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THERE was one time a King of High-Shore,
who practised such tyranny and cruelty that, whilst he was once gone on a
visit of pleasure to a castle at a distance from the city, his royal seat
was usurped by a certain sorceress. Whereupon, having consulted a wooden
statue which used to give oracular responses, it answered that he would
recover his dominions when the sorceress should lose her sight. But seeing
that the sorceress, besides being well guarded, knew at a glance the
people whom he sent to annoy her, and did dog's justice upon them, he
became quite desperate, and out of spite to her he killed all the women of
that place whom he could get into his hands. Now after hundreds and hundreds had been led
thither by their ill-luck, only to lose their lives, there chanced, among
others, to come a maiden named Porziella, the most beautiful creature that
could be seen on the whole earth, and the King could not help falling in
love with her and making her his wife. But he was so cruel and spiteful to
women that, after a while, he was going to kill her like the rest; but
just as he was raising the dagger a bird let fall a certain root upon his
arm, and he was seized with such a trembling that the weapon fell from his
hand. This bird was a fairy, who, a few days before, having gone to sleep
in a wood, where beneath the tent of the Shades Fear kept watch and
defied the Sun's heat, a certain satyr was about to rob her when she was
awakened by Porziella, and for this kindness she continually followed her
steps in order to make her a return. When the King saw this, he thought that the
beauty of Porziella's face had arrested his arm and bewitched the dagger
to prevent its piercing her as it had done so many others. He resolved,
therefore, not to make the attempt a second time, but that she should die
built up in a garret of his palace. No sooner said than done: the unhappy
creature was enclosed within four walls, without having anything to eat or
drink, and left to waste away and die little by little.
The bird, seeing her in this wretched state,
consoled her with kind words, bidding her be of good cheer, and promising,
in return for the great kindness she had done for her, to aid her if
necessary with her very life. In spite, however, of all the entreaties of
Porziella, the bird would never tell her who she was, but only said that
she was under obligations to her, and would leave nothing undone to serve
her. And seeing that the poor girl was famished with hunger, she flew out
and speedily returned with a pointed knife which she had taken from the
king's pantry, and told her to make a hole in the corner of the floor
just over the kitchen, through which she would regularly bring her food to
sustain her life. So Porziella bored away until she had made a passage for
the bird, who, watching till the cook was gone out to fetch a pitcher of
water from the well, went down through the hole, and taking a fine fowl
that was cooking at the fire, brought it to Porziella; then to relieve her
thirst, not knowing how to carry her any drink, she flew to the pantry,
where there was a quantity of grapes hanging, and brought her a fine
bunch; and this she did regularly for many days. Meanwhile Porziella gave birth to a fine little
boy, whom she suckled and reared with the constant aid of the bird. And
when he was grown big, the fairy advised his mother to make the hole
larger, and to raise so many boards of the floor as would allow Miuccio
(for so the child was called) to pass through; and then, after letting him
down with some cords which the bird brought, to put the boards back into
their place, that it might not be seen where he came from. So Porziella
did as the bird directed her; and as soon as the cook was gone out, she
let down her son, desiring him never to tell whence he came nor whose son
he was. When the cook returned and saw such a fine
little boy, he asked him who he was, whence he came, and what he wanted;
whereupon, the child, remembering his mother's advice, said that he was a
poor forlorn boy who was looking about for a master. As they were talking,
the butler came in, and seeing the spritely little fellow, he thought he
would make a pretty page for the King. So he led him to the royal
apartments; and when the King saw him look so handsome and lovely that he
appeared a very jewel, he was vastly pleased with him, and took him into
his service as a page and to his heart as a son, and had him taught all
the exercises befitting a cavalier, so that Miuccio grew up the most
accomplished one in the court, and the King loved him much better than his
stepson. Now the King's stepmother, who was really the queen, on this
account began to take a dislike to him, and to hold him in aversion; and
her envy and malice gained ground just in proportion as the favours and
kindness which the King bestowed on Miuccio cleared the way for them; so
sheresolved to soap the ladder of his fortune in order that he should
tumble down from top to bottom.Accordingly one evening, when the King and his
stepmother had tuned their instruments together and were making music of
their discourse, the Queen told the King that Miuccio had boasted he would
build three castles in the air. So the next morning, at the time when the
Moon, the school-mistress of the Shades, gives a holiday to her scholars
for the festival of the Sun, the King, either from surprise or to gratify
the old Queen, ordered Miuccio to be called, and commanded him forthwith
to build the three castles in the air as he had promised, or else he would
make him dance a jig in the air. When Miuccio heard this he went to his chamber
and began to lament bitterly, seeing what glass the favour of princes is,
and how short a time it lasts. And while he was weeping thus, lo! the bird
came, and said to him, "Take heart, Miuccio, and fear not while you have
me by your side, for I am able to draw you out of the fire." Then she
directed him to take pasteboard and glue and make three large castles; and
calling up three large griffins, she tied a castle to each, and away they
flew up into the air. Thereupon Miuccio called the King, who came running
with all his court to see the sight; and when he saw the ingenuity of
Miuccio he had a still greater affection for him, and lavished on him
caresses of the other world, which added snow to the envy of the Queen and
fire to her rage, seeing that all her plans failed; insomuch that, both
sleeping and waking, she was for ever thinking of some way to remove this
thorn from her eyes. So at last, after some days, she said to the King,
"Son, the time is now come for us to return to our former greatness and
the pleasures of past times, since Miuccio has offered to blind the
sorceress, and by the disbursement of her eyes to make you recover your
lost kingdom." The King, who felt himself touched in the sore
place, called for Miuccio that very instant, and said to him, "I am
greatly surprised that, notwithstanding all my love for you, and that you
have the power to restore me to the seat from which I have fallen, you
remain thus careless, instead of endeavoring to relieve me from the
misery I am in--reduced thus from a kingdom to a wood, from a city to a
paltry castle, and from commanding so great a people to be hardly waited
on by a parcel of half-starved menials. If, therefore, you do not wish me
ill, run now at once and blind the eyes of the fairy who has possession of
my property, for by putting out her lanterns you will light the lamps of
my honour that are now dark and dismal. "When Miuccio heard this proposal he was about
to reply that the King was ill-informed and had mistaken him, as he was
neither a raven to pick out eyes nor an auger to bore holes; but the King
said, "No more words--so I will have it, so let it be done! Remember now,
that in the mint of this brain of mine I have the balance ready; in one
scale the reward, if you do what I tell you; in the other the punishment,
if you neglect doing what I command." Miuccio, who could not butt against a rock, and
had to do with a man who was not to be moved, went into a corner to bemoan
himself; and the bird came to him and said, "Is it possible, Miuccio, that
you will always be drowning yourself in a tumbler of water? If I were dead
indeed you could not make more fuss. Do you not know that I have more
regard for your life than for my own? Therefore don't lose courage; come
with me, and you shall see what I can do." So saying off she flew, and
alighted in the wood, where as soon as she began to chirp, there came a
large flock of birds about her, to whom she told the story, assuring them
that whoever would venture to deprive the sorceress of sight should have
from her a safeguard against the talons of the hawks and kites, and a
letter of protection against the guns, crossbows, longbows, and bird-lime
of the fowlers. There was among them a swallow who had made her
nest against a beam of the royal palace, and who hated the sorceress,
because, when making her accursed conjurations, she had several times
driven her out of the chamber with her fumigations; for which reason,
partly out of a desire of revenge, and partly to gain the reward that the
bird promised, she offered herself to perform the service. So away she
flew like lightning to the city, and entering the palace, found the fairy
lying on a couch, with two damsels fanning her. Then the swallow came, and
alighting directly over the fairy, pecked out her eyes. Whereupon the
fairy, thus seeing night at midday, knew that by this closing of the
custom-house the merchandise of the kingdom was all lost; and uttering
yells, as of a condemned soul, she abandoned the sceptre and went off to
hide herself in a certain cave, where she knocked her head continually
against the wall, until at length she ended her days.
When the sorceress was gone, the councillors
sent ambassadors to the King, praying him to come back to his castle,
since the blinding of the sorceress had caused him to see this happy day.
And at the same time they arrived came also Miuccio, who, by the bird's
direction, said to the King, "I have served you to the best of my power;
the sorceress is blinded, the kingdom is yours. Wherefore, if I deserve
recompense for this service, I wish for no other than to be left to my
ill-fortune, without being again exposed to these dangers."
But the King, embracing him with great
affection, bade him put on his cap and sit beside him; and how the Queen
was enraged at this, Heaven knows, for by the bow of many colors that
appeared in her face might be known the wind of the storm that was brewing
in her heart against poor Miuccio. Not far from this castle lived a most ferocious
dragon, who was born the same hour with the Queen; and the astrologers
being called by her father to astrologise on this event, said that his
daughter would be safe as long as the dragon was safe, and that when one
died, the other would of necessity die also. One thing alone could bring
back the Queen to life, and that was to anoint her temples, chest,
nostrils, and pulse with the blood of the same dragon.
Now the Queen, knowing the strength and fury of
this animal, resolved to send Miuccio into his claws, well assured that
the beast would make but a mouthful of him, and that he would be like a
strawberry in the throat of a bear. So turning to the King, she said,
"Upon my word, this Miuccio is the treasure of your house, and you would
be ungrateful indeed if you did not love him, especially as he had
expressed his desire to kill the dragon, who, though he is my brother, is
nevertheless your enemy; and I care more for a hair of your head than for
a hundred brothers." The King, who hated the dragon mortally, and
knew not how to remove him out of his sight, instantly called Miuccio, and
said to him, "I know that you can put your hand to whatever you will;
therefore, as you have done so much, grant me yet another pleasure, and
then turn me whithersoever you will. Go this very instant and kill the
dragon; for you will do me a singular service, and I will reward you well
for it." Miuccio at these words was near losing his
senses, and as soon as he was able to speak, he said to the King, "Alas,
what a headache have you given me by your continual teasing! Is my life a
black goat-skin rug that you are for ever wearing it away thus? This is
not a pared pear ready to drop into one's mouth, but a dragon, that tears
with his claws, breaks to pieces with his head, crushes with his tail,
crunches with his teeth, poisons with his eyes, and kills with his breath.
Wherefore do you want to send me to death? Is this the sinecure you give
me for having given you a kingdom? Who is the wicked soul that has set
this die on the table? What son of perdition has taught you these capers
and put these words into your mouth?" Then the King, who, although he let
himself be tossed to and fro as light as a ball, was firmer than a rock
in keeping to what he had once said, stamped with his feet, and exclaimed,
"After all you have done, do you fail at the last? But no more words; go,
rid my kingdom of this plague, unless you would have me rid you of
life." Poor Miuccio, who thus received one minute a
favour, at another a threat, now a pat on the face, and now a kick, now a
kind word, now a cruel one, reflected how mutable court fortune is, and
would fain have been without the acquaintance of the King. But knowing
that to reply to great men is a folly, and like plucking a lion by the
beard, he withdrew, cursing his fate, which had led him to the court only
to curtail the days of his life. And as he was sitting on one of the
door-steps, with his head between his knees, washing his shoes with his
tears and warming the ground with his sighs, behold the bird came flying
with a plant in her beak, and throwing it to him, said, "Get up, Miuccio,
and take courage! for you are not going to play at unload the ass' with
your days, but at backgammon with the life of the dragon. Take this
plant, and when you come to the cave of that horrid animal, throw it in,
and instantly such a drowsiness will come over him that he will fall fast
asleep; whereupon, nicking and sticking him with a good knife, you may
soon make an end of him. Then come away, for things will turn out better
than you think." "Enough!" cried Miuccio, "I know what I carry
under my belt; we have more time than money, and he who has time has
life." So saying, he got up, and sticking a pruning-knife in his belt and
taking the plant, he went his way to the dragon's cave, which was under a
mountain of such goodly growth, that the three mountains that were steps
to the Giants would not have reached up to its waist. When he came there,
he threw the plant into the cave, and instantly a deep sleep laid hold on
the dragon, and Miuccio began to cut him in pieces. Now just at the time that he was busied thus,
the Queen felt a cutting pain at her heart; and seeing herself brought to
a bad pass, she perceived her error in having purchased death with ready
money. So she called her stepson and told him what the astrologers had
predicted--how her life depended on that of the dragon, and how she feared
that Miuccio had killed him, for she felt herself gradually sliding away.
Then the King replied, "If you knew that the life of the dragon was the
prop of your life and the root of your days, why did you make me send
Miuccio? Who is in fault? You must have done yourself the mischief, and
you must suffer for it; you have broken the glass, and you may pay the
cost." And the Queen answered, "I never thought that such a stripling
could have the skill and strength to overthrow an animal which made
nothing of an army, and I expected that he would have left his rags there.
But since I reckoned without my host, and the bark of my projects is gone
out of its course, do me one kindness if you love me. When I am dead, take
a sponge dipped in the blood of this dragon and anoint with it all the
extremities of my body before you bury me." "That is but a small thing for the love I bear
you," replied the King; "and if the blood of the dragon is not enough, I
will add my own to give you satisfaction." The Queen was about to thank
him, but the breath left her with the speech; for just then Miuccio had
made an end of scoring the dragon. No sooner had Miuccio come into the King's
presence with the news of what he had done than the King ordered him to go
back for the dragon's blood; but being curious to see the deed done by
Miuccio's hand, he followed him. And as Miuccio was going out of the
palace gate, the bird met him, and said, "Whither are you going?" and
Miuccio answered, "I am going whither the King sends me; he makes me fly
backwards and forwards like a shuttle, and never lets me rest an hour."
"What to do?" said the bird. "To fetch the blood of the dragon," said
Miuccio. And the bird replied, "Ah, wretched youth! this dragon's blood
will be bull's blood to you, and make you burst; for this blood will cause
to spring up again the evil seed of all your misfortunes. The Queen is
continually exposing you to new dangers that you may lose your life; and
the King, who lets this odious creature put the pack-saddle on him, orders
you, like a castaway, to endanger your person, which is his own flesh and
blood and a shoot of his stem. But the wretched man does not know you,
though the inborn affection he bears you should have betrayed your
kindred. Moreover, the services you have rendered the King, and the gain
to himself of so handsome a son and heir, ought to obtain favour
for unhappy Porziella, your mother, who has now for fourteen years been
buried alive in a garret, where is seen a temple of beauty built up within
a little chamber."While the fairy was thus speaking, the King,
who had heard every word, stepped forward to learn the truth of the matter
better; and finding that Miuccio was his own and Porziella's son, and that
Porziella was still alive in the garret, he instantly gave orders that she
should be set free and brought before him. And when he saw her looking
more beautiful than ever, owing to the care taken of her by the bird, he
embraced her with the greatest affection, and was never satisfied with
pressing to his heart first the mother and then the son, praying
forgiveness of Porziella for his ill-treatment of her, and of his son
for all the dangers to which he had exposed him. Then he ordered her to be
clothed in the richest robes, and had her crowned Queen before all the
people. And when the King heard that her preservation, and the escape of
his son from so many dangers were entirely owing to the bird, which had
given food to the one and counsel to the other, he offered her his kingdom
and his life. But the bird said she desired no other reward for her
services than to have Miuccio for a husband; and as she uttered the words
she was changed into a beautiful maiden, and, to the great joy and
satisfaction of the King and Porziella, she was given to Miuccio to wife.
Then the newly-married couple, to give still greater festivals, went their
way to their own kingdom, where they were anxiously expected, every one
ascribing this good fortune to the fairy, for the kindness that Porziella
had done her;
for at the end of the end. "A good deed is never lost."
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