"It is I, little sister," said the prince. "For thrice three days I have stood longingly under your window. I would like to see your face, gaze into your eyes, and watch the words flow from your lips!"
The princess opened the window, glanced angrily at the handsome youth, and said in a scarcely audible voice:
"I would willingly look into your face and say a word or two to you, but first go to my younger sister--then come to me."
"I"ll send my younger brother," replied the prince. "But give me one kiss to make my way home pleasanter."
And almost before he had spoken, he s.n.a.t.c.hed a kiss from the beautiful girl.
"May no second one fall to your lot," said the princess, wiping her mouth with her embroidered sleeve. "Go back home by the way you came; may flowers spring up before you and flowers remain behind."
The prince went back to his brothers and told them all that had happened, and the second took his departure.
After this prince had stood under the second princess"s window nine times nine days and nine times nine nights and tapped for the ninth time at her window, she opened it and said to him kindly:
"I would like to look at you and say a word or two to you, but first go to my youngest sister, then come to me."
"I"ll send my youngest brother," said the prince. "But give me one kiss, that I may hurry the faster."
He had scarcely said it, when he stole a kiss.
"May no second one fall to your lot," said this royal maiden too. "Go back home by the way you came, may flowers spring up before you and flowers remain behind!"
The prince returned to his brothers, told them all that had happened, and--for the third time--a hero departed, the youngest son. When he reached the palace where the three sisters lived Ileane was standing at the window, and when she saw him, said merrily:
"You handsome champion with the royal face, where are you hurrying, that you urge on your steed so hotly?"
When the prince saw Ileane"s face and heard Ileane"s words, he stopped, gazed at her, and answered boldly:
"I"m hurrying to the sun to steal one of its rays, to give to its sister and take her home, where she shall become my bride. Now, little sister, I will stop on my way to look at you, gaze at the radiance of your face, say a word to you and steal a word in reply."
Ileane cleverly answered: "If your nature is like your words, if your soul is like your face, proud and beautiful, and mild and gentle, I will gladly call you into the house, seat you at a banquet, give you food and drink and kisses."
The prince sprang from his horse as he heard these words, and answered boldly:
"My nature will be like my speech, my heart like my face; let me in, seat me at the banquet, you shall never repent it from dawn till nightfall."
He had scarcely uttered the words when he leaped upon the window-sill, jumped through the window into the room, went through the room to the table, and took his place at the very top, where the emperor had sat when he was a bridegroom.
"Stop, stop!" said Ileane. "First let me see whether you are what you ought to be, and then we"ll talk and begin our love-making. Can you make roses grow on burdocks?"
"No!" said the prince.
"Then the thistle is your flower," said clever Ileane. "Can you make the bat sing in a sweet voice?"
"No!" said the prince.
"Then night is your day," said clever Ileane. "Can you make apples grow on wolf"s-bane?"
"That I can!" said the prince.
"Then that shall be your fruit!" replied the beautiful and cunning Ileane. "Sit down at the table."
The prince took his place. Ah! but Ileane was indeed cunning Ileane.
Ere he had fairly seated himself, he dropped, chair and all, into the deep cellar where the emperor"s treasures were kept.
Ileane now began to scream: "Help!" and when all the servants came rushing in to see what had happened, she told them she had heard a noise and was afraid that some one had got into the cellar to rob the emperor of his treasures. The servants did not waste many words, but instantly opened the iron door and went into the cellar, where they found the prince and brought him in disgrace to be sentenced.
Ileane p.r.o.nounced judgment.
Twelve girls under punishment for some offense were to carry him out of the country, and when they had reached the frontier with him, each one was to give him a kiss.
The order was obeyed. When the prince reached home and joined his brothers, he told them the whole story, and after every thing had been related their hearts were filled with rage. So they sent word to the two older princesses that they must arrange to have Ileane go to the three princes" court, so that they might revenge themselves upon her for the insult she had offered them. When the oldest daughter received this message from the prince she pretended to be sick, called Ileane to her bedside, and told her that she could not get well unless Ileane brought her something to eat from the princes" kitchen.
Ileane would have done any thing for her sister"s sake, so she took a little jug and set off for the court of the three princes, to beg or steal. When she reached the palace, she rushed breathlessly into the kitchen and said to the head-cook:
"For heaven"s sake, don"t you hear the emperor calling you? Make haste, and see what is the matter."
The cook took to his heels and ran as fast as he could, as though he had received an imperial command. Ileane, left alone in the kitchen, filled her jug with food, emptied all the dainty dishes that were on the fire upon the floor, and went away.
When the princes heard of this insult they were still more enraged than before, sent another message to the two sisters and again prepared a revenge. As soon as the second sister received the news, she, too, pretended to be ill, called Ileane to her bed, and told her that she could not get well unless she tasted the wine in the princes"
cellar. Ileane would have done any thing for her sister, so she took the little jug and prepared to go again.
When she reached the court she rushed into the cellar, and, panting for breath, said to the head-butler:
"For heaven"s sake, don"t you hear the emperor calling you? Make haste and see what is the matter." The butler took to his heels and ran as if he had received an imperial command. Ileane filled her jug with wine, poured out the rest on the cellar floor, and then hurried home.
The princes sent a third message to the two princesses and told them they must send Ileane in a different way from what they had done before. This time both the princesses feigned illness, called their sister to them, and told her that they could not get well unless Ileane brought them two of the princes" apples.
"My dear sisters," replied Ileane, "I would go through fire and water for you, how much more willingly to the princes." Taking the little jug she set off to find, seize, and bring back the fruit and save her dear sisters" lives.
When the youngest prince learned that Ileane was coming to the garden to steal the golden apples, he gave orders that, if groans were heard there, n.o.body must dare go in, but let the person who was wailing, moan in peace. Then he hid huge knives, swords, spears, and many other things in the earth under the tree that bore the golden apples, concealing them so that only the sharp points rose out of the ground.
After he had finished, he hid himself in a clump of bushes and waited for Ileane. She came to the gate, and seeing the two huge lions that kept guard there flung each of them a piece of meat; the lions began to tear it, and the princess went to the apple tree, stepped cautiously between the knives, swords, spears, and other things, and climbed into it.
"May this do you much good, little sister," said the prince. "I"m glad to see you in my garden."
"The pleasure is mine," replied Ileane, "since I have so brave and handsome a prince for my companion. Come, climb the tree and help me pick some apples for my dear sisters, who are dangerously ill and have asked for them."
The prince wanted nothing better--he meant to pull Ileane from the tree among the knives.
"You are very kind, Ileane," he replied, "be kinder still and give me your hand to help me up into the tree."
"Your plan is wicked," thought Ileane, "but it shall work your own misfortune." She gave him her hand, pulled him up the trunk to the branches, and then let him drop among the knives, swords, spears and other such things, which had been put there for her own destruction.
"There you are," she said, "now you will know what you meant to do."
The hero with the black soul began to shriek and groan--but n.o.body came to help him; they left him, according to his own orders, to moan in peace, and he was obliged to bear his terrible sufferings patiently.
Ileane took her apples, carried them home, gave them to her sisters, and then went back to the imperial palace and told the servants to go and rescue their master from his great danger.