The_GoldenCrab

The Golden Crab

Once upon a time, there was a fisherman who had a wife and three children.

Every morning, he used to go out fishing, and every fish he caught he sold to the king.

One day, among the other fishes, he caught a golden crab.

When he came home, he put all the fish together in a great dish,

but he kept the crab separate, because it shone beautifully.

He placed it upon a high shelf in the cupboard.

The fisherman's wife was old, and she always cleaned the fish.

That day, when she saw the crab, she placed him on a dish.

When her husband came home, they sat down to dinner.

Suddenly, they heard the crab's little voice saying,

Give me some, too.

They were very much surprised, but they gave him something to eat.

When the old man came to take away the plate, he found it full of gold.

He was even more surprised.

The fisherman and his wife began to feed the crab every day,

and the crab always left the plate full of gold in it.

Soon, they became very fond of the crab.

One day, the crab said to the fisherman's wife,

Go to the king and tell him I wish to marry his daughter.

The old woman, after thinking a while, decided to go and tell the king about the matter.

The king laughed, a little at the situation, but did not decline the proposal.

He said to the fisherman's wife,

Go and tell the crab I will give him my daughter,

but I want him to build a wall in front of my castle much higher than my tower.

The fisherman's wife went home and gave this message to the crab.

The crab gave the old woman a golden rod and said,

Go and strike with this rod three times upon the ground, on the place,

and tomorrow morning, the wall will be there.

The old woman did so and went away again.

The next morning, when the king awoke, what do you think he saw?

The wall stood there before his eyes.

Then the old woman went back to the king and said to him,

Your Majesty's orders have been fulfilled.

That is all very well, said the king,

but my daughter wants a garden in front of my palace with three fountains.

The first must play gold, the second diamonds, and the third brilliance.

So the old woman had to strike again three times upon the ground with the rod,

and the next morning the garden was there.

The king could say nothing anymore, and the wedding was fixed for the next day.

Then the crab said to the old fisherman,

Now take this rod, go and knock with it on a certain mountain.

Then a black man will come out and ask you what you wish for.

Tell him, your Majesty the king has sent me to tell you

that you must send him his golden garment that is like the sun.

Make him give you besides the queenly robes of gold and precious stones,

and bring them both to me, and bring me also the golden cushion.

The fisherman listened to the crab and did exactly what he wanted.

The crab put on the golden garment and then crept upon the golden cushion,

and in this way the fisherman carried him to the castle.

The crab presented the other garment to his bride.

After the ceremony that night the crab told his young wife

that he was the son of the greatest king in the world.

He said that he was enchanted so that he became a crab by day

and was a man only at night, and he could also change himself into an eagle.

That night he became a handsome youth, but the next morning he was back again into his crab shell,

and the same thing happened every day.

The king and the queen were very much surprised,

because the princess was always polite to the crab.

They suspected some secret but could not discover it.

One day the king said to his daughter,

I will appoint a tournament in your honor,

and I will invite all the princes in the world to it,

and if any one of them pleases you, you shall marry him.

In the evening the princess told us to the crab.

The crab thought for a moment.

Take this rod, go to the garden gate, and knock with it.

Then a black man will come out.

Tell him your master the king has sent me to tell you

to send him his golden armor and his steed and the silver apple,

and bring them to me.

The princess did so and brought him what he desired.

The following evening the prince dressed himself for the tournament.

Before he went he said to his wife,

Do not tell anyone that I am a crab.

Place yourself at the window with your sisters.

I will ride by and throw you the silver apple.

Take it in your hand, but if they ask you who I am,

say that you do not know.

So saying he kissed her, repeated his warning once more,

and went away.

The princess went with her sisters to the window

and looked on at the tournament.

Presently her husband rode by and threw the apple up to her.

She caught it in her hand and went with it into her room.

But her father was much surprised that she did not seem

to care about any of the princes.

He therefore appointed a second tournament.

The crab then gave his wife the same directions as before,

only this time the apple which he received from the black man was of gold.

In the evening, while the princess with her mother and sisters was standing at the window,

the prince suddenly galloped past on his steed and threw her the golden apple.

The princess was happy, but her mother was very angry seeing this.

Does not any other prince please you fool, she shouted.

The princess in her fright exclaimed.

That is the crab himself.

He is my husband and I only love him.

Her mother was still angry because she had not been told sooner.

Ran into her daughter's room and threw the crab shell into the fire.

Then the poor princess cried bitterly, but it was of no use.

Her husband did not come back.

One day an old man went to a stream to dip in a crust of bread, which he was going to eat.

Suddenly a dog came out of the water, snatched the bread from his hand and ran away.

The old man ran after him, but the dog reached a door, pushed it open and ran in.

The old man following him, he found himself above a staircase.

Then he saw before him a stately palace, entering he found in a large hall and table set for 12 persons.

He hid himself in the hall behind a great picture that he might see what would happen.

At noon he heard a great noise.

When he took courage to look out from behind the picture, he saw 12 eagles flying in it.

The eagle flew to the basin of a fountain that was there and bade themselves.

When suddenly they were changed into 12 handsome youths.

They seated themselves at the table and one of them took up a goblet filled with wine and said,

A health to my father.

And another said, A health to my mother and so the house went around.

Then one of them said, A health to my dearest lady.

Long may she live and well.

But a curse on the cruel mother that burnt my golden shell.

And so saying he wept bitterly.

Then the youth rose from the table, went back to the great stone fountain.

Turned themselves into eagles again and flew away.

After the old man went home he told everybody in the town of what he had seen.

Soon after the princess heard about the story and told her servants to find the old man.

As soon as the old man was brought to the castle the princess asked him whether he could find the way to that palace.

Yes the old man answered, certainly.

When they came to the palace the old man hid the princess behind the great picture and advised her to keep quiet still.

After noon the eagles came flying in and changed themselves into young men.

And in a moment the princess recognized her husband amongst them all.

The youth seated themselves at the table.

And now the prince said again while he took up the cup of wine.

A health to my dearest lady.

Long may she live and well.

But a curse on the cruel mother that burnt my golden shell.

Then the princess could restrain herself no longer but ran forward and threw her arms round her husband.

As she did this the princess enchantment was over.

He ceased to be an eagle and became once more a man and they returned home together.

And then they lived happily and we who hear the story are happier still.