The Wounded Lion.
There was once a girl so poor that she had nothing to live on.
And wandered about the world asking for charity.
One day she arrived at a thatched cottage and inquired if they could give her any work.
The farmer said he wanted a cow herd,
As his own had left him.
And if the girl liked the place,
She might take it.
So she became a cowherd.
One morning she was driving her cows through the meadows when she heard nearby a loud groan that almost sounded human.
She hastened to the spot from which the noise came and found it proceeded from a lion who lay stretched upon the ground.
You can guess how frightened she was,
But the lion seemed in such pain that she was sorry for him.
And drew nearer and nearer till she saw he had a large thorn in one foot.
She pulled out the thorn and bound up the place.
And the lion was grateful and licked her hand by way of thanks with his big rough tongue.
When the girl had finished,
She went back to find the cows.
But they had gone,
And though she hunted everywhere,
She never found them.
And she had to return home and confess to the master,
Who scolded her bitterly.
Then he said,
Now you will have to look after the donkeys.
So every day she had to take the donkeys to the woods to feed.
Until one morning.
.
.
Exactly a year after she found the lion,
She heard a groan,
Which sounded quite human.
She went straight to the place from which the noise was,
And to her great surprise beheld the same lion stretched on the ground with a deep wound across his face.
This time she was not afraid at all,
Ran towards him and started washing the wound and laying soothing herbs upon it.
And when she had bounded up,
The lion thanked her in the same manner as before.
After that,
She returned to her flock,
But they were nowhere to be seen.
She searched here,
She searched there,
But they had vanished completely.
Then she had to go home and confess to her master,
Who first scolded her and then said,
Now go,
He ended,
And look after the pigs.
So the next day she took out the pigs.
And found them such good feeding grounds that they grew fatter every day.
Another year passed by.
And one morning when the maiden was out with her pigs.
She heard a groan which sounded quite human.
She ran to see what it was,
And found her old friend the lion,
Wounded through and through,
Laying under a tree.
She fell on her knees before him and washed his wounds one by one and laid healing herbs upon them.
And the lion licked her hands and thanked her and asked if she would not stay and sit by him.
But the girl said she had her pigs to watch,
And she must go and see after them.
So she ran to the place where she left them.
But they had vanished,
As if the earth had swallowed them up.
She whistled and called,
But only the birds answered her.
Then she sank down on the ground and wept bitterly,
Not daring to return home until some hours had passed away.
And when she had had her cry out,
She got up and searched all up and down the wood.
But it was no use.
There was not a sign of the pigs.
At last,
She thought that perhaps if she climbed a tree,
She might see further.
But no sooner was she seated on the highest branch,
Than something happened.
Which put the pigs quite out of her head.
This was a handsome young man who was coming down the path.
And when he had almost reached the tree,
He pulled aside a rock.
And disappeared behind it.
The maiden rubbed her eyes and wondered if she'd been dreaming.
Next she thought,
I will not stir from here till I see him come out and discover who he is.
Accordingly,
She waited.
And at dawn the next morning the rock moved to one side.
And a lion came out.
When he had gone quite out of sight,
The girl climbed down from the tree and went to the rock,
Which she pushed aside,
And entered the opening before her.
The path led to a beautiful house.
She went in,
Swept and dusted the furniture,
And put everything tidy.
Then she ate a very good dinner,
Which was on a shelf in the corner.
And once more clambered up to the top of her tree.
As the sun set,
She saw the same young man walking gaily down the path.
And as before.
.
.
He pushed aside the rock.
And disappeared behind it.
Next morning,
Out came the lion.
He looked sharply about him on all sides,
But saw no one.
And then vanished into the forest.
The maiden then came down from the tree and did exactly as she had done the day before.
Thus three days went by,
And every day she went and tidied up the palace.
At length,
When the girl found she was no nearer to discovering the secret,
She resolved to ask him,
And in the evening,
When she caught sight of him coming down through the wood,
She came down from the tree.
And begged him to tell her his name.
The young man looked very pleased to see her,
And said he thought it must be she who had secretly kept his house for so many days,
And he added that he was a prince enchanted by a powerful giant.
But was only allowed to take his own shape at night.
For all day he was forced to appear as the lion,
Whom she had helped often.
And more than this,
It was the giant who had stolen the ox,
And the donkeys,
And the pigs,
In revenge for her kindness.
And the girl asked him.
What can I do to disenchant you?
But he said he was afraid it was very difficult,
Because the only way was to get a lock of hair from the head of the king's daughter,
To spin it,
And to make from it a cloak for the giant.
Who lived on the top of a high mountain.
Very well,
Answered the girl.
I will go to the city,
And knock at the door of the king's palace,
And ask the princess to take me as a servant.
So they parted,
And when she arrived at the city she walked into the streets crying.
Who will hire me for a servant?
Who will hire me for a servant?
But though many people liked her looks,
For she was clean and neat.
The maiden would listen to none and still continued crying.
Who will hire me for a servant?
Who will hire me for a servant?
At last there came the waiting maid of the princess.
What can you do?
She said.
And the girl was forced to confess that she could do very little.
You'll have to do Scullion's work and wash up dishes,
" said she,
And they went straight back to the palace.
Then the maiden dressed her hair afresh and made herself look very neat and smart,
And everyone admired her and praised her,
Till by and by it came to the ears of the princess.
And she sent for the girl.
And when she saw her and how beautifully she had dressed her hair,
The princess told her she was to come and comb out hers.
Now the hair of the princess was very thick and long and shone like the sun.
And the girl combed it and combed it till it was brighter than ever.
And the princess was pleased and bade her come every day and comb her hair till at length the girl took courage and begged leave to cut off one of the long thick locks.
The princess,
Who was very proud of her hair,
Did not like the idea of parting with any of it.
So she said no.
But the girl could not give up hope,
And each day she entreated to be allowed to cut off just one tress.
At length,
The princess lost patience and exclaimed,
You may have it then,
On condition that you shall find the handsomest prince in the world to be my bridegroom.
And the girl answered that she would.
And cut off the lock.
And wove it into a coat that glittered like silk.
And brought it to the young man.
Who told her to carry it straight to the giant.
But that she must be careful to cry out a long way off.
What she had with her.
Or else he would spring upon her.
So the maiden departed and climbed up the mountain,
But before she reached the top the giant heard her footsteps and rushed out breathing fire and flame.
Having a sword in one hand and a club in the other.
But she cried loudly that she had brought him the coat.
And then he grew quiet.
And invited her to come into his house.
He tried on the coat.
But it was too short and he threw it off and declared it was no use.
And the girl picked it up sadly and returned quite in despair to the king's palace.
The next morning when she was combing the princess's hair,
She begged leave to cut off another lock.
At first the princess said no,
But the girl begged so hard that at length she gave in on condition that she should find her a prince as a bridegroom.
The maiden told her she'd already found him and spun the lock into shiny stuff and fastened it on the end of the coat.
And when it was finished,
She carried it to the giant.
This time it fitted him,
And he was quite pleased,
And asked her what he could give her in return.
And she said the only reward he could give her was to take the spell off the lion.
And bring him back to his own shape.
For a long time the giant would not hear of it,
But in the end he gave in and told her exactly how it must all be done.
She was to end the lion's life herself.
And then put him in water,
And out of the water the prince would come free from enchantment forever.
But the maiden went away weeping,
Lest the giant should be deceiving her.
And that she had to take the life of the lion.
She wasn't sure what to do.
Weeping,
She came down the mountain.
And weeping she joined the prince who was waiting her at the bottom.
And when he heard her story,
He comforted her.
And bade her be of good courage,
And do the bidding of the giant.
And the maiden believed what the prince told her.
And she did as she was told.
And out of the water came the prince,
Beautiful as the day,
And as glad to look upon the sun himself.
Then the young man thanked the maiden for all she'd done for him.
And says she should be his wife and none other.
But the maiden only wept more,
And answered that she could never be,
For she had given her promise to the princess when she cut off her hair,
That the prince should be wed to her,
And only her.
But the prince replied,
If it is the princess,
We must go quickly.
Come with me.
So they went together to the king's palace,
And when the king and queen and princess saw the young man,
A great joy filled their hearts.
For they knew him for the eldest son who had long ago been enchanted by the giant and lost to them.
And he asked his parents' consent that he might marry the girl who had saved him,
And a great feast was made,
And the maiden became a princess and in due time a queen.
And she richly deserved all the honors showered upon her.
And that is the end of our story this evening.
Until next time.
Sweet dreams.
