Long, long ago in the heart of an ancient forest, there stood a peaceful glade where an old man, Witting, lived with his three grandsons: Bluster, Careful and Quest. Though the world beyond the woods was vast, these three young men had never seen it, only the shadowed pines, the whispering leaves, and the fire that the old man tended each day.
One morning, before dawn, Witting called his grandsons and bade them to go into the wood where they had gathered honey the previous year, to see whether the bees had awakened from their winter sleep. So Bluster, Careful and Quest set off through the silent forest. The trees loomed tall and still, and though the path was familiar, the hush of pre-sunlight made their hearts uneasy. They began to ask one another of all the wonder the wide world might contain, but since none of them had ever left the forest, they only felt more forlorn.
In their longing they raised their voices to the dawn:
“Little lord All-Rosy bright,
Bring golden Sun to give us light;
Show thyself, All-Rosy bright,
Loora-la, Loora-la lay!”
Suddenly, a golden light flickered above the ancient woodland. Closer and closer it came until they saw a youth in glittering garments, a golden cloak billowing like a banner in the breeze. The lads shielded their eyes for fear, yet the youth smiled.
“Why do you call me if you are afraid of me, you silly fellows?” he laughed. “You call on All-Rosy, and then you dread the face of All-Rosy. You speak of the wide world, but you know nothing of it. Come with me, and I will show you both earth and heaven, and tell you what is in store for you.”
He twirled his cloak and swept the three brothers up in its shimmering folds. Round and round they spun, and the world passed before their eyes: every land, every treasure, every army with spears and arrows; then the stars and moon, the winds and clouds. Dazed, the grandsons finally found themselves back in the glade, the golden youth standing before them.
“There,” he said, “you have seen all there is to see. Now listen to what you must do to be lucky. Stay in this glade, and do not leave your grandfather until he leaves you; do not enter the world, neither for good nor for evil, until you have repaid your grandfather for all his love for you.” Then he twirled his cloak and vanished. Day broke in the forest.
Nearby, hidden in the trees, the goblin-king Rampogusto had watched and heard all. He despised the old man Witting, for Witting had brought the sacred fire to the glade so that it would never be extinguished, and the smoke of that fire made Rampogusto cough. He resolved to turn the grandsons against their grandfather.
He took three little hobgoblins and sent each to one of the brothers. Under a stone near the old man’s home, these goblins crept and whispered lies. To Careful the goblin said: “Say you have seen riches, beehives, hunted furs, and that All-Rosy said you shall be the richest.” Careful repeated the lie without thinking. To Bluster came another goblin: “Say you saw armies, slaves, you shall be mightiest.” Bluster spoke the lie. But to Quest the goblin whispered: “Say you saw the stars and the clouds and All-Rosy said you’ll be wisest.” Quest, who loved truth, refused to lie, and told his grandfather frankly, “I don’t know what I saw or what I heard.” The goblin whimpered away.
Meanwhile, the goblins curled themselves into Careful’s pouch and Bluster’s bosom. From that moment Careful and Bluster roved the hills in search of riches and power, following the whispers of their goblins. Quest remained beside his grandfather. Yet even he could not recall the words of All-Rosy.
Three days later, Quest said to Witting, “Good-bye, grandfather; I am going to the hills and shall not come back until I remember the truth, even if it should take ten years.” Though Witting’s hair was grey and his heart heavy at his departure, he reluctantly kissed his grandson farewell.
Quest climbed into the hills, and beside a spring under a crab-tree he spread his sheepskin coat and sat down to think. The troublesome goblin followed and continually distracted him, lizards at his feet, burrs in his clothes, water sprayed cold, and though Quest strove mightily, the truth eluded him. A year passed. Then late one evening the goblin lurked and whispered, “How much longer will you sit here? Perhaps your grandfather has died alone in his cabin.”
A pang of dread shot through Quest’s heart. “Truth comes before all things,” he whispered. “And yet I left him. My dear grandfather…” He slept not a wink that night.
Back in the glade, Careful and Bluster neglected their grandfather. They no longer greeted him, nor heeded his needs. The sacred fire, the daily log they placed to keep it alive, they grew careless. Eventually Careful urged that they do away with the old man, burn his hut with him inside. Bluster wavered, but feelings of guilt stirred in both when the flames crept slowly up the cabin’s sturdy rafters.
Witting awoke, saw the roof ablaze, and with sorrow said, “Oh children, your tallies fill, but your hearts are empty. You burnt your own grandfather and the home where you were born.” Then he sat down to await death.
At dawn, Quest drew near the spring and beheld All-Rosy shining above the water. “My little lord All-Rosy bright, how I have longed for you! Tell me what you told me, here I have sat a year, tormenting myself, and I cannot remember the truth.” The golden youth shook his head. “I told you to stay with your grandfather until you had returned all your love to him, and not to leave him until he left you. Yet you ran into the hills in search of truth instead of staying.” He vanished, leaving Quest ashamed.
Quest knelt at the spring, but leaning too far forward, he slipped and fell in. He was drowned.
The small goblin cheered his success, but the two brothers heard lamentation. They saw Quest’s sheepskin beside the spring. Realising the terrible wrong they had done their grandfather, they raced back to the glade and found Witting’s cabin roofless, flames still licking the rafters. They carried their grandfather from the fire and begged his forgiveness. “Quest is dead,” they said. “Forgive us, grandfather.”
Witting looked deeply at them. “He who loved truth most of you all has paid the greatest cost. I go to join my child.” He rose and, to the brothers’ horror, walked upon the cloud-sea, climbed the glass mountain, and entered the golden castle of All-Rosy with Quest. There the old man was given the first place and Quest sat beside him. The brothers were left below, unable to follow, they never found the path again.
Thus said the tale: Careful and Bluster lived long in the glade, carried on the sacred fire, and the goblins had their shame. Rampogusto got nothing save Quest’s sheepskin, and the forest breathed free of his outrage.
Moral:
Truth, love and loyalty are worth more than riches or power. The greatest treasure may cost the greatest price. In seeking truth, one must remember the roots of one’s life, those who guide us, and the duty we owe them.
Knowledge Check
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Who is Witting in the story?
Answer: Witting is the old grandfather who lives in the glade with his three grandsons, Careful, Bluster and Quest. -
What task does All-Rosy set the three grandsons?
Answer: All-Rosy tells them to remain in the glade and not leave their grandfather until they have repaid him for his love, and not to enter the world, for good or ill, until that is done. -
What do the goblins whisper to Careful and Bluster?
Answer: The goblin whisper to Careful that he saw great riches and to Bluster that he saw armies and slaves, and that each would be richest or mightiest. They lead them into greed and roaming. -
Why does Quest leave his grandfather and climb into the hills?
Answer: Because he cannot remember what All-Rosy told him, and he believes he must search the hills until he remembers the truth, even if it takes ten years. -
What is the consequence of Quest’s departure for his grandfather and brothers?
Answer: While Quest is away and the brothers chase wealth and power, the grandfather is neglected and their home is destroyed by fire. Quest himself drowns in the spring just after his reckoning with All-Rosy. -
What cultural origin does this tale have?
Answer: This tale is adapted from the story “How Quest Sought the Truth” in the collection Croatian Tales of Long Ago by Ivana Brlić‑Mažuranić, based on Croatian folk-motifs and Slavic mythology.
Cultural Origin: Croatia (Slavic folklore)
Sources: “How Quest Sought the Truth” in Croatian Tales of Long Ago, by Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić.
