首页 >出版文学> THE YELLOW FAIRY BOOK>第45章
  TheSwineherd——thatistosay,thePrincethoughtheydidnotknowhewasanythingbutatrueSwineherd——letnodaypasswithoutmakingsomething,andonedayhemadearattlewhich,whenitwasturnedround,playedallthewaltzes,galops,andpolkaswhichhadeverbeenknownsincetheworldbegan。
  ’Butthatissuperbe!’saidthePrincessasshepassedby。’I
  haveneverheardamorebeautifulcomposition。Listen!Godownandaskhimwhatthisinstrumentcosts;butIwon’tkisshimagain。’
  ’HewantsahundredkissesfromthePrincess,’saidthelady-in-waitingwhohadgonedowntoaskhim。
  ’Ibelieveheismad!’saidthePrincess,andthenshewenton;
  butshehadonlygoneafewstepswhenshestopped。
  ’Oneoughttoencourageart,’shesaid。’IamtheEmperor’sdaughter!Tellhimheshallhave,asbefore,tenkisses;theresthecantakefrommyladies-in-waiting。’
  ’Butwedon’tatalllikebeingkissedbyhim,’saidtheladies-in-waiting。
  ’That’snonsense,’saidthePrincess;’andifIcankisshim,youcantoo。Besides,rememberthatIgiveyouboardandlodging。’
  Sotheladies-in-waitinghadtogodowntohimagain。
  ’AhundredkissesfromthePrincess,’saidhe,’oreachkeepshisown。’
  ’Putyourselvesinfrontofus,’shesaidthen;andsoalltheladies-in-waitingputthemselvesinfront,andhebegantokissthePrincess。
  ’Whatcanthatcommotionbebythepigsties?’askedtheEmperor,whowasstandingonthebalcony。Herubbedhiseyesandputonhisspectacles。’Whythosearetheladies-in-waitingplayingtheirgames;Imustgodowntothem。’
  Sohetookoffhisshoes,whichwereshoesthoughhehadtroddenthemdownintoslippers。Whatahurryhewasin,tobesure!
  Assoonashecameintotheyardhewalkedverysoftly,andtheladies-in-waitingweresobusycountingthekissesandseeingfairplaythattheynevernoticedtheEmperor。Hestoodontiptoe。
  ’Whatisthat?’hesaid,whenhesawthekissing;andthenhethrewoneofhisslippersattheirheadsjustastheSwineherdwastakinghiseighty-sixthkiss。
  ’Beoffwithyou!’saidtheEmperor,forhewasveryangry。AndthePrincessandtheSwineherdweredrivenoutoftheempire。
  Thenshestoodstillandwept;theSwineherdwasscolding,andtherainwasstreamingdown。
  ’Alas,whatanunhappycreatureIam!’sobbedthePrincess。
  ’IfonlyIhadtakenthebeautifulPrince!Alas,howunfortunateIam!’
  AndtheSwineherdwentbehindatree,washedtheblackandbrownoffhisface,threwawayhisoldclothes,andthensteppedforwardinhissplendiddress,lookingsobeautifulthatthePrincesswasobligedtocourtesy。
  ’Inowcometothis。Idespiseyou!’hesaid。’YouwouldhavenothingtodowithanoblePrince;youdidnotunderstandtheroseorthenightingale,butyoucouldkisstheSwineherdforthesakeofatoy。Thisiswhatyougetforit!’Andhewentintohiskingdomandshutthedoorinherface,andshehadtostayoutsidesinging——
  ’Where’smyAugustusdear?
  Alas!he’snothere,here,here!
  HOWTOTELLATRUEPRINCESS
  TherewasonceuponatimeaPrincewhowantedtomarryaPrincess,butshemustbeatruePrincess。Sohetravelledthroughthewholeworldtofindone,buttherewasalwayssomethingagainsteach。TherewereplentyofPrincesses,buthecouldnotfindoutiftheyweretruePrincesses。Ineverycasetherewassomelittledefect,whichshowedthegenuinearticlewasnotyetfound。Sohecamehomeagaininverylowspirits,forhehadwantedverymuchtohaveatruePrincess。Onenighttherewasadreadfulstorm;itthunderedandlightenedandtherainstreameddownintorrents。Itwasfearful!TherewasaknockingheardatthePalacegate,andtheoldKingwenttoopenit。
  TherestoodaPrincessoutsidethegate;butoh,inwhatasadplightshewasfromtherainandthestorm!Thewaterwasrunningdownfromherhairandherdressintothepointsofhershoesandoutattheheelsagain。AndyetshesaidshewasatruePrincess!
  ’Well,weshallsoonfindthat!’thoughttheoldQueen。Butshesaidnothing,andwentintothesleeping-room,tookoffallthebed-clothes,andlaidapeaonthebottomofthebed。Thensheputtwentymattressesontopofthepea,andtwentyeider-downquiltsonthetopofthemattresses。AndthiswasthebedinwhichthePrincesswastosleep。
  Thenextmorningshewasaskedhowshehadslept。
  ’Oh,verybadly!’saidthePrincess。’Iscarcelyclosedmyeyesallnight!IamsureIdon’tknowwhatwasinthebed。Ilaidonsomethingsohardthatmywholebodyisblackandblue。Itisdreadful!’
  NowtheyperceivedthatshewasatruePrincess,becauseshehadfeltthepeathroughthetwentymattressesandthetwentyeider-downquilts。
  NoonebutatruePrincesscouldbesosensitive。
  SothePrincemarriedher,fornowheknewthatatlasthehadgotholdofatruePrincess。AndthepeawasputintotheRoyalMuseum,whereitisstilltobeseenifnoonehasstolenit。
  Nowthisisatruestory。
  THEBLUEMOUNTAINS
  TherewereonceaScotsmanandanEnglishmanandanIrishmanservinginthearmytogether,whotookitintotheirheadstorunawayonthefirstopportunitytheycouldget。Thechancecameandtheytookit。Theywentontravellingfortwodaysthroughagreatforest,withoutfoodordrink,andwithoutcomingacrossasinglehouse,andeverynighttheyhadtoclimbupintothetreesthroughfearofthewildbeaststhatwereinthewood。OnthesecondmorningtheScotsmansawfromthetopofhistreeagreatcastlefaraway。Hesaidtohimselfthathewouldcertainlydieifhestayedintheforestwithoutanythingtoeatbuttherootsofgrass,whichwouldnotkeephimaliveverylong。Assoon,then,ashegotdownoutofthetreehesetofftowardsthecastle,withoutsomuchastellinghiscompanionsthathehadseenitatall;perhapsthehungerandwanttheyhadsufferedhadchangedtheirnaturesomuchthattheonedidnotcarewhatbecameoftheotherifhecouldsavehimself。Hetravelledonmostoftheday,sothatitwasquitelatewhenhereachedthecastle,andtohisgreatdisappointmentfoundnothingbutcloseddoorsandnosmokerisingfromthechimneys。Hethoughttherewasnothingforitbuttodieafterall,andhadlaindownbesidethewall,whenheheardawindowbeingopenedhighabovehim。Atthishelookedup,andsawthemostbeautifulwomanhehadeverseteyeson。
  ’Oh,itisFortunethathassentyoutome,’hesaid。
  ’Itisindeed,’saidshe。’Whatareyouinneedof,orwhathassentyouhere?’
  ’Necessity,’saidhe。’Iamdyingforwantoffoodanddrink。’
  ’Comeinside,then,’shesaid;’thereisplentyofbothhere。’
  Accordinglyhewentintowhereshewas,andsheopenedalargeroomforhim,wherehesawanumberofmenlyingasleep。Shethensetfoodbeforehim,andafterthatshowedhimtotheroomwheretheotherswere。Helaydownononeofthebedsandfellsoundasleep。Andnowwemustgobacktothetwothatheleftbehindhiminthewood。
  Whennightfallandthetimeofthewildbeastscameuponthese,theEnglishmanhappenedtoclimbupintotheverysametreeonwhichtheScotsmanwaswhenhegotasightofthecastle;andassoonasthedaybegantodawnandtheEnglishmanlookedtothefourquartersofheaven,whatdidheseebutthecastletoo!OffhewentwithoutsayingawordtotheIrishman,andeverythinghappenedtohimjustasithaddonetotheScotsman。
  ThepoorIrishmanwasnowleftallalone,anddidnotknowwheretheothershadgoneto,sohejuststayedwherehewas,verysadandmiserable。WhennightcameheclimbedupintothesametreeastheEnglishmanhadbeenonthenightbefore。Assoonasdaycamehealsosawthecastle,andsetouttowardsit;butwhenhereachedithecouldseenosignsoffireorlivingbeingaboutit。Beforelong,however,heheardthewindowopenedabovehishead,lookedup,andbeheldthemostbeautifulwomanhehadeverseen。Heaskedifshewouldgivehimfoodanddrink,andsheansweredkindlyandheartilythatshewould,ifhewouldonlycomeinside。Thishedidverywillingly,andshesetbeforehimfoodanddrinkthathehadneverseenthelikeofbefore。Intheroomtherewasabed,withdiamondringshangingateveryloopofthecurtains,andeverythingthatwasintheroombesidesastonishedhimsomuchthatheactuallyforgotthathewashungry。Whenshesawthathewasnoteatingatall,sheaskedhimwhathewantedyet,towhichherepliedthathewouldneithereatnordrinkuntilheknewwhoshewas,orwhereshecamefrom,orwhohadputherthere。
  ’Ishalltellyouthat,’saidshe。’IamanenchantedPrincess,andmyfatherhaspromisedthatthemanwhoreleasesmefromthespellshallhavethethirdofhiskingdomwhileheisalive,andthewholeofitafterheisdead,andmarrymeaswell。IfeverIsawamanwholookedlikelytodothis,youaretheone。I
  havebeenhereforsixteenyearsnow,andnoonewhoevercametothecastlehasaskedmewhoIwas,exceptyourself。Everyothermanthathascome,solongasIhavebeenhere,liesasleepinthebigroomdownthere。’
  ’Tellme,then,’saidtheIrishman,’whatisthespellthathasbeenlaidonyou,andhowyoucanbefreedfromit。’
  ’Thereisalittleroomthere,’saidthePrincess,’andifI
  couldgetamantostayinitfromteno’clocktillmidnightforthreenightsonendIshouldbefreedfromthespell。’