Long ago, at the foot of the icy hills, in the thick shade of the trees, a battle took place between King Eilpa and the Druids. And when the battle was over, King Eilpa and his warriors lay dead on the ground, and the Druids walked around his palace and sang their wild songs of victory. And suddenly they noticed both children of King Eilp: a boy and a girl were sitting huddled near a huge door. They were lifted up and dragged to the leaders with shouts of triumph.
“We’ll take the girl,” the Druids decided. “And let everyone know that from now on it belongs to us.”
Then one of their women touched the captive. And then the girl’s white skin became green, like grass.
But the Druids have not yet decided what to do with the son of King Eilp. And he suddenly escaped from their hands and ran with the speed of a deer being hunted. The boy ran until he reached the top of Bec Gloin, which means "Glass Mountain". It was on its icy peak that he fell asleep that night. But while he was sleeping, one druid found him and bewitched him - turned him into a greyhound dog, and then took him back to the palace. However, he did not leave the prince speechless.
The Druids, preparing to leave the palace of King Eilp, left the princess in it so that she would look after her brother. Moreover, she refused to obey their women, and they were glad to get rid of her.
“The green girl and the greyhound dog will live together in their father’s house,” said the leader of the Druids. “We have bewitched them, and our powerful spell will not dissipate until two events occur. If any woman of her own free will agrees to stay here for the rest of her life and not leave the greyhound, the prince will again take his former appearance. And if the prince kisses the princess, her skin will again become as white as it was before.
The princess stood at the entrance to the palace, with her green arm wrapped around the neck of a greyhound dog, and the leader of the Druids, with a broad gesture, pointed to the courtyard, covered with the bones of those killed in the great battle. And before leaving here forever, he uttered one more prophecy:
“The bones of your father and his warriors will remain here, and the sun will dry them, and the rains will wash them white, and they will lie, unburied, until your children’s children interred them.”
For many years, brother and sister lived alone in their father's house. And while the ferns grew more and more magnificently around him outside the gates, the adolescence of the royal children passed. The green-skinned princess, tall and slender, wandered through the empty chambers, her green hair spilling over her shoulders. At her heels was a lean greyhound dog with human eyes. He had the gift of speech, and in his soul lived the dreams characteristic of young people.
And so, when the brother and sister became adults, their late father’s neighbor, King Erbi, set out on a long campaign with three hundred warriors. But before they could go deeper into the mountains, a thick white fog descended from the sky, and the king lost his way. He groped his way forward in confusion, trying in vain to find the path and not lose sight of his companions.
- Stay close to me! - he shouted.
From the impenetrable darkness, only a hundred people responded to him.
The king walked and walked forward and then he saw the faint gleam of a quiet mountain lake to his right and shouted again:
- Stay close to me!
This time only twenty warriors responded.
He pulled out a broadsword from its sheath, as if wanting to cut through the fog with it, and again walked forward. And when he discerned the faintly visible outlines of a mighty spruce tree to his left, he shouted for the third time:
- Stay close to me!
But now only three warriors responded.
Finally, he wandered knee-deep into a thick thicket of ferns and called out to his warriors for the last time. But now no one responded to his call, and he realized that he was left alone.
With a broadsword in his hand, he stood without moving until the fog rose above the mountains and floated in torn wisps across the blue sky. And then the traveler saw in front of him the palace of King Eilp. Lush ferns grew in the cracks of its dilapidated walls, completing their destruction.
King Erbi cautiously approached the gate, which was not guarded by anyone, and entered the deserted courtyard. It was still covered with the bones of those who had fallen in battle many years ago. These bones had already dried in the sun, and the rains had washed them white. “A terrible battle must have taken place here once upon a time!” - thought King Erbi and headed towards the entrance to the palace, but on the way he accidentally touched the skull with his foot. It was the skull of King Eilp himself, and it rolled across the courtyard and crossed it from end to end.
And then a ferocious greyhound dog suddenly jumped out of the huge door. He furiously rushed at King Erby and knocked him to the ground - he was about to grab him by the throat. The unexpected attack terrified the king, but he was even more amazed when a human voice was heard from the dog’s mouth with sharp fangs.
“You desecrated my father’s bones!” - the dog growled. “You trampled underfoot those who are doomed to lie unburied until they are buried by the children of our children!”
- Spare me! - King Erbi begged in horror. “Whoever you are, O dog with a human voice, have mercy on me!”
And then a clear girlish voice came from the palace:
- Spare this stranger, brother! Who knows, maybe he will break our spell?
The greyhound jumped to the side, and the king, staggering, rose to his feet. And then he saw a slender girl with bright green hair and skin walking towards him across the yard.
- Where am I? - asked the king in fear. “And who are you, you strange creatures?”
- This is the palace of King Eilp. “He was killed in a battle with our enemies the Druids,” answered the princess. “And we are the unfortunate children of King Eilp.”
Then the greyhound dog spoke.
-What's your name, stranger? he asked.
“I am King Erbi,” he answered. “I also have a son and daughter, and they will mourn me all their lives if I do not return to them.”
Then a cunning plan occurred to the prince. He called his sister aside and said to her:
“We must lure this king’s daughter here.” I will try to persuade her to stay with me for the rest of my life, and then I will become human again. And who knows - what if her brother breaks your spell? After all, he is a prince, and his kiss can dispel the spell of the Druids.
- Good idea! - said the sister. - But how to do this? After all, a woman should stay with you, not knowing that you are a prince. And the prince must kiss me, not knowing that the Druids have bewitched me. And we should not trust our secret to King Erby.
“That’s right, sister,” said the prince. - So let's tell the king that we will kill him only in a year. Let him go to his kingdom for now and during this time prepare a son as his successor. You will go with the king and bring his daughter to us. She will serve as a guarantee that her father will return to us in a year. This way we will lure the princess to us, and the rest depends on us. If we fail, we will have to live in mournful solitude for the rest of our days.
And so they told King Erby that they would let him go for a year, but on the condition that his daughter should live with them for that year. The king, willy-nilly, had to agree. Then he, together with the daughter of King Eilpa, set off on a journey through the trackless thickets of ferns, and the travelers did not rest day or night until they reached the royal palace.
Soon the dog, who was waiting for his sister at the gate, saw her going down the hill, and a young princess walking with her - walking timidly, but out of pride not betraying her fear. It was Oigrig, daughter of King Erby. And the son of King Eilp, as soon as he looked at her, thought that there was no more beautiful girl in the world than her.
The brother and sister received Oygrig as an honored guest, and soon her hatred and mistrust of the strange hosts gave way to surprise. She did not understand how this greyhound dog with gentle eyes and this green girl, who was so affectionate with her, could threaten her father with death. She begged them to spare King Erbi, but they did not heed her pleas.
“You are hiding some secret from me,” Oigrig finally said. - I know that you are not cruel.
And then spring came, and the bluebells bloomed; Summer has come, and lapwings began to plow the sky; Autumn has come, and clusters of red berries glowed on the branches of the rowan tree. The time was approaching for King Erby to return to the children of King Eilp.
- It’s so nice here in the mountains! - Oigrig exclaimed one day in the fall.
The prince's heart began to beat with joy. But the girl did not utter the words he longed to hear. When the first snow fell, the prince said to her:
- You will soon leave us, Oigrig! Tomorrow your father will come here, and you will return to your people.
- I’ll be back, but alone! - Oigrig exclaimed sadly. - Oh, don't let me go alone! I beg you, have mercy on my father! “She was silent for a moment, then quietly added: “And if you don’t want to let us both go, just let your father go, and leave me here forever or kill me instead.”
And the children of King Eilp looked at her joyfully and incredulously.
“Are you really willing to stay here for the rest of your life?” - they asked.
“Yes,” answered Oygrig. - To save my father's life.
And as soon as she uttered these words, the spell of the Druids dissipated. The son of King Eilp threw off the guise of a dog and took on his former appearance. The young prince stood in front of Oigrig.
“Don’t be afraid for your father,” he said with a smile. “I never even thought about killing him.”
He then told the princess how he had been enchanted, and his sister hugged them both with her green arms and burst into tears of joy.
Then King Erbi entered the courtyard and, seeing them, was amazed. The secret was revealed to him, and he again went to his homeland to bring his son to the wedding feast - Oigrig and the son of King Eilp were already getting married.
At noon the next day, King Erbi and his son, riding fast horses, appeared on the mountain slope. They were greeted with joy. Only King Eilpa's daughter was sad. After all, at first sight she fell in love with the young prince with all her heart. But he recoiled from her - he didn’t like her long green hair and green skin.
“No, if I don’t get a kiss from him, I’ll remain bewitched,” she told her brother, and tears flowed down her green cheeks.
- Don't despair! - he said. — Bring a cup of yellow mash, which is made from the honey of wild bees. In the old days they said it was a magic mash. Who knows, what if she will incline the prince’s heart to you.
The sister listened to his advice and presented the son of King Erby with a cup of sunny honey mash.
- Try! “She smells like heather,” said the girl. “It will remind you of the blessed summer warmth.”
The prince took the cup from her hands and raised it to his lips. And as soon as he took a sip of the honey drink, his eyes, as if by magic, saw the princess in her former beautiful appearance, and it seemed to him that no other girl could compare with her. He put the goblet on the table, hugged the princess and kissed her. And at that very moment the evil spell of the Druids dissipated, and the daughter of King Eilpa again became a beauty.
That day there were two wedding feasts instead of one. Oigrig and King Eilp's son remained in the palace and were happy there all their lives. And the king's daughter Eilpa departed with King Erbi and his son to their kingdom. And they also found happiness for life.
And over time, the third prediction of the Druids came true: the children of King Eilp’s children collected from the courtyard the bones of warriors who had fallen in battle a long time ago, and finally buried them.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru