Legends & Romances of Brittany Part 12

Now the King had confided to his care part of the royal stables, and when N'Oun Doare entered them their darkness was immediately lit up by the radiance of the crown which he carried. So well had the Breton lad attended to the horses under his charge that the other squires had become jealous, and, observing the strange light in N'Oun Doare's part of the stable, they mentioned it to the King, who in turn spoke of it to the Marquis of Coat-Squiriou. The Marquis asked N'Oun Doare the meaning of the light, and the youth replied that it came from the ancient sword they had bought at Morlaix, which was an enchanted weapon and shone at intervals with strange brilliance. But one night his enemies resolved to examine into the matter more closely, and, looking through the keyhole of the stable, they saw that the wondrous light which had so puzzled them shone from a magnificent crown of gold. They ran at once to tell the King, and next night N'Oun Doare's stable was opened with a master-key and the crown removed to the King's quarters. It was then seen that an inscription was engraved upon the diadem, but in such strange characters that no one could read it. The magicians of the capital were called into consultation, but none of them could decipher the writing. At last a little boy of seven years of age was found who said that it was the crown of the Princess Golden Bell. The King then called upon N'Oun Doare to approach, and said to him:

"You should not have hidden this thing from me, but as you are guilty of having done so I doom you to find the Princess Golden Bell, whom I desire shall become my wife. If you fail I shall put you to death."

N'Oun Doare left the royal presence in a very perturbed state of mind.

He went to seek his old mare with tears in his eyes.

"I know," said the mare, "the cause of your sorrow. You should have left the golden crown alone, as I told you. But do not repine; go to the King and ask him for money for your journey."

The lad received the money from the King, and set out on his journey.

Arriving at the seash.o.r.e, one of the first objects he beheld was a little fish cast up by the waves on the beach and almost at its last gasp.

"Throw that fish back into the water," said the mare. N'Oun Doare did so, and the fish, lifting its head from the water, said:

"You have saved my life, N'Oun Doare. I am the King of the Fishes, and if ever you require my help call my name by the seash.o.r.e and I will come." With these words the Fish-King vanished beneath the water.

A little later they came upon a bird struggling vainly to escape from a net in which it was caught.

"Cut the net and set that poor bird free," said the wise mare.

Upon N'Oun Doare doing so the bird paused before it flew away and said:

"I am the King of the Birds, N'Oun Doare. I will never forget the service you have rendered me, and if ever you are in trouble and need my aid you have only to call me and I shall fly swiftly to help you."

As they went on their way N'Oun Doare's wonderful mare crossed mountains, forests, vast seas, and streams with a swiftness and ease that was amazing. Soon they beheld the walls of the Chateau of the Golden Bell rising before them, and as they drew near they could hear a most confused and terrible noise coming from it, which shook N'Oun Doare's courage and made him rather fearful of entering it. Near the door a being of the most curious aspect was hung to a tree by a chain, and this peculiar individual had as many horns on his body as there are days in the year.

"Cut that unfortunate man down," said the mare. "Will you not give him his freedom?"

"I am too much afraid to approach him," said N'Oun Doare, alarmed at the man's appearance.

"Do not fear," said the sagacious animal; "he will not harm you in any manner."

N'Oun Doare did so, and the stranger thanked him most gratefully, bidding him, as the others whom he had rescued had done, if he ever required help to call upon Grifescorne, King of the Demons, for that was his name, and he would be with him immediately.

"Enter the chateau boldly and without fear," said the mare, "and I will await you in the wood yonder. After the Princess Golden Bell has welcomed you she will show you all the curiosities and marvels of her dwelling. Tell her you have a horse without an equal, which can dance most beautifully the dances of every land. Say that your steed will perform them for her diversion if she will come and behold it in the forest."

Everything fell out as the mare had said, and the Princess was delighted and amused by the mare's dancing.

"If you were to mount her," said N'Oun Doare, "I vow she would dance even more wonderfully than before!"

The Princess after a moment's hesitation did so. In an instant the adventurous youth was by her side, and the horse sped through the air, so that in a short s.p.a.ce they found themselves flying over the sea.

"You have tricked me!" cried the infuriated damsel. "But do not imagine that you are at the end of your troubles; and," she added viciously, "you will have cause to lament more than once ere I wed the old King of France."

They arrived promptly at Paris, where N'Oun Doare presented the lovely Princess to the monarch, saying:

"Sire, I have brought to you the Princess Golden Bell, whom you desire to make your wife."

[Ill.u.s.tration: N'OUN DOARE AND THE PRINCESS GOLDEN BELL]

The King was dazed by the wondrous beauty of the Princess, and was eager for the marriage to take place immediately, but this the royal maiden would not hear of, and declared petulantly that she would not be wed until she had a ring which she had left behind her at her chateau, in a cabinet of which she had lost the key.

Summoning N'Oun Doare, the King charged him with the task of finding the ring. The unfortunate youth returned to his wise mare, feeling much cast down.

"Why," said the mare, "foolish one! do you not remember the King of the Birds whom you rescued? Call upon him, and mayhap he will aid you as he promised to do."

With a return of hope N'Oun Doare did as he was bid, and immediately the royal bird was with him, and asked him in what way he could help him. Upon N'Oun Doare explaining his difficulty, the Bird-King summoned all his subjects, calling each one by name. They came, but none of them appeared to be small enough to enter the cabinet by way of the keyhole, which was the only means of entrance. The wren was decided to be the only bird with any chance of success, and he set out for the chateau.

Eventually, with much difficulty and the loss of the greater part of his feathers, the bird procured the ring, and flew back with it to Paris. N'Oun Doare hastened to present the ring to the Princess.

"Now, fair one," said the impatient King, "why delay our wedding longer?"

"Nay," said she, pouting discontentedly, "there is one thing that I wish, and without it I will do nothing."

"What do you desire? You have only to speak and it shall be brought."

"Well, transport my chateau with all it contains opposite to yours."

"What!" cried the King, aghast. "Impossible!"

"Well, then, it is just as impossible that I should marry you, for without my chateau I shall not consent."

For a second time the King gave N'Oun Doare what seemed an insurmountable task.

"Now indeed I am as good as lost!" lamented the youth as they came to the chateau and he saw its ma.s.sive walls towering above him.

"Call Grifescorne, King of the Demons, to your a.s.sistance," suggested the wise mare.

With the aid of the Demon-King and his subjects N'Oun Doare's task was again accomplished, and he and his mare followed the demon army to Paris, where they arrived as soon as it did.

In the morning the people of Paris were struck dumb to see a wonderful palace, its golden towers flas.h.i.+ng in the sun, rising opposite to the royal residence.

"We shall be married at last, shall we not?" asked the King.

"Yes," replied the Princess, "but how shall I enter my chateau and show you its wonders without a key, for I dropped it in the sea when N'Oun Doare and his horse carried me over it."

Once more was the youth charged with the task, and through the aid of the Fish-King was able to procure the key, which was cut from a single diamond. None of the fishes had seen it, but at last the oldest fish, who had not appeared when his name was p.r.o.nounced, came forward and produced it from his mouth.

With a glad heart the successful N'Oun Doare returned to Paris, and as the Princess had now no more excuses to make the day of the wedding was fixed and the ceremony was celebrated with much splendour. To the astonishment of all, when the King and his betrothed entered the church N'Oun Doare followed behind with his mare. At the conclusion of the ceremony the mare's skin suddenly fell to the ground, disclosing a maiden of the most wonderful beauty.

Smiling upon the bewildered N'Oun Doare, the damsel gave him her hand and said: "Come with me to Tartary, for the king of that land is my father, and there we shall be wed amid great rejoicing."

Leaving the amazed King and wedding guests, the pair quitted the church together. More might have been told of them, but Tartary is a far land and no news of them has of late years reached Brittany.

_The Princess of Tronkolaine_

There was once an old charcoal-burner who had twenty-six grandchildren.

For twenty-five of them he had no great difficulty in procuring G.o.dparents, but for the twenty-sixth--that, alas! was a different story. G.o.dmothers, indeed, were to be found in plenty, but he could not find anyone to act as G.o.dfather.