Part 34 (1/2)
Once upon a ti who had three sons, and by the ti had grown so old that the cares of the kingdoan to rest over-heavily upon his shoulders So he called his chief councillor and told hin in his stead To the son who loved hidom, to the son who loved him the next best the next part, and to the son who loved him the least the least part The old councillor was very wise and shook his head, but the king'sbeen settled as to what he was about to do So he called the princes to him one by one and asked each as to how old,” said the oldest prince, and the king was very pleased that his son should give him such love
”I love you as awas pleased with that also
But when the youngest prince was called, he did not answer at first, but thought and thought At last he looked up ”I love you,” said he, ”as I love salt”
When the king heard what his youngest son said he was filled with anger
”What!” he cried, ”do you love me no better than salt--a stuff that is the s to the taste, and the cheapest and the cos in the world? Aith you, and never let ain! Henceforth you are no son ofwould not allow hi est prince the best of all her sons, and when she heard how the king was about to drive him forth into the orld to shi+ft for himself, she wept and wept ”Ah,that I have to give you Nevertheless, I have one precious thing Here is a ring; take it and wear it always, for so long as you have it upon your finger no ic can have power over you”
Thus it was that the youngest prince set forth into the orld with little or nothing but a ring upon his finger
For seven days he travelled on, and knew not where he was going or whither his footsteps led At the end of that tiates, and found himself in a city the like of which he had never seen in his life before for grandeur and ardens, stores and bazaars croith rich stuffs of satin and silk and wrought silver and gold of cunningest workmanshi+p; for the land to which he had come was the richest in all of the world All that day he wandered up and down, and thought nothing of weariness and hunger for wonder of all that he saw But at last evening dren, and he began to bethink hiht
Just then he cae, over the wall of which leaned an olddown into the water He was dressed richly but soberly, and every now and then he sighed and groaned, and as the prince drew near he saw the tears falling--drip, drip--from the old man's eyes
The prince had a kind heart, and could not bear to see one in distress; so he spoke to the old man, and asked him his trouble
”Ah, me!” said the other, ”only yesterday I had a son, tall and handsome like yourself But the queen took hie, like a tree stripped of leaves and fruit”
”But surely,” said the prince, ”it can be no such sad matter to sup with a queen That is an honor that most er in this place, or else you would know that no youth so chosen to sup with the queen ever returns to his hoer and have only cos Even when I found you I was about to ask the way to soe”
”Then coht,” said the old man ”I live all alone, and I will tell you the trouble that lies upon this country” Thereupon, taking the prince by the are and to another quarter of the tohere he dwelt He bade the servants prepare a fine supper, and he and the prince sat down to the table together
After they had , the old s of which he had spoken, and thus it was:
”When the king of this land died he left behind hihters--the most beautiful princesses in all of the world
”Folk hardly dared speak of the eldest of thes said that she was a sorceress, and that strange and gruesos were done by her The second princess was also a witch, though it was not said that she was evil, like the other As for the youngest of the three, she was as beautiful as the olden thread was about her neck, and it was foretold of her that she was to be the queen of that land
”But not long after the old king died the youngest princess vanished--no one could tell whither, and no one dared to ask--and the eldest princess had herself crowned as queen, and no one dared gainsay her For a while everything ell enough, but by-and-by evil days came upon the land
Once every seven days the queen would bid so, to sup with her, and froain, and no one dared ask what had becoreat folk at the queen's palace--officers and courtiers--who suffered; but by-and-by the sons of the an to be taken One time,” said the oldmen as could be found in the orld One day the chief of the queen's officers ca how many sons I had I was forced to tell him, and in a little while they were taken one by one to the queen's palace, and I never saw theain
”Butas well as the old
You yourself have had trouble, or else I am mistaken Tellof it hter”
The prince did as the old man bade hi and talking until far into the night, and the old rew fonder and fonder of the prince the more he saw of him So the end of the matter was that he asked the prince to live with hi man had now no father and he no children, and the prince consented gladly enough
So the two lived together like father and son, and the good old an to take some joy in life onceup to the door but the chief of the queen's officers
”How is this?” said he to the old man, when he saw the prince ”Did you not tell me that you had but three sons, and is this not a fourth?”