The Green Fairy Book

ld, and three years passed before his family saw him again. Then he returned, magnificently dressed, and his father was so

im plenty of money for his expenses, saying, ‘If you behave as well as your brother, I will do honour to you as I did to him.’ The young man promised to do his best, and his con

ver did anything at home except sit over the stove and dirty himself with the ashes; but he also begged

tained permission to go. The father saw him depart with joy, glad to

they willingly did, and he went on his way, followed by the dog. A little further on he came upon a cat, which someone was going to put to death. He implored its life, and the cat followed him.

e autumn, when all the serpents hide themselves in their holes, this s

at danger I have been in, and how, without your help, I should certainly have lost my life. The king will ask what you would like in return, and b

the proof. He was hungry, and thought it would be delightful to eat in the meadow a loaf of new bread and a steak of goo

to bed and slept till morning, as every honest man ought to do. Then he set forth for his father’s house, his mind dwelling on the feast that would be awaiting him. But as he returned in the same old c

and with vessels of silver and gold. So he rubbed the watch, and there it all was. Jenik went to look for his father, and

on had got all this wealth. Jenik did not reply, but begged hi

r a carriage ornamented with gold and silver, and drawn by six horses, with harness glittering with precious stones. The father did not dare to sit in this gorgeous coach, but went to the palace on foot. The King and his daughter were immensely surprised with the beauty of

h dishes such as no king had ever eaten before. The King, the Queen, and the Princess were speechless with surprise. Never had they seen such a splendid palace, nor such a high feast! At dessert the King asked

lisman. One night she took the watch, rubbed it, and wished for a carriage drawn by four horses; and in this carriage she at once set out for her father’s palace. There she called to her own attendants, bade them follow her into the carriage, and drove straight to the s

h him and went far away, for he could no longer live with his family. He reached at last a great desert, and saw some crows flying towards a mountain. One of them was a long way behind, and when he arrived his bro

cat. When he arrived on the beach, he said to the dog: ‘You are an excellent swimmer, and you, little one, are very light; jump on the dog’s back

the watch down to the cellar and locked it in a box. But the cat wriggled its way into the cellar, and the moment the Princess turned her back, he scratched and scratched till he had made a ho

beyond the gates tha

the sea; be very care

; but when they approached the shore he cou

he might let the talisman fall. When they to

said

th looked sorrowfully at the place where their treasure had fallen in. Suddenly a fish appea

en,’ cried the fish. ‘Spar

cat; ‘but on condition

hat the palace, with the Princess and all its inhabitants, should be swallowed up in the sea. No sooner said than done. J