The Crimson Fairy Book, part 19 · page 21 2101Had she thrown him up straight? the queen wondered anxiously, for, if not, he would fall outside the walls, and she would lose him for ever.102The moments seemed long while she and Death stood gazing up into the air, waiting to know whose prize the prince would be.103Suddenly they both caught sight of a tiny speck no bigger than a wasp, right up in the blue.104Was he coming straight?105No!106Yes!107But as he was nearing the city, a light wind sprang up, and swayed him in the direction of the wall.108Another second and he would have fallen half over it, when the queen sprang forward, seized him in her arms, and flung him into the castle.109Then she commanded her servants to cast Death out of the city, which they did, with such hard blows that he never dared to show his face again in the Land of Immortality.110[From Ungarischen Volksmurchen.]111The Stone-Cutter112Once upon a time there lived a stone-cutter, who went every day to a great rock in the side of a big mountain and cut out slabs for gravestones or for houses.113He understood very well the kinds of stones wanted for the different purposes, and as he was a careful workman he had plenty of customers.114For a long time he was quite happy and contented, and asked for nothing better than what he had.115Now in the mountain dwelt a spirit which now and then appeared to men, and helped them in many ways to become rich and prosperous.116The stone-cutter, however, had never seen this spirit, and only shook his head, with an unbelieving air, when anyone spoke of it.117But a time was coming when he learned to change his opinion.118One day the stone-cutter carried a gravestone to the house of a rich man, and saw there all sorts of beautiful things, of which he had never even dreamed.119Suddenly his daily work seemed to grow harder and heavier, and he said to himself: “Oh, if only I were a rich man, and could sleep in a bed with silken curtains and golden tassels, how happy I should be!”1 2← previousThe Crimson Fairy Book, part 18next →The Crimson Fairy Book, part 20↑ back to The Crimson Fairy BookThis page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2435/19/page/2/