Europa's Fairy Book Part 5

At first the lord would not believe it; but in order to save his daughter's life he got Jack to point out the frog who was boasting of what he had swallowed, and, catching it, found what Jack had said was true. The frog was caught and killed, the wafer got back, and the girl recovered. So the lord gave Jack the reward which was promised, and he went on further with his companion and with another guest of the castle who had heard what Jack had said and done.

So Jack, with his two companions, travelled on towards Rome, the city of cities where dwelt the Pope, in those days the head of all Christendom. And as they were resting by the roadside Jack said to his companions, "Who would have thought it? One of us is going to be the Pope of Rome."

And his comrades asked him how he knew.

And he said, "The birds above in the tree have said so."

And his comrades at first laughed at him, but then remembered that what he had said before of the barking of dogs and of the croaking of frogs had turned out to be true.

[Ill.u.s.tration: The Pope is Elected]

Now when they arrived at Rome they found that the Pope had just died and that they were about to select his successor. And it was decided that all the people should pa.s.s under an arch whereon was a bell and two doves, and he upon whose shoulders the doves should alight, and for whom the bell should ring as he pa.s.sed under the arch was to be the next Pope. And when Jack and his companions came near the arch they all remembered his prophecy and wondered which of the three should receive the signs. And his first comrade pa.s.sed under the arch and nothing happened, and then the second and nothing happened, but when Jack went through the doves descended and alighted upon his shoulder and the bell began to toll. So Jack was made Pope of all Christendom, and he took the name of Pope Sylvester.

After a while the new Pope went upon his travels and came to the town where his father dwelt. And there was a great banquet held, to which Jack's father and mother were invited at his request. And when they came he ordered his servants to give to his father the basin of water, and to his mother the towel, wherewith the Pope would wash his hands after dinner. Now this was, in those days, a great honour, and people wondered why Jack's father and mother should be so honoured. But after Jack's father had offered him the basin of water, and his mother the towel, Jack said to them, "Do you not know me, mother? Do you not know me, father?" and made himself known to them and reminded his father of what the bird had said. So he forgave his father and took him and his mother to live with him ever afterwards.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

THE THREE SOLDIERS

Once upon a time three soldiers returned from the wars; one was a sergeant, one was a corporal, and the third was a simple private. One night they were caught in a forest and made a fire up to sleep by; and the sergeant had to do sentry-go. While he was walking up and down an old woman, bent double, came up to him and said:

"Please, sir, may I warm myself by your fire?"

"Why, certainly, mother, you are welcome to all the warmth you can get."

So the old woman sat by the fire for a time, and when she had got thoroughly warmed she said to the sergeant:

"Thank you, soldier; here is something for your trouble." And she handed him a purse, which seemed to have nothing in it.

"Oh, thank you, marm," said the sergeant, "but I wouldn't deprive you of it, especially as there is nothing in it."

"That may be so now," said the old woman, "but take it in your hand and turn it upside-down, and while you hold it like that gold pieces will come pouring out of it."

[Ill.u.s.tration: _The Magic Purse_]

He took it, and, sure enough, whenever he held it up out came the gold pieces. So he thanked her very much, and off she went.

Next night the corporal had to play sentry, and the old woman came up to him and asked to sit by the side of the fire.

"Certainly, marm," said he, "and welcome you are. I have known what it is to shiver in my bones."

So the old woman sat by the fire for a time, and when she was leaving gave the corporal a tablecloth.

Said he, "Thank you, marm, kindly, but we soldiers rarely use tablecloths when we are eating our vittles."

"Yes, but this gives you vittles to eat," said the old woman.

"Whenever you put this over a table or on the ground and call out 'Be covered!' the finest dinner you could eat at once comes upon it."

"If that is so," said the corporal, "I'll take it and thank you kindly." And with that the old woman departed, and the corporal woke up his comrades and called out: "Tablecloth be covered!" And, sure enough, the finest dinner you could imagine appeared upon the cloth.

Next night the private marched up and down doing sentry-go, when the old woman appeared again and asked to sit by the fire.

"Surely," said the private, "you're as welcome as my own mother would be."

And after she had sat some time by the fire she got up and said:

"Thank you kindly, sir; I hope this will pay you for your trouble."

And she gave him a whistle.

"And what's this for?" said the private. "I can't play on the whistle."

"But you can blow it," said she, "and whenever you blow it out will come a regiment of armed men that will do whatever you tell them."

And with that the old woman departed, and they never saw her more.

So the three soldiers travelled on till they came to a city where there was a princess, who was so proud of her card playing that she had agreed to marry any one who could beat her at cards. Now the sergeant was also very proud of his card playing, and he thought he would try his luck with the princess. So when he went up to the palace he offered to play a game with her, but she said to him:

"What are your stakes? If I lose I have to marry you. But if you lose what do you lose?"

So the sergeant said: "I'll stake my purse."

"Why, what's a purse with nothing in it!" said the princess.

"There may be nothing in it now," said the sergeant, "but see here,"

and he turned the purse upside-down and put his hand under it, and it kept on dropping gold pieces into his hand as long as he held it upside-down.

So the princess agreed to play for the purse. But she had arranged a mirror at the back of his head in which she could see all his cards.

And so she won easily, and he had to give up the purse.

But this princess was so charming that the sergeant had fallen in love with her, and when he went back to his comrades he asked the corporal to lend him his tablecloth. And he went back to the princess and said to her:

"Will you play me for this tablecloth?"

And she said: "It may be a very beautiful tablecloth but it isn't quite equal to me."

Then he laid it on a table and said, "Cloth, cover thyself." And there was a most delicious dinner spread upon it.

But, as the princess knew she would be able to beat him, she agreed to play him for the tablecloth, and, sure enough, by means of the mirror, she won the tablecloth from him.

The same thing happened when he borrowed the whistle from the private and tried his luck with the princess again. But this time he watched what she was doing, and knew that she had cheated him though he dared not say so. He lost again and went back to his comrades and asked them to forgive him, but he could not help it as the princess had cheated him. So his friends forgave him, and they all went their various ways.

Now the sergeant wandered along, and wandered along, and wandered along, till he came to the bank of a stream on which there grew fig trees, white and black. And he gathered some of these figs from the different trees, and sat down by the bank to eat them. And he ate a black fig, and then, feeling thirsty, went down to the stream to drink some of the water, and as he looked in he found that he had two horns on the side of his head just like a goat, instead of two ears. He didn't know what to do; but as he was still hungry he ate one of the white figs; and when he went to drink again he found the horns had disappeared. So then he knew that the black figs brought the horns and the white figs took them away. So he gathered some more of them and went back to the palace of the princess, and sent her up some of the black figs as a present from an admirer.

And after a while there was a rumour spread around the city that the princess had horns in her head, and would give anything to any one who could remove them.