by Andrew Lang
‘ You need not be afraid that she will change her mind,’ said the Fairy, throwing off the hermit’s robe in which she had been disguised, and appearing before them.
‘ Celia has loved you ever since she first saw you, only she would not tell you while you were so obstinate and naughty. Now you have repented and mean to be good you deserve to be happy, and so she may love you as much as she likes.’
Celia and Prince Darling threw themselves at the Fairy’s feet, and the Prince was never tired of thanking her for her kindness. Celia was delighted to hear how sorry he was for all his past follies and misdeeds, and promised to love him as long as she lived.
‘ Rise, my children,’ said the Fairy, ‘ and I will transport you to the palace, and Prince Darling shall have back again the crown he forfeited by his bad behaviour.’
While she was speaking they found themselves in Suliman’s hall, and his delight was great at seeing his dear master once more. He gave up the throne joyfully to the Prince, and remained always the most faithful of his subjects.
Celia and Prince Darling reigned for many years, but he was so determined to govern worthily and to do his duty that his ring, which he took to wearing again, never once pricked him severely.24
BLUE BEARD
THERE was a man who had fine houses, both in town and country, a deal of silver and gold plate, embroidered furniture, and coaches gilded all over with gold. But this man was so unlucky as to have a blue beard, which made him so frightfully ugly that all the women and girls ran away from him.
One of his neighbours, a lady of quality, had two daughters who were perfect beauties. He desired of her one of them in marriage, leaving to her choice which of the two she would bestow on him. They would neither of them have him, and sent him backwards and forwards from one another, not being able to bear the thoughts of marrying a man who had a blue beard, and what besides gave them disgust and aversion was his having already been married to several wives, and nobody ever knew what became of them.
Blue Beard, to engage their affection, took them, with the lady their mother and three or four ladies of their acquaintance, with other young people of the neighbourhood, to one of his country seats, where they stayed a whole week.
There was nothing then to be seen but parties of pleasure, hunting, fishing, dancing, mirth, and feasting. Nobody went to bed, but all passed the night in rallying and joking with each other. In short, every thing succeeded so well that the youngest daughter began to think the master of the house not to have a beard so very blue, and that he was a mighty civil gentleman.
As soon as they returned home, the marriage was concluded. About a month afterwards, Blue Beard told his wife that he was obliged to take a country journey for six weeks at least, about affairs of very great consequence, desiring her to divert herself in his absence, to send for her friends and acquaintances, to carry them into the country, if she pleased, and to make good cheer wherever she was.
‘Here,’ said he, ‘ are the keys of the two great wardrobes, wherein I have my best furniture ; these are of my silver and gold plate, which is not every day in use ; these open my strong boxes, which hold my money, both gold and silver ; these my caskets of jewels; and this is the master-key to all my apartments. But for this little one here, it is the key of the closet at the end of the great gallery on the ground floor. Open them ail ; go into all and every one of them, except that little closet, which I forbid you, and forbid it in such a manner that, if you happen to open it, there’s nothing but what you may expect from my just anger and resentment.’
She promised to observe, very exactly, whatever he had ordered; when he, after having embraced her, got into his coach and proceeded on his journey.
Her neighbours and good friends did not stay to be sent for by the new married lady, so great was their impatience to see all the rich furniture of her house, not daring to come while her husband was there, because of his blue beard, which frightened them. They ran through all the rooms, closets, and wardrobes, which were all so fine and rich that they seemed to surpass one another.
After that they went up into the two great rooms, where were the best and richest furniture; they could not sufficiently admire the number and beauty of the tapestry, beds, couches, cabinets, stands, tables, and looking-glasses, in which you might see yourself from head to foot; some of them were framed with glass, others with silver, plain and gilded, the finest and most magnificent ever were seen.
They ceased not to extol and envy the happiness of their friend, who in the meantime in no way diverted herself in looking upon all these rich things, because of the impatience she had to go and open the closet on the ground floor. She was so much pressed by her curiosity that, without considering that it was very uncivil to leave her company, she went down a little back staircase, and with such excessive haste that she had twice or thrice like to have broken her neck.
Being come to the closet-door, she made a stop for some time, thinking upon her husband’s orders, and considering what unhappiness might attend her if she was disobedient ; but the temptation was so strong she could not overcome it. She then took the little key, and opened it, trembling, but could not at first see anything plainly, because the windows were shut. After some moments she began to perceive that the floor was all covered over with clotted blood, on which lay the bodies of several dead women. ranged against the walls. (These were all the wives whom Blue Beard had married and murdered, one after another.) She thought she should have died for fear, and the key, which she pulled out of the lock, fell out of her hand.
After having somewhat recovered her surprise, she took up the key, locked the door, and went upstairs into her chamber to recover herself; but she could not, so much was she frightened. Having observed that the key of the closet was stained with blood, she tried two or three times to wipe it off, but the blood would not come out; in vain did she wash it, and even rub it with soap and sand, the blood still remained, for the key was magical and she could never make it quite clean; when the blood was gone off from one side, it came again on the other.
Blue Beard returned from his journey the same evening, and said he had received letters upon the road, informing him that the affair he went about was ended to his advantage. His wife did all she could to convince him she was extremely glad of his speedy return.
Next morning he asked her for the keys, which she gave him, but with such a trembling hand that he easily guessed what had happened.
‘ What! ’ said he, ‘ is not the key of my closet among the rest ? ’
‘ I must certainly,’ said she, ‘have left it above upon the table.’
‘ Fail not,’ said Blue Beard, ‘to bring it me presently.’
After several goings backwards and forwards she was forced to bring him the key. Blue Beard, having very attentively considered it, said to his wife,
‘How comes this blood upon the key ? ’
‘ I do not know,’ cried the poor woman, paler than death.
‘ You do not know ! ’ replied Blue Beard. ‘I very well know. You were resolved to go into the closet, were you not ? Mighty well, madam ; you shall go in, and take your place among the ladies you saw there.’
Upon this she threw herself at her husband’s feet, and begged his pardon with all the signs of a true repentance, vowing that she would never more be disobedient. She would have melted a rock, so beautiful and sorrowful was she ; but Blue Beard had a heart harder than any rock !
‘You must die, madam,’ said he, and that presently.’
‘Since I must die,’ answered she (looking upon him with her eyes all bathed in tears), ‘give me some little time to say my prayers.’
‘ I give you,’ replied Blue Beard, ‘ half a quarter of an hour, but not one moment more.’
When she was alone she called out to her sister, and said to her:
‘ Sister Anne ’ (for that was her name), ‘ go up, I beg you, upon the top of the tower, and look if my brothers are not coming ; they promised me that the
y would come to-day, and if you see them, give them a sign to make haste.’
Her sister Anne went up upon the top of the tower, and the poor afflicted wife cried out from time to time :
‘ Anne, sister Anne, do you see anyone coming ? ’
And sister Anne said :
‘ I see nothing but the sun, which makes a dust, and the grass, which looks green.’
In the meanwhile Blue Beard, holding a great sabre in his hand, cried out as loud as he could bawl to his wife :
‘ Come down instantly, or I shall come up to you.’
‘One moment longer, if you please,’ said his wife; and then she cried out very softly, Anne, sister Anne, dost thou see anybody coming ? ’
And sister Anne answered:
‘ I see nothing but the sun; which makes a dust, and the grass, which is green.’
‘Come down quickly,’ cried Blue Beard, ‘or I will come up to you.’
‘I am coming,’ answered his wife; and then she cried, ‘ Anne, sister Anne, dost thou not see anyone coming?’
‘I see,’ replied sister Anne, a great dust, which comes on this side here.’
‘Are they my brothers?’
‘Alas! no, my dear sister, I see a flock of sheep.’
‘Will you not come down ?’ cried Blue Beard.
‘One moment longer,’ said his wife, and then she cried out: 1 Anne, sister Anne, dost thou see nobody coming? ’
‘I see,’ said she, ‘two horsemen, but they are yet a great way off.’
‘God be praised,’ replied the poor wife joyfully: ‘they are my brothers; I will make them a sign, as well as I can, for them to make haste.’
Then Blue Beard bawled out so loud that he made the whole house tremble. The distressed wife came down, and threw herself at his feet, all in tears, with her hair about her shoulders.
‘This signifies nothing,’ says Blue Beard; ‘ you must die’; then, taking hold of her hair with one hand, and lifting up the sword with the other, he was going to take off her head. The poor lady, turning about to him, and looking at him with dying eyes, desired him to afford her one little moment to recollect herself.
‘No, no,’ said he, ‘recommend thyself to God,’ and was just ready to strike . . .
At this very instant there was such a loud knocking at the gate that Blue Beard made a sudden stop. The gate was opened, and presently entered two horsemen, who, drawing their swords, ran directly to Blue Beard. He knew them to be his wife’s brothers, one a dragoon, the other a musketeer; so that he ran away immediately to save himself; but the two brothers pursued so close that they overtook him before he could get to the steps of the porch, when they ran their swords through his body and left him dead. The poor wife was almost as dead as her husband, and had not strength enough to rise and welcome her brothers.
Blue Beard had no heirs, and so his wife became mistress of all his estate. She made use of one part of it to marry her sister Anne to a young gentleman who had loved her a long while; another part to buy captains’ commissions for her brothers, and the rest to marry herself to a very worthy gentleman, who made her forget the ill time she had passed with Blue Beard.25
TRUSTY JOHN
ONCE upon a time there was an old king who was so ill that he thought to himself, ‘I am most likely on my death-bed.’ Then he said, ‘Send Trusty John to me.’ Now Trusty John was his favourite servant, and was so called because all his life he had served him so faithfully. When he approached the bed the King spake to him. ‘Most trusty John, I feel my end is drawing near, and I could face it without a care were it not for my son. He is still too young to decide everything for himself, and unless you promise me to instruct him in all he should know, and to be to him as a father, I shall not close my eyes in peace.’ Then Trusty John answered : ‘I will never desert him, and will serve him faithfully, even though it should cost me my life.’ Then the old King said: ‘Now I die comforted and in peace;’ and then he went on: ‘After my death you must show him the whole castle, all the rooms and apartments and vaults, and all the treasures that lie in them; but you must not show him the last room in the long passage, where the picture of the Princess of the Golden Roof is hidden. When he beholds that picture he will fall violently in love with it and go off into a dead faint, and for her sake he will encounter many dangers; you must guard him from this.’ And when Trusty John had again given the King his hand upon it the old man became silent, laid his head on the pillow, and died.
When the old King had been carried to his grave, Trusty John told the young King what he had promised his father on his death-bed, and added : ‘ And I shall assuredly keep my word, and shall be faithful to you as I have been to him, even though it should cost me my life.’
Now when the time of mourning was over, Trusty John said to him: It is time you should see your inheritance. I will show you your ancestral castle.’ So he took him over everything, and let him see all the riches and splendid apartments, only the one room where the picture was he did not open. But the picture was placed so that if the door opened you gazed straight upon it, and it was so beautifully painted that you imagined it lived and moved, and that it was the most lovable and beautiful thing in the whole world. But the young King noticed that Trusty John always missed over one door, and said: ‘Why do you never open this one for me?’ ‘There is something inside that would appal you,‘he answered. But the King replied: I have seen the whole castle, and shall find out what is in there;’ and with these words he approached the door and wanted to force it open. But Trusty John held him back, and said: ‘I promised your father before his death that you shouldn’t see what that room contains. It might bring both you and me to great grief.’ ‘Ah! no,’ answered the young King; ‘if I don’t get in, it will be my certain destruction; I should have no peace night or day till I had seen what was in the room with my own eyes. Now I don’t budge from the spot till you have opened the door.’
Then Trusty John saw there was no way out of it, so with a heavy heart and many sighs he took the key from the big bunch. When he had opened the door he stepped in first, and thought to cover the likeness so that the King might not perceive it; but it was hopeless : the King stood on tiptoe and looked over his shoulder. And when he saw the picture of the maid, so beautiful and glittering with gold and precious stones, he fell swooning to the ground. Trusty John lifted him up, carried him to bed, and thought sorrowfully : ‘The curse has come upon us; gracious heaven! what will be the end of it all?’ Then he poured wine down his throat till he came to himself again. The first words he spoke were : ‘Oh! who is the original of the beautiful picture?’ ‘She is the Princess of the Golden Roof,’ answered Trusty John. Then the King continued: ‘My love for her is so great that if all the leaves on the trees had tongues they could not express it ; my very life depends on my winning her. You are my most trusty John : you must stand by me.’
The faithful servant pondered long how they were to set about the matter, for it was said to be difficult even to get into the presence of the Princess. At length he hit upon a plan, and spoke to the King. ‘All the things she has about her—tables, chairs, dishes, goblets, bowls, and all her household furniture—are made of gold. You have in your treasure five tons of gold; let the goldsmiths of your kingdom manufacture them into all manner of vases and vessels, into all sorts of birds and game and wonderful beasts; that will please her. We shall go to her with them and try our luck.’ The King summoned all his goldsmiths, and they had to work hard day and night, till at length the most magnificent things were completed. When a ship had been laden with them the faithful John disguised himself as a merchant, and the King had to do the same, so that they should be quite unrecognisable. And so they crossed the seas and journeyed till they reached the town where the Princess of the Golden Roof dwelt.
Trusty John made the King remain behind on the ship and await his return. ‘Perhaps,’ he said, ‘I may bring the Princess back with me, so see that everything is in order : let the gold ornaments be
arranged and the whole ship decorated.’ Then he took a few of the gold things in his apron, went ashore, and proceeded straight to the palace. When he came to the courtyard he found a beautiful maiden standing at the well, drawing water with two golden pails. And as she was about to carry away the glittering water she turned round and saw the stranger, and asked him who he was. Then he replied : ‘I am a merchant;’ and opening his apron, he let her peep in. ‘Oh! my,’ she cried; ‘what beautiful gold wares!’ she set down her pails, and examined one thing after the other. Then she said : ‘The Princess must see this, she has such a fancy for gold things that she will buy up all you have got.’ She took him by the hand and let him into the palace, for she was the lady’s-maid.
When the Princess had seen the wares she was quite enchanted, and said : ‘They are all so beautifully made that I shall buy everything you have.’ But Trusty John said : ‘I am only the servant of a rich merchant, what I have here is nothing compared to what my master has on his ship ; his merchandise is more artistic and costly than anything that has ever been made in gold before.’ She desired to have everything brought up to her, but he said : ‘There is such a quantity of things that it would take many days to bring them up, and they would take up so many rooms that you would have no space for them in your house.’ Thus her desire and curiosity were excited to such an extent that at last she said : ‘Take me to your ship; I shall go there myself and view your master’s treasures.’
Then Trusty John was quite delighted, and brought her to the ship; and the King, when he beheld her, saw that she was even more beautiful than her picture, and thought every moment that his heart would burst. She stepped on to the ship, and the King led her inside. But Trusty John remained behind with the steersman, and ordered the ship to push off. ‘Spread all sail, that we may fly on the ocean like a bird in the air.’ Meanwhile the King showed the Princess inside all his gold wares, every single bit of it—dishes, goblets, bowls, the birds and game, and all the wonderful beasts. Many hours passed thus, and she was so happy that she did not notice that the ship was sailing away. After she had seen the last thing she thanked the merchant and prepared to go home ; but when she came to the ship’s side she saw that they were on the high seas, far from land, and that the ship was speeding on its way under full canvas. ‘Oh!’ she cried in terror, ‘I am deceived, carried away and betrayed into the power of a merchant ; I would rather have died!’ But the King seized her hand and spake : ‘I am no merchant, but a king of as high birth as yourself; and it was my great love for you that made me carry you off by stratagem. The first time I saw your likeness I fell to the ground in a swoon.’ When the Princess of the Golden Roof heard this she was comforted, and her heart went out to him, so that she willingly consented to become his wife.