The girl who married a dead man

A long time ago, this is the story of the girl who married a dead man
When the hens had teeth.

The girl who married a dead man

- The king's daughter marries a beggar - After the wedding, the beggar takes his wife to his house - The younger brother of the bride wishes to visit him and leaves, following the instructions given by his brother-in-law - The latter l 'invites to follow him underground, where the reunion takes place - He tries to follow his brother-in-law to find out where he spends his days, but he fools him and escapes his supervision

- The young man returns home and recounts his adventure - The older brother decides to go in his turn to try to unravel the mystery - He follows his brother-in-law to a church where he helps him to serve mass for dead - On the way home his brother-in-law gives him the explanation of everything that has happened.

One day a beggar came to a king and asked for alms, in the name of God. The king's daughter noticed this, and she told her father that she wanted to have this beggar as a husband. The king thought at first that it was as a joke that his daughter spoke in this way.

But, when he saw that it was not so and that she was speaking for good and seriously, he said to her:
- You must have lost your mind, my daughter, to want to marry a beggar, the daughter of a king as you are!
- There is no denying it, father, I must have him for a husband, or I will die of pain.

The king loved his daughter above all else and did whatever she wanted. So he told her that he would let her take the beggar for her husband. But, the beggar asked that the princess, as well as her father, her mother and her two brothers be baptized, before the marriage, because they were all pagans. They were all baptized, and the beggar served as the elder prince's godfather. Then the wedding was celebrated, and there was a great feast.

When the wedding was over, the husband said:

- I will now go home with my wife.
And he took leave of his father-in-law, his mother-in-law, and all the people at the wedding party. Before leaving, he said to the two young princes his brothers-in-law:
- When you want to visit your sister, go to a large rock that is in the nearby wood, strike it two crosses with this wand, and I will come to meet you.

And he gave them a white wand, and left immediately with his wife, and no one knew where they had gone.
Some time after this the younger of the two princes said, one day:

- I must go see my sister, in order to know how she is where she is.

And he took the white wand given by his brother-in-law and went to the woods. When he was near the great rock, he struck it two crosses on it, and the rock split open immediately, and he saw below his brother-in-law, who said to him:

- Ah! Is that you, darling brother-in-law? I am very glad to see you again; but, you want, no doubt, to see your sister too?
- Yes, I want to see my sister, to find out how she is.
- Well ! Follow me, and you will see her.
- Or ?
- In my palace; come down and follow me.

The young prince hesitated to descend into the black hole he saw in front of him; but the other continued:
- Come with me, and have no fear; no harm will happen to you.

He went down into the hole, and they both went deep under the earth, until they came to a magnificent castle. In this castle, the young prince saw his sister, in a beautiful room, magnificently dressed and seated on a golden seat. They were very happy to see each other again. The master of the castle went away, and left them both together.

- How are you here, dear sister? the brother asked the sister.
- I feel good, dear brother; whatever I can wish is granted to me right away. There is only one thing that I dislike; my husband is not staying with me. Every morning, he goes on a trip, at sunrise, and all day long, I'm alone.

- Where is he going like that?
- I do not know, dear brother, he does not tell me. - I will ask him, tomorrow, to see.
- Yes, ask him.

The next day, the prince got up early in the morning, and spoke thus to his brother-in-law:
- I would also like to go with you, for a walk, brother-in-law?
- I don't mind, dear brother-in-law.

But hardly had they left the courtyard when the master of the castle asked his brother-in-law:

- Did you lock the door on your sister?
- No really, he replied.
- Hey! well, go close the door, quickly, and then come back.

The prince went to shut the door; but, when he returned, his brother-in-law had already left. He got angry when he saw this and said to himself:

- Well ! Since this is so, I'm coming home right away.
He had his white wand with him; he struck two crosses on a large rock

Which closed the entrance to the underground, near the castle, and the rock opened immediately, and he entered the underground. When he reached the other end, he struck two more cross blows on the rock which closed him on that side, which also opened a little, and he found himself at home without difficulty.
Everyone was rushing around him, asking him for news of his sister. He told everything he had seen and heard.

- Jesus! Said the father and mother, what is this man?
'I,' said the elder prince, 'I also want to go and see my sister, and before I go back, I will know what this man is.
And he takes the white wand from the hands of his younger brother, goes to the woods and strikes two crosses on the rock.
The rock immediately opens, and he sees his brother-in-law below, who says to him:

- Ah! Hello, godson; get off and let's go, quickly.
The prince goes down into the tunnel, and his brother-in-law leads him to his sister, then he leaves. Like his brother, he was astonished to see his sister sitting on a gold seat and richly adorned.

- You feel good here, it seems, dear little sister? He asked her.
- Yes, dear brother, I'm pretty well here… ..
There is only one thing that bothers me.

- What is it, dear little sister?
- It's because my husband is not staying with me; every morning, he leaves the house, and leaves me alone, all day long.
- Where does he go like that, every day, little sister?
- I don't know, dear brother.
- I will ask him to accompany him, tomorrow morning, to see.

- Yes, ask him, dear brother; but, take care that it does not happen to you as to our young brother.
- Oh ! Don't worry, I won't be caught like this.
The next morning, as soon as the sun rose, the master of the castle was on his feet, and his brother-in-law too. The latter asked him to allow him to accompany him.
"Gladly," he said to her, "but let's go quickly, because it's time."

And they left the castle together. But, hardly had they taken a few steps:
- Did you lock the door on your sister? asked the master of the castle.
- Yes, yes, godfather, I closed it, answered the prince.
- That's good, let's go, then.

Soon after, they passed through a large barren moor where there was only fern and lean gorse; and yet one saw lying among the heather and gorse two fat and shiny cows.

This astonished the prince, who said:
- Here are very fat and very shiny cows, on a moor where they find nothing to graze!
His brother-in-law did not answer; but, the cows said:
- God bless you !

And they continued on their way. They then passed through a beautiful meadow where there was an excellent pasture, and, in the middle of the grass, which reached up to their belly, we saw two cows, but so thin, so thin, that they 'only had bones and skin. And the prince, seeing this, said again:

- Here are two very thin cows; and yet they are in the grass up to the belly!
- God bless you ! Said the two cows to him, like the other two; but, the prince's brother-in-law said nothing.

And they continued on their way. A little further on, they passed through a deep and very narrow path, where two goats were banging their heads against each other, and so violently that blood gushed around them.

- Jesus! cried the prince, here are two poor beasts that will kill each other! How will we get through? They obstruct the whole passage.
Her brother-in-law still did not answer; but, the two goats also said: "God bless you! And they ceased to fight, and the two travelers were able to pass, without difficulty.
Further still, they came to an old ruined church, and entered it. It was full of people, but they were all dead, and only the shadows remained.

- Will you answer mass for me, since you are a Christian? asked his brother-in-law of the prince.
"I want to," he replied, much astonished; but he was not timid.
And the other then put on the clothes of a priest, then he went up to the altar and began to celebrate mass, like a true priest. When he was at the elevation, he started throwing up toads and other hideous reptiles…, and everyone in attendance was doing as he did.

When the mass was over, all who were in the church, the priest at their head, came to the prince,
and said to him:

- "You delivered us!" Thank you ! Thank you ! Then they left.
"Let's go home now," said his brother-in-law to the prince.
And they returned. But, they did not see again the extraordinary things which they had seen first, and, on the way, the prince asked his brother-in-law for the explanation of all this.

So he spoke to her like this:
- Now I can speak, and this is what all you have seen means: The two fat and shiny cows, on the barren moor, where there was only heather, thin gorse and stones, are poor people who lived honestly, when they were on earth, gave alms, though poor, and were content with their condition, and now they are saved. The two lean and gaunt cows, in the middle of an excellent pasture, were rich people, who only amassed wealth and coveted the good of their neighbors, not giving alms to the poor, and, though rich, they were unhappy.

“They were where you saw them, in Purgatory, and for their penance they were in the midst of the tall, thick grass, unable to eat it. The two goats who were fighting so fiercely, in the narrow and deep path, were two thieves, who were only looking for noise and battle, and God, to punish them, now forces them to fight thus, for a long time. .

- However, all thanked me when we passed near them.
- That's because you delivered them all. It had been said by God that they would remain as you saw them, until a person came by who was not dead and who had pity on them; and they waited a long time!

- And what I saw in the old church, what does that mean?

- I was a bad priest while I was on earth; I have said many bad masses, and committed many other sins, and it had been said by God that I would not be saved, I, and all those whom you saw in the church, and who m 'had helped to sin and sin themselves with me, only when I would have found a king's daughter to marry me, although dressed as a beggar, and a living prince to answer mass, here ; I waited a long time! The hideous reptiles that you saw me vomit, like all the others that were in the church, were so many devils torturing us. Now we are all delivered, thanks to you.

- And my sister, can she go home with me!
- No, your sister, who helped to deliver me, like you, will now come with me to paradise, and you yourself will join us there, without delay. But, you must first go home, to tell your father and your mother and your brother all that you have seen and heard here. Here is a letter that you will give them, to let them know that they are not worried about their daughter and sister, because she is going with me to heaven, and if she had not been my wife, she would have been the one. devil's wife!

The prince then returned home and gave the letter to his father and mother to read, and told them all that he had seen and heard on his journey. He died soon after, as he had been told, and he went to join his sister and brother-in-law, where they were, to stay with them forever.