Crimson Fairy Book

Chapter 12 The Treasure Hunter (2)
On the very day Peter decided to go, Lucia and her mother happened to be in town early in the morning, leaving him to look after the house.Although the time to go had come, he thought he would first try the exaggerated magic root for himself.Mrs Ilse had a strong cupboard built into the wall of her room with seven locks.She kept all the money she had saved in it and always wore the key to the cupboard around her neck.Mr. Peter had no control over the family finances and therefore knew nothing of these secret hoards, and this seemed a good time to see what they were.He stretched the magic root to the keyhole, and to his surprise he heard the seven locks creak and turn, and the cupboard door swung open, revealing before his eyes the gold coins that his greedy wife had hoarded.He was stunned, unable to figure out which of the two things would make him more ecstatic, this unexpected discovery or the verification of the magic root's true magic power.At last he remembered that it was time to start.So he filled his pockets with gold, carefully locked the empty cupboard, and without further delay left the house.When Mrs. Ilse and her daughter came back, they were surprised to find that the door of the house was closed tightly, and Mr. Peter was nowhere to be seen.They knocked on the door and shouted, but all was quiet in the house except the cat.They had to ask the blacksmith to open the door.Afterwards they searched the house from the attic to the cellar, but could not find Mr. Peter.

"Who knows?" cried Mrs. Ilse at last. "The shameless fellow may have gone to another tavern early in the morning."

At this time, a sudden thought startled her, and she touched her key.What would happen if they fell into the hands of a worthless husband, who took them for himself!But no, the keys were hanging safely around her neck, and the cupboard looked completely untouched.At noon, in the evening, and at midnight, Mr. Peter did not show up, and things really got serious.Mrs. Ilse knew well what a torment she was to her husband, and remorse gave her the most depressing forebodings.

"Ah! Lucia," she exclaimed, "I am very afraid that your father has killed himself." They wept for their delusions.

At this time they hastened to search every corner of the house again, and checked every nail and every beam in the wall.Luckily Mr. Peter wasn't hanging on to them.Afterwards, the neighbors took long poles to every ditch and every pond to salvage, but they found nothing, so Mrs. Ilse no longer had any hope of seeing her husband, and soon stopped her sorrow, but she couldn't find anything. Know how to get the sacks of corn to the mill in the future.She decided to buy a strong donkey for the job, and having chosen one, after haggling with its owner, she went to the cupboard built into the wall to get the money.But she found that every shelf in front of her was empty, what a feeling she felt at this moment!She stood bewildered for a moment, then suddenly spoke incoherently.Lucia ran to her in a panic, and when she heard that the money was gone, she was genuinely happy.She no longer worried about what had happened to her father, knowing that he must have gone out and made his fortune in some new way.

One day about a month later, someone knocked on Mrs. Ilse's door, and she went to see if a customer was coming.But in came a handsome young man dressed like a duke's son.He greeted her humbly, and her beautiful daughter, as if he were their old friend, but she could not remember seeing him.

She invited him in, however, to sit down.He explained his purpose, and with a very mysterious look asked her to allow him to speak to the beautiful Lucia, who had already heard of her superb embroidery skills, and wanted to give her a commission.Since the meeting would be under her nose, she did not object, but called her hardworking daughter.Lucia put down her work and walked out obediently.She stopped suddenly when she saw the stranger, blushing and lowering her gaze.He looked at her affectionately, and took her hand, which she tried to withdraw, and said aloud:
"Ah! Fredlin, how did you come here? I thought you were a hundred miles away. Did you come here to break my heart again?"

"No, my dearest girl," he answered, "I have come to make us happy. My fortune has been completely changed, and I am no longer a poor tramp. My rich uncle is dead, and he You left me a great deal of property, so I dared to come to your mother as a suitor. I know that I love you. If you would give me your love, I would be a truly happy man. "

Lucia, who had looked up at him timidly from her pretty blue eyes as he spoke, now smiled with her rosy lips.She glanced furtively at her mother to see what she thought of the whole thing.

The lady was stunned. She was going to announce that she would never let her daughter leave her side, but found that her daughter was quite familiar with this handsome stranger and was very willing to be his bride.Before she could recover, the impetuous suitor piled gold coins on the bright table as a dowry gift to the bride's mother, and filled Lucia's apron with gold coins to pave the way for the proposal.In this way, Madam no longer objected, and the matter was quickly settled.

Mrs. Ilse put away the gold coins and hid them carefully, while the lovers whispered together.What Fredlin told Lucia seemed to make her happier and more content every moment.

So the house was busy, and people were getting ready for the wedding.A few days later, a wagon full of goods arrived.The unloading of many boxes and bales from the car left Mrs. Ilse marveling at what her future son-in-law would have owned.A day for the wedding was chosen, and all their friends and neighbors were invited to the feast.Lucia said to her mother as she tried on the bridal wreath: "This wreath would really make me happy if Papa Peter would take me to church. It would be great if he could come back! We live in abundance here living, while he may well be starving." The thought brought tears to her eyes, and even Lady Ilse said:

"I'll be glad to see him back myself--the old man is gone, and there's always something missing in the house."

In fact, there was no one for her to scold, and she was tired of it.

What do you think happened?On the eve of the wedding, a man came to the city gate with a wheelbarrow, paid the toll for a bucket of nails in the cart, and then came as fast as he could to the bride's house and knocked on the door.

The bride herself looks out the window to see who it could be, and sees standing there is none other than her father Peter!

The house was filled with an atmosphere of joy.Lucia ran to embrace him, and even Mrs. Ilse held out her hand to welcome him, when she remembered the empty treasure chest and said, "Troublemaker, you must change your past." Peter Dad greeted the groom, eyeing him shrewdly.And the mother and daughter scrambled to tell all the good things they knew about the groom, and seemed very satisfied with his son-in-law.Mrs. Ilse brought the food to her husband, eager to hear about his adventures, and asked him eagerly why he had left.

"God bless my country," he said, "I've traveled all over the country, tried every kind of work, and now I've found a job as a trader in iron. It's just that I've invested more in this business than Harvest. This barrel of nails is all my property, and I want to give it to the bride as a wedding present to decorate the house."

Madame Ilse was exasperated by these words, and she suddenly and sharply reproached him, nearly deafening the ears of the two bystanders.Fredlin hastened to make a room for Papa Peter, and let him and Lucia live with him, promising him comfort and always welcome.In this way, Lucia realized her wish.The next day, Peter's father led her to the church, and the wedding was carried out in a happy atmosphere.Before long, the young couple made their home in a beautiful house that Fredlin had bought.They have a garden, several meadows, a fish pond, and a hill full of grapes, and have lived happily ever after.Pa Peter still lived peacefully with them, living off his rich and generous son-in-law as everyone believed.It never occurred to anyone that the bucket of nails was the real "plenty horn" from which all the prosperity came.

Peter's journey to that mountain of treasures went well, and no one found out where he had gone.He took his time along the way, and the journey was very pleasant. Finally, he accidentally walked into the valley and encountered the stream that he had spent a lot of time looking for.So he hurried on, and soon came to the little hole in the forest.He went down the pit and dug a hole in the ground like a mole.The magic root worked, and finally those treasures appeared before my eyes.You can imagine how ecstatic Peter was, how he filled the bag with as much gold as he could, and how he staggered up those seventy steps with a heart full of hope and joy.He didn't quite believe the promise of safety from the patron saint of treasures, so he hurried back outside without taking care of his left and right, and then he couldn't remember whether there were gems shining on the walls and pillars.

But all was going well—he saw and heard nothing frightening, and the only thing that happened was that the barred gate slammed shut as soon as he was out, and at that moment He remembered that he had left the magic root inside, so he could no longer go in to hold treasures.But this did not trouble Peter, for he was quite satisfied with the gold he got.After he had done everything exactly as Father Martin had instructed him, and having filled the pit back with earth, he sat down and considered how he could bring his treasures home to enjoy them there without being forced to share them with his cursing wife.After thinking for a long time, an idea flashed through.

He carried the sack of gold to the nearest village, where he bought a wheelbarrow, a strong bucket, and some nails; It took a lot of effort to load the barrel onto the cart and push it towards the house.At one point on the road he met a handsome young man who, judging from the downcast look on his face, seemed very distressed.Peter hoped that everyone would be as happy as he was, so he greeted the young man enthusiastically and asked him where he was going. The young man replied sadly:
"I'm going into the wide world, old man, or out of this world, wherever I go."

"Why did you leave this world?" Peter asked. "What has this world done to you?"

"It did nothing to me, and I did nothing to it," he answered, "but there is nothing in this world that I should miss."

① Horn of abundance: The horn of Zeus breastfeeding in Greek deification, that is, the horn full of flowers and fruits symbolizing abundance, usually appears in paintings or sculptures.

Peter tried to cheer him up, and asked him to dine with him at the first hotel they saw, thinking that perhaps hunger and poverty were tormenting the stranger.But when delicious food was placed in front of him, he didn't seem to want to eat it.Peter, therefore, realizing that it was the sorrow of the heart that troubled the guest, earnestly bid him tell his story.

"What good is that, old man?" said he. "You can neither help nor comfort me."

"Who knows?" Peter replied, "I might be able to do something for you. In life, help often comes from the least expected places."

In this way, the young man plucked up the courage to tell his story.

"I am a crossbowman in the service of a noble count," he said, "and I was raised by him in his castle. Not long ago my master went on a journey and brought back with other treasures a painting of a beautiful maiden. she was so pretty and lovely that I fell in love with her the first time I saw her, and could only think how to find her and marry her. The count told me her name and where she lived, but laughed I loved her, and didn't agree with me to look for her at all, so I had to escape from the castle in the dark. Soon I came to the small town where the girl lived, but I encountered new troubles there. She lived under care, her mother was very strict and never allowed her to look out of the window or go out alone. I didn't know how to make friends with her. In the end I pretended to be an old woman and knocked on her door with confidence. The door. The lovely maiden opened it herself, and she charmed me so much that I almost forgot that I was pretending to be an old woman. But I soon regained my senses, and asked her to sew me a fine tablecloth, for it is said that her Needlework was the best in that part of the country. After that I was able to see her often on the pretense of seeing how the work was done. One day her mother was in town, and I ventured to take off my disguise and tell her I Loved her. At first she was very surprised, but I persuaded her to listen to my explanation. I soon saw that she did not hate me, though she gently reproached me for disobedience to master, and for pretending to deceive others. I asked her to marry me, and she was sad Said that her mother despised penniless suitors, and begged me to go away at once, so as not to trouble her.

"I was in great distress, she told me to go and I had to go, and since then I have wandered about, and grief has tormented my heart. How can a tramp with nothing have any hope of winning the love of lovely Lucia?"

Peter had been listening attentively, and when he heard his daughter's name he pricked up his ears, and he saw that it was really his daughter who the young man loved so dearly.

"Your experience is indeed curious," said he. "Where is this girl's father? Why don't you propose to her through him? He might be on your side, and would be glad to have you as his son-in-law."

"Alas!" said the young man, "her father is a wandering wretch; he has deserted his wife and son--who knows where? His wife is full of complaints about him. My dear girl stands Her father was also scolded by her."

Papa Peter was glad to hear this, and he liked the young man very much, and found that he was just what he needed, who would enable him to enjoy his wealth in peace without being separated from his dear daughter.

"If you'll take my advice," he said, "I'll make sure you marry the girl you love, and it won't take long."

"My friend," cried Fredlin angrily, thinking that Peter was only teasing him, "it is cruel to laugh at an unfortunate man, and you'd better find someone else who will take your word for it." He snapped Standing up quickly, he was about to leave, but Peter grabbed his arm.

"Wait a minute, you impatient!" he cried. "I'm not making fun of you. I want to prove my point."

So he showed the young man the treasure hidden under the nail, and explained to him his plan: that Fredlin should be the rich son-in-law, and keep everything secret, so that they could enjoy their wealth together in peace up.

This sudden turn of fortune made the young man ecstatic.He didn't know how to thank Papa Peter for his generosity.At dawn the next morning they were on their way again, and soon came to a city.There, Fredlin dressed himself like a noble suitor.Papa Peter filled his pockets with gold as a dowry gift, and when everything was settled, he sent out the wagon with the furniture.In this way, the wealthy groom can cause a huge stir in the small town where the bride lives.When they parted, Peter's father finally ordered Fredlin to keep their secret strictly, not even to Lucia until she was his wife.

Mr. Peter has long enjoyed the rewards of going to that mountain, but fortunately there are no rumors about his going to that mountain.In his later years, he was so rich and prominent that even he himself didn't know how rich he was.It was always assumed that the money belonged to Fredlin.Fredlin and his beloved wife lived the happiest and most peaceful lives, and were greatly respected in that town.To this day, when citizens speak of a rich man, they say, "That man is as rich as Peter Brock's son-in-law!"

(End of this chapter)