Fairy books of Andrew Lang

by Andrew Lang

  'Farewell, then,' said the stranger, and turned back the way he had come.

  It was six and twenty days before Dschemil caught sight of a green spot rising out of the sandy desert, and knew that the spring was near at last. He hastened his steps, and soon was kneeling by its side, drinking thirstily of the bubbling water. Then he lay down on the cool grass, and began to think. 'If the man was right, the castle must be somewhere about. I had better sleep here to-night, and to-morrow I shall be able to see where it is.' So he slept long and peacefully. When he awoke the sun was high, and he jumped up and washed his face and hands in the spring, before going on his journey. He had not walked far, when the castle suddenly appeared before him, though a moment before not a trace of it could be seen. 'How am I to get in?' he thought. 'I dare not knock, lest the ogre should hear me. Perhaps it would be best for me to climb up the wall, and wait to see what will happen. So he did, and after sitting on the top for about an hour, a window above him opened, and a voice said: 'Dschemil!' He looked up, and at the sight of Dschemila, whom he had so long believed to be dead, he began to weep.

  'Dear cousin,' she whispered, 'what has brought you here?'

  'My grief at losing you.'

  'Oh! go away at once. If the ogre comes back he will kill you.'

  'I swear by your head, queen of my heart, that I have not found you only to lose you again! If I must die, well, I must!'

  'Oh, what can I do for you?'

  'Anything you like!'

  'If I let you down a cord, can you make it fast under your arms, and climb up?'

  'Of course I can,' said he.

  So Dschemila lowered the cord, and Dschemil tied it round him, and climbed up to her window. Then they embraced each other tenderly, and burst into tears of joy.

  'But what shall I do when the ogre returns?' asked she.

  'Trust to me,' he said.

  Now there was a chest in the room, where Dschemila kept her clothes. And she made Dschemil get into it, and lie at the bottom, and told him to keep very still.

  He was only hidden just in time, for the lid was hardly closed when the ogre's heavy tread was heard on the stairs. He flung open the door, bringing men's flesh for himself and lamb's flesh for the maiden. 'I smell the smell of a man!' he thundered. 'What is he doing here?'

  'How could any one have come to this desert place?' asked the girl, and burst into tears.

  'Do not cry,' said the ogre; 'perhaps a raven has dropped some scraps from his claws.'

  'Ah, yes, I was forgetting,' answered she. 'One did drop some bones about.'

  'Well, burn them to powder,' replied the ogre, 'so that I may swallow it.'

  So the maiden took some bones and burned them, and gave them to the ogre, saying, 'Here is the powder, swallow it.'

  And when he had swallowed the powder the ogre stretched himself out and went to sleep.

  In a little while the man's flesh, which the maiden was cooking for the ogre's supper, called out and said:

  'Hist! Hist!

  A man lies in the kist!'

  And the lamb's flesh answered:

  'He is your brother,

  And cousin of the other.'

  The ogre moved sleepily, and asked, 'What did the meat say, Dschemila?'

  'Only that I must be sure to add salt.'

  'Well, add salt.'

  'Yes, I have done so,' said she.

  The ogre was soon sound asleep again, when the man's flesh called out a second time:

  'Hist! Hist!

  A man lies in the kist!'

  And the lamb's flesh answered:

  'He is your brother,

  And cousin of the other.'

  'What did it say, Dschemila?' asked the ogre.

  'Only that I must add pepper.'

  'Well, add pepper.'

  'Yes, I have done so,' said she.

  The ogre had had a long day's hunting, and could not keep himself awake. In a moment his eyes were tight shut, and then the man's flesh called out for the third time:

  'Hist! Hist

  A man lies in the kist,'

  And the lamb's flesh answered:

  'He is your brother,

  And cousin of the other.'

  'What did it say, Dschemila?' asked the ogre.

  'Only that it was ready, and that I had better take it off the fire.'

  'Then if it is ready, bring it to me, and I will eat it.'

  So she brought it to him, and while he was eating she supped off the lamb's flesh herself, and managed to put some aside for her cousin.

  When the ogre had finished, and had washed his hands, he said to Dschemila: 'Make my bed, for I am tired.'

  So she made his bed, and put a nice soft pillow for his head, and tucked him up.

  'Father,' she said suddenly.

  'Well, what is it?'

  'Dear father, if you are really asleep, why are your eyes always open?'

  'Why do you ask that, Dschemila? Do you want to deal treacherously with me?'

  'No, of course not, father. How could I, and what would be the use of it?'

  'Well, why do you want to know?'

  'Because last night I woke up and saw the whole place shining in a red light, which frightened me.'

  'That happens when I am fast asleep.'

  'And what is the good of the pin you always keep here so carefully?'

  'If I throw that pin in front of me, it turns into an iron mountain.'

  'And this darning needle?'

  'That becomes a sea.'

  'And this hatchet?'

  'That becomes a thorn hedge, which no one can pass through. But why do you ask all these questions? I am sure you have something in your head.'

  'Oh, I just wanted to know; and how could anyone find me out here?' and she began to cry.

  'Oh, don't cry, I was only in fun,' said the ogre.

  He was soon asleep again, and a yellow light shone through the castle.

  'Come quick!' called Dschemil from the chest; 'we must fly now while the ogre is asleep.'

  'Not yet,' she said, 'there is a yellow light shining. I don't think he is asleep.'

  So they waited for an hour. Then Dschemil whispered again: 'Wake up! There is no time to lose!'

  'Let me see if he is asleep,' said she, and she peeped in, and saw a red light shining. Then she stole back to her cousin, and asked, 'But how are we to get out?'

  'Get the rope, and I will let you down.'

  So she fetched the rope, the hatchet, and the pin and the needles, and said, 'Take them, and put them in the pocket of your cloak, and be sure not to lose them.'

  Dschemil put them carefully in his pocket, and tied the rope round her, and let her down over the wall.

  'Are you safe?' he asked.

  'Yes, quite.'

  'Then untie the rope, so that I may draw it up.'

  And Dschemila did as she was told, and in a few minutes he stood beside her.

  Now all this time the ogre was asleep, and had heard nothing. Then his dog came to him and said, 'O, sleeper, are you having pleasant dreams? Dschemila has forsaken you and run away.'

  The ogre got out of bed, gave the dog a kick, then went back again, and slept till morning.

  When it grew light, he rose, and called, 'Dschemila! Dschemila!' but he only heard the echo of his own voice! Then he dressed himself quickly; buckled on his sword and whistled to his dog, and followed the road which he knew the fugitives must have taken. 'Cousin,' said Dschemila suddenly, and turning round as she spoke.

  'What is it?' answered he.

  'The ogre is coming after us. I saw him.'

  'But where is he? I don't see him.'

  'Over there. He only looks about as tall as a needle.'

  Then they both began to run as fast as they could, while the ogre and his dog kept drawing always nearer. A few more steps, and he would have been by their side, when Dschemila threw the darning needle behind her. In a moment it became an iron mountain between them and their enemy.

  'We
will break it down, my dog and I,' cried the ogre in a rage, and they dashed at the mountain till they had forced a path through, and came ever nearer and nearer.

  'Cousin!' said Dschemila suddenly.

  'What is it?'

  'The ogre is coming after us with his dog.'

  'You go on in front then,' answered he; and they both ran on as fast as they could, while the ogre and the dog drew always nearer and nearer.

  'They are close upon us!' cried the maiden, glancing behind, 'you must throw the pin.'

  So Dschemil took the pin from his cloak and threw it behind him, and a dense thicket of thorns sprang up round them, which the ogre and his dog could not pass through.

  'I will get through it somehow, if I burrow underground,' cried he, and very soon he and the dog were on the other side.

  'Cousin,' said Dschemila, 'they are close to us now.'

  'Go on in front, and fear nothing,' replied Dschemil.

  So she ran on a little way, and then stopped.

  'He is only a few yards away now,' she said, and Dschemil flung the hatchet on the ground, and it turned into a lake.

  'I will drink, and my dog shall drink, till it is dry,' shrieked the ogre, and the dog drank so much that it burst and died. But the ogre did not stop for that, and soon the whole lake was nearly dry. Then he exclaimed, 'Dschemila, let your head become a donkey's head, and your hair fur!'

  But when it was done, Dschemil looked at her in horror, and said, 'She is really a donkey, and not a woman at all!'

  And he left her, and went home.

  For two days poor Dschemila wandered about alone, weeping bitterly. When her cousin drew near his native town, he began to think over his conduct, and to feel ashamed of himself.

  'Perhaps by this time she has changed back to her proper shape,' he said to himself, 'I will go and see!'

  So he made all the haste he could, and at last he saw her seated on a rock, trying to keep off the wolves, who longed to have her for dinner. He drove them off and said, 'Get up, dear cousin, you have had a narrow escape.'

  Dschemila stood up and answered, 'Bravo, my friend. You persuaded me to fly with you, and then left me helplessly to my fate.'

  'Shall I tell you the truth?' asked he.

  'Tell it.'

  'I thought you were a witch, and I was afraid of you.'

  'Did you not see me before my transformation? and did you not watch it happen under your very eyes, when the ogre bewitched me?'

  'What shall I do?' said Dschemil. 'If I take you into the town, everyone will laugh, and say, "Is that a new kind of toy you have got? It has hands like a woman, feet like a woman, the body of a woman; but its head is the head of an ass, and its hair is fur."'

  'Well, what do you mean to do with me?' asked Dschemila. 'Better take me home to my mother by night, and tell no one anything about it.'

  'So I will,' said he.

  They waited where they were till it was nearly dark, then Dschemil brought his cousin home.

  'Is that Dschemil?' asked the mother when he knocked softly.

  'Yes, it is.'

  'And have you found her?'

  'Yes, and I have brought her to you.'

  'Oh, where is she? let me see her!' cried the mother.

  'Here, behind me,' answered Dschemil.

  But when the poor woman caught sight of her daughter, she shrieked, and exclaimed, 'Are you making fun of me? When did I ever give birth to an ass?'

  'Hush!' said Dschemil, 'it is not necessary to let the whole world know! And if you look at her body, you will see two scars on it.'

  'Mother,' sobbed Dschemila, 'do you really not know your own daughter?'

  'Yes, of course I know her.'

  'What are her two scars then?'

  'On her thigh is a scar from the bite of a dog, and on her breast is the mark of a burn, where she pulled a lamp over her when she was little.'

  'Then look at me, and see if I am not your daughter,' said Dschemila, throwing off her clothes and showing her two scars.

  And at the sight her mother embraced her, weeping.

  'Dear daughter,' she cried, 'what evil fate has befallen you?'

  'It was the ogre who carried me off first, and then bewitched me,' answered Dschemila.

  'But what is to be done with you?' asked her mother.

  'Hide me away, and tell no one anything about me. And you, dear cousin, say nothing to the neighbours, and if they should put questions, you can make answer that I have not yet been found.'

  'So I will,' replied he.

  Then he and her mother took her upstairs and hid her in a cupboard, where she stayed for a whole month, only going out to walk when all the world was asleep.

  Meanwhile Dschemil had returned to his own home, where his father and mother, his brothers and neighbours, greeted him joyfully.

  'When did you come back?' said they, 'and have you found Dschemila?'

  'No, I searched the whole world after her, and could hear nothing of her.'

  'Did you part company with the man who started with you?'

  'Yes; after three days he got so weak and useless he could not go on. It must be a month by now since he reached home again. I went on and visited every castle, and looked in every house. But there were no signs of her; and so I gave it up.'

  And they answered him: 'We told you before that it was no good. An ogre or an ogress must have snapped her up, and how can you expect to find her?'

  'I loved her too much to be still,' he said.

  But his friends did not understand, and soon they spoke to him again about it.

  'We will seek for a wife for you. There are plenty of girls prettier than Dschemila.'

  'I dare say; but I don't want them.'

  'But what will you do with all the cushions and carpets, and beautiful things you bought for your house?'

  'They can stay in the chests.'

  'But the moths will eat them! For a few weeks, it is of no consequence, but after a year or two they will be quite useless.'

  'And if they have to lie there ten years I will have Dschemila, and her only, for my wife. For a month, or even two months, I will rest here quietly. Then I will go and seek her afresh.'

  'Oh, you are quite mad! Is she the only maiden in the world? There are plenty of others better worth having than she is.'

  'If there are I have not seen them! And why do you make all this fuss? Every man knows his own business best.

  'Why, it is you who are making all the fuss yourself.'

  But Dschemil turned and went into the house, for he did not want to quarrel.

  Three months later a Jew, who was travelling across the desert, came to the castle, and laid himself down under the wall to rest.

  In the evening the ogre saw him there and said to him, 'Jew, what are you doing here? Have you anything to sell?'

  'I have only some clothes,' answered the Jew, who was in mortal terror of the ogre.

  'Oh, don't be afraid of me,' said the ogre, laughing. 'I shall not eat you. Indeed, I mean to go a bit of the way with you myself.'

  'I am ready, gracious sir,' replied the Jew, rising to his feet.

  'Well, go straight on till you reach a town, and in that town you will find a maiden called Dschemila and a young man called Dschemil. Take this mirror and this comb with you, and say to Dschemila, "Your father, the ogre, greets you, and begs you to look at your face in this mirror, and it will appear as it was before, and to comb your hair with this comb, and it will be as formerly." If you do not carry out my orders, I will eat you the next time we meet.'

  'Oh, I will obey you punctually,' cried the Jew.

  After thirty days the Jew entered the gate of the town, and sat down in the first street he came to, hungry, thirsty, and very tired.

  Quite by chance, Dschemil happened to pass by, and seeing a man sitting there, full in the glare of the sun, he stopped, and said, 'Get up at once, Jew; you will have a sunstroke if you sit in such a place.'

  'Ah, good sir,' replied the Jew
, 'for a whole month I have been travelling, and I am too tired to move.'

  'Which way did you come?' asked Dschemil.

  'From out there,' answered the Jew pointing behind him.

  'And you have been travelling for a month, you say? Well, did you see anything remarkable?'

  'Yes, good sir; I saw a castle, and lay down to rest under its shadow. And an ogre woke me, and told me to come to this town, where I should find a young man called Dschemil, and a girl called Dschemila.'

  'My name is Dschemil. What does the ogre want with me?'

  'He gave me some presents for Dschemila. How can I see her?'

  'Come with me, and you shall give them into her own hands.'

  So the two went together to the house of Dschemil's uncle, and Dschemil led the Jew into his aunt's room.

  'Aunt!' he cried, 'this Jew who is with me has come from the ogre, and has brought with him, as presents, a mirror and a comb which the ogre has sent her.'

  'But it may be only some wicked trick on the part of the ogre,' said she.

  'Oh, I don't think so,' answered the young man, 'give her the things.'

  Then the maiden was called, and she came out of her hiding place, and went up to the Jew, saying, 'Where have you come from, Jew?'

  'From your father the ogre.'

  'And what errand did he send you on?'

  'He told me I was to give you this mirror and this comb, and to say "Look in this mirror, and comb your hair with this comb, and both will become as they were formerly."'

  And Dschemila took the mirror and looked into it, and combed her hair with the comb, and she had no longer an ass's head, but the face of a beautiful maiden.

  Great was the joy of both mother and cousin at this wonderful sight, and the news that Dschemila had returned soon spread, and the neighbours came flocking in with greetings.

  'When did you come back?'

  'My cousin brought me.'

  'Why, he told us he could not find you!'

  'Oh, I did that on purpose,' answered Dschemil. 'I did not want everyone to know.'

  Then he turned to his father and his mother, his brothers and his sisters-in-law, and said, 'We must set to work at once, for the wedding will be to-day.'

  A beautiful litter was prepared to carry the bride to her new home, but she shrank back, saying, 'I am afraid, lest the ogre should carry me off again.'

  'How can the ogre get at you when we are all here?' they said. 'There are two thousand of us all told, and every man has his sword.'