Lilac Fairy Book

Chapter 12 Three Crowns (1)
Once upon a time there was a king who had three daughters.The two older sisters are very proud and quarrelsome, while the younger sister is just the opposite, very good.Three princes came to propose to them, two of whom were as virtuous as the elder princess, and one as lovely as the young one.One day they were walking together towards a lake at the end of the meadow, and they met a poor beggar.The king didn't want to give anything, neither did the eldest princess and the second princess, nor did their sweethearts, but the little princess and her lover gave him something and treated him kindly, which was better than anything else. .

When they came to the lake, they saw a boat, such a beautiful boat as you have never seen in all your life.The eldest princess said: "I want to go sailing in this beautiful boat." The second princess said: "I also want to go sailing in this beautiful boat." The little princess said: "I don't want to sit, I'm afraid it will be destroyed Bewitched." The others persuaded her, so she boarded the boat too.No sooner had her father jumped aboard with her than a small figure, only seven inches high, appeared on the deck.He ordered the king to retreat.So all the men put their hands on the hilts of their swords, but even though the swords were only toys, they could not get them out, because their arms had no strength at all.Seven Inch Ding untied the silver chain that fastened the boat, threw it aside, and smiled at the four men and said: "For a while, say goodbye to your daughter and your bride. You," he said to the little prince "Don't worry. You'll see your bride again soon, and you and her will be very happy. The bad guys won't be rich even if they roll naked in gold. Goodbye." The boat drove away The girls stretched out their hands, but they couldn't say a word.

Ah, in the time it took for a cat to lick its ears, the boat sailed across the lake, and the poor men couldn't even lift a finger, let alone chase them.They watched as Seven Inch Ding helped the three princesses out of the boat and put them into a well in a hanging basket.Kings and princes had never discovered a well in that place before.When the last princess was out of sight, the men found strength again in their arms and legs.They rode round the lake and did not rein in until they came to the well and the pulley.A silk rope was wound around the shaft of the windlass, from which hung the delicate white basket.

"Let me go down," said the little prince, "I will die to find them."

"No," said the second princess' sweetheart, "let me go down first."

The sweetheart of the eldest princess said: "I am the oldest."

So they let him go down first.He sat in the basket and they put him down.First he disappeared from their sight, and then, after letting down a hundred rods of silk rope, the well rope was no longer taut, and they stopped.They waited two hours, and then went to eat, for there had been no signal from the well rope to wind up the basket.

They sent guards there until dawn the next day, and then the second prince was released.No doubt, on the third day, the little prince let them put himself down too.He descended yard after yard, and it was as dark as if he were in a covered cauldron.At last, far away, he saw a faint light below, and presently he felt himself lowered to the ground.He stepped out of the huge lime kiln, and lo!There was a wood there, and green fields, and a castle in the meadows, and above all this was a clear sky. "I have come to Tina'n'Ogi," said he, "let me see what kind of people live in the castle." He went on, through fields and lawns, and no one stopped him. , and no one took him into the castle, but the door was wide open.He went from room to room, each more beautiful than the last, until at last he came to the most beautiful room.There is a dining table in the middle of the room, and the table is full of sumptuous dishes!The little prince was very hungry, but he was very polite, and he would not eat those things unless he was invited.So he sat down by the fire, and it didn't take long before he heard footsteps, and Seven Inch Ding came in holding the little princess' hand.The prince and princess ran forward and hugged each other tightly.

The little man said, "Why don't you eat these things?"

"I think, sir," said the Prince, "that it would be impolite to eat without being invited."

"The two princes didn't think so," he said. "They all ate without being invited. I told them they were too free, but all they said was some nasty things to me. Well, I think, they won't feel hungry now. They're all there, turned into two beautiful marble statues, no longer flesh and blood."

He pointed to the two stone statues and said.One is in one corner of the room and the other in another.The little prince was terrified, but he dared not say anything.Seven Inch Ding asked the prince to sit between the bride and him. If he hadn't seen the two stone figures in the corner, the little prince would have been very happy.And just like that, the day passed.The next day, Seven Inch Ding pointed to the sun and said to him: "Now, you have to start along this road. Tonight, when you are tired and hungry, you will find the second princess in a giant's castle. , you will find the eldest princess tomorrow night. You'd better bring them here. You don't have to ask their master's permission. If they go home, they will probably regard the poor princesses as flesh and blood like themselves. body."

The prince is off, my God!When he reached the first castle at sunset, he was tired and hungry.Oh, the second princess is so happy to see him!She made him a good dinner.She heard the giant's voice at the gate, and hid the prince in a closet.The Giant came in, sniffed and sniffed, and said, "On my life, I smell fresh meat."

"Oh," said the second princess, "that's just the smell of the calf I slaughtered today."

"Well, well," he said, "is supper ready?"

"Ready," she said.

He ate three quarters of the calf and drank a large bottle of wine before he rose from the table.

"I think," he said, when he had eaten and drank his fill, "that I still smell of fresh meat."

"That's because you're sleepy," she said. "Go to bed."

"When will you marry me?" said the Giant. "You have delayed too long."

"St. Tiber's Night," she said.

"I really wonder how long I have to wait until that day." After speaking, he fell asleep on the plate.

The next day the giant went out after having breakfast, so she sent the little prince to the castle where the eldest princess was.Same thing happened there.When the Giant began to snore, the Elder Princess woke the Prince, and together they saddled the two war-horses in the stable, and rode off into the field.The horse's hooves stepped on the paving stones outside the gate, and the sound of hooves awakened the troll, who strode out after him.He yelled and snarled, but the louder he yelled, the faster the two horses ran, and by daybreak he was only twenty rods away from the prince and princess.The little prince will not leave Seven Inch Ding's castle until he achieves his goal.So he reined in his horse, and threw a sharp dagger over his shoulder, and at once a dense forest grew between the giant and them.They caught up with the wind in front, but the wind behind them could not catch up with them.At last they came near the castle where the second princess was riding a fine horse, waiting for them under a high hedge.

At this moment, the first giant appeared in their sight, roaring like a hundred lions.Before long, the second giant also came out of the castle, and the chase continued.For every two strides their horses leapt, the two giants ran three strides.In the end, the Giants were just 70 shots away.So the prince stopped again, leaving the second knife behind him.The flat land was gone, and a stone pit a quarter of a mile deep with black water at the bottom separated them from the giant.When the two giants went around the stone pit and caught up, the little prince and the two princesses had already run into the domain of the great magician, and the tall thorny hedge would automatically open if anyone wanted to enter the castle.The three sisters were very happy until the two older sisters saw their sweetheart turned into stone.Just as they were crying for their sweetheart, Seven Inch Ding walked in and touched them with his magic wand.So they regained their vitality and became human beings of flesh and blood.They hugged and kissed passionately.Then everyone sat down to have breakfast together, with Qicun Ding sitting at the head of the table.

After breakfast, he took everyone into another room full of gold, silver, diamonds and silk.On a table were three sets of crowns: each set consisted of a gold crown within a silver crown, and the silver crown within a brass crown.He took one set of crowns, gave it to the eldest princess, the second set to the second princess, and the third to the younger princess, and said, "Now you may all go to the bottom of the well by shaking the crown." Just shake that basket and do nothing else. Those who are waiting for you up there will pull you up. But remember, girls, you keep your crowns safe and wear them on the same day If you don't marry on the same day, or don't wear these crowns, the curse will follow - remember what I say."

(End of this chapter)