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013 - TheGolden-Haired Twins · Serbian Fairy Tales

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  Speaker 1: Section thirteen 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 work read
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  Speaker 1: by Madorkay Serbian fairy Tales, translated by Elodi Miyatovic. The
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  Speaker 1: Golden Haired Twins. Once upon a time, a long, long
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  Speaker 1: while ago, there lived a young king who wished very
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  Speaker 1: much to marry, but could not decide where he had
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  Speaker 1: better look for a wife. One evening, as he was
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  Speaker 1: walking disguised through the streets of his capital, as it
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  Speaker 1: was his frequent custom to do, he stopped to listen
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  Speaker 1: near an open window, where he heard three young girls
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  Speaker 1: chatting gaily together. The girls were talking about a report
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  Speaker 1: which had been lately spread through the city that the
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  Speaker 1: king intended soon to marry. One of the girls exclaimed,
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  Speaker 1: if the king would marry me, I would give him
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  Speaker 1: a son who should be the greatest hero in all
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  Speaker 1: the world. The second girl said, and if I were
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  Speaker 1: to be his wife, I would present him with two
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  Speaker 1: sons at once, two twins with golden hair. The third
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  Speaker 1: girl declared that were the king to marry her, she
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  Speaker 1: would give him a daughter so beautiful that there should
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  Speaker 1: not be her equal in the wide world. The young
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  Speaker 1: king listened to all this, and for some time thought
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  Speaker 1: over their words, and tried to make up his mind
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  Speaker 1: which one of the three girls he should choose for
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  Speaker 1: his wife. At last, he decided he would marry the
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  Speaker 1: one who had said she would bring him twins with
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  Speaker 1: golden hair. Having once settled his own mind, he ordered
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  Speaker 1: that all preparations for his marriage should be made forthwith,
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  Speaker 1: and shortly after, when all was ready, he married the
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  Speaker 1: second girl of the three. Several months after his marriage,
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  Speaker 1: the young king, who was at war with one of
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  Speaker 1: the neighboring princes, received tidings of the defeat of his
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  Speaker 1: army and heard that his presence was immediately required at
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  Speaker 1: the camp. He accordingly left his capital and went to
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  Speaker 1: his army, leaving the young queen and his palace to
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  Speaker 1: the care of his stepmother. Now, the king's stepmother hated
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  Speaker 1: her daughter in law very much, indeed, so when the
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  Speaker 1: golden haired twins were born, the old queen contrived to
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  Speaker 1: steal them out of their cradle and put in their
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  Speaker 1: place two ugly little dogs. She then caused the two
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  Speaker 1: beautiful golden haired boys to be buried alive in the
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  Speaker 1: out of the wiste spot in the palace gardens, and
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  Speaker 1: then sent war to the King that the young Queen
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  Speaker 1: had given him two little dogs instead of the heir
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  Speaker 1: as he was hoping for. The wicked stepmother said that
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  Speaker 1: her letter to the King that she herself was not
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  Speaker 1: surprised at this, though she was very sorry for his disappointment.
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  Speaker 1: As to herself, she had a long time suspected the
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  Speaker 1: young Queen of having too great a friendship for goblins
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  Speaker 1: and elves and all kind of evil spirits. When the
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  Speaker 1: King received them, he fell into a great, frightful rage
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  Speaker 1: because he had only married the young girl in ordered
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  Speaker 1: to have golden haired twins, as she had promised him
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  Speaker 1: as heirs to his throne. So he sent word back
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  Speaker 1: to the old Queen that his wife should be put
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  Speaker 1: at once to the deep, dampest dungeon in the castle,
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  Speaker 1: in order, which the wicked woman took care to see
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  Speaker 1: carried out without delight. Accordingly, the poor young Queen was
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  Speaker 1: thrown into a miserably dark dungeon under the palace and
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  Speaker 1: kept on bread and water. Now there was only a
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  Speaker 1: very small hole in this prison, hardly large enough to
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  Speaker 1: let enlighten air. Yet the old queen managed to cause
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  Speaker 1: a great many people to pass by this hole, and
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  Speaker 1: whoever passed was ordered to spit at and abuse the
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  Speaker 1: unhappy young queen, calling out to her, are you really
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  Speaker 1: the queen? Are you the girl who cheated the king
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  Speaker 1: in order to be a queen? Where your golden haired twins?
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  Speaker 1: You cheated the king and your friends, and now the
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  Speaker 1: witches have cheated you. But the young King, though terribly
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  Speaker 1: angry and mortified at its great disappointment, was at the
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  Speaker 1: same time too sad and troubled to be willing to
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  Speaker 1: return to his palace. So he remained away for fully
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  Speaker 1: nine years. When he at last consented to return, the
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  Speaker 1: first thing he noticed in the palace gardens were two
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  Speaker 1: fine young trees exactly the same size and the same shape.
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  Speaker 1: These trees had both golden leaves and golden blossoms, and
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  Speaker 1: had grown up of themselves from the very spot where
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  Speaker 1: the stepmother of the king had buried the two golden
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  Speaker 1: haired boys she had stolen from their cradle. The king
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  Speaker 1: admired those two trees exceedingly and was never weary of
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  Speaker 1: looking at them. This, however, did not at all please
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  Speaker 1: the old queen, for she knew that the two young
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  Speaker 1: princes were buried just where the tree grew, and she
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  Speaker 1: always feared that by some means what she had done
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  Speaker 1: would come to the king's ears. She therefore pretended that
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  Speaker 1: she was very sick and declared that she was sure
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  Speaker 1: she would die unless her steps on. The King ordered
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  Speaker 1: the two golden leaved trees to be cut down and
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  Speaker 1: a bed made for her out of their wood. As
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  Speaker 1: the King was not willing to be the cause of
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  Speaker 1: her death, he ordered that her wishes should be attended to,
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  Speaker 1: although he was exceedingly sorry to lose his favorite trees.
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  Speaker 1: The bed was soon made from those two trees, and
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  Speaker 1: the seemingly sick old queen was laid on it as
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  Speaker 1: she desired, and was quite delighted that the golden trees
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  Speaker 1: had disappeared from the garden. But when midnight came, she
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  Speaker 1: could not sleep a bit, for it seemed to her
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  Speaker 1: that she heard the boards of which her bed was
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  Speaker 1: made in conversation with each other. At last, it seemed
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  Speaker 1: to her that one board said, quite plainly, how are you,
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  Speaker 1: my brother, and the other boyd answered thank you, I
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  Speaker 1: am very well. How are you, oh I am all right,
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  Speaker 1: returned the first ward. But I wonder how our poor
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  Speaker 1: old mother is in her dark dungeon. Perhaps she's hungry
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  Speaker 1: and thirsty. The wicked old queen could not sleep a
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  Speaker 1: minute all night after hearing this conversation between the boards
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  Speaker 1: of her new bed. So next morning she got up
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  Speaker 1: very early and went to see the King. She thanked
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  Speaker 1: him for attending to her wish, and she said already
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  Speaker 1: she was feeling much better, but she felt quite sure
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  Speaker 1: she would never recover thoroughly unless the boards of her
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  Speaker 1: new bed were cut up and thrown into the fire.
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  Speaker 1: The king was so sorry to lose entirely, even the
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  Speaker 1: boards made out of his two favorite trees. Nevertheless, he
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  Speaker 1: could not refuse to use the means pointed out for
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  Speaker 1: his stepmother's perfect recovery. So the new bed was cut
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  Speaker 1: two pieces and thrown onto the fire. But whilst the
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  Speaker 1: boards were blazing and crackling, two sparks from the fire
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  Speaker 1: flew into the courtyard, and in the next moment two
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  Speaker 1: beautiful lambs of golden fleece and golden horns were seen
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  Speaker 1: gambling about the yard. The King admired them greatly and
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  Speaker 1: made many inquiries who had sent them there and whom
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  Speaker 1: they belonged. He even sent the public crier many times
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  Speaker 1: through the city calling on the owners of the two
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  Speaker 1: golden fleece slams to appear and claim them, but no
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  Speaker 1: one came, so at length he thought he might fairly
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  Speaker 1: take them in his own property. The king took very
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  Speaker 1: great care of these two beautiful lambs, and every day
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  Speaker 1: directed that they should be well fed and attended to. This, however,
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  Speaker 1: did not at all please his stepmother. She could not
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  Speaker 1: endure to even look at those lambs with their golden
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  Speaker 1: fleece and golden horns, for they always reminded her of
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  Speaker 1: the golden haired twins. So in a little while she
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  Speaker 1: pretended again to be dangerously sick, and declared she felt
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  Speaker 1: sure she would soon dine lest those two lambs were
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  Speaker 1: killed and cooked for her. The king was even fonder
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  Speaker 1: of his golden fleece slam than he had been of
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  Speaker 1: the golden leaf trees, but he could not long resist
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  Speaker 1: the tears and prayers of the old Queen, especially as
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  Speaker 1: she seemed to be very ill. Accordingly, the lambs were killed,
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  Speaker 1: and a servant was ordered to carry their golden fleeces
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  Speaker 1: down to the river. And wash them well. But whilst
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  Speaker 1: the servant held them under the water, they slipped, in
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  Speaker 1: some way or another out of his fingers and floated
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  Speaker 1: down the stream, which, just as the place, flowed very rapidly.
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  Speaker 1: Now it happened that a hunter was passing near the
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  Speaker 1: river a little lower down, and as he chanced to
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  Speaker 1: look at the water, he saw something strange in it.
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  Speaker 1: So he stepped into the stream and soon fished out
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  Speaker 1: a small box, which he carried into his house and
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  Speaker 1: opened it. To his unspeakably great surprise, he found in
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  Speaker 1: the box two golden haired boys. Now the hunter had
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  Speaker 1: no children of his own. He therefore adopted the twins
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  Speaker 1: he had fished out of the river, and brought them
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  Speaker 1: up just as if they had been his own sons.
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  Speaker 1: When the twins were grown up into two handsome young men,
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  Speaker 1: one of them said to his foster father, make us
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  Speaker 1: two suits of beggar's clothes, and let us go wonder
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  Speaker 1: a little about the world. The hunter, however, replied and said, no,
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  Speaker 1: I will have a fine suit made for each of you,
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  Speaker 1: such as fitting for two such noble looking young men.
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  Speaker 1: But as the twins begged hard that he should not
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  Speaker 1: spend his money uselessly buying fine clothes, telling him that
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  Speaker 1: they wished to travel about his beggars. The hunter, who
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  Speaker 1: always liked to do what is too handsome foster Son's wish,
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  Speaker 1: did as they desired and ordered two suits of clothes,
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  Speaker 1: like those worn it by beggars, to be prepared for them.
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  Speaker 1: The two sons then dressed themselves up as beggars, and
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  Speaker 1: as well as they could, hid their beautiful golden locks,
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  Speaker 1: and then set out to see the world. They took
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  Speaker 1: with them a ghouls and a symbol, and maintained themselves
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  Speaker 1: with their singing and playing. They had wandered about in
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  Speaker 1: this way some time, when one day they came to
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  Speaker 1: the King's palace. As the afternoon was already pretty far advanced,
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  Speaker 1: the young musicians begged to be allowed to pass the
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  Speaker 1: night in one of the outbuildings belonging to the court,
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  Speaker 1: as they were poor men and quite strangers to the city.
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  Speaker 1: The old Queen, however, who happened to be just then
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  Speaker 1: in the courtyard, saw them, and, hearing their request, said
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  Speaker 1: sharply that the beggars could not be permitted to enter
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  Speaker 1: any part of the King's palace. The two travelers said
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  Speaker 1: they hoped to pay for their night's lodging by their
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  Speaker 1: songs and music, as one of them played and sung
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  Speaker 1: to the ghoulsee and the other to the symbol. The
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  Speaker 1: old queen, however, was not moved by this and insisted
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  Speaker 1: when insisted on their going away at once. Happily for
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  Speaker 1: the two brothers, the king himself came out into the
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  Speaker 1: courtyard just as his stepmother angrily ordered them to go away,
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  Speaker 1: and at once directed his servants to find a place
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  Speaker 1: for the musicians to sleep in, and ordered them to
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  Speaker 1: provide the brothers with a good supper. After they had slept,
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  Speaker 1: the king commanded them to be brought before him, that
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  Speaker 1: he might judge of their skills as musicians, and that
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  Speaker 1: their singing might help him to pass the time more pleasantly. Accordingly,
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  Speaker 1: after the two young men had taken the refreshment provided
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  Speaker 1: for them, the servants took them into the king's presence,
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  Speaker 1: and they began to sing a ballad. The Pretty Bird.
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  Speaker 1: This swallow built her nest with care in the playless
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  Speaker 1: of loo King. In the nurse she read up happilyttle
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  Speaker 1: other little ones. A black, ugly looking bird, however, came
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  Speaker 1: to the swallows nest to make her happyness, and to
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  Speaker 1: kill her two little ones and the ugly black bosos,
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  Speaker 1: and straying the happy nests of the poor little swalloo.
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  Speaker 1: The little ones, however, although yet tweak and are fledged,
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  Speaker 1: were saved, and when they're grown up and able to fly,
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  Speaker 1: they came to look at the palace where their mother
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  Speaker 1: and the pretty swallow had built her nest. This strange song,
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  Speaker 1: the two minstrels sang so very sweetly that the king
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  Speaker 1: was quite charmed, and asked them the meaning of the words,
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  Speaker 1: whereupon the two meanly dressed young men took off their
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  Speaker 1: hats that so rich tresses of their golden hair fell
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  Speaker 1: down over their shoulders, and the light glances so brightly
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  Speaker 1: upon it that the whole hop was illuminated by the shining.
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  Speaker 1: They then stepped forward together and told the king all
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  Speaker 1: that had happened to them and to their mother, and
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  Speaker 1: convinced him that they were really his two own sons.
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  Speaker 1: The king was exceedingly angry when he heard all the
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  Speaker 1: cruel things his stepmother had done, and he gave orders
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  Speaker 1: that she would be burnt to death. He then went
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  Speaker 1: with the two golden haired princes to the miserable dungeon
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  Speaker 1: wherein his unfortunate wife had been confined so many years,
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  Speaker 1: and brought her once more into her beautiful palace. There,
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  Speaker 1: looking on her golden haired sons, seeing how much the
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  Speaker 1: King their father loved them, she soon forgot all her
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  Speaker 1: long years of misery. As to the King, he felt
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  Speaker 1: that he could never do enough to make amends for
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  Speaker 1: all the misfortunes his queen had lived through, and all
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  Speaker 1: the dangers to which his twin sons had been exposed.
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  Speaker 1: He felt that he had too easily believed the stories
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  Speaker 1: of the old queen, because he would not trouble himself
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  Speaker 1: to inquire more, particularly in to the truth or falsehood
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  Speaker 1: of the strange things she had told him. After all
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  Speaker 1: this mortification and trouble and misery, everything came right at last.
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  Speaker 1: So the King and his wife and their golden hair
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  Speaker 1: twins lived together long and happily. End of Section thirteen
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  Speaker 1: of Serbian Fairy Tales.