Fairy Tales of the Slav Peasants and Herdsmen
and gave it him, evidently much against her will. He put it in his
pocket, and turning to his companions, said: "This girl is the spoilt
child of her mother; she is bad-tempered and naughty, while her heart
is hardened against the poor. It is easy to understand why, for the
first time in her life, she has been so generous to-day. Tell me what
gifts you would wish me to bestow upon her."
The first said, "May her tears be changed into lizards."
"And her smile produce hideous toads," added the second.
"And when her hands touch the water may it be filled with serpents,"
said the third.
"So let it be," cried the old man. And they all vanished.
The poor girl was terrified, and went back to tell her mother what had
happened. And it was even so; for if she smiled hideous toads fell
from her mouth, her tears were changed into lizards, and the water in
which she dipped but the tips of her fingers was filled with serpents.
The stepmother was in despair, but she only loved her child the more,
and hated the orphans with a yet more bitter hatred. Indeed, she
worried them to such an extent that the boy determined to put up with
it no longer, but to seek his fortune elsewhere. So he tied up his
belongings in a handkerchief, took a loving farewell of his sister,
commending her to God's care, and left his home. The great world lay
before him, but which path to take he knew not. Turning to the
cemetery where his parents lay side by side, he wept and prayed,
kissed the earth that covered them three times, and set off on his
travels.
At that moment he felt something hard in the folds of his tunic, and
pressing on his heart. Wondering what it could be, he put in his hand
and drew thence a charming portrait of his dearly loved sister,
surrounded with pearls, roses, and gold-fish. So great was his
astonishment he could hardly believe his eyes. But he was very happy,
and kissed the picture over and over again; then, with one more look
at the cemetery, he made the sign of the cross and departed.
Now a beautiful story is soon told, but the acts of which it is the
sum pass more slowly.
After many adventures of little importance he reached the capital of a
kingdom by the sea, and there obtained the post of under-gardener at
the royal palace, with good food and wages.
In his prosperity he did not forget his unhappy sister, for he felt
very uneasy about her. When he had a few moments to himself he would
sit down in some retired spot and gaze upon her portrait with a sad
heart and eyes filled with tears. For the picture was a faithful
likeness of her, and he looked upon it as a gift from his parents.
Now the king had noticed this habit of his, and one day while he sat
by a stream looking at the picture he came quietly behind him, and
glanced over his shoulder to see what he was so attentively regarding.
"Give me that portrait," said the monarch.
The boy handed it him. The king examined it closely, and admiring it
greatly, said: "I have never seen such a beautiful face in all my
life, never even dreamed of such loveliness. Come, tell me, is the
original of the picture living?"
The lad burst into tears, and told him it was the living image of his
sister, who a short time since had received as a special mark of
favour from God, that her tears should be changed into pearls, her
smiles into roses, and the touch of her hands in water should produce
beautiful gold-fish.
The king commanded him to write to his stepmother at once and bid her
send her lovely step-daughter to the chapel of the palace, where the
king would be waiting to marry her. The letter also contained promises
of special royal favours.
The lad wrote the letter, which the king sent by a special messenger.
Now a good story is soon told, but the deeds of which it is the sum
are not performed so quickly.
When the stepmother received the letter she determined to say nothing
about it to her step-child, but she showed it to her own daughter, and
talked the matter over with her. Then she went to learn the art of
sorcery from a witch, and having found out all it was necessary to
know, set off with both of the girls. On approaching the capital, the
wicked woman pushed her step-child out of the carriage and repeated
some magic words over her. After this she became very small and
covered with feathers, then in a moment she was changed into a
wild-duck. She began to quack, and made for the water, as ducks do,
and swam to a far distance. The stepmother bade her farewell in the
following words: "By the strength of my hate may my will be fulfilled.
Swim about the banks in the form of a duck, and rejoice in thy
liberty. During that time my daughter shall take thy form, shall marry
the king, and shall enjoy the good fortune fate destined for thee."
At the conclusion of these words her own child became endowed with all
the graces and beauty of her unfortunate step-sister. The two then
continued their journey, arriving at the royal chapel at the appointed
hour. The king received them with all honours, while the deceitful
woman gave away her own daughter, whom the bridegroom believed to be
the original of the beautiful picture. After the ceremony the mother
went away loaded with presents. The king, as he looked at his young
wife, could not understand why he did not feel for her the sympathy
and admiration he had felt for the portrait she so much resembled. But
it could not be altered now; what is done is done. So he admired her
beauty and looked forward to the pleasure of seeing pearls fall from
her eyes, roses from her lips, and gold-fish at the touch of her
fingers.
During the wedding feast the newly-made bride forgot herself and
smiled at her husband; immediately a number of hideous toads escaped
from her lips. The king, overcome with horror and disgust, rushed away
from her, upon which she began to cry, but instead of pearls, lizards
fell from her eyes. The majordomo ordered water to be brought for her
to wash her hands, but no sooner had she dipped the tips of her
fingers in the bowl than it was filled with serpents that hissed and
twisted and threw themselves among the wedding guests. The panic was
general, and a scene of great confusion followed. The guard was called
in, and had the greatest trouble to clear the hall of the disgusting
reptiles.
The bridegroom had taken refuge in the garden, and when he saw the
young man coming towards him, whom he thought had deceived him, his
anger overcame him, and he struck the poor lad with so much force that
he fell down dead.
The queen ran forward sobbing, and taking the king by the hand, said:
"What have you done? You have killed my innocent brother. It is
neither my fault, nor was it his, that since the wedding I have by
some enchantment lost the marvellous power I possessed before. This
evil will pass away in time, but time can never restore to me my dear
brother, my own mother's son."
"Forgive me, dear wife; in a moment of irritation I thought he had
deceived me, and I wanted to punish him, but did not mean to kill. I
regret it deeply, but it cannot be helped now. Forgive me my fault as
I forgive yours, with all my heart."
"You have my forgiveness, but I beg you to see that your wife's
brother has an honourable burial."
Her wishes were carried out, and the orphan lad, who had passed as her
brother, was laid in a handsome coffin. The chapel was hung with
black, and at night a guard was placed both inside and out.
Towards midnight the church doors silently opened, and while the
guards were overcome by sleep a pretty little duck entered unnoticed.
She stopped in the middle of the aisle, shook herself, and pulled out
her feathers one by one. Then it took the form of the beautiful
step-daughter, for it was she. She went up to her brother's coffin and
stood gazing at him, and as she looked she wept sorrowfully. Then she
put on her feathers again and went out a duck. When the guards awoke
they were astonished to find a quantity of fine pearls in the coffin.
Next day they told the king that the doors had opened of themselves
towards midnight, that they had been overcome by sleep, and that on
awakening they had found a large number of pearls in the coffin, but
knew not how they got there. The king was very much surprised,
especially at the appearance of the pearls, that ought to have been
produced by his wife's tears. On the second night he doubled the
guard, and impressed upon them the necessity for watchfulness.
At midnight the doors again opened silently as before, the soldiers
went to sleep, and the same little duck entered, and, taking out her
feathers, appeared as a lovely maiden. She could not help smiling as
she looked upon the sleeping soldiers, the number of which had been
doubled on her account; and as she smiled a number of roses fell from
her lips. As she drew near her brother her tears fell in torrents,
leaving a profusion of fine pearls. After some time she put on her
feathers and went out a duck. When the guards awoke they took the
roses and the pearls to the king. He was still more surprised to see
roses with the pearls, for these roses should have fallen from his
wife's lips. He again increased the number of the guard, and
threatened them with the most severe punishment if they failed to
watch all night. They did their best to obey, but in vain; they could
only sleep. When they awoke they found, not only roses and pearls, but
little gold-fish swimming in the holy water.
The amazed king could only conclude that their sleep was caused by
magic. On the fourth night he not only increased the number of
soldiers, but, unknown to every one, hid himself behind the altar,
where he hung a mirror, through which he could see everything that
passed without being seen.
At midnight the doors opened. The soldiers, under the influence of
sleep, had let fall their arms and lay on the ground. The king kept
his eyes fixed on the mirror, through which he saw a little wild-duck
enter. It looked timidly round on all sides, then, reassured at the
sight of the sleeping guards, advanced to the centre of the nave and
took off its feathers, thus appearing as a young maiden of exquisite
beauty.
The king, overwhelmed with joy and admiration, had a presentiment that
this was his true bride. So when she drew near the coffin he crept
noiselessly out of his hiding-place, and with a lighted taper set fire
to the feathers. They flared up immediately, and with such a bright
light that the soldiers were aroused. The girl ran towards the
monarch, wringing her hands and weeping tears of pearl.
"What have you done?" cried she. "How can I now escape my stepmother's
vengeance? For it is by her magic that I have been changed into a
wild-duck."
When the king had heard all, he ordered some of his soldiers to seize
the wife he had married and to take her right out of the country. He
sent others to take the wicked stepmother prisoner, and to burn her as
a witch. Both commands were instantly carried out. Meanwhile the girl
drew from the folds of her gown three small bottles, filled with three
different kinds of water, which she had brought from the sea.
The first possessed the virtue of restoring life. This she sprinkled
over her brother, whereupon the chill and rigidity of death
disappeared, the colour came to his face, and warm red blood flowed
from his wound. Upon the wound she poured water from the second
bottle, and it was immediately healed. When she had made use of the
third kind of water he opened his eyes, looked at her with
astonishment, and threw himself joyfully into her arms.
The king, enraptured at this sight, conducted the two back to the
palace.
So instead of a funeral there was a wedding, to which a large number