Now some of the king’s servants had taken note of the matter, and
warned their master not to eat and drink anything that the queen
offered him, as for two nights running she had given him a sleeping
draught. The queen had no idea that her doings had been discovered; and
when, a few days later, she wanted the flax, and had to pay the same
price for it, she felt no fears at all.
At supper that night the queen offered the king all sorts of nice
things to eat and drink, but he declared he was not hungry, and went
early to bed.
The queen repented bitterly her promise to the girl, but it was too
late to recall it; for Ilonka had already entered the king’s room,
where he lay anxiously waiting for something, he knew not what. All of
a sudden he saw a lovely maiden who bent over him and said: “My dearest
love, I am yours and you are mine. Speak to me, for I am your Ilonka.”
At these words the king’s heart bounded within him. He sprang up and
embraced and kissed her, and she told him all her adventures since the
moment he had left her. And when he heard all that Ilonka had suffered,
and how he had been deceived, he vowed he would be revenged; so he gave
orders that the swineherd, his wife and daughter should all be hanged;
and so they were.
The next day the king was married, with great rejoicings, to the fair
Ilonka; and if they are not yet dead—why, they are still living.
[From Ungarische Mährchen.]
Lucky Luck
Once upon a time there was a king who had an only son. When the lad was
about eighteen years old his father had to go to fight in a war against
a neighbouring country, and the king led his troops in person. He bade
his son act as Regent in his absence, but ordered him on no account to
marry till his return.
Time went by. The prince ruled the country and never even thought of
marrying. But when he reached his twenty-fifth birthday he began to
think that it might be rather nice to have a wife, and he thought so
much that at last he got quite eager about it. He remembered, however,
what his father had said, and waited some time longer, till at last it
was ten years since the king went out to war. Then the prince called
his courtiers about him and set off with a great retinue to seek a
bride. He hardly knew which way to go, so he wandered about for twenty
days, when, suddenly, he found himself in his father’s camp.
The king was delighted to see his son, and had a great many questions
to ask and answer; but when he heard that instead of quietly waiting
for him at home the prince was starting off to seek a wife he was very
angry, and said: “You may go where you please but I will not leave any
of my people with you.”
Only one faithful servant stayed with the prince and refused to part
from him. They journeyed over hill and dale till they came to a place
called Goldtown. The King of Goldtown had a lovely daughter, and the
prince, who soon heard about her beauty, could not rest till he saw
her.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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