Part 4

He turned upon my forefather and would have beheaded him on the spot for having told him about the thing, had not my forefather asked the privilege of cutting down the tree. He was at once commanded so to do, and in not very choice language, for the king was so far gone he had entirely forgotten the rules of polite society.

My forefather had been thinking all this time and thinking pretty hard, too, for he felt pretty sure he would not be home for supper that night if the king got no golden apples. And he thought to some purpose, and had observed the tree very minutely.

He took a long piece of heavy wire from his pocket, quickly placed it around the trunk of the tree, and, though he was carried some distance up before he could fasten it to his liking, he succeeded in doing so and dropping safely to the ground, though it was a goodly jump he had to make.

As the tree expanded in its growth of girth in proportion to its upward movement the wire soon began to cut into the trunk. Thus the tree was caught, for it had now grown to such a height if it did not keep on growing larger around it would become top-heavy and break off at the narrow point where was the wire.

And now the king’s pleasure knew no more bounds than did his wrath, and he knighted my forefather on the spot.

The work of the wire was made apparent by the waving of the tree top, which soon became quite visible; but the tree had grown so high when the wire had finished its task, the top fell far out into the ocean, with all its golden fruit.

And now the king did a very mean thing—he directed his sword-bearer to give him his long sword, which was about twenty feet long, with which he desired to have the honor of removing my forefather’s head.

But my forebear was not to be outdone. He grasped the king about the middle with the long fingers of his long hand on his long arm, held him high above his head for a moment, then threw him far out to sea, telling him to bring him some of the golden fruit and he would sit on his throne until he did so, which he proceeded to do, and thereby attained all the things he would have bought with the golden fruit, and many more besides.

So great had been the effort in throwing the king into the ocean, my forefather’s arm at once resumed its natural length.

X

_Wherein the Third Document is continued, relating here the second item thereof, which has to do with that mighty hunter my four-great-grandfather, and tells how he made a wonderful capture of a remarkable beast in nick of time to save his own life from the headsman of the king._

THIRD DOCUMENT—CONTINUED

_Item Second_

MY four-great-grandfather was a mighty hunter. So great a hunter was he, he was employed by the king to furnish his zoölogical garden, each Saturday of each week, with a new animal for his royal inspection.

There was but one single restriction on his employment not to my ancestor’s liking; but he knew his powers so well he had confidence he would never lose his employment in that manner. The restriction was, if he failed to present the king with a new manner of beast upon any Saturday he would lose his employment by having his head removed suddenly from his body.

It happened he was, like most young men, smitten by love, and one week he went away to get married, the nuptials not being finished until late Friday night. He had provided, however, against this contingency by capturing two new beasts the week before, thus having one on hand. What was his horror you may well imagine then when he found it had escaped.

There was nothing to do but go forth and capture another, and he was abroad the next morning before there was light enough to see.

He went into the forest at a new place and had traveled many miles without securing anything. Hitherto his practice had been to learn the whereabouts of the animals, then to set traps for them in the night time so he might obtain them without blemish, as it would have been worth his life to have taken before the king an animal marred or injured in any way. But now he had not time in which to set traps, and he knew not where to set them anyway.

And so it was as he was wandering along he observed at a great distance a most curious animal; for it had a head in front and a head behind, so that it could run either way and go forward all the time. In addition to this it had six legs—two at either end and two in the middle—the last two it could turn either way, so that it could have hind legs no matter in which direction it traveled.

It stopped and viewed him, with first one set of eyes, then with the other, and then with both sets; but kept just the same distance from him all the time—it was a very foxy animal.

He was much put out to discover the impossibility of capturing this wondrous beast. He thought of the thing he always carried with him, but the distance was too great to permit even one of his strength to throw a noose successfully over either set of horns, or in fact anywhere near it.

At last he discovered a great curved rock at some distance beyond the animal, and so maneuvered the animal finally stood beside it. Now, whenever he stopped the creature would stop; so he then stopped, and so did it. He then tied the end of his cord to an arrow and shot it with such dexterity and precision it went beneath the animal, struck the rock in such a manner it was turned back to him, and he immediately grasped both ends with such rapidity he was soon homeward bound with his prize, and his head was safe from the sword of the king’s executioner.

XI

_Relating a fish story of no mean pretensions and a fairy tale most graceful and entertaining._

THIRD DOCUMENT—Continued

_Item Third_

MY three-great-grandfather was a noted fisherman, and one of his adventures may not be out of place here, as it sets forth quite fully the sagacity and foresight of my ancestry.

He was one day sailing to his nets when he observed the buoys moving in a most erratic manner. It was his habit to prepare nets to entrap a delicious fish much in demand at the table of royalty, and he alone of all the fishermen it was who knew the feeding places of this particular fish and had received a royal patent giving him the exclusive right to sell that particular fish in the entire kingdom.

But this season had been very dull, and he had about concluded the fish had changed pasturage, and had settled upon a plan of action that would locate their new feeding grounds.

So withal he was much surprised to find his nets many miles nearer shore than was the place at which he had staked them but the day previous, and to behold them moving toward him at a steady gait, which could not be accounted for by reckoning the wind, of which there was not a breath at this time.

But his tremendous knowledge of the habits of the denizens of the deep came to his rescue and he veered from his course, let the nets go by, and turned and followed them at such convenient distance he discovered the truth of his conjecture.

There was a class of shark infesting those waters which had an especial liking for the kind of fish he was snaring, and these same sharks were exceedingly observant of his actions, as was now evident from the fact that at either end of the net, holding a stake in his jaws, was an enormous specimen swimming with great swiftness.

Hither and thither went the sharks, carrying the net in all directions. After an hour or two spent in this fashion, my forefather observed the speed of the net was slackening and he prepared for action, for he conceived the net was becoming so full of fish the sharks could not much longer propel it, and he was satisfied they would soon stop and go in for the feast they had thus prepared.

He was never taken unawares, and so it happened that the large saw fastened to the keel of his boat was brought into play.

And so it was, when the sharks at last stuck the stakes in the bottom, swam out in front of the net and stood side by side greedily contemplating the magnificent feast spread before them, my ancestor bore down upon them swiftly and sawed them each into two pieces so quickly neither of them was aware of it for some time after their tails had wiggled away, and might never have found out what was the trouble had they not looked back to see why their tails did not obey their commands to push them ahead. When they did find it out they were so chagrined they with one accord died then and there, as a just tribute to their sublime disgust with themselves.

And the amount of fish thus taken by my ancestor was so incomprehensible words fail to convey any adequate idea of its magnitude. There was not a single mesh in the net which did not contain at least one fish, and the net was four hundred feet long and five fathoms deep and each mesh was an inch and a half square. The method of computation is easy, but time is precious.

Thereupon my ancestor became a baron and the title has descended to your humble servant.

_Item Fourth_

My two-great-grandfather was a wise magician, and, so celebrated was he, wise men of the entire world consulted him upon doubtful questions which he readily solved without a single error in his calculations.

His various experiences when a mere lad with the genii were the foundation of his accomplishments, and in maturer years he made countless discoveries of new and wonderful things. It is my pleasure to regale you with one of these.

He had obtained great wealth by the aid of the curious lamp he had found in the most marvelous manner, but which is of small importance in comparison with what I am about to relate; and he so considered it, for he gave the lamp to a beggar when he had secured the talisman which is the subject of this sketch.

Then be it remembered that in the land of the Sapphires and Diamonds there lived a princess of such matchless beauty no man had yet looked upon her and survived the fire of the love which was instantaneously engendered within his breast; for he could sleep neither by day nor by night, nor could he eat or drink, but could think of nothing but this lovely princess. And the final end of each was the final end of all, which was by kissing the princess on the lips, for so cold was she the chilling shock to the burning heart produced instant death.

It was the serious desire of this princess when she became queen to wed, and so great was her disappointment at the death of each and every suitor she offered her realm to the man who should survive her kiss.

It so happened upon the publication of that information in the daily papers of the kingdom, the number of dead bodies in the queen’s palace became so great she could not move from where she stood, and suitors were not permitted to make the attempt for the space of six months, it requiring that time to remove and properly bury the dead, which were men of valor and renown, and their deaths were much deplored. No war had ever destroyed so many mighty warriors and statesmen and poets and clergymen and priests and common men in the history of the world.

It was about the end of the six months that my forefather entered the kingdom and became possessed of this information.

Being at the age when all the fires of existence are strong and steady, he would have at once entered the lists had he not been awakened one dark night by the moaning of the wind. Being well versed in the language of the breezes he accurately read the message and without loss of time took to his horse and sped over the mountains. He traveled steadily onward for several days, all the while rising high and higher.

But one gigantic peak remained to be scaled, when his progress was stopped by the great body of a terrible serpent so large in circumference it would have taken years to have built a bridge across it, as it extended several times around the peak.

This serpent my ancestor knew to be the genii which stood guard over the treasure of which he was in search. So, leaving his horse, he crept stealthily along until he found the monster’s head and it was sound asleep. He took from his pouch two large burning glasses and calculated the distance with such nicety the fire of the sun consumed both its eyes instantly. So great was its pain it uncoiled itself from about the mountain and rushed off into the valley, not knowing whither it went.

My forefather then bestrode his horse and safely arrived at the edge of the summit.

But here again his progress was stopped by a gate made of pure glass several feet thick and of great height, and which was but part of a fence of similar material that extended entirely around the top of the peak.

Within the enclosure was an extensive, magnificent park filled with large trees, around and among which twined countless vines, each bearing exquisite flowers, each of a different hue and of delightful fragrance. So beautiful was all within and so handsome the fence, he would not destroy it as he easily might have done. So he cast about him for a means of entrance to this paradise.

Now, it so occurred he had brought with him a compound which he mixed with the gum of a certain tree standing close by. Then with his hatchet he formed pieces of wood which he proceeded to place against the glass and which adhered firmly thereto by reason of the paste with which he had coated one side thereof. And thus he made a very comfortable ladder by virtue of which he was soon on the other side, for he made steps on that as he had done on the first side.

In turning a corner in one of the many lanes, he was confronted by ten ravishingly beautiful women, so rich had Nature been in her adornment of them. They stopped him and asked which was the most beautiful one of the ten. He gazed at them critically, and then insisted he was utterly unable to tell, for each was so deliciously sweet any man would be contented and happy with her. And so it was they exclaimed in unison he was a most excellent man and deserved everything he could wish as his reward, for he had been exceedingly wise in his answer.

He said he could not imagine for a moment any one could have made any other guess than the one he had made, when he was told there had been a princess there some years agone and had been asked the same question. They told him she had replied by selecting one of them, whereupon the princess was stricken with a heart of ice for having preferred one of the sisters above the others.

“A heart of ice!” he exclaimed.

“Yes, yes,” they replied; “a heart of ice.”

“What is that? The poor princess.”

“It is indeed sad,” said they; “for she will freeze to death every lover that kisses her lips and she will endure terrible agonies; for every man who looks upon her will be smitten, and she will let him kiss her to test his love, and he will die on the spot, frozen through and through by the shock of the cold of her heart striking against the heat of his heart.”

“Too bad!” said he.

“Not so,” they cried. “It served her right.”

“But is there no cure for this malady?” he asked.

“Yes, indeed,” they cried; “and a very sweet one it is.”

“What is it?” asked he. “Inasmuch as you have said I deserve everything I wish, I wish that information.”

They laughed and glanced merrily at each other, thinking he was trying to catch them in a falsehood.

“First of all, then,” said one, “there must come a very brave man; for he must overcome the serpent at the foot of the hill; he must scale the fence of glass, and he must answer our question correctly. And then he must go to the center of the earth and kiss our queen.”

“Show me the way to the center of the earth,” he demanded.

They laughingly led him to a great hole in the ground, which was as smooth as glass, and he afterward learned it was a glass tube which ran to the center of the earth. As he stood looking down it and meditating they said many had gone down but not one had ever returned.

His quick mind had solved the difficulty, for to the one nearest him he said:

“Will you give me as a talisman one hair from the top of your head and permit me to select it?”

The others became quite hilarious at this, and twitted him on making his first guess a lie.

When he had obtained the hair he turned to the next one and made of her a similar request, and so on until he had a hair from the head of each one. Then he braided them together and asked:

“You say many have gone down but none has returned. What became of them?”

“They have fallen and died, for they knew not how to get down,” was their answer.

He then took from his pocket a small phial, removed the cork, took some of the contents on the tips of his fingers and rubbed it on the rope made of the hair of their heads. It at once began to grow in length much faster than it grew in size, and ere he had used the contents of the phial the end had touched the center of the earth.

Then he said to them: “You hold this end and I will go to the center of the earth, and wait you here and hold the rope until I come. You will promise that, as I wish it and you have promised to grant me whatever I wish.”

They agreed. He wrapped the rope about a stick of glass and quickly disappeared.

At the end of his descent he found himself in the midst of a large assemblage, who looked upon him wonderingly, not knowing what sort of a being he was, or seeming not to know. He was led toward a throne which flashed upon him with such brilliance he did not at first behold it was occupied. When he became accustomed to the dazzling radiance of the throne he beheld sitting upon it the most beautiful woman, and she must have been indeed fascinating, for he had never dreamed of one so bewitching, and he was a great dreamer.

It was impossible for him to remove his gaze from her for a long time, and when she spoke the music of her tones held him spellbound. The glances of her eyes were almost torturing.

But he kept saying to himself she could not be more delicious than the princess, and surely not so many men have died for this one’s love as have died for the love of the princess; therefore, the princess must be still more lovely.

Thus saying he recovered his composure, stepped to the throne, and began to ascend. Thereupon a murmur arose which made him pause for an instant; but the queen held out her arms; into them he flew and sought to kiss her, but she clung to him so tenderly and cautiously he could not do so at once. He was not to be outdone, however, and lavished caresses upon her until she was off her guard, when he kissed her full upon her red lips. There went a thrill through him he had never experienced and it made him dizzy for awhile, for she did not permit him to remove his lips from hers.

Then came before his mind’s eye the poor princess and her torturing condition. His sense of duty to her overcame the blandishments of this fair, sweet one, and slowly but delicately he freed himself from her embrace, saying:

“O, Queen, thou art the most beautiful of all flesh; there are no other lips like thine; no other woman was ever possessed of such an exquisite form; no other woman’s voice hath so many charms—thou art the queen of queens.”

“Then abide thou here and be my king,” said she.

“It may not be,” said he, “for I have a duty to perform to one of thy sex who is suffering from a terrible malady, and that duty is greater than thy charms, though none knows their grandeur.”

Then the queen drew him gently to her and kissed him on the forehead most lovingly, and bade him sit beside her.

After long and beautiful converse with her, in which she told him she was but tempting him to test his fitness for the mission, he left her with instructions to treat each of the ten maids above as he had treated her—which made him tremble slightly.

When he had ascended to the garden the ten maids were waiting for him and one of them held out her arms to him. He responded with alacrity and she held him so lovingly that for a moment his resolution wavered. But he released himself only to be folded in the arms of another and another until the last one twined her arms about him.

It had been a gallant struggle, but it had ended there had not the neighing of his horse recalled him to himself.

Thereupon he tore himself away, ran up the ladder, down the other side, mounted his horse, and they flew down the steep incline with such speed that though the old serpent had returned with new eyes they cleared his body at a single bound and were off through the mountains in the twinkling of a star, speeding toward the palace of the princess.

When he entered the hall but one suitor had been tested and he lay dead on the floor. There followed him in, however, a horde of would-be lovers, of all stations and degrees, but the strict order of arrival was observed, and he stood next in succession.

As he advanced toward the bewitching being his eyes burned and his pulse throbbed with twice its usual power. He was drawn with such magnetism he could not resist. She was even more comely than any of the charmers he had met in the mountain.

He was within ten paces of her and she was looking at him yearningly, when there suddenly appeared between them the ten maids, who asked of her:

“Which of us is the most beautiful?”

The princess queen was undecided, glancing slowly from one to the other. Then she was bewildered, and at last cried:

“I cannot tell, for you are all so lovely it is impossible for any mortal to say.”

Thereupon they clapped their hands and vanished.

Then he stepped forward and folded her in his arms. Their lips met not once or twice, but many, many times. The crowd had expected him to fall dead, and it now roared with rage, for it had not observed the maids and knew not what had really happened, and each had considered that had it been himself that had pressed her lips he should not have died.

So my forefather became the king of the realm and ruled so well and amiably he was beloved by all his subjects, but most of all by the ten fairies, for they were nothing less, who lived on the mountain top and to whom each year he gave a great feast.

XII

_Being a continuation still further into the Third Document and giving a careful account of a most marvelous sailing trip in Item Fifth of said Document._

THIRD DOCUMENT—CONTINUED

_Item Fifth_

MY one-great-grandfather was a renowned sailor, of such repute his name was known in all the countries of the earth. It may not be amiss to relate the occurrences of a single voyage made by him, the like of which has not been met with since nor had been met with before.

He determined to sail around the earth in a straight line, for it was known, even by my remote ancestor, the earth was round. It was difficult for him to get a sufficient crew for his ship, but as he had made a wager with the king, of a thousand talents of gold, he could do it, and offered to divide the result with his sailors, he at last had his ship manned and ready to sail. The last thing put aboard was a great trough made in sections.

He set sail upon a day in June. After sailing before a stiff breeze for many days, land was sighted, toward which the ship’s nose was pointed. At this the sailors became alarmed, for they were sure they would be dashed to pieces on the shore, which, however, was a sandy beach. But my forefather kept on his course and when they were within a short distance of the beach, he made known the use to which he was about to put the trough, which was to lay it before the ship in such manner the keel would run in it and as fast as she left one section behind it was taken up and placed down before.