They were not far off when, passing along the road, they came on a little old woman who was selling apples by the roadside.
“Buy my apples, kind gentlemen?” the old woman said, holding out large red apples that were bright and tempting.
Now Rosko, Nol’s friend, was a wise young man.
“Do not buy any apples from this old woman?” he advised Nol.
“Why ever not?” demanded Nol. “Look how sumptuous they are, trickling with juice.”
He bought three apples.
Now, with part of his treasure, Nol had the ruined castle renovated and decked out in magnificence. The princess had informed him that the three wizards could never again come there, and so Nol had made it his splendid home, fit for a prince to live in. They reached there on the very day the princess was due to arrive.
Nol sat himself outside the castle, overlooking the lake on which he had first met the princess. Rosko sat with him. There came a gnawing in Nol’s stomach that made him feel ill. Nol put it down to pangs of hunger and so he drew forth an apple and ate it. He began to feel sleepy this time, and soon he was fast asleep.
It was not long afterwards that the princess arrived, in the most beautiful star-coloured carriage drawn by twenty-seven white horses with star-bursts on their foreheads. When the princess alighted and found Nol asleep, she was distressed.
“Why does he sleep, Rosko?” she asked his friend.
“Lady, that I do not know, except that he bought three apples from an old woman on the roadside. He’s just eaten one of them and this has made him fall asleep.”
The princess gave a long indrawn breath.
“Alas! The old woman was the mother of the three evil Otherworld wizards that kept me captive and whom Nol overcame. This is her vengeance, for she means us evil in return for her three sons’ defeat. I can’t invite him into my star carriage while he is asleep. I will return at this time tomorrow. Here is a golden pear and a kerchief. When he awakens, give him these tokens and tell him that I shall return and hope to find him awake.”
So saying, the princess climbed back into her star-coloured carriage drawn by twenty-seven white horses and they rose into the air and disappeared.
Now Nol eventually awoke and was distressed and angry with himself when Rosko told him what had happened while he had been asleep.
“I will not sleep tomorrow?” he vowed.
He went to bed immediately, so as not to be asleep the next day.
On the following day, he went with Rosko to the spot outside the castle and sat there. Time passed and in a moment of absent-mindedness, he reached in his pocket, drew forth the second apple and ate it. He was promptly asleep again.
The princess came in a moon-coloured carriage pulled by twenty-seven white horses, each with a star-burst on their foreheads.
When she saw Nol sleeping, she raised her hands in despair. “What? Can it be he still sleeps?”
Rosko told her what had happened.
“I shall return at this time tomorrow. But after that, I can return no more. Here is a second golden pear and a kerchief. Tell him what I have said and say that if I find him asleep tomorrow, he will never see me again, unless he crosses three powers and three seas in search of me.”
She stepped back into her moon-coloured carriage and it rose in the air and disappeared.
When Nol awoke and Rosko told him what had passed, he was in despair. He told his friend to ensure that he did not sleep. So the next day, at the appointed time, Nol sat gazing out over the lake. He was aware that he was feeling hungry and absently drew out the third apple and nibbled it. At once he was asleep again. Poor Rosko. There was nothing he could do to wake his friend.
Then the princess came in a sun-coloured carriage, drawn by twenty-seven white horses, each with a star-burst on their foreheads.
She raised her hands in anguish when she saw Nol. “I can return no more. Rosko, you are a good friend to him. Tell him that I cannot return. To see me again, he must come and search for me in the Kingdom of the Shining Star. To get there, he must cross three powers and three seas. He will have to go through much heartache and pain. Here is a third golden pear and a third kerchief. Give them to him and tell him that the three pears and three kerchiefs will be useful to him in his quest.”
“With all my heart, I will do as you ask?” cried Rosko, for he was a true friend of Nol.
Then she stepped into her sun-coloured carriage, drawn by the twenty-seven white horses, and it rose into the air and disappeared.
When Nol awoke, he was in a rage and fury with himself.
“I’ll seek her out, even should my road take me to the gates of Hell and beyond!”
“I will come with you?” declared Rosko.
Nol shook his head. “This is my task and mine alone. You will stay here and look after the castle and my treasure, or such of it as remains. In my absence, you are the lord here. If I fail to return, you will continue to be lord and live here in comfort for the rest of your days.”
So it was that Nol set out on his quest to find the Princess of the Shining Star.
At first he rode for many miles until he lost count of them, even losing count of the days that had passed. He had come to a great, lonely forest, which seemed to have no end. He wandered aimlessly for days and nights until he grew exhausted and, hearing the distant sound of wolves, he climbed a tree for protection. Yet from this elevation he saw a distant light and thought it must come from a house. So he climbed down and went in the direction of the light.
The place was only a poor woodsman’s cottage. It was made of little more than branches and hay for the roof. Nol pushed open the door. An ancient man with a long white beard sat at the table within.
“Good evening, grandfather?” greeted Nol respectfully.
The old man looked up in astonishment. “Good evening, young man. You are welcome to this place. Indeed, seeing you gives me great pleasure, for I have not laid eyes on a human being in the eighteen hundred years that I have been here. How is it with the world outside this forest?”
Nol sat himself down and told the old man the reason for his journey.
The old man offered him cider and was sympathetic.
“I’ll do you a favour, young man.” He turned and took two pieces of cloth which, when Nol examined them carefully, were coverings for the shoes, gaiters.
“What favour is this?” he demanded.
“They are enchanted gaiters. They were useful to me when I was your age. When you put them on and take a step, you may cover seven leagues. You should be able to reach the Kingdom of the Shining Star with these.”
And Nol spent the night with the old man and told him how things fared with the world outside the forest. The next morning, he put on the gaiters and began to travel very swiftly. With seven leagues gone with each step he was soon over the forest, streams, rivers and mountains. Towards sunset on that day, he had come to another forest and to another hut similar to the first one. He was hungry and tired by the extent of his journey
He knocked at the door.
Inside was an old woman, with teeth long and yellow and she was crouching before a meagre fire in the hearth.
“Good evening, grandmother?” Nol greeted respectfully. “I was hoping I might get some food here and a place to sleep for the night.”
“You have ill come here. I hate strangers and have three strapping sons who will grind your bones if they find you here. That will be the best of your fortune, for they will undoubtedly eat you as well. Clear off.”
“What are the names of your sons?” demanded Nol.
“They are Genver, C’hwevrer and Meurzh!”
“So you are the mother of the winds?”
“Indeed I am.”
“I entreat you, by the sacred stones, grandmother, to give me hospitality and hide me from your three sons.”
Nol had heard a noise outside and knew the three sons of the old woman were coming.
“That is my son Genver?” the old
woman said relenting. “I’ll try to help you . . . I know, I’ll tell him that you are my brother’s son and that you’ve come to pay us a visit.”
“Very well?” agreed Nol. “Does your brother’s son have a name?”
“Yes, tell them your name is Fidamdoustik.”
Almost immediately, the first of the old woman’s sons rushed down the chimney and peered about.
“Ha ah, mother. I smell a human. I’m hungry and cold and need a tasty morsel.”
“Sit down and behave, Genver. That is your cousin who sits there.”
Genver frowned. “No cousin of mine, surely?”
“It is your cousin, Fidamdoustik. Sit there while I get your supper and do not harm him, otherwise I shall have to call upon the sack.”
She pointed to an old sack hanging behind the door.
So Genver sat down sulkily, and from time to time he cast covetous glances at Nol. Then he was joined by his two brothers, C’hwevrer and Meurzh, each as ugly as he. As they swept through the air, trees cracked, wolves howled and even stones flicked through the air. They puffed and blowed as they came down the chimney. The old woman told them all to behave and be kind to their cousin, Fidamdoustik. Only when threatened with the sack did they settle down in the corner.
The three sons devoured three entire cows and drank three casks of wine without blinking.
Genver finally asked: “Tell us, cousin Fidamdoustik, and tell us truly – does your journey here have no other reason than merely to visit us?”
Nol decided to be truthful in this regard.
“Well, in truth, cousin, I am on a journey to the Kingdom of the Shining Star. If you could show me the way, I would be very grateful.”
“I never heard of it?” replied Genver.
“I’ve heard of it, all right?” said C’hwevrer, “but I don’t know where it is.”
“I know it?” said Meurzh. “In fact, I blew over it only yesterday. There were great preparations in the land, for the princess is getting married tomorrow.”
Nol sat bolt upright.
“Married?”
“Oh yes. They’ve slaughtered one hundred cows and one hundred calves, one hundred sheep, and as many chickens and ducks. A great feast it will be.”
“But to whom is she getting married?” demanded Nol.
“I don’t know. Why?”
“I want to get there before the ceremony. Can you tell me how I can find the Kingdom of the Shining Star, cousin Meurzh?”
“I am due to go back there for a blow tomorrow, cousin. But you won’t be able to keep up.”
“That I can?” Nol assured him.
“Very well?” Meurzh was not sure. “If you can keep up with me, I’ll show you where.”
So about midnight, Meurzh told him it was time to go and spun up and out of the chimney. Nol followed him with his enchanted gaiters and kept up as Meurzh whistled across the forests and finally came to a seashore.
“Wait!” cried Nol. “I can keep up with you but I cannot cross the water. Can you help me across the sea, cousin?”
Meurzh looked doubtful. “There is not one sea that stands between us and the Kingdom of the Shining Star, cousin.”
“Then, I beg you, take me on your broad back and carry me over the waves.”
With much grumbling, Meurzh did so. The first sea was crossed without problems. The second sea, Meurzh grumbled and said he was tired. The third sea was almost crossed when Meurzh said he was that tired he was going to drop Nol. But Nol urged him on so much that when Meurzh finally dropped him, he landed right on the sandy seashore of the Kingdom of the Shining Star.
He thanked his mighty cousin and set off towards the great city in the distance, and his enchanted gaiters helped him reach there in a moment or two.
He thought that he would go to a tavern before making his way to the castle in the centre of the city. He knew that tavern-keepers were notorious at knowing all the news of the countryside. So he found a tavern and went in and ordered food.
Sure enough, the tavern-keeper was loquacious enough.
“What is the talk of the city, tavern-keeper?” asked Nol, with an innocent look.
“Talk? Why, talk of nothing else except our princess’s wedding.”
“Is everyone overjoyed at it, then?” pressed Nol.
“Everyone except the princess?” replied the tavern-keeper.
Nol’s heart gave a quick throb. “Why so?” he whispered.
“They say the princess is getting married to someone who she doesn’t like.”
“Who is this person?”
“The Prince of Hent Sant Jakez.” And that was the Breton term for the Milky Way.
Nol wondered how he could ever claim his princess when she was marrying such a powerful prince.
“When will this wedding take place?”
“Not long now. If you wait here, you may see it, for the wedding procession passes this very tavern.”
Now an idea came into Nol’s mind. On a table outside the inn, he placed the first golden pear and kerchief, that which the princess had given Rosko.
The table stood within sight of the procession. Nol went to watch what would happen from the inn window.
Sure enough, the wedding procession came along. At the head was the princess and by her side was her betrothed, the Prince of the Milky Way. The princess started when she saw the golden pear and kerchief.
“Wait, Prince?” she said, stopping the procession. “I feel quite unwell. Let us put off this wedding until tomorrow.”
The prince, frowning with bewilderment, finally agreed. The procession turned back to the palace and the ceremony was rearranged for the next day. Meanwhile, in her chambers, the princess sent one of her handmaidens to the inn with instructions to buy the pear and kerchief from whoever was the owner.
The handmaiden returned them to the princess, for Nol had given them to her.
The next day, the procession set out again and again passed the inn. Again Nol had set on the table outside the second pear and kerchief, while he himself looked on from behind a window. On seeing them, the princess pretended to be ill again and asked that the ceremony be postponed until the next morning. Again, the prince, though more irritable than before, agreed. The princess sent the same handmaiden to go to collect the pear and kerchief.
The same thing happened on the third day, except that this time, the princess asked her handmaiden to bring the owner back to her as well.
When Nol entered the room, she almost swooned with joy and they embraced at finding one another again.
Just then a messenger came to her chambers, saying that the Prince of the Milky Way had issued orders that, because every time the princess passed the inn she fell ill, they would have their wedding feast and afterwards the ceremony would be performed in the castle.
Trying to devise a plan, the princess went down to the feasting hall and Nol also went down and took his place with the guests. He saw the princess was as radiant as ever he had seen her, lighting the feasting hall like the sun.
As was the custom, following the feasting, there were many telling tales, each boastful and bragging.
Finally, the Prince of the Milky Way turned to the princess and said: “You have told us no tale. Soon we will be married and then it will be unseemly that you should do so. Tell us a tale before we marry.”
“Well, there is a tale . . . a tale which my guests should give me advice on, for it concerns a matter about which I am much embarrassed.”
This intrigued everyone.
“Tell on.”
“I have a pretty little gold casket. Inside was a pretty little golden key. I liked it very much, but one day I lost the key and so had a new one made. But it happens that I’ve just found the old key before having even tried the new one. The old one was very good and I don’t yet know if the new one would be any better. So the advice I would like is whether I should now throw away the old one and use the new or throw away the new one and stick to the old.”
/> The guests gave their advice but the princess turned to the Prince of the Milky Way.
“It is your advice I need most in this, my lord. On your word, the decision hangs.”
The Prince of the Milky Way rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “One should always regard and respect the old. Better to keep what one knows will work than experiment with something untried.”
The princess stood up with a laugh. “Then I will show you these keys.” And she made her way across the feasting hall and took Nol by the hand. “Here is the old key which was lost and just recovered. You, my lord, are the new key.”
The Prince of the Milky Way stood up and his face was wreathed in anger.
“We have had our wedding feast!” he exclaimed.
“But no ceremony?” replied the princess. “And you have advised me clearly, in front of all these guests. I must respect the old and maintain it. I’ll keep my old key, therefore, and leave the new key. And by the old key I refer to this courageous and faithful young man, who delivered me from the bondage of the three evil magicians. Nol was willing to give his life for me, and then came in search of me, daring a thousand evils, leaving all that was comfortable.”
Her subjects applauded and started to rejoice, for they had all known that the princess had not been happy with the prospect of her marriage.
The Prince of the Milky Way left the Kingdom of the Shining Star forthwith and returned to his twenty-seven star wives, for he did not need the companionship of the single Shining Star when he could roam the twenty-seven courts of his universe.
“We shall never again be parted?” the princess assured Nol. “And for the first part of our eternity, we shall return to your land and be married there.”
So in a star-coloured carriage, drawn by twenty-seven white horses, each with a starburst on their foreheads, they travelled back to the Lannion and the banks of the Leguer and the old castle, where the faithful Rosko was waiting for them. There was great joy in the land and the wedding feast far surpassed that which had been held in the Kingdom of the Shining Star.
The Mammoth Book of Celtic Myths and Legends Page 62
