Faithful John

There was once upon a time an old king who was ill and thought to himself 'I am lying on what must be my deathbed.' Then said he 'tell faithful John to come to me.' Faithful John was his favorite servant, and was so called, because he had for his whole life long been so true to him. When therefore he came beside the bed, the king said to him 'most faithful John, I feel my end approaching, and have no anxiety except about my son. He is still of tender age, and cannot always know how to guide himself. If you do not promise me to teach him everything that he ought to know, and to be his foster-father, I cannot close my eyes in peace.'

Then answered faithful John 'I will not forsake him, and will serve him with fidelity, even if it should cost me my life.' At this, the old king said 'now I die in comfort and peace.' Then he added 'after my death, you shall show him the whole castle - all the chambers, halls, and vaults, and all the treasures which lie therein, but the last chamber in the long gallery, in which is the picture of the princess of the golden dwelling, shall you not show. If he sees that picture, he will fall violently in love with her, and will drop down in a swoon, and go through great danger for her sake, therefore you must protect him from that.' And when faithful John had once more given his promise to the old king about this, the king said no more, but laid his head on his pillow, and died.

When the old king had been carried to his grave, faithful John told the young king all that he had promised his father on his deathbed, and said 'this will I assuredly keep, and will be faithful to you as I have been faithful to him, even if it should cost me my life.' When the mourning was over, faithful John said to him 'it is now time that you should see your inheritance. I will show you your father's palace.' Then he took him about everywhere, up and down, and let him see all the riches, and the magnificent apartments, only there was one room which he did not open, that in which hung the dangerous picture.

The picture, however, was so placed that when the door was opened you looked straight on it, and it was so admirably painted that it seemed to breathe and live, and there was nothing more charming or more beautiful in the whole world. The young king noticed, however, that faithful John always walked past this one door, and said 'why do you never open this one for me.' 'There is something within it, he replied, 'which would terrify you.' But the king answered 'I have seen all the palace, and I want to know what is in this room also, and he went and tried to break open the door by force.

Then faithful John held him back and said 'I promised your father before his death that you should not see that which is in this chamber, it might bring the greatest misfortune on you and on me.' 'Ah, no, replied the young king, 'if I do not go in, it will be my certain destruction. I should have no rest day or night until I had seen it with my own eyes. I shall not leave the place now until you have unlocked the door.'

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