The golden crab
Once upon a time there was a fisherman who had a wife and
three children. Every morning he used to go outfishing, and whatever fish he
caught he sold to the King. One day, among the other fishes, he caught a golden
crab. When he came home he put all the fishes together into a great dish, but
he kept the Crab separate because it shone so beautifully, and placed it upon a
high shelf in the cupboard. Now while the old woman, his wife, was
cleaning the fish, and had tucked up her gown so that her feet were visible,
she suddenly heard a voice, which said:
'Let down, let down thy petticoat That lets thy feet be seen.'She turned round
in surprise, and then she saw the little creature, the Golden Crab.
'What! You can speak, can you, you ridiculous crab?' she said, for she was not
quite pleased at the Crab's remarks. Then she took him up and placed him on a
dish.
When her husband came home and they sat down to dinner, they presently heard
the Crab's little voice saying, 'Give me some too.' They were all very much surprised,
but they gave him something to eat. When the old man came to take
away the plate which had contained the Crab's dinner, he found it full of gold,
and as the same thing happened every day he soon became very fond of the
Crab.
One day the Crab said to the fisherman's wife, 'Go to the King and tell him I
wish to marry his younger daughter.'
The old woman went accordingly, and laid the matter before the King,
who laughed a little at the notion of his daughter marrying a crab, but did not
decline the proposal altogether, because he was a prudent monarch,
and knew that the Crab was likely to be a prince in disguise. He said,
therefore, to the fisherman's wife, 'Go, old woman, and tell the Crab I
will give him my daughter if by to-morrow morning he can build a wall in front
of my castle much higher than my tower, upon which all the flowers of
the world must grow and bloom.'
The fisherman's wife went home and gave this message.
Then the Crab gave her a golden rod, and said, 'Go and strike with this rod three
times upon the ground on the place which the King showed you, and to-morrow morning
the wall will be there.'
The old woman did so and went away again.
The next morning, when the King awoke, what do you think he saw? The wall stood
there before his eyes, exactly as he had bespoken it!
Then the old woman went back to the King and said to him, 'Your
Majesty's orders have been fulfilled.'
'That is all very well,' said the King, 'but I cannot give away my daughter
until there stands in front of my palace a garden in which there are three
fountains, of which the first must play gold, the second diamonds, and the
third brilliants.'
So the old woman had to strike again three times upon the ground with
the rod, and the next morning the garden was there. The King now gave his
consent, and the wedding was fixed for the very next day.
Then the Crab said to the old fisherman, 'Now take this rod; go and knock with
it on a certain mountain; then a black man[6] will come out and ask you
what you wish for. Answer him thus: ''Your master, the King, has sent me to
tell you that you must send him his golden garment that is like the sun.'' Make
him give you, besides, the queenly robes of gold and precious
stones which are like the flowery meadows, and bring them both to me. And
bring me also the golden cushion.'
The old man went and did his errand. When he had brought the precious
robes, the Crab put on the golden garment and then crept upon the golden
cushion, and in this way the fisherman carried him to the castle, where
the Crab presented the other garment to his bride. Now the ceremony took place,
and when the married pair were alone together the Crab made himself known to
his young wife, and told her how he was the son of the greatest king in the
world, and how he was enchanted, so that he became a crab by day and was a man
only at night; and he could also change himself into an eagle as often as he
wished. No sooner had he said this than he shook himself, and immediately
became a handsome youth, but the next morning he was forced to creep back again
into his crab-shell. And the same thing happened every day. But the Princess's
affection for the Crab, and the polite attention with which she behaved to him,
surprised the royal familyvery much. They suspected some secret, but
though they spied and spied, they could not discover it. Thus a year passed
away, and the Princess had a son, whom she called Benjamin. But her mother
still thought the whole matter very strange. At last she said to the King that
he ought to ask his daughter whether she would not like to have another husband
instead of the Crab? But when the daughter was questioned she only
answered:
'I am married to the Crab, and him only will I have.'
Then the King said to her, 'I will appoint a tournament in your honour, and I
will invite all the princes in the world to it, and if any one of them pleases
you, you shall marry him.'
In the evening the Princess told this to the Crab, who said to her, 'Take this
rod, go to the garden gate and knock with it, then a black man will come out
and say to you, ''Why have you called me, and what do you require of me?''
Answer him thus: 'Your master the King has sent me hither to tell you to send
him his golden armour and his steed and the silver apple.'' And bring them to me.'
The Princess did so, and brought him what he desired.
The following evening the Prince dressed himself for the tournament. Before he
went he said to his wife, 'Now mind you do not say when you see me that I am
the Crab. For if you do this evil will come of it. Place yourself at the window
with your sisters; I will ride by and throw you the silver apple. Take it in
your hand, but if they ask you who I am, say that you do not know.' So saying,
he kissed her, repeated his warning once more, and went away.
The Princess went with her sisters to the window and looked on at the
tournament. Presently her husband rode by and threw the apple up to her. She
caught it in her hand and went with it to her room, and by-and-by her
husband came back to her. But her father was much surprised that she did not
seem to care about any of the Princes; he therefore appointed a second
tournament.
The Crab then gave his wife the same directions as before, only this time the
apple which she received from the black man was of gold. But before the Prince
went to the tournament he said to his wife, 'Now I know you will betray me
to-day.'
But she swore to him that she would not tell who he was. He then repeated
his warning and went away.
In the evening, while the Princess, with her mother and sisters, was standing
at the window, the Prince suddenly galloped past on his steed and threw her the
golden apple.
Then her mother flew into a passion, gave her a box on the ear, and cried out,
'Does not even that prince please you, you fool?'
The Princess in her fright exclaimed, 'That is the Crab himself!'
Her mother was still more angry because she had not been told sooner, ran into
her daughter's room where the crab-shell was still lying, took it up and threw
it into the fire. Then the poor Princess cried bitterly, but it was of no use;
her husband did not come back.
Now we must leave the Princess and turn to the other persons in the story. One
day an old man went to a stream to dip in a crust of bread which he
was going to eat, when a dog came out of the water, snatched the bread from his
hand, and ran away. The old man ran after him, but the dog reached a
door, pushed it open, and ran in, the old man following him. He did
not overtake the dog, but found himself above a staircase, which he descended.
Then he saw before him a stately palace, and, entering, he found in a large
hall a table set for twelve persons. He hid himself in the hall behind a great
picture, that he might see what would happen. At noon he heard a great noise,
so that he trembled with fear. When he took courage to look out from behind the
picture, he saw twelve eagles flying in. At this sight his fear became still
greater. The eagles flew to the basin of a fountain that was there and bathed
themselves, when suddenly they were changed into twelve handsome youths. Now
they seated themselves at the table, and one of them took up a goblet filled
with wine, and said, 'A health to my father!' And another said, 'A health to my
mother!' and so the healths went round. Then one of them said:'A health to my
dearest lady,
Long may she live and well!
But a curse on the cruel mother
That burnt my golden shell!'
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