The Biter Bit, part 3 The Biter Bit, part 3 of «The Green Fairy Book» by Andrew Lang: the whole text, 132 sentences and 2555 words. Every sentence has its own page with its syntax tree and pragmatics, parsed by Mova itself.
1 ‘You’re right again,’ said the Magician in amazement; ‘but I’ve still another task for you to do. 2 Before this candle, which I shall light, burns to the socket, you must have made me a pair of boots reaching to my knees. 3 If they aren’t finished in that time, off comes your head.’ 4 The Prince returned to his room in despair; then the Princess Hyacinthia came to him once more changed into the likeness of a bee, and asked him, ‘Why so sad, Prince Milan?’ 5 ‘How can I help being sad? 6 Your father has set me this time an impossible task. 7 Before a candle which he has lit burns to the socket, I am to make a pair of boots. 8 But what does a prince know of shoemaking? 9 If I can’t do it, I lose my head.’ 10 ‘And what do you mean to do?’ asked Hyacinthia. 11 ‘Well, what is there to be done? 12 What he demands I can’t and won’t do, so he must just make an end of me.’ 13 ‘Not so, dearest. 14 I love you dearly, and you shall marry me, and I’ll either save your life or die with you. 15 We must fly now as quickly as we can, for there is no other way of escape.’ 16 With these words she breathed on the window, and her breath froze on the pane. 17 Then she led Milan out of the room with her, shut the door, and threw the key away. 18 Hand in hand, they hurried to the spot where they had descended into the lower world, and at last reached the banks of the lake. 19 Prince Milan’s charger was still grazing on the grass which grew near the water. 20 The horse no sooner recognized his master, than it neighed loudly with joy, and springing towards him, it stood as if rooted to the ground, while Prince Milan and Hyacinthia jumped on its back. 21 Then it sped onwards like an arrow from a bow. 22 In the meantime the Magician was waiting impatiently for the Prince. 23 Enraged by the delay, he sent his servants to fetch him, for the appointed time was past. 24 The servants came to the door, and finding it locked, they knocked; but the frozen breath on the window replied in Prince Milan’s voice, ‘I am coming directly.’ 25 With this answer they returned to the Magician. 26 But when the Prince still did not appear, after a time he sent his servants a second time to bring him. 27 The frozen breath always gave the same answer, but the Prince never came. 28 At last the Magician lost all patience, and commanded the door to be burst open. 29 But when his servants did so, they found the room empty, and the frozen breath laughed aloud. 30 Out of his mind with rage, the Magician ordered the Prince to be pursued. 31 Then a wild chase began. 32 ‘I hear horses’ hoofs behind us,’ said Hyacinthia to the Prince. 33 Milan sprang from the saddle, put his ear to the ground and listened. 34 ‘Yes,’ he answered, ‘they are pursuing us, and are quite close.’ 35 ‘Then no time must be lost,’ said Hyacinthia, and she immediately turned herself into a river, Prince Milan into an iron bridge, and the charger into a blackbird. 36 Behind the bridge the road branched off into three ways. 37 The Magician’s servants hurried after the fresh tracks, but when they came to the bridge, they stood, not knowing which road to take, as the footprints stopped suddenly, and there were three paths for them to choose from. 38 In fear and trembling they returned to tell the Magician what had happened. 39 He flew into a dreadful rage when he saw them, and screamed out, ‘Oh, you fools! the river and bridge were they! 40 Go back and bring them to me at once, or it will be the worse for you.’ 41 Then the pursuit began afresh. 42 ‘I hear horses’ hoofs,’ sighed Hyacinthia. 43 The Prince dismounted and put his ear to the ground. 44 ‘They are hurrying after us, and are already quite near.’ 45 In a moment the Princess Hyacinthia had changed herself, the Prince, and his charger into a thick wood where a thousand paths and roads crossed each other. 46 Their pursuers entered the forest, but searched in vain for Prince Milan and his bride. 47 At last they found themselves back at the same spot they had started from, and in despair they returned once more with empty hands to the Magician. 48 ‘Then I’ll go after the wretches myself,’ he shouted. 49 ‘Bring a horse at once; they shan’t escape me.’ 50 Once more the beautiful Hyacinthia murmured, ‘I hear horses’ hoofs quite near.’ 51 And the Prince answered, ‘They are pursuing us hotly and are quite close.’ 52 ‘We are lost now, for that is my father himself. 53 But at the first church we come to his power ceases; he may chase us no further. 54 Hand me your cross.’ 55 Prince Milan loosened from his neck the little gold cross his mother had given him, and as soon as Hyacinthia grasped it, she had changed herself into a church, Milan into a monk, and the horse into a belfry. 56 They had hardly done this when the magician and his servants rode up. 57 ‘Did you see no one pass by on horseback, reverend father?’ he asked the monk. 58 ‘Prince Milan and Princess Hyacinthia have just gone on this minute; they stopped for a few minutes in the church to say their prayers, and bade me light this wax candle for you, and give you their love.’ 59 ‘I’d like to wring their necks,’ said the magician, and made all haste home, where he had every one of his servants beaten to within an inch of their lives. 60 Prince Milan rode on slowly with his bride without fearing any further pursuit. 61 The sun was just setting, and its last rays lit up a large city they were approaching. 62 Prince Milan was suddenly seized with an ardent desire to enter the town. 63 ‘Oh my beloved,’ implored Hyacinthia, ‘please don’t go; for I am frightened and fear some evil.’ 64 ‘What are you afraid of?’ asked the Prince. 65 ‘We’ll only go and look at what’s to be seen in the town for about an hour, and then we’ll continue our journey to my father’s kingdom.’ 66 ‘The town is easy to get into, but more difficult to get out of,’ sighed Hyacinthia. 67 ‘But let it be as you wish. 68 Go, and I will await you here, but I will first change myself into a white milestone; only I pray you be very careful. 69 The King and Queen of the town will come out to meet you, leading a little child with them. 70 Whatever you do, don’t kiss the child, or you will forget me and all that has happened to us. 71 I will wait for you here for three days.’ 72 The Prince hurried to the town, but Hyacinthia remained behind disguised as a white milestone on the road. 73 The first day passed, and then the second, and at last the third also, but Prince Milan did not return, for he had not taken Hyacinthia’s advice. 74 The King and Queen came out to meet him as she had said, leading with them a lovely fair-haired little girl, whose eyes shone like two clear stars. 75 The child at once caressed the Prince, who, carried away by its beauty, bent down and kissed it on the cheek. 76 From that moment his memory became a blank, and he forgot all about the beautiful Hyacinthia. 77 When the Prince did not return, poor Hyacinthia wept bitterly and changing herself from a milestone into a little blue field flower, she said, ‘I will grow here on the wayside till some passer-by tramples me under foot.’ 78 And one of her tears remained as a dewdrop and sparkled on the little blue flower. 79 Now it happened shortly after this that an old man passed by, and seeing the flower, he was delighted with its beauty. 80 He pulled it up carefully by the roots and carried it home. 81 Here he planted it in a pot, and watered and tended the little plant carefully. 82 And now the most extraordinary thing happened, for from this moment everything in the old man’s house was changed. 83 When he awoke in the morning he always found his room tidied and put into such beautiful order that not a speck of dust was to be found anywhere. 84 When he came home at midday, he found a table laid out with the most dainty food, and he had only to sit down and enjoy himself to his heart’s content. 85 At first he was so surprised he didn’t know what to think, but after a time he grew a little uncomfortable, and went to an old witch to ask for advice. 86 The witch said, ‘Get up before the cock crows, and watch carefully till you see something move, and then throw this cloth quickly over it, and you’ll see what will happen.’ 87 All night the old man never closed an eye. 88 When the first ray of light entered the room, he noticed that the little blue flower began to tremble, and at last it rose out of the pot and flew about the room, put everything in order, swept away the dust, and lit the fire. 89 In great haste the old man sprang from his bed, and covered the flower with the cloth the old witch had given him, and in a moment the beautiful Princess Hyacinthia stood before him. 90 ‘What have you done?’ she cried. 91 ‘Why have you called me back to life? 92 For I have no desire to live since my bridegroom, the beautiful Prince Milan, has deserted me.’ 93 ‘Prince Milan is just going to be married,’ replied the old man. 94 ‘Everything is being got ready for the feast, and all the invited guests are flocking to the palace from all sides.’ 95 The beautiful Hyacinthia cried bitterly when she heard this; then she dried her tears, and went into the town dressed as a peasant woman. 96 She went straight to the King’s kitchen, where the white-aproned cooks were running about in great confusion. 97 The Princess went up to the head cook, and said, ‘Dear cook, please listen to my request, and let me make a wedding-cake for Prince Milan.’ 98 The busy cook was just going to refuse her demand and order her out of the kitchen, but the words died on his lips when he turned and beheld the beautiful Hyacinthia, and he answered politely, ‘You have just come in the nick of time, fair maiden. 99 Bake your cake, and I myself will lay it before Prince Milan.’ 100 The cake was soon made. ← previous The Biter Bit, part 2next → The Biter Bit, part 4↑ back to The Green Fairy Book This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg7277/28/