Basque Legends; With an Essay on the Basque Language

“Be off quickly from here. It is all over with your life. He is about to come, this horrible body without a soul,81 before a quarter of an hour, and you will be done away with.”

“I will become an ant again, and I will place myself in your bosom; but do not scratch yourself too hard, else you will crush me.”

As soon as he has said that the monster comes. He gives her partridges and pigeons for her dinner, but he himself eats serpents and horrible vermin. He tells her that he has a slight headache, and to take the hammer and rap him on the head. She could not lift it, it was so big; but she knocks him as well as she is able. The monster goes off. The ant comes out from where he was, and prepares to eat the partridges and pigeons with the young lady. Malbrouk said to her:

“You must ask him, as if you were in great trouble about it, what would have to be done to kill him? and you will tell him how unhappy you would be if he should be killed—that you would die of hunger in prison in this island.”

The young lady says, “Yes,” she will do so.

The monster comes again, and says to her:

“Ay! ay! ay! my head. Take the hammer, and hit me hard.”

The young lady does it until she is tired, and then she says:

“How unfortunate I shall be if you die.”

He answers, “I shall not die. He who will know that will know a great secret.”

“Most certainly I would not wish you to die. I should die of hunger in this island without you, and I should get no benefit by it. You ought to tell me what would kill you.”

He says to her, “No! Before this, too, a woman has deceived a man, and I will not tell you.”

“You can tell it to me—yes, to me. To whom shall I tell it? I see nobody. Nobody is able to come here.”

At last, at last, he tells her then:

“You must kill a terrible wolf which is in the forest, and inside him is a fox, in the fox is a pigeon; this pigeon has an egg in his head, and whoever should strike me on the forehead with this egg would kill me.82 But who will know all that? Nobody.”

The princess said to him, “Nobody, happily. I, too, I should die.”

The monster goes out as before, and the ant too, as you may think, happy in knowing the secret. On the very next day he sets out for the forest. He sees a frightful wolf. He says, directly, “Jesus, wolf!” and he immediately becomes a wolf. He then goes to this wolf, and they begin to fight, and he gets him down and chokes him. He leaves him there, and goes off to the young lady in the island, and says to her:

“We have got the wolf; I have killed him, and left him in the forest.”

The monster comes directly afterwards, saying:

“Ay! ay! ay! my head! Strike my head quickly.”

She hits his head till she is tired. He says to the princess:

“They have killed the wolf; I do not know if anything is going to happen to me. I am much afraid of it.”

“You have nothing to be afraid of. To whom could I have told anything? Nobody can get in here.”

When he has gone, the ant goes to the forest. He opens the wolf, and out of him comes a fox, who escapes at full speed. Malbrouk says, “Jesus, dog!” and he becomes a dog. He, too, sets off running, and catches the fox. They begin to fight, and he kills him, too. He opens him, and there comes out of him a pigeon. Malbrouk says, at once, “Jesus, hawk!” and he becomes a hawk. He flies off to catch the pigeon, seizes him in his terrible talons, and takes out of his head this precious egg, and goes proudly with it into the chamber of the young lady. He tells how he has very happily accomplished his business, and says to her:

“At present, it is your turn; act alone.”

And again he makes himself an ant. Our monster comes, crying, that it is all up with him, that they have taken the egg out of the pigeon, and that he does not know what must become of him. He tells her to strike him on the head with the hammer.

The young lady says to him:

“What have you to fear? Who shall have got this egg? And how should he strike your forehead?”

He shows her how, saying, “Like that.”

As the young lady had the egg in her hand, she strikes the monster as he had told her, and he falls stark dead. In an instant the ant comes out joyously (from his hiding-place), and he says to her:

“We must set out instantly for your father’s house.”

They open a window, and the young man makes himself a hawk, and he says to the young lady:

“Cling firmly to my neck.”

And he flies off, and they arrive at the other side of the island. He writes immediately to the king his lord, to send and fetch them as quickly as possible. The king sent; and judge what joy and what feasts there were in that court. The king wished them to marry directly, but Malbrouk would not do so. (He said) that he ought to bring his dowry. The king said to him:

“You have gained enough already.”

He will not hear of that, but goes off far, far, far away, to the house of his godfather.

They had there a cow with golden horns, and these horns bore fruits of diamonds. A boy used to guard her in the field. Malbrouk said to him:83

“What! do you not hear that the master is calling you? Go, quickly, then, and learn what he wants of you.”

The boy, (believing it), goes off. The master calls to him from the window:

“Where are you going to, leaving the cow? Go quickly; I see that Malbrouk is about there.”

The boy sets off running back, but he cannot find the cow. Malbrouk had got off proudly with his cow, and he gives it to his future wife, who was very much pleased with it. The king wished him, then, to marry, (saying) that he was quite rich enough. Malbrouk would not yet. He must make a present to the king. He goes again to his godfather’s house. He wished to steal from him a moon, which lighted for seven leagues round. Old Malbrouk used to drink a barrel of water every night. Young Malbrouk goes and empties this barrel. When night came, Malbrouk goes to drink at his barrel, and finds it empty. He goes to find his wife, and says to her:

“I have not got a drop of water; go directly, and fetch me some. I cannot bear this thirst.”

His wife said to him, “It is night, light your moon.” He lights it, and puts it by the chimney, on the roof. When everyone has gone to the fountain, young Malbrouk goes and takes this moon, and carries it to the king. And he, astonished, said to him:

“Now you have done grandly; now be married.”

But he would not; (he said) that he ought to bring something more. His godfather had a violin, which it was enough only to touch for it to play, no matter what beautiful music, and it would be heard seven leagues off. He goes into his godfather’s house to take the violin, and as soon as he has touched it, it begins to play music. Old Malbrouk rushes off, and catches his godson in the act. He seizes him, and puts him into an iron cage. He and his wife are right well pleased. They say to him:

“This evening we are going to roast you, and eat you.”

Old Malbrouk goes to the forest to fetch wood, and his wife was busy cutting some small—she was taking a great deal of trouble about it. Malbrouk says to her:

“Let me get out of here; I will cut that wood for you. You can kill me all the same this evening.”

She lets him out. After having cut up some, he takes one of the largest pieces and strikes the wife of Malbrouk, and kills her. He makes a great fire, and puts her in the caldron to boil. He takes the violin, and leaves the house. When old Malbrouk hears the violin, he says to himself:

“My wife, not being able to hold out any longer, has, doubtless, killed Malbrouk, and to show me her joy she has taken the violin.”

And he does not trouble himself any more about it. When he approaches the house he stands, well pleased, looking at the caldron on the fire, but, on coming nearer, he sees some long hairs. He pulls out a little more, and perceives that it is his wife, who is there already, half-boiled. Think what a rage he was in. The young Malbrouk went to the king’s house, and married his well-beloved princess. They made great rejoicings. As the king was somewhat aged, he gives his crown to Malbrouk, saying that he had well gained it. They all lived happily, and he made his two brothers kings also.

Laurentine,

About 35 years old; learnt it from her mother.

The Fisherman and His Sons

Like many others in the world, there was a fisherman who lived with his wife. One day he was fishing and caught a fine fish (at that time all the animals and everything used to speak), and the fish said to him:84

“Spare my life! Spare my life! I will give you all that you shall desire.”

And this poor man spared its life, and went home without having caught anything else. When he came home his wife asks him:

“Where are your fish?”

He tells her how that he had caught a fish, and that it had begged him to spare its life, and that he had left it in the water. His wife says to him:

“Have you lost your head then? After having caught a fish to put it back again into the water!”

And she called him all sorts of names, even “big donkey.”

The next day he goes fishing again, and (what a chance!) the same fish came again. It asks him again to spare its life. But the man answers:

“No! My wife loaded me with abuse last evening.”

The fish said to him that he would give him as much money as he wished if he would but spare him. And our fisherman lets him go again. He remains there again all day, but nothing comes to his hook. Again he goes off home without anything at all. His wife is furious at seeing that he has nothing. He gives her some money, but she was not satisfied, and told her husband that he ought to have brought the fish.

He goes fishing again for the third time, and again the same fish returns, and says to him, “Let me go into the water.”

But our man will not let him go again; his wife had scolded him so much last night. He must carry him home.

“Well, then, since you will carry me home, I will tell you how you must divide me. You must give my tail to the dog, my head to the mare, and my trunk to your wife. At the end of a certain time your wife will bear three sons, and they will all be exactly like each other, exactly alike. The mare will have three colts, but all three alike, and the bitch three puppies, all exactly alike too. And if any misfortune should happen to any of the three children, the well which is behind the house will begin to boil.”

The woman did as the fish had said, and she gave birth to three wonderfully fine boys, who were all exactly, exactly alike, and the mare had three colts exactly alike, and the bitch three puppies exactly alike too.

When these children grew big, one of them said to his parents that he wished to go from country to country to see the world. His parents did not wish it. But he had such a desire that at last they gave him leave. He takes a horse and a dog, extraordinarily large and handsome, a sword also,85 and off he starts. He goes on, and on, very, very far. He comes to a city and goes to an inn. They were lamenting loudly there, and everybody was sad.86 He asks, “What is it?” They tell him how that a serpent with seven heads lived in the mountain, and that every day they drew lots to know who should go to him, because he must eat one person every day; and that to-day the lot has fallen on the king’s daughter, and that everyone was in mourning, and that the next day this princess must go very early to the mountain.

Our young man takes his horse, his dog, and his sword, and starts off before the princess. He keeps himself hidden until the princess was alone at the top. Then our lad comes out, and the princess says to him:

“Where do you come from here? Go down quickly, else you will be eaten as well as I. It is quite enough for one (to die).”

And she entreats him to go down, but our lad will not. He wishes to try if he can do anything. At the same moment they hear a shrill hissing, and with that the serpent comes. The lad says to the dog:

“Do your duty.”

And the dog leaps upon the serpent and holds him. He takes his sword and cuts off his seven heads as best he can. When he has done that he takes the seven tongues out of the seven heads and puts them in his pocket. This princess had on seven robes, each more beautiful than the others, and he cuts seven pieces out of them severally. The princess does not know what to do to thank him. She wishes to take the lad home with her, but he will not go. And he returns to the inn.

The king proclaims that the man who has killed the serpent has gained the half of his kingdom, and his daughter; that he should make himself known. Our lad does not show himself at all, but a charcoal-burner87 passing by on the mountain found the seven heads. He presents himself before the king as if he had killed the serpent. But the princess does not recognise him, and says that it is not he who has saved her. But as no one else came the marriage was about to be celebrated, when the princess pointed out to her father from a distance her rescuer. The king would not believe her. But they send and fetch him, and tell the charcoal-burner to show the seven heads of the serpent, and he shows them with great boldness. Our young man tells him to open their mouths. He does so, and the mouths had no tongues. Then he who had killed the serpent shows the seven tongues, and the seven pieces of the princess’ robes, and they were all convinced that he had killed the serpent; and they burned the charcoal-burner alive in the middle of the market-place.

Our young man marries the princess, and they had many and great rejoicings because he had delivered all the world from the terrible serpent. In the evening, when they retired to their chamber, the wife knelt down to say her prayers, and the husband went and looked out of the window, and he saw by the moonlight a magnificent castle,88 which he had never seen before.

He asks his wife:

“What is that?”

His wife says to him:

“Nobody goes to that castle, for they who go there never return.”89

The husband said to her that he must go there. His wife did not wish it, but he had such a desire to do so that he takes his horse, his dog, and his sword, and goes off. He looks round and round (the castle), but he cannot find the door. At last he finds a little door half hidden, very small. He knocks. An old woman comes to him, and asks him what he wants.

He says, “I have seen this castle so beautiful outside, that I am anxious to see the inside.”

She shows him in. He sees a table splendidly laid out. There was nothing that there was not on the table. This woman invites him to take something. He says that he does not want anything, but she insists so much that he ends by taking something. As soon as he has eaten the first mouthful he becomes a terrible monster, and by no means could he get out of that house.

The water begins to boil at home, as the fish had said. All those in the house are grieved because some misfortune has happened to the son. One of the brothers at home said that he would immediately set out to the help of his brother. Those at home are very sorry, but they let him go. He takes a horse and a dog. The father and mother give him all the money that they can give him, and he starts off. He goes on, and on, and on, and, as was fated,90 he comes to the same inn as his brother. There they recognise him. They inform the king that the gentleman is at the house, because he had had a search made for him through all the neighbourhood. They come and fetch him out of his corner, and he lets them do as they wish. A great supper was made, and he goes off with the princess. As before, the princess knelt down to pray. The young man goes to look out of the window, and sees this palace. He asks her what this beautiful castle is. She says to him:

“You do not know what takes place there! They who go there never return.”

He says that he will start off directly. His wife asks him if he will return to that castle as before. “Do not go, I pray you.”

But nothing could have stopped him, and off he goes with his horse and his dog. Like the other brother, he goes wandering round and round the house without finding the door. At last he sees a very little door half hidden. He knocks at it, and the old woman comes and says to him:

“What do you want?”

“I have seen the outside of this castle, and I wish to see the inside.”

She tells him to come in. He leaves his horse and his dog outside, and he sees a table splendidly set out; one could not mention anything that was wanting, there was something of everything. She tells him to eat something. He did not wish to, but at last he takes something, (so little, that it was) almost nothing. At the first mouthful he becomes a terrible monster, and cannot in any way get out.

The water at home begins to boil, and they know that some misfortune has happened to him.

The third brother said that he must set out as quickly as possible. The parents did not wish it, but he said to them:

“Perhaps I shall save them; let me go.”

They give him as much money as they can. He takes a horse and a dog, and off he starts. He goes on, and on, and on. He also goes to the same inn as his other brothers. He is recognised immediately, and the king is informed that this young gentleman is there. He sends to fetch him immediately, and makes great feastings and rejoicings, thinking that it is always the same as their first young gentleman. In the evening he is conducted to the princess. The princess kneels down to say her evening prayers, and her husband, wishing to see a little more of the festival, placed himself at the window. He also sees the beautiful castle. He asks his wife:

“What is this beautiful house?”

She says to him, “What! You! Do not you know what it is? No one returns from there. You know yourself what happens there, since you have been there yourself.”

He said to her, “I must go and see it again.”

The princess would not let him go; but he broke away from her. He takes his horse and his dog, and starts off. He looks, and looks all round, and cannot find the door. An old woman appears to him, and says to him—

“What do you think will become of you here? They who go in there do not come out.”

“But that is why I wish to go in, to know what passes within.”

Then the old woman gives him a pigeon, cooked and prepared for eating, and said to him,

“Inside there is an old woman. She will try and force you to eat; but, if you are wise, you will not eat. You will show her the pigeon that you have in your pocket which remains after your repast, and you must make her eat some of the pigeon, and you will have full power over her.”

When he has found the door, he knocks. This old woman comes, and asks him what he wants. He says that he only wishes to see this house. She lets him in. He takes his dog, also, with him. He sees this splendid table. She wishes absolutely to make him eat; but he says that it is altogether impossible—that he has in his pocket a pigeon which he has not been able to eat, and that she must eat some of that. The old woman says she will not. He compels her, and tells her she must; and at last she eats it. He then asks her what she has done with his brothers. She says that she knows nothing about them; that she does not know what he means. He forces her to tell him, and says to her,

“I will make my dog strangle you if you do not tell me.”

He frightens her so, that she shows him some terrible monsters. He tells her to restore them as they were before, otherwise some misfortune shall happen to her, and to mind what she is about. At last she set to work to change them as they were before, and their horses and dogs as well.

They all go to the king’s palace, where everyone is immensely astonished to see three gentlemen arrive exactly alike in all respects. They ask the princess which is her husband. But the poor young lady is greatly embarrassed. She could not distinguish them, because they were exactly alike. At last he who had killed the serpent said that he was her husband. They make great rejoicings, and give a great deal of money to the two brothers, and to their parents, and they went off. They burnt the old woman in the midst of the market-place, and this handsome castle was given to the newly-married pair, and they lived happily at court; and, as they lived well, so they died happily.

Catherine Elizondo.

All the latter part of this tale is much more detailed than in the Gaelic, and it is singular to read this note from Campbell’s collector:—“The Gaelic is given as nearly as possible in the words used by Mackenzie; but he thinks his story rather shortened.” Of the identity of the two stories there can be no doubt, although each supplies what is wanting to the other.

Tabakiera, the Snuff-Box. 91

Like many others in the world, there was a lad who wished to travel, and off he went. He finds a snuff-box, and opens it. And the snuff-box said to him—

“Que quieres?” (“What do you wish for?”)

He is frightened, and puts it at once into his pocket. Luckily he did not throw it away. He goes on, and on, and on, and at last he said to himself,

“(I wonder) if it would say to me again, ‘Que quieres?’ I should well know what to answer.”

He takes it out again, and opens it, and it says to him again,

“Que quieres?”

The lad says to it, “My hat full of gold.”

And it is filled!

He is astounded, and he said to himself that he would never want anything any more. He goes on, and on, and on; and, after he had passed some forests, he arrives at a fine castle. The king lived there. He goes round, and round, and round it, looking at it with an impudent air. The king says to him—

“What are you looking for?”

“To see your castle.”

“You would wish, too, to have one like it?”

The lad does not answer. When the evening came, our lad takes out his snuff-box, and it said to him,

“Que quieres?”

“Build here, on this very spot, a castle, with laths of gold and silver, and diamond tiles, and with all its furniture of gold and silver.”92

As soon as he has said it, he sees in front of the king’s castle a castle like what he had asked for. When the king gets up in the morning, he was astonished at this dazzling castle. His eyes were blinded by the (reflection of the) rays of the sun which fell upon it. The king went and said to him—

“You must be a man of great power,93 and you must come to our house, where we will live together. I have a daughter, too, and you shall marry her.”

They do as the king had said, and they lived all together in the dazzling house. He was married to the king’s daughter, and lived happily.

Now, the king’s wife was very envious of the lad and of his wife. She knew, by her daughter, how that they had a snuff-box, and that it did all that they wished. She intrigued with one of the servants to try and take it from them; but they take great care (to conceal) where they put the snuff-box away every evening. Nevertheless, at last she sees where it is put, and in the middle of the night, while they slept, she takes it from them, and carries it to her old mistress. What a joy for her!

She opens it, and the snuff-box says to her, “Que quieres?”

“You must take myself and my husband, and my servants, and this beautiful house, to the other side of the Red Sea,94 and leave my daughter and her husband here.”

When the young couple awoke in the morning, they found themselves in the old castle, and their snuff-box was gone. They look for it everywhere, but it is useless.

The young man will not wait an instant longer at home. He must start off at once to find his castle and his snuff-box. He takes a horse, and as much gold as the horse can carry, and he goes on, and on, and on, and on. He searches through all the towns in the neighbourhood until he had finished all his money. He searched, but he did not find it anywhere. But he went looking out still, feeding his horse as best he could, and begging for himself. Some one told him that he ought to go to the moon—that he makes a very long journey, and that he might guide him. He goes far, far, far away, on, and on, and on, and at last he arrives. He finds an old woman, who says to him—

“What do you come to do here? My son devours all creatures of all sorts; and, if you will trust me, you will be off before his arrival.”

He tells her his misfortunes—how that he had a snuff-box of great power, which has been stolen from him, and that he is now without anything, far from his wife, and stripped of everything, “and perhaps your son, in his journeys, has seen my palace, with its golden laths and tiles of diamonds, and the other ornaments of gold and silver.”