Andrew Lang_Fairy Book 09 (6 page)

When King Quimus heard of the approach of such a great company,
he sent out his wazir to give the prince honourable meeting, and
to ask what had procured him the favour of the visit. The prince
sent back word that he had no thought of war, but he wrote: '
Learn and know, King Quimus, that I am here to end the crimes of
your insolent daughter who has tyrannously done to death many
kings and kings sons, and has hung their heads on your citadel.
I am here to give her the answer to her riddle.' Later on he
entered the city, beat boldly on the drums, and was conducted to
the presence.

The king entreated him to have nothing to do with the riddle, for
that no man had come out of it alive. 'O king!' replied the
prince, 'it is to answer it that I am here; I will not withdraw.'

Mihr-afruz was told that one man more had staked his head on her
question, and that this was one who said he knew the answer. At
the request of the prince, all the officers and notables of the
land were summoned to hear his reply to the princess. All
assembled, and the king and his queen Gul-rakh, and the girl and
the prince were there.

The prince addressed Mihr-afruz: 'What is the question you ask?'

'What did the rose do to the cypress?' she rejoined.

The prince smiled, and turned and addressed the assembly.

'You who are experienced men and versed in affairs, did you ever
know or hear and see anything of this matter?'

'No!' they answered, 'no one has ever known or heard or seen
aught about it; it is an empty fancy.'

'From whom, then, did the princess hear of it? This empty fancy
it is that has done many a servant of God to death!'

All saw the good sense of his words and showed their approval.
Then he turned to the princess: 'Tell us the truth, princess; who
told you of this thing? I know it hair by hair, and in and out;
but if I tell you what I know, who is there that can say I speak
the truth? You must produce the person who can confirm my
words.'

Her heart sank, for she feared that her long-kept secret was now
to be noised abroad. But she said merely: 'Explain yourself.'

'I shall explain myself fully when you bring here the negro whom
you hide beneath your throne.'

Here the king shouted in wonderment: 'Explain yourself, young
man! What negro does my daughter hide beneath her throne?'

'That,' said the prince, 'you will see if you order to be brought
here the negro who will be found beneath the throne of the
princess.'

Messengers were forthwith despatched to the garden house, and
after awhile they returned bringing a negro whom they had
discovered in a secret chamber underneath the throne of
Mihr-afruz, dressed in a dress of honour, and surrounded with
luxury. The king was overwhelmed with astonishment, but the girl
had taken heart again. She had had time to think that perhaps
the prince had heard of the presence of the negro, and knew no
more. So she said haughtily: 'Prince! you have not answered my
riddle.'

'O most amazingly impudent person,' cried he, 'do you not yet
repent?'

Then he turned to the people, and told them the whole story of
the rose and the cypress, of King Sinaubar and Queen Gul. When
he came to the killing of the negroes, he said to the one who
stood before them: 'You, too, were present.'

'That is so; all happened as you have told it!'

There was great rejoicing in the court and all through the
country over the solving of the riddle, and because now no more
kings and princes would be killed. King Quimus made over his
daughter to Prince Almas, but the latter refused to marry her,
and took her as his captive. He then asked that the heads should
be removed from the battlements and given decent burial. This
was done. He received from the king everything that belonged to
Mihr-afruz; her treasure of gold and silver; her costly stuffs
and carpets; her household plenishing; her horses and camels; her
servants and slaves.

Then he returned to his camp and sent for Dil-aram, who came
bringing her goods and chattels, her gold and her jewels. When
all was ready, Prince Almas set out for home, taking with him
Jamila, and Dil-aram and Gul, daughter of Taram-taq, and the
wicked Mihr-afruz, and all the belongings of the four, packed on
horses and camels, and in carts without number.

As he approached the borders of his father's country word of his
coming went before him, and all the city came forth to give him
welcome. King Saman-lal-posh— Jessamine, wearer of rubies—had
so bewept the loss of his sons that he was now blind. When the
prince had kissed his feet and received his blessing, he took
from a casket a little collyrium of Solomon, which the Simurgh
had given him, and which reveals the hidden things of earth, and
rubbed it on his father's eyes. Light came, and the king saw his
son.

Mihr-afruz was brought before the king, and the prince said:
'This is the murderer of your sons; do with her as you will.'
The king fancied that the prince might care for the girl's
beauty, and replied: 'You have humbled her; do with her as you
will.'

Upon this the prince sent for four swift and strong horses, and
had the negro bound to each one of them; then each was driven to
one of the four quarters, and he tore in pieces like muslin.

This frightened Mihr-afruz horribly, for she thought the same
thing might be done to herself. She cried out to the prince: 'O
Prince Almas! what is hardest to get is most valued. Up till now
I have been subject to no man, and no man had had my love. The
many kings and kings sons who have died at my hands have died
because it was their fate to die like this. In this matter I
have not sinned. That was their fate from eternity; and from the
beginning it was predestined that my fate should be bound up with
yours.'

The prince gave ear to the argument from pre-ordainment, and as
she was a very lovely maiden he took her too in lawful marriage.
She and Jamila, set up house together, and Dil-aram and Gul set
up theirs; and the prince passed the rest of his life with the
four in perfect happiness, and in pleasant and sociable
entertainment.

Now has been told what the rose did to the cypress.

Finished, finished, finished!

Far, far in the forest there were two little huts, and in each of
them lived a man who was a famous hunter, his wife, and three or
four children. Now the children were forbidden to play more than
a short distance from the door, as it was known that, away on the
other side of the wood near the great river, there dwelt a witch
who had a magic ball that she used as a means of stealing
children.

Her plan was a very simple one, and had never yet failed. When
she wanted a child she just flung her ball in the direction of
the child's home, and however far off it might be, the ball was
sure to reach it. Then, as soon as the child saw it, the ball
would begin rolling slowly back to the witch, just keeping a
little ahead of the child, so that he always thought that he
could catch it the next minute. But he never did, and, what was
more, his parents never saw him again.

Of course you must not suppose that all the fathers and mothers
who had lost children made no attempts to find them, but the
forest was so large, and the witch was so cunning in knowing
exactly where they were going to search, that it was very easy
for her to keep out of the way. Besides, there was always the
chance that the children might have been eaten by wolves, of
which large herds roamed about in winter.

One day the old witch happened to want a little boy, so she threw
her ball in the direction of the hunters' huts. A child was
standing outside, shooting at a mark with his bow and arrows, but
the moment he saw the ball, which was made of glass whose blues
and greens and whites, all frosted over, kept changing one into
the other, he flung down his bow, and stooped to pick the ball
up. But as he did so it began to roll very gently downhill. The
boy could not let it roll away, when it was so close to him, so
he gave chase. The ball seemed always within his grasp, yet he
could never catch it; it went quicker and quicker, and the boy
grew more and more excited. That time he almost touched it—no,
he missed it by a hair's breadth! Now, surely, if he gave a
spring he could get in front of it! He sprang forward, tripped
and fell, and found himself in the witch's house!

'Welcome! welcome! grandson!' said she; 'get up and rest
yourself, for you have had a long walk, and I am sure you must be
tired!' So the boy sat down, and ate some food which she gave him
in a bowl. It was quite different from anything he had tasted
before, and he thought it was delicious. When he had eaten up
every bit, the witch asked him if he had ever fasted.

'No,' replied the boy, 'at least I have been obliged to
sometimes, but never if there was any food to be had.'

'You will have to fast if you want the spirits to make you strong
and wise, and the sooner you begin the better.'

'Very well,' said the boy, 'what do I do first?'

'Lie down on those buffalo skins by the door of the hut,'
answered she; and the boy lay down, and the squirrels and little
bears and the birds came and talked to him.

At the end of ten days the old woman came to him with a bowl of
the same food that he had eaten before.

'Get up, my grandson, you have fasted long enough. Have the good
spirits visited you, and granted you the strength and wisdom that
you desire?'

'Some of them have come, and have given me a portion of both,'
answered the boy, 'but many have stayed away from me.'

'Then,' said she, 'you must fast ten days more.'

So the boy lay down again on the buffalo skins, and fasted for
ten days, and at the end of that time he turned his face to the
wall, and fasted for twenty days longer. At length the witch
called to him, and said:

'Come and eat something, my grandson.' At the sound of her voice
the boy got up and ate the food she gave him. When he had
finished every scrap she spoke as before: 'Tell me, my grandson,
have not the good spirits visited you all these many days that
you have fasted?'

'Not all, grandmother,' answered he; 'there are still some who
keep away from me and say that I have not fasted long enough.'

'Then you must fast again,' replied the old woman, 'and go on
fasting till you receive the gifts of all the good spirits. Not
one must be missing.'

The boy said nothing, but lay down for the third time on the
buffalo skins, and fasted for twenty days more. And at the end
of that time the witch thought he was dead, his face was so white
and his body so still. But when she had fed him out of the bowl
he grew stronger, and soon was able to sit up.

'You have fasted a long time,' said she, 'longer than anyone ever
fasted before. Surely the good spirits must be satisfied now?'

'Yes, grandmother,' answered the boy, 'they have all come, and
have given me their gifts.'

This pleased the old woman so much that she brought him another
basin of food, and while he was eating it she talked to him, and
this is what she said: 'Far away, on the other side of the great
river, is the home of the Bad One. In his house is much gold,
and what is more precious even than the gold, a little bridge,
which lengthens out when the Bad One waves his hand, so that
there is no river or sea that he cannot cross. Now I want that
bridge and some of the gold for myself, and that is the reason
that I have stolen so many boys by means of my ball. I have
tried to teach them how to gain the gifts of the good spirits,
but none of them would fast long enough, and at last I had to
send them away to perform simple, easy little tasks. But you
have been strong and faithful, and you can do this thing if you
listen to what I tell you! When you reach the river tie this ball
to your foot, and it will take you across—you cannot manage it
in any other way. But do not be afraid; trust to the ball, and
you will be quite safe!'

The boy took the ball and put it in a bag. Then he made himself
a club and a bow, and some arrows which would fly further than
anyone else's arrows, because of the strength the good spirits
had given him. They had also bestowed on him the power of
changing his shape, and had increased the quickness of his eyes
and ears so that nothing escaped him. And in some way or other
they made him understand that if he needed more help they would
give it to him.

When all these things were ready the boy bade farewell to the
witch and set out. He walked through the forest for several days
without seeing anyone but his friends the squirrels and the bears
and the birds, but though he stopped and spoke to them all, he
was careful not to let them know where he was going.

At last, after many days, he came to the river, and beyond it he
noticed a small hut standing on a hill which he guessed to be the
home of the Bad One. But the stream flowed so quickly that he
could not see how he was ever to cross it, and in order to test
how swift the current really was, he broke a branch from a tree
and threw it in. It seemed hardly to touch the water before it
was carried away, and even his magic sight could not follow it.
He could not help feeling frightened, but he hated giving up
anything that he had once undertaken, and, fastening the ball on
his right foot, he ventured on the river. To his surprise he was
able to stand up; then a panic seized him, and he scrambled up
the bank again. In a minute or two he plucked up courage to go a
little further into the river, but again its width frightened
him, and a second time he turned back. However, he felt rather
ashamed of his cowardice, as it was quite clear that his ball
could support him, and on his third trial he got safely to the
other side.