“The
Pink”
A queen prayed for either a son or
daughter. One day, an angel came to her
saying that she would have a son with the power of wishing: whatever he wished
for would happen.
The queen would take her son into the
garden to bath him in the fountain. One
day, she fell asleep with him in her lap.
A cook who knew the boy had the power of wishes kidnapped him. He also killed a chicken and put some of the
blood on the queen’s clothing. He took
the baby somewhere for it to be nursed, then went to the king and told him the
queen had let the boy be dragged off by wild animals.
The king was so angry he had a tower built
that would not let any light in. He
locked the queen up with no food or water for seven years. But two angels – appearing as doves – brought
her food every day.
Meanwhile, the cook figured he would be
found out, so he left the king and took the boy, who could now talk. He told the boy to wish for a castle with
everything that came with it, and a castle grew up. He then told the boy to wish for maiden to be
the boy’s companion. The boy and maiden
played while the cook went hunting like a gentleman.
But the cook started thinking that the boy
might one day wish to see his father, which would upset everything. So he told the maiden to kill the boy that
night and bring the cook his heart and tongue.
If she didn’t, she would die.
But the next day the boy still lived. The maiden asked why he should die when he’d
never hurt anything. The cook told her
again to kill him or die herself. When
the cook left, she got a hind and cut out its heart and tongue. She then told the boy to hide under the
blankets.
When the cook came back and asked for the
heart and tongue, the maiden showed him.
The boy then jumped up and gave the cook his punishment by wishing him
to be a black poodle with a gold chain around his neck who ate live coals.
They lived in the castle for a while, but
then the boy wondered if his mother was still alive. So he journeyed back home. But the maiden didn’t want to travel that
far, but they didn’t want to be apart.
So he wished her to be a pink, or a carnation. He then set out with the poodle running along
with him.
The boy reached the tower and wished for a
ladder to go up. He then called to his
mother, who at first thought him one of the angels. The boy then went to see the king.
He had himself announced as a
huntsman. The king said that there wasn’t
any game around, but if he could produce some venison, he’d hire him. The boy took out a hunting party and wished
plenty of game and they took it back to the king.
At the feast, the king had the boy sit
next to him for he was so clever. As
they ate, he wished someone to ask about the queen. One asked the king if she still lived, but he
answered that he didn’t want to hear of her because she let his son be killed.
The boy then stated that he was the boy
and told everyone what happened. He then
produced the cook/poodle. After showing
them how the poodle ate live coals, he changed him back into the cook. The king had him thrown into a dungeon.
The boy then showed his father the pink,
which he then changed back into the maiden.
The king sent men to the tower to bring
the queen back. But the queen refused to
eat or drink, saying that God would soon release her. She then died.
After her funeral, the angel/doves hovered
over her grave.
The king had the cook torn into
quarters.
The king was so heartbroken, that he soon
died.
And the boy married the girl/flower.
#
So the story is about a boy that could
wish things, so we’ll name it after a flower that shows up in it. Why not the black poodle with a gold chain,
or the mother left in a tower until she died?
Whatever you wish for will happen. That’s pretty powerful stuff for the angels
to be handing out willy-nilly.
How did the cook find out about the boy’s
powers? Did the king and queen brag
about it? You’d think more than the cook
would try to get the boy on their side.
If the cook could bring himself to kill
the maiden, why not just kill the boy?
Why his tongue? If you take someone’s heart, then there’s a
high certainty that they are dead. Why
add the tongue to it?
Why kill the hind if showing the
cook its heart and tongue really served no purpose?
Ah, someone wants to kill you so
your first thought is to … turn them into a poodle that eats coals?
Whatever he wishes comes true, but he
still decides to basically walk home? I
mean, he could have wished the maiden to be a horse and then he could have
ridden home.
I’ve come to rescue you, just stay in this
impenetrable tower for a bit longer. I
have to go pretend to be someone else for a couple of days even though my
wishing power could have you out in the blink of an eye.
I thought the queen was to just be in the
tower for seven years? Or did the boy
wish himself big?
I wonder if the new king ever thought
himself stupid for not just wishing himself home instead of walking, and then
just wishing his mother out of the tower instead of playing a game to the point
she just gave up and died.
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