yellow-green fairy tale book

Chapter 34 The Prince and Princess in the Forest (1)
Long, long ago, there was a king of Denmark, he and his queen had only one son, a handsome and smart boy.In that year of the prince, his father, the old king, was seriously ill, and there was no hope of recovery.Because they loved the old king deeply, the queen and prince were very sad.Although they tried their best, the king's health was getting worse day by day.At last, one summer day, when the birds were singing, the old King looked up a long time out of the window, and then fell down--dead.

For several weeks, the Queen could hardly eat or sleep.She grieved so much for the king's death that the prince feared that if the grieving continued, the queen would die too.So the prince asked his mother to go with him to a very beautiful place, which was on the other side of the forest.After a while, the queen finally agreed.The prince was ecstatic when he heard this, and immediately set about arranging everything, preparing to leave early the next morning.

They walked all day on the road, stopping only occasionally to rest their feet.The queen seemed to be in a much better mood now, and began to take a little interest in what she saw.When night fell, they entered the forest.

Here the trees grow too thick for the sunlight to come in, so the forest becomes very dark.Soon they lost their way.They wandered helplessly through the forest, not knowing what to do.

"If we sleep in this dreadful place, the beast will eat us," said the Queen, weary and startled, and wept.

"Cheer up, Mother," said the Prince, "I have a feeling that good fortune is about to befall us." So they turned another corner, and came to a small house.Through the window they saw that the candles in the house were still burning.

"Didn't you see what I just said?" the prince exclaimed happily, "please wait for me here for a while, I will go in and see if I can find something to eat, and by the way, see if I can spend the night here." So the prince hurried ran in.They had brought very little food, and had already eaten it all.At this time, they were very hungry, because people who travel on foot always don't like to bring too many things.

The prince went into the house and looked around. He searched from room to room, but he found no one, and he couldn't find anything to eat. The prince was very disappointed.Finally, just as he was about to leave, he saw a sword and a chain jacket hanging on the wall of the inner room, and a note was pasted below it, which read:

"No matter who it is, as long as they wear this dress and hold this divine sword, they will be free from all dangers."

The prince was so happy that he forgot his hunger.Immediately he put the chaincoat on under his coat, and hid the Excalibur under his cloak, for he did not intend to tell anyone that he had found them.Then he went back to his mother.

At this time, his mother was anxiously waiting for him.

"What on earth have you been doing?" the queen asked the prince angrily. "I thought you were killed by robbers."

"Oh, I was just looking around," explained the Prince, "but I have searched all the rooms and can't find anything to eat."

"I'm afraid this is a den of bandits," said the queen. "Even though we're hungry, we'd better get out of here!"

"No, this is not a den of robbers. But we had better not stay here. Besides, there is no food here, and perhaps we can find another house," said the Prince.

They walked forward for a while, and as expected, they saw another house.Through the window, you can also see the candlelight inside.

"Let's go in!" said the Prince.

"No, no. I'm afraid!" cried the Queen. "We'll be attacked! They'll kill us! This must be a den of bandits! I'm sure."

"Well, if it is, we can't control that much. We haven't eaten for hours, and now I'm as tired as you," said the Prince.

The poor queen was by this time so exhausted that she could hardly stand.Scared as she was, she was almost persuaded.

"Besides, the storm is coming!" said the prince again.At this time, the prince is not afraid of anything, because he has obtained the Excalibur.

So they went into the house, and there was no one there.In the first room there is a table full of food.Although some plates were empty, there were plenty of goodies on the table, and there were drinks.

"Well, it looks really good!" The prince sat down happily, and took some delicious strawberries from the gold plate and ate them, and then some iced lemons. "I've never eaten such delicious food." The prince thought, "This is indeed a den of bandits. Those bandits must have just finished eating and went to patrol the forest to see if anyone could rob."

After the prince and queen ate until they couldn't eat any more, they were exhausted again.Looking around, the prince found a comfortable bed with silk covers in another room.

"Go to bed and sleep for a while, mother," said the prince, "don't be afraid, I will stay by your side. You can rest assured to sleep until dawn." He lay down with the sword in his hand, and kept watch until It was getting brighter.Then the queen awoke, and said she was rested, and could go on.

"I'll go first into the forest, and see if I can find my way," said the Prince. "While I go out, you light a fire and make some coffee. We must have a good breakfast before we go."

So saying, the prince ran into the wood.

After the prince had gone, the queen lit a fire.Then, she wanted to see what was in the other rooms, so she looked one by one.At last she came to a richly furnished room, with beautiful pictures on the walls, light blue curtains, comfortable sofas, and soft yellow cushions.Just as she was looking at these things carefully, suddenly, a secret door on the floor opened.The bandit leader reached out his hand through the door opening, and seized the queen by the ankle.The Queen gave a cry, and nearly fainted with fright, then fell on her knees and begged him for mercy.

"You can forgive me, but you have to promise me two things." The bandit leader said, "First, you must take me back to your country and let me replace your son as king. Second, you must kill me with your own hands." Kill him, lest he take my throne. If you do not agree to these two things, I will kill you at once."

"You want me to kill my own son?" the queen looked at him in horror and gasped.

"You don't have to kill him yourself," said the robber. "When your son comes back, you just lie on your bed and tell him you are sick. And have a dream that in the woods a mile away there grows some very Delicious apples.

If you can pick some and give them to you to eat, your illness will be cured, otherwise, you will die. "

The Queen trembled with terror as she listened.Although she loves her son very much, she is too cowardly.In the end she gave in and agreed to it, but hoped that there would be some way to save his son.As soon as she agreed, she heard footsteps outside the door, and the robber hurriedly hid.

"Well, Mother," cried the Prince, as he went into the house, "I have found my way out of the forest, and we shall go as soon as we have breakfast."

"Well, I am not well, and I am afraid I am sick," said the Queen. "I cannot walk a step, and there is only one thing that can cure me now."

"What is it?" asked the prince.

"I had a dream," answered the Queen in a feeble voice, "that in a grove of the best apples grew a mile away. If I could eat some, I should be well soon. "

"Oh, but the dream is just a dream, and it cannot be taken seriously." The prince continued, "There is a wizard near here. I will go to him and ask him for a spell to heal you."

"My dream is always a dream." The queen shook her head and said, "If I don't eat apples, I will die." The queen didn't understand why the robber asked the prince to go to that forest.But everyone knows that there are wild beasts everywhere, and they will tear anyone who passes there to pieces.

"Very well, I will go," replied the prince, "but I must have some breakfast first, so that I may have the strength to go faster."

"If you don't hurry, you will find me dead when you come back," said the Queen anxiously.

She felt that her son didn't care that much about her.At this time, she felt that she was really sick as she claimed.

The prince set out at once after having breakfast, and soon he was in the woods.Sure enough, it was really full of lions, tigers, bears and wolves.They all rushed towards the prince.But instead of jumping on the prince and tearing him to pieces, they all lay down on the ground and licked the prince's hand with their tongues.The prince soon found an apple tree that had the apples his mother wanted, but the branches were too high for him to reach, and the trunk was too slippery to climb up.

"Oh, it still doesn't work, I can't go up!" He thought silently, "What should I do now?"

Just as he was turning around, Excalibur touched the apple tree by chance, and two apples fell immediately.The prince happily picked up the apple, and when he was about to leave, a puppy emerged from a nearby hill and ran towards him, dragging his clothes and whining.

"Puppy, what's the matter? What do you want to do?" The prince bent down and gently patted the black, furry head of the puppy.

The puppy ran to a hole in the mountain and sat down, looking at the prince as if saying, "Come in with me."

"Alright, I'll go in and see what's inside." The prince thought and walked towards the entrance of the cave.But the hole was so small that he couldn't get in at all.So, he stretched the Excalibur in, and the opening of the hole immediately became larger.

"Haha," the prince laughed, "it's great to have such a sword." He bent down and walked into the cave.

After walking through a long, dark passage, he walked into a room, and at a glance saw a beautiful woman, who was tied to a post by an iron chain.

"What misfortune has brought you here?" asked the prince in amazement.The woman replied: "It's useless to tell you, unless you want to be as unlucky as me."

"I'm not afraid of that. Tell me who you are and why you came here?" the prince said sincerely.

"My story is not long," said the princess with a wry smile. "I am a princess from Arabia. The twelve robbers who lived here wanted to marry me, and there was a fight."

"Shall I save you?" the prince asked.princess said:

"Of course I would. But you can't. First of all, how do you untie this chain that binds me?"

"Oh, it's not difficult at all," said the prince, and drew out his magic sword. As soon as the sword touched the chain, the chain broke, and the princess was free!
"Come," said the prince, taking her by the hand.But she withdrew her hand back.

"No, I dare not," cried the Princess; "if we meet robbers in the passage, they will kill us both."

"They don't think about it!" said the prince, waving the Excalibur in his hand.

"By the way, how long have you been here?" the prince asked again immediately.

"Twenty years, I think," said the Princess, counting on her fingers.

"Twenty years!" exclaimed the prince, "then you'd better close your eyes. You've been here for so long, and if you suddenly see light, your eyes will hurt. So you are the Arabian princess, the Arabian princess." His beauty is famous all over the world, and I am also a prince."

"You saved my life, so don't go back, go to Arabia with me, and I will marry you and be your wife, okay?" the princess asked, "Even if my father and king are still alive now, he has died. You are old, and when he dies, you will be king."

"No," replied the Prince, "I cannot do this—I shall remain in my own country, whether I live or die. But wait another year, and I will go to you and marry you." That's all he had to say of.

Then the princess took a large and heavy ring from her finger, and put it on the prince's hand.The name of the princess and her father and queen are engraved on the ring.The princess told the prince to keep it carefully, and when he saw it, he would remember his promise.

"Unless I die, I will not be parted from it," said the prince. "In another year, as long as I live, I will go to you. I heard that there is a port on the other side of the forest, from where You can go to Arabia by boat. Let's get there!"

Hand in hand, they walked through the forest, and when they came to the port, a ship was about to set sail.The princess bid farewell to the prince and boarded the ship.When she returned to her own country, the whole country was full of joy, and the king and queen were so happy that they thought they would never see her again in this life.The princess told the king and queen what had happened to her, and told them how the prince had saved her from the robbers, and would come to marry her a year later.The king and queen were very happy to hear that.

"Nevertheless," said the king, "I wish I could see him now. A year is too long."

After the princess left, the prince remembered his purpose in coming to the forest, and hurried back to the robber's house.

The bandit leader smelled the apples from afar, for he had a nose like an ogre's, and he said to the queen:

"He's an extraordinary fellow! Unless he has some kind of magic to protect him, he'll be eaten by wild animals as soon as he steps into the forest. If so, we'll have to get rid of his magic. "

"No, he has no magic at all!" said the Queen.At this time, the queen has been deeply fascinated by the robber.

But the robber did not believe her words.

"Let's find a way to get rid of his magic!" said the robber. "When the prince comes in, say hello. Get him something to eat. When he eats, tell him, Say you dreamed that a group of wild beasts were attacking him, and ask him how he managed to escape, and after he speaks, I can easily figure out a way to dispel his magic power."

After a while, the prince came in.

"Are you better, mother!" said the Prince joyfully. "Here is the apple you asked for. You will be well soon. Then we will leave here together."

(End of this chapter)