King Lindorm

: The Pink Fairy Book

From the Swedish.





There once lived a king and a queen who ruled over a very great kingdom.

They had large revenues, and lived happily with each other; but, as the

years went past, the king's heart became heavy, because the queen had no

children. She also sorrowed greatly over it, because, although the king

said nothing to her about this trouble, yet she could see that it vexed

him that they ad no heir to the kingdom; and she wished every day that

she might have one.



One day a poor old woman came to the castle and asked to speak with the

queen. The royal servants answered that they could not let such a poor

beggar-woman go in to their royal mistress. They offered her a penny,

and told her to go away. Then the woman desired them to tell the queen

that there stood at the palace gate one who would help her secret

sorrow. This message was taken to the queen, who gave orders to bring

the old woman to her. This was done, and the old woman said to her:



'I know your secret sorrow, O queen, and am come to help you in it. You

wish to have a son; you shall have two if you follow my instructions.'



The queen was greatly surprised that the old woman knew her secret wish

so well, and promised to follow her advice.



'You must have a bath set in your room, O queen,' said she, 'and filled

with running water. When you have bathed in this you will find. under

the bath two red onions. These you must carefully peel and eat, and in

time your wish will be fulfilled.'



The queen did as the poor woman told her; and after she had bathed she

found the two onions under the bath. They were both alike in size

and appearance. When she saw these she knew that the woman had been

something more than she seemed to be, and in her delight she ate up one

of the onions, skin and all. When she had done so she remembered that

the woman had told her to peel them carefully before she ate them. It

was now too late for the one of them, but she peeled the other and then

ate it too.



In due time it happened as the woman had said; but the first that the

queen gave birth to was a hideous lindorm, or serpent. No one saw this

but her waiting-woman, who threw it out of the window into the forest

beside the castle. The next that came into the world was the most

beautiful little prince, and he was shown to the king and queen, who

knew nothing about his brother the lindorm.



There was now joy in all the palace and over the whole country on

account of the beautiful prince; but no one knew that the queen's

first-born was a lindorm, and lay in the wild forest. Time passed

with the king, the queen, and the young prince in all happiness and

prosperity, until he was twenty years of his age. Then his parents said

to him that he should journey to another kingdom and seek for himself a

bride, for they were beginning to grow old, and would fain see their son

married. before they were laid in their grave. The prince obeyed, had

his horses harnessed to his gilded chariot, and set out to woo his

bride. But when he came to the first cross-ways there lay a huge and

terrible lindorm right across the road, so that his horses had to come

to a standstill.



'Where are you driving to? ' asked the lindorm with a hideous voice.



'That does not concern you,' said the prince. 'I am the prince, and can

drive where I please.'



'Turn back,' said the lindorm. 'I know your errand, but you shall get no

bride until I have got a mate and slept by her side.'



The prince turned home again, and told the king and the queen what he

had met at the cross-roads; but they thought that he should try again on

the following day, and see whether he could not get past it, so that he

might seek a bride in another kingdom.



The prince did so, but got no further than the first cross-roads; there

lay the lindorm again, who stopped him in the same way as before.



The same thing happened on the third day when the prince tried to get

past: the lindorm said, with a threatening voice, that before the prince

could get a bride he himself must find a mate.



When the king and queen heard this for the third time they could think

of no better plan than to invite the lindorm to the palace, and they

should find him a mate. They thought that a lindorm would be quite well

satisfied with anyone that they might give him, and so they would get

some slave-woman to marry the monster. The lindorm came to the palace

and received a bride of this kind, but in the morning she lay torn in

pieces. So it happened every time that the king and queen compelled any

woman to be his bride.



The report of this soon spread over all the country. Now it happened

that there was a man who had married a second time, and his wife heard

of the lindorm with great delight. Her husband had a daughter by his

first wife who was more beautiful than all other maidens, and so gentle

and good that she won the heart of all who knew her. His second wife,

however, had also a grown-up daughter, who by herself would have

been ugly and disagreeable enough, but beside her good and beautiful

stepsister seemed still more ugly and wicked, so that all turned from

her with loathing.



The stepmother had long been annoyed that her husband's daughter was

so much more beautiful than her own, and in her heart she conceived a

bitter hatred for her stepdaughter. When she now heard that there was in

the king's palace a lindorm which tore in pieces all the women that were

married to him, and demanded a beautiful maiden for his bride, she went

to the king, and said that her stepdaughter wished to wed the lindorm,

so that the country's only prince might travel and seek a bride. At

this the king was greatly delighted, and gave orders that the young girl

should be brought to the palace.



When the messengers came to fetch her she was terribly frightened, for

she knew that it was her wicked stepmother who in this way was aiming at

her life. She begged that she might be allowed to spend another night in

her father's house. This was granted her, and she went to her mother's

grave. There she lamented her hard fate in being given over to the

lindorm, and earnestly prayed her mother for counsel. How long she lay

there by the grave and wept one cannot tell, but sure it is that she

fell asleep and slept until the sun rose. Then she rose up from the

grave, quite happy at heart, and began to search about in the fields.

There she found three nuts, which she carefully put away in her pocket.



'When I come into very great danger I must break one of these,' she said

to herself. Then she went home, and set out quite willingly with the

king's messengers.



When these arrived at the palace with the beautiful young maiden

everyone pitied her fate; but she herself was of good courage, and asked

the queen for another bridal chamber than the one the lindorm had had

before. She got this, and then she requested them to put a pot full of

strong lye on the fire and lay down three new scrubbing brushes. The

queen gave orders that everything should be done as she desired; and

then the maiden dressed herself in seven clean snow-white shirts, and

held her wedding with the lindorm.



When they were left alone in the bridal chamber the lindorm, in a

threatening voice, ordered her to undress herself.



'Undress yourself first!' said she.



'None of the others bade me do that,' said he in surprise.



'But I bid you,' said she.



Then the lindorm began to writhe, and groan, and breathe heavily; and

after a little he had cast his outer skin, which lay on the floor,

hideous to behold. Then his bride took off one of her snow-white shirts,

and cast it on the lindorm's skin. Again he ordered her to undress,

and again she commanded him to do so first. He had to obey, and with

groaning and pain cast off one skin after another, and for each skin the

maiden threw off one of her shirts, until there lay on the floor seven

lindorm skins and six snow-white shirts; the seventh she still had on.

The lindorm now lay before her as a formless, slimy mass, which she with

all her might began to scrub with the lye and new scrubbing brushes.



When she had nearly worn out the last of these there stood before her

the loveliest youth in the world. He thanked her for having saved him

from his enchantment, and told her that he was the king and queen's

eldest son, and heir to the kingdom. Then he asked her whether she would

keep the promise she had made to the lindorm, to share everything with

him. To this she was well content to answer 'Yes.'



Each time that the lindorm had held his wedding one of the king's

retainers was sent next morning to open the door of the bridal chamber

and see whether the bride was alive. This next morning also he peeped

in at the door, but what he saw there surprised him so much that he

shut the door in a hurry, and hastened to the king and queen, who were

waiting for his report. He told them of the wonderful sight he had seen.

On the floor lay seven lindorm skins and six snow-white shirts, and

beside these three worn-out scrubbing brushes, while in the bed a

beautiful youth was lying asleep beside the fair young maiden.



The king and queen marvelled greatly what this could mean; but just then

the old woman who was spoken of in the beginning of the story was again

brought in to the queen. She reminded her how she had not followed her

instructions, but had eaten the first onion with all its skins, on which

account her first-born had been a lindorm. The waiting-woman was then

summoned, and admitted that she had thrown it out through the window

into the forest. The king and queen now sent for their eldest son and

his young bride. They took them both in their arms, and asked him to

tell about his sorrowful lot during the twenty years he had lived in the

forest as a hideous lindorm. This he did, and then his parents had it

proclaimed over the whole country that he was their eldest son, and

along with his spouse should inherit the country and kingdom after them.



Prince Lindorm and his beautiful wife now lived in joy and prosperity

for a time in the palace; and when his father was laid in the grave,

not long after this, he obtained the whole kingdom. Soon afterwards his

mother also departed from this world.



Now it happened that an enemy declared war against the young king; and,

as he foresaw that it would be three years at the least before he could

return to his country and his queen, he ordered all his servants who

remained at home to guard her most carefully. That they might be able to

write to each other in confidence, he had two seal rings made, one for

himself and one for his young queen, and issued an order that no one,

under pain of death, was to open any letter that was sealed with one of

these. Then he took farewell of his queen, and marched out to war.



The queen's wicked stepmother had heard with great grief that her

beautiful stepdaughter had prospered so well that she had not only

preserved her life, but had even become queen of the country. She now

plotted continually how she might destroy her good fortune. While King

Lindorm was away at the war the wicked woman came to the queen,

and spoke fair to her, saying that she had always foreseen that her

stepdaughter was destined to be something great in the world, and

that she had on this account secured that she should be the enchanted

prince's bride. The queen, who did not imagine that any person could be

so deceitful, bade her stepmother welcome, and kept her beside her.



Soon after this the queen had two children, the prettiest boys that

anyone could see. When she had written a letter to the king to tell him

of this her stepmother asked leave to comb her hair for her, as her own

mother used to do. The queen gave her permission, and the stepmother

combed her hair until she fell asleep. Then she took the seal ring off

her neck, and exchanged the letter for another, in which she had written

that the queen had given birth to two whelps.



When the king received. this letter he was greatly distressed, but he

remembered how he himself had lived for twenty years as a lindorm, and

had been freed from the spell by his young queen. He therefore wrote

back to his most trusted retainer that the queen and her two whelps

should be taken care of while he was away.



The stepmother, however, took this letter as well, and wrote a new one,

in which the king ordered that the queen and the two little princes

should be burnt at the stake. This she also sealed with the queen's

seal, which was in all respects like the king's.



The retainer was greatly shocked and grieved at the king's orders,

for which he could discover no reason; but, as he had not the heart to

destroy three innocent beings, he had a great fire kindled, and in this

he burned a sheep and two lambs, so as to make people believe that he

had carried out the king's commands. The stepmother had made these known

to the people, adding that the queen was a wicked sorceress.



The faithful servant, however, told the queen that it was the king's

command that during the years he was absent in the war she should keep

herself concealed in the castle, so that no one but himself should see

her and the little princes.



The queen obeyed, and no one knew but that both she and her children had

been burned. But when the time came near for King Lindorm to return home

from the war the old retainer grew frightened because he had not obeyed

his orders. He therefore went to the queen, and told her everything, at

the same time showing her the king's letter containing the command to

burn her and the princes. He then begged her to leave the palace before

the king returned.



The queen now took her two little sons, and wandered out into the wild

forest. They walked all day without ending a human habitation, and

became very tired. The queen then caught sight of a man who carried some

venison. He seemed very poor and wretched, but the queen was glad to see

a human being, and asked him whether he knew where she and her little

children could get a house over their heads for the night.



The man answered that he had a little hut in the forest, and that she

could rest there; but he also said that he was one who lived entirely

apart from men, and owned no more than the hut, a horse, and a dog, and

supported himself by hunting.



The queen followed him to the hut and rested there overnight with her

children, and when she awoke in the morning the man had already gone out

hunting. The queen then began to put the room in order and prepare food,

so that when the man came home he found everything neat and tidy, and

this seemed to give him some pleasure. He spoke but little, however, and

all that he said about himself was that his name was Peter.



Later in the day he rode out into the forest, and the queen thought that

he looked very unhappy. While he was away she looked about her in the

hut a little more closely, and found a tub full of shirts stained with

blood, lying among water. She was surprised at this, but thought that

the man would get the blood on his shirt when he was carrying home

venison. She washed the shirts, and hung them up to dry, and said

nothing to Peter about the matter.



After some time had passed she noticed that every day he came riding

home from the forest he took off a blood-stained shirt and put on a

clean one. She then saw that it was something else than the blood of the

deer that stained his shirts, so one day she took courage and asked him

about it.



At first he refused to tell her, but she then related to him her own

story, and how she had succeeded in delivering the lindorm. He then told

her that he had formerly lived a wild life, and had finally entered

into a written contract * with the Evil Spirit. Before this contract

had expired he had repented and turned from his evil ways, and withdrawn

himself to this solitude. The Evil One had then lost all power to take

him, but so long as he had the contract he could compel him to meet him

in the forest each day at a certain time, where the evil spirits then

scourged him till he bled.



Next day, when the time came for the man to ride into the forest, the

queen asked him to stay at home and look after the princes, and she

would go to meet the evil spirits in his place. The man was amazed, and

said that this would not only cost her her life, but would also bring

upon him a greater misfortune than the one he was already under. She

bade him be of good courage, looked to see that she had the three nuts

which she had found beside her mother's grave, mounted her horse, and

rode out into the forest. When she had ridden for some time the evil

spirits came forth and said, 'Here comes Peter's horse and Peter's

hound; but Peter himself is not with them.'



Then at a distance she heard a terrible voice demanding to know what she

wanted.



'I have come to get Peter's contract,' said she.



At this there arose a terrible uproar among the evil spirits, and the

worst voice among them all said, 'Ride home and tell Peter that when he

comes to-morrow he shall get twice as many strokes as usual.'



The queen then took one of her nuts and cracked it, and turned her horse

about. At this sparks of fire flew out of all the trees, and the evil

spirits howled as if they were being scourged back to their abode.



Next day at the same time the queen again rode out into the forest;

but on this occasion the spirits did not dare to come so near her. They

would not, however, give up the contract, but threatened both her and

the man. Then she cracked her second nut, and all the forest behind her

seemed to be in fire and flames, and the evil spirits howled even worse

than on the previous day; but the contract they would not give up.



The queen had only one nut left now, but even that she was ready to give

up in order to deliver the man. This time she cracked the nut as soon

as she came near the place where the spirits appeared, and what then

happened to them she could not see, but amid wild screams and howls the

contract was handed to her at the end of a long branch. The queen rode

happy home to the hut, and happier still was the man, who had been

sitting there in great anxiety, for now he was freed from all the power

of the evil spirits.



Meanwhile King Lindorm had come home from the war, and the first

question he asked when he entered the palace was about the queen and the

whelps. The attendants were surprised: they knew of no whelps. The queen

had had two beautiful princes; but the king had sent orders that all

these were to be burned.



The king grew pale with sorrow and anger, and ordered them to summon his

trusted retainer, to whom he had sent the instructions that the queen

and the whelps were to be carefully looked after. The retainer, however,

showed him the letter in which there was written that the queen and her

children were to be burned, and everyone then understood that some great

treachery had been enacted.



When the king's trusted retainer saw his master's deep sorrow he

confessed to him that he had spared the lives of the queen and the

princes, and had only burned a sheep and two lambs, and had kept the

queen and her children hidden in the palace for three years, but had

sent her out into the wild forest just when the king was expected home.

When the king heard this his sorrow was lessened, and he said that he

would wander out into the forest and search for his wife and children.

If he found them he would return to his palace; but if he did not find

them he would never see it again, and in that case the faithful retainer

who had saved the lives of the queen and the princes should be king in

his stead.



The king then went forth alone into the wild forest, and wandered there

the whole day without seeing a single human being. So it went with him

the second day also, but on the third day he came by roundabout ways to

the little hut. He went in there, and asked for leave to rest himself

for a little on the bench. The queen and the princes were there, but she

was poorly clad and so sorrowful that the king did not recognise her,

neither did he think for a moment that the two children, who were

dressed only in rough skins, were his own sons.



He lay down on the bench, and, tired as he was, he soon fell asleep. The

bench was a narrow one, and as he slept his arm fell down and hung by

the side of it.



'My son, go and lift your father's arm up on the bench,' said the queen

to one of the princes, for she easily knew the king again, although

she was afraid to make herself known to him. The boy went and took the

king's arm, but, being only a child, he did not lift it up very gently

on to the bench.



The king woke at this, thinking at first that he had fallen into a den

of robbers, but he decided to keep quiet and pretend that he was asleep

until he should find out what kind of folk were in the house. He lay

still for a little, and, as no one moved in the room, he again let his

arm glide down off the bench. Then he heard a woman's voice say, 'My

son, go you and lift your father's arm up on the bench, but don't do

it so rough!y as your brother did.' Then he felt a pair of little hands

softly clasping his arm; he opened his eyes, and saw his queen and her

children.



He sprang up and caught all three in his arms, and afterwards took them,

along with the man and his horse and his hound, back to the palace with

great joy. The most unbounded rejoicing reigned there then, as well as

over the whole kingdom, but the wicked stepmother was burned.



King Lindorm lived long and happily with his queen, and there are some

who say that if they are not dead now they are still living to this day.