Chapter 7

Once upon a time there was a king and queen, as many a one has been, and they had three daughters, all of them beautiful; but the most beautiful of all was the youngest whose name was Anima. Now it happened one day that all three sisters were playing in the meadows, and Anima saw a bush with lovely flowers. As she wished to carry it home to plant in her own garden she plucked at the root and plucked and plucked again. At last it gave way, and she saw beneath it a stairway going down farther into the earth. Being a brave girl and very curious as to where this could lead to, without calling her sisters, she crept down the stairs for a long, long way, till at last she came out into the open air again in a country which she had never seen before, and not far away, in front of her, she saw a magnificent palace.

Anima ran towards it, and when she came to the door she knocked at the knocker and it opened without anybody being there. So she went in and found all inside richly bedecked with marble walls and rich trappings; and, as she went along, lovely music broke out and came with her wherever she went. At last she came to a room with cosy couches, and she threw herself into one because she was tired with her searching. Scarcely had she done so, when there appeared a table coming towards her on wheels, without anybody moving it, and upon the table were delightful fruits and cakes and cool drinks of all kinds. So Anima took as much as she needed and fell into slumber and did not awake till it was getting dark. And then appeared through the air two large candlesticks, each with three candles in them; and they swam through the air and settled upon the tables near her, so that she had plenty of light. But she cried out: "Oh, I must go back to my father and mother; how shall I go? How shall I go?"

Then a sweet voice near her spoke out and said: "Abide with me and be my bride, and thou shalt have all thy heart desires."

But Anima cried out in fear and trembling: "But who art thou? Who art thou? Come forth and let me see thee."

But the voice replied: "Nay, nay, that is forbidden. Never must thou look upon my face or we must part, for my mother, the Queen, wishes not that I should wed."

So sweet was his voice and so lonely did Anima feel, that she consented to become his bride, and they lived happily together, though he never came near her till all was dark, so that she could not see him. But after a time Anima became weary even with all these splendours and happiness, and wished to see her own people again, and said to her husband:

"Please may I go home and see my father and my mother and my dear sisters?"

"Nay, nay, child," said the voice of her husband, "ill will come of it if thou seest them again, and thou and I must part."

But she kept on begging him to let her return to her people for a visit, or at least to let them come and see her, till at last he consented and sent a message to her father and mother and sisters, asking them to come and spend some days with her, at a time when he himself would have to be absent.

So the King and Queen and Anima's two sisters came and wondered at the splendours of her new home, and, above all, was surprised to find that they were waited on by invisible hands, who did all for them that they could wish for. But Anima's sisters soon became both curious and envious; they could not guess who or what her husband was, and envied her having so wonderful a household.

So one of them said to her: "But Anima, how marry a man without ever seeing him? There must be some reason why he will not show himself; perhaps he is deformed, or maybe he is some beast transformed."

But Anima laughed and said: "He is no beast, that I am sure; and see how kind he is to me. I do not care if he is not as handsome as he does."

Still the sisters kept on insisting that there must be something wrong where there was something concealed, and at last they got their mother the Queen to say to her as she was leaving: "Now, Anima, I think it right to know who and what thy husband is. Wait till he is asleep and light a lamp, and then see what he is."

Soon after this they all departed. And the same night her husband came to Anima again, but she had already prepared a lamp of oil with a spark of fire ready to kindle it. And when she heard him sleeping by her side she lit the candle and looked at him. She was delighted to find that he was most handsome, with a strong and well-made body. But as she was looking at him her hand trembled with delight and three drops of oil fell upon his cheek from the lamp she was holding. Then he woke up and saw her, and knew that she had broken her promise, and said:

"Oh, Anima, oh, Anima, why hast thou done this? Here we part until thou canst persuade my mother the Queen to let thee see me again."

With that came a rumbling of thunder and her lamp went out, and Anima fell to the ground in a swoon. And when she awoke the palace had disappeared and she was on a bleak, bleak moor. She walked and she walked till she came to a house by the wayside where an old woman received her and gave her something to eat and drink, and then asked Anima how she came there. So Anima told all that had happened to her, and the old woman said:

"Thou hast married my nephew, my sister's son, and I fear she will never forgive thee. But pluck up courage, go to her and demand thy husband, and she'll have to give him up to thee if thou canst do all that she demands from thee. Take this twig; if she asks what I think she will ask, strike it on the ground thrice and help will come to thee."

Then she told Anima the way to her husband's mother, and, as it was far distant, gave her directions where she could find another sister of hers who might help her. So she came to another house along the way where she saw another old woman, to whom she told her story, and this old woman, the Queen's sister, gave her a raven's feather and told her how to use it.

At last Anima came to the palace of the Queen, the mother of her invisible husband, and when she came into her presence demanded to see him.

"What, thou low-born mortal," cried the Queen; "how didst thou dare to wed my son?"

"It was his choice," said Anima, "and I am now his wife. Surely you will let me see him once more."

"Well," said the Queen, "if thou canst do what I demand of thee thou shalt see my son again. And first go into that barn where my stupid stewards have poured together all the wheat and oats and rice into one great heap. If by nightfall thou canst separate them into three heaps perhaps I may grant thy request."

So Anima was led to the great barn of the Queen and there was a huge heap of grain all mixed together, and she was left alone, and the barn was closed upon her. Then she bethought herself of the twig that the Queen's sister had given her, and she struck it thrice upon the ground, whereupon thousands of ants came out of the ground and began to work upon the heap of grain, some of them taking the wheat to one corner, some the oats to another, and the rest carrying off the grains of rice to a third. By nightfall all the grain had been separated, and when the Queen came to let out Anima she found the task had been done.

"Thou hast had help," she cried; "we'll see to-morrow if thou canst do something by thyself."

Next day the Queen took her into a large loft at the top of the palace almost filled with feathers of geese, of eider ducks, and of swans, and from her cupboard she took twelve mattresses and said:

"See these mattresses; by the end of the day thou must fill four of them with swans' feathers, four of them with eider-down, and the rest with feathers of geese. Do that and then we will see."

With that she left Anima and closed and locked the door behind her. And Anima remembered what the other Queen's sister had given her, and took out the raven's feather and waved it thrice. Immediately birds, and birds, and birds came flying through the windows, and each of them picked out different kinds of feathers and placed them in the mattresses, so that long before night the twelve mattresses were filled as the Queen had ordered.

Again at nightfall the Queen came in, and as soon as she saw that the second task had been carried out, she said:

"Again thou hast had help; to-morrow thou shalt have something to do which thou alone canst carry out."

Next day the Queen summoned her and gave her a small flask and a letter and said to her:

"Take these to my sister, the Queen of the Nether-World, and bring back what she will give to thee safely, and then I may let thee see my son."

"How can I find your sister?" said Anima.

"That thou must find for thyself," and left her.

Poor Anima did not know which way to go, but as she walked along the voice of some one invisible to her said softly:

"Take with thee a copper coin and a loaf of bread and go down that deep defile there till thou comest to a deep river and there thou wilt see an old man ferrying people across the river. Put the coin between your teeth and let him take it from you, and he will carry you across, but speak not to him. Then, on the other side, thou wilt come to a dark cave, and at the entrance is a savage dog; give him the loaf of bread and he will let thee pass and thou wilt soon come to the Queen of the Nether-World. Take what she gives thee, but beware lest thou eat anything or sit down while thou art within the cave."

Anima recognized the voice of her husband and did all that he had told her, till she came to the Queen of the Nether-World, who read the letter she had handed to her. Then she offered Anima cake and wine, but she refused, shaking her head, but saying nothing. Then the Queen of the Nether-World gave her a curiously wrought box and said to her:

"Take this, I pray thee, to my sister, but beware lest thou open it on the way or ill may befall thee," and then dismissed her.

Anima went back past the great dog and crossed the dark river. When she got into the forest beyond she could not resist the temptation to open the box, and when she did so out jumped a number of little dolls, which commenced dancing about in front of her and around her and amused her much by their playful antics. But soon the night was coming on, and she wanted to put them into the box, and they ran away and hid behind the trees, and Anima knew that she could not get them back. So she sat down upon the ground and wept, and wept, and wept. But at last she heard the voice of her husband once more, who said:

"See what thy curiosity has again brought upon thee; thou canst not bring back the box to my mother just as my aunt the Queen of the Nether-World has given it to you, and so we shall not see one another again."

But at this Anima burst out into weeping and wailing so piteously that he took compassion on her and said:

"See that golden bough on yonder tree; pluck it and strike the ground three times with it and see what thou wilt see."

Anima did as she had been told, and soon the little dolls came running from behind the trees and jumped of their own accord into the box; and she closed it quickly and took it back to the Queen, her husband's mother.

The Queen opened the box, and when she found all the little dolls were in it laughed aloud and said:

"I know who has helped thee; I cannot help myself; I suppose thou must have my son."

And as soon as she had said this Anima's husband appeared and took her to him, and they lived happy ever afterwards.

THE MASTER-MAID

There was once a king and a queen and they had a bonny boy whom they loved beyond anything. Now when he was grown up into a fine young prince, the King, his father, went a-hunting one day and lost his way in the forest, and when he came through it he found a raging stream between him and his palace. He did not know how to get home, when suddenly a huge giant came out of the forest and said:

"What would you give if I carried you across?"

"Anything, anything," said the King.

"Will you give me the first thing that meets you as you come to the palace gate?"

The King thought for a while and then remembered that whenever he came to the gate of the palace his favourite deerhound Bevis always came to greet him. So, though he was sorry to lose him, he thought it was worth while, and agreed with the giant.

Thereupon the giant took the King upon his shoulders and wading across the raging stream landed him on the farther bank and saying to him, "Remember what you have promised," went back again to the other side.

The King soon found his way towards the palace, but as he came to the palace gate it happened that his son Prince Edgar was standing there, and before Bevis the hound could dash out to greet his master, Prince Edgar had rushed towards his father and caught him by the hand. The King was rather startled but thought to himself:

"Oh, how will the giant know who met me? After all I intended to give him Bevis, and that's what I'll do when he comes."

The next day the giant came to the castle gates and asked to see the King, and when he was admitted to his presence he said:

"I come for your promise."

"Bring Bevis the hound," said the King to his attendants.

But the giant said: "I want no hound; give me your Prince."

The King was alarmed at finding that the giant knew who had met him; but he told him that the Prince was away, but he would send and summon him. Then he called his High Steward and told him to dress up the herd-boy of the palace in some of the Prince's clothes. And when this was done he gave him to the giant, who hoisted him on his shoulder and strode off with him.

When they had gone a little way along the herd-boy in the Prince's suit called out:

"Stop, stop, I am hungry; this is the time the herd rests and I have my luncheon."

Then the giant knew that he had been deceived and went back to the King's palace and said to him:

"Take your herd-boy and give me the Prince."

The King was again startled to find that the giant had found out his trick, but thought to himself:

"Well, he didn't find out at once; we'll have another try," and ordered his Steward to dress up the shepherd boy in the Prince's clothes and give him to the giant.

Again the giant strode off with the shepherd boy in Prince's clothes upon his shoulder, and they had not gone far when the boy called out:

"Stop, stop, it is time for lunch; this is when the sheep all rest."

Then again the giant knew that he had been tricked and rushed back in a rage to the King's palace and threw the shepherd boy to the ground and called out:

"Take your shepherd boy and give me the Prince you promised, or it will be worse for you."

This time the King dared not refuse and called Prince Edgar to him and gave him to the giant, who seized him as before and put him on his shoulder.

After they had gone a little way, the Prince called out:

"'Tis time to stop; this is the time I have always lunched with my father the King and my mother the Queen."

Then the giant knew that he had got the right Prince and took him home to his castle. When he got him there he gave him his supper and told him that he would have to work for him and that his first work would be next day to clean out the stable.

"That's not much," thought the Prince, and went to bed quite happy and comfortable.

Next day the giant took Edgar into the giant's stable, which was full of straw and dirt and all huddled up, and pointing to a pitchfork said:

"Clear all of this straw out of this stable by to-night," and left him to his task.

The Prince thought this was an easy thing to do, and before starting went to get a drink at the well, and there he saw a most beautiful maiden sitting by the well and knitting.

"Who are you?" said she.

And so he told her all that had happened and said:

"At any rate I have an easy master; all he has given me to do is to clear out the stable."

"That is not so easy as you think," said the maid. "How are you going to do it?"

"With a pitchfork."

"You will find that not so easy; if you try to use the pitchfork in the ordinary way, the more you shove the more there will be; but turn the pitchfork upside-down and push with the handle and all the straw and stuff will run away from it."

So Prince Edgar went back to the stable, and sure enough, when he tried to push the straw with the fork it only grew more and more, but if he turned the handle towards it the straw moved away from the fork and so he soon cleared it out of the stable.

When the giant came home the first thing he did was to go to the stable; and when he saw it had all been cleared out he said to the Prince:

"Ah, you've been talking to my Master-Maid. Well, to-morrow you'll have to cut down that clump of trees."

"Very well, Master," said Prince Edgar, and thought that would not be difficult.

But next morning the giant gave him an axe made of glass and told him that he must cut down every one of the trees before nightfall.

When he had gone away, the Prince went to the Master-Maid and told her what his task was.

"You cannot do that with such an axe, but never mind, I can help you. Sleep here in peace and when you wake up you will see what you will see."

So Prince Edgar trusted the Master-Maid and lay down and slept till late in the afternoon, when he woke up and looked, and there were the trees all felled and the Master-Maid was smiling by his side.

"How did you do it?" he said.

"That I may not say, but done it is, and that is all that you need care for."

When the giant came home, the first thing he did was to go to the clump of trees and found, to his surprise, that they had all been felled.

"Ah, you've spoken to my Master-Maid," he said once more.

"Who is she?" said the Prince.

"You know well enough," said the giant. "But for her you could not have cut down those trees with that glass axe."

"I do not know what you mean," said the Prince. "But at any rate, there you have your trees cut down, what more do you want?"

"Well, well," grumbled the giant, "we'll see to-morrow whether you can do what I tell you then," and would not say what his task should be next day.

When the morning came, the giant pointed to the tallest tree in the forest near them, and said:

"Do you see that birds' nest in the top of that tree? In it are six eggs; you must climb up there and get all those eggs for me before nightfall, and if one is broken woe betide you!"

At that Prince Edgar did not feel so happy, for there were no branches to the tree till very near the top, and it was as smooth, as smooth as it could be, and he did not see how possibly he could reach the birds' nest. But when the giant had gone out for the day he went at once to the Master-Maid and told her of his new task.

"That is the hardest of all," said the Master-Maid. "There is only one way to do the task. You must cut me up into small pieces and take out my bones, and out of the bones you must make a ladder, and with that ladder you can reach the top."

"That I will never do," said the Prince. "You've been so good to me, shall I do you harm? Before that, I should suffer whatever punishment the giant will give me for not carrying out the task."

"But all will be well," said the Master-Maid. "As soon as you have brought down the nest, all that you will have to do is to put the bones together and sprinkle on them the water from this flask, and then I shall be whole again just as before."

After much persuasion the Prince agreed to do what the Master-Maid had told him, and made a ladder out of her bones and climbed up to the top of the tree and took the birds' nest with the six eggs in it, and then he put the bones together, but forgot to put one little bone in its proper place.

So when he had sprinkled the water over the bones the Master-Maid stood up before him just as before, but the little finger of her left hand was not there. She cried and said:

"Ah, why did you not do what I told you--put all my bones together in their place? You forgot my little finger; I shall never have one all the days of my life."

When the giant came home, he asked the Prince:

"Where is the birds' nest?"

And the Prince brought it to him with the eggs all safe within it. And then the giant said:

"Ah, you have spoken to my Master-Maid."

"Whom do you mean by your Master-Maid?" said the Prince. "There are your eggs, what more do you want?"

But the giant said: "Well, as the Master-Maid has helped you so far she can help you always. You shall marry her today and sleep in my own four-poster."

The Prince was well content with that arrangement and went and sought the Master-Maid and told her what the giant had said.

The Master-Maid wept and said: "You know not what he means. His four-poster rolls up and would crush us and we would be dead before the morning. Let me think, let me think."

So the Master-Maid took an apple and divided it into six parts and put two at the foot of the bed and two at the door of the room and two at the foot of the stairs.

When night came, the Master-Maid and her Prince went up into the room with the four-poster, but as soon as it was dark crept down the stairs and went out to the stable and chose two of the swiftest horses there and rode away as quickly as they could.

The giant waited for some time after they had gone upstairs and then called out:

"Are you asleep?"

And the two apple shares near the bed called out:

"Not yet, not yet!"

So after waiting some time he called out again:

"Are you asleep?"

And the apple shares at the door called out:

"Not yet, not yet!"

And still a third time the giant called out:

"Are you asleep?"

And the apple shares on the stairs replied:

"Not yet, not yet!"

Then the giant knew that the voice was outside the bedroom, and rushed up to find Edgar and his bride, but found they were gone. He rushed to the stable and chose his great horse Dapplegrim and rode after Prince Edgar and the Master-Maid.

They had gone on a good way in front; but after a time they heard the trampling of the hoofs of the great horse Dapplegrim, and the Master-Maid said to Prince Edgar:

"That is the giant; he will soon overtake us if we do not do something." And she jumped off her horse and bade Prince Edgar do the same.

Then the Master-Maid took three twigs and threw them behind her with magic spells; and they grew and they grew and they grew, till they became a huge thick forest. And the Master-Maid and Edgar jumped upon their horses again and rode away as fast as they could.

But the giant, as soon as he came to the forest, had to take his axe from his side and hew his way through the thick trees, so that Edgar and the Master-Maid got far ahead. But soon they heard once more the trampling of Dapplegrim close behind them; and the Master-Maid took the glass axe that the giant had given Edgar on the second day, and threw it behind her with magic spells. And a huge glass mountain rose behind them, so that the giant had to stop and split his way through the glass mountain.

Edgar and the Master-Maid rode on at full speed, but once again they heard Dapplegrim trampling behind them, and the Master-Maid took the flask of water from her side and cast it down back of her, and out of it gushed a huge stream.

When the giant came up to the stream and tried to make Dapplegrim swim through it he would not; and then he lay down on the bank of the stream and commenced to drink up as much of it as he could. And he drank and he drank and he drank, till at last he swallowed so much that he burst; and that was the end of the giant.

Meanwhile Edgar and the Master-Maid had ridden on fast and furious till they came near where the palace of the King, Edgar's father, could be seen in the far distance. And Edgar said: