the story so far.
Dec. 7th, 2013 05:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
handlassOnce upon a time there lived a poor miller and his beautiful daughter. The miller grew poorer by the day. Finally, his only possessions in the world were his mill and the large apple tree that stood behind it. He wished for a life of leisure, but could not have it. He wished to remarry after the death of his wife so he would no longer be lonely, but no village girl would marry into such a hard and poverty-stricken life. With these wishes of his in mind, he one day set off into the forest to fetch wood. There, an old man he had never seen before interrupted him at his task. "Why do you break your back cutting wood when I could make you rich? Merely promise me what is standing behind your mill."
Were the miller stronger of spirit and wiser of mind, he might have thought longer on this, but instead he merely thought, "What can that be but my apple tree?" and he agreed to the stranger's demands, giving him a written promise. But the old man laughed mockingly and said, "When three years have passed, I will come and carry away what belongs to me."
The miller returned to his home, and his beautiful daughter came to meet him. "Tell me, father," she asked, "whence comes this sudden wealth into our house? All at once every box and chest was filled; no one brought it in, and I know not how it happened." He answered, "It comes from a stranger who met me in the forest and promised me great treasure if only I would just give him what stands behind the mill; we can very well give him the big apple tree for it." But his daughter was stricken by horror, and she said, "Ah, father, that could only have been an evil servant of the Darkness, come to torment us. All today, I was standing behind the mill sweeping the yard. I am what this devil will come to fetch in three years' time."
But the miller's daughter was a virtuous girl as well as a beautiful one, and she lived through the next three years without sin, trusting to her virtue to save her and her father to protect her. Therefore when the time was over, and the day came when the Darkness's devil was to fetch her, she washed herself clean and made a circle round herself with chalk. The devil appeared quite early, but he could not come near her. Angrily, he said to the miller, "Take all water away from her, that she may no longer be able to wash herself, for otherwise I have no power over her." The miller feared the devil and obeyed his commands. Seeing her father's willingness to obey the devil, his daughter wept long and hard all night. When the next morning the devil came again, he found her hands so clean and pure from her tears that he once again could not go near her, so he said to the miller, "Cut her hands off, or else I cannot get the better of her." The miller was shocked and answered, "How could I cut off my own child's hands?" But the devil threatened him and said, "If you don't do it your soul belongs to me and my dark master, and I will take you myself." The father was terrified and promised to obey him. So he went to his daughter and said, "My child, if I do not cut off both your hands, the devil will carry me away, and in my terror I have promised to do it. Help me in my need, and forgive me the harm I do thee." She had no answer but to say, "Dear father, do with me what you will; I am your child." Thereupon she laid down both her hands and let them be cut off. She spent the night weeping her pure tears all over the bloody stumps, so that when the devil came for the third time, she was still too clean for him to take. Then he had to give in and admit that he had lost all right over her.
The miller said to her, "Because of you, I have received so much wealth that we can live together in contentment for many years to come. I will remarry the best and most beautiful new mother for you, and we can feast every day." But she only looked at her father who she had trusted to protect her until he cut off her hands, and she said, "I cannot stay here. I will go forth into the world, and surely compassionate people will give me as much as I require." So she had her maimed arms bound to her back, and by the next sunrise she set out on her way. She walked the whole day until night fell, but at no point did anyone offer her help, even when she grew tired and weary. People passing by averted their gaze from her and turned away when she opened her mouth to speak to them.
Finally, once night had fallen, she came to a royal garden, and by the shimmering of the moon she saw that trees covered with beautiful fruits grew in it, but she could not enter, because the distrustful king had surrounded even his gardens with a deep moat full of water. As she had walked the whole day and not been given one mouthful to eat, hunger tormented her now, and she thought, "Ah, if I were but inside, that I might eat of the fruit! Otherwise I will die of hunger!" But after such a day, she was fearful to call out for help, so instead she thought, "There must be some guardian angel out there who will help me where mortal people have not; it cannot end here after all of this," and she knelt down and prayed. So it was that her purity and virtue called forth an angel, who came towards her all aglow, made a dam in the moat, and allowed her to walk through it to the gardens unharmed. Trusting in angels instead of people, she went into the garden. There she saw a tree covered with beautiful pears, and to still her hunger, she ate just one with her mouth from the tree, but no more, because she knew she could not be greedy or spoiled on an angel's watch. When she had eaten this pear, she told herself that she was satisfied, and she went and concealed herself among the bushes of the garden.
As it happened, the gardener was watching, but as the maiden was so pure and so delicate and had walked so mysteriously through the water, he was afraid and thought that she was a spirit. When the king came down to the garden the next morning and jealously counted his pears, he asked that gardener what had become of it. So answered the gardener, "Last night, a spirit came in, who had no hands, and ate off one of the pears with its mouth." The king was suspicious and decided to watch the garden himself the next night. When it grew dark, he waited beneath a nearby tree and watched. At midnight, the maiden came creeping out of the thicket and went to the tree. She was too hungry to notice the king nearby, so she once again ate one pear off the tree with her mouth. Then the king spoke up to her: "Do you come from the heavens or from the earth? Are you a spirit, or a human being?" Startled but with no choice but to reply, she said, "I am no spirit, but an unhappy mortal deserted by all but the angels of my own better nature. I trust only in goodness itself now." But the king said, "If you have been forsaken by all the world, I will be the one who does not forsake you." Much to her astonishment, he let down his guard and invited her into the royal palace with him, where he found her so beautiful and good that he loved her with all his heart, had silver hands made for her, and took her to wife.
She lived in peace with the king for a year and soon enough grew round with child, but then the king, though he'd promised not to forsake her, found himself called away to do battle in distant lands. He assured his young queen that he would write letters to her, and that he wished she would also write letters to him and tell him of the birth of their child. In time, she did give birth to a fine boy, and though weak from the birth, she hurried to write to her husband the king of the news. But the messenger taking the letter was somewhat neglectful of his duties and took his eyes off his package as he rested along the way, and the old devil slipped in and exchanged the letter for another, in which was written that the queen had brought a monster into the world. When the king read the letter he was shocked and much troubled, but he wrote in answer that they were to take great care of the queen and nurse her well until he could return and set the situation aright. Once again, though, the messenger was neglectful, and the devil once more exchanged the letter for one where it was written that the castle guards were to put the queen and her child to death, and preserve the queen's tongue and eyes as a proof of her demise.
When the queen received the letter, she wept long and hard over it, but found herself too little surprised by her husband's betrayal. She knew by now that she could not trust human beings, only the beautiful goodness to which they could aspire. So she knelt down and prayed again, "My guardian angels, please return; it cannot end here after all of this." Sure enough, two angels came forth, and in secret they had a hind brought to the castle and cut out her tongue and eyes to present as the queen's. But the queen said, "I cannot stay here. I will go forth into the world, and even if there are no compassionate people to give me what I require, somehow it will all work out." Still, when she bound her child on her back and left the castle, she went away with eyes full of tears.
After a time, she came to a great wild forest, and before that intimidating expanse she fell to her knees yet again and prayed, "Please, whatever goodness exists in the world, find me safety and comfort in this forest." Once again, an angel appeared to her and led her into the depths of the forest, where a little house stood. Before it was a sign with the words, "Here all dwell free." A snow-white maiden came out of the little house and said, "Welcome, lady queen," and conducted her inside. There they unbound the little boy from her back and held him to her breast so that he might feed, and as he had his fill she whispered, "I will call you 'Sorrowful,' for that is what life in this human world is." Then said the poor woman to the maiden, "How did you know I was a queen?" The white maiden answered, "I am an angel born of your heart's purity and despair, to watch over you and your child."
In the seven years that have passed since then, the lady Faith has stayed in the little house. She does not know that her husband grieves for her absence and searches for her. She only knows that she had to leave, and that her child is named Sorrowful.
Were the miller stronger of spirit and wiser of mind, he might have thought longer on this, but instead he merely thought, "What can that be but my apple tree?" and he agreed to the stranger's demands, giving him a written promise. But the old man laughed mockingly and said, "When three years have passed, I will come and carry away what belongs to me."
The miller returned to his home, and his beautiful daughter came to meet him. "Tell me, father," she asked, "whence comes this sudden wealth into our house? All at once every box and chest was filled; no one brought it in, and I know not how it happened." He answered, "It comes from a stranger who met me in the forest and promised me great treasure if only I would just give him what stands behind the mill; we can very well give him the big apple tree for it." But his daughter was stricken by horror, and she said, "Ah, father, that could only have been an evil servant of the Darkness, come to torment us. All today, I was standing behind the mill sweeping the yard. I am what this devil will come to fetch in three years' time."
But the miller's daughter was a virtuous girl as well as a beautiful one, and she lived through the next three years without sin, trusting to her virtue to save her and her father to protect her. Therefore when the time was over, and the day came when the Darkness's devil was to fetch her, she washed herself clean and made a circle round herself with chalk. The devil appeared quite early, but he could not come near her. Angrily, he said to the miller, "Take all water away from her, that she may no longer be able to wash herself, for otherwise I have no power over her." The miller feared the devil and obeyed his commands. Seeing her father's willingness to obey the devil, his daughter wept long and hard all night. When the next morning the devil came again, he found her hands so clean and pure from her tears that he once again could not go near her, so he said to the miller, "Cut her hands off, or else I cannot get the better of her." The miller was shocked and answered, "How could I cut off my own child's hands?" But the devil threatened him and said, "If you don't do it your soul belongs to me and my dark master, and I will take you myself." The father was terrified and promised to obey him. So he went to his daughter and said, "My child, if I do not cut off both your hands, the devil will carry me away, and in my terror I have promised to do it. Help me in my need, and forgive me the harm I do thee." She had no answer but to say, "Dear father, do with me what you will; I am your child." Thereupon she laid down both her hands and let them be cut off. She spent the night weeping her pure tears all over the bloody stumps, so that when the devil came for the third time, she was still too clean for him to take. Then he had to give in and admit that he had lost all right over her.
The miller said to her, "Because of you, I have received so much wealth that we can live together in contentment for many years to come. I will remarry the best and most beautiful new mother for you, and we can feast every day." But she only looked at her father who she had trusted to protect her until he cut off her hands, and she said, "I cannot stay here. I will go forth into the world, and surely compassionate people will give me as much as I require." So she had her maimed arms bound to her back, and by the next sunrise she set out on her way. She walked the whole day until night fell, but at no point did anyone offer her help, even when she grew tired and weary. People passing by averted their gaze from her and turned away when she opened her mouth to speak to them.
Finally, once night had fallen, she came to a royal garden, and by the shimmering of the moon she saw that trees covered with beautiful fruits grew in it, but she could not enter, because the distrustful king had surrounded even his gardens with a deep moat full of water. As she had walked the whole day and not been given one mouthful to eat, hunger tormented her now, and she thought, "Ah, if I were but inside, that I might eat of the fruit! Otherwise I will die of hunger!" But after such a day, she was fearful to call out for help, so instead she thought, "There must be some guardian angel out there who will help me where mortal people have not; it cannot end here after all of this," and she knelt down and prayed. So it was that her purity and virtue called forth an angel, who came towards her all aglow, made a dam in the moat, and allowed her to walk through it to the gardens unharmed. Trusting in angels instead of people, she went into the garden. There she saw a tree covered with beautiful pears, and to still her hunger, she ate just one with her mouth from the tree, but no more, because she knew she could not be greedy or spoiled on an angel's watch. When she had eaten this pear, she told herself that she was satisfied, and she went and concealed herself among the bushes of the garden.
As it happened, the gardener was watching, but as the maiden was so pure and so delicate and had walked so mysteriously through the water, he was afraid and thought that she was a spirit. When the king came down to the garden the next morning and jealously counted his pears, he asked that gardener what had become of it. So answered the gardener, "Last night, a spirit came in, who had no hands, and ate off one of the pears with its mouth." The king was suspicious and decided to watch the garden himself the next night. When it grew dark, he waited beneath a nearby tree and watched. At midnight, the maiden came creeping out of the thicket and went to the tree. She was too hungry to notice the king nearby, so she once again ate one pear off the tree with her mouth. Then the king spoke up to her: "Do you come from the heavens or from the earth? Are you a spirit, or a human being?" Startled but with no choice but to reply, she said, "I am no spirit, but an unhappy mortal deserted by all but the angels of my own better nature. I trust only in goodness itself now." But the king said, "If you have been forsaken by all the world, I will be the one who does not forsake you." Much to her astonishment, he let down his guard and invited her into the royal palace with him, where he found her so beautiful and good that he loved her with all his heart, had silver hands made for her, and took her to wife.
She lived in peace with the king for a year and soon enough grew round with child, but then the king, though he'd promised not to forsake her, found himself called away to do battle in distant lands. He assured his young queen that he would write letters to her, and that he wished she would also write letters to him and tell him of the birth of their child. In time, she did give birth to a fine boy, and though weak from the birth, she hurried to write to her husband the king of the news. But the messenger taking the letter was somewhat neglectful of his duties and took his eyes off his package as he rested along the way, and the old devil slipped in and exchanged the letter for another, in which was written that the queen had brought a monster into the world. When the king read the letter he was shocked and much troubled, but he wrote in answer that they were to take great care of the queen and nurse her well until he could return and set the situation aright. Once again, though, the messenger was neglectful, and the devil once more exchanged the letter for one where it was written that the castle guards were to put the queen and her child to death, and preserve the queen's tongue and eyes as a proof of her demise.
When the queen received the letter, she wept long and hard over it, but found herself too little surprised by her husband's betrayal. She knew by now that she could not trust human beings, only the beautiful goodness to which they could aspire. So she knelt down and prayed again, "My guardian angels, please return; it cannot end here after all of this." Sure enough, two angels came forth, and in secret they had a hind brought to the castle and cut out her tongue and eyes to present as the queen's. But the queen said, "I cannot stay here. I will go forth into the world, and even if there are no compassionate people to give me what I require, somehow it will all work out." Still, when she bound her child on her back and left the castle, she went away with eyes full of tears.
After a time, she came to a great wild forest, and before that intimidating expanse she fell to her knees yet again and prayed, "Please, whatever goodness exists in the world, find me safety and comfort in this forest." Once again, an angel appeared to her and led her into the depths of the forest, where a little house stood. Before it was a sign with the words, "Here all dwell free." A snow-white maiden came out of the little house and said, "Welcome, lady queen," and conducted her inside. There they unbound the little boy from her back and held him to her breast so that he might feed, and as he had his fill she whispered, "I will call you 'Sorrowful,' for that is what life in this human world is." Then said the poor woman to the maiden, "How did you know I was a queen?" The white maiden answered, "I am an angel born of your heart's purity and despair, to watch over you and your child."
In the seven years that have passed since then, the lady Faith has stayed in the little house. She does not know that her husband grieves for her absence and searches for her. She only knows that she had to leave, and that her child is named Sorrowful.
