In the evening when work
was over and it had grown dusk, he stole to the King and said, “Lord
King, the tailor is an arrogant fellow and has boasted that he will get
the gold crown back again which was lost in ancient times.” “That would
please me very much,” said the King, and he caused the tailor to be
brought before him next morning, and ordered him to get the crown back
again, or to leave the town for ever. “Oho!” thought the tailor, “a
rogue gives more than he has got. If the surly King wants me to do what
can be done by no one, I will not wait till morning, but will go out of
the town at once, to-day.” He packed up his bundle, therefore, but when
he was without the gate he could not help being sorry to give up his
good fortune, and turn his back on the town in which all had gone so
well with him. He came to the pond where he had made the acquaintance
of the ducks; at that very moment the old one whose young ones he had
spared, was sitting there by the shore, pluming herself with her beak. She knew him again instantly, and asked why he was hanging his head so? “Thou wilt not be surprised when thou hearest what has befallen me,”
replied the tailor, and told her his fate. “If that be all,” said the
duck, “we can help thee. The crown fell into the water, and lies down
below at the bottom; we will soon bring it up again for thee. In the
meantime just spread out thy handkerchief on the bank.” She dived down
with her twelve young ones, and in five minutes she was up again and
sat with the crown resting on her wings, and the twelve young ones were
swimming round about and had put their beaks under it, and were helping
to carry it. They swam to the shore and put the crown on the
handkerchief. No one can imagine how magnificent the crown was; when
the sun shone on it, it gleamed like a hundred thousand carbuncles. The
tailor tied his handkerchief together by the four corners, and carried
it to the King, who was full of joy, and put a gold chain round the
tailor’s neck. When the shoemaker saw that one stroke had failed, he contrived a
second, and went to the King and said, “Lord King, the tailor has
become insolent again; he boasts that he will copy in wax the whole of
the royal palace, with everything that pertains to it, loose or fast,
inside and out.” The King sent for the tailor and ordered him to copy
in wax the whole of the royal palace, with everything that pertained to
it, movable or immovable, within and without, and if he did not succeed
in doing this, or if so much as one nail on the wall were wanting, he
should be imprisoned for his whole life under ground. The tailor thought, “It gets worse and worse! No one can endure that?”
and threw his bundle on his back, and went forth. When he came to the
hollow tree, he sat down and hung his head. The bees came flying out,
and the Queen-bee asked him if he had a stiff neck, since he held his
head so awry? “Alas, no,” answered the tailor, “something quite
different weighs me down,” and he told her what the King had demanded
of him. The bees began to buzz and hum amongst themselves, and the
Queen-bee said, “Just go home again, but come back to-morrow at this
time, and bring a large sheet with you, and then all will be well.” So
he turned back again, but the bees flew to the royal palace and
straight into it through the open windows, crept round about into every
corner, and inspected everything most carefully. Then they hurried back
and modelled the palace in wax with such rapidity that any one looking
on would have thought it was growing before his eyes. By the evening
all was ready, and when the tailor came next morning, the whole of the
splendid building was there, and not one nail in the wall or tile of
the roof was wanting, and it was delicate withal, and white as snow,
and smelt sweet as honey. The tailor wrapped it carefully in his cloth
and took it to the King, who could not admire it enough, placed it in
his largest hall, and in return for it presented the tailor with a
large stone house. The shoemaker, however, did not give up, but went for the third time to
the King and said, “Lord King, it has come to the tailor’s ears that no
water will spring up in the court-yard of the castle, and he has
boasted that it shall rise up in the midst of the court-yard to a man’s
height and be clear as crystal.” Then the King ordered the tailor to be
brought before him and said, “If a stream of water does not rise in my
court-yard by to-morrow as thou hast promised, the executioner shall in
that very place make thee shorter by the head.” The poor tailor did not
take long to think about it, but hurried out to the gate, and because
this time it was a matter of life and death to him, tears rolled down
his face. Whilst he was thus going forth full of sorrow, the foal to
which he had formerly given its liberty, and which had now become a
beautiful chestnut horse, came leaping towards him. “The time has
come,” it said to the tailor, “when I can repay thee for thy good deed. I know already what is needful to thee, but thou shalt soon have help;
get on me, my back can carry two such as thou.” The tailor’s courage
came back to him; he jumped up in one bound, and the horse went full
speed into the town, and right up to the court-yard of the castle. It
galloped as quick as lightning thrice round it, and at the third time
it fell violently down. At the same instant, however, there was a
terrific clap of thunder, a fragment of earth in the middle of the
court-yard sprang like a cannon-ball into the air, and over the castle,
and directly after it a jet of water rose as high as a man on
horseback, and the water was as pure as crystal, and the sunbeams began
to dance on it. When the King saw that he arose in amazement, and went
and embraced the tailor in the sight of all men. But good fortune did not last long. The King had daughters in plenty,
one still prettier than the other, but he had no son. So the malicious
shoemaker betook himself for the fourth time to the King, and said,
“Lord King, the tailor has not given up his arrogance. He has now
boasted that if he liked, he could cause a son to be brought to the
Lord king through the air.” The King commanded the tailor to be
summoned, and said, “If thou causest a son to be brought to me within
nine days, thou shalt have my eldest daughter to wife.” “The reward is
indeed great,” thought the little tailor; “one would willingly do
something for it, but the cherries grow too high for me, if I climb for
them, the bough will break beneath me, and I shall fall.”

He went home, seated himself cross-legged on his work-table, and
thought over what was to be done. “It can’t be managed,” cried he at
last, “I will go away; after all I can’t live in peace here.” He tied
up his bundle and hurried away to the gate. When he got to the meadow,
he perceived his old friend the stork, who was walking backwards and
forwards like a philosopher.