THE WONDERFUL HAIR
Once upon a time there lived a man who was poor. And he had many children whom he could not keep, so that several times he had been on the point of killing them all in order not to see them die of hunger. And it was but due to the pleadings of his wife that he did not do it.
Now one night, whilst he was asleep, a lovely child appeared to him and said, "Oh, man, I see you are about to sacrifice the salvation of your soul by killing your poor children. I know you are in great distress, and therefore I have come to help you. To-morrow morning early you shall find under your pillow a mirror, a red handkerchief, and an embroidered scarf. Take these three things, and without telling anyone go into the forest. There you will discover a river; walk along it till you come to its fountain-head, and there you will behold a maiden resplendent as the sun with Long hair flowing over her shoulders, but she wears no clothes, just as she was born. But beware, and do not speak a word, unless you want something evil to befall you, for at the first sound you utter she will bewitch you and turn you into a fish or something similar and eat you. If, however, she tells you to scratch her head gently, do not refuse, and then when you rummage through her hair and find one that is as red as blood, pull it out and hasten back with it; and if the maiden should notice it and begin to run after you, then let drop first the embroidered scarf, next the red handkerchief, and finally the mirror. Each time she will tarry a moment, and these delays will help you to escape. Try then to sell the hair to a rich man, and take care not to be defrauded, for the hair is of enormous value; you will be a rich man with the money you can get for it, and you will be able to keep your children."
When the poor man awoke in the morning he actually found everything under his pillow just as the child had told him in his dream. At once he set out and went into the forest. When he had discovered the river, he followed its course till he reached its fountain-head.
Looking about there he beheld the maiden, who was sitting on the edge of the spring catching sun-beams, which she drew through a needle in order to embroider a cloth woven from the hair of heroes. As soon as she caught sight of him she rose and said, " Whence do you come, unknown hero?" But he answered nothing. So she asked him again, "Who are you, and why have you come here?" and many other questions. But he remained as dumb as a stone. Only with his hands he made signs that he was dumb, and had come for help.
Then she told him that he was to sit down at her feet, and bending down her head, she asked him softly to scratch it. Without hesitation he did so, and eagerly searched for the red hair, and hardly had he found it, than he separated it carefully from the others, plucked it out, leaped up, and ran away with it as fast as his legs would carry him.
The maiden, noticing this, and not less swift than he, rushed after him, and soon was close on his heels, when, turning round, he saw she was fast overtaking him; so he threw down the embroidered carf as he had been told. When she beheld the scarf she stopped running, and commenced to examine it thoroughly and to admire the embroidery. Meanwhile the man gained again considerably. Then the maiden hid the scarf in her bosom and hastened after him. And when once more he saw himself almost overtaken, he threw down the red handkerchief, over which she tarried, gazing at it in admiration, so that the poor man succeeded in gaining further ground. Angry on perceiving this, the maiden now threw away scarf and handkerchief, and pursued him once more. Now being very much pressed, he threw down the mirror. The maiden had never seen a mirror in her life. So she picked it up, and beholding herself in it, she thought another being similar to herself was gazing at her, and whilst she was lost in the contemplation of it the man covered such a great distance that she would never have been able to overtake him. So she gave up the pursuit and returned home.
The poor man, however, well and cheerful, reached his house, showed the hair to his wife and children, and related all that had happened. His wife laughed and sneered at him on account of that red hair; however, he paid no attention to her, but went into the nearest town to sell the red hair.
Soon a number of curious people gathered around him, several merchants amongst them. One of them offered him a sovereign, another two sovereigns for it. Higher and still higher prices were offered until the bidding had risen to one hundred pounds. By that time the Tsar, too, had heard about it, and he ordered the man to be brought before him, and offered him a thousand pounds for the hair. At this price the man sold it to him. Now, what was the matter with this hair? The Tsar split it carefully into two, and found in it the records of many events worth knowing that had happened since the creation of the world.
Thus the man became rich, and henceforth with his wife and children he lived happily ever after. And the child that had appeared to him in a dream had been an angel sent by our Lord God, who wanted to help the poor man, and also because He chose that in this way the mysterious facts and wonderful deeds recorded within that hair should see the light of day, for these facts and deeds had never until then been revealed.
No comments:
Post a Comment