red fairy book

Chapter 18 Princess Roseti (1)
Long, long ago, there was a king and queen who had two beautiful sons and a little daughter.The little girl was so beautiful that everyone who met her could not help liking her.When the princess was christened, the queen sent for the fairies as before, and then invited them to a grand banquet.

When the feast was over, and the fairies were leaving, the queen said, "Don't forget to tell me the fate of Rosty." Rosty was the name of the princess.

But the fairies said they had left the magic book at home, and would tell her about it some other day.

"Ha! I know what it means. You have nothing nice to say, but please don't hide it from me," said the queen.

After discussing for a long time, they said: "Your Highness, we are worried that Roseti will cause great misfortune to her brothers, perhaps death. This is all we have predicted for the princess. We are very sorry that we cannot tell you any good news .”

They were gone, and the queen was very sad.The king saw it and asked her why.

The queen replied that she had sat so close to the fire that all the linen on the reel had been burned.

"That's all?" said the King, taking down a pile of linen that she would not be able to spin in a hundred years.

But the queen was still very sad.The king asked her again, and she said that she had dropped her emerald shoe into the water while walking by the river.

"That's all?" said the King, and he gave orders to all the shoemakers, and soon they brought ten thousand pairs of emerald shoes, but she was still very sad.

The king asked her again, and this time she said that she drank too much porridge and swallowed the wedding ring.

But the wedding ring was with the King, and he said, "I am sure you are lying, your ring is in my pocket."

The Queen was so ashamed to see the King troubled because of her, that she told him what the Fairies had said, and begged him to think what to do.

Now it was the king's turn to grieve, and at last he said, "I see no way of saving our son, except to chop off Rosty's head while she is little."

The queen cried, she would rather cut off her own head.He had no choice but to think of another way. They thought and thought, but they still didn't know what to do.

Later, the queen heard that there lived a hermit in the forest near the castle, and he lived in a hollow tree. Many people came from far away to ask him.So she said, "I'd better ask his advice, maybe he knows what to do."

Early the next morning, she set off on a white mule.The mule wore golden boots, and her two maids followed on beautiful horses.When they got to the forest, they dismounted from their horses. The trees were too thick for the horses to pass through. They went as far as the cave where the hermit lived.

He was not very pleased to see them, for he did not like women, but presently he recognized the Queen, and said:

"You are welcome, Her Royal Highness. What do you come to ask?"

When the queen told him what the fairies had prophesied, and asked what he should do, the hermit replied that the princess must be locked up and never let her out.

The queen thanked him, and went back to the castle to tell the king.He immediately began to build a tower, and then shut up the princess, and the king and queen brought their sons to visit her every day, and amuse her.The eldest prince called her "Great Princess" and the little prince called her "Little Princess". They loved her very much because she was so lovely and beautiful.Her slightest smile is worth a hundred gold coins.

When Roseti was 15 years old, the eldest prince asked the king if it was time for her to get married, and the little prince also asked the queen the same question.

It pleased the king and his wife that they could think of it, but they made no answer.Not long after, both the king and queen fell ill and passed away on the same day.Everyone was sad, Rosty especially, and everywhere the knell was ringing.

They put the eldest prince on a throne of gold, put a diamond diadem on him, and cried, "Long live the King!" Then there was feasting and celebration.

The new king consulted with his brother: "Now we are masters, let us release my sister from that dreary tower."

They walked through the garden and into the tower.The tower stood high up in the corner of the garden, and Rosty was busy with her embroidery. When she saw her brothers, she stood up, took the King by the hand, and said, "Good morning, dear brother. Now you are king, take me Get out of the tower, I'm tired of waiting." And then she cried.

The king kissed her, and told her to wipe away her tears; they had come to get her out of the tower, and they were going to take her to the beautiful castle.Then they showed her the sack of plums they had brought her, and said, "Come on, let us leave this ugly castle, and the king will arrange a grand wedding for you."

Rosty was too amazed to speak a word when she saw the beautiful garden full of flowers and fruits, green grass, and shining fountain.She had never seen these things.She looked around and collected fruits and flowers. Her little dog was covered with emerald green hair except for one ear. It was jumping and whining in front of her, and the posture of turning around was very elegant and charming. .

Everyone was amused by the jump, but after a while, it suddenly disappeared into the woods.The princess ran after it, and with great joy she saw a peacock spread its tail in the sun.Roseti thought it was so beautiful, and stared at it intently, and the King and Prince followed her, and asked her what fascinated her so much.She showed them the peacock and asked them what it was.They say it's an edible bird.

"What?" said the princess, "killing and eating such a beautiful bird? I declare that I will marry no one except the peacock king. When I become queen, I will take good care of my subjects and not let them People eat them!"

The king was astonished.He said, "But sister, where shall we find the Peacock King?"

"Oh, look for it wherever you like," she replied, "I'm not marrying anyone else anyway."

They took Rosty back to the castle, and the peacock followed her, walking on the terrace outside her window, so that she could see him from time to time.Then the ladies of the court came to see the princess and brought her many beautiful presents:

Clothes, ribbons, sweets, diamonds, pearls, dolls, embroidered shoes, she was well-bred and kept saying, "Thank you!" She was beautiful and elegant, and people loved her.

At this time, the king and the prince were thinking about how to find the Peacock King, and whether there is such a person in the world.First they drew the portrait of the princess, and it was so lifelike that no one would be surprised if the person in the picture spoke.

Then they said to the princess: "Since you only want to marry the Peacock King, we will go out and look for it, and we will be very happy if we find it. Take care to manage this country while we are away."

Roseti thanked them for their efforts on her behalf and agreed to look after the kingdom.When they left, she watched the peacock and made the puppy dance and play.

They set off and asked everyone they met, "Do you know the Peacock King?"

But no one knows.

And they walked, and walked, and walked very far, and at last they came to the country of the beetles.They had never seen so many scarabs before, and there was such a great humming that the Prince suspected that he was going deaf.He asked one of the most noble-looking scarabs where they could find the Peacock King.

"Your Majesty," replied the scarab, "his country is thirty thousand countries away from here, and there is still a long way to go."

"How do you know?" asked the king.

"Oh! We know you too, and we spend two or three months in your garden every year," said the Scarab.

The king, the prince, and the beetle made good friends, and they walked arm in arm, and ate together, and the beetle showed them this strange country.Even a small green leaf is worth a gold coin here.

Then, they went on the road again, this time, because they knew the way, they didn't spend too much time.Their cheers were heard for miles as they saw peacocks perched in every tree.

When they entered the city, they saw that the men and women there were all wearing clothes made of peacock feathers. Apparently people here thought that peacock feathers were the most beautiful.

They met the King in a golden carriage drawn by twelve peacocks and decorated with diamonds.The King and the Prince were very pleased to see that the Peacock King was handsome, with curly golden hair, a fair complexion, and a crown of peacock feathers.

When he saw Rusty's brother, he immediately saw that they were strangers, so he stopped the car and sent someone to call them.After greeting each other, they said: "Your Majesty, we have come from far away to show you a beautiful portrait." Then they opened the bag and took out the portrait of the princess.

The king looked at it quietly for a long time, and finally said: "I can't believe that there is such a beautiful princess in this world."

"To tell you the truth, she is a hundred times more beautiful in person than in her picture," said her brothers.

"You must be kidding me," said the Peacock King.

"My lord," said the prince, "my brother is a king like you. I am a prince. Here is a portrait of our sister, Princess Rusty. We have come to ask you, would you marry her? She is a good Girl, as she is a pretty girl. Her dowry is eight gallons of gold."

"Oh, I would love it!" said the Peacock King. "I will make her happy, and she shall have all she wants, and I will spoil her. But if she is not so pretty, I will cut off your heads!" "

"Oh, of course! We agree." The two brothers said in unison.

"Okay, you stay in prison first, and let you out when the princess comes." The Peacock King said.

The brothers believed that their sister was much more beautiful than the portrait, so they went without complaint.The king was kind to them, and came to see them often, and they were not bored.

The Peacock King took the portrait of Rosty to the palace and stared at the portrait every day without doing anything.

The king and the prince were in prison, and a letter was sent to the princess, telling her to come to them with jewels, and the peacock king was waiting to marry her.But they didn't tell her they were in jail, for fear of worrying her.

After receiving the letter, Rosty happily ran to tell everyone that the Peacock King had found her and he was willing to marry her.

Fire the gun and set off the fireworks.Give people as much cake and candy as they want.For three consecutive days, everyone who came to see the princess was given a piece of bread with jam, a nightingale egg, and rum.

After entertaining her friends, she gave them all her dolls, and handed over the country to the wisest old men in the city, and let them handle everything without spending money, leaving it until her brother came back Handle, then, and don't forget to feed her peacocks.Then, she set off, taking her nanny, the nanny's daughter, and the puppy Hop.

They went by boat with eight gallons of gold, and so many clothes that if she wore two a day they would last her ten years.Along the way, they sang and laughed.

The nanny asked the captain: "Can you take us to the Peacock Kingdom?"

He replied, "Oh, no, no!"

She added: "You have to take us there."

He replied, "Soon, almost there."

The nanny said, "Can you take us?"

He said, "Yes, yes."

She whispered in his ear: "Do you want to get rich?"

He said, "Of course."

"I'll tell you how to get rich," she said.

"That's what I want to know most," he said.

The nurse said, "Okay. Tonight, when the princess is asleep, you help me throw her into the sea. She drowned, and I put my daughter in her clothes, and we took her to the Peacock King, who Would be happy to marry her.

Your reward will be a boatload of diamonds. "

The captain was surprised and said: "It's a pity to drown such a beautiful princess!"

(End of this chapter)