Sander 3156 Share Posted February 7, 2022 MAY’S FAIRY TALES:A Collection of Haeseni Children’s and House Tales The King Who Caught Death Once upon a time there was a king, mighty and great. This king had only one enemy, and that was Death. Why did Death have to spoil his life? Why was he, such a grand king, afraid of dying? The king then sent for all of his wise men who on horseback and by carriage arrived at his court. “Mornin’ wise men” said the king politely “My mind is plagued by a question nobody has an answer to.” The youngest wise man, a vain rogue, then spoke up: “Just ask, Sire, ask away! Do you wish to know how many stars there are? Or how heavy all the sand in the great desert weighs? Perhaps you wish to know how your taxes are being evaded! Or how-” But then he was interrupted by the king, who said a bit absent-mindedly: “Well no… Why do we die? See, that is what keeps me busy.” Not one of the wise men had expected such a question. “For the life of me…” The youngest one quietly said. Then the oldest wise man spoke up. “Sire, some people get killed. Others die in accidents. However most by far just die from old age.” Grumpily, the king replied: “Yes I already knew that! But what is Death? And why am I so afraid?” Then the smartest wise man interfered. “Sire, if I may? Perhaps you, Your Highness, should learn to live with Death.” The king jumped up, his anger great, and he yelled: “I DEMAND an answer! What is Death?!” Then spoke a wise man with a wild fantasy, who said: “Shall I tell you how I look at it? See, Death comes to get you, it touches you. So Death must exist in the flesh! We must catch him, then he’s done for! Long live Life! Gone with the grave!” The smartest wise man shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Ah but Death can’t be beaten! For if you touch him, then you’re a goner!” But then the king had a great idea. He said: “I know an elderly, sickly man, one who has, I believe, only an hour or so left to live.” “So Death will come to get him, Death is coming. We’ll build a glass cage surrounding his bed, and we’ll open the door oh so invitingly! Then once Death is inside, on its way to its prey, we quickly close the cage and call it a day!” And so it was decided, and on that same day, they caught Death and put him away. Sad and gloomy, he sat behind the glass, as if he was a ‘living’ museum piece. And never before had the people been so happy! Years upon years they celebrated with glee! But in the long run the partying started to bore them. And so they started playing dangerous games! People jumped off towers into ravines, they wrestled with lions and with wild hogs! They drank gallons upon gallons of poisoned wine and had a war here and there, just for fun. Indeed nobody died, no life was lost. But all the while new babies were born. It became busier and busier, the world started filling up and things got cramped. It got so bad, some people were pushed off the shores, into the sea. Centuries later they had no more fun to crave. Instead most people just longed for the grave. And the king thought: “All right, I am no longer scared, but everything’s so boring and I’ve reigned for so long!” So he called the wise men back together and shouted: “My friends what misery is this?! What do we do?!” The youngest wise man, three centuries old now, said to the king: “Please just free Death, because this won’t end well!” Then the smartest said: “Sure, but who will let him fly? Because whoever opens the door will be the first to die!” So the king rose from his seat, and theatrically said: “Goodbye everyone! I’m going to be dead! My fright of Death is no longer here, instead I realize it is eternal Life I fear!” So he strode to the cage, mighty and great with every breath. And died in the arms of greedy old Death. “Long live Death!” Everyone called out in laughter. And so they died happily ever after. The End. The Wild Man Long ago there lived a King in Hunsow who at his court had the best swordmaster of the realm. The swordmaster was famous all over the world for his exploits with the blade and this gave the King an idea. He sent out his heralds to spread his word: to the man who could defeat his swordmaster in battle, he would grant his daughter the princess in marriage! The word spread like wildfire and everyone was talking about the King’s challenge. Yet nobody dared to take him up on it, for they knew they could not beat the swordmaster. Nobody except a young man from Haense who was so enamored by the Princess that he did not fear the swordmaster’s blade. So the young Haenseman faced the swordmaster in a duel. And though his love for the princess was great, his fighting prowess was not. The swordmaster stabbed, cutted and nearly gutted him and the Haenseman surrendered. He knew he had lost and was severely wounded, so he left the city. Out in the woods he met an old man, who took care of the Haenseman’s wounds. The Haenseman told him of his conundrum and the great sorrow it brought him. After hearing his story, the old man had an idea. For he had a brother, a Wild Man who lived in the woods. And so they set out into the forest, to the Wild Man’s grove. Upon coming there, the young man stowed away in a tree as the elder called for his brother. The Wild Man came out of the bushes of young oak saplings as he heard his brother call him. A thunderous roar sounded through the trees as the Wild Man greeted his brother wholeheartedly and the young Haenseman was frightened so. For the Wild Man was no normal man indeed. He was over eight foot tall, strong as a bear and wore nothing except a loincloth made from oak leaves. He had fiery eyes, a beard long and great and his whole body was covered in hair. After the old man explained the story to his brother, the Haenseman came out of his hiding spot and the Wild Man looked at him with suspicion yet showed kindness. He agreed to help the stranger his brother had brought along and so they went back to the city. The people of Hunsow were filled with disbelief and horror as they saw the swordmaster’s next opponent. The Wild Man however had never held a blade and he knew not how to use it at all! The swordmaster proved a better fighter as the first strike of the duel caused a cut in the Wild Man’s thigh. But the Wild Man was far larger and far stronger. And as his wound enraged him, he tossed his sword aside, lifted the swordmaster up into the air and smote him down onto the ground. The swordmaster couldn’t fight anymore and the Wild Man had won the duel. But nobody was happy, the Princess sobbed and cried in agony in fact! She did not want to marry such a brute of the wilderness, so hairy and large! Luckily for her, the Wild Man did not see much joy in marrying the Princess either. He’d much rather go back to his grove in the woods. And so the Wild Man said the young Haenseman who he’d come to help would be the one to marry the Princess! Yet the King refused this proposal as the Haenseman had not defeated his swordmaster. But as the Wild Man pulled a whole tree out of the ground to use it as a club and threatened the King of Hunsow with it, His Majesty obliged. The Haenseman and the Princess got married, the Wild Man went back to his woods. And so they lived happily ever after. The End. The Magical Bottle Once upon a time there was an old Waldenian farmer who lived with his wife and children. They loved each other very much, but they weren’t happy because they were very poor. They had suffered countless bad harvests and one by one the farmer had to sell off his livestock so he could buy food for his family. Then one day, the poor farmer was forced to sell his last cow and so he took it to the market. At the market nobody was willing to buy his malnourished cow until the farmer was approached by an odd little dwarf. The dwarf told the farmer that he’d like to buy the cow, but that he did not have any money to pay the poor farmer. What he did have was a magical bottle. “Lo! Famished tall one! I will gladly take your bovine ware, but alas I have but my magical bottle to spare!” The dwarf cried out as he showed the bottle to the farmer. “A magical bottle you say? But master dwarf, I have mouths to feed and bills to pay!” The farmer complained, as the bottle did not seem magical at all, but in fact rather ordinary. But then the dwarf showed the poor farmer what the magical bottle could do, and they immediately made the deal. As the farmer went home with the magical bottle, his wife was very mad at him. She complained that the farmer had wasted their last bit of wealth and squandered the opportunity of providing a few days of good meals. But the farmer told her to calm down and showed her what the bottle could do. He set it on the floor and pulled out its cork, then out came two tiny men with golden plates and silver forks! They set the table with this luxurious cutlery and then filled the plates with delicious food and poured cups of wine! After putting the little men back in the bottle, the farmer and his family enjoyed a feast like they had never seen before. Then the farmer’s wife went to wash the golden plates and the farmer sold them on the market. From the money he bought new cows, some sheep, beautiful clothes and better furniture so that he and his family could live comfortably! But as the farmer went back home with all of his new property, a jealous man watched him. Indeed this new fortune had drawn the landlord’s attention and he went to the farmhouse to inquire about his tenant’s newfound splendor. The farmer told the landlord that he’d like to buy the farmhouse from him and relinquish him of rent. But the landlord wanted to know where all of the money came from, and demanded the farmer let him know before making any deal. And so the farmer told his landlord about the magical bottle he had acquired. Alas the landlord did not act in good faith towards his tenant. He demanded the farmer would sell the magical bottle to him, or else he’d report the poor Waldenian for witchcraft. With great sorrow, the farmer obliged, selling away the source of his fortune. As months passed, the farmer and his family became poor again and once again the day came where the farmer had to go sell his last cow. He went to the market and to his joy he saw the dwarf there again! The dwarf agreed to buy the farmer’s cow for another magical bottle, and the farmer was pleased. Yet this time, as he opened the bottle at home, two big, angry men came out of it who demolished all of the farmer’s furniture and beat up his family. Once the cork was in the bottle again, the farmer took it to the landlord, trying to sell it to the man who had caused him such sorrow. The landlord wouldn’t buy this magical bottle without first seeing how it worked though. So the farmer agreed to show the magical workings of this new bottle at a great feast the rich landlord was hosting that night… As the feast came to its height, the farmer was summoned and he opened his new bottle. The big angry men came out of it again and began breaking the landlord’s house down and beat up his guests. Pleading for mercy and for the violence to stop, the greedy landlord agreed to give the farmer his old magical bottle back! And so the farmer went home, leaving the new bottle behind once the cork had been put back on. The landlord learned a painful lesson about greed and not to blackmail people. The farmer and his family were happy once again because they lived in great comfort and were taken good care of. And so they lived happily ever after. The End. The Sleeping Soldier King Many remember or have heard of the times and troubles of King Sigismund II, Haense’s ‘Soldier King’. And many have heard the tale of how our brave soldier supposedly took his own life. Yet few seem to know the truth, as that’s not what happened! Indeed our brave Soldier King did not die! As King Sigismund sat alone, contemplating what he was to do after his brother’s betrayal and Haense having entered a second war, he was approached by the Aengul Michael in his moment of need. And the Aengul told Sigismund that he must come with him, that this struggle was not his fate. So the Aengul took the Soldier King with him and told him his destiny. He was to be secured by the Aengul Michael, so that Haense, the country of GOD’s chosen people, could be saved by his return in its darkest moment, when he would once again lead it at the head of the charge. And so the Aengul brought him to a different land than Arcas and took him to a cavern under a mountain. Here he presented King Sigismund with two helpers who for him had prepared a large wooden throne at an engraved table. And they brought him his sword and his shield and his helmet. And the Aenguls told the Soldier King to rest, to sleep so he would be strong once his country would need him the most. So Sigismund sat down on his cavern throne and he yawned once, stretched his limbs and fell asleep. Now there he remains in that cavern in deep slumber. He’s been down there for so long his beard has grown onto the floor through the engraved table. And it shall grow much longer still before he is awakened by the Aenguls of GOD. In the meantime the helpers stand guard for the sleeping Soldier King. They sharpen his blade on their grindstone and polish his shield and helmet, so that once Sigismund the Soldier’s time comes to save Haense, he will be ready to jump into the heat of battle. And until that time comes, Crows circle the mountain, keeping an eye out over Haense, ready to tell the Aenguls of when to awaken their King. Thus the Soldier sleeps in waiting to save his people and his land in their hour of need. And when he does… We’ll all live happily ever after! The End. The Language Of The Birds Once upon a time there lived a young man called Ivan, who was the son of a merchant. But Ivan did not have much interest in mercantile practices. Instead, Ivan was interested in nature and one thing in particular: the language of the birds. As Ivan was out in the woods to hunt one day, a great storm rolled in. He saw four little ducklings about to be swamped by the storm, so he went to provide shelter for them with his leather coat. Once the mother duck returned to her children, she couldn’t thank Ivan enough. To Ivan’s delight, she agreed to teach him the language of the birds out of gratitude. Time passed since this occurrence and Ivan mastered the language of the birds. Then, as he and his parents were having dinner one night, a nightingale started to sing just outside the window. Ivan’s father could see that the bird’s song was distressing to Ivan, and so he insisted his son told him what the nightingale was saying in its song. With some discomfort, Ivan told his father the bird said Ivan would be a king’s son rather than that of a merchant and that his father would serve him as a servant. Ivan’s parents were worried about the nightingale’s prophecy and his father was especially angered by the latter half of it. Thus they decided Ivan had to be gotten rid of and they put him in a box and pushed him off into the sea. While Ivan was floating around at sea in the box, a fisherman found him and lifted him onto his ship, saving Ivan. On and around the fisherman’s ship there were various seagulls, and Ivan could understand what they were talking about. They spoke of a storm that was coming and he went to warn the fisherman. He didn’t believe Ivan knew the language of the birds though, and so he ignored Ivan. Moments later the storm struck the small fishing vessel and wreaked havoc on it. Needless to say, the fisherman believed Ivan could speak with the birds now and so when the seagulls warned there were pirates nearby, the fisherman decided to find the nearest port. They would dock in a great city ruled by an old King and they quickly heard of a story that was spreading through the city. The King was being bothered by three crows that stuck around at his window and wouldn’t leave. His Majesty couldn’t sleep because of their persisting noise and it was driving him mad. Thus the King had made an offer to the public; the person who could get rid of the crows could marry his daughter and would get half of his lands. Ivan traveled to the King’s castle to talk to the crows. It quickly became clear to him why the crows kept bothering the King, and so he sought out an audience with His Majesty. Once he was brought before the King, he explained that the crows wanted a royal decision from him: when the mother and father crow each would go their own ways, who should their young crow follow? The King then decided that the young crow should follow his father, and the mother crow left alone while the father crow left with his young. The King was no longer bothered by the three crows at his window and was delighted! He announced Ivan would get to marry his daughter and gave half of his kingdom to him as well. While Ivan got married and ascended his newfound throne, his father’s business ventures had gone poorly and he’d become a beggar. One day the father begged outside Ivan’s castle and Ivan took note. He recognized his father and brought him inside to give him sustenance and warm clothes. Ivan asked his father what he wanted and his father, in defeat, asked to become Ivan’s servant. Ivan was very pleased, because after all this time, the song of the nightingale had come true. He did not resent his parents for trying to get rid of him however, but instead forgave them and provided for them from his new position of wealth. And so they lived happily ever after. The End. Papej Nikirala Once upon a time there lived a woman far away in the cold North. She had a daughter of her own, whom she loved, and a stepdaughter, who she loathed. During a particularly harsh winter, food was scarce and there wasn’t enough for all of them to eat. And so she decided to tell her husband to take the stepdaughter outside into the snow-covered forest and leave her there to die. Her husband obeys and leaves his daughter out in the cold woods. As the young girl sat down in the snow cry, clinging to her green coat, a tall bearded man emerged from the forest. He wore a long blue jacket, a hat lined with fur and big woolen gloves, all of which were slightly covered with snow and ice. He asked the crying girl what was wrong. She explained everything and was kind and polite to this man, who told her his name was Papej Nikirala. Papej Nikirala took pity on this sweet little girl and so he decided to give her a chest full of luxuries: It held beautiful blue and white clothes that were embroidered with fine threads and lined with fluffy white fur. It also contained jewelry; earrings and a necklace with ornaments shaped like snowflakes and made from diamonds so they looked like real ice. The girl put on the things she'd been given by Papej Nikirala and thanked him graciously. Lastly he gave her some stew so she had food and it could warm her up a little. After a while, her stepmother sent her father back into the woods to collect her presumably frozen corpse for a burial. But to the father’s surprise, his daughter was fine and now wearing these enchantingly beautiful clothes and jewels. He took her back home and told her stepmother that his daughter was now beautiful and happy! When the stepmother saw what her stepdaughter had brought back, her jaw dropped and she became jealous. She wanted her own daughter to get the same wonderful things, so she told her husband to bring her out into the woods too. Then, as the stepmother’s daughter was left in the cold forest, she was also greeted by Papej Nikirala. He expected this other girl to also be kind and polite, but instead he found that this daughter was rude and disrespectful to him. She insulted Papej Nikirala, demanding he gave her gifts too, so he froze her in a big block of ice. Later the father went back into the forest to retrieve his stepdaughter from the forest, but he found only her frozen corpse to bring home. The stepmother wept as she saw what happened to her daughter and soon the evil woman died of a broken heart. Thus the father and his beautiful daughter remained together in the house, but despite the losses in their family, there was a sense of peace as there was no longer arguing and strife in the home. They frequently invited Papej Nikirala over for stew during the cold months and befriended him. And so they lived happily ever after. The End. Written by Feodor A. May. 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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