green fairy tale book

Chapter 37 The Golden Mermaid (1)
Once upon a time there was a mighty empire, and the king of this country had many treasures, the most amazing of which was a tree that grew in his garden.The tree produces beautiful golden apples every year.But the King was not blessed with these precious fruits, for although he took great pains to guard them, they were stolen every time as soon as they were ripe.In desperation, he had to call his three sons, and said to the eldest son and the second son: "You are ready to go out, follow the pomp of a prince, bring more gold and silver coils and entourage, and then travel around the world." Go! Until you find the thief who stole the golden apple. If possible, you must bring the thief back to me so that he will be punished.” The two sons were so excited that they had long thought of the outside world It's been a while.It was not long before they were ready, took leave of their father, and left the capital.

The youngest prince was very disappointed, and he wanted to go out, but the old king refused to let him go.Because he thought the little prince was the stupidest of the three sons.However, after the little prince had been tossing about for a long time, the old king became impatient and agreed to let him also go to see the world.He gave the little prince some money, and then gave him the worst horse in the stable—because the honest and stupid little prince couldn't tell a good horse from a bad one.So he also embarked on a journey.People all over the country knew that the little prince was a stupid boy, and they all laughed at him, thinking that he was really beyond his control.

After walking along the road for a few days, the little prince came to a wood.Not far into the woods, he saw a wolf listlessly standing by the side of the road.The wolf was so skinny that it didn't run away when the little prince approached.So the prince asked if it was hungry.The wolf said that it was really hungry, so the little prince got off his horse and said to the wolf, "If you are really hungry, eat my horse."

The wolf was overjoyed, and immediately jumped on it, and soon ate up the poor poor horse.After a full meal, the wolf returned to its strong, ferocious and energetic appearance.So the little prince said to it: "My friend, out of pity, I gave you the horse to eat! But I still have a long way to go, and I can't go on foot. If you want to repay me, you can Like my horse, let me ride on your back."

"Of course," said the wolf.It let the prince ride on its back, and soon ran out of the woods.After walking for a while, the wolf turned his head and asked the little prince where he wanted to go, but the prince didn't know where to go, so he told the wolf exactly what happened: how his father's golden apple was stolen, how his father ordered him The two elder brothers led a large team to find the thief who stole the golden apple... When the little prince finished telling his story, the wolf said that he knew who stole the golden apple.Because in fact, the real identity of the wolf is a magician.

"This country we live in has a great neighbor," said the wolf. "The king of that country has a beautiful golden bird in a cage, and it was this golden bird that stole the golden apples. But it flew as fast as it could fly." It's so fast, you can't catch it when it steals. You have to sneak into the king's palace and get out with the cage and the bird. But when you come out, don't touch the wall."

The next night, the little prince sneaked into the king's palace, and he found the golden bird and its cage at the place the wolf said.He lifted the cage carefully, intending to slip away the same way.Although he was very careful, when trying to step over the sleeping guards, he accidentally bumped into the wall.The guards woke up at once, and they seized the little prince, beat him severely, and put him in chains and chains.Next day he was brought before the king, who at once condemned him to death, and announced that he should be kept in a dark cell until the day of his execution.

Through magic, the wolf soon knew what had happened to the little prince.He transformed himself into a powerful monarch, and used magic to conjure up many followers, and swaggered into the capital.When the king heard that a foreign monarch was visiting, he quickly ordered a guard of honor to welcome him.Then he had a meeting with the magician in the palace and discussed many issues.Later the magician asked the king if he had many slaves.The king said he had too many slaves to know what to do with, and just last night he had caught one who had tried to steal his precious golden bird, and had been thrown in a black dungeon.And the King said that he had too many slaves to keep him, and that he intended to hang the man who had stolen the golden bird in the morning.

"He is the most daring thief who ever lived," said the magician, "to steal your golden bird! I dare say your golden bird is well guarded. But I should like to see the daring fellow. "

"As you wish," said the king.So he himself led the magician into the dark cell, and came outside the prince's cell.The magician turned to the king and said, "My great king, I am so disappointed. I thought he was a fierce robber, but he turned out to be a wretched wretch. Hanging him is too cheap for him. If I come to sentence him Sin, I will let him complete some very difficult tasks, so that his life is worse than death. If he completes it, that’s all, if he can’t complete it, it’s not too late to hang him.”

"A very good idea," said the king, "as it happens that I have something I want. There is an equally powerful prince in my neighboring country, who has a golden horse, but is also well guarded. Let him steal the golden horse for me. Bar!"

So the prince was taken out of the dungeon.The guards told him that the king would spare his life if he could steal back the golden horse from the neighboring country.The little prince was not at all glad, because he had no idea how to accomplish this task.But he had to embark on the road to the neighboring country.He cried as he walked, thinking to himself why he had to stubbornly leave his father's kingdom?But before he went far, he met his old friend—the wolf.The wolf said to him, "My dear prince, why are you so depressed? It is true that you did not steal the golden bird, but don't let this little failure break your courage. I believe you will be more careful this time. I will definitely steal the golden horse." The wolf said many similar words to comfort the prince, and warned him again and again that after stealing the golden horse, no matter what, he must not touch the wall or let the golden horse touch it, otherwise he would steal again. The mistakes of the golden bird.

After walking a long way, the prince and the wolf came to the kingdom of the king who had the golden horse, and entered the capital one evening.The city was heavily guarded, and the wolf advised the prince to act immediately.So they slipped quietly into the King's stud, and then came to one of the most guarded stables, where the Wolf thought the Golden Horse must be.It asked the prince to wait outside, and got in first by itself. After a while, it came out and said to the prince: "My dear prince, the golden horse is closely guarded, but I have hypnotized all the guards. Just be careful not to touch it." The wall or when you lead the horse out, don’t let the golden horse touch the wall. Then there will be no danger.”

The prince decided to be more careful this time.Confidently, he entered the stable and found that all the guards had fallen into a deep sleep.He took the golden horse by the reins and carefully led it out.Unfortunately, just as he was about to go out of the stable, the golden horse was stung by a gadfly, and the golden horse flicked its tail, which touched the wall.The guards woke up immediately.They seized the prince, beat him with a riding whip, put him in chains, and threw him into a dungeon.The next morning he was brought to the king - and like the king with the golden bird, the king decided to have his head cut off the next day.

The wolf soon discovered that the prince had failed again this time.He transformed himself into the appearance of a powerful monarch again, and conjured up a more luxurious guard of honor, and then entered the capital proudly.The king gave him a grand reception.When the feast was over, the magician spoke again about the slaves, and proposed to go and see the thief who had dared to enter the guarded stables and steal the king's most precious golden horse.The king agreed.What happened next was much the same: the king said that he would spare the prince's life if he could catch the golden mermaid within three days—the golden mermaid had not let anyone come near her so far.This is another impossible task.

(End of this chapter)