About the Kinglet, About Winter, About the Eagle, and About the King's Son
In ancient times, many, many years ago, it is said that Winter and the Wren quarreled. I don’t know exactly why."I’ll teach you a lesson, little bird!" threatened Winter.
"We’ll see about that!" replied the Wren.
By nightfall, Winter sent a biting frost.
In the morning, seeing that the Wren was as cheerful and lively as ever, Winter was surprised and asked him:
"Where did you spend the night?"
"In the laundry, where the washerwomen work," answered the Wren.
"Alright, today I’ll get you for sure."
That night, it became so cold that water froze in the hearth.
But the Wren wasn’t where everything froze, and the next morning, seeing him still lively and cheerful, Winter asked:
"Where did you spend the night?"
"In the barn, with the oxen," replied the Wren.
The following night, such a fierce cold set in, such an unprecedented freeze, that the oxen’s tails froze to their backsides, yet the Wren was still fluttering and chirping in the morning as if it were May.
"What, you’re still not dead?" asked Winter, amazed that the Wren was still around. "Where did you spend the night?"
"With the newlyweds, in their bed."
"So that’s where you found a spot! Who would have thought to look for you there? Well, never mind, I won’t give up. Tonight, I’ll finish you off."
"We’ll see about that!" replied the Wren.
That night, Winter sent such a frost, it became so cold, so bitterly cold, that by morning the newlyweds were found frozen to death in their bed.
The Wren had taken shelter in a hollow in the wall near the baker’s hot oven, where the cold couldn’t reach him. But there he met a mouse, also seeking a warm spot, and they got into a serious quarrel. Since they couldn’t settle their differences, it was decided to end the matter by arranging a great battle a week later on Mount Bré between all the birds and all the four-legged creatures of the land.
All the animals were informed, and on the appointed day, the birds of the region gathered on Mount Bré from early morning. A long procession of inhabitants from the poultry yards—ducks, geese, turkeys, peacocks, roosters, and hens—and all sorts of other birds: magpies, crows, jays, thrushes; there also gathered horses, donkeys, oxen, cows, sheep, goats, dogs, cats, rats, and mice—no one could stop them. The battle was fierce; it went back and forth. Feathers flew in the air, and the ground was strewn with tufts of fur, while cries, moos, neighs, grunts, bleats, and meows echoed from all sides. It was terrifying!
It seemed that the four-legged creatures were about to win, when suddenly an eagle, who had been delayed, arrived. He plunged into the thick of the fight. Wherever he struck, he dealt death, and soon the tide turned in favor of the birds.
The king’s son watched the battle from the window of his palace. Seeing how the eagle was dealing with the four-legged creatures, he seized the moment when the eagle flew past the window and struck him with his saber so hard that the eagle’s wing broke, and he fell to the ground. Thanks to this, the four-legged creatures ultimately won. However, the Wren, who had fought like a hero, sang his song from the bell tower of Saint Hervé, which still stands on Mount Bré to this day.
The wounded eagle could no longer fly and said to the king’s son:
"Now you must feed me partridges and hares for nine months."
"I agree," said the prince.
After nine months had passed, the eagle, fully healed, said to the king’s son:
"Now I will fly to my mother; I want you to come with me to see my castle."
"Gladly," said the prince, "but how will I get there? You fly through the air, and I can’t keep up with you, neither on foot nor on horseback."
"Climb onto my back."
The prince did so. They soared over mountains, valleys, forests, and seas.
"Greetings, Mother," said the eagle upon arriving home.
"Is that you, dear son? You’ve been gone a long time this time; I was starting to worry."
"I was very ill, dear Mother," replied the eagle and, pointing to the prince, added, "This is the son of the King of Lower Brittany; he has come to visit you."
"The king’s son!" exclaimed the old eagle. "What a tasty morsel; we’ll feast splendidly!"
"No, Mother, do him no harm; he treated me well during the nine months I was ill at his place; I invited him to stay with us in our castle—we must treat him well."
The eagle had a beautiful sister, and the prince fell in love with her at first sight. The eagle and his mother were very displeased by this.
A month passed, then a second, a third; six months went by, and the prince didn’t even mention returning home. The old eagle didn’t like this at all, and finally, she told her son that if his friend didn’t leave, she would roast him for dinner and serve him with a tasty sauce.
Hearing what his mother had planned, the eagle proposed a game of skittles to the prince with the condition: if the prince lost, he would lose his life; if he won, the eagle’s sister would become his wife.
"I agree," said the prince. "Where are the skittles?"
They entered a wide, long avenue of old oaks where the skittles stood.
When the prince saw them, his heart sank. The skittles were made of cast iron, each weighing five hundred pounds. The eagle took one and began to play with it: he effortlessly tossed it high into the air and then caught it as if it were an apple. But the poor prince couldn’t even budge his skittle.
"You’ve lost; now I am master of your life," said the eagle.
"I’ll get my revenge," replied the prince.
"Very well, we’ll play another round tomorrow."
The prince went to the eagle’s sister and, with tears in his eyes, told her everything.
— Do you promise to remain loyal to me? — she asked him.
— Yes, until death, — replied the prince.
— Then here's what you must do: I have two large ox bladders. I will paint them black so they resemble bowling pins, and I will place them among my brother's pins in that alley. Tomorrow, when you go there, try to be the first to start the game and choose the two bladders.
Then you must say to them: "Deer, rise higher and fly swiftly to Egypt — it has been seven years since you were here, and you have never tasted iron." They will immediately soar into the heavens, so high, so high, that they will disappear from sight. My brother will think that you skillfully tossed them so high; he won't be able to throw his own pins as high, and he will have to admit defeat.
And so they went back to the alley where the pins stood. The prince took his two pins, or rather, the two ox bladders, and began to play with them, tossing them into the air with such ease, as if he were holding two balls stuffed with bran; his opponent watched him in amazement.
"What could this mean?" — the eagle anxiously wondered.
He was the first to toss his own pins, throwing them so high that a good quarter of an hour passed before they fell back to the ground.
— Well done! — said the prince. — Now it's my turn.
Then he quietly whispered the words:
— Deer, fly back to your homeland, to Egypt — it has been seven years since you were here, and you have never tasted iron.
Immediately, the pin soared into the heavens, so high, so high, that it soon disappeared from sight; no matter how long they waited, it never fell back to the ground.
— I've won! — said the prince.
— So, we've each won one round; tomorrow we'll play another game, — said the eagle.
He returned home in tears and shared his sorrow with the old eagle. She said:
— We must kill him and eat him, why delay any longer?
— But I haven't defeated him yet, Mother; tomorrow we'll play another game, and we'll see how he fares.
— For now, bring me some water from the spring, there isn't a drop left in the house.
— Alright, Mother, tomorrow morning the prince and I will fetch water, and I'll challenge him to see who can carry more in one trip with a barrel.
The eagle immediately went to the prince and said:
— Tomorrow morning we'll fetch water for my mother — let's see who can carry more in one trip.
— Excellent, — said the prince, — just show me what to carry it in.
The eagle showed the prince two barrels, each holding five small barrels' worth; he himself could easily carry one such barrel, filled to the brim, in each hand — for he could shift between being a man and an eagle at will.
The prince grew even more worried and went to the eagle's sister again.
— Do you promise to remain loyal to me? — she asked him.
— Until death, — replied the prince.
— Then here's what you must do: tomorrow morning, when my brother takes his barrel to fetch water from the spring, you must tell him: "Why do we need barrels? Leave them here, they're unnecessary. Instead, give me a pickaxe, a shovel, and a stretcher." He will ask: "What do you need those for?" You will reply: "To move the spring from its place and bring it here; it will be much more convenient to fetch water whenever we want." Hearing this, he will go fetch water alone — neither he nor Mother will want to ruin their beautiful spring.
The next morning, the eagle said to the prince:
— Let's go fetch water for my mother.
— Let's go! — replied the prince.
— Here's my barrel, and you take those, — continued the eagle, pointing to two enormous barrels.
— Barrels? What do we need them for? To waste time?
— How else are we supposed to carry the water?
— Just give me a pickaxe, a shovel, and a stretcher.
— What do you need those for?
— What for? You fool! To move the spring here, right to the kitchen door, so we don't have to walk so far for water.
"What a strongman!" — thought the eagle, but aloud he said:
— Alright, stay here, and I'll go fetch water for Mother alone.
And so he did.
The next day, when the old woman again told the eagle that the surest way to get rid of the prince was to kill him, roast him on a spit, and eat him, the eagle replied that the prince had treated him well and he didn't want to be ungrateful, but that he would subject the prince to other trials from which it would be difficult to emerge with honor.
Indeed, the eagle announced to the prince:
— Today I handled it alone, but tomorrow it will be your turn.
— And what will the task be tomorrow? — asked the prince.
— My mother needs firewood; she has nothing to fuel the kitchen stove. You must chop down the alley of old oaks — over there — and stack them here in the yard so she has enough firewood for the winter; all of this must be done before sunset.
"Alright, I'll do it," said the prince, pretending to be carefree, though in reality, he was deeply troubled.
Once again, he went to the eagle's sister.
"Do you promise to remain faithful to me?" she asked him again.
"Until death," replied the prince.
"Very well. Tomorrow, when you go into the forest with the wooden axe they will give you, take off your coat and place it on the old oak stump with the upturned roots. Then strike the trunk of the nearest tree with the wooden axe, and you will see what happens."
The prince did as he was told. At dawn, he went into the forest with the wooden axe on his shoulder, took off his coat, and placed it on the old oak stump with the upturned roots, as instructed. Then he struck the trunk of the nearest tree with the wooden axe, and it immediately cracked and fell.
"Alright," the prince said to himself, "if this is such a simple task, I'll finish it in no time."
He immediately struck a second tree, then a third—both fell with the first blow, and so it continued until not a single oak remained standing in the entire alley. After that, the prince leisurely returned to the castle.
"What, have you already finished?" the eagle asked him.
"Everything!" replied the prince.
The eagle rushed to his alley and, seeing all his beautiful oaks felled, wept and went to his mother.
"My poor mother, I am defeated. All my beautiful trees have been cut down! I cannot overcome this devil; surely, some powerful sorcerer is aiding him."
As he was lamenting to his mother, the prince entered and said to him:
"I have defeated you three times; now you must give me your sister!"
"Alas, it is so," said the eagle. "Take her and leave quickly."
And so it happened that the prince took the eagle's sister with him. However, she did not yet agree to marry him and did not even wish to accompany him to his father's domain. She said to him:
"Now we must be apart for some time, for we cannot yet marry. But remain faithful to me, no matter what, and when the time comes, we will meet again. Here is half of my ring and half of my handkerchief: keep them—they will help you recognize me in the future if the need arises."
The prince was deeply saddened. He took the half-ring and the half-handkerchief and returned alone to his father's castle, where everyone was overjoyed to see him after such a long absence.
The eagle's sister took up service with a jeweler who lived in the city and worked for the royal court.
Not long after, the prince completely forgot his betrothed: he fell in love with a princess who had arrived at his father's court from a neighboring kingdom. Soon, a wedding date was set; preparations for a grand feast began, and numerous guests were invited. The jeweler, who had been commissioned to make the wedding rings and other ornaments, was also invited, along with his wife and even his servant, who was renowned for her beauty and noble bearing.
The servant asked her master to cast a small golden rooster and hen for her, and when she went to the wedding feast, she placed them in her pocket. At the table, she was seated directly across from the newlyweds. She placed the half-ring on the table beside her, the other half of which was in the prince's possession.
Seeing this half, the bride said to her husband:
"I have one exactly like it." It turned out that the prince had given her his half.
Immediately, the two halves were placed together; they matched, and the ring was whole once more.
The same happened with the two halves of the handkerchief. All those present expressed their astonishment. Only the prince remained calm and seemed unaware of what was happening. Then the eagle's sister placed the golden rooster and hen on the table in front of her and put a pea on her plate. The rooster immediately swallowed it.
"Again, you glutton, you've eaten the pea," said the hen.
"Quiet," replied the rooster, "the next one I'll give to you!"
"Not likely! The prince also promised to be faithful to me until death when he went to play skittles with the eagle, my brother."
The prince grew alert. The eagle's sister tossed a second pea onto her plate, and the rooster pecked it up as well.
"Again, you glutton, you've eaten the pea!" the hen said once more.
"Quiet," replied the rooster, "the next one I'll give to you."
"Not likely! The prince also promised to be faithful to me until death when my brother the eagle told him to go with him to fetch water from the spring."
All those present were extremely puzzled and began to speculate. Meanwhile, the eagle's sister threw a third pea onto her plate, which the rooster promptly swallowed, just like the previous two.
"Again, you've eaten the pea, you glutton!" the hen said for the third time.
"Quiet, my dear hen, the next one I will surely give to you."
"Not likely! The prince also promised to be faithful to me until death when my brother the eagle sent him to cut down the long alley of old oaks with a wooden axe."
Now everything became clear to the prince. He stood up and, turning to his father-in-law, said:
"Dear father-in-law, I must seek your advice. I once had a beautiful golden chest containing a priceless treasure. I lost it and acquired another. But it so happened that I found the first chest again, and now I have two. Which one should I keep: the first or the second?"
"Preference should always be given to the older one," replied the old man.
"I think so too," said the prince. "So, before your daughter, I loved another girl and promised to marry her. Here she is!"
With these words, he approached the jeweler's servant—who was, of course, the eagle's sister!—and, to the astonishment of all present, took her by the hand.
The other bride, along with her father, mother, relatives, and guests, left in great dismay.
Despite this, the feasting, games, and merriment continued, and the wedding of the prince and the eagle's sister was celebrated with due magnificence.
More fairy tales
- Beautiful Jeanneton
- The Wolf, the Snail, and the Wasps
- Legume
- The Tale of Uncle Misfortune and His Dog Poverty
- The Crystal Bridge
