The King of Clouds,
by W. Cassandra
My new tale, The King of Clouds, is loosely connected to the previous one, The Fabulous Griffin. The figure of the protagonist connects the two tales otherwise, they can be read separately.
The Realm of the Clouds extends high above the rainbow, which can be reached through a rainbow that curves from orient to occident. Who can get there and how, the fairy tale will show.
The lad, namely the son of the man, sets off on a wandering journey, taking his cat with him, as a lame cat catches few mice... During their wanderings, they meet the rich man who feeds the expensive steak to his dogs, not caring about the hard-working people with crusty palms who are starving. How the lad regulates the rich man, how he finds the old mother weeping for his son, and the warriors lying under the grave, what he does for them, how the valiants triumph over the evil dragon serpent throwing up brimstone fire - all this is revealed in the tale.
It has been a long time since Bluebell Pixie came here with her magic bag, but now, if you pay close attention and ask her nicely, children, she will surely shake a tale out for you from the magical Enchanting Bag...
And Bluebell Pixie already, hip-hop, here she is, she shakes the Enchanting Bag, and the following tale is already springing up of its mouth:
Once upon a time, there was a country in a very, very old place and time. In this country, the King of Clouds ruled. This kingdom was not even on Earth, but you can already find out from the name of the ruler that his kingdom could be found in the sky, notably among the clouds. It was also called the Land of Clouds, the Realm of Clouds, and it stretched high above the earthly lands. Not anyone from Earth could get here, only the bravest, the strongest and the most valiant people, who always had their head screwed on the right way and heart in the right place, and even they could not always get there!
In that very old time, there lived a man and his son on earth. His son, the lad, was so much moneyless that even in his bag, there could be found more holes than patches. He could not put anything but his poverty in the bag, and he put it on his shoulder and set off into the world. He did not even look back, for he did not have a doorpost to say goodbye to, only a lame cat meowed after him. However, he fostered his parents, the poor parents died of grief at not being able to help their only son. Though the lad did everything to make their house and the garden flourish, they had no luck in anything. So the lad had an idea, and he called the cat over and put it in the bag with a hole in the back of hole, so that the poor soul cat should not be left alone, because a lame cat catches few mice!
The cat sank its claws into the bag so that it would not fall out of the holes, and travelled. It was watching everywhere as the lad walked and paid attention to everything.
And the lad walked steadily forward: he did not know where he was going, so he followed his nose. And his nose suddenly indicated that a steak was being roasted somewhere, and his stomach growled. But also the belly of the lame cat grawled who was looking at in the bag with holes, and it said to the lad:
"Do you hear, my master, for I have adopted you as such, though you cannot feed me, go to where this delicious smell of steak emanates, and do as your heart whispers!"
The lad, frightened, dropped the bag on the ground with the cat, because he had never heard an animal speak in human language before. But the tomcat nudged his leg and encouraged him:
"Just do as I said, you will not regret it!"
"How long have you been able to speak?" The lad wondered.
"Since I came into the world. Take the bag, put me in again, and go!" The cat encouraged him.
The lad took the advice and increased his pace in the direction in which he suspected the roast. As he got there, he saw a very fat, rich, well-dressed man roasting the meat, and beggars, sick and poor people, standing at a proper distance from the roaster, watching the morsels and their stomachs rumbling loudly.
And the rich man takes a piece of meat and throws the other up: which of his dogs jumps higher than the others that takes the morsel.
"Get out of here, loafers! The gentleman is feeding the dog! He will throw into his dungeon those who dare to get a single morsel from the precious dogs! Get out, freeloaders! The voice of the henchmen resounds loudly.
The horny palms of freeloaders and loafers testify to hard work that lasts all day long, but the lords and their hounds are blind to such things. This is where the lad arrived.
"Let me go free, and when I get back to you, put me in the bag!" His little animal said. The lad let it go, and the cat ran as fast as it could to meet the dogs that were looking at the quarry: its legs were not lame, it ran like the wind! Even the dogs did not need more, and they ran after the cat! They chased the tomcat so much that they galloped through the fire, the roast plate, everything! The servants could not pick up the fallen meat, and the hungry threw themselves upon it.
The cat ran back to the lad, who immediately put it in the bag, the material of which had been patched up on its own accord, and it was no longer perforated. And miracle of miracles, in place of the lad's ragged clothes, neatly ironed trousers, a pelisse, boots with spurs on his feet, a sword at his side, a shako on his head appeared, and the lame cat snorted beside him in the shape of a magic steed.
"My little master, it is time to act," said the magic steed to the lad of the past. "The hungry are full, now it is your turn!"
And the knight, who had been formed from the lad, grabbed the pot-bellied gentleman by his neck and shouted at him:
"If you do not feed these people now, whom you have been oppressing, then I will do justice in this moment!" With that, he struck his sword, and leaping out of its scabbard, it chased the rich landlord's henchmen away, and then found its way back to the former place on its own accord.
The landlord promised wonders in his trembling fear, and as the valiant watched him, he fed all his peasants, who had been oppressed until then, and he was so afraid of the knight's devilishness that he set out into the world instead...
The valiant made a capable man among them a leader, and said goodbye.
"I shall return soon to see if you have lived as I have said! If you see a rainbow in the sky without rain, and the rainbow arches from orient to occident, know that it is the pathway to the kingdom of the King of Clouds, and I will watch you from there. If you do not do what you should, if one of you tries to scrounge, I will return and treat him as he deserves!"
With that, the valiant spurred the magic steed and disappeared into the air from the eyes of the astonished villagers.
Thus, he flew over distant countries, when suddenly a bitter wail struck his ears.
"Let us descend, my dear, good magic steed, and let us see what kind of complaint is heard!"
"Do you know, my dear master, who you are, and what you have to do here?"
"I know, my dear horse, but I will not tell even you yet, only when I have done my errand!"
Meanwhile, the magic steed descended to the place from where the bitter wail penetrated the sky. And its source was a very, very old old granny, who was so indulged in her son's weep that she did not even notice the valiant appearing suddenly on his magic steed.
"What happened, my dear old grandmother, why all these for shed of bitter tears?" The valiant who had been earlier formed from the lad asked him.
"Oh, my dear son, do you not see, here lies my only remaining child, dead!" The old granny cried. "He was the last of my seven sons who tried to win against the evil dragon serpent, who invaded our country and oppressed and decimated our people. The king proclaimed that whoever defeated the evil dragon serpent would give his only daughter's hand, and later his kingdom as well, but in vain, no one could conquer the dragon serpent! And now, in my old age, I am left alone, I must give my last child to the earth prematurely!" The grandmother tore her clothes.
"Do not bewail, just take me to the grave of your sons!" The valiant turned to her. With that, he touched the heart of the dragon serpent's victim with his sword, and he immediately came to life.
"Who is calling me from my deep dream?" He asked.
"I call you, knight, to be a member of my heavenly army together with your brothers!" Was the resounding voice of the knight, earlier, formed from the lad.
The old granny could not believe her eyes: crying and laughing, she embraced her youngest son and led the unknown warrior to the grave of her sons. And here he touched the mounds with the point of his sword, and the mounds opened and gave back to life six healthy, intact, strong brothers.
"Oh, but we slept a long time, mother!" They rubbed their eyes.
"No wonder you slept, for you could have slept until the end of the world, had it not been for this finely built warrior who had not woken you up with your brother!" Their mother rejoiced, and she wanted to have a good tuck-in for her guest. But he declined the invitation with thanks, saying that he was in a hurry, and said to the seven brothers:
"If you want to be true warriors who defeat evil, join the army of the King of Clouds! Only real heroes can be its members, and they can become its warriors if he allows them! Follow me, and when you have conquered the evil dragon serpent, cut off its head, and it will signal your victory to the King of Clouds! But do not try to fight it alone: by joining together as brothers, you can overcome it united and together, but only if the hearts of all of you are brave and right! A righteous heart leads to victory in battle! If the King of Clouds calls you, it will be the reward of your renewed life!
"And who are you, valiant?" The brothers were amazed.
"I am what you see!" With that, the warrior, the knight, earlier, formed from the lad on his magic steed, ascended to the sky and disappeared from their sight.
And the brethren, accompanied by their mother's blessing, united against the evil dragon serpent, steeled themselves and sought it out again to conquer it.
The dragon serpent was waiting for them: its brimstone breath smelled from afar, flames shot out of its mouth, its hideous body writhed, the blows of its tail uprooted trees, the sea shook, and the earth collapsed beneath it.
"Oh, my God, how do we conquer this evil vapour?" The lads supplicated. But the youngest remembered:
"Let us listen to our hearts, my dear brothers! According to the knight, we win with a brave and true heart!"
And so the brothers did: they took each other by the hand, formed a chain, and fought with heavy blows of the sword against the terrible dragon serpent. Now one struck its tail, now the other, and then they aimed at its head with their terrible sword blows, all of them jumping at the dragon serpent at once. Thus, they struggled for three days and three nights without ceasing, and the dragon serpent wagged its tail so that even the earth quaked in it. The brimstone flames of the evil beast scorched everything near and far, but the seven brothers held their ground, and with unremitting fervour and ever-renewed vigour, they slew down the ugly enemy. In the heat of the fiercest struggle, the youngest brother cut through the stream of flame with his sword, and the sparks bounced back at the dragon serpent. Because of this, the beast shook, the burst of flame went out in the dragon's mouth, the sulphurous smoke dissipated, the mighty tail stopped thrusting, and its teeth fell out of its mouth. And the dragon serpent turned into a tiny, little toad. The lads gathered their teeth, but they could not imagine how they would cut off the head of this poor toad that the evil enemy had become! At last, the youngest brother picked it up and tucked it into his shirt, and there the ugly toad turned into a diamond stone.
They took this diamond to their mother, and they went to the princess and told her that the seven of them had conquered the dragon together, and that she could not marry all seven of them at once: either she should choose one of them, or she would be released from her royal father's promise.
The princess finally chose the youngest son and lived as his wife for many years in great happiness.
And the warrior, earlier, formed from the lad, was watching the struggle of the seven brothers with the evil dragon serpent from the air, and then flew on the back of the magic steed. Wherever he experienced trouble, he appeared to help. And his fame spread throughout the world, and as he helped the true-hearted people everywhere, and spoke of the rainbow without rain, the people of the earth began to look to the sky: would the rainbow arch from orient to occident without rain? And they guessed who could be the warrior who appeared everywhere. But they could not find out who would help in trouble everywhere on Earth. And as time passed, suddenly, people of the Earth dawned on a strange day: the noise of battle faded away, and the bravest warriors won a victory. And then a wonderful, beautiful rainbow shone in the sky in the orient, although not a single drop of rain was much, not even a drop fell. And the rainbow curved from orient to occident. And then the warrior mentioned a lot, appeared in the orient, and stepped along the rainbow, and wherever he passed, his resounding voice was heard everywhere:
"I am the King of Clouds! While I was walking among you, I could not reveal my identity. Now, I came to you again, for intrepid, most valiant warriors could be the warriors of my army! I call every valiant of brave, intrepid heart: come to me, and I will create you my warriors!" He gestured, and the warriors lining, all of them ascended on the rainbow, and the King of Clouds touched their hearts with the tip of his sword, and the magic steed blew on them, and all of them became intrepid warriors. And the heroes were waiting for the orders of the King of Clouds. The King of Clouds returned to his celestial realm, and his warriors, whom the people called the Rainbow Fighters, proved invincible in every battle.
If the rainbow arches again from orient to occident on the sky so that a single drop of rain is not much, will not fall, get ready to see if you can ascend on it among the intrepid warriors of the King of Clouds!
This is the end, run away with that!
Bluebell Pixie brought together the tale of the King of Clouds, because the warriors were still gnawing their teeth at dragons to be defeated, along with their warlike magic steeds that could also shoot stars, and pushed them back into the magic enchanting bag.
"Do not forget the words of the King of Clouds!" She winked. "Be brave, good people, and the blazing rainbow will rise again of its own from orient to occident!" She waved and continued on her endless wandering.
Let her be tomorrow your guest! This is the end, run away with that!
Written: January 2006, by J. W.
Cassandra
Translated: 14 / 10. 2025, by J. W. Cassandra
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