The cook, however, thought to himself, “If the child has the power of
wishing, and I am here, he might very easily get me into trouble.” So
he left the palace and went to the boy, who was already big enough to
speak, and said to him, “Wish for a beautiful palace for thyself with a
garden, and all else that pertains to it.” Scarcely were the words out
of the boy’s mouth, when everything was there that he had wished for.
After a while the cook said to him, “It is not well for thee to be so
alone, wish for a pretty girl as a companion.” Then the King’s son
wished for one, and she immediately stood before him, and was more
beautiful than any painter could have painted her. The two played
together, and loved each other with all their hearts, and the old cook
went out hunting like a nobleman. The thought, however, occurred to him
that the King’s son might some day wish to be with his father, and thus
bring him into great peril. So he went out and took the maiden aside,
and said, “To-night when the boy is asleep, go to his bed and plunge
this knife into his heart, and bring me his heart and tongue, and if
thou dost not do it, thou shalt lose thy life.” Thereupon he went away,
and when he returned next day she had not done it, and said, “Why
should I shed the blood of an innocent boy who has never harmed any
one?” The cook once more said, “If thou dost not do it, it shall cost
thee thy own life.” When he had gone away, she had a little hind
brought to her, and ordered her to be killed, and took her heart and
tongue, and laid them on a plate, and when she saw the old man coming,
she said to the boy, “Lie down in thy bed, and draw the clothes over
thee.” Then the wicked wretch came in and said, “Where are the boy’s
heart and tongue?” The girl reached the plate to him, but the King’s
son threw off the quilt, and said, “Thou old sinner, why didst thou
want to kill me? Now will I pronounce thy sentence. Thou shalt become a
black poodle and have a gold collar round thy neck, and shalt eat
burning coals, till the flames burst forth from thy throat.” And when
he had spoken these words, the old man was changed into a poodle dog,
and had a gold collar round his neck, and the cooks were ordered to
bring up some live coals, and these he ate, until the flames broke
forth from his throat. The King’s son remained there a short while
longer, and he thought of his mother, and wondered if she were still
alive. At length he said to the maiden, “I will go home to my own
country; if thou wilt go with me, I will provide for thee.” “Ah,” she
replied, “the way is so long, and what shall I do in a strange land
where I am unknown?” As she did not seem quite willing, and as they
could not be parted from each other, he wished that she might be
changed into a beautiful pink, and took her with him. Then he went away
to his own country, and the poodle had to run after him. He went to the
tower in which his mother was confined, and as it was so high, he
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