Andrew Lang_Fairy Book 08 (11 page)

At first Tiidu did not much like this scheme, for the sea ran high,
but he was a good swimmer, and the sailor assured him that there
was no danger. As soon as he was in the water, his friend hastened
to rouse his mates, declaring that he was sure that there was a man
in the sea, following the ship. They all came on deck, and what was
their surprise when they recognised the person who had bargained
about a passage the previous day with the captain.

'Are you a ghost, or a dying man?' they asked him trembling, as
they stooped over the side of the ship.

'I shall soon indeed be a dead man if you do not help me,' answered
Tiidu, 'for my strength is going fast.'

Then the captain seized a rope and flung it out to him, and Tiidu
held it between his teeth, while, unseen by the sailors; he loosed the
one tied round his waist.

'Where have you come from?' said the captain, when Tiidu was
brought up on board the ship.

'I have followed you from the harbour,' answered he, 'and have been
often in sore dread lest my strength should fail me. I hoped that by
swimming after the ship I might at last reach Kungla, as I had no
money to pay my passage.' The captain's heart melted at these
words, and he said kindly: 'You may be thankful that you were not
drowned. I will land you at Kungla free of payment, as you are so
anxious to get there. So he gave him dry clothes to wear, and a
berth to sleep in, and Tiidu and his friend secretly made merry over
their cunning trick.

For the rest of the voyage the ship's crew treated Tiidu as
something higher than themselves, seeing that in all their lives they
had never met with any man that could swim for as many hours as
he had done. This pleased Tiidu very much, though he knew that
he had really done nothing to deserve it, and in return he delighted
them by tunes on his pipes. When, after some days, they cast
anchor at Kungla, the story of his wonderful swim brought him
many friends, for everybody wished to hear him tell the tale himself.
This might have been all very well, had not Tiidu lived in dread that
some day he would be asked to give proof of his marvellous
swimming powers, and then everything would be found out.
Meanwhile he was dazzled with the splendour around him, and
more than ever he longed for part of the riches, about which the
owners seemed to care so little.

He wandered through the streets for many days, seeking some one
who wanted a servant; but though more than one person would
have been glad to engage him, they seemed to Tiidu not the sort of
people to help him to get rich quickly. At last, when he had almost
made up his mind that he must accept the next place offered him, he
happened to knock at the door of a rich merchant who was in need
of a scullion, and gladly agreed to do the cook's bidding, and it was
in this merchant's house that he first learned how great were the
riches of the land of Kungla. All the vessels which in other
countries are made of iron, copper, brass, or tin, in Kungla were
made of silver, or even of gold. The food was cooked in silver
saucepans, the bread baked in a silver oven, while the dishes and
their covers were all of gold. Even the very pigs' troughs were of
silver too. But the sight of these things only made Tiidu more
covetous than before. 'What is the use of all this wealth that I have
constantly before my eyes,' thought he, 'if none of it is mine? I shall
never grow rich by what I earn as a scullion, even though I am paid
as much in a month as I should get elsewhere in a year.'

By this time he had been in his place for two years, and had put by
quite a large sum of money. His passion of saving had increased to
such a pitch that it was only by his master's orders that he ever
bought any new clothes, 'For,' said the merchant, 'I will not have
dirty people in my house.' So with a heavy heart Tiidu spent some
of his next month's wages on a cheap coat.

One day the merchant held a great feast in honour of the christening
of his youngest child, and he gave each of his servants a handsome
garment for the occasion. The following Sunday, Tiidu, who liked
fine clothes when he did not have to pay for them, put on his new
coat, and went for a walk to some beautiful pleasure gardens, which
were always full of people on a sunny day. He sat down under a
shady tree, and watched the passers-by, but after a little he began to
feel rather lonely, for he knew nobody and nobody knew him.
Suddenly his eyes fell on the figure of an old man, which seemed
familiar to him, though he could not tell when or where he had seen
it. He watched the figure for some time, till at length the old man
left the crowded paths, and threw himself on the soft grass under a
lime tree, which stood at some distance from where Tiidu was
sitting. Then the young man walked slowly past, in order that he
might look at him more closely, and as he did so the old man
smiled, and held out his hand.

'What have you done with your pipes?' asked he; and then in a
moment Tiidu knew him. Taking his arm he drew him into a quiet
place and told him all that had happened since they had last met.
The old man shook his head as he listened, and when Tiidu had
finished his tale, he said: 'A fool you are, and a fool you will always
be! Was there ever such a piece of folly as to exchange your pipes
for a scullion's ladle? You could have made as much by the pipes in
a day as your wages would have come to in half a year. Go home
and fetch your pipes, and play them here, and you will soon see if I
have spoken the truth.'

Tiidu did not like this advice—he was afraid that the people would
laugh at him; and, besides, it was long since he had touched his
pipes—but the old man persisted, and at last Tiidu did as he was
told.

'Sit down on the bank by me,' said the old man, when he came back,
'and begin to play, and in a little while the people will flock round
you.' Tiidu obeyed, at first without much heart; but somehow the
tone of the pipes was sweeter than he had remembered, and as he
played, the crowd ceased to walk and chatter, and stood still and
silent round him. When he had played for some time he took off his
hat and passed it round, and dollars, and small silver coins, and
even gold pieces, came tumbling in. Tiidu played a couple more
tunes by way of thanks, then turned to go home, hearing on all
sides murmurs of 'What a wonderful piper! Come back, we pray
you, next Sunday to give us another treat.'

'What did I tell you?' said the old man, as they passed through the
garden gate. 'Was it not pleasanter to play for a couple of hours on
the pipes than to be stirring sauces all day long? For the second
time I have shown you the path to follow; try to learn wisdom, and
take the bull by the horns, lest your luck should slip from you! I
can be your guide no longer, therefore listen to what I say, and
obey me. Go every Sunday afternoon to those gardens; and sit
under the lime tree and play to the people, and bring a felt hat with
a deep crown, and lay it on the ground at your feet, so that
everyone can throw some money into it. If you are invited to play
at a feast, accept willingly, but beware of asking a fixed price; say
you will take whatever they may feel inclined to give. You will get
far more money in the end. Perhaps, some day, our paths may
cross, and then I shall see how far you have followed my advice.
Till then, farewell'; and the old man went his way.

As before, his words came true, though Tiidu could not at once do
his bidding, as he had first to fulfil his appointed time of service.
Meanwhile he ordered some fine clothes, in which he played every
Sunday in the gardens, and when he counted his gains in the
evening they were always more than on the Sunday before. At
length he was free to do as he liked, and he had more invitations to
play than he could manage to accept, and at night, when the citizens
used to go and drink in the inn, the landlord always begged Tiidu to
come and play to them. Thus he grew so rich that very soon he had
his silver pipes covered with gold, so that they glistened in the light
of the sun or the fire. In all Kungla there was no prouder man than
Tiidu.

In a few years he had saved such a large sum of money that he was
considered a rich man even in Kungla, where everybody was rich.
And then he had leisure to remember that he had once had a home,
and a family, and that he should like to see them both again, and
show them how well he could play. This time he would not need to
hide in the ship's hold, but could hire the best cabin if he wished to,
or even have a vessel all to himself. So he packed all his treasures
in large chests, and sent them on board the first ship that was sailing
to his native land, and followed them with a light heart. The wind
at starting was fair, but it soon freshened, and in the night rose to a
gale. For two days they ran before it, and hoped that by keeping
well out to sea they might be able to weather the storm, when,
suddenly, the ship struck on a rock, and began to fill. Orders were
given to lower the boats, and Tiidu with three sailors got into one
of them, but before they could push away from the ship a huge
wave overturned it, and all four were flung into the water. Luckily
for Tiidu an oar was floating near him, and with its help he was able
to keep on the surface of the water; and when the sun rose, and the
mist cleared away, he saw that he was not far from shore. By hard
swimming, for the sea still ran high, he managed to reach it, and
pulled himself out of the water, more dead than alive. Then he
flung himself down on the ground and fell fast asleep.

When he awoke he got up to explore the island, and see if there
were any men upon it; but though he found streams and fruit trees
in abundance, there was no trace either of man or beast. Then,
tired with his wanderings he sat down and began to think.

For perhaps the first time in his life his thoughts did not instantly
turn to money. It was not on his lost treasures that his mind dwelt,
but on his conduct to his parents: his laziness and disobedience as a
boy; his forgetfulness of them as a man. 'If wild animals were to
come and tear me to pieces,' he said to himself bitterly, 'it would be
only what I deserve! My gains are all at the bottom of the sea—well!
lightly won, lightly lost—but it is odd that I feel I should not
care for that if only my pipes were left me.' Then he rose and
walked a little further, till he saw a tree with great red apples
shining amidst the leaves, and he pulled some down, and ate them
greedily. After that he stretched himself out on the soft moss and
went to sleep.

In the morning he ran to the nearest stream to wash himself, but to
his horror, when he caught sight of his face, he saw his nose had
grown the colour of an apple, and reached nearly to his waist. He
started back thinking he was dreaming, and put up his hand; but,
alas! the dreadful thing was true. 'Oh, why does not some wild
beast devour me?' he cried to himself; 'never, never, can I go again
amongst my fellow-men! If only the sea had swallowed me up,
how much happier it had been for me!' And he hid his head in his
hands and wept. His grief was so violent, that it exhausted him,
and growing hungry he looked about for something to eat. Just
above him was a bough of ripe, brown nuts, end he picked them
and ate a handful. To his surprise, as he was eating them, he felt his
nose grow shorter and shorter, and after a while he ventured to feel
it with his hand, and even to look in the stream again! Yes, there
was no mistake, it was as short as before, or perhaps a little shorter.
In his joy at this discovery Tiidu did a very bold thing. He took one
of the apples out of his pocket, and cautiously bit a piece out of it.
In an instant his nose was as long as his chin, and in a deadly fear
lest it should stretch further, he hastily swallowed a nut, and
awaited the result with terror. Supposing that the shrinking of his
nose had only been an accident before! Supposing that that nut and
no other was able to cause its shrinking! In that case he had, by his
own folly, in not letting well alone, ruined his life completely. But,
no! he had guessed rightly, for in no more time than his nose had
taken to grow long did it take to return to its proper size. 'This
may make my fortune,' he said joyfully to himself; and he gathered
some of the apples, which he put into one pocket, and a good
supply of nuts which he put into the other. Next day he wove a
basket out of some rushes, so that if he ever left the island he might
be able to carry his treasures about.

That night he dreamed that his friend the old man appeared to him
and said: 'Because you did not mourn for your lost treasure, but
only for your pipes, I will give you a new set to replace them.' And,
behold! in the morning when he got up a set of pipes was lying in
the basket. With what joy did he seize them and begin one of his
favourite tunes; and as he played hope sprang up in his heart, and
he looked out to sea, to try to detect the sign of a sail. Yes! there
it was, making straight for the island; and Tiidu, holding his pipes in
his hand, dashed down to the shore.

The sailors knew the island to be uninhabited, and were much
surprised to see a man standing on the beach, waving his arms in
welcome to them. A boat was put off, and two sailors rowed to the
shore to discover how he came there, and if he wished to be taken
away. Tiidu told them the story of his shipwreck, and the captain
promised that he should come on board, and sail with them back to
Kungla; and thankful indeed was Tiidu to accept the offer, and to
show his gratitude by playing on his pipes whenever he was asked
to do so.

They had a quick voyage, and it was not long before Tiidu found
himself again in the streets of the capital of Kungla, playing as he
went along. The people had heard no music like his since he went
away, and they crowded round him, and in their joy gave him
whatever money they had in their pockets. His first care was to buy
himself some new clothes, which he sadly needed, taking care,
however, that they should be made after a foreign fashion. When
they were ready, he set out one day with a small basket of his
famous apples, and went up to the palace. He did not have to wait
long before one of the royal servants passed by and bought all the
apples, begging as he did so that the merchant should return and
bring some more. This Tiidu promised, and hastened away as if he
had a mad bull behind him, so afraid was he that the man should
begin to eat an apple at once.