The Junior Classics, Volume 1: Fairy and wonder tales
General
The Junior Classics, Volume 1: Fairy and wonder tales
Children's literature
And the dog was outside the door directly, and, before the Soldier
thought it, came back with the Princess. She sat upon the dogs back and
slept; and everyone could see she was a real Princess, for she was so
lovely. The Soldier could not refrain from kissing her, for he was a
thorough soldier. Then the dog ran back again with the Princess. But
when morning came, and the King and Queen were drinking tea, the
Princess said she had had a strange dream the night before about a dog
and a soldier—that she had ridden upon the dog, and the soldier had
kissed her.
“That would be a fine history!” said the Queen.
So one of the old court ladies had to watch the next night by the
Princess’s bed, to see if this was really a dream, or what it might be.
The Soldier had a great longing to see the lovely Princess again; so
the dog came in the night, took her away, and ran as fast as he could.
But the old lady put on water boots, and ran just as fast after him.
When she saw that they both entered a great house, she thought: “Now I
know where it is; and with a bit of chalk she drew a great cross on the
door. Then she went home and lay down, and the dog came up with the
Princess; but when he saw that there was a cross drawn on the door
where the Soldier lived, he took a piece of chalk too, and drew crosses
on all the doors in the town. And that was cleverly done, for now the
lady could not find the right door, because all the doors had crosses
upon them.
In the morning early came the King and Queen, the old court lady and
all the officers, to see where it was the Princess had been. “Here it
is!” said the King, when he saw the first door with a cross upon it.
“No, my dear husband, it is there!” said the Queen, who descried
another door which also showed a cross. “But there is one, and there is
one!” said all, for wherever they looked there were crosses on the
doors. So they saw that it would avail them nothing if they searched
on.
But the Queen was an exceedingly clever woman, who could do more than
ride in a coach. She took her great gold scissors, cut a piece of silk
into pieces, and made a neat little bag; this bag she filled with fine
wheat flour, and tied it on the Princess’s back, and when that was
done, she cut a little hole in the bag, so that the flour would be
scattered along all the way which the Princess should take.
In the night the dog came again, took the Princess on his back, and ran
with her to the Soldier, who loved her very much, and would gladly have
been a prince, so that he might have her for his wife. The dog did not
notice at all how the flour ran out in a stream from the castle to the
windows of the Soldier’s house, where he ran up the wall with the
Princess. In the morning the King and Queen saw well enough where their
daughter had been, and they took the Soldier and put him in prison.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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