TRUSTY
JOHN
Once
upon a time there was an old king who was so ill that he thought to himself,
"I am most likely on my death-bed." Then he said, "Send Trusty
John to me." Now Trusty John was his favorite servant, and was so called
because all his life he had served him so faithfully. When he approached the
bed the King spake to him: "Most trusty John, I feel my end is drawing
near, and I could face it without a care were it not for my son. He is still
too young to decide everything for himself, and unless you promise me to
instruct him in all he should know, and to be to him as a father, I shall not
close my eyes in peace." Then Trusty John answered: "I will never
desert him, and will serve him faithfully, even though it should cost me my
life." Then the old King said: "Now I die comforted and in
peace"; and then he went on: "After my death you must show him the
whole castle, all the rooms and apartments and vaults, and all the treasures
that lie in them; but you must not show him the last room in the long passage,
where the picture of the Princess of the Golden Roof is hidden. When he beholds
that picture he will fall violently in love with it and go off into a dead
faint, and for her sake he will encounter many dangers; you must guard him from
this." And when Trusty John had again given the King his hand upon it the
old man became silent, laid his head on the pillow, and died.
When
the old King had been carried to his grave Trusty John told the young King what
he had promised his father on his death-bed, and added: "And I shall
assuredly keep my word, and shall be faithful to you as I have been to him,
even though it should cost me my life."
Now
when the time of mourning was over, Trusty John said to him: "It is time
you should see your inheritance. I will show you your ancestral castle."
So he took him over everything, and let him see all the riches and splendid
apartments, only the one room where the picture was he did not open. But the
picture was placed so that if the door opened you gazed straight upon it, and
it was so beautifully painted that you imagined it lived and moved, and that it
was the most lovable and beautiful thing in the whole world. But the young King
noticed that Trusty John always missed one door, and said: "Why do you
never open this one for me?" "There is something inside that would
appall you," he answered. But the King replied: "I have seen the
whole castle, and shall find out what is in there"; and with these words
he approached the door and wanted to force it open. But Trusty John held him
back, and said: "I promised your father before his death that you
shouldn't see what that room contains. It might bring both you and me to great
grief." "Ah! no," answered the young King; "if I don't get
in, it will be my certain destruction; I should have no peace night or day till
I had seen what was in the room with my own eyes. Now I don't budge from the
spot till you have opened the door."
Then
Trusty John saw there was no way out of it, so with a heavy heart and many
sighs he took the key from the big bunch. When he had opened the door he
stepped in first, and thought to cover the likeness so that the King might not
perceive it; but it was hopeless: the King stood on tiptoe and looked over his
shoulder. And when he saw the picture of the maid, so beautiful and glittering
with gold and precious stones, he fell swooning to the ground. Trusty John
lifted him up, carried him to bed, and thought sorrowfully: "The curse has
come upon us; gracious heaven! what will be the end of it all?" Then he
poured wine down his throat till he came to himself again. The first words he
spoke were: "Oh! who is the original of the beautiful picture?"
"She is the Princess of the Golden Roof," answered Trusty John. Then
the King continued: "My love for her is so great that if all the leaves on
the trees had tongues they could not express it; my very life depends on my
winning her. You are my most trusty John: you must stand by me."
The faithful
servant pondered long how they were to set about the matter, for it was said to
be difficult even to get into the presence of the Princess. At length he hit
upon a plan, and spoke to the King: "All the things she has about
her--tables, chairs, dishes, goblets, bowls, and all her household
furniture--are made of gold. You have in your treasure five tons of gold; let
the goldsmiths of your kingdom manufacture them into all manner of vases and
vessels, into all sorts of birds and game and wonderful beasts; that will
please her. We shall go to her with them and try our luck." The King
summoned all his goldsmiths, and they had to work hard day and night, till at
length the most magnificent things were completed. When a ship had been laden
with them the faithful John disguised himself as a merchant, and the King had
to do the same, so that they should be quite unrecognizable. And so they
crossed the seas and journeyed till they reached the town where the Princess of
the Golden Roof dwelt.
Trusty
John made the King remain behind on the ship and await his return.
"Perhaps," he said, "I may bring the Princess back with me, so
see that everything is in order; let the gold ornaments be arranged and the
whole ship decorated." Then he took a few of the gold things in his apron,
went ashore, and proceeded straight to the palace. When he came to the
courtyard he found a beautiful maiden standing at the well, drawing water with
two golden pails. And as she was about to carry away the glittering water she
turned round and saw the stranger, and asked him who he was. Then he replied:
"I am a merchant," and opening his apron, he let her peep in.
"Oh! my," she cried; "what beautiful gold wares!" she set
down her pails, and examined one thing after the other. Then she said:
"The Princess must see this, she has such a fancy for gold things that she
will buy up all you have." She took him by the hand and let him into the
palace, for she was the lady's maid.
When
the Princess had seen the wares she was quite enchanted, and said: "They
are all so beautifully made that I shall buy everything you have." But
Trusty John said: "I am only the servant of a rich merchant, what I have
here is nothing compared to what my master has on his ship; his merchandise is
more artistic and costly than anything that has ever been made in gold
before." She desired to have everything brought up to her, but he said:
"There is such a quantity of things that it would take many days to bring
them up, and they would take up so many rooms that you would have no space for
them in your house." Thus her desire and curiosity were excited to such an
extent that at last she said: "Take me to your ship; I shall go there
myself and view your master's treasures."
Then
Trusty John was quite delighted, and brought her to the ship; and the King,
when he beheld her, saw that she was even more beautiful than her picture, and
thought every moment that his heart would burst. She stepped on to the ship,
and the King led her inside. But Trusty John remained behind with the
steersman, and ordered the ship to push off. "Spread all sail, that we may
fly on the ocean like a bird in the air." Meanwhile the King showed the
Princess inside all his gold wares, every single bit of it--dishes, goblets,
bowls, the birds and game, and all the wonderful beasts. Many hours passed
thus, and she was so happy that she did not notice that the ship was sailing
away. After she had seen the last thing she thanked the merchant and prepared
to go home; but when she came to the ship's side she saw that they were on the
high seas, far from land, and that the ship was speeding on its way under full
canvas. "Oh!" she cried in terror, "I am deceived, carried away
and betrayed into the power of a merchant; I would rather have died!" But
the King seized her hand and spake: "I am no merchant, but a king of as
high birth as yourself; and it was my great love for you that made me carry you
off by stratagem. The first time I saw your likeness I fell to the ground in a
swoon." When the Princess of the Golden Roof heard this she was comforted,
and her heart went out to him, so that she willingly consented to become his
wife.
Now
it happened one day, while they were sailing on the high seas, that Trusty
John, sitting on the forepart of the ship, fiddling away to himself, observed
three ravens in the air flying toward him. He ceased playing, and listened to
what they were saying, for he understood their language. The one croaked:
"Ah, ha! so he's bringing the Princess of the Golden Roof home." "Yes,"
answered the second, "but he's not got her yet." "Yes, he
has," spake the third, "for she's sitting beside him on the
ship." Then number one began again and cried: "That'll not help him!
When they reach the land a chestnut horse will dash forward to greet them: the
King will wish to mount it, and if he does it will gallop away with him, and
disappear into the air, and he will never see his bride again." "Is
there no escape for him?" asked number two. "Oh! yes, if someone else
mounts quickly and shoots the horse dead with the pistol that is sticking in
the holster, then the young King is saved. But who's to do that? And anyone who
knows it and tells him will be turned into stone from his feet to his
knees." Then spake number two: "I know more than that: even if the horse
is slain, the young King will still not keep his bride: when they enter the
palace together they will find a ready-made wedding shirt in a cupboard, which
looks as though it were woven of gold and silver, but is really made of nothing
but sulphur and tar: when the King puts it on it will burn him to his marrow
and bones." Number three asked: "Is there no way of escape,
then?" "Oh! yes," answered number two: "If someone seizes
the shirt with gloved hands and throws it into the fire, and lets it burn, then
the young King is saved. But what's the good? Anyone knowing this and telling
it will have half his body turned into stone, from his knees to his
heart." Then number three spake: "I know yet more: though the bridal
shirt too be burnt, the King hasn't even then secured his bride: when the dance
is held after the wedding, and the young Queen is dancing, she will suddenly
grow deadly white, and drop down like one dead, and unless some one lifts her
up and draws three drops of blood from her right side, and spits them out
again, she will die. But if anyone who knows this betrays it, he will be turned
into stone from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet." When the
ravens had thus conversed they fled onward, but Trusty John had taken it all
in, and was sad and depressed from that time forward; for if he were silent to
his master concerning what he had heard, he would involve him in misfortune;
but if he took him into his confidence, then he himself would forfeit his life.
At last he said: "I will stand by my master, though it should be my
ruin."
Now
when they drew near the land it came to pass just as the ravens had predicted,
and a splendid chestnut horse bounded forward. "Capital!" said the
King; "this animal shall carry me to my palace," and was about to
mount, but Trusty John was too sharp for him, and, springing up quickly, seized
the pistol out of the holster and shot the horse dead. Then the other servants
of the King, who at no time looked favorably on Trusty John, cried out:
"What a sin to kill the beautiful beast that was to bear the King to his
palace!" But the King spake: "Silence! let him alone; he is ever my
most trusty John. Who knows for what good end he may have done this
thing?" So they went on their way and entered the palace, and there in the
hall stood a cupboard in which lay the ready-made bridal shirt, looking for all
the world as though it were made of gold and silver. The young King went toward
it and was about to take hold of it, but Trusty John, pushing him aside, seized
it with his gloved hands, threw it hastily into the fire, and let it burn The
other servants commenced grumbling again, and said: "See, he's actually
burning the King's bridal shirt." But the young King spoke: "Who
knows for what good purpose he does it? Let him alone, he is my most trusty
John." Then the wedding was celebrated, the dance began, and the bride
joined in, but Trusty John watched her countenance carefully. Of a sudden she
grew deadly white, and fell to the ground as if she were dead. He at once sprang
hastily toward her, lifted her up, and bore her to a room, where he laid her
down, and kneeling beside her he drew three drops of blood from her right side,
and spat them out. She soon breathed again and came to herself; but the young
King had watched the proceeding, and not knowing why Trusty John had acted as
he did, he flew into a passion, and cried: "Throw him into prison."
On the following morning sentence was passed on Trusty John, and he was
condemned to be hanged. As he stood on the gallows he said: "Every one
doomed to death has the right to speak once before he dies; and I too have that
privilege?" "Yes," said the King, "it shall be granted to
you." So Trusty John spoke: "I am unjustly condemned, for I have always
been faithful to you"; and he proceeded to relate how he had heard the
ravens' conversation on the sea, and how he had to do all he did in order to
save his master. Then the King cried: "Oh! my most trusty John, pardon!
pardon! Take him down." But as he uttered the last word Trusty John had
fallen lifeless to the ground, and was a stone.
The
King and Queen were in despair, and the King spake: "Ah! how ill have I
rewarded such great fidelity!" and made them lift up the stone image and
place it in his bedroom near his bed. As often as he looked at it he wept and
said: "Oh! if I could only restore you to life, my most trusty John!"
After a time the Queen gave birth to twins, two small sons, who throve and
grew, and were a constant joy to her. One day when the Queen was at church, and
the two children sat and played with their father, he gazed again full of grief
on the stone statue, and sighing, wailed: "Oh, if I could only restore you
to life, my most trusty John!" Suddenly the stone began to speak, and
said: "Yes, you can restore me to life again if you are prepared to
sacrifice what you hold most dear." And the King cried out: "All I
have in the world will I give up for your sake." The stone continued:
"If you cut off with your own hand the heads of your two children, and
smear me with their blood, I shall come back to life." The King was aghast
when he heard that he had himself to put his children to death; but when he
thought of Trusty John's fidelity, and how he had even died for him, he drew
his sword, and with his own hand cut the heads off his children. And when he
had smeared the stone with their blood, life came back, and Trusty John stood
once more safe and sound before him. He spake to the King: "Your loyalty
shall be rewarded," and taking up the heads of the children, he placed
them on their bodies, smeared the wounds with their blood, and in a minute they
were all right again and jumping about as if nothing had happened. Then the
King was full of joy, and when he saw the Queen coming, he hid Trusty John and
the two children in a big cupboard. As she entered he said to her: "Did
you pray in church?" "Yes," she answered, "but my thoughts
dwelt constantly on Trusty John, and of what he has suffered for us." Then
he spake: "Dear wife, we can restore him to life, but the price asked is
our two little sons; we must sacrifice them." The Queen grew white and her
heart sank, but she replied: "We owe it to him on account of his great
fidelity." Then he rejoiced that she was of the same mind as he had been,
and going forward he opened the cupboard, and fetched the two children and
Trusty John out, saying: "God be praised! Trusty John is free once more,
and we have our two small sons again." Then he related to her all that had
passed, and they lived together happily ever afterward.[1]
[1] Grimm.
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