"
"That would be a fine sort of gratitude," said the King's son; "that I
cannot possibly promise thee."
"Then," replied the fox, "if thou wilt not, I must leave thee; but
before I go I will give thee again some good advice. Beware of two
things--buy no gallows'-flesh, and see that thou dost not sit on the
brink of a well!"
With this the fox ran off into the forest!
"Ah!" thought the young Prince, "that is a wonderful animal with very
whimsical ideas! Who would buy gallows'-flesh, and when have I ever
had the slightest desire to sit on the brink of a well?"
So he rode on with the beautiful maiden, and his path led him once
more through the village in which his two brothers had stopped. Here
there was great tumult and lamentation, and when he asked what it all
meant, he was told that two men were going to be hanged. When he came
nearer, he saw that they were his two brothers, who had committed
every kind of wicked folly and had squandered all their money. Then
the young Prince asked if they could not be freed.
"Supposing you do pay for them," the people answered, "where is the
good of wasting your money in order to free such villains?"
Nevertheless, he did not hesitate, but paid for them, and when the
brothers were freed they all rode away together.
Pages:
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422