Page:The Folk-Lore Journal Volume 4 1886.djvu/341

Rh able to break through it at night and afterwards to close up the breach so that his mode of access to the princess's room is undiscoverable. On entering he finds the lady lying asleep surrounded by her attendants, and a feast upon the table. He eats the food and changes the position of the candles which stand by the bedside. As this visit is repeated nightly, the princess watches, and at length finds out the intruder, with whom she promptly falls in love. After a while she comes of age, and the Emperor issues a proclamation that the hero who can fling a certain staff (wurfstab) over the battlements of the city shall marry her. After all the nobles' sons have tried in vain, the imprisoned youth is fetched at the maiden's suggestion; and he accomplishes the condition. The marriage is then solemnized; but the viziers' sons are envious, and invite the bridegroom to a feast, with the stipulation that he is to bring his wife and a thousand followers, and if they do not succeed in consuming all the food provided, both wife and followers are to be forfeit to them. He succeeds by the aid of followers of supernatural power, whom he meets with by the way and induces to accompany him. The viziers' sons then challenge him to one more trial, namely, a trial of swiftness between one of his followers and an old winged woman. Out of this our Slavonic Thor also comes victorious, and carries off his adversaries' wives and treasure.

A Wallachian example of this type, referred to by Von Hahn, explains the hero's reluctance to tell his dream by the fact that he had dreamed he would become Emperor, and fear of the consequences deters him from repeating it even to his father. Doubtless we are to understand some such explanation above, and it is easy to believe that under a despotic government the narrative might very naturally take this modification. Notwithstanding, however, the large diversity of detail in the specimens I have referred to there can be but one opinion as to the substantial identity of the framework of all the stories. The catastrophe is, in the majority of instances I have met with, brought about by a dream. In one case, indeed, the dream is a feigned one; but that very instance serves to emphasize the conformity