Chapter 39 38. Quack!stick to!

A king had a daughter who was as beautiful as sunshine.If she hadn't made an appointment with her father, she would have become the target of all the princes and nobles. It was at a banquet given by the king, and all the guests were talking and laughing happily, but the princess was sullen and sullen.Others at the table asked her, "Why are you so sad?" She didn't answer anything.Everyone tried to make her laugh, but no one succeeded. "My daughter, are you angry?" the father asked her. "No, no, Dad." "Then why don't you smile?" "I will never laugh in my life."

When the king heard this, he had a plan and said, "Have a personality! Since you are so determined not to laugh, let's try it out. No, let's make a rule. You will marry whoever makes you laugh." " "Very well," said the princess, "but I will add this condition: whoever comes to make me laugh, but fails, shall be beheaded." In this way, the treaty was established, and the people at the banquet were all witnesses. Once the words were spoken, neither party could go back on their word. This incident spread quickly everywhere, and many princes and nobles wanted to come and try their skills in order to win the favor of this beautiful princess.But everyone who came to try gave away their heads.Every morning, the princess came to the balcony to wait for the new suitor.In this way, several years passed, and the king was a little worried that his daughter would become an old maid like lettuce that has been left for a long time.

At this time, the news also spread to a small village.We all know that in the countryside, people have the custom of gathering together at night to chat, so naturally we talked about the promise of the princess.A lad with a scar on the crown of his head, the son of a poor cobbler in the village, was listening with his mouth open.So he said, "I'm going to try!" "Go! Stop talking silly, son." Dad told him. "Dad, I'm going to have a look. I'm leaving tomorrow." "They're gonna kill you, they're not kidding." "Daddy, I want to be a king!"

Everyone laughed and said, "Yes, yes, a king with scars on his head!" The next morning, the cobbler had long forgotten his son's weird thoughts, but unexpectedly saw him appear in front of him and said, "Father, I'm leaving now. Because of my scars, no one would like me here." .You will give me three loaves, three pennies, and a bottle of wine." "But you want to..." "I've thought it all over." After finishing speaking, he set off on the road. As he walked, and as he walked, he met a poor woman who was staggering along with a stick.The scarred boy asked, "Ma'am, are you hungry?"

"Yeah, boy, I'm starving, do you have anything for me?" The scarred boy offered her one of the three loaves, which she ate immediately.Seeing that the woman was so hungry, the young man handed her the second piece of bread. At this time, he saw that the woman was really pitiful, and he even gave her the third piece of bread. Walking, walking, the young man met a woman in rags again. "Son, can you give me some money to buy me a dress?" The man with the scarred head gave her a big coin, and then he thought that one big coin might not be enough, so he gave her another one. Seeing how pitiful the woman was, he also gave her the third big coin.

Walking, walking, the young man met another old woman, with a wrinkled face, standing on the road, panting for breath with her tongue out from thirst. "Son, if you could give me some water to moisten my tongue, it would save my life." The scarred boy immediately handed her the bottle, and the old woman took a sip.But the boy told her to drink more until there was not a drop left in the bottle.When she looked up, she was no longer an old woman, but a beautiful blond girl with little stars twinkling on her head. The girl said to him, "I know where you are going, and I know you have a good heart. The three old women you met were all changed by me. I want to help you. You put away this beautiful goose." , keep it with you at all times. This goose, when someone touches her, it will croak, and you must immediately say: stick to it." After finishing speaking, the beautiful girl disappeared.

The man with the scarred head continued on the road with the goose behind him.Walking to a small inn in the evening, he had to sit on a bench outside the inn because he was penniless.The innkeeper came out to drive him away, when his two daughters saw the goose, and said to their father, "Please, don't drive this stranger away. Let him come in, and let him have something to eat." Get some sleep." When the owner saw the goose, he immediately understood what the two daughters were thinking, and said, "Well then, young man, you can sleep in the first-class guest room here. As for the goose, we will put it in its nest."

The man with the scarred head said: "The goose doesn't need to be penned. Let me take it with me. This goose is too beautiful to be kept in the pen." When he had eaten, the man with the scarred head went to bed, and put the goose under his bed.As he was falling asleep, he seemed to hear a noise, and then he heard a goose calling: "Quack!" "Stuck!" cried the lad, standing up to see what was happening. It was the shopkeeper's daughter, who crawled over in her pajamas, grabbed the goose, and tried to pluck its feathers, but was stuck to the goose. "Help! Sister! Pull me away!" she yelled.When the younger sister heard the shout, she also rushed over in her pajamas. She hugged her waist and tried to pull her away from the goose, but the goose cried again: "Quack!" !" In this way, my sister was also stuck.

The young man came to the window to watch, it was almost dawn.He put on his clothes and went out of the inn, followed by the goose and the two daughters of the shopkeeper who were stuck to it.Halfway there, I met a priest.Seeing the owner's two daughters in their pajamas, the priest said, "Oh, I'm not ashamed to go out in such clothes in broad daylight! Let me teach you a lesson!" Then he spanked them on the buttocks. "Quack!" cried the goose. "Stuck!" said the man with the scarred head, and the priest was stuck too. The young man continued to walk forward, and the three of them stuck to the goose and followed behind.They met a tinker who was carrying pots of all kinds and sizes. "Ah, it opened my eyes! The priest's hand has touched there! See how I deal with you!" As he said, he picked up the wooden stick and hit it.

"Quack!" cried the goose. "Stuck!" cried the man with the scarred head, and the Tinker was stuck, too, with a string of pots and pots. This morning the King's daughter was standing on the balcony as usual.Just in time, I saw such a group of people coming: a young man with a scarred head, a goose, the owner's eldest daughter stuck to the goose, the second daughter stuck to the eldest daughter, the priest stuck to the second daughter, and the tinker with a big pot and a small pot Glued to the priest.It didn't matter, the princess laughed like crazy, and then she called her father out, and the king laughed too when he saw it, so that everyone in the palace climbed to the windows and laughed.

Just as everyone was laughing, the goose and those people it stuck to disappeared. Only this skinny boy was left.He climbed the stairs and came before the king.The king glanced at him, and saw that he was covered with scars and patched in rough clothes, and was at a loss for a moment. "My boy," said the King, "I will hire you as a servant, will you?" The man with the scarred head refused, and offered to marry the princess anyway. In order to delay the time, the king had someone take him to take a good bath, and then put on a noble dress.When he stood before them again, he was almost unrecognizable, and he looked so handsome, that the Princess looked at her with such tender eyes, and fell in love with him at first sight. The first thing the boy did was to pick up his father.When he arrived home in his carriage, the poor cobbler was sitting on the threshold mourning, complaining that his only son had left him. The young man took his father back to the palace, and took him to meet his king's father-in-law and the princess bride, and then held the wedding. (Friuli region)