orange fairy book

Chapter 40 Magic Book

Once upon a time there was an old couple, the husband's name was Peter, and the wife's name was Costen. They had only one son, and their name was Hans.Since Hans was a child, his parents told him that on his 16th birthday, he must go out into the outside world alone.So, when the day came, he left home and set off.

It was summer, and he set out one fine morning with nothing but the clothes he was wearing.He walked happily for hours, stopping now and then to drink from the clear spring, or to eat some ripe fruit from the trees, and to greet the animals behind the bushes with a smile.After walking for a while, he met an old man with a white beard, who was walking along the path.The path was very narrow, the young man was not willing to pull over to make way, and the old man did not pull over either. Just like that, they bumped into each other.

"The young should give way to the old," said the old man.

"You can go this way, and so can I." Young Hans said rudely.His parents never taught him manners.

"Yes, that's right," said the old man kindly, "where are you going?"

"I want to go to work." Hans said.

"Then you can come and work for me." The old man replied.

Hans thought, I can work for him, but how much?

"Two pounds a year, there is nothing to do, just clean the room." The old man replied as if he had seen his mind.

It was an easy enough job for Hans, and he agreed to work for the old man, and they set off together.

They passed through a deep valley and entered a large mountain.In a cave, the old man opened a floor, climbed in, walked down the long steps, and told Hans to follow him.When they got to the bottom of the cave, Hans saw many rooms, with many lamps burning in them, and all the rooms were full of beautiful things.

While Hans was looking around, the old man said to him, "Now you know what you're going to do. You're going to keep these rooms clean, and you're going to throw sand on the ground every day. This table will provide you with food incessantly." And drinks, there is your bed. Also, there are many sets of clothes hanging on the wall, you can wear whichever you want, but remember, you must never open this closed door. If you open it, Disaster will befall you. Well, I'm going out again, and I don't know when I'll be back."

As soon as the old man was gone, Hans sat down to eat a good meal, and then went to bed and slept until morning.When he woke up, he almost couldn't remember where he was. After a while, he remembered and went into each room to check the sanitation carefully.

"What a fool to ask me to throw sand on the ground!" he thought, "I would not do such a fool." He closed the door and cleaned and tidied only his own room.After a few days, he felt that even this was unnecessary because no one came to check that he had cleaned the room.Later, he simply did nothing, only curiously guessing what was behind that door, and finally, he decided to uncover the secret.

There was a key on the door, and Hans opened it easily.He started to worry a little, not knowing what the consequences would be, but he went in anyway.The first thing he saw was a pile of bones. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly saw a bookshelf full of books.He thought, this is a good thing to pass the time.Hans liked reading very much since he was a child, so he took out a book from the bookshelf and read it.This is a book about magic, telling you how to transform yourself into various things at will.Wow, what could be more exciting and useful than this kind of magic?He put the book in his pocket, left the room quickly, and ran out of the cave.

Hans learned the magic from the book and went home. When his parents saw him, they asked him what he had done, and where he got such beautiful clothes.

"Oh, I earned it myself," he replied.

"You can't make so much money and buy clothes like this in such a short time," his father said. In my house!"

"I just want to come back to honor you," the son replied unhappily. "Well, since you want to drive me away, I have to go, but please promise me one thing. When you get up tomorrow morning, you will find me at the door. A big dog, don't send him away, take him to the castle, sell him to the duke, and he'll buy him for ten dollars. Just remember to take the leash off and take it home."

On the second day, there was a dog standing at the door of his house.The father was worried about getting into trouble, but his wife Cosden urged him to sell the dog as soon as his son had ordered.So he took the dog to the castle, and sold it to the Duke for ten dollars, and he did not forget to take the dog off the leash, and took it home.When he got home, his wife Cosden was waiting for him at the door.

"Ped, did you sell the dog?" she asked.

"Yes, Cosden. Exactly what my son said, and I'll get back ten dollars," replied Ped.

"Oh, that's good!" said his wife. "Now you'll take your son's word for it. If it weren't for me, you'd have driven the dogs away, and we wouldn't be making any money. Take my word for it! That's right!"

"How wordy!" said her husband. "Women always think they know everything. Stop talking so much and go and collect the money and put it in a safe place."

The next day, Hans came back again.Although the father sold the dog for money as he said, he was still very angry with his son.

"Go away!" he said. "You're going to make trouble for us!"

"Haven't I done enough?" replied Hans. "Tomorrow there will be a fat cow as big as this house. Take it to the palace and you can sell it for a thousand dollars. Just remember Bring back the bridle that binds the ox, and when you come back, don't take the road, but walk through the forest, and that's all."

Sure enough, when the couple woke up the next day, they saw a huge head looking into their room outside the bedroom window, and it turned out to be a big cow.Kos registered his son's words, ecstatic at the thought that it would bring them wealth.

"This is such a big thing, how are you going to tie the rope to its head?" asked his wife Cosden.

"My child, I have a solution, you just wait and see." Her husband replied.Pete took the big ladder, leaned it against the cow's neck, climbed up, and put the rope around the cow's head.When he had fastened the rope, they both set out for the palace, and met the king in the courtyard.

"I heard that the princess is going to get married," Peder said, "so I brought the biggest cow in the world to His Majesty. Would you like to buy it, Your Majesty?"

The king had never seen such a big guy before, and he was very happy to pay 1000 yuan for it at the price of Petra.Of course, Pete didn't forget to take off the reins before leaving.

When Pete was gone, the king called for the butcher, and told him to kill the cow, so that he might entertain the honored guests at the wedding feast.The butcher prepared the butcher knife and was about to start a big fight when the cow suddenly turned into a pigeon and flew away.The butcher was very surprised, but had no choice but to report to the king.

The king found out that he had been cheated by Peide, and immediately sent someone to catch him.But Pete followed his son's orders, and instead of going home by the road, he took the path in the forest, so that the king's soldiers could not find him.After Pei De arrived home safely.Cosden nearly fainted with joy when he saw the money he had brought back.

"Now that we are rich, we must build a bigger house," she cried.

But Peder just shook his head and said, "No, people will gossip and say that we got the money by improper means." Cosden was very angry when Peder refused to agree.

A few days later, Hans came again.

"So far, the money has come fairly well, but I still have doubts about where it came from," his father said. "Get out of here before you get us into trouble."

"Don't worry about it, father," said Hans, "tomorrow you will find a horse at the door of the house. You can ride it to the market and sell it, and you will get 1000 yuan. Just don't forget to take it off after you sell it." reins."

So, the next morning, a horse appeared, such a horse as Cosden had never seen before. "Be careful not to get hurt by it, Pete," she said.

"Stop rambling, old woman," he said impatiently, "I have been dealing with horses since I was a child, and I can ride any horse for dozens of miles." Although he said so, it was not the case, He has never ridden a horse.

Although he doesn't know how to ride a horse, fortunately the horse is quite well-behaved, and Pete rode it to the market safely.He met a person who offered 99 yuan, but he only sold it for 1000 yuan.Later, an old man with a gray beard came. He looked at the horse and agreed to buy it, but as soon as the old man touched the horse, the horse began to neigh and kick, and became very disobedient.

"I've got to take the reins off," said Pete. "My reins don't come with this horse."

"I'll buy your reins for 100 yuan." The old man took out his wallet as he spoke.

"No, I can't sell it," Peder replied.

"500 yuan!"

"No."

"one thousand!"

When Peide heard the price, his will began to waver, thinking that he should not miss such a good opportunity to make money, so he agreed.But at this time the horse became very disobedient, and even Peide couldn't control it, so he simply gave the reins to the old man and asked him to lead the horse by himself. Then, Peide went home with 2000 yuan.

Cosden was of course very happy to see that he had earned a large amount of money again. This time she insisted on buying land and building a new house, and Peide agreed.Soon they had a farm of their own.

Let's talk about the old man who bought a horse.He rode away on his newly bought horse, found a blacksmith's shop, and asked the blacksmith to shoe the horse.The blacksmith was very enthusiastic and suggested that they have a drink and chat first.So they went into the house together, and tied the horse outside by a spring of water.

They talked for a long time, and time passed without knowing it.The blacksmith's little maid was a kind girl, and she brought a pail of water, and gave the horse a drink.Unexpectedly, the horse said to her at this time: "Take off my rein, and I will be saved."

"I dare not," she said, "your master will be angry."

"I promise he won't hurt you," replied the horse, "please save my life!"

The girl listened to what the horse said, took off the rein and let him go.At this time, the old man just walked out of the house, and the horse turned into a pigeon and flew away.

The old man immediately turned into an eagle and flew after the dove.They flew over the forest and the fields, and at last they came to the palace.There were beautiful gardens all around the palace, and the princess was walking with her servants in the garden full of roses, when suddenly the dove turned into a golden ring and landed at her feet.

"Ah, here's a ring!" she exclaimed. "Where did this ring come from?" She picked it up, and put it on her finger.

Seeing this, smart readers should have guessed that, in fact, the dogs, cows, horses, pigeons, and rings were all changed by Hans, and the old man who bought the horse was the one who hired Hans to clean the house.So when the old man wanted to buy a horse, the horse became very dishonest, because Hans knew that the old man had come to catch him.Now that the princess had put the ring on her finger, the old man could not catch Hans.

"It is strange," said the princess, "that the ring fits me so well, as if it were made for me."

Just then, the king came.

"Father, look what I found!" cried the princess.

"That thing isn't worth much, my darling," he said.

"It doesn't matter, as long as I like it." The princess replied.

After a short walk in the garden, the princess returned to her room.When there was no one else in the room, the ring suddenly left her finger and became a man. As soon as someone came in, he immediately changed back into a ring and put it back on the princess's hand.You can imagine how surprised and frightened the princess was at this sight!The ring changed back and forth like this, and changed many times. Suddenly, Hans, who had turned into a human, spoke.

"I'm sorry to scare you," Hans said. "I had to use you as a cover because I made a man very angry. He's going to kill me, and I'm safest with you."

"Then you stay here," said the princess, who was no longer afraid.

So Hans stayed and they became good friends.Of course, Hans only reverts to human form when no one else is present.

Everything was peaceful, but one day, when the two of them were chatting alone, the king suddenly broke into the princess's room, and Hans immediately changed back to the ring, but it was too late, the king had already seen Hans, He was very angry.

"Is that why you reject all kings and princes who propose?" he cried.

Without waiting for an answer, he ordered her to be locked up in his summer house, where she and her lover Hans would starve to death.

That very evening the poor princesses were taken into the summer house, where the servants fed them for three days, and then bricked the door.

After a week or two, the King felt that, in spite of her wicked behavior, a grand funeral should be given to her, and he ordered the door to be opened.

The door opened and the king could hardly believe his eyes!The princess was not in it, nor was Hans, but at his feet there was a big hole just big enough for two people to pass through.

Here's the thing:

When the princess and Hans were imprisoned in the villa, they were desperate, and they lay on the ground waiting to die.Suddenly, a hole appeared in the ground, and they fell into this hole, passing right through the whole earth, and finally rolled to the other side of the earth.What appeared before their eyes was a castle made of pure gold, where they lived happily.Of course, the king didn't know any of these things.

"Is anyone willing to go down and see where this passage leads?" the king turned to his guards and ministers. "Whoever dares to go down, I will reward him well."

No one answered for a long time.The hole is so dark and deep that even if it had a bottom, it would be impossible to see.Finally, a soldier volunteered to go down to have a look. He climbed cautiously into the black hole, fell down immediately, and finally arrived in front of the castle.He met the Princess and Hans, who looked very well, and were not at all hungry or cold.They began to chat, and the soldier told the princess that the king regretted what he had done to her, and thought of her day and night, and longed for her return.

The princess also missed the king very much, so she went home by boat with Hans and the soldiers.They returned to their own country, and Hans, dressed as the monarch of a neighboring country, went to the palace alone.The king was always very hospitable, and he welcomed Hans warmly, and gave him a great feast.That night, as they sat drinking together, Hans said to the king, "I have long admired your Majesty's wisdom, so I have come a long way to seek your advice. There was a man in my country who was buried alive because her daughter fell in love with a peasant. I want to judge this case, how do you think I should punish this cruel father?"

The King, who had lost his daughter, was very sad, and replied, "He must be burned alive, and his ashes scattered throughout the land."

Hans stared at him for a moment, then took off his clothes and returned to his normal self.

"You are the cruel father," said he, "and I am the one who loved your daughter and became the ring on her finger. Be assured that the princess is safe and waiting not far away. Well Now, you have announced the verdict on yourself just now, so you can figure it out."

The king fell on his knees and begged his pardon, and at last Hans and the princess pardoned him.The king gave a wedding and a great feast for his daughter and son-in-law.Let's talk about the old man who was desperate to arrest Hans. He was going to attend the wedding, but on the way to the palace, he was crushed to death by a falling stone.From then on, Hans and the princess lived together peacefully and happily, and after the death of the old king, they ruled the kingdom.

(End of this chapter)