Chapter II: Front Matter (2)

“That may all be as you say,” answered the prince, “I will go, nevertheless! Only tell me the way that I must take to get to the house.” When the old woman heard this resolve she was sorry for the young man, and, taking a piece of bread from her pouch, she gave it to him, saying, “Take this bread and keep it safe as the apple of your eye.” The prince took the bread, and continued his journey. Very soon afterwards he met another old woman, and she asked him where he was going. He told her he was going to demand the girl who lived in the doorless house on the mountain. Then the old woman tried to dissuade him, telling him just the same things as the former one had done. He said, however, “That may be quite true, nevertheless I will go, even if I never return.” Then the old woman gave to the prince a little nut, saying, “Keep this nut always by you; it may help you some time or other.”

The prince took the nut and went on his way till he came to where an old woman was sitting by the roadside. She asked him, “Where are you going?” Then he told her he was going to demand the girl who lived in the house on the mountain before him. Upon this the old woman wept, and prayed him to give up all thoughts of the girl, and she gave him the very same warnings as the other old women had done. All this, however, was of no use, the prince was resolved to go on, so the old woman gave him a walnut, saying, “Take this walnut, and keep it carefully until you want it.”

He wondered at these presents, and asked her to tell him why the first old woman had given him a piece of bread, the second a nut, and she herself now a walnut. The old woman answered, “The bread is to throw to the beasts before the house, that they may not eat you; and, when you find yourself in the greatest danger, ask counsel, first from the nut, and then from the walnut.”

Then the king’s son continued his wandering, till he came at last to a thick forest, in the midst of which he saw a house with only a single window. When he came near it he was attacked by a multitude of beasts of all kinds, and, following the advice of the old woman, he threw the bit of bread towards them. Then the beasts came and smelt at the bread one after the other, and, upon doing so, each drew his tail between his legs and lay down quietly.

The house had no door, and but one window, which was very high above the ground, so high that do what he could he was not able to reach it. Suddenly he saw a woman letting down her golden hair, so he rushed and caught hold of it, and she drew him up thereby into the house. Then he saw that the woman was she for whose sake he had come to this place. The prince and the girl were equally pleased to see each other, and she said, “Thank God that my mother happened to be from home. She is gone into the forest to gather the plants by the aid of which she transforms into beasts all the young men who venture here to ask me to be their wife. Those are the beasts who would have killed you, if God had not helped you. But let us fly away from this place.” So they fled away through the forest as quickly as they could. As they happened to look back, however, they saw that the girl’s mother was pursuing them, and they became frightened. The old woman was already very near them before the prince remembered his nut. He took it out quickly and asked, “For God’s sake! tell me what we must do now!” The nut replied, “Open me.” The prince opened it, and from the little nut flowed out a large river, which stopped the way, so that for a time the girl’s mother could not pass. However, she touched the waters with her staff, and they immediately divided and left her a dry path, so that she could run on quickly after the prince and the girl.

When the prince saw she would soon come up with them he took out the walnut and asked, “Tell me, what must we do now?” And the walnut replied, “Break me.” The king’s son broke the walnut, and a great fire flamed out from it—so great a fire that the whole forest barely escaped being consumed by it. But the girl’s mother spat on the fire, and it extinguished itself in a moment. Then the king’s son saw that these were nothing but the jugglings of the devil, so he turned eastward, made the sign of the cross, and called on the mighty God to help him. Then it suddenly thundered and lightened, and from heaven flashed a thunderbolt which struck the mother of the girl, and she fell dead upon the ground.

Thus at length the king’s son arrived safely at home, and when the girl had been made a Christian, he married her.

GOOD DEEDS ARE NEVER LOST

In days gone by there lived a married couple who had one only son. When he grew up they made him learn something which would be of use to him in afterlife. He was a kind, quiet boy, and feared God greatly. After his schooling was finished his father gave him a ship, freighted with various sorts of merchandise, so that he might go and trade about the world, and grow rich, and become a help to his parents in their old age. The son put to sea, and one day the ship he was in met with a Turkish vessel in which he heard great weeping and wailing. So he demanded of the Turkish sailors, “Pray tell me why there is so much wailing on board your ship?” and they answered, “We are carrying slaves which we have captured in different countries, and those who are chained are weeping.”

Then he said, “Please, brothers, ask your captain if he would give me the slaves for ready cash.”

The captain gladly agreed to the proposal, and after much bargaining the young man gave to the captain his vessel full of merchandise, and received in exchange the ship full of slaves.

Then he called the slaves before him, and demanded of each whence he came, and told them all they were free to return to their own countries. At last he came to an old woman who held close to her side a very beautiful girl, and he asked them from what country they came. The old woman told him, weeping, that they came from a very distant land, saying, “This young girl is the only daughter of the king, and I am her nurse, and have taken care of her from her childhood. One day, unhappily, she went to walk in a garden far away from the palace, and these wicked Turks saw her and caught her. Luckily I happened to be near, and, hearing her scream, ran to her help, and so the Turks caught me too, and brought us both on board of this ship.” Then the old woman and the beautiful girl, being so far from their own country, and having no means of getting there, begged him that he would take them with him. So he married the girl, took her with him, and returned home.

When he arrived his father asked him about his ship and merchandise, and he told him what had happened, how he had given his vessel with its cargo, and had bought the slaves and set them free. “This girl,” continued he, “is a king’s daughter, and the old woman her nurse; as they could not get back to their country, they prayed to remain with me, so I married the girl.”

Thereupon the father was very angry, and said, “My foolish son! what have you done? Why have you made away with my property without cause and of your own will?” and he drove him out of the house.

Then the son lived with his wife and her old nurse a long time in the same village, trying always, through the good offices of his mother and other friends, to obtain his father’s forgiveness, and begging him to let him have a second ship full of merchandise, promised to be wiser in future. After some time the father took pity on him, and received him again into his house, with his wife and her old nurse. Shortly after he fitted him out another ship, larger than the first one, and filled with more valuable merchandise. In this he sailed, leaving his wife and her nurse in the house of his parents. He came one day to a city where he found the soldiers very busy carrying some unlucky villagers away to prison. So he asked them, “Why are you doing this, my brethren? Why are you driving these poor people to prison?” and the soldiers answered:

“They have not paid the king’s taxes, that is why we take them to prison.”

Then he went to the magistrate and asked, “Please tell me how much these poor prisoners owe?”

When the magistrate told him he sold his goods and ship, and paid the debts of all the prisoners, and returned home without anything. Falling at the feet of his father, he told him what he had done, and begged him to forgive him. But the father was exceedingly angry, more so than before, and drove him away from his presence. What could the unhappy son do in this great strait? How could he go begging, he whose parents were so rich? After some time his friends again prevailed upon the father to receive him back, because, they urged, so much suffering had made him wiser. At last the father yielded, took him again into his house and prepared a ship for him finer and richer than the two former ones. Then the son had the portrait of his wife painted on the helm, and that of the old nurse on the stern, and, after taking leave of his father and mother and wife, he sailed away the third time.

After sailing for some days he came near a large city, in which there lived a king, and, dropping anchor, he fired a salute to the city. All the citizens wondered, as did also their king, and no one could say who the captain of the strange ship might be. In the afternoon the king sent one of his ministers to ask who he was, and why he came; and the minister brought a message that the king himself would come at nine o’clock the next morning to see the ship. When the minister came he saw on the helm the portrait of the king’s daughter, and on the stern that of her old nurse, and in his surprise and joy dared not believe his own eyes. For the princess had been promised to him in marriage while she was yet a child, and long before she was captured by the Turks.

But the minister did not tell anyone what he had seen.

Next morning, at nine o’clock, the king came with his ministers on board the ship, and asked the captain who he was, and whence he came.

Whilst walking about the vessel he saw there the portrait of the girl on the helm and that of the old woman on the stern, and recognised the features of his own daughter and her old nurse who had been captured by the Turks. But his joy was so great he dared not believe his eyes, so he invited the captain to come that afternoon to his palace to relate his adventures, hoping thus to find out if his hopes were well founded.

In the afternoon, in obedience to the king’s wish, he went to the palace, and the king at once began to inquire why the figure of the girl was painted on the helm and that of the old woman on the stern. The captain guessed at once that this king must be his wife’s father, so he told him everything that had happened—how he had met the Turkish ship filled with slaves, and had ransomed them and set them free. “This girl, alone,” he continued, “with her old nurse, had nowhere to go, as her country was so far off, so they asked to remain with me, and I married the girl.”

When the king heard this he exclaimed, “That girl is my only child, and the accursed Turks took her and her old nurse. You, since you are her husband, will be the heir to my crown. But go—go at once to your home and bring me your wife that I may see her—my only daughter, before I die. Bring your father, your mother, bring all your family. Let your property be all sold in that country, and come all of you here. Your father shall be my brother, and your mother my sister, as you are my son and the heir to my crown. We will all live together here in one palace.” Then he called the queen, and all his ministers, and told them all about his daughter. And there was great rejoicing and festivity in the whole court.

After this the king gave his son-in-law his own large ship to bring back the princess and the whole family. So the captain left his own ship there, but he asked the king to send one of his ministers with him, “Lest they should not believe me,” he said; and the king gave him as a companion for his voyage the same minister to whom he had formerly promised the princess in marriage. They arrived safely in port, and the captain’s father was surprised to see his son return so soon, and with such a splendid vessel.

Then he told all that had happened, and his mother and wife, and especially the old nurse, rejoiced greatly when they heard the good news. As the king’s minister was there to witness the truth of this strange news, no one could doubt it. So the father and mother consented to sell all their property and go to live in the king’s palace.

But the minister resolved to kill this new heir to the king and husband of the princess who had been promised to him for wife; so, when they had sailed a long distance, he called him on deck to confer with him. The captain had a quiet conscience, and did not suspect any evil, so he came up at once, and the minister caught him quickly and threw him overboard.

The ship was sailing fast, and it was rather dark, so the captain could not overtake her, but was left behind in the deep waters. The minister, however, went quietly to sleep.

Fortunately the waves carried the king’s young heir to a rock near the shore; it was, however, a desert country, and no one was near to help him. Those he had left on board the ship, seeing next morning that he had disappeared, began to weep and wail, thinking he had fallen overboard in the night and been drowned. His wife especially lamented him, because they had loved each other very much. When the ship arrived at the king’s city, bringing news of the disaster, the king was troubled, and the whole court mourned greatly. The king kept the parents and family of the young man by him as he had engaged to do, but they could not console themselves for their great loss.

Meanwhile, the king’s unhappy son-in-law sat on the rock, and lived on the moss which grew there, and was scorched by the hot sun, from which he had no shelter; his garments were soiled and torn, and no one would have recognised him. Still not a living soul was to be seen anywhere to help him. At last, after fifteen days and fifteen nights, he noticed an old man on the shore, leaning on a staff, and engaged in fishing. Then the king’s heir shouted to the old man, and begged him to help him off the rock. The old fisherman consented—

“If you will pay me for it,” said he.

“How can I pay you when, as you see, I have nothing, and even my clothes are only rags?” answered the young man sadly.

“Oh, that matters nothing,” exclaimed the old man; “I have here pen and paper, so, if you know how to use them, write a promise to give me half of everything you may ever possess, and then sign the paper.”

To that the young man gladly consented; so the old man walked through the water to him, and he signed the paper, and then the old man took him over to the shore. After that he journeyed from village to village, barefoot, hungry, and sorrowful, and begged some garments to cover him.

After thirty days’ wandering his good luck led him to the city of the king, and he went and sat at the door of the palace, wearing on his finger his wedding-ring, on which were his own name and the name of his wife. At eventide the king’s servants took him into the courtyard, and gave him to eat what remained of their supper. Next morning he took his stand by the garden-door, but the gardener came and drove him away, saying that the king and his family were soon coming that way. So he moved away a little, and sat down near a corner of the garden, and shortly afterwards he saw the king walking with his mother, his father leading the queen, and his wife walking with the minister, his great enemy. He did not yet desire to show himself to them, but as they passed near him and gave him alms, his wife saw the wedding-ring on a finger of the hand which he held out to take the money. Still she could not think the beggar could be her husband, so she said:

“Let me see the ring you have on your finger.”

The minister, who was walking by her, was a little frightened, and said:

“Go on, how can you speak to that ragged beggar?”

But she would not hear him. She took the ring, and read thereon her own and her husband’s names. Her heart was greatly troubled by the sight of the ring, but she controlled her feelings and said nothing. As soon as they returned to the palace she told the king, her father, that she had recognised her husband’s ring on the hand of the beggar who sat by the side of the garden. “So please send for him,” said she, “that we may find out how the ring came into his hands.”

Then the king sent his servants to find the beggar, and they brought him to the palace. And the king asked him whence he came, and how he got that ring. Then he could no longer restrain himself, but told them how he had been thrown overboard by the treacherous minister, and spent fifteen days and nights on the naked rock, and how he had been saved.

“You see now how God and my right-dealing have brought me back to my parents and my wife.”

When they heard that they could hardly speak, so rejoiced were they. Then the king summoned the father and mother, and related what had happened to their son.

The servants quickly brought him fine new garments, and bathed and clothed him. Then for many days there were great rejoicings, not only in the palace, but also in all the city, and he was crowned as king. The minister was seized by the king’s order, and given up to the king’s son-in-law, that he might punish him after his own will. But the young king would not permit him to be put to death, but forgave him, on condition that he left the kingdom instantly.

A few days after the old man who had saved the young king came, bringing with him his written promise. The young king took the paper and, reading it, said:

“My old man, sit down. To-day I am king, but if I were a beggar I would fulfil my word, and acknowledge my signature. Therefore we will divide all that I have.”

So he took out the book and began to divide the cities.

“This is for me—that is for you.” So saying, he wrote all on a chart, till all was divided between them, from the greatest city to the poorest barrack.

The old man accepted his half, but immediately made a present of it again to the young king, saying:

“Take it. I am not an old man, but an angel from God. I was sent by God to save thee, for the sake of thy good deeds. Now reign and be happy, and may thy prosperity last long.”

The angel disappeared, and the king reigned there in great happiness.

THE WICKED STEPMOTHER

There was once on a time a stepmother who hated her stepdaughter exceedingly, because she was more beautiful than her own daughter whom she had brought with her into the house. By-and-by the father learned also to hate his own child; he scolded her, and beat her, in order to please his wife. One day his wife said to him, “Let us send your daughter away. Let her look out for herself in the world.” Upon this the man asked, “Where can we send her? Where can the poor girl go alone?” To this the wife answered, “If you will not do this, husband, I will no longer live with you. You had better take her to-morrow out of the house. You can lead her into the forest, and then steal away from her and hurry home.” She repeated this so often that at length he consented, but said, “At least prepare the girl something for her journey, that she may not die the first day of hunger.”

The stepmother thereupon made a cake, and, the next morning early, the father led the girl far away into the very heart of the forest, and there left her and went back home.

The poor girl, thus left alone, wandered all day about the wood seeking for a path, but could find no way out of it. When it grew dark she got up into a tree to pass the night, fearing lest some wild beasts would eat her if she remained on the ground. And, indeed, all night long the wolves were howling under the tree, so that the poor girl trembled so much that she could hardly keep herself from falling. When day dawned she descended from the tree and walked on again, hoping to find some way out of the forest. But the wood grew thicker and thicker, and seemed to have no end. In the evening, whilst she was looking for a tree in which she might remain safely over the night, all at once she saw something shining in the forest. So she went on, hoping to find some shelter, and at length came to a fine large house. The gates were open, so she went in, and walked through a great many rooms, each one more beautiful than the other. On a table in one room she found a candle burning. She thought this must be the house of some robbers; but she was not afraid, for she reasoned with herself, “Rich men have reason to fear robbers, but I have none—I will tell them that I will serve them gladly for a piece of bread.”

She then took the cake from her bag, said grace, and began to eat. Just as she had begun to eat a cock came into the room, and sprang upon the table to reach the cake, so the girl crumbled some of it for him. Then a little dog came in and jumped quite friendly upon her, so she broke a piece from her cake for the little dog, and took him on her knee, and petted and fed him. After that came in a cat also, and the girl fed her too.

At length the girl heard a loud noise as if some great beast was coming, and was greatly frightened when a lion came into the room. But the lion moved his tail in such a friendly way, and looked so very kindly, that she took heart, and offered him a piece of her cake. The lion took it and began to lick her hand, and the girl had no longer any fear of him, so she stroked him gently and fed him with the rest of the cake. Suddenly she heard a great noise of weapons, and almost swooned as a creature in a bear-skin entered the room. The cock, the dog, the cat, and the lion all ran to it, and jumped about it affectionately, showing in all possible ways their great joy. The poor girl thought it a very strange beast, and expected it would jump upon her and kill her. But the fearful thing threw the bear-skin from its head and shoulders, and all the room shone and glittered with its golden garments. The poor girl almost lost her senses when she saw before her a handsome man, beautifully dressed. But he came up to her and said, “Don’t be afraid, my dear! I am not a bad man, I am the son of the king, and when I wish to hunt I come here and use this bear-skin as a disguise lest the people should recognize me. Those who see me believe that I am a ghost, and run away from me. No one dares to come into this house, knowing that I often come here. You are the only person who has ventured in. How did you know that I am not a ghost?”

Then she told him she had never heard of him nor of the house, but that her stepmother had driven her away from home, and she told him all that had happened to her. When he heard this he was very sorry, and said, “Your stepmother hated you, but God has been kind to you. I will marry you if you are willing to be my wife—will you consent?” “Yes,” she replied.

Next day he took her to his father’s palace and married her. After some time she begged to be allowed to go to see her father. So her husband allowed her to go, and she dressed herself all in gold and went to her father’s house. The father happened to be away from home, and the stepmother, seeing her coming, was afraid lest she had come to revenge herself. So she hurried to meet her and said, “You see that it was I who sent you on the road to happiness.” The stepdaughter kissed her and embraced her stepsister. Then the girl said she was very sorry that she had not found her father at home, and, on her going away, she gave plenty of money to her stepmother. When, however, she had gone away the stepmother shook her fist after her and cried, “Wait a little, you shall not be the only one so dressed out; to-morrow I will send my own daughter after you the same way.”

When her husband came home at night she told him all that had happened, and said, “What do you think, husband? would it not be a good thing to send my girl also into the wood to try her fortune; for your girl, whom we sent there, never came back until now, and now she has come glittering in gold?”

The man sighed and agreed to the proposal. Next day the stepmother prepared for her daughter plenty of cakes and roasted meats, and then sent her with the father into the forest. The man led her deep into the forest, as he had done his own daughter, and there left her. Finding the father did not return, she began to seek a way to get home, and soon came in sight of the house in the forest. She entered it, and seeing no one, fastened the door inside. Then she took out of her bag the baked meats and cakes and began to eat. Whilst she was eating the cock, the dog, and the cat came in suddenly, and began to play about her affectionately, hoping she would give them something; but she became quite angry, and exclaimed, “The devil take you! I have hardly enough for myself; do you think I will give any to you?” Then she began to beat them, whereat the dog howled, and the lion, hearing it, rushed in furiously, caught the girl and killed her.

Next day the king’s son came with his wife to hunt. She immediately recognised her sister’s dress, and gathered together the fragments of the body, which she took to her stepmother. She found her father at home this time, and he was greatly pleased to hear that his daughter was married to the king’s son. When, however, he heard what had happened to the daughter of his wife, he was very sorry, but said, “Her mother has deserved this from the hand of God, because she hated you without a cause. There she is at the well. I will go and tell her.”

When the stepmother heard what had happened to her daughter, she said to her husband, “I cannot bear your daughter. I cannot bear to look at her. Let us kill her and her husband. If you will not consent, I will jump down into this well.” “I cannot kill my own child,” returned he. “Well, then,” cried she, “if you will not kill her, I cannot endure her,” and so she jumped down into the well.

BIRD GIRL

Once upon a time lived a king, who had only one son; and when this son grew up, his father sent him to travel about the world, in order that he might find a maiden who would make him a suitable wife.

The king’s son started on his journey, and travelled through the whole world without finding anywhere a maiden whom he loved well enough to marry. Seeing then that he had taken so much trouble, and had spent so much time and money, and all to no purpose, he resolved to kill himself. With this intention he climbed to the top of a high mountain, that he might throw himself from its summit; for he wished that even his bones might never be found. Having arrived at the top of the mountain, he saw a sharp rock jutting out from one side of it, and was climbing up to throw himself from it, when he heard a voice behind him calling, “Stop! stop! O, man! Stop for the sake of three hundred and sixty-five which are in the year!” He looked back, and seeing no one, asked, “Who are you that speak to me? Let me see you. When you know how miserable I am, you will not prevent my killing myself.”

He had scarcely said these words when there appeared to him an old man, with hair as white as wool, who said, “I know all about you. But listen! Do you see that high hill?” “Yes, I do,” said the prince. “And do you see the multitude of marble blocks which are on it?” said the old man. “Yes, I do,” rejoined the prince. “Well, then,” continued the old man, “on the summit of that hill there is an old woman with golden hair, who sits night and day on that very spot, and holds a bird in her bosom. Whoever can get this bird into his hands will be the happiest man in the world. But be careful. If you are willing to try to get the bird, you must take the old woman by her hair before she sees you. If she sees you before you catch her by her hair, you will be changed into a stone on the spot. Thus it happened to all those young men you see standing there, as if they were blocks of marble.”

When the king’s son heard this he thought, “It is all one to me whether I die here or there. If I succeed, so much the better for me; if I fail, I can but die as I had resolved.” So he went up the hill. When he arrived near the old woman he walked very cautiously towards her, hoping to reach her unseen; for, luckily, the old woman was lying with her back towards him, sunning herself, and playing with the bird.

When near enough he sprang suddenly and caught her by the hair. Then the old woman cried out, so that the whole hill shook as with a great earthquake; but the king’s son held fast by her hair, and when she found that she could not escape she said, “What do you desire from me?” He replied, “That you should give me the bird in your bosom, and that you call back to life all these Christian souls.” The old woman consented, and gave him the bird. Then from her mouth she breathed a blue wind towards the men of stone, and immediately they again became alive. The king’s son, having the bird in his hands, was so rejoiced that he began to kiss it; and as he kissed it the bird was transformed into a most beautiful maiden.

This girl the enchantress had turned into a bird, in order that she might allure the young men to her. The girl pleased the king’s son exceedingly, and he took her with him, and prepared to return home. As he was going down the hill the girl gave him a stick, and told him the stick would do everything that he desired of it. So the king’s son struck with it once upon the rock, and in a moment there came out a mass of golden coin, of which they took plenty for use on their journey.

As they were travelling they came to a great river, and could find no place by which they could pass over; so the king’s son touched the surface of the river with his stick, and the water divided, so that a dry path lay before them, and they were able to cross over the river dryshod. A little farther they came to a herd of wolves, and the wolves attacked them, and seemed about to tear them to pieces; but the prince struck at them with his stick, and one by one the wolves were turned into ants. Thus, at length, the king’s son reached home safely with his beloved, and they were shortly after married, and lived long and happily together.

SIR PEPPERCORN

Three brothers once upon a time went out into the neighbouring forest to choose some trees fit for building. Before going, however, they told their mother not to forget to send their sister into the wood after them with their dinners. The mother sent the girl as she had been told to do; but as the girl was on her way a giant met her in the wood, and carried her off to a cave, where he lived.

All day long the brothers waited, expecting their sister, and wondering why their mother had forgotten to send them food. At length, after remaining two days in the forest, and becoming anxious and angry at the delay, they went home. When they arrived there they asked their mother why she had not sent their sister with their food, as she had promised to do; she replied that she had sent the girl three days ago, and had been wondering greatly why she had not come back.

When the three brothers heard this they were exceedingly troubled, and the eldest said, “I will go back into the forest and look for my sister.” Accordingly he went. After wandering about some time he came to a shepherdess, who was minding a flock of sheep. He asked her anxiously if she had seen his sister in the wood, or whether she could tell him anything about her. The shepherdess replied that she had indeed seen a girl carrying food, but a giant had met her and carried her off to his cave. Then the young man asked her to tell him the way to the giant’s cave, which she did. The cave was hidden in a deep ravine. The brother at once went down, and called aloud on his sister by name. In a short time the girl came to the mouth of the cave, and, seeing her eldest brother, invited him to come in. This he did, and was exceedingly surprised to see that the seeming cave was in reality a magnificent palace. Whilst he stood there talking to his sister and inquiring how she liked her new home, he heard a loud whirring in the air overhead, and, immediately afterwards, saw a heavy mace fall on the ground just in front of the cave. Greatly terrified and astonished, he asked his sister what this meant, and she told him not to be afraid, for it was only the way the giant let her know of his return three hours before he came, that she might begin to prepare his supper.

When it grew dark the giant came home, and was at once aware that a stranger was in his place. In reply to his angry questions, his wife told him it was “only her brother, who had come to visit them.” When the giant heard this he went to the mouth of the cave, and, calling a shepherd, ordered him to kill the largest sheep in his flock and roast it.

When the meat was ready the giant called his brother-in-law and said, as he cut the sheep in two equal parts, “My dear brother-in-law, listen well to what I say; if you eat your half of the meat sooner than I eat mine, I will give you leave to kill me; but if I eat my half quicker than you eat yours, I shall certainly kill you.”

Thereupon the poor brother-in-law began to shake all over with fright; and, fearing the worst, tried to eat as fast as he could. But he had hardly swallowed three mouthfuls before the giant finished his share of the sheep, and killed him, according to his threat.

For some time the other two brothers and their old mother waited impatiently to see if the elder brother would come back. At last, hearing nothing either of the brother or of the sister, the second son said, “I will go and look after them.” So he went into the same forest where his brother had gone, and, meeting there the same shepherdess minding her sheep, he inquired if she had seen his brother or sister. The shepherdess answered him as she had answered the elder brother, and he, too, asked the way to the giant’s cave, and, on being told, went down the ravine until he reached the place. There he called on his sister by name, and she came out and invited him to enter the cave. This he did, and shared the fate of his brother; for, being unable to eat his part of the sheep as quickly as the giant ate his, he also was killed.

Not long after the third brother went forth the same road, to look after his two elder brothers and sister, and having found the giant’s cave, was likewise invited to eat half a sheep, or be put to death. He, however, failed like his brothers had done before him, and, being unable to eat his part of the sheep as quickly as the giant ate his, he was also killed.

Now the parents, being alone in their house, prayed that God would give them another son, even were he no bigger than a peppercorn. As they prayed so it came to pass, and not very long after a little boy was born to them, who was so extremely small that they christened him “Peppercorn.”

When the boy was old enough he went out to play with other boys; and one day, in a quarrel, one of these said to him, “May you share the fate of your elder brothers.” Hearing this, Peppercorn ran off home at once, and asked his mother what these words meant. So the mother was forced to tell him how his three brothers had gone into the forest to look after their lost sister, and had never come back again. As soon as he heard this, Peppercorn began to search the house for pieces of old iron, and, having found some scraps, carried them off in the evening to a blacksmith, that with them he might make him a mace. Next morning Peppercorn went to the smith to ask for his mace, which the man gave him, saying at the same time, “Now pay me for making it.” To this Peppercorn replied, “First let me see if it is strong enough”; and he threw it up in the air and held his head so that the mace might fall upon it. As soon as the mace struck his head, it broke into pieces; and Peppercorn, seeing how badly it was made, fell into a passion and killed the smith. Then he gathered up the pieces of iron and went off to look for a better workman. He soon found another blacksmith who was willing to make him a mace, but demanded a ducat for the work. Peppercorn said he would willingly pay the ducat if the smith made him a really strong, serviceable mace. So next morning he went to ask if it was ready, and the smith said “Yes; but you must first pay me the ducat, and then I will give it you.” Peppercorn, however, answered, “The ducat is ready in my pocket, but I must first see if the mace is good before I pay for it.” Thereupon he caught it, flung it up in the air, and held his head under it as it fell. As soon as the mace struck his head it broke into pieces; and he, again falling into a great passion, killed this smith also.

Gathering up the pieces of iron, he now carried them to a third smith, who undertook to make him a good strong mace, and demanded a ducat for doing so. Next morning Peppercorn went for the mace and, after trying it three times, each time throwing it up higher in the air and letting it fall on his head, where it raised great bumps, he owned that he was satisfied with it, and accordingly paid the smith the ducat as he had promised.

Having now a good strong mace, Peppercorn started off at once for the forest, in which his three elder brothers and his sister had been lost. After wandering about for some time, he came to the place where the shepherdess sat watching her sheep, and, in reply to his questions, she told him that she had seen his three brothers go down the ravine in search of their sister, but had never seen them come up again.

Notwithstanding this, Peppercorn went resolutely down the ravine, calling aloud upon his sister by name. When she heard this she was exceedingly surprised, and said to herself, “Who can this be calling me by name, now that all my brothers are killed? I have no other relations to come and look for me.” Then she went to the entrance of the cave and called out, “Who is it that calls me; I have no longer any brothers?”

Peppercorn said to her, “I am your brother who was born after you left home, and my name is Peppercorn.”

On hearing this, his sister led him into the palace, but he had hardly had time to say a few words to her before a loud whirring was heard in the air, and the giant’s mace fell to the ground. For a moment Peppercorn was terrified at this, but he recovered himself quickly, and, pulling the mace out of the ground, flung it back to the giant, who, in astonishment, said to himself, “Who is this who throws my mace back to me? Methinks I have at last found someone able to fight with me.”

When the giant came home he immediately asked his wife who had been in the cave, and she answered him, “It is my youngest brother.” Thereupon the giant ordered the shepherd to bring the largest sheep in his flock. When this was brought the giant killed it himself, and, whilst preparing it for roasting, said to Peppercorn, “Will you turn the meat, or will you take care of the fire?” Peppercorn said he would rather gather wood and make the fire; so he went out and tumbled down some large trees with his mace. These he carried to the mouth of the cave, and made a large fire ready for the meat.

When the sheep was roasted the giant cut it in two parts, and gave one half to Peppercorn, saying, “Take this half, and if you eat it before I eat my half you are free to kill me; but if you don’t, I shall surely kill you.” So Peppercorn and the giant began to eat as fast as they could, swallowing down large pieces of meat, and, in their haste, almost choking themselves. At last Peppercorn, by trickery, managed to get rid of his share of the sheep, and, according to the arrangement, killed the giant. This done, with the help of his sister, he collected all the treasures the giant had heaped up in his palace, and, taking them with him, returned home with his sister, to the great joy of their parents.

Peppercorn remained some time after this with his father, mother, and sister, and they lived very merrily on the treasures he had brought from the giant’s cave. At length, however, he saw that the riches were coming to an end, so he resolved to go into the world to seek his fortune.

After travelling about a good while he came one day to a large city, where he saw a great crowd gathered about a man who held an iron pike in his hand, and every now and then squeezed drops of water out of the iron. Whilst the people watched, wondering and admiring his great strength, Peppercorn went up and asked him, “Do you think there is any man in the world stronger than yourself?”

“There is only one man alive who is stronger than myself, and that one is a certain person called Peppercorn,” answered he. “Peppercorn can receive a mace on his head without being hurt.”

Thereupon Peppercorn told the man who he was, and proposed to him that they should travel about the world together.

“That will I right gladly,” said the Pikeman. “How can I help being glad to go with a trusty fellow like you!”

Travelling together they came one day to a certain city, and, finding a concourse of people assembled, they went to see what was the matter. They found a man sitting on the bank of a river turning the wheels of nine mills with his little finger. So they said to him, “Is there anyone stronger than you in the world?”

And he answered them, “There are only two men stronger than I am—a certain person named Peppercorn and a certain Pikeman.” Hearing this, Peppercorn and the Pikeman told him who they were, and proposed that he should join them in their travels about the world.

The Mill-turner very gladly accepted the offer, and so all three continued their journey together.

After travelling some time they came to a city where they found all the people greatly excited because some one had stolen the three daughters of the king, and, notwithstanding the immense rewards his majesty had offered, no one had as yet dared to go out to look for the princesses. As soon as Peppercorn and his two comrades heard this they went to the king and offered to search for his three daughters. But in order to accomplish the task they demanded that the king should give them a hundred thousand loads of wood. The king gave them what they wanted, and they made a fence all around the city with the timber. This done they began to watch.

The first morning they prepared a whole ox for their dinners, and discussed the question which of the three should stay behind to mind the meat whilst the other two watched the fence. The Pikeman said, “I think I will stay here and take care of the meat, and I will have dinner ready for you when you come back from looking after the fence.” So it was thus settled. Just, however, as the Pikeman thought the ox was well roasted he was frightened by the sudden approach of a man with a forehead a yard high and a beard a span long. This man said to the Pikeman, “Good morning!” but the latter ran away instead of answering, he was so shocked by the strange appearance of the man.

Yard-high-forehead-and-span-long-beard was quite content at this, and, sitting down, soon finished the whole ox. When he had ended his dinner he got up and went away.

Shortly afterwards Sir Peppercorn and the Mill-turner came for their dinners, and, being very hungry, shouted from afar to the Pikeman, “Let us dine at once!” But the Pikeman, keeping himself hidden among the bushes, called out to them, “There is nothing left for us to eat! A little while ago Yard-high-forehead-and-span-long-beard came up and ate up the whole ox to the very last morsel! I was afraid of him, and so I did not say one word against it.”

Peppercorn and the Mill-turner reproached their companion bitterly for allowing all their dinner to be stolen without once trying to prevent it, and the Mill-turner said scornfully, “Well, I will stop to-morrow and look after the meat, and Yard-high-forehead-and-span-long-beard may come if he likes!”

So the next day the Mill-turner stayed to roast the ox, and his two comrades went to look after the fence they had built round about the city.

Just before dinner-time Yard-high-forehead-and-span-long-beard came out of the forest and walked straight up to the ox, and stretched his hands out greedily to grasp it. The Mill-turner was so frightened by his strange appearance that he ran off as hard as he could to look for a place to hide in.

By-and-by Peppercorn and the Pikeman came for their dinners and asked angrily where the meat was. Whereupon the Mill-turner answered, “There is no meat! It has all been eaten by that horrible Yard-high-forehead-and-span-long-beard, and his looks frightened me so that I dared not say a single word to him.”

It was no use complaining, so Peppercorn only said, “To-morrow I will stay to mind the ox, and you two shall go and look after the fence. I will see if we are to remain the third day without dinner.”

The next morning the Pikeman and the Mill-turner went to see if all was right round about the city, and Peppercorn remained to roast the ox. Exactly as on the two former days, just before dinner was ready, Yard-high-forehead-and-span-long-beard made his appearance, and went up to seize the meat. But Peppercorn pushed him roughly back, saying, “Two days I have been dinnerless on your account, but the third day I will not be so, as long as my head stands on my shoulders!”

Much astonished at his boldness, Yard-high-forehead-and-span-long-beard exclaimed, “Take care you don’t begin to quarrel with me. There is no one in all the world who can conquer me, except a fellow called Peppercorn!”

Peppercorn was very pleased to hear this, and, without more hesitation, sprang at once on Yard-high-forehead-and-span-long-beard, and, after some struggling, pulled him down to the earth and bound him. This done, he tied him fast to a tall pine-tree. Now the Pikeman and Mill-turner came up and were exceedingly glad to find their dinners safe. Just as they were in the middle of their dinners, however, Yard-high-forehead-and-span-long-beard, with a sudden jerk, pulled up the pine-tree by the roots and ran off with tree and all, making furrows in the earth with it just as if three ploughs had been passing over the ground.

Seeing him run off, the Pikeman and Mill-turner jumped up quickly and ran after him, but Peppercorn called them back and told them to finish their dinners first, for there would be plenty of time to catch him after they had dined! So they all three went on eating, and when they had done they followed the furrows which Yard-high-forehead-and-span-long-beard had made in the ground. After a while they came to a deep dark hole in the earth, and when they had examined it all round and tried in vain on account of the darkness to look down into it, they returned to the king and asked him to give them a thousand miles of strong rope so that they could go down into the pit.