Once upon a time there was an old king. This old king went to bed in sorrow, and woke up in sorrow, because he prayed to God in vain to bless him with a son, but he could not bless him with a son or a daughter. His night was sorrow, his day was sorrow. He was always wondering to whom he would leave his kingdom and his kingdom.
Once, as he was coming out of the church, a foolish, half-minded man passed by.
It says:
- Well, it's always bitter. But it's bitter until the great sorrow catches up with it.
When the king hears this, he stops the man and asks him:
- What did you say, huh?!
- I say, my sovereign king, that he will mourn till the great sorrow overtakes him.
- What do I mean? - asks the king.
- So, my sovereign king, that you are always bitter after a boy. But his real sorrow will not be until that son is born.
The king had enough of the king's questioning, what harm could he have in it. But one word from the half-witted man was not enough, nor could more be extracted.
Well, a day or two goes by. Well, one morning, the king is crying like a baby. God blessed him with a beautiful golden-haired child.
The king was happy, not knowing what he was doing in his joy. It is true that he was glad, for there was no other child of this name in the seventeenth kingdom.
When he was twelve days old, he was already talking. At six weeks old, he was running around in the yard. At a year old he was a big lad.
But when the boy was three and a half years old, the king's great joy turned to great sorrow. The boy told his father that he was going away, and that he would not stop until he had found the princess who was making the forest green and the fields bloom. Whether she will return or not, God only knows. But even if he lives, he will find this princess and marry her.
The old king wept, the queen even more. Their cries made the palace ring. They begged him not to go. For they had never heard of such a queen.
In vain they talked, in vain they begged, the prince said goodbye to his parents, and mounted his beloved horse. Fifty brave men on horseback followed him, and so they went their way.
Year after year after year, they kept going. They ran out of money, and one by one they had to sell the fifty horses to the fifty men. He sent them all home, but he was left alone. Then he had to sell his own horse, and went on his way on foot.
Then he arrived in a land without grass, trees or flowers. The whole country was an awful desolation.
The prince went on his way in great sorrow, and in the evening he came to a town. There he asks a man:
- Why is there no grass, no trees, no flowers in this country?
- "Hey, sir," says the man, "there's a big reason for that! Six months before this, there was grass and flowers and everything in this country. But then the country was under a curse, and it will not be free from it till the princess, who is a forest-greener and a field-flowerer, has a husband of her own choice, and travels through our country with him.
The prince asks:
- Where does the princess live?
- Oh, sir, I know not that, no soul knows that! There's an old blind beggar in the town, if he knows.
Then the man told the prince why the country had been cursed.
- 'It is because,' said the man, 'the king has sold his only son to Satan without his knowledge. And it came to pass that the king was beaten in the war, and was taken prisoner, and was about to be hanged. As he was sitting in the dungeon, praying and preparing to die, suddenly the door opened, and he entered
a man in rags, and said to the king, 'Sire, my king, do not be grieved, for I will deliver you and your kingdom if you give me the dearest of your wives.
The king promised, of course he did, for he had no children at that time. He did not know that while he was at war, his wife had a son. This man in rags was Satan himself, and he delivered the king, restored his kingdom, and drove the enemy away. Oh God, what joy the king had when he came home, when he saw his beautiful little son!
I had a big dinosaur fight in the palace, but it was so big that it didn't end for seven months. And on the last day of the seventh month, when the king was in the greatest revelry, Satan came in and asked the king:
- My sovereign King, after your wife, what is dearest to your Majesty's heart?
The king looks at the man in the shining, shining clothes and says:
- Well, my son! What else could it be!
- If it be, I will take it with me, for your Majesty promised me.
- But you're not! - cried the king, and he and his servants threw Satan out.
And then time passed. When the boy was about to turn seven, Satan came again and asked for the boy. But the king threw him out again.
But now Satan was not taking it lightly. He was very angry, and uprooted every tree and grass, and told the king that not a blade of grass would come up until he gave him his son.
The king went to and fro, asking how the country could be freed from this curse. But no one could find it out. Only an old blind beggar said something to the king, that they should wait patiently, not to give the king's wife to Satan, because the country would be freed from the curse if the king's wife, who was a forest-greener and a field-flowerer, would get a husband of her own choice and travel through the country with him.
The prince had no peace of mind. He went straight to the old blind beggar. The old beggar was lying in bed, it seemed to him that he was preparing to die. The prince greeted him:
- Good evening, my brother!
- God grant me, my dear boy, why have you come here? No human soul comes to me.
- "Hey," says the prince, "only my brother can help me!
- Well, then just give him what you want! For I have but one hour to spare, and then I'll go to the other world.
The prince tells you what he wants.
- Hm, my son, I can show you the way, you can find that royal lady. But what good is she to you? She cannot be your wife, for she must have a bachelor who is a late-born child. Who never heard of her from any man, and yet knows she is in this world.
- "Very well, then," said the prince, "for I have heard of it but to-day from another, and for three years I have been seeking it.
- "Well, my dear boy," said the old blind beggar, "then God has brought you to me, and it's a good thing you came today, for tomorrow you would have been late. Here, my son, I'll give you a stick. Whatever you think, whatever you wish, you have only to draw in the dust with this wand, and it will come to you.
As the old beggar said this, he died in the blink of an eye. The prince gave the blind beggar a nice burial, then set off in the direction of the tower.
As he went, he wandered through a great wilderness, he was very weary, but he saw no water.
nowhere.
- "Oh, my God," sighed the prince, "I wish I had an apple!
Yes, he thinks, he tries the stick. He draws an apple in the dust, and at that moment a beautiful red apple has grown out of the ground.
- 'Is it so,' says the prince, 'is it really such a stick?
He drew a winged carriage with it, and there it was. He got into the carriage and flew with it through forests, fields and seas. At one point he landed at the end of a town, the very end of the town where the princess lived.
But this country was only a real green country. It was winter, and yet the woods were green, and the flowers were open everywhere. He asks the people what in the world is this?
- 'It is no wonder,' said the people, 'that the princess makes the forest green and the field bloom in winter.
The prince went straight to the king's court. Just then the coachman took four fine horses into the carriage. He asks the coachman:
- Where are you going, my friend?
- I'm taking the princess to the ball, says the coachman.
Suddenly the prince turned and went out to the gate, and there he lay in wait for the princess to go.
When the carriage went out of the gate, he suddenly drew himself a carriage, with four horses, and drove after the princess. He remembered well which house he went up to. And she went into an inn, and there she drew herself with her wand a beautiful silver gown. She took it and went to the ball.
After all, there were many handsome Dali lads, princes and counts. But when he entered, all eyes were fixed on him, and especially on the Princess. The princess danced a dance or two with others, but all night long she walked with the prince.
The next day there was a ball, and the prince went to that too. But now he was dressed in gold. When the princess came home from the ball, she fell into her father's arms, crying.
- My dear soul, father, I shall die if I cannot be the dali's handsome lad, who wore a silver gown to the ball the first night, and a gold one the next.
- But be his wife now, whoever his son and son-in-law may be," says the king. And he proclaimed that all the lads who were at this and that ball should appear before him.
They all came, except the prince. The king's wife wept, the king mourned, the king waxed pensive, for his only daughter was half dead with grief.
Then the king commanded that as many lads as there were in the land should come to him, that the princess might find the handsome lad who was so beautiful.
The lads of all orders were gathered together, and the prince was not among them. Then the innkeeper came up to the palace and reported that he had a wandering lad who had not yet been to the king. Soldiers were immediately sent for him, and brought him, so that his feet did not touch the ground.
They bring him before the queen, and the king asks:
- Now, my daughter, is this the lad?
- This is my soul, my father, this.
But there was great rejoicing, especially when they learned that this handsome lad from Dali was not a commoner, but a prince. They immediately called for a priest, got the young men together, and made a feast for seven countries.
Then the prince drew a winged chariot, and when it was in front of him, he and his wife sat in it, and behold - behold! - As the chariot flew through that land that was a desolation, the earth was full of grass, and wood, and flowers.
They spoke a little to the king, then, without resting, they flew home to the prince's old parents.
Well, it's a good thing they've arrived, for the old king and queen were crying so much for their son that they almost lost their sight. And they held another feast. For seven days and seven nights the guests were always in attendance, and they may still be rejoicing to this day, if they are not dead.
(Elek Benedek: Hungarian tale- and mythology Volume 2)
