Andrew Lang_Fairy Book 03 (27 page)

'Plague on you!' said King Kojata. 'I can quench my thirst without
you,' and bending over the well he lapped up the water so greedily
that he plunged his face, beard and all, right into the crystal
mirror. But when he had satisfied his thirst, and wished to raise
himself up, he couldn't lift his head, because someone held his
beard fast in the water. 'Who's there? let me go!' cried King
Kojata, but there was no answer; only an awful face looked up from
the bottom of the well with two great green eyes, glowing like
emeralds, and a wide mouth reaching from ear to ear showing two
rows of gleaming white teeth, and the King's beard was held, not
by mortal hands, but by two claws. At last a hoarse voice sounded
from the depths. 'Your trouble is all in vain, King Kojata; I will
only let you go on condition that you give me something you know
nothing about, and which you will find on your return home.'

The King didn't pause to ponder long, 'for what,' thought he,
'could be in my palace without my knowing about it—the thing is
absurd;' so he answered quickly:

'Yes, I promise that you shall have it.'

The voice replied, 'Very well; but it will go ill with you if you
fail to keep your promise.' Then the claws relaxed their hold, and
the face disappeared in the depths. The King drew his chin out of
the water, and shook himself like a dog; then he mounted his horse
and rode thoughtfully home with his retinue. When they approached
the capital, all the people came out to meet them with great joy
and acclamation, and when the King reached his palace the Queen
met him on the threshold; beside her stood the Prime Minister,
holding a little cradle in his hands, in which lay a new-born
child as beautiful as the day. Then the whole thing dawned on the
King, and groaning deeply he muttered to himself 'So this is what
I did not know about,' and the tears rolled down his cheeks. All
the courtiers standing round were much amazed at the King's grief,
but no one dared to ask him the cause of it. He took the child in
his arms and kissed it tenderly; then laying it in its cradle, he
determined to control his emotion and began to reign again as
before.

The secret of the King remained a secret, though his grave,
careworn expression escaped no one's notice. In the constant dread
that his child would be taken from him, poor Kojata knew no rest
night or day. However, time went on and nothing happened. Days and
months and years passed, and the Prince grew up into a beautiful
youth, and at last the King himself forgot all about the incident
that had happened so long ago.

One day the Prince went out hunting, and going in pursuit of a
wild boar he soon lost the other huntsmen, and found himself quite
alone in the middle of a dark wood. The trees grew so thick and
near together that it was almost impossible to see through them,
only straight in front of him lay a little patch of meadowland.
Overgrown with thistles and rank weeds, in the centre of which a
leafy lime tree reared itself. Suddenly a rustling sound was heard
in the hollow of the tree, and an extraordinary old man with green
eyes and chin crept out of it.

'A fine day, Prince Milan,' he said; 'you've kept me waiting a
good number of years; it was high time for you to come and pay me
a visit.'

'Who are you, in the name of wonder?' demanded the astonished
Prince.

'You'll find out soon enough, but in the meantime do as I bid you.
Greet your father King Kojata from me, and don't forget to remind
him of his debt; the time has long passed since it was due, but
now he will have to pay it. Farewell for the present; we shall
meet again.'

With these words the old man disappeared into the tree, and the
Prince returned home rather startled, and told his father all that
he had seen and heard.

The King grew as white as a sheet when he heard the Prince's
story, and said, 'Woe is me, my son! The time has come when we
must part,' and with a heavy heart he told the Prince what had
happened at the time of his birth.

'Don't worry or distress yourself, dear father,' answered Prince
Milan. 'Things are never as bad as they look. Only give me a horse
for my journey, and I wager you'll soon see me back again.'

The King gave him a beautiful charger, with golden stirrups, and a
sword. The Queen hung a little cross round his neck, and after
much weeping and lamentation the Prince bade them all farewell and
set forth on his journey.

He rode straight on for two days, and on the third he came to a
lake as smooth as glass and as clear as crystal. Not a breath of
wind moved, not a leaf stirred, all was silent as the grave, only
on the still bosom of the lake thirty ducks, with brilliant
plumage, swam about in the water. Not far from the shore Prince
Milan noticed thirty little white garments lying on the grass, and
dismounting from his horse, he crept down under the high
bulrushes, took one of the garments and hid himself with it behind
the bushes which grew round the lake. The ducks swam about all
over the place, dived down into the depths and rose again and
glided through the waves. At last, tired of disporting themselves,
they swam to the shore, and twenty-nine of them put on their
little white garments and instantly turned into so many beautiful
maidens. Then they finished dressing and disappeared. Only the
thirtieth little duck couldn't come to the land; it swam about
close to the shore, and, giving out a piercing cry, it stretched
its neck up timidly, gazed wildly around, and then dived under
again. Prince Milan's heart was so moved with pity for the poor
little creature that he came out from behind the bulrushes, to see
if he could be of any help. As soon as the duck perceived him, it
cried in a human voice, 'Oh, dear Prince Milan, for the love of
Heaven give me back my garment, and I will be so grateful to you.'
The Prince lay the little garment on the bank beside her, and
stepped back into the bushes. In a few seconds a beautiful girl in
a white robe stood before him, so fair and sweet and young that no
pen could describe her. She gave the Prince her hand and spoke.

'Many thanks, Prince Milan, for your courtesy. I am the daughter
of a wicked magician, and my name is Hyacinthia. My father has
thirty young daughters, and is a mighty ruler in the underworld,
with many castles and great riches. He has been expecting you for
ages, but you need have no fear if you will only follow my advice.
As soon as you come into the presence of my father, throw yourself
at once on the ground and approach him on your knees. Don't mind
if he stamps furiously with his feet and curses and swears. I'll
attend to the rest, and in the meantime we had better be off.'

With these words the beautiful Hyacinthia stamped on the ground
with her little foot, and the earth opened and they both sank down
into the lower world.

The palace of the Magician was all hewn out of a single carbuncle,
lighting up the whole surrounding region, and Prince Milan walked
into it gaily.

The Magician sat on a throne, a sparkling crown on his head; his
eyes blazed like a green fire, and instead of hands he had claws.
As soon as Prince Milan entered he flung himself on his knees. The
Magician stamped loudly with his feet, glared frightfully out of
his green eyes, and cursed so loudly that the whole underworld
shook. But the Prince, mindful of the counsel he had been given,
wasn't the least afraid, and approached the throne still on his
knees. At last the Magician laughed aloud and said, 'You rogue,
you have been well advised to make me laugh; I won't be your enemy
any more. Welcome to the underworld! All the same, for your delay
in coming here, we must demand three services from you. For to-day
you may go, but to-morrow I shall have something more to say to
you.'

Then two servants led Prince Milan to a beautiful apartment, and
he lay down fearlessly on the soft bed that had been prepared for
him, and was soon fast asleep.

Early the next morning the Magician sent for him, and said, 'Let's
see now what you've learnt. In the first place you must build me a
palace to-night, the roof of purest gold, the walls of marble, and
the windows of crystal; all round you must lay out a beautiful
garden, with fish-ponds and artistic waterfalls. If you do all
this, I will reward you richly; but if you don't, you shall lose
your head.'

'Oh, you wicked monster!' thought Prince Milan, 'you might as well
have put me to death at once.' Sadly he returned to his room, and
with bent head sat brooding over his cruel fate till evening. When
it grew dark, a little bee flew by, and knocking at the window, it
said, 'Open, and let me in.'

Milan opened the window quickly, and as soon as the bee had
entered, it changed into the beautiful Hyacinthia.

'Good evening, Prince Milan. Why are you so sad?'

'How can I help being sad? Your father threatens me with death,
and I see myself already without a head.'

'And what have you made up your mind to do?'

'There's nothing to be done, and after all I suppose one can only
die once.'

'Now, don't be so foolish, my dear Prince; but keep up your
spirits, for there is no need to despair. Go to bed, and when you
wake up to-morrow morning the palace will be finished. Then you
must go all round it, giving a tap here and there on the walls to
look as if you had just finished it.'

And so it all turned out just as she had said. As soon as it was
daylight Prince Milan stepped out of his room, and found a palace
which was quite a work of art down to the very smallest detail.
The Magician himself was not a little astonished at its beauty,
and could hardly believe his eyes.

'Well, you certainly are a splendid workman,' he said to the
Prince. 'I see you are very clever with your hands, now I must see
if you are equally accomplished with your head. I have thirty
daughters in my house, all beautiful princesses. To-morrow I will
place the whole thirty in a row. You must walk past them three
times, and the third time you must show me which is my youngest
daughter Hyacinthia. If you don't guess rightly, you shall lose
your head.'

'This time you've made a mistake,' thought Prince Milan, and going
to his room he sat down at the window. Just fancy my not
recognising the beautiful Hyacinthia! Why, that is the easiest
thing in the world.'

'Not so easy as you think,' cried the little bee, who was flying
past. 'If I weren't to help you, you'd never guess. We are thirty
sisters so exactly alike that our own father can hardly
distinguish us apart.'

'Then what am I to do?' asked Prince Milan.

'Listen,' answered Hyacinthia. 'You will recognise me by a tiny
fly I shall have on my left cheek, but be careful for you might
easily make a mistake.'

The next day the Magician again commanded Prince Milan to be led
before him. His daughters were all arranged in a straight row in
front of him, dressed exactly alike, and with their eyes bent on
the ground.

'Now, you genius,' said the Magician, 'look at these beauties
three times, and then tell us which is the Princess Hyacinthia.'

Prince Milan went past them and looked at them closely. But they
were all so precisely alike that they looked like one face
reflected in thirty mirrors, and the fly was nowhere to be seen;
the second time he passed them he still saw nothing; but the third
time he perceived a little fly stealing down one cheek, causing it
to blush a faint pink. Then the Prince seized the girl's hand and
cried out, 'This is the Princess Hyacinthia!'

'You're right again,' said the Magician in amazement; 'but I've
still another task for you to do. Before this candle, which I
shall light, burns to the socket, you must have made me a pair of
boots reaching to my knees. If they aren't finished in that time,
off comes your head.'

The Prince returned to his room in despair; then the Princess
Hyacinthia came to him once more changed into the likeness of a
bee, and asked him, 'Why so sad, Prince Milan?'

'How can I help being sad? Your father has set me this time an
impossible task. Before a candle which he has lit burns to the
socket, I am to make a pair of boots. But what does a prince know
of shoemaking? If I can't do it, I lose my head.'

'And what do you mean to do?' asked Hyacinthia.

'Well, what is there to be done? What he demands I can't and won't
do, so he must just make an end of me.'

'Not so, dearest. I love you dearly, and you shall marry me, and
I'll either save your life or die with you. We must fly now as
quickly as we can, for there is no other way of escape.'

With these words she breathed on the window, and her breath froze
on the pane. Then she led Milan out of the room with her, shut the
door, and threw the key away. Hand in hand, they hurried to the
spot where they had descended into the lower world, and at last
reached the banks of the lake. Prince Milan's charger was still
grazing on the grass which grew near the water. The horse no
sooner recognized his master, than it neighed loudly with joy, and
springing towards him, it stood as if rooted to the ground, while
Prince Milan and Hyacinthia jumped on its back. Then it sped
onwards like an arrow from a bow.

In the meantime the Magician was waiting impatiently for the
Prince. Enraged by the delay, he sent his servants to fetch him,
for the appointed time was past.

The servants came to the door, and finding it locked, they
knocked; but the frozen breath on the window replied in Prince
Milan's voice, 'I am coming directly.' With this answer they
returned to the Magician. But when the Prince still did not
appear, after a time he sent his servants a second time to bring
him. The frozen breath always gave the same answer, but the Prince
never came. At last the Magician lost all patience, and commanded
the door to be burst open. But when his servants did so, they
found the room empty, and the frozen breath laughed aloud. Out of
his mind with rage, the Magician ordered the Prince to be pursued.