THE VEILED MAN
"Veiled Man, I don’t believe you. If he ever comes back, it is I who undertake to recommend it to the executioner."
The king's son saluted his father and returned to find the priest in his church.
“Hello, priest. Here is my sword and my black veil. Hide them under the high altar of your church, and return them to me when I come to ask you for them.
"Poor man, I will do as you said."
The king's son returned to his master, to tend, from sunrise to sunset, his herd of a hundred pigs, all along the great sea. It lasted a long, long time.
One day, the king's son was dreaming, sitting at the foot of an oak tree. At the top of the oak, a beautiful Golden Bird was singing.
“I am the Golden Bird, the bird the color of the sun, the bird that speaks and reasons like a Christian. I am the Golden Bird, who will live until the day of judgment, if I find, every hundred years, to drink a pint of the blood of a king's son. Swineherd, tomorrow it will be a hundred years since I last drank. Swineherd, I know who you are. Help me with a pint of your blood.
"Golden Bird, fly to the ground."
The Golden Bird obeys. Then the king's son drew his knife and pricked his arm. The blood flowed, red and hot, and the Golden Bird drank from the regalade.
“Swineherd, thank you. That's a hundred years. Swineherd, you have done me a great service, and I intend to pay you for it. Listen. Pluck a feather from my wing, and hide it in the lining of your beret. If you put this feather in your mouth, you will immediately be changed into a Golden Bird like me. You will fly where you want, as fast as lightning. If you spit out this feather, you will immediately become a man again. But then, my present will have lost all power. Porcher, you have done me a great service. I paid you. We are even. Farewell. You will never, ever see me again."
And the Golden Bird flew away, towards the great sea.
In the evening, at supper, the sharecropper, who was returning from the fair, quoted what he had seen and heard there.
“Porcher, sad things are happening in the kingdom. A Flying Serpent has come, for the perdition of this country, a Flying Serpent crowned with gold, and a hundred yards long. Night and day, the monster roams the countryside and eats animals and people. They say that the old king is dying of grief. What to do there? In fighting against the evil beast, many men, many strong and bold men have died. But we must strike at the heart, and weapons can do nothing on the skin of the Flying Serpent crowned with gold."
The king's son pretended to listen out of complacency. Yet he didn't miss a word. When bedtime came, he went to his bed; but he thought all night about what the sharecropper had said.
The next day, the king's son was up, before dawn.
“Farewell, master. I'm going on a big trip."
"Swineherd, this is what I owe you. Let us part, good friends. Go, and may the Good Lord lead you. If you want to return here, you will always be well received."
"Thank you, master. Keep that money. If I don't come back in seven months, count me dead. So, spend half of my earnings on alms, and the other on having masses said for me.
"Swineherd, I will do as you said."
"Thank you, master. Farewell."
Seven weeks later, the king's son entered the church, where his sword and black veil were still hidden under the high altar.
“Hello, priest. Give me back my sword and my black veil."
"Poor man, with pleasure. Here they are."
The king's son left again. Three days later, he saw the Flying Serpent coming towards him, the Flying Serpent crowned with gold, and a hundred yards long.
Immediately, the king's son drew his sword and looked for the wing feather of the Golden Bird, hidden in the lining of his beret.
The golden-crowned Flying Serpent arrived, its mouth open, and as big as a church door.
At the right moment, the king's son put the feather in his mouth. Immediately, he was changed into a Golden Bird, and flew, as quickly as lightning, into the mouth of the Flying Serpent crowned with gold. When he spat out the feather, he immediately became a man again. Then, the king's son struck, with great blows of his sword, in the guts and in the heart of the evil beast.
The golden-crowned Flying Serpent spat out the young man, red with blood, and fell dead.