Crimson Fairy Book

Chapter 10 Crystal Coffin
Who says a poor tailor can't rise to the top, even win the highest honors?The following story is proof.The secret of success is nothing more than working hard in the right direction, but it also depends on whether he has the blessing of success.

Once upon a time, there was a bright and lively little tailor who was traveling in all directions. Once he walked into a forest, but because he couldn't tell the direction, he got lost soon.It was getting dark, and it was impossible to find a way out of the forest. The first thing to do was to find a place to rest for the night.He planned to sleep on the soft moss, but he was worried about the attack of wild animals, so he finally decided to climb a tree for the night.

He climbed to the top of a tall oak tree, thankful that he had a big iron on him, otherwise the wind at the top of the tree was so strong that it would have blown him away.After several hours in the tree, he was shocked and frightened, shivering from the cold.At this time, he found a light flickering not far away, and he felt that there was probably a house there, and it must be much more comfortable to spend the night there than in a tree.So he climbed carefully down the tree and walked straight towards the light.The light led him to a small hut.He boldly knocked on the door, which opened, and in the light, an old man with gray hair and a colorful overcoat came out.

"Who are you? What do you want?" the old man asked impatiently.

"I am a poor tailor," said the little tailor. "I have been traveling day and night, and I have strayed into the forest. I hope you will let me spend the night in your hut to escape the cold wind! I will go at dawn."

"Go away!" said the old man angrily. "I don't want to deal with bums. Go somewhere else!"

As he said that, he was about to go back to the house, but the little tailor grabbed him by the corner of his clothes and begged bitterly. The old man was not as fierce as he looked, and after a while his heart softened, and he let the little tailor in.He gave the little tailor something to eat, and put him to sleep in a comfortable little bed in a corner.The little tailor was so tired that he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

The next morning, he was awakened by an earth-shattering loud noise.The ground was buzzing with loud roars and roars, and the little hut was about to collapse.The little tailor plucked up his courage and jumped up, quickly dressed and ran out the door.He saw a huge black bull and a beautiful stag facing each other, roaring and pawing the ground, looking like they were going to fight to the death.They roared and rushed towards each other at the same time, their horns slammed together, and the ground shook instantly, only their roars could be heard in the sky and the earth.For a while the bull seemed to have the upper hand; but suddenly the stag thrust its horns into the bull's body.The bull uttered a terrible growl and fell with a crash.The stag killed it with its horns.

The little tailor was terribly shocked by this vicious fight, and when the bull died on the ground, he stood still in shock.

Suddenly the stag jumped at him, and before he could run away, the stag lifted him on its big horns and started running like a fly, over bushes and ditches, over mountains, through forests and rivers.The little tailor felt as if he was flying on a cloud.He was frightened to death, but he could only hold the stag's horns tightly with both hands, and resigned himself to his fate.At last the stag stopped before a steep rocky wall, and gently put the tailor down on the ground.The little tailor was so frightened that he was half dead, and he gradually regained consciousness after resting for a long time.Then the stag slammed his horns against the stone wall and smashed it to pieces.There was a great burst of fire from behind the stone wall, and then a cloud of smoke from within, and the stag had to turn his head.The little tailor didn't know what to do, nor which way to follow to escape from this terrible ghost place and return to the human world.Just when he was hesitating, a voice from the cave said to him faintly: "Don't be afraid, come in, you won't be hurt."

He still hesitated, but it seemed that some mysterious force drove him into the cave.Presently he found himself in a spacious hall whose dome, walls, and floor were covered with smooth tiles, carved with symbols he did not recognize.He looked around in amazement for a while, and then prepared to go back the way he had come.Then the voice said to him again: "Stand on the stone in the middle of the hall, and good luck will come to you."

The little tailor had mustered up his courage and followed the voice's instructions.As soon as his feet stepped on the stone, the stone slowly sank to the ground with him.When the stone stopped again, the little tailor found himself in another hall, which was about the same size as the previous one, but it was even more surprising.There are many cages around the hall, and in each cage there are some glass vessels filled with some blue liquid, and some emit blue smoke.In the middle of the floor stood two crystal coffins, which immediately attracted the little tailor's curiosity.

He walked towards one of the crystal coffins and found that the contents of the coffin seemed to be a model of a castle surrounded by farms, barns, stables and other buildings.Everything is so small, exquisite and lifelike, as if it came from the hands of a very skilled craftsman.If the voice hadn't told him to turn around, he would have been reluctant to take his eyes off the little castle.The little tailor turned around and faced another crystal coffin.He was surprised to find that there was a girl as beautiful as a fairy lying in the coffin!She lay there motionless as if asleep, her beautiful long hair draped over her like a cloak.Although her eyes were closed, her face was still bright and her hair band was bouncing up and down with her breathing. There was no doubt that she was still alive.

The little tailor stared at the beautiful girl, and his heart beat like a deer, beating so fast that he didn't know what to do.At this time, the girl suddenly opened her eyes, and she couldn't help being very pleasantly surprised when she saw the little tailor.

"My God!" she cried, "my savior has arrived! Quick, quick, free me from this prison. Just push the cross-bolts on the coffin, and I'll be free!"

The tailor did so at once, and the girl pushed back the crystal lid of the coffin, and hastening to the corner of the hall, seized a cloak and wrapped herself in it.Then she sat down on a stone, called the little tailor to come to her, and kissed him affectionately.She said: "Benefactor, I have been waiting for you for a long time. Fortunately, God has mercy and finally brought you to my side and saved me from the disaster. You are my destined husband, you will get my love, And untold wealth and supreme power, and lived a life of happiness and peace. Sit down now and listen to my story. I am the daughter of a wealthy nobleman. My parents died when I was very young. I grew up under the care of my brother and received a good education. My brother and sister depend on each other, love each other, and have the same interests and tastes, so he and I have decided not to get married forever, and to live together like this for the rest of our lives. Our life is not short of social intercourse, however. Friends and neighbors are frequent visitors, and our doors are always open to welcome friends from all over. One evening a stranger rode up to our castle and said that due to the Being late to the nearest town, he wished to spend the night with us. We entertained him out of courtesy.

During dinner, we chatted happily with him, and he told us many interesting stories.My brother liked him so much that he asked the stranger to stay a few days longer in the castle.After hesitating for a while, the stranger agreed.It was late after dinner.My brother went to make room for him, and I was so tired that I retired to my bedroom to sleep.I just fell asleep when I was awakened by a soft and pleasant music.I wondered where the music was coming from, so I decided to wake the maid who was sleeping next to me.But surprisingly, I felt something was pressing on my chest so hard that I couldn't even lift a finger, and I didn't even have the strength to speak.At this time, under the light of the night lamp, I saw a stranger enter my room-I obviously locked the two-story door tightly!

"He came up to me and said he had made the soft music that woke me up by magic; that he had opened the lock and the bar by magic and come into my room just to woo me and marry me. I am very I hated his heresy spells, so I would never marry him. He waited silently for a while, no doubt waiting for me to agree to his marriage proposal. But because I kept silent, he finally said angrily. Said that he must find a way to punish my arrogance, and left my room in a huff.

"That night, I was anxious and couldn't sleep well, only dozing off towards dawn. When I woke up, I jumped up immediately, intending to tell my brother what happened during the night. But he was not in the room , said his servant, he was out hunting with strangers at daybreak. I had a foreboding feeling, dressed at once, and rode off into the woods on my pony, with only one servant at my side. Then I saw the stranger coming towards me with a beautiful stag on a lead. I asked him where my brother was, but he didn't answer, but laughed, and the stag had tears in his eyes. I knew right away why What happened, drew his pistol angrily and shot at him. But the bullet bounced off his chest and went into my pony's head. The stranger said a few spells, and I lost consciousness.

"When I woke up, I found that I was lying in a crystal coffin in this underground hall. The evil magician appeared again, and told me that he had turned my brother into a stag; His castle was shrunk down to the size of a model and put into another crystal coffin; our servants were turned into blue smoke in glass bottles. Only when I granted his request would he open these containers and restore everything As is.

"I remained silent as before, and then the magician disappeared, leaving me here alone and imprisoned. I soon fell into a deep sleep. I had many dreams, the most disturbing of which was A happy dream is that a young man came to save me. And today when I opened my eyes, I recognized you and found my dream come true. Now help me to realize other dreams! First we will Move the coffin that contains my castle to the boulder."

After they finished this, the big stone transported them and the crystal coffin containing the castle to the upper hall.

They carried the coffin out of the cave without much effort.The girl opened the lid of the crystal coffin, and the small buildings grew miraculously, and returned to their original size in a short while.Then they went to the underground hall through the big rock, and brought up all the glass bottles filled with blue smoke.As soon as they uncorked the bottle, the blue smoke flowed to the ground and slowly gathered into the shape of a living person. The girl happily recognized her servants and maids.

What is even more gratifying is that the girl's brother also changed back into a human form and came out of the forest.It turned out that in front of the old man's hut, it was he who fought the magician who had turned into a bull and finally killed the magician.

On the same day, the girl fulfilled her promise and married the lucky little tailor, and they lived a happy life together ever since.

(End of this chapter)