grey fairy tale book

Chapter 37 The eldest son Kuanzai and Liyan (2)
The prince boarded the horses in the stables, and everything seemed to have been arranged for the guests.After that, the four of them went straight to the castle.In the courtyard, in the stables, and in all the halls, they saw a richly attired people, all turned into stone statues.They passed through countless interconnected rooms and finally came to the dining room.There are bright lights, and the tables are full of fine wine and fruits for four people to sit around.They waited for a while, expecting someone to come out to receive them, but they saw no one.Since everyone was very hungry, they sat down and ate and drank.

Once supper was over, they looked around for a place to sleep.Unexpectedly, the door was opened suddenly, and the wizard walked into the hall.The old man was hunchbacked and bald, with a gray beard reaching to his knees.He was wearing a black robe, and instead of a belt around his waist, he had three iron rings.He held a stunning beauty in his hand.The woman was dressed in white with a silver belt around her waist and a jeweled crown on her head, but her face was pale and sad.

The prince recognized her immediately and hurried forward, but before the prince could speak, the wizard said: "I know the purpose of your coming here. Very well, if you keep her out of your hands for three nights in a row If you run away, she will be yours. If you fail, you, together with your servants, will be turned into stone statues like those before." After speaking, he handed a chair to the prince, and then left the hall and go.

The prince can't take his eyes off the princess because she's so cute!He started talking to her, but she didn't answer or laugh, just sat there like a marble.He sat next to her, determined not to close his eyes that night lest she escape.In order to double guard her, the eldest son stretched out his body, enclosing the room like a belt; wide boy guarded the door, he let himself expand in such a way that even a mouse could not escape Grim Eye leaned against the central pillar that held up the roof.However, in the blink of an eye, they all fell asleep and stayed up all night.

In the early morning, just after dawn, the prince woke up with a start, but there was no trace of the princess.He woke up some servants and begged them to tell him what to do.

"Don't worry, my lord," said Stern Eyes reassuringly, "I have found her. There is a forest a hundred miles from here, and in the middle of the forest is an oak tree with an acorn on top of it. The acorn is Princess, if the eldest son takes me there on his shoulders, we can bring her back in a moment." And sure enough, the two servants returned from the forest without waiting for a walk around the house.The eldest son gave the acorn to the prince.

"Now, sir, please throw it on the ground."

The prince did so, only to be surprised to see the princess appearing beside him.As the first rays of the sun shone across the mountains, the door opened as suddenly as it always did, and the wizard walked in, laughing.Suddenly, when he saw the princess, his face darkened, and with a low howl, an iron ring snapped off.He grabbed the girl's hand and took her away.

All that day, as the Prince wandered about the castle, pondering what strange treasures there might be, life seemed to stand still suddenly.In one place he saw a prince whose hands were pinched into stone while dancing a sword; in another a knight who fled suffered the same fate.The third was a footman, standing there forever while trying to put a piece of beef in his mouth, and around them were other people, still in the same postures as when the wizard ordered "Instant stone".Inside and outside the castle, everything feels eerie and desolate.There are trees, but there are no leaves; there are many fields, but no grass grows; there is a river, but it never flows, and there are no fish; neither flowers bloom nor birdsong.

Three meals a day for the prince and three servants appeared magically.As soon as supper was over, the wizard appeared as he had done the night before, and delivered the princess into the hands of the prince.

The four decided that this time, no matter what, they couldn't sleep again, but it was useless.Just like last time, they fell asleep.When the prince woke up the next day, the room was empty again.

With shame on his face, he hurriedly found Li Yan: "Wake up! Li Yan! Wake up! Do you know what happened to the princess?"

Li Yan rubbed his eyes and replied: "Yes, I saw her. There is a mountain two hundred miles away from here. There is a rock on the mountain. There is a gem on the rock. This gem is the princess. The eldest son will take me Go there, and we'll be back before you turn around."

So the eldest son put him on his shoulder and set off.They walked twenty miles at a time, and when they were nearly there, Glenn fixed his fiery eyes on the mountain.In an instant, the mountain split into countless small pieces, and one of them shone like a gemstone.They picked up the gem and brought it back to the prince.The prince hastily threw it on the ground.As soon as the jewel touched the ground, the princess stood before him.As soon as the wizard arrived, his eyes burst into flames of anger.He heard a "click", and another iron ring around his waist broke to the ground.He seized the princess and went away, howling still more.

Throughout the day, everything remained the same.After dinner, the wizard brought the princess back, looked at the prince blankly, and said, "Let's wait and see who is the winner!"

That night, several people tried their best to stay awake, and they even walked back and forth to avoid dozing off while sitting.This trick is also useless.One after the other they failed, so that for the third time the princess slipped through their fingers.

When the morning comes, the prince is always the first one to wake up. Just like before, he goes straight to Li Yan: "Get up, Li Yan, get up, tell me where is the princess?"

Li Yan didn't answer, but looked around. "Oh, my lord, she is far away, too far away. There is a black sea three hundred miles away. In the middle of the sea is a small shell, and in the small shell is a golden ring. That golden ring is the princess. But you Don't worry too. We can find her. It's just that today, the eldest son has to take Kuanzai. It can't be done without him."

So, the eldest son set off with Li Yan on one shoulder and Kuan Zai on the other.They covered thirty miles in each stride.Once at the Black Sea, Li Yan pointed out to his two companions where he was looking for shells.Although the eldest son stretched his hand down as hard as he could, he could not find the shell, for it had been placed on the bottom of the sea.

"Wait a while, friends, it's okay, I'll help you." Kuan Zai said.

Then, his body continued to swell, in such a way that even the whole world would not be able to stop him.He squatted down and drank water.He drank so much in one gulp that the sea water sank to the bottom in about a minute, and the eldest son could reach the bottom of the sea with his hand.The eldest son soon found the shell and took out the ring.But time wasted a bit, plus the eldest son had a double burden on his shoulders.It was almost daylight before they got back to the castle, and the prince waited in agony of fear.

After a while, the first rays of sunlight filtered through the tops of the mountains.The door opened suddenly, and seeing the prince standing there alone, the wizard let out a wicked smile.But when he laughed, with a "click", the window shattered into countless small pieces, a golden ring flashed through the air, and the princess stood in front of the caster.It turned out that Li Yan had already seen the great danger facing the prince from a distance!So he told the eldest son, and the eldest son gathered all his strength and threw the ring in through the window.

The wizard yelled so angry that the entire castle began to shake even its foundations.Then there was another "click", the third iron ring broke in two, and a crow flew out of the window.

At last the princess broke the silence of the spell, blushed like a rose, and thanked the prince repeatedly for her unexpected deliverance.

After the black crow escaped, not only the princess was restored to life, but the marble statues also returned to their original forms.All the horses in the stables were neighing, the flowers in the garden were blooming, the birds were flying in the air, and the fish were swimming in the water.Looking around, one is full of vitality, one is infinitely happy!
Those knights who had been turned into stone statues appeared in real form, and paid homage to the prince who rescued them.

"Don't thank me," he said, "without the three faithful servants of the eldest son, the wide boy, and the sharp eye, I would be one of you!"

Having said that, he bade them farewell, and returned to his father's kingdom with the princess and three faithful servants.

Seeing his son, the old king, who had already given up hope, insisted on holding the wedding as soon as possible.

All the knights who had encountered the spell in the Iron Castle were invited to the ceremony, and afterward, the eldest son, wide boy, and sharp eye bid farewell to the new couple, saying that they would go on to find more work.

As long as they would stay, the prince would give them all they wanted, but they said that they didn't like to live a leisurely life, and that they could only be happy if they were busy, so they found their own things to do.As far as I know, I'm still looking for it.

(End of this chapter)