The Valiant Tailor
There was once upon a time an excessively proud Princess, who proposed a puzzle to every one who came a-courting; and he who did not solve it was sent away with ridicule and scorn. This conduct was talked about everywhere, and it was said that whoever was lucky enough to guess the riddle would have the Princess for a wife. About that time it happened that three Tailors came in company to the town where the Princess dwelt, and the two elder of them were confident, when they heard the report, that they should without doubt be successful, since they had made so many fine and good stitches. The third Tailor was an idle, good-for-nothing fellow, who did not understand his own trade; but still he likewise was sure of his own powers of guessing a riddle. The two others, however, would fain have persuaded him to stop at home; but he was obstinate, and said he would go, for he had set his heart upon it; and thereupon he marched off as if the whole world belonged to him.
The three Tailors presented themselves before the Princess, and told her they were come to solve her riddle, for they were the only proper people, since each of them had an understanding so fine that one could thread a needle with it! “Then,” said the Princess, “it is this: I have a hair upon my head of two colours; which are they?”
“If that is all,” said the first man, “it is black and white like the cloth which is called pepper and salt.”
“Wrong!” said the Princess; “now, second man, try!”
“It is not black and white, but brown and red,” said he, “like my father’s holiday coat.”
“Wrong again!” cried the Princess; “now try, third man; who I see will be sure to guess rightly!”
The little Tailor stepped forward, bold as brass, and said, “The Princess has a gold and silver hair on her head, and those are the two colours.”
When the Princess heard this she turned pale, and very nearly fell down to the ground with fright, for the Tailor had guessed her riddle, which she believed nobody in the world could have solved. As soon as she recovered herself, she said to the Tailor. “That is not all you have to do; in the stable below lies a Bear, with which you must pass the night; and if you are alive when I come in the morning I will marry you.”
The little Tailor readily consented, exclaiming, “Bravely ventured is half won!” But the Princess thought herself quite safe, for as yet the Bear had spared no one who came within reach of its paws.
As soon as evening came the little Tailor was taken to the place where the Bear lay; and, as soon as he entered the stable, the beast made a spring at him. “Softly, softly!” cried the Tailor, “I must teach you manners!” And out of his pocket he took some nuts, which he cracked between his teeth quite unconcernedly. As soon as the Bear saw this he took a fancy to have some nuts also: and the Tailor gave him a handful out of his pocket; not of nuts, but of pebbles. The Bear put them into its mouth, but he could not crack them, try all he might. “What a blockhead I am!” he cried to himself; “I can’t crack a few nuts! Will you crack them for me?” said he to the Tailor. “What a fellow you are!” exclaimed the Tailor; “with such a big mouth as that, and can’t crack a small nut!” With these words he cunningly substituted a nut for the pebble which the Bear handed him, and soon cracked it.
“I must try once more!” said the Bear; “it seems an easy matter to manage!” And he bit and bit with all his strength, but, as you may believe, all to no purpose. When the beast was tired, the little Tailor produced a fiddle out of his coat, and played a tune upon it, which as soon as the Bear heard he began to dance in spite of himself. In a little while he stopped and asked the Tailor whether it was easy to learn the art of fiddling. “Easy as child’s play!” said the Tailor; “you lay your left fingers on the strings, and with the right hold the bow: and then away it goes. Merrily, merrily, hop-su-sa, oi-val-lera!”
“Oh! well, if that is fiddling,” cried the Bear, “I may as well learn that, and then I can dance as often as I like. What do you think? Will you give me instruction?”
“With all my heart!” replied the Tailor, “if you are clever enough; but let me see your claws, they are frightfully long, and I must cut them a bit!” By chance a vise was lying in one corner, on which the Bear laid his paws, and the Tailor screwed them fast. “Now wait till I come with the scissors,” said he; and, leaving the Bear groaning and growling, he laid himself down in a corner on a bundle of straw and went to sleep.
Meanwhile the Princess was rejoicing to think she had got rid of the Tailor; and especially when she heard the Bear growling, for she thought it was with satisfaction for his prey. In the morning accordingly she went down to the stable; but as soon as she looked in she saw the Tailor as fresh and lively as a fish in water. She was much alarmed, but it was of no use, for her word had been openly pledged to the marriage; and the King her father ordered a carriage to be brought, in which she and the Tailor went away to the church to the wedding. Just as they had set off, the two other Tailors, who were very envious of their brother’s fortune, went into the stable and released the Bear, who immediately ran after the carriage which contained the bridal party. The Princess heard the beast growling and groaning, and became very much frightened, and cried to the Tailor, “Oh, the Bear is behind, coming to fetch you away!” The Tailor was up in a minute, stood on his head, put his feet out of the window, and cried to the Bear, “Do you see this vise? if you do not go away you shall have a taste of it!” The Bear considered him a minute, and then turned tail and ran back; while the Tailor drove on to church with the Princess, and made her his wife. And very happy they were after the marriage, as merry as larks; and to the end of their lives they lived in contentment.
