green fairy tale book

Chapter 25 King Kojata (1)
Once upon a time there was a king named Kojata, who had a great beard that fell down to his knees.He has been married for three years and has always been very affectionate with his wife.But God did not give him any heirs, which made the king very sad.Once he set out from the capital, intending to inspect his country.In the following year, he traveled to many places in the territory, finally saw everything he needed to see, and then set foot on the way home.One day, the weather was hot and stuffy, and the king ordered his followers to camp in the wild, preparing to take advantage of the cool in the evening.After a while, the king suddenly felt extremely thirsty, but there was no water around him.So he got on his horse and prepared to go to a nearby spring to quench his thirst.It didn't take him long to find a well. The water in the well was as clear as crystal, and it overflowed to the edge of the well, as if it would overflow at any moment.There was also a golden kettle floating on the water.King Kojata immediately reached for the jug, first with his right hand and then with his left.But strangely enough, the damned jug kept out of the king's hand, and kept himself from being caught by him.The king used one hand first, and then two hands... But the kettle was like a small fish. Just when the king thought he was going to catch it, it suddenly jumped from the king's fingers to another place, and then Swirling on the surface of the water, as if mocking the king's incompetence.

"Damn you!" said the King, "I can quench my thirst without you."

As he spoke, the king lay down by the well and drank gulp.He was so thirsty that he drank so greedily that he even soaked his face and beard in the well water, which was as clear as a mirror.When he finally quenched his thirst and was about to stand up, he couldn't lift his head no matter how hard he tried, because someone pulled his beard under the water.

"Who's down there? Let me go!" cried King Kojata.But no one answered, only a ghastly face looking at him from the bottom of the water with eyes as green as emeralds.That strange face opened its bloody mouth wide, and the corners of the mouth grinned from one ear to the other, revealing two rows of cold white teeth.The hands holding the king's beard were not human hands, but the claws of two monsters.Finally, the strange face at the bottom of the well said in a hoarse voice: "Don't waste your efforts in vain, King Kojata. I will let you go only if you promise me one condition. The condition is that you give me something you don't like at all." What you know, this thing, you will naturally find out when you get home."

The king didn't think long about it.He thought, "Is there anything in my palace that I don't know about—it's absurd." Yu said he said at once, "Yes, I promise, you can have it."

"Very well, but if you do not fulfill your promise, it will bring you disaster." Saying that, the pair of claws let go of the king's beard, and the strange face disappeared at the bottom of the well.At last the king pulled his jaw out of the water, shook himself dry like a dog, and then sadly mounted his horse and set off home with his entourage.When they returned to the capital, all the people came out to meet them in the street, cheering with joy, welcoming the king back to court.The queen met him at the gate of the palace, and the prime minister stood beside her, holding a cradle in his hands, in which lay a baby of incomparable beauty.All this made the king suddenly wake up, he groaned in pain, and said to himself: "So this is what I don't know." As he said, tears flowed down his cheeks.The ministers were astonished, but no one dared to ask the king why he was sad.King Kojata kissed the baby tenderly and put him in the cradle before resolving to keep his emotions in check and govern as before.

Although the king's worried appearance cannot escape the eyes of everyone, his secret has become a secret.The poor king of Kojata was always at the little prince's side day and night, always in fear that his son would be taken from him.Fortunately, the days passed and nothing happened.Day after day, year after year, the little prince gradually grew into a handsome boy, and the king finally forgot the strange thing that happened many years ago.

One day the prince was out hunting, and while chasing a wild boar, he got separated from the other hunters.He found himself alone in a dark wood.The trees grew so densely that it was impossible to see far through them.Directly in front of him was a small patch of grass, overgrown with thistles and weeds.In the middle of this meadow, there is a luxuriant linden tree.Suddenly there was a rustling sound from the linden tree, and an unusually old old man climbed out of the tree hole.The old man had green eyes and a green chin, and he said to the prince:
"What a fine day! Prince Milan," said he, "you have kept me waiting for many years. It is time for you to come and see me."

"Who are you?" asked the prince in surprise.

"You will find out in a moment. But for now do as I tell you. Greet your father, King Kojata, for me, and don't forget to remind him of his debts. A man's debt never dies, and the father's debt is paid by the son. .Goodbye! We will meet again."

With that said, the old man disappeared.The prince returned home in astonishment, and told his father what he had seen and heard.

King Kojata said with ashen face: "Alas, my son! At last the time has come for us to part." Then, with a heavy heart, he told the prince what had happened at his birth.

"Don't worry, don't be sad, dear father," said Prince Milan, "things are never as bad as they seem. I've decided to go and pay your debts, and you'll just have to get me a horse. I'll bet you You'll see me back soon."

The king gave him a pair of beautiful horses with golden stirrups and a sword.The queen hung a small crucifix around his neck.After bidding farewell to his parents with tears, the prince embarked on his journey.

He walked straight for two days, and on the third day he came to a lake whose water was smooth as glass, clear as crystal, and silent as a tomb.There are no waves made by the breeze, nor ripples made by fallen leaves.Only thirty ducks with beautiful feathers swam up and down the still lake.Prince Milan found thirty small white clothes on the grass not far from the lake.He dismounted, stole one of them quietly, and hid himself among the reeds by the lake.The ducks didn't notice his move.They sometimes dive into the water, emerge from the water, and sometimes glide between the waves.Finally, they got tired of playing and swam back to the shore one after another.Among them, 29 ducks put on those little white clothes, and they all turned into beautiful girls in an instant.After they put on their clothes, they disappeared. Only the No. 30 ducklings have not landed for a long time.It swam to the shore, uttered a sharp cry, stretched its neck shyly, looked around, and finally got into the water again.Prince Milan was so sorry for the poor duckling that he came out from behind the reeds to see if he could be of any help.As soon as the little duck saw him, it cried out in a human voice: "Oh, dear Prince Milan, for heaven's sake, please return my clothes to me, and I will be very grateful." Putting a small piece of clothing on the shore, he turned and walked back to the reeds.A few seconds later, a beautiful girl in a white robe appeared in front of the prince.She is so beautiful, young and sweet that no words can describe her beauty.She held out her hand to the prince and said:
"Thank you very much for your kindness, Prince Milan. I am the daughter of an evil magician named Hyacinth. My father had thirty daughters, and he was a mighty lord of the underworld, with many castles and possessions. He Wanted you many years ago. However, if you just do what I say, you have nothing to fear. As soon as you see my father, immediately kneel in front of him and crawl towards him on your knees, even if he is angry Don't worry about stomping, cursing, and cursing at you, leave the rest to me. We'd better leave now."

Saying that, the beautiful Hyacinth stomped her feet lightly, and the ground immediately opened a hole, and they both fell into the underground world at the same time.

The Sorcerer's Palace is built from a single hollowed-out ruby.Its rays of light illuminated a hundred miles around in red.Prince Milan happily entered the palace.

The magician sits on a throne with a sparkling crown on his head.He has a pair of monster claws, and his eyes glow green like will-o'-the-wisps.The prince immediately knelt on the ground as soon as he entered the hall.Although the magician stomped his feet loudly, glared at the prince with his green eyes, and cursed the prince so loudly that the whole underworld trembled, the prince kept the hyacinth's advice firmly in mind, and felt no fear at all. In this way, he crawled on his knees in front of the magician's throne.The magician laughed and said, "You fellow, someone must have told you how to make me laugh. In that case, I will no longer be your enemy. Welcome to the underworld! Nevertheless, since you came too late , we must ask you to do three things. You can leave today, but I have something to tell you tomorrow."

Two servants took Prince Milan into a beautiful room, where he boldly lay down on a soft bed, and soon fell asleep.

Early the next morning the magician sent for the prince to be called to him and said, "Let us see what you can do. First, you must build me a palace tonight, with a roof of pure gold and walls of marble." and windows made of crystal. In addition, you must build a beautiful garden around the palace, with fish ponds and artistic waterfalls in it. If you complete all of them, I will give you rich rewards; You're going to lose your head!"

"Oh, you wicked monster!" thought Prince Milan, "you might as well kill me at once." He returned sadly to his room, and complained despondently of his miserable fate, and till evening he was still helpless.It was getting dark at this time, and suddenly a little bee flew to his window. It knocked on the window and said, "Open the window and let me in."

Prince Milan immediately opened the window, and as soon as the bee entered his room, it immediately turned into a beautiful hyacinth.

"Good evening, Prince Milan, why are you so sad?"

"How can I not be sad? Your father threatened to execute me. In my opinion, I have lost my head."

"Then what are you going to do?"

"There's nothing to do. After all, I guess a person can only die once."

"Don't be silly, my dear prince. Be confident, because you won't have to be disappointed. Go to bed! When you wake up tomorrow morning, the palace will be built. Then you must surround it, here Pat, tap there, as if you just built it."

Everything is exactly as she said.At dawn, Prince Milan came out of his room.He found a brand new palace already standing there.No matter from any detail, this palace can be called a perfect work of art.Even magicians marvel at its beauty.He couldn't believe his eyes.

"Very well, you are a fine workman," he said to the prince, "and I can see that you have very dexterous hands. But now I must see if your mind is as good. I have thirty They are all very beautiful princesses. Tomorrow I will line them up in a row. You can only pass through this line three times. On the third time, you must tell me which one is my youngest daughter, Feng. Nobuko. If you don't guess correctly, you will lose your head."

"You made a mistake this time," thought Prince Milan.He went back to the room, sat by the window and said to himself: "You think I can't recognize the beautiful hyacinth! How can it be? It's the easiest thing in the world!"

"This matter is not as simple as you think," the little bee flew in. "If I don't help you, you will never guess it. We thirty sisters look exactly alike, and almost even our father can't understand it." separate us."

"Then what should I do?" Prince Milan asked.

(End of this chapter)