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Once upon
a time...
There was a king who had an only son. When the lad was about
eighteen years old his father had to go to fight in a war against a
neighbouring country, and the king led his troops in person. He bade
his son act as Regent in his absence, but ordered him on no account
to marry till his return.
Time went by. The prince ruled the country and never even thought of
marrying. But when he reached his twenty-fifth birthday he began to
think that it might be rather nice to have a wife, and he thought so
much that at last he got quite eager about it. He remembered,
however, what his father had said, and waited some time longer, till
at last it was ten years since the king went out to war. Then the
prince called his courtiers about him and set off with a great
retinue to seek a bride. He hardly knew which way to go, so he
wandered about for twenty days, when, suddenly, he found himself in
his father's camp.
The king was delighted to see his son, and had a great many
questions to ask and answer; but when he heard that instead of
quietly waiting for him at home the prince was starting off to seek
a wife he was very angry, and said: 'You may go where you please but
I will not leave any of my people with you.'
Only one faithful servant stayed with the prince and refused to part
from him. They journeyed over hill and dale till they came to a
place called Goldtown. The King of Goldtown had a lovely daughter,
and the prince, who soon heard about her beauty, could not rest till
he saw her.
He was very kindly received, for he was extremely good-looking and
had charming manners, so he lost no time in asking for her hand and
her parents gave her to him with joy. The wedding took place at
once, and the feasting and rejoicings went on for a whole month. At
the end of the month they set off for home, but as the journey was a
long one they spent the first evening at an inn. Everyone in the
house slept, and only the faithful servant kept watch. About
midnight he heard three crows, who had flown to the roof, talking
together.
'That's a handsome couple which arrived here tonight. It seems quite
a pity they should lose their lives so soon.'
'Truly,' said the second crow; 'for to-morrow, when midday strikes,
the bridge over the Gold Stream will break just as they are driving
over it. But, listen! whoever overhears and tells what we have said
will be turned to stone up to his knees.'
The crows had hardly done speaking when away they flew. And close
upon them followed three pigeons.
'Even if the prince and princess get safe over the bridge they will
perish,' said they; 'for the king is going to send a carriage to
meet them which looks as new as paint. But when they are seated in
it a raging wind will rise and whirl the carriage away into the
clouds. Then it will fall suddenly to earth, and they will be
killed. But anyone who hears and betrays what we have said will be
turned to stone up to his waist.'
With that the pigeons flew off and three eagles took their places,
and this is what they said:
'If the young couple does manage to escape the dangers of the bridge
and the carriage, the king means to send them each a splendid gold
embroidered robe. When they put these on they will be burnt up at
once. But whoever hears and repeats this will turn to stone from
head to foot.'
Early next morning the travellers got up and breakfasted. They began
to tell each other their dreams. At last the servant said:
'Gracious prince, I dreamt that if your Royal Highness would grant
all I asked we should get home safe and sound; but if you did not we
should certainly be lost. My dreams never deceive me, so I entreat
you to follow my advice during the rest of the journey.'
'Don't make such a fuss about a dream,' said the prince; 'dreams are
but clouds. Still, to prevent your being anxious I will promise to
do as you wish.'
With that they set out on their journey.
At midday they reached the Gold Stream. When they got to the bridge
the servant said: 'Let us leave the carriage here, my prince, and
walk a little way. The town is not far off and we can easily get
another carriage there, for the wheels of this one are bad and will
not hold out much longer.'
The prince looked well at the carriage. He did not think it looked
so unsafe as his servant said; but he had given his word and he held
to it.
They got down and loaded the horses with the luggage. The prince and
his bride walked over the bridge, but the servant said he would ride
the horses through the stream so as to water and bathe them.
They reached the other side without harm, and bought a new carriage
in the town, which was quite near, and set off once more on their
travels; but they had not gone far when they met a messenger from
the king who said to the prince: 'His Majesty has sent your Royal
Highness this beautiful carriage so that you may make a fitting
entry into your own country and amongst your own people.'
The prince was so delighted that he could not speak. But the servant
said: 'My lord, let me examine this carriage first and then you can
get in if I find it is all right; otherwise we had better stay in
our own.'
The prince made no objections, and after looking the carriage well
over the servant said: 'It is as bad as it is smart'; and with that
he knocked it all to pieces, and they went on in the one that they
had bought.
At last they reached the frontier; there another messenger was
waiting for them, who said that the king had sent two splendid robes
for the prince and his bride, and begged that they would wear them
for their state entry. But the servant implored the prince to have
nothing to do with them, and never gave him any peace till he had
obtained leave to destroy the robes.
The old king was furious when he found that all his arts had failed;
that his son still lived and that he would have to give up the crown
to him now he was married, for that was the law of the land. He
longed to know how the prince had escaped, and said: 'My dear son, I
do indeed rejoice to have you safely back, but I cannot imagine why
the beautiful carriage and the splendid robes I sent did not please
you; why you had them destroyed.'
'Indeed, sire,' said the prince, 'I was myself much annoyed at their
destruction; but my servant had begged to direct everything on the
journey and I had promised him that he should do so. He declared
that we could not possibly get home safely unless I did as he told
me.'
The old king fell into a tremendous rage. He called his Council
together and condemned the servant to death.
The gallows was put up in the square in front of the palace. The
servant was led out and his sentence read to him.
The rope was being placed round his neck, when he begged to be
allowed a few last words. 'On our journey home,' he said, 'we spent
the first night at an inn. I did not sleep but kept watch all
night.' And then he went on to tell what the crows had said, and as
he spoke he turned to stone up to his knees. The prince called to
him to say no more as he had proved his innocence. But the servant
paid no heed to him, and by the time his story was done he had
turned to stone from head to foot.
Oh! how grieved the prince was to lose his faithful servant! And
what pained him most was the thought that he was lost through his
very faithfulness, and he determined to travel all over the world
and never rest till he found some means of restoring him to life.
Now there lived at Court an old woman who had been the prince's
nurse. To her he confided all his plans, and left his wife, the
princess, in her care. 'You have a long way before you, my son,'
said the old woman; 'you must never return till you have met with
Lucky Luck. If he cannot help you no one on earth can.'
So the prince set off to try to find Lucky Luck. He walked and
walked till he got beyond his own country, and he wandered through a
wood for three days but did not meet a living being in it. At the
end of the third day he came to a river near which stood a large
mill. Here he spent the night. When he was leaving next morning the
miller asked him: 'My gracious lord, where are you going all alone?'
And the prince told him.
'Then I beg your Highness to ask Lucky Luck this question: Why is it
that though I have an excellent mill, with all its machinery
complete, and get plenty of grain to grind, I am so poor that I
hardly know how to live from one day to another?'
The prince promised to inquire, and went on his way. He wandered
about for three days more, and at the end of the third day saw a
little town. It was quite late when he reached it, but he could
discover no light anywhere, and walked almost right through it
without finding a house where he could turn in. But far away at the
end of the town he saw a light in a window. He went straight to it
and in the house were three girls playing a game together. The
prince asked for a night's lodging and they took him in, gave him
some supper and got a room ready for him, where he slept.
Next morning when he was leaving they asked where he was going and
he told them his story. 'Gracious prince,' said the maidens, 'do ask
Lucky Luck how it happens that here we are over thirty years old and
no lover has come to woo us, though we are good, pretty, and very
industrious.'
The prince promised to inquire, and went on his way.
Then he came to a great forest and wandered about in it from morning
to night and from night to morning before he got near the other end.
Here he found a pretty stream which was different from other streams
as, instead of flowing, it stood still and began to talk: 'Sir
prince, tell me what brings you into these wilds? I must have been
flowing here a hundred years and more and no one has ever yet come
by.'
'I will tell you,' answered the prince, 'if you will divide yourself
so that I may walk through.'
The stream parted at once, and the prince walked through without
wetting his feet; and directly he got to the other side he told his
story as he had promised.
'Oh, do ask Lucky Luck,' cried the brook, 'why, though I am such a
clear, bright, rapid stream I never have a fish or any other living
creature in my waters.'
The prince said he would do so, and continued his journey.
When he got quite clear of the forest he walked on through a lovely
valley till he reached a little house thatched with rushes, and he
went in to rest for he was very tired.
Everything in the house was beautifully clean and tidy, and a
cheerful honest-looking old woman was sitting by the fire.
'Good-morning, mother,' said the prince.
'May Luck be with you, my son. What brings you into these parts?'
'I am looking for Lucky Luck,' replied the prince.
'Then you have come to the right place, my son, for I am his mother.
He is not at home just now, he is out digging in the vineyard. Do
you go too. Here are two spades. When you find him begin to dig, but
don't speak a word to him. It is now eleven o'clock. When he sits
down to eat his dinner sit beside him and eat with him. After dinner
he will question you, and then tell him all your troubles freely. He
will answer whatever you may ask.'
With that she showed him the way, and the prince went and did just
as she had told him. After dinner they lay down to rest.
All of a sudden Lucky Luck began to speak and said: 'Tell me, what
sort of man are you, for since you came here you have not spoken a
word?'
'I am not dumb,' replied the young man, 'but I am that unhappy
prince whose faithful servant has been turned to stone, and I want
to know how to help him.'
'And you do well, for he deserves everything. Go back, and when you
get home your wife will just have had a little boy. Take three drops
of blood from the child's little finger, rub them on your servant's
wrists with a blade of grass and he will return to life.'
'I have another thing to ask,' said the prince, when he had thanked
him. 'In the forest near here is a fine stream but not a fish or
other living creature in it. Why is this?'
'Because no one has ever been drowned in the stream. But take care,
in crossing, to get as near the other side as you can before you say
so, or you may be the first victim yourself.'
'Another question, please, before I go. On my way here I lodged one
night in the house of three maidens. All were well-mannered,
hard-working, and pretty, and yet none has had a wooer. Why was
this?'
'Because they always throw out their sweepings in the face of the
sun.'
'And why is it that a miller, who has a large mill with all the best
machinery and gets plenty of corn to grind is so poor that he can
hardly live from day to day?'
'Because the miller keeps everything for himself, and does not give
to those who need it.'
The prince wrote down the answers to his questions, took a friendly
leave of Lucky Luck, and set off for home.
When he reached the stream it asked if he brought it any good news.
'When I get across I will tell you,' said he. So the stream parted;
he walked through and on to the highest part of the bank. He stopped
and shouted out:
'Listen, oh stream! Lucky Luck says you will never have any living
creature in your waters until someone is drowned in you.'
The words were hardly out of his mouth when the stream swelled and
overflowed till it reached the rock up which he had climbed, and
dashed so far up it that the spray flew over him. But he clung on
tight, and after failing to reach him three times the stream
returned to its proper course. Then the prince climbed down, dried
himself in the sun, and set out on his march home.
He spent the night once more at the mill and gave the miller his
answer, and by-and-by he told the three sisters not to throw out all
their sweepings in the face of the sun.
The prince had hardly arrived at home when some thieves tried to
ford the stream with a fine horse they had stolen. When they were
half-way across, the stream rose so suddenly that it swept them all
away. From that time it became the best fishing stream in the
country-side.
The miller, too, began to give alms and became a very good man, and
in time grew so rich that he hardly knew how much he had.
And the three sisters, now that they no longer insulted the sun, had
each a wooer within a week.
When the prince got home he found that his wife had just got a fine
little boy. He did not lose a moment in pricking the baby's finger
till the blood ran, and he brushed it on the wrists of the stone
figure, which shuddered all over and split with a loud noise in
seven parts and there was the faithful servant alive and well.
When the old king saw this he foamed with rage, stared wildly about,
flung himself on the ground and died.
The servant stayed on with his royal master and served him
faithfully all the rest of his life; and, if neither of them is
dead, he is serving him still.
Lucky Luck
from the Crimson Fairy Book
Story Edited
by Andrew Lang |
