green fairy tale book

Chapter 23 The Golden Thrush

Once upon a time there was a great king who had three sons.The king was very ill, and many doctors were called to treat him, including even an orthopedist.But no physician could diagnose what was wrong with the king, nor could he relieve his suffering.At last a foreign doctor came, and he said that only the golden thrush could cure the king.

So the old king sent his eldest son to look for this wonderful bird, and promised him many riches if he found the golden thrush and brought it back.So the young man embarked on a journey to find the golden thrush.Soon he came to a fork in the road, where four roads led in four different directions.He didn't know which way to go, so he threw his hat in the air and decided which way it fell, and he went in that direction.After walking like this for two or three days, he couldn't move anymore, and he didn't know how far or how long he had to go.So he stopped at an inn, which was full of merrymakers.There he asked for something to eat and drink.

"My God!" he said, "it would be foolish to spend any more time catching that bird. Besides, my father is so old that if he dies, I can inherit his property."

In this way, he stayed in the inn to have fun, and never went forward.

After waiting patiently for some time, the old king sent his second son to find the golden thrush.The young man followed the path his brother had taken, and came to the fork in the road.He also decides which way to go by throwing his hat.The hat fell in the same direction, so he followed that road until he came to where his brother had left off.At this time his brother was leaning against the window of the inn, and he told his brother not to go any further, but to stay here and have fun with himself.

"You are right," said the young man. "Perhaps I could search all over the world and not find the golden thrush. If the old man dies, we can divide his property."

He walked into the inn and had fun with his brother.Soon they ran out of money and even owed some money to their landlord.So the landlord took them as hostages and would never let them go until they had paid off their debts.

This time it was the turn of the youngest son of the old king to find the golden thrush.It wasn't long before he arrived at the place where his two older brothers had been held hostage.They told him to stop, and persuaded him not to go any further.

"No," he replied, "my father believes in me, and his life is in my hands. Even if I go to the ends of the earth, I will find the golden thrush."

"Pooh!" said his brothers, "you can't do more successfully than we do. Let him die if he dies. Then we can divide his property."

But the little prince continued on his journey firmly.He met a little hare on the way.The little hare stopped and looked at him, and then asked him:

"Where are you going, my friend?"

"To be honest, I don't know," he replied, "my father is sick and may never recover unless I bring back the golden thrush. I haven't been away long, but no one can tell me Where can I find the golden thrush."

"Ah!" said the little hare, "you've got a long way to go if you're looking for the golden thrush. You'll have to go at least seven hundred miles before you get there."

"How can I walk so far?"

"Come on my back," said Little Hare, "and I'll take you there."

The young man stepped onto the back of the little hare.With every step the little hare jumped, he covered seven miles.Before long, they came to a magnificent castle.

"The golden thrush is in a hut near by," said the little hare, "and you will find it easily. It lives in a small cage, and there is another cage of solid gold beside that cage. Remember, thousand Don't put it in a nice cage, or everyone in the castle will know you stole the golden thrush."

After entering the hut, the young man found that the golden thrush was standing on a wooden pole, stiff and rigid as if dead, motionless.Next to that small cage, stood a beautiful golden cage.

"Maybe if I put him in that pretty cage he'll wake up," he thought.

The golden thrush woke up as soon as it touched the crossbar of the golden cage, and it sang loudly.All the servants in the castle came to see what had happened, and they accused the young man of being a thief, and they must throw him into prison.

"No," he said, "I am not a thief. I want to take the golden thrush because it can cure my father. My father is very ill. I have traveled more than 1000 miles to find the golden thrush."

"Well," they said, "we'll let you go, and even give you the golden thrush if you'll bring us the china girl."

The young man left crying, and after a while he saw the little hare, which was holding a bouquet of thyme, eating with gusto.

"Why are you crying, my friend?" asked the little Hare.

"Because," said he, "the people in the castle won't let me take the gold thrush unless I trade them for the china girl."

"You didn't listen to my advice," said Little Hare, "and you put the golden thrush in a pretty cage."

"Hey! Yes!"

"Don't despair! The china girl is a young maiden, as beautiful as Venus, and she lives two hundred miles from here. Jump on my back, and I'll take you there."

The little hare jumped seven miles away, and in a short while, it stopped by a small lake.It said to the young man: "The porcelain girl will come here to bathe with her friends, but at that time, I am eating thyme to replenish my strength. When she enters the lake, you must hide her clothes, she Your dress is dazzling snow-white. Never give it back to her until she agrees to go with you."

The little hare left him.After a while, the porcelain girl and her friends arrived at the lake.She took off her clothes and entered the water.The young man stole her clothes quietly and hid them under a rock not far away.

Tired of playing in the water, Ci girl swam to the shore to get dressed.Although she looked everywhere for her clothes, she couldn't find them at all.Her friends also helped her look for it, but they couldn't find her, so they left her, leaving Ci girl crying sadly on the bank.

"Why are you crying?" said the young man, approaching her.

"Alas!" she said, "someone stole my clothes while I was bathing in the lake, and my friends left me alone."

"As long as you are willing to come with me, I will help you find clothes."

The porcelain girl agreed to follow him.The young man returned the clothes to the china girl, and bought her a pony.The horse ran as fast as the wind.The little hare took them back to the castle of the golden thrush.When they came to a place not far from the castle, the little hare said to the young man:
"You must be smarter this time than last time. You should bring out both the golden thrush and the china girl. You have the golden cage in one hand, and the old cage in which the golden thrush is in the other."

After speaking, the little hare disappeared.The young man took the golden thrush away according to its words, and the servants in the castle did not find him at all.Then he walked back happily.When he came to the inn where his two brothers were detained, he paid their debts and redeemed them.So they set off together, but his older brothers were very jealous of his younger brother's success. When they passed a lake, they grabbed Jin Thrush while he was not paying attention, and then pushed him into the lake.They felt that the younger brother must have drowned, and then they continued on the road with Miss Ci triumphantly.Fortunately, the young man caught a clump of aquatic plants, and he yelled for help.Hearing the sound, the little hare came and said to him, "Take my leg, and I will pull you up."

When he landed safely, the little hare said to him:
"Now you must do this: first, you dress yourself up as a Breton, then go to your father and get a job as a groom. Then you will have no difficulty in making him discover the truth."

So the young man did so, and went back to his father's castle in disguise, and asked if they wanted a groom.

"Yes," said his father, "it is very necessary. But it is not an easy job. There is a pony in the stable, which he never lets anyone approach, and he has kicked several to death trying to feed. its people."

"I will be responsible for feeding it," said the young man, "I have never seen a horse that can scare me." When the young man brushed it, the pony was really obedient, neither shaking its head nor kicking him .

"My God!" cried the old King, "how did he let you touch him? He never let anyone come near him!"

"Maybe it knows me," replied the little groom.

Two or three days later, the old king said to him, "The china girl is a guest in my castle. Although she is as lovely and beautiful as the morning light, she has such a bad temper that she scratches and scratches no matter who tries to get close to her." Yes. You go try and see if she accepts your service."

When the young man entered the room of the porcelain girl, Jin Thrush suddenly sang happily, and the porcelain girl sang and danced happily.

"My God!" cried the old King, "do the China Girl and the Gold Thrush know you too?"

"Yes," said the young man, "the china girl can tell you the truth if she wants."

Then the china girl told the old king all that had happened, including how she had agreed to go with the young man, and, above all, that he had been the one who had found the golden thrush.

"Yes," added the young man, "I ransomed my brothers while they were being held in an inn. But they retaliated by throwing me into the lake. To prove the truth to you, I had to disguise myself Come back here."

The old king embraced his youngest son warmly, and announced that he would inherit all his property.Then he sentenced his elder and second sons to death for not only deceiving him, but also trying to kill his own brother.Soon after, the young man married the porcelain girl, and they held a grand wedding ceremony.

(End of this chapter)