“Long-Nose, look thee,If thou cook me,No good ’twill do,The deed thou’lt rue.”
“Long-Nose, look thee,If thou cook me,No good ’twill do,The deed thou’lt rue.”
“Long-Nose, look thee,If thou cook me,No good ’twill do,The deed thou’lt rue.”
“Long-Nose, look thee,
If thou cook me,
No good ’twill do,
The deed thou’lt rue.”
Frightened out of his wits, Long-Nose set down the cage, and the goose looked at him with her beautiful wise eyes and sighed.
“There, there,” said the dwarf, “have no fear, I would not harm such a wonderful bird as yourself, for it is not once in a lifetime that one meets a goose that can talk. I wager you have not always worn feathers; I myself have been bewitched, and turned into a squirrel, and I expect it is the same with you.”
“You are right,” said the goose. “Alas! I did not always bear this humble form, and at my birth who would have dared prophecy that Mimi, the daughter of the great magician Wetterbock, would end her days in a Duke’s kitchen.”
The goose and the dwarf sit talkingTHE DWARF LONG-NOSE“They told each other their sad stories”(p.143)
THE DWARF LONG-NOSE“They told each other their sad stories”(p.143)
“Set your mind at rest, dear Miss Mimi,” said the dwarf consolingly; “so sure as I am an honest fellow and second cook to his Highness, no one shall do you any harm. I will have a coop placed for you in my own apartment and you shall have as much food as you require and I will devote all my spare time to you. The rest of the kitchen servants will be told that I am fattening you on some particular herbs to give you a specially good flavour, and I will take the first opportunity of setting you at liberty.”
The goose thanked him with tears in her eyes, and the dwarf took means to provide for her as he had promised. She was placed in a wicker cage and fed by Long-Nose alone, and he took care, instead of giving her the ordinary food required by geese, to serve her with dainty cakes and sweets. As often as he could he sat and talked to her and tried to comfort her. They told each other their sad stories, and in this way Long-Nose learned that Mimi was the daughter of the great magician Wetterbock, who lived on the island of Gothland. He had quarrelled with a very wicked fairy, who had managed to outwit him and, in revenge, to change Mimi into a goose, and bring her far away from her home.
The dwarf in return told her all his adventures, and she said: “I am not altogether ignorant of magic myself, having learnt some things from my father. What you tell me about the quarrel over the herb basket and your sudden transformation on smelling a certain herb proves to me that the old woman used some herb in her enchantment, and if you areable to find that herb you will probably regain your natural form.” This was small comfort for Long-Nose, for he had not the least idea where he could find such a herb. Still, he thanked her, and tried to be a little more hopeful too.
It was just at this time that the Duke had a visit from a neighbouring Prince, a friend of his.
He sent for Long-Nose and said to him: “Now is the time to prove if you serve me faithfully, and are a true master of your art. This Prince, who is now my guest, lives better than anyone I know, except myself. He prides himself upon the first-rate cooks he keeps and he is a very knowing man. Now be careful that my table is served daily with such dishes that may arouse his astonishment and envy. Never let the same kind of food appear twice during his visit. You may ask my treasurer for as much money as you require to purchase materials for your cooking. If you wanted to baste your roasts with gold and diamonds you should have them. I would sooner beggar myself than have to blush for the quality of my viands.”
The dwarf bowed and promised the Duke that he would so manage that the dainty palate of the Prince could not fail to approve of the dishes set before him.
The little cook exerted all his skill and spared neither his master’s treasures nor himself. All day long he was enveloped in a cloud of steam, out of which issued his voice giving orders to the other cooks and scullions. It would take too long to recount all the delicious foods he cooked, suffice it tosay that for a whole fortnight the Duke and his guest were served as they had never been served before, and a smile of enjoyment was constantly to be seen upon the face of the royal visitor.
At the end of that time the Duke sent for the dwarf and presented him to the Prince, asking him, at the same time, what he thought of him as a cook.
“You are indeed a wonderful cook,” said the noble visitor to the little man. “During the whole of my stay here I have not had the same kind of dish twice. But I must own I have been surprised that you have never tempted our appetites with the queen of all dainties, a Souzeraine pasty.”
The dwarf was rather upset, for it chanced that he had never heard of this before, but he managed to hide his discomposure.
“Sir,” said he, “I had hoped you were to honour this court with your presence for a long time yet, and therefore did I delay setting this dish before you, for with what better dish could a cook serve you, as a parting greeting, than with that of a Souzeraine pasty?”
“Oh! indeed,” said the Duke smiling, “so I suppose you were waiting for me to leave the world for ever before giving me the parting greeting, for I have never so much as heard of this pasty, much less tasted it. But we will wait for it no longer; to-morrow morning we shall expect you to serve it up to us for breakfast.”
“As my lord wills,” answered the dwarf, and bowing low he left their presence. He was terriblyupset, for he had not the least idea how to make the pasty. He went to his room and there wept and bemoaned his sad fate.
But the goose Mimi came to him and, after enquiring the cause of his sorrow, said: “Dry your tears, for I think I can help you in this matter. This dish was frequently set upon my father’s table and I know pretty well how it was concocted. Even if I cannot tell you every single ingredient, you will no doubt flavour the pie so deliciously that the Prince will not detect any omission.”
She then proceeded to name to the dwarf the various ingredients required.
He was ready to jump for joy, and blessed the day upon which he had purchased the goose, and then set to work to make the pasty.
He made a little trial one to begin with and it tasted delicious. He gave the head cook a piece to taste and he could not say enough in praise of it.
The following morning he made a large one and sent it to table decorated with wreaths of flowers. He dressed himself in his state robes and entered the dining hall just as the carver had served the Duke and his guest with slices of the pasty.
The Duke took a large mouthful and then cast his eyes up towards the ceiling. “Ah!” said he, as soon as he could speak, “this has been truly called the queen of pasties, and as for my cook, he is the king of cooks. What say you, dear friend?”
The guest took one or two mouthfuls before answering, and then, having well tasted the flavour, he said rather scornfully as he pushed away his plate:“It is as I thought! It is an excellent pasty no doubt, but not the Souzeraine.”
The Duke frowned and reddened with anger—“Dog of a dwarf,” cried he, “how dare you treat me so? I have a good mind to have your head chopped off as a punishment for your bad cookery.”
“My lord, I assure you I have made the pasty according to all the rules of the art of cookery,” replied the dwarf trembling.
“It is false, you rascal,” replied the Duke, kicking him away. “If it were right my guest would not say it was wrong. I have a good mind to have you made into mincemeat and baked in a pie yourself.”
“Have mercy,” cried the poor little man, prostrating himself before the royal guest and clasping his feet in his arms. “I pray you tell me what I have left out of the pasty that it fails to suit your palate? Do not condemn me to death for a handful of meat and flour.”
“It will be of little assistance to you to know, my dear Long-Nose,” answered the Prince with a smile, “I was quite certain yesterday that you would not be able to make this pasty as well as my cook can, because the chief requisite is a herb which does not grow in this country. It is known as ‘The Cook’s Delight,’ and without this the pasty is practically tasteless, and your master will never eat it with the same pleasure that I can in my own country.”
Then the Duke flew into the most terrible rage—“I vow by my honour that either you shall taste this pasty to-morrow morning, exactly as you areaccustomed to have it, or else the head of this fellow shall pay for his blunder. Go, dog of a dwarf, I give you four-and-twenty hours to accomplish it in.”
The poor dwarf went to his room and told this fresh trouble to the goose.
“Come, take heart,” said she, “fortunately I know every herb that grows and I am sure I can find this one for you. It is a happy thing that it chances to be a new moon to-night, for only at the time of the new moon does this plant grow. But tell me, are there any ancient chestnut trees near the palace?”
“Oh! yes,” replied the dwarf, with a lighter heart. “Two hundred paces from the palace, beside the lake, there is quite a large group of chestnut trees; but why do you ask?”
“Because the herb is only found at the root of very old chestnut trees,” answered Mimi. “Let us lose no time, but go and search for what you require. Take me under your arm and put me down when we have reached the spot, and I will help you search.”
He did as she bade him; but as he would have passed out of the gateway of the palace, the sentry barred the way with his lance. “My good Long-Nose,” said he, “I have the strictest orders not to let you out of the house. Your end has come, I fear.”
“But surely I can go into the garden,” replied the dwarf. “Be so good as to send one of your comrades to enquire if I may go into the garden to search for herbs.”
The sentry did so and permission was given, for the garden had such high walls surrounding it that it seemed impossible for him to escape.
The dwarf, carrying a basket, follows the gooseThe goose sought in vain for the herb.(P.149.)
The goose sought in vain for the herb.(P.149.)
As soon as he was in the open he placed Mimi carefully on the ground and she at once began to run towards the lake on the banks of which the chestnut trees grew. Long-Nose followed her with a sinking heart, for he had already made up his mind that, if the herb could not be found, he would drown himself in the lake rather than allow his head to be cut off.
The goose sought in vain for the herb, she left not a blade of grass unturned, and at length shebegan to cry from sympathy. She would not give up the search until evening began to fall, and the darkness made it difficult to distinguish any surrounding objects. Just as they were about to abandon the search the dwarf looked across the lake and then cried out: “Look, at the other side of the lake is a huge old chestnut tree. Let us go and search there, perhaps good fortune blooms yonder.”
The goose waddled and flew and waddled and flew, the dwarf hurrying after her as fast as his little legs would let him, until at length they had reached the other side of the lake. The chestnut tree cast a vast shade and it was so dark all around that it was difficult to distinguish anything, but suddenly the goose gave a cry of joy and flapped her wings with delight.
She thrust her head into the long grass and plucked something which she deftly offered in her bill to Long-Nose. “This is the herb,” said she, “and it grows here in such quantities you will always have a plentiful supply.”
The dwarf looked at the herb thoughtfully. A sweet scent assailed his nostrils and reminded him of the scene of his transformation; the stalk, too, of the plant was of a bluish-green colour and it bore a bright red flower, flecked with yellow.
“Mimi,” said he, “by great good fortune I do believe we have chanced upon the very herb that changed me from a squirrel into the creature I am now. Shall I make a trial of it?”
“Not yet,” replied the goose. “Take a handful of the herbs with you and let us go back to yourroom. There you can collect your money and all that you possess and then we will try the power of the herb.”
They returned to the dwarf’s room, he with a heart beating loudly with excitement. He took between fifty and sixty ducats he had saved, and tied them up in a bundle with some of his clothes, then saying: “May good fortune aid me to be rid of my burden,” he thrust his nose into the bunch of herbs and sniffed their fragrance. Then his limbs and joints began to crack and stretch, he could feel his head rising from between his shoulders, squinting down his nose he could see it growing smaller and smaller, his back and chest straightened themselves out, and his legs became longer.
The goose looked on in astonishment. “Oh! how tall and handsome you are,” she cried, “there is not the faintest resemblance left to the dwarf Long-Nose.”
As for Jacob, he was beside himself with joy; but he did not forget the thanks he owed to Mimi. His first impulse was to go to his parents, but gratitude urged him to suppress this wish.
“But for you,” he said to Mimi, “I might have retained my hideous form all the days of my life, or I might even have lost my life. Now is the time to repay my debt. I will take you straightway to your father, whose magic powers will at once enable him to disenchant you.” The goose wept tears of joy and accepted his offer gratefully.
Jacob passed the sentries safely, for they had only been ordered to bar the way to the dwarf Long-Nose.
With Mimi beneath his arm he very soon reached the sea-shore, and before long her home was in sight.
The great Wetterbock soon turned the goose into a charming young lady, and, having loaded her rescuer with valuable gifts, bade him farewell.
Jacob hastened home, and his parents were only too delighted to accept the handsome young man as their long-lost son.
With the presents he had received from Wetterbock he was able to purchase a shop, and he became a very rich man and lived happily all his days.
But his disappearance from the Duke’s palace caused a great hubbub. When the morning came on which the Duke was to fulfil his vow and behead the dwarf if he had not found the herb, lo! the dwarf himself was missing.
The Prince declared the Duke had allowed him to escape to avoid losing such a splendid cook, and said he had broken his word.
They quarrelled so violently that a war ensued, which is known in all histories of those lands as “The Herb War,” and when at length peace was declared it was called “The Pasty Peace,” and at the reconciliation feast the Prince’s cook served up a Souzeraine pasty, to which the Duke did full justice.