The Biter Bit, part 3 · page 21 2101The invited guests were already thronging round the table, when the head cook entered the room, bearing a beautiful wedding cake on a silver dish, and laid it before Prince Milan.102The guests were all lost in admiration, for the cake was quite a work of art.103Prince Milan at once proceeded to cut it open, when to his surprise two white doves sprang out of it, and one of them said to the other: ‘My dear mate, do not fly away and leave me, and forget me as Prince Milan forgot his beloved Hyacinthia.’104Milan sighed deeply when he heard what the little dove said.105Then he jumped up suddenly from the table and ran to the door, where he found the beautiful Hyacinthia waiting for him.106Outside stood his faithful charger, pawing the ground.107Without pausing for a moment, Milan and Hyacinthia mounted him and galloped as fast as they could into the country of King Kojata.108The King and Queen received them with such joy and gladness as had never been heard of before, and they all lived happily for the rest of their lives.109PRINCE FICKLE AND FAIR HELENA (From the German)110There was once upon a time a beautiful girl called Helena.111Her own mother had died when she was quite a child, and her stepmother was as cruel and unkind to her as she could be.112Helena did all she could to gain her love, and performed the heavy work given her to do cheerfully and well; but her stepmother’s heart wasn’t in the least touched, and the more the poor girl did the more she asked her to do.113One day she gave Helena twelve pounds of mixed feathers and bade her separate them all before evening, threatening her with heavy punishment if she failed to do so.114The poor child sat down to her task with her eyes so full of tears that she could hardly see to begin.115And when she had made one little heap of feathers, she sighed so deeply that they all blew apart again.116And so it went on, and the poor girl grew more and more miserable.117She bowed her head in her hands and cried, ‘Is there no one under heaven who will take pity on me?’118Suddenly a soft voice replied, ‘Be comforted, my child: I have come to help you.’119Terrified to death, Helena looked up and saw a Fairy standing in front of her, who asked in the kindest way possible, ‘Why are you crying, my dear?’120Helena, who for long had heard no friendly voice, confided her sad tale of woe to the Fairy, and told her what the new task she had been given to do was, and how she despaired of ever accomplishing it.121‘Don’t worry yourself about it any more,’ said the kind Fairy; ‘lie down and go to sleep, and I’ll see that your work is done all right.’122So Helena lay down, and when she awoke all the feathers were sorted into little bundles; but when she turned to thank the good Fairy she had vanished.123In the evening her stepmother returned and was much amazed to find Helena sitting quietly with her work all finished before her.124She praised her diligence, but at the same time racked her brain as to what harder task she could set her to do.125The next day she told Helena to empty a pond near the house with a spoon which was full of holes.126Helena set to work at once, but she very soon found that what her stepmother had told her to do was an impossibility.127Full of despair and misery, she was in the act of throwing the spoon away, when suddenly the kind Fairy stood before her again, and asked her why she was so unhappy?128When Helena told her of her stepmother’s new demand she said, ‘Trust to me and I will do your task for you.129Lie down and have a sleep in the meantime.’130Helena was comforted and lay down, and before you would have believed it possible the Fairy roused her gently and told her the pond was empty.131Full of joy and gratitude, Helena hurried to her stepmother, hoping that now at last her heart would be softened towards her.132But the wicked woman was furious at the frustration of her own evil designs, and only thought of what harder thing she could set the girl to do.1 2← previousThe Biter Bit, part 2next →The Biter Bit, part 4↑ back to The Green Fairy BookThis page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg7277/28/page/2/