Part 4 of 4

Listen HERE

In part 3, True helped the king to improve the water and fruit at his palace. True helped the king to also improve his eyesight. And the king asked True to help his daughter. So, in part 4, True tries to do just that. And he meets his brother again. A few words you should know: a “feast” is a big meal that is usually held on a special day. “Hold your tongue” means don’t speak, be silent. Let’s start the final part of the story “True and Untrue.”

"Yes, but there is a cure for that," said True.

When the king heard that, he was so glad that he promised him the princess to marry and added half his kingdom to the bargain. True took a few men, went into the chapel, and dug up the frog from under the floor. Then he cut open the frog, took out the bread, and gave it to the king's daughter. From that moment, she was able to speak, and she could talk like other people.

Now True was going to marry the princess, and they got ready for the wedding feast. Such a feast had never been seen before; it was the talk of the whole kingdom. Just as they were dancing, a poor man came up to them, and he begged for a bit of food. He was so ragged and wretched, but True knew him right away and saw that it was Untrue, his brother.

"Do you know me?" said True.

"Oh! You are a great man," said Untrue.

"Still, you have seen me before," said True. "It was I who you left one year ago. You are Untrue by name, and Untrue is who you are, as I said before, and so I say now. But you are still my brother, and so you must have some food. After that, you may go to the big tree where I sat last year; if you hear anything that can do you good, you will be lucky."

So Untrue did not wait to be told twice. "If True has so much good in his life from sitting in the big tree, that in one year he has become king of half of the kingdom, maybe I will get something too," he thought. So he set off and climbed up into the big tree. He had not been sitting there long when all of the animals came as before, and ate and drank, and celebrated St. John's Eve under the tree. When they had finished eating, the fox suggested that they begin to tell stories. Untrue got ready to listen so intently that he almost fell out of the tree. But Bruin the bear was grumpy, and he growled and said:

"Someone has been chattering about what we said last year, and so now we will hold our tongues about what we know." So, the animals said "Goodnight" and left, and Untrue was no wiser than he was before. The reason was that his name was Untrue, and that’s who he was.

The end.