Andrew Lang_Fairy Book 08 (30 page)

At last it touched the ground and he jumped out and looked about
him. He was in a beautiful valley, full of meadows and streams,
with a splendid castle standing by. As the door was open he
walked in, but a lovely maiden met him and implored him to go
back, for the owner of the castle was a dragon with six heads, who
had stolen her from her home and brought her down to this
underground spot. But Paul refused to listen to all her entreaties,
and declared that he was not afraid of the dragon, and did not care
how many heads he had; and he sat down calmly to wait for him.

In a little while the dragon came in, and all the long teeth in his six
heads chattered with anger at the sight of the stranger.

'I am Shepherd Paul,' said the young man, 'and I have come to fight
you, and as I am in a hurry we had better begin at once.'

'Very good,' answered the dragon. 'I am sure of my supper, but let
us have a mouthful of something first, just to give us an appetite.'

Whereupon he began to eat some huge boulders as if they had been
cakes, and when he had quite finished, he offered Paul one. Paul
was not fond of boulders, but he took a wooden knife and cut one
in two, then he snatched up both halves in his hands and threw them
with all his strength at the dragon, so that two out of the six heads
were smashed in. At this the dragon, with a mighty roar, rushed
upon Paul, but he sprang on one side, and with a swinging blow cut
off two of the other heads. Then, seizing the monster by the neck,
he dashed the remaining heads against the rock.

When the maiden heard that the dragon was dead, she thanked her
deliverer with tears in her eyes, but told him that her two younger
sisters were in the power of dragons still fiercer and more horrible
than this one. He vowed that his sword should never rest in its
sheath till they were set free, and bade the girl come with him, and
show him the way.

The maiden gladly consented to go with him, but first she gave him
a golden rod, and bade him strike the castle with it. He did so, and
it instantly changed into a golden apple, which he put in his pocket.
After that, they started on their search.

They had not gone far before they reached the castle where the
second girl was confined by the power of the dragon with twelve
heads, who had stolen her from her home. She was overjoyed at
the sight of her sister and of Paul, and brought him a shirt belonging
to the dragon, which made every one who wore it twice as strong
as they were before. Scarcely had he put it on when the dragon
came back, and the fight began. Long and hard was the struggle,
but Paul's sword and his shirt helped him, and the twelve heads lay
dead upon the ground.

Then Paul changed the castle into an apple, which he put into his
pocket, and set out with the two girls in search of the third castle.

It was not long before they found it, and within the walls was the
third sister, who was younger and prettier than either of the other
two. Her husband had eighteen heads, but when he quitted the
lower regions for the surface of the earth, he left them all at home
except one, which he changed for the head of a little dwarf, with a
pointed beard.

The moment that Paul knew that this terrible dragon was no other
than the dwarf whom he had tied to the tree, he longed more than
ever to fly at his throat. But the thought of the eighteen heads
warned him to be careful, and the third sister brought him a silk
shirt which would make him ten times stronger than he was before.

He had scarcely put it on, when the whole castle began to shake
violently, and the dragon flew up the steps into the hall.

'Well, my friend, so we meet once more! Have you forgotten me?
I am Shepherd Paul, and I have come to wrestle with you, and to
free your wife from your clutches.'

'Ah, I am glad to see you again,' said the dragon. 'Those were my
two brothers whom you killed, and now your blood shall pay for
them.' And he went into his room to look for his shirt and to drink
some magic wine, but the shirt was on Paul's back, and as for the
wine, the girl had given a cupful to Paul and then had allowed the
rest to run out of the cask.

At this the dragon grew rather frightened, but in a moment had
recollected his eighteen heads, and was bold again.

'Come on,' he cried, rearing himself up and preparing to dart all his
heads at once at Paul. But Paul jumped underneath, and gave an
upward cut so that six of the heads went rolling down. They were
the best heads too, and very soon the other twelve lay beside them.
Then Paul changed the castle into an apple, and put it in his pocket.
Afterwards he and the three girls set off for the opening which led
upwards to the earth.

The basket was still there, dangling from the rope, but it was only
big enough to hold the three girls, so Paul sent them up, and told
them to be sure and let down the basket for him. Unluckily, at the
sight of the maidens' beauty, so far beyond anything they had ever
seen, the friends forgot all about Paul, and carried the girls straight
away into a far country, so that they were not much better off than
before. Meanwhile Paul, mad with rage at the ingratitude of the
three sisters, vowed he would be revenged upon them, and set
about finding some way of getting back to earth. But it was not
very easy, and for months, and months, and months, he wandered
about underground, and, at the end, seemed no nearer to fulfilling
his purpose than he was at the beginning.

At length, one day, he happened to pass the nest of a huge griffin,
who had left her young ones all alone. Just as Paul came along a
cloud containing fire instead of rain burst overhead, and all the little
griffins would certainly have been killed had not Paul spread his
cloak over the nest and saved them. When their father returned the
young ones told him what Paul had done, and he lost no time in
flying after Paul, and asking how he could reward him for his
goodness.

'By carrying me up to the earth,' answered Paul; and the griffin
agreed, but first went to get some food to eat on the way, as it was
a long journey.

'Now get on my back,' he said to Paul, 'and when I turn my head to
the right, cut a slice off the bullock that hangs on that side, and put
it in my mouth, and when I turn my head to the left, draw a cupful
of wine from the cask that hangs on that side, and pour it down my
throat.'

For three days and three nights Paul and the griffin flew upwards,
and on the fourth morning it touched the ground just outside the
city where Paul's friends had gone to live. Then Paul thanked him
and bade him farewell, and he returned home again.

At first Paul was too tired to do anything but sleep, but as soon as
he was rested he started off in search of the three faithless ones,
who almost died from fright at the sight of him, for they had
thought he would never come back to reproach them for their
wickedness.

'You know what to expect,' Paul said to them quietly. 'You shall
never see me again. Off with you!' He next took the three apples
out of his pocket and placed them all in the prettiest places he could
find; after which he tapped them with his golden rod, and they
became castles again. He gave two of the castles to the eldest
sisters, and kept the other for himself and the youngest, whom he
married, and there they are living still.

(From Ungarische Mahrchen.)

The hunters had hunted the wood for so many years that no wild
animal was any more to be found in it. You might walk from one
end to the other without ever seeing a hare, or a deer, or a boar, or
hearing the cooing of the doves in their nest. If they were not dead,
they had flown elsewhere. Only three creatures remained alive, and
they had hidden themselves in the thickest part of the forest, high
up the mountain. These were a grey-furred, long-tailed tanuki, his
wife the fox, who was one of his own family, and their little son.

The fox and the tanuki were very clever, prudent beasts, and they
also were skilled in magic, and by this means had escaped the fate
of their unfortunate friends. If they heard the twang of an arrow or
saw the glitter of a spear, ever so far off, they lay very still, and
were not to be tempted from their hiding-place, if their hunger was
ever so great, or the game ever so delicious. 'We are not so foolish
as to risk our lives,' they said to each other proudly. But at length
there came a day when, in spite of their prudence, they seemed
likely to die of starvation, for no more food was to be had.
Something had to be done, but they did not know what.

Suddenly a bright thought struck the tanuki. 'I have got a plan,' he
cried joyfully to his wife. 'I will pretend to be dead, and you must
change yourself into a man, and take me to the village for sale. It
will be easy to find a buyer, tanukis' skins are always wanted; then
buy some food with the money and come home again. I will
manage to escape somehow, so do not worry about me.'

The fox laughed with delight, and rubbed her paws together with
satisfaction. 'Well, next time I will go,' she said, 'and you can sell
me.' And then she changed herself into a man, and picking up the
stiff body of the tanuki, set off towards the village. She found him
rather heavy, but it would never have done to let him walk through
the wood and risk his being seen by somebody.

As the tanaki had foretold, buyers were many, and the fox handed
him over to the person who offered the largest price, and hurried to
get some food with the money. The buyer took the tanuki back to
his house, and throwing him into a corner went out. Directly the
tanaki found he was alone, he crept cautiously through a chink of
the window, thinking, as he did so, how lucky it was that he was
not a fox, and was able to climb. Once outside, he hid himself in a
ditch till it grew dusk, and then galloped away into the forest.

While the food lasted they were all three as happy as kings; but
there soon arrived a day when the larder was as empty as ever. 'It
is my turn now to pretend to be dead,' cried the fox. So the tanuki
changed himself into a peasant, and started for the village, with his
wife's body hanging over his shoulder. A buyer was not long in
coming forward, and while they were making the bargain a wicked
thought darted into the tanuki's head, that if he got rid of the fox
there would be more food for him and his son. So as he put the
money in his pocket he whispered softly to the buyer that the fox
was not really dead, and that if he did not take care she might run
away from him. The man did not need twice telling. He gave the
poor fox a blow on the head, which put an end to her, and the
wicked tanuki went smiling to the nearest shop.

In former times he had been very fond of his little son; but since he
had betrayed his wife he seemed to have changed all in a moment,
for he would not give him as much as a bite, and the poor little
fellow would have starved had he not found some nuts and berries
to eat, and he waited on, always hoping that his mother would
come back.

At length some notion of the truth began to dawn on him; but he
was careful to let the old tanuki see nothing, though in his own
mind he turned over plans from morning till night, wondering how
best he might avenge his mother.

One morning, as the little tanuki was sitting with his father, he
remembered, with a start, that his mother had taught him all she
knew of magic, and that he could work spells as well as his father,
or perhaps better. 'I am as good a wizard as you,' he said suddenly,
and a cold chill ran through the tanuki as he heard him, though he
laughed, and pretended to think it a joke. But the little tanaki stuck
to his point, and at last the father proposed they should have a
wager.

'Change yourself into any shape you like,' said he, 'and I will
undertake to know you. I will go and wait on the bridge which
leads over the river to the village, and you shall transform yourself
into anything you please, but I will know you through any disguise.'
The little tanuki agreed, and went down the road which his father
had pointed out. But instead of transforming himself into a
different shape, he just hid himself in a corner of the bridge, where
he could see without being seen.

He had not been there long when his father arrived and took up his
place near the middle of the bridge, and soon after the king came
by, followed by a troop of guards and all his court.

'Ah! he thinks that now he has changed himself into a king I shall
not know him,' thought the old tanuki, and as the king passed in his
splendid carriage, borne by his servants, he jumped upon it crying: 'I
have won my wager; you cannot deceive me.' But in reality it was
he who had deceived himself. The soldiers, conceiving that their
king was being attacked, seized the tanuki by the legs and flung him
over into the river, and the water closed over him.

And the little tanoki saw it all, and rejoiced that his mother's death
had been avenged. Then he went back to the forest, and if he has
not found it too lonely, he is probably living there still.

(From Japanische Mahrchen.)

There was once a crab who lived in a hole on the shady side of a
mountain. She was a very good housewife, and so careful and
industrious that there was no creature in the whole country whose
hole was so neat and clean as hers, and she took great pride in it.

One day she saw lying near the mouth of her hole a handful of
cooked rice which some pilgrim must have let fall when he was
stopping to eat his dinner. Delighted at this discovery, she hastened
to the spot, and was carrying the rice back to her hole when a
monkey, who lived in some trees near by, came down to see what
the crab was doing. His eyes shone at the sight of the rice, for it
was his favourite food, and like the sly fellow he was, he proposed
a bargain to the crab. She was to give him half the rice in exchange
for the kernel of a sweet red kaki fruit which he had just eaten. He
half expected that the crab would laugh in his face at this impudent
proposal, but instead of doing so she only looked at him for a
moment with her head on one side and then said that she would
agree to the exchange. So the monkey went off with his rice, and
the crab returned to her hole with the kernel.