East O' the Sun and West O' the Moon & Other Norwegian Fairy Tales by George Webbe Dasent

Author:George Webbe Dasent
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780486147994
Publisher: Dover Publications
Published: 2012-10-11T00:00:00+00:00

Tatterhood

ONCE ON a time there was a king and a queen who had no children, and that gave the queen much grief; she scarce had one happy hour. She was always bewailing and bemoaning herself, and saying how dull and lonesome it was in the palace.

“If we had children there’d be life enough,” she said.

Wherever she went in all her realm she found God’s blessing in children, even in the vilest hut; and wherever she came she heard the housewives scolding the children, and saying how they had done that and that wrong. All this the queen heard, and thought it would be so nice to do as other women did. At last the king and queen took into their palace a stranger lassie to rear up, that they might have her always with them, to love her if she did well, and scold her if she did wrong, like their own child.

So one day the little lassie whom they had taken as their own, ran down into the palace-yard, and was playing with a gold apple. Just then an old beggar wife came by, who had a little girl with her, and it wasn’t long before the little lassie and the beggar’s child were great friends, and began to play together, and to toss the gold apple about between them. When the Queen saw this, as she sat at a window in the palace, she tapped on the pane for her foster-daughter to come up. She went at once, but the beggar-girl went up too; and as they went into the Queen’s bower, each held the other by the hand. Then the Queen began to scold the little lady, and to say—

“You ought to be above running about and playing with a tattered beggar’s brat.”

And so she wanted to drive the lassie down-stairs.

“If the Queen only knew my mother’s power, she’d not drive me out,” said the little lassie; and when the Queen asked what she meant more plainly, she told her how her mother could get her children if she chose. The Queen wouldn’t believe it, but the lassie held her own, and said every word of it was true, and told the Queen only to try and make her mother do it. So the Queen sent the lassie down to fetch up her mother.

“Do you know what your daughter says?” asked the Queen of the old woman, as soon as ever she came into the room.

No; the beggar-wife knew nothing about it.

“Well, she says you can get me children if you will,” answered the Queen.

“Queens shouldn’t listen to beggar-lassies’ silly stories,” said the old wife, and strode out of the room.

Then the Queen got angry, and wanted again to drive out the little lassie; but she declared it was true every word that she had said.

“Let the Queen only give my mother a drop to drink,” said the lassie; “when she gets merry she’ll soon find out a way to help you.”

The Queen was ready to try

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