27 Catskin (England)
Once upon a time there lived a gentleman who owned fine lands and houses, and he very much wanted to have a son to be heir to them. So when his wife brought him a daughter, though she was bonny[1] as bonny could be, he cared nought for her. So she grew up to be a beautiful maiden,though her father never set eyes on her till she was fifteen years old and was ready to be married. Then her father said roughly, “She shall marry the first that comes for her.”
Now when this became known, who should come along and be first but a nasty, horrid, old man. So she didn’t know what to do, and went to the hen-wife[2] and asked her advice.The hen-wife suggested she should not marry him unless she was given a coat of silver cloth, then a coat of beaten gold, and then a coat of catskin. These demands were fulfilled.But still she would not take the nasty, horrid, old man.
So she put on the coat of catskin tied up her other coats into a bundle, and when it was night-time, ran away with it into the woods. Now she went along, and went along, till she saw a fine castle. Then she hid her fine dresses by a crystal waterfall and went up to the castle-gates and asked for work.The lady of the castle hired her to be their scullion. They called her Catskin. But the cook was very cruel to her.
One day, the young lord of the castle came home, and there was to be a grand ball in honour of the occasion. Catskin asked to be allowed to go to the ball, but the cook only dashed a basin of water into her face. Now when the day of the ball arrived, Catskin slipped out of the house and went to the edge of the forest where she had hidden her dresses, and put on her coat of silver cloth, and hastened away to the ball. As soon as she entered all were overcome by her beauty and grace, while the young lord at once lost his heart to her, and he would dance with none other. When it came to parting time, the young lord asked where she lived. But Catskin curtsied and said:
“Kind sir, if the truth I must tell,
At the sign of the ‘Basin of Water’ I dwell,”
Then she flew from the castle and donned her catskin robe again, and slipped into the scullery.
The young lord went the very next day and searched for the sign of the “Basin of Water”; but he could not find it. So another ball was soon arranged in hopes that the beautiful maid would appear again. This time when Catskin asked to be allowed to go to the ball, the cook broke a ladle across Catskin’s back. Catskin again ran off to the forest and put on her coat of beaten gold, and off she went to the ballroom. As soon as she entered, the young lord at once recognized her as the lady of the “Basin of Water,”claimed her hand for the first dance, and did not leave her till the last. When that came,he again asked her where she lived. But all that she would say was:
“Kind sir, if the truth I must tell,
At the sign of the ‘Broken Ladle’ I dwell”;
and with that she curtsied and flew from the ball, off with her golden robe, on with her catskin, and into the scullery without the cook’s knowing.
But this time the young lord followed her, and watched her change her fine dress for her catskin dress, and then he knew her for his own scullery-maid. Next day he went to his mother, and told her that he wished to marry the scullerymaid, Catskin.
“Never,”said the lady of the Castle, “never so long as I live.”Well, the young lord was so grieved, that he took to his bed and was very ill indeed. The doctor tried to cure him,but he would not take any medicine unless from the hands of Catskin. At last the doctor went to the mother, and said that her son would die if she did not consent to his marriage with Catskin; so she had to give way. Then she summoned Catskin to her, and Catskin put on her coat of beaten gold before she went to see the lady; and she, of course was overcome at once, and was only too glad to wed her son to so beautiful a maid. So they were married, and she told her husband all about her father, and begged he would go and find out what had become of her parents.
Now her father had never had any other child, and his wife had died; so he was all alone in the world, and sate[3] moping and miserable. When the young lord came in he hardly looked up. Then Catskin’s husband asked him, “Pray,sir, had you not once a young daughter whom you would never never see or own?”And the miserable man said with tears, “It is true; I am a hardened sinner. But I would give all my worldly goods if I could but see her once before I die.”Then the young lord told him what had happened to Catskin,and brought him to his own castle, where they lived happily ever afterwards.
—Flora Annie Steel
[1] bonny：漂亮的，主要用於蘇格蘭語中。
[2] hen-wife：古用法，現已廢。
[3] sate：sat的古體。