Tartarus and Little Parrot

Like many others in the world, there was a mother and her son. They were very unhappy. One day, the son told his mother that he had to go away, to see if he could do something. He goes far, far, very far. It crosses many countries, and continues again and again. This is how the story of Tartarus and Little Parrot begins.

He arrives in a big city and asks if they know of a place for a servant. They tell him that there is one in the king's house. There, they tell him that he must be a gardener. But he tells them that he doesn't know how to use a hoe at all, but that, all the same, he would learn it with the others. He was very handsome. He soon learned of it and was loved by everyone.

This king had a daughter, and she often noticed Little Parrot, because he was polite to everyone. In this city there was a prince, and he paid court to this young princess, and he was seized with aversion and jealousy for Petit-Perroquet. One day this prince 1 went to find the king. He tells him,

"You don't know what Little Parrot says?...that he could bring Tartarus' horse here."

The king summons Little Parrot and says to him:

"I hear you said you could bring the horse from Tartarus here?"

“I certainly didn't say it. »

“Yes, yes,” said the king, “you said it. »

“If you give me everything I ask for, I will try. »

He asks for a lot of money and leaves. He travels again and again, and he had to cross a wide river. He speaks to the ferryman, pays the passage money and tells him that he may have a heavy load when he returns, but that he will be well paid.

He lands on the other side; but he still had a long way to go in the forest, for Tartarus dwelt in a corner of the mountain. He finally arrives and knocks on the door. A . an old, old woman comes to him and says:

“Get out of here as soon as possible; my son smells the odor of a Christian a league from here.

“Eating me here, or eating me elsewhere, I don't care. »

But he comes out and hides under a big pile of cut ferns. It had barely been a moment since he heard a deep breath and a grinding of teeth, which sounded like thunder. He stops where he is, shaking. The Tartar goes to his house and asks his mother if there is not some Christian or other hidden here.

"No, no," she said. “But eat, your dinner is ready. »

" No no ! I have to eat this Christian first.

He goes hunting, searches, looks in every corner. He goes to the heap of ferns, and pulls them out to put them aside; but our Little Parrot was right at the bottom. The Tartarus was about to find him, but he grew weary, returned home, and began to eat and drink heavily. Our Little Parrot gets out of his ferns and goes to the stable. The horse had a big bell around its neck, but he filled it with ferns (this bell was as big as the big bell in the church of Saint-Jean de Luz). 

He climbs on the back of the horse, and very quickly he arrives at the ferry, and the ferryman comes to meet him. Together, they get the horse into the trough as best they can, and they cross. He gave her a nice reward. As soon as he was on the other side, the Tartarus appeared, shouting at him to give him back his horse and that he would give him everything he could want. He replies "No" and takes off at full gallop. When he arrived near the king's palace, he removed the fern from the bell, and everyone ran to the doors or windows. Everyone was surprised to see Little Parrot return.

The king was in ecstasy. He didn't know what to say, but he loved her even more than before, and the princess too. The other prince was not happy at all, and he begins to think of another plot. He goes to the king and says to him:

“Don't you know that Little Parrot said he could bring the diamond from Tartarus?

The king summons Little Parrot and says to him:

"It looks like you're saying you can get the Tartarus Diamond?" »

“I certainly didn't say such a thing. »

“Yes, yes, you said it. »

" No no! I didn't say it; but I will try, if you give me everything I ask for. »

And it requires a lot of money.

He leaves, reaches the ferry, pays the ferryman well, and goes far, far, very far into the forest, until he arrives at Tartar's house. The old woman tells him to leave from there; and he will hide again in the ferns. And he stops there until Tartarus comes home, as he did the first time. It turns over almost all the ferns and leaves it barely covered. 

He stops there quietly all the time Tartarus is having his big supper, and when he thinks he's finished, and he's taking his siesta, he goes out very, very quietly. The Tartar always puts his diamond under his pillow, and he takes it off without waking him, and escapes running as fast as to break his feet. The ferryman is there, and he crosses him, and he pays him well. Tartarus appears again on the other side, and calls out to him, telling him to return his diamond, and that he would give him anything he could wish for. He replies, “No, no! and runs to the king's house.

Arrived there, the king did not know what to do. One entertained him, the other entertained him, and everyone took care of him, and everyone loved him more and more, and the princess like the others. The wicked prince didn't know what to make of it. Consumed with jealousy, he thought of something else and said to the king:

“Little Parrot says he can bring Tartarus himself. »

The king summons Little Parrot and tells him

“It seems you said you would bring Tartarus himself here. »

“No, no, no, I didn't say anything like that at all; but if you give me everything I ask for, I will try. You must have an iron car, half a meter thick, and three of the horses to pull it, and a lot of money. When everything is ready, I will leave.

He also asks for a barrel of honey, another of feathers, and two horns, and leaves.

When it arrives at the ferry, it's not easy to get this car into the boat. When he got to the other side, he first gets into the barrel of honey, then into the barrel of feathers, and attaches the horns to his head, then climbs into a postilion. He then comes to Tartarus' house, and just then he happens to be at home. Little Parrot knocks on the door. The Tartarus himself comes to open and asks:

" Who are you ? You !

" Me !! “I'm the oldest of all the demons in hell. »

He opens the door for her and says:

“Go in there.

Le Tartare embarks, and Petit Perroquet, very happy, sets off and arrives at the ferry. He crosses, as he can, with his car and his horses. He generously pays the ferryman and comes to the king's palace. They were all terrified when they saw that there was Tartarus. They tried to shoot him with cannon, but he caught the bullets and threw them back as if they were balls for play. They couldn't kill him that way, so they finished him off with other weapons.

As Little Parrot had won her well, they gave him the princess in marriage. He sent for his mother at court, and as they lived well, they died happy. It was the story of Tartare and Little Parrot.