Fairy Tales of the Slav Peasants and Herdsmen
The town was surrounded by a countless host who threatened to utterly
destroy it unless the king would agree to pay a very large ransom.
The people crowded into the square, and stood before the palace gates
listening to the herald's proclamation.
"Hear the king's will," said the herald; "listen, all ye faithful
subjects, to the words he speaks to you by my mouth. Here are our
deadly enemies, who have scattered our troops, and have come to
besiege the capital of our kingdom. If we do not send them, by
daybreak to-morrow, twenty-four waggons, each drawn by six horses and
loaded with gold, they threaten to take the town and destroy it by
fire and sword, and to deliver our land to the soldiers. It is certain
that we cannot hold out any longer, and our royal treasure-house does
not contain one-half the amount demanded. Therefore, through me our
sovereign announces, that whosoever among you shall succeed, either in
defeating our foes, or in providing the money needed for the ransom,
him will he appoint his heir to the crown, and to him will he give his
only daughter in marriage, a princess of marvellous beauty. Further,
he shall receive half the kingdom in his own right."
When the fisherman heard these words he went to the king and said, "My
sovereign and father, command that twenty-four waggons, each harnessed
with twenty-four horses and provided with leathern bags, be brought
into the courtyard; I will engage to fill them with gold, and that at
once, before your eyes."
Then he left the palace, and standing in the middle of the large
square, recited the words the fish had taught him.
These were followed by rumblings of thunder and flashes of lightning,
and then by a perfect hurricane which sent down masses and showers of
gold. In a few minutes the square was covered with a layer of gold so
thick that, after loading the twenty-four waggons and filling a large
half of the royal treasure-house, there was enough left to make
handsome presents to all the king's officers and servants.
Next day the enemy returned to their own country laden with the heavy
ransom they had demanded.
The king sent for the fisherman, and inviting him to partake of
hydromel wine and sweetmeats, said, "You have to-day been the means of
saving our capital from a great calamity, and shall, therefore,
receive the reward which you have earned. My only daughter, a princess
of great beauty, shall be your wife, and I will give you the half of
my kingdom for a wedding present. I also appoint you my heir to the
throne. But tell me, to whom am I indebted? What kingdom or land
belongs to you? How is it that by a mere movement of the hand you were
able to supply my enemies with such a quantity of gold?"
And the fisherman, simple-hearted and straightforward as a child,
ignorant of the deceptions practised in court, answered frankly,
"Sire, I belong to no royal or princely family, I am a simple
fisherman and your loyal subject. I procure my gold by means of this
magic ring, and at any time I can have as much as I want."
Then he told how his good fortune had come to him.
The king made no answer, but it hurt his royal dignity to think that
he owed his safety to one of his own peasants, and that he had
promised to make him his son-in-law.
That evening, after a luxurious supper, the fisherman, having taken a
little more wine than usual, ventured to ask the king to present him
to his bride. The king whispered a few words in the ear of the
chamberlain of the court, and then went out.
The chamberlain took the fisherman to the top of the castle tower, and
there said to him, "According to the customs of the court you should,
before being introduced to the princess, send her by my hands some
valuable jewel as a wedding gift."
"But I have nothing of value or beauty about me," replied he, "unless
you offer the princess this golden ring, to which I owe all my good
fortune, the princess herself, and the safety of her father."
The chamberlain took the ring, and opening the window of the tower,
asked, "Fisherman, do you see the moon in the heavens?"
"I do."
"Very well, she shall be the witness of your betrothal. Now look down;
do you see that precipice, and the deep river shining in its depths."
"I do."
"Very well, it shall be your bridal couch."
So saying the chamberlain threw him into the deep abyss, shut the
window, and ran to tell the king that there was no longer a suitor for
the hand of his daughter.
The fisherman, stunned by the force of his fall, reached the water
quite senseless. When he came to himself and opened his eyes, he lay
in a boat which at that moment was leaving the mouth of the river and
entering the open sea.
The very old man, to whom he had given the bream, was guiding the
vessel with an oar.
"My good old man, is it you? How did you manage to save me?" asked the
astonished fisherman.
"I came to your assistance," replied the old man, "because he who
shows pity to others deserves their help when in need of it. But take
the oar and row to whatever place you wish."
And having thus spoken the mysterious old man disappeared. The
fisherman crossed himself, and having looked round upon the royal
palace sparkling with light he sighed deeply, and chanting the hymn
"Under Thy Help," put out to sea.
When the sun rose he saw some nets in the boat, and throwing them into
the water caught some pike, which he sold in a town near the shore,
and then continued his journey on foot.
Two or three months later, when crossing some open country, he heard
cries for help which came from a hill near the forest. There he saw
two little demons pulling each other's hair. By the cut of their short
waistcoats, by their tight pantaloons and three-cornered hats, he knew
that they were inhabitants of the nether world, from which they must
have escaped. He had no doubt about it, but being a good Christian he
was not afraid, and accosted them boldly, saying, "Why do you
ill-treat each other in this way? What is the meaning of it?"
"It means, that for many a long year we have both been working hard to
entice a silly fellow down below. He was first tempted by the desire
to learn something of sorcery, and he ended by becoming an
accomplished scoundrel. After giving him time to commit a great many
crimes and thus forfeit his soul, we handed him over to safe keeping.
Now we want to divide his property between us. He has left three
things, which by every right belong to us. The first is a wonderful
carpet. Whoever sits down upon it, and pronounces certain magic words,
will be carried off at once, over forests and under clouds, never
stopping until his destination is reached. The magic words are as
follows:
'Carpet, that of thyself through space takes flight,
O travel, thou airy car, both day and night
Till my desired haven comes in sight.'
The second piece of property is that club lying on the grass. After
uttering some magic words, the club will immediately begin to hit so
vigorously that a whole army may be crushed to pieces or dispersed.
The words run thus:
'Club, thou marvellous club, who knows
How to strike and smite my foes,
By thine own strength and in God's name
O strike well home and strike again.'
The third piece of property is a cap that renders its wearer
invisible. Now, my good man, you see our difficulty: there are but two
of us, and we are fighting to decide how these three lots may be
divided into two equal parts."
"I can help you," said the fisherman, "provided you will do as I tell
you. Leave the three lots here just as they are--the carpet, the club,
and the magic cap. I will roll a stone from the top of this hill to
the bottom--whoever catches it first shall have two lots for his
share. What do you say?"
"Agreed!" cried the demons, racing after the stone that rolled and
bounded on its way down.
In the meantime the fisherman hastily put on the cap, seized the club,
and sitting down on the carpet, repeated the magic formula without
forgetting a single word.
He was already high up in the air when the demons returned carrying
the stone and calling out to him to come and reward the winner.
"Come down and divide those things between us," they cried after him.
The fisherman's only answer was the magic address to his club. This
enchanted weapon then fell upon them and struck so hard that the
country round echoed to the sound thereof. In the midst of screams and
cries and clouds of dust they escaped at last, and the club, of its
own accord, came back and placed itself at the fisherman's orders. He,
in spite of the rapid motion, sat comfortably on the carpet with the
cap under his arm and the club in his hand. Thus they flew over
forests, under clouds, and so high that seen from the earth they
looked like a tiny white cloud.
Within two or three days they stopped at the king's capital. The
fisherman, with his cap on, descended into the middle of the
courtyard.
The whole place was in confusion and trouble, for the commander of the
foreign army, encouraged by having so easily received such a large sum
of money, had returned to the attack and again held the town in siege,
declaring that he would destroy every house and slay all the
inhabitants, not sparing even the king himself, unless he agreed to
give him his only daughter in marriage.
The terrified citizens crowded to the palace and besought his majesty
to do as they asked him, and so save them from such a fate. The king,
standing on the balcony, addressed them thus: "Faithful and devoted
people, listen to me. Nothing but a miracle can save us from this
fearful calamity; yet it has happened that the most powerful
assailants have been forced to ask mercy of the most feeble. I will
never consent to the marriage of my only daughter with my most hated
and cruel foe. Within a few moments my guards will be ready for
combat, and I myself will lead them against the enemy. If there be any
among you who can win the victory, to him will I give my only daughter
in marriage, the half of my kingdom for her dowry, and the heirship to
the throne."
When he had finished speaking the fisherman ordered his club to fall
on the foe, while the country round echoed and re-echoed to the blows
by means of which it destroyed the besieging army. It was in vain that
the brave commander shouted to his soldiers not to run away, for when
he himself received three blows from the club he was obliged to make
off as fast as possible.
When the club had destroyed or driven away into the desert all the
troops it came back to its master; he, still wearing the magic cap,
and with his carpet folded up under his arm and his club in his hand,
made his way to the king's apartment.
In the palace shouts of joy had succeeded the cries of fear which had
been heard but a short while ago. Every one was happy, and every one
congratulated the king upon his victory, as sudden and complete as it
was unexpected. But the monarch, turning to his warriors, addressed
them thus: "Victory! Let us rather return thanks to God. He who has
won for us the victory has but to present himself and receive the
reward he so richly deserves, that is, my beautiful daughter in
marriage, the half of my kingdom, and the right of succession to my
throne. These are the gifts that await this victorious hero. Where is
he?"
They all stood silent and looked from one to the other. Then the
fisherman, who had taken off his cap, appeared before the assembly and
said, "Behold, it was I who destroyed your enemies, O king. This is
the second time that I have been promised the hand of the princess in
marriage, the half of the kingdom, and the right of succession to the
throne."
The king, struck dumb with amazement, looked inquiringly at his