Faithful John, however, remained behind with
the pilot, and ordered the ship to be pushed off, saying, “Set all
sail, till it fly like a bird in air.” Within, however, the King showed
her the golden vessels, every one of them, also the wild beasts and
strange animals. Many hours went by whilst she was seeing everything,
and in her delight she did not observe that the ship was sailing away. After she had looked at the last, she thanked the merchant and wanted
to go home, but when she came to the side of the ship, she saw that it
was on the deep sea far from land, and hurrying onwards with all sail
set. “Ah,” cried she in her alarm, “I am betrayed! I am carried away
and have fallen into the power of a merchant—I would die rather!” The
King, however, seized her hand, and said, “I am not a merchant. I am a
king, and of no meaner origin than thou art, and if I have carried thee
away with subtlety, that has come to pass because of my exceeding great
love for thee. The first time that I looked on thy portrait, I fell
fainting to the ground.” When the princess of the Golden Dwelling heard
that, she was comforted, and her heart was inclined unto him, so that
she willingly consented to be his wife. It so happened, however, while they were sailing onwards over the deep
sea, that Faithful John, who was sitting on the fore part of the
vessel, making music, saw three ravens in the air, which came flying
towards them. On this he stopped playing and listened to what they were
saying to each other, for that he well understood. One cried, “Oh,
there he is carrying home the princess of the Golden Dwelling.” “Yes,”
replied the second, “but he has not got her yet.” Said the third, “But
he has got her, she is sitting beside him in the ship.” Then the first
began again, and cried, “What good will that do him? When they reach
land a chestnut horse will leap forward to meet him, and the prince
will want to mount it, but if he does that, it will run away with him,
and rise up into the air with him, and he will never see his maiden
more.” Spake the second, “But is there no escape?”

“Oh, yes, if any one else gets on it swiftly, and takes out the pistol
which must be in its holster, and shoots the horse dead with it, the
young King is saved. But who knows that? And whosoever does know it,
and tells it to him, will be turned to stone from the toe to the knee.”
Then said the second, “I know more than that; even if the horse be
killed, the young King will still not keep his bride. When they go into
the castle together, a wrought bridal garment will be lying there in a
dish, and looking as if it were woven of gold and silver; it is,
however, nothing but sulphur and pitch, and if he put it on, it will
burn him to the very bone and marrow.” Said the third, “Is there no
escape at all?”

“Oh, yes,” replied the second, “if any one with gloves on seizes the
garment and throws it into the fire and burns it, the young King will
be saved. “But what avails that?” “Whosoever knows it and tells it to
him, half his body will become stone from the knee to the heart.”

Then said the third, “I know still more; even if the bridal garment be
burnt, the young King will still not have his bride. After the wedding,
when the dancing begins and the young queen is dancing, she will
suddenly turn pale and fall down as if dead, and if some one does not
lift her up and draw three drops of blood from her right breast and
spit them out again, she will die. But if any one who knows that were
to declare it, he would become stone from the crown of his head to the
sole of his foot.” When the ravens had spoken of this together, they
flew onwards, and Faithful John had well understood everything, but
from that time forth he became quiet and sad, for if he concealed what
he had heard from his master, the latter would be unfortunate, and if
he discovered it to him, he himself must sacrifice his life. At length,
however, he said to himself, “I will save my master, even if it bring
destruction on myself.”

When therefore they came to shore, all happened as had been foretold by
the ravens, and a magnificent chestnut horse sprang forward. “Good,”
said the King, “he shall carry me to my palace,” and was about to mount
it when Faithful John got before him, jumped quickly on it, drew the
pistol out of the holster, and shot the horse. Then the other
attendants of the King, who after all were not very fond of Faithful
John, cried, “How shameful to kill the beautiful animal, that was to
have carried the King to his palace.” But the King said, “Hold your
peace and leave him alone, he is my most faithful John, who knows what
may be the good of that!” They went into the palace, and in the hall
there stood a dish, and therein lay the bridal garment looking no
otherwise than as if it were made of gold and silver. The young King
went towards it and was about to take hold of it, but Faithful John
pushed him away, seized it with gloves on, carried it quickly to the
fire and burnt it. The other attendants again began to murmur, and
said, “Behold, now he is even burning the King’s bridal garment!” But
the young King said, “Who knows what good he may have done, leave him
alone, he is my most faithful John.”

And now the wedding was solemnized: the dance began, and the bride also
took part in it; then Faithful John was watchful and looked into her
face, and suddenly she turned pale and fell to the ground, as if she
were dead. On this he ran hastily to her, lifted her up and bore her
into a chamber—then he laid her down, and knelt and sucked the three
drops of blood from her right breast, and spat them out. Immediately
she breathed again and recovered herself, but the young King had seen
this, and being ignorant why Faithful John had done it, was angry and
cried, “Throw him into a dungeon.” Next morning Faithful John was
condemned, and led to the gallows, and when he stood on high, and was
about to be executed, he said, “Every one who has to die is permitted
before his end to make one last speech; may I too claim the right?”
“Yes,” answered the King, “it shall be granted unto thee.” Then said
Faithful John, “I am unjustly condemned, and have always been true to
thee,” and he related how he had hearkened to the conversation of the
ravens when on the sea, and how he had been obliged to do all these
things in order to save his master. Then cried the King, “Oh, my most
Faithful John. Pardon, pardon—bring him down.” But as Faithful John
spoke the last word he had fallen down lifeless and become a stone. Thereupon the King and the Queen suffered great anguish, and the King
said, “Ah, how ill I have requited great fidelity!” and ordered the
stone figure to be taken up and placed in his bedroom beside his bed. And as often as he looked on it he wept and said, “Ah, if I could bring
thee to life again, my most faithful John.” Some time passed and the
Queen bore twins, two sons who grew fast and were her delight.