Fairy Tales of the Slav Peasants and Herdsmen
The princess looked at him, whereupon he bowed and said, "Lovely
princess, I willingly submit, although I am young enough without it.
In any case life without you would be valueless."
Then the princess took a step towards him and killed him with her
sword. She cut him up in pieces and washed these in pure water, after
which she joined them together again and breathed upon them. Instantly
Niezguinek sprang up full of life and health, and looked so handsome
and bright that the old king, who was dreadfully jealous, exclaimed,
"Make me, too, young again, princess; do not lose a moment."
The princess pierced him to the heart with her sword, cut him up into
little pieces, and, opening the window, threw them out, at the same
time calling the king's dogs, who quickly ate them up. Then she turned
to Niezguinek and said, "Proclaim yourself king, and I will be your
queen."
He followed her advice, and within a short time they were married; his
brothers, whom he had pardoned, and his parents having been invited to
the wedding. On their way back from the church the magic sword
suddenly clinked, and, flashing in the air, divided itself into a
thousand swords that placed themselves on guard as sentinels all round
the palace. The guzla, too, began to play so sweetly and gaily that
every living thing began to dance for joy.
The festival was magnificent. I myself was there, and drank freely of
wine and mead; and although not a drop went into my mouth, my chin was
quite wet.
OHNIVAK
A certain king had a beautiful garden which contained a number of very
rare trees, but the most rare of all was an apple tree. It stood in
the middle of the garden, and produced one golden apple every day. In
the morning the blossom unfolded, during the day you might watch the
fruit grow, and before nightfall the apple was fully ripe. The next
day the same thing occurred--indeed, it happened regularly every
twenty-four hours. Nevertheless, no ripe fruit ever remained on the
tree on the following day; the apple disappeared, no one knew how or
when, and this deeply grieved the king.
At last he could bear it no longer, and calling his eldest son to him,
said: "My child, I wish you to keep watch in the garden to-night, and
see if you can find out what becomes of my golden apples. I will
reward you with the choice of all my treasures; if you should be lucky
enough to get hold of the thief, and bring him to me, I would gladly
give you half my kingdom."
The young prince girded his trusty sword to his side, and with his
crossbow on his shoulder and a good stock of well-tempered arrows,
went into the garden to mount guard. And as he sat under the apple
tree a great drowsiness came over him which he could not resist; his
arms dropped, his eyes closed, and stretching himself on the grass he
slept as soundly as if he had been in his own bed at home, nor did he
awake until day dawn, and then he saw that the apple had disappeared.
When questioned by his father, he said that no thieves had come, but
that the apple had vanished all the same. The king shook his head, for
he did not believe a word of it. Then, turning to his second son, he
bade him keep watch, and promised him a handsome reward if he should
catch the thief.
So the second son armed himself with everything necessary and went
into the garden. But he succeeded no better than his brother, for he
could not resist the desire to sleep, and when he awoke the apple was
no longer there.
When his father asked him how it disappeared, he replied, "No one took
it, it vanished of itself."
"Now, my dearest one, take your turn," said the king to his youngest
son; "although you are young, and have less experience than your
brothers, let us see if you cannot succeed where they have failed. If
you are willing, go, and may God help you."
Towards evening, when it began to be dusk, the youngest son went into
the garden to keep watch. He took with him a sword and crossbow, a few
well-tempered arrows, and a hedgehog's skin as a sort of apron, for he
thought that while sitting under the tree, if he spread the skin over
his knees, the pricking of the bristles on his hands might keep him
awake. And so it did, for by this means he was able to resist the
drowsiness that came over him.
At midnight Ohnivak, the bird of fire, flew down and alighted upon the
tree, and was just going off with the apple when the prince fixed an
arrow to his bow, and letting it fly, struck the bird under the wing.
Although wounded, it flew away, dropping one of its feathers upon the
ground. That night for the first time the apple remained untouched
upon the tree.
"Have you caught the thief?" asked the king next day.
"Not altogether, but no doubt we shall have him in time. I have a bit
of his trappings." And he gave the king the feather, and told him all
that had taken place.
The king was charmed with the feather; so lovely and bright was it
that it illumined all the galleries of the palace, and they needed no
other light.
The courtiers told the king that the feather could only belong to
Ohnivak, the bird of fire, and that it was worth all the rest of the
royal treasures put together.
From that time Ohnivak came no more to the garden, and the apples
remained untouched. Yet the king could think of nothing else but how
to possess this marvellous bird. At last, beginning to despair of ever
seeing it, he was filled with melancholy, and would remain for hours
in deep thought; thus he became really ill, and every day continued to
grow worse.
One day he summoned his three sons before him and said, "My dear
children, you see the sad state I am in. If I could but hear the bird
Ohnivak sing just once I should be cured of this disease of the heart;
otherwise it will be my death. Whichever of you shall succeed in
catching Ohnivak alive and inducing him to sing to me, to him I will
give half of my kingdom and the heirship to the throne."
Having taken leave of their father the brothers set off. They
travelled together until they came to a part of the forest where the
road branched off in three directions.
"Which turning shall we take?" asked the eldest.
The second brother answered, "We are three, and three roads lie before
us; let us each choose one, thus we shall treble our chances of
finding the bird, for we shall seek it in three different countries."
"That is a good idea, but how shall each one decide which way to
choose?"
The youngest brother said, "I will leave the choice to you two, and
will take whichever road you leave me."
So each took the road that chance decided for him, agreeing that when
their mission was over they would return to the point of departure. In
order to recognise the place again each one planted the branch of a
tree at the cross roads, and they believed that he whose branch should
take root and grow into a big tree would be successful in the quest.
When each one had planted his branch at the chosen road they started
off. The eldest rode on, and never stopped until he reached the top of
a high mountain; there he dismounted, and let his horse graze while he
ate his breakfast. Suddenly a red fox came up, and speaking in the
language of men, said: "Pray, my handsome prince, give me a little of
what you are eating; I am very hungry."
For answer the prince let fly an arrow from his crossbow, but it is
impossible to say whether he hit the fox for it vanished and did not
appear again.
The second brother, without meeting with any adventure, reached a
wide-stretching moor, where he stopped for his meal. The red fox
appeared to him and begged for food; but he also refused food to the
famished fox, and shot at him. The creature disappeared as before.
The youngest travelled on till he came to the banks of a river.
Feeling tired and hungry, he got down from his horse and began his
breakfast; while he was eating, up came the red fox.
"Please, young sir," said the fox, "give me a morsel to satisfy my
hunger."
The prince threw him a piece of meat, and spoke kindly to him.
"Come near, do not be afraid, my red fox; I see you are more hungry
than I, but there is enough for us both."
And he divided all his provisions into two equal parts, one for
himself, and one for the poor red fox.
When the latter had eaten to his heart's content, he said: "You have
fed me well, in return I will serve you well; mount your horse and
follow me. If you do everything I tell you, the Bird of Fire shall be
yours."
Then he set off at a run before the horseman, clearing the road for
him with his bushy tail. By means of this marvellous broom, mountains
were cut down, ravines filled up, and rivers bridged over.
The young prince followed at a gallop, without the slightest wish to
stop, until they came to a castle built of copper.
"The Bird of Fire is in this castle," said the fox; "you must enter
exactly at midday, for then the guards will be asleep, and you will
pass unnoticed. Above all, beware of stopping anywhere. In the first
apartment you will find twelve birds black as night, in golden cages;
in the second, twelve golden birds in wooden cages; in the third,
Ohnivak, the bird of fire, roosting on his perch. Near him are two
cages, one of wood and the other of gold; be sure you put him in the
wooden cage--you would be sorry for it if he were put into the golden
one."
The prince entered the castle, and found everything just as the fox
had told him. Having passed through the two rooms he came to the
third, and there saw the fire-bird on his perch, apparently asleep. It
was indeed a beautiful creature, so beautiful that the prince's heart
beat high with joy. He handled him without difficulty, and put him
into the wooden cage, thinking at the same time to himself that it
could hardly be right for so lovely a bird to be in such an ugly cage,
a golden cage could be the only right place for him. So he took him
out of the wooden cage and placed him in the golden one. Hardly had he
shut the door when the bird opened his eyes and gave a piercing
scream; so shrill was it that it awoke the other birds, who began to
sing as loud as they could, and gave the alarm to the guards at the
palace door. These rushed in, seized the prince, and dragged him
before the king. The latter was very angry, and said: "Infamous thief,
who are you to have dared to force an entrance, and pass through my
sentinels, to steal my bird Ohnivak?"
"I am not a thief," answered the young prince indignantly, "I have
come to reclaim a thief whom you protect. I am the son of a king, and
in my father's gardens is an apple tree that bears golden fruit. It
blossoms at morning-time, while during the day the flower develops
into an apple that grows and ripens after sunset. Now in the night
your bird robbed us of our golden apples, and though I watched and
wounded him I could not catch him. My father is dying with grief
because of this, and the only remedy that can save and restore him to
health, is that he may listen to the fire-bird's song. This is why I
beg your majesty to give him me."
"You may have him," said the king, "but on one condition, that you
bring me Zlato-Nrivak, the horse with the golden mane."
So the prince had to go away empty-handed.
"Why did you not do as I told you? Why must you go and take the golden
cage?" said the fox, in despair at the failure of the expedition.
"I admit it was my own fault," said the prince, "but do not punish me
by being angry. I want your advice: tell me how I am to get
Zlato-Nrivak?"
"I know how it can be done," answered the red fox, "and I will help
you once more. Get on your horse, follow me, and do as I tell you."
The fox ran on in front, clearing the road with his bushy tail. The