*Swiss Fairy tale: TREDESCHIN*

*Long long time ago, there was a farmer couple and their twelve children who lived in a vintner land in Switzerland. On a beautiful day in May, the wife gave birth to one more child. They called the little sweet boy Tredeschin which means thirteen. When Tredeschin was sixteen years old, he told his parents that he was going to the castle of France King to meet him and his beautiful daughter. When he reached the castle, the guard didn’t let him in. Later, he met the King’s chief port servant. This old man let him live and work with him as his shepherd boy. One summer day, Tredeschin took the pigs and goats to the castle’s well. He played the violin so beautifully that the pigs and the goats cheered around the well happily. The princess heard his violin and saw the cheerful scene. She invited him to play in the castle. Everybody in the castle liked his violin skills. But only one man didn’t like Tredeschin. That was the guard who didn’t let him in before. The guard told the King Tredeschin was terribly show off and told everybody that he could steal the horse which could run fast like a wind from the powerful evil Wizard. The King didn’t trust the guard but he decided to test Tredeschin. He ordered him to steal the horse from the wizard then he would let him get married with the princess. Tredeschin pretended to be an elderly woman and brought a wine bottle which he put in some sleeping powder to the castle of the evil wizard. The servants who looked after the horse were tricked by Tredeschin. They let him in and drank the bottle of wine until they all fell asleep. Tredeschin took the horse out. On the way passing the garden, the wizard’s parrot caught him and alerted the wizard. The wizard shouted out but couldn’t get the horse back because Tredeschin rode him away. The King awarded him a golden chain. The guard was envy. He told the King that Tredeschin was show off again and told everybody that he could take the blue magic quilt with a golden sun from the wizard’s bed. Again, the King ordered Tredeschin to take the quilt from the wizard with the same promise that he would allow him to get married with the princess. Tredeschin came to the Wizard’s castle in the evening. When the wizard was asleep soundly, Tredeschin tiptoed to his bed room. He tied the two corners of the quilt with two balls of string and then rolled the balls down out of the bed room and down to the ground. He gently climbed down to the ground. Then he pulled one string. The wizard was still very sleepy, he told his wife not to pull the quilt to her side then snored loudly. Tredeschin pulled the other string. This time, the wizard’s wife like the wizard was still very sleepy, she told him not to pull the quilt to his side then fell asleep soundly. After that, Tredeschin pulled the two strings strongly that the quilt flied through the window and landed in front of him. One the way he brought the quilt out of the castle, when he passed the parrot, it alerted the wizard again. The wizard shouted out but he couldn’t do more because Tredeschin took the quilt away. The king awarded Tresdechin a golden ring with a large diamond. The guard was very envy. He came to the King and told him Tresdechin told everybody that he could steal the parrot from the wizard. The King thought this would be the last time he ordered Tresdechin to steal something from the wizard. Tresdechin set off for the order. This time he came to meet the cook of the wizard to ask some food. The cook felt sorry to a poor chap. He gave him some soup. When he looked around to find the parrot, the kitchen door opened. A servant came in, recognized him and shouted out he was the thief before. The wizard stormed into the kitchen, ordered the servants to tie him up and would punished him the next day. Tredeschin told the wizard that he would be feared to death if he was tied with the straw robe, and was alone with the ghost parrot all night and no one else was accompanied with him. Tresdechin begged him not to do that with him for his last wish. The cruel wizard ordered to do against his wish. When he was alone with the parrot, to make the parrot not to alert everybody in the castle, he stuffed the big sticky toffee into his peak until he couldn’t talk. Tredeschin took the parrot cage and climbed out of the window down to the ground and escaped from the castle. The guard was very scared to see Tresdechin with the parrot. He couldn’t do more. The King performed his promise. Tredeschin and the princess got married. Tresdechin took his family to live with him in the castle.*