Fairy Tales From all Nations Part 10

Lo! suddenly a knight of bold and n.o.ble aspect, armed with a costly sword, and cased in shining armour, but without shield or lance, rode at full speed into the court of the palace. He sprang from his spirited steed, and gave him to his l.u.s.ty squire. Then he proudly advanced up the steps, to the golden chamber of the great monarch, and addressed Vladimir as follows:--"My name is Dobruna Mikilitsch, and I come to serve thee."

"Thou art welcome," replied Vladimir, "but how is it possible that thou hast escaped the giant Tugarin, who holds the road to Kiev in blockade?"

"Tugarin!" rejoined the knight, "_I_ fear him!--already would I have laid his great head at thy feet, but that I desired to achieve that deed in thy presence."

The monarch marvelled at the boldness of the stranger-youth, and inquired if he seriously intended to combat the giant.

"a.s.suredly," said Dobruna, "and with that object am I come to Kiev."

"But knowest thou not, that none can vanquish the giant, except only a knight who came into the world unborn?"

"I know it," replied Dobruna, "and that knight am I!"

"Hast thou, then, the sword of Sesostris?"

"Behold it," said Dobruna, as he drew the sword from its scabbard, "and if thou wilt permit me, mighty prince, to relate to thee my history, thou wilt know that it is I who am appointed by destiny to rid the earth of the monster Tugarin."

The monarch joyfully granted him permission, and Dobruna thus commenced:--

"It is true that I had both a father and a mother, but not the less did I behold the light of the world without going through the process of being born. Shortly before my mother would have brought me forth, she was slain by robbers, during a journey she was making with my father, to visit a relation. My father being also killed, I must doubtless have perished, if the beneficent enchantress Dobrada, who was just then pa.s.sing by, had not rescued me, and taken me under her protection. She carried me to the beautiful island, in the ocean, where she usually dwells, and brought me up with the greatest care.

She nourished me with the milk of a lioness, bathed me several times a day in the waves of the ocean, and inured me by day and night to labour and privation. This mode of education rendered my body so strong, that in my tenth year, I was already able to tear up the strongest trees by the root. Six ancient men instructed me in all the six-and-twenty known languages, and in arms, wherein I made such progress, that in my fifteenth year I was able to parry at once all the six swords of my teachers. Dobrada recompensed me for my diligence with the shining armour I now wear, which possesses the virtue of protecting my body from every danger.

"Shortly after that time, the enchantress whom I loved and honoured as a mother, thus addressed me:--'Dobruna Mikilitsch, thy education is completed, and it is time that in foreign lands thou shouldst by knightly deeds acquire renown and honour. Go forth: thou art destined for great things. It is not permitted to me to reveal all the future to thee; but thus much thou mayst know: thou wilt obtain possession of the wondrous sword of the wise Sesostris of Egypt. As soon as thou approachest it, the sword thou now wearest will fall of itself to the earth, and that of Sesostris will become agitated. Take possession of it in peace, for thou wilt require it, for a great service thou must render to him in whose armoury thou wilt find it; for with it thou wilt destroy a mighty sorcerer and giant, who has worked him much woe.

Whatever else thou mayst require during thy travels,' continued she, 'this ring will supply. Thou hast but to turn it three times on thy finger, in order to see every reasonable wish fulfilled.'

"She then bade me enter a boat into which she followed me. The boat shot through the waves like an arrow, and I presently sank into a profound sleep. How long our journey was I know not; for when I awoke I found myself alone on a vast plain, not far from a large city. But Dobrada could not have long quitted me, for the heavenly perfumes which ordinarily surrounded her, yet floated round me, and far in the eastern horizon I saw the rose-coloured cloud which always shrouded her. My soul was now filled with sadness at the thought that I was now separated from the wise and kind Dobrada, whom I loved as my mother.

"At length I regained my composure. I wished that I had a horse and squire that I might ride into the city that lay near me, and as at the same time I accidentally turned on my finger three times the ring, whose virtue I scarcely recollected, I saw at once before me a squire with two horses, of which I selected the finest and the most richly adorned for myself, and left the other for my squire; and thus I rode into the city.

"At the gate I was informed that the city was called Boogord, and was the capital of the Bulgarian empire. Trewul reigned in Boogord, and the giant Tugarin was at his court. The king had been obliged to promise him the hand of his sister, in order to avert the total ruin of his country, which the giant had devastated until Trewul had acceded to his desire. When I appeared in the king's presence, I made a very favourable impression on him, and he not only received me into his service, but made me keeper of the armoury, the first dignity at the Bulgarian court.

"From the first moment that Tugarin beheld me, he manifested the bitterest hate towards me; and when I heard what evil he had brought on Trewul and his land, I doubted not that he was the sorcerer and giant I was destined to overthrow. But the sword of Sesostris was still wanting to me. It was however not long before this invaluable weapon came into my possession.

"I entered the royal armoury in order to inspect the weapons entrusted to my care, and I had scarcely crossed the threshold when the sword I wore fell to the ground, and amongst the numerous others that hung there, I observed one moving to and fro. I could not doubt that this was the wonderful sword of the Egyptian king with which I was to slay the giant. I took possession of it with the greater confidence, from the knowledge that by its aid I should rid Trewul of so dangerous an enemy to himself and his family. I girded it upon me, and hung mine in its place.

"From that moment the giant avoided me, knowing most likely by his magic art that I was in possession of the sword that was to be fatal to him, and ere long he disappeared from Boogord, telling the king he was going in search of Milolika.

"I immediately took leave of the king, and set out in pursuit of the giant. I gained information on my way that he had gone to Kiev, where Milolika resided as thy wife. I hastened after him, and am come, as I see, at the right moment to prevent misfortune. I now await thy permission, mighty prince, to engage in combat thy enemy and mine."

As he concluded Dobruna bent one knee before the monarch, who rose from his seat, and taking the golden chain from his own neck, threw it round the knight's with the following words: "Let this mark of my favour prove to thee, Dobruna Mikilitsch, how greatly I rejoice to have so brave a knight in my service. To-morrow thou shalt engage the giant, and I doubt not that thou wilt conquer." He then commanded that an apartment should be prepared for him in the palace, and all due honour be paid to him. Dobruna returned thanks to the monarch for the favours shown him, and took leave in order to repose after his journey, and to gather strength for the approaching fight.

In the mean time the heralds by Vladimir's command went round the city, and summoned the people to a.s.semble on the walls the following morning, to witness the combat between the knight and the sorcerer, and the priests offered up solemn sacrifices to implore blessings on Kiev and the knight against the malignant sorcerer and the powers which aided him.

Scarcely had the purple-tinted Simzerla[3] spread her glowing mantle over the sky, and decked the path of the great light of the world with her thousand coloured rays, before the vast population of Kiev impatiently thronged to the walls in order not to delay the grand spectacle. The monarch attended by his consort and all the magnates of the empire, ascended a tribunal which had been hastily erected over the princ.i.p.al gate of the city for this great event.

[Footnote 3: Simzerla was the Aurora of the Slavonians.]

The clangor of trumpets and horns at length announced the arrival of the knight. Ten thousand corsletted warriors rode with uplifted lances before him, and drew up in two lines before the gate. After them, on a richly caparisoned charger, rode the knight in his shining armour, bearing in his hand the precious sword of Sesostris. The people welcomed him with a cry of joy, and the warriors clashed their arms as he appeared before the gate. With n.o.ble bearing and knightly aspect he turned his horse and saluted the monarch by thrice lowering his sword.

"Great ruler of Russia," he began, "at thy command I go forth to fight the sorcerer and giant Tugarin, who has presumed to challenge thee to combat." "Go forth," replied Vladimir, "go forth, valiant youth, and fight in my name the vile sorcerer: may the G.o.ds give thee victory!"

Dobruna then dashed at full speed through the lines of warriors to the white tent, followed by the acclamations and the blessings of the spectators.

The giant, who had been awakened by the unusual noise of the trumpets and horns, and the joyful cries of the people, had already mounted his horse, and was in the act of riding towards the city to ascertain the cause, when he beheld the knight approaching. When he recognised in him the dreaded keeper of the Bulgarian monarch's armoury, who was in possession of the wonderful sword, he set up a fearful yell. Foaming with rage he rushed with out-spread arms against the knight to grasp him; but Dobruna laughed at his impotent fury, and in order better to overcome him, he first touched with his sword the enchanted horse, which immediately crumbled into dust. He then caused the magic-destroying weapon of the wise Sesostris to gleam over the head of the sorcerer, who, by the sudden crumbling of his horse, had fallen to the earth. Tugarin's destruction seemed inevitable, and the beholders from the walls already shouted forth their plaudits to the victor, when at once all the powers of h.e.l.l broke forth to aid their beloved son. A stream of fire crackled between the combatants, fiery serpents hissed around the knight, and a thick cloud of smoke enveloped the giant. But short was this infernal display. Dobruna touched the stream with his sword, made a few strokes with it in the air, and the fiery flood and the hissing serpents vanished. He then approached the smoke which concealed the giant, but scarcely had he thrust his sword into it, when like the enchantments that also disappeared. The giant was seen outstretched on the ground, and heard to roar with terror. No sooner did he perceive that the smoke which concealed him had vanished, than he sprang up and rushed, as if in madness, on the knight. Dobruna awaited him unmoved, and as the giant stretched forth his monstrous hands for the second time to seize him, he cut them both off with a single stroke. The second stroke of that wondrous sword, wielded by the strong hand of the knight, severed the vile head from the shoulders. The colossus fell, and the earth shook beneath his weight.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE DRAGON GIANT. P. 183.]

Then the people lifted up a cry of joy. A hundred thousand voices shouted, "Long live our monarch, and the conqueror of the giant, Dobruna Mikilitsch!"

The knight, who had dismounted to raise the fallen enemy's head on the point of his sword in sign of victory, was about to remount in order to give the monarch an account of his combat, when he beheld him coming towards him, accompanied by his consort and the magnates of the empire. The courteous knight hastened forward and laid the giant's head at his feet. The great prince embraced him in presence of the a.s.sembled people, and placed on his finger a gold ring, whilst Milolika hung around him a gold-embroidered scarf. Dobruna bent his knee and thanked the royal pair in graceful and courteous words for these marks of favour. They then all returned full of joy to the city, where the festivities and rejoicings in honour of the knight lasted many weeks.

Vladimir also despatched messengers to his brother-in-law, Trewul, to inform him of his marriage with the beautiful Milolika, and the overthrow of their common enemy, the giant Tugarin. Dobruna however remained at the court of Vladimir, and performed many more great and valiant deeds, which procured him great fame and honour, and rendered great service to the monarch, and he became the most beloved and most esteemed, both by prince and people, of all the knights in Vladimir's court.

THE STORY OF SIVA AND MADHAVA.

[Sanskrit.]

There still exists a town famed for its splendour and richness, called Ratnapura. In it there once dwelt two rogues, Siva and Madhava, who, with the help of their confederates, contrived to make both rich and poor of that place victims to their cunning and rapacity.

Once these two individuals met together to consult. "This town," they said, "has so entirely been laid under contribution by us, that we can have no reasonable hopes of any further success; let us, therefore, go to Ujjayini, and settle ourselves down there. The house-priest of the king, Sankar'aswarni by name, is considered a very rich man, and if, by some contrivance, we could possess ourselves of his treasures, it would be easy to curry favour with the charming and lovely women of the Malavese. The Brahmins, without exception, call him avaricious and miserly, for, though so rich that he measures his treasures by the bushel, he begrudges every offering to their altars, and it is only on compulsion he gives a portion of the dues. It is also well known that he has a remarkably beautiful daughter, whom, if we once are able to gain his confidence, one of us must receive as a wife from his own hands."

After this, these two rogues, Siva and Madhava, having first matured their plans and resolved upon the parts each individually was to play, took their departure from the city of Ratnapura and soon arrived at Ujjayini.

Madhava, disguised as a Rajput, remained with his followers in a small village outside the city; but Siva, more versed in all the arts of deceit, entered the town alone, garbed in the habit of a devout penitent. He built a cell on an elevated place on the banks of the Sipra, from whence he could be well observed, and here he laid on the ground a deer-skin, a pot wherein to collect alms, some darbha-gra.s.s, and some clay.

At the first dawn of morning he rubbed his whole body over with clay; he then entered the river, and remained with his head for a considerable time under the water; leaving the bath, he steadfastly fixed his gaze on the sun, then, holding in his hand some kusa-gra.s.s, he knelt before the image of a G.o.d, murmuring his prayers; he then plucked holy flowers, which he sacrificed to Siva, and when his offering was concluded he again began to pray, and remained long lost in deepest devotion.

On the following day, in order to gather alms, he wandered through the town, mute, as if dumb, leaning on a staff, and his only raiment consisting of the small skin of a black gazelle. After having made his collections at the houses of the Brahmins, he divided the gifts received into three parts; the first he gave to the crows, the second to the first person he met, and with the third he fed himself; then slowly counting the beads of his rosary, with constant and fervent prayers, he returned to his cell. The nights he devoted, apparently, to deepest meditation, and to the solution of great religious and philosophical questions.

Thus, by daily repeating these deceptions, he impressed on the inhabitants so great an idea of his sanct.i.ty that he was universally revered; and, when he pa.s.sed, the people of Ujjayini reverentially bowed and knelt before him, exclaiming, "This is, indeed, a holy man!"

Meanwhile, his friend Madhava had, through his spies, received intelligence of all these doings, and now, magnificently dressed like a Rajput he also entered the city. He took up his abode in an adjacent temple, and went to the banks of the Sipra to bathe in the river.

After having performed his ablutions, Madhava saw Siva, who, lost in prayer, knelt before the image of the G.o.d. The former then, along with his retinue, prostrated himself in reverence before the holy man; and addressing the people around him, said, "There lives not on earth a more devout penitent; more than once in my travels have I seen him, when, as here, he has been visiting the sacred rivers and the holy places of pilgrimage."

Though Siva had well observed and heard his companion, no feature betrayed the fact; immoveably as before, he continued in his devotion.

Madhava soon after returned to his dwelling.

In the depth of night in a lonely place they again met, where, after having well feasted, they consulted together upon their next proceedings. At the dawn of morning Siva returned to his cell, and Madhava commanded one of his companions at an early hour of the day as follows: "Take these two robes of honour and present them to Sankar'aswarni, the house-priest of the king, and address him thus:--'A Rajput named Madhava, treacherously a.s.saulted, and by his nearest relations driven from his empire, has, with the vast treasures of his father, taken refuge in these realms, and is anxious to present himself before the king and offer him the faithful and gratuitous services of himself and his brave followers. He has therefore sent me to thee, thou ocean of fame, to beg thy permission to visit him.'" As Madhava had commanded him, the follower, holding the robes of honour in his hands, waited at the house of the priest. Watching a favourable opportunity when the priest was alone, he presented himself before him, laid the presents at his feet, and delivered Madhava's message.

The priest, full of dignity, received them condescendingly, and longing for some of the treasures to which the messenger had made no slight allusions, he graciously acquiesced in the demand.

Madhava consequently went the following day at a proper hour to visit the priest, accompanied by his followers, dressed like courtiers, in magnificent robes, and with silver spears in their hands. A messenger was sent in advance to announce them, and the priest receiving them at the entrance of his house, most reverentially saluted them, and gave them the very best welcome. Madhava after having pa.s.sed a short time in pleasant conversation, and made a favourable impression on the priest, returned to his own dwelling.

The following day he again sent two robes of honour, and then presented himself to the priest, saying: "We are anxious as early as possible to enter the service of the king, for time hangs heavily on our hands; let our sole recompense be the honour of attending him, for we have sufficient treasures for all our wants."

When the priest had heard this, hoping to extract large sums from him, he granted his request, and immediately went to the king, who, out of esteem and love for his religious adviser, at once permitted the introduction of the Rajput at court.

On the following day the priest formally introduced Madhava and his followers to the king, who graciously, and with honours received them, and at once appointed the former to fill a high station in the household, for he was greatly pleased with his appearance, which in everything resembled that of a high-born Rajput. Thus was Madhava fairly installed at court, but every night he went secretly to Siva, to consult with him about their plans. Once the avaricious priest said to Madhava, who with his rich presents had shown him marked attention: "Come and live in my house," and as he pressed him very much, Madhava and his followers removed to the s.p.a.cious dwelling of the priest.