Chapter Chapter 107 · The Blue Light

. The Blue Light

There was once on a time a soldier who for many years had served the

King faithfully, but when the war came to an end could serve no longer

because of the many wounds which he had received. The King said to him,

“Thou mayst return to thy home, I need thee no longer, and thou wilt

not receive any more money, for he only receives wages who renders me

service for them.” Then the soldier did not know how to earn a living,

went away greatly troubled, and walked the whole day, until in the

evening he entered a forest. When darkness came on, he saw a light,

which he went up to, and came to a house wherein lived a witch. “Do

give me one night’s lodging, and a little to eat and drink,” said he to

her, “or I shall starve.” “Oho!” she answered, “who gives anything to a

run-away soldier? Yet will I be compassionate, and take you in, if you

will do what I wish.” “What do you wish?” said the soldier. “That you

should dig all round my garden for me, tomorrow.” The soldier

consented, and next day labored with all his strength, but could not

finish it by the evening. “I see well enough,” said the witch, “that

you can do no more to-day, but I will keep you yet another night, in

payment for which you must to-morrow chop me a load of wood, and make

it small.” The soldier spent the whole day in doing it, and in the

evening the witch proposed that he should stay one night more.

“To-morrow, you shall only do me a very trifling piece of work. Behind

my house, there is an old dry well, into which my light has fallen, it

burns blue, and never goes out, and you shall bring it up again for

me.” Next day the old woman took him to the well, and let him down in a

basket. He found the blue light, and made her a signal to draw him up

again. She did draw him up, but when he came near the edge, she

stretched down her hand and wanted to take the blue light away from

him. “No,” said he, perceiving her evil intention, “I will not give

thee the light until I am standing with both feet upon the ground.” The

witch fell into a passion, let him down again into the well, and went

away.

The poor soldier fell without injury on the moist ground, and the blue

light went on burning, but of what use was that to him? He saw very

well that he could not escape death. He sat for a while very

sorrowfully, then suddenly he felt in his pocket and found his tobacco

pipe, which was still half full. “This shall be my last pleasure,”

thought he, pulled it out, lit it at the blue light and began to smoke.

When the smoke had circled about the cavern, suddenly a little black

dwarf stood before him, and said, “Lord, what are thy commands?” “What

commands have I to give thee?” replied the soldier, quite astonished.

“I must do everything thou biddest me,” said the little man. “Good,”

said the soldier; “then in the first place help me out of this well.”

The little man took him by the hand, and led him through an underground

passage, but he did not forget to take the blue light with him. On the

way the dwarf showed him the treasures which the witch had collected

and hidden there, and the soldier took as much gold as he could carry.

When he was above, he said to the little man, “Now go and bind the old

witch, and carry her before the judge.” In a short time she, with

frightful cries, came riding by, as swift as the wind on a wild

tom-cat, nor was it long after that before the little man re-appeared.

“It is all done,” said he, “and the witch is already hanging on the

gallows. What further commands has my lord?” inquired the dwarf. “At

this moment, none,” answered the soldier; “Thou canst return home, only

be at hand immediately, if I summon thee.” “Nothing more is needed than

that thou shouldst light thy pipe at the blue light, and I will appear

before thee at once.” Thereupon he vanished from his sight.

The soldier returned to the town from which he had come. He went to the

best inn, ordered himself handsome clothes, and then bade the landlord

furnish him a room as handsomely as possible. When it was ready and the

soldier had taken possession of it, he summoned the little black

mannikin and said, “I have served the King faithfully, but he has

dismissed me, and left me to hunger, and now I want to take my

revenge.” “What am I to do?” asked the little man. “Late at night, when

the King’s daughter is in bed, bring her here in her sleep, she shall

do servant’s work for me.” The mannikin said, “That is an easy thing

for me to do, but a very dangerous thing for you, for if it is

discovered, you will fare ill.” When twelve o’clock had struck, the

door sprang open, and the mannikin carried in the princess. “Aha! art

thou there?” cried the soldier, “get to thy work at once! Fetch the

broom and sweep the chamber.” When she had done this, he ordered her to

come to his chair, and then he stretched out his feet and said, “Pull

off my boots for me,” and then he threw them in her face, and made her

pick them up again, and clean and brighten them. She, however, did

everything he bade her, without opposition, silently and with half-shut

eyes. When the first cock crowed, the mannikin carried her back to the

royal palace, and laid her in her bed.

Next morning when the princess arose, she went to her father, and told

him that she had had a very strange dream. “I was carried through the

streets with the rapidity of lightning,” said she, “and taken into a

soldier’s room, and I had to wait upon him like a servant, sweep his

room, clean his boots, and do all kinds of menial work. It was only a

dream, and yet I am just as tired as if I really had done everything.”

“The dream may have been true,” said the King, “I will give thee a

piece of advice. Fill thy pocket full of peas, and make a small hole in

it, and then if thou art carried away again, they will fall out and

leave a track in the streets.” But unseen by the King, the mannikin was

standing beside him when he said that, and heard all. At night when the

sleeping princess was again carried through the streets, some peas

certainly did fall out of her pocket, but they made no track, for the

crafty mannikin had just before scattered peas in every street there

was. And again the princess was compelled to do servant’s work until

cock-crow.

Next morning the King sent his people out to seek the track, but it was

all in vain, for in every street poor children were sitting, picking up

peas, and saying, “It must have rained peas, last night.” “We must

think of something else,” said the King; “keep thy shoes on when thou

goest to bed, and before thou comest back from the place where thou art

taken, hide one of them there, I will soon contrive to find it.” The

black mannikin heard this plot, and at night when the soldier again

ordered him to bring the princess, revealed it to him, and told him

that he knew of no expedient to counteract this stratagem, and that if

the shoe were found in the soldier’s house it would go badly with him.

“Do what I bid thee,” replied the soldier, and again this third night

the princess was obliged to work like a servant, but before she went

away, she hid her shoe under the bed.

Next morning the King had the entire town searched for his daughter’s

shoe. It was found at the soldier’s, and the soldier himself, who at

the entreaty of the dwarf had gone outside the gate, was soon brought

back, and thrown into prison. In his flight he had forgotten the most

valuable things he had, the blue light and the gold, and had only one

ducat in his pocket. And now loaded with chains, he was standing at the

window of his dungeon, when he chanced to see one of his comrades

passing by. The soldier tapped at the pane of glass, and when this man

came up, said to him, “Be so kind as to fetch me the small bundle I

have left lying in the inn, and I will give you a ducat for doing it.”

His comrade ran thither and brought him what he wanted. As soon as the

soldier was alone again, he lighted his pipe and summoned the black

mannikin. “Have no fear,” said the latter to his master. “Go

wheresoever they take you, and let them do what they will, only take

the blue light with you.” Next day the soldier was tried, and though he

had done nothing wicked, the judge condemned him to death. When he was

led forth to die, he begged a last favor of the King. “What is it?”

asked the King. “That I may smoke one more pipe on my way.” “Thou mayst

smoke three,” answered the King, “but do not imagine that I will spare

thy life.” Then the soldier pulled out his pipe and lighted it at the

blue light, and as soon as a few wreaths of smoke had ascended, the

mannikin was there with a small cudgel in his hand, and said, “What

does my lord command?” “Strike down to earth that false judge there,

and his constable, and spare not the King who has treated me so ill.”

Then the mannikin fell on them like lightning, darting this way and

that way, and whosoever was so much as touched by his cudgel fell to

earth, and did not venture to stir again. The King was terrified; he

threw himself on the soldier’s mercy, and merely to be allowed to live

at all, gave him his kingdom for his own, and the princess to wife.