blue fairy tale book

Chapter 19 The Clever Maid (2)
"How could I forget you? We have gone through so much suffering together and love each other deeply," said the prince.He insisted on driving a seven-horse carriage back to the palace and asked her to wait by the sea.Seeing that the prince was so determined to go, the clever maid was forced to agree. "But when you get back to the palace, you must promise not to greet anyone, go straight to the stables, lead the horse, harness the carriage, and drive back as quickly as possible. People will definitely rush to you when they see you, but you must Pretend not to see them. Remember you must not taste anything under any circumstances, or you will bring misfortune to both of us," she said.The prince nodded in reassurance.

But as soon as he got back to the palace, one of his brothers was going to be married.The bride and all her relatives and friends came to the palace.So they all flocked to the prince, asking this and that, hoping that he would be able to attend the wedding with them.But he pretended not to see them, went straight to the stable, pulled out the horse, and began to harness the carriage.Seeing that he could not be persuaded to attend the wedding, they served good food and wine, and all the best food that could be prepared for a wedding.He refused to touch anything, though, and only wanted to hitch up the wagon as quickly as possible.Unfortunately, when the bride's sister threw him an apple from the yard at last, she said to him: "Since you don't want to eat anything, just have a bite of an apple. After a long journey, you must have Hungry and thirsty." He took the apple and bit into it.Unexpectedly, when the apple reached his mouth, he immediately forgot about the clever maid, and he never thought of driving the carriage to meet her again.

"I think I must be crazy! What am I doing here with the carriage and the horse?" he actually asked.Then he tied the horse back to the stable, and came to the palace, where he had decided to marry the girl who had thrown him the apple.

The poor maid was sitting by the sea, waiting and waiting, but the prince did not come after waiting for a long time.So she went away, and after a short walk she came to a lonely wooden house in a grove near the palace.She walked in and asked if she could stay and live there.The cabin belonged to an old woman, but she was also a violent and vicious giant.At first she didn't want Gao Ming's maid to stay with her at all, but after Gao Ming's maid asked for a long time and paid generous rent, she compromised.But the room was dark and dirty, like a pigsty.So the clever maid decided to clean it up so that the house would look more like a place for people to live in.The old woman doesn't like cleanliness at all, so she stares impolitely; and the clever maid doesn't bother to talk to her.She took the gold out of the box and threw a handful into the fire.Then the golden soup boiled and filled the whole wooden house, so that it was gilded inside and out.But when the golden soup was gurgling and turning the bubbles, the old woman ran away in fright, thinking that some evil thing was coming to catch her.But she forgot to bow her head when she ran out of the threshold, and she smashed her head and died.The next morning, as the judge passed by, he was amazed to see the cabin gleaming among the trees.What surprised him even more was that when he entered the room, he saw a beautiful girl sitting there.He fell in love with her at once, and immediately in the house begged the lovely and beautiful girl to marry him.

"Okay, but do you have a lot of property?" Gao Ming's maid asked.

"Oh! Of course. As far as I know, I'm not too poor," replied the judge, and had to go home to get the money.

In the evening he brought a bag of money and put it on the bench.Yes, as long as he has enough money, the clever maid has said that she will marry him.So they decided to sit down and talk.

Before they sat down together, Gao Ming's maid jumped up again, shouting: "I forgot to check the stove!"

"Why did you hurry to do that?" said the Judge, "I could do it." So he got up, and hurried down the chimney.

"Tell me did you find the shovel?" asked the clever maid.

"Yes, I have found it," replied the judge.

"Then, I hope you hold on to the shovel, and the shovel will stick to you, and the cinders will keep falling on you until dawn," said the clever maid.The judge had to stand there all night, shoveling cinders.But no matter how much he yelled and prayed and begged, the red cinders did not cool down at all.By dawn the next day he seemed too weak to shake off the shovel, and he really didn't want to stay any longer, so he slipped away as fast as he could.Everyone who met him couldn't help staring at him because he was running like crazy and looked as if he had been whipped.So people asked him why, but he was too ashamed to answer.

The next day the lawyer rode past Gao Ming's maid's residence.He, too, noticed little houses in the woods twinkling with light, so he went to see who lived in them.When he entered the room and saw this beautiful girl, he liked her even more than the previous judge, and he immediately proposed to her.The clever maid asked him if he had a large fortune like a judge.The lawyer said that he was not poor and was willing to go home immediately to get the money.In the evening, he also brought a bag of money, more than twice as much as the judge, and put it on the bench beside the clever maid.So she agreed to marry him, and he hurriedly sat beside her to discuss their marriage.Suddenly she mentioned again that she forgot to close the door and had to leave for a while.

"Why did you hurry to do that?" said the lawyer. "Relax and let me go."

So he hurried out of the room.

"Let me know when you find the latch," said the clever maid.

"Found it now," replied the lawyer.

"Then, you can hold on to the door, and the door will hold you, and I hope you'll bounce back and forth between the inside and the outside of the door until daybreak."

Think of what dance the lawyer was dancing that night!He had never danced such a waltz before, and he did not dare to think of doing it again.Now he jumped in and out of the door, and the door swung back and forth, beating the lawyer nearly to death.At first he cursed the wise maid, but later he could only pray for mercy.But the door didn't care about all this, and held him until dawn.

When the door let go of the lawyer, he scrambled away.He didn't dare to settle accounts with Gao Ming's maid at all, and he forgot about the bag of money he brought and his proposal of marriage—he was afraid that the door would keep him from dancing to another song.Everyone who met him couldn't help staring at him as he galloped like a madman.He was as embarrassed as if he had been besieged by a group of angry goats last night.

On the third day, a bailiff passed by there. He also saw the golden house in the grove, and thought he should go up to see who lived in it.When he saw the beautiful and clever maid, he also fell in love with her deeply.He actually forgot to greet her, and immediately opened his mouth to propose to her.

Gao Ming's maid received him as she had greeted the first two, and told him that if he had a lot of property, she would marry him. "As far as I know, I'm not too poor," said the bailiff.So the wise maid asked him to go home immediately and get the money, which he did.When he came back in the evening, he brought with him a purse that was bigger than the lawyer's, at least three times as much as the judge's.He put it on the bench, and sure enough the clever maid promised to marry him.But just as they were about to sit down together, the wise maid said she had left the calf outside, and must now go out and shut it up in the stable.

"No need, why are you in such a hurry to do that?" the bailiff said, "I can go alone." The fat and strong man jumped out like a child.

"Tell me when you catch the ox's tail," said Gao Ming's maid.

"Caught it now!" shouted the bailiff.

"Then, I wish you would catch the ox's tail, and the ox's tail would also entangle you, and drag you wildly around the world until dawn." said the clever maid.So the bailiff had to figure it out on his own.The calf didn't care about him, running in the woods and plains, shuttling between barren hills and valleys.And the louder the bailiff cried, the faster it ran.By dawn the bailiff was dragged half to death, but thankful to be free of the oxtail.He also forgot about the purse he had brought and the proposal, and now he could only move home slowly, much slower than the lawyer.But the slower he walked, the more time people had to stare at him.They seem to be used to this situation, of course, who would have thought that it was the "Dancing with the Cow" the night before that made him so haggard and embarrassed.

The wedding of the prince and his brother will be held in the palace at the same time the next day.The elder brother led his bride, and the prince who had been with the giant led the bride's sister, and they were going to church together.But just as they got into the carriage and were about to set off from the palace, a rivet broke.It doesn't matter if you put in one, two, or three new rivets.No matter what kind of wood they were made of, they were all broken one by one.It went on like this for a long time, and they couldn't leave the palace and go to the church.If this continues, they will be in big trouble.At this time the judge (who was ordered to accompany the wedding) said: "There is a girl living in the woods not far away. If we can borrow her shovel for adding coal to the fire, I think the handle of the shovel will be very useful." So they So an envoy was sent into the wood to ask the pretty girl to lend them the shovel, which she did not refuse, just as the judge had said.They did get a rivet that would not break.

But just as they were about to leave, the bottom of the carriage cracked into pieces.They had to put in a new floor as soon as possible, but no matter how fast it was nailed, or what kind of wood it was made of, it would fall off and break into pieces as soon as it was put on.This situation is worse than a broken rivet.At this time, the lawyer who came to the palace to attend the wedding suggested: "There is a girl living in the woods not far away. If we can borrow half of her door, I think we can solve the problem." So they sent another envoy, Ask the pretty girl to lend them half the door.They got the door just as the lawyer suggested.Unexpectedly, when they decided to go on the road, the horse couldn't pull the carriage anymore.They already had six horses, and then eight and ten and twelve.But the more horses there were, the louder the coachman yelled, as if it didn't work, the carriage stopped motionless.It was getting late, and they had to go to the church, and the people in the palace were in distress.Then the bailiff stood up and said, "There lives a girl in the golden house in the woods. If she will lend us her calf, she can pull a carriage, and even a mountain." He thought it absurd to have an ox to draw the carriage, but had no choice but to send messengers again to ask the pretty girl to lend them the calf for the king's sake.Soon the clever maid asked them to take the calf—this time she still did not refuse.

When they tied up the calf and yelled to see if the wagon would move, it flew quickly over potholes, over mounds of dirt and rocks, and they were too scared to breathe, because sometimes they were running on the ground, and sometimes they were running. is flying in the sky.When we arrived at the church, the carriage started to spin like a big spinning wheel.They had no choice but to get out of the carriage at the risk of going into the church.When they came out of the church, the carriage was still turning rapidly, and many people had no idea how they got back to the palace.

When they were seated round the table, the Prince, who had been the giant's servant, suggested that the girl who had lent them the shovel, the door, and the calf should be invited to the palace. "Because if we didn't have these things, it would be impossible to get from the palace to the church," he explained.

The king also thought this proposal was reasonable, and he sent his best messengers to the golden house, with the king's sincere greetings, and invited her to come to the banquet held at noon.

"Greet His Majesty the King for me, and tell him that if he can come to invite me in person, I will be very happy to visit him." Gao Ming's maid replied.

So the king himself came to invite the clever maid, and she returned to the palace with him at once.Believing that she must be stronger than he imagined, the king seated her next to the youngest bridegroom.Not long after they sat down, the wise maid brought out the cock, the hen, and the golden apples which she had brought from the giant's house, and put them all on the table.Immediately there was a fight between the cock and the hen for the golden apples.

"Oh! Look how these two fellows fight over a golden apple!" cried the Prince.

"That's right, the two of us fought like this in the mountains before." Gao Ming's maid said.

At this time the prince finally knew who she was, and you can even imagine his joy at that time.He ordered four fierce horses to tear the witch who threw the golden apple to pieces.Although they were very tired, they still held a grand wedding under the witness of judges, lawyers and bailiffs.

(End of this chapter)