Czech Folk Tales

Then he turned to the woodcutter: “Did you really kill the cruel dragon?” he said.

The woodcutter persisted in his story.

“And how did you cut the heads off?”

“With my hatchet.”

“Why, you couldn’t do it with your hatchet. You are a liar.”

The woodcutter was taken aback and did not know what to say. He was frightened already, but he said: “It happened that the dragon didn’t have any tongues.”

The knight produced the tongues and said: “Here are the tongues, and it was I who killed the cruel dragon.”

The princess took hold of him and embraced and kissed him, and she was ready to marry him on the spot. As for the woodcutter, he was kicked out in disgrace, and they put him into jail for some time too. So the princess married the knight and they lived happily together.

One day, looking out of the window, he saw in the distance, among the mountains, a black castle. He asked his wife what castle it was and to whom it belonged.

“That is an enchanted castle, and nobody who goes into it ever returns.”

But he could not rest, and he was eager to explore the castle. So one morning he ordered his horse to be saddled, and, accompanied by his dog, he rode to the castle. When they reached it they found the gate open. As he went in he saw men and animals all turned to stone. In the hall an old hag was sitting by the fire. When she saw him she pretended to tremble.

“Dear lord,” said she, “bind your dog. He might bite me.”

He said: “Do not be afraid. He will do you no harm.”

He bent down to pat the dog, and at that moment the hag took her wand and struck him with it. He was turned to stone, and his horse and dog too.

The princess waited for her lord, but he did not return. She mourned for him, and the citizens, who loved their lord, were grieved at his loss.

Now, the other brother looked at his sword, and the sword began to rust; so he was sure that his brother was in trouble. He felt that he must help him, so he rode off in that direction and came to the town. The town was hung with black flags. As he rode through the streets the citizens saw him, and they thought he was their lord, for he had a horse and a dog just like their lord’s horse and dog. When the princess saw him, she embraced him and said: “Where have you been so long, my dear husband?”

He said that he had lost his way in the forest and that he had fallen among robbers, and, since he had no choice, he had to pretend to be a robber too, and to promise to stay with them and to show them good hiding-places. The robbers, so he said, admitted him to be of their company, and he had not been able to escape before this.

Everybody was delighted, and the lord’s brother was careful enough not to say that he was only the brother. But, whenever they went to bed, he put his sword between himself and the lady. The princess was troubled at this, and she tried to find different explanations for the conduct of her supposed husband. One morning, as he was looking out of the window, he saw that same castle, and he asked what castle it was.

She answered: “I have told you already that it is an enchanted castle, and that nobody who goes there ever returns.”

So he thought: “It is surely there that my brother is.”

He ordered his horse to be saddled and, without saying a word to anybody, he rode off to the castle. As soon as he entered the castle he saw his brother and his dog turned to stone. He saw, too, all the petrified knights and their horses, and the hag sitting and keeping up the fire.

He said: “You old hag, unless you bring my brother to life again I’ll hew you in pieces with this sword of mine.”

The hag knew that the sword had magical virtues, and so she said:

“Pray, sir, do not be angry with me. Take that box there and rub the ointment beneath his nose and he will come to life again.”

“Curse you, you evil old hag; do it yourself, and instantly.”

And he went and caught hold of her wand and struck her with it, and at once she was turned into stone. He had not meant to do that, for he did not know that the wand had such power. He took the box and rubbed the ointment beneath his brother’s nose, and the brother came to life again. Then he anointed all the others who had been turned to stone, and they all came to life again. As for the hag, he left her there just as she was.

Then the brothers rode off to the princess. When she saw them, she did not know which of them was her husband, they were so like one another.

So she said: “What am I to do now? Which of you is my lord?”

They came before her and bade her choose the right one. But still she hesitated. So her husband went up to her and took her by the hand and said: “I am the right one and that is my brother.”

He told her everything, and she was glad that her real husband had come again. So they lived happily together, and, as for the other brother, he went to seek his fortune elsewhere.

THE WATERNICK

Once upon a time there were two children, a boy and a girl. They only had a mother, who was a widow. One day their mother sent them to get some wood for the fire. Off they went. The girl was just learning to knit, so she put a ball of wool in her pocket. They went on as far as they knew the way. Then suddenly they began to wonder whether they could find their way home.

The girl said: “I will bind the end of the thread to a tree, and so we shall be able to find our way back.”

So they went on till the thread had all run out. Then they turned back, but they found that wild creatures had broken the thread. What were they to do? They wandered on till night fell, and then they saw that they would have to spend the night in the forest. They came to a pond, and they found that they could not go any farther. So they walked round the pond till the Waternick got hold of them. He took them with him, and there they were.

When he got home with them, his wife was waiting for him. Round the stove there were some shelves for vessels that they used for catching poor souls in. The Waternick and his wife were delighted with the children; they decided that they would employ them as servants, so Mrs. Waternick took charge of them. The children spent some years in this way and learned about everything under the water.

One day the Waternick went away to catch some human souls, and he gave orders to Mrs. Waternick not to leave the children alone. But the old hag fell asleep, and the children walked some distance from the hut, till they thought she would scold them, and so they returned home. But they meant to go farther the next day, if only the old hag went to sleep again. As soon as they were sure that she was asleep they ran out of the hut and went as far as they could.

The old hag woke up and cried out: “Where are you, children?”

She jumped to her feet and ran after them. They were within a few steps of getting safe away, when, alas! she overtook them. She took them back and forced them to work, and they had to stay at home besides.

When the Waternick came home, she told him all about it, and the Waternick said: “Never mind, I’ll set them to work, and they won’t have time to think about making their way home.”

So in the morning he took them to the forest and gave them a wooden hatchet and a wooden saw and bade them, fell the trees.

“When they are all cut down, you shall go back again.”

So the Waternick left them, and the children began the work at once. They took the saw and tried to cut down a tree. But the saw soon broke and they were done for. So they took the hatchet, and the hatchet split in two after one stroke. They began to cry.

“Things look bad for us,” they said.

Since they saw that they could not help themselves, they stayed where they were, and presently they fell asleep. I don’t know how long they had been sleeping. But it was already time to go back.

The Waternick came and asked: “Have you finished?”

They said that the hatchet and saw were only made of wood, and that both were broken. He took them home.

Next day the Waternick went about his work, while Mrs. Waternick was busy outside the hut. The children looked at the cups on the shelves. The cups were tilted up. So the girl lifted one of them. And she heard the words: “God speed you!” She lifted another, and the same greeting came again. So she kept on lifting the cups till she had lifted all of them. Human souls had been imprisoned under those cups. Now the hag came into the room and she saw that all the cups had been lifted. She began to curse, and she said that the children would certainly get a good thrashing when the old man came home.

The children often felt lonely; they thought of their mother and wondered if she were still alive, and what they could do to get away. So they decided that the next day, when the hag was sleeping, they would try how far they could get.

“If only we could get as far as home, it would be all right then.”

In the morning the girl had to comb Mrs. Waternick’s hair and dress her in her smart dress. When she had finished, Mrs. Waternick had a sleep. Now the children took to their heels; they were as quick as ravens, trying to get away before Mrs. Waternick should wake. Being swift of foot, they reached the shore. They leapt out and ran straight on again. Of course they heard the hag screeching behind them, but they were on dry land, so they thought: “We needn’t care for anything now.”