The Boy who Vanished
Long, long ago there lived a very rich nobleman who had a wonderful baby boy. The night before his son was born, the father had a dream. He dreamt that the only way his son would reach adulthood would be if the child’s feet never touched the earth until he was twelve years old. Great care was taken that this should be avoided, and only trustworthy nurses were hired to look after the child. As the years passed, he was always diligently guarded. Sometimes he was carried in his nurses’ arms, sometimes the servants carried him in a chair, but the boy’s feet never touched the ground. So it passed until the child was nearly twelve years old.
Now when the child’s twelfth birthday drew near, the father began to plan a magnificent feast to celebrate his son’s release. One day while the preparations were in progress, a frightful noise, followed by most unearthly yells, shook the castle. In her terror, the nurse dropped the child and ran to the window. At that very instant the noises stopped. On turning around to pick up the boy again, imagine her alarm when she found him no longer there! With a cry, she realized that she had disobeyed her master’s orders. The child’s feet had touched the floor, and now the child was gone.
Hearing her screams and wails, all the servants of the castle ran to her. The father soon followed, asking, “What is the matter? What has happened? Where is my son?” The nurse, trembling and weeping, told of the disappearance of his only child, and just before his twelfth birthday.
No words can describe the anguish of the father’s heart. He sent servants in every direction to hunt for the boy; he gave orders; he begged; he threw away money left and right; he promised everything, anything if only his son might be brought back to him. Searches were made, but no trace of the boy could be found. He had vanished as completely as if he had never existed.
Years passed and one day a servant told the unhappy nobleman that in one of the most beautiful rooms of the castle, footsteps, as if someone were walking up and down the halls, and dismal cries and groans, were heard each night at midnight. Anxious to follow up the matter, for he thought it might in some way give a clue as to the whereabouts of his lost son, he made known that a reward of three hundred gold pieces would be given to anyone who would watch for one entire night in the haunted room. Many were willing, but did not have the courage to stay till the end; for at midnight, when they heard dismal groans and footsteps coming closer and closer, they would shriek and run away rather than risk their lives for three hundred pieces of gold. The poor father was in despair, and knew not how to discover the truth of this dark mystery.
Now close to the castle lived a widow, a miller by trade, who had three daughters. The family was very poor, and hardly earned enough to meet their daily needs. When they heard of the midnight noises in the castle and the promised reward of three hundred gold pieces, the eldest daughter said, “As we are so very poor, surely we have nothing to lose. We might try to earn these three hundred gold pieces by remaining in the room for one night. I should like to try, Mother, if you’ll let me.”
The mother hardly knew what to say. She was worried, of course, because she had heard of the terrible noises that had frightened so many others away. But when she thought of their poverty and the difficulty they had day to day in setting food on the table, she gave permission for her eldest daughter to remain one night in the haunted room. The daughter then went to the castle to ask the nobleman’s consent.
“Have you really the courage to watch for a whole night in a room haunted by ghosts?” asked the nobleman. “Are you sure you are not afraid, my good girl?”
“I am willing to try, and I can start this very night,” said the eldest daughter. “I only ask you to give me some food to cook for my supper, for I am very hungry.”
Orders were given that she should be supplied with everything she wanted, and indeed enough food was given to her, not for one supper only, but for three. With the food, some dry firewood, and a candle she entered the room. She first lit the fire and put on her saucepans, then she laid the table and made the bed. This filled up the early part of the evening. The time passed so quickly that she was surprised to hear the clock strike twelve. At the last stroke, footsteps, as if of someone walking, shook the room, and dismal groans filled the air. The frightened girl ran from one corner to the other, but could see no one. But the footsteps and the groans only got louder.
Suddenly a young man appeared. He approached her and asked, “For whom is this food cooked?” Startled, she said, “For myself.”
The gentle face of the stranger saddened. Then he asked, “And this table, for whom is it laid?” After a moment, she said, “For myself.”
The brow of the young man clouded over and his beautiful blue eyes filled with tears as he asked once more, “And this fire, for whom have you built it?”
“For myself,” replied she.
NTears fell from his eyes as he waved his arms and vanished. ext morning she told the nobleman all that had happened in the room but without mentioning the painful impression her answers seemed to make on the stranger. She gratefully received the three hundred golden crowns for having stayed the whole night in the haunted room. And the father was thankful to have at last heard something that might possibly lead to the discovery of his son. On the following day the second daughter, having been told by her sister what to expect and how to answer the stranger, went to the castle to offer her services and to earn another three hundred gold pieces. The nobleman agreed, and she was provided with everything she might want. Without loss of time she entered the room, lit the fire, put on the saucepans, spread a white cloth upon the table, made the bed, and waited for the hour of midnight. When the young stranger appeared and asked, “For whom is this food prepared? For whom is the table laid? For whom is the fire built?” she answered as her sister had bidden her to do: “For me, for myself only.” As on the night before, tears ran down his face, he waved his arms and disappeared. Next morning, she told the nobleman all that had happened in the room except the sad impression her answers seemed to make upon the stranger. The three hundred gold pieces were given to her, and she went home.