Crimson Fairy Book

Chapter 23 Three Dresses
Long ago, a king and queen ruled a powerful country.Although their names are unknown, their son Segard and daughter Linac are known throughout the country for their intelligence and beauty.

The two children, who are one year apart in age, have deep feelings and are inseparable.When they grew up, the king gave them a house of their own, complete with servants and carriages.

They lived happily together for many years, when the queen fell ill, and she knew her days were numbered.

"Please promise me two things," the queen said to the king one day, "first, you must remarry after I die, and if you remarry, don't choose women from small places or desert islands as wives. I have seen the world, but I will only be self-righteous. You must find a princess of a big country, because she has been used to life in the court since she was a child, so she will definitely be the mother of the world; second, please take good care of our children, they will Be your greatest happiness and joy.”

These were the queen's last words, and a few hours later she died.The king was so distraught that he didn't want to go to court to do anything.In the end, the Prime Minister had no choice but to tell him that the people were complaining, saying that no one could eradicate evil and promote good for them.

"You must take heart," went on the Prime Minister, "and let the good of the country take the place of your own grief."

"You did not save me," said the king, "but what you said was right, and your advice was good. However, I also heard from my subjects that it would be good for the whole country if I remarried, although I My heart will always be with my deceased wife. In fact, it is her wish that I remarry. Therefore, I entrust you to find a lady who can share the royal power with me.

Be very careful not to find people in small places or deserted islands. "

So, under the leadership of the prime minister, the mission was ready to go to visit the most powerful country in the world to find a suitable princess.The boat they were on encountered heavy fog within a few days. The captain couldn't tell the left and the right, and lost his way.For a whole month the ship drifted in the dark, until at last the fog lifted and a jutting cliff came into view.On one side of the cliff, there was a bay, and the boat stopped in the bay. Although they didn't know what it was, they believed that there must be fresh fruits and fresh water here.

The Prime Minister asked the others to stay on the boat, and he rowed a small boat to the island himself. He wanted to see if it was a deserted island.

Before he had gone far, he heard the sound of music. Walking along the sound of the music, he saw a beautiful woman sitting on a small stool and playing the harp, and a girl was standing beside her singing along with the music. .The Prime Minister stopped and greeted the lady politely, who politely returned him and asked him how he came to such a remote place.The prime minister then told her exactly the purpose of his trip.

"I am as widowed as your master," replied the lady, "and I was married to the king who once ruled this island, but then the pirates came and killed not only the king, but all the people here. I tried my best to escaped, and hid here with her daughter."

The girl leaned over to her mother as she listened, "Are you telling the truth?"

"Remember your promise," replied the mother angrily, choking her daughter while the prime minister was not looking.

"What's your name, ma'am?" asked the Prime Minister, deeply moved by the woman's tragic story.

"Brough," she answered, "my daughter's name is Laufey." Then she asked for the name of the Prime Minister and the name of the King.Afterwards, they talked a lot, and the woman showed that she was not only more knowledgeable than ordinary women, but also more knowledgeable than ordinary educated men. "She is very suitable for the king," thought the prime minister, and he immediately asked the woman to marry his master, the king.The woman said that she was not worthy of such a high status, and she also said that the prime minister would definitely regret her choice.The more she said that, the more urgently the Prime Minister begged her to say yes.Finally, the Prime Minister finally persuaded her, and she promised to go back to the Prime Minister's country immediately with the Prime Minister.

So, the Prime Minister led the way for the mother and daughter, and they returned to the ship together. The ship immediately lifted anchor and sailed, and returned in a breeze.

At this time, the fog had cleared, and they looked back. Except for the place along the coast, the whole island was bare and desolate, and it was not suitable for human habitation at all.But no one cares about this.They sailed quickly all the way, and it took only six days to reach the shore. After landing, they marched non-stop towards the capital. The prime minister sent a messenger to inform the king of the incident first.

As soon as he saw the two beautiful women wearing gold and silver, the king's sadness was immediately thrown into the sky.He ordered that preparations be made for the wedding without delay.The ecstatic king forgot to ask where the future queen came from.The king was so preoccupied with the images of the two beauties that, when he ordered invitations to the important persons of the country, he forgot even his own two children, who were shut up in his house without any Know that the father is married again.

After marriage, the king had no idea at all, and had to consult the queen for everything.Any of his meetings must be attended by the queen, whether it is war or peace, only the queen has the final say.As the months passed, the king began to wonder if the prime minister had made the right choice, noticing that the children were spending more and more time in their own palace, never near their stepmother.

It always happens that when a person's eyes are opened, he can see many things that he couldn't see before.

Soon, the king found that the officials in the court disappeared inexplicably one by one.At first, the king didn't care, just added some new players to the vacancies.However, the constant disappearance of the courtiers without a trace made the king start to feel uneasy, and he guessed that this matter might have something to do with the queen.

The situation continued in this way, and one day the queen said to the king that he should go all over the country to see if his officials had corrupted taxes. "You don't have to worry about traveling," said the queen. "In your absence, I will run the country as well as you can."

The king himself didn't want to travel, but the queen's will was stronger than his, and he didn't bother to fight with the queen about it.

So, without saying much, he began to prepare his itinerary, and he ordered to prepare the best ships for his coastal inspections.However, his heart was heavy, and he was overwhelmed by anxiety, and he didn't know why.Before leaving, he went to the children's palace to say goodbye to his sons and daughters.

The children warmly received their long-lost father, and they had endless things to say to their beloved father.

But after a while the king interrupted them, saying:

"If I don't come back from this trip, you will not be safe here. Therefore, if you see that I have no hope of coming back, you should run away immediately until you reach a high mountain, and then climb up. After going up the mountain, If you keep walking along the bay, you will find two trees, one red and one green, in the woods. These two trees are well concealed, and you cannot find them unless you look carefully. You hide in the trunks of the two trees respectively, so that Can escape the pursuit of the enemy."

Having said these words, the king said good-bye to his children, and embarked with a heavy heart.The first few days were sunny and sunny, and everything was normal.Suddenly, there was a strong wind and thunder and lightning. The sailors had never seen such a terrible sight.Despite their best efforts, the boat hit the rocks, and as a result, none of the people on board survived.

That night, Prince Segard had a dream. He dreamed that his father was standing in front of him in wet clothes. His father took off the crown from his head, put it at his feet, and then walked away silently.

The prince hurriedly woke up his younger sister Linak. After discussing with each other, they realized that their father was in danger, and they must follow their father's instructions and escape to a safe place.So they brought some clothes and jewelry, and slipped out of the palace quietly while no one was prepared.

They ran without looking back all the way until they reached the mountain.Segard looked round, and saw his stepmother following them, with a fierce face, uglier than the ugliest old hag.There was a dense forest between the stepmother and the siblings, and Segard quickly lit the forest.Taking advantage of the fire, the brother and sister ran forward desperately, and finally came to the woods, found the two red and green trees, and they jumped into them immediately.

And the king who ruled Greece at that time was powerful and very rich.The king had two children, a son and a daughter.

They are outstanding in appearance and knowledgeable, and they are the pride of the father.

The prince of Greece, who had just come of age, encouraged his father to wage a summer war against his neighbors, in order to make a name for himself.However, when winter came, the desolate neighboring country did not have enough food and horses, so the Greek prince dismissed his army and returned home himself.

During the war, the Greek prince heard that Linac was very beautiful, so he decided to find her and marry her.Queen Blauf knew all this through her sorcery.So, when the Greek prince approached the capital, she dressed her daughter in splendid clothes to meet the guests.

The queen welcomed the Greek prince into the palace.After supper, she told the prince her story, that she had lost her husband, and that she had no one to govern the country, and she had to assume power by herself.

"Where is Princess Linac?" the Greek prince asked after hearing the story.

"Here," answered the Queen, and brought out the girl who was hiding behind.

The Greek prince looked at the girl and was disappointed.Although the girl is beautiful, she is not outstanding at all.

"Oh, you must think that her face is pale and her eyes are dull," the queen quickly explained, seeing through the Greek prince's mind, "she has lost her parents, and she has been overwhelmed with grief, and she hasn't recovered yet."

"It seems that she has a kind heart," the prince thought, "when she is in a good mood, her beauty will be restored." So he asked the queen to agree to his engagement with the girl, and then returned to his country to marry.

The queen was overjoyed.She didn't expect to succeed so quickly, so she immediately started to prepare.She herself was tempted to go with the two young men, just to make sure everything went well.But the Greek prince was very stubborn. He only wanted to take Laufey alone, and he thought it was Linac.

The two quickly bid farewell to the queen and boarded a luxurious ship.After a short walk, a cloud of thick fog shrouded in the darkness, and the captain sailed out of the course in the darkness, and the ship came to an unfamiliar bay.The Prince of Greece ordered a boat to be sent over, and he rowed the boat to the shore to check, and he soon found the two beautiful red and green trees, because they were not at all like the trees in Greece.The Greek prince ordered a sailor to cut down the two trees and load them on board.At this time, the weather improved, and they set off again, and returned to Greece with good wind.

The news that the prince brought back his bride has long spread throughout the country. People made gorgeous arches with flowers and crowns with colored lights to welcome their return.The King and Queen came out of the palace and waited for them, and then put the girl into the ladies' chamber, where she was to live until she was married.But the prince returned to his bedroom, and he ordered the two trees to be moved into his bedroom.

The next morning, the prince ordered his attendants to bring the future bride into his apartment. After the girl came in, the prince gave her red, green and blue silk and asked her to weave three robes, which must be held at the wedding ceremony. completed before.The blue robe is to be woven first, and the green robe is to be woven last, and this robe is to be woven most luxuriously. "Because I'm going to wear it to my wedding," said the prince.

After the prince left, Laufey looked at the pile of shining silk in front of her, and didn't know what to do, because she couldn't weave at all, and Princess Linac was famous for her beauty and superb weaving skills, she was afraid of this scam Being seen through, she was so frightened that she cried.The girl covered her face and sobbed, her whole body trembling. Prince Segard, who was hiding in the tree hole, was deeply moved by her crying, and he felt a little sympathy for the girl. "Linac, dear sister," he called softly to his sister, "Lao Fei is crying, please help her, I beg you."

"Have you forgotten what her mother did to us?" replied Linac. "She drove us both from our homes."

That being said, Linac is not a heartless girl, and she quickly emerged from the tree hole, took the silk from Laufey, and started weaving.She was smart and quick, and she not only wove the blue robe, but also embroidered flowers on it.When the prince came back, she had finished her work and ran back to the tree hole.

"This is the most beautiful robe I have ever seen," said the prince, picking up the clothes. "I am sure the red robe will be more beautiful, because the quality of the silk is better." After speaking, he bowed deeply and left the room.

Laufey thought that as long as the prince saw the woven blue robe, she would not let her make the other two pieces, but she didn't expect that she had to finish all the work, so she burst into tears in frustration.Prince Segard heard the cries again, and again begged his sister to help the poor girl.Linac also sympathized with her, and helped her weave and embroider like the first one, and embroidered gold thread and precious stones on the cloth.She had just finished her work and hid in the tree hole when the prince came in.

"You are so clever and quick," said the prince with great admiration, "it is like the handiwork of fairies!
I think the last green robe will be more beautiful than the first two, so I will give you three days to finish it.As soon as the dress was done, we had our wedding ceremony.

After listening to these words, the ruthlessness of himself and his mother towards Linac emerged in Lau Fei's mind.She really didn't dare to hope that Linac could forget all this and come out to save herself again!Linac didn't forget the past, if her brother Saigard hadn't repeatedly begged her to help Lau Fei again, she could have left Lau Fei alone and let her suffer the consequences.So she got out of the tree hole again and started to work.She arranged the shiny green silk thread, picked some sunlight and moonlight, put them on the needle point, and wove them into the clothes. This magical pattern that she had never seen before took her for a long time. On the third morning, when she As the last stitch was being stitched on the last flower, the Prince came in.

Linac jumped up quickly, trying to escape the prince and hide in the tree hole; but she was entangled in coils of silk, and she almost fell, but the prince helped her.

"I've always felt something was wrong," he said. "Tell me, who are you and where are you from?"

Linac had no choice but to tell her name and life experience.After hearing her words, the prince immediately became angry with Laufey, claiming that as punishment for lying, he would kill her and discredit her.

Laufe fell to his knees and begged for forgiveness.She said: "It's all my mother's fault, don't blame me, she made me impersonate Princess Linac. The only lie I told you was about the two robes, it's not going to be executed."

At this time, Prince Segard came over.He begged the prince of Greece to forgive Laufey, and the prince of Greece agreed to Prince Segard's request, but he put forward a condition: unless Linac agreed to marry him.Linac said:
"When my stepmother dies, I promise to marry you, because she always brings misfortune to those around her." Only then did Laufey tell everyone Brauf's real identity.It turned out that Brauf was not the king's wife at all, but an ogre.She stole Laufey from a neighboring palace and raised her as her daughter.She is not only an ogre, but also a witch. She used her magic to sink the ship that the father of Prince Segard and Princess Linak was on to the bottom of the sea.She ate countless courtiers at night, and she was the culprit who made the courtiers disappear for no reason.She wishes to get rid of all humans in the kingdom and replace them with goblins and ogres.

So Prince Segard and the Prince of Greece quickly summoned an army and marched towards Brauf's palace.They fell from the sky without anyone noticing.In fact, most of the strong people in the palace had already been eaten by Brauf, and the others were terrified and sneaked out of the palace without knowing what happened.So they easily caught Brauf, and the next morning they dragged her into the street and beheaded her in public.The two princes traveled long distances and returned to Greece.

Linac had no more excuses for postponing her marriage, and she married a Greek prince, and Prince Segad married a Greek princess.Laufey remained friends and sisters with Linac, and she ended up marrying a high-ranking nobleman.Three couples of young people lived happily ever after until they died.

(End of this chapter)