Second Tale Of a King and an Emperor
Second Tale
Of a King and an Emperor
A story:
O nce there was an emperor. This emperor had no children. There was, at the same time, a king who also had no children.
The emperor set off into the world to see whether he could find some care or cure for his childlessness. The king likewise set off.
The two of them arrived at an inn and neither knew the other.
The emperor did, however, recognize the king’s regal bearing and asked him about it.
The king averred that he was, indeed, a king.
The king had similarly discerned a noble comportment in the emperor, who acknowledged it.
They each told the other they were travelling to find a way to end their childless state.
They came to an agreement that if, upon their return home, one of their wives should bear a son and the other a daughter the two would be betrothed.
The emperor travelled home and had a daughter, and the king travelled home and had a son.
Yet the betrothal was forgotten by all. The emperor sent his daughter off to study.
The king, too, sent his son off to study.
The two children had been sent to the very same tutor.
They fell deeply in love and resolved to be 14 married.
The king’s son took a ring, placed it on her finger, and the two were betrothed.
Soon thereafter, the emperor sent for his daughter and brought her home, and the king sent for his son and brought him home.
Offers of marriage were made to the emperor’s daughter, but she did not want to entertain them because of her pledge to the prince.
The king’s son longed for her, and the emperor’s daughter was in constant sorrow.
The emperor would take his daughter for walks through his courtyards and palaces, showing her all of their splendour, but she remained forlorn.
For his part, the king’s son longed for her with such intensity that he became ill.
When people asked, What has made you ill?
, he did not wish to reply. So they turned to his attendant, who had been serving the prince when he was studying with his tutor: Perhaps you might explain it?
He answered, Indeed, I know. And he told them why the prince was sick.
It suddenly occurred to the king that he had long ago made a marriage arrangement with the emperor.
So he wrote to the emperor that he should expect a wedding because their foregoing agreement was still in effect.
The emperor, however, did not want this match, but he could not refuse, so he wrote back that the king should send his son to determine whether he was capable of becoming the ruler of a country, and, if so, he would give him his daughter in marriage.
The king sent him his son. The emperor then seated him in a chamber and entrusted him with papers of state in order to see whether he would be able to govern. 15
The prince longed desperately to see the emperor’s daughter but could not do so.
One time, as he was walking by a wall of mirrored glass, he caught a glimpse of her and swooned.
She came to him and cheered him, telling him she wanted nothing to do with any marriage offers because of her pledge to him.
He said to her, What can we do? Your father does not want me for you.
She replied, Even so!
In spite of it all, she clung to him.
The two decided to sail away. They hired a boat and set out to sea.
Thus they sailed and made their way to a wooded shore.
They entered the forest. The emperor’s daughter took off her ring and gave it to the prince for safekeeping.
She then lay down to sleep. After some time, when the prince saw she was stirring, he put the ring down next to her.
Once they had returned to the ship, she realized they had forgotten the ring, so she sent him back for it.
He entered the forest but could not find the place they had been, so he went deeper into the woods.
He still could not find the ring, so he searched high and low until he got lost and was unable to find his way back.
She went out in search of him and also lost her way.
He wandered and wandered, and then suddenly spied a path, which took him to a settlement.
There was nothing he could do so he stayed and became a servant.
She, too, wandered lost and decided she would come to rest by the sea.
She went to the seashore where there were fruit trees, and there she stayed, living off the fruit.
By day she wandered 16 the coast in case she might encounter someone, and by night she climbed into the treetops to shelter from wild beasts.
And it came to pass…
Once there was a very wealthy merchant who had business interests around the world. He had an only son. And the merchant was already old.
One time the son said to his father, As you are old and I am still young, yet your factotums pay me no heed, what will happen when you die and I am left on my own? I will not know what to do. Give me a ship loaded with goods so I can set out to sea and gain experience in trade.
So his father gave him a ship freighted with goods and he set off and travelled abroad, selling his goods and buying others, and becoming very successful.
While he was at sea, he descried the woods where the emperor’s daughter dwelt.
The sailors thought it was a settlement and headed for it.
When they drew nearer and saw it was only trees, they wanted to turn around.
In the meantime, the merchant’s son looked into the sea and saw a tree, and sitting up in the tree was something very like a person.
He thought perhaps he was mistaken, so he told the rest of his crew.
They looked and they, too, saw something like a person up in the tree.
So they decided they would investigate and sent one of them ashore in a little boat.
The crew kept lookout on the sea to guide their envoy to the tree.
The envoy set off and saw that there was indeed a person in the tree, which he signalled back to them.
Then the merchant’s son went and saw the emperor’s daughter sitting in the tree.
He 17 told her to come down, but she told him she would not board the ship unless he promised he would not lay a hand on her until they returned home and were lawfully wed. He promised, and she boarded his ship.
He discerned that she was a gifted musician and could speak several languages, so he was pleased they had chanced to meet.
As they neared his home, she told him that the proper thing to do would be for him to go home and inform his father and relatives and close friends that since he was escorting a noblewoman, they should all come out to welcome her.
And as she had earlier insisted that he not ask who she was until their wedding, only then would he discover her identity. He acceded to her request.
She went on to tell him, The proper thing to do would be for you to let all your ship’s crew carouse so they might become better acquainted with the kind of woman their merchant was to marry.
He obeyed and took the fine wine he had aboard ship and gave it to them, and they became very drunk. He then went home to inform his father and friends. The sailors, meanwhile, grew increasingly inebriated and left the ship and fell down drunk.
While he and his entire family were preparing to go out to welcome her, she had in the meantime returned to the ship, unmoored it, unfurled its sails and sailed away.
When the whole family arrived where the ship had been and found no one there, the merchant grew very angry at his son.
His son exclaimed, Believe me! I did bring a ship full of goods!
But they did not see one. So he told them, Go ask the sailors. He went to ask them but they lay around drunk. 18
Later, once they were up and about again, they were questioned and had no idea what had happened to them.
They knew they had brought in a ship loaded with goods but were unaware of where it was now.
The merchant once more grew furious with his son and drove him out of his house, not wishing to set eyes on him again.
His son became a fugitive and a vagabond, and the emperor’s daughter sailed upon the sea.
And it came to pass…
Once there was a king. This king built palaces by the sea because the sea air pleased him, as did the ships that passed.
The emperor’s daughter was sailing by and neared the king’s palace.
The king glanced at the ship and noticed that it was moving without oars and that there was no crew aboard.
He thought he was mistaken, so he ordered his retinue to look. They looked and saw the same thing.
As she approached the palace she thought, Such a palace matters nothing to me, and started to turn around to leave.
The king, however, sent word to her and had her turn back around.
He brought her into his home. The king had no wife because he found himself in an impossible bind: whomever he wanted did not want him, and vice versa.
When the emperor’s daughter came to him she told him to swear that he would not lay a hand on her until they were lawfully wed.
He swore. Then she told him that the proper thing to do would be neither to open her ship nor even to touch it but to leave it anchored at sea until the wedding for all to see the extent of the goods she had brought.
19 Then no one could say he had married some commoner. This he also promised.
The king wrote to the rulers of every country, inviting them to the wedding.
He built a suite of chambers for her. She demanded that eleven noblewomen be brought to attend her.
The king so ordered, and eleven ladies, the daughters of great lords, were sent to her.
A chamber was supplied to each of them, and they would come to her at court and play music and games with her.