AV��ʪ

Tale Summary

Once upon a time there was a girl whose father made her work hard every day, and one morning she was sent out to collect firewood. After she had made a large bundle, she stopped to pick a sprig of rosemary for herself, but it would not budge. With one great tug, she unearthed the plant, and a handsome young man appeared and asked why she was stealing his firewood. She told him that it was because her father had ordered it, and the young man took her through the opening made by the torn up roots of the rosemary until they reached a beautiful palace, and he told her that he was a great lord and that she was the most beautiful maiden he had ever seen. The two got married, and the next day the housekeeper handed the girl all of the keys to the house, but pointed to one of them and warned her never to use it, or else the castle would crumble and the damsel herself would be forgotten. She promised not to use the key, but after a time the maiden became bored and curious, and so used it to open a chest, having to break the lock. Inside, she found a serpent’s skin, as unbeknownst to her the lord she had married was a magician who donned the snake skin at work. She turned away in disgust and the castle fell apart, and the maiden found herself in the middle of a field. She was sorry for losing her husband whom she loved, and so broke off a sprig of rosemary and resolved to search the world for him. After walking for a long time she reached a house of straw and became a servant, but she grew more and more sad and at last her mistress begged her to tell her what was the matter. She listened to the story and advised the maiden to ask the Sun, the Moon, and the Wind if they had seen him. She reached the Golden Castle of the Sun and asked for his help, but he had not seen her husband, and out of pity gave her a nut to open in a time of distress. She thanked him and walked to where the Moon lived and asked for help, but she had not seen her husband either, and gave her an almond to crack if she was in great need. She thanked her and walked to another castle, and asked for the help of the Wind. She told him her story and he gave her a walnut to eat in a time of need, but the girl stayed and wept. The Wind set out to find her husband, and came back with the news that he was hidden in the palace of the king and was to be married to an ill-tempered princess. The maiden asked the Wind to help her put off the wedding for several days in order for her to reach her husband, and so he blew through the wedding preparations and the tailors who were working on the wedding gown lost their work as it whizzed through the air. The king realized that his daughter could not be married without a beautiful gown to make up for her poor looks, and postponed the wedding until the tailors could come up with a new dress. By this time, the maiden had arrived, and when she reached the door of the castle she cracked her nut and out came the most beautiful mantle in the world. The princess was delighted with it, and gave the maiden a large sum of gold. Then, she broke her almond and procured a magnificent petticoat, which the princess gladly purchased from her. Lastly, she cracked her walnut and found the most splendid court dress, and this time she told the lady that the price being given permission to see the bridegroom was her price. The princess knew that she needed the dress, and that the other two items she bought would be useless without it, and so granted her wish. The maiden was led to her husband’s room and touched him with the sprig of rosemary. His memory of her came back and he declared that she was his true wife. They went back to the maiden’s home and lived happily for the rest of their lives.

��