The Two Brotherspage 14 / 20
"See now," said the huntsman, "I have bread, meat, vegetables, and sweetmeats, but I must still have some wine, such as the king himself drinks." He called his lion, and said, "Dear lion, you are fond of a good draught of wine yourself, go and fetch me some such as the king himself drinks." The lion stalked along the streets, and everybody fled before him: when he came to the sentries they were going to bar his passage, but he gave one roar, and they all sprang aside. The lion went up to the door of the royal chamber, and knocked on it with his tail. The king's daughter came out, and for a moment was alarmed at the sight of the lion, but she recognised him by the gold clasp of the necklace, and bidding him come to her room, said, "What is it you want, dear lion?" He answered, "My master, who killed the dragon, is here and has sent me to ask for some wine, such as the king himself drinks." So she sent for the cup-bearer, and ordered him to let the lion have some of the king's wine. "I will go with him," said the lion, "and see that I get the right kind." So he went down to the cellar with the cup-bearer, and when there, the latter wanted to draw him some of the ordinary kind, such as was drunk by the king's servants, but the lion cried, "Stop! I will taste the wine first," and drawing himself a pint, he gulped it down at a draught. "No," he said, "that is not the right kind." The cup-bearer gave him a side glance, and was going to draw some wine from another cask that was kept for the king's marshal, but the lion cried, "Stop! I will taste the wine first." He drew himself a pint and drank it off. "That is better, but not the right kind yet." The cup-bearer now lost his temper and exclaimed, "What should a stupid animal like you know about wine." Whereupon the lion gave him such a blow behind the ear, that he fell none too softly to the ground, and after he had picked himself up again, he did not say any more but led the lion into a small cellar, set apart for the king's wine, which no one else was ever allowed to touch. The lion again drew off a pint and tasted the wine. "We have come to the right sort now," he said, and ordered the cup-bearer to fill six bottles for him. After that they went upstairs, but as he passed from the cellar into the open air, the lion began to be rather unsteady on his feet, and the cup-bearer was obliged to carry the wine for him to the inn; the lion then took the handle of the basket in his mouth, and brought it to his master.