The Brown Fairy Book

by Andrew Lang

  'Do what?' asked the old woman in amazement. 'How can I tell the sultan that a head without a body wishes to become his son-in- law? They will think that I am mad, and I shall be hooted from the palace and stoned by the children.'

  'Do as I bid you,' replied the head; 'it is my will.'

  The old woman was afraid to say anything more, and, putting on her richest clothes, started for the palace. The sultan granted her an audience at once, and, in a trembling voice, she made her request.

  'Are you mad, old woman?' said the sultan, staring at her.

  'The wooer is powerful, O Sultan, and nothing is impossible to him.'

  'Is that true?'

  'It is, O Sultan; I swear it,' answered she.

  'Then let him show his power by doing three things, and I will give him my daughter.'

  'Command, O gracious prince,' said she.

  'Do you see that hill in front of the palace?' asked the sultan.

  'I see it,' answered she.

  'Well, in forty days the man who has sent you must make that hill vanish, and plant a beautiful garden in its place. That is the first thing. Now go, and tell him what I say.'

  So the old woman returned and told the head the sultan's first condition.

  'It is well,' he replied; and said no more about it.

  For thirty-nine days the head remained in its favourite corner. The old woman thought that the task set before was beyond his powers, and that no more would be heard about the sultan's daughter. But on the thirty-ninth evening after her visit to the palace, the head suddenly spoke.

  'Good mother,' he said, 'you must go to-night to the bridge, and when you are there cry "Ali! Ali! Ali!" as loud as you can. A negro will appear before you, and you will tell him that he is to level the hill, and to make, in its place, the most beautiful garden that ever was seen.'

  'I will go at once,' answered she.

  It did not take her long to reach the bridge which led to the city, and she took up her position on the spot where she had first seen the head, and called loudly 'Ali! Ali! Ali.' In an instant a negro appeared before her, of such a huge size that the old woman was half frightened; but his voice was mild and gentle as he said: 'What is it that you want?'

  'Your master bids you level the hill that stands in front of the sultan's palace and in its place to make the most beautiful garden in the world.'

  'Tell my master he shall be obeyed,' replied Ali; 'it shall be done this moment.' And the old woman went home and gave Ali's message to the head.

  Meanwhile the sultan was in his palace waiting till the fortieth day should dawn, and wondering that not one spadeful of earth should have been dug out of the hill.

  'If that old woman has been playing me a trick,' thought he, 'I will hang her! And I will put up a gallows to-morrow on the hill itself.'

  But when to-morrow came there was no hill, and when the sultan opened his eyes he could not imagine why the room was so much lighter than usual, and what was the reason of the sweet smell of flowers that filled the air.

  'Can there be a fire?' he said to himself; 'the sun never came in at this window before. I must get up and see.' So he rose and looked out, and underneath him flowers from every part of the world were blooming, and creepers of every colour hung in chains from tree to tree.

  Then he remembered. 'Certainly that old woman's son is a clever magician!' cried he; 'I never met anyone as clever as that. What shall I give him to do next? Let me think. Ah! I know.' And he sent for the old woman, who by the orders of the head, was waiting below.

  'Your son has carried out my wishes very nicely,' he said. 'The garden is larger and better than that of any other king. But when I walk across it I shall need some place to rest on the other side. In forty days he must build me a palace, in which every room shall be filled with different furniture from a different country, and each more magnificent than any room that ever was seen.' And having said this he turned round and went away.

  'Oh! he will never be able to do that,' thought she; 'it is much more difficult than the hill.' And she walked home slowly, with her head bent.

  'Well, what am I to do next?' asked the head cheerfully. And the old woman told her story.

  'Dear me! is that all? why it is child's play,' answered the head; and troubled no more about the palace for thirty-nine days. Then he told the old woman to go to the bridge and call for Hassan.

  'What do you want, old woman?' asked Hassan, when he appeared, for he was not as polite as the others had been.

  'Your master commands you to build the most magnificent palace that ever was seen,' replied she; 'and you are to place it on the borders of the new garden.'

  'He shall be obeyed,' answered Hassan. And when the sultan woke he saw, in the distance, a palace built of soft blue marble, resting on slender pillars of pure gold.

  'That old woman's son is certainly all-powerful,' cried he; 'what shall I bid him do now?' And after thinking some time he sent for the old woman, who was expecting the summons.

  'The garden is wonderful, and the palace the finest in the world,' said he, 'so fine, that my servants would cut but a sorry figure in it. Let your son fill it with forty slaves whose beauty shall be unequalled, all exactly like each other, and of the same height.'

  This time the king thought he had invented something totally impossible, and was quite pleased with himself for his cleverness.

  Thirty-nine days passed, and at midnight on the night of the last the old woman was standing on the bridge.

  'Bekir! Bekir! Bekir!' cried she. And a negro appeared, and inquired what she wanted.

  'The head, your master, bids you find forty slaves of unequalled beauty, and of the same height, and place them in the sultan's palace on the other side of the garden.'

  And when, on the morning of the fortieth day, the sultan went to the blue palace, and was received by the forty slaves, he nearly lost his wits from surprise.

  'I will assuredly give my daughter to the old woman's son,' thought he. 'If I were to search all the world through I could never find a more powerful son-in-law.'

  And when the old woman entered his presence he informed her that he was ready to fulfil his promise, and she was to bid her son appear at the palace without delay.

  This command did not at all please the old woman, though, of course, she made no objections to the sultan.

  'All has gone well so far,' she grumbled, when she told her story to the head,' but what do you suppose the sultan will say, when he sees his daughter's husband?'

  'Never mind what he says! Put me on a silver dish and carry me to the palace.'

  So it was done, though the old woman's heart beat as she laid down the dish with the head upon it.

  At the sight before him the king flew into a violent rage.

  'I will never marry my daughter to such a monster,' he cried. But the princess placed her head gently on his arm.

  'You have given your word, my father, and you cannot break it,' said she.

  'But, my child, it is impossible for you to marry such a being,' exclaimed the sultan.

  'Yes, I will marry him. He had a beautiful head, and I love him already.'

  So the marriage was celebrated, and great feasts were held in the palace, though the people wept tears to think of the sad fate of their beloved princess. But when the merry-making was done, and the young couple were alone, the head suddenly disappeared, or, rather, a body was added to it, and one of the handsomest young men that ever was seen stood before the princess.

  'A wicked fairy enchanted me at my birth,' he said, 'and for the rest of the world I must always be a head only. But for you, and you only, I am a man like other men.'

  'And that is all I care about,' said the princess.

  (Traditions populaires de toutes les nations (Asie Mineure).)

  The Sister of the Sun

  *

  A long time ago there lived a young prince whose favourite playfellow was the son of the gardener who lived in the grounds of the palace. The king wo
uld have preferred his choosing a friend from the pages who were brought up at court; but the prince would have nothing to say to them, and as he was a spoilt child, and allowed his way in all things, and the gardener's boy was quiet and well-behaved, he was suffered to be in the palace, morning, noon, and night.

  The game the children loved the best was a match at archery, for the king had given them two bows exactly alike, and they would spend whole days in trying to see which could shoot the highest. This is always very dangerous, and it was a great wonder they did not put their eyes out; but somehow or other they managed to escape.

  One morning, when the prince had done his lessons, he ran out to call his friend, and they both hurried off to the lawn which was their usual playground. They took their bows out of the little hut where their toys were kept, and began to see which could shoot the highest. At last they happened to let fly their arrows both together, and when they fell to earth again the tail feather of a golden hen was found sticking in one. Now the question began to arise whose was the lucky arrow, for they were both alike, and look as closely as you would you could see no difference between them. The prince declared that the arrow was his, and the gardener's boy was quite sure it was HIS—and on this occasion he was perfectly right; but, as they could not decide the matter, they went straight to the king.

  When the king had heard the story, he decided that the feather belonged to his son; but the other boy would not listen to this and claimed the feather for himself. At length the king's patience gave way, and he said angrily:

  'Very well; if you are so sure that the feather is yours, yours it shall be; only you will have to seek till you find a golden hen with a feather missing from her tail. And if you fail to find her your head will be the forfeit.'

  The boy had need of all his courage to listen silently to the king's words. He had no idea where the golden hen might be, or even, if he discovered that, how he was to get to her. But there was nothing for it but to do the king's bidding, and he felt that the sooner he left the palace the better. So he went home and put some food into a bag, and then set forth, hoping that some accident might show him which path to take.

  After walking for several hours he met a fox, who seemed inclined to be friendly, and the boy was so glad to have anyone to talk to that he sat down and entered into conversation.

  'Where are you going?' asked the fox.

  'I have got to find a golden hen who has lost a feather out of her tail,' answered the boy; 'but I don't know where she lives or how I shall catch her!'

  'Oh, I can show you the way!' said the fox, who was really very good-natured. 'Far towards the east, in that direction, lives a beautiful maiden who is called "The Sister of the Sun." She has three golden hens in her house. Perhaps the feather belongs to one of them.'

  The boy was delighted at this news, and they walked on all day together, the fox in front, and the boy behind. When evening came they lay down to sleep, and put the knapsack under their heads for a pillow.

  Suddenly, about midnight, the fox gave a low whine, and drew nearer to his bedfellow. 'Cousin,' he whispered very low, 'there is someone coming who will take the knapsack away from me. Look over there!' And the boy, peeping through the bushes, saw a man.

  'Oh, I don't think he will rob us!' said the boy; and when the man drew near, he told them his story, which so much interested the stranger that he asked leave to travel with them, as he might be of some use. So when the sun rose they set out again, the fox in front as before, the man and boy following.

  After some hours they reached the castle of the Sister of the Sun, who kept the golden hens among her treasures. They halted before the gate and took counsel as to which of them should go in and see the lady herself.

  'I think it would be best for me to enter and steal the hens,' said the fox; but this did not please the boy at all.

  'No, it is my business, so it is right that I should go,' answered he.

  'You will find it a very difficult matter to get hold of the hens,' replied the fox.

  'Oh, nothing is likely to happen to me,' returned the boy.

  'Well, go then,' said the fox, 'but be careful not to make any mistake. Steal only the hen which has the feather missing from her tail, and leave the others alone.'

  The man listened, but did not interfere, and the boy entered the court of the palace.

  He soon spied the three hens strutting proudly about, though they were really anxiously wondering if there were not some grains lying on the ground that they might be glad to eat. And as the last one passed by him, he saw she had one feather missing from her tail.

  At this sight the youth darted forward and seized the hen by the neck so that she could not struggle. Then, tucking her comfortably under his arm, he made straight for the gate. Unluckily, just as he was about to go through it he looked back and caught a glimpse of wonderful splendours from an open door of the palace. 'After all, there is no hurry,' he said to himself; 'I may as well see something now I AM here,' and turned back, forgetting all about the hen, which escaped from under his arm, and ran to join her sisters.

  He was so much fascinated by the sight of all the beautiful things which peeped through the door that he scarcely noticed that he had lost the prize he had won; and he did not remember there was such a thing as a hen in the world when he beheld the Sister of the Sun sleeping on a bed before him.

  For some time he stood staring; then he came to himself with a start, and feeling that he had no business there, softly stole away, and was fortunate enough to recapture the hen, which he took with him to the gate. On the threshold he stopped again. 'Why should I not look at the Sister of the Sun?' he thought to himself; 'she is asleep, and will never know.' And he turned back for the second time and entered the chamber, while the hen wriggled herself free as before. When he had gazed his fill he went out into the courtyard and picked up his hen who was seeking for corn.

  As he drew near the gate he paused. 'Why did I not give her a kiss?' he said to himself; 'I shall never kiss any woman so beautiful.' And he wrung his hands with regret, so that the hen fell to the ground and ran away.

  'But I can do it still!' he cried with delight, and he rushed back to the chamber and kissed the sleeping maiden on the forehead. But, alas! when he came out again he found that the hen had grown so shy that she would not let him come near her. And, worse than that, her sisters began to cluck so loud that the Sister of the Sun was awakened by the noise. She jumped up in haste from her bed, and going to the door she said to the boy:

  'You shall never, never, have my hen till you bring me back my sister who was carried off by a giant to his castle, which is a long way off.'

  Slowly and sadly the youth left the palace and told his story to his friends, who were waiting outside the gate, how he had actually held the hen three times in his arms and had lost her.

  'I knew that we should not get off so easily,' said the fox, shaking his head; 'but there is no more time to waste. Let us set off at once in search of the sister. Luckily, I know the way.'

  They walked on for many days, till at length the fox, who, as usual, was going first, stopped suddenly.

  'The giant's castle is not far now,' he said, 'but when we reach it you two must remain outside while I go and fetch the princess. Directly I bring her out you must both catch hold of her tight, and get away as fast as you can; while I return to the castle and talk to the giants—for there are many of them—so that they may not notice the escape of the princess.'

  A few minutes later they arrived at the castle, and the fox, who had often been there before, slipped in without difficulty. There were several giants, both young and old, in the hall, and they were all dancing round the princess. As soon as they saw the fox they cried out: 'Come and dance too, old fox; it is a long time since we have seen you.'

  So the fox stood up, and did his steps with the best of them; but after a while he stopped and said:

  'I know a charming new dance that I should like to show you; but it can only be
done by two people. If the princess will honour me for a few minutes, you will soon see how it is done.'

  'Ah, that is delightful; we want something new,' answered they, and placed the princess between the outstretched arms of the fox. In one instant he had knocked over the great stand of lights that lighted the hall, and in the darkness had borne the princess to the gate. His comrades seized hold of her, as they had been bidden, and the fox was back again in the hall before anyone had missed him. He found the giants busy trying to kindle a fire and get some light; but after a bit someone cried out:

  'Where is the princess?'

  'Here, in my arms,' replied the fox. 'Don't be afraid; she is quite safe.' And he waited until he thought that his comrades had gained a good start, and put at least five or six mountains between themselves and the giants. Then he sprang through the door, calling, as he went: 'The maiden is here; take her if you can!'

  At these words the giants understood that their prize had escaped, and they ran after the fox as fast as their great legs could carry them, thinking that they should soon come up with the fox, who they supposed had the princess on his back. The fox, on his side, was far too clever to choose the same path that his friends had taken, but would in and out of the forest, till at last even HE was tired out, and fell fast asleep under a tree. Indeed, he was so exhausted with his day's work that he never heard the approach of the giants, and their hands were already stretched out to seize his tail when his eyes opened, and with a tremendous bound he was once more beyond their reach. All the rest of the night the fox ran and ran; but when bright red spread over the east, he stopped and waited till the giants were close upon him. Then he turned, and said quietly: 'Look, there is the Sister of the Sun!'

  The giants raised their eyes all at once, and were instantly turned into pillars of stone. The fox then made each pillar a low bow, and set off to join his friends.

  He knew a great many short cuts across the hills, so it was not long before he came up with them, and all four travelled night and day till they reached the castle of the Sister of the Sun. What joy and feasting there was throughout the palace at the sight of the princess whom they had mourned as dead! and they could not make enough of the boy who had gone through such dangers in order to rescue her. The golden hen was given to him at once, and, more than that, the Sister of the Sun told him that, in a little time, when he was a few years older, she would herself pay a visit to his home and become his wife. The boy could hardly believe his ears when he heard what was in store for him, for his was the most beautiful princess in all the world; and however thick the darkness might be, it fled away at once from the light of a star on her forehead.