Andrew Lang_Fairy Book 01 (50 page)

A great many officers came to attend the Prince while
he dismounted his horse, and afterward conducted him
into the Sultan's apartment, who was at that time
surrounded with his favorites. He approached toward the
throne, laid the bottle at the Sultan's feet, and kissed the
rich tapestry which covered his footstool, and then said:

"I have brought you, sir, the healthful water which your
Majesty desired so much to keep among your other
rarities in your treasury, but at the same time wish you
such extraordinary health as never to have occasion to
make use of it."

After the Prince had made an end of his compliment
the Sultan placed him on his right hand, and then said to
him: "Son, I am very much obliged to you for this valuable
present, as also for the great danger you have exposed
yourself to upon my account (which I have been informed
of by a magician who knows the Fountain of Lions); but
do me the pleasure," continued he, "to inform me by
what address, or, rather, by what incredible power, you
have been secured."

"Sir," replied Prince Ahmed, "I have no share in the
compliment your Majesty is pleased to make me; all the
honor is due to the Fairy my spouse, whose good advice
I followed." Then he informed the Sultan what those
directions were, and by the relation of this his expedition
let him know how well he had behaved himself. When he
had done the Sultan, who showed outwardly all the
demonstrations of great joy, but secretly became more
jealous, retired into an inward apartment, where he sent
for the magician.

The magician, at her arrival, saved the Sultan the
trouble to tell her of the success of Prince Ahmed's journey,
which she had heard of before she came, and therefore
was prepared with an infallible means, as she
pretended. This means she communicated to the Sultan
who declared it the next day to the Prince, in the midst
of all his courtiers, in these words: "Son," said he, "I have
one thing more to ask of you, after which I shall expect
nothing more from your obedience, nor your interest with
your wife. This request is, to bring me a man not above
a foot and a half high, and whose beard is thirty feet long
who carries a bar of iron upon his shoulders of five
hundredweight, which he uses as a quarterstaff."

Prince Ahmed, who did not believe that there was such
a man in the world as his father described, would gladly
have excused himself; but the Sultan persisted in his
demand, and told him the Fairy could do more incredible
things.

The next day the Prince returned to his dear Paribanou,
to whom he told his father's new demand, which, he said,
he looked upon to be a thing more impossible than the two
first; "for," added he, "I cannot imagine there can be such
a man in the world; without doubt, he has a mind to try
whether or no I am so silly as to go about it, or he has a
design on my ruin. In short, how can he suppose that I
should lay hold of a man so well armed, though he is but
little? What arms can I make use of to reduce him to my
will? If there are any means, I beg you will tell them, and
let me come off with honor this time."

"Don't affright yourself, Prince," replied the Fairy;
"you ran a risk in fetching the Water of the Fountain of
Lions for your father, but there's no danger in finding
out this man, who is my brother Schaibar, but is so far
from being like me, though we both had the same father,
that he is of so violent a nature that nothing can prevent
his giving cruel marks of his resentment for a
slight offense; yet, on the other hand, is so good as to
oblige anyone in whatever they desire. He is made
exactly as the Sultan your father has described him,
and has no other arms than a bar of iron of five hundred
pounds weight, without which he never stirs, and which
makes him respected. I'll send for him, and you shall
judge of the truth of what I tell you; but be sure to
prepare yourself against being frightened at his extraordinary
figure when you see him." "What! my Queen," replied
Prince Ahmed, "do you say Schaibar is your brother?
Let him be never so ugly or deformed I shall be so far
from being frightened at the sight of him that, as our
brother, I shall honor and love him."

The Fairy ordered a gold chafing-dish to be set with
a fire in it under the porch of her palace, with a box of
the same metal, which was a present to her, out of
which taking a perfume, and throwing it into the fire,
there arose a thick cloud of smoke.

Some moments after the Fairy said to Prince Ahmed:
"See, there comes my brother." The Prince immediately
perceived Schaibar coming gravely with his heavy
bar on his shoulder, his long beard, which he held up
before him, and a pair of thick mustachios, which he
tucked behind his ears and almost covered his face; his
eyes were very small and deep-set in his head, which
was far from being of the smallest size, and on his head
he wore a grenadier's cap; besides all this, he was very
much hump-backed.

If Prince Ahmed had not known that Schaibar was
Paribanou's brother, he would not have been able to
have looked at him without fear, but, knowing first
who he was, he stood by the Fairy without the least
concern.

Schaibar, as he came forward, looked at the Prince
earnestly enough to have chilled his blood in his veins,
and asked Paribanou, when he first accosted her, who
that man was. To which she replied: "He is my husband,
brother. His name is Ahmed; he is son to the
Sultan of the Indies. The reason why I did not invite
you to my wedding was I was unwilling to divert you
from an expedition you were engaged in, and from
which I heard with pleasure you returned victorious,
and so took the liberty now to call for you."

At these words, Schaibar, looking on Prince Ahmed
favorably, said: "Is there anything else, sister, wherein
I can serve him? It is enough for me that he is your
husband to engage me to do for him whatever he desires."
"The Sultan, his father," replied Paribanou, "has a
curiosity to see you, and I desire he may be your guide to
the Sultan's Court." "He needs but lead me the way
I'll follow him." "Brother," replied Paribanou, "it is
too late to go to-day, therefore stay till to-morrow morning;
and in the meantime I'll inform you of all that has
passed between the Sultan of the Indies and Prince
Ahmed since our marriage."

The next morning, after Schaibar had been informed
of the affair, he and Prince Ahmed set out for the Sultan's
Court. When they arrived at the gates of the capital
the people no sooner saw Schaibar but they ran and hid
themselves; and some shut up their shops and locked
themselves up in their houses, while others, flying,
communicated their fear to all they met, who stayed not
to look behind them, but ran too; insomuch that Schaibar
and Prince Ahmed, as they went along, found the
streets all desolate till they came to the palaces where
the porters, instead of keeping the gates, ran away too,
so that the Prince and Schaibar advanced without any
obstacle to the council-hall, where the Sultan was seated
on his throne, and giving audience. Here likewise
the ushers, at the approach of Schaibar, abandoned their
posts, and gave them free admittance.

Schaibar went boldly and fiercely up to the throne,
without waiting to be presented by Prince Ahmed, and
accosted the Sultan of the Indies in these words: "Thou
hast asked for me," said he; "see, here I am; what wouldst
thou have with me?"

The Sultan, instead of answering him, clapped his
hands before his eyes to avoid the sight of so terrible an
object; at which uncivil and rude reception Schaibar
was so much provoked, after he had given him the
trouble to come so far, that he instantly lifted up his
iron bar and killed him before Prince Ahmed could
intercede in his behalf. All that he could do was to
prevent his killing the grand vizier, who sat not far from
him, representing to him that he had always given the
Sultan his father good advice. "These are they, then,"
said Schaibar, "who gave him bad," and as he
pronounced these words he killed all the other viziers and
flattering favorites of the Sultan who were Prince
Ahmed's enemies. Every time he struck he killed some
one or other, and none escaped but they who were not
so frightened as to stand staring and gaping, and who
saved themselves by flight.

When this terrible execution was over Schaibar came
out of the council-hall into the midst of the courtyard
with the iron bar upon his shoulder, and, looking hard
at the grand vizier, who owed his life to Prince Ahmed,
he said: "I know here is a certain magician, who is a
greater enemy of my brother-in-law than all these base
favorites I have chastised. Let the magician be brought
to me presently." The grand vizier immediately sent
for her, and as soon as she was brought Schaibar said,
at the time he fetched a stroke at her with his iron bar:
"Take the reward of thy pernicious counsel, and learn
to feign sickness again."

After this he said: "This is not yet enough; I will use
the whole town after the same manner if they do not
immediately acknowledge Prince Ahmed, my brother-in-law,
for their Sultan and the Sultan of the Indies." Then
all that were there present made the air echo again with the
repeated acclamations of: "Long life to Sultan Ahmed";
and immediately after he was proclaimed through the
whole town. Schaibar made him be clothed in the royal
vestments, installed him on the throne, and after he had
caused all to swear homage and fidelity to him went
and fetched his sister Paribanou, whom he brought with
all the pomp and grandeur imaginable, and made her
to be owned Sultaness of the Indies.

As for Prince Ali and Princess Nouronnihar, as they
had no hand in the conspiracy against Prince Ahmed
and knew nothing of any, Prince Ahmed assigned them
a considerable province, with its capital, where they spent
the rest of their lives. Afterwards he sent an officer to
Prince Houssain to acquaint him with the change and
make him an offer of which province he liked best; but
that Prince thought himself so happy in his solitude
that he bade the officer return the Sultan his brother
thanks for the kindness he designed him, assuring him
of his submission; and that the only favor he desired of
him was to give him leave to live retired in the place he
had made choice of for his retreat.
[30]

In the reign of the famous King Arthur there lived
in Cornwall a lad named Jack, who was a boy of a bold
temper, and took delight in hearing or reading of conjurers,
giants, and fairies; and used to listen eagerly to
the deeds of the knights of King Arthur's Round Table.

In those days there lived on St. Michael's Mount, off
Cornwall, a huge giant, eighteen feet high and nine feet
round; his fierce and savage looks were the terror of all
who beheld him.

He dwelt in a gloomy cavern on the top of the
mountain, and used to wade over to the mainland in search
of prey; when he would throw half a dozen oxen upon
his back, and tie three times as many sheep and hogs
round his waist, and march back to his own abode.

The giant had done this for many years when Jack
resolved to destroy him.

Jack took a horn, a shovel, a pickaxe, his armor, and
a dark lantern, and one winter's evening he went to the
mount. There he dug a pit twenty-two feet deep and
twenty broad. He covered the top over so as to make
it look like solid ground. He then blew his horn so
loudly that the giant awoke and came out of his den
crying out: "You saucy villain! you shall pay for this
I'll broil you for my breakfast!"

He had just finished, when, taking one step further,
he tumbled headlong into the pit, and Jack struck him
a blow on the head with his pickaxe which killed him.
Jack then returned home to cheer his friends with the
news.

Another giant, called Blunderbore, vowed to be
revenged on Jack if ever he should have him in his power.
This giant kept an enchanted castle in the midst of a
lonely wood; and some time after the death of Cormoran
Jack was passing through a wood, and being
weary, sat down and went to sleep.

The giant, passing by and seeing Jack, carried him
to his castle, where he locked him up in a large room,
the floor of which was covered with the bodies, skulls
and bones of men and women.

Soon after the giant went to fetch his brother who
was likewise a giant, to take a meal off his flesh; and Jack
saw with terror through the bars of his prison the two
giants approaching.

Jack, perceiving in one corner of the room a strong
cord, took courage, and making a slip-knot at each end,
he threw them over their heads, and tied it to the window-bars;
he then pulled till he had choked them. When they
were black in the face he slid down the rope and stabbed
them to the heart.

Jack next took a great bunch of keys from the pocket
of Blunderbore, and went into the castle again. He
made a strict search through all the rooms, and in one
of them found three ladies tied up by the hair of their
heads, and almost starved to death. They told him
that their husbands had been killed by the giants, who
had then condemned them to be starved to death
because they would not eat the flesh of their own dead
husbands.

"Ladies," said Jack, "I have put an end to the
monster and his wicked brother; and I give you this castle
and all the riches it contains, to make some amends for
the dreadful pains you have felt." He then very politely
gave them the keys of the castle, and went further on
his journey to Wales.

As Jack had but little money, he went on as fast as
possible. At length he came to a handsome house.
Jack knocked at the door, when there came forth a
Welsh giant. Jack said he was a traveler who had lost
his way, on which the giant made him welcome, and let
him into a room where there was a good bed to sleep in.