One day a beggar arrived at a king's house and asked for alms in the name of God. The king's daughter noticed it, and she told her father that she wanted to have this beggar for her husband. The king thought at first that it was joking that his daughter spoke in this way. But when he saw that he was not so and that she spoke for good and serious, he said to him:
"You must have lost your reason, my daughter, for wanting to marry a beggar, the daughter of a king like you are!
"There is nothing to say, father, I must have her for a husband, or I will die of grief.
The king loved his daughter above all else and did everything she wanted. He told her that he would let her take the beggar for a husband. But the beggar asked that the princess, as well as her father, her mother, and her two brothers be baptized, before the marriage, for they were all pagans. They were all baptized, and the beggar served as godfather to the elder prince. The wedding was celebrated, and there was a great feast.
When the wedding was over, the husband said:
- I'm going back to my house now, with my wife.
And he took leave of his father-in-law, his mother-in-law, and all the people at the wedding. Before leaving, he still tells the two young princes his brothers-in-law:
- When you want to visit your sister, go to a large rock in the nearby woods, hit two crosses with this stick, and I will meet you.
And he gave them a white wand, and departed immediately with his wife, without anyone knowing where they had gone.
Some time after this, the youngest of the two princes said, one day:
- I have to go see my sister, to find out how she is where she is.
And he took the white wand given by his brother-in-law and went to the wood. When he was near the great rock he struck two blows on the cross, and the rock opened at once, and he saw beneath his brother-in-law, who said to him,
- Ah! Is it you, darling brother-in-law? I am glad to see you again; but, you wish, no doubt, to see your sister too?
- Yes, I want to see my sister, to find out how she is.
- Well ! follow me, and you will see her.
- Or ?
- In my palace; go down and follow me.
The young prince hesitated to descend into the black hole he saw before him; but the other went on:
- Come with me, and be without fear; it will not happen to you badly.
He descended into the hole, and they both penetrated deep into the ground until they reached a magnificent castle. In this castle, the young prince saw his sister, in a beautiful room, beautifully dressed and seated on a golden seat. They had great joy to see each other again. The master of the castle went away, and left them both together.
- How do you find yourself here, darling sister? the brother asked the sister.
"I am well, darling brother; all I can wish for is granted on the spot. There is only one thing that displeases me; my husband does not stay with me. Every morning he goes on a trip at sunrise, and all day long I'm alone. - Where is he going in this way?
- I do not know, brother darling, he does not tell me.
- I'll ask him tomorrow to see.
- Yes, ask him.
The next day the prince rose early in the morning, and so he spoke to his brother-in-law:
- I would like to go with you too, to walk around, brother-in-law?
- I do not mind, dear brother-in-law.
But scarcely had they left the court than the master of the castle asked his brother-in-law:
- Did you lock the door on your sister?
"No, really," he replied. - Hey! Well, go close the door, quickly, and then, go back.
The prince went to close the door; but when he returned, his brother-in-law had already gone. He became angry, seeing this, and said to himself:
- Well ! since it is so, I go back home, right away.
He had with him his white wand; He struck two crosses on a great rock, which closed the entrance to the subterranean, near the castle, and the rock opened at once, and he entered the subterranean. When he reached the other end, he struck two more crosses on the rock that closed it on that side, which also opened, and he found himself at home.
Everyone was hurrying around him, asking for news of his sister. He told everything he had seen and heard.
- Jesus! said the father and the mother, "what is this man?
"I," said the eldest prince, "will go to see my sister too, and before returning, I shall know what this man is.
And he takes the white wand from the hands of his younger brother, goes to the woods and strikes two crosses on the rock.
The rock opens at once, and he sees beneath his brother-in-law, who says to him:
- Ah! hello, godson; go down and leave, quickly.
The prince descends into the subterranean, and his brother-in-law leads him to his sister, then he goes away. Like his brother, he was surprised to see his sister sitting on a golden seat and richly adorned.
"Are you good here, it seems, dear little sister? he asked him.
- Yes, darling brother, I'm pretty good here
There is only one thing that upsets me.
"What is it, dear little sister?
"Because my husband does not stay with me; every morning he leaves the house and leaves me alone all day long.
"Where is he going every day, little sister?
- I do not know, darling brother.
- I will ask him to accompany him tomorrow morning to see.
"Yes, ask him, dear brother; but take good care that it does not happen to you as to our younger brother. - Oh ! be quiet, I will not be caught like that.
The next morning, as soon as the sun was up, the master of the castle was on his feet, and so was his brother-in-law. He asked him to allow him to accompany him.
"Gladly," said he, "but let's go quickly, for it's time.
And they went out together from the castle. But, hardly had they taken a few steps:
- Did you lock the door on your sister? asked the master of the castle.
"Yes, yes, godfather, I closed it," replied the prince. - That's good, let's go, then.
They passed shortly afterwards by a great arid moor, where there was nothing but fern and lean gorse; and yet two fat, shining cows were lying among the heather and the gorse. This astonished the prince, who says:
- Here are cows very fat and shiny, on a moor where they find nothing to graze!
His brother-in-law did not answer; but, the cows said:
- God bless you !
And they continued on their way. They passed, then, by a beautiful meadow where there was an excellent pasture, and, in the middle of the grass, which went up to the belly, one saw two cows, but so thin, so meager, that it n had only bones and skin. And the prince, seeing this, says
- Here are two very lean cows; and yet they are in the grass to the belly!
- God bless you ! the two cows told him, like the two others; but the prince's brother-in-law says nothing.
And they continued on their way. A little farther on they passed by a deep and very narrow road, where two goats bumped their heads against each other, and so violently that the blood gushed out around them.
- Jesus! exclaimed the prince, "here are two poor creatures who will kill each other! How will we go? They obstruct the whole passage.
His brother-in-law still did not answer; but the two goats also said, "God bless you! And they ceased to fight, and the two travelers were able to pass without difficulty.
Further still, they reached an old church in ruins, and entered it. She was full of people, but they were all dead, and only the shadows remained.
- Will you answer me Mass, since you are a Christian? asked the prince his brother-in-law.
"I do not mind," he replied, astonished; but he was not afraid.
And the other put on priest's clothes, and then he went up to the altar and began to celebrate Mass, like a true priest. When he was elevated, he began to vomit toads and other hideous reptiles ..., and all the assistants were like him.
When the mass was over, all those who were in the church, the priest at their head, came to the prince, and said to him:
- "You have delivered us! thank you ! thank you ! Then they went away.
"Let's go back to the house now," said his brother-in-law to the prince.
And they returned. But they did not see again the extraordinary things they had seen at first, and on the way, the prince asked his brother-in-law to explain all this. So he spoke to her like this:
"Now I can speak, and this is what all you have seen is: The two fat, shining cows on the arid moor, where there was only heather, lean gorse, and stones, are poor people who lived honestly, when they were on the earth, gave alms, though poor, and were satisfied with their condition, and now they are saved. The two lean and emaciated cows, in the middle of an excellent pasture, were rich people, who only hoarded wealth and coveted the good of their neighbors, not giving alms to the poor, and, though rich, they were unhappy. They were where you saw them in Purgatory, and for their penance they were in the midst of the tall, fat grass, without being able to eat it.
Yet, all thanked me when we passed near them.
It's because you've delivered them all. It had been said by God that they would remain in the state in which you saw them, until a person came to pass who was not dead and would have pity on them; and they waited a long time!
And what did I see in the old church, what does that mean?
I was a bad priest, while I was on the earth; I said many bad things, and committed many other sins, and it was said by God that I would not be saved, and all those whom you saw in the church, and who m 'had helped sin and sin themselves with me, that when I would have found the daughter of a king to marry me, though dressed as a beggar, and a prince alive to answer me mass, here ; I waited a long time! The hideous reptiles you saw me throwing up like all the others in the church were so many devils torturing us. Now we are all delivered thanks to you.
And my sister, can she go home with me!
"No, your sister, who has helped to deliver me, like you, will now come with me to heaven, and you yourself will join us without delay." But you must go back home before, to tell your father and your mother and your brother all that you have seen and heard here. Here is a letter that you will give them, to tell them that they are not worried about their daughter and sister, because she goes with me to heaven, and if she had not been my wife, she would have been the devil's wife!
The prince then returned home and gave the letter to his father and mother, and told them everything he had seen and heard during his journey. He died soon after, as he had been told, and he went to join his sister and brother-in-law, where they were, to stay with them forever.