Patrañas; or, Spanish Stories, Legendary and Traditional

by Rachel Harriette Busk

  THE ILL-TEMPERED PRINCESS.

  There was once a poor young knight, and he went out into the world,to seek adventures and do knightly deeds. As he went, he met a manstanding in front of a long narrow tunnel in a rock, and blowingthrough it with his cheeks stretched like two ripe pomegranates,to whom the knight called out, "Halloa! fellow, what do you do there?"

  And the man made reply, "Disturb me not, your worship, for with mybreath I am turning five hundred and thirty-two mills."

  So the knight asked, "Then who are you?"

  And the man made answer, "I am Blowo, son of Blowon [45], the goodblower."

  Then the knight said, "Will you come out with me to seek fortune?"

  And the man made answer, "Your worship is not readier to ask thanI to accept, for I am tired enough of blowing." So he gave one moregood strong blow, enough to set the mills twirling for a long time,and walked on behind the knight.

  A little farther along they came upon a man toiling up the hill-side,with a load of a hundred and thirty-two hundred-weight upon his back.

  To whom the knight called out, "Halloa! man, you carry more than awaggon with two yoke of oxen! Who are you?"

  And the man made answer, "I am Porto, son of Porton, the strongporter."

  Then the knight said, "Will you come out with me to seek fortune?"

  And the man made answer, "Your worship is not more ready to ask,than I to accept, for I am weary of this burden." So he laid theweight down by the road-side, and walked along behind the knight.

  A little farther on they came to a long stretch where the road wasvery straight, and by the side a man walked up and down twisting arope, to whom the knight cried out,--

  "Halloa! fellow, what do you there? and who are you?"

  And the man made answer, "I am Ropo, son of Ropon, the cunningrope-maker, and I make ropes which none can break."

  Then the knight said, "Will you come out with me to seek fortune?"

  And the man made answer, "Your worship is not more ready to ask thanI to accept, for I am weary of twisting this rope." So he left therehis rope by the road-side, and walked along behind the knight.

  A little farther on they came upon a man crouched down by the way-side.

  To whom the knight called out, "Halloa! fellow, what do you there? andwho are you?"

  And the man made answer, "I am Listeno, son of Listenon, the readylistener."

  So the knight said, "What are you listening for?"

  And the man made answer, "Blowo has left off turning the mills, andI am listening for the wind to come down from the mountains of Burgos."

  "Fellow! the mountains of Burgos are a hundred leagues off."

  "What does that signify, if my hearing reaches as far?"

  Then the knight said, "Will you come along with me and seek fortune?"

  And the man made answer, "Your worship is not more ready to ask thanI to accept, for I am weary of straining my ears." So he set up threeflags, that all the country might know the wind would be there inthree days, and walked along behind the knight.

  Then, after three days' journey, they came in sight of a magnificentcastle, extending half a mile every way over the top of a mountain,but all desolate and in ruins; and the way up to it was overgrownwith interlacing brambles and briars, so that they could hardly passthrough. Then to increase their difficulty, a heavy storm came on,which would soon have wetted them through; but Blowo cried out,--

  "Never fear, your worship; for I will soon clear the air."

  So he blew a mighty blast, and sent all the big thunder-cloudstravelling back to the Sierra; and they went on toiling up the brake.

  When they came up to the castle, they found there was no door oropening, nor any way in. Porto, Ropo, Listeno, and Blowo wanted togive up the attempt, and pass on farther; but the knight would nothear of abandoning the adventure.

  "If your worship is so determined," said Porto, "I'll open a wayfor you."

  So he broke off a huge piece of rock as big as two men, and, standinga hundred yards off, he flung it against the wall, with a noise thatcould be heard a hundred miles off. The wall trembled and clattered;but it was held together by a stronger than human power, and allPorto's great strength could produce no effect on it.

  "Let us go away from here, Master," pleaded Ropo, "this is no placefor us. There is something wrong about this place; and the blessingof God is not here."

  "No," replied the knight, "we will first learn all about it; theremay be work for us."

  So they continued walking round the walls to see where they mighteffect an entrance, and all to no purpose. By and by Listenoexclaimed, "I hear some one cry;" and they all listened, but couldhear nothing. So Listeno made them follow him in the direction whencethe sound proceeded till at last they were near enough for the othersto hear the sound also; and they went on following it up, till theycame to the mouth of a great well all grown over with climbing-plants;when they had cleared these away, the hole looked so black and deep,it seemed as if it went down to the centre of the earth, and up theshaft there came sounds of a woman's wailing, so loud and pitiful,they were all moved to pity, and anxious to run to the relief of thedistressed person; but there was no means of telling how to reachthe bottom. Then Ropo came forward, and said, "We will all go abroad,and gather five thousand bundles of esparto, and palmito [46] grass,and all five shall set to work to make a long rope; and with that wewill reach the bottom."

  So said, so done. They gathered five thousand bundles of esparto, andpalmito grass, and they all five set to work under Ropo's directionsand twisted away at the rope; and now and then they tied a fragment ofrock to the end and let it down, to see if it reached the bottom. Theywent on thus for five years, and at last it splashed the water, andwhen they let it down again it sounded on the rock, and they foundonly a few feet of the rope was wet, for the water was not deep.

  Then Listeno put his ear to the top and told them it was not standingwater, but that a brook ran through, along the bottom of the cave. Asthey were twisting the rope, they talked away about the great deedseach would do; and each had a conjecture as to what they might find atthe bottom of the well. They all thought they should find a treasure,and Porto said he would take it up on his shoulders and carry it homefor them, though it should weigh as much as all the lead of the SierraAlmagrera [47].

  But when the rope was finished, and it was a question of who shouldgo down, not one of the knight's followers, though they had beenboasting so loudly before, would venture down into the well. So theknight laughed, and said he was not afraid; and one end of the ropehaving been lashed tightly to a rock, the four followers undertookto pay it out steadily, and down the knight descended into the black,gloomy depth.

  Day and night he went on steadily descending for three days andthree nights, and at the end he came into the water. It was not morethan breast high, so he waded through it for several yards till hecame to a place where the bank widened sufficiently for him to getout and walk along it; and then he came to some trees, and throughthe trees was an open space lighted by a lurid light which camefrom a deeper cave. On a sloping bank, covered with shining grassand strange flowers, lay a beautiful princess all dressed in white,and decked with shining jewels; and as she lay, she moaned and criedand prayed for deliverance. So the knight was hastening towards her,and drew his sword to cut the bonds which confined her, but at thatinstant up started a fierce demon whom he had not observed before,as he lay coiled up at the mouth of the cave.

  "Not so fast, fine caballero!" he cried, "for she is mine, and you willhave to fight me before you can touch her." The knight disregardedthe menace, and continued his way towards the princess, but the airwas stiff all around him--though he could see no hindrance, he foundhe could not make any way towards her.

  "Ha! ha!" roared the demon, "my fine caballero, you'll find you willhave to do with me at last!"

  "And who are you?" shouted the baffled knight, "and what is thisbeautiful princess to you?"

  "I am bound to answer the
knight who asks that question," answeredthe demon, "or it is little you would have learnt from me. Know,then, that this princess was the only daughter of King Euric, towhom belonged all the country as far as eye can see; and she wouldhave succeeded to his kingdom, but her temper was so violent, no onecould bear with her. Upon the least contradiction she would order asubject to be executed; and her arbitrary conduct was continuallyinvolving the kingdom in discontent and trouble. Her father, whotenderly loved her, used to coax her and use every endeavour tosoften her, but with no avail. At last, one day she provoked him sosore that in his anger he exclaimed, 'Go to the horned one!' When Iheard myself called, I hastened to seize her, but, notwithstandingall my speed, before I could arrive he had revoked the curse, andso I was tricked out of her. This happened several times, but eachtime fatherly fondness was quicker than my utmost haste. At last,a day came when she excited him greatly, and he said again, 'Go tothe horned one!' and before he could recall the words that time,he had fallen down a lifeless corpse. So now she is mine, and mineshe must remain till some knight will win her in arms from me, andmarry her, and restore her to her castle and her kingdom."

  "That will I!" said the knight stoutly; for though he feared thelady's violent temper after what he had heard, his devotion to chivalrybound him to use his best endeavours to deliver her.

  Accordingly he drew his sword, and called to the demon to comeon. "Remember one thing," said the demon, "if you should win her,she is yours for ever; I take her back no more."

  Meantime, Listeno, at the top of the well, had been reporting tohis companions all that he heard going on below, and their curiositygetting the better of their fears, they let themselves down by therope, and all four arrived in time to witness the terrible contest.

  Never was such a fight seen in this world as that between thisknight and the demon; and at last the knight cut off the demon'sear. No tongue could describe the demon's rage at finding his ear inpossession of a mortal.

  "Give me my ear!" he cried in tones so sharp that they almost stunnedListeno's sensitive hearing powers.

  "Never," replied the knight, "or at least not without a heavyransom. In the first place I exact that without further ado youreinstate the Princess in her castle and all her power." The demonstamped and raged, but the knight was firm. The demon was ashamed togo home without his ear, so he thought it best to comply.

  The Princess was restored to her throne, the castle was restored toits strength, the garrison was restored to the ramparts, the servantswere restored to the halls. The knight married the princess; greatrejoicings and festivities were celebrated, and to his four followerswere given places of trust and consequence in the palace.

  The demon often came to beg for his ear, but the knight felt that atsome time or other he might have need of him, so he would not losehis hold over him.

  For a time all went well enough, but by little and little the Princessforgot her years of adversity and the debt she owed the knight: shegrew more and more wilful, and before a year was out she had become soviolent again, that he grew weary of his life, and declared he couldno longer endure the continual turmoil. Remonstrance and coaxing werealike unheeded, and it was vain that he tried her father's remedy,for the demon had sworn never to take her back.

  In this strait Porto reminded him of the ear he held in hostage,adding, "I will take it upon myself to deliver you of her." So puttingthe bottle of brine in which the ear was kept into his pocket, heswung the Princess over his shoulder, and all her struggling wasuseless against "the son of the strong porter."

  Thus laden he went to find out the demon. "You are to take back thisprincess, she is only fit for your company," he said, when he hadfound him.

  "Not I!" answered the demon, grinning: "I told your master when hewould have her he must take her for good and all."

  "Do you know this ear?" then asked Porto, showing him the bottle.

  The demon clutched at it.

  "Not so fast!" cried Porto. "If you want to have it back, this is mymaster's condition: you must take back the princess along with it."

  So, crest-fallen and glad to get his ear back on any condition,the demon accepted the bargain as it was dictated to him; and theprincess who could not command her temper never found another knightto deliver her.