The Three Brothers

three brothers, who were all determined to

kill the mischievous hawk. But in vain did the two eldest mount guard

in the church with their guns; as soon as the bird appeared high above

their heads, sleep overpowered them, and they only awoke to hear the

windows crashing in.

Then the youngest brother took his turn of guarding the windows, and

to prevent his being overcome by sleep he placed a lot of thorns under

his chin, so that if he felt drowsy and nodded his head, they would

prick him and keep him awake.

The moon was already risen, and it was as light as day, when suddenly

he heard a fearful noise, and at the same time a terrible desire to

sleep overpowered him.

His eyelids closed, and his head sank on his shoulders, but the thorns

ran into him and were so painful that he awoke at once. He saw the

hawk swooping down upon the church, and in a moment he had seized his

gun and shot at the bird. The hawk fell heavily under a big stone,

severely wounded in its right wing. The youth ran to look at it, and

saw that a huge abyss had opened below the stone. He went at once to

fetch his brothers, and with their help dragged a lot of pine-wood and

ropes to the spot. They fastened some of the burning pine-wood to the

end of the rope, and let it slowly down to the bottom of the abyss. At

first it was quite dark, and the flaming torch only lit up dirty grey

stone walls. But the youngest brother determined to explore the abyss,

and letting himself down by the rope he soon reached the bottom. Here

he found a lovely meadow full of green trees and exquisite flowers.

[Footnote 17: From the Polish. Kletke.]

In the middle of the meadow stood a huge stone castle, with an iron

gate leading to it, which was wide open. Everything in the castle

seemed to be made of copper, and the only inhabitant he could discover

was a lovely girl, who was combing her golden hair; and he noticed

that whenever one of her hairs fell on the ground it rang out like

pure metal. The youth looked at her more closely, and saw that her

skin was smooth and fair, her blue eyes bright and sparkling, and her

hair as golden as the sun. He fell in love with her on the spot, and

kneeling at her feet, he implored her to become his wife.

The lovely girl accepted his proposal gladly; but at the same time she

warned him that she could never come up to the world above till her

mother, the old witch, was dead. And she went on to tell him that the

only way in which the old creature could be killed was with the sword

that hung up in the castle; but the sword was so heavy that no one

could lift it.

Then the youth went into a room in the castle where everything was

made of silver, and here he found another beautiful girl, the sister

of his bride. She was combing her silver hair, and every hair that

fell on the ground rang out like pure metal. The second girl handed

him the sword, but though he tried with all his strength he could not

lift it. At last a third sister came to him and gave him a drop of

something to drink, which she said would give him the needful

strength. He drank one drop, but still he could not lift the sword;

then he drank a second, and the sword began to move; but only after he

had drunk a third drop was he able to swing the sword over his head.

Then he hid himself in the castle and awaited the old witch’s arrival.

At last as it was beginning to grow dark she appeared. She swooped

down upon a big apple-tree, and after shaking some golden apples from

it, she pounced down upon the earth. As soon as her feet touched the

ground she became transformed from a hawk into a woman. This was the

moment the youth was waiting for, and he swung his mighty sword in the

air with all his strength and the witch’s head fell off, and her blood

spurted up on the walls.

Without fear of any further danger, he packed up all the treasures of

the castle into great chests, and gave his brothers a signal to pull

them up out of the abyss. First the treasures were attached to the

rope and then the three lovely girls. And now everything was up above

and only he himself remained below. But as he was a little suspicious

of his brothers, he fastened a heavy stone on to the rope and let them

pull it up. At first they heaved with a will, but when the stone was

half way up they let it drop suddenly, and it fell to the bottom

broken into a hundred pieces.

‘So that’s what would have happened to my bones had I trusted myself

to them,’ said the youth sadly; and he began to cry bitterly, not

because of the treasures, but because of the lovely girl with her

swan-like neck and golden hair.

[Illustration: ‘Then the youth swung his mighty sword in the air, and

with one blow cut off the serpent’s head’]

For a long time he wandered sadly all through the beautiful

underworld, and one day he met a magician who asked him the cause of

his tears. The youth told him all that had befallen him, and the

magician said:

‘Do not grieve, young man! If you will guard the children who are

hidden in the golden apple-tree, I will bring you at once up to the

earth. Another magician who lives in this land always eats my children

up. It is in vain that I have hidden them under the earth and locked

them into the castle. Now I have hidden them in the apple-tree; hide

yourself there too, and at midnight you will see my enemy.’

The youth climbed up the tree, and picked some of the beautiful golden

apples, which he ate for his supper.

At midnight the wind began to rise, and a rustling sound was heard at

the foot of the tree. The youth looked down and beheld a long thick

serpent beginning to crawl up the tree. It wound itself round the stem

and gradually got higher and higher. It stretched its huge head, in

which the eyes glittered fiercely, among the branches, searching for

the nest in which the little children lay. They trembled with terror

when they saw the hideous creature, and hid themselves beneath the

leaves.

Then the youth swung his mighty sword in the air, and with one blow

cut off the serpent’s head. He cut up the rest of the body into little

bits and strewed them to the four winds.

The father of the rescued children was so delighted over the death of

his enemy that he told the youth to get on his back, and in this way

he carried him up to the world above.

With what joy did he hurry now to his brothers’ house! He burst into a

room where they were all assembled, but no one knew who he was. Only

his bride, who was serving as cook to her sisters, recognised her

lover at once.

His brothers, who had quite believed he was dead, yielded him up his

treasures at once, and flew into the woods in terror. But the good

youth forgave them all they had done, and divided his treasures with

them. Then he built himself a big castle with golden windows, and

there he lived happily with his golden-haired wife till the end of

their lives.

THE BOY AND THE WOLVES, OR THE BROKEN PROMISE[18]

Once upon a time an Indian hunter built himself a house in the middle

of a great forest, far away from all his tribe; for his heart was

gentle and kind, and he was weary of the treachery and cruel deeds of

those who had been his friends. So he left them, and took his wife and

three children, and they journeyed on until they found a spot near to

a clear stream, where they began to cut down trees, and to make ready

their wigwam. For many years they lived peacefully and happily in this

sheltered place, never leaving it except to hunt the wild animals,

which served them both for food and clothes. At last, however, the

strong man felt sick, and before long he knew he must die.

So he gathered his family round him, and said his last words to them.

‘You, my wife, the companion of my days, will follow me ere many moons

have waned to the island of the blest. But for you, O my children,

whose lives are but newly begun, the wickedness, unkindness, and

ingratitude from which I fled are before you. Yet I shall go hence in

peace, my children, if you will promise always to love each other, and

never to forsake your youngest brother.’

‘Never!’ they replied, holding out their hands. And the hunter died

content.

Scarcely eight moons had passed when, just as he had said, the wife

went forth, and followed her husband; but before leaving her children

she bade the two elder ones think of their promise never to forsake

the younger, for he was a child, and weak. And while the snow lay

thick upon the ground, they tended him and cherished him; but when the

earth showed green again, the heart of the young man stirred within

him, and he longed to see the wigwams of the village where his

father’s youth was spent.

[Footnote 18: A North American Indian Story.]

Therefore he opened all his heart to his sister, who answered: ‘My

brother, I understand your longing for our fellow-men, whom here we

cannot see. But remember our father’s words. Shall we not seek our own

pleasures, and forget the little one?’

But he would not listen, and, making no reply, he took his bow and

arrows and left the hut. The snows fell and melted, yet he never

returned; and at last the heart of the girl grew cold and hard, and

her little boy became a burden in her eyes, till one day she spoke

thus to him: ‘See, there is food for many days to come. Stay here

within the shelter of the hut. I go to seek our brother, and when I

have found him I shall return hither.’

[Illustration: ‘My brother, my brother, I am becoming a wolf!’]

But when, after hard journeying, she reached the village where her

brother dwelt, and saw that he had a wife and was happy, and when she,

too, was sought by a young brave, then she also forgot the boy alone

in the forest, and thought only of her husband.

Now as soon as the little boy had eaten all the food which his sister

had left him, he went out into the woods, and gathered berries and dug

up roots, and while the sun shone he was contented and had his fill.

But when the snows began and the wind howled, then his stomach felt

empty and his limbs cold, and he hid in trees all the night, and only

crept out to eat what the wolves had left behind. And by-and-by,

having no other friends, he sought their company, and sat by while

they devoured their prey, and they grew to know him, and gave him

food. And without them he would have died in the snow.

But at last the snows melted, and the ice upon the great lake, and as

the wolves went down to the shore, the boy went after them. And it

happened one day that his big brother was fishing in his canoe near

the shore, and he heard the voice of a child singing in the Indian

tone—

 ‘My brother, my brother!

  I am becoming a wolf,

  I am becoming a wolf!’

And when he had so sung he howled as wolves howl. Then the heart of

the elder sunk, and he hastened towards him, crying, ‘Brother, little

brother, come to me;’ but he, being half a wolf, only continued his

song. And the louder the elder called him, ‘Brother, little brother,

come to me,’ the swifter he fled after his brothers the wolves, and

the heavier grew his skin, till, with a long howl, he vanished into

the depths of the forest.

So, with shame and anguish in his soul, the elder brother went back to

his village, and, with his sister, mourned the little boy and the

broken promise till the end of his life.

THE GLASS AXE[19]

There was once upon a time a King and Queen who had everything they

could possibly wish for in this world except a child. At last, after

twelve years, the Queen gave birth to a son; but she did not live long

to enjoy her happiness, for on the following day she died. But before

her death she called her husband to her and said, ‘Never let the child

put his feet on the ground, for as soon as he does so he will fall

into the power of a wicked Fairy, who will do him much harm.’ And

these were the last words the poor Queen spoke.

The boy throve and grew big, and when he was too heavy for his nurse

to carry, a chair was made for him on little wheels, in which he could

wander through the palace gardens without help; at other times he was

carried about on a litter, and he was always carefully watched and

guarded for fear he should at any time put his feet to the ground.

But as this sort of life was bad for his health, the doctors ordered

him horse exercise, and he soon became a first-rate rider, and used to

go out for long excursions on horseback, accompanied always by his

father’s stud-groom and a numerous retinue.

Every day he rode through the neighbouring fields and woods, and

always returned home in the evening safe and well. In this way many

years passed, and the Prince grew to manhood, and hardly anyone

remembered the Queen’s warning, though precautions were still taken,

more from use and wont than for any other reason.

[Footnote 19: From the Hungarian. Kletke.]

One day the Prince and his suite went out for a ride in a wood where

his father sometimes held a hunt. Their way led through a stream whose

banks were overgrown with thick brushwood. Just as the horsemen were

about to ford the river, a hare, startled by the sound of the horses’

hoofs, started up from the grass and ran towards the thicket. The

young Prince pursued the little creature, and had almost overtaken it,

when the girth of his saddle suddenly broke in two and he fell heavily

to the ground. No sooner had his foot touched the earth than he

disappeared before the eyes of the horrified courtiers.

They sought for him far and near, but all in vain, and they were

forced to recognise the power of the evil Fairy, against which the

Queen had warned them on her death-bed. The old King was much grieved

when they brought him the news of his son’s disappearance, but as he

could do nothing to free him from his fate, he gave himself up to an

old age of grief and loneliness, cherishing at the same time the hope

that some lucky chance might one day deliver the youth out of the

hands of his enemy.

Hardly had the Prince touched the ground than he felt himself

violently seized by an unseen power, and hurried away he knew not

whither. A whole new world stretched out before him, quite unlike the

one he had left. A splendid castle surrounded by a huge lake was the

abode of the Fairy, and the only approach to it was over a bridge of

clouds. On the other side of the lake high mountains rose up, and dark

woods stretched along the banks; over all hung a thick mist, and deep

silence reigned everywhere.

No sooner had the Fairy reached her own domain than she made herself

visible, and turning to the Prince she told him that unless he obeyed

all her commands down to the minutest detail he would be severely

punished. Then she gave him an axe made of glass, and bade him cross

the bridge of clouds and go into the wood beyond and cut down all the

trees there before sunset. At the same time she cautioned him with

many angry words against speaking to a black girl he would most likely

meet in the wood.

The Prince listened to her words meekly, and when she had finished

took up the glass axe and set out for the forest. At every step he

seemed to sink into the clouds, but fear gave wings to his feet, and

he crossed the lake in safety and set to work at once.

But no sooner had he struck the first blow with his axe than it broke

into a thousand pieces against the tree. The poor youth was so

terrified he did not know what to do, for he was in mortal dread of

the punishment the wicked old Fairy would inflict on him. He wandered

to and fro in the wood, not knowing where he was going, and at last,

worn out by fatigue and misery, he sank on the ground and fell fast

asleep.

He did not know how long he had slept when a sudden sound awoke him,

and opening his eyes he saw a black girl standing beside him. Mindful

of the Fairy’s warning he did not dare to address her, but she on her

part greeted him in the most friendly manner, and asked him at once if

he were under the power of the wicked Fairy. The Prince nodded his

head silently in answer.

Then the black girl told him that she too was in the power of the

Fairy, who had doomed her to wander about in her present guise until

some youth should take pity on her and bear her in safety to the other

side of the river which they saw in the distance, and on the other

side of which the Fairy’s domain and power ended.

The girl’s words so inspired the Prince with confidence that he told

her all his tale of woe, and ended up by asking her advice as to how

he was to escape the punishment the Fairy would be sure to inflict on

him when she discovered that he had not cut down the trees in the wood

and that he had broken her axe.

‘You must know,’ answered the black girl, ‘that the Fairy in whose

power we both are is my own mother, but you must not betray this

secret, for it would cost me my life. If you will only promise to try

and free me I will stand by you, and will accomplish for you all the

tasks which my mother sets you.’

The Prince promised joyfully all she asked; then having once more

warned him not to betray her confidence, she handed him a draught to

drink which very soon sunk his senses in a deep slumber.

His astonishment was great when he awoke to find the glass axe whole

and unbroken at his side, and all the trees of the wood lying felled

around him!

He made all haste across the bridge of clouds, and told the Fairy that

her commands were obeyed. She was much amazed when she heard that all

the wood was cut down, and saw the axe unbroken in his hand, and since

she could not believe that he had done all this by himself, she

questioned him narrowly if he had seen or spoken to the black girl.

But the Prince lied manfully, and swore he had never looked up from

his work for a moment. Seeing she could get nothing more out of him,

she gave him a little bread and water, and showing him to a small dark

cupboard she told him he might sleep there.

Morning had hardly dawned when the Fairy awoke the Prince, and giving

him the