THE LITTLE HUNCHBACK

A LORRAINE STORY

ONCE there was a king who had three sons; but he treated only the first two as his sons: the youngest was a hunchback; only his mother loved him.

One day the king called the oldest to him and said to him,—

“My son, I should like to have the water which restores youth.”

“My father, I will go after it.”

The king gave him a beautiful carriage drawn by four horses, and as much gold and silver as he wanted, and the young man started on his journey.

He had gone two hundred leagues on the way, when he met a shepherd, who said to him,—

“Prince, my handsome prince, would you help me to set free one of my sheep which is caught in a thicket?”

“You should not have let it go there,” replied the prince; “I have no time to lose.”

When he arrived at Pekin, he went to a fine hotel, had his horses taken out, and ordered a good dinner. He soon made friends, and thought no more of continuing his journey.

At the end of six months the king, seeing that he did not return, called his second son, and asked him to go and seek for the water that restored youth. He gave him a handsome carriage drawn by four horses, covered with pearls and diamonds. The young man got into it and started off. After having gone two hundred leagues, he met the shepherd, who said to him,—

“Prince, my handsome prince, would you help me to set free one of my sheep which is caught in a thicket?”

“For whom do you take me?” answered the prince. “You should not have let it go there.”

He arrived at Pekin, where he lodged in the same hotel as his brother. He also soon made friends and did not think of going any farther. The king waited a year, and seeing that he did not return, he said to himself: “I have no more children! Who, then, will wear my crown?” He thought no more of the little hunchback than if he had not been in the world.

Meanwhile the latter fell sick. They sent for a physician; the young prince told him that he was ill of grief seeing that his father did not love him, and that he wished very much to travel. The physician repeated these words to the king, who came to see his son.

“My father,” said the little hunchback to him, “I would like to go after the water that restores youth, and I will not do as my brothers did; I will bring it back with me.”

“You can go if you wish,” said the king.

He gave him an old carriage that had only three wheels, an old horse that had only three legs, very little money,—though the queen added something to that,—and the prince set out.

After having gone two hundred leagues, he met the shepherd, who said to him,—

“Prince, my handsome prince, would you help me to set free one of my sheep which is caught in a thicket?”

“Willingly,” said the prince.

And he helped the shepherd to set free his sheep. When he had gone away, the shepherd, remembering that he had given him nothing for his trouble, called him back and said to him,—

“Prince, I forgot to reward you. Here, take these arrows; all that these arrows pierce will be well pierced. Here is a flageolet; all who hear it will dance.”

The prince went on his way and arrived at Pekin. When he passed by the hotel where his brothers lodged, the latter, who were on the steps, were ashamed of him and went into the house. The poor little hunchback alighted at a miserable inn, where he unhitched his horse himself; then he took with him a guide to show him the city. As he was walking along he saw a dead man who had been left unburied.

“Why do they not bury this man?” asked he.

“Because he had a great many creditors and could not pay them.”

“If they were paid for him, would they have him buried?”

“Yes, certainly.”

The prince sent for the creditors, paid the dead man’s debts, and gave the money to have him buried. After that he continued his journey. One day a good old woman received him in her little house and gave him something to eat and drink; he paid her generously and then went on farther.

When he had gone two hundred leagues more, he found that all his money was gone and he had no longer anything to eat. His horse was more fortunate than himself; he could browse a little on the grass along the road. A fox passed by; the prince was about to let fly one of his arrows at him, when the fox cried to him,—

“Wretch! what are you going to do? would you kill me?”

The prince, seized with fright, put his arrow back into the quiver. Then the fox gave him a napkin in which he found something to eat and drink, and said to him,—

“You are looking for the water that restores youth? It is in that castle very far below there. The castle is guarded by an ogre, by tigers, and by lions. To reach it, it is necessary to cross a river; on this river you will see a boat, which the same man has steered for eighteen hundred years. Be very careful to enter the boat feet foremost; for if you should get in backwards, you would take the man’s place forever. When you reach the castle, do not allow yourself to be charmed by the magnificence that you will find there. You will see in the stables mules adorned with plates of gold: take the ugliest one: you will see also two green birds: take the ugliest one.”

The prince was careful to enter the boat feet foremost, and arrived at the castle; he was just going to take the mule and the bird when the ogre came in.

“What are you doing here?” said the ogre to him.

The prince excused himself, bowed to him, and asked his pardon. The ogre said to him,—

“I will not eat you; you are too thin.”

He gave him something to eat and to drink, and the prince remained at the castle, where he had everything he wanted. The ogre sent him to fight his enemies, beasts like himself; the prince, thanks to his arrows, won the fight and brought back the skins. He fought five or six times and was always conqueror.

Now there was in the castle a princess whom the ogre wished to marry, but who did not want him. One day, when the prince had won a great fight, he took a notion to play a tune on his flageolet. The princess was at table with the ogre; as they heard the marvelous flageolet, they began to dance together, without knowing at first whence the music came. When the ogre saw that it was the prince who was playing, he made him come to the table, and said to him,—

“Ask me what you will; I will grant it.”

He thought surely that the prince would ask of him permission to go away.

“I ask,” said the prince, “for what is most beautiful here, and for permission to go over the castle three times.”

The ogre consented to it. There was so much gold in the castle that they did not know what to do with it; but the prince did not touch it: he took the uglier of the two green birds, and the ugliest mule, which stepped seven leagues at a time, and did not forget a vial of the water which restores youth; then he put the princess, who was a party to the whole thing, on the mule. Instead of going over the castle three times, he only went twice and ran off with the princess. As soon as the ogre found it out, he went in pursuit of them, but he could not catch them.

The young man met the fox the second time; and the fox said to him,—

“If you see any one in trouble, be sure not to help them out.”

A little farther on, he was very kindly received by the good old woman in her little house. At last he arrived at Pekin with the princess. On one of the squares there was a gallows erected.

“For whom is that gallows?” asked the prince.

He was told that it was for two young strangers who were to be hung that day. At that moment the condemned men were brought out; he recognized his brothers. He asked what their crime was.

He was told that they had contracted debts which they were not able to pay.

The young man assembled the creditors, paid them, and set his brothers free; then they set out together on the road to their father’s kingdom. The little hunchback had given the mule to his oldest brother; to the other, the green bird; and the water which restores youth, he kept for himself and the princess. Still his brothers were not satisfied; together they sought out opportunities to get rid of him, and the princess, who saw their jealousy, was distressed on account of it.

One day as they were passing by a well which was three hundred feet deep, the two elder brothers said to the youngest,—

“Look at that beautiful well!”

And as he leaned over to look, they pushed him in and carried off the princess, the mule, and the bird. When they arrived at the castle, the princess was in a fainting condition; the mule and the bird were dejected. They put the mule in an old stable, the bird in an old cage. The water could not restore the king’s youth: they put it in a corner among the old rugs.

Meanwhile the poor prince sent up loud cries from the bottom of the well; the fox hastened to him and went down into the well.

“I charged you especially not to help any one out of trouble. However, I am going to help you to get out of this place; hold fast to my tail.”

The young man did as he was told, and the fox climbed up; he had almost reached the top when his tail broke, and the young man fell back to the bottom of the well. The fox tied his tail on again, rubbing it with grease, and took the prince on his back. Once more in the open air, he straightened him up, and the young man; disburdened of his hunch, became an elegant prince.

He went to the castle of the king, his father, and had himself announced as a great physician, saying that he could cure the king and the princess. At first he went into the stable; at once the mule took on a handsome hide and began to neigh: he approached the bird; it resumed its beautiful plumage and began to sing. He gave his father some of the water which restores youth; the king became young again immediately and got up out of his sick-bed. The princess was restored to health as soon as she saw the young man. Then the prince made himself known to his father and told him what had happened; then the bird spoke in its turn and told the whole story over again.

The elder sons of the king were out hunting. The king had their young brother concealed behind the door; and when they came in, he said to them,—

“I have just heard of a strange adventure which took place in one of the cities of my kingdom. Three young men were walking together on the shore of the lake; two of them threw their companion into the lake. Give Solomon’s judgment; what punishment do these men deserve?”

“They deserve death.”

“Miserable creatures! then you also deserve it. You shall not be thrown into the water, but you shall be burned.”

The sentence was executed. Afterwards they made a great feast, and the young prince married the princess.

Emmanuel Cosquin, “Contes Populaires Lorrains.”