CHAPTER IV
HOW MR. SCHWARTZ SET OFF ON AN EXPEDITION TO THE GOLDEN RIVER, AND HOWHE PROSPERED THEREIN
Poor little Gluck waited very anxiously, alone in the house, for Hans'sreturn. Finding he did not come back, he was terribly frightened andwent and told Schwartz in the prison all that had happened. ThenSchwartz was very much pleased and said that Hans must certainly havebeen turned into a black stone and he should have all the gold tohimself. But Gluck was very sorry and cried all night. When he got upin the morning there was no bread in the house, nor any money; so Gluckwent and hired himself to another goldsmith, and he worked so hard andso neatly and so long every day that he soon got money enough togetherto pay his brother's fine, and he went and gave it all to Schwartz, andSchwartz got out of prison. Then Schwartz was quite pleased and saidhe should have some of the gold of the river. But Gluck only begged hewould go and see what had become of Hans.
Now when Schwartz had heard that Hans had stolen the holy water, hethought to himself that such a proceeding might not be consideredaltogether correct by the King of the Golden River, and determined tomanage matters better. So he took some more of Gluck's money and wentto a bad priest, who gave him some holy water very readily for it.Then Schwartz was sure it was all quite right. So Schwartz got up earlyin the morning before the sun rose, and took some bread and wine in abasket, and put his holy water in a flask, and set off for themountains. Like his brother he was much surprised at the sight of theglacier and had great difficulty in crossing it, even after leaving hisbasket behind him. The day was cloudless but not bright; there was aheavy purple haze hanging over the sky, and the hills looked loweringand gloomy. And as Schwartz climbed the steep rock path the thirstcame upon him, as it had upon his brother, until he lifted his flask tohis lips to drink. Then he saw the fair child lying near him on therocks, and it cried to him and moaned for water. "Water, indeed," saidSchwartz; "I haven't half enough for myself," and passed on. And as hewent he thought the sunbeams grew more dim, and he saw a low bank ofblack cloud rising out of the west; and when he had climbed for anotherhour, the thirst overcame him again and he would have drunk. Then hesaw the old man lying before him on the path, and heard him cry out forwater. "Water, indeed," said Schwartz; "I haven't half enough formyself," and on he went. Then again the light seemed to fade frombefore his eyes, and he looked up, and, behold, a mist, of the color ofblood, had come over the sun; and the bank of black cloud had risenvery high, and its edges were tossing and tumbling like the waves ofthe angry sea and they cast long shadows which flickered overSchwartz's path.
Then Schwartz climbed for another hour, and again his thirst returned;and as he lifted his flask to his lips he thought he saw his brotherHans lying exhausted on the path before him, and as he gazed the figurestretched its arms to him and cried for water. "Ha, ha!" laughedSchwartz, "are you there? Remember the prison bars, my boy. Water,indeed! do you suppose I carried it all the way up here for you?" Andhe strode over the figure; yet, as he passed, he thought he saw astrange expression of mockery about its lips. And when he had gone afew yards farther, he looked back; but the figure was not there.
And a sudden horror came over Schwartz, he knew not why; but the thirstfor gold prevailed over his fear, and he rushed on. And the bank ofblack cloud rose to the zenith, and out of it came bursts of spirylightning, and waves of darkness seemed to heave and float, betweentheir flashes, over the whole heavens. And the sky where the sun wassetting was all level and like a lake of blood; and a strong wind cameout of that sky, tearing its crimson clouds into fragments andscattering them far into the darkness. And when Schwartz stood by thebrink of the Golden River, its waves were black like thunder clouds,but their foam was like fire; and the roar of the waters below and thethunder above met as he cast the flask into the stream. And as he didso the lightning glared in his eyes, and the earth gave way beneathhim, and the waters closed over his cry. And the moaning of the riverrose wildly into the night as it gushed over the
TWO BLACK STONES
CHAPTER V
HOW LITTLE GLUCK SET OFF ON AN EXPEDITION TO THE GOLDEN RIVER, AND HOWHE PROSPERED THEREIN, WITH OTHER MATTERS OF INTEREST
When Gluck found that Schwartz did not come back, he was very sorry anddid not know what to do. He had no money and was obliged to go andhire himself again to the goldsmith, who worked him very hard and gavehim very little money. So, after a month or two, Gluck grew tired andmade up his mind to go and try his fortune with the Golden River. "Thelittle king looked very kind," thought he. "I don't think he will turnme into a black stone." So he went to the priest, and the priest gavehim some holy water as soon as he asked for it. Then Gluck took somebread in his basket, and the bottle of water, and set off very earlyfor the mountains.
If the glacier had occasioned a great deal of fatigue in his brothers,it was twenty times worse for him, who was neither so strong nor sopracticed on the mountains. He had several very bad falls, lost hisbasket and bread, and was very much frightened at the strange noisesunder the ice. He lay a long time to rest on the grass, after he hadgot over, and began to climb the hill just in the hottest part of theday. When he had climbed for an hour, he got dreadfully thirsty andwas going to drink like his brothers, when he saw an old man comingdown the path above him, looking very feeble and leaning on a staff."Why son," said the old man, "I am faint with thirst; give me some ofthat water." Then Gluck looked at him, and when he saw that he waspale and weary, he gave him the water. "Only pray don't drink it all,"said Gluck. But the old man drank a great deal and gave him back thebottle two thirds empty. Then he bade him good speed, and Gluck wenton again merrily. And the path became easier to his feet, and two orthree blades of grass appeared upon it, and some grasshoppers begansinging on the bank beside it, and Gluck thought he had never heardsuch merry singing.
Then he went on for another hour, and the thirst increased on him sothat he thought he should be forced to drink. But as he raised theflask he saw a little child lying panting by the roadside, and it criedout piteously for water. Then Gluck struggled with himself anddetermined to bear the thirst a little longer; and he put the bottle tothe child's lips, and it drank it all but a few drops. Then it smiledon him and got up and ran down the hill; and Gluck looked after it tillit became as small as a little star, and then turned and began climbingagain. And then there were all kinds of sweet flowers growing on therocks--bright green moss with pale pink, starry flowers, and softbelled gentians, more blue than the sky at its deepest, and pure whitetransparent lilies. And crimson and purple butterflies darted hitherand thither, and the sky sent down such pure light that Gluck had neverfelt so happy in his life.
Yet, when he had climbed for another hour, his thirst becameintolerable again; and when he looked at his bottle, he saw that therewere only five or six drops left in it, and he could not venture todrink. And as he was hanging the flask to his belt again, he saw alittle dog lying on the rocks, gasping for breath--just as Hans hadseen it on the day of his ascent. And Gluck stopped and looked at it,and then at the Golden River, not five hundred yards above him; and hethought of the dwarf's words, that no one could succeed except in hisfirst attempt; and he tried to pass the dog, but it whined piteouslyand Gluck stopped again. "Poor beastie," said Gluck, "it'll be deadwhen I come down again, if I don't help it." Then he looked closer andcloser at it, and its eye turned on him so mournfully that he could notstand it. "Confound the king and his gold too," said Gluck, and heopened the flask and poured all the water into the dog's mouth.
The dog sprang up and stood on its hind legs. Its tail disappeared;its ears became long, longer, silky, golden; its nose became very red;its eyes became very twinkling; in three seconds the dog was gone, andbefore Gluck stood his old acquaintance, the King of the Golden River.
"Thank you," said the monarch. "But don't be frightened; it's allright"--for Gluck showed manifest symptoms of consternation at thisunlooked-for reply to his last observation. "Why didn't you comebefore,
" continued the dwarf, "instead of sending me those rascallybrothers of yours, for me to have the trouble of turning into stones?Very hard stones they make, too."
"O dear me!" said Gluck, "have you really been so cruel?"
"Cruel!" said the dwarf; "they poured unholy water into my stream. Doyou suppose I'm going to allow that?"
"Why," said Gluck, "I am sure, sir,--your Majesty, I mean,--they gotthe water out of the church font."
"Very probably," replied the dwarf, "but" (and his countenance grewstern as he spoke) "the water which has been refused to the cry of theweary and dying is unholy, though it had been blessed by every saint inheaven; and the water which is found in the vessel of mercy is holy,though it had been defiled with corpses."
So saying, the dwarf stooped and plucked a lily that grew at his feet.On its white leaves there hung three drops of clear dew. And the dwarfshook them into the flask which Gluck held in his hand. "Cast theseinto the river," he said, "and descend on the other side of themountains into the Treasure Valley. And so good speed."
As he spoke the figure of the dwarf became indistinct. The playingcolors of his robe formed themselves into a prismatic mist of dewylight; he stood for an instant veiled with them as with the belt of abroad rainbow. The colors grew faint; the mist rose into the air; themonarch had evaporated.
And Gluck climbed to the brink of the Golden River, and its waves wereas clear as crystal and as brilliant as the sun. And when he cast thethree drops of dew into the stream, there opened where they fell asmall, circular whirlpool, into which the waters descended with amusical noise.
Gluck stood watching it for some time, very much disappointed, becausenot only the river was not turned into gold, but its waters seemed muchdiminished in quantity. Yet he obeyed his friend the dwarf anddescended the other side of the mountains towards the Treasure Valley;and as he went he thought he heard the noise of water working its wayunder the ground. And when he came in sight of the Treasure Valley,behold, a river, like the Golden River, was springing from a new cleftof the rocks above it and was flowing in innumerable streams among thedry heaps of red sand.
And as Gluck gazed, fresh grass sprang beside the new streams, andcreeping plants grew and climbed among the moistening soil. Youngflowers opened suddenly along the riversides, as stars leap out whentwilight is deepening, and thickets of myrtle and tendrils of vine castlengthening shadows over the valley as they grew. And thus theTreasure Valley became a garden again, and the inheritance which hadbeen lost by cruelty was regained by love.
And Gluck went and dwelt in the valley, and the poor were never drivenfrom his door, so that his barns became full of corn and his house oftreasure. And for him the river had, according to the dwarf's promise,become a river of gold.
And to this day the inhabitants of the valley point out the place wherethe three drops of holy dew were cast into the stream, and trace thecourse of the Golden River under the ground until it emerges in theTreasure Valley. And at the top of the cataract of the Golden Riverare still to be seen two black stones, round which the waters howlmournfully every day at sunset; and these stones are still called bythe people of the valley
THE BLACK BROTHERS
Thank you for reading books on BookFrom.Net Share this book with friends