Prince Lindworm
By
Ditte Gry Svensmark
Copyright 2012 Forlaget Limitless
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Prince Lindworm
Retold by Ditte Gry Svensmark
Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there lived a king and his queen. They ruled a peaceful land and all should have been well. But to her sorrow, the queen never conceived, and her barrenness weighed heavily on her shoulders. As time went by, she became quiet and withdrawn, and the king was sad to see his beloved so.
One day, the queen went for a stroll through the forest near the castle, and there she met an old woman. The queen was rather surprised by their meeting, for she had never before seen anyone in the forest, and she was used to be by herself. The old woman gave her a searching look, curtsied and said,
“Greetings, Your Majesty. How come you are wandering alone in the forest, with so many unshed tears in your heart?”
The queen was so surprised by the unexpected question that she answered,
“I grieve for my lack of children. My dearest wish is to be able to give my king an heir to the throne, but I never have.”
“Well, there might be hope yet. I think I can help you, but you must promise to abide by my words.”
The queen was not at all sure that the old woman would be able to help her, but she was desperate enough to try anything. She promised to do as she was told. The old woman thought for a moment, then said,
“Tonight you must take a large silver bowl to the furthest part of the castle’s garden. There you must prick your finger with a needle and let two drops of blood fall on the ground. Then cover them with the bowl and go to bed. In the morning, you will find two flowers under the bowl, one red and one white. If you eat the red flower, you will have a son; if you eat the white, a daughter. But you must not eat both flowers, or great sorrow will befall you.”
The queen thanked the old woman politely for her advice, although she did not believe in her heart that it would work. But that evening she brought a silver bowl to the farthest corner of the garden, pricked her finger and let two drops of blood fall on the ground. Then she covered them with the bowl and went to bed, hoping against hope that the old woman had told her the truth.
In the morning when she came back, she was greeted by the most wonderful scent, and when she lifted the bowl, there were two flowers growing in the grass. One was red and one was white, and she had never seen anything as beautiful. Her eyes filled with tears of gratitude as she looked at the flowers, trying to decide which to eat.
If I have a son, he might have to go to war, and get killed, and then I will lose him. A daughter will stay here, and maybe marry and give me grandchildren.
And so she picked the white flower and ate it. It was the most delicious thing she had ever tasted, and almost of its own accord, her hand picked the red flower as well, and brought it to her lips.
If I eat them both, I might have twins, and that would be even better, she thought to herself, to justify her action. When she had eaten the red flower as well, she hurried back to the castle, not wanting anyone to see her and ask questions she was not prepared to answer.
After a few weeks she started to feel sick in the mornings, and soon her pregnancy was confirmed. The king was beside himself with happiness, and the queen found great pleasure in finally being able to give him the heir he had wished for.
When her time neared, the king was called away, but he made her promise to write as soon as the child was born. In time, the birth started, and the queen went to her bed with the midwife and her maids. But she did not give birth to the much wanted son, nor was it a daughter. Instead a terrible lindworm emerged, and swiftly disappeared under twigs at the bottom of the bed. The queen and her women were horrified, but soon after a healthy baby boy was born, perfect in every way. As the lindworm was nowhere to be seen, the queen forced the midwife and her maids to keep her secret. Instead she wrote to the king that she had had a healthy, strong son. The king was happy and came home as soon as he could. They cherished their son, and named him Alain.
Prince Alain grew up to be a sweet child and a handsome young man. His parents doted on him, and wanted only the best for him. When he was 18, he fell in love with a beautiful princess from a neighbouring country, and their parents started arranging the wedding. But when the royal carriage left to bring the princess, a great lindworm stopped it at the first crossroad, roaring,
“Stop, little brother of mine!
I will have a bride for me
Before you marry thine!”
The prince was shocked to hear the dreadful creature call him brother, and the carriage had to turn around and go back. There he told his parents about the horrible lindworm and its frightening words. When the queen heard, she fainted and fell to the floor. Scared, the king carried her to her bed. When she came to, she confessed what she had done in the garden, and what the old woman had said. The king was angered by her deceit, but he also understood the strong desire for a child, and forgave her. But there was still the matter of the lindworm, and its demand for a bride. The king and queen thought hard, and finale decided that they had no choice but to find a suitable girl for their eldest son, and so they sent for a princess from a distant country to become his bride. The princess arrived and the wedding was arranged. When the guests arrived in the church, the princess saw her husband-to-be for the first time, and turned white as a sheet. After the wedding, the couple was celebrated with a great feast, and at the end, they were shown to the bridal chamber. The king and queen felt relieved, thinking that all would be well, now that they had found a bride for the lindworm. But in the morning, when they came to the chamber, it was covered in blood, and there was no trace of the princess. The lindworm had torn her apart.
When the shock had worn off, Prince Alain wanted to send for his fiancée again. But as soon as the royal carriage reached the first crossroad, the lindworm appeared, roaring,
“Stop, little brother of mine!
I will have a bride for me
Before you marry thine!”
And so he had to return once more and tell his parents of the lindworms demands. Once more the king sent for a princess from far away to marry the lindworm, but this time his heart was heavy with fear. And sure enough, the morning after the wedding, the poor girl was dead and the chamber covered in blood.
Time passed, and Prince Alain tried for the third time to send a carriage for his beloved, but the lindworm stopped it like before. The king was not willing to send for yet another princess, for he did not want to make more enemies - the fathers of the two dead girls were already threatening him with war. But if he did not find a girl, the younger prince would never get his bride either. One day he was wandering in the garden, deep in thought, when he came upon the house where the royal gardener lived. Outside sat his daughter Marilka, a beautiful, young girl. When she saw the king, she blushed, curtsied and went into the house to fetch her father, thinking the king wanted to ask him about the garden. When the gardener came out, the king said,
“You have a beautiful daughter, my good man. Will you let her marry my oldest son? He needs a bride.”
“My Lord, Marilka is all I have. I fear for her life should she marry the lindworm. He already killed the first two girls he married.”
“Never the less, I need her to be his bride. She must marry him on Sunday, a week from now.”
And no matter how the gardener pleaded, the king would not change hi
s mind, and the poor man had to tell Marilka to prepare to be wedded to a monster. When she understood that she had no choice, she went into the forest to cry, so that she could be strong for her father. She reached a clearing, where she sank to the ground, sobbing. Suddenly a voice spoke to her,
“My dear, why do you cry so?”
An old woman had walked into the clearing and now stood in front of her, looking kindly down at her.
“Oh, I am to be given to the lindworm in marriage a week from now, and he has already killed two beautiful princesses. I fear for my own life.”
“I see. Perhaps I can help you, if you will listen carefully, and do as I say.”
Marilka looked up, suddenly hopeful.
“I would do anything. Please tell me what I must do.”
“Well, when you are wedded and the celebration is done, you will be taken to the bridal chamber. Before you enter, you must put on ten shifts. You must also have as many birch rods as a man can carry put in the chamber, as well as a vat of lye and one of milk. When you are alone, he will ask you to shed a shift. You must then tell him to shed a slough. He will ask this nine times, and then you will still be wearing one shift, while he will be naked. Then you must whip him with the rods until they fall apart, wash him in the lye, rinse him in the milk, wrap him in the shifts and hold him in your arms in the bed. There you must be sure to fall asleep, even if it is only for a minute. If you do this, all will be well.”
Marilka thanked the old woman many times, and made sure she remembered what to do. When the wedding day came, she went to the castle, where the queen’s maids dressed her as a princess for the wedding, brushed her hair and pinned it up with golden pins and pearls. When she saw the lindworm for the first time in the church, she blanched, but her steps did not falter. They were wedded, and there was a great feast to celebrate, although there was a feeling of dread in the room. All the guests remembered what had happened at the first two weddings, and did not want the beautiful Marilka to suffer the same fate. When the feast was done, they were taken to the bridal chamber. Before they went in, Marilka asked for the birch rods, the vats of lye and milk, and the shifts. The servants thought she was being silly, but the king made sure she got what she wanted.
When they were alone in the chamber, the lindworm said to her,
“Pretty maiden, shed a shift!”
And she said to him,
“Prince Lindworm, shed a slough!”
“No one ever asked me that before!”
“But now I ask it of you!”
And he shed a slough while she took of a shift. They repeated this eight more times, and by the end, Marilka still wore her last shift, but the lindworm was a bloody, shivering mess on the floor. Then Marilka took the birch rods and whipped him until the rods fell apart. When she was done, she lifted the bloody, whipped lump of meat and slung it in the vat of lye. She scrubbed him until her hands bled, then lifted him up and lowered him into the milk to rinse him off. When he was clean, she wrapped him in the nine shifts she had shed, took him in her arms and went to lie down in the bed. The events had exhausted her, and she fell asleep within minutes.
The next morning, the king and queen went to the bridal chamber, dreading what they would see when the door opened. But when they knocked on the door, a voice called out,
“Come in!”
They opened the door, and nervously looked in. There in the bed lay a handsome young man next to Marilka. She had managed to break the enchantment, thereby saving both herself and the prince. The royal couple were almost beside themselves with happiness, congratulating Marilka and the prince again and again, and thanking Marilka for saving their son. The newlyweds were taken to a clean chamber to freshen up and get dressed, as the bridal chamber still bore evidence of the battle of will which had taken place.
When they came to the great hall where the wedding feast had taken place, a great cheer rose when the people saw that the enchantment had been lifted. Prince Alain came and kissed Marilka on both cheeks, thanking her for saving his brother. A second wedding feast was held, now that there was actually something to celebrate. Later, Alain’s bride came, and they had a beautiful wedding.
When the king grew old, Prince Lindworm was crowned as king, and Marilka became queen. And they all lived happily ever after.