The Golden Blackbird

THE GOLDEN BLACKBIRD

Once upon a time there was a great lord who had three sons.

He fell very ill, sent for doctors of every kind, even bone-setters, but

they, none of them, could find out what was the matter with him, or even

give him any relief. At last there came a foreign doctor, who declared

that the Golden Blackbird alone could cure the sick man.

So the old lord despatched his eldest son to look for the wonderful

bird, and promised him great riches if he managed to find it and bring

it back.

The young man began his journey, and soon arrived at a place where four

roads met. He did not know which to choose, and tossed his cap in the

air, determining that the direction of its fall should decide him. After

travelling for two or three days, he grew tired of walking without

knowing where or for how long, and he stopped at an inn which was filled

with merrymakers and ordered something to eat and drink.

'My faith,' said he, 'it is sheer folly to waste more time hunting for

this bird. My father is old, and if he dies I shall inherit his goods.'

The old man, after waiting patiently for some time, sent his second son

to seek the Golden Blackbird. The youth took the same direction as his

brother, and when he came to the cross roads, he too tossed up which

road he should take. The cap fell in the same place as before, and he

walked on till he came to the spot where his brother had halted. The

latter, who was leaning out of the window of the inn, called to him to

stay where he was and amuse himself.

'You are right,' replied the youth. 'Who knows if I should ever find the

Golden Blackbird, even if I sought the whole world through for it. At

the worst, if the old man dies, we shall have his property.'

He entered the inn and the two brothers made merry and feasted, till

very soon their money was all spent. They even owed something to their

landlord, who kept them as hostages till they could pay their debts.

The youngest son set forth in his turn, and he arrived at the place

where his brothers were still prisoners. They called to him to stop, and

did all they could to prevent his going further.

'No,' he replied, 'my father trusted me, and I will go all over the

world till I find the Golden Blackbird.'

'Bah,' said his brothers, 'you will never succeed any better than we

did. Let him die if he wants to; we will divide the property.'

As he went his way he met a little hare, who stopped to look at him, and

asked:

'Where are you going, my friend?'

'I really don't quite know,' answered he. 'My father is ill, and he

cannot be cured unless I bring him back the Golden Blackbird. It is a

long time since I set out, but no one can tell me where to find it.'

'Ah,' said the hare, 'you have a long way to go yet. You will have to

walk at least seven hundred miles before you get to it.'

'And how am I to travel such a distance?'

'Mount on my back,' said the little hare, 'and I will conduct you.'

The young man obeyed: at each bound the little hare went seven miles,

and it was not long before they reached a castle that was as large and

beautiful as a castle could be.

'The Golden Blackbird is in a little cabin near by,' said the little

hare, 'and you will easily find it. It lives in a little cage, with

another cage beside it made all of gold. But whatever you do, be sure

not to put it in the beautiful cage, or everybody in the castle will

know that you have stolen it.'

The youth found the Golden Blackbird standing on a wooden perch, but as

stiff and rigid as if he was dead. And beside the beautiful cage was the

cage of gold.

'Perhaps he would revive if I were to put him in that lovely cage,'

thought the youth.

The moment that Golden Bird had touched the bars of the splendid cage he

awoke, and began to whistle, so that all the servants of the castle ran

to see what was the matter, saying that he was a thief and must be put

in prison.

'No,' he answered, 'I am not a thief. If I have taken the Golden

Blackbird, it is only that it may cure my father, who is ill, and I have

travelled more than seven hundred miles in order to find it.'

'Well,' they replied, 'we will let you go, and will even give you the

Golden Bird, if you are able to bring us the Porcelain Maiden.'

The youth departed, weeping, and met the little hare, who was munching

wild thyme.

'What are you crying for, my friend?' asked the hare.

'It is because,' he answered, 'the castle people will not allow me to

carry off the Golden Blackbird without giving them the Porcelain Maiden

in exchange.'

'You have not followed my advice,' said the little hare. 'And you have

put the Golden Bird into the fine cage.'

'Alas! yes!'

'Don't despair! the Porcelain Maiden is a young girl, beautiful as

Venus, who dwells two hundred miles from here. Jump on my back and I

will take you there.'

The little hare, who took seven miles in a stride, was there in no time

at all, and he stopped on the borders of a lake.

'The Porcelain Maiden,' said the hare to the youth, 'will come here to

bathe with her friends, while I just eat a mouthful of thyme to refresh

me. When she is in the lake, be sure you hide her clothes, which are of

dazzling whiteness, and do not give them back to her unless she consents

to follow you.'

The little hare left him, and almost immediately the Porcelain Maiden

arrived with her friends. She undressed herself and got into the water.

Then the young man glided up noiselessly and laid hold of her clothes,

which he hid under a rock at some distance.

When the Porcelain Maiden was tired of playing in the water she came out

to dress herself, but, though she hunted for her clothes high and low,

she could find them nowhere. Her friends helped her in the search, but,

seeing at last that it was of no use, they left her, alone on the bank,

weeping bitterly.

'Why do you cry?' said the young man, approaching her.

'Alas!' answered she, 'while I was bathing someone stole my clothes, and

my friends have abandoned me.'

'I will find your clothes if you will only come with me.'

And the Porcelain Maiden agreed to follow him, and after having given up

her clothes, the young man bought a small horse for her, which went like

the wind. The little hare brought them both back to seek for the Golden

Blackbird, and when they drew near to the castle where it lived the

little hare said to the young man:

[Illustration]

'Now, do be a little sharper than you were before, and you will manage

to carry off both the Golden Blackbird and the Porcelain Maiden. Take

the golden cage in one hand, and leave the bird in the old cage where he

is, and bring that away too.'

The little hare then vanished; the youth did as he was bid, and the

castle servants never noticed that he was carrying off the Golden Bird.

When he reached the inn where his brothers were detained, he delivered

them by paying their debt. They set out all together, but as the two

elder brothers were jealous of the success of the youngest, they took

the opportunity as they were passing by the shores of a lake to throw

themselves upon him, seize the Golden Bird, and fling him in the water.

Then they continued their journey, taking with them the Porcelain

Maiden, in the firm belief that their brother was drowned. But, happily,

he had snatched in falling at a tuft of rushes and called loudly for

help. The little hare came running to him, and said 'Take hold of my

leg and pull yourself out of the water.'

When he was safe on shore the little hare said to him:

'Now this is what you have to do: dress yourself like a Breton seeking a

place as stable-boy, and go and offer your services to your father. Once

there, you will easily be able to make him understand the truth.'

The young man did as the little hare bade him, and he went to his

father's castle and enquired if they were not in want of a stable-boy.

'Yes,' replied his father, 'very much indeed. But it is not an easy

place. There is a little horse in the stable which will not let anyone

go near it, and it has already kicked to death several people who have

tried to groom it.'

'I will undertake to groom it,' said the youth. 'I never saw the horse I

was afraid of yet.' The little horse allowed itself to be rubbed down

without a toss of its head and without a kick.

'Good gracious!' exclaimed the master; 'how is it that he lets you touch

him, when no one else can go near him?'

'Perhaps he knows me,' answered the stable-boy.

Two or three days later the master said to him: 'The Porcelain Maiden is

here: but, though she is as lovely as the dawn, she is so wicked that

she scratches everyone that approaches her. Try if she will accept your

services.'

When the youth entered the room where she was, the Golden Blackbird

broke forth into a joyful song, and the Porcelain Maiden sang too, and

jumped for joy.

'Good gracious!' cried the master. 'The Porcelain Maiden and the Golden

Blackbird know you too?'

'Yes,' replied the youth, 'and the Porcelain Maiden can tell you the

whole truth, if she only will.'

Then she told all that had happened, and how she had consented to follow

the young man who had captured the Golden Blackbird.

'Yes,' added the youth, 'I delivered my brothers, who were kept

prisoners in an inn, and, as a reward, they threw me into a lake. So I

disguised myself and came here, in order to prove the truth to you.'

So the old lord embraced his son, and promised that he should inherit

all his possessions, and he put to death the two elder ones, who had

deceived him and had tried to slay their own brother.

The young man married the Porcelain Maiden, and had a splendid

wedding-feast.

Sebillot.