The Son of the King of France and the Beauty Joana

Once upon a time, in a certain kingdom, there lived a kind king and a beautiful queen. They had an only son, as radiant as a clear day, whom they loved dearly.

The young prince’s sole passion was hunting. Every morning, with a dozen loyal servants and two dozen greyhounds, he would venture into the wild forests, and every evening, to the triumphant sounds of a hunting horn, he would return home with his prey.

But one day, the prince’s horse returned home alone. The young prince had wandered deep into the forest and lost his way. Darkness fell quickly, and hungry wolves emerged from their dens to hunt. The prince climbed a tall oak tree and, settling among its mighty branches, fell asleep. When he awoke, the sun was shining brightly, and birds were singing cheerfully. But no matter how hard the prince tried to find his way out of the wild forest, all his attempts were in vain.

Sitting down to rest, he satisfied his hunger with wild strawberries and drank water from a cool spring. He spent the entire day searching for a way out of the forest, and by evening, exhausted, he climbed the old oak tree again and slept through the night. This continued for three days and three nights. During the day, the prince stubbornly searched for an exit from the wild forest, and in the evenings, he slept on the branches of the old oak. But on the fourth night, as he climbed the oak, he suddenly saw a faintly flickering light in the distance. He quickly descended from the tree and ran toward the flickering light. For an hour, he struggled through thickets of thorns until he finally saw an illuminated castle standing in the depths of the forest. He approached the iron gates and knocked. And suddenly—what a miracle!—the gates opened, and before his eyes stood a girl as beautiful as the day.

“Good evening, beauty!” the prince greeted her. “I am the son of the King of France. I got lost while hunting and have been trying unsuccessfully for three days and three nights to find my way home. I am starving and thirsty. Please, do not turn me away and allow me to stay here for the night.”

“Come in, dear prince,” the girl said with a smile. “My name is Beauty Joanna. I will feed and give you drink, but I cannot let you stay the night, as my parents are terrible ogres, and they will soon return home. I do not want them to find you here and eat you.”

“Oh, kind girl,” the prince replied. “I am very tired and want to sleep. I do not have the strength to return to the forest.”

“Well, alright,” the girl said. “Come in, I will feed you, give you drink, and hide you under a barrel.”

And she did everything as promised.

At exactly midnight, the ogre and ogress rushed into the castle, out of breath, and immediately noticed that something was amiss.

“Hmm-hmm! It smells like human flesh here. Something’s not right,” the ogre said in a terrible voice.

“That’s impossible,” said Joanna. “See for yourselves.” The ogre and ogress searched everywhere, looked into every corner, scoured the place, but found no one.

“Fine,” they said. “We’ll go to sleep now and search better in the morning.” They collapsed onto the bed and began snoring.

But Beauty Joanna was in no hurry to fall asleep. She took a handful of clay and molded a bun, attaching a lock of her hair to it. Then she took the ogres’ magic wand and seven-league boots and woke the prince.

“Get up quickly! We must flee, or misfortune will befall us.”

And, putting on the seven-league boots, they raced faster than the wind. Hearing a strange noise, the ogres sensed something was wrong and shouted:

“Beauty Joanna, come here, it’s time to sleep!”

And the magic bun replied in the girl’s voice:

“Just a moment, I’m washing my face.”

A minute later, the ogres shouted again:

“Beauty Joanna, come here to sleep.”

The magic bun replied:

“Just a moment, I’m undressing.”

A little later, the ogres shouted once more:

“Beauty Joanna, where are you? It’s time to sleep.”

“Just a moment, I’m taking off my shoes,” the bun replied again.

As dawn approached, the ogres asked once more:

“Beauty Joanna, where are you? It’s time to sleep.”

But this time, the bun did not reply, as morning had come, and its magic had worn off. Hearing no answer, the ogres rushed into Joanna’s room and understood everything.

“Ah, the wretch! She’s run off with a human and taken our magic wand and seven-league boots. Hurry after them, we’ll catch them and feast on human flesh!”

The ogre grabbed another magic wand, put on ten-league boots, and rushed off at lightning speed.

Soon, Beauty Joanna and the prince heard a whistling sound behind them and realized what was happening. Joanna waved the magic wand and turned the prince and herself into little birds. They perched on a tree branch and began to sing. The ogre flew up to them and asked:

“Hey, little birds, have you seen a beauty and a prince?”

The birds said nothing, only continued to sing in their tiny voices.

The ogre returned home empty-handed, and Beauty Joanna and the prince turned back into humans and flew further.

“Well, did you find them?” the ogress asked when the ogre returned to the castle.

“Not a trace! They vanished into thin air. All I saw were two silly little birds,” the ogre replied.

“You fool! That was them. Go and catch them quickly!”

But Joanna and the prince were already far away. The ogre raced even faster... he was getting close!

Beauty Joanna waved the magic wand and turned the prince into a black duck and herself into a deep lake. The ogre approached them and asked:

“Hey, black duck! Have you seen a beauty and a prince?”

But the duck said nothing, only quacked softly. Once again, the ogre returned home empty-handed, and Beauty Joanna and the prince flew on even faster.

“Well, did you catch them?” the ogress asked when the ogre returned to the castle.

“No. I saw no one but a black duck and a very deep lake.”

“You thick-headed fool! That was them. Fly after them and grab them!”

The ogre raced even faster. He was about to catch them! Then Beauty Joanna turned herself into a sheep and the prince into a ram. The ogre flew up and asked:

“Hey, scruffy sheep, have you seen a beauty and a prince?”

“Baa-baa,” was all the sheep replied.

The ogre returned once again.

“I couldn’t find them anywhere. All I saw were a couple of scruffy sheep.”

“That was them!” the ogress snapped and set off in pursuit herself. But the prince and Beauty Joanna were already far away, and she could not catch them.

After seven days and seven nights, they reached the kingdom of France, and the prince’s parents were overjoyed. That same day, he married Beauty Joanna, and they lived together in peace and harmony.

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The Son of the King of France and the Beauty Joana

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