John of Grimm's Fairy Tales

Once upon a time, there was an old king who was bedridden for a long time, and he felt that he did not have much time left. So he commanded those around him, saying, "Preach that faithful John has come to see me." "John was the old king's beloved attendant and had always been loyal to the king, hence the name. When John came to the sickness, the old king said to him, "The most loyal John, I am afraid that I will die soon." The one I can't rest assured of now is the little prince. He was still young and didn't know how to discipline himself. I hope you will teach him well. If you don't agree to be his adoptive father, I'll die blind. The loyal John immediately replied, "Rest assured, I will do my best to assist the little prince, even if it is to sacrifice my life for this." Then the king said, "When I die, you will lead him to see the whole palace, and see all the houses and courtyards, gold and silver treasures." However, the room at the end of the corridor, with the portrait of the Princess of Jincheng hanging inside, you must not let him in. Once the little prince sees the painting, he will fall deeply in love with her and fall into a dangerous situation for this! You must prevent this from happening! When the loyal John swore his oath to the old king again, the king died peacefully on his pillow.

After the funeral, John told the young king of his dying instructions and said, "I will keep my word and be as loyal as I was to your father!" The mourning period was over, and John said to the young king, "It is time to show you the palace left to you by the kings." John walked around with his new master, around, all the places, all the treasures, except for the room where the portrait of the Princess of the Golden City was hung, which was not opened. You know, the portrait is facing the doorway. The portrait is exquisite and lifelike, and it feels like it is ready to come out at a glance. The person in the painting is so beautiful, there is nothing in the world more lovely and beautiful than her. The young king, feeling strange when he saw that the loyal John had only taken him through the house but never opened the door, asked, "Why don't you let me see this room?" John replied, "I'm afraid what's inside will scare you." The new king ignored it and continued, "I have seen all the other palaces and want to know what is in them. With that, he walked over and opened the door forcefully. John hurried forward to stop him, "Zod, you can't... I was instructed by the king on his deathbed not to let the team enter this room. Otherwise, you and I will be in great trouble! "Well," replied the young king angrily, "the greatest disaster for me is not to enter this room!" If I can't see what's inside for a day, I can't sleep and eat, day and night! If you don't open the door, I will never leave half a step! ”

The loyal John was forced to find the key from a large string of keys with a heavy heart. Worried that the king had seen the painting on the wall, John had just opened the door and immediately rushed into the house and stood between the king and the portrait. But what's the use of that? The young king had already stood up on his tiptoes and saw the girl's portrait at a glance. Only to see the person in the painting wearing gold and silver, delicate and charming, beautiful and moving, like a heavenly immortal. The king's heart beat faster and he fainted to the ground. The loyal John quickly lifted him up and carried him back to the palace, thinking sadly, "Disaster has come... God, what can be done about this? He sprayed the wine into the king's face, and the king slowly awoke. When I woke up, my first words were, "Ah, what a beautiful portrait!" Who is the person in the painting? "It's princess of Jincheng, Zoxia." The faithful John replied. The king went on to say, "John, I am deeply in love with her. If one leaf expresses one love, then all the leaves cannot express my strong love for her. For her, I am willing to give everything, even my life. You are my most loyal John, be sure to help me! However, it was not easy to meet the Princess of Jincheng, and the loyal John thought for a long time and did not know what to do. Finally, he thought of a way, so he said to the young king, "The Princess of Jincheng loves gold." All her utensils were made of gold: tables and chairs, cups and plates, bowls and furniture. There are five tons of gold in the treasure house under the azo, which allows the royal goldsmith to make one of the tons into a variety of fine gold utensils, blood, rare birds and strange beasts, and the princess will love it. Then we went to see her with these things and try our luck. "The king ordered the summoning of goldsmiths from all over the country and asked them to work day and night until they had created those beautiful treasures. After everything was loaded onto the ship, the loyal John disguised himself as a merchant, and so did the king, so that it was not easily recognizable. In this way, the king and his party sailed out to sea, sailed for a long time, and finally came to the city where the princess lived.

The loyal John asked the king to stay on the ship and go and inquire about the news himself. "Maybe I can bring the princess back." John said, "Your Majesty please take care of the belongings on the ship, let the gold be displayed, and decorate the ship well." Subsequently, he wrapped all kinds of exquisite gold objects in his own clothes and went directly ashore to the palace. Having just entered the palace compound, John saw a beautiful girl drawing water from two golden buckets. Just as the girl turned to leave with the shiny bucket, she found a stranger standing in front of her, so she asked him who he was. John replied, "I'm a businessman. "Say goodbye and open the clothes wrapped in the fittings." The girl exclaimed, "Wow, that's so pretty!" She put down the bucket and admired it piece by piece. After a while, she said, "The princess will be happy to see these gold tools!" She likes the things made of gold the most, and she will buy them all. Having said that, he took John upstairs to see the princess. It turned out that the girl was the princess's personal maid. When the princess saw such exquisite utensils, she said happily, "It's so well built, I want to buy it all!" Who knows, John replied, "Your Royal Highness, I am only a slave." These things are incomparable to the treasures in my master's ship, which are the most exquisite rare treasures from ancient times to the present! "The princess wanted him to bring everything ashore, but John said; Your Royal Highness, if you want to transport everything here, I am afraid it will take some time. Moreover, Your Highness's sleeping hall is not big enough, and my master has too many good things to fit here. The princess's curiosity grew stronger, and she finally said, "Show me the way." I'm going to go to the boat myself and see all your master's treasures!" ”

The loyal John was overjoyed and led the princess to the ship. When the young king saw princess Jincheng, he was stunned: she herself was more beautiful than the portrait. The king took the princess into the cabin, and the loyal John did not follow, but ordered the helmsman to hold the ship offshore. "Spread all the sails and make the boat as fast as a bird!" He shouted. In the cabin, the king accompanies the princess to admire the exquisite gold utensils, the golden bowls, golden cups, golden pots, and all kinds of gold birds and beasts. Before you know it, hours have passed. The princess had been immersed in the surprise of the baby, not noticing that the ship had already sailed away. After admiring the last thing, she thanked the merchant and intended to return to the palace. Outside the cabin, she found the ship already offshore, speeding off the sea into the distance. "Oh my God," exclaimed the princess, "I have been deceived! It fell into the hands of a businessman! I'd rather die! The young king immediately grabbed her hand and explained, "I am not a merchant. Like you, I came from a royal family and was a king. I cheat on you this way because I love you so much! You know, the first time I saw your portrait, I fainted on the ground, unconscious. When Princess Jincheng heard these words, she couldn't help but be moved, and she immediately fell in love with her and willingly stayed behind as the king's wife.

Everything seemed to go smoothly. However, when the ship was sailing in the vast sea, such a thing happened. That day, John was playing an instrument at the bow of the ship when he suddenly saw three crows in the sky coming toward them. John understood bird language and immediately stopped playing and listened to what the crows were saying. Only to hear a crow say, "Look, the king is about to bring home the Princess of Jincheng." "Yes," replied the second, "though, he doesn't have her fully yet." "Why?" Isn't the princess already sitting in the king's ship? The third rebuttal. The first one reopened: "What good is that for him?" When they come ashore, they will encounter a red date horse. The king couldn't help but jump on horseback. But as soon as he got on the horse, the horse would fly him into the sky. He would never see a beautiful princess again. "Is it really unavoidable?" The second only asked. "Oh, there's still a way. If someone preemptively mounted his horse, pulled out the gun that had been inserted in the head of the horse's cage, and killed the horse, the king would be saved. However, if the man who knew the secret told the king, he would be reduced to stone from his feet to his knees. "The first crow said." And that's not all. Even if the horse was killed, the king could not get his bride. When they walked into the palace together, they would see a wedding dress on a plate. The dress looks exquisite, as if it were woven of gold and silver thread. Actually, there was some sulfur and asphalt. As soon as the king put it on, he was immediately reduced to ashes. "The second crow rushed to replenish." Is it really not saved? The third crow asked. "Oh yes, yes," the second went on, "and if someone puts on gloves, grabs his dress, and throws it into the fire and burns it, the king can be saved." But what's the use? Who knows, tell the king, that it will turn to stone from the knee to the heart. "And what else," said the third, "and the dress is burned, and to no avail, the king still cannot be with the bride." There is a dance party after the wedding. As soon as the young queen danced, she suddenly fainted, and her face was pale, as if she were dead. If no one had lifted her up immediately, sucked three drops of blood from her right breast, and then spit it out, she would have actually died. But the person who knows this secret leaks it, and he will turn to stone from head to toe. After the three crows finished speaking, they flapped their wings and flew away. The loyal John understood the meaning of the crow and was silent from then on, secretly hurting himself. He knew that if he hid it from the king, the king would be in great trouble. But if you tell him, you will not be able to save your life. Eventually, the loyal John said to himself, "Even if I die, I must save my master!"

When the people came ashore, the crow's prophecy was fulfilled. A fat, healthy horse rushed to them. "Good horse," said the king, "let him take me back to the palace." With that, the king prepared to get on his horse. Suddenly, the loyal John jumped on horseback, pulled out the gun in the cage, and killed the horse. The attendants, who did not like John very much, took the opportunity to shout, "It is so disgraceful to kill the horses that were sent back to the palace by His Majesty!" But the king said, "Shut up! I believe in John, who has his own reason for doing so. Who knows this isn't a good thing? Then they came to the palace, and as soon as they entered the hall, they saw a plate containing a wedding dress, which resembled a thread of gold and silver. The king walked over, and before his hands could touch the dress, the loyal John pushed him away, put on his gloves, and quickly grabbed his clothes and threw them into the fire. So the attendants began to talk again, shouting, "Look, look, he burned the king's wedding dress again!" The young king still said, "Who knows if this is not a good thing?" Let him go, he is my loyal John! "After the grand wedding, the dance party began. The bride also danced. The loyal John was vigilant and watched the queen at all times. Suddenly, she was pale and suddenly fainted to the ground, as if dead. John immediately ran over, picked her up, and carried her into a room. He helped the queen to lie down, and he himself fell to his knees, sucking three drops of blood from her right breast and spitting it to the ground. The queen immediately took a breath and slowly woke up. Seeing this, the king was furious and shouted, "Take him to the dungeon!" The next morning, the loyal John was sentenced to death. Standing on a high gallows, John said, "Everyone who is going to die can say something before he is about to die." Your Majesty, do I have this right? "Grant your request, speak." The king answered. "Thank you, Your Majesty," John continued, "Your Majesty, I have been wronged. I have always been loyal to you..." Then he told the king what he had overheard at sea from the crows and what he had done to save his master. When the king heard this, he wept bitterly and said, "Oh, my faithful John, forgive me, forgive me!" Quick, put him down! But it was too late, and after saying the last words, John fell to the ground and turned to stone.

The king and queen were deeply saddened. The king cried, "How stupid I am! He treated him with an ungrateful way! Then he ordered the stone statue of John to be carried into his bedroom and stood by the bed. Every time he saw the stone statue, the king could not hide his sorrow, and wept and said, "Faithful John, how I wish you could rise from the dead..." Time passed quickly, and soon the queen gave birth to twins. Watching the two heart and liver babies grow up slowly, the queen was very happy. One day, the queen went to the church, and the two children sat next to the king and played, looking at the stone statue, and the king's heart became heavy again, and he sighed: "Faithful John, how good it would be if I could bring you back from the dead..." At this time, the stone statue suddenly began to speak: "I will certainly be resurrected, as long as Your Majesty is willing to sacrifice your most precious things." The king shouted excitedly, "I am willing to pay any price to save you." The statue then said, "Your Majesty, if you can cut off the heads of the two princes with your own hands and spray their blood on the statues, I can be resurrected."

The king was horrified to hear that he was going to kill his own son with his own hands. But thinking of John's loyalty to himself, of his death for himself, the king drew his sword mercilessly and cut off the heads of the two children. He smeared blood on the stone statue, and John was truly resurrected, standing unharmed before him. The loyal John said to the king, "Your Majesty, you have been rewarded for your kindness. With that, he picked up the heads of the two children, put them back on their necks, and smeared the wounds with blood. In the blink of an eye, the two children were alive again, bouncing and bouncing as if nothing had happened.

The king rejoiced. When he saw that the queen had returned to the palace, he hid the loyal John and the two children in a large cupboard and tried her. The queen came in, and the king said to her, "Didn't you go to church to pray?" "Pray," replied the queen, "but I always think of the faithful John, who suffered because of us!" The king listened and said, "My dear, we have a way of bringing John back from the dead." But the price was sacrificing the lives of our two children. The queen was pale and frightened, but she said firmly, "John was faithful and sacrificed himself for us, and we should do so." The king was so pleased that the queen did what she thought. He walked over and opened the cupboard, took out the faithful John and the children, and said, "God bless, John is alive, and our children!" Then he told the queen what had happened. Since then, they have lived a happy and satisfying life together.