Chapter 61 60. The shepherd boy is king

When a young man was herding sheep, a sheep fell into a deep ditch and died.Back home, his parents, who had always looked down upon him, scolded and beat him, and finally drove him out of the house in the dark night.The young man was walking in the mountains while crying, and later found a cave.He spread some dry leaves in the hole, and then curled up his almost frozen body as much as possible, but he couldn't sleep. In the darkness, a man also came to the cave and said to the young man, "You have taken my bed, you daredevil. What are you doing here so late?" The young man told him with trepidation how he had been kicked out of the house, and asked to stay overnight here.

The man said, "How clever you are to spread some dry leaves here! I didn't even think of it, so you stay." As he said, he lay down on the side himself. The young man huddled his body together, trying not to disturb that person. He also pretended to be asleep, and his whole body didn't move up and down, but in fact, he didn't close his eyes at all, looking at the person next to him vigilantly.The person next to him didn't fall asleep either. He thought the young man had already fallen asleep, so he murmured with a laugh: "This young man, you spread dry leaves for me in the cave, so you didn't want me to sleep well, so you put your own Leaning on one side, what gift can I leave him? I can give him a napkin, and every time he unfolds it, a rich meal will be prepared for him at his request; I can also give him a Every time the box is opened, there will be a gold coin inside; I can also give him a hand organ, and whenever he plays the piano, everyone who hears the music will dance with their hands."

The young man slowly fell asleep amidst the man's muttering to himself.At dawn, he woke up thinking he had a dream.But beside him on the leaves, there really was a napkin, a box, a hurdy-gurdy.The man was gone, and the boy hadn't even seen his face. He walked and walked, and came to a bustling city, where a jousting tournament was about to be held.The king promised that whoever wins will be able to marry the princess and get all the treasures abroad.The boy thought to himself: I can use this box for a while, and if he can give me gold coins, I will also sign up for the tournament. He started opening and closing the box, and every time he opened it, he got a shiny gold coin.He bought horses, armor, and princely clothes, and hired some guards and servants, and pretended to be the son of the king of Portugal.In the tournament, he defeated all the contestants, and the king finally announced that he would be the princess' husband.

But this young man who grew up in the flock always appeared to be uneducated when he came to the palace: he ate with his hands, wiped his hands with the tablecloth, and patted the Marquise on the shoulder.Suspicious, the king sent envoys to Portugal and learned that the Portuguese prince was suffering from edema and never left the palace.So, the king immediately sent someone to arrest the imposter young man and put him in prison. The cells of the palace are just below the banquet hall.As soon as the lad was brought into his cell, all the nineteen prisoners there laughed at him, because they knew that he wanted to be the king's son-in-law, but the lad didn't mind.At noon, the jailer brought a large pot of boiled beans to the prisoner as usual, but the young man stepped forward and kicked the pot over, and all the vegetables in the pot were scattered on the ground.

"You are crazy! What are you letting us eat now? You have to pay us for what we eat!" At this time, the young man said: "Don't worry, come and see." He said, took out a napkin from his pocket, and said, "Prepare twenty copies." Then, he unfolded the napkin.Immediately there was a lunch in the cell for twenty, consisting of soup, staple food, and fine wine.Everyone rushed over to congratulate the young man. The jailer saw that the pot of boiled beans was overturned on the ground every day, but the prisoners became stronger and stronger, so he went to report to the king.The king was also curious and came to the cell to ask what was going on.The young man took a step forward and replied: "In answer to your words, Your Majesty, I prepared the food and drink for my companions, which is better than the banquet in the palace. If you don't believe me, I invite you to taste it, and you will definitely return with satisfaction." .”

"Very well," said the king. The young man unfolded the napkin and said, "Prepare meals for twenty-one people, and ask for the king's specifications." After speaking, a very rich and delicious meal appeared immediately, and the king happily sat among the prisoners and ate. When the meal was over, the king said, "Will you sell me that napkin?" "Why not, Your Majesty?" he replied, "but on one condition, that is, you must allow me to sleep overnight with your daughter, who is my betrothed fiancée." "All right, prisoner," said the King, "but on condition that you lie motionless and silent beside your bed, and that the windows of the room are open and the lamps are lighted, and that there are eight guards in it. If you If you agree, that's fine, if you don't want to, then don't talk about it."

"Of course I will, Your Majesty. We have agreed." So the king got the napkin, and the boy slept with the princess, but he could neither speak to her nor touch her.In the morning he was taken back to his cell. When the prisoners saw him coming back, they began to taunt him loudly again: "What a shame! Look at this fool! Now we have to eat boiled beans every day again! What a stupid condition you made with the king!" The young man was not angry at all: "Can't we buy food with money?" "Who has money?" "Look at it." After the young man finished speaking, he immediately took out a gold coin from his pocket.In this way, they asked people to buy a delicious meal from a restaurant near the palace, and the bean pot was put on the ground again.

The jailer ran to the king again to complain, and the king came down to the cell again.After knowing the magic power of this box, ask: "Can you sell it to me?" "Of course, Your Majesty." He agreed with the king on the same terms as last time.So he gave the box to the king, and slept with the princess again all night, neither touching nor speaking to her. When the prisoners saw him again, they laughed at him and said, "Hey, we are eating boiled beans again, how happy we are!" "Of course, happiness is indispensable. If we can't eat, we can dance happily."

"what do you mean?" The young man took out the accordion and started to play it.Immediately the prisoners danced around him, the iron chains on their feet clanging and rattling.The minuet, the gavotte, and the waltz couldn't stop. The guard next to him heard the music and started dancing too, with the keys on his belt jingling. At this time, the king and his guests were sitting at the banquet table. When they heard the sound of the accordion from the prison below, they all stood up and jumped up, like a group of people possessed by demons, and they didn't care about anything. The maid dances with the servant, the knight dances with the cook.The furniture danced too, plates and bowls and crystal glasses jumped up and down, and roasted chickens flew everywhere.Someone hit the wall, someone hit the ceiling.While ordering the dancing to stop, the king continued dancing himself.Suddenly, the young man stopped playing the piano, and everyone fell to the ground, dizzy and weak in their legs.

The king went down to the cell, panting, and said, "Who is to blame for this?" "It's me, Your Majesty." The young man stepped forward and said. "Would you like to try it?" He played a note on the accordion, and immediately the King lifted a leg and took a dance step. "Stop! Stop!" said the king hastily.Then he asked, "Sell it to me?" "Yes, Your Majesty!" replied the lad. "What conditions?" "as usual." "Hey, Your Majesty, we have to set new conditions this time, otherwise I will play the violin again."

"Stop it, stop it, tell me your terms." "As long as I can talk to her tonight and she can answer me." The king thought for a while, finally agreed, and said, "But I have to send twice as many guards, and I have to light two lamps in the room." "It's up to you." The king immediately called the princess secretly, and said to her: "Pay attention, I tell you, no matter what that rascal asks you tonight, you just answer 'no', and don't say a word." do it. In the evening, the young man went to the princess's brightly lit room full of guards, lay down on the bed, and kept a distance from the princess.Then he said, "My bride, do you think we should keep the windows open in this cold weather?" The princess replied, "No." "Do you hear me, guard?" cried the young man, "and close the window as the princess ordered." The guard did so immediately. After a quarter of an hour, the young man said again: "My bride, do you think it is appropriate for these guards to stand around and stare at us while we lie on the bed?" The princess replied, "No." The young man shouted: "Guards! Did you all hear? Go out as the princess ordered, and don't come and watch again." The guards couldn't believe their ears and went back to sleep. After another quarter of an hour, "My bride, do you feel comfortable sleeping with two lamps?" The princess replied, "No." So he turned off the light, and the room was dark. The young man touched the edge of the bed, lay down and said, "Honey, we are a legal couple, but there seems to be a barbed fence between us, so far away. Are you willing to do this?" The princess replied, "No." So the boy stretched out his arms and embraced the princess tightly, and kissed her. After daybreak, the king came to his daughter's room, and the daughter said to him, "I have obeyed your orders. I have done everything I have to do. This young man is my lawful husband. Please allow us to marry." Seeing that this was the case, the king ordered a grand wedding, and let the people hold dances and tournaments.The lad became the king's son-in-law, and then heir to the throne.From a shepherd boy to a king for life, such was his destiny. (Montale Pistoia area)