The Twelve Lost Princesses And The Wizard King
: Italian: Fairy Tales From All Nations
Once upon a time there lived a king who had twelve daughters, whom he
loved so tenderly that he could not bear that they should be out of
his presence, except when he was sleeping in the afternoon, and then
they always took a walk. On one occasion, it happened that whilst the
king was enjoying his afternoon's nap, the princesses went out as
usual, but they did not return home. This threw all the inhabitants of
the coun
still more grieved than any of his subjects. He sent messengers to
every corner of his kingdom, and into all the foreign lands he had
ever heard mentioned, causing search to be made for his daughters; but
no tidings could he get of them.
So, after a time, it became quite clear to everybody that they had
been carried off by some wizard. The report of this soon spread from
city to city, and from country to country, till at last it reached the
ears of another king, who lived far, far away, and this king happened
to have twelve sons. When the twelve princes heard the marvellous tale
about the twelve princesses, they begged their father to permit them
to travel in search of the missing royal maidens. The old king,
however, for a long time would not hear of any such thing, for he
feared that he might never see his sons again; but they threw
themselves at his feet, and besought him so long and earnestly that at
last he yielded, and gave them leave to set out on their travels. He
caused a vessel to be equipped for them, and gave the charge of it to
one of his courtiers, called Commander Rod. Long, long did they sail,
and whenever they touched on the coast of any country, they made every
inquiry about the princesses, but could not discover the least trace
of them.
They had nearly completed the seventh year since they first set sail,
when a violent storm arose. It blew such a gale that they thought they
never should reach the shore; but on the third day the tempest
subsided, and suddenly it became quite calm. All on board were now so
fatigued by the hard work they had done during the tempest that they
all went to sleep at once, excepting only the youngest prince, who
became very restless, and could not sleep at all. Now whilst he was
pacing the deck, the vessel neared an island, and on the shore was a
little dog running backwards and forwards, and howling and barking
towards the ship as if it wanted to be taken on board. The king's son
whistled to it, and tried to entice it to him, but it seemed afraid to
leave the shore, and only barked and howled louder still. The prince
thought it would be a sin to leave the poor dog to perish, for he
supposed it had escaped there from some ship that had foundered during
the storm. He therefore set to work to lower the boat, and after
having rowed to the shore, he went towards the little dog, but
whenever he was about to lay hold of it, it sprang from him, and so
lured him onward, till at last he found himself unexpectedly in the
court of a great and magnificent castle, when the little dog suddenly
changed into a beautiful princess.
The prince then noticed, sitting on the beach, a man so gigantic and
frightful that he was quite alarmed. "You have no cause for
uneasiness," said the man; but when the prince heard his voice he was
more frightened still.
"I know very well what you want; you are one of the twelve princes who
are in search of the twelve lost princesses. I know also where they
are. They are beside my master, each sitting on her own chair, and
combing the hair of one of his heads, for he has twelve. You have now
been sailing about for seven years, and you have to sail for seven
years more before you will find them. As to what concerns yourself,
individually, you should be welcome to remain here and marry my
daughter, but you must first kill my master, for he is very harsh to
us, and we have long been quite tired of him: and when he is dead I
shall be king in his place. Try now if you can wield this sword," said
the wizard, for such he was.
The prince tried to grasp a rusty sword which hung against the wall,
but could not stir it from the spot.
"Well, then you must take a draught out of this flask," said the
wizard.
The prince did so, and was then able to unhang the sword from the
wall; after a second draught he could raise it, and the third enabled
him to wield it with as much ease as his own.
"When you return on board the vessel," said the wizard prince, "you
must conceal the sword in your hammock, so that Commander Rod may not
see it. He cannot wield it, I know, but he will hate you on that
account, and try to kill you. When seven more years all but three days
shall have passed away," he continued, "the same that has befallen you
now will again occur: a violent gale will arise, with storm and hail,
and when it is over, all will be again fatigued, and lie down in their
hammocks. You must then take the sword, and row to land. You will
arrive at a castle guarded by wolves, bears, and lions, but you need
not fear them; they will crawl at your feet. As soon as you enter the
castle, you will see the giant sitting in a splendidly adorned
chamber, and a princess will be seated on her own chair, beside one of
his twelve heads. As soon as you see him you must with all speed cut
off one head after the other, before he awakes, for should he do that,
he will eat you alive."
The prince returned to the ship with the sword, and did not forget
what the wizard had told him. The others were still lying sound
asleep, so he concealed the sword in his hammock without Commander Rod
or any of the others perceiving it. A breeze now sprang up, and the
prince awakened the crew, and told them that with such a fair wind
they must no longer lie sleeping there. Time wore on, and the prince
was for ever thinking of the adventure that awaited him, and much
doubted that it would have a fortunate issue.
At last, when seven years all but three days were over, everything
happened just as the wizard had foretold. A fierce tempest arose, and
lasted three days, and when it was over the whole crew were fatigued,
and lay down to sleep in their hammocks. The youngest prince, however,
then rowed to the shore, and there he found the castle, guarded by
wolves, bears, and lions, who all crawled at his feet, so that he
entered without opposition. In one of the apartments sat the king,
asleep, and the twelve princesses sat each on her chair, employed as
the wizard had said. The prince made signs to them that they should
retire; they however pointed to the wizard, and signed to him in
return that he had better quickly withdraw. But he tried to make them
understand, by looks and gestures, that he was come to deliver them,
and when, at length, they understood his design, they stole softly
away one after the other. Then the prince rushed on the wizard king,
and cut off his heads, so that the blood flowed like a great river,
and when he had convinced himself that the wizard was dead, he rowed
back to the vessel, and again concealed the sword. He thought he had
now done enough unaided, and as he could not carry the giant's corpse
out of the castle without assistance, he resolved that the others
should help him. He therefore awakened them, and told them it was a
shame that they should lie sleeping there, whilst he had found the
princesses, and delivered them out of the wizard's power. They all
laughed at him, and said he must have been asleep too, and had only
dreamt that he had become such a hero; for it was far more likely that
one of themselves should deliver the princesses than such a youth as
he.
Then the prince told them all that had happened, so they consented to
row to the land, and when they beheld the river of blood, and the
wizard's castle, and his twelve heads lying there, and saw also the
twelve princesses, they were convinced that he had spoken the truth,
and so assisted him in throwing the heads and the corpse of the wizard
into the sea. They were now all right merry and pleased, but none were
better pleased than the princesses to be delivered from the task of
sitting all day beside the giant, combing his twelve heads.
The princes and princesses, after they had collected as much of the
gold and silver, and as many of the costly articles in the castle as
they could carry, returned to the vessel, and again set sail. They had
not gone far, however, when the princesses recollected that, in their
joy, they had omitted to bring away with them their golden crowns,
which were in a great chest, and these they very much desired to have
with them. As no one else seemed inclined to go back for them, the
youngest of the king's sons said: "Since I have already dared to do so
much, I may as well also fetch the golden crowns, if you will take in
the sails and wait my return."
Yes, they were willing to do that; they would lower the sails and wait
till he returned. But the prince was no sooner out of sight of the
vessel than Commander Rod, who wished to play the principal part, and
to marry the youngest princess, said: "It was no use for us to stay
here waiting for the prince, who, we may be sure, will not come back;
besides," added he, "you know full well that the king has given to me
full power to sail when and where I think proper;" then he insisted
further that they should all say that it was he who had set the
princesses free: and if any one of them should dare to say otherwise
it should cost him his life. The princes were afraid to contradict
him, so they sailed away. Meanwhile the younger prince had rowed to
the shore, and soon found in the castle the chest containing the
golden crowns, and after a great deal of trouble and fatigue, for it
was very heavy, he succeeded in heaving it into the boat. But when he
got out into the open sea, the ship was no longer in sight. He looked
north, south, east, and west, but no trace could he discover of it,
and he quickly guessed what had occurred. He knew that to row after it
would be quite useless, so he had only to turn back and row again to
the shore. It is true that he was rather alarmed at the idea of
passing the night all alone in the castle, but there was no avoiding
it; so he screwed up his courage as well as he could, locked all the
gates and doors, and lay down to sleep in a bed which he found ready
prepared in one of the apartments. But he felt very uneasy, and became
much more terrified, on presently hearing in the roof over his head,
and along the walls, a creaking and cracking, as if the castle were
about to split asunder; and then came a great rustling close to his
bed, like a whole haystack falling down. However, he was in some
degree comforted when he immediately after the noise heard a voice
bidding him not to be alarmed.
"Fear not, fear not, thy friend I am;
I am the wondrous bird called Dam.
When thou'rt in trouble call on me:
I shall be near to succour thee,"
said the voice, and then added: "As soon as you wake to-morrow
morning, you must go directly to the Stabur[4], and fetch me four
bushels of rye for my breakfast; I must have a good meal, otherwise I
can do nothing for you."
[Footnote 4: A building used as a kind of store-room or larder, and
supported on short pillars or posts, so as not to allow it to touch
the ground.]
When the prince awoke in the morning, he saw by his bed-side a
terribly large bird, who had a feather at the back of his head as long
as a half-grown fir tree. The prince immediately went to the Stabur
and brought thence four bushels of rye, as the wondrous bird Dam had
commanded, who, as soon as he had taken his breakfast, desired the
prince to hang the chest containing the golden crowns on one side of
his neck, and as much gold and silver as would balance it on the
other, and then to get upon his back and hold fast by the long
feather. The prince obeyed and off they went, whizzing through the air
at such a rate, that in a very short time they found themselves
exactly above the ship. The prince then wished to go on board, that he
might get the sword which the wizard had given him.
259.]
But the wondrous bird Dam told him that he must not do so: "Commander
Rod," added he, "will not discover it; but if you go on board he will
try to kill you, for he very much wishes to marry the youngest
princess; but make yourself easy about her, for every night she places
a drawn sword on the bed by her side."
At last they reached the castle of the wizard prince, who gave the
young prince a hearty welcome. He seemed as if he could not make
enough of him, for having killed his sovereign, in whose stead he was
now king. He would willingly have given his daughter and half his
kingdom to the young prince, but that the latter was so much in love
with the youngest of the twelve princesses, that he could think of no
one but her, and he was all impatience to be off again.
The wizard, however, besought him to have a little patience, and told
him that the princesses were doomed to sail about still for twice
seven years before they could return home. As to the youngest
princess, the wizard said exactly the same as the wondrous bird Dam:
"You may be quite at ease concerning her," said he, "for she always
carries a drawn sword to bed with her. And if you do not believe me,
you may go on board when they next sail past this place, to convince
yourself; and, at the same time, bring me the sword I lent you, for I
must positively have it back."
Now after seven years' more wandering, the princes and princesses were
again sailing past the island; a terrible storm came on as before, and
after it was over the king's son went on board and found them all fast
asleep as on the former occasions; but by each of the princes a
princess also lay asleep. Only the youngest princess slept alone, with
a naked sword beside her; and on the floor, in front of the bed, lay
Commander Rod, also sound asleep. The king's son took the sword from
his hammock, and rowed to the island, without any one having perceived
that he had been on board.
The prince, however, grew more and more impatient, always wishing to
set out again.
At length, when the second seven years were completed all but three
weeks, the wizard said to him: "Now you may prepare for your voyage,
since you are determined not to remain with us. I will lend you an
iron boat that will go of itself on the water, by your merely saying
to it: 'Boat, go forwards.' In the boat you will find a boat-hook,
which you must lift up a little when you see the ship right before
you. Such a fresh breeze will then spring up, that the ship's crew
will forget to look after you. As soon as you get near the ship, raise
the boat-hook a little higher, and then a storm will arise that will
give them other work to do than spying after you. When you shall have
passed the ship, raise the boat-hook for the third time, but you must
be careful each time to lay it down again, else there will be such a
tempest, that you, as well as the others, will perish. On reaching the
shore, you need take no further trouble about the boat than to turn it
upside down, shove it into the sea, and say: 'Boat, go home again.'"
When the prince was departing, he received from the wizard so much
gold and silver, together with other treasures, and clothes and linen
which the princess had made for him during his long stay in the
island, that he was a great deal richer than any of his brothers.
He had no sooner seated himself in the boat and said, "Boat, go
forwards," than on it went, and when he came in sight of the ship, he
raised the boat-hook, and a breeze sprang up, so that the crew forgot
to look after him; and on nearing the vessel he did the same, when
such a storm and gale arose, that the ship was covered with the white
spray, and the waves broke over the deck, so that the crew had no
leisure to remark him. At last when he had passed the ship, he raised
the boat-hook the third time, and the crew found enough to do to make
them quite forget him. He reached the land long before the ship, and,
after taking his property out of the boat, he turned it over, shoved
it into the sea, saying, "Boat, go home," and away it went.
He now disguised himself as a sailor, and went to the wretched hovel
of an old woman, to whom he said he was a poor shipwrecked sailor, the
only one of the crew who had escaped drowning; and he begged shelter
in her hut for himself and the things he had saved from the wreck.
"Ah, heaven help me," replied the woman, "I can give no one shelter. I
have not even a bed for myself, let alone any one else."
Oh! that did not signify, said the sailor, so that he had but a roof
over his head, it was all one to him what he lay upon; therefore she
would not surely refuse him the shelter of her roof, since he was
content to take things as he found them.
In the evening, he brought his things to the cottage, and the old
woman, who did not at all dislike to have something new to talk about,
began inquiring who he was, where he had been, and whither he was
going; what were the things he had brought with him; on what business
he was travelling, and whether he had heard anything of the twelve
princesses who had disappeared so many years ago, with so many other
questions, that it would be tiresome to repeat them.
But the sailor replied that he felt so ill, and had such a terrible
headache from the fatigues he had undergone during the storm, that he
could not accurately recollect anything that had passed; but that
after he should have had a few days repose, and recovered from his
labours, she should hear all.
The next day, however, the old woman renewed her questions, but the
sailor pretended still to have such a terrible headache, that he could
not rightly remember anything; though he did let a word or two drop,
as by accident, which showed that he did know something about the
princesses.
Off ran the old woman to tell this news to all the gossips in the
neighbourhood, who hurried one after the other to the hut, to hear all
about the princesses; and to ask whether the sailor had seen them, if
they were soon coming, and a hundred other questions.
Still the sailor had such a terrible headache, that he could not
answer their questions. Thus much, however, he did say: that if the
princesses were not wrecked during that fierce storm, they would
certainly arrive in fourteen days, or even sooner. He had certainly
seen them alive, but they might have since perished.
One of the gossips went forthwith to the royal residence, and related
all that she had heard; and when the king heard it, he desired that
the sailor should be brought to him.
The sailor replied, "I have no clothes in which I can appear before
the king."
But he was told that he must go, for the king must and would see him,
whatever appearance he might make, for he was the first person who had
ever brought any news of the princesses. So he entered the king's
presence, when he was asked if he had really seen the princesses.
"Yes," said the sailor, "but I know not if they still live, for when
I saw them, it was during such a fierce storm, that we were wrecked.
But if they did not then go to the bottom, they may be here in about
fourteen days, or perhaps sooner."
When the king heard this, he was almost frantic with joy, and at the
appointed time for the arrival of the princesses, he went down to the
shore in state to meet them; and great was the rejoicing through the
land, when at last the ship sailed into port, with the princes, and
princesses, and Commander Rod. The eleven elder princesses were in
high spirits and good humour; but the youngest, whom Commander Rod was
anxious to marry, was very sad and wept incessantly, for which the
king chid her, and asked her why she was not happy and cheerful, like
her sisters. She had no cause, thought he, to be sad, now she was
delivered from the wizard, and had such a fine man as Commander Rod
for her lover. The Princess however durst not tell the truth, for
Commander Rod had told the king that it was himself who had liberated
the princesses, and had threatened to kill any one who should say
otherwise.
Now, one day while the princesses were making their wedding clothes, a
man in a coarse sailor's jacket, with a pedlar's pack on his back,
came and asked them if they would not like to buy some fine things for
their wedding, for he had some costly articles of gold and silver.
"Yes," said they, "very possibly they might," and they looked very
attentively at the ornaments, and still more so at him, for they could
not help fancying that they had seen both him and the goods before.
At last the youngest princess said, that he who had such costly
articles, might perhaps have others still more suitable to them.
"Very possibly," returned the pedlar.
But her sisters bade her be quiet, and remember Commander Rod's
threat.
Shortly after, when the princesses were sitting at the window, the
king's son came again in his coarse sailor jacket, carrying the chest
with the golden crowns.
On entering the hall, he opened the chest, and now when the princesses
recognised each her own golden crown, the youngest princess said:--"To
me it seems only fair and just, that he who suffers for us, should
receive the reward to which he is entitled; our deliverer is not
Commander Rod, but he who has now brought us our golden crowns, is
also he who destroyed the wizard."
Then the king's son threw off his jacket, and stood there far more
splendidly attired than any of the rest.
The king now caused Commander Rod to be put to death for his perfidy,
and gave his daughter in marriage to the young prince.
The rejoicings in the royal residence were very great, and each prince
took his princess away to a different realm, so that the tale was told
and talked about in no less than twelve distinct kingdoms.
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Somewhere, nowhere, in a certain kingdom, in a certain empire, time out of mind, and in no land of ours, dwelt a Tsar who was so proud, so very proud, that he feared neither God nor man. He listened to no good counsel from whithersoever it might c... The Twelfth Labor
Instead of destroying his hated enemy the labors which Eurystheus had imposed upon Hercules had only strengthened the hero in the fame for which fate had selected him. He had become the protector of all the wronged upon earth, and the boldest advent... The Twelve Lost Princesses And The Wizard King
Once upon a time there lived a king who had twelve daughters, whom he loved so tenderly that he could not bear that they should be out of his presence, except when he was sleeping in the afternoon, and then they always took a walk. On one occa... The Twilight Of The Gods
Loki and Fenrir, the wolf, were safely bound, each to his separate cliff, but still happiness and peace did not return to Asgard, for Baldur was no longer there, and light and joy had gone from the home of the gods. The Aesir felt that the Twiligh... The Twin Stars
In front of the little house was a pine-tree, and every night at the time when the children went to bed, a bright star appeared over the top of the tree and looked in at the window. The children were brother and sister. They were twins, and so the... The Two Asses
Two asses tracking, t'other day, Of which each in his turn, Did incense to the other burn, Quite in the usual way,-- I heard one to his comrade say, "My lord, do you not find The prince ... The Two Brothers
There were once two brothers who were constantly quarrelling and one afternoon after a heated quarrel the younger brother asked the villagers to come and judge between them. The villagers agreed to meet the next morning. At cockcrow the next day the... The Two Brothers Jhorea And Jhore
There were two brothers, whose parents died, leaving them orphans when very young. The name of the elder was Jhorea, and of the younger Jhore. On the death of their parents, the two brothers went to seek employment, which they found in a certain v... The Two Bulls And The Frog
Two bulls engaged in shocking battle, Both for a certain heifer's sake, And lordship over certain cattle, A frog began to groan and quake. "But what is this to you?" Inquired another of the croaking crew. ... The Two Camps
While the scenes lately described had been occurring in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem, Maccabeus, in the mountains, had been preparing for the deadliest shock of war. Like wave upon wave, each swelling higher than the one before it, successive arm... The Two Chinamen
Ages ago, when this world was new, having been created but a short while, two Chinese boys left their native country and started out on their travels to discover things new and strange. After wandering for many days they came to the hill and water... The Two Dogs And The Dead Ass
Two lean and hungry mastiffs once espied A dead ass floating on a water wide. The distance growing more and more, Because the wind the carcass bore,-- "My friend," said one, "your eyes are best; Pray let the... The Two Foxes The Mole And The Crows
Two brother foxes consulted together thus: "It would be fun for us to go down among men, and assume human shape." So they made treasures and they made garments out of the leaves of various trees, and they made various things to eat and cakes out of ... The Two Friends Who Set Off To Travel Round The World
Once there were two men who desired to travel round the world, that they might tell others what was the manner of it. This was in the days when men were still many on the earth, and there were people in all the lands. Now we grow fewer and fewer... The Two Goats
Two goats, who self-emancipated,-- The white that on their feet they wore Look'd back to noble blood of yore,-- Once quit the lowly meadows, sated, And sought the hills, as it would seem: In search of luck, by... The Two Little Outcasts
There were two little boys and they had no father and no mother, and they went out every day hunting ptarmigan, and they had never any weapons save a bow. And when they had been out hunting ptarmigan, the men of that place were always very eager t... The Two Misers
A miser living in Kufa had heard that in Bassora also there dwelt a Miser--more miserly than himself, to whom he might go to school, and from whom he might learn much. He forthwith journeyed thither; and presented himself to the great master a... The Two Mules
Two mules were bearing on their backs, One, oats; the other, silver of the tax. The latter glorying in his load, March'd proudly forward on the road; And, from the jingle of his bell, 'Twas plain he li... The Two Orphans
There was once, I know not where, even beyond the Operencian Land, a village, and at the end of the village a little hovel. Within the tumble-down walls of this hovel a poor old woman was lying on some rotting straw, and two children were crying b... The Two Princes
There was once upon a time a King who had two sons, and these sons went a-hunting in the forest and there lost themselves. They wandered on and on for twelve weeks, and at the end of the twelve weeks they came to a place where three roads met, and... The Two Rats The Fox And The Egg
Two rats in foraging fell on an egg,-- For gentry such as they A genteel dinner every way; They needed not to find an ox's leg. Brimful of joy and appetite, They were about to sack the box, ... The Two Rings
Gabrielle de St. Pierre, daughter of the commandant of Fort Le Boeuf, now--Waterford, Pennsylvania, that the French had setup on the Ohio River, was Parisian by birth and training, but American by choice, for she had enjoyed on this lonesome frontie... The Two Sisters Haka Lasi And Tsore Jowa
PERSONAGES After each name is given that of the creature or thing into which the personage was changed subsequently. =Chuhna=, spider; =Haka hasi=, loon; =Hitchinna=, wildcat; =Jamuka=, acorn worm; =Juka=, silkworm; =Metsi=, coyote; =Tsanunew... The Two Skeletons Of Columbus
Following the return of the vanquished army of Spain to its home country was another solemn voyage, undertaken for the transfer of the bones of Christopher Columbus from the world he had discovered to the land that grudgingly, cautiously permitted... The Two Witches
There were once a woman and her daughter-in-law who were both witches. One night during the annual Sohrai festival the men of the village were going from house to house singing and getting rice beer to drink; and one young man named Chandrai got so ... The Two Wives
There were once a Raja and his Dewan who had each one son, and the two boys were great friends. Both had been married in their infancy and when they grew up and heard that they had wives, they agreed to go together and visit them. So they set out, a... The Under Land
When the Chatas looked into the still depths of Bayou Lacombe, Louisiana, they said that the reflection of the sky was the empyrean of the Under Land, whither all good souls were sure to go after death. Their chief, Opaleeta, having fallen into this... The Undying Head
In a remote part of the north lived a man and his only sister who had never seen human being. Seldom, if ever, had the man any cause to go from home, for if he wanted food he had only to go a little distance from the lodge, and there place his arr... The Unfaithful Wife
Once upon a time there were two brothers and as their wives did not get on well together, they lived separately. After a time it came to the ears of the elder brother that the younger brother's wife was carrying on an intrigue with a certain Jugi; s... The Ungrateful Children And The Old Father Who Went To School Again
Once upon a time there was an old man. He lived to a great age, and God gave him children whom he brought up to man's estate, and he divided all his goods amongst them. "I will pass my remaining days among my children," thought he. So the old m... The Ungrateful Fisherman
It happened on a time that a poor fisherman had caught nothing for many days, and while he was sitting thinking sadly of his miserable fortune, Punya In, the god of wisdom, came from his high home in heaven in the form of a crow, and asked him, "Do ... The Ungrateful Snake
There was once a Raja and his dewan and they each had one son; these sons were married in infancy but as they grew up they never heard anything about their having been married. When the boys reached manhood and found no arrangements being made for t... The Unknown Champion
There was that in the very air of the New World that made the Pilgrims revolt against priests and kings. The Revolution was long a-breeding before shots were fired at Lexington. Stout old Endicott, having conceived a dislike to the British flag beca... The Vampire And St Michael
Once upon a time in a certain village there lived two neighbours; one was rich, very rich, and the other so poor that he had nothing in the world but a little hut, and that was tumbling about his ears. At length things came to such a pass with the... The Vanderdecken Of Tappan Zee
It is Saturday night; the swell of the Hudson lazily heaves against the shores of Tappan Zee, the cliff above Tarrytown where the white lady cries on winter nights is pale in starlight, and crickets chirp in the boskage. It is so still that the lap ... The Various Graves Of Kaulii
When the Hawaiians were discovered by Captain Cook, in 1779, they had not been visited by white men, so far as any native then living could remember. At all events, they had acquired only a fair assortment of vices and not many diseases. Human sac... The Very Obstinate Man
There was once an Obstinate Man--no one in the world could be as obstinate as he. And no one dared come near him, so obstinate was he, and he would always have his own way in everything. Once it came about that his wife was in mourning. Her lit... The Very Wonderful Adventures Of Pista The Swineherd
Near the centre of a thick forest once dwelt a forester with his beloved wife. The chase was his occupation, and he lived contentedly on the provision which his ever-active bow procured him from day to day. In this manner he passed two years ver...