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2 THE POOR MANS SON WHO MARRIED THE PRINCESS Retold from the Hungarian LOUISE SOUVAN THERE was once, I don't know where, even beyond the Operencian sea, a poor man who had three sons. Having got up one morning, the father asked the eldest one, "What have you dreamt, my son?" "Well, my dear father," said he, "I sat at a table covered with many dishes, and I ate so much that when I had finished I could scarcely rise from my chair." "Well, my son," eaid the father, "if you had so much to eat, you ought to be satisfied, and, as we are rather short of bread, you shall not have anything to eat today." Then.he asked the sec ond son, "What have you dreamt, my son?" "Well, my dear father, I bought such splendid boots with, spurs that when I put them on and knocked my heels together I could be heard over seven countries." "Well, my good son," answered the father, "you have got good boots at last, and you won't want any for the winter." At last he asked the youngest as to what he had dreamt, but this one was •eticent, and did not want to tell, and although hie father commanded him to tell, he kept silent. As fair words were of no avail,, the father tried threats, but without success. Then he began to beat the lad. "To flee Is shameful but useful," they ea.y. The lad followed this good advice and ran away, hi» father after him with a stick. • As they reached the street the king was passing down the road in a car riage drawn by six horses with golden hair and diamond shoes. The king stopped and asked the father why he was illtreuting the lad. "Your majesty, because he won't tell me his dream," replied the father. "Don't hurt him, my good man," j»-,iid the king; "I'll tell you what; let the lad go with me and take this purse. I Ml anxious to know his dream, and will take him with me." The father consented, and the king , continued his journey, taking the lad with him. Arriving at home, he commanded the lad to appear before him, and ques tioned him about his dream, but the lad would not t<ll a thins. No imploring, no threatening, would induce him to diaclOM his dream. Tlie king grew angry with the lade obstinacy, and said in a great rage; "You good for nothing fellow, to disobey your king; know that this is punished by death! You shall die such a lingering , death that you will have tint* to think over what disobedience to the king means." Rα ordered the warder- to cjome and t;i.k* the lad to prison, to throw him Into the deepest tower and to immure him alive In the wall. The lad listened to this cruel command in silence and only the kind's pretty daughter turned p&le. The daughter was quite taken with the proud and fearless lad, ami guzed at him In silent joy. The lad was not only brave and clever, but litinds«'<m«», too, with a snow THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SATURDAY. \<jVK>l I'.Kk 2, t9I2.~THE JUNIOR CALL. white complexion, dark eyes and rich raven locks. He was carried away, but the princess was determined to save the handsome lad's life. So she bribed one of the workmen to leave a stone loose in the wall without its being noticed, so it could be easily taken away and replaced. In secret the pretty princess fed the lad in his cell. Shortly after this it happened that the powerful ruler of the dog headed Tartars ordered that seven white horses should be led into the king's courtyard. The animals were so much alike that there was not a hair to be chosen between them, and each of the horses was one year older than the other. At the same time the Tartar tyrant commanded that the king should choose the youngest from among them, and the others in the order of their ages, including the oldest. If he could not do this his country should be tilled with as many Tartars as there were blades of grass in the country, he should be impaled and his daughter should become the Tartar's wife. The king , , on hearing the new*, was very much alarmed, lie held a counefi of all the wise men in his realm, but all in vain; the whole court was in sor row and mourning. The princes*, too, was sad, and whtn she took the fooa to the lad she did not smile as usual and her eyes were filled with tears. On seeing this the lad asked for the cause; upon that the princess told him everything. He consoled her and tola her that he eoultl help. He asked her to tell her father t«> get seven kinds of oats and put them in different dishes; th« horses were to he led in and they would go and eat the. oats according to their different ages, and while they were feeding they must put a mark on each of the horses. And so it was done. The horses were sent back, their ages given, and the Tartar tyrant found the solution to be right. But no sooner had thin difficulty been solved than the Tartar tyrant sent the king a rod, both ends of which were of equal thickness. He demanded that the king should send him word which end of the rod had grown nearest the trunk of the tree, and in case he failed to reply correctly threatened the king with the same pui)tflbment as before. The king was downcast and the princess told her grief to the lad, who sail, "Don't worry, prince**, but tell your father to suspend the rod by the middle from a piece of twine; the heavier end will swing downward and that will be the end that grew nearest to the tree." The king did so and sent the rod back with the ends marked ;is ordered. The Tartar king shook his head, but was obliged to admit that it was right. "I will give them smother trial," said he In great rage. "And as I see there must be some one at the king's court who wants to defy me, we will see who is the stranger." Soon afterward an arrow struck the walls of the royal palace, which shook it to its foundation like an earthquake, and great was the terror of the people when they found out that the Tartar king had written the previous threats upon the feathers of the arrow, with the declaration that they would be carried out on the spot if nobody could draw out the arrow and shoot it back. The king was more downcast than ever and never slept a wink. He called together all the heroes of the realm, and every child born under a lucky star, or who was born with a caul, with a tooth or with a gray lock. He prom ised to the successful one half of his realm and his daughter if lie fulfilled the Tartar king's wish. In the meantime the princess told the lad the cause of her latest grief. So he asked her to have the secret opening closed, and then she was to say that she dreamed that the lad was still alive and that he was able to do what was needed and that they were to have the wall opened. • The princess did as she was told. The king was very much astonished; he had almost entirely forgotten the lad, and thought that he had gone to dust behind the walls long ago. In the fear about his daughter's safety the king at last decided that the dream was not altogether impossible. He had the wall opened, and the lad stepped forth from the hole. "You have noth ing to fear, my king," said the lad, and, dragging out the arrow with his right hand, he shot It toward Tartary with such force that all the servants of the royal palace dropped down with a tremendous shock. Seeing this, the Tartar king was anxious to inuke the acquaintance of him who did all these things. The lad at once offered to go to Tartary, and started on the journey with 12 other knights, disguising himself so that he could not be distinguished from his followers. This was done to test the magic power of the Tartar chief. The lad and his knights were received witli great pomp by the king, who, seeing that all were attired alike, at once discovered the ruse. But in order that he might not betray his ignorance he did not dare to inquire who the wise and powerful knight was, but trusted to his mother, who had magic power, to find him out. Therefore the magi cian mother put them all in the same bedroom for the night, she concealing herself in the room, too. The guests lay down, when one of them remarked with great satisfac tion, "By Jove! what a good cellar the king hasl" "His wine is good indeed," said another, "because there is human blood mixed in it." The magician mother noted from which bed the sound carnc. and when all were asleep sho cut off a lock from the knight in question and crept out of the room unnoticed. Then she informed her son bow he could recognize the true hero. The guests got up next morning, but our man soon noticed that he was marked, and to thwart the design of every one of the knights out off a lock. Tbey sat down to dinner and the king was not ablf to recognize the hero. The next night the king's mother again stole into the bedroom, and this time a knight exclaimed, "By Jove! what good bread the Tartar has!" "It's very good, indeed," Paid another, "be cause there is magic milk in it." When they went to sleep she cut oft the end of the mustache from the knight who slept in the bed whence the voice came and made this sign known to her Hon. But the knights were more on their guard than before, and, having , discovered what the sign was, each of them cut off as much from his niu« taehe as the knight who was marked, and so once more ttie king could not distinguish between them. The third night the old woman again hid herself, when one of the knights re marked, "By Jove! what a handsome man the king Is!" "He is handsome indeed, because he has a fairy for his mother," uaid another. When they went to sleep she made a scratch on the visor of the knight who spoke last and told her son. Next morning the king saw that all visors were marked alike. At last the monarch took cour age and Hpoke thus: "I can see that there is a cleverer man among you than I am, and that's why I am M much more anxious to Know him. 1 pray therefore that he make himself known, so that I may see him and make the acquaintance of the only living man who wishes to be wiser and more pow erful than I." The lad stepped forward and said, "I did not wish to be wiser or more power ful than you, but I only carried out what you bade me to do. lam the one who has been marked for the last three nights." "Very well, my lad," said the king. "Xow, l wish you to prove your words. TfH mi\ then, how it is possible there '.hi be human blood in my wine? - ' "('all your cup bearer, your tn*£e*ty, ami lie will explain to you." <*ai«l th« lail. The official appeared hastily and told the king: how, when filling thy tankards with the wine in question, he had out his finger with his knife, and thus the blood got in the wine. Ah the kin;? su\v how the lad eeuM answer all questions put before him he waa, not able to keep his temper any longer and cried in great rage: "I can not stand the presence of a. man who is my equal; either he or I will die. Defend yourself, lad!" And with these words he flashed his sword and dashed at the lad. But in doing- so l,t accidentally slipped and fell and tti o lad's life was saved. Before the former had time to get on his feet the lad pierced him through. Then all the knights returned home and the lad told the king what had happened. He said: "These things that have happened I went through in my dream, but I could not divulge my secret beforehand or eIM it would not have been fulfilled." The king em braced the lad and presented to him his daughter and half of his kingdom. Perhaps they still live in happin. day if they have not died sin* c.