Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1866-06-08
The Three Wishes

The. Three Wishes 49, r..
There was once a wise Emperor who made
a law that to every stranger who came to
his court ,friedrfsh; should be served The
servants were directed to-take noticeif, when
the stranger had eaten the fish to the bone
on one side, if he turned it over and began
on the other side IF he did, he was to be
Immediately seized, and ION the third day
thereafter he was ito be put ito death But
by q great stretch of imperial clemency, the
culprit was permitted to utter, one wish each
day, which the Emperor pledged himself to
grant, provided it was not to spare his life
Many had already persisted in consequences
of this eedic;t, when, one day, count and bis
young. son presented themselves at court.
The fish was served as usual and when the
count had removed all the flesh froiila one SIDE
he. turned it lover, and was about otaeon.
menee On the other when he was suddenly
seized and thrown into prison, and was, told
of his approaching doom. Sorrow stricken,
the counts young son besought the Emperor
to allow HIM to die in the room of lis father,
a favor (Which the monarch was pleased to acl.
cord him, i,.. ai,.s. 4,sg,o, go. Nil
The es COZ, was accordingly released from
prison and his son was thrown into his cell
in his stead. AS soon as this Rad been done, {
the. young man said to his iailors: You know
lshayes the right to make three demands be-
fore ore die; go and tell the Emperor to send
me, his daughter and a priest to. marry
us. The first demand was not much to
the Emperor's9 taste; nevertheless, lie felt.
bound to keep his word, and he, therefore,
complied with the request to which the prin-
cess had no kindof objection This occurred
in times when Kings kept their treasures in
a cave, or in a toyer, set apart for the pur-
pose, and on the second day Of his imprison-
ment the young man demanded the King
treasures sa'I If hisifrstgs demand was bold
one, the second was not less so; still an EN-
perors word is sacred, and having made the
promise, he was forced to keep it, and the
treasures of gold and silver and jewels were
placed at the prisoners disposal On get
ting possession of them he distributed them
profusely among the zcourtiers,a and soonfhe
made a, host Of friends by his liberality .,,,j Il
The Emperor began now to, feel exceed;
lngly Uncomfortable Unable to sleep, he
rose early on Che third morning, and went,
with fear IN his heart, Ito the prison to hear
what the third wish was to be-. I'll al s.
Now, I said he. to the prisoner, sstell me
what your third demand is, that it may be
granted at once, and you may be hung out
of hand, for I am tired Of YOU: demands
Sire" answered his prisoner, II have
but one more favor to request Of your majes-A
ty, which, when you have granted, I shall
die content. It is merely that YOU will cause Sc
the eyes Of those who saw my father tnrn
the fish over to be put out.'' ,I'!se siIf'gH1
VERY good" replied the Emperor, your
demand is but natural, and springs from a
good heart. Let the chamberlain be seized"
he continued, turning to his guards oea =. e
9Asl, sire?' cried the chamberlain; II did
not see anything Wit was. the steward .
Let the steward be seized them said
the king. 81 9''e5t t11 - l-.iaa aa9e', iaa
But the steward protested with tears in
his eyes that he had not witnessed ANYTHING
Of what had been reported, and said it was
the butler. The butler declared that he had
seen nothing Of the matter, and that it must
have been one Of the Wallets. But they pro-
tested that they were utterly ignorant Of what
had been charged against the count; in short,
it turned out that nobody could be found who.
had seen the count commit the ofense, upon
which the princess said: II appeal to ! YOU
my father, as to another Solomon. If no
body saw the ofense committed, the count
cannot be guilty, and my husband IS limo
cent? fats ~ 1r 1N sGa 'fG.s-s>
The Emperor frowned, and forthwith the
courtiers began to murmur, and then he
smiled, and Immediately their visages became
radiant. aIsN 1UJ594 9d3 81 se,9sg- l,lF G:t
Tq"Letit be So said his majesty. 9ssLet
him live, though Ihaye put many to death
for a lighter offense than this But if he is
not hung, he is married. Justice has been
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