Speaker 1: Prince kind Hearted. Once upon a time there lived a
Speaker 1: king who had but one son, and he was called
Speaker 1: the kind Hearted. When the prince was twenty years old,
Speaker 1: he asked the king his father to let him go traveling.
Speaker 1: His father fitted him out for the journey, gave him
Speaker 1: a true servant to guard him, and his fatherly blessing,
Speaker 1: the prince took leave of his father, mounted a brave steed,
Speaker 1: and went to different countries to see God's world, to
Speaker 1: learn many things, and to return home a wiser and
Speaker 1: a better man. Once, when the prince was slowly riding
Speaker 1: through a silent field, he suddenly perceived an eagle in
Speaker 1: pursuit of a swan. The white swan was almost caught
Speaker 1: by the eagle's sharp claws. When the prince, carefully aiming,
Speaker 1: fired his pistol. The eagle fell dead, and the happy
Speaker 1: swan came down and said, dead, kind Hearted, I thank
Speaker 1: you for your help. It is not a swan that
Speaker 1: is thanking you, but the enchanted daughter of the night invisible.
Speaker 1: You have not saved me from an eagle's clause, but
Speaker 1: from the terrible magician King Koshchei. My father will pay
Speaker 1: you well for your services. Remember whenever you are in need,
Speaker 1: to say three times night invisible, come to my help.
Speaker 1: The swan flew away as soon as it had finished speaking,
Speaker 1: and the prince looked after it. Then continued his journey.
Speaker 1: He crossed many high mountains, traversed deep rivers, past foreign countries,
Speaker 1: and at last he came to a great desert, where
Speaker 1: there was nothing to see but sky and sand. No
Speaker 1: man lived there, no animal's voice was ever heard, no
Speaker 1: vegetable ever grew there. The sun was shining so brightly
Speaker 1: and burning so terribly that all the rivers were dried up,
Speaker 1: their beds were lost in the sand, and there was
Speaker 1: not a drop of water anywhere. The young prince, anxious
Speaker 1: to go everywhere and see everything, and not noticing how
Speaker 1: dry things that were, kept going farther and farther and
Speaker 1: deeper and deeper into the desert. But after a while
Speaker 1: he became terribly thirsty. In order to find some water,
Speaker 1: he sent his servant in one direction, and he himself
Speaker 1: went in another. After a long time he succeeded in
Speaker 1: finding a well. He called to his servant, I have
Speaker 1: found a means of getting some water. And they both
Speaker 1: were happy. But their happiness did not last, for the
Speaker 1: well was very deep and they had nothing with which
Speaker 1: to reach the water. The prince said to his servant dismount,
Speaker 1: I will let you down into the well by some
Speaker 1: long ropes, and you shall draw up some water. No,
Speaker 1: my prince, answered the servant, I am much heavier than
Speaker 1: you are, and your Majesty's hands will not be able
Speaker 1: to hold me. You take hold of the rapes, I
Speaker 1: will let you down into the well. The prince, the
Speaker 1: ropes tied around him, went down into the well, drank
Speaker 1: the cold water, and taking some of it for the servant.
Speaker 1: Pulled the ropes as a sign for the servant to
Speaker 1: draw him up again. But instead of pulling him up,
Speaker 1: the servant said, listen, you kingly son. From your cradle
Speaker 1: days until now you have lived a happy life surrounded
Speaker 1: by luxury and love, and I have always led the
Speaker 1: life of a miserable wretch. Now you must agree to
Speaker 1: become my servant, and I will be the prince instead
Speaker 1: of you. If you will not exchange, say your last prayer,
Speaker 1: for I am going to drown you. Do not drown me,
Speaker 1: my true servant. You will not gain anything by it.
Speaker 1: You will never find such a good master as I am,
Speaker 1: and you know what a murderer may expect in the
Speaker 1: next world. Let me suffer in the next world, but
Speaker 1: I will make you suffer in this one, answered the servant,
Speaker 1: and he began to loosen the ropes. Stop, cried the prince.
Speaker 1: I will be thy servant, and you shall be the prince.
Speaker 1: I will give you my word for it. I do
Speaker 1: not believe your word. Swear that you will write down
Speaker 1: what you promise me now, for words are lost in
Speaker 1: the air, and writing always remains as a testimony against us.
Speaker 1: I swear. The servant let down into the well a
Speaker 1: sheet of paper and a pencil, and told the prince
Speaker 1: to write the following. The bearer of this is Prince
Speaker 1: kind Hearted, traveling with his servant, a subject of his
Speaker 1: father's kingdom. The servant glanced over the note, pulled the
Speaker 1: prince out of the well, gave him his shabby clothes,
Speaker 1: and put on the prince's rich dress. Then, having changed
Speaker 1: armor and horses, they went on. In a week or so,
Speaker 1: they came to the capital of a certain kingdom. When
Speaker 1: they approached the palace, the false prince gave his horse
Speaker 1: to the false servant and told him to go to
Speaker 1: the stable, and he himself went straight into the thraigned
Speaker 1: chamber and said to the King, I come to you
Speaker 1: to ask for the hand of your daughter, whose beauty
Speaker 1: and wisdom are known all over the world. If you consent,
Speaker 1: you will have our favor. If not, we will decide
Speaker 1: it by war. You do not speak to me in
Speaker 1: a nice way at all, not as a prince ought
Speaker 1: to speak. But it may be that in your country
Speaker 1: you are not used to better manners. Now listen to me,
Speaker 1: my future son in law. My kingdom is now in
Speaker 1: the hands of an enemy of mine. His troops have
Speaker 1: captured my best soldiers, and now they are approaching my capital.
Speaker 1: If you will clear my kingdom from these troops, my
Speaker 1: daughter's hand will be yours as a reward. All right,
Speaker 1: answered the false prince, I will drive your enemies away.
Speaker 1: Do not worry. If they come to the capital to
Speaker 1: morrow morning, not one enemy will be left in your land.
Speaker 1: In the evening, he went out of the palace, called
Speaker 1: his servant and said to him, listen, my dear, go
Speaker 1: out to the city walls. Drive away the foreign troops.
Speaker 1: And for this service I will return you your note
Speaker 1: by which you denied your kingdom and swore to be
Speaker 1: my servant. The honest Prince kind Hearted put on his
Speaker 1: knightly armor, mounted his steed, went out to the city walls,
Speaker 1: and in a loud voice, Night Invisible, come to my
Speaker 1: help here, I am said, Knight Invisible, what do you
Speaker 1: wish me to do for you? I am ready to
Speaker 1: do everything for you, because you saved my child from
Speaker 1: the terrible costure. Prince kind Hearted showed him the troops,
Speaker 1: and the Night Invisible whistled loudly and called, oh, you,
Speaker 1: my wise horse, come to me quickly. There was a
Speaker 1: rustling in the air. It thundered, the earth trembled, and
Speaker 1: a wonderful horse appeared, having a golden mane. From his nostrils,
Speaker 1: afire was burning. From his eyes, bright sparks were flying,
Speaker 1: and from his ears thick clouds of snake were coming.
Speaker 1: Night Invisible jumped upon the horse and said to the Prince,
Speaker 1: take this magic sword and attack the troops from the left,
Speaker 1: and I, upon my golden maned horse, will attack them
Speaker 1: from the right. They both attacked the army from the left.
Speaker 1: The soldiers were falling like wood from the right like
Speaker 1: whole forests. In less than an how the entire army vanished,
Speaker 1: some of them remained upon the spot dead, some of
Speaker 1: them fled. Prince kind Hearted and the Knight Invisible met
Speaker 1: upon the battlefield, shook hands in a friendly way, and
Speaker 1: in a minute, the Knight Invisible and his horse turned
Speaker 1: into a bright red flame, then into thick smoke, which
Speaker 1: disappeared in the darkness. The Prince returned quietly to the palace.
Speaker 1: The young princess felt very sad that evening. She could
Speaker 1: not sleep, and so leaned out of her window when
Speaker 1: she overheard the conversation between the Prince and the servant.
Speaker 1: Then she saw what was going on behind the city walls.
Speaker 1: She also saw the Knight Invisible disappear in the darkness,
Speaker 1: and Prince kind Hearted returned to the palace. She saw
Speaker 1: the false Prince coming out of the palace, taking the
Speaker 1: knightly armor from the servant, and Prince kind Hearted entering
Speaker 1: the stable to rest. The next morning, the old king,
Speaker 1: seeing his land freed from the enemies, felt very happy
Speaker 1: and gave the Prince many rich presents, But when he
Speaker 1: announced the engagement of his daughter to him, she stood
Speaker 1: up took the hand of the real Prince, who helped
Speaker 1: to serve at the table led him before the old
Speaker 1: king and said, my dearest father and King, and all
Speaker 1: you that are present here, this man is my bridegroom,
Speaker 1: sent to me by God, for he is your savior
Speaker 1: and the real prince. And that one who calls himself
Speaker 1: a prince is a traitor, false and dishonest man. Then
Speaker 1: the princess told everything she knew, and said, let him
Speaker 1: show some proof that he really is a prince. The
Speaker 1: false prince gave to the king the note which was
Speaker 1: given to him in the well. The King opened it
Speaker 1: and read aloud. The bearer of this note, the false
Speaker 1: and untrue servant of Prince kind Hearted, ask for pardon
Speaker 1: and expects a just punishment. The note was given to
Speaker 1: him in the well by Prince kind Hearted. Is it
Speaker 1: really so, cried the wretch, and he became pale as death. Yes,
Speaker 1: read it yourself if you do not believe it, answered
Speaker 1: the king. I cannot read, said the poor fellow. He
Speaker 1: knelt before his master and begged for mercy, but he
Speaker 1: received what he deserved. Prince kind Hearted and the Princess
Speaker 1: were happily married. And I was present at the wedding
Speaker 1: feast and also felt happy