Crimson Fairy Book

Chapter 30 The Golden Mane Horse and the Killer Sword
Many years ago, there was a king and queen who had a son, whom they named Segard.When the little boy was ten years old, his mother died of illness.The king loved his wife so much that he built a magnificent monument in her honor.The king sits in front of the monument every day, mourning his beloved wife.

One morning the King was sitting before the tombstone again, when he saw a well-dressed lady approaching him.

The king asked her name, and she replied that she was Ingeborg.She was curious to see the king here alone.

The king told the lady that he had died and the queen came to mourn at her tomb every day.The lady told the king that her husband had also died recently, and she suggested that the king make friends with her, so that everyone could comfort each other and maybe be relieved.

The king was very much in favor of this suggestion, and he invited the lady to his palace, where they met often, and after a short time they were married.

After the marriage the king regained his former vigor, and he went hunting on horseback as often as before.And Sigard likes his stepmother very much, and he often stays at home with her stepmother.

One night, Ingeborg said to Segard: "Tomorrow your father is going hunting, and you must go with him." But Segard said that he wanted to stay at home, and when the king set out the next day, Segard was unwilling. follow him.Although the stepmother was very angry, Sigard did not listen.In the end, his stepmother told him that he would regret his disobedience, and that in the future, he'd better be more obedient.

After the king's hunting party had left, the stepmother hid Sigard under the bed and told him not to move until she came calling.

Sigard lay still for a long time, thinking that there was no point in lying there all the time, when he felt the floor beneath him shake like an earthquake.He sneaked a look outside, and saw a giantess walking over, the ground was sunk by her stepping on it, right up to her ankles, and was plowed open with her footsteps.

"Good morning, Sister Ingeborg," she called as she entered the house, "is Prince Segard at home?"

"No," said Ingeborg, "he and his father rode into the woods this morning to hunt," she said, moving the table for her sister and bringing her something to eat.When she had finished eating, the giantess said, "Thank you, sister, for the good meal—the best mutton, and the best beer. But is it true that Prince Sigard is not at home?"

Ingeborg said "not here" again, so the giantess bid her farewell and left.When she was gone, Ingeborg called Segard to come out.

The king came home in the evening, but the queen told him nothing.The next morning, she begged Segard to go hunting with her father.Sigard declined as before, saying he would rather stay at home.

So the king went again alone.This time, Ingeborg hid Segard under the table and scolded him for disobeying his orders.He had just been lying still for a while, when suddenly the floor began to shake, and a giantess walked over, and the ground was sunk under her calf by her stepping on it.

When entering the house, the giantess asked like the first giantess: "Sister Ingeborg, is Prince Segard at home?"

"No," replied Ingeborg, "he and his father rode into the forest this morning to hunt." She said, going to the kitchen to prepare the table for her sister.When she had finished eating, the giantess stood up and said, "Thank you for the meal—the best mutton and the best beer. But is it true that Prince Segard is not at home?"

"No, of course not!" Ingeborg replied.So the giantess left.

Seeing that the giantess was gone, Sigard crawled out from under the table. His stepmother told him that he must not stay at home tomorrow, but Sigard said that he did not see any danger and did not intend to go hunting.The next morning, before the king set off, Ingeborg begged Segard to go hunting with his father.But all this was in vain, Sigard was very stubborn, and he would not listen to a word from his stepmother. "Hide me again," he said.So, as soon as the king was gone, Ingeborg hid Segard between the wall and the panelling.Soon, the sound like an earthquake sounded again, and a giantess came, and the ground was sunk below her knees by her trampling.

"Hello, Sister Ingeborg!" she called, as loud as thunder, as she entered the door. "Is Prince Segard at home?"

"Oh, he's not there," Ingeborg answered. "He's gone hunting in the woods. I don't think he'll be back until after dark."

"You are lying!" cried the Giantess.The two quarreled, exhaustedly, and when the quarrel was over, Ingeborg moved the table for her sister and prepared dinner.When she had finished eating, the giantess said, "I have to thank you for this wonderful meal - the best mutton, the best beer, and the drink I haven't had for a long time. But are you really sure that Prince Sigard is not at home?"

"Of course," replied Ingeborg, "I told you that he and his royal father rode into the forest this morning to hunt."

At this, the giantess uttered a terrible roar: "If he is near, he should hear me, and I will cast a spell on him: let him be half burned and half withered. If he does not find me, he will never die." There is no day of rest."

After saying this, she strode away.

Ingeborg stood there dumb as a stone for a long time before he remembered to release Sigard from his hiding place.She was surprised to find that Sigard was really half burnt and half shriveled.

"Now you know the result of your stubbornness," she said, "but we can't miss the opportunity, because your father is coming back soon." Ingeborg hurried into the inner room, opened a box, took out A ball of string and three gold rings.As she gave these to Segard, she said: "You throw this ball of string on the ground, and it will roll all the way to the edge of the cliff, and you will see the giantess looking around on the cliff. She will say to you:

'That's exactly what I want!Prince Sigard is here, and he's my hors d'oeuvres tonight'.You don't have to be afraid of her, though.She will hoist you up on a long boat hook, and you must greet her for me, and give her the smallest ring as a present.She'll be happy about it and ask you to wrestle her.When you are exhausted, she will give you a glass of wine to relieve fatigue, but she does not know that this wine will make you very strong, so you can easily conquer her, and then she will keep you there for the night.The same thing happened with her other two sisters.In any case, you must remember: If my puppy runs to you and touches you with its paws, with tears streaming down its face, then you must go home quickly, because my life is definitely in danger.Well, let's go, don't forget your stepmother. "

Ingeborg threw the ball of string to the ground, and Segard said goodbye to her and left.

That very night, the ball of string came to rest at the foot of a large rock, and Segard looked up, and sure enough, he saw the giantess watching from the top.

"Ah, that's just what I want!" cried the Giantess, when she saw him. "Here comes Prince Segard. He is my drink to-night. Come, my friend, and wrestle with me."

Having said this, she threw down a long hook and hoisted Sigard up the cliff.At first Segard was frightened, but then, remembering what Ingeborg had said, he gave her sister's greeting and the youngest ring.

The giantess was really happy and asked Sigard to wrestle with her.Sigard loved all kinds of competitions, so it was a pleasure to wrestle with her.But he was no match for the giantess after all.The giantess noticed that his strength was growing weak, and gave him a glass of wine to relieve his fatigue.It was a foolish move of hers, for the wine gave Sigard so much power that he easily conquered the giantess.

"You can spend the night here," she said, and Sigard happily agreed.

The next morning, Sigard threw the ball of string on the ground again and let it run, where it stopped at the foot of another cliff.Segard looked up and saw another giantess watching from the top, she was bigger and uglier than the first giantess, and she shouted at Segard: "Ah, that's exactly what I want! Prince Gard is here. He is my appetizer tonight. Come up and wrestle with me." She lost no time in hoisting Sigard up the cliff.

Prince Sigard gave the giantess a greeting from his stepmother and a ring of medium size.The giantess was delighted when she saw the ring, and at once made Sigard wrestle her.

They fell for a long time, and at last Sigard could not hold on.The giantess handed him a glass of wine to relieve his fatigue.After drinking, Sigard was so powerful that he conquered the giantess with one hand.

On the third morning Sigard threw the ball again, and it rolled a long way until it came to rest at the foot of a very high rock, on top of which the ugliest giantess was looking down.

When she had seen it, she cried out, "Ah, this is exactly what I want! Here comes Prince Sigard. I will let him do my work tonight. Come up, my friend, and wrestle with me. ’ She, like her sisters, hung Sigard up the cliff.

Sigard gave the giantess her stepmother's greeting and the largest ring.The giantess was overjoyed at seeing the red gold ring, and asked Sigard to wrestle with her.This time their struggle was long and brutal, and at last, when Sigard was failing, the giantess offered him a glass of wine.After drinking the wine, Sigard was so powerful that in a short while, he threw the giantess to her knees on the ground. "You beat me," she gasped. "Listen, there's a lake not far from here. When you get there, you'll see a little girl playing boats there. You're going to make friends with her, take this little gold Give her the ring. Then you will be stronger than ever, good luck."

After saying goodbye to the giantess, Sigard walked forward until he came to the lake, and he saw a little girl playing with a boat.He went up to her and asked her name.

The girl replied that her name was Helga and she lived nearby.

Sigard gave the girl the little golden ring, and proposed to play games with her.The little girl had no siblings, so she was happy to play with Segard, and they played until dark.

In the evening, Segard wanted to go home with the girl, but the girl refused at first, because her father was a grumpy giant, and her father would find out if a stranger entered their house.

However, Sigard insisted again and again, and the girl finally had to give in.As they approached the gate, the girl put her glove on Segard's head, and he immediately became a piece of wool.The girl hid the wool under her arm and threw it on the bed in her room.

Almost at the same moment her father rushed in, searched every corner, and called out, "This place smells of someone. What did you throw on the bed, Helga?"

"A yarn," answered the girl.

"Oh, I might smell wool." After the old man finished speaking, he stopped asking for trouble.

The next day, when Helga went out to play, she had the wool under her arm.When she reached the lake, she swung her gloves over the wool, and Sigard returned to her original form.

They played together all day, and Segard taught Helga various games, which she had never heard of.On the way home in the evening, Helga said, "Tomorrow we can have a good time, because my father is going to the city, and we can play at home."

As they approached the house, Helga put her mittens on Segard's head again, and he became a piece of yarn again, and the girl carried him safely home.

Early the next morning, Helga's father left for the city.As soon as he was gone, the girl shook her glove on the wool, and Sigard regained his original shape.The girl took him to play around the house, and showed him all the rooms, because her father had left her the key when he left.However, when they visited the last room, Segard discovered that there was another key on the keychain that was not working.He then asked the girl which room the key belonged to.

Helga blushed, but she didn't answer.

"I don't think you mind if I take a look at that room?" Segard saw a heavy iron door, and he begged Helga to open it for him.But Helga said that she didn't dare, even if she opened it, it must be just a small hole, but Sigard said it was okay.

The door was heavy, and it took Helga a long time to open it, and Segard knocked it open impatiently, and walked in.Inside he saw a fine horse with a well-fitted saddle, and on it hung a richly decorated sword with a word engraved on the hilt: "Happiness shall be the man who rides on this horse and wears this sword."

Sigard looked at the horse suspiciously, and was speechless for a long time. Finally, he gasped excitedly and said:

"Oh, let me ride this horse round the house! Just once, and I promise never to have a second."

"Ride this horse around the house!" Helga turned pale with fright at these words. "You want to ride Garfashi! My father will never, ever forgive me if I promise you."

"Riding doesn't hurt a horse," argued Segard. "I must be very careful, you know. When I was at home, I rode all kinds of horses and never fell. Helga, let I'll ride it once!"

"That's all right, if you can come back immediately," said Helga dubiously. "You must hurry, or my father will find out!"

But, contrary to her expectations, Segard didn't go to ride Garfashi, but stood there straight.

"This sword," said he, looking up at it affectionately, "my father was a king, but he never had such a beautiful sword. The jewels in the scabbard are more beautiful than the rubies in my father's crown." !

Does this sword have a name?Some swords have names, you know. "It's called Steelford, and it's a battlefield killer,"

Helga replied, "Garfashi means golden brown hair. If you just want to ride a horse, it doesn't matter if you take a sword or not. If you take a sword, you have to take a stick, a stone, and a sinker."

"These are easy to carry," Segard said, looking at them with disdain, "these are not very good things! Why do you want to keep them?"

"My father said he would rather lose the Galphashes than live without them," said Helga, "because if a rider is chased, he can throw the pendant behind him, and the pendant becomes something that even a bird can't bear." A dense forest that cannot be flown into. If the enemy breaks the magic and passes through the forest, the rider can hit the stone with a stick, and hailstones the size of pigeons will fall from the sky. In this way, the enemy within a radius of twenty miles will not be able to survive.”

Having said that, she agreed that Segard could only ride "once" around the house with those few things in hand.However, after riding around, Sigard did not dismount, but suddenly turned his horse's head and galloped away.

Not long after, Helga's father came back and saw his daughter crying bitterly.He asked his daughter what was the matter, and the daughter told the father exactly what had happened, and the father rushed out after Segard as fast as he could.

When Sigard turned his head, he just saw the giant striding after him, and he hurriedly threw the pendant behind him.

Immediately there was a dense forest between him and the Giant, and the Giant had to go home and get an axe, and cut a way for himself.

When Sigard looked back for the second time, the giant had already chased after him, almost touching Garfashi's tail.

Sigard was startled, and he hastily took a stick out of his saddle and struck the stone.As soon as he knocked, there was a big hailstorm behind him, and the giant was killed on the spot.

Fortunately, Sigard didn't look back when he hit the stone, otherwise, he might have been killed by the hailstone himself.

After the death of the giant, Sigard continued to drive home on horseback. On the way, he suddenly saw his stepmother's puppy running to meet him, with tears streaming down his face.He then hurried forward desperately.When he got home, he saw nine servants dragging Queen Ingiborg into the courtyard outside the palace, where they planned to burn her to death.

Prince Sigard was so angry that he jumped off his horse, sword in hand, and ran to the servants and killed them all.

Then he untied his stepmother, and went with her to the king.

The king fell ill on the bed because of his grief, and he neither wanted to eat nor drink, thinking that his son had been killed by the queen.When he saw the prince, he couldn't believe his eyes, and Sigard told his father the whole story from beginning to end.

Then Prince Sigard rode back to fetch Helga, and the king held the most grand wedding banquet for them, which lasted for three days and three nights.Everyone said that Helga was the most beautiful bride they had ever seen. She lived with the prince for many years, and they were loved by everyone.

(End of this chapter)