GOLDEN FEET
NOTE: I have been flagged by @hivewatchers. See their comment They are telling me that I am plagiarizing because I translated a French book that has been in the public domain (not copyrighted) for over a century. From their definition of Plagiarism, it involves "stealing someone's work". In my opinion, I am not stealing anything, as the French book, published in 1886, has been out of copyright for a very long time and the author has died in the XIXth century.
So, as I have started a story, I am going to finish it in this long post.
Do not bother to upvote the post, as it will be downvoted to 0.00.
The Apprentice said goodbye to his mother and pretended to leave. But he went to hide, in secret, very close to the house of the Blacksmith of Pont-de-Pîle, in a stack of straw, from where he saw and heard everything, without being seen or heard.
At sunset, the Blacksmith of Pont-de-Pîle closed his shop. But the Apprentice was wary. He opened his eyes and ears. When the stars marked eleven o'clock, the Blacksmith of Pont-de-Pîle gently opened the door of his house and looked everywhere to see if anyone was watching him. Then he imitated the song of the cricket.
“Cri cri cri. Come, my daughter. Come, Queen of Vipers. Cri cri cri.
"Father, I am here."
The Queen of Vipers was as long and thick as a sack of wheat, with a black fleur-de-lys on her head. The father and daughter caressed each other and devoured each other with kisses.
“Well, father, do you have an apprentice?"
— Girl, I'll have one in three days. He is the son of a widow from La Côte. He is strong, skillful, and bold.
"Father, I saw him. I'm in love with him."
"Well, girl, I will marry you when he is old enough. Now go away. Midnight is near, and I only have time to get ready."
The Queen of Vipers left. Immediately, the blacksmith from Pont-de-Pîle went down to the banks of the Gers River, into a meadow lined with ash trees, poplars, and willows. The Apprentice had emerged from the straw stack. He followed his master slowly, and quietly, hiding behind the trees.
The Blacksmith of Pont-de-Pîle stripped himself naked as a worm and hid his clothes in a hollow willow. Then he tore his skin from head to toe and appeared made like a large otter.
“Let’s hide my human skin,” he said. "If I didn't find it, and put it back before sunrise, I would be an otter forever."
He hid his human skin in the hollow willow, and jumped into the Gers, just as the stars marked midnight. The Apprentice saw him swimming, diving to the bottom of the river, and returning with a carp or an eel, which he ate in the light of the moon. This lasted until dawn. Then, the Blacksmith of Pont-de-Pîle came out of the water, put on his human skin and his clothes, and returned home, without suspecting that he was being watched.
The Apprentice returned to hide in the straw stack. For two more nights, he saw and heard what he had seen and heard the first.
“Good,” he said. "My master is the father of the Queen of Vipers. Every night she comes to see him and talk to him. The Queen of Vipers is in love with me, and she wants to marry me when I'm old enough. My master is condemned to change into an otter every evening, from midnight until dawn. All this is good to know, and not to say."
On the morning of the third day, the Apprentice entered the shop, like an innocent who had neither seen nor heard anything.
"Hello, Master. I have come to start my apprenticeship."
So the apprenticeship began. At fifteen the Apprentice already knew more than the master. But he pretended not to be so clever, for fear of making the Blacksmith of Pont-de-Pîle jealous.
One evening, the master said to the Apprentice:
"Listen. In three months, the Marquis de Fimarcon marries his eldest daughter to the king of the Sea Islands. The bride needs a lot of jewelry. I am in charge. Tomorrow morning, you will take the lead, with your tools. At the Château de Lagarde, you will not miss gold or silver, any more than diamonds and precious stones. Forge, and adjust, as well as you can. Do the bulk of the work. A month before the wedding, I will be there, to see if everything is going well, and to finish many things that you will never know how to do."
"Master, you will be obeyed."
The next morning, the Apprentice arrived at the Château de Lagarde, with his tools. Immediately after lunch, he set to work. He lacked neither gold nor silver nor diamonds and precious stones.
“Ah, master,” he thought, “the time is near when you will see if there are many things that I will never be able to do."
And the Apprentice forged gold and silver. He adjusted diamonds and precious stones. Nobody has ever seen and never will see such beautiful rings, such beautiful necklaces, such beautiful pendant earrings. At the Château de Lagarde, masters and servants never stopped complimenting the Apprentice, except the youngest daughter of the Marquis de Fimarcon, a little young lady, beautiful as day and wise as a saint. Yet she watched the Apprentice work from morning to night.
Finally, one day when they were alone, the little Miss spoke.
“Apprentice, beautiful Apprentice, you do very nice things for my older sister. Would you work even better, if it were for another girl? Tell me.
"Yes, little lady. When I have a mistress, I will make a necklace for her that will have no equal."
"Apprentice, beautiful Apprentice, what will this golden necklace be like, which will have no equal? Tell me."
"For my mistress, little lady, I will make a gold necklace, a beautiful necklace of yellow gold shining like the sun. This necklace I will take out burning from the red forge, and I will dip it in a bowl of my blood. When the temper is good, I will throw it back into the red forge, while my mistress strips herself naked from the waist down. Then I will place the beautiful golden necklace around his neck, and it will become one with the flesh so that neither God nor Devil will be able to tear him away. By this beautiful gold necklace, my mistress will only belong to and think of me. As long as I am happy, the beautiful gold necklace will remain yellow. But if misfortune befalls me, it will turn red like blood. Then my mistress will have three days to prepare. She will tell her parents: “I am going to die. Bury me in a wedding dress, with the veil and the wreath of orange flowers on my head, with a bouquet of white roses at the belt." On the third day, she will fall asleep. Everyone will think she is dead. Then, they will bury her thus dressed, and she will live forever, always asleep, as long as misfortune is upon me. If I die, she is lost. If misfortune is no longer upon me, I will come and wake her, and we will get married together."
"Apprentice, beautiful Apprentice, forge me this beautiful golden necklace."
In seven hours, the beautiful necklace of yellow gold shining like the sun was ready. Then the Apprentice threw him into the red forge, drew his knife, made a cut in his arm, let his blood flow into a basin, and dipped the beautiful golden necklace there until the temper was good. Then he threw it back into the red forge, and blew hard and firm, while the little Lady stripped herself to the waist. Then he put the beautiful golden necklace around his neck, and it became one with the flesh so that neither God nor Devil would have been able to tear him off.
“Apprentice, beautiful Apprentice, I am your mistress. Now, by this beautiful golden necklace, I will only belong, I will think only of you."
The little lady returned to her room. Neither his parents nor the servants ever knew what had just happened.
The next morning, the Blacksmith of Pont-de-Pîle arrived.
"Hello, Master."
"Hello, Apprentice. You've been working for two months. I came to see if everything is okay, and to finish many things you will never know how to do."
"Look, master."
The Apprentice showed the wrought gold and silver, the adjusted diamonds and precious stones, the beautiful rings, the beautiful necklaces, and the beautiful earrings.
The Blacksmith of Pont-de-Pîle began to laugh.
“Apprentice, I have nothing more to teach you. You know more than me. Now you are free to set up your own business. But you'll be doing me a favor if you stay at my shop for three more months."
"Master, you will be obeyed. As long as you want, I will stay at your shop."
Then, the Blacksmith of Pont-de-Pîle and the Apprentice went to find the Marquis de Fimarcon.
“Hello, Marquis de Fimarcon."
"Hello, my friends. What do you want from me?"
"Marquis de Fimarcon," said the Blacksmith of Pont-de-Pîle, "we have nothing more to do here. My Apprentice worked better than I would have done myself. He is the one who must be paid."
"Apprentice, here is a thousand gold louis."
"Marquis de Fimarcon, I want nothing. If these thousand gold louis bother you, you must give them in alms."
Both greeted the Marquis de Fimarcon and returned to Pont-de-Pîle. Seven days later, the master said to the Apprentice:
“Apprentice, today is the fair in Condom. We have to be there early. Let's have a drink and be on our way."
"To your health, master."
"Cheers, Apprentice."
But the Blacksmith of Pont-de-Pîle only pretended to drink, because he had put such a strong sleeping pill into the wine, so strong, that the Apprentice immediately fell to the ground, asleep like a log.
Then the Blacksmith of Pont-de-Pîle bound his hands and feet with cables and chains. He closed his mouth with a cloth. When the Apprentice woke up, the forge was blazing like hellfire, and the Blacksmith of Pont-de-Pîle was filing the teeth of a new saw.
“Apprentice, beggarly Apprentice, you wanted to know more than your master. Now you are in my power. No one will come to deliver you. If you don't obey, you will suffer death and passion. Do you want to marry my daughter, the Queen of Vipers?"
The Apprentice had his mouth closed by the cloth. He shook his head no.
Then the Blacksmith of Pont-de-Pîle took his new saw. He slowly, very slowly, sawed off the Apprentice's left foot and burned it in the forge.
“Apprentice, will you marry my daughter, the Queen of Vipers?"
The Apprentice shook his head no. Then, the Blacksmith of Pont-de-Pîle took back his new saw. He sawed off slowly, very slowly, the Apprentice's right foot, and burned it in the forge.
“Apprentice, will you marry my daughter, the Queen of Vipers?"
The Apprentice shook his head no.
Then, the Blacksmith of Pont-de-Pîle understood that he was wasting his time and his effort. He threw the Apprentice onto his cart, covered him with straw, and whipped his horse, which took off like lightning. At sunset, they were far, far away, further than the Landes, the land of pines and resin. They were at the edge of the great sea, in the Land of Vipers, where the daughter of the Blacksmith of Pont-de-Pile commanded. There, there is a tower without a roof, and without doors or windows, with a well in the middle. The tower is a hundred fathoms high. The wall is built of stones so hard, of mortar so solid, that the pick and the mine can do nothing against it. Only the Queen of Vipers had the power to enter and exit, through a hole which immediately closed.
The Blacksmith of Pont-de-Pîle and the Queen of Vipers called the great eagles of the Mountain.
“Great eagles of the Mountain, listen. Listen carefully, you will do all that is commanded to you. Take this worthless thing, and carry it into the tower. Until he marries my daughter, the Queen of Vipers, he will remain a prisoner. He will lie on the ground, with the sky as his roof. If he is thirsty, he will drink water from the well. But he will not lack iron, silver, and gold any more than diamonds and precious stones. All his work, you will bring it to me. When he has won it a hundred times over, you will throw him a loaf of bread black as the hearth, and bitter, bitter as gall."
The great eagles of the Mountain obeyed. For seven years, the Apprentice remained alone in the tower, sleeping on the ground, with the sky as his roof. If he was thirsty, he drank water from the well. He lacked iron, silver, and gold no more than diamonds and precious stones. All his work, the great eagles of the Mountain brought it to the Blacksmith of Pont-de-Pîle. When the Apprentice had won it a hundred times, they threw him a loaf of bread black as the hearth, and bitter, bitter as gall.
However, the Apprentice did not always work for his master. Under his anvil, he had made a deep hole, to hide the things he was making for himself, without being seen by the great eagles of the Mountain.
He first forged himself an ax of fine steel, a wide and sharp axe.
Afterward, he forged an iron belt for himself, an iron belt garnished with three fangs.
Afterward, he forged himself a pair of golden feet, as well made, as well adjusted as his two feet of flesh sawn and burned by the Blacksmith of Pont-de-Pîle.
Finally, he forged himself a pair of large, light wings, light as a feather.
This work lasted seven years.
Every evening, at sunset, the Queen of Vipers entered the tower, through the hole which opened only for her, and which immediately closed.
“Apprentice, your martyrdom will end as soon as I become your wife."
"Go away, Queen of Vipers. I made myself a mistress. I will never, ever be your husband."
This is what they said to each other every evening. But when everything was ready, the Apprentice spoke in another way.
“Apprentice, your martyrdom will end as soon as I become your wife."
"Come, come, Queen of Vipers. I deny my mistress. I will never, ever think about her again. »
The Queen of Vipers came to lie down on the ground, next to the Apprentice. They kissed, talking about love, until sunrise.
“Apprentice, your martyrdom will end. Soon I will be your wife. Farewell. I will return this evening, at sunset."
"Farewell, Queen of Vipers. The time will seem long to me."
In the evening, an hour before sunset, the Apprentice thought:
“And now we are going to laugh."
He took his fine steel axe, his broad and sharp axe. He buckled his iron belt, his iron belt at three fangs, and adjusted his golden feet. This done, he shaved against the wall and stood guard, right next to the hole through which the Queen of Vipers came into the tower every evening.
When the Queen of Vipers entered, the Apprentice quickly put his foot on her neck. She turned around, whistling; but she only bit the golden feet. With a blow of his axe, the apprentice separated the head and the body and hung them on his iron belt. Then he adjusted the pair of large light wings, light as a feather, and climbed to the top of the tower. The night was falling. The Apprentice looked at the sky, to recognize himself clearly, and to adjust his course by the stars. Suddenly he took flight, a hundred times faster than a swallow.
Finally, he landed at the top of the roof of the Lectoure hospital, from where you can see so well the hamlet of La Côte, the houses of Pont-de-Pîle, and the Gers river. There he listened, looked, and waited.
He listened to all the clocks in the city strike eleven.
He looked towards the Pont-de-Pîle, and saw, in the light of the moon, the Blacksmith coming out of his house to go change into an otter and live in the Gers until the break of dawn.
He waited until the last stroke of midnight. Then, the Apprentice dove, a hundred times faster than a swallow, onto the hollow willow where the Blacksmith of Pont-de-Pîle hid his human skin every night. In no time, the man's skin was hanging from one of the fangs of his iron belt, and he was hovering a hundred fathoms above the Gers river.
“Ho! Blacksmith of Pont-de-Pîle! ho! ho! ho!"
"What do you want from me, big bird?"
"Blacksmith of Pont-de-Pîle, I bring you news of your daughter, news of the Queen of Vipers."
"Speak, big bird."
"I am not a big bird. I am your Apprentice. For the past seven years, I have suffered death and passion, in a tower, by the great sea. Blacksmith of Pont-de-Pîle, you want news of your daughter, news of the Queen of Vipers. Listen. Your daughter is in two pieces, head and body, hanging from my iron belt. Hold. Pick them up in the Gers, and try to sew them up."
The Blacksmith of Pont-de-Pîle cried like an eagle in the river.
“Blacksmith of Pont-de-Pîle, you have not finished suffering. Look for your human skin in the hollow willow. Search, my friend. Search well. I hold it hanging on my iron belt. And now you're an otter forever."
The blacksmith from Pont-de-Pîle plunged into the Gers. He was never seen again, ever.
Then the Apprentice set off, a hundred times faster than a swallow, towards his mother's cottage.
"Bang! bang!"
"Who is here?"
"Open, Mother."
"Jesus! Maria! It's you, my son. It's been seven years since I saw you!"
"Mother, I didn’t have the time to come home earlier. I am happy to see that the Good Lord and the Blessed Virgin Mary have preserved your health. Now, mother, I am in a position to win big. You will only work if you like it. Without commanding you, Mother, light the fire. Prepare the grill, and put on the table a loaf of bread, with a bottle of wine. I bring the meat, hanging from a hook of my iron belt."
"Jesus! Maria! My son has the skin of a Christian."
"Mother, it’s the skin of the Blacksmith of Pont-de-Pîle. He was not of the Christian race. You will never, ever see him again."
An hour later, the skin was cooked and swallowed.
“And now, Blacksmith of Pont-de-Pîle, try to come and get your skin from my belly."
Then the Apprentice adjusted his pair of large light wings, light as a feather, and took his flight, a hundred times faster than a swallow. In five minutes, he was in front of the door of the chapel of the Château de Lagarde, where his mistress was buried sleeping. With a push of his shoulder, he broke down the door. This done, he lit a candle from the lamp which burns night and day in honor of the Blessed Sacrament, removed the stone from the vault like a cork, jumped in, and tore off the lid from his mistress' coffin.
“Ho! Little lady, get up. You have been sleeping for seven years."
"It’s you, beautiful Apprentice. Misfortune is no longer upon you. Look at me. I did everything you ordered me to do. I have my wedding dress, with the veil and the crown of orange flowers on my head, and the bouquet of white roses at the belt."
"Little Miss, get up."
The little lady got up. The Apprentice carried her into the chapel, and there they prayed to God for a long time.
“Little Miss, it’s daytime. Go to your room and stay there until I call you."
"Fair Apprentice, you will be obeyed."
The little lady went to her room. Then, the Apprentice presented himself before the masters of the castle.
“Hello, Marquis and Marquise of Fimarcon. Do you recognize me?"
"No, my friend. We don't recognize you."
"You are wrong. I am the apprentice of the Blacksmith of Pont-de-Pîle. Seven years ago, I worked here for two months, when your eldest daughter married the king of the Sea Islands."
“That’s right, Apprentice. Now we recognize you well."
"Marquis and Marquise de Fimarcon, you had a younger daughter, a little young lady of thirteen years old. Now she must be married to some prince."
"Apprentice, our youngest daughter is in heaven. It’s been seven years since the Good Lord took her from us. We buried her, as she said, in a wedding dress, with the veil and the wreath of orange flowers on her head, and the bouquet of white roses at her belt."
"Marquis and Marquise of Fimarcon, swear by your souls, and under penalty of damnation, that you will give me your youngest daughter in marriage if I return her to you alive."
"By our souls, and under penalty of damnation."
"Marquis and Marquise of Fimarcon, call the priest quickly. I'm going to get your daughter."
The Apprentice brought back the little Miss. They were married that same morning, and the wedding lasted fifteen days. The Apprentice and his wife lived happily for a long time, and they had twelve boys. The eldest was the strongest and most handsome of all. But his belly was covered with a fine, soft, yellow coat, like that of an otter. This came from the fact that, on the first day of the wedding, his father had eaten, cooked on the grill, the skin of the Blacksmith of Pont-de-Pîle.
Next Tale: The Sword of Saint Peter