,” replied the -damsel. The youth did not mind the old woman helping his wife to pass -away the time, and so she went up to the rooms of the damsel and stayed -with her for days together. - -One day the old woman asked the damsel whence came all the rare meats, -and who did the service of the house. But the damsel knew not of the -piece of mirror, so she could tell the old woman nothing. “Find out from -thy lord,” said the old woman, and scarcely had the youth come home, -scarce had he had time to eat, than she wheedled him so that he showed -her the mirror. - -That was all the old woman wanted. A couple of days she let go by, but -on the third and the fourth days she bade the damsel beg her lord for -the piece of mirror so that she might amuse herself therewith, and make -the time pass more easily. And indeed she had only to ask her lord for -it, for he, not suspecting her falseness, gave it to her. And in the -meantime the old woman was not asleep. She knew where the damsel had put -the mirror, stole it, and when she looked into it the negro efrit -appeared. “What is thy command?” inquired he of the old woman. “Take me -with this damsel to her father’s palace,” was her first command. Her -second command made of the youth’s palace a heap of ashes, so that when -the young wood-cutter returned home he found nought but the cat meeowing -among the ashes. There was also a small piece of meat there; the -Sultan’s daughter had thrown it down for the cat. - -The youth took up the fragment of meat and set out to seek his consort. -Find her he would, though he roamed the whole world over. He went on and -on, he searched and searched till he came to the city where his wife -lived. He went up to the palace, and there he begged the cook to take -him into the kitchen as a servant out of pure compassion. In a couple of -days he had learnt from his fellow-servants in the kitchen that the -Sultan’s daughter had returned home. - -One day the cook fell sick and there was no heart in him to attend to -the cooking. The youth, seeing this, bade him rest, and said he would -cook the food in his stead. The cook agreed, and told him what to cook, -and how to season it. So the youth set to work, roasting and stewing, -and when he sent up the dishes, he also sent up the scrap of food that -he had found on the ashes, and put it on the damsel’s plate. Scarcely -had the damsel cast eyes on this little scrap than she knew within -herself that her lord was near her. So she called the cook and asked -whom he had with him in the kitchen. At first he denied that he had any -one, but at last he confessed that he had taken a poor lad in to assist -him. - -Then the damsel went to her father and said to him that there was a -young lad in the kitchen who prepared coffee so well that she should -like some coffee from his hands. So the lad was ordered up, and from -thenceforth he prepared the coffee and took it to the Sultan’s daughter. -So they came together again, and she told her lord how the matter had -gone. Then they took counsel how they should await their turn and get -the mirror back again. - -Scarcely had the youth gone in to the damsel than the old woman -appeared. Although she had not seen him for long, she recognized him, -and, looking into the mirror, caused the poor lad to be sent back again -to the ashes of his old palace. There he found the cat still squatting. -When she felt hungry she caught mice, and such ravages did she make upon -them that at last the Padishah of the mice had scarce a soldier left. - -Very wroth was the poor Padishah, but he durst not tackle the cat. One -day, however, he observed the youth, went up to him, and begged his -assistance in his dire distress, for if he waited till the morrow his -whole realm would be ruined. - -“I’ll help thee,” said the youth, “though, indeed, I have enough -troubles of my own to carry already.” - -“What is thy trouble?” asked the Padishah of the mice. The youth told -him about the history of the piece of looking-glass, and how it had been -stolen from him, and into whose hands it had fallen. - -“Then I can help thee,” cried the Padishah, whereupon he called together -all the mice in the world. And he asked which of them had access to this -palace, and which knew of such-and-such an old woman, and the piece of -looking-glass. At these words a lame mouse hobbled forth, kissed the -ground at the feet of the Padishah, and said that it was his wont to -steal food from the old woman’s box. He had seen through the keyhole how -she took out a little bit of looking-glass every evening and hid it -under a cushion. - -Then the Padishah commanded him to go and steal this bit of mirror. The -mouse, however, begged that he might have two comrades, sat on the back -of one of them, and so went on to the old woman. It was evening when -they arrived there, and the old woman was just eating her supper. “We -have come at the right time,” said the lame mouse, “we shall get -something to eat.” And with that they scampered into the room, satisfied -their hunger, and waited for the night. They arranged between them what -they should do, and when the old woman lay down they waited till she was -asleep. Scarcely had she fallen asleep than the lame mouse leaped into -her bed, made for her face, and began tickling her nose with the end of -its tail. - -“P-chi! p-chi!” the old woman sneezed, so that her head nearly leaped -from her shoulders. “P-chi! p-chi!” she sneezed again, and meanwhile the -two other little mice rushed out, picked up the piece of looking-glass -from underneath the cushion, took the lame mouse on their backs, and -hurried home again. - -The youth rejoiced greatly at the sight of the mirror, then he took the -cat with him so that it should do no more harm to the mice, and went -into other parts. There he took out the bit of mirror, looked into it, -and lo! the black efrit stood before him and said: “What is thy command, -my Sultan?” - -The youth asked for a raiment of cloth of gold and a whole army of -soldiers, and before he had time to look round, in front of him stood -costly raiment, and he put it on; and a beautiful horse, and he sat on -its back; and a large army which marched behind him into the city. When -he arrived there he stood before the palace, and surrounded it with his -soldiers. Oh, how terrified the Padishah was at the sight of that vast -army! - -The youth went into the palace, and demanded the damsel from her father. -In his terror the Padishah gave him not only his daughter but his realm. -The old woman was given into the hands of the big-lipped efrit, but the -bride and bridegroom lived happily in the midst of their glorious -kingdom. And close beside them stood the magic mirror that made all -their woes to vanish. - - - - -STONE-PATIENCE AND KNIFE-PATIENCE - - -There was once a poor woman who had one daughter, and this poor woman -used to go out and wash linen, while her daughter remained at home at -her working-table. One day she was sitting by the window as was her -wont, when a little bird flew on to the sewing-table and said to the -damsel: “Oh, little damsel, poor little damsel! death is thy -Kismet!”[13] whereupon it flew away again. From that hour the damsel’s -peace of mind was gone, and in the evening she told her mother what the -bird had said to her. “Close the door and the window,” said her mother, -“and sit at thy work as usual.” - -So the next morning she closed the door and the window and sat her down -at her work. But all at once there came a “Whirr-r-r-r!” and there was -the little bird again on the work-table. “Oh, little damsel, poor little -damsel! death is thy Kismet,” and with that it flew away again. The -damsel was more and more terrified than ever at these words, but her -mother comforted her again: “To-morrow,” said she, “close fast the door -and the window, and get into the cupboard. There light a candle, and go -on with thy work!” - -Scarcely had her mother departed with the dawn than the girl closed up -everything, lit a candle, and locked herself in the cupboard with her -work-table. But scarcely had she stitched two stitches when the bird -stood before her again, and said: “Oh, little damsel, poor little -damsel! death is thy Kismet!” and whirr-r-r-r! it flew away again. The -damsel was in such distress that she scarce knew where she was. She -threw her work aside, and began tormenting herself as to what this -saying might mean. Her mother, too, could not get to the bottom of the -matter, so she remained at home the next day, that she also might see -the bird, but the bird did not come again. - -So their sorrow was perpetual, and all the joy of their life was gone. -They never stirred from the house but watched and waited continually, if -perchance the bird might come again. One day the damsels of their -neighbour came to them and asked the woman to let her daughter go with -them. “If she went for a little outing,” said they, “she might forget -her trouble.” The woman did not like to let her go, but they promised -to take great care of her and not to lose sight of her, so at last she -let her go. - -So the damsels went into the fields and danced and diverted themselves -till the day was on the decline. On the way home they sat down by a well -and began to drink out of it. The poor woman’s daughter also went to -drink of the water, when lo! a wall rose up between her and the other -damsels, but such a wall as never the eye of man yet beheld. A voice -could not get beyond it, it was so high, and a man could not get through -it, it was so hard. Oh, how terrified was the poor woman’s daughter, and -what weeping and wailing and despair there was among her comrades. What -would become of the poor girl, and what would become of her poor mother! - -“I will not tell,” said one of them, “for she will not believe -us!”--“But what shall we say to her mother,” cried another, “now that -she has disappeared from before our eyes?”--“It is thy fault, it is thy -fault!” “Twas thou that asked her!” “No, ’twas thou.” So they fell to -blaming each other, looking all the time at the great wall. - -Meanwhile the mother was awaiting her daughter. She stood at the door of -the house and watched the damsels coming. The damsels came weeping sore, -and scarce dared to tell the poor woman what had befallen her daughter. -The woman rushed to the - -[Illustration: The Poor Woman and the Three Damsels.--p. 190.] - -great wall, her daughter was inside it and she herself was outside, and -so they wept and wailed so long as either of them had a tear to flow. - -In the midst of this great weeping the damsel fell asleep, and when she -woke up next morning she saw a great door beside the wall. “Happen to me -what may, if I am to perish, let me perish, but open this door I -will!”--so she opened it. Beyond the door was a beautiful palace, the -like of which is not to be seen even in dreams. This palace had a vast -hall, and on the wall of this hall hung forty keys. The damsel took the -keys and began opening the doors of all the rooms around her, and the -first set of rooms was full of silver, and the second set full of gold, -and the third set full of diamonds, and the fourth set full of -emeralds--in a word, each set of rooms was full of stones more precious -than the precious things of the rooms before it, so that the eyes of the -damsel were almost blinded by their splendour. - -She entered the fortieth room, and there, extended on the floor, was a -beautiful Bey, with a fan of pearls beside him, and on his breast a -piece of paper with these words written on it: “Whoever fans me for -forty days and prays all that time by my side will find her Kismet!” -Then the damsel thought of the little bird. So it was by the side of -this sleeper that she was to meet her fate! So she made her ablutions, -and, taking the fan in her hand, she sat down beside the Bey. Day and -night she kept on fanning him, praying continually till the fortieth day -was at hand. And on the morning of the last day she peeped out of the -window and beheld a negro girl in front of the palace. Then she thought -she would call this girl for a moment and ask her to pray beside the -Bey, while she herself made her ablutions and took a little repose. So -she called the negro girl and set her beside the Bey, that she might -pray beside him and fan his face. But the damsel hastened away and made -her ablutions and adorned herself, so that the Bey, when he awoke, might -see his life’s Kismet at her best and rejoice at the sight. - -Meanwhile the black girl read the piece of paper, and while the white -damsel tarried the youth awoke. He looked about him, and scarcely did he -see the black girl than he embraced her and called her his wife. The -poor white damsel could scarce believe her own eyes when she entered the -room; but the black girl, who was jealous of her, said to the Bey: “I, a -Sultan’s daughter, am not ashamed to go about just as I am, and this -chit of a serving-maid dares to appear before me arrayed so finely!” -Then she chased her out of the room, and sent her to the kitchen to -finish her work and boil and fry. The Bey was surprised, but he would -not say a word, for the negro girl was his bride, while the other -damsel was only a kitchen-wench. - -Now the Feast of Bairam fell about this time, and as is the custom at -such times, the Bey would fain have given gifts to them of his -household. So he went to the negress and asked her what she would like -on the Feast of Bairam. And the negress asked for a garment that never a -needle had sewn and never scissors had cut. Then he went down into the -kitchen and asked the damsel what she would like. “The stone-of-patience -has a yellow colour, and the knife-of-patience has a brown handle, bring -them both to me,” said the damsel. So the Bey went on his way, and got -the negress her garment, but the stone-of-patience and the -knife-of-patience he could find nowhere. What was he to do?--he could -not return home without the gifts. So he got on board his ship. - -The ship had only got half-way when suddenly it stopped short, and could -neither go backwards nor forwards. The captain was terrified, and told -his passengers that there was some one on board who had not kept his -word, and that was why they could not get on. Then the Bey came forward, -and said that he it was who had not kept his word. So they put the Bey -ashore, that he might keep his promise and then return back to the ship. -Then the Bey walked along the sea-shore, and from the sea-shore he came -to a great valley, and he went wandering on and on till he stood beside -a large spring. And he had scarce trodden on the stones around it when -suddenly a huge negro stood before him and asked him what he wanted. - -“The stone-of-patience is of a yellow colour and the knife-of-patience -has a brown sheath, bring them both to me!” said the Bey to the negro. -And the next moment both the stone and the knife were in his hand, and -he came back to the ship, went on board, and returned home. He gave the -garment to his wife, but the stone and the knife he put in the kitchen. -But the Bey was curious to know what the damsel would do with them, so -one evening he crept down into the kitchen and watched her. - -When night approached she took the knife in her hand and placed the -stone in front of her and began telling them her story. She told them -what the little bird had thrice told her, and in what great terror both -her mother and herself had fallen. - -And while she was looking at the stone it suddenly began to swell, and -its yellow hue hissed and bubbled as if there were life in it. - -Then the damsel went on to say how she had wandered into the palace of -the Bey, how she had prayed forty days beside him, and how she had -entrusted the negress with the praying while she went to wash and dress -herself. - -And the yellow stone swelled again, and hissed and foamed as if it were -about to burst. - -Then the damsel told how the negress had deceived her, how instead of -her the Bey had taken the negress to wife. - -And all this time the yellow stone went on swelling and hissing and -foaming as if there were a real living heart inside it, till suddenly it -burst and turned to ashes. - -Then the damsel took the little knife by the handle and said: “Oh, thou -yellow patience-stone, thou wert but a stone, and yet thou couldst not -endure that I, a tender little damsel, a poor little damsel, should thus -be thrust out.” And with that she would have buried the knife in her -breast, but the Bey rushed forward and snatched away the knife. - -“Thou art my real true Kismet,” cried the youth, as he took her into the -upper chamber in the place of the negress. But the treacherous negress -they slew, and they sent for the damsel’s mother and all lived together -with great joy. - -And the little bird came sometimes and perched in the window of the -palace, and sang his joyful lay. And this is what he sang: “Oh, little -damsel, happy little damsel, that hast found thy Kismet!” - - - - -THE GHOST OF THE SPRING AND THE SHREW - - -Once upon a time which was no time if it was a time, in the days when my -mother was my mother and I was my mother’s daughter, when my mother was -my daughter and I was my mother’s mother, in those days, I say, it -happened that we once went along the road, and we went on and on and on. -We went for a little way and we went for a long way, we went over -mountains and over valleys, we went for a month continually, and when we -looked behind us we hadn’t gone a step. So we set out again, and we went -on and on and on till we came to the garden of the Chin-i-Machin -Pasha.[14] We went in, and there was a miller grinding grain, and a cat -was by his side. And the cat had woe in its eye, and the cat had woe on -its nose, and the cat had woe in its mouth, and the cat had woe in its -fore paw, and the cat had woe in its hind paw, and the cat had woe in -its throat, and the cat had woe in its ear, and the cat had woe in its -face, and the cat had woe in its fur, and the cat had woe in its tail. - -Hard by this realm lived a poor wood-cutter, who had nothing in the -world but his poverty and a horrid shrew of a wife. What little money -the poor man made his wife always took away, so that he had not a single -_para_[15] left. If his supper was oversalted--and so it was many a -time--and her lord chanced to say to her: “Mother, thou hast put too -much salt in the food,” so venomous was she that next day she would cook -the supper without one single grain of salt, so that there was no savour -in it. But if he dared to say: “There is no savour in the food, mother!” -she would put so much salt in it next day that her husband could not eat -thereof at all. - -Now what was it that befell this poor man one day? This is what befell. -He put by a couple of pence from his earnings to buy a rope to hang -himself withal. But his wife found them in her husband’s pocket: “Ho, -ho!” she cried, “so thou dost hide thy money in corners to give it to -thy comrades, eh?” In vain the poor man swore by his head that it was -not so, his wife would not believe him. “My dear,” said her husband, “I -wanted to buy me a rope with the money.” - -“To hang thyself with, eh?” inquired his affectionate spouse. - -“Well, thou knowest what a hideous racket thou dost make sometimes,” -replied her husband, meaning to pacify her. - -“What I have done hitherto is little enough for a blockhead like thee,” -she replied, and with that she gave her husband such a blow that it -seemed to him as if the red dawn was flashing before him. - -The next morning the wood-cutter rose early, saddled his ass, and went -towards the mountains. All that he said to his wife before starting was -to beg her not to follow him into the forest. This was quite enough for -the wife. Immediately he was gone she saddled her ass, and after her -husband she went without more ado. “Who knows,” murmured she to herself, -“what he may not be up to in the mountains, if I am not there to look -after him!” - -The man saw that his wife was coming after him, but he made as if he did -not see, never spoke a word, and as soon as he got to the foot of the -mountain he set about wood-cutting. His wife, however, for she was a -restless soul, went up and down and all about the mountain, poked her -nose into everything, till at last her attention was fixed by a deserted -well, and she made straight for it. - -Then her husband cried to her: “Take care, there’s a well right before -thee!” - -The only effect this warning had upon the wife was to make her draw -still nearer. Again he cried to her: “Dost thou not hear me speak to -thee? Go not further on, for there’s a well in front of thee.” - -“What do I care what he says?” thought she. Then she took another step -forward, but before she could take another the earth gave way beneath -her, and into the well she plumped. As for the husband, he was thinking -of something else, for he always minded his own business, so, his work -over, he took his ass and never stopped till he got home. - -The next day, at dawn, he again arose, saddled the ass, and went to the -mountains, when the thought of his wife suddenly came into his mind. -“I’ll see what has become of the poor woman!” said he. So he went to the -opening of the well and looked into it, but nothing was to be seen or -heard of his wife. His heart was sore, for anyhow was she not his wife? -and he began to think whether he could get her out of the well. So he -took a rope, let it down into the well, and cried into the great depth -thereof: “Catch hold of the rope, mother, and I’ll draw thee up!” - -Presently the man felt that the rope had become very heavy. He pulled -away at it with all his might, he tugged and tugged--what creature of -Allah’s could it be that he was pulling out of the well? And lo! it was -none other than a hideous ghost! The poor wood-cutter was sore afraid. - -“Rise up, poor man, and fear not,” said the ghost. “The mighty Allah -rather bless thee for thy deed. Thou hast saved me from so great a -danger, that to the very day of judgment I will not forget thy good -deed.” - -Then the poor man began to wonder what this great danger might be. - -“How many many years I lived peaceably in this well I know not,” -continued the ghost, “but up to this very day I knew no trouble. But -yesterday--whence she came I know not--an old woman suddenly plumped -down on my shoulders, and caught me so tightly by both my ears, that I -could not get loose from her for a moment. By a thousand good fortunes -thou didst come to the spot, let down thy rope, and call to her to seize -hold of it. For in trying to get hold of it she let me go, and I at once -seized the rope myself, and, the merciful Allah be praised for it, here -I am on dry land again. Good awaits thee for thy good deed; list now to -what I say to thee!” - -With that the ghost drew forth three wooden tablets, gave them to the -wood-cutter, and said to him: “I now go to take possession of the -daughter of the Sultan. Up to this day the princess has been hale and -well, but now she will have leeches and wise men without number, but all -in vain, not one of them will be able to cure her. Thou also wilt hear -of the matter, thou wilt hasten to the Padishah, moisten these three -wooden tablets with water, lay them on the face of the damsel, and I -will come out of her, and a rich reward will be thine.” - -With that the wood-cutter took the three tablets, put them in his -pocket, and the ghost went to the right and he went to the left, and -neither of them thought any more of the old woman in the well. But let -us first follow the ghost. - -Scarcely had this son of a devil quitted the wood-cutter than he stood -in the Serai of the Padishah, and entered into the poor daughter of the -Sultan. The poor girl immediately fell to the ground in great pain. “O -my head! O my head!” she cried continually. They sent word to the -Padishah, and he, hastening thither, found his daughter lying on the -ground and groaning. Straightway he sent for leeches, wise men, drugs, -and incense, but none of them assuaged her pain. They sent for them a -second time, they sent for them a third time, but all their labour was -in vain. At last they had ten doctors and ten wise men trying what they -could do, and all the time the poor girl kept moaning: “My head, my -head!” - -“O my sweet child,” groaned the Padishah, “if thy head aches, believe me -my head, and my heart also, ache a thousand times as much to hear thee. -What shall I do for thee? I know what I will do. I will go call the -astrologers, perchance they will know more than I do.” And with that he -called together all the most famous astrologers in his kingdom. One of -them had one plan, another had another, but not one of them could cure -the complaint of the poor damsel. - -But now let us see what became of the poor wood-cutter. - -He lived on in the world without his wife, and gradually he forgot all -about her, and about the ghost and the three wooden tablets, and the -ghost’s advice and promise. But one day, when he had no thought at all -of these things, a herald from the city of the Padishah came to where he -was with a firman[16] in his hand, and read this out of it in a loud -voice: “The damsel, the Sultan’s daughter, is very sick. The leeches, -the wise men, the astrologers, all have seen her, and not one of them -can cure her complaint. Whoever is a master of mysteries, let him come -forward and doctor her. If he be a Mussulman, and cure her, the Sultan’s -daughter now and my realm after my death shall be his reward; and if he -be a Giaour[17] and cure her, all the treasures in my realm shall be -his.” - -The wood-cutter needed no more to remind him of the ghost, the three -tablets, and his wife. He arose and went up to the herald. “By the mercy -of Allah I will cure the Sultan’s daughter, if she be still alive,” said -he. At these words the servant of the Padishah caught hold of the -wood-cutter, and led him into the Serai. - -Word was sent at once of his arrival to the Padishah, and in an instant -everything was made ready for him to enter the sick chamber. There -before him lay the poor damsel, and all she did was to cry continually: -“My head, my head!” The wood-cutter brought forth the wooden tablets, -moistened them, and scarcely had he spread them on the Sultan’s daughter -than immediately she became as well again as if she had never been ill. -At this there was great joy and gladness in the Serai, and they gave the -daughter of the Sultan to the wood-cutter; so the poor man became the -son-in-law of the Padishah. - -Now this Padishah had a brother who was also a Padishah, and his kingdom -was the neighbouring kingdom. He also had a daughter, and it occurred to -the ghost of the well to possess her likewise. - -So she also began to be tormented in the same way, and nobody could find -a cure for her complaint. They searched and searched for assistance high -and low, till at last they heard how the daughter of the neighbouring -Padishah had been cured of a like sickness. So that other Padishah sent -many men into the neighbouring kingdom, and begged the first Padishah, -for the love of Allah, to send thither his son-in-law to cure the other -damsel also. If he cured her he was to have the damsel for his second -wife. - -So the Padishah sent his son-in-law that he might cure the -damsel--’twould be nothing to such a master of mysteries as he, they -said. All that he could say was in vain, the poor fellow had to set out, -and as soon as he arrived they led him at once into the sick-chamber. -But now the ghost of the well had a word to say in the matter. - -For that evil spirit was furious with his poor comrade. “Thou didst a -good deed to me, it is true,” began the ghost, “but thou canst not say -that I remained thy debtor. I left for thy sake the beautiful daughter -of the Sultan, and I chose out another for myself, and thou wouldst now -take her from me also? Well, wait a while, and thou shalt see that for -this deed of thine I will take them _both_ away from thee.” - -At this the poor man was sore troubled. - -“I did not come hither for the damsel,” said he, “she is thy property, -and, if such be thy desire, thou mayest take mine away also.” - -“Then what’s thy errand here?” roared the ghost. - -“Alas! ’tis my wife, the old woman of the well,” sighed the former -wood-cutter, “and I only left her in the well that I might be rid of -her.” - -On hearing this the ghost was terribly frightened, and it was with a -small voice that he now inquired whether by chance she had come to light -again. - -“Yes, indeed, she’s outside,” sighed the man, “wherever I may go I am -saddled with her. I haven’t the heart to free myself from her. Hark! -she’s at the door now, she’ll be in the room in a moment.” - -The ghost needed no more. Forthwith he left the daughter of the Sultan, -and the Serai, and the whole city, and the whole kingdom, so that not -even the rumour of him remained. And not a child of man has ever seen -him since. - -But the daughter of the Sultan recovered instantly, and they gave her to -the former wood-cutter, and he took her home as his second wife. - - - - -ROUMANIAN FAIRY TALES - - - - -THE STORY OF THE HALF-MAN-RIDING-ON-THE-WORSE-HALF-OF-A-LAME-HORSE - - -Once upon a time, long long ago, in the days when poplars bore pears and -rushes violets, when bears could switch themselves with their tails like -cows, and wolves and lambs kissed and cuddled each other, there lived an -Emperor whose hair was already white, and who yet had never a son to -bless himself with. The poor Emperor would have given anything to have -had a little son of his own like other men, but all his wishes were in -vain. - -At last, when he was quite an old old man, Fortune took pity on him -also, and a darling of a boy was born to him, the like of which the -world had never seen before. The Emperor gave him the name of Aleodor, -and gathered east and west, north and south, together to rejoice in his -joy at the child’s christening. The revels lasted three days and three -nights, and all the guests who made merry there with the Emperor could -think of nothing else for the rest of their lives. - -But the lad grew up as strong as an oak and as lovely as a rose, while -his father the Emperor drew nearer every day to the edge of the grave, -and when the hour of his death arrived he took the child on his knees -and said to him: - -“My darling son, behold the Lord calls me. The moment is at hand when I -am to share the common lot of man. I foresee that thou wilt become a -great man, and though I be dead my bones will rejoice in the tomb at thy -noble deeds. As to the administration of this realm I need tell thee -nought, for thou, with thy wisdom, wilt know how it behoves a king to -rule. One thing there is, nevertheless, that I must tell thee. Dost thou -see that mountain over yonder? Beware of ever setting thy foot upon it, -for ’twill be to thy hurt and harm. That mountain belongs to the -‘Half-man-riding-on-the-worse-half-of-a-lame-horse,’ and whosoever -ventures upon that mountain cannot escape unscathed.” - -He had no sooner said these words than his throat rattled thrice, and he -gave up the ghost. He departed to his place like every other human soul -that is born into the world, though there was never Emperor like him -since the world began. Those of his household bewailed him, his great -nobles bewailed - -[Illustration: The Emperor and the Young Aleodor.--p. 210.] - -him, his people bewailed him also, and then they had to bury him. - -Aleodor, from the moment that he ascended the throne of his father, -ruled the land wisely like a mature statesman, though in age he was but -a child. All the world delighted in his sway, and men thanked Heaven for -allowing them to live in the days of such a prince. - -All the time that was not taken up by affairs of State, Aleodor spent in -the chase. But he always bore in mind the precepts of his father, and -took care not to exceed the bounds which had been set him. - -One day, however--how it came about I know not--but anyhow he fell into -a brown study, and never noticed that he had overstepped the domains of -the Half-man till, after taking a dozen steps or so onwards, he found -himself face to face with the monster. That he was trespassing on the -grounds of this stunted and terrible creature did not trouble him -over-much, it was the thought that he had transgressed the dying command -of his dear father that grieved him. - -“Ho, ho!” cried the hideous monster, “dost thou not know that every -scoundrel who oversteps my bounds becomes my property?” - -“Yes,” replied Aleodor, “but I must tell thee that it was through want -of thought and without wishing it that I have trodden on thy ground. -Against thee I have no evil design at all.” - -“I know better than that,” replied the monster; “but I see that, like -all cowards, thou dost think it best to make excuses.” - -“Nay, so sure as God preserves me, I am no coward. I have told thee the -simple truth; but if thou wouldst fight, I am ready. Choose thy weapons! -Shall we slash with sabres, or slog with clubs, or wrestle together?” - -“Neither the one nor the other,” replied the monster. “One way only -canst thou escape thy just punishment--thou must fetch me the daughter -of the Green Emperor!” - -Aleodor would very much have liked to have got out of the difficulty -some other way, as affairs of State would not allow him to take so long -a journey, a journey on which he could find no guide to direct him; but -what did the monster know of all that? Aleodor felt that if he would -avoid the shame of being thought a robber and a trampler on the rights -of others, he must indeed find the daughter of the Green Emperor. -Besides, he wanted to escape with a whole skin if he could; so at last -he promised that he would do the service required of him. - -Now the Half-man-riding-on-the-worse-half-of-a-lame-horse knew very well -that, as a man of honour, Aleodor would never depart from his plighted -word, so he said to him: “Go now, in God’s name, and may good luck -attend thee!” - -So Aleodor departed. He went on and on, thinking over and over again how -he was to accomplish his task, and so keep his word, when he came to the -margin of a pond, and there he saw a pike dashing its life out on the -shore. He immediately went up to it to satisfy his hunger with it, when -the pike said to him: “Slay me not, Boy-Beautiful![18] but cast me -rather back into the water again, and then I will do thee good whenever -thou dost think of me.” - -Aleodor listened to the pike, and threw it back into the water again. -Then the pike said to him again: “Take this scale, and whenever thou -dost look at it and think of me I will be with thee.” - -Then the youth went on further and marvelled greatly at such a strange -encounter. - -Presently he fell in with a crow that had one wing broken. He would have -killed the crow and eaten it, but the crow said to him: “Boy-Beautiful, -Boy-Beautiful! why wilt thou burden thy soul on my account? Far better -were it if thou didst bind up my wing, and much good will I requite thee -with for thy kindness.” - -Aleodor listened, for his heart was as kind as his hand was cunning; and -he bound up the crow’s wing. When he made ready to go on again, the crow -said to him: “Take this feather, thou gallant youth! and whenever thou -dost look at it and think of me, I will be with thee.” - -Then Aleodor took the feather and went on his way. He hadn’t gone a -hundred paces further when he stumbled upon an ant. He would have -trodden upon it, when the ant said to him: “Spare my life, O Emperor -Aleodor, and I’ll deliver thee also from death! Take this little bit of -membrane from my wing, and whenever thou dost think of me, I’ll be with -thee.” - -When Aleodor heard these words, and how the ant called him by his name, -he raised his foot again and let the ant go where it would. He also went -on his way, and after journeying for I know not how many days he came at -last to the palace of the Green Emperor. There he knocked at the door, -and stood waiting for some one to come out and ask him what he wanted. - -He stood there one day, he stood there two days, but as for any one -coming out to ask him what he wanted, there was no sign of it. When the -third day dawned, however, the Green Emperor called to his servants and -gave them a talking to that they were likely to remember. “How comes -it,” said he, “that a man should be standing at my gates three days -without any one going out to ask him what he wants? Is this what I pay -you wages for?” - -The servants of the Green Emperor looked up, and they looked down, but -they had not one word to say for themselves. At last they went and -called Aleodor and led him before the Emperor. - -“What dost thou want, my son?” inquired the Emperor; “and wherefore art -thou waiting at the gates of my court?” - -“I have come, great Emperor, to seek thy daughter.” - -“Good, my son. But, first of all, we must make a compact together, for -such is the custom of my court. Thou must hide thyself wheresoever thou -wilt three times running. If my daughter finds thee all three times, thy -head shall be struck off and stuck on a stake, the only one out of a -hundred that has not a suitor’s head upon it. But if she does not find -thee thrice, thou shalt have her from me with all imperial courtesy.” - -“My hope, great Emperor, is in the Lord, Who will not allow me to -perish. We will put something else on this stake of thine, but not the -head of a man. Let us make the compact.” - -“Thou dost agree?” - -“I agree.” - -So they made them a compact, and the deeds were drawn out and signed and -sealed. - -Then the daughter of the Emperor met him next day, and it was arranged -that he should hide himself as best he could. But now he was in an agony -that tortured him worse than death, for he bethought him again and again -where and how he could best hide himself, for nothing less than his head -was at stake. And as he kept walking about, and brooding and pondering, -he remembered the pike. Then he took out the fish’s scale, looked at it, -and thought of the fish’s master, and immediately, oh wonderful!--the -pike stood before him and said: “What dost thou want of me, -Boy-Beautiful?” - -“What do I want? Thou mayest well ask that! Look what has happened to -me! Canst thou not tell me what to do?” - -“That is thy business no longer. Leave it to me!” - -And immediately striking Aleodor with his tail, he turned him into a -little shell-fish, and hid him among the other little shell-fish at the -bottom of the sea. - -When the damsel appeared, she put on her eye-glass and looked for him in -every direction, but could see him nowhere. Her other wooers had hidden -themselves in caves, or behind houses, or under haycocks and haystacks, -or in some hole or corner, but Aleodor hid himself in such a way that -the damsel began to fear that she would be vanquished. Then it occurred -to her to turn her eye-glass towards the sea, and she saw him beneath a -heap of mussels. But you must know that her eye-glass was a magic -eye-glass. - -“I see thee, thou rascal,” cried she, “how thou hast bothered me, to be -sure! From being a man thou hast made thyself a mussel, and hidden -thyself at the bottom of the sea.” - -This he couldn’t deny, so of course he had to come up again. - -But she said to the Emperor: “Methinks, dear father, this youth will -suit me. He is nice and comely. Even if I find him all three times let -me have him, for he is not stupid like the others. Why, thou canst see -from his figure even how different he is.” - -“We shall see,” replied the Emperor. - -On the second day Aleodor bethought him of the crow, and immediately the -crow stood before him, and said to him: “What dost thou want, my -master?” - -“Look now, senseless one! what has happened to me. Canst thou not show -me a way out of it?” - -“Let us try!” and with that it struck him with its wing and turned him -into a young crow, and placed him in the midst of a flock of crows that -were flying high in the air in the teeth of a fierce tempest. - -Then the damsel came again with her eye-glass and searched for him in -every direction. He was nowhere to be found. She looked for him on the -earth, but he was not there. She looked for him in the rivers and in the -sea, but he was not there. The damsel grew pensive. She searched and -searched till mid-day, when it occurred to her to look upwards also. And -perceiving him in the glory of the sky in the midst of a swarm of crows, -she pointed him out with her finger and cried: “Look! look! Rogue that -thou art! Come down from there, O man, that hast made thyself into a bit -of a bird! Nothing in the fields of heaven can escape my eye!” - -Then he came down, for what else could he do? Even the Emperor himself -now began to be amazed at the skill and cunning of Aleodor, and lent an -ear to the prayers of his daughter. Inasmuch, however, as the compact -declared that Aleodor was to hide three times, the Emperor said to his -daughter: “Wait once more, for I am curious to see what place he will -find to hide himself in next.” - -The third day, early in the morning, he thought of the ant, -and--whisk!--the ant was by his side. When she had found out what he -wanted she said to him: “Leave it to me, and if she find thee I am here -to help thee.” - -So the ant turned him into a flower-seed, and hid him in the very skirts -of the damsel without her perceiving it. - -Then the Emperor’s daughter rose up, took her eye-glass, and sought for -him all day long, but look where she would she could not find him. She -plagued herself almost to death in her search, for she felt that he was -close at hand, though see him she could not. She looked through her -eye-glass on the ground, and in the sea, and up in the sky, but she -could see him nowhere, and towards evening, tired out by so much -searching, she exclaimed: “Show thyself then, this once! I feel that -thou art close at hand, and yet I cannot see thee. Thou hast conquered, -and I am thine.” - -Then when he heard her say that he had conquered, he slipped slowly down -from her skirts and revealed himself. The Emperor had now nothing more -to say, so he gave the youth his daughter, and when they departed, he -escorted them to the boundaries of his empire with great pomp and -ceremony. - -While they were on the road they stopped at a place to rest, and after -they had refreshed themselves somewhat with food, he laid his head in -her lap and fell asleep. The daughter of the Emperor could not forbear -from looking at him, and her eyes filled with tears as they feasted on -his comeliness and beauty. Then her heart grew soft within her, and she -could not help kissing him. But Aleodor, when he awoke, gave her a -buffet with the palm of his hand that awoke the echoes. - -“Nay but, my dear Aleodor!” cried she, “thou hast indeed a heavy hand.” - -“I have slapped thee,” said he, “for the deed thou hast done, for I have -not taken thee for myself, but for him who bade me seek thee.” - -“Good, my brother! but why didst thou not tell me so at home? for then I -also would have known what to do. But let be now, for all that is past.” - -Then they set out again till they came alive and well to the -Half-man-riding-on-the-worse-half-of-a-lame-horse. - -“Lo, now! I have done my service,” said Aleodor, and with that he would -have departed. But when the girl beheld the monster, she shivered with -disgust, and would not stay with him for a single moment. The hideous -cripple drew near to the maiden, and began to caress her with honeyed -words, that so she might go with him willingly. But the girl said to -him: “Depart from me, Satan, and go to thy mother Hell, who hath cast -thee upon the face of the earth!” Then the half-monster half-man was -near to melting for the love he had for the damsel, and, writhing away -on his belly, he fetched his mother that she might help to persuade the -maid to be his wife. But meanwhile the damsel had dug a little trench -all round her, and stood rooted to the spot with her eyes fixed on the -ground. The hideous satanic skeleton of a monster could not get at her. - -“Depart from the face of the earth, thou abomination!” cried she; “the -world is well rid of such a pestilential monster as thou art!” - -Still he strove and strove to get at her, but finding at last he could -not reach her, he burst with rage and fury that a mere woman should have -so covered him with shame and reproach. - -Then Aleodor added the domain of the -Half-man-riding-on-the-worse-half-of-a-lame-horse to his own -possessions, took the daughter of the Green Emperor to wife, and -returned to his own empire. And when his people saw him coming back in -the company of a smiling spouse as beautiful as the stars of heaven, -they welcomed him with great joy, and, mounting once more his imperial -throne, he ruled his people in peace and plenty till the day of his -death. - -And now I’ll mount my horse again, and say an “Our Father” before I go. - - - - -THE ENCHANTED HOG - - -Once upon a time, a long long time ago, when fleas were shod with ninety -and nine pieces of iron, and flew up into the blue sky to fetch us down -fairy-tales, there lived an Emperor who had three daughters. One day, -when he was going to battle, he called these daughters to him and said -to them: - -“Look now, my darlings! Needs must that I go to the wars. My foe is -advancing against me with a huge host. ’Tis with great bitterness of -heart that I part from you. In my absence, take care that you have your -wits about you, behave well, and look after the affairs of the -household. You have my leave to walk in the garden and enter all the -rooms of my house, only in the chamber at the bottom of the corridor on -the right-hand side you must not enter, or it will not be well with -you.” - -“Depart in peace, papa!” cried they. “Never yet have we disobeyed the -words of thy commands. Go without any fear of us, and God give thee -victory over all thine enemies!” - -So when he was quite ready to depart, the Emperor gave them the keys of -all his chambers; but once more he put them in mind of his command, and -then he bade them good-bye and departed. - -The daughters of the Emperor kissed his hand with tears in their eyes, -and wished him victory once more, and then the eldest of the three -daughters received the keys from the hands of the Emperor. - -When the daughters of the Emperor found themselves all alone they knew -not what to do with themselves, the time hung so heavily. At last they -agreed to work a part of the day, and to read another part of the day, -and spend the rest of the day walking in the garden. This they did, and -things went well with them. - -But the Deceiver of mankind was vexed at the tranquillity of the -maidens, so he must needs twist his tail in their affairs. - -“My sisters,” said the eldest of the three damsels one day, “why do we -spend the live-long day in sewing and knitting and reading? I am sick -and tired of it all. It is ever so many days now since we were left to -ourselves, and there’s not a corner of the garden that we have not -walked in over and over again. We have also been through all the rooms -of our father’s palace, and looked at all the ornaments there till we -know them by heart. Let us now enter into that chamber which our father -told us not to enter.” - -“Woe is me, dear sister!” said the youngest damsel. “I wonder that thou -shouldst persuade us to tread underfoot the precepts of our father. When -our father told us not to enter there, he must needs have known what he -was saying, and why he told us so to do.” - -“Dost thou fancy, silly, that there’s some evil serpent there that will -eat us, or some other foul beast perhaps?” cried the middle sister. -“Besides, how is papa to know whether we were there or not?” - -Talking and arguing thus, they had reached the door of the chamber, and -the eldest sister, who was the guardian of the keys, popped the key into -the key-hole, and turning it round--crack-rack!--the door flew wide -open. - -The damsels entered. - -What do you think they saw there? The room was bare of furniture, but in -the middle of it stood a large table covered with a beautiful cloth, and -on the top of it was a wide-open book. - -The girls, all full of impatience, wanted to find out what was written -in this book, and the eldest went up to it and read these words: “The -eldest daughter of the Emperor will marry a son of the Emperor of the -East.” - -Then the second daughter went up to the book, and turning over the leaf, -read these words: “The second daughter of the Emperor will marry a son -of the Emperor of the West.” - -The girls laughed and made merry at these words, and giggled and joked -among themselves. But the youngest daughter would not go up to the book. - -But the elder ones would not leave her in peace, but dragged her up to -the long table, and then, though very unwillingly, she turned over the -leaf and read these words-- - -“The youngest daughter of the Emperor will have a pig for her spouse.” - -A thunderbolt falling from the sky could not have hurt her more than the -reading of these words. She was like to have died of horror, and if her -sisters had not held her she would have dashed her head to pieces -against the ground. - -When she had come to herself again, her sisters began to try to comfort -her. “How canst thou believe all that nonsense?” said they. “When didst -thou ever hear of the daughter of an Emperor marrying a pig?” - -“What a baby thou art!” added the eldest, “as if papa hadn’t armies -enough to save thee, even if so loathsome a monster as that _did_ come -and try and make thee his wife!” - -The youngest daughter of the Emperor would very much have liked to -believe what her sisters said, but her heart would not allow it. She -thought continually of the book which promised her sisters such handsome -bridegrooms, while it foretold that that should happen to her which had -never yet happened since the world began. Then she reflected how she had -transgressed the commands of her father, and her heart smote her. She -began to grow thin, and ere a few days had passed she had so changed -that none could recognize her. She became sad and sallow, instead of -rosy and rollicking, and could take part in nothing at all. She ceased -to play with her sisters in the garden; she ceased to cull posies and -make garlands of them for her head, and when her sisters sang over their -distaffs and embroideries her voice was dumb. - -Meanwhile the Emperor, the father of these girls, succeeded beyond even -the wishes of his dearest friends, and vanquished and dispersed his -enemies. As his thoughts were continually with his daughters, he did -what he had to do quickly and returned home. Crowds and crowds of people -turned out to meet him with fifes and drums and trumpets, and great was -their joy at the sight of their victorious Emperor. - -When he reached his capital, before going home, he gave thanks to God -for aiding him against the enemies who had tried to do him evil. Then he -went to his own house, and his daughters came out to meet him. His joy -was great when he saw how well they were, for his youngest daughter did -her best to appear as gay and happy as the others. - -But it was not very long before the Emperor observed that, little by -little, his youngest daughter was growing sadder and thinner. “What if -she has broken my commands?” thought he, and as it were a red-hot iron -pierced his soul. Then he called his daughters to him, and bade them -speak the truth. They confessed, but they did not say which of them had -first persuaded them. - -When the Emperor heard this he was filled with bitterness, and from -henceforth sadness took possession of him. But he held his tongue, and -did but make all the more of his youngest daughter because he was about -to lose her. What’s done is done, and he knew that thousands and -thousands of words can’t make one farthing. - -Time went on, and he had almost come to forget the circumstance, when -one day there appeared at the Emperor’s court the son of the Emperor of -the East, who sought the hand of his eldest daughter. The Emperor gave -her to him with joy. They had a splendid wedding, and after three days -he conducted them with great pomp to the frontier. A little while -afterwards the same thing happened to the second daughter, for the son -of the Emperor of the West came and sought her in marriage likewise. - -Accordingly as she saw what had been written in the book gradually -fulfilled, the youngest daughter of the Emperor grew sadder and sadder. -She no longer enjoyed her food; she would not go out walking; she even -lost all pleasure in raiment; she preferred to die rather than become -the laughing-stock of the whole world. But the Emperor did not give her -the opportunity of doing anything foolish, but took care to divert her -with all manner of pleasant stories. - -Time went on, and lo!--oh, wonderful!--one day a large hog entered the -royal palace and said: “Hail, O Emperor! May thy days be as rosy and as -joyous as sunrise on a cloudless day!” - -“Good and fair is thy greeting, my son!” replied the Emperor; “but what -ill wind hath blown thee hither, I should like to know?” - -“I have come as a wooer,” replied the hog. - -The Emperor marvelled greatly at hearing such a pretty speech in the -mouth of a hog, and immediately felt within himself that all was not -right here. He would have put the hog off with some excuse if he could, -to save his daughter, but when he heard the court and all the ways -leading to it full of the grunts of the hogs who had accompanied the -wooer, he had nothing to say for himself, and promised the hog that he -would do what it asked. But the hog was not content with his bare -promise, but insisted that the wedding should take place within a week. -Only when it had obtained the Emperor’s word that it should be so did it -go away. - -The Emperor told his daughter that she must submit to her fate, as it -was clearly the will of God. Then he added: “My daughter, the speech and -sensible bearing of this hog belong to no brute beast with which I am -acquainted. I’ll wager my head upon it that he was never _born_ a hog. -There must be a touch of sorcery here, or some other devilry. If thou -art obedient, thou wilt not depart from thy given word, for God will not -allow thee to be tormented for long.” - -“If thou dost think it good, dear father,” replied the girl, “I will -obey thee, and put my trust in God. Let Him do what He will with me. It -must be so, I have no other way to turn.” - -In the meantime the wedding-day arrived. The marriage was celebrated in -secret. Then the hog got into one of the imperial carriages with his -bride, and so they set off homewards. - -On the journey they had to pass by a large marsh. The hog ordered the -carriage to stop, got down, and wallowed about in the mire till he was -pretty nearly one with it. Then he got into the carriage again, and told -his bride to kiss him. Poor girl, what could she do? She took out her -cambric pocket-handkerchief, wiped his snout a little, and then kissed -him. “I am but obeying my father’s commands,” thought she. - -At last they reached the hog’s house, which was in the midst of a dense -forest. It was now evening, and when they had rested a little from the -fatigues of the road they supped together and lay down to rest. In the -night the daughter of the Emperor perceived that her husband was a man -and not a hog, and she marvelled greatly. Then she called to mind the -words of her father, and hope once more arose in her breast. - -Every evening the hog shook off his hog-skin, and every morning before -she awoke he put it on again. - -One night passed, two nights passed, a great many nights passed, and the -damsel could not make out how it was that her husband was a man at night -and a hog in the daytime. For he was under a spell; an enchanter had -done him this mischief. - -Gradually she began to love him, especially when she felt that she was -about to become a mother, but what grieved her most was that she was -all alone, with none at hand to aid her in her hour of need. - -One day, however, she saw an old long-nosed witch pass by that way. Now -as she had seen no human creature for a long time, she was full of joy, -and called to her, and they had a long talk together. - -“Tell me now, old woman,” cried she, “the meaning of this marvel. In the -daytime my husband is a hog, but when he sleeps beside me at night he is -a man. Explain this marvel to me!” - -“I’ll tell thee that later on, but in the meanwhile shall I give thee -some medicines that will put an end to the spell that holds him?” - -“Oh, do, little mother, and I’ll pay thee for them whatever thou wilt, -for I hate to see him as he is now.” - -“Very well, then. Take this bit of rope, my little chicken, but let him -not know anything about it, or it will lose its effect. Now when he is -asleep, rise up, and going to him very very softly, tie his left leg as -hard as thou canst, and thou wilt see, dear heart, that on the morrow -he’ll remain a man. Money I do not want. I shall be more than repaid if -I release him from this scourge. My very heart-strings are bursting with -compassion for thy lord, my rose-bud, and I grieve, oh how bitterly I -grieve, that I did not come this way before, so as to help thee -sooner.” - -When the old hag had departed, the daughter of the Emperor took care to -carefully conceal the piece of rope, but in the middle of the night she -softly arose so that he shouldn’t hear her, and holding her very breath, -tied the string round her husband’s left leg, but when she tied the -knot--r-rch!--the string broke, for it was rotten, and instantly her -husband started up. - -“Unhappy woman!” cried he, “what hast thou done? But three days more and -I should have been free of this vile spell, but now who knows how long I -may have to carry this vile bestial skin! And know, moreover, that thy -hand can never touch me again till thou hast worn out three pairs of -iron sandals, and worn down three staves of steel, seeking me all over -the wide world, for now I must depart.” - -And with these words he disappeared. - -The poor daughter of the Emperor, when she found herself all alone, -began to cry and sob as if her heart would break. She cursed the vile -witch with fire and sword, but all in vain, and when at last she saw -that all her cursing and moaning did no good, she got up and went -whithersoever the mercy of God and the desire of her husband might lead -her. - -At the first city she arrived at she bade them make her three pairs of -iron sandals and three staves of steel, made provision for her journey, -and set off to seek her husband. - -She went on and on, past nine kingdoms and nine seas, she passed through -vast forests where the treestumps were like barrels, she got black and -blue from stumbling over the trunks of fallen trees, yet often as she -fell, she always got up again and resumed her way; the branches of the -trees struck her in the face, the briars tore her hands, yet on and on -she went without so much as looking back once. At last, weary with her -journey and her burden, bowed down with grief and yet with hope in her -heart, she came to a little house. And who should be living there but -the Holy Moon. - -The damsel knocked at the door and begged them to let her come in and -rest a little, especially as she was about to become a mother. - -The mother of the Holy Moon had compassion on her and her afflictions, -so she let her come inside and took good care of her. Then she asked -her: “How is it that thou, a creature of another race, hast managed to -come so far as this?” - -Then the poor daughter of the Emperor told her everything that had -happened to her, and wound up by saying: “I praise and thank God first -of all for directing my footsteps even to this place, and I thank Him in -the second place because He allows not my child to perish at the hour -of its birth. And now I beg thee to tell me whether thy daughter, the -Holy Moon, hath seen my husband anywhere?” - -“That I cannot tell thee, my dear,” replied the mother of the Holy Moon; -“but if thou dost go on thy way towards the east till thou comest to the -house of the Holy Sun, maybe he will be able to tell thee somewhat.” - -Then she gave her a roast fowl to eat, and told her to be very careful -not to lose one of the bones, as they would be very useful to her. - -The daughter of the Emperor thanked the mother of the Moon for her -hospitality and kind words, and after throwing away the pair of iron -sandals which she had worn out, she put on another pair, placed the -fowl’s bones in her bosom, took her child on her arm, and a second staff -of steel in her hand, and took to the road again. - -She went on and on through nothing but plains of sand, and the way was -so bad that she glided one step backwards for every two steps she went -forwards. On and on she struggled till at last she left these plains -behind her; and now she got amongst high mountains, steep and rugged, -and crawled from rock to rock and from crag to crag. Whenever she came -to a little plot of level ground she stopped and rested a little, and -reflected that now she was a little nearer her husband than she was -before, and then she went on her way again. The sides of the mountains -were of hard-pointed flints, which bruised and cut her feet, knees, and -sides till they were covered with blood; for you must know that these -mountains were so high that they reached beyond the clouds. There were -precipices in the way too that she could only pass by going down on her -hands and knees and guiding herself with her staff. - -At last, quite overcome by fatigue, she came to a palace. - -Here lived the Sun. - -She knocked at the door and begged them to take her in. - -The mother of the Sun received her, and was amazed to see a creature of -another race in those regions, and full of compassion when she heard -what had befallen her. Then, when she had promised to ask her son about -the damsel’s husband, she hid her in the cellar, that the Sun might not -perceive her when he came home in the evening, for he always came back -in a bad temper. - -Next day the daughter of the Emperor was afraid she would be found out, -as the Sun said he smelt a creature from another world. But his mother -soothed him with soft words, and told him that it was pears that he -smelt. The daughter of the Emperor took courage when she saw how well -she was treated, and said: - -“Tell me now, how can the Sun be ever vexed, seeing that he is so -beauteous, and doeth so much good to mortals?” - -“I’ll tell thee,” replied the mother of the Sun. “In the morning he -stands in the gate of Heaven, and then he is merry, so merry, and smiles -upon the whole world. But at mid-day he is full of disgust, inasmuch as -he sees all the follies of men, and so his wrath burns and he gets -hotter and hotter; while in the evening he is vexed and sorrowful -because he stands in the gate of Hades, for that is the usual way by -which he comes home.” - -She told her besides that she had asked about her husband, and her son -had replied that he knew not anything about him, as he was living in the -midst of a vast and dense forest, so that his beams could not pierce -through the thick foliage; the only thing to do was to go and ask the -Wind about it. Then she also gave her a roast fowl, and told her to take -great care of the bones. - -So the daughter of the Emperor pitched away the second pair of iron -sandals that she had worn out, tied up the bones, took her child on her -arm and a third staff in her hand, and went after the Wind. - -On this journey she met with hardships greater than any before, for she -came upon mountains of flintstones, one after another, through which -darted flames of fire, forests untrodden by man, and fields of ice dark -with snow-storms. More than once the poor creature was on the point of -falling, but with perseverance and the help of God she overcame even -these great hardships, and at last she reached a ravine between two -mountains, large enough to hold seven cities. - -This was the abode of the Wind. - -There was a gate in the wall which surrounded it. She knocked and -implored them to let her in. The mother of the Wind had compassion on -her, and let her in and invited her to rest. “If she had hidden from the -Sun,” she said, “surely the Wind would not find her out.” - -The next day the mother of the Wind told her that her husband was living -in a huge dense wood, which the axe of man had never yet reached, and -there he had made him a sort of house by piling up the trunks of trees -one on the top of another, and plaiting them together with withy bands, -where he lived all alone for fear of wicked men. Then, after she had -given her a roast fowl and told her to take good care of the bones, the -mother of the Wind counselled her to follow the road that led straight -to the sky, and let the stars of heaven be her guides. She said she -would, and after thanking her with tears of joy for her hospitality and -for her glad tidings, she went on her way. - -The poor woman turned night into day. She stopped neither to eat nor to -rest, so fiercely did the desire to find her husband burn within her. -She went on and on till she quite wore out the third pair of sandals. -She threw them away, and began to walk with bare feet. She cared not for -the hard clumps of earth, she took no heed of the thorns that entered -into her feet, nor of the pain she suffered when she stumbled over the -hard stones. At last she came to a green and beauteous meadow on the -margin of a forest, and her heart rejoiced within her when she felt the -soft grass and saw the sweet flowers. She stopped and rested a little. -But when she saw the birds in couples and couples on the branches of the -trees, a burning desire for her own husband came upon her, and she began -to weep bitterly, and with her child on her arm, and her bundle of bones -in her girdle, she went on her way. She entered the forest. She did not -once look at the soft green turf which soothed her feet, she listened -not to the birds that chirped enough to deafen her, she regarded not the -flowers that peeped out from among the bushes, but groped her way step -by step into the depths of the forest. For from the tokens given her by -the mother of the Wind she perceived that this must be the forest in -which her husband was staying. - -Three days and three nights she roamed through the forest, and could see -no one. So worn was she now with fatigue that she fell to the ground, -and there she lay for a day and a night without moving, nor did she eat -and drink. - -At last she rallied all her remaining strength, rose up, and tottering -along, tried to support herself on her staff; but it could help her no -more, for that also was quite worn down so that it was now no good to -her. Still trusting in God, she went on as best she could. She hadn’t -taken ten steps forward when she saw in a cleft of the rock just such a -sort of house as the mother of the Wind had told her of. She went -towards it, and just managed to get up to it and no more. It was a house -that had neither window nor door, but there was an opening in the roof. -She looked around her, but there was no sign of a ladder. - -What was she to do to get inside it? - -She thought and thought again. She tried to climb up it, but in vain. -Suddenly she thought of the bones which she had been carrying all this -way. “If only I could find out,” said she, “how these bones are to -assist me!” She took them out of the bundle, looked at them, reflected a -little, and then put one atop the other, and--oh, wonderful!--they -joined on to each other as if they had been glued. Then she joined -another on to the first two and then another till she made out of them -two long bars. Then she put a little bone across the two bars, and it -stuck fast like the rung of a ladder. She mounted on it, and placed -another little bone across a bit higher, and then she mounted on that -also, and so she ascended from rung to rung, placing the small bones -across as she went along, till she got quite near the top; but then she -saw that there was a wide gap between the last rung of her ladder and -the door in the roof of the house, and she now had no more bones to make -the last rung. She must have lost it on the way. What was she to do now? -She bethought her for a while, and then she cut off a finger and placed -that between the bars. Sure enough it joined on to and formed the last -rung, and mounting on it she entered the door of the house with her -child in her arms. There she rested for awhile, gave her child to suck, -and sat down herself on the threshold. - -When her husband came he was so amazed at what he saw that he could -scarce believe his eyes, and there he stood looking at the ladder of -bones, the last rung of which was a severed human finger. Fear came upon -him lest there should be some evil enchantment about the thing, and he -would have turned his back upon the house if God had not put it into his -mind to enter. So turning himself into a dove, and flying up into the -air without once touching the ladder, lest evil spells should lay hold -of him, he entered the house in full flight, and there he beheld his -wife nursing a child; and instantly he was full of tenderness and -compassion towards her, for he bethought him of how much she must have -suffered and endured before she could have found her way to him. Nay, he -could scarce recognize her, so changed was she by her hardships and -sufferings. - -But the daughter of the Emperor, when she saw him, sprang from her seat, -and her heart failed her for fright, for she did not know him. Then he -made himself known to her, and she regretted no longer all she had gone -through to find him, nay, she forgot it altogether, for he was as tall -and straight as a lordly pine. - -Then they began talking together. She told him all that had befallen -her, and he wept for pity. Then he also spoke, and told her his story. - -“I am the son of an Emperor,” said he. “In the war which my father waged -with the dragons, our neighbours (and evil neighbours they were, ever -ravaging his domains), I slew the smallest of the dragons. Now his -mother knew that thou wert my destined bride, so she laid the curse of -her spells upon me, and constrained me to wear the skin of an unclean -beast, with the design of preventing me from having thee. Yet God aided -me, and I won thee nevertheless. That old woman who gave thee the cord -to tie my legs with was the dragon’s mother, and when I had but three -days more to bear the spell, I was forced, by thy folly, to go about in -pigskin three years longer. But now since thou hast suffered for me and -I have suffered for thee, let us praise God and return to our parents. -Without thee I should have resigned myself to living the life of a -hermit, and so I chose this desert for my habitation, and built me this -house so that no child of man should get at me.” - -Then they embraced each other full of joy, and promised to forget all -their past sorrows. - -The next day they rose early and went back first of all to the Emperor -his father. When it was known that he and his consort had arrived, all -the world wept with joy; but his father and mother embraced them -tightly, and the public rejoicings lasted three days and three nights. - -Then he went on to the Emperor the father of his wife, and he was like -to have gone out of his mind for joy when he saw them. When he had heard -all their adventures he said to his daughter: “Did I not tell thee not -to believe that he who sought thy hand was ever born a hog? Thou hast -done well, my daughter, to listen to my words.” - -And being an old man, and having no heirs, he descended from his throne -and put them upon it in his stead. Then they reigned in peace, and if -they are not dead they are living still. - -And now I’ll mount my horse again and say an “Our Father” before I go. - - - - -BOY-BEAUTIFUL, THE GOLDEN APPLES, AND THE WERE-WOLF - - -Once upon a time, a long while ago, when the very flies wrote upon the -walls more beautifully than the mind can picture, there lived an Emperor -and an Empress who had three sons, and a very beautiful garden alongside -their palace. At the bottom of this garden there grew an apple-tree, -entirely of gold from the top to the bottom. The Emperor was wild with -joy at the thought that he had in his garden an apple-tree, the like of -which was not to be found in the wide world. He used to stand in front -of it, and poke his nose into every part of it, and look at it again and -again, till his eyes nearly started out of his head. One day he saw this -tree bud, blossom, and form its fruit, which began to ripen before him. -The Emperor twisted his moustache, and his mouth watered at the thought -that the next day he would have a golden apple or two on his table, an -unheard-of thing up to that moment since the world began. - -Day had scarcely begun to dawn next morning, when the Emperor was -already in the garden to feast his eyes to the full on the golden -apples; but he almost went out of his mind when, instead of the ripened -golden apples, he saw that the tree was budding anew, but of apples -there was no sign. While he stood there he saw the tree blossom, the -blossoms fall off, and the young fruit again appear. - -At this sight his heart came back to him again, and he joyfully awaited -the morrow, but on the morrow also the apples had gone--goodness knows -where! The Emperor was very wroth. He commanded that the tree should be -strictly guarded, and the thief seized; but, alas! where were they to -find him? - -The tree blossomed every day, put forth flowers, formed its fruit, and -towards evening the fruit began to ripen. But in the middle of the night -somebody always came and took away the fruit, without the Emperor’s -watchers being aware of it. It was just as if it were done on purpose. -Every night, sure enough, somebody came and took the apples, as if to -mock at the Emperor and all his guards! So though this Emperor had the -golden apple-tree in his garden, he not only never could have a golden -apple on his table, but never even saw it ripen. At last the poor -Emperor took it so to heart that he said he would give up his throne to -whosoever would catch and bind the thief. - -Then the sons of the Emperor came to him, and asked him to let them -watch also. Great was the joy of the Emperor when he heard from the -mouth of his eldest son the vow he made to lay hands upon the thief. So -the Emperor gave him leave, and he set to work. The eldest son watched -the first night, but he suffered the same disgrace that the other -watchers had suffered before him. - -On the second night the second son watched, but he was no cleverer than -his brother, and returned to his father with his nose to the earth. - -Both the brothers said that up to midnight they had watched well enough, -but after that they could not keep their feet for weariness, but fell -down in a deep sleep, and recollected nothing else. - -The youngest son listened to all this in silence, but when his big -brothers had told their story, he begged his father to let _him_ watch -too. Now, sad as his father was at being unable to find a valiant -warrior to catch the thief, yet he burst out laughing when he heard the -request of his youngest son. Nevertheless, he yielded at last, though -only after much pressing, and now the youngest son set about guarding -the tree. - -When the evening had come, he took his bow, and his quiver full of -arrows, and his sword, and went down into the garden. Here he chose out -a lonely place, quite away from wall and tree, or any other place that -he might have been able to lean against, and stood on the trunk of a -felled tree, so that if he chanced to doze off, it might slip from under -him and awake him. This he did, and when he had fallen two or three -times, sleep forsook him, and weariness ceased to torment him. - -Just as it was drawing nigh to dawn, at the hour when sleep is sweetest, -he heard a fluttering in the air, as if a swarm of birds was -approaching. He pricked up his ears, and heard something or other -pecking away at the golden apples. He pulled an arrow from his quiver, -placed it on his bow, and drew it with all his might--but nothing -stirred. He drew his bow again--still there was nothing. When he had -drawn it once more, he heard again the fluttering of wings, and was -conscious that a flock of birds was flying away. He drew near to the -golden apples, and perceived that the thief had not had time to take all -of them. He had taken one here, and one there, but most of them still -remained. As now he stood there he fancied he saw something shining on -the ground. He stooped down and picked up the shining thing, and, lo and -behold! it was two feathers entirely of gold.[19] - -When it was day he plucked the apples, placed them on a golden salver, -and with the golden feathers in his hat, went to find his father. The -Emperor, when he saw the apples, very nearly went out of his mind for -joy; but he controlled himself, and proclaimed throughout the city that -his youngest son had succeeded in saving the apples, and that the thief -was discovered to be a flock of birds. - -Boy-Beautiful now asked his father to let him go and search out the -thief; but his father would hear of nothing but the long-desired apples, -which he was never tired of feasting his eyes upon. - -But the youngest son of the Emperor was not to be put off, and -importuned his father till at last the Emperor, in order to get rid of -him, gave him leave to go and seek the thief. So he got ready, and when -he was about to depart, he took the golden feathers out of his cap, and -gave them to his mother, the Empress, to keep for him till he returned. -He took raiment and money for his journey, fastened his quiverful of -arrows to his back, and his sword on his right hip, and with his bow in -one hand and the reins in the other, and accompanied by a faithful -servant, set off on his way. He went on and on, along roads more and -more remote, till at last he came to a desert. Here he dismounted, and -taking counsel with his faithful servant, hit upon a road that led to -the east. They went on a good bit further, till they came to a vast and -dense wood. Through this tangle of a wood they had to grope their way -(and it was as much as they could do to do that), and presently they -saw, a long way off, a great and terrible wolf, with a head of steel. -They immediately prepared to defend themselves, and when they were -within bow-shot of the wolf, Boy-Beautiful put his bow to his eye. - -The wolf seeing this, cried: “Stay thy hand, Boy-Beautiful, and slay me -not, and it will be well for thee one day!” Boy-Beautiful listened to -him, and let his bow fall, and the wolf drawing nigh, asked them where -they were going, and what they were doing in that wood, untrodden by the -foot of man. Then Boy-Beautiful told him the whole story of the golden -apples in his father’s garden, and said they were seeking after the -thief. - -The wolf told him that the thief was the Emperor of the Birds, who, -whenever he set out to steal apples, took with him in his train all the -birds of swiftest flight, that so they might strip the orchards more -rapidly, and that these birds were to be found in the city on the -confines of this wood. He also told them that the whole household of the -Emperor of the Birds lived by the robbing of gardens and orchards; and -he showed them the nearest and easiest way to the city. Then giving -them a little apple most lovely to look upon, he said to them: “Accept -this apple, Boy-Beautiful! Whenever thou shouldst have need of me, look -at it and think of me, and immediately I’ll be with thee!” - -Boy-Beautiful took the apple, and concealed it in his bosom, and bidding -the wolf good-day, struggled onwards with his faithful servant through -the thickets of the forest, till he came to the city where the -robber-bird dwelt. All through the city he went, asking where it was, -and they told him that the Emperor of that realm had it in a gold cage -in his garden. - -That was all he wanted to know. He took a turn round the court of the -Emperor, and noted in his mind all the ramparts which surrounded the -court. When it was evening, he came thither with his faithful servant, -and hid himself in a corner, waiting till all the dwellers in the palace -had gone to rest. Then the faithful servant gave him a leg-up, and -Boy-Beautiful, mounting on his back, scaled the wall, and leaped down -into the garden. But the moment he put his hand on the cage, the Emperor -of the Birds chirped, and before you could say boo! he was surrounded by -a flock of birds, from the smallest to the greatest, all chirping in -their own tongues. They made such a noise that they awoke all the -servants of the Emperor. They rushed into the garden, and there they -found Boy-Beautiful, with the cage in his hand, and all the birds -darting at him, and he defending himself as best he could. The servants -laid their hands upon him, and led him to the Emperor, who had also got -up to see what was the matter. - -“I am sorry to see thee thus, Boy-Beautiful,” cried the Emperor, for he -knew him. “If thou hadst come to me with good words, or with entreaties, -and asked me for the bird, I might, perhaps, have been persuaded to give -it to thee of my own good-will and pleasure; but as thou hast been taken -hand-in-sack, as they say, the reward of thy deed according to our laws -is death, and thy name will be covered with dishonour.” - -“Illustrious Emperor,” replied Boy-Beautiful, “these same birds have -stolen the golden apples from the apple-tree of my father’s garden, and -therefore have I come all this way to lay hands on the thief.” - -“What thou dost say may be true, Boy-Beautiful, but I have no power to -alter the laws of this land. Only a signal service rendered to our -empire can save thee from a shameful death.” - -“Say what that service is, and I will venture it.” - -“Listen then! If thou dost succeed in bringing me the saddle-horse in -the court of the Emperor my neighbour, thou wilt depart with thy face -unblackened, and thou shalt take the bird in its cage along with thee.” - -Boy-Beautiful agreed to these conditions, and that same day he departed -with his faithful servant. - -On reaching the court of the neighbouring Emperor he took note of the -horse and of all the environs of the court. Then as evening drew near, -he hid with his faithful servant in a corner of the court which seemed -to him to be a safe ambuscade. He saw the horse walked out between two -servants, and he marvelled at its beauty. It was white, its bridle was -of gold set with gems inestimable, and it shone like the sun. - -In the middle of the night, when sleep is most sweet, Boy-Beautiful bade -his faithful servant stoop down, leaped on to his back, and from thence -on to the wall, and leaped down into the Emperor’s courtyard. He groped -his way along on the tips of his toes till he came to the stable, and -opening the door, put his hand on the bridle and drew the horse after -him. When the horse got to the door of the stable and sniffed the keen -air, it sneezed once with a mighty sneeze that awoke the whole court. In -an instant they all rushed out, laid hands on Boy-Beautiful, and led him -before the Emperor, who had also been aroused, and who when he saw -Boy-Beautiful knew him at once. He reproached him for the cowardly deed -he had nearly accomplished, and told him that the laws of the land -decreed death to all thieves, and - -[Illustration: Boy-Beautiful and his Faithful Servant.--p. 252.] - -that he had no power against those laws. Then Boy-Beautiful told him of -the theft of the golden apples by the birds, and of what the -neighbouring Emperor had told him to do. Then said the Emperor: “If, -Boy-Beautiful, thou canst bring me the divine Craiessa,[20] thou mayest -perhaps escape death, and thy name shall remain untarnished.” -Boy-Beautiful risked the adventure, and accompanied by his faithful -servant set off on his quest. While he was on the road, the thought of -the little apple occurred to him. He took it from his bosom, looked at -it, and thought of the wolf, and before he could wipe his eyes the wolf -was there. - -“What dost thou desire, Boy-Beautiful?” said he. - -“What do I desire, indeed!--look here, look here, look here, what has -happened to me! Whatever am I to do to get out of this mess with a good -conscience?” - -“Rely upon me, for I see I must finish this business for thee.” So they -all three went on together to seek the divine Craiessa. - -When they drew nigh to the land of the divine Craiessa they halted in -the midst of a vast forest, where they could see the Craiessa’s dazzling -palace, and it was agreed that Boy-Beautiful and his servant should -await the return of the wolf by the trunk of a large tree. The proud -palace of the divine Craiessa was so grand and beautiful, and the style -and arrangement thereof so goodly, that the wolf could scarce take his -eyes therefrom. But when he came up to the palace he did what he could, -and crept furtively into the garden. - -And what do you think he saw there? Not a single fruit-tree was any -longer green. The stems, branches, and twigs stood there as if some one -had stripped them naked. The fallen leaves had turned the ground into a -crackling carpet. Only a single rose-bush was still covered with leaves -and full of buds, some wide open and some half closed. To reach this -rose-bush the wolf had to tread very gingerly on the tips of his toes, -so as not to make the carpet of dry leaves crackle beneath him; and so -he hid himself behind this leafy bush. As now he stood there on the -watch, the door of the dazzling palace was opened, and forth came the -divine Craiessa, attended by four-and-twenty of her slaves, to take a -walk in the garden. - -When the wolf beheld her he was very near forgetting what he came for -and coming out of his lair, though he restrained himself; for she was so -lovely that the like of her never had been and never will be seen on the -face of the whole earth. Her hair was of nothing less than pure gold, -and reached from top to toe. Her long and silken eyelashes seemed -almost to put out her eyes. When she looked at you with those large -sloe-black eyes of hers, you felt sick with love. She had those -beautifully-arched eyebrows which look as if they had been traced with -compasses, and her skin was whiter than the froth of milk fresh from the -udder. - -After taking two or three turns round the garden with her slaves behind -her, she came to the rose-bush and plucked one or two flowers, whereupon -the wolf who was concealed in the bush darted out, took her in his front -paws, and sped down the road. Her servants scattered like a bevy of -young partridges, and in an instant the wolf was there, and put her, all -senseless as she was, in the arms of Boy-Beautiful. When he saw her he -changed colour, but the wolf reminded him that he was a warrior and he -came to himself again. Many Emperors had tried to steal her, but they -had all been repulsed. - -Boy-Beautiful had compassion upon her, and he now made up his mind that -nobody else should have her. - -When the divine Craiessa awoke from her swoon and found herself in the -arms of Boy-Beautiful, she said: “If _thou_ art the wolf that hath -stolen me away, I’ll be thine.” Boy-Beautiful replied: “Mine thou shalt -be till death do us part.” - -So they made a compact of it, and they told each other their stories. - -When the wolf saw the tenderness that had grown up between them he said: -“Leave everything to me, and your desires shall be fulfilled!” Then they -set out to return from whence they had just come, and, while they were -on the road, the wolf turned three somersaults and made himself exactly -like the divine Craiessa, for you must know that this wolf was a -magician. - -Then they arranged among themselves that the faithful servant of -Boy-Beautiful should stand by the trunk of a great tree in the forest -till Boy-Beautiful returned with the steed. So on reaching the court of -the Emperor who had the steed, Boy-Beautiful gave him the made-up divine -Craiessa, and when the Emperor saw her his heart died away within him, -and he felt a love for her which told in words would be foolishness. - -“Thy merits, Boy-Beautiful,” said the Emperor, “have saved thee this -time also from a shameful death, and now I’ll pay thee for this by -giving thee the steed.” Then Boy-Beautiful put his hand on the steed and -leaped into the jewelled saddle, and, reaching the tree, placed the -divine Craiessa in front of him and galloped across the boundaries of -that empire. - -And now the Emperor called together all his counsellors and went to the -cathedral to be married to the divine Craiessa. When they got to the -door of the cathedral, the pretended Craiessa turned a somersault three -times and became a wolf again, which, gnashing its teeth, rushed -straight at the Emperor’s retinue, who were stupefied with terror when -they saw it. On coming to themselves a little, they gave chase with -hue-and-cry: but the wolf, take my word for it! took such long strides -that not one of them could come near him, and joining Boy-Beautiful and -his friends went along with them. When they drew nigh to the court of -the Emperor with the bird, they played him the same trick they had -played on the Emperor with the horse. The wolf changed himself into the -horse, and was given to the Emperor, who could not contain himself for -joy at the sight of it. - -After entertaining Boy-Beautiful with great honour, the Emperor said to -him: “Boy-Beautiful, thou hast escaped a shameful death. I will keep my -imperial word and my blessing shall always follow thee.” Then he -commanded them to give him the bird in the golden cage, and -Boy-Beautiful took it, wished him good-day, and departed. Arriving in -the wood where he had left the divine Craiessa, his horse, and his -faithful servant, he set off with them for the court of his father. - -But the Emperor who had received the horse commanded that his whole host -and all the grandees of his empire should assemble in the plain to see -him mount his richly-caparisoned goodly steed. And when the soldiers -saw him they all cried: “Long live the Emperor who hath won such a -goodly steed, and long live the steed that doth the Emperor so much -honour!” - -And, indeed, there was the Emperor mounting on the back of the horse, -but no sooner did it put its foot to the ground than it flew right away. -They all set off in pursuit, but there was never the slightest chance of -any of them catching it, for it left them far behind from the first. -When it had got a good way ahead the pretended horse threw the Emperor -to the ground, turned head over heels three times and became a wolf, and -set off again in full flight, and ran and ran till it overtook -Boy-Beautiful. Then said the wolf to him: “I have now fulfilled all thy -demands. Look to thyself better in future, and strive not after things -beyond thy power, or it will not go well with thee.” Then their roads -parted, and each of them went his own way. - -When he arrived at the empire of his father the old Emperor came out to -meet his youngest son with small and great as he had agreed. Great was -the public joy when they saw him with a consort the like of whom is no -longer to be found on the face of the earth, and with a steed the -excellence whereof lives only in the tales of the aged. When he got -home Boy-Beautiful ordered a splendid stable to be made for his good -steed, and put the bird-cage in the terrace of the garden. Then his -father prepared for the wedding, and after not many days Boy-Beautiful -and the divine Craiessa were married; the tables were spread for good -and bad, and they made merry for three days and three nights. After that -they lived in perfect happiness, for Boy-Beautiful had now nothing more -to desire. And they are living to this day, if they have not died in the -meantime. - -And now I’ll mount my steed again and say an “Our Father” before I go. - - - - -YOUTH WITHOUT AGE, AND LIFE WITHOUT DEATH - - -Once upon a time there was a great Emperor and an Empress; both were -young and beautiful, and as they would fain have been blessed with -offspring they went to all the wise men and all the wise women and bade -them read the stars to see if they would have children or not; but all -in vain. At last the Emperor heard that in a certain village, hard by, -dwelt a wiser old man than all the rest; so he sent and commanded him to -appear at court. But the wise old man sent the messengers back with the -answer that those who needed him must come to him. So the Emperor and -the Empress set out, with their lords and their ladies, and their -servants and their soldiers, and came to the house of the wise old man. -And when the old man saw them coming from afar he went out to meet them. - -“Welcome,” cried he; “but I tell thee, oh Emperor! that the wish of thy -heart will only work thee woe.” - -“I came not hither to take counsel of thee,” replied the Emperor; “but -to know if thou hast herbs by eating whereof we may get us children.” - -“Such herbs have I,” replied the old man; “but ye will have but one -child, and him ye will not be able to keep, though he be never so nice -and charming.” - -So when the Emperor and the Empress had gotten the wondrous herbs, they -returned joyfully back to their palace, and a few days afterwards the -Empress felt that she was a mother. But ere the hour of her child’s -birth came the child began to scream so loudly that all the enchantments -of the magicians could not make him silent. Then the Emperor began to -promise him everything in the wide world, but even this would not quiet -him. - -“Be silent, my heart’s darling,” said he, “and I will give thee all the -kingdoms east of the sun and west of the moon! Be silent, my son, and I -will give thee a consort more lovely than the Fairy Queen herself.” Then -at last, when he perceived that the child still kept on screaming, he -said: “Silence, my son, and I will give thee Youth without Age, and Life -without Death.” - -Then the child ceased to cry and came into the world, and all the -courtiers beat the drums and blew the trumpets, and there was great joy -in the whole realm for many days. - -The older the child grew the more pensive and melancholy he became. He -went to school and to the wise men, and there was no learning and wisdom -that he did not make his own, so that the Emperor, his father, died and -came to life again for sheer joy. And the whole realm was proud that it -was going to have so wise and goodly an Emperor, and all men looked up -to him as to a second Solomon. But one day, when the child had already -completed his fifteenth year, and the Emperor and all his lords and -great men were at table diverting themselves, the fair young prince -arose and said: “Father, the time has now come when thou must give me -what thou didst promise me at my birth!” - -At these words the Emperor was sorely troubled. “Nay but, my son,” said -he, “how can I give thee a thing which the world has never heard of? If -I did promise it to thee, it was but to make thee quiet.” - -“Then, oh my father, if thou canst not give it me, I must needs go forth -into the world, and seek until I find that fair thing for which I was -born.” - -Then the Emperor and his nobles all fell down on their knees, and -besought him not to leave the empire. “For,” said the nobles, “thy -father is now growing old, and we would place thee on the throne, and -give thee to wife the most beautiful Empress under the sun.” But they -were unable to turn him from his purpose, for he was as steadfast as a -rock, so at last his father gave him leave to go forth into the wide -world to find what he sought. - -Then Boy Beautiful went into his father’s stables, where were the most -beautiful chargers in the whole empire, that he might choose one from -among them; but no sooner had he laid his hand on one of them than it -fell to the ground trembling, and so it was with all the other stately -chargers. At last, just as he was about to leave the stable in despair, -he cast his eye over it once more, and there in one corner he beheld a -poor knacker, all weak, spavined, and covered with boils and sores. Up -to it he went, and laid his hand upon its tail, and then the horse -turned its head and said to him: “What are thy commands, my master? God -be praised who hath had mercy upon me and sent a warrior to lay his hand -over me!” - -Then the horse shook itself and became straight in the legs again, and -Boy Beautiful asked him what he should do next. - -“In order that thou mayest attain thy heart’s desire,” said the horse, -“ask thy father for the sword and lance, the bow, quiver, and armour -which he himself wore when he was a youth; but thou must comb and curry -me with thine own hand six weeks, and give me barley to eat cooked in -milk.” - -So the Emperor called the steward of his household, and ordered him to -open all the coffers and wardrobes that his son might choose what he -would, and Boy Beautiful, after searching for three days and three -nights, found at last at the bottom of an old armoury, the arms and -armour which his father had worn as a youth, but very rusty were these -ancient weapons. But he set to work with his own hands to polish them up -and rub off the rust, and at the end of six weeks they shone like -mirrors. He also cherished the steed as he had been told. Grievous was -the labour, but it came to an end at last. - -When the good steed heard that Boy Beautiful had cleansed and polished -his armour, he shook himself once more, and all his boils and sores fell -from off him. There he now stood a stout horse, and strong, and with -four large wings growing out of his body. Then said Boy Beautiful: “We -go hence in three days!”--“Long life to thee, my master!” replied the -steed; “I will go wherever thou dost command.” - -When the third day came the Emperor and all his court were full of -grief. Boy Beautiful, attired as became a hero, with his sword in his -hand, bounded on to his horse, took leave of the Emperor and the -Empress, of all the great nobles and all the little nobles, of all the -warriors and all the courtiers. With tears in their eyes they besought -him not to depart on this quest; but he, giving spurs to his horse, -departed like a whirlwind, and after him went sumpter horses with money -and provisions, and some hundreds of chosen warriors whom the Emperor -had ordered to accompany him on his journey. - -But when he had searched a wilderness on the confines of his father’s -realm, Boy Beautiful took leave of the warriors, and sent them back to -his father, taking of the provisions only so much as his good steed -could carry. Then he pursued his way towards sunrise, and went on and on -for three days and three nights till he came to an immense plain covered -with the bones of many dead men. Here they stopped to rest, and the -horse said to him: “Know, my master, that we are now in the domains of -the witch Gheonoea, who is so evil a being that none can set a foot on -her domains and live. Once she was a woman like other women, but the -curse of her parents, whom she would never obey, fell like a withering -blast upon her, and she became what she now is. At this moment she is -with her children in the forest, but she will come speedily to seek and -destroy thee. Great and terrible is she, yet fear not, but make ready -thy bow and arrows, thy sword and lance, that thou mayest make use of -them when the time comes.”--Then they rested, and while one slept the -other watched. - -When the day dawned they prepared to traverse the forest; Boy Beautiful -bridled and saddled his horse, drew the reins tighter than at other -times, and set out. At that moment they heard a terrible racket. Then -the horse said: “Beware, my master, Gheonoea is approaching.” The trees -of the forest fell to this side and to that as the witch drew nigh like -the tempest, but Boy Beautiful struck off one of her feet with an arrow -from his bow, and he was about to shoot a second time when she cried: -“Stay thy hand, Boy Beautiful, for I’ll do thee no harm!” And seeing he -did not believe her, she gave him a promise written in her blood. - -“Look well to thy horse, Boy Beautiful,” said she, “for he is a greater -magician than I. But for him I should have roasted thee, but now thou -must dine at my table. Know too that no mortal hath yet succeeded in -reaching this spot, though some have got so far as the plain where thou -didst see all the bones.” - -Then Gheonoea hospitably entertained Boy Beautiful as men entertain -travellers, but now and then, as they conversed together, Gheonoea -groaned with pain, but as soon as Boy Beautiful threw her her foot which -he had shot off, she put it in its place and immediately it grew fast on -to her leg again. Then, in her joy, Gheonoea feasted him for three days -and begged him to take for his consort one of her three daughters, who -were divinely beautiful, but he would not. Then he asked her concerning -his quest. “With such valour and such a good steed as thine,” she -answered, “thou must needs succeed.” - -So after the three days were over they went on their way again. Boy -Beautiful went on and on, and the way was very long, but when they had -passed the boundaries of Gheonoea they came to a beauteous meadow-land, -but on one side the grass was fresh and bright and full of flowers, and -on the other side it was burnt to cinders. Then Boy Beautiful asked the -horse the meaning of the singed grass, and this is what the horse -replied: “We are now in the territories of Scorpia, the sister of -Gheonoea. Yet so evil-minded are these two sisters that they cannot live -together in one place. The curse of their parents has blasted them, and -they have become witches as thou dost see; their hatred of each other is -great, and each of them is ever striving to wrest a bit of land from the -dominions of the other. And when Scorpia is angry she vomits forth fire -and flame, and so when she comes to her sister’s boundaries the grass of -the border withers up before her. She is even more dreadful than her -sister, and has, besides, three heads; but be of good cheer, my master, -and to-morrow morning be ready to meet her.” - -At dawn, next day, they were preparing to depart when they heard a -roaring and a crashing noise, the like of which man has never heard -since the world began. - -“Be ready, my master, for now Scorpia is approaching,” cried the -faithful steed. - -And indeed, Scorpia it was. With jaws reaching from earth to heaven, and -spitting forth fire as she approached, Scorpia drew near, and the noise -of her coming was like the roar of a whirlwind. But the good steed rose -into the air like a dart, and Boy Beautiful shot an arrow which struck -off one of the witch’s three heads. He was about to lay another arrow on -his bow, when Scorpia begged him to forgive her and she would do him no -harm, and by way of assurance she gave him a promise written in her -blood. - -Then she feasted him as her sister had done before, and he gave her back -her severed head, which she stuck in its place again, and then, after -three days, Boy Beautiful and his faithful steed took to the road again. - -When they had crossed Scorpia’s borders they went on and on without -stopping till they came to a vast meadow covered with nothing but -flowers, where Spring reigned eternally. Every flower was wondrously -beautiful and full of a fragrance that comforted the soul, and a light -zephyr ran continually over the flowery billows. Here then they sat -them down to rest, and the good steed said: - -“Hitherto, oh my master! we have prospered, but now a great danger -awaits us, which if by the help of the Lord God we overcome, then shall -we be heroes indeed. Not far from here stands the palace of Youth -without Age, and Life without Death, but it is surrounded by a high and -deep forest, and in this forest are all the savage monsters of the wide -world. Day and night they guard it, and if a man can count the grains of -sand on the sea-shore, then also can he count the number of these -monsters. We cannot fight them, they would tear us to pieces before we -were half-way through the forest, so we must try if we can leap clean -over it without touching it.” - -So they rested them two days to gather strength, and then the steed drew -a long breath and said to Boy Beautiful: “Draw my saddle-girths as -tightly as thou art able, and when thou hast mounted me, hold on fast -with all thy might to my mane, and press thy feet on my neck instead of -on my flanks, that thou mayest not hinder me.” - -Boy Beautiful arose and did as his steed told him, and the next moment -they were close up to the forest. - -“Now is the time, my master,” cried the good steed. “The wild monsters -are now being fed, and are gathered together in one place. Now let us -spring over!” - -“I am with thee, and the Lord have mercy upon us both,” replied Boy -Beautiful. - -Then up in the air they flew, and before them lay the palace, and so -gloriously bright was it that a man could sooner look into the face of -the midday sun than upon the glory of the Palace of Youth without Age, -and Life without Death. Right over the forest they flew, and just as -they were about to descend at the foot of the palace-staircase, the -steed with the tip of his hind leg touched lightly, oh, ever so lightly! -a twig on the topmost summit of the tallest tree of the forest. -Instantly the whole forest was alive and alert, and the monsters began -to howl so awfully that, brave as he was, the hair of Boy Beautiful -stood up on his head. Hastily they descended, but had not the mistress -of the palace been outside there in order to feed her kittens (for so -she called the monsters), Boy Beautiful and his faithful steed would -have been torn to pieces. But the mistress of the monsters, for pure joy -at the sight of a human being, held the monsters back and sent them back -to their places. Fair, tall, and of goodly stature was the Fairy of the -Palace, and Boy Beautiful felt his heart die away within him as he -beheld her. But she was full of compassion at the sight of him, and -said: “Welcome, Boy Beautiful! What dost thou seek?” - -“We seek Youth without Age, and Life without Death,” he replied. - -Then he dismounted from his steed and entered the palace, and there he -met two other fair dames of equal beauty; these were the elder sisters -of the Fairy of the Palace. They regaled Boy Beautiful with a banquet -served on gold plate, and the good steed had leave to graze where he -would, and the Fairy made him known to all her monsters, that so he -might wander through the woods in peace. Then the fair dames begged Boy -Beautiful to abide with them always, and Boy Beautiful did not wait to -be asked twice, for to stay with the Fairy of the Palace was his darling -desire. - -Then he told them his story, and of all the dangers he had passed -through to get there, and so the Fairy of the Palace became his bride, -and she gave him leave to roam at will throughout her domains. -“Nevertheless,” said she, “there is one valley thou must not enter or it -will work thee woe, and the name of that valley is the Vale of -Complaint.” - -There then Boy Beautiful abode, and he took no count of time, for though -many days passed away, he was yet as young and strong as when he first -came there. He went through leagues of forest without once feeling -weary. He rejoiced in the golden palace, and lived in peace and -tranquillity with his bride and her sisters. Oftentimes too he went -a-hunting. - -One day he was pursuing a hare, and shot an arrow after it and then -another, but neither of them hit the hare. Never before had Boy -Beautiful missed his prey, and his heart was vexed within him. He -pursued the hare still more hotly, and sent another arrow after her. -This time he did bring her down, but in his haste the unhappy man had -not perceived that in following the hare he had passed through the Vale -of Complaint! - -He took up the hare and returned homewards, but while he was still on -the way a strange yearning after his father and his mother came over -him. He durst not tell his bride of it, but she and her sisters -immediately guessed the cause of his heaviness. - -“Wretched man!” they cried, “thou hast passed through the Vale of -Complaint!” - -“I have done so, darling, without meaning it,” he replied; “but now I am -perishing with longing for my father and mother. Yet need I desert thee -for that? I have now been many days with thee, and am as hale and well -as ever. Suffer me then to go and see my parents but once, and then will -I return to thee to part no more.” - -“Forsake us not, oh beloved!” cried his bride and her sisters. “Hundreds -of years have passed away since thy parents were alive; and thou also, -if thou dost leave us, wilt never return more. Abide with us, or, an -evil omen tells us, thou wilt perish!” - -But the supplications of the three ladies and his faithful steed -likewise could not prevail against the gnawing longing to see his -parents which consumed him. - -At last the horse said to him: “If thou wilt not listen to me, my -master, then ’tis thine own fault alone if evil befall thee. Yet I will -promise to bring thee back on one condition.” - -“I consent whatever it may be,” said Boy Beautiful; “speak, and I will -listen gratefully.” - -“I will bring thee back to thy father’s palace, but if thou dismount but -for a moment, I shall return without thee.” - -“Be it so,” replied Boy Beautiful. - -So they made them ready for their journey, and Boy Beautiful embraced -his bride and departed, but the ladies stood there looking after him, -and their eyes were filled with tears. - -And now Boy Beautiful and his faithful steed came to the place where the -domains of Scorpia had been, but the forests had become fields of corn, -and cities stood thickly on what had once been desolate places. Boy -Beautiful asked all whom he met concerning Scorpia and her habitations, -but they only answered that these were but idle fables which their -grandfathers had heard from their great-grandfathers. - -“But how is that possible?” replied Boy Beautiful; “‘twas but the other -day that I passed by----” and he told them all he knew. Then they -laughed at him as at one who raves or talks in his sleep; but he rode -away wrathfully without noticing that his beard and the hair of his head -had grown white. - -When he came to the domain of Gheonoea he put the same questions and -received the same answers. He could not understand how the whole region -could have utterly changed in a few days, and again he rode away, full -of anger, with a white beard that now reached down to his girdle and -with legs that began to tremble beneath him. - -At length he came to the empire of his father. Here there were new men -and new dwellings, and the old ones had so altered that he scarce knew -them. - -So he came to the palace where he had first seen the light of day. As he -dismounted the horse kissed his hand and said: “Fare thee well, my -master! I return from whence I came. But if thou also wouldst return, -mount again and we’ll be off instantly.” - -“Nay,” he replied, “fare thee well, I also will return soon.” - -Then the horse flew away like a dart. - -But when Boy Beautiful beheld the palace all in ruins and overgrown -with evil weeds, he sighed deeply, and with tears in his eyes he sought -to recall the glories of that fallen palace. Round about the place he -went, not once nor twice: he searched in every room, in every corner for -some vestige of the past; he searched the stable in which he had found -his steed, and then he went down into the cellar, the entrance to which -was choked up by fallen rubbish. - -Here and there and everywhere he searched about, and now his long white -beard reached below his knee, and his eyelids were so heavy that he had -to raise them on high with his hands, and he found he could scarce -totter along. All he found there was a huge old coffer which he opened, -but inside it there was nothing. Yet he lifted up the cover, and then a -voice spoke to him out of the depths of the coffer and said: “Welcome, -for hadst thou kept me waiting much longer, I also would have perished.” - -Then his Death, who was already shrivelled up like a withered leaf at -the bottom of the coffer, rose up and laid his hand upon him, and Boy -Beautiful instantly fell dead to the ground and crumbled into dust. But -had he remained away but a little time longer his Death would have died, -and he himself would have been living now. And so I mount my nag and -utter an “Our Father” ere I go. - - THE END - - RICHARD CLAY & SONS, LIMITED, - LONDON & BUNGAY. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] He has described his experience in the picturesque and popular -_Anatóliai Képek_ (“Anatolian Pictures”) published at Pest in 1891. - -[2] Emperor. - -[3] Fairy. - -[4] “Peace be unto you.” - -[5] “Unto you be peace.” - -[6] Farthings. - -[7] Roasted pepper. - -[8] _Lit._ the place of the mill was cold one morning. - -[9] Counsellor. - -[10] The same incident occurs in the Cossack fairy-tale of the Bird -Zhar and the Russian fairy-tale of the Bird Mogol. - -[11] Boiled rice, with flesh added and scalded butter. - -[12] Turkish for the Chinese Empire. - -[13] Fate. - -[14] Emperor of China. - -[15] Farthing. - -[16] An Imperial rescript. - -[17] An unbeliever. - -[18] _Fet frumosŭ_, the favourite name for all young heroes in -Roumanian fairy-tales. - -[19] Compare the incident of the Bird Zhar in my _Russian Fairy Tales_. - -[20] Queen. - - - - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TURKISH FAIRY TALES AND FOLK TALES -COLLECTED BY DR. 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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 <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<table style='min-width:0; padding:0; margin-left:0; border-collapse:collapse'> - <tr><td>Title:</td><td>Turkish fairy tales and folk tales collected by Dr. Ignácz Kúnos</td></tr> - <tr><td></td><td>Translated from the Hungarian version by R. Nisbet Bain. Illustrated by Celia Levetus.</td></tr> -</table> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Ignácz Kúnos</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Translator: R. Nisbet Bain</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Illustrator: Celia Levetus</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: March 13, 2021 [eBook #64807]</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Turgut Dincer, Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from images made available by the HathiTrust Digital Library.)</div> - -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TURKISH FAIRY TALES AND FOLK TALES COLLECTED BY DR. IGNÁCZ KÚNOS ***</div> -<hr class="full" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/cover.jpg"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" height="500" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_i" id="page_i">{i}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_ii" id="page_ii">{ii}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_iii" id="page_iii">{iii}</a></span> </p> - -<p class="c"><big>TURKISH FAIRY TALES</big></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/title.png"> -<img src="images/title.png" -height="550" -alt="" -/></a></div> - -<h1> -<span class="smcap">Turkish Fairy Tales</span><br /> -<small>AND FOLK TALES</small></h1> - -<p class="cb">Collected by Dʳ. Ignácz Kúnos<br /> -<br /> -Translated from the Hungarian version<br /> - -By<br /><big> -<span class="smcap">R.Nisbet.Bain.</span></big><br /> - -Illustrated by<br /> -Celia Levetus<br /> -<br /> -London<br /> -A. H. Bullen<br /> -18 Cecil Court, W.C.<br /> -1901<br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_v" id="page_v">{v}</a></span></p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_iv" id="page_iv">{iv}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE"></a>PREFACE</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">T</span>HESE stories were collected from the mouths of the Turkish peasantry by -the Hungarian savant Dr. Ignatius Kunos, during his travels through -Anatolia,<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> and published for the first time in 1889 by the well-known -Hungarian Literary Society, “A Kisfaludy Társaság,” under the Title of -<i>Török Népmések</i> (“Turkish Folk Tales”), with an introduction by -Professor Vámbery. That distinguished Orientalist, certainly the -greatest living authority on the primitive culture of the Turko-Tartaric -peoples, who is as familiar with Uzbeg epics and Uiguric didactics as -with the poetical masterpieces of Western Europe, is enthusiastic in his -praises of these folk-tales. He compares the treasures of Turkish -folk-lore to precious stones lying neglected in the byways of philology -for want of gleaners to gather them<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_vi" id="page_vi">{vi}</a></span> in, and he warns the student of -ethnology that when once the threatened railroad actually invades the -classic land of Anatolia, these naively poetical myths and legends will, -infallibly, be the first victims of Western civilization.</p> - -<p>The almost unique collection of Dr. Ignatius Kunos may therefore be -regarded as a brand snatched from the burning; in any case it is an -important “find,” as well for the scientific folk-lorist as for the -lover of fairy-tales pure and simple. That these stories should contain -anything absolutely new is, indeed, too much to expect. Professor -Vámbery himself traces affinities between many of them and other purely -Oriental stories which form the bases of <i>The Arabian Nights</i>. A few -Slavonic and Scandinavian elements are also plainly distinguishable, -such, for instance, as that mysterious fowl, the Emerald Anka, obviously -no very distant relative of the Bird Mogol and the Bird Zhar, which -figure in my <i>Russian Fairy Tales</i> and <i>Cossack Fairy Tales and Folk -Tales</i> respectively, while the story of the <i>Enchanted Turban</i> is, in -some particulars, curiously like Hans Andersen’s story, <i>The Travelling -Companion</i>. Nevertheless, these tales have a character peculiarly their -own; above all, they are remarkable for a vivid imaginativeness, a -gorgeous<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_vii" id="page_vii">{vii}</a></span> play of fancy, compared with which the imagery of the most -popular fairy tales of the West seem almost prosaically jejune, and if, -as Professor Vámbery suggests, these <i>Népmések</i> provide the sort of -entertainment which beguiles the leisure of the Turkish ladies while -they sip their mocha and whiff their fragrant narghilies, we cannot but -admire the poetical taste and nice discrimination, in this respect, of -the harem and the seraglio.</p> - -<p>I have Englished these tales from the first Hungarian edition, so that -this version is, perhaps, open to the objection of being a translation -of a translation. Inasmuch, however, as I have followed my text very -closely, and having regard to the fact that Hungarian and Turkish are -closely cognate dialects (in point of grammatical construction they are -practically identical), I do not think they will be found to have lost -so very much of their original fragrance and flavour.</p> - -<p>I have supplemented these purely Turkish with four semi-Turkish tales -translated from the original Roumanian of Ispirescu’s <i>Legende sau -Basmele Românilorŭ</i>. Bucharest, 1892. This collection, which I commend -to the notice of the Folk-Lore Society, is very curious and original, -abounding as it<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_viii" id="page_viii">{viii}</a></span> does in extraordinarily bizarre and beautiful variants -of the best-known fairy tales, a very natural result of the peculiar -combination in Roumanian of such heterogeneous elements as Romance, -Slavonic, Magyar, and Turkish.</p> - -<p class="r"> -<span class="smcap">R. Nisbet Bain.</span><br /> -</p> - -<p><i>July 1896</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_ix" id="page_ix">{ix}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS</h2> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td> </td><td class="rt"><small>PAGE</small></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#THE_STAG-PRINCE">THE STAG-PRINCE</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_1">1</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#THE_THREE_ORANGE-PERIS">THE THREE ORANGE-PERIS</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_12">12</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#THE_ROSE-BEAUTY">THE ROSE-BEAUTY</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_30">30</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#MAD_MEHMED">MAD MEHMED</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_42">42</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#THE_GOLDEN-HAIRED_CHILDREN">THE GOLDEN-HAIRED CHILDREN</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_53">53</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#THE_HORSE-DEVIL_AND_THE_WITCH">THE HORSE-DEVIL AND THE WITCH</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_74">74</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#THE_CINDER-YOUTH">THE CINDER-YOUTH</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_84">84</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#THE_PIECE_OF_LIVER">THE PIECE OF LIVER</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_97">97</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#THE_MAGIC_TURBAN_THE_MAGIC_WHIP_AND_THE_MAGIC_CARPET">THE MAGIC TURBAN, THE MAGIC WHIP, AND THE MAGIC CARPET</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_102">102</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#THE_WIND-DEMON">THE WIND-DEMON</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_112">112</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#THE_CROW-PERI">THE CROW-PERI</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_134">134</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#THE_FORTY_PRINCES_AND_THE_SEVEN-HEADED_DRAGON">THE FORTY PRINCES AND THE SEVEN-HEADED DRAGON</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_143">143</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#THE_WORLDS_MOST_BEAUTEOUS_DAMSEL">THE WORLD’S MOST BEAUTEOUS DAMSEL</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_154">154</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#THE_PADISHAH_OF_THE_FORTY_PERIS">THE PADISHAH OF THE FORTY PERIS</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_166">166</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#THE_SERPENT-PERI_AND_THE_MAGIC_MIRROR">THE SERPENT-PERI AND THE MAGIC MIRROR</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_176">176</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_x" id="page_x">{x}</a></span> -<a href="#STONE-PATIENCE_AND_KNIFE-PATIENCE">STONE-PATIENCE AND KNIFE-PATIENCE</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_188">188</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#THE_GHOST_OF_THE_SPRING_AND_THE_SHREW">THE GHOST OF THE SPRING AND THE SHREW</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_196">196</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2">ROUMANIAN FAIRY TALES</th></tr> - -<tr><td> </td><td class="rt"><small>PAGE</small></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#THE_STORY_OF_THE_HALF-MAN-RIDING-ON-THE-WORSE-HALF-OF-A-LAME-HORSE">THE STORY OF THE HALF-MAN-RIDING-ON-THE-WORSE-HALF-OF-A-LAME-HORSE</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_209">209</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#THE_ENCHANTED_HOG">THE ENCHANTED HOG</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_222">222</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#BOY-BEAUTIFUL_THE_GOLDEN_APPLES_AND_THE_WERE-WOLF">BOY-BEAUTIFUL, THE GOLDEN APPLES, AND THE WERE-WOLF</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_244">244</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#YOUTH_WITHOUT_AGE_AND_LIFE_WITHOUT_DEATH">YOUTH WITHOUT AGE, AND LIFE WITHOUT DEATH</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_260">260</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_xi" id="page_xi">{xi}</a></span></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_xii" id="page_xii">{xii}</a></span></p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_1" id="page_1">{1}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="TURKISH_FAIRY_TALES" id="TURKISH_FAIRY_TALES"></a>TURKISH FAIRY TALES</h2> - -<h3><a name="THE_STAG-PRINCE" id="THE_STAG-PRINCE"></a>THE STAG-PRINCE</h3> - -<p><span class="smcap">Once</span> upon a time, when the servants of Allah were many, there lived a -Padishah<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> who had one son and one daughter. The Padishah grew old, his -time came, and he died; his son ruled in his stead, and he had not ruled -very long before he had squandered away his whole inheritance.</p> - -<p>One day he said to his sister: “Little sister! all our money is spent. -If people were to hear that we had nothing left they would drive us out -of doors, and we should never be able to look our fellow-men in the face -again. Far better, therefore, if we depart and take up our abode -elsewhere.” So they tied together the little they had left, and then the -brother and sister quitted their father’s palace in the night-time, and -wandered forth into the wide world.</p> - -<p>They went on and on till they came to a vast sandy desert, where they -were like to have fallen to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_2" id="page_2">{2}</a></span> the ground for the burning heat. The youth -felt that he could go not a step further, when he saw on the ground a -little puddle of water. “Little sister!” said he, “I will not go a step -further till I have drunk this water.”</p> - -<p>“Nay, dear brother!” replied the girl, “who can tell whether it be -really water or filth? If we have held up so long, surely we can hold up -a little longer. Water we are bound to find soon.”</p> - -<p>“I tell thee,” replied her brother, “that I’ll not go another step -further till I have drunk up this puddle, though I die for it,”—and -with that he knelt down, sucked up every drop of the dirty water, and -instantly became a stag.</p> - -<p>The little sister wept bitterly at this mischance; but there was nothing -for it but to go on as they were. They went on and on, up hill and down -dale, right across the sandy waste till they came to a full spring -beneath a large tree, and there they sat them down and rested. “Hearken -now, little sister!” said the stag, “thou must mount up into that tree, -while I go to see if I can find something to eat.” So the girl climbed -up into the tree, and the stag went about his business, ran up hill and -down dale, caught a hare, brought it back, and he and his sister ate it -together, and so they lived from day to day and from week to week.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_3" id="page_3">{3}</a></span></p> - -<p>Now the horses of the Padishah of that country were wont to be watered -at the spring beneath the large tree. One evening the horsemen led their -horses up to it as usual, but, just as they were on the point of -drinking, they caught sight of the reflection of the damsel in the -watery mirror and reared back. The horsemen fancied that perhaps the -water was not quite pure, so they drew off the trough and filled it -afresh, but again the horses reared backwards and would not drink of it. -The horsemen knew not what to make of it, so they went and told the -Padishah.</p> - -<p>“Perchance the water is muddy,” said the Padishah.</p> - -<p>“Nay,” replied the horsemen, “we emptied the trough once and filled it -full again with fresh water, and yet the horses would not drink of it.”</p> - -<p>“Go again,” said their master, “and look well about you; perchance there -is some one near the spring of whom they are afraid.”</p> - -<p>The horsemen returned, and, looking well about the spring, cast their -eyes at last upon the large tree, on the top of which they perceived the -damsel. They immediately went back and told the Padishah. The Padishah -took the trouble to go and look for himself, and raising his eyes -perceived in the tree a damsel as lovely as the moon when she is -fourteen days old,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_4" id="page_4">{4}</a></span> so that he absolutely could not take his eyes off -her. “Art thou a spirit or a peri?”<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> said the Padishah to the damsel.</p> - -<p>“I am neither a spirit nor a peri, but a mortal as thou art,” replied -the damsel.</p> - -<p>In vain the Padishah begged her to come down from the tree. In vain he -implored her, nothing he could say would make her come down. Then the -Padishah waxed wroth. He commanded them to cut down the tree. The men -brought their axes and fell a-hewing at the tree. They hewed away at the -vast tree, they hewed and hewed until only a little strip of solid trunk -remained to be cut through; but, meanwhile, eventide had drawn nigh and -it began to grow dark, so they left off their work, which they purposed -to finish next day.</p> - -<p>Scarcely had they departed when the stag came running out of the forest, -looked at the tree, and asked the little sister what had happened. The -girl told him that she would not descend from the tree, so they had -tried to cut it down. “Thou didst well,” replied the stag, “and take -care thou dost not come down in future, whatever they may say.” With -that he went to the tree, licked it with his tongue, and immediately the -tree grew bigger round the hewed trunk than before.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_fp005.png"> -<img src="images/i_fp005.png" height="550" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>The Damsel and the Old Witch.—p. 5.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_5" id="page_5">{5}</a></span></p> - -<p>The next day, when the stag had again departed about his business, the -Padishah’s men came and saw that the tree was larger and harder round -the trunk than ever. Again they set to work hewing at the tree, and -hewed and hewed till they had cut half through it; but by that time -evening fell upon them again, and again they put off the rest of the -work till the morrow and went home.</p> - -<p>But all their labour was lost, for the stag came again, licked the gap -in the tree with his tongue, and immediately it grew thicker and harder -than ever.</p> - -<p>Early next morning, when the stag had only just departed, the Padishah -and his wood-cutters again came to the tree, and when they saw that the -trunk of the tree had filled up again larger and firmer than ever, they -determined to try some other means. So they went home again and sent for -a famous old witch, told her of the damsel in the tree, and promised her -a rich reward if she would, by subtlety, make the damsel come down. The -old witch willingly took the matter in hand, and bringing with her an -iron tripod, a cauldron, and sundry raw meats, placed them by the side -of the spring. She placed the tripod on the ground, and the kettle on -the top of it but upside down, drew water from the spring and poured it -not into the kettle, but on the ground beside it, and with that she kept -her eyes closed as if she were blind.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_6" id="page_6">{6}</a></span></p> - -<p>The damsel fancied she really was blind, and called to her from the -tree. “Nay but, my dear elder sister! thou hast placed the kettle on the -tripod upside down, and art pouring all the water on the ground.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, my sweet little damsel!” cried the old woman, “that is because I -have no eyes to see with. I have brought some dirty linen with me, and -if thou dost love Allah, thou wilt come down and put the kettle right, -and help me to wash the things.” Then the damsel thought of the words of -the little stag, and she did <i>not</i> come down.</p> - -<p>The next day the old witch came again, stumbled about the tree, laid a -fire, and brought forth a heap of meal in order to sift it, but instead -of meal she put ashes into the sieve. “Poor silly old granny!” cried the -damsel compassionately, and then she called down from the tree to the -old woman, and told her that she was sifting ashes instead of meal. “Oh, -my dear damsel!” cried the old woman, weeping, “I am blind, I cannot -see. Come down and help me a little in my affliction.” Now the little -stag had strictly charged her that very morning not to come down from -the tree whatever might be said to her, and she obeyed the words of her -brother.</p> - -<p>On the third day the old witch again came beneath the tree. This time -she brought a sheep<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_7" id="page_7">{7}</a></span> with her, and brought out a knife to flay it with, -and began to jag and skin it from behind instead of cutting its throat. -The poor little sheep bleated piteously, and the damsel in the tree, -unable to endure the sight of the beast’s sufferings, came down from the -tree to put the poor thing out of its misery. Then the Padishah, who was -concealed close to the tree, rushed out and carried the damsel off to -his palace.</p> - -<p>The damsel pleased the Padishah so mightily that he wanted to be married -to her without more ado; but the damsel would not consent till they had -brought her her brother, the little stag: until she saw him, she said, -she could have not a moment’s rest. Then the Padishah sent men out into -the forest, who caught the stag and brought him to his sister. After -that he never left his sister’s side. They lay down together, and -together they rose up. Even when the Padishah and the damsel were -wedded, the little stag was never far away from them, and in the evening -when he found out where they were, he would softly stroke each of them -all over with one of his front feet before going to sleep beside them, -and say—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“This little foot is for my sister,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">That little foot is for my brother.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>But time, as men count it, passes quickly to its fulfilment, more -quickly still passes the time of fairy<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_8" id="page_8">{8}</a></span> tales, but quickest of all flies -the time of true love. Yet our little people would have lived on happily -if there had not been a black female slave in the palace. Jealousy -devoured her at the thought that the Padishah had taken to his bosom the -ragged damsel from the tree-top rather than herself, and she watched for -an opportunity of revenge.</p> - -<p>Now there was a beautiful garden in the palace, with a fountain in the -midst of it, and there the Sultan’s damsel used to walk about. One day, -with a golden saucer in her hand and a silver sandal on her foot, she -went towards the great fountain, and the black slave followed after her -and pushed her in. There was a big fish in the basin, and it immediately -swallowed up the Sultan’s pet damsel. Then the black slave returned to -the palace, put on the golden raiment of the Sultan’s damsel, and sat -down in her place.</p> - -<p>In the evening the Padishah came and asked the damsel what she had done -to her face that it was so much altered. “I have walked too much in the -garden, and so the sun has tanned my face,” replied the girl. The -Padishah believed her and sat down beside her, but the little stag came -also, and when he began to stroke them both down with his fore-foot he -recognized the slave-girl as he said<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_9" id="page_9">{9}</a></span>—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“This little foot is for my sister,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And this little foot is for my brother.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Then it became the one wish of the slave-girl’s heart to be rid of the -little stag as quickly as possible, lest it should betray her.</p> - -<p>So after a little thought she made herself sick, and sent for the -doctors, and gave them much money to say to the Padishah that the only -thing that could save her was the heart of the little stag to eat. So -the doctors went and told the Padishah that the sick woman must swallow -the heart of the little stag, or there was no hope for her. Then the -Padishah went to the slave-girl whom he fancied to be his pet damsel, -and asked her if it did not go against her to eat the heart of her own -brother?</p> - -<p>“What can I do?” sighed the impostor; “if I die, what will become of my -poor little pet? If he be cut up I shall live, while he will be spared -the torments of those poor beasts that grow old and sick.” Then the -Padishah gave orders that a butcher’s knife should be whetted, and a -fire lighted, and a cauldron of water put over the fire.</p> - -<p>The poor little stag perceived all the bustling about and ran down into -the garden to the fountain, and called out three times to his sister—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“The knife is on the stone,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The water’s on the boil,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Haste, little sister, hasten!”<br /></span> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_10" id="page_10">{10}</a></span></div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">And thrice she answered back to him from the fish’s maw—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Here am I in the fish’s belly,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">In my hand a golden saucer,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">On my foot a silver sandal,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">In my arms a little Padishah!”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">For the Sultan’s pet damsel had brought forth a little son in the fish’s -belly.</p> - -<p>Now the Padishah was intent on catching the little stag when it ran down -into the garden to the fountain, and, coming up softly behind it, heard -every word of what the brother and sister were saying to each other. He -quietly ordered all the water to be drained off the basin of the -fountain, drew up the fish, cut open its belly, and what do you think he -saw? In the belly of the fish was his wife, with a golden saucer in her -hand, and a silver sandal on her foot, and a little son in her arms. -Then the Padishah embraced his wife, and kissed his son, and brought -them both to the palace, and heard the tale of it all to the very end.</p> - -<p>But the little stag found something in the fish’s blood, and when he had -swallowed it, he became a man again. Then he rushed to his sister, and -they embraced and wept with joy over each other’s happiness.</p> - -<p>But the Padishah sent for his black slave-girl,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_11" id="page_11">{11}</a></span> and asked her which she -would like the best—four good steeds or four good swords. The -slave-girl replied: “Let the swords be for the throats of my enemies, -but give me the four steeds that I may take my pleasure on horseback.” -Then they tied the slave-girl to the tails of four good steeds, and sent -her out for a ride; and the four steeds tore the black girl into little -bits and scattered them abroad.</p> - -<p>But the Padishah and his wife lived happily together, and the king’s son -who had been a stag abode with them; and they gave a great banquet, -which lasted four days and four nights; and they attained their desires, -and may ye, O my readers, attain your desires likewise.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_12" id="page_12">{12}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="THE_THREE_ORANGE-PERIS" id="THE_THREE_ORANGE-PERIS"></a>THE THREE ORANGE-PERIS</h3> - -<p><span class="smcap">In</span> the olden times, when there were sieves in straws and lies in -everything, in the olden times when there was abundance, and men ate and -drank the whole day and yet lay down hungry, in those olden, olden times -there was once a Padishah whose days were joyless, for he had never a -son to bless himself with.</p> - -<p>One day he was in the path of pleasure with his Vizier, and when they -had drunk their coffee and smoked their chibooks, they went out for a -walk, and went on and on till they came to a great valley. Here they sat -down to rest a while, and as they were looking about them to the right -hand and to the left, the valley was suddenly shaken as if by an -earthquake, a whip cracked, and a dervish, a green-robed, -yellow-slippered, white-bearded dervish, suddenly stood before them. The -Padishah and the Vizier were so frightened that they dared not budge; -but when the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_13" id="page_13">{13}</a></span> dervish approached them and addressed them with the words, -“Selamun aleykyum,”<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> they took heart a bit, and replied courteously, -“Ve aleykyum selam.”<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a></p> - -<p>“What is thy errand here, my lord Padishah?” asked the dervish.</p> - -<p>“If thou dost know that I am a Padishah, thou dost also know my errand,” -replied the Padishah.</p> - -<p>Then the dervish took from his bosom an apple, gave it to the Padishah, -and said these words: “Give half of this to thy Sultana, and eat the -other half thyself,” and with these words he disappeared.</p> - -<p>Then the Padishah went home, gave half the apple to his consort, and ate -the other half himself, and in exactly nine months and ten days there -was a little prince in the harem. The Padishah was beside himself for -joy. He scattered sequins among the poor, restored to freedom his -slaves, and the banquet he gave to his friends had neither beginning nor -end.</p> - -<p>Swiftly flies the time in fairy tales, and the child had reached his -fourteenth summer while yet they fondled him. One day he said to his -father: “My lord father Padishah, make me now a little marble palace, -and let there be two springs under it, and let one of them run with -honey, and the other with butter!” Dearly did the Padishah love his -little son, because he was his only child, so he made him the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_14" id="page_14">{14}</a></span> marble -palace with the springs inside it as his son desired. There then sat the -King’s son in the marble palace, and while he was looking at the springs -that bubbled forth both butter and honey, he saw an old woman with a -pitcher in her hand, and she would fain have filled it from the spring. -Then the King’s son caught up a stone and flung it at the old woman’s -pitcher, and broke it into pieces. The old woman said not a word, but -she went away.</p> - -<p>But the next day she was there again with her pitcher, and again she -made as if she would fill it, and a second time the King’s son cast a -stone at her and broke her pitcher. The old woman went away without -speaking a word. She came on the third day also, and it fared with her -pitcher then as on the first two days. Then the old woman spoke. “Oh, -youth!” cried she, “<span class="lftspc">’</span>tis the will of Allah that thou shouldst fall in -love with the three Orange-peris,” and with that she quitted him.</p> - -<p>From thenceforth the heart of the King’s son was consumed by a hidden -fire. He began to grow pale and wither away. When the Padishah saw that -his son was ill, he sent for the wise men and the leeches, but they -could find no remedy for the disease. One day the King’s son said to his -father: “Oh, my dear little daddy Shah! these wise men of thine cannot -cure me of my disease, and all their labours are in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_15" id="page_15">{15}</a></span> vain. I have fallen -in love with the three Oranges, and never shall I be better till I find -them.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, my dear little son!” groaned the Padishah, “thou art all that I -have in the wide world: if thou dost leave me, in whom can I rejoice?” -Then the King’s son slowly withered away, and his days were as a heavy -sleep; so his father saw that it would be better to let him go forth on -his way and find, if so be he might, the three Oranges that were as the -balsam of his soul. “Perchance too he may return again,” thought the -Padishah.</p> - -<p>So the King’s son arose one day and took with him things that were light -to carry, but heavy in the scales of value, and pursued his way over -mountains and valleys, rising up and lying down again for many days. At -last in the midst of a vast plain, in front of the high-road, he came -upon her Satanic Majesty the Mother of Devils, as huge as a minaret. One -of her legs was on one mountain, and the other leg on another mountain; -she was chewing gum (her mouth was full of it) so that you could hear -her half-an-hour’s journey off; her breath was a hurricane, and her arms -were yards and yards long.</p> - -<p>“Good-day, little mother!” cried the youth, and he embraced the broad -waist of the Mother of Devils. “Good-day, little sonny!” she replied. -“If thou hadst not spoken to me so politely, I should have<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_16" id="page_16">{16}</a></span> gobbled thee -up.” Then she asked him whence he came and whither he was going.</p> - -<p>“Alas! dear little mother,” sighed the youth, “such a terrible -misfortune has befallen me that I can neither tell thee nor answer thy -question.”</p> - -<p>“Nay, come, out with it, my son,” urged the Mother of Devils.</p> - -<p>“Well then, my sweet little mother,” cried the youth, and he sighed -worse than before, “I have fallen violently in love with the three -Oranges. If only I might find my way thither!”</p> - -<p>“Hush!” cried the Mother of Devils, “it is not lawful to even think of -that name, much less pronounce it. I and my sons are its guardians, yet -even we don’t know the way to it. Forty sons have I, and they go up and -down the earth more than I do, perchance they may tell thee something of -the matter.” So when it began to grow dusk towards evening, ere yet the -devil-sons had come home, the old woman gave the King’s son a tap, and -turned him into a pitcher of water. And she did it not a moment too -soon, for immediately afterwards the forty sons of the Mother of Devils -knocked at the door and cried: “Mother, we smell man’s flesh!”</p> - -<p>“Nonsense!” cried the Mother of Devils. “What, I should like to know, -have the sons of men to do here? It seems to me you had better all clean -your<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_17" id="page_17">{17}</a></span> teeth.” So she gave the forty sons forty wooden stakes to clean -their teeth with, and out of one’s tooth fell an arm, and out of -another’s a thigh, and out of another’s an arm, till they had all -cleaned their teeth. Then they sat them down to eat and drink, and in -the middle of the meal their mother said to them: “If now ye had a man -for your brother, what would ye do with him?”</p> - -<p>“Do,” they replied, “why love him like a brother, of course!”</p> - -<p>Then the Mother of Devils tapped the water-jar, and the King’s son stood -there again. “Here is your brother!” cried she to her forty sons.</p> - -<p>The devils thanked the King’s son for his company with great joy, -invited their new brother to sit down, and asked their mother why she -had not told them about him before, as then they might all have eaten -their meal together.</p> - -<p>“Nay but, my sons,” cried she, “he does not live on the same sort of -meat as ye; fowls, mutton, and such-like is what <i>he</i> feeds on.”</p> - -<p>At this one of them jumped up, went out, fetched a sheep, slew it, and -laid it before the new brother.</p> - -<p>“Oh, what a child thou art!” cried the Mother of Devils. “Dost thou not -know that thou must first cook it for him?”</p> - -<p>Then they skinned the sheep, made a fire, roasted<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_18" id="page_18">{18}</a></span> it, and placed it -before him. The King’s son ate a piece, and after satisfying his hunger, -left the rest of it. “Why, that’s nothing!” cried the devils, and they -urged him again and again to eat more. “Nay, my sons,” cried their -mother, “men never eat more than that.”</p> - -<p>“Let us see then what this sheep-meat is like,” said one of the forty -brothers. So they fell upon it and devoured the whole lot in a couple of -mouthfuls.</p> - -<p>Now when they all rose up early in the morning, the Mother of Devils -said to her sons: “Our new brother hath a great trouble.”—“What is it?” -cried they, “for we would help him.”</p> - -<p>“He has fallen in love with the three Oranges!”—“Well,” replied the -devils, “we know not the place of the three Oranges ourselves, but -perchance our aunt may know.”</p> - -<p>“Then lead this youth to her,” said their mother; “tell her that he is -my son and worthy of all honour, let her also receive him as a son and -ease him of his trouble.” Then the devils took the youth to their aunt, -and told her on what errand he had come.</p> - -<p>Now this Aunt of the Devils had sixty sons, and as she did not know the -place of the three Oranges, she had to wait till they came home. But -lest any harm should happen to this her new son, she gave him a tap and -turned him into a piece of crockery.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_19" id="page_19">{19}</a></span></p> - -<p>“We smell man’s flesh, mother,” cried the devils, as they crossed the -threshold.</p> - -<p>“Perchance ye have eaten man’s flesh, and the remains thereof are still -within your teeth,” said their mother. Then she gave them great logs of -wood that they might pick their teeth clean, and so be able to swallow -down something else. But in the midst of the meal the woman gave the -piece of crockery a tap, and when the sixty devils saw their little -human brother, they rejoiced at the sight, made him sit down at table, -and bade him fall to if there was anything there he took a fancy to. “My -sons,” said the Mother of the Devils to her sixty sons when they all -rose up early on the morrow, “this lad here has fallen in love with the -three Oranges, cannot you show him the way thither?”</p> - -<p>“We know not the way,” replied the devils; “but perchance our old -great-aunt may know something about it.”</p> - -<p>“Then take the youth thither,” said their mother, “and bid her hold him -in high honour. He is my son, let him be hers also and help him out of -his distress.” Then they took him off to their great-aunt, and told her -the whole business. “Alas! I do not know, my sons!” said the old, old -great-aunt; “but if you wait till the evening, when my ninety sons come -home, I will ask them.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_20" id="page_20">{20}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>Then the sixty devils departed and left the King’s son there, and when -it grew dusk the Mother of the Devils gave the youth a tap, turned him -into a broom, and placed him in the doorway. Shortly afterwards the -ninety devils came home, and they also smelt the smell of man, and took -the pieces of man’s flesh out of their teeth. In the middle of their -meal their mother asked them how they would treat a human brother if -they had one. When they had sworn upon eggs that they would not hurt so -much as his little finger, their mother gave the broom a tap, and the -King’s son stood before them.</p> - -<p>The devil brothers entreated him courteously, inquired after his health, -and served him so heartily with eatables that they scarcely gave him -time to breathe. In the midst of the meal their mother asked them -whether they knew where the three Oranges were, for their new brother -had fallen in love with them. Then the least of the ninety devils leaped -up with a shout of joy, and said that he knew.</p> - -<p>“Then if thou knowest,” said his mother, “see that thou take this son of -ours thither, that he may satisfy his heart’s desire.”</p> - -<p>On arising next morning, the devil-son took the King’s son with him, and -the pair of them went merrily along the road together. They went on, and -on, and on, and at last the little devil said these<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_21" id="page_21">{21}</a></span> words: “My brother, -we shall come presently to a large garden, and in the fountain thereof -are the three. When I say to thee: ‘Shut thine eye, open thine eye!’ lay -hold of what thou shalt see.”</p> - -<p>They went on a little way further till they came to the garden, and the -moment the devil saw the fountain he said to the King’s son: “Shut thine -eye and open thine eye!” He did so, and saw the three Oranges bobbing up -and down on the surface of the water where it came bubbling out of the -spring, and he snatched up one of them and popped it in his pocket. -Again the devil called to him: “Open thine eye and shut thine eye!” He -did so, and snatched up the second orange, and so with the third also in -the same way. “Now take care,” said the devil, “that thou dost not cut -open these oranges in any place where there is no water, or it will go -ill with thee.” The King’s son promised, and so they parted, one went to -the right, and the other to the left.</p> - -<p>The King’s son went on, and on, and on. He went a long way, and he went -a short way, he went across mountains and through valleys. At last he -came to a sandy desert, and there he bethought him of the oranges, and -drawing one out, he cut it open. Scarcely had he cut into it when a -damsel, lovely as a Peri, popped out of it before him; the moon when it -is fourteen days old is not more dazzling. “For<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_22" id="page_22">{22}</a></span> Allah’s sake, give me a -drop of water!” cried the damsel, and inasmuch as there was no trace of -water anywhere, she vanished from the face of the earth. The King’s son -grieved right sorely, but there was no help for it, the thing was done.</p> - -<p>Again he went on his way, and when he had gone a little further he -thought to himself, “I may as well cut open one more orange.” So he drew -out the second orange, and scarcely had he cut into it than there popped -down before him a still more lovely damsel, who begged piteously for -water, but as the King’s son had none to give her, she also vanished.</p> - -<p>“Well, I’ll take better care of the third,” cried he, and continued his -journey. He went on and on till he came to a large spring, drank out of -it, and then thought to himself: “Well, now I’ll cut open the third -orange also.” He drew it out and cut it, and immediately a damsel even -lovelier than the other two stood before him. As soon as she called for -water, he led her to the spring and gave her to drink, and the damsel -did not disappear, but remained there as large as life.</p> - -<p>Mother-naked was the damsel, and as he could not take her to town like -that, he bade her climb up a large tree that stood beside the spring, -while he went into the town to buy her raiment and a carriage.</p> - -<p>While the King’s son had gone away, a negro<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_23" id="page_23">{23}</a></span> servant came to the spring -to draw water, and saw the reflection of the damsel in the watery -mirror. “Why, thou art something like a damsel,” said she to herself, -“and ever so much lovelier than thy mistress; so she ought to fetch -water for me, not I for her.” With that she broke the pitcher in two, -went home, and when her mistress asked where the pitcher of water was, -she replied: “I am much more beautiful than thou, so thou must fetch -water for me, not I for thee.” Her mistress took up a mirror, held it -before her, and said: “Methinks thou must have taken leave of thy -senses; look at this mirror!” The Moor looked into the mirror, and saw -that she was as coal-black as ever. Without another word she took up the -pitcher, went again to the spring, and seeing the damsel’s face in the -mirror, again fancied that it was hers.</p> - -<p>“I’m right, after all,” she cried; “I’m ever so much more beautiful than -my mistress.” So she broke the pitcher to pieces again, and went home. -Again her mistress asked her why she had not drawn water. “Because I am -ever so much more beautiful than thou, so thou must draw water for me,” -replied she.</p> - -<p>“Thou art downright crazy,” replied her mistress, drew out a mirror, and -showed it to her; and when the Moor-girl saw her face in it, she took up -another pitcher and went to the fountain for the third time.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_24" id="page_24">{24}</a></span> The -damsel’s face again appeared in the water, but just as she was about to -break the pitcher again, the damsel called to her from the tree: “Break -not thy pitchers, ’tis my face thou dost see in the water, and thou wilt -see thine own there also.”</p> - -<p>The Moor-girl looked up, and when she saw the wondrously beautiful shape -of the damsel in the tree, she climbed up beside her and spake coaxing -words to her: “Oh, my little golden damsel, thou wilt get the cramp from -crouching there so long; come, rest thy head!” And with that she laid -the damsel’s head on her breast, felt in her bosom, drew out a needle, -pricked the damsel with it in the skull, and in an instant the -Orange-Damsel was changed into a bird, and pr-r-r-r-r! she was gone, -leaving the Moor all alone in the tree.</p> - -<p>Now when the King’s son came back with his fine coach and beautiful -raiment, looked up into the tree, and saw the black face, he asked the -girl what had happened to her. “A nice question!” replied the Moor-girl. -“Why, thou didst leave me here all day, and wentest away, so of course -the sun has tanned me black.” What could the poor King’s son do? He made -the black damsel sit in the coach, and took her straight home to his -father’s house.</p> - -<p>In the palace of the Padishah they were all waiting, full of eagerness, -to behold the Peri-Bride, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_25" id="page_25">{25}</a></span> when they saw the Moorish damsel they -said to the King’s son: “However couldst thou lose thy heart to a black -maid?”</p> - -<p>“She is not a black maid,” said the King’s son. “I left her at the top -of a tree, and she was blackened there by the rays of the sun. If only -you let her rest a bit she’ll soon grow white again.” And with that he -led her into her chamber, and waited for her to grow white again.</p> - -<p>Now there was a beautiful garden in the palace of the King’s son, and -one day the Orange-Bird came flying on to a tree there, and called down -to the gardener.</p> - -<p>“What dost thou want with me?” asked the gardener.</p> - -<p>“What is the King’s son doing?” inquired the bird.</p> - -<p>“He is doing no harm that I know of,” replied the gardener.</p> - -<p>“And what about his black bride?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, she’s there too, sitting with him as usual.”</p> - -<p>Then the little bird sang these words:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“She may sit by his side,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">But she shall not abide;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">For all her fair showing<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The thorns are a-growing.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">As I hop on this tree,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">It will wither ’neath me.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">And with that it flew away.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_26" id="page_26">{26}</a></span></p> - -<p>The next day it came again, and inquired once more about the King’s son -and his black consort, and repeated what it said before. The third day -it did in like manner, and as many trees as it hopped upon withered -right away beneath it.</p> - -<p>One day the King’s son felt weary of his black bride, so he went out -into the garden for a walk. Then his eye fell on the withered trees, and -he called the gardener and said to him: “What is this, gardener? Why -dost thou not take better care of thy trees? Dost thou not see that they -are all withering away?” Then the gardener replied that it was of but -little use for him to take care of the trees, for a few days ago a -little bird had been there, and asked what the King’s son and his black -consort were doing, and had said that though she might be sitting there, -she should not sit for ever, but that thorns would grow, and every tree -it lit upon should wither.</p> - -<p>The Bang’s son commanded the gardener to smear the trees with bird-lime, -and if the bird then lit upon it, to bring it to him. So the gardener -smeared the trees with bird-lime, and when the bird came there next day -he caught it, and brought it to the King’s son, who put it in a cage. -Now no sooner did the black woman look upon the bird than she knew at -once that it was the damsel. So she pretended to be<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_27" id="page_27">{27}</a></span> very ill, sent for -the chief medicine-man, and by dint of rich gifts persuaded him to say -to the King’s son that his consort would never get well unless he fed -her with such and such birds.</p> - -<p>The King’s son saw that his consort was very sick, he sent for the -doctor, went with him to see the sick woman, and asked him how she was -to be cured. The doctor said she could only be cured if they gave her -such and such birds to eat. “Why, only this very day have I caught one -of such birds,” said the King’s son; and they brought the bird, killed -it, and fed the sick lady with the flesh thereof. In an instant the -black damsel arose from her bed. But one of the bird’s dazzling feathers -fell accidentally to the ground and slipped between the planks, so that -nobody noticed it.</p> - -<p>Time went on, and the King’s son was still waiting and waiting for his -consort to turn white. Now there was an old woman in the palace who used -to teach the dwellers in the harem to read and write. One day as she was -going down-stairs she saw something gleaming between the planks of the -floor, and going towards it, perceived that it was a bird’s feather that -sparkled like a diamond. She took it home and thrust it behind a rafter. -The next day she went to the palace, and while she was away the bird’s -feather leaped down from the rafter, shivered a little, and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_28" id="page_28">{28}</a></span> next -moment turned into a most lovely damsel. She put the room tidy, cooked -the meal, set everything in order, and then leaped back upon the rafter -and became a feather again. When the old woman came home she was amazed -at what she saw. She thought: “Somebody must have done all this,” so she -went up and down, backwards and forwards through the house, but nobody -could she see.</p> - -<p>Early next morning she again went to the palace, and the feather leaped -down again in like manner, and did all the household work. When the old -woman came home, she perceived the house all nice and clean, and -everything in order. “I really must find out the secret of this,” -thought she, so next morning she made as if she were going away as -usual, and left the door ajar, but went and hid herself in a corner. All -at once she perceived that there was a damsel in the room, who tidied -the room and cooked the meal, whereupon the old woman dashed out, seized -hold of her, and asked her who she was and whence she came. Then the -damsel told her her sad fate, and how she had been twice killed by the -black woman, and had come thither in the shape of a feather.</p> - -<p>“Distress thyself no more, my lass,” said the old woman. “I’ll put thy -business to rights, and this very day, too.” And with that she went -straight<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_29" id="page_29">{29}</a></span> to the King’s son and invited him to come and see her that -evening. The King’s son was now so sick unto death of his black bride -that he was glad of any excuse to escape from his own house, so the -evening found him punctually at the old woman’s. They sat down to -supper, and when the coffee followed the meats, the damsel entered with -the cups, and when the King’s son saw her he was like to have fainted. -“Nay, but, mother,” said the King’s son, when he had come to himself a -little, “who is that damsel?”</p> - -<p>“Thy wife,” replied the old woman.</p> - -<p>“How didst thou get that fair creature?” inquired the King’s son. “Wilt -thou not give her to me?”</p> - -<p>“How can <i>I</i> give her to thee, seeing that she was thine own once upon a -time,” said the old woman; and with that the old woman took the damsel -by the hand, led her to the King’s son, and laid her on his breast. -“Take better care of the Orange-Peri another time,” said she.</p> - -<p>The King’s son now nearly fainted in real earnest, but it was from sheer -joy. He took the damsel to his palace, put to death the black -slave-girl, but held high festival with the Peri for forty days and -forty nights. So they had the desire of their hearts, and may Allah -satisfy your desires likewise.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_30" id="page_30">{30}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="THE_ROSE-BEAUTY" id="THE_ROSE-BEAUTY"></a>THE ROSE-BEAUTY</h3> - -<p><span class="smcap">Once</span> upon a time in the old old days when straws were sieves, and the -camel a chapman, and the mouse a barber, and the cuckoo a tailor, and -the donkey ran errands, and the tortoise baked bread, and I was only -fifteen years old, but my father rocked my cradle, and there was a -miller in the land who had a black cat—in those olden times, I say, -there was a King who had three daughters, and the first daughter was -forty, and the second was thirty, and the third was twenty. One day the -youngest daughter wrote this letter to her father: “My lord father! my -eldest sister is forty and my second sister is thirty, and still thou -hast given neither of them a husband. I have no desire to grow grey in -waiting for a husband.”</p> - -<p>The King read the letter, sent for his three daughters, and addressed -them in these words: “Look now! let each one of you shoot an arrow from -a bow and seek her sweetheart wherever her arrow falls!” So<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_31" id="page_31">{31}</a></span> the three -damsels took their bows. The eldest damsel’s arrow fell into the palace -of the Vizier’s son, so the Vizier’s son took her to wife. The second -girl’s arrow flew into the palace of the Chief Mufti’s son, so they gave -her to him. The third damsel also fired her arrow, and lo! it stuck in -the hut of a poor young labourer. “That won’t do, that won’t do!” cried -they all. So she fired again, and again the arrow stuck in the hut. She -aimed a third time, and a third time the arrow stuck in the hut of the -poor young labourer. Then the King was wroth and cried to the damsel: -“Look now, thou slut! thou hast got thy deserts. Thy sisters waited -patiently, and therefore they have got their hearts’ desires. Thou wast -the youngest of all, yet didst thou write me that saucy letter, hence -thy punishment. Out of my sight, thou slave-girl, to this husband of -thine, and thou shalt have nought but what he can give thee!” So the -poor damsel departed to the hut of the labourer, and they gave her to -him to wife.</p> - -<p>They lived together for a time, and on the tenth day of the ninth month -the time came that she should bear a child, and her husband, the -labourer, hastened away for the midwife. While the husband was thus away -his wife had neither a bed to lie down upon nor a fire to warm herself -by, though grinding winter was upon them. All at once the walls of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_32" id="page_32">{32}</a></span> the -poor hut opened hither and thither, and three beautiful damsels of the -Peri race stepped into it. One stood at the damsel’s head, another at -her feet, the third by her side, and they all seemed to know their -business well. In a moment everything in the poor hut was in order, the -princess lay on a beautiful soft couch, and before she could blink her -eyes a pretty little new-born baby girl was lying by her side. When -everything was finished the three Peris set about going, but first of -all they approached the bed one by one, and the first said:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Rosa be thy damsel’s name,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And she shall weep not tears but pearls!”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">The second Peri approached the bed and said:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Rosa be thy damsel’s name,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The rose shall blossom when she smiles!”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">And the third Peri wound up with these words:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Rosa be thy damsel’s name,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Sweet verdure in her footsteps spring!”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">whereupon they all three disappeared.</p> - -<p>Now all this time the husband was seeking a midwife, but could find one -nowhere. What could he do but go home? But when he got back he was -amazed to find everything in the poor hut in beautiful order, and his -wife lying on a splendid<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_33" id="page_33">{33}</a></span> bed. Then she told him the story of the three -Peris, and there was no more spirit left in him, so astounded was he. -But the little girl grew more and more lovely from hour to day, and from -day to week, so that there was not another like her in the whole world. -Whosoever looked upon her lost his heart at once, and pearls fell from -her eyes when she wept, roses burst into bloom when she smiled, and a -bright riband of fresh green verdure followed her footsteps. Whosoever -saw her had no more spirit left in him, and the fame of lovely Rosa went -from mouth to mouth.</p> - -<p>At last the King of that land also heard of the damsel, and instantly -made up his mind that she and nobody else should be his son’s consort. -So he sent for his son, and told him that there was a damsel in the town -of so rare a beauty that pearls fell from her eyes when she wept, roses -burst into bloom when she smiled, and the earth grew fresh and green -beneath her footsteps, and with that he bade him up and woo her.</p> - -<p>Now the Peris had for a long time shown the King’s son the beautiful -Rose-damsel in his dreams, and the sweet fire of love already burned -within him; but he was ashamed to let his father see this, so he hung -back a little. At this his father became more and more pressing, bade -him go and woo her at once,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_34" id="page_34">{34}</a></span> and commanded the chief dame of the palace -to accompany him to the hut of the labourer.</p> - -<p>They entered the hut, said on what errand they came, and claimed the -damsel for the King’s son in the name of Allah. The poor folks rejoiced -at their good luck, promised the girl, and began to make ready.</p> - -<p>Now this palace dame’s daughter was also a beauty, and not unlike Rosa. -Terribly distressed was the dame that the King’s son should take to wife -a poor labourer’s daughter, instead of her own child; so she made up her -mind to deceive them and put her own daughter in Rosa’s place. So on the -day of the banquet she made the poor girl eat many salted meats, and -then brought a pitcher of water and a large basket, got into the bridal -coach with Rosa and her own daughter, and set out for the palace. As -they were on the road (and a very long time they were about it) the -damsel grew thirsty and asked the palace dame for some water. “Not till -thou hast given me one of thine eyes,” said the palace dame. What could -the poor damsel do?—she was dying with thirst. So she cut out one of -her eyes and gave it for a drink of water.</p> - -<p>They went on and on, further and further, and the damsel again became -thirsty and asked for another drink of water. “Thou shalt have it if -thou give<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_35" id="page_35">{35}</a></span> me thy other eye,” said the palace dame. And the poor damsel -was so tormented with thirst that she gave the other eye for a drink of -water.</p> - -<p>The old dame took the two eyes, pitched the sightless damsel into the -big basket, and left her all alone on the top of a mountain. But the -beautiful bridal robe she put upon her own daughter, brought her to the -King’s son, and gave her to him with the words: “Behold thy wife!” So -they made a great banquet, and when they had brought the damsel to her -bridegroom and taken off her veil, he perceived that the damsel who now -stood before him was not the damsel of his dreams. As, however, she -resembled her a little he said nothing about it to anybody. So they lay -down to rest, and when they rose up again early next morning the King’s -son was quite undeceived, for the damsel of his dreams had wept pearls, -smiled roses, and sweet green herbs had grown up in her footsteps, but -this girl had neither roses nor pearls nor green herbs to show for -herself. The youth felt there was some trickery at work here. This was -not the girl he had meant to have. “How am I to find it all out?” -thought he to himself; but not a word did he say to any one.</p> - -<p>While all these things were going on in the palace, poor Rosa was -weeping on the mountain top, and such showers of pearls fell from her by -dint of her<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_36" id="page_36">{36}</a></span> sore weeping that there was scarce room to hold them all in -the big basket. Now a mud-carrier happened to be passing by who was -carting mud away, and hearing the weeping of the damsel was terribly -afraid, and cried: “Who art thou?—A Jinn or a Peri?”—“I am neither a -Jinn nor yet a Peri,” replied the damsel, “but the remains of a living -child of man.” Whereupon the mud-raker took courage, opened the basket, -and there a poor sightless damsel was sobbing, and her tears fell from -her in showers of pearls. So he took the damsel by the hand and led her -to his hut, and as the old man had nobody about him he adopted the -damsel as if she were his own child and took care of her. But the poor -girl did nothing but weep for her two eyes, and the old man had all he -could do to pick up the pearls, and whenever they were in want of money -he would take a pearl and sell it, and they lived on whatever he got for -it.</p> - -<p>Thus time passed, and there was mirth in the palace, and misery in the -hut of the mud-raker. Now it chanced one day as fair Rosa was sitting in -the hut, that something made her smile, and immediately a rose bloomed. -Then the damsel said to her foster-father, the mud-raker: “Take this -rose, papa, and go with it in front of the palace of the King’s son, and -cry aloud that thou hast roses for sale that are not to be matched in -the wide world. But if the dame of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_37" id="page_37">{37}</a></span> palace comes out, see that thou -dost not give her the rose for money, but say that thou wilt sell it for -a human eye.”</p> - -<p>So the man took the rose and stood in front of the palace, and began to -cry aloud: “A rose for sale, a rose for sale, the like of which is -nowhere to be found.” Now it was not the season for roses, so when the -dame of the palace heard the man crying a rose for sale, she thought to -herself: “I’ll put it in my daughter’s hair, and thus the King’s son -will think that she is his true bride.” So she called the poor man to -her, and asked him what he would sell the rose for? “For nothing,” -replied the man, “for no money told down, but I’ll give it thee for a -human eye.” Then the dame of the palace brought forth one of fair Rosa’s -eyes and gave it for the rose. Then she took it to her daughter, plaited -it in her hair, and when the King’s son saw the rose, he thought of the -Peri of his dreams, but could not understand whither she had gone. -Nevertheless he now fancied he was about to find out, so he said not a -word to any one.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, the old man went home with the eye and gave it to the damsel, -fair Rosa. Then she fitted it in its right place, sighed from her heart -in prayer to Allah, who can do all things; and behold! she could see -right well again with her one eye. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_38" id="page_38">{38}</a></span> poor girl was so pleased that -she could not help smiling, and immediately another rose sprang forth. -This also she gave to her father that he might walk in front of the -palace and give it for another human eye. The old man took the rose, and -scarcely had he begun crying it before the palace when the old dame -again heard him. “He has just come at the nick of time,” thought she; -“the King’s son has begun to love my rose-bedizened daughter; if I can -only get this rose also, he will love her still better, and this -serving-wench will go out of his mind altogether.” So she called the -mud-raker to her and asked for the rose, but again he would not take -money for it, though he was willing to let her have it in exchange for a -human eye. Then the old woman gave him the second eye, and the old man -hastened home with it and gave it to the damsel. Rosa immediately put it -in its proper place, prayed to Allah, and was so rejoiced when her two -bright eyes sparkled with living light that she smiled all the day, and -roses bloomed on every side of her. Henceforth she was lovelier than -ever. Now one day beautiful Rosa went for a walk, and as she smiled -continually as she walked along, roses bloomed around her and the ground -grew fresh and green beneath her feet. The palace dame saw her and was -terrified. What will become of me, she thought, if the affair of this -damsel comes to be<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_39" id="page_39">{39}</a></span> known? She knew where the poor mud-scraper lived, so -she went all alone to his dwelling, and terrified him by telling him -that he had an evil witch in his house. The poor man had never seen a -witch, so he was terrified to death, and asked the palace dame what he -had better do. “Find out, first of all, what her talisman is,” advised -the palace dame, “and then I’ll come and do the rest.”</p> - -<p>So the first thing the old man did when the damsel came home was to ask -her how she, a mere child of man, had come to have such magic power. The -damsel, suspecting no ill, said that she had got her talisman from the -three Peris, and that pearls, roses, and fresh sweet verdure would -accompany her so long as her talisman was alive.</p> - -<p>“What then is thy talisman?” asked the old man.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“A little deer on the hill-top;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">If it die, I also dead drop,”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">answered she.</p> - -<p>The next day the palace dame came thither in the utmost misery, heard -all about it from the mud-scraper, and hastened home with great joy. She -told her daughter that on the top of the neighbouring hill was a little -deer which she should ask her husband to get for her. That very same day -the Sultana told her husband of the little deer on the top of the hill, -and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_40" id="page_40">{40}</a></span> begged and implored him to get her its heart to eat. And after not -many days the Prince’s men caught the little deer and killed it, and -took out its heart and gave it to the Sultana. At the same instant when -they killed the little fawn fair Rosa died. The mud-raker sorrowed over -her till he could sorrow no more, and then took and buried her.</p> - -<p>Now in the heart of the little fawn there was a little red coral eye -which nobody took any notice of. When the Sultana ate the heart, the -little red coral eye fell out and rolled down the steps as if it wanted -to hide itself.</p> - -<p>Time went on, and in not more than nine months and ten days the Prince’s -consort was brought to bed of a little daughter, who wept pearls when -she cried, dropt roses when she smiled, and sweet green herbs sprang up -in her footsteps.</p> - -<p>When the Prince saw it he mused and mused over it, the little girl was -the very image of fair Rosa, and not a bit like the mother who had borne -her. So his sleep was no repose to him, till one night fair Rosa -appeared to him in his dreams and spoke these words to him: “Oh, my -prince! oh, my betrothed! my soul is beneath thy palace steps, my body -is in the tomb, thy little girl is my little girl, my talisman is the -little coral eye.”</p> - -<p>The Prince had no sooner awakened than he went<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_41" id="page_41">{41}</a></span> to the staircase and -searched about, and lo! there was the little coral eye. He picked it up, -took it into his chamber, and laid it on the table. Meanwhile, the -little girl entered the room, saw the red coral, and scarcely had she -laid hold of it than she vanished as if she had never been. The three -Peris had carried off the child and taken her to her mother’s tomb, and -scarcely had she placed the coral eye in the dead woman’s mouth than she -awoke up to a new life.</p> - -<p>But the King’s son was not easy in his mind. He went to the cemetery, -had the tomb opened, and there in her coffin lay the Rose-beauty of his -dreams, with her little girl in her arms and the coral talisman in her -mouth. They arose from the tomb and embraced him, and pearls fell from -the eyes of both of them as they wept, and roses from their mouths as -they smiled, and sweet green herbs grew up in their footsteps.</p> - -<p>The palace dame and her daughter paid for their crimes, but beautiful -Rosa and her father and her mother, the Sultan’s daughter, were all -re-united, and for forty days and forty nights they held high revel -amidst the beating of drums and the tinkling of cymbals.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_42" id="page_42">{42}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="MAD_MEHMED" id="MAD_MEHMED"></a>MAD MEHMED</h3> - -<p><span class="smcap">Once</span> upon a time in the old old days when the camel was only a spy, when -toads rose in the air on wings, and I myself rode in the air while I -walked on the ground, and went up hill and down dale at the same time, -in those days, I say, there were two brothers who dwelt together.</p> - -<p>All that they had inherited from their father were some oxen and other -beasts, and a sick mother. One day the spirit of division seized upon -the younger brother (he was half-witted besides, Allah help him!), and -he went to his brother and said: “Look now, brother! at these two -stables! One of them is as new as new can be, while the other is old and -rotten. Let us drive our cattle hither, and whatever goes into the new -stable shall be mine, and all the rest shall be thine.”</p> - -<p>“Not so, Mehmed,” said the elder brother; “let whatever goes into the -old stable be thine!” To<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_43" id="page_43">{43}</a></span> this also the half-crazy Mehmed agreed. That -same day they went and drove up their cattle, and all the cattle went -into the new stable except a helpless old ox that was so blind that it -mistook its way and went into the old stable instead. Mehmed said never -a word, but took the blind old ox into the fields to graze; every -morning early he drove it thither, and late every evening he drove it -back again. One day when he was on the road, the wind began to shake a -big wayside tree so violently that its vast branches whined and -whimpered again. “Hi! whimpering old dad!” said the fool to the tree, -“hast thou seen my elder brother?” But the tree, as if it didn’t hear, -only went on whining. The fool flew into such a rage at this that he -caught up his chopper and struck at the tree, when out of it gushed a -whole stream of golden sequins. At this the fool rallied what little -wits he had, hastened home, and asked his brother to lend him another -ox, as he wanted to plough with a pair. He found a cart also, and some -empty sacks. These he filled with earth, and set out forthwith for his -tree. There he emptied his sacks of their earth, filled them with -sequins instead, and when he returned home in the evening, his brother -well-nigh dropped down for amazement at the sight of the monstrous -treasure.</p> - -<p>They could think of nothing now but dividing it, so the younger brother -went to their neighbour for<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_44" id="page_44">{44}</a></span> a three-peck measure to measure it with. -Now the neighbour was curious to know what such clodpoles could have to -measure. So he took and smeared the bottom of the measure with tar, and, -sure enough, when the fool brought the measure back a short time -afterwards, a sequin was sticking to the bottom of it. The neighbour -immediately went and told it to another, who went and told it to a -third, and so it was not long before everybody knew all about it.</p> - -<p>Now the wiser brother knew not what might happen to them now that they -had all this money, and he began to feel frightened. So he snatched up -his pick and shovel, dug a trench, buried the treasure, and made off as -fast as his heels could carry him. On the way it occurred to the wise -brother that he had done foolishly in not shutting the door of the hut -behind him, so he sent off his younger brother to do it for him. So the -fool went back to the house, and he thought to himself: “Well, since I -am here, I ought not to forget my old mother either.” So he filled a -huge cauldron with water, boiled it, and soused his old mother in it so -thoroughly that her poor old head was never likely to speak again. After -that he propped the old woman against the wall with the broom, tore the -door off its hinges, threw it over his shoulders, and went and rejoined -his brother in the wood.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_45" id="page_45">{45}</a></span></p> - -<p>The elder brother looked at the door, and listened to the sad case of -his poor old mother, but scold and chide his younger brother as he might -the latter grew more cock-a-hoop than ever—he fancied he had done such -a clever thing. He had brought the door away with him, he said, in order -that no one might get into the house. The wise brother would have given -anything to have got rid of the fool, and began turning over in his mind -how he might best manage it. He looked before him and behind him, he -looked down the high-road, and there were three horsemen galloping -along. The thought instantly occurred to the pair of them that these -horsemen were on their track, so they scrambled up a tree forthwith, -door and all. They were scarcely comfortably settled when the three -horsemen drove up beneath the tree and encamped there. The dusk of -evening had come on at the very nick of time, so that they could not see -the two brothers.</p> - -<p>Now the two brothers would have done very well indeed up in the tree had -not one of them been a fool. Mehmed the fool began to practise -pleasantries which disturbed the repose of the horsemen beneath the -tree. Presently, however, came a crash—bang!—and down on the heads of -the three sleepers fell the great heavy door from the top of the tree. -“The end of the world has come, the end of the world has<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_46" id="page_46">{46}</a></span> come!” cried -they, and they rushed off in such a fright that no doubt they haven’t -ceased running to this very day. This finished the business so far as -the elder brother was concerned. In the morning he arose and went on his -way, and left the foolish younger brother by himself.</p> - -<p>Thus poor silly Mehmed had to go forth into the wide world alone. He -went on and on till he came to a village, by which time he was very -hungry. There he stood in the gate of a mosque, and got one or two -paras<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> from those who went in and out till he had enough to buy -himself something to eat. At that moment a fat little man came out of -the mosque, and casting his eyes on Mehmed, asked him if he would like -to enter his service.</p> - -<p>“I don’t mind if I do,” replied Mehmed, “but only on condition that -neither of us is to get angry with the other for any cause whatever. If -thou art wroth with me I’ll kill thee, and if I get wroth with thee thou -mayest kill me also.” The fat man agreed to these terms, for there was a -great lack of servants in that village.</p> - -<p>In order to make short work of the fat little man the fool began by at -once chasing all the hens and sheep off his master’s premises. “Art -angry, master?” he then inquired of his lord. His master was amazed, but -he<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_47" id="page_47">{47}</a></span> only answered: “Angry? Not I! Why should I be?” At the same time he -entrusted nothing more to him, but let him sit in the house without -anything to do.</p> - -<p>His master had a wife and child, and Mehmed had to look after them. He -liked to dandle the child up and down, but he knocked it about and hurt -it, so clumsy was he; so he soon had to leave that off. But the wife -began to be afraid that her turn would come next, sooner or later, so -she persuaded her husband to run away from the fool one night. Mehmed -overheard what they said, hid himself in their storebox, and when they -opened it in the next village out he popped.</p> - -<p>After a while his master and his wife agreed together that they would go -and sleep at night on the shores of a lake. They took Mehmed with them, -and put his bed right on the water’s edge, that he might tumble in when -he went to sleep. However, the fool was not such a fool but that he made -his master’s wife jump into the lake instead of himself. “Art angry, -master?” cried he.—“Angry indeed! How can I help being angry when I see -my property wasted, and my wife and child killed, and myself a -beggar—and all through thee!” Then the fool seized his master, put him -in mind of their compact, and pitched him into the water.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_48" id="page_48">{48}</a></span></p> - -<p>Mehmed now found himself all alone, so he went forth into the wide world -once more. He went on and on, did nothing but drink sweet coffee, smoke -chibooks, look about over his shoulder, and walk leisurely along at his -ease. As he was thus knocking about, he chanced to light upon a -five-para piece, which he speedily changed for some lebleb,<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> which he -immediately fell to chewing, and, as he chewed, part of it fell into a -wayside spring, whereupon the fool began roaring loud enough to split -his throat: “Give me back my lebleb, give me back my lebleb!” At this -frightful bawling a Jinn popped up his head, and he was so big that his -upper lip swept the sky, while his lower lip hid the earth. “What dost -thou require?” asked the Jinn.—“I want my lebleb, I want my lebleb!” -cried Mehmed.</p> - -<p>The Jinn ducked down into the spring, and when he came up again, he held -a little table in his hand. This little table he gave to the fool and -said: “Whenever thou art hungry thou hast only to say: ‘Little table, -give me to eat;’ and when thou hast eaten thy fill, say: ‘Little table, -I have now had enough.’<span class="lftspc">”</span></p> - -<p>So Mehmed took the table and went with it into a village, and when he -felt hungry he said: “Little table, give me to eat!” and immediately -there stood before<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_49" id="page_49">{49}</a></span> him so many beautiful, nice dishes that he couldn’t -make up his mind which to begin with. “Well,” thought he, “I must let -the poor people of the village see this wonder also,” so he went and -invited them all to a great banquet.</p> - -<p>The villagers came one after another, they looked to the right, they -looked to the left, but there was no sign of a fire, or any preparations -for a meal. “Nay, but he would needs make fools of us!” thought they. -But the young man brought out his table, set it in the midst, and cried: -“Little table, give me to eat!” and there before them stood all manner -of delicious meats and drinks, and so much thereof that when the guests -had stuffed themselves to the very throat, there was enough left over to -fill the servants. Then the villagers laid their heads together as to -how they might manage to have a meal like this every day. “Come now!” -said some of them, “let us steal a march upon Mehmed one day and lay -hands upon his table, and then there will be an end to the fool’s -glory.” And they did so.</p> - -<p>What could the poor, empty-bellied fool do then? Why he went to the -wayside spring and asked again: “I want my lebleb, I want my lebleb!” -And he asked and asked so long that at last the Jinn popped up his head -again out of the spring and inquired what was the matter. “I want my -lebleb, I want my<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_50" id="page_50">{50}</a></span> lebleb!” cried the fool.—“But where’s thy little -table?”—“They stole it.”</p> - -<p>The big-lipped Jinn again popped down, and when he rose out of the -spring again he had a little mill in his hand. This he gave to the fool -and said to him: “Grind it to the right and gold will flow out of it, -grind it to the left and it will give thee silver.” So the youth took -the mill home and ground it first to the right and then to the left, and -huge treasures of gold and silver lay heaped about him on the floor. So -he grew such a rich man that his equal was not to be found in the -village, nay, nor in the town either.</p> - -<p>But no sooner had the people of the village got to know all about the -little mill than they laid their heads together and schemed and schemed -till the mill also disappeared<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> one fine morning from Mehmed’s -cottage. Then Mehmed ran off to the spring once more and cried: “I want -my lebleb, I want my lebleb!”</p> - -<p>“But where is thy little table? Where is thy little mill?” asked the -big-lipped Jinn.</p> - -<p>“They have stolen them both from me,” lamented the witless one, and he -wept bitterly.</p> - -<p>Again the Jinn bobbed down, and this time he brought up two sticks with -him. He gave them to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_51" id="page_51">{51}</a></span> the fool, and impressed upon him very strongly on -no account to say: “Strike, strike, my little sticks!”</p> - -<p>Mehmed took the sticks, and first he turned them to the right and then -to the left, but could make nothing of them. Then he thought he would -just try the effect of saying: “Strike, strike, my little sticks!” and -no sooner were the words out of his mouth than the sticks fell upon him -unmercifully, and belaboured him on every part of the body that can -feel—the head, the foot, the arm, the back—till he was nothing but one -big ache. “Stop, stop, my little sticks!” cried he, and lo! the two -sticks were still. Then, for all his aches and pains, Mehmed rejoiced -greatly that he had found out the mystery.</p> - -<p>He had no sooner got home with the two sticks than he called together -all the villagers, but said not a word about what he meant to do. In -less than a couple of hours everybody had assembled there, and awaited -the new show with great curiosity. Then Mehmed came with his two sticks -and cried: “Strike, strike, my little sticks, strike, strike!” whereupon -the two sticks gave the whole lot of them such a rub-a-dub-dubbing that -it was as much as they could do to howl for mercy. “Now,” said Mehmed, -who was getting his wits back again, “I’ll have no mercy till you have -given back to me my little table and my little mill.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_52" id="page_52">{52}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>The people of the village, all bruised and bleeding as they were, -consented to everything, and hurried off for the little table and the -little mill. Then Mehmed cried: “Stand still, my little sticks!” and -there was peace and quiet as before.</p> - -<p>Then the man took away the three gifts to his own village, and as he now -had money he grew more sensible, and there also he found his brother. He -gave all the buried treasure to his brother, and each of them sought out -a damsel meet to be a wife, and married, and lived each in a world of -his own. And there was not a wiser man in that village than Mad Mehmed -now that he had grown rich.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_53" id="page_53">{53}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="THE_GOLDEN-HAIRED_CHILDREN" id="THE_GOLDEN-HAIRED_CHILDREN"></a>THE GOLDEN-HAIRED CHILDREN</h3> - -<p><span class="smcap">Once</span> upon a time, in days long gone by, when my father was my father, -and I was my fathers son, when my father was my son, and I was my -father’s mother, once upon a time, I say, at the uttermost ends of the -world, hard by the realm of demons, stood a great city.</p> - -<p>In this same city there dwelt three poor damsels, the daughters of a -poor wood-cutter. From morn to eve, from evening to morning, they did -nothing but sew and stitch, and when the embroideries were finished, one -of them would go to the market-place and sell them, and so purchase -wherewithal to live upon.</p> - -<p>Now it fell out, one day, that the Padishah of that city was wroth with -the people, and in his rage he commanded that for three days and three -nights nobody should light a candle in that city. What were these three -poor sisters to do? They could not<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_54" id="page_54">{54}</a></span> work in the dark. So they covered -their window with a large thick curtain, lit a tiny rushlight, and sat -them down to earn their daily bread.</p> - -<p>On the third night of the prohibition, the Padishah took it into his -head to go round the city himself to see whether every one was keeping -his commandment. He chanced to step in front of the house of the three -poor damsels, and as the folds of the curtain did not quite cover the -bottom of the window he caught sight of the light within. The damsels, -however, little suspecting their danger, went on sewing and stitching -and talking amongst themselves about their poor affairs.</p> - -<p>“Oh,” said the eldest, “if only the Padishah would wed me to his chief -cook, what delicious dishes I should have every day. Yes, and I would -embroider him for it a carpet so long that all his horses and all his -men could find room upon it.”</p> - -<p>“As for me,” said the middling damsel, “I should like to be wedded to -the keeper of his wardrobe. What lovely splendid raiment I should then -have to put on. And then I would make the Padishah a tent so large, that -all his horses and all his men should find shelter beneath it.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” cried the youngest damsel, “I’ll look at nobody but the Padishah -himself, and if he would only take me to wife I would bear him two -little children<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_55" id="page_55">{55}</a></span> with golden hair. One should be a boy and the other a -girl, and a half-moon should shine on the forehead of the boy, and a -bright star should sparkle on the temples of the girl.”</p> - -<p>The Padishah heard the discourse of the three damsels, and no sooner did -the red dawn shine in the morning sky than he sent for all three to the -palace. The eldest he gave to his head pantler, the second to his head -chamberlain, but the youngest he took for himself.</p> - -<p>And in truth it fared excellently well with the three damsels. The -eldest got so many rich dishes to eat, that when it came to sewing the -promised carpet she could scarce move her needle for the sleep of -surfeit. So they sent her back again to the wood-cutters hut. The second -damsel, too, when they dressed her up in gold and silver raiment, would -not deign to dirty her fingers by making tents, so they sent her back -too, to keep her elder sister company.</p> - -<p>And how about the youngest? Well, after nine months and ten days the two -elder sisters came sidling up to the palace to see if the poor thing -would really be as good as her word, and bring forth the two wondrous -children. In the gates of the palace they met an old woman, and they -persuaded her with gifts and promises to meddle in the matter. Now this -old woman was the devi<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_56" id="page_56">{56}</a></span>l’s own daughter, so that mischief and malice -were her meat and drink. She now went and picked up two pups and took -them with her to the sick woman’s bed.</p> - -<p>And oh, my soul! the wife of the Padishah brought forth two little -children like shining stars. One was a boy, the other a girl; on the -boys forehead was a half-moon and on the girl’s a star, so that darkness -was turned to light when they were by. Then the wicked old woman -exchanged the children for the pups, and told it in the ears of the -Padishah that his wife had brought forth two pups. The Padishah was like -to have had a fit in the furiousness of his rage. He took his poor wife, -buried her up to the waist in the ground, and commanded throughout the -city that every passer-by should strike her on the head with a stone. -But no sooner had the evil witch got hold of the two children, than she -took them a long way outside the town, exposed them on the bank of a -flowing stream, and returned to the palace right glad that she had done -her work so well.</p> - -<p>Now close to the water where the two children lay stood a hut where -lived an aged couple. The old man had a she-goat which used to go out in -the morning to graze, and come back in the evening to be milked, and -that was how the poor people kept body and soul together. One day, -however, the old woman was</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_fp057.png"> -<img src="images/i_fp057.png" height="550" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>The Golden-Haired Children.—p. 57.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_57" id="page_57">{57}</a></span></p> - -<p class="nind">surprised to find that the goat did not give one drop of milk. She -complained about it to the old man her husband, and told him to follow -the goat to see if perchance there was any one who stole the milk.</p> - -<p>So the next day the old man went after the goat, which went right up to -the water’s edge, and then disappeared behind a tree. And what do you -think he saw? He saw a sight which would have delighted your eyes -also—two golden-haired children were lying in the grass, and the goat -went right up to them and gave them to suck. Then she bleated to them a -little, and so left them and went off to graze. And the old man was so -delighted at the sight of the little starry things, that he was like to -have lost his head for joy. So he took the little ones (Allah had not -blessed him with children of his own) and carried them to his hut and -gave them to his wife. The woman was filled with a still greater joy at -the children which Allah had given her, and took care of them, and -brought them up. But now the little goat came bleating in as if in sore -distress, but the moment she saw the children, she went to them and -suckled them, and then went out to graze again.</p> - -<p>But time comes and goes. The two wondrous children grew up and scampered -up hill and down dale, and the dark woods were bright with the radiance -of their golden hair. They hunted the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_58" id="page_58">{58}</a></span> wild beasts, tended sheep, and -helped the old people by word and deed. Time came and went till the -children had grown up, and the old people had become very old indeed. -The golden-haired ones grew in strength while the silver-haired ones -grew in feebleness, till, at last, one morning they lay dead there, and -the brother and sister were left all alone. Sorely did the poor little -things weep and wail, but was ever woe mended by weeping? So they buried -their old parents, and the girl stayed at home with the little she-goat, -while the lad went a-hunting, for how to find food was now their great -care and their little care too.</p> - -<p>One day, while he was hunting wild beasts in the forest, he met his -father, the Padishah, but he did not know it was his father, neither did -the father recognize his son. Yet the moment the Padishah beheld the -wondrously beautiful child, he longed to clasp him to his breast, and -commanded those about him to inquire of the child from whence he came.</p> - -<p>Then one of the courtiers went up to the youth, and said: “Thou hast -shot much game there, my Bey!”—“Allah also has created much,” replied -the youth, “and there is enough for thee and for me also,” and with that -he left him like a blockhead.</p> - -<p>But the Padishah went back to his palace, and was sick at heart because -of the boy; and when they<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_59" id="page_59">{59}</a></span> asked what ailed him, he said that he had -seen such a wondrously beautiful child in the forest, and that he loved -him so that he could rest no more. The boy had the very golden hair and -the same radiant forehead that his wife had promised him.</p> - -<p>The old woman was sore afraid at these words. She hastened to the -stream, saw the house, peeped in, and there sat a lovely girl, like a -moon fourteen days old. The girl entreated the old woman courteously, -and asked her what she sought. The old woman did not wait to be asked -twice; indeed, her foot was scarce across the threshold when she began -to ask the girl with honey-sweet words whether she lived all alone.</p> - -<p>“Nay, my mother,” replied the girl; “I have a young brother. In the -day-time he goes hunting, and in the evening he comes home.”</p> - -<p>“Dost thou not grow weary of being all alone here by thyself?” inquired -the witch.—“If even I did,” said the girl, “what can I do? I must fill -up my time as best I may.”</p> - -<p>“Tell me now, my little diamond! dost thou dearly love this brother of -thine?”</p> - -<p>“Of course I do.”</p> - -<p>“Well, then, my girl,” said the witch, “I’ll tell thee something, but -don’t let it go any further! When thy brother comes home this evening, -fall to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_60" id="page_60">{60}</a></span> weeping and wailing, and keep it up with all thy might. When -then he asks what ails thee, answer him not, and when he asks thee -again, again give him never a word. When, however, he asks thee a third -time, say that thou art tired to death with staying at home here all by -thyself, and that if he loves thee, he will go to the garden of the -Queen of the Peris, and bring thee from thence a branch. A lovelier -branch thou hast never seen all thy life long.”—The girl promised she -would do this, and the old woman went away.</p> - -<p>Towards evening the damsel burst forth a-weeping and wailing till both -her eyes were as red as blood. The brother came home in the evening, and -was amazed to see his sister in such dire distress, yet could he not -prevail upon her to tell him the cause of it. He promised her all the -grass of the field and all the trees of the forest if she would only -tell him what was the matter, and, to satisfy the desire of his sister’s -heart, the golden-haired youth set off next morning for the garden of -the fairy queen. He went on and on, smoking his chibook and drinking -coffee, till he reached the boundaries of the fairy realm. He came to -deserts where no caravan had ever gone; he came to mountains where no -bird could ever fly; he came to valleys where no serpent can ever crawl. -But his trust was in Allah, so he went on and on till he<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_61" id="page_61">{61}</a></span> came to an -immense desert which the eye of man had never seen nor the foot of man -trodden. In the midst of it was a beautiful palace, and by the roadside -sat the Mother of Devils, and the smell of her was as the pestilence in -the air all round about her.</p> - -<p>The youth went straight up to the Mother of Devils, hugged her to his -breast, kissed her all over, and said: “Good-day, little mother mine! I -am thine own true lad till death!” and he kissed her hand.</p> - -<p>“A good-day to thee also, my little son!” replied the Mother of Devils. -“If thou hadst not called me thy dear little mother, if thou hadst not -embraced me, and if thy innocent mother had not been under the earth, I -would have devoured thee at once. But tell me now, my little son, -whither away?”</p> - -<p>The poor youth said that he wanted a branch from the garden of the Queen -of the Peris.</p> - -<p>“Who put that word in thy mouth, my little son?” asked the woman in -amazement. “Hundreds and hundreds of talismans guard that garden, and -hundreds of souls have perished there by reason thereof.”</p> - -<p>Yet the youth did not hold back. “I can but die once,” thought -he.—“Thou dost but go to salute thy innocent, buried mother,” said the -old woman; and then she made the youth sit down beside her and taught -him the way: “Set out on thy quest at day<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_62" id="page_62">{62}</a></span>break, and never stop till -thou dost see right in front of thee a well and a forest. Draw forth -thine arrows in this forest and catch five to ten birds, but catch them -alive. Take these birds to the well, and when thou hast recited a prayer -twice over, plunge the birds into the well and cry aloud for a key. A -key will straightway be cast out of the well, take it to thee, and go on -thy way. Thou wilt come presently to a large cavern; open the door -thereof with thy key, and, as soon as thy foot is inside, stretch forth -thy right hand into the blank darkness, grip fast hold of whatever thy -hand shall touch, drag the thing quickly forth, and cast the key back -into the well again. But look not behind thee all the time, or Allah -have mercy on thy soul!”</p> - -<p>Next day, when the red dawn was in the sky, the youth went forth on his -quest, caught the five to ten birds in the forest, got hold of the key, -opened therewith the door of the cavern, and—oh, Allah!—stretched -forth his right hand, gripped hold of something, and, without once -looking behind him, dragged it all the way to his sister’s hut, and -never stopped till he got there. Only then did he cast his eyes upon -what he had in his hand, and it was neither more nor less than a branch -from the garden of the Queen of the Peris. But what a branch it was! It -was full of little twigs, and the twigs were full of little<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_63" id="page_63">{63}</a></span> leaves, and -there was a little bird on every little leaf, and every little bird had -a song of its own. Such music, such melody was there as would have -brought even a dead man to life again. The whole hut was filled with -joy.</p> - -<p>Next day the youth again went forth to hunt, and, as he was pursuing the -beast of the forest, the Padishah saw him again. He exchanged a word or -two with the youth, and then returned to his palace, but he was now -sicker than ever, by reason of his love for his son.</p> - -<p>Then the old woman strolled off to the hut again, and there she saw the -damsel sitting with the magic branch in her hand.</p> - -<p>“Well, my girl!” said the old woman, “what did I tell thee? But that’s -nothing at all. If thy brother would only fetch thee the mirror of the -Queen of the Peris, Allah knows that thou wouldst cast that branch right -away. Give him no peace till he get it for thee.”</p> - -<p>The witch had no sooner departed than the damsel began screaming and -wailing so that her brother was at his wit’s end how to comfort her. He -said he would take the whole world on his shoulders to please her, went -straight off to the Mother of Devils, and besought her so earnestly that -she had not the heart to say him nay.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_64" id="page_64">{64}</a></span></p> - -<p>“Thou hast made up thy mind to go under the sod to thy innocent, buried -mother, I see,” cried she, “for not by hundreds but by thousands have -human souls perished in this quest of thine.” Then she instructed the -youth whither he should go and what he should do, and he set off on his -way. He took an iron staff in his hand and tied iron sandals to his -feet, and he went on and on till he came to two doors, as the Mother of -Devils told him he would beforehand. One of these doors was open, the -other was closed. He closed the open door and opened the closed door, -and there, straight before him, was another door. In front of this door -was a lion and a sheep, and there was grass before the lion and flesh -before the sheep. He took up the flesh and laid it before the lion, then -he took up the grass and laid it before the sheep, and they let him -enter unharmed. But now he came to a third door, and in front of it were -two furnaces, and fire burned in the one and ashes smouldered in the -other. He put out the flaming furnace, stirred up the cinders in the -smouldering furnace till they blazed again, and then through the door he -went into the garden of the Peris, and from the garden into the Peri -palace. He snatched up the enchanted mirror, and was hastening away with -it when a mighty voice cried out against him so that the earth and the -heavens trembled. “Burning furnace,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_65" id="page_65">{65}</a></span> seize him, seize him!” cried the -voice, just as he came up to the furnace.</p> - -<p>“I can’t,” answered the first furnace, “for he has put me out!” But the -other furnace was grateful to him for kindling it into a blaze again, so -it let him pass by too.</p> - -<p>“Lion, lion, tear him to pieces!” cried the mighty voice from the depths -of the palace, when the youth came up to the two beasts.</p> - -<p>“Not I,” answered the lion, “for he helped me to a good meal of -flesh!”—Nor would the sheep hurt him either, because he had given it -the grass.—“Open door! let him not out!” cried the voice from within -the palace.—“Nay, but I will!” replied the door; “for had he not opened -me I should be closed still!”—and so the golden-haired youth was not -very long in getting home, to the great joy of his sister. She snatched -at the mirror and instantly looked into it, and—Allah be praised!—she -saw the whole world in it. Then the damsel thought no more of the -Peribranch, for her eyes were glued to the mirror.</p> - -<p>Again the youth went a-hunting, and again he caught the eye of the -Padishah. But the sight of the youth this third time so touched the -fatherly heart of the Padishah that they carried him back to his palace -half fainting. Then the witch guessed only too well how matters stood.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_66" id="page_66">{66}</a></span></p> - -<p>So she arose and went to the damsel, and so filled her foolish little -head with her tales that she persuaded her not to give her brother rest -day and night till he had brought her the Queen of the Peris herself. -“That’ll make him break his hatchet anyhow!” thought the old woman. But -the damsel rejoiced beforehand at the thought of having the Queen of the -Peris also, and in her impatience could scarce wait for her brother to -come home.</p> - -<p>When her brother came home she shed as many tears as if she were a cloud -dripping rain. In vain her brother tried to prove to her how distant and -how dangerous was the way she would fain have him go. “I want the Queen -of the Peris, and have her I must,” cried the damsel.</p> - -<p>So again the youth set out on his journey, went straight to the Mother -of Devils, pressed her hand, kissed her lips, pressed her lips and -kissed her hand, and said: “Oh, my mother! help me in this my sore -need!” The Mother of Devils was amazed at the valour of the man, and -never ceased dissuading him from his purpose, for every human soul that -goes on such a quest must needs perish.—“Die I may, little mother!” -cried the youth, “but I will not come back without her.”</p> - -<p>So what could the Mother of Devils do but show him the way? “Go the same -road,” said she, “that<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_67" id="page_67">{67}</a></span> led thee to the branch, and then go on to where -thou didst find the mirror. Thou wilt come at last to a large desert, -and beyond the desert thou wilt see two roads, but look neither to the -right hand nor yet to the left, but go right on through the sooty -darkness betwixt them. When now it begins to grow a little lighter, thou -wilt see a large cypress wood, and in this cypress wood a large tomb. In -this tomb, turned to stone, are all those who ever desired the Queen of -the Peris. Stop not there, but go right on to the palace of the Queen of -the Peris and call out her name with the full strength of thy lungs. -What will happen to thee after that not even I can tell thee.”</p> - -<p>Next day the youth set out on his journey. He prayed by the wayside -well, opened all the gates he came to, and, looking neither to the right -hand nor to the left, went on straight before him through the sooty -darkness. All at once it began to grow a little lighter, and a large -cypress wood appeared right in front of him. The leaves of the trees -were of a burning green, and their drooping crowns hid snow-white tombs. -Nay, but they were not tombs, but stones as big as men. Nay, but they -were not stones at all, but men who had turned, who had stiffened, into -stone. There was neither man, nor spirit, nor noise, nor breath of wind, -and the youth froze with horror to his very marrow. Nevertheless he -plucked up his<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_68" id="page_68">{68}</a></span> courage and went on his way. He looked straight before -him all the time, and his eyes were almost blinded by a dazzling light. -Was it the sun he saw? No, it was the palace of the Queen of the Peris! -Then he rallied all the strength that was left in him and shouted the -name of the Queen of the Peris with all his might, and the words had not -yet died away upon his lips when his whole body up to his knee-cap -stiffened into stone. Again he shouted with all his might, and he turned -to stone up to his navel. Then he shouted for the last time with all his -might, and stiffened up to his throat first and then up to his head, -till he became a tombstone like the rest.</p> - -<p>But now the Queen of the Peris came into her garden, and she had silver -sandals on her feet and a golden saucer in her hand, and she drew water -from a diamond fountain, and when she watered the stone youth, life and -motion came back to him.</p> - -<p>“Well, thou youth thou,” said the Queen of the Peris, “<span class="lftspc">’</span>tis not enough, -then, that thou hast taken away my Peri branch and my magic mirror, but -thou must needs, forsooth, venture hither a third time! Thou shalt share -the fate of thy innocent buried mother, stone thou shalt become and -stone shalt thou remain. What brought thee hither?—speak!”</p> - -<p>“I came for thee,” replied the youth very courageously.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_69" id="page_69">{69}</a></span></p> - -<p>“Well, as thou hast loved me so exceedingly, no harm shall befall thee, -and we will go away together.”</p> - -<p>Then the youth begged her to have compassion on all the men she had -turned to stone and give them back their lives again. So the Peri -returned to her palace, packed up her baggage, which was small in weight -but priceless in value, filled the little golden saucer with water, and -sprinkled therewith all the stones and the whole multitude of the stones -became men. They all took horse, and as they quitted the Peri realm, the -earth trembled beneath them and the sky was shaken as if the seven -worlds and the seven heavens were mingled together, so that the youth -would have died of fright if the Queen of the Peris had not been by his -side. Never once did they look behind them, but galloped on and on till -they came to the house of the youth’s sister, and such was their joy and -gladness at seeing each other again that place could scarce be found for -the Queen of the Peris. But now the youth was in no great hurry to go -hunting as before, for he had changed hearts with the lovely Queen of -the Peris, and she was his and he was hers.</p> - -<p>Now when the Queen of the Peris had heard the history of the children -and their parents, and the fate of their innocent mother, she said one -morning to the youth: “Go a-hunting in the forest, and thou wilt<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_70" id="page_70">{70}</a></span> meet -the Padishah. The first thing he will do will be to invite thee to the -palace, but beware lest thou accept his invitation.” And so indeed it -turned out. Scarcely had he taken a turn in the wood than the Padishah -stood before him, and, one word leading to another, he invited the youth -to his palace, but the youth would not go.</p> - -<p>Early next morning the Peri awoke the children, clapped her hands -together and called her Lala,<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> and immediately a huge negro sprang up -before them. So big was he that one of his lips touched the sky while -the other swept the earth. “What dost thou command me, my Sultana?” -cried the Lala.</p> - -<p>“Fetch me hither my father’s steed!” commanded the Peri.</p> - -<p>The negro vanished like a hurricane, and, a moment afterwards, the steed -stood before them, and the like of it was not to be found in the wide -world.</p> - -<p>The youth leaped upon the horse, and the splendid suite of the Padishah -was already waiting for him at the roadside.</p> - -<p>But—O Allah, forgive me!—I have forgotten the best of the story. The -Peri charged the youth as he quitted her to take heed, while he was in -the palace of the Padishah, to the neighing of his horse. At the first -neighing he was to hasten back.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_71" id="page_71">{71}</a></span></p> - -<p>So the youth went to meet the Padishah on his diamond-bridled charger, -and behind him came a gay and gallant retinue. He saluted the people on -the right hand and on the left all the way to the palace, and there they -welcomed him with a pomp the like of which was never known before. They -ate and drank and made merry till the Padishah could scarce contain -himself for joy, but then the steed neighed, the youth arose, and all -their entreaties to him to stay could not turn him from his set purpose. -He mounted his horse, invited the Padishah to be his guest on the -following day, and returned home to the Peri and his own sister.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the Peri dug up the mother of the children, and so put her to -rights again by her Peri arts that she became just as she was in the -days of her first youth. But she spake not a word about the mother to -the children, nor a word about the children to the mother. On the -morning of the reception of guests she rose up early and commanded that -on the spot where the little hut stood a palace should rise, the like of -which eye hath never seen nor ear heard of, and there were as many -precious stones heaped up there as were to be found in the whole -kingdom. And then the garden that surrounded that palace! There were -multitudes of flowers, each one lovelier than the other, and on every -flower there was a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_72" id="page_72">{72}</a></span> singing bird, and every bird had feathers aglow with -light, so that one could only look at it all open-mouthed and cry: “Oh! -oh!” And the palace itself was full of domestics, there were black harem -slaves, and white captive youths, and dancers and singers, and players -of stringed instruments—more than thou canst count, count thou never so -much, and words cannot tell of the splendour of the retinue which went -forth to greet the Padishah as a guest.</p> - -<p>“These children are not of mortal birth!” thought the Padishah to -himself, when he beheld all these marvels, “or if they <i>are</i> of mortal -birth a Peri must have had a hand in the matter.”</p> - -<p>They led the Padishah into the most splendid room of the palace, they -brought him coffee and sherbet, and then the music spoke to him, and the -singing birds—oh! a man could have listened to them for ever and ever! -Then rich meats on rare and precious dishes were set before him, and -then the dancers and the jugglers diverted him till the evening.</p> - -<p>At eventide the servants came and bowed before the Padishah and said: -“My lord! peace be with thee! They await thee in the harem!” So he -entered the harem, and there he saw before him the golden-haired youth, -with a beautiful half-moon shining on his forehead, and his bride, the -Peri-Queen, and his own consort, the Sultana, who had been buried in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_73" id="page_73">{73}</a></span> -the earth, and by her side a golden-haired maiden with a star sparkling -on her forehead. There stood the Padishah as if turned to stone, but his -consort ran up to him and kissed the edge of his garment, and the -Peri-Queen began to tell him the whole of her life and how everything -had happened.</p> - -<p>The Padishah was nigh to dying in the fulness of his joy. He could -scarce believe his eyes, but he pressed his consort to his breast and -embraced the two beauteous children, and the Queen of the Peris -likewise. He forgave the sisters of the Sultana their offences, but the -old witch was mercilessly destroyed by lingering tortures. But he and -his consort and her son and the Queen of the Peris, and his daughter, -and his daughter’s bridegroom sat down to a great banquet and made -merry. Forty days and forty nights they feasted, and the blessing of -Allah was upon them.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_74" id="page_74">{74}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="THE_HORSE-DEVIL_AND_THE_WITCH" id="THE_HORSE-DEVIL_AND_THE_WITCH"></a>THE HORSE-DEVIL AND THE WITCH</h3> - -<p><span class="smcap">There</span> was once upon a time a Padishah who had three daughters. One day -the old father made him ready for a journey, and calling to him his -three daughters straightly charged them to feed and water his favourite -horse, even though they neglected everything else. He loved the horse so -much that he would not suffer any stranger to come near it.</p> - -<p>So the Padishah went on his way, but when the eldest daughter brought -the fodder into the stable the horse would not let her come near him. -Then the middling daughter brought the forage, and he treated her -likewise. Last of all the youngest daughter brought the forage, and when -the horse saw her he never budged an inch, but let her feed him and then -return to her sisters. The two elder sisters were content that the -youngest should take care of the horse, so they troubled themselves -about it no more.</p> - -<p>The Padishah came home, and the first thing he<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_75" id="page_75">{75}</a></span> asked was whether they -had provided the horse with everything. “He wouldn’t let us come near -him,” said the two elder sisters; “it was our youngest sister here who -took care of him.”</p> - -<p>No sooner had the Padishah heard this than he gave his youngest daughter -to the horse to wife, but his two other daughters he gave to the sons of -his Chief Mufti and his Grand Vizier, and they celebrated the three -marriages at a great banquet, which lasted forty days. Then the youngest -daughter turned into the stable, but the two eldest dwelt in a splendid -palace. In the daytime the youngest sister had only a horse for a -husband and a stable for a dwelling; but in the night-time the stable -became a garden of roses, the horse-husband a handsome hero, and they -lived in a world of their own. Nobody knew of it but they two. They -passed the day together as best they could, but eventide was the time of -their impatient desires.</p> - -<p>One day the Padishah held a tournament in the palace. Many gallant -warriors entered the lists, but none strove so valiantly as the husbands -of the Sultan’s elder daughters.</p> - -<p>“Only look now!” said the two elder daughters to their sister who dwelt -in the stable, “only look now! how our husbands overthrow all the other -warriors with their lances; our two lords are not<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_76" id="page_76">{76}</a></span> so much lords as -lions! Where is this horse-husband of thine, prythee?”</p> - -<p>On hearing this from his wife, the horse-husband shivered all over, -turned into a man, threw himself on horseback, told his wife not to -betray him on any account, and in an instant appeared within the lists. -He overthrew every one with his lance, unhorsed his two brothers-in-law, -and re-appeared in the stable again as if he had never left it.</p> - -<p>The next day, when the sports began again, the two elder sisters mocked -as before, but then the unknown hero appeared again, conquered and -vanished. On the third day the horse-husband said to his wife: “If ever -I should come to grief or thou shouldst need my help, take these three -wisps of hair, burn them, and it will help thee wherever thou art.” With -that he hastened to the games again and triumphed over his -brothers-in-law. Every one was amazed at his skill, the two elder -sisters likewise, and again they said to their younger sister: “Look how -these heroes excel in prowess! They are very different to thy dirty -horse-husband!”</p> - -<p>The girl could not endure standing there with nothing to say for -herself, so she told her sisters that the handsome hero was no other -than her horse-husband—and no sooner had she pointed at him than he -vanished from before them as if he had never been.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_77" id="page_77">{77}</a></span> Then only did she -call to mind her lord’s command to her not to betray her secret, and -away she hurried off to the stable. But ’twas all in vain, neither horse -nor man came to her, and at midnight there was neither rose nor -rose-garden.</p> - -<p>“Alas!” wept the girl, “I have betrayed my lord, I have broken my word, -what a crime is mine!” She never closed an eye all that night, but wept -till morning. When the red dawn appeared she went to her father the -Padishah, complained to him that she had lost her horse-husband, and -begged that she might go to the ends of the earth to seek him. In vain -her father tried to keep her back, in vain he pointed out to her that -her husband was now most probably among devils, and she would never be -able to find him—turn her from her resolution he could not. What could -he do but let her go on her way?</p> - -<p>With a great desire the damsel set out on her quest, she went on and on -till her tender body was all aweary, and at last she sank down exhausted -at the foot of a great mountain. Then she called to mind the three -hairs, and she took out one and set fire to it—and lo! her lord and -master was in her arms again, and they could not speak for joy.</p> - -<p>“Did I not bid thee tell none of my secret?” cried the youth -sorrowfully; “and now if my hag of a mother see thee she will instantly -tear thee to pieces.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_78" id="page_78">{78}</a></span> This mountain is our dwelling-place. She will be -here immediately, and woe to thee if she see thee!”</p> - -<p>The poor Sultan’s daughter was terribly frightened, and wept worse than -ever at the thought of losing her lord again, after all her trouble in -finding him. The heart of the devil’s son was touched at her sorrow: he -struck her once, changed her into an apple, and put her on the shelf. -The hag flew down from the mountain with a terrible racket, and -screeched out that she smelt the smell of a man, and her mouth watered -for the taste of human flesh. In vain her son denied that there was any -human flesh there, she would not believe him one bit.</p> - -<p>“If thou wilt swear by the egg not to be offended, I’ll show thee what -I’ve hidden,” said her son. The hag swore, and her son gave the apple a -tap, and there before them stood the beautiful damsel. “Behold my wife!” -said he to his mother. The old mother said never a word, what was done -could not be undone. “I’ll give the bride something to do all the same,” -thought she.</p> - -<p>They lived a couple of days together in peace and quiet, but the hag was -only waiting for her son to leave the house. At last one day the youth -had work to do elsewhere, and scarcely had he put his foot out of doors -when the hag said to the damsel: “Come, sweep and sweep not!” and with -that she went out<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_79" id="page_79">{79}</a></span> and said she should not be back till evening. The -girl thought to herself again and again: “What am I to do now? What did -she mean by ‘sweep and sweep not’?” Then she thought of the hairs, and -she took out and burned the second hair also. Immediately her lord stood -before her and asked her what was the matter, and the girl told him of -his mother’s command: “Sweep and sweep not!” Then her lord explained to -her that she was to sweep out the chamber, but not to sweep the -ante-chamber.</p> - -<p>The girl did as she was told, and when the hag came home in the evening -she asked the girl whether she had accomplished her task. “Yes, little -mother,” replied the bride, “I have swept and I have not swept.”—“Thou -daughter of a dog,” cried the old witch, “not thine own wit but my son’s -mouth hath told thee this thing.”</p> - -<p>The next morning when the hag got up she gave the damsel vases, and told -her to fill them with tears. The moment the hag had gone the damsel -placed the three vases before her, and wept and wept, but what could her -few teardrops do to fill them? Then she took out and burned the third -hair.</p> - -<p>Again her lord appeared before her, and explained to her that she must -fill the three vases with water, and then put a pinch of salt in each -vase. The girl did so, and when the hag came home in the evening<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_80" id="page_80">{80}</a></span> and -demanded an account of her work, the girl showed her the three vases -full of tears. “Thou daughter of a dog!” chided the old woman again, -“that is not thy work; but I’ll do for thee yet, and for my son too.”</p> - -<p>The next day she devised some other task for her to do; but her son -guessed that his mother would vex the wench, so he hastened home to his -bride. There the poor thing was worrying herself about it all alone, for -the third hair was now burnt, and she did not know how to set about -doing the task laid upon her. “Well, there is now nothing for it but to -run away,” said her lord, “for she won’t rest now till she hath done -thee a mischief.” And with that he took his wife, and out into the wide -world they went.</p> - -<p>In the evening the hag came home, and saw neither her son nor his bride. -“They have flown, the dogs!” cried the hag, with a threatening voice, -and she called to her sister, who was also a witch, to make ready and go -in pursuit of her son and his bride. So the witch jumped into a pitcher, -snatched up a serpent for a whip, and went after them.</p> - -<p>The demon-lover saw his aunt coming, and in an instant changed the girl -into a bathing-house, and himself into a bath-man sitting down at the -gate. The witch leaped from the pitcher, went to the bath-<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_81" id="page_81">{81}</a></span>keeper, and -asked him if he had not seen a young boy and girl pass by that way.</p> - -<p>“I have only just warmed up my bath,” said the youth, “there’s nobody -inside it; if thou dost not believe me, thou canst go and look for -thyself.” The witch thought: “<span class="lftspc">’</span>Tis impossible to get a sensible word out -of a fellow of this sort,” so she jumped into her pitcher, flew back, -and told her sister that she couldn’t find them. The other hag asked her -whether she had exchanged words with any one on the road. “Yes,” replied -the younger sister, “there was a bath-house by the roadside, and I asked -the owner of it about them; but he was either a fool or deaf, so I took -no notice of him.”</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">’</span>Tis thou who wert the fool,” snarled her elder sister. “Didst thou not -recognize in him my son, and in the bath-house my daughter-in-law?” Then -she called her second sister, and sent her after the fugitives.</p> - -<p>The devil’s son saw his second aunt flying along in her pitcher. Then he -gave his wife a tap and turned her into a spring, but he himself sat -down beside it, and began to draw water out of it with a pitcher. The -witch went up to him, and asked him whether he had seen a girl and a boy -pass by that way.</p> - -<p>“There’s drinkable water in this spring,” replied<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_82" id="page_82">{82}</a></span> he, with a vacant -stare, “I am always drawing it.” The witch thought she had to do with a -fool, turned back, and told her sister that she had not met with them. -Her sister asked her if she had not come across any one by the way. -“Yes, indeed,” replied she, “a half-witted fellow was drawing water from -a spring, but I couldn’t get a single sensible word out of him.”</p> - -<p>“That half-witted fellow was my son, the spring was his wife, and a -pretty wiseacre thou art,” screeched her sister. “I shall have to go -myself, I see,” and with that she jumped into her pitcher, snatched up a -serpent to serve her as a whip, and off she went.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the youth looked back again, and saw his mother coming after -them. He gave the girl a tap and changed her into a tree, but he himself -turned into a serpent, and coiled himself round the tree. The witch -recognized them, and drew near to the tree to break it to pieces; but -when she saw the serpent coiled round it, she was afraid to kill her own -son along with it, so she said to her son: “Son, son! show me, at least, -the girl’s little finger, and then I’ll leave you both in peace.” The -son saw that he could not free himself from her any other way, and that -she must have at least a little morsel of the damsel to nibble at. So he -showed her one of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_83" id="page_83">{83}</a></span> girl’s little fingers, and the old hag wrenched -it off, and returned to her domains with it. Then the youth gave the -girl a tap and himself another tap, put on human shape again, and away -they went to the girl’s father, the Padishah. The youth, since his -talisman had been destroyed, remained a mortal man, but the diabolical -part of him stayed at home with his witch-mother and her kindred. The -Padishah rejoiced greatly in his children, gave them a wedding-banquet -with a wave of his finger, and they inherited the realm after his -death.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_84" id="page_84">{84}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="THE_CINDER-YOUTH" id="THE_CINDER-YOUTH"></a>THE CINDER-YOUTH</h3> - -<p><span class="smcap">Once</span> upon a time that was no time, in the days when the servants of -Allah were many and the misery of man was great, there lived a poor -woman who had three sons and one daughter. The youngest son was -half-witted, and used to roll about all day in the warm ashes.</p> - -<p>One day the two elder brothers went out to plough, and said to their -mother: “Boil us something, and send our sister out with it into the -field.”—Now the three-faced devil had pitched his tent close to this -field, and in order that the girl might not come near them he determined -to persuade her to go all round about instead of straight to them.</p> - -<p>The mother cooked the dinner and the girl went into the field with it, -but the devil contrived to make her lose her road, so that she wandered -further and further away from the place where she wanted to go. At last, -when her poor head was quite con<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_85" id="page_85">{85}</a></span>fused, the devil’s wife appeared before -her and asked the terrified girl what she meant by trespassing there. -Then she talked her over and persuaded her to come home with her, that -she might hide her from the vengeance of the devil, her husband.</p> - -<p>But the three-faced devil had got home before them, and when they -arrived the old woman told the girl to make haste and get something -ready to eat while her maid-servant stirred up the fire. But scarcely -had she begun to get the dish ready than the devil crept stealthily up -behind her, opened his mouth wide, and swallowed the girl whole, clothes -and all.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile her brothers were waiting in the field for their dinner, but -neither the damsel nor the victuals appeared. Afternoon came and went -and evening too, and then the lads went home, and when they heard from -their mother that their sister had gone to seek them early in the -morning they suspected what had happened—their little sister must have -fallen into the hands of the devil. The two elder brothers did not think -twice about it, but the elder of them set off at once to seek his -sister.</p> - -<p>He went on and on, puffing at his chibook, sniffing the perfume of -flowers and drinking coffee, till he came to an oven by the wayside. By -the oven sat an old man, who asked the youth on<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_86" id="page_86">{86}</a></span> what errand he was -bent. The youth told him of his sister’s case, and said he was going in -search of the three-faced devil, and would not be content till he had -killed him.—“Thou wilt never be able to slay the devil,” said the man, -“till thou hast eaten of bread that has been baked in this oven.”—The -youth thought this no very difficult matter, took the loaves out of the -oven, but scarcely had he bitten a piece out of one of them than the -oven, the man, and the loaves all disappeared before his eyes, and the -bit he had taken swelled within him so that he nearly burst.</p> - -<p>The youth hadn’t gone two steps further on when he saw on the highway a -large cauldron, and the cauldron was full of wine. A man was sitting in -front of the cauldron, and he asked him the way, and told him the tale -of the devil. “Thou wilt never be able to cope with the devil,” said the -man, “if thou dost not drink of this wine.” The youth drank, but: “Woe -betide my stomach, woe betide my bowels!” for so plagued was he that he -could not have stood upright if he had not seen two bridges before him. -One of these bridges was of wood and the other was of iron, and beyond -the two bridges were two apple-trees, and one bore unripe bitter apples -and the other sweet ripe ones.</p> - -<p>The three-faced devil was waiting on the road to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_87" id="page_87">{87}</a></span> see which bridge he -would choose, the wooden or the iron one, and which apples he would eat, -the sour or the sweet ones. The youth went along the iron bridge, lest -the wooden one might break down, and plucked the sweet apples, because -the green ones were bitter. That was just what the devil wanted him to -do, and he at once sent his mother to meet the youth and entice him into -his house as he had done his sister, and it was not long before he also -found his way into the devil’s belly.</p> - -<p>And next in order, the middling brother, not wishing to be behind-hand, -also went in search of his kinsmen. He also could not eat of the bread -his inside also was plagued by the wine, he went across the iron bridge -and ate of the sweet apples, and so he also found his way into the -devil’s belly. Only the youngest brother who lay among the ashes -remained. His mother besought him not to forsake her in her old age. If -the others had gone he at least could remain and comfort her, she said. -But the youth would not listen. “I will not rest,” said Cinderer, “till -I have found the three lost ones, my two brothers and my sister, and -slain the devil.” Then he rose from his chimney corner, and no sooner -had he shaken the ashes from off him than such a tempest arose that all -the labourers at work in the fields left their ploughs where they stood, -and ran off as far as<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_88" id="page_88">{88}</a></span> their eyes could see. Then the youngest son -gathered together the ploughshares and bade a blacksmith make a lance of -them, but a lance of such a kind as would fly into the air and come back -again to the hand that hurled it without breaking its iron point. The -smith made the lance, and the youth hurled it. Up into the air flew the -lance, but when it came down again on to the tip of his little finger it -broke to pieces. Then the youth shook himself still more violently in -the ashes, and again the labourers in the field fled away before the -terrible tempest which immediately arose, and the youth gathered -together a still greater multitude of ploughshares and took them to the -smith. The smith made a second lance, and that also flew up into the air -and broke to pieces when it came down again. Then the youth shook -himself in the ashes a third time, and such a hurricane arose that there -was scarce a ploughshare in the whole country-side that was not carried -away. It was only with great difficulty that the smith could make the -third lance, but when that came down on the youth’s finger it did not -break in pieces like the others. “This will do pretty well,” said the -youth, and catching up the lance he went forth into the wide world.</p> - -<p>He went on and on and on till he also came to the oven and the cauldron. -The men who guarded the oven and the cauldron stopped him and asked him -his<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_89" id="page_89">{89}</a></span> business, and on finding out that he was going to kill the devil, -they told the youth that he must first eat the bread of the oven and -then drink the wine in the cauldron if he could. The son of the cinders -wished for nothing better. He ate the loaves that were baked in the -oven, drank all the wine, and further on he saw the wooden bridge and -the iron bridge, and beyond the bridges the apple-trees.</p> - -<p>The devil had observed the youth from afar, and his courage began to -ooze out of him when he saw the deeds of the son of the ashes. “Any fool -can go across the iron bridge,” thought the youth, “I’ll go across the -wooden one,” and as it was no very great feat to eat the sweet apples he -ate the sour ones.—“There will be no joking with this one,” said the -devil, “I see I must get ready my lance and measure my strength with -him.”</p> - -<p>The son of the ashes saw the devil from afar, and full of the knowledge -of his own valour went straight up to him.</p> - -<p>“If thou doest not homage to me, I’ll swallow thee straight off,” cried -the devil.</p> - -<p>“And if thou doest not homage to me, I’ll knock thee to pieces with my -lance,” replied the youth.</p> - -<p>“Oh ho! if we’re so brave as all that,” cried the three-faced monster, -“let us out with our lances without losing any more time.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_90" id="page_90">{90}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>So the devil out with his lance, whirled it round his head, and aimed it -with all his might at the youth, who gave but one little twist with his -finger, and crick-crack! the devil’s lance broke all to bits. “Now it’s -my turn,” cried the son of the cinders; and he hurled his lance at the -devil with such force that the devil’s first soul flew out of his -nose.—“At it again once more, if thou art a man,” yelled the devil, -with a great effort. “Not I,” cried the youth, “for my mother only bore -me once,” whereupon the devil breathed forth his last soul also. Then -the youth went on to seek the devil’s wife. Her also he chased down the -road after her husband, and when he had cut them both in two, lo and -behold! all three of his kinsfolk stood before him, so he turned back -home and took them with him. Now his brothers and sister had grown very -thirsty in the devil’s belly, and when they saw a large well by the -wayside, they asked their brother Cinder-son to draw them a little -water. Then the youths took off their girdles, tied them together, and -let down the biggest brother, but he had scarcely descended more than -half-way down when he began to shriek unmercifully: “Oh, oh, draw me up, -I have had enough,” so that they had to pull him up and let the second -brother try. And with him it fared the same way. “Now ’tis my turn,” -cried Cinder-son, “but mind you do not pull me</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_fp091.png"> -<img src="images/i_fp091.png" height="550" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>The Cinder-Youth and the Three Damsels.—p. 91.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_91" id="page_91">{91}</a></span></p> - -<p class="nind">up, however loudly I holloa.” So they let down the youngest brother, and -he too began to holloa and bawl, but they paid no heed to it, and let -him down till he stood on the dry bottom of the well. A door stood -before him, he opened it, and there were three lovely damsels sitting in -a room together, and each of them shone like the moon when she is only -fourteen days old. The three damsels were amazed at the sight of the -youth. How durst he come into the devil’s cavern? they asked—and they -begged and besought him to escape as he valued dear life. But the youth -would not budge at any price, till he had got the better of this devil -also. The end of the matter was that he slew the devil and released the -three damsels, who were Sultan’s daughters, and had been stolen from -their fathers and kept here for the last seven years. The two elder -princesses he intended for his two brothers, but the youngest, who was -also the loveliest, he chose for himself, and filling the pitcher with -water he brought the damsels to the bottom of the well, right below the -mouth of it.</p> - -<p>First of all he let them draw up the eldest princess for his eldest -brother, then he made them pull up the middling princess for his -middling brother, and then it came to the youngest damsel’s turn. But -she desired that the youth should be drawn up at all hazards and herself -afterwards. “Thy brethren,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_92" id="page_92">{92}</a></span>” she explained, “will be wroth with thee for -keeping the loveliest damsel for thyself, and will not draw thee out of -the well for sheer jealousy.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll find my way out even then,” answered the youth, and though she -begged and besought him till there was no more soul in her, he would not -listen to her. Then the damsel drew from her breast a casket and said to -the youth: “If any mischief befall thee, open this casket. Inside it is -a piece of flint, and if thou strike it once a negro efrit will appear -before thee and fulfil all thy desires. If thy brethren leave thee in -the well, go to the palace of the devil and stand by the well. Two rams -come there every day, a black one and a white one; if thou cling fast to -the white one, thou wilt come to the surface of the earth, but if thou -cling on to the black one thou wilt sink down into the seventh world.”</p> - -<p>Then he let them draw up the youngest damsel, and no sooner did his -brethren see their brother’s bride and perceive that she was the -loveliest of all, than jealousy overtook them, and in their wrath they -left him in the well and went home with the damsels.</p> - -<p>So what else could the poor youth at the bottom of the well do than go -back to the devil’s palace, stand by the well, and wait for the two -rams? Not very long afterwards a white ram came bounding along before -him, and after that a black ram, and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_93" id="page_93">{93}</a></span> youth, instead of catching -hold of the white ram, seized the black one and immediately perceived -that he was at the bottom of the seventh world.... He went on and on, he -went for a long time and he went for a short time, he went by day and he -went by night, he went up hill and down dale till he could do no more, -and stopped short by a large tree to take a little rest. But what was -that he saw before him? A large serpent was gliding up the trunk of the -tree and would have devoured all the young birds on the tree if -Cinder-son had let him. But the youth quickly drew forth his lance and -cut the serpent in two with a single blow. Then, like one who has done -his work well, he lay down at the foot of the tree, and inasmuch as he -was tired and it was warm he fell asleep at once.</p> - -<p>Now while he slept the emerald Anka, who is the mother of the birds and -the Padishah of the Peris, passed by that way, and when she saw the -sleeping youth she fancied him to be her enemy, who was wont to destroy -her children year by year. She was about to cut him to pieces, when the -birds whispered to her not to hurt the youth, because he had killed -their enemy the serpent. It was only then that the Anka perceived the -two halves of the serpent. And now, lest anything should harm the -sleeping youth, she hopped round and round him, and touched him softly -and sheltered him with both her wings lest the sun<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_94" id="page_94">{94}</a></span> should scorch him, -and when he awoke from his sleep the wing of the bird was spread over -him like a tent. And now the Anka approached him and said she would fain -reward him for his good deed, and he might make a request of her. Then -replied the youth: “I would fain get to the surface of the earth again.”</p> - -<p>“Be it so,” said the emerald bird, “but first thou must get forty tons -of ox-flesh and forty pitchers of water and sit on my back with them, so -that when I say ‘Gik!’ thou mayest give me to eat, and when I say ‘Gak!’ -thou mayest give me to drink.”</p> - -<p>Then the youth bethought him of his casket, took the flint-stone out of -it, and struck it once, and immediately a black efrit with a mouth as -big as the world stood before him and said: “What dost thou command, my -Sultan?”—“Forty tons of ox-flesh, and forty pitchers of water,” said -the youth. In a short time the efrit brought the flesh and the water, -and the youth packed it all up together and mounted on the wing of the -bird. Off they went, and whenever the Anka cried “Gik!” he gave her -flesh, and whenever she cried “Gak!” he gave her water. They flew from -one layer of worlds to the next, till in a short time they got above the -surface of the earth again, and he dismounted from the bird’s back and -said to her: “Wait here a while, and in a short time I shall be back.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_95" id="page_95">{95}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>Then the youth took out his coffer, struck the flint-stone, and bade the -black bounding efrit get him tidings of the three sisters. In a short -time the efrit re-appeared with the three damsels, who were preparing a -banquet for the brothers. He made them all sit on the bird’s back, took -with him again forty tons of ox-flesh and forty pitchers of water, and -away they all went to the land of the three damsels. Every time the Anka -said “Gik!” he gave her flesh to eat, and every time she said “Gak!” he -gave her water to drink. But as the youth now had three with him besides -himself, it came to pass that the flesh ran short, so that when the Anka -said “Gik!” once more he had nothing to give her. Then the youth drew -his knife, cut a piece of flesh out of his thigh, and stuffed it into -the bird’s mouth.<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a> The Anka perceived that it was human flesh and did -not eat it, but kept it in her mouth, and when they had reached the -realm of the three damsels, the bird told him that he might now go in -peace.</p> - -<p>But the poor youth could not move a step because of the smart in his -leg. “Thou go on first,” he said to the bird, “but I will first rest me -here a while.”</p> - -<p>“Nay, but thou art a droll rogue,” quoth the bird, and with that it spit -out of its mouth the piece of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_96" id="page_96">{96}</a></span> human flesh and put it back in its proper -place just as if it had never been cut out.</p> - -<p>The whole city was amazed at the sight of the return of the Sultan’s -daughters. The old Padishah could scarce believe his own eyes. He looked -and looked and then he embraced the first princess; he looked and looked -and then he kissed the second princess, and when they had told him the -story he gave his whole kingdom and his three daughters to Cinder-son. -Then the youth sent for his mother and his sister, and they all sat down -to the banquet together. Moreover he found his sister a husband who was -the son of the Vizier, and for forty days and forty nights they were -full of joyfulness.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_97" id="page_97">{97}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="THE_PIECE_OF_LIVER" id="THE_PIECE_OF_LIVER"></a>THE PIECE OF LIVER</h3> - -<p><span class="smcap">Once</span> upon a time there was an old woman who felt she would very much -like to have a piece of liver, so she gave a girl two or three pence, -and bade her buy the liver in the market-place, wash it clean in the -pond, and then bring it home. So the girl went to the market-place, -bought the liver, and took it to the pond to wash it; and while she was -washing it a stork popped down, snatched the liver out of her hand, and -flew away with it. Then the girl cried: “Stork, stork! give me back my -liver, that I may take it to my mammy, lest my mammy beat me!”—“If thou -wilt fetch me a barley-ear instead of it, I’ll give thee back thy -liver,” said the stork. So the girl went to the straw-stalk, and said: -“Straw-stalk, straw-stalk! give me a barley-ear, that I may give the -barley-ear to the stork, that the stork may give me back my liver, that -I may give the liver to my mammy.”—“If thou wilt pray Allah for<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_98" id="page_98">{98}</a></span> rain, -thou shalt have a little barley-ear,” said the straw-stalk. But while -she was beginning her prayer, saying: “Oh, Allah, give me rain, that I -may give the rain to the straw-stalk, that the straw-stalk may give me a -barley-ear, that I may give the barley-ear to the stork, that the stork -may give me back my liver, that I may give the liver to my mammy,” while -she was praying thus, up came a man to her and said that without a -censer no prayers could ever get to heaven, so she must go to the -bazaar-keeper for a censer.</p> - -<p>So she went to the bazaar-keeper, and cried: “Bazaar-keeper, -bazaar-keeper! give me a censer, that I may burn incense before Allah, -that Allah may give me rain, that I may give rain to the straw-stalk, -that the straw-stalk may give me a barley-ear, that I may give the -barley-ear to the stork, that the stork may give me back my liver, that -I may give my liver to my mammy!”</p> - -<p>“I’ll give it thee,” said the bazaar-keeper, “if thou wilt bring me a -boot from the cobbler.”</p> - -<p>So the girl went to the cobbler, and said to him: “Cobbler, cobbler! -give me a boot, that I may give the boot to the bazaar-keeper, that the -bazaar-keeper may give me a censer, that I may burn incense before -Allah, that Allah may give me rain, that I may give rain to the -straw-stalk, that the straw-stalk may give<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_99" id="page_99">{99}</a></span> me a barley-ear, that I may -give the barley-ear to the stork, that the stork may give me back the -liver, that I may give the liver to my mammy.”</p> - -<p>But the cobbler said: “If thou fetch me a hide thou shalt have a boot -for it.”</p> - -<p>So the girl went to the tanner, and said: “Tanner, tanner! give me a -hide, that I may give the hide to the cobbler, that the cobbler may give -me a boot, that I may give the boot to the bazaar-keeper, that the -bazaar-keeper may give me a censer, that I may burn incense before -Allah, that Allah may give me rain, that I may give the rain to the -straw-stalk, that the straw-stalk may give me a barley-ear, that I may -give the barley-ear to the stork, that the stork may give me back my -liver, that I may give the liver to my mammy.”</p> - -<p>“If thou gettest a hide from the ox, thou wilt get a hide fit for making -a boot,” said the tanner.</p> - -<p>So the girl went to the ox, and said to it: “Ox, ox! give me a hide, -that I may give the hide to the tanner, that the tanner may give me -boot-leather, that I may give the boot-leather to the cobbler, that the -cobbler may give me a boot, that I may give the boot to the -bazaar-keeper, that the bazaar-keeper may give me a censer, that I may -burn incense before Allah, that Allah may give me rain, that I may give -the rain to the straw-stalk, that the straw-stalk may give<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_100" id="page_100">{100}</a></span> me a -barley-ear, that I may give the barley-ear to the stork, that the stork -may give me back my liver, that I may give the liver to my mammy.”</p> - -<p>The ox said: “If thou get me straw I’ll give thee a hide for it!”</p> - -<p>So the girl went to the farmer, and said to him: “Farmer, farmer! give -me straw, that I may give the straw to the ox, that the ox may give me a -hide, that I may give the hide to the tanner, that the tanner may give -me shoe-leather, that I may give the shoe-leather to the cobbler, that -the cobbler may give me a shoe, that I may give the shoe to the -bazaar-keeper, that the bazaar-keeper may give me a censer, that I may -burn incense before Allah, that Allah may give me rain, that I may give -rain to the straw-stalk, that the straw-stalk may give me a barley-ear, -that I may give the barley-ear to the stork, that the stork may give me -back my liver, that I may give the liver to my mammy.”</p> - -<p>The farmer said to the girl: “I’ll give thee the straw if thou give me a -kiss.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” thought the girl to herself, “a kiss is but a little matter if -it free me from all this bother.” So she went up to the farmer and -kissed him, and the farmer gave her straw for the kiss. She took the -straw to the ox, and the ox gave her a hide for the straw. She took the -hide to the tanner, and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_101" id="page_101">{101}</a></span> tanner gave her shoe-leather. She took the -shoe-leather to the cobbler, and the cobbler gave her a shoe for it. She -took the shoe to the bazaar-keeper, and the bazaar-keeper gave her a -censer. She lit the censer and cried: “Oh, Allah! give me rain, that I -may give the rain to the straw-stalk, that the straw-stalk may give me a -barley-ear, that I may give the barley-ear to the stork, that the stork -may give me back my liver, that I may give the liver to my mammy.” Then -Allah gave her rain, and she gave the rain to the straw-stalk, and the -straw-stalk gave her a barley-ear, and she gave the barley-ear to the -stork, and the stork gave her back her liver, and she gave the liver to -her mammy, and her mammy cooked the liver and ate it.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_102" id="page_102">{102}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="THE_MAGIC_TURBAN_THE_MAGIC_WHIP_AND_THE_MAGIC_CARPET" id="THE_MAGIC_TURBAN_THE_MAGIC_WHIP_AND_THE_MAGIC_CARPET"></a>THE MAGIC TURBAN, THE MAGIC WHIP, AND THE MAGIC CARPET</h3> - -<p><span class="smcap">Once</span> upon a time that was no time there were two brothers. Their father -and mother had died and divided all their property between them. The -elder brother opened a shop, but the younger brother, who was but a -feather-brain, idled about and did nothing; so that at last, what with -eating and drinking and gadding abroad, the day came when he had no more -money left. Then he went to his elder brother and begged a copper or two -of him, and when that all was spent he came to him again, and so he -continued to live upon him.</p> - -<p>At last the elder brother began to grow tired of this waste, but seeing -that he could not be quit of his younger brother, he turned all his -possessions into sequins, and embarked on a ship in order to go into -another kingdom. The younger brother, however, had got wind of it, and -before the ship<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_103" id="page_103">{103}</a></span> started he managed to creep on board and conceal -himself without any one observing him. The elder brother suspected that -if the younger one heard of his departure he would be sure to follow -after, so he took good care not to show himself on deck. But scarcely -had they unfurled the sails when the two brothers came face to face, and -the elder brother found himself saddled with his younger brother again.</p> - -<p>The elder brother was not a little angry, but what was the use of -that!—for the ship did not stop till it came to Egypt. There the elder -brother said to the younger brother: “Thou stay here, and I will go and -get two mules that we may go on further.” The youth sat down on the -shore and waited for his brother, and waited, but waited in vain. “I -think I had better look for him,” thought he, and up he got and went -after his elder brother.</p> - -<p>He went on and on and on, he went a short distance and he went a long -distance, six months was he crossing a field; but once as he looked over -his shoulder, he saw that for all his walking he walked no further than -a barley-stalk reaches. Then he strode still more, he strode still -further, he strode for half a year continuously; he kept plucking -violets as he went along, and as he went striding, striding, his feet -struck upon a hill, and there he saw three youths<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_104" id="page_104">{104}</a></span> quarrelling with one -another about something. He soon made a fourth, and asked them what they -were tussling about.</p> - -<p>“We are the children of one father,” said the youngest of them, “and our -father has just died and left us, by way of inheritance, a turban, a -whip, and a carpet. Whoever puts the turban on his head is hidden from -mortal eyes. Whoever extends himself on the carpet and strikes it once -with the whip can fly far away, after the manner of birds; and we are -eternally quarrelling among ourselves as to whose shall be the turban, -whose the whip, and whose the carpet.”</p> - -<p>“All three of them must belong to one of us,” cried they all. “They are -mine, because I am the biggest,” said one.—“They are mine by right, -because I am the middling-sized brother,” cried the second.—“They are -mine, because I am the smallest,” cried the third. From words they -speedily came to blows, so that it was as much as the youth could do to -keep them apart.</p> - -<p>“You can’t settle it like that,” said he; “I’ll tell you what we’ll do. -I’ll make an arrow from this little piece of wood, and shoot it off. You -run after it, and he who brings it to me here soonest shall have all -three things.” Away flew the dart, and after it pelted the three -brothers, helter-skelter; but the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_105" id="page_105">{105}</a></span> wise youth knew a trick worth two of -that, for he stuck the turban on his head, sat down on the carpet, -tapped it once with the whip, and cried: “Hipp—hopp! let me be where my -elder brother is!” and when he awoke a large city lay before him.</p> - -<p>He had scarce taken more than a couple of steps through the street, when -the Padishah’s herald came along, and proclaimed to the inhabitants of -the town that the Sultan’s daughter disappeared every night from the -palace. Whoever could find out what became of her should receive the -damsel and half the kingdom. “Here am I!” cried the youth, “lead me to -the Padishah, and if I don’t find out, let them take my head!”</p> - -<p>So they brought the fool into the palace, and in the evening there lay -the Sultan’s daughter watching, with her eyes half-closed, all that was -going on. The damsel was only waiting for him to go to sleep, and -presently she stuck a needle into her heel, took the candle with her, -lest the youth should awake, and went out by a side door.</p> - -<p>The youth had his turban on his head in a trice, and no sooner had he -popped out of the same door than he saw a black efrit standing there -with a golden buckler on his head, and on the buckler sat the Sultan’s -daughter, and they were just on the point<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_106" id="page_106">{106}</a></span> of starting off. The lad was -not such a fool as to fancy that he could keep up with them by himself, -so he also leaped on to the buckler, and very nearly upset the pair of -them in consequence. The efrit was alarmed, and asked the damsel in -Allah’s name what she was about, as they were within a hair’s-breadth of -falling. “I never moved,” said the damsel; “I am sitting on the buckler -just as you put me there.”</p> - -<p>The black efrit had scarcely taken a couple of steps, when he felt that -the buckler was unusually heavy. The youth’s turban naturally made him -invisible, so the efrit turned to the damsel and said: “My Sultana, thou -art so heavy to-day that I all but break down beneath thee!”—“Darling -Lala!” replied the girl, “thou art very odd to-night, for I am neither -bigger nor smaller than I was yesterday.”</p> - -<p>Shaking his head the black efrit pursued his way, and they went on and -on till they came to a wondrously beautiful garden, where the trees were -made of nothing but silver and diamonds. The youth broke off a twig and -put it in his pocket, when straightway the trees began to sigh and weep -and say: “There’s a child of man here who tortures us! there’s a child -of man here who tortures us!”</p> - -<p>The efrit and the damsel looked at each other.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_107" id="page_107">{107}</a></span> “They sent a youth in to -me to-day,” said the damsel, “maybe his soul is pursuing us.”</p> - -<p>Then they went on still further, till they came to another garden, where -every tree was sparkling with gold and precious stones. Here too the -youth broke off a twig and shoved it into his pocket, and immediately -the earth and the sky shook, and the rustling of the trees said: -“There’s a child of man here torturing us, there’s a child of man here -torturing us,” so that both he and the damsel very nearly fell from the -buckler in their fright. Not even the efrit knew what to make of it.</p> - -<p>After that they came to a bridge, and beyond the bridge was a fairy -palace, and there an army of slaves awaited the damsel, and with their -hands straight down by their sides they bowed down before her till their -foreheads touched the ground. The Sultan’s daughter dismounted from the -efrit’s head, the youth also leaped down; and when they brought the -princess a pair of slippers covered with diamonds and precious stones, -the youth snatched one of them away, and put it in his pocket. The girl -put on one of the slippers, but being unable to find the other, sent for -another pair, when, presto! one of these also disappeared. At this the -damsel was so annoyed that she walked on without slippers; but the -youth, with the turban on his head and the whip and the carpet<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_108" id="page_108">{108}</a></span> in his -hand, followed her everywhere like her shadow. So the damsel went on -before, and he followed her into a room, and there he saw the black -Peri, one of whose lips touched the sky, while the other lip swept the -ground. He angrily asked the damsel where she had been all the time, and -why she hadn’t come sooner. The damsel told him about the youth who had -arrived the evening before, and about what had happened on the way, but -the Peri comforted her by saying that the whole thing was fancy, and she -was not to trouble herself about it any more. After that he sat down -with the damsel, and ordered a slave to bring them sherbet. A black -slave brought the noble drink in a lovely diamond cup, but just as he -was handing it to the Sultan’s daughter the invisible youth gave the -hand of the slave such a wrench that he dropped and broke the cup to -pieces. A piece of this also the youth concealed in his pocket.</p> - -<p>“Now didn’t I say that something was wrong?” cried the Sultan’s -daughter. “I want no sherbet nor anything else, and I think I had better -get back again as soon as possible.”—“Tush! tush!” said the efrit, and -he ordered other slaves to bring them something to eat. So they brought -a little table covered with many dishes, and they began to eat together; -whereupon the hungry youth also set to work, and the viands disappeared -as if three were eating instead of two.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_109" id="page_109">{109}</a></span></p> - -<p>And the black Peri himself began to be a little impatient, when not only -the food but also the forks and spoons began to disappear, and he said -to his sweetheart, the Sultan’s daughter, that perhaps it would be as -well if she did make haste home again. First of all the black efrit -wanted to kiss the girl, but the youth slipped in between them, pulled -them asunder, and one of them fell to the right and the other to the -left. They both turned pale, called the Lala with his buckler, the -damsel sat upon it, and away they went. But the youth took down a sword -from the wall, bared his arm, and with one blow he chopped off the head -of the black Peri. No sooner had his head rolled from his shoulders than -the heavens roared so terribly, and the earth groaned so horribly, and a -voice cried so mightily: “Woe to us, a child of man hath slain our -king!” that the terrified youth knew not whether he stood on his head or -his heels.</p> - -<p>He seized his carpet, sat upon it, gave it one blow with his whip, and -when the Sultan’s daughter returned to the palace, there she found the -youth snoring in his room. “Oh, thou wretched bald-pate,” cried the -damsel viciously, “what a night I’ve had of it. So much the worse for -thee!” Then she took out a needle and pricked the youth in the heel, and -because he never stirred she<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_110" id="page_110">{110}</a></span> fancied he was asleep, and lay down to -sleep herself also.</p> - -<p>Next morning when she awoke she bade the youth prepare for death, as his -last hour had come. “Nay,” replied he, “not to thee do I owe an account -of myself; let us both come before the Padishah.”</p> - -<p>Then they led him before the father of the damsel, but he said he would -only tell them what had happened in the night if they called all the -people of the town together. “In that way I shall find my brother, -perhaps,” thought he. So the town-crier called all the people together, -and the youth stood on a high daïs beside the Padishah and the Sultana, -and began to tell them the whole story, from the efrit’s buckler to the -Peri king. “Believe him not, my lord Padishah and father; he lies, my -lord father and Padishah!” stammered the damsel; whereupon the youth -drew from his pocket the diamond twig, the twig of gems, the golden -slipper, the precious spoons and forks. Then he went on to tell them of -the death of the black Peri, when all at once he caught sight of his -elder brother, whom he had been searching for so long. He had now -neither eyes nor ears for anything else, but leaping off the daïs, he -forced his way on and on through the crowd to his brother, till they -both came together.</p> - -<p>Then the elder brother told <i>their</i> story, while the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_111" id="page_111">{111}</a></span> younger brother -begged the Padishah to give his daughter and half the kingdom to his -elder brother. He was quite content, he said, with the magic turban and -the magic whip and carpet to the day of his death, if only he might live -close to his elder brother.</p> - -<p>But the Sultan’s daughter rejoiced most of all when she heard of the -death of the Peri king. He had carried her off by force from her room -one day, and so enchanted her with his power that she had been unable to -set herself free. In her joy she agreed that the youth’s elder brother -should be her lord; and they made a great banquet, at which they feasted -forty days and forty nights with one another. I also was there, and I -begged so much pilaw<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a> from the cook, and I got so much in the palm of -my hand, that I limp to this day.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_112" id="page_112">{112}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="THE_WIND-DEMON" id="THE_WIND-DEMON"></a>THE WIND-DEMON</h3> - -<p><span class="smcap">There</span> was once upon a time an old Padishah who had three sons and three -daughters. One day the old man fell ill, and though they called all the -leeches together to help him, his disease would not take a turn for the -better. “I already belong to Death,” he thought, and calling to him his -sons and daughters, he thus addressed them: “If I die, he among you -shall be Padishah who watches three nights at my tomb. As for my -daughters, I give them to him who first comes to woo them.” And with -that he died, and was buried as became a Padishah.</p> - -<p>Now as the realm could have a Padishah in no other way, the eldest son -went to his father’s tomb and sat there for half the night, said his -prayers upon his carpet, and awaited the dawn. But all at once a -horrible din arose in the midst of the darkness, and so frightened was -he that he snatched up his slippers and never stopped till he got home. -The next night<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_113" id="page_113">{113}</a></span> the middling son also went out to the tomb, and he also -sat there for half the night, but no sooner did he hear the great din -than he too caught up his slippers and hurried off homewards. So it now -came to the turn of the third and youngest son.</p> - -<p>The third son took his sword, stuck it in his girdle, and went off to -the tomb. Sure enough, when he had sat there till midnight, he heard the -horrible din, and so horrible was it that the very earth trembled. The -youth pulled himself together, went straight towards the spot from -whence the noise came loudest, and behold! right in front of him stood a -huge dragon. Drawing his sword, the youth fell upon the dragon so -furiously that at last the monster had scarcely strength enough left to -say: “If thou art a man, put thy heel upon me and strike me with thy -sword but once more!”</p> - -<p>“Not I,” cried the King’s son, “my mother only bore me into the world -once,” whereupon the dragon yielded up its filthy soul. The King’s son -would have cut off the beast’s ears and nose, but he could not see very -well in the dark, and began groping about for them, when all at once he -saw afar off a little shining light. He went straight towards it, and -there in the midst of the brightness he saw an old man. Two globes were -in his hand, one black and the other white; the black globe he was -turning<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_114" id="page_114">{114}</a></span> round and round, and from the white globe proceeded the light.</p> - -<p>“What art thou doing, old father?” asked the King’s son.</p> - -<p>“Alas! my son,” replied the old man, “my business is my bane, I hold -fast the nights and let go the days.”—“Alas! my father,” replied the -King’s son, “my task is even greater than thine.” With that he tied -together the old man’s arms, so that he might not let go the days, and -went on still further to seek the light. He went on and on till he came -to the foot of a castle wall, and forty men were taking counsel together -beneath it.</p> - -<p>“What’s the matter?” inquired the King’s son.—“We should like to go -into the castle to steal the treasure,” said the forty men, “but we -don’t know how.”</p> - -<p>“I would very soon help you if you only gave me a little light,” said -the King’s son. This the robbers readily promised to do, and after that -he took a packet of nails, knocked them into the castle wall, row after -row, right up to the top, clambered up himself, and then shouted down to -them: “Now you come up one by one, just as I have done.”</p> - -<p>So the robbers caught hold of the nails and began to clamber up, one -after another, the whole forty of them. But the youth was not idle. He -drew his sword, and the moment each one of them reached the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_115" id="page_115">{115}</a></span> top, he -chopped off his head and pitched his body into the courtyard, and so he -did to the whole forty. Then he leaped down into the courtyard himself, -and there right before him was a beautiful palace; and no sooner had he -opened the door than a serpent glided past him, and crawled up a column -close by the staircase. The youth drew his sword to strike the serpent; -he struck and cut the serpent in two, but his sword remained in the -stone wall, and he forgot to draw it out again. Then he mounted the -staircase and went into a room, and there lay a lovely damsel asleep. So -he went out again, closed the door very softly behind him, and ascended -to the second flight, and went into a room there, and before him lay a -still lovelier damsel on a bed. This door he also closed, and went up to -the third and topmost flight, and opened a door there also, and lo! the -whole room was piled up with nothing but steel, and such a splendid -damsel lay asleep there that if the King’s son had had a thousand -hearts, he would have loved her with them all. This door he also closed, -remounted the castle wall, re-descended on the other side by means of -the nails, which he took out as he descended, and so reached the ground -again. Then he went straight up to the old man whose arms he had tied -together. “Oh, my son!” cried he from afar, “thou hast remained a long -time away. Every<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_116" id="page_116">{116}</a></span>body’s side will be aching from so much lying down.” -Then the youth untied his arms, the old man let the white globes of day -move round again, and the youth went up to the dragon, cut off its ears -and nose, and put them in his knapsack. Then he went back to the palace, -and when he drew nigh to it he found that they had made his eldest -brother Padishah. However, he let it be and said nothing.</p> - -<p>Not very long afterwards a lion came to the palace, and went straight up -to the Padishah. “What dost thou want?” asked the Padishah. “I want thy -eldest sister to wife,” replied the lion. “I give not my sister to a -brute beast,” said the Padishah, and forthwith they began chasing the -lion away; but now the King’s son appeared and said: “Such was not our -father’s will, but he said we were to give her to whomsoever asked for -her.” With that they brought the damsel and gave her to the lion, and he -took her and was gone.</p> - -<p>The next day came a tiger, and demanded the middling daughter from the -Padishah. The two elder brethren would by no means give her up, but -again the youngest brother insisted that they should do so, as it was -their father’s wish. So they sent for the damsel and gave her to the -tiger.</p> - -<p>On the third day a bird alighted in the palace, and said that he must -have the youngest of the Sulta<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_117" id="page_117">{117}</a></span>n’s daughters. The Padishah and the -second brother were again unwilling to agree to it, but the youngest -brother stood them out that the bird ought to be allowed to fly back -with his sister. Now this bird was the Padishah of the Peris, the -emerald Anka. But now let us see what happened in that castle of which -we have before spoken.</p> - -<p>In this castle there dwelt just about this time a Padishah and his three -daughters. Rising one morning and going out, he saw a man walking in the -palace. He went out into the courtyard, and saw a serpent cut in two on -the staircase, and a sword sticking in the stone column, and going on -still further, and searching in all directions, he perceived the bodies -of the forty robbers in his castle moat. “Not an enemy, but only the -hand of a friend could have done this,” thought he; “and he has saved me -from the robbers and the serpent. The sword is my good friend’s, but -where is the sword’s master?” And he took counsel with his Vizier.</p> - -<p>“Oh, we’ll soon get to the bottom of that,” said the Vizier. “Let us -make a great bath, and invite every one to come and bathe in it for -nothing. We will watch carefully each single man, and whosoever has a -sheath without a sword will be the man who has saved us.” And the -Padishah did so. He made ready a big bath, and the whole realm came and -bathed in it.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_118" id="page_118">{118}</a></span></p> - -<p>Next day the Vizier said to him: “Every one has been here to bathe save -only the King’s three sons, they still remain behind.” Then the Padishah -sent word to the King’s three sons to come and bathe, and looking -closely at their garments, he perceived that the youngest of the three -wore a sheath without a sword.</p> - -<p>Then the Padishah called the King’s son to him and said: “Great is the -good thou hast done to me, ask me what thou wilt for it!”—“I ask nought -from thee,” replied the King’s son, “but thy youngest daughter.”</p> - -<p>“Alas! my son, ask me anything but that,” sighed the Padishah. “Ask my -crown, my kingdom, and I’ll give them to thee, but my daughter I cannot -give thee.”</p> - -<p>“If thou givest me thy daughter I will take her,” replied the King’s -son, “but nought else will I take from thy hand.”</p> - -<p>“My son,” groaned the Padishah, “I will give thee my eldest daughter, -I’ll give thee my second daughter, nay, I’ll give thee the pair of them -if thou wilt. But my youngest daughter has a deadly enemy, the -Wind-Demon. Because I would not give her to him, I must needs fence her -room about with walls of steel, lest any of the devil race draw near to -her. For the Wind-Demon is such a terrible monster that eye<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_119" id="page_119">{119}</a></span> cannot see -nor dart overtake him; like the tempest he flies, and his coming is like -the coming of a whirlwind.”</p> - -<p>But whatever the Padishah might say to turn him from seeking after the -damsel fell on deaf ears. He begged and pleaded so hard for the damsel -that the Padishah was wearied by his much speaking, and promised him the -damsel, nay they held the bridal banquet. The two elder brothers -received the two elder damsels, and returned to their kingdom, but the -youngest brother remained behind to guard his wife against the -Wind-Demon.</p> - -<p>Time came and went, and the King’s son avoided the light of day for the -sake of his lovely Sultana. One day, however, the King’s son said to his -wife: “Behold now, my Sultana, all this time I have never moved from thy -side, methinks I will go a-hunting, though it only be for a little hour -or so.”</p> - -<p>“Alas! my King,” replied his wife, “if thou dost depart from me, I know -that thou wilt never see me more.” But as he begged her for leave again -and again, and promised to be back again immediately, his wife -consented. Then he took his weapons and went forth into the forest.</p> - -<p>Now the Wind-Demon had been awaiting this chance all along. He feared -the famous prince, and durst not snatch his wife from his arms; but as -soon as ever the King’s son had put his foot out of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_120" id="page_120">{120}</a></span> doors, the -Wind-Demon came in and vanished with the wife of the King’s son.</p> - -<p>Not very long afterwards the King’s son came back, and could find his -wife nowhere. He went to the Padishah to seek her, and came back again, -for it was certain that the Demon must have taken her, no other living -soul could have got near her. Bitterly did he weep, fiercely did he dash -himself against the floor, but then he quickly rose up again, took -horse, and galloped away into the wide world, determined to find either -death or his consort.</p> - -<p>He went on for days, he went on for weeks, in his trouble and anguish he -gave himself no rest. All at once a palace sprang up before him, but it -seemed to him like a mirage, which baffles the eye that looks upon it. -It was the palace of his eldest sister. The damsel was just then looking -out of the window, and lo! she caught sight of a man wandering there -where never a bird had flown and never a caravan had travelled. Then she -recognized him as her brother, and so great was their mutual joy that -they could not come to words for hugging and kissing.</p> - -<p>Towards evening the damsel said to the King’s son: “The lion will be -here shortly, and although he is very good to me, he is only a brute -beast for all that, and may do thee a mischief.” And she took her -brother and hid him.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_fp121.png"> -<img src="images/i_fp121.png" height="550" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>The King’s Son and the Lion.—p. 121.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_121" id="page_121">{121}</a></span></p> - -<p>In the evening the lion came home sure enough, and when they had sat -down together and begun to talk, the girl asked him what he would do if -any of her brothers should chance to come there. “If the eldest were to -come,” said the lion, “I would strike him dead with one blow, if the -second came I would slay him also, but if the youngest came, I would let -him go to sleep on my paws if he liked.”</p> - -<p>“Then he has come,” said his wife.</p> - -<p>“Where is he—where is he? Bring him out, let me see him!” cried the -lion; and when the King’s son appeared, the lion did not know what to do -with himself for joy. Then they began to talk, and the lion asked him -why he had come there, and whither he was going. The youth told him what -had happened, and said he was going to seek the Wind-Demon.</p> - -<p>“I know but the rumour of him,” said the lion; “but take my word for it, -thou hadst better have nothing to do with him, for there is none that -can cope with the Wind-Demon.” But the King’s son would not listen to -reason, remained there that night, and next morning mounted his horse -again. The lion accompanied him to show him the right way, and then they -parted, one going to the right and the other to the left.</p> - -<p>Again he went on and on, till he saw another palace, and this was the -palace of his middling sister.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_122" id="page_122">{122}</a></span> The damsel saw from the window that a -man was on the road, and no sooner did she recognize him than she rushed -out to meet him, and led him into the palace. Full of joy, they -conversed together till the evening, and then the damsel said to the -youth: “In a short time my tiger-husband will be here, I’ll hide thee -from him, lest a mischief befall thee,” and she took her brother and hid -him.</p> - -<p>In the evening the tiger came home, and while they talked together his -wife asked him what he would do if any of her brothers should chance to -look in upon them.</p> - -<p>“If the elder were to come,” said the tiger, “I would strike them dead, -but if the youngest came, I would go down on my knees before him.” -Whereupon the damsel called to her youngest brother, the King’s son, to -come forth. The tiger was overjoyed to see him, welcomed him as a -brother, and asked him whence he came and whither he was going. Then the -King’s son told the tiger of all his trouble, and asked him whether he -knew the Wind-Demon. “Only by hearsay,” replied the tiger; and then he -tried to persuade the King’s son not to go, for the danger was great. -But the red dawn had no sooner appeared than the King’s son was ready to -set out again. The tiger showed him the way, and the one went back and -the other went forward.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_123" id="page_123">{123}</a></span></p> - -<p>He pursued his way, and it was endlessly long, but time passes quickly -in a fairy tale, and at last a dark object stood out against him. “What -can it be?” thought he, but when he drew nearer he saw that it was a -palace. It was the abode of his youngest sister. The damsel was just -then looking out of the window. “Alas! my brother!” cried she, and very -nearly fell out of the window for pure joy. Then she led him into the -house. The youth rejoiced that he had found all his sisters so well, but -the lack of his wife was still a weight upon his heart.</p> - -<p>Now when evening was drawing nigh the girl said to her brother: “My -bird-husband will be here anon; conceal thyself from him, for if he see -thee he will tear thy heart out,” and with that she took her brother and -hid him.</p> - -<p>And now there was a great clapping of wings, and the Anka had scarce -rested a while when his wife asked him what he would do if any of her -brothers came to see them.</p> - -<p>“As to the two elder,” said the bird, “I would take them in my mouth, -fly up to the sky with them, and cast them down from thence; but if the -youngest were to come, I would let him sit down on my wings and go to -sleep there if he liked.” Then the girl called forth her youngest -brother.</p> - -<p>“Alas! my dear little child,” cried the bird, “how<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_124" id="page_124">{124}</a></span> didst thou find thy -way hither? Wert thou not afraid of the long journey?”</p> - -<p>The youth told what had happened to him, and asked the Anka whether he -could help him to get to the Wind-Demon.</p> - -<p>“It is no easy matter,” said the bird; “but even if thou couldst get to -him, I would counsel thee to let it alone and stay rather among us.”</p> - -<p>“Not I,” replied the resolute youth; “I will either release my wife or -perish there!” Then the Anka saw that he could not turn him from his -purpose, and began to explain to him all about the palace of the -Wind-Demon. “He is now asleep,” said the Anka, “and thou mayest be able -to carry off thy wife; but if he should awake and see thee, he will -without doubt grind thee to atoms. Guard against him thou cannot, for -eye cannot see and fire cannot harm him, so look well to thyself!”</p> - -<p>So next day the youth set out on his journey, and when he had gone on -and on for a long, long time, he saw before him a vast palace that had -neither door nor chimney, nor length nor breadth. It was the palace of -the Wind-Demon. His wife chanced just then to be sitting at the window, -and when she saw her husband she leaped clean out of the window to him. -The King’s son caught his wife in his arms, and there were no bounds to -their joy and their<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_125" id="page_125">{125}</a></span> tears, till at last the girl bethought her of the -terrible demon.</p> - -<p>“This is now the third day that he has slept,” cried she; “let us hasten -away before the fourth day is spent also.” So they mounted, whipped up -their horses, and were already well on their way when the Wind-Demon -awoke on the fourth day. Then he went to the girl’s door and bade her -open, that he might at least see her face for a brief moment. He waited, -but he got no answer. Then, auguring some evil, he beat in the door, and -lo! the place where the damsel should have lain was cold.</p> - -<p>“So-ho, Prince Mehmed!” cried he, “thou hast come here, eh, and stolen -away my Sultana? Well, wait a while! go thy way, whip up thy fleet -steed! for I’ll catch thee up in the long run.” And with that he sat -down at his ease, drank his coffee, smoked his chibook, and then rose up -and went after them.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the King’s son was galloping off with the girl with all his -might, when all at once the girl felt the demon’s breath, and cried out -in her terror: “Alas, my King, the Wind-Demon is here!” Like a whirlwind -the invisible monster was upon them, caught up the youth, tore off his -arms and legs, and smashed his skull and all his bones till there was -not a bit of him left.</p> - -<p>The damsel began to weep bitterly. “Even if thou<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_126" id="page_126">{126}</a></span> hast killed him,” -sobbed she, “let me at least gather together his bones and pile them up -somewhere, for if thou suffer it, I would fain bury him.”—“I care not -what thou dost with his bones!” cried the Demon.</p> - -<p>So the damsel took the bones of the King’s son, piled them up together, -kissed the horse between the eyes, placed the bones on his saddle, and -whispered in his ear: “Take these bones, my good steed, take them to the -proper place.” Then the Demon took the girl and led her back to the -palace, for the power of her beauty was so great that it always kept the -Demon close to her. Into her presence, indeed, she never suffered the -monster to come. At the door of her chamber he had to stop, but he was -allowed to show himself to her now and then.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the good steed galloped away with the youth’s bones till he -stopped at the door of the palace of the youngest sister, and then he -neighed and neighed till the damsel heard him. She rushed out to the -horse, and when she perceived the knapsack, and in the knapsack the -bones of her brother, she began to weep bitterly, and dashed herself -against the ground as if she would have dashed herself to pieces. She -could hardly wait for her lord the Anka to come home. At last there was -a sound of mighty wings, and the Padishah of the Birds, the emerald -Anka, came home, and when he saw the scattered bones of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_127" id="page_127">{127}</a></span> the King’s son -in the basket, he called together all the birds of the air and asked -them, saying: “Which of you goes to the Garden of Paradise?”</p> - -<p>“An old owl is the only one that goes there,” said the birds, “and he -has now grown so old that he has no more strength left for such a -journey.”</p> - -<p>Then the Anka sent a bird to bring the owl on his back. The bird flew -away, and in a very short time was back again, with the aged owl on his -back.</p> - -<p>“Well, my father,” said the Bird-Padishah, “hast thou ever been in the -Garden of Paradise?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, my little son,” croaked the aged owl, “a long, long time ago, -twelve years or more, and I haven’t been there since.”</p> - -<p>“Well, if thou hast been there,” said the Anka, “go again now, and bring -me from thence a little glass of water.” The old owl kept on saying that -it was a long, long way for him to go, and that he would never be able -to hold out the whole way. The Anka would not listen to him, but perched -him upon a bird’s back, and the twain flew into the Garden of Paradise, -drew a glass of water, and returned to the Anka’s palace.</p> - -<p>Then the Anka took the youth’s bones and began to put them together. The -arms, the legs, the head, the thighs, everything he put in its proper -place; and when he had sprinkled it all with the water, the youth<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_128" id="page_128">{128}</a></span> fell -a-gaping, as if he had been asleep and was just coming to himself again. -The youth looked all about him, and asked the Anka where he was, and how -he came there.</p> - -<p>“Didn’t I say that the Wind-Demon would twist thee round his little -finger?” replied the Anka. “He ground all thy bones and sinews to dust, -and we have only just now picked them all out of the basket. But now -thou hadst better leave the matter alone, for if thou gettest once more -into the clutches of this demon, I know that we shall never be able to -put thee together again.”</p> - -<p>But the youth was not content to do this, but said he would go seek his -consort a second time.</p> - -<p>“Well, if thou art bent on going at any price,” counselled the Anka, “go -first to thy wife and ask her if she knows the Demon’s talisman. If only -thou canst get hold of that, even the Wind-Demon will be in thy power.”</p> - -<p>So again the King’s son took horse, again he went right up to the -Demon’s palace, and as the Demon was dreaming dreams just then, the -youth was able to find and converse with his wife. After they had -rejoiced with a great joy at the sight of each other, the youth told the -lady to discover the secret of the Demon’s talisman, and win it by -wheedling words and soft caresses if she could get at it no other way.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_129" id="page_129">{129}</a></span> -Meanwhile the youth hid himself in the neighbouring mountain, and there -awaited the good news.</p> - -<p>When the Wind-Demon awoke from his forty days’ sleep he again presented -himself at the damsel’s door. “Depart from before my eyes,” cried the -girl. “Here hast thou been doing nothing but sleep these forty days, so -that life has been a loathsome thing to me all the while.”</p> - -<p>The Demon rejoiced that he was allowed to be in the room along with the -damsel, and in his happiness asked her what he should give her to help -her to while away the time.</p> - -<p>“What canst thou give me,” said the girl, “seeing that thou thyself art -but wind? Now if at least thou hadst a talisman, that, at any rate, -would be something to while away the time with.”</p> - -<p>“Alas! my Sultana,” replied the Demon, “my talisman is far away, in the -uttermost ends of the earth, and one cannot fetch it hither in a little -instant. If only we had some such brave man as thy Mehmed was, he -perhaps might be able to go for it.”</p> - -<p>The damsel was now more curious than ever about the talisman, and she -coaxed and coaxed till at last she persuaded the Demon to tell her about -the talisman, but not till she had granted his request that he might sit -down quite close to her. The damsel could not refuse him that happiness, -so he sat down<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_130" id="page_130">{130}</a></span> beside her, and breathed into her ear the secret of the -talisman.</p> - -<p>“On the surface of the seventh layer of sea,” began the Demon, “there is -an island, on that island an ox is grazing, in the belly of that ox -there is a golden cage, and in that cage there is a white dove. That -little dove is my talisman.”</p> - -<p>“But how can one get to that island?” inquired the Sultana.</p> - -<p>“I’ll tell thee,” said the Demon. “Opposite to the palace of the emerald -Anka is a huge mountain, and on the top of that mountain is a spring. -Every morning forty sea-horses come to drink at that spring. If any one -can be found to catch one of these horses by the leg (but only while he -is drinking the water), bridle him, saddle him, and then leap on his -back, he will be able to go wherever he likes. The sea-horse will say to -him: ‘What dost thou command, my sweet master?’ and will carry him -whithersoever he bids him.”</p> - -<p>“What good will the talisman be to me if I cannot get near it?” said the -girl. With that she drove the Demon from the room, and when the time of -his slumber arrived, she hastened with the news to her lord. Then the -King’s son made great haste, leaped on his horse, hastened to the palace -of his youngest sister, and told the matter to the Anka.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_131" id="page_131">{131}</a></span></p> - -<p>Early next morning the Anka arose, called five birds, and said to them: -“Lead the King’s son to the spring on the mountain beyond, and wait -there till the sea-horses come up. Forty steeds will appear by the -running water, and when they begin to drink, seize one of them, bridle -and saddle it, and put the King’s son on its back.”</p> - -<p>So the birds took the King’s son, carried him up to the mountain close -by the spring, and as soon as the horses came up, they did to one of -them what the Anka had said. The King’s son sat on the horse’s back -forthwith, and the first thing the good steed said was: “What dost thou -command, my sweet master?”</p> - -<p>“There is an island on the surface of the seventh ocean,” cried the -King’s son, “there should I like to be!” And the King’s son had flown -away before you could shut your eyes; and before you could open them -again, there he was on the shore of that island.</p> - -<p>He dismounted from his horse, took off the bridle, stuck it in his -pocket, and went off to seek the ox. As he was walking up and down the -shore a Jew met him, and asked him what had brought him there.</p> - -<p>“I have suffered shipwreck,” replied the youth. “My ship and everything -I possess have perished, and only with difficulty did I swim ashore.”</p> - -<p>“As for me,” said the Jew, “I am in the service<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_132" id="page_132">{132}</a></span> of the Wind-Demon. Thou -must know that there is an ox on this island, and I must watch it night -and day. Wouldst thou like to enter the service? Thou wilt have nothing -else to do all day but watch this beast.”</p> - -<p>The King’s son took advantage of the opportunity, and could scarce await -the moment when he was to see the ox. At watering-time the Jew brought -it along, and no sooner did he find himself alone with the beast than he -cut open its belly, took out the golden cage, and hastened with it to -the sea-shore. Then he drew the bridle from his pocket, and when he had -struck the sea with it, the steed immediately appeared and cried: “What -dost thou command, sweet master?”—“I desire to be taken to the palace -of the Wind-Demon,” cried the youth.</p> - -<p>Shut your eyes, open your eyes—and there they were before the palace. -Then he took his wife, made her sit down beside him, and when the steed -said: “What dost thou command, sweet master?” he bade it fly straight to -the emerald Anka.</p> - -<p>Away with them flew the steed. It flew right up to the very clouds, and -as they were approaching the Anka’s palace the Demon awoke from his -sleep. He saw that his wife had again disappeared, and immediately set -off in pursuit. Already the Sultana felt the breath of the Demon, and he -had all but overtaken<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_133" id="page_133">{133}</a></span> them when the steed hastily bade them twist the -neck of the white dove in the cage. They had barely time to do so, when -the Wind died away and the Demon was destroyed.</p> - -<p>With great joy they arrived at the Anka’s palace, let the horse go his -way, and rested themselves awhile. On the next day they went to their -second brother, and on the third day to their third brother, and it was -only then that the King’s son discovered that his lion brother-in-law -was the King of the Lions, and his tiger brother-in-law the King of the -Tigers. At last they reached their home which was the domain of the -damsel’s. Here they made a great banquet, and rejoiced their hearts for -forty days and forty nights, after which they arose and went to the -prince’s own empire. There he showed them the tongue of the dragon and -its nose, and as he had thus fulfilled the wishes of his father, they -chose him to be their Padishah; and their lives were full of joy till -the day of their death, and their end was a happy one.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_134" id="page_134">{134}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="THE_CROW-PERI" id="THE_CROW-PERI"></a>THE CROW-PERI</h3> - -<p><span class="smcap">Once</span> upon a time that was no time there was a man who had one son. This -man used to go out into the forest all day, and catch birds for sale to -the first comer. At last, however, the father died and the son was left -all alone. Now he did not know what had been his fathers profession, but -while he was searching all about the floor he came upon the -fowling-snare. So he took it, went out into the forest, and set the -snare on a tree. At that moment a crow flew down upon the tree, but as -the snare was cunningly laid the poor bird was caught. The youth climbed -up after it, but when he had got hold of the bird, the crow began -begging him to let her go, promising to give him in exchange something -more beautiful and more precious than herself. The crow begged and -prayed till at last he let her go free, and again he set the snare in -the tree and sat down at the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_135" id="page_135">{135}</a></span> foot of it to wait. Presently another bird -came flying up, and flew right into the snare. The youth climbed up the -tree again to bring it down, but when he saw it he was full of -amazement, for such a beautiful thing he had never seen in the forest -before.</p> - -<p>While he was still gazing at it and chuckling, the crow again appeared -to him and said: “Take that bird to the Padishah, and he will buy it -from thee.” So the youth took away the bird, put it in a cage, and -carried it to the palace. When the Padishah saw the beautiful little -creature he was filled with joy, and gave the youth so much money for it -that he did not know what to do with it all. But the bird they placed in -a golden cage, and the Padishah had his joy of it day and night.</p> - -<p>Now the Padishah had a favourite who was grievously jealous of the good -fortune of the youth who had brought the bird, and kept cudgelling his -brains how he could get him beneath his feet. At last he hit upon a -plan, and going in to the Padishah one day he said: “How happy that bird -would be if only he had an ivory palace to dwell in!”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” replied the Padishah, “but whence could I get enough ivory to -make him a palace?”</p> - -<p>“He who brought the bird hither,” said the favourite, “will certainly be -able to find the ivory.”</p> - -<p>So the Padishah sent for the little fowler, and bade<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_136" id="page_136">{136}</a></span> him make an ivory -palace for the bird there and then. “I know thou canst get the ivory,” -said the Padishah.</p> - -<p>“Alas, my lord Padishah!” lamented the youth, “whence am I to get all -this ivory from?”</p> - -<p>“That is thy business,” replied the Padishah. “Thou mayest search for it -for forty days, but if it is not here by that time thy head shall be -where now thy feet are.”</p> - -<p>The youth was sore troubled, and while he was still pondering in his -mind which road he should take, the crow came flying up to him, and -asked him what he was grieving about so much. Then the youth told her -what a great trouble that one little bird had brought down upon his -head.</p> - -<p>“Why this is nothing at all to fret about,” said the crow; “but go to -the Padishah, and ask him for forty wagon-loads of wine!” So the youth -returned to the palace, got all that quantity of wine, and as he was -coming back with the cars, the crow flew up and said: “Hard by is a -forest, on the border of which are forty large trenches, and as many -elephants as there are in the wide world come to drink out of these -trenches. Go now and fill them with wine instead of water. The elephants -will thus get drunk and tumble down, and thou wilt be able to pull out -their teeth and take them to the Padishah.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_137" id="page_137">{137}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>The youth did as the bird said, crammed his cars full of elephants’ -tusks instead of wine, and returned with them to the palace. The -Padishah rejoiced greatly at the sight of all the ivory, had the palace -built, rewarded the little fowler with rich gifts, and sent him home.</p> - -<p>So there was the sparkling bird in his ivory palace, and right merrily -did he hop about from perch to perch, but he could never be got to sing. -“Ah!” said the evil counsellor, “if only his master were here he would -sing of his own accord.”</p> - -<p>“Who knows who his master is, or where he is to be found?” asked the -Padishah sadly.</p> - -<p>“He who fetched the elephants’ tusks could fetch the bird’s master -also,” replied the evil counsellor.</p> - -<p>So the Padishah sent for the little fowler once more, and commanded him -to bring the bird’s master before him.</p> - -<p>“How can I tell who his master is, when I caught him by chance in the -forest?” asked the fowler.</p> - -<p>“That is thy look-out,” said the Padishah; “but if thou find him not I -will slay thee. I give thee forty days for thy quest, and let that -suffice thee.”</p> - -<p>So the youth went home, and sobbed aloud in his despair, when lo! the -crow came flying up and asked him what he was crying for.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_138" id="page_138">{138}</a></span></p> - -<p>“Why should I not cry?” said the poor youth, and with that he began to -tell the crow of his new trouble.—“Nay, but ’tis a shame to weep for -such a trifle,” said the crow. “Go quickly now to the King and ask him -for a large ship, but it must be large enough to hold forty -maidservants, a beautiful garden also, and a bath-house.” So the youth -returned to the King and told him what he wanted for his journey.</p> - -<p>The ship was prepared as he had desired it, the youth embarked, and was -just thinking whether he should go to the left or the right, when the -crow came flying up, and said to him: “Steer thy ship always to the -right, and go straight on until thou perceive a huge mountain. At the -foot of this mountain dwell forty Peris, and when they perceive thy ship -they will feel a strong desire to look at everything on board of it. But -thou must allow only their Queen to come on board, for she is the owner -of the bird, and while thou art showing her the ship, set sail and never -stop till thou reach home.”</p> - -<p>So the youth went on board the ship, steered steadily to the right, and -never stopped once till he came to the mountain. There the forty Peris -were walking on the sea-shore, and when they saw the ship they all came -rushing up that they might examine the beautiful thing. The Queen of the -Peris asked<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_139" id="page_139">{139}</a></span> the little fowler whether he would not show her the ship, -especially the inside of it, and he took her off in a little skiff and -brought her to the vessel.</p> - -<p>The Peri was monstrously delighted with the beautiful ship, walked in -the garden with the damsels on board the ship, and when she saw the -bath-room she said to the waiting-maids: “If I have come so far, I may -as well have a bath into the bargain.” With that she stepped into the -bath-room, and while she was bathing the ship went off.</p> - -<p>They had gone a good distance across the sea before the Peri had -finished her bathing. The Peri made haste, for it was now growing late, -but when she stepped upon the deck she saw nothing but the sea around -her. At this she fell a-weeping bitterly. What would become of her? she -said; whither was she going? into whose hands was she about to fall? But -the youth comforted her with the assurance that she was going to a -King’s palace, and would be among good people.</p> - -<p>Not very long afterwards they arrived in the city, and sent word to the -King that the ship had come back. Then he brought the Peri to the -palace, and as she passed by the ivory palace of the bird, it began to -sing so beautifully that all who heard it were beside themselves for -joy. The Peri was a little comforted when she heard it, but the King was -filled with<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_140" id="page_140">{140}</a></span> rapture, and he loved the beautiful Peri so fondly that he -could not be a single moment without her. The wedding-banquet quickly -followed, and with the beauteous Peri on his right hand, and the -sparkling bird on his left, there was not a happier man in the world -than that Padishah. But the poison of envy devoured the soul of the evil -counsellor.</p> - -<p>One day, however, the Sultana suddenly fell ill, and took to her bed. -Every remedy was tried in vain, but the sages said that nothing could -cure her but the drug which she had left behind her in her own fairy -palace. Then, by the advice of the evil counsellor, the young fowler was -again sent for to the palace, and commanded to go and seek for the drug.</p> - -<p>So the good youth embarked on his ship again, and was just about to sail -when the crow came to him and asked him whither he was going. The youth -told her that the Sultana was ill, and he had been sent to fetch the -drug from the fairy palace. “Well then, go!” said the crow, “and thou -wilt find the palace behind a mountain. Two lions stand in the gates, -but take this feather and touch their mouths with it, and they will not -lift so much as a claw against thee.”</p> - -<p>The youth took the feather, arrived in front of the mountain, -disembarked, and quickly beheld the palace. He went straight up to the -gates, and there<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_141" id="page_141">{141}</a></span> stood the two lions. He took out his feather, and no -sooner had he touched their mouths than they lay down one on each side -and let him go into the palace. The Peris about the palace also saw the -youth, and immediately guessed that their Queen was ill. So they gave -him the drug, and immediately he took ship again, and returned to the -palace of the Padishah. But the moment he entered the Peri’s chamber -with the drug in his hand, the crow alighted on his shoulder, and thus -they went together to the sick Sultana’s bed.</p> - -<p>The Sultana was already in the throes of death, but no sooner had she -tasted of the healing drug than she seemed to return to life again at a -single bound. She opened her eyes, gazed upon the little fowler, and -perceiving the crow upon his shoulder thus addressed her: “Oh, thou -sooty slave! art thou not sorry for all that this good youth hath -suffered for my sake?” Then the Sultana told her lord that this same -crow was her serving-maid, whom, for negligence in her service, she had -changed into a crow. “Nevertheless,” she added, “I now forgive her, for -I see that her intentions towards me were good.”</p> - -<p>At these words the crow trembled all over, and immediately a damsel so -lovely stood before the young fowler that there was really very little -difference<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_142" id="page_142">{142}</a></span> between her and the Queen of the Peris. At the petition of -the Sultana, the Sultan married the youth to the Crow-Peri, the -evil-minded counsellor was banished, and the fowler became Vizier in his -stead. And their happiness lasted till death.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_143" id="page_143">{143}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="THE_FORTY_PRINCES_AND_THE_SEVEN-HEADED_DRAGON" id="THE_FORTY_PRINCES_AND_THE_SEVEN-HEADED_DRAGON"></a>THE FORTY PRINCES AND THE SEVEN-HEADED DRAGON</h3> - -<p><span class="smcap">There</span> was once upon a time a Padishah, and this Padishah had forty sons. -All day long they disported themselves in the forest, snaring birds and -hunting beasts, but when the youngest of them was fourteen years old -their father wished to marry them. So he sent for them all and told them -his desire. “We will marry,” said the forty brothers, “but only when we -find forty sisters who are the daughters of the same father and the same -mother.” Then the Padishah searched the whole realm through to find -forty such sisters, but though he found families of thirty-nine sisters, -families of forty sisters he could never find.</p> - -<p>“Let the fortieth of you take another wife,” said the Padishah to his -sons. But the forty brothers would not agree thereto, and they begged -their father to allow them to go and search if haply they might<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_144" id="page_144">{144}</a></span> find -what they wanted in another empire. What could the Padishah do? He could -not refuse them their request, so he gave them his permission. But -before they departed he summoned them into his presence, and this is -what their father the Padishah said to them: “I have three things to say -to you, which bear ye well in mind. When ye come in your journey to a -large spring, take heed not to pass the night near it. Beyond the spring -is a caravanserai; there also ye must not abide. Beyond the caravanserai -is a vast desert; and there also ye must not take a moment’s rest.” The -sons promised their father that they would keep his words, and with -baggage light of weight but exceedingly precious, they took horse and -set out on their journey.</p> - -<p>They went on and on, they smoked their chibooks and drank forty cups of -coffee, and when evening descended the large spring was right before -them. “Verily,” began the elder brethren, “we will not go another step -further. We are weary, and the night is upon us, and what need forty men -fear?” And with that they dismounted from their horses, ate their -suppers, and laid them down to rest. Only the youngest brother, who was -fourteen years of age, remained awake.</p> - -<p>It might have been near midnight when the youth heard a strange noise. -He caught up his arms, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_145" id="page_145">{145}</a></span> turning in the direction of the sound saw -before him a seven-headed dragon. They rushed towards each other, and -thrice the dragon fell upon the prince, but could do him no harm. “Well, -now it is my turn,” cried the youth; “wilt thou be converted to the true -faith?” and with these words he struck the monster such a blow that six -of his seven heads came flying down.</p> - -<p>“Strike me once more,” groaned the dragon.</p> - -<p>“Not I,” replied the youth, “I myself only came into the world once.” -Immediately the dragon fell to pieces, but his one remaining head began -to roll and roll and roll till it stood on the brink of the well. -“Whoever can take my soul out of this well,” it said, “shall have my -treasure also,” and with these words the head bounded into the well.</p> - -<p>The youth took a rope, fastened one end of it to a rock, and seizing the -other end himself, lowered himself into the well. At the bottom of the -well he found an iron door. He opened it, passed through, and there -right before him stood a palace compared with which his father’s palace -was a hovel. Into this palace he went, and in it were forty rooms, and -in each room was a damsel sitting by her embroidery frame with enormous -treasures behind her. “Art thou a man or a spirit?” cried the terrified -damsels.—“A man am I, and the son of a man,” replied the prince.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_146" id="page_146">{146}</a></span> “I -have just slain a seven-headed dragon, and have followed its rolling -head hither.”</p> - -<p>Oh, how the forty damsels rejoiced at hearing these words. They embraced -the youth, and begged and prayed him not to leave them there. They were -the children of one father and one mother they said. The dragon had -killed their parents and carried them off, and they had nobody to look -to in the whole wide world.</p> - -<p>“We also are forty,” said the youth, “and we are seeking forty damsels.” -Then he told them that he would first of all ascend to his brethren, and -then he would come for them again. So he ascended out of the well, went -to the spring, lay down beside it and fell asleep.</p> - -<p>Early in the morning the forty brothers arose and laughed at their -father for trying to frighten them with the well. Again they set out on -their way, and went on and on till evening overtook them, when they -perceived a caravanserai before them. “Not a step further will we go,” -said the elder brothers. The youngest brother indeed insisted that it -would be well to remember their father’s words, for his speech could -surely not have been in vain. But they laughed at their youngest -brother, ate and drank, said their prayers, and lay down to sleep. Only -the youngest brother remained wide awake.</p> - -<p>About midnight he again heard a noise. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_147" id="page_147">{147}</a></span> youth snatched up his arms, -and again he saw before him a seven-headed dragon, but much larger than -the former one. The dragon rushed at him first of all, but could not -overcome him, then the youth dealt him one blow and off went six of the -dragon’s heads. Then the dragon wished him to take one more blow but he -would not; the head rolled into a well, the youth went after it, and -came upon a palace larger than the former one, and with ever so much -more treasures and precious things in it. He marked the well so that he -should know it again, returned to his brothers, and wearied out with his -great combat slept so soundly that his brothers had to wake him up with -blows next morning.</p> - -<p>Again they arose, took horse, went up hill and down dale, and just as -the sun was setting, behold! a vast desert stood before them. They fell -to eating straightway, drank their fill also, and were just going to lie -down to sleep when all at once such a roaring, such a bellowing arose -that the very mountains fell down from their places.</p> - -<p>The princes were horribly afraid, especially when they saw coming -against them a gigantic seven-headed dragon. He vomited forth venomous -fire in his wrath, and roared furiously: “Who killed my two brothers? -Hither with him! I’ll try conclusions with him also!<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_148" id="page_148">{148}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>The youngest brother saw that his brethren were more dead than alive -from fear, so he gave them the keys of the two wells, in one of which -was the vast heap of treasure, and in the other the forty damsels. Let -them take everything home, he said; as for himself he must first slay -the dragon and then he would follow after them. The thirty-nine brothers -lost no time in mounting their horses and galloping off. They drew the -treasure out of one well and the forty damsels out of the other, and so -returned home to their father. But now we will see what happened to the -youngest brother.</p> - -<p>He fought the dragon and the dragon fought him, but neither could get -the better of the other. The dragon perceived that it was vain to try -and vanquish the youth, so he said to him: “If thou wilt go to the -Empire of Chin-i-Machin<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a> and fetch me thence the Padishah’s daughter, -I will not worry the life out of thee.” To this the prince readily -agreed, for he could not have sustained the conflict much longer.</p> - -<p>Then Champalak, for that was the dragon’s name, gave the prince a bridle -and said to him: “A good steed comes hither to feed every day, seize -him, put this bridle in his mouth, and bid him take thee to the Empire -of Chin-i-Machin!” So the youth took the bridle and waited for the good -charger. Presently<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_149" id="page_149">{149}</a></span> a golden-maned charger came flying through the air, -and the moment the prince had put the bridle in its mouth, the charger -said: “What dost thou command, little Sultan?” and before you could wink -your eyes, the Empire of Chin-i-Machin stood before him. Then he -dismounted from his horse, took off the bridle, and went into the town. -There he entered into an old woman’s hut and asked her whether she -received guests. “Willingly,” answered the old woman. Then she made -ready a place for him, and while he was sipping his coffee he asked her -all about the talk of the town. “Well,” said the old woman, “a -seven-headed dragon is very much in love with our Sultan’s daughter. A -war has been raging between them on that account these many years, and -the monster presses us so hardly that not even a bird can fly into our -realm.”</p> - -<p>“Then where is the Sultan’s daughter?” asked the youth.—“In a little -palace in the Padishah’s garden,” replied the old woman, “and the poor -thing dare not put her foot outside it.”</p> - -<p>The next day the youth went to the Padishah’s garden, and asked the -gardener to take him as a servant, and he begged and prayed till the -gardener had not the heart to refuse him. “Very well, I will take thee,” -said he, “and thou wilt have nought to do but water the flowers of the -garden.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_150" id="page_150">{150}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>Now the Sultan’s daughter saw the youth, called him to her window, and -asked him how he had managed to reach that realm. Then the youth told -her that his father was a Padishah, that he had fought with the dragon -Champalak on his travels, and had promised to bring him the Sultan’s -daughter. “Yet fear thou nothing,” added the youth, “my love is stronger -than the love of the serpent, and if thou wilt only have the courage to -come with me, trust me to find a way of disposing of him.”</p> - -<p>The damsel was so much in love with the prince, and so eager to escape -from her captivity, that she consented to trust herself to him, and one -night they escaped from her palace and went straight towards the desert -where dwelt the dragon Champalak. They agreed on the way that the girl -should find out what the dragon’s talisman was, that they might destroy -him that way if they could do it no other.</p> - -<p>Imagine the joy of Champalak when he perceived the princess! “What joy, -what rapture, that thou hast come!” cried Champalak; but fondle her and -caress her as he might, the damsel did nothing but weep. Days passed by, -weeks passed by, and yet the tears never left the damsel’s eyes. “Tell -me at least what thy talisman is,” said the damsel to him one day, “if -thou wouldst see me happy and not wretched with thee all thy days.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_151" id="page_151">{151}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“Alas, my soul!” said the dragon, “my talisman is guarded in a place -whither it is impossible ever to come. It is in a large palace in a -neighbouring realm, and though one may venture thither for it, no one -has ever been able to get back again.”</p> - -<p>The prince needed no more, that was quite good enough for him. He took -his bridle, went with it to the sea-shore, and summoned his golden-maned -steed. “What dost thou command me, little Sultan?” said the steed. “I -desire thee to convey me to the neighbouring realm, to the palace of the -talisman of the dragon Champalak,” cried the youth—and in no more time -than it takes to wink an eye, the palace stood before him.</p> - -<p>Then the steed said to the youth: “When we reach the palace thou wilt -tie the bridle to two iron gates, and when I neigh once and strike my -iron hoofs together, a door will open. In this open door thou wilt see a -lion’s throat, and if thou canst not kill that lion at one stroke, -escape, or thou art a dead man.” With that they went up to the palace, -he tied the horse to the two iron gates by his bridle, and when he -neighed the door flew open. The youth struck with all his might at the -gaping throat of the lion in the doorway and split it right in two. Then -he cut open the lion’s belly, and drew out of it a little gold cage with -three doves in it, so beautiful that the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_152" id="page_152">{152}</a></span> like of them is not to be -found in the wide world. He took one of them and began softly stroking -and caressing it, when all at once—pr-r-r-r!—away it flew out of his -hand. The steed galloped swiftly after it, and if he had not caught it -and wrung its neck it would have gone hard with the good youth.</p> - -<p>Then he mounted his steed again, and in the twinkling of an eye he stood -once more before Champalak’s palace. In the gateway of the palace he -killed the second dove, so that when the youth entered the dragon’s -room, there the monster lay quite helpless, and there was no more spirit -in him at all. When he saw the dove in the youth’s hand he implored him -to let him stroke it for the last time before he died. The youth’s heart -felt for him, and he was just about to hand the bird to him when the -princess rushed out, snatched the dove from his hand, and killed it, -whereupon the dragon expired before their very eyes. “<span class="lftspc">’</span>Twas well for -thee,” said the steed, “that thou didst not give him the dove, for if he -had got it, fresh life would have flowed into him.” And with that the -steed disappeared, bridle and all.</p> - -<p>Then they got together the dragon’s treasures, and went with them to the -Empire of Chin-i-Machin. The Padishah was sick for grief at the loss of -the damsel, and after searching for her in all parts of the kingdom in -vain, was persuaded that she had fallen into the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_153" id="page_153">{153}</a></span> hands of the dragon. -And lo! there she stood before him now, hand in hand with the King’s -son. Then there was such a marriage-feast in that city that it seemed as -if there was no end to it. After the marriage they set out on their -journey again, and travelled with a great escort of soldiers to the -prince’s father. There they had long held the King’s son to be dead, and -would not believe that it was he even now till he had told them the tale -of the three seven-headed dragons and the forty damsels.</p> - -<p>The fortieth damsel was waiting patiently for him there, and the prince -said to his wife: “Behold now my second bride!”—“Thou didst save my -life from the dragon,” replied the Princess of Chin-i-Machin, “I -therefore give her to thee, do as thou wilt with her!” So they made a -marriage-feast for the second bride also, and they spent half their days -in the Empire of the prince’s father, and the other half in the Empire -of Chin-i-Machin, and their lives flowed away in happiness.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_154" id="page_154">{154}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="THE_WORLDS_MOST_BEAUTEOUS_DAMSEL" id="THE_WORLDS_MOST_BEAUTEOUS_DAMSEL"></a>THE WORLD’S MOST BEAUTEOUS DAMSEL</h3> - -<p><span class="smcap">There</span> was once upon a time a Padishah who had an only son. His father -guarded him as the apple of his eye, and there was not a desire of his -heart that was not instantly gratified.</p> - -<p>One night a dervish appeared to the King’s son in a dream, and showed -him the World’s most beauteous Damsel, and there he drained with her the -cup of love. After that the prince became another man. He could neither -eat nor drink. Sleep brought him neither pleasure nor refreshment, and -he all at once grew sallow and withered. They sent for doctor after -doctor, they sent for wizard after wizard, but they could not tell the -nature of the malady or find a cure for it.</p> - -<p>Then the sick prince said to his father: “My lord Padishah and father, -no leech, no wise man can help me, wherefore weary them in vain? The -World’s most beauteous Damsel is the cause of my complaint, and she will -be either the life or the death of me.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_155" id="page_155">{155}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>The Padishah was frightened at the words of his son, and his chief care -was to drive the damsel out of the lad’s head. “<span class="lftspc">’</span>Tis dangerous to even -think of such a thing,” said he, “for her love will be thy death.” But -his son continued to pine away daily, and life had no joy for him. Again -and again the father begged his son to tell him his heart’s desire and -it should be instantly fulfilled, and the eternal reply of the son was: -“Let me seek the World’s most beauteous Damsel.” Then the Padishah -thought to himself: “If I do not let him go he will only perish, and he -cannot therefore be worse off if he goes.” Then said he: “Go, my son, -after thy love, and may the righteous Allah be merciful to thee.”</p> - -<p>So the next day the prince set out on his journey. He went up hill and -down dale, he crossed vast deserts, he traversed rugged wildernesses in -search of his beloved, the World’s most beauteous Damsel. On and on he -went, till he came at last to the sea-shore, and there he saw a poor -little fish writhing in the sand, and the fish besought him to throw it -back into the sea again. The youth had compassion upon the fish, and -threw it back into the sea again. Then the little fish gave him three -scales, and said to him: “If ever thou dost get into any trouble, burn -these scales.”</p> - -<p>Again the youth went on his way till he came to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_156" id="page_156">{156}</a></span> a vast desert, and -there on the ground in front of him he saw a lame ant. The little -creature told him that he was going to a wedding, but could not overtake -his comrades because they hastened so quickly. Then the youth took up -the ant and carried him to his comrades. As they parted the ant gave him -a little piece of its wing and said: “If ever thou shouldst get into any -trouble, burn this bit of wing.”</p> - -<p>Again the youth followed his road, full of weary woefulness, and -reaching the borders of a large forest he there saw a little bird -struggling with a large serpent. The little bird asked help of the -youth, and with one blow he cut the serpent in two. The bird then gave -him three feathers. “If ever thou shouldst get into trouble,” it said, -“burn these little feathers.”</p> - -<p>Again he took up his pilgrim’s staff and went beyond the mountains, -beyond the sea, till he came to a large city. It was the realm of the -father of the World’s most beauteous Damsel. He went straight into the -palace to the Padishah, and begged the hand of his daughter in the name -of Allah. “Nay,” said the Padishah, “thou must first of all accomplish -three tasks for me. Only after that canst thou make known thy wishes to -my daughter.”</p> - -<p>With that he took a ring, cast it into the sea, and said to the King’s -son: “If thou canst not find it for<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_157" id="page_157">{157}</a></span> me in three days, thou art a dead -man.” Then the King’s son fell a-thinking till he bethought him of the -three scales, and he had no sooner burnt them than the little fish stood -before him and said: “What dost thou command, O my Sultan?”—“The ring -of the World’s most beauteous Damsel hath been cast into the sea, and I -want it back again,” said the prince. Then the fish sought for the ring -but couldn’t find it; it dived down a second time and still it couldn’t -find it; a third time it descended right down into the seventh ocean, -drew up a fish, cut it open, and there was the ring. So the youth gave -the ring to the Padishah, and the Padishah gave it to his daughter.</p> - -<p>Now there was a cave near the palace full of gravel and grain. “My -second task,” said the Padishah, “is that thou dost separate the grain -from the gravel.” Then the youth entered the cave, took out the ant’s -wing and burned it, whereupon the whole cave was swarming with ants, and -they set to work upon the grain in hot haste. The day was now nearly -over, and the same evening the youth sent word to the Padishah that the -second task also was accomplished.</p> - -<p>“The third task still remains,” said the Padishah, “and then thou mayest -have my daughter.” With that he sent for a maid-servant, had her head -cut off straightway, and then said to the youth: “Thus shall<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_158" id="page_158">{158}</a></span> be done to -thy head also if thou restore not this damsel to life again.” The youth -quitted the palace in deep thought, and at last he bethought him that -the bird’s feathers might help him. So he took them out and burned them, -and lo! the bird stood before him ere yet his lips had commanded it to -appear. And the youth complained bitterly to the bird of the task that -was set him.</p> - -<p>Now the bird had friends among the Peris, and, flying up into the air, -in no very long time was back again with a cruse of water in its beak. -“I have brought thee heavenly water which can give life even to the -dead,” said the bird. So the prince entered the palace, and no sooner -had he sprinkled the damsel with the water than she sprang up as if she -had never been dead at all.</p> - -<p>Now the rumour of all these things reached the ears of the World’s most -beauteous Damsel, and she ordered the prince to be brought before her. -The damsel dwelt in a little marble palace, and before the palace was a -golden basin which was fed by the water of four streams. The courtyard -of this palace also was a vast garden wherein were many great trees and -fragrant flowers and singing-birds, and to the youth it seemed like the -gate of Paradise.</p> - -<p>Suddenly the door of the palace was opened, and the garden was so -flooded with light that the eyes of</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_fp159.png"> -<img src="images/i_fp159.png" height="550" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>The World’s most Beauteous Damsel.—p. 159.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_159" id="page_159">{159}</a></span></p> - -<p class="nind">the youth were dazzled even to blindness. It was the World’s most -beauteous Damsel who had appeared in the door of the palace, and the -great light was the rosiness of her two radiant cheeks. She approached -the prince and spoke to him, but scarcely did the youth perceive her -than he fainted away before her eyes. When he came to himself again they -brought him into the damsel’s palace, and there he rejoiced exceedingly -in the World’s most beauteous Damsel, for her face was as the face of a -Houri, and her presence was as a vision of Peris.</p> - -<p>“Oh, prince!” began the damsel, “thou that art the son of Shah Suleiman, -canst aid me in my deep distress. In the vast garden of the Demon of -Autumn there is a bunch of singing-pomegranates: if thou canst get them -for me I will be thine for ever and ever.”</p> - -<p>Then the youth gave her his hand upon it, the hand of loyal friendship, -and departed far far away. He went on and on without stopping, he went -on, and for months and months he crossed deserts where man had never -trod, and mountains over which there was no path. “Oh, my Creator,” he -sighed, “wilt thou not show me the right way?” and he rose up again each -morning from the place where he had sunk down exhausted the night -before, and so he went on and on from day to day till the path led him -right<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_160" id="page_160">{160}</a></span> down to the roots of the mountains. There it seemed to him as if -it were the Day of Judgment. Such a noise, such a hubbub, such a -hurly-burly of sounds arose that all the hills and rocks around him -trembled. The youth knew not whether it was friend or foe, man or -spirit, and as he went on further, trembling with fear, the noise grew -louder and the dust rose up round about him like smoke. He knew not -where he was going, but he might have known from what he heard that the -smaller garden of the Demon of Autumn was now but a six-months’ journey -off, and all this great hubbub and clamour was the talisman of the gate -of the garden.</p> - -<p>And now he drew still nearer and could see the gate of the smaller -garden, and could hear the roaring of the talismans in the gate, and -could perceive the guardian of the gate also. Then he went up to him and -told him of his trouble. “But art thou not afraid of this great -commotion?” asked the guardian of the gate. “Is it not because of thee -that all the talismans are so impatient? even I am afraid thereat!”</p> - -<p>But the youth did nothing but inquire continually about the cluster of -singing-pomegranates.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">’</span>Tis a hard task to reach that,” said the guardian, “yet if thou art -not afraid, perhaps thou mayest get it after all. Three-months’ journey -from hence thou wilt come to such another place of talismans, there<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_161" id="page_161">{161}</a></span> -also there is a garden, and the guardian of that garden is my own -mother. But whatever thou dost, take care not to draw nigh to her, nor -let her draw nigh to thee. Give her my salaams, but tell her nothing of -thy trouble unless she ask thee.”</p> - -<p>So the youth went on towards the second garden, and after a -three-months’ journey such a monstrous din and racket arose around him -as to make the former noise seem nothing. This was the greater garden of -the Demon of Autumn, and the great din proceeded from the talismans of -the garden. The youth lay down beside a rock, and when he had waited a -little he saw something like a man approaching him, but as it came -nearer he perceived that it was an old woman, a little beldame of thrice -thirty winters. The hairs of her head were as white as snow, red circles -were round her eyes, her eyebrows were like pointed darts, the fire of -hell was in her eyes, her nails were two ells long, her teeth were like -faggots, her two lips had only one jaw, she shuffled along leaning on a -stick, drew in her breath through her nose, and coughed and sneezed at -every step she took. “Oh-oh! oh-oh!” she groaned, shuffling painfully -along in her large slippers, till it seemed as if she would never be -able to reach the new-comer. This was the mother of the guardian of the -lesser garden, and she herself was the guardian of the larger one.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_162" id="page_162">{162}</a></span></p> - -<p>At last she got up to the youth, and asked him what he was doing in -those parts? The prince gave her the compliments of her son. “Ah, the -vagabond!” said the old woman, “where didst thou meet with him? That -wicked lad of mine knew that I would have compassion on thee, so he sent -thee hither. Very well, let us make an end of thee.” And with that she -seized hold of him, and cried: “Hi, Earless!” and something came running -up to him, and before he knew where he was, the youth found himself -seated on its back. He looked down upon it and saw beneath him a -creature like a shrunken huddled toad, that had neither eyes nor ears. -This was Earless, and away it went with him. When he first saw it, it -was as small as a worm, but the moment he was on its back it took such -leaps that every three of them covered as much space as a vast ocean. -Suddenly Earless stopped short and said to him: “Whatever thou mayest -see, whatever thou mayest hear, take care not to speak, or it will be -all up with thee,” and with that it vanished.</p> - -<p>There in the rippling water in front of the prince, like a dream-shape, -lay a large garden. This garden had neither beginning nor end, and -within it were such trees and flowers and sweet fruit as the eye of man -hath never seen. Whithersoever one turned nothing was to be heard but -the rustling of soft<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_163" id="page_163">{163}</a></span> wings and the songs of nightingales, so that the -whole atmosphere of that garden seemed to be an eternal song. The youth -looked all about him, his reason died away within him, he entered the -garden. But then he heard quite near to him such a woeful wailing that -his heart was like to break, and the thought of the cluster of -pomegranates occurred to his mind. His eyes sought for them in every -direction but in vain, till he came to the centre of the garden, where -was a fountain and a little palace made of flowers, and the pomegranates -hung down from the flowery palace like so many shining lamps. The youth -plucked a branch, but no sooner had he done so than there was a horrible -cry, and a warning voice exclaimed—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“A son of man of us hath ta’en,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">We by a son of man are slain!”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>The youth scarce had time to escape from the garden. “Hasten! fly!” -cried Earless, who was waiting again at the gate. The youth jumped on -its back, and in a couple of leaps they were beyond the ocean. Then only -did the youth think of looking at the cluster of pomegranates. There -were fifty pomegranates on it, and each one had a different voice, and -each voice had a different song—it was just as if all the music in the -wide world was gathered together<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_164" id="page_164">{164}</a></span> in one place. By this time they had -reached the old grandmother, the old old beldame of thrice thirty -winters.</p> - -<p>“Guard well thy pomegranate cluster,” said the old woman, “never leave -it out of thy sight. If on the first night of thy wedding thou and thy -bride are able to listen to their music all night without going to sleep -once, these pomegranates will love thee, and after that thou wilt have -nothing more to fear, for they will deliver thee from every ill.” Then -they went from the old mother to the son; he also bade them take to -heart his mother’s words, and then the youth went on his way to his -sole-beloved, the World’s most beauteous Damsel.</p> - -<p>The girl was awaiting him with the greatest impatience, for she also -dearly loved the prince, and her days were passed in anxiety lest some -mischief should befall the youth. All at once she heard the sound of -music, the fifty pomegranates were singing fifty different songs with -fifty different voices, and she opened her heart to the beautiful music. -The damsel rushed forth to meet the youth, and at their joyous embrace -the pomegranates rang out with a melody so sweet that the like of it is -not to be found in this world, but only in Allah’s world beyond the -grave. Forty days and forty nights did the wedding-feast last, and on -the fortieth day the King’s son went<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_165" id="page_165">{165}</a></span> in unto his bride, and they lay -down and listened to the pomegranates. Then when the day was born again -they arose, and the pomegranate cluster rejoiced again in their love, -and so they went on their way to the prince’s own kingdom. There all the -feasting began again, and in his joy the old Padishah resigned his -kingdom to his son, the Padishah of the cluster of Pomegranates.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_166" id="page_166">{166}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="THE_PADISHAH_OF_THE_FORTY_PERIS" id="THE_PADISHAH_OF_THE_FORTY_PERIS"></a>THE PADISHAH OF THE FORTY PERIS</h3> - -<p><span class="smcap">In</span> the old, old time, in the age of fairy tales, there was once the -daughter of a Padishah who was as fair as the full moon, as slim as a -cypress-tree, with eyes like coals, and hair like the night, and her -eyebrows were like bows, and her eyeballs like the darts of archers. In -the palace of the Padishah was a garden, and in the midst of the garden -a fountain of water, and there the maid sat the livelong day sewing and -stitching.</p> - -<p>One day she put her ring upon her sewing-table, but scarcely had she -laid it down when there came a little dove and took up the ring and flew -away with it. Now the little dove was so lovely that the damsel at once -fell in love with it. The next day the damsel took off her bracelet, and -immediately the dove was there and flew off with that too. Then the -damsel was so consumed with love that she neither ate nor drank, and -could scarce tarry till the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_167" id="page_167">{167}</a></span> next day for the dove to come forth again. -And on the third day she brought her sewing-table, put upon it her lace -handkerchief, and placed herself close beside it. She waited for the -dove, and waited and waited, and lo! all at once there he was right -before her, and he caught up the handkerchief and away he flew. Then the -damsel had scarce strength enough to rise up; weeping bitterly she went -into the palace, and there she threw herself on the ground in a passion -of grief.</p> - -<p>Her old waiting-woman came running towards her: “O Sultana!” cried she, -“wherefore dost thou weep so sorely?—what ails thee?”</p> - -<p>“I am sick, my heart is sick!” replied the daughter of the Sultan, and -with that she fell a-weeping and a-wailing worse than ever.</p> - -<p>The old waiting-woman feared to tell of this new thing, for the damsel -was the only daughter of the Padishah, but when she perceived how pale -the damsel was growing, and how she wept and sobbed, the waiting-woman -took her courage in both hands, went to the Padishah, and told him of -his daughter’s woe. Then the Padishah was afraid, and went to see his -daughter, and after him came many wise men and many cunning leeches, but -not one of them could cure her sickness.</p> - -<p>But on the next day the Padishah’s Vizier said to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_168" id="page_168">{168}</a></span> him: “The wise men -and the leeches cannot help the damsel, the only medicine that can cure -her lies hidden elsewhere.” Then he advised the Padishah to make a great -bath, the water whereof should cure all sick people, but whoever bathed -therein was to be made to tell the story of his life. So the Padishah -caused the bath to be made, and proclaimed throughout the city that the -water of this bath would give back his hair to the bald, and his hearing -to the deaf, and his sight to the blind, and the use of his legs to the -lame. Then all the people flocked in crowds to have a bath for nothing, -and each one of them had to tell the story of his life and his ailment -before he returned home again.</p> - -<p>Now in that same city dwelt the bald-headed son of a bed-ridden mother, -and the fame of the wonder-working bath reached their ears also. “Let us -go too,” said the son; “perchance the pair of us shall be cured.”</p> - -<p>“How can I go when I can’t stand on my legs?” groaned the old -woman.—“Oh, we shall be able to manage that,” replied bald-pate, and -taking his mother on his shoulders he set out for the bath.</p> - -<p>They went on and on and on, through the level plains by the flowing -river, till at last the son was tired and put his mother down upon the -ground.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_169" id="page_169">{169}</a></span> At that same instant a cock lighted down beside them with a big -pitcher of water on its back, and hastened off with it. Then the young -man became very curious to know why and whither this cock was carrying -water; so after the bird he went. The cock went on till it came to a -great castle, and at the foot of this castle was a little hole through -which water was gurgling. Still the youth followed the cock, squeezed -himself with the utmost difficulty through the hole, and no sooner had -he begun to look about him than he saw before him a palace so -magnificent that his eyes and mouth stood wide open with astonishment. -No other human being had ever stood in the path that led up to this -palace. All over it he went, through all the rooms, from vestibule to -attic, admiring their splendour without ceasing, till weariness overcame -him. “If only I could find a living being here!” said he to himself, and -with that he hid himself in a large armoury, from whence he could easily -pounce out upon any one who came.</p> - -<p>He had not waited very long when three doves flew on to the window-sill, -and after shivering there a little while turned into three damsels, all -so beautiful that the young man did not know which to look at first.</p> - -<p>“Alas, alas!” cried the three damsels, “we are<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_170" id="page_170">{170}</a></span> late, we are late! Our -Padishah will be here presently, and nothing is ready!” Then one seized -a broom and brushed everything clean, the second spread the table, and -the third fetched all manner of meats. Then they all three began to -shiver once more, and three doves flew out of the window.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the bald-pate had grown very hungry, and he thought to -himself: “Nobody sees me, why should I not take a morsel or two from -that table?” So he stretched his hand out from his hiding-place, and was -just about to touch the food with it when he got such a blow on the -fingers that the place swelled up. He stretched out the other hand, and -got a still greater blow on that. The youth was very frightened at this, -and he had scarcely drawn back his hand when a white dove flew into the -room. It fell a-shivering and immediately turned into a beautiful youth.</p> - -<p>And now he went to a cupboard, opened it, and took out a ring, a -bracelet, and a lace handkerchief. “Oh, lucky ring that thou art!” cried -he, “to be allowed to sit on a beautiful finger; and oh, lucky bracelet, -to be allowed to lie on a beautiful arm.” Then the beautiful youth fell -a-sobbing, and dried his tears one by one on the lace handkerchief. Then -he put them into the cupboard again, tasted one or two of the dishes, -and laid him down to sleep.</p> - -<p>It was as much as the bald-pate could do to await<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_171" id="page_171">{171}</a></span> the dawn of the day. -But then the beautiful youth arose, shivered, and flew away as a white -dove. Bald-pate too came out of his hiding-place, went down into the -courtyard, and crept once more through the hole at the foot of the -tower.</p> - -<p>Outside he found his poor old mother weeping all alone, but the youth -pacified her with the assurance that their troubles were nearly at an -end, took her on his back again, and went to the bath. There they -bathed, and immediately the old woman was able to stand on her legs, and -the bald-pate got his hair back again. Then they began to tell their -stories, and when the Sultan’s daughter heard what the youth had seen -and heard at midnight, it was as though a stream of fresh health -instantly poured into her. She rose from her bed and promised the youth -a great treasure if he would bring her to that tower. So the youth went -with the princess, showed her the walls of the palace, helped her -through the little hole, brought her into the chamber of the doves, and -pointed out to her the armoury where he had been able to hide himself. -After that the youth returned home with great treasure and perfect -health, and lived all his days with his old mother.</p> - -<p>At eventide the three doves flew into the room. They scoured and -cleaned, brought the meats for the table, and flew away again. Soon -afterwards the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_172" id="page_172">{172}</a></span> white dove came flying in, and how did that damsel feel -when she saw her darling little dove once more? But when the dove had -turned into a youth again, and stood there like a glorious full moon, -the damsel scarcely knew where she was, but gazed continuously on his -dazzling face.</p> - -<p>Then the youth went to the cupboard, opened it, and took out the ring, -the bracelet, and the lace handkerchief that belonged to the daughter of -the Sultan. “Oh, thou ring! how happy shouldst thou be to sit on a -beauteous finger! Oh, thou bracelet! how happy thou shouldst be to lie -on a beauteous arm!” he cried. Then he took the lace handkerchief and -dried his tears, and at the sight thereof the heart of the damsel was -nigh to breaking. Then she tapped with her fingers on the door of the -armoury. The youth approached it, opened the door, and there stood his -heart’s darling. Then the joy of the youth was so great that it was -almost woe.</p> - -<p>He asked the damsel how she had come thither to the palace of the Peris. -Then she told him of her journey, and how sick for love she had been.</p> - -<p>Then the youth told her that he also was the son of a mortal mother, but -when he was only three days old the Peris had stolen him, and carried -him to this palace and made him their Padishah. He was with them the -whole day, and had only two hours to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_173" id="page_173">{173}</a></span> himself in the twenty-four. The -damsel, he said, might stay with him, and walk about here the whole day, -but towards evening she must hide herself; for if the forty Peris came -and saw her with him they would not leave her alive. To-morrow, he said, -he would show her his mother’s palace, where they would live in peace, -and he would be with her for two hours out of the twenty-four.</p> - -<p>So the next day the Padishah of the Peris took the damsel and showed her -his mother’s palace. “When thou goest there,” said the Padishah, “bid -them have compassion on thee, and receive thee in memory of Bahtiyar -Bey, and when my mother hears my name she will not refuse thy request.”</p> - -<p>So the damsel went up to the house and knocked at the door. An old woman -came and opened it, and when she saw the damsel and heard her son’s -name, she burst into tears and took her in. There the damsel stayed a -long time, and every day the little bird came to visit her, until a son -was born to the daughter of the Sultan. But the old woman never knew -that her son came to the house, nor that the damsel had been brought to -bed.</p> - -<p>One day the little bird came, flew upon the window-sill, and said: “Oh, -my Sultana, what is my little seedling doing?”—“No harm hath happened -to our little seedling,” replied she, “but he awaits the coming of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_174" id="page_174">{174}</a></span> -Bahtiyar.”—“Oh! if only my mother knew,” sighed the youth, “she would -open her best room.” With that he flew into the room, turned into a man, -and fondled in his arms his wife and his little child. But when two -hours had passed he shivered a little, and a little dove flew out of the -window.</p> - -<p>But the mother had heard her son’s speech, and could scarce contain -herself for joy. She hastened to her daughter-in-law, fondled and -caressed her, led her into her most beautiful room, and put everything -in order against her son’s arrival. She knew that the forty Peris had -robbed her of him, and she took counsel with herself how she might steal -him back again.</p> - -<p>“When my son comes to-morrow,” said the old woman, “contrive so that he -stays beyond his time, and leave the rest to me.”</p> - -<p>The next day the bird flew into the window, and lo! the damsel was -nowhere to be seen in the room. Then he flew into the more beautiful -room, and cried, “Oh! my Sultana, what is our little seedling -doing?”—And the damsel replied: “No harm hath befallen our little -seedling, but he awaits the coming of Bahtiyar.” Then the bird flew into -the room and changed into a man, and was so taken up with talking to his -wife, so filled with the joy of playing with his child and seeing it -play, that he took no count of time at all.</p> - -<p>But what was the old woman doing all this time?</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_fp174.png"> -<img src="images/i_fp174.png" height="550" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>The Padishah of the Peris.—p. 174.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_175" id="page_175">{175}</a></span></p> - -<p>There was a large cypress-tree in front of the house, and there the -forty doves were sometimes wont to alight. The old woman went and hung -this tree full of venomous needles. Towards evening, when the Padishah’s -two hours had run out, the doves who were the forty Peris came to seek -their Padishah, and alighted on the cypress-tree, but scarcely had their -feet touched the needles than they fell down to the ground poisoned.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, however, the youth suddenly remembered the time, and great -was his terror when he came out of the palace so late. He looked to the -right of him and he looked to the left, and when he looked towards the -cypress-tree there were the forty doves. And now his joy was as great as -his terror had been before. First he fell upon the neck of his consort, -and then he ran to his mother and embraced her, so great was his joy -that he had escaped from the hands of the Peris.</p> - -<p>Thereupon they made them such a banquet that even after forty days they -had not got to the end of it. So they had their hearts’ desires, and ate -and drank and rejoiced with a great joy. May we too get the desires of -our hearts, with good eating and drinking to comfort us!<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_176" id="page_176">{176}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="THE_SERPENT-PERI_AND_THE_MAGIC_MIRROR" id="THE_SERPENT-PERI_AND_THE_MAGIC_MIRROR"></a>THE SERPENT-PERI AND THE MAGIC MIRROR</h3> - -<p><span class="smcap">There</span> was once upon a time a poor wood-cutter who had an only son. One -day this poor man fell sick and said to his son: “If I should die follow -thou my handicraft, and go every day into the wood. Thou mayest cut down -whatever trees thou dost find there, but at the edge of the wood is a -cypress-tree, that thou must leave standing.” Two days afterwards the -man died and was buried.</p> - -<p>But the son went into the wood and cut down the trees, only the -cypress-tree he left alone. One day the youth stood close to this tree -and thought to himself: “What can be the matter with this tree, seeing -that I am not allowed to lay a hand upon it?” So he looked at it, and -considered it curiously, till at last he took his axe and went with evil -intent towards the tree. But he had scarcely lifted his foot when the -cypress-tree drew away from him. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_177" id="page_177">{177}</a></span> wood-cutter mounted his ass and -pursued the tree but could not overtake it, and in the meantime eventide -came upon them. Then he dismounted from his ass and tied it to a tree, -but he himself climbed to the top of the tree to await the dawn.</p> - -<p>Next morning, when the sky grew red, he descended from the tree, and -there at the foot of it lay only the bones of his ass. “Never mind, I’ll -go on foot,” said the wood-cutter, and he continued his pursuit of the -cypress, the tree going on before and he following after. All that day -he pursued but could not come up with it. The third day also he -shouldered his axe and pursued the tree, when he suddenly came upon an -elephant and a serpent fighting with each other. Believe the truth or -not as you will, but the truth is this, that the serpent was swallowing -the elephant; but the elephant’s great tusk stuck in the serpent’s -throat, and both beasts, seeing the youth staring at them, begged him to -help them.</p> - -<p>What didn’t the elephant promise him if only he would slay the serpent! -“Nay, but all I would have thee do,” said the serpent, “is to break his -tusk off; the work is lighter, and the reward will be greater.” At these -words the youth seized his axe and chopped the elephant’s tusk right -off. The serpent then swallowed the elephant, thanked the youth, and -promised to keep his word and give him his reward.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_178" id="page_178">{178}</a></span></p> - -<p>While they were on the road the serpent stopped at a spring and said to -the youth: “Wait while I bathe in this water, and whatever may happen, -fear not!” With that the serpent plunged into the water, and immediately -there arose such a terrible storm, such a tempest, such a hurricane, -with lightning-flash upon lightning-flash, and thunder-bolt upon -thunder-bolt, that the Day of Judgment could not well be worse. -Presently the serpent came out of the bath, and then all was quiet -again.</p> - -<p>They went a long way, and they went a little way, they took coffee, they -smoked their chibooks, they gathered violets on the road, till at last -they drew near to a house, and then the serpent said: “In a short time -we shall arrive at my mother’s house. When she opens the door, say thou -art my kinsman, and she will invite thee into the house. She will offer -thee coffee but do not drink it, she will offer thee meat but do not eat -it; but there’s a little bit of a mirror hanging up in the corner of the -door, ask my mother for that!”</p> - -<p>So they came to the house, and no sooner had the Peri knocked at the -door than his mother came and opened it. “Come, my brother!” said the -serpent to the youth behind him.—“Who is thy brother?” asked his -mother.—“He who hath saved my life,” replied her son, and with that he -told her the whole<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_179" id="page_179">{179}</a></span> story. So they went into the house, and the woman -brought the youth coffee and a chibook, but he would not take them. “My -journey is a hasty one,” said he, “I cannot remain very long.”</p> - -<p>“Rest awhile at least,” said the woman, “we cannot let our guests depart -without anything.”</p> - -<p>“Nothing do I want, but if thou wilt give me that bit of mirror in the -corner of the door I will take it,” said the youth. The woman did not -want to give it, but the youth insisted that perhaps his life might -depend upon that very piece of mirror, so at last she gave it to him, -though very unwillingly.</p> - -<p>So the youth went on his way with the bit of mirror, and as he looked -into it he turned over in his mind what use he should make of it. As he -was still turning it over and looking at it, suddenly there stood before -him a negro efrit, one of whose lips touched the heavens, and the other -lip the earth. The poor youth was so frightened, that if the negro had -not said: “What are thy commands, my Sultan?” he would have run away for -ever and ever. As it was, it was as much as he could do to ask for -something to eat, and immediately there stood before him a rich and rare -banquet, the like of which he had never seen at his father’s, the -wood-cutter’s.</p> - -<p>Then the youth felt very curious about the mirror, and looked into it -again, and immediately the black<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_180" id="page_180">{180}</a></span> efrit stood before him again and said: -“What dost thou command, my Sultan?” Nothing would occur to his mind at -first, but at last his lips murmured the word “Palace,” and immediately -there stood before him a palace so beautiful that the Padishah himself -could not have a finer one. “Open!” cried the youth, and immediately the -gates of the palace flew open before him.</p> - -<p>The youth rejoiced greatly in his bit of mirror, and his one thought was -what he should ask it to get him next. The beautiful Sultana-damsel, the -Padishah’s daughter, occurred to his mind, and the next moment his eye -sought his mirror and he desired from the big-lipped negro efrit a -palace in which the world-renowned daughter of the Padishah should be -sitting beside him, and he had scarce time to look around him when he -found himself sitting in the palace with the Sultan’s daughter by his -side. Then they kissed and embraced each other, and lived a whole world -of joy.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the Sultan learnt that his daughter had disappeared from her -own palace. He searched for her the whole realm through, he sent heralds -in every direction, but in vain were all his labours, the girl could not -be discovered. At last an old woman came to the Padishah and told him to -make a large casket, line it well with zinc, put her inside it, and cast -it into the sea. She would find the daughter of the Sultan,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_181" id="page_181">{181}</a></span> she said, -for if she was not here, she must be beyond the sea. So they made ready -the great casket, put the old woman inside it, put food for nine days -beside her, and cast it into the sea. The casket was tossed from wave to -wave, till at last it came to that city where the Sultan’s daughter -dwelt with the youth.</p> - -<p>Now the fishermen were just then on the shore, and saw the huge casket -floating in the sea. They drew it ashore with ropes and hooks, and when -they opened it an old woman crept out of it. They asked her how she had -got inside it.</p> - -<p>“Oh, that my enemy might lose the sight of his little eye that is so -dear to him!” lamented the old woman; “I have not deserved this of him!” -and with that she fell a-weeping and wailing till the men believed every -word she said. “Where is the Bey of your city?” cried she; “perhaps he -will have compassion upon me and receive me into his house,” she said to -the men. Then they showed her the palace, and exhorted her to go -thither, as perhaps she might get an alms.</p> - -<p>So the old woman went to the palace, and when she knocked at the door, -the Sultan’s daughter came down to see who it was. The old woman -immediately recognized the damsel, and begged her (for the damsel knew -not the old woman) to take her into her service. “My lord comes home -to-night, I will ask him,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_182" id="page_182">{182}</a></span>” replied the damsel; “meanwhile rest in this -corner!” And the damsel’s lord allowed her to receive the old woman into -the house, and the next day she waited upon them.</p> - -<p>There the old woman was for one day and for two days, for a week, for -two weeks, and there was no cook to cook the food, and no servant to -keep the place clean, and yet every day there was a costly banquet and -everything was as clean as clean could be. Then the old woman went to -the damsel and asked her whether she did not feel dull at being alone -all day. “If I were allowed to help thee pass the time away,” added she, -“perhaps it might be better.”—“I must first ask my lord,” replied the -damsel. The youth did not mind the old woman helping his wife to pass -away the time, and so she went up to the rooms of the damsel and stayed -with her for days together.</p> - -<p>One day the old woman asked the damsel whence came all the rare meats, -and who did the service of the house. But the damsel knew not of the -piece of mirror, so she could tell the old woman nothing. “Find out from -thy lord,” said the old woman, and scarcely had the youth come home, -scarce had he had time to eat, than she wheedled him so that he showed -her the mirror.</p> - -<p>That was all the old woman wanted. A couple of days she let go by, but -on the third and the fourth<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_183" id="page_183">{183}</a></span> days she bade the damsel beg her lord for -the piece of mirror so that she might amuse herself therewith, and make -the time pass more easily. And indeed she had only to ask her lord for -it, for he, not suspecting her falseness, gave it to her. And in the -meantime the old woman was not asleep. She knew where the damsel had put -the mirror, stole it, and when she looked into it the negro efrit -appeared. “What is thy command?” inquired he of the old woman. “Take me -with this damsel to her father’s palace,” was her first command. Her -second command made of the youth’s palace a heap of ashes, so that when -the young wood-cutter returned home he found nought but the cat meeowing -among the ashes. There was also a small piece of meat there; the -Sultan’s daughter had thrown it down for the cat.</p> - -<p>The youth took up the fragment of meat and set out to seek his consort. -Find her he would, though he roamed the whole world over. He went on and -on, he searched and searched till he came to the city where his wife -lived. He went up to the palace, and there he begged the cook to take -him into the kitchen as a servant out of pure compassion. In a couple of -days he had learnt from his fellow-servants in the kitchen that the -Sultan’s daughter had returned home.</p> - -<p>One day the cook fell sick and there was no heart<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_184" id="page_184">{184}</a></span> in him to attend to -the cooking. The youth, seeing this, bade him rest, and said he would -cook the food in his stead. The cook agreed, and told him what to cook, -and how to season it. So the youth set to work, roasting and stewing, -and when he sent up the dishes, he also sent up the scrap of food that -he had found on the ashes, and put it on the damsel’s plate. Scarcely -had the damsel cast eyes on this little scrap than she knew within -herself that her lord was near her. So she called the cook and asked -whom he had with him in the kitchen. At first he denied that he had any -one, but at last he confessed that he had taken a poor lad in to assist -him.</p> - -<p>Then the damsel went to her father and said to him that there was a -young lad in the kitchen who prepared coffee so well that she should -like some coffee from his hands. So the lad was ordered up, and from -thenceforth he prepared the coffee and took it to the Sultan’s daughter. -So they came together again, and she told her lord how the matter had -gone. Then they took counsel how they should await their turn and get -the mirror back again.</p> - -<p>Scarcely had the youth gone in to the damsel than the old woman -appeared. Although she had not seen him for long, she recognized him, -and, looking into the mirror, caused the poor lad to be sent back again<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_185" id="page_185">{185}</a></span> -to the ashes of his old palace. There he found the cat still squatting. -When she felt hungry she caught mice, and such ravages did she make upon -them that at last the Padishah of the mice had scarce a soldier left.</p> - -<p>Very wroth was the poor Padishah, but he durst not tackle the cat. One -day, however, he observed the youth, went up to him, and begged his -assistance in his dire distress, for if he waited till the morrow his -whole realm would be ruined.</p> - -<p>“I’ll help thee,” said the youth, “though, indeed, I have enough -troubles of my own to carry already.”</p> - -<p>“What is thy trouble?” asked the Padishah of the mice. The youth told -him about the history of the piece of looking-glass, and how it had been -stolen from him, and into whose hands it had fallen.</p> - -<p>“Then I can help thee,” cried the Padishah, whereupon he called together -all the mice in the world. And he asked which of them had access to this -palace, and which knew of such-and-such an old woman, and the piece of -looking-glass. At these words a lame mouse hobbled forth, kissed the -ground at the feet of the Padishah, and said that it was his wont to -steal food from the old woman’s box. He had seen through the keyhole how -she took out a little bit of looking-glass every evening and hid it -under a cushion.</p> - -<p>Then the Padishah commanded him to go and steal<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_186" id="page_186">{186}</a></span> this bit of mirror. The -mouse, however, begged that he might have two comrades, sat on the back -of one of them, and so went on to the old woman. It was evening when -they arrived there, and the old woman was just eating her supper. “We -have come at the right time,” said the lame mouse, “we shall get -something to eat.” And with that they scampered into the room, satisfied -their hunger, and waited for the night. They arranged between them what -they should do, and when the old woman lay down they waited till she was -asleep. Scarcely had she fallen asleep than the lame mouse leaped into -her bed, made for her face, and began tickling her nose with the end of -its tail.</p> - -<p>“P-chi! p-chi!” the old woman sneezed, so that her head nearly leaped -from her shoulders. “P-chi! p-chi!” she sneezed again, and meanwhile the -two other little mice rushed out, picked up the piece of looking-glass -from underneath the cushion, took the lame mouse on their backs, and -hurried home again.</p> - -<p>The youth rejoiced greatly at the sight of the mirror, then he took the -cat with him so that it should do no more harm to the mice, and went -into other parts. There he took out the bit of mirror, looked into it, -and lo! the black efrit stood before him and said: “What is thy command, -my Sultan?”</p> - -<p>The youth asked for a raiment of cloth of gold and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_187" id="page_187">{187}</a></span> a whole army of -soldiers, and before he had time to look round, in front of him stood -costly raiment, and he put it on; and a beautiful horse, and he sat on -its back; and a large army which marched behind him into the city. When -he arrived there he stood before the palace, and surrounded it with his -soldiers. Oh, how terrified the Padishah was at the sight of that vast -army!</p> - -<p>The youth went into the palace, and demanded the damsel from her father. -In his terror the Padishah gave him not only his daughter but his realm. -The old woman was given into the hands of the big-lipped efrit, but the -bride and bridegroom lived happily in the midst of their glorious -kingdom. And close beside them stood the magic mirror that made all -their woes to vanish.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_188" id="page_188">{188}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="STONE-PATIENCE_AND_KNIFE-PATIENCE" id="STONE-PATIENCE_AND_KNIFE-PATIENCE"></a>STONE-PATIENCE AND KNIFE-PATIENCE</h3> - -<p><span class="smcap">There</span> was once a poor woman who had one daughter, and this poor woman -used to go out and wash linen, while her daughter remained at home at -her working-table. One day she was sitting by the window as was her -wont, when a little bird flew on to the sewing-table and said to the -damsel: “Oh, little damsel, poor little damsel! death is thy -Kismet!”<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a> whereupon it flew away again. From that hour the damsel’s -peace of mind was gone, and in the evening she told her mother what the -bird had said to her. “Close the door and the window,” said her mother, -“and sit at thy work as usual.”</p> - -<p>So the next morning she closed the door and the window and sat her down -at her work. But all at once there came a “Whirr-r-r-r!” and there was -the little bird again on the work-table. “Oh, little damsel, poor little -damsel! death is thy Kismet,” and with that it flew away again. The -damsel was more<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_189" id="page_189">{189}</a></span> and more terrified than ever at these words, but her -mother comforted her again: “To-morrow,” said she, “close fast the door -and the window, and get into the cupboard. There light a candle, and go -on with thy work!”</p> - -<p>Scarcely had her mother departed with the dawn than the girl closed up -everything, lit a candle, and locked herself in the cupboard with her -work-table. But scarcely had she stitched two stitches when the bird -stood before her again, and said: “Oh, little damsel, poor little -damsel! death is thy Kismet!” and whirr-r-r-r! it flew away again. The -damsel was in such distress that she scarce knew where she was. She -threw her work aside, and began tormenting herself as to what this -saying might mean. Her mother, too, could not get to the bottom of the -matter, so she remained at home the next day, that she also might see -the bird, but the bird did not come again.</p> - -<p>So their sorrow was perpetual, and all the joy of their life was gone. -They never stirred from the house but watched and waited continually, if -perchance the bird might come again. One day the damsels of their -neighbour came to them and asked the woman to let her daughter go with -them. “If she went for a little outing,” said they, “she might forget -her trouble.” The woman did not like to let<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_190" id="page_190">{190}</a></span> her go, but they promised -to take great care of her and not to lose sight of her, so at last she -let her go.</p> - -<p>So the damsels went into the fields and danced and diverted themselves -till the day was on the decline. On the way home they sat down by a well -and began to drink out of it. The poor woman’s daughter also went to -drink of the water, when lo! a wall rose up between her and the other -damsels, but such a wall as never the eye of man yet beheld. A voice -could not get beyond it, it was so high, and a man could not get through -it, it was so hard. Oh, how terrified was the poor woman’s daughter, and -what weeping and wailing and despair there was among her comrades. What -would become of the poor girl, and what would become of her poor mother!</p> - -<p>“I will not tell,” said one of them, “for she will not believe -us!”—“But what shall we say to her mother,” cried another, “now that -she has disappeared from before our eyes?”—“It is thy fault, it is thy -fault!” “Twas thou that asked her!” “No, ’twas thou.” So they fell to -blaming each other, looking all the time at the great wall.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the mother was awaiting her daughter. She stood at the door of -the house and watched the damsels coming. The damsels came weeping sore, -and scarce dared to tell the poor woman what had befallen her daughter. -The woman rushed to the</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_fp190.png"> -<img src="images/i_fp190.png" height="550" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>The Poor Woman and the Three Damsels.—p. 190.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_191" id="page_191">{191}</a></span></p> - -<p class="nind">great wall, her daughter was inside it and she herself was outside, and -so they wept and wailed so long as either of them had a tear to flow.</p> - -<p>In the midst of this great weeping the damsel fell asleep, and when she -woke up next morning she saw a great door beside the wall. “Happen to me -what may, if I am to perish, let me perish, but open this door I -will!”—so she opened it. Beyond the door was a beautiful palace, the -like of which is not to be seen even in dreams. This palace had a vast -hall, and on the wall of this hall hung forty keys. The damsel took the -keys and began opening the doors of all the rooms around her, and the -first set of rooms was full of silver, and the second set full of gold, -and the third set full of diamonds, and the fourth set full of -emeralds—in a word, each set of rooms was full of stones more precious -than the precious things of the rooms before it, so that the eyes of the -damsel were almost blinded by their splendour.</p> - -<p>She entered the fortieth room, and there, extended on the floor, was a -beautiful Bey, with a fan of pearls beside him, and on his breast a -piece of paper with these words written on it: “Whoever fans me for -forty days and prays all that time by my side will find her Kismet!” -Then the damsel thought of the little bird. So it was by the side of -this sleeper that she was to meet her fate! So she made her<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_192" id="page_192">{192}</a></span> ablutions, -and, taking the fan in her hand, she sat down beside the Bey. Day and -night she kept on fanning him, praying continually till the fortieth day -was at hand. And on the morning of the last day she peeped out of the -window and beheld a negro girl in front of the palace. Then she thought -she would call this girl for a moment and ask her to pray beside the -Bey, while she herself made her ablutions and took a little repose. So -she called the negro girl and set her beside the Bey, that she might -pray beside him and fan his face. But the damsel hastened away and made -her ablutions and adorned herself, so that the Bey, when he awoke, might -see his life’s Kismet at her best and rejoice at the sight.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the black girl read the piece of paper, and while the white -damsel tarried the youth awoke. He looked about him, and scarcely did he -see the black girl than he embraced her and called her his wife. The -poor white damsel could scarce believe her own eyes when she entered the -room; but the black girl, who was jealous of her, said to the Bey: “I, a -Sultan’s daughter, am not ashamed to go about just as I am, and this -chit of a serving-maid dares to appear before me arrayed so finely!” -Then she chased her out of the room, and sent her to the kitchen to -finish her work and boil and fry. The Bey was surprised, but he would -not say a word, for the negro girl was<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_193" id="page_193">{193}</a></span> his bride, while the other -damsel was only a kitchen-wench.</p> - -<p>Now the Feast of Bairam fell about this time, and as is the custom at -such times, the Bey would fain have given gifts to them of his -household. So he went to the negress and asked her what she would like -on the Feast of Bairam. And the negress asked for a garment that never a -needle had sewn and never scissors had cut. Then he went down into the -kitchen and asked the damsel what she would like. “The stone-of-patience -has a yellow colour, and the knife-of-patience has a brown handle, bring -them both to me,” said the damsel. So the Bey went on his way, and got -the negress her garment, but the stone-of-patience and the -knife-of-patience he could find nowhere. What was he to do?—he could -not return home without the gifts. So he got on board his ship.</p> - -<p>The ship had only got half-way when suddenly it stopped short, and could -neither go backwards nor forwards. The captain was terrified, and told -his passengers that there was some one on board who had not kept his -word, and that was why they could not get on. Then the Bey came forward, -and said that he it was who had not kept his word. So they put the Bey -ashore, that he might keep his promise and then return back to the ship. -Then the Bey walked along the sea-shore, and from the sea-shore he came -to a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_194" id="page_194">{194}</a></span> great valley, and he went wandering on and on till he stood beside -a large spring. And he had scarce trodden on the stones around it when -suddenly a huge negro stood before him and asked him what he wanted.</p> - -<p>“The stone-of-patience is of a yellow colour and the knife-of-patience -has a brown sheath, bring them both to me!” said the Bey to the negro. -And the next moment both the stone and the knife were in his hand, and -he came back to the ship, went on board, and returned home. He gave the -garment to his wife, but the stone and the knife he put in the kitchen. -But the Bey was curious to know what the damsel would do with them, so -one evening he crept down into the kitchen and watched her.</p> - -<p>When night approached she took the knife in her hand and placed the -stone in front of her and began telling them her story. She told them -what the little bird had thrice told her, and in what great terror both -her mother and herself had fallen.</p> - -<p>And while she was looking at the stone it suddenly began to swell, and -its yellow hue hissed and bubbled as if there were life in it.</p> - -<p>Then the damsel went on to say how she had wandered into the palace of -the Bey, how she had prayed forty days beside him, and how she had -entrusted the negress with the praying while she went to wash and dress -herself.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_195" id="page_195">{195}</a></span></p> - -<p>And the yellow stone swelled again, and hissed and foamed as if it were -about to burst.</p> - -<p>Then the damsel told how the negress had deceived her, how instead of -her the Bey had taken the negress to wife.</p> - -<p>And all this time the yellow stone went on swelling and hissing and -foaming as if there were a real living heart inside it, till suddenly it -burst and turned to ashes.</p> - -<p>Then the damsel took the little knife by the handle and said: “Oh, thou -yellow patience-stone, thou wert but a stone, and yet thou couldst not -endure that I, a tender little damsel, a poor little damsel, should thus -be thrust out.” And with that she would have buried the knife in her -breast, but the Bey rushed forward and snatched away the knife.</p> - -<p>“Thou art my real true Kismet,” cried the youth, as he took her into the -upper chamber in the place of the negress. But the treacherous negress -they slew, and they sent for the damsel’s mother and all lived together -with great joy.</p> - -<p>And the little bird came sometimes and perched in the window of the -palace, and sang his joyful lay. And this is what he sang: “Oh, little -damsel, happy little damsel, that hast found thy Kismet!<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_196" id="page_196">{196}</a></span>”</p> - -<h3><a name="THE_GHOST_OF_THE_SPRING_AND_THE_SHREW" id="THE_GHOST_OF_THE_SPRING_AND_THE_SHREW"></a>THE GHOST OF THE SPRING AND THE SHREW</h3> - -<p><span class="smcap">Once</span> upon a time which was no time if it was a time, in the days when my -mother was my mother and I was my mother’s daughter, when my mother was -my daughter and I was my mother’s mother, in those days, I say, it -happened that we once went along the road, and we went on and on and on. -We went for a little way and we went for a long way, we went over -mountains and over valleys, we went for a month continually, and when we -looked behind us we hadn’t gone a step. So we set out again, and we went -on and on and on till we came to the garden of the Chin-i-Machin -Pasha.<a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a> We went in, and there was a miller grinding grain, and a cat -was by his side. And the cat had woe in its eye, and the cat had woe on -its nose, and the cat had woe in its mouth, and the cat had woe in its -fore paw, and the cat had woe in its hind paw, and the cat had woe in -its<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_197" id="page_197">{197}</a></span> throat, and the cat had woe in its ear, and the cat had woe in its -face, and the cat had woe in its fur, and the cat had woe in its tail.</p> - -<p>Hard by this realm lived a poor wood-cutter, who had nothing in the -world but his poverty and a horrid shrew of a wife. What little money -the poor man made his wife always took away, so that he had not a single -<i>para</i><a name="FNanchor_15_15" id="FNanchor_15_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a> left. If his supper was oversalted—and so it was many a -time—and her lord chanced to say to her: “Mother, thou hast put too -much salt in the food,” so venomous was she that next day she would cook -the supper without one single grain of salt, so that there was no savour -in it. But if he dared to say: “There is no savour in the food, mother!” -she would put so much salt in it next day that her husband could not eat -thereof at all.</p> - -<p>Now what was it that befell this poor man one day? This is what befell. -He put by a couple of pence from his earnings to buy a rope to hang -himself withal. But his wife found them in her husband’s pocket: “Ho, -ho!” she cried, “so thou dost hide thy money in corners to give it to -thy comrades, eh?” In vain the poor man swore by his head that it was -not so, his wife would not believe him. “My dear,” said her husband, “I -wanted to buy me a rope with the money.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_198" id="page_198">{198}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“To hang thyself with, eh?” inquired his affectionate spouse.</p> - -<p>“Well, thou knowest what a hideous racket thou dost make sometimes,” -replied her husband, meaning to pacify her.</p> - -<p>“What I have done hitherto is little enough for a blockhead like thee,” -she replied, and with that she gave her husband such a blow that it -seemed to him as if the red dawn was flashing before him.</p> - -<p>The next morning the wood-cutter rose early, saddled his ass, and went -towards the mountains. All that he said to his wife before starting was -to beg her not to follow him into the forest. This was quite enough for -the wife. Immediately he was gone she saddled her ass, and after her -husband she went without more ado. “Who knows,” murmured she to herself, -“what he may not be up to in the mountains, if I am not there to look -after him!”</p> - -<p>The man saw that his wife was coming after him, but he made as if he did -not see, never spoke a word, and as soon as he got to the foot of the -mountain he set about wood-cutting. His wife, however, for she was a -restless soul, went up and down and all about the mountain, poked her -nose into everything, till at last her attention was fixed by a deserted -well, and she made straight for it.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_199" id="page_199">{199}</a></span></p> - -<p>Then her husband cried to her: “Take care, there’s a well right before -thee!”</p> - -<p>The only effect this warning had upon the wife was to make her draw -still nearer. Again he cried to her: “Dost thou not hear me speak to -thee? Go not further on, for there’s a well in front of thee.”</p> - -<p>“What do I care what he says?” thought she. Then she took another step -forward, but before she could take another the earth gave way beneath -her, and into the well she plumped. As for the husband, he was thinking -of something else, for he always minded his own business, so, his work -over, he took his ass and never stopped till he got home.</p> - -<p>The next day, at dawn, he again arose, saddled the ass, and went to the -mountains, when the thought of his wife suddenly came into his mind. -“I’ll see what has become of the poor woman!” said he. So he went to the -opening of the well and looked into it, but nothing was to be seen or -heard of his wife. His heart was sore, for anyhow was she not his wife? -and he began to think whether he could get her out of the well. So he -took a rope, let it down into the well, and cried into the great depth -thereof: “Catch hold of the rope, mother, and I’ll draw thee up!”</p> - -<p>Presently the man felt that the rope had become very heavy. He pulled -away at it with all his might, he tugged and tugged—what creature of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_200" id="page_200">{200}</a></span> -Allah’s could it be that he was pulling out of the well? And lo! it was -none other than a hideous ghost! The poor wood-cutter was sore afraid.</p> - -<p>“Rise up, poor man, and fear not,” said the ghost. “The mighty Allah -rather bless thee for thy deed. Thou hast saved me from so great a -danger, that to the very day of judgment I will not forget thy good -deed.”</p> - -<p>Then the poor man began to wonder what this great danger might be.</p> - -<p>“How many many years I lived peaceably in this well I know not,” -continued the ghost, “but up to this very day I knew no trouble. But -yesterday—whence she came I know not—an old woman suddenly plumped -down on my shoulders, and caught me so tightly by both my ears, that I -could not get loose from her for a moment. By a thousand good fortunes -thou didst come to the spot, let down thy rope, and call to her to seize -hold of it. For in trying to get hold of it she let me go, and I at once -seized the rope myself, and, the merciful Allah be praised for it, here -I am on dry land again. Good awaits thee for thy good deed; list now to -what I say to thee!”</p> - -<p>With that the ghost drew forth three wooden tablets, gave them to the -wood-cutter, and said to him: “I now go to take possession of the -daughter of the Sultan. Up to this day the princess has been hale<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_201" id="page_201">{201}</a></span> and -well, but now she will have leeches and wise men without number, but all -in vain, not one of them will be able to cure her. Thou also wilt hear -of the matter, thou wilt hasten to the Padishah, moisten these three -wooden tablets with water, lay them on the face of the damsel, and I -will come out of her, and a rich reward will be thine.”</p> - -<p>With that the wood-cutter took the three tablets, put them in his -pocket, and the ghost went to the right and he went to the left, and -neither of them thought any more of the old woman in the well. But let -us first follow the ghost.</p> - -<p>Scarcely had this son of a devil quitted the wood-cutter than he stood -in the Serai of the Padishah, and entered into the poor daughter of the -Sultan. The poor girl immediately fell to the ground in great pain. “O -my head! O my head!” she cried continually. They sent word to the -Padishah, and he, hastening thither, found his daughter lying on the -ground and groaning. Straightway he sent for leeches, wise men, drugs, -and incense, but none of them assuaged her pain. They sent for them a -second time, they sent for them a third time, but all their labour was -in vain. At last they had ten doctors and ten wise men trying what they -could do, and all the time the poor girl kept moaning: “My head, my -head!<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_202" id="page_202">{202}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“O my sweet child,” groaned the Padishah, “if thy head aches, believe me -my head, and my heart also, ache a thousand times as much to hear thee. -What shall I do for thee? I know what I will do. I will go call the -astrologers, perchance they will know more than I do.” And with that he -called together all the most famous astrologers in his kingdom. One of -them had one plan, another had another, but not one of them could cure -the complaint of the poor damsel.</p> - -<p>But now let us see what became of the poor wood-cutter.</p> - -<p>He lived on in the world without his wife, and gradually he forgot all -about her, and about the ghost and the three wooden tablets, and the -ghost’s advice and promise. But one day, when he had no thought at all -of these things, a herald from the city of the Padishah came to where he -was with a firman<a name="FNanchor_16_16" id="FNanchor_16_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a> in his hand, and read this out of it in a loud -voice: “The damsel, the Sultan’s daughter, is very sick. The leeches, -the wise men, the astrologers, all have seen her, and not one of them -can cure her complaint. Whoever is a master of mysteries, let him come -forward and doctor her. If he be a Mussulman, and cure her, the Sultan’s -daughter now and my realm after my death shall be his<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_203" id="page_203">{203}</a></span> reward; and if he -be a Giaour<a name="FNanchor_17_17" id="FNanchor_17_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a> and cure her, all the treasures in my realm shall be -his.”</p> - -<p>The wood-cutter needed no more to remind him of the ghost, the three -tablets, and his wife. He arose and went up to the herald. “By the mercy -of Allah I will cure the Sultan’s daughter, if she be still alive,” said -he. At these words the servant of the Padishah caught hold of the -wood-cutter, and led him into the Serai.</p> - -<p>Word was sent at once of his arrival to the Padishah, and in an instant -everything was made ready for him to enter the sick chamber. There -before him lay the poor damsel, and all she did was to cry continually: -“My head, my head!” The wood-cutter brought forth the wooden tablets, -moistened them, and scarcely had he spread them on the Sultan’s daughter -than immediately she became as well again as if she had never been ill. -At this there was great joy and gladness in the Serai, and they gave the -daughter of the Sultan to the wood-cutter; so the poor man became the -son-in-law of the Padishah.</p> - -<p>Now this Padishah had a brother who was also a Padishah, and his kingdom -was the neighbouring kingdom. He also had a daughter, and it occurred to -the ghost of the well to possess her likewise.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_204" id="page_204">{204}</a></span></p> - -<p>So she also began to be tormented in the same way, and nobody could find -a cure for her complaint. They searched and searched for assistance high -and low, till at last they heard how the daughter of the neighbouring -Padishah had been cured of a like sickness. So that other Padishah sent -many men into the neighbouring kingdom, and begged the first Padishah, -for the love of Allah, to send thither his son-in-law to cure the other -damsel also. If he cured her he was to have the damsel for his second -wife.</p> - -<p>So the Padishah sent his son-in-law that he might cure the -damsel—’twould be nothing to such a master of mysteries as he, they -said. All that he could say was in vain, the poor fellow had to set out, -and as soon as he arrived they led him at once into the sick-chamber. -But now the ghost of the well had a word to say in the matter.</p> - -<p>For that evil spirit was furious with his poor comrade. “Thou didst a -good deed to me, it is true,” began the ghost, “but thou canst not say -that I remained thy debtor. I left for thy sake the beautiful daughter -of the Sultan, and I chose out another for myself, and thou wouldst now -take her from me also? Well, wait a while, and thou shalt see that for -this deed of thine I will take them <i>both</i> away from thee.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_205" id="page_205">{205}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>At this the poor man was sore troubled.</p> - -<p>“I did not come hither for the damsel,” said he, “she is thy property, -and, if such be thy desire, thou mayest take mine away also.”</p> - -<p>“Then what’s thy errand here?” roared the ghost.</p> - -<p>“Alas! ’tis my wife, the old woman of the well,” sighed the former -wood-cutter, “and I only left her in the well that I might be rid of -her.”</p> - -<p>On hearing this the ghost was terribly frightened, and it was with a -small voice that he now inquired whether by chance she had come to light -again.</p> - -<p>“Yes, indeed, she’s outside,” sighed the man, “wherever I may go I am -saddled with her. I haven’t the heart to free myself from her. Hark! -she’s at the door now, she’ll be in the room in a moment.”</p> - -<p>The ghost needed no more. Forthwith he left the daughter of the Sultan, -and the Serai, and the whole city, and the whole kingdom, so that not -even the rumour of him remained. And not a child of man has ever seen -him since.</p> - -<p>But the daughter of the Sultan recovered instantly, and they gave her to -the former wood-cutter, and he took her home as his second wife.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_206" id="page_206">{206}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_207" id="page_207">{207}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_208" id="page_208">{208}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_209" id="page_209">{209}</a></span> </p> - -<h2><a name="ROUMANIAN_FAIRY_TALES" id="ROUMANIAN_FAIRY_TALES"></a>ROUMANIAN FAIRY TALES</h2> - -<h3><a name="THE_STORY_OF_THE_HALF-MAN-RIDING-ON-THE-WORSE-HALF-OF-A-LAME-HORSE" id="THE_STORY_OF_THE_HALF-MAN-RIDING-ON-THE-WORSE-HALF-OF-A-LAME-HORSE"></a>THE STORY OF THE HALF-MAN-RIDING-ON-THE-WORSE-HALF-OF-A-LAME-HORSE</h3> - -<p><span class="smcap">Once</span> upon a time, long long ago, in the days when poplars bore pears and -rushes violets, when bears could switch themselves with their tails like -cows, and wolves and lambs kissed and cuddled each other, there lived an -Emperor whose hair was already white, and who yet had never a son to -bless himself with. The poor Emperor would have given anything to have -had a little son of his own like other men, but all his wishes were in -vain.</p> - -<p>At last, when he was quite an old old man, Fortune took pity on him -also, and a darling of a boy was born to him, the like of which the -world had never seen before. The Emperor gave him the name of Aleodor, -and gathered east and west, north and south, together to rejoice in his -joy at the child’s christening. The revels lasted three days and three -nights, and all<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_210" id="page_210">{210}</a></span> the guests who made merry there with the Emperor could -think of nothing else for the rest of their lives.</p> - -<p>But the lad grew up as strong as an oak and as lovely as a rose, while -his father the Emperor drew nearer every day to the edge of the grave, -and when the hour of his death arrived he took the child on his knees -and said to him:</p> - -<p>“My darling son, behold the Lord calls me. The moment is at hand when I -am to share the common lot of man. I foresee that thou wilt become a -great man, and though I be dead my bones will rejoice in the tomb at thy -noble deeds. As to the administration of this realm I need tell thee -nought, for thou, with thy wisdom, wilt know how it behoves a king to -rule. One thing there is, nevertheless, that I must tell thee. Dost thou -see that mountain over yonder? Beware of ever setting thy foot upon it, -for ’twill be to thy hurt and harm. That mountain belongs to the -‘Half-man-riding-on-the-worse-half-of-a-lame-horse,’ and whosoever -ventures upon that mountain cannot escape unscathed.”</p> - -<p>He had no sooner said these words than his throat rattled thrice, and he -gave up the ghost. He departed to his place like every other human soul -that is born into the world, though there was never Emperor like him -since the world began. Those of his household bewailed him, his great -nobles bewailed</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_fp210.png"> -<img src="images/i_fp210.png" height="550" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>The Emperor and the Young Aleodor.—p. 210.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_211" id="page_211">{211}</a></span></p> - -<p class="nind">him, his people bewailed him also, and then they had to bury him.</p> - -<p>Aleodor, from the moment that he ascended the throne of his father, -ruled the land wisely like a mature statesman, though in age he was but -a child. All the world delighted in his sway, and men thanked Heaven for -allowing them to live in the days of such a prince.</p> - -<p>All the time that was not taken up by affairs of State, Aleodor spent in -the chase. But he always bore in mind the precepts of his father, and -took care not to exceed the bounds which had been set him.</p> - -<p>One day, however—how it came about I know not—but anyhow he fell into -a brown study, and never noticed that he had overstepped the domains of -the Half-man till, after taking a dozen steps or so onwards, he found -himself face to face with the monster. That he was trespassing on the -grounds of this stunted and terrible creature did not trouble him -over-much, it was the thought that he had transgressed the dying command -of his dear father that grieved him.</p> - -<p>“Ho, ho!” cried the hideous monster, “dost thou not know that every -scoundrel who oversteps my bounds becomes my property?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” replied Aleodor, “but I must tell thee that it was through want -of thought and without wishing<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_212" id="page_212">{212}</a></span> it that I have trodden on thy ground. -Against thee I have no evil design at all.”</p> - -<p>“I know better than that,” replied the monster; “but I see that, like -all cowards, thou dost think it best to make excuses.”</p> - -<p>“Nay, so sure as God preserves me, I am no coward. I have told thee the -simple truth; but if thou wouldst fight, I am ready. Choose thy weapons! -Shall we slash with sabres, or slog with clubs, or wrestle together?”</p> - -<p>“Neither the one nor the other,” replied the monster. “One way only -canst thou escape thy just punishment—thou must fetch me the daughter -of the Green Emperor!”</p> - -<p>Aleodor would very much have liked to have got out of the difficulty -some other way, as affairs of State would not allow him to take so long -a journey, a journey on which he could find no guide to direct him; but -what did the monster know of all that? Aleodor felt that if he would -avoid the shame of being thought a robber and a trampler on the rights -of others, he must indeed find the daughter of the Green Emperor. -Besides, he wanted to escape with a whole skin if he could; so at last -he promised that he would do the service required of him.</p> - -<p>Now the Half-man-riding-on-the-worse-half-of-a-lame-horse knew very well -that, as a man of honour,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_213" id="page_213">{213}</a></span> Aleodor would never depart from his plighted -word, so he said to him: “Go now, in God’s name, and may good luck -attend thee!”</p> - -<p>So Aleodor departed. He went on and on, thinking over and over again how -he was to accomplish his task, and so keep his word, when he came to the -margin of a pond, and there he saw a pike dashing its life out on the -shore. He immediately went up to it to satisfy his hunger with it, when -the pike said to him: “Slay me not, Boy-Beautiful!<a name="FNanchor_18_18" id="FNanchor_18_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a> but cast me -rather back into the water again, and then I will do thee good whenever -thou dost think of me.”</p> - -<p>Aleodor listened to the pike, and threw it back into the water again. -Then the pike said to him again: “Take this scale, and whenever thou -dost look at it and think of me I will be with thee.”</p> - -<p>Then the youth went on further and marvelled greatly at such a strange -encounter.</p> - -<p>Presently he fell in with a crow that had one wing broken. He would have -killed the crow and eaten it, but the crow said to him: “Boy-Beautiful, -Boy-Beautiful! why wilt thou burden thy soul on my account? Far better -were it if thou didst bind up my wing, and much good will I requite thee -with for thy kindness.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_214" id="page_214">{214}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>Aleodor listened, for his heart was as kind as his hand was cunning; and -he bound up the crow’s wing. When he made ready to go on again, the crow -said to him: “Take this feather, thou gallant youth! and whenever thou -dost look at it and think of me, I will be with thee.”</p> - -<p>Then Aleodor took the feather and went on his way. He hadn’t gone a -hundred paces further when he stumbled upon an ant. He would have -trodden upon it, when the ant said to him: “Spare my life, O Emperor -Aleodor, and I’ll deliver thee also from death! Take this little bit of -membrane from my wing, and whenever thou dost think of me, I’ll be with -thee.”</p> - -<p>When Aleodor heard these words, and how the ant called him by his name, -he raised his foot again and let the ant go where it would. He also went -on his way, and after journeying for I know not how many days he came at -last to the palace of the Green Emperor. There he knocked at the door, -and stood waiting for some one to come out and ask him what he wanted.</p> - -<p>He stood there one day, he stood there two days, but as for any one -coming out to ask him what he wanted, there was no sign of it. When the -third day dawned, however, the Green Emperor called to his servants and -gave them a talking to that they were<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_215" id="page_215">{215}</a></span> likely to remember. “How comes -it,” said he, “that a man should be standing at my gates three days -without any one going out to ask him what he wants? Is this what I pay -you wages for?”</p> - -<p>The servants of the Green Emperor looked up, and they looked down, but -they had not one word to say for themselves. At last they went and -called Aleodor and led him before the Emperor.</p> - -<p>“What dost thou want, my son?” inquired the Emperor; “and wherefore art -thou waiting at the gates of my court?”</p> - -<p>“I have come, great Emperor, to seek thy daughter.”</p> - -<p>“Good, my son. But, first of all, we must make a compact together, for -such is the custom of my court. Thou must hide thyself wheresoever thou -wilt three times running. If my daughter finds thee all three times, thy -head shall be struck off and stuck on a stake, the only one out of a -hundred that has not a suitor’s head upon it. But if she does not find -thee thrice, thou shalt have her from me with all imperial courtesy.”</p> - -<p>“My hope, great Emperor, is in the Lord, Who will not allow me to -perish. We will put something else on this stake of thine, but not the -head of a man. Let us make the compact.”</p> - -<p>“Thou dost agree?<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_216" id="page_216">{216}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“I agree.”</p> - -<p>So they made them a compact, and the deeds were drawn out and signed and -sealed.</p> - -<p>Then the daughter of the Emperor met him next day, and it was arranged -that he should hide himself as best he could. But now he was in an agony -that tortured him worse than death, for he bethought him again and again -where and how he could best hide himself, for nothing less than his head -was at stake. And as he kept walking about, and brooding and pondering, -he remembered the pike. Then he took out the fish’s scale, looked at it, -and thought of the fish’s master, and immediately, oh wonderful!—the -pike stood before him and said: “What dost thou want of me, -Boy-Beautiful?”</p> - -<p>“What do I want? Thou mayest well ask that! Look what has happened to -me! Canst thou not tell me what to do?”</p> - -<p>“That is thy business no longer. Leave it to me!”</p> - -<p>And immediately striking Aleodor with his tail, he turned him into a -little shell-fish, and hid him among the other little shell-fish at the -bottom of the sea.</p> - -<p>When the damsel appeared, she put on her eye-glass and looked for him in -every direction, but could see him nowhere. Her other wooers had hidden<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_217" id="page_217">{217}</a></span> -themselves in caves, or behind houses, or under haycocks and haystacks, -or in some hole or corner, but Aleodor hid himself in such a way that -the damsel began to fear that she would be vanquished. Then it occurred -to her to turn her eye-glass towards the sea, and she saw him beneath a -heap of mussels. But you must know that her eye-glass was a magic -eye-glass.</p> - -<p>“I see thee, thou rascal,” cried she, “how thou hast bothered me, to be -sure! From being a man thou hast made thyself a mussel, and hidden -thyself at the bottom of the sea.”</p> - -<p>This he couldn’t deny, so of course he had to come up again.</p> - -<p>But she said to the Emperor: “Methinks, dear father, this youth will -suit me. He is nice and comely. Even if I find him all three times let -me have him, for he is not stupid like the others. Why, thou canst see -from his figure even how different he is.”</p> - -<p>“We shall see,” replied the Emperor.</p> - -<p>On the second day Aleodor bethought him of the crow, and immediately the -crow stood before him, and said to him: “What dost thou want, my -master?”</p> - -<p>“Look now, senseless one! what has happened to me. Canst thou not show -me a way out of it?<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_218" id="page_218">{218}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“Let us try!” and with that it struck him with its wing and turned him -into a young crow, and placed him in the midst of a flock of crows that -were flying high in the air in the teeth of a fierce tempest.</p> - -<p>Then the damsel came again with her eye-glass and searched for him in -every direction. He was nowhere to be found. She looked for him on the -earth, but he was not there. She looked for him in the rivers and in the -sea, but he was not there. The damsel grew pensive. She searched and -searched till mid-day, when it occurred to her to look upwards also. And -perceiving him in the glory of the sky in the midst of a swarm of crows, -she pointed him out with her finger and cried: “Look! look! Rogue that -thou art! Come down from there, O man, that hast made thyself into a bit -of a bird! Nothing in the fields of heaven can escape my eye!”</p> - -<p>Then he came down, for what else could he do? Even the Emperor himself -now began to be amazed at the skill and cunning of Aleodor, and lent an -ear to the prayers of his daughter. Inasmuch, however, as the compact -declared that Aleodor was to hide three times, the Emperor said to his -daughter: “Wait once more, for I am curious to see what place he will -find to hide himself in next.”</p> - -<p>The third day, early in the morning, he thought<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_219" id="page_219">{219}</a></span> of the ant, -and—whisk!—the ant was by his side. When she had found out what he -wanted she said to him: “Leave it to me, and if she find thee I am here -to help thee.”</p> - -<p>So the ant turned him into a flower-seed, and hid him in the very skirts -of the damsel without her perceiving it.</p> - -<p>Then the Emperor’s daughter rose up, took her eye-glass, and sought for -him all day long, but look where she would she could not find him. She -plagued herself almost to death in her search, for she felt that he was -close at hand, though see him she could not. She looked through her -eye-glass on the ground, and in the sea, and up in the sky, but she -could see him nowhere, and towards evening, tired out by so much -searching, she exclaimed: “Show thyself then, this once! I feel that -thou art close at hand, and yet I cannot see thee. Thou hast conquered, -and I am thine.”</p> - -<p>Then when he heard her say that he had conquered, he slipped slowly down -from her skirts and revealed himself. The Emperor had now nothing more -to say, so he gave the youth his daughter, and when they departed, he -escorted them to the boundaries of his empire with great pomp and -ceremony.</p> - -<p>While they were on the road they stopped at a place to rest, and after -they had refreshed themselves<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_220" id="page_220">{220}</a></span> somewhat with food, he laid his head in -her lap and fell asleep. The daughter of the Emperor could not forbear -from looking at him, and her eyes filled with tears as they feasted on -his comeliness and beauty. Then her heart grew soft within her, and she -could not help kissing him. But Aleodor, when he awoke, gave her a -buffet with the palm of his hand that awoke the echoes.</p> - -<p>“Nay but, my dear Aleodor!” cried she, “thou hast indeed a heavy hand.”</p> - -<p>“I have slapped thee,” said he, “for the deed thou hast done, for I have -not taken thee for myself, but for him who bade me seek thee.”</p> - -<p>“Good, my brother! but why didst thou not tell me so at home? for then I -also would have known what to do. But let be now, for all that is past.”</p> - -<p>Then they set out again till they came alive and well to the -Half-man-riding-on-the-worse-half-of-a-lame-horse.</p> - -<p>“Lo, now! I have done my service,” said Aleodor, and with that he would -have departed. But when the girl beheld the monster, she shivered with -disgust, and would not stay with him for a single moment. The hideous -cripple drew near to the maiden, and began to caress her with honeyed -words, that so she might go with him willingly. But the girl said to -him: “Depart from me, Satan, and go to thy mother<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_221" id="page_221">{221}</a></span> Hell, who hath cast -thee upon the face of the earth!” Then the half-monster half-man was -near to melting for the love he had for the damsel, and, writhing away -on his belly, he fetched his mother that she might help to persuade the -maid to be his wife. But meanwhile the damsel had dug a little trench -all round her, and stood rooted to the spot with her eyes fixed on the -ground. The hideous satanic skeleton of a monster could not get at her.</p> - -<p>“Depart from the face of the earth, thou abomination!” cried she; “the -world is well rid of such a pestilential monster as thou art!”</p> - -<p>Still he strove and strove to get at her, but finding at last he could -not reach her, he burst with rage and fury that a mere woman should have -so covered him with shame and reproach.</p> - -<p>Then Aleodor added the domain of the -Half-man-riding-on-the-worse-half-of-a-lame-horse to his own -possessions, took the daughter of the Green Emperor to wife, and -returned to his own empire. And when his people saw him coming back in -the company of a smiling spouse as beautiful as the stars of heaven, -they welcomed him with great joy, and, mounting once more his imperial -throne, he ruled his people in peace and plenty till the day of his -death.</p> - -<p>And now I’ll mount my horse again, and say an “Our Father” before I go.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_222" id="page_222">{222}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="THE_ENCHANTED_HOG" id="THE_ENCHANTED_HOG"></a>THE ENCHANTED HOG</h3> - -<p><span class="smcap">Once</span> upon a time, a long long time ago, when fleas were shod with ninety -and nine pieces of iron, and flew up into the blue sky to fetch us down -fairy-tales, there lived an Emperor who had three daughters. One day, -when he was going to battle, he called these daughters to him and said -to them:</p> - -<p>“Look now, my darlings! Needs must that I go to the wars. My foe is -advancing against me with a huge host. ’Tis with great bitterness of -heart that I part from you. In my absence, take care that you have your -wits about you, behave well, and look after the affairs of the -household. You have my leave to walk in the garden and enter all the -rooms of my house, only in the chamber at the bottom of the corridor on -the right-hand side you must not enter, or it will not be well with -you.”</p> - -<p>“Depart in peace, papa!” cried they. “Never yet have we disobeyed the -words of thy commands.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_223" id="page_223">{223}</a></span> Go without any fear of us, and God give thee -victory over all thine enemies!”</p> - -<p>So when he was quite ready to depart, the Emperor gave them the keys of -all his chambers; but once more he put them in mind of his command, and -then he bade them good-bye and departed.</p> - -<p>The daughters of the Emperor kissed his hand with tears in their eyes, -and wished him victory once more, and then the eldest of the three -daughters received the keys from the hands of the Emperor.</p> - -<p>When the daughters of the Emperor found themselves all alone they knew -not what to do with themselves, the time hung so heavily. At last they -agreed to work a part of the day, and to read another part of the day, -and spend the rest of the day walking in the garden. This they did, and -things went well with them.</p> - -<p>But the Deceiver of mankind was vexed at the tranquillity of the -maidens, so he must needs twist his tail in their affairs.</p> - -<p>“My sisters,” said the eldest of the three damsels one day, “why do we -spend the live-long day in sewing and knitting and reading? I am sick -and tired of it all. It is ever so many days now since we were left to -ourselves, and there’s not a corner of the garden that we have not -walked in over and over again. We have also been through all the rooms -of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_224" id="page_224">{224}</a></span> our father’s palace, and looked at all the ornaments there till we -know them by heart. Let us now enter into that chamber which our father -told us not to enter.”</p> - -<p>“Woe is me, dear sister!” said the youngest damsel. “I wonder that thou -shouldst persuade us to tread underfoot the precepts of our father. When -our father told us not to enter there, he must needs have known what he -was saying, and why he told us so to do.”</p> - -<p>“Dost thou fancy, silly, that there’s some evil serpent there that will -eat us, or some other foul beast perhaps?” cried the middle sister. -“Besides, how is papa to know whether we were there or not?”</p> - -<p>Talking and arguing thus, they had reached the door of the chamber, and -the eldest sister, who was the guardian of the keys, popped the key into -the key-hole, and turning it round—crack-rack!—the door flew wide -open.</p> - -<p>The damsels entered.</p> - -<p>What do you think they saw there? The room was bare of furniture, but in -the middle of it stood a large table covered with a beautiful cloth, and -on the top of it was a wide-open book.</p> - -<p>The girls, all full of impatience, wanted to find out what was written -in this book, and the eldest went up to it and read these words: “The -eldest daughter<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_225" id="page_225">{225}</a></span> of the Emperor will marry a son of the Emperor of the -East.”</p> - -<p>Then the second daughter went up to the book, and turning over the leaf, -read these words: “The second daughter of the Emperor will marry a son -of the Emperor of the West.”</p> - -<p>The girls laughed and made merry at these words, and giggled and joked -among themselves. But the youngest daughter would not go up to the book.</p> - -<p>But the elder ones would not leave her in peace, but dragged her up to -the long table, and then, though very unwillingly, she turned over the -leaf and read these words—</p> - -<p>“The youngest daughter of the Emperor will have a pig for her spouse.”</p> - -<p>A thunderbolt falling from the sky could not have hurt her more than the -reading of these words. She was like to have died of horror, and if her -sisters had not held her she would have dashed her head to pieces -against the ground.</p> - -<p>When she had come to herself again, her sisters began to try to comfort -her. “How canst thou believe all that nonsense?” said they. “When didst -thou ever hear of the daughter of an Emperor marrying a pig?”</p> - -<p>“What a baby thou art!” added the eldest, “as if papa hadn’t armies -enough to save thee, even if so<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_226" id="page_226">{226}</a></span> loathsome a monster as that <i>did</i> come -and try and make thee his wife!”</p> - -<p>The youngest daughter of the Emperor would very much have liked to -believe what her sisters said, but her heart would not allow it. She -thought continually of the book which promised her sisters such handsome -bridegrooms, while it foretold that that should happen to her which had -never yet happened since the world began. Then she reflected how she had -transgressed the commands of her father, and her heart smote her. She -began to grow thin, and ere a few days had passed she had so changed -that none could recognize her. She became sad and sallow, instead of -rosy and rollicking, and could take part in nothing at all. She ceased -to play with her sisters in the garden; she ceased to cull posies and -make garlands of them for her head, and when her sisters sang over their -distaffs and embroideries her voice was dumb.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the Emperor, the father of these girls, succeeded beyond even -the wishes of his dearest friends, and vanquished and dispersed his -enemies. As his thoughts were continually with his daughters, he did -what he had to do quickly and returned home. Crowds and crowds of people -turned out to meet him with fifes and drums and trumpets, and great was -their joy at the sight of their victorious Emperor.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_227" id="page_227">{227}</a></span></p> - -<p>When he reached his capital, before going home, he gave thanks to God -for aiding him against the enemies who had tried to do him evil. Then he -went to his own house, and his daughters came out to meet him. His joy -was great when he saw how well they were, for his youngest daughter did -her best to appear as gay and happy as the others.</p> - -<p>But it was not very long before the Emperor observed that, little by -little, his youngest daughter was growing sadder and thinner. “What if -she has broken my commands?” thought he, and as it were a red-hot iron -pierced his soul. Then he called his daughters to him, and bade them -speak the truth. They confessed, but they did not say which of them had -first persuaded them.</p> - -<p>When the Emperor heard this he was filled with bitterness, and from -henceforth sadness took possession of him. But he held his tongue, and -did but make all the more of his youngest daughter because he was about -to lose her. What’s done is done, and he knew that thousands and -thousands of words can’t make one farthing.</p> - -<p>Time went on, and he had almost come to forget the circumstance, when -one day there appeared at the Emperor’s court the son of the Emperor of -the East, who sought the hand of his eldest daughter. The Emperor gave -her to him with joy. They had a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_228" id="page_228">{228}</a></span> splendid wedding, and after three days -he conducted them with great pomp to the frontier. A little while -afterwards the same thing happened to the second daughter, for the son -of the Emperor of the West came and sought her in marriage likewise.</p> - -<p>Accordingly as she saw what had been written in the book gradually -fulfilled, the youngest daughter of the Emperor grew sadder and sadder. -She no longer enjoyed her food; she would not go out walking; she even -lost all pleasure in raiment; she preferred to die rather than become -the laughing-stock of the whole world. But the Emperor did not give her -the opportunity of doing anything foolish, but took care to divert her -with all manner of pleasant stories.</p> - -<p>Time went on, and lo!—oh, wonderful!—one day a large hog entered the -royal palace and said: “Hail, O Emperor! May thy days be as rosy and as -joyous as sunrise on a cloudless day!”</p> - -<p>“Good and fair is thy greeting, my son!” replied the Emperor; “but what -ill wind hath blown thee hither, I should like to know?”</p> - -<p>“I have come as a wooer,” replied the hog.</p> - -<p>The Emperor marvelled greatly at hearing such a pretty speech in the -mouth of a hog, and immediately felt within himself that all was not -right here. He would have put the hog off with some excuse if he could, -to save his daughter, but when he heard<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_229" id="page_229">{229}</a></span> the court and all the ways -leading to it full of the grunts of the hogs who had accompanied the -wooer, he had nothing to say for himself, and promised the hog that he -would do what it asked. But the hog was not content with his bare -promise, but insisted that the wedding should take place within a week. -Only when it had obtained the Emperor’s word that it should be so did it -go away.</p> - -<p>The Emperor told his daughter that she must submit to her fate, as it -was clearly the will of God. Then he added: “My daughter, the speech and -sensible bearing of this hog belong to no brute beast with which I am -acquainted. I’ll wager my head upon it that he was never <i>born</i> a hog. -There must be a touch of sorcery here, or some other devilry. If thou -art obedient, thou wilt not depart from thy given word, for God will not -allow thee to be tormented for long.”</p> - -<p>“If thou dost think it good, dear father,” replied the girl, “I will -obey thee, and put my trust in God. Let Him do what He will with me. It -must be so, I have no other way to turn.”</p> - -<p>In the meantime the wedding-day arrived. The marriage was celebrated in -secret. Then the hog got into one of the imperial carriages with his -bride, and so they set off homewards.</p> - -<p>On the journey they had to pass by a large marsh.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_230" id="page_230">{230}</a></span> The hog ordered the -carriage to stop, got down, and wallowed about in the mire till he was -pretty nearly one with it. Then he got into the carriage again, and told -his bride to kiss him. Poor girl, what could she do? She took out her -cambric pocket-handkerchief, wiped his snout a little, and then kissed -him. “I am but obeying my father’s commands,” thought she.</p> - -<p>At last they reached the hog’s house, which was in the midst of a dense -forest. It was now evening, and when they had rested a little from the -fatigues of the road they supped together and lay down to rest. In the -night the daughter of the Emperor perceived that her husband was a man -and not a hog, and she marvelled greatly. Then she called to mind the -words of her father, and hope once more arose in her breast.</p> - -<p>Every evening the hog shook off his hog-skin, and every morning before -she awoke he put it on again.</p> - -<p>One night passed, two nights passed, a great many nights passed, and the -damsel could not make out how it was that her husband was a man at night -and a hog in the daytime. For he was under a spell; an enchanter had -done him this mischief.</p> - -<p>Gradually she began to love him, especially when she felt that she was -about to become a mother, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_231" id="page_231">{231}</a></span> what grieved her most was that she was -all alone, with none at hand to aid her in her hour of need.</p> - -<p>One day, however, she saw an old long-nosed witch pass by that way. Now -as she had seen no human creature for a long time, she was full of joy, -and called to her, and they had a long talk together.</p> - -<p>“Tell me now, old woman,” cried she, “the meaning of this marvel. In the -daytime my husband is a hog, but when he sleeps beside me at night he is -a man. Explain this marvel to me!”</p> - -<p>“I’ll tell thee that later on, but in the meanwhile shall I give thee -some medicines that will put an end to the spell that holds him?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, do, little mother, and I’ll pay thee for them whatever thou wilt, -for I hate to see him as he is now.”</p> - -<p>“Very well, then. Take this bit of rope, my little chicken, but let him -not know anything about it, or it will lose its effect. Now when he is -asleep, rise up, and going to him very very softly, tie his left leg as -hard as thou canst, and thou wilt see, dear heart, that on the morrow -he’ll remain a man. Money I do not want. I shall be more than repaid if -I release him from this scourge. My very heart-strings are bursting with -compassion for thy lord, my rose-bud, and I grieve, oh how bitterly I -grieve, that I did not come this way before, so as to help thee -sooner.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_232" id="page_232">{232}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>When the old hag had departed, the daughter of the Emperor took care to -carefully conceal the piece of rope, but in the middle of the night she -softly arose so that he shouldn’t hear her, and holding her very breath, -tied the string round her husband’s left leg, but when she tied the -knot—r-rch!—the string broke, for it was rotten, and instantly her -husband started up.</p> - -<p>“Unhappy woman!” cried he, “what hast thou done? But three days more and -I should have been free of this vile spell, but now who knows how long I -may have to carry this vile bestial skin! And know, moreover, that thy -hand can never touch me again till thou hast worn out three pairs of -iron sandals, and worn down three staves of steel, seeking me all over -the wide world, for now I must depart.”</p> - -<p>And with these words he disappeared.</p> - -<p>The poor daughter of the Emperor, when she found herself all alone, -began to cry and sob as if her heart would break. She cursed the vile -witch with fire and sword, but all in vain, and when at last she saw -that all her cursing and moaning did no good, she got up and went -whithersoever the mercy of God and the desire of her husband might lead -her.</p> - -<p>At the first city she arrived at she bade them make her three pairs of -iron sandals and three staves of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_233" id="page_233">{233}</a></span> steel, made provision for her journey, -and set off to seek her husband.</p> - -<p>She went on and on, past nine kingdoms and nine seas, she passed through -vast forests where the treestumps were like barrels, she got black and -blue from stumbling over the trunks of fallen trees, yet often as she -fell, she always got up again and resumed her way; the branches of the -trees struck her in the face, the briars tore her hands, yet on and on -she went without so much as looking back once. At last, weary with her -journey and her burden, bowed down with grief and yet with hope in her -heart, she came to a little house. And who should be living there but -the Holy Moon.</p> - -<p>The damsel knocked at the door and begged them to let her come in and -rest a little, especially as she was about to become a mother.</p> - -<p>The mother of the Holy Moon had compassion on her and her afflictions, -so she let her come inside and took good care of her. Then she asked -her: “How is it that thou, a creature of another race, hast managed to -come so far as this?”</p> - -<p>Then the poor daughter of the Emperor told her everything that had -happened to her, and wound up by saying: “I praise and thank God first -of all for directing my footsteps even to this place, and I thank Him in -the second place because He allows not my<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_234" id="page_234">{234}</a></span> child to perish at the hour -of its birth. And now I beg thee to tell me whether thy daughter, the -Holy Moon, hath seen my husband anywhere?”</p> - -<p>“That I cannot tell thee, my dear,” replied the mother of the Holy Moon; -“but if thou dost go on thy way towards the east till thou comest to the -house of the Holy Sun, maybe he will be able to tell thee somewhat.”</p> - -<p>Then she gave her a roast fowl to eat, and told her to be very careful -not to lose one of the bones, as they would be very useful to her.</p> - -<p>The daughter of the Emperor thanked the mother of the Moon for her -hospitality and kind words, and after throwing away the pair of iron -sandals which she had worn out, she put on another pair, placed the -fowl’s bones in her bosom, took her child on her arm, and a second staff -of steel in her hand, and took to the road again.</p> - -<p>She went on and on through nothing but plains of sand, and the way was -so bad that she glided one step backwards for every two steps she went -forwards. On and on she struggled till at last she left these plains -behind her; and now she got amongst high mountains, steep and rugged, -and crawled from rock to rock and from crag to crag. Whenever she came -to a little plot of level ground she stopped and rested a little, and -reflected that now she was a little nearer<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_235" id="page_235">{235}</a></span> her husband than she was -before, and then she went on her way again. The sides of the mountains -were of hard-pointed flints, which bruised and cut her feet, knees, and -sides till they were covered with blood; for you must know that these -mountains were so high that they reached beyond the clouds. There were -precipices in the way too that she could only pass by going down on her -hands and knees and guiding herself with her staff.</p> - -<p>At last, quite overcome by fatigue, she came to a palace.</p> - -<p>Here lived the Sun.</p> - -<p>She knocked at the door and begged them to take her in.</p> - -<p>The mother of the Sun received her, and was amazed to see a creature of -another race in those regions, and full of compassion when she heard -what had befallen her. Then, when she had promised to ask her son about -the damsel’s husband, she hid her in the cellar, that the Sun might not -perceive her when he came home in the evening, for he always came back -in a bad temper.</p> - -<p>Next day the daughter of the Emperor was afraid she would be found out, -as the Sun said he smelt a creature from another world. But his mother -soothed him with soft words, and told him that it was pears that he -smelt. The daughter of the Emperor took<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_236" id="page_236">{236}</a></span> courage when she saw how well -she was treated, and said:</p> - -<p>“Tell me now, how can the Sun be ever vexed, seeing that he is so -beauteous, and doeth so much good to mortals?”</p> - -<p>“I’ll tell thee,” replied the mother of the Sun. “In the morning he -stands in the gate of Heaven, and then he is merry, so merry, and smiles -upon the whole world. But at mid-day he is full of disgust, inasmuch as -he sees all the follies of men, and so his wrath burns and he gets -hotter and hotter; while in the evening he is vexed and sorrowful -because he stands in the gate of Hades, for that is the usual way by -which he comes home.”</p> - -<p>She told her besides that she had asked about her husband, and her son -had replied that he knew not anything about him, as he was living in the -midst of a vast and dense forest, so that his beams could not pierce -through the thick foliage; the only thing to do was to go and ask the -Wind about it. Then she also gave her a roast fowl, and told her to take -great care of the bones.</p> - -<p>So the daughter of the Emperor pitched away the second pair of iron -sandals that she had worn out, tied up the bones, took her child on her -arm and a third staff in her hand, and went after the Wind.</p> - -<p>On this journey she met with hardships greater<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_237" id="page_237">{237}</a></span> than any before, for she -came upon mountains of flintstones, one after another, through which -darted flames of fire, forests untrodden by man, and fields of ice dark -with snow-storms. More than once the poor creature was on the point of -falling, but with perseverance and the help of God she overcame even -these great hardships, and at last she reached a ravine between two -mountains, large enough to hold seven cities.</p> - -<p>This was the abode of the Wind.</p> - -<p>There was a gate in the wall which surrounded it. She knocked and -implored them to let her in. The mother of the Wind had compassion on -her, and let her in and invited her to rest. “If she had hidden from the -Sun,” she said, “surely the Wind would not find her out.”</p> - -<p>The next day the mother of the Wind told her that her husband was living -in a huge dense wood, which the axe of man had never yet reached, and -there he had made him a sort of house by piling up the trunks of trees -one on the top of another, and plaiting them together with withy bands, -where he lived all alone for fear of wicked men. Then, after she had -given her a roast fowl and told her to take good care of the bones, the -mother of the Wind counselled her to follow the road that led straight -to the sky, and let the stars of heaven be her guides. She said she<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_238" id="page_238">{238}</a></span> -would, and after thanking her with tears of joy for her hospitality and -for her glad tidings, she went on her way.</p> - -<p>The poor woman turned night into day. She stopped neither to eat nor to -rest, so fiercely did the desire to find her husband burn within her. -She went on and on till she quite wore out the third pair of sandals. -She threw them away, and began to walk with bare feet. She cared not for -the hard clumps of earth, she took no heed of the thorns that entered -into her feet, nor of the pain she suffered when she stumbled over the -hard stones. At last she came to a green and beauteous meadow on the -margin of a forest, and her heart rejoiced within her when she felt the -soft grass and saw the sweet flowers. She stopped and rested a little. -But when she saw the birds in couples and couples on the branches of the -trees, a burning desire for her own husband came upon her, and she began -to weep bitterly, and with her child on her arm, and her bundle of bones -in her girdle, she went on her way. She entered the forest. She did not -once look at the soft green turf which soothed her feet, she listened -not to the birds that chirped enough to deafen her, she regarded not the -flowers that peeped out from among the bushes, but groped her way step -by step into the depths of the forest. For from the tokens given her by -the mother<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_239" id="page_239">{239}</a></span> of the Wind she perceived that this must be the forest in -which her husband was staying.</p> - -<p>Three days and three nights she roamed through the forest, and could see -no one. So worn was she now with fatigue that she fell to the ground, -and there she lay for a day and a night without moving, nor did she eat -and drink.</p> - -<p>At last she rallied all her remaining strength, rose up, and tottering -along, tried to support herself on her staff; but it could help her no -more, for that also was quite worn down so that it was now no good to -her. Still trusting in God, she went on as best she could. She hadn’t -taken ten steps forward when she saw in a cleft of the rock just such a -sort of house as the mother of the Wind had told her of. She went -towards it, and just managed to get up to it and no more. It was a house -that had neither window nor door, but there was an opening in the roof. -She looked around her, but there was no sign of a ladder.</p> - -<p>What was she to do to get inside it?</p> - -<p>She thought and thought again. She tried to climb up it, but in vain. -Suddenly she thought of the bones which she had been carrying all this -way. “If only I could find out,” said she, “how these bones are to -assist me!” She took them out of the bundle, looked at them, reflected a -little, and then put one atop the other, and—oh, wonderful!—they -joined<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_240" id="page_240">{240}</a></span> on to each other as if they had been glued. Then she joined -another on to the first two and then another till she made out of them -two long bars. Then she put a little bone across the two bars, and it -stuck fast like the rung of a ladder. She mounted on it, and placed -another little bone across a bit higher, and then she mounted on that -also, and so she ascended from rung to rung, placing the small bones -across as she went along, till she got quite near the top; but then she -saw that there was a wide gap between the last rung of her ladder and -the door in the roof of the house, and she now had no more bones to make -the last rung. She must have lost it on the way. What was she to do now? -She bethought her for a while, and then she cut off a finger and placed -that between the bars. Sure enough it joined on to and formed the last -rung, and mounting on it she entered the door of the house with her -child in her arms. There she rested for awhile, gave her child to suck, -and sat down herself on the threshold.</p> - -<p>When her husband came he was so amazed at what he saw that he could -scarce believe his eyes, and there he stood looking at the ladder of -bones, the last rung of which was a severed human finger. Fear came upon -him lest there should be some evil enchantment about the thing, and he -would have turned his back upon the house if God had not put it into his -mind<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_241" id="page_241">{241}</a></span> to enter. So turning himself into a dove, and flying up into the -air without once touching the ladder, lest evil spells should lay hold -of him, he entered the house in full flight, and there he beheld his -wife nursing a child; and instantly he was full of tenderness and -compassion towards her, for he bethought him of how much she must have -suffered and endured before she could have found her way to him. Nay, he -could scarce recognize her, so changed was she by her hardships and -sufferings.</p> - -<p>But the daughter of the Emperor, when she saw him, sprang from her seat, -and her heart failed her for fright, for she did not know him. Then he -made himself known to her, and she regretted no longer all she had gone -through to find him, nay, she forgot it altogether, for he was as tall -and straight as a lordly pine.</p> - -<p>Then they began talking together. She told him all that had befallen -her, and he wept for pity. Then he also spoke, and told her his story.</p> - -<p>“I am the son of an Emperor,” said he. “In the war which my father waged -with the dragons, our neighbours (and evil neighbours they were, ever -ravaging his domains), I slew the smallest of the dragons. Now his -mother knew that thou wert my destined bride, so she laid the curse of -her spells upon me, and constrained me to wear the skin of an unclean<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_242" id="page_242">{242}</a></span> -beast, with the design of preventing me from having thee. Yet God aided -me, and I won thee nevertheless. That old woman who gave thee the cord -to tie my legs with was the dragon’s mother, and when I had but three -days more to bear the spell, I was forced, by thy folly, to go about in -pigskin three years longer. But now since thou hast suffered for me and -I have suffered for thee, let us praise God and return to our parents. -Without thee I should have resigned myself to living the life of a -hermit, and so I chose this desert for my habitation, and built me this -house so that no child of man should get at me.”</p> - -<p>Then they embraced each other full of joy, and promised to forget all -their past sorrows.</p> - -<p>The next day they rose early and went back first of all to the Emperor -his father. When it was known that he and his consort had arrived, all -the world wept with joy; but his father and mother embraced them -tightly, and the public rejoicings lasted three days and three nights.</p> - -<p>Then he went on to the Emperor the father of his wife, and he was like -to have gone out of his mind for joy when he saw them. When he had heard -all their adventures he said to his daughter: “Did I not tell thee not -to believe that he who sought thy hand was ever born a hog? Thou hast -done well, my daughter, to listen to my words.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_243" id="page_243">{243}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>And being an old man, and having no heirs, he descended from his throne -and put them upon it in his stead. Then they reigned in peace, and if -they are not dead they are living still.</p> - -<p>And now I’ll mount my horse again and say an “Our Father” before I go.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_244" id="page_244">{244}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="BOY-BEAUTIFUL_THE_GOLDEN_APPLES_AND_THE_WERE-WOLF" id="BOY-BEAUTIFUL_THE_GOLDEN_APPLES_AND_THE_WERE-WOLF"></a>BOY-BEAUTIFUL, THE GOLDEN APPLES, AND THE WERE-WOLF</h3> - -<p><span class="smcap">Once</span> upon a time, a long while ago, when the very flies wrote upon the -walls more beautifully than the mind can picture, there lived an Emperor -and an Empress who had three sons, and a very beautiful garden alongside -their palace. At the bottom of this garden there grew an apple-tree, -entirely of gold from the top to the bottom. The Emperor was wild with -joy at the thought that he had in his garden an apple-tree, the like of -which was not to be found in the wide world. He used to stand in front -of it, and poke his nose into every part of it, and look at it again and -again, till his eyes nearly started out of his head. One day he saw this -tree bud, blossom, and form its fruit, which began to ripen before him. -The Emperor twisted his moustache, and his mouth watered at the thought -that the next day he would have a golden apple or two on his table, an -unheard-of thing up to that moment since the world began.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_245" id="page_245">{245}</a></span></p> - -<p>Day had scarcely begun to dawn next morning, when the Emperor was -already in the garden to feast his eyes to the full on the golden -apples; but he almost went out of his mind when, instead of the ripened -golden apples, he saw that the tree was budding anew, but of apples -there was no sign. While he stood there he saw the tree blossom, the -blossoms fall off, and the young fruit again appear.</p> - -<p>At this sight his heart came back to him again, and he joyfully awaited -the morrow, but on the morrow also the apples had gone—goodness knows -where! The Emperor was very wroth. He commanded that the tree should be -strictly guarded, and the thief seized; but, alas! where were they to -find him?</p> - -<p>The tree blossomed every day, put forth flowers, formed its fruit, and -towards evening the fruit began to ripen. But in the middle of the night -somebody always came and took away the fruit, without the Emperor’s -watchers being aware of it. It was just as if it were done on purpose. -Every night, sure enough, somebody came and took the apples, as if to -mock at the Emperor and all his guards! So though this Emperor had the -golden apple-tree in his garden, he not only never could have a golden -apple on his table, but never even saw it ripen. At last the poor -Emperor took it so to heart that he said he would<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_246" id="page_246">{246}</a></span> give up his throne to -whosoever would catch and bind the thief.</p> - -<p>Then the sons of the Emperor came to him, and asked him to let them -watch also. Great was the joy of the Emperor when he heard from the -mouth of his eldest son the vow he made to lay hands upon the thief. So -the Emperor gave him leave, and he set to work. The eldest son watched -the first night, but he suffered the same disgrace that the other -watchers had suffered before him.</p> - -<p>On the second night the second son watched, but he was no cleverer than -his brother, and returned to his father with his nose to the earth.</p> - -<p>Both the brothers said that up to midnight they had watched well enough, -but after that they could not keep their feet for weariness, but fell -down in a deep sleep, and recollected nothing else.</p> - -<p>The youngest son listened to all this in silence, but when his big -brothers had told their story, he begged his father to let <i>him</i> watch -too. Now, sad as his father was at being unable to find a valiant -warrior to catch the thief, yet he burst out laughing when he heard the -request of his youngest son. Nevertheless, he yielded at last, though -only after much pressing, and now the youngest son set about guarding -the tree.</p> - -<p>When the evening had come, he took his bow, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_247" id="page_247">{247}</a></span> his quiver full of -arrows, and his sword, and went down into the garden. Here he chose out -a lonely place, quite away from wall and tree, or any other place that -he might have been able to lean against, and stood on the trunk of a -felled tree, so that if he chanced to doze off, it might slip from under -him and awake him. This he did, and when he had fallen two or three -times, sleep forsook him, and weariness ceased to torment him.</p> - -<p>Just as it was drawing nigh to dawn, at the hour when sleep is sweetest, -he heard a fluttering in the air, as if a swarm of birds was -approaching. He pricked up his ears, and heard something or other -pecking away at the golden apples. He pulled an arrow from his quiver, -placed it on his bow, and drew it with all his might—but nothing -stirred. He drew his bow again—still there was nothing. When he had -drawn it once more, he heard again the fluttering of wings, and was -conscious that a flock of birds was flying away. He drew near to the -golden apples, and perceived that the thief had not had time to take all -of them. He had taken one here, and one there, but most of them still -remained. As now he stood there he fancied he saw something shining on -the ground. He stooped down and picked up the shining thing, and, lo and -behold! it was two feathers entirely of gold.<a name="FNanchor_19_19" id="FNanchor_19_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_248" id="page_248">{248}</a></span></p> - -<p>When it was day he plucked the apples, placed them on a golden salver, -and with the golden feathers in his hat, went to find his father. The -Emperor, when he saw the apples, very nearly went out of his mind for -joy; but he controlled himself, and proclaimed throughout the city that -his youngest son had succeeded in saving the apples, and that the thief -was discovered to be a flock of birds.</p> - -<p>Boy-Beautiful now asked his father to let him go and search out the -thief; but his father would hear of nothing but the long-desired apples, -which he was never tired of feasting his eyes upon.</p> - -<p>But the youngest son of the Emperor was not to be put off, and -importuned his father till at last the Emperor, in order to get rid of -him, gave him leave to go and seek the thief. So he got ready, and when -he was about to depart, he took the golden feathers out of his cap, and -gave them to his mother, the Empress, to keep for him till he returned. -He took raiment and money for his journey, fastened his quiverful of -arrows to his back, and his sword on his right hip, and with his bow in -one hand and the reins in the other, and accompanied by a faithful -servant, set off on his way. He went on and on, along roads more and -more remote, till at last he came to a desert. Here he dismounted, and -taking counsel with his faithful servant, hit upon a road that<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_249" id="page_249">{249}</a></span> led to -the east. They went on a good bit further, till they came to a vast and -dense wood. Through this tangle of a wood they had to grope their way -(and it was as much as they could do to do that), and presently they -saw, a long way off, a great and terrible wolf, with a head of steel. -They immediately prepared to defend themselves, and when they were -within bow-shot of the wolf, Boy-Beautiful put his bow to his eye.</p> - -<p>The wolf seeing this, cried: “Stay thy hand, Boy-Beautiful, and slay me -not, and it will be well for thee one day!” Boy-Beautiful listened to -him, and let his bow fall, and the wolf drawing nigh, asked them where -they were going, and what they were doing in that wood, untrodden by the -foot of man. Then Boy-Beautiful told him the whole story of the golden -apples in his father’s garden, and said they were seeking after the -thief.</p> - -<p>The wolf told him that the thief was the Emperor of the Birds, who, -whenever he set out to steal apples, took with him in his train all the -birds of swiftest flight, that so they might strip the orchards more -rapidly, and that these birds were to be found in the city on the -confines of this wood. He also told them that the whole household of the -Emperor of the Birds lived by the robbing of gardens and orchards; and -he showed them the nearest and easiest way to the city.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_250" id="page_250">{250}</a></span> Then giving -them a little apple most lovely to look upon, he said to them: “Accept -this apple, Boy-Beautiful! Whenever thou shouldst have need of me, look -at it and think of me, and immediately I’ll be with thee!”</p> - -<p>Boy-Beautiful took the apple, and concealed it in his bosom, and bidding -the wolf good-day, struggled onwards with his faithful servant through -the thickets of the forest, till he came to the city where the -robber-bird dwelt. All through the city he went, asking where it was, -and they told him that the Emperor of that realm had it in a gold cage -in his garden.</p> - -<p>That was all he wanted to know. He took a turn round the court of the -Emperor, and noted in his mind all the ramparts which surrounded the -court. When it was evening, he came thither with his faithful servant, -and hid himself in a corner, waiting till all the dwellers in the palace -had gone to rest. Then the faithful servant gave him a leg-up, and -Boy-Beautiful, mounting on his back, scaled the wall, and leaped down -into the garden. But the moment he put his hand on the cage, the Emperor -of the Birds chirped, and before you could say boo! he was surrounded by -a flock of birds, from the smallest to the greatest, all chirping in -their own tongues. They made such a noise that they awoke all the -servants of the Emperor. They rushed into the garden, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_251" id="page_251">{251}</a></span> there they -found Boy-Beautiful, with the cage in his hand, and all the birds -darting at him, and he defending himself as best he could. The servants -laid their hands upon him, and led him to the Emperor, who had also got -up to see what was the matter.</p> - -<p>“I am sorry to see thee thus, Boy-Beautiful,” cried the Emperor, for he -knew him. “If thou hadst come to me with good words, or with entreaties, -and asked me for the bird, I might, perhaps, have been persuaded to give -it to thee of my own good-will and pleasure; but as thou hast been taken -hand-in-sack, as they say, the reward of thy deed according to our laws -is death, and thy name will be covered with dishonour.”</p> - -<p>“Illustrious Emperor,” replied Boy-Beautiful, “these same birds have -stolen the golden apples from the apple-tree of my father’s garden, and -therefore have I come all this way to lay hands on the thief.”</p> - -<p>“What thou dost say may be true, Boy-Beautiful, but I have no power to -alter the laws of this land. Only a signal service rendered to our -empire can save thee from a shameful death.”</p> - -<p>“Say what that service is, and I will venture it.”</p> - -<p>“Listen then! If thou dost succeed in bringing me the saddle-horse in -the court of the Emperor my neighbour, thou wilt depart with thy face -unblackened, and thou shalt take the bird in its cage along with thee.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_252" id="page_252">{252}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>Boy-Beautiful agreed to these conditions, and that same day he departed -with his faithful servant.</p> - -<p>On reaching the court of the neighbouring Emperor he took note of the -horse and of all the environs of the court. Then as evening drew near, -he hid with his faithful servant in a corner of the court which seemed -to him to be a safe ambuscade. He saw the horse walked out between two -servants, and he marvelled at its beauty. It was white, its bridle was -of gold set with gems inestimable, and it shone like the sun.</p> - -<p>In the middle of the night, when sleep is most sweet, Boy-Beautiful bade -his faithful servant stoop down, leaped on to his back, and from thence -on to the wall, and leaped down into the Emperor’s courtyard. He groped -his way along on the tips of his toes till he came to the stable, and -opening the door, put his hand on the bridle and drew the horse after -him. When the horse got to the door of the stable and sniffed the keen -air, it sneezed once with a mighty sneeze that awoke the whole court. In -an instant they all rushed out, laid hands on Boy-Beautiful, and led him -before the Emperor, who had also been aroused, and who when he saw -Boy-Beautiful knew him at once. He reproached him for the cowardly deed -he had nearly accomplished, and told him that the laws of the land -decreed death to all thieves, and</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_fp252.png"> -<img src="images/i_fp252.png" height="550" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>Boy-Beautiful and his Faithful Servant.—p. 252.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_253" id="page_253">{253}</a></span></p> - -<p class="nind">that he had no power against those laws. Then Boy-Beautiful told him of -the theft of the golden apples by the birds, and of what the -neighbouring Emperor had told him to do. Then said the Emperor: “If, -Boy-Beautiful, thou canst bring me the divine Craiessa,<a name="FNanchor_20_20" id="FNanchor_20_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a> thou mayest -perhaps escape death, and thy name shall remain untarnished.” -Boy-Beautiful risked the adventure, and accompanied by his faithful -servant set off on his quest. While he was on the road, the thought of -the little apple occurred to him. He took it from his bosom, looked at -it, and thought of the wolf, and before he could wipe his eyes the wolf -was there.</p> - -<p>“What dost thou desire, Boy-Beautiful?” said he.</p> - -<p>“What do I desire, indeed!—look here, look here, look here, what has -happened to me! Whatever am I to do to get out of this mess with a good -conscience?”</p> - -<p>“Rely upon me, for I see I must finish this business for thee.” So they -all three went on together to seek the divine Craiessa.</p> - -<p>When they drew nigh to the land of the divine Craiessa they halted in -the midst of a vast forest, where they could see the Craiessa’s dazzling -palace, and it was agreed that Boy-Beautiful and his servant should -await the return of the wolf by the trunk of a large tree. The proud -palace of the divine Craiessa was<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_254" id="page_254">{254}</a></span> so grand and beautiful, and the style -and arrangement thereof so goodly, that the wolf could scarce take his -eyes therefrom. But when he came up to the palace he did what he could, -and crept furtively into the garden.</p> - -<p>And what do you think he saw there? Not a single fruit-tree was any -longer green. The stems, branches, and twigs stood there as if some one -had stripped them naked. The fallen leaves had turned the ground into a -crackling carpet. Only a single rose-bush was still covered with leaves -and full of buds, some wide open and some half closed. To reach this -rose-bush the wolf had to tread very gingerly on the tips of his toes, -so as not to make the carpet of dry leaves crackle beneath him; and so -he hid himself behind this leafy bush. As now he stood there on the -watch, the door of the dazzling palace was opened, and forth came the -divine Craiessa, attended by four-and-twenty of her slaves, to take a -walk in the garden.</p> - -<p>When the wolf beheld her he was very near forgetting what he came for -and coming out of his lair, though he restrained himself; for she was so -lovely that the like of her never had been and never will be seen on the -face of the whole earth. Her hair was of nothing less than pure gold, -and reached from top to toe. Her long and silken eyelashes seemed<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_255" id="page_255">{255}</a></span> -almost to put out her eyes. When she looked at you with those large -sloe-black eyes of hers, you felt sick with love. She had those -beautifully-arched eyebrows which look as if they had been traced with -compasses, and her skin was whiter than the froth of milk fresh from the -udder.</p> - -<p>After taking two or three turns round the garden with her slaves behind -her, she came to the rose-bush and plucked one or two flowers, whereupon -the wolf who was concealed in the bush darted out, took her in his front -paws, and sped down the road. Her servants scattered like a bevy of -young partridges, and in an instant the wolf was there, and put her, all -senseless as she was, in the arms of Boy-Beautiful. When he saw her he -changed colour, but the wolf reminded him that he was a warrior and he -came to himself again. Many Emperors had tried to steal her, but they -had all been repulsed.</p> - -<p>Boy-Beautiful had compassion upon her, and he now made up his mind that -nobody else should have her.</p> - -<p>When the divine Craiessa awoke from her swoon and found herself in the -arms of Boy-Beautiful, she said: “If <i>thou</i> art the wolf that hath -stolen me away, I’ll be thine.” Boy-Beautiful replied: “Mine thou shalt -be till death do us part.”</p> - -<p>So they made a compact of it, and they told each other their stories.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_256" id="page_256">{256}</a></span></p> - -<p>When the wolf saw the tenderness that had grown up between them he said: -“Leave everything to me, and your desires shall be fulfilled!” Then they -set out to return from whence they had just come, and, while they were -on the road, the wolf turned three somersaults and made himself exactly -like the divine Craiessa, for you must know that this wolf was a -magician.</p> - -<p>Then they arranged among themselves that the faithful servant of -Boy-Beautiful should stand by the trunk of a great tree in the forest -till Boy-Beautiful returned with the steed. So on reaching the court of -the Emperor who had the steed, Boy-Beautiful gave him the made-up divine -Craiessa, and when the Emperor saw her his heart died away within him, -and he felt a love for her which told in words would be foolishness.</p> - -<p>“Thy merits, Boy-Beautiful,” said the Emperor, “have saved thee this -time also from a shameful death, and now I’ll pay thee for this by -giving thee the steed.” Then Boy-Beautiful put his hand on the steed and -leaped into the jewelled saddle, and, reaching the tree, placed the -divine Craiessa in front of him and galloped across the boundaries of -that empire.</p> - -<p>And now the Emperor called together all his counsellors and went to the -cathedral to be married to the divine Craiessa. When they got to the -door of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_257" id="page_257">{257}</a></span> cathedral, the pretended Craiessa turned a somersault three -times and became a wolf again, which, gnashing its teeth, rushed -straight at the Emperor’s retinue, who were stupefied with terror when -they saw it. On coming to themselves a little, they gave chase with -hue-and-cry: but the wolf, take my word for it! took such long strides -that not one of them could come near him, and joining Boy-Beautiful and -his friends went along with them. When they drew nigh to the court of -the Emperor with the bird, they played him the same trick they had -played on the Emperor with the horse. The wolf changed himself into the -horse, and was given to the Emperor, who could not contain himself for -joy at the sight of it.</p> - -<p>After entertaining Boy-Beautiful with great honour, the Emperor said to -him: “Boy-Beautiful, thou hast escaped a shameful death. I will keep my -imperial word and my blessing shall always follow thee.” Then he -commanded them to give him the bird in the golden cage, and -Boy-Beautiful took it, wished him good-day, and departed. Arriving in -the wood where he had left the divine Craiessa, his horse, and his -faithful servant, he set off with them for the court of his father.</p> - -<p>But the Emperor who had received the horse commanded that his whole host -and all the grandees of his empire should assemble in the plain to see -him<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_258" id="page_258">{258}</a></span> mount his richly-caparisoned goodly steed. And when the soldiers -saw him they all cried: “Long live the Emperor who hath won such a -goodly steed, and long live the steed that doth the Emperor so much -honour!”</p> - -<p>And, indeed, there was the Emperor mounting on the back of the horse, -but no sooner did it put its foot to the ground than it flew right away. -They all set off in pursuit, but there was never the slightest chance of -any of them catching it, for it left them far behind from the first. -When it had got a good way ahead the pretended horse threw the Emperor -to the ground, turned head over heels three times and became a wolf, and -set off again in full flight, and ran and ran till it overtook -Boy-Beautiful. Then said the wolf to him: “I have now fulfilled all thy -demands. Look to thyself better in future, and strive not after things -beyond thy power, or it will not go well with thee.” Then their roads -parted, and each of them went his own way.</p> - -<p>When he arrived at the empire of his father the old Emperor came out to -meet his youngest son with small and great as he had agreed. Great was -the public joy when they saw him with a consort the like of whom is no -longer to be found on the face of the earth, and with a steed the -excellence whereof lives only in the tales of the aged. When he got -home<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_259" id="page_259">{259}</a></span> Boy-Beautiful ordered a splendid stable to be made for his good -steed, and put the bird-cage in the terrace of the garden. Then his -father prepared for the wedding, and after not many days Boy-Beautiful -and the divine Craiessa were married; the tables were spread for good -and bad, and they made merry for three days and three nights. After that -they lived in perfect happiness, for Boy-Beautiful had now nothing more -to desire. And they are living to this day, if they have not died in the -meantime.</p> - -<p>And now I’ll mount my steed again and say an “Our Father” before I go.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_260" id="page_260">{260}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="YOUTH_WITHOUT_AGE_AND_LIFE_WITHOUT_DEATH" id="YOUTH_WITHOUT_AGE_AND_LIFE_WITHOUT_DEATH"></a>YOUTH WITHOUT AGE, AND LIFE WITHOUT DEATH</h3> - -<p><span class="smcap">Once</span> upon a time there was a great Emperor and an Empress; both were -young and beautiful, and as they would fain have been blessed with -offspring they went to all the wise men and all the wise women and bade -them read the stars to see if they would have children or not; but all -in vain. At last the Emperor heard that in a certain village, hard by, -dwelt a wiser old man than all the rest; so he sent and commanded him to -appear at court. But the wise old man sent the messengers back with the -answer that those who needed him must come to him. So the Emperor and -the Empress set out, with their lords and their ladies, and their -servants and their soldiers, and came to the house of the wise old man. -And when the old man saw them coming from afar he went out to meet them.</p> - -<p>“Welcome,” cried he; “but I tell thee, oh Emperor! that the wish of thy -heart will only work thee woe.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_261" id="page_261">{261}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“I came not hither to take counsel of thee,” replied the Emperor; “but -to know if thou hast herbs by eating whereof we may get us children.”</p> - -<p>“Such herbs have I,” replied the old man; “but ye will have but one -child, and him ye will not be able to keep, though he be never so nice -and charming.”</p> - -<p>So when the Emperor and the Empress had gotten the wondrous herbs, they -returned joyfully back to their palace, and a few days afterwards the -Empress felt that she was a mother. But ere the hour of her child’s -birth came the child began to scream so loudly that all the enchantments -of the magicians could not make him silent. Then the Emperor began to -promise him everything in the wide world, but even this would not quiet -him.</p> - -<p>“Be silent, my heart’s darling,” said he, “and I will give thee all the -kingdoms east of the sun and west of the moon! Be silent, my son, and I -will give thee a consort more lovely than the Fairy Queen herself.” Then -at last, when he perceived that the child still kept on screaming, he -said: “Silence, my son, and I will give thee Youth without Age, and Life -without Death.”</p> - -<p>Then the child ceased to cry and came into the world, and all the -courtiers beat the drums and blew the trumpets, and there was great joy -in the whole realm for many days.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_262" id="page_262">{262}</a></span></p> - -<p>The older the child grew the more pensive and melancholy he became. He -went to school and to the wise men, and there was no learning and wisdom -that he did not make his own, so that the Emperor, his father, died and -came to life again for sheer joy. And the whole realm was proud that it -was going to have so wise and goodly an Emperor, and all men looked up -to him as to a second Solomon. But one day, when the child had already -completed his fifteenth year, and the Emperor and all his lords and -great men were at table diverting themselves, the fair young prince -arose and said: “Father, the time has now come when thou must give me -what thou didst promise me at my birth!”</p> - -<p>At these words the Emperor was sorely troubled. “Nay but, my son,” said -he, “how can I give thee a thing which the world has never heard of? If -I did promise it to thee, it was but to make thee quiet.”</p> - -<p>“Then, oh my father, if thou canst not give it me, I must needs go forth -into the world, and seek until I find that fair thing for which I was -born.”</p> - -<p>Then the Emperor and his nobles all fell down on their knees, and -besought him not to leave the empire. “For,” said the nobles, “thy -father is now growing old, and we would place thee on the throne, and -give thee to wife the most beautiful Empress under the sun.” But they -were unable to turn him from his<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_263" id="page_263">{263}</a></span> purpose, for he was as steadfast as a -rock, so at last his father gave him leave to go forth into the wide -world to find what he sought.</p> - -<p>Then Boy Beautiful went into his father’s stables, where were the most -beautiful chargers in the whole empire, that he might choose one from -among them; but no sooner had he laid his hand on one of them than it -fell to the ground trembling, and so it was with all the other stately -chargers. At last, just as he was about to leave the stable in despair, -he cast his eye over it once more, and there in one corner he beheld a -poor knacker, all weak, spavined, and covered with boils and sores. Up -to it he went, and laid his hand upon its tail, and then the horse -turned its head and said to him: “What are thy commands, my master? God -be praised who hath had mercy upon me and sent a warrior to lay his hand -over me!”</p> - -<p>Then the horse shook itself and became straight in the legs again, and -Boy Beautiful asked him what he should do next.</p> - -<p>“In order that thou mayest attain thy heart’s desire,” said the horse, -“ask thy father for the sword and lance, the bow, quiver, and armour -which he himself wore when he was a youth; but thou must comb and curry -me with thine own hand six weeks, and give me barley to eat cooked in -milk.”</p> - -<p>So the Emperor called the steward of his household,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_264" id="page_264">{264}</a></span> and ordered him to -open all the coffers and wardrobes that his son might choose what he -would, and Boy Beautiful, after searching for three days and three -nights, found at last at the bottom of an old armoury, the arms and -armour which his father had worn as a youth, but very rusty were these -ancient weapons. But he set to work with his own hands to polish them up -and rub off the rust, and at the end of six weeks they shone like -mirrors. He also cherished the steed as he had been told. Grievous was -the labour, but it came to an end at last.</p> - -<p>When the good steed heard that Boy Beautiful had cleansed and polished -his armour, he shook himself once more, and all his boils and sores fell -from off him. There he now stood a stout horse, and strong, and with -four large wings growing out of his body. Then said Boy Beautiful: “We -go hence in three days!”—“Long life to thee, my master!” replied the -steed; “I will go wherever thou dost command.”</p> - -<p>When the third day came the Emperor and all his court were full of -grief. Boy Beautiful, attired as became a hero, with his sword in his -hand, bounded on to his horse, took leave of the Emperor and the -Empress, of all the great nobles and all the little nobles, of all the -warriors and all the courtiers. With tears in their eyes they besought -him not to depart on this quest; but he, giving spurs to his horse,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_265" id="page_265">{265}</a></span> -departed like a whirlwind, and after him went sumpter horses with money -and provisions, and some hundreds of chosen warriors whom the Emperor -had ordered to accompany him on his journey.</p> - -<p>But when he had searched a wilderness on the confines of his father’s -realm, Boy Beautiful took leave of the warriors, and sent them back to -his father, taking of the provisions only so much as his good steed -could carry. Then he pursued his way towards sunrise, and went on and on -for three days and three nights till he came to an immense plain covered -with the bones of many dead men. Here they stopped to rest, and the -horse said to him: “Know, my master, that we are now in the domains of -the witch Gheonoea, who is so evil a being that none can set a foot on -her domains and live. Once she was a woman like other women, but the -curse of her parents, whom she would never obey, fell like a withering -blast upon her, and she became what she now is. At this moment she is -with her children in the forest, but she will come speedily to seek and -destroy thee. Great and terrible is she, yet fear not, but make ready -thy bow and arrows, thy sword and lance, that thou mayest make use of -them when the time comes.”—Then they rested, and while one slept the -other watched.</p> - -<p>When the day dawned they prepared to traverse<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_266" id="page_266">{266}</a></span> the forest; Boy Beautiful -bridled and saddled his horse, drew the reins tighter than at other -times, and set out. At that moment they heard a terrible racket. Then -the horse said: “Beware, my master, Gheonoea is approaching.” The trees -of the forest fell to this side and to that as the witch drew nigh like -the tempest, but Boy Beautiful struck off one of her feet with an arrow -from his bow, and he was about to shoot a second time when she cried: -“Stay thy hand, Boy Beautiful, for I’ll do thee no harm!” And seeing he -did not believe her, she gave him a promise written in her blood.</p> - -<p>“Look well to thy horse, Boy Beautiful,” said she, “for he is a greater -magician than I. But for him I should have roasted thee, but now thou -must dine at my table. Know too that no mortal hath yet succeeded in -reaching this spot, though some have got so far as the plain where thou -didst see all the bones.”</p> - -<p>Then Gheonoea hospitably entertained Boy Beautiful as men entertain -travellers, but now and then, as they conversed together, Gheonoea -groaned with pain, but as soon as Boy Beautiful threw her her foot which -he had shot off, she put it in its place and immediately it grew fast on -to her leg again. Then, in her joy, Gheonoea feasted him for three days -and begged him to take for his consort one of her three daughters, who<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_267" id="page_267">{267}</a></span> -were divinely beautiful, but he would not. Then he asked her concerning -his quest. “With such valour and such a good steed as thine,” she -answered, “thou must needs succeed.”</p> - -<p>So after the three days were over they went on their way again. Boy -Beautiful went on and on, and the way was very long, but when they had -passed the boundaries of Gheonoea they came to a beauteous meadow-land, -but on one side the grass was fresh and bright and full of flowers, and -on the other side it was burnt to cinders. Then Boy Beautiful asked the -horse the meaning of the singed grass, and this is what the horse -replied: “We are now in the territories of Scorpia, the sister of -Gheonoea. Yet so evil-minded are these two sisters that they cannot live -together in one place. The curse of their parents has blasted them, and -they have become witches as thou dost see; their hatred of each other is -great, and each of them is ever striving to wrest a bit of land from the -dominions of the other. And when Scorpia is angry she vomits forth fire -and flame, and so when she comes to her sister’s boundaries the grass of -the border withers up before her. She is even more dreadful than her -sister, and has, besides, three heads; but be of good cheer, my master, -and to-morrow morning be ready to meet her.”</p> - -<p>At dawn, next day, they were preparing to depart<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_268" id="page_268">{268}</a></span> when they heard a -roaring and a crashing noise, the like of which man has never heard -since the world began.</p> - -<p>“Be ready, my master, for now Scorpia is approaching,” cried the -faithful steed.</p> - -<p>And indeed, Scorpia it was. With jaws reaching from earth to heaven, and -spitting forth fire as she approached, Scorpia drew near, and the noise -of her coming was like the roar of a whirlwind. But the good steed rose -into the air like a dart, and Boy Beautiful shot an arrow which struck -off one of the witch’s three heads. He was about to lay another arrow on -his bow, when Scorpia begged him to forgive her and she would do him no -harm, and by way of assurance she gave him a promise written in her -blood.</p> - -<p>Then she feasted him as her sister had done before, and he gave her back -her severed head, which she stuck in its place again, and then, after -three days, Boy Beautiful and his faithful steed took to the road again.</p> - -<p>When they had crossed Scorpia’s borders they went on and on without -stopping till they came to a vast meadow covered with nothing but -flowers, where Spring reigned eternally. Every flower was wondrously -beautiful and full of a fragrance that comforted the soul, and a light -zephyr ran continually over the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_269" id="page_269">{269}</a></span> flowery billows. Here then they sat -them down to rest, and the good steed said:</p> - -<p>“Hitherto, oh my master! we have prospered, but now a great danger -awaits us, which if by the help of the Lord God we overcome, then shall -we be heroes indeed. Not far from here stands the palace of Youth -without Age, and Life without Death, but it is surrounded by a high and -deep forest, and in this forest are all the savage monsters of the wide -world. Day and night they guard it, and if a man can count the grains of -sand on the sea-shore, then also can he count the number of these -monsters. We cannot fight them, they would tear us to pieces before we -were half-way through the forest, so we must try if we can leap clean -over it without touching it.”</p> - -<p>So they rested them two days to gather strength, and then the steed drew -a long breath and said to Boy Beautiful: “Draw my saddle-girths as -tightly as thou art able, and when thou hast mounted me, hold on fast -with all thy might to my mane, and press thy feet on my neck instead of -on my flanks, that thou mayest not hinder me.”</p> - -<p>Boy Beautiful arose and did as his steed told him, and the next moment -they were close up to the forest.</p> - -<p>“Now is the time, my master,” cried the good steed.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_270" id="page_270">{270}</a></span> “The wild monsters -are now being fed, and are gathered together in one place. Now let us -spring over!”</p> - -<p>“I am with thee, and the Lord have mercy upon us both,” replied Boy -Beautiful.</p> - -<p>Then up in the air they flew, and before them lay the palace, and so -gloriously bright was it that a man could sooner look into the face of -the midday sun than upon the glory of the Palace of Youth without Age, -and Life without Death. Right over the forest they flew, and just as -they were about to descend at the foot of the palace-staircase, the -steed with the tip of his hind leg touched lightly, oh, ever so lightly! -a twig on the topmost summit of the tallest tree of the forest. -Instantly the whole forest was alive and alert, and the monsters began -to howl so awfully that, brave as he was, the hair of Boy Beautiful -stood up on his head. Hastily they descended, but had not the mistress -of the palace been outside there in order to feed her kittens (for so -she called the monsters), Boy Beautiful and his faithful steed would -have been torn to pieces. But the mistress of the monsters, for pure joy -at the sight of a human being, held the monsters back and sent them back -to their places. Fair, tall, and of goodly stature was the Fairy of the -Palace, and Boy Beautiful felt his heart die away within him as he -beheld her. But she was full of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_271" id="page_271">{271}</a></span> compassion at the sight of him, and -said: “Welcome, Boy Beautiful! What dost thou seek?”</p> - -<p>“We seek Youth without Age, and Life without Death,” he replied.</p> - -<p>Then he dismounted from his steed and entered the palace, and there he -met two other fair dames of equal beauty; these were the elder sisters -of the Fairy of the Palace. They regaled Boy Beautiful with a banquet -served on gold plate, and the good steed had leave to graze where he -would, and the Fairy made him known to all her monsters, that so he -might wander through the woods in peace. Then the fair dames begged Boy -Beautiful to abide with them always, and Boy Beautiful did not wait to -be asked twice, for to stay with the Fairy of the Palace was his darling -desire.</p> - -<p>Then he told them his story, and of all the dangers he had passed -through to get there, and so the Fairy of the Palace became his bride, -and she gave him leave to roam at will throughout her domains. -“Nevertheless,” said she, “there is one valley thou must not enter or it -will work thee woe, and the name of that valley is the Vale of -Complaint.”</p> - -<p>There then Boy Beautiful abode, and he took no count of time, for though -many days passed away, he was yet as young and strong as when he first -came there. He went through leagues of forest without once feeling -weary. He rejoiced in the golden palace, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_272" id="page_272">{272}</a></span> lived in peace and -tranquillity with his bride and her sisters. Oftentimes too he went -a-hunting.</p> - -<p>One day he was pursuing a hare, and shot an arrow after it and then -another, but neither of them hit the hare. Never before had Boy -Beautiful missed his prey, and his heart was vexed within him. He -pursued the hare still more hotly, and sent another arrow after her. -This time he did bring her down, but in his haste the unhappy man had -not perceived that in following the hare he had passed through the Vale -of Complaint!</p> - -<p>He took up the hare and returned homewards, but while he was still on -the way a strange yearning after his father and his mother came over -him. He durst not tell his bride of it, but she and her sisters -immediately guessed the cause of his heaviness.</p> - -<p>“Wretched man!” they cried, “thou hast passed through the Vale of -Complaint!”</p> - -<p>“I have done so, darling, without meaning it,” he replied; “but now I am -perishing with longing for my father and mother. Yet need I desert thee -for that? I have now been many days with thee, and am as hale and well -as ever. Suffer me then to go and see my parents but once, and then will -I return to thee to part no more.”</p> - -<p>“Forsake us not, oh beloved!” cried his bride and her sisters. “Hundreds -of years have passed away<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_273" id="page_273">{273}</a></span> since thy parents were alive; and thou also, -if thou dost leave us, wilt never return more. Abide with us, or, an -evil omen tells us, thou wilt perish!”</p> - -<p>But the supplications of the three ladies and his faithful steed -likewise could not prevail against the gnawing longing to see his -parents which consumed him.</p> - -<p>At last the horse said to him: “If thou wilt not listen to me, my -master, then ’tis thine own fault alone if evil befall thee. Yet I will -promise to bring thee back on one condition.”</p> - -<p>“I consent whatever it may be,” said Boy Beautiful; “speak, and I will -listen gratefully.”</p> - -<p>“I will bring thee back to thy father’s palace, but if thou dismount but -for a moment, I shall return without thee.”</p> - -<p>“Be it so,” replied Boy Beautiful.</p> - -<p>So they made them ready for their journey, and Boy Beautiful embraced -his bride and departed, but the ladies stood there looking after him, -and their eyes were filled with tears.</p> - -<p>And now Boy Beautiful and his faithful steed came to the place where the -domains of Scorpia had been, but the forests had become fields of corn, -and cities stood thickly on what had once been desolate places. Boy -Beautiful asked all whom he met concerning Scorpia and her habitations, -but they only answered<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_274" id="page_274">{274}</a></span> that these were but idle fables which their -grandfathers had heard from their great-grandfathers.</p> - -<p>“But how is that possible?” replied Boy Beautiful; “<span class="lftspc">’</span>twas but the other -day that I passed by——” and he told them all he knew. Then they -laughed at him as at one who raves or talks in his sleep; but he rode -away wrathfully without noticing that his beard and the hair of his head -had grown white.</p> - -<p>When he came to the domain of Gheonoea he put the same questions and -received the same answers. He could not understand how the whole region -could have utterly changed in a few days, and again he rode away, full -of anger, with a white beard that now reached down to his girdle and -with legs that began to tremble beneath him.</p> - -<p>At length he came to the empire of his father. Here there were new men -and new dwellings, and the old ones had so altered that he scarce knew -them.</p> - -<p>So he came to the palace where he had first seen the light of day. As he -dismounted the horse kissed his hand and said: “Fare thee well, my -master! I return from whence I came. But if thou also wouldst return, -mount again and we’ll be off instantly.”</p> - -<p>“Nay,” he replied, “fare thee well, I also will return soon.”</p> - -<p>Then the horse flew away like a dart.</p> - -<p>But when Boy Beautiful beheld the palace all in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_275" id="page_275">{275}</a></span> ruins and overgrown -with evil weeds, he sighed deeply, and with tears in his eyes he sought -to recall the glories of that fallen palace. Round about the place he -went, not once nor twice: he searched in every room, in every corner for -some vestige of the past; he searched the stable in which he had found -his steed, and then he went down into the cellar, the entrance to which -was choked up by fallen rubbish.</p> - -<p>Here and there and everywhere he searched about, and now his long white -beard reached below his knee, and his eyelids were so heavy that he had -to raise them on high with his hands, and he found he could scarce -totter along. All he found there was a huge old coffer which he opened, -but inside it there was nothing. Yet he lifted up the cover, and then a -voice spoke to him out of the depths of the coffer and said: “Welcome, -for hadst thou kept me waiting much longer, I also would have perished.”</p> - -<p>Then his Death, who was already shrivelled up like a withered leaf at -the bottom of the coffer, rose up and laid his hand upon him, and Boy -Beautiful instantly fell dead to the ground and crumbled into dust. But -had he remained away but a little time longer his Death would have died, -and he himself would have been living now. And so I mount my nag and -utter an “Our Father” ere I go.</p> - -<p class="fint">THE END<br /><br /> -<br /> -<span class="smcap">Richard Clay & Sons, Limited,<br /> -London & Bungay.</span><br /> -</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="footnotes"><p class="cb">FOOTNOTES:</p> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> He has described his experience in the picturesque and -popular <i>Anatóliai Képek</i> (“Anatolian Pictures”) published at Pest in -1891.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> Emperor.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> Fairy.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> “Peace be unto you.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> “Unto you be peace.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> Farthings.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> Roasted pepper.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> <i>Lit.</i> the place of the mill was cold one morning.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> Counsellor.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> The same incident occurs in the Cossack fairy-tale of the -Bird Zhar and the Russian fairy-tale of the Bird Mogol.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> Boiled rice, with flesh added and scalded butter.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> Turkish for the Chinese Empire.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> Fate.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> Emperor of China.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_15_15" id="Footnote_15_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> Farthing.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_16_16" id="Footnote_16_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_16"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> An Imperial rescript.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_17_17" id="Footnote_17_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_17"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> An unbeliever.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_18_18" id="Footnote_18_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_18"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> <i>Fet frumosŭ</i>, the favourite name for all young heroes in -Roumanian fairy-tales.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_19_19" id="Footnote_19_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_19"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> Compare the incident of the Bird Zhar in my <i>Russian Fairy -Tales</i>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_20_20" id="Footnote_20_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20_20"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> Queen.</p></div> - -</div> -<hr class="full" /> -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TURKISH FAIRY TALES AND FOLK TALES COLLECTED BY DR. 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