The Fruit of Happiness.
Once upon a time there was a servant who served a wise man, andcooked for him his cabbage and his onions and his pot-herbs and hisbroth, day after day, time in and time out, for seven years.
In those years the servant was well enough contented, but no onelikes to abide in the same place forever, and so one day he took itinto his head that he would like to go out into the world to seewhat kind of a fortune a man might make there for himself. “Verywell,” says the wise man, the servant’s master; “you have served mefaithfully these seven years gone, and now that you ask leave to goyou shall go. But it is little or nothing in the way of money thatI can give you, and so you will have to be content with what I canafford. See, here is a little pebble, and its like is not to befound in the seven kingdoms, for whoever holds it in his mouth canhear while he does so all that the birds and the beasts say to oneanother. Take it--it is yours, and, if you use it wisely, it maybring you a fortune.”
The servant would rather have had the money in hand than the magicpebble, but, as nothing better was to be had, he took the littlestone, and, bidding his master good-bye, trudged out into the worldto seek his fortune. Well, he jogged on and on, paying his way withthe few pennies he had saved in his seven years of service, but forall of his travelling nothing of good happened to him until, onemorning, he came to a lonely place where there stood a gallows, andthere he sat him down to rest, and it is just in such an unlikelyplace as this that a man’s best chance of fortune comes to himsometimes.
As the servant sat there, there came two ravens flying, and litupon the cross-beam overhead. There they began talking to oneanother, and the servant popped the pebble into his mouth to hearwhat they might say.
_“Yonder is a traveller in the world,” said the first raven._
_“Yes,” said the second, “and if he only knew how to set about it,his fortune is as good as made.”_
_“How is that so?” said the first raven._
_“Why, thus,” said the second. “If he only knew enough to followyonder road over the hill, he would come by-and-by to a stone crosswhere two roads meet, and there he would find a man sitting. If hewould ask it of him, that man would lead him to the garden wherethe fruit of happiness grows.”_
_“The fruit of happiness!” said the first raven, “and of what usewould the fruit of happiness be to him?”_
_“What use? I tell you, friend, there is no fruit in the worldlike that, for one has only to hold it in one’s hand and wish, andwhatever one asks for one shall have.”_
You may guess that when the servant understood the talk of theravens he was not slow in making use of what he heard. Up hescrambled, and away he went as fast as his legs could carry him.On and on he travelled, until he came to the cross-roads and thestone cross of which the raven spoke, and there, sure enough, satthe traveller. He was clad in a weather-stained coat, and he woredusty boots, and the servant bade him good-morning.
How should the servant know that it was an angel whom he beheld,and not a common wayfarer?
“Whither away, comrade,” asked the traveller.
“Out in the world,” said the servant, “to seek my fortune. And whatI want to know is this--will you guide me to where I can find thefruit of happiness?”
“You ask a great thing of me,” said the other; “nevertheless, sinceyou do ask it, it is not for me to refuse, though I may tell youthat many a man has sought for that fruit, and few indeed havefound it. But if I guide you to the garden where the fruit grows,there is one condition you must fulfil: many strange things willhappen upon our journey between here and there, but concerning allyou see you must ask not a question and say not a word. Do youagree to that?”
“Yes,” said the servant, “I do.”
“Very well,” said his new comrade; “then let us be jogging, for Ihave business in the town to-night, and the time is none too longto get there.”
So all the rest of that day they journeyed onward together, until,towards evening, they came to a town with high towers and steeproofs and tall spires. The servant’s companion entered the gate asthough he knew the place right well, and led the way up one streetand down another, until, by-and-by, they came to a noble housethat stood a little apart by itself, with gardens of flowers andfruit-trees all around it. There the travelling companion stopped,and, drawing out a little pipe from under his jacket, began playingso sweetly upon it that it made one’s heart stand still to listento the music.
Well, he played and played until, by-and-by, the door opened, andout came a serving-man. “Ho, piper!” said he, “would you like toearn good wages for your playing?”
“Yes,” said the travelling companion, “I would, for that is why Icame hither.”
“Then follow me,” said the servant, and thereupon the travellingcompanion tucked away his pipe and entered, with the other at hisheels.
The house-servant led the way from one room to another, eachgrander than the one they left behind, until at last he came to agreat hall where dozens of servants were serving a fine feast. Butonly one man sat at table--a young man with a face so sorrowfulthat it made a body’s heart ache to look upon him. “Can you playgood music, piper?” said he.
“Yes,” said the piper, “that I can, for I know a tune that can curesorrow. But before I blow my pipe I and my friend here must havesomething to eat and drink, for one cannot play well with an emptystomach.”
“So be it,” said the young man; “sit down with me and eat anddrink.”
So the two did without second bidding, and such food and drinkthe serving-man had never tasted in his life before. And whilethey were feasting together the young man told them his story, andwhy it was he was so sad. A year before he had married a younglady, the most beautiful in all that kingdom, and had friends andcomrades and all things that a man could desire in the world.But suddenly everything went wrong; his wife and he fell out andquarrelled until there was no living together, and she had to goback to her old home. Then his companions deserted him, and now helived all alone.
“Yours is a hard case,” said the travelling companion, “but it isnot past curing.” Thereupon he drew out his pipes and began toplay, and it was such a tune as no man ever listened to before.He played and he played, and, after a while, one after another ofthose who listened to him began to get drowsy. First they winked,then they shut their eyes, and then they nodded until all wereas dumb as logs, and as sound asleep as though they would neverwaken again. Only the servant and the piper stayed awake, for themusic did not make them drowsy as it did the rest. Then, when allbut they two were tight and fast asleep, the travelling companionarose, tucked away his pipe, and, stepping up to the young man,took from off his finger a splendid ruby ring, as red as blood andas bright as fire, and popped the same into his pocket. And allthe while the serving-man stood gaping like a fish to see what hiscomrade was about. “Come,” said the travelling companion, “it istime we were going,” and off they went, shutting the door behindthem.
As for the serving-man, though he remembered his promise and saidnothing concerning what he had beheld, his wits buzzed in his headlike a hive of bees, for he thought that of all the ugly trickshe had seen, none was more ugly than this--to bewitch the poorsorrowful young man into a sleep, and then to rob him of his rubyring after he had fed them so well and had treated them so kindly.
But the next day they jogged on together again until by-and-by theycame to a great forest. There they wandered up and down till nightcame upon them and found them still stumbling onward through thedarkness, while the poor serving-man’s flesh quaked to hear thewild beasts and the wolves growling and howling around them.
But all the while the angel--his travelling companion--said nevera word; he seemed to doubt nothing nor fear nothing, but trudgedstraight ahead until, by-and-by, they saw a light twinkling faraway, and, when they came to it, they found a gloomy stone house,as ugly as eyes ever looked upon. Up stepped the servant’s comradeand knocked upon the door--rap! tap! tap! By-and-by it
was openeda crack, and there stood an ugly old woman, blear-eyed and crookedand gnarled as a winter twig. But the heart within her was goodfor all that. “Alas, poor folk!” she cried, “why do you come here?This is a den where lives a band of wicked thieves. Every daythey go out to rob and murder poor travellers like yourselves.By-and-by they will come back, and when they find you here theywill certainly kill you.”
“No matter for that,” said the travelling companion; “we can go nofarther to-night, so you must let us in and hide us as best youmay.”
And in he went, as he said, with the servant at his heels tremblinglike a leaf at what he had heard. The old woman gave them somebread and meat to eat, and then hid them away in the great emptymeal-chest in the corner, and there they lay as still as mice.
By-and-by in came the gang of thieves with a great noise anduproar, and down they sat to their supper. The poor servant lay inthe chest listening to all they said of the dreadful things theyhad done that day--how they had cruelly robbed and murdered poorpeople. Every word that they said he heard, and he trembled untilhis teeth chattered in his head. But all the same the robbers knewnothing of the two being there, and there they lay until near thedawning of the day. Then the travelling companion bade the servantbe stirring, and up they got, and out of the chest they came, andfound all the robbers sound asleep and snoring so that the dustflew.
“Stop a bit,” said the angel--the travelling companion--“we mustpay them for our lodging.”
As he spoke he drew from his pocket the ruby ring which he hadstolen from the sorrowful young man’s finger, and dropped it intothe cup from which the robber captain drank. Then he led the wayout of the house, and, if the serving-man had wondered the daybefore at that which his comrade did, he wondered ten times more tosee him give so beautiful a ring to such wicked and bloody thieves.
The third evening of their journey the two travellers came toa little hut, neat enough, but as poor as poverty, and therethe comrade knocked upon the door and asked for lodging. In thehouse lived a poor man and his wife; and, though the two were ashonest as the palm of your hand, and as good and kind as rain inspring-time, they could hardly scrape enough of a living to keepbody and soul together. Nevertheless, they made the travellerswelcome, and set before them the very best that was to be had inthe house; and, after both had eaten and drunk, they showed them tobed in a corner as clean as snow, and there they slept the nightthrough.
But the next morning, before the dawning of the day, the travellingcompanion was stirring again. “Come,” said he; “rouse yourself, forI have a bit of work to do before I leave this place.”
And strange work it was! When they had come outside of the house,he gathered together a great heap of straw and sticks of wood, andstuffed all under the corner of the house. Then he struck a lightand set fire to it, and, as the two walked away through the graydawn, all was a red blaze behind them.
Still, the servant remembered his promise to his travellingcomrade, and said never a word or asked never a question, thoughall that day he walked on the other side of the road, and wouldhave nothing to say or to do with the other. But never a whit didhis comrade seem to think of or to care for that. On they jogged,and, by the time evening was at hand, they had come to a neatcottage with apple and pear trees around it, all as pleasant as theeye could desire to see. In this cottage lived a widow and her onlyson, and they also made the travellers welcome, and set beforethem a good supper and showed them to a clean bed.
This time the travelling comrade did neither good nor ill to thoseof the house, but in the morning he told the widow whither theywere going, and asked if she and her son knew the way to the gardenwhere grew the fruit of happiness.
“Yes,” said she, “that we do, for the garden is not a day’s journeyfrom here, and my son himself shall go with you to show you theway.”
“That is good,” said the servant’s comrade, “and if he will do so Iwill pay him well for his trouble.”
So the young man put on his hat, and took up his stick, and offwent the three, up hill and down dale, until by-and-by they cameover the top of the last hill, and there below them lay the garden.
And what a sight it was, with the leaves shining and glisteninglike so many jewels in the sunlight! I only wish that I could tellyou how beautiful that garden was. And in the middle of it grew agolden tree, and on it golden fruit. The servant, who had travelledso long and so far, could see it plainly from where he stood, andhe did not need to be told that it was the fruit of happiness. But,after all, all he could do was to stand and look, for in front ofthem was a great raging torrent, without a bridge for a body tocross over.
“Yonder is what you seek,” said the young man, pointing with hisfinger, “and there you can see for yourself the fruit of happiness.”
The travelling companion said never a word, good or bad, but,suddenly catching the widow’s son by the collar, he lifted him andflung him into the black, rushing water. Splash! went the youngman, and then away he went whirling over rocks and water-falls.“There!” cried the comrade, “that is your reward for your service!”
When the servant saw this cruel, wicked deed, he found his tongueat last, and all that he had bottled up for the seven days camefrothing out of him like hot beer. Such abuse as he showered uponhis travelling companion no man ever listened to before. But toall the servant said the other answered never a word until he hadstopped for sheer want of breath. Then--
“Poor fool,” said the travelling companion, “if you had only heldyour tongue a minute longer, you, too, would have had the fruit ofhappiness in your hand. Now it will be many a day before you have asight of it again.”
Thereupon, as he ended speaking, he struck his staff upon theground. Instantly the earth trembled, and the sky darkenedoverhead until it grew as black as night. Then came a great flashof fire from up in the sky, which wrapped the travelling companionabout until he was hidden from sight. Then the flaming fire flewaway to heaven again, carrying him along with it. After that thesky cleared once more, and, lo and behold! the garden and thetorrent and all were gone, and nothing was left but a naked plaincovered over with the bones of those who had come that way before,seeking the fruit which the travelling servant had sought.
It was a long time before the servant found his way back into theworld again, and the first house he came to, weak and hungry, wasthe widow’s.
But what a change he beheld! It was a poor cottage no longer, but asplendid palace, fit for a queen to dwell in. The widow herself methim at the door, and she was dressed in clothes fit for a queen towear, shining with gold and silver and precious stones.
The servant stood and stared like one bereft of wits. “How comesall this change?” said he, “and how did you get all these grandthings?”
“My son,” said the widow woman, “has just been to the garden, andhas brought home from there the fruit of happiness. Many a day didwe search, but never could we find how to enter into the garden,until, the other day, an angel came and showed the way to my son,and he was able not only to gather of the fruit for himself, but tobring an apple for me also.”
Then the poor travelling servant began to thump his head. He sawwell enough through the millstone now, and that he, too, might havehad one of the fruit if he had but held his tongue a little longer.
Yes, he saw what a fool he had made of himself, when he learnedthat it was an angel with whom he had been travelling the five daysgone.
But, then, we are all of us like the servant for the matter ofthat; I, too, have travelled with an angel many a day, I dare say,and never knew it.
That night the servant lodged with the widow and her son, and thenext day he started back home again upon the way he had travelledbefore. By evening he had reached the place where the house of thepoor couple stood--the house that he had seen the angel set fireto. There he beheld masons and carpenters hard at work hacking andhewing, and building a fine new house. And there he saw the poorman himself standing by giving them orders. “How is this,” saidthe tr
avelling servant; “I thought that your house was burneddown?”
“So it was, and that is how I came to be rich now,” said theone-time poor man. “I and my wife had lived in our old house formany a long day, and never knew that a great treasure of silverand gold was hidden beneath it, until a few days ago there camean angel and burned it down over our heads, and in the morning wefound the treasure. So now we are rich for as long as we may live.”
The next morning the poor servant jogged along on his homewardway more sad and downcast than ever, and by evening he had cometo the robbers’ den in the thick woods, and there the old womancame running to the door to meet him. “Come in!” cried she; “comein and welcome! The robbers are all dead and gone now, and I usethe treasure that they left behind to entertain poor travellerslike yourself. The other day there came an angel hither, and withhim he brought the ring of discord that breeds spite and rage andquarrelling. He gave it to the captain of the band, and after hehad gone the robbers fought for it with one another until they wereall killed. So now the world is rid of them, and travellers cancome and go as they please.”
Back jogged the travelling servant, and the next day came to thetown and to the house of the sorrowful young man. There, lo andbehold! instead of being dark and silent, as it was before, allwas ablaze with light and noisy with the sound of rejoicing andmerriment. There happened to be one of the household standing atthe door, and he knew the servant as the companion of that one whohad stolen the ruby ring. Up he came and laid hold of the servantby the collar, calling to his companions that he had caught one ofthe thieves. Into the house they hauled the poor servant, and intothe same room where he had been before, and there sat the young manat a grand feast, with his wife and all his friends around him.But when the young man saw the poor serving-man he came to him andtook him by the hand, and set him beside himself at the table.“Nobody except your comrade could be so welcome as you,” said he,“and this is why. An enemy of mine one time gave me a ruby ring,and, though I knew nothing of it, it was the ring of discord thatbred strife wherever it came. So, as soon as it was brought intothe house, my wife and all my friends fell out with me, and wequarrelled so that they all left me. But, though I knew it not atthat time, your comrade was an angel, and took the ring away withhim, and now I am as happy as I was sorrowful before.”
By the next night the servant had come back to his home again. Rap!tap! tap! he knocked at the door, and the wise man who had been hismaster opened to him. “What do you want?” said he.
“I want to take service with you again,” said the travellingservant.
“Very well,” said the wise man; “come in and shut the door.”
And for all I know the travelling servant is there to this day. Forhe is not the only one in the world who has come in sight of thefruit of happiness, and then jogged all the way back home again tocook cabbage and onions and pot-herbs, and to make broth for wisermen than himself to sup.
That is the end of this story.
* * * * *
_“I like your story, holy sir,” said the Blacksmith who made Deathsit in a pear-tree. “Ne’th’less, it hath indeed somewhat the smackof a sermon, after all. Methinks I am like my friend yonder,” andhe pointed with his thumb towards Fortunatus; “I like to hear astory about treasures of silver and gold, and about kings andprinces--a story that turneth out well in the end, with everybodyhappy, and the man himself married in luck, rather than one thatturneth out awry, even if it hath an angel in it.”_
_“Well, well,” said St. George, testily, “one cannot pleaseeverybody. But as for being a sermon, why, certes, my story was notthat--and even if it were, it would not have hurt thee, sirrah.”_
_“No offence,” said the Blacksmith; “I meant not to speak ill ofyour story. Come, come, sir, will you not take a pot of ale withme?”_
_“Why,” said St. George, somewhat mollified, “for the matter ofthat, I would as lief as not.”_
_“I liked the story well enough,” piped up the little Tailor whohad killed seven flies at a blow. “’Twas a good enough story of itssort, but why does nobody tell a tale of good big giants, and ofwild boars, and of unicorns, such as I killed in my adventures youwot of?”_
_Old Ali Baba had been sitting with his hands folded and his eyesclosed. Now he opened them and looked at the little Tailor. “I knowa story,” said he, “about a Genie who was as big as a giant, andsix times as powerful. And besides that,” he added, “the story isall about treasures of gold, and palaces, and kings, and emperors,and what not, and about a cave such as that in which I myself foundthe treasure of the forty thieves.”_
_The Blacksmith who made Death sit in the pear-tree clattered thebottom of his canican against the table. “Aye, aye,” said he, “thatis the sort of story for me. Come, friend, let us have it.”_
_“Stop a bit,” said Fortunatus; “what is this story mostly about?”_
_“It is,” said Ali Baba, “about two men betwixt whom there was--”_