<h3><SPAN name="chap97"></SPAN>97 The Water of Life</h3>
<p>There was once a King who had an illness, and no one believed that he would
come out of it with his life. He had three sons who were much distressed about
it, and went down into the palace-garden and wept. There they met an old man
who inquired as to the cause of their grief. They told him that their father
was so ill that he would most certainly die, for nothing seemed to cure him.
Then the old man said, “I know of one more remedy, and that is the water
of life; if he drinks of it he will become well again; but it is hard to
find.” The eldest said, “I will manage to find it,” and went
to the sick King, and begged to be allowed to go forth in search of the water
of life, for that alone could save him. “No,” said the King,
“the danger of it is too great. I would rather die.” But he begged
so long that the King consented. The prince thought in his heart, “If I
bring the water, then I shall be best beloved of my father, and shall inherit
the kingdom.” So he set out, and when he had ridden forth a little
distance, a dwarf stood there in the road who called to him and said,
“Whither away so fast?” “Silly shrimp,” said the
prince, very haughtily, “it is nothing to do with you,” and rode
on. But the little dwarf had grown angry, and had wished an evil wish. Soon
after this the prince entered a ravine, and the further he rode the closer the
mountains drew together, and at last the road became so narrow that he could
not advance a step further; it was impossible either to turn his horse or to
dismount from the saddle, and he was shut in there as if in prison. The sick
King waited long for him, but he came not. Then the second son said,
“Father, let me go forth to seek the water,” and thought to
himself, “If my brother is dead, then the kingdom will fall to me.”
At first the King would not allow him to go either, but at last he yielded, so
the prince set out on the same road that his brother had taken, and he too met
the dwarf, who stopped him to ask, whither he was going in such haste?
“Little shrimp,” said the prince, “that is nothing to
thee,” and rode on without giving him another look. But the dwarf
bewitched him, and he, like the other, rode into a ravine, and could neither go
forwards nor backwards. So fare haughty people.</p>
<p>As the second son also remained away, the youngest begged to be allowed to go
forth to fetch the water, and at last the King was obliged to let him go. When
he met the dwarf and the latter asked him whither he was going in such haste,
he stopped, gave him an explanation, and said, “I am seeking the water of
life, for my father is sick unto death.” “Dost thou know, then,
where that is to be found?” “No,” said the prince. “As
thou hast borne thyself as is seemly, and not haughtily like thy false
brothers, I will give thee the information and tell thee how thou mayst obtain
the water of life. It springs from a fountain in the courtyard of an enchanted
castle, but thou wilt not be able to make thy way to it, if I do not give thee
an iron wand and two small loaves of bread. Strike thrice with the wand on the
iron door of the castle and it will spring open: inside lie two lions with
gaping jaws, but if thou throwest a loaf to each of them, they will be quieted.
Then hasten to fetch some of the water of life before the clock strikes twelve,
else the door will shut again, and thou wilt be imprisoned.” The prince
thanked him, took the wand and the bread, and set out on his way. When he
arrived, everything was as the dwarf had said. The door sprang open at the
third stroke of the wand, and when he had appeased the lions with the bread, he
entered the castle, and came to a large and splendid hall, wherein sat some
enchanted princes whose rings he drew off their fingers. A sword and a loaf of
bread were lying there, which he carried away. After this, he entered a
chamber, in which was a beautiful maiden who rejoiced when she saw him, kissed
him, and told him that he had delivered her, and should have the whole of her
kingdom, and that if he would return in a year their wedding should be
celebrated; likewise she told him where the spring of the water of life was,
and that he was to hasten and draw some of it before the clock struck twelve.
Then he went onwards, and at last entered a room where there was a beautiful
newly-made bed, and as he was very weary, he felt inclined to rest a little. So
he lay down and fell asleep. When he awoke, it was striking a quarter to
twelve. He sprang up in a fright, ran to the spring, drew some water in a cup
which stood near, and hastened away. But just as he was passing through the
iron door, the clock struck twelve, and the door fell to with such violence
that it carried away a piece of his heel. He, however, rejoicing at having
obtained the water of life, went homewards, and again passed the dwarf. When
the latter saw the sword and the loaf, he said, “With these thou hast won
great wealth; with the sword thou canst slay whole armies, and the bread will
never come to an end.” But the prince would not go home to his father
without his brothers, and said, “Dear dwarf, canst thou not tell me where
my two brothers are? They went out before I did in search of the water of life,
and have not returned.” “They are imprisoned between two
mountains,” said the dwarf. “I have condemned them to stay there,
because they were so haughty.” Then the prince begged until the dwarf
released them; but he warned him, however, and said, “Beware of them, for
they have bad hearts.” When his brothers came, he rejoiced, and told them
how things had gone with him, that he had found the water of life and had
brought a cupful away with him, and had rescued a beautiful princess, who was
willing to wait a year for him, and then their wedding was to be celebrated and
he would obtain a great kingdom. After that they rode on together, and chanced
upon a land where war and famine reigned, and the King already thought he must
perish, for the scarcity was so great. Then the prince went to him and gave him
the loaf, wherewith he fed and satisfied the whole of his kingdom, and then the
prince gave him the sword also wherewith he slew the hosts of his enemies, and
could now live in rest and peace. The prince then took back his loaf and his
sword, and the three brothers rode on. But after this they entered two more
countries where war and famine reigned and each time the prince gave his loaf
and his sword to the Kings, and had now delivered three kingdoms, and after
that they went on board a ship and sailed over the sea. During the passage, the
two eldest conversed apart and said, “The youngest has found the water of
life and not we, for that our father will give him the kingdom the kingdom
which belongs to us, and he will rob us of all our fortune.” They then
began to seek revenge, and plotted with each other to destroy him. They waited
until they found him fast asleep, then they poured the water of life out of the
cup, and took it for themselves, but into the cup they poured salt sea-water.
Now therefore, when they arrived home, the youngest took his cup to the sick
King in order that he might drink out of it, and be cured. But scarcely had he
drunk a very little of the salt sea-water than he became still worse than
before. And as he was lamenting over this, the two eldest brothers came, and
accused the youngest of having intended to poison him, and said that they had
brought him the true water of life, and handed it to him. He had scarcely
tasted it, when he felt his sickness departing, and became strong and healthy
as in the days of his youth. After that they both went to the youngest, mocked
him, and said, “You certainly found the water of life, but you have had
the pain, and we the gain; you should have been sharper, and should have kept
your eyes open. We took it from you whilst you were asleep at sea, and when a
year is over, one of us will go and fetch the beautiful princess. But beware
that you do not disclose aught of this to our father; indeed he does not trust
you, and if you say a single word, you shall lose your life into the bargain,
but if you keep silent, you shall have it as a gift.”</p>
<p>The old King was angry with his youngest son, and thought he had plotted
against his life. So he summoned the court together and had sentence pronounced
upon his son, that he should be secretly shot. And once when the prince was
riding forth to the chase, suspecting no evil, the King’s huntsman had to
go with him, and when they were quite alone in the forest, the huntsman looked
so sorrowful that the prince said to him, “Dear huntsman, what ails
you?” The huntsman said, “I cannot tell you, and yet I
ought.” Then the prince said, “Say openly what it is, I will pardon
you.” “Alas!” said the huntsman, “I am to shoot you
dead, the King has ordered me to do it.” Then the prince was shocked, and
said, “Dear huntsman, let me live; there, I give you my royal garments;
give me your common ones in their stead.” The huntsman said, “I
will willingly do that, indeed I should not have been able to shoot you.”
Then they exchanged clothes, and the huntsman returned home; the prince,
however, went further into the forest. After a time three waggons of gold and
precious stones came to the King for his youngest son, which were sent by the
three Kings who had slain their enemies with the prince’s sword, and
maintained their people with his bread, and who wished to show their gratitude
for it. The old King then thought, “Can my son have been innocent?”
and said to his people, “Would that he were still alive, how it grieves
me that I have suffered him to be killed!” “He still lives,”
said the huntsman, “I could not find it in my heart to carry out your
command,” and told the King how it had happened. Then a stone fell from
the King’s heart, and he had it proclaimed in every country that his son
might return and be taken into favour again.</p>
<p>The princess, however, had a road made up to her palace which was quite bright
and golden, and told her people that whosoever came riding straight along it to
her, would be the right wooer and was to be admitted, and whoever rode by the
side of it, was not the right one, and was not to be admitted. As the time was
now close at hand, the eldest thought he would hasten to go to the King’s
daughter, and give himself out as her deliverer, and thus win her for his
bride, and the kingdom to boot. Therefore he rode forth, and when he arrived in
front of the palace, and saw the splendid golden road, he thought, it would be
a sin and a shame if he were to ride over that, and turned aside, and rode on
the right side of it. But when he came to the door, the servants told him that
he was not the right man, and was to go away again. Soon after this the second
prince set out, and when he came to the golden road, and his horse had put one
foot on it, he thought, it would be a sin and a shame to tread a piece of it
off, and he turned aside and rode on the left side of it, and when he reached
the door, the attendants told him he was not the right one, and he was to go
away again. When at last the year had entirely expired, the third son likewise
wished to ride out of the forest to his beloved, and with her forget his
sorrows. So he set out and thought of her so incessantly, and wished to be with
her so much, that he never noticed the golden road at all. So his horse rode
onwards up the middle of it, and when he came to the door, it was opened and
the princess received him with joy, and said he was her deliverer, and lord of
the kingdom, and their wedding was celebrated with great rejoicing. When it was
over she told him that his father invited him to come to him, and had forgiven
him. So he rode thither, and told him everything; how his brothers had betrayed
him, and how he had nevertheless kept silence. The old King wished to punish
them, but they had put to sea, and never came back as long as they lived.</p>
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