A TALE OF TWENTY KATRINA D¡¦ORS.
The first child of Princess Katrina and prince Alois Gunter was Ute, born April 1, 1750 .
The marriage of Alois Gunter and Katryna surprised the whole of Europe as all of the major dynasties had been planning to get the new domain into their hands by marrying one of their own princes to the new heiress of Saxe Burlap und Schleswig Beerstein, and indeed war was averted only with great difficulty after she had married the Prince, a subject of her own domains. Many of the dynasties sought to have the new marriage annfulled, but the birth of their first child Ute, scotched these as well. Never the less the struggle of the embassies continued unabated as the rest of Europe switched their attention from the mother, Katrina, or Trixie as she was nicknamed, to her infant daughter. Had they had their way, one of their own princess would have been betrothed to one of their own princes immediately after her birth.
The confinement of the Princess Trixie was short, the labor brief and she did not have any difficulty in berthing Princess Ute. With Ute, the couple inaugurated the practice of using old Germanic names, and ¡§Ute¡¨ means wealth, prosperity and happiness. It was in many ways a case of ¡§nomen est omen.¡¨ The child was a large one and quite healthy but very quiet . The Princess insisted on caring for the child herself as much as she could and only grudgingly, because of the demands of state , allowed it to be raised by governesses. This matter of governesses almost became a cause of war itself.
There were three governess¡¦ The Na Princess, also called Catherine, Princess of Schleswig Beerstein outside of Beerstein, (much as how Frederick the Great was King IN Prussia) she was princess of of Schleswig Beerstein only when outside of the province was one. s one, The ¡§Marschallin, the wife of the Prince of Zweibak was another, and Madamme Vandeu , a third. The nurse was of course Princess Minnitonka , the Seneca medicine woman that Katrina had brought over from the Colonies.
As I said, the child was a very quiet and well behaved little girl She watched all those around her very intently but spoke very little. As she grew many thought her just shy, but not a few wondered if the girl was ¡§slow¡¨ or even feeble minded. She was however quite pretty and as the years accumulated became more so. In 1752 her brother Baldovino, was born and the year after that Crimwedda, a sister.
Ute remained a singular child. She seemed at first to treat these additions , her siblings, as simply two more of the many dolls her parents showered her with . We know of the little girl through the memoirs her three governess¡¦ left behind. Madame Vaudeu described one incident.
One day, in her eighth year, little Ute became very serious and furrowed her little brow.
¡§What is wrong mon cher Princesse?¡¨ Madame Vaudeu asked.
Ute thought for a long moment and then said ¡§I do not think my father loves me.¡¨
Vaudeu attempted to reassure her.¡¨ Oh my darling, I am sure he does love you very much.¡¨
¡§No Madame I think he does not love me because he wishes I had been a boy.¡¨
¡§But my Princesse¡V ¡§ Vaudei said, ¡§ the Prince your father has a boy.¡¨
¡§Yes madamme, but I think he would rather have had me been born a boy.¡¨
¡§But my Princesse¡V you are mistaken. He loves you very very much. ¡§
¡§Perhaps, but I think he would rather have had Baldovino have the throne, than I. I think he does not believe me strong enough.¡¨
Madame Vaudeu embraced her and said ¡§Some day you will see that is not so. Be of good cheer.¡¨
Princess Ute sighed and said ¡§It is nice that you say so but I think it is not so. Still Papa is nice to me and I love him very much. I shall attempt when I am Princess, to make him proud of me. ¡§
Of course Madamme Vaudeu told the Prince, Alois Gunter, and he was quite sad, and he tried to let his daughter know he loved her, but she seemed always sunk in melacholly
When her ninth birthday came around, Her pedagogical governess, Jade, the Marschalinn von Zweibak, suggested an unusual gift. The Marschaline was as stern and formal as Vandeu was soft and sentimental. The Marschaline believed that little girls should be taught lessons of practical worth and value and not just to sing, dance, and embroider. She believed in the cult of ¡§useful knowledge¡¨ and especially for a future ruler. This was to be based first and foremost in mathematics, followed hard upon by science and ¡§practicalities¡¨ She prevailed upon the prince to set up for the girl her own ¡§establishment¡¨ where she could learn the skills of practical economics and carry accounts, This, like the ¡§toy regiments¡¨ monarchs often gave their own sons, would form the first practical engagement the royal children had. Prince Alois however could not resist giving his little girl something glamorous and so gave her in addition to her little ¡§play household¡¨ a gift of twenty Katrina D¡¦Or. Pieces of the new currency made to be the capstone of the fiscal reforms of he Prince.
Madame Vandeu asked the Marschalline why she suggested this and said to the pleasant woman. ¡§So soon at eight thinking of her duty?¡¨ She will be a prodigy!¡¨
The year passed and both the Marschallin, and Madame Vaudeu doted on the girl, though one was soft and gentle and the other as flinty as the rocks of Svithyod. But they both loved her very much and both bothered the prince constantly to always show affection to his sad little daughter.
Shortly after her tenth birthday it was decided that the future heir to the throne should begin to undertake some study of her future duties, and she was brought to formal dinners and balls. This was especially necessary in the especially in the chaotic conditions approaching the end of the Seven Years War. At the dinner that proceeded the ball the Enlgish Envoy had launched into a somewhat crude story about some peasants on his estate in Ireland which revolved around a duck, and the bawdy and commonplace puns that could be made from that word.
We shall not, for proprieties sake, repeat them here.
The Princess Ute¡¦s native language was German and she knew a little Italian and some English, but it was not strong enough to understand the words or thankfully in her innocence to get the joke, especially as the English Envoy aped the lower class Irish accents of his peasants. At one point the joke mentioned that the duck had been run over by a carriage and kiled. Princess Ute was shocked and while she certainly did not get the meaning of the joke, also did not understand that it had taken place in Ireland (if it had taken place at all) and assumed that the envoy had run over some peasant¡¦s duck on the way to the ball. The young princess held her silence and especially her tears, which she gave free reign to after she had been excused before the ball.
Immediately she ran back to her room and taking her purse of twenty Katrinas d¡¦Or dashed out into the street determined to go and find a duck, buy it, and give it to the peasant. How she could do this and evade the sentries, the guards, the equirries, the door openers and closers, the butlers, dominos and the like may seem incredible, but children of all ages have an ability to worm their way in anywhere and possessed of remarkably determination once they set their mind to somethingd They can penetrate every little nook and cranny of a house, and no place is secret to them, even less in a palace, samll as the Palace of the Princess was in Bonn at that time. Once in the street she soon became lost. Coming upon a man she did not know she stopped and asked him
¡§Excuse me sir. I have heard that the Englishman has killed a farmers duck by running over it with his carriage, and I want to find a man from whom I can purchase a duck to give to the farmer to make up for his loss.¡¨
The man was a local shopkeeper, a dealer in porcelain and glassware, and had just locked up his shop and on the way home. He did not really understand what the child wanted and Ute¡¦s replies were not very helpful to his questions.
¡§An Englishman? Which one?¡¨ he asked, and of course the child answered as children do, truthfully but not always helpfully. ¡§Why the one that was to dinner at MaMa¡¦s house. ¡§
¡¨And you say he ran over a duck??¡¨ he asked.
¡§Yes sir, a farmers duck.¡¨ she answered.
¡§ And where did this happen, and which farmer was it?¡¨ He asked
¡§Truly I do not know sir, but I know that first I must find a duck and then I must find the farmer who had lost it.¡¨ She said.
¡§And how are you going to do thatƒÏ¡¨ he asked.
¡§I do not quite know sir, but I do know that my Governess Madamme. Zweibak said that we must do things logically and rationally and keep our senses focused. I see it is late and the poultry chandlers will be closing their shops soon so therefore before I can find the farmer, first I must find a duck, for the shops will soon be closed bu tthe farmer will mourn for his lost duck long past their closing.¡¨ She said.
¡§And where is the farmer my dear little one?¡¨ the man asked. He really wanted to go home to his dinner, but this honest, innocent little girl had beguiled him.¡¨
The child thought for a moment, casting her eyes aside and finally saying ¡§I do not know sir, but I think I will follow this road down that way and I shall eventually come to the duck with the farmer wailing over it and I am sure that will be the one. For certainly farmers do not have their ducks run over every day and very rarely I think, two on the same day.¡¨
The shopkeeper said to himself ¡§The child does not seem to be dreanged or a fool, but who can she be? ¡§ Thoughts of his dinner growing cold, or worse burning on the stove as his wife took a nap waiting for him intruded as well, but it was toward evening, and this child was alone on the street, and who knows what would happen to her. Then she would look up at him with those big, blue, pleading innocent eyes and he did not know what to do.
It is amazing how fate handles its business, for suddenly the seller of glasware and plates who had never done anything extraordinary before but had been content to open his shop and sit in his stall waiting for a customer to buy a few glasses or a sugar bowl or a creamer and close it at night without the slightest change from day to day and go home to his dinner, decided ¡§to hell with dinner, It will be there when I get there, day after day, and decided to help this little girl. Besides it will be a delightful story to tell my wife.¡¨
Then he thought ¡§Who am I at my age to be indulging in adventures¡¨ and he said to the little girl ¡§I think we had better take you home¡¨ he said, ¡§Where do you live?¡¨
The child told him some directions and in his mind he followed her words and decided the child was not making sense, she was directing him toward the palace, and that could not be right. He wanted to take her by the hand and say ¡§come along and we shall see.¡¨ But she squirmed out of his grip and said ¡§No, I will not go with you, the poor farmer is likely crying and wailing for a duck is not an trifling animal to a poor man and of some obvious worth. It would be too cruel to not help him.¡¨
Her sudden resolved strengthened his and so again, resolving that dinner be damned, he would help her come what may.
¡§Well then little one, come, I know a seller of poultry a few streets away.¡¨ And so he walked with her slowly, allowing the little child to keep up and attempting to find out more about her so as better to master this situation. As I said, night was coming on and he was afraid what might befall the girl. After all it was Bonn, which is a very nice town with for the most part very nice people, but there were known to be rough characters around, bandits in the fields and gypsies who roamed the road, and it was necessary to be careful. Well as they walked and talked he asked her ¡§You know little girl, ducks can be expensive. Do you have any money with which to purchase one?¡¨ He had already decided to pay for the duck himself, but it made idle conversation.
Immediately she said ¡§Yes, I hope I do.¡¨ and took out her purse and poured a few of the twenty Katrina¡¦s D¡¦Or into her little hand.¡¨ I hope that this will be enough to buy one?¡¨
The man¡¦s eyes went wide for he knew all about Katrinas D¡¦Or s
He realized that this was no ordinary street urchin and her task no ordinary one! A single Catherine D¡¦Or would buy half a thousand ducks.
¡§Put them away, quicklyƒÏ¡¨ he said, looking around to make sure no one had seen. ¡§Keep them in your pocket ¡§ and do not show them to anyone.¡¨
Two streets away they came upon a very poor broom seller but who had had a very good day, managing to sell all his brooms and wares and for a good profit, and he was on his way home to his wife who with his two children were waiting his return. They were very poor and very hungry but under his arm he carried a sack bulging with sausages, and cheeses, and fruits and all things good to eat, and the broom seller still had a few coins left in his pocket to pay his rents to his lord, and even more besides. He was in a merry mood and called out to the china seller and the little girl ¡§Good Evening to you! Good evening! I hope this evening finds you well!¡¨
It was a common greeting, a mere nicety, the sort people toss around without thinking but this time fate would take it in a different turn. The little girl before him said ¡§Alas sir it does not! For I am on a mission to help the poor farmer whose duck was run over by a callous and cruel Englishman and killed and I am on a mission to buy a duck from the poultry seller.¡¨
The broom maker, brought up short did not understand at first. ¡§Who… what, a Englishman who killed a duck? Is this the Englishman?¡¨ he asked pointing to the glassware merchant.
¡§No no sir, he is a man I met who has offered to come with me to the poultry chandler to buy a duck.¡¨ said Princess Ute. There was something about the little girl which touched the man, who had lost one of his daughters a few years before, and he began to think this was a little suspicious. After all it was Bonn, which is a very nice town with for the most part very nice people, but there were known to be rough characters around, bandits in the fields and gypsies who roamed the road, and it was necessary to be careful. He noticed the very formal and very rich gown the little girl wore and he became suspicious. It was at this point that the precocious child said ¡§Yes and we must hurry as the poultry chandler will close soon and I must buy one¡V see I think I have the money, and once again the Princess pulled out her purse and showed the broom seller the Katrina¡¦s D¡¦Or.
The man¡¦s eyes went wide for he knew all about Katrinas D¡¦Or s
He realized that this was no ordinary street urchin and her task no ordinary one! A single Catherine D¡¦Or would buy half a thousand ducks. He thought how much better his life would be if he could get his hands on one¡V Oh¡V it would feed his family for a season!¡¨ Of course he was soon very sorry he had thought tha, and wuite ashamed really. The little girl was so much like his daughter, now gone all these years.
He had seen the anxiety of the china seller and how he had fumbled with the princess, trying to keep her from drawing out the bag. ¡§Here now- he said ¡§Is there some sort of funny business going on here!¡¨ ¡§No No, ¡§ the china seller protested ,she showed them to me before. I did not want her to attract attention. The china seller seemed sincere, but the Broom maker decided to follow them just to make sure the little girl was safe.¡¨
He questioned the china seller carefully till he became upset at the peasants questions. And he determined to go along with them¡V for the sake of the little girl¡V oif course. He became more suspicious of the china seller and the conversation between the two became a little barbed. After all it was Bonn, which is a very nice town with for the most part very nice people, but there were known to be rough characters around, bandits in the fields and gypsies who roamed the road, and it was necessary to be careful
Well the men and Princess Ute neared the end of the street and what should come by but a sergeant of the Riseundshine Regiment. The careful shopkeeper knew he had to act cagily, that the girl would not be diverted from her purpose, and he would have to deal with the Broom maker and try and get rid of him, and as he had seen the bright and hungry look in the Broom makers eyes when he had seen the Katrina D¡¦Ors , haled the sergeant and said ¡§Ah Pardon me Herr Feldvebel, are you here about tracking down the vile Englishman who has crushed the farmers duck under the wheels of his carriage, I believe this little girl knows where he is.¡¨
The Sergeant of course hadn¡¦t the faintest idea of what the man was talking about, and thought that this man was mad, or attempting to abduct the little girl and he didn¡¦t like the looks of the Broom maker who he had seen malingering around the squares for the past few days. He was of a mind to give both of them a knock on the head with his stock, but Princess Ute took over and said ¡§Oh Yes, Sergant, Are you?ƒÏ Then you will know where the farmer is and can help me bring a new duck to him to replace the one he has lost. Of course this simply convinced the sergeant that he had been accosted by two perfect lunatics. He was struck speechless. And while the girl was thanking him she showed him that she had the Katrina D¡¦Ors to pay for it.
The man¡¦s eyes went wide for he knew all about Katrinas D¡¦Or s
The earnest appeals of the child, he literally would have been back on the field of battle fighting the Prussians or the Russians than being here. All the time the china seller man seemed to be saying ¡§Well Sergeant, if you do not know, perhaps you should check in with your Leutnant or the captain of the watch, as the news I am sure is very current Your captain CERTAINLY must know all about the affair of The Englishman and the run-down duck.
The Broom seller urged him to the same, so he reasoned ¡§Well if they both want to go to the guardhouse they cannot be up to anything really evil… Still he thought, after all it was Bonn, which is a very nice town with for the most part very nice people, but there were known to be rough characters around, bandits in the fields and gypsies who roamed the road, and it was necessary to be careful
All this while the girl was asking him not to abandon them but at least come with them to buy the duck and then go show her where the peasant was.
The Sergent, as all sergants do, decided to cover all his bets and keep an eye on these three, and that the man¡¦s suggestion was the best, and wanted to take them back to his guardhouse, but the little girl pleaded with him to go with them to the poultry chandler before he closed. And so they went on. The sergeant with his musket and pistol and of course his sturdy stock could easily make them do his will and he hated to see the little girl unhappy. Of course being a Sergeant of the famous RiseundShine Regiment, he knew what a Katrina D¡¦Or was and what it was worth, and he began to suspect who the little girl was too!
At the next corner the Sergent was accosted by an Innkeeper and the Inkeepers wife who wished him to come in and enjoy some beer at their jolly tavern. Several of the bar-maids came out with them, one was Helga and one was Heidi . The sergeant was quite sweet on Helga and Helga quite sweet on him. Heidi, her friend. In the course of this interruption Princess Ute recounted the whole tale to them and could not be restrained from telling them all she knew and showing them the twenty Katrina D¡¦Or that she had.
The woman¡¦s eyes went wide for he knew all about Katrinas D¡¦Or s
The Inkeepers wife was a somewhat disreputable person, and her husband was completely disreputable, and the two barmaids were disreputable persons in training. Again they knew all about Katrinas D¡¦Or and became very interested for utterly disreputable reasons.
The Innkeeper, the Inkeepers wife, and the two barmaids began to edge toward the princess with a view to getting one, if not all of those Katrina D¡¦Ors into their own purses. Here the china seller pushed the little girl aside and the Broom maker shifted his walking stick to both hands, and the sergeant brandished his stock and said ¡§Here you, get back, if you wish to help the little girl you can, but if not be off with you. I am a Feldwebel of the Riseundshine Regiment and we shall have no such things here.¡¨
Now Helga was as sweet on the Sergeant as he on her, and wished to marry him, hoping he would take her out of this business she was in with the Innkeeper. She said that she would help the Sergeant, the China seller and the little girl. As for the Innkeeper¡¦s wife she looked at the little girl and she was so sweet, so open, so kindly of face that her hard heart melted and she thought no more of seperating her from her Katrina¡¦s D¡¦ Or and instead resolved to see her to thick and thin if it mean¡¦t wandering all the roads of Germany till she found the luckless ( and duckless) farmer. She said ¡§Gawd Sergent you are right, better to take no chances, After all it was Bonn, which is a very nice town with for the most part very nice people, but there were known to be rough characters around, bandits in the fields and gypsies who roamed the road, and it was necessary to be careful
As for the barmaid, her handsome tall sergeant could do no wrong, and if he wished it it was so for her. There was just something about the little girl that charmed them, and, they decided this whole thing might be a delightful lark.
Well they got to the poultry chandler who was just closing his shop,
Princess Ute said to him .¡¨Oh sir, can you stay open for a few moments longer. You see, the Englishman¡¦s carriage has run over the farmers duck and I must buy a duck and then find the farmer who is certainly weeping by the roadside for his dead duck, This is a sad thing for a farmer, for being a farmer he is certainly a poor man and does not have many ducks to spare.
Whereupon the China seller said that he had found the little girl and had taken her to find a duck nd knew him to be a careful and responsible poultry seller and that he could think of no better man to buy the duck from.
Whereupon the Broom maker recounted his tale as how he had found the little girl and the china cellar and came along to keep them safe for though this was Golden Bonn, nevertheless there were here and there bad characters about and gypsies roaming the countryside.
Whereupon the Sergeant explained hat he was a proud Sergeant of the Riseandshine Regiment who had served on five campaigns in the present war, and a few more before that, and that he had been wounded by a musket ball at Kolin, and a bayonet at Lobositz, and a saber at Rossbach, and that he had found the China Seller with the little girl, and had come along to help them, and that he would ake it very fondly if he Poultry Chandler could sell the darling little girl a duck.
Whereupon Helga said that she was the fiancee of the Sergeant, and she had come out to greet hi and bring him into her tavern to share a drink with him, and maybe a few pleasant moments, but when she had become acquainted with the little girl, she had so touched her heart that she came along.
Whereupon Heidi said that she was Helga¡¦s cousin and went everywhere that Helga wen, as their poor old aunt had told them so as to keep each other save for though this was Golden Bonn, nevertheless there were here and there bad characters about and gypsies roaming the countryside.
Whereupon the Innkeeper¡¦s wife said that she had come along because the little girl reminded her so much of her own daughter who had passed away 10 years ago, and she was charmed by the little girl. though this was Golden Bonn, nevertheless there were here and there bad characters about and gypsies roaming the countryside.
Whereupon the poultry chandler said that he indeed had a duck, a very fine duck and he would gladly sell it to her ¡¨Do you have enough money to pay for it Little Girl¡¨ he asked.
Whereupon Ute showed him the purse of twenty Katrinas D¡¦Or.
The man¡¦s eyes went wide for he knew all about Katrinas D¡¦Or s
The poultry chandler said ¡§ Goodness little girl, that is enough for a thousand ducks. A duck costs only four groschen. (About a dollar) . ¡§Here be quick about it he said ¡§Put them away little girl, for though after all it was Bonn, which is a very nice town with for the most part very nice people, but there were known to be rough characters around, bandits in the fields and gypsies who roamed the road, and it was necessary to be careful
Princess Ute frowned and said alas, I have no other money than this?
Wherupon Heidi pulled out her own purse and paid he chandler the four groschen, saying to Ute, that she could pay her back some other time. The China seller had also pulled out a coin to pay the chandler but was too slow, but said to him. ¡§Here, take two more groschen for your good service, as a thank you. Whereupon the poor Broom maker did the same.
Not to be outdone the Sergeant gave the man an Old Pfennig he had found on the street nd said ¡§And my thanks too!
Whereupon the Innkeepers wife said ¡§I have no money to give you, but come into my establishment and I shall reward you with a pitcher of free beer.
\
The poultry seller was quite happy. It had been a poor day, but this more than made up for it.
At the moment an apprentice joiner who was closing up his stall, gave them a small box to keep the duck in, and decided to go along and follow this antic crew.
He didn¡¦t so much care , but little Ute seemed such a nice girl and besides, he was sweet on the other barmaid Heidi
So finally they went to the guardhouse to see where the broken duck might be.
But it did not go so easy as all that As they wound about the streets they met s a lamplighter, a Priest, a Pastor, a wood cutter, a weaver and the like and to each person they told the story over again from the start with all the ¡§whereupons¡¨ left in, until at last with prayers and incantations by the minister and the priest, and who even suggested they rouse the town Rabbi as well if only to complete the circle. They even encountered a Turk who was wandering through, and he confirmed that he had seen no peasant crying over a busted duck on the road but he too was charmed by Ute and decided to go along to see what the outcome of all this commotion would be, and all of them agreed that after all it was Bonn, which is a very nice town with for the most part very nice people, but there were known to be rough characters around, bandits in the fields and gypsies who roamed the road, and it was necessary to be careful
And so when they came to the guardhouse by the gate there was a whole crowd of people,
It was obvious that the captain knew nothing about an Englishman or a farmer or a crushed duck, but he did know about Katrinas D¡¦Or and also knew quite well who the little girl who was so liberal with showing them about was. He was also a sagacious and resourceful captain and bade them all wait while he excused himself for a moment to give a few orders to his leutnant and he would return and solve the whole matter.
He excused himself and told his leutnant to run to the palace and get the princess and the Prince and come in a hurry and bring that scurrilous Englishman to boot for he fully intented to have him run the gauntlet for causing such tears and trials to a poor little good German girls, and especially Princesses of Princeesses. After all it was Bonn, which is a very nice town with for the most part very nice people, but there were known to be rough characters around, bandits in the fields and gypsies who roamed the road, and it was necessary to be careful¡¨
In a quarter of an hour the Princess herself, the Prince and the court had come downt ot he guard house and the Leutnant was driving forward the English Ambassador at sword poiint. drawn. This of course had drawn not only her mother and father, but many courtiers and soon it seemd half of Bonn was awak and following them and wondering what the matter was, and of course all sorts of garbled stories had filled the crowd, from the royal family being captured and carried off by a band of cuthroat gypsies, to the town was about to be taken by the French and in those days the choice between the French or cuthroat gypsies was not a clear one. After all it was Bonn, which is a very nice town with for the most part very nice people, but there were known to be rough characters around, bandits in the fields and gypsies who roamed the road, and it was necessary to be careful
The prince, Alois Gunter, here father ran a whole block when he saw here and went down on his knees to embrace her tightly, and with tears in his eyes, exclaimed ¡§Oh my dear, wonderful girl, oh my lovely child, oh .. Oh, you are safe, you are safe, oh child.¡¨
Princes Ute apologized but told him how she simply HAD to restore the farmers duck because she felt so bad for him. Her mother then explained to her, after of course smothering her in kisses and embraces almost as much as her father how she had misunderstood and that is was only a joke. The English ambassador who had been now poked and prodded by the leutnant¡¦s sword , and then again by the china sellers cane, the Broom makers walking stick, the Sergeants stock, and Heidi and Helga¡¦s fingers blubbered out his explanation. ¡§Yes little Princess, it was all a joke, and it happened many years ago, way back in Ireland.¡¨ This whil the Innkeepers wife was murmering about what kind of blackguard would tell such a joke to children or with children around, and the Sergeant said,
¡§We had an Irishman in the Riseundhine in the war, had his leg shot off at ZorndorfƒÏ Her gave me an earful about what the likes of you did to his family in Ireland¡¨ and while the details all came out bit by bit, the huge crowd behind the little group told it to each other and by the time the story pased from thefront of the crowd the two blocks to the rear it was everything from how the ducks of Ireland had all be charmed by a bagpiper into a mountain cave, or it was the Russians who were about to take the town and kill all the ducks .
Well when it was all straightened out, the little princess said to the English Ambassador ¡§But you have LIED to me, it never happened.¡¨ Then she began to cry . When her father gathered her up again and asked why she was crying ¡§She said¡¨ But O PaPa, I have been very bad, I have importuned all these people and they have all be so good to me and helped me, and it was all for nothing. I have caused them so much trouble and I am very ashamed and embarrassed. To the English Ambassador she said ¡§Let this be a lesson to you , as to what happens when you lie. This my governess, and my MaMa and Papa have told me never to do and also Madam De Vaudeu es has told me too that to lie is to sow bad seeds in your fields, nothing good can come of it. To this the Princess Trixie herself said ¡§Well Mr. English Ambassador, it seems that you will now be bereft of that talent an ambassador most needs for success.? The Princess Ute then said to the assembled dozen or so people who had helped her. ¡§I am sorry for the trouble I caused, and you must be rewarded for your goodness and godly spirit in helping me.¡¨ And she took out from her purse one Katrina D¡¦Or and give it to each one of them, and gave the captain and the lieutenant one also.
To the English Ambassador she said ¡§I shall not give you one of my Katrinas D¡¦Or for you were a very impolite person to lie to people so.
Then she turned to her mama. ¡§MaMa, can I have four Groschen to pay this kind woman, indicating the barmaid, ¡§for she loaned me the money to buy the duck.¡¨ After a pause she sasid ¡§and I would very much like to keep the duck.¡¨
And what happened to the people in our little adventure?
All of them were summoned to the palace the very next day and each was presented to the Princess Trixie and Prince Alois Guther and each was copiously thanked by the grateul parents. Princess Ute was not there, she having to attend to her studies.
Each, as they were presented to the couple were given a purse of 10 Katrinas D¡¦Or as thanks.
The table wear merchant said ¡§Your Honors, I thank you very much but I must refuse. The single piece given by your child is far more recompense than I warrant, for it was given in love and innocence by a dear girl who wished only to do good. ¡§ The Prince and Princess, bid him take it and then and give it to someone who had need.
The Sergeant likewise refused the gift, saying that it was a pure duty of a good soldier to his sovereign to safeguard his child and that it would be a dishonor to take it He thanked his lord profusely for the kindness but he was only doing his duty. After he left the Prince and Princess remarked on this. The Princess saying that he knew the Sergeant was sweet on Ilsa the barmaid, and she was not likely to refuse the gift as it would mean prosperity and at least a surcease of want. The Prince said, ¡§Yes, I shall also tell the barmaid that it is an honor to me if she take it, for having been such a terrible general I probably have gotten her dear one nearly killed many a time.
As for the sergeant he would wake up the next morning with the uniform of a Lieutenant of his regiment in his closet.
Ilsa the barmaid, the one who was sweet on the Sergeant took her gift with great thanks, and the Sergeants purse as well. She hesitated a moment and said ¡§Double thanks again, for I see that I am getting a prince of a husband.
Hilda the other barmaid came in and when she was thanked and purse given to her she looked at it a long time and then burst out in tears and sank to her knees. ¡§ Oh masters,¡¨ she said, ¡§I have been in such torment since that night. I have not been a good girl and I so fell in love with your daughter and wanted to be a good girl. But I assure you masters, I only was what I am through need, great need, and I swear to you that night I wished I could mend my ways and be aught that I was. But how could I do that, I thought, I was even more in need now than then. And now¡¨ she said through copious sobs the means is given to me.¡¨ She then cried and cried and the princessely couple raised her to her feet and when she was steadied she went off.
¡§See husband¡¨ Princess Trixie said, ¡§Honor is a dish too rich for the poor.¡¨
The Innkeepers wife was forthright. She took the purse and thanked the Prince and Princess and said that she had already decided to toss out her disreputable husband and turn her dishonerable drink shop into something better. . ¡§I, sez I, why I couldn¡¦t bear to bring such a darling little girl to a place like this! So I decided that whatever it took I was going to open a high toned coffee house for proper gentlemen and ladies and no sooner did I decide that, then now you give me the means. ¡§ When the Prince asked her what her husband thought of that she said ¡§Hooo, don¡¦t you worry about him, I¡¦m the brains in the outfit, he¡¦s only the chucker out and hauler and carrier, we don¡¦tneed muscle in a high toned coffee house!¡¨
The Joiner took his with simple joy and said he was going to be the best in his trade and was going to marry Hilda as soon as he could. ¡§I think that will be sooner than he thinks¡¨ said the Princess.
The Lamplighter took his reward with gusto and vowed to share it with his fellows in the trade. The Priest and the Parson wanted to found a debating society for Christians. The Prince and Princess told them they knew of a new high class coffee house about to open up.
The Lieutenant was promoted to captain. The Captain to a Colonel and given his own regiment, even though he protested he did little and warrented a reward far less. . In some ways he was the most rewarded. You may remember the Na-Princess, the Sister in-law, in law of the Princess of Saxe Burlap, I refer to the Princess of Schleswig Beerstain outside Schleswig Beerstain. In some ways the wag and gossips had extended her somewhat dubious and disreputable past, and she lived a life of dissipation almost as bad as Hilda the second barmaid. However on that night of this incident she had been in the crowd following the Prince and Princess to the guard house and there she had cast eyes on the captain and she liked very much what she saw. She therefore set her sights on him. He of course was going to have nothing to do with her, who had a somewhat savory reputation, and regardless of how high she might have arisen. However if the captain had been at all clever he would have remembered that old Swabian saying that a woman will do anything it takes to thread the needle, and the Princess set out immediately to be as proper and moral as was required to win the heart of her now colonel and that he was in fact doomed.
But the Duck Otto? What happened to the Duck?
Well, that will be a story for next time.
