Fairy Tales
This is a collection of stories and legends that have become known as Fairy tales.
Grasp All, Lose All
ONCE, IN former times, there lived in a certain city in India a poor oil-seller, called Dena, who never could keep any money in his pockets; and when the story begins he had borrowed from a banker, of the name of Lena, the sum of one hundred rupees; which, with the interest Lena always charged, amounted to a debt of three hundred rupees.
Now business for Dena was very bad, and he had no money with which to pay his debt, so Lena was very angry, and used to come round to Dena's house every evening and abuse him until the poor man was nearly worried out of his life. Lena generally timed his visit just when Dena's wife was cooking the evening meal, and would make such a scene that the poor oil-seller and his wife and daughter quite lost their appetites and could eat nothing. This went on for some weeks, till, one day, Dena said to himself that he could stand it no longer, and that he had better run away; and, as a man cannot fly easily with a wife and daughter, he thought he must leave them behind. So that evening, instead of turning into his house as usual after his day's work, he just slipped out of the city and without knowing at all where he was going, began to walk through the forest.
At about ten o'clock that night Dena came to a well by the roadside, near which grew a giant peepul tree; and, as he was very tired, he determined to climb it, and rest for a little before continuing his journey in the morning. Up he went and curled himself so comfortably amongst the great branches that, overcome with weariness, he fell fast asleep. While he slept, some spirits, who roam about such places on certain nights, picked up the tree and flew away with it to a far-away shore where no creature lived, and there, long before the sun rose, they set it down. Just then the oil-seller awoke; but instead of finding himself in the midst of a forest, he was amazed to behold nothing but waste shore and wide sea, and was dumb with horror and astonishment.
While he sat up, trying to collect his senses, he began to catch sight here and there of twinkling, flashing lights, like little fires, that moved and sparkled all about, and he wondered what they were. Presently he saw one so close to him that he reached out his hand and grasped it, and found that it was a sparkling red stone, scarcely smaller than a walnut. He opened a corner of his loin-cloth and tied the stone in it; and by and by he got another, and then a third, and a fourth, all of which he tied up carefully in his cloth.
At last, just as day was breaking, the tree rose, and, flying rapidly through the air, came to rest once more by the well where it had stood the previous evening.
When Dena had recovered a little from the fright which the extraordinary antics of the tree had caused him, he began to thank Providence that he was alive, and, as his desire to wander had been quite cured, he made his way back to the city and to his own house. Here he was met and soundly scolded by his wife, who assailed him with a hundred questions and reproaches. As soon as she paused for breath, Dena replied:
‘I have only this one thing to say, just look what I have got!' And after carefully shutting all the doors, he opened the corner of his loincloth and showed her the four stones, which glittered and flashed as he turned them over and over.
‘Pooh!' said his wife,' the silly pebbles! If it was something to eat, now, there'd be some sense in them: but what's the good of such things?' And she turned away with a sob, for it had happened that the night before, when Lena had come round as usual to storm at Dena, he had been rather disturbed to find that his victim was from home, and had frightened the poor woman by his threats.
Directly, however, he heard that Dena had come back, Lena appeared in the doorway, and shouted at the oil-seller at the top of his voice, until he was tired; then Dena said:
‘If your honour would deign to walk into my humble dwelling, I will speak.'
So Lena walked in, and the other, shutting as before all the doors, untied the corner of his loin-cloth and showed him the four great flashing stones.
'This is all that I have in the world,' he said, 'to set against my debt, for, as your honour knows, I haven't a penny, but the stones are pretty!’
Now Lena looked and saw at once that these were magnificent rubies, and his mouth watered for them; but as it would never do to show what was in his mind, he said:
‘What do I care about your stupid stones? It is my money I want, my lawful debt which you owe me, and I shall get it out of you yet somehow or another or it will be the worse for you.’
To all reproaches Dena could answer nothing but sat with his hands joined together beseechingly, asking for patience and pity. At length Lena pretended that, rather than have a bad debt on his hand, he would be willing to lose by taking the stones in lieu of his money; and, while Dena nearly wept with gratitude, he wrote out a receipt for the three hundred rupees; and, wrapping the four stones in a cloth, he put them into his bosom, and went off to his house.
'How shall I turn these rubies into money?' thought Lena, as he walked along; 'I daren't keep them, for they are of great value, and if the Rajah heard that I had them he could probably put me into prison on some pretence and seize the stones and all else that I have as well. But what a bargain I have got! Four rubies worth a King's ransom, for one hundred rupees! Well, well, I must take heed not to betray my secret.'
And he went on making plans. Presently he made up his mind what to do, and, putting on his cleanest clothes, he set off to the house of the Chief Wazir, whose name was Musli, and, after seeking a private audience, he brought out the four rubies and laid them before him.
The Wazir's eyes sparkled as he beheld the splendid gems.
‘Fine, indeed,' murmured he. ‘I can't buy them at their real value; but, if you like to take it, I will give you ten thousand rupees for the four.'
To this the banker consented gratefully; and, handing over the stones in exchange for the rupees, he hurried home, thanking his stars that he had driven such a reasonable bargain and obtained such an enormous profit.
After Lena had departed the Wazir began casting about in his mind what to do with the gems; and very soon determined that the best thing to do was to present them to the Rajah, whose name was Kahre. Without losing a moment, he went that very day to the palace, and sought a private interview with the Rajah; and when he found himself alone with his royal master, he brought the four jewels and laid them before him.
'Oh, ho!’ said the Rajah, ‘these are priceless gems, and you have done well to give them to me. In return I give you and your heirs the revenues of ten villages.’
Now the Wazir was overjoyed at these words, but only made his deepest obeisance; and, while the Rajah put the rubies into his turban, hurried away beaming with happiness at the thought that for ten thousand rupees he had become lord of ten villages. The Rajah was also equally pleased, and strolled off with his new purchases to the women's quarters and showed them to the Rani, who was nearly out of her mind with delight. Then, as she turned them over and over in her hands, she said, ‘Ah! If I had eight more such gems, what a necklace they would make! Get me eight more of them or I shall die!'
‘Most unreasonable of women,' cried the Rajah, 'where am I to get eight more such jewels as these? I gave ten villages for them, and yet you are not satisfied!'
'What does it matter?' said the Rani. 'Do you want me to die? Surely you can get some more where these came from?' And then she fell to weeping and wailing until the Rajah promised that in the morning he would make arrangements to get some more such rubies, and that if she would be patient she should have her desire.
In the morning the Rajah sent for the Wazir, and said that he must manage to get eight more rubies like those he had brought him the day before.
‘And if you don't, I shall hang you,' cried the Rajah, for he was very cross. The poor Wazir protested in vain that he knew not where to seek them; his master would not listen to a word he said.
‘You must,’ said he. 'The Rani shall not die for the want of a few rubies! Get more where those came from.'
The Wazir left the palace, much troubled in mind, and bade his slaves bring Lena before him.
‘Get me eight more such rubies as those you brought yesterday,' commanded the Wazir, directly the banker was shown into his presence. ‘ Eight more, and be quick, or I am a dead man.'
'But how can I?' wailed Lena. 'Rubies like those don't grow upon bushes!'
'Where did you get them from?' asked the Wazir, 'From Dena, the oil-seller,' said the banker.
'Well, send for him and ask him where he got them,' answered the Wazir. ‘I am not going to hang for twenty Denas!' And other slaves were sent to summon Dena.
When Dena arrived he was closely questioned, and then all three set out to see the Rajah, and to him Dena told the whole story.
'What night was it that you slept in the peepul tree?' demanded the Rajah.
‘I can't remember,' said Dena;' but my wife will know.'
Then Dena's wife was sent for, and she explained that it was on the last Sunday of the new moon.
Now everyone knows that it is on the Sunday of the new moon that spirits have special power to play pranks upon mortals. So the Rajah forbade them all, on pain of death, to say a word to anyone; and declared that, on the next Sunday of the new moon, they four -Kahre, Musli, Lena and Dena - would go and sit in the peepul tree and see what happened.
The days dragged on to the appointed Sunday, and that evening the four met secretly, and entered the forest. They had not far to go before they reached the peepul tree, into which they climbed as the Rajah had planned. At midnight the tree began to sway, and presently it moved through the air.
‘See, sire,' whispered Dena. 'The tree is flying!'
‘Yes, yes,' said the Rajah, 'you have told the truth. Now sit quiet, and we shall see what happens.’
Away and away flew the tree with the four men clinging tightly to its branches, until at last it was set down by the waste sea-shore where a great wide sea came tumbling in on a desert beach. Presently, as before, they began to see little points of light that glistened like fires all around them. Then Dena thought to himself:
‘Think! Last time I only took four that came close to me, and I got rid of all my debt in return. This time I will take all I can get and be rich!'
'If I got ten thousand rupees for four stones,' thought Lena, ‘I will gather forty now for myself, and become so wealthy that they will probably make me a Wazir at least!'
‘For four stones I received ten villages,' Musli was silently thinking; 'now I will get stones enough to purchase a kingdom, become a Rajah, and employ wazirs of my own!'
And Kahre thought, ‘What is the good of only getting eight stones? Why, here are enough to make twenty necklaces; and wealth means power!’
Full of avarice and desire, each scrambled down from the tree, spread his cloth, and darted hither and thither picking up the precious jewels, looking the while over his shoulder to see whether his neighbour fared better than he. So engrossed were they in the business of gathering wealth that the dawn came upon them unawares; and suddenly the tree rose up again and flew away, leaving them upon the sea-shore staring after it, each with his cloth heavy with priceless jewels.
Morning broke in the city, and great was the consternation in the palace when the chamberlains declared that the Rajah had gone out the evening before and had not returned.
‘Ah!' said one. 'It is all right! Musli Wazir will know where he is, for it was he who was the King's companion.'
Then they went to the Wazir's house, and there they learnt that the Wazir had left it the evening before and had not returned.
‘But,' said a servant, 'Lena the banker will know where he is, for it was with him that Musli went.'
Then they visited the house of Lena, and there they learnt that the banker had gone out the evening before, and that he too had not returned; but the porter told them that he was accompanied by Dena the oil-seller, so he would know where they were.
So they departed to Dena's house, and Dena's wife met them with a torrent of reproaches and wailings, for Dena too had gone off the evening before to Lena's house and had not returned.
In vain they waited, and searched - never did any of the hapless four return to their homes; and the confused tale which was told by Dena's wife was the only clue to their fate.
To this day, in that country, when a greedy man has over-reached himself, and lost all in grasping at too much, folks say:
‘All has he lost! Neither Dena, or Lena, nor Musli, nor Kahre remain.' And not five men in a hundred know how the proverb began, nor what it really signifies.
Beauty and the Beast
Once upon a time as a merchant set off for market, he asked each of his three daughters what she would like as a present on his return. The first daughter wanted a brocade dress, the second a pearl necklace, but the third, whose name was Beauty, the youngest, prettiest and sweetest of them all, said to her father:
"All I'd like is a rose you've picked specially for me!"
When the merchant had finished his business, he set off for home. However, a sudden storm blew up, and his horse could hardly make headway in the howling gale. Cold and weary, the merchant had lost all hope of reaching an inn when he suddenly noticed a bright light shining in the middle of a wood. As he drew near, he saw that it was a castle, bathed in light.
"I hope I'll find shelter there for the night," he said to himself. When he reached the door, he saw it was open, but though he shouted, nobody came to greet him. Plucking up courage, he went inside, still calling out to attract attention. On a table in the main hall, a splendid dinner lay already served. The merchant lingered, still shouting for the owner of the castle. But no one came, and so the starving merchant sat down to a hearty meal.
Overcome by curiosity, he ventured upstairs, where the corridor led into magnificent rooms and halls. A fire crackled in the first room and a soft bed looked very inviting. It was now late, and the merchant could not resist. He lay down on the bed and fell fast asleep. When he woke next morning, an unknown hand had placed a mug of steaming coffee and some fruit by his bedside.
The merchant had breakfast and after tidying himself up, went downstairs to thank his generous host. But, as on the evening before, there was nobody in sight. Shaking his head in wonder at the strangeness of it all, he went towards the garden where he had left his horse, tethered to a tree. Suddenly, a large rose bush caught his eye.
Remembering his promise to Beauty, he bent down to pick a rose. Instantly, out of the rose garden, sprang a horrible beast, wearing splendid clothes. Two bloodshot eyes, gleaming angrily, glared at him and a deep, terrifying voice growled: "Ungrateful man! I gave you shelter, you ate at my table and slept in my own bed, but now all the thanks I get is the theft of my favorite flowers! I shall put you to death for this slight!" Trembling with fear, the merchant fell on his knees before the Beast.
"Forgive me! Forgive me! Don't kill me! I'll do anything you say! The rose wasn't for me, it was for my daughter Beauty. I promised to bring her back a rose from my journey!" The Beast dropped the paw it had clamped on the unhappy merchant.
"I shall spare your life, but on one condition, that you bring me your daughter!" The terror-stricken merchant, faced with certain death if he did not obey, promised that he would do so. When he reached home in tears, his three daughters ran to greet him. After he had told them of his dreadful adventure, Beauty put his mind at rest immediately.
"Dear father, I'd do anything for you! Don't worry, you'll be able to keep your promise and save your life! Take me to the castle. I'll stay there in your place!" The merchant hugged his daughter.
"I never did doubt your love for me. For the moment I can only thank you for saving my life." So Beauty was led to the castle. The Beast, however, had quite an unexpected greeting for the girl. Instead of menacing doom as it had done with her father, it was surprisingly pleasant.
In the beginning, Beauty was frightened of the Beast, and shuddered at the sight of it. Then she found that, in spite of the monster's awful head, her horror of it was gradually fading as time went by. She had one of the finest rooms in the Castle, and sat for hours, embroidering in front of the fire. And the Beast would sit, for hours on end, only a short distance away, silently gazing at her. Then it started to say a few kind words, till in the end, Beauty was amazed to discover that she was actually enjoying its conversation. The days passed, and Beauty and the Beast became good friends. Then one day, the Beast asked the girl to be his wife.
Taken by surprise, Beauty did not know what to say. Marry such an ugly monster? She would rather die! But she did not want to hurt the feelings of one who, after all, had been kind to her. And she remembered too that she owed it her own life as well as her father's.
"I really can't say yes," she began shakily. "I'd so much like to..." The Beast interrupted her with an abrupt gesture.
"I quite understand! And I'm not offended by your refusal!" Life went on as usual, and nothing further was said. One day, the Beast presented Beauty with a magnificent magic mirror. When Beauty peeped into it, she could see her family, far away.
"You won't feel so lonely now," were the words that accompanied the gift. Beauty stared for hours at her distant family. Then she began to feel worried. One day, the Beast found her weeping beside the magic mirror.
"What's wrong?" he asked, kindly as always.
"My father is gravely ill and close to dying! Oh, how I wish I could see him again, before it's too late!" But the Beast only shook its head.
"No! You will never leave this castle!" And off it stalked in a rage. However, a little later, it returned and spoke solemnly to the girl.
"If you swear that you will return here in seven days time, I'll let you go and visit your father!" Beauty threw herself at the Beast's feet in delight.
"I swear! I swear I will! How kind you are! You've made a loving daughter so happy!" In reality, the merchant had fallen ill from a broken heart at knowing his daughter was being kept prisoner. When he embraced her again, he was soon on the road to recovery. Beauty stayed beside him for hours on end, describing her life at the Castle, and explaining that the Beast was really good and kind. The days flashed past, and at last the merchant was able to leave his bed. He was completely well again. Beauty was happy at last. However, she had failed to notice that seven days had gone by.
Then one night she woke from a terrible nightmare. She had dreamt that the Beast was dying and calling for her, twisting in agony.
"Come back! Come back to me!" it was pleading. The solemn promise she had made drove her to leave home immediately.
"Hurry! Hurry, good horse!" she said, whipping her steed onwards towards the castle, afraid that she might arrive too late. She rushed up the stairs, calling, but there was no reply. Her heart in her mouth, Beauty ran into the garden and there crouched the Beast, its eyes shut, as though dead. Beauty threw herself at it and hugged it tightly.
"Don't die! Don't die! I'll marry you . . ." At these words, a miracle took place. The Beast's ugly snout turned magically into the face of a handsome young man.
"How I've been longing for this moment!" he said. "I was suffering in silence, and couldn't tell my frightful secret. An evil witch turned me into a monster and only the love of a maiden willing to accept me as I was, could transform me back into my real self. My dearest! I'll be so happy if you'll marry me."
The wedding took place shortly after and, from that day on, the young Prince would have nothing but roses in his gardens. And that's why, to this day, the castle is known as the Castle of the Rose.
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