This is the story of N'oun-Doaré. The Marquis de Coat-Squiriou, returning one day from Morlaix, accompanied by a servant, saw, lying and sleeping in the moat, by the side of the road, a child of four or five years old.
N'oun-Doare
He dismounted, woke the child, who was sleeping, and asked him:
- What are you doing here, my child?
- I don't know, he replied.
- Who's your father ?
- I do not know.
- And your mother ?
- I do not know.
- From where are you ?
- I do not know.
- What is your name ?
- I don't know, he still replied.
The Marquis told his servant to take him on the back of his horse, and they continued their journey towards Coat-Squiriou.
The child was called N'oun Doarè, which means in Breton : I don't know.
He was sent to school, to Carhaix, and he learned everything he was taught.
When he was twenty, the marquis said to him:
- You are well educated now, and you will come with me to Coat-Squiriou.
And he took her to Coat-Squiriou.
On the fifteenth of October, the marquis and N'oun-Doaré went together to the Foire-Haute, in Morlaix, and stayed in the best hotel in the city.
"I'm happy with you, and I want to buy you a good sword," said the marquis to the young man.
And they went together to a gunsmith. N'oun-Doaré examined there many fine and good sword; but none pleased him, and they left without having bought anything. Passing in front of the shop of a merchant of old scrap metal, N'oun-Doaré stopped there, and, noticing an old rusty sword, he seized it and exclaimed:
- Here is the sword I need!
- How? 'Or' What ! Said the marquis, see what state she is in! It is not good for anything.
- Buy it from me as it is, please, and you will see later that it is good for something.
The marquis paid for the old rusty sword, which did not cost him dearly, and N'oun-Doaré carried it off, quite happy with its acquisition; then they returned to Coat-Squiriou.
The next day, N'oun-Doaré, examining his sword, discovered under the rust some half-erased characters, but which he nevertheless managed to decipher. These characters said: "I am the Invincible!" "
Perfectly ! Said N'oun-Doaré to himself. Some time later, the marquis said to him:
- I have to buy you a horse too.
And they both went to Morlaix, on a fair day.
Here they are in the fairground. There were certainly fine horses there, from Leon, Tréguier and Cornouaille. And yet N'oun-Doaré could find none to suit him, so that in the evening, after sunset, they left the fairground, without having bought anything.
As they were descending the coast of Saint-Nicolas, to return to town, they encountered a Cornouaillais leading by a hemp halter an old mare, worn out and thin as the mare of Death. N'oun-Doaré stopped, looked at her and cried:
- Here is the mare I need!
- How? 'Or' What ! This bitch? But look at her! The marquis told him.
- Yes, it is she that I want, and not another; buy it for me, please.
And the marquis bought the old mare from N'oun-Doaré, while protesting that he had singular tastes.
The Cornouaillais, handing over his animal, whispered in N'oun-Doaré's ear:
- Do you see these knots on the mare's halter?
- Yes, he replied.
- Well, every time you break one, the mare will immediately transport you fifteen hundred leagues from where you are.
"Very well," he replied.
Pais, N'oun-Doaré and the marquis took the road to Coat-Squiriou, with the old mare. On the way, N'oun-Doaré untied a knot in the halter, and he and the mare were immediately transported through the air, fifteen hundred leagues away. They went down to the center of Paris.
A few months later, the Marquis de Coat-Squiriou also came to Paris, and met N'oun-Doaré, by chance.
- How? 'Or' What ! He asked her, have you been here for a long time?
- Yes, he replied.
- How did you get there?
And he told her how he had come so quickly to Paris.
They went together to greet the king in his palace. The king knew the Marquis de Coat-Squiriou, and gave them a warm welcome.
One night, in a beautiful moonlight, N'oun-Doaré went for a walk, alone with his old mare, outside the city. He noticed, at the foot of an old stone cross, in a crossroads, something luminous. He approached and recognized a golden crown, set with diamonds.
"I'll take it, under my coat," he said to himself.
"Take care, or you will regret it," said a voice coming from he did not know where. This voice, which was that of his mare, was heard up to three times. He hesitated for a while and finally took the crown away, under his cloak.
The king had entrusted him with the care of part of his horses, and at night he lit his stable with the crown, the diamonds of which shone in the darkness. His horses were fatter and more handsome than any that the other servants tended, and the king had often congratulated him on him, so that they were jealous of him. It was expressly forbidden to have light in the stables at night, and, as they always saw it in N'oun-Doaré's stable, they went to denounce it to the king. At first the king ignored it, but, as they repeated their denunciation several times, he asked the Marquis de Coat-Squiriou what was true in all this.
"I don't know," replied the marquis, "but I will find out from my servant."
- It's my old rusty sword, replied N'oun-Doaré, glowing in the dark, for it is a fairy sword.
But, one night, his enemies, applying their eyes to the keyhole of his stable, saw that the light they denounced was produced by a beautiful golden crown placed on the horse rack, and which lit without burning. They ran to tell the king. The following night, he watched for the moment when the light made its appearance, and, suddenly entering N'oun-Doaré's stable, of which he had a key, like all the others, he seized the crown, put it under his cloak and carried it to his room.
The next day, he summoned the scholars and magicians of the capital, to give him the meaning of the inscription engraved on the crown; but none of them understood anything.
A seven-year-old, who happened to be there by chance, also saw the crown and said it was that of the Princess of the Golden Ram.
The king immediately sent for N'oun-Doaré, and spoke to him as follows:
- You must bring me to court the Princess of Golden Ram, to be my wife, and if you do not bring me, there is only death for you.
Here is poor N'oun-Doaré, very embarrassed. He is going to find his old mare with tears in his eyes.
- I know, said the mare, what causes your embarrassment and your sadness. Do you remember that I told you to leave the golden crown where you found it, otherwise you would repent someday? Here is that day. However, do not let yourself go to despair, because, if you obey me and do point by point what I am going to tell you, you can still get out of this mess. Go find the king first and ask him for oats and money for the trip.
The king gave oats and money, and N'oun-Doaré set out with his old mare.
They arrive at the seaside, and see there a small fish remained dry on the sand and close to die.
"Quickly put this fish in the water," said the mare. N'oun-Doaré obeyed, and immediately the little fish, raising its head above the water, spoke like this:
- You saved my life, N'oun-Doaré; I am the king of fish, and if you ever need my help, just call me, by the sea, and I will arrive at once.
And he dived into the water and disappeared. A little further on, they encountered a small bird, caught in lakes.
- Free this bird, said the mare again. And N'oun-Doaré freed the little bird, which also said, before flying away:
- Thank you ! N'oun-Doaré, I will repay you for this service; I am the king of the birds, and if ever I or mine can be of any use to you, just call me and I will arrive immediately.
They continued on their way, and, as the mare easily crossed rivers, mountains, forests and seas, they soon came under the walls of the castle of the Golden Ram. They heard a terrible uproar inside the castle, so that N'oun-Doaré did not dare to enter. Near the door he saw a man tied to a tree by an iron chain, who had as many horns on his body as there are days in the year.
"Untie this man and set him free," said the mare.
- I dare not approach it.
- Fear nothing ; it won't hurt you. N'oun-Doaré untied the man, who said to him:
- Thank you ! I will repay you for this service; if you ever need help, call Hornclaw, the Demon King, and I'll be right there.
- Now enter the castle, said the mare to N'oun-Doaré, and fear nothing; I will stay to graze here, in the woods, where you will find me on your return. The mistress of the castle, the Princess of the Golden Ram, will welcome you and show you many wonders of all kinds. You will invite her to accompany you in the woods, to see your mare, which has no equal in the world, and who knows all the dances of Lower Brittany and other countries, which you will make her perform before her eyes.
N'oun-Doaré walks towards the castle gate. He meets a servant, who goes to draw water from the fountain in the woods, and who asks him what he is looking for there.
- I would like, he replies, to speak to the princess of the Golden Ram.
The maid goes to tell her mistress that a stranger has just arrived at the castle, who asks to speak to her.
The princess immediately descends from her room and invites N'oun-Doaré to visit with her the wonders of her castle.
When he had seen everything, he in turn invited the princess to come and see his mare in the wood. She consented, without difficulty. The mare performed the most varied dances in front of her, which greatly entertained her.
"Get on her back, princess," said N'oun-Doaré to her, "and she will dance with you very pleasantly."
The princess, after some hesitation, mounted the mare; N'oun-Doaré immediately jumped beside her, and immediately the mare rose in the air with them and carried them, in an instant, across the sea.
- You cheated on me! Cried the princess; but you are not yet at the end of your trials, and before I marry the old King of France, you will have cried, more than once.
They quickly arrived in Paris. As soon as he arrived, N'oun-Doaré led the princess to the king and told him, presenting her to him.
- Sire, here is the princess of Golden Ram. The king was dazzled by her beauty; he did not possess himself with joy and wanted to marry her, on the spot. But, the princess asked that one bring back to her first her ring, which she had left in her room, at the castle of the Golden Ram.
N'oun-Doaré was again instructed by the king to go in search of the princess's ring. He returned very sad to his mare.
- Do you not remember, said the latter, having saved the life of the king of birds, who promised to recognize this service, on occasion?
"I remember it," he replied.
- Well, call him for help, now is the time.
And N'oun-Doaré exclaimed:
- King of birds, come to my aid, please!
Immediately the king of birds arrived and asked:
- What is there for your service, N'oun-Doaré?
"The king," he said, "wants me to bring him back, on pain of death, the ring of the Princess of the Golden Ram, which remained at her castle, in a cabinet whose key she had lost."
- Don't worry, said the bird, the ring will be brought back to you.
And immediately he called all the known birds, each by his name. They all arrived as their names were spoken; but unfortunately ! None of them were small enough to be able to enter the princess' room through the keyhole. The wren alone had any chance of succeeding; he was therefore sent to search for the ring.
With great difficulty and leaving almost all of his feathers there, he managed to get into the cabinet, took the ring and brought it to Paris.
N'oun-Doaré immediately ran to present him to the princess.
"Now, princess," said the king to her, "you no doubt have no more reason to delay my happiness any longer?"
"I only need one more thing to satisfy you, sire, but I need it, or nothing will be done," she replied.
- Speak, princess, whatever you ask will be done.
- Well, have me bring my castle here, opposite yours.
- Bring your castle here!… How do you want?…
- I need my castle, I tell you, or nothing will be done.
And N'oun-Doaré was again responsible for advising on the means of transporting the princess's castle, and he set out with his mare.
When they got under the castle walls, the mare spoke like this:
- Call to your aid the king of demons, whom you delivered from his chains, on our first voyage.
He called the king of demons, who came and asked:
- What is there for your service, N'oun-Doaré?
- Bring me the castle of the Princess of the Golden Ram to Paris, in front of that of the King of France, and immediately.
- That's good, it will be done right now.
And the king of demons called his subjects, from whom there came a whole army, and they uprooted the castle from the rock on which it was standing, lifted it up in the air, and carried it to Paris. N'oun-Doaré and his mare followed them and got there as soon as they did.
In the morning, the Parisians were quite astonished to see the glare of the rising sun on the golden domes of the castle and believed in a fire; so people shouted from all sides: "Fire!" Fire !… "
But the princess easily recognized her castle and hastened to go there.
"Now, princess," said the king to her, "all you have to do is fix the wedding day."
- Yes, but I still need a little thing first, she replied.
- What, princess?
- The key to my castle, which was not brought back to me, and without which I cannot enter it.
- I have very skilled locksmiths here, who will give you a new one.
- No, no one in the world can make a new key capable of opening the door of my castle; I need the old one, which is at the bottom of the sea.
On her way to Paris, as she was passing over the sea, she had let it fall to the bottom of the abyss.
N'oun-Doaré is still responsible for bringing the key to her castle back to the princess, and he sets off again with his old mare. Arrived at the seaside, he calls for his help the king of fish. This one arrives immediately and asks:
- What is there for your service, N'oun-Doaré?
- I need the key to the castle of the Princess of the Golden Ram, which the princess threw into the sea.
- You will have it, answers the king.
And immediately he called all his fishes, which hastened to come up, as he spoke their names; but, neither of them had seen the key to the castle. Alone, the old woman had not answered the call of her name. Eventually she arrived too, carrying the key in her mouth, which was a very valuable diamond. The king of fish took it and gave it to N'oun-Doaré.
N'oun-Doaré and his mare immediately returned to Paris, happy and carefree this time, because they knew it was their last test.
The princess could no longer back down and procrastinate, and the wedding day was fixed.
We went to the church, with great pomp and ceremony, and N'oun-Doaré and his mare followed the procession and also entered the church, to the great astonishment and scandal of everyone. But, when the ceremony was over, the skin of the mare fell to the ground and revealed a princess, of marvelous beauty, who presented her hand to N'oun-Doaré, saying:
- I am the daughter of the King of Tartary; come with me to my country, N'oun-Doaré, and we will marry together.
And N'oun-Doaré and the daughter of the king of Tartary, leaving the king and the company in astonishment, set out together, and since then I have not heard from them.
