The Flower Queen's Daughter

THE FLOWER QUEEN’S DAUGHTER[23]

A young Prince was riding one day through a meadow that stretched for

miles in front of him, when he came to a deep open ditch. He was

turning aside to avoid it, when he heard the sound of someone crying

in the ditch. He dismounted from his horse, and stepped along in the

direction the sound came from. To his astonishment he found an old

woman, who begged him to help her out of the ditch. The Prince bent

down and lifted her out of her living grave, asking her at the same

time how she had managed to get there.

‘My son,’ answered the old woman, ‘I am a very poor woman, and soon

after midnight I set out for the neighbouring town in order to sell my

eggs in the market on the following morning; but I lost my way in the

dark, and fell into this deep ditch, where I might have remained for

ever but for your kindness.’

Then the Prince said to her, ‘You can hardly walk; I will put you on

my horse and lead you home. Where do you live?’

‘Over there, at the edge of the forest in the little hut you see in

the distance,’ replied the old woman.

The Prince lifted her on to his horse, and soon they reached the hut,

where the old woman got down, and turning to the Prince said, ‘Just

wait a moment, and I will give you something.’ And she disappeared

into her hut, but returned very soon and said, ‘You are a mighty

Prince, but at the same time you have a kind heart, which deserves to

be rewarded. Would you like to have the most beautiful woman in the

world for your wife?’

‘Most certainly I would,’ replied the Prince.

[Footnote 23: From the Bukowinaer. Von Wliolocki.]

So the old woman continued, ‘The most beautiful woman in the whole

world is the daughter of the Queen of the Flowers, who has been

captured by a dragon. If you wish to marry her, you must first set her

free, and this I will help you to do. I will give you this little

bell: if you ring it once, the King of the Eagles will appear; if you

ring it twice, the King of the Foxes will come to you; and if you ring

it three times, you will see the King of the Fishes by your side.

These will help you if you are in any difficulty. Now farewell, and

heaven prosper your undertaking.’ She handed him the little bell, and

there disappeared hut and all, as though the earth had swallowed her

up.

Then it dawned on the Prince that he had been speaking to a good

fairy, and putting the little bell carefully in his pocket, he rode

home and told his father that he meant to set the daughter of the

Flower Queen free, and intended setting out on the following day into

the wide world in search of the maid.

So the next morning the Prince mounted his fine horse and left his

home. He had roamed round the world for a whole year, and his horse

had died of exhaustion, while he himself had suffered much from want

and misery, but still he had come on no trace of her he was in search

of. At last one day he came to a hut, in front of which sat a very old

man. The Prince asked him, ‘Do you not know where the Dragon lives who

keeps the daughter of the Flower Queen prisoner?’

‘No, I do not,’ answered the old man. ‘But if you go straight along

this road for a year, you will reach a hut where my father lives, and

possibly he may be able to tell you.’

The Prince thanked him for his information, and continued his journey

for a whole year along the same road, and at the end of it came to the

little hut, where he found a very old man. He asked him the same

question, and the old man answered, ‘No, I do not know where the

Dragon lives. But go straight along this road for another year, and

you will come to a hut in which my father lives. I know he can tell

you.’

And so the Prince wandered on for another year, always on the same

road, and at last reached the hut where he found the third old man. He

put the same question to him as he had put to his son and grandson;

but this time the old man answered, ‘The Dragon lives up there on the

mountain, and he has just begun his year of sleep. For one whole year

he is always awake, and the next he sleeps. But if you wish to see the

Flower Queen’s daughter go up the second mountain: the Dragon’s old

mother lives there, and she has a ball every night, to which the

Flower Queen’s daughter goes regularly.’

So the Prince went up the second mountain, where he found a castle all

made of gold with diamond windows. He opened the big gate leading into

the courtyard, and was just going to walk in, when seven dragons

rushed on him and asked him what he wanted?

The Prince replied, ‘I have heard so much of the beauty and kindness

of the Dragon’s Mother, and would like to enter her service.’

This flattering speech pleased the dragons, and the eldest of them

said, ‘Well, you may come with me, and I will take you to the Mother

Dragon.’

They entered the castle and walked through twelve splendid halls, all

made of gold and diamonds. In the twelfth room they found the Mother

Dragon seated on a diamond throne. She was the ugliest woman under the

sun, and, added to it all, she had three heads. Her appearance was a

great shock to the Prince, and so was her voice, which was like the

croaking of many ravens. She asked him, ‘Why have you come here?’

The Prince answered at once, ‘I have heard so much of your beauty and

kindness, that I would very much like to enter your service.’

‘Very well,’ said the Mother Dragon; ‘but if you wish to enter my

service, you must first lead my mare out to the meadow and look after

her for three days; but if you don’t bring her home safely every

evening, we will eat you up.’

The Prince undertook the task and led the mare out to the meadow. But

no sooner had they reached the grass than she vanished. The Prince

sought for her in vain, and at last in despair sat down on a big stone

and contemplated his sad fate. As he sat thus lost in thought, he

noticed an eagle flying over his head. Then he suddenly bethought him

of his little bell, and taking it out of his pocket he rang it once.

In a moment he heard a rustling sound in the air beside him, and the

King of the Eagles sank at his feet.

‘I know what you want of me,’ the bird said. ‘You are looking for the

Mother Dragon’s mare who is galloping about among the clouds. I will

summon all the eagles of the air together, and order them to catch the

mare and bring her to you.’ And with these words the King of the

Eagles flew away. Towards evening the Prince heard a mighty rushing

sound in the air, and when he looked up he saw thousands of eagles

driving the mare before them. They sank at his feet on to the ground

and gave the mare over to him. Then the Prince rode home to the old

Mother Dragon, who was full of wonder when she saw him, and said, ‘You

have succeeded to-day in looking after my mare, and as a reward you

shall come to my ball to-night.’ She gave him at the same time a cloak

made of copper, and led him to a big room where several young

he-dragons and she-dragons were dancing together. Here, too, was the

Flower Queen’s beautiful daughter. Her dress was woven out of the most

lovely flowers in the world, and her complexion was like lilies and

roses. As the Prince was dancing with her he managed to whisper in her

ear, ‘I have come to set you free!’

[Illustration: The Dragons Dancing.]

Then the beautiful girl said to him, ‘If you succeed in bringing the

mare back safely the third day, ask the Mother Dragon to give you a

foal of the mare as a reward.’

The ball came to an end at midnight, and early next morning the Prince

again led the Mother Dragon’s mare out into the meadow. But again she

vanished before his eyes. Then he took out his little bell and rang it

twice.

In a moment the King of the Foxes stood before him and said: ‘I know

already what you want, and will summon all the foxes of the world

together to find the mare who has hidden herself in a hill.’

With these words the King of the Foxes disappeared, and in the evening

many thousand foxes brought the mare to the Prince.

Then he rode home to the Mother Dragon, from whom he received this

time a cloak made of silver, and again she led him to the ball-room.

The Flower Queen’s daughter was delighted to see him safe and sound,

and when they were dancing together she whispered in his ear: ‘If you

succeed again to-morrow, wait for me with the foal in the meadow.

After the ball we will fly away together.’

On the third day the Prince led the mare to the meadow again; but once

more she vanished before his eyes. Then the Prince took out his little

bell and rang it three times.

In a moment the King of the Fishes appeared, and said to him: ‘I know

quite well what you want me to do, and I will summon all the fishes of

the sea together, and tell them to bring you back the mare, who is

hiding herself in a river.’

Towards evening the mare was returned to him, and when he led her home

to the Mother Dragon she said to him:

‘You are a brave youth, and I will make you my body-servant. But what

shall I give you as a reward to begin with?’

The Prince begged for a foal of the mare, which the Mother Dragon at

once gave him, and over and above, a cloak made of gold, for she had

fallen in love with him because he had praised her beauty.

[Illustration: The Flower Queen’s Daughter.

In Winter When Everything is Dead She Must Come and Live With Me In My

Palace Underground.]

So in the evening he appeared at the ball in his golden cloak; but

before the entertainment was over he slipped away, and went straight

to the stables, where he mounted his foal and rode out into the meadow

to wait for the Flower Queen’s daughter. Towards midnight the

beautiful girl appeared, and placing her in front of him on his horse,

the Prince and she flew like the wind till they reached the Flower

Queen’s dwelling. But the dragons had noticed their flight, and woke

their brother out of his year’s sleep. He flew into a terrible rage

when he heard what had happened, and determined to lay siege to the

Flower Queen’s palace; but the Queen caused a forest of flowers as

high as the sky to grow up round her dwelling, through which no one

could force a way.

When the Flower Queen heard that her daughter wanted to marry the

Prince, she said to him: ‘I will give my consent to your marriage

gladly, but my daughter can only stay with you in summer. In winter,

when everything is dead and the ground covered with snow, she must

come and live with me in my palace underground.’ The Prince consented

to this, and led his beautiful bride home, where the wedding was held

with great pomp and magnificence. The young couple lived happily

together till winter came, when the Flower Queen’s daughter departed

and went home to her mother. In summer she returned to her husband,

and their life of joy and happiness began again, and lasted till the

approach of winter, when the Flower Queen’s daughter went back again

to her mother. This coming and going continued all her life long, and

in spite of it they always lived happily together.