The Ballads of Marko Kraljević/Marko Kraljević Recognises his Father's Sword
MARKO KRALJEVIĆ RECOGNISES HIS
FATHER'S SWORD
A Turkish damsel arose early,
Before the dawning and the white day,
For to wash linen in the Marica river.
Before sunrise the water was clear,
After sunrise the water waxed dim.
And first with mud and blood it flowed,
Then it bare down horses and kalpaks,
And towards noonday wounded heroes:
And it bare with it a seemly knight,
The water took him in its current, 10
He rolled over and over down the Marica river.
The good knight perceived the damsel by the river,
And began to adjure her in the name of God:
"Sister-in-God, fair damsel!
Throw me an end of linen cloth,
Draw me out of Marica river
And I shall reward thee richly."
The damsel hearkened to him in God's name,
She threw him an end of linen,
And drew him out of the water to the bank. 20
Seventeen wounds had the knight,
And he wore gorgeous apparel.
On his thigh he bore a rich-wrought sabre,
On the sabre were three golden hilts,
On the hilts three precious stones;
And the sabre was worth three of the Sultan's cities.
The knight spake to the Turkish damsel:
"Sister mine," quoth he, "thou Turkish maiden,
Whom hast thou in thy white manor?"
Answered to him the Turkish damsel: 30
"I have an aged mother,
And I have a brother, Mustapha-Aga."
Then said the wounded knight:
"My sister—thou Turkish damsel,
Go, tell thy brother Mustapha-Aga,
That he may bear me to the white manor.
I have with me three purses of gold,
In each are three hundred ducats,
I shall give one to thee,
The second to thy brother, Mustapha-Aga, 40
The third I shall keep for myself
That I may heal me of my grievous wounds;
And if God will that I heal me of my wounds,
I shall give great recompense to thee;
To thee, and to thy brother Mustapha-Aga."
The damsel went to the white manor
And told her brother Mustapha-Aga:
"O brother, Mustapha-Aga,
I have found a wounded knight,
In Marica, in the cold river: 50
He hath on him three purses of gold,
In each are three hundred ducats;
One will he give to me,
The second will he give to thee, Mustapha-Aga,
The third will he keep for himself
That he may heal him of his grievous wounds:
Be not evilly advised
To slay the wounded knight,
But do thou bear him here to the white manor."
The Turk gat him to the river Marica, 60
And when he saw the wounded knight,
He began to examine the rich-wrought sabre.
On a sudden he smote with it and cut off the knight's head.
He stripped him of his rich apparel,
And returned back to the white manor.
His sister came out to meet him,
And when she saw what he had done,
She said to Mustapha-Aga, her brother:
"Wherefore hast thou done this, brother? May God do so unto thee!
Wherefore hast thou slain my pobratim?70
For what hast thou done this evil?
For a rich-wrought sabre?
God grant it may cut off thine own head!"
Thus she said and fled into the manor.
Thereafter, but a short time had sped
When a firman came from the Turkish Sultan,
Laying charge on Mustapha that he should join the host,
So Mustapha joined him to the Sultan's host
He had girded on the rich-wrought sabre
And when he came to the Sultan's host, 80
Great and small examined the sabre,
But none might draw it from its scabbard.
The sabre went from hand to hand,
It came into the hands of Marko Kraljević,
And for him the sabre left the scabbard of its own accord.
When Marko examined the sabre,
Lo, thereon were three Christian words!
The first was the name of Novak, the smith.
The second was the name of Vukašin the King,
The third was the name of Kraljević Marko! 90
Marko asked the Turk, Mustapha-Aga:
"Body of me, thou youthful Turk!
Whence hast thou this sharp sabre?
Hast thou bought it for gold?
Or hast thou won it in battle?
Was it bequeathed thee by thy father?
Or did thy wife bring it thee?
Did thy wife bring it as dowry?"
Mustapha-Aga, the Turk, answered him:
"Body of me, Giaour Marko! 100
Since thou askest, I will tell thee truly."
And he told him all even as it had come to pass.
To him spake Kraljević Marko:
"God do so unto thee, Turk, and more also!
Wherefore didst thou not heal his wounds?
I should have caused thee to receive favour
At the hands of our illustrious Sultan."
But Mustapha the Turk answered him:
"Go to, mock thou not, Giaour Marko!
If thou couldst in sooth command favour, 110
Thou wouldst grasp it for thyself first.
So give back to me the rich-wrought sabre."
Marko of Prilep swung the sabre
And strake off the head of Mustapha-Aga!
And there went that told it to the Sultan,
And the Sultan sent servants for Marko,
And every each as he came
Called aloud on Marko, but Marko answered not.
He abode where he sat, nor ceased from his wine.
And when it wearied Marko of the servants, 120
He donned his wolf-cloak of hide reversed,
He took his heavy mace,
And went and entered into the Sultan's tent.
So fierce within him was Marko's anger,
That booted[1] as he was he sate him down on the carpet,
He looked sideways at the Sultan,
And tears of blood stood in his eyes.
Now when the Sultan was ware of Marko,
That he had with him his heavy mace,
The Sultan went backwards and Marko followed after, 130
Until he drave him even to the wall.
Right so the Sultan put hand in pocket
And drew forth an hundred ducats,
And gave them to Kraljević Marko.
"Go, Marko," quoth he, "drink thy fill of wine.
What hath so sorely angered thee?"
"Ask me not, Sultan, my adopted father!
I have found my father's sabre.
If God himself had given it into thy hands,
I had been as wroth, every whit, with thee." 140
He arose and gat him to his tent.
- ↑ A studied insult on the part of Marko.