The Riddle

: The Green Fairy Book

A King's son once had a great desire to travel through the world,

so he started off, taking no one with him but one trusty servant.

One day he came to a great forest, and as evening drew on he could

find no shelter, and could not think where to spend the night. All

of a sudden he saw a girl going towards a little house, and as he

drew nearer he remarked that she was both young and pretty. He

spoke to her, and said, 'De r child, could I and my servant spend

the night in this house?'



'Oh yes,' said the girl in a sad tone, 'you can if you like, but I

should not advise you to do so. Better not go in.'



'Why not?' asked the King's son.



The girl sighed and answered, 'My stepmother deals in black arts,

and she is not very friendly to strangers.'



The Prince guessed easily that he had fallen on a witch's house,

but as by this time it was quite dark and he could go no further,

and as moreover he was not at all afraid, he stepped in.



An old woman sat in an armchair near the fire, and as the

strangers entered she turned her red eyes on them. 'Good evening,'

she muttered, and pretending to be quite friendly. 'Won't you sit

down?'



She blew up the fire on which she was cooking something in a

little pot, and her daughter secretly warned the travellers to be

very careful not to eat or drink anything, as the old woman's

brews were apt to be dangerous.



They went to bed, and slept soundly till morning. When they were

ready to start and the King's son had already mounted his horse

the old woman said: 'Wait a minute, I must give you a stirrup

cup.' Whilst she went to fetch it the King's son rode off, and the

servant who had waited to tighten his saddle-girths was alone when

the witch returned.



'Take that to your master,' she said; but as she spoke the glass

cracked and the poison spurted over the horse, and it was so

powerful that the poor creature sank down dead. The servant ran

after his master and told him what had happened, and then, not

wishing to lose the saddle as well as the horse, he went back to

fetch it. When he got to the spot he saw that a raven had perched

on the carcase and was pecking at it. 'Who knows whether we shall

get anything better to eat to-day!' said the servant, and he shot

the raven and carried it off.



Then they rode on all day through the forest without coming to the

end. At nightfall they reached an inn, which they entered, and the

servant gave the landlord the raven to dress for their supper.

Now, as it happened, this inn was a regular resort of a band of

murderers, and the old witch too was in the habit of frequenting

it.



As soon as it was dark twelve murderers arrived, with the full

intention of killing and robbing the strangers. Before they set to

work, however, they sat down to table, and the landlord and the

old witch joined them, and they all ate some broth in which the

flesh of the raven had been stewed down. They had hardly taken a

couple of spoonfuls when they all fell down dead, for the poison

had passed from the horse to the raven and so into the broth. So

there was no one left belonging to the house but the landlord's

daughter, who was a good, well-meaning girl, and had taken no part

in all the evil doings.



She opened all the doors, and showed the strangers the treasures

the robbers had gathered together; but the Prince bade her keep

them all for herself, as he wanted none of them, and so he rode

further with his servant.



After travelling about for some length of time they reached a town

where lived a lovely but most arrogant Princess. She had given out

that anyone who asked her a riddle which she found herself unable

to guess should be her husband, but should she guess it he must

forfeit his head. She claimed three days in which to think over

the riddles, but she was so very clever that she invariably

guessed them in a much shorter time. Nine suitors had already lost

their lives when the King's son arrived, and, dazzled by her

beauty, determined to risk his life in hopes of winning her.



So he came before her and propounded his riddle. 'What is this?'

he asked. 'One slew none and yet killed twelve.'



She could not think what it was! She thought, and thought, and

looked through all her books of riddles and puzzles, but she found

nothing to help her, and could not guess; in fact, she was at her

wits' end. As she could think of no way to guess the riddle, she

ordered her maid to steal at night into the Prince's bedroom and

to listen, for she thought that he might perhaps talk aloud in his

dreams and so betray the secret. But the clever servant had taken

his master's place, and when the maid came he tore off the cloak

she had wrapped herself in and hunted her off with a whip.



On the second night the Princess sent her lady-in-waiting, hoping

that she might succeed better, but the servant took away her

mantle and chased her away also.



On the third night the King's son thought he really might feel

safe, so he went to bed. But in the middle of the night the

Princess came herself, all huddled up in a misty grey mantle, and

sat down near him. When she thought he was fast asleep, she spoke

to him, hoping he would answer in the midst of his dreams, as many

people do; but he was wide awake all the time, and heard and

understood everything very well.



Then she asked: 'One slew none--what is that?' and he answered: 'A

raven which fed on the carcase of a poisoned horse.'



She went on: 'And yet killed twelve--what is that?' 'Those are

twelve murderers who ate the raven and died of it.'



As soon as she knew the riddle she tried to slip away, but he held

her mantle so tightly that she was obliged to leave it behind.



Next morning the Princess announced that she had guessed the

riddle, and sent for the twelve judges, before whom she declared

it. But the young man begged to be heard, too, and said: 'She came

by night to question me, otherwise she never could have guessed

it.'



The judges said: 'Bring us some proof.' So the servant brought out

the three cloaks, and when the judges saw the grey one, which the

Princess was in the habit of wearing, they said: 'Let it be

embroidered with gold and silver; it shall be your wedding

mantle.'