THE
STORY OF PRETTY GOLDILOCKS
Once
upon a time there was a princess who was the prettiest creature in the world.
And because she was so beautiful, and because her hair was like the finest
gold, and waved and rippled nearly to the ground, she was called Pretty
Goldilocks. She always wore a crown of flowers, and her dresses were
embroidered with diamonds and pearls, and everybody who saw her fell in love
with her.
Now
one of her neighbors was a young king who was not married. He was very rich and
handsome, and when he heard all that was said about Pretty Goldilocks, though
he had never seen her, he fell so deeply in love with her that he could neither
eat nor drink. So he resolved to send an ambassador to ask her in marriage. He
had a splendid carriage made for his ambassador, and gave him more than a
hundred horses and a hundred servants, and told him to be sure and bring the
Princess back with him. After he had started nothing else was talked of at
Court, and the King felt so sure that the Princess would consent that he set
his people to work at pretty dresses and splendid furniture, that they might be
ready by the time she came. Meanwhile, the ambassador arrived at the Princess's
palace and delivered his little message, but whether she happened to be cross
that day, or whether the compliment did not please her, is not known. She only
answered that she was very much obliged to the King, but she had no wish to be
married. The ambassador set off sadly on his homeward way, bringing all the
King's presents back with him, for the Princess was too well brought up to
accept the pearls and diamonds when she would not accept the King, so she had
only kept twenty-five English pins that he might not be vexed.
When
the ambassador reached the city, where the King was waiting impatiently,
everybody was very much annoyed with him for not bringing the Princess, and the
King cried like a baby, and nobody could console him. Now there was at the
Court a young man, who was more clever and handsome than anyone else. He was
called Charming, and everyone loved him, excepting a few envious people who
were angry at his being the King's favorite and knowing all the State secrets.
He happened to one day be with some people who were speaking of the
ambassador's return and saying that his going to the Princess had not done much
good, when Charming said rashly:
"If
the King had sent me to the Princess Goldilocks I am sure she would have come
back with me."
His
enemies at once went to the King and said:
"You
will hardly believe, sire, what Charming has the audacity to say--that if _he_
had been sent to the Princess Goldilocks she would certainly have come back
with him. He seems to think that he is so much handsomer than you that the
Princess would have fallen in love with him and followed him willingly."
The King was very angry when he heard this.
"Ha,
ha!" said he; "does he laugh at my unhappiness, and think himself
more fascinating than I am? Go, and let him be shut up in my great tower to die
of hunger."
So
the King's guards went to fetch Charming, who had thought no more of his rash
speech, and carried him off to prison with great cruelty. The poor prisoner had
only a little straw for his bed, and but for a little stream of water which
flowed through the tower he would have died of thirst.
One
day when he was in despair he said to himself:
"How
can I have offended the King? I am his most faithful subject, and have done
nothing against him."
The
King chanced to be passing the tower and recognized the voice of his former
favorite. He stopped to listen in spite of Charming's enemies, who tried to
persuade him to have nothing more to do with the traitor. But the King said:
"Be
quiet, I wish to hear what he says."
And
then he opened the tower door and called to Charming, who came very sadly and
kissed the King's hand, saying:
"What
have I done, sire, to deserve this cruel treatment?"
"You
mocked me and my ambassador," said the King, "and you said that if I
had sent you for the Princess Goldilocks you would certainly have brought her
back."
"It
is quite true, sire," replied Charming; "I should have drawn such a
picture of you, and represented your good qualities in such a way, that I am
certain the Princess would have found you irresistible. But I cannot see what
there is in that to make you angry."
The
King could not see any cause for anger either when the matter was presented to
him in this light, and he began to frown very fiercely at the courtiers who had
so misrepresented his favorite.
So
he took Charming back to the palace with him, and after seeing that he had a
very good supper he said to him:
"You
know that I love Pretty Goldilocks as much as ever, her refusal has not made
any difference to me; but I don't know how to make her change her mind; I
really should like to send you, to see if you can persuade her to marry
me."
Charming
replied that he was perfectly willing to go, and would set out the very next
day.
"But
you must wait till I can get a grand escort for you," said the King. But
Charming said that he only wanted a good horse to ride, and the King, who was
delighted at his being ready to start so promptly, gave him letters to the
Princess, and bade him good speed. It was on a Monday morning that he set out
all alone upon his errand, thinking of nothing but how he could persuade the
Princess Goldilocks to marry the King. He had a writing-book in his pocket, and
whenever any happy thought struck him he dismounted from his horse and sat down
under the trees to put it into the harangue which he was preparing for the
Princess, before he forgot it.
One
day when he had started at the very earliest dawn, and was riding over a great
meadow, he suddenly had a capital idea, and, springing from his horse, he sat
down under a willow tree which grew by a little river. When he had written it
down he was looking round him, pleased to find himself in such a pretty place,
when all at once he saw a great golden carp lying gasping and exhausted upon
the grass. In leaping after little flies she had thrown herself high upon the
bank, where she had lain till she was nearly dead. Charming had pity upon her,
and, though he couldn't help thinking that she would have been very nice for
dinner, he picked her up gently and put her back into the water. As soon as
Dame Carp felt the refreshing coolness of the water she sank down joyfully to
the bottom of the river, then, swimming up to the bank quite boldly, she said:
"I
thank you, Charming, for the kindness you have done me. You have saved my life;
one day I will repay you." So saying, she sank down into the water again,
leaving Charming greatly astonished at her politeness.
Another
day, as he journeyed on, he saw a raven in great distress. The poor bird was
closely pursued by an eagle, which would soon have eaten it up, had not
Charming quickly fitted an arrow to his bow and shot the eagle dead. The raven
perched upon a tree very joyfully.
"Charming,"
said he, "it was very generous of you to rescue a poor raven; I am not
ungrateful, some day I will repay you."
Charming
thought it was very nice of the raven to say so, and went on his way.
Before
the sun rose he found himself in a thick wood where it was too dark for him to
see his path, and here he heard an owl crying as if it were in despair.
"Hark!"
said he, "that must be an owl in great trouble, I am sure it has gone into
a snare"; and he began to hunt about, and presently found a great net
which some bird-catchers had spread the night before.
"What
a pity it is that men do nothing but torment and persecute poor creatures which
never do them any harm!" said he, and he took out his knife and cut the
cords of the net, and the owl flitted away into the darkness, but then turning,
with one flicker of her wings, she came back to Charming and said:
"It
does not need many words to tell you how great a service you have done me. I
was caught; in a few minutes the fowlers would have been here--without your
help I should have been killed. I am grateful, and one day I will repay
you."
These
three adventures were the only ones of any consequence that befell Charming
upon his journey, and he made all the haste he could to reach the palace of the
Princess Goldilocks.
When
he arrived he thought everything he saw delightful and magnificent. Diamonds
were as plentiful as pebbles, and the gold and silver, the beautiful dresses,
the sweetmeats and pretty things that were everywhere quite amazed him; he
thought to himself: "If the Princess consents to leave all this, and come
with me to marry the King, he may think himself lucky!"
Then
he dressed himself carefully in rich brocade, with scarlet and white plumes,
and threw a splendid embroidered scarf over his shoulder, and, looking as gay
and as graceful as possible, he presented himself at the door of the palace,
carrying in his arm a tiny pretty dog which he had bought on the way. The
guards saluted him respectfully, and a messenger was sent to the Princess to
announce the arrival of Charming as ambassador of her neighbor the King.
"Charming,"
said the Princess, "the name promises well; I have no doubt that he is
good looking and fascinates everybody."
"Indeed
he does, madam," said all her maids of honor in one breath. "We saw
him from the window of the garret where we were spinning flax, and we could do
nothing but look at him as long as he was in sight."
"Well
to be sure," said the Princess, "that's how you amuse yourselves, is
it? Looking at strangers out of the window! Be quick and give me my blue satin
embroidered dress, and comb out my golden hair. Let somebody make me fresh
garlands of flowers, and give me my high-heeled shoes and my fan, and tell them
to sweep my great hall and my throne, for I want everyone to say I am really
'Pretty Goldilocks.'"
You
can imagine how all her maids scurried this way and that to make the Princess
ready, and how in their haste they knocked their heads together and hindered
each other, till she thought they would never have done. However, at last they
led her into the gallery of mirrors that she might assure herself that nothing
was lacking in her appearance, and then she mounted her throne of gold, ebony,
and ivory, while her ladies took their guitars and began to sing softly. Then
Charming was led in, and was so struck with astonishment and admiration that at
first not a word could he say. But presently he took courage and delivered his
harangue, bravely ending by begging the Princess to spare him the
disappointment of going back without her.
"Sir
Charming," answered she, "all the reasons you have given me are very
good ones, and I assure you that I should have more pleasure in obliging you
than anyone else, but you must know that a month ago as I was walking by the
river with my ladies I took off my glove, and as I did so a ring that I was
wearing slipped off my finger and rolled into the water. As I valued it more
than my kingdom, you may imagine how vexed I was at losing it, and I vowed to
never listen to any proposal of marriage unless the ambassador first brought me
back my ring. So now you know what is expected of you, for if you talked for
fifteen days and fifteen nights you could not make me change my mind."
Charming
was very much surprised by this answer, but he bowed low to the Princess, and
begged her to accept the embroidered scarf and the tiny dog he had brought with
him. But she answered that she did not want any presents, and that he was to
remember what she had just told him. When he got back to his lodging he went to
bed without eating any supper, and his little dog, who was called Frisk,
couldn't eat any either, but came and lay down close to him. All night Charming
sighed and lamented.
"How
am I to find a ring that fell into the river a month ago?" said he.
"It is useless to try; the Princess must have told me to do it on purpose,
knowing it was impossible." And then he sighed again.
Frisk
heard him and said:
"My
dear master, don't despair; the luck may change, you are too good not to be
happy. Let us go down to the river as soon as it is light."
But
Charming only gave him two little pats and said nothing, and very soon he fell
asleep.
At
the first glimmer of dawn Frisk began to jump about, and when he had waked
Charming they went out together, first into the garden, and then down to the
river's brink, where they wandered up and down. Charming was thinking sadly of
having to go back unsuccessful when he heard someone calling: "Charming, Charming!" He looked all about him and thought he must
be dreaming, as he could not see anybody. Then he walked on and the voice
called again: "Charming, Charming!"
"Who
calls me?" said he. Frisk, who was very small and could look closely into
the water, cried out: "I see a golden carp coming." And sure enough
there was the great carp, who said to Charming:
"You
saved my life in the meadow by the willow tree, and I promised that I would
repay you. Take this, it is Princess Goldilock's ring." Charming took the
ring out of Dame Carp's mouth, thanking her a thousand times, and he and tiny
Frisk went straight to the palace, where someone told the Princess that he was
asking to see her.
"Ah!
poor fellow," said she, "he must have come to say good-by, finding it
impossible to do as I asked."
So
in came Charming, who presented her with the ring and said:
"Madam,
I have done your bidding. Will it please you to marry my master?" When the
Princess saw her ring brought back to her unhurt she was so astonished that she
thought she must be dreaming.
"Truly,
Charming," said she, "you must be the favorite of some fairy, or you
could never have found it."
"Madam,"
answered he, "I was helped by nothing but my desire to obey your
wishes."
"Since
you are so kind," said she, "perhaps you will do me another service,
for till it is done I will never be married. There is a prince not far from
here whose name is Galifron, who once wanted to marry me, but when I refused he
uttered the most terrible threats against me, and vowed that he would lay waste
my country. But what could I do? I could not marry a frightful giant as tall as
a tower, who eats up people as a monkey eats chestnuts, and who talks so loud
that anybody who has to listen to him becomes quite deaf. Nevertheless, he does
not cease to persecute me and to kill my subjects. So before I can listen to
your proposal you must kill him and bring me his head."
Charming
was rather dismayed at this command, but he answered:
"Very
well, Princess, I will fight this Galifron; I believe that he will kill me, but
at any rate I shall die in your defense."
Then
the Princess was frightened and said everything she could think of to prevent
Charming from fighting the giant, but it was of no use, and he went out to arm
himself suitably, and then, taking little Frisk with him, he mounted his horse
and set out for Galifron's country. Everyone he met told him what a terrible
giant Galifron was, and that nobody dared go near him; and the more he heard,
the more frightened he grew. Frisk tried to encourage him by saying:
"While you are fighting the giant, dear master, I will go and bite his
heels, and when he stoops down to look at me you can kill him."
Charming
praised his little dog's plan, but knew that this help would not do much good.
At
last he drew near the giant's castle, and saw to his horror that every path
that led to it was strewn with bones. Before long he saw Galifron coming. His
head was higher than the tallest trees, and he sang in a terrible voice:
"Bring
out your little boys and girls,
Pray do not stay to do their curls,
For I shall eat so very many,
I shall not know if they have any."
Thereupon
Charming sang out as loud as he could to the same tune:
"Come
out and meet the valiant Charming
Who finds you not at all alarming;
Although he is not very tall,
He's big enough to make you fall."
The
rhymes were not very correct, but you see he had made them up so quickly that
it is a miracle that they were not worse; especially as he was horribly
frightened all the time. When Galifron heard these words he looked all about
him, and saw Charming standing, sword in hand this put the giant into a
terrible rage, and he aimed a blow at Charming with his huge iron club, which
would certainly have killed him if it had reached him, but at that instant a
raven perched upon the giant's head, and, pecking with its strong beak and
beating with its great wings so confused and blinded him that all his blows
fell harmlessly upon the air, and Charming, rushing in, gave him several
strokes with his sharp sword so that he fell to the ground. Whereupon Charming
cut off his head before he knew anything about it, and the raven from a tree
close by croaked out:
"You
see I have not forgotten the good turn you did me in killing the eagle. To-day
I think I have fulfilled my promise of repaying you."
"Indeed,
I owe you more gratitude than you ever owed me," replied Charming.
And
then he mounted his horse and rode off with Galifron's head.
When
he reached the city the people ran after him in crowds, crying:
"Behold
the brave Charming, who has killed the giant!" And their shouts reached
the Princess's ear, but she dared not ask what was happening, for fear she
should hear that Charming had been killed. But very soon he arrived at the
palace with the giant's head, of which she was still terrified, though it could
no longer do her any harm.
"Princess,"
said Charming, "I have killed your enemy; I hope you will now consent to
marry the King my master."
"Oh
dear! no," said the Princess, "not until you have brought me some
water from the Gloomy Cavern.
"Not
far from here there is a deep cave, the entrance to which is guarded by two
dragons with fiery eyes, who will not allow anyone to pass them. When you get
into the cavern you will find an immense hole, which you must go down, and it
is full of toads and snakes; at the bottom of this hole there is another little
cave, in which rises the Fountain of Health and Beauty. It is some of this
water that I really must have: everything it touches becomes wonderful. The
beautiful things will always remain beautiful, and the ugly things become
lovely. If one is young one never grows old, and if one is old one becomes
young. You see, Charming, I could not leave my kingdom without taking some of
it with me."
"Princess,"
said he, "you at least can never need this water, but I am an unhappy
ambassador, whose death you desire. Where you send me I will go, though I know
I shall never return."
And,
as the Princess Goldilocks showed no sign of relenting, he started with his
little dog for the Gloomy Cavern. Everyone he met on the way said:
"What
a pity that a handsome young man should throw away his life so carelessly! He
is going to the cavern alone, though if he had a hundred men with him he could
not succeed. Why does the Princess ask impossibilities?" Charming said
nothing, but he was very sad. When he was near the top of a hill he dismounted
to let his horse graze, while Frisk amused himself by chasing flies. Charming
knew he could not be far from the Gloomy Cavern, and on looking about him he
saw a black hideous rock from which came a thick smoke, followed in a moment by
one of the dragons with fire blazing from his mouth and eyes. His body was
yellow and green, and his claws scarlet, and his tail was so long that it lay
in a hundred coils. Frisk was so terrified at the sight of it that he did not
know where to hide. Charming, quite determined to get the water or die, now
drew his sword, and, taking the crystal flask which Pretty Goldilocks had given
him to fill, said to Frisk:
"I
feel sure that I shall never come back from this expedition; when I am dead, go
to the Princess and tell her that her errand has cost me my life. Then find the
King my master, and relate all my adventures to him."
As
he spoke he heard a voice calling: "Charming, Charming!"
"Who
calls me?" said he; then he saw an owl sitting in a hollow tree, who said
to him:
"You
saved my life when I was caught in the net, now I can repay you. Trust me with
the flask, for I know all the ways of the Gloomy Cavern, and can fill it from
the Fountain of Beauty." Charming was only too glad to give her the flask,
and she flitted into the cavern quite unnoticed by the dragon, and after some
time returned with the flask, filled to the very brim with sparkling water.
Charming thanked her with all his heart, and joyfully hastened back to the
town.
He
went straight to the palace and gave the flask to the Princess, who had no
further objection to make. So she thanked Charming, and ordered that
preparations should be made for her departure, and they soon set out together.
The Princess found Charming such an agreeable companion that she sometimes said
to him: "Why didn't we stay where we were? I could have made you king, and
we should have been so happy!"
But
Charming only answered:
"I
could not have done anything that would have vexed my master so much, even for
a kingdom, or to please you, though I think you are as beautiful as the
sun."
At
last they reached the King's great city, and he came out to meet the Princess,
bringing magnificent presents, and the marriage was celebrated with great
rejoicings. But Goldilocks was so fond of Charming that she could not be happy
unless he was near her, and she was always singing his praises.
"If
it hadn't been for Charming," she said to the King, "I should never
have come here; you ought to be very much obliged to him, for he did the most
impossible things and got me water from the Fountain of Beauty, so I can never
grow old, and shall get prettier every year."
Then
Charming's enemies said to the King:
"It
is a wonder that you are not jealous, the Queen thinks there is nobody in the
world like Charming. As if anybody you had sent could not have done just as
much!"
"It
is quite true, now I come to think of it," said the King. "Let him be
chained hand and foot, and thrown into the tower."
So
they took Charming, and as a reward for having served the King so faithfully he
was shut up in the tower, where he only saw the jailer, who brought him a piece
of black bread and a pitcher of water every day.
However,
little Frisk came to console him, and told him all the news.
When
Pretty Goldilocks heard what had happened she threw herself at the King's feet
and begged him to set Charming free, but the more she cried, the more angry he
was, and at last she saw that it was useless to say any more; but it made her
very sad. Then the King took it into his head that perhaps he was not handsome
enough to please the Princess Goldilocks, and he thought he would bathe his
face with the water from the Fountain of Beauty, which was in the flask on a
shelf in the Princess's room, where she had placed it that she might see it
often. Now it happened that one of the Princess's ladies in chasing a spider
had knocked the flask off the shelf and broken it, and every drop of the water
had been spilt. Not knowing what to do, she had hastily swept away the pieces
of crystal, and then remembered that in the King's room she had seen a flask of
exactly the same shape, also filled with sparkling water. So, without saying a
word, she fetched it and stood it upon the Queen's shelf.
Now
the water in this flask was what was used in the kingdom for getting rid of
troublesome people. Instead of having their heads cut off in the usual way,
their faces were bathed with the water, and they instantly fell asleep and
never woke up any more. So, when the King, thinking to improve his beauty, took
the flask and sprinkled the water upon his face, _he_ fell asleep, and nobody
could wake him.
Little
Frisk was the first to hear the news, and he ran to tell Charming, who sent him
to beg the Princess not to forget the poor prisoner. All the palace was in
confusion on account of the King's death, but tiny Frisk made his way through
the crowd to the Princess's side, and said:
"Madam,
do not forget poor Charming."
Then
she remembered all he had done for her, and without saying a word to anyone
went straight to the tower, and with her own hands took off Charming's chains.
Then, putting a golden crown upon his head, and the royal mantle upon his
shoulders, she said:
"Come,
faithful Charming, I make you king, and will take you for my husband."
Charming,
once more free and happy, fell at her feet and thanked her for her gracious
words.
Everybody
was delighted that he should be king, and the wedding, which took place at
once, was the prettiest that can be imagined, and Prince Charming and Princess
Goldilocks lived happily ever after.[1]
[1]
Madame d'Aulnoy.
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