There was once an enchantress, who had three sons who loved each other as brothers, but the old woman did not trust them, and thought they wanted to steal her power from her. So she changed the eldest into an eagle, which was forced to dwell in the rocky mountains, and was often seen sweeping in great circles in the sky. The second, she changed into a whale, which lived in the deep sea, and all that was seen of it was that it sometimes spouted up a great jet of water in the air. Each of them only bore his human form for only two hours daily. The third son, who was afraid she might change him into a raging wild beast a bear perhaps, or a wolf, went secretly away. He had heard that a King's daughter who was bewitched, was imprisoned in the Castle of the Golden Sun, and was waiting for deliverance. Those, however, who tried to free her risked their lives; three-and-twenty youths had already died a miserable death, and now only one other might make the attempt, after which no more must come. And as his heart was without fear, he caught at the idea of seeking out the Castle of the Golden Sun. He had already travelled about for a long time without being able to find it, when he came by chance into a great forest, and did not know the way out of it. All at once he saw in the distance two giants, who made a sign to him with their hands, and when he came to them they said, "We are quarrelling about a cap, and which of us it is to belong to, and as we are equally strong, neither of us can get the better of the other. The small men are cleverer than we are, so we will leave the decision to thee." - "How can you dispute about an old cap?" said the youth. "Thou dost not know what properties it has! It is a wishing-cap; whosoever puts it on, can wish himself away wherever he likes, and in an instant he will be there." - "Give me the cap," said the youth, "I will go a short distance off, and when I call you, you must run a race, and the cap shall belong to the one who gets first to me." He put it on and went away, and thought of the King's daughter, forgot the giants, and walked continually onward. At length he sighed from the very bottom of his heart, and cried, "Ah, if I were but at the Castle of the Golden Sun," and hardly had the words passed his lips than he was standing on a high mountain before the gate of the castle.
He entered and went through all the rooms, until in the last he found the King's daughter. But how shocked he was when he saw her. She had an ashen-gray face full of wrinkles, blear eyes, and red hair. "Are you the King's daughter, whose beauty the whole world praises?" cried he. "Ah," she answered, "this is not my form; human eyes can only see me in this state of ugliness, but that thou mayst know what I am like, look in the mirror it does not let itself be misled it will show thee my image as it is in truth." She gave him the mirror in his hand, and he saw therein the likeness of the most beautiful maiden on earth, and saw, too, how the tears were rolling down her cheeks with grief. Then said he, "How canst thou be set free? I fear no danger." She said, "He who gets the crystal ball, and holds it before the enchanter, will destroy his power with it, and I shall resume my true shape. Ah," she added, "so many have already gone to meet death for this, and thou art so young; I grieve that thou shouldst encounter such great danger." - "Nothing can keep me from doing it," said he, "but tell me what I must do." - "Thou shalt know everything," said the King's daughter; "when thou descendest the mountain on which the castle stands, a wild bull will stand below by a spring, and thou must fight with it, and if thou hast the luck to kill it, a fiery bird will spring out of it, which bears in its body a burning egg, and in the egg the crystal ball lies like a yolk. The bird will not, however, let the egg fall until forced to do so, and if it falls on the ground, it will flame up and burn everything that is near, and melt even ice itself, and with it the crystal ball, and then all thy trouble will have been in vain."
He entered and went through all the rooms, until in the last he found the King's daughter. But how shocked he was when he saw her. She had an ashen-gray face full of wrinkles, blear eyes, and red hair. "Are you the King's daughter, whose beauty the whole world praises?" cried he. "Ah," she answered, "this is not my form; human eyes can only see me in this state of ugliness, but that thou mayst know what I am like, look in the mirror it does not let itself be misled it will show thee my image as it is in truth." She gave him the mirror in his hand, and he saw therein the likeness of the most beautiful maiden on earth, and saw, too, how the tears were rolling down her cheeks with grief. Then said he, "How canst thou be set free? I fear no danger." She said, "He who gets the crystal ball, and holds it before the enchanter, will destroy his power with it, and I shall resume my true shape. Ah," she added, "so many have already gone to meet death for this, and thou art so young; I grieve that thou shouldst encounter such great danger." - "Nothing can keep me from doing it," said he, "but tell me what I must do." - "Thou shalt know everything," said the King's daughter; "when thou descendest the mountain on which the castle stands, a wild bull will stand below by a spring, and thou must fight with it, and if thou hast the luck to kill it, a fiery bird will spring out of it, which bears in its body a burning egg, and in the egg the crystal ball lies like a yolk. The bird will not, however, let the egg fall until forced to do so, and if it falls on the ground, it will flame up and burn everything that is near, and melt even ice itself, and with it the crystal ball, and then all thy trouble will have been in vain."
The youth went down to the spring, where the bull snorted and bellowed at him. After a long struggle he plunged his sword in the animal's body, and it fell down. Instantly a fiery bird arose from it, and was about to fly away, but the young man's brother, the eagle, who was passing between the clouds, swooped down, hunted it away to the sea, and struck it with his beak until, in its extremity, it let the egg fall. The egg did not, however, fall into the sea, but on a fisherman's hut which stood on the shore and the hut began at once to smoke and was about to break out in flames. Then arose in the sea waves as high as a house, they streamed over the hut, and subdued the fire. The other brother, the whale, had come swimming to them, and had driven the water up on high. When the fire was extinguished, the youth sought for the egg and happily found it; it was not yet melted, but the shell was broken by being so suddenly cooled with the water, and he could take out the crystal ball unhurt.
When the youth went to the enchanter and held it before him, the latter said, "My power is destroyed, and from this time forth thou art the King of the Castle of the Golden Sun. With this canst thou likewise give back to thy brothers their human form." Then the youth hastened to the King's daughter, and when he entered the room, she was standing there in the full splendour of her beauty, and joyfully they exchanged rings with each other.
昔、一人の魔女がいて、その魔女には兄弟仲のよい3人の息子がいました。しかし、魔女は息子たちを信頼せず自分から魔力を盗もうとしていると思いました。それで、長男をワシに変えました。それでワシは山岳地帯に住むしかなく、空で大きな円を描いて飛んでいるのがよくみられました。2番目の息子はクジラに変えました。それでクジラは深海に住み、時に空中に大きな水しぶきをあげるときだけしか見れなくなりました。各々は1日に2時間だけ人間の形を留めました。3番目の息子は、母親が自分を獰猛な野獣、たぶん熊とか、狼とか、に変えるかもしれないと思い、密かに家出しました。若者は、魔法にかけられた王女が太陽の城に閉じ込められ、解き放たれるのを待っていると聞いたことがありました。しかし、王女を自由にしようとした人々は命を賭けていました。23人の若者がすでに惨めに死に、今はあと一人だけやってみてもよいがあとはだれも許されませんでした。恐れを知らない心をもっているので、若者は太陽の城を探し出そうと決心しました。
長い間放浪し、お城を見つけられないでいたとき、偶然に大きな森に入り込み、抜ける道がわかりませんでした。突然遠くに2人の巨人が見えました。手で合図するので近づくと、二人は「俺たちはこの帽子を誰が持つべきかで喧嘩しているんだ。俺たちは同じ強さだから、どちらも相手を負かすことができないのさ。それでさ、小さい人たちは俺たちより賢いだろ。だからお前に決めてもらいたいんだ。」と言いました。「古い帽子のことでどうして言い争うの？」とその若者は尋ねました。「その帽子にある力をお前は知らないんだ。魔法の帽子なのさ。かぶったら誰でも行きたいところへ行けるのさ、あっという間にだぜ。」「その帽子を寄こして。僕がここからすこし遠くへ行くよ。それで呼んだら、競走してよ。帽子は先に着いた人のものにするのさ。」と若者は言いました。若者は帽子をかぶり立ち去り、王女さまのことを考え、巨人のことを忘れ、どんどん歩いていきました。
とうとう、心の底からため息をつき、「ああ、僕が太陽の城にいさえすればなあ！」と叫びました。これらの言葉が唇を通るか通らないうちに高い山の上の城の門の前にいました。若者は中に入って全ての部屋を歩き回りました、そしてとうとう最後の部屋で王女を見つけました。
しかし、娘を見たとき若者はどんなにショックをうけたことでしょう！娘はしわでいっぱいでひどく青ざめた顔、かすんだ目、赤い髪をしていたのです。「あなたは、美人だと全世界がほめたたえているあの王女さまなのですか？」と若者は叫びました。「ああ、これは私の姿ではありません。人間の目ではただこの醜い形しか見ることができないのです。だけど、あなたは私の本当の姿がわかります。鏡を見てください、鏡は惑わされませんから。鏡はあなたに本当の私の姿を見せてくれます。」と王女は答えて鏡を手渡しました。その鏡にはこの世でもっとも美しい乙女の姿が映っており、またその頬には悲しみの涙が流れていました。
それから「どうしたらあなたを自由にできるんですか？僕はどんな危険も恐れないよ。」と若者は言いました。「水晶の珠を手に入れ、魔法使いの前にかざすと、魔法の力を壊し、私の姿を元にもどせます。」と王女は言い、更に「もう沢山の人がこのために死にました。あなたはとても若いのに。そんな大きな危険をおかさなければならないとは悲しいです。」と付け加えました。「僕を止めるものは何もありません。だけど、どうしなくてはいけないのか教えてください。」と若者は言いました。「全てお知らせしましょう。城が立っている山を降りると、下の泉のそばに野牛が立っています。あなたはその野牛と戦わなくてはなりません。そしてそれを運良く殺すと、火の鳥がそこから飛び出してきます。その体の中には熱い卵があり、その卵の中に黄身として水晶の珠があるのです。だけど、その鳥は無理矢理そうさせなければ卵を落としません。また、その卵は地面に落ちれば、燃え上がって近くにいる全てのものを焼き尽くします。そしてその卵自体、一緒に水晶の珠も、溶けてしまいます。そうなったら、折角の苦労も全て無駄になってしまうのです。」と王女は言いました。
その若者は泉まで下りて行くと、そこには牛が鼻を鳴らし、若者に向かって咆えました。長い戦いの末、若者はその動物の体に剣を突き刺し倒しました。途端に火の鳥が牛から上がり今にも飛び去ろうとしました。
しかし、雲のあいだを通っていた若者の兄のワシが、さっと舞い降り、海の方まで追いかけ、激しく口ばしでつついたので、とうとう火の鳥は卵を落としました。しかし、その卵は海の中ではなく海辺に立っている漁師の家に落ちました。それでその家はすぐに煙を出し、今にも燃え上がりそうになりました。
すると、海の中に家ほども高い波が起こり、その漁師の家の上を押し流れ、火を鎮めました。もう一人の兄のクジラが泳いで来て、水を高く押し上げたのでした。火が消されると、若者は卵を探し、運良くみつけました。その卵はまだ溶けていませんでしたが、とても急に水で冷やされたので殻が割れていて、傷めずに水晶の珠を取り出すことができました。
若者は魔法使いのところに行き、珠を前にかざすと、魔法使いは「私の魔法は破れた。これからはお前が太陽の城の王だ。これでお前の兄弟も人間の姿に戻すことができる。」と言いました。それから若者は王女さまのところに急ぎました。そして若者が部屋に入ると、王女は輝くばかりの美しい姿でそこに立っていました。そして二人は喜んでお互いの指輪を交換しました。