THE SON OF THE KING OF SPAIN
There once was an old king who had lost his wife. This king lived in his Louvre with his daughter, a princess as beautiful as the day, and wise as a saint.
When the princess was eighteen, the king became sad, very sad. Night and day, he was saying to himself:
“My daughter is suitable for marriage. There will be no shortage of gallants. I am old. If my daughter abandons me, what will become of me, all alone in my Louvre? It doesn't have to be that way. To all the gallants who come, I will impose three trials so terrible, so terrible, that they will cost them their lives."
The next day, a handsome young man, mounted on a white horse, arrived at a gallop in the courtyard of the Louvre.
“Valets, I want to speak to the king. Quickly, take me to his room."
The servants obeyed. But the princess had seen everything, and she went to a place where she could listen behind the door without appearing.
The handsome young man entered without fear.
“Hello, King. I am the Son of the King of Spain. My father is richer than the sea. I am strong and bold like no other. King, I saw your daughter. She is as beautiful as the day. She is said to be as wise as a saint. I am madly in love with her, and I am asking you to marry her."
"Son of the King of Spain, I am going to impose three terrible trials on you. If they don't cost you your life, you will have my daughter in marriage. Go get me the wine that restores youth. Go cut off the head of the Ogre, two fathoms high, who is the misfortune of my country. Go get me the armour that is proof against the sword, the bullet, and the cannonball.
"King, you will be obeyed."
The Son of the King of Spain saluted the king and left. Behind the bedroom door, he met the princess.
“Son of the King of Spain, I have heard everything. You are handsome. I love you. If you do what my father commanded you, you will have proven that you are strong, skilful, and bold. Leave. I will pray for you to the Good Lord and the Blessed Virgin Mary."
"Princess, you will be obeyed."
The Son of the King of Spain greeted the princess, jumped on his white horse, and set off at full gallop.
After three leagues, he stopped in a large wood, under an old oak, to let his beast breathe. At the top of the old oak, an owl was struggling, its head caught between two branches.
What did the Son of the King of Spain do? He climbed like a cat to the top of the old oak, broke the two branches, and freed the owl.
“Son of the King of Spain, thank you. You will be paid for your service. Son of the King of Spain, I am the King of Owls. I know who you are, and what you want. You want the wine that restores youth."
"King of Owls, you told the truth."
"Son of the King of Spain, of the wine that restores youth, there remains only one bottle, a bottle preserved since the Wedding at Cana, where Our Lord Jesus Christ was invited. This bottle is over there, over there, in the thickest of this great forest, guarded by a terrible wild beast, which sleeps neither night nor day. Son of the King of Spain, I will help you when you need to fight. Let's go."
The Son of the King of Spain jumped on his white horse, and the King of Owls clung to the pommel of the saddle.
“Gallop!”
The white horse set off as quickly as the wind, to the deepest thicket of the great forest.
Source: Le Fils du roi d'Espagne, from the French book Contes populaires de la Gascogne, tome 2, published in 1886
Previous Tale: The Three Orange Apples
Hello, my name is Vincent Celier.
I am writing translations of folk tales that I found in public domain French books, so that people who do not understand French may enjoy them too.
For people who are new to these folk tales, I will explain again what the "Louvre" was. Before the Sun King, Louis XIV moved the residence of the kings of France to the Palace of Versailles, the royal residence and the seat of the government were in the Louvre Palace in Paris. The buildings are still there and they are now used as the Louvre Museum.
In these Gascony folk tales, Louvre is used to indicate the residence of a king, even if it is not the King of France.
Some time ago, Kati bought some seeds to be planted in her garden in October.
There were several types of onions ...
... and poppy seeds.
Hungarians use poppy seeds in different deserts, which I like very much.
So, this morning, I used our cultivator to prepare the soil.
Kati did the planting. Below is the state of the part of the garden that has been planted. There is not much to see now. Hopefully, when we will return next year in May, it will be much different.
-- Vincent Celier