blue fairy tale book

Chapter 18 The Clever Maid (1)
Once upon a time there was a king who had many sons, I can't remember how many he had.The youngest one never wants to stay at home honestly, but always wants to wander around the world and try his luck.The little prince pestered his father for a long time, and was finally allowed to leave the palace.After traveling for several days, he came to a giant's house and decided to be the giant's servant.In the morning, the giant had to go out to herd the goats, so when he left the house he asked the prince to clean the stables. "After you finish this," the giant continued, "you don't need to do anything else today, because you have met a good master. But you must thoroughly complete the tasks I gave you, and in any case you must not get out of yesterday's work." The room where you sleep late, go to another room. Otherwise, I will kill you!"

"This is not easy to handle? He is such an easy master!" the prince said to himself.Then he walked up and down the room humming, thinking he had plenty of time to clean the stables. "But it would be interesting to take a peek at the giant's other rooms," thought the prince. "He must have something to fear from what I saw, and that's why he didn't let me in." So he did go into the first room. Room.A cauldron hung on the wall, boiling in it.

But the prince could not see the flames below. "I think there must be something in it." Thinking, he dipped a lock of hair into it, and it turned out that the hair was as yellow as copper plating. "This is really a good soup. If anyone tastes it, his throat will be plated yellow," thought the young Prince.Then he came to the second room.There was also a large cauldron hanging on the wall, with bubbles bubbling inside, but still no flames could be seen under the cauldron.

"Try this again and see how it goes," the prince said to himself, and tucked in another lock of hair.As a result, the hair turned silver. "This kind of expensive soup has never been served even in the palace of my father!" said the prince. "After all, different soups have different tastes." Then he went into the third room.

There was still a large cauldron hanging on the wall, boiling in it, exactly as in the two previous rooms.

Of course the prince was happy to try again.So he dipped another lock of hair into the pot, and this time it shone like gold. "Some people say the situation is going to get worse. Isn't it getting better? If he is cooking golden soup here, what will he be cooking in the other room?" He decided to go to the fourth room Go find out.There were no cauldrons hanging on the wall, only a bench, as if a princess was sitting on it.Never mind who she was, for she was so beautiful that the Prince had never seen anyone more beautiful than her in all his life.

"Oh! God! Please tell me, what are you doing here?" asked the girl on the bench.

"I am the new servant who came here yesterday," replied the prince.

"If you hadn't come here, you'd have found something better," she went on.

"Oh! I think the master is very nice." The prince replied, "Today he didn't ask me to do any hard work, but just asked me to clean the stables."

"Yes, but how can you clean it well?" She continued, "If you clean it as usual, every time you clean it, there will be ten times more rotten grass. But I will teach you how Sweeping. You have to turn the rake upside down and sweep with the handle, and all the rotten grass will fly away by itself."

"Very well, I will do as you say," said the Prince, and sat beside her all day long.Soon they decided to get married - a prince and princess.And so the first day seemed to pass quickly for him.As night fell, she advised him that he had better clean the stable before the Giant drove home.

He came to the stable, determined to test whether what she had said was true.So he first cleaned it with the method he usually saw in his father's stable, but soon had to give up, because it didn't take long for him to even have no place to stand.So he tried the method taught by the princess again, turning the rake upside down and cleaning it with the rake handle.In the blink of an eye, the stables were spotless.After completing his task, he returned to the room where the giant had left, and walked leisurely up and down on the floor humming.

Soon the giant came back with his flock. "Have you cleaned the stable yet?" asked the Giant. "Yes, master. It is clean and tidy now," said the Prince.

"Well, I want to check." After saying that, the giant went to the stable and found that it was exactly what the prince said.

"You must have learned it from my brilliant maid, you couldn't have figured it out yourself!" the giant was angry.

"Smart maid? Who is she? My master." The prince asked with a silly look, "Can I see her?" "Yes, you will soon She is gone," replied the giant.

In the early morning of the next day, the giant was going to drive the goats out again, and he told the prince to bring back the horse that ran to the mountainside today.As long as the prince has done this, he can rest. "Because you have met a good master, you can find the horse." But the giant warned again, "Remember not to go to those rooms I mentioned yesterday, or I will wring your head off." , and he drove the flock out.

"Of course, you are a good master," thought the prince, "but I will go and talk to the clever maid.

Maybe she'll like me more soon. "

So he went to her again.She asked him what he had to do today.

"Oh! I don't think it's any dangerous work," answered the Prince. "I just have to go up to the mountainside and bring back his horse."

"Yes, but how are you going to solve it?" asked the clever maid.

"Oh! I don't think riding a horse is too difficult at home," said the Prince. "I have ridden many steeds before."

"Perhaps. But getting back on his horse is not as easy as you think," warned the clever maid. "But I will teach you how to do it. When you get close to it, fire will shoot out of its nostrils like torches. You must be very careful, and take the bridle that hangs on the door over there. Use it Grip the horse's jaws. Then it will be docile as you please." The prince said he would take her words to heart.Then he spent the whole day with the brilliant maid, talking and talking, but everything seemed to be about how glad and happy they should be to be married.

Taking the bridle on the hook, he strode hastily up the hillside, and soon found the horse that was shooting flames forward from its nostrils.The young man carefully saw the opportunity, and just as it opened its mouth and rushed towards him, he put the bridle on its jaws.Litma immediately stood there quietly like a docile lamb.

The Prince led the horse back to the stable with ease, and then went back to his room, humming a song.

In the evening the giant returned home. "Have you brought my horse back from the mountainside yet?" he asked. "Of course, my lord. He is a very interesting horse. I tied him in the stable when I rode all the way back," answered the Prince.

"I'll go back and check," said the Giant, and went to the stable, and the horse was there just as the Prince had said it would be. "You must have said something to my clever maid, or you would never have figured it out yourself," said the giant again.

"My lord, yesterday you spoke of this brilliant maid, and today you speak of her again. Ah! God bless you. Will you not take me to see her? I think it will be very interesting. ’ the prince replied pretending to be stupid again.

"Oh! You'll be home to her soon," said the Giant.

In the early morning of the third day, the giant went to the woods again to herd the goats. "Today you have to go underground and help me get the money back."

He said to the Prince, "After this is done you may rest for the rest of the time. You will find what a master you have to deal with."

After speaking, he set off.

"Yes, though you are an easy master, you have given me a hard job," thought the prince, "but with a good maid it is easy. You say she is yours." , but she can teach me everything to do." So he came to her room again.Sure enough, the clever maid asked again what the giant asked him to do today.He told her about going underground to collect money.

"Then what are you going to do?" Gao Ming's maid asked.

"Oh! Teach me how to do it!" said the prince, "for I have never been underground, and I don't even know the way. And even if I did, I don't know how much I should be charged." !"

"Oh! well. I'll tell you what to do now. You must find a rock under the ridge, take a stick from there, and beat the stone wall with it," said the wise maid, "and then there will be A spark-spraying man comes out, and then you tell him the giant's orders. Then he'll ask you how much you want, and you say 'as much as I can carry'."

"Okay, I'll take your words to heart," he said.Then he sat all day with the clever maid.He would have been glad to stay with her till almost dark, if the clever maid had not reminded him that it was time to get the money back before the Giant came home.

So he set out on his way, and, as the clever maid had told him, he came to the stone wall, picked up the stick, and tapped it on the wall.Sure enough, a person with fire in his eyes and nostrils came out and asked, "What do you want?"

"The Giant sent me here to collect his dues," answered the Prince.

"So how much do you want?" the man asked.

"As much as I can carry," replied the prince.

"Fortunately, you didn't ask for money for a carriage." The man who came out of the rock said, "Okay, follow me."

The prince followed him.There are really too many gold and silver treasures underground, like piles of stones placed in this barren mountain.He carried the big bag with all his strength and left the stone wall.That night the giant came home with his flock, and the prince was already humming in his room as he had done the previous two nights.

"Have you got the money yet?" asked the Giant.

"Yes, my lord," answered the Prince.

"Then where did you put it?" asked the Giant again.

"That bag of gold is on the bench," said the Prince.

"I'll check it out," said the Giant, and came to the bench, and found the bag there, full of gold and silver.When the giant opened the rope, they all fell out.

"You must have spoken to my clever maid!" cried the Giant. "If it is true, I will break your neck."

"The brilliant maid?" said the Prince pretending. "My lord, you spoke of the brilliant maid yesterday, and today you mentioned her again, and it was her the first day. I wish I could see her myself."

"Yes, but not until tomorrow," said the Giant, "and then I will take you to her myself."

"Oh! my lord, thank you very much. I hope you are not mocking me," said the prince.

The next day the giant really took him to see the clever maid. "Kill him now, and cook him in that cauldron you know. Come and tell me when the broth is ready," the Giant commanded her.Then the Giant lay down on the bench and fell asleep, and soon snored like thunder from the mountains.

The clever maid had no choice but to take a knife, cut the prince's little finger, and dripped three drops of blood on a wooden bench.Then I brought in old clothes, rotten heels, and all the rubbish, and put them all in the boiler.Then she filled a chest with gold dust, large salt cubes, and a pitcher that hung over the door, and she took with her a golden apple and two golden roosters.Then she and the prince fled desperately.Soon they came to the sea and boarded the boat.But it is impossible to know where they got the boat.

The Giant woke up from a long sleep, stretching himself on the bench. "Are you ready?" he asked.

"Not yet." The first drop of blood on the wooden bench replied.

So the Giant lay down and slept a long, long time.When he woke up again, he asked:

"Is it all right now?" But this time, like the first time, he didn't look at it a few more times because he was still in a daze.

"Half cooked." Second Drop of Blood replied.The giant thought it was the clever maid who was talking, so he lay down on the bench again and fell asleep.After a long time passed, he woke up again and stretched his waist and asked, "Isn't it alright?"

"It's fine now." Third Drop of Blood replied.The giant sat up and rubbed his eyes, but he couldn't see who was talking to him.So he called out to the clever maid, but there was no answer.

"Ah! Well, she must be lazy somewhere." Thinking, the giant picked up a spoon and went to the cauldron to taste the human broth.Who knows that there is nothing in it except torn clothes, rotten heels and some garbage.And they were all mixed together, and the giant couldn't tell what they were.Seeing all this, he immediately understood what had happened, and was so angry that he didn't know what to do.He quickly chased the prince and the clever maid, the wind whistling behind him.Soon he also came to the sea, but could not cross it. "Alright alright.

I'll figure it out.I just need to call my river god. He said to himself. After the river god was called, he bent down, took two mouthfuls and three mouthfuls, the sea level immediately became much lower, and the giant finally found the prince and the clever maid in the boat. "Now you have to throw out that piece of salt. grain. said the clever maid. So the prince threw salt, and it turned into a mountain that cut off the sea. Of course, the giant couldn't cross it, and the river god couldn't drink up the sea anymore.

"Well, well. I'll figure it out," said the giant.So he called the mountain god and ordered him to drill through the mountains so that the river god could drink up the sea water.But just as the mountain was pierced and the river-god began to drink the sea, the clever maid made the prince pour a drop or two from the pitcher, and the sea was filled again at once.Before the river god drank the sea water, they had already landed safely.They decided to go back to the prince's kingdom, but the prince would not allow the clever maid to go there on foot anyway, because he thought it would be disgraceful for either of them to go back on foot.

"You just wait here for a while, and I will go back to the palace immediately to bring the carriage with seven horses from the father's stable." He said, "It's not far from here, and I don't have to walk a long way, I can't let My fiancée is walking back to the palace."

"Oh! no, don't go. You'll forget me if you get back to the palace. I can imagine that."

(End of this chapter)