Tales of Giants from Brazil Part 3

"Do not fear," replied the prince. "I have with me a net which is so strong that the biggest, fiercest fish in the world cannot break it. I will catch the fish in it. Just wait and you will see. In the meantime take the cotton out of the ears of the princess and tell her that I am here. Quiet her fears and stay in the box for a few moments."

The old _ama_ got into the box as the prince had commanded. Then he unbarred the great door. The fish swam at him fiercely, but the prince quickly entangled him in his strong net. Holding him fast in the net, the prince swam up to the surface of the water and was soon on the bank of the raging river. Then he killed the fish and scaled it and put the scales in his pocket.

The box had floated up to the surface of the water as the prince had said it would. The prince threw his net over it and drew it to land.

The _ama_ and the beautiful princess stepped out. The princess was so lovely that the prince fell upon his knees before her. The sight of her great beauty almost blinded his eyes.

"I knew all the time that you would come back again," said the princess. "I knew that you would deliver me from my troubles, but you have been a long time getting here."

The prince told the princess all that had happened to him. "You saved my life from the giant," said he. "I am very glad to have had an opportunity to save your life for you. Now I must ask you to again save my life." Then he told about the _festa_ at which he must display the most beautiful princess in the world or forfeit his life.

"I'll gladly go to the _festa_ with you," said the princess. "It is fortunate that it is held at night."

The Princess and her _ama_ travelled quickly with the prince to the kingdom which claimed to possess the most beautiful princess in the world. It was already the night of the appointed _festa_ when they arrived. The king's army was drawn up to slay the prince. No one dreamed that the poor fisherman would be able to bring any princess at all with him, much less a beautiful one. The prince hid the princess in the box which the old _ama_ carried on top of her head.

When the poor fisherman stood before the king with an old _ama_ standing by his side, a great laugh ran through the king's court. "We knew that the fisherman would never be able to bring a princess more beautiful than our own lovely princess," said the courtiers one to another. "But see what he has brought in her place!" Then they laughed and laughed until they could hardly stand.

The king's soldiers stepped forward to seize the fisherman to put him to death. "Grant me just one moment more of life," begged the prince.

The king nodded his head and the prince put his hand into the pocket of his fisherman's coat. He pulled out a handful of silver scales. The most beautiful silvery cloud filled the room.

"Just a moment more," begged the prince. Then he pulled a handful of golden scales from out his pocket. The most beautiful golden cloud filled the room.

"Please just another little minute," asked the prince and he pulled out a handful of jewelled scales from his pocket. The most wonderful sparkling cloud of jewels fell about them. As the cloud cleared away there stood the most beautiful princess any one had ever seen or dreamed of between the old _ama_ and the prince in the fisherman clothes.

The soldiers drew back. The king looked at the floor and so did all the courtiers. "You have won your wager," said the king when he could find his voice. "Our daughter is not the most beautiful princess in the whole world. I see myself that her nose is a tiny bit crooked."

The prince and princess and the old _ama_ went back to the prince's own kingdom where the wedding of the prince and princess was celebrated with a great feast. From the moment that the fish scales fell upon the princess her enchantment was broken and she never became a hare again. She and the prince lived together happily in the prince's palace, and the giant never troubled them again, though they were always careful to keep away from the forest.

V

THE LITTLE SISTER OF THE GIANTS

Once upon a time there was a little girl who was very beautiful. Her eyes were like the eyes of the gazelle; her hair hid in its soft waves the deep shadows of the night; her smile was like the sunrise. Each year as she grew older she grew also more and more beautiful. Her name was Angelita.

The little girl's mother was dead, and her father, the image-maker, had married a second time. The step-mother was a woman who was renowned in the city for her great beauty. As her little step-daughter grew more and more lovely each day of her life she soon became jealous of the child. Each night she asked the image-maker, "Who is more beautiful, your wife or your child?"

The image-maker was a wise man and knew all too well his wife's jealous disposition. He always responded, "You, my wife, are absolutely peerless."

One day the image-maker suddenly died, and the step-mother and step-daughter were left alone in the world. They both mourned deeply the pa.s.sing of the kind image-maker.

One day as they were leaning over the balcony two pa.s.sers-by observed them, and one said to the other, "Do you notice those beautiful women in the balcony? The mother is beautiful, but the daughter is far more beautiful." The step-mother had always been jealous of the daughter's loveliness, but now her jealousy was fanned into a burning flame. The wise image-maker was no longer there to tell her that she was peerless.

The next day the mother and daughter again leaned over the balcony.

Two soldiers pa.s.sed by and one said to the other: "Do you observe those two beautiful women in the balcony? The mother is beautiful, but the daughter is far more beautiful." The step-mother flew into a terrible rage. She now knew that it was true as she had long feared.

The girl was more beautiful than she. Her jealousy knew no bounds. She seized her step-daughter roughly and shut her up in a little room in the attic.

The little room in the attic had just one tiny window high up in the wall. The window was shut, but Angelita climbed up to open it in order to get a little air. The next afternoon she grew weary of the confinement of the little room, so she dug a foothold in the wall where she could stand and look out of the window. Her step-mother was leaning over the balcony all alone when two _cavalheiros_ pa.s.sed by.

One said to the other, "Do you observe the beautiful woman in the balcony?" "Yes," replied the other. "She is a beautiful woman, but the little maid who is kept a prisoner in the attic is far more beautiful."

The step-mother became desperate. She ordered the old negro servant to carry the girl into the jungle and kill her. "Be sure that you bring back the tip of Angelita's tongue, so that I may know that you have obeyed my order," she said.

Angelita was very happy to be taken out of the little attic room, and set out for a walk with the old negro with a light heart. They walked through the city streets and out into the open country. Soon they had reached the deep jungle. "Where are we going?" the girl asked in surprise.

"We are taking a walk for our health, _yayazinha_," replied the old negro.

Soon they were so far in the jungle that the path was entirely overgrown. No ray of light penetrated through the deep foliage.

Angelita became frightened. "I'll not go another step if you do not tell me where you are taking me," she said as she stamped her little foot upon the ground.

The old negro burst into tears and told Angelita all that her step-mother had commanded. "I could not hurt one hair of your lovely head, much less cut off the tip of your little tongue, _yayazinha_,"

sobbed the old man.

Angelita stood still and thought. "Go back to my step-mother," she said to the old man. "On the way you will see plenty of dogs. Cut off the tip of a little dog's tongue and carry it home to my step-mother."

This is what the old negro did. The step-mother believed him and thought that he had slain her step-daughter according to her command.

Angelita, in the meantime, wandered on and on through the jungle. The big snakes glided swiftly out of her path. The monkeys and the parrots chattered to keep her from being lonely. She wandered on and on until finally she came to an enormous palace. The front door was wide open.

She went from room to room, but the palace was entirely deserted.

There was not a neat, orderly room in the entire palace.

"I can make these lovely rooms neat and clean," said Angelita. "They surely need some one to do it!" She found a broom and went to work at once. Soon the whole palace was in order once more. Everything was clean and bright.

Just as Angelita was finis.h.i.+ng her task she heard a great noise. She looked out of the door, and there were three enormous giants entering the house. She had never dreamed that giants could be so big. She was frightened nearly to death and scrambled under a chair as fast as she could.

When the giants came into the house they were amazed to find everything in such splendid order. "This is a different looking place from what we left," said the biggest giant.

"What dirty, disorderly giants we have been, living here all by ourselves," said the middle-sized giant. "I just realize it, now that I see what our house looks like when it is neat and clean."

"What kind fairy could have done all this work while we were away?"

said the littlest giant, who was not little at all, but almost as big as his enormous brothers.

The three giants fell to discussing the question. They could not guess how their house could have been made so clean. Their voices were so very kind, in spite of being so loud and heavy, that Angelita decided she dare come out from under the chair and let them see who had done the work for them. She quickly crawled out from her hiding place.

"What lovely fairy is this?" asked the biggest giant, looking at her kindly. He thought that she really was a fairy.

"This is the loveliest fairy I ever saw in all my life," said the middle-sized giant.

"How did such a lovely fairy ever happen to find our dirty, disorderly palace?" asked the littlest giant who was not little at all.

Angelita told the three giants her story. Her beauty and her sweet ways completely entranced them.

"Please live with us always here in our palace in the jungle and be our little sister," said the biggest giant, and the middle-sized giant and the littlest giant, speaking all at once. Their three big deep voices all together made a noise like thunder.

Angelita lived in the palace with the three giants after that. Every day when they went out to hunt she would take the broom and make the palace neat and clean. They called her "little sister" and loved her with all their big giant hearts.

All was well until a little bird went and told Angelita's step-mother that she was alive and living in the depths of the jungle with the three giants. When the step-mother heard about it she was so angry that she thought she could never be happy as long as Angelita was living in the world. She consulted a wicked witch as soon as she could find her shawl.