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018 - The Terrible Head · Blue Fairy Book

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  Speaker 1: The Terrible Head of the Blue Fairy Book. This is
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  Speaker 1: a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
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  Speaker 1: For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
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  Speaker 1: Recording by Scott Robbins The Terrible Head. Once upon a
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  Speaker 1: time there was a king whose only child was a girl.
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  Speaker 1: Now the king had been very anxious to have a son,
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  Speaker 1: or at least a grandson, to come after him, But
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  Speaker 1: he was told by a prophet whom he consulted, that
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  Speaker 1: his own daughter's son should kill him. This news terrified
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  Speaker 1: him so much that he determined never to let his
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  Speaker 1: daughter be married, for he thought it was better to
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  Speaker 1: have no grandson at all than to be killed by
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  Speaker 1: his grandson. He therefore called his workmen together and bade
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  Speaker 1: them dig a deep round hole in the earth. And
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  Speaker 1: then he had a prison of brass built in the hole.
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  Speaker 1: And then when it was finished, he locked up his daughter.
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  Speaker 1: No man ever saw her, and she never even saw
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  Speaker 1: the fields and the sea, but only the sky and
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  Speaker 1: the sun. For there was a wide open window in
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  Speaker 1: the roof of the house of brass, so the princess
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  Speaker 1: would sit looking up at the sky, watching the clouds
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  Speaker 1: float across, and wondering whether she should ever get out
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  Speaker 1: of her prison. Now, one day it seemed to her
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  Speaker 1: that the sky opened above her, and a great shower
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  Speaker 1: of shining gold fell through the window in the roof
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  Speaker 1: and lay glittering in her room. Not very long after,
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  Speaker 1: the princess had a baby, a little boy. But when
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  Speaker 1: the King, her father, heard of it, he was very
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  Speaker 1: angry and afraid, for now the child was born, that
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  Speaker 1: should be his death. Yet cowardly as he was, he
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  Speaker 1: had not quite the heart to kill the princess and
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  Speaker 1: her baby outright, but he had them put in a
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  Speaker 1: huge brass bound chest and thrust out to sea, that
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  Speaker 1: they might either be drowned or starved, or perhaps come
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  Speaker 1: to a country where they would be out of his way.
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  Speaker 1: So the princess and the baby floated and drifted in
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  Speaker 1: the chest on the sea all day and night. But
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  Speaker 1: the baby was not afraid of the waves nor of
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  Speaker 1: the wind, for he did not know that they could
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  Speaker 1: hurt him, and he slept quite soundly. And the princess
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  Speaker 1: sang a song over him, And this was her song.
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  Speaker 2: Child, my child, how sound you sleep?
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  Speaker 3: Though you mindthers care is deep.
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  Speaker 2: You can lie with all.
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  Speaker 3: At rest in the nemobress bound chest, in the starless
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  Speaker 3: night and drear you can sleep and neckver here Billlow's
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  Speaker 3: pray aaking, and the cry of the night wind, wandering
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  Speaker 3: pie in soft purple man till sleepping, with your little.
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  Speaker 2: Face on mine, he ring not your mather weeping, and
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  Speaker 2: the breaking of the brine.
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  Speaker 1: Well, the daylight came at last, and the great chest
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  Speaker 1: was driven by the waves against the shore of an island.
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  Speaker 1: There the brass bound chest lay with the princess and
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  Speaker 1: her baby in it, till a man of that country
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  Speaker 1: came past and saw it, and dragged it on to
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  Speaker 1: the beach. And when he had broken it open, behold
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  Speaker 1: there was a beautiful lady and a little boy. So
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  Speaker 1: he took them home and was very kind to them,
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  Speaker 1: and brought up the boy till he was a young man.
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  Speaker 1: Now in the boy had come to his full strength.
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  Speaker 1: The king of that country fell in love with his
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  Speaker 1: mother and wanted to marry her, But he knew that
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  Speaker 1: she would never part from her boy. So he thought
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  Speaker 1: of a plan to get rid of the boy. And
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  Speaker 1: this was his plan. A great queen of a country
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  Speaker 1: not far off was going to be married. And this
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  Speaker 1: king said that all his subjects must bring him wedding
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  Speaker 1: presents to give her. And he made a feast to
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  Speaker 1: which he invited them all, and they all brought their presents.
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  Speaker 1: Some brought gold cups, and some brought necklaces of gold
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  Speaker 1: and amber, and some brought beautiful horses. But the boy
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  Speaker 1: had nothing, though he was the son of a princess,
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  Speaker 1: for his mother had nothing to give him. Then the
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  Speaker 1: rest of the company began to laugh at him, and
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  Speaker 1: the king said, if you have nothing else to give,
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  Speaker 1: at least you might go and fetch the terrible head.
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  Speaker 1: The boy was proud and spoke without thinking, then, I
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  Speaker 1: swear that I will bring the terrible head, if it
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  Speaker 1: may be brought by a living man. But of what
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  Speaker 1: had you speak I know not. Then they told him
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  Speaker 1: that somewhere a long way off there dwelt three dreadful sisters,
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  Speaker 1: monstrous ogreish women, with golden wings and claws of brass,
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  Speaker 1: and with serpents growing on their heads instead of hair.
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  Speaker 1: Now these women were so awful to look on that
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  Speaker 1: whoever saw them was turned at once into stone. And
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  Speaker 1: two of them could not be put to death, But
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  Speaker 1: the youngest whose face was very beautiful, could be killed,
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  Speaker 1: and it was her head that the boy had promised
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  Speaker 1: to bring. You may imagine it was no easy adventure.
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  Speaker 1: When he heard all this, he was perhaps sorry that
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  Speaker 1: he had been sworn. When he heard all this, he
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  Speaker 1: was perhaps sorry that he had sworn to bring the
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  Speaker 1: terrible head. But he was determined to keep his oath.
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  Speaker 1: So he went out from the feast where they all
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  Speaker 1: sat drinking and making merry, and he walked alone by
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  Speaker 1: the sea in the dusk of the evening, at the
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  Speaker 1: place where the great chest, with himself and his mother
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  Speaker 1: in it, had been cast ashore. There he went and
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  Speaker 1: sat down on a rock, looking toward the sea and
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  Speaker 1: wondering how he should begin to fulfill his vow. Then
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  Speaker 1: he felt some one touch him on the shoulder, and
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  Speaker 1: he turned and saw a young man like a king's son,
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  Speaker 1: having with him a tall and beautiful lady, whose blue
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  Speaker 1: eyes shone like stars. They were taller than mortal men,
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  Speaker 1: and the young man had a staff in his hand
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  Speaker 1: with golden wings on it and two golden serpents twisted
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  Speaker 1: round it, and he had wings on his cap and
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  Speaker 1: on his shoes. He spoke to the boy and asked
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  Speaker 1: him why he was so unhappy, and the boy told
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  Speaker 1: him how he had sworn to bring the terrible head
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  Speaker 1: and knew not how to begin to set about the adventure.
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  Speaker 1: Then the beautiful lady also spoke and said that it
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  Speaker 1: was a foolish oath and a hasty but it might
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  Speaker 1: be kept if a brave man had sworn it. Then
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  Speaker 1: the boy answered that he was not afraid, if only
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  Speaker 1: he knew the way. Then the lady said that to
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  Speaker 1: kill the dreadful woman with the golden wings and the
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  Speaker 1: brass claws, and to cut off her head, he needed
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  Speaker 1: three things. First, a cap of darkness, which would make
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  Speaker 1: him invisible when he wore it. Next a sword of sharpness,
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  Speaker 1: which would cleave iron at one blow, And last the
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  Speaker 1: shoes of swiftness, with which he might fly in the air.
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  Speaker 1: The boy answered that he knew not where such things
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  Speaker 1: were to be procured, and that wanting them, he could
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  Speaker 1: only try and fail. Then the young man, taking off
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  Speaker 1: his own shoes, said, first, you shall use these shoes
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  Speaker 1: till you have taken the terrible head, and then you
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  Speaker 1: must give them back to me. And with these shoes
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  Speaker 1: you will fly as fleet as a bird or a thought,
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  Speaker 1: over the land, or over the waves of the sea,
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  Speaker 1: wherever the shoes know the way. But there are ways
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  Speaker 1: which they do not know, roads beyond the borders of
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  Speaker 1: the world. And these roads have you to travel. Now,
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  Speaker 1: First you must go to the three Gray Sisters, who
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  Speaker 1: live far off in the north and are so very
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  Speaker 1: cold that they have only one eye and one tooth.
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  Speaker 4: Among the three.
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  Speaker 1: You must creep up close to them, and as one
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  Speaker 1: of them passes the eye to the other, you must
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  Speaker 1: seize it and refuse to give it up till they
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  Speaker 1: have told you the way to the three fairies of
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  Speaker 1: the garden, and they will give you the cap of
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  Speaker 1: Darkness and the sword of Sharpness, and show you how
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  Speaker 1: to wing beyond this world to the land of the
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  Speaker 1: Terrible Head. Then the beautiful ladies said, go forth at once,
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  Speaker 1: and do not return to say good bye to your mother,
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  Speaker 1: for these things must be done quickly. And the shoes
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  Speaker 1: of Swiftness themselves will carry you to the land of
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  Speaker 1: the three Gray Sisters, for they know the measure of
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  Speaker 1: that way. So the boy thanked her, and he fastened
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  Speaker 1: on the shoes of Swiftness, and turned to say good
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  Speaker 1: bye to the young man, and the lady. But behold,
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  Speaker 1: they had vanished. He knew not how or where. Then
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  Speaker 1: he leaped in the air to try the shoes of swiftness,
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  Speaker 1: and they carried him more swiftly than the wind, over
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  Speaker 1: the warm blue sea, over the happy lands of the South,
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  Speaker 1: over the northern peoples who drank Mare's milk and lived
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  Speaker 1: in great wagons, wandering after their flocks, across the wide rivers,
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  Speaker 1: where the wild fowl rose and fled before him, and
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  Speaker 1: over the plains and the cold north Sea. He went,
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  Speaker 1: over the fields of snow and the hills of ice,
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  Speaker 1: to a place where the world ends, and all water
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  Speaker 1: is frozen, and there are no men, nor beasts, nor
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  Speaker 1: any green grass. There, in a blue cave of the ice,
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  Speaker 1: he found the three Gray Sisters, the oldest of living things.
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  Speaker 1: Their hair was as white as the snow, and their
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  Speaker 1: flesh of an icy blue, and they mumbled and nodded
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  Speaker 1: in a kind of dream, and their frozen breath hung
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  Speaker 1: round them like a cloud. Now, the opening of the
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  Speaker 1: cave in the ice was narrow, and it was not
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  Speaker 1: easy to pass in without touching one of the gray Sisters.
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  Speaker 1: But floating on the shoes of swiftness, the boy just
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  Speaker 1: managed to steal in and waited till one of the
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  Speaker 1: sisters said to another, who had their one eye.
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  Speaker 4: Sister, what do you see? Do you see old times
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  Speaker 4: coming back? No, sister, then give me the eye, for
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  Speaker 4: perhaps I can see farther than you.
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  Speaker 1: Then the first sister passed the eye to the second,
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  Speaker 1: but as the second groped for it, the boy caught
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  Speaker 1: it cleverly out of her hand. Where is the eye, sister,
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  Speaker 1: said the second gray woman. You have taken it yourself, sister,
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  Speaker 1: said the first gray woman.
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  Speaker 4: Have you lost the eye? Sister? Have you lost the eye?
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  Speaker 1: Said the third gray woman?
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  Speaker 4: Shall we never find it again? And see old times
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  Speaker 4: coming back?
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  Speaker 1: Then the boys slipped from behind them out of the
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  Speaker 1: cold cave into the air, and he laughed aloud. When
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  Speaker 1: the gray women heard that laugh, they began to weep,
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  Speaker 1: for now they knew that a stranger had robbed them
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  Speaker 1: and that they could not help themselves. And their tears
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  Speaker 1: froze as they fell from the hollows where no eyes were,
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  Speaker 1: and rattled on the icy ground of the cave. Then
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  Speaker 1: they began to implore the boy to give them their
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  Speaker 1: eye back again, and he could not help being sorry
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  Speaker 1: for them. They were so pitiful, but he said he
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  Speaker 1: would never give them the eye till they told him
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  Speaker 1: the way to the fairies of the Garden. Then they
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  Speaker 1: wrung their hands miserably, for they guessed why he had
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  Speaker 1: come and how he was going to try to win
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  Speaker 1: the terrible head. Now the dreadful women were akin to
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  Speaker 1: the three gray sisters, and it was hard for them
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  Speaker 1: to tell the boy the way. But at last they
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  Speaker 1: told him to keep always south, and with the land
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  Speaker 1: on his left and the sea on his right, till
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  Speaker 1: he reached the island and of the fairies of the Garden.
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  Speaker 1: Then he gave them back the eye, and they began
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  Speaker 1: to look out once more for the old times coming
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  Speaker 1: back again. But the boy flew south between sea and land,
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  Speaker 1: keeping the land always on his left hand, till he
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  Speaker 1: saw a beautiful island crowned with flowering trees. There he alighted,
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  Speaker 1: and there he found the three Fairies of the Garden.
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  Speaker 1: They were like three very beautiful young women, dressed one
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  Speaker 1: in green, one in white, and one in red. And
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  Speaker 1: they were dancing and singing round an apple tree with
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  Speaker 1: apples of gold. And this was their song, the song
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  Speaker 1: of the Western Fairies, Round and round the apples of gold,
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  Speaker 1: Round and round dance wee last we dance from the
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  Speaker 1: days of old, bought the enchanted tree.
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  Speaker 5: Round and round and round we oh, while the spring
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  Speaker 5: is green, or the stream shall flow, or the wind
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  Speaker 5: shall stir the sea, there is none may taste of
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  Speaker 5: the golden fruit. Till the gold and new time come.
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  Speaker 5: Many a tree shall spraying from shoot, Many a blossom
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  Speaker 5: be wither'd at root, many a sore hung, be dumb broken,
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  Speaker 5: and still'd shall be many a lute or ev the
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  Speaker 5: new times come. Round and round the tree of gold,
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  Speaker 5: Round and round dance wee. So doth the great world
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  Speaker 5: spin from of old summer and winter and fire and cold.
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  Speaker 5: Song that is young, and tell that is told, even
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  Speaker 5: as we dance that fold and unfold round the stem
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  Speaker 5: of the fair fairy tree.
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  Speaker 1: These grave dancing fairies were very unlike the gray women,
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  Speaker 1: and they were glad to see the boy, entreated him kindly.
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  Speaker 1: Then they asked him why he had come, and he
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  Speaker 1: told them how he was sent to find the sword
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  Speaker 1: of sharpness and the cap of darkness. And the fairies
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  Speaker 1: gave him these and a wallet and a shield, and
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  Speaker 1: belted the sword which had a diamond blade round his waist,
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  Speaker 1: and the cap they set on his head, and told
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  Speaker 1: him that now even they could not see him, though
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  Speaker 1: they were fairies. Then he took it off, and they
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  Speaker 1: each kissed him and wished him good fortune. And then
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  Speaker 1: they began again their eternal dance round the golden tree,
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  Speaker 1: for it is their business to guard it till the
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  Speaker 1: new times come, or till the world's ending. So the
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  Speaker 1: boy put the cap on his head, and hung the
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  Speaker 1: wallet round his waist, and the shining shield on his shoulders,
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  Speaker 1: and flew beyond the great river that lies coiled like
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  Speaker 1: a serpent round the whole world. And by the banks
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  Speaker 1: of that river there he found the three terrible women,
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  Speaker 1: all asleep beneath a poplar tree, and the dead poplar
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  Speaker 1: leaves lay all about them. Their golden wings were folded
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  Speaker 1: and their brass claws were crossed, and two of them
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  Speaker 1: slept with their hideous heads beneath their wings like birds,
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  Speaker 1: and the serpents in their hair writhed out from under
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  Speaker 1: the feathers of gold. But the youngest slept between her
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  Speaker 1: two sisters, and she lay on her back, with her
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  Speaker 1: beautiful sad face turned to the sky. And though she slept.
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  Speaker 1: Her eyes were wide open. If the boy had seen her,
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  Speaker 1: he would have been changed into stone by the terror
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  Speaker 1: and the pity of it. She was so awful, but
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  Speaker 1: he had thought of a plan for killing her without
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  Speaker 1: looking on her face. As soon as he caught sight
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  Speaker 1: of the three from far off, he took his shining
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  Speaker 1: shield from his shoulders and held it up like a mirror,
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  Speaker 1: so that he saw the dreadful women reflected in it,
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  Speaker 1: and did not see the terrible head itself. Then he
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  Speaker 1: came nearer and nearer, till he reckoned that he was
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  Speaker 1: within a sword stroke of the youngest, and he guessed
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  Speaker 1: where he should strike a back blow behind him. Then
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  Speaker 1: he drew the sword of sharpness and struck once, and
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  Speaker 1: the terrible head was cut from the shoulders of the creature,
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  Speaker 1: and the blood leaped out and struck him like a blow.
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  Speaker 1: But he thrust the terrible head into his wallet and
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  Speaker 1: flew away without looking behind. Then the two dreadful sisters
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  Speaker 1: who were left wakened and rose in the air like
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  Speaker 1: great birds, And though they could not see him because
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  Speaker 1: of his cap of darkness, they flew after him up
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  Speaker 1: the wind, following by the scent through the clouds like
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  Speaker 1: hounds hunting in a wood. They came so close that
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  Speaker 1: he could hear the clatter of their golden wings and
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  Speaker 1: their shrieks to each other.
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  Speaker 4: Here, here, no, there, This way he.
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  Speaker 1: Went as they chased him, But the shoes of swiftness
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  Speaker 1: flew too fast for them, and at last their cries
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  Speaker 1: and the rattle of their wings died away as he
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  Speaker 1: crossed the great river that runs round the world. Now,
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  Speaker 1: when the horrible creatures were far in the distance, and
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  Speaker 1: the boy found himself on the right side of the river,
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  Speaker 1: he flew straight eastward, trying to seek his own country.
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  Speaker 1: But as he looked down from the air, he saw
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  Speaker 1: a very strange sight, a beautiful girl chained to a
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  Speaker 1: stake at the high water mark of the sea. The
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  Speaker 1: girl was so frightened or so tired, that she was
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  Speaker 1: only prevented from falling by the iron chain about her waist,
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  Speaker 1: and there she hung as if she were dead. The
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  Speaker 1: boy was very sorry for her, and flew down and
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  Speaker 1: stood beside her. When he spoke, she raised her head
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  Speaker 1: and looked round, but his voice only seemed to frighten her.
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  Speaker 1: Then he remembered that he was wearing the cap of darkness,
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  Speaker 1: and that she could only hear him, not see him.
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  Speaker 1: So he took it off, and there he stood before her,
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  Speaker 1: the handsomest young man she had ever seen in all
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  Speaker 1: her life, with short, curly yellow hair and blue eyes
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  Speaker 1: and a laughing face. And he thought her the most
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  Speaker 1: beautiful girl in the world. So first, with one blow
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  Speaker 1: of the sort of sharpness, he cut the iron chain
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  Speaker 1: that bound her, And then he asked her what she
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  Speaker 1: did there, and why men treated her so cruelly, And
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  Speaker 1: she told him that she was the daughter of the
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  Speaker 1: king of that country, and that she was tied there
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  Speaker 1: to be eaten by a monstrous beast out of the sea.
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: For the beast came and devoured a girl every day.
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  Speaker 1: Now the lot had fallen on her. And as she
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  Speaker 1: was just saying this, a long, fierce head of a
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  Speaker 1: cruel sea creature rose out of the waves and snapped
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  Speaker 1: at the girl. But the beast had been too greedy
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  Speaker 1: and too hurried, so he missed his aim the first time.
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  Speaker 1: Before he could rise and bite again, the boy had
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  Speaker 1: whipped the terrible head out of his wallet and held
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  Speaker 1: it up, and when the sea beasts leaped out once more,
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  Speaker 1: its eyes fell on the head and instantly it was
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  Speaker 1: turned into a stone, and the stone beast is there
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  Speaker 1: on the sea coast to this day. Then the boy
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  Speaker 1: and the girl went to the palace of the King,
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  Speaker 1: her father, where everyone was weeping for her death, and
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  Speaker 1: they could hardly believe their eyes when they saw her
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  Speaker 1: come back well. And the King and Queen made much
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  Speaker 1: of the boy, and could not contain themselves for delight
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  Speaker 1: when they found he wanted to marry their daughter. So
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  Speaker 1: the two were married with the most splendid rejoicings. And
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: when they passed some time at court, they went home
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: in a ship to the boy's own country, For he
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: could not carry his bride through the air, so he
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: took the shoes of swiftness and the cap of darkness,
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: and the sword of sharpness up to a lonely place
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: in the hills. There he left them, and there they
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: were found by the man and woman who had met
• 19:54
  Speaker 1: him at home beside the sea, and had helped him
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: to start on his journey. When this had been and
• 20:00
  Speaker 1: the boy and his bride set forth for home, and
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: landed at the harbor of his native land. But whom
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: should he meet in the very street of the town
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: but his own mother, flying for her life from the
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: wicked king, who now wished to kill her because he
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: found that she would never marry him. For if she
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: had liked the king ill before, she liked him far
• 20:19
  Speaker 1: worse now that he had caused her son to disappear.
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: So suddenly she did not know, of course, where the
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: boy had gone, but thought the king had slain him secretly.
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: So now she was running for her very life, and
• 20:32
  Speaker 1: the wicked king was following her with a sword in
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: his hand. Then behold, she ran into her son's very arms.
• 20:39
  Speaker 1: But he had only time to kiss her and step
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: in front of her when the king struck at him
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: with his sword. The boy caught the blow on his
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: shield and cried to the king, I swore to bring
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: you the terrible head, and see how I keep my oath.
• 20:54
  Speaker 1: Then he drew forth the head from his wallet, and
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: when the King's eyes fell on it, instantly he was
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: turned into stone, just as he stood there with his
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: sword lifted. Now all the people rejoiced because the wicked
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: king should rule them no longer, and they asked the
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: boy to be their king, but he said no, he
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: must take his mother home to her father's house. So
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: the people chose for king the man who had been
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: kind to his mother when first she was cast on
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: the island in the great Chest. Presently, the boy and
• 21:24
  Speaker 1: his mother and his wife set sail for his mother's
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: own country and from which she had been driven so unkindly.
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: But on the way they stayed at the court of
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: a king, and it happened that he was holding games
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: and giving prizes to the best runners, boxers and cooit throwers.
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: Then the boy would try his strength with the rest.
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: But he threw the coit so far that it went
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: beyond what had ever been thrown before, and fell in
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: the crowd, striking a man, so that he died. Now
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: this man was no other than the father of the
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: boy's mother, who had fled away from his own kingdom
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: for fear his grandson should find him and kill him.
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: After all, thus he was destroyed by his own cowardice
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: and by chance, and thus the prophecy was fulfilled. But
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: the boy and his wife and his mother went back
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: to the kingdom that was theirs, and lived long and
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: happily after all their troubles. End of the Terrible Head
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: recording by Scott Robbins