Page:The Folk-Lore Journal Volume 2 1884.djvu/250

242 the remedies. The king is cured, and the pair are re-united. This is a well-known Italian fiaba.

No. 11, The Sleeping Prince.

A king leaves his beautiful daughter in his palace while he is absent on a distant expedition. As she sits embroidering an eagle appears and carries her off to a beautiful palace. She enters a golden chamber where a prince lies dead asleep. On a table is a paper which says, "Whoever enters here and feels for the prince must sit by and watch over him for three years, three months, three weeks, three days, and three hours, without going to sleep." Night comes on, the palace lights up of itself and a table appears covered with viands, but nobody is seen. The princess resolves to watch by the prince for the appointed time. On the period passing away a little female slave appears, and the princess lays herself down on her knees, telling her to wake her as soon as the king sneezes. The king wakes up, and, seeing the slave-girl, asks her what has happened. She tells him that she has tended him during his sleep, and that the princess is her slave. The king believes the false story, and says that she shall be his wife. The princess is sent off to become a goose-girl. The king then prepares to depart on some expedition, but previously asks the goose-girl what present he shall bring her on his return. She names three things, one of them being a rope to hang herself with. The king on his return delivers this sorry present, and in the evening overhears the poor princess telling her sad story to it and asking its advice. The rope tells her unreservedly to hang herself, and while she is doing so the king bursts into the room and prevents her. They are of course married, and the slave-girl takes her turn at goose-keeping.

Besides what we have excerpted and referred to there are very many papers in this volume of exceeding merit and of deep interest to scholars and archaeologists, but, as these are not within our more limited province, we content ourselves with this general reference only.

From our foregoing summaries the reader will have seen that the Neo-Hellenic paramythia and the Italian fiabe in many instances contain identical fictions. This identity is not confined to the examples given in these pages, but is discernible in a host of other stories common to both nationalities, that universal favourite of Europe, la