Opening, part 32 Opening, part 32 of «The Orange Fairy Book» by Andrew Lang: the whole text, 140 sentences and 2557 words. Every sentence has its own page with its syntax tree and pragmatics, parsed by Mova itself; 1 of them are in the tales treebank and were checked by a teacher model.
1 'Crumble those three loaves for the ants,' he said. 2 But Jose hesitated. 3 'Why, we may want them ourselves!' answered he. 4 'Never mind that; give them to the ants all the same. 5 Do not lose a chance of helping others.' 6 And when the loaves lay in crumbs on the road, the horse galloped on. 7 By-and-by they entered a rocky pass between two mountains, and here they saw an eagle which had been caught in a hunter's net. 8 'Get down and cut the meshes of the net, and set the poor bird free,' said the horse. 9 'But it will take so long,' objected Jose, 'and we may miss the princess.' 10 'Never mind that; do not lose a chance of helping others,' answered the horse. 11 And when the meshes were cut, and the eagle was free, the horse galloped on. 12 The had ridden many miles, and at last they came to a river, where they beheld a little fish lying gasping on the sand, and the horse said: 13 'Do you see that little fish? 14 It will die if you do not put it back in the water.' 15 'But, really, we shall never find the Princess Bella-Flor if we waste our time like this!' cried Jose. 16 'We never waste time when we are helping others,' answered the horse. 17 And soon the little fish was swimming happily away. 18 A little while after they reached a castle, which was built in the middle of a very thick wood, and right in front was the Princess Bella-Flor feeding her hens. 19 'Now listen,' said the horse. ' 20 I am going to give all sorts of little hops and skips, which will amuse the Princess Bella-Flor. 21 Then she will tell you that she would like to ride a little way, and you must help her to mount. 22 When she is seated I shall begin to neigh and kick, and you must say that I have never carried a woman before, and that you had better get up behind so as to be able to manage me. 23 Once on my back we will go like the wind to the king's palace.' 24 Jose did exactly as the horse told him, and everything fell out as the animal prophesied; so that it was not until they were galloping breathlessly towards the palace that the princess knew that she was taken captive. 25 She said nothing, however, but quietly opened her apron which contained the bran for the chickens, and in a moment it lay scattered on the ground. 26 'Oh, I have let fall my bran!' cried she; 'please get down and pick it up for me.' 27 But Jose only answered: 28 'We shall find plenty of bran where we are going.' 29 And the horse galloped on. 30 They were now passing through a forest, and the princess took out her handkerchief and threw it upwards, so that it stuck in one of the topmost branches of a tree. 31 'Dear me; how stupid! 32 I have let my handkerchief blow away,' said she. ' 33 Will you climb up and get it for me?' 34 But Jose answered: 35 'We shall find plenty of handkerchiefs where we are going.' 36 And the horse galloped on. 37 After the wood they reached a river, and the princess slipped a ring off her finger and let it roll into the water. 38 'How careless of me,' gasped she, beginning to sob. ' 39 I have lost my favourite ring; DO stop for a moment and look if you can see it.' 40 But Jose answered: 41 'You will find plenty of rings where you are going.' 42 And the horse galloped on. 43 At last they entered the palace gates, and the king's heart bounded with joy at beholding his beloved Princess Bella-Flor. 44 But the princess brushed him aside as if he had been a fly, and locked herself into the nearest room, which she would not open for all his entreaties. 45 'Bring me the three things I lost on the way, and perhaps I may think about it,' was all she would say. 46 And, in despair, the king was driven to take counsel of Jose. 47 'There is no remedy that I can see,' said his majesty, 'but that you, who know where they are, should go and bring them back. 48 And if you return without them I will have you drowned.' 49 Poor Jose was much troubled at these words. 50 He thought that he had done all that was required of him, and that his life was safe. 51 However, he bowed low, and went out to consult his friend the horse. 52 'Do not vex yourself,' said the horse, when he had heard the story; 'jump up, and we will go and look for the things.' 53 And Jose mounted at once. 54 They rode on till they came to the ant-hill, and then the horse asked: 55 'Would you like to have the bran?' 56 'What is the use of liking?' answered Jose. 57 'Well, call the ants, and tell them to fetch it for you; and, if some of it has been scattered by the wind, to bring in its stead the grains that were in the cakes you gave them.' 58 Jose listened in surprise. 59 He did not much believe in the horse's plan; but he could not think of anything better, so he called to the ants, and bade them collect the bran as fast as they could. 60 Then he saw under a tree and waited, while his horse cropped the green turf. 61 'Look there!' said the animal, suddenly raising its head; and Jose looked behind him and saw a little mountain of bran, which he put into a bag that was hung over his saddle. 62 'Good deeds bear fruit sooner or later,' observed the horse; 'but mount again, as we have far to go.' 63 When they arrived at the tree, they saw the handkerchief fluttering like a flag from the topmost branch, and Jose's spirits sank again. 64 'How am I to get that handkerchief?' cried he; 'why I should need Jacob's ladder!' 65 But the horse answered: 66 'Do not be frightened; call to the eagle you set free from the net, he will bring it to you.' 67 So Jose called to the eagle, and the eagle flew to the top of the tree and brought back the handkerchief in its beak. 68 Jose thanked him, and vaulting on his horse they rode on to the river. 69 A great deal of rain had fallen in the night, and the river, instead of being clear as it was before, was dark and troubled. 70 'How am I to fetch the ring from the bottom of this river when I do not know exactly where it was dropped, and cannot even see it?' asked Jose. 71 But the horse answered: 'Do not be frightened; call the little fish whose life you saved, and she will bring it to you.' 72 So he called to the fish, and the fish dived to the bottom and slipped behind big stones, and moved little ones with its tail till it found the ring, and brought it to Jose in its mouth. 73 Well pleased with all he had done, Jose returned to the palace; but when the king took the precious objects to Bella-Flor, she declared that she would never open her door till the bandit who had carried her off had been fried in oil. 74 'I am very sorry,' said the king to Jose, 'I really would rather not; but you see I have no choice.' 75 While the oil was being heated in the great caldron, Jose went to the stables to inquire of his friend the horse if there was no way for him to escape. 76 'Do not be frightened,' said the horse. ' 77 Get on my back, and I will gallop till my whole body is wet with perspiration, then rub it all over your skin, and no matter how hot the oil may be you will never feel it.' 78 Jose did not ask any more questions, but did as the horse bade him; and men wondered at his cheerful face as they lowered him into the caldron of boiling oil. 79 He was left there till Bella-Flor cried that he must be cooked enough. 80 Then out came a youth so young and handsome, that everyone fell in love with him, and Bella-Flor most of all. 81 As for the old king, he saw that he had lost the game; and in despair he flung himself into the caldron, and was fried instead of Jose. 82 Then Jose was proclaimed king, on condition that he married Bella-Flor which he promised to do the next day. 83 But first he went to the stables and sought out the horse, and said to him: 'It is to you that I owe my life and my crown. 84 Why have you done all this for me?' 85 And the horse answered: 'I am the soul of that unhappy man for whom you spent all your fortune. 86 And when I saw you in danger of death I begged that I might help you, as you had helped me. 87 For, as I told you, Good deeds bear their own fruit!' 88 [From Cuentos, Oraciones, y Adivinas, por Fernan Caballero.] 89 The Bird of Truth 90 Once upon a time there lived a poor fisher who built a hut on the banks of a stream which, shunning the glare of the sun and the noise of the towns, flowed quietly past trees and under bushes, listening to the songs of the birds overhead. 91 One day, when the fisherman had gone out as usual to cast his nets, he saw borne towards him on the current a cradle of crystal. 92 Slipping his net quickly beneath it he drew it out and lifted the silk coverlet. 93 Inside, lying on a soft bed of cotton, were two babies, a boy and a girl, who opened their eyes and smiled at him. 94 The man was filled with pity at the sight, and throwing down his lines he took the cradle and the babies home to his wife. 95 The good woman flung up her hands in despair when she beheld the contents of the cradle. 96 'Are not eight children enough,' she cried, 'without bringing us two more? 97 How do you think we can feed them?' 98 'You would not have had me leave them to die of hunger,' answered he, 'or be swallowed up by the waves of the sea? 99 What is enough for eight is also enough for ten.' 100 The wife said no more; and in truth her heart yearned over the little creatures. ← previous Opening, part 31next → Opening, part 33↑ back to The Orange Fairy Book This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg3027/32/