Fairy Tales of the Slav Peasants and Herdsmen
On finding herself a prisoner, the poor girl wept as if her heart
would break. Suddenly she saw a very odd-looking little man seated on
the window-sill. He wore a red cap, and his boots were made of some
strange sort of material.
"Why do you weep so?" he asked.
"I cannot help it," she replied, "I am but a miserable slave. I have
been ordered to spin all this hemp into gold thread, but it is
impossible, I can never do it, and I know not what will become of me."
"I will do it for you in three days, on condition that at the end of
that time you guess my right name, and tell me what the boots I am
wearing now are made of."
Without for one moment reflecting as to whether she would be able to
guess aright she consented. The uncanny little man burst out laughing,
and taking her distaff set to work at once.
All day as the distaff moved the hemp grew visibly less, while the
skein of gold thread became larger and larger.
The little man spun all the time, and, without stopping an instant,
explained to Helen how to make thread of pure gold. As night drew on
he tied up the skein, saying to the girl, "Well, do you know my name
yet? Can you tell me what my boots are made of?"
Helen replied that she could not, upon which he grinned and
disappeared through the window. She then sat and looked at the sky,
and thought, and thought, and thought, and lost herself in
conjecturing as to what the little man's name might be, and in trying
to guess what was the stuff his boots were made of. Were they of
leather? or perhaps plaited rushes? or straw? or cast iron? No, they
did not look like anything of that sort. And as to his name--that was
a still more difficult problem to solve.
"What shall I call him?" said she to herself--"John? Or Henry? Who
knows? perhaps it is Paul or Joseph."
These thoughts so filled her mind that she forgot to eat her dinner.
Her meditations were interrupted by cries and groans from outside,
where she saw an old man with white hair sitting under the castle
wall.
"Miserable old man that I am," cried he; "I die of hunger and thirst,
but no one pities my sufferings."
Helen hastened to give him her dinner, and told him to come next day,
which he promised to do.
After again thinking for some time what answers she should give the
little old man, she fell asleep on the hemp.
The little old man did not fail to make his appearance the first thing
next morning, and remained all day spinning the gold thread. The work
progressed before their eyes, and it was only when evening came that
he repeated his questions. Not receiving a satisfactory answer, he
vanished in a fit of mocking laughter. Helen sat down by the window to
think; but think as she might, no answer to these puzzling questions
occurred to her.
While thus wondering the hungry old man again came by, and she gave
him her dinner. She was heart-sick and her eyes were full of tears,
for she thought she would never guess the spinner's name, nor of what
stuff his boots were made, unless perhaps God would help her.
"Why are you so sad?" asked the old man when he had eaten and drunk;
"tell me the cause of your grief, dear lady."
For a long time she would not tell him, thinking it would be useless;
but at last, yielding to his entreaties, she gave a full account of
the conditions under which the gold thread was made, explaining that
unless she could answer the little old man's questions satisfactorily
she feared some great misfortune would befall her. The old man
listened attentively, then, nodding his head, he said:
"In coming through the forest to-day I passed close to a large pile of
burning wood, round which were placed nine iron pots. A little man in
a red cap was running round and jumping over them, singing these
words:
"My sweet friend, fair Helen, at the Red Castle near,
Two days and two nights seeks my name to divine.
She'll never find out, so the third night 'tis clear
My sweet friend, fair Helen, can't fail to be mine.
Hurrah! for my name is KINKACH MARTINKO,
Hurrah! for my boots are of doggies' skin O!"
"Now that is exactly what you want to know, my dear girl; so do not
forget, and you are saved."
And with these words the old man vanished.
Helen was greatly astonished, but she took care to fix in her memory
all that the good fellow had told her, and then went to sleep, feeling
that she could face to-morrow without fear.
On the third day, very early in the morning, the little old man
appeared and set busily to work, for he knew that all the hemp must be
spun before sunset, and that then he should be able to claim his
rights. When evening came all the hemp was gone, and the room shone
with the brightness of the golden thread.
As soon as his work was done, the queer little old man with the red
cap drew himself up with a great deal of assurance, and with his hands
in his pockets strutted up and down before Helen, ordering her to tell
him his right name and to say of what stuff the boots were made: but
he felt certain that she would not be able to answer aright.
"Your name is KINKACH MARTINKO, and your boots are made of dogskin,"
she replied without the slightest hesitation.
At these words he spun round on the floor like a bobbin, tore out his
hair and beat his breast with rage, roaring so that the very walls
trembled.
"It is lucky for you that you have guessed. If you had not, I should
have torn you to pieces on this very spot:" so saying he rushed out of
the window like a whirlwind.
Helen felt deeply grateful towards the old man who had told her the
answers, and hoped to be able to thank him in person. But he never
appeared again.
The Prince of the Red Castle was very pleased with her for having
accomplished her task so punctually and perfectly, and he married her
as he had promised.
Helen was truly thankful to have escaped the dangers that had
threatened her, and her happiness as a princess was greater than she
had dared hope. She had, too, such a good stock of gold thread that
she never had occasion to spin any more all her life long.
THE STORY OF THE PLENTIFUL TABLECLOTH, THE AVENGING WAND, THE SASH
THAT BECOMES A LAKE, AND THE TERRIBLE HELMET
THE STORY OF THE PLENTIFUL TABLECLOTH, THE AVENGING WAND, THE SASH
THAT BECOMES A LAKE, AND THE TERRIBLE HELMET
Now it once happened that one of the king's herdsmen had three sons.
Two of these lads were supposed to be very sharp-witted, while the
youngest was thought to be very stupid indeed. The elder sons helped
their father to look after the flocks and herds, while the fool, so
they called him, was good for nothing but sleeping and amusing
himself.
He would pass whole days and nights slumbering peacefully on the
stove, only getting off when forced to by others, or when he was too
warm and wished to lie on the other side, or when, hungry and thirsty,
he wanted food and drink.
His father had no love for him, and called him a ne'er-do-well. His
brothers often tormented him by dragging him off the stove, and taking
away his food--indeed, he would many a time have gone hungry if his
mother had not been good to him and fed him on the quiet. She caressed
him fondly, for why should he suffer, thought she, if he does happen
to have been born a fool? Besides, who can understand the ways of God?
It sometimes happens that the wisest men are not happy, while the
foolish, when harmless and gentle, lead contented lives.
One day, on their return from the fields, the fool's two brothers
dragged him off the stove, and taking him into the yard, where they
gave him a sound thrashing, they turned him out of the house, saying,
"Go, fool, and lose no time, for you shall have neither food nor
lodging until you bring us a basket of mushrooms from the wood."
The poor lad was so taken by surprise he hardly understood what his
brothers wanted him to do. After pondering for a while he made his way
towards a small oak forest, where everything seemed to have a strange
and marvellous appearance, so strange that he did not recognise the
place. As he walked he came to a small dead tree-stump, on the top of
which he placed his cap, saying, "Every tree here raises its head to
the skies and wears a good cap of leaves, but you, my poor friend, are
bare-headed; you will die of cold. You must be among your brothers, as
I am among mine--a born fool. Take then my cap." And, throwing his
arms round the dead stump, he wept and embraced it tenderly. At that
moment an oak which stood near began to walk towards him as if it were
alive. The poor fellow was frightened, and about to run away, but the
oak spake like a human being and said, "Do not fly; stop a moment and
listen to me. This withered tree is my son, and up to this time no one
has grieved for his dead youth but me. You have now watered him with
your tears, and in return for your sympathy you shall henceforward
have anything you ask of me, on pronouncing these words:
"'O Oak Tree so green, and with acorns of gold,
Your friendship to prove I will try;
In Heaven's good name now to beg I'll make bold,
My needs, then, oh kindly supply.'"
At the same moment a shower of golden acorns fell. The fool filled his
pockets, thanked the oak, and bowing to her returned home.
"Well, stupid, where are the mushrooms?" cried one of his brothers.
"I have some mushrooms off the oak in my pockets."
"Eat them yourself then, for you will get nothing else, you
good-for-nothing. What have you done with your cap?"
"I put it on a poor stump of a tree that stood by the wayside, for its
head was uncovered, and I was afraid it might freeze."
He then scrambled on to the top of the stove, and as he lay down some
of the golden acorns fell out of his pocket. So bright were they, they
shone like sunbeams in the room. In spite of the fool's entreaties the
brothers picked them up and gave them to their father, who hastened to
present them to the king, telling him that his idiot son had gathered
them in the wood. The king immediately sent a detachment of his guards
to the forest to find the oak which bore golden acorns. But their
efforts were fruitless, for, though they hunted in every nook and
corner of the forest, they found not a single oak that bore acorns of
gold.
At first the king was very angry, but when he grew calmer he sent for
his herdsman and said to him, "Tell your son, the fool, that he must
bring me, by this evening, a cask filled to the brim with these
precious golden acorns. If he obeys my commands you shall never lack
bread and salt, and you may rest assured that my royal favour will not
fail you in time of need."
The herdsman gave his youngest son the king's message.
"The king, I see," he replied, "is fond of a good bargain; he does not
ask, he commands--and insists upon a fool fetching him acorns of solid
gold in return for promises made of air. No, I shall not go."
And neither prayers nor threats were of the slightest avail to make
him change his mind. At last his brothers pulled him forcibly off the
stove, put his coat on him and a new cap, and dragged him into the
yard, where they gave him a good beating and drove him away, saying,
"Now, you stupid, lose no time; be off, and be quick. If you return
without the golden acorns you shall have neither supper nor bed."
What was the poor fellow to do? For a long time he wept, then crossing
himself he went in the direction of the forest. He soon reached the
dead stump, upon which his cap still rested, and going up to the
mother oak, said to her:
"O Oak Tree so green, and with acorns of gold,
In my helplessness I to thee cry;
In Heaven's great name now to beg I make bold,
My pressing needs pray satisfy."