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Once upon
a time...
There lived a man who had only one son, a lazy, stupid boy,
who would never do anything he was told. When the father was dying,
he sent for his son and told him that he would soon be left alone in
the world, with no possessions but the small cottage they lived in
and a pear tree which grew behind it, and that, whether he liked it
or not, he would have to work, or else he would starve. Then the old
man died.
But the boy did not work; instead, he idled about as before,
contenting himself with eating the pears off his tree, which, unlike
other pear trees before or since, bore fruit the whole year round.
Indeed, the pears were so much finer than any you could get even in
the autumn, that one day, in the middle of the winter, they
attracted the notice of a fox who was creeping by.
'Dear me; what lovely pears!' he said to the youth. 'Do give me a
basket of them. It will bring you luck!'
'Ah, little fox, but if I give you a basketful, what am I to eat?'
asked the boy.
'Oh, trust me, and do what I tell you,' said the fox; 'I know it
will bring you luck.' So the boy got up and picked some of the
ripest pears and put them into a rush basket. The fox thanked him,
and, taking the basket in his mouth, trotted off to the king's
palace and made his way straight to the king.
'Your Majesty, my master sends you a few of his best pears, and begs
you will graciously accept them,' he said, laying the basket at the
feet of the king.
'Pears! at this season?' cried the king, peering down to look at
them; 'and, pray, who is your master?'
'The Count Piro,' answered the fox.
'But how does he manage to get pears in midwinter?' asked the king.
'Oh, he has everything he wants,' replied the fox; 'he is richer
even than you are, your Majesty.'
'Then what can I send him in return for his pears?' said the king.
'Nothing, your Majesty, or you would hurt his feelings,' answered
the fox.
'Well, tell him how heartily I thank him, and how much I shall enjoy
them.' And the fox went away.
He trotted back to the cottage with his empty basket and told his
tale, but the youth did not seem as pleased to hear as the fox was
to tell.
'But, my dear little fox,' said he, ' you have brought me nothing in
return, and I am so hungry!'
'Let me alone,' replied the fox; 'I know what I am doing. You will
see, it will bring you luck.'
A few days after this the fox came back again.
'I must have another basket of pears,' said he.
'Ah, little fox, what shall I eat if you take away all my pears?'
answered the youth.
'Be quiet, it will be all right,' said the fox; and taking a bigger
basket than before, he filled it quite full of pears. Then he picked
it up in his mouth, and trotted off to the palace.
'Your Majesty, as you seemed to like the first basket of pears, I
have brought you some more,' said he, 'with my master, the Count
Piro's humble respects.'
'Now, surely it is not possible to grow such pears with deep snow on
the ground?' cried the king.
'Oh, that never affects them,' answered the fox lightly; 'he is rich
enough to do anything. But to-day he sends me to ask if you will
give him your daughter in marriage?'
'If he is so much richer than I am,' said the king, 'I shall be
obliged to refuse. My honour would not permit me to accept his
offer.'
'Oh, your Majesty, you must not think that,' replied the fox; 'and
do not let the question of a dowry trouble you. The Count Piro would
not dream of asking anything but the hand of the princess.'
'Is he really so rich that he can do without a dowry?' asked the
king.
'Did I not tell your Majesty that he was richer than you?' answered
the fox reproachfully.
'Well, beg him to come here, that we may talk together,' said the
king.
So the fox went back to the young man and said: 'I have told the
king that you are Count Piro, and have asked his daughter in
marriage.'
'Oh, little fox, what have you done?' cried the youth in dismay;
'when the king sees me he will order my head to be cut off.'
'Oh, no, he won't!' replied the fox; 'just do as I tell you.' And he
went off to the town, and stopped at the house of the best tailor.
'My master, the Count Piro, begs that you will send him at once the
finest coat that you have in your shop,' said the fox, putting on
his grandest air, 'and if it fits him I will call and pay for it
to-morrow! Indeed, as he is in a great hurry, perhaps it might be as
well if I took it round myself.' The tailor was not accustomed to
serve counts, and he at once got out all the coats he had ready. The
fox chose out a beautiful one of white and silver, bade the tailor
tie it up in a parcel, and carrying the string in his teeth, he left
the shop, and went to a horse-dealer's, whom he persuaded to send
his finest horse round to the cottage, saying that the king had
bidden his master to the palace.
Very unwillingly the young man put on the coat and mounted the
horse, and rode up to meet the king, with the fox running before
him.
'What am I to say to his Majesty, little fox?' he asked anxiously;
'you know that I have never spoken to a king before.'
'Say nothing,' answered the fox, 'but leave the talking to me. "Good
morning, your Majesty," will be all that is necessary for you.'
By this time they had reached the palace, and the king came to the
door to receive Count Piro, and led him to the great hall, where a
feast was spread. The princess was already seated at the table, but
was as dumb as Count Piro himself.
'The Count speaks very little,' the king said at last to the fox,
and the fox answered: 'He has so much to think about in the
management of his property that he cannot afford to talk like
ordinary people.' The king was quite satisfied, and they finished
dinner, after which Count Piro and the fox took leave.
The next morning the fox came round again.
'Give me another basket of pears,' he said.
'Very well, little fox; but remember it may cost me my life,'
answered the youth.
'Oh, leave it to me, and do as I tell you, and you will see that in
the end it will bring you luck,' answered the fox; and plucking the
pears he took them up to the king.
'My master, Count Piro, sends you these pears,' he said, 'and asks
for an answer to his proposal.'
'Tell the count that the wedding can take place whenever he
pleases,' answered the king, and, filled with pride, the fox trotted
back to deliver his message.
'But I can't bring the princess here, little fox?' cried the young
man in dismay.
'You leave everything to me,' answered the fox; ' have I not managed
well so far?'
And up at the palace preparations were made for a grand wedding, and
the youth was married to the princess.
After a week of feasting, the fox said to the king: 'My master
wishes to take his young bride home to his own castle.'
'Very well, I will accompany them,' replied the king; and he ordered
his courtiers and attendants to get ready, and the best horses in
his stable to be brought out for himself, Count Piro and the
princess. So they all set out, and rode across the plain, the little
fox running before them.
He stopped at the sight of a great flock of sheep, which was feeding
peacefully on the rich grass. 'To whom do these sheep belong?' asked
he of the shepherd. 'To an ogre,' replied the shepherd.
'Hush,' said the fox in a mysterious manner. 'Do you see that crowd
of armed men riding along? If you were to tell them that those sheep
belonged to an ogre, they would kill them, and then the ogre would
kill you! If they ask, just say the sheep belong to Count Piro; it
will be better for everybody.' And the fox ran hastily on, as he did
not wish to be seen talking to the shepherd.
Very soon the king came up.
'What beautiful sheep!' he said, drawing up his horse. 'I have none
so fine in my pastures. Whose are they?'
'Count Piro's,' answered the shepherd, who did not know the king.
'Well, he must be a very rich man,' thought the king to himself, and
rejoiced that he had such a wealthy son-in-law.
Meanwhile the fox had met with a huge herd of pigs, snuffling about
the roots of some trees.
'To whom do these pigs belong?' he asked of the swineherd.
'To an ogre,' replied he.
'Hush!' whispered the fox, though nobody could hear him; 'do you see
that troop of armed men riding towards us? If you tell them that the
pigs belong to the ogre they will kill them, and then the ogre will
kill you! If they ask, just say that the pigs belong to Count Piro;
it will be better for everybody.' And he ran hastily on.
Soon after the king rode up.
'What fine pigs!' he said, reining in his horse. 'They are fatter
than any I have got on my farms. Whose are they?'
'Count Piro's,' answered the swineherd, who did not know the king;
and again the king felt he was lucky to have such a rich son-in-law.
This time the fox ran faster than before, and in a flowery meadow he
found a troop of horses feeding. 'Whose horses are these?' he asked
of the man who was watching them.
'An ogre's,' replied he.
'Hush!' whispered the fox, 'do you see that crowd of armed men
coming towards us? If you tell them the horses belong to an ogre
they will drive them off, and then the ogre will kill you! If they
ask, just say they are Count Piro's; it will be better for
everybody.' And he ran on again.
In a few minutes the king rode up.
'Oh, what lovely creatures! how I wish they were mine!' he
exclaimed. 'Whose are they?'
Count Piro's,' answered the man, who did not know the king; and the
king's heart leapt as he thought that if they belonged to his rich
son-in-law they were as good as his.
At last the fox came to the castle of the ogre himself. He ran up
the steps, with tears falling from his eyes, and crying:
'Oh, you poor, poor people, what a sad fate is yours!'
'What has happened?' asked the ogre, trembling with fright.
'Do you see that troop of horsemen who are riding along the road?
They are sent by the king to kill you!'
'Oh, dear little fox, help us, we implore you!' cried the ogre and
his wife.
'Well, I will do what I can,' answered the fox. 'The best place is
for you both to hide in the big oven, and when the soldiers have
gone by I will let you out.'
The ogre and ogress scrambled into the oven as quick as thought, and
the fox banged the door on them; just as he did so the king came up.
'Do us the honour to dismount, your Majesty,' said the fox, bowing
low. 'This is the palace of Count Piro!'
'Why it is more splendid than my own!' exclaimed the king, looking
round on all the beautiful things that filled the hall. But why are
there no servants?'
'His Excellency the Count Piro wished the princess to choose them
for herself,' answered the fox, and the king nodded his approval. He
then rode on, leaving the bridal pair in the castle. But when it was
dark and all was still, the fox crept downstairs and lit the kitchen
fire, and the ogre and his wife were burned to death. The next
morning the fox said to Count Piro:
'Now that you are rich and happy, you have no more need of me; but,
before I go, there is one thing I must ask of you in return: when I
die, promise me that you will give me a magnificent coffin, and bury
me with due honours.'
'Oh, little, little fox, don't talk of dying,' cried the princess,
nearly weeping, for she had taken a great liking to the fox.
After some time the fox thought he would see if the Count Piro was
really grateful to him for all he had done, and went back to the
castle, where he lay down on the door-step, and pretended to be
dead. The princess was just going out for a walk, and directly she
saw him lying there, she burst into tears and fell on her knees
beside him.
'My dear little fox, you are not dead,' she wailed; 'you poor, poor
little creature, you shall have the finest coffin in the world!'
'A coffin for an animal?' said Count Piro. 'What nonsense! just take
him by the leg and throw him into the ditch.'
Then the fox sprang up and cried: 'You wretched, thankless beggar;
have you forgotten that you owe all your riches to me?'
Count Piro was frightened when he heard these words, as he thought
that perhaps the fox might have power to take away the castle, and
leave him as poor as when he had nothing to eat but the pears off
his tree. So he tried to soften the fox's anger, saying that he had
only spoken in joke, as he had known quite well that he was not
really dead. For the sake of the princess, the fox let himself be
softened, and he lived in the castle for many years, and played with
Count Piro's children. And when he actually did die, his coffin was
made of silver, and Count Piro and his wife followed him to the
grave.
How the Beggar Boy
turned into Count Piro
from the Crimson Fairy Book
Story Edited
by Andrew Lang |
