University of Virginia Library

LIII.—THE DAUGHTER OF THE KING OF THE VILAS.

There was a mother, who was expecting. As she once
upon a time came out of church from mass, her pains fell
upon her. Whither should she go? She concealed herself
under a bridge, and became the happy mother of a son.
The three Royenitzes also came thither. They are hags,
who determine by what death every child is to pass from
this world. One said: `Let us kill him at once.' The
second said: `Not so; but when he grows up, then let us
kill him, that his mother's sorrow for him may be greater.'
But the third said: `Let us not do so; but if he does not
take the daughter of the king of the Vilas to wife, then let
us kill him.' And so it was settled.

When he had grown up, he said to his mother: `Mamma,
I should like to marry.' `Ah, my son, you say that you
would like to marry; but there is no one to be married to
you.' He asked her: `Why not?' She told him: `Yes;
the Suyenitzes have pronounced your fate, that if you do not
take the daughter of the king of the Vilas to wife, they will
put you to death.' He then said: `Well, I'll go in search
of her; but first I'll go to ask a certain old smith; maybe
he'll be able to tell me where she is.' The smith said:

`My son, it will be difficult for you to find out; but go to
the mother of the moon; if she can't tell you, I don't know
who will be better able to tell you than she.' He also gave
him three pairs of iron shoes, and sent him off to the mother
of the moon. `Only, when you come to her, take her by
the arm, then she will ask you at once what you want, and
tell her without delay.' He went off, and just as he was on
the point of wearing out the shoes, he came to the moon's
mother, and took her by the arm. She asked him immediately
what he wanted. He said: `I want to find the
daughter of the king of the Vilas.' She said: `Well, my
son, I don't know; but maybe my son knows. Wait till
he comes home, and then you can ask him. But he mustn't
find you; he would tear you to pieces at once. When he
comes home, he will notice that you are here. I will conceal
you, and when he asks for the third time where the
Christian soul is, then say to him: "Here I am!" and he
won't be able to do anything to you.' The old woman hid
him under a trough. The moon came home, and asked:
`Mamma, you have a Christian soul here.' And when he
asked for the third time where the Christian soul was, he
announced himself: `Here I am.' And then he could
do nothing to him, otherwise he would have crushed him
to powder. He asked him what he wanted. He said: `I
want to find the daughter of the king of the Vilas.' The
moon: `I don't know, but if the sun's mother doesn't
know, I don't know who else does.' And he showed him
the way by which he must go.

He put on the second pair of shoes, and when he was just on
the point of wearing them out, he came to the sun's mother,
and took her by the arm. She said to him at once: `What
do you want?' He said to her that, if she knew where the
Vilas' castles were, he wanted to obtain the daughter of the
king of the Vilas. She then said to him: `Ah, my son, I

don't know; but if my son doesn't know, I don't know who
else does. Wait a little till he comes home.' She, too,
concealed him under a trough, and he announced himself
the third time that the sun asked: `Mother, you have a
Christian soul here:' saying, `Here I am.' Neither could
the sun do anything to him, but asked him what he wanted.
He replied that he was in search of the Vilas' castles, and
the daughter of the king of the Vilas. Then the sun said
to him: `Ah, I don't know; but if the storm-mare (that is,
the storm or wind) doesn't know, then I don't know who
will know.' Then he showed him the road, and said: `When
you come to a meadow where the grass is up to your knees,
there the storm-mare is. If you don't find her there, wait
for her; she will come to feed. Don't go directly to her,
but hide behind a tree or in a hole, and when she comes,
take her at once by the bridle, otherwise it will not be good
for you.'

He went off, and put on the third pair of shoes, then
went and went, and arrived at the meadow. When he got
there, the storm-mare was not there till dawn. He hid himself
under a bridge, and when she came to the bridge to
drink water, he seized her by the bridle, and she asked him
what he wanted. He replied that he wanted to find the
daughter of the king of the Vilas. She answered him:
`Mount on my back.' He mounted, and she then said to
him: `But you mustn't fall off.' She reared; he almost
fell off, but kept himself on with his foot. She reared a
second time, and then, too, he almost fell off. A third
time she reared, and then, too, he almost fell off, only he
kept himself on with his knee. Then she said to him:
`This will be harmful to me.' She went off with him like a
bird, and sped and sped up to two steps. When she came
near them, the steps split in twain from the gust, but speedily
closed again, and tore off a piece of the mare's tail. Then

the mare said to him: `You see how you harmed me when
you almost fell off.' Then they went on till they arrived at
the Vilas' castles. Then she said: `Don't get drunk or
forget, so as not to come to me.' He said that he would
come, and went off upwards. They received and entertained
him, and he asked them at once to give him the
king's daughter. They promised that they would give her
to him. Then they feasted, and ate and drank till darkness
came on. And when evening arrived, he said that he must
go out on his own account, and would return directly. He
went off to the storm-mare. They had brought her a
hundred quintals of hay. He concealed himself in the
mare's tail. They sought him, and couldn't find him; but
nevertheless they almost found him at dawn; but a cock
began to crow, and then they could do nothing to him.
Afterwards he went indoors, and they gave him again to eat
and drink, and asked him where he had been. He replied:
`I slept under a hedge; I fell down, and soon fell asleep on
the spot.' They gave the mare a hundred quintals of hay
and several measures of oats. They enjoyed themselves the
whole day till evening. He went out again and hid himself
in the mare's mane. They sought him all night long, but
couldn't find him; but at dawn an old witch told them that
he was in the mane. They would almost have found him
there, but the cocks began to crow, and they couldn't kill
him now. But afterwards they killed all the cocks in the
whole village. He went again into the castle. They gave
him what he wanted to eat and drink, and the mare, as
usual, a hundred quintals of hay and several measures of
oats, and said to him: `You must not go out anywhere in
the evening; we will prepare everything for you that you
require.' When evening came, they were on friendly terms
with him, but nevertheless dispersed. He went out, and
went to the mare. Where did she bestow him? She hid
him under her foot in her shoe, for she had a large foot.
They went to seek him again. But during the day he took
two eggs, and the mare hatched them by evening in her
throat, and they had almost grown up by evening. When
they sought him again, they couldn't find him. At dawn
they consulted the old witch. She told them that he was
under the mare's hoof. They wanted now to take him out,
but the cockerels which the mare had hatched in her throat
began to crow. They could do nothing to him, but they
wrung the two cockerels' necks. Now he said that they
must give him the king's daughter, that he might depart.
But the king said that he wouldn't give her to him, because
he had not slept where he had prepared a bed for him.
He declared that he had been drunk and had gone out, had
fallen down, and gone to sleep on the spot. But the king
would not believe him. Now he begged him to bring his
daughter to him, that he might at any rate give her a kiss.
But beforehand the mare instructed him that, when she
came to kiss him, he was to seize her and pull her on to her
(the mare), and they would escape with her. And he was
also to take a brush with which horses are cleaned, a comb
with which horses are combed, and a glass of water, and
make good preparations for himself. But when the king
granted his request that his daughter should come for him
to kiss her, she stood on his foot in the stirrup, and as she
stood to give the kiss, off started the mare, and made her
way through the gate, and on and on she went. The king
saw this, called for his horse, and after them. They were
already far on their way. All of a sudden the mare said:
`Look round to see whether anyone is coming behind us.'
He looked round and said: `There is; he is all but catching
you by the tail.' The mare said: `Throw the brush!'
He threw the brush, and a forest placed itself behind them,
so that he could scarcely make his way through; the poor
king could scarcely get through for thorn bushes. And they
had meanwhile got a long way forward. The king, however,
forced his way through, and again after them with speed,
till he was again on the point of catching them. Then the
mare said: `Look round to see whether anyone is coming
behind us.' He looked round and saw that he was already
near, and the mare was all but caught by the tail, and said:
`He is near, and you are all but caught by the tail.' The
mare said: `Throw the comb.' He threw it, and a great
chain of mountains, one after the other, placed itself there;
and on they went further, so that they had already gone a
great space, and the king with difficulty made his way over
the mountains, and again after them, so that he was again
on the point of overtaking them. The mare told him to
look round to see whether anyone was coming behind them.
He said that there was, and that she was all but caught by
the tail. The mare said: `Throw the glass with water.'
He threw it, and a great flood of water arose, so that the
king could with difficulty get across. And they had already
got a long way on. No sooner had the king got out of the
water, when on he went with speed, with speed, again after
them, and was already on the point of overtaking them,
when the mare was already near the steps, and the steps
opened from the gust of wind, and the mare sped through,
and they closed again, and the king couldn't proceed further
through the steps, and shouted loudly: `Son-in-law, don't
go any further; I cannot do so. Let not my daughter complain
that I have given her nothing.' Then he somehow
threw his girdle over the steps, for he had nought else to
give her save that girdle. And the girdle was such that
whatsoever its owner wanted, he obtained. Then the king
returned, and they remained happy. He thanked the storm-mare
courteously, and went home with speed, for he bade
the girdle place them at his house. They prepared a grand
banquet, for they had plenty, and I was at the banquet and
feasted.