Tatterhood and Other Feisty Folk Tales [S.S. Col.] [Fairy Tales col.] by Lamond Margrete

Author:Lamond, Margrete [Lamond, Margrete]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fairy Tales, Fantasy, Fiction, Folk Tales, Short Stories
ISBN: 9781743433607
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Published: 1999-01-01T02:00:00+00:00

The Goosegirl

Long ago, in the far, far north, when queens lived in wooden houses and princesses wore clogs, it was possible to walk from one kingdom to the next in a single day. Or, if not one day, then two. Or three.

In one such kingdom there lived a goosegirl who tended the king’s geese. She watched over them as they grazed by day, and slept amongst them in the straw by night. The girl was hardly a fit sight for the king’s estate, but in those days – when bathtubs were rare and even queens had tangles – a little muck was counted as none at all; and besides, a goosegirl was little better than a goose.

Now the king had a son, and he was at an age when marrying was on his mind more often than most things else. In fact, he was ready to travel the world in search of a bride. To lighten his task, the king sent painters far and wide to make portraits of any royal maidens they might find. It was from these pictures that the prince would make his choice.

As it was, the goosebyre was underneath the loft where the prince had his bed. The ceiling of this byre was so low, and had such great windy gaps in it, that the goosegirl knew nearly everything that went on above her head. Among other things, she knew of the marrying that was on the prince’s mind.

Well, the goosegirl had a few things on her own mind to match.

She started making it her business, therefore, not just to graze the geese, but to graze them along the paths where the prince might walk.

‘Is that you, then, little goosegirl?’ the prince would say in passing, to which she would reply, ‘Indeed it is. Here I sit, biding my time, waiting for the prince to come by.’

With a glance at her grimy wrists, the prince would say, ‘He’s hardly for the likes of you to be awaiting!’ – but ‘Oh, yes!’ the goosegirl would respond. ‘Not only shall I meet him, but I shall have him,’ while to herself she added, ‘for as I intend, so it happens.’

Now, from looking at the paintings, the prince had seen a princess whom he liked better than the rest. He liked her so well, in fact, that he walked across several kingdoms, in as many days, to ask her hand in marriage.

It was a pleased and footsore prince who returned with his betrothed.

As it happened, this prince had a stone. It was no ordinary stone, but one which he consulted on matters both great and small. It told him what he wished to know, and understood the hearts and minds of all who went near it.

When the princess arrived, therefore, the goosegirl called her aside.

‘If you have ever loved another before now,’ she whispered to the princess, ‘or if there are secrets in your heart you don’t want the prince to know, then take care not to step on the stone which he puts by his bed.

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