The Complete Fairy Books. Andrew Lang

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СКАЧАТЬ him the bit of moss and the bottle of water, and said: ‘Yes here may you behold their meat, and here their drink,’ the King once more became wroth, and commanded that three red stripes should be cut on the lad’s back, that salt should be strewn upon them, and that he should then be instantly chased back to his own home. So when the youth got home again he too related all that had happened to him, and he too said that he had gone out in search of a place once, but that never would he do it again.

      On the third day Cinderlad wanted to set out. He had a fancy to try to watch the seven foals himself, he said.

      The two others laughed at him, and mocked him. ‘What I when all went so ill with us, do you suppose that you are going to succeed? You look like succeeding—you who have never done anything else but lie and poke about among the ashes!’ said they.

      ‘Yes, I will go too,’ said Cinderlad, ‘for I have taken it into my head.’

      The two brothers laughed at him, and his father and mother begged him not to go, but all to no purpose, and Cinderlad set out on his way. So when he had walked the whole day, he too came to the King’s palace as darkness began to fall.

      There stood the King outside on the steps, and he asked whither he was bound.

      ‘I am walking about in search of a place,’ said Cinderlad.

      ‘From whence do you come, then?’ inquired the King, for by this time he wanted to know a little more about the men before he took any of them into his service.

      So Cinderlad told him whence he came, and that he was brother to the two who had watched the seven foals for the King, and then he inquired if he might be allowed to try to watch them on the following day.

      ‘Oh, shame on them!’ said the King, for it enraged him even to think of them. ‘If thou art brother to those two, thou too art not good for much. I have had enough of such fellows.’

      ‘Well, but as I have come here, you might just give me leave to make the attempt,’ said Cinderlad.

      ‘Oh, very well, if thou art absolutely determined to have thy back flayed, thou may’st have thine own way if thou wilt,’ said the King.

      ‘I would much rather have the Princess,’ said Cinderlad.

      Next morning, in the grey light of dawn, the Master of the Horse let out the seven foals again, and off they set over hill and dale, through woods and bogs, and off went Cinderlad after them. When he had run thus for a long time, he too came to the cleft in the rock. There the old hag was once more sitting spinning from her distaff, and she cried to Cinderlad;

      ‘Come hither, come hither, my handsome son, and let me comb your hair for you.’

      ‘Come to me, then; come to me!’ said Cinderlad, as he passed by jumping and running, and keeping tight hold of one of the foals’ tails.

      When he had got safely past the cleft in the rock, the youngest foal said:

      ‘Get on my back, for we have still a long way to go.’ So the lad did this.

      And thus they journeyed onwards a long, long way.

      ‘Dost thou see anything now?’ said the Foal.

      ‘No,’ said Cinderlad.

      So they journeyed onwards a good bit farther.

      ‘Dost thou see anything now?’ asked the Foal.

      ‘Oh, no,’ said the lad.

      When they had gone thus for a long, long way, the Foal again asked:

      ‘Dost thou see anything now?’

      ‘Yes, now I see something that is white,’ said Cinderlad. ‘It looks like the trunk of a great thick birch tree.’

      ‘Yes, that is where we are to go in,’ said the Foal.

      When they got to the trunk, the eldest foal broke it down on one side, and then they saw a door where the trunk had been standing, and inside this there was a small room, and in the room there was scarcely anything but a small fire-place and a couple of benches, but behind the door hung a great rusty sword and a small pitcher.

      ‘Canst thou wield that sword?’ asked the Foal.

      Cinderlad tried, but could not do it; so he had to take a draught from the pitcher, and then one more, and after that still another, and then he was able to wield the sword with perfect ease.

      ‘Good,’ said the Foal; ‘and now thou must take the sword away with thee, and with it shalt thou cut off the heads of all seven of us on thy wedding-day, and then we shall become princes again as we were before. For we are brothers of the Princess whom thou art to have when thou canst tell the King what we eat and drink, but there is a mighty Troll who has cast a spell over us. When thou hast cut off our heads, thou must take the greatest care to lay each head at the tail of the body to which it belonged before, and then the spell which the Troll has cast upon us will lose all its power.’

      Cinderlad promised to do this, and then they went on farther.

      When they had travelled a long, long way, the Foal said:

      ‘Dost thou see anything?’

      ‘No,’ said Cinderlad.

      So they went on a great distance farther.

      ‘And now?’ inquired the Foal, ‘seest thou nothing now?’

      ‘Alas! no,’ said Cinderlad.

      So they travelled onwards again, for many and many a mile, over hill and dale.

      ‘Now, then,’ said the Foal, ‘dost thou not see anything now?’

      ‘Yes,’ said Cinderlad; ‘now I see something like a bluish streak, far, far away.’

      ‘That is a river,’ said the Foal, ‘and we have to cross it.’

      There was a long, handsome bridge over the river, and when they had got to the other side of it they again travelled on a long, long way, and then once more the Foal inquired if Cinderlad saw anything. Yes, this time he saw something that looked black, far, far away, and was rather like a church tower.

      ‘Yes,’ said the Foal, ‘we shall go into that.’

      When the Foals got into the churchyard they turned into men and looked like the sons of a king, and their clothes were so magnificent that they shone with splendour, and they went into the church and received bread and wine from the priest, who was standing before the altar, and Cinderlad went in too. But when the priest had laid his hands on the princes and read the blessing, they went out of the church again, and Cinderlad went out too, but he took with him a flask of wine and some consecrated bread. No sooner had the seven princes come out into the churchyard than they became foals again, and Cinderlad got upon the back of the youngest, and they returned by the way they had come, only they went much, much faster.

      First they went over the bridge, and then past the trunk of the birch tree, and then past the old hag who sat in the cleft of the rock spinning, and they went by so fast that Cinderlad could not hear what the old hag СКАЧАТЬ