Crimson Fairy Book

Chapter 24 The Man with the Golden Beard

Once upon a time there was a great king who had a wife and a son, whom he loved very much, when the boy was very young.One day, the king said to his wife: "I feel that the day of my death is approaching, and I hope you promise me that I will never marry again and devote my whole life to taking care of our son."

At these words the Queen burst into tears, and sobbed that she would never remarry again, and that her son's well-being was her chief concern as long as she lived.Her promise comforted the troubled heart of the king.He died a few days later, peacefully and peacefully.

No sooner had he died than the queen said to herself, "It's one thing to promise, but quite another thing to keep a promise." No sooner had the last spade of earth been shoveled on the king's coffin than she, along with the neighbors, married a nobleman and made him king instead of the young prince.Her new husband is a cruel, evil man who treats his stepson very badly.He gave the prince almost nothing to eat, and only shabby clothes for him to wear.If he hadn't been afraid of those subjects, he would have killed the boy.

A brook flows by the courtyard of the palace, and what flows in the brook is not water but milk.Every day the rich and the poor flocked to the brook to drink as much milk as they wanted.The first thing the new king did after sitting on the throne was not to allow anyone near the creek, and anyone who violated it would be arrested by the guards.This is purely intentional, since there is more than enough milk for everyone.

For a few days no one dared to venture near the riverbank, and finally some guards noticed that early in the morning, just after dawn, a man with a golden beard would come to the creek with a bucket and fill it with milk. And before they could get close enough to see who he was, he disappeared like a puff of smoke.So they ran and told the king about it.

The king did not believe it at first, but the guards insisted that it was quite true, so he said he would watch the brook himself at night.At the first ray of dawn in the morning, the man with the golden beard appeared, filled a bucket of milk as usual, and then disappeared immediately, as if he had crawled into a crack in the ground.

The king stared dumbfounded at the place where the man disappeared.He had never seen him before, that's for sure, but what was more important was how to catch him, and what to do with him after he was caught?He's going to make a cage for him for a prison, and everybody's going to talk about that cage, because in other countries thieves are thrown into prisons, and indeed no king has used a cage for a long time.It was all very well planned, and there was a guard behind every bush, but it was no use, they could never catch the man.They used to creep up from the grass to him as he stooped to milk him, and he would disappear before their eyes just as they reached out to grab him.And so on and on, until at last the king was so mad with rage that he offered a large reward to anyone who could tell him how to catch the man with the golden beard.

The first person to arrive with a plan of capture was an old soldier who assured the king that if the king would put some bread, bacon, and a bottle of wine on the river bank, the man with the golden beard would eat and drink, Put some drowsiness powder in the wine and make him fall asleep immediately.After that, all they had to do was put him in a cage.

The king was pleased with the idea, ordered bread, bacon, and a bottle of drugged wine to be placed on the bank of the river, doubled the number of sentries, and waited hopefully for the result.

It turned out that everything happened exactly as the soldier said.Early the next morning, the man with the golden beard came to the stream, ate and drank, and then fell asleep, so that the guards could easily tie him up and carry him to the palace.The King at once shut him up in the golden cage, and showed him with great joy to the strangers who visited his court.The poor captive awoke from his stupor and tried to talk to them, but no one would listen to him, so he kept his mouth shut.Those who came to see him thought he was the mute of the forest.All day long he wept and lamented, and did not want to touch the food, though the king, fearing that he might starve to escape his torment, ordered the head chef to bring him delicious food from the royal table.

After the man with the golden beard had been imprisoned for about a month, the king was forced to go to war against a neighboring country, and he left the palace to command an army.Before setting off, he called his stepson to him and said:
"Listen to what I say, boy, and the prisoner will be in your care while I go away. You must keep him well fed and drinkable, but be careful not to let him run away, and not to let him out and about. If I'll come back and find him gone, and you'll pay for it, I'm going to make you die horribly."

The young prince was very happy that his stepfather was going to war, and secretly hoped that his stepfather would never come back.As soon as the king rode off, the boy went to the room where the cage was kept, and never left his place day and night, even playing games beside it.

One day he shot a silver bow at a target, and an arrow landed in a golden cage.

"Give me the arrow, please," said the prince, running up to him.But the man with the golden beard replied:

"No, I won't give it to you unless you get me out of the cage."

"I can't let you out," answered the boy, "and if I do, my stepfather says he'll kill me a horrible death when he comes back from the war. Arrows are of no use to you, so give them to me."

The man handed the arrow through the grid of the cage.Afterwards he begged the prince harder than before to open the door and let him go.His entreaties were so earnest that the Prince's heart was touched, for he was a kind-hearted boy who sympathized with the sufferings of others.At last he pulled the latch, and the man with the golden beard stepped out of his cage into the free world.

"I will repay you a thousand times for your good deeds," said the man, and disappeared.The prince began to think about how he should explain to the king when he came back.Then he wondered if it was wise for him to wait for his stepfather to come back, risking his horrific death. "No," he said to himself, "I'm afraid to stay. Perhaps the world will be kinder to me than he is to me."

When evening fell he slipped out of the palace without being noticed by anyone.For many days he wandered over hills, through forests, and across valleys, not knowing where he was going or what he was going to do.He can only live on berries.One morning he saw a wood pigeon standing on a branch.Immediately he took out his bow, nocked his arrow, and took aim at the bird, thinking he could make a good meal out of it.Just then the pigeon spoke, and his weapon fell to the ground.

"Don't shoot me, I beseech you, noble prince! I have two children at home, and if I don't bring food for them, they will starve to death," said the pigeon.

The young prince was sympathetic, and let go of the string.

"Oh, Prince, I will repay you for your kindness," said the wood pigeon gratefully.

"Poor thing! How can you repay me?"

"Have you forgotten the proverb?" replied the Wood Pigeon, "'Two mountains never meet, but two people always meet.'" The boy laughed at this, and went on his way.

Soon he came to a lake, and saw a wild duck flying towards a clump of rushes growing on the bank.In the past, when his father, the old king, was still alive, he could eat whatever he wanted, and he had to eat wild duck at every birthday party.So he quickly took out his bow, set up his arrow and aimed carefully at it.

"Don't shoot me, I beseech you, noble Prince!" cried the Mallard. "I have two children at home, and if I don't bring food for them, they will starve to death."

The prince was very sympathetic, he let go of the arrow and let go of the bowstring.

"Oh, Prince! I will repay you for your kindness." cried the grateful Duck.

"You poor thing! How can you repay me?" asked the Prince.

"Have you forgotten the proverb?" replied the Mallard Duck, "'Two mountains never meet, but two people always meet.'" The boy laughed at this, and went on his way.

He was not far from the shore when he saw a stork standing on one foot, and he raised his bow again to take aim at it.

"Don't shoot me, I beseech you, noble Prince," cried the Stork, "I have two children at home, and if I don't bring food for them, they will starve to death."

The prince's heart was full of sympathy again, and this time he did not shoot the arrow either.

"Oh, Prince, I will repay you for your kindness," cried the stork.

"You poor stork! How can you repay me?" asked the prince.

"Have you forgotten the proverb?" replied the Stork, "'Two mountains never meet, but two people always meet.'"

Hearing such words again, the boy laughed and walked forward slowly.Before he had gone far, he came across two veterans.

"Where are you going, little brother?" asked one of the soldiers.

"I'm looking for work," replied the prince.

"So do we," replied the soldier, "we can go find it together."

Boys are happy to have company.And they went on, and on, and on, through seven countries, and found no work for them.At last they came to a palace where a king was standing on the steps.

"It looks like you're looking for something," he said.

"We're looking for work," they all answered.

So the king asked two veterans to be his coachmen, but he gave him a boy as a companion, and put the boy to live next to his own room.The two war veterans were very angry. Of course they didn't know that the boy was a real prince.They immediately conspired to destroy him.

Then they went to the king.

"Sire," said they, "we feel it our duty to tell you that your new companion has boasted to us that if he had been your steward, he would not let a grain of grain go to waste in your barn. If your Majesty would order Mix a sack of barley with a sack of wheat, and call the young man and order him to separate them within two hours, and you will soon see the value of his big words."

The king had no idea, listened to the words of these two villains, and asked the prince to divide the sack of wheat into two piles when he came back from the government meeting. "If you complete the task," he added, "I'll make you steward, but if you fail I'll kill you on the spot."

The unfortunate prince claimed that he had never boasted so much, but it was all in vain.The king did not believe him, and sent him into an empty room, and told his servants to bring a large sack full of wheat and barley, and dump it in a heap on the ground.

The Prince had no idea where to begin, and indeed, a thousand men would not be able to complete the task for him for a week.So he covered his face with his hands and fell to the ground in despair.

Just then a wood pigeon flew in through the window.

"Why are you weeping, noble prince?" asked the wood-pigeon.

"The king arranged for me such a task, how can I not cry. He said that if I fail to complete the task, he will let me die a terrible death."

"Oh, there is really nothing to cry about," the wood pigeon comforted, "I am the king of the wood pigeon, and you spared my life when you were hungry. Now I will fulfill my promise and pay off this debt." He said Flying out of the window, leaving a glimmer of hope in the prince's heart.

He flew back a few minutes later, followed by a flock of wood pigeons.The flock was so dense that it seemed to fill the room.The King of Birds showed them what to do, and they set to work very hard.Before the end of the government affairs meeting, they had already divided the wheat into two piles.When the king came back he could not believe his eyes, and though he searched with all his might among the two heaps of wheat, he could not find a grain of barley among the wheat, nor a grain of wheat among the barley.So the king praised the prince for his hard work and cleverness, and immediately made him a steward.

This made the two soldiers even more jealous, and they hatched another plot.

"Your Majesty," they said to the King one day, as he stood on the steps of the palace, "that fellow is bragging again that if you put him in charge of your treasures, he will keep you from losing a golden needle. We beseech you Get the pompous fellow to try it out, throw the ring on the princess's finger into the river, and tell him to feel it. We shall soon see the value of his boast."

The foolish king listened to them again, and ordered the prince to be brought to him.

"child,"

He said, "I have heard that you claim that if you are in charge of my treasure, you will never lose a gold pin. Now, to prove the truth of your words, I am going to throw this ring on the princess' finger. Into the river, and if you don't find it before I come back from my government meeting, I'll make you die a horrible death."

It is futile to deny that I have said such things.The king did not believe him.In fact he didn't listen to what the boy said at all, and hurried away, leaving the poor boy in a corner, too helpless to speak.But the prince soon realized that although the possibility of finding the ring in the river was really slim, it was absolutely impossible to find it standing in the palace.

The prince walked up and down the bank for some time, looking carefully through the water to the bottom.Although the water was very clear, he didn't even see the shadow of the ring.At last he gave up his search in despair, and fell under a tree and wept bitterly.

"What's the matter, dear Prince?" said a voice above him.He looked up and saw it was a wild duck.

"The king of this country declares that if I do not find the ring which belongs to the princess which he threw into this river, he must give me a terrible death," answered the prince.

"Oh, you don't have to worry about it, I can help you," replied the duck, "I am the king of the ducks, you spare my life, now it is my turn to save you." Then he flew away, A few minutes later a large flock of wild ducks was swimming up and down the river, trying their best to find them.Before the king came back from the government affairs meeting, the ring had been safely placed on the grass next to the prince.

Seeing this, the king was even more amazed at the cleverness of his steward, and immediately promoted him to be the steward of the treasury.

Now, you may think that the king will be satisfied with the prince and will not make things difficult for him anymore, but the country is easy to change, and the nature is hard to change. When the two jealous soldiers made up a new lie to see the king, he seemed like Believe them as willingly as before.

"Your Majesty," they said, "the young man whom you have appointed to be treasurer announces to us that a child will be born tonight in the palace, who will speak every language and play every musical instrument in the world.

He knows things that haven't happened yet, isn't he a prophet or a magician? "

Hearing this, the king was even angrier than ever.He had tried to learn spells himself, but somehow the spells he had conjured had never worked, and he was furious to hear his treasury keeper claim to have powers he didn't have.Stuttering with anger, he ordered the young man to be brought to him, and swore that unless a miracle happened, the prince would be tied to the horse's tail and dragged to death.

The two soldiers exaggerated the boy's abilities, and he knew no more about spells than the king, and the task seemed even less hopeful than the previous ones.He was lying in tears in the room from which he was not allowed to leave, when suddenly he heard a sharp knock on the window.He looked up and saw a stork.

"What makes you so sad, Prince?" asked the stork.

"I was told to the king that I prophesied that a child would be born tonight in the palace, who would speak all the languages ​​in the world and play every musical instrument. I am not a magician and cannot make such a thing happen, but he said that if I If the prophecy doesn’t happen, he’s going to drag me out of the city by the tail of a horse, and drag me to death.”

"Don't worry," replied the Stork, "I will try to find such a child, for I am the King of the Storks, and you spared my life, and now I can repay your saving grace."

The stork flew away, and soon returned with a baby wrapped in swaddling in its beak, and laid him by a lute.The baby immediately stretched out his little hand and played a piece of music.The tune was so beautiful that even the prince forgot his sorrow after listening to it.Then they handed him a flute and a zither, with which he could also make music.Gradually the prince regained his courage, and spoke to him in every tongue he knew, and the baby answered him in every tongue.No one can tell which language is his mother tongue!
The next morning the king went directly to the prince's room, and saw with his own eyes the miracle the baby had performed. "Since you can conjure such a baby with your spells," he said, "you must be greater than any wizard who has ever lived, and I will marry you to my daughter." He was a king, and he was used to anything What to do, do it immediately.He ordered the wedding to be held immediately, with a great banquet for the bride and groom.When the banquet was over, he said to the prince:
"Now, you have really become my son, tell me, what spell did you use to complete the tasks I set for you?"

"My noble father-in-law," answered the prince, "I know nothing of spells or spells. But when death threatens me, I always manage to escape death." And he told the king how he had been forced to flee from his stepfather. Yes, how to spare the lives of the three birds, how to meet the two soldiers who tried to slander him out of jealousy.

The king was very happy that his daughter had married a good man.He drove the two soldiers out with a whip, and said that if they dared to show themselves in his kingdom, he would put them to death in the same way as he prepared to kill the prince.

(End of this chapter)