Speaker 1: A certain king had a beautiful garden, and in the
Speaker 1: garden stood a tree which bore golden apples. These apples
Speaker 1: were always counted, and about the time when they began
Speaker 1: to grow ripe, it was found that every night one
Speaker 1: of them was gone. The king became very angry at
Speaker 1: this and ordered the gardener to keep watch all night
Speaker 1: under the tree. The gardener set his eldest son to watch,
Speaker 1: but about twelve o'clock he fell asleep, and in the
Speaker 1: morning another of the apples was missing. Then the second
Speaker 1: son was ordered to watch, and at midnight he too
Speaker 1: fell asleep, and in the morning another apple was gone.
Speaker 1: Then the third son offered to keep watch, but the
Speaker 1: gardener at first would not let him, for fear some
Speaker 1: harm should come to him. However, at last he consented,
Speaker 1: and the young man laid himself under the tree to watch.
Speaker 1: As the clock struck twelve, he heard a rustling noise
Speaker 1: in the air, and a bird came flying that was
Speaker 1: of pure gold, And as it was snapping at one
Speaker 1: of the apples with its beak, the gardener's son jumped
Speaker 1: up and shot an arrow at it, But the arrow
Speaker 1: did the bird no harm, only dropped a golden feather
Speaker 1: from its tail, and then flew away. The golden feather
Speaker 1: was brought to the king in the morning, and all
Speaker 1: the council was called together. Everyone agreed that it was
Speaker 1: worth more than all the wealth of the kingdom. But
Speaker 1: the King said, one feather is of no use to me.
Speaker 1: I must have the whole bird. Then the gardener's eldest
Speaker 1: son set out and thought to find the gold word
Speaker 1: very easily, And when he had gone but a little way,
Speaker 1: he came to wood. And by the side of the
Speaker 1: wood he saw a fox sitting. So he took his
Speaker 1: bow and paid ready to shoot at it. Then the
Speaker 1: fox said, do not shoot me, for I will give
Speaker 1: you good counsel. I know what your business is, and
Speaker 1: that you want to find a golden bird. You will
Speaker 1: reach a village in the evening, and when you get
Speaker 1: there you will see two inns opposite to each other.
Speaker 1: One of them is very pleasant and beautiful to look at.
Speaker 1: Go not in there, but rest for the night in
Speaker 1: the other, though it may appear to you to be
Speaker 1: very poor and mean. But the sun thought to himself,
Speaker 1: what can such a beast as this know about the matter.
Speaker 1: So he shot his arrow at the fox, but he
Speaker 1: missed it, and it set up his tail over its
Speaker 1: back and ran into the wood. Then he went his way,
Speaker 1: and in the evening came to the village where the
Speaker 1: two inns were, And in one of these were people
Speaker 1: singing and dancing and feasting, but the other looked very
Speaker 1: dirty and poor. I should be very silly, said he
Speaker 1: if I went to that shabby house and left this
Speaker 1: charming place. So he went into the smart house and
Speaker 1: ate and drank at his ease, and forgot the bird
Speaker 1: and his country too. Time passed on, and as the
Speaker 1: elder sun did not come back, and no tidings were
Speaker 1: heard of him, the second son set out, and the
Speaker 1: same thing happened to him. He met the fox, who
Speaker 1: gave him the good advice. But when he came to
Speaker 1: the two ends, his eldest brother was standing at the
Speaker 1: window where the merry making was and called to him
Speaker 1: to come in. And could not withstand the temptation, but
Speaker 1: went in and forgot the golden bird and his country
Speaker 1: in the same manner. Time passed on again, and the
Speaker 1: youngest son to wish to set out in the wide
Speaker 1: world to seek for the golden bird. But this father
Speaker 1: would not listen to it for a long while, for
Speaker 1: he was very fond of his son, and was afraid
Speaker 1: that some ill luck might happen to him also and
Speaker 1: prevent his coming back. However, at last it was agreed
Speaker 1: he should go, for he would not rest at home.
Speaker 1: And as he came to the world, he met the
Speaker 1: fox and heard the same good counsel. But he was
Speaker 1: thankful to the fox and did not attend to his
Speaker 1: life as brothers had done. Still upon my tail, and
Speaker 1: you will travel faster. So he sat down, and the
Speaker 1: fox began to run away. They went over Stocking still
Speaker 1: so quick that their hair whistled in the wind. When
Speaker 1: they came to the village, the sun followed the fox council,
Speaker 1: and without looking about him, went to the shabby inn,
Speaker 1: and rested there all night at his ease. In the
Speaker 1: morning came the fox again and met him as he
Speaker 1: was beginning his journey, and said, go straight forward till
Speaker 1: you come to a castle, before which lie a whole
Speaker 1: troop of soldiers, fast asleep and snoring. Take no notice
Speaker 1: of them, but go into the castle and pass on
Speaker 1: and on till you come to a room where the
Speaker 1: golden bird sits in a wooden cage. Close by it
Speaker 1: stands a beautiful golden cage. But do not try to
Speaker 1: take the bird out of the shabby gage and put
Speaker 1: it into the handsomeman, otherwise you will repent it. When
Speaker 1: the fox stretched out his tail again, the young man
Speaker 1: sat himself down, and away they went over stockingstone till
Speaker 1: their hair whistled in the wind. Before the castle gate,
Speaker 1: all was as the fox had seen. So the sun
Speaker 1: went in and found the chamber where the golden bird
Speaker 1: hung in a wooden cage. And below stood the golden cage,
Speaker 1: and the three golden apples that had been lost were
Speaker 1: lying close by it. Then thought he to himself, it
Speaker 1: will be a very dralting to bring away such a
Speaker 1: fine word in the shabby cage. So he opened the
Speaker 1: door and took hold of it and put it into
Speaker 1: the golden cage. But the bird set up such a
Speaker 1: loud scream that all the soldiers awoke, and they took
Speaker 1: him prisoner and carried him before the king. The next morning,
Speaker 1: the coat sat to judge him, and when always heard it,
Speaker 1: sentenced him to die unless he should bring the king
Speaker 1: the golden horse, which would run as swiftly as the wind.
Speaker 1: And if he did this he was to have the
Speaker 1: golden bird given him for his own. So he set
Speaker 1: out once more on his journey, sighing and in great despair,
Speaker 1: when on a sudden his friend Fox met him and said,
Speaker 1: you see now what has happened on account of your
Speaker 1: not listening to my counsel. I will he'll, however, tell
Speaker 1: you how to find the golden horse. If you will
Speaker 1: do as I wid you. You must go straight on
Speaker 1: till you come to the castle, where the horse stands
Speaker 1: in a stall. By his side, will lie the groom,
Speaker 1: fast asleep and snoring. Take away the horse quietly, but
Speaker 1: be sure to put out the old lantern saddle upon him,
Speaker 1: and not the golden one that is close by it.
Speaker 1: Then the sun sat down on the fox tail, and
Speaker 1: away they went over stock and stone, till their hair
Speaker 1: whistled the wind. All went right, and the groom lay
Speaker 1: snoring with his hand upon the golden saddle. But when
Speaker 1: the sun looked at the horse, he thought a great
Speaker 1: pity to put the leaden saddle upon it. I will
Speaker 1: give him the good one, said he. I'm sure he
Speaker 1: deserves it. As he took up the golden saddle, the
Speaker 1: groom awoke and cried out so loud that all the
Speaker 1: guards ran in and took him prisoner. And in the
Speaker 1: morning he was again brought for the court to be judged,
Speaker 1: and was sentenced to die. But it was agreed that
Speaker 1: if you could bring titter the beautiful princess, he should
Speaker 1: live and have the bird and the horse with him
Speaker 1: for his own. Then he went away very sorrowful. But
Speaker 1: the old fox came and said, why did not you
Speaker 1: listen to me? If you had, you would have carried
Speaker 1: away both the bird and the horse. Yet, will I
Speaker 1: once more give you a counsel. Go straight on, and
Speaker 1: in the evening you will arrive at a castle. At
Speaker 1: twelve o'clock at night, the princess goes to the bathing house.
Speaker 1: Go up to her, give her a kiss, and she
Speaker 1: will let you lead away, But take care do not
Speaker 1: suffer her to go and take leave of her father
Speaker 1: and mother. Then the fox stretched out his tail, and
Speaker 1: so they went over stock and stone till their hair
Speaker 1: whistled again. As they came to the castle. All was
Speaker 1: as fox had said, And at twelve o'clock the young
Speaker 1: man met the princess going to the bath and gave
Speaker 1: her the kiss, and she agreed to run away with him,
Speaker 1: but begged with many tears that he would let her
Speaker 1: take leave of her father. At first he refused, but
Speaker 1: she wept still more and more and fell at his feet,
Speaker 1: till at last he consented. By the moment she came
Speaker 1: to father's house, the guards a walk, and he was
Speaker 1: taking prisoner again. Then he was brought before the king,
Speaker 1: and the king said, you shall never have my daughter
Speaker 1: unless in eight days you dig away the hill that
Speaker 1: stops the view from my window. Now this sill was
Speaker 1: so big that the whole world would not take it away.
Speaker 1: And when he had worked for seven days and had
Speaker 1: done very little, the fox came and said, lie down
Speaker 1: and go to sleep. I'll work for you. And in
Speaker 1: the morning he awoke and the hill was gone. So
Speaker 1: he went merrily to the king and told him, now
Speaker 1: that it was removed, he must give him the princess.
Speaker 1: Then the king was obliged to keep his bird and away.
Speaker 1: When the young man, the princess and the fox came
Speaker 1: and said to him, we will have all three, the princess,
Speaker 1: the horse and the bird. Ah said the young man,
Speaker 1: that would be a great thing, but how can you
Speaker 1: contrive it? If you will only listen, said the fox.
Speaker 1: It can be done. When you come to the king,
Speaker 1: and he asked for the beautiful princess, you must say
Speaker 1: here she is. Then he will be very joyful, and
Speaker 1: you will mount the golden horse that they ought to
Speaker 1: give you, and put out your hand to take leave
Speaker 1: with them. But shake hands with the princess last, and
Speaker 1: lift her quickly on to the horse behind you, clap
Speaker 1: your spurs to his side, and gallop away as fast
Speaker 1: as you can. All went right. Then the fox said,
Speaker 1: when you come to the castle where the bird is,
Speaker 1: I will stay with the princess at the door, and
Speaker 1: you will ride in and speak to the king, and
Speaker 1: when he sees that it is the right horse, he
Speaker 1: will bring out the bird. But you must sit till
Speaker 1: and say that you want to look at to see
Speaker 1: whether it is the true golden world. And when you
Speaker 1: get it into your hand, ride away. This to happen,
Speaker 1: as the fox said, they carried off the bird, the
Speaker 1: princess mounted again, and they rode on to a great hood.
Speaker 1: Then the fox came and said, pray kill me and
Speaker 1: care me my head and my feet. But the young
Speaker 1: man refused to do it. So the fox said, I
Speaker 1: will at any rate give you good counsel. Beware of
Speaker 1: two things, ransamed no one from the gallows, and sit
Speaker 1: down by the side of no river. Then away he went. Well,
Speaker 1: thought the young man, it is no hard matter to
Speaker 1: keep that a Wise, he rode on with the princess
Speaker 1: till at last he came to the village where he
Speaker 1: had left his two brothers, And there he heard a
Speaker 1: great noise and approach, And when he asked what was
Speaker 1: the matter, the people said, two men are going to
Speaker 1: be hanged. As he came nearer, he saw that the
Speaker 1: two men were his brothers, who had turned robbers. So
Speaker 1: he said, cannot they in any way be saved? But
Speaker 1: the people said no, unless he would bestow all his
Speaker 1: money upon the rascals and buy their liberty. Then he
Speaker 1: did not say to think about the matter, but paid
Speaker 1: whatazazst and his brothers were given up and went on
Speaker 1: with him towards their home. And as they came to
Speaker 1: the wood where the fox first met him, it was
Speaker 1: so cool and pleasant that the two brothers said, let
Speaker 1: us sit down with the side of the river and
Speaker 1: rest a while to eat and drink. So he said yes,
Speaker 1: and forgot the fox's counsel and sat down on the
Speaker 1: side of the river. While the suspected nothing. They came
Speaker 1: behind and threw him down the bank, and took the princess,
Speaker 1: the horse, and the bird, and went home to the
Speaker 1: king their master, and said, all this we have won
Speaker 1: by our labor. Then there was great rejoicing made, But
Speaker 1: the horse would not eat, the bird would not sting,
Speaker 1: and the princess wept. The youngest son fell to the
Speaker 1: bottom of the river's bed. Luckily it was nearly dry,
Speaker 1: but his bones were almost broken, and the bank was
Speaker 1: so steep that he could find no way to get out.
Speaker 1: Then the old fox came once more and scolded him
Speaker 1: for not falling his advice. Otherwise no evil would have
Speaker 1: befallen him. Yet said he I cannot leave you here,
Speaker 1: so lay hold of my tail and hold fast. Then
Speaker 1: he pulled him out of the river and said to him,
Speaker 1: as he got upon the bank, your brothers have set
Speaker 1: watch to kill you if they find you in the kingdom.
Speaker 1: So he dressed himself as a poor man and came
Speaker 1: secrety to the king's coat, and was scarcely within the
Speaker 1: doors when the horse began to eat and the bird
Speaker 1: began to sing, and the princess left off weeping. Then
Speaker 1: he went to the king and told him all his
Speaker 1: brother's roggery, and they were seized and punished, and he
Speaker 1: had the princess given to him again, And after the
Speaker 1: king's death he was hired to the kingdom. A long
Speaker 1: while after, he went to walk one day in the wood,
Speaker 1: and the old Fox met him and besought him, with
Speaker 1: tears in his eyes, to kill him and cut off
Speaker 1: his head and feet, And at last he did so,
Speaker 1: and in a moment Fox was changed into a man,
Speaker 1: and turned out to be the brother of the princess
Speaker 1: who had been lost a great many many years, and
Speaker 1: of the golden bird.