She was sadder than ever as she drove along, and said mournfully, 'I
know he has fallen asleep, and will not be able to set me free.' She
found him sleeping heavily, and all her efforts to awaken him were of
no avail. Then she placed beside him a loaf, and some meat, and a
flask of wine, of such a kind, that however much he took of them, they
would never grow less. After that she drew a gold ring, on which her
name was engraved, off her finger, and put it upon one of his.
Finally, she laid a letter near him, in which, after giving him
particulars of the food and drink she had left for him, she finished
with the following words: 'I see that as long as you remain here you
will never be able to set me free; if, however, you still wish to do
so, come to the golden castle of Stromberg; this is well within your
power to accomplish.' She then returned to her carriage and drove to
the golden castle of Stromberg.

When the man awoke and found that he had been sleeping, he was grieved
at heart, and said, 'She has no doubt been here and driven away again,
and it is now too late for me to save her.' Then his eyes fell on the
things which were lying beside him; he read the letter, and knew from
it all that had happened. He rose up without delay, eager to start on
his way and to reach the castle of Stromberg, but he had no idea in
which direction he ought to go. He travelled about a long time in
search of it and came at last to a dark forest, through which he went
on walking for fourteen days and still could not find a way out. Once
more the night came on, and worn out he lay down under a bush and fell
asleep. Again the next day he pursued his way through the forest, and
that evening, thinking to rest again, he lay down as before, but he
heard such a howling and wailing that he found it impossible to sleep.
He waited till it was darker and people had begun to light up their
houses, and then seeing a little glimmer ahead of him, he went towards
it.

He found that the light came from a house which looked smaller than it
really was, from the contrast of its height with that of an immense
giant who stood in front of it. He thought to himself, 'If the giant
sees me going in, my life will not be worth much.' However, after a
while he summoned up courage and went forward. When the giant saw him,
he called out, 'It is lucky for that you have come, for I have not had
anything to eat for a long time. I can have you now for my supper.' 'I
would rather you let that alone,' said the man, 'for I do not
willingly give myself up to be eaten; if you are wanting food I have
enough to satisfy your hunger.' 'If that is so,' replied the giant, 'I
will leave you in peace; I only thought of eating you because I had
nothing else.'

So they went indoors together and sat down, and the man brought out
the bread, meat, and wine, which although he had eaten and drunk of
them, were still unconsumed. The giant was pleased with the good
cheer, and ate and drank to his heart's content. When he had finished
his supper the man asked him if he could direct him to the castle of
Stromberg. The giant said, 'I will look on my map; on it are marked
all the towns, villages, and houses.' So he fetched his map, and
looked for the castle, but could not find it. 'Never mind,' he said,
'I have larger maps upstairs in the cupboard, we will look on those,'
but they searched in vain, for the castle was not marked even on
these. The man now thought he should like to continue his journey, but
the giant begged him to remain for a day or two longer until the
return of his brother, who was away in search of provisions. When the
brother came home, they asked him about the castle of Stromberg, and
he told them he would look on his own maps as soon as he had eaten and
appeased his hunger. Accordingly, when he had finished his supper,
they all went up together to his room and looked through his maps, but
the castle was not to be found. Then he fetched other older maps, and
they went on looking for the castle until at last they found it, but
it was many thousand miles away. 'How shall I be able to get there?'
asked the man. 'I have two hours to spare,' said the giant, 'and I
will carry you into the neighbourhood of the castle; I must then
return to look after the child who is in our care.'

The giant, thereupon, carried the man to within about a hundred
leagues of the castle, where he left him, saying, 'You will be able to
walk the remainder of the way yourself.' The man journeyed on day and
night till he reached the golden castle of Stromberg. He found it
situated, however, on a glass mountain, and looking up from the foot
he saw the enchanted maiden drive round her castle and then go inside.
He was overjoyed to see her, and longed to get to the top of the
mountain, but the sides were so slippery that every time he attempted
to climb he fell back again. When he saw that it was impossible to
reach her, he was greatly grieved, and said to himself, 'I will remain
here and wait for her,' so he built himself a little hut, and there he
sat and watched for a whole year, and every day he saw the king's
daughter driving round her castle, but still was unable to get nearer
to her.

Looking out from his hut one day he saw three robbers fighting and he
called out to them, 'God be with you.' They stopped when they heard
the call, but looking round and seeing nobody, they went on again with
their fighting, which now became more furious. 'God be with you,' he
cried again, and again they paused and looked about, but seeing no one
went back to their fighting. A third time he called out, 'God be with
you,' and then thinking he should like to know the cause of dispute
between the three men, he went out and asked them why they were
fighting so angrily with one another. One of them said that he had
found a stick, and that he had but to strike it against any door
through which he wished to pass, and it immediately flew open. Another
told him that he had found a cloak which rendered its wearer
invisible; and the third had caught a horse which would carry its
rider over any obstacle, and even up the glass mountain. They had been
unable to decide whether they would keep together and have the things


<< previous page | next page >>

Jump to page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 |