The Master-maid
: OLD-FASHIONED STORIES: Boys And Girls Bookshelf
Once there was a King who had a son, and this Prince would not stay at
home, but went a long, long way off to a very far country. There he met
a Giant; and though it seems a strange thing for a King's son to do, the
Prince went to the Giant's house to be his servant, and the Giant gave
the Prince a room, to sleep in, which, very strangely, had a door on
every side. However, the Prince thought little of this, for he was very
<
Now, the Giant had a large herd of goats; and very likely the Prince
thought the Giant would send him to herd the goats. But the Giant did
nothing of the sort. In the morning he prepared to take the goats to
pasture himself; but before he set out he told the Prince that he
expected him to clean the stable before he came back in the evening.
"I am a very easy master," said the Giant, "and that is all I expect you
to do. But remember, I expect the work to be well done." Then, before he
reached the door, he turned back and said, in a threatening way: "You
are not to open a single one of the doors in your room. If you do, I
shall kill you."
Then the Giant shut the door in a way that seemed to say, "I mean every
word I have said," and he went off with his goats, and left the Prince
alone.
When he was gone, the Prince drummed for a while with his fingers on the
window. Then, when the Giant and his flock had gone out of sight, he
began to walk about the room, whistling to himself and looking at the
forbidden doors.
The house seemed silent and lonely, and he really had nothing to do. To
clean a stable with only one stall seemed a very small task for a sturdy
boy like him.
At last he said to himself: "I wonder what the Giant keeps behind those
doors? I think I shall look and see."
If the Giant had been there the Prince would have paid dear for his
curiosity; but he was far away, and the Prince boldly opened the first
door, and inside he saw a huge pot, or cauldron, boiling away merrily.
"What a strange thing," said the Prince; "there is no fire under the
pot. I must go in and see it!"
And into the room he went, and bent down to see what queer soup it was
that boiled without a fire. As he did so, a lock of his hair dipped into
the pot; and when he raised his head, the lock looked like bronze. The
cauldron was full of boiling copper.
He went out and closed the door carefully behind him; and, wondering if
there was a copper pot in the next room, he opened the second door.
There was a cauldron inside, boiling merrily; but there was no fire to
be seen. He went over and looked into the pot; and as it did not look
exactly like the first one, he dipped in another lock. When he raised
his head, up came the lock, weighted heavily with silver. The cauldron
was full of boiling silver.
Wondering greatly at the Giant's riches, the Prince went out, closed the
door very carefully, and opened the third door. He almost tip-toed into
this room, he was so curious; but he went through the same performance.
And when he raised his head from the third pot that boiled without a
fire, the third lock of hair was like a heavy tassel of gold. The third
pot was full of boiling gold.
Full of amazement at the Giant's great riches, the Prince hurried out of
the room, and closed the door with the greatest care. By this time he
was so full of curiosity that he ran as fast as he could to the fourth
door. And yet he scarcely dared to open it to see the riches he was sure
it hid behind it.
However, he opened it, very gently and very quietly; and there on the
bench, in the window, looking out, sat a beautiful maiden.
Although the door opened very quietly, she heard the sound, and looked
up. And when she saw the handsome young Prince standing in the doorway,
she started toward him, and cried in great distress: "O boy, boy! why
have you come here?"
The Prince told her he had come to serve the Giant, and found him a very
easy master. Indeed, he said the Giant had given him nothing to do that
day but clean the stable.
The maiden told him that if he tried to clean it as everyone else did,
he would never finish the work, because for every pitchforkful he threw
out, ten would come back.
The thing to do, she said, was to use the handle of his pitchfork, and
the work would soon be done.
The Prince said he would follow her advice; and then they sat all day
and talked of pleasant things. Indeed, they liked each other so well
that they very soon settled that they would get married.
When it came toward evening, the maiden reminded the Prince that the
Giant would soon be home. So the youth went out to clean the stable.
First, he tried to do the work as any other boy would do it; but when he
found that in a very short time he would not have room to stand, he
quickly turned the pitchfork around and used the handle. In a few
moments the stable was as clean as a stable could be. Then he went back
to his room and wandered about it with his hands in his pockets, looking
quite as innocent as if he had not raised the latch of a single door.
Soon the Giant came in and asked if his work was done. The Prince said
it was. Of course, the Giant did not believe him; but he went out to
see. When he came back he said very decidedly to the Prince: "You have
been talking to my Master-Maid. You could not have learned how to clean
that stable yourself."
But the Prince made himself appear as if he had never heard of the
maiden before, and asked such stupid questions that the Giant went away
satisfied, and left him to sleep.
Next morning, before the Giant set out with his goats, he again told
the Prince that he would find he was an easy master: all he had to
do that day was to catch the Giant's horse that was feeding on the
mountain-side. And having set him this task, the Giant said that if the
Prince opened one of the doors he would kill him. Then he took his
staff, and was soon out of sight.
Quick as the Giant disappeared, the Prince, who had no more interest in
the other rooms, opened the fourth door. The maiden asked him about his
day's task; and when she heard it; she told the Prince that the horse
would rush at him with flame bursting from its nostrils, and its mouth
wide open to tear him. But, she said, if he would take the bridle that
hung on the crook by the door, and fling it straight into the horse's
mouth, the beast would become quite tame. He promised to do so; and they
talked all day of pleasant things. And when it came toward evening the
maiden reminded him that the Giant would soon be home.
So the Prince went out to catch the horse; and everything happened as
the maiden said. But when the fiery horse rushed at him with open mouth
he watched his opportunity, and just at the right moment he flung the
bridle in between its teeth, and the horse stood still. Then the Prince
mounted it and rode it quietly home. He put the horse in the stable, and
went to his room, sat down and whistled to himself as if he did not know
there was a maiden in the world.
Very soon the Giant came in, and asked about the horse, and the Prince
said very quietly that it was in the stable. The Giant did not believe
him; but he went to see, and again accused the Prince of having been
talking to his Master-Maid.
The Prince pretended to be stupid, and asked silly questions, and said
he would like to see the maid. "You shall see her soon enough," the
Giant promised, and went away and left the Prince to go to sleep.
The next day, before the Giant set out, he told the Prince to go down
underground and fetch his taxes. Then he warned the Prince not to touch
the doors, and went off with his goats.
No sooner was he out of sight than the Prince rushed to the maiden, and
asked her how he was to find his way underground to get the taxes, and
how much he should ask for. She took him to the window and pointed out a
rocky ledge. He must go there, she said, take a club that hung beside
it, and knock on the rocky wall. As soon as he did so, a fiery monster
would come out, and ask his errand.
"But remember," said the maiden, "when he asks how much you want, you
are to say: 'As much as I can carry.'"
The Prince promised to do as she said, and they sat down close together
and talked until the evening of what they would do when they escaped
from the Giant and went home to get married.
When evening came the maiden reminded the Prince of the Giant's coming,
and he went to get the money from the fiery monster. Everything happened
as the maiden said; and when the monster, with sparks flying everywhere
from him, asked fiercely, "How much do you want?" the Prince was not in
the least afraid, but said: "As much as I can carry."
"It is a good thing you did not ask for a horse-load," said the monster;
and he took the Prince in and filled a sack, which was as much as the
Prince could do to carry. Indeed, that was nothing to what the Prince
saw there, for gold and silver coins lay around, inside the mountain,
like pebbles on the seashore.
The Prince carried the money back to the Giant's house; and when the
Giant reached home, the Prince sat quietly in his room, whistling
softly, just as if he had never risen from his seat since the Giant
left.
The Giant demanded the money for his taxes. "Here it is," said the
Prince, showing him the bursting sack. The Giant examined the money, and
then again accused the Prince of having been talking to the Master-Maid.
"Master," said the Prince, "this is the third day you have talked about
the Master-Maid. Will you let me see her?"
The Giant looked at the Prince from under his bushy eyebrows, and said:
"It is time enough to-morrow. I will show her to you myself, and you
will see quite enough of her," and he went off and left the Prince to
his sleep.
But next morning, early, the Giant strode into the Prince's room, and
saying, "Now I will take you to see the Master-Maid," he opened the door
of the fourth room, beckoned the Prince to follow him in, and said to
the maiden: "Kill this youth, boil him in the large cauldron, and when
the broth is ready, call me."
Then, just as if he had said nothing more startling than "Prepare some
cauliflower for dinner," he lay down on the bench and fell so fast
asleep that his snores sounded like thunder.
Immediately the maiden began to make her preparations very neatly and
quickly. First, with a little knife she made a small gash in the
Prince's little finger and dropped three drops of his blood on the
wooden stool, near the cauldron. Then she gathered up a lot of rubbish,
such as old shoes and rags, and put them in the cauldron with water and
pepper and salt. Last of all, she packed a small chest with gold, and
gave it to the Prince to carry; filled a water-flask; took a golden cock
and hen, and put a lump of salt and a golden apple in her pocket. Then
the maid and the Prince ran to the sea-shore as fast as they could,
climbed on board a little ship that had come from no-one-knows-where,
and sailed away.
After a while the Giant roused a little, and said sleepily: "Will it
soon boil?"
The first drop of blood answered quietly: "It is just beginning." And
the Giant went to sleep again.
At the end of a few hours more he roused again and asked: "Will it soon
be ready?"
And the second drop said: "Half done," in the maiden's mournful voice,
for she had seen so many dark deeds done that, until the Prince came,
she was always sad.
Again the Giant went to sleep, for several hours; but then he became
quite awake, and asked: "Is it not done yet?"
The third drop said: "Quite ready." And the Giant sat up, and looked
around. The maiden was nowhere to be seen, but the Giant went over to
the pot and tasted the soup.
At once he knew what had happened, and in a furious rage rushed to the
sea, but he could not get over it. So he called up his water-sucker, who
lay down and drank two or three draughts; and the water fell so low that
the horizon dropped, and the Giant could see the maiden and the Prince a
long way off.
But the Master-Maid told the Prince to throw the lump of salt into the
sea, and as soon as he did so it became such a high mountain that the
Giant could not cross it, and the water-sucker could not gather up any
more water.
Then the Giant called his hill-borer, who bored a tunnel through the
mountain, so that the sucker could go through and drink up more water.
Then the maiden told the Prince to scatter a few drops from the
water-bottle into the sea. As soon as he did so the sea filled up, and
before the water-sucker could drink one drop, they were at the other
side, safe in the kingdom of the Prince's father.
The Prince did not think it was fitting that his bride should walk to
his palace, so he said he would go and fetch seven horses and a carriage
to take her there. The maiden begged him not to go, because, she said,
he would forget her; but he insisted. Then she asked him to speak to no
one while he was away, and on no account to taste anything; and he
promised that he would go straight to the stable for the horses, and
without speaking a word to anyone, would come straight back.
When he got to the palace he found it full of a merry company, for his
brother was going to be married to a lovely princess, who had come from
a far-off land. But in answer to their cries of welcome and questions
the Prince said no word, and only shook his head when they offered him
food, until the pretty laughing young sister of the bride-to-be rolled a
bright red apple across the courtyard to him. Laughing back at her, he
picked it up, and without thinking bit into it. Immediately he forgot
the Master-Maid, who had saved his life and was now sitting alone on the
seashore waiting for him.
She waited until the night began to grow dark; then she went away into
the wood near the palace to find shelter. There she found a dark hut,
owned by a Witch, who at first would not allow her to stay. The Witch's
hard heart, however, was softened by the maiden's gold, and she allowed
her to have the hut.
Then the maid flung into the fire a handful of gold, which immediately
melted and boiled all over the hut, and gilded the dark, dingy walls.
The Witch was so frightened that she ran away, and the maid was left
alone in the little gilded house.
The next morning the Sheriff was passing through the wood, and stopped
to see the gilded house. At once he fell in love with the beautiful
maiden, and asked her to marry him. The maiden asked if he had a great
deal of money, and the Sheriff said he had a good deal, and went away to
fetch it. In the evening he came back with a two-bushel bag of gold; and
as he had so much, the maiden seemed to think she would marry him.
But as they were talking she sprang up, saying she had forgotten to put
coal on the fire. The Sheriff went to do it for her, and immediately she
put a spell on him so that until morning came, he could not let the
shovel go, and had to stand all night pouring red hot coals over
himself. In the morning he was a sad sight to see, and hurried home so
fast, to hide himself, that people thought he was mad.
The next day the Attorney passed by, and the same thing happened. The
Attorney brought a four-bushel sack of money to show the maid how rich
he was; and while they were talking the maid said she had forgotten to
close the door, so the Attorney went to close it. When he had his hand
on the latch the maid cried: "May you hold the door, and the door you,
and may you go between wall and wall, till day dawns."
And all night long the Attorney had to rush back and forth, trying to
escape from the blows of the door which he could not let go. He made a
great deal of noise, but the maid slept as soundly as if she were in the
midst of calm. In the morning the Attorney escaped, and went home so
bruised-and-battered looking that everyone stopped and stared at him.
The next day the Bailiff saw the bright little house and the maid. He at
once fell in love with her, and brought at least six bushels of money to
show how rich she would be, if she married him. The maid seemed to think
she would; but while they were talking she suddenly remembered to tie up
the calf.
The Bailiff went to do it for her, and she put a spell on him, so that
all night long he had to fly over hill and dale holding on to the calf's
tail, which he could by no means let go. In the morning he was a sorry
sight, as he limped slowly home, with torn coat and ragged boots at
which everyone looked, for he was always dressed very neatly.
While all this was happening, the Prince had quite forgotten the maid;
and, indeed, it was arranged that he was to marry the young Princess who
had thrown him the apple on the same day that his brother married her
sister.
But when the two Princes and their brides were seated in the carriage
the trace-pin broke, and no pin could be got that would not break, until
the Sheriff thought of the maiden's shovel-handle. The King sent to
borrow it, and it made a pin that did not break in two.
Then a curious thing happened: the bottom of the carriage fell out, and
as fast as a new one was made it fell to pieces. However, the Attorney
thought of the maiden's door. The King sent to borrow it, and it fitted
the bottom of the carriage exactly.
Everything was now ready, and the coachman cracked his whip; but, strain
as they would, the horses could not move the carriage. At last the
Bailiff thought of the Master-Maid's calf; and although it was a very
ridiculous thing to see the King's carriage drawn by a calf, the King
sent to borrow it. The maiden, who was very obliging, lent it at once.
The calf was harnessed to the carriage, and away it went over stock and
stone, pulling horse and carriage as easily and quickly as it had pulled
the Bailiff.
When they got to the church door the carriage began to go round and
round so quickly that it was very difficult and dangerous to get out of
it.
When they were seated at the wedding feast, the Prince said he thought
they ought to invite the maiden who lived in the gilded hut, because
without her help they could not have got to the church at all. The King
thought so too; so they sent five courtiers to ask her to the feast.
"Greet the King," replied the maid, "and tell him if he is too good to
come to me, I am too good to go to him."
So the King had to go himself and invite her; and as they went to the
palace he thought she was something else than what she seemed to be.
So he put her in the place of honor beside the Prince; and after a while
the Master-Maid took out the golden cock and hen and the golden apple,
which she had brought from the Giant's house, and put them on the table.
At once the cock and hen began to fight.
"Oh! look how those two there are fighting for the apple," said the
Prince.
"Yes, and so did we fight to get out of danger," said the Master-Maid.
Then the Prince knew her again. The Witch who had thrown him the apple
disappeared, and now for the first time they began really to keep the
wedding.
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From the Danish There lay three houses in a row, in one of which there lived a tailor, in another a carpenter, and in the third a smith. All three were married, and their wives were very good friends. They often talked about how stupid their hu... The Messenger
Here in the morning we're starting so soon, Give us a message, we'll ride to the moon, Straight through the meadows and hop o'er the stile, And we will but charge you a farthing a mile. A farthing a mile! a farthing a mile!... The Metal King
A GERMAN FOLE-TALE (ADAPTED) Once long ago there was a high mountain whose rocks were veined with gold and silver and seamed with iron. At times, from a huge rent in the mountain-side, there shot out roaring, red flames, and clouds of black sm... The Metal Pig
IN THE city of Florence, not far from the Piazza del Granduca, runs a little cross street called Porta Rosa. In this street, just in front of the market place where vegetables are sold, stands a pig, made of brass and curiously formed. The color h... The Mice and the Weasels
THE WEASELS and the Mice waged a perpetual war with each other, in which much blood was shed. The Weasels were always the victors. The Mice thought that the cause of their frequent defeats was that they had no leaders set apart from the general a... The Mice in Council
THE MICE summoned a council to decide how they might best devise means of warning themselves of the approach of their great enemy the Cat. Among the many plans suggested, the one that found most favor was the proposal to tie a bell to the neck of t... The Mid-day Rock
FROM THE FRENCH of J. JARRY. ONCE upon a time there was a poor man, who lived somewhere in the middle of the woods near a place called Gatines de Treigny. Everybody called him Father Rameau. Not that he had any children--he had not even ever be... The Milk-white Doo
There was once a man who got his living by working in the fields. He had one little son, called Curly-Locks, and one little daughter, called Golden-Tresses; but his wife was dead, and, as he had to be out all day, these children were often left al... The Milk-Woman and Her Pail
A FARMER'S daughter was carrying her Pail of milk from the field to the farmhouse, when she fell a-musing. "The money for which this milk will be sold, will buy at least three hundred eggs. The eggs, allowing for all mishaps, will produce two hundr... The Miller, His Son, and Their Ass
A MILLER and his son were driving their Ass to a neighboring fair to sell him. They had not gone far when they met with a troop of women collected round a well, talking and laughing. "Look there," cried one of them, "did you ever see such fellows,... The Mink And The Wolf
In a big forest in the north of America lived a quantity of wild animals of all sorts. They were always very polite when they met; but, in spite of that, they kept a close watch one upon the other, as each was afraid of being killed and eate... The Mischievous Dog
A DOG used to run up quietly to the heels of everyone he met, and to bite them without notice. His master suspended a bell about his neck so that the Dog might give notice of his presence wherever he went. Thinking it a mark of distinction, the Do... The Miser
A MISER sold all that he had and bought a lump of gold, which he buried in a hole in the ground by the side of an old wall and went to look at daily. One of his workmen observed his frequent visits to the spot and decided to watch his movements. H... The Miser And His Wife
["Let us cast away nothing," says Mr. Gifford, "for we know not what use we may have for it." So will every one admit whose reading has been sufficiently extensive to enable him to judge of the value of the simplest traditional tales. The present il... The Miser In The Bush
A farmer had a faithful and diligent servant, who had worked hard for him three years, without having been paid any wages. At last it came into the man's head that he would not go on thus without pay any longer; so he went to his master, and said, '... The Mishaps Of Handy Andy
Andy Rooney was a fellow who had the most singularly ingenious knack of doing everything the wrong way. He grew up in his humble Irish home full of mischief to the eyes of every one save his admiring mother. But, to do him justice, he never meant ... The Mohammedan Law Of Turkey Persia Egypt India Morocco And Algeria
The laws of Mohammedanism which are founded on the Koran and the Traditions of Mohammed to-day constitute the civil and religious code of many millions of the world's inhabitants. A country that is subject to the government of Mohammedans is ter... The Mole and His Mother
A MOLE, a creature blind from birth, once said to his Mother: "I am sure than I can see, Mother!" In the desire to prove to him his mistake, his Mother placed before him a few grains of frankincense, and asked, "What is it?' The young Mole said, ... The Mole And Other Animals
Some four-footed creatures Assembled one day, At the game of the blind man Together to play. A Dog and a Monkey, Brimful of his tricks-- With a Fox, Hare and Eat, And a Squirrel--made six. The Monkey, he... The Monday Story
Once upon a time there was a town called Atpat. In it there lived a very saintly king. One day he formed the wish to fill the shrine of Shiva, the moon-god, with milk up to the ceiling. He consulted his chief minister, and the latter sent a crier th... The Money Box
IN a nursery where a number of toys lay scattered about, a money box stood on the top of a very high wardrobe. It was made of clay in the shape of a pig and had been bought of the potter. In the back of the pig was a slit, and this slit had been e... The Monkey
A Monkey, clothed in silk, Will a Monkey still remain; So says an ancient proverb, And so say I again; As to all, it clearly will appear, Who listen to our fable here. In dress of gaudy hues, Such as harlequin would c... The Monkey and the Camel
THE BEASTS of the forest gave a splendid entertainment at which the Monkey stood up and danced. Having vastly delighted the assembly, he sat down amidst universal applause. The Camel, envious of the praises bestowed on the Monkey and desiring to ... The Monkey and the Dolphin
A SAILOR, bound on a long voyage, took with him a Monkey to amuse him while on shipboard. As he sailed off the coast of Greece, a violent tempest arose in which the ship was wrecked and he, his Monkey, and all the crew were obliged to swim for thei... The Monkey and the Fishermen
A MONKEY perched upon a lofty tree saw some Fishermen casting their nets into a river, and narrowly watched their proceedings. The Fishermen after a while gave up fishing, and on going home to dinner left their nets upon the bank. The Monkey, who i... The Monkey And The Jelly-fish
Children must often have wondered why jelly-fishes have no shells, like so many of the creatures that are washed up every day on the beach. In old times this was not so; the jelly-fish had as hard a shell as any of them, but he lost it through his ... The Monkey And The Magpie
To her friend, the crafty Monkey, Said a Magpie,--"If you'll go With me unto my dwelling, I've some pretty things to show. For, sure you know, I've skill A thousand things to steal. You shall see them, if you will, ... The Monkeys and Their Mother
THE MONKEY, it is said, has two young ones at each birth. The Mother fondles one and nurtures it with the greatest affection and care, but hates and neglects the other. It happened once that the young one which was caressed and loved was smothered... The Moon
The inhabitants of most of our rural districts still retain the old dislike to a new moon on Friday, and perpetuate it by the saying,-- Friday's moon, Come when it wool, It comes too soon. Or by the following,-- Frid...