Hungarian Folk Tales: The Silken Meadow
Once upon a time there lived a great king
and the king had a gallant handsome son.
But alas the king was always sad.
One day his son decided to ask him why he was always so sad,
and his father the king replied:
I see my son that you are a valiant man of courage and skill,
for you triumph over the finest swordsmen
and you fell the most ferocious beasts.
But I can find no joy in this, for I have a close friend from whom six months ago I received a message.
There is a beautiful silken meadow in the middle of the golden forest,
my friend lives there.
But the witches were so envious of his wondrous lands
that they sent their minions to descend on him in their thousands.
He has begged me to come to his aid.
But as you see, I am old, and I cannot go.
Dear father, then I will go. I will wander the forest until I find your friend.
Good, my son, may the Lord go with you.
But listen closely to me. Behind the stables there is a large pit full of mud.
There you will find the horse I rode in my youth. I owed you to take him as your mount.
But first you must feed him. In the garden you will find twelve bundles of wood.
Set them all aflame, and when they have burnt to cinders, take the horse from the pit and feed him,
for he eats nothing but smoldering coals.
So he set the wood aflame, and when it had burnt to cinders, the prince took the horse from the mud pit,
and dragged him to the burning coals.
Then the horse began to eat and grew visibly stronger and more vigorous.
When he had finished, his coat glistened.
The prince stood gaping in wonder, for he had noticed that the horse had six legs.
His father spoke: Now, dear son, go up to the attic.
There you will find shimmering swords, but among them you will see one covered with rust. Take it as yours.
So the prince went up to the attic and brought down the rusty sword.
He tried to draw it from its cupboard, but he was unable.
No son, that is not how you draw this sword.
You tell it: sword, come forth from your scabbard.
Hardly have the prince out of these words
and the sword flew from the scabbard slicing the air with a swoosh.
Now tell it: sword, come back to your scabbard!
Hardly had the prince uttered these words and the sword was already back in its scabbard.
Father and son embraced.
Both shedding tears, they bid farewell.
The prince mounted the six legged horse and the horse flew into the air, straight as an arrow.
Then the horse slowed and began to descend into a beautiful forest filled with trees of gold.
There the prince set off on foot.
Soon he saw the edge of the silken meadow,
and in the middle of the meadow, a tent.
And when he reached the tent, he saw a grey-haired man sleeping on a bed.
One of the corners of the tent there hung a curtain.
Pulling the curtain aside, he saw a beautiful gold bed
and in it lay a maiden with golden hair and a golden dress.
One of her legs and one of her arms were hanging off the side of the bed,
and the prince stepped over to her, took her leg in his hand, and placed it gently back on the bed.
The maiden was not asleep, but she watched him out of the corner of one eye.
When the prince took her hand to place it on the bed,
the maiden wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.
Let us be man and wife and live together forever more.
I know you are tired so step back to the middle of the tent and sleep.
The prince did as she asked and immediately fell into a deep slumber.
As the prince fell asleep, the old man awoke and saw that there was a stranger in the tent.
He drew his sword to fell the strange man and as he was about to strike,
it occurred to him to wonder: This man also has a sword,
I myself was asleep when he entered, he could have slain me.
I will not do him any harm.
When the young prince awoke from his slumber, the old man spoke:
Boy, who are you and what do you seek here?
Unless I'm mistaken, it is you that I seek. My father sent me to come to your aid.
You're the son of my dear friend the Red King?
I am.
It is good that you have come, for the witches' minions have been besieging me now for well over a year,
and I see you have brought your father's sword, the companion to mine.
For you should know, young prince, that no matter how many witches I slay with mine,
ten thousand more come in their place.
Do you see that huge mountain?
An old witch lives in a cavern in the mountainside, and she sends her minions in droves to attack me.
Until we slay her I will have no peace.
They rose early the next day, and as the sun rose the witch's minions came in droves.
And they poured down the mountainside like lava from a hot volcano.
Then they drew their swords and slashed them to pieces.
The Red Prince set off for the mountain.
His sword sliced through the witches like a knife through warm butter.
When they reached the hole in the mountainside, he decided to go in and see what lay inside.
And what do you think he saw?
In the middle of a huge cavern a loom, and at the loom an old woman,
whose nose was so long and so crooked it reached the ground.
And the old witch pedaled so hard, that every time she lifted the shuttle a hundred have a minion sprang forth.
Ordered them to attack the aged man: Go forth, to the silken meadow, kill the old man!
The prince led to the witch's side, took the dagger from his belt,
and thrust it into her heart.
And what happened then?
The huge mountain crumbled into dust and was scattered by the winds,
in the space of a moment it was if it had never even been there.
And what was there in its place?
A beautiful silken meadow.
The old man called his daughter forth and spoke:
Good prince, I have no other child, only this one daughter.
If you love her, I shall give you her hand in marriage, and with it my entire kingdom.
So the priest came, and the prince and the maiden were married in the silken meadow,
and they all lived happily ever after.