FSSS Chapter 5: Four Short Fairy Tales

Chapter 5: Four Short Fairy Tales

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: UA

1 – The Kind Traveler

At dusk when the rain was pouring down, the traveler knocked on the door of a house. The owner of the house agreed to let him in for a night’s rest, but he had to accept two conditions.

First, you can only stay in the guest room and cannot come out no matter what you hear. Second, don’t get up early and go out before dawn.

The traveler agreed to the terms and stayed in the guest room. After nightfall, the sound of music sounded in the hall. The traveler ignored it and went to sleep for the whole night. However, he woke up before sunrise and left the guest room.

There was a ball in the hall. Seven girls followed seven gentlemen. The owner of the house was one of them.

“You shouldn’t have come out.” Seeing the traveler, the owner of the house showed a sad expression.

The traveler also smiled, “Now the girls around you will be my partners. Then I will have to stay here instead of you, and you will be free again. I know all this, and that’s why I’m here. Go away, good man. I will stay here for you.”

The owner of the house bowed gratefully to the traveler, and immediately rushed out of the gate, through the forest, back to his hometown.

A few days later, he couldn’t help worrying about the traveler, so he decided to go back in the daytime. He was surprised to find that the house was missing and replaced by a painted black castle. The castle gate was open, and the round-the-clock dance in the hall could be seen from a distance.

The traveler sat on the throne, holding red wine in his hands, dressed in splendid clothes and wearing a crown. He had red eyes, fangs on his lips, bat wings on his back, and long black horns bent backwards on his forehead.

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2 – White Crow and Black Pigeon

When the princess was an adult, the old prophet told her: according to the prophecy, you will eventually die because of a witch.

The princess asked him what the witch would do, the prophet said that the witch will kill many people and eventually kill the princess. The princess asked how to distinguish the witch, the prophet said that a pure woman has a white soul and will become a dove after death, while a witch with a black soul will turn into a raven after death.

A few years later, the king and queen died of illness, and the princess inherited the throne. The new queen sent people all over the country to look for the witch. Every year after that, whenever there was a woman’s name on the death penalty list, she would ask the executioners to see if they would turn into doves or ravens.

The queen wanted to ask the prophet more about the witch, but the prophet was no longer alive, leaving only one daughter. The queen ordered her to be executed for dealing with bird bones and crystal balls all day.

The queen watched the execution in person. The female prisoner had her head cut off, and her head turned into a raven. Strangely, the raven had snow-white feathers.

A few years later, the queen was stabbed to death during the parade. The people who had lost their daughters looked at this indifferently, secretly thanking the assassin in the crowd.

When the queen’s tomb was about to be closed, a black pigeon flew out of the tomb. It hovered silently in the air for a while, then turned its head and plunged into the thick clouds.

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3 – Troll’s Rose

When a poet passed the stone bridge, he happened to meet a troll. Trolls always like to build a strong and beautiful bridge, and then ask for money from those who cross it.

The poet said, “I don’t have money, but I can earn a lot of silver by singing in a pub. I can use songs to pay for it.” After that, he sang a song about a swan. The troll was moved by the song and let the poet cross the bridge.

A year later, the poet passed by again, and the troll appeared again. The poet sang a song about a mermaid, and the troll was moved to tears.

Another year later, the poet came to the bridge again. This time, he sang a song about nightingales, the troll was moved and curious. He said to the poet, “Next time you want to cross the bridge, give me a bunch of red roses in the song. I’d like to see how beautiful it will be.”

After that, the poet never came back. In order to find the poet, the troll left the bridge, with the story he had heard, he found the poet’s tomb. 

The grave keeper came over and handed a small bag to the troll: “Buried here is a strange traveler. He told us before he died that there would be a terrible monster coming to see him in the future. As long as we gave the bag to the monster, the monster would not hurt us.”

In silence, the troll gathered up the bag and returned to the bridge. Many years later, red roses were planted on both sides of the river under the bridge. The troll stopped everyone who crossed the bridge and said, “If you want to cross the bridge, tell me a story.”

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4 – Aspirants

The knight was on his way home. Seeing a sick girl by the road, he prayed to God: “God, please let her recover, I would like to give her health.” After that, the knight felt weak, and the girl really recovered.

Outside the tavern, there was a sullen old man. The old man was so lonely that nothing could arouse his enthusiasm. The knight prayed again: “God, I would like to share happiness with him and let him live an interesting life.” After that, the knight felt suddenly very low, but the old man was in a good mood.

Out of the city gate, the knight caught a bad shepherd boy. The shepherd boy enjoyed stealing and harming the weak from a young age, but his parents could not do anything about it. The knight prayed again: “God, I will give him my goodness and let him go on the right path.” With that, the shepherd boy cried and apologized to his family, but the knight tried his best to suppress the malice of his heart.

The knight was weak, depressed and angry. He insisted on walking to the door of the house and killed his wife when she opened the door. Soon, the knight was taken to prison, where there was a young, healthy, dignified and impartial interrogator. The knight prayed silently: “God, give me all his merits. I want to be kind and happy again.”

The prayer came into effect. The knight regained vigor and reason, while the inquisitor coughed. Since then, the evil inquisitor used countless cruel punishments on the knight. The knight continued to pray, but God never responded to him.

END