The Fairies' Well

: The Folk-tales Of The Magyars

Tale, tale, mate; a black little bird flew on the tree; it broke one of

its legs; a new cloak, a shabby old cloak; it put it on.



Well, to commence! there was in the world a king, who was called the

"Green King," and who had three daughters. He did not like them at all;

he would have very much preferred if they had been boys. He continually

scolded and abused them, and one day, in a fit of passion, the words

> slipped from his lips: "What is the good of all these wenches? I wish

the devil would come and fetch them all three!" The devil wasn't slow;

he took the king at his word and ran away with all three girls at once.

The king's fondest wish was hereafter fulfilled; his wife bore him three

sons, and he was very fond of them.



But the king grew old; his hair turned quite grey. So his sons set out

for the fairies' well to fetch their father some youth-giving water.

They wandered along till they came to a small road-side inn, where they

had something to eat and drink, and gave their horses hay and corn. They

tippled for some time, until the two elder princes got jolly, and

commenced to dance in true style. The youngest one every now and then

reminded them that it was time to continue the journey, but they would

not listen to him. "Don't talk so much," they said, "if you are so very

anxious to be off you had better leave us and go alone."



So the youngest saddled his horse and left his two brothers. He

travelled along until all of a sudden he discovered that he had lost his

way and found himself in a vast forest. In wandering hither and thither,

he came to a small hut in which an old hermit dwelt. He at once went to

it, knocked and entered, and greeted the old man, saying, "May the Lord

grant you a happy good day, my father."



"The Lord bless you, my son! where are you going?"



"Well, old father, I intend to go to the fairies' well for some

youth-giving water, if I can the way thither."



"May the Lord help you, my son! I don't believe that you will be able to

get there unaided, because it is a difficult journey. But I will tell

you something. I have a piebald horse, that will carry you without

mishap to the fairies' well. I will let you have it if you promise to

bring me back some youth-giving water."



"I will bring you some with pleasure, old father. You are quite welcome

to it."



"Very well, my son! Get on the piebald, and be off in the name of

Heaven!"



The piebald horse was led out and saddled, the prince mounted, and in

another second they were high up in the air, like birds, because the

piebald was a magic horse that at all times grazed on the silken meadow,

the meadow of the fairies. On they travelled, till all at once the

piebald said:



"I say, dear master, I suppose you know that once you had three sisters,

and that all three were carried off by the devil. We will go and pay a

visit to the eldest. It is true, your brother-in-law is at this moment

out rabbiting, but he will be back soon if I go to fetch him. He will

ask you to bring him, also, some youth-giving water. I'll tell you what

to do. He has a plaid which has the power of making the wearer

invisible. If you put it on, nobody on this earth can see you. If he

will give you that plaid you can promise him as much water as he likes;

a whole tub full, if he wants it."



When they reached the house, the prince walked in; and the piebald horse

immediately hurried off to the fields, and began to drive the devil so

that his eyes sparkled. As the devil ran homewards, he passed a pair of

gallows with a man hanging upon them; he lifted off the corpse, and ran

away with it. Having arrived at home, he called from the yard through

the window: "Take this, wife! half of him roasted, the other half

boiled, for my meal. Be sure to have him ready by the time I get

inside." Thereupon he pitched the dead man through the window; the meal

was ready in a minute and the devil walked in, sat down and ate him.

Having finished, he happened to look towards the oven and caught sight

of the prince.



"Halloo! is it you, brother-in-law? Why did you not speak? What a pity

that I did not notice you sooner? You are just too late; you could have

had a bit or two of my bonne-bouche."



"Thank you, brother-in-law. I don't care for your dainties."



"Well, then get him some wine, wife! perhaps he will have some of that?"



The wife brought in the wine and placed it on the table, and the two set

to drinking.



"May I ask, what are you looking for in this strange part of the world?"

inquired the devil.



"I am going to the fairies' well for some youth-giving water."



"Look here, my good man, I am a bit of a smart fellow myself, something

better than you, and still I could not accomplish that journey. I can

get to within about fourteen miles of the place, but even there the heat

is so great that it shrivels me up like bacon-rind."



"Well, I will go all the same, if Heaven will help me!"



"And I will give you as much gold and silver as you can carry, if you

will bring me back a gourdful of that water."



"I'll bring you back some, but for nothing less than for the plaid

hanging on that peg. If you will give that to me you shall have the

water."



At first the devil would not part with the plaid on any account; but the

prince begged so hard that the devil at last yielded.



"Well, brother-in-law! This is such a plaid, that if you put it on

nobody can see you."



The prince was just going when the devil asked him, "Have you any money

for the journey, brother?"



"I had a little, but I have spent it all."



"Then you had better have some more." Whereupon he emptied a whole

dishful of copper coins into the prince's bag. The prince went out into

the yard and shook the bridle; the piebald horse at once appeared, and

the prince mounted. The devil no sooner caught sight of the piebald than

he exclaimed, addressing the prince, "Oh, you rascally fellow! Then you

travel on that villainous creature--the persecutor and murderer of our

kinsfolk? Give me back at once my plaid and my gourd, I don't want any

of your youth-giving water!"



But the prince was not such a fool as to give him back the plaid. In a

minute the piebald was high up in the air and flew off like a bird. They

travelled along until the horse again spoke and said, "Well then, dear

master, we will now go and look up your second sister. True, your

brother-in-law is out rabbiting, but he will soon be back if I go for

him. He, too, will offer you all sorts of things in return for getting

him some youth-giving water. Don't ask for anything else but for a ring

on the window sill, which has this virtue, that it will squeeze your

finger and wake you in case of need."



The prince went into the house and the piebald fetched the devil.

Everything happened as at the previous house. The devil had his meal,

recognised his brother-in-law, sent for wine, and asked the prince:



"Well, what are you doing in this neighbourhood?"



"I am going to the fairies' well for some youth-giving water."



"You don't mean that! You have undertaken a very difficult task. I am as

good a man as a hundred of your stamp put together, and still I can't go

there. The heat there is so great that it would shrivel me up like

bacon-rind at a distance of fourteen miles. They boil lead there as we

boil water here."



"Still I intend to go, by the help of Heaven."



"Very well, brother-in-law. I will give you so much treasure that you

can fill several wagons with it, if you will bring me a gourd full of

that youth-giving water."



"I don't want anything, brother-in-law, but that ring in the window

yonder."



"Of what use would it be to you?"



"Oh! I don't know; let me have it."



So after a good deal of pressing the devil gave him the ring and said:



"Well, brother-in-law, this is such a ring that it will squeeze your

finger and wake you, no matter how sound you may be asleep."



By this time the prince had already reached the courtyard, and was ready

to start, when the devil stopped him and said:



"Stop a bit, brother-in-law, have you any money for the journey?"



"I had a little, but it is all gone," replied the prince.



"Then you had better have some." Whereupon the devil emptied a dishful

of silver money into the prince's bag. The prince then shook the bridle

and the piebald horse at once appeared, which nearly frightened the

devil into a fit.



"Oh, you rascally fellow!" he exclaimed. "Then you are in league with

the persecutor of our kinsfolk? Stop! Give me back that ring and gourd

at once. I don't want any of your youth-giving water!"



But the Green Prince took no notice of the devil's shouting and flew

away on his piebald like a bird. They had been travelling for some

distance when the horse said: "We shall now go to see your youngest

sister. Her husband, too, is out at present rabbiting, but I shall fetch

him in, in no time. He, also, will beseech you to get him some

youth-giving water, but don't you yield, no matter how much wealth he

promises you, until he gives you his sword that hangs on the wall. It is

such a weapon that at your command it will slay the populations of seven

countries."



In the meantime they reached the house. The Green Prince walked in and

the piebald went to look for the third devil. Everything happened as on

the two previous occasions, and the devil asked his wife to send him in

three casks of wine, and they commenced drinking. All of a sudden the

devil asked, "Where are you going?"



"I am going to the fairies' well for some youth-giving water. My father

has grown very old and requires some of the water to give him back his

youth."



The devil replied that it was impossible to get there on account of the

great heat. To which the prince said, that he was determined to go, no

matter what might happen.



"Very well," continued the devil. "I will give you as much gold and

silver as your heart can wish or your mouth name if you will bring me

back a gourd full of the water."



"The gold is of no use to me; I have plenty of it at home; as much as I

need. But if you will give me that sword on the wall, I will bring you

some water from the fairies' well, with pleasure."



"Of what use would that sword be to you? You can't do anything with it."



"No matter. Let me have it."



The devil, at first, would not part with the sword; but, at last, he

gave in. The Green Prince went into the yard, and was about to start,

when the devil asked:



"Brother-in-law, have you any money left for the journey?"



"I had some; but it's nearly gone."



"Then you had better have some." And with this the devil put a plateful

of gold coins into the prince's bag. The latter shook the bridle and his

piebald appeared. The devil was very much alarmed at the sight, and

exclaimed: "You rascal, then you associate with our arch-persecutor. Let

me have back my sword and the gourd, I don't want any of your water."

But the prince did not listen to him; in fact he had no time to heed the

devil's words even if he had any intention of doing so, as he was

already high up in the air, and the piebald now questioned him: "How

shall we go, dear master? shall we fly as fast as the whirlwind, or like

a flash of thought?" "Just as you please, my dear horse."



And the piebald flew away, with the prince on its back, in the direction

of the fairies' well. Soon they reached their goal, and alighted on the

ground, whereupon the horse said: "Well, my dear master, we have reached

our destination. Put on the plaid that the first devil gave you and walk

into the fairy queen's palace. The queen has just sat down to supper.

Eat, drink, and enjoy yourself. Don't be afraid, nobody will know that

you are there. In the meantime I will go into the silken meadow and

graze with the horses of the fairy over night. I shall return in the

morning and we will then fill our gourd."



And so it happened. The Green Prince put on the plaid and walked into

the fairy queen's dining-room, sat down and supped, and for every glass

of wine consumed by the fairy he drank two. The supper over they enjoyed

themselves. Suddenly the fairy queen felt a sensation as if she were

touched by a man, although she could not see anybody. She thereupon

exclaimed to her fairies: "Fairies, fairies, keep the bellows going

under the boiling lead. Some calamity will befall us to-night."



In the morning the piebald appeared before the castle; the Green Prince

was still fast asleep, but luckily the ring squeezed his finger and he

awoke and so was saved. He lost no time in going down to his horse.



"I am glad to tell you, my dear master, that all is well. They have not

yet been able to see you. Let us go and get the water at once. This is

how you must proceed. Stick the gourd on the point of your sword and

then dip it under. But, be careful; the gourd must touch the water

before my feet get wet, or else we must pay with our lives for our

audacity."



The Green Prince did as he was told. He stuck the gourd on the point of

the sword and dipped it into the well, before the piebald's hoofs

touched the surface of the water.



"Well, my dear master, this has gone off without mishap. Let us at once

go and liberate your sisters." First they visited the youngest. The

Green Prince put on the plaid, and brought her away unnoticed. Then he

rescued the second princess; and at last the eldest, by the aid of his

plaid. And their diabolic husbands never noticed that they had been

stolen. Having thus liberated his three sisters, he returned without

delay to the hermit's hut.



"Well done, my son! Have you brought back any youth-giving water?"

exclaimed the hermit, as he saw the prince approaching in the distance.



"To be sure, old father; I have brought plenty."



With these words the Green Prince approached the hermit, and allowed

just one drop of the magic water drop on to the old man's hand; and oh,

wonder! immediately a change came over him, and the old man instantly

became young, and looked like a lad of sixteen.



"Well, my son; you have not made your journey in vain. You have secured

the prize that you have striven for; and I shall always be deeply

grateful to you until the end of my days. I won't take back the piebald

from you, as I have another one exactly like it hidden away somewhere.

True, it is only a little foal; but it will grow, and will then be good

enough for me."



Then they parted, and the prince bent his way homewards. Having arrived

at home he allowed a drop of the magic water drop on to his father's

hand, and the old king immediately became a youth of sixteen. And he not

only got younger, but also grew handsomer; and a hundred times better

looking than he ever was before.



But the Green Prince had been away for such a length of time on his

journey to the fairies' well that not even his father could remember

him. The king had completely forgotten that the prince was ever born.

What was he to do? Nobody knew him at his father's palace, or would

recognise him as his father's son; so he conceived the strange idea of

accepting a situation as swineherd in his father's service. He found

stables for the piebald in a cellar at the end of the town.



While he tended his father's pigs, and went through his duties as

swineherd, the fairies travelled all over the world and searched every

nook and corner for the father of the child of their queen. Among other

places they also came to the town of the Green King, and declared that

it was their intention to examine every prince, as the person for whom

they searched could only be a prince. The Green King then suddenly



remembered that he had once another son but did not know his

whereabouts. Something or other, however, recalled to his mind the

swineherd, so he at once took pen and paper and wrote a note to the

swineherd. The purport of the writing was that the king was the real

father of the swineherd, and that the prince should come home with the

least possible delay. The Green King sealed the letter and handed it to

a gipsy with strict instructions to at once deliver it to the swineherd.

The gipsy went, and the swineherd read the note and handed it back to

the messenger, saying:



"My good man, take the note back. They have sent you on a fool's errand.

I am not the son of the Green King."



The gipsy took the letter back in great anger. The swineherd, again, ran

as fast as his legs would carry him to the stables in the cellar at the

outskirts of the town, saddled his piebald, and rode ventre a terre to

the centre of the town, and pulled up in front of the king's palace.

There was such a sight to be seen. A great number of wonderfully pretty

fairies had congregated, and were fanning the fire under a huge cauldron

of boiling lead, which emitted such a heat that nobody could approach.

The eldest prince came out and was about to try his fortune; he was

gorgeously dressed, his garments glittering like a mass of gold. As he

approached the cauldron full of boiling lead, a pretty fairy called out

to him:



"Son of the Green King! are you the father of the child of the queen of

fairies?"



"I am."



"Then jump into this seething mass of boiling lead."



He jumped in and was burnt, shrivelling up to the size of a crab-apple.



"You won't do," said the fairy.



Then the second prince stepped forth; his dress, too, was one mass of

sparkling gold. As he approached the cauldron a fairy exclaimed:



"Son of the Green King! are you the father of the child of the queen of

fairies?"



"I am."



"Then jump into this seething mass of boiling lead."



He jumped in and fared no better than his elder brother.



Now the swineherd rode forth on his piebald horse. His clothes were one

mass of dirt and grease. To him, too, the fairy called out:



"Are you the father of the child of the queen of fairies?"



"I am."



"Then jump into this seething mass of boiling lead like the rest."



And, behold! he spurred the piebald horse, pulled tight the bridle, and

again slackened it. The piebald shot up into the air like an arrow; and,

having reached a good height, it came down with the swineherd on its

back in one bold swoop, and jumped into the cauldron full of boiling

lead without a single hair of him getting hurt. Seeing this, the fairies

at once lifted him out, tore his dirty clothes from him, and dressed him

up in garments becoming a king.



He married the queen of fairies and a sumptuous wedding-feast was

celebrated.



This is the end of my tale.



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