"Forwards!" answered Petru. "Do not worry yourself. If I have escaped without being frozen, there is no chance of my melting."
"Why not? This is a heat that will melt the marrow in your bones--a heat that is only to be felt in the kingdom of the G.o.ddess of Thunder."(3)
(3) In the German "Donnerstag"--the day of the Thunder G.o.d, i.e.
Jupiter.
And it WAS hot. The very iron of the horse"s shoes began to melt, but Petru gave no heed. The sweat ran down his face, but he dried it with his gauntlet. What heat could be he never knew before, and on the way, not a stone"s throw from the road, lay the most delicious valleys, full of shady trees and bubbling streams. When Petru looked at them his heart burned within him, and his mouth grew parched. And standing among the flowers were lovely maidens who called to him in soft voices, till he had to shut his eyes against their spells.
"Come, my hero, come and rest; the heat will kill you," said they.
Petru shook his head and said nothing, for he had lost the power of speech.
Long he rode in this awful state, how long none can tell. Suddenly the heat seemed to become less, and, in the distance, he saw a little hut on a hill. This was the dwelling of the G.o.ddess of Thunder, and when he drew rein at her door the G.o.ddess herself came out to meet him.
She welcomed him, and kindly invited him in, and bade him tell her all his adventures. So Petru told her all that had happened to him, and why he was there, and then took farewell of her, as he had no time to lose.
"For," he said, "who knows how far the Fairy of the Dawn may yet be?"
"Stay for one moment, for I have a word of advice to give you. You are about to enter the kingdom of Venus;(4) go and tell her, as a message from me, that I hope she will not tempt you to delay. On your way back, come to me again, and I will give you something that may be of use to you."
(4) "Vineri" is Friday, and also "Venus."
So Petru mounted his horse, and had hardly ridden three steps when he found himself in a new country. Here it was neither hot nor cold, but the air was warm and soft like spring, though the way ran through a heath covered with sand and thistles.
"What can that be?" asked Petru, when he saw a long, long way off, at the very end of the heath, something resembling a house.
"That is the house of the G.o.ddess Venus," replied the horse, "and if we ride hard we may reach it before dark"; and he darted off like an arrow, so that as twilight fell they found themselves nearing the house.
Petru"s heart leaped at the sight, for all the way along he had been followed by a crowd of shadowy figures who danced about him from right to left, and from back to front, and Petru, though a brave man, felt now and then a thrill of fear.
"They won"t hurt you," said the horse; "they are just the daughters of the whirlwind amusing themselves while they are waiting for the ogre of the moon."
Then he stopped in front of the house, and Petru jumped off and went to the door.
"Do not be in such a hurry," cried the horse. "There are several things I must tell you first. You cannot enter the house of the G.o.ddess Venus like that. She is always watched and guarded by the whirlwind."
"What am I to do then?"
"Take the copper wreath, and go with it to that little hill over there. When you reach it, say to yourself, "Were there ever such lovely maidens! such angels! such fairy souls!" Then hold the wreath high in the air and cry, "Oh! if I knew whether any one would accept this wreath from me... if I knew! if I knew!" and throw the wreath from you!"
"And why should I do all this?" said Petru.
"Ask no questions, but go and do it," replied the horse. And Petru did.
Scarcely had he flung away the copper wreath than the whirlwind flung himself upon it, and tore it in pieces.
Then Petru turned once more to the horse.
"Stop!" cried the horse again. "I have other things to tell you.
Take the silver wreath and knock at the windows of the G.o.ddess Venus.
When she says, "Who is there?" answer that you have come on foot and lost your way on the heath. She will then tell you to go your way back again; but take care not to stir from the spot. Instead, be sure you say to her, "No, indeed I shall do nothing of the sort, as from my childhood I have heard stories of the beauty of the G.o.ddess Venus, and it was not for nothing that I had shoes made of leather with soles of steel, and have travelled for nine years and nine months, and have won in battle the silver wreath, which I hope you may allow me to give you, and have done and suffered everything to be where I now am." This is what you must say. What happens after is your affair."
Petru asked no more, but went towards the house.
By this time it was pitch dark, and there was only the ray of light that streamed through the windows to guide him, and at the sound of his footsteps two dogs began to bark loudly.
"Which of those dogs is barking? Is he tired of life?" asked the G.o.ddess Venus.
"It is I, O G.o.ddess!" replied Petru, rather timidly. "I have lost my way on the heath, and do not know where I am to sleep this night."
"Where did you leave your horse?" asked the G.o.ddess sharply.
Petru did not answer. He was not sure if he was to lie, or whether he had better tell the truth.
"Go away, my son, there is no place for you here," replied she, drawing back from the window.
Then Petru repeated hastily what the horse had told him to say, and no sooner had he done so than the G.o.ddess opened the window, and in gentle tones she asked him:
"Let me see this wreath, my son," and Petru held it out to her.
"Come into the house," went on the G.o.ddess; "do not fear the dogs, they always know my will." And so they did, for as the young man pa.s.sed they wagged their tails to him.
"Good evening," said Petru as he entered the house, and, seating himself near the fire, listened comfortably to whatever the G.o.ddess might choose to talk about, which was for the most part the wickedness of men, with whom she was evidently very angry. But Petru agreed with her in everything, as he had been taught was only polite.
But was anybody ever so old as she! I do not know why Petru devoured her so with his eyes, unless it was to count the wrinkles on her face; but if so he would have had to live seven lives, and each life seven times the length of an ordinary one, before he could have reckoned them up.
But Venus was joyful in her heart when she saw Petru"s eyes fixed upon her.
"Nothing was that is, and the world was not a world when I was born,"
said she. "When I grew up and the world came into being, everyone thought I was the most beautiful girl that ever was seen, though many hated me for it. But every hundred years there came a wrinkle on my face. And now I am old." Then she went on to tell Petru that she was the daughter of an emperor, and their nearest neighbour was the Fairy of the Dawn, with whom she had a violent quarrel, and with that she broke out into loud abuse of her.
Petru did not know what to do. He listened in silence for the most part, but now and then he would say, "Yes, yes, you must have been badly treated," just for politeness" sake; what more could he do?
"I will give you a task to perform, for you are brave, and will carry it through," continued Venus, when she had talked a long time, and both of them were getting sleepy. "Close to the Fairy"s house is a well, and whoever drinks from it will blossom again like a rose. Bring me a flagon of it, and I will do anything to prove my grat.i.tude. It is not easy! no one knows that better than I do! The kingdom is guarded on every side by wild beasts and horrible dragons; but I will tell you more about that, and I also have something to give you." Then she rose and lifted the lid of an iron-bound chest, and took out of it a very tiny flute.
"Do you see this?" she asked. "An old man gave it to me when I was young: whoever listens to this flute goes to sleep, and nothing can wake him. Take it and play on it as long as you remain in the kingdom of the Fairy of the Dawn, and you will be safe.
At this, Petru told her that he had another task to fulfil at the well of the Fairy of the Dawn, and Venus was still better pleased when she heard his tale.
So Petru bade her good-night, put the flute in its case, and laid himself down in the lowest chamber to sleep.
Before the dawn he was awake again, and his first care was to give to each of his horses as much corn as he could eat, and then to lead them to the well to water. Then he dressed himself and made ready to start.
"Stop," cried Venus from her window, "I have still a piece of advice to give you. Leave one of your horses here, and only take three. Ride slowly till you get to the fairy"s kingdom, then dismount and go on foot. When you return, see that all your three horses remain on the road, while you walk. But above all beware never to look the Fairy of the Dawn in the face, for she has eyes that will bewitch you, and glances that will befool you.
She is hideous, more hideous than anything you can imagine, with owl"s eyes, foxy face, and cat"s claws. Do you hear? do you hear? Be sure you never look at her."
Petru thanked her, and managed to get off at last.
Far, far away, where the heavens touch the earth, where the stars kiss the flowers, a soft red light was seen, such as the sky sometimes has in spring, only lovelier, more wonderful.