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015 - The Three Brothers · Serbian Fairy Tales

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Speaker 1: Section fifteen of Serbian fairy Tales. This is a LibriVox recording.
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Speaker 1: All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
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Speaker 1: information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Read
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Speaker 1: by Doc d Elmartin Serbian fairy Tales, translated by Ilodi Miyadovitch.
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Speaker 1: The Three Brothers romin one. There was once upon a
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Speaker 1: time an old man whose family consisted of his wife
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Speaker 1: and three sons. They were exceedingly poor, and finding that
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Speaker 1: they could not possibly all live at home, the three
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Speaker 1: sons went out into the world in different directions to
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Speaker 1: find some means of living. Thus, the old man and
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Speaker 1: his wife remained alone. Having neither horses nor oxen. The
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Speaker 1: old man was obliged to go every day to the
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Speaker 1: forest for fuel and carry home the firewood on his back.
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Speaker 1: On one occasion, it was nearly evening when he started
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Speaker 1: to go to the forest, and his wife, who was
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Speaker 1: afraid to remain alone in the house, begged very hard
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Speaker 1: to be permitted to go with him. He objected very
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Speaker 1: much at first, but as she persisted in her entreaties,
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Speaker 1: he at length consented to her following him, first, bidding her, however,
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Speaker 1: take good care to make the house door safe lest
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Speaker 1: someone should break into the house. The old woman thought
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Speaker 1: the door would be safest if she took it off
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Speaker 1: its hinges and carried it away on her back. So
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Speaker 1: she took it off and followed her husband as fast
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Speaker 1: as she was able. The old man, however, was not
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Speaker 1: angry when he saw how she had mistaken his words
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Speaker 1: and the manners she had chosen to make sure of
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Speaker 1: the door, for he reflected there was little or nothing
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Speaker 1: at all in the house for anyone to steal. When
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Speaker 1: they had reached the forest, the husband began to cut wood,
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Speaker 1: and his wife gathered the branches together in a heap. Meanwhile,
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Speaker 1: it had got very late, and they were anxious as
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Speaker 1: to how they should pass the night, seeing their own
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Speaker 1: house was so far off that they would be unable
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Speaker 1: to reach it before morning, and there were no houses
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Speaker 1: in the neighborhood where they could sleep. At last, they
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Speaker 1: observed a very tall and widely spreading pine tree, and
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Speaker 1: they resolved to climb up and pass the night on
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Speaker 1: one of its branches. The men got up first, and
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Speaker 1: his wife followed him, drawing with great difficulty the door.
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Speaker 1: After her. Her husband advised her to leave the door
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Speaker 1: on the ground under the tree, but she would not
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Speaker 1: listen to him and could not be persuaded to remain
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Speaker 1: in the tree without her house door. Hardly had they
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Speaker 1: settled themselves on a branch, the old woman holding fast
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Speaker 1: her door, before they heard a great noise which came
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Speaker 1: nearer and nearer. They were excessively frightened at the noise,
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Speaker 1: and dared neither speak nor move. In a short time
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Speaker 1: they saw a captain of robbers, followed by twelve of
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Speaker 1: his men, approached the tree. The robbers were dressed all
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Speaker 1: alike in gold and silver, and one of them carried
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Speaker 1: a sheep, killed and ready for roasting. When the old
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Speaker 1: man and woman saw the band of robbers come and
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Speaker 1: settle under the pine tree in which they had themselves
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Speaker 1: taken refuge, they thought their time was come and gave
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Speaker 1: themselves up for lost. As soon as the robbers had
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Speaker 1: settled themselves, the youngest of them made a fire and
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Speaker 1: put the sheep down to roast, whilst the captain conversed
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Speaker 1: with the others. The sheep was already roasted and cut up,
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Speaker 1: and the robbers had begun with great gaiety to eat it.
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Speaker 1: When the old woman told her husband that she could
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Speaker 1: not possibly hold the door any longer, but must let
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Speaker 1: it fall. The old man begged her piteously not to
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Speaker 1: let it go, but to hold it fast and keep quiet,
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Speaker 1: lest the robbers should discover and kill them. The old
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Speaker 1: woman said, however, that she was so exceedingly tired she
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Speaker 1: could no longer, by any possibility hold it. The old man,
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Speaker 1: seeing it was no good talking about it, declared that
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Speaker 1: as he could not hold his corner of the door
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Speaker 1: any longer, when she had let go her corner, it
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Speaker 1: was not worth while to complain, since, as he said,
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Speaker 1: what must be must be, and is no use to
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Speaker 1: be sorry for anything in this world. Thereupon they both
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Speaker 1: loosened their holds of the door at once, and it
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Speaker 1: fell down, making a great noise, especially with its iron lock,
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Speaker 1: as it fell from branch to branch. The door made
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Speaker 1: so much noise in falling that the whole forest re
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Speaker 1: echoed with the sound. The robbers, greatly astonished at the noise,
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Speaker 1: and too frightened by the unexpected clashing above their heads
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Speaker 1: to see what was the cause, took to their heels,
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Speaker 1: without once thinking of the roast sheep they left behind,
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Speaker 1: or of any of the treasures which they had brought
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Speaker 1: with them. One of them alone did not run far
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Speaker 1: away from the spot, but hid himself behind a tree
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Speaker 1: and waited to see what might come of so much noise.
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Speaker 1: The old couple, seeing the robbers did not return, came
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Speaker 1: down from the tree, and, being exceedingly hungry, began to
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Speaker 1: eat heartily, the old man, all the time praising the
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Speaker 1: wisdom of his wife in throwing down the door. The robber,
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Speaker 1: who had hidden himself, seen only the old people near
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Speaker 1: the fire, came up to them and begged to be
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Speaker 1: allowed to share their meal, as he had not eaten
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Speaker 1: anything for the last twenty four hours. This they permitted,
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Speaker 1: and spoke of all kinds of things, until the old
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Speaker 1: man exclaimed suddenly to the robber, take care, you have
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Speaker 1: a hair on your tongue, do not chuck yourself, for
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Speaker 1: I have no means to bury you here. The brigand
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Speaker 1: took this joke in earnest and begged the old man
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Speaker 1: to take the hair out of his mouth, and he
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Speaker 1: would in return show him a cave wherein a great
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Speaker 1: treasure was hidden. As he was describing the great heaps
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Speaker 1: of gold, ducats, tonners, shillings and other coins, which she
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Speaker 1: said were in the cave. The old woman interrupted him, saying,
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Speaker 1: I will take the hair out of your mouth without pay.
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Speaker 1: Only put your tongue out and shut your eyes. The
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Speaker 1: robber very gladly did as she told him, and she
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Speaker 1: caught up a knife and in a moment cut off
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Speaker 1: a piece of his tongue. Then she said, well, now
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Speaker 1: I have taken the hair out. When the robber felt
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Speaker 1: what had been done to him, he jumped up and
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Speaker 1: down in pain, and at length ran away without hat
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Speaker 1: or coat, in the same direction as his companions had gone,
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Speaker 1: shouting all the time, help help give me some plaster.
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Speaker 1: His companions, hearing imperfectly these words, misunderstood him, and thought
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Speaker 1: he cried to them, help yourselves. Here is the police master,
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Speaker 1: especially as he ran as if the captain of police,
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Speaker 1: with a large force, was at his heels. Accordingly, the
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Speaker 1: robbers themselves ran faster and farther away. Meanwhile, the old
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Speaker 1: couple thought it no longer safe to stay under the
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Speaker 1: pine tree, so they gathered up quickly all the money,
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Speaker 1: whether gold or silver, which they could carry, and hurried
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Speaker 1: back to their home. When they got there, they found
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Speaker 1: the hens of the neighbors had pulled off the thatts
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Speaker 1: of their house. They were, however, the less sorry for this,
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Speaker 1: since they had now money enough to build another and
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Speaker 1: a better home. And this they did, and continued to
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Speaker 1: live in their fine new house, without once remembering their sons,
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Speaker 1: who had been wandering about the world already some nine
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Speaker 1: long years Roman too. In the meantime, the sons had
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Speaker 1: been working, each in a different part of the world. When, however,
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Speaker 1: they had been away from their home nine years, they all,
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Speaker 1: as if by common consent, conceived an ardent desire to
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Speaker 1: go back once more to their father's house. So they
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Speaker 1: took the whole of the savings which they had laid
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Speaker 1: up in their nine years service, and commenced their journeys homewards.
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Speaker 1: On his travels, the eldest brother met with three Gypsies
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Speaker 1: who were teaching a young beer to dance by putting
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Speaker 1: him on a red hot plate of iron. He felt
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Speaker 1: compassion for the creature in its sufferings and asked the
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Speaker 1: gypsies why they were thus tormenting the animal. Better, he said,
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Speaker 1: let me have it, and I will give you three
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Speaker 1: pieces of silver for it. The gypsies accepted the offer
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Speaker 1: eagerly took the three pieces of silver and gave him
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Speaker 1: the beer. Traveling farther on, he met with some huntsmen
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Speaker 1: who caught a young wolf, which they were about to kill.
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Speaker 1: He offered them also three pieces of silver for the animal,
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Speaker 1: and they pleased to get so much readily sold it.
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Speaker 1: A little further still, he met some shepherds who were
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Speaker 1: about to hang on a little dog. He was sorry
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Speaker 1: for the poor brute, and offered to give them two
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Speaker 1: pieces of silver if they would give the dog to him,
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Speaker 1: and this they very gladly agreed to. So he traveled
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Speaker 1: on homeward, attended by the young bear, the wolf cub,
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Speaker 1: and the little dog. As all his nine years savings
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Speaker 1: had amounted only to nine pieces of silver, he had
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Speaker 1: now but a single piece left. Before he reached his
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Speaker 1: father's house, he met some boys who were about to
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Speaker 1: drawn a cat. He offered them his last piece of
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Speaker 1: money if they would give him the cat, and they
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Speaker 1: were content with the bargain and gave it up to him.
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Speaker 1: So at last he arrived at his home without any money,
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Speaker 1: but with a bear, a wolf, a dog, and a cat.
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Speaker 1: Just so it had happened with the other two brothers.
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Speaker 1: By their nine years work, they had only saved nine
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Speaker 1: pieces of silver, and on their way home they had
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Speaker 1: spent them in ransoming animals, exactly as the eldest brother
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Speaker 1: had done. Soon after they had returned, the old father died.
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Speaker 1: Then the three brothers consulted together and decided to invest
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Speaker 1: part of the money which their father and mother had
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Speaker 1: got from the robbers in the purchase of four horses
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Speaker 1: and one grass field. A few days later they all
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Speaker 1: went into the fields to bring in the hay which
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Speaker 1: the two elder ones had mown. They found, however, hardly
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Speaker 1: the third part of the hay which they had left.
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Speaker 1: At this they wondered greatly and looked about to see
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Speaker 1: who had stolen it, but finding no one, After a
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Speaker 1: little while, they took up what was left and returned home.
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Speaker 1: At length. The on which all this had happened passed away.
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Speaker 1: The next year. However, they dared not leave their monngrass unwatched,
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Speaker 1: so they discussed which of them should first keep guard.
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Speaker 1: Each of them offered to do it, but at last
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Speaker 1: they agreed that the youngest brother should begin to watch.
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Speaker 1: So he prepared himself and at night went out into
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Speaker 1: the field. Having come there, he climbed up into a
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Speaker 1: tree and resolved to remain there until daybreak. About midnight,
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Speaker 1: he heard a great noise and shouting, which frightened him
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Speaker 1: so much that he dared not stir at all. Some
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Speaker 1: creatures came into the field and ate up most of
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Speaker 1: the hay, and what they did not eat they tossed
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Speaker 1: about and spoiled, so that it was fit for nothing.
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Speaker 1: When daylight came, the youngest brother came down from the
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Speaker 1: tree and went home to tell what he had seen.
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Speaker 1: So that year they had no hay. Next year, when
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Speaker 1: hay harvest came, the three brothers took counsel together how
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Speaker 1: to preserve their hay. The second brother now volunteered to
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Speaker 1: watch in the field, and seemed quite sure he would
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Speaker 1: be able to save the hay. Accordingly, he went and
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Speaker 1: climbed into the tree, just as his brother had done
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Speaker 1: the previous year. About midnight, three winged horses came into
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Speaker 1: the field with a company of fairies. The winged horses
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Speaker 1: began to eat the newly mown hay, and the fairies
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Speaker 1: danced over it. After the greater part of the hay
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Speaker 1: had been eaten by the horses and all the rest
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Speaker 1: had been spoiled by the dancing of the fairies. The
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Speaker 1: whole company left the field just as day began to dawn.
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Speaker 1: The watcher in the tree had witnessed all this. He was, however,
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Speaker 1: too frightened to do anything. Indeed, he hardly dared to move.
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Speaker 1: When he went home, he told his brothers all that
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Speaker 1: he had seen, at which they were sad, since this
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Speaker 1: year again they would have no hay. However, the time passed,
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Speaker 1: and the third summer came on again. The three brothers
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Speaker 1: cut the grass in their meadow and consulted together anxiously
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Speaker 1: how they should manage to keep their new hay. At length,
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Speaker 1: it was settled that it was now the turn of
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Speaker 1: the eldest brother to keep watch. If he also failed
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Speaker 1: to save the hay. It was agreed that they should
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Speaker 1: divide amongst them the little property which they had left,
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Speaker 1: and go out again separately to seek their fortunes in
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Speaker 1: the world. Seeing they had no luck in their own country.
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Speaker 1: As had been agreed upon, the eldest brother now went
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Speaker 1: out into the field at night, but instead of going
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Speaker 1: up into the tree as his brothers had done, he
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Speaker 1: lay quietly down on a heap of hay and waited
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Speaker 1: to see what would happen about midnight, he heard a
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Speaker 1: great noise afar off, and by and by a troop
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Speaker 1: of fairies with three winged horses came straight towards the
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Speaker 1: place where he lay. Having got there, began to dance,
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Speaker 1: and the horses to eat the hay and canter about.
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Speaker 1: The eldest brother looked on and at first felt much afraid,
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Speaker 1: and wished heartily the whole company would go away without
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Speaker 1: seeing him, as however, they seemed in no hurry to
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Speaker 1: do this. He considered what he should do, and at
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Speaker 1: length decided that it would be worth while to try
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Speaker 1: to catch one of the three horses, So when they
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Speaker 1: came near him, he jumped on the back of one
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Speaker 1: of them and clung fast to it. The other two
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Speaker 1: horses instantly ran away, and the fairies with them. The
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Speaker 1: horse which the eldest brother had caught tried all sorts
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Speaker 1: of tricks to throw off his unwelcome rider, but he
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Speaker 1: could not succeed, finding all his attempts to free himself
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Speaker 1: quite useless. At last he said, let me go, my
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Speaker 1: good men, and I will be of use to you
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Speaker 1: some other time. The man answered, I will set you
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Speaker 1: free on one condition. That is, you must promise nevermore
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Speaker 1: to come in this field, and you must give me
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Speaker 1: some pledge that you will keep your promise. The horse
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Speaker 1: gladly agreed to this condition, and gave the man a
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Speaker 1: hare from his tail, saying, whenever you happen to be
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Speaker 1: in need, hold this hare to a fire, and I
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Speaker 1: will instantly be at your service. Thereupon the horse went off,
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Speaker 1: and the eldest brother returned home. His brothers had waited
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Speaker 1: impatiently for his return, and when they saw him, pressed
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Speaker 1: him immediately to tell them all that had happened. So
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Speaker 1: he told everything except that he had got a hair
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Speaker 1: from the horse's tail, because he did not believe that
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Speaker 1: the horse would keep his promise and come to him
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Speaker 1: in his need. The two younger brothers, however, had no
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Speaker 1: confidence that the fairies and winged horses would fulfill their
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Speaker 1: promise and never come again to ruin their ha, so
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Speaker 1: they proposed that the property should be at once divided,
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Speaker 1: and that they should separate. The eldest brother tried to
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Speaker 1: persuade them to remain at least one other year longer
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Speaker 1: to see what would happen. He was not able, however,
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Speaker 1: to succeed in this. Accordingly, they divided the remnant of
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Speaker 1: their property, took each their animals, that is, each his bear,
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Speaker 1: his wolf, his dog, and his cat, and left their
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Speaker 1: home for the second time to seek their fortunes in
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Speaker 1: the world. The first day they traveled together, but the
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Speaker 1: second day they were obliged to separate because, having come
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Speaker 1: to a crossway and trying to keep on the same path,
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Speaker 1: they found they could not take a step forward so
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Speaker 1: long as they were together. They therefore left that path
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Speaker 1: and tried another. It was, however, of no use, for
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Speaker 1: they could not move a step forward as long as
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Speaker 1: they were together. And when they tried the third path,
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Speaker 1: the same happened there also. So they tried if two
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Speaker 1: of them could go on in one road, if one
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Speaker 1: of them went before and the other behind. But this
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Speaker 1: also they were unable to do. They could not get
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Speaker 1: on one step, try as hard as they would. So
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Speaker 1: nothing was left them but to separate, and each of
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Speaker 1: them to go alone by a different road. They were
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Speaker 1: exceedingly sorry to part, but could not help themselves. Before
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Speaker 1: the brothers separated, the eldest brothers said, now, brothers, before
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Speaker 1: we part, let us stick our knives in this oak tree.
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Speaker 1: As long as we live, our knives will remain where
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Speaker 1: we stick them. When one of us dies, his knife
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Speaker 1: will fall out. Let us then come here every third
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Speaker 1: year to see if the knives are still in their places.
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Speaker 1: Thus we shall know something at least about each other.
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Speaker 1: The other two agree to this, and, having stuck their
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Speaker 1: knees in the oak tree and kissed each other, went
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Speaker 1: each one his own way, taking his animals with him.
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Speaker 1: Roman three, let us first follow the youngest brother in
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Speaker 1: his wanderings. He traveled with his attendant animals all that
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Speaker 1: day and the following night without stopping, and the next
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Speaker 1: day saw before him a king's palace and went straight
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Speaker 1: towards it. Having been taken into the presence of the king,
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Speaker 1: he begged his majesty to employ him in watching his goats.
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Speaker 1: The king consented to take him as goatherd, and from
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Speaker 1: that day he had the charge of the king's goats,
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Speaker 1: and lived on thus quietly for a long time. One day,
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Speaker 1: the new goatherd chanced to drive his flock to a
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Speaker 1: high hill not far from the king's palace. On the
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Speaker 1: summit of the hill there was a very tall pine tree,
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Speaker 1: and the instant he saw it, he resolved to climb
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Speaker 1: up and look about from its top on the surround country. Accordingly,
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Speaker 1: he climbed up and enjoyed exceedingly the extensive and beautiful prospect.
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Speaker 1: As he looked in one direction, he saw a long
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Speaker 1: way off, a great smoke arising from a mountain. The
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Speaker 1: moment he saw the smoke, he fancied that one of
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Speaker 1: his brothers must be there, as he thought it unlikely
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Speaker 1: that any one else would be in such a wilderness,
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Speaker 1: so he resolved at once to give up his place
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Speaker 1: of goatherd and travel to the mountain which he had
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Speaker 1: seen in the distance coming down from the tree. Therefore,
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Speaker 1: he immediately collected his goats, which was a very easy
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Speaker 1: task for him to do, since he had such good
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Speaker 1: help in his bare, his wolf, his dog, and his cat.
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Speaker 1: No sooner had he reached the palace than he went
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Speaker 1: straight to the king and said, Sir, I can no
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Speaker 1: longer be your Majesty's goatherd. I must go away, for
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Speaker 1: I saw to day a smoking mountain, and I believe
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Speaker 1: that one of my brothers is there, and I wish
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Speaker 1: to go and see if this be so. I therefore
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Speaker 1: beg your Majesty to pay me what you owe me
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Speaker 1: and to let me go. All this time, he thought
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Speaker 1: the King knew nothing about the Smoking Mountain. When he
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Speaker 1: had said this, however, the King immediately began to advise
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Speaker 1: him on no account to go to the mountain, for,
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Speaker 1: as he assured him, whoever went there never came back again.
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Speaker 1: He told him that all who had gone thither seemed
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Speaker 1: at once to have sunk into the earth, for no
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Speaker 1: one ever heard anything more about them. All the King's
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Speaker 1: warnings and counsels, however, availed nothing. The goatherd was bent
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Speaker 1: on going to the Smoking Mountain and looking after his
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Speaker 1: two brothers. After he had made all preparations for the journey,
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Speaker 1: he set out, accompanied as usual by his four animals.
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Speaker 1: He went straight to the mountain, but, having got there,
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Speaker 1: could not at first find the fire. Indeed, he had
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Speaker 1: trouble enough before he discovered it. At length, however, he
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Speaker 1: found a large fire burning under a beech tree, and
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Speaker 1: went near it to warm himself. At the same time,
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Speaker 1: he looked about on all sides to see who had
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Speaker 1: made the fire. After looking about some time, he heard
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Speaker 1: a woman's voice, and, upon his looking up to see
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Speaker 1: whence the sound came, he saw an old woman sitting
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Speaker 1: on one of the branches above his head. She sat
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Speaker 1: huddled together all of a heap and shaking with cold.
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Speaker 1: No sooner had he discovered her than the old woman
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Speaker 1: begged him to allow her to come down to the
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Speaker 1: fire and warm herself a little. So he told her
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Speaker 1: she might come down and warm herself as soon as
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Speaker 1: you please. She answered, however, O, my son, I dare
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Speaker 1: not come down because of your company. I am afraid
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Speaker 1: of the animals you have with you, your bear and
22:01
Speaker 1: wolf and dog and cat. At this, he tried to
22:04
Speaker 1: reassure her and said, don't be afraid, they will do
22:08
Speaker 1: you no harm. However, she would not trust them, so
22:12
Speaker 1: she plucked a hair from her head and threw it down, saying,
22:16
Speaker 1: put that hair on their necks, and then I shall
22:19
Speaker 1: not be afraid to come down. Accordingly, the man took
22:23
Speaker 1: the hair and threw it over his animals, and in
22:26
Speaker 1: a moment the hair was turned into an iron chain
22:30
Speaker 1: which kept his four footed followers bound fast together. When
22:35
Speaker 1: the old woman saw that he had done as she desired,
22:38
Speaker 1: she came down from the tree and took her place
22:41
Speaker 1: by the fire. She seemed at first a very little
22:44
Speaker 1: woman as she sat by the fire. However, she began
22:48
Speaker 1: to grow larger. When he saw this, he was greatly
22:52
Speaker 1: astonished and said to her, but my old woman, it
22:55
Speaker 1: seems to me that you grow bigger and bigger. Thereupon
22:59
Speaker 1: she answered, shivering, ha ha, No, no, my son, I
23:04
Speaker 1: am only warming myself. But nevertheless, she continued to grow
23:09
Speaker 1: taller and taller, and had already grown half as tall
23:12
Speaker 1: as the beech tree. The goatherd watched her growing with
23:16
Speaker 1: wide open eyes, and, beginning to get frightened, said again,
23:21
Speaker 1: but really, you are getting a fearful size, and are
23:25
Speaker 1: growing taller and taller every moment. Ha ha, my son,
23:29
Speaker 1: She coughed and shivered, I am only warming myself. Seeing however,
23:35
Speaker 1: that she was now as tall as the tallest beech tree,
23:39
Speaker 1: and fearing that his life was in danger, he called
23:43
Speaker 1: anxiously to his companions, Hold her fast, my bearer, hold
23:48
Speaker 1: her fast, my wolf, hold her fast, my dog, hold
23:53
Speaker 1: her fast, my cat. But it was all in vain
23:56
Speaker 1: that he called to them. None of them could move
23:59
Speaker 1: a step from him his place. When he saw that,
24:02
Speaker 1: he endeavored to run away, but found that he could
24:05
Speaker 1: no more move from his place than if he were
24:08
Speaker 1: fast chained to it. Then the old woman, seeing everything,
24:13
Speaker 1: had gone on, just as she wished, bent down a little, and,
24:16
Speaker 1: touching him with her little finger, said go you have
24:20
Speaker 1: lost your head, and the self same moment he turned
24:23
Speaker 1: to ashes. After that she touched with the little toe
24:27
Speaker 1: of her left foot all his animals, one after the other,
24:31
Speaker 1: and they also turned at once to ashes, as their
24:34
Speaker 1: master had done. Having collected all the ashes, she buried
24:39
Speaker 1: them under an oak tree. Then, as soon as she
24:42
Speaker 1: took the iron chain in her hand, it turned again
24:45
Speaker 1: into a hair, which she put back into its place
24:48
Speaker 1: on her head. She had before done with many young
24:52
Speaker 1: and noble knights, just as she had now done with
24:55
Speaker 1: this poor Goatherd. The second brother, after serving a long
24:59
Speaker 1: time in a strange place, was seized with a great
25:02
Speaker 1: desire to go to the oak tree at the cross
25:05
Speaker 1: roads where he had parted with his brothers, in order
25:08
Speaker 1: to see if their knives were still sticking in the tree.
25:12
Speaker 1: When he got there, he found the knife of his
25:14
Speaker 1: eldest brother still firmly fixed in the trunk of the oak,
25:18
Speaker 1: but his youngest brother's knife had fallen to the ground.
25:21
Speaker 1: Then he knew that his younger brother was dead or
25:24
Speaker 1: in great danger of death, and he resolved at once
25:28
Speaker 1: to follow the way he had gone, and tried to
25:30
Speaker 1: discover what had become of him. Going then along the
25:34
Speaker 1: same road which his younger brother had traveled, he came
25:37
Speaker 1: on the third day to the king's palace and went
25:41
Speaker 1: in and begged the king to take him into his service,
25:45
Speaker 1: whereupon the king took him as goatherd, exactly as he
25:49
Speaker 1: had taken before the youngest brother. When the second brother
25:53
Speaker 1: had tended the king's goats a long time, he one
25:56
Speaker 1: day drove them up a high hill, and, finding there
25:59
Speaker 1: a very tall pine tree, resolved at once to climb
26:02
Speaker 1: up to its top and look about to see what
26:05
Speaker 1: kind of a country lay on the other side of
26:08
Speaker 1: the hill. When he had looked round a while from
26:11
Speaker 1: the tree, he noticed a great volume of smoke rising
26:14
Speaker 1: from a mountain afar off, and the thought came at
26:17
Speaker 1: once to his mind that his brothers might be there. Accordingly,
26:22
Speaker 1: he came down, quickly, collected his goats, and went back
26:26
Speaker 1: to the king's palace, followed by his four companions, that
26:31
Speaker 1: is to say, by his bear, his wolf, his dog,
26:34
Speaker 1: and his cap. When he had reached the palace, he
26:37
Speaker 1: went straight to the king and begged him to pay
26:40
Speaker 1: him his wages. At once and to let him go
26:43
Speaker 1: to look after his brothers, for he had seen a
26:46
Speaker 1: smoke upon a mountain, and he believed they were there.
26:50
Speaker 1: The king tried in vain to dissuade him by telling
26:54
Speaker 1: him that none who went there ever came back, but
26:57
Speaker 1: all his Majesty's words availed nothing. Thereupon, seeing he was
27:02
Speaker 1: decided on going, the king paid him what he owed
27:05
Speaker 1: him and let him go. He at once set out
27:08
Speaker 1: and went straight to the mountain, but when he got
27:11
Speaker 1: there he was a long time before he could find
27:14
Speaker 1: any fire. At last, however, he found one burning under
27:18
Speaker 1: a beech tree, and he went up to it to
27:20
Speaker 1: warm himself, wondering all the time who had made it,
27:24
Speaker 1: since he saw no one near. As he warmed himself,
27:28
Speaker 1: he heard a woman's voice in the tree above his head,
27:31
Speaker 1: and looking up, saw there an old woman huddled up
27:35
Speaker 1: on a branch and shaking with cold. As soon as
27:38
Speaker 1: he saw her, the old woman asked him to let
27:41
Speaker 1: her come down and warm herself by the fire, and
27:44
Speaker 1: he told her she might come and warm herself as
27:47
Speaker 1: long as she liked. She said, however, I am afraid
27:51
Speaker 1: of the company which you have with you. Take this
27:54
Speaker 1: hair and lay it over your bear and wolf and
27:57
Speaker 1: dog and cat, and then I shall be able to
28:00
Speaker 1: come down. So saying, she pulled a hair out of
28:04
Speaker 1: her head and threw it down. He laughed at her
28:07
Speaker 1: fears and assured her that his companions would not hurt her. Finding, however, notwithstanding,
28:13
Speaker 1: only said that she was still afraid to come down
28:17
Speaker 1: from the tree. He at last took the hair and
28:19
Speaker 1: laid it on the beasts as she had directed. In
28:23
Speaker 1: an instant, the hare turned into an iron chain and
28:27
Speaker 1: bound the four animals fast together. Then the old woman
28:31
Speaker 1: came down and took a place by the fire to
28:34
Speaker 1: warm herself. As the second brother watched her warming herself,
28:38
Speaker 1: he saw her grow bigger and bigger, until she had
28:41
Speaker 1: grown half as tall as the beech tree. Wondering greatly,
28:45
Speaker 1: he exclaimed, old woman, you are growing bigger and bigger. Hi, hi,
28:51
Speaker 1: my son, said she, coughing and shivering. I am only
28:55
Speaker 1: warming myself. But when he saw that she was already
28:59
Speaker 1: as tall the beech tree, he became frightened and called
29:03
Speaker 1: to his companions, hold her my bear, hold her my wolf,
29:08
Speaker 1: hold her my dog, hold her my cat. They were
29:12
Speaker 1: none of them, however, able to move, so fast were
29:15
Speaker 1: they held together by the iron chain. Seeing that, the
29:19
Speaker 1: old woman stooped down and touched him with her little finger,
29:23
Speaker 1: and he fell immediately into ashes. Then she touched the
29:27
Speaker 1: four animals, one after the other with the little toe
29:31
Speaker 1: of her left foot, and they also crumbled to ashes.
29:35
Speaker 1: No sooner had the old woman done this than she
29:38
Speaker 1: collected all the ashes in a heap and buried them
29:41
Speaker 1: under an oak tree. As she had done before with
29:44
Speaker 1: the ashes of many a youthful knight and gentleman, so
29:48
Speaker 1: she did now with those of this poor simple man.
29:52
Speaker 1: Pity if they were to die, that some more worthy
29:55
Speaker 1: means than one here from the head of a miserable
29:58
Speaker 1: old woman had not brought about their deaths. A very
30:02
Speaker 1: long time had passed, and yet the oldest brother never
30:06
Speaker 1: once thought of going back to the cross roads where
30:09
Speaker 1: he had parted with his brothers. He was engaged in
30:12
Speaker 1: the service of a good and honest master, and finding
30:16
Speaker 1: himself so well off, fancying that his brothers were the same.
30:21
Speaker 1: His master was an innkeeper, and the whole work of
30:24
Speaker 1: the servant was to prepare morning and evening the beds
30:28
Speaker 1: of the guests. He did his duties so well that
30:31
Speaker 1: his master thought of adopting him for his son, as
30:35
Speaker 1: he himself was childless. One day, a gentleman of great
30:39
Speaker 1: distinction came to pass the night at the inn, and
30:42
Speaker 1: the servant thought that the stranger looked remarkably like his
30:46
Speaker 1: youngest brother. He wished to ask him his name, but
30:50
Speaker 1: could not for shame, partly because he feared his brother
30:53
Speaker 1: would reproach him for having forgotten to go to the
30:57
Speaker 1: cross roads, partly because the guests manners were so polished,
31:02
Speaker 1: and his clothes were of fine silk and velvet, whereas
31:05
Speaker 1: he had left his brother very poorly clad and of
31:09
Speaker 1: rustic manners. As he thought of the likeness which the
31:13
Speaker 1: guests bore to his youngest brother, he considered that in
31:17
Speaker 1: his travels about the world, his brother might have found wisdom,
31:21
Speaker 1: and by his wisdom might have succeeded in some way
31:25
Speaker 1: of business, and by his business might have gained money,
31:29
Speaker 1: and then, having got money, that it would be easy
31:32
Speaker 1: for him to get as fine clothes as the stranger wore.
31:36
Speaker 1: Reasoning thus, he took courage at last to ask the
31:40
Speaker 1: gentleman about his family, and at length grew bold enough
31:44
Speaker 1: to ask him plainly if he was not his brother. This, however,
31:48
Speaker 1: the stranger quickly and positively denied, and asked in return
31:53
Speaker 1: about the servant's family. To all the particulars which the
31:57
Speaker 1: servant gave him, he listened with a smile. Next morning,
32:01
Speaker 1: the guests left the inn very early, and when the
32:04
Speaker 1: servant went to arrange the bed in which he had slept,
32:08
Speaker 1: he found under the pillow a little stone. He thought
32:11
Speaker 1: the stone must be valuable, having been in the possession
32:15
Speaker 1: of so rich a man, and yet he considered its
32:18
Speaker 1: loss could hardly be felt by one who went clothed
32:22
Speaker 1: in silks and velvets. He lifted it to his lips
32:25
Speaker 1: to kiss it before putting it in his pocket. But
32:28
Speaker 1: the moment his lips touched it, two negroes started out
32:32
Speaker 1: and asked him, what are your orders, sir. He was
32:36
Speaker 1: frightened by the suddenness of their appearance and answered, I
32:40
Speaker 1: do not order anything. Then the negroes disappeared, and he
32:44
Speaker 1: put the stone in his pocket. The more he thought
32:47
Speaker 1: of this, the more he marveled at the wonderful stone,
32:51
Speaker 1: and considered what he should do with it. By and by,
32:55
Speaker 1: in order to find out what the negroes could do,
32:58
Speaker 1: he took the stone out of his pocket and raised
33:01
Speaker 1: it again to his lips. The moment he did so,
33:04
Speaker 1: the Negroes reappeared and asked him again, what do you demand, sir?
33:10
Speaker 1: He replied quickly, I desire to have the finest clothes
33:14
Speaker 1: prepared for me, of which no two pieces must be
33:18
Speaker 1: made from the same kind of stuff. In a very
33:22
Speaker 1: few moments, the Negroes brought him the most beautiful clothes possible.
33:26
Speaker 1: So fine, indeed were they all, that he could not
33:30
Speaker 1: decide which piece was the most beautiful. Then, dismissing the Negroes,
33:35
Speaker 1: who disappeared in the stone, he dressed himself. He was
33:39
Speaker 1: admiring the fine fit of his clothes when his master
33:43
Speaker 1: came to the door of his room, and, seeing a
33:46
Speaker 1: stranger in such an exceedingly rich dress, said humbly, excuse me, sir,
33:52
Speaker 1: where do you come from from? Not far off? The
33:56
Speaker 1: servant answered, Wait a moment, sir, said the innkeeper. I
34:00
Speaker 1: will call my servant to take your orders, And, going outside,
34:04
Speaker 1: he called loudly for his servant. Meanwhile, the servant quickly
34:09
Speaker 1: threw off his fine clothes and gave them back to
34:12
Speaker 1: the Negroes, Trussing himself hurriedly in his old clothes, he
34:17
Speaker 1: rushed out of his room. Then, finding the pantry open,
34:21
Speaker 1: he began to arrange the things. His master found him
34:25
Speaker 1: employed in this way, and ordered him at once to
34:28
Speaker 1: leave that business and to go into the house to
34:31
Speaker 1: make coffee for a distinguished guest, who had that moment arrived.
34:37
Speaker 1: The strange guest, however, was nowhere to be found. The
34:40
Speaker 1: innkeeper looked with his servant into all the rooms, but
34:44
Speaker 1: there was no sign of a guest anywhere. Then the master,
34:48
Speaker 1: greatly astonished, thought that some thieves had been playing him
34:52
Speaker 1: a trick, and bid the servant in future to look
34:55
Speaker 1: more sharply who came in and who went out of
34:58
Speaker 1: the inn. The servant was and quietly to his master,
35:02
Speaker 1: But having once remembered his brothers, he had now an
35:06
Speaker 1: irresistible desire to look after them, and so he told
35:10
Speaker 1: the innkeeper that he had resolved to go away, and
35:13
Speaker 1: desired that he might be paid his wages. The innkeeper
35:17
Speaker 1: was very sad at hearing this, and offered to raise
35:21
Speaker 1: his wages, and tried all means to keep him, but
35:25
Speaker 1: it was of no use. Seeing that the servant was
35:28
Speaker 1: resolved to go away, The master then paid him and
35:32
Speaker 1: let him leave the inn. Then the eldest brother took
35:35
Speaker 1: with him his four animals, his bear, wolf, dog, and cat,
35:40
Speaker 1: and went away. After traveling a very long time, his
35:44
Speaker 1: good fortune brought him to the crossroads where he had
35:47
Speaker 1: parted with his brothers. Instantly he rushed to the oak
35:51
Speaker 1: to see if the knives were still sticking in it,
35:54
Speaker 1: but his own knife alone stood in the tree. The
35:58
Speaker 1: two others had fallen out, and he was much grieved
36:01
Speaker 1: at this, believing that his brothers were dead or that
36:05
Speaker 1: they were in great danger. In his trouble, he had
36:08
Speaker 1: quite forgotten the wonderful hare and stone which he possessed.
36:13
Speaker 1: He resolved to go and search after his brothers, and
36:17
Speaker 1: therefore went along the same road his youngest brother had
36:20
Speaker 1: taken when they parted. As he traveled, he remembered the
36:25
Speaker 1: hair which the winged horse had given him, and the
36:27
Speaker 1: stone which he had found at the inn, but these
36:30
Speaker 1: did not much console him. He was so exceedingly sorry
36:34
Speaker 1: for his brothers. After traveling some time, he found himself
36:39
Speaker 1: before a large palace, the doorkeeper of which asked him
36:42
Speaker 1: if he would take charge of the king's goats. He
36:46
Speaker 1: said he would if the king could only tell him
36:48
Speaker 1: something about his two brothers, who had traveled that way
36:52
Speaker 1: with a similar company to that which he had. The
36:55
Speaker 1: king said that no men with such a company had
36:58
Speaker 1: passed that way during his run, and this was quite
37:01
Speaker 1: true inasmuch as he had only recently mounted the throne,
37:05
Speaker 1: the old king under whom the two brothers had served,
37:09
Speaker 1: having lately died. However, though the eldest brother could learn
37:13
Speaker 1: nothing of his two younger brothers, he decided to stay
37:17
Speaker 1: some time there, and so engaged himself to the king
37:21
Speaker 1: as goat keeper. As he drove the goats out day
37:24
Speaker 1: by day, he looked about on all sides for some
37:27
Speaker 1: trace of his brothers. Far, although their knives had fallen
37:31
Speaker 1: out of the oak tree, he tried to believe that
37:34
Speaker 1: they were not dead. One day, as he thus wandered
37:38
Speaker 1: about with his goats, he met an old man who
37:40
Speaker 1: was going to the forest with his axe on his
37:43
Speaker 1: shoulder to cut wood. So he asked him if he
37:47
Speaker 1: had seen anything of his two brothers. The old man answered,
37:51
Speaker 1: who knows. Perhaps they have been lost on that mountain
37:54
Speaker 1: where so many other men have lost their lives. Drive
37:58
Speaker 1: your goats up that high hill. From its top you
38:01
Speaker 1: will see a much higher mountain which smokes and never
38:04
Speaker 1: ceases to smoke. On that mountain many people have been lost.
38:09
Speaker 1: Perhaps your brothers also have perished there. I will, however,
38:13
Speaker 1: give you one piece of good advice. Do not go,
38:16
Speaker 1: for anything in the world, to the place where it smokes.
38:20
Speaker 1: I am now an old man, but I never remember
38:23
Speaker 1: to have seen one man return who went there. Therefore,
38:26
Speaker 1: if your life is dear to you, do not go
38:29
Speaker 1: up that mountain. So saying, the old man went off.
38:33
Speaker 1: The goat keeper drove his goats up the hill, and
38:36
Speaker 1: from its top he saw, as he had been told,
38:39
Speaker 1: a very high mountain which smoked. He tried to discover
38:43
Speaker 1: if any living creature was thereon, but he could not
38:46
Speaker 1: see the traces of a single one there. He considered
38:50
Speaker 1: within himself whether he should go there or not, and
38:54
Speaker 1: after revolving it over in his mind, he at length
38:58
Speaker 1: determined to go. In the evening. When he drove the
39:01
Speaker 1: goats home, he told the king of his intention. The
39:05
Speaker 1: king tried hard to dissuade him, and promised to raise
39:09
Speaker 1: his wages if he would stay with him. However, nothing
39:12
Speaker 1: could turn him from his resolution. So the king paid
39:16
Speaker 1: him and he went away. Having come to the mountain,
39:19
Speaker 1: he found the fire and wondered who lit it. As
39:23
Speaker 1: he thought over this, he heard a woman's voice saying,
39:26
Speaker 1: high hi. So he looked up and was astonished at
39:30
Speaker 1: scene in the branches of the beech tree. Over his
39:33
Speaker 1: head an old woman huddled together. Her hair was longer
39:38
Speaker 1: than her body and as white as snow. When he
39:41
Speaker 1: looked up, she said to him, my son, I am
39:44
Speaker 1: so cold. I should like to warm myself, but I
39:48
Speaker 1: am afraid of your beasts. I made that fire myself,
39:52
Speaker 1: but seeing you coming with your animals, I was frightened
39:55
Speaker 1: and got up here to save myself. Well, you can
39:59
Speaker 1: now come down again and warm yourself as much as
40:02
Speaker 1: you please, said he. However, she protested, I dare not.
40:07
Speaker 1: Your beasts would bite me. But I will throw you
40:10
Speaker 1: a hare, and you shall bind them with it. Then
40:13
Speaker 1: I can come down. The eldest brother thought to himself,
40:17
Speaker 1: the hair must be of very singular hair. Indeed, if
40:21
Speaker 1: it could bind his bear, his wolf, his dog, and
40:24
Speaker 1: his cap. So instead of throwing it over the animals,
40:29
Speaker 1: he threw it into the fire. Meanwhile, the old woman
40:33
Speaker 1: came down from the tree, and they both sat by
40:35
Speaker 1: the fire but he never moved his eyes from her.
40:39
Speaker 1: Very soon she began to grow and grow, and in
40:42
Speaker 1: a short time she was ten yards high. Then he
40:46
Speaker 1: remembered the words of the old woodcutter and trembled. However,
40:50
Speaker 1: he only said to her, how you are growing, auntie?
40:54
Speaker 1: Oh no, my son, she answered, I am only warming myself.
40:58
Speaker 1: She still grew tall, taller and taller, and had grown
41:01
Speaker 1: as tall as the beech tree when he again exclaimed,
41:05
Speaker 1: but how you were growing, old woman? Oh no, my son,
41:09
Speaker 1: I am only warming myself, she repeated as before. But
41:14
Speaker 1: he saw that she meant him mischief, so he shouted
41:17
Speaker 1: to his companions, hold her, my dog, hold her, my
41:20
Speaker 1: little bear, hold her, my little wolf, hold her my pussy.
41:25
Speaker 1: Thereupon they all jumped on the old woman and began
41:28
Speaker 1: to tear her. Seeing she was unable to help herself,
41:32
Speaker 1: she begged him to save her from her furious enemies,
41:36
Speaker 1: and promised she would give him whatever he asked. Well,
41:40
Speaker 1: said he, I demand that you bring back to life
41:43
Speaker 1: my two brothers, with their companions, and all those you
41:47
Speaker 1: have destroyed. Besides that, I demand ten loads of ducats.
41:52
Speaker 1: If you will not comply with these demands, I shall
41:55
Speaker 1: leave you to be torn to pieces by my animals.
41:58
Speaker 1: The old woman agreed to do all this, only she
42:01
Speaker 1: begged hard that one man should not be brought back
42:05
Speaker 1: to life, because she had said when she had turned
42:08
Speaker 1: him to ashes, when you arise, may I lie down
42:12
Speaker 1: in your place? And therefore she was afraid she should
42:15
Speaker 1: be turned to ashes herself if he came back to life.
42:19
Speaker 1: As the eldest brother, however, thought that she was trying
42:23
Speaker 1: to cheat him, he would not comply with her request.
42:27
Speaker 1: Finding that she could not otherwise help herself, she at
42:30
Speaker 1: length said to him, take some ashes from that heap
42:34
Speaker 1: under the tree, and throw them over yourself and your company.
42:38
Speaker 1: And whilst you do so, say, arise up dust and
42:42
Speaker 1: ashes what I am? Now? May you also be wonder
42:47
Speaker 1: of wonders. The moment he did as she told him,
42:50
Speaker 1: there arose up crowds of men, more than ten thousand
42:54
Speaker 1: of them. On seeing such a multitude of people coming
42:58
Speaker 1: from under the tree, he was almost struck senseless with astonishment,
43:03
Speaker 1: But he explained to them briefly what had happened. Most
43:07
Speaker 1: of them thanked him heartily. Some, however, of them, would
43:11
Speaker 1: not believe him, and said, with anger, we would rather
43:14
Speaker 1: you had not awakened us. Then they went away in crowds,
43:18
Speaker 1: some took one way, some another, until they were all dispersed.
43:23
Speaker 1: Only his two brothers remained behind, though they too, for
43:27
Speaker 1: some time could not believe that he was their brother. However,
43:31
Speaker 1: when they saw that their animals recognized his they remembered
43:36
Speaker 1: that no one but themselves had had such a strange
43:39
Speaker 1: company of beasts. Having recognized each other, the brothers fell
43:43
Speaker 1: into each other's arms and embraced affectionately. Then they divided
43:49
Speaker 1: the ducats which the old woman had given to the eldest,
43:52
Speaker 1: loaded their animals with their treasures, and went straight away
43:56
Speaker 1: towards the place where they were born and where their
44:00
Speaker 1: parents had died. As for the old woman, when the
44:03
Speaker 1: last men arose from the ashes under the oak tree,
44:07
Speaker 1: she herself crumbled into ashes under it. Rumin for the
44:12
Speaker 1: three brothers built three fine palaces for themselves, and lived
44:16
Speaker 1: therein sometime unmarried. At length, however, they began to think
44:21
Speaker 1: what would become of all their property after their deaths,
44:24
Speaker 1: and said to each other that it would be a
44:27
Speaker 1: pity for them to die without heirs. So they resolved
44:30
Speaker 1: to marry that their wealth might be left to their
44:33
Speaker 1: sons and daughters. The eldest brothers said, let me go
44:37
Speaker 1: and find the best wives I can for all three
44:40
Speaker 1: of us. Meantime, you two will remain here and take
44:44
Speaker 1: care of our property. The others gladly agreed to this,
44:48
Speaker 1: as the eldest brother had given proofs enough that he
44:52
Speaker 1: was by far the wisest of the three, and they
44:55
Speaker 1: felt sure that he would be able also to bring
44:58
Speaker 1: this important business to us successful issue. So he made
45:02
Speaker 1: the needful preparations and started on his journey to look
45:06
Speaker 1: out for three wives for himself and the two younger brothers,
45:10
Speaker 1: who remained at home. After long traveling, he arrived at
45:14
Speaker 1: a large city and resolved to remain there all night
45:17
Speaker 1: and to continue his journey in the morning. It happened
45:21
Speaker 1: that the king of that place had just arranged a
45:24
Speaker 1: horse race and promised his only daughter as the prize,
45:28
Speaker 1: and with her ten loads of treasure to the winner.
45:32
Speaker 1: The very evening the eldest brother arrived, he heard the
45:35
Speaker 1: public bellman proclaiming aloud through the streets that everyone who
45:40
Speaker 1: had a horse should come tomorrow to the royal field,
45:44
Speaker 1: and whoever should spring first over the ditch should be
45:47
Speaker 1: rewarded with the King's daughter, and should receive with her
45:51
Speaker 1: ten loads of gold. He listened to the proclamation without
45:55
Speaker 1: saying anything. Next morning he went out into the King's
46:00
Speaker 1: field in order to see the racing, and found there
46:03
Speaker 1: already innumerable horses of all kinds. A little later came
46:08
Speaker 1: also the princess, the King's daughter, and behind her were
46:11
Speaker 1: brought ten loads of treasures. When he saw the King's daughter,
46:15
Speaker 1: he thought her so exceedingly beautiful that he went instantly
46:19
Speaker 1: a little aside from the crowd to get a better
46:22
Speaker 1: sight of her. He then remembered his wonderful stone. Taking
46:27
Speaker 1: it out, he now lifted it to his lips, and
46:30
Speaker 1: immediately the two negroes appeared and said, Master, what do
46:34
Speaker 1: you command? He replied, bring me clothes of silk and velvet,
46:39
Speaker 1: together with precious stones and ten good horses, and bring
46:44
Speaker 1: them as soon as possible. He had not winked twice
46:47
Speaker 1: before the negroes had placed before him everything which he
46:51
Speaker 1: had demanded. Then he took out the hair, and, striking
46:54
Speaker 1: fire with a flint, held the hare near it. The
46:57
Speaker 1: moment he did this, the same cream colored horse that
47:01
Speaker 1: had given him the hare stood beside him and asked, Master,
47:05
Speaker 1: what do you command? He answered, I wish that to
47:08
Speaker 1: day we leave all the other horses behind us in
47:11
Speaker 1: the race, so that I may gain the King's daughter. Therefore,
47:16
Speaker 1: prepare yourself and let us go at once, as the
47:19
Speaker 1: other horses are now ready for starting. The instant he
47:23
Speaker 1: had spoken these words, the cream colored horse stood pawing
47:27
Speaker 1: the earth, ready and eager to begin the race. The
47:31
Speaker 1: man then mounted it, and off they went. The other racers,
47:35
Speaker 1: having started a few moments before, were already pretty far
47:39
Speaker 1: from the starting point. In an instant, however, he had
47:42
Speaker 1: reached them, and in another had passed and left them
47:46
Speaker 1: far behind. When he reached the ditch, which was a
47:50
Speaker 1: hundred and five yards deep and a hundred yards wide,
47:53
Speaker 1: the horse made so great a spring that it touched
47:57
Speaker 1: ground some fifty yards beyond the ditch, broad as it was.
48:02
Speaker 1: Then he rode back and took the maiden, the King's daughter, and,
48:05
Speaker 1: placing her behind him on his horse, carried her off
48:09
Speaker 1: together with the loads of gold. All the people seeing
48:12
Speaker 1: this wondered greatly who the strange knight could be, who
48:16
Speaker 1: had left all the best horses so far behind in
48:19
Speaker 1: the race, and had won the beautiful princess with all
48:23
Speaker 1: her rich treasures. He rode along until he came to
48:26
Speaker 1: a wood pretty far from the city, and there he
48:29
Speaker 1: let his wonderful horse go until he should want him again.
48:34
Speaker 1: He then took off all his beautiful clothes and put
48:37
Speaker 1: on his old dress, and in this manner went on
48:40
Speaker 1: with the maiden and the loads of gold. About evening
48:44
Speaker 1: he arrived at a strange city, and decided to remain there.
48:48
Speaker 1: After he had rested a little while, the people in
48:51
Speaker 1: the inn told him that all day long the city
48:54
Speaker 1: billman had proclaimed that whoever had a good horse should
48:57
Speaker 1: go tomorrow to the horse race, for the king of
49:00
Speaker 1: the palace had offered his only daughter as a prize,
49:04
Speaker 1: together with a hundred weight of gold and jewels, but
49:07
Speaker 1: that there was a ditch to be sprung over which
49:10
Speaker 1: was three hundred and fifty yards deep and a hundred
49:13
Speaker 1: and fifty yards wide. When he heard this, he was
49:17
Speaker 1: greatly pleased, for he was quite sure that he should
49:20
Speaker 1: win this race. Also next morning, by the help of
49:23
Speaker 1: the little stone and the wonderful hare, he was again
49:27
Speaker 1: dressed in the finest clothes and mounted on his cream
49:31
Speaker 1: colored horse, and so took his place amongst the racers.
49:36
Speaker 1: Everyone wondered from what country this night came, and were
49:39
Speaker 1: delighted at his rich dress. As for the horse, the
49:43
Speaker 1: people were never tired of admiring it. When the race
49:46
Speaker 1: horses were arranged for the start, he remained purposely behind.
49:51
Speaker 1: He knew well enough that this was of no consequence
49:54
Speaker 1: to him, as in one moment he could reach and
49:57
Speaker 1: pass them all at length. He stop and in a
50:01
Speaker 1: moment distanced the fleetest horse, arriving at the ditch and
50:05
Speaker 1: leaping over it as if it were nothing. Then, without
50:09
Speaker 1: waiting a minute, he took possession of the king's daughter
50:12
Speaker 1: and her treasures and went straight to the city where
50:16
Speaker 1: he had left the first king's daughter and her loads
50:19
Speaker 1: of gold, Taking the two princesses and all the wealth
50:23
Speaker 1: with him. He now thought that it was time for
50:25
Speaker 1: him to go back home. On his way, however, he
50:29
Speaker 1: had the great good luck to come again to a
50:31
Speaker 1: large city, where he resolved to remain during the night. There. Also,
50:36
Speaker 1: the public crier had been proclaiming all day long that
50:40
Speaker 1: the king had determined to give his only daughter and
50:43
Speaker 1: fifteen hundredweight of gold to whoever should win the race,
50:47
Speaker 1: which was to be run on the morrow. In this instance, however,
50:51
Speaker 1: the horses would have to leap over a ditch one
50:54
Speaker 1: thousand yards deep and four hundred and fifty yards wide.
50:58
Speaker 1: On hearing this acclamation, the eldest brother became very joyful,
51:03
Speaker 1: for he knew that no racer had any chance of
51:07
Speaker 1: beating his wonderful horse on the morrow. Therefore, by means
51:12
Speaker 1: of his little stone and the hair, he ordered fifteen
51:15
Speaker 1: horses to be ready to carry away the treasures he
51:19
Speaker 1: felt sure of winning, and at the same time directed
51:23
Speaker 1: the negroes to bring him his very coarser and dresses
51:27
Speaker 1: so splendid that not even a king could buy them.
51:30
Speaker 1: Richly dressed in this way, and mounted as he was
51:34
Speaker 1: on his marvelous horse, all the world who had gathered
51:38
Speaker 1: to see the great race could look at nothing except
51:41
Speaker 1: at him. When all the racers were arranged for the start,
51:44
Speaker 1: he lingered behind and let them all speed off like falcons.
51:49
Speaker 1: He wished everyone to see that he was the last
51:52
Speaker 1: to start, that they might not charge him afterwards with
51:56
Speaker 1: having in any way cheated. When they had already gone
52:00
Speaker 1: pretty far, he started himself, and in a moment he
52:03
Speaker 1: had reached them, passed them, and left them all a long,
52:08
Speaker 1: long distance behind. How could it be otherwise? When did
52:13
Speaker 1: the crow outfly the falcon? Coming to the ditch, he
52:17
Speaker 1: touched the bridle a little, and in an instant his
52:21
Speaker 1: horse had leaped over the ditch, and they were safe
52:24
Speaker 1: on the other side. So, without any delay he took
52:27
Speaker 1: away the maiden, together with all the gold, and went
52:31
Speaker 1: back to the city. Having collected his immense treasures, he
52:35
Speaker 1: now took with him the three princesses and went straight home.
52:40
Speaker 1: As he traveled along with his company, everyone who met
52:43
Speaker 1: him asked him, where are you going? For you see
52:47
Speaker 1: the princesses were exceedingly beautiful, but beyond all others. His
52:52
Speaker 1: two brothers, when he reached home, wondered and were delighted
52:56
Speaker 1: at the sight of the three beautiful princesses. They did
53:00
Speaker 1: not rejoice half so much over the great riches he
53:03
Speaker 1: had gained for them as over the marvelous fairness of
53:06
Speaker 1: the king's daughters, whom he had brought to be their wives. Thus,
53:11
Speaker 1: each of the three brothers married a beautiful princess. The
53:14
Speaker 1: eldest brother, however, who had shown himself so much, the
53:18
Speaker 1: bravest and wisest of them, married the youngest and most
53:22
Speaker 1: beautiful of the three and of Section fifteen