Andrew Lang_Fairy Book 03 (36 page)

Now, the King had a daughter, who was just as beautiful as her
dead mother, and had just such golden hair. One day when she had
grown up, her father looked at her, and saw that she was exactly
like her mother, so he said to his councillors, 'I will marry my
daughter to one of you, and she shall be queen, for she is exactly
like her dead mother, and when I die her husband shall be king.'
But when the Princess heard of her father's decision, she was not
at all pleased, and said to him, 'Before I do your bidding, I must
have three dresses; one as golden as the sun, one as silver as the
moon, and one as shining as the stars. Besides these, I want a
cloak made of a thousand different kinds of skin; every animal in
your kingdom must give a bit of his skin to it.' But she thought
to herself, 'This will be quite impossible, and I shall not have
to marry someone I do not care for.' The King, however, was not to
be turned from his purpose, and he commanded the most skilled
maidens in his kingdom to weave the three dresses, one as golden
as the sun, and one as silver as the moon, and one as shining as
the stars; and he gave orders to all his huntsmen to catch one of
every kind of beast in the kingdom, and to get a bit of its skin
to make the cloak of a thousand pieces of fur. At last, when all
was ready, the King commanded the cloak to be brought to him, and
he spread it out before the Princess, and said, 'Tomorrow shall be
your wedding-day.' When the Princess saw that there was no more
hope of changing her father's resolution, she determined to flee
away. In the night, when everyone else was sleeping, she got up
and took three things from her treasures, a gold ring, a little
gold spinning-wheel, and a gold reel; she put the sun, moon, and
star dresses in a nut-shell, drew on the cloak of many skins, and
made her face and hands black with soot. Then she commended
herself to God, and went out and travelled the whole night till
she came to a large forest. And as she was very much tired she sat
down inside a hollow tree and fell asleep.

The sun rose and she still slept on and on, although it was nearly
noon. Now, it happened that the king to whom this wood belonged
was hunting in it. When his dogs came to the tree, they sniffed,
and ran round and round it, barking. The King said to the
huntsmen, 'See what sort of a wild beast is in there.' The
huntsmen went in, and then came back and said, 'In the hollow tree
there lies a wonderful animal that we don't know, and we have
never seen one like it; its skin is made of a thousand pieces of
fur; but it is lying down asleep.' The King said, 'See if you can
catch it alive, and then fasten it to the cart, and we will take
it with us.' When the huntsmen seized the maiden, she awoke and
was frightened, and cried out to them, 'I am a poor child,
forsaken by father and mother; take pity on me, and let me go with
you.' Then they said to her, 'Many-furred Creature, you can work
in the kitchen; come with us and sweep the ashes together.' So
they put her in the cart and they went back to the palace. There
they showed her a tiny room under the stairs, where no daylight
came, and said to her, 'Many-furred Creature, you can live and
sleep here.' Then she was sent into the kitchen, where she carried
wood and water, poked the fire, washed vegetables, plucked fowls,
swept up the ashes, and did all the dirty work.

So the Many-furred Creature lived for a long time in great
poverty. Ah, beautiful King's daughter, what is going to befall
you now?

It happened once when a great feast was being held in the palace,
that she said to the cook, 'Can I go upstairs for a little bit and
look on? I will stand outside the doors.' The cook replied, 'Yes,
you can go up, but in half-an-hour you must be back here to sweep
up the ashes.' Then she took her little oil-lamp, and went into
her little room, drew off her fur cloak, and washed off the soot
from her face and hands, so that her beauty shone forth, and it
was as if one sunbeam after another were coming out of a black
cloud. Then she opened the nut, and took out the dress as golden
as the sun. And when she had done this, she went up to the feast,
and everyone stepped out of her way, for nobody knew her, and they
thought she must be a King's daughter. But the King came towards
her and gave her his hand, and danced with her, thinking to
himself, 'My eyes have never beheld anyone so fair!' When the
dance was ended, she curtseyed to him, and when the King looked
round she had disappeared, no one knew whither. The guards who
were standing before the palace were called and questioned, but no
one had seen her.

She had run to her little room and had quickly taken off her
dress, made her face and hands black, put on the fur cloak, and
was once more the Many-furred Creature. When she came into the
kitchen and was setting about her work of sweeping the ashes
together, the cook said to her, 'Let that wait till to-morrow, and
just cook the King's soup for me; I want to have a little peep at
the company upstairs; but be sure that you do not let a hair fall
into it, otherwise you will get nothing to eat in future!' So the
cook went away, and the Many-furred Creature cooked the soup for
the King. She made a bread-soup as well as she possibly could, and
when it was done, she fetched her gold ring from her little room,
and laid it in the tureen in which the soup was to be served up.

When the dance was ended, the King had his soup brought to him and
ate it, and it was so good that he thought he had never tasted
such soup in his life. But when he came to the bottom of the dish
he saw a gold ring lying there, and he could not imagine how it
got in. Then he commanded the cook to be brought before him. The
cook was terrified when he heard the command, and said to the
Many-furred Creature, 'You must have let a hair fall into the
soup, and if you have you deserve a good beating!' When he came
before the King, the King asked who had cooked the soup. The cook
answered, 'I cooked it.' But the King said, 'That's not true, for
it was quite different and much better soup than you have ever
cooked.' Then the cook said, 'I must confess;
I
did not
cook the soup; the Many-furred Creature did.' 'Let her be brought
before me,' said the King. When the Many-furred Creature came, the
King asked her who she was. 'I am a poor child without father or
mother.' Then he asked her, 'What do you do in my palace?' 'I am
of no use except to have boots thrown at my head.' 'How did you
get the ring which was in the soup?' he asked. 'I know nothing at
all about the ring,' she answered. So the King could find out
nothing, and was obliged to send her away.

After a time there was another feast, and the Many-furred Creature
begged the cook as at the last one to let her go and look on. He
answered, 'Yes, but come back again in half-an-hour and cook the
King the bread-soup that he likes so much.' So she ran away to her
little room, washed herself quickly, took out of the nut the dress
as silver as the moon and put it on. Then she went upstairs
looking just like a King's daughter, and the King came towards
her, delighted to see her again, and as the dance had just begun,
they danced together. But when the dance was ended, she
disappeared again so quickly that the King could not see which way
she went. She ran to her little room and changed herself once more
into the Many-furred Creature, and went into the kitchen to cook
the bread-soup. When the cook was upstairs, she fetched the golden
spinning-wheel and put it in the dish so that the soup was poured
over it. It was brought to the King, who ate it, and liked it as
much as the last time. He had the cook sent to him, and again he
had to confess that the Many-furred Creature had cooked the soup.
Then the Many-furred Creature came before the King, but she said
again that she was of no use except to have boots thrown at her
head, and that she knew nothing at all of the golden spinning-
wheel.

When the King had a feast for the third time, things did not turn
out quite the same as at the other two. The cook said, 'You must
be a witch, Many-furred Creature, for you always put something in
the soup, so that it is much better and tastes nicer to the King
than any that I cook.' But because she begged hard, he let her go
up for the usual time. Now she put on the dress as shining as the
stars, and stepped into the hall in it.

The King danced again with the beautiful maiden, and thought she
had never looked so beautiful. And while he was dancing, he put a
gold ring on her finger without her seeing it, and he commanded
that the dance should last longer than usual. When it was finished
he wanted to keep her hands in his, but she broke from him, and
sprang so quickly away among the people that she vanished from his
sight. She ran as fast as she could to her little room under the
stairs, but because she had stayed too long beyond the half-hour,
she could not stop to take off the beautiful dress, but only threw
the fur cloak over it, and in her haste she did not make herself
quite black with the soot, one finger remaining white. The Many-
furred Creature now ran into the kitchen, cooked the King's bread-
soup, and when the cook had gone, she laid the gold reel in the
dish. When the King found the reel at the bottom, he had the Many-
furred Creature brought to him, and then he saw the white finger,
and the ring which he had put on her hand in the dance. Then he
took her hand and held her tightly, and as she was trying to get
away, she undid the fur-cloak a little bit and the star-dress
shone out. The King seized the cloak and tore it off her. Her
golden hair came down, and she stood there in her full splendour,
and could not hide herself away any more. And when the soot and
ashes had been washed from her face, she looked more beautiful
than anyone in the world. But the King said, 'You are my dear
bride, and we will never be separated from one another.' So the
wedding was celebrated and they lived happily ever after.

Grimm.

Once upon a time there was a King's son who was engaged to a
Princess whom he dearly loved. One day as he sat by her side
feeling very happy, he received news that his father was lying at
the point of death, and desired to see him before his end. So he
said to his love: 'Alas! I must go off and leave you, but take
this ring and wear it as a remembrance of me, and when I am King I
will return and fetch you home.'

Then he rode off, and when he reached his father he found him
mortally ill and very near death.

The King said: 'Dearest son, I have desired to see you again
before my end. Promise me, I beg of you, that you will marry
according to my wishes'; and he then named the daughter of a
neighbouring King who he was anxious should be his son's wife. The
Prince was so overwhelmed with grief that he could think of
nothing but his father, and exclaimed: 'Yes, yes, dear father,
whatever you desire shall be done.' Thereupon the King closed his
eyes and died.

After the Prince had been proclaimed King, and the usual time of
mourning had elapsed, he felt that he must keep the promise he had
made to his father, so he sent to ask for the hand of the King's
daughter, which was granted to him at once.

Now, his first love heard of this, and the thought of her lover's
desertion grieved her so sadly that she pined away and nearly
died. Her father said to her: 'My dearest child, why are you so
unhappy? If there is anything you wish for, say so, and you shall
have it.'

His daughter reflected for a moment, and then said: 'Dear father,
I wish for eleven girls as nearly as possible of the same height,
age, and appearance as myself.'

Said the King: 'If the thing is possible your wish shall be
fulfilled'; and he had his kingdom searched till he found eleven
maidens of the same height, size, and appearance as his daughter.

Then the Princess desired twelve complete huntsmen's suits to be
made, all exactly alike, and the eleven maidens had to dress
themselves in eleven of the suits, while she herself put on the
twelfth. After this she took leave of her father, and rode off
with her girls to the court of her former lover.

Here she enquired whether the King did not want some huntsmen, and
if he would not take them all into his service. The King saw her
but did not recognize her, and as he thought them very good-
looking young people, he said, 'Yes, he would gladly engage them
all.' So they became the twelve royal huntsmen.

Now, the King had a most remarkable Lion, for it knew every hidden
or secret thing.

One evening the Lion said to the King: 'So you think you have got
twelve huntsmen, do you?'

'Yes, certainly,' said the King, 'they
are
twelve
huntsmen.'

'There you are mistaken,' said the Lion; 'they are twelve
maidens.'

'That cannot possibly be,' replied the King; 'how do you mean to
prove that?'

'Just have a number of peas strewed over the floor of your ante-
chamber,' said the Lion, 'and you will soon see. Men have a
strong, firm tread, so that if they happen to walk over peas not
one will stir, but girls trip, and slip, and slide, so that the
peas roll all about.'

The King was pleased with the Lion's advice, and ordered the peas
to be strewn in his ante-room.

Fortunately one of the King's servants had become very partial to
the young huntsmen, and hearing of the trial they were to be put
to, he went to them and said: 'The Lion wants to persuade the King
that you are only girls'; and then told them all the plot.

The King's daughter thanked him for the hint, and after he was
gone she said to her maidens: 'Now make every effort to tread
firmly on the peas.'

Next morning, when the King sent for his twelve huntsmen, and they
passed through the ante-room which was plentifully strewn with
peas, they trod so firmly and walked with such a steady, strong
step that not a single pea rolled away or even so much as stirred.
After they were gone the King said to the Lion: 'There now—you
have been telling lies—you see yourself they walk like men.'