DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.14697#0173
Dioskouroi and Helene in Folk-Tales ioii
he went, gave her a dagger : she was to pull it out of its sheath several times
daily for a year and a day ; if ever it would not come out, she might know that
he was dead. A day arrived when she failed to draw the dagger : her eldest
brother must be dead. The second brother now set out to seek him, and, before
he went, gave her a rosary : she was to tell the beads constantly; if one stuck,
she might know that he was dead. A day came when one did stick: he too
must be dead. So she bought a horse, dressed as a cavalier, and set out herself
in quest of them. She went on and on till she reached a large plain. Here in
the hollow of an old tree she saw a little man with a long white beard, who
saluted her as the daughter of the king of France. She denied the title, but
offered to clip his beard, which must be in his way, she thought. By so doing
she delivered him : for five hundred years people had passed that way and no
one had helped him. He therefore gave her his blessing, and told her how to
find her brothers. Sixty leagues off was a road-side inn, where she was to eat,
drink, and leave her horse. Soon afterwards she would find herself close to a
very high mountain, terribly hard to climb. A wild wind would burst upon her.
There would be hail, snow, ice, and cruel cold to contend with. On either side
of the path would be seen many stone pillars—men, who had essayed to climb
the mountain, lost heart, and been petrified on the spot. Once at the top, she
would see a plain covered with turf and May flowers. Beneath an apple-tree
would appear a golden seat. On this she was to sit and feign sleep. A blackbird
would then hop down from branch to branch of the apple-tree, and enter a cage
beneath it. She was to shut the cage quickly, and would so have secured the
Bird of Truth. Next she would cut a branch from the apple-tree with an apple
on it; it would be the Singing Apple. Lastly, she was to fill a phial with water
from a fountain beneath the tree; this was the Dancing Water. On her way
down the mountain she was to spill a drop of water on each stone pillar: from
every one would come a cavalier, her own two brothers among them. All these
directions she faithfully carried out. Passing through the intense cold on the
mountain-side she reached the top, where the sky was clear and the air warm,
as though it were summer. She sat on the golden seat below the apple-tree,
feigned sleep, and duly secured the Bird of Truth, which again addressed her as
daughter of the king of France. She next cut a branch of the apple-tree with
one apple on it, filled her phial with water from the fountain, sprinkled and set
free all the princes, dukes, barons, and cavaliers, who had been turned into
stones, and last of all restored to life her own two brothers. They did not
recognise their sister : so she hurried on, and got home first. On their arrival
they told her how they had failed in the quest, and spoke of a young cavalier of
surpassing beauty who had freed them from their fate. Meantime the old king,
who loved the children, as he supposed, of his sister-in-law, was glad to see them
all back again, and invited them to a banquet. Towards the end of it the young
girl placed on the table the Dancing Water, the Singing Apple, and the Bird of
Truth, and bade them do their business. So the Water danced, the Apple sang,
and the Bird told the whole story to the assembled company. To prove the
truth of it he bade the head-bands be removed from the two brothers and their
sister : whereupon it was seen that each of the lads had a gold star on his
forehead, and the young girl a silver star. The king fainted away. Recovering
himself, he went and fetched the queen from her solitary tower. Despite twenty
years' imprisonment, she was still beautiful and gracious. She ate and drank a
little, and then—died where she sat ! The king, mad with grief and rage, had a
furnace heated in the field, into which his sister-in-law and the midwife were cast.
he went, gave her a dagger : she was to pull it out of its sheath several times
daily for a year and a day ; if ever it would not come out, she might know that
he was dead. A day arrived when she failed to draw the dagger : her eldest
brother must be dead. The second brother now set out to seek him, and, before
he went, gave her a rosary : she was to tell the beads constantly; if one stuck,
she might know that he was dead. A day came when one did stick: he too
must be dead. So she bought a horse, dressed as a cavalier, and set out herself
in quest of them. She went on and on till she reached a large plain. Here in
the hollow of an old tree she saw a little man with a long white beard, who
saluted her as the daughter of the king of France. She denied the title, but
offered to clip his beard, which must be in his way, she thought. By so doing
she delivered him : for five hundred years people had passed that way and no
one had helped him. He therefore gave her his blessing, and told her how to
find her brothers. Sixty leagues off was a road-side inn, where she was to eat,
drink, and leave her horse. Soon afterwards she would find herself close to a
very high mountain, terribly hard to climb. A wild wind would burst upon her.
There would be hail, snow, ice, and cruel cold to contend with. On either side
of the path would be seen many stone pillars—men, who had essayed to climb
the mountain, lost heart, and been petrified on the spot. Once at the top, she
would see a plain covered with turf and May flowers. Beneath an apple-tree
would appear a golden seat. On this she was to sit and feign sleep. A blackbird
would then hop down from branch to branch of the apple-tree, and enter a cage
beneath it. She was to shut the cage quickly, and would so have secured the
Bird of Truth. Next she would cut a branch from the apple-tree with an apple
on it; it would be the Singing Apple. Lastly, she was to fill a phial with water
from a fountain beneath the tree; this was the Dancing Water. On her way
down the mountain she was to spill a drop of water on each stone pillar: from
every one would come a cavalier, her own two brothers among them. All these
directions she faithfully carried out. Passing through the intense cold on the
mountain-side she reached the top, where the sky was clear and the air warm,
as though it were summer. She sat on the golden seat below the apple-tree,
feigned sleep, and duly secured the Bird of Truth, which again addressed her as
daughter of the king of France. She next cut a branch of the apple-tree with
one apple on it, filled her phial with water from the fountain, sprinkled and set
free all the princes, dukes, barons, and cavaliers, who had been turned into
stones, and last of all restored to life her own two brothers. They did not
recognise their sister : so she hurried on, and got home first. On their arrival
they told her how they had failed in the quest, and spoke of a young cavalier of
surpassing beauty who had freed them from their fate. Meantime the old king,
who loved the children, as he supposed, of his sister-in-law, was glad to see them
all back again, and invited them to a banquet. Towards the end of it the young
girl placed on the table the Dancing Water, the Singing Apple, and the Bird of
Truth, and bade them do their business. So the Water danced, the Apple sang,
and the Bird told the whole story to the assembled company. To prove the
truth of it he bade the head-bands be removed from the two brothers and their
sister : whereupon it was seen that each of the lads had a gold star on his
forehead, and the young girl a silver star. The king fainted away. Recovering
himself, he went and fetched the queen from her solitary tower. Despite twenty
years' imprisonment, she was still beautiful and gracious. She ate and drank a
little, and then—died where she sat ! The king, mad with grief and rage, had a
furnace heated in the field, into which his sister-in-law and the midwife were cast.