But they were not so near as they seemed to be.It took a whole day to reach the mountains,where the dark forests rose right up to the skies,and where the boulders were almost as large as a whole town.To climb over all of them would be heavy going indeed,so John and his companion went to an inn to rest and strengthen themselves for tomorrow's journey.
Down in the big tap-room at the inn were many people,because a showman was there with a puppet-show.He had just set up his little theatre,and the people sat there waiting to see the play.Down in front,a burly old butcher had taken a seat,the very best one too,and his big bulldog—how vicious it looked—sat beside him,with his eyes popping as wide as everyone else's.
Then the play started.It was a very pleasant play,all about a king and a queen who sat on a velvet throne.They wore gold crowns on their heads and long trains to their costumes,all of which they could very well afford.The prettiest little wooden dolls,with glass eyes and big mustaches,stood by to open and shut all the doors so that fresh air might come into the room.It was a very pleasant play,it wasn't sad at all.But just as the queen rose and swept across the stage—heaven only knows what possessed the big bulldog to do it—as the fat butcher was not holding him,the dog made a jump right on to the stage,snatched up the queen by her slender waist,and crunched her until she cracked in pieces.It was quite tragic!
The poor showman was badly frightened,and quite upset about the queen;for she was his prettiest little puppet,and the ugly bulldog had bitten off her head.But after a while,when the audience had gone,the stranger who had come with John said that he could soon mend her.He produced his little jar,and rubbed the puppet with some of the ointment that had cured the poor old woman who had broken her leg.The moment the salve was applied to the puppet,she was as good as new—nay,better.She could even move by herself,and there was no longer any need to pull her strings.Except hat she could not speak,the puppet was just like a live woman.The showman was delighted that he didn't have to pull strings for this puppet,who could dance by herself.None of the others could do that.
In the night,after everyone in the inn had gone to bed,someone was heard sighing so terribly,and the sighs went on for so long,that everybody got up to see who it could be.The showman went straight to his little theatre,because the sighs seemed to come from there.All the wooden puppets were in a heap,with the king and his attendants mixed all together,and it was they who sighed so profoundly.They looked so pleading with their big glass eyes,and all of them wanted to be rubbed a little,just as the queen had been,so that they too would be able to move by themselves.The queen went down on her knees and held out her lovely golden crown as if to say:“Take even this from me,if you will only rub my king and his courtiers.”
The poor showman felt so sorry for them that he could not keep back his tears.Immediately he promised the traveling companion to give him all the money he would take in at the next performance,if only he would anoint four or five of the nicest puppets.But the traveling companion said he would not take any payment,except the big sword that hung at the showman's side.On receiving it he anointed six of the puppets,who began to dance so well that all the girls,the real live girls who were watching,began to dance too.The coachman danced with the cook,and the waiter with the chambermaid.All the guests joined the dance,and the shovel and tongs did too,but these fell down as soon as they took their first step.It was a lively night indeed!
Next morning,John and his companion set off up the lofty mountainside and through the vast pine forests.They climbed so high that at last the church towers down below looked like little red berries among all that greenery.They could see in the distance,many and many a mile away,places where neither of them had ever been.Never before had John seen so many of the glories of this lovely world at once.The sun shone bright in the clear blue air,and along the mountainside he could also hear the hunters sounding their horns.It was all so fair and sweet that tears came into his eyes,and he could not help crying out,“Almighty God,I could kiss your footsteps in thankfulness for all the splendors that you have given us in this world.”
His traveling companion also folded his hands and looked out over the woods and towns that lay before them in the warm sunlight.Just then they heard a wonderful sound overhead.They looked up,and saw a large white swan sweeping above them and singing as they had never before heard any bird sing.But the song became fainter and fainter,until the bird bowed his head and dropped slowly down dead at their feet—the lovely bird!
“Two such glorious wings!”said the traveling companion.“Wings so large and white as these are worth a good deal of money.I'll take them with me.You can see now what a good thing it was that I got a sword.”With one stroke he cut off both wings of the dead swan,for he wanted to keep them.
They journeyed many and many a mile over the mountains,until at last they saw a great town rise before them,with more than a hundred towers that shone like silver in the sun.In the midst of the town there was a magnificent marble palace,with a roof of red gold.That was where the King lived.
John and his companion did not want to enter the town at once.They stopped at a wayside inn outside the town to put on fresh clothes,for they wanted to look presentable when they walked through the streets.The innkeeper told them what the King was a good man who never harmed anyone.But as for his daughter—Heaven help us—she was a bad Princess.
