grey fairy tale book

Chapter 17 The Story of Ben Shudatu

Once upon a time there was a king and queen who had three daughters who were very beautiful.What they always think about from morning to night every day is how to make their children happy and happy.

One day, the princesses said to the king, "My dear father, we really want to go out for a picnic and have a picnic in the country."

"Very well, my boys. Let us arrange a camp!" answered the king, and he at once ordered that everything should be ready.

As soon as the lunch was ready, it was loaded into one carriage, and the King's family loaded into another, and set off for the country.After walking many miles, they came to a house and garden that belonged to the king, and next to them was their favorite place to lunch.After the bumpy journey, they were all hungry, and everyone had a good appetite, and finally ate up all the food they had brought.

After they had eaten, the princesses said to the king and queen, "We want to walk in the garden now, and if you want to go home, call us." And they went off to play by themselves.Along a green field, they came to a garden.

But just as they passed through the fence, a dark cloud gathered and hung over their heads, and the whole sky was so dark that they could not even see the road clearly.

Meanwhile, the king and queen were lolling among the flowers.Soon, an hour or two passed, and the sun was about to set.They thought it was time to go home, so they called to the princesses, but they called over and over again, but there was no answer.

The King and Queen were terrified, and searched every corner, the garden, the house, and the neighboring woods, but the daughters were nowhere to be seen, and it seemed as if the Lord of the Land had eaten them.They were in despair, and the queen cried all the way back home, and was still sad for a long time after returning to the palace.Then the king issued a decree: whoever finds his lost daughters can marry one of them and inherit the throne.

At this time, two young generals were living in the palace. After hearing the imperial decree, they made up their minds: "Let's go find the princess! Maybe we are lucky!" Put on a change of clothes and some money and set off.

They inquired carefully every village they passed, but there was no news about the princesses. Gradually, their money ran out, and they had to sell the horse, otherwise they had to give up and continue looking for the princesses.However, the little money they sold the horses did not last long, and they had nothing to do but sell the clothes they brought, because they could not even eat.They sold the change of clothes tied to their saddles, and went to a tavern to get something to eat, and they were really hungry.But when it was time to pay after they ate and drank, they said to the boss, "We have no money, and we have nothing but the clothes we wear. These clothes are yours. Just give us a few rags, please." Please let us stay and help you work!" The boss was very satisfied with the business, so he left them as servants.

Meanwhile, the king and queen stayed in the palace, missing their children very much, but there was not only no news of the princesses, but also no news of the generals who went out to look for them.

In the palace, the king had a loyal attendant, his name was Benshu Datu, and he had served the king for many years.Seeing that the king was so sad, Benshu Datu said to the king, "Your Majesty, let me go and find your daughter!"

"No, no, Benshudatu," replied the king, "I have lost three daughters and two generals, how can I lose you again?"

However, Ben Shu Datu said again: "Your Majesty, let me go! Believe me, I will definitely bring back your three daughters!" The king had no choice but to obey him.So Ben-Uncle Dato set off, and he rode his horse all the way, and at last he came to the little restaurant, and dismounted, and ordered something to eat.It was the two generals who served the dishes. Even though they were dressed in shabby clothes, Ben Shu Datu recognized them at a glance.Ben Shu Datu was very surprised and asked how they got here.

They told their story in detail. Ben Shudatu called the boss and said to him: "Return the clothes to them, and I will pay the debt they owe." Shu Datu did what he said.The two generals changed into their original clothes and vowed to continue searching for the king's daughters with Ben Shudatu.

The three rode for a long time and came to a deserted wilderness.It was getting dark, and they were afraid of getting lost in this wilderness, so they hurried on their way, and finally they saw a glimmer of light from the window of a hut.

They knocked on the door, and someone immediately asked, "Who is it?"

"Good-hearted people, take pity on us, let us stay with you for a night!" Ben Shu Datu replied, "We are three passers-by, we are lost, and we are exhausted."

The door opened, and an old woman motioned them in. She asked, "Where are you from, and where are you going?"

"Well-wishers, we have urgent business," replied Ben Shudatu, "we must find the king's daughters and bring them back to the palace!"

"Oh, how unfortunate you are!" lamented the old woman, "you don't know that the princesses have been carried away by a cloud, and no one knows where they are now."

"Good man, if you know, please tell us!" Ben Shudatu begged her. "Our fate rests with them."

The old woman replied, "Even if I tell you, you can't save them. If you want to save them, you must go to a deep river. The princesses are at the bottom of the river, and you will find them when you go there." The older princess was guarded by two giants, while the younger princess was watched by a huge seven-headed snake."

Listening to the old woman's words, the two generals were terrified and wished they could go home immediately, but Ben Shu Datu was very firm, saying: "Since we have suffered so much, we should persevere. Please tell us where the river is, and we will hurry to it." So the old woman told them, and brought out some cheese, bread, and wine, so that they might not starve.After eating and drinking, they soon lay down and fell asleep.

The next morning, they got up early, bid farewell to the old woman who kindly helped them, rode forward, and came to the big river that the old woman said.

"I am the oldest," said one of the generals, "and I should go down first."

The other two tied a rope around him, gave him a little bell, and let him into the river.No sooner had his head been in the water than he heard a terrible noise, and thunder rumbled in his ears.He was terrified, and hurriedly rang the bell. It was so noisy, he was afraid that the people above would not hear the bell, and it would be over.Fortunately, the rope was slowly pulled up, and he returned to the shore with a sigh of relief.

Next, another general entered the water.He was not much better, and soon returned to shore.

"Hmph, you are really a 'brave' couple!" Ben Shudatu sarcastically tied the rope around his waist, "Look at me to try!" Soon, he also heard the sound of thunder and He thought to himself, "Make it louder! I'm not afraid of the noisy sounds around him!" After reaching the bottom of the river, he found himself in a spacious and bright hall. In the center of the hall, The eldest princess was sitting, and in front of her was a gigantic giant, fast asleep.The eldest princess saw Ben Shu Datu at a glance, she nodded to him, and asked him how he came here with a wink.

Uncle Ben Datu didn't make a sound, and drew out his sword, intending to cut off the giant's head.The eldest princess hurriedly stopped him and motioned him to hide because the giant was about to wake up. "I smell a stranger!" the giant muttered while stretching.

"How could it be? Who can run to the bottom of this river?" She replied, "You can rest assured and sleep!"

So the Giant turned over and fell asleep again.The princess immediately hinted to Uncle Ben Datu to do it quickly, but when it was too late, Uncle Datu swung his sword and chopped off the giant's head, which rolled into a corner.The princess's heart was pounding, she put a golden crown on Ben Shudatu's head, and called him the savior. "Take me to your sisters quickly," Ben Shudatu said, "I will save them too."

The eldest princess opened a door and took Uncle Datu to another hall.The second princess is inside, and there is another giant guarding it, but he is fast asleep.The second princess saw them, and beckoned them to hide quickly, for the giant seemed to be waking up. "Why do I smell someone coming?" the giant muttered sleepily.

"How is it possible? Who can go down to the bottom of this river?" The second princess asked back, "Go on and sleep!"

As soon as the giant closed his eyes, Ben Shu Datu came out on tiptoe, swung his sword, and slashed vigorously, the giant's head rolled and rolled, and rolled far away.The second princess didn't know how to thank Uncle Ben Datu. She also took a golden crown and put it in Uncle Ben's hand. "Take me to find your little sister," said Uncle Ben Datu, "I still have to save her!"

"Oh, I'm afraid you won't be able to save her!" sighed the two princesses. "She is guarded by a seven-headed snake!"

"Take me," replied Ben Shu Datu, "I want to see and see!"

Therefore, the second princess also opened a door, and Ben Shu Datu passed through the door, and found another hall, which was larger than the first two halls.The little princess was standing, fastened by iron chains to the wall, and in front of her was a big snake with seven heads, which looked terrible.As soon as Ben Shudatu got a little closer, the strange snake twisted its seven heads and rushed towards him, trying to catch him.Uncle Ben Datu drew his sword and slashed left and right. After a while, all seven heads rolled on the ground.Uncle Ben Datu dropped his sword and ran towards the princess, breaking the chain.The little princess was so happy that she hugged him and cried bitterly. She took off her golden crown from her head and put it on Ben Shudatu's head.

"We should go back to the top," said Ben Shudatu, leading the little princess to the bottom of the river, where the other two princesses were waiting for them.Uncle Datu tied the rope around the princess's waist first, and rang the bell.The generals on the ground heard it and slowly pulled her up.Then they untied the rope and threw it back to the bottom of the river, and soon the second princess also came ashore.

Now, only Ben Shu Datu and the little princess are still under the river. "My dear Ben Dato," said the little princess, "please, let them drag you up first! I'm afraid those two generals will betray you."

"No no no," replied Ben Shudatu, "I will never leave you! Don't worry, my friends won't hurt me."

The little princess said: "Okay, I promise you to go up first, but you must also go up and marry me. Otherwise, I swear, I will never marry in my life!" Uncle Datu tied the rope to her body, and the two The general pulled her up.

However, the two generals were very jealous of Uncle Ben Datu. He was brave and lucky, and he was about to succeed.So, instead of sinking the rope to the bottom of the river, they turned around and left, leaving Benshu Datu alone to fend for himself.Not only that, they also threatened several princesses, forcing them to promise to go back and tell the king and queen that they were the ones who saved them.They also said to the princesses, "If they ask about Ben Shudatu, tell them you have never seen him!" The three princesses, afraid that they would kill themselves, agreed to everything they said.So they returned to the palace together.

The King and Queen were overjoyed to see their dear daughters.The two generals hurriedly told their pre-made stories, and the many dangers they encountered along the way.The king immediately announced that he would thank them very much, and in return, the eldest daughter and the second daughter would become their wives respectively.

How is poor Ben Dato now?
He waited patiently for a long time, but the rope did not come down. He knew that the two generals must have betrayed him. "Oh, I can never go back," he said to himself.But he was a brave man who knew that moaning and sighing could not change his destiny.He stood up and began to search carefully in the three halls, hoping to find something useful.In the last hall he saw a plate with food on it, and he remembered how hungry he was, so he sat down and ate and drank.

A few months passed in a flash.One morning, as he was walking up and down the halls, he noticed a small bag hanging on the wall, which he had never seen before!He removed the bag and examined it carefully inside and out.Just about to throw it away, a voice from the bag startled him, "What can I do for you?"

"Oh! Take me out of this ghostly place and go back to the ground!" Soon he reached the river, holding the small bag tightly in his hand. "Now I want the most gorgeous boat, it has to be handmade, let's go!" The boat conjures up, with a flag on the mast that reads "King of the Three Crowns".

Ben Shudatu boarded the boat and sailed towards the castle where the princesses lived.After arriving at the pier, Ben Shu Datu played drums and trumpets, attracting everyone to come to see what happened.The king knew it too. He saw the beautiful big ship and thought to himself: "There must be a great king on board, otherwise how could he have three crowns? You know, I only have one crown." So the king hurriedly Going forward to greet and invite the guests to visit his castle, he thought to himself: "It's a great thing to marry my little daughter to him!" They don't bother to answer at all.

Uncle Ben Datu had been away from the palace for too long, and the king had no idea that this strangely dressed stranger was exactly Uncle Ben Datu whom he had been deeply mourning for. "Your Majesty," said the king, "accept our banquet and enjoy it to the fullest! Of course, if you wish, please marry my youngest daughter!"

Ben Shu Datu was very happy, everyone sat down to enjoy the sumptuous food, very happy.Only the little princess was unhappy because she was thinking about Ben-Uncle Datu.When they had finished eating, they all stood up, when the king said to her, "My dear daughter, this noble king wishes to marry you."

"Oh, no! Father," answered the little princess, "please, I don't want to marry yet!"

Then, Ben Shu Datu looked at her and said, "If I were Ben Shu Datu, would you still answer like this?"

She stared at him blankly, and Uncle Dato said again, "Yes, I am Uncle Dato. I will tell you everything."

Listening to the adventure story of Ben Shu Datu, the king and queen were very upset.As soon as he finished speaking, the king took his hand and said, "Dear benshudatu, my youngest daughter is your wife. Also, after I die, my crown will be yours too. As for the two A man who betrays you, they will be driven out of the country and never allowed to return." The king then ordered the wedding to be arranged.

For three whole days and three nights, the palace was filled with laughter and laughter, wishing the happy marriage between Uncle Datu and the little princess.

(End of this chapter)