Hungarian Folk Tales: The Cursed Castle
Once upon a time, long ago and far away there lived a poor woman who had a daughter.
They were both so very poor, that they had to live in a crumbling house,
and that was all they had.
One day the old woman fell ill and she called to her daughter:
My sweet darling daughter, I am sure I shall soon die.
I have nothing to leave you, so you should go find work as a servant and try to live as best you can.
And with that she closed her eyes and died.
She was buried by the people of the village because her daughter had no money to pay for the funeral.
All she had was a blanket.
So she took her blanket and off she went to see the world.
From time to time she tried begging for food or shelter but nobody ever gave her anything.
The people said: You're strong enough to find work.
Which was true but the girl was lazy.
She found shelter in a garden, and stayed there until summer passed.
Then when autumn came she hid in sheds and barns and stables.
One fine day she arrived in a town,
and it was there that she heard that the king had a castle for sale.
The castle will be sold to the person who would not haggle or bargain
but pay the price on the spot.
So the girl thought to herself:
I will buy that castle. I'll lie and say that I have the asking price.
And she did exactly that.
She went up to the king, telling him that she would buy the castle.
Well, well – said the king – the king has as many windows as there are days in the year,
and as many doors as there are days, and rooms as there are months.
And that is why the price to pay is 365 forints, no more, no less.
If you can pay up without bargaining, the castle will be yours.
There will be no bargain, your majesty.
I do not have the money with me now for many debtors owe me this amount
but I promise to pay you back as soon as I get my money,
and all you have to do is set a deadline.
Very well, young lady, let us agree on 365 days.
Very well – she thought – that is exactly one year from now,
and even if they hang me after that, on my dying day I will be able to tell everyone
that I slept in a real royal castle.
The king gave her the keys and the girl walked up to her new room.
When she was there she inspected all 12 rooms one by one.
Then she locked the door, and placed one half a blanket on the floor,
and used the second half to cover herself.
All of a sudden, she heard something that sounded like a meowing cat.
Meow, meow.
Poor cat, you must be as lonely as me.
So she got up and let in the cat.
It was a horribly fat black cat.
Come over here! Come on, lie next to me and start purring into my ear,
then at least I won't feel lonely!
The cat cuddled up next to her and purred so sweetly that the girl fell fast asleep.
When she woke around daybreak she couldn't find the cat anywhere.
She reached for the key which was under her head where she put it,
the door was locked, the windows were closed.
How could the cat have left the room?
Well anyway, if you've left, you've left, you surely know how.
When evening came, she laid down once again.
The cat returned once more and so she asked it:
Where have you been? How did you get out?
But the cat just started meowing, and as it opened its mouth a magnificent diamond rolled onto the floor.
The girl picked it up, turned it around in her hand, not knowing quite what it might be.
Finally she put the stone into a pot, and pulled the cat next to her.
The cat started purring and the girl fell asleep. This continued for a month and a day.
Just you wait, I'm going to find out about that cat! – the girl thought.
And she did exactly that.
When the cat appeared in the evening, she stroked it gently, with loving care.
The cat put down the gemstone from its mouth, and the girl placed it in the pot.
The cat started purring to send the girl to sleep but this time the girl only pretended to slumber.
And all of a sudden, when the cat thought that the girl was already fast asleep,
the animal sprang up, stamped once with his foot,
the door swung open and in a moment it was gone.
The girl did the same: she also sprang to her feet and raced after the cat.
The cat ran along a long corridor leading into the castle.
There were doors on both sides but the cat did not enter any of them.
When it reached the very last room it stamped with his foot and entered.
The girl followed it in. When she stepped into the room she saw a door opening in the wall.
There were stairs leading downwards. The cat started descending.
The girl followed it. And lo and behold, there were magnificent trees on both sides of the stairs!
The girl broke two little twigs from each of them but when the twigs broke
they started jingling and this caused the cat to turn around.
Had she not hidden behind the tree, it would certainly have discovered her.
But the cat decided to walk on, and as it went, the girl heard beautiful music coming from down below.
When the cat reached a spot he did a somersault,
and when it landed it had turned into a heartbreakingly handsome young prince.
Music was playing and there were smiling people and great merriment everywhere.
The girl observed everything she saw before she finally went back to her room.
That evening the cat returned once again, bringing yet another gemstone in its mouth.
It dropped it in front of the girl. The girl pretended not to know a thing about it.
You're such a good-for-nothing cat! Where have you been again? You keep escaping from me!
But the cat just kept on purring, cajoling the girl and after a while the girl said:
I know where you've been, I know who you are, I've seen everything!
Look at this! This is the proof!
The cat let out a scream so loud that all the windows broke.
Then it shed its skin and the girl was looking at a very handsome young prince
standing right in front of her.
The cat-turned-prince said:
I was cursed to live as a cat until a girl came and discovered where I was going.
Now that you have discovered my secret, I will let you have all of these gemstones.
Sell them to a jeweller, and use the money to pay for the castle.
And so it happened.
The girl paid the price for the castle, she married the prince, the wedding feast was grand
and they both lived happily ever after.