The Fairy Ring
Copyright© 2024 by Kate Douglas Wiggin
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 whatever 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 fishes together into a great dish, but he kept the crab separate because it shone so beautifully, and placed it upon a high shelf in the cupboard. Now, while the old woman, his wife, was cleaning the fish, and had tucked up her gown so that her feet were visible, she suddenly heard a voice, which said:
“Let down, let down thy petticoat
That lets thy feet be seen.”
She turned around in surprise, and then she saw the little creature, the golden crab.
“What! You can speak, can you, you ridiculous crab?” she said, for she was not quite pleased at the crab’s remark. Then she took him up and placed him on a dish.
When her husband came home and they sat down to dinner, they presently heard the crab’s little voice saying: “Give me some, too.” They were all very much surprised, but they gave him something to eat. When the old man came to take away the plate which had contained the crab’s dinner, he found it full of gold, and as the same thing happened every day he soon 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 younger daughter.”
The old woman went accordingly and laid the matter before the King, who laughed a little at the notion of his daughter marrying a crab, but did not decline the proposal altogether, because he was a prudent monarch and knew that the crab was likely to be a prince in disguise. He said, therefore, to the fisherman’s wife: “Go, old woman, and tell the crab I will give him my daughter if by to-morrow morning he can build a wall in front of my castle much higher than my tower, upon which all the flowers of the world must grow and bloom.”
The fisherman’s wife went home and gave this message.
Then the crab gave her a golden rod and said: “Go and strike with this rod three times upon the ground on the place which the King showed you, and to-morrow 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, exactly as he had bespoken it!
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 I cannot give away my daughter until there stands in front of my palace a garden in which there are three fountains, of which the first must play gold, the second diamonds, and the third brilliants.”
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 now gave his consent, and the wedding was fixed for the very 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. Answer him thus: ‘Your master, 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 which are like the flowery meadows, and bring them both to me, and bring me also the golden cushion.”
The old man went and did his errand. When he had brought the precious robes 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, where the crab presented the other garment to his bride. Now the ceremony took place, and when the married pair were alone together the crab made himself known to his young wife, and told her how he was the son of the greatest king in the world, and how 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 as often as he wished. No sooner had he said this than he shook himself and immediately became a handsome youth; but the next morning he was forced to creep back again into his crabshell. And the same thing happened every day. But the Princess’s affection for the crab and the polite attention with which she behaved to him surprised the royal family very much. They suspected some secret, but though they spied and spied, they could not discover it. Thus a year passed away and the Princess had a son, whom she called Benjamin. But her mother still thought the whole matter very strange. At last she said to the King that he ought to ask his daughter whether she would not like to have another husband instead of the crab. But when the daughter was questioned she only answered:
“I am married to the crab, and him only will I have.”
Then the King said to her: “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 this to the crab, who said to her: “Take this rod; go to the garden gate and knock with it; then a black man will come out and say to you, ‘Why have you called me and what do you require of me?’ Answer him thus: ‘Your master the King has sent me hither to tell you to send him his golden armor and his steed and the silver apple.’ And bring them to me.”
To read the complete story you need to be logged in:
Log In or
Register for a Free account
(Why register?)
* Allows you 3 stories to read in 24 hours.