THE GOLDEN APPLE-TREE AND THE NINE PEAHENS
Once upon a time there lived a king who had three sons. Now, before the king’s palace grew a golden apple-tree, which in one and the same night blossomed, bore fruit, and lost all its fruit, though no one could tell who took the apples. One day the king, speaking to his eldest son, said, “I should like to know who takes the fruit from our apple-tree.” And the son said, “I will keep guard to-night, and will see who gathers the apples.” So when the evening came he went and laid himself down under the apple-tree upon the ground to watch. Just as the apples ripened, however, he fell asleep, and when he awoke in the morning there was not a single one left on the tree. Whereupon he went and told his father what had happened. Then the second son offered to keep watch by the tree, but he had no better success than his eldest brother.
So the turn came to the king’s youngest son to keep guard. He made his preparations, brought his bed under the tree, and immediately went to sleep. Before midnight he awoke and looked up at the tree, and saw how the apples ripened, and how the whole palace was [[10]]lit up by their shining. At that minute nine peahens flew towards the tree, and eight of them settled on its branches, but the ninth alighted near him and turned instantly into a beautiful girl—so beautiful, indeed, that the whole kingdom could not produce one who could in any way compare with her. She stayed, conversing kindly with him, till after midnight, then, thanking him for the golden apples, she prepared to depart; but, as he begged she would leave him one, she gave him two, one for himself and one for the king, his father. Then the girl turned again into a peahen, and flew away with the other eight. Next morning, the king’s son took the two apples to his father, and the king was much pleased, and praised his son. When the evening came, the king’s youngest son took his place again under the apple-tree to keep guard over it. He again conversed as he had done the night before with the beautiful girl, and brought to his father, the next morning, two apples as before. But, after he had succeeded so well several nights, his two elder brothers grew envious because he had been able to do what they could not. At length they found an old woman, who promised to discover how the youngest brother had succeeded in saving the two apples. So, as the evening came, the old woman stole softly under the bed which stood under the apple-tree and hid herself. And after a while came also the king’s son, and laid himself down as usual to sleep. When it was near midnight the nine peahens flew up as before, and eight of them settled on the branches and the ninth [[11]]stood by his bed, and turned into a most beautiful girl.
Then the old woman slowly took hold of one of the girl’s curls and cut it off, and the girl immediately rose up, changed again into a peahen and flew away, and the other peahens followed her, and so they all disappeared. Then the king’s son jumped up, and cried out, “What is that?” and, looking under the bed, he saw the old woman, and drew her out. Next morning he ordered her to be tied to a horse’s tail, and so torn to pieces. But the peahens never came back, so the king’s son was very sad for a long time, and wept at his loss. At length he resolved to go and look after his peahen, and never to come back again unless he should find her. When he told the king, his father, of his intention, the king begged him not to go away, and said that he would find him another beautiful girl, and that he might choose out of the whole kingdom.
But all the king’s persuasions were useless. His son went into the world to search everywhere for his peahen, taking only one servant to serve him. After many travels he came one day to a lake. Now by the lake stood a large and beautiful palace. In the palace lived an old woman as queen, and with the queen lived a girl, her daughter. He said to the old woman, “For heaven’s sake, grandmother, do you know anything about nine golden peahens?” and the old woman answered, “Oh, my son, I know all about them; they come every mid-day to bathe in the lake. But what [[12]]do you want with them? Let them be, think nothing about them. Here is my daughter. Such a beautiful girl! and such an heiress! All my wealth will remain to you if you marry her.” But he, burning with desire to see the peahens, would not listen to what the old woman spoke about her daughter.
Next morning, when day dawned, the prince prepared to go down to the lake to wait for the peahens. Then the old queen bribed the servant and gave him a little pair of bellows, and said, “Do you see these bellows? When you come to the lake you must blow secretly with them behind his neck, and then he will fall asleep, and not be able to speak to the peahens.” The mischievous servant did as the old woman told him; when he went with his master down to the lake, he took occasion to blow with the bellows behind his neck, and the poor prince fell asleep just as though he were dead. Shortly after the nine peahens came flying, and eight of them alighted by the lake, but the ninth flew towards him, as he sat on horseback, and caressed him, and tried to awaken him. “Awake, my darling! Awake, my heart! Awake, my soul!” But for all that he knew nothing, just as if he were dead. After they had bathed, all the peahens flew away together, and after they were gone the prince woke up and said to his servant, “What has happened? Did they not come?” The servant told him they had been there, and that eight of them had bathed, but the ninth had sat by him on his horse, and caressed and tried to awaken him. Then the king’s [[13]]son was so angry that he almost killed himself in his rage. Next morning he went down again to the shore to wait for the peahens, and rode about a long time till the servant again found an opportunity of blowing with the bellows behind his neck, so that he again fell asleep as though dead. Hardly had he fallen asleep when the nine peahens came flying, and eight of them alighted by the water, but the ninth settled down by the side of his horse and caressed him, and cried out to awaken him, “Arise, my darling! Arise, my heart! Arise, my soul.”
But it was of no use; the prince slept on as if he were dead. Then she said to the servant, “Tell your master to-morrow he can see us here again, but never more.” With these words the peahens flew away. Immediately after the king’s son woke up, and asked his servant, “Have they not been here?” And the man answered, “Yes, they have been, and say that you can see them again to-morrow, at this place, but after that they will not return again.” When the unhappy prince heard that he knew not what to do with himself, and in his great trouble and misery tore the hair from his head.
The third day he went down again to the shore, but, fearing to fall asleep, instead of riding slowly, galloped along the shore. His servant, however, found an opportunity of blowing with the bellows behind his neck, and again the prince fell asleep. A moment after came the nine peahens, and the eight alighted on the lake and the ninth by him, on his horse, and sought to awaken [[14]]him, caressing him. “Arise, my darling! Arise, my heart! Arise, my soul!” But it was of no use, he slept on as if dead. Then the peahen said to the servant, “When your master awakens, tell him he ought to strike off the head of the nail from the lower part, and then he will find me.” Thereupon all the peahens fled away. Immediately the king’s son awoke, and said to his servant, “Have they been here?” And the servant answered, “They have been, and the one which alighted on your horse ordered me to tell you to strike off the head of the nail from the lower part, and then you will find her.” When the prince heard that he drew his sword and cut off his servant’s head.
After that he travelled alone about the world, and, after long travelling, came to a mountain and remained all night there with a hermit, whom he asked if he knew anything about nine golden peahens. The hermit said, “Eh, my son, you are lucky; God has led you in the right path. From this place it is only half a day’s walk. But you must go straight on, then you will come to a large gate, which you must pass through; and, after that, you must keep always to the right hand, and so you will come to the peahens’ city, and there find their palace.” So next morning the king’s son arose, and prepared to go. He thanked the hermit, and went as he had told him. After a while he came to the great gate, and, having passed it, turned to the right, so that at mid-day he saw the city, and beholding how white it shone, rejoiced very much. When he came into the [[15]]city he found the palace where lived the nine golden peahens. But at the gate he was stopped by the guard, who demanded who he was, and whence he came. After he had answered these questions, the guards went to announce him to the queen. When the queen heard who he was, she came running out to the gate and took him by the hand to lead him into the palace. She was a young and beautiful maiden, and so there was a great rejoicing when, after a few days, he married her and remained there with her.
One day, some time after their marriage, the queen went out to walk, and the king’s son remained in the palace. Before going out, however, the queen gave him the keys of twelve cellars, telling him, “You may go down into all the cellars except the twelfth—that you must on no account open, or it will cost you your head.” She then went away. The king’s son, whilst remaining in the palace, began to wonder what there could be in the twelfth cellar, and soon commenced opening one cellar after the other. When he came to the twelfth he would not at first open it, but again began to wonder very much why he was forbidden to go into it. “What can be in this cellar?” he exclaimed to himself. At last he opened it. In the middle of the cellar lay a big barrel with an open bunghole, but bound fast round with three iron hoops. Out of the barrel came a voice, saying, “For God’s sake, my brother—I am dying with thirst—please give me a cup of water.” Then the king’s son took a cup and filled it with water, [[16]]and emptied it into the barrel. Immediately he had done so one of the hoops burst asunder. Again came the voice from the barrel, “For God’s sake, my brother—I am dying of thirst—please give me a cup of water.” The king’s son again took the cup and filled it, and poured the water into the barrel, and the third hoop burst. Then the barrel fell to pieces, and a dragon flew out of the cellar, and caught the queen on the road and carried her away.
Then the servant, who went out with the queen, came back quickly, and told the king’s son what had happened, and the poor prince knew not what to do with himself, so desperate was he, and full of self-reproaches. At length, however, he resolved to set out and travel through the world in search of her. After long journeying, one day he came to a lake, and near it, in a little hole, he saw a little fish jumping about. When the fish saw the king’s son, she began to beg pitifully, “For God’s sake be my brother, and throw me into the water. Some day I may be of use to you, so take now a little scale from me, and when you need me, rub it gently.” Then the king’s son lifted the little fish from the hole and threw her into the water, after he had taken one small scale, which he wrapped up carefully in a handkerchief. Some time afterwards, [[17]]as he travelled about the world, he came upon a fox caught in an iron trap. When the fox saw the prince he spoke: “In God’s name be a brother to me and help me to get out of this trap. One day you will need me, so take just one hair from my tail, and when you want me, rub it gently.” Then the king’s son took a hair from the tail of the fox and set him free.
Again, as he crossed a mountain, he found a wolf fast in a trap; and when the wolf saw him it spoke: “Be a brother to me; in God’s name set me free, and one day I will help you. Only take a hair from me, and when you need me, rub it gently.” So he took a hair and set the wolf free. After that the king’s son travelled about a very long time, till one day he met a man, to whom he said, “For God’s sake, brother, have you ever heard anyone say where is the palace of the dragon king?” The man gave him very particular directions which way to take, and in what length of time he could get there. Then the king’s son thanked him and continued his journey until he came to the city where the dragon lived. When there, he went into the palace and found therein his wife, and both of them were exceedingly pleased to meet each other, and began to take counsel how they could escape. They resolved to run away, and prepared hastily for the journey. When all was ready they mounted on horseback and galloped away. As soon as they were gone the dragon came home, also on horseback, and, entering his palace, found that the queen had gone away. Then [[18]]he said to his horse, “What shall we do now? Shall we eat and drink, or go at once after them?” The horse answered, “Let us eat and drink first, we shall anyway catch them; do not be anxious.”
After the dragon had dined he mounted his horse, and in a few moments came up with the runaways. Then he took the queen from the king’s son and said to him, “Go now, in God’s name! This time I forgive you, because you gave me water in the cellar; but if your life is dear to you do not come back here any more.” The unhappy young prince went on his way a little, but could not long resist, so he came back next day to the dragon’s palace and found the queen sitting alone and weeping. Then they began again to consult how they could get away. And the prince said, “When the dragon comes, ask him where he got that horse, and then you will tell me so that I can look for such another one; perhaps in this way we can escape.” He then went away, lest the dragon should come and find him with the queen.
By-and-by the dragon came home, and the queen began to pet him, and speak lovingly to him about many things, till at last she said, “Ah, what a fine horse you have! where did you get such a splendid horse?” And he answered, “Eh, where I got it everyone cannot get one! In such and such a mountain lives an old woman who has twelve horses in her stable, and no one can say which is the finest, they are all so beautiful. But in one corner of the stable stands a [[19]]horse which looks as if he were leprous, but, in truth, he is the very best horse in the whole world. He is the brother of my horse, and whoever gets him may ride to the sky. But whoever wishes to get a horse from that old woman must serve her three days and three nights. She has a mare with a foal, and whoever during three nights guards and keeps for her this mare and this foal, has a right to claim the best horse from the old woman’s stable. But whoever engages to keep watch over the mare and does not, must lose his head.”
Next day, when the dragon went out, the king’s son came, and the queen told him all she had learned from the dragon. Then the king’s son went away to the mountain and found the old woman, and entered her house greeting: “God help you, grandmother!” And she answered, “God help you, too, my son! what do you wish?” “I should like to serve you,” said the king’s son. Then the old woman said, “Well, my son, if you keep my mare safe for three days and three nights I will give you the best horse, and you can choose him yourself; but if you do not keep the mare safe you shall lose your head.”
Then she led him into the courtyard, where all around stakes were ranged. Each of them had on it a man’s head, except one stake, which had no head on it, and shouted incessantly, “Oh, grandmother, give me a head.” The old woman showed all this to the prince, and said, “Look here, all these were heads of those who [[20]]tried to keep my mare, and they have lost their heads for their pains.”
But the prince was not a bit afraid, so he stayed to serve the old woman. When the evening came he mounted the mare and rode her into the field, and the foal followed. He sat still on her back, having made up his mind not to dismount, that he might be sure of her. But before midnight he slumbered a little, and when he awoke he found himself sitting on a rail and holding the bridle in his hand. Then he was greatly alarmed, and went instantly to look about to find the mare, and whilst looking for her he came to a piece of water. When he saw the water he remembered the little fish, and took the scale from the handkerchief and rubbed it a little. Then immediately the little fish appeared and said, “What is the matter, my half-brother?” And he replied, “The mare of the old woman ran away whilst under my charge, and now I do not know where she is.” And the fish answered, “Here she is, turned to a fish, and the foal to a smaller one. But strike once upon the water with the bridle and cry out ‘Heigh! mare of the old woman!’ ” The prince did as he was told, and immediately the mare came, with the foal, out of the water to the shore. Then he put on her the bridle and mounted and rode away to the old woman’s house and the foal followed. When he got there the old woman gave him his breakfast; she, however, took the mare into the stable and beat her with a poker, saying, “Why did you not go down among [[21]]the fishes, you cursed mare?” And the mare answered, “I have been down to the fishes, but the fish are his friends, and they told him about me.” Then the old woman said, “Then go among the foxes.”
When evening came the king’s son mounted the mare and rode to the field, and the foal followed the mare. Again he sat on the mare’s back until near midnight, when he fell asleep as before. When he awoke, he found himself riding on the rail and holding the bridle in his hand. So he was much frightened, and went to look after the mare. As he went he remembered the words the old woman had said to the mare, and he took from the handkerchief the fox’s hair and rubbed it a little between his fingers. All at once the fox stood before him and asked, “What is the matter, half-brother?” And he said, “The old woman’s mare has run away, and I do not know where she can be.” Then the fox answered, “Here she is with us; she has turned into a fox, and the foal into a cub; but strike once with the bridle on the earth and cry out, ‘Heigh! you old woman’s mare!’ ” So the king’s son struck with the bridle on the earth and cried “Heigh! you old woman’s mare!” and the mare came and stood, with her foal, near him. He put on the bridle, and mounted and rode off home, and the foal followed the mare. When he arrived the old woman gave him his breakfast, but took the mare into the stable and beat her with the poker, crying, “To the foxes, cursed one! to the foxes!” And the mare answered, “I have been with the foxes, [[22]]but they are his friends, and told him I was there!” Then the old woman cried, “If that is so, you must go among the wolves.”
When it grew dark again the king’s son mounted the mare and rode out to the field, and the foal galloped by the side of the mare. Again he sat still on the mare’s back till about midnight, when he grew very sleepy and fell into a slumber, as on the former evenings, and when he awoke he found himself riding on the rail, holding the bridle in his hand, just as before. Then, as before, he went in a hurry to look after the mare. As he went he remembered the words the old woman had said to the mare, and took the wolf’s hair from the handkerchief and rubbed it a little. Then the wolf came up to him and asked, “What is the matter, half-brother?” And he answered, “The old woman’s mare has run away, and I cannot tell where she is.” The wolf said, “Here she is with us; she has turned herself into a wolf, and the foal into a wolf’s cub. Strike once with the bridle on the earth and cry out, ‘Heigh! old woman’s mare!’ ” And the king’s son did so, and instantly the mare came again and stood with the foal beside him. So he bridled her, and galloped home, and the foal followed. When he arrived the old woman gave him his breakfast, but she led the mare into the stable and beat her with the poker, crying, “To the wolves, I said, miserable one.” Then the mare answered, “I have been to the wolves; but they are his friends, and told him all about me.” Then the old woman [[23]]came out of the stable, and the king’s son said to her, “Eh, grandmother, I have served you honestly; now give me what you promised me.” And the old woman answered, “My son, what is promised must be fulfilled. So look here: here are the twelve horses; choose which you like.” And the prince said, “Why should I be too particular? Give me only that leprous horse in the corner; fine horses are not fitting for me.” But the old woman tried to persuade him to choose another horse, saying, “How can you be so foolish as to choose that leprous thing whilst there are such very fine horses here?” But he remained firm by his first choice, and said to the old woman, “You ought to give me which I choose, for so you promised.” So, when the old woman found she could not make him change his mind, she gave him the scabby horse, and he took leave of her, and went away, leading the horse by the halter.
When he came to a forest he curried and rubbed down the horse, when it shone as bright as gold. He then mounted, and the horse flew as quickly as a bird, and in a few seconds brought him to the dragon’s palace. The king’s son went in and said to the queen, “Get ready as soon as possible.” She was soon ready, when they both mounted the horse, and began their journey home. Soon after the dragon came home, and when he saw the queen had disappeared, said to his horse, “What shall we do? Shall we eat and drink first, or shall we pursue them at once?” The horse answered, “Whether [[24]]we eat and drink or not it is all one, we shall never reach them.”
When the dragon heard that he got quickly on his horse and galloped after them. When they saw the dragon following them they pushed on quicker, but their horse said, “Do not be afraid; there is no need to run away.” In a very few moments the dragon came very near to them, and his horse said to their horse, “For God’s sake, my brother, wait a moment! I shall kill myself running after you.” Their horse answered, “Why are you so stupid as to carry that monster. Fling your heels up and throw him off, and come along with me.” When the dragon’s horse heard that he shook his head angrily and flung his feet high in the air, so that the dragon fell off and brake in pieces and his horse came up to them. Then the queen mounted him and returned with the king’s son happily to her kingdom, where they reigned together in great prosperity until the day of their death. [[25]]
PAPALLUGA;[1] OR, THE GOLDEN SLIPPER
As some village girls were spinning whilst they tended the cattle grazing in the neighbourhood of a ravine, an old man with a long white beard—so long a beard that it reached to his girdle—approached them, and said, “Girls, girls, take care of that ravine. If one of you should drop her spindle down the cliff, her mother will be turned into a cow that very moment.”
Having warned them thus, the old man went away again. The girls, wondering very much at what he had told them, came nearer and nearer to the ravine, and leant over to look in; whilst doing so one of the girls—and she the most beautiful of them all—let her spindle fall from her hand, and it fell to the bottom of the ravine.
When she went home in the evening she found her mother, changed into a cow, standing before the house; and from that time forth she had to drive this cow to the pasture with the other cattle.
In a little time the father of the girl married a widow, who brought with her into the house her own daughter. [[26]]The stepmother immediately began to hate the stepdaughter, because the girl was incomparably more beautiful than her own daughter. She forbade her to wash herself, to comb her hair, or to change her clothes, and sought by every possible way to torment and scold her. One day she gave her a bag full of hemp, and said, “If you do not spin all this well and wind it, you need not return home, for if you do I shall kill you.”
The poor girl walked behind the cattle and spun as fast as possible; but at mid-day, seeing how very little she had been able to spin, she began to weep. When the cow, her mother, saw her weeping she asked her what was the matter, and the girl told her all about it. Then the cow consoled her, and told her not to be anxious. “I will take the hemp in my mouth and chew it,” she said, “and it will come out of my ear as thread, so that you can draw it out and wind it at once upon the stick”; and so it happened. The cow began to chew the hemp and the girl drew the thread from her ear and wound it, so that very soon they had quite finished the task.
When the girl went home in the evening, and took all the hemp, worked up, to her stepmother, she was greatly astonished, and next morning gave her yet more hemp to spin and wind. When at night she brought that home ready the stepmother thought she must be helped by some other girls, her friends; therefore the third day she gave her much more hemp than before. But when the girl had gone with the cow to the pasture, [[27]]the woman sent her own daughter after her to find out who was helping her. This girl went quietly towards her stepsister so as not to be heard, and saw the cow chewing the hemp and the girl drawing the thread from her ear and winding it, so she hastened home and told all to her mother. Then the stepmother urged the husband to kill the cow. At first he resisted; but, seeing his wife would give him no peace, he at last consented to do as she wished, and fixed the day on which he would kill it. As soon as the stepdaughter heard this she began to weep, and when the cow asked her why she wept she told her all about it. But the cow said, “Be quiet; do not cry. Only when they kill me take care not to eat any of the meat, and be sure to gather all my bones and bury them behind the house, and whenever you need anything come to my grave and you will find help.” So when they killed the cow the girl refused to eat any of the flesh, saying she was not hungry, and afterwards carefully gathered all the bones and buried them behind the house, on the spot the cow had told her.
The real name of this girl was Mary, but as she had worked so much in the house, carrying water, cooking, washing dishes, sweeping the house, and doing all sorts of housework, and had very much to do about the fire and cinders, her stepmother and half-sister called her “Papalluga” (Cinderella).
One day the stepmother got ready to go with her own daughter to church, but before she went she spread [[28]]over the house a basketful of millet, and said to her stepdaughter, “You Papalluga! If you do not gather up all this millet and get the dinner ready before we come back from church, I will kill you.”
When they had gone to church the poor girl began to weep, saying to herself: “It is easy to see after the dinner; I shall soon have that ready; but who can gather up all this quantity of millet!” At that moment she remembered what the cow had told her, that in case of need she should go to her grave and would there find help, so she ran quickly to the spot, and what do you think she saw there? On the grave stood a large box full of valuable clothes of different kinds, and on the top of the box sat two white doves, who said, “Mary, take out of this box the clothes which you like best and put them on, and then go to church; meanwhile we will pick up the millet seeds and put everything in order.” The girl was greatly pleased, and took the first clothes which came to hand. These were all of silk, and, having put them on, she went away to church. In the church everyone, men and women, wondered much at her beauty and her splendid clothes, but no one knew who she was or whence she came. The king’s son, who happened to be there, looked at her all the time and admired her greatly. Before the service was ended she stood up and quietly left the church. She then ran away home, and as soon as she got there took off her fine clothes and again laid them in the box, which instantly shut itself and disappeared.
“On the grave stood a large box of valuable clothes of different kinds”
[[29]]
Then she hurried to the hearth and found the dinner quite ready, all the millet gathered up, and everything in very good order. Soon after the stepmother came back with her daughter from the church, and was extremely surprised to find all the millet picked up and everything so well arranged.
Next Sunday the stepmother and her daughter again dressed themselves to go to church, and, before she went away, the stepmother threw much more millet about the floor, and said to her stepdaughter, “If you do not gather up all this millet, prepare the dinner, and get everything into the best order, I shall kill you.” When they were gone the girl instantly ran to her mother’s grave, and there found the box open as before, with the two doves sitting on its lid. The doves said to her, “Dress yourself, Mary, and go to church; we will pick up all the millet and arrange everything.” Then she took from the box silver clothes, and, having dressed herself, went to church. In the church everyone, as before, admired her very much, and the king’s son never moved his eyes from her. Just before the end of the service the girl again got up very quietly and stole through the crowd. When she got out of church she ran away very quickly, took off the clothes, laid them in the box, and went into the kitchen. When the stepmother and her daughter came home they were more surprised than before; the millet was gathered up, dinner was ready, and everything in the very best order. They wondered very much how it was all done. [[30]]
On the third Sunday the stepmother dressed herself to go with her daughter to church, and again scattered millet about on the ground, but this time far more than on the other Sundays. Before she went out she said to her stepdaughter, “If you do not gather up all this millet, prepare the dinner, and have everything in order when I come from church, I will kill you.” The instant they were gone the girl ran to her mother’s grave and found the box open with the two white doves sitting on the lid. The doves told her to dress herself and go to church and to have no care about the millet or dinner.
This time she took clothes all of real gold out of the box, and, having put them on, went away to the church. In the church all the people looked at her and admired her exceedingly. Now the king’s son had resolved not to let her slip away as before, but to watch where she went. So, when the service was nearly ended, and she stood up to leave the church, the king’s son followed her, but was not able to reach her. In pushing through the crowd, however, Mary somehow in her hurry lost the slipper from her right foot and had no time to look for it. This slipper the king’s son found, and took care of it. When the girl got home she took off the golden clothes and laid them in the box, and went immediately to the fire in the kitchen.
The king’s son, having determined to find the maiden, went all over the kingdom, and tried the slipper on every girl, but in some cases it was too long, in others [[31]]too short, and, in fact, it did not fit any of them. As he was thus going about from one house to the other, the king’s son came at last to the house of the girl’s father, and the stepmother, seeing the king’s son coming, hid her stepdaughter in a wash-trough before the house. When the king’s son came in with the slipper and asked if there were any girl in the house, the woman answered, “Yes,” and brought out her own daughter. But when the slipper was tried it was found it would not go even over the girl’s toes. Then the king’s son asked if no other girl was there, and the stepmother said, “No, there is no other in the house.” At that moment the cock sprung upon the wash-trough and crowed out “Cock-a-doodle-do!—here she is under the wash-trough!”
The stepmother shouted “Go away! may the eagle fly away with you!” But the king’s son, hearing that, hurried to the wash-trough, and lifted it up, and what did he see there! The same girl who had been in the church, in the same golden clothes in which she had appeared the third time there, but lying under the trough, and with only one slipper on. When the king’s son saw her he nearly lost his senses for the moment, he was so very glad. Then he quickly tried to place the slipper he carried on her right foot, and it fitted her exactly, besides perfectly matching with the other slipper on her left foot. Then he took her away with him to his palace and married her. [[32]]