grey fairy tale book

Chapter 31 Buck Eatonsuch's Daughter (2)
"Why can't it be?" replied the Bull. "If you come early tomorrow morning and hide behind that tree, you will see her with your own eyes."

The prince left the garden, and the bull continued to work.The next day the prince came to the garden early.It was found that the bull was busy turning the waterwheel.

"Has the girl appeared?" asked the prince.

"Not yet, but soon. You will be hiding in the branches, and you will see her soon."

The prince did as the bull said.As soon as he sat down, the girl pushed the pane open.

"Morning, Buck? Etonsage girl!" said the Bull. "Your father wants to fatten you up and roast you on a spit."

"My father raised me fat and fat, and he doesn't intend to eat me. If I get one of your eyes, I'll use it as a mirror, looking at the front and looking at the back. Now, your girth will be If it loosens, the eyes will go blind—for seven days and seven nights.”

After the girl said these words, the bull fell to the ground.The girl closed the window and walked away.The prince knew now that the bull was telling the truth, and that the girl was as beautiful as anyone else in the world.The prince came down from the tree, and the spark of love was kindled in his heart.

"Why didn't the monster eat her?" thought the Prince, "I will invite him to dinner at my palace tonight, and ask him some more about the girl, to see if she is his wife."

So, the prince ordered someone to kill a big ox, make a whole roasted ox, and prepare two big vats, one filled with water and the other filled with wine.In the evening, he called his followers and came to the yard of the monster's house to wait for him to return from hunting.The monster was surprised to find so many people gathered in front of his house.He bowed respectfully, and said: "Good morning, dear neighbours, what right do I have to be treated like this? I hope I have done nothing to offend you?"

"Oh, of course not!" replied the Prince.

"Then," continued the monster, "what made your majesty come to the humble house for the first time?"

"I want to have dinner with you," said the prince.

"That's good, dinner is ready, welcome, welcome!" The monster replied, leading everyone into the house.Because he was very lucky that day, the bag hanging on his shoulder contained a lot of prey that day.

The table was set quickly.As soon as the prince took his seat, he suddenly exclaimed: "I almost forgot, Buck Eatonsuch, I want to invite you to eat with me."

"Where is it?" asked the monster.

"In my palace. I know it's ready."

"But that's too far away. Why not right here with me?"

"Oh, I'll come back another day. But tonight I must be the host."

So the monster returned to the palace with the prince and his followers.

After a while, the prince turned to the monster and said, "I now appear before you as a suitor. I want to find a wife from a famous family."

"But I don't have a daughter!" replied the monster.

"Oh no, you have one. I saw her by your window."

"Well, if you want, then you can marry her." Said the monster.

Therefore, the prince and his attendants accompanied the monster home, and the prince was very happy along the way.When parting, the prince said to the monster: "You will not forget our deal, will you?"

"I'm not a brat, and I never break my promise." After the monster finished speaking, he entered the room and closed the door.

Upstairs, he found the girl waiting for him to come back to eat, because she didn't like to eat alone.

"I have already had my supper," said the monster, "for I have been with the Prince all night."

"Where did you meet him?" asked the girl.

"Oh, we were neighbours. I promised to marry you to him tonight."

"I don't want to be anyone's wife," replied the girl.She was pretending, but she was actually very happy.

In the early morning of the next day, the prince came and brought the bride price and gorgeous wedding dress to marry the girl back to the palace.

When the girl was leaving, the monster called her to her face and said, "Daughter, be careful, don't talk to the prince. If he talks to you, play dumb unless he says 'Look at Buck? Eton Thatch For'', you can talk to him."

"Okay then." The girl replied.

The girl and the prince set off.When he reached the palace, the prince took the bride into the room which he had prepared for her, and said to her, "Speak to me, my wife." But the girl said nothing.After a while, the prince walked away, thinking that perhaps she was being too shy.On the second day, the girl still didn't speak, on the third day, on the fourth day...

Finally, the prince said: "Well, if you don't talk, I will find someone who is willing to talk to me to be my wife." The prince really did.

One day after the new wife was brought back to the palace, the daughter of the Buck Eatonsuch family got up and said to the maids who served the bride: "Everyone come and sit down. I will prepare the feast." All the maids did as she said. He sat down and waited quietly.

The girl also sat down and shouted: "Chaihuo, come here." So Chaihuo came. "Fire, come here." So the fire came and lit the firewood. "Wok, come here, and the oil too." So the pot and the oil came over. "Oil, go to the pot!" she said.So the oil did.When the oil in the pan boiled, the girl put all her fingers in it, and the fingers immediately turned into ten fried fish. "Zao, come here." So Zao came over. "Fire, heat up the stove." So Fire did as well.When the stove was very hot, the girl jumped in at once, with her gold and silver dress and all her jewels.After a while, she turned into a snow-white loaf that made people drool.

Bread said to the maidservants: "Now, you can eat, don't stand so far away." But the maidservants just looked at each other, too surprised to say a word.

"What are you all looking at?" asked the bride.

"We are looking at this spectacle," replied the handmaidens.

"You call this a spectacle?" the bride said contemptuously, "I can do it too." After saying that, she jumped into the stove and was burnt in a short while.

The maidservants all ran to the prince and said, "Come quickly, your wife is dead."

"Then bury her!" he answered, "but why would she do it? I'm sure I never told her to jump into the oven."

By order of the prince, the charred woman was buried.The prince did not attend the woman's funeral, because all his thoughts were still on the wife who refused to talk to him.The next night he said to her: "Dear wife, are you afraid that something terrible will happen to you after you speak to me? If you insist on being dumb, I shall have to take another wife back."

The poor girl really wanted to talk to the prince, but, out of fear of the monster, she kept silent.

The prince did what he said and married another wife.After she and her maidservants were seated solemnly, the girl erected a sharp wooden stake on the ground, and then sat on it with ease and spun around.

"What are you all looking at?" the bride asked the maidservants, "Do you think that's great? It's nothing, I can do it too."

"I promise you can't do it," they said together, a little faux pas in being too surprised.

Then the girl jumped off the stake and left the room.

The bride sat on the girl's seat, was pierced by a sharp stake, and died.So the maidservants went to invite the prince and said, "Come quickly! Bury your wife."

"Go and bury her yourselves," answered the Prince. "What on earth is she doing this for? It was not my order that she be impaled upon the stake."

So they buried her.In the evening the Prince went to the daughter of Buck Eatonsuch, and said to her, "Speak to me, or I shall have another wife." But she was still afraid to speak to him.

The next day, the prince hid in his room and observed the girl.As soon as the girl woke up, she said to the clay pot and the pitcher, "Quick, go to the spring and get me some water, for I am dying of thirst."

Then the two jugs went to fetch water.As they were drawing water from the spring, the pitcher knocked against the clay pot and knocked the mouth off.The clay pot cried, and ran to the girl and said, "Mistress, teach the jug a lesson, it knocked my mouth off."

"For Buck Eaton Thatch's sake, I beg you not to hit me," said Jug.

"Ah!" said the girl, "if my husband had sworn like that, I could have spoken to him in the first place, and he would never have married another girl. But he will never say that now, and Will go on to marry a new wife."

When the prince heard this from his hiding place, he got up quickly, ran to the girl and said, "For Buck? Eaton Sage's sake, talk to me!"

So the girl talked to the prince, and lived happily ever after, because she kept her promise to the monster.

(End of this chapter)