THE PRINCESS OF TRONKOLAINE

A STORY OF LOWER BRITANNY

ONCE upon a time there was a poor coal-man who had already had twenty-five children baptized. God sent him the twenty-sixth, and he set out to look for a godfather and godmother for it. He saw the king pass in his carriage, and knelt down in the mud to greet him. The king threw him a piece of gold.

“This is not what I am in search of at this moment, although I am in great need of it,” said the coal-man; “I want a godfather for the twenty-sixth child that my wife has just presented me.”

“Twenty-six children, my poor man!” exclaimed the king. “Ah! well! come to the church to-morrow with your child and a godmother, and I will be the godfather, myself.”

The coal-man was promptly at the appointed place; he took with him the godmother, and the king arrived also at the hour agreed upon.

The child was baptized, and named Louis. The godfather gave the father a purse full of gold and told him to send his son to school when he was ten years old. He gave him also half of a platine, keeping the other half himself, and charging him to give it to his son when he should have reached the age of eighteen, to bring it back to him at his court at Paris. He would recognize him by this sign. Then he went away.

The child was put to school when he was ten years old, and as he was intelligent, he made rapid progress. When he was eighteen, his father gave him the half-platine, and told him to go and take it to his godfather, the king of France, at his palace in Paris. Until then he had concealed from him who his godfather was. He gave him also one of his horses, a jade used for hauling coal, and the young man set out.

As he was going along a long and narrow street, he met a little old woman, bending over her stick, who said to him,—

“Good morning, Louis, godson of the king of France.”

“Good morning, grandmother,” answered Louis, astonished at being known to the old woman.

“Almost immediately, my child,” said the latter, “you will come to a spring by the roadside, and you will see some one there who will invite you to get down from your horse and quench your thirst; do not listen to him, but go on your way.”

“Thanks, grandmother,” answered the young man. And he passed along.

Sure enough, a moment after, he came to a spring near which there was a person of disagreeable countenance, who cried to him,—

“Come, Louis! stop a moment, and get down from your horse.”

“I have not time,” answered Louis; “I am in a hurry.”

“Come, I tell you, quench your thirst at this spring,—the water is delicious,—and converse a little; you do not recognize me, then—one of your schoolmates?”

Louis, hearing these last words, got down from his horse; but he did not recognize the pretended schoolmate. Nevertheless, he started to drink from the spring, and as he was leaning over the water to drink out of the hollow of his hand, the other, with one hunch of his shoulder, threw him into it; then he took away his half-platine, mounted his horse and departed. Poor Louis got out of the water as well as he could and began to run after the thief. The horse was old and foundered, so that at last he overtook him, and they entered the courtyard of the king’s palace together. The king, at sight of the half-platine, had no doubt that the bearer of it was his godson, and welcomed him heartily, although he thought him ill-looking. He asked him also, who the young man was who accompanied him.

“That is a young countryman, godfather,” replied he, “who followed me, hoping to find employment at your court.”

“Very well,” answered the king; “occupation shall be found for him.”

He was, in fact, employed as a stable-boy, while the other followed the king everywhere, dressed like a prince, and had nothing to do every day but eat, drink, and go out walking.

Very soon the pretended godson, wishing to get rid of Louis, the sight of whom annoyed him, said to the king one day,—

“If you could only know, godfather, what the stable-boy from my country boasts that he will do!”

“What does he boast that he will do?” asked the king.

“That he will go and ask the sun why he is red when he rises in the morning.”

“Indeed? Very well; let him go, for I am really very curious to know why.”

And poor Louis was obliged to start off to go to see the sun, although he declared that he had never said anything of the sort.

As he was going sadly along by the seashore, he met a venerable old man, who asked him,—

“Where are you going, my son?”

“Truly, grandfather,” he replied, “I do not know at all. I was told that, under pain of death, I should find out from the sun why he is so red when he rises in the morning, and I do not know where to find the sun.”

“Well! my son, I will help you to find him.” And showing him a wooden horse, he said,—

“Jump on this horse, which will rise in the air, at your command, and carry you to the foot of a mountain on the summit of which is the castle of the sun. Leave the horse at the foot of the mountain, where you will find it again on your return, and go alone to the castle.”

Louis mounted the wooden horse, which rose at once into the air and put him down at the foot of a high mountain. He climbed the mountain with difficulty, and when at last he reached the summit, he saw a place so fine, so resplendent, that he was dazzled by it. It was the palace of the sun. He knocked at the door. An old woman came and opened it for him.

“Is my lord the sun at home?” asked he.

“No, my child; but he will soon return,” answered the old woman.

“I will wait for him, then.”

“But, my poor child, my son will be very hungry when he comes; he might very likely eat you up.”

“I beg you, madam, do not let him eat me, for I must speak to him.”

“Very well! come in at any rate, my boy, and I will try to manage it.”

And he went in. The sun arrived a little while after, calling out,—

“I am hungry, I am very hungry, mother!” Then having sniffed the air; “I smell the smell of a Christian. There is a Christian here, and I am going to eat him.”

“Oh, yes,” said his mother; “it’s very likely that I should give you this poor, pretty child to eat. There is your supper all ready; eat it quickly and keep silent, or look out for my stick!”

The sun hung his head, at this threat, like a timid child, and began to eat in silence. When he had finished, Louis, emboldened by seeing him so gentle, put this question to him,—

“I should like very much to know, my lord the sun, why you are so red, so handsome, when you rise in the morning.”

“I will tell you willingly,” answered the sun; “it is because the castle of the princess of Tronkolaine is near here, and she is so beautiful that I have to show myself in all my splendor so as not to be surpassed by her.”

“I am very much obliged, my lord, the sun,” answered Louis.

And he bowed low and went away. He went down the mountain again, mounted his wooden horse, which was waiting for him, and quickly returned to the king’s court.

“Well?” said the latter to him, “have you really been all the way to the sun, and can you tell me now why he is red when he rises in the morning?”

“Yes, sire; I can tell you why.”

“Let us hear it, then.”

“It is in order not to be eclipsed by the Princess Tronkolaine, whose castle is near his own, and who is the most wonderful beauty in existence.” The king appeared satisfied with the explanation.

But some time after that the false godson said again,—

“If you could know, godfather, how this stable-boy still brags!”

“What does he brag about?” asked the king.

“Of being able to bring the Princess Tronkolaine herself to your court so that you can marry her.”

“Indeed! has he boasted of that? Very well! he must do it, or death is his only portion.”

And poor Louis was obliged to attempt this adventure, in spite of all his protestations of never having said any such thing. Fortunately for him, he met again on the road the unknown old man, who said to him,—

“Go back to the king, and tell him that in order to accomplish your enterprise you must have a ship loaded with wheat, bacon, and beef, that you may distribute these provisions among the kings of the ants, the sparrow-hawks, and the lions which you will meet on your way, and which, if you feast them well, will be useful to you later.”

He obtained the ship loaded with provisions. Then the old man gave him besides a white stick, by means of which he could obtain a favorable wind from whatever direction he should turn it toward. He set sail, passed by the kingdoms of the ants, the sparrow-hawks, and the lions, and regaled all these animals as well as he could, and they all promised to come to his help as soon as he called them.

Then he landed on an island. In the middle of the island there was a magnificent castle. It was there that the princess of Tronkolaine dwelt. He saw her, beside a fountain, combing her blond hair with a golden comb, and a large-toothed comb of ivory. He plucked an orange from an orange-tree near by and threw it into the fountain. The princess turned, saw him, smiled at him, and told him to come forward. Then she led him to her castle, feasted him on exquisite meats and delicious fruits, and invited him to remain with her. At the end of a fortnight’s stay at the castle Louis asked the princess if she would agree to follow him to the court of France.

“Willingly,” she answered, “when you shall have done all the work there is to do here.”

“Tell me, princess, what you wish me to do, and if it is possible, I will do it.”

The next morning the princess took him to the barn of the castle, and showed him a great heap of mixed grain.

“There,” said she, “is a heap of mixed grain,—wheat, rye, and barley. You must put each kind of grain in a pile by itself, without making a mistake in a single grain, and it must be done by sunset.” Then she went away.

Louis called the ant to his assistance, and the sorting was done perfectly by the appointed hour. So when the princess came at sunset, she was very much astonished. She examined carefully, and not finding a single grain of a different sort in any one of the three piles,—

“It is very well done,” said she.

“Will you come with me now, princess?” asked Louis of her again.

“Not yet; I have something else to ask of you first.”

Accordingly, the next morning, she gave him a wooden axe, and having led him into the great avenue of the castle, she said to him, showing him the great oaks,—

“You must cut down all these trees before sunset, with your wooden axe.” Then she went away.

As soon as the princess was gone, Louis called the lions to his assistance, and when she returned at sunset, there was not a single tree left standing in the avenue. Her astonishment was greater than before.

“Will you follow me now, princess?” asked Louis.

“I have still another task—a last test to give you,” she answered; “and if you get through it as successfully as the others, nothing shall then prevent me from following you.”

The next morning the princess led him to the foot of a high mountain, and said to him,—

“Here is a mountain which obscures my palace and prevents my seeing at a distance, and I desire that it shall disappear by the setting of the sun.” And she went away again.

This time Louis called the sparrow-hawks to his assistance, and they were so numerous that with their beaks and claws they soon made the mountain disappear, and leveled down the earth. When the princess returned at sunset,—

“Well, princess, are you satisfied?” said Louis.

“Yes,” she replied, “you have not your equal on the earth; and now I will follow you where you will.”

Then she gave him a kiss. They went towards the sea after that. The ship in which Louis had come to the island was there waiting for him. They went aboard of her and reached the continent without hindrance. During the voyage, the princess let the key of her castle fall into the sea, without saying anything of it to Louis.

The old man was waiting for them on the other side of the water.

“Well, my son,” said he to Louis, “did you succeed?”

“Yes, grandfather, thanks to you, and may God bless you.”

When the princess arrived at the court, the old king was so charmed with her beauty, that he wished to marry her immediately.

“Holloa!” said she then, “I did not come here for an old gray-beard like you, nor for this other creature,” and she pointed to the pretended godson, “whom you believe to be your godson, and who is only a demon! Here is your real godson, and it is he who shall be my husband.” And she pointed to Louis. “Now, have the furnace heated, and let this demon be thrown into it.”

No sooner said than done. And as the demon, otherwise the pretended godson, uttered fearful cries, and tried to get out of the furnace, they sent for a young woman with her first child, and with her wedding ring, which she presented to him at the opening of the furnace when he tried to get out, she forced him to stay inside. Then he cried out,—

“If I had remained at the court only a year, I should have reduced the kingdom to a hopeless condition.”

Then Louis married the Princess Tronkolaine, and he succeeded to the throne of the old king, his godfather, who had no children. He brought his old father and mother to the court, and also his brothers and his sisters, whom he established very magnificently.

F. M. Luzel, “Cinquième Rapport sur une Mission en Bretagne.”

THE END