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Retold by Jeanette Ross from a tale by Andras Albert, transcribed in 1942 in Transylvania, Rumania, collected by Olga Belatini-Braun and translated by Judith Halasz in Folktales of Hungary, ed. by Linda Degh, U of Chicago Press, 1965 |
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Handsome Andras of the golden hair had only left his grieving parents and all the weeping village girls, and was on his way to make his place in the world, when a note floated out of the beak of a passing pelican and fell to his feet. There, in golden letters, he read, "I have heard of you, Handsome Andras. Come to Fairyland." It was signed, "Fairy Rozsa." Andras was all ablubber. He had heard rumors of Fairyland, and recalled that Rozsa was the most beautiful and most demanding princess in the world. It wasn't surprising that word of his own beauty should have reached Fairyland, and wasn't he a good match for a fairy princess? But he had no instructions, no one to give him good advice like his older friends in the village. How would he find this fairy land? He was so distracted that he wasn't watching the path and --zip! he fell into a deep pit. Andras landed without harm, but he couldn't even see the top of the pit. "Ah me," he cried out loud. "Now how will the Fairy Rozsa find me?" "Fairy Rozsa?" squeaked a little voice. Andras felt something brush him-- in the dark he could just make out a tiny figure sitting on his shoulder. It was a white-haired dwarf with a beard almost as long as the imp was tall. "Lucky for you I know where to go. Hold on to my beard," said the little man. Andras thought of how big and strong he was, and how ridiculous it would look to be holding on to such a comically small figure, but he was a young man who did what he was told, and so he reached up and closed his fist around the beard. Instantly he found himself flying through the air.\ Andras and the dwarf descended into a warm mist. As soon as the young man's feet touched ground, the dwarf disappeared. Standing before Andras was the pelican that had dropped him his note from Fairy Rozsa. "Take off your rags and bathe," said the Pelican. "I have brought you new clothes so you are fit to meet Fairy Rozsa." Andras looked out at the lake-- it was milky white and looked very hot. He did want to follow instructions. Carefully he stepped into the steam and bathed as quickly as he could. All his old, sun-brown skin fell away and he emerged as pink as a baby, his long, bright yellow hair gleaming in the sun. The pelican was gone when Andras stepped out of his milk bath. Andras put on his fine new scarlet jacket with glittering braid, and his sky-blue pants and copper-tipped boots. He thought he saw the turret of a castle in the distance. But as he walked, he realized that he was going uphill and the hill was made of slippery glass. He got down on his hands and knees and crawled up the slope, wrinkling his uniform, but made little progress. He felt himself sliding-- sliding-- into a tree. Andras looked up and up and realized that he couldn't see the top of the tree. He began climbing up the trunk of the tree, hoping for the best. After climbing many hours, Andras reached a stout branch that bent in the direction of the castle. He kept climbing, through brambly branches that tore at his sleeves and pants, until he was nearly close enough to reach a window. Oh, but even leaning out as far as was possible, he couldn't reach the window ledge. In desperation, Andras took out his pocket knife, cut off his lovely golden locks, and wove them into a little rope. With one good toss of the rope he was able to pull himself to the ledge and enter the castle window. Not-so-Handsome Andras found himself facing the most beautiful maiden he had ever seen. He saluted as smartly as he could and introduced himself. "I am Handsome Andras, at your service." "Good enough," said the Fairy Princess, looking him over thoughtfully. "I want you to go to my stables, clean the floor and curry my horses for three days and nights. Have one ready for me each morning so that I may ride to mass at Pearly Chapel. If you do this well, I may consider you for a suitor. If not, you will feel my temper." And at that, Rozsa's fairy maids escorted Andras out to the stables. Handsome Andras picked up a fork and began pitching. But the faster he worked, the larger the task seemed to be. He worked ever more desperately. It was near midnight, and he was no closer than when he began. Large tears rolled down his cheeks and he sobbed as he shoveled. Behind him, he heard a deep voice. "What worries you, Andras?" Handsome Andras looked around and saw only one of Fairy Rozsa's three horses. "Lie down, Andras," said the taltos, for that's what the horse was. "Rest now, wake up early. The stable will be cleaned." Andras lay down, managed to sleep a few hours, and awoke to see that it was as the taltos said. The stable was clean. Quickly, Andras curried the three horses, so that Fairy Rozsa could make her choice.. "Now look under the dogbush and you will find clean clothes," said the taltos. "I will carry you to Pearly Chapel where Fairy Rozsa goes to church. But whatever you do, do not succumb to her attentions. So it happened. The horse flew Andras to the chapel, where he made such a splendid sight that everyone, including Fairy Rozsa, yearned to speak to him. But he hurried out and was back to the stables in time to change back into his own torn and muddy clothes. When she returned from Pearly Chapel, Fairy Rozsa, thinking that the handsome visitor resembled her new groomsman, looked in the stable door, only to see Andras with mud on his cheeks and a shovel in his hand. He gave the princess a brief nod and kept on working. Fairy Rozsa stamped her feet and had such a tantrum that her maids had to cool her off with a bucket of water. The next morning, Andras was awake early again. He curried the horses, exchanged his muddy rags for glittering new ones, and flew on the back of the taltos to Pearly Chapel. As before, all the fairies gasped when he came in the door and Fairy Rozsa thought he was the handsomest creature she had ever seen. She moved quickly, at the moment of the priest's last amen, to speak to Andras, but she wasn't fast enough. Andras was out the door. This time when Fairy Rozsa met Andras back at the stable she was more insistent. "I'm certain that you were at Pearly Chapel this morning," she said when she found him feeding a handful of grain to a horse. "Come into the castle and talk to me," she said firmly. "Not me, Your Fairy Highness," said Andras, picking up a shovel. "I am cleaning your stables as I promised." And he went back to work. This made Fairy Rozsa so angry that it took a tub of cold water poured down her neck to cool her down. The last morning of his service Andras was awake especially early and had all three horses gleaming when Fairy Rozsa came in to pick one to carry her to chapel. And as before, the taltos horse waited for Andras to change and then carried him even faster so that Andras was in the chapel waiting when Fairy Rozsa arrived. Her chest was heaving and tears were in her eyes when she spied Andras but he remembered the taltos' instructions and acted as though he did not notice. Again Andras was back in the stables when Rozsa brought in her horse. When she saw Andras she sobbed and cried out and stamped her feet so hard that she fell into a swoon and had to be carried inside the castle. "Now you can go see her," said the taltos horse. "Go quickly before her spirit slips entirely away from her." Andras took off his miserable uniform, put on his shining garments and walked into the castle, to Rozsa's bedside. "Oh, my beloved Handsome Andras, are you done teasing me?" she said, weakly, without lifting her head. Andras bent down and kissed her and immediately she was smothering him with kisses and ordering the wedding feast. I was there myself, at the end of the table, and watched everything while I made my way through a plate of stuffed cabbage.
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