The Flying Ship

flying ship, and that it was manned by a few peasants.

Then the King remembered his royal oath; but he made up his mind that

he would never consent to let the Princess marry a poor peasant. So he

thought and thought, and then said to himself:

‘I will give him some impossible tasks to perform; that will be the

best way of getting rid of him.’ And he there and then decided to

despatch one of his courtiers to the Simpleton, with the command that

he was to fetch the King the healing water from the world’s end before

he had finished his dinner.

But while the King was still instructing the courtier exactly what he

was to say, the first man of the ship’s company, the one with the

miraculous power of hearing, had overheard the King’s words, and

hastily reported them to the poor Simpleton.

‘Alas, alas!’ he cried; ‘what am I to do now? It would take me quite a

year, possibly my whole life, to find the water.’

‘Never fear,’ said his fleet-footed comrade, ‘I will fetch what the

King wants.’

Just then the courtier arrived, bearing the King’s command.

‘Tell his Majesty,’ said the Simpleton, ‘that his orders shall be

obeyed;’ and forthwith the swift runner unbound the foot that was

strung up behind his ear and started off, and in less than no time had

reached the world’s end and drawn the healing water from the well.

‘Dear me,’ he thought to himself, ‘that’s rather tiring! I’ll just

rest for a few minutes; it will be some little time yet before the

King has got to dessert.’ So he threw himself down on the grass, and,

as the sun was very dazzling, he closed his eyes, and in a few seconds

had fallen sound asleep.

In the meantime all the ship’s crew were anxiously awaiting him; the

King’s dinner would soon be finished, and their comrade had not yet

returned. So the man with the marvellous quick hearing lay down, and,

putting his ear to the ground, listened.

‘That’s a nice sort of fellow!’ he suddenly exclaimed. ‘He’s lying on

the ground, snoring hard!’

At this the marksman seized his gun, took aim, and fired in the

direction of the world’s end, in order to awaken the sluggard. And a

moment later the swift runner reappeared, and, stepping on board the

ship, handed the healing water to the Simpleton. So while the King was

still sitting at table finishing his dinner news was brought to him

that his orders had been obeyed to the letter.

What was to be done now? The King determined to think of a still more

impossible task. So he told another courtier to go to the Simpleton

with the command that he and his comrades were instantly to eat up

twelve oxen and twelve tons of bread. Once more the sharp-eared

comrade overheard the King’s words while he was still talking to the

courtier, and reported them to the Simpleton.

‘Alas, alas!’ he sighed; ‘what in the world shall I do? Why, it would

take us a year, possibly our whole lives, to eat up twelve oxen and

twelve tons of bread.’

‘Never fear,’ said the glutton. ‘It will scarcely be enough for me,

I’m so hungry.’

So when the courtier arrived with the royal message he was told to

take back word to the King that his orders should be obeyed. Then

twelve roasted oxen and twelve tons of bread were brought alongside of

the ship, and at one sitting the glutton had devoured it all.

‘I call that a small meal,’ he said. ‘I wish they’d brought me some

more.’

Next, the King ordered that forty casks of wine, containing forty

gallons each, were to be drunk up on the spot by the Simpleton and his

party. When these words were overheard by the sharp-eared comrade and

repeated to the Simpleton, he was in despair.

‘Alas, alas!’ he exclaimed; ‘what is to be done? It would take us a

year, possibly our whole lives, to drink so much.’

‘Never fear,’ said his thirsty comrade. ‘I’ll drink it all up at a

gulp, see if I don’t.’ And sure enough, when the forty casks of wine

containing forty gallons each were brought alongside of the ship, they

disappeared down the thirsty comrade’s throat in no time; and when

they were empty he remarked:

‘Why, I’m still thirsty. I should have been glad of two more casks.’

Then the King took counsel with himself and sent an order to the

Simpleton that he was to have a bath, in a bath-room at the royal

palace, and after that the betrothal should take place. Now the

bath-room was built of iron, and the King gave orders that it was to

be heated to such a pitch that it would suffocate the Simpleton. And

so when the poor silly youth entered the room, he discovered that the

iron walls were red hot. But, fortunately, his comrade with the straw

on his back had entered behind him, and when the door was shut upon

them he scattered the straw about, and suddenly the red-hot walls

cooled down, and it became so very cold that the Simpleton could

scarcely bear to take a bath, and all the water in the room froze. So

the Simpleton climbed up upon the stove, and, wrapping himself up in

the bath blankets, lay there the whole night. And in the morning when

they opened the door there he lay sound and safe, singing cheerfully

to himself.

Now when this strange tale was told to the King he became quite sad,

not knowing what he should do to get rid of so undesirable a

son-in-law, when suddenly a brilliant idea occurred to him.

‘Tell the rascal to raise me an army, now at this instant!’ he

exclaimed to one of his courtiers. ‘Inform him at once of this, my

royal will.’ And to himself he added, ‘I think I shall do for him this

time.’

As on former occasions, the quick-eared comrade had overheard the

King’s command and repeated it to the Simpleton.

‘Alas, alas!’ he groaned; ‘now I am quite done for.’

‘Not at all,’ replied one of his comrades (the one who had dragged the

bundle of wood through the forest). ‘Have you quite forgotten me?’

In the meantime the courtier, who had run all the way from the palace,

reached the ship panting and breathless, and delivered the King’s

message.

[Illustration: Simpleton’s Army Appears Before the King]

‘Good!’ remarked the Simpleton. ‘I will raise an army for the King,’

and he drew himself up. ‘But if, after that, the King refuses to

accept me as his son-in-law, I will wage war against him, and carry

the Princess off by force.’

During the night the Simpleton and his comrade went together into a

big field, not forgetting to take the bundle of wood with them, which

the man spread out in all directions—and in a moment a mighty army

stood upon the spot, regiment on regiment of foot and horse soldiers;

the bugles sounded and the drums beat, the chargers neighed, and their

riders put their lances in rest, and the soldiers presented arms.

In the morning when the King awoke he was startled by these warlike

sounds, the bugles and the drums, and the clatter of the horses, and

the shouts of the soldiers. And, stepping to the window, he saw the

lances gleam in the sunlight and the armour and weapons glitter. And

the proud monarch said to himself, ‘I am powerless in comparison with

this man.’ So he sent him royal robes and costly jewels, and commanded

him to come to the palace to be married to the Princess. And his

son-in-law put on the royal robes, and he looked so grand and stately

that it was impossible to recognise the poor Simpleton, so changed was

he; and the Princess fell in love with him as soon as ever she saw

him.

Never before had so grand a wedding been seen, and there was so much

food and wine that even the glutton and the thirsty comrade had enough

to eat and drink.

THE SNOW-DAUGHTER AND THE FIRE-SON[25]

There was once upon a time a man and his wife, and they had no

children, which was a great grief to them. One winter’s day, when the

sun was shining brightly, the couple were standing outside their

cottage, and the woman was looking at all the little icicles which

hung from the roof. She sighed, and turning to her husband said, ‘I

wish I had as many children as there are icicles hanging there.’

‘Nothing would please me more either,’ replied her husband. Then a

tiny icicle detached itself from the roof, and dropped into the

woman’s mouth, who swallowed it with a smile, and said, ‘Perhaps I

shall give birth to a snow child now!’ Her husband laughed at his

wife’s strange idea, and they went back into the house.

But after a short time the woman gave birth to a little girl, who was

as white as snow and as cold as ice. If they brought the child

anywhere near the fire, it screamed loudly till they put it back into

some cool place. The little maid throve wonderfully, and in a few

months she could run about and speak. But she was not altogether easy

to bring up, and gave her parents much trouble and anxiety, for all

summer she insisted on spending in the cellar, and in the winter she

would sleep outside in the snow, and the colder it was the happier she

seemed to be. Her father and mother called her simply ‘Our

Snow-daughter,’ and this name stuck to her all her life.

[Footnote 25: From the Bukowinaer Tales and Legends. Von Wliolocki.]

One day her parents sat by the fire, talking over the extraordinary

behaviour of their daughter, who was disporting herself in the

snowstorm that raged outside. The woman sighed deeply and said, ‘I

wish I had given birth to a Fire-son!’ As she said these words, a

spark from the big wood fire flew into the woman’s lap, and she said

with a laugh, ‘Now perhaps I shall give birth to a Fire-son!’ The man

laughed at his wife’s words, and thought it was a good joke. But he

ceased to think it a joke when his wife shortly afterwards gave birth

to a boy, who screamed lustily till he was put quite close to the

fire, and who nearly yelled himself into a fit if the Snow-daughter

came anywhere near him. The Snow-daughter herself avoided him as much

as she could, and always crept into a corner as far away from him as

possible. The parents called the boy simply ‘Our Fire-son,’ a name

which stuck to him all his life. They had a great deal of trouble and

worry with him too; but he throve and grew very quickly, and before he

was a year old he could run about and talk. He was as red as fire, and

as hot to touch, and he always sat on the hearth quite close to the

fire, and complained of the cold; if his sister were in the room he

almost crept into the flames, while the girl on her part always

complained of the great heat if her brother were anywhere near. In

summer the boy always lay out in the sun, while the girl hid herself

in the cellar: so it happened that the brother and sister came very

little into contact with each other—in fact, they carefully avoided

it.

[Illustration: The Snow Maiden]

Just as the girl grew up into a beautiful woman, her father and mother

both died one after the other. Then the Fire-son, who had grown up in

the meantime into a fine, strong young man, said to his sister, ‘I am

going out into the world, for what is the use of remaining on here?’

‘I shall go with you,’ she answered, ‘for, except you, I have no one

in the world, and I have a feeling that if we set out together we

shall be lucky.’

The Fire-son said, ‘I love you with all my heart, but at the same time

I always freeze if you are near me, and you nearly die of heat if I

approach you! How shall we travel about together without being odious

the one to the other?’

‘Don’t worry about that,’ replied the girl, ‘for I’ve thought it all

over, and have settled on a plan which will make us each able to bear

with the other! See, I have had a fur cloak made for each of us, and

if we put them on I shall not feel the heat so much nor you the cold.’

So they put on the fur cloaks, and set out cheerfully on their way,

and for the first time in their lives quite happy in each other’s

company.

For a long time the Fire-son and the Snow-daughter wandered through

the world, and when at the beginning of winter they came to a big wood

they determined to stay there till spring. The Fire-son built himself

a hut where he always kept up a huge fire, while his sister with very

few clothes on stayed outside night and day. Now it happened one day

that the King of the land held a hunt in this wood, and saw the

Snow-daughter wandering about in the open air. He wondered very much

who the beautiful girl clad in such garments could be, and he stopped

and spoke to her. He soon learnt that she could not stand heat, and

that her brother could not endure cold. The King was so charmed by the

Snow-daughter, that he asked her to be his wife. The girl consented,

and the wedding was held with much state. The King had a huge house of

ice made for his wife underground, so that even in summer it did not

melt. But for his brother-in-law he had a house built with huge ovens

all round it, that were kept heated all day and night. The Fire-son

was delighted, but the perpetual heat in which he lived made his body

so hot, that it was dangerous to go too close to him.

One day the King gave a great feast, and asked his brother-in-law

among the other guests. The Fire-son did not appear till everyone had

assembled, and when he did, everyone fled outside to the open air, so

intense was the heat he gave forth. Then the King was very angry and

said, ‘If I had known what a lot of trouble you would have been, I

would never have taken you into my house.’ Then the Fire-son replied

with a laugh, ‘Don’t be angry, dear brother! I love heat and my sister

loves cold—come here and let me embrace you, and then I’ll go home at

once.’ And before the King had time to reply, the Fire-son seized him

in a tight embrace. The King screamed aloud in agony, and when his

wife, the Snow-daughter, who had taken refuge from her brother in the

next room, hurried to him, the King lay dead on the ground burnt to a

cinder. When the Snow-daughter saw this she turned on her brother and

flew at him. Then a fight began, the like of which had never been seen

on earth. When the people, attracted by the noise, hurried to the

spot, they saw the Snow-daughter melting into water and the Fire-son

burn to a cinder. And so ended the unhappy brother and sister.

THE STORY OF KING FROST[26]

There was once upon a time a peasant-woman who had a daughter and a

step-daughter. The daughter had her own way in everything, and

whatever she did was right in her mother’s eyes; but the poor

step-daughter had a hard time. Let her do what she would, she was

always blamed, and got small thanks for all the trouble she took;

nothing was right, everything wrong; and yet, if the truth were known,

the girl was worth her weight in gold—she was so unselfish and

good-hearted. But her step-mother did not like her, and the poor

girl’s days were spent in weeping; for it was impossible to live

peacefully with the woman. The wicked shrew was determined to get rid

of the girl by fair means or foul, and kept saying to her father:

‘Send her away, old man; send her away—anywhere so that my eyes

shan’t be plagued any longer by the sight of her, or my ears tormented

by the sound of her voice. Send her out into the fields, and let the

cutting frost do for her.’

In vain did the poor old father weep and implore her pity; she was

firm, and he dared not gainsay her. So he placed his daughter in a

sledge, not even daring to give her a horse-cloth to keep herself warm

with, and drove her out on to the bare, open fields, where he kissed

her and left her, driving home as fast as he could, that he might not

witness her miserable death.

Deserted by her father, the poor girl sat down under a fir-tree at the

edge of the forest and began to weep silently. Suddenly she heard a

faint sound: it was King Frost springing from tree to tree, and

cracking his fingers as he went. At length he reached the fir-tree

beneath which she was sitting, and with a crisp crackling sound he

alighted beside her, and looked at her lovely face.

‘Well, maiden,’ he snapped out, ‘do you know who I am? I am King

Frost, king of the red-noses.’

[Footnote 26: From the Russian.]

‘All hail to you, great King!’ answered the girl, in a gentle,

trembling voice. ‘Have you come to take me?’

‘Are you warm, maiden?’ he replied.

‘Quite warm, King Frost,’ she answered, though she shivered as she

spoke.

Then King Frost stooped down, and bent over the girl, and the

crackling sound grew louder, and the air seemed to be full of knives

and darts; and again he asked:

‘Maiden, are you warm? Are you warm, you beautiful girl?’

And though her breath was almost frozen on her lips, she whispered

gently, ‘Quite warm, King Frost.’

Then King Frost gnashed his teeth, and cracked his fingers, and his

eyes sparkled, and the crackling, crisp sound was louder than ever,

and for the last time he asked her:

‘Maiden, are you still warm? Are you still warm, little love?’

And the poor girl was so stiff and numb that she could just gasp,

‘Still warm, O King!’

Now her gentle, courteous words and her uncomplaining ways touched

King Frost, and he had pity on her, and he wrapped her up in furs, and

covered her with blankets, and he fetched a great box, in which were

beautiful jewels and a rich robe embroidered in gold and silver. And

she put it on, and looked more lovely than ever, and King Frost

stepped with her into his sledge, with six white horses.

In the meantime the wicked step-mother was waiting at home for news of

the girl’s death, and preparing pancakes for the funeral feast. And

she said to her husband: ‘Old man, you had better go out into the

fields and find your daughter’s body and bury her.’ Just as the old

man was leaving the house the little dog under the table began to

bark, saying:

 ‘_Your_ daughter shall live to be your delight;

  _Her_ daughter shall die this very night.’

‘Hold your tongue, you foolish beast!’ scolded the woman. ‘There’s a

pancake for you, but you must say:

 “_Her_ daughter shall have much silver and gold;

  _His_ daughter is frozen quite stiff and cold.”’

But the doggie ate up the pancake and barked, saying:

 ‘His daughter shall wear a crown on her head;

  Her daughter shall die unwooed, unwed.’

Then the old woman tried to coax the doggie with more pancakes and to

terrify it with blows, but he barked on, always repeating the same

words. And suddenly the door creaked and flew open, and a great heavy

chest was pushed in, and behind it came the step-daughter, radiant and

beautiful, in a dress all glittering with silver and gold. For a

moment the step-mother’s eyes were dazzled. Then she called to her

husband: ‘Old man, yoke the horses at once into the sledge, and take

my daughter to the same field and leave her on the same spot exactly;’

and so the old man took the girl and left her beneath the same tree

where he had parted from his daughter. In a few minutes King Frost

came past, and, looking at the girl, he said:

[Illustration: “Maiden are you Warm?”]

‘Are you warm, maiden?’

‘What a blind old fool you must be to ask such a question!’ she

answered angrily. ‘Can’t you see that my hands and feet are nearly

frozen?’

Then