Prince Ring (30) · page 21 2101‘We must go up here,’ said Snati.102‘I don’t think that will be child’s play,’ said the Prince.103‘Hold fast by my tail,’ said Snati; and in this way he pulled Ring up on the lowest shelf of the rock.104The Prince began to get giddy, but up went Snati on to the second shelf.105Ring was nearly swooning by this time, but Snati made a third effort and reached the top of the cliff, where the Prince fell down in a faint.106After a little, however, he recovered again, and they went a short distance along a level plain, until they came to a cave.107This was on Christmas Eve. They went up above the cave, and found a window in it, through which they looked, and saw four trolls lying asleep beside the fire, over which a large porridge-pot was hanging.108‘Now you must empty all the salt into the porridge-pot,’ said Snati.109Ring did so, and soon the trolls wakened up.110The old hag, who was the most frightful of them all, went first to taste the porridge.111‘How comes this?’ she said; ‘the porridge is salt!112I got the milk by witchcraft yesterday out of four kingdoms, and now it is salt!’113All the others then came to taste the porridge, and thought it nice, but after they had finished it the old hag grew so thirsty that she could stand it no longer, and asked her daughter to go out and bring her some water from the river that ran near by.114‘I won’t go,’ said she, ‘unless you lend me your bright gold piece.’115‘Though I should die you shan’t have that,’ said the hag.116‘Die, then,’ said the girl.checked by a teacher117‘Well, then, take it, you brat,’ said the old hag, ‘and be off with you, and make haste with the water.’118The girl took the gold and ran out with it, and it was so bright that it shone all over the plain.119As soon as she came to the river she lay down to take a drink of the water, but meanwhile the two of them had got down off the roof and thrust her, head first, into the river.120The old hag began now to long for the water, and said that the girl would be running about with the gold piece all over the plain, so she asked her son to go and get her a drop of water.121‘I won’t go,’ said he, ‘unless I get the gold cloak.’122‘Though I should die you shan’t have that,’ said the hag.123‘Die, then,’ said the son.124‘Well, then, take it,’ said the old hag, ‘and be off with you, but you must make haste with the water.’125He put on the cloak, and when he came outside it shone so bright that he could see to go with it.126On reaching the river he went to take a drink like his sister, but at that moment Ring and Snati sprang upon him, took the cloak from him, and threw him into the river.127The old hag could stand the thirst no longer, and asked her husband to go for a drink for her; the brats, she said, were of course running about and playing themselves, just as she had expected they would, little wretches that they were.128‘I won’t go,’ said the old troll, ‘unless you lend me the gold chess-board.’129‘Though I should die you shan’t have that,’ said the hag.130‘I think you may just as well do that,’ said he, ‘since you won’t grant me such a little favour.’131‘Take it, then, you utter disgrace!’ said the old hag, ‘since you are just like these two brats.’132The old troll now went out with the gold chess-board, and down to the river, and was about to take a drink, when Ring and Snati came upon him, took the chess-board from him, and threw him into the river.133Before they had got back again, however, and up on top of the cave, they saw the poor old fellow’s ghost come marching up from the river.134Snati immediately sprang upon him, and Ring assisted in the attack, and after a hard struggle they mastered him a second time.135When they got back again to the window they saw that the old hag was moving towards the door.136‘Now we must go in at once,’ said Snati, ‘and try to master her there, for if she once gets out we shall have no chance with her.137She is the worst witch that ever lived, and no iron can cut her.138One of us must pour boiling porridge out of the pot on her, and the other punch her with red-hot iron.’139In they went then, and no sooner did the hag see them than she said, ‘So you have come, Prince Ring; you must have seen to my husband and children.’140Snati saw that she was about to attack them, and sprang at her with a red-hot iron from the fire, while Ring kept pouring boiling porridge on her without stopping, and in this way they at last got her killed.141Then they burned the old troll and her to ashes, and explored the cave, where they found plenty of gold and treasures.142The most valuable of these they carried with them as far as the cliff, and left them there.143Then they hastened home to the King with his three treasures, where they arrived late on Christmas night, and Ring handed them over to him.144The King was beside himself with joy, and was astonished at how clever a man Ring was in all kinds of feats, so that he esteemed him still more highly than before, and betrothed his daughter to him; and the feast for this was to last all through Christmastide.145Ring thanked the King courteously for this and all his other kindnesses, and as soon as he had finished eating and drinking in the hall went off to sleep in his own room.146Snati, however, asked permission to sleep in the Prince’s bed for that night, while the Prince should sleep where the Dog usually lay.147Ring said he was welcome to do so, and that he deserved more from him than that came to.148So Snati went up into the Prince’s bed, but after a time he came back, and told Ring he could go there himself now, but to take care not to meddle with anything that was in the bed.149Now the story comes back to Red, who came into the hall and showed the King his right arm wanting the hand, and said that now he could see what kind of a man his intended son-in-law was, for he had done this to him without any cause whatever.150The King became very angry, and said he would soon find out the truth about it, and if Ring had cut off his hand without good cause he should be hanged; but if it was otherwise, then Red should die.151So the King sent for Ring and asked him for what reason he had done this.152Snati, however, had just told Ring what had happened during the night, and in reply he asked the King to go with him and he would show him something.153The King went with him to his sleeping-room, and saw lying on the bed a man’s hand holding a sword.154‘This hand,’ said Ring, ‘came over the partition during the night, and was about to run me through in my bed, if I had not defended myself.’155The King answered that in that case he could not blame him for protecting his own life, and that Red was well worthy of death.156So Red was hanged, and Ring married the King’s daughter.157The first night that they went to bed together Snati asked Ring to allow him to lie at their feet, and this Ring allowed him to do.158During the night he heard a howling and outcry beside them, struck a light in a hurry and saw an ugly dog’s skin lying near him, and a beautiful Prince in the bed.159Ring instantly took the skin and burned it, and then shook the Prince, who was lying unconscious, until he woke up.160The bridegroom then asked his name; he replied that he was called Ring, and was a King’s son.161In his youth he had lost his mother, and in her place his father had married a witch, who had laid a spell on him that he should turn into a dog, and never be released from the spell unless a Prince of the same name as himself allowed him to sleep at his feet the first night after his marriage.162He added further, ‘As soon as she knew that you were my namesake she tried to get you destroyed, so that you might not free me from the spell.163She was the hind that you and your companions chased; she was the woman that you found in the clearing with the barrel, and the old hag that we just now killed in the cave.’164After the feasting was over the two namesakes, along with other men, went to the cliff and brought all the treasure home to the Palace.165Then they went to the island and removed all that was valuable from it.166Ring gave to his namesake, whom he had freed from the spell, his sister Ingiborg and his father’s kingdom to look after, but he himself stayed with his father-in-law the King, and had half the kingdom while he lived and the whole of it after his death.1 2← previousThe Story of Big Klaus and Little Klausnext →The Swineherd↑ back to The Yellow Fairy BookThis page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg640/42/page/2/