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<h2> The Twin Brothers </h2>
<p>Once there was a fisherman who had plenty of money but no children. One
day an old woman came to his wife and said: 'What use is all your
prosperity to you when you have no children?'</p>
<p>'It is God's will,' answered the fisherman's wife.</p>
<p>'Nay, my child, it is not God's will, but the fault of your husband; for
if he would but catch the little gold-fish you would surely have children.
To-night, when he comes home, tell him he must go back and catch the
little fish. He must then cut it in six pieces—one of these you must
eat, and your husband the second, and soon after you will have two
children. The third piece you must give to the dog, and she will have two
puppies. The fourth piece give to the mare, and she will have two foals.
The fifth piece bury on the right of the house door, and the sixth on the
left, and two cypress trees will spring up there.'</p>
<p>When the fisherman came home at evening his wife told him all that the old
woman had advised, and he promised to bring home the little gold-fish.
Next morning, therefore, he went very early to the water, and caught the
little fish. Then they did as the old woman had ordered, and in due time
the fisherman's wife had two sons, so like each other that no one could
tell the difference. The dog had two puppies exactly alike, the mare had
two foals, and on each side of the front door there sprang up two cypress
trees precisely similar.</p>
<p>When the two boys were grown up, they were not content to remain at home,
though they had wealth in plenty; but they wished to go out into the
world, and make a name for themselves. Their father would not allow them
both to go at once, as they were the only children he had. He said: 'First
one shall travel, and when he is come back then the other may go.'</p>
<p>So the one took his horse and his dog, and went, saying to his brother:
'So long as the cypress trees are green, that is a sign that I am alive
and well; but if one begins to wither, then make haste and come to me.' So
he went forth into the world.</p>
<p>One day he stopped at the house of an old woman, and as at evening he sat
before the door, he perceived in front of him a castle standing on a hill.
He asked the old woman to whom it belonged, and her answer was: 'My son,
it is the castle of the Fairest in the Land!'</p>
<p>'And I am come here to woo her!'</p>
<p>'That, my son, many have sought to do, and have lost their lives in the
attempt; for she has cut off their heads and stuck them on the post you
see standing there.'</p>
<p>'And the same will she do to me, or else I shall be victor, for to-morrow
I go there to court her.'</p>
<p>Then he took his zither and played upon it so beautifully that no one in
all that land had ever heard the like, and the princess herself came to
the window to listen.</p>
<p>The next morning the Fairest in the Land sent for the old woman and asked
her, 'Who is it that lives with you, and plays the zither so well?'</p>
<p>'It is a stranger, princess, who arrived yesterday evening,' answered the
old woman.</p>
<p>And the princess then commanded that the stranger should be brought to
her.</p>
<p>When he appeared before the princess she questioned him about his home and
his family, and about this and that; and confessed at length that his
zither-playing gave her great pleasure, and that she would take him for
her husband. The stranger replied that it was with that intent he had
come.</p>
<p>The princess then said: 'You must now go to my father, and tell him you
desire to have me to wife, and when he has put the three problems before
you, then come back and tell me.'</p>
<p>The stranger then went straight to the king, and told him that he wished
to wed his daughter.</p>
<p>And the king answered: 'I shall be well pleased, provided you can do what
I impose upon you; if not you will lose your head. Now, listen; out there
on the ground, there lies a thick log, which measures more than two
fathoms; if you can cleave it in two with one stroke of your sword, I will
give you my daughter to wife. If you fail, then it will cost you your
head.'</p>
<p>Then the stranger withdrew, and returned to the house of the old woman
sore distressed, for he could believe nothing but that next day he must
atone to the king with his head. And so full was he of the idea of how to
set about cleaving the log that he forgot even his zither.</p>
<p>In the evening came the princess to the window to listen to his playing,
and behold all was still. Then she called to him: 'Why are you so cast
down this evening, that you do not play on your zither?'</p>
<p>And he told her his trouble.</p>
<p>But she laughed at it, and called to him: 'And you grieve over that? Bring
quickly your zither, and play something for my amusement, and early
to-morrow come to me.'</p>
<p>Then the stranger took his zither and played the whole evening for the
amusement of the princess.</p>
<p>Next morning she took a hair from her locks and gave it to him, saying:
'Take this hair, and wind it round your sword, then you will be able to
cleave the log in two.'</p>
<p>Then the stranger went forth, and with one blow cleft the log in two.</p>
<p>But the king said: 'I will impose another task upon you, before you can
wed my daughter.'</p>
<p>'Speak on,' said the stranger.</p>
<p>'Listen, then,' answered the king; 'you must mount a horse and ride three
miles at full gallop, holding in each hand a goblet full of water. If you
spill no drop then I shall give you my daughter to wife, but should you
not succeed then I will take your life.'</p>
<p>Then the stranger returned to the house of the old woman, and again he was
so troubled as to forget his zither.</p>
<p>In the evening the princess came to the window as before to listen to the
music, but again all was still; and she called to him: 'What is the matter
that you do not play on your zither?'</p>
<p>Then he related all that the king had ordered him to do, and the princess
answered: 'Do not let yourself be disturbed, only play now, and come to me
to-morrow morning.'</p>
<p>Then next morning he went to her, and she gave him her ring, saying:
'Throw this ring into the water and it will immediately freeze, so that
you will not spill any.'</p>
<p>The stranger did as the princess bade him, and carried the water all the
way.</p>
<p>Then the king said: 'Now I will give you a third task, and this shall be
the last. I have a negro who will fight with you to-morrow, and if you are
the conqueror you shall wed my daughter.'</p>
<p>The stranger returned, full of joy, to the house of the old woman, and
that evening was so merry that the princess called to him; 'You seem very
cheerful this evening; what has my father told you that makes you so
glad?'</p>
<p>He answered: 'Your father has told me that to-morrow I must fight with his
negro. He is only another man like myself, and I hope to subdue him, and
to gain the contest.'</p>
<p>But the princess answered: 'This is the hardest of all. I myself am the
black man, for I swallow a drink that changes me into a negro of
unconquerable strength. Go to-morrow morning to the market, buy twelve
buffalo hides and wrap them round your horse; fasten this cloth round you,
and when I am let loose upon you to-morrow show it to me, that I may hold
myself back and may not kill you. Then when you fight me you must try to
hit my horse between the eyes, for when you have killed it you have
conquered me.'</p>
<p>Next morning, therefore, he went to the market and bought the twelve
buffalo hides which he wrapped round his horse. Then he began to fight
with the black man, and when the combat had already lasted a long time,
and eleven hides were torn, then the stranger hit the negro's horse
between the eyes, so that it fell dead, and the black man was defeated.</p>
<p>Then said the king: 'Because you have solved the three problems I take you
for my son-in-law.'</p>
<p>But the stranger answered: 'I have some business to conclude first; in
fourteen days I will return and bring the bride home.'</p>
<p>So he arose and went into another country, where he came to a great town,
and alighted at the house of an old woman. When he had had supper he
begged of her some water to drink, but she answered: 'My son, I have no
water; a giant has taken possession of the spring, and only lets us draw
from it once a year, when we bring him a maiden. He eats her up, and then
he lets us draw water; just now it is the lot of the king's daughter, and
to-morrow she will be led forth.'</p>
<p>The next day accordingly the princess was led forth to the spring, and
bound there with a golden chain. After that all the people went away and
she was left alone.</p>
<p>When they had gone the stranger went to the maiden and asked her what
ailed her that she lamented so much, and she answered that the reason was
because the giant would come and eat her up. And the stranger promised
that he would set her free if she would take him for her husband, and the
princess joyfully consented.</p>
<p>When the giant appeared the stranger set his dog at him, and it took him
by the throat and throttled him till he died; so the princess was set
free.</p>
<p>Now when the king heard of it he gladly consented to the marriage, and the
wedding took place with great rejoicings. The young bridegroom abode in
the palace one hundred and one weeks. Then he began to find it too dull,
and he desired to go out hunting. The king would fain have prevented it,
but in this he could not succeed. Then he begged his son-in-law at least
to take sufficient escort with him, but this, too, the young man evaded,
and took only his horse and his dog.</p>
<p>He had ridden already a long way, when he saw in the distance a hut, and
rode straight towards it in order to get some water to drink. There he
found an old woman from whom he begged the water. She answered that first
he should allow her to beat his dog with her little wand, that it might
not bite her while she fetched the water. The hunter consented; and as
soon as she had touched the dog with her wand it immediately turned to
stone. Thereupon she touched the hunter and also his horse, and both
turned to stone. As soon as that had happened, the cypress trees in front
of his father's house began to wither. And when the other brother saw
this, he immediately set out in search of his twin. He came first to the
town where his brother had slain the giant, and there fate led him to the
same old woman where his brother had lodged. When she saw him she took him
for his twin brother, and said to him: 'Do not take it amiss of me, my
son, that I did not come to wish you joy on your marriage with the king's
daughter.'</p>
<p>The stranger perceived what mistake she had made, but only said: 'That
does not matter, old woman,' and rode on, without further speech, to the
king's palace, where the king and the princess both took him for his twin
brother, and called out: 'Why have you tarried so long away? We thought
something evil had befallen you.'</p>
<p>When night came and he slept with the princess, who still believed him to
be her husband, he laid his sword between them, and when morning came he
rose early and went out to hunt. Fate led him by the same way which his
brother had taken, and from a distance he saw him and knew that he was
turned to stone. Then he entered the hut and ordered the old woman to
disenchant his brother. But she answered: 'Let me first touch your dog
with my wand, and then I will free your brother.'</p>
<p>He ordered the dog, however, to take hold of her, and bite her up to the
knee, till she cried out: 'Tell your dog to let me go and I will set your
brother free!'</p>
<p>But he only answered: 'Tell me the magic words that I may disenchant him
myself;' and as she would not, he ordered his dog to bite her up to the
hip.</p>
<p>Then the old woman cried out: 'I have two wands, with the green one I turn
to stone, and with the red one I bring to life again.'</p>
<p>So the hunter took the red wand and disenchanted his brother, also his
brother's horse, and his dog, and ordered his own dog to eat the old woman
up altogether.</p>
<p>While the brothers went on their way back to the castle of the king, the
one brother related to the other how the cypress tree had all at once
dried up and withered, how he had immediately set out in search of his
twin, and how he had come to the castle of his father-in-law, and had
claimed the princess as his wife. But the other brother became furious on
hearing this, and smote him over the forehead till he died, and returned
alone to the house of his father-in-law.</p>
<p>When night came and he was in bed the princess asked him: 'What was the
matter with you last night, that you never spoke a word to me?'</p>
<p>Then he cried out: 'That was not me, but my brother, and I have slain him,
because he told me by the way that he had claimed you for his wife!'</p>
<p>'Do you know the place where you slew him?' asked the princess, 'and can
you find the body?'</p>
<p>'I know the place exactly.'</p>
<p>'Then to-morrow we shall ride thither,' said the princess. Next morning
accordingly they set out together, and when they had come to the place,
the princess drew forth a small bottle that she had brought with her, and
sprinkled the body with some drops of the water so that immediately he
became alive again.</p>
<p>When he stood up, his brother said to him: 'Forgive me, dear brother, that
I slew you in my anger.' Then they embraced and went together to the
Fairest in the Land, whom the unmarried brother took to wife.</p>
<p>Then the brothers brought their parents to live with them, and all dwelt
together in joy and happiness.</p>
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