THE SON OF THE KING OF SPAIN
The white horse set off as quickly as the wind, to the deepest thicket of the great forest.
" Let's go! Son of the King of Spain. Here is the terrible wild beast."
For a full hour, the Son of the King of Spain fought with great sword blows against the terrible wild beast, without ever being able to strike it in the right place. He was starting to get tired. Then the King of Owls flew faster than lightning. With two pecks, he gouged out the eyes of the terrible wild beast.
"Son of the King of Spain. Hit the right spot."
The Son of the King of Spain obeys.
“Son of the King of Spain, the terrible wild beast has finished his mischief. Take the wine that restores youth, the wine of which only one bottle remains, the wine preserved since the wedding at Cana, where Our Lord Jesus Christ was invited. Son of the King of Spain, I paid you for your service. Farewell."
And the King of Owls flew into the great forest. He was never seen again, ever.
Then the Son of the King of Spain jumped on his white horse and galloped off again. After three leagues, he stopped near a stream to let his beast breathe. At the edge of the stream, a large wolf was struggling, its head caught in a trap.
What did the Son of the King of Spain do? He parted the jaws of the trap and freed the great wolf.
“Son of the King of Spain, thank you. You will be paid for your service. Son of the King of Spain, I am the King of Wolves. I know who you are, and what you want. You want to cut off the head of the Ogre, two toises high, who is the misfortune of this country. You want the armor that is proof against the sword, the bullet, and the cannonball."
"Wolf King, you spoke the truth."
"Son of the King of Spain, the Ogre, two toises high, who is the misfortune of this country, is over there, over there, in the thickest of this great forest. The Ogre has the sword, bullet, and cannon-proof armor on his back and chest. In place of the heart, there is a hole in the armor as big as a fist. This is the right place to strike. Son of the King of Spain, I will help you when it comes to battle. Let's go."
The Son of the King of Spain jumped on his white horse and took the King of Wolves on his back.
“Gallop!”
The white horse set off as quickly as the wind to the deepest thicket of the great forest.
"Son of the King of Spain. Here is the Ogre, two toises high, who is the misfortune of this country."
For a full hour, the Son of the King of Spain fought battle, with great sword blows, against the Ogre armed with an iron hammer, weighing seven quintals. But the Ogre had on his back and his chest the armor resistant to the sword, the bullet, and the cannonball. The Ogre always arranged himself so as never to present the hole as big as a fist, pierced in place of the heart, the right place to strike. The Son of the King of Spain was starting to get tired. Then the King of Wolves ran faster than lightning and jumped at the Ogre's legs.
"Son of the King of Spain. Hit the right spot."
The Son of the King of Spain obeys.
“Son of the King of Spain, the Ogre, two toises high, has finished causing misfortune to this country. Cut off the head, take the breastplate of this beggar, and load it on your horse. Son of the King of Spain, I paid you for your service. Farewell."
And the King of Wolfes got lost in the great forest. He was never seen again, ever.
Source: Le Fils du roi d'Espagne, from the French book Contes populaires de la Gascogne, tome 2, published in 1886
Hello, my name is Vincent Celier.
I am writing translations of folk tales that I found in public domain French books, so that people who do not understand French may enjoy them too.
The Son of the King of Spain was helped by two animals that he rescued, an owl and a wolf. Of course, these two animals were kings! And there were repetitions in the words spoken and in the description of actions.
The owl had a mixed reputation among the French peasants; on the one hand, it represented knowledge, on the other hand, it was thought of as the emanation of death and the incarnation of evil.
And, of course, the wolf was feared because it decimated the herds.
So, it is surprising that the Son of the King of Spain helped these two animals.
Today, we left Kati's vineyard house and moved to her mother's house in the city of Pécs.
The house is near a cemetery. Some people do not like the idea of living near a cemetery, but there are also advantages: there will never be a large building erected that will hide the view, and dead people will not make any disturbing noise.
Of course, Kormi was moved too. She was a little afraid of where we were going during the 20 minutes of the trip. But very quickly she found her marks. She will stay with Kati's mother until we return next year in the Spring.
In preparation for Kormi's arrival, a dog flap has been installed in the door of a shed.
We thought that she would not be allowed in the house and that she would sleep in the shed. But in fact, Kati's mother decided that she could stay in the house. She looks very happy about that.
-- Vincent Celier