• Clever Maria
• What Came of Picking Flowers

Clever Maria

A merchant who lived close to the royal palace, had three daughters. They were all pretty, but Maria, the youngest, was the prettiest of the three. One day the king sent for the merchant, who was a widower, to give him directions about a journey he wished the good man to take. The merchant would rather not have gone, for he did not like leaving his daughters at home. However, he could not refuse to obey the king's commands. With a heavy heart he returned home to say farewell to them.

Before he left, he took three pots of basil, and gave one to each girl, saying, "I am going a journey, but I leave these pots. You must let nobody into the house. When I come back, they will tell me what has happened."

"Nothing will have happened," said the girls.

The father went away, and the following day the king, accompanied by two friends, paid a visit to the three girls, who were sitting at supper. When they saw who was there, Maria said, "Let us go and get a bottle of wine from the cellar. I will carry the key, my eldest sister can take the light, while the other brings the bottle."

But the king replied, "Oh, do not trouble; we are not thirsty."

"Very well, we will not go," answered the two elder girls; but Maria merely said, "I shall go, anyhow."

She left the room, and went to the hall where she put out the light, and putting down the key and the bottle, ran to the house of a neighbour, and knocked at the door. "Who is there so late?" asked the old woman, thrusting her head out of the window.

"Oh, let me in," answered Maria. "I have quarrelled with my eldest sister, and as I do not want to fight any more, I have come to beg you to allow me to sleep with you."

So the old woman opened the door and Maria slept in her house. The king was very angry at her for playing truant, but when she returned home the next day, she found the plants of her sisters withered away, because they had disobeyed their father.

Now the window in the room of the eldest overlooked the gardens of the king, and when she saw how fine and ripe the medlars were on the trees, she longed to eat some, and begged Maria to scramble down by a rope and pick her a few, and she would draw her up again. Maria, who was good-natured, swung herself into the garden by the rope, and got the medlars, and was just making the rope fast under her arms so as to be hauled up, when her sister cried: "Oh, there are such delicious lemons a little farther on. You might bring me one or two."

Maria turned round to pluck them, and found herself face to face with the gardener, who caught hold of her, exclaiming, "What are you doing here, you little thief?"

"Don't call me names," she said, "or you will get the worst of it," giving him as she spoke such a violent push that he fell panting into the lemon bushes. Then she seized the cord and clambered up to the window.

The next day the second sister had a fancy for bananas and begged so hard, that, though Maria had declared she would never do such a thing again, at last she consented, and went down the rope into the king's garden. This time she met the king, who said to her, "Ah, here you are again, cunning one! Now you shall pay for your misdeeds."

And he began to cross-question her about what she had done. Maria denied nothing, and when she had finished, the king said again, "Follow me to the house, and there you shall pay the penalty."

As he spoke, he started for the house, looking back from time to time to make sure that Maria had not run away. All of a sudden, when he glanced round, he found she had vanished completely, without leaving a trace of where she had gone. Search was made all through the town, and there was not a hole or corner which was not ransacked, but there was no sign of her anywhere. This so enraged the king that he became quite ill, and for many months his life was despaired of.

Meanwhile the two elder sisters had married the two friends of the king, and were the mothers of little daughters. Now one day Maria stole secretly to the house where her elder sister lived, and snatching up the children put them into a beautiful basket she had with her, covered with flowers inside and out, so that no one would ever guess it held two babies. Then she dressed herself as a boy, and placing the basket on her head, she walked slowly past the palace, crying as she went:

"Who will carry these flowers to the king, who lies sick of love?"

The king in his bed heard what she said, and ordered one of his attendants to go out and buy the basket. It was brought to his bedside. As he raised the lid cries were heard, and peeping in he saw two little children. He was furious at this new trick which he felt had been played on him by Maria, and was still looking at them, wondering how he should pay her out, when he was told that the merchant, Maria's father, had finished the business on which he had been sent and returned home.

Then the king remembered how Maria had refused to receive his visit, and how she had stolen his fruit, and he determined to be revenged on her. So he sent a message by one of his pages that the merchant was to come to see him the next day, and bring with him a coat made of stone, or else he would be punished.

Now the poor man had been very sad since he got home the evening before, for though his daughters had promised that nothing should happen while he was away, he had found the two elder ones married without asking his leave. And now there was this fresh misfortune, for how was he to make a coat of stone? He wrung his hands and declared that the king would be the ruin of him, when Maria suddenly entered. "Do not grieve about the coat of stone, dear father; but take this bit of chalk, and go to the palace and say you have come to measure the king."

The old man did not see the use of this, but Maria had so often helped him before that he had confidence in her, so he put the chalk in his pocket and went to the palace.

"That is no good," said the king, when the merchant had told him what he had come for.

"Well, I cannot make the coat you want," he answered.

"Then if you would save your head, hand over to me your daughter Maria."

The merchant did not reply, but went sorrowfully back to his house, where Maria sat waiting for him.

"Oh, my dear child, why was I born? The king says that, instead of the coat, I must deliver you up to him."

"Do not be unhappy, dear father, but get a doll made, exactly like me, with a string attached to its head, which I can pull for "Yes" and "No.""

So the old man went out at once to see about it.

The king remained patiently in his palace, feeling sure that this time Maria could not escape him; and he said to his pages, "If a gentleman should come here with his daughter and ask to be allowed to speak with me, put the young lady in my room and see to it that she does not leave it."

Maria had hidden the doll under her cloak. When the door was shut behind her, she hid herself under the couch, keeping hold of the string that was fastened to its head.

"Senora Maria, I hope you are well," said the king when he entered the room.

The doll nodded.

"Now we will reckon up accounts," he went on, and began at the beginning and ended up with the flower-basket. At each fresh misdeed Maria pulled the string so that the doll's head nodded assent.

"Who-so mocks at me merits death," declared the king when he had ended, and drawing his sword, cut off the doll's head. It fell towards him, and as he felt the touch of a kiss, he exclaimed, "Ah, Maria, Maria, so sweet in death, so hard to me in life! The man who could kill you deserves to die!"

He was about to turn his sword on himself when the true Maria sprung out from under the bed and flung herself into his arms. The next day they were married and lived happily for many years.

[Reworked]

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What Came of Picking Flowers

A woman had three daughters and loved them very much. One day the eldest was walking in a water-meadow, when she saw a pink growing in the stream. She stooped to pick the flower, but her hand had scarcely touched it, when she vanished altogether. The next morning the second sister went out into the meadow, to see if she could find any traces of the lost girl, and as a branch of lovely roses lay trailing across her path, she bent down to move it away, and in so doing, could not resist plucking one of the roses. In a moment she too had disappeared. Wondering what could have become of her two sisters, the youngest followed in their footsteps, and fell a victim to a branch of delicious white jessamine.

Now the old woman was left without any daughters. She wept all day and all nigh for so long that her son, who had been a little boy when his sisters disappeared, grew up to be a tall youth meanwhile. One night he asked his mother to tell him why she cried so much.

When he had heard the whole story, he said, "I will go and see if I can find them."

He set forth. After he had travelled several miles, he came on three big boys fighting in the road. He stopped and asked what they were fighting about. One of them answered:

'When our father died, he left to us a pair of boots, a key, and a cap. Whoever puts on the boots and wishes himself in any place, will find himself there. The key will open every door, and with the cap on your head no one can see you. Now our eldest brother wants to have all three things for himself, and we wish to draw lots for them."

'Oh, that is easily settled," said the youth, "but you may not like the result. I will throw this stone as far as I can. The one who picks it up first, may come back for the things and see if he can find them." He took the stone and flung it, and while the three brothers were running after it, he drew on the boots, put the key in his pocket and grabbed the cap too. Then he said, "Boots, take me to the place where I shall find my eldest sister."

The next moment the young man was standing on a steep mountain before the gates of a strong castle guarded by bolts and bars and iron chains. The key opened the doors one by one, and he walked through a number of halls and corridors till he met a beautiful and richly-dressed young lady who started back in surprise at the sight of him, and exclaimed, "Oh, sir, how did you get in here?"

The young man replied that he thought he was her little brother, and told her how he had been able to pass through the doors. In return, she told him how happy she was, except for one thing, and that was, her husband lay under a spell, and could never break it till a man who could not die, was put to death.

They talked together for a long time, and then the lady said he had better leave her, for she expected her husband back at any moment, and he might not like him to be there. But the young man assured her she need not be afraid, as he had with him a cap that would make him invisible. They were still deep in conversation when the door suddenly opened, and a bird flew in, but he saw nothing unusual, for, at the first noise, the youth had put on his cap. The lady jumped up and brought a large golden basin that the bird flew into, and was changed into a handsome man. Turning to his wife, he cried, "I am sure someone is in the room!"

She got frightened, and declared that she was quite alone, but her husband persisted, and in the end she had to confess the truth.

'But if he is really your brother, why did you hide him?" asked he. "I believe you are telling me a lie, and if he comes back I shall kill him!"

At this the youth took off his cap, and came forward. Then the husband saw that he was much like his wife. He did not doubt her word any longer, and embraced his brother-in-law with delight. Drawing a feather from his bird's skin, he said, "If you are in danger and cry, "Come and help me, King of the Birds," everything will go well with you."

The young man thanked him and went away. After he had left the castle he told the boots that they must take him to the place where his second sister was living. As before, he found himself at the gates of a huge castle. Within was his second sister, very happy with her husband. He loved her dearly, but longed for the moment when he should be set free from the spell that kept him half his life a fish. When he arrived and had been introduced by his wife to her brother, he welcomed him warmly, and gave him a fish-scale, saying, "If you are in danger, call to me, "Come and help me, King of the Fishes," and everything will go well with you."

The young man thanked him and took his leave, and when he was outside the gates he told the boots to take him to the place where his youngest sister lived. The boots carried him to a dark cavern, with steps of iron leading up to it. Inside she sat, weeping and sobbing, and as she had done nothing else the whole time she had been there, the poor girl had grown very thin. When she saw a man standing before her, she sprang to her feet and exclaimed, "Oh, whoever you are, save me and take me from this horrible place!"

He told her who he was, and how he had seen her sisters. Their happiness was spoilt by the spell that both their husbands lay under, he said. She, in turn, told her own story. She had been carried off in the water-meadow by a monster who wanted to make her marry him by force, and had kept her a prisoner all these years because she would not. Every day he came to beg her marry him and to remind her that there was no hope of her being set free, and that he could never die.

At these words the youth remembered his two enchanted brothers-in-law, and he advised his sister to promise to marry the old man if he would tell her why he could never die.

Suddenly everything began to tremble, as if it was shaken by a whirlwind, and the old man entered. Flinging himself at the feet of the girl, he said: "Are you still determined never to marry me?"

"Well, I will marry you," she said, "if you will tell me why it is that you can never die."

Then the old man burst into peals of laughter. "Ah, ah, ah! Do you want to live long yourself? Or do you want to know how to kill me? Well, to do that, you would have to find an iron casket that lies at the bottom of the sea and has a white dove inside. Then you would have to find the egg that the dove laid, bring it here, and dash it against my head."

He laughed again, certain that no one had ever got down to the bottom of the sea. Besides, if they did, they would neither find the casket nor be able to open it.

Then he said, "Now you will have to marry me at once, as you know my secret."

She begged hard that the wedding might be put off for three days so that she might get in order and get more shapely for the wedding.

He agreed, saying: "A few days more don't matter after so many years."

Away he went, rejoicing. When he had disappeared, the brother took off the cap which had kept him invisible all this time, and told his sister not to lose heart. He hoped that in three days she would be free, drew on his boots and wished himself at the seashore. There he was directly. Drawing out the fish-scale, he cried, "Come and help me, King of the Fishes!"

His brother-in-law swam up and asked what he could do for him. The young man told the story, and when he had finished, his listener summoned all the fishes. The last to come was a little sardine that apologised for being so late, but said she had hurt herself by knocking her head against an iron casket that lay in the bottom of the sea. The king ordered several of the largest and strongest of the fishes to take the little sardine as a guide and bring him the iron casket. They soon returned with the box placed across their backs and laid it down before him. Then the youth took the key out of his pocket and said: "Key, open that box!"

At once the key opened it, but though they were all crowding round, ready to catch the white dove within, it flew away.

It was useless to go after it, and for a moment the young man's heart sank. The next minute, however, he remembered that he had still his feather, and drew it out crying, "Come to me, King of the Birds!"

A rushing noise was heard, and the king of the Birds perched on his shoulder, asking what he could do to help him. His brother-in-law told him the whole story, and when he had finished, the king of the Birds commanded all his subjects to hasten to him. In an instant the air was dark with birds of all sizes, and at the very last came the white dove, apologising for being so late by saying that an old friend had arrived at his nest, and he had been obliged to give him some dinner. The king of the Birds ordered some of them to show the young man the white dove's nest, and when they reached it, there lay the egg which was to break the spell and set them all free. When it was safely in his pocket, he told the boots to carry him straight to the cavern where his youngest sister sat waiting for him.

Now it was already far on into the third day, the wedding day. When the youth reached the cavern with his cap on his head, he found the monster there, urging the girl to keep her word and let the marriage take place at once. At a sign from her brother she sat down and invited the old monster to lay his head on her lap. He did so with delight, and her brother standing behind her back passed her the egg unseen. She took it and dashed it straight at the horrible head. The monster started with a groan. People thought it was the rumblings of an earthquake. And then the monster turned over and died.

As the breath went out of his body, the husbands of the two eldest daughters got back their proper shapes. Now they sent for their mother-in-law and had a great and joyous feast. And the youngest sister was rich to the end of her days with the treasures she found in the monster's cave.

[Reworked]