Andrew Lang_Fairy Book 09 (25 page)

The young man walked sadly away, and when he reached the palace
he shut himself into his room, and for the rest of the day
refused to see anyone, not even his wife. At sunset, however, as
no sound could be heard through the door, the princess grew quite
frightened, and made such a noise that the prince was forced to
draw back the bolt and let her come in. 'How pale you look,' she
cried, 'has anything hurt you? Tell me, I pray you, what is the
matter, for perhaps I can help!'

So the prince told her the whole story, and of the impossible
task given him by the crocodile.

'How can a sand hole remain full of water?' asked he. 'Of
course, it will all run through. The crocodile called it a
"chance"; but he might as well have dragged me into the river at
once. He said truly that I cannot escape him.'

'Oh, if that is all,' cried the princess, 'I can set you free
myself, for my fairy godmother taught me to know the use of
plants and in the desert not far from here there grows a little
four-leaved herb which will keep the water in the pit for a whole
year. I will go in search of it at dawn, and you can begin to
dig the hole as soon as you like.

To comfort her husband, the princess had spoken lightly and
gaily; but she knew very well she had no light task before her.
Still, she was full of courage and energy, and determined that,
one way or another, her husband should be saved.

It was still starlight when she left the palace on a snow-white
donkey, and rode away from the river straight to the west. For
some time she could see nothing before her but a flat waste of
sand, which became hotter and hotter as the sun rose higher and
higher. Then a dreadful thirst seized her and the donkey, but
there was no stream to quench it, and if there had been she would
hardly have had time to stop, for she still had far to go, and
must be back before evening, or else the crocodile might declare
that the prince had not fulfilled his conditions. So she spoke
cheering words to her donkey, who brayed in reply, and the two
pushed steadily on.

Oh! how glad they both were when they caught sight of a tall rock
in the distance. They forgot that they were thirsty, and that
the sun was hot; and the ground seemed to fly under their feet,
till the donkey stopped of its own accord in the cool shadow.
But though the donkey might rest the princess could not, for the
plant, as she knew, grew on the very top of the rock, and a wide
chasm ran round the foot of it. Luckily she had brought a rope
with her, and making a noose at one end, she flung it across with
all her might. The first time it slid back slowly into the
ditch, and she had to draw it up, and throw it again, but at
length the noose caught on something, the princess could not see
what, and had to trust her whole weight to this little bridge,
which might snap and let her fall deep down among the rocks. And
in that case her death was as certain as that of the prince.

But nothing so dreadful happened. The princess got safely to the
other side, and then became the worst part of her task. As fast
as she put her foot on a ledge of the rock the stone broke away
from under her, and left her in the same place as before.
Meanwhile the hours were passing, and it was nearly noon.

The heart of the poor princess was filled with despair, but she
would not give up the struggle. She looked round till she saw a
small stone above her which seemed rather stronger than the rest,
and by only poising her foot lightly on those that lay between,
she managed by a great effort to reach it. In this way, with
torn and bleeding hands, she gained the top; but here such a
violent wind was blowing that she was almost blinded with dust,
and was obliged to throw herself on the ground, and feel about
after the precious herb.

For a few terrible moments she thought that the rock was bare,
and that her journey had been to no purpose. Feel where she
would, there was nothing but grit and stones, when, suddenly, her
fingers touched something soft in a crevice. It was a plant,
that was clear; but was it the right one? See she could not, for
the wind was blowing more fiercely than ever, so she lay where
she was and counted the leaves. One, two, three—yes! yes! there
were four! And plucking a leaf she held it safe in her hand while
she turned, almost stunned by the wind, to go down the rock.

When once she was safely over the side all became still in a
moment, and she slid down the rock so fast that it was only a
wonder that she did not land in the chasm. However, by good
luck, she stopped quite close to her rope bridge and was soon
across it. The donkey brayed joyfully at the sight of her, and
set off home at his best speed, never seeming to know that the
earth under his feet was nearly as hot as the sun above him.

On the bank of the great river he halted, and the princess rushed
up to where the prince was standing by the pit he had digged in
the dry sand, with a huge water pot beside it. A little way off
the crocodile lay blinking in the sun, with his sharp teeth and
whity-yellow jaws wide open.

At a signal from the princess the prince poured the water in the
hole, and the moment it reached the brim the princess flung in
the four-leaved plant. Would the charm work, or would the water
trickle away slowly through the sand, and the prince fall a
victim to that horrible monster? For half an hour they stood
with their eyes rooted to the spot, but the hole remained as full
as at the beginning, with the little green leaf floating on the
top. Then the prince turned with a shout of triumph, and the
crocodile sulkily plunged into the river.

The prince had escape for ever the second of his three fates!

He stood there looking after the crocodile, and rejoicing that he
was free, when he was startled by a wild duck which flew past
them, seeking shelter among the rushes that bordered the edge of
the stream. In another instant his dog dashed by in hot pursuit,
and knocked heavily against his master's legs. The prince
staggered, lost his balance and fell backwards into the river,
where the mud and the rushes caught him and held him fast. He
shrieked for help to his wife, who came running; and luckily
brought her rope with her. The poor old dog was drowned, but the
prince was pulled to shore. 'My wife,' he said, 'has been
stronger than my fate.'

(Adapted from Les Contes Populaires de l'Egypte Ancienne.)

Once upon a time a fox lay peeping out of his hole, watching the
road that ran by at a little distance, and hoping to see
something that might amuse him, for he was feeling very dull and
rather cross. For a long while he watched in vain; everything
seemed asleep, and not even a bird stirred overhead. The fox
grew crosser than ever, and he was just turning away in disgust
from his place when he heard the sound of feet coming over the
snow. He crouched eagerly down at the edge of the road and said
to himself: 'I wonder what would happen if I were to pretend to
be dead! This is a man driving a reindeer sledge, I know the
tinkling of the harness. And at any rate I shall have an
adventure, and that is always something!'

So he stretched himself out by the side of the road, carefully
choosing a spot where the driver could not help seeing him, yet
where the reindeer would not tread on him; and all fell out just
as he had expected. The sledge-driver pulled up sharply, as his
eyes lighted on the beautiful animal lying stiffly beside him,
and jumping out he threw the fox into the bottom of the sledge,
where the goods he was carrying were bound tightly together by
ropes. The fox did not move a muscle though his bones were sore
from the fall, and the driver got back to his seat again and
drove on merrily.

But before they had gone very far, the fox, who was near the
edge, contrived to slip over, and when the Laplander saw him
stretched out on the snow he pulled up his reindeer and put the
fox into one of the other sledges that was fastened behind, for
it was market-day at the nearest town, and the man had much to
sell.

They drove on a little further, when some noise in the forest
made the man turn his head, just in time to see the fox fall with
a heavy thump on to the frozen snow. 'That beast is bewitched!'
he said to himself, and then he threw the fox into the last
sledge of all, which had a cargo of fishes. This was exactly
what the cunning creature wanted, and he wriggled gently to the
front and bit the cord which tied the sledge to the one before it
so that it remained standing in the middle of the road.

Now there were so many sledges that the Lapp did not notice for a
long while that one was missing; indeed, he would have entered
the town without knowing if snow had not suddenly begun to fall.
Then he got down to secure more firmly the cloths that kept his
goods dry, and going to the end of the long row, discovered that
the sledge containing the fish and the fox was missing. He
quickly unharnessed one of his reindeer and rode back along the
way he had come, to find the sledge standing safe in the middle
of the road; but as the fox had bitten off the cord close to the
noose there was no means of moving it away.

The fox meanwhile was enjoying himself mightily. As soon as he
had loosened the sledge, he had taken his favourite fish from
among the piles neatly arranged for sale, and had trotted off to
the forest with it in his mouth. By-and-by he met a bear, who
stopped and said: 'Where did you find that fish, Mr. Fox?'

'Oh, not far off,' answered he; 'I just stuck my tail in the
stream close by the place where the elves dwell, and the fish
hung on to it of itself.'

'Dear me,' snarled the bear, who was hungry and not in a good
temper, 'if the fish hung on to your tail, I suppose he will hang
on to mine.'

'Yes, certainly, grandfather,' replied the fox, 'if you have
patience to suffer what I suffered.'

'Of course I can,' replied the bear, 'what nonsense you talk!
Show me the way.'

So the fox led him to the bank of a stream, which, being in a
warm place, had only lightly frozen in places, and was at this
moment glittering in the spring sunshine.

'The elves bathe here,' he said, 'and if you put in your tail the
fish will catch hold of it. But it is no use being in a hurry,
or you will spoil everything.'

Then he trotted off, but only went out of sight of the bear, who
stood still on the bank with his tail deep in the water. Soon
the sun set and it grew very cold and the ice formed rapidly, and
the bear's tail was fixed as tight as if a vice had held it; and
when the fox saw that everything had happened just as he had
planned it, he called out loudly:

'Be quick, good people, and come with your bows and spears. A
bear has been fishing in your brook!'

And in a moment the whole place was full of little creatures each
one with a tiny bow and a spear hardly big enough for a baby; but
both arrows and spears could sting, as the bear knew very well,
and in his fright he gave such a tug to his tail that it broke
short off, and he rolled away into the forest as fast as his legs
could carry him. At this sight the fox held his sides for
laughing, and then scampered away in another direction. By-and-
by he came to a fir tree, and crept into a hole under the root.
After that he did something very strange.

Taking one of his hind feet between his two front paws, he said
softly:

'What would you do, my foot, if someone was to betray me?'

'I would run so quickly that he should not catch you.'

'What would you do, mine ear, if someone was to betray me?'

'I would listen so hard that I should hear all his plans.'

'What would you do, my nose, if someone was to betray me?'

'I would smell so sharply that I should know from afar that he
was coming.'

'What would you do, my tail, if someone was to betray me?'

'I would steer you so straight a course that you would soon be
beyond his reach. Let us be off; I feel as if danger was near.'

But the fox was comfortable where he was, and did not hurry
himself to take his tail's advice. And before very long he found
he was too late, for the bear had come round by another path, and
guessing where his enemy was began to scratch at the roots of the
tree. The fox made himself as small as he could, but a scrap of
his tail peeped out, and the bear seized it and held it tight.
Then the fox dug his claws into the ground, but he was not strong
enough to pull against the bear, and slowly he was dragged forth
and his body flung over the bear's neck. In this manner they set
out down the road, the fox's tail being always in the bear's
mouth.

After they had gone some way, they passed a tree-stump, on which
a bright coloured woodpecker was tapping.

'Ah! those were better times when I used to paint all the birds
such gay colours,' sighed the fox.

'What are you saying, old fellow?' asked the bear.

'I? Oh, I was saying nothing,' answered the fox drearily. 'Just
carry me to your cave and eat me up as quick as you can.'

The bear was silent, and thought of his supper; and the two
continued their journey till they reached another tree with a
woodpecker tapping on it.

'Ah! those were better times when I used to paint all the birds
such gay colours,' said the fox again to himself.

'Couldn't you paint me too?' asked the bear suddenly.

But the fox shook his head; for he was always acting, even if no
one was there to see him do it.

'You bear pain so badly,' he replied, in a thoughtful voice, 'and
you are impatient besides, and could never put up with all that
is necessary. Why, you would first have to dig a pit, and then
twist ropes of willow, and drive in posts and fill the hole with
pitch, and, last of all, set it on fire. Oh, no; you would never
be able to do all that.'