The Red Fairy Book - Andrew Lang (best novels for beginners TXT) 📗
- Author: Andrew Lang
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`It is no use even to think of that; if the Troll catches sight of
you he will take your life.’
`You had better tell me about him,’ said Minnikin. `Where is
he gone? It would be amusing to see him.’
So the King’s daughter told Minnikin that the Troll was out
trying to get hold of someone who could brew a hundred lasts of
malt at one brewing, for there was to be a feast at the Troll’s, at
which less than that would not be drunk.
`I can do that,’ said Minnikin.
`Ah! if only the Troll were not so quick-tempered I might have
told him that,’ answered the Princess, `but he is so ill-natured
that he will tear you to pieces, I fear, as soon as he comes in. But
I will try to find some way of doing it. Can you hide yourself
here in the cupboard? and then we will see what happens.’
Minnikin did this, and almost before he had crept into the cupboard
and hidden himself, came the Troll.
`Huf! What a smell of Christian man’s blood!’ said the Troll.
`Yes, a bird flew over the roof with a Christian man’s bone in
his bill, and let it fall down our chimney,’ answered the Princess.
`I made haste enough to get it away again, but it must be that
which smells so, notwithstanding.’
`Yes, it must be that,’ said the Troll.
Then the Princess asked if he had got hold of anyone who could
brew a hundred lasts of malt at one brewing.
`No, there is no one who can do it,’ said the Troll.
`A short time since there was a man here who said he could do
it,’ said the King’s daughter.
`How clever you always are!’ said the Troll. `How could
you let him go away? You must have known that I was just
wanting a man of that kind.’
`Well, but I didn’t let him go, after all,’ said the Princess;
`but father is so quick-tempered, so I hid him in the cupboard, but
if father has not found any one then the man is still here.’
`Let him come in,’ said the Troll.
When Minnikin came, the Troll asked if it were true that he
could brew a hundred lasts of malt at one brewing.
`Yes,’ said Minnikin, `it is.’
`It is well then that I have lighted on thee,’ said the Troll.
`Fall to work this very minute, but Heaven help thee if thou dost
not brew the ale strong.’
`Oh, it shall taste well,’ said Minnikin, and at once set himself
to work to brew.
`But I must have more trolls to help to carry what is wanted,’
said Minnikin; `these that I have are good for nothing.’
So he got more and so many that there was a swarm of them,
and then the brewing went on. When the sweet-wort was ready
they were all, as a matter of course, anxious to taste it, first the
Troll himself and then the others; but Minnikin had brewed the
wort so strong that they all fell down dead like so many flies as
soon as they had drunk any of it. At last there was no one left
but one wretched old hag who was lying behind the stove.
`Oh, poor old creature!’ said Minnikin, `you shall have a taste
of the wort too like the rest.’ So he went away and scooped up a
little from the bottom of the brewing vat in a milk pan, and gave
it to her, and then he was quit of the whole of them.
While Minnikin was now standing there looking about him, he
cast his eye on a large chest. This he took and filled it with gold
and silver, and then he tied the cable round himself and the
Princess and the chest, and tugged at the rope with all his might,
whereupon his men drew them up safe and sound.
As soon as Minnikin had got safely on his ship again, he said:
`Now go over salt water and fresh water, over hill and dale, and do
not stop until thou comest unto the King’s palace.’ And in a
moment the ship went off so fast that the yellow foam rose up all
round about it.
When those who were in the King’s palace saw the ship, they
lost no time in going to meet him with song and music, and thus
they marched up towards Minnikin with great rejoicings; but
the gladdest of all was the King, for now he had got his other
daughter back again.
But now Minnikin was not happy, for both the Princesses
wanted to have him, and he wanted to have none other than the
one whom he had first saved, and she was the younger. For this
cause he was continually walking backwards and forwards, thinking
how he could contrive to get her, and yet do nothing that was unkind
to her sister. One day when he was walking about and thinking
of this, it came into his mind that if he only had his brother, King
Pippin, with him, who was so like himself that no one could
distinguish the one from the other, he could let him have the elder
Princess and half the kingdom; as for himself, he thought, the
other half was quite enough. As soon as this thought occurred to
him he went outside the palace and called for King Pippin, but no
one came. So he called a second time, and a little louder, but no!
still no one came. So Minnikin called for the third time, and with
all his might, and there stood his brother by his side.
`I told you that you were not to call me unless you were in the
utmost need,’ he said to Minnikin, `and there is not even so much
as a midge here who can do you any harm!’ and with that he
gave Minnikin such a blow that he rolled over on the grass.
`Shame on you to strike me!’ said Minnikin. `First have I won
one Princess and half the kingdom, and then the other Princess
and the other half of the kingdom; and now, when I was just thinking
that I would give you one of the Princesses and one of the
halves of the kingdom, do you think you have any reason to give
me such a blow?’
When King Pippin heard that he begged his brother’s pardon,
and they were reconciled at once and became good friends.
`Now, as you know,’ said Minnikin, `we are so like each other
that no one can tell one of us from the other; so just change clothes
with me and go up to the palace, and then the Princesses will think
that I am coming in, and the one who kisses you first shall be
yours, and I will have the other.’ For he knew that the elder
Princess was the stronger, so he could very well guess how things
would go.
King Pippin at once agreed to this. He changed clothes with
his brother, and went into the palace. When he entered the
Princess’s apartments they believed that he was Minnikin, and
both of them ran up to him at once; but the elder, who was bigger
and stronger, pushed her sister aside, and threw her arms round
King Pippin’s neck and kissed him; so he got her to wife, and
Minnikin the younger sister. It will be easy to understand that
two weddings took place, and they were so magnificent that they
were heard of and talked about all over seven kingdoms.[27]
[27] From J. Moe.
BUSHY BRIDETHERE was once on a time a widower who had a son and a
daughter by his first wife. They were both good children,
and loved each other with all their hearts. After some time had
gone by the man married again, and he chose a widow with one
daughter who was ugly and wicked, and her mother was ugly and
wicked too. From the very day that the new wife came into the
house there was no peace for the man’s children, and not a corner
to be found where they could get any rest; so the boy thought that
the best thing he could do was to go out into the world and try to
earn his own bread.
When he had roamed about for some time he came to the
King’s palace, where he obtained a place under the coachman; and
very brisk and active he was, and the horses that he looked after
were so fat and sleek, that they shone again.
But his sister, who was still at home, fared worse and worse.
Both her stepmother and her stepsister were always finding
fault with her, whatsoever she did and whithersoever she went,
and they scolded her and abused her so that she never had
an hour’s peace. They made her do all the hard work, and hard
words fell to her lot early and late, but little enough food
accompanied them.
One day they sent her to the brook to fetch some water home,
and an ugly and horrible head rose up out of the water, and said,
`Wash me, girl!’
`Yes, I will wash you with pleasure,’ said the girl, and began
to wash and scrub the ugly face, but she couldn’t help thinking
that it was a very unpleasant piece of work. When she had done
it, and done it well, another head rose up out of the water, and
this one was uglier still.
`Brush me, girl!’ said the head.
`Yes, I will brush you with pleasure,’ said the girl, and set to
work with the tangled hair, and, as may be easily imagined, this
too was by no means pleasant work.
When she had got it done, another and a much more ugly and
horrible-looking head rose up out of the water.
`Kiss me, girl!’ said the head.
`Yes, I will kiss you,” said the man’s daughter, and she did it,
but she thought it was the worst bit of work that she had ever had
to do in her life.
So the heads all began to talk to each other, and to ask what
they should do for this girl who was so full of kindliness.
`She shall be the prettiest girl that ever was, and fair and
bright as the day,’ said the first head.
`Gold shall drop from her hair whenever she brushes it,’
said the second.
`Gold shall drop from her mouth whenever she speaks,’
said the third head.
So when the man’s daughter went home, looking as beautiful
and bright as day, the stepmother and her daughter grew much
more ill-tempered, and it was worse still when she began to talk,
and they saw that golden coins dropped from her mouth. The
stepmother fell into such a towering passion that she drove the
man’s daughter into the pig-stye—she might stay there with her
fine show of gold, the stepmother said, but she should not be
permitted to set foot in the house.
It was not long before the mother wanted her own daughter to
go to the stream to fetch some water.
When she got there with her pails, the first head rose up out of
the water close to the bank. `Wash me, girl!’ it said.
`Wash yourself!’ answered the woman’s daughter.
Then the second head appeared.
`Brush me, girl!’ said the head.
`Brush yourself!’ said the woman’s daughter.
So down it went
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