The Firebird Read online

this new quest, and he was let go. Once he was back in the forest, he sat down with a heavy sigh, and said to himself,

  “The golden maiden! How will I ever find her? Now I will never be able to get back to my poor father!”

  The white wolf came to him, huffed gently and said,

  “It looks like you need my help once more, young prince. Sit on my back, and I will carry you to the edge of the black sea, where the ice castle lies.”

  And Peter was again carried through the black forest all night. At dawn they had reached the black sea, and saw the ice castle. The first rays of the sun were just touching it, and Peter had never seen such beauty. The ice caught the red, pink, orange and yellow rays and made the castle look like it was made of fire. He walked slowly towards it. There was no wall here, and no guards. There was simply a narrow doorway, and a corridor leading into the softly lit interior of the castle. Peter stopped before the door, and heard the wolf speak again.

  “This is a different challenge, Peter. To find your way to the golden maiden, you must be pure of heart, and not let greed or anger lead you astray. You must find your way to the highest room in the tallest tower, but do not enter any of the rooms. If you do, you are lost forever, and not even I will be able to save you. And you must do this before the last rays of the sun disappear at sundown, or be forever trapped here.”

  Peter thanked the wolf for its advice, and walked into the castle. Inside, the light was soft and full of tiny sparkles. There was no one to be seen, yet he did not feel alone. He walked through corridors, up and down stairs, but did not enter any of the rooms. Some were filled with riches, others with delicious looking food and wines. Once, he heard laughter and stopped to look. The room was filled with a swirling mist, and he could almost see smiling, dancing girls. But when he started to take a step toward the sounds, the mist suddenly turned colder, and he hurried away. In the corner of the room he had seen the vague shape of a man, still and covered in ice, and he was beginning to understand why there were no guards here.

  He walked on and on, always going up when possible. Finally he came to the room he sought. He hesitated, then opened the door and went in. the room was almost empty. In the middle was a bed of ice, and on the bed rested the most beautiful maiden Peter had ever seen. Her hair was deepest black, her lips red and she was dressed in a simple, golden dress. She was covered in a thin layer of ice, and at first he thought she was dead. Then he saw the minute movement and knew that she was alive. He took of his warm cape and covered her body to melt the ice. Then he leaned down and gently kissed her forehead. When his lips tough her, the ice disappeared and she opened her eyes. They looked at each other in silence for a long moment. Then the golden maiden said,

  “You have freed me, lord. You truly have a pure heart. My name is Ilena, and I was placed here under a spell by en evil enchantress. But you have broken the spell, and I am free to leave with you.”

  Together they found their way out of the ice castle, just as the sun sank under the edge of the world. As last rays of the sun left it, the castle fell in on itself with a terrible groaning. Peter and Ilena hurried to where the white wolf patiently waited for them.

  Ilena curtsied elegantly to the wolf, who bowed its head in return. Then they sat on its back, and the wolf carried them through the black forest all night and all day, back to the castle in the black mountain. By the time they got there, Peter and Ilena had become very fond of one another, and did not want to be parted. Peter said to the wolf,

  “I cannot bear to be parted from my beloved, now that I have finally found her. Please, is there anything you can do to help us?”

  The wolf looked at them silently for a while, and then spoke.

  “I will help you. I can take on the appearance of Ilena, and you can leave me here in return for the stallion with the golden mane. When you have left this castle well behind you, call for me, and I will come to you.”

  And so Ilena hid in the forest while Peter led the wolf in her stead into the black castle. The mountain king was very happy to see them, and let Peter take the stallion and the golden bridle with him. After exchanging polite pleasantries, Peter left, found Ilena and they rode far away. They stopped in a clearing, and Peter called for the white wolf,

  “White wolf, white wolf, come to me!”

  And the wolf came to them, in his own shape again. They camped in the clearing for the night, and the next day they went on to the castle in the forest. When they got there, Peter once again pleaded with the wolf for help, and the wolf took the shape of the stallion. Peter rode it to the castle, where the forest king was very pleased to see him. The stallion was put in the stables, and Peter was given the firebird and its golden cage. He thanked the forest king many times, and made his way back to Ilena and the real stallion. Together they rode to the edge of the forest, and once more Peter called for the white wolf,

  “White wolf, white wolf, come to me!”

  The wolf came, and they settled down for the night. In the morning, the wolf went to Peter, and spoke quietly to him,

  “I have fulfilled my promise to help you. Now I need you to do something for me. You must take your sword and cur off my head and tail. Then you must put them back on my body backwards.”

  Peter was horrified at the wolf’s request. He had come to see the wolf as a friend, so he shook his head and said,

  “I cannot kill you. You have been so helpful. Without you, I would never have been able to complete my quest!”

  The wolf said no more, but turned around and disappeared into the forest. Peter did not understand, but he was very happy that he was almost home again, and did not think about it more. He and Ilena rode together on the stallion, and they soon reached the crossroad and saw the inn. Carl and Alfred were still there, drinking and eating and enjoying themselves, and they were rather surprised to that Peter was not only bringing back the firebird, he had also won a mighty stallion and a beautiful maiden. But they hid their envy and greeted Ilena and Peter pleasantly enough, offering to accompany them back to their father’s castle. Peter did not suspect them, and they all rode together until they reached an empty house, where they decided to spend the night. But when they had eaten, and Ilena went to sleep, Carl and Alfred hit Peter over the head with a lump of wood, and threw him in an old well behind the house. In the morning, they threatened to kill Ilena too, if she did not tell the king that it was they who had saved her and won the firebird and the stallion. Believing Peter to be dead, Ilena had no choice but to comply. When they reached the castle, the old king was very happy to see them. He hung the firebirds cage in the apple tree, and decided that Carl should marry Ilena, while Alfred was to have the stallion. But the firebird was silent, Ilena never smiled, and the stallions mane lost its shine and lustre.

  In the well behind the empty house, Peter woke up. The well was almost dry, and the soft bottom had saved his life. But the walls were steep and he could not get a hold on anything to climb out. He sat down with a heavy heart, complaining bitterly,

  “Oh, I am such a fool. Not only have I lost my beloved Ilena, now I will die here at the bottom of this well.”

  Just then, he heard a voice drifting down to him,

  “Do not give up yet, Peter. I have come to help you one last time.”

  It was the white wolf, who, having heard his lament, had come to help him again. It pushed the bucket down, and Peter climbed up the chain. When he was up, he fell to his knees and thanked the wolf profusely. It huffed at him and said,

  “Now we must hurry. Your oldest brother is to wed Ilena today. I will carry you there, and disguise you so that no one will recognise you. Then you must make your brothers admit their lies. If you succeed, come and find me by the gate.”

  Peter promised to do as he was told, and the wolf carried him to the castle. Once there, it brushed its tail over Peter, and he no longer looked like a prince. He went to the church, where the wedding guests were waiting for the bride and groom to arrive. The king was standing by the door,
the firebird in its golden cage to one side, and Alfred holding the stallion by its golden bridle at the other. Carl and Ilena were just walking towards them. When Peter stepped out in front of them, they halted, and the talking of the guests died down. In the sudden silence, Peter said,

  “The bride is right, but the groom is not worthy of her. Only the one who saved her from the ice is worthy of her hand.”

  Carl did not recognise his brother, and repeated the lie he had already told the king,

  “Well, I fought and killed three polar bears, and saved the princess from their icy den.”

  Peter turned to Alfred next, and asked him,

  “And how did you acquire such a magnificent animal?”

  Alfred also gave a lie, saying,

  “I caught in among the wild horses in the forest, and tamed it myself.” He too felt safe, believing Peter to be lying dead in the well.

  Finally Peter turned to the king and asked,

  “And where did you get this beautiful bird?”

  The king repeated the lie the eldest brothers had told him.

  “My sons fought three dragons, each fiercer than the last, to get to the golden cage.”

  “And that is the third lie they have told you, father! For it was I who saved Ilena from the ice castle, and won the stallion and the firebird from the kings of the forest and the