The Fish and the Ring

In the county of Yorkshire, which lies in the north of the country, there once lived a powerful baron. He was a great wizard and could predict the future. One day, when his son was just four years old, the baron looked into the Book of Fate and read that his son would marry a simple girl who had just been born in a house near York Cathedral. The baron also learned that the girl's father was very, very poor and that he already had five children.

He angrily slammed the black book shut, ordered his horse to be brought, and rode off to York. There, he rode past the poor man's house. The poor man was sitting on his doorstep, sad and sorrowful.

The baron dismounted, approached the man, and asked:

— What has happened to you, my good man?

— Ah, your honor, — replied the poor man, — the thing is, I already have five children, and now another girl has been born. Where am I to get enough bread to feed them all? I am at my wit's end!

— Do not lose heart, my friend! — said the baron. — If that is your only trouble, I will help you. I will take your youngest child with me, and you will no longer have to worry about her.

— I am deeply grateful to you, sir, — replied the man.

He went into the house, brought out the girl, and handed her to the baron, who mounted his horse and rode away with her. When he reached the banks of the River Ouse, he threw the baby into the water and rode on to his castle.

But the girl did not drown — her swaddling clothes kept her afloat, and she drifted and drifted until she was washed ashore in front of a fisherman's hut. The fisherman found the baby, took pity on her, and brought her into his home.

And so she lived with him, free from sorrow, until she turned fifteen and became a slender and beautiful young woman.

One day, it so happened that the baron was riding along the banks of the River Ouse with his friends on a hunting trip and stopped at the fisherman's hut to quench his thirst. The girl came out to the hunters with water, and they immediately saw that she was very beautiful. One of the baron's friends said:

— Baron, you can predict fate. What do you think, who will this girl marry?

— Hmm, it's not hard to guess, — replied the baron, — some bumpkin or other. But I will still cast her horoscope. Come here, my dear! Tell me, on what day were you born?

— I do not know, sir, — replied the girl. — I was found right here about fifteen years ago. The river brought me here.

At that moment, the baron realized who she was. And when everyone rode on, he returned and said to the girl:

— Listen, my dear, would you like me to make you happy? Take this letter to my brother in Scarborough, and you will be set for life.

The girl thanked the baron and took the letter. And in the letter, it was written:

«Dear Brother,

Seize the bearer of this letter and put her to death immediately.

Yours lovingly, HUMPHREY.»

Soon after, the girl set off for Scarborough and stopped to spend the night at an inn. That very night, robbers broke in. They saw the girl and searched her, but found no money on her, only the letter. They opened it, read it, and decided it was a betrayal — a shame and a disgrace to kill a defenseless girl! The leader of the gang took a pen and paper and wrote:

«Dear Brother,

Receive the bearer of this letter and marry her to my son immediately.

Yours lovingly, HUMPHREY.»

Then he gave the letter to the girl and wished her a safe journey. And she went to Scarborough to the baron's brother, a noble knight. At that time, the baron's son was visiting him. The girl handed the letter to the baron's brother, and he immediately ordered preparations for a wedding. The wedding took place that very day.

A few days later, the baron himself arrived at his brother's castle. He was astonished when he heard the news! He had feared this marriage more than anything in the world — and now it had come to pass.

«Well, I won't give up so easily!» — the baron decided and invited the girl to take a walk with him along the rocky shore. As soon as they were alone, the baron grabbed the girl's hand and was about to throw her into the sea.

— Spare me! — the girl pleaded. — I am guilty of nothing. Let me go, and I will do whatever you wish. I swear to you, I will never see your son or you again unless you desire it.

Then the baron took a golden ring from his finger, threw it into the sea, and said:

— Without this ring, you must never show your face to me again!

And he let her go.

The poor girl walked and walked until she finally reached the castle of a noble lord. There, she asked for some work, and she was left in the castle as a scullery maid — for she was accustomed to such work from her time in the fisherman's hut.

And as luck would have it, one fine day, who should arrive at the castle but the baron himself, his brother, and the baron's son — her husband! She simply did not know what to do and only hoped that they would not see her in the castle's kitchen.

With a sigh, she set to work and began cleaning a huge fish that she had been ordered to prepare for dinner. Suddenly, something glittered in the fish's stomach. The ring! The very one the baron had thrown into the sea from the cliffs in Scarborough. Oh, how the girl rejoiced! She prepared the fish as deliciously as she could and served it at the table.

Now listen to what happened next. The guests tasted the fish, and it pleased them so much that they asked the lord of the house who had cooked it. The lord replied that he did not know and ordered the servants:

— Hey, bring the cook who prepared this fish here!

The servants went down to the kitchen and told the girl that she was wanted in the hall. She dressed up, put the baron's golden ring on her finger, and went up to the hall.

The guests gasped when they saw the young and beautiful cook. Only the baron was displeased. He jumped up from the table and was about to pounce on the girl, but she approached him with an outstretched hand, took the ring from her finger, and placed it before him.

At that moment, the baron realized that one cannot escape fate. He seated the girl at the table and announced to all present that she was his daughter-in-law and the faithful wife of his son. Then he took her and his son home to his castle, and from then on, they all lived happily and never drank from an empty bottle.

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The Fish and the Ring

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