Fairy Tales, Their Origin and Meaning; With Some Account of Dwellers in FairylandBunce, John Thackray
History
Fairy Tales, Their Origin and Meaning; With Some Account of Dwellers in Fairyland
Bunce, John Thackray
Fairy tales -- History and criticism
Now the wife of the White Bear sat down before the castle, and began to
play with the golden apple. And then the wicked Princess with the nose
three ells long opened a window, and asked if she would sell the apple?
But she said "No;" she would give the golden apple for leave to spend
the night in the bed-chamber of the Prince who lived there. So the
Princess with the long nose said "Yes," and the wife of the White Bear
was allowed to pass the night in her husband's chamber. But a sleeping
draught had been given to the Prince, and she could not wake him, though
she wept greatly, and spent the whole night in crying out to him; and in
the morning before he woke she was driven away by the wicked Princess.
Well, next day she sat and played with the golden carding comb, and the
Princess wanted that too; and the same bargain was made; but again a
sleeping draught was given to the Prince, and he slept all night, and
nothing could waken him; and at the first peep of daylight the wicked
Princess drove the poor wife out again. Now it was the third day, and
the wife of the White Bear had only the golden spinning-wheel left. So
she sat and played with it, and the Princess bought it on the same terms
as before. But some kind folk who slept in the next room to the Prince
told him that for two nights a woman had been in his chamber, weeping
bitterly, and crying out to him to wake and see her. So, being warned,
the Prince only pretended to drink the sleeping draught, and so when his
wife came into the room that night he was wide awake, and was rejoiced
to see her; and they spent the whole night in loving talk. Now the next
day was to be the Prince's wedding day; but now that his lost wife had
found him, he hit upon a plan to escape marrying the Princess with the
long nose. So when morning came, he said he should like to see what his
bride was fit for? "Certainly," said the Witch-mother and the Princess,
both together. Then the Prince said he had a fine shirt, with three
drops of tallow upon it; and he would marry only the woman who could
wash them out, for no other would be worth having. So they laughed at
this, for they thought it would be easily done. And the Princess began,
but the more she rubbed, the worse the tallow stuck to the shirt. And
the old Witch-mother tried; but it got deeper and blacker than ever.
And all the Trolls in the enchanted castle tried; but none of them could
wash the shirt clean. Then said the Prince, "Call in the lassie who
sits outside, and let her try." And she came in, and took the shirt,
and washed it quite clean and white, all in a minute. Then the old
Witch-mother put herself into such a rage that she burst into pieces,
and so did the Princess with the long nose, and so did all the Trolls
in the castle; and the Prince took his wife away with him, and all the
silver and gold, and a number of Christian people who had been enchanted
by the witch; and away they went for ever from the dreary Land East of
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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