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THE GREEN FAIRY BOOK. |
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filled with wonderful tables covered with dishes such as no king had ever eaten before. The king and queen and the princess were speechless with surprise. Never had they seen such a splendid palace nor such a high feast! At dessert the king asked Jenik's father to give him the young man for a son-in-law. No sooner said than done! The marriage took place at once, and the king returned to his own palace and left Jenik with his wife in the enchanted house.
Now, Jenik was not a very clever man, and at the end of a very short time he began to bore his wife. She inquired how he managed to build palaces and to get so many precious things. He told her all about the watch, and she never rested till she had stolen the precious talisman. One night she took the watch, rubbed it, and wished for a carriage drawn by four horses; and in this carriage she at once set out for her father's palace. There she called to her own attendants, bade them follow her into the carriage, and drove straight to the seaside. Then she rubbed her watch and wished that the sea might be crossed by a bridge, and that a magnificent palace might arise in the middle of the sea. No sooner said than done. The princess entered the house, rubbed her watch, and in an instant the bridge was gone.
Left alone, Jenik felt very miserable. His father, mother, and brothers, and indeed everybody else, all laughed at him. Nothing remained to him but the cat and dog whose lives he had once saved. He took them with him and went far away, for he could no longer live with his family. He reached at last a great desert and saw some crows flying toward a mountain. One of them was a long way behind, and when he arrived his brothers inquired what had made him so late. "Winter is here," they said, "and it is time to fly to other countries." He told them that he had seen in the middle of the sea the most wonderful house that ever was built.
On hearing this, Jenik at once concluded that this must be the hiding-place of his wife. So he proceeded directly to the shore with his dog and his cat. When he arrived on the beach he said to the dog: "You are an excellent swimmer, and you, little one, are very light. Jump on the dog's back and he will take you to the palate. Once |
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