The Green Fairy Book
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Andrew Lang, Ed. >> The Green Fairy Book
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Henceforth the King's one idea was to marry the young man to a
Princess who was the heiress to a neighbouring kingdom, and,
besides that, was as lovely as the day. But one morning, while
Rosimond was hunting in the forest where for the first time he had
seen the Fairy, his benefactress suddenly appeared before him.
'Take heed,' she said to him in severe tones, 'that you do not
marry anybody who believes you to be a Prince. You must never
deceive anyone. The real Prince, whom the whole nation thinks you
are, will have to succeed his father, for that is just and right.
Go and seek him in some distant island, and I will send winds that
will swell your sails and bring you to him. Hasten to render this
service to your master, although it is against your own ambition,
and prepare, like an honest man, to return to your natural state.
If you do not do this, you will become wicked and unhappy, and I
will abandon you to all your former troubles.'
Rosimond took these wise counsels to heart. He gave out that he
had undertaken a secret mission to a neighbouring state, and
embarked on board a vessel, the winds carrying him straight to the
island where the Fairy had told him he would find the real Prince.
This unfortunate youth had been taken captive by a savage people,
who had kept him to guard their sheep. Rosimond, becoming
invisible, went to seek him amongst the pastures, where he kept
his flock, and, covering him with his mantle, he delivered him out
of the hands of his cruel masters, and bore him back to the ship.
Other winds sent by the Fairy swelled the sails, and together the
two young men entered the King's presence.
Rosimond spoke first and said, 'You have believed me to be your
son. I am not he, but I have brought him back to you.' The King,
filled with astonishment, turned to his real son and asked, 'Was
it not you, my son, who conquered my enemies and won such a
glorious peace? Or is it true that you have been shipwrecked and
taken captive, and that Rosimond has set you free?'
'Yes, my father,' replied the Prince. 'It is he who sought me out
in my captivity and set me free, and to him I owe the happiness of
seeing you once more. It was he, not I, who gained the victory.'
The King could hardly believe his ears; but Rosimond, turning the
ring, appeared before him in the likeness of the Prince, and the
King gazed distractedly at the two youths who seemed both to be
his son. Then he offered Rosimond immense rewards for his
services, which were refused, and the only favour the young man
would accept was that one of his posts at Court should be
conferred on his brother Bramintho. For he feared for himself the
changes of fortune, the envy of mankind and his own weakness. His
desire was to go back to his mother and his native village, and to
spend his time in cultivating the land.
One day, when he was wandering through the woods, he met the
Fairy, who showed him the cavern where his father was imprisoned,
and told him what words he must use in order to set him free. He
repeated them joyfully, for he had always longed to bring the old
man back and to make his last days happy. Rosimond thus became the
benefactor of all his family, and had the pleasure of doing good
to those who had wished to do him evil. As for the Court, to whom
he had rendered such services, all he asked was the freedom to
live far from its corruption; and, to crown all, fearing that if
he kept the ring he might be tempted to use it in order to regain
his lost place in the world, he made up his mind to restore it to
the Fairy. For many days he sought her up and down the woods and
at last he found her. 'I want to give you back,' he said, holding
out the ring, 'a gift as dangerous as it is powerful, and which I
fear to use wrongfully. I shall never feel safe till I have made
it impossible for me to leave my solitude and to satisfy my
passions.'
While Rosimond was seeking to give back the ring to the Fairy,
Bramintho, who had failed to learn any lessons from experience,
gave way to all his desires, and tried to persuade the Prince,
lately become King, to ill-treat Rosimond. But the Fairy, who knew
all about everything, said to Rosimond, when he was imploring her
to accept the ring:
'Your wicked brother is doing his best to poison the mind of the
King towards you, and to ruin you. He deserves to be punished, and
he must die; and in order that he may destroy himself, I shall
give the ring to him.'
Rosimond wept at these words, and then asked:
'What do you mean by giving him the ring as a punishment? He will
only use it to persecute everyone, and to become master.'
'The same things,' answered the Fairy, 'are often a healing
medicine to one person and a deadly poison to another. Prosperity
is the source of all evil to a naturally wicked man. If you wish
to punish a scoundrel, the first thing to do is to give him power.
You will see that with this rope he will soon hang himself.'
Having said this, she disappeared, and went straight to the
Palace, where she showed herself to Bramintho under the disguise
of an old woman covered with rags. She at once addressed him in
these words:
'I have taken this ring from the hands of your brother, to whom I
had lent it, and by its help he covered himself with glory. I now
give it to you, and be careful what you do with it.'
Bramintho replied with a laugh:
'I shall certainly not imitate my brother, who was foolish enough
to bring back the Prince instead of reigning in his place,' and he
was as good as his word. The only use he made of the ring was to
find out family secrets and betray them, to commit murders and
every sort of wickedness, and to gain wealth for himself
unlawfully. All these crimes, which could be traced to nobody,
filled the people with astonishment. The King, seeing so many
affairs, public and private, exposed, was at first as puzzled as
anyone, till Bramintho's wonderful prosperity and amazing
insolence made him suspect that the enchanted ring had become his
property. In order to find out the truth he bribed a stranger just
arrived at Court, one of a nation with whom the King was always at
war, and arranged that he was to steal in the night to Bramintho
and to offer him untold honours and rewards if he would betray the
State secrets.
Bramintho promised everything, and accepted at once the first
payment of his crime, boasting that he had a ring which rendered
him invisible, and that by means of it he could penetrate into the
most private places. But his triumph was short. Next day he was
seized by order of the King, and his ring was taken from him. He
was searched, and on him were found papers which proved his
crimes; and, though Rosimond himself came back to the Court to
entreat his pardon, it was refused. So Bramintho was put to death,
and the ring had been even more fatal to him than it had been
useful in the hands of his brother.
To console Rosimond for the fate of Bramintho, the King gave him
back the enchanted ring, as a pearl without price. The unhappy
Rosimond did not look upon it in the same light, and the first
thing he did on his return home was to seek the Fairy in the
woods.
'Here,' he said, 'is your ring. My brother's experience has made
me understand many things that I did not know before. Keep it, it
has only led to his destruction. Ah! without it he would be alive
now, and my father and mother would not in their old age be bowed
to the earth with shame and grief! Perhaps he might have been wise
and happy if he had never had the chance of gratifying his wishes!
Oh! how dangerous it is to have more power than the rest of the
world! Take back your ring, and as ill fortune seems to follow all
on whom you bestow it, I will implore you, as a favour to myself,
that you will never give it to anyone who is dear to me.'
Fenelon.
THE SNUFF-BOX
As often happens in this world, there was once a young man who
spent all his time in travelling. One day, as he was walking
along, he picked up a snuff-box. He opened it, and the snuff-box
said to him in the Spanish language, 'What do you want?' He was
very much frightened, but, luckily, instead of throwing the box
away, he only shut it tight, and put it in his pocket. Then he
went on, away, away, away, and as he went he said to himself, 'If
it says to me again "What do you want?" I shall know better what
to say this time.' So he took out the snuff-box and opened it, and
again it asked 'What do you want?' 'My hat full of gold,' answered
the youth, and immediately it was full.
Our young man was enchanted. Henceforth he should never be in need
of anything. So on he travelled, away, away, away, through thick
forests, till at last he came to a beautiful castle. In the castle
there lived a King. The young man walked round and round the
castle, not caring who saw him, till the King noticed him, and
asked what he was doing there. 'I was just looking at your
castle.' 'You would like to have one like it, wouldn't you?' The
young man did not reply, but when it grew dark he took his snuff-
box and opened the lid. 'What do you want?' 'Build me a castle
with laths of gold and tiles of diamond, and the furniture all of
silver and gold.' He had scarcely finished speaking when there
stood in front of him, exactly opposite the King's palace, a
castle built precisely as he had ordered. When the King awoke he
was struck dumb at the sight of the magnificent house shining in
the rays of the sun. The servants could not do their work for
stopping to stare at it. Then the King dressed himself, and went
to see the young man. And he told him plainly that he was a very
powerful Prince; and that he hoped that they might all live
together in one house or the other, and that the King would give
him his daughter to wife. So it all turned out just as the King
wished. The young man married the Princess, and they lived happily
in the palace of gold.
But the King's wife was jealous both of the young man and of her
own daughter. The Princess had told her mother about the snuff-
box, which gave them everything they wanted, and the Queen bribed
a servant to steal the snuff-box. They noticed carefully where it
was put away every night, and one evening, when the whole world
was asleep, the woman stole it and brought it to her old mistress.
Oh how happy the Queen was! She opened the lid, and the snuff-box
said to her 'What do you want?' And she answered at once 'I want
you to take me and my husband and my servants and this beautiful
house and set us down on the other side of the Red Sea, but my
daughter and her husband are to stay behind.'
When the young couple woke up, they found themselves back in the
old castle, without their snuff-box. They hunted for it high and
low, but quite vainly. The young man felt that no time was to be
lost, and he mounted his horse and filled his pockets with as much
gold as he could carry. On he went, away, away, away, but he
sought the snuff-box in vain all up and down the neighbouring
countries, and very soon he came to the end of all his money. But
still he went on, as fast as the strength of his horse would let
him, begging his way.
Someone told him that he ought to consult the moon, for the moon
travelled far, and might be able to tell him something. So he went
away, away, away, and ended, somehow or other, by reaching the
land of the moon. There he found a little old woman who said to
him 'What are you doing here? My son eats all living things he
sees, and if you are wise, you will go away without coming any
further.' But the young man told her all his sad tale, and how he
possessed a wonderful snuff-box, and how it had been stolen from
him, and how he had nothing left, now that he was parted from his
wife and was in need of everything. And he said that perhaps her
son, who travelled so far, might have seen a palace with laths of
gold and tiles of diamond, and furnished all in silver and gold.
As he spoke these last words, the moon came in and said he smelt
mortal flesh and blood. But his mother told him that it was an
unhappy man who had lost everything, and had come all this way to
consult him, and bade the young man not to be afraid, but to come
forward and show himself. So he went boldly up to the moon, and
asked if by any accident he had seen a palace with the laths of
gold and the tiles of diamond, and all the furniture of silver and
gold. Once this house belonged to him, but now it was stolen. And
the moon said no, but that the sun travelled farther than he did,
and that the young man had better go and ask him.
So the young man departed, and went away, away, away, as well as
his horse would take him, begging his living as he rode along,
and, somehow or other, at last he got to the land of the sun.
There he found a little old woman, who asked him, 'What are you
doing here? Go away. Have you not heard that my son feeds upon
Christians?' But he said no, and that he would not go, for he was
so miserable that it was all one to him whether he died or not;
that he had lost everything, and especially a splendid palace like
none other in the whole world, for it had laths of gold and tiles
of diamond, and all the furniture was of silver and gold. And that
he had sought it far and long, and in all the earth there was no
man more unhappy. So the old woman's heart melted, and she agreed
to hide him.
When the Sun arrived, he declared that he smelt Christian flesh,
and he meant to have it for his dinner. But his mother told him
such a pitiful story of the miserable wretch who had lost
everything, and had come from far to ask his help, that at last he
promised to see him.
So the young man came out from his hiding-place and begged the sun
to tell him if in the course of his travels he had not seen
somewhere a palace that had not its like in the whole world, for
its laths were of gold and its tiles of diamond, and all the
furniture in silver and gold.
And the sun said no, but that perhaps the wind had seen it, for he
entered everywhere, and saw things that no one else ever saw, and
if anyone knew where it was, it was certainly the wind.
Then the poor young man again set forth as well as his horse could
take him, begging his living as he went, and, somehow or other, he
ended by reaching the home of the wind. He found there a little
old woman busily occupied in filling great barrels with water. She
asked him what had put it into his head to come there, for her son
ate everything he saw, and that he would shortly arrive quite mad,
and that the young man had better look out. But he answered that
he was so unhappy that he had ceased to mind anything, even being
eaten, and then he told her that he had been robbed of a palace
that had not its equal in all the world, and of all that was in
it, and that he had even left his wife, and was wandering over the
world until he found it. And that it was the sun who had sent him
to consult the wind. So she hid him under the staircase, and soon
they heard the south wind arrive, shaking the house to its
foundations. Thirsty as he was, he did not wait to drink, but he
told his mother that he smelt the blood of a Christian man, and
that she had better bring him out at once and make him ready to be
eaten. But she bade her son eat and drink what was before him, and
said that the poor young man was much to be pitied, and that the
sun had granted him his life in order that he might consult the
wind. Then she brought out the young man, who explained how he was
seeking for his palace, and that no man had been able to tell him
where it was, so he had come to the wind. And he added that he had
been shamefully robbed, and that the laths were of gold and the
tiles of diamond, and all the furniture in silver and gold, and he
inquired if the wind had not seen such a palace during his
wanderings.
And the wind said yes, and that all that day he had been blowing
backwards and forwards over it without being able to move one
single tile. 'Oh, do tell me where it is,' cried the you man. 'It
is a long way off,' replied the wind, 'on the other side of the
Red Sea.' But our traveller was not discouraged, he had already
journeyed too far.
So he set forth at once, and, somehow or other, he managed to
reach that distant land. And he enquired if anyone wanted a
gardener. He was told that the head gardener at the castle had
just left, and perhaps he might have a chance of getting the
place. The young man lost no time, but walked up to the castle and
asked if they were in want of a gardener; and how happy he was
when they agreed to take him! Now he passed most of his day in
gossiping with the servants about the wealth of their masters and
the wonderful things in the house. He made friends with one of the
maids, who told him the history of the snuff-box, and he coaxed
her to let him see it. One evening she managed to get hold of it,
and the young man watched carefully where she hid it away, in a
secret place in the bedchamber of her mistress.
The following night, when everyone was fast asleep, he crept in
and took the snuff-box. Think of his joy as he opened the lid!
When it asked him, as of yore, 'What do you want?' he replied:
'What do I want? What do I want? Why, I want to go with my palace
to the old place, and for the King and the Queen and all their
servants to be drowned in the Red Sea.' He hardly finished
speaking when he found himself back again with his wife, while all
the other inhabitants of the palace were lying at the bottom of
the Red Sea.
Sebillot.
THE GOLDEN BLACKBIRD
Once upon a time there was a great lord who had three sons. He
fell very ill, sent for doctors of every kind, even bonesetters,
but they, none of them, could find out what was the matter with
him, or even give him any relief. At last there came a foreign
doctor, who declared that the Golden Blackbird alone could cure
the sick man.
So the old lord despatched his eldest son to look for the
wonderful bird, and promised him great riches if he managed to
find it and bring it back.
The young man began his journey, and soon arrived at a place where
four roads met. He did not know which to choose, and tossed his
cap in the air, determining that the direction of its fall should
decide him. After travelling for two or three days, he grew tired
of walking without knowing where or for how long, and he stopped
at an inn which was filled with merrymakers and ordered something
to eat and drink.
'My faith,' said he, 'it is sheer folly to waste more time hunting
for this bird. My father is old, and if he dies I shall inherit
his goods.'
The old man, after waiting patiently for some time, sent his
second son to seek the Golden Blackbird. The youth took the same
direction as his brother, and when he came to the cross roads, he
too tossed up which road he should take. The cap fell in the same
place as before, and he walked on till he came to the spot where
his brother had halted. The latter, who was leaning out of the
window of the inn, called to him to stay where he was and amuse
himself.
'You are right,' replied the youth. 'Who knows if I should ever
find the Golden Blackbird, even if I sought the whole world
through for it. At the worst, if the old man dies, we shall have
his property.'
He entered the inn and the two brothers made merry and feasted,
till very soon their money was all spent. They even owed something
to their landlord, who kept them as hostages till they could pay
their debts.
The youngest son set forth in his turn, and he arrived at the
place where his brothers were still prisoners. They called to him
to stop, and did all they could to prevent his going further.
'No,' he replied, 'my father trusted me, and I will go all over
the world till I find the Golden Blackbird.'
'Bah,' said his brothers, 'you will never succeed any better than
we did. Let him die if he wants to; we will divide the property.'
As he went his way he met a little hare, who stopped to look at
him, and asked:
'Where are you going, my friend?'
'I really don't quite know,' answered he. 'My father is ill, and
he cannot be cured unless I bring him back the Golden Blackbird.
It is a long time since I set out, but no one can tell me where to
find it.'
'Ah,' said the hare, 'you have a long way to go yet. You will have
to walk at least seven hundred miles before you get to it.'
'And how am I to travel such a distance?'
'Mount on my back,' said the little hare, 'and I will conduct
you.'
The young man obeyed: at each bound the little hare went seven
miles, and it was not long before they reached a castle that was
as large and beautiful as a castle could be.
'The Golden Blackbird is in a little cabin near by,' said the
little hare, 'and you will easily find it. It lives in a little
cage, with another cage beside it made all of gold. But whatever
you do, be sure not to put it in the beautiful cage, or everybody
in the castle will know that you have stolen it.'
The youth found the Golden Blackbird standing on a wooden perch,
but as stiff and rigid as if he was dead. And beside the beautiful
cage was the cage of gold.
'Perhaps he would revive if I were to put him in that lovely
cage,' thought the youth.
The moment that Golden Bird had touched the bars of the splendid
cage he awoke, and began to whistle, so that all the servants of
the castle ran to see what was the matter, saying that he was a
thief and must be put in prison.
'No,' he answered, 'I am not a thief. If I have taken the Golden
Blackbird, it is only that it may cure my father, who is ill, and
I have travelled more than seven hundred miles in order to find
it.'
'Well,' they replied, 'we will let you go, and will even give you
the Golden Bird, if you are able to bring us the Porcelain
Maiden.'
The youth departed, weeping, and met the little hare, who was
munching wild thyme.
'What are you crying for, my friend?' asked the hare.
'It is because,' he answered, 'the castle people will not allow me
to carry off the Golden Blackbird without giving them the
Porcelain Maiden in exchange.'
'You have not followed my advice,' said the little hare. 'And you
have put the Golden Bird into the fine cage.'
'Alas! yes!'
'Don't despair! the Porcelain Maiden is a young girl, beautiful as
Venus, who dwells two hundred miles from here. Jump on my back and
I will take you there.'
The little hare, who took seven miles in a stride, was there in no
time at all, and he stopped on the borders of a lake.
'The Porcelain Maiden,' said the hare to the youth, 'will come
here to bathe with her friends, while I just eat a mouthful of
thyme to refresh me. When she is in the lake, be sure you hide her
clothes, which are of dazzling whiteness, and do not give them
back to her unless she consents to follow you.'
The little hare left him, and almost immediately the Porcelain
Maiden arrived with her friends. She undressed herself and got
into the water. Then the young man glided up noiselessly and laid
hold of her clothes, which he hid under a rock at some distance.
When the Porcelain Maiden was tired of playing in the water she
came out to dress herself, but, though she hunted for her clothes
high and low, she could find them nowhere. Her friends helped her
in the search, but, seeing at last that it was of no use, they
left her, alone on the bank, weeping bitterly.
'Why do you cry?' said the young man, approaching her.
'Alas!' answered she, 'while I was bathing someone stole my
clothes, and my friends have abandoned me.'
'I will find your clothes if you will only come with me.'
And the Porcelain Maiden agreed to follow him, and after having
given up her clothes, the young man bought a small horse for her,
which went like the wind. The little hare brought them both back
to seek for the Golden Blackbird, and when they drew near to the
castle where it lived the little hero said to the young man:
'Now, do be a little sharper than you were before, and you will
manage to carry off both the Golden Blackbird and the Porcelain
Maiden. Take the golden cage in one hand, and leave the bird in
the old cage where he is, and bring that away too.'
The little hare then vanished; the youth did as he was bid, and
the castle servants never noticed that he was carrying off the
Golden Bird. When he reached the inn where his brothers were
detained, he delivered them by paying their debt. They set out all
together, but as the two elder brothers were jealous of the
success of the youngest, they took the opportunity as they were
passing by the shores of a lake to throw themselves upon him,
seize the Golden Bird, and fling him in the water. Then they
continued their journey, taking with them the Porcelain Maiden, in
the firm belief that their brother was drowned. But, happily, he
had snatched in falling at a tuft of rushes and called loudly for
help. The little hare came running to him, and said 'Take hold of
my leg and pull yourself out of the water.'
When he was safe on shore the little hare said to him:
'Now this is what you have to do: dress yourself like a Breton
seeking a place as stable-boy, and go and offer your services to
your father. Once there, you will easily be able to make him
understand the truth.'
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