Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know by Various

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So they again took leave of the king and of each other, and set out
without delay, and in less than twelve hours our young prince arrived in
his splendid car at the palace of his dear white cat. Every thing went
on as before, till the end of another year. At length only one day
remained of the year, when the white cat thus addressed him: "To-morrow,
my prince, you must present yourself at the palace of your father, and
give him a proof of your obedience. It depends only on yourself to
conduct thither the most beautiful princess ever yet beheld, for the
time is come when the enchantment by which I am bound may be ended. You
must cut off my head and tail," continued she, "and throw them into the
fire." "I!" said the prince hastily, "I cut off your head and tail! You
surely mean to try my affection, which, believe me, beautiful cat, is
truly yours." "You mistake me, generous prince," said she, "I do not
doubt your regard; but if you wish to see me in any other form than that
of a cat, you must consent to do as I desire. Then you will have done me
a service I shall never be able sufficiently to repay." The prince's
eyes filled with tears as she spoke, yet he considered himself obliged
to undertake the dreadful task, and the cat continuing to press him with
greater eagerness, with a trembling hand he drew his sword, cut off her
head and tail, and threw them into the fire. No sooner was this done,
than the most beautiful lady his eyes had ever seen stood before him:
and before he had sufficiently recovered from his surprise to speak to
her, a long train of attendants, who, at the same moment as their
mistress, were changed to their natural shapes, came to offer their
congratulations to the queen, and inquire her commands. She received
them with the greatest kindness; and ordering them to withdraw, she thus
addressed the astonished prince. "Do not imagine, dear prince, that I
have always been a cat, or that I am of obscure birth. My father was the
monarch of six kingdoms; he tenderly loved my mother, leaving her always
at liberty to follow her own inclinations. Her prevailing passion was to
travel; and a short time before my birth, having heard of some fairies
who were in possession of the largest gardens filled with the most
delicious fruits, she had so strong a desire to eat some of them, that
she set out for the country in which they lived. She arrived at their
abode which she found to be a magnificent palace, on all sides
glittering with gold and precious stones. She knocked a long time at the
gates; but no one came, nor could she perceive the least sign that it
had any inhabitant. The difficulty, however, did but increase the
violence of my mother's longing; for she saw the tops of the trees above
the garden walls loaded with the most luscious fruits. The queen, in
despair, ordered her attendants to place tents close to the door of the
palace; but having waited six weeks, without seeing any one pass the
gates, she fell sick of vexation, and her life was despaired of.

"One night, as she lay half asleep, she turned herself about, and
opening her eyes, perceived a little old woman, very ugly and deformed,
seated in the easy chair by her bedside. 'I, and my sister fairies,'
said she, 'take it very ill that your majesty should so obstinately
persist in getting some of our fruit; but since so precious a life is at
stake, we consent to give you as much as you can carry away, provided
you will give us in return what we shall ask.' 'Ah! kind fairy,' cried
the queen, 'I will give you anything I possess, even my very kingdoms,
on condition that I eat of your fruit.' The old fairy then informed the
queen that what they required was, that she would give them the child
she was going to have, as soon as she should be born; adding, that every
possible care should be taken of her, and that she should become the
most accomplished princess. The queen replied, that however cruel the
condition, she must accept it, since nothing but the fruit could save
her life. In short, dear prince," continued the lady, "my mother
instantly got out of bed, was dressed by her attendants, entered the
palace, and satisfied her longing. When the queen had eaten her fill,
she ordered four thousand mules to be procured, and loaded with the
fruit, which had the virtue of continuing all the year round in a state
of perfection. Thus provided, she returned to the king, my father, who
with the whole court, received her with rejoicings, as it was before
imagined she would die of disappointment. All this time the queen said
nothing to my father of the promise she had made, to give her daughter
to the fairies; so that, when the time was come that she expected my
birth, she grew very melancholy; till at length, being pressed by the
king, she declared to him the truth. Nothing could exceed his
affliction, when he heard that his only child, when born, was to be
given to the fairies. He bore it, however, as well as he could, for fear
of adding to my mother's grief; and also believing he should find some
means of keeping me in a place of safety, which the fairies would not be
able to approach. As soon therefore as I was born, he had me conveyed to
a tower in the palace, to which there were twenty flights of stairs, and
a door to each, of which my father kept the key, so that none came near
me without his consent. When the fairies heard of what had been done,
they sent first to demand me; and on my father's refusal, they let loose
a monstrous dragon, who devoured men, women and children, and the breath
of whose nostrils destroyed every thing it came near, so that the trees
and plants began to die in great abundance. The grief of the king, at
seeing this, could scarcely be equalled; and finding that his whole
kingdom would in a short time be reduced to famine, he consented to give
me into their hands. I was accordingly laid in a cradle of
mother-of-pearl, ornamented with gold and jewels, and carried to their
palace, when the dragon immediately disappeared. The fairies placed me
in a tower of their palace, elegantly furnished, but to which there was
no door, so that whoever approached was obliged to come by the windows,
which were a great height from the ground: from these I had the liberty
of getting out into a delightful garden, in which were baths, and every
sort of cooling fruit. In this place was I educated by the fairies, who
behaved to me with the greatest kindness; my clothes were splendid, and
I was instructed in every kind of accomplishment. In short, prince, if I
had never seen any one but themselves, I should have remained very
happy. One of the windows of my tower overlooked a long avenue shaded
with trees, so that I had never seen in it a human creature. One day,
however, as I was talking at this window with my parrot, I perceived a
young gentleman who was listening to our conversation. As I had never
seen a man, but in pictures, I was not sorry for the opportunity of
gratifying my curiosity. I thought him a very pleasing object, and he at
length bowed in the most respectful manner, without daring to speak, for
he knew that I was in the palace of the fairies. When it began to grow
dark he went away, and I vainly endeavoured to see which road he took.
The next morning, as soon as it was light, I again placed myself at the
window, and had the pleasure of seeing that the gentleman had returned
to the same place. He now spoke to me through a speaking-trumpet, and
informed me he thought me a most charming lady, and that he should be
very unhappy if he did not pass his life in my company.

"I resolved to find some means of escaping from my tower with the
engaging prince I had seen. I was not long in devising a means for the
execution of my project. I begged the fairies to bring me a
netting-needle, a mesh and some cord, saying I wished to make some nets
to amuse myself with catching birds at my window. This they readily
complied with, and in a short time I completed a ladder long enough to
reach the ground. I now sent my parrot to the prince, to beg he would
come to his usual place, as I wished to speak with him. He did not fail,
and finding the ladder, mounted it, and quickly entered my tower. This
at first alarmed me; but the charms of his conversation had restored me
to tranquillity, when all at once the window opened, and the fairy
Violent, mounted on the dragon's back, rushed into the tower. My beloved
prince thought of nothing but how to defend me from their fury; for I
had had time to relate to him my story, previous to this cruel
interruption; but their numbers overpowered him, and the fairy Violent
had the barbarity to command the dragon to devour my prince before my
eyes. In my despair, I would have thrown myself also into the mouth of
the horrible monster, but this they took care to prevent, saying my life
should be preserved for greater punishment. The fairy then touched me
with her wand, and I instantly became a white cat. She next conducted me
to this palace, which belonged to my father, and gave me a train of cats
for my attendants, together with the twelve hands which waited on your
highness. She then informed me of my birth, and the death of my parents,
and pronounced upon me what she imagined the greatest of maledictions:
That I should not be restored to my natural figure till a young prince,
the perfect resemblance of him I had lost, should cut off my head and
tail. You are that perfect resemblance; and, accordingly, you have ended
the enchantment. I need not add, that I already love you more than my
life. Let us therefore hasten to the palace of the king your father, and
obtain his approbation to our marriage."

The prince and princess accordingly set out side by side, in a car of
still greater splendour than before, and reached the palace just as the
two brothers had arrived with two beautiful princesses. The king,
hearing that each of his sons had succeeded in finding what he had
required, again began to think of some new expedient to delay the time
of his resigning his crown; but when the whole court were with the king
assembled to pass judgment, the princess who accompanied the youngest,
perceiving his thoughts by his countenance, stepped majestically
forward, and thus addressed him: "What pity that your majesty, who is so
capable of governing, should think of resigning the crown! I am
fortunate enough to have six kingdoms in my possession; permit me to
bestow one on each of the eldest princes, and to enjoy the remaining
four in the society of the youngest. And may it please your majesty to
keep your own kingdom, and make no decision concerning the beauty of
three princesses, who, without such a proof of your majesty's
preference, will no doubt live happily together!" The air resounded with
the applauses of the assembly. The young prince and princess embraced
the king, and next their brothers and sisters; the three weddings
immediately took place; and the kingdoms were divided as the princess
had proposed.

CHAPTER IX

THE GOLDEN GOOSE

There was a man who had three sons, the youngest of whom was considered
very silly, and everybody used to mock him and make fun of him. The
eldest son wanted to go and cut wood in the forest, and before he left
home his mother prepared beautiful pancakes and a bottle of wine for him
to take with him, so that he might not suffer from hunger or thirst.

As he entered the forest he met a gray old man, who bade him
"Good-morning," and said: "Give me a little piece of cake out of your
basket and a drop of wine out of your bottle, for I am very hungry and
thirsty."

But the clever son replied: "What, give you my cake and my wine! Why, if
I did, I should have none for myself. Not I, indeed, so take yourself
off!" and he left the man standing and went on.

The young man began cutting down a tree, but it was not long before he
made a false stroke: the axe slipped and cut his arm so badly that he
was obliged to go home and have it bound up. Now, this false stroke was
caused by the little gray old man.

Next day the second son went into the forest to cut wood, and his mother
gave him a cake and a bottle of wine. As he entered the wood the same
little old man met him, and begged for a piece of cake and a drop of
wine. But the second son answered rudely: "What I might give to you I
shall want myself, so be off."

Then he left the little old man standing in the road, and walked on. His
punishment soon came; he had scarcely given two strokes on a tree with
his axe, when he hit his leg such a terrible blow that he was obliged to
limp home in great pain.

Then the stupid son said to his father, "Let me go for once and cut wood
in the forest."

But his father said: "No, your brothers have been hurt already, and it
would be worse for you, who don't understand wood-cutting."

The boy, however, begged so hard to be allowed to go that his father
said: "There, get along with you; you will buy your experience very
dearly, I expect."

His mother, however, gave him a cake which had been made with water and
baked in the ashes, and a bottle of sour beer.

When he reached the wood the very same little old man met him, and after
greeting him kindly, said: "Give me a little of your cake and a drop
from your bottle, for I am very hungry and thirsty."

"Oh," replied the simple youth, "I have only a cake, which has been
baked in the ashes, and some sour beer; but you are welcome to a share
of it. Let us sit down, and eat and drink together."

So they seated themselves, and, lo and behold, when the youth opened his
basket, the cake had been turned into a beautiful cake, and the sour
beer into wine. After they had eaten and drank enough, the little old
man said: "Because you have been kind-hearted, and shared your dinner
with me, I will make you in future lucky in all you undertake. There
stands an old tree; cut it down, and you will find something good at the
root."

Then the old man said "Farewell," and left him.

The youth set to work, and very soon succeeded in felling the tree, when
he found sitting at the roots a goose, whose feathers were of pure gold.
He took it up, and, instead of going home, carried it with him to an inn
at a little distance, where he intended to pass the night.

The landlord had three daughters, who looked at the goose with envious
eyes. They had never seen such a wonderful bird, and longed to have at
least one of its feathers. "Ah," thought the eldest, "I shall soon have
an opportunity to pluck one of them;" and so it happened, for not long
after the young man left the room. She instantly went up to the bird and
took hold of its wing, but as she did so, the finger and thumb remained
and stuck fast. In a short time after the second sister came in with the
full expectation of gaining a golden feather, but as she touched her
sister to move her from the bird, her hand stuck fast to her sister's
dress, and neither of them could free herself. At last, in came the
third sister with the same intention. "Keep away, keep away!" screamed
the other two; "in heaven's name keep away!"

But she could not imagine why she should keep away. If they were near
the golden bird, why should not she be there? So she made a spring
forward and touched her second sister, and immediately she also was made
a prisoner, and in this position they were obliged to remain by the
goose all night.

In the morning the young man came in, took the goose on his arm, and
went away without troubling himself about the three girls, who were
following close behind him. And as he walked quickly, they were obliged
to run one behind the other, left or right of him, just as he was
inclined to go.

In the middle of a field they were met by the parson of the parish, who
looked with wonder at the procession as it came near him. "Shame on
you!" he cried out. "What are you about, you bold-faced hussies, running
after a young man in that way through the fields? Go home, all of you."

He placed his hand on the youngest to pull her back, but the moment he
touched her he also became fixed, and was obliged to follow and run like
the rest. In a few minutes the clerk met them, and when he saw the
parson runing after the girls, he wondered greatly, and cried out,
"Halloa, master parson, where are you running in such haste? Have you
forgotten that there is a christening to-day?" And as the procession did
not stop, he ran after it, and seized the parson's gown.

In a moment he found that his hand was fixed, and he also had to run
like the rest. And now there were five trotting along, one behind the
other. Presently two peasants came by with their sickles from the field.
The parson called out to them, and begged them to come and release him
and the clerk. Hardly had they touched the clerk when they also stuck
fast as the others, and the simpleton with his golden goose travelled
with the seven.

After awhile they came to a city in which reigned a king who had a
daughter of such a melancholy disposition that no one could make her
laugh; therefore he issued a decree that whoever would make the princess
laugh should have her in marriage.

Now, when the simple youth heard this, he ran before her, and the whole
seven trotted after him. The sight was so ridiculous that the moment the
princess saw it she burst into a violent fit of laughter and they
thought she would never leave off.

After this, the youth went to the king, and demanded his daughter in
marriage, according to the king's decree; but his majesty did not quite
like to have the young man for a son-in-law, so he said that, before he
could consent to the marriage, the youth must bring him a man who could
drink all the wine in the king's cellar.

The simpleton went into the forest, for he thought, "If anyone can help
me, it is the little gray man." When he arrived at the spot where he had
cut down the tree, there stood a man with a very miserable face.

The youth asked him why he looked so sorrowful.

"Oh," he exclaimed, "I suffer such dreadful thirst that nothing seems
able to quench it; and cold water I cannot endure. I have emptied a cask
of wine already, but it was just like a drop of water on a hot stone."

"I can help you," cried the young man; "come with me, and you shall have
your fill, I promise you."

Upon this he led the man into the king's cellar, where he opened the
casks one after another, and drank and drank till his back ached; and
before the day closed he had quite emptied the king's cellar.

Again the young man asked for his bride, but the king was annoyed at the
thought of giving his daughter to such a common fellow, and to get rid
of him he made another condition. He said that no man should have his
daughter who could not find someone able to eat up a whole mountain of
bread.

Away went the simpleton to the forest as before, and there in the same
place sat a man binding himself round tightly with a belt, and making
the most horrible faces. As the youth approached, he cried, "I have
eaten a whole ovenful of rolls, but it has not satisfied me a bit; I am
as hungry as ever, and my stomach feels so empty that I am obliged to
bind it round tightly, or I should die of hunger."

The simpleton could hardly contain himself for joy when he heard this.
"Get up," he exclaimed, "and come with me, and I will give you plenty to
eat, I'll warrant."

So he led him to the king's court, where his majesty had ordered all the
flour in the kingdom to be made into bread, and piled up in a huge
mountain. The hungry man placed himself before the bread, and began to
eat, and before evening the whole pile had disappeared.

Then the simpleton went a third time to the king, and asked for his
bride, but the king made several excuses, and at last said that if he
could bring him a ship that would travel as well by land as by water,
then he should, without any further conditions, marry his daughter.

The youth went at once straight to the forest, and saw the same old gray
man to whom he had given his cake. "Ah," he said, as the youth
approached, "it was I who sent the men to eat and drink, and I will also
give you a ship that can travel by land or by sea, because when you
thought I was poor you were kind-hearted, and gave me food and drink."

The youth took the ship, and when the king saw it he was quite
surprised; but he could not any longer refuse to give him his daughter
in marriage. The wedding was celebrated with great pomp, and after the
king's death the simple wood-cutter inherited the whole kingdom, and
lived happily with his wife.

CHAPTER X

THE TWELVE BROTHERS

There were once a king and queen who had twelve children--all boys. Now,
one day the king told his wife that if a daughter should be born, all
the sons must die--that their sister alone might inherit his kingdom and
riches.

So the king had twelve coffins made, which were filled with shavings,
and in each was the little pillow for the dead. He had them locked up in
a private room, the key of which he gave to the queen, praying her not
to speak of it to anyone. But the poor mother was so unhappy that she
wept for a whole day, and looked so sad that her youngest son noticed
it.

He had the Bible name of Benjamin, and was always with his mother.

"Dear mother," he said, "why are you so sorrowful?"

"My child, I may not tell you," she replied; but the boy allowed her no
rest till she unlocked the door of the private room, and showed him the
twelve coffins filled with shavings.

"Dearest Benjamin," she said, "these coffins are for you and your
brothers; for if you should ever have a little sister, you will all die,
and be buried in them."

She wept bitterly as she told him, but her son comforted her, and said,
"Do not weep, dear mother. We will take care of ourselves, and go far
away."

Then she took courage, and said, "Yes, go away with your eleven
brothers, and remain in the forest; and let one climb a tree, from
whence he will be able to see the tower of the castle; If I should have
a son, a white flag shall be hoisted, and then you may return home; but
if you see a red flag, you will know it is a girl, and then hasten away
as fast as you can, and may Heaven protect you! Every night I will pray
for you, that you may not suffer from the cold in winter or the heat in
summer."

Then she blessed all her sons, and they went away into the forest, while
each in turn mounted a high tree daily, to watch for the flag on the
tower.

Eleven days passed, and it was Benjamin's turn to watch. He saw the flag
hoisted, and it was red--the signal that they must die. The brothers
were angry, and said, "Shall we suffer death on account of a maiden?
When we find one we will kill her, to avenge ourselves."

They went still farther into the forest, and came upon a most pleasant
little cottage, which was uninhabited. "We will make this our home,"
they said; "and Benjamin, as you are the youngest and weakest, you shall
stay at home and keep house, while we go out and procure food."

So they wandered about the forest, shooting hares, wild rabbits, pigeons
and other birds, which they brought to Benjamin to prepare for food. In
this cottage they lived for ten years happily together, so that the time
passed quickly.

Their little sister was growing a great girl. She had a sweet
disposition, and was very beautiful to look upon. She wore rich clothes,
and a golden star on her forehead.

One day, when she was about ten years old, she discovered in her
mother's wardrobe twelve shirts. "Mother," she exclaimed, "whose shirts
are these? They are much too small for my father."

The queen sighed as she replied, "Dear child, these shirts belong to
your twelve brothers."

"Twelve brothers!" cried the little maiden. "Where are they? I have not
even heard of them."

"Heaven knows where they are," was the reply; "but they are wandering
about the world somewhere." Then the queen took her little daughter to
the private room in the castle, and showed her the twelve coffins which
had been prepared for her brothers, and related to her, with many tears,
why they had left home.

"Dear mother," said the child, "do not weep. I will go and seek my
brothers." So she took the twelve shirts with her, and wandered away
into the forest.

She walked for a whole day, and in the evening came to a cottage,
stepped in, and found a young boy, who stared with astonishment at
seeing a beautiful little girl dressed in rich clothing and wearing a
golden star on her forehead.

At last he said, "Who are you, and what do you want?"

"I am a king's daughter," she said, "and I seek my twelve brothers, and
I intend to search for them till I find them;" and she showed him their
shirts.

Then Benjamin knew that she was his sister, and said, "I am your
youngest brother, Benjamin." Then she wept for joy. They kissed each
other with deep affection, and were for a time very happy.

At last Benjamin said, "Dear sister, we have made a vow that the first
young maiden we meet should die, because through a maiden we have lost
our kingly rights."

"I would willingly die," she said, "if by so doing I could restore my
brothers to their rightful possessions."

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