Andrew Lang_Fairy Book 03 (40 page)

When the King's daughter saw Jack my Hedgehog, she was a good deal
startled, for he certainly was very peculiar looking; but after
all she considered that she had given her word and it couldn't be
helped. So she made Jack welcome and they were betrothed to each
other, and at dinner he sat next her at the royal table, and they
ate and drank together.

When they retired to rest the Princess feared lest Jack should
kiss her because of his prickles, but he told her not to be
alarmed as no harm should befall her. Then he begged the old King
to place a watch of four men just outside his bedroom door, and to
desire them to make a big fire. When he was about to lie down in
bed he would creep out of his hedgehog skin, and leave it lying at
the bedside; then the men must rush in, throw the skin into the
fire, and stand by till it was entirely burnt up.

And so it was, for when it struck eleven, Jack my Hedgehog went to
his room, took off his skin and left it at the foot of the bed.
The men rushed in, quickly seized the skin and threw it on the
fire, and directly it was all burnt Jack was released from his
enchantment and lay in his bed a man from head to foot, but quite
black as though he had been severely scorched.

The King sent off for his physician in ordinary, who washed Jack
all over with various essences and salves, so that he became white
and was a remarkably handsome young man. When the King's daughter
saw him she was greatly pleased, and next day the marriage
ceremony was performed, and the old King bestowed his kingdom on
Jack my Hedgehog.

After some years Jack and his wife went to visit his father, but
the farmer did not recognize him, and declared he had no son; he
had had one, but that one was born with bristles like a hedgehog,
and had gone off into the wide world. Then Jack told his story,
and his old father rejoiced and returned to live with him in his
kingdom.

Grimm.

A poor man and his wife lived in a little cottage, where they
supported themselves by catching fish in the nearest river, and
got on as best they could, living from hand to mouth. One day it
happened that when the fisherman drew in his net he found in it a
remarkable fish, for it was entirely of gold. As he was inspecting
it with some surprise, the fish opened its mouth and said: 'Listen
to me, fisher; if you will just throw me back into the water I'll
turn your poor little cottage into a splendid castle.'

The fisher replied: 'What good, pray, will a castle be to me if I
have nothing to eat in it?'

'Oh,' said the gold fish, 'I'll take care of that. There will be a
cupboard in the castle, in which you will find dishes of every
kind of food you can wish for most.'

'If that's the case,' said the man, 'I've no objection to oblige
you.'

'Yes,' observed the fish, 'but there is one condition attached to
my offer, and that is that you are not to reveal to a soul where
your good fortune comes from. If you say a word about it, it will
all vanish.'

The man threw the fish back into the water, and went home. But on
the spot where his cottage used to stand he found a spacious
castle. He opened his eyes wide, went in and found his wife
dressed out in smart clothes, sitting in a splendidly furnished
drawing-room. She was in high spirits, and cried out: 'Oh husband!
how can this all have happened? I am so pleased!'

'Yes,' said her husband, 'so am I pleased; but I'm uncommonly
hungry, and I want something to eat at once.'

Said his wife, 'I've got nothing, and I don't know where anything
is in this new house.'

'Never mind,' replied the man. 'I see a big cupboard there.
Suppose you unlock it.'

When the cupboard was opened they found meat, cakes, fruit, and
wine, all spread out in the most tempting fashions. The wife
clapped her hands with joy, and cried: 'Dear heart! what more can
one wish for?' and they sat down and ate and drank.

When they had finished the wife asked, 'But husband, where do all
these riches come from?'

'Ah!' said he, 'don't ask me. I dare not tell you. If I reveal the
secret to anyone, it will be all up with us.'

'Very well,' she replied, 'if I'm not to be told, of course I
don't want to know anything about it.'

But she was not really in earnest, for her curiosity never left
her a moment's peace by day or night, and she teazed and worried
her husband to such a pitch, that at length he quite lost patience
and blurted out that it all came from a wonderful golden fish
which he had caught and set free again. Hardly were the words well
out of his mouth, when castle, cupboard, and all vanished, and
there they were sitting in their poor little fishing hut once
more.

The man had to betake himself to his former trade, and set to
fishing again. As luck would have it, he caught the golden fish a
second time.

'Now listen,' said the fish, 'if you'll throw me back into the
water, I'll give you back the castle and the cupboard with all its
good things; but now take care, and don't for your life betray
where you got them, or you'll just lose them again.'

'I'll be very careful,' promised the fisher, and threw the fish
back into the water. When he went home he found all their former
splendour restored, and his wife overjoyed at their good fortune.
But her curiosity still continued to torment her, and after
restraining it with a great effort for a couple of days, she began
questioning her husband again, as to what had happened, and how he
had managed.

The man kept silence for some time, but at last she irritated him
so much that he burst out with the secret, and in one moment the
castle was gone, and they sat once more in their wretched old hut.

'There!' exclaimed the man, 'you
would
have it—now we may
just go on short commons.'

'Ah!' said his wife, 'after all I'd rather not have all the riches
in the world if I can't know where they come from—I shall not
have a moment's peace.'

The man took to his fishing again, and one day fate brought the
gold fish into his net for the third time. 'Well,' said the fish,
'I see that I am evidently destined to fall into your hands. Now
take me home, and cut me into six pieces. Give two bits to your
wife to eat, two to your horse, and plant the remaining two in
your garden, and they will bring you a blessing.'

The man carried the fish home, and did exactly as he had been
told. After a time, it came to pass that from the two pieces he
had planted in the garden two golden lilies grew up, and that his
horse had two golden foals, whilst his wife gave birth to twin
boys who were all golden.

The children grew up both tall and handsome, and the foals and the
lilies grew with them.

One day the children came to their father and said, 'Father, we
want to mount on golden steeds, and ride forth to see the world.'

Their father answered sadly, 'How can I bear it if, when you are
far away, I know nothing about you?' and they said, 'The golden
lilies will tell you all about us if you look at them. If they
seem to droop, you will know we are ill, and if they fall down and
fade away, it will be a sign we are dead.'

So off they rode, and came to an inn where were a number of people
who, as soon as they saw the two golden lads, began to laugh and
jeer at them. When one of them heard this, his heart failed him,
and he thought he would go no further into the world, so he turned
back and rode home to his father, but his brother rode on till he
reached the outskirts of a huge forest. Here he was told, 'It will
never do for you to ride through the forest, it is full of
robbers, and you're sure to come to grief, especially when they
see that you and your horse are golden. They will certainly fall
on you and kill you.' However, he was not to be intimidated, but
said, 'I must and will ride on.'

So he procured some bears' skins, and covered himself and his
horse with them, so that not a particle of gold could be seen, and
then rode bravely on into the heart of the forest.

When he had got some way he heard a rustling through the bushes
and presently a sound of voices. Someone whispered on one side of
him: 'There goes someone,' and was answered from the other side:
'Oh, let him pass. He's only a bear-keeper, and as poor as any
church mouse.' So golden lad rode through the forest and no harm
befell him.

One day he came to a village, where he saw a girl who struck him
as being the loveliest creature in the whole world, and as he felt
a great love for her, he went up to her and said: 'I love you with
all my heart; will you be my wife?' And the girl liked him so much
that she put her hand in his and replied: 'Yes, I will be your
wife, and will be true to you as long as I live.'

So they were married, and in the middle of all the festivities and
rejoicings the bride's father came home and was not a little
surprised at finding his daughter celebrating her wedding. He
enquired: 'And who is the bridegroom?'

Then someone pointed out to him the golden lad, who was still
wrapped up in the bear's skin, and the father exclaimed angrily:
'Never shall a mere bear-keeper have my daughter,' and tried to
rush at him and kill him. But the bride did all she could to
pacify him, and begged hard, saying: 'After all he is my husband,
and I love him with all my heart,' so that at length he gave in.

However, he could not dismiss the thought from his mind, and next
morning he rose very early, for he felt he must go and look at his
daughter's husband and see whether he really was nothing better
than a mere ragged beggar. So he went to his son-in-law's room,
and who should he see lying in the bed but a splendid golden man,
and the rough bearskin thrown on the ground close by. Then he
slipped quietly away, and thought to himself, 'How lucky that I
managed to control my rage! I should certainly have committed a
great crime.'

Meantime the golden lad dreamt that he was out hunting and was
giving chase to a noble stag, and when he woke he said to his
bride: 'I must go off and hunt.' She felt very anxious, and begged
he would stay at home, adding: 'Some mishap might so easily befall
you,' but he answered, 'I must and will go.'

So he went off into the forest, and before long a fine stag, such
as he had seen in his dream, stopped just in front of him. He took
aim, and was about to fire when the stag bounded away. Then he
started off in pursuit, making his way through bushes and briars,
and never stopped all day; but in the evening the stag entirely
disappeared, and when golden lad came to look about him he found
himself just opposite a hut in which lived a witch. He knocked at
the door, which was opened by a little old woman who asked, 'What
do you want at this late hour in the midst of this great forest?'

He said, 'Haven't you seen a stag about here?'

'Yes,' said she, 'I know the stag well,' and as she spoke a little
dog ran out of the house and began barking and snapping at the
stranger.

'Be quiet, you little toad,' he cried, 'or I'll shoot you dead.'

Then the witch flew into a great rage, and screamed out, 'What!
you'll kill my dog, will you?' and the next moment he was turned
to stone and lay there immovable, whilst his bride waited for him
in vain and thought to herself, 'Alas! no doubt the evil I feared,
and which has made my heart so heavy, has befallen him.'

Meantime, the other brother was standing near the golden lilies at
home, when suddenly one of them bent over and fell to the ground.
'Good heavens!' cried he, 'some great misfortune has befallen my
brother. I must set off at once; perhaps I may still be in time to
save him.'

His father entreated him, 'Stay at home. If I should lose you too,
what would become of me?'

But his son replied, 'I must and will go.'

Then he mounted his golden horse, and rode off till he reached the
forest where his brother lay transformed to stone. The old witch
came out of her house and called to him, for she would gladly have
cast her spells on him too, but he took care not to go near her,
and called out: 'Restore my brother to life at once, or I'll shoot
you down on the spot.'

Reluctantly she touched the stone with her finger, and in a moment
it resumed its human shape. The two golden lads fell into each
other's arms and kissed each other with joy, and then rode off
together to the edge of the forest, where they parted, one to
return to his old father, and the other to his bride.

When the former got home his father said, 'I knew you had
delivered your brother, for all of a sudden the golden lily reared
itself up and burst into blossom.'

Then they all lived happily to their lives' ends, and all things
went well with them.

Grimm.

Not very long ago there lived a King, the fame of whose wisdom was
spread far and wide. Nothing appeared to be unknown to him, and it
really seemed as if tidings of the most secret matters must be
borne to him by the winds. He had one very peculiar habit. Every
day, after the dinner table had been cleared, and everyone had
retired, a confidential servant brought in a dish. It was covered,
and neither the servant nor anyone else had any idea what was on
it, for the King never removed the cover or partook of the dish,
till he was quite alone.

This went on for some time till, one day, the servant who removed
the dish was so overcome with curiosity, that he could not resist
carrying it off to his own room. After carefully locking the door,
he lifted the cover, and there he saw a white snake lying on the
dish. On seeing it he could not restrain his desire to taste it,
so he cut off a small piece and put it in his mouth.

Hardly had it touched his tongue than he heard a strange sort of
whispering of tiny voices outside his window. He stepped to the
casement to listen, and found that the sound proceeded from the
sparrows, who were talking together and telling each other all
they had seen in the fields and woods. The piece of the white
snake which he had eaten had enabled him to understand the
language of animals.