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Once upon
a time...
Once upon a time there lived a young man named Rosimond, who
was as good and handsome as his elder brother Bramintho was ugly and
wicked. Their mother detested her eldest son, and had only eyes for
the youngest. This excited Bramintho's jealousy, and he invented a
horrible story in order to ruin his brother. He told his father that
Rosimond was in the habit of visiting a neighbour who was an enemy
of the family, and betraying to him all that went on in the house,
and was plotting with him to poison their father.
The father flew into a rage, and flogged his son till the blood
came. Then he threw him into prison and kept him for three days
without food, and after that he turned him out of the house, and
threatened to kill him if he ever came back. The mother was
miserable, and did nothing but weep, but she dared not say anything.
The youth left his home with tears in his eyes, not knowing where to
go, and wandered about for many hours till he came to a thick wood.
Night overtook him at the foot of a great rock, and he fell asleep
on a bank of moss, lulled by the music of a little brook.
It was dawn when he woke, and he saw before him a beautiful woman
seated on a grey horse, with trappings of gold, who looked as if she
were preparing for the hunt.
'Have you seen a stag and some deerhounds go by?' she asked.
'No, madam,' he replied.
Then she added, 'You look unhappy; is there anything the matter?
Take this ring, which will make you the happiest and most powerful
of men, provided you never make a bad use of it. If you turn the
diamond inside, you will become invisible. If you turn it outside,
you will become visible again. If you place it on your little
finger, you will take the shape of the King's son, followed by a
splendid court. If you put it on your fourth finger, you will take
your own shape.'
Then the young man understood that it was a Fairy who was speaking
to him, and when she had finished she plunged into the woods. The
youth was very impatient to try the ring, and returned home
immediately. He found that the Fairy had spoken the truth, and that
he could see and hear everything, while he himself was unseen. It
lay with him to revenge himself, if he chose, on his brother,
without the slightest danger to himself, and he told no one but his
mother of all the strange things that had befallen him. He
afterwards put the enchanted ring on his little finger, and appeared
as the King's son, followed by a hundred fine horses, and a guard of
officers all richly dressed.
His father was much surprised to see the King's son in his quiet
little house, and he felt rather embarrassed, not knowing what was
the proper way to behave on such a grand occasion. Then Rosimond
asked him how many sons he had.
'Two,' replied he.
'I wish to see them,' said Rosimond. 'Send for them at once. I
desire to take them both to Court, in order to make their fortunes.'
The father hesitated, then answered: 'Here is the eldest, whom I
have the honour to present to your Highness.'
'But where is the youngest? I wish to see him too,' persisted
Rosimond.
'He is not here,' said the father. 'I had to punish him for a fault,
and he has run away.'
Then Rosimond replied, 'You should have shown him what was right,
but not have punished him. However, let the elder come with me, and
as for you, follow these two guards, who will escort you to a place
that I will point out to them.'
Then the two guards led off the father, and the Fairy of whom you
have heard found him in the forest, and beat him with a golden birch
rod, and cast him into a cave that was very deep and dark, where he
lay enchanted. 'Lie there,' she said, 'till your son comes to take
you out again.'
Meanwhile the son went to the King's palace, and arrived just when
the real prince was absent. He had sailed away to make war on a
distant island, but the winds had been contrary, and he had been
shipwrecked on unknown shores, and taken captive by a savage people.
Rosimond made his appearance at Court in the character of the
Prince, whom everyone wept for as lost, and told them that he had
been rescued when at the point of death by some merchants. His
return was the signal for great public rejoicings, and the King was
so overcome that he became quite speechless, and did nothing but
embrace his son. The Queen was even more delighted, and fetes were
ordered over the whole kingdom.
One day the false Prince said to his real brother, 'Bramintho, you
know that I brought you here from your native village in order to
make your fortune; but I have found out that you are a liar, and
that by your deceit you have been the cause of all the troubles of
your brother Rosimond. He is in hiding here, and I desire that you
shall speak to him, and listen to his reproaches.'
Bramintho trembled at these words, and, flinging himself at the
Prince's feet, confessed his crime.
'That is not enough,' said Rosimond. 'It is to your brother that you
must confess, and I desire that you shall ask his forgiveness. He
will be very generous if he grants it, and it will be more than you
deserve. He is in my ante-room, where you shall see him at once. I
myself will retire into another apartment, so as to leave you alone
with him.'
Bramintho entered, as he was told, into the anteroom. Then Rosimond
changed the ring, and passed into the room by another door.
Bramintho was filled with shame as soon as he saw his brother's
face. He implored his pardon, and promised to atone for all his
faults. Rosimond embraced him with tears, and at once forgave him,
adding, 'I am in great favour with the King. It rests with me to
have your head cut off, or to condemn you to pass the remainder of
your life in prison; but I desire to be as good to you as you have
been wicked to me.' Bramintho, confused and ashamed, listened to his
words without daring to lift his eyes or to remind Rosimond that he
was his brother. After this, Rosimond gave out that he was going to
make a secret voyage, to marry a Princess who lived in a
neighbouring kingdom; but in reality he only went to see his mother,
whom he told all that had happened at the Court, giving her at the
same time some money that she needed, for the King allowed him to
take exactly what he liked, though he was always careful not to
abuse this permission. Just then a furious war broke out between the
King his master and the Sovereign of the adjoining country, who was
a bad man and one that never kept his word. Rosimond went straight
to the palace of the wicked King, and by means of his ring was able
to be present at all the councils, and learnt all their schemes, so
that he was able to forestall them and bring them to naught. He took
the command of the army which was brought against the wicked King,
and defeated him in a glorious battle, so that peace was at once
concluded on conditions that were just to everyone.
Henceforth the King's one idea was to marry the young man to a
Princess who was the heiress to a neighbouring kingdom, and, besides
that, was as lovely as the day. But one morning, while Rosimond was
hunting in the forest where for the first time he had seen the
Fairy, his benefactress suddenly appeared before him. 'Take heed,'
she said to him in severe tones, 'that you do not marry anybody who
believes you to be a Prince. You must never deceive anyone. The real
Prince, whom the whole nation thinks you are, will have to succeed
his father, for that is just and right. Go and seek him in some
distant island, and I will send winds that will swell your sails and
bring you to him. Hasten to render this service to your master,
although it is against your own ambition, and prepare, like an
honest man, to return to your natural state. If you do not do this,
you will become wicked and unhappy, and I will abandon you to all
your former troubles.'
Rosimond took these wise counsels to heart. He gave out that he had
undertaken a secret mission to a neighbouring state, and embarked on
board a vessel, the winds carrying him straight to the island where
the Fairy had told him he would find the real Prince. This
unfortunate youth had been taken captive by a savage people, who had
kept him to guard their sheep. Rosimond, becoming invisible, went to
seek him amongst the pastures, where he kept his flock, and,
covering him with his mantle, he delivered him out of the hands of
his cruel masters, and bore him back to the ship. Other winds sent
by the Fairy swelled the sails, and together the two young men
entered the King's presence.
Rosimond spoke first and said, 'You have believed me to be your son.
I am not he, but I have brought him back to you.' The King, filled
with astonishment, turned to his real son and asked, 'Was it not
you, my son, who conquered my enemies and won such a glorious peace?
Or is it true that you have been shipwrecked and taken captive, and
that Rosimond has set you free?'
'Yes, my father,' replied the Prince. 'It is he who sought me out in
my captivity and set me free, and to him I owe the happiness of
seeing you once more. It was he, not I, who gained the victory.'
The King could hardly believe his ears; but Rosimond, turning the
ring, appeared before him in the likeness of the Prince, and the
King gazed distractedly at the two youths who seemed both to be his
son. Then he offered Rosimond immense rewards for his services,
which were refused, and the only favour the young man would accept
was that one of his posts at Court should be conferred on his
brother Bramintho. For he feared for himself the changes of fortune,
the envy of mankind and his own weakness. His desire was to go back
to his mother and his native village, and to spend his time in
cultivating the land.
One day, when he was wandering through the woods, he met the Fairy,
who showed him the cavern where his father was imprisoned, and told
him what words he must use in order to set him free. He repeated
them joyfully, for he had always longed to bring the old man back
and to make his last days happy. Rosimond thus became the benefactor
of all his family, and had the pleasure of doing good to those who
had wished to do him evil. As for the Court, to whom he had rendered
such services, all he asked was the freedom to live far from its
corruption; and, to crown all, fearing that if he kept the ring he
might be tempted to use it in order to regain his lost place in the
world, he made up his mind to restore it to the Fairy. For many days
he sought her up and down the woods and at last he found her. 'I
want to give you back,' he said, holding out the ring, 'a gift as
dangerous as it is powerful, and which I fear to use wrongfully. I
shall never feel safe till I have made it impossible for me to leave
my solitude and to satisfy my passions.'
While Rosimond was seeking to give back the ring to the Fairy,
Bramintho, who had failed to learn any lessons from experience, gave
way to all his desires, and tried to persuade the Prince, lately
become King, to ill-treat Rosimond. But the Fairy, who knew all
about everything, said to Rosimond, when he was imploring her to
accept the ring:
'Your wicked brother is doing his best to poison the mind of the
King towards you, and to ruin you. He deserves to be punished, and
he must die; and in order that he may destroy himself, I shall give
the ring to him.'
Rosimond wept at these words, and then asked:
'What do you mean by giving him the ring as a punishment? He will
only use it to persecute everyone, and to become master.'
'The same things,' answered the Fairy, 'are often a healing medicine
to one person and a deadly poison to another. Prosperity is the
source of all evil to a naturally wicked man. If you wish to punish
a scoundrel, the first thing to do is to give him power. You will
see that with this rope he will soon hang himself.'
Having said this, she disappeared, and went straight to the Palace,
where she showed herself to Bramintho under the disguise of an old
woman covered with rags. She at once addressed him in these words:
'I have taken this ring from the hands of your brother, to whom I
had lent it, and by its help he covered himself with glory. I now
give it to you, and be careful what you do with it.'
Bramintho replied with a laugh:
'I shall certainly not imitate my brother, who was foolish enough to
bring back the Prince instead of reigning in his place,' and he was
as good as his word. The only use he made of the ring was to find
out family secrets and betray them, to commit murders and every sort
of wickedness, and to gain wealth for himself unlawfully. All these
crimes, which could be traced to nobody, filled the people with
astonishment. The King, seeing so many affairs, public and private,
exposed, was at first as puzzled as anyone, till Bramintho's
wonderful prosperity and amazing insolence made him suspect that the
enchanted ring had become his property. In order to find out the
truth he bribed a stranger just arrived at Court, one of a nation
with whom the King was always at war, and arranged that he was to
steal in the night to Bramintho and to offer him untold honours and
rewards if he would betray the State secrets.
Bramintho promised everything, and accepted at once the first
payment of his crime, boasting that he had a ring which rendered him
invisible, and that by means of it he could penetrate into the most
private places. But his triumph was short. Next day he was seized by
order of the King, and his ring was taken from him. He was searched,
and on him were found papers which proved his crimes; and, though
Rosimond himself came back to the Court to entreat his pardon, it
was refused. So Bramintho was put to death, and the ring had been
even more fatal to him than it had been useful in the hands of his
brother.
To console Rosimond for the fate of Bramintho, the King gave him
back the enchanted ring, as a pearl without price. The unhappy
Rosimond did not look upon it in the same light, and the first thing
he did on his return home was to seek the Fairy in the woods.
'Here,' he said, 'is your ring. My brother's experience has made me
understand many things that I did not know before. Keep it, it has
only led to his destruction. Ah! without it he would be alive now,
and my father and mother would not in their old age be bowed to the
earth with shame and grief! Perhaps he might have been wise and
happy if he had never had the chance of gratifying his wishes! Oh!
how dangerous it is to have more power than the rest of the world!
Take back your ring, and as ill fortune seems to follow all on whom
you bestow it, I will implore you, as a favour to myself, that you
will never give it to anyone who is dear to me.'
The Enchanted Ring
from the Green Fairy Book
Story Edited
by Andrew Lang |
