yellow-green fairy tale book

Chapter 22 The Green Knight (2)
When the king came to the princess' residence, the princess was waiting anxiously for his return.Seeing her father, she happily ran over and threw herself into his arms.

"Did you see the Green Knight?" she asked.

"I see," replied the king, and he took out the box that the Green Knight had given him before he left. "He told me to give this to you, so that you can recognize him when he comes, so that you won't miss him." He was mistaken for someone else."

The princess was delighted to see the portrait, and said: "He is the man I saw in my dream! Now I feel very happy that it is he, and no one else, who will be my husband."

Not long after, the Green Knight came.He was wearing green armor, with a long green feather on his helmet, and he looked very handsome.The princess loved him even more than before they met.When he saw the princess, he also recognized her as the woman he had often dreamed about in his dreams, so he proposed to her immediately.The princess lowered her head, smiled and said to him:
"We have to keep it a secret from my stepmother until the wedding day," she said, "or she will find a way to sabotage us."

"As you please," replied the knight, "but I will come to see you every day, and I can no longer live without you! I come every morning early and return when it is dark. In this way, The queen won't see me rowing across the lake."

For a long time, the Green Knight came to see the princess every day, and walked with her for hours in the beautiful garden, where they knew the queen would not see them.However, as we all know, no matter how secret things are, there is a danger of exposure.Then, one morning at last, a lady-in-waiting in the palace happened to be walking by the lake early in the morning, and she saw a very handsome young man, dressed in a beautiful green satin suit, walking towards the lake.Little did the Green Knight think that anyone would be watching him, he boarded a small boat docked on the shore and rowed towards the island where the Princess Castle was.On the way back, the maid kept wondering who this knight could be?While combing the Queen's hair, she asked:

"Dear queen, do you know that someone is proposing to the princess?"

"Nonsense!" the queen scolded angrily.She has been worrying about this matter, her daughter is still unmarried, and it seems likely that there will be no hope.She's so bad tempered and stupid, no one would want her.

"It's absolutely true," the maid didn't interrupt, "he was dressed in green, and he was very handsome. Although he didn't see me, I saw him get on a boat with my own eyes. Row up, and the princess is waiting for him at the gate of the castle."

"I've got to find out what's going on here," thought the queen, but she told her maid not to talk about it any more and to go about her business.

The next morning the Queen got up very early and went to the shore of the lake, and hid herself behind a tree.Indeed, a handsome knight in green came, just as the maid said.He got into the boat and rowed to the island, where the princess was waiting for him.The angry queen stayed by the lake all day, and at night the knight came back, jumped ashore, moored the boat, and walked back through the forest.

"I've got her really this time!" thought the Queen. "She won't marry before my lovely daughter. I must think of a way to stop them."

So she took a poisoned nail and nailed it to the oar.As long as the knight took up the oar, his hands would surely be cut by nails.Then she went home smiling, very proud of her cleverness.

The next day, the knight came to see the princess as usual.But as soon as he picked up the oars to row, he felt his hand cut by something sharp.

"Ah!" He cried out, dropping the oar in pain, "what is it that hurts my hand so much?" He looked carefully, only to see a small nail.

"Huh! How strange! It's only been one night, how could there be an extra nail on it?" He thought to himself, "However, although it hurts, the injury is not serious." Yes, this piece It seemed like a trivial matter, and he didn't mention it in front of the princess.

However, when he got home in the evening, he felt so ill that he had to lie down in bed.There was no one to look after him except an old Nan.The poor princess never expected such a disaster to befall him, but she was only worried that some more beautiful maiden might have stolen his heart from her.

She was almost sick from waiting.She was so lonely, and her father, who could have come to comfort her, had gone on a foreign trip.She didn't know how to find out the news of her sweetheart.

A few days passed like this.One day, she sat by the window and wept, feeling very sad.A little bird flew up, and sat on a tree under the window, and began to sing, so sweetly that the Princess stopped crying and listened to it.Soon, she noticed that the bird was trying to get her attention.

"Chacha, chicha! Your sweetheart is sick!" it sang.

"Ah!" exclaimed the princess, "then what shall I do?"

"Chacha, chacha! You are going to your father's palace!"

"What am I going to do there?" she asked.

"Chacha, chacha! There you will see a big snake and nine little snakes."

"Ah!" the princess exclaimed tremblingly.Because she is afraid of snakes.But the bird ignored her.

"Put them in a basket, and go to the Green Knight's palace," it said.

"What am I going to do with them there?" she said, flushing with shame, though no one saw her then except the bird.

"Put on the clothes of a cook, and go out there to find work. Chacha! Then make soup out of these snakes, let the knight drink it three times, and he will be cured. Chacha!"

"But how did he get sick?" asked the princess.However, the bird had already flown away.She had no other choice but to set off to find the snakes in her father's palace.She saw a female snake and nine young snakes coiled together, and it was almost impossible to tell which was the snake's head and which was the snake's tail.The princess dared not touch them.However, when the mother snake had crawled out of the nest to bask in the sun, she caught the baby snake and put it in the basket as the little bird told her, and then set out to find the Green Knight's castle.She walked all day, stopping sometimes to pick some wild strawberries, or some bouquet.Though she rested sometimes, she did not lie down to sleep until she reached the castle.At last she saw a castle, and just at that moment she also saw a girl approaching with a flock of geese.

"Hello!" said the princess, "excuse me, is this the Green Knight's castle?"

"Yes, that is," answered the goose-girl, "and the goose I drove was his. But the Green Knight was very ill, and they all said that if he could not be cured in three days, he Will definitely die."

Hearing this news, the princess' face changed drastically, she was as bloodless as a dead person, and the ground seemed to be spinning, she quickly grabbed a nearby tree with her hands so as not to fall.Mmmmmmmmmmmmm, she said to the goose girl after a lot of effort to recover her breath:
"Do you like to wear silk clothes?"

The goose girl's eyes lit up, "Of course, what's the point?"

"Then take off your clothes and give them to me, and I will give you mine," said the princess.

The goose girl could hardly believe her ears.But the princess had already begun to take off her silk dress, and her silk stockings and her pretty red shoes.The goose girl hurriedly took off her coarse skirt and coat.The princess put on the goose-girl's rags, and let down her hair, and went to the kitchen of the palace, and asked for a job for her.

"Do you want a cook?" she asked.

"Yes, that's what we need," replied the cook, who was too busy to ask the new girl many questions.

After a good night's rest, the princess started her work.The other servants were talking about their master, how ill he was, and how sure he would die if he didn't recover within three days.

At this time the princess was immersed in scrubbing the pots and pans, and she remembered the words of the little bird and the snakes.He raised his head and said, "I can make a kind of soup. The effect is very good. No matter who you are, how sick you are, as long as you drink it, you will get better. Since the doctor can't save your master, can you let me try it?" Give it a try?"

At first, they all laughed at her. "What? The best doctor in the kingdom can't cure a knight, but a maid doing rough work in the kitchen can cure it?"

But since all the doctors were helpless, they decided they might as well let her try.The princess happily ran to get the basket of snakes, and used them to make soup.When the soup was ready, she packed some to send to the knight.She ventured into his room, pushing aside the learned doctors who were standing by his bed.The poor knight was so ill that he did not recognize her.Besides, she was wearing tattered clothes and looked dirty, even if he was not sick, he might not think it was her.After he drank the soup, he felt better and was able to sit up.

The next day, after drinking some more soup, he was able to dress himself.

"This is an amazing soup!" said the chef.

On the third day, after drinking the soup, the knight's body fully recovered.

"Who are you?" he asked the girl. "Did your soup save my life?"

"Yes." replied the princess.

"Then choose yourselves! Whatever you want in return," said the knight, "I will grant it to you."

"I want to be your bride!" said the princess.

The knight was amazed at her audacity, and he shook his head.

"I cannot promise you this," he said. "I have sworn to marry the most beautiful princess in the world. Choose another one!"

The princess ran out, took a bath, and changed her clothes.When she returned, the Green Knight recognized her immediately.

You can imagine what a delightful meeting it was!
It was not long before they were married with great pomp.All the knights and dukes and marquises in the kingdom were invited to their wedding.The princess wore a wedding dress that was as bright as the sun. No one had ever seen such a gorgeous scene.Of course the princess' father also came to their wedding.The wicked queen and her daughter were driven out of the kingdom, and no one saw them again, probably eaten by wild beasts in the forest.The bride and groom are so happy that they have long been forgotten.They lived with the old king, and when he died they succeeded him.

(End of this chapter)