Andrew Lang_Fairy Book 08 (35 page)

Before this happened, however, the king's son in passing the
mother's house had seen Lizina sitting sewing in the parlour, and
had been dazzled by her beauty. After coming back two or three
times, he at last ventured to approach the window and to whisper in
the softest voice: 'Lovely maiden, will you be my bride?' and she
had answered: 'I will.'

Next morning, when the prince arrived to claim his bride, he found
her wrapped in a large white veil. 'It is so that maidens are received
from their parents' hands,' said the mother, who hoped to make the
king's son marry Peppina in place of her sister, and had fastened the
donkey's tail round her head like a lock of hair under the veil. The
prince was young and a little timid, so he made no objections, and
seated Peppina in the carriage beside him.

Their way led past the old house inhabited by the cats, who were all
at the window, for the report had got about that the prince was
going to marry the most beautiful maiden in the world, on whose
forehead shone a golden star, and they knew that this could only be
their adored Lizina. As the carriage slowly passed in front of the
old house, where cats from all parts of world seemed to be gathered
a song burst from every throat:!

Mew, mew, mew!
Prince, look quick behind you!
In the well is fair Lizina,
And you've got nothing but Peppina.

When he heard this the coachman, who understood the cat's
language better than the prince, his master, stopped his horses and
asked:

'Does your highness know what the grimalkins are saying?' and the
song broke forth again louder than ever.

With a turn of his hand the prince threw back the veil, and
discovered the puffed-up, swollen face of Peppina, with the
donkey's tail twisted round her head. 'Ah, traitress!' he exclaimed,
and ordering the horses to be turned round, he drove the elder
daughter, quivering with rage, to the old woman who had sought to
deceive him. With his hand on the hilt of his sword he demanded
Lizina in so terrific a voice that the mother hastened to the well to
draw her prisoner out. Lizina's clothing and her star shone so
brilliantly that when the prince led her home to the king, his father,
the whole palace was lit up. Next day they were married, and lived
happy ever after; and all the cats, headed by old Father Gatto, were
present at the wedding.

Once upon a time there lived a king and queen who longed to have
a son. As none came, one day they made a vow at the shrine of St.
James that if their prayers were granted the boy should set out on a
pilgrimage as soon as he had passed his eighteenth birthday. And
fancy their delight when one evening the king returned home from
hunting and saw a baby lying in the cradle.

All the people came crowding round to peep at it, and declared it
was the most beautiful baby that ever was seen. Of course that is
what they always say, but this time it happened to be true. And
every day the boy grew bigger and stronger till he was twelve years
old, when the king died, and he was left alone to take care of his
mother.

In this way six years passed by, and his eighteenth birthday drew
near. When she thought of this the queen's heart sank within her,
for he was the light of her eyes' and how was she to send him forth
to the unknown dangers that beset a pilgrim? So day by day she
grew more and more sorrowful, and when she was alone wept
bitterly.

Now the queen imagined that no one but herself knew how sad she
was, but one morning her son said to her, 'Mother, why do you cry
the whole day long?'

'Nothing, nothing, my son; there is only one thing in the world that
troubles me.'

'What is that one thing?' asked he. 'Are you afraid your property is
badly managed? Let me go and look into the matter.'

This pleased the queen, and he rode off to the plain country, where
his mother owned great estates; but everything was in beautiful
order, and he returned with a joyful heart, and said, 'Now, mother,
you can be happy again, for your lands are better managed than
anyone else's I have seen. The cattle are thriving; the fields are
thick with corn, and soon they will be ripe for harvest.'

'That is good news indeed,' answered she; but it did not seem to
make any difference to her, and the next morning she was weeping
and wailing as loudly as ever.

'Dear mother,' said her son in despair, 'if you will not tell me what is
the cause of all this misery I shall leave home and wander far
through the world.'

'Ah, my son, my son,' cried the queen, 'it is the thought that I must
part from you which causes me such grief; for before you were born
we vowed a vow to St. James that when your eighteenth birthday
was passed you should make a pilgrimage to his shrine, and very
soon you will be eighteen, and I shall lose you. And for a whole
year my eyes will never be gladdened by the sight of you, for the
shrine is far away.'

'Will it take no longer than that to reach it?' said he. 'Oh, don't be
so wretched; it is only dead people who never return. As long as I
am alive you may be sure I will come back to you.'

After this manner he comforted his mother, and on his eighteenth
birthday his best horse was led to the door of the palace, and he
took leave of the queen in these words, 'Dear mother, farewell, and
by the help of fate I shall return to you as soon as I can.'

The queen burst into tears and wept sore; then amidst her sobs she
drew three apples from her pocket and held them out, saying, 'My
son, take these apples and give heed unto my words. You will need
a companion in the long journey on which you are going. If you
come across a young man who pleases you beg him to accompany
you, and when you get to an inn invite him to have dinner with you.
After you have eaten cut one of these apples in two unequal parts,
and ask him to take one. If he takes the larger bit, then part from
him, for he is no true friend to you. But if he takes the smaller bit
treat him as your brother, and share with him all you have.' Then
she kissed her son once more, and blessed him, and let him go.

The young man rode a long way without meeting a single creature,
but at last he saw a youth in the distance about the same age as
himself, and he spurred his horse till he came up with the stranger,
who stopped and asked:

'Where are you going, my fine fellow?'

'I am making a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. James, for before I
was born my mother vowed that I should go forth with a thank
offering on my eighteenth birthday.'

'That is my case too,' said the stranger, 'and, as we must both travel
in the same direction, let us bear each other company.'

The young man agreed to this proposal, but he took care not to get
on terms of familiarity with the new comer until he had tried him
with the apple.

By-and-by they reached an inn, and at sight of it the king's son said,
'I am very hungry. Let us enter and order something to eat.' The
other consented, and they were soon sitting before a good dinner.

When they had finished the king's son drew an apple from his
pocket, and cut it into a big half and a little half, and offered both to
the stranger, who took the biggest bit. 'You are no friend of mine,'
thought the king's son, and in order to part company with him he
pretended to be ill and declared himself unable to proceed on his
journey.

'Well, I can't wait for you,' replied the other; 'I am in haste to push
on, so farewell.'

'Farewell,' said the king's son, glad in his heart to get rid of him so
easily. The king's son remained in the inn for some time, so as to
let the young man have a good start; them he ordered his horse and
rode after him. But he was very sociable and the way seemed long
and dull by himself. 'Oh, if I could only meet with a true friend,' he
thought, 'so that I should have some one to speak to. I hate being
alone.'

Soon after he came up with a young man, who stopped and asked
him, 'Where are you going, my fine fellow?' The king's son
explained the object of his journey, and the young man answered, as
the other had done, that he also was fulfilling the vow of his mother
made at his birth.

'Well, we can ride on together,' said the king's son, and the road
seemed much shorter now that he had some one to talk to.

At length they reached an inn, and the king's son exclaimed, 'I am
very hungry; let us go in and get something to eat.'

When they had finished the king's son drew an apple out of his
pocket and cut it in two; he held the big bit and the little bit out to
his companion, who took the big bit at once and soon ate it up.
'You are no friend of mine,' thought the king's son, and began to
declare he felt so ill he could not continue his journey. When he
had given the young man a good start he set off himself, but the
way seemed even longer and duller than before. 'Oh, if I could only
meet with a true friend he should be as a brother to me,' he sighed
sadly; and as the thought passed through his mind, he noticed a
youth going the same road as himself.

The youth came up to him and said, 'Which way are you going, my
fine fellow?' And for the third time the king's son explained all
about his mother's vow. Why, that is just like me,' cried the youth.

'Then let us ride on together,' answered the king's son.

Now the miles seemed to slip by, for the new comer was so lively
and entertaining that the king's son could not help hoping that he
indeed might prove to be the true friend.

More quickly than he could have thought possible they reached an
inn by the road-side, and turning to his companion the king's son
said, 'I am hungry; let us go in and have something to eat.' So they
went in and ordered dinner, and when they had finished the king's
son drew out of his pocket the last apple, and cut it into two
unequal parts, and held both out to the stranger. And the stranger
took the little piece, and the heart of the king's son was glad within
him, for at last he had found the friend he had been looking for.
'Good youth,' he cried, 'we will be brothers, and what is mine shall
be thine, and what is thine shall be mine. And together we will
push on to the shrine, and if one of us dies on the road the other
shall carry his body there.' And the stranger agreed to all he said,
and they rode forward together.

It took them a whole year to reach the shrine, and they passed
through many different lands on their way. One day they arrived
tired and half-starved in a big city, and said to one another, 'Let us
stay here for a little and rest before we set forth again.' So they
hired a small house close to the royal castle, and took up their
abode there.

The following morning the king of the country happened to step on
to his balcony, and saw the young men in the garden, and said to
himself, 'Dear me, those are wonderfully handsome youths; but one
is handsomer than the other, and to him will I give my daughter to
wife;' and indeed the king's son excelled his friend in beauty.

In order to set about his plan the king asked both the young men to
dinner, and when they arrived at the castle he received them with
the utmost kindness, and sent for his daughter, who was more
lovely than both the sun and moon put together. But at bed-time
the king caused the other young man to be given a poisoned drink,
which killed him in a few minutes, for he thought to himself, 'If his
friend dies the other will forget his pilgrimage, and will stay here
and marry my daughter.'

When the king's son awoke the next morning he inquired of the
servants where his friend had gone, as he did not see him. 'He died
suddenly last night,' said they, 'and is to be buried immediately.'

But the king's son sprang up, and cried, 'If my friend is dead I can
stay here no longer, and cannot linger an hour in this house.'

'Oh, give up your journey and remain here,' exclaimed the king, 'and
you shall have my daughter for your wife.' 'No,' answered the
king's son, 'I cannot stay; but, I pray you, grant my request, and
give me a good horse, and let me go in peace, and when I have
fulfilled my vow then I will return and marry your daughter.'

So the king, seeing no words would move him, ordered a horse to
be brought round, and the king's son mounted it, and took his dead
friend before him on the saddle, and rode away.

Now the young man was not really dead, but only in a deep sleep.

When the king's son reached the shrine of St. James he got down
from his horse, took his friend in his arms as if he had been a child,
and laid him before the altar. 'St. James,' he said, 'I have fulfilled
the vow my parents made for me. I have come myself to your
shrine, and have brought my friend. I place him in your hands.
Restore him to life, I pray, for though he be dead yet has he fulfilled
his vow also.' And, behold! while he yet prayed his friend got up
and stood before him as well as ever. And both the young men
gave thanks, and set their faces towards home.

When they arrived at the town where the king dwelt they entered
the small house over against the castle. The news of their coming
spread very soon, and the king rejoiced greatly that the handsome
young prince had come back again, and commanded great feasts to
be prepared, for in a few days his daughter should marry the king's
son. The young man himself could imagine no greater happiness,
and when the marriage was over they spent some months at the
court making merry.

At length the king's son said, 'My mother awaits me at home, full of
care and anxiety. Here I must remain no longer, and to-morrow I
will take my wife and my friend and start for home.' And the king
was content that he should do so, and gave orders to prepare for
their journey.

Now in his heart the king cherished a deadly hate towards the poor
young man whom he had tried to kill, but who had returned to him
living, and in order to do him hurt sent him on a message to some
distant spot. 'See that you are quick,' said he, 'for your friend will
await your return before he starts.' The youth put spurs to his horse
and departed, bidding the prince farewell, so that the king's message
might be delivered the sooner. As soon as he had started the king
went to the chamber of the prince, and said to him, 'If you do not
start immediately, you will never reach the place where you must
camp for the night.'