The Grateful Prince, part 2 · page 21 2101I know you have long loved each other, and I wish to make you man and wife.’102The young man nearly jumped into the air for joy, but, remembering the rules of the house, he managed to keep still.103When he told the maiden, he saw to his astonishment that she had become as white as a sheet, and she was quite dumb.104‘The old man has found out who was your counsellor,’ she said when she could speak, ‘and he means to destroy us both.’105We must escape somehow, or else we shall be lost.106Take an axe, and cut off the head of the calf with one blow.107With a second, split its head in two, and in its brain you will see a bright red ball.108Bring that to me.109Meanwhile, I will do what is needful here.110And the prince thought to himself, ‘Better kill the calf than be killed ourselves.111If we can once escape, we will go back home.112The peas which I strewed about must have sprouted, so that we shall not miss the way.’113Then he went into the stall, and with one blow of the axe killed the calf, and with the second split its brain.114In an instant the place was filled with light, as the red ball fell from the brain of the calf.115The prince picked it up, and, wrapping it round with a thick cloth, hid it in his bosom.116Mercifully, the cow slept through it all, or by her cries she would have awakened the master.117He looked round, and at the door stood the maiden, holding a little bundle in her arms.118‘Where is the ball?’ she asked.119‘Here,’ answered he.120‘We must lose no time in escaping,’ she went on, and uncovered a tiny bit of the shining ball, to light them on their way.121As the prince had expected the peas had taken root, and grown into a little hedge, so that they were sure they would not lose the path.checked by a teacher122As they fled, the girl told him that she had overheard a conversation between the old man and his grandmother, saying that she was a king’s daughter, whom the old fellow had obtained by cunning from her parents.123The prince, who knew all about the affair, was silent, though he was glad from his heart that it had fallen to his lot to set her free.124So they went on till the day began to dawn.125The old man slept very late that morning, and rubbed his eyes till he was properly awake.126Then he remembered that very soon the couple were to present themselves before him.127After waiting and waiting till quite a long time had passed, he said to himself, with a grin, ‘Well, they are not in much hurry to be married,’ and waited again.128At last he grew a little uneasy, and cried loudly, ‘Man and maid! what has become of you?’129After repeating this many times, he became quite frightened, but, call as he would, neither man nor maid appeared.130At last he jumped angrily out of bed to go in search of the culprits, but only found an empty house, and beds that had never been slept in.1 2← previousThe Grateful Prince, part 1next →The Grateful Prince, part 3↑ back to The Violet Fairy BookThis page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg641/10/page/2/