The beautiful Janet lived in the castle of her father, the glorious Earl of March. Together with other girls, she spent her days in the high tower of the castle - there they sewed and embroidered silk robes. Only Janet was not very careful to ensure that her seam was straight and even. She preferred to look out the window.
And outside the window one could see the trees of the Cartehog Forest, where the girls from the castle were strictly forbidden to go. In this forest, it was said, the elf-queen's knights hunted, and woe to the girl who went for a walk there and met one of them!
But Janet didn't want to listen to it. And one fine day the sewing was thrown aside, the needle ended up on the floor, and the girl herself was in the green forest.
Walking through the forest, Janet saw a white horse tied to a tree in a clearing. The horse was whiter than milk, and the harness on it sparkled with pure gold. Janet walked further and came to a clearing strewn with roses. Before she had time to pick one flower, suddenly a young man appeared in front of her as if out of the ground.
“Why did you pick the white rose, beautiful Janet?” he asked. - Who allowed you? And how dare you come to Cartehog Forest without my permission?
- I pick flowers wherever I want! - Janet answered. “I won’t even think of asking you for permission.”
Hearing such a daring answer, the young man laughed, causing all seven bells on his belt to ring merrily. Then he picked a red rose and, handing it to Janet, said:
- Don't be angry, I was joking. For such a beautiful girl I would not spare even all the roses of the Cartehog forest!
All day Janet and Tam Lin (that was the young man’s name) walked through the forest and danced on the lawns to magical music and gentle singing.
But then Janet noticed that the sun was setting, and realized that it was time to go home if she wanted to get to the castle before her father noticed her absence.
Poor Janet was in such a hurry that she ran almost the entire way and was very tired. When she, pale and tired, entered the large gates of the castle, the ladies of the court, who were playing ball in the courtyard in front of the castle, asked her:
“What did you see in the forest, beautiful Janet, that made you so tired and pale?”
But Janet didn't answer them.
The next day, the ladies of the court played chess in the large hall, and the girls again sat in the tower and sewed. But Janet was left alone. She looked out the window and thought: it would be nice to walk in the forest now with a young knight, dance to magical music and listen to gentle singing...
Lost in thought, she did not notice how an old lord, a friend of her father, the glorious Earl of March, approached her.
- Why are you sad, beautiful Janet? he asked. “It seems to me that yesterday you visited the green land of the elves.” If only our count finds out about this, we will all be in trouble.
- Oh, leave me alone! - Janet got angry.
Her answer sounded insolent, but in her heart she felt that the old lord was right: Tam Lin was not a mere mortal, but a knight of the elf queen. And woe to the girl who falls in love with a knight from the magical land of elves. That's what everyone said.
But Janet didn't want to listen to it. And one fine day she ran into the forest again. She wandered among the trees for a long time, but never met either the white horse or his young owner. She wanted to go home and plucked a green branch - to take it with her as a souvenir - when suddenly Tam Lin appeared in front of her, as if from underground.
- Tell me, tell me quickly, Tam Lin, who are you? - Janet asked.
- I am the guardian of this forest! - answered the young man.
“So you really are the elf queen’s knight?” - Janet said sadly.
“That’s what they call me,” Tam Lin answered, “but I was born and raised among people.” I was raised by my grandfather, the Earl of Roxburgh, because my parents died when I was still a child. Since then I lived in his castle. One day, while hunting in this very forest, a terrible wind blew from the north. The Earl of Roxburgh and his retinue galloped home, and some strange dream overcame me, and I fell from my horse. I woke up already in the land of the elves - it was their queen who deliberately sent an evil north wind at us to carry me to the green hills, to the Land of Eternal Youth.
Remembering the green hills, Tam Lin fell silent, lowered his head and thought about something. Then he spoke again sadly:
“And since then, I have been under the spell of the elf queen: during the day I must guard the Cartehog Forest, and at night I must return to the land of the elves. It's always fun and warm there. I'm held in high esteem there. But if you knew, Janet, how much I want to break the magic spell and return to people!
- I'll help you! - Janet exclaimed, but then added quietly: - If you want.
Tam Lin gently took her hand in his and said this:
“There is only one night a year when you can break the evil spell of the elf queen - this is the night of November 1st, on the eve of All Hallows' Day. For this night, all the elves and their queen leave their green hills. And I'm going with them. Today is just such a night. But it's not easy to free me. Will you dare to do this, dear Janet?
In response, Janet simply asked what she should do. And Tam Lin said:
- When midnight strikes, wait for me at the crossroads of four roads. First you will see the elf queen's knights on black horses. Let them pass and don't move. Then riders on dun horses will gallop along. You miss them. And finally riders on white horses will appear. I will be among them. So that you recognize me, I will take off the glove from one hand. You come to my horse, take him by the golden bridle and snatch the reins from my hands. As soon as you take the reins from me, I will fall from my horse, and the elf queen will exclaim: “The faithful Tam Lin has been kidnapped!” That's when the hardest part will happen. You must hug me tightly and not let go, no matter what they do to me, no matter who they turn me into. This is the only way to remove the spell from me and defeat the elf queen.
Poor Janet was afraid to be alone in the forest at night. But she remembered what Tam Lin told her, and did everything as he asked. She grabbed his white horse by the golden bridle and snatched the reins from his hands, and when he fell to the ground, she hugged him tightly.
- Faithful Tam Lin has been kidnapped! - exclaimed the elf queen.
But Janet was not afraid and only hugged him even tighter. Then the queen, whispering a spell, turned Tam Lin into a green lizard. Janet pressed the lizard to her heart, but then the lizard turned into a cold snake that coiled around her neck. Janet boldly grabbed the snake, then the snake turned into a bar of hot iron. Tears flowed from Janet’s eyes, she was in so much pain, but she still didn’t let go of Tam Lina.
And the elf queen then realized that Tam Lin was lost to her forever. She returned him to his former appearance and said:
- Goodbye Tam Lin! Goodbye! The country of the elves has lost its best knight. If I had known yesterday what I learned today, I would have turned your tender heart into stone!
And with these words the elf queen disappeared into the green forest. And the beautiful Janet took Tam Lin by the hand and took her father, the glorious Earl of March, to the castle.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru