green fairy tale book

Chapter 46 The Hunter

Once upon a time there was a king's son who was betrothed to his beloved princess.One day when he was happily sitting beside the princess, he suddenly received a sad news that his father was dying and wanted to see him before he died.Then the prince said to his lover, "Ah! I must leave you for a while. Keep this ring as a souvenir. When I become king, I will come back and marry you."

Then he rode away hastily, and when he came back to his father the old king was dying, and already dying.

The king said, "My dearest son, I must see you before I die. Promise me... I beg you, marry as I wish." Then he named a neighboring princess, and he I desperately hope that my son will marry her, so that the two countries will become good friends of Qin and Jin from now on.The prince was very sad. At this time, he only wanted to fulfill his father's last wish, so he said: "Okay, okay, dear father, whatever you ask me to do, I will do it." eyes.

Subsequently, the prince was crowned king.When the mourning period was over, he felt that he must keep his promise to his father, so he sent someone to propose to the princess of the neighboring country, and the proposal was quickly accepted.

His first love heard the news not long after.Her lover's infidelity made her heartbroken, she didn't think about food and tea, she lost weight quickly, and almost died of illness.Her father said to her: "My dearest child, why are you so sad? Whatever you need, just tell your father, and I will give it to you."

She thought for a while and said, "Dear father, I hope to have eleven girls who are exactly like me in height, weight, and appearance."

The king said: "As long as possible, I will meet your request." Then the king ordered people to search all over the country, and finally found eleven girls who were exactly the same as the princess in height, weight and appearance.The princess had twelve hunter's costumes made, each exactly alike; and the eleven maidens put on eleven of them, and she herself put on the rest.Then she left her father, and went with the eleven girls to her lover's country.

She came to the palace and asked the king if he wanted some hunters, and if so, whether all twelve hunters could be allowed to serve in the palace.The king saw her too, but he did not recognize her as his old love, and he thought the twelve hunters were handsome young men, so he said, "Yes, I would like to have you all serve me. ’ So these twelve maidens became the king’s royal hunters.

The king has a magic lion that sees through all disguises and secrets.One night the Lion said to the King, "You think you have hired twelve hunters, don't you?"

"Yes, of course," said the king, "there are twelve hunters."

"Then you are wrong," said the Lion, "they are twelve maidens."

"Impossible," said the king, "how can you prove it?"

"Just scatter some peas in the front hall, and you'll soon find out the truth. A man's step is steady, his footing is strong, and he walks over peas without moving a single pea; a girl's step is light and quick. , whose toes are always dragging along the ground, and which causes the peas to roll about."

The king thought the Lion's plan was very good, so he ordered peas to be scattered in the antechamber.But one of the king's servants, who was already acquainted with the young hunters, heard the test which the king and the Lion had discussed, and he called them, saying, "The Lion wants the King to believe that you are all maidens." And he listened Told them all that had arrived.

The princess thanked him for tipping her off.After the servants left, she said to the other eleven girls, "You must pretend to be men and step on the peas hard."

Next morning the King ordered the hunters to be brought before him.As they passed through the pea-scattered vestibule, they secretly pressed hard on their feet, taking each step steadily, so that no pea rolled around.When they were gone, the King said to the Lion, "Now you are in a panic, for you have seen with your own eyes that they walk like other men."

"That's because they know it's a test," said the Lion, "so they set their feet hard. This time we put twelve spinning wheels in the front hall. Girls love spinning wheels, and when they pass by, you will How happy it is to see them, it's a completely different reaction than a man's reaction to a spinning wheel."

The king was very interested in the lion's suggestion, so he ordered twelve spinning wheels to be placed in the antechamber.But once again the kind servant revealed to the hunters something new about the king and the lion.As soon as he left, the princess said to the eleven girls: "You must try your best to restrain yourself, and you can't even look at those spinning wheels!"

The next morning the king ordered twelve more hunters to be summoned.Sure enough, they walked through the hall without looking sideways, without looking at the spinning wheel.

The king said to the lion again, "You have deceived me again. They are men, because they have not looked at the spinning wheel."

The Lion answered, "They knew it was a test, and they restrained their feelings." But the King no longer believed the Lion's words.

So the twelve hunters continued to serve the king, and the king liked them more and more.One day when they were out hunting, the king received word that his bride, the princess of the neighboring country, had set foot on the way to this country, and would soon reach the capital.But the real bride was heartbroken after hearing the news, and fainted on the ground.Fearing that some misfortune would happen to his favorite hunters, the king ran to help.When he took off the hunter's gloves, he recognized the ring he gave to his first love at a glance.He gazed at the princess's face and finally recognized her.He was so moved that he kissed the princess tenderly.When the princess woke up, he shouted: "I am yours and you are mine, and no power in the world can separate us."

Then the king sent messengers to the princess of the neighboring country, asking her to return to her own country immediately. "Because," he said, "I already have a wife, and whoever finds the old key needs to make a new one?"

Not long after, the king and his lover held a grand wedding.The lion also regained the king's favor, for after all he spoke the truth.

(End of this chapter)