How The Beggar Boy Turned Into Count Piro
: The Crimson Fairy BookOnce upon a time there lived a man who had only one son, a lazy, stupid
boy, who would never do anything he was told. When the father was dying,
he sent for his son and told him that he would soon be left alone in
the world, with no possessions but the small cottage they lived in and a
pear tree which grew behind it, and that, whether he liked it or not, he
would have to work, or else he would starve. Then the old man died.
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But the boy did not work; instead, he idled about as before, contenting
himself with eating the pears off his tree, which, unlike other pear
trees before or since, bore fruit the whole year round. Indeed, the
pears were so much finer than any you could get even in the autumn, that
one day, in the middle of the winter, they attracted the notice of a fox
who was creeping by.
'Dear me; what lovely pears!' he said to the youth. 'Do give me a basket
of them. It will bring you luck!'
'Ah, little fox, but if I give you a basketful, what am I to eat?' asked
the boy.
'Oh, trust me, and do what I tell you,' said the fox; 'I know it will
bring you luck.' So the boy got up and picked some of the ripest pears
and put them into a rush basket. The fox thanked him, and, taking the
basket in his mouth, trotted off to the king's palace and made his way
straight to the king.
'Your Majesty, my master sends you a few of his best pears, and begs you
will graciously accept them,' he said, laying the basket at the feet of
the king.
'Pears! at this season?' cried the king, peering down to look at them;
'and, pray, who is your master?'
'The Count Piro,' answered the fox.
'But how does he manage to get pears in midwinter?' asked the king.
'Oh, he has everything he wants,' replied the fox; 'he is richer even
than you are, your Majesty.'
'Then what can I send him in return for his pears?' said the king.
'Nothing, your Majesty, or you would hurt his feelings,' answered the
fox.
'Well, tell him how heartily I thank him, and how much I shall enjoy
them.' And the fox went away.
He trotted back to the cottage with his empty basket and told his tale,
but the youth did not seem as pleased to hear as the fox was to tell.
'But, my dear little fox,' said he, 'you have brought me nothing in
return, and I am so hungry!'
'Let me alone,' replied the fox; 'I know what I am doing. You will see,
it will bring you luck.'
A few days after this the fox came back again.
'I must have another basket of pears,' said he.
'Ah, little fox, what shall I eat if you take away all my pears?'
answered the youth.
'Be quiet, it will be all right,' said the fox; and taking a bigger
basket than before, he filled it quite full of pears. Then he picked it
up in his mouth, and trotted off to the palace.
'Your Majesty, as you seemed to like the first basket of pears, I have
brought you some more,' said he, 'with my master, the Count Piro's
humble respects.'
'Now, surely it is not possible to grow such pears with deep snow on the
ground?' cried the king.
'Oh, that never affects them,' answered the fox lightly; 'he is rich
enough to do anything. But to-day he sends me to ask if you will give
him your daughter in marriage?'
'If he is so much richer than I am,' said the king, 'I shall be obliged
to refuse. My honour would not permit me to accept his offer.'
'Oh, your Majesty, you must not think that,' replied the fox; 'and do
not let the question of a dowry trouble you. The Count Piro would not
dream of asking anything but the hand of the princess.'
'Is he really so rich that he can do without a dowry?' asked the king.
'Did I not tell your Majesty that he was richer than you?' answered the
fox reproachfully.
'Well, beg him to come here, that we may talk together,' said the king.
So the fox went back to the young man and said: 'I have told the king
that you are Count Piro, and have asked his daughter in marriage.'
'Oh, little fox, what have you done?' cried the youth in dismay; 'when
the king sees me he will order my head to be cut off.'
'Oh, no, he won't!' replied the fox; 'just do as I tell you.' And he
went off to the town, and stopped at the house of the best tailor.
'My master, the Count Piro, begs that you will send him at once the
finest coat that you have in your shop,' said the fox, putting on his
grandest air, 'and if it fits him I will call and pay for it to-morrow!
Indeed, as he is in a great hurry, perhaps it might be as well if I took
it round myself.' The tailor was not accustomed to serve counts, and
he at once got out all the coats he had ready. The fox chose out a
beautiful one of white and silver, bade the tailor tie it up in a
parcel, and carrying the string in his teeth, he left the shop, and went
to a horse-dealer's, whom he persuaded to send his finest horse round to
the cottage, saying that the king had bidden his master to the palace.
Very unwillingly the young man put on the coat and mounted the horse,
and rode up to meet the king, with the fox running before him.
'What am I to say to his Majesty, little fox?' he asked anxiously; 'you
know that I have never spoken to a king before.'
'Say nothing,' answered the fox, 'but leave the talking to me. "Good
morning, your Majesty," will be all that is necessary for you.'
By this time they had reached the palace, and the king came to the door
to receive Count Piro, and led him to the great hall, where a feast was
spread. The princess was already seated at the table, but was as dumb as
Count Piro himself.
'The Count speaks very little,' the king said at last to the fox, and
the fox answered: 'He has so much to think about in the management of
his property that he cannot afford to talk like ordinary people.' The
king was quite satisfied, and they finished dinner, after which Count
Piro and the fox took leave.
The next morning the fox came round again.
'Give me another basket of pears,' he said.
'Very well, little fox; but remember it may cost me my life,' answered
the youth.
'Oh, leave it to me, and do as I tell you, and you will see that in the
end it will bring you luck,' answered the fox; and plucking the pears he
took them up to the king.
'My master, Count Piro, sends you these pears,' he said, 'and asks for
an answer to his proposal.'
'Tell the count that the wedding can take place whenever he pleases,'
answered the king, and, filled with pride, the fox trotted back to
deliver his message.
'But I can't bring the princess here, little fox?' cried the young man
in dismay.
'You leave everything to me,' answered the fox; 'have I not managed
well so far?'
And up at the palace preparations were made for a grand wedding, and the
youth was married to the princess.
After a week of feasting, the fox said to the king: 'My master wishes to
take his young bride home to his own castle.'
'Very well, I will accompany them,' replied the king; and he ordered his
courtiers and attendants to get ready, and the best horses in his stable
to be brought out for himself, Count Piro and the princess. So they all
set out, and rode across the plain, the little fox running before them.
He stopped at the sight of a great flock of sheep, which was feeding
peacefully on the rich grass. 'To whom do these sheep belong?' asked he
of the shepherd. 'To an ogre,' replied the shepherd.
'Hush,' said the fox in a mysterious manner. 'Do you see that crowd
of armed men riding along? If you were to tell them that those sheep
belonged to an ogre, they would kill them, and then the ogre would kill
you! If they ask, just say the sheep belong to Count Piro; it will be
better for everybody.' And the fox ran hastily on, as he did not wish to
be seen talking to the shepherd.
Very soon the king came up.
'What beautiful sheep!' he said, drawing up his horse. 'I have none so
fine in my pastures. Whose are they?'
'Count Piro's,' answered the shepherd, who did not know the king.
'Well, he must be a very rich man,' thought the king to himself, and
rejoiced that he had such a wealthy son-in-law.
Meanwhile the fox had met with a huge herd of pigs, snuffling about the
roots of some trees.
'To whom do these pigs belong?' he asked of the swineherd.
'To an ogre,' replied he.
'Hush!' whispered the fox, though nobody could hear him; 'do you see
that troop of armed men riding towards us? If you tell them that the
pigs belong to the ogre they will kill them, and then the ogre will kill
you! If they ask, just say that the pigs belong to Count Piro; it will
be better for everybody.' And he ran hastily on.
Soon after the king rode up.
'What fine pigs!' he said, reining in his horse. 'They are fatter than
any I have got on my farms. Whose are they?'
'Count Piro's,' answered the swineherd, who did not know the king; and
again the king felt he was lucky to have such a rich son-in-law.
This time the fox ran faster than before, and in a flowery meadow he
found a troop of horses feeding. 'Whose horses are these?' he asked of
the man who was watching them.
'An ogre's,' replied he.
'Hush!' whispered the fox, 'do you see that crowd of armed men coming
towards us? If you tell them the horses belong to an ogre they will
drive them off, and then the ogre will kill you! If they ask, just say
they are Count Piro's; it will be better for everybody.' And he ran on
again.
In a few minutes the king rode up.
'Oh, what lovely creatures! how I wish they were mine!' he exclaimed.
'Whose are they?'
Count Piro's,' answered the man, who did not know the king; and the
king's heart leapt as he thought that if they belonged to his rich
son-in-law they were as good as his.
At last the fox came to the castle of the ogre himself. He ran up the
steps, with tears falling from his eyes, and crying:
'Oh, you poor, poor people, what a sad fate is yours!'
'What has happened?' asked the ogre, trembling with fright.
'Do you see that troop of horsemen who are riding along the road? They
are sent by the king to kill you!'
'Oh, dear little fox, help us, we implore you!' cried the ogre and his
wife.
'Well, I will do what I can,' answered the fox. 'The best place is for
you both to hide in the big oven, and when the soldiers have gone by I
will let you out.'
The ogre and ogress scrambled into the oven as quick as thought, and the
fox banged the door on them; just as he did so the king came up.
'Do us the honour to dismount, your Majesty,' said the fox, bowing low.
'This is the palace of Count Piro!'
'Why it is more splendid than my own!' exclaimed the king, looking round
on all the beautiful things that filled the hall. But why are there no
servants?'
'His Excellency the Count Piro wished the princess to choose them for
herself,' answered the fox, and the king nodded his approval. He then
rode on, leaving the bridal pair in the castle. But when it was dark and
all was still, the fox crept downstairs and lit the kitchen fire, and
the ogre and his wife were burned to death. The next morning the fox
said to Count Piro:
'Now that you are rich and happy, you have no more need of me; but,
before I go, there is one thing I must ask of you in return: when I die,
promise me that you will give me a magnificent coffin, and bury me with
due honours.'
'Oh, little, little fox, don't talk of dying,' cried the princess,
nearly weeping, for she had taken a great liking to the fox.
After some time the fox thought he would see if the Count Piro was
really grateful to him for all he had done, and went back to the castle,
where he lay down on the door-step, and pretended to be dead. The
princess was just going out for a walk, and directly she saw him lying
there, she burst into tears and fell on her knees beside him.
'My dear little fox, you are not dead,' she wailed; 'you poor, poor
little creature, you shall have the finest coffin in the world!'
'A coffin for an animal?' said Count Piro. 'What nonsense! just take him
by the leg and throw him into the ditch.'
Then the fox sprang up and cried: 'You wretched, thankless beggar; have
you forgotten that you owe all your riches to me?'
Count Piro was frightened when he heard these words, as he thought that
perhaps the fox might have power to take away the castle, and leave him
as poor as when he had nothing to eat but the pears off his tree. So he
tried to soften the fox's anger, saying that he had only spoken in joke,
as he had known quite well that he was not really dead. For the sake
of the princess, the fox let himself be softened, and he lived in the
castle for many years, and played with Count Piro's children. And when
he actually did die, his coffin was made of silver, and Count Piro and
his wife followed him to the grave.
[From Sicilianische Mahrchen.]
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[IN WORDS OF NOT MORE THAN FOUR LETTERS] BY A. L. SYKES Once, just as the long, dark time that is at the end of each day came, Mama Hare said to Tiny Hare, who was at play, "Come in, now, it is time for bed. You know you must hide from M... How To Find Out A True Friend
Once upon a time there lived a king and queen who longed to have a son. As none came, one day they made a vow at the shrine of St. James that if their prayers were granted the boy should set out on a pilgrimage as soon as he had passed his eighteent... How To Tell A True Princess
There was once upon a time a Prince who wanted to marry a Princess, but she must be a true Princess. So he travelled through the whole world to find one, but there was always something against each. There were plenty of Princesses, but he could n... How Trees Walk
One day we were cleaning an overgrown path on a hillock near the pond. We cut down a lot of brier bushes, willows, and poplars,--then came the turn of a bird-cherry. It was growing on the path, and it was so old and stout that it could not be less... Hudden And Dudden And Donald O'neary
There was once upon a time two farmers, and their names were Hudden and Dudden. They had poultry in their yards, sheep on the uplands, and scores of cattle in the meadow-land alongside the river. But for all that they weren't happy. For just be... Hugh Of Lincoln
He tossed the ball so high, so high, He tossed the ball so low; He tossed the ball in the Jew's garden, And the Jews were all below. Oh, then out came the Jew's daughter, She was dressed all in green; ... Humpty Dumpty
"Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the King's horses and all the King's men Couldn't put Humpty Dumpty together again." I There he lay, stretched out on the ground, ... Hungarian Marriage And Divorce Laws
In Hungary proper and Transylvania, together with Fiume and certain parts of the Military Boundary, the marriage law of 1894, supplemented by the Civil Registration Act of the same year, is in operation for all citizens, without regard to religiou... Hunting Worse Than Slavery
We were hunting bears. My companion had a chance to shoot at a bear: he wounded him, but only in a soft spot. A little blood was left on the snow, but the bear got away. We met in the forest and began to discuss what to do: whether to go and fi...