yellow-green fairy tale book

Chapter 33 The Snake Prince

Once upon a time, in a city lived a lonely old woman who was very poor.One day, she found that there was only a pinch of flour left in her house.She had no money at all to buy any more flour, and had no hope of earning any more money.She took the little copper pot, and walked very sadly to the river, ready to take a bath, and then bring back some water, and wanted to use the remaining flour to make a hard pancake for eating.As for what will happen in the future, she doesn't know.

Before going down to the river to take a bath, she put the little copper pot on the bank of the river and covered it with a cloth so as not to get the inside of the pot dirty.When she got back to the shore and took the cloth away to fill the jar with water, she saw a gleaming and venomous snake coiled in the jar.She quickly covered the mouth of the jar with a cloth to prevent it from getting away.Then say to yourself:
"Ah! Now I can die well! I will take you home and pour you out again. You will bite me, and I will die like this. At that time, all my troubles will be over."

With such a terrible thought, the poor old woman clutched the cloth over the mouth of the jar, and hurried home.When she got home, she shut all the doors and windows, then removed the cloth, and turned the jars over the hearth-stone.To her surprise, she found that what she had poured out was not the venomous viper, but a very ornate, clanking necklace with sparkling jewels.

She was stunned, for a while, her mind was almost blank, unable to speak, just stood there stupidly staring.Afterwards she picked up the necklace with trembling hands, wrapped it in her veil, and hurried to the king's public anteroom.

"See the king!" she said, "see the king alone!" Her request was granted.When she saw herself and the king in the audience room, she fell at the king's feet and tremblingly took out the veil, and a gorgeous and dazzling necklace fell from it.When the king saw the necklace, he was both surprised and delighted. The more he looked at it, the more he wanted it, and he wished he could have it for himself immediately.So, he gave the old woman 500 silver coins and stuffed the necklace into his pocket.The old woman went away full of joy, because the king gave her enough money for the rest of her life.

As soon as the king dealt with the state affairs, he hurried back to the harem to show the necklace to the queen.When the queen saw it, she liked it as much as the king, even more so.When they had admired the extraordinary beauty of the necklace, they locked it into the great chest in which the queen kept her jewels.The key to this chest, the king always hangs around his neck.

Not long after this, the king of the neighboring country sent a message saying that they had given birth to a very lovely daughter, and invited the princes of the neighboring countries to a feast of celebration.The queen said to her husband that they must of course come to the feast, and that she would put on the necklace he had given her.The preparation time was very short, and the king did not open the box until the last moment when he was about to leave, ready to take out the necklace that the queen was going to wear.However, he couldn't even see a necklace. In the place where the necklace was placed, there was only a fat little baby boy lying there crying.The king was so taken aback that he nearly fell backward.But at once he cried out, calling out to his wife.She hurried over, thinking that the necklace must have been stolen.

"Look here! Look!" cried the king, "we have always wanted a son, and now God has sent us one!"

"What are you talking about?" said the Queen. "Are you mad?"

"Crazy? No! I don't think I'm crazy," cried the King, dancing excitedly around the opened chest. "Come here! Behold! See what has become of the necklace!"

At that moment the baby also made a loud noise of joy, as if he too wanted to get up and dance with the King.Only then did the queen cry out in surprise, and ran over to look inside the box.

"Ah!" she looked at the baby, breathless with excitement, "what a lovely child! Where would he come from?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell," said the king, "I only know that we locked a necklace in this chest, and when I opened it just now, the necklace was gone, and inside was a baby like any other I've ever seen. Healthy and beautiful as a baby!"

By this time, the queen had already held the baby in her arms. "Ah! a blessed child!" she said, "more precious to a queen than any fine necklace! Write..." she went on, "to our neighbors , saying that we can't go to their banquet, we will have a banquet ourselves, and we have our own children. Ah! What a happy day!"

Therefore, the visit plan was cancelled.Bells, cannon salutes and trumpets sounded throughout the city to celebrate the prince's birth.The subjects of the whole country, old and young, have not had much rest for a whole week. The sound of bells, drums, trumpets, and firecrackers, festive banquets are set up, and happy dances are performed.

Years passed, and as the king's son and the neighboring king's daughter grew up, both kings agreed to marry them as soon as they came of age.The ministers of the two countries used their brains, pondered over and over again, and finally reached an agreement, signed a formal marriage contract, and signed and stamped on black and white.Everything is ready, just waiting to be put into practice.Time also passed quickly, the prince and princess were full, and the two kings agreed that it was time for a wedding.The prince came to the neighboring country to meet the bride, and there they were happily married.

Now, there is something I must tell you.The old woman who sold the necklace to the king was later invited by the king to the palace to take care of the prince and be his nanny.Although she was very dedicated and a devoted nanny, she could not help but gossip sometimes, and gradually there were rumors that the birth of the prince was a bit strange.Of course, these rumors will also reach the ears of the princess' parents.The princess was going to be the prince's wife, and her queen mother, like most curious people, said to her daughter the night before her wedding:

"Remember, the first thing you have to do is to find out the secret of the prince's birth. To this end, whatever he says to you, you don't answer; until he asks why you don't speak, then you ask him , What is the legend about his mysterious birth? If he won't tell you, don't talk to him until he says yes."

The princess promised to do as her mother said.

Therefore, after they were married, when the prince spoke to his bride, she always ignored her.Even when it came to her natal family, she kept silent.He couldn't figure out what was going on.Later, when he asked her why she kept silent, she said:

"Tell me the secret of your life experience."

The prince was very sad and very unhappy.Although the princess urged him very strongly, he would not tell her, but always answered:
"If I tell you, you'll regret not asking me."

For several months they lived together, but life was not as happy for each other as it should be.

Because that secret was still a secret, and it was between the two of them, like a dark cloud between the sun and the earth, making the sky that should have been clear dark and gloomy.

Finally, the prince couldn't take it anymore, and finally one day he said to his wife: "If you still want to know that secret so much, then I will tell you my secret in the middle of the night, but you will regret it for the rest of your life." At this time, the princess was very happy, because she succeeded, and she didn't think about his warning at all.

That evening, just before midnight, the prince ordered the horses to be ready for him and the princess.

He helped the princess onto the horse, and mounted the other horse himself.Together they came to the river where the old woman had seen the snake in the copper pot.The prince reined in the reins and asked the princess sadly, "Do you still insist that I tell you the secret?" The princess replied, "Yes!" "If I tell you," said the prince, "don't forget, you will I will regret it all my life!" But the princess still said: "Tell me!" "Very well," said the prince, "I am the son of a king of a faraway country, and because of magic, I turned into a snake!"

As soon as the word "snake" came out of the prince's mouth, the man disappeared.The princess heard a rustling, and then saw ripples on the water.In the dim light of the moon, a snake was swimming towards the river, and soon disappeared, leaving her alone.Her heart was beating constantly, waiting for a miracle to happen, waiting for the prince to come back to her.But she waited for nothing, nothing happened, and her husband never came back.Only the wind whines among the treetops on the banks, the nocturnal birds cry, the jackals howl in the distance, and the dark river flows quietly beneath her feet.

The next morning, she was found crying by the river with her hair disheveled.No one could learn from her or anyone else of her husband's fate.According to her wish, they built a small house of black stones by the river, and let her live in it to mourn her husband, leaving only a few servants and soldiers to serve her.

A long time passed, and the princess still lived there to mourn her husband.She saw no one, she was going nowhere but the house by the river and the surrounding gardens.When she awoke one morning, she saw a trace of fresh dirt on the carpet.She called for the soldiers who were on guard outside day and night, and asked them if anyone had come in while she was sleeping.They say no one will ever get in.They are so guarded that even a bird can't escape their eyes.However, none of them could explain how the dirt marks came about.The next morning, the princess saw fresh traces of wet dirt.She questioned each one very carefully, but no one could tell how these traces of dirt had come from.On the third night, the princess decided that she would stay in bed tonight, and she wanted to see for herself.Fearing she would fall asleep, she cut a gash in her finger with a knife and sprinkled salt on it so that the pain would keep her awake all night.So, she kept waking up there.In the middle of the night, she saw a snake crawling on the ground with some mud from the river in its mouth.He raised his head as he approached the bed, resting his muddy head on the sheet.The princess was very frightened, but trying to control her fear, she asked aloud:
"Who are you? What are you doing here?"

The snake replied:

"I am the prince, your husband. I come to see you."

The princess began to cry, and the snake continued:

"Oh! Didn't I tell you that if I told you my secret, you would regret it? Did you regret it?"

"Yes, I am so sorry!" cried the poor princess, "I am so sorry, and I shall be so sorry all my life! Is there nothing I can do?"

The snake replied:

"Yes, there is one thing, if you dare to do it."

"Tell me quickly," said the princess, "I will do anything!"

"Well," replied the snake, "on a certain night, you put a large bowl of milk and sugar in the four corners of the room. All the snakes in the river will come to drink the milk, and the one who crawls ahead to lead the way is Stop her at the door, Queen of the Snake, and say to her, 'Ah! Queen of the Snake, Queen of the Snake! Give me back my husband!' Maybe she will give me back to you. But if you are afraid, don't dare Block her, and you will never see me again." After saying that, the snake crawled away.

At that night, the princess prepared four big bowls of milk and sugar, put them in every corner of the room, and then stood at the door and waited.At midnight there was a loud hissing and rustling sound from the direction of the river.Then, the ground also seemed to wriggle, and there were scary snakes everywhere, they meandered and crawled towards the princess's room, their eyes were shining with green light, and the snake letters kept spitting in and out.At the head of this frightful procession was a gigantic, scaled, frightening animal.The guards were terrified and ran away without a single one left.But the princess still stood at the door, her face as pale as death.She clasped her hands tightly, afraid that she would cry out or pass out, not doing what she was supposed to do.When the snakes approached the house and saw her blocking the intersection, they raised their creepy heads, swayed from side to side, and stared at her with evil, round and bright eyes, exhaling. Seems to poison the surrounding air.The princess still stood there motionless.When the leading snake was within a few feet of her, she cried, "Ah! Queen of snakes! Queen of snakes! Give me back my husband!"

Now all the hissing and wriggling snakes seemed to be whispering to each other, "Her husband? Her husband?" But the Queen went on, till her head almost touched the Princess's face, Its small eyes seemed to shoot fire.The princess still stood at the door, motionless.Only cried again: "Ah! Queen of the Snake! Queen of the Snake! Give me back my husband!" Then the Queen of the Snake replied, "You will have him tomorrow—tomorrow!"

When the princess heard this, she knew that she had succeeded.She staggered back from the door, fell on the bed, and passed out.That night, as if in a dream, she saw the room full of snakes, jostling and arguing until they had finished four bowls of milk and sugar.Then they leave.The next day, the princess got up very early, took off the mourning clothes she had worn for five years, and put on bright and beautiful clothes.She cleaned and cleaned the room and decorated it with fragrant flower bouquets and garlands as if it was going to be a wedding.At night she lighted up the forest and the garden, and set a table as if for a feast.Thousands of candles were also lit in the room.Then she sat and waited for her husband, wondering what it would be like when he appeared.In the middle of the night, the prince came striding from the river, laughing all the way, but there were tears in his eyes.She ran to meet him and threw herself into his arms, crying and laughing.

In this way, the prince returned home.The next day they both returned to the palace.The old king wept with joy when he saw them.The bell, which had been silent for a long time, rang again, the salute was fired, and the trumpet blew a happy tune again.The sumptuous banquet was set out again, and the cheerful dance started again.

The old woman who had been the prince's nurse was the prince's child's nurse—at least that's what everyone called her.Although she was too old to help them, she loved them.She feels that she is still useful, and she also knows that she is very happy, and so are the prince and princess.Then they became kings and queens, lived to a very old age, and ruled the country for a long, long time.Under their rule, the kingdom was very rich and powerful.

(End of this chapter)