The Wise Little Girl

03 Jun 2010 Leave a Comment

by Dishan Savithra Rajapaksha in Fairy Tales Tags: ,

Once upon a time in the immense Russian steppe, lay a little village where nearly all the inhabitants bred horses. It was the month of October, when a big livestock market was held yearly in the main town. Two brothers, one rich and the other one poor, set off for market. The rich man rode a stallion, and the poor brother a young mare.
At dusk, they stopped beside an empty hut and tethered their horses outside, before going to sleep themselves on two heaps of straw. Great was their surprise, when, next morning they saw three horses outside, instead of two. Well, to be exact the newcomer was not really a horse. It was a foal, to which the mare had given birth during the night. Soon it had the strength to struggle to its feet, and after a drink of its mother’s milk, the foal staggered its first few steps. The stallion greeted it with a cheerful whinny, and when the two brothers set eyes on it for the first time, the foal was standing beside the stallion.
“It belongs to me!” exclaimed Dimitri, the rich brother, the minute he saw it. “It’s my stallion’s foal.” Ivan, the poor brother, began to laugh.
“Whoever heard of a stallion having a foal? It was born to my mare!”
“No, that’s not true! It was standing close to the stallion, so it’s the stallion’s foal. And therefore it’s mine!” The brothers started to quarrel, then they decided to go to town and bring the matter before the judges. Still arguing, they headed for the big square where the courtroom stood. But what they didn’t know was that it was a special day, the day when, once a year, the Emperor himself administered the law. He himself received all who came seeking justice. The brothers were ushered into his presence, and they told him all about the dispute.
Of course, the Emperor knew perfectly well who was the owner of the foal. He was on the point of proclaiming in favor of the poor brother, when suddenly Ivan developed an unfortunate twitch in his eye. The Emperor was greatly annoyed by this familiarity by a humble peasant, and decided to punish Ivan for his disrespect. After listening to both sides of the story, he declared it was difficult, indeed impossible, to say exactly who was the foal’s rightful owner. And being in the mood for a spot of fun, and since he loved posing riddles and solving them as well, to the amusement of his counselors, he exclaimed.
“I can’t judge which of you should have the foal, so it will be awarded to whichever of you solves the following four riddles: what is the fastest thing in the world? What is the fattest? What’s the softest and what is the most precious? I command you to return to the palace in a week’s time with your answers!” Dimitri started to puzzle over the answers as soon as he left the courtroom. When he reached home, however, he realized he had nobody to help him.
“Well, I’ll just have to seek help, for if I can’t solve these riddles, I’ll lose the foal!” Then he remembered a woman, one of his neighbors, to whom he had once lent a silver ducat. That had been some time ago, and with the interest, the neighbor now owed him three ducats. And since she had a reputation for being quick-witted, but also very astute, he decided to ask her advice, in exchange for canceling part of her debt. But the woman was not slow to show how astute she really was, and promptly demanded that the whole debt be wiped out in exchange for the answers.
“The fastest thing in the world is my husband’s bay horse,” she said. “Nothing can beat it! The fattest is our pig! Such a huge beast has never been seen! The softest is the quilt I made for the bed, using my own goose’s feathers. It’s the envy of all my friends. The most precious thing in the world is my three-month old nephew. There isn’t a more handsome child. I wouldn’t exchange him for all the gold on earth, and that makes him the most precious thing on earth!”
Dimitri was rather doubtful about the woman’s answers being correct. On the other hand, he had to take some kind of solution back to the Emperor. And he guessed, quite rightly, that if he didn’t, he would be punished.
In the meantime, Ivan, who was a widower, had gone back to the humble cottage where he lived with his small daughter. Only seven years old, the little girl was often left alone, and as a result, was thoughtful and very clever for her age. The poor man took the little girl into his confidence, for like his brother, he knew he would never be able to find the answers by himself. The child sat in silence for a moment, then firmly said.
“Tell the Emperor that the fastest thing in the world is the cold north wind in winter. The fattest is the soil in our fields whose crops give life to men and animals alike, the softest thing is a child’s caress and the most precious is honesty.”
The day came when the two brothers were to return before the Emperor. They were led into his presence. The Emperor was curious to hear what they had to say, but he roared with laughter at Dimitri’s foolish answers. However, when it was Ivan’s turn to speak, a frown spread over the Emperor’s face. The poor brother’s wise replies made him squirm, especially the last one, about
honesty, the most precious thing of all. The Emperor knew perfectly well that he had been dishonest in his dealings with the poor brother, for he had denied him justice. But he could not bear to admit it in front of his own counselors, so he angrily demanded:
“Who gave you these answers?” Ivan told the Emperor that it was his small daughter. Still annoyed, the great man said.
“You shall be rewarded for having such a wise and clever daughter. You shall be awarded the foal that your brother claimed, together with a hundred silver ducats… But… but…” and the Emperor winked at his counselors.
“You will come before me in seven days’ time, bringing your daughter. And since she’s so clever, she must appear before me neither naked nor dressed, neither on foot nor on horseback, neither bearing gifts nor empty-handed. And if she does this, you will have your reward. If not, you’ll have your head chopped off for your impudence!”
The onlookers began to laugh, knowing that the poor man would never to able to fulfill the Emperor’s conditions. Ivan went home in despair, his eyes brimming with tears. But when he had told his daughter what had happened, she calmly said.
“Tomorrow, go and catch a hare and a partridge. Both must be alive! You’ll have the foal and the hundred silver ducats! Leave it to me!” Ivan did as his daughter said. He had no idea what the two creatures were for, but he trusted in his daughter’s wisdom.
On the day of the audience with the Emperor, the palace was thronged with bystanders, waiting for Ivan and his small daughter to arrive. At last, the little girl appeared, draped in a fishing net, riding the hare and holding the partridge in her hand. She was neither naked nor dressed, on foot or on horseback. Scowling, the Emperor told her.
“I said neither bearing gifts nor empty-handed!” At these words, the little girl held out the partridge. The Emperor stretched out his hand to grasp it, but the bird fluttered into the air. The third condition had been fulfilled. In spite of himself, the Emperor could not help admiring the little girl who had so cleverly passed such a test, and in a gentler voice, he said.
“Is your father terribly poor, and does he desperately need the foal.”
“Oh, yes!” replied the little girl. “We live on the hares he catches in the rivers and the fish he picks from the trees!”
“Aha!” cried the Emperor triumphantly. “So you’re not as clever as you seem to be! Whoever heard of hares in the river and fish in the trees! To which the little girl swiftly replied.
“And whoever heard of a stallion having a foal?” At that, both Emperor and Court burst into peals of laughter. Ivan was immediately given his hundred silver ducats and the foal, and the Emperor proclaimed.
“Only in my kingdom could such a wise little girl be born!”

Cinderella

13 May 2010 Leave a Comment

by Dishan Savithra Rajapaksha in Fairy Tales Tags: , , , ,

Once upon a time… there lived an unhappy young girl. Unhappy she was, for her mother was dead, her father had married another woman, a widow with two daughters, and her stepmother didn’t like her one little bit. All the nice things, kind thoughts and loving touches were for her own daughters. And not just the kind thoughts and love, but also dresses, shoes, shawls, delicious food, comfy beds, as well as every home comfort.  All this was laid on for her daughters. But, for the poor unhappy girl, there was nothing at all. No dresses, only her step sisters’ hand-me-downs. No lovely dishes, nothing but scraps. No nice rests and comfort. For she had to work hard all day, and only when evening came was she allowed to sit for a while by the fire, near the cinders. That is how she got her nickname, for everybody called her Cinderella. Cinderella used to spend long hours all alone talking to the cat. The cat said,

“Miaow”, which really meant, “Cheer up! You have something neither of your step sisters have and that is beauty.”

It was true. Cinderella, even dressed in rags with a dusty gray face from the cinders, was a lovely girl. While her step sisters, no matter how splendid and elegant their clothes, were still clumsy, lumpy and ugly and always would be.

One day, beautiful new dresses arrived at the house. A ball was to be held at Court and the stepsisters were getting ready to go to it. Cinderella, didn’t even dare ask, “What about me?” for she knew very well what the answer to that would be:

“You? My dear girl, you’re staying at home to wash the dishes, scrub the floors and turn down the beds for your step sisters. They will come home tired and very sleepy.” Cinderella sighed at the cat.

“Oh dear, I’m so unhappy!” and the cat murmured “Miaow”.

Suddenly something amazing happened. In the kitchen, where Cinderella was sitting all by herself, there was a burst of light and a fairy appeared.

“Don’t be alarmed, Cinderella,” said the fairy. “The wind blew me your sighs. I know you would love to go to the ball. And so you shall!”

“How can I, dressed in rags?” Cinderella replied. “The servants will turn me away!” The fairy smiled. With a flick of her magic wand… Cinderella found herself wearing the most beautiful dress, the loveliest ever seen in the realm.

“Now that we have settled the matter of the dress,” said the fairy, “we’ll need to get you a coach. A real woman would never go to a ball on foot!”

“Quick! Get me a pumpkin!” she ordered.

“Oh of course,” said Cinderella, rushing away. Then the fairy turned to the cat.

“You, bring me seven mice!”

“Seven mice!” said the cat. “I didn’t know fairies ate mice too!”

“They’re not for eating, silly! Do as you are told!… and, remember they must be alive!”

Cinderella soon returned with a fine pumpkin and the cat with seven mice he had caught in the cellar.

“Good!” exclaimed the fairy. With a flick of her magic wand… wonder of wonders! The pumpkin turned into a sparkling coach and the mice became six white horses, while the seventh mouse turned into a coachman, in a smart uniform and carrying a whip. Cinderella could hardly believe her eyes.

“I shall present you at Court. You will soon see that the Prince, in whose honor the ball is being held, will be enchanted by your loveliness. But remember! You must leave the ball at midnight and come home. For that is when the spell ends. Your coach will turn back into a pumpkin, the horses will become mice again and the coachman will turn back into a mouse… and you will be dressed again in rags and wearing clogs instead of these dainty little slippers! Do you understand?” Cinderella smiled and said,

“Yes, I understand!”

When Cinderella entered the ballroom at the palace, a hush fell. Everyone stopped in mid-sentence to admire her elegance, her beauty and grace.

“Who can that be?” people asked each other. The two stepsisters also wondered who the newcomer was, for never in a month of Sundays, would they ever have guessed that the beautiful girl was really poor Cinderella who talked to the cat!

When the prince set eyes on Cinderella, he was struck by her beauty. Walking over to her, he bowed deeply and asked her to dance. And to the great disappointment of all the young ladies, he danced with Cinderella all evening.

“Who are you, fair maiden?” the Prince kept asking her. But Cinderella only replied:

“What does it matter who I am! You will never see me again anyway.”

“Oh, but I shall, I’m quite certain!” he replied.

Cinderella had a wonderful time at the ball… But, all of a sudden, she heard the sound of a clock: the first stroke of midnight! She remembered what the fairy had said, and without a word of goodbye she slipped from the Prince’s arms and ran down the steps. As she ran she lost one of her slippers, but not for a moment did she dream of stopping to pick it up! If the last stroke of midnight were to sound… oh… what a disaster that would be! Out she fled and vanished into the night.

The Prince, who was now madly in love with her, picked up her slipper and said to his ministers,

“Go and search everywhere for the girl whose foot this slipper fits. I will never be content until I find her!” So the ministers tried the slipper on the foot of all the girls… and on Cinderella’s foot as well… Surprise! The slipper fitted perfectly.

“That awful untidy girl simply cannot have been at the ball,” snapped the stepmother. “Tell the Prince he ought to marry one of my two daughters! Can’t you see how ugly Cinderella is! Can’t you see?”

Suddenly she broke off, for the fairy had appeared.

“That’s enough!” she exclaimed, raising her magic wand. In a flash, Cinderella appeared in a splendid dress, shining with youth and beauty. Her stepmother and stepsisters gaped at her in amazement, and the ministers said,

“Come with us, fair maiden! The Prince awaits to present you with his engagement ring!” So Cinderella joyfully went with them, and lived happily ever after with her Prince. And as for the cat, he just said “Miaow”!

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