Tales and Legends from the Land of the Tzar/The King of the Sea and Melania the Clever
THE KING OF THE SEA, AND MELANIA THE CLEVER.
Once upon a time there lived a king and a queen. The king was a great sportsman, he loved nothing so much as to go out shooting game. One day, as he set out on one of his sporting expeditions, he saw a young eagle sitting on an old oak-tree; he was just about to shoot it, when to his surprise, the eagle said,—
"Do not shoot me, O king; but take me to your palace. I may be of use to you one of these days."
The king thought and thought, and then replied,—
"Of what use can you possibly be to me?" and he again prepared to shoot the bird.
"No, pray do not kill me," said the eagle once more; "take me home to your palace, O king, for I am sure to be of some use to you soon."
The king thought for a little while, and then again was about to kill the eagle, wondering how on earth such a bird could be of use to him.
But the eagle begged for the third time, saying as before,—
"Kill me not, O king; better take me with you to the palace. I may be of use to you soon."
The king at last took pity on the creature, and rode with it to his home, where he fed and took care of him for two whole years. The eagle ate so much that the king very soon had no sheep or oxen left in his fields.
"Give me my freedom now," said the eagle to the king.
The king gave him his liberty, and the bird tried to fly; but his wings had not become equal to the task of carrying such a heavy bird, so he said to the king,—
"Now, O king, you have fed me for two years; feed me yet another, it would be no great addition to what I have already cost."
The king did so; he took cattle wherever he possibly could, and after feeding the eagle for another whole year, he gave him his liberty again.
The eagle soared high, high into the air, and after flying about a long time, he flew down upon the earth once more, and entering the palace, he said to the king,—
"Come, O king! Sit on my back, and let us fly into the wide world together."
"Certainly," said the king, seating himself upon the eagle's back.
On, on they flew for a long, long time, until they came to the shores of the dark blue sea. Here the eagle threw the king off his back and let him fall into the water. However, he only sank to his knees in the waves, for the eagle did not allow him time enough to sink any deeper; he flew down upon him, and placing him on his wings again, soared away once more.
"I suppose you were sadly frightened just now O king?" said the bird.
"I was, indeed," the king replied; "I really thought I should drown."
Away they flew over stock and stone until they came to another blue sea, where the eagle again let the king drop. When he was up to his waist in water, the eagle flew down and saved him again.
"Were you frightened, O king?" asked the eagle.
"Yes, but still I thought you would save me."
Away they flew, till they came to a third blue sea; here again the eagle let the king fall into the waves, but when he was up to his neck in water the bird saved him and put him on his wings, asking as before,—
"Were you not frightened, O king?"
"I was, but I thought that you would most likely pull me out again."
"Well, king, you know now what it is to be afraid of death. I threw you into the sea, in return for something which you wished to do to me, a long, long time ago. Do you remember the day when I sat on the old oak-tree and you wanted to shoot me? Three times you intended to do so, but I begged of you to spare me, and thought to myself, perhaps he may destroy me, or perhaps he will befriend me and take me home with him."
After that they flew on farther until they came to the Twenty-seventh kingdom; then the eagle said to the king,—
"Look and see, O king, what is above us and what beneath us?" The king obeyed.
"Above us," said he, "are the heavens, beneath us the earth."
"Look again; see what is on our right and what on our left."
"On our right is a green field, on our left stands a house."
"Let us fly down to that house," replied the eagle, "for in it lives my youngest sister."
So down they flew right into the yard of the house. The eagle's sister at once rushed out to meet her brother; she embraced him most affectionately, and took him into her little house and brought forward all kinds of good things, but she did not so much as look at the unfortunate king, who was left out in the yard with the dogs. But when the eagle saw what his sister had done, he was very angry; and scolding her severely for her rudeness, he left the hut and would touch nothing. He caught up the king and flew away with him.
On, on they went. At last the eagle said,—
"Look round, O king, and see what is behind us."
The king looked. "I see a red house behind us," he said.
"That is my sister's house on fire; it is a punishment to her because she did not ask you in, but left you outside with the dogs."
Away they flew, farther and farther. At last the eagle said,—
"Look and see what is above us and what beneath."
"Above us are the heavens, beneath us the earth."
"Now, look again, and see what is on our right, and what on our left."
"On our right are green fields, on our left stands a house."
"In that house lives my second sister; let us fly down and visit her."
Down they flew into the yard where the second sister came forward to greet her brother, and took him into her little house to give him some food, leaving the king out in the yard with her dogs, as her youngest sister had done. The eagle, however, was very angry, and springing from the table, caught up the king and flew away with him.
They flew and flew, farther and farther. At last the eagle said as before, "Look behind you, O king! and see what is there?"
The king turned round.
"I see another red house."
"That is the house of my second sister. I set it on fire as a punishment to her for not taking you in. Now let us fly to the house of my mother and my eldest sister."
On they went until they reached the house, and the eagle's mother and eldest sister rushed out to meet them; here the king found a warm and hearty welcome.
"Now, O king!" said the eagle, "you must stay with us for a while and rest, and when you are rested I shall give you a ship to take you home in; thus will I repay you for your kindness to me while I was at your palace."
So when the king was about to leave, the eagle gave him a beautiful ship, and two little boxes: one red and the other green.
"Listen," said the eagle, "and do not open the boxes until you reach home; the red box you must open in the fields behind the palace, and the green one you must open in the front of the palace."
The king took the boxes, parted from his friend the eagle, and sailed away over the blue seas. At last he arrived at some kind of an island, where he anchored his ship, and jumped on to the shore. He suddenly remembered the little boxes, and began wondering what there could be inside, and why he was not to open them. He thought and thought, and at last, not being able to stand it any longer, he took hold of the little red box, put it on the ground, and—opened it. Hardly had he done so, when out came a number of all kinds of cattle, till the whole island was swarming! When the king saw this he was greatly alarmed and began to cry.
"What on earth am I to do?" he said aloud to himself. "How can I possibly put all these cattle back into such a little box?"
At that moment he beheld a man come out of the waves.
"What is the matter, great king?" asked the man. "Why do you weep so bitterly?"
"How can I help it?" returned the king. "How am I to collect all these immense beasts, and put them into such a small box?"
"I think I can help you out of your trouble, and collect the cattle for you; but on one condition, and that is, that you give me something of which you know nothing, but which you have at home,"
The king was astonished
"What have I got in my palace," he thought, "of which I know nothing? I thought I knew everything that I possess!" However he consented, and said aloud: "All right, collect the cattle for me, and I will give you the something of which I know nothing."
The man immediately set to work and put all the cattle back into the little red box; the king thanked him, and getting into his ship with the boxes, sailed homewards.
When he arrived home, he found that a little prince had been born, a dear, pretty little fellow; he took the child in his arms and kissed it long and tenderly, but weeping bitterly all the time.
"Why do you weep so bitterly, O king?" asked the queen.
"I weep for you," the king replied; for he was afraid to tell his wife the real truth—that he had to give the little prince away. He then left the room, and taking the small red box he went to the field behind the palace and opened it. Out came a number of immense bulls, cows, sheep and lambs; so many were they, that the fields for miles round were filled with them! This done the king went to the grounds in front of the palace, opened the little green box—and suddenly he beheld a large and beautiful garden all round him! There was every possible kind of tree in it, and all the most lovely flowers imaginable! The king was so delighted that he quite forgot his promise to the man of the sea, and did not give his little son away.
Many, many years went by; when one day the king thought he would have a stroll by the river-side, so he went. He had not been there long when out of the water appeared the very same man whom he had seen on the island, and who had helped him out of his trouble.
"Well, king!" said the man, "you have grown very forgetful! Don't you remember that you promised me something, but have not fulfilled your promise?"
The king sighed, and going home told his wife and son the whole truth.
They talked and wept, but nothing was to be done; they had to part with the prince whether they liked it or not, so they took him to the river-side and left him there.
As soon as the young prince was left to himself he looked around him and beheld a little foot-path; he walked along it, wondering where it would bring him to. On, on he went until he found himself in a dark and dreary forest, where he saw a little hut in which lived an old fairy.
"I think I might as well go in," he thought, and entered.
"Good-day to you, my prince!" said the old fairy. "What brings you here? Have you come on business or only for pleasure?"
"Oh, never mind, old lady! Give me something to eat and drink first, and then ask me as many questions as you like!"
She did so, and then the prince told her everything, and asked how he had best get to this man of the sea.
"Go, my child, to the dark blue sea," answered the old fairy, "and towards evening you will see twelve spoon-bills fly down on to the shore, but the moment they touch the ground they will be changed into twelve beautiful maidens, and will commence to bathe in the sea. Now the moment you see that they are not looking you must crawl out of your hiding-place and steal the garments of the eldest of the twelve damsels. When you have settled everything with her—for she will begin begging you to give her clothes back to her—you must go on to the King of the Sea. On your way to his dwelling you will meet with three old heroes—Eat-All, Drink-All and Chill-All. You must take them all with you, for they will be of great use to you."
The young prince thanked the old fairy and went his way to the blue sea, and hiding himself behind some bushes, waited.
Towards evening down flew twelve spoon-bills, which on touching the ground changed into twelve beautiful maidens who began bathing. When they were not looking the young prince crawled from behind the bushes, stole the garments of the eldest, and then hid himself again.
When the maidens had finished bathing, they climbed back on to the shore. The eleven put on their garments, changed themselves into birds again, and flew home; leaving their eldest sister—who was called Melania the Clever—by herself. When Melania caught sight of the young prince, she fell on her knees, begging and praying him to give her back her clothes.
"Give them back to me, I beseech you; for when you arrive at the dwelling of my father—the King of the Sea—I may prove of great use to you."
The prince gave her back her things; she immediately changed into a spoon-bill and flew away after her sisters.
The prince walked on and on, until he met the three great heroes—Eat-All, Drink-All, and Chill-All. He stopped them, and asked them to accompany him to the dwelling of the King of the Sea.
When they arrived at the wonderful palace, the King of the Sea saw the young prince and exclaimed, "How are you, my friend? So you have come at last. Why did you not visit me sooner? I grew quite tired of waiting for you; but now that you are here, you must work. The first thing you must do is this: you must build a crystal bridge over the sea in one night, so that it may be quite ready by the morning. If not—your head shall be cut off!"
The young prince left the presence of the Sea King, and began to weep. Just then Melania the Clever threw open her window, and asked,—
"Why do you weep, my prince?"
"Ah, Melania the Clever! how can I help it? Your father has ordered me to build a crystal bridge over the sea in one night, and I don't even know how to handle tools."
"Never mind! Go to bed and sleep; morning is wiser than the evening!"[1]
The young prince took her advice and went to bed, while Melania herself came out of her little chamber, changed into a spoon-bill, and began whistling like a boy! Suddenly from every side little carpenters and masons came running up to her, and at her command set to work, first to measure, then to build; and very soon the bridge was ready, ornamented with jewels and precious stones.
Early in the morning Melania the Clever woke the young prince.
"Get up, my prince!" she said; "the bridge is ready. My father will be up soon to look at it."
The prince got up, took a broom, and, going to the bridge, began to sweep here and there, so that the king should think he was giving the finishing touches.
The King of the Sea was delighted, and began flattering the young prince.
"I am very glad," he said, "that you have obeyed my order; now I will give you something else to do. I want you to make me a large and beautiful garden, with every possible kind of singing bird in it, with all the most lovely flowers imaginable growing on all the trees, and with plenty of pears, apples and all sorts of delicious ripe fruits hanging in all directions!"
The prince again left the king's presence, crying as before.
"What are you weeping about now, my prince?" asked Melania the Clever, opening her window.
"How can I help it? Your father has ordered me to make the most extraordinary garden I ever heard of, all in one night, with all the most beautiful things I can think of in it."
"Never mind; don't trouble yourself about it, but go to bed and to sleep; the morning is wiser than the evening."
The prince obeyed, while Melania went out as before, and began whistling. Suddenly a number of little gardeners came running from all directions, and set to work to make a very lovely garden, in which they put all the most beautiful singing birds on every tree, flowers of every description, and pears and apples and all kinds of ripe fruit.
In the morning early, Melania the Clever woke up the young prince, saying,—
"Get up, my prince; the garden is quite ready. Make haste, for the king my father is going early to look at it."
The young prince seized the broom, and rushing out into the garden, commenced sweeping the paths.
The king was delighted and flattered him.
"I am more pleased with your work than I can say, young prince, and as a reward for what you have done, you may choose one of my twelve daughters to be your bride. But I shall make them look all alike; the same faces, the same hair, and the same dresses, and if you succeed in choosing the same one three times running, you shall have that one for your bride; if not, I shall have you severely punished."
When Melania the Clever heard this, she said to the young prince, "The first time I will wave my handkerchief, the second time I will smooth down my dress, and on the third time a little fly will buzz around me, so you will know which I am."
Thus the young prince managed successfully to choose Melania the Clever each time, and got her for his wife, and lived happily for some time with the King of the Sea.
One day the king ordered a great feast to be spread with all manner of good things to eat, enough for a thousand people, and then sufficient would remain for another grand dinner. When all was ready, he told the young prince to finish up everything, without leaving a morsel on any of the plates and dishes, or he would be severely punished.
"Little father!" said the cunning young prince to the King of the Sea, "I have an old man, a very great friend, whom I brought with me. Can he have a little of the good things as well as I?"
"Very well, let him come; but he must not have much." So the prince told Eat-All to make his appearance, which he did, and ate up everything that was on the table, and asked for more.
After this the King of the Sea ordered all the wines and spirits he could possibly think of to be brought in large casks, and told the young married couple to drink every drop, or he would have them punished.
"Little father!" said the young prince again, "may we ask an old man, whom I brought with me, to join us?"
"Yes, let him come!"
And in came Drink-All, who at a draught drank off every cask of wine and spirits, and then asked for more.
When the King of the Sea saw that nothing could be done with the young prince, whom he wanted to get rid of, he felt very angry; at last he thought of something that might finish him. He ordered an iron bath to be heated full of boiling water; when this was ready, and the bath was so hot that the walls in the bath-room cracked, and the iron became red from the great heat, the prince was told to go and bathe himself.
"Very well, little father," he answered; "but may I ask an old friend whom I brought with me to the palace to join me?"
"Certainly!" laughed the king; "let him join you by all means, though I don't suppose he will like it!"
The prince then told Chill-All to come with him. The moment this hero came into the bath-room, he blew on to the coals till there was no heat left in them; he blew on to the boiling water, and it became cool; he blew about till icicles hung about the room, and then the young prince got into the water, and had a pleasant bath. When he returned to his wife, Melania the Clever, she went up to him and said,—
"Let us leave the king, my father, for he is very angry with you, and hates you more than ever. Let us fly, my prince, before anything dreadful happens."
"Very well, let us go; I have no objection!" the prince replied.
So they harnessed their ponies, and rode off into the green fields. On they went for a long, long time; at last Melania the Clever said,—
"Get off from your pony, my prince, and put your ear to the ground, and listen whether any one is chasing us or not?"
The prince obeyed.
"I can hear nothing, Melania!" he answered.
But Melania the Clever was not satisfied, so she got off her horse, and put her ear to the ground.
"Why, my prince!" she exclaimed, "I hear a very active chase!"
She at once changed the ponies into a dark and dreary forest, herself she changed into a well, and the prince into an old peasant. Hardly had she done this when up rode some hunters.
"Hey, old man!" they cried; "have you seen a handsome youth and a beautiful damsel ride this way?"
"I did, my good brothers!" answered the prince; "but that was an age ago. They rode past when I was quite a young fellow, and before this forest grew to be what it now is!"
When the hunters heard this, they thought it useless to go any farther, so they returned to the King of the Sea, saying,—
"We could not find the young people, Your Majesty. The only person we met was an old peasant standing beside a well, in a dark forest."
"Why did you not bring him with you?" cried the king. He had the hunters killed at once, and sent off others in search of the fugitives.
As soon as Melania the Clever heard the pursuit, she changed herself into an old church, and the prince into an old priest. The hunters came up.
"Hey, old father!" they cried; "have you seen a handsome youth come this way, with a beautiful maiden?"
"Yes, my brothers; but that was a long, long time ago, when I was a young man, and when I began building this church, which is now so old that it won't be able to stand much longer; it is all rotten and cracked."
And these hunters also turned back, and went to the king their master, saying,—
"No, Your Majesty, we did not come across the young couple; the only person we saw was an old priest, standing near a rotten old church!"
"Why on earth did you not bring the church and the priest with you, you idiots?"
And the king ordered these unfortunate hunters to be killed like the others; after that he mounted his good steed, and galloped off himself in pursuit. This time when Melania the Clever heard her father coming after them, she changed the ponies into rivers of mead, with banks of jelly, while she changed the prince and herself into two ducks. When the king arrived, he commenced to eat the jelly and drink the mead as fast as ever he could, until he burst, and gave up the ghost!
The prince and Melania the Clever then went on farther. When they were quite close to the palace in which the prince's parents lived, Melania said,—
"Go on in front, my prince, and tell your father and mother the news of your marriage, while I wait for you here; but mark my words, you may embrace your parents as much as you like, but on no account kiss your sister, or you will forget all about me."
The prince promised to obey, and went on. When he arrived at the palace, he embraced his parents, and, forgetting what his wife had told him, he also kissed his sister; but he had hardly done so when he quite forgot all about the beautiful Melania his wife.
Melania meanwhile waited three whole days, but on the fourth she changed herself into a beggar-girl and went into the town, where she met an old woman whom she accompanied home to her hut.
After a while the prince decided on marrying a very rich young queen; this was proclaimed throughout the kingdom, and it was also ordered that every Christian person should come and congratulate the bride and bridegroom, and bring with them a home-made cake as a gift.
Now the old woman with whom Melania the Clever was staying, set to work to sift the flour and bake a cake.
"For whom are you making that cake, little mother?" said Melania.
"For whom? Why, I should have thought that you had heard the news! Our good king's son is going to marry a rich young queen, and we have all of us to bake a cake, and give it to the young couple as a gift."
"Then let me also bake one, and take it to the palace; perhaps the king may reward me."
"By all means, my dear; I don't see why you should not!"
So Melania took some flour, kneaded the dough, and putting two little doves in, made a cake.
When the hour arrived, the old woman and Melania the Clever went to the palace with their cakes, where there was a great feast. When Melania's cake was brought on the table, the prince began to cut it, but hardly had he done so, when out flew the two doves, one of which had a little piece of the cake in her mouth.
"My dear little dove!" said her mate; "give me a little of the cake!"
"No, I won't," replied the other, "or you will forget me just as the prince forgot his wife, Melania the Clever."
Hardly had the dove said these words, when the prince suddenly remembered his wife, and springing from the table caught Melania in his arms, and embraced her long and tenderly. He introduced Melania to his parents and friends, and after having explained everything, he made her take a seat beside him, and the feast was continued right merrily!
From that day forth the young couple lived together with every kind of happiness.
- ↑ A Russian proverb.