The young man was puzzled, and did not know what to reply, for, though
he would gladly have married the princess without a sixpence, he had
spent all his money in building the ship, and knew he could not give her
all she wanted. So he went to the hermit and said to him, ‘The king will
only give for her dowry as much as a man can carry. I have no money of
my own left, and my brothers have none either.’
‘Silly boy! Why, you have only got to fetch the man who carried half the
forest on his shoulders.’
And the youth was glad, and called the strong man, and told him what he
must do. ‘Take everything you can, till you are bent double. Never mind
if you leave the palace bare.’
The strong man promised, and nobly kept his word. He piled all he
could see on his back--chairs, tables, wardrobes, chests of gold and
silver--till there was nothing left to pile. At last he took the king’s
crown, and put it on the top. He carried his burden to the ship and
stowed his treasures away, and the youth followed, leading the king’s
daughter. But the king was left raging in his empty palace, and he
called together his army, and got ready his ships of war, in order that
he might go after the vessel and bring back what had been taken away.
And the king’s ships sailed very fast, and soon caught up the little
vessel, and the sailors all shouted for joy. Then the hermit looked out
and saw how near they were, and he said to the youth, ‘Do you see that?’
The youth shrieked and cried, ‘Ah, good father, it is a fleet of ships,
and they are chasing us, and in a few moments they will be upon us.’
But the hermit bade him call the man who had the fog in his sack, and
the sack was opened and the fog flew out, and hung right round the
king’s ships, so that they could see nothing. So they sailed back to the
palace, and told the king what strange things had happened. Meanwhile
the young man’s vessel reached home in safety.
‘Well, here you are once more’ said the hermit; ‘and now you can fulfil
the promise you made me to give me the half of all you had.’
‘That will I do with all my heart,’ answered the youth, and began to
divide all his treasures, putting part on one side for himself and
setting aside the other for his friend. ‘Good father, it is finished,’
said he at length; ‘there is nothing more left to divide.’
‘Nothing more left!’ cried the hermit. ‘Why, you have forgotten the best
thing of all!’
‘What can that be?’ asked he. ‘We have divided everything.’
‘And the king’s daughter?’ said the hermit.
Then the young man’s heart stood still, for he loved her dearly. But he
answered, ‘It is well; I have sworn, and I will keep my word,’ and drew
his sword to cut her in pieces. When the hermit saw that he held his
honour dearer than his wife he lifted his hand and cried, ‘Hold! she
is yours, and all the treasures too. I gave you my help because you had
pity on those that were in need. And when you are in need yourself, call
upon me, and I will come to you.’
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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