Luke Barnicott, and Other Stories

by William Howitt

  THE CASTLE EAST OF THE SUN.

  AN OLD STORY, FROM THE DANISH.

  There was once a king who had been very prosperous and happy, but he wasgrowing old. He had six sons and one daughter. His sons were very gayand jovial young men, who spent their days very merrily; and when theold king saw their vigorous sports and their enjoyment of life, hesighed to think that he could not be young once more. His daughter wasbeautiful and mild, and devoted all her days to amuse the old king, andto make him forget that he was growing old. But there came a veryhandsome prince from a far-off country, and he fell in love with the oldking's daughter, and asked her in marriage, and desired to take her awaywith him to his own kingdom.

  Now, the prince was very handsome, and had a very beautiful carriage,and very fine horses, and many servants, and plenty of gold and jewels,and everything which belongs to a prince. But the old king desired toknow where lay the kingdom of the prince, and what was its name. But theprince said that it was the island which lay east of the sun and west ofthe world, and that was its name; and that it was so far off that nobodyhad ever been to it from this country, nor had any one come to thiscountry from it besides himself.

  Then the old king was not willing that his daughter should marry aprince from a country so far off that nobody ever before heard of it.The young princes, his sons, were also opposed to the marriage. They didnot like the prince because he was so much handsomer than themselves,and had more money, and appeared with so much more splendour than theycould. They said he was probably some adventurer and impostor, for noone had ever heard of the country he pretended to come from, nor couldthey see how any one could get thither from a place east of the sun andwest of the world.

  Now, the princess felt a great affection for the strange prince, for hewas the handsomest man who had ever come to her father's court, and waspassionately in love with her; but she would not consent to leave herfather in his old age. Then said the prince, that he was bound not toreturn to his own country, nor to take upon him its government, forthree years, and for that time he would stay in this country; and whenthey went away at length, he would send the old king some of the waterwhich played in the fountain in the court of his castle, and some of theapples which grew over the sides of the fountain, and were wetted dailywith the dew of its spray. This fountain was the fountain ofimmortality, and the apples were the apples of youth; and whoever drankof that water and ate one of those apples would be instantly youngagain, and enjoy once more all the buoyancy and ardour of his freshestyears.

  When the old king heard that, he was very glad, and gave his consent forthe prince to marry his daughter, for above all things he wished to beyoung again, and to enjoy his life as he had done in his youthful years.The princess, too, on learning this, was willing to marry the prince,for she thought if her father could be young again he would find plentyof sources of happiness, and she herself would not grieve to go away tosuch a far-off country, if by that means she could thus purchase for herfather the great desire of his heart, and the renewal of his life.

  So the prince and princess were married, and they lived in a splendidpalace near the old king, and were very happy. Every day the princessfound the prince more amiable and sensible, and desirous to add to herfelicity, and he promised himself a long and joyous life with her in hisown beautiful island east of the sun and west of the world--so long,that nobody could tell the end of it, for they could drink of thefountain of life and eat of the apples of youth daily.

  But the old king was so impatient for a draught of this water, and ataste of one of those apples, that he forgot that the prince said thathe was bound not to return to his kingdom for three years. He wasimpatient for the prince and princess to begone, and to send some of theapples and the water, for he longed with a longing unto death for therenewal of his youth, which in his memory seemed so beautiful.

  When the prince heard this he was very sorrowful, and said it could notbe done, for no one knew the way to his kingdom but himself, and that ifhe returned before his time he should become a captive instead of aking, and be miserable for ever. But the old king became very angry, andredoubled his demands that the prince and princess should set out. Theold king's sons also insinuated that the prince did not go because hehad no kingdom to go to, but that he was what they had always asserted,an adventurer and impostor.

  The princess was very unhappy, and besought the prince to tell her theway to his kingdom, and let her go and bring the apples of youth and thewater of life; but he told her that it could not be done. It was morethan both their lives were worth. He begged the princess to promise himthat she would never urge this again till the three years were up, or itwould cost them then happiness for ever. But the old king was verypressing. He said he might be dead in less than three years, and then heshould lose the beautiful renewal of his youth for which his soullonged, and of which he had made himself sure when he consented thathis daughter should marry the prince. He urged his daughter to prevailon her husband to set out, and the princess, between the commands of theold king and the assurance of the prince that to press him further wasthe total ruin of their happiness, was the most miserable of women, andwept day and night. For many months she resisted, however, all desire topenetrate into the secret of the prince, and all the importunities ofthe old king, her father, and the taunts of the princes, her brothers.But when she saw how the gloom of despair hung heavier and heavier onthe king's brow, and heard him say that if she loved him she could helphim, she was ready to break her heart of grief. But her brothers' wordssank deeper into her soul, for they derided the prince, her husband, asa mock prince and a pretender, and said that he was the Prince ofNowhere, for no one had ever heard of his pretended country. At lengthher anguish grew to that pitch that she burst out in her husband'spresence with the words, "O that I could but know where your kingdom is,that I might go and save the life of my father!"

  At these words the prince turned deadly pale, sprang up, and embracedhis wife passionately, saying, "Alas! alas! it is all true! We mustpart, and for ever!"

  With a deep groan he escaped from her arms, and issuing out of the doorwas seen no more. It was a dark, wild night, but he passed hastily outof the palace, followed by all his servants. The princess, in a state ofdistraction, ran after him to detain him, but he and his followers hadalready disappeared, and from that day no man saw them again.

  Then the old king and the princes said that the pretended prince was inreality a troll (wizard) or an evil spirit, and that they were well ridof him. But the princess would not believe anything but that he was atrue and noble prince, who was bound by some solemn oath, and she wasoverwhelmed with sorrow that she had thus broken his commands, and losthim for ever. She hid herself long in the depths of her palace, andwished that she were dead.

  But the old king, though he had said that the prince was a troll or anevil spirit, began soon again to hanker after the golden apples and thewater of life, and bade his sons go and seek for the island east of thesun and west of the world. The sons declared that they did not believethere was any such island, or any such apples or water, but that theywere willing to go forth and make a quest after them. They were indeedglad to have plenty of money put into their hands, and to be able thusto go from country to country, and see the world.

  So the old king furnished two of them with money, and sent them out, andthey went away but never returned. Weeks and months, and then a wholeyear went round, and the two sons neither returned, nor did there comeany news of them. Then the old king sent out two more, and they alsowent out, but never returned. Weeks and months, and a whole year wentround, and they neither came back, nor any news of them. Then the oldking, whose desire for the golden apples and the water of life was onlybecome the stronger from his longings and disappointments, sent out hislast two sons, and bade them in Heaven's name to do their utmost, for ifthey failed all failed him, and he had no son left to succeed him. Sothey went, and, like the rest, they neither returned nor was there anynews of them.

  Thre
e years had now gone, the time to which the prince had limited hisstay, and now the old king thought that he might have had the apples ofyouth and the water of immortality, and by his impatience he had lostthem and all his sons into the bargain. There was nobody now left himbut his daughter, the princess, and she too now declared that she alsowould set out to seek her husband, and the apples of youth and the waterof life at the same time. The old king was rejoiced to let her go, forhe thought of nothing but of renewing his youth, and no price seemed toogreat to pay it. He had lost all his sons in the quest, and now he waswilling to risk the loss of his daughter and sole child, the prop andlast comfort of his age.

  So the princess kissed the old king, her father, and bade him be of goodcheer, for that if she was in life she would come back to him, and, ifpossible, with the precious apples and water in her hands. Then she setforth with the old king's blessing, and after she had wept herself wearyas she walked along, she wiped the tears from her eyes, lookedsteadfastly into the wide world before her, and wandered on many, manydays, till finally she came to a mountain by which an old woman sat andplayed with a golden apple. The princess asked the old woman if she knewthe way to the prince who lived with his stepmother in a castle east ofthe sun and west of the world?

  "How camest _thou_ to know him?" asked the old woman. "Art thou, indeed,the maiden that he should have married?" "Yes," replied the princess; "Iam she."

  "So! thou art really she!" said the old woman. "Yes! my child,"continued she, "I would gladly help thee, but I know no more of thecastle than that it is east of the sun and west of the world, andthither canst thou not go, I fear. But I will lend thee my horse, and onthat thou canst ride to my sister, and perhaps she can tell thee. Whenthou comest to my sister, then strike the horse behind the left ear, andlet it come home again. Thou canst also take with thee this goldenapple, for it may probably be useful to thee. But before thou settestout, thou must stay all night with me."

  The princess thanked her, and stayed all night, and when it was earlymorning the old woman said, "Stay a moment, I am queen of the beasts,and we will find out if any of them know where the castle lies that iseast of the sun and west of the world." So the old woman went out beforethe door, and whistled aloud three times; and there came the beastshurrying from all quarters--lions, and bisons, and wild horses, and manyanother creature, great and small; but none of them could tell the wayto the castle.

  Then the princess mounted on the horse, and rode on and on for animmense way. She rode over vast grey heaths, and over stony hills, andthrough ancient mossy woods, till she came to a very old woman who satat the foot of a mountain with a golden reel. The princess asked herwhether she was not the sister of the queen of beasts, and whether shecould tell her the way to the castle that was east of the sun and westof the world.

  The old woman replied that truly she was sister to the queen of thebeasts, but that she knew no more of the castle than that it was east ofthe sun and west of the world, and that the princess would not, shefeared, easily get there. But, added she, "I am queen of the birds, andin the morning I will ask them if any of them know the way to thecastle, for some of them fly very far. But, for my part, I have livedhere while the trees have grown up and rotted down several times, and noone ever asked me the way to this castle before. However, I will lendthee my horse, and on that canst thou ride to my other sister, the queenof the fishes, if the birds know nothing. When thou comest to my sister,strike the horse behind the left ear, and bid it come home again. And,besides this, thou canst take this golden reel with thee, for it mayprove useful to thee."

  In the morning the old woman went out before the door, and whistledthree times aloud, and from all quarters of the sky, from wood andmountain, came the birds flying--hawk and eagle, swallow and swift, thetravelling cuckoo, and the ancient phoenix, came sweeping down with agreat rush of pinions, but none of them could tell the way to thecastle. The phoenix had once seen it, but so long ago, and in a formerlife, that she remembered nothing more than that she was dreadfullyweary with her flight from it homewards.

  The princess mounted the horse, and again rode on for days and weeks,over huge, huge grey heaths and stony mountains, and through mossywoods. At length she came to where another old woman sat at the foot ofa mountain, and spun from a golden distaff. The princess asked if shewere the sister of the queen of the birds, and whether she could tellher anything of the prince who lived in the castle east of the sun andwest of the world?

  "Yes," replied the old woman, "I am the sister of the queen of thebirds; and art thou indeed the princess that the prince married?" "Yes,"said the princess; but the old woman knew nothing of the way more thanthe two former ones. "East from the sun and west of the world lies thecastle," she said, "that is true, but thither canst thou never go. Threetimes have the trees grown up and rotted down here, since I lived onthis spot, and thou art the first person that has asked the way to thecastle. Wait, however, till morning, and we will ask the fishes, for Iam queen of the fishes, and some of them swim very far."

  So in the morning the old woman took the princess down to the sea-shore,and she whistled three times, and the fish came swimming from allquarters. The herrings which travel the shores of sunny countries came,and the shark, and the huge whale, but none of them had ever travelledso far; only the whale had heard that he had relations very far south,and that there was an island east of the sun and west of the world thatthey sometimes sailed round, but the way to it the whale knew not.

  "So then," said the old woman, "there is nothing for it but to inquireof the winds, for they travel farther than beast, or bird, or fish; andfirst thou shalt go to the east wind, which is nearest. I will lend theemy horse to ride thither, and when thou comest to the east wind, strikethe horse behind the left ear, and bid him come home; and take thisgolden distaff with thee, for it may probably be of great use to thee.God speed thee on thy journey, for it is a long one, and I know not howthou canst get there, but shouldst thou ever travel this way again, Ipray thee let me know how it went with thee."

  So the princess thanked the queen of the fishes for all her kindness,promised if she lived to let her know what befel her, and, mounting thehorse, rode away to the east wind. Over many a moor and mountain, andthrough many a mossy wood she rode on for a long, long time before shecame to the east wind. But at length she arrived, and asked him whetherhe could tell her how she might come to the prince who lived in theisland and in the castle which lies east of the sun and west of theworld?

  "Of the prince," said the east wind, "I have indeed heard, and of thecastle too, but the way can I not tell thee, for I have never blown sofar. But I will take thee to my brother, the west wind; very likely hemay know, for he is much stronger than I am, and blows farther. Thoucanst seat thyself on my back, and I will bear thee thither."

  The princess seated herself on his back, and away he went. When theycame to the west wind, the east wind said, "I have brought thee a maidenwho has married the prince who lives in the castle east of the sun andwest of the world--canst thou tell her the way thither?"

  "Nay," said the west wind, "so far have I never blown. But if thou wilt,maiden, set thyself on my back, and I will carry thee to the south wind,for he is far stronger than I am, and blows and wanders abouteverywhere."

  The princess seated herself on his back, and it was not long before theywere at the south wind; and the west wind said, "I have brought thee amaiden who has married the prince of the castle east of the sun and westof the world--canst thou bear her thither?"

  "Nay," said the south wind, "I know not the way. In my time I have blownabout a good deal, but so far as that I never reached. But I will carrythe maiden to my brother, the north wind, who is the oldest andstrongest of us all, and if he cannot tell thee the way, then never wiltthou find it."

  The princess seated herself on the back of the swift south wind, andaway he went at such a rate that the very heath trembled. They werequickly at the north wind, but he was so wild and furious, that longbefore they reached hi
m he blew actual snow and ice in their faces.

  "What do you want?" growled he out, so that a shudder went through themlike cold water.

  "Oh! thou must not be so rude with us," said the south wind, "for it isI, thy brother, and this is a maiden who has married the prince wholives in the island castle east of the sun and west of the world.Thither will she, and would now ask counsel of thee how to yet there."

  "Well," said the north wind, "I know the place well where it lies. Ionce blew an aspen leaf thither, but I was so fatigued that I was notable to blow again for many a blessed day. But if thou really wilt gothither," said he to the princess, "and art not afraid, I will take theeon my back, and see whether I cannot blow thee thither."

  The princess said she must and would go if there were any possible way.That she was not in the least afraid, and would dare everything, let itbe as terrible as it might.

  "Here, then, must thou stay all night," said the north wind; "for wemust have the whole day before us if we mean to reach the place."

  Early in the morning the north wind awoke her; blew himself up, and madehimself so huge and strong that it was quite terrible; and away theywent through the air as if they would drive to the end of the world.There arose so tremendous a storm, that whole villages and woods wereblown down; and when they came over the great sea the ships sank byhundreds. Away they went over the waters, and that so far that no mortalcould conceive the distance. But the north wind began to grow weaker andweaker, so immense was the way, that he could scarcely blow any more;and he sank lower and lower down, till he at last flew so low that thewaves of the ocean struck his feet.

  "Art thou afraid?" demanded he of the princess.

  "No, not in the least," said she.

  And now they were not far from land. There lay the island, all beautifulwith pleasant palm and cocoa trees, lifting their airy heads in thesunshine, and with green and flowery forests coming down to the edge ofthe clear sparkling water. There stood the lofty castle with itspleasant gardens and soft lawns sweeping to the sea, and many brightbirds and wonderful flowers all about. They had really reached theisland and the castle that lies east of the sun and west of the world.But the north wind had scarcely strength left to reach the land, and, infact, he alighted on a rock which rose out of the sea at some distancefrom the strand.

  "Here will I lie and rest myself a little," said the great rough northwind, "and, to tell the truth, I would fain be excused going any nearerto the island, for they are not used here to such rough visitors as I,and were I to settle as softly as possible, I should chill many of thesegorgeous flowers and trees to death, and make those birds andbutterflies fall senseless to the ground. Ho! there I see our friend thewhale I will ask him to carry you over. Ho there! friend whale," saidthe north wind hoarsely, "come hither, and carry over to the island theprincess who has married the prince there."

  The whale came somewhat surlily to the task, and blowing up a hugestream of water to clear his voice, said,--

  "If she go with me she mast go quickly, for I am in danger here. I havepursued some tender herrings to this side of the island for mybreakfast; but if I am seen the people will shoot their arrows into me,and probably come off in boats and with harpoons after me. It is ratherprovoking that one cannot seek one's breakfast in peace without beingcalled on to become a ferryman."

  "Be civil, friend whale, as becomes thee," said the north wind. "I haveblown along all day and night with the maiden, and surely it cannothurt thy strong back just to bear her to the shore."

  "Waste no more words," said the whale, edging his huge bulk to the sideof the rock, "for there will soon be somebody spying us out."

  So the north wind bade the princess good speed, and she began to climbupon the whale's back; but it was so steep and slippery, that she foundit very difficult to ascend. Several times she slipped down again to therock, and the whale began to snort and blow with impatience. At lengththe princess accomplished the ascent, and thanking the north wind, shewas borne away towards the island. Before they reached it, however, thewhale plunged down under water, and swam so far under the waves, thatthe princess thought she should certainly never come up alive. Atlength, however, the huge creature emerged, and the princess recoveringher breath, and wiping the brine from her eyes and nostrils, asked thewhale why he treated her so rudely?

  "Why were you so long in getting up?" asked the whale. "Every minute ofyour delay might prepare an arrow for my hide; and methinks that greatsavage north wind, whom nobody can hurt, might just as well have carriedyou to the shore, when he had brought you so far; but these northerncreatures are only barbarians."

  The princess thought she knew which was the more civilized of the two;but she was too prudent to speak, as she might have this time gone tothe very bottom of the sea. So she was silent, till the whale rubbed thegreen edge of the island with his side, when she leaped down, and spiteof his rudeness, thanked him kindly for his good office.

  The princess now approached the front of the castle, and seating herselfunder the windows, played with the golden apple, and the first personthat she saw was the witch stepmother.

  "What wilt thou have for thy golden apple?" demanded she of the princessas she threw open the window.

  "That is not to sell, neither for gold nor money," said the princess.

  "If thou wilt not sell it for gold nor for money, what then wilt thoutake for it?" asked the stepmother. "I will give thee whatever thoudesirest."

  "Oh, then!" said the princess, "if thou wilt do that, thou shalt haveit; and the price is, that I am admitted for an hour to see the princewho lives in this castle."

  "That shalt thou," said the stepmother, and took the golden apple. Butwhen the princess came into the prince's room, there he lay in such adeep sleep that the princess could not wake him. She called to him,shook him, wept and lamented aloud and passionately, but all in vain.She saw that he was held fast under a spell; and as soon as the hour waspast came the stepmother, and chased the princess from the room and fromthe castle.

  The next day the princess seated herself again before the castle, putyarn upon the golden reel, and began to wind it off into a ball. And nowit happened just as it had done the day before. The stepmother askedwhat she would take for the golden reel, and she replied that it was notto be sold for money or gold; but if she might for just one hour moresee the prince, she would give her the reel The stepmother gladlyagreed, took the reel, and conducted the princess into the hall wherethe prince was. But he was, just as the day before, in so deep a sleep,that, spite of all that the princess could do, she could not wake him.She called to him, and shook him, and wept and lamented bitterly, butall in vain; and the moment that the hour was up, the stepmother cameand chased her from the room and the castle.

  The next day the princess seated herself with her golden distaff beforethe castle, and the instant that the stepmother saw her she longed tohave the golden distaff. The princess would not sell it for money orgold, but again bargained for one hour more in the presence of theprince. But now the servants of the prince, who had heard thelamentations of a woman in his presence on the two former days, had toldhim, and the prince was full of wonder. He was under the power of thewitch stepmother, because in three years' wandering through the world hehad not found a woman who loved him sufficiently to ask him no questionsas to whence he came and what he was. Therefore must he alternatelysleep twelve hours a magic sleep, and twelve hours keep awake; duringall which time the stepmother ruled over his kingdom and did as shepleased. But now, the servants having awoke his curiosity, when thestepmother brought him the wine at breakfast which locked him for twelvehours in unbreakable sleep, he pretended to drink it, but in realitypoured it behind him. He was, therefore, awake when the princessentered, and was astonished and rejoiced beyond all bounds to see hiswife again. She then related to him how it had gone with her, and howshe had managed to reach the castle.

  When she had told him all this, he said:--"Thou art come precisely atthe right time, for the stepmother ha
s been exercising her witchcraft tooccasion me to marry another princess, which must have taken place ifshe could have retained her power over me for a week longer. But now isher power at an end, for it can endure no longer than till a true womanasserts her right as wife in this castle. Henceforth must she flee toher own kindred in the mountains of the mainland, and we are now free todo whatever we please."

  Then the prince called in all his servants and showed them his truewife, and there was great rejoicing, but the false stepmother hadalready fled away. The prince held a great banquet of ten days, andshowed the princess all the beauties of the castle and island.

  After this she told him how her father, the old king, still longed for adraught of the fountain, and a taste of the apples which grew in hiscourt, and begged that she might go and carry them. But the prince askedhow she could go, for the north wind had long blown himself back to hisplace; and when the princess thought on this, and saw not how she wasever to quit the island, she was very sorrowful. Then the prince smiled,and said he would show her how she should go, and that he would go withher. He therefore ordered provisions and wine for a long journey, andcommanded them to be carried down to the shore. But there was neitherboat nor ship to be seen. Yet the prince took the princess by the handand said, "Now we say farewell for the present to the island east of thesun and west of the world, and we will set sail to see the old king, thyfather."

  At this the princess wondered more and more. But when they were comedown to the waters edge, the prince took from his pocket a small thinglike a folded skin, and said, "This is the ship in which we shall sail."The princess laughed and thought it a jest, but the prince opened it,and behold it was like a small boat. He stretched it out so long as hisarms could reach, and then set it upon the water, commanding one of hispeople to step into it. He did so, and there was then room for two.Another stepped into it, and there was immediately room for two more.Thus it continued to expand till twenty men were in it, when the princeordered the provision and awnings for the voyage to be carried in, andthen stepped in with the princess. And now the princess saw that therewas ample room for all, and she and the prince sat under a canopy ofblue and gold, and the ship seemed instinct with life, and impatient toset sail.[1]

  [Footnote 1: Odin had his ship of this kind, called Skidbladnir, or theskating leaf, and in the Scandinavian Sagas such convenient vessels arefrequently mentioned.]

  Then said the prince to the ship, "Away, over land and water to thequeen of the fishes!"

  And the ship cut smoothly away over the sunny waves without oar or sail,fleet as an arrow, till it reached the coast where the queen of thefishes lived. She was greatly delighted to see the princess return withthe handsome prince, and in so wonderful a ship. The princess thankedher for her kindness in enabling her to reach her husband, and gave herone of the apples of youth, and a cup of the water; and no sooner hadthe old woman eaten the apple and drunk the water, than her wrinklesvanished from her skin, her hair from grey became black as the raven'splumes, and she stood there as a beautiful and stately maiden. Theprincess was not the less delighted than the queen of the birds, for shenow saw that her father would certainly regain his youth. With manythanks on the part of the now beautiful queen of fishes, the prince andprincess took their leave, assuring her that they should call on hersisters, the queen of birds and the queen of beasts, and give them alsothe same youth-renewing fruit and drink. Thither the wonderful shipsailed, and thence took its way at the prince's command to the court ofthe old king.

  The old king was now become very weak, and lay at the point of death.All his six sons had returned, having spent all their money in riotousliving in a distant city, and declared that they had been all round theworld, and had inquired in all lands, and that nobody had ever heard ofthe castle east of the sun and west of the world. They protested thatthere was no such place, and no prince of such a place, and that hisdaughter would never return.

  At this news the old king groaned bitterly, and lay helpless andsorrowful unto death. All his beautiful hopes of ever renewing his youthdied in his heart; and while he was about to give up the ghost, his sonswatched for his last breath, that they might seize on his treasures andspend them in riot and folly.

  But just as they thought the old king's breath was departing, the princeand princess came sailing over the land in the ship, and stopped, to theamazement of all the courtiers, at the castle gate. Then entered theprince and the princess, who was weeping for joy. She bore in one hand acrystal flagon of the water of the fountain, and in the other a goldensalver of the apples of youth; and kneeling by the old king's couch, shekissed him with many tears, and wet his lips with the water. All atonce the old man's eyes gleamed with a sudden brightness; he raisedhimself on his elbows, and saw his daughter, with the prince by herside, stand weeping for joy, with the salver of fruit and the crystalflagon in her hand. Then he knew that she had reached the castle east ofthe sun and west of the world, and had come back for his sake. Heeagerly stretched out his hand for the fruit, and having eaten oneapple, he sprang from his couch with a bound such as he used whenspringing into battle, and then drinking a cup of the glittering water,he stood before them a stately man in wonderful beauty and strength. Inhis joy he stretched forth his arms and strode across the floor, andlaying his hands on his sides as if to make sure how well he felt, helaughed and said, "Now again I am a king!"

  Then he embraced and kissed his daughter, and also embracedaffectionately the prince, praising them as the best of children thatever king had. But suddenly his face darkened with a frown, and he said,"What shall we do with those six nidings (worthless fellows) who callthemselves my sons? They shall all be put to death."

  But the prince and princess said, "Not so. They would buy their lives asthe reward for having brought the king the renewal of his youth." Theprince also requested that he might have the six sons delivered to him,engaging to make useful men of them in less than five years. To this theking, no longer called the old, readily consented; and when the feast ofrejoicing was ended, the prince again took the wonderful ship from hispocket, and placing in it the six unworthy brothers, he bade the shipsail away to a region of wild and far-off mountains, where he deliveredthem to the keeping of the Dwarfs, who made them hew stone in thequarries, fell timber and shape it in the forests and work at the anvilin their smithies. There they laboured from day to day severely, andlived on the coarsest fare, till wisdom and better thoughts by degreescame into them, and they sent and petitioned that the king, theirfather, would forgive them, and place them in one of the lowest officesin his kingdom, where they might practise before all men the humilityand gravity which they had acquired from the Dwarfs, and the solitude,the labour, and the frugal fair.

  The king, having consented to this prayer, and found them true to theirword, divided his kingdom amongst them, and sailed away with the princeand princess in the wonderful ship to the island east of the sun andwest of the world, where he eats freely of the apples of youth, anddrinks daily of the fountain of immortality, and feels that he is a kingindeed.

  THE HOLIDAYS AT BARENBURG CASTLE.

  BY OTTILIE WILDERMUTH.