The Page and the Silver Cup
Once upon a time, there was a boy who served as a page in a wealthy castle. He was an obedient boy, and everyone in the castle loved him—the noble count, his master, whom he served by kneeling on one knee, and the portly old butler, for whom he ran errands.The castle stood on the edge of a cliff overlooking the sea. Its walls were thick, and on the side facing the sea, there was a small door in the wall. It led to a narrow staircase that descended the cliff to the water. One could use its steps to reach the shore and swim in the sparkling sea on a sunny summer morning.
Around the castle stretched flowerbeds, gardens, and lawns, and beyond them lay a vast heath covered in heather, extending to a distant mountain range. The little page loved to wander across this heath in his free time. There, he could run as much as he wanted, chase bumblebees, catch butterflies, and search for bird nests. The old butler willingly let the page go for walks—he knew that a healthy boy needed to frolic in the fresh air. But before letting him go, the old man always warned him:
"Just remember, little one, don’t forget my advice: walk as much as you like, but stay away from the Fairy Mound. After all, you must be cautious with the 'little folk'!"
The Fairy Mound was what he called a small green hill that rose about twenty yards from the garden gate. People said that fairies lived inside that hill and that they punished anyone who dared to approach their dwelling. For this reason, the villagers avoided the mound by half a mile, even during the day—so great was their fear of getting too close and angering the "little folk." And at night, people didn’t venture onto the heath at all. After all, it was well known that at night, the fairies flew out of their abode, and the door to it remained wide open. It could happen that some unfortunate mortal might stumble and find themselves entering the fairies' realm.
But the page boy was brave. Not only was he unafraid of the fairies, but he was downright eager to see their abode. He couldn’t wait to find out what they were like, these fairies!
And so, one night, when everyone was asleep, the boy quietly slipped out of the castle. He opened the door in the wall, ran down the stone staircase to the sea, then climbed up to the heath and headed straight for the Fairy Mound. To his great delight, it turned out that the people had been telling the truth: the top of the Fairy Mound was as if cut off with a knife, and light poured out from within. The boy’s heart raced—he was so curious to know what was inside! Summoning his courage, he ran up the hill and jumped into the opening. And there he found himself in a vast hall lit by countless tiny candles. Around a gleaming, lacquered table sat many fairies, elves, and gnomes. Some were dressed in green, others in yellow, pink, blue, violet, or scarlet—in short, every color of the rainbow.
The page boy, standing in a dark corner, marveled at the fairies and thought, "How many of them there are! How strange that they live so close to humans, yet people know nothing about them!" Suddenly, someone—the boy didn’t see who—declared:
"Bring the goblet!"
At once, two small elf-pages in bright scarlet livery rushed from the table to a tiny wall cabinet in the rock. Then they returned, bending under the weight of a magnificent silver goblet, richly adorned on the outside and gilded inside.
They placed the goblet in the middle of the table, and all the fairies clapped their hands and cheered with joy. Then they took turns drinking from the goblet. But no matter how much they drank, the wine in the goblet never diminished. It remained full to the brim, though no one refilled it. And the wine in the goblet kept changing, as if by magic. Each person at the table took the goblet in hand and named the wine they wished to taste, and the goblet instantly filled with that very wine.
"It would be great to take this goblet home!" thought the page boy. "Otherwise, no one will believe I’ve been here. I need to take something from here—proof that I was here." And he began to wait for the right moment. Soon, the fairies noticed him. But they weren’t angry that he had sneaked into their dwelling. In fact, they seemed delighted and invited him to sit at the table.
However, little by little, they began to mock and taunt their uninvited guest. They ridiculed the boy for serving ordinary mortals. They claimed to know everything that happened in the castle and made fun of the old butler, whom the boy dearly loved. They also mocked the food the boy ate in the castle, saying it was fit only for animals. And when the elf-pages in bright scarlet livery brought out a new dish, the fairies would push it toward the boy and urge him:
"Try it! You’ll never taste anything like this in the castle."
Finally, the boy couldn’t take their mockery anymore. Besides, he had decided to take the goblet, and it was time to do so. He jumped up and grabbed the goblet, gripping its stem tightly with both hands.
"To your health, I’ll drink water!" he shouted.
And the ruby-red wine in the goblet instantly turned into clear, cold water. The boy brought the goblet to his lips but didn’t drink. Instead, with one swift motion, he splashed all the water onto the candles. The hall was plunged into utter darkness, and the boy, clutching the precious goblet, dashed toward the opening and leaped out of the Fairy Mound into the starlight. He made it just in time, for the moment he emerged, the mound collapsed with a crash behind him.
And so, the page boy sprinted across the dewy heath, while a crowd of fairies gave chase. The fairies were furious, their shrill, angry cries piercing the air. The boy understood all too well that if they caught him, he would be shown no mercy. His heart sank. No matter how fast he ran, how could he outrun fairies? They were gaining on him. It seemed that in just a moment, he would be lost. But suddenly, a mysterious voice echoed in the darkness:
"If you wish to find the castle’s way,
Seek the path along the bay."
It was the voice of an unfortunate mortal who had once been captured by the fairies and didn’t want the brave boy to suffer the same fate. But at that moment, the page boy didn’t know this.
However, he remembered that fairies couldn’t harm a person who stepped on the wet sand by the shore.
And so, the boy turned and ran toward the beach. His feet sank into the dry sand, he was breathing heavily, and he thought he might collapse from exhaustion at any moment. But he kept running.
The fairies were closing in, and the ones in the lead were almost upon him. But then the boy stepped onto the wet, firm sand where the sea waves had just receded, and he knew he was safe. The fairies couldn’t take a single step there. They stood on the dry sand, shouting in frustration and rage, while the page boy, clutching the precious goblet, raced along the shoreline. He quickly climbed the stone staircase and disappeared through the door in the thick wall.
Many years passed. The page boy became a respected butler himself and taught young pages how to serve. And the precious goblet, a testament to his adventure, remained in the castle.
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