red fairy book

Chapter 38 The Possessed Canary (1)

1.

Long, long ago, during the reign of Kebnew, there lived a nobleman in Alwassen, the fattest man in all Flanders.He ate four meals a day, slept twelve hours, and the only thing he had to do was shoot birds with a bow and arrow.

Despite all the practice, his marksmanship is still poor.He was fat and heavy, getting fatter every day, and in the end he couldn't even walk, and he pushed a wheelchair out every day. People made fun of him and called him Mr. Bucket.

For Master Barrel, the only thing on his mind is his son.He loves his son very much, even though the two of them are nothing like each other.The young master was as thin as a little cuckoo.

What troubled the master was that all the young ladies in his domain had tried their best, but the young master still didn't say a word to them. He told his father that he didn't want to marry.

Instead of talking to the girls in the evening, he wandered around the woods talking to the moon.No wonder the young girls thought there was something wrong with him, but they liked him all the more for that.Because he was named Yu at birth, the girls called him Eros.

"What's wrong with you?" his father often asked him. "You have everything you want: a good bed, good food, beer. You need a wife to make you fat like a pig, and you can Bring you fertile fields. Get married and you will be happy!"

"It's good to get married!" Yu replied, "but I don't see a girl I like. The girls here are all pink and white. These roses and lilies are annoying me to death."

"God!" Barrel cried, "you want to marry a nigger and give me a grandson who looks like a gorilla and is as dumb as an owl?"

"No such thing! There will always be some girls in the world who are neither pink nor white. In short, let me tell you, I won't get married until I meet a suitable one."

2.

Some days later, the abbot of St. Abbey sent King Alvorson a basket of oranges, writing that this golden fruit, unknown in Flanders, had come directly from a place where the sun always shines. shipped.

That night, Bucket and his son ate the golden fruit for dinner and found it delicious.

Early the next morning, at daybreak, Yu went to the stables to saddle his white horse and dress as if he was going out, when he walked up to Bucket, who was smoking his first pipe of the morning.

"Father," he said gravely, "I have come to say good-bye to you. Last night I dreamed that I was walking in the woods, and the tree was covered with golden fruits. I picked one, and as soon as I peeled it, another came out of it. Lovely princess with golden skin. She is the wife I want and I am going to find her."

King Alvorson dropped his pipe in shock, and then burst out laughing at the thought that his son was going to marry a yellow woman who lived among oranges.

Yu wanted to wait until he finished laughing to say goodbye to him, but his dad laughed endlessly, as if he didn't intend to stop.The young man raised his hand, kissed it tenderly, opened the door, blinked when he reached the landing, and jumped on his horse.He was already a mile away from home, so the bucket stopped smiling.

"Yellow wife! He's mad!" he said. "Quick, quick, bring him back to me!"

The servants got on their horses one after another and chased after the young master.But they didn't know which way he was going, and they chased them all, except the one taken by the young master.They came back by themselves when it was dark, the horses were exhausted and dusty.

3.

When you feel that no one will come after you, lead your horse to a small path, like a cautious man who knows that he still has a long way to go.For weeks he walked along this road, past villages, cities, plains, all the way south, and every day the sun seemed hotter and brighter.

On the last day, when the sun was setting, Yu felt very warm, thinking that he must be almost at the place of his dream.At this time, he was on the edge of a forest, where there was a small thatched cottage, and he stopped in front of the door. An old man with a white beard was sitting on the threshold enjoying the fresh air.He got off his horse and wanted to rest.

"Come on, young friend," said the old man, "my house is not big, but it is not a problem to take in one person."

The traveler enters, and the host places a simple meal before him.When he was full, the old man said:
"If I'm not mistaken, you've come from a long way. Can you tell me where you're going?"

"I tell you, even if I tell you, you will laugh at me." Yu said, "I dreamed of a sunny place full of oranges, and in an orange, I could find a princess, and she would be mine Wife. I'm looking for her."

"What's so funny about that?" asked the old man. "When you're young, madness is wisdom. Go, young man, follow your dreams, and if you don't find the happiness you're looking for, at least you're looking for it, and you've found it."

4.

Early the next morning, the young man set off.

"The wood in your dream is not far from here," said the old man. "It is deep in the forest. You can get there by this road. You will come to a garden surrounded by high walls. In the middle of the garden is a castle. There There lives a monster that won't let anything alive through the door. Behind the castle, there's an orange grove. Walk along the wall and you'll see a heavy iron door, don't try to pry the door, use this to grease the hinges. ’ The old man handed him a small bottle.

"The door will open by itself," he went on. "A big dog guarding the castle will jump at you with its mouth open, and you just throw this cereal cake at him. Then you will see a woman scrubbing the oven and putting this brush Give it to her. Finally, you see a well on the left. Don't forget to lay the barrel rope under the sun. After these things, don't go into the castle, go around to the orange grove. Pick three oranges and return to the gate as soon as possible There, as soon as you go out, leave the forest in the opposite direction."

"Be careful, no matter what happens, don't peel the oranges until you reach the river or the fountain. There is a princess in every orange, and you can choose one to be your wife. Once you decide, follow closely Your bride. Remember, the danger that seems most dreadful is never the one that is really the most dreadful."

5.

I thanked the old man and walked along the path he pointed.In less than an hour, they reached the wall.The wall was high, and he jumped off his horse, tied it up, and soon saw the iron gate.Then he took out the bottle and oiled the hinges, and the door opened by itself, and he saw a castle.The young man walked in bravely.

Suddenly, he heard a ferocious barking, and a dog as tall as a donkey with eyes like marbles rushed forward, baring its fork-like teeth.Wanting to throw the cake to him, the dog immediately bit the cake and let the young man go in quietly.

After walking a few more steps, he saw a big oven with a big red mouth open.A woman as tall as a giant was scrubbing the oven.Wanting to give her a brush, she took it silently.

Then he saw the well, drew out the half-rotten rope, and spread it out in the sun.

At last he went round the castle, came to the orange grove, picked three of the most beautiful oranges, and returned at once to the gate.

Just at this moment, the sun suddenly darkened, and the ground began to tremble, and I heard a voice calling, "Baker, grab his feet and throw him into the oven."

"No!" replied the baker, "I've been wiping this oven with my own hands, and you haven't cared about me for so long, but he gave me a brush, and let him go."

"Rope, rope!" the voice rang again, "Wrap him around his neck and wrap him to death."

"No!" said the rope, "you left me in the wet for so many years that I rotted away. He put me in the sun to dry. Let him go."

"Dog, my dog," the voice called again, growing angrier, "jump up to his throat and bite him to death."

"No!" said the Dog, "I have worked for you for so many years, and you have not given me a piece of bread. He gave me such a big piece of cake. Let him go."

"Iron Gate, Iron Gate." The voice sounded like thunder, "Smash him, crush him to powder!"

"No!" said the door, "you've rusted me for 100 years and he's oiled me. Let him go."

6.

Once out, the young explorer put the orange in his bag and hung it on his saddle.He mounted his horse and galloped out of the forest.

He was so anxious to see the princesses that he looked for the river and the fountain, but he rode for hours without finding them.Now he understood that this was the most difficult task, and the previous adventure was actually easy.

At noon, he arrived at a plain full of wind and sand, and the sun was scorching hot.

He was so thirsty that he took out a gourd to moisten his lips.But the gourd was empty. He was so excited just now that he forgot to fill it.He walked on, fighting back his thirst, but at last he could stand it no longer.

He fell to the ground and lay down beside the horse.His throat seemed to be burning, his chest was rising and falling, his head was booming, he felt that death was approaching him, his eyes fell on the bag, and the orange had rolled out.

Poor Yu, who bravely faced such danger for the girl of his dreams, now he is willing to exchange all the princesses in the world, whether they are yellow or white, for a drop of water.

"Oh!" said he, "if only these oranges were really fruit, like the ones I had in Flanders! But who knows?"

This thought gave him a little vitality, he raised his body, reached into his bag, took out an orange, and cut it open with a knife.

Out came a beautiful yellow canary.He has seen it.

"Give me some water. I'm dying of thirst," said the golden bird.

"Wait a minute," Yu replied, so shocked that he forgot his pain.In order to satisfy the little bird, without thinking, he peeled another orange, and a canary flew out: "I'm dying of thirst, give me some water."

At this moment, the son of the bucket realized that he was doing something stupid, and the two canaries flew away. He exhausted his last strength and passed out.

7.

When he woke up, the surrounding air was fresh.It was already night, the sky was full of stars, and there was a thick layer of mist floating on the ground.

His sanity recovered, he mounted his horse and continued on his way.As a ray of light broke through the darkness, he saw a brook running before him.He stops to drink water.

He barely had the courage to peel the last orange.Then he remembered that he hadn't done what the old man said last night.Perhaps, thirst is just a trick of the witch.But what if the oranges are peeled by the water, and there is still no princess?He took out a knife and peeled the orange.A canary flew out, like those two, and said, "I'm thirsty, give me water."

He was very disappointed, but this time he didn't intend to let the bird fly away. He held water for the bird to drink.

As soon as the bird drank the water, it became a beautiful girl, tall and straight, like a poplar, with black eyes and pale yellow skin.Yu had never seen such a beautiful girl before, and he stared at her happily.

She seemed confused, looking around, not at all afraid of the man in front of her.

He asked her name.She said her name was Squeaky, she was 16 years old, and the witch turned her into a canary and locked her in an orange for ten years.

"Well, then, my pretty Squeak," said the young man, "let us run quickly before the Witch catches me."

But Squeak asks where he wants to take her.

"My father's castle," he said.

He got on the horse, seated her in front of him, hugged her carefully, and began the journey.

(End of this chapter)