Chapter 48 47. The princess who never gets tired of eating figs

A king issued a proclamation: whoever can make his daughter tired of eating figs, he can marry her.So a suitor went with a large basket of figs, but she ate up the whole basket before he could offer her one with his own hands.After eating up, she said, "Bring it again!" Three brothers were digging in a field.The eldest said, "I don't want to dig any more. I'm going to try and make the King's daughter tired of figs." He climbed up the fig tree with a large basket, filled it full, and carried it to the palace.On the way he met a neighbor who said, "Give me a fig."

"That will not do," said he, "I will tire the King's daughter with figs, and that may not be enough now." And with that he went on. He reached the palace and was taken to the king's daughter.He put the figs in front of the princess.The moment she finished eating, if he hadn't lifted the basket quickly, she would have swallowed the basket too. The boss returned home.The second child said, "I've had enough rummaging, and I want to try my luck and let the king's daughter get tired of figs." He climbed the tree, filled the basket, and left the house.He ran into that neighbor too."Give me a fig," said the neighbor.

The second child shrugged and left.However, in front of the princess, he hurriedly picked up the empty basket, otherwise she would have eaten the basket too. Then, the third child also said that he wanted to go to the palace to try. As he was walking with his basket on his shoulders, the neighbor also asked him for a fig. "You can take three." He said and handed over the basket. After the neighbor ate a fig, he gave him a magic stick and explained: "When you get to the palace, just tap the ground with this stick, and the empty basket will be filled." The princess ate all the figs in the basket, but the youngest tapped it with a stick, and the basket was full again.After knocking in this way two or three times, the princess said to the king, "Figs! Pooh! I'll never look at them again!"

The king said to the young man: "You have won, but if you want to marry my daughter, you must go across the ocean to invite her aunt to the wedding." After hearing what the king said, the third child went home sullenly.When he came back, he met the neighbor again at the door and told him about his difficulties.The neighbor gave him a trumpet and said, "Go to the seaside and play the trumpet. The princess's aunt lives on the other side of the sea. She will come across the sea when she hears the sound of the trumpet. Then you take her to the king." The boy played the trumpet, and the princess' aunt came across the sea.When the king saw her enter the palace, he said to the young man, "Well done! But, if you want to marry my daughter, you must bring back a golden ring that was sunk at the bottom of the sea."

The third child went back to his neighbor.The neighbor said: "Let's go to the beach and play this trumpet again." He did so.Suddenly, a fish jumped out of the water with a ring in its mouth.When the king saw that the ring was brought, he said to the young man again, "There are three hares in this bag. They are for the wedding banquet, but the rabbits are too thin. You take them to the forest and graze them for three days and three nights, and then you Put them back in this bag." However, who has heard of letting wild rabbits in the forest and catching them back?He went to ask the neighbor for advice, and the neighbor said: "When it gets dark, you just blow this horn, and the rabbit will come back into the bag."

So the young man went to the forest and raised the three hares for three days and three nights.On the third day, the princess' aunt came into the forest in disguise. "My boy, what are you doing in the forest?" "Watching three wild rabbits." "Sell me one." "I don't sell." "How much does a rabbit cost?" "One hundred crowns." The princess' aunt gave him a hundred crowns, and took the rabbit away. The boy waited, and when she was almost home, he blew the horn.The rabbit broke free from the aunt's grasp, ran back to the forest, and got into the bag.

Then the princess also disguised herself and went into the forest. "What are u doing?" "Take care of the three rabbits." "Sell me one." "I don't sell." "How much do you want to sell one for?" "Three hundred crowns." She paid the boy three hundred crowns, and took the hare away.But when she was almost home, the boy blew his trumpet, and the hare broke free from her again, ran back into the forest, and got into the bag. At last the King himself came into the forest in disguise. "What are u doing?" "Take care of the three rabbits."

"Sell me one." "I want to sell one for three thousand francs." Again, this time the rabbit still broke free from the king's grasp and went back into the bag.Three days and three nights passed, and the boy returned to the king."There is one last test," said the king, "and you will marry my daughter. You will fill the bag with facts." At this time, the neighbor was still standing at the door of his house, and he said to the young man, "You know what you did in the forest. Tell the king about it, and the bag will be full." The lad returned to the king.As he spoke, the king opened the mouth of the sack. "My aunt came into the forest and bought a rabbit for a hundred crowns, but it ran away from her and returned to the bag; your daughter bought a rabbit for three hundred crowns, and it ran away from her It fell back into the bag; in the end, Your Majesty, you bought a rabbit for three thousand kronor, but it broke free from your grasp and ran back into the bag."

These words are all true, and the bag really swelled up at this time. At last the king realized that he had no choice but to betroth his daughter to the young man. (Romania region)