Andrew Lan's Twelve-Color Fairy Tale Series: Pink Fairy Tale Books

Chapter 29

Once upon a time there were seven brothers who were orphans and had no sisters.Therefore, they have to do all the housework by themselves.But they didn't like it at all, so, after much deliberation, they decided to get a wife.It was a pity that there were no young girls where they lived, but the eldest brothers agreed to go out to find a bride, and they promised to bring back a beautiful wife to the youngest brother if he would stay and look after the house.The younger brother readily agreed, and the six young men set off happily.

They walked all the way and came to a hut, which stood quietly in the forest. A very old man stood at the door and said to the brothers: "Hey, young man! You are so happy, Walking so fast, where are you going?"

"We're going to find a beautiful bride for ourselves, and one for our little brother who stays at home," they replied.

"Oh! good boy," said the old man, "I am so lonely here, please find me a bride too, and remember, she must be young and pretty."

"This kind of bad old man, why does he need a young and beautiful bride?" The brothers thought to themselves and left.

Soon, they came to a city where lived seven sisters, who were young and beautiful, and everyone loved them.The brothers picked one each, leaving the youngest sister to the younger brother who stayed at home.So the group set off and headed back.They went through the forest again and came to the old man's house.

The old man stood at the door and called out, "Hey! My fellows, you have brought me a beautiful bride!"

"She's not your bride," said the boys, "she's our little brother's bride, as we promised him."

"What!" said the old man, "promise! I will make you break your promise!" After speaking, he took out his wand, murmured something, and touched his brothers and their bride with the wand, and they immediately turned into gray stones .

Only the youngest sister was not enchanted by him.He took her into the house, and from then on she had to be the home for him.She wasn't terribly sad, but there was always a thought that bothered her.She thought, what if the old man died and she was left alone in this lonely hut, deep in the forest!At that time, she would be as "too lonely" as he was back then.

One day, she told him all her worries.

"Don't worry," he said, "you have nothing to fear or wish for my death, for I have no heart in my chest! But if I do die, you can find my wand over the door , use the magic wand to wake up your sister and their lover. At that time, with so many people accompanying you, you will definitely not be alone."

"And if your heart is not in your chest, where do you keep it?" asked the girl.

"Do you know everything you want?" her husband asked. "Well, if you must know, I will tell you that my heart is hidden in the quilt."

The old man went out to work, and the bride embroidered some beautiful flowers on the quilt in order to please his heart.This made the old man very happy.He laughed and said to her, "You're such a good boy, I was just kidding you. My heart is actually...in..."

"Here, where is it, dear husband?"

"At the door," he replied.

When he went out the next day, the girl decorated the gate with gray feathers and bright flowers, and hung a wreath on it.The old man came back, saw this, and asked her what it was for.

"I do this to show my love to your heart," said the girl.

The old man laughed again, and said, "You are such a good boy, but my heart is not at the door either."

At this the poor little bride grew anxious, and said, "Oh, dear! You really have other thoughts, and you will die, and you will leave me alone."

The old man tried to comfort her, and repeated what he had said before, but she begged him again to tell her where his heart lay, and at last the old man told her.

"Very far away from here," he said, "in a deserted place, there is a cathedral, which is very old. It has an iron gate, and around it is a deep moat, over which There is no bridge. There is a bird in the church. It flies around. It never eats, drinks, and never dies. No one can catch the bird. If the bird lives, I live because I The heart of the bird is in the body of the bird."

Hearing this, the little bride was very sad, thinking that she could not express her love to the old man's heart.During the long days, she sat alone thinking about it, while her husband was always out.

One day, a young traveler passed by the house and saw such a beautiful girl, and he said "Hello" to her.

She also said hello to him, and when he approached, she asked him when he came and where he was going.

"Ah!" sighed the young man, "I am so sorry that I had six older brothers who went out to find a bride for themselves and another for me; but they never came back, so now I come out Got them."

"Oh, dear friend," said the girl, "you needn't go any further. Come, sit down, have something to eat and drink, and then I'll tell you about your brother."

She gave him food, and when he had finished, she told him how his brothers came to the city where she and her sister lived, how they chose their brides, and how they took her home with them.She wept and told him how they were turned to stone, and how she had made the old man's bride.She told the whole story, even her husband's heart.The young man said, "I'm going to find that bird. Maybe God will help me find and catch that bird."

"Yes, go," she said, "this is a good deed, and then you will be able to rescue your brother and my sister." After saying that, she hid him, because it was getting late, Her husband will be home soon.

Next morning the old man went out, and she prepared food for her guest, and sent him on his way, wishing him good luck and all the best.

He walked and walked until he felt that it was time to eat breakfast. He opened his backpack and was very happy to see so many delicious things in it. "What a feast!" he exclaimed. "Would anyone like to come and eat with me?"

"Moo-moo--" He heard someone calling behind him, turned his head and saw a tall red bull, it said: "I am happy to accept your kind invitation."

"Nice to meet you. Please eat all you want. I'll be happy to help you," said the hospitable young man.So the cow lay down comfortably, licked the food with its tongue, and had a good meal.

"Thank you very much," said the bull, standing up, "if you are in danger or need my help, just call me, or just say it in your heart." After saying that, it disappeared into the woods.

The young man packed the rest of the food and continued on his way.He didn't realize it was noon until the shadows of the trees became shorter and his stomach was hungry.He spread a cloth on the ground, put the food on the cloth, and said: "Lunch is ready, whoever wants to eat with me, please come."

Then there was a loud rustling in the bushes, and a wild boar ran out, muttering, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, someone says lunch is ready. Is that you? Would you like me to eat it?" "

"Of course, you can eat what I have here." The young man said.So they had a good meal together.

After eating, the wild boar stood up and said: "Thank you, you need me in the future, just call me." After saying that, it hurried away.

The young man walked for a long time.By evening, he had covered several miles.He felt hungry again, and there was still some food left, and he thought it was time for dinner.After the dinner was set, he said loudly as before, "Anyone who wants to come and eat with me, please come."

He heard the sound of flapping wings above his head, and cast a shadow on the ground, and then, a huge griffin flew over and said, "I heard someone invite me to dinner, is there anything for me?" ?”

"Why not?" said the young man. "Come down and eat what you want. There won't be much left after this meal."

So the Griffin flew down and had a good meal, and when he flew away he said, "Call me when you need me."

"How fast he flies!" murmured the young man to himself. "He may be able to show me how to get to the church. I can't find it myself."

He packed up his things and started on his way. After walking not far, before he stopped to rest, he suddenly saw the church!
In a short while he was in front of the church, or, rather, he was in front of the wide and deep ditch outside the church, over which there was no bridge.

It was so late now that he could think of no other way, and besides, the poor boy was very tired, so he lay down on the ground and fell asleep.

When he awoke the next morning, wishing he could cross the river, it occurred to him that if only the red bull were here, if only he were thirsty, he could drink all the water in the ditch.That way, he could walk across without getting his shoes wet.

No sooner had the idea entered his mind than the red bull appeared and began to drink from the ditch.

As soon as the ditch was dry, the young man hurried across the river gratefully, but found it impossible for him to get through the thick walls and strong iron gates of the church.

"I think that big boar is better than me here," thought he, oh dear!Sure enough, the wild boar came and started pushing the wall.It loosened a stone with its fangs, and poked a hole, and then, one stone after another, it was pierced, and it finally poked a hole big enough for a person to get in and out.

The young man hastened into the church, and he saw a bird flying about, but he could not catch it.

"Oh!" he cried, "if only the griffin were here, and he'd catch the bird in no time."

As soon as the words were spoken, the griffin appeared, caught the bird, and gave it to the young man, who took the bird carefully, and the griffin flew away.

The young man hurried back as fast as he could, and reached the hut before dark.He told the story of his journey to the little bride, and she gave him some food and water, and hid him and the bird under the bed.

After a while, the old man came back, complaining about his discomfort.He said that this is a bad thing, his "heart bird" was caught.

When the young man under the bed heard this, he thought, "The old man has done me no harm, but it is evidently bad enough that he has cast spells on my brothers and their bride, and possessed my bride. "

So he pinched the bird, and the old man yelled, "Ah! I think I'm going to die! Baby, I'm going to die!"

As he spoke, he fell from his chair and fell unconscious on the ground. Before the young man realized what he had done, he crushed the bird to death, and the old man died as a result.

The young man crawled out from under the bed, and the girl got the wand (the old man told her where the wand was hidden), and then she touched the twelve gray stone men with the wand, and the stone men changed back to six at once. Brothers and their brides.

They were happy, kissing and hugging each other.As for the old man, he was dead, and there was no wand to bring him back to life, even if they wanted to.

Finally, they were gone, married, and lived happily ever after for many years.

(End of this chapter)