In an age where there is so much easily accessible information, it is easy to get caught up in all the details that we can no longer see the forest in the trees.

Today’s Estonian story comes from Andrew Lang’s The Violet Fairy Book, first published in 1901. As stated in previous episodes, Nora and Andrew Lang have collected many well-known fairy tales in their books, but their sourcing is not always adequate. While this will not stop us from enjoying this tale, this knowledge is good to keep in mind when analyzing it. After all, knowledge is power.

The question is, is it beneficial to have this power? I know one youth who wants to learn more and is ready to do whatever it takes for this intellectual prize. So keep your eyes open, your wits about and listen as I tell the tale of The Young Man Who Would Have His Eyes Opened.

---

The Young Man Who Craved Knowledge

Once upon a time, there lived a youth who loved nothing more than knowing things others did not. After learning to speak with the birds and the beasts, the boy discovered that a lot happened under the veil of night that no mortal eyes could ever see. Naturally, this meant that all he wanted was to uncover those secrets. Obsessed and determined to find these hidden truths, he began wandering the land, searching for a wizard that could open his eyes.

Eventually, the youth found a great wizard named Mana, who was more knowledgeable than any other wizard he had met. He told his tale to the wizard and begged for his aid.

The Wizard’s Warning

Mana understood the plight and knew what it was like to crave knowledge about everything. Still, he warned the boy:

The wizard turned to the youth, and he could see his resolve. So he continued:

‘Once every seven years, the great serpent king gives a feast to his whole court. Before the king is a golden bowl filled with goat’s milk. If you can dip a piece of bread in this bowl of milk, and eat it before you flee, you will understand all the secrets of the night, which are hidden from other mortal eyes. Luckily for you, this feast will happen tomorrow night. You must leave quickly and be bold or else this will not end well for you.’

The Serpent King

The young man listened intently to the wizard’s warning but was still determined to see this through, no matter the cost. So he thanked the wizard and went on his way.

When night came, he found the lonely moor where the serpent king held his feast. Ducking behind a bush, he watched and waited for a long time. Finally, a sudden bright light erupted from the middle of the moor. All around, he saw the movement of hundreds of serpents slithering towards the light, where their king was waiting.

The youth froze- seeing all the serpents at once was terrifying, but he slowly took a deep breath and steeled himself before slowly quietly moving forward.

Everywhere the youth looked, he saw serpents of different sizes and colours intertwined around an enormous serpent. Its body was as thick as a beam, and a bright golden light sat atop its head. Hearing the cacophony of their hisses frightened the youth, and his courage began to falter. But then he saw the golden bowl before the serpent king, and he knew he must do this now, or he would never find the courage to return.

The Ancient One by Jose Ochoa

To Know or Not To Know

So, with his hair standing on end and his blood frozen in his veins, he began to creep forward. He was not as stealthy as he thought because all the serpents’ heads rose and turned toward him. The serpents’ lunged at the youth, but luckily for him, they were so entwined that they could not reach him fast enough. Like lightning, the boy sprang into action! He grabbed a piece of bread, dipped it in the goat’s milk, and quickly ate it. Once the bread was in his mouth, he ran out as fast as he could.

“Southern Estonian landscape” Konrad Mägi (1917-1918).

Running Away

As he ran, it felt like an army of soldiers was on his heels. He could almost hear them shouting and their footsteps closing in on him. He kept running, but soon he collapsed in exhaustion. While he lay there, he had nightmares of the serpent king attacking him, which abruptly woke him.

He looked around and found that it was morning, and he was lying on a moor very far from where he had been the previous night. The youth laughed in relief that he escaped the perils of the serpent king.

Despite his body still aching, he wanted to see if the goat’s milk had worked. So that night, he went into the forest and found that the wizard had spoken true.

The Dance of the Maidens

At once, he saw what no mortal eyes had ever seen before. He saw golden pavilions decorated with silver flags. Before he could wonder what they were doing in the forest, he saw beautiful maidens approaching the pavilion from every direction. They were wood nymphs, daughters of the earth mother, gathering together for their nightly dance.

The young man watched from his hiding place and wished he had hundreds of eyes to take in every detail. The wood nymphs danced through the night. When dawn came, a silver veil fell over them, and they vanished. But the youth did not move, and the sun was high in the sky when he finally went home.

Eesti rahvalaule lastele compiled by Ottilie Kõiva with illustrations by Asta Vender (1971).

Obsessed

He could not wait for night to come once more. As soon as it became dusk, he returned to the forest, but he saw neither the pavilion nor the wood nymphs. He would go back many nights, but he never saw them again. Even so, the young man tried night after night until he became so obsessed that he cared not for anything else.

He was sick to the end of his days, longing to see that vision. He lived in the memory of that one night.