After some time passed, a war broke out, and the king was obliged to take the field. On the eve of departure, he said to his queen: "You shall rule over my realm, and I will leave both land and people in your care. But you shall promise me one thing, that you will keep the wild man, so that he escape not while I am away." The queen promised to do her best both in that and all things besides; and the king gave her the keys of the cage. He then pushed his barks from the shore, hoisted sail on the gilded yards, and went far, far away to distant countries; and to whatever place he came, he was there victorious. But the queen stood on the share, looking after him as long as she could see his banners waving over the ocean, and then, with her attendants, returned to the palace, there to sit sewing silk on her knee, awaiting her husband's return.
The king and queen had an only child, a prince, still of tender age, but who gave good promise of himself. After the king's departure, it one day happened that the boy, in his wanderings about the palace, came to the wild man's cage, and sat down close by it playing with his gold apple. While he was thus amusing himself, his apple chanced to pass through the window of the cage. The wild man came forward and threw it out. The boy thought this a pleasant game, and threw his apple in again, and the wild man threw it back, and thus they continued for some time. But at length pleasure was turned to sorrow, for the wild man kept the apple and would not throw it back. When neither threats nor pleading were of any use, the child burst into tears. Seeing this, the wild man said: "Your father has acted wickedly towards me, in making me a prisoner, and you shalt never get thy apple again, unless you set me free."
The boy answered: "How shall I set you free? Only give me my gold apple! my gold apple!" |
