Jens Christian Bay

“ The tailor's heroism at once awoke; he pushed the door open, seized his sword, and rushed into the room, where he found Mads, his wealthy neighbor, standing before the little woman, threatening to beat her with a thick cane. "He will never return home to you!" shouted Mads. "I will beat you until you give up every thought of him and consent to marry me."
"Yes, he will!" cried the little tailor; "and here he is, a great and honored man! With this sword I have killed two giants, a unicorn, and a wild boar, and six hundred gold pieces were my reward." ”

“ He denied having done so. "Feel in your pockets," said the bull. There was, indeed, an apple in one of his pockets, but he was willing to throw it away. "That would not help us," said the bull again. At the same moment a troll with three heads came running towards them, roaring: "Why do you steal my apples?" "Come, if you dare!" cried the bull; and seizing the troll on his horns, he threw him high in the air. "You may have them all," shouted the troll, "if you will leave me alone." "That depends upon your giving us the black horse which is now in your stable," answered the bull. ”

“ I live for a grand purpose."
"Poor man!" said the prince; "you have never been happy. Does it not please you to hear the birds twitter and to feel the warm sunshine? Do you never enjoy the pleasant and solemn sound of church-bells every morning at sunrise, and again at sunset, when the shadows are lengthening over the fields? Do you never feel the blessings of living for others?" "I have thought and studied for many years," replied the philosopher, "but perfectly happy I never was until I lost my heart. I have lost that, and do not wish to have it back." "Poor man!" said the prince again ”

“ The princess became greatly surprised when the lad beckoned her to follow him into the pantry. She complied, however, and when Mother's Pet had closed the door after them he said to her: "Shall I tell you how to get rid of your suitors?" "I wish you would," replied the sweet princess. "Listen," pursued Mother's Pet, "and mark my words! Tell them you are willing to marry any one of them who brings you a hen which lays golden eggs, a golden hand-mill which grinds by itself, and a golden lantern which can light up the whole kingdom." ”

“ The geese were transformed into men and women, and the giant arose, active and alive, but quite altered; he was a prince of fair countenance and stately bearing. But the beautiful maiden was changed into an old, ugly-looking witch, which flew far away, never to be seen again. The prince thanked the little tailor most heartily for his brave and noble conduct, while his wife, who had been living at the castle in the shape of a white goose, joined them. ”

“ When they had travelled a short distance Peter made a jump, and exclaimed: "Look what I have found!" "What did you find?" inquired one of his brothers, turning around. It was only a dead crow which was lying in the road. "I must take it along to the palace," said Peter again; "no one knows what use one may have of it." "Oh, you are a real fool!" said his brothers, spurring on their horses and fetching him a rap with their horsewhips. "Wait and take me along!" shouted he. "You may follow us as well as you can," answered they. Peter stuffed the dead bird into his pocket and quickened his walk. ”

“ When she became very old, and thought she was about to die, she called the little boy to her and said: "I am old, Hans, and may not live long. You were always a good boy, and therefore you shall have my only treasure, a coffee-mill which I have always kept at the bottom of my old chest. This coffee-mill will grind all that you wish. If you say to it, 'Grind a house, little mill,' it will work away, and there the house will stand. When you say, 'Stop, little mill,' it will cease to grind." ”

“ As soon as the king learned this he started for the little man's house, followed by all his noblemen, and asked permission to look at the treasure. The tailor readily complied, and spread out a fine lunch for his majesty and the courtiers. The king was pleased and wished at once to buy the wonderful cloth; he offered the tailor any price, but in vain; the little man refused all offers. Then the king grew angry. "I shall show you, upon my word," cried he, "who I am! If you are obstinate I shall use force against you. Don't you know, man, that a king should have his will?" ”

“ There is a large and quiet-looking building, lonely, situated in the outskirts of the city, with high and firm walls, the monotony of which is broken by no ornament except the regular lines of small, curious windows. These look, in fact, rather like the small, deep-set eyes of an old, irascible bachelor than spaces through which the sunlight, which God gave to mankind before anything else was created, can penetrate the darkness within and conjure away the shadows. ”

“ The merchant's pride awoke. "I am afraid of no person, living or dead," said he, looking straight at the landlord's cunning features.
"Come along, then," exclaimed the man, "and I will show you the place." He led the way out of the inn and up an avenue of old chestnut-trees into a dejected ruin, where time had left only a few rooms free from destruction. Into one of these they went. It was a large, gloomy room, with a few pieces of furniture: an old bed, with stiff, faded curtains, a solid oak table, two easy-chairs, and an old iron-clad chest. ”

“ The young merchant asked if he could not be allowed to sleep in the hay-loft. It was a stormy evening, and he was tired out.
"No," replied his host; "people who have no money are not my people. I don't care what becomes of them."
"Why can't you," said one of the guests, who was sitting in a corner with several others before a steaming bowl of punch, "let this young man sleep in the old ruin across the way?"
"In the ruin!" repeated the host, grinning slyly. "Why not? That will be a splendid place to rest," continued he, turning to the young man, "if you are not afraid of ghosts." ”

“ You tar me and roll me in feathers until I look like a bird, then help me up into the large apple-tree, where I will cry,
"THE TAIL SLIPPED OUT OF HIS HANDS"
'Cuckoo, cuckoo!' until he thinks that the cuckoo has really come!" "You are a cunning woman," answered the troll, admiringly; "it shall be as you say." Upon this they retired, well pleased. Next morning Hans and the troll were sitting at the breakfast-table—the woman was outside—when all at once they heard the cuckoo chant from the apple-tree, "Cuckoo, cuckoo!" "Listen!" said the troll; "the cuckoo has come." ”

“ The sun shone so bright and pleasant that the rich man had spread his money on a table near the open window to prevent his gold from becoming mouldy. All at once the pot stood on the table before him. He began to count his money over, as wealthy men sometimes like to do, and although he could not imagine where this black pot had come from, he thought it would be a good place to keep his money in the future. ”

“ The young man thought that she would be exactly such a wife as he wished. But as the girl did not appear with the wine, her mother went to see what had become of her. When she came into the cellar, and found her daughter sitting on the floor, she asked: "Why do you sit there, instead of bringing the wine?" "Well," was the answer, "I am thinking that if I marry Tom I must make a careful choice of the pattern for my wedding-gown. The question is, what pattern would do best?" "Yes, indeed," answered her mother, "which pattern will be the most suitable?" ”

“ Upon this the king's daughter, who had listened to the whole story, was unable to keep herself from laughing. "Now you may secure a good price for your meat," said the king to the lad, "for you are free to marry my daughter." "No, I don't care for her," answered he. "You don't!" said the king; "well and good, I will give you a sum of money, for really I would rather that you should not marry her." "Money I don't care for," declared the boy. "If money cannot satisfy you," inquired the king, "what do you wish?" "I wish sixty raps of bastinado for my meat," declared the boy. ”

“ When he entered the palace the princess received him gleefully. She had never dared to think that he would ever be able to reach her again. Their wedding was celebrated in a gorgeous manner, and they are living yet, happy and contented, in their beautiful palace south of the sun, west of the moon, and in the middle of the wind. ”

“ The little princess skipped up to her father and asked him to buy the mare for her. "That ugly little beast!" said the king; "no, there are enough pretty horses in my stable, and you may select for yourself the one you like best." She had taken such a fancy to the mare, however, that she went on begging and praying, until the king assented and bought the animal for her. "Now take good care of her, Hans," said the little princess. Hans readily promised, and kept his word so well that every day the little mare grew more and more beautiful. ”

“ The innkeeper, in the mean time, thought that no doubt the boy's cane possessed some wonderful power, and therefore prepared himself to replace it with another which looked exactly like it. As soon as he touched the cane, however, the boy shouted, "Cane, strike!" The cane at once began to dance upon the innkeeper's back, and with so good effect that he jumped around over tables and chairs, crying: "Make it stop, make it stop, for heaven's sake! If you don't, it'll kill me! I will give you back your table-cloth!" When the boy thought the innkeeper had had enough, he said, "Cane, stop!" ”

“ Nothing ever came of it!"
"Why should you not yet live to see your dream realized?" pursued his friend, and nodded smilingly at him.
"I know one thing!" cried the tailor, straightening himself and striking his breast. "I possess a lion's courage and the force of a bear. Blood cannot frighten me! How often have I pricked my fingers with a needle without feeling either fear or pain! And oh, how I yet dream! Often I slay dragons and serpents and other fearful beasts, the very names of which would frighten you." ”

“ Even if you offered me the place which I am now occupying for your real bride, I would refuse it, and gladly return to the hut where I have lived the happiest part of my life!"
The prince smilingly answered: "You are my real bride, and kept your word when you said that rather than marry me would you earn your bread by spinning, or by selling earthen-ware, or beg for it at the doors." ”

“ She promptly awoke in the palace the following morning, and hurrying into the garden she found the horse so very sick that he could not stand on his legs. Beauty knelt down and asked him to forgive her for staying away longer than she had promised. The horse asked her if she could not persuade herself to stay with him all her life, but she answered that it would seem very singular to live with a horse all her lifetime. ”

“ And now he proceeded to tell the young man of his brother's cruel fate. "If we could only find the heart of the old philosopher," he said, musingly, "all would be well. Wait! Seat yourself on my back, and we may succeed." The prince obeyed, and was carried swiftly through the air, until the eagle landed on the island in the middle of the forest, where the spirit had buried the magician's heart fifty feet under the deepest cellar of the old castle. "Now call the mole," bade the eagle. The prince obeyed, and at once the small animal thrust his nose into the air, inquiring what he desired. ”

“ So this princess, who was as brave and good as any girl living, was to be married to the man who could make her say the words: "That is a lie!"
There were many who thought it would be an easy matter to tell a lie to the princess, for the world always has more of this sort of thing than is needed. But she was so sweet and good, and trusted people so well, that it was a very difficult matter to tell her anything that she did not believe at all. ”

“ The bird flew down, seated itself on the pommel of James's saddle, and began speaking. "Listen to my words! When you sound your horn every one must dance after it, and every one at whom you point with your musket must die. When you see the king, tell him that you will try to free his daughter from the king of the dwarfs, who seized her many years ago, and carried her into the same hill where you were a short time ago; but use your own judgment regarding the way in which to break the might of the dwarf-king. He is cunning. ”

“ He wished himself far from Franconia and all its giants and unicorns. When he went to bed in the evening he swore that nothing would induce him to fight more of these frightful monsters, or to dream of great deeds, for he had found that dreams were dreams, and sometimes far from reality.
The next morning he packed his knapsack, stuffing the belt and money together at the bottom, whereupon he went over to bid good-bye to the king and the queen. The king did not wish, however, to part so soon from the great hero. "There is one more deed which you must accomplish before leaving us," he said. ”

“ The light goes out, and darkness rolls its mask down over the lonely man. But thoughts will roam about, so far and wide, until one little figure after another finds its way in under the mask, and carry the sleeper's spirit away into dreamland.
No man or woman can ever blot out—
The little twinkling star lifts the dark veil, and sheds its silver rays upon the figure in the narrow bed, in the narrow room, behind the high walls. ”

“ John promptly appeared, asking what his master desired.
"Johnny," said the preacher, "don't you think you might go down to the brook and catch a pike or something for supper? I have been sitting here the whole afternoon, thinking of fish."
"It's too late," replied the boy. "Pikes don't bite in the afternoon."
"Don't they?" exclaimed Father Jonas, greatly astonished. "Why, this morning I saw a large pike hanging at the back porch of Timmy Timmylim's—house such a big, fat one, too! Now, Johnny—Johnny, my boy—don't you think—I mean go and try, and do your best, and find something for me. ”