|
Once upon
a time...
In the very middle of the middle of a large kingdom, there
was a town, and in the town a palace, and in the palace a king. This
king had one son whom his father thought was wiser and cleverer than
any son ever was before, and indeed his father had spared no pains
to make him so. He had been very careful in choosing his tutors and
governors when he was a boy, and when he became a youth he sent him
to travel, so that he might see the ways of other people, and find
that they were often as good as his own.
It was now a year since the prince had returned home, for his father
felt that it was time that his son should learn how to rule the
kingdom which would one day be his. But during his long absence the
prince seemed to have changed his character altogether. From being a
merry and light-hearted boy, he had grown into a gloomy and
thoughtful man. The king knew of nothing that could have produced
such an alteration. He vexed himself about it from morning till
night, till at length an explanation occurred to him--the young man
was in love!
Now the prince never talked about his feelings--for the matter of
that he scarcely talked at all; and the father knew that if he was
to come to the bottom of the prince's dismal face, he would have to
begin. So one day, after dinner, he took his son by the arm and led
him into another room, hung entirely with the pictures of beautiful
maidens, each one more lovely than the other.
'My dear boy,' he said, 'you are very sad; perhaps after all your
wanderings it is dull for you here all alone with me. It would be
much better if you would marry, and I have collected here the
portraits of the most beautiful women in the world of a rank equal
to your own. Choose which among them you would like for a wife, and
I will send an embassy to her father to ask for her hand.'
'Alas! your Majesty,' answered the prince, 'it is not love or
marriage that makes me so gloomy; but the thought, which haunts me
day and night, that all men, even kings, must die. Never shall I be
happy again till I have found a kingdom where death is unknown. And
I have determined to give myself no rest till I have discovered the
Land of Immortality.
The old king heard him with dismay; things were worse than he
thought. He tried to reason with his son, and told him that during
all these years he had been looking forward to his return, in order
to resign his throne and its cares, which pressed so heavily upon
him. But it was in vain that he talked; the prince would listen to
nothing, and the following morning buckled on his sword and set
forth on his journey.
He had been travelling for many days, and had left his fatherland
behind him, when close to the road he came upon a huge tree, and on
its topmost bough an eagle was sitting shaking the branches with all
his might. This seemed so strange and so unlike an eagle, that the
prince stood still with surprise, and the bird saw him and flew to
the ground. The moment its feet touched the ground he changed into a
king.
'Why do you look so astonished?' he asked.
'I was wondering why you shook the boughs so fiercely,' answered the
prince.
'I am condemned to do this, for neither I nor any of my kindred can
die till I have rooted up this great tree,' replied the king of the
eagles. 'But it is now evening, and I need work no more to-day. Come
to my house with me, and be my guest for the night.'
The prince accepted gratefully the eagle's invitation, for he was
tired and hungry. They were received at the palace by the king's
beautiful daughter, who gave orders that dinner should be laid for
them at once. While they were eating, the eagle questioned his guest
about his travels, and if he was wandering for pleasure's sake, or
with any special aim. Then the prince told him everything, and how
he could never turn back till he had discovered the Land of
Immortality.
'Dear brother,' said the eagle, 'you have discovered it already, and
it rejoices my heart to think that you will stay with us. Have you
not just heard me say that death has no power either over myself or
any of my kindred till that great tree is rooted up? It will take me
six hundred years' hard work to do that; so marry my daughter and
let us all live happily together here. After all, six hundred years
is an eternity!'
'Ah, dear king,' replied the young man, 'your offer is very
tempting! But at the end of six hundred years we should have to die,
so we should be no better off! No, I must go on till I find the
country where there is no death at all.'
Then the princess spoke, and tried to persuade the guest to change
his mind, but he sorrowfully shook his head. At length, seeing that
his resolution was firmly fixed, she took from a cabinet a little
box which contained her picture, and gave it to him saying:
'As you will not stay with us, prince, accept this box, which will
sometimes recall us to your memory. If you are tired of travelling
before you come to the Land of Immortality, open this box and look
at my picture, and you will be borne along either on earth or in the
air, quick as thought, or swift as the whirlwind.'
The prince thanked her for her gift, which he placed in his tunic,
and sorrowfully bade the eagle and his daughter farewell.
Never was any present in the world as useful as that little box, and
many times did he bless the kind thought of the princess. One
evening it had carried him to the top of a high mountain, where he
saw a man with a bald head, busily engaged in digging up spadefuls
of earth and throwing them in a basket. When the basket was full he
took it away and returned with an empty one, which he likewise
filled. The prince stood and watched him for a little, till the
bald-headed man looked up and said to him: 'Dear brother, what
surprises you so much?'
'I was wondering why you were filling the basket,' replied the
prince.
'Oh!' replied the man, 'I am condemned to do this, for neither I nor
any of my family can die till I have dug away the whole of this
mountain and made it level with the plain. But, come, it is almost
dark, and I shall work no longer.' And he plucked a leaf from a tree
close by, and from a rough digger he was changed into a stately
bald-headed king. 'Come home with me,' he added; 'you must be tired
and hungry, and my daughter will have supper ready for us.' The
prince accepted gladly, and they went back to the palace, where the
bald-headed king's daughter, who was still more beautiful than the
other princess, welcomed them at the door and led the way into a
large hall and to a table covered with silver dishes. While they
were eating, the bald-headed king asked the prince how he had
happened to wander so far, and the young man told him all about it,
and how he was seeking the Land of Immortality. 'You have found it
already,' answered the king, 'for, as I said, neither I nor my
family can die till I have levelled this great mountain; and that
will take full eight hundred years longer. Stay here with us and
marry my daughter. Eight hundred years is surely long enough to
live.'
'Oh, certainly,' answered the prince; 'but, all the same, I would
rather go and seek the land where there is no death at all.'
So next morning he bade them farewell, though the princess begged
him to stay with all her might; and when she found that she could
not persuade him she gave him as a remembrance a gold ring. This
ring was still more useful than the box, because when one wished
oneself at any place one was there directly, without even the
trouble of flying to it through the air. The prince put it on his
finger, and thanking her heartily, went his way.
He walked on for some distance, and then he recollected the ring and
thought he would try if the princess had spoken truly as to its
powers. 'I wish I was at the end of the world,' he said, shutting
his eyes, and when he opened them he was standing in a street full
of marble palaces. The men who passed him were tall and strong, and
their clothes were magnificent. He stopped some of them and asked in
all the twenty-seven languages he knew what was the name of the
city, but no one answered him. Then his heart sank within him; what
should he do in this strange place if nobody could understand
anything? he said. Suddenly his eyes fell upon a man dressed after
the fashion of his native country, and he ran up to him and spoke to
him in his own tongue. 'What city is this, my friend?' he inquired.
'It is the capital city of the Blue Kingdom,' replied the man, 'but
the king himself is dead, and his daughter is now the ruler.'
With this news the prince was satisfied, and begged his countryman
to show him the way to the young queen's palace. The man led him
through several streets into a large square, one side of which was
occupied by a splendid building that seemed borne up on slender
pillars of soft green marble. In front was a flight of steps, and on
these the queen was sitting wrapped in a veil of shining silver
mist, listening to the complaints of her people and dealing out
justice. When the prince came up she saw directly that he was no
ordinary man, and telling her chamberlain to dismiss the rest of her
petitioners for that day, she signed to the prince to follow her
into the palace. Luckily she had been taught his language as a
child, so they had no difficulty in talking together.
The prince told all his story and how he was journeying in search of
the Land of Immortality. When he had finished, the princess, who had
listened attentively, rose, and taking his arm, led him to the door
of another room, the floor of which was made entirely of needles,
stuck so close together that there was not room for a single needle
more.
'Prince,' she said, turning to him, 'you see these needles? Well,
know that neither I nor any of my family can die till I have worn
out these needles in sewing. It will take at least a thousand years
for that. Stay here, and share my throne; a thousand years is long
enough to live!'
'Certainly,' answered he; 'still, at the end of the thousand years I
should have to die! No, I must find the land where there is no
death.'
The queen did all she could to persuade him to stay, but as her
words proved useless, at length she gave it up. Then she said to
him: 'As you will not stay, take this little golden rod as a
remembrance of me. It has the power to become anything you wish it
to be, when you are in need.'
So the prince thanked her, and putting the rod in his pocket, went
his way.
Scarcely had he left the town behind him when he came to a broad
river which no man might pass, for he was standing at the end of the
world, and this was the river which flowed round it. Not knowing
what to do next, he walked a little distance up the bank, and there,
over his head, a beautiful city was floating in the air. He longed
to get to it, but how? neither road nor bridge was anywhere to be
seen, yet the city drew him upwards, and he felt that here at last
was the country which he sought. Suddenly he remembered the golden
rod which the mist-veiled queen had given him. With a beating heart
he flung it to the ground, wishing with all his might that it should
turn into a bridge, and fearing that, after all, this might prove
beyond its power. But no, instead of the rod, there stood a golden
ladder, leading straight up to the city of the air. He was about to
enter the golden gates, when there sprang at him a wondrous beast,
whose like he had never seen. 'Out sword from the sheath,' cried the
prince, springing back with a cry. And the sword leapt from the
scabbard and cut off some of the monster's heads, but others grew
again directly, so that the prince, pale with terror, stood where he
was, calling for help, and put his sword back in the sheath again.
The queen of the city heard the noise and looked from her window to
see what was happening. Summoning one of her servants, she bade him
go and rescue the stranger, and bring him to her. The prince
thankfully obeyed her orders, and entered her presence.
The moment she looked at him, the queen also felt that he was no
ordinary man, and she welcomed him graciously, and asked him what
had brought him to the city. In answer the prince told all his
story, and how he had travelled long and far in search of the Land
of Immortality.
'You have found it,' said she, 'for I am queen over life and over
death. Here you can dwell among the immortals.'
A thousand years had passed since the prince first entered the city,
but they had flown so fast that the time seemed no more than six
months. There had not been one instant of the thousand years that
the prince was not happy till one night when he dreamed of his
father and mother. Then the longing for his home came upon him with
a rush, and in the morning he told the Queen of the Immortals that
he must go and see his father and mother once more. The queen stared
at him with amazement, and cried: 'Why, prince, are you out of your
senses? It is more than eight hundred years since your father and
mother died! There will not even be their dust remaining.'
'I must go all the same,' said he.
'Well, do not be in a hurry,' continued the queen, understanding
that he would not be prevented. 'Wait till I make some preparations
for your journey.' So she unlocked her great treasure chest, and
took out two beautiful flasks, one of gold and one of silver, which
she hung round his neck. Then she showed him a little trap-door in
one corner of the room, and said: 'Fill the silver flask with this
water, which is below the trap-door. It is enchanted, and whoever
you sprinkle with the water will become a dead man at once, even if
he had lived a thousand years. The golden flask you must fill with
the water here,' she added, pointing to a well in another corner.
'It springs from the rock of eternity; you have only to sprinkle a
few drops on a body and it will come to life again, if it had been a
thousand years dead.'
The prince thanked the queen for her gifts, and, bidding her
farewell, went on his journey.
He soon arrived in the town where the mist-veiled queen reigned in
her palace, but the whole city had changed, and he could scarcely
find his way through the streets. In the palace itself all was
still, and he wandered through the rooms without meeting anyone to
stop him. At last he entered the queen's own chamber, and there she
lay, with her embroidery still in her hands, fast asleep. He pulled
at her dress, but she did not waken. Then a dreadful idea came over
him, and he ran to the chamber where the needles had been kept, but
it was quite empty. The queen had broken the last over the work she
held in her hand, and with it the spell was broken too, and she lay
dead.
Quick as thought the prince pulled out the golden flask, and
sprinkled some drops of the water over the queen. In a moment she
moved gently, and raising her head, opened her eyes.
'Oh, my dear friend, I am so glad you wakened me; I must have slept
a long while!'
'You would have slept till eternity,' answered the prince, 'if I had
not been here to waken you.'
At these words the queen remembered about the needles. She knew now
that she had been dead, and that the prince had restored her to
life. She gave him thanks from her heart for what he had done, and
vowed she would repay him if she ever got a chance.
The prince took his leave, and set out for the country of the
bald-headed king. As he drew near the place he saw that the whole
mountain had been dug away, and that the king was lying dead on the
ground, his spade and bucket beside him. But as soon as the water
from the golden flask touched him he yawned and stretched himself,
and slowly rose to his feet. 'Oh, my dear friend, I am so glad to
see you,' cried he, 'I must have slept a long while!'
'You would have slept till eternity if I had not been here to waken
you,' answered the prince. And the king remembered the mountain, and
the spell, and vowed to repay the service if he ever had a chance.
Further along the road which led to his old home the prince found
the great tree torn up by its roots, and the king of the eagles
sitting dead on the ground, with his wings outspread as if for
flight. A flutter ran through the feathers as the drops of water
fell on them, and the eagle lifted his beak from the ground and
said: 'Oh, how long I must have slept! How can I thank you for
having awakened me, my dear, good friend!'
'You would have slept till eternity if I had not been here to waken
you'; answered the prince. Then the king remembered about the tree,
and knew that he had been dead, and promised, if ever he had the
chance, to repay what the prince had done for him.
At last he reached the capital of his father's kingdom, but on
reaching the place where the royal palace had stood, instead of the
marble galleries where he used to play, there lay a great sulphur
lake, its blue flames darting into the air. How was he to find his
father and mother, and bring them back to life, if they were lying
at the bottom of that horrible water? He turned away sadly and
wandered back into the streets, hardly knowing where he was going;
when a voice behind him cried: 'Stop, prince, I have caught you at
last! It is a thousand years since I first began to seek you.' And
there beside him stood the old, white-bearded, figure of Death.
Swiftly he drew the ring from his finger, and the king of the
eagles, the bald-headed king, and the mist-veiled queen, hastened to
his rescue. In an instant they had seized upon Death and held him
tight, till the prince should have time to reach the Land of
Immortality. But they did not know how quickly Death could fly, and
the prince had only one foot across the border, when he felt the
other grasped from behind, and the voice of Death calling: 'Halt!
now you are mine.'
The Queen of the Immortals was watching from her window, and cried
to Death that he had no power in her kingdom, and that he must seek
his prey elsewhere.
'Quite true,' answered Death; 'but his foot is in my kingdom, and
that belongs to me!'
'At any rate half of him is mine,' replied the Queen, 'and what good
can the other half do you? Half a man is no use, either to you or to
me! But this once I will allow you to cross into my kingdom, and we
will decide by a wager whose he is.'
And so it was settled. Death stepped across the narrow line that
surrounds the Land of Immortality, and the queen proposed the wager
which was to decide the prince's fate. 'I will throw him up into the
sky,' she said, 'right to the back of the morning star, and if he
falls down into this city, then he is mine. But if he should fall
outside the walls, he shall belong to you.'
In the middle of the city was a great open square, and here the
queen wished the wager to take place. When all was ready, she put
her foot under the foot of the prince and swung him into the air.
Up, up, he went, high amongst the stars, and no man's eyes could
follow him. Had she thrown him up straight? the queen wondered
anxiously, for, if not, he would fall outside the walls, and she
would lose him for ever. The moments seemed long while she and Death
stood gazing up into the air, waiting to know whose prize the prince
would be. Suddenly they both caught sight of a tiny speck no bigger
than a wasp, right up in the blue. Was he coming straight? No! Yes!
But as he was nearing the city, a light wind sprang up, and swayed
him in the direction of the wall. Another second and he would have
fallen half over it, when the queen sprang forward, seized him in
her arms, and flung him into the castle. Then she commanded her
servants to cast Death out of the city, which they did, with such
hard blows that he never dared to show his face again in the Land of
Immortality.
The Prince who would
seek immortality
from the Crimson Fairy Book
Story Edited
by Andrew Lang |
