Lilac Fairy Book

Chapter 4 Koglasburg (2)
"From what he says, he needs a fowler badly," answered Peronik. "He says the birds have eaten all the grain and fruit in the yard at Fort Koglas."

"How are you going to stop this from happening, my good boy?" asked Corrigan.Peronick showed him the prepared net, saying that no bird could escape.

"That's what I was trying to find out," replied Corrigan. "My apples are eaten up by blackbirds and thrushes. Spread your nets, and if you can catch 'em, I'll let you go." .”

"Fair," Peronick said, jumping off his horse and tying the pony to a tree.Then he tied one end of the net to the trunk of the apple tree, and told Corrigan to hold the other end so he could get the peg out.The little man obeyed Peronik's command, but Peronik suddenly put the noose around the little man's neck, and was caught like a bird he wanted to capture.

The dwarf was very angry, screamed loudly, and tried to untie the rope, but it became tighter and tighter.The flaming sword had been placed on the ground by him, and Peronik was careful to tie the net to the other side of the apple tree, so that he could easily pick the apples and mount the horse without being hindered by the dwarfs.As for the dwarf, he left him to his fate.

After leaving the plain, Peronick and the horse came to a narrow valley, where all kinds of sweet and bright plants grew, and above these flowers, there was a beautiful bright red pansy with a strange expression.This is a flower that can laugh. Anyone who takes a look at it will not be able to help but laugh.When Peronik thought that he had safely arrived at the second test site, his heart couldn't help beating wildly.He calmly looked at the lion walking back and forth in front of the forest, at the lion's mane made of twisting and wriggling poisonous snakes.

The young man took off his hat, and though he was a fool, he knew that the hat held in his hands was more useful than the hat on his head when he met a greater man.Then, after greeting the Lion and his family, he asked himself if he had gone the wrong way to Fort Coglas.

"What are you going to Fort Coglas?" asked the Lion, roaring, baring his sharp teeth.

"My lord," replied Perenik, pretending to be frightened, "I am the servant of a lady who is a friend of the great Roger, and has sent me to deliver some larks for him to make pancakes."

"Larks?" cried the Lion, licking his long beard. "Why, I must have not eaten a lark in a century! Do you have many larks?"

"It's all in this bag," Peronik replied, opening the bag of feathers and glue, and began to sing like a lark.

"Very well," cried the Lion, drooling, "let me see the birds! I want to see if they are fat enough for my master to eat."

"I'd love to do that," replied the Fool, "but as soon as I open the bag, the birds will all fly away."

"Okay, just open a gap so that I can take a look in." The lion came closer and said.

This was exactly what Peronik had hoped for, and he held up the sack, and the Lion opened it carefully, and stuck his head in for a bite of the lark.Feathers and glue held it together, and before it could break free, Peronik tied the top of the bag with a string and tied a knot that no one could untie.Then he quickly picked the laughing flowers, and rode away quickly.

He soon reached the Dragon Lake, and he had to swim across it.The pony was used to all this, and jumped into the water without hesitation, but as soon as the dragon saw Peronik, he swam up from all directions to eat him.

This time, Peronik threw the beads he was carrying into the water, like feeding ducks rye.Once the dragon swallowed the beads, it would die on its belly, so that the fool could reach the other side of the lake.

Now looming before him was the valley guarded by the negro, whom Peronick had seen from afar, with one foot chained to a rock at the entrance, holding a gun in his hand that hit the target and returned to the other side. The iron ball in the master's hand.There are six eyes in his head, which are never closed at the same time, but watch in turn.At this moment, all six eyes are open. Once the black man sees him, he will throw the iron ball.Peronick hid the pony behind a bush and scrambled along a ditch, lurking beside the rock where the Negro was chained.

It was very hot, and after a while, the blacks began to doze off.With his eyes closed, Peronik sang softly.A moment later, the third eye closed again, and Peronick continued singing.The eyelids of the fourth drooped heavily, then the fifth and the sixth.The Negro was completely asleep.

Then the Fool slipped back to the pony on tiptoe, and led the pony on the soft moss, past the Negro into the Valley of Pleasure.This is a wonderful garden, with fruit falling in front of your mouth, wine springs gurgling, and flowers singing softly.Going forward, the table is full of food, and the beauties dancing on the grass invite him to dance together.

Peronik heard the call and unconsciously slowed the pony down.He greedily smelled the scent of delicious food, and raised his head, trying to get a better view of the dancing girl.In a moment he would stop and get lost here, like the others, and then suddenly the golden bowl and the diamond spear would flash through his mind.So he took the whistle out of his pocket, and blew it loudly, trying to drown out the sweet sounds around him, and then ate the rest of the bread and bacon, suppressing his desire for those strange fruits.He kept his eyes on the pony's ears so he wouldn't see the dancing girls.

In this way he came to the end of the garden, where Fort Coglas was in sight, separated only by the river which had only one ford.Will the lady be at the ferry as the old man said?Yes, there she was, in a black satin dress, sitting on a stone, with a face the same color as a Moorish woman.The little fool rode up, took off his hat more politely, and asked her if she would cross the river.

"I'm waiting for you to help me across the river," she replied, "come closer so I can sit behind you."

Peronik did as she was told, and offered her a hand, and she sprang deftly onto the horse's back.

"Do you know how to kill a magician?" asked the lady as they crossed the river.

"I think as a magician, he is immortal, and no one can kill him." Peronik replied.

"Persuade him to eat that apple, and he will die. If that does not work, I will touch him with my hand, for I am the plague god," she answered.

"If I kill him, how can I get the golden bowl and diamond spear hidden in the cellar without the key?" Peronick asked back.

"The flower that laughs will open all doors and dispel all darkness," said the lady.While talking, they came to the opposite bank and walked towards the castle.

There was a tent at the gate of the castle, supported by pillars, and under the tent sat a giant, basking in the sun.As soon as he saw the foal with Peronik and the lady on his back, he raised his head and cried with a voice like thunder:
"Why, it must be the little fool riding my thirteen-month-old pony."

"Greatest magician, you are right," replied Peronik.

"How did you catch it?" asked the Giant.

"I learned the spell that your brother said at the edge of the forest," answered the fool, "and I said—

Pony, running freely and looking for food.

Little horse, run fast until we meet.

And then it came out. "

"So you know my brother?" asked the Giant. "Tell me what he sent you for?"

"Bringing you the two presents he has just received from the Moors," replied Peronik, "the fruit of joy and the daughter of obedience. Eat this apple, and you will want nothing else, you If I let this woman be my servant, I won't want another maid."

"Well, give me the apple and dismount the woman," replied Roger.The fool obeyed, and the giant staggered as soon as he took a bite of the apple, and fell dead when the long yellow fingers of the plague god touched him.

Peronik left the magician where he was, and walked into the palace with the laughing flower.He opened fifty doors, and at last he came to a long flight of steps that seemed to lead to the center of the earth.Descending the steps, he came to a door that was neither bar nor locked.He held up the laughing flower, and slowly the door opened, revealing a deep cave, illuminated as day by the golden bowl and the diamond spear.The fool rushed forward, hung the golden bowl around his neck by the chain on the bowl, and grabbed the spear with his hands.No sooner had he done this than the ground shook under his feet, and with a terrible rumble the palace disappeared, and Peronik found himself standing on the edge of the grazing forest.

As night fell, Peronick did not think of going back to the farmhouse, but set foot on the road leading to the palace of the Duke of Brittany.As he passed through the town of Winners, he entered a tailor's shop, and with a handful of gold coins he had picked up in the corridors of Fort Coglas, bought a handsome brown velvet suit and a white horse.In this way he made his way towards Nantes, the city which was then under siege by the French.

Not far from the city, Peronik stopped and looked around. For miles around, everything was bare. It turned out that the enemy had cut down every tree and every crop.Even though Peronik is a fool, he also understands that the people in the city are starving.While he was looking around in horror, a trumpeter appeared on the wall, and after blowing a trumpet, announced that whoever could drive the French away, the duke would make him his heir.

The trumpeter blew his horn on all four walls, and when he blew the last time Peronik rode as close as he could and responded.

"You don't have to blow anymore," he said, "I will defeat the enemy and liberate the city." He turned to a soldier who was rushing towards him brandishing a knife, and stabbed him with the magic diamond spear, and the soldier fell instantly. die.The soldiers who followed were shocked and did not dare to move.Their warrior's armor had never been pierced before, they were sure, but he died as if shot through the heart.They hadn't woken up from the shock yet, only to hear Peronik yell:
"You have all seen what happened to my enemies, now let's see what I can do for my friends." He bent down and touched the golden bowl to the soldier's mouth, only to see the soldier sitting there vigorously as usual. up.Then he rode his horse across the ditch, found the gate open, and let him in, so he entered the gate.

Such a miracle soon spread throughout the city, and the spirit of the garrison was lifted, and they declared that they were willing to fight under the command of this strange young man.The Golden Bowl brought the Bretons back from the dead, and Peronick raised an army and drove the French back, fulfilling his promise to liberate the city.

As for the golden bowl and the diamond lance, no one knows where, and some say the wizard of Briac has stolen them again, and that anyone who wants to have them must look for them like Peronik.

(End of this chapter)