Chapter XXVI: Section I: Tales Illustrative of the "kalevipoeg" (1)

The following stories are thoroughly Esthonian in character, and, with the exception of the first, mostly exhibit variants of the Kalevide's journeys to Põrgu.

That of "Slyboots" is also interesting from the resemblance of a portion of it to "Jack and the Beanstalk."

THE MILKY WAY.

( Jannsen .)

Soon after the creation of the world, God created a fair maiden
and gave into her charge all the birds beneath the heavens.
This was Lindu, the lovely daughter of Uko, who knew the paths
of all the birds of passage, whence they came in spring, and
whither they went in autumn, and appointed to each his
dwelling. She cared for the birds with
[Pg 148]
a tender heart, like a mother for her children, and gave them
her aid whenever it was possible; and like a flower in the
morning sunlight under a thousand dewdrops, so brightly shone
Lindu in her motherly care for the birds.

Therefore was it not surprising that all gazed upon her and loved her. Every one desired the maiden as a wife, and suitors came in crowds. The North Star drove up in a grand coach drawn by six brown horses, and brought ten presents. But Lindu gave him a sharp answer. "You must always remain at your post, and cannot stir from it," said she.

Then came the Moon in a silver coach drawn by ten brown horses, and he brought twenty presents. But Lindu refused the Moon too. "You are much too changeable," said she, "and yet you always run in your old path, and that won't suit me."

Scarcely had the Moon taken a sorrowful departure than the Sun
drove up. He rode in a golden coach drawn by twenty gold-red
horses, and brought thirty presents with him. But all his
splendour and magnificence and rich presents went for nothing;
for Lindu said, "I don't like you.
[Pg 149]
You always run on the same course day by day, just like the
Moon."

At length the Northern Light came from midnight in a diamond coach drawn by a thousand white horses. His arrival was so splendid that Lindu went to the door to meet him. His attendants carried a whole coach-load of gold and silver, pearls, and jewellery into her house. And behold, the bridegroom and his presents pleased Lindu so much that she accepted him at once, saying, "You don't always travel the same path, like the others. You set out when you will, and rest when it pleases you. Each time you appear in new splendour and magnificence, and each time you don a new robe, and each time you ride in a new coach with new horses. You are the fitting bridegroom, whom one can receive with joy."

Now they celebrated their betrothal with great splendour. But the Sun, Moon, and Pole Star looked on sadly, and envied the happiness of the Northern Light.

The Northern Light could not tarry long in the bride's house,
for he was obliged to journey back towards midnight. But before
his departure he promised soon to return for the wedding, and
to carry
[Pg 150]
the maiden to his home in the North. In the meantime she was
to prepare her trousseau and get everything ready for the
wedding.

Lindu now waited and made everything ready. One day followed another, but the bridegroom came not to hold a joyous wedding with his bride. The winter passed away, and the warm spring adorned the earth with new beauty, then came the summer; but Lindu waited in vain for her bridegroom; nothing was seen of him.

Then she began to lament bitterly, and sorrowed day and night. She sat in the meadow by the river in her bridal robes and white veil and the wreath on her head, and from her thousand tears sprang the little brooks in the valley. She did not heed the little birds who flew about her head and shoulders, and sought to soothe her with their soft blandishments, nor did she remember to direct their migrations to foreign parts, and to care for their nurture and food. So they wandered about and flew from place to place, not knowing what to do or where to remain.

At length the news of the maiden's distress and the needs of
the birds came to the ears of Uko. Then he resolved in his
heart to help them all,
[Pg 151]
and ordered the winds to carry his daughter to him, away from
the misery of the world. While Lindu was sitting on the ground
weeping and lamenting, the winds sank down before her, and
lifted her so gently that she herself perceived it not, and
bore her away to heaven, where they set her down on the blue
firmament.

There dwells Lindu still in a heavenly pavilion. Her white
bridal veil spreads from one end of the heavens to the other,
and he who lifts his eyes to the Milky Way beholds the maiden
in her bridal robes. From thence she still directs the birds on
their long migrations; from thence she still gazes towards
midnight at the other end of the heavens, and waves her hand in
greeting to the Northern Light. There she has forgotten her
sorrow, and her former happy life reawakens in her heart. And
when winter approaches, she sees with joy that the Northern
Light visits her as a guest, and asks after his bride. Often he
rises up to her, and, heart to heart, renews the bond of their
love. But they may not hold their wedding. Uko has stationed
the maiden in the heavens with her bridal robe and veil, and
the bridegroom cannot carry away his love from her seat. Thus
has Uko in his
[Pg 152]
wisdom determined, and thus has the Milky Way arisen.

THE GRATEFUL PRINCE.

( Kreutzwald .)

Once upon a time, the king of the Golden Land
[105] lost his way in a forest, and, notwithstanding all his
efforts, could not find his way out. Presently he encountered a
stranger, who said to him, "What are you doing here, my friend,
in this gloomy forest, where only wild beasts dwell?" The king
replied, "I have lost my way, and am trying to find the road
home." "If you will promise to give me the first living thing
that meets you when you return to your palace, I will show you
the right way," said the stranger.
[106]

The king reflected awhile, and then answered, "Why should I run
the risk of losing my good hunting-dog? I may perhaps succeed
in finding my way home by myself." The stranger went
[Pg 153]
away, but the king wandered about in the wood till his
provisions were exhausted, while he was unable to discover the
least trace of the right path. Then the stranger met him a
second time, and said, "Promise me the first living thing that
meets you on your return to your palace." But as the king was
very obstinate, he refused to promise anything yet. He once
more boldly explored the forest backwards and forwards, and at
length sank down exhausted under a tree, and thought that his
last hour had come. Then the stranger, who was none other than
the Old Boy
[107] himself, appeared to the king for the third time, and
said, "Don't be a fool. How can you be so fond of your dog that
you are unwilling to part with him to save your life? Only
promise me what I require, and you will soon be relieved from
your anxiety, and your life will be saved." "My life is worth
more than a thousand dogs," answered the king. "The welfare of
a whole country and people is at stake. Let it be so, I will
grant your request, if you will only take me home." He had
hardly uttered the words when he found himself at once on the
borders of the wood, and could see his palace
[Pg 154]
in the distance. He hurried thither, and the first thing which
met him at the gate was the nurse with the royal infant, who
stretched out his arms to his father. The king was horrified,
and scolded the nurse, telling her to take the child away as
quickly as possible. Directly afterwards came his faithful
dog, and fawned upon his master, who repulsed his advances
with a kick. Innocent dependants often suffer thus for the
folly and ill-humour of their superiors.

As soon as the king's anger had cooled a little, he exchanged
his child, a promising boy, for the daughter of a peasant, and
thus the prince was reared up in the house of poor people,
while the peasant's daughter slept in silken robes in the royal
cradle. In a year's time, the Old Boy made his appearance to
demand his due, and took the little girl with him, supposing
her to be the king's child, for he knew nothing of the artifice
by which the children had been changed. The king exulted at the
success of his stratagem, and ordered a great feast. He loaded
the parents of the stolen child with rich presents, that the
prince might want for nothing in the cottage, but did not yet
venture to reclaim his son, fearing lest the deception might be
[Pg 155]
discovered. The peasant family were well satisfied with the
arrangement, for they had one mouth less to feed, and plenty
of food and money.

Meantime the prince grew up to boyhood, and spent a very
pleasant life in the house of his foster-parents. But still he
was not quite happy, for as soon as he learned how the
stratagem had succeeded, he was much grieved that a poor
innocent girl should have to suffer the consequences of his
father's thoughtlessness in his place. He formed a fixed
resolve either to release the poor girl, if this was possible,
or to perish with her. He could not endure the thought of
becoming king by the sacrifice of a maiden.
[108] One day he secretly disguised himself as a peasant lad,
took a bag of peas on his shoulder, and went to the wood where
his father had lost his way eighteen years before.
[Pg 156]

Soon after entering the wood he began to cry out, "O what an
unfortunate boy I am! how far I must have wandered from the
path! Who will show me the way out of this wood, for there is
no human soul to be seen far or near!" Presently a stranger
with a long grey beard and a leather pouch at his girdle, like
a Tartar,
[109] made his appearance. He gave the youth a friendly
greeting, adding, "I know this neighbourhood well, and can
direct you anywhere you please, if you will promise me a good
return."

"What can a poor lad like me promise you?" answered the artful prince. "I have nothing more than my young life, for even the coat on my body belongs to the master whom I must serve in exchange for food and clothing."

The stranger looked at the bag of peas on the lad's shoulder, and remarked, "You can't be quite destitute, for you carry a bag which seems to be very heavy."

"There are peas in the bag," said the prince. "My old aunt died
last night, and has left me so
[Pg 157]
much as this, that I may be able to set boiled peas before the
watchers of the dead
[110] as is the custom in this country. I have begged the peas
from my host in the name of God, and was going away with them,
when I struck into a forest path as a short cut, and it has led
me astray, as you see."

"Then I conclude, from what you say, that you are an orphan," observed the stranger with a grin. "If you will enter my service, I happen just to be in want of a handy workman for my small household, and I've taken a fancy to you."

"Why shouldn't I, if we can come to terms?" replied the prince. "I was born to servitude, and a stranger's bread is always bitter, so that it matters little to me what master I serve. But what will you promise me for a year's service?"

"Well," said the stranger, "you shall have fresh food every day, meat twice a week, and when you work out of doors, butter or herrings as a treat, a full suit of summer and winter clothing, besides two acres of land for your own use."

"That will suit me," said the crafty prince. "Let other people
bury my aunt; I'll go with you."
[Pg 158]

The Old Boy seemed well pleased at having made such a good
stroke of business, and spun round on one foot like a teetotum,
hallooing so loud that the wood re-echoed. Then he started off
on the road with his new servant, and enlivened the tedium of
the way by a variety of jokes, without observing that his
companion dropped a pea from his bag at every ten or fifteen
paces. The travellers halted for the night in the forest under
a large fir-tree, and continued their journey next morning. The
sun was already high in the heavens when they reached a large
stone. Here the old man stopped, looked sharply round on all
sides, whistled loudly, and then stamped on the ground three
times with his left foot.
[111] Suddenly a secret door opened under the stone, and
revealed a covered way like the entrance to a cavern. Then the
old man seized the prince's arm, and said roughly, "Follow me!"

They were in utter darkness, but it seemed to the prince that
the path led them deeper and deeper into the earth. After some
time a glimmer of light again grew visible, but the light did
not resemble that of either the sun or moon. The prince looked
[Pg 159]
up in some alarm, but could see neither sun nor sky; only a
mass of shining clouds floated over him, which seemed to
canopy this new world, in which everything had a strange
appearance. Land and water, trees and plants, animals and
birds, all had a different aspect from what he had seen
before. But what seemed strangest to him was the wonderful
silence around, for there was not a voice or a rustle to be
heard anywhere. All was as still as in the grave, and even the
prince's own footsteps made no sound. Here and there a bird
might be seen sitting on a bough with stretched-out neck and
swelled throat, as if singing, but no sound was audible. The
dogs opened their mouths to bark, and the bulls raised their
heads to bellow, but neither bark nor bellow could be heard.
The water flowed over the gravel without gushing, the wind
waved the tops of the trees without rustling, and flies and
beetles flew about without buzzing. The Old Boy did not speak
a word, and when his companion tried to speak he felt his
voice die away in his throat.

Nobody knows how long they travelled through this unearthly
silent country. Terror seized on the heart of the prince, his
hair stood on end
[Pg 160]
like bristles, and he shivered with fear, when at length, to
his great joy, the first sound fell on his straining ears, and
seemed to make a real country of this shadowy land. It seemed
to him that a great herd of horses was toiling through swampy
ground. At last the old man opened his mouth, and said,
licking his lips, "The soup kettle's boiling, and they are
expecting us at home." They went on some distance farther,
when the prince thought he heard the sound of a sawmill, in
which at least two dozen saws seemed to be at work, but the
host said, "My old grandmother is already fast asleep and
snoring."

Presently they reached the top of a hill, and the prince could
see the homestead of his new master at some distance, but there
were so many buildings that it looked more like a village or an
outlying suburb than the residence of a single owner. At length
they arrived, and found an empty dog-kennel at the gate. "Creep
in there," said the master, "and lie quiet till I have spoken
to my grandmother about you. She is very self-willed, like most
old people, and can't bear a stranger in the house." The prince
crept trembling into the dog-kennel, and began to repent
[Pg 161]
the rashness that had brought him into such a scrape.

After a time the host came back, called the prince from his hiding-place, and said with a wry face, "Take good note of the arrangements of our household, and take care not to go against them, or you might fare very badly.

"Keep your eyes and ears both open,

But your mouth fast closed for ever,

And obey without a question:

Think whatever it may please you;

Never speak without permission."

When the prince crossed the threshold, his eyes fell upon a
young girl of great beauty, with brown eyes and curly hair. He
thought to himself, "If the old man has many such daughters as
this, I should be glad to become his son-in-law. The maiden is
just to my taste." The fair maiden laid the table without
saying a word, set the food upon it, and then modestly took her
place by the hearth, as if she had not observed the stranger.
She took out needles and worsted, and began to knit a stocking.
The master sat down alone at the table, and did not ask either
the man or maid to join him, nor was
[Pg 162]
anything to be seen of the old grandmother. The Old Boy's
appetite was immeasurable, and in a very short time he had
made a clean sweep of everything on the table, though it would
have been plenty for at least a dozen people. When at last he
allowed his jaws to rest, he said to the maiden, "Scrape out
what is left at the bottom of the pot and kettle, and content
yourselves with the fragments, but throw the bones to the
dog."

The prince's countenance fell at the idea of this meal from the
scrapings of the kettle, which he was to share with the pretty
girl and the dog. But he soon recovered his spirits when he
found a very nice meal placed on the table from these
fragments. During supper he cast many stolen glances at the
maiden, and would have given a great deal if he could have
ventured to speak to her. But whenever he was on the point of
speaking, he met the imploring glance of the maiden, which
seemed to say, "Silence!" So the young man allowed his eyes to
speak, and gave expression to this dumb language by his good
appetite, for the maiden had prepared the supper, and it must
be pleasant to her to see that the guest appreciated her
cookery.
[Pg 163]
Meantime the old man had lain down on the stove-bench, and
made the walls re-echo with his snoring.

After supper he roused himself, and said to the prince, "You may rest for two days after your long journey, and look round the house. But come to me to-morrow evening and I will arrange your work for next day, for my household must always set about their work before I get up myself. The girl will show you your lodging." The prince made an effort to speak, but the old man came down on him like a thunderbolt, and screamed out, "You dog of a servant! If you break the rules of the house, you'll find yourself a head shorter without more ado. Hold your jaw, and off to bed with you!"

The maiden beckoned him to follow, unlocked a door and signed
to him to enter. The prince thought he saw a tear glisten in
her eye, and would have been only too glad to loiter on the
threshold, but he was too much afraid of the old man. "It's
impossible that this beautiful girl can be his daughter,"
thought he, "for she has a kind heart. She must be the poor
girl who was brought here in my place, and for whose sake I
undertook this foolhardy enterprise." He did not fall asleep
for a long time, and even then his uneasy dreams gave him no
[Pg 164]
rest. He dreamed of all sorts of unknown dangers which
threatened him, and it was always the form of the fair girl
that came to his aid.

When he awoke next morning, his first thought was to do his best to ingratiate himself with the maiden. He found the industrious girl already at work, and helped her to draw water from the well and carry it into the house, chopped wood, kept up the fire under the pots, and helped her in all her other work. In the afternoon he went out to make himself better acquainted with his new abode, and was much surprised that he could find no trace of the old grandmother. He saw a white mare in the stable, and a black cow with a white-headed calf in the enclosure, and in other locked outhouses he thought he heard ducks, geese, fowls, &c. Breakfast and dinner were just as good as last night's supper, and he would have been very well content with his position, but that it was so very hard to hold his tongue with the maiden opposite him. On the evening of the second day he went to the master to receive his instructions for next day's work.

The old man said, "I'll give you an easy job for to-morrow.
Take the scythe, and mow as much grass as the white mare needs
for her day's pro
[Pg 165]
vender, and clean out the stable. But if I should come and find
the manger empty or any litter on the floor, it will go badly
enough with you. Take good heed!"

The prince was well pleased, for he thought, "I shall soon be
able to manage this piece of work, for although I have never
handled either plough or scythe before, I have often seen how
easily the country-people manage these tools, and I am quite
strong enough." But when he was about to go to bed, the maiden
crept in gently, and asked in a low voice, "What work has he
given you?" "I've an easy task for to-morrow," answered the
prince. "I have only to mow grass for the white mare, and to
clean out the stable; that's all." "O poor fellow!" sighed the
maiden, "how can you ever accomplish it? The white mare is the
master's grandmother, and she is an insatiable creature, for
whom twenty mowers could hardly provide the daily fodder, and
another twenty would have to work from morning till night to
clear the litter from the stable. How will you be able to
manage both tasks alone? Take my advice, and follow it exactly.
When you have thrown a few loads of grass to the
[Pg 166]
mare, you must plait a strong rope of willow-twigs in her
sight. She will ask you what this is for, and you must answer,
'To bind you up so tightly that you will not feel disposed to
eat more than I give you, or to litter the stable after I have
cleared it.'" As soon as the girl had finished speaking, she
slid out of the room as gently as she had come, without giving
the youth time to thank her. He repeated her instructions to
himself several times, for fear of forgetting anything, and
then went to sleep.

Early next morning he set to work. He plied the scythe lustily,
and soon mowed down so much grass that he could rake several
loads together. He took one load to the mare, but when he
returned with the second he found with dismay that the manger
was already empty, and that there was half a ton of litter on
the floor. He saw now that he would have been lost without the
maiden's good advice, and resolved to follow it at once. He
began to plait the rope, when the mare turned her head and
asked in astonishment, "My dear son, what do you want with this
rope?" "O nothing at all," he answered; "I am only going to
bind you up so tightly that you
[Pg 167]
won't care to eat more than I choose to give you, or to drop
more litter than I choose to carry away." The white mare
looked at him, and sighed deeply once or twice, but it was
clear that she understood him, for long after midday there was
still fodder in the manger and the floor remained clean.
Presently the master came to inspect the work, and when he
found everything in good order he was much surprised, and
asked, "Are you clever enough to do this yourself, or did any
one give you good advice?" But the prince was on his guard,
and answered at once, "I have no one to help me but my own
poor head and a mighty God in heaven." The old man was
silenced, and left the stable grumbling, but the prince was
delighted that everything had succeeded so well.

In the evening the master said, "I have no particular work for
you to-morrow, but as the maid has plenty to do in the house,
you must milk the black cow. But take care not to leave a drop
of milk in the udder. If I find that you have done so, it might
cost you your life." As the prince went away, he thought, "If
there is not some trick in this, I cannot find the work hard.
Thank God, I have strong fingers, and
[Pg 168]
will not leave a drop of milk behind." But when he was about
to retire to rest, the maiden came to him again, and asked,
"What work have you to do to-morrow?" "I've a whole holiday
to-morrow," answered the prince. "All I have to do to-morrow
is to milk the black cow, and not leave a drop of milk in the
udder." "O you unfortunate fellow!" sighed she, "how will you
ever accomplish it? Know, dear young stranger, that if you
were to milk the black cow from morning till evening, the milk
would continue to flow in one unbroken stream. I am convinced
that the old man is bent on your ruin. But fear nothing, for
as long as I am alive no harm shall happen to you, if you will
remember my advice, and follow it exactly. When you go
milking, take a pan full of hot coals, and a smith's tongs
with you. When you reach the place, put the tongs in the fire,
and blow the coals to a bright flame. If the black cow asks
what this is for, answer her as I am about to whisper in your
ear." Then the maiden crept out of the room on tiptoe as she
had come, and the prince lay down to sleep.

The prince got up almost before dawn next day, and went to the
cowhouse with the milk-pail in
[Pg 169]
one hand, and a pan of live coals in the other. The black cow
looked at his proceedings for a while in silence, and then
asked, "What are you doing, my dear son?" "Nothing at all," he
replied; "but some cows have a bad habit of keeping back milk
in their udders after they are milked, and in such cases I
find hot tongs useful to prevent the chance of any waste." The
black cow sighed deeply and seemed scared. The prince then
took the pail, milked the cow dry, and when he tried again
after a while he found not a drop of milk in her udder. Some
time after the master came into the cowhouse, and as he was
also unable to draw a drop of milk, he asked angrily, "Are you
so clever yourself, or did any one give you good advice?" But
the prince answered as before, "I have no one to help me but
my own poor head and a mighty God in heaven." The old man went
off in great vexation.

When the prince went to the master in the evening, the latter
said, "There is still a heap of hay in the field that I should
like to have brought under cover during dry weather. Bring the
hay home to-morrow, but take care not to leave a particle
behind, or it might cost you your life." The prince left the
room well pleased,
[Pg 170]
thinking, "It's no great job to bring hay home. I have only to
load it, and the mare must draw it. I won't spare the master's
grandmother." In the evening the maiden crept to his side, and
asked about his work for to-morrow. The prince said smiling,
"I am learning all sorts of farmwork here. I have to bring
home a heap of hay to-morrow, and only to take care not to
leave a scrap behind. This is all my work for to-morrow." "O
poor fellow!" sighed she, "how will you ever do it? If you
were to set to work for a week, with the help of all the
inhabitants of a large district, you could not remove this
heap. Whatever you took away from the top would grow up again
from the ground directly. Mark well what I say. You must get
up to-morrow before daybreak, and lead the white mare from the
stable, taking with you some strong cords. Then go to the
haycock, fasten the cords round it, and then bind them to the
mare. When this is done, climb on the haycock, and begin to
count one, two, three, four, five, six, and so on. The mare
will ask what you are counting, and you must answer her as I
whisper." Then the maiden left the room, and the prince went
to bed.
[Pg 171]

When he awoke next morning, the first thing he remembered was
the maiden's good advice. So he took some strong ropes with
him, led out the white mare, and rode on her back to the
haycock, but found that the so-called haycock contained at
least fifty loads. The prince did all that the maiden had told
him, and when he was sitting on the heap, and had counted up to
twenty, the white mare asked in surprise, "What are you
counting, my dear son?" "Nothing at all," said he; "I was only
amusing myself by counting up the packs of wolves
[112] in the forest, but there are so many that I can't reckon
them all up." He had hardly spoken when the white mare darted
off like the wind, and the haycock was safely housed in a few
moments. The master was not a little surprised, when he came
out after breakfast, to find that the new labourer had already
finished his day's work. He put him the same question as
before, and received the same reply; and he went off shaking
his head and cursing.

In the evening, the prince went as usual to inquire about his
work, and the old man said,
[Pg 172]
"To-morrow you must take the white-headed calf to pasture, but
take care that he doesn't run away, or it might cost you your
life." The prince thought, "There are many ten-year old
farm-boys who have whole herds to manage, and surely I can't
find it so very difficult to look after one calf." But when
the maiden heard of it she said, "Know that this calf is so
wild that he would run three times round the world in a day.
[113] Take this silk thread, and bind one end to the left
fore-leg of the calf, and the other to the little toe of your
left foot, and then the calf will not be able to stir a step
from your side, whether you are walking, standing, or lying
down." Then she left him, and the prince lay down, but it vexed
him to think that he had again forgotten to thank her for her
good advice.

Next morning he followed the advice of the friendly maiden, and
led the calf to the pasture by the silken thread. It remained
by his side like a faithful dog, and in the evening he led it
back to the stall, where the old man met him
[Pg 173]
angrily, and, after the usual question and answer, went off in
a fury, and the prince thought it must be the mention of the
holy name which kept him under restraint.

Late in the evening the prince went to his master for instructions, when the old man gave him a bag of barley, saying, "I will give you a holiday to-morrow, and you may sleep as long as you like, but you must work hard to-night instead. Sow me this barley, which will spring up and ripen quickly; then you must cut it, thresh it, and winnow it, so that you can malt it and grind it. You must brew beer of this malt, and when I wake to-morrow morning, you must bring me a jug of fresh beer for my morning drink. Take care to follow my instructions exactly, or it might easily cost you your life."

This time the prince was quite confounded, and on leaving the
room, he stood outside weeping bitterly, and said to himself,
"This is my last night, for no mortal can do this work, and the
clever maiden's aid will avail me no longer. O unhappy wretch
that I am! why was I so thoughtless as to leave the king's
palace, and thrust myself into this danger! I cannot even
lament my unhappy lot to
[Pg 174]
the stars in heaven, for here there are neither stars nor sky.
But yet God reigns over all."

He was still standing with the bag of barley in his hand when
the house-door opened and the kind maiden came out. She asked
what troubled him so much, and he replied, "Alas! my last hour
has come, and we must part for ever. I will tell you all before
I die. I am the only son of a great king, from whom I should
inherit a mighty empire; but now all hope and happiness are at
an end." Then he told the maiden with tears of the task the old
man had laid upon him; but it pained him to see that she did
not seem to share his trouble. When he had finished his long
story, she smiled and said, "My dear prince, you may sleep
quietly to-night, and enjoy yourself all day to-morrow. Take my
advice, and don't despise it because I am only a poor
servant-girl. Take this little key, which unlocks the third
hen-house, where the Old Boy keeps the spirits who serve him.
[114] Throw the bag of barley into the house, and repeat word
for word the commands that you have received from the master,
and add, 'If you depart a hair's breadth from my
[Pg 175]
instructions, you will all perish together; but if you want
help, the door of the seventh pen will be open to-night, in
which dwell the most powerful of the old man's spirits.'"

The prince carried out all her instructions, and then lay down to sleep. When he awoke in the morning and went to the beer tub, he found it full of beer violently working, with the foam flowing over the edge. He tasted the beer, filled a large jug with the foaming drink, and brought it to his master, who was just getting up. But instead of the thanks which he expected from him, the old man broke out in uncontrollable fury, "That's not from yourself. I see you have good friends and helpers. All right! we'll talk again this evening."

In the evening the old man said, "I have no work for you to-morrow, but you must come to my bedside to-morrow morning, and shake hands with me."

The prince was amused at the old man's queer whim, and laughed
when he told the maiden. But when she heard it she became very
serious, and said, "Now you must look to yourself, for the old
man intends to eat you to-morrow morning, and there is only one
way of escape. You must heat a
[Pg 176]

shovel red-hot in the stove,
[115] and offer it to him instead of your own hand." Then she
hastened away, and the prince went to bed. Next morning he took
good care to heat the shovel red-hot before the old man awoke.
At last he heard him shouting, "What has become of you, you
lazy fellow? Come and shake hands with me." But when the prince
entered the room with the red-hot shovel in his hand, the old
man cried out with a whining voice, "I am very ill to-day, and
cannot take your hand. But come back this evening to receive my
orders."

The prince loitered about all day, and went to the old man in the evening as usual to receive his commands for the morrow. He found him very friendly, and he said, "I am well pleased with you. Come to me to-morrow morning with the maiden, for I know that you have long been attached to each other, and I will give her to you as your bride."

The prince would have liked to dance and shout for joy, but by
good luck he remembered the strict rules of the house, and kept
silent. But when he
[Pg 177]
spoke to his betrothed of his good fortune, and expected that
she would receive the news with equal delight, he saw her turn
as white as the wall with terror, and her tongue seemed to be
paralysed. As soon as she recovered herself a little, she
said, "The Old Boy has discovered that I have been your
counsellor, and has resolved to destroy us both. We must fly
this very night, or we are lost. Take an axe, and strike off
the head of the white-headed calf with a heavy blow, and then
split the skull in two with a second stroke. In the brain of
the calf you will find a shining red reel, which you must
bring me. I will arrange whatever else is needful." The prince
thought, "I would rather kill an innocent calf than sacrifice
both myself and this dear girl, and if our flight succeeds, I
shall see my home once more. The peas I sowed must have sprung
up by this time, so that we cannot miss our way."

He went into the stall, and found the cow and the calf lying
asleep near together, and they slept so fast that they did not
hear his approach. But when he struck off the calf's head, the
cow groaned very loud, as if she had had a bad dream. He
hastened to split the calf's skull with the second
[Pg 178]
blow, and lo! the whole stall suddenly became as light as if
it was day. The red reel fell out of the brain, and shone like
a little sun. The prince wrapped it carefully in a cloth, and
hid it in his bosom. It was fortunate that the cow did not
wake, or she would have begun to roar so loud that she might
easily have roused her master too.

The prince found the maiden waiting for him at the gate with a
small bundle on her arm. "Where is the reel?" she whispered.
"Here," replied the prince, and gave it to her. "Now we must
hasten our flight," said she, and she unravelled a small part
of the reel from the cloth that its shining light might
illuminate the darkness of the way like a lantern. As the
prince had expected, the peas had all sprung up, so that they
could not miss the way. The maiden then told the prince that
she had once overheard a conversation between the old man and
his grandmother, and had learned that she was a princess whom
the Old Boy had stolen from her parents by a trick. The prince
knew the real state of the case better, but kept silence,
rejoicing inwardly that he had succeeded in freeing the poor
girl. The
[Pg 179]
travellers must have gone a long way before the day began to
break.

The Old Boy did not wake till late In the morning, and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes for a long time before he remembered that he was going to devour the couple. After waiting for them a good while he said to himself, "Perhaps they haven't quite finished their preparations for the wedding." But at last he got tired of waiting so long, and shouted out, "Ahoy, man and maid, what has become of you?" He repeated the cry several times, shouting and cursing, but neither man nor maid appeared. At last he scrambled out of bed in a rage, and went in search of the defaulters. But he found the house empty, and discovered, too, that the beds had not been slept in. Then he rushed into the stall, and when he saw the calf slaughtered and the magic reel stolen, he comprehended all. He cursed till everything was black, and opened the third spirit-house, sending his messengers forth to seek the fugitives. "Bring me them just as you find them, for I must have them," said the Old Boy, and the spirits flew forth like the wind.

The fugitives were just crossing a great plain,
[Pg 180]
when the maiden suddenly stopped and said, "All is not as it
should be. The reel moves in my hand, and we are certainly
pursued." When they looked back, they saw a black cloud
rushing towards them with great speed. Then the maiden turned
the reel thrice in her hand and said:

"Hear me, reel, and reel, O hearken;

Fain would I become a streamlet,

Where as fish my lover's swimming."

Instantly they were both transformed. The maiden flowed away like a brook, and the prince swam in the water like a little fish. The spirits rushed past, and turned after a time, and flew back home; but they did not touch the brook or the fish. As soon as the pursuers were gone, the brook became a maiden, and the fish a youth, and they continued their journey in human form.

When the spirits returned, weary and empty-handed, the Old Boy asked if they had not noticed anything unusual on their journey.

"Nothing at all," they answered, "but a brook on the plain, with a single fish swimming in it."

The old man growled angrily, "There they were! there they
were!" Immediately he threw open the doors of the fifth pen and
let out the spirits,
[Pg 181]
commanding them to drink up the water of the brook, and to
capture the fish; and the spirits flew off like the wind.

The travellers were just approaching the edge of a wood, when the maiden stopped, saying, "All is not as it should be. The reel moves again in my hand." They looked round, and saw another cloud in the sky, darker than the first, and with red borders. "These are our pursuers," she cried, and turned the reel three times round in her hand, saying:

"Hear me, reel, and reel, O hear me;

Change us both upon the instant:

I'll become a wild rose-briar,

And my love a rose upon it."

Instantly the maiden was changed into a wild rose-bush, and the youth hung upon it in the form of a rose. The spirits rushed away over their heads, and did not return for some time; but they saw nothing of the brook and the fish, and they did not trouble about the wild rose-tree. As soon as their pursuers were gone, the rose-tree and the rose again became a maiden and a youth, and after their short rest they hurried away.

"Have you found them?" cried the old man,
[Pg 182]
when the spirits returned and crouched before him.

"No," answered their leader; "we found neither brook nor fish on the plain."

"Did you see nothing else remarkable on the way?" asked their master. The leader answered, "We saw nothing but a wild rose-bush on the edge of the wood, with a single rose upon it." "Fools!" cried the old man, "there they were! there they were!" He threw open the door of the seventh pen, and sent out his most powerful spirits to search for the fugitives. "Bring them me just as you find them, for I must have them, dead or alive. Tear up the accursed rose-tree by the roots, and bring everything else with you that looks strange." And the spirits rushed forth like a tempest.

The fugitives were just resting in the shade of a wood, and
strengthening themselves for further efforts with food and
drink. Suddenly the maiden cried out, "All is not right, for
the reel feels as if it was being pulled from my bosom. We are
certainly again pursued, and the danger is close at hand, but
the wood still hides us from our enemies." Then she took the
reel from her bosom,
[Pg 183]
and turned it over three times in her hand, saying:

"Hear me reel, and reel, O hear me;

To a puff of wind transform me,

To a gnat transform my lover."

Instantly they were both transformed, and the maiden rose into the air as a puff of wind, and the prince sported in the breeze like a gnat. The mighty host of spirits swept over them like a tempest, and returned some time afterwards, as they could neither find the rose-bush nor anything else remarkable. But they were hardly gone before the youth and the maiden resumed their proper forms, and the maiden cried out, "Now we must make haste, before the old man himself comes to look for us, for he would know us under any disguise."

They ran on for some distance till they reached the dark passage, which they could easily climb up by the bright light of the reel. They were breathless and exhausted when they reached the great rock; when the maiden again turned the reel three times round, saying:

"Hear me, reel, and reel, O hear me;

Let the rock aside be lifted,

And a portal opened for us."

[Pg 184]
Instantly the rock was lifted, and they found themselves once
more upon the earth. "God be praised," cried the maiden, "we
are saved. The Old Boy has no further power over us here, and
we can guard against his cunning. But now, my friend, we must
part. Do you go to your parents, and I will go to mine." "By no
means," replied the prince, "I cannot part from you, and you
must come with me, and become my wife. You have passed days of
sorrow with me, and now it is only right that we should enjoy
days of happiness together." The maiden resisted for a time,
but at last she consented to accompany the youth.

They met with a woodcutter in the wood, who told them that
there was great trouble in the palace and throughout the whole
country, because of the unaccountable disappearance of the
king's son, every trace of whom had been lost for years.
[116] The maiden made use of the magic reel to provide the
prince with suitable robes in which to present himself to his
father. Meanwhile she stayed be
[Pg 185]
hind in a peasant's cottage, till the prince should have
informed his father of his adventures.
[117]

But the old king had died before the prince's arrival, for trouble at the loss of his only son had shortened his life. On his death-bed he repented bitterly of his thoughtless promise, and of his treachery in delivering a poor innocent maiden to the old rascal, for which God had punished him by the loss of his son. The prince mourned for the death of his father, as befitted a good son, and buried him with great honours. Then he mourned for three days, refusing all food and drink. On the fourth morning he presented himself to the people as their new ruler, assembled his councillors, and related to them the wonderful things that he had seen and experienced in the Old Boy's dwelling, and did not forget to say how the clever maiden had saved his life. Then the councillors all exclaimed with one voice, "She must become your consort and our queen."

When the young king set out to seek his bride, he was much
surprised to meet the maiden
[Pg 186]
advancing in regal state. The magic reel had provided her with
everything that was necessary, and all the people supposed
that she must be the daughter of some very wealthy king, and
came from a distant country. Then the wedding festivities
commenced, which lasted four weeks, and they lived together in
happiness and prosperity for many a pleasant year.
[118]

[Pg 187]

SLYBOOTS.

( Kreutzwald .)

In the days of the son of Kalev there reigned a very rich king
of Kungla, who gave a great feast to his subjects every seven
years at midsummer, which lasted for two or three weeks
together.
[119] The time for the feast came round again, and its
commencement had been looked forward to for some months, though
with some uncertainty; for twice already, seven years ago and
fourteen years ago, the anticipated festival had come to
nothing. Both times the king had made full preparations for the
feast, but no man had tasted it. This seemed strange and
incredible, but there were many people everywhere who could
bear witness to the facts. It was said that on both these
occasions an unknown stranger had come to the head-cook and
asked to be permitted to taste a little of the food and drink,
but the moment he had dipped his spoon in the soup-kettle, and
put the froth in the beer-can to his
[Pg 188]

mouth, the whole contents of the storehouses, pantries, and
cellars vanished in a moment, so that not a scrap or drop of
anything remained.
[120] The cooks and kitchen-boys had all seen and sworn to the
truth of the matter, but the people were so enraged at the
collapse of the feast, that the king was obliged to appease
them seven years before, by ordering the head-cook to be hanged
for having given the stranger permission to taste the food. In
order to prevent any repetition of the trouble, the king
proclaimed that he would richly reward any one who would
undertake the preparation of the feast; and at length, when no
one would undertake the responsibility, the king promised his
youngest daughter in marriage to any one who should succeed,
but added that failure would be punished with death.

A long way from the capital, and near the borders of the
kingdom, lived a rich farmer who had three sons, the youngest
of whom showed great intelligence from his youth, because the
Meadow-Queen
[121] had nursed him, and had often secretly given him the
breast. The father called
[Pg 189]
him Slyboots, and used to say to the brothers, "You two elder
ones must earn your living by your bodily strength and by the
work of your hands, but as for you, little Slyboots, you will
be able to rise higher in the world than your brothers, by
your own cleverness."

Before the father died, he divided all his corn-land and meadows between his two elder sons, but to the youngest he gave enough money to enable him to go forth into the wide world to seek his fortune. But the father's corpse was scarcely cold when the two elder brothers stripped the youngest of every farthing, and thrust him out of the door, saying mockingly, "Your cleverness alone, Slyboots, is to exalt you over our heads, and therefore you might find the money troublesome to you."