THE CHAINED KING
... Then he placed a black loaf of bread and a jug of water near the prisoner, closed the iron door three times, and set off again into the dark night. At sunrise, he was with the queen.
"Darling, your man won't bother us anymore. If I had killed him, he would have only suffered for a moment. I carried it far, far away, towards the rising sun. I carried him to a tower, to the top of a high mountain. Against the walls of this tower, the pickaxe and the mine can do nothing. To have and close the iron door, you need a golden key, a golden key unique in the world, which hangs night and day around my neck. There, your man is chained with a big iron chain attached to the ground. Near him, I put a black bread and a jug of water. On the first day of each month, I will bring him the same pittance. Now, darling, tell me where all your daughters are."
"Gallant, all my daughters are in their bedroom."
Then the gallant entered the girls' bedroom and killed them all without mercy. By this means, the gallant and the queen were masters of the country.
When the king awoke in his tower, he began to think very sadly.
“What I suffer, I deserve. I committed a mortal sin when I went to find the woodcutter's wife. However, my land must not be divided between my sons-in-law. The peace of the people must not be lost."
While the king dreamed and wept in his tower, the woodcutter's wife lived alone in her house. After nine months, she gave birth to a boy as beautiful as day. He had a golden fleur-de-lys on his tongue. Three days later, the woodcutter's wife took him to church herself, and said to the priest:
"Vicar, baptize this child. It has a golden fleur-de-lys on the tongue. The king wants him to be called Louis, like his father."
The priest obeyed, and the woodcutter's wife carried the child back to her house. There, they remained for fifteen years, working like galley slaves, and earning just enough not to starve. Often, the child said to his mother:
"Mother, is my father dead or alive?"
The woodcutter's wife was silent. But one day she spoke.
“My son, your father is not dead. Your father is a king. That's why you have a golden fleur-de-lys on your tongue. Listen. Already, you are strong, skillful, and bold. At twenty-one, you will be a man. Go find your father. I am going to become a nun in a convent. We will never, ever see each other again.
“Mother, you will be obeyed."
The boy greeted his mother and left. A month later, he was a soldier overseas. At twenty-one, he was captain.
"Good! Now I am a man. It's about time that I obey my mother, and go in search of my father."
The captain went to find his general.
“Hello, General."
“Hello, captain. What do you want from me?"
"General, give me my leave. I need to take a long trip, to obey my mother."
“Captain, here is your leave. Go, and may the Good Lord lead you."
"Thank you, General."
The captain saluted his general and went out. An hour later, he mounted his horse and went in search of his father.
For a year, the captain traveled every day, from sunrise to sunset. Very often he thought:
"Just watch out. You didn't take on a little job. Try not to say anything, to do nothing, which helps anybody to understand what you want."
Finally, the captain arrived in his father's country. On the road, a poor old man was walking, stick in hand, bag on his back.
“Charity, sir, please, for the love of God and the Blessed Virgin Mary. ''Pater noster, qui es in cœlis, sanctificetur…''
"Here, poor thing. Take this gold coin, and pray to God for me."
"Thank you, sir. You will be obeyed."