"We cannot have a future without respecting the past"
King Mihai I of Romania
Youth without old age and life without death
Fairy tale
( Petre Ispirescu, 1882)
Once upon a time; because if it hadn't been, it wouldn't be told; since the little poplar made pears and the willow made small trees; since bears fought with their tails; since wolves and lambs grabbed each other by the throats and kissed, becoming brothers; since fleas were horseshoeed to one leg with ninety-nine iron spikes and thrown themselves into the glory of the sky to bring us stories;
Since the fly was written on the wall,
He is a liar who does not believe.
There was once a great emperor and an empress, both young and beautiful, and, wanting to have children, they did many things to achieve this; they went to the sorcerers and philosophers, to consult the stars and to divine whether they would have children; but in vain. Finally, the emperor, hearing that there was a clever uncle in a village nearby, sent to call him; but he answered the messengers that: whoever has need, let him come to him. So the emperor and the empress got up and, taking with them some great boyars, soldiers and servants, went to the uncle's house. The uncle, seeing them from afar, went out to meet them and at the same time said to them:
– Welcome, healthy; but what do you wish to know, Emperor? Your desire will bring you sorrow.
"I didn't come to ask you that," said the emperor, "but if you have any medicine that will make us have children, give it to me."
"I have," replied the uncle; "but you will have only one child. He will be a handsome and loving prince, and you will have no part of him." Taking the medicine, the emperor and the empress returned joyfully to the palace, and a few days later the empress felt herself pregnant. The whole kingdom, the whole court, and all the servants rejoiced at this event.
Before the hour of birth came, the child began to cry so much that no sorcerer could calm him down. Then the emperor began to promise him all the wealth in the world, but even then it was impossible to silence him.
– Be silent, dear father, says the emperor, for I will give you such and such a kingdom; be silent, my son, for I will give you such and such a daughter of the emperor as a wife, and many other such things; finally, when he saw and saw that he would not be silent, he said to him: be silent, my child, for I will give you Youth without old age and life without death.
Then the child fell silent and was born; and the servants beat the cymbals and the trumpets, and great rejoicing was held throughout the kingdom for a whole week.
As the child grew, so he became more clever and bold. He was sent to schools and philosophers, and all the lessons that other children learned in a year, he learned in a month, so that the king died and came back to life with joy. The whole kingdom boasted that they would have a king as wise and prosperous as King Solomon. For some time now, however, I don't know what was wrong with him, that he was always gloomy, sad and lost in thought. And when one day, just when the child was fifteen years old and the king was at table with all the boyars and officials of the kingdom and were having fun, Prince Charming got up and said:
– Father, the time has come to give me what you promised me at birth.
Hearing this, the king was very sad and said to him:
– But well, son, how can I give you such an unheard-of thing? And if I promised you then, it was only to appease you.
– If you, father, cannot give it to me, then I am forced to wander the whole world until I find the promise for which I was born.
Then all the boyars and the emperor fell on their knees, praying that he would not leave the kingdom; because, the boyars said:
– Your father is already old, and we will raise you to a throne, and we will bring you the most beautiful empress under the sun as your wife.
But it was impossible to change his mind, remaining steadfast as a stone in his words; and his father, seeing and hearing, gave him permission and arranged to prepare food and everything he needed for his journey.
Then Prince Charming went to the royal stables, where the most beautiful stallions in the whole kingdom were, to choose one for himself; but as he put his hand and took hold of one by the tail, he would knock it down, and so all the horses fell. Finally, just as he was about to leave, he cast his eyes once more into the stable and, seeing in a corner a scaly, pustular, and weak horse, he went to him too; and when he put his hand on its tail, he turned his head and said:
– What do you command, master? I thank God that he helped me arrive so that a strong man could lay hands on me.
And stiffening his legs, he stood as straight as a candle. Then Prince Charming told him what he intended to do, and the horse said to him:
– To achieve your wish, you must ask your father for the sword, the spear, the bow, the quiver of arrows, and the clothes he wore when he was a boy; and you must take care of me yourself for six weeks and give me the barley boiled in milk.
Asking the emperor what the horse had told him, he called the courtier and ordered him to open all the thrones with clothes so that his son could choose the ones he liked. Prince Charming, after rummaging for three days and three nights, finally found, at the bottom of an old throne, the weapons and clothes his father had worn since he was a young man, but very rusty. He set about cleaning them himself with his own hands and, after six weeks, he managed to make the weapons shine like a mirror. At the same time, he also took care of the horse, as he had told him. He had enough work; but be that as it may, he succeeded.
When the horse heard from the Prince that his clothes and weapons were well cleaned and prepared, he shook himself at once, and all the blisters and scabs fell off him, and he remained exactly as his mother had made him, a fat, strong horse with four wings; seeing him thus, Prince Charming said to him:
– We are leaving in three days from today.
"Long live, master; I am ready today, if you command," the horse replied.
On the third morning, the whole court and the whole kingdom were filled with mourning. Prince Charming, dressed like a warrior, with a sword in his hand, riding on the horse he had chosen, took his leave of the emperor, the empress, all the great and small boyars, the soldiers and all the servants of the court, who, with tears in their eyes, begged him to refrain from making this journey, lest he should go to the ruin of his head; but he, spurring his horse, went out of the gate like the wind, and after him the carts with provisions, with money and about two hundred soldiers, whom the emperor had ordered to accompany him.
After he had passed beyond his father's kingdom and arrived in the wilderness, Prince Charming distributed all his wealth among his soldiers and, taking his leave, sent them back, leaving for himself only as much food as his horse could carry. And taking the road to the east, he went, went, went, for three days and three nights, until he came to a wide plain, where there were many human bones.
Sitting down to rest, the horse said to him:
– You should know, master, that here we are on the estate of a Gheonoaie, who is so evil that no one steps on her estate without being killed. She was also a woman like all women, but the curse of her parents, whom she did not listen to, but kept bothering them, made her a Gheonoaie; at this moment she is with her children, but tomorrow, in the forest you see, we will meet her coming to destroy you; she is terribly big; but do not be afraid, but be ready with your bow to shoot her, and keep your sword and spear at hand, so that you can use them when necessary.
They retreated to rest; but now one, now another, was lurking.
The next day, when the dew was pouring down, they were preparing to cross the forest. Prince Charming tricked and reined in his horse, and tightened the girth more than before, and set off; when he heard a terrible knock. Then the horse said to him:
– Hold on, master, ready, because here comes Gheonoaia.
And when she came, grandfather, she would knock down the trees: she went so fast; and the horse climbed like the wind until it was almost above her, and Prince Charming took one of her legs with an arrow, and when he was about to hit her with the second arrow, she cried out:
– Wait, Prince Charming, I won't do anything to you!
And seeing that he did not believe her, he wrote it down with his blood.
– Long live your horse, Prince Charming, she said to him, like a madman that he is, for if it weren't for him, I would have eaten you roasted; but now you have eaten me; know that until today no mortal has dared to cross my borders this far; a few fools who have undertaken to do so have barely reached the plain where you saw the many bones.
They went to her house, where Gheonoaia feasted the Prince Charming and treated him like a traveler. But while they were at the table and enjoying themselves, and Gheonoaia was groaning in pain, suddenly he took out her leg that he kept in his bag, put it back in place and it immediately healed. Gheonoaia, with joy, held the table for three days in a row and asked the Prince Charming to choose as his wife one of the three girls he had, beautiful as fairies; but he did not want to, but told her plainly what he was looking for; then she said to him:
– With the horse you have and your bravery, I believe you will succeed.
After three days, they prepared for the journey and set off. Prince Charming walked, walked and walked again, a long and longer way; but when he was about to cross the borders of Gheonoaia, he came across a beautiful plain, on one side with blooming grass, and on the other scorched. Then he asked the horse:
– Why is the grass scorched?
And the horse answered him:
– Here we are on the estate of a Scorpia, sister to Gheonoaia; they are so evil that they cannot live together; the curse of their parents has reached them, and that is why they have become scoundrels, just as you see them; their enmity is terrible, they need a head, they want to steal each other's land; when Scorpia is badly troubled, she spits fire and pitch; it is clear that she had some quarrel with her sister and, coming to chase her from her realm, she scorched the grass where she passed; she is worse than her sister and has three heads. Let us rest a little, master, and tomorrow morning we will be ready.
The next day they prepared, as if they had arrived at Gheonoaia, and set off. When, they heard a roar and a roar, the likes of which they had never heard before!
– Be ready, master, because here comes the little sister of Scorpie.
The scorpion, with one jaw in the sky and the other in the ground and spewing flames, approached like a swift wind; and the horse mounted as fast as an arrow, almost above her, and leaned over her from a distance. Prince Charming shot an arrow and one of her heads flew off; when he was about to take another head, Scorpio begged with tears to forgive her, that he would do her no harm, and to convince him, he gave her a sign written in her blood. The scorpion feasted Prince Charming even more than Gheonoaia; and he gave her back the head that he had taken with the arrow, which stuck to her as soon as she put it back, and after three days they set off on their way.
Passing beyond the borders of Scorpia, they went, went and went again, until they reached a field of only flowers and where it was only spring; each flower was particularly proud and had a sweet, intoxicating scent; a breeze was blowing that was barely noticeable. There she stopped to rest, and the horse said to her:
– We pass as we pass so far, master; we have one more jump: we will encounter a great danger; and if God helps us to escape from it too, then we are strong. Before here is the palace where Youth without old age and life without death live. This house is surrounded by a dense and high forest, where all the wildest beasts in the world live; day and night they guard with sleeplessness and there are very many of them; there is no way to fight them; and to pass through the forest is beyond our ability; but we must force ourselves, if we can, to jump over the roof.
After resting for about two days, they prepared again; then the horse, holding its breath, said:
– Master, tighten the strap as much as you can, and as you mount, hold on tightly to both the steps and my mane; keep your feet close to my saddle, so as not to trip me up in my flight.
He climbed in, tried it out, and in a minute he was close to the forest.
– Master, said the horse, now is the time when the beasts of the forest are fed and they are all gathered in the yard; let us pass.
– Let us pass, replied Prince Charming, and may God have mercy on us.
They climbed up and saw the palace shining so brightly that you could see it from the sun, but not from him. They passed over the forest and, just as they were about to descend the palace stairs, they barely, barely touched the top of a tree with their foot and suddenly the whole forest was in motion; the animals were howling so that the hair on your head stood on end. They hurried to descend; and if the lady of the palace had not been outside, feeding her young (for that was what she called the forest lions), she would surely have destroyed them.
More than happy that they had come, she escaped; for she had never seen a human soul near her before. She stopped the animals, tamed them, and sent them to their place. The mistress was a tall, slender, lovely, and beautiful fairy, a great necessity! When Prince Charming saw her, he was stunned. But she, looking at him with pity, said to him:
– Welcome, Prince Charming! What are you doing here?
– We seek, he said, Youth without old age and life without death.
– If you are looking for what you said, here it is.
Then he dismounted and entered the palace. There he found two more women, both young; they were the eldest sisters. He began to thank the fairies for saving him from danger; and they, in their joy, cooked a delicious dinner, and only in golden dishes. He let the horse go where he wanted; then they made them known to all the lionesses, so that they could roam in peace through the forest.
The women begged him to live with them from now on, for they said they hated being alone; and he did not wait to ask her again, but accepted with all gratitude, as one who had been looking for that.
Slowly, slowly, they got to know each other, he told his story and what happened before he reached them, and not long after he was accompanied by the youngest girl. When they accompanied him, the owners of the house gave him permission to go through all the surrounding places, wherever he wanted; only to a valley, which they showed him, they told him not to go, because it would not do him any good; and they told him that that valley was called the Valley of Weeping.
He spent a forgotten time there, without hearing anything, because he remained as young as when he had come. He passed through the forest, without even a headache. He delighted in the golden palaces, lived in peace and quiet with his wife and sisters-in-law, enjoyed the beauty of the flowers and the sweetness and purity of the air, like a happy man. He often went out hunting; but, one day, he set out after a hare, shot one arrow, two and missed it; angry, he ran after it and shot a third arrow, with which he missed it; but the unfortunate man, in the confusion, did not notice that, running after the hare, he had crossed into the Valley of Lamentation.
Taking the rabbits, he was returning home; when, what do you see, madam? Suddenly he was seized with a longing for his father and mother. He did not dare to tell the women masters; but they recognized him by the sadness and restlessness they saw in him.
“You have crossed over, unfortunate one, into the Valley of Weeping!” they said to him, completely frightened.
– I passed by, my dears, without wanting to do this foolish thing; and now my feet are melting from longing for my parents, but I cannot bear to leave you either. I have been with you for many days and I will not complain of any sorrow. I will go, however, to see my parents once more, and then I will return, never to go again.
– Do not leave us, my beloved; your parents have not lived for hundreds of years, and even you, going away, we fear that you will not return; stay with us; for the thought tells us that you will perish.
All the prayers of the three women, as well as the horse, were unable to appease his longing for his parents, which was completely drying him up. Finally, the horse said to him:
– If you don't want to listen to me, master, whatever happens to you, know that you are the only one to blame. I will tell you a word, and if you accept my bargain, I will take you back.
– I get it, he said with all his satisfaction, say it!
– When we get to your father's palace, I'll drop you off and I'll come back, if you'd like to stay for at least an hour.
“So be it,” he said.
They prepared to depart, embraced the women, and, after bidding each other good-bye, set off, leaving them sobbing and with tears in their eyes. They arrived at the place where Scorpia's estate was; there they found towns; the forests had changed into plains; they asked each other about Scorpia and her dwelling; but they answered that their grandfathers had heard from their ancestors telling such trifles.
– How is something like this possible? Prince Charming would say to them, “I passed by here the day before yesterday,” and he would tell them everything he knew.
The inhabitants laughed at him, as if he were crazy or dreaming, and he, angry, went on ahead, not noticing that his beard and hair had turned white.
Arriving at Gheonoaia's estate, he asked questions as he had at Scorpia's estate, and received similar answers. He could not help himself: how in a few days had places changed so much? And again angry, he set off with a white beard down to his waist, feeling that his legs were a bit trembling, and arrived at his father's kingdom. Here were other people, other cities, and the old ones had been changed beyond recognition. At last, he arrived at the palaces in which he had been born. As he dismounted, the horse kissed his hand and said:
– Stay healthy, because I'm going back where I left off. If you want to go too, get on your horse right away and let's go!
– Go in good health, as I too hope to return soon.
The horse left like a swift arrow.
Seeing the ruined palaces and weeds growing on them, he sighed and, with tears in his eyes, tried to remember how bright these palaces had once been and how he had spent his childhood in them; he went around them a couple of times, examining every pantry, every corner that reminded him of the past; the stable where he had found the horse; then he went down to the cellar, the opening of which had been blocked by fallen rubble.
Searching here and there, with a white beard down to his knees, lifting his eyelids with his hands and barely walking, he found only a fragrant throne; he opened it, but found nothing in it; he lifted the lid of the casket, and a weak voice said to him:
– Welcome, because if you were any late, I would have perished too.
A slap struck his Death, which had dried up and become a hook in the haystack, and he fell dead, and immediately turned to dust.
And I was riding the donkey and I told you so.
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