Grimms' complete fairy tales
- [Grimms' complete fairy tales]
- [Table of Contents]
Grimms' complete fairy tales
Grimm, Jacob, 1785-1863
Grimm, Wilhelm, 1786-1859
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Complete Fairy Tales
1. The Frog Prince i
2. The Gallant Tailor 4
3. The Giant and the Tailor 11
4. The Little Farmer 13
5. The Golden Key 17
6. Sharing Joy and Sorrow 18
7. The Nail 19
8. Tom Thumb 19
9. Tom Thumb's Travels 24
10. The Young Giant 28
11. Sweet Porridge 34
12. The Elves 35
13. Fair Katrinelje and Pif-Paf-Poltrie 38
14. The Old Beggar-Woman 39
15. The Jew Among Thorns 39
16. King Thrushbeard 43
17. Clever Gretel 47
18. Fitcher's Bird 49
19. The Robber Bridegroom 5^
20. Old Hildebrand 55
21. The Singing Bone 58
22. Maid Maleen 60
23. The Goose-Girl 65
24. The Skilful Huntsman 7^
25. The Princess in Disguise 75
26. Cinderella 80
27. Simeli Mountain 86
28. The Glass Coffin 88
29. Rapunzel 93
30. The Sleeping Beauty 96
31. Old Rinkrank 99
32. Hansel and Gretel 101
33. The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean 107
34. The Death of the Hen 108
35. The Rabbit's Bride 110
36. The Hare and the Hedgehog 111
37. The Dog and the Sparrow 114
38. Old Sultan 116
39. Mr. Korbes 118
40. The Vagabonds 119
41. The Owl 121
42. The Bremen Town Musicians 123
43. The Wonderful Musician 126
44. The Mouse, the Bird, and the Sausage 128
45. The Crumbs on the Table 129
46. The Cat and the Mouse in Partnership 130
47. The Spider and the Flea 132
48. The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids 134
49. The Wolf and the Fox 136
50. The Wolf and the Man 13!8
51. Gossip Wolf and the Fox 139
52. Little Red Riding Hood 140
53. How Mrs. Fox Married Again 143
54. The Fox and the Geese 146
55. The Fox and the Horse 147
56. The Fox and the Cat 148
57. The Sole 148
58. The Willow-Wren 149
59. The Willow-Wren and the Bear 152
60. The Little Folks' Presents 154
61. The Elf 156
62. The Foundling Bird 160
63. The Water of Life 162
64. The Water Sprite 167
65. The Table, the Ass, and the Stick 168
66. One-Eye, Two-Eyes, and Three-Eyes 176
67. The Knapsack, the Hat, and the Horn 183
68. Sweetheart Roland 187
69. The Devil's Three Gold Hairs 191
70. The Griflfin i97
71. The Sea-Hare 203
72. The Maiden Without Hands 205
73. The Pink 211
74. Mother Hulda 215
75. The True Bride 218
76. The Three Little Birds 223jj. The Three Snake-Leaves 227
Contents vii
^ 78. The White Snake 231
79. The Three Spinners 234
80. Rumpelstiltskin 236
81. The Queen Bee 239
82. The Golden Goose 241
83. The Three Feathers 244
84. The Hut in the Forest 247
85. Donkey Cabbages 251
86. Snow-White and Rose-Red 257
87. The Poor Miller's Boy and the Cat 262
88. The Old Woman in the Wood 265
89. The Lambkin and the Little Fish 267
90. The Juniper Tree 268
91. Jorinda and Joringel 276
92. The Goose-Girl at the Well 278
93. The Three Little Men in the Wood 286
94. The White Bride and the Black Bride 290
95, Brother and Sister 294
96. The Gold Children 299
97. The Twin Brothers 304
98. Ferdinand the Faithful and Ferdinand the Unfaithful 324
99. The Three Black Princesses 328
100. Snow-White and the Seven Dwarfs 330
101. The Shoes That Were Danced to Pieces 337
102. The Boots of Buffalo Leather 340
103. The Six Servants 343
104. Six Soldiers of Fortune 349
105. The Two Travelers 353
106. The Ear of Com 361
107. The Aged Mother 362
108. The Hazel Branch 363
109. The Old Grandfather's Comer 364
110. The Ungrateful Son 364
111. The Bittern and the Hoopoe 365
112. The Three Languages 366
113. The Star Money 368
114. The Poor Man and the Rich Man 368
115. The Stolen Pennies 372
116. The Shroud 373
117. The Wilful Child 373
118. The Rose 374
119. The Tailor in Heaven 374
viii Contents
120. Poverty and Humility Lead to Heaven 376
121. The Flail from Heaven 377
122. The Moon 378
123. The Peasant in Heaven 380
124. Eve's Various Children 380
125. The Pooi Bo> in the Grave 382
126. Our Lady's Child 385
127. Gambling Hansel 388
128. The Old Man Made Young Again 391
129. The Loids Animals and the Devil's 392
130. Master Pfriem 393
131. The Heavenly Wedding 396
132. God's Food 397
133. St. Joseph in the Forest 398
134. The Three Green Twigs 400
135. Our Lady's Little Glass 402
136. Brother Frolick 403
137. The Bright Sun Brings It to Light 411
138. The Sparrow and His Four Children 413
139. The Duration of Life 415
140. The Twelve Apostles 416
141. Faithful John 417
142. The Six Swans 424
143. The Seven Ravens 428
144. The Twelve Brothers 431
145. Iron John 435
146. The King's Son Who Feared Nothing 441
147. The Drummer 446
148. The Two Kings' Children 454
149. The Iron Stove 461
150. The Singing, Soaring Lark 465
151. The Nixie of the Mill-Pond 470
152. The Raven 474
153. The Crystal Ball 479
154. The Donkey 481
155. Hans the Hedgehog 484
156. The King of the Golden Mountain 488
157. The Golden Bird 493
158. Strong Hans 500
159. The Blue Light 505
160. The Fisherman and His Wife 509i6i. The Good Bargain 515
Contents jx
162. Prudent Hans 519
163. Hans in Luck 523
164. Clever Else 527
165. Hans Married 530
166. The Youth Who Could Not Shiver and Shake 532
167. Fred and Kate 541
168. Wise Folks 547
169. The Lazy Spinner 550
170. The Three Sluggards 552
171. The Twelve Idle Servants 553
172. La2y Harry 555
173. Odds and Ends 557
174. Brides on Trial 558
175. The Spindle, the Shuttle, and the Needle 558
176. The Peasant's Wise Daughter 561
177. The Shepherd Boy 564
178. The Master-Thief 565
179. The Three Brothers 571
180. The Four Skilful Brothers 572
181. Tales of Snakes 576
182. The Turnip 577
183. The Twelve Huntsmen 580
184. The Maid of Brakel 583
185. Going Traveling 583
186. Knoist and His Three Sons 584
187. The Story of Schlauraffen Land 585
188. The Ditmarsch Tale of Wonders 586
189. Domestic Servants 586
190. The Rogue and His Master 587
191. The Wise Servant 589
192. The Seven Swabians 589
193. Lean Lisa 592
194. Godfather Death 593
195. Death's Messengers 596
196. The Wonderful Glass 597
197. The Old Witch 599
198. The Devil's Sooty Brother 600
199. Bearskin 602
200. The Devil and His Grandmother 606
201. The Grave Mound 609
202. The Peasant and the Devil 612
203. The Three Apprentices 613
X Contents
204. Doctor Knowall 616
205. The Three Army Surgeons 617
206. The Spirit in the Bottle 620
207. The Three Children of Fortune 623
208. The Cunning Little Tailor 626
209. The Riddle 628
210. A Riddling Tale 631
211. The Beam 631
GRIMM'S
Complete Fairy Tales
Long ago, when wishes often came true, there lived a King whosedaughters were all handsome, but the youngest was so beautifulthat the sun himself, who has seen everything, was bemused everytime he shone over her because of her beauty. Near the royal castlethere was a great dark wood, and in the wood under an old lindentree was a well; and when the day was hot, the King's daughterused to go forth into the wood and sit by the brink of the cool well,and if the time seemed long, she would take out a golden ball, andthrow it up and catch it again, and this was her favorite pastime.
Now it happened one day that the golden ball, instead of fallingback into the maiden's little hand which had sent it aloft, droppedto the ground near the edge of the well and rolled in. The King'sdaughter followed it with her eyes as it sank, but the well wasdeep, so deep that the bottom could not be seen. Then she began toweep, and she wept and wept as if she could never be comforted.
And in the midst of her weeping she heard a voice saying to her,''What ails you. King's daughter? Your tears would melt a heart ofstone."
And when she looked to see where the voice came from, therewas nothing but a frog stretching his thick ugly head out of thewater. "Oh, is it you, old waddler?" said she; "I weep because mygolden ball has fallen into the well."
"Never mind, do not weep," answered the frog; *T can help you;but what will you give me if I fetch up your ball again?"
"Whatever you like, dear frog," said she; "any of my clothes, mypearls and jewels, or even the golden crown that I wear."
"Your clothes, your pearls and jewels, and your golden crown arenot for me," answered the frog; 'TDut if you would love me, andhave me for your companion and play-fellow, and let me sit by youat table, and eat from your plate, and drink from yoiur cup, and
sleep in your little bed—if you would promise all this, then would Idive below the water and fetch you your golden ball again."
"Oh yes," she answered; "I will promise it all, whatever youwant; if you will only get me my ball again." But she thought toherself, "What nonsense he tallcsl as if he could do anything but sitin the water and croak with the other frogs, or could possibly be anyone's companion."
But the frog, as soon as he heard her promise, drew his headluider the water and sank down out of sight, but after a while hecame to the surface again with the ball in his mouth, and he threwit on the grass.
The King's daughter was overjoyed to see her pretty playthingagain, and she caught it up and ran oflF with it.
"Stop, stop!" cried the frog; "take me up too; I cannot run as fastas you!"
But it was of no use, for croak, croak after her as he might, shewould not listen to him, but made haste home, and very soon forgotall about the poor frog, who had to betake himself to his well again.
The next day, when the King's daughter was sitting at table withthe King and all the court, and eating from her golden plate, therecame something pitter-patter up the marble stairs, and then therecame a knocking at the door, and a voice crying, "Yoimgest King'sdaughter, let me in!"
And she got up and ran to see who it could be, but when sheopened the door, there was the frog sitting outside. Then she shutthe door hastily and went back to her seat, feeling very imeasy.
The King noticed how quickly her heart was beating, and said,"My child, what are you afraid of? Is there a giant standing at thedoor ready to carry you away?" "Oh no," answered she; "no giant,but a horrid frog." "And what does the frog want?" asked the King.
"O dear father," answered she, "when I was sitting by the wellyesterday, and playing with my golden ball, it fell into the water,and while I was crying for the loss of it, the frog came and got itagain for me on condition I would let him be my companion, but Inever thought that he could leave the water and come after me; butnow there he is outside the door, and he wants to come in to me."
And then they all heard him knocking the second time andcrying,
"youngest King's daughter.Open to me!By the well waterWhat promised you me?
The Frog Prince 3
Youngest King's daughterNow open to meF'
"That which thou hast promised must thou perform," said theKing; "so go now and let him in."
So she went and opened the door, and the frog hopped in, fol-lowing at her heels, till she reached her chair. Then he stopped andcried, "Lift me up to sit by you."
But she delayed doing so until the King ordered her. When oncethe frog was on the chair, he wanted to get on the table, and therehe sat and said, "Now push your golden plate a little nearer, so thatwe may eat together."
And so she did, but everybody might see how unwilling she was,and the frog feasted heartily, but every morsel seemed to stick inher throat.
"I have had enough now," said the frog at last, "and as I amtired, you must carry me to your room, and make ready your silkenbed, and we will lie down and go to sleep."
Then the King's daughter began to weep, and was afraid of thecold frog, that nothing would satisfy him but he must sleep in herpretty clean bed. Now the King grew angry with her, saying, "Thatwhich thou hast promised in thy time of necessity, must thou nowperform."
So she picked up the frog with her finger and thumb, carried himupstairs and put him in a comer, and when she had lain down tosleep, he came creeping up, saying, "I am tired and want sleep asmuch as you; take me up, or I wiU tell your father."
Then she felt beside herself with rage, and picking him up, shethrew him with all her strength against the wall, crying, "Now willyou be quiet, you horrid frogi"
But as he fell, he ceased to be a frog, and became all at once aPrince with beautiful kind eyes. And it came to pass that, with herfather s consent, they became bride and bridegroom. And he toldher how a wicked witch had bound him by her spells, and how noone but she alone could have released him, and that they twowould go together to his father's kingdom. And there came to thedoor a carriage drawn by eight white horses, with white plumies ontheir heads, and with golden harness, and behind the carriage wasstanding faithful Henry, the servant of the young Prince.
Now, faithful Henry had suffered such care and pain when hismaster was turned into a frog, that he had been obliged to wearthree iron bands over his heart, to keep it from breaking with trou-
ble and anxiety. When the carriage started to take the Prince to hiskingdom, and faithful Henry had helped them both in, he got upbehind, and was full of joy at his master's deliverance. And whenthey had gone a part of the way, the Prince heard a sound at theback of the carriage, as if something had broken, and he turnedround and cried, "Henry, the wheel must be breakingl" but Henryanswered,
"The wheel does not break,'Tis the hand round my heartThat, to lessen its ache.When I grieved for your sake,I bound round my heart."
Again, and yet once again there was the same sound, and thePrince thought it must be the wheel breaking. But it was the break-ing of the other bands from faithful Henry's heart, because he wasso relieved and happy.
The Gallant Tailor
One summer morning a little tailor was sitting on his board nearthe window, and working cheerfully with all his might, when anold woman came down the street crying, "Good jelly to selll Goodjelly to selll"
The cry soimded pleasant in the little tailor's ears, so he put hishead out of the window, and called out, "Here, my good woman-come here, if you want a customer."
So the poor woman cHmbed the steps with her heavy basket, andwas obliged to impack and display all her pots to the tailor. Helooked at every one of them, and lifting all the lids, applied hisnose to each, and said at last, "The jelly seems pretty good; youmay weigh me out four half ounces, or I don't mind having a quar-ter of a pound."
The woman, who had expected to find a good customer, gavehim what he asked for, but went off angry and grumbling.
"This jelly is the very thing for me," cried the little tailor; "it willgive me strength and cunning"; and he took down the bread fromthe cupboard, cut a whole round of the loaf, and spread the jelly on
it, laid it near him, and went on stitching more gallantly than ever.All the while the scent of the sweet jelly was spreading throughoutthe room, where there were quantities of flies, who were attractedby it and flew to partake.
"Now then, who asked you to come?" said the tailor, and drovethe unbidden guests away. But the flies, not understanding his lan-guage, were not to be got rid of like that, and returned in largernumbers than before. Then the tailor, not being able to stand it anylonger, took from his chimney-comer a ragged cloth, and saying,"Now, I'll let you have itl" beat it among them unmercifully. Whenhe ceased, and counted the slain, he found seven lying dead beforehim. "This is indeed somewhat," he said, wondering at his own gal-lantry; "the whole town shall know this."
So he hastened to cut out a belt, and he stitched it, and put on itin large capitals, "Seven at one blowl" "—The town, did I sayl" saidthe Httle tailor; "the whole world shall know itl" And his heartquivered with joy, like a lamb's tail.
The tailor fastened the belt round him, and began to think ofgoing out into the world, for his workshop seemed too small for hisworship. So he looked about in all the house for something thatwould be useful to take with him, but he found nothing but an oldcheese, which he put in his pocket. Outside the door he noticedthat a bird had got caught in the bushes, so he took that and put itin his pocket with the cheese. Then he set out gallantly on his way,and as he was light and active he felt no fatigue.
The way led over a mountain and when he 1 cached the topmostpeak he saw a terrible giant sitting there and looking about him athis ease. The tailor went bravely up to him, called out to him, andsaid, "Comrade, good day! There you sit looking over the Madeworld! I am on the way thither to seek my fortune; have you afancy to go with me?"
The giant looked at the tailor contemptuously, and said, "You lit-tle rascall You miserable fellowl"
"That may be!" answered the little tailor, and undoing his coathe showed the giant his belt; "you can read there whether I am aman or not!"
The giant read: "Seven at one blow!" and thinking it meant menthat the tailor had killed, felt at once more respect for the littlefellow. But as he wanted to prove him, he took up a stone andsqueezed it so hard that water came out of it. "Now you can dothat," said the giant—"that is, if you have the strength for it."
"That's not much," said the little tailor, "1 call that play," and he
put his hand in his pocket and took out the cheese and squeezed it,so that the whey ran out of it. "Well," said he, "what do you thinkof that?"
The giant did not know what to say to it, for he could not havebelieved it of the little man. Then the giant took up a stone andthrew it so high that it was nearly out of sight. "Now, little fellow,suppose you do that!"
"Well thrown," said the tailor; "but the stone fell back to earthagain—I will throw you one that vnll never come back." So he feltin his pocket, took out the bird, and threw it into the air. And thebird, when it found itself at liberty, took wing, flew off, and re-turned no more. "What do you think of that, comrade?" asked thetailor.
"There is no doubt that you can throw," said the giant; "but wevidll see if you can carry."
He led the little tailor to a mighty oak tree which had beenfeUed, and was lying on the ground, and said, "Now, if you arestrong enough, help me to carry this tree out of the wood."
"Willingly," answered the Httle man; "you take the trunk onyour shoulders, I vnU. take the branches with all their foliage, that ismuch the most diflBcult."
So the giant took the trunk on his shoulders, and the tailor seatedhimself on a branch, and the giant, who could not see what he wasdoing, had the whole tree to carry, and the little man on it as well.And the little man was very cheerful and merry, and whistled thetune: "There were three tailors riding by" as if carrying the treewas mere child's play. The giant, when he had struggled on underhis heavy load a part of the way, was tired out, and cried, "Lookhere, I must let go the treel"
The tailor jumped off quickly, and taking hold of the tree withboth arms, as if he were carrying it, said to the giant, "You see youcan't carry the tree though you are such a big fellowl"
They went on together a little farther, and presently they came toa cherry tree, and the giant took hold of the topmost branches,where the ripest fruit hung, and pulling them downwards, gavethem to the tailor to hold, bidding him eat. But the little tailor wasmuch too weak to hold the tree, and as the giant let go, the treesprang back, and the tailor was caught up into the air. And whenhe dropped down again without any damage, the giant said to him,"How is this? Haven't you strength enough to hold such a weaksprig as that?"
'Tt is not strength that is lacking," answered the little tailor;
*Tiow should it be to one who has slain seven at one blowl I justjumped over the tree because the hunters are shooting down therein the bushes. You jump it too, if you can."
The giant made the attempt, and not being able to vault the tree,he remained hanging in the branches, so that once more the littletailor got the better of him. Then said the giant, "As you are such agallant fellow, suppose you come with me to oiur den, and stay thenight."
The tailor was quite willing, and he followed him. When theyreached the den there sat some other giants by the fire, and eachhad a roasted sheep in his hand, and was eating it. The little tailorlooked round and thought, There is more elbow-room here than inmy workshop."
And the giant showed him a bed, and told him he had better liedown upon it and go to sleep. The bed was, however, too big forthe tailor, so he did not stay in it, but crept into a comer to sleep.As soon as it was midnight the giant got up, took a great staff ofiron and beat the bed through with one stroke, and supposed hehad made an end of that grasshopper of a tailor. Very early in themorning the giants went into the wood and forgot all about the lit-tle tailor, and when they saw him coming after them alive andmerry, they were terribly frightened, and, thinking he was going toIdll them, they ran away in all haste.
So the httle tailor marched on, always following his nose. Andafter he had gone a great way he entered the court-yard belongingto a King's palace, and there he felt so overpowered with fatiguethat he lay down and fell asleep. In the meanwhile came variouspeople, who looked at him very curiously, and read on his belt,"Seven at one blowl"
"Ohl" said they, "why should this great lord come here in time ofpeace? What a mighty champion he must bel"
Then they went and told the King about him, and they thoughtthat if war should break out what a worthy and useful man hewould be, and that he ought not to be allowed to depart at anyprice. The King then summoned his council, and sent one of hiscourtiers to the little tailor to beg him, as soon as he should wakeup, to consent to serve in the King's army. So the messenger stoodand waited at the sleeper's side until his limbs began to stretch, andhis eyes to open, and then he carried his answer back. And the an-swer was: "That was the reason for which I came. I am ready toenter the King's service."
So he was received into it very honorably, and a separate dwell-ing set apart for him.
But the rest of the soldiers were very much set against the littletailor, and they wished him a thousand miles away. "What shall bedone about it?" they said among themselves; "if we pick a quarreland fight with him then seven of us will fall at each blow. That willbe of no good to us."
So they came to a resolution, and went all together to the Kingto ask for their discharge. "We never intended," said they, "to servewith a man who kills seven at a blow."
The King felt sorry to lose all his faithful servants because of oneman, and he wished that he had never seen him, and would will-ingly get rid of him if he might. But he did not dare to dismiss thehttle tailor for fear he should kiU all the King's people, and placehimself upon the throne. He thought a long while about it, and atlast made up his mind what to do. He sent for the Httle tailor, andtold him that as he was so great a warrior he had a proposal tomake to him. He told him that in a wood in his dominions dwelt twogiants, who did great damage by robbery, murder, and fire, andthat no man durst go near them for fear of his life. But that if thetailor should overcome and slay both these giants the King wouldgive him his only daughter in marriage, and half his kingdom asdowry, and that a hundred horsemen should go with him to givehim assistance.
"That would be something for a man like mel" thought the Httletailor, "a beautiful Princess and half a kingdom are not to be hadevery day," and he said to the King, "Oh yes, I can soon overcomethe giants, and yet have no need of the hundred horsemen; he whocan Idll seven at one blow has no need to be afraid of two."
So the Httle tailor set out, and the hundred horsemen followedhim. When he came to the border of the wood he said to his escort,"Stay here while I go to attack the giants."
Then he sprang into the wood, and looked about him right andleft. After a while he caught sight of the two giants; they werelying down under a tree asleep, and snoring so that aU the branchesshook. The Httle tailor, all aHve, filled both his pockets with stonesand cHmbed up into the tree, and made his way to an overhangingbough, so that he could seat himself just above the sleepers; andfrom there he let one stone after another fall on the chest of one ofthe giants. For a long time the giant was quite unaware of this, butat last he waked up and pushed his comrade, and said, "What areyou hitting me for?"
The Gallant Tailor 9
"You are dreaming," said the other, "I am not touching you."And they composed themselves again to sleep, and the tailor let falla stone on the other giant.
"What can that be?" cried he, "what are you casting at me?" "Iam casting nothing at you," answered the first, grumbhng.
They disputed about it for a while, but as they were tired, theygave it up at last, and their eyes closed once more. Then the littletailor began his game anew, picked out a heavier stone and threw itdown with force upon the first giant's chest.
"This is too muchl" cried he, and sprang up like a madman andstruck his companion such a blow that the tree shook above them.The other paid him back with ready coin, and they fought withsuch fury that they tore up trees by their roots to use for weaponsagainst each other, so that at last they both of them lay dead uponthe ground. And now the little tailor got down.
"Another piece of luckl" said he, "that the tree I was sitting indid not get torn up too, or else I should have had to jump like asquirrel from one tree to another."
Then he drew his sword and gave each of the giants a few hacksin the breast, and went back to the horsemen and said, "The deedis done, I have made an end of both of them, but it went hard withme; in the struggle they rooted up trees to defend themselves, butit was of no use, they had to do with a man who can kill seven atone blow."
"Then are you not wounded?" asked the horsemen. "Nothing ofthe sortl" answered the tailor, "I have not turned a hair."
The horsemen still would not believe it, and rode into the woodto see, and there they found the giants wallowing in their blood,and all about them lying the uprooted trees.
The little tailor then claimed the promised boon, but the Kingrepented him of his offer, and he sought again how to rid himself ofthe hero. "Before you can possess my daughter and the half of mykingdom," said he to the tailor, "you must perform another heroicact. In the wood lives a unicorn who does great damage; you mustsecure him."
"A unicorn does not strike more terror into me than two giants.Seven at one blow!—that is my way," was the tailor's answer.
So, taking a rope and an axe with him, he went out into thewood, and told those who were ordered to attend him to wait out-side. He had not far to seek, the unicorn soon came out and sprangat him, as if he would make an end of him without delay. "Softly,softly," said he "most haste, worst speed," and remained standing
until the animal came quite near, then he slipped quietly behind atree. The unicorn ran wi^ all his might against the tree and stuckhis horn so deep into the trunk that he could not get it out again,and so was taken.
"Now I have you," said the tailor, coming out from behind thetree, and, putting the rope round the unicorn's neck, he took theaxe, set free the horn, and when all his party were assembled he ledforth the animal and brought it to the King.
The King did not yet wish to give him the promised reward, andset him a third task to do. Before the wedding could take place thetailor was to secure a wild boar which had done a great deal ofdamage in the wood. The huntsmen were to accompany him.
"All right," said the tailor, "this is child's play."
But he did not take the huntsmen into the wood, and they wereall the better pleased, for the wild boar had many a time before re-ceived them in such a way that they had no fancy to disturb him.When the boar caught sight of the tailor he ran at him with foam-ing mouth and gleaming tusks to bear him to the ground, but thenimble hero rushed into a chapel which chanced to be near, andjumped quickly out of a window on the other side. The boar ranafter him, and when he got inside the door shut after him, andthere he was imprisoned, for the creature was too big and un-wieldy to jimip out of the window too. Then the Uttle tailor calledthe huntsmen that they might see the prisoner with their own eyes;and then he betook himself to the King, who now, whether he likedit or not, was obliged to fulfil his promise, and give him his daugh-ter and the half of his kingdom. But if he had known that the greatwarrior was only a httle tailor he would have taken it still more toheart. So the wedding was celebrated with great splendor and littlejoy, and the tailor was made into a King.
One night the young Queen heard her husband talking in hissleep and saying, "Now boy, make me that waistcoat and patch methose breeches, or I will lay my yard measure about your shoul-ders!"
And so, as she perceived of what low birth her husband was, shewent to her father the next morning and told him all, and beggedhim to set her free from a man who was nothing better than a tai-lor. The King bade her be comforted, saying, "Tonight leave yourbedroom door open, my guard shall stand outside, and when he isasleep they shall come in and bind him and carry him off to a ship,and he shall be sent to the other side of the world."
So the wife felt consoled, but the King's water-bearer, who had
The Giant and the Tailor ii
been listening all the while, went to the little tailor and disclosed tohim the whole plan.
"I shall put a stop to all this," said he.
At night he lay down as usual in bed, and when his wife thoughtthat he was asleep, she got up, opened the door and lay downagain. The little tailor, who only made believe he waa asleep, bei^anto murmur plainly, "Now, boy, make me that waistcoat and patchme those breeches, or I will lay my yard measure about your shoul-ders! I have slain seven at one blow, killed two giants, caught a uni-corn, and taken a wild boar, and shall I be afraid of those who arestanding outside my room door?"
And when they heard the tailor say this, a great fear seized them;they fled away as if they had been wild hares, and none of themwould venture to attack him.
And so the little tailor remained a King all his lifetime.
The Giant and the Tailor
A CERTAIN TAILOR who was great at boasting but poor at doing, tookit into his head to go abroad for a while, and look about the world.As soon as he could manage it, he left his workshop, and wanderedon his way, over hill and dale, sometimes hither, sometimes thither,but ever on and on. Once when he was out he perceived in the bluedistance a steep hill, and behind it a tower reaching to the clouds,which rose up out of a wild dark forest. "Thunder and lightning,"cried the tailor, "what is that?" and as he was strongly goaded bycuriosity, he went boldly towards it. But what made the tailor openhis eyes and mouth when he came near it, was to see that the towerhad legs, and leapt in one bound over the steep hill, and was nowstanding as an all-powerful giant before him.
"What do you want here, you little fly's leg?" cried the giant,v^th a voice as if it were thundering on every side. The tailorwhimpered, "I want just to look about and see if I can earn a bit ofbread for myself in this forest." "If that is what you are after," saidthe giant, "you may have a place with me." "If it must be whynot? What wages shall I receive?" "You shall hear what wages youshall have. Every year three hundred and sixty-five days, and whenit is leap-year, one more into the bargain. Does that suit you?" "AH
right," replied the tailor, and thought, in his own mind, "a manmust cut his coat according to his cloth; I will try to get away asfast as I can."
On this the giant said to him, "Go, little ragamuffin, and fetch mea jug of water." "Had I not better bring the well itself at once, andthe spring too?" asked the boaster, and went with the pitcher to thewater. "WhatI the well and the spring too," growled the giant in hisbeard, for he was rather clownish and stupid, and began to beafraid. "That knave is not a fool, he has a wizard in his body. Be onyour guard, old Hans, this is no serving-man for you."
When the tailor had brought the water, the giant bade him gointo the forest, and cut a couple of blocks of wood and bring themback. "Why not the whole forest at once, with one stroke. Thewhole forest, young and old, with all that is there, both rough andsmooth?" asked the little tailor, and went to cut the wood. "What!the whole forest, young and old, with all that is there, both roughand smooth, and the well and its spring too," growled the credulousgiant in his beard, and was still more terrified. "The knave can domuch more than bake apples, and has a wizard in his body. Be onyour guard, old Hans, this is no serving-man for youl"
When the tailor had brought the wood, the giant commandedhim to shoot two or three wild boars for supper. "Why not rather athousand at one shot, and bring them all here?" inquired the osten-tatious tailor. "Whatl" cried the timid giant in great terror. "Letwell alone tonight, and lie down to rest."
The giant was so terribly alarmed that he could not close an eyeall night long for thinking what would be the best way to get rid ofthis accursed sorcerer of a servant. Time brings counsel. Nextmorning the giant and the tailor went to a marsh, round whichstood a number of willow trees. Then said the giant, "Hark you,tailor, seat yourself on one of the willow-branches, I long of aUthings to see if you are big enough to bend it down." All at once thetailor was sitting on it, holding his breath, and making himself soheavy that the bough bent down. When, however, he was com-pelled to draw breath, it hurried him (for unfortunately he had notput his goose in his pocket) so high into the air that he never wasseen again, and this to the great delight of the giant. If the tailorhas not fallen down again, he must stiU be hovering about in theair.
There was a certain village where lived many rich farmers andonly one poor one, whom they called the Little Farmer. He had noteven a cow, and still less had he money to buy one; and he and hisvidfe greatly wished for such a thing. One day he said to her, "Lis-ten, I have a good idea; it is that your godfather the joiner shallmake us a calf of wood and paint it brown, so as to look just likeany other; and then in time perhaps it will grow big and become acow."
This notion pleased the wife, and godfather joiner set to work tosaw and plane, and soon turned out a calf complete, with its headdown and neck stretched out as if it were grazing.
The next morning, as the cows were driven to pasture, the LittleFarmer called out to the drover, "Look here, I have got a little calfto go, but it is still young and must be carried."
"All right!" said the drover, and tucked it imder his arm, carriedit into the meadows, and stood it in the grass. So the calf stayedwhere it was put, and seemed to be eating all the time, and thedrover thought to himself, 'It wiM soon be able to run alone, if itgrazes at that rate!"
In the evening, when the herds had to be driven home, he said tothe calf, 'If you can stand there eating like that, you can just walkofiF on your own four legs; I am not going to lug you imder my armagain!"
But the Little Farmer was standing by his house-door, and wait-ing for his calf; and when he saw the cow-herd coming through thevillage v^dthout it, he asked what it meant. The cow-herd answered,'It is stiU out there eating away, and never attended to the call,and would not come vvdth the rest."
Then the Little Farmer said, "I wiH teU you what, I must havemy beast brought home."
And they went together through the fields in quest of it, butsome one had stolen it, and it was gone. And the drover said,"Mostly likely it has run away."
But the Little Farmer said, "Not it!" and brought the cow-herdbefore the bailiff, who ordered him for his carelessness to give theLittle Farmer a cow for the missing calf.
So now the Little Farmer and his wife possessed their long-wished-for cow; they rejoiced with all their hearts, but unfortu-nately they had no fodder for it, and could give it nothing to eat, sothat before long they had to Idll it. Its flesh they salted down, andthe Little Fanner went to the town to sell the skin and buy a newcalf with what he got for it. On the way he came to a mill, where araven was sitting with broken wings, and he took it up out of pityand wrapped it in the skin. The weather was very stormy, and itblew and rained, so he turned into the mill and asked for shelter.
The miller s wife was alone in the house, and she said to the Lit-tle Farmer, "Well, come in and lie down in the straw," and shegave him a piece ot bread and cheese. So the Little Farmer ate, andthen lay down with his skin near him, and the miller's wife thoughthe was sleeping with fatigue. After a while in came another man,and the miller's wife received him very well, saying, "My husbandis out; we will make good cheer."
The Little Farmer Hstened to what they said, and when he heardgood cheer spoken of, he grew angry to think he had been put ofiEwith bread and cheese. For the miller's wife presently brought outroast meat, salad, cakes, and wine.
Now as the pair were sitting down to their feast, there came aknock at the door. "Oh dear," cried the woman, "it is my husband!"In a twinkling she popped the roast meat into the oven, the wineunder the pillow, the salad in the bed, the cakes under the bed, andthe man in the linen-closet. Then she opened the door to her hus-band, saying, "Thank goodness, you are here I What weather it is,as if the world were coming to an endl"
When the miller saw the Little Farmer lying in the straw, hesaid, "What fellow have you got there?" "Oh!" said the wife, "thepoor chap came in the midst of the wind and rain and asked forshelter, and I gave him some bread and cheese and spread somestraw for him."
The husband answered, "Oh well, I have no objection, only getme something to eat at once." But the wife said, "There is nothingbut bread and cheese."
"Anything will do for me," answered the miller, "bread andcheese for ever!" and catching sight of the Little Farmer, he cried,"Come along, and keep me company!" The Little Fanner did notwait to be asked twice, but sat down and ate.
After a while the miller noticed the sldn lying on the ground withthe raven wrapped up in it, and he said, "What have you gotthere?" The Little Farmer answered, "A fortime-teller." And the
The Little Farmer 15
miller asked, "Can he teU my fortune?" "Why not?" answered theLittle Farmer. "He will tell four things, and the fifth he keeps tohimself." Now the miller became very curious, and said, "Ask himto say something."
And the Little Farmer pinched the raVen, so that it croaked,"Crr, err." "What does he say?" asked the miller. And the LittleFarmer answered, "First he says that there is wine under the pil-low."
"That would be jollyl" cried the miller, and he went to look, andfound the wine, and then asked, "What next?"
So the Little Farmer made the raven croak again, and then said,"He says, secondly, that there is roast meat in the oven."
"That would be jollyl" cried the miller, and he went and looked,and found the roast meat. The Little Farmer made the fortune-teller speak again, and then said, "He says, thirdly, that there issalad in the bed."
"That would be jollyl" cried the miller, and went and looked andfound the salad. Once more the Little Farmer pinched the raven, sothat he croaked, and said, "He says, foiuthly and lastly, that thereare cakes under the bed."
"That would be jollyl" cried the miller, and he went and looked,and found the cakes.
And now the two sat down to table, and the miller's wife feltvery uncomfortable, and she went to bed and took all the keys withher. The miller was eager to know what the fifth thing could be,but the Little Farmer said, "Suppose we eat the four things inpeace first, for the fifth thing is a great deal worse."
So they sat and ate, and while they ate, they bargained to-gether as to how much the miller would give for knowing the fifththing; and at last they agreed upon three hundred doUars. Then theLittle Farmer pinched the raven, so that he croaked aloud. And themiller asked what he said, and the Little Farmer answered, "Hesays that there is a demon in the linen-closet."
"Then," said the miller, "that demon must come out of the linen-closet," and he unbarred the house-door, while the Little Farmergot the key of the Unen-closet from the miller's wife, and opened it.Then the man rushed forth, and out of the house, and the millersaid, "1 saw the black rogue with my own eyes; so that is a goodriddance."
And the Little Farmer took himself off by daybreak next morningwith the three hundred dollars.
And after this the Little Farmer by degrees got on in the world.
and built himself a good house, and the other fanners said, "Surelythe Little Fanner has been where it rains gold pieces, and hasbrought home money by the bushel."
And he was simimoned before the bailiff to say whence his richescame. And all he said was, "I sold my calf s sldn for three hundreddollars."
When the other farmers heard this they wished to share suchgood luck, and ran home, killed all their cows, skinned them inorder to sell them also for the same high price as the Little Farmer.And the bailiff said, '1 must be beforehand with them." So he senthis servant into the town to the skin-buyer, and he only gave herthree dollars for the sldn, and that was faring better than theothers, for when they came, they did not get as much as that, forthe sldn-buyer said, "What am I to do with all these skins?"
Now the other farmers were very angry with the Little Farmerfor misleading them, and they vowed vengeance against him, andwent to complain of his deceit to the bailiff. The poor Little Farmerwas with one voice sentenced to death, and to be put into a caskwith holes in it, and rolled into the water. So he was led to execu-tion, and a priest was fetched to say a mass for him, and the rest ofthe people had to stand at a distance. As soon as the Little Farmercaught sight of the priest he knew him for the man who was hid inthe linen-closet at the miller's. And he said to him, "As I let you outof the cupboard, you must let me out of the cask."
At that moment a shepherd passed with a flock of sheep, andthe Little Farmer knowing him to have a great wish to becomebailiff himself, called out with all his might, "No, I will not, and ifall the world asked me, I would noti"
The shepherd, hearing him, came up and asked what it was hewould not do. The Little Farmer answered, "They want to makeme bailiff, if I sit in this cask, but I will not do it!"
The shepherd said, 'If that is all there is to do in order to be-come bailiff I will sit in the cask and welcome." And the LittleFarmer answered, "Yes, that is all, just you get into the cask, and youwill become bailiff." So the shepherd agreed, and got in, and theLittle Farmer fastened on the top; then he collected the herd ofsheep and drove them away.
The priest went back to the parish-assembly, and told them themass had been said. Then they came and began to roll the cask intothe water, and as it went the shepherd inside called out, "I consentto be bailiffl"
They thought that it was the Little Farmer who spoke, and they
The Golden Key 17
answered, "All right; but first you must go down below and lookabout you a little," and they rolled the cask into the water.
Upon that the farmers went home, and when they reached thevillage, there they met the Little Farmer driving a flock of sheep,and looking quite calm and contented. The farmers were astonishedand cried, "Little Farmer, whence come you? How did you get outof the water?"
"Oh, easily," answered he, "I sank and sank until I came to thebottom; then I broke through the cask and came out of it, and therewere beautiful meadows and plenty of sheep feeding, so I broughtaway this flock with me."
Then said the farmers, "Are there any left?" "Oh yes," answeredthe Little Farmer, "more than you can possibly need."
Then the farmers agreed that they would go and fetch somesheep also, each man a flock for himself; and the baiUff said, "Mefirst." And they all went together, and in the blue sky there were lit-tle fleecy clouds Hke lambkins, and they were reflected in thewater; and the farmers cried out, "There are the sheep down thereat the bottom."
When the baihff heard that he pressed forward and said, '1 willgo first and look about me, and if things look well, I will call toyou." And he jiunped plump into the water, and they all thoughtthat the noise he made meant "Come," so the whole companyjumped in one after the other.
So perished all the proprietors of the village, and the LittleFarmer, as sole heir, became a rich man.
The Golden Key
In the winter time, when deep snow lay on the groimd, a poor boywas forced to go out on a sledge to fetch wood. When he hadgathered it together, and packed it, he wished, as he was so frozenwith cold, not to go home at once, but to light a fire and warm him-self a Kttle. So he scraped away the snow, and as he was thus clear-ing the ground, he found a tiny, gold key. Hereupon he thoughtthat where the key was, the lock must be also, and dug in theground and foimd an iron chest. "If the key does but fit it!" thoughthe; "no doubt there are precious things in that little box." He
searched, but no keyhole was there. At last he discovered one, butso small that it was hardly visible. He tried it, and the key fitted itexactly. Then he turned it once round, and now we must wait untilhe has quite unlocked it and opened the lid, and then we shalllearn what wonderful things were lying in that box.
Sharing Joy and Sorrow
There was once a tailor, who was a quarrelsome fellow, and hisvdfe, who was good, industrious, and pious, never could please him.Whatever she did, he was not satisfied, but grumbled and scolded,and knocked her about and beat her. As the authorities at lastheard of it, they had him summoned and put in prison in order tomake him better. He was kept for a while on bread and water, andthen set free again. He was forced, however, to promise not to beathis wife any more, but to live with her in peace, and share joy andsorrow with her, as married people ought to do.
All went on well for a time, but theil he fell into his old ways,and was surly and quarrelsome. And because he dared not beat her,he would seize her by the hair and tear it out. The woman escapedfrom him, and sprang out into the yard, but he ran after her withhis yard-meastire and scissors, and chased her about, and threw theyard-measure and scissors at her, and whatever else came in hisway. When he hit her he laughed, and when he missed her, hestormed and swore. This went on so long that the neighbors cameto the wife's assistance.
The tailor was again simimoned before the magistrates, and re-minded of his promise. "Dear gentlemen," said he, "I have kept myword; I have not beaten her, but have shared joy and sorrow withher." "How can that be," said the judge, "when she continuallybrings such heavy complaints against you?" "1 have not beaten her,but just because she looked so strange I wanted to comb her hairwith my hand; she, however, got away from me, and left me quitespitefully. Then I hurried after her, and in order to bring her backto her duty, I threw at her as a well-meant admonition whatevercame readily to hand. I have shared joy and sorrow with her also,for whenever I hit her I was full of joy, and she of sorrow; and
if I missed her, then she was joyful, and I sorry." The judges werenot satisfied with this answer, but gave him the reward he deserved.
The Nail
A MERCHAJ^ had done good business at the fair; he had sold hiswares, and lined his money-bags with gold and silver. Then hewanted to travel homewards, and be in his own house before night-fall. So he packed his trunk with the money on his horse, and rodeaway.
At noon he rested in a town, and when he wanted to go fartherthe stable-boy brought out his horse and said, "A nail is wanting,sir, in the shoe of its left hind foot." "Let it be wanting," answeredthe merchant; "the shoe will certainly stay on for six miles I havestill to go. I am in a hiury."
In the afternoon, when he once more alighted and had his horsefed, the stable-boy went into the room to him and said, "Sir, a shoeis missing from your horse's left hind foot. Shall I take him to theblacksmith?" "Let it still be wanting," answered the man; "thehorse can very well hold out for the couple of miles which remain.I am in haste."
He rode forth, but before long the horse began to limp. It hadnot limped long before it began to stumble, and it had not stmnbledlong before it fell down and broke its leg. The merchant was forcedto leave the horse where it was, and unbuckle the trunk, take it onhis back, and go home on foot. And there he did not arrive untilquite late at night. "And that unlucky nail," said he to himself, "hascaused all this disaster."
Make haste slowly.
Tom Thumb
There was once a poor countryman who used to sit in the chimney-comer all evening and poke the fire, while his wife sat at her spin-ning-wheel.
And he used to say, "How dull it is without any children aboutUS; our house is so quiet, and other people's houses so noisy andmerryl"
"Yes," answered his wife, and sighed, "if we could only haveone, and that one ever so little, no bigger than my thumb, howhappy I should be! It would, indeed, be having our heart's desire."
Now, it happened that after a while the woman had a child whowas perfect in all his limbs, but no bigger than a thumb. Then theparents said, "He is just what we wished for, and we love him verymuch," and they named him according to his stature, "TomThvmib." And though they gave him plenty of nourishment, hegrew no bigger, but remained exactly the same size as when he wasfirst bom; and he had very good faculties, and was very quick andprudent, so that all he did prospered.
One day his father made ready to go into the forest to cut wood,and he said, as if to himself, "Now, I wish there was some one tobring the cart to me." "O father," cried Tom Thumb, "if I canbring the cart, let me alone for that, and in proper time, too!"
Then the father laughed, and said, "How will you manage that?You are much too Httle to hold the reins." "That has nothing to dowith it, father; while my mother goes on with her spinning I will sitin the horse's ear and tell him where to go." "Well," answered thefather, "we will try it for once."
When it was time to set off, the mother went on spinning, aftersetting Tom Thumb in the horse's ear; and so he drove off, crying,"Gee-up, gee-wo!"
So the horse went on quite as if his master were driving him, anddrew the wagon along the right road to the wood.
Now it happened just as they tinned a comer, and the littlefellow was calling out "Gee-up!" that two strange men passed by.
"Look," said one of them, "how is this? There goes a wagon, andthe driver is calling to the horse, and yet he is nowhere to be seen."*Tt is very strange," said the other; "we will follow the wagon, andsee where it belongs."
And the wagon went right through the forest, up to the placewhere the wood had been hewed. When Tom Thumb caught sightof his father, he cried out, 'Xook, father, here am I with the wagon;now, take me down."
The father held the horse with his left hand, and with the righthe lifted down his little son out of the horse's ear, and Tom Thumbsat down on a stump, quite happy and content. When the twostrangers saw him they were struck dumb with wonder. At last one
of them, taking the other aside, said to him, "Look here, the littlechap would make our fortune if we were to show him in the townfor money. Suppose we buy him."
So they went up to the woodcutter, and said, "Sell the little manto US; we will take care he shall come to no harm." "No," answeredthe father; "he is the apple of my eye, and not for all the money inthe world would I sell him."
But Tom Thmnb, when he heard what was going on, climbed upby his father's coat tails, and, perching himself on his shoulder, hewhispered in his ear, "Father, you might as well let me go. I willsoon come back again."
Then the father gave him up to the two men for a large piece ofmoney. They asked him where he would hke to sit. "Oh, put me onthe brim of your hat," said he. "There I can walk about and viewthe country, and be in no danger of falling off."
So they did as he wished, and when Tom Thumb had taken leaveof his father, they set off all together. And they traveled on until itgrew dusk, and the little fellow asked to be set down a little whilefor a change, and after some diflBculty they consented. So the mantook him down from his hat, and set him in a field by the roadside,and he ran away directly, and, after creeping about among the fur-rows, he slipped suddenly into a mouse-hole, just what he was look-ing for.
"Good evening, my masters, you can go home without me!" criedhe to them, laughing. They ran up and felt about with their sticksin the mouse-hole, but in vain. Tom Thumb crept farther and far-ther in, and as it was growing dark, they had to make the best oftheir way home, full of vexation, and with empty piurses.
When Tom Thumb found they were gone, he crept out of hishiding-place underground. "It is dangerous work groping aboutthese holes in the darkness," said he; "1 might easily break myneck."
But by good fortime he came upon an empty snail shell. "That'sall right," said he. "Now I can get safely through the night"; and hesettled himself down in it.
Before he had time to get to sleep, he heard two men pass by,and one was saying to the other, "How can we manage to get holdof the rich parson's gold and silver?" "I can tell you how," criedTom Thumb. "How is this?" said one of the thieves, quite fright-ened, "I hear some one speaki"
So they stood still and listened, and Tom Thmnb spoke again:"Take me with you; I will show you how to do it!" "Where are
you, then?" asked they. "Look about on the ground and noticewhere the voice comes from," answered he.
At last they found him, and lifted him up. "You little elf," saidthey, "how can you help us?" "Look here," answered he, "I caneasily creep between the iron bars of the parson's room and handout to you whatever you would Hke to have." "Very well," saidthey, "we will try what you can do."
So when they came to the parsonage-house, Tom Thumb creptinto the room, but cried out with all his might, "Will you have allthat is here?" So the thieves were terrified, and said, "Do speakmore softly, lest any one should be awaked."
But Tom Thumb made as if he did not hear them, and cried outagain, "What would you like? Will you have all that is here?" sothat the cook, who was sleeping in a room hard by, heard it, andraised herself in bed and listened. The thieves, however, in theirfear of being discovered, had run back part of the way, but theytook courage again, thinking that it was only a jest of the Uttlefellow's. So they came back and whispered to him to be serious,and to hand them out something.
Then Tom Thumb called out once more as loud as he could, "Ohyes, I will give it all to you, only put out your hands."
Then the listening maid heard him distinctly that time, andjumped out of bed, and burst open the door. The thieves ran off asif the wild huntsman were behind them; but the maid, as she couldsee nothing, went to fetch a light. And when she came back withone, Tom Thumb had taken himself off, without being seen by her,into the bam; and the maid, when she had looked in every hole andcorner and found nothing, went back to bed at last, and thoughtthat she must have been dreaming with her eyes and ears open.
So Tom Thumb crept among the hay, and found a comfortablenook to sleep in, where he intended to remain until it was day, andthen to go home to his father and mother. But other things were tobefall him; indeed, there is nothing but trouble and worry in thisworldl
The maid got up at dawn of day to feed the cows. The first placeshe went to was the bam, where she took up an armful of hay, andit happened to be the very heap in which Tom Thumb lay asleep.And he was so fast asleep, that he was aware of nothing, and neverwaked until he was in the mouth of the cow, who had taken him upwith the hay.
"Oh dear," cried he, "how is it that I have got into a mill!" buthe soon found out where he was, and he had to be very careful not
Tom Thumb 23
to get between the cow's teeth, and at last he had to descend intothe cow's stomach. "The windows were forgotten when this littleroom was built," said he, "and the sunshine cannot get in; there is nolight to be had."
His quarters were in every way unpleasant to him, and, what wasthe worst, new hay was constantly coming in, and the space wasbeing filled up. At last he cried out in his extremity, as loud as hecould, "No more hay for me! No more hay for me!" The maid wasthen milking the cow, and as she heard a voice, but could see noone, and as it was the same voice that she had heard in the night,she was so frightened that she fell off her stool, and spilt the milk.Then she ran in great haste to her master, crying, "Oh, master dear,the cow spoke!"
"You must be crazy," answered her master,' and he went himselfto the cow-house to see what was the matter. No sooner had he puthis foot inside the door, than Tom Thumb cried out again, "Nomore hay for mel No more hay for me!"
Then the parson himself was frightened, supposing that a badspirit had entered into the cow, and he ordered her to be put todeath. So she was kiUed, but the stomach, where Tom Thiunb waslying, was thrown upon a dunghill. Tom Thumb had great troubleto work his way out of it, and he had just made a space big enoughfor his head to go through, when a new misfortune happened. Ahungry wolf ran up and swallowed the whole stomach at one gulp.
But Tom Thumb did not lose courage. "Perhaps," thought he,"the wolf will listen to reason," and he cried out from the inside ofthe wolf, "My dear wolf, I can tell you where to get a splendidmeal!" "Where is it to be had?" asked the wolf. "In such and such ahouse, and you must creep into it through the drain, and there youwill find cakes and bacon and broth, as much as you can eat," andhe described to him his father's house.
The wolf needed not to be told twice. He squeezed himselfthrough the drain in the night, and feasted in the store-room to hisheart's content. When at last he was satisfied, he wanted to go awayagain, but he had become so big, that to creep the same way backwas impossible. This Tom Thumb had reckoned upon, and beganto make a terrible din inside the wolf, crying and calling as loud ashe could.
"Will you be quiet?" said the wolf; "you will wake the folks up!""Look here," cried the little man, "you are very well satisfied, andnow I will do something for my own enjoyment," and began againto make all the noise he could.
At last the father and mother were awakened, and they ran to theroom-door and peeped through the chink, and when they saw awolf in ocxjupation, they ran and fetched weapons—the man an axe,and the wife a scythe. *'Stay behind," said the man, as they enteredthe room; "when I have given him a blow, and it does not seem tohave killed him, then you must cut at him with your scythe."
Then Tom Thumb heard his father s voice, and cried, "Dear fa-ther, I am here in the wolfs inside."
Then the father called out full of joy, 'Thank heaven that wehave found our dear child!" and told his wife to keep the scythe outof the way, lest Tom Thumb should be hurt with it. Then he drewnear and struck the wolf such a blow on the head that he felldown dead; and then he fetched a knife and a pair of scissors, slitup the wolfs body, and let out the little fellow.
"Oh, what anxiety we have felt about youl" said the father. "Yes,father, I have seen a good deal of the world, and I am very glad tobreathe fresh air again."
"And where have you been aU this time?" asked his father. "Oh,I have been in a mouse-hole and a snail's shell, in a cow's stomachand a wolfs inside; now I think I will stay at home."
"And we will not part with you for all the kingdoms of the world,"cried the parents, as they kissed and hugged their dear little TomThumb. And they gave him something to eat and drink, and a newsuit of clothes, as his old ones were soiled with travel.
Tom Thumb's Travels
Thebe was once a tailor who had a son no higher than a thumb, sohe was called Tom Thumb. Notwithstanding his small size, he hadplenty of spirit, and one day he said to his father, "Father, go outinto the world I must and will."
"Very well, my son," said the old man, and taking a long darningneedle, he put a knob of sealing-wax on the end, saying, "Here is asword to take with you on your journey."
Now the little tailor wanted to have one more meal first, and sohe trotted into the kitchen to see what sort of farewell feast hismother had cooked for him. It was all ready, and the dish was
standing on the hearth. Then said he, "Mother, what is the faretoday?"
**You can see for yourself," said the mother. Then Tom Thumbran to the hearth and peeped into the dish, but as he stretched hisneck too far over it, the steam caught him and carried him up thechimney. For a time he floated about with the steam in the air, butat last he sank down to the ground. Then the little tailor found him-self out in the wide world, and he wandered about, and finally en-gaged himself to a master tailor, but the food was not good enoughfor him.
"Mistress," said Tom Thumb, "if you do not give us better vic-tuals, I shall go out early in the morning and write with a piece ofchalk on the house-door, 'Plenty of potatoes to eat, and but littlemeat; so good-bye, Mr. Potato.'"
"What are you after, grasshopper?" said the mistress, and grow-ing angry she seized a piece of rag to beat him o£F; but he crept un-derneath her thimble, and then peeped at her, and put his tongueout at her. She took up the thimble, and would have seized him,but he hopped among the rags, and as the mistress turned themover to find him, he stepped into a crack in the table. "He-heelMistressl" cried he, sticking out his head, and when she was just go-ing to grasp him, he jumped into the table-drawer. But in the endshe caught him, and drove him out of the house.
So he wandered on until he came to a great wood; and there hemet a gang of robbers that were going to rob the King's treasury.When they saw the little tailor, they thought to themselves, "Such alittle fellow might easily creep through a key-hole, and serve insteadof a pick-lock." "Holloal" cried one, "you giant Goliath, will youcome with us to the treasure-chamber? You can slip in, and thenthrow us out the money."
Tom Thumb considered a little, but at last he consented andwent with them to the treasure-chamber. Then he looked all overthe door above and below, but there was no crack to be seen; atlast he found one broad enough to let him pass, and he was get-ting through, when one of the sentinels that stood before the doorsaw him, and said to the other, "See what an ugly spider is crawl-ing therel I will put an end to him." 'Xet the poor creatm-e alone,"said the other, "it has done you no harm."
So Tom Thirnib got safely through the crack into the treasure-chamber, and he opened the window beneath which the thieves
were standing, and he threw them out one dollar after another. Justas he had well settled to the work, he heard the King coming totake a look at his treasure, and so Tom Thumb had to creep away.The King presently remarked that many good dollars were want-ing, but could not imagine how they could have been stolen, as thelocks and bolts were in good order, and everything seemed secure.And he went away, saying to the two sentinels, "Keep good guard;there is some one after the money."
When Tom Thumb had set to work anew, they heard the chink,chink of the money, and hastily rushed in to catch the thief. But thelittle tailor, as he heard them coming, was too quick for them, and,hiding in a comer, he covered himself up with a doUar, so thatnothing of him was to be seen, and then he mocked the sentinels,crying, "Here I am!" They ran about, and when they came near him,he was soon in another comer under a doUar, crying, "Here I ami"Then the sentinels ran towards him, and in a moment he was in athird comer, crying, "Here I ami" In this way he made fools ofthem, and dodged them so long about the treasure-chamber, thatthey got tired and went away. Then he set to work, and threw thedollars out of the window, one after the other, till they were allgone; and when it came to the last, as he flung it with aU his might,he jumped nimbly on it, and flew with it out of the window.
The robbers gave him great praise, saying, "You are a most val-iant hero; will you be oiu: captain?"
But Tom Thumb thanked them, and said he would like to see theworld first. Then they divided the spoil; but the Httle tailor's sharewas only one feirthing, which was all he was able to cairy.
Then binding his sword to his side, he bid the robbers good day,and started on his way. He applied to several master tailors, butthey would not have anything to do with him; and at last he hiredhimself as indoor servant at an inn. The maid-servants took a greatdislike to him, for he used to see everything they did without beingseen by them, and he told the master and mistress about what theytook from the plates, and what they carried away out of the cellar.And they said, "Wait a little, we will pay you out," and took coun-sel together to play him some mischievous trick.
Once when one of the maids was mowing the grass in the gardenshe saw Tom Thumb jimiping about and creeping among the cab-bages, and she* mowed him with the grass, tied all together in abundle, and threw it to the cows. Among the cows was a big blackone, who swallowed him down, without doing him any harm. But
Tom Thumb's Travels 27
he did not like his lodging, it was so dark, and there was no candleto be had. When the cow was being milked, he cried out,
"Strip, strap, strull.Will the pail soon be fullF'
But he was not understood because of the noise of the milk.
Presently the landlord came into the stable and said, "Tomorrowthis cow is to be slaughtered."
At that Tom Thumb felt very terrified; and with his shrillestvoice he cried, "Let me out first; I am sitting inside here!"
The master heard him quite plainly, but could not tell where thevoice came from. "Where are you?" asked he. "Inside the blackone," answered Tom Thumb, but the master, not understanding themeaning of it all, went away.
The next morning the cow was slaughtered. Happily, in all thecutting and slashing he escaped all harm, and he slipped among thesausage-meat. When the butcher came near to set to work, he criedwith all his might, "Don't cut so deep, don't cut so deep, I am un-derneath I" But for the sound of the butcher's knife his voice wasnot heard.
Now, poor Tom Thumb was in great straits, and he had to jumpnimbly out of the way of the knife, and finally he came throughWith a whole sldn. But he could not get quite away, and he had tolet himself remain with the lumps of fat to be put in a black pud-ding. His quarters were rather narrow, and he had to be hung up inthe chimney in the smoke, and to remain there a very long while.At last, when winter came, he was taken down, for the black pud-ding was to be set before a guest. And when the landlady cut theblack pudding in slices, he had to great care not to lift up his headtoo much, or it might be shaved off at the neck. At last he saw hisopportimity, took courage, and jumped out.
But as things had gone so badly with him in that house, TomThumb did not mean to stay there, but betook himself again to hiswanderings. His freedom, however, did not last long. In the openfields there came a fox who snapped him up without thinking.
"Oh, Mr. Fox," cried Tom Thumb, "here I am sticking in yourthroat; let me out again." "Very well," answered the fox. "It is trueyou are no better than nothing; promise me the hens in your fa-ther's yard, then I will let you go." "With all my heart," answeredTom Thumb, "you shall have them all, I promise you."
Then the fox let him go, and he ran home. When the father saw
his dear little son again, he gave the fox willingly all the hens thathe had.
"And look, besides, what a fine piece of money I've got for youl"said Tom Thumb, and handed over the farthing which he hadearned in his wanderings.
But how, you ask, could they let the fox devour aU the poorchicks? Why, you silly child, you know that yoiu: father would ratherhave you than the hens in his yardi
The Young Giant
A LONG TIME ago a countryman had a son who was as big as athumb, and did not become any bigger, and during several yearsdid not grow one hair's breadth. Once when the father was goingout to plough, the httle one said, "Father, I will go out with thee.""Thou wouldst go out with me?" said the father. "Stay here, thouwilt be of no use out there, besides thou mightst get lostl" ThenThmnbUng began to cry, and for the sake of peace his father puthim in his pocket, and took him with him.
When he was outside in the field, he took him out again, and sethim in a freshly-cut furrow.
While he was there, a great giant came over the hill. "Dost thousee that great monster?" said the father, for he wanted to frightenthe Httle fellow to make him good. "He is coming to fetch thee."The giant, however, had scarcely taken two steps with his long legsbefore he was in the furrow. He took up little Thumbling carefullywith two fingers, examined him, and without saying one word wentaway with him. His father stood by, but could not utter a sound forterror, and he thought nothing else but that his child was lost, andthat as long as he lived he should never set eyes on him again.
The giant, however, carried him home, suckled him, and Thum-bling grew and became taU and strong after the manner of giants.When two years had passed, the old giant took him into the forest,wanted to try him, and said, "Pull up a stick for thyself." Then theboy was already so strong that he tore up a young tree out of theearth by the roots. But the giant thought, "We must do better thanthat," took him back again, and suckled him two years longer.
When he tried him, his strength had increased so much that he
could tear an old tree out of the ground. That was still not enoughfor the giant; he again suckled him for two years, and when he thenwent with him into the forest and said, "Now, just tear up a properstick for me," the boy tore up the strongest oak tree from the earth,so that it spHt, and that was a mere trifle to him. "Now that willdo," said the giant, "thou art perfect," and took him back to thefield from whence he had brought him. His father was there follow-ing the plough. The young giant went up to him, and said, "Doesmy father see what a fine man his son has grown into?"
The farmer was alarmed, and said, "No, thou art not my son; Idon't want thee—leave mel" "Truly I am your son; allow me to doyour work, I can plough as well as you, nay better." "No, no, thouart not my son, and thou canst not plough—go awayl" However, ashe was afraid of this great man, he left hold of the plough, steppedback and stood at one side of the piece of land. Then the youthtook the plough, and just pressed it with one hand, but his graspwas so strong that the plough went deep into the earth. The farmercould not bear to see that, and called to him, "If thou art deter-mined to plough, thou must not press so hard on it, that makes badwork." The youth, however, unharnessed the horses, and drew theplough himself, saying, "Just go home, father, and bid my mothermake ready a large dish of food, and in the meantime I will go overthe field." Then the farmer went home, and ordered his wife toprepare the food; but the youth ploughed the field, which was twoacres large, quite alone, and then he harnessed himself to the har-row, and harrowed the whole of the land, using two harrows atonce. When he had done it, he went into the forest, and pulled uptwo oak trees, laid them across his shoulders, and hung one harrowon them behind and one before, and also one horse behind and onebefore, and carried all as if it had been a bundle of straw, to hisparents' house.
When he entered the yard, his mother did not recognize him, andasked, "Who is that horrible tall man?" The farmer said, "That isour son." She said, "No, that caimot be our son, we never had sucha tall one, ours was a little thing." She called to him, "Go away, wedo not want thee!" The youth was silent, but led his horses to thestable, gave them oats and hay, and all that they wanted. When hehad done this, he went into the parlor, sat down on the bench andsaid, "Mother, now I should like something to eat, will it soon beready?" Then she said, "Yes," and brought in two immense dishesfull of food, which would have been enough to satisfy herself andher husband for a week. The youth, however, ate the whole of it
himself, and asked if she had nothing more to set before him. "No,"she replied, "that is all we have." "But that was only a taste, I musthave more."
She did not dare to oppose him, and went and put a huge cal-dron full of food on the fire, and when it was ready, carried it in."At length come a few crumbs," said he, and ate all there was, butit was still not suflBcient to appease his hunger. Then said he, "Fa-ther, I see well that with thee I shall never have food enough; ifthou will get me an iron staff which is strong, and which I cannotbreak against my knees, I will go out into the world."
The farmer was glad, put his two horses in his cart, and fetchedfrom the smith a staff so large and thick that the two horses couldonly just bring it away. The youth laid it across his knees, and snap!he broke it in two in the middle like a beanstick, and threw it away.
The father then harnessed four horses, and brought a bar whichwas so long and thick, that the four horses could only just drag it.The son snapped this also in twain against his knees, threw it away,and said, "Father, this can be of no use to me, thou must harnessmore horses, and bring a stronger staff." So the father harnessedeight horses, and brought one which was so long and thick, that theeight horses could only just carry it. When the son took it in hishand, he broke a bit from the top of it also, and said, 'Tather, I seethat thou wilt not be able to procure me any such staff as I want, Iwill remain no longer with thee."
So he went away, and gave out that he was a smith's apprentice.He arrived at a village, wherein Hved a smith who was a greedyfellow, who never did a kindness to any one, but wanted everythingfor himself. The youth went into the smithy to him, and asked if heneeded a journeyman. "Yes," said the smith, and looked at him, andthought, "That is a strong fellow who will strike out well, and earnhis bread." So he asked, "How much wages dost thou want" "1don't want any at all," he replied, "only every fortnight, when theother journeymen are paid, I will give thee two blows, and thoumust bear them." The miser was heartily satisfied, and thought hewould thus save much money.
Next morning, the strange journeyman was to begin to work, butwhen the master brought the glowing bar, and the youth struck hisfirst blow, the iron flew asunder, and the anvil sank so deep into theearth, that there was no bringing it out again. Then the miser grewangry, and said, "Oh, but I can't make any use of thee, thou strikestfar too powerfully; what wilt thou have for the one blow?"
Then said he, "1 will only give thee quite a small blow, that's
all." And he raised his foot, and gave him such a kick that he flewaway over four loads of hay. Then he sought out the thickest ironbar in the smithy for himself, took it as a stick in his hand, andwent onwards.
When he had walked for some time, he came to a small farm,and asked the bailiff if he did not require a head-servant. "Yes,"said the bailiff, "I can make use of one; you look a strong fellowwho can do something, how much a year do you want as wages?"He again replied that he wanted no wages at all, but that everyyear he would give him three blows, which he must bear. Then thebailiff was satisfied, for he, too, was a covetous fellow. Next morn-ing all the servants were to go into the wood, and the others werealready up, but the head-servant was still in bed. Then one of themcalled to him, "Get up, it is time; we are going into the wood, andthou must go vvdth us."
"Ah," said he quite roughly and surlily, "you may just go, then; Ishall be back again before any of you."
Then the others went to the bailiff, and told him that the head-man was still lying in bed, and would not go into the wood withthem. The bailiff said they were to awake him again, and tell himto harness the horses. The head-man, however, said as before, "Justgo there, I shall be back again before any of you." And then hestayed in bed two hours longer. At length he arose from thefeathers, but first he got himself two bushels of peas from the loft,made himself some broth with them, ate it at his leisure, and whenthat was done, went and harnessed the horses, and drove into thewood.
Not far from the wood was fe ravine through which he had topass, so he first drove the horses on, and then stopped them, andwent behind the cart, took trees and brushwood, and made a greatbarricade, so that no horse could get through. When he was enter-ing the wood, the others were just driving out of it with theirloaded carts to go home; then said he to ihem, "Drive on, I wi]l stillget home before you do." He did not drive far into the wood, but atonce tore two of the very largest trees of all out of the earth, threwthem on his cart, and tirnied round. When he came to the barri-cade, the others were still standing there, not able to get through."Don't you see," said he, "that if you had stayed with me, youwould have got home just as quickly, and would have had anotherhour's sleep?"
He now wanted to drive on, but his horses could not work theirway through, so he unharnessed them, laid them at the top of the
cart, took tlie shafts in his own hands, and drew it over, and he didthis just as easily as if it had been laden with feathers. When hewas over, he said to the others, "There, you see, I have got overquicker than you," and drove on, and the others had to stay wherethey were. In the yard, however, he took a tree in his hand, showedit to the bailiff, and said, "Isn't that a fine bundle of wood?" Thensaid the bailiff to his wife, "The servant is a good one, if he doessleep long, he is stiU home before the others."
So he served the bailiff a year, and when that was over, and theother servants were getting their wages, he said it was time for himto have his too. The bailiff, however, was afraid of the blows whichhe was to receive, and earnestly entreated him to excuse him fromhaving them; for rather than that, he himself would be head-ser-vant, and the youth should be bailiff. "No," said he, "I will not be abailiff, I am head-servant, and will remain so, but I will administerthat which we agreed on." The bailiff was willing to give him what-soever he demanded, but it was of no use, the head-servant said noto everything.
Then the bailiff did not know what to do, and begged for a fort-night's delay, for he wanted to find some way to escape. The head-servant consented to this delay. The baihff summoned all his clerkstogether, and they were to think the matter over, and give him ad-vice. The clerks pondered for a long time, but at last they said thatno one was sure of his life with the head-servant, for he could kill aman as easily as a midge, and that the bailiff ought to make him getinto the well and clean it, and when he was down below, theywould roll up one of the mill-stones which was lying there, andthrow it on his head; and then he would never return to daylight.
The advice pleased the bailiff, and the head-servant was quitewilling to go down the well. When he was standing down below atthe bottom, they rolled down the largest miU-stone and thoughtthey had broken his skull, but he cried, "Chase away those hensfrom the well, they are scratching in the sand up there, and throw-ing the grains into my eyes, so that I can't see." So the bailiff cried,"Sh-sh"—and pretended to frighten the hens away.
When the head-servant had finished his work, he climbed up andsaid, "Just look what a beautiful necktie I have on," and behold itwas the miU-stone which he was wearing round his neck. The head-servant now wanted to take his reward, but the bailiff again beggedfor a fortnight's delay. The clerks met together and advised him tosend the head-servant to the haimted mill to grind corn by night,for from thence as yet no man had ever returned in the morning
The Young Giant 33
alive. The proposal pleased the bailiflF, he called the head-servantthat very evening, and ordered him to take eight bushels of com tothe mill, and grind it that night, for it w^as wanted.
So the head-servant went to the loft, and put two bushels in hisright pocket, and two in his left, and took foiu: in a wallet, half onhis back, and half on his breast, and thus laden went to the hauntedmill. The miller told him that he could grind there very well byday, but not by night, for the mill was haunted, and that up to thepresent time whosoever had gone into it at night had been found inthe morning, lying dead inside. He said, "1 wiU manage it, just yougo away to bed." Then he went into the mill, and poured out thecorn.
About eleven o'clock he went into the miller's room, and satdown on the bench. When he had sat there a while, a door sud-denly opened, and a large table came in, and on the table, wineand roasted meats placed themselves, and much good food besides,but everything came of itself, for no one was there to carry it. Afterthis the chairs pushed themselves up, but no people came, until allat once he beheld fingers, which handled knives and forks, and laidfood on the plates, but with this exception he saw nothing. As hewas hungry, and saw the food, he, too, placed himself at the table,ate with those who were eating, and enjoyed it.
When he had had enough, and the others also had quite emptiedtheir dishes, he distinctly heard all the candles being suddenlysnuffed out, and as it was now pitch dark, he felt something like abox on the ear. Then he said, 'If anything of that Idnd comesagain, I shall strike out in return." And when he had received a sec-ond box on the ear, he, too, struck out. And so it continued thewhole night, he took nothing wdthout returning it, but repaid every-thing v^ath interest, and did not lay about him in vain.
At daybreak, however, everything ceased. When the miller hadgot up, he wanted to look after him, and wondered if he werestill aUve. Then the youth said, "I have eaten my fill, have receivedsome boxes on the ear, but I have given some in return." The millerrejoiced, and said that the mill was now released from the spell,and wanted to give him much money as a reward. But he said,"Money, I will not have, I have enough of it." So he took his mealon his back, went home, and told the bailiff that he had done whathe had been told to do, and would now have the reward agreed on.
When the bailiff heard that, he was seriously alarmed and quitebeside himself; he walked backwards and forwards in the room,and drops of perspiration ran down from his forehead. Then he
opened the window to get some fresh air, but before he was awarethe head-servant had given him such a kick that he flew throughthe window out into the air, and so far away that no one ever sawhim again. Then said the head-servant to the bailiffs wife, "If hedoes not come back, thou must take the other blow." She cried,"No, no, I cannot bear it," and opened the other window, becausedrops of perspiration were running down her forehead. Then hegave her such a kick that she, too, flew out, and as she was lightershe went much higher than her husband. Her husband cried, "Docome to me," but she rephed, "Come thou to me, I cannot come tothee."
They hovered about there in the air, and could not get to eachother, and whether they are still hovering about or not, I do notknow, but the young giant took up his iron bar, and went on hisway.
Sweet Porridge
There was a poor but good little girl who lived alone with hermother, and they no longer had anything to eat. So the child wentinto the forest, and there an aged woman met her who was awareof her sorrow, and presented her with a little pot, which when shesaid, "Cook, little pot, cook," would cook good, sweet porridge; andwhen she said, "Stop, little pot," it ceased to cook. The girl took thepot home to her mother, and now they were freed from their pov-erty and hunger, and ate sweet porridge as often as they chose.
Once on a time when the girl had gone out, her mother said,"Cook, little pot, cook." And it did cook and she ate till she wassatisfied, and then she wanted the pot to stop cooking, but did notknow the word. So it went on cooking and the porridge rose overthe edge, and still it cooked on until the kitchen and whole housewere full, and then the next house, and then the whole street, justas if it wanted to satisfy the hunger of the whole world; and therewas the greatest distress, but no one knew how to stop it.
At last when only one single house remained, the child camehome and just said, "Stop, little pot," and it stopped and gave upcooking, and whosoever vidshed to return to the town had to eat hisway back.
1
There was once a shoemaker, who, through no fault of his own, be-came so poor that at last he had nothing left but just enoughleather to make one pair of shoes. He cut out the shoes at night, soas to set to work upon them next morning; and as he had a goodconscience, he laid himself quietly down in his bed, committedhimself to heaven, and fell asleep.
In the morning, after he had said his prayers, and was going toget to work, he fotmd the pair of shoes made and finished, andstanding on his table. He was very much astonished, and could nottell what to think, and he took the shoes in his hand to examinethem more closely; and they were so well made that every stitchwas in its right place, just as if they had come from the hand of amaster-workman.
Soon after, a purchaser entered, and as the shoes fitted him verywell, he gave more than the usual price for them, so that the shoe-maker had enough money to buy leather for two more pairs ofshoes. He cut them out at night, and intended to set to work thenext morning with fresh spirit; but that was not to be, for when hegot up they were already finished, and even a customer was notlacking, who gave him so much money that he was able to buyleather enough for four new pairs. Early next morning he found thefour pairs also finished, and so it always happened; whatever he cutout in the evening was worked up by the morning, so that he wassoon in the way of making a good living, and in the end becamevery well-to-do.
One night, not long before Christmas, when the shoemaker hadfinished cutting out, and before he went to bed, he said to his wife,"How would it be if we were to sit up tonight and see who it isthat does us this service?"
His wife agreed, and set a light to bum. Then they both hid in acomer of the room behind some coats that were hanging up, andthen they began to watch. As soon as it was midnight they sawcome in two neatly-formed naked little men, who seated themselves
36 Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales
before the shoemaker's table, and took up the work that was al-ready prepared, and began to stitch, to pierce, and to hammer socleverly and quickly with their Httle fingers that the shoemaker'seyes could scarcely follow them, so full of wonder was he. And theynever left oflE until everything was finished and was standing readyon the table, and then they jumped up and ran off.
The next morning the shoemaker's wife said to her husband,"Those little men have made us rich, and we ought to show our-selves grateful. With all their running about, and having nothing tocover them, they must be very cold. I'U tell you what; I will makelittle shirts, coats, waistcoats, and breeches for them, and knit eachof them a pair of stockings, and you shall make each of them a pairof shoes."
The husband consented willingly, and at night, when everythingwas finished, they laid the gifts together on the table, instead of thecut-out work, and placed themselves so that they could observehow the Httle men would behave. When midnight came, theyrushed in, ready to set to work, but when they found, instead of thepieces of prepared leather, the neat little garments put ready forthem, they stood a moment in surprise, and then they showed thegreatest delight. With the greatest swiftness they took up the prettygarments and sHpped them on, singing,
"What spruce and dandy boys are welNo longer cobblers we will beT
Then they hopped and danced about, jumping over the chairsand tables, and at last they danced out at the door.
From that time they were never seen again; but it always wentwell with the shoemaker as long as he Hved, and whatever he tookin hand prospered.
11
There was once a poor servant maid, who was very cleanly andindustrious; she swept down the house every day, and put thesweepings on a great heap by the door. One morning, before shebegan her work, she found a letter, and as she could not read, shelaid her broom in the comer, and took the letter to her master andmistress, to see what it was about; and it was an invitation from theelves, who wished the maid to come and stand godmother to one of
The Elves 37
their children. The maid did not know what to do; and as she wastold that no one ought to refuse the elves anything, she made upher mind to go.
So there came three little elves, who conducted her into the mid-dle of a high mountain, where the Httle people lived. Here every-thing was of a very small size, but more fine and elegant than canbe told. The mother of the child lay in a bed made of ebony, stud-ded with pearls; the counterpane was embroidered with gold, thecradle was of ivory, and the bathing-tub of gold. So the maid stoodgodmother, and was then for going home, but the elves begged herto stay at least three more days with them; and so she consented,and spent the time in mirth and jollity, and the elves seemed veryfond of her. At last, when she was ready to go away, they filled herpockets full of gold, and led her back again out of the mountain.
When she got back to the house, she was going to begin workingagain, and took her broom in her hand—it was still standing in thecomer where she had left it—and began to sweep. Then came upsome strangers and asked her who she was, and what she wasdoing. And she foimd that instead of three days, she had beenseven years with the elves in the mountain, and that during thattime her master and mistress had died.
Ill
The elves once took a child away from its mother, and left in itsplace a changeling with a big head and staring eyes, who did noth-ing but eat and drink. The mother in her trouble went to her neigh-bors and asked their advice. The neighbors told her to take thechangeling into the kitchen and put it near the hearth, and then tomake up the fire, and boil water in two egg-shells; that would makethe changeling laugh, and if he laughed, it would be all over withhim. So the woman did as her neighbors advised. And when she setthe egg-shells of water on the fire, the changeling said,
"Though old I beAs forest tree.Cooking in an egg-shell never did I see!"
and began to laugh. And directly there came in a crowd of elvesbringing in the right child; and they laid it near the hearth, andcarried the changeling away with them.
Fair Katrinelje and Pif-Paf-Poltrie
Good-day, Father Hollenthe." "Many thanks, Pif-paf-poltrie.'* "MayI be allowed to have your daughter?" "Oh, yes, if Mother Mal-cho (Milch-cow), Brother High-and-Mighty, Sister Kasetraut, andfair Katrinelje are willing, you can have her." "Where is MotherMalcho, then?" "She is in the cow-house, milking the cow."
"Good-day, Mother Malcho." "Many thanks, Pif-paf-poltrie.""May I be allowed to have your daughter?" "Oh, yes, if FatherHoUenthe, Brother High-and-Mighty, Sister Kasetraut, and fair Ka-trinelje are willing, you can have her." "Where is Brother High-and-Mighty, then?" "He is in the room chopping some wood."
"Good-day, Brother High-and-Mighty." "Many thanks, Pif-paf-poltrie." "May I be allowed to have your sister?" "Oh, yes, if Fa-ther Hollenthe, Mother Malcho, Sister Kasetraut, and fair Ka-trinelje are willing, you can have her." "Where is Sister Kasetraut,then?" "She is in the garden cutting cabbages."
"Good-day, Sister Kasetraut." "Many thanks, Pif-paf-poltrie.""May I be allowed to have your sister?" "Oh, yes, if Father Hol-lenthe, Mother Malcho, Brother High-and-Mighty, and fair Ka-trinelje are willing, you may have her." "Where is fair Katrinelje,then?" "She is in the room counting out her farthings."
"Good-day, fair Katrinelje." "Many thanks, Pif-paf-poltrie.""Wilt thou be my bride?" "Oh, yes, if Father Hollenthe, MotherMalcho, Brother High-and-Mighty, and Sister Kasetraut are willing,I am ready."
"Fair Katrinelje, how much dowry hast thou?" "Fourteen far-things in ready money, three and a half groschen owing to me, halfa pound of dried apples, a handful of fried bread, and a handful ofspices.
And many other things are mine.Have I not a dowry fine?
Pif-paf-poltrie, what is thy trade? Art thou a tailor?" "Somethingbetter." "A shoemaker?" "Something better." "A husbandman?""Something better." "A joiner?" "Something better." "A smith?""Something better." "A miller?" "Something better." "Perhaps abroom-maker?" "Yes, that's what I am, is it not a fine trade?"
The Old Beggar-Woman
There was once an old woman, but thou hast surely seen an oldwoman go a-begging before now? This woman begged likewise,and when she got anything she said, "May God reward you." Thebeggar-woman came to a door, and there by the fire a friendlyrogue of a boy was standing warming himself. The boy said kindlyto the poor old woman as she was standing shivering thus by thedoor, "Come, old mother, and warm yourself." She came in, butstood too near the fire, so that her old rags began to bum, and shewas not aware of it. The boy stood and saw that, but he ought tohave put the flames out. And if he could not find any water, thenshould he have wept all the water in his body out of his eyes, andthat would have supplied two fine streams with which to extinguishthem.
The Jew Among Thorns
There was once a rich man who had a servant who served himdiligently and honestly. Every morning the servant was the first outof bed, and the last to go to rest at night; and, whenever there wasa difficult job to be done, which nobody cared to undertake, he wasalways the first to set himself to it. Moreover, he never complained,but was contented with everything, and always merry.
When a year was ended, his master gave him no wages, for hesaid to himself, "That is the cleverest way; for I shall save some-thing, and he will not go away, but stay quietly in my service." Theservant said nothing, but did his work the second year as he haddone it the first; and when at the end of this, likewise, he receivedno wages, he made himself happy, and still stayed on.
When the third year also was past, the master considered, put hishand in his pocket, but pulled nothing out. Then at last the servantsaid, "Master, for three years I have served you honestly; be so
good as to give me what I ought to have, for I wish to leave, andlook about me a little more in the world."
''Yes, my good fellow," answered the old miser; "you have servedme industriously, and therefore you shall be cheerfully rewarded";and he put his hand into his pocket, but counted out only three far-things, saying, "There, you have a farthing for each year; that islarge and liberal pay, such as you would have received from fewmasters."
The honest servant, who understood little about money, put hisfortune into his pocket, and thought, "Ah! now that I have mypurse full, why need I trouble and plague myself any longer withhard work!" So on he went, up hill and down dale; and sang andjumped to his heart's content. Now it came to pass that as he wasgoing by a thicket a little man stepped out, and called to him,''Whither away, merry brother? I see you do not carry many cares."*Why should I be sad?" answered the servant; "I have enough;three years' wages are jingling in my pocket."
"How much is your treasure?" the dwarf asked him. "Howmuch? Three farthings sterling, all told."
"Look here," said the dwarf, *T am a poor needy man, give meyour three farthings; I can work no longer, but you are young,and can easily earn your bread."
And as the servant had a good heart, and felt pity for the oldman, he gave him the three farthings, saying, "Take them in thename of Heaven, I shaU not be any the worse for it."
Then the little man said, "As I see you have a good heart I grantyou three wishes, one for each farthing, they shall all be fulfilled."
"Aha?" said the servant, "you are one of those who can workwonders! Well, then, if it is to be so, I wish, first, for a gun, whichshall hit everything that I aim at; secondly, for a fiddle, whichwhen I play on it, shall compel aU who hear it to dance; thirdly,that if I ask a favor of any one he shall not be able to refuse it."
"All that shall you have," said the dwarf; and put his hand intothe bush; and only think, there lay a fiddle and gun, all ready, justas if they had been ordered. These he gave to the servant, and thensaid to him, "Whatever you may ask at any time, no man in theworld shaU be able to deny you."
"Heart alive! What more can one desire?" said the servant tohimself, and went merrily onwards. Soon afterwards he met a Jewwith a long goafs-beard, who was standing listening to the song ofa bird whidi was sitting up at the top of a tree. "Good heavens," hewas exclaiming, "that such a small creature should have subh a
The Jew Among Thorns 41
fearfully loud voice! If it were but mine! If only some one wouldsprinkle some salt upon its tail!"
"If that is all," said the servant, "the bird shall soon be downhere"; and taking aim he pulled the trigger, and down fell the birdinto the thorn-bushes. "Go, you rogue," he said to the Jew, "andfetch the bird out for yourself!"
"Oh!" said the Jew, "leave out the rogue, my master, and I willdo it at once. I will get the bird out for myself, as you reaUy havehit it." Then he lay down on the ground, and began to crawl intothe thicket.
When he was fast among the thorns, the good servant's humor sotempted him that he took up his fiddle and began to play. In a mo-ment the Jew's legs began to move, and to jump into the air, andthe more the servant fiddled the better went the dance. But thethorns tore his shabby coat for him, combed his beard, and prickedand plucked him all over the body. "Oh dear," cried the Jew,"what do I want with your fiddling? Leave the fiddle alone, master;I do not want to dance."
But the servant did not listen to him, and thought, "You havefleeced people often enough, now the thom-bushes shall do thesame to you"; and he began to play over again, so that the Jew hadto jmnp higher than ever, and scraps of his coat were left hangingon the thorns. "Oh, woe's me!" cried the Jew; "I will give the gen-tleman whatsoever he asks i£ only he leaves off fiddling—a pursefull of gold." "If you are so liberal," said the servant, "I will stopmy music; but this I must say to your credit, that you dance to it sowell that it is quite an art"; and having taken the purse he went hisway.
The Jew stood stiU and watched the servant quietly until he wasfar off and out of sight, and then he screamed out with all hismight, "You miserable musician, you beer-house fiddler! Wait till Icatch you alone, I will hunt you till the soles of your shoes fall off!You ragamuffin! Just put five farthings in yom* mouth, and then youmay be worth three halfpence!" and went on abusing him as fast ashe could speak.
As soon as he had refreshed himself a little in this way, and gothis breath again, he ran into the town to the justice. "My lordjudge," he said, "I have come to make a complaint; see how a ras-cal has robbed and ill-treated me on the public highway! A stoneon the ground might pity me; my clothes aU torn, my body prickedand scratched, my little aU gone with my pvurse—good ducats, each
piece better than the last; for God's sake let the man be thrown intoprisonl"
"Was it a soldier," said the judge, "who cut you thus with hissabre?" "Nothing of the sortl" said the Jew; "it was no sword thathe had, but a gun hanging at his back, and a fiddle at his neck; thewretch may easily be known."
So the judge sent his people out after the man, and they foundthe good servant, who had been going quite slowly along, and theyfound, too, the purse with the money upon him. As soon as he wastaken before the judge he said, "I did not touch the Jew, nor take hismoney; he gave it to me of his own free wiU, that I might leave oflEfiddling because he could not bear my music." "Heaven defend us!"cried the Jew, "his lies are as thick as flies upon the wall."
But the judge also did not believe his tale, and said, "This is abad defense, no Jew would do that." And because he had commit-ted robbery on the public highway, he sentenced the good servantto be hanged. As he was being led away the Jew again screamedafter him, "You vagabond! You dog of a fiddler! now you are goingto receive your well-earned reward!"
The servant walked quietly with the hangman up the ladder, butupon the last step he turned round and said to the judge, "Grantme just one request before I die." "Yes, if you do not ask your life,"said the judge. "I do not ask for life," answered the servant, "but asa last favor let me play once more upon my fiddle."
The Jew raised a great cry of "Murder! murder! for goodness'sake do not allow it! Do not allow it!" But the judge said, "Whyshould I not let him have this short pleasure? It has been granted tohim, and he shall have it." However, he could not have refused onaccount of the gift which had been bestowed on the servant.
Then the Jew cried, "Oh! woe's me! tie me, tie me fast!" whilethe good servant took his fiddle from his neck, and made ready. Ashe gave the first scrape, they all began to quiver and shake, thejudge, his clerk, and the hangman and his men, and the cord fellout of the hand of the one who was going to tie the Jew fast. At thesecond scrape all raised their legs, and the hangman let go his holdof the good servant, and made himself ready to dance. At the thirdscrape they all leaped up and began to dance; the judge and theJew being the best at jumping. Soon all who had gathered in themarket-place out of curiosity were dancing with them; old andyoung, fat and lean, one with another. The dogs, likewise, whichhad run there got up on their hind legs and capered about; and the
longer he played, the higher sprang the dancers, so that theyknocked against each other's heads, and began to shriek terribly.
At length the judge cried, quite out of breath, "I will give youyour life if you will only stop fiddling." The good servant thereuponhad compassion, took his fiddle and hung it round his neck again,and stepped down the ladder. Then he went up to the Jew, whowas lying upon the ground panting for breath, and said, "You ras-cal, now confess, whence you got the money, or I wiU take myfiddle and begin to play again." "I stole it, I stole itl" cried he; "Tsutyou have honestly earned it." So the judge had the Jew taken to thegallows and hanged as a thief.
King Thrushbeard
A KING had a daughter who was beautiful beyond measure, but soproud and overbearing that none of her suitors were good enoughfor her; she not only refused one after the other, but made a laugh-ing-stock of them.
Once the King appointed a great feast, and bade all the mar-riageable men to it from far and near. And tiiey were all put inrows, according to their rank and station: first came the Kings,then the Princes, the dukes, the earls, the barons, and lastly thenoblemen. The Princess was led in front of the rows, but she had amocking epithet for each. One was too fat, "What a tubl" said she;another too tall, "Long and lean is ill to be seen," said she; a thirdtoo short, 'Tat and short, not fit to court," said she. A fourth wastoo pale—"A regular death's-head"; a fifth too red-faced—"A game-cock," she called him. The sixth was not well-made enough—"Green wood ill driedl" cried she. So every one had somethingagainst him, and she made especially merry over a good King whowas very tall, and whose chin had grown a little peaked. "Onlylook," cried she, laughing, "he has a chin like a thrush's beak."
And from that time they called him King Thrushbeard. But theold King, when he saw that his daughter mocked every one, andscorned all the assembled suitors, swore in his anger that sheshould have the first beggar that came to the door for a husband.
A few days afterwards came a traveling ballad-singer, and sangunder the window in hopes of a small alms. When the King heard
of it, he said that he must come in. And so the ballad-singer enteredin his dirty tattered garments, and sang before the King and hisdaughter; when he had done, he asked for a small reward. But theKing said, "Your song has so well pleased me, that I will give youmy daughter to wife."
The Princess was horrified; but the King said, "I took an oath togive you to the first beggar that came, and so it must be done."
There was no remedy. The priest was fetched, and she had to bemarried to the ballad-finger out of hand. When all was done, theKing said, "Now, as you are a beggar-wife, you can stay no longerin my castle, so off with you and your husband."
The beggar-man led her away, and she was obliged to go forthwith him on foot. On the way they came to a great wood, and sheasked,
"Oh, whose is this forest, so thick and so fineF*He answered,
"It is King Thrushheards, and might have been thine"
And she cried,
"Oh, I was a silly young thing, Tm afeared.Would I had taken that good King Thrushbeard!"
Then they passed through a meadow, and she asked,"Oh, whose is this meadow, so green and so fine?"
He answered,"It is King Thrushheards, and might have been thine."
And she cried,
"I was a silly young thing, Tm af eared.Would I had taken that good King ThrushbeardF'
Then they passed through a great town, and she asked,
"Whose is this city, so great and so fine?"He answered,
"Oh, it is King Thrushbeard's, and might have been thine."
And she cried,
"I was a silly young thing, Tm af eared.Would I had taken that good King Thrushbeard!"
King Thrushbeard 45
Then said the beggar-man, "It does not please me to hear you al-ways wishing for another husband; am I not good enough for you?"At last they came to a very smaU house, and she said,
"Oh dear me! what poor little house do I see?And whose, I would know, may the wretched hole beF'
The man answered, 'That is my house and yours, where we mustlive together."
She had to stoop before she could go in at the door.
"Where are the servants?" asked the King's daughter.
"What servants?" answered the beggar-man, "what you want tohave done you must do yoiurself. Make a fire quickly, and put onwater, and cook me some food; I am very tired."
But the King's daughter understood nothing about fire-maldngand cooking, and the beggar-man had to lend a hand himself inorder to manage it at all. And when they had eaten their poor fare,they went to bed; but the man called up his wiie very early in themorning, in order to clean the house.
For a few days they lived in this indifferent manner, until theycame to the end of their store. "Wife," said the man, "this will notdo, stopping here and earning nothing; you must make baskets."
So he went out and cut wiUows, and brought them home; andshe began to weave them, but the hard twigs wounded her tenderhands. "I see this wiU not do," said the man, "you had better tryspinning."
So she sat her down and tried to spin, but the harsh thread cuther soft fingers, so that the blood flowed. "Look nowl" said theman, "you are no good at any sort of work; I made a bad bargainwhen I took you. I must see what I can do to make a trade of potsand earthen vessels; you can sit in the market and offer them forsale."
"Oh dearl" thought she, "suppose while I am selling in the mar-ket people belonging to my father's kingdom should see me, howthey would mock at me!" But there was no help for it; she had tosubmit, or else die of hunger.
The first day all went well; the people bought her wares eagerly,because she was so beautiful, and gave her whatever she asked,and some of them gave her the money and left the pots after allbehind them. And they lived on these earnings as long as theylasted; and then the man bought a nimiber of new pots. So sheseated herself in a comer of the market, and stood the wares beforeher for sale. All at once a drunken horse-soldier came plimging by.
and rode straight into the midst of her pots, breaking them into athousand pieces. She could do nothing for weeping. "Oh dear,what will become of me," cried she; "what will my husband say?"and she hastened home and told him her misfortune.
"Who ever heard of such a thing as sitting in the comer of themarket with earthenware potsl" said the man; "now leave oflF cry-ing; I see you are not fit for any regular work. I have been asking atyour father's castle if they want a kitchen-maid, and they say theydon't mind taking you; at any rate you will get your victuals free."
And the ICing's daughter became a kitchen-maid, to be at thecook's beck and call, and to do the hardest work. In each of herpockets she fastened a little pot, and brought home in them what-ever was left, and upon that she and her husband were fed. It hap-pened one day, when the wedding of the eldest Prince was cele-brated, the poor woman went upstairs, and stood by the parlor doorto see what was going on. And when the place was Ughted up, andthe company arrived, each person handsomer than the one before,and all was brilliancy and splendor, she thought on her own fatewdth a sad heart, and bewailed her former pride and haughtinesswhich had brought her so low, and plunged her in so great poverty.And as the rich and delicate dishes smeUing so good were carriedto and fro every now and then, the servants would throw her a fewfragments, which she put in her pockets, intending to take home.And then the Prince himself passed in, clothed in siUc and velvet,with a gold chain round his neck. And when he saw the beautifulwoman standing in the doorway, he seized her hand and urged herto dance with him, but she refused, all trembhng, for she saw it wasKing Thrushbeard, who had come to court her, whom she hadturned away wdth mocking. It was of no use her resisting, he drewher into the room; and all at once the band to which her pocketswere fastened broke, and the pots fell out, and the soup ran about,and the fragments were scattered all round. And when the peoplesaw that, there was great laughter and mocking, and she felt soashamed, that she wished herself a thousand fathoms underground.
She rushed to the door to fly from the place, when a man caughther just on the steps, and when she looked at him, it was KingThrushbeard again. He said to her in a Idnd tone, "Do not beafraid, I and the beggar-man v^dth whom you lived in the wretchedHttle hut are one. For love of you I disguised myself, and it was Iwho broke your pots in the guise of a horse-soldier. I did all that tobring down your proud heart, and to punish your haughtiness,which caused you to mock at me."
Clever Gretel 47
Then she wept bitterly, and said, "I have done great wrong, andam not worthy to be your wife."
But he said, "Take courage, the evil days are gone over; now letus keep our wedding-day."
Then came the ladies-in-waiting and put on her splendid cloth-ing; and her father came, and the whole coiut, and wished her joyon her marriage with King Thrushbeard; and then the merry-mak-ing began in good earnest. I cannot help wishing that you and Icould have been there too.
Clever Gretel
There was once a cook called Gretel, who wore shoes with redheels, and when she went out in them she gave herself great airs,and thought herself very fine indeed. When she came home again,she would take a drink of wine to refresh herself, and as that gaveher an appetite, she would take some of the best of whatever shewas cooking, until she had had enough—"for," said she, "a cookmust know how things taste."
It happened that one day her master came to her and said, "Gre-tel, I expect a guest this evening; you must make ready a pair offowls." "I will see to it," answered Gretel.
So she killed the fowls, cleaned them, and plucked them, and putthem on the spit, and then, as evening drew near, placed them be-fore the fire to roast. And they began to be brown, and were nearlydone, but the guest had not come.
"li he does not make haste," cried Gretel to her master, "I musttake them away from the fire; it's a pity and a shame not to eatthem now, just when they are done to a turn." And the master saidhe would run himself and fetch the guest. As soon as he had turnedhis back, Gretel took the fowls from before the fire.
"Standing so long before the fire," said she, "makes one hot andthirsty—and who knows when they will cornel In the meanwhile Iwill go to the cellar and have a drink." So down she ran, took up amug, and saying, "Here's to mel" took a good draught. "One gooddrink deserves another," she said "and it should not be cut short";so she took another hearty draught. Then she went and put thefowls down to the fire again, and, basting them with butter, she
turned the spit briskly round. And now they began to smell so goodthat Gretel saying, "I must find out whether they really are allright," hcked her fingers, and then cried, "Well, I never 1 the fowlsare good; it's a sin and a shame that no one is here to eat them I"
So she ran to the window to see if her master and his guest werecoming, but as she could see nobody she went back to her fowls."Why, one of the wings is bumingl" she cried presently, "I hadbetter eat it and get it out of the way." So she cut it off and ate itup, and it tasted good, and then she thought, "I had better cut offthe other too, in case the master should miss anything." And whenboth wings had been disposed of she went and looked for themaster, but still he did not come.
"Who knows," said she, "whether they are coming or not? theymay have put up at an inn." And after a pause she said again,"Come, I may as well make myself happy, and first I will makesure of a good drink and then of a good meal, and when all is doneI shall be easy; the gifts of the gods are not to be despised." So firstshe ran down into the cellar and had a famous drink, and ate upone of the fowls with great relish. And when that was done, andstill the master did not come, Gretel eyed the other fowl, saying,"What one is the other must be, the two belong to each other, it isonly fair that they should be both treated alike; perhaps when Ihave had another drink, I shall be able to manage it." So she tookanother hearty drink, and then the second fowl went the way of thefirst.
Just as she was in the middle of it the master came back. "Makehaste, Gretel," cried he, "the guest is coming directlyl" "Very well,master," she answered, "it vdll soon be ready." The master went tosee that the table was properly laid, and, taking the great carvingknife with which he meant to carve the fowls, he sharpened it uponthe step. Presently came the guest, knocking very genteeUy andsoftly at the front door. Gretel ran and looked to see who it was,and when she caught sight of the guest she put her finger on her lipsaying, "Hushl make the best haste you can out of this, for if mymaster catches you, it wiU be bad for you; he asked you to come tosupper, but he really means to cut off your ears! Just listen how heis sharpening his knifel"
The guest, hearing the noise of the sharpening, made off as fastas he could go. And Gretel ran screaming to her master. "A prettyguest you have asked to the house!" cried she. "How so, Gretel?what do you mean?" asked he. "What indeedl" said she; "why, he
Pitchers Bird 49
has gone and run away with my pair of fowk that I had just dishedup.
"That's pretty sort of conduct!" said the master, feeling verysorry about the fowls; 'Tie might at least have left me one, that Imight have had something to eat." And he called out to him to stop,but the guest made as if he did not hear him; then he ran after him,the knife still in his hand, crying out, "Only onel only onel" mean-ing that the guest should let him have one of the fowls and not takeboth; but the guest thought he meant to have only one of his ears,and he ran so much the faster that he might get home with both ofthem safe.
Pitcher's Bird
Theee was once a wizard who used to take the form of a poor man.He went to houses and begged, and caught pretty girls. No oneknew whither he carried them, for they were never seen more. Oneday he appeared before the door of a man who had three prettydaughters. He looked like a poor weak beggar, and carried a basketon his back, as if he meant to collect charitable gifts in it. Hebegged for a httle food, and when the eldest daughter came outand was just reaching him a piece of bread, he did but touch her,and she was forced to jump into his basket. Thereupon he hurriedaway with long strides, and carried her away into a dark forest tohis house, which stood in the midst of it.
Everything in the house was magnificent; he gave her whatsoevershe could possibly desire, and said, "My darHng, thou wilt certainlybe happy with me, for thou hast everything thy heart can wish for."This lasted a few days, and then he said, "I must journey forth, andleave thee alone for a short time; there are the keys of the house;thou mayst go everywhere and look at everything except into oneroom, which this Uttle key here opens, and there I forbid thee to goon pain of death." He Hkewise gave her an egg and said, "Preservethe egg carefully for me, and carry it continually about with thee,for a great misfortune would arise from the loss of it."
She took the keys and the egg, and promised to obey him in ev-erything. When he was gone, she went all round the house from thebottom to the top, and examined everything. The rooms shone with
silver and gold, and she thought she had never seen such greatsplendor.
At length she came to the forbidden door; she wished to pass itby, but curiosity let her have no rest. She examined the key, itlooked just Hke any other; she put it in the keyhole and tiumed it alittle, and the door sprang open. But what did she see when shewent in? A great bloody basin stood in the middle of the room, andtherein lay human beings, dead and hewn to pieces, and hard bywas a block of wood, and a gleaming axe lay upon it. She was soterribly alarmed that the egg which she held in her hand fell intothe basin. She got it out and washed the blood off, but in vain, it ap-peared again in a moment. She washed and scrubbed, but shecould not get it out.
It was not long before the man came back from his journey, andthe first things which he asked for were the key and the egg. Shegave them to him, but she trembled as she did so, and he saw atonce by the red spots that she had been in the bloody chamber."Since thou hast gone into the room against my wiU," said he,"thou shalt go back into it against thine own. Thy life is ended." Hethrew her down, dragged her thither by her hair, cut her head offon the block, and hewed her in pieces so that her blood ran on theground. Then he threw her into the basin with the rest.
"Now I will fetch myself the second," said the wizard, and againhe went to the house in the shape of a poor man, and begged. Thenthe second daughter brought him a piece of bread; he caught herlike the first, by simply touching her, and carried her away. She didnot fare better than her sister. She allowed herself to be led awayby her curiosity, opened the door of the bloody chamber, looked in,and had to atone for it with her life on the wizard's return.
Then he went and brought the third sister. But she was clever andcrafty. When he had given her the keys and the egg, and had lefther, she first put the egg away with great care, and then she ex-amined the house, and at last went into the forbidden room. Alas,what did she beholdl Both her sisters lay there in the basLn, cruellymurdered, and cut in pieces. She began to gather their limbs to-gether and put them in order, head, body, arms and legs. And whennothing fiuther was lacking, the limbs began to move and unitethemselves together, and both the maidens opened their eyes andwere once more aUve. Then they rejoiced and kissed and caressedeach other.
On his arrival, the man at once demanded the keys and the egg,
Fitchet^s Bird 51
and as he could perceive no trace of any blood on it, he said,"Thou hast stood the test, thou shalt be my bride." He now had nolonger any power over her, and was forced to do whatsoever shedesired. "Oh, very well," said she, "thou shalt first take a basketfulof gold to my father and mother, and carry it thyself on thy back;in the meantime I will prepare for the wedding."
Then she ran to her sisters, whom she had hidden in a Mttlechamber and said, "The moment has come when I can save you.The wretch shall himself carry you home again, but as soon as youare at home send help to me." She put both of them in a basket andcovered them quite over with gold, so that nothing of them was tobe seen, then she called in the wizard and said to him, "Now carrythe basket away, but I shall look through my little window andwatch to see if thou stoppest on the way to stand or to rest."
The wizard raised the basket on his back and went away with it,but it weighed him down so heavily that the perspiration streamedfrom his face. Then he sat down and wanted to rest awhile, butimmediately one of the girls in the basket cried, "I am lookingthrough my little window, and I see that thou art resting. Wiltthou go on at once?" He thought his bride was calling that to him;and got up on his legs again. Once more he was going to sit down,but instantly she cried, "I am looking through my httle window,and I see that thou art resting. Wilt thou go on directly?"
Whenever he stood still, she cried this, and then he was forced togo onwards, until at last, groaning and out of breath, he took thebasket with the gold and the two maidens into their parents' house.At home, however, the bride prepared the marriage-feast, and sentinvitations to the friends of the wizard. Then she took a skull withgrinning teeth, put some ornaments on it and a wreath of flowers,carried it upstairs to the garret-window, and let it look out fromthence. When all was ready, she got into a barrel of honey, andthen cut the feather-bed open and rolled herself in it, until shelooked like a wondrous bird, and no one could recognize her. Thenshe went out of the house, and on her way she met some of thewedding-guests, who asked,
"O, Fitcher's bird, how comst thou here?"
"I come from Fitcher's house quite near,"
"And what may the young bride be doing?"
"From cellar to garret she's swept all clean.And now from the window she's peeping, I ween."
At last she met the bridegroom, who was coming slowly back. He,like the others, asked,
"O, Fitche/s bird, how com'sf thou hereF'
"I come from Fitche/s house quite near."
"And what may the young bride be doing?"
"From cellar to garret she's swept all clean.And now from the uAndow she's peeping, I ween^
The bridegroom looked up, saw the decked-out skuU, thought itwas his bride, and nodded to her, greeting her kindly. But when heand his guests had all gone into the house, the brothers and kins-men of the bride, who had been sent to rescue her, arrived. Theylocked all the doors of the house, that no one might escape, set fireto it, and the wizard and all his crew were burned.
The Robber Bridegroom
Thesie was once a miller who had a beautiful daughter, and whenshe was grown up he became anxious that she should be weU mar-ried and taken care of; so he thought, "If a decent sort of mancomes and asks her in marriage, I wiU give her to him."
Soon after a suitor came forward who seemed very well-to-do,and as the miller knew nothing to his disadvantage, he promisedhim his daughter. But the girl did not seem to love him as a brideshould love her bridegroom; she had no confidence in him; as oftenas she saw him or thought about him, she felt a chiU at her heart.
One day he said to her, "You are to be my bride, and yet youhave never been to see me." The girl answered, "\ do not knowwhere your house is." Then he said, "My house is a long way in thewood."
She began to make excuses, and said she could not find the wayto it; but the bridegroom said, "You must come and pay me a visitnext Sunday; I have already invited company, and I will strewashes on the path through the wood, so that you will be srnre to findit."
When Sunday came, and the girl set out on her way, she felt veryuneasy without knowing exactly why; and she filled both pockets
The Robber Bridegroom 53
full of peas and lentils. There were ashes strewn on the paththrough the wood, but nevertheless, at each step she cast to theright and left a few peas on the ground. So she went on the wholeday until she came to the middle of the wood, where it was darkest,and there stood a lonely house, not pleasant in her eyes, for it wasdismal and unhomeUke. She walked in, but there was no one there,and the greatest stillness reigned. Suddenly she heard a voice cry,
"Turn back, turn back, thou pretty bride.Within this house thou must not bide.For here do evil things betide."
The girl glanced round, and perceived that the voice came froma bird who was hanging in a cage by the wall. And again it cried,
"Turn back, turn back, thou pretty bride.Within this house thou must not bide.For here do evil things betide"
Then the pretty bride went on from one room into anotherthrough the whole house, but it was quite empty, and no soul to befound in it. At last she reached the cellar, and there sat a very oldwoman nodding her head.
"Can you teU me," said the bride, "if my bridegroom lives here?"
"Oh, poor child," answered the old woman, "do you know whathas happened to you? You are in a place of cutthroats. You thoughtyou were a bride, and soon to be married, but death will be yourspouse. Look here, I have a great kettle of water to set on, andwhen once they have you in their power they will cut you in pieceswithout mercy, cook you, and eat you, for they are carmibals. Un-less I have pity on you, and save you, all is over with youl"
Then the old woman hid her behind a great cask, where shecould not be seen. "Be as still as a mouse," said she; "do not moveor go away, or else you are lost. At night, when the robbers areasleep, we will escape. I have been waiting a long time for an op-portunity."
No sooner was it settled than the wicked gang entered the house.They brought another young woman with them, dragging heralong, and they were drunk, and would not listen to her cries andgroans. They gave her wine to drink, three glasses full, one of whitewine, one of red, and one of yellow, and then they cut her inpieces; the poor bride all the while shaking and trembling whenshe saw what a fate the robbers had intended for her.
One of them noticed on the little finger of their victim a golden
ring, and as he could not draw it oflE easily, he took an axe andchopped it oflE, but the finger jumped away, and feU behind thecask on the bride's lap. The robber took up a Hght to look for it, buthe could not find it. Then said one of the others, "Have you lookedbehind the great cask?" But the old woman cried, "Come to supper,and leave off looking till tomorrow; the finger cannot run away."
Then the robbers said the old woman was right, and they left offsearching, and sat down to eat, and the old woman dropped somesleeping stuff into their wine, so that before long they stretchedthemselves on the cellar floor, sleeping and snoring.
When the bride heard that, she came from behind the cask, andhad to make her way among the sleepers lying aU about on theground, and she felt very much afraid lest she might awaken any ofthem. But by good luck she passed through, and the old womanwith her, and they opened the door, and they made haste to leavethat house of murderers. The wind had carried away the ashes fromthe path, but the peas and lentils had budded and sprung up, andthe moonshine upon them showed the way. And they went onthrough the night, till in the morning they reached the mill. Thenthe girl related to her father aU that had happened to her.
When the wedding-day came, the friends and neighbors as-sembled, the miller having invited them, and the bridegroom alsoappeared. When they were all seated at table, each one had to teUa story. But the bride sat stiU, and said nothing, tiU at last thebridegroom said to her, "Now, sweetheart, do you know no story?TeU us something."
She answered, '1 wiU teU you my dream. I was going alonethrough a wood, and I came at last to a house in which there wasno living soul, but by the waU was a bird in a cage, who cried,
'Turn back, turn back, thou pretty bride.Within this house thou must not bide.For here do evil things betide'
"And then again it said it. Sweetheart, the dream is not ended.Then I went through aU the rooms, and they were all empty, and itwas so lonely and wretched. At last I went down into the ceUar,and there sat an old old woman, nodding her head. I asked her ifmy bridegroom lived in that house, and she answered, 'Ah, poorchild, you have come into a place of cutthroats; your bridegroomdoes live here, but he wiU kiU you and cut you in pieces, and thencook and eat you.' Sweetheart, the dream is not ended. But the oldwoman hid me behind a great cask, and no sooner had she done so
than the robbers came home, dragging with them a young woman,and they gave her to drink wine thrice, white, red, and yellow.Sweetheart, the dream is not yet ended. And then they killed her,and cut her in pieces. Sweetheart, my dream is not yet ended. Andone of the robbers saw a gold ring on the jBnger of the youngwoman, and as it was diflBcult to get oflF, he took an axe andchopped ofiE the finger, which jumped upwards, and then fell be-hind the great cask on my lap. And here is the finger with the ringl"
At these words she drew it forth, and showed it to the company.
The robber, who during the story had grown deadly white,sprang up, and would have escaped, but the folks held him fast,and delivered him up to justice. And he and his whole gang were,for their evil deeds, condemned and executed.
Old Hildebrand
Once upon a time lived a peasant and his wife, and the parson ofthe village had a fancy for the wife, and had wished for a longwhile to spend a whole day happily with her, and the peasantwoman, too, was quite willing. One day, therefore, he said to thewoman, "Listen, my dear friend, I have now thought of a way bywhich we can for once spend a whole day happily together. I'll tellyou what: on Wednesday, you must take to your bed, and tell yourhusband you are ill, and if you only complain and act being illproperly, and go on doing it imtil Simday when I have to preach, Iwill then say in my sermon that whosoever has at home a sick child,a sick husband, a sick wife, a sick father, a sick mother, a sick sister,brother or whosoever else it may be, and makes a pilgrimage to theGockerli hill in Italy, where you can get a peck of laurel-leaves fora kreuzer, the sick child, the sick husband, the sick wiie, the sick fa-ther, or sick mother, the sick sister, or whosoever else it may be,will be restored to health immediately."
"1 will manage it," said the woman directly. Now therefore, onthe Wednesday, the peasant woman took to her bed, and com-plained and lamented as agreed on, and her husband did every-thing for her that he could think of, but nothing did her any good,and when Sunday came the woman said, "l feel as iU as if I were
going to die at once, but there is one thing I should like to do be-fore my end—I should like to hear the parson's sermon that he isgoing to preach today." On that the peasant said, "Ah, my child, donot do it—you might make yourself worse if you were to get up.Look, I will go to the sermon, and will attend to it very carefully,and will tell you everything the parson says."
"Well," said the woman, "go, then, and pay great attention, andrepeat to me all that you hear." So the peasant went to the sermon,and the parson began to preach and said, if any one had at home asick child, a sick husband, a sick wife, a sick father, a sick mother, asick sister, brother or any one else, and would make a pilgrimage tothe Gockerli hill in Italy, where a peck of laiuel-leaves costs akreuzer, the sick child, sick husband, sick wife, sick father, sickmother, sick sister, brother, or whosoever else it might be, would berestored to health instantly; and whosoever wished to undertakethe journey was to go to him after the service was over, and hewould give him the sack for the laurel-leaves and the kreuzer.
No one was more rejoiced than the peasant, and after the servicewas over, he went at once to the parson, who gave him the bag forthe laurel-leaves and the kreuzer. After that he went home, andeven at the house door he cried, "Hurrah! dear wife, it is now al-most the same thing as if you were well! The parson has preachedtoday that whosoever had at home a sick child, a sick husband, asick wife, a sick father, a sick mother, a sick sister, brother or who-ever it might be, and would make a pilgrimage to the GockerH hiUin Italy, where a peck of laurel-leaves costs a kreuzer, the sickchild, sick husband, sick wife, sick father, sick mother, sick sister,brother, or whosoever else it was, would be cured immediately; andnow I have already got the bag and the kreuzer from the parson,and will at once begin my journey so that you may get well thefaster," and thereupon he went away. He was, however, hardlygone before the women got up, and the parson was there directly.
But now we will leave these two for a while, and follow the peas-ant, who walked on quickly without stopping, in order to get thesooner to the Gockerli hiU; and on his way he met his gossip. Hisgossip was an egg-merchant, and was just coming from the market,where he had sold his eggs. "May you be blessed," said the gossip,"where are you off to so fast?"
"To all eternity, my friend," said the peasant, "my wife is iU, andI have been today to hear the parson's sermon, and he preachedthat if any one had in his house a sick child, a sick husband, a sick
Old Hildebrand 57
wife, a sick father, a sick mother, a sick sister, brother or any oneelse, and made a pilgrimage to the Gockerli hill in Italy, where apeck of laurel-leaves costs a kreuzer; the sick child, the sick hus-band, the sick wife, the sick father, the sick mother, the sick sister,brother, or whosoever else it was, would be cured immediately; andso I have got the bag for the laurel-leaves and the kreuzer from theparson, and now I am beginning my pilgrimage." "But listen, gos-sip," said the egg-merchant to the peasant, "are you, then, stupidenough to believe such a thing as that? Don't you know what itmeans? The parson wants to spend a whole day alone with yourwife in peace, so he has given you this job to do to get you out ofthe way."
"My word!" said the peasant. "How I'd like to know if that'struel"
"Come, then," said the gossip, "I'll tell you what to do. Get intomy egg-basket and I will carry you home, and then you will see foryourself." So that was settled, and the gossip put the peasant intohis egg-basket, and carried him home.
When they got to the house, hurrahl but all was going merrilythere I The woman had already had nearly everything killed thatwas in the farmyard, and had made pancakes; and the parson wasthere, and had brought his fiddle with him. The gossip knocked atthe door, and the woman asked who was there. "It is I, gossip,"said the egg-merchant, "give me shelter this night; I have not soldmy eggs at the market, so now I have to carry them home again,and they are so heavy that I shall never be able to do it, for it isdark already."
'Indeed, my friend," said the woman, "you come at a very incon-venient time for me, but as you are here it can't be helped; come in,and take a seat there on the bench by the stove." Then she placedthe gossip and the basket which he carried on his back on thebench by the stove. The parson, however, and the woman were asmerry as possible. At length the parson said, "Listen, my dearfriend, you can sing beautifully; sing something to me." "Oh," saidthe woman, "1 cannot sing now, in my young days indeed I couldsing well enough, but that's all over now." "Come," said the parsononce more, "do sing some little song."
Then the woman sang,
"I've sent my husband atoay from meTo the Gockerli hill in Italy.'*
Thereupon the parson sang,
"I wish 'twas a year before he came back,Td never ask him for the laurel-leaf sack.
Hallelujah."
Then the gossip, who was in the background, began to sing (butI ought to tell you the peasant was called Hildebrand), so the gos-sip sang,
"What art thou doing, my Hildebrand dear.There on the bench by the stove so near?
Hallelujah."
Then the peasant sang from his basket,
"All singing I ever shall hate from this day,And here in this basket no longer I'll stay.
Hallelujah."
And he got out of the basket and drove the parson out of thehouse.
The Singing Bone
A CERTAIN COUNTRY was greatly troubled by a wild boar that at-tacked workers in the fields, killed men, and tore them to pieceswith its terrible tusks. The King of the country had offered rich re-wards to any one who would rid the land of this terror. But thebeast was so huge and ferocious that no man could even be per-suaded to enter the forest where the animal made its home.
At last the King made a proclamation that he would give his onlydaughter in marriage to any man who would bring the wild boar tohim, dead or alive.
There lived two brothers in that country, the sons of a poor man,who gave notice of their readiness to enter on this perilous under-taking. The elder, who was clever and crafty, was influenced bypride; the younger, who was innocent and simple, offered himselffrom kindness of heart.
Thereupon the King advised that, as the best and safest waywould be to take opposite directions in the wood, the elder was togo in the evening and the younger in the morning.
The Singing Bone 59
The younger had not gone far when a little fairy stepped up tohim. He held in his hand a black spear, and said, "I will give youthis spear because your heart is innocent and good. With this youcan go out and discover the v^ld boar, and he shall not be able toharm you."
He thanked the httle man, took the spear, placed it on his shoul-der, and without delay went further into the forest. It was not longbefore he espied the animal coming toward him, and fiercely mak-ing ready to spring. But the youth stood still and held the spearfirmly in front of him. In wild rage the fierce beast ran violently to-ward him, and was met by the spear, on the point of which hethrew himself, and, as it pierced his heart, he fell dead.
Then the youngster took the dead monster on his shoulder andwent to find his brother. As he approached the other side of thewood, where stood a large hall, he heard music, and found a num-ber of people dancing, drinking wine, and making merry. His elderbrother was among them, for he thought the wdld boar would notrun far away, and he wished to get up his courage for the eveningby cheerful company and wdne.
When he caught sight of his younger brother coming out of theforest laden wdth his booty, the most restless jealousy and mahcerose in his heart. But he disguised his bitter feehngs and spokekindly to his brother, and said, "Come in and stay v^dth us, dearbrother, and rest awhile, and get up your strength by a cup ofwdne."
So the youth, not suspecting anything wrong, carried the deadboar into his brother's house, and told him of the little man he hadmet in the wood, who had given him the spear, and how he hadkilled the wild animal.
The elder brother persuaded him to stay and rest till the evening,and then they went out together in the twilight and walked by theriver till it became quite dark. A Httle bridge lay across the river,over which they had to pass, and the elder brother let the youngone go before him. When they arrived at the middle of the streamthe wicked man gave his younger brother a blow from behind, andhe fell down dead instantly.
But fearing he might not be quite dead, he threw the body overthe bridge into the river, and through the clear waters saw it sinkinto the sand. After this wicked deed he ran home quickly, took thedead wild boar on his shoulders, and carried it to the King, withthe pretense that he had killed the animal, and that therefore he
could claim the Princess as his wife, according to the King'spromise.
But these dark deeds are not often concealed, for something hap-pens to bring them to light. Not many years after, a herdsman,passing over the bridge with his flock, saw beneath him in the sanda little bone as white as snow, and thought that it would make avery nice mouthpiece for his horn.
As soon as the flock passed over the bridge, he waded into themiddle of the stream—for the water was very shallow—took up thebone, and carried it home to make a mouthpiece for his horn.
But the first time he blew the horn after the bone was in it, itfiUed the herdsman with wonder and amazement; for it began tosing of itself, and these were the words it sang:
"Ah! dear shepherd, you are blowing your hornWith one of my bones, which night and mornLie still unburied, beneath the uMveWhere I was thrown in a sandy grave.I killed the wild boar, and my brother slew me.And gained the Princess by pretending 'twas he."
**What a wonderful horn," said the shepherd, "that can sing of it-self! I must certainly take it to my lord, the King."
As soon as the horn was brought before the King and blown bythe shepherd, it at once began to siag the same song and the samewords.
The King was at first surprised, but his suspicion being aroused,he ordered that the sand under the bridge should be examined im-mediately, and then the entire skeleton of the murdered man wasdiscovered, and the whole wicked deed came to Hght.
The wicked brother could not deny the deed. He was thereforeordered to be tied in a sack and drowned, while the remains of hismurdered brother were carefully carried to the churchyard, andlaid to rest in a beautiful grave.
Maid Maleen
There was once a King who had a son who asked in marriage thedaughter of a mighty King; she was called Maid Maleen, and was
very beautiful. As her father wished to give her to another, thePrince was rejected; but as they both loved each other with all theirhearts, they would not give each other up, and Maid Maleen said toher father, "I can and v^oll take no other for my husband."
Then the King flew into a passion, and ordered a dark tower tobe built, into which no ray of sunlight or moonlight should enter.When it was finished, he said, "Therein shalt thou be imprisonedfor seven years, and then I will come and see if thy perverse spiritis broken." Meat and drink for the seven years were carried into thetower, and then she and her waiting-woman were led into it andwalled up, and thus cut off from the sky and from the earth. Therethey sat in the darkness, and knew not when day or night began.The King's son often went round and round the tower, and calledtheir names, but no sound from without pierced through the thickwalls. What else could they do but lament and complain?
Meanwhile the time passed, and by the diminution of the foodand drink they knew that the seven years were coming to an end.They thought the moment of their dehverance was come; but nostroke of the hammer was heard, no stone fell out of the wall, and itseemed to Maid Maleen that her father had forgotten her. As theyonly had food for a short time longer, and saw a miserable deathawaiting them, Maid Maleen said, "We must try our last chance,and see if we can break through the wall." She took the bread-knife, and picked and bored at the mortar of a stone, and when shewas tired, the waiting-maid took her turn. With great labor theysucceeded in getting out one stone, and then a second, and third,and when three days were over the first ray of light fell on theirdarkness, and at last the opening was so large that they could lookout.
The sky was blue, and a fresh breeze played on their faces; buthow melancholy everything looked all aroundl Her father's castlelay in ruins, the town and the villages were, so far as could be seen,destroyed by fire, the fields far and wide laid to waste, and nohuman being was visible. When the opening in the wall was largeenough for them to slip through, the waiting-maid sprang downfirst, and then Maid Maleen followed. But where were they to go?The enemy had ravaged the whole kingdom, driven away the King,and slain all the inhabitants. They wandered forth to seek anothercountry, but nowhere did they find a shelter, or a human being togive them a mouthful of bread, and their need was so great thatthey were forced to appease their hunger vidth nettles. When, after
long journeying, they came into another country, they tried to getwork everywhere; but wherever they knocked they were turnedaway, and no one would have pity on them. At last they arrived ina large city and went to the royal palace. There also they were or-dered to go away, but at last the cook said that they might stay inthe kitchen and be scullions.
The son of the King in whose kingdom they were, was, however,the very man who had been betrothed to Maid Maleen. His fatherhad chosen another bride for him, whose face was as ugly as herheart was wicked. The wedding was fixed, and the maiden had al-ready arrived; because of her great ugliness, however, she shut her-self in her room, and allowed no one to see her, and Maid Maleenhad to take her her meals from the kitchen. When the day came forthe bride and the bridegroom to go to church, she was ashamed ofher ugHness, and afraid that if she showed herself in the streets, shewould be mocked and laughed at by the people.
Then said she to Maid Maleen, "A great piece of luck has befal-len thee. I have sprained my foot, and caimot well walk throughthe streets; thou shalt put on my wedding-clothes and take myplace; a greater honor than that thou canst not have!" Maid Ma-leen, however, refused it, and said, "I wish for no honor which isnot suitable for me." It was in vain, too, that the bride offered hergold. At last she said angrily, "If thou dost not obey me, it shallcost thee thy life. I have but to speak the word, and thy head willlie at thy feet." Then she was forced to obey, and put on thebride's magnificent clothes and all her jewels. When she enteredthe royal haU, every one was amazed at her great beauty, and theKing said to his son, "This is the bride whom I have chosen forthee, and whom thou must lead to church." The bridegroom wasastonished, and thought, "She is Hke my Maid Maleen, and Ishould believe that it was she herself, but she has long been shutup in the tower, or dead." He took her by the hand and led her tochurch. On the way was a nettle-plant, and she said,
"Oh, nettle-plant.Little nettle-plant.What dost thou here alone?I have known the timeWhen I ate thee unboiled,When I ate thee unroasted."
"What art thou saying?" asked the King's son. "Nothing," shereplied, "I was only thinking of Maid Maleen." He was surprised
Maid Maleen 63
that she knew about her, but kept silence. When they came to thefoot-plank into the churchyard, she said,
"Foot-bridge, do not break,I am not the true bride."
*What art thou saying there?" asked the King's son. 'Toothing,"she replied, "1 was only thinking of Maid Maleen." 'TDost thouknow Maid Maleen?" "No," she answered, "how should I know her;I have only heard of her." When they came to the church-door, shesaid once more,
"Church-door, break not,I am not the true bride."
"What art thou saying there?" asked he. "Ah," she answered, "Iwas only thinking of Maid Maleen." Then he took out a preciouschain, put it round her neck, and fastened the clasp. Thereuponthey entered the church, and the priest joined their hands togetherbefore the altar, and married them. He led her home, but she didnot speak a single word the whole way. When they got back to theroyal palace, she hurried into the bride's chamber, put off themagnificent clothes and the jewels, dressed herself in her graygown, and kept nothing but the jewel on her neck, which she hadreceived from the bridegroom.
When the night came, and the bride was to be led into thePrince's apartment, she let her veil fall over her face, that he mightnot observe the deception. As soon as every one had gone away, hesaid to her, "What didst thou say to the nettle-plant which was grow-ing by the wayside?" "To which nettle-plant?" asked she; "I don'ttalk to nettle-plants." "If thou didst not do it, then thou art not thetrue bride," said he. So she bethought herself, and said,
"I must go out unto my maid.Who keeps my thoughts for me."
She went out and sought Maid Maleen. "Girl, what hast thou beensaying to the nettle?" "I said nothing but,
'Oh, nettle-plant.Little nettle-plant.What dost thou here alone?I have known the timeWhen I ate thee unboiled.When I ate thee unroasted.'"
The bride ran back into the chamber, and said, "I know now
what I said to the nettle," and she repeated the words which shehad just heard. "But what didst thou say to the foot-bridge whenwe went over it?" asked the King's son. "To the foot-bridge?" sheanswered; "I don't talk to foot-bridges." "Then thou art not the truebride." She again said,
"I must go out unto my maid.Who keeps my thoughts for me"
and ran out and found Maid Maleen, "Girl, what didst thou say tothe foot-bridge?" "I said nothing but,
'Foot-bridge, do not break,I am not the true bride.'"
"That costs thee thy lifel" cried the bride, but she hurried intothe room, and said, "I know now what I said to the foot-bridge,"and she repeated the words. "But what didst thou say to thechurch-door?" "To the church-door?" she replied; "I don't talk tochurch-doors." "Then thou art not the true bride."
She went out and found Maid Maleen, and said, "Girl, whatdidst thou say to the church-door?" "I said nothing but,
'Church-door, break not,I am not the true bride'"
"That will break thy neck for thee!" cried the bride, and flew intoa terrible passion, but she hastened back into the room, and said, "Iknow now what I said to the church-door," and she repeated thewords. "But where hast thou the jewel which I gave thee at thechurch-door?" "What jewel?" she answered; "thou didst not giveme any jewel." "I myself put it round thy neck, and I myself fas-tened it; if thou dost not know that, thou art not the true bride." Hedrew the veil from her face, and when he saw her immeasurableugliness, he sprang back terrified, and said, "How comest thouhere? Who art thou?" "I am thy betrothed bride, but because Ifeared lest the people should mock me when they saw me out ofdoors, I commanded the scullery-maid to dress herself in myclothes, and to go to chiurch instead of me." "Where is the girl?"said he; "I want to see her, go and bring her here." She went outand told the servants that the scullery-maid was an impostor, andthat they must take her out into the court-yard and strike oflF herhead. The servants laid hold of Maid Maleen and wanted to dragher out, but she screamed so loudly for help, that the King's son
heard her voice, hurried out of his chamber and ordered them toset the maiden free instantly.
Lights were brought, and then he saw on her neck the gold chainwhich he had given her at the church-door. "Thou art the truebride," said he, "who went with me to church; come with me nowto my room." When they were both alone, he said, "On the way tothe church thou didst name Maid Maleen, who was my betrothedbride; if I could believe it possible, I should think she was standingbefore me—thou art like her in every respect." She answered, "I amMaid Maleen, who for thy sake was imprisoned seven years in thedarkness, who suflEered hunger and thirst, and has lived so long inwant and poverty. Today, however, the sun is shining on me oncemore. I was married to thee in the church, and I am thy lawfulwife." Then they kissed each other, and were happy all the days oftheir lives. The false bride was rewarded for what she had done byhaving her head cut o£E.
The tower in which Maid Maleen had been imprisoned remainedstanding for a long time, and when the children passed by it theysang,
"Kling, klang, gloria.Who sits within this tower?A Kin^s daughter, she sits tvithin,A sight of her I cannot win.The wall it will not break.The stone cannot be pierced.Little Hans, with your coat so gay.Follow me, follow me, fast as you may."
The Goose-Girl
Thebe was once upon a time an old Queen whose husband hadbeen dead for many years, and she had a beautiful daughter. Whenthe Princess grew up she was betrothed to a Prince who lived at agreat distance. When the time came for her to be married, and shehad to journey forth into the distant kingdom, the aged Queenpacked up for her many costly vessels of silver and gold, and trin-kets also of gold and silver, and cups and jewels; in short, everything
which appertained to a royal dowry, for she loved her child with allher heart. She likewise sent her maid in waiting, who was to ridewith her, and hand her over to the bridegroom, and each had ahorse for the journey, but the horse of the King's daughter wascalled Falada, and could speak. So when the hour of parting hadcome, the aged mother went into her bed-room, took a small knifeand cut her finger with it until it bled, then she held a white hand-kerchief to it into which she let three drops of blood fall, gave it toher daughter and said, "Dear child, preserve this carefully; it willbe of service to you on your way."
So they took a sorrowful leave of each other; the Princess put thepiece of cloth in her bosom, mounted her horse, and then wentaway to her bridegroom. After she had ridden for a while she felt aburning thirst, and said to her waiting-maid, "Dismount, and takemy cup which you have brought for me, and get me some waterfrom the stream, for I should like to drink." "If you are thirsty,"said the waiting-maid, "get off yomr horse yourself, and lie downand drink out of the water, I don't choose to be your servant." So inher great thirst the Princess alighted, bent down over the water inthe stream and drank, and was not allowed to drink out of thegolden cup. Then she said, "Ah, Heavenl" And the three drops ofblood answered, "If your mother knew this, her heart wouldbreak." But the King's daughter was humble, said nothing, andmounted her horse again.
She rode some miles further, but the day was warm, the sunscorched her, and she was thirsty once more, and when they cameto a stream of water, she again cried to her waiting-maid, "Dis-mount, and give me some water in my golden cup," for she hadlong ago forgotten the girl's ill words. But the waiting-maid saidstill more haughtily, "If you wish to drink, drink as you can, I don'tchoose to be your maid." Then in her great thirst the King's daugh-ter aKghted, bent over the flowing stream, wept and said, "Ah,Heavenl" And the drops of blood again replied, "If your motherknew this, her heart would break." And as she was thus drinkingand leaning right over the stream, the handkerchief with the threedrops of blood fell out of her bosom, and floated away with thewater without her observing it, so great was her trouble.
The waiting-maid, however, had seen it, and she rejoiced to thinkthat she had now power over the bride, for since the Princess hadlost the drops of blood, she had become weak and powerless. Sonow when she wanted to mount her horse again, the one that was
called Falada, the waiting-maid said, "Falada is more suitable forme, and my nag will do for you," and the Princess had to be con-tent with that. Then the waiting-maid, with many hard words, badethe Princess exchange her royal apparel for her own shabbyclothes; and at length she was compelled to swear by the clear skyabove her, that she would not say one word of this to any one atthe royal court, and if she had not taken this oath she would havebeen killed on the spot. But Falada saw all this, and observed itwell.
The waiting-maid now mounted Falada, and the true bride thebad horse, and thus they traveled onwards, until at length they en-tered the royal palace. There were great rejoicings over her arrival,and the Prince sprang forward to meet her, lifted the waiting-maidfrom her horse, and thought she was his consort. She was con-ducted upstairs, but the real Princess was left standing below. Thenthe old King looked out of the window and saw her standing in thecourtyard, and how dainty and delicate and beautiful she was, andinstantly went to the royal apartment, and asked the bride aboutthe girl she had with her who was standing down below in thecourtyard, and who she was. "I picked her up on my way for acompanion; give the girl something to work at, that she may notstand idle."
But the old King had no work for her, and knew of none, so hesaid, "I have a little boy who tends the geese, she may help him."The boy was called Conrad, and the true bride had to help himtend the geese. Soon afterwards the false bride said to the youngKing, "Dearest husband, I beg you to do me a favor." He an-swered, "I will do so most willingly." 'Then send for the knacker,and have the head of the horse on which I rode here cut ofiF, for itvexed me on the way." In reality, she was afraid that the horsemight tell how she had behaved to the King's daughter. Then shesucceeded in making the King promise that it should be done, andthe faithful Falada was to die.
This came to the ears of the real Princess, and she secretly prom-ised to pay the knacker a piece of gold if he would perform a smallservice for her. There was a great dark-looking gateway in thetown, through which morning and evening she had to pass with thegeese; would he be so good as to nail up Falada's head on it, so thatshe might see him again, more than once. The knacker's man prom-ised to do that, and cut off the head, and nailed it fast beneath thedark gateway.
Early in the morning, when she and Conrad drove out their flockbeneath this gateway, she said in passing,
"Alas, Falada, hanging there!"
Then the head answered,
"Alas, young Queen, how ill you fare!If this your tender mother knew.Her heart would surely break in two."
Then they went still further out of the town, and drove theirgeese into the country. And when they had come to the meadow,she sat down and unbound her hair which was like pure gold, andConrad saw it and delighted in its brightness, and wanted to pluckout a few hairs. Then she said,
"Blow, blow, thou gentle unnd, I say.Blow Conrad's little hat away.And make him chase it here and there.Until I have braided all my hair.And bound it up again."
And there came such a violent wind that it blew Conrad's hat faraway across country, and he was forced to rxm after it. When hecame back she had finished combing her hair and was putting it upagain, and he could not get any of it. Then Conrad was angry, andwould not speak to her, and thus they watched the geese until theevening, and then they went home.
Next day when they were driving the geese out through the darkgateway, the maiden said,
"Alas, Falada, hanging thereF'
Falada answered,
"Alas, young Queen, how ill you fare!If this your tender mother knew.Her heart would surely break in two."
And she sat down again in the field and began to comb out herhair, and Conrad ran and tried to clutch it, so she said in haste,
"Blow, blow, thou gentle wind, I say.Blow Conrad's little hat away,And make him chase it here and there.Until I have braided all my hair.And bound it up again."
The Goose-Girl 69
Then the wind blew, and blew his little hat oflF his head and faraway, and Conrad was forced to run after it, and when he cameback, her hair had been put up a long time, and he could get noneof it, and so they looked after their geese till evening came.
But in the evening after they had got home, Conrad went to theold King, and said, "I won't tend the geese with that girl anylongerl" "Why not?" inquired the aged King. "Oh, because shevexes me the whole day long." Then the aged King commandedhim to relate what it was that she did to him. And Conrad said, "Inthe morning when we pass beneath the dark gateway with theflock, there is a sorry horse's head on the wall, and she says to it,
'Alas, Falada, hanging thereF
"And the head replies,
'Alas, young Queen, how ill you fare!
If this your tender mother knew.
Her heart would surely break in two.'"
And Conrad went on to relate what happened on the goose pas-ture, and how when there he had to chase his hat.
The aged King commanded him to drive his flock out again nextday, and as soon as morning came, he placed himself behind thedark gateway, and heard how the maiden spoke to the head ofFalada, and then he too went into the country, and hid himself inthe thicket in the meadow. There he soon saw with his own eyesthe goose-girl and the goose-boy bringing their flock, and how aftera while she sat down and unplaited her hair, which shone with radi-ance. And soon she said,
"Blow, blow, thou gentle wind, I say.Blow Conrads little hat away.And make him chase it here and there.Until I have braided all my hair.And bound it up again."
Then came a blast of wind and carried off Conrad's hat, so thathe had to run far away, while the maiden quietly went on combingand plaiting her hair, all of which the King observed. Then, quiteunseen, he went away, and when the goose-girl came home in theevening, he called her aside, and asked why she did all thesethings. "I may not tell you that, and I dare not lament my sorrowsto any human being, for I have sworn not to do so by the heavenwhich is above me; if I had not done that, I should have lost my
life." He urged her and left her no peace, but he could draw noth-ing from her. Then said he, "If you will not tell me anything, tellyour sorrows to the iron-stove there," and he went away.
Then she crept into the iron-stove, and began to weep and la-ment, and emptied her whole heart, and said, "Here am I desertedby the whole world, and yet I am a King's daughter, and a falsewaiting-maid has by force brought me to such a pass that I havebeen compelled to put off my royal apparel, and she has taken myplace with my bridegroom, and I have to perform menial service asa goose-girl. If my mother did but know that, her heart wouldbreak."
The aged King, however, was standing outside by the pipe of thestove, and was listening to what she said, and heard it. Then hecame back again, and bade her come out of the stove. And royalgarments were placed on her, and it was marvelous how beautifulshe wasl The aged King summoned his son, and revealed to himthat he had got the false bride who was only a waiting-maid, butthat the true one was standing there, as the sometime goose-girl.The young King rejoiced with all his heart when he saw her beautyand youth, and a great feast was made ready to which all the peo-ple and all good friends were invited.
At the head of the table sat the bridegroom with the King'sdaughter at one side of him, and the waiting-maid on the other, butthe waiting-maid was bhnded, and did not recognize the Princessin her dazzling array. When they had eaten and drunk, and weremerry, the aged King asked the waiting-maid as a riddle, what aperson deserved who had behaved in such and such a way to hermaster, and at the same time related the whole story, and askedwhat sentence such an one merited.
Then the false bride said, "She deserves no better fate than to bestripped entirely naked, and put in a barrel which is studded insidewith pointed nails, and two white horses should be harnessed to it,which will drag her along through one street after another, till sheis dead." "It is you," said the aged King, "and you have pro-nounced yoiur own sentence, and thus shall it be done unto you."When the sentence had been carried out, the young King marriedhis true bride, and both of them reigned over their kingdom inpeace and happiness.
There once was a young fellow who had learnt the trade of lock-smith, and told his father he would now go out into the world andseek his fortune. "Very well," said the father, "I am quite contentwith that," and gave him some money for his journey. So he trav-eled about and looked for work. After a time he resolved not to fol-low the trade of locksmith any more, for he no longer liked it, but hetook a fancy for hunting. Then there met him in his rambles ahuntsman dressed in green, who asked whence he came andwhither he was going. The youth said he was a locksmith's appren-tice, but that the trade no longer pleased him, and he had a lildngfor huntsmanship—would he teach it to him? "Oh, yes," said thehuntsman, "if thou wilt go with me."
The young fellow went with him, bound himself to him for someyears, and learnt the art of hunting. After this he wished to try hisluck elsewhere, and the huntsman gave him nothing in the way ofpayment but an air-gun, which had, however, this property, that ithit its mark without fail whenever he shot with it. Then he set outand found himself in a very large forest, which he could not get tothe end of in one day. When evening came he seated himself in ahigh tree in order to escape from the wild beasts.
Towards midnight, it seemed to him as if a tiny little light glim-mered in the distance. He looked down through the branches to-wards it, and kept well in his mind where it was. But in the firstplace, he took off his hat and threw it down in the direction of thelight, so that he might go to the hat as a mark when he had de-scended. Then he got down and went to his hat, put it on again andwent straight forwards. The farther he went, the larger the lightgrew, and when he got close to it he saw that it was an enormousfire, and that three giants were sitting by it, who had an ox on thespit, and were roasting it. Presently one of them said, "I must justtaste if the meat will soon be fit to eat," and pulled a piece off, andwas about to put it in his mouth when the huntsman shot it out ofhis hand. "Well, really," said the giant, "if the wind has not blownthe bit out of my hand!" and helped himself to another. But whenhe was just about to bite into it, the huntsman again shot it awayfrom him. On this the giant gave the one who was sitting next him
a box on the ear, and cried angrily, "Why art thou snatching mypiece away from me?" "I have not snatched it away," said theother, "a sharpshooter must have shot it away from thee." Thegiant took another piece, but could not, however, keep it in hishand, for the huntsman shot it out. Then the giant said. That mustbe a good shot to shoot the bit out of one's very mouth, such an onewould be useful to us." And he cried aloud, "Come here, thousharpshooter, seat thyself at the fire beside us and eat thy fill, wewill not hurt thee; but if thou wilt not come, and we have to bringthee by force, thou art a lost manl"
At this invitation the youth went up to them and told them hewas a skilled huntsman, and that whatever he aimed at with hisgun, he was certain to hit. Then they said if he would go with themhe should be well treated, and they told him that outside the forestthere was a great lake, behind which stood a tower, and in thetower was imprisoned a lovely Princess, whom they wished verymuch to carry ofiE. "Yes," said he, "I will soon get her for you."Then they added, "But there is still something else; there is a tinyHttle dog, which begins to bark directly any one goes near, and assoon as it barks every one in the royal palace wakens up, and forthis reason we cannot get there; canst thou imdertake to shoot itdead?" "Yes," said he, "that will be a Httle bit of fun for me." Afterthis he got into a boat and rowed over the lake, and as soon as helanded, the little dog came running out, and was about to bark, butthe huntsman took his air-gun and shot it dead. When the giantssaw that, they rejoiced, and thought they already had the King'sdaughter safe, but the huntsman wished first to see how mattersstood, and told them that they must stay outside until he calledthem. Then he went into the castle, and aU was perfectly quietwithin, and every one was asleep.
When he opened the door of the first room, a sword was hangingon the wall which was made of pure silver, and there was a goldenstar on it, and the name of the King, and on a table near it lay asealed letter which he broke open, and inside it was written thatwhosoever had the sword could kill everything which opposed him.So he took the sword from the wall, hung it at his side and wentonwards; then he entered the room where the King's daughter waslying sleeping, and she was so beautiful that he stood still and,holding his breath, looked at her. He thought to himself, "How canI give an innocent maiden into the power of the wild giants, whohave evil in their minds?" He looked about further, and under thebed stood a pair of slippers; on the right one was her father's name
The Skilful Huntsman 73
with a star, and on the left her own name with a star. She wore akoa great neck-kerchief of silk embroidered with gold, and on theright side was her father's name, and on the left her own, all ingolden letters. Then the huntsman took a pair of scissors and cutthe right comer off, and put it in his knapsack, and then he alsotook the right slipper with the King^s name, and thrust that in.
The maiden still lay sleeping, and she was quite sewn into hernight-dress, and he cut a morsel from this also, and thrust it in withthe rest, but he did all without touching her. Then he went forthand left her lying asleep undisturbed, and when he came to thegate again, the giants were still standing outside waiting for him,and expecting that he was bringing the Princess. But he cried tothem that they were to come in, for the maiden was already in theirpower, that he could not open the gate to them, but there was ahole through which they must creep. Then the first approached,and the huntsman wound the giant's hair round his hand, pulledthe head in, and cut it off at one stroke with his sword, and thendrew the rest of him in. He called to the second and cut his headoff likewise, and then he killed the third also, and he was wellpleased that he had freed the beautiful maiden from her enemies,and he cut out their tongues and put them in his knapsack. Thenthought he, "1 will go home to my father and let him see what Ihave already done, and afterwards I wiU travel about the world;the luck which God is pleased to grant me wiU easily find me."
When the King in the castle awoke, he saw the three giants lyingthere dead. So he went into the sleeping-room of his daughter,awoke her, and asked who could have killed the giants. Then saidshe, T>ear father, I know not, I have been asleep." But when shearose and would have put on her sfippers, the right one was gone,and when she looked at her neck-kerchief it was cut, and the rightcomer was missing, and when she looked at her night-dress a piecewas cut out of it. The King summoned his whole court together,soldiers and every one else who was there, and asked who had sethis daughter at liberty, and killed the giants.
Now it happened that he had a captain, who was one-eyed and ahideous man, and he said that he had done it. Then the old Kingsaid that as he had accomplished this, he should marry his daugh-ter. But the maiden said, "Rather than marry him, dear father, Iwill go away into the world as far as my legs can carry me." TheKing said that if she would not marry him she should take off herroyal garments and wear peasant's clothing, and go forth, and thatshe should go to a potter, and begin a trade in earthen vessels. So
she put off her royal apparel, and went to a potter and borrowedcrockery enough for a stall, and she promised him also that if shehad sold it by the evening, she would pay for it. Then the King saidshe was to seat herself in a comer with it and seU it, and he ar-ranged with some peasants to drive over it with their carts, so thateverything should be broken into a thousand pieces. When there-fore the King's daughter had placed her stall in the street, by camethe carts, and broke all she had into tiny fragments. She began toweep and said, "Alas, how shall I ever pay for the pots now?" TheKing had, however, wished by this to force her to marry the cap-tain; but instead of that, she again went to the potter, and askedhim if he would lend to her once more. He said, "No," she mustfirst pay for the things she had already had.
Then she went to her father and cried and lamented, and saidshe would go forth into the world. Then said he, "I will have a littlehut built for thee in the forest outside, and in it thou shalt stay aUthy life long and cook for every one, but thou shalt take no moneyfor it." When the hut was ready, a sign was hung on the doorwhereon was written, "Today given, tomorrow sold." There sheremained a long time, and it was rumored about the world that amaiden was there who cooked without asking for payment, andthat this was set forth on a sign outside her door. The huntsmanheard it likewise, and thought to himself, "That would suit thee.Thou art poor, and hast no money." So he took his air-gun and hisknapsack, wherein all the things which he had formerly carriedaway with him from the castle as tokens of his truthfulness werestill lying, and went into the forest, and found the hut with thesign, "Today given, tomorrow sold."
He had put on the sword with which he had cut off the heads ofthe three giants, and thus entered the hut, and ordered somethingto eat to be given to him. He was charmed with the beautifulmaiden, who was indeed as lovely as any picture. She asked himwhence he came and whither he was going, and he said, "I amroaming about the world." Then she asked him where he had gotthe sword, for that truly her father's name was on it. He asked herif she were the King's daughter. "Yes," answered she. "With thissword," said he, "did I cut off the heads of three giants," And hetook their tongues out of his knapsack in proof. Then he alsoshowed her the sHpper, and the comer of the neck-kerchief, and thebit of the night-dress. Hereupon she was overjoyed, and said thathe was the one who had delivered her.
They went together to the old King, and fetched him to the hut,
and she led him into her room, and told him that the huntsman wasthe man who had really set her free from the giants. And when theaged King saw all the proofs of this, he could no longer doubt, andsaid that he was very glad he knew how everything had happened,and that the huntsman should have her to wife, on which the mai-den was glad at heart. Then she dressed the huntsman as if he werea foreign lord, and the King ordered a feast to be prepared. Whenthey went to table, the captain sat on the left side of the King'sdaughter, but the huntsman was on the right, and the captainthought he was a foreign lord who had come on a visit.
When they had eaten and drunk, the old King said to the captainthat he would set before him something which he must guess."Supposing any one said that he had killed the three giants and hewere asked where the giants' tongues were, and he were forced togo and look, and there were none in their heads, how could thathappen?" The captain said, "Then they cannot have had any." "NotSo," said the King. "Every animal has a tongue," and then he like-wise asked what any one would deserve who made such an answer.The captain replied, "He ought to be torn in pieces." Then theKing said he had pronounced his own sentence, and the captainwas put in prison and then torn in four pieces; but the King'sdaughter was married to the huntsman. After this he brought hisfather and mother, and they lived with their son in happiness, andafter the death of the old King he received the kingdom.
The Princess in Disguise
A KING once had a wife with golden hair who was so beautiful thatnone on earth could be found equal to her. It happened that shefell ill, and as soon as she knew she must die, she sent for the Kingand said to him, "After my death I know you will marry anotherwife; but you must promise me that, however beautiful she may be,if she is not as beautiful as I am and has not golden hair Uke mineyou will not marry her."
The King had no sooner given his promise than she closed hereyes and died.
For a long time he refused to be comforted, and thought it wasimpossible he could ever take another wife. At length his counselors
came to him, and said, "A King should not remain unmarried; weought to have a Queen."
So he at last consented, and then messengers were sent far andwide to find a bride whose beauty should equal that of the deadQueen. But none was to be found in the whole world; for evenwhen equally beautiful they had not golden hair. So the messengersreturned without obtaining what they sought.
Now, the King had a daughter who was quite as beautiful as herdead mother, and had also golden hair. She had all this while beengrowing up, and very soon the King noticed how exactly she re-sembled her dead mother. So he sent for his counselors, and said tothem, "1 wiU marry my daughter; she is the image of my dead wife,and no other bride can be found to enable me to keep my promiseto her."
When the counselors heard this, they were dreadfully shocked,and said, 'It is forbidden for a father to marry his daughter; noth-ing but evil could spring from such a sin, and the kingdom will beruined."
When the King's daughter heard of her father's proposition shewas greatly alarmed, the more so as she saw how resolved he wasto carry out his intention. She hoped, however, to be able to savehim and herself from such ruin and disgrace, so she said to him,"Before I consent to yoiu- wish I shall require three things—a dressas golden as the sim, another as silvery as the moon, and a third asglittering as the stars; and besides this, I shall require a mantlemade of a thousand sldns of rough fur sewn together, and every an-imal in the kingdom must give a piece of his skin toward it."
"Ahl" she thought, 1 have asked for impossibilities, and I hope Ishall be able to make my father give up his wicked intentions."
The King, however, was not to be diverted from his purpose. Allthe most skilful young women in the kingdom were employed toweave the three dresses, one to be as golden as the sun, another assilvery as the moon, and the third as glittering as the stars. He senthunters into the forest to kill the wild animals and bring home theirsldns, of which the mantle was to be made; and at last when all wasfinished he brought them and laid them before her, and then said,"Tomorrow our marriage shall take place."
Then the King's daughter saw that there was no hope of chang-ing her father's heart, so she determined to run away from thecastle.
In the night, when every one slept, she rose and took from herjewel-case a gold ring, a gold spinning-wheel, and a golden hook.
The three dresses of the sun, moon, and stars she folded in so smalla parcel that they were placed in a walnut-shell; then she put onthe fur mantle, stained her face and hands black with walnut-jwice,and committing herself to the care of Heaven, she left her home.
After traveling the whole night she came at last to a large forest,and feeling very tired she crept into a hollow tree and went tosleep. The sun rose, but she still slept on, and did not awake tillnearly noon.
It happened on this very day that the King to whom the woodbelonged was hunting in the forest, and when his hoimds came tothe tree they sniffed about, and ran round and roimd the tree bark-ing loudly. The King called to his hunters, and said, "J^^* go andsee what wild animal the dogs are barking at."
They obeyed, and quickly returning told the King that in the hol-low tree was a most beautiful creatiure, such as they had never seenbefore, that the sldn was covered with a thousand different sorts offur, and that it was fast asleep.
"Then," said the King, "go and see if you can captiure it alive.Then bind it on the wagon and bring it home."
While the hunters were binding the maiden she awoke, and fullof terror cried out to them, "I am only a poor child, forsaken by myfather and mother; take pity on me, and take me with youl" "Well,"they replied, "you may be useful to the cook, little Roughsldn.Come with us; you can at least sweep up the ashes."
So they seated her on the wagon and took her home to the King'scastle. They showed her a little stable under the steps, where nodaylight ever came, and said, "Roughsldn, here you can Hve andsleep." So the King's daughter was sent into the kitchen to fetch thewood, draw the water, stir the fire, pluck the fowls, look after thevegetables, sweep the ashes, and do all the hard work.
Poor Roughskin, as they called her, lived for a long time mostmiserably, and the beautiful icing's daughter knew not when itwould end or how. It happened, however, after a time that a festi-val was to take place in the castle, so she said to the cook, "May Igo out for a Httle while to see the company arrive? I will stand out-side the door." "Yes, you may go," he replied, 'Taut in half an hour Ishall want you to sweep up the ashes and put the kitchen in order."
Then she took her little oil-lamp, went into the stable, threw offthe fur coat, washed the nut-stains from her face and hands, so thather full beauty appeared before the day. After this she opened thenutshell and took out the dress that was golden as the sun, and putit on. As soon as she was quite dressed she went out and presented
herself at the entrance of the castle as a visitor. No one recognizedher as Roughskin; they thought she was a King's daughter, and sentand told the King of her arrival. He went to receive her, ofiFered herhis hand, and while they danced together he thought in his heart,"My eyes have never seen any maiden before so beautiful as this."
As soon as the dance was over she bowed to the King, and beforehe could look round she had vanished, no one knew where. Thesentinel at the castle gate was called and questioned, but he hadnot seen any one pass.
But she had run to her stable, quickly removed her dress, stainedher face and hands, put on her fur coat, and was again Roughskin.When she entered the kitchen and began to do her work and sweepup the ashes, the cook said, "Leave that alone till tomorrow; I wantyou to cook some soup for the King. I will also taste a httle when itis ready. But do not let one of your hairs faU in, or you will getnothing to eat in future from me."
Then the cook went out, and Roughskin made the King's soup asnicely as she could, and cut bread for it, and when it was ready shefetched from her Httle stable her gold ring and laid it in the dish inwhich the soup was prepared.
After the King had left the baU-room he called for the soup, andwhile eating it thought he had never tasted better soup in his life.But when the dish was nearly empty he saw to his surprise a goldring lying at the bottom, and could not imagine how it came there.Then he ordered the cook to come to him, and he was in a terriblefright when he heard the order. "You must certainly have let a hairfall into the soup; if you have, I shall thrash youl" he said.
As soon as he appeared the King said, "Who cooked this soup?""I cooked it," he replied. "That is not true," said the King. 'Thissoup is made quite differently and much better than you ever madeit"
Then the cook was obliged to confess that Roughskin had madethe soup. "Go and send her to me," said the King.
As soon as she appeared the King said to her, "Who art thou,maiden?" She replied, "I am a poor child, without father ormother." He asked again, "Why are you in my castle?" "Because Iam trying to earn my bread by helping the cook," she replied."How came this ring in the soup?" he said again. 'T. know nothingabout the ringi" she replied.
When the King found he could learn nothing from Roughskin, hesent her away. A httle time after this there was another festival,and Roughskin had again permission from the cook to go and see
The Princess in Disguise 79
the visitor, ^^ut," he added, "come back in half an hour and cookfor the King the soup that he is so fond of."
She promised to return, and ran quickly into her httle stable,washed off the stains, and took out of the nutshell her dress, silveryas the moon, and put it on. Then she appeared at the castle like aKing's daughter, and the King came to receive her with great pleas-ure; he was so glad to see her again, and while the dancing contin-ued the King kept her as his partner. When the baU ended shedisappeared so quickly that the King could not imagine what hadbecome of her. But she had rushed down to her stable, made her-self again the rough little creature that was called Roughskan, andwent into the kitchen to cook the soup.
While the cook was upstairs she fetched the golden spin-ning-wheel and dropped it into the soup as soon as it was ready.The King again ate it with great relish; it was as good as before,and when he sent for the cook and asked who made it, he wasobliged to own that it was Roughsldn. She was also ordered to ap-pear before the King, but he could get nothing out of her, except-ing that she was a poor child, and knew nothing of the golden spin-ning-wheel.
At the King's third festival everything happened as before. Butthe cook said, "I will let you go and see the dancing-room this time,Roughskin; but I beheve you are a witch, for although the soup isgood, and the King says it is better than I can make it, there is al-ways something dropped into it which I cannot understand."Roughskin did not stop to listen; she ran quickly to her little stable,washed off the nut-stains, and this time dressed herself in the dressthat glittered hke the stars. When the King came as before to re-ceive her in the hall, he thought he had never seen such a beautifulwoman in his Hfe. While they were dancing he contrived, withoutbeing noticed by the maiden, to slip a gold ring on her finger, andhe had given orders that the dancing should continue longer thanusual. When it ended, he wanted to hold her hand still, but shepulled it away, and sprang so quickly among the people that shevanished from his eyes.
She ran out of breath to her stable under the steps, for she knewthat she had remained longer away than half an hour, and therewas not time to take off her dress, so she threw on her fur cloakover it, and in her haste she did not make her face black enough,nor hide her golden hair properly; her hands also remained white.However, when she entered the kitchen, the cook was still away, soshe prepared the King's soup, and dropped into it the golden hook.
The King, when he found another trinket in his soup, sent imme-diately for Roughskin, and as she entered the room he saw the ringon her white finger which he had placed there. Instantly he seizedher hand and held her fast, but in her struggles to get free the furmantle opened and the star-gHttering dress was plainly seen. TheKing caught the mantle and tore it off, and as he did so her goldenhair fell over her shoulders, and she stood before him in her fullsplendor, and felt that she could no longer conceal who she was.Then she wiped the soot and stains from her face, and was beauti-ful to the eyes of the King as any woman upon earth.
"You shall be my dear bride," said the King, "and we will neverbe parted again, although I know not who you are."
Then she told him her past history, and all that had happened toher, and he foimd that she was, as he thought, a King's daughter.Soon after the marriage was celebrated, and they Hved happily tilltheir death.
Cinderella
There was once a rich man whose wife lay sick, and when she felther end drawing near she called to her only daughter to come nearher bed, and said,
"Dear child, be good and pious, and God will always take care ofyou, and I will look down upon you from heaven, and will be withyou."
And then she closed her eyes and died. The maiden went everyday to her mother's grave and wept, and was always pious andgood. When the winter came the snow covered the grave with awhite covering, and when the sun came in the early spring andmelted it away, the man took to himself another wife.
The new wife brought two daughters home with her, and theywere beautiful and fair in appearance, but at heart were black andugly. And then began very evil times for the poor step-daughter.
"Is the stupid creature to sit in the same room with us?" saidthey; "those who eat food must earn it. She is nothing but akitchen-maid!"
They took away her pretty dresses, and put on her an old graykirtle, and gave her wooden shoes to wear.
"Just look now at the proud princess, how she is decked out!"cried they laughing, and then they sent her into the kitchen. Thereshe was obliged to do heavy work from morning to night, get upearly in the morning, draw water, make the fires, cook, and wash.Besides that, the sisters did their utmost to torment her—mockingher, and strewing peas and lentils among the ashes, and settingher to pick them up. In the evenings, when she was quite tired outwith her hard day's work, she had no bed to he on, but was obhgedto rest on the hearth among the cinders. And because she alwayslooked dusty and dirty, as if she had slept in the cinders, theynamed her Cinderella.
It happened one day that the father went to the fair, and heasked his two step-daughters what he should bring back for them."Fine clothesl" said one. "Pearls and jewels!" said the other. "Butwhat will you have, Cinderella?" said he. "The first twig, father,that strikes against yoiur hat on the way home; that is what I shouldlike you to bring me."
So he bought for the two step-daughters fine clothes, pearls, andjewels, and on his way back, as he rode through a green lane, ahazel twig struck against his hat; and he broke it ofi^ and carried ithome with him. And when he reached home he gave to the step-daughters what they had wished for, and to Cinderella he gave thehazel twig. She thanked him, and went to her mother's grave, andplanted this twig there, weeping so bitterly that the tears fell upon itand watered it, and it flourished and became a fine tree. Cinderellawent to see it three times a day, and wept and prayed, and eachtime a white bird rose up from the tree, and if she uttered any wishthe bird brought her whatever she had wished for.
Now it came to pass that the King ordained a festival that shouldlast for three days, and to which all the beautiful yotmg women ofthat country were bidden, so that the King's son might choose abride from among them. When the two step-daughters heard thatthey too were bidden to appear, they felt very pleased, and theycalled Cinderella and said, "Comb our hair, brush our shoes, andmake our buckles fast, we are going to the wedding feast at theKing's castle."
When she heard this, Cinderella could not help crying, for shetoo would have fiked to go to the dance, and she begged her step-mother to allow her. "What! You Cinderella!" said she, "in all yourdust and dirt, you want to go to the festival! you that have no dressand no shoes! you want to dance!"
But as she persisted in asking, at last the step-mother said, 1
have strewed a dishful of lentils in the ashes, and if you can pickthem all up again in two hours you may go with us."
Then the maiden went to the back-door that led into the garden,and called out,
"O gentle doves, O turtle-doves^
And all the birds that be,
The lentils that in ashes lie
Come and pick up for me!
The good must be put in the dish.The bad you may eat if you wish."
Then there came to the Idtchen-window two white doves, andafter them some turtle-doves, and at last a crowd of all the birdsunder heaven, chirping and fluttering, and they alighted among theashes; and the doves nodded with their heads, and began to pick,peck, pick, peck, and then aU the others began to pick, peck, pick,peck, and put all the good grains into the dish. Before an hour wasover all was done, and they flew away.
Then the maiden brought the dish to her step-mother, feelingjoyful, and thinking that now she should go to the feast; but thestep-mother said, "No, Cinderella, you have no proper clothes, andyou do not know how to dance, and you would be laughed atl" Andwhen Cinderella cried for disappointment, she added, "If you canpick two dishes full of lentils out of the ashes, nice and clean, youshall go with us," thinking to herself, "for that is not possible."When she had strewed two dishes full of lentils among the ashesthe maiden went through the back-door into the garden, and cried,
"O gentle doves, O turtle-doves.
And all the birds that be.
The lentils that in ashes lie
Come and pick up for met
The good must be put in the dish.The bad you may eat if you wish."
So there came to the Idtchen-window two white doves, and thensome turtle-doves, and at last a crowd of all the other birds underheaven, chirping and fluttering, and they aKghted among the ashes,and the doves nodded with their heads and began to pick, peck,pick, peck, and then all the others began to pick, peck, pick, peck,and put all the good grains into the dish. And before half-an-hourwas over it was all done, and they flew away. Then the maiden tookthe dishes to the step-mother, feeling joyful, and thinking that nowshe should go with them to the feast; but she said, "All this is of no
good to you; you cannot come with us, for you have no properclothes, and cannot dance; you would put us to shame." Then sheturned her back on poor Cinderella and made haste to set out withher two proud daughters.
And as there was no one left in the house, Cinderella went to hermother's grave, under the hazel bush, and cried,
"Little tree, little tree, shake over me.That silver and gold may come down and cover me."
Then the bird threw down a dress of gold and silver, and a pairof slippers embroidered with silk and silver. And in all haste sheput on the dress and went to the festival. But her step-mother andsisters did not know her, and thought she must be a foreign Prin-cess, she looked so beautiful in her golden dress. Of Cinderella theynever thought at all, and supposed that she was sitting at home,and picking the lentils out of the ashes. The King's son came tomeet her, and took her by the hand and danced with her, and herefused to stand up with any one else, so that he might not beobliged to let go her hand; and when any one came to claim it heanswered, "She is my partner."
And when the evening came she wanted to go home, but thePrince said he would go with her to take care of her, for he wantedto see where the beautiful maiden hved. But she escaped him, andjumped up into the pigeon-house. Then the Prince waited until thefather came, and told him the strange maiden had jumped into thepigeon-house. The father thought to himself, *Tt surely cannot beCinderella," and called for axes and hatchets, and had the pigeon-house cut down, but there was no one in it. And when they enteredthe house there sat Cinderella in her dirty clothes among the cin-ders, and a little oil-lamp burnt dimly in the chinmey; for Cin-derella had been very quick, and had jumped out of the pigeon-house again, and had run to the hazel bush; and there she hadtaken oflF her beautiful dress and had laid it on the grave, and thebird had carried it away again, and then she had put on her littlegray kirtle again, and had sat down in the kitchen among the cin-ders.
The next day, when the festival began anew, and the parents andstep-sisters had gone to it, Cinderella went to the hazel bush andcried,
"Little tree, little tree, shake over me.That silver and gold may come down and cover me."
Then the bird cast down a still more splendid dress than on theday before. And when she appeared in it among the guests everyone was astonished at her beauty. The Prince had been waitinguntil she came, and he took her hand and danced with her alone.And when any one else came to invite her he said, "She is mypartner."
And when the evening came she wanted to go home, and thePrince followed her, for he wanted to see to what house shebelonged; but she broke away from him, and ran into the garden atthe back of the house. There stood a fine large tree, bearing splen-did pears; she leapt as lightly as a squirrel among the branches, andthe Prince did not know what had become of her. So he waiteduntil the father came, and then he told him that the strange maidenhad rushed from him, and that he thought she had gone up into thepear tree. The father thought to himself, "It surely cannot be Cin-derella," and called for an axe, and felled the tree, but there was noone in it. And when they went into the kitchen there sat Cinderellaamong the cinders, as usual, for she had got down the other side ofthe tree, and had taken back her beautiful clothes to the bird onthe hazel bush, and had put on her old gray Idrtle again.
On the third day, when the parents and the step-children had setoff, Cinderella went again to her mother's grave, and said to thetree,
"Little tree, little tree, shake over me.That silver and gold may some dovm and cover me"
Then the bird cast down a dress, the hke of which had neverbeen seen for splendor and brilliancy, and slippers that were ofgold.
And when she appeared in thl^ dress at the feast nobody knewwhat to say for wonderment. The Prince danced with her alone,and if any one else asked her he answered, "She is my partner."
And when it was evening Cinderella wanted to go home, and thePrince was about to go with her, when she ran past him so quicklythat he could not follow her. But he had laid a plan, and hadcaused all the steps to be spread with pitch, so that as she rusheddown them the left shoe of the maiden remained sticking in it. ThePrince picked it up, and saw that it was of gold, and very small andslender. The next morning he went to the father and told him thatnone should be his bride save the one whose foot the golden shoeshould fit.
Then the two sisters were very glad, because they had pretty
Cinderella 85
feet. The eldest went to her room to try on the shoe, and hermother stood by. But she could not get her great toe into it, for theshoe was too small; then her mother handed her a knife, and said,"Cut the toe ofiF, for when you are Queen you wiU never have to goon foot." So the girl cut her toe oflF, squeezed her foot into the shoe,concealed the pain, and went down to the Prince. Then he took hervidth him on his horse as his bride, and rode oflF. They had to passby the grave, and there sat the two pigeons on the hazel bush, andcried,
"There they go, there they go!There is blood on her shoe;The shoe is too small,—Not the right bride at alir
Then the Prince looked at her shoe, and saw the blood flowing.And he turned his horse round and took the false bride home again,saying she was not the right one, and that the other sister must tryon the shoe. So she went into her room to do so, and got her toescomfortably in, but her heel was too large. Then her motherhanded her the knife, saying, "Cut a piece off yoiu: heel; when youare Queen you will never have to go on foot."
So the girl cut a piece off her heel, and thrust her foot into theshoe, concealed the pain, and went down to the Prince, who tookhis bride before him on his horse and rode off. When they passedby the hazel bush the two pigeons sat there and cried,
"There they go, there they go!There is blood on her shoe;The shoe is too small,—Not the right bride at all!"
Then the Prince looked at her foot, and saw how the blood wasflowing from the shoe, and staining the white stocking. And heturned his horse roimd and brought the false bride home again."This is not the right one," said he, "have you no other daughter?"
"No," said the man, "only my dead wiie left behind her a littlestunted Cinderella; it is impossible that she can be the bride." Butthe King's son ordered her to be sent for, but the mother said, "Ohno! she is much too dirty, I could not let her be seen." But he wouldhave her fetched, and so Cinderella had to appear.
First she washed her face and hands qioite clean, and went inand curtseyed to the Prince, who held out to her the golden shoe.Then she sat down on a stool, drew her foot out of the heavy
wooden shoe, and slipped it into the golden one, which fitted it per-fectly. And when she stood up, and the Prince looked in her face,he knew again the beautiful maiden that had danced with him, andhe cried, "This is the right bridel"
The step-mother and the two sisters were thunderstruck, and grewpale with anger; but he put Cinderella before him on his horse androde off. And as they passed the hazel bush, the two white pigeonscried,
"There they go, there they gotNo blood on her shoe;The shoe's not too small.The right bride is she after all."
And when they had thus cried, they came flying after and perchedon Cinderella's shoulders, one on the right, the other on the left,and so remained.
And when her wedding with the Prince was appointed to be heldthe false sisters came, hoping to curry favor, and to take part in thefestivities. So as the bridal procession went to the church, the eldestwalked on the right side and the younger on the left, and the pi-geons picked out an eye of each of them. And as they returned theelder was on the left side and the younger on the right, and the pi-geons picked out the other eye of each of them. And so they werecondemned to go blind for the rest of their days because of theirwickedness and falsehood.
Simeli Mountain
There weke once two brothers, the one rich, the other poor. Therich one, however, gave nothing to the poor one, and he gained ascanty living by trading in com, and often did so badly that he hadno bread for his wife and children. Once when he was wheeling abarrow through the forest he saw, on one side of him, a great, bare,naked-looking mountain, and as he had never seen it before, hestood still and stared at it with amazement.
While he was thus standing he saw twelve great, wild men com-ing towards him, and as he believed they were robbers he pushedhis barrow into the thicket, climbed up a tree, and waited to see
Simeli Mountain Sj
what would happen. The twelve men, however, went to the moun-tain and cried, "Semsi mountain, Semsi moimtain, open"; and im-mediately the barren mountain opened down the middle, and thetwelve went into it, and as soon as they were within, it shut. After ashort time, however, it opened again, and the men came forth car-rying heavy sacks on their shoulders, and when they were all oncemore in the daylight they said, "Semsi mountain, Semsi mountain,shut thyself; then the mountain closed together, and there was nolonger any entrance to be seen to it, and the twelve went away.
When they were quite out of sight the poor man got down fromthe tree, and was curious to know what really was secretly hiddenin the mountain. So he went up to it and said, "Semsi moimtain,Semsi mountain, open"; and the moimtain opened to him also. Thenhe went inside, and the whole mountain was a cavern full of silverand gold, and behind lay great piles of pearls and sparkling jewels,heaped up Hke com. The poor man hardly knew what to do, andwhether he might take any of these treasiu-es for himself or not; butat last he filled his pockets with gold, but he left the pearls and pre-cious stones where they were. When he came out again he alsosaid, "Semsi mountain, Semsi mountain, shut thyself"; and the moun-tain closed itself, and he went home with his barrow.
And now he had no more cause for anxiety, but could buy breadfor his wife and children with his gold, and wine into the bargain.He Hved joyously and uprightly, gave help to the poor, and didgood to every one. When, however, the money came to an end hewent to his brother, borrowed a measure that held a bushel, andbrought himself some more, but did not touch any of the most valu-able things. When for the third time he wanted to fetch something,he again borrowed the measure of his brother. The rich man had,however, long been envious of his brother's possessions, and of thehandsome way of living which he had set on foot, and could not xm-derstand from whence the riches came, and what his brotherwanted with the measure. Then he thought of a cunning trick, andcovered the bottom of the measure with pitch, and when he got themeasure back a piece of money was sticking in it.
He went at once to his brother and asked him, "What hast thoubeen measuring in the bushel measure?" "Com and barley," saidthe other. Then he showed him the piece of money, and threatenedthat if he did not tell the truth he would accuse him before a courtof justice. The poor man then told him everything, just as it hadhappened. The rich man, however, ordered his carriage to be madeready, and drove away, resolved to use the opportunity better than
his brother had done, and to bring back with him quite differenttreasures.
When he came to the mountain he cried, "Semsi mountain, Semsimoimtain, open." The mountain opened, and he went inside it.There lay the treasures all before him, and for a long time he didnot know which to clutch at first. At length he loaded himself withas many precious stones as he could carry. He wished to carry hisburden outside, but, as his heart and soul were entirely full of thetreasures, he had forgotten the name of the mountain, and cried,"Simeli moimtain, Simeli mountain, open." That, however, was notthe right name, and the mountain never stirred, but remained shut.Then he was alarmed, but the longer he thought about it the morehis thoughts confused themselves, and his treasures were no moreof any use to him.
In the evening the mountain opened, and the twelve robberscame in, and when they saw him they laughed, and cried out, "Bird,have we caught thee at lastl Didst thou think we had never noticedthat thou hadst been in here twice? We could not catch thee then;this third time thou shalt not get out again!" Then he cried, *Tt wasnot I, it was my brother," but let him beg for his life and say whathe would, they cut his head off.
The Glass CofEn
Let no one ever say that a poor tailor cannot do great things andwin high honors; all that is needed is that he should go to the rightsmithy, and what is of most consequence, that he should have goodluck. A civil, adroit tailor s apprentice once went out traveling, andcame into a great forest, and, as he did not know the way, he losthimself. Night fell, and nothing was left for him to do, but to seek abed in this painful solitude. He might certainly have found a goodbed on the soft moss, but the fear of wild beasts let him have norest there, and at last he was forced to make up his mind to spendthe night in a tree. He sought out a high oak, climbed up to the topof it, and thanked God that he had his goose with him, for other-wise the wind which blew over the top of the tree would havecarried him away.After he had spent some hours in the darkness, not without fear
and trembling, he saw at a very short distance the glimmer of alight, and as he thought that a human habitation might be there,where he would be better ofiE than on the branches of a tree, he gotcarefully down and went towards the light. It guided him to asmall hut that was woven together of reeds and rushes. He knockedboldly, the door opened, and by the light which came forth he sawa little hoary old man who wore a coat made of bits of colored stuffsewn together.
"Who are you, and what do you want?" asked the man in agrumbling voice, "l am a poor tailor," he answered, "whom nighthas surprised here in the wilderness, and I earnestly beg you totake me into your hut until morning." "Go your way," replied theold man in a surly voice, "I will have nothing to do with rascals.Seek shelter elsewhere." After these words he was about to shp intohis hut again, but the tailor held him so tightly by the comer of hiscoat, and pleaded so piteously, that the old man, who was not so ill-natured as he wished to appear, was at last softened, and took himinto the hut with him where he gave him something to eat, andthen pointed out to him a very good bed in a comer.
The weary tailor needed no rocking; but slept sweetly till morn-ing, but even then would not have thought of getting up, if he hadnot been aroused by a great noise. A violent sound of screamingand roaring forced its way through the thin walls of the hut. Thetailor, full of unwonted courage, jumped up, put his clothes on inhaste, and hurried out. Then close by the hut, he saw a great blackbull and a beautiful stag, which were just preparing for a violentstruggle. They rushed at each other with such extreme rage that theground shook with their trampKng, and the air resounded withtheir cries. For a long time it was uncertain which of the two wouldgain the victory; at length the stag thrust his horns into his adver-sary's body, whereupon the bull fell to the earth with a terrific roar,and was thoroughly despatched by a few strokes from the stag.
The tailor, who had watched the fight with astonishment, wasstill standing there motionless, when the stag in full career boundedup to him, and before he could escape, caught him up on his greathorns. He had not much time to collect his thoughts, for it went ina swift race over stock and stone, mountain and valley, wood andmeadow. He held with both hands to the tops of the horns, andresigned himself to his fate. It seemed to him, however, just as if hewere flying away. At length the stag stopped in front of a wall ofrock, and gently let the tailor down. The tailor, more dead thanalive, required a longer time than that to come to himself. When he
go GfimrrCs Complete Fairy Tales
had in some degree recovered, the stag, which had remained stand-ing by him, pushed its horns with such force against a door whichwas in the rock, that it sprang open. Flames of fire shot forth, afterwhich followed a great smoke, which hid the stag from his sight.
The tailor did not know what to do, or whither to turn, in order toget out of this desert and back to human beings again. While hewas standing thus undecided, a voice sounded out of the rock,which cried to him, "Enter without fear, no evil shall befall thee."He certainly hesitated, but driven by a mysterious force, he obeyedthe voice and went through the iron-door into a large spacious hall,whose ceiling, walls and floor were made of shining polished squarestones, on each of which were cut letters which were unknown tohim. He looked at everything full of admiration, and was on thepoint of going out again, when he once more heard the voice whichsaid to him, "Step on the stone which lies in the middle of the hall,and great good fortune awaits thee."
His courage had already grown so great that he obeyed theorder. The stone began to give way under his feet, and sank slowlydown into the depths. When it was once more firm, and the tailorlooked round, he found himself in a hall which in size resembledthe former. Here, however, there was more to look at and to ad-mire. Hollow places were cut in the walls, in which stood vases oftransparent glass which were filled with colored spirit or with abluish vapor. On the floor of the hall two great glass chests stoodopposite to each other, which at once excited his curiosity. Whenhe went to one of them he saw inside it a handsome structure like acastle surroimded by farm-buildings, stables and bams, and a quan-tity of other good things. Everything was small, but exceedinglycarefully and delicately made, and seemed to be cut out by a dex-terous hand with the greatest exactitude.
He might not have turned away his eyes from the considerationof this rarity for some time, if the voice had not once more made it-self heard. It ordered him to turn round and look at the glass chestwhich was standing opposite. How his admiration increased whenhe saw therein a maiden of the greatest beautyl She lay as if asleep,and was wrapped in her long fair hair as in a precious mantle. Hereyes were closely shut, but the brightness of her complexion and aribbon which her breathing moved to and fro, left no doubt thatshe was alive.
The tailor was looking at the beauty with beating heart, whenshe suddenly opened her eyes, and started up at the sight of him injoyful terror. "Just Heavenl" cried she, "my deliverance is at handl
The Glass Coffin 91
Quick, quick, help me out of my prison; if you push back the boltof this glass coflBn, then I shall be free." The tailor obeyed withoutdelay, and she immediately raised up the glass lid, came out andhastened into the comer of the hall, where she covered herself witha large cloak. Then she seated herself on a stone, ordered the youngman to come to her, and after she had imprinted a friendly kiss onhis lips, she said, "My long-desired deliverer, kind Heaven hasguided you to me, and put an end to my sorrows. On the self-sameday when they end, shall your happiness begin. You are the hus-band chosen for me by Heaven, and you shall pass your life in un-broken joy, loved by me, and rich to overflowing in every earthlypossession. Seat yourself and Hsten to the story of my life:
"I am the daughter of a rich count. My parents died when I wasstill in my tender youth, and recommended me in their last will tomy elder brother, by whom I was brought up. We loved each otherso tenderly, and were so alike in our way of thinking and our incli-nations, that we both embraced the resolution never to marry, butto stay together to the end of our Uves. In our house there was nolack of company; neighbors and friends visited us often, and weshowed the greatest hospitality to every one. So it came to pass oneevening that a stranger came riding to our castle, and, under pre-text of not being able to get on to the next place, begged for shelterfor the night. We granted his request with ready courtesy, and heentertained us in the most agreeable manner during supper by con-versation intermingled with stories. My brother liked the strangerso much that he begged him to spend a couple of days with us, towhich, after some hesitation, he consented. We did not rise fromtable imtil late in the night, the stranger was shown to a room, andI hastened, as I was tired, to lay my limbs in my soft bed.
"Hardly had I slept for a short time, when the sound of faint anddelightful music awoke me. As I could not conceive from whence itcame, I wanted to summon my waiting-maid who slept in the nextroom, but to my astonishment I found that speech was taken awayfrom me by an imknown force. I felt as if a mountain were weigh-ing down my breast, and was imable to make the very slightestsound. In the meantime, by the Hght of my night-lamp, I saw thestranger enter my room through two doors which were fast bolted.He came to me and said, that by magic arts which were at his com-mand, he had caused the lovely music to sound in order to awakenme, and that he now forced his way through all fastenings with theintention of offering me his hand and heart. My repugnance to hismagic arts was, however, so great that I vouchsafed him no answer.
He remained for a time standing without moving, apparently withthe idea of waiting for a favorable decision, but as I continued tokeep silence, he angrily declared he would revenge himself and findmeans to punish my pride, and left the room. I passed the night inthe greatest disquietude, and only feU asleep towards morning.When I awoke, I hmried to my brother, but did not find him in hisroom, and the attendants told me that he had ridden forth with thestranger to the chase by daybreak.
"I at once suspected nothing good. I dressed myself quickly, or-dered my palfrey to be saddled, and accompanied only by one ser-vant, rode full gallop to the forest. The servant fell with his horse,and could not follow me, for the horse had broken its foot. I pur-sued my way without halting, and in a few minutes I saw thestranger coming towards me vwth a beautiful stag which he led bya cord. I asked him where he had left my brother, and how he hadcome by this stag, out of whose great eyes I saw tears flowing. In-stead of answering me, he began to laugh loudly. I fell into a greatrage at this, pulled out a pistol and discharged it at the monster;but the ball rebounded from his breast and went into my horse'shead. I fell to the ground, and the stranger muttered some wordswhich deprived me of consciousness.
"When I came to my senses again I found myself in this under-ground cave in a glass coflBn. The magician appeared once again,and said he had changed my brother into a stag, my castle wdth allthat belonged to it, diminished in size by his arts, he had shut up inthe other glass chest, and my people, who were all turned intosmoke, he had confined in glass bottles. He told me that if I wouldnow comply v^dth his wish, it was an easy thing for him to put ev-erything back in its former state, as he had nothing to do but openthe vessels, and everything would return once more to its naturalform. I answered him as little as I had done the first time. Hevanished and left me in my prison, in which a deep sleep came onme. Among the visions which passed before my eyes, that was themost comforting in which a young man came and set me free, andwhen I opened my eyes today I saw you, and beheld my dreamfulfilled. Help me to accomplish the other things which happenedin those visions. The first is that we Hft the glass chest in which mycastle is enclosed, on to that broad stone."
As soon as the stone was laden, it began to rise up on high v^dththe maiden and the young man, and mounted through the openingof the ceiling into the upper hall, from whence they then could eas-ily reach the open air. Here the maiden opened the lid, and it was
marvelous to behold how the castle, the houses, and the farm build-ings which were enclosed, stretched themselves out and grew totheir natural size with the greatest rapidity. After this, the maidenand the tailor returned to the cave beneath the earth, and had thevessels which were filled with smoke carried up by the stone. Themaiden had scarcely opened the bottles when the blue smokerushed out and changed itself into living men, in whom she recog-nized her servants and her people. Her joy was still more increasedwhen her brother, who had killed the magician in the form of abuU, came out of the forest towards them in his human form. Andon the self-same day the maiden, in accordance vidth her promise,gave her hand at the altar to the lucky tailor.
Rapunzel
There once lived a man and his wife who had long wished for achild, but in vain. Now there was at the back of their house a littlewindow which overlooked a beautiful garden full of the finest vege-tables and flowers; but there was a high wall all round it, and noone ventmred into it, for it belonged to a witch of great might, andof whom all the world was afraid. One day when the vnfe wasstanding at the window, and looking into the garden, she saw a bedfiUed with the finest rampion; and it looked so fresh and green thatshe began to wish for some; and at length she longed for it greatly.This went on for days, and as she knew she could not get the ram-pion, she pined away, and grew pale and miserable.
Then the man was uneasy, and asked, "What is the matter, dearwife?" "Oh," answered she, "I shall die unless I can have some ofthat rampion to eat that grows in the garden at the back of ourhouse." The man, who loved her very much, thought to himself,"Rather than lose my wife I will get some rampion, cost what itwill."
So in the twilight he climbed over the wall into the witch's gar-den, plucked hastily a handful of rampion and brought it to hiswife. She made a salad of it at once, and ate of it to her heart's con-tent. But she liked it so much, and it tasted so good, that the nextday she longed for it thrice as much as she had done before; if shewas to have any rest the man must climb over the wall once more.
So he went in the twilight again; and as he was climbing back, hesaw, all at once, the witch standing before him, and was terriblyfrightened, as she cried, with angry eyes, "How dare you climbover into my garden like a thief, and steal my rampionl It shall bethe worse for youl"
"Oh," answered he, "be merciful rather than just; I have onlydone it through necessity; for my wife saw your rampion out of thewindow, and became possessed with so great a longing that shewould have died if she coidd not have had some to eat."
Then the witch said, "If it is all as you say, you may have asmuch rampion as you like, on one condition—the child that willcome into the world must be given to me. It shall go well with thechild, and I will care for it like a mother."
In his distress of mind the man promised everything; and whenthe time came when the child was bom the witch appeared, and,giving the child the name of Rapunzel (which is the same as ram-pion), she took it away with her.
Rapunzel was the most beautiful child in the world. When shewas twelve years old the witch shut her up in a tower in the midstof a wood, and it had neither steps nor door, only a small v/indowabove. When the witch wished to be let in, she would stand belowand would cry, "Rapimzel, Rapunzell Let down your hair!"
Rapunzel had beautiful long hair that shone like gold. When sheheard the voice of the v^dtch she would undo the fastening of theupper window, unbind the plaits of her hair, and let it downtwenty ells below, and the witch would chmb up by it.
After they had lived thus a few years it happened that as theKing's son was riding through the wood, he came to the tower; andas he drew near he heard a voice singing so sweetly that he stoodstill and listened. It was Rapimzel in her loneliness trying to passaway the time with sweet songs. The King's son wished to go in toher, and sought to find a door in the tower, but there was none. Sohe rode home, but the song had entered into his heart, and everyday he went into the wood and Hstened to it.
Once, as he was standing there under a tree, he saw the witchcome up, and listened while she called out, "Oh Rapunzel, Rapun-zell Let down your hair."
Then he saw how Rapunzel let down her long tresses, and howthe witch climbed up by them and went in to her, and he said tohimself, "Since that is the ladder, I will climb it, and seek my for-tune." And the next day, as soon as it began to grow dusk, he wentto the tower and cried, "Oh Rapimzel, Rapunzell Let down your
Rapunzel 95
hair." And she let down her hair, and the King's son climbed up byit.
Rapunzel was greatly terrified when she saw that a man hadcome in to her, for she had never seen one before; but the King'sson began speaking so kindly to her, and told how her singing hadentered into his heart, so that he could have no peace imtil he hadseen her herself. Then Rapunzel forgot her terror, and when heasked her to take him for her husband, and she saw that he wasyoung and beautiful, she thought to herself, "I certainly hke himmuch better than old mother Gothel," and she put her hand into hishand, saying, "I would willingly go with you, but I do not knowhow I shall get out. When you come, bring each time a silken rope,and I will make a ladder, and when it is quite ready I will getdown by it out of the tower, and you shall take me away on yourhorse."
They agreed that he should come to her every evening, as the oldwoman came in the day-time. So the witch knew nothing of all thisuntil once Rapunzel said to her unwittingly, "Mother Gothel, howis it that you climb up here so slowly, and the Bang's son is with mein a moment?"
"O wicked child," cried the witch, "what is this I hearl I thoughtI had hidden you from all the world, and you have betrayed mel"
In her anger she seized Rapunzel by her beautiful hair, struckher several times with her left hand, and then grasping a pair ofshears in her right—snip, snap—the beautiful locks lay on theground. And she was so hard-hearted that she took Rapunzel andput her in a waste and desert place, where she lived in great woeand misery.
The same day on which she took Rapunzel away she went backto the tower in the evening and made fast the severed locks of hairto the window-hasp, and the King's son came and cried, "Rapimzel,Rapunzell Let down your hair."
Then she let the hair down, and the King's son climbed up, butinstead of his dearest Rapunzel he foimd the witch looking at himwith wicked, glittering eyes.
"Aha!" cried she, mocking him, "you came for your darling, butthe sweet bird sits no longer in the nest, and sings no more; the cathas got her, and will scratch out your eyes as well! Rapunzel is lostto you; you will see her no more."
The King's son was beside himself with grief, and in his agony hesprang from the tower; he escaped with life, but the thorns on
which he fell put out his eyes. Then he wandered blind through thewood, eating nothing but roots and berries, and doing nothing butlament and weep for the loss of his dearest wife.
So he wandered several years in misery untQ at last he came tothe desert place where Rapunzel lived with her twin-children thatshe had borne, a boy and a girl. At first he heard a voice that hethought he knew, and when he reached the place from which itseemed to come Rapunzel knew him, and fell on his neck andwept. And when her tears touched his eyes they became clear again,and he could see with them as well as ever.
Then he took her to his kingdom, where he was received withgreat joy, and there they lived long and happily.
The Sleeping Beauty
In times past there Hved a King and Queen, who said to eachother every day of their lives, "Would that we had a child!" andyet they had none. But it happened once that when the Queen wasbathing, there came a frog out of the water, and he squatted on theground, and said to her, "Thy wish shall be fulfilled; before a yearhas gone by, thou shalt bring a daughter into the world."
And as the frog foretold, so it happened; and the Queen bore adaughter so beautiful that the King could not contain himself forjoy, and he ordained a great feast. Not only did he bid to it his rela-tions, friends, and acquaintances, but also the wise women, tbatthey might be kind and favorable to the child. There were thirteenof them in his kingdom, but as he had only provided twelve goldenplates for them to eat from, one of them had to be left out
However, the feast was celebrated with all splendor; and as itdrew to an end, the wise women stood forward to present to thechild their wonderful gifts: one bestowed virtue, one beauty, athird riches, and so on, whatever there is in the world to wish for.And when eleven of them had said their say, in came the uninvitedthirteenth, burning to revenge herself, and without greeting or re-spect, she cried with a loud voice, "In the fifteenth year of her agethe Princess shall prick herself with a spindle and shall fall downdead." And without speaking one more word she turned away andleft the hall.
The Sleeping Beauty 97
Every one was terrified at her saying, when the twelfth came for-ward, for she had not yet bestowed her gift, and though she couldnot do away with the evil prophecy, yet she could soften it, so shesaid, *The Princess shall not die, but fall into a deep sleep for ahundred years."
Now the King, being desirous of saving his child even from thismisfortune, gave commandment that all the spindles in his kingdomshould be burnt up.
The maiden grew up, adorned with all the gifts of the wisewomen; and she was so lovely, modest, sweet, and kind and clever,that no one who saw her could help loving her.
It happened one day, she being already fifteen years old, that theKing and Queen rode abroad; and the maiden was left behindalone in the castle. She wandered about into all the nooks andcomers, and into all the chambers and parlors, as the fancy tookher, till at last she came to an old tower. She climbed the narrowwinding stair which led to a little door, with a rusty key stickingout of the lock; she turned the key, and the door opened, and therein the little room sat an old woman with a spindle, diligently spin-ning her flax.
"Good day, mother," said the Princess, "what are you doing?" "Iam spinning," answered the old woman, nodding her head. "Whatthing is that that twists round so briskly?" asked the maiden, andtaking the spindle into her hand she began to spin; but no soonerhad she touched it than the evil prophecy was fulfilled, and shepricked her finger with it. In that very moment she fell back uponthe bed that stood there, and lay in a deep sleep, and this sleep fellupon the whole castle. The King and Queen, who had returned andwere in the great hall, fell fast asleep, and with them the wholecourt. The horses in their stalls, the dogs in the yard, the pigeons onthe roof, the flies on the wall, the very fire that flickered on thehearth, became still, and slept like the rest; and the meat on thespit ceased roasting, and the cook, who was going to puU the scul-Hon's hair for some mistake he had made, let him go, and went tosleep. And the wind ceased, and not a leaf fell from the trees aboutthe castle.
Then round about that place there grew a hedge of thornsthicker every year, until at last the whole castle was hidden fromview, and nothing of it could be seen but the vane on the roof. Anda rumor went abroad in aU that country of the beautiful sleepingRosamond, for so was the Princess called; and from time to timemany Kings* sons came and tried to force their way through the
hedge; but it was impossible for them to do so, for the thorns heldfast together like strong hands, and the young men were caught bythem, and not being able to get free, there died a lamentable death.
Many a long year afterwards there came a King's son into thatcountry, and heard an old man tell how there should be a castlestanding behind the hedge of thorns, and that there a beautifulenchanted Princess named Rosamond had slept for a hundredyears, and with her the King and Queen, and the whole court. Theold man had been told by his grandfather that many Kings' sonshad sought to pass the thorn-hedge, but had been caught andpierced by the thorns, and had died a miserable death. Then saidthe young man, "Nevertheless, I do not fear to try; I shall winthrough and see the lovely Rosamond." The good old msm tried todissuade him, but he would not listen to his words.
For now the hundred years were at an end, and the day hadcome when Rosamond should be awakened. When the Prince drewnear the hedge of thorns, it was changed into a hedge of beautifullarge flowers, which parted and bent aside to let him pass, and thenclosed behind him in a thick hedge. When he reached the castle-yard, he saw the horses and brindled hunting-dogs lying asleep,and on the roof the pigeons were sitting with their heads undertheir wings. And when he came indoors, the flies on the wall wereasleep, the cook in the Idtchen had his hand upHfted to strike thescuUion, and the kitchenmaid had the black fowl on her lap readyto pluck. Then he mounted higher, and saw in the hall the wholecourt lying asleep, and above them, on their thrones, slept the Kingand the Queen. And still he went farther, and all was so quiet thathe could hear his own breathing; and at last he came to the tower,and went up the winding stair, and opened the door of the littleroom where Rosamond lay.
And when he saw her looking so lovely in her sleep, he could notturn away his eyes; and presently he stooped and Idssed her, andshe awaked, and opened her eyes, and looked very kindly on him.And she rose, and they went forth together, the King and theQueen and whole court waked up, and gazed on each other withgreat eyes of wonderment. And the horses in the yard got up andshook themselves, the hounds sprang up and wagged their tails, thepigeons on the roof drew their heads from under their wings,looked round, and flew into the field, the flies on the wall crept on aHttle farther, the kitchen fire leapt up and blazed, and cooked themeat, the joint on the spit began to roast, the cook gave the scullion
Old Binhrank 99
such a box on the ear that he roared out, and the maid went onplucking the fowl.
Then the wedding of the Prince and Rosamond was held with allsplendor, and they lived very happily together untQ their lives' end.
Old Rinkrank
Thebe was once upon a time a King who had a daughter, and hecaused a glass-mountain to be made, and said that whosoever couldcross to the other side of it without falling should have his daughterto wife. Then there was one who loved the King's daughter, and heasked the King if he might have her. Tes,** said the King; "if youcan cross the mountain without falling, you shall have her." Andthe Princess said she would go over it with him, and would holdhim if he were about to fall.
So they set out together to go over it, and when they were half-way up the Princess sHpped and fell, and the glass-mountainopened and shut her up inside it, and her betrothed could not seewhere she had gone, for the mountain closed unmediately. Then hewept and lamented much, and the King was miserable too, and hadthe mountain broken open where she had been lost, and thought hewould be able to get her out again, but they could not find theplace into which she had fallen.
Meantime the King's daughter had fallen quite deep down intothe earth into a great cave. An old fellow with a very long graybeard came to meet her, and told her that if she would be his ser-vant and do everything he bade her, she might live; if not, hewould kill her. So she did all he bade her. In the mornings he tookhis ladder out of his pocket, and set it up against the moimtain andclimbed to the top by its help, and then he drew up the ladderafter him. The Princess had to cook his dinner, make his bed, anddo all his work, and when he came home again he always broughtwith him a heap of gold and silver. When she had lived with himfor many years, and had grown quite old, he called her MotherMansrot, and she had to call him Old Rinkrank. Then once whenhe was out, and she had made his bed and washed his dishes, sheshut the doors and windows aU fast, and there was one little windowthrough which the light shone in, and this she left open.
When Old Rinkrank came home, he knocked at his door, andcried, "Mother Mansrot, open the door for me." 'TSfo," said she,"Old Rinkrank, I will not open the door for you." Then he said,
"Here stand I, poor Rinkrank,On my seventeen long shanks.On my weary, worn-out foot,Wash my dishes. Mother Mansrot."
"l have washed your dishes already," said she. Then again hesaid,
"Here stand I, poor Rinkrank,On my seventeen long shanks.On my weary, worn-out foot,Make me my bed. Mother Mansrot."
*1 have made your bed already," said she. Then again he said,
"Here stand I, poor Rinkrank,On my seventeen long shanks.On my weary, worn-out foot.Open the door. Mother Mansrot."
Then he ran all round his house, and saw that the little windowwas open, and thought, "I will look in and see what she can beabout, and why she will not open the door for me." He tried topeep in, but could not get his head through because of his longbeard. So he first put his beard through the open window, but justas he had got it through. Mother Mansrot came by and pulled thewindow down with a cord which she had tied to it, and his beardwas shut fast in it. Then he began to cry most piteously, for it hurthim very much, and to entreat her to release him again. But shesaid not untQ he gave her the ladder with which he ascended themountain. Then, whether he woiild or not, he had to tell herwhere the ladder was. And she fastened a very long ribbon to thewindow, and then she set up the ladder, and ascended the moun-tain, and when she was at the top of it she opened the window.
She went to her father, and told him all that had happened toher. The King rejoiced greatly, and her betrothed was still there,and they went and dug up the mountain, and found Old Rinkrankinside it with all his gold and silver. Then the King had OldRinkrank put to death, and took all his gold and silver. The Piin-cess married her betrothed, and lived right happily in great luxuryand joy.
Near a great forest there lived a poor woodcutter and his wife andhis two children; the boy's name was Hansel and the girl's Gretel.They had very little to bite or to sup, and once, when there was^eat dearth in the land, the man could not even gain the dailybread.
As he lay in bed one night thinking of this, and tmiiing and toss-ing, he sighed heavily, and said to his wife, *What will become ofus? We cannot even feed our children; there is nothing left for our-selves."
"I will tell you what, husband," answered the wife; "we will takethe children early in the morning into the forest, where it isthickest; we will make them a fire, and we will give each of them apiece of bread, then we will go to our work and leave them alone;they will never find the way home again, and we shall be quit ofthem."
"No, wife," said the man, "1 cannot do that; I cannot find in myheart to take my children into the forest and to leave them therealone; the wild animals would soon come and devour them."
"O you fool," said she, "then we will aU foin: starve; you had bet-ter get the cofifins ready"—and she left him no peace until he con-sented.
"But I really pity the poor children," said the man.
The two children had not been able to sleep for hunger, and hadheard what their step-mother had said to their father. Gretel weptbitterly, and said to Hansel, "It is all over with us." "Do be quiet,Gretel," said Hansel, "and do not fret. I will manage something."
And when the parents had gone to sleep he got up, put on his lit-tle coat, opened the back door, and slipped out. The moon wasshining brightly, and the white flints that lay in front of the houseglistened like pieces of silver. Hansel stooped and filled the littlepocket of his coat as full as it would hold. Then he went backagain, and said to Gretel, "Be easy, dear little sister, and go to sleepquietly; God wiU not forsake us," and laid himself down again inhis bed.
When the day was breaking, and before the sim had risen, the
wife came and awakened the two children, saying, "Get up, youlazy bones; we are going into the forest to cut wood."
Then she gave each of them a piece of bread, and said, "That isfor dinner, and you must not eat it before then, for you will get nomore."
Gretel carried the bread under her apron, for Hansel had hispockets full of the flints. Then they set off all together on their wayto the forest. When they had gone a little way Hansel stood stilland looked back towards the house, and this he did again andagain, till his father said to him, "Hansel, what are you looking at?Take care not to forget your legs."
"O father," said Hansel, "I am looking at my Httle white kitten,who is sitting up on the roof to bid me good-bye."
"You young fool," said the woman, "that is not your Idtten, butthe sunshine on the chimney pot."
Of course Hansel had not been looking at his kitten, but hadbeen taking every now and then a flint from his pocket and drop-ping it on the road.
When they reached the middle of the forest the father told thechildren to collect wood to make a fire to keep them warm; andHansel and Gretel gathered brushwood enough for a little moun-tain; and it was set on fire, and when the flame was burning quitehigh the v^e said, "Now He dowm by the fire and rest yourselves,you children, and we vwU go and cut wood; and when we are readywe will come and fetch you."
So Hansel and Gretel sat by the fire, and at noon they each atetheir pieces of bread. They thought their father was in the wood allthe time, as they seemed to hear the strokes of the axe, but really itwas only a dry branch hanging to a withered tree that the windmoved to and fro. So when they had stayed there a long time theireyelids closed v^dth weariness, and they fell fast asleep.
When at last they woke it was night, and Gretel began to cry,and said, "How shall we ever get out of this wood?" But Hanselcomforted her, saying, "Wait a little while longer, imtil the moonrises, and then we can easily find the way home."
And when the full moon got up Hansel took his little sister by thehand, and followed the way where the flint stones shone like silver,and showed them the road. They walked on the whole nightthrough, and at the break of day they came to their father s house.They knocked at the door, and when the wife opened it and saw itwas Hansel and Gretel she said, "You naughty children, why didyou sleep so long in the wood? We thought you were never coming
home againr But the father was glad, for it had gone to his heart toleave them both in the woods alone.
Not very long after that there was again great scarcity in thoseparts, and the children heard their mother say at night in bed totheir father, "Everything is finished up; we have only half a loaf,and after that the tale comes to an end. The children must be oflF;we will take them farther into the wood this time, so that they shallnot be able to find the way back again; there is no other way tomanage."
The man felt sad at heart, and he thought, *Tt would be better toshare one's last morsel with one's children." But the wife would lis-ten to nothing that he said, but scolded and reproached him. Hewho says A must say B too, and when a man has given in once hehas to do it a second time.
But the children were not asleep, and had heard all the talk.When the parents had gone to sleep Hansel got up to go out andget more flint stones, as he did before, but the wife had locked thedoor, and Hansel could not get out; but he comforted his littlesister, and said, "Don't cry, Gretel, and go to sleep quietly, andGod wiU help us."
Early the next morning the wife came and pulled the childrenout of bed. She gave them each a little piece of bread—less than be-fore; and on the way to the wood Hansel crumbled the bread in hispocket, and often stopped to throw a crumb on the ground.
"Hansel, what are you stopping behind and staring for?" said thefather.
*1 am looking at my little pigeon sitting on the roof, to say good-bye to me," answered Hansel.
"You fool," said the wife, "that is no pigeon, but the morning srmshining on the chimney pots."
Hansel went on as before, and strewed bread crumbs all alongthe road.
The woman led the children far into the wood, where they hadnever been before in aU their lives. And agtiin there was a large firemade, and the mother said, "Sit still there, you children, and whenyou are tired you can go to sleep; we are going into the forest tocut wood, and in the evening, when we are ready to go home wewill come and fetch you."
So when noon came Gretel shared her bread with Hansel, whohad strewed his along the road. Then they went to sleep, and theevening passed, and no one came for the poor children. When theyawoke it was dark night, and Hansel comforted his Httle sister, and
said, "Wait a little, Gretel, until the moon gets up, then we shall beable to see the way home by the crumbs of bread that I have scat-tered along it."
So when the moon rose they got up, but they could jBnd nocrumbs of bread, for the birds of the woods and of the fields hadcome and picked them up. Hansel thought they might find the wayall the same, but they could not. They went on all that night, andthe next day from the morning until the evening, but they could notfind the way out of the wood, and they were very hungry, for theyhad nothing to eat but the few berries they could pick up. Andwhen they were so tired that they could no longer drag themselvesalong, they lay down under a tree and fell asleep.
It was now the third morning since they had left their father shouse. They were always trying to get back to it, but instead of thatthey only found themselves farther in the wood, and if help had notsoon come they would have starved. About noon they saw a prettysnow-white bird sitting on a bough, and singing so sweetly thatthey stopped to listen. And when he had finished the bird spreadhis wings and flew before them, and they followed after him untilthey came to a little house, and the bird perched on the roof, andwhen they came nearer they saw that the house was built of bread,and roofed with cakes, and the window was of transparent sugar.
"We will have some of this," said Hansel, "and make a fine meal.I will eat a piece of the roof, Gretel, and you can have some of thewindow—that will taste sweet."
So Hansel reached up and broke off a bit of the roof, just to seehow it tasted, and Gretel stood by the window and gnawed at it.Then they heard a thin voice call out from inside,
"Nibble, nibble, like a mouse,Who is nibbling at my house?"
And the children answered,
"Never mind.It is the wind"
And they went on eating, never disturbing themselves. Hansel, whofound that the roof tasted very nice, took down a great piece of it,and Gretel pulled out a large round window-pane, and sat her downand began upon it. Then the door opened, and an aged womancame out, leaning upon a crutch. Hansel and Gretel felt very fright-ened, and let fall what they had in dieir hands. The old woman,however, nodded her head, and said, "Ah, my dear children, how
Hansel and Gretel 105
come you here? You must come indoors and stay with me, you willbe no trouble."
So she took them each by the hand, and led them into her littlehouse. And there they found a good meal laid out, of milk andpancakes, with sugar, apples, and nuts. After that she showed themtwo little white beds, and Hansel and Gretel laid themselves downon them, and thought they were in heaven.
The old woman, although her behavior was so kind, was awicked witch, who lay in wait for children, and had built the littlehouse on purpose to entice them. When they were once inside sheused to kill them, cook them, and eat them, and then it was a feast-day with her. The witch's eyes were red, and she could not see veryfar, but she had a keen scent, hke the beasts, and knew very wellwhen human creatures were near. When she knew that Hansel andGretel were coming, she gave a spiteful laugh, and said triimi-phantly, "I have them, and they shall not escape mel"
Early in the morning, before the children were awake, she got upto look at them, and as they lay sleeping so peacefully with roundrosy cheeks, she said to herself, "What a fine feast I shall havel"
Then she grasped Hansel with her withered hand, and led himinto a little stable, and shut him up behind a grating; and call andscream as he might, it was no good. Then she went back to Greteland shook her, crying, "Get up, lazy bones; fetch water, and cooksomething nice for your brother; he is outside in the stable, andmust be fattened up. And when he is fat enough I will eat him."
Gretel began to weep bitterly, but it was no use, she had to dowhat the wicked witch bade her.
And so the best Idnd of victuals was cooked for poor Hansel,while Gretel got nothing but crab-shells. Each morning the oldwoman visited the little stable, and cried, "Hansel, stretch out yoiu:finger, that I may tell if you will soon be fat enough."
Hansel, however, used to hold out a Httle bone, and the oldwoman, who had weak eyes, could not see what it was, and suppos-ing it to be Hansel's finger, wondered very much that it was notgetting fatter. When four weeks had passed and Hansel seemed toremain so thin, she lost patience and could wait no longer.
"Now then, Gretel," cried she to the little girl; "be quick anddraw water; be Hansel fat or be he lean, tomorrow I must kill andcook him."
Oh what a grief for the poor little sister to have to fetch water,and how the tears flowed down over her cheeks 1 "Dear God, pray
help us!" cried she; "if we had been devoured by wild beasts in thewood at least we should have died together."
"Spare me your lamentations," said the old woman; "they are ofno avail."
Early next morning Gretel had to get up, make the fire, and fillthe kettle. "First we will do the baking," said the old woman; "Ihave heated the oven aheady, and kneaded the dough."
She pushed poor Gretel towards the oven, out of which theflames were already shining. "Creep in," said the witch, "and see ifit is properly hot, so that the bread may be baked."
And Gretel once in, she meant to shut the door upon her and lether be baked, and then she would have eaten her. But Gretel per-ceived her intention, and said, "1 don't know how to do it; howshall I get in?"
"Stupid goose," said the old woman, "the opening is big enough,do you see? I could get in myself!" and she stooped down and puther head in the oven's mouth. Then Gretel gave her a push, so thatshe went in farther, and she shut the iron door upon her, and putup the bar. Oh how frightfully she howled! But Gretel ran away,and left the wicked witch to bum miserably. Gretel went straight toHansel, opened the stable-door, and cried, "Hansel, we are free!the old witch is dead!"
Then out flew Hansel like a bird from its cage as soon as the dooris opened. How rejoiced they both were! How they fell each on theother's neck and danced about, and kissed each other! And as theyhad nothing more to fear they went over all the old witch's house,and in every comer there stood chests of pearls and precious stones.
"This is something better than flint stones," said Hansel, as hefilled his pockets; and Gretel, thinking she also would like to carrysomething home with her, filled her apron full.
"Now, away we go," said Hansel—"if we only can get out of thewitch's wood."
When they had joiuneyed a few hours they came to a great pieceof water. "We can never get across this," said Hansel, "I see nostepping-stones and no bridge." "And there is no boat either," saidGretel; "but here comes a white duck; if I ask her she will help usover." So she cried,
"Duck, duck, here we stand.Hansel and Gretel, on the land.Stepping-stones and bridge we lack.Carry us over on your nice white back"
The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean 107
And the duck came accordingly, and Hansel got upon her andtold his sister to come too. "No," answered Gretel, "that would betoo hard upon the duck; we can go separately, one after the other."
And that was how it was managed, and after that they went onhappily, until they came to the wood, and the way grew more andmore familiar, till at last they saw in the distance their father'shouse. Then they ran till they came up to it, rushed in at the door,and fell on their father's neck. The man had not had a quiet hoursince he left his children in the wood; but the wife was dead. Andwhen Gretel opened her apron the pearls and precious stones werescattered all over the room, and Hansel took one handful after an-other out of his pocket. Then was all care at an end, and they livedin great joy together.
Sing every one.
My story is done.
And look! round the house
There runs a little mouse.
He that can catch her before she scampers in
May make himself a fur-cap out of her skin.
The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean
There lived in a certain village a poor old woman who had col-lected a mess of beans, and was going to cook them. So she made afire on her hearth, and, in order to make it bmm better, she put in ahandful of straw. When the beans began to bubble in the pot, one ofthem fell out and lay, never noticed, near a straw which was alreadythere; soon a red-hot coal jumped out of the fire and joined thepair.
The straw began first, and said, "Dear friends, how do you comehere?" The coal answered, "I jumped out of the fire by great goodluck, or I should certainly have met with my death. I should havebeen burned to ashes." The bean said, "I too have come out of itwith a whole skin, but if the old woman had kept me in the pot Ishould have been cooked into a soft mass like my comrades."
"Nor should I have met with a better fate," said the straw; "theold woman has turned my brothers into fire and smoke, sixty of
them she took up at once and deprived of life. Very luckily I man-aged to slip through her fingers."
*What had we better do now?" said the coal. "1 think," answeredthe bean, "that as we have been so lucky as to escape with ourHves, we will join in good fellowship together, and, lest any morebad fortune should happen to us here, we vnll go abroad into for-eign lands."
The proposal pleased the two others, and forthwith they startedon their travels. Soon they came to a little brook, and as there wasno stepping-stone, and no bridge, they could not tell how they wereto get to the other side. The straw was struck with a good idea, andsaid, "I will lay myself across, so that you can go over me as if Iwere a bridgel"
So the straw stretched himself from one bank to the other, andthe coal, who was of an ardent nature, quickly trotted up to go overthe new-made bridge. When, however, she reached the middle, andheard the water rushing past beneath her, she was struck with ter-ror, and stopped, and could get no farther. So the straw began toget burnt, broke in two pieces, and fell in the brook; and the coalslipped down, hissing as she touched the water, and gave up theghost.
The bean, who had prudently remained behind on the bank,could not help laughing at the sight, and not being able to containherself, went on laughing so excessively that she burst. And nowwould she certainly have been undone for ever, i£ a tailor on histravels had not by good luck stopped to rest himself by the brook.As he had a compassionate heart, he took out needle and threadand stitched her together again. The bean thanked him in the mostelegant manner, but as he had sewn her up with black stitches, allbeans since then have a black seam.
The Death of the Hen
Once on a time the cock and the hen went to the nut mountain,and they agreed beforehand that whichever of them should find anut was to divide it with the other. Now the hen found a great bignut, but said nothing about it, and was going to eat it all alone, butthe kernel was such a fat one that she could not swallow it down,
The Death of the Hen 109
and it stuck in her throat, so that she was afraid she should choke.
"Cock!" cried she, "run as fast as you can and fetch me somewater, or I shall choke!"
So the cock ran as fast as he could to the brook, and said, "Brook,give me some water, the hen is up yonder choking with a big nutstuck in her throat." But the brook answered, 'Tirst run to thebride and ask her for some red silk."
So the cock ran to the bride and said, "Bride, give me some redsilk; the brook wants me to give him some red silk; I want him togive me some water, for the hen lies yonder choking with a big nutstuck in her throat."
But the bride answered, "First go and fetch me my garland thathangs on a wlUow." And the cock ran to the willow and puUed thegarland from the bough and brought it to the bride, and the bridegave him red silk, and he brought it to the brook, and the brookgave him water. So then the cock brought the water to the hen, butalas, it was too late; the hen had choked in the meanwhile, and laythere dead. And the cock was so grieved that he cried aloud, andaU the beasts came and lamented for the hen; and six mice built alittle wagon on which to carry the poor hen to her grave, and whenit was ready they harnessed themselves to it, and the cock drove.
On the way they met the fox. "Halloa, cock," cried he, "whereare you oflF to?" "To bury my hen," answered the cock. "Can Icome too?" said the fox. "Yes, if you follow behind," said the cock.
So the fox followed behind and he was soon joined by the wolf,the bear, the stag, the lion, and all the beasts in the wood. And theprocession went on till they came to a brook.
"How shall we get over?" said the cock. Now in the brook therewas a straw, and he said, "I will lay myself across, so that you maypass over on me." But when the six mice had got upon this bridge,the straw slipped and fell into the water and they all tumbled in andwere drowned. So they were as badly off as ever, when a coal cameup and said he would lay himself across and they might pass overhim; but no sooner had he touched the water than he hissed, wentout, and was dead. A stone, seeing this, was touched with pity, and,wishing to help the cock, he laid himself across the stream. And thecock drew the wagon with the dead hen in it safely to the otherside, and then began to draw the others who followed behindacross too, but it was too much for him, the wagon turned over, andall tumbled into the water one on the top of another, and weredrowned.
So the cock was left all alone with the dead hen, and he dug a
grave and laid her in it, and he raised a mound above her, and sathimself down and lamented so sore that at last he died. And so theywere all dead together.
The Rabbit's Bride
There was once a woman who lived with her daughter in a beauti-ful cabbage-garden; and there came a rabbit and ate up all the cab-bages. At last said the woman to her daughter, "Go into the gar-den, and drive out the rabbit."
"Shoo! shoo!" said the maiden; "don't eat up all our cabbages,little rabbit!" "Come, maiden," said the rabbit, "sit on my tail andgo with me to my rabbit-hutch." But the maiden would not.
Another day, back came the rabbit, and ate away at the cab-bages, until the woman said to her daughter, "Go into the garden,and drive away the rabbit."
"Shoo! shoo!" said the maiden; "don't eat up all our cabbages,little rabbit!" "Come, maiden," said the rabbit, "sit on my tail andgo with me to my rabbit-hutch." But the maiden would not.
Again, a third time back came the rabbit, and ate away at thecabbages, until the woman said to her daughter, "Go into the gar-den, and drive away the rabbit."
"Shoo! shoo!" said the maiden; "don't eat up all our cabbages,little rabbit!" "Come, maiden," said the rabbit, "sit on my tail andgo with me to my rabbit-hutch." And then the girl seated herself onthe rabbit's tail, and the rabbit took her to his hutch.
"Now," said he, "set to work and cook some bran and cabbage; Iam going to bid the wedding guests." And soon they were all col-lected. Would you like to know who they were? Well, I can onlytell you what was told to me. All the hares came, and the crowwho was to be the parson to marry them, and the fox for the clerk,and the altar was under the rainbow. But the maiden was sad, be-cause she was so lonely.
"Get up! get up!" said the rabbit, "the wedding folk are allmerry." But the bride wept and said nothing, and the rabbit wentaway, but very soon came back again. "Get up! get up!" said he,"the weddinc folk are waiting." But the bride said nothing, and therabbit went away.
Then she made a figure of straw, and dressed it in her ownclothes, and gave it a red mouth, and set it to watch the kettle ofbran, and then she went home to her mother. Back again came therabbit, saying, "Get upl get upl" and he went up and hit the strawfigmre on the head, so that it tumbled down.
And the rabbit thought that he had killed his bride, and he wentaway and was very sad.
The Hare and the Hedgehog
This story, my dear young folks, seems to be false, but it really istrue, for my grandfather, when relating it always used to say, "Itmust be true, my son, or else no one could tell it to you." The storyis as follows.
One Sunday morning about harvest time, just as the buckwheatwas in bloom, the sim was shining brightly in heaven, the east windwas blowing warmly over the stubble-fields, the larks were singingin the air, the bees buzzing among the buckwheat, the people wereall going in their Sunday clothes to chvuch, and all creatures werehappy, and the hedgehog was happy too.
The hedgehog, however, was standing by his door with his armsakimbo, enjoying the morning breezes, and slowly trilling a littlesong to himself, which was neither better nor worse than the songswhich hedgehogs are in the habit of singing on a blessed Sundaymorning. While he was thus singing half aloud to himself, it sud-denly occurred to him that while his wife was washing and dryingthe children, he might very well take a walk into the field, and seehow his turnips were going on. The turnips were, in fact, close be-side his house, and he and his family were accustomed to eat them,for which reason he looked upon them as his own. No sooner saidthan done. The hedgehog shut the house-door behind him, andtook the path to the field. He had not gone very far from home, andwas just turning round the sloe-bush which stands there outside thefield, to go up into the turnip-field, when he observed the hare, whohad gone out on business of the same kind, namely, to visit hiscabbages.
When the hedgehog caught sight of the hare, he bade him afriendly good morning. But the hare, who was in his own way a dis-
tingmshed gentleman, and frightfully haughty, did not return thehedgehog's greeting, but said to him, assimiing at the same time avery contemptuous manner, "How do you happen to be runningabout here in the field so early in the morning?" "1 am taking awalk," said the hedgehog. "A walk!" said the hare, with a smile. "Itseems to me that you might use your legs for a better purpose."This answer made the hedgehog furiously angry, for he can bearanything but an attack on his legs, just because they are crooked bynature.
So now the hedgehog said to the hare, "You seem to imaginethat you can do more with your legs than I with mine." "That isjust what I do think," said the hare. "That can be put to the test,"said the hedgehog. "I wager that if we run a race, I will outstripyou." "That is ridiculousi You with your short legs!" said the hare."But for my part I am willing, if you have such a monstrous fancyfor it. What shall we wager?" "A golden louis-d'or and a bottle ofbrandy," said the hedgehog. "Done," said the hare. "Shalce handson it, and then it may as well come off at once." "Nay," said thehedgehog, "there is no such great hurryl I am still fasting, I will gohome first, and have a little breakfast. In half an hour I will beback again at this place."
Hereupon the hedgehog departed, for the hare was quitesatisfied with this. On his way the hedgehog thought to himself,"The hare relies on his long legs, but I will contrive to get the betterof him. He may be a great man, but he is a very silly fellow, and heshall pay for what he has said." So when the hedgehog reachedhome, he said to his wife, "Wife, dress yourself quickly, you mustgo out to the field with me." "What is going on, then?" said hiswife. "I have made a wager with the hare, for a gold loms-d'or anda bottle of brandy. I am to nm a race with him, and you must bepresent." "Good heavens, husband," the wife now cried, "are youout of your mind? Have you completely lost your wits? What canmake you want to run a race with the hare?" "Hold your tongue,woman," said the hedgehog, "that is my affair. Don't begin to dis-cuss things which are matters for men. Be off, dress, and come withme." What could the hedgehog's wife do? She was forced to obeyhim, whether she liked it or not.
So when they had set out on their way together, the hedgehogsaid to his wife, "Now pay attention to what I am going to i>ay.Look you, I will make the long field our race-course. The hare shallrun in one furrow, and I in another, and we will begin to nm fromthe top. Now all that you have to do is to place yourself here below
The Hare and the Hedgehog 113
in the furrow, and when the hare arrives at the end of the furrowon the other side of you, you must cry out to him, 'I am here al-readyl'"
Then they reached the field, and the hedgehog showed his wifeher place, and then walked up the field. When he reached the top,the hare was aheady there. "Shall we start?" said the hare. "Cer-tainly," said the hedgehog. "Then both at once." So saying, eachplaced himself in his own furrow. The hare coimted, "Once, twice,thrice, and away!" and went off like a whirlwind down the field.The hedgehog, however, only ran about three paces, and then hestooped down in the furrow, and stayed quietly where he was.
When the hare therefore arrived in full career at the lower end ofthe field, the hedgehog's wife met him with the cry, "I am here al-readyl" The hare was shocked and wondered not a Httle. Hethought it was the hedgehog himself who was calling to him, forthe hedgehog's wife looked just like her husband. The hare, how-ever, thought to himself, "That has not been done fairly," andcried, "It must be run again, let us have it again." Once more hewent off like the wind in a storm, so that he seemed to fly. But thehedgehog's wife stayed quietly in her place. So when the harereached the top of the field, the hedgehog himseff cried out to him,"I am here already." The hare, however, quite beside himself withanger, cried, "It must be run again, we must have it again." "Allright," answered the hedgehog, "for my part we'll run as often asyou choose." So the hare ran seventy-three times more, and thehedgehog always held out against him, and every time the harereached either the top or the bottom, either the hedgehog or hiswife said, "1 am here already."
At the seventy-fourth time, however, the hare could no longerreach the end. In the middle of the field he fell to the ground, theblood streamed out of his mouth, and he lay dead on the spot. Butthe hedgehog took the louis-d'or which he had won and the bottleof brandy, called his wife out of the furrow, and both went hometogether in great deHght, and if they are not dead, they are livingthere still.
This is how it happened that the hedgehog made the hare runraces with him on the Buxtehude heath till he died, and since thattime no hare has ever had any fancy for nmning races with aBuxtehude hedgehog.
The moral of this story, however, is, firstly, that no one, howevergreat he may be, should permit himseff to jest at any one beneathhim, even ff he be only a hedgehog. And, secondly, it teaches, that
when a man marries, he should take a wife in his own position, wholooks just as he himself looks. So whosoever is a hedgehog let himsee to it that his wife is a hedgehog also, and so forth.
The Dog and the Sparrow
There was once a sheep-dog whose master behaved ill to him anddid not give him enough to eat, and when for hunger he could bearit no longer, he left his service very sadly. In the street he was metby a sparrow, who said, "Dog, my brother, why are you so sad?"
And the dog answered, "I am hungry and have nothing to eat."
Then said the sparrow, "Dear brother, come with me into thetown; I will give you plenty."
Then they went together into the town, and soon they came to abutcher's stall, and the sparrow said to the dog, "Stay here while Ireach you down a piece of meat," and he perched on the stall,looked round to see that no one noticed him, and packed, pulled,and dragged so long at a piece that lay near the edge of the boardthat at last it slid to the ground. The dog picked it up, ran with itinto a comer, and ate it up. Then said the sparrow, "Now comev^dth me to another stall, and I will get you another piece, so thatyour hunger may be satisfied."
When the dog had devoured a second piece the sparrow asked,"Dog, my brother, are you satisfied now?" "Yes, as to meat, I am,"answered he, "but I have had no bread."
Then said the sparrow, "That also shall you have; come withme." And he led him to a baker's stall and pecked at a few httlerolls imtil they fell to the ground, and as the dog still wanted more,they went to another stall farther on and got more bread.
When that was done the sparrow said, "Dog, my brother, are yousatisfied yet?" "Yes," answered he, "and now we will walk a littleoutside the town."
And they went together along the high road. It was warmweather, and when they had gone a Httle way the dog said, "1 amtired, and would like to go to sleep." "Well, do so," said the spar-row; "in the meanwhile I will sit near on a bough."
The dog laid himself in the road and fell fast asleep, and as helay there a wagoner came up with a wagon and three horses, laden
The Dog and the Sparrow 115
with two casks of wine. The sparrow, seeing that he was not goingto turn aside but kept in the beaten track, just where the dog lay,cried out, "Wagoner, take care, or you shall suffer for iti"
But the wagoner, muttering, "What harm can you do to me?"cracked his whip and drove his wagon over the dog, and he wascrushed to death by the wheels. Then the sparrow cried, "You havekilled the dog my brother, and it shall cost you horses and cart!""OhI horses and cart!" said the wagoner, "what harm can you dome, I should like to know?" and drove on.
The sparrow crept under the covering of the wagon and peckedat the bung-hole of one of the casks until the cork came out, and allthe wine ran out without the wagoner noticing. After a while, look-ing round, he saw that something dripped from the wagon, and onexamining the casks he found that one of them was empty, and hecried out, "I am a ruined man!"
"Not ruined enough yet!" said the sparrow, and flying to one ofthe horses he perched on his head and pecked at his eyes. Whenthe wagoner saw that he took out his axe to hit the sparrow, who atthat moment flew aloft, and the wagoner, missing him, struck thehorse on the head, so that he fell down dead. "Oh, I am a ruinedman!" cried he.
"Not ruined enough yet!" said the sparrow, and as the wagonerdrove on with the two horses that were left, the sparrow creptagain under the wagon-covering and pecked the cork out of thesecond cask, so that aU the wine leaked out. When the wagoner be-came aware of it, he cried out again, "Oh! I am a ruined man!"
But the sparrow answered, "Not rmned enough yet!" and perchedon the second horse's head and began pecking at his eyes. Back ranthe wagoner and raised his axe to strike, but the sparrow flying aloft,the stroke fell on the horse, so that he was killed. "Oh! I am a ruinedman!" cried the wagoner.
"Not ruined enough yet!" said the sparrow, and perching on thethird horse began pecking at his eyes. The wagoner struck out inhis anger at the sparrow without taking aim, and missing him, helaid his third horse dead. "Oh! I am a ruined man!" he cried.
"Not ruined enough yet!" answered the sparrow, flying off; "Iwill see to that at home."
So the wagoner had to leave his wagon standing, and went homefull of rage. "Oh!" said he to his wife, "what ill-luck I have had!The wine is spilt, and the horses are all three dead."
"Oh husband!" answered she, "such a terrible bird has come tothis house; he has brought with him all the birds of the air, and
there they are in the midst of our wheat, devouring it." And helooked and there were thousands upon thousands of birds sitting onthe ground, having eaten up all the wheat, and the sparrow in themidst, and the wagoner cried, "Oh! I am a ruined man!"
"Not ruined enough yet!" answered the sparrow. "Wagoner, itshall cost you your life!" and he flew away.
Now the wagoner, having lost everything he possessed, went in-doors and sat down, angry and miserable, behind the stove. Thesparrow was perched outside on the window-sill, and cried, "Wag-oner, it shall cost you your Ufe!"
Then the wagoner seized his axe and threw it at the sparrow, butit broke the window sash in two and did not touch the sparrow,who now hopped inside, perched on the stove, and cried, "Wag-oner, it shall cost you your Ufe!" and he, mad and blind with rage,beat in the stove, and as the sparrow flew from one spot to another,hacked everything in pieces—furniture, looking-glasses, benches,table, and the very walls of his house—and yet did not touch thesparrow.
At last he caught and held him in his hand.
"Now," said his v^dfe, "shall I not kill him?" "No!" cried he,"that were too easy a death; I wiU swallow him," and as the birdwas fluttering in the man's mouth, it stretched out its head, saying,"Wagoner, it shall cost you your life!"
Then the wagoner reached the axe to his wife saying, "Wife,strike me this bird dead."
The wife struck, but missed her aim, and the blow fell on thewagoner's head, and he dropped down dead.
But the sparrow flew over the hills and away.
Old Sultan
There was once a peasant who owned a faithful dog called Sultan,now grown so old that he had lost aU his teeth, and could lay holdof nothing. One day the man was standing at the door of his housewith his wife, and he said, "I shall Idll old Sultan tomorrow; he isof no good any longer."
His wife felt sorry for the poor dog, and answered, "He has
Old Sultan 117
served us for so many years, and has kept with us so faithfully; hedeserves food and shelter in his old age."
"Dear me, you do not seem to understand the matter," said thehusband; "he has never a tooth, and no thief would mind him inthe least, so I do not see why he should not be made away with. Ifhe has served us well, we have given him plenty of good food."
The poor dog, who was lying stretched out in the sun not far off,heard all they said, and was very sad to think that the next daywould be his last. He bethought him of his great friend the wolf,and slipped out in the evening to the wood to see him, and relatedto him the fate that was awaiting him.
"Listen to me, old fellow," said the wolf; "he of good courage, Iwill help you in your need. I have thought of a way. Early tomor-row morning your master is going hay-making with his wife, andthey will take their child with them, so that no one will be left athome. They will be sure to lay the child in the shade behind thehedge while they are at work; you must He by its side, just as if youwere watching it. Then I will come out of the wood and steal awaythe child and you must rush after me, as if to save it from me. ThenI must let it faU, and you must bring it back again to its parents, whowill think that you have saved it, and will be much too grateful todo you any harm. On the contrary, you will be received into fullfavor, and they will never let you want for anything again."
The dog was pleased with the plan, which was carried out ac-cordingly. When the father saw the wolf running away with hischild he cried out, and when old Sultan brought it back again, hewas much pleased with him, and patted him, saying, "Not a hair ofhim shall be touched; he shaU have food and shelter as long as helives." And he said to his wife, "Go home directly and make somegood stew for old Sultan, something that does not need biting; andget the piUow from my bed for him to lie on."
From that time old Sultan was made so comfortable that he hadnothing left to wish for.
Before long the wolf paid him a visit, to congratulate him that allhad gone so well. "But, old fellow," said he, "you must wink at mymaking off by chance with a fat sheep of your master's; perhapsone will escape some fine day." "Don't reckon on that," answeredthe dog; "I cannot consent to it; I must remain true to my master."
But the wolf, not supposing it was said in earnest, came sneakingin the night to carry off the sheep. But the master, who had beenwarned by the faithful Sultan of the wolfs intention, was waiting
for him, and gave him a fine hiding with the threshing-flail. So thewolf had to make his escape, calling out to the dog, "You shall payfor this, you traitorl"
The next morning the wolf sent the wild boar to call out the dog,and to appoint a meeting in the wood to receive satisfaction fromhim. Old Sultan could find no second but a cat with three legs, andas they set off together, the poor thing went limping along, holdingher tail up in the air. The wolf and his second were already on thespot. When they saw their antagonists coming, and caught sight ofthe elevated tail of the cat, they thought it was a saber they werebringing with them. And as the poor thing came limping on threelegs, they supposed it was lifting a big stone to throw at them. Thisfrightened them very much; the wild boar crept among the leaves,and the wolf clambered up into a tree. And when the dog and catcame up, they were surprised not to see any one there. However,the wild boar was not perfectly hidden in the leaves, and the tips ofhis ears peeped out. And when the cat caught sight of one, shethought it was a mouse, and sprang upon it, seizing it with herteeth. Out leaped the wild boar with a dreadful cry, and ran awayshouting, "There is the culprit in the treel"
And the dog and the cat, looking up, caught sight of the wolf,who came down, quite ashamed of his timidity, and made peacewith the dog once more.
Mr. Korbes
A COCK and a hen once wanted to go on a journey together. So thecock built a beautiful carriage with four red wheels, and heharnessed four little mice to it. And the cock and the hen got intoit, and were driven off. Very soon they met a cat, who asked wherethey were going. The cock answered,
"On Mr. Korbes a call to pay.And that is where we go todayr
"Take me with you," said the cat.
The cock answered, "Very well, only you must sit well back, andthen you will not fall forward.
The Vagabonds iig
"And pray take careOf my red wheels there;And wheels he steady.And mice he readyOn Mr. Korhes a call to pay.For that is where we go today!"
Then there came up a mill-stone, then an egg, then a duck, then apin, and lastly a needle, who all got up on the carriage, and werediiven along. But when they came to Mr. Korbes's house he wasnot at home. So the mice drew the carriage into the bam, the cockand the hen flew up and perched on a beam, the cat sat by thefireside, the duck settled on the water; but the egg wrapped itselfin the towel, the pin stuck itself in the chair cushion, the needlejumped into the bed among the pillows, and the miU-stone laid it-self by the door.
Then Mr. Korbes came home, and went to the hearth to make afire, but the cat threw ashes in his eyes. Then he ran quickly intothe kitchen to wash himself, but the duck splashed water in hisface. Then he was going to wipe it with the towel, but the eggbroke in it, and stuck his eyelids together. In order to get a littlepeace he sat down in his chair, but the pin ran into him, and, start-ing up, in his vexation he threw himself on the bed, but as hishead fell on the pillow, in went the needle, so that he called outwith the pain, and madly rushed out. But when he reached thehousedoor the mill-stone jumped up and struck him dead.
What a bad man Mr. Korbes must have beenl
The Vagabonds
Tee cocx said to the hen, 'It is nutting time; let us go together tothe mountains and have a good feast for once, before the squirrelscome and carry all away." "Yes," answered the hen, "come along;we will have a jolly time together."
Then they set off together to the mountains, and as it was a fineday they stayed there till the evening. Now whether it was thatthey had eaten so much, or because of their pride and haughtiness,I do not know, but they would not go home on foot; so the cock setto work to make a little carriage out of nutshells. When it was
ready, the hen seated herself in it, and said to the cxjck, *T>Iow youcan harness yourself to it."
^That's all very fine," said the cock, *1 would sooner go home onfoot than do such a thing, and I never agreed to it. I don't mindbeing coachman, and sitting on the box; but as to drawing it my-self, it's quite out of the question."
As they were wrangling, a duck came quacking, "You thievingvagabonds, who told you you might go to my mountain? Look out,or it will be the worse for youl" And she flew at the cock with billwide open. But the cock was not backward, and he gave the duck agood dig in the body, and hacked at her with his spurs so valiantlyttiat she begged for mercy, and willingly aUowed herself to beharnessed to the carriage. Then the cock seated himself on the boxand was coachman; so off they went at a great pace, the cock cry-ing out "Run, duck, as fast as you cani"
When they had gone a part of the way they met two foot-pas-sengers—a pin and a needle. They cried "Stop! stopl" and said thatit would soon be blindman's holiday; that they could not go a stepfarther; that the ways were very muddy; might they just get in fora Httle? They had been standing at the door of the tailors' house ofcall and had been delayed because of beer.
The cock, seeing they were slender folks that would not take upa great deal of room, let them both step in, only they must promisenot to tread on his toes nor on the hen's.
Late in the evening they came to an inn, and there they foundthat they could not go any farther that night, as the duck's paceswere not good—she waddled so much from side to side—so theyturned in. The landlord at first made some difficulty; his house wasfull already, and he thought they had no very distinguished appear-ance. At last, however, when they had made many fine speeches,and had promised him the egg that the hen had laid on the way,and that he should keep the duck, who laid one every day, heagreed to let them stay the night; and so they had a very gay time.
Early in the morning, when it was beginning to grow light, andeverybody was still asleep, the cock waked up the hen, fetched theegg, and made a hole in it, and they ate it up between them, andput the eggshell on the hearth. Then they went up to the needle,who was still sleeping, picked him up by his head, and stuck him inthe landlord's chair-cushion, and, having also placed the pin in histowel, off they flew over the hills and far away. The duck, who hadchosen to sleep in the open air, and had remained in the yard,heard the rustling of their wings, and, waking up, looked about till
The Owl 121
she found a brook, down which she swam a good deal faster thanshe had drawn the carriage.
A few hours later the landlord woke, and, leaving his feather-bed,began washing himself; but when he took the towel to dry himselfhe drew the pin all across his face, and made a red streak from earto ear. Then he went into the kitchen to light his pipe, but when hestooped towards the hearth to take up a coal the eggshell flew inhis eyes.
"Everything goes wrong this morning," said he, and let himselfdrop, full of vexation, into his grandfather's chair; but up hejumped in a moment, crying, "Oh dear!" for the needle had goneinto him.
Now he became angry, and had his suspicions of the guests whohad arrived so late the evening before; and when he looked roundfor them they were nowhere to be seen.
Then he swore that he would never more harbor such vagabonds,that consumed so much, paid nothing, and played such nasty tricksinto the bargain.
The Owl
Twa.0R THREE hundred years ago, when people were far from beingso crafty and cunning as they are nowadays, an extraordinary eventtook place in a Uttle town. By some mischance one of the greatowls, called homed owls, had come from the neighboring woodsinto the bam of one of the townsfolk in the night-time, and whenday broke did not dare to venture forth again from her retreat, forfear of the other birds, which raised a terrible outcry whenever sheappeared.
In the morning when the manservant went into the bam to fetchsome straw, he was so mightily alarmed at the sight of the owl sit-ting there in a comer, that he ran away and announced to hismaster that a monster, the like of which he had never set eyes onin his life, and which could devour a man without the slightestdifficulty, was sitting in the bam, rolling its eyes about in its head."I know you already," said the master, "you have courage enoughto chase a blackbird about the fields, but when you see a dead henlying, you have to get a stick before you go near it. I must go and
see for myself what kind of a monster it is," added the master, andwent quite boldly into the granary and looked round him. When,however, he saw the strange grim creature with his own eyes, hewas no less terrified than the servant had been. With two boundshe sprang out, ran to his neighbors, and begged them imploringlyto lend him assistance against an unknown and dangerous beast, orelse the whole town might be in danger if it were to break loose outof the bam, where it was shut up.
A great noise and clamor arose in all the streets, the townsmencame armed with spears, hay-forks, scythes, and axes, as if theywere going out against an enemy; finally, the senators appearedwith the burgomaster at their head. When they had drawn up inthe market-place, they marched to the bam, and surrounded it onall sides. Thereupon one of the most courageous of them steppedforth and entered with his spear lowered, but came miming out im-mediately afterwards with a shriek, and as pale as death, and couldnot utter a single word. Yet two others ventured in, but they faredno better.
At last one stepped forth, a great strong man who was famous forhis warlike deeds, and said, "You will not drive away the monsterby merely looking at him; we must be in earnest here, but I see thatyou have all turned into women, and not one of you dares to en-coimter the animal." He ordered them to give him some armor, hada sword and spear brought, and armed himself. All praised hiscourage, though many feared for his life. The two barn-doors wereopened, and they saw the owl, which in the meantime had perchedherself on the middle of a great cross-beam. He had a ladderbrought, and when he raised it, and made ready to climb up, theyall cried out to him that he was to bear himself bravely, and com-mended him to St. George, who slew the dragon. When he had justgot to the top, and the owl perceived that he had designs onher, and was also bewildered by the crowd and the shouting, andknew not how to escape, she rolled her eyes, ruflBled her feather,flapped her wings, snapped her beak, and cried, "Tuwhit, tuwhoo,"in a harsh voice. "Strike home! strike home!" screamed the crowdoutside to the valiant hero. "Any one who was standing where I amstanding," answered he, "would not cry 'strike home!'" He certainlydid plant his foot one rung higher on the ladder, but then he beganto tremble, and half-fainting, went back again.
And now there was no one left who dared to put himself in suchdanger. "The monster," said they, "has poisoned and mortallywounded the very strongest man among us, by snapping at him and
just breathing on him! Are we, too, to risk our lives?" They tookcounsel as to what they ought to do to prevent the whole townbeing destroyed. For a long time everything seemed to be of nouse, but at length the burgomaster found an expedient. "My opin-ion," said he, "is that we ought, out of the common purse, to payfor this bam, and whatsoever com, straw, or hay it contains, andthus indemnify the owner, and then bum down the whole building,and the terrible beast with it. Thus no one will have to endangerhis life. This is no time for thinking of expense, and niggardlinesswould be ill applied." All agreed with him. So they set fire to thebam at aU four comers, and with it the owl was miserably burnt.Let any one who will not believe it, go thither and inquire for him-self.
The Bremen Town Musicians
Thebe was once an ass whose master had made him carry sacks tothe mill for many a long year, but whose strength began at last tofail, so that each day as it came, found him less capable of work.Then his master began to think of turning him out, but the ass,guessing that something was in the wind that boded him no good,ran away, taking the road to Bremen; for there he thought he mightget an engagement as town musician.
When he had gone a little way he found a hoimd lying by theside of the road panting, as if he had run a long way. "Now,Holdfast, what are you so out of breath about?" said the ass.
"Oh dear!" said the dog, "now I am old, I get weaker every day,and can do no good in the hunt, so, as my master was going to haveme killed, I have made my escape; but now how am I to gain ahving?"
"I will tell you what," said the ass, *1 am going to Bremen to be-come town musician. You may as well go with me, and take upmusic too. I can play the lute, and you can beat the drum." And thedog consented, and they walked on together.
It was not long before they came to a cat sitting in the road, look-ing as dismal as three wet days. "Now then, what is the matterwith you, old shaver?" said the ass.
*T should like to know who would be cheerful when his neck is
in danger?" answered the cat. "Now that I am old my teeth are get-ting blunt, and I would rather sit by the oven and purr than runabout after mice, and my mistress wanted to drown me, so I tookmyself off; but good advice is scarce, and I do not know what is tobecome of me."
"Go with us to Bremen," said the ass, "and become town musi-cian. You understand serenading." The cat thought well of the idea,and went with them accordingly.
After that the three travelers passed by a yard, and a cock wasperched on the gate crowing with all his might. "Your cries areenough to pierce bone and marrow," said the ass; "what is thematter?"
"I have foretold good weather for Lady-day, so that all the shirtsmay be washed and dried; and now on Sunday morning company iscoming, and the mistress has told the cook that I must be made intosoup, and this evening my neck is to be wnmg, so that I am crow-ing with all my might while I can."
"You had much better go with us. Chanticleer," said the ass."We are going to Bremen. At any rate that will be better thandying. You have a powerful voice, and when we are all performingtogether it will have a very good effect." So the cock consented, andthey went on all four together.
But Bremen was too far off to be reached in one day, and to-wards evening they came to a wood, where they determined to passthe night. The ass and the dog lay down under a large tree; the catgot up among the branches; and the cock flew up to the top, as thatwas the safest place for him. Before he went to sleep he looked allround him to the four points of the compass, and perceived in thedistance a little Hght shining, and he called out to his companionsthat there must be a house not far off, as he could see a Hght, sothe ass said, "We had better get up and go there, for these are un-comfortable quarters." The dog began to fancy a few bones, notquite bare, would do him good. And they all set off in the directionof the Hght, and it grew larger and brighter, until at last it led themto a robber's house, all Hghted up. The ass, being the biggest, wentup to the window, and looked in.
"Well, what do you see?" asked the dog. "What do I see?" an-swered the ass; "here is a table set out with splendid eatables anddrinkables, and robbers sitting at it and making themselves verycomfortable." "That would just suit us," said the cock. "Yes, in-deed, I wish we were there," said the ass.
Then they consulted together how it should be managed so as to
The Bremen Town Musicians 125
get the robbers out of the house, and at last they hit on a plan. Theass was to place his fore-feet on the window-sill, the dog was to geton the ass's back, the cat on the top of the dog, and lastly, the cockwas to fly up and perch on the cat's head. When that was done, at agiven signal they all began to perform their music. The ass brayed,the dog barked, the cat mewed, and the cock crowed; then theyburst through into the room, breaking all the panes of glass. Therobbers fled at the dreadful sound; they thought it was some gob-lin, and fled to the wood in the utmost terror. Then the four com-panions sat down to table, made free with the remains of the meal,and feasted as if they had been hungry for a month. And whenthey had finished they put out the lights, and each sought out asleeping-place to suit his nature and habits. The ass laid himselfdown outside on the dunghill, the dog behind the door, the cat onthe hearth by the warm ashes, and the cock settled himself in thecockloft; and as they were all tired with their long journey theysoon fell fast asleep.
When midnight drew near, and the robbers from afar saw thatno light was burning, and that everything appeared quiet, theircaptain said to them that he thought that they had run away with-out reason, telling one of them to go and reconnoitre. So one ofthem went, and found everything quite quiet. He went into thekitchen to strike a light, and taking the glowing fiery eyes of the catfor burning coals, he held a match to them in order to kindle it. Butthe cat, not seeing the joke, flew into his face, spitting and scratch-ing. Then he cried out in terror, and ran to get out at the back door,but the dog, who was lying there, ran at him and bit his leg; and ashe was rushing through the yard by the dunghill the ass struck outand gave him a great kick with his hindfoot; and the cock, who hadbeen wakened with the noise, and felt quite brisk, cried out, "Cock-a-doodle-dool"
Then the robber got back as well as he could to bis captain, andsaid, "Oh dearl in that house there is a gruesome witch, and I felther breath and her long nails in my face; and by the door therestands a man who stabbed me in the leg with a knife; and in theyard there lies a black specter, who beat me with his wooden club;and above, upon the roof, there sits the justice, who cried, 'Bringthat rogue here!' And so I ran away from the place as fast as Icould."
From that time forward the robbers never ventured to thathouse, and the four Bremen town musicians found themselves so
well off where they were, that there they stayed. And the personwho last related this tale is still living, as you see.
The Wonderful Musician
A WONDERFUL musician was walking through a forest, thinking ofnothing in particular. When he had nothing more left to thinkabout, he said to himself, "I shall grow tired of being in this wood,so I will bring out a good companion."
He took the fiddle that hung at his back and fiddled so that thewood echoed. Before long a wolf came through the thicket andtrotted up to him.
"Oh, here comes a wolfl I had no particular wish for such com-pany," said the musician. But the wolf drew nearer, and said tohim, "Ho, you musician, how finely you playl I must learn how toplay too." "That is easily done," answered the musician; "you haveonly to do exactly as I tell you." "Oh musician," said the wolf, "Iwill obey you, as a scholar does his master."
The musician told him to come vwth him. As they went a part ofthe way together they came to an old oak tree, which was hollowv^thin and cleft through the middle. "Look here," said the musi-cian, "if you want to learn how to fiddle, you must put your fore-feet in this cleft."
The wolf obeyed, but the musician took up a stone and quicklywedged both his paws with one stroke, so fast, that the wolf was aprisoner, and there obliged to stop. "Stay there imtil I come backagain," said the musician, and went his way.
After a while he said again to himself, "I shall grow weary herein this wood; I will bring out another companion"; and he took hisfiddle and fiddled away in the wood. Before long a fox came slink-ing through the trees.
"Oh, here comes a fox!" said the musician; "I had no particularwish for such company."
The fox came up to him and said, "Oh my dear musician, howfinely you play! I must learn how to play too." "That is easilydone," said the musician; "you have only to do exactly as I teUyou." "Oh musician," answered the fox, "I will obey you, as ascholar his master."
The Wonderful Musician 127
"Follow me," said the musician; and as they went a part of theway together they came to a footpath with a high hedge on eachside. Then the musician stopped, and taking hold of a hazel-branchbent it down to the earth, and put his foot on the end of it; then hebent down a branch from the other side, and said, "Come on, littlefox, if you wish to learn something, reach me your left fore-foot."
The fox obeyed, and the musician bound the foot to the left-handbranch. "Now, little fox," said he, "reach me the right one"; then hebound it to the right-hand branch. And when he had seen that theknots were fast enough he let go, and the branches flew back andcaught up the fox, shaking and struggling, in the air. "Wait thereuntil I come back again," said the musician, and went his way.
By and by he said to himself, "I shall grow weary in this wood; Iwill bring out another companion." So he took his fiddle, and thesound echoed through the wood. Then a hare sprang out beforehim. "Oh, here comes a harel" said he; "that's not what I want."
"Ah, my dear musician," said the hare, "how finely you playl Ishould like to learn how to play too." "That is soon done," said themusician, "only you must do whatever I tell you."
"Oh musician," answered the hare, "1 will obey you, as a scholarhis master."
So they went a part of the way together, \mtil they came to aclear place in the wood where there stood an aspen tree. The musi-cian tied a long string round the neck of the hare, and knotted theother end of it to the tree.
"Now then, courage, little harel Run twenty times round thetreel" cried the musician, and the hare obeyed. As he ran round thetwentieth time the string had woimd twenty times round the treetrunk and the hare was imprisoned, and puU and tug as he wouldhe only cut his tender neck with the string. "Wait there until Icome back again," said the musician, and walked on.
The wolf meanwhile had struggled, and pulled, and bitten at thestone, and worked away so long, that at last he made his paws freeand got himself out of the cleft. Full of anger and fury he hastenedafter the musician to tear him to pieces.
When the fox saw him run by he began groaning, and cried outwith all his might, "Brother wolf, come and help me! The musicianhas betrayed me." The wolf then pulled the branches down, bit theknots in two, and set the fox free, and he went with him to takevengeance on the musician. They found the imprisoned hare, andset him likewise free, and then they all went on together to seektheir enemy.
The musician had once more played his fiddle, and this time hehad been more fortmiate. The sound had reached the ears of a poorwood-cutter, who immediately, and in spite of himself, left hiswork, and, with his axe under his arm, came to Hsten to the music.
"At last here comes the right sort of companion," said the musi-cian; "it was a man I wanted, and not wild animals." And then hebegan to play so sweetly that the poor man stood as if enchanted,and his heart was filled with joy. And as he was standing there upcame the wolf, the fox, and the hare, and he could easily see thatthey meant mischief. Then he raised his shining axe, and stood infront of the musician, as if to say, "Whoever means harm to himhad better take care of himself, for he will have to deal with me I"
Then the animals were frightened, and ran back into the wood,and the musician, when he had played once more to the man toshow his gratitude, went on his way.
The Mouse, the Bird, and the Sausage
Once on a time, a mouse and a bird and a sausage hved and kepthouse together in perfect peace among themselves, and in greatprosperity. It was the bird's business to fly to the forest every dayand bring back wood; the mouse had to draw the water, make thefire, and set the table; and the sausage had to do the cooking.Nobody is content in this world; much will have morel One day thebird met another bird on the way, and told him of his excellentcondition in life. But the other bird called him a poor simpleton todo so much work, while the two others led easy fives at home.
When the mouse had made up her fire and drawn water, shewent to rest in her fittle room until it was time to lay the cloth. Thesausage stayed by the saucepans, looked to it that the victuals werewell cooked, and just before dinner-time he stirred the broth or thestew three or four times well round himself, so as to enrich and sea-son and flavor it. Then the bird used to come home and lay downhis load, and they sat down to table, and after a good meal theywould go to bed and sleep their fill till the next morning. It reallywas a most satisfactory fife.
But the bird came to the resolution next day never again to fetchwood. He had, he said, been their slave long enough; now they
The Crumbs on the Table 129
must change about and make a new arrangement. So in spite of allthe mouse and the sausage could say, the bird was determined tohave his own way. So they drew lots to settle it, and it fell so thatthe sausage was to fetch wood, the mouse was to cook, and the birdwas to draw water.
Now see what happened. The sausage went away after wood, thebird made up the fire, and the mouse put on the pot, and theywaited until the sausage should come home, bringing the wood forthe next day. But the sausage was absent so long, that they thoughtsomething must have happened to him, and the bird went part ofthe way to see if he could see anything of him. Not far off he metwith a dog on the road, who, looking upon the sausage as lawfulprey, had picked him up, and made an end of him. The bird thenlodged a complaint against the dog as an open and flagrant robber,but it was all no good, as the dog declared that he had foundforged letters upon the sausage, so that he deserved to lose his life.
The bird then very sadly took up the wood and carried it homehimself, and related to the mouse all he had seen and heard. Theywere both very troubled, but determined to look on the bright sideof things, and still to remain together. And so the bird laid thecloth, and the mouse prepared the food, and finally got into the pot,as the sausage used to do, to stir and flavor the broth; but then shehad to part with fur and skin, and lastly with Hfel
And when the bird came to dish up the dinner, there was nocook to be seen; and he timied over the heap of wood, and lookedand looked, but the cook never appeared again. By accident thewood caught fire, and the bird hastened to fetch water to put it out,but he let fall the bucket in the well, and himself after it, and as hecould not get out again, he was obliged to be drowned.
The Crumbs on the Table
A COUNTRYMAN ouc day said to his little puppies, "Come into theparlor and enjoy yourselves, and pick up the bread-crumbs on thetable; your mistress has gone out to pay some visits." Then the littledogs said, ''No, no, we will not go. If the mistress gets to know it,she will beat us." The countryman said, "She will know nothingabout it. Do come; after all, she never gives you anything good."
Then the little dogs again said, "Nay, nay, we must let it alone, wemust not go." But the countryman let them have no peace until atlast they went, and got on the table, and ate up the bread-crumbswith all their might. But at that very moment the mistress came,and seized the stick in great haste, and beat them and treated themvery badly. And when they were outside the house, the little dogssaid to the countryman, "Do, do, do, do, do you see what hap-pened?" Then the countryman laughed and said, "Didn't, didn't,didn't you expect it?" So they just had to run away.
The Cat and the Mouse in Partnership
A CAT having made acquaintance with a mouse, pretended suchgreat love for her, that the mouse agreed that they should live andkeep house together.
"We must make provision for the winter," said the cat, "or weshall suffer hunger, and you, little mouse, must not stir out, or youwill be caught in a trap."
So they took counsel together and bought a Httle pot of fat. Andthen they could not tell where to put it for safety, but after longconsideration the cat said there could not be a better place than thechurch, for nobody would steal there; and they would put it underthe altar and not touch it until they were really in want. So this wasdone, and the little pot placed in safety.
But before long the cat was seized with a great wish to taste it."Listen to me, little mouse," said he; "I have been asked by mycousin to stand god-father to a little son she has brought into theworld; he is white with brown spots; and they want to have thechristening today; so let me go to it, and you stay at home and keephouse."
"Oh yes, certainly," answered the mouse, "pray go, by all means;and when you are feasting on all the good things, think of me. Ishould so hke a drop of the sweet red wine."
But there was not a word of truth in all tliis; the cat had nocousin, and had not been asked to stand god-father. He went to thechurch, straight up to the httle pot, and Hcked the fat off the top.Then he took a walk over the roofs of the town, saw his ac-quaintances, stretched himself in the sim, and licked his whiskers as
The Cat and the Mouse in Partnership 131
often as he thought of the little pot of fat, and then when it wasevening he went home.
"Here you are at last," said the mouse; "I expect you have had amerry time." "Oh, pretty well," answered the cat. "And what namedid you give the child?" asked the mouse. "Top-oflF," answered thecat, drily. "Top-off!" cried the mouse, "that is a singular and won-derful namel Is it common in your family?" "What does it matter?"said the cat; "it's not any worse than Cnmib-picker, like your god-child."
A little time after this the cat was again seized with a longing."Again I must ask you," said he to the mouse, "to do me a favor,and keep house alone for a day. I have been asked a second time tostand god-father; and as the little one has a white ring round itsneck, I cannot well refuse."
So the kind little mouse consented, and the cat crept along by thetown wall until he reached the church, and going straight to the lit-tle pot of fat, devoured half of it. "Nothing tastes so well as whatone keeps to oneself," said he, feeling quite content with his day'swork.
When he reached home, the mouse asked what name had beengiven to the child. "Half-gone," answered the cat. "Half-gonel"cried the mouse, "I never heard such a name in my lifel I'll bet it'snot to be found in the calendar."
Soon after that the cat's mouth began to water again for the fat."Good things always come in threes," said he to the mouse; "againI have been asked to stand god-father. The little one is quite blackwith white feet, and not any white hair on its body; such a thingdoes not happen every day, so you will let me go, won't you?"
"Top-off, Half-gone," murmured the mouse, "they are such curi-ous names, I cannot but wonder at them!" "That's because you arealways sitting at home," said the cat, "in your little gray frock andhairy tail, never seeing the world, and fancying all sorts of things."
So the little mouse cleaned up the house and set it aU in order.Meanwhile the greedy cat went and made an end of the little potof fat. "Now all is finished, one's mind will be easy," said he, andcame home in the evening, quite sleek and comfortable.
The mouse asked at once what name had been given to the thirdchild. "It won't please you any better than the others," answeredthe cat. "It is called All-gone." "All-gone!" cried the mouse. "Whatan unheard-of name! I never met with anything like it! AU-gonelWhatever can it mean?" And shaking her head, she curled herself
round and went to sleep. After that the cat was not again asked tostand god-father.
When the winter had come and there was nothing more to behad out of doors, the mouse began to think of their store. "Come,cat," said she, "we will fetch our pot of fat; how good it will taste,to be surel" "Of course it will," said the cat, "just as good as iE youstuck yom* tongue out of window!"
So they set out, and when they reached the place, they found thepot, but it was standing empty.
"Oh, now I know what it aU meant," cried the mouse; "now I seewhat sort of a partner you have beenl Instead of standing god-father you have devoiu-ed it all up; first Top-off, then Half-gone,then"—
"Will you hold your tongue!" screamed the cat, "another word,and I devour you too!"
And the poor little mouse, having "All-gone" on her tongue, outit came, and the cat leaped upon her and made an end of her. Andthat is the way of the world.
The Spider and the Flea
A Spider and a Flea dwelt together in one house, and brewed theirbeer in an egg-shell. One day, when the Spider was stirring it up,she fell in and scalded herself. Thereupon the Flea began toscream. And then the Door asked, "Why are you screaming, Flea?""Because little Spider has scalded herself in the beer-tub," repliedshe.
Thereupon the Door began to creak as if it were in pain; and aBroom, which stood in the comer, asked, "What are you creakingfor, Door?" "May I not creak?" it replied,
"The little Spidei^s scalded herself.And the Flea weeps!'
So the Broom began to sweep industriously, and presently a littleCart came by, and asked the reason. "May I not sweep?" repliedthe Broom,
"The little Spider's scalded herself.And the Flea weeps;The little Door creaks with the pain."
The Spider and the Flea 133
Thereupon the litde Cart said, "So will I run," and began to runvery fast past a heap of Ashes, which cried out, "Why do you run,little Cart?" "Because," replied the Cart,
"The little Spiders scalded herself.
And the Flea weeps;The little Door creaks with the pain.And the Broom sweeps."
"Then," said the Ashes, "I will bum furiously." Now, next theAshes there grew a Tree, which asked, "Little heap, why do youbum?" "Because," was the reply,
"The little Spiders scalded herself.
And the Flea weeps;The little Door creaks with the pain.
And the Broom sweeps;The little Cart runs on so fast."
Thereupon the Tree cried, "I wiU shake myself!" and went onshaking till all its leaves fell off.
A little girl passing by with a water-pitcher saw it shaking, andasked, "Why do you shake yourself, little Tree?" "Why may I not?"said the Tree,
"The little Spide/s scalded herself.
And the Flea weeps;The little Door creaks with the pain.
And the Broom sweeps;The little Cart runs on so fast.
And the Ashes burn."
Then the Maiden said, "If so, I will break my pitcher"; and shethrew it down and broke it.
At this the Streamlet, from which she drew the water, asked,"Why do you break your pitcher, my little Girl?" "Why may Inot?" she replied; for
"The little Spidef's scalded herself.
And the Flea weeps;The little Door creaks with the pain.
And the Broom sweeps;The little Cart runs on so fast.
And the Ashes burn;The little Tree shakes down its leaves—
Now it is my turn!"
"Ah, then," said the Streamlet, "now must I begin to flow." And it
flowed and flowed along, in a great stream, which kept gettingbigger and bigger, until at last it swallowed up the little Girl, thelittle Tree, the Ashes, the Cart, the Broom, the Door, the Flea and,last of all, the Spider, all together.
The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids
There was once on a time an old goat who had seven little kids,and loved them with all the love of a mother for her children. Oneday she wanted to go into the forest and fetch some food. So shecalled all seven to her and said, "Dear children, I have to go intothe forest; be on your guard against the wolf; if he comes in, heVidU devour you all—skin, hair, and all. The wretch often disguiseshimself, but you wiU know him at once by his rough voice and hisblack feet."
The kids said, "Dear mother, we wdll take good care of ourselves;you may go away without any anxiety." Then the old one bleated,and went on her way with an easy mind.
It was not long before some one knocked at the house-door andcried, "Open the door, dear children; your mother is here, and hasbrought something back with her for each of you."
But the little kids knew that it was the wolf, by the rough voice."We wiU not open the door," cried they, "you are not our mother.She has a soft, pleasant voice, but your voice is rough; you are thewolf!" The wolf went away to a shopkeeper and bought himself agreat lump of chalk, ate this and made his voice soft with it.
Then he came back, knocked at the door of the house, and cried,"Open the door, dear children, your mother is here and hasbrought something back with her for each of you."
But the wolf had laid his black paws against the window, and thechildren saw them and cried, "We vidll not open the door, ourmother has not black feet like you: you are the wolf I" Then thewolf ran to a baker and said, "I have hurt my feet; rub some doughover them for me." And when the leaker had rubbed his feet over,he ran to the miller and said, "Strew some white meal over my feetfor me." The miller thought to himself, "The wolf wants to deceivesome one," and refused; but the wolf said, "If you will not do it, I
The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids 135
will devour you." Then the miller was afraid, and made his pawswhite for him.
Now the wretch went for the third time to the house-door,knocked at it and said, "Open the door for me, children, your dearlittle mother has come home, and has brought every one of yousomething back from the forest with her." The little kids cried,"First show us your paws that we may know if you are our dear lit-tle mother." Then he put his paws in through the window, andwhen the kids saw that they were white, they beheved that all hesaid was true, and opened the door. But who should come in butthe wolf!
They were terrified and wanted to hide themselves. One sprangunder the table, the second into the bed, the third into the stove,the fourth into the kitchen, the fifth into the cupboard, the sixthunder the washing-bowl, and the seventh into the clock-case. Butthe wolf found them all, and used no great ceremony; one afterthe other he swallowed them down his throat. The youngest in theclock-case was the only one he did not find.
When the wolf had satisfied his appetite he took himself off, laidhimself down under a tree in the green meadow outside, and beganto sleep.
Soon afterwards the old goat came home again from the forest.Ahl what a sight she saw therel The house-door stood wide open.The table, chairs, and benches were thrown down, the washing-bowl lay broken to pieces, and the quilts and pillows were pulledoff the bed. She sought her children, but they were nowhere to befound. She called them one after another by name, but no one an-swered. At last, when she came to the youngest, a soft voice cried,"Dear mother, I am in the clock-case." She took the kid out, and ittold her that the wolf had come and had eaten all the others. Thenyou may imagine how she wept over her poor children.
At length in her grief she went out, and the youngest kid ranwith her. When they came to the meadow, there lay the wolf bythe tree and snored so loud that the branches shook. She looked athim on every side and saw that something was moving and strug-gling in his gorged body. "Ah, heavens," said she, "is it possiblethat my poor children whom he has swallowed down for his sup-per, can be still alive?"
Then the kid had to run home and fetch scissors, and a needleand thread, and the goat cut open the monster's stomach, andhardly had she made one cut, than one little kid thrust its head out,and when she had cut farther, all six sprang out one after another,
and were all still aHve, and had suffered no injury whatever, for inhis greediness the monster had swallowed them down whole. Whatrejoicing there was! Then they embraced their dear mother, andjumped like a tailor at his wedding.
The mother, however, said, "Now go and look for some bigstones, and we will fill the wicked beast's stomach with them whilehe is still asleep." Then the seven Idds dragged the stones thitherwith all speed, and put as many of them into his stomach as theycould get in; and the mother sewed him up again in the greatesthaste, so that he was not aware of anything and never once stirred.
When the wolf at length had had his sleep out, he got on his legs,and as the stones in his stomach made him very thirsty, he wantedto go to a well to drink. But when he began to walk and to moveabout, the stones in his stomach knocked against each other andrattled. Then cried he,
"What rumbles and tumblesAgainst my poor bones?I thought 'twas six kids.But it's naught but big stones."
And when he got to the well and stooped over the water and wasjust about to drink, the heavy stones made him fall in and therewas no help, but he had to drown miserably. When the seven kidssaw that, they came running to the spot and cried aloud, "The wolfis dead! The wolf is dead!" and danced for joy roimd about the weUwith their mother.
The Wolf and the Fox
A WOLF and a fox once Hved together. The fox, who was the weakerof the two, had to do all the hard work, which made him anxious toleave his companion.
One day, passing through a wood, the wolf said, "Red-fox, getme something to eat, or I shall eat you."
The fox answered, "I know a place where there are a couple ofnice young lambs; if you like, we will go and fetch one."
This pleased the wolf, so they went. The fox stole one, brought itto the wolf, and then ran away, leaving his comrade to devour it.
The Wolf and the Fox 137
This done, the wolf was not content, but wishing for the other,went himself to fetch it; and being very awkward, the old sheepsaw him, and began to cry and bleat so horribly that the farmer speople came running to see what was the matter. Of course theyfound the wolf there, and beat him so unmercifully, that, howlingand limping, he returned to the fox. ''You had already shown mehow, so I went to fetch the other lamb," said he, "but the farmer'speople discovered me, and have nearly killed me."
"Why are you such a glutton?" replied the fox.
The next day they went again into the fields. "Red-fox," said thewolf, "get me something quickly to eat, or I shall eat you I"
"Well," replied the fox, "I know a farm, where the woman isbaking pancakes this evening; let us go and fetch some." They wentaccordingly, and the fox, sUpping round the house, peeped andsniffed so long, that he found out at last where the dish stood, thenquietly abstracting six pancakes, he carried them to the wolf.
"Here is something for you to eat," said he, and then went away.The wolf had swallowed the six pancakes in a very short space oftime, and said, "I should very much like some more." But going tohelp himself, he pulled the dish down from the shelf; it broke into athousand pieces, and the noise, in addition, brought out thefarmer's wife to discover what was the matter. Upon seeing thewolf, she raised such an alarm, that all the people came with sticksor any weapon they could snatch. The consequence was that thewolf barely escaped with his life; he was beaten so severely that hecould scarcely hobble to the wood where the fox was.
"Pretty mischief you have led me into," said the wolf, when hesaw him, "the peasants have caught, and nearly flayed me."
"Why, then, are you such a glutton?" replied the fox.
Upon a third occasion, being out together, and the wolf only ablewith difficulty to limp about, he nevertheless said again, "Red-fox,get me something to eat, or I shall eat youl"
"Well," said the fox, "I know a man who has been butchering,and has all the meat salted down in a tub in his cellar. We will goand fetch it."
"That will do," said the wolf, "but I must go with you, and youcan help me to get off, if anything should happen."
The fox then showed him all the by-ways, and at last they cameto the cellar, where they found meat in abundance, which the wolfinstantly greedily attacked, saying at the same time to himself,"Here, there is no occasion to hurry." The fox also showed no hesi-tation, only, while eating, he looked sharply about him, and ran oc-
casionally to the hole by which they had entered in order to try ifhe was still small enough to get out by the same way he had comein.
"Friend fox," said the wolf, "pray tell me why you are so fidgety,and why you run about in such an odd manner." *1 am lookingout, lest any one should come," replied the cunning creature."Come, are you not eating too much?"
"I am not going away," said the wolf, "until the tub is empty;that would be foolishl"
In the meantime, the farmer, who had heard the fox runningabout, came into the cellar to see what was stirring, and upon thefirst sight of him, the fox with one leap was through the hole andon his way to the wood. But when the wolf attempted to follow, hehad so increased his size by his greediness, that he could not suc-ceed, and stuck in the hole, which enabled the farmer to kiU himwith his cudgel. The fox, however, reached the wood in safety, andrejoiced to be freed from the old glutton.
The Wolf and the Man
A Fox was one day talking to a Wolf about the strength of man."No animals," he said, "could withstand Man, and they wereobliged to use cunning to hold their own against him."
The Wolf answered, "If ever I happen to see a Man, I should at-tack him all the same."
"Well, I can help you to that," said the Fox. "Come to me earlytomorrow, and I will show you one!"
The Wolf was early astir, and the Fox took him out to a road inthe forest, traversed daily by a Huntsman.
First came an old discharged soldier. "Is that a Man?" asked theWolf. "No," answered the Fox. "He has been a Man."
After that a little boy appeared on his way to school. 'Is that aMan?" "No; he is going to be a Man."
At last the Huntsman made his appearance, his gun on his back,and his hunting-knife at his side. The Fox said to the Wolf, "LooklThere comes a Man. You may attack him, but I will make off to myholel"
The Wolf set on the Man, who said to himself when he saw him,
Gossip Wolf and the Fox 139
"What a pity my gun isn't loaded with ball," and fired a charge ofshot in the WolFs face. The Wolf made a wry face, but he was notto be so easily frightened, and attacked him again. Then the Hunts-man gave him the second charge. The Wolf swallowed the pain,and rushed at the Huntsman. But the Man drew his bright hunting-knife, and hit out right and left with it, so that, streaming withblood, the Wolf ran back to the Fox.
"Well, brother Wolf," said the Fox, "and how did you get onwith the Man?"
"Alas!" said the Wolf. "I never thought the strength of manwould be what it is. First, he took a stick from his shoulder, andblew into it, and something flew into my face, which tickled fright-fully. Then he blew into it again, and it flew into my eyes and noselike lightning and hail. Then he drew a shining rib out of his body,and struck at me with it till I was more dead than alive."
"Now, you see," said the Fox, "what a braggart you are. Youthrow your hatchet so far that you can't get it back again."
Gossip Wolf and the Fox
The she-wolf brought forth a young one, and invited the fox to begodfather. "After all, he is a near relative of ours," said she, "he hasa good understanding, and much talent; he can instruct my littleson, and help him forward in the world." The fox, too, appearedquite honest, and said, "Worthy Mrs. Gossip, I thank you for thehonor which you are doing me; I will, however, conduct myself insuch a way that you shall be repaid for it."
He enjoyed himself at the feast, and made merry. Afterwards hesaid, "Dear Mrs. Gossip, it is our duty to take care of the child, itmust have good food that it may be strong. I know a sheep-foldfrom which we might fetch a nice morsel."
The wolf was pleased, and she went out with the fox to the farm-yard. He pointed out the fold from afar, and said, "You will be ableto creep in there without being seen, and in the meantime I willlook about on the other side to see if I can pick up a chicken." He,however, did not go there, but sat down at the entrance to the for-est, stretched his legs and rested.
The she-wolf crept into the stable. A dog was lying there, and it
made such a noise that the peasants came running out, caught Gos-sip Wolf, and poured a strong burning mixture, which had beenprepared for washing, over her sldn. At last she escaped, anddragged herself outside.
There lay the fox, who pretended to be full of complaints, andsaid, "Ah, dear Mistress Gossip, how ill I have fared, the peasantshave fallen on me, and have broken every limb I have; if you donot want me to He where I am and perish, you must carry meaway." The she-wolf herself was only able to go away slowly, butshe was in such concern about the fox that she took him on herback, and slowly carried him perfectly safe and sound to her house.
Then the fox cried to her, "Farewell, dear Mistress Gossip, maythe roasting you have had do you good," laughed heartily at her,and bounded oflF.
Little Red Riding Hood
There was once a sweet little maid, much beloved by everybody,but most of all by her grandmother, who never knew how to makeenough of her. Once she sent her a little riding hood of red velvet,and as it was very becoming to her, and she never wore anythingelse, people called her Little Red Riding Hood.
One day her mother said to her, "Come, Little Red Riding Hood,here are some cakes and a flask of wine for you to take to grand-mother; she is weak and ill, and they will do her good. Make hasteand start before it grows hot, and walk properly and nicely, anddon't run, or you might fall and break the flask of wine, and therewould be none left for grandmother. And when you go into herroom, don't forget to say good morning, instead of staring aboutyou." "I will be sure to take care," said Little Red Riding Hood toher mother, and gave her hand upon it.
Now the grandmother Hved away in the wood, half an hour'swalk from the village; and when Little Red Riding Hood hadreached the wood, she met the wolf; but as she did not know whata bad sort of animal he was, she did not feel frightened.
"Good day. Little Red Riding Hood," said he. "Thank youkindly, wolf," answered she. "Where are you going so early. LittleRed Riding Hood?" "To my grandmother's." "What are you carry-
Little Red Riding Hood 141
ing under your apron?" "Cakes and wine; we baked yesterday; andmy grandmother is very weak and ill, so they will do her good, andstrengthen her."
"Where does your grandmother live, Little Red Riding Hood?""A quarter of an hour's walk from here; her house stands beneaththe three oak trees, and you may know it by the hazel bushes," saidLittle Red Riding Hood.
The wolf thought to himself, 'That tender young thing would bea delicious morsel, and would taste better than the old one; I mustmanage somehow to get both of them."
Then he walked by Little Red Riding Hood a little while, andsaid, "Little Red Riding Hood, just look at the pretty flowers thatare growing all round you; and I don't think you are hstening to thesong of the birds; you are posting along just as if you were going toschool, and it is so delightful out here in the wood."
Little Red Riding Hood glanced round her, and when she sawthe sunbeams darting here and there through the trees, and lovelyflowers everywhere, she thought to herself, "If I were to take afresh nosegay to my grandmother she would be very pleased, andit is so early in the day that I shall reach her in plenty of time"; andso she ran about in the wood, looking for flowers. And as shepicked one she saw a still prettier one a little farther off, and so shewent farther and farther into the wood.
But the wolf went straight to the grandmother's house andknocked at the door. "Who is there?" cried the grandmother. "Lit-tle Red Riding Hood," he answered, "and I have brought you somecake and wine. Please open the door." "Lift the latch," cried thegrandmother; "I am too feeble to get up."
So the wolf lifted the latch, and the door flew open, and he fellon the grandmother and ate her up without saying one word. Thenhe drew on her clothes, put on her cap, lay down in her bed, anddrew the curtains.
Little Red Riding Hood was all this time running about amongthe flowers, and when she had gathered as many as she could hold,she remembered her grandmother, and set off to go to her. She wassurprised to find the door standing open, and when she came insideshe felt very strange, and thought to herself, "Oh dear, how uncom-fortable I feel, and I was so glad this morning to go to my grand-mother!"
And when she said, "Good morning," there was no answer. Thenshe went up to the bed and drew back the curtains; there lay the
grandmother with her cap pulled over her eyes, so that she lookedvery odd.
"O grandmother, what large ears you havel" "The better to hearwith."
"O grandmother, what great eyes you have!" "The better to seewith."
"O grandmother, what large hands you have!" "The better totake hold of you with."
"But, grandmother, what a terrible large mouth you have!" 'Thebetter to devour youl" And no sooner had the wolf said it than hemade one bound from the bed, and swallowed up poor Little RedRiding Hood.
Then the wolf, having satisfied his hunger, lay down again in thebed, went to sleep, and began to snore loudly. The huntsman heardhim as he was passing by the house, and thought, "How the oldwoman snores—I had better see if there is anything the matter withher."
Then he went into the room, and walked up to the bed, and sawthe wolf lying there. "At last I find you, you old sinner!" said he; "Ihave been looking for you a long time."
And he made up his mind that the wolf had swallowed the grand-mother whole, and that she might yet be saved. So he did not fire,but took a pair of shears and began to sUt up the wolFs body. Whenhe made a few snips Little Red Riding Hood appeared, and after afew more snips she jumped out and cried, "Oh dear, how fright-ened I have been! It is so dark inside the wolf." And then outcame the old grandmother, stiU living and breathing. But LittleRed Riding Hood went and quickly fetched some large stones, withwhich she filled the wolfs body, so that when he waked up, andwas going to rush away, the stones were so heavy that he sankdown and fell dead.
They were aU three very pleased. The huntsman took ofiF thewolfs skin, and carried it home. The grandmother ate the cakes, anddrank the wine, and held up her head again, and Little Red RidingHood said to herself that she would never more stray about in thewood alone, but would mind what her mother told her.
It must also be related how a few days afterwards, when LittleRed Riding Hood was again taking cakes to her grandmother, an-other wolf spoke to her, and wanted to tempt her to leave the path;but she was on her guard, and went straight on her way, and toldher grandmother how that the wolf had met her, and wished hergood day, but had looked so wicked about the eyes that she
thought if it had not been on the high road he would have de-voured her.
"Come," said the grandmother, "we will shut the door, so thathe may not get in."
Soon after came the wolf knocking at the door, and calling out,"Open the door, grandmother, I am Little Red Riding Hood, bring-ing you cakes." But they remained still, and did not open the door.After that the wolf slunk by the house, and got at last upon the roofto wait until Little Red Riding Hood should return home in theevening; then he meant to spring down upon her, and devour her inthe darkness. But the grandmother discovered his plot. Now therestood before the house a great stone trough, and the grandmothersaid to the child, "Little Red Riding Hood, I was boiHng sausagesyesterday, so take the bucket, and carry away the water they wereboiled in, and pour it into the trough."
And Little Red Riding Hood did so imtil the great trough wasquite full. When the smell of the sausages reached the nose of thewolf he snuffed it up, and looked round, and stretched out his neckso far that he lost his balance and began to slip, and he slipped downoff the roof straight into the great trough, and was drowned. ThenLittle Red Riding Hood went cheerfully home, and came to no harm.
How Mrs. Fox Married Again
1
There was once an old fox with nine tails, who wished to put hiswife's affection to proof. He pretended to be dead, and stretchedhimself under the bench quite stiff, and never moved a joint; onwhich Mrs. Fox retired to her room and locked herself in, while hermaid, the cat, stayed by the kitchen fire and attended to the cooldng.When it became known that the old fox was dead, some suitorsprepared to come forward, and presently the maid heard some oneknocking at the house door; she went and opened it, and thqre wasa young fox, who said,
"What is she doing. Miss Cat?Is she sleeping, or waking, or what is she at?"
And the cat answered,
"I am not asleep, I am quite toide awake;Perhaps you would know what Tm going to make;I'm melting some butter, and warming some beer.Will it please you sit down, and partake of my cheer?"
'Thank you, miss," said the fox, "What is Mrs. Fox doing?"The maid answered,
"She is sitting upstairs in her grief.
And her eyes with her weeping are sore;From her sorrow she gets no relief.Now poor old Mr. Fox is no moreF'
*13ut just tell her, miss, that a yomig fox has come to woo her."*Very well, young master," answered the cat.
Up went the cat, pit-a-pat, pit-a-pat.
She knocks at the door, rat-a-tat, rat-a-tatl"Mrs. Fox, are you there?''yes, yes, pussy dear!"'There's a suitor below.
Shall I tell him to goF'
"But what is he like?" asked Mrs. Fox. 'Has he nine beautifultails, like dear Mr. Fox?" "Oh no," answered the cat; "he has onlyone." "Then I won't have him," said Mrs. Fox. So the cat wentdown-stairs, and sent the suitor away.
Soon there was another knock at the door. It was another foxcome to woo. He had two tails, but he met with no better successthan the first. Then there arrived more foxes, one after another,each with one more tail than the last, but they were all dismissed,until there came one with nine tails like old Mr. Fox. When thewidow heard that she cried, full of joy, to the cat,
"Now, open door and window wide.And turn old Mr. Fox outside."
But before they could do so, up jumped old Mr. Fox from underthe bench, and cudgeled the whole pack, driving them, with Mrs.Fox, out of the house.
How Mrs. Fox Married Again 145
11
When old Mr. Fox died there came a wolf to woo, and he knockedat the door, and the cat opened to him; and he made her a bow,and said,
"Good day. Miss Cat, so brisk and gay,How is it that alone you stay?And what is it you cook today?"
The cat answered,
"Bread so white, and milk so sweet.Will it please you sit and eatF'
"Thank you very much. Miss Cat," answered the wolf; "but isMrs. Fox at home?"Then the cat said,
"She is sitting upstairs in her grief.
And her eyes with her weeping are sore;From her sorrow she gets no relief.Now poor old Mr. Fox is no morer
The wolf answered,
"Wont she take another spouse.
To protect her and her house?"
Up went the cat, pit-a-pat, pit-a-pat.
She knocks at the door, rat-a-tat, rat-a-tati"Mrs. Fox, are you there?""Yes, yes, pussy dear!""There's a suitor below.
Shall I tell him to goF'
But Mrs. Fox asked, "Has the gentleman red breeches and asharp nose?" "No," answered the cat. "Then I won't have him," saidMrs. Fox.
After the wolf was sent away, there came a dog, a stag, a hare, abear, a Hon, and several other wild animals. But they aU of themlacked the good endowments possessed by the late Mr. Fox, so thatthe cat had to send them all away.
At last came a yoimg fox. And Mrs. Fox inquired whether he hadred breeches and a sharp nose. "Yes, he has," said the cat. "Then I
will have him," said Mrs, Fox, and bade the cat make ready thewedding-feast.
"Now, cat, sweep the parlors and bustle about.And open the window, turn Mr. Fox out;Then, if you've a fancy for anything nice.Just manage to catch for yourself a few mice.You may eat them alone,I do not want one."
So she was married to young Master Fox with much dancing andrejoicing, and for anything I have heard to the contrary, they maybe dancing still.
The Fox and the Geese
The fox once came to a meadow in which was a flock of fine fatgeese, on which he smiled and said, "I come at the nick of time,you are sitting together quite beautifully, so that I can eat you upone after the other." The geese cackled with terror, sprang up, andbegan to wail and beg piteously for their lives. But the fox wouldlisten to nothing, and said, "There is no mercy to be hadl You mustdie."
At length one of them took heart and said, 'If we poor geese areto yield up our vigorous young lives, show us the only possiblefavor and allow us one more prayer, that we may not die in oursins, and then we will place ourselves in a row, so that you can al-ways pick yourself out the fattest." "Yes," said the fox, "that is rea-sonable, and a pious request. Pray away, I will wait till you aredone." Then the first began a good long prayer, forever saying,"Ga! Gal" and as she would make no end, the second did not waituntil her turn came, but began also, "Gal Gal" The third and fourthfollowed her, and soon they were all cackling together.
When they have done praying, the story shall be continued fur-ther, but at present they are still praying, and they show no sign ofstopping.
The Fox and the Horse
A PEASANT had a faithful horse which had grown old and could dono more work, so his master would no longer give him anything toeat and said, "I can certainly make no more use of you, but stiU Imean well by you; if you prove yourself still strong enough to bringme a lion here, I will maintain you, but now take yourself away outof my stable," and with that he chased him into the open country.The horse was sad, and went to the forest to seek a little protectionthere from the weather.
There a fox met him and said, "Why do you hang your head so,and go about all alone?" "Alas," repHed the horse, "avarice andfidelity do not dwell together in one house. My master has forgot-ten what services I have performed for him for so many years, andbecause I can no longer plough well, he will give me no more food,and has driven me out." "Without giving you a chance?" asked thefox. "The chance was a bad one. He said, if I were still strongenough to bring him a hon, he would keep me, but he well knowsthat I cannot do that." The fox said, "I wiU help you. Just lay your-self down, stretch yourself out, as if you were dead, and do notstir," The horse did as the fox desired, and the fox went to the lion,who had his den not far oflF, and said, "A dead horse is lying out-side there, just come with me, you can have a rich meal." The honwent with him, and when they were both standing by the horse thefox said, "After all it is not very comfortable for you here—I tellyou what—I wiU fasten it to you by the tail, and then you can dragit into your cave, and devour it in peace."
This advice pleased the lion. He lay down, and in order that thefox might tie the horse fast to him, he kept quite quiet. But the foxtied the Hon's legs together with the horse's tail, and twisted andfastened all so well and so strongly that no strength could break it.When he had finished his work, he tapped the horse on the shoulderand said, 'Tull, white horse, pull." Then up sprang the horse atonce, and drew the lion away with him. The lion began to roar sothat all the birds in the forest flew out in terror, but the horse lethim roar, and drew him and dragged him over the country to hismaster's door.
When the master saw the lion, he was of a better mind, and said
to the horse, "You shall stay with me and fare weU," and he gavehim plenty to eat until he died.
The Fox and the Cat
It happened that the cat met the fox in a forest, and as she thoughtto herself, "He is clever and full of experience, and much esteemedin the world," she spoke to him in a friendly way. "Good day, dearMr. Fox, how are you? How is all with you? How are you gettingthrough this dear season?"
The fox, full of all kinds of arrogance, looked at the cat fromhead to foot, and for a long time did not know whether he wouldgive any answer or not. At last he said, "Oh, thou wretched beard-cleaner, thou piebald fool, thou hungry mousehimter, what canstthou be thinking of? Dost thou venture to ask how I am getting on?What has thou learnt? How many arts dost thou understand?"
"I understand but one," replied the cat, modestly. "What art isthat?" asked the fox. "When the hounds are following me, I canspring into a tree and save myself." "Is that all?" said the fox. "I ammaster of a hundred arts, and have into the bargain a sackful ofcunning. Thou makest me sorry for thee; come with me, I willteach thee how people get away from the hounds."
Just then came a hunter with four dogs. The cat sprang nimblyup a tree, and sat down at the top of it, where the branches and fo-liage quite concealed her. "Open your sack, Mr. Fox, open yoursack," cried the cat to him, but the dogs had already seized him,and were holding him fast. "Ah, Mr. Fox," cried the cat. "You withyour hundred arts are left in the lurch! Had you been able to climblike me, you would not have lost your Hf e."
The Sole
The fishes had for a long time been discontented because no orderprevailed in their kingdom. None of them turned aside for the
others, but all swam to the right or the left as they fancied, ordarted between those who wanted to stay together, or got into theirway; and a strong one gave a weak one a blow with its tail, whichdrove it away, or else swallowed it up vwthout more ado. "How de-lightful it would be," said they, "if we had a King who enforcedlaw and justice among us I" And they met together to choose fortheir ruler the one who could cleave through the water mostquickly and give help to the weak ones.
They placed themselves in rank and file by the shore, and the pikegave the signal with his tail, on which they all started. Like anarrow, the pike darted away, and with him the herring, the gudg-eon, the perch, the carp, and all the rest of them. Even the soleswam with them, and hoped to reach the winning-place. All atonce, the cry was heard, "The herring is first. The herring is firstl""Who is first?" screamed angrily the flat envious sole, who hadbeen left far behind, "who is first?" "The herringl The herring,"was the answer. "The naked herring?" cried the jealous creature,"the naked herring?"
Since that time the sole's mouth has been at one side for a pim-ishment
The Willow-Wren
In days gone by every sound had its meaning and application.When the smith's hammer resounded, it cried, "Strike awayl Strikeaway." When the carpenter's plane grated, it said, "Here goeslHere goes." If the mill wheel began to clack, it said, "Help, LordGod! Help, Lord God!" And if the miller was a cheat and happenedto leave the miU, it spoke High German, and first asked slowly,"Who is there? Who is there?" and then answered quickly, "Themiller! The miller!" and at last quite in a hurry, "He steals bravely!He steals bravely! Three pecks in a bushel."
At this time the birds also had their own language which everyone understood; now it only sounds like chirping, screeching, andwhistling, and to some, Hke music without words. It came into thebirds' minds, however, that they would no longer be v^dthout aruler, and would choose one of themselves to be their King. Onealone among them, the green plover, was opposed to this. He had
150 Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales
lived free and would die free, and anxiously flying hither andthither, he cried, "Where shall I go? Where shall I go?" He retiredinto a solitary and unfrequented marsh, and showed himself nomore among his fellows.
The birds now wished to discuss the matter, and on a fine Maymorning they all gathered together from the woods and fields:eagles and chaffinches, owls and crows, larks and sparrows—howcan I name them all? Even the cuckoo came, and the hoopoe, hisclerk, who is so called because he is always heard a few days beforehim; and a very small bird, which as yet had no name, mingledv^th the band. The hen, which by some accident had heard nothingof the whole matter, was astonished at the great assemblage."What, what, what is going to be done?" she cackled; but the cockcalmed his beloved hen, and said, "Only rich people," and told herwhat they had on hand. It was decided, however, that the one whocould fly the highest should be King. A tree-frog which was sittingamong the bushes, when he heard that, cried a warning, "No, no,nol nol" because he thought that many tears would be shed becauseof this; but the crow said, "Caw, caw," and that all would pass offpeaceably.
It was now determined that on this fine morning they should atonce begin to ascend, so that hereafter no one should be able tosay, "1 could easily have flown much higher, but the evening cameon, and I could do no more." On a given signal, therefore, thewhole troop rose up in the air. The dust ascended from the land,and there was tremendous fluttering and whirring and beating ofvdngs, and it looked as if a black cloud was rising up. The littlebirds were, however, soon left behind. They could go no farther,and fell back to the ground. The larger birds held out longer, butnone could equal the eagle, who mounted so high that he couldhave picked the eyes out of the sun. When he saw that the otherscould not get up to him, he thought, "Why should I fly stiU higher?I am the King." And he began to let himself dovm again. The birdsbeneath him at once cried, "You must be our King; no one hasflown so high." "Except me," screamed the Httle fellow vsdthout aname, who had crept into the breast-feathers of the eagle. And ashe was not at all tired, he rose up and mounted so high that hereached heaven itself. When, however, he had gone as far as this,he folded his wdngs together, and called dovwi wdth clear and pene-trating voice, "I am KingI I am King."
"You, our KingI" cried the birds angrily. 'You have compassed itby trick and cunning!" So they made another condition. He should
The Willow-Wren 151
be King who could go down lowest in the groimd. How the goosedid flap about with its broad breast when it was once more on theland! How quickly the cock scratched a holel The duck came oflEthe worst of all, for she leapt into a ditch, but sprained her legs,and waddled away to a neighboring pond, crying, "Cheating,cheatingl" The Kttle bird without a name, however, sought out amouse-hole, sHpped down into it, and cried out of it with his smallvoice, *1 am Kingl I am Kingl"
"You our King!" cried the birds still more angrily. "Do you thinkyour cunning shaU prevail?" They determined to keep him a pris-oner in the hole and starve him out. The owl was placed as sentinelin front of it, and was not to let the rascal out if she had any valuefor her life. When evening was come all the birds were feeling verytired after exerting their wings so much, so they went to bed withtheir wives and children. The owl alone remained standing by themouse-hole, gazing steadfastly into it with her great eyes. In themeantime she, too, had grown tired and thought to herself, "Youmight certainly shut one eye, you will still watch with the other,and the little miscreant shall not come out of his hole." So she shutone eye, and with the other looked straight at the mouse-hole. Thelittle fellow put his head out and peeped, and wanted to slip away,but the owl came forward immediately, and he drew his head backagain. Then the owl opened the one eye again, and shut the other,intending to shut them in turn all through the night.
But when she next shut the one eye, she forgot to open the other,and as soon as both her eyes were shut she fell asleep. The littlefellow soon observed that, and slipped away.
From that day forth, the owl has never dared to show herself bydaylight, for if she does the other birds chase her and pluck herfeathers out. She only flies out by night, but hates and pursues micebecause they make such ugly holes. The Httle bird, too, is very un-willing to let himself be seen, because he is afraid it will cost himhis life if he is caught. He steals about in the hedges, and when heis quite safe, he sometimes cries, "I am King," and for this reason,the other birds call him in mockery, "King of the hedges."
No one, however, was so happy as the lark at not having to obeythe little King. As soon as the sun appears, she ascends high in theair and cries, "Ah, how beautiful that is! Beautiful that is! Beauti-ful, beautiful! Ah, how beautiful that is!"
The Willow-Wren and the Bear
One summer day the bear and the wolf were walkmg in the forest,and the bear heard a bird singing so beautifully that he said,"Brother wolf, what bird is it that sings so well?" "That is the Kingof the birds," said the wolf, "before whom we must bow down." Itwas, however, in reality the willow-wren. 'If that's the case," saidthe bear, "1 should very much like to see his royal palace; come,take me thither." "That is not done quite as you seem to think,"said the wolf; "you must wait until the Queen comes." Soon after-wards, the Queen arrived with some food in her beak, and the lordKing came too, and they began to feed their young ones. The bearwould have liked to go at once, but the wolf held him back by thesleeve, and said, "No, you must wait until the lord and lady Queenhave gone away again." So they observed the hole in which was thenest, and trotted away.
The bear, however, could not rest until he had seen the royal pal-ace, and when a short time had passed, again went to it. The Kingand Queen had just flown out, so he peeped in and saw five or sixyoung ones lying in it. "Is that the royal palace?" cried the bear; "itis a wretched palace, and you are not King's children, you are dis-reputable childrenl" When the young wrens heard that, they werefrightfully angry, and screamed, "No, that we are notl Our parentsare honest peoplel Bear, you will have to pay for that!"
The bear and the wolf grew uneasy, and turned back and wentinto their holes. The young willow-wrens, however, continued tocry and scream, and when their parents again brought food theysaid, "We wiU not so much as touch one fly's leg, no, not if we weredying of hunger, until you have settled whether we are respectablechildren or not; the bear has been here and has insulted usl" Thenthe old King said, "Be easy, he shall be punished," and he at onceflew with the Queen to the bear's cave, and called in, "OldGrowler, why have you insulted my children? You shall suffer for it—we will pimish you by a bloody war."
Thus war was announced to the bear, and all four-footed animalswere summoned to take part in it—oxen, asses, cows, deer, andevery other animal the earth contained. And the willow-woren sum-
The Willoiv-Wren and the Bear 153
moned everything which flew in the air; not only birds, large andsmall, but midges, and hornets, bees and flies had to come.
When the time came for the war to begin, the willow-wren sentout spies to discover who was the enemy's commander-in-chief. Thegnat, who was the most crafty, flew into the forest where the enemywas assembled, and hid herself beneath a leaf of the tree where thewatchword was to be given. There stood the bear, and he calledthe fox before him and said, "Fox, you are the most cimning of allanimals, you shall be general and lead us." "Good," said the fox,"but what signal shall we agree upon?" No one knew that, so thefox said, "I have a fine long bushy tail, which almost looks like aplume of red feathers. When I lift my tail up quite high, all is goingwell, and you must charge; but if I let it hang down, run away asfast as you can." When the gnat had heard that, she flew awayagain, and revealed everything, with the greatest minuteness, to thewiUow-wren.
When day broke, and the battle was to begin, all the four-footedanimals came running up with such a noise that the earth trem-bled. The willow-wren also came flying through the air with hisarmy with such a humming, and whirring, and swarming, thatevery one was uneasy and afraid; and on both sides they advancedagainst each other. But the wiUow-wren sent down the hornet, withorders to get beneath the fox's tail, and sting it v^dth all his might.When the fox felt the first sting, he started so that he drew up oneleg, with the pain, but he bore it, and still kept his tail high in theair; at the second sting, he was forced to put it down for a moment;at the third, he could hold out no longer, and screamed out and puthis tail between his legs. When the animals saw that, they thoughtall was lost, and began to fly, each into his hole, and the birds hadwon the battle.
Then the King and Queen flew home to their children and cried,"Children, rejoice, eat and drink to your heart's content, we havewon the battle!" But the young wrens said, "We will not eat yet,the bear must come to the nest, and beg for pardon and say that weare honorable children, before we will do that." Then the willow-wren flew to the bear's hole and cried, "Growler, you are to cometo the nest to my children, and beg their pardon, or else every ribof your body shall be broken." So the bear crept thither in thegreatest fear, and begged their pardon. And now at last the yoimgwrens were satisfied, and sat down together and ate and drank, andmade merry till quite late into the night.
The Little Folks' Presents
A TAILOR and a goldsmith were traveling together, and one eveningwhen the sun had sunk behind the mountains, they heard the soundof distant music, which became more and more distinct. It soundedstrange, but so pleasant that they forgot all their weariness andstepped quickly onwards. The moon had aheady arisen when theyreached a hill on which they saw a crowd of Httle men and women,who had taken each other's hands, and were whirling round in thedance with the greatest pleasure and delight.
They sang to it most charmingly, and that was the music whichthe travelers had heard. In the midst of them sat an old man whowas rather taller than the rest. He wore a parti-colored coat, andhis iron-gray beard hung down over his breast. The two remainedstanding full of astonishment, and watched the dance. The old manmade a sign that they should enter, and the little folks willinglyopened their circle. The goldsmith, who had a hmnp, and Hke allhunchbacks was brave enough, stepped in; the tailor felt a littleafraid at first, and held back, but when he saw how merrily all wasgoing, he plucked up his courage, and followed. The circle closedagain directly, and the little folks went on singing and dancing withthe wildest leaps.
The old man, however, took a large knife which hung to his gir-dle, whetted it, and when it was suflBciently sharpened, he lookedround at the strangers. They were terrified, but they had not muchtime for reflection, for the old man seized the goldsmith and withthe greatest speed, shaved the hair of his head clean off, and thenthe same thing happened to the tailor. But their fear left themwhen, after he had finished his work, the old man clapped themboth on the shoulder in a friendly manner, as much as to say, tiieyhad behaved well to let all that be done to them willingly, andwithout any struggle. He pointed with his finger to a heap of coalswhich lay at one side, and signified to the travelers by his gesturesthat they were to fill their pockets with them. Both of them obeyed,although they did not know of what use the coals would be tothem, and then they went on their way to seek a shelter for thenight. When they had got into the valley, the clock of the neighbor-
The Little Folks' Presents 155
ing monastery struck twelve, and the song ceased. In a moment allhad vanished, and the hill lay in solitude in the moonhght.
The two travelers found an inn, and covered themselves up ontheir straw-beds with their coats, but in their weariness forgot totake the coals out of them before doing so. A heavy weight on theirlimbs awakened them earlier than usual. They felt in the pockets,and could not believe their eyes when they saw that they were notfilled with coals, but with pure gold; happily, too, the hair of theirheads and beards was there again as thick as ever.
They had now become rich folks, but the goldsmith, who, in ac-cordance with his greedy disposition, had filled his pockets better,was as rich again as the tailor. A greedy man, even if he has much,still wishes to have more, so the goldsmith proposed to the tailorthat they should wait another day, and go out again in the eveningin order to bring back still greater treasures from the old man onthe hill. The tailor refused, and said, "I have enough and am con-tent; now I shall be a master, and marry my dear object (for so hecalled his sweetheart), and I am a happy man." But he stayed an-other day to please him.
In the evening the goldsmith hung a couple of bags over hisshoulders that he might be able to stow away a great deal, and tookthe road to the hill. He found, as on the night before, the little folksat their singing and dancing, and the old man again shaved himclean, and signed to him to take some coal away with him. He wasnot slow about sticking as much into his bags as would go, wentback quite delighted, and covered himself over with his coat."Even if the gold does weigh heavily," said he, "I will gladly bearthat," and at last he fell asleep with the sweet anticipation of wak-ing in the morning an enormously rich man.
When he opened his eyes, he got up in haste to examine hispockets, but how amazed he was when he drew nothing out ofthem but black coals, and that howsoever often he put his hands inthemi "The gold I got the night before is still there before me,"thought he, and went and brought it out, but how shocked he waswhen he saw that it likewise had again turned into coal! He smotehis forehead with his dusty black hand, and then he felt that hiswhole head was bald and smooth, as was also the place where hisbeard should have been. But his misfortunes were not yet over; henow remarked for the first time that in addition to the hump on hisback, a second, just as large, had grown in front of his breast. Thenhe recognized the punishment of his greediness, and began to weepaloud. The good tailor, who was wakened by this, comforted the
unhappy fellow as well as he could, and said, "You have been mycomrade in my traveling time; you shall stay with me and share mywealth." He kept his word, but the poor goldsmith was obliged tocarry the two humps as long as he lived, and to cover his bald headwith a cap.
The Elf
There was once upon a time a rich King who had three daughters,who daily went to walk in the palace garden. The King was a greatlover of all kinds of fine trees, but there was one for which he hadsuch an affection that if anyone gathered an apple from it hewished him a himdred fathoms under ground. And when harvesttime came, the apples on this tree were all as red as blood. Thethree daughters went every day beneath the tree, and looked to seeif the wind had not blown down an apple, but they never by anychance found one, and the tree was so loaded with them that it wasalmost breaking, and the branches hung down to the ground.
The King's youngest child had a great desire for an apple, andsaid to her sisters, "Our father loves us far too much to wish us un-derground, it is my belief that he would only do that to people whowere strangers." And while she was speaking, the child plucked offquite a large apple, and ran to her sisters, saying, "Just taste, mydear little sisters, for never in my life have I tasted anything so de-lightful." Then the two other sisters also ate some of the apple,whereupon all three sank deep down into the earth, where theycould hear no cock crow.
When mid-day came, the King wished to call them to come todinner, but they were nowhere to be found. He sought them every-v^here in the palace and garden, but could not find them. Then hewas much troubled, and made known to the whole land that who-soever brought his daughters back again should have one of themto wife. Hereupon so many young men went about the country insfearch, that there was no counting them, for every one loved thethree children because they were so Idnd to all, and so fair of face.Three young huntsmen also went out, and when they had traveledabout for eight days, they arrived at a great castle, in which werebeautiful apartments, and in one room a table was laid on whidU
were delicate dishes which were still so warm that they were smok-ing, but in the whole of the castle no human being was either to beseen or heard.
They waited there for half a day, and the food still remainedwarm and smoldng, and at length they were so hungry that they satdown and ate, and agreed with each other that they would stay andlive in that castle, and that one of them, who should be chosen bycasting lots, should remain in the house, and the two others seekthe King's daughters. They cast lots, and the lot fell on the eldest;so next day the two younger went out to seek, and the eldest had tostay at home.
At mid-day came a small, small mannildn and begged for a pieceof bread; then the huntsman took the bread which he had foundthere, and cut a round off the loaf and was about to give it to him,but while he was giving it to the marmikin, the latter let it fall, andasked the huntsman to be so good as to give him that piece again.The huntsman was about to do so and stooped, on which the man-nildn took a stick, seized him by the hair, and gave him a goodbeating.
Next day, the second stayed at home, and he fared no better.When the two others returned in the evening, the eldest said,"Well, how have you got on?" "Oh, very badly," said he, and thenthey lamented their misfortune together, but they said nothingabout it to the youngest, for they did not like him at all, and alwayscalled him Stupid Hans, because he did not exactly belong to theforest.
On the third day, the youngest stayed at home, and again the Ht-tle mannikin came and begged for a piece of bread. When theyouth gave it to him, the elf let it fall as before, and asked him tobe so good as to give him that piece again. Then said Hans to thelittle mannikin, "Whatl canst thou not pick up that piece thyself? Ifthou wilt not take as much trouble as that for thy daily bread, thoudost not deserve to have it." Then the mannikin grew very angryand said he was to do it, but the huntsman would not, and took mydear mannikin, and gave Ifim a thorough beating. Then the manni-kin screamed terribly, and cried, "Stop, stop, and let me go, and Iwill tell thee where the King's daughters are."
When Hans heard that, he left off beating him and the mannikintold him that he was an earth-mannikin, and that there were morethan a thousand hke him, and that if he would go with him hewould show him where the King's daughters were. Then he showedhim a deep well, but there was no water in it. And the elf said that
158 Grimms Complete Fairy Tales
he knew well that the companions Hans had with him did not in-tend to deal honorably with him, therefore if he wished to deUverthe King's children, he must do it alone. The two other brotherswould also be very glad to recover the King's daughters, but theydid not want to have any trouble or danger. Hans was therefore totake a large basket, and he must seat himself in it with his hangerand a bell, and be let down. Below were three rooms, and in eachof them was a Princess, with a many-headed dragon, whose headsshe was to comb and trim, but he must cut them off. And havingsaid all this, the elf vanished.
When it was evening the two brothers came and asked how hehad got on, and he said, "pretty well so far," and that he had seenno one except at mid-day when a Httle mannikin had come whohad begged for a piece of bread, that he had given some to him,but that the mannikin had let it fall and had asked him to pick it upagain; but as he did not choose to do that, the elf had begun to losehis temper, and that he had done what he ought not, and had giventhe elf a beating, on which he had told him where the King'sdaughters were. Then the two were so angry at this that they grewgreen and yellow.
Next morning they went to the well together, and drew lots whoshould first seat himself in the basket, and again the lot fell on theeldest, and he was to seat himself in it, and take the bell with him.Then he said, "If I ring, you must draw me up again immediately."When he had gone down for a short distance, he rang, and they atonce drew him up again. Then the second seated himself in thebasket, but he did just the same as the first, and then it was theturn of the youngest, but he let himself be lowered quite to the bot-tom. When he had got out of the basket, he took his hanger, andwent and stood outside the first door and listened, and heard thedragon snoring quite loudly. He opened the door slowly, and one ofthe Princesses was sitting there, and had nine dragon's heads lyingupon her lap, and was combing them. Then he took his hanger andhewed at them, and the nine fell off. The Princess sprang up, threwher arms round his neck, embraced and kissed him repeatedly, andtook her stomacher, which was made of red gold, and hung itround his neck. Then he went to the second Princess, who had adragon with five heads to comb, and delivered her also, and to theyoungest, who had a dragon with four heads, he went Hkewise. Andthey all rejoiced, and embraced him and kissed him without stop-ping.
Then he rang very loud, so that those above heard him, and he
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placed the Princesses one after the other in the basket, and hadthem all drawn up, but when it came to his own turn he remem-bered the words of the elf, who had told him that his comrades didnot mean well by him. So he took a great stone which was lyingthere, and placed it in the basket, and when it was about half wayup, his false brothers above cut the rope, so that the basket with thestone fell to the ground, and they thought that he was dead, andran away with the three Princesses, making them promise to telltheir father that it was they who had delivered them, and then theywent to the King, and each demanded a Princess in marriage.
In the meantime the youngest huntsman was wandering aboutthe three chambers in great trouble, fully expecting to have to endhis days there, when he saw, hanging on the wall, a flute; then saidhe, "Why do you hang there, no one can be merry here?" Helooked at the dragon's head Kkewise and said, "You cannot help menow." He walked backwards and forwards for such a long time thathe made the surface of the ground quite smooth. At last otherthoughts came to his mind, and he took the flute from the wall, andplayed a few notes on it, and suddenly a number of elves appeared,and with every note that he sounded one more came.
He played until the room was entirely filled. They all asked whathe desired, so he said he wished to get above ground back to day-light, on which they seized him by every hair that grew on hishead, and thus they flew with him on to the earth again. When hewas above ground, he at once went to the King's palace just as thewedding of one Princess was about to be celebrated, and he wentto the room where the King and his three daughters were. Whenthe Princesses saw him they fainted. Hereupon the King was angry,and ordered him to be put in prison at once, because he thought hemust have done some injury to the children. When the Princessescame to themselves, however, they entreated the King to set himfree again. The King asked why, and they said that they were notallowed to tell that, but their father said that they were to tell it tothe stove. And he went out, Hstened at the door, and heard every-thing. Then he caused the two brothers to be hanged on the gal-lows, and to the third he gave his youngest daughter, and on thatoccasion I wore a pair of glass shoes, and I struck them against astone, and they said, "KHnk," and were broken.
The Foundling Bird
A FORESTER Went out shooting one day. He had not gone far intothe wood when he heard, as he thought, the cry of a child. Heturned his steps instantly toward the sound, and at length came to ahigh tree, on one of the branches of which sat a Httle child.
A mother, some short time before, had seated herself under thetree with the child in her lap, and fallen asleep. A bird of prey, see-ing the child, seized it in its beak and carried it away; but hearingthe sound of the sportsman's gun, the bird let the child fall, itsclothes caught in the branches of a high tree, and there it himg,crying, till the forester came by.
The mother, on awaking and missing her child, rushed away ingreat agony to find it, so that the poor little thing would have beenleft alone in the world to die had not the sportsman made his ap-pearance.
"Poor Httle creatiurel" he said to himself as he climbed up thetree and brought the child down, "I will take it home with me, andit shaU be brought up with my own little Lena."
He kept his word, and the Httle foundHng grew up with theforester's Httle daughter, tiU they loved each other so dearly thatthey were always unhappy when separated, even for a short time.The forester had named the child Birdie, because she had beencarried away by the bird; and Lena and Birdie were for severalyears happy Httle children together.
But the forester had an old cook, who was not fond of children,and she wanted to get rid of Birdie, who she thought was an in-truder.
One evening Lena saw the woman take two buckets to the well,and carry them backward and forward more than twenty times.
"What are you going to do with all that water?" asked the child."If you will promise not to say a word, I will tell you," repHed thewoman. "I will never tell any one," she said. "Oh, very well, thenlook here. Tomorrow morning, early, I mean to put aU this waterinto a kettle on the fire, and when it boils I shall throw Birdie inand cook her for dinner."
Away went poor Lena, in great distress, to find Birdie. "If youwill never forsake me, I will never forsake you," said Lena. "Then,"
The Foundling Bird 161
said Birdie^ "I will never, never leave you, Lena." "Well, then," shereplied, '1 am going away and you must go with me, for old cooksays she will get up early tomorrow morning, and boil a lot ofwater to cook you in, while my father is out hunting. If you staywith me, I can save you. So you must never leave me." "No, never,never!" said Birdie.
So the children lay awake till dawn, and then they got up andran away so quickly that by the time the wicked old witch got upto prepare the water, they were far out of her reach.
She Mt her fire, and as soon as the water boiled went into thesleeping-room to fetch poor Httle Birdie and throw her in. Butwhen she came to the bed and found it empty, she was very muchfrightened to find both the children gone, and said to herself,"What will the forester say when he comes home if the children arenot here? I must go downstairs as fast as I can and send some oneto catch them." Down she went, and sent three of the farm servantsto run after the children and bring them back.
The children, who were sitting among the trees in the wood, sawthem coming from a distance.
"I will never forsake you. Birdie!" said Lena quickly. "Will youforsake me?" "Never, never!" was the reply. "Then," cried Lena,"you shall be turned into a rose bush, and I will be one of theroses!"
The three servants came up to the place where the old witch hadtold them to look; but nothing was to be seen but a rose tree and arose. "There are no children here," they said.
So they went back and told the cook that they had foimd onlyroses and bushes, but not a sign of the children.
The old woman scolded them well when they told her this, andsaid, "You stupid fools! you should have cut off the stem of the rosebush, and plucked one of the roses, and brought them home withyou as quickly as possible. You must just go again a second time."
Lena saw them coming, and she changed herself and Birdie soquickly that when the three servants arrived at the spot to whichthe old woman had sent them they found only a little church with asteeple—Birdie was the church and Lena the steeple.
Then the men said one to another: "What was the use of ourcoming here? We may as well go home."
But how the old woman did scold! "You fools!" she said, "youshould have brought the church and the steeple here. However, Iwill go myself this time!"
So the wicked old woman started off to find the children, takingthe three servants with her.
When they saw the three servants coming in the distance, andthe old woman waddling behind, Lena said, "Birdie, we will neverforsake each other." "No, no! never, neverl" replied the little foimd-ling. "Then you shaU be changed into a pond, and I will be aduck swimming upon it."
The old woman drew near, and as soon as she saw the pond shelaid herself down by it, and, leaning over, intended to drink it allup. But the duck was too quick for her. She seized the head of theold woman with her beak, and drew it under the water, and held itthere till the old witch was drowned.
Then the two children resumed their proper shape, and wenthome with the three servants, all of them happy and delighted tothink that they had got rid of such a wicked old woman. Theforester was full of joy in his home with the children near thewood; and if they are not dead they all live there still.
The Water of Life
A KING was very ill, and no one believed that he would come out ofit with his hfe. He had three sons who were much distressed aboutit, and went down into the palace-garden and wept. There they metan old man who inquired as to the cause of their grief. They toldhim that their father was so ill that he would most certainly die, fornothing seemed to cure him. Then the old man said, "I know of onemore remedy, and that is the water of life; if he drinks of it he willbecome weU again; but it is hard to find." The eldest said, "I willmanage to find it," and went to the sick King, and begged to be al-lowed to go forth in search of the water of life, for that alone couldsave him. "No," said the King, "the danger of it is too great. Iwould rather die." But he begged so long that the King consented.The Prince thought in his heart, 'If I bring the water, then I shallbe best beloved of my father, and shall inherit the kingdom."
So he set out, and when he had ridden forth a little distance, adwarf stood there in the road who called to him and said, "Whitheraway so fast?" "Silly shrimp," said the Prince, very haughtily, "it isnothing to you," and rode on. But the little dwarf had grown angry.
and had wished an evil wish. Soon after this the Prince entered aravine, and the firrther he rode the closer the mountains drew to-gether, and at last the road became so narrow that he could not ad-vance a step fiuther; it was impossible either to turn his horse or todismount from the saddle, and he was shut in there as if in prison.The sick King waited long for him, but he came not.
Then the second son said, "Father, let me go forth to seek thewater," and thought to himself, "If my brother is dead, then thekingdom will fall to me." At first the King would not allow him togo either, but at last he yielded, so the Prince set out on the sameroad that his brother had taken, and he too met the dwarf, whostopped him to ask whither he was going in such haste. "Littleshrimp," said the Prince, "that is nothing to you," and rode on with-out giving him another look. But the dwarf bewitched him, and he.Like the other, got into a ravine, and could neither go forwards norbackwards. So fare haughty people.
As the second son also remained away, the youngest begged tobe allowed to go forth to fetch the water, and at last the King wasobliged to let him go. When he met the dwarf and the latter askedhim whither he was going in such haste, he stopped, gave him anexplanation, and said, "I am seeking the water of life, for my fatheris sick imto death." "Dost thou know, then, where that is to befound?" "No," said the Prince. Then said the dwarf: "As thou hastborne thyself politely and not haughtily hke thy false brothers, Iv^dll give thee the information and teU thee how thou mayst obtainthe water of Kfe. It springs from a fountain in the court-yard of anenchanted castle, but thou wilt not be able to make thy way to it, ifI do not give thee an iron wand and two small loaves of bread.Strike thrice with the wand on the iron door of the castle, and itwill spring open. Inside lie two lions v^dth gaping jaws, but if thouthrowest a loaf to each of them, they wiU be quieted; then hasten tofetch some of the water of life before the clock strikes twelve, elsethe door will shut again, and thou v^dlt be imprisoned."
The Prince thanked him, took the wand and the bread, and setout on his way. When he arrived, everything was as the dwarf hadsaid. The door sprang open at the third stroke of the wand, andwhen he had appeased the lions vidth the bread, he entered into thecastle, and came in a large and splendid hall, wherein sat someenchanted Princes whose rings he drew off their fingers. A swordand a loaf of bread were lying there, which he carried away. Afterthis, he entered a chamber in which was a beautiful maiden whorejoiced when she saw him, kissed him, and told him that he had
delivered her, and should have the whole of her kingdom, and thatif he vi'ould return in a year their wedding should be celebrated;likewise she told him where the spring of the water of Hfe was, andthat he was to hasten and draw some of it before the clock strucktwelve. Then he went onwards, and at last entered a room wherethere was a beautiful newly-made bed, and as he was very weary,he felt incHned to rest a little. So he lay down and fell asleep.
When he awoke, it was striking a quarter to twelve. He sprangup in a fright, ran to the spring, drew some water in a cup whichstood near, and hastened away. But just as he was passing throughthe iron door, the clock struck twelve, and the door fell to withsuch violence that it carried away a piece of his heel. He, however,rejoicing at having obtained the water of life, went homewards,and again passed the dwarf. When the latter saw the sword and theloaf, he said, "With these thou hast won great wealth; with thesword thou canst slay whole armies, and the bread will never cometo an end."
But the Prince would not go home to his father without hisbrothers, and said, "Dear dwarf, canst thou not tell me where mytwo brothers are? They went out before I did in search of the waterof life, and have not returned." "They are imprisoned between twomountains," said the dwarf. "I have condemned them to stay there,because they were so haughty." Then the Prince begged until thedwarf released them; he warned him, however, and said, "Bewareof them, for they have bad hearts."
When his brothers came, he rejoiced, and told them how thingshad gone with him, that he had found the water of life, and hadbrought a cupful away with him, and had deHvered a beautifulPrincess, who was willing to wait a year for him, and then theirwedding was to be celebrated, and he would obtain a greatkingdom.
After that they rode on together, and chanced upon a land wherewar and famine reigned, and the King already thought he mustperish, for the scarcity was so great. Then the Prince went to himand gave him the loaf, wherewith he fed and satisfied the whole ofhis kingdom, and then the Prince gave him the sword also, where-with he slew the hosts of his enemies, and could now live in restand peace. The Prince then took back his loaf and his sword, andthe three brothers rode on.
After this they entered two more countries where war and faminereigned, and each time the Prince gave his loaf and his sword tothe Kings, and had now delivered three kingdoms, and after that
The Water of Life 165
they went on board a ship and sailed over the sea. During the pas-sage, the two eldest conversed apart and said, "The youngest hasfound the water of Hfe and not we; for that our father will give himthe kingdom—the kingdom which belongs to us, and he wiU rob usof all our fortune." They began to seek revenge, and plotted witheach other to destroy him. They waited until once when they foundhim fast asleep, then they poured the water of life out of the cup,and took it for themselves, but into the cup they poured salt sea-water. Now therefore, when they arrived at home, the youngesttook his cup to the sick King in order that he might drink out of it,and be cured. But scarcely had he drunk a very little of the salt sea-water than he became still worse than before. And as he was la-menting over this, the two eldest brothers came, and accused theyoungest of having intended to poison him, and said that they hadbrought him the true water of life, and handed it to him. He hadscarcely tasted it, when he felt his sickness departing, and becamestrong and healthy as in the days of his youth.
After that they both went to the youngest, mocked him, and said,"You certainly found the water of life, but you have had the pain,and we the gain. You should have been sharper, and should havekept your eyes open. We took it from you while you were asleep atsea, and when a year is over, one of us will go and fetch the beauti-ful Princess. But beware that you do not disclose aught of this toour father; indeed he does not trust you, and if you say a singleword, you shall lose your hfe into the bargain, but if you keep si-lent, you shall have it as a gift."
The old King was angry with his youngest son, and thought hehad plotted against his hfe. So he summoned the court together,and had sentence pronounced upon his son that he should be se-cretly shot. And once when the Prince was riding forth to the chase,suspecting no evil, the King's huntsman had to go with him, andwhen they were quite alone in the forest, the himtsman looked sosorrowful that the Prince said to him, "Dear huntsman, what ailsyou?" The huntsman said, "I cannot tell you, and yet I ought."Then the Prince said, "Say openly what it is, I will pardon you.""Alas!" said the huntsman, "I am to shoot you dead, the King hasordered me to do it." Then the Prince was shocked, and said, "Dearhuntsman, let me live; there, I give you my royal garments; give meyour common ones in their stead." The huntsman said, "I willwilhngly do that, indeed I should not have been able to shoot you."Then they exchanged clothes, and the huntsman returned home;the Prince, however, went further into the forest.
i66 Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales
After a time three wagons of gold and precious stones came tothe King for his youngest son, which were sent by the three Kingswho had slain their enemies with the Prince's sword, and main-tained their people with his bread, and who wished to show theirgratitude for it. The old King then thought, "Can my son havebeen innocent?" and said to his people, "Would that he were stillalive; how it grieves me that I have suffered him to be killedl" "Hestill lives," said the huntsman, "I could not find it in my heart tocarry out your command," and told the King how it had happened.Then a great weight fell from the King's heart, and he had itproclaimed in every country that his son might return and be takeninto favor again.
The Princess, however, had a road made up to her palace whichwas quite bright and golden, and told her people that whosoevercame riding straight along it to her, would be the right wooer andwas to be admitted, and whoever rode by the side of it, was not theright one, and was not to be admitted. As the time was now close athand, the eldest son thought he would hasten to go to the King'sdaughter, and give himself out as her deliverer, and thus win herfor his bride, and the kingdom to boot. Therefore he rode forth,and when he arrived in front of the palace, and saw the splendidgolden road, he thought it would be a sin and a shame if he were toride over that, and turned aside, and rode on the right side of it.When he came to the door, the servants told him that he was notthe right man, and was to go away again.
Soon after this the second Prince set out, and when he came tothe golden road, and his horse had put one foot on it, he thought itwould be a sin and a shame to tread a piece of it off, and he tirniedaside and rode on the left side of it, and when he reached the door,the attendants told him he was not the right one, and was to goaway again.
When at last the year had entirely expired, the third son likewisewished to ride out of the forest to his beloved, with her to forget hissorrows. So he set out and thought of her so incessantly, andwished to be with her so much, that he never noticed the goldenroad at all. So his horse rode onwards up the middle of it, andwhen he came to the door, it was opened and the Princess receivedhim with joy, and said he was her deliverer, and lord of the king-dom, and their wedding was celebrated with great rejoicing.
When it was over she told him that his father invited him tocome to him, and had forgiven him. So he rode thither, and toldhim everything; how his brothers had betrayed him, and how he
The Water Sprite 167
had nevertheless kept silence. The old King wished to punish them,but they had put to sea, and never came back as long as they lived.
The Water Sprite
A LITTLE brother and sister were one day playing together by theside of a well, and not being careful, they both fell in. Under thewater they found a fairy, who said to them, "Now I have caughtyou, I intend you to work for me." So she carried them both away.
When they arrived at her home she set the maiden to spin hard,tangled flax, and gave her a cask full of holes to fill with water; andshe sent the boy to the wood with a blunt axe, and told him to cutwood for her fire.
The children became at last so impatient with this treatment thatthey waited till one Sunday, when the fairy was at church, and ranaway. But the church was close by, and as they were flying awaylike two birds she espied them, and went after them with greatstrides.
The children saw her coming in the distance, and the maidenthrew behind her a great brush, which instantly became a moun-tain covered with prickly points, over which the fairy had thegreatest trouble to climb. But the children saw that she had man-aged to get over and was coming near.
The boy then threw a comb behind him, which became a moun-tain of combs, with hundreds of teeth sticking up; but the fairyknew how to hold fast on this, and soon clambered over it.
The maiden next threw a looking-glass behind, which became amountain also, and was so slippery that it was impossible to getover it.
Then thought the fairy, "I will go home and fetch my axe andbreak the looking-glass."
But when she came back and had broken the looking-glass, thechildren had been for a long time too far away for her to overtakethem, so she was obliged to sink back into the well.
The Table, the Ass, and the Stick
There was once a tailor who had three sons and one goat. And thegoat, as she noinished them all with her milk, was obHged to havegood food, and so she was led every day down to the willows bythe water-side; and this business the sons did in turn. One day theeldest took the goat to the churchyard, where the best sprouts are,that she might eat her fill and gambol about.
In the evening, when it was time to go home, he said, "Well,goat, have you had enough?" The goat answered,
"I am so full,I cannot pullAnother blade of grass—ba! baoT
"Then come home," said the youth, and fastened a string to her,led her to her stall, and fastened her up.
"Now," said the old tailor, "has the goat had her proper food?""Oh," answered the son, "she is so fuU, she no more can puU." Butthe father, wishing to see for himself, went out to the staU, strokedhis dear goat, and said, "My dear goat, are you full?" And the goatanswered,
"How can I be full?There was nothing to pull.Though I looked all about me—bat boar
*'What is this that I hear?" cried the tailor, and he ran and calledout to the youth, "O you har, to say that the goat was full, and shehas been hungry all the timel" And in his wrath he took up hisyard-measure and drove his son out of the house with many blows.
The next day came the turn of the second $on, and he found afine place in the garden hedge, where there were good greensprouts, and the goat ate them aU up. In the evening, when he cameto lead her home, he said, "Well, goat, have you had enough?" Andthe goat answered,
"J am so full,I cannot pullAnother blade of grass—bal baaF*
"Then come home," said the youth, and led her home, and tiedher up.
"Now," said the old tailor, "has the goat had her proper food?""Oh," answered the son, "she is so full, she no more can pull."
The tailor, not feeling satisfied, went out to the stall, and said,"My dear goat, are you really full?" And the goat answered,
'How can I be full?There was nothing to pull.Though I looked all about me—ba! baoT'
"The good-for-nothing rascal," cried the tailor, "to let the dearcreature go fastingl" and, running back, he chased the youth withhis yard-wand out of the house.
Then came the turn of the third son, who, meaning to make allsure, found some shrubs with the finest sprouts possible, and leftthe goat to devour them. In the evening, when he came to lead herhome, he said, "Well, goat, are you full?" And the goat answered,
"I am so full,I cannot pullAnother blade of grass—ba! baa!"
"Then come home," said the youth; and he took her to her stall,and fastened her up.
"Now," said the old tailor, "has the goat had her proper food?""Oh," answered the son, "she is so full, she no more can pull."
But the tailor, not trusting his word, went to the goat and said,"My dear goat, are you really full?" The malicious animal answered,
"How can I be full?There was nothing to pull.Though I looked all about me—ba! baar
"Oh, the wretchesl" cried the tailor; "the one as good-for-nothingand careless as the other. I will no longer have such fools aboutme"; and rushing back, in his wrath he laid about him with hisyard-wand, and belabored his son's back so immercifully that heran away out of the house.
So the old tailor was left alone with the goat. The next day hewent out to the stall, and let out the goat, saying, "Come, my dearcreature, I will take you myself to the willows."
So he led her by the string, and brought her to the green hedgesand pastures where there was plenty of food to her taste, and say-ing to her, "Now, for once, you can eat to your heart's content," he
left her there till the evening. Then he returned, and said, "Well,goat, are you full?" She answered,
"I am so full,I cannot pullAnother blade of grass—ba! baal"
"Then come home," said the tailor, and leading her to her stall,he fastened her up.
Before he left her he turned once more, saying, "Now then, foronce you are fuU." But the goat actually cried,
"How can I be full?There was nothing to pull,Though I looked all about me—bal baaF'
When the tailor heard that he marveled, and saw at once that histhree sons had been sent away without reason. "Wait a minute,"cried he, "you ungrateful creaturel It is not enough merely to driveyou away—I wiU teach you to show your face again among honora-ble tailors."
So in haste he went and fetched his razor, and seizing the goat heshaved her head as smooth as the palm of his hand. And as theyard-measure was too honorable a weapon, he took the whip andfetched her such a crack that with many a jump and spring she ranaway.
The tailor felt very sad as he sat alone in his house, and wouldwillingly have had his sons back again, but no one knew wherethey had gone.
The eldest son, when he was driven from home, apprenticed him-self to a joiner, and he applied himself diligently to his trade, andwhen the time came for him to travel, his master gave him a littletable, nothing much to look at, and made of common wood; but ithad one great quality. When any one set it down and said, "Table,be covered!" all at once the good little table had a clean cloth on it,and a plate, and knife, and fork, and dishes with roast and boiledmeat, and a large glass of red wine sparkHng so as to cheer theheart. The young apprentice thought he was set up for life, and hewent merrily out into the world, and never cared whether an innwere good or bad, or whether he could get anything to eat there ornot. When he was hungry, it did not matter where he was, whetherin the fields, in the woods, or in a meadow, he set down his tableand said, "Be covered!" and there he was provided with everythingthat heart could wish. At last it occurred to him that he would go
back to his father, whose wrath might by this time have subsided,and perhaps because of the wonderful table he might receive himagain gladly.
It happened that one evening during his journey home he cameto an inn that was quite full of guests, who bade him welcome, andasked him to sit down with them and eat, as otherwise he wouldhave found some difficulty in getting anything. "No," answered theyoung joiner, "I could not think of depriving you; you had muchbetter be my guests."
Then they laughed, and thought he must be joking. But hebrought his Httle wooden table, and put it in the middle of theroom, and said, "Table, be covered!" Immediately it was set outwith food much better than the landlord had been able to provide,and the good smell of it greeted the noses of the guests veryagreeably. "Fall to, good friends," said the joiner; and the guests,when they saw how it was, needed no second asking, but taking upknife and fork fell to valiantly. And what seemed most wonderfulwas that when a dish was empty inmiediately a fuU one stood in itsplace. All the while the landlord stood in a comer, and watched allthat went on. He could not teU what to say about it; but he thought"such cooking as that would make my inn prosper."
The joiner and his fellowship kept it up very merrily until late atnight. At last they went to sleep, and the young joiner, going tobed, left his wishing-table standing against the wall. The landlord,however, could not sleep for thinking of the table, and he remem-bered that there was in his lumber room an old table very Uke it, sohe fetched it, and taking away the joiner s table, he left the other inits place. The next morning the joiner paid his reckoning, took upthe table, not dreaming that he was carrying off the wrong one, andwent on his way. About noon he reached home, and his father re-ceived him with great joy.
"Now, my dear son, what have you learned?" said he to him. "Ihave learned to be a joiner, father," he answered.
"That is a good trade," returned the father; "but what have youbrought back with you from your travels?" "The best thing I've got,father, is this little table," said he.
The tailor looked at it on all sides, and said, "You have certainlyproduced no masterpiece. It is a rubbishing old table."
"But it is a very wonderful one," answered the son. "When I setit down, and tell it to be covered, at once the finest meats are stand-ing on it, and wine so good that it cheers the heart. Let us invite all
the friends and neighbors, that they may feast and enjoy themselves,for the table will provide enough for all."
When the company was all assembled, he put his table in themiddle of the room, and commanded it, "Table, be covered!"
But the table never stirred, and remained just as empty as anyother table that does not understand talking. When the poor joinersaw that the table remained unfurnished, he felt ashamed to standthere like a fool. The company laughed at him freely, and wereobliged to return unfilled and uncheered to their houses. The fathergathered his pieces together and returned to his tailoring, and theson went to work under another master.
The second son had bound himself apprentice to a miller. Andwhen his time was up, his master said to him, "As you have be-haved yourself so well, I will give you an ass of a remarkable kind:he will draw no cart, and carry no sack." "What is the good of himthen?" asked the yoimg apprentice. "He spews forth gold," an-swered the miller. 'If you put a cloth before him and say, 'Brickle-brit,' out come gold pieces from back and front."
"That is a capital thing," said the apprentice, and thanking hismaster, he went out into the world. Whenever he wanted gold hehad only to say "Bricklebrit" to his ass, and there was a shower ofgold pieces, and so he had no cares as he traveled about. Whereverhe came he lived on the best, and the dearer the better, as his pursewas always fuU. And when he had been looking about him aboutthe world a long time, he thought he would go and find out his fa-ther, who would perhaps forget his anger and receive him kindlybecause of his gold ass.
And it happened that he came to lodge in the same inn where hisbrother s table had been exchanged. He was leading his ass in hishand, and the landlord was for taking the ass from him to tie it up,but the young apprentice said, "Don't trouble yourself, old fellow, Iwill take him into the stable myself and tie him up, and then I shallknow where to find him."
The landlord thought this was very strange, and he never sup-posed that a man who was accustomed to look after his ass himselfcould have much to spend; but when the stranger, feeling in hispocket, took out two gold pieces and told him to get him somethinggood for supper, the landlord stared, and ran and fetched the bestthat could be got. After supper the guest called the reckoning, andthe landlord, wanting to get all the profit he could, said that itwould amount to two gold pieces more. The apprentice felt in hispocket, but his gold had come to an end.
"Wait a moment, landlord," said he, "I will go and fetch somemoney," and he went out of the room, carrying the tablecloth withhim. The landlord could not tell what to make of it, and, curious toknow his proceedings, slipped after him, and as the guest shut thestable-door, he peeped in through a knothole. Then he saw how thestranger spread the cloth before the ass, saying, "Bricklebrit," anddirectly the ass let gold pieces fall from back and front, so that itrained down money upon the ground.
"Dear me," said the landlord, "that is an easy way of gettingducats; a purse of money like that is no bad thing."
After that the guest paid his reckoning and went to bed; but thelandlord slipped down to the stable in the middle of the night, ledthe gold ass away, and tied up another ass in his place. The nextmorning early the apprentice set forth with his ass, never doubtingthat it was the right one. By noon he came to his father's house,who was rejoiced to see him again, and received him gladly.
"What trade have you taken up, my son?" asked the father. "Iam a miller, dear father," answered he.
"What have you brought home from your travels?" continued thefather. "Nothing but an ass," answered the son.
"We have plenty of asses here," said the father. "You had muchbetter have brought me a nice goat!" "Yes," answered the son, "butthis is no common ass. When I say, 'Bricklebrit,' the good creaturespits out a whole clothful of gold pieces. Let me call all the neigh-bors together. I will make rich people of them all."
"That will be fine!" said the tailor. "Then I need labor no moreat my needle"; and he rushed out himself and called the neighborstogether. As soon as they were all assembled, the miller called outto them to make room, and brought in the ass, and spread his clothbefore him.
"Now, pay attention," said he, and cried, "Bricklebritl" but nogold pieces came, and that showed that the animal was not morescientific than any other ass.
So the poor miller made a long face when he saw that he hadbeen taken in, and begged pardon of the neighbors, who all wenthome as poor as they had come. And there was nothing for it butthat the old man must take to his needle again, and that the youngone should take service with a miller.
The third brother had bound himself apprentice to a turner; andas turning is a very ingenious handicraft, it took him a long time tolearn it. His brothers told him in a letter how badly things hadgone with them, and how on the last night of their travels the land-
lord deprived them of their treasures. When the young turner hadlearnt his trade, and was ready to travel, his master, to reward himfor his good conduct, gave him a sack, and told him that there was astick inside it.
"I can hang up the sack, and it may be very useful to me," saidthe young man. "But what is the good of the stick?"
"I will tell you," answered the master. "If any one does you anyharm, and you say, 'Stick, out of the sack!' the stick will jump outupon them, and will belabor them so soundly that they shaU not beable to move or to leave the place for a week, and it will not stopuntil you say, 'Stick, into the sack!'"
The apprentice thanked him, and took up the sack and started onhis travels, and when any one attacked him he would say, "Stick,out of the sack!" and directly out jumped the stick, and dealt ashower of blows on the coat or jerkin, and the back beneath, whichquickly ended the affair. One evening the young turner reached theinn where his two brothers had been taken in. He laid his knapsackon the table, and began to describe all the wonderful things he hadseen in the world.
"Yes," said he, "you may talk of your self-spreading table, gold-supplying ass, and so forth; very good things, I do not deny, butthey are nothing in comparison with the treasure that I have ac-quired and carry with me in that sackl"
Then the landlord opened his ears. "What in the world can itbe?" thought he. "Very likely the sack is full of precious stones; andI have a perfect right to it, for all good things come in threes."
When bedtime came the guest stretched himself on a bench, andput his sack under his head for a pillow, and the landlord, when hethought the young man was sound asleep, came, and, stoopingdown, pulled gently at the sack, so as to remove it cautiously, andput another in its place. The turner had only been waiting for thisto happen, and just as the landlord was giving a last courageouspull, he cried, "Stick, out of the sackl" Out flew the stick directly,and laid to heartily on the landlord's back; and in vain he beggedfor mercy; the louder he cried the harder the stick beat time on hisback, until he fell exhausted to the ground.
Then the turner said, "If you do not give me the table and theass directly, this game shall begin all over again."
"Oh dear, nol" cried the landlord, quite collapsed; "1 will gladlygive it all back again if you will only make this terrible goblin goback into the sack."
Then said the yoimg man, "I will be generous instead of just.
The Table, the Ass, and the Stick 175
but bewarel" Then he cried, "Stick, into the sack!" and left him inpeace.
The next morning the turner set out with the table and the ass onhis way home to his father. The tailor was very glad indeed to seehim again, and asked him what he had learned abroad. "My dearfather," answered he, "I am become a turner."
"A very ingenious handicraft," said the father. "And what haveyou brought with you from your travels?" "A very valuable thing,dear father," answered the son. "A stick in a sackl"
"What!" cried the father. "A stick! The thing is not worth somuch trouble when you can cut one from any tree."
"But it is not a common stick, dear father," said the young man."When I say, 'Stick, out of the bag!' out jumps the stick upon anyone who means harm to me, and makes him dance again, and doesnot leave oflE till he is beaten to the earth, and asks pardon. Justlook here, with this stick I have recovered the table and the asswhich the thieving landlord had taken from my two brothers. Now,let them both be sent for, and bid all the neighbors too, and theyshall eat and drink to their hearts' content, and I will fill theirpockets with gold."
The old tailor could not quite believe in such a thing, but hecalled his sons and aU the neighbors together. Then the turnerbrought in the ass, opened a cloth before him, and said to hisbrother, "Now, my dear brother, speak to him." And the millersaid, "Bricklebrit!" and immediately the cloth was covered withgold pieces, until they had all got more than they could carry away.(I tell you this because it is a pity you were not there.) Then theturner set down the table, and said, "Now, my dear brother, speakto it." And the joiner said, 'Table, be covered!" and directly it wascovered, and set forth plentifully with the richest dishes. Then theyheld a feast such as had never taken place in the tailor's house be-fore, and the whole company remained through the night, merryand content.
The tailor after that locked up in a cupboard his needle andthread, his yard-measure and goose, and lived ever after with histhree sons in great joy and splendor.
But what became of the goat, the imlucky cause of the tailor'ssons being driven out? I will tell you. She felt so ashamed of herbald head that she ran into a fox's hole and hid herself. When thefox came home he caught sight of two great eyes staring at him outof the darkness, and was very frightened and ran away. A bear met
him, and seeing that he looked very disturbed, asked him, "What isthe matter, brother fox, that you should look like that?"
"Oh dear," answered the fox, "a grisly beast is sitting in my hole,and he stared at me with fiery eyes I"
"We will soon drive him out," said the bear; and went to the holeand looked in, but when he caught sight of the fiery eyes he like-wise felt great terror seize him, and not wishing to have anything todo with so grisly a beast, he made o£F. He was soon met by a bee,who remarked that he had not a very courageous air, and said tohim, "Bear, you have a very depressed countenance, what has be-come of yoiu: high spirit?"
"You may well ask," answered the bear. *ln the fox's hole theresits a grisly beast with fiery eyes, and we cannot drive him out."
The bee answered, "I know you despise me, bear. I am a poorfeeble little creature, but I think I can help you."
So she flew into the fox's hole, and settling on the goat's smooth-shaven head, stung her so severely that she jimiped up, crying, "Ba-baal" and ran out like mad into the world. And to this hour no oneknows where she ran to.
One-Eye, Two-Eyes, and Three-Eyes
There was once a woman who had three daughters, the eldest ofwhom was called One-eye, because she had only one eye in themiddle of her forehead, and the second. Two-eyes, because she hadtwo eyes like other folks, and the youngest, Three-eyes, because shehad three eyes; and her third eye was also in the center of her fore-head. However, as Two-eyes saw just as other human beings did,her sisters and her mother could not endure her. They said to her,"Thou, with thy two eyes, art no better than the common people;thou dost not belong to us I" They pushed her about, and threw oldclothes to her, and gave her nothing to eat but what they left, anddid everything that they could to make her unhappy. It came topass that Two-eyes had to go out into the fields and tend the goat,but she was stiU quite hungry, because her sisters had given her solittle to eat. So she sat down on a ridge and began to weep, and sobitterly that two streams ran down from her eyes.And once when she looked up in her grief, a woman was stand-
ing beside her, who said, "Why art thou weeping, little Two-eyes?"Two-eyes answered, "Have I not reason to weep, when I have twoeyes like other people, and my sisters and mother hate me for it,and push me from one comer to another, throw old clothes at me,and give me nothing to eat but the scraps they leave? Today theyhave given me so little that I am still quite hungry." Then the wisewoman said, "Wipe away thy tears. Two-eyes, and I will tell theesomething to stop thee ever suffering from hunger again. Just say tothy goat,
'Bleat, my little goat, bleat.Cover the table with something to eat',
and then a clean well-spread little table will stand before thee, withthe most delicious food upon it of which thou mayst eat as much asthou art inclined for, and when thou hast had enough, and hast nomore need of the little table, just say,
'Bleat, bleat, my little goat, I pray.And take the table quite away,
and then it will vanish again from thy sight." Hereupon the wisewoman departed.
But Two-eyes thought, "I must instantly make a trial, and see ifwhat she said is true, for I am far too hungry," and she said,
"Bleat, my little goat, bleat.Cover the table with something to eat,"
and scarcely had she spoken the words than a little table, coveredwith a white cloth, was standing there, and on it was a plate with aknife and fork, and a silver spoon; and the most delicious food wasthere also, warm and smoking as if it had just come out of thekitchen. Then Two-eyes said the shortest prayer she knew, 'XordGod, be with us always. Amen," and helped herself to some food,and enjoyed it. And when she was satisfied, she said, as the wisewoman had taught her,
"Bleat, bleat, my little goat, I pray.And take the table quite away,"
and immediately the little table and everything on it was goneagain. "That is a delightful way of keeping house I" thought Two-eyes, and was quite glad and happy.
In the evening, when she went home with her goat, she foimd asmall earthenware dish with some food, which her sisters had setready for her, but she did not touch it. Next day she again went out
with, her goat, and left the few bits of broken bread which hadbeen handed to her, lying untouched. The first and second timethat she did this, her sisters did not remark it at all, but as it hap-pened every time, they did observe it, and said, "There is some-thing wrong about Two-eyes, she always leaves her food untasted,and she used to eat up everything that was given her; she musthave discovered other ways of getting food." In order that theymight learn the truth, they resolved to send One-eye with Two-eyeswhen she went to drive her goat to the pasture, to observe whatTwo-eyes did when she was there, and whether any one broughther anything to eat and drink. So when Two-eyes set out the nexttime, One-eye went to her and said, "I will go with you to the pas-ture, and see that the goat is well taken care of, and driven wherethere is food."
But Two-eyes knew what was in One-eye's mind, and drove thegoat into high grass and said, "Come, One-eye, we will sit down,and I will sing something to you." One-eye sat down and was tiredwith the unaccustomed walk and the heat of the sun, and Two-eyessang constantly,
"One eye, wakest thou?One eye, sleepest thouF'
until One-eye shut her one eye, and fell asleep, and as soon as Two-eyes saw that One-eye was fast asleep, and could discover nothing,she said,
"Bleat, my little goat, bleat.Cover the table with something to eat,"
and seated herself at her table, and ate and drank imtil she wassatisfied, and then she again cried,
"Bleat, bleat, my little goat, I pray,And take the table quite away"
and in an instant all was gone.
Two-eyes now awakened One-eye, and said, "One-eye, you wantto take care of the goat, and go to sleep while you are doing it, andin the meantime the goat might run all over the world. Come, let usgo home again." So they went home, and again Two-eyes let her lit-tle dish stand untouched, and One-eye could not tell her motherwhy she would not eat it, and to excuse herself said, "I fell asleepwhen I was out."
Next day the mother said to Three-eyes, "This time you shall go
and observe if Two-eyes eats anything when she is out, and if anyone fetches her food and drink, for she must eat and drink in se-cret." So Three-eyes went to Two-eyes, and said, "I will go withyou and see if the goat is taken proper care of, and driven wherethere is food."
But Two-eyes knew what was in Three-eyes' mind, and drove thegoat into high grass and said, "We v^ll sit down, and I will singsomething to you. Three-eyes." Three-eyes sat down and was tiredwith the walk and with the heat of the sun, and Two-eyes beganthe same song as before, and sang,
"Three eyes, are you loakingF'but then, instead of singing,
"Three eyes, are you sleeping?"as she ought to have done, she thoughtlessly sang,
"Two eyes, are you sleeping?"
and sang all the time,
"Three eyes, are you waking?Two eyes, are you sleeping?'
Then two of the eyes which Three-eyes had, shut and fell asleep,but the third, as it had not been named in the song, did not sleep.It is true that Three-eyes shut it, but only in her cunning, to pre-tend it was asleep too, but it blinked, and could see everything verywell. And when Two-eyes thought that Three-eyes was fast asleep,she used her httle charm:
"Bleat, my little goat, bleat.Cover the table with something to eat,"
and ate and drank as much as her heart desired, and then orderedthe table to go away again:
"Bleat, bleat, my little goat, I pray.And take the table quite away,"
and Three-eyes had seen everything.
Then Two-eyes came to her, waked her and said, "Have youbeen asleep. Three-eyes? You are a good care-taker! Come, we willgo home." And when they got home, Two-eyes again did not eat,and Three-eyes said to the mother, "Now, I know why that high-
minded thing there does not eat. When she is out, she says to thegoat,
'Bleat, my little goat, bleat.
Cover the table with something to eat'
and then a little table appears before her covered with the best offood, much better than any we have here, and when she has eatenall she wants, she says,
'Bleat, bleat, my little goat, I pray.And take the table quite away.'
and all disappears. I watched everything closely. She put two of myeyes to sleep by using a certain form of words, but luckily the onein my forehead kept awake."
Then the envious mother cried, "Dost thou want to fare betterthan we do? The desire shall pass away," and she fetched abutcher's knife, and thrust it into the heart of the goat, which felldovm dead.
When Two-eyes saw that, she went out full of trouble, seatedherself on the ridge of grass at the edge of the field, and wept bittertears. Suddenly the wise woman once more stood by her side, andsaid, "Two-eyes, why art thou weeping?" "Have I not reason toweep?" she answered. "The goat which covered the table for meevery day when I spoke yom: charm, has been killed by my mother,and now I shall again have to bear hunger and want." The v^dsewoman said, "Two-eyes, I will give thee a piece of good advice; askthy sisters to give thee the entrails of the slaughtered goat, andbury them in the ground in front of the house, and thy fortune willbe made." Then she vanished, and Two-eyes went home and said toher sisters, "Dear sisters, do give me some part of my goat; I don'twish for what is good, but give me the entrails." Then they laughedand said, "If that's all you want, you can have it." So Two-eyes tookthe entrails and buried them quietly in the evening, in front of thehouse-door, as the vwse woman had counseled her to do.
Next morning, when they all awoke, and went to the house-door,there stood a strangely magnificent tree with leaves of silver, andfruit of gold hanging among them, so that in all the v^dde worldthere was nothing more beautiful or precious. They did not knowhow the tree could have come there during the night, but Two-eyessaw that it had grown up out of the entrails of the goat, for it wasstanding on the exact spot where she had buried them.
Then the mother said to One-eye, "Climb up, my child, and
One-Eye, Two-Eyes, and Three-Eyes 181
gather some of the fruit of the tree for us." One-eye climbed up,but when she was about to get hold of one of the golden apples,the branch escaped from her hands, and that happened each time,so that she could not pluck a single apple, let her do what shemight. Then said the mother, "Three-eyes, do you climb up; youwith your three eyes can look about you better than One-eye." One-eye slipped down, and Three-eyes climbed up. Three-eyes was notmore sldlful, and might search as she liked, but the golden applesalways escaped her. At length the mother grew impatient, andclimbed up herself, but could get hold of the fruit no better thanOne-eye and Three-eyes, for she always clutched empty air.
Then said Two-eyes, *T will just go up, perhaps I may succeedbetter." The sisters cried, "You indeed, with your two eyes, whatcan you do?" But Two-eyes climbed up, and the golden apples didnot get out of her way, but came into her hand of their own accord,so that she could pluck them one after the other, and she brought awhole apronful down with her. The mother took them away fromher, and instead of treating poor Two-eyes any better for this, sheand One-eye and Three-eyes were only envious, because Two-eyesalone had been able to get the fruit, and they treated her still morecruelly.
It so happened that once when they were all standing togetherby the tree, a young knight came up. "Quick, Two-eyes," cried thetwo sisters, "creep under this, and don't disgrace usl" and with allspeed they turned an empty barrel which was standing close by thetree over poor Two-eyes, and they pushed the golden apples whichshe had been gathering under it too. When the knight came nearerhe was a handsome lord, who stopped and admired the magnificentgold and silver tree, and said to the two sisters, "To whom does thisfine tree belong? Any one who would bestow one branch of it onme might in return for it ask whatsoever he desired." Then One-eyeand Three-eyes replied that the tree belonged to them, and thatthey would give him a branch. They both took great trouble, butthey were not able to do it, for the branches and fruit both movedaway from them every time.
Then said the knight, 'Tt is very strange that the tree should be-long to you, and that you should still not be able to break a pieceoff." They again asserted that the tree was their property. Whilethey were saying so, Two-eyes rolled out a couple of golden applesfrom under the barrel to the feet of the knight, for she was vexedwith One-eye and Three-eyes, for not speaking the truth. When theknight saw the apples he was astonished, and asked where they
came from. One-eye and Three-eyes answered that they had an-other sister, who was not allowed to show herself, for she had onlytwo eyes like any common person. The knight, however, desired tosee her, and cried, "Two-eyes, come forth."
Then Two-eyes, quite comforted, came from beneath the barrel,and the knight was surprised at her great beauty, and said, "Thou,Two-eyes, canst certainly break off a branch from the tree for me.""Yes," repHed Two-eyes, "that I certainly shall be able to do, forthe tree belongs to me." And she climbed up, and with the greatestease broke ofiF a branch with beautiful silver leaves and goldenfruit, and gave it to the knight. Then said the knight, "Two-eyes,what shall I give thee for it?" "Alasl" answered Two-eyes, "1 sufferfrom hunger and thirst, grief and want, from early morning till latenight; if you would take me with you, and deHver me from thesethings, I should be happy." So the knight lifted Two-eyes on to hishorse, and took her home with him to his father's castle, and therehe gave her beautiful clothes, and meat and drink to her heart'scontent, and as he loved her so much he married her, and the wed-ding was solemnized with great rejoicing.
When Two-eyes was thus carried away by the handsome knight,her two sisters grudged her good fortune in downright earnest."The wonderful tree, however, still remains with us," thought they,"and even if we can gather no fruit from it, still every one willstand still and look at it, and come to us and admire it. Who knowswhat good things may be in store for us?" But next morning, thetree had vanished, and all their hopes were at an end. And whenTwo-eyes looked out of the window of her own little room, to hergreat delight it was standing in front of it, and so it had followedher.
Two-eyes Hved a long time in happiness. Once two poor womencame to her in her castle, and begged for alms. She looked in theirfaces, and recognized her sisters. One-eye and Three-eyes, who hadfallen into such poverty that they had to wander about and begtheir bread from door to door. Two-eyes, however, made them wel-come, and was kind to them, and took care of them, so that theyboth with all their hearts repented the evil that they had done theirsister in their youth.
Once there webe three brothers, and they grew poorer and poorer,until at last their need was so great that they had nothing left tobite or to break. Then they said, "This will not do; we had bettergo out into the world and seek our fortune."
So they set out, and went some distance through many greenfields, but they met with no good fortune. One day they came to agreat wood, in the midst of which was a hill, and when they camenear to it, they saw that it was all of silver. Then said the eldest,"Now here is good fortune enough for me, and I desire no better."And he took of the silver as much as he could carry, turned round,and went back home. But the other two said, "We must have some-thing better than mere silver," and they would not touch it, butwent on farther.
After they had gone on a few days longer, they came to a hillthat was all of gold. The second brother stood still and considered,and was imcertain. "What shall I do?" said he; "shall I take of thegold enough to last me my life, or shall I go farther?" At last, com-ing to a conclusion, he filled his pockets as full as they would hold,bid good-bye to his brother, and went home. But the third brothersaid to himself, "Silver and gold do not tempt me; I wiU not gain-say fortune, who has better things in store for me."
So he went on, and when he had journeyed for three days, hecame to a wood still greater than the former ones, so that there wasno end to it; and in it he found nothing to eat or to drink, so that hewas nearly starving. He got up into a high tree, so as to see how farthe wood reached, but as far as his eyes could see, there was noth-ing but the tops of the trees. And as he got down from the tree,hunger pressed him sore, and he thought, "Oh that for once I couldhave a good meall"
And when he reached the ground he saw to his surprise a tablebeneath the tree richly spread with food, and that smoked beforehim.
"This time at least," said he, "I have my wish," and without stop-ping to ask who had brought the meal there, and who had cookedit, he came close to the table and ate with relish, until his hungerwas appeased. When he had finished, he thought, "It would be a
pity to leave such a good table-cloth behind in the wood," so hefolded it up neatly and pocketed it.
Then he walked on, and in the evening, when hunger againseized him, he thought he would put the table-cloth to the proof,and he brought it out and said, "Now I desire that thou shouldst bespread with a good meal," and no sooner were the words out of his'mouth, than there stood on it as many dishes of delicious food asthere was room for.
"Now that I see," said he, "what sort of a cook thou art, I holdthee dearer than the mountains of silver and of gold," for he per-ceived that it was a wishing-cloth. Still he was not satisfied to settle/down at home with only a wishing-cloth, so he determined to wan-der farther through the world and seek his fortune.
One evening, in a lonely wood, he came upon a begrimed char-coal-burner at his furnace, who had put some potatoes to roast forhis supper. "Good evening, my black feUow," said he, "how do youget on in this lonely spot?" "One day is like another," answered thecharcoal-burner; "every evening I have potatoes; have you a mindto be my guest?" "Many thanks," answered the traveler, "I will notdeprive you; you did not expect a guest; but if you do not object,you shall be the one to be invited."
"How can that be managed?" said the charcoal-bmner; "I seethat you have nothing with you, and if you were to walk two hoursin any direction, you would meet with no one to give you any-thing." "For aU that," answered he, "there shall be a feast so good,that you have never tasted the like."
Then he took out the table-cloth from his knapsack, and spreadingit on the ground, said, "Cloth, be covered," and immediately thereappeared boiled and roast meat, quite hot, as if it had just comefrom the kitchen. The charcoat-bumer stared, but did not stay to beasked twice, and fell to, filling his black mouth with ever biggerand bigger pieces.
When they had finished eating, the charcoal-burner smiled, andsaid, "Look here, I approve of your table-cloth; it would not be abad thing for me to have here in the wood, where the cooking isnot first-rate. I will strike a bargain with you. There hangs a sol-dier's knapsack in the corner, which looks old and unsightly, but ithas wonderful qualities; as I have no further occasion for it, I wiUgive it to you in exchange for the table-cloth."
"First, I must know what these wonderful quahties are," re-turned the other.
"I will tell you," answered the charcoal-burner; "if you strike it
The Knapsack, the Hat, and the Horn 185
with your hand, there will appear a corporal and six men withswords and muskets, and whatever you wish to have done, that willthey do."
"Well, for my part," said the other, "I am quite willing to makethe exchange." And he gave the table-cloth to the charcoal-burner,took down the knapsack from its hook, slung it over his shoulder,and took his leave. Before he had gone far he began to want tomake a trial of his wonderful knapsack, so he struck it a blow. Atonce seven soldiers appeared before him, and the corporal said,"What does my lord and master please to want?"
"March in haste to the charcoal-burner and demand my wishing-cloth back," said the man. They wheeled round to the left, andwere not long before they had accomplished his desire, and takenaway, without wasting many words, the wishing-cloth from thecharcoal-burner. Having dismissed them, he wandered on, expect-ing still more wonderful luck.
About sunset he fell in with another charcoal-burner, who wasgetting his supper ready at the fire. "Will you join me?" said thisblack fellow; "potatoes and salt, without butter; sit down to it withme." "No," answered he, "this time you shall be my guest." And hespread out his table-cloth, and it was directly covered with themost delicious victuals. So they ate and drank together and weremerry.
After the meal was over the charcoal-burner said, "Over there,on the bench, lies an old worn-out hat, which has wonderful prop-erties : if you put it on and draw it well over yoiu* head it is as if adozen field-pieces went off, one after the other, shooting everythingdown, so that no one can stand against them. This hat is of no useto me, and I will give it to you in exchange for the table-cloth."
"All right," answered the other, taking the hat and carrying it off,and leaving the table-cloth behind him. Before he had gone far hestruck upon the knapsack, and summoned his soldiers to fetch backthe table-cloth again. "First one thing, and then another," thoughthe, "just as if my luck were never to end."
And so it seemed, for at the end of another day's journey he cameup to another charcoal-burner, who was roasting his potatoes justlike the others. He invited him to eat with him off his wishing-cloth,to which the charcoal-burner took such a fancy, that he gave himfor it a horn, which had different properties still from the hat. If aman blew on it, down fell all walls and fortresses, and finally townsand villages in heaps. So the man gave the table-cloth in exchangefor it to the charcoal-burner, afterwards sending his men to fetch it
back, so that at last he had in his possession knapsack, hat, andhorn, all at one time. "Now," said he, "I am a made man, and it istime to go home again and see how my brothers are faring."
When he reached home he found that his brothers had builtthemselves a fine house with their silver and gold, and Hved inclover. He went to see them, but because he wore a half-worn-outcoat, a shabby hat, and the old knapsack on his back, they wouldnot recognize him as their brother. They mocked him and said, "Itis of no use your giving yourself out to be our brother; he whoscorned silver and gold, seeking for better fortune, will return ingreat splendor, as a mighty King, not as a beggar-man." And theydrove him from their door.
Then he flew into a great rage, and struck upon his knapsackuntil a hundred and fifty men stood before him, rank and file. Heordered them to smround his brothers' house, and that two of themshould take hazel-rods, and should beat the brothers until theyknew who he was. And there arose a terrible noise; the people rantogether and wished to rescue the brothers in their extremity, butthey could do nothing against the soldiers. It happened at last thatthe King of the coimtry heard of it, and he was indignant, and senta captain with his troops to drive the disturber of the peace out ofthe town. But the man with his knapsack soon assembled a greatercompany, who beat back the captain and his people, sending themofiF with bleeding noses.
Then the King said, "This vagabond fellow must be put down,"and he sent the next day a larger company against him, but theycould do nothing, for he assembled more men than ever, and inorder to bring them more quickly, he pulled his hat twice lowerover his brows; then the heavy guns came into play, and the King'speople were beaten and put to flight. "Now," said he, "I shall notmake peace until the King gives me his daughter to wife, and letsme rule the whole kingdom in his name."
This he caused to be told to the King, who said to his daughter,"This is a hard nut to crack; there is no choice but for me to do ashe asks; if I wish to have peace and keep the crown on my head, Imust give in to him."
So the wedding took place, but the King's daughter was angrythat the bridegroom should be a common man, who wore a shabbyhat, and carried an old knapsack. She wished very much to get ridof him, and thought day and night how to manage it. Then it struckher that perhaps all his wonder-working power lay in the knapsack,and she pretended to be very fond of him, and when she had
brought him into a good humor she said, "Pray lay aside that uglyknapsack; it misbecomes you so much that I feel ashamed of you."
"My dear child," answered he, "this knapsack is my greatesttreasure; so long as I keep it I need not fear anything in the wholeworld," and then he showed her with what wonderful qualities itwas endowed. Then she fell on his neck as if she would have kissedhim, but, by a clever trick, she slipped the knapsack over his shoul-der and ran away with it.
As soon as she was alone she struck upon it and summoned thesoldiers, and bade them seize her husband and bring him to theKing's palace. They obeyed, and the false woman had many moreto follow behind, so as to be ready to drive him out of the country.He would have been quite done for if he had not still kept the hat.As soon as he could get his hands free he pulled it twice forward onhis head; and then the cannon began to thunder and beat all down,till at last the King's daughter had to come and to beg pardon. Andas she so movingly prayed and promised to behave better, he raisedher up and made peace with her. Then she grew very land to him,and seemed to love him very much, and he grew so deluded, thatone day he confided to her that even if he were deprived of hisknapsack nothing could be done against him as long as he shouldkeep the old hat. And when she knew the secret she waited until hehad gone to sleep; then she carried off the hat, and had him drivenout into the streets. Still the horn remained to him, and in greatwrath he blew a great blast upon it, and down came walls andfortresses, towns and villages, and bmried the King and his daugh-ter among their ruins. If he had not set down the horn when he did,and if he had blown a little longer, all the houses would have tum-bled down, and there would not have been left one stone upon an-other.
After this no one dared to withstand him, and he made himselfKing over the whole country.
Sweetheart Roland
There was once a woman who was a witch, and she had twodaughters, one ugly and wicked, one pretty and good. She lovedthe wicked one because she was her own child, but she hated the
good one because she was a step-daughter. One day the step-daughter put on a pretty apron, which the other daughter hked somuch that she became envious, and said to her mother that shemust and should have the apron.
"Be content, my child," said the old woman, "thou shalt have it.Thy step-sister has long deserved death, and tonight, while she isasleep, I shall come and cut off her head. Take care to he at the far-thest side of the bed, and push her to the outside."
And it would have been all over with the poor girl, if she had notbeen standing in a corner near and heard it all. She did not dare togo outside the door the whole day long, and when bed-time camethe other one got into bed first, so as to He on the farthest side; butwhen she had gone to sleep, the step-daughter pushed her towardsthe outside, and took the inside place next the wall. In the night theold woman came sneaking; in her right hand she held an axe, andwith her left she felt for the one who was lying outside, and thenshe heaved up the axe with both hands, and hewed the head off heronly daughter.
When she had gone away, the other girl got up and went to hersweetheart's, who was called Roland, and knocked at his door.When he came to her, she said, "Listen, dear Roland, we must fleeaway in all haste; my step-mother meant to put me to death, butshe has killed her only child instead. When the day breaks, and shesees what she has done, we are lost."
"But'I advise you," said Roland, "to bring away her magic wandwith you; otherwise we cannot escape her when she comes after toovertake us." So the maiden fetched the magic wand, and she tookup the head of her step-sister and let drop three drops of blood onthe ground—one by the bed, one in the kitchen, and one on thesteps. Then she hastened back to her sweetheart.
When the old witch got up in the morning, she called out to herdaughter, to give her the apron, but no daughter came. Then shecried out, "Where art thou?" "Here, at the steps, sweeping!" an-swered one of the drops of blood.
The old woman went out, but she saw nobody at the steps, andcried again, "Where art thou?" "Here in the kitchen warming my-self," cried the second drop of blood.
So she went into the kitchen and found no one. Then she criedagain, "Where art thou?" "Oh, here in bed fast asleepl" cried thethird drop of blood.
Then the mother went into the room, and up to the bed, andthere lay her only child, whose head she had cut off herself. The
Sweetheart Roland 189
witch fell into a great fury, rushed to the window, for from it shecould see far and wide, and she caught sight of her step-daughter,hastening away with her dear Roland.
*lt will be no good to you," cried she, "if you get ever so faraway, you cannot escape me." Then she put on her boots, whichtook her an hour's walk at every stride, and it was not long beforeshe had overtaken them. But the maiden, when she saw the oldwoman striding up, changed, by means of the magic wand, herdear Roland into a lake, and herself into a duck swimming upon it.The witch stood on the bank and threw in crumbs of bread, andtook great pains to decoy the duck towards her, but the duck wouldnot be decoyed, and the old woman was obHged to go back in theevening disappointed.
Then the maiden and her dear Roland took again their naturalshapes, and traveled on the whole night through until daybreak.Then the maiden changed herself into a beautiful flower, standingin the middle of a hedge of thorns, and her dear Roland into afiddle-player. It was not long before the witch came striding up,and she said to the musician, "Dear musician, will you be so kindas to reach that pretty flower for me?" "Oh yes," said he, "I willstrike up a tune to it."
Then as she crept quickly up to the hedge to break off the flower,for she knew well who it was, he began to play, and whether shehked it or not, she was obliged to dance, for there was magic in thetune. The faster he played the higher she had to jump, and thethorns tore her clothes, and scratched and wounded her, and he didnot cease playing until she was spent, and lay dead.
So now they were saved, and Roland said, "I will go to my fatherand prepare for the wedding." "And I will stay here," said themaiden, "and wait for you, and so that no one should know me, Iwill change myself into a red milestone." So away went Roland,and the maiden in the Hkeness of a stone waited in the field for herbeloved.
But when Roland went home he fell into the snares of anothermaiden, who wrought so, that he forgot his first love. And the poorgirl waited a long time, but at last, seeing that he did not come, shewas filled with despair, and changed herself into a flower, thinking"Perhaps some one in passing will put his foot upon me and crushme."
But it happened that a shepherd, tending his flock, saw theflower, and as it was so beautiful, he gathered it, took it home with
him, and put it in his chest. From that time everything went won-derfully well in the shepherd's house. When he got up in the morn-ing, all the work was already done; the room was swept, the tablesand benches rubbed, fire kindled on the hearth, and water readydrawn; and when he came home in the middle of the day, the tablewas laid, and a good meal spread upon it. He could not understandhow it was done, for he never saw anybody in his house, and it wastoo little for anybody to hide in. The good serving pleased himwell; but in the end he became uneasy, and went to a wise womanto take counsel of her. The wise woman said, "There is magic in it:get up early some morning, and if you hear something moving inthe room, be it what it may, throw a white cloth over it, and thecharm will be broken."
The shepherd did as she told him, and the next morning at day-break he saw the chest open, and the flower come out. Then hejumped up quickly and threw a white cloth over it. So the spell wasbroken, and a lovely maiden stood before him; and she told himthat she had been the flower, and had until now cared for hishousehold matters. She told him all that had happened to her, andshe pleased him so much that he asked her to marry him, but sheanswered "No," because she still remained true to her dear Roland,though he had forsaken her; but she promised not to leave theshepherd, but to go on taking care of his house.
Now the time came when Roland's wedding was to be held; andthere was an old custom in that country that all the girls should bepresent, and should sing in honor of the bride and bridegroom. Thefaithful maiden, when she knew this, was so sorrowful that she feltas if her heart would break; and she would not go, until the otherscame and fetched her.
And when her turn came to sing she slipped behind, so that shestood alone, and so began to sing; and as soon as her song reachedRoland's ear he sprang up and cried, "I know that voice! That isthe right bride, and no other v^dll I have." And everything that hehad forgotten, and that had been swept out of his mind, came sud-denly home to him in his heart. And the faithful maiden was mar-ried to her dear Roland; her sorrow came to an end and her joybegan.
Once there was a very poor woman who was delighted when herson was bom with a caul enveloping his head. This was supposedto bring good fortune, and it was predicted that he would marrythe King's daughter when he became nineteen. Soon after, a Kingcame to the village, but no one knew that it was the King. When heasked for news, they told him that a few days before a child hadbeen bom in the village, with a caul, and it was prophesied that hewould be very lucky. Indeed, it had been said that in his nineteenthyear he would have the King's daughter for his wife.
The King, who had a wicked heart, was very angry when heheard this; but he went to the parents in a most friendly manner,and said to them kindly, "Good people, give up your child to me. Iwill take the greatest care of him."
At first they refused; but when the stranger offered them a largeamount of gold, and then mentioned that if their child was bom tobe lucky everything must turn out for the best with him, theywillingly at last gave him up.
The King placed the child in a box and rode away with it for along distance, till he came to deep water, into which he threw thebox containing the child, saying to himself as he rode away, "Fromthis unwelcome suitor have I saved my daughter."
But the box did not sink; it swam Hke a boat on the water, and sohigh above it that not a drop got inside. It sailed on to a spot abouttwo miles from the chief town of the King's dominions, where therewere a mill and a weir, which stopped it, and on which it rested.
The miller's man, who happened to be standing near the bank,fortunately noticed it, and thinking it would most likely containsomething valuable, drew it on shore with a hook; but when heopened it, there lay a beautiful baby, who was quite awake andlively.
He carried it in to the miller and his wife, and as they had nochildren they were quite dehghted, and said Heaven had sent thelittle boy as a gift to them. They brought him up carefully, and hegrew to manhood clever and virtuous.
It happened one day that the King was overtaken by a thunder-storm while passing near the mill, and stopped to ask for shelter.
Noticing the youth, he asked the miller if that tall young man washis son.
"No," he replied; "he is a foundling. Nineteen years ago a boxwas seen sailing on the mill stream by one of our men, and when itwas caught in the weir he drew it out of the water and found thechild in it."
Then the ICing knew that this must be the child of fortune, andtherefore the one which he had thrown into the water. He hid hisvexation, however, and presently said kindly, "1 want to send a let-ter to the Queen, my wife; if that young man will take it to her Iwill give him two gold-pieces for his trouble."
"We are at the King's service," replied the miller, and called tothe young man to prepare for his errand. Then the King wrote aletter to the Queen, containing these words: "As soon as the boywho brings this letter arrives, let him be killed, and I shall expect tofind him dead and buried when I come back."
The youth was soon on his way with this letter. He lost himself,however, in a large forest. But when darkness came on he saw inthe distance a glimmering Hght, which he walked to, and found asmall house. He entered and saw an old woman sitting by the fire,quite alone. She appeared frightened when she saw him, and said:"Where do you come from, and what do you want?"
"I am come from the mill," he replied, "and I am carrying a let-ter to the wife of the King, and, as I have lost my way, I should likevery much to stay here during the night."
"You poor young man," she replied, "you are in a den of robbers,and when they come home they may kill you."
"They may come when they like," said the youth; "I am notafraid; but I am so tired that I cannot go a step further." Then hestretched himself on a bench and fell fast asleep.
Soon after the robbers came home, and asked angrily what thatyouth was lying there for.
"Ah," said the old woman, "he is an innocent child who has losthimself in the wood, and I took him in out of compassion. He iscarrying a letter to the Queen, which the King has sent."
Then the robbers went softly to the sleeping youth, took the let-ter from his pocket, and read in it that as soon as the bearer arrivedat the palace he was to lose his life. Then pity arose in the hard-hearted robbers, and their chief tore up the letter and wrote an-other, in which it was stated that as soon as the boy arrived heshould be married to the King's daughter. Then they left him to lieand rest on the bench till the next morning, and when he awoke
they gave him the letter and showed him the road he was to take.
As soon as he reached the palace and sent in the letter, theQueen read it, and she acted in exact accordance with what waswritten—ordered a grand marriage feast, and had the Princess mar-ried at once to the fortunate youth. He was very handsome andamiable, so that the King's daughter soon learned to love him verymuch, and was quite happy with him.
Not long after, when the King returned home to his castle, hefound the prophecy respecting the child of fortune fulfilled, andthat he was married to a King's daughter. "How has this hap-pened?" said he. "I have in my letter given very different ordersl"
Then the Queen gave him the letter, and said: "You may see foryourself what is stated there."
The King read the letter and saw very clearly that it was not theone he had written. He asked the youth what he had done with theletter he had entrusted to him, and where he had brought the otherfrom. "I know not," he replied, "unless it was changed during thenight while I slept in the forest."
Full of wrath, the King said, "You shall not get off so easily, forwhoever marries my daughter must first bring me three goldenhairs from the head of the demon of the Black Forest. If you bringthem to me before long, then shall you keep my daughter as a wife,but not otherwise."
Then said the child of fortune, "I will fetch these golden hairsvery quickly; I am not the least afraid of the demon." Thereuponhe said farewell, and started on his travels. His way led him to alarge city, and as he stood at the gate and asked admission, awatchman said to him, "What trade do you follow, and how muchdo you know?" "I know everything," he replied.
"Then you can do us a favor," answered the watchman, "if youcan tell why our master's fountain, from which wine used to flow, isdried up, and never gives us even water now." "I will tell you whenI come back," he said; "only wait till then."
He traveled on still further, and came by and by to another town,where the watchman also asked him what trade he followed, andwhat he knew. "I know everything," he answered.
"Then," said the watchman, "you can do us a favor, and tell uswhy a tree in our town, which once bore golden apples, now onlyproduces leaves." "Wait till I return," he replied, "and I will tellyou.
On he went again, and came to a broad river, over which hemust pass in a ferryboat, and the ferryman asked him the same
question about his trade and his knowledge. He gave the samereply, that he knew everything.
"Then," said the man, "you can do me a favor, and tell me how itis that I am obliged to go backward and forward in my ferryboatevery day, without a change of any kind." "Wait till I come back,"he replied, "then you shall know all about it."
As soon as he reached the other side of the water he found theentrance to the Black Forest, in which was the demon's cove. It wasvery dark and gloomy, and the demon was not at home; but his oldmother was sitting in a large arm-chair, and she looked up and said,"What do you want? You don't look wicked enough to be one ofus."
"I just want three golden hairs from the demon's head," he re-plied; "otherwise my wife will be taken away from me."
"That is asking a great deal," she replied; "for if the demoncomes home and finds you here, he will have no mercy on you.However, if you will trust me, I will try to help you."
Then she turned him into an ant, and said: "Creep into the foldsof my gown; there you will be safe."
"Yes," he replied, "that is all very good; but I have three thingsbesides that I want to know. First, why a well, from which formerlywine used to flow, should be dry now, so that not even water canbe got from it. Secondly, why a tree that once bore golden applesshould now produce nothing but leaves. And, thirdly, why a fer-ryman is obliged to row forward and back every day, without everleaving off."
"These are diflScult questions," said the old woman; "but keepstill and quiet, and when the demon comes in, pay great attentionto what he says, while I pull the golden hairs out of his head."
Late in the evening the demon came home, and as soon as he en-tered he declared that the air was not clear. "I smell the flesh ofman," he said, "and I am sure that there is some one here." So hepeeped into all the comers, and searched everywhere, but couldfind nothing.
Then his old mother scolded him well, and said, "Just as I havebeen sweeping, and dusting, and putting everything in order, thenyou come home and give me all the work to do over again. Youhave always the smell of something in yoiu* nose. Do sit down andeat your supper."
The demon did as she told him, and when he had eaten anddrunk enough, he complained of being tired. So his mother made
The DeviVs Three Gold Hairs 195
him lie dovm so that she could place his head in her lap; and hewas soon so comfortable that he fell fast asleep and snored.
Then the old woman lifted up a golden hair, twitched it out, andlaid it by her side. "Oh!" screamed the demon, waking up; "whatwas that for?" "I have had a bad dream," answered she, "and itmade me catch hold of your hair."
"What did you dream about?" asked the demon. "Oh, I dreamedof a well in a market-place from which wine once used to flow, butnow it is dried up, and they can't even get water from it. Whosefault is that?" "Ah, they ought to know that there sits a toad undera stone in the well, and if he were dead wine would again flow."
Then the old woman combed his hair again, till he slept andsnored so loud that the windows rattled, and she pulled out the sec-ond hair. "What are you about now?" asked the demon in a rage."Oh, don't be angry," said the woman; "I have had anotherdream."
"What was this dream about?" he asked. "Why, I dreamed thatin a certain country there grows a fruit tree which used to beargolden apples, but now it produces nothing but leaves. What is thecause of this?" "Why, don't they know," answered the demon, "thatthere is a mouse gnawing at the root? Were it dead the tree wouldagain bear golden apples; and if it gnaws much longer the tree v^dllwither and dry up. Bother your dreams; if you disturb me again,just as I am comfortably asleep, you will have a box on the ear."
Then the old woman spoke kindly to him, and smoothed andcombed his hair again, till he slept and snored. Then she seized thethird golden hair and pulled it out.
The demon, on this, sprang to his feet, roared out in a greaterrage than ever, and would have done some mischief in the house,but she managed to appease him this time also, and said: "Howcan I help my bad dreams?" "And whatever did you dream?" heasked, with some curiosity. "Well, I dreamed about a ferryman,who complains that he is obliged to take people across the river,and is never free." "Oh, the stupid fellowl" replied the wizard, "hecan very easily ask any person who wants to be ferried over to takethe oar in his hand, and he will be free at once."
Then the demon laid his head down once more; and as the oldmother had pulled out the three golden hairs, and got answers toall the three questions, she let the old fellow rest and sleep in peacetill the morning dawned.
As soon as he had gone out next day, the old woman took the antfrom the folds of her dress and restored the lucky youth to his for-
mer shape. "Here are the three golden hairs for which you wished*said she; "and did you hear all the answers to your three ques-tions?" "Yes," he repHed, "every word, and I will not forget them.""Well, then, I have helped you out of your difficulties, and now gethome as fast as you can."
After thanking the old woman for her kindness, he turned hissteps homeward, full of joy that everything had succeeded so well.
When he arrived at the ferry the man asked for the promised an-swer. "Ferry me over first," he repHed, "and then I will tell you."
So when they reached the opposite shore he gave the ferrymanthe demon's advice, that the next person who came and wished tobe ferried over should have the oar placed in his hand, and fromthat moment he would have to take the ferryman's place.
Then the youth journeyed on till he came to the town where theunfruitful tree grew, and where the watchman was waiting for hisanswer. To him the young man repeated what he had heard, andsaid, "Kill the mouse that is gnawing at the root; then will yourtree again bear golden apples."
The watchman thanked him, and gave him in return for his infor-mation two asses laden with gold, which were led after him. Hevery soon arrived at the city which contained the dried-up foun-tain. The sentinel came forward to receive his answer. Said theyouth, "Under a stone in the fountain sits a toad; it must besearched for and killed; then will wine again flow from it." To showhow thankful he was for this advice, the sentinel also ordered twoasses laden with gold to be sent after him.
At length the child of fortune reached home with his riches, andhis wife was overjoyed at seeing him again, and hearing how wellhe had succeeded in his undertaking. He placed before the Kingthe three golden hairs he had brought from the head of the blackdemon; and when the King saw these and the four asses laden withgold he was quite satisfied, and said, "Now that you have per-formed all the required conditions, I am quite ready to sanctionyour marriage with my daughter; but, my dear son-in-law, tell mehow you obtained all this gold. It is indeed a very valuable treas-ure; where did you find it?" "I crossed the river in a ferryboat, andon the opposite shore I found the gold lying in the sand."
"Can I find some if I go?" asked the King eagerly. "Yes, as muchas you please," replied he. "There is a ferryman there who wiU rowyou over, and you can fill a sack in no time."
The greedy old King set out on his journey in aU haste, and when
he came near the river he beckoned to the ferryman to row himover the ferry.
The man told him to step in, and just as they reached the oppo-site shore he placed the rudder-oar in the King's hand, and sprangout of the boat; and so the King became a ferryman as a punish-ment for his sins.
I wonder if he still goes on ferrying people over the river! It isvery likely, for no one has ever been persuaded to touch the oarsince he took it.
The Griffin
There was once upon a time a King, but where he reigned andwhat he was called, I do not know. He had no son, but an onlydaughter who had always been ill, and no doctor had been able tocure her. Then it was foretold to the King that his daughter shouldeat herself well with an apple. So he ordered it to be proclaimedthroughout the whole of his kingdom, that whosoever brought hisdaughter an apple with which she could eat herself well, shouldhave her to wife, and be King. This became known to a peasantwho had three sons, and he said to the eldest, "Go out into the gar-den and take a basketful of those beautiful apples with the redcheeks and carry them to the court; perhaps the King's daughterwill be able to eat herself well with them, and then thou wilt marryher and be King." The lad did so, and set out.
When he had gone a short way he met a little iron man whoasked him what he had there in the basket, to which replied Uele,for so was he named, "Frogs' legs." On this the little man said,"Well, so shall it be, and remain," and went away. At length Uelearrived at the palace, and made it known that he had broughtapples which would cure the King's daughter if she ate them. Thisdelighted the King hugely, and he caused Uele to be brought be-fore him; but, alas I when he opened the basket, instead of havingapples in it he had frogs' legs which were still kicking about. Onthis the King grew angry, and had him driven out of the house.When he got home he told his father how it had fared with him.Then the father sent the next son, who was called Seame, but allwent with him just as it had gone with Uele. He also met the little
iron man, who asked what he had there in the basket. Seame said,"Hogs' bristles," and the iron man said, 'Well, so shall it be, andremain."
When Seame got to the King's palace and said he brought appleswith which the King's daughter might eat herself well, they did notwant to let him go in, and said that one fellow had already beenthere, and had treated them as if they were fools. Seame, however,maintained that he certainly had the apples, and that they ought tolet him go in. At length they believed him, and led him to the King.But when he uncovered the basket, he had but hogs' bristles. Thisenraged the King terribly, so he caused Seame to be whipped outof the house. When he got home he related all that had befallenhim.
Then the youngest boy, whose name was Hans, but who was al-ways called Stupid Hans, came and asked his father if he might gowith some apples. "Oh!" said the father, "you would be just theright fellow for such a thing! If the clever ones can't manage it,what can you do?" The boy, however, did not believe him, andsaid, "Indeed, father, I wish to go." "Just get away, you stupidfellow, you must wait tiU you are wiser," said the father to that, andturned his back. Hans, however, pulled at the back of his smock-frock and said, 'Indeed, father, I wish to go." "Well, then, so far asI am concerned you may go, but you will soon come home again!"replied the old man in a spiteful voice. The boy, however, was tre-mendously delighted and jumped for joy. "Well, act like a fool! yougrow more stupid every day!" said the father again. Hans, however,did not care about that, and did not let it spoil his pleasure, but asit was then night, he thought he might as well wait until the mor-row, for he could not get to court that day.
All night long he could not sleep in his bed, and if he did dozefor a moment, he dreamt of beautiful maidens, of palaces, of gold,and of silver, and all lands of things of that sort. Early in the morn-ing, he went forth on his way, and directly afterwards the littleshabby-looking man in his iron clothes, came to him and askedwhat he was carrying in the basket. Hans gave him the answer thathe was carrying apples with which the King's daughter was to eatherself well. "Then," said the little man, "so shall they be, andremain." But at the court they would none of them let Hans go in,for they said two had already been there who had told them thatthey were bringing apples, and one of them had frogs' legs, and theother hogs' bristles. Hans, however, resolutely maintained that hemost certainly had no frogs' legs, but some of the most beautiful
apples in the whole Icingdom. As he spoke so pleasantly, the door-keeper thought he could not be telling a He, and asked him to go in,and he was right, for when Hans uncovered his basket in the King'spresence, golden-yellow apples came tumbling out. The King wasdelighted, and caused some of them to be taken to his daughter,and then waited in anxious expectation until news should bebrought to him of the effect they had. But before much time hadpassed by, news was brought to him: but who do you think it waswho came? it was his daughter herself 1 As soon as she had eaten ofthose apples, she was cured, and sprang out of her bed.
The joy the King felt cannot be described! But now he did notwant to give his daughter in marriage to Hans, and said he mustfirst make him a boat which would go quicker on dry land than onwater, Hans agreed to the conditions, and went home, and relatedhow it had fared with him.
Then the father sent Uele into the forest to make a boat of thatIdnd. He worked diligently, and whistled all the time. At mid-day,when the sun was at the highest, came the little iron man and askedwhat he was making. Uele gave him for answer, "Wooden bowlsfor the kitchen." The iron man said, "So it shall be, and remain." Byevening Uele thought he had now made the boat, but when hewanted to get into it, he had nothing but wooden bowls. The nextday Seame went into the forest, but everything went with him justas it had done with Uele. On the third day Stupid Hans went. Heworked away most industriously, so that the whole forest resoundedwith the heavy strokes, and all the while he sang and whistled rightmerrily. At mid-day, when it was the hottest, the little man cameagain, and asked what he was making. "A boat which will goquicker on dry land than on the water," replied Hans, "and when Ihave finished it, I am to have the King's daughter for my wife.""Well," said the little man, "such shall it be, and remain." In theevening, when the sun had turned into gold, Hans finished his boat,and aU that was wanted for it. He got into it and rowed to the pal-ace. The boat went as swiftly as the wind.
The King saw it from afar, but would not give his daughter toHans yet, and said he must first take a hundred hares out to pasturefrom early morning until late evening, and if one of them got away,he should not have his daughter. Hans was contented with this, andthe next day went with his flock to the pasture, and took great carethat none of them ran away.
Before many hours had passed came a servant from the palace,and told Hans that he must give her a hare iastantly, for some visi-
tors had come unexpectedly. Hans, however, was very well awarewhat that meant, and said he would not give her one; the Kingmight set some hare soup before his guests next day. The maid,however, would not believe in his refusal, and at last she began toget angry with him. Then Hans said that if the King's daughtercame herself, he would give her a hare. The maid told this in thepalace, and the daughter did go herself.
In the meantime, however, the little man came again to Hans,and asked him what he was doing there. He said he had to watchover a hundred hares and see that none of them ran away, and thenhe might marry the King's daughter and be King. "Good," said thelittle man, "there is a whistle for you, and if one of them runsaway, just whistle with it, and then it wiU come back again." Whenthe King's daughter came, Hans gave her a hare into her apron; butwhen she had gone about a hundred steps with it, he whistled, andthe hare jmnped out of the apron, and before she could turn roundwas back to the flock again. When the evening came the hare-herdwhistled once more, and looked to see if all were there, and thendrove them to the palace. The King wondered how Hans had beenable to take a hundred hares to graze without losing any of them;he would, however, not give him his daughter yet, and said he mustnow bring him a feather from the GriflBn's tail.
Hans set out at once, and walked straight forwards. In the eve-ning he came to a castle, and there he asked for a night's lodging,for at that time there were no inns. The lord of the castle promisedhim that with much pleasure, and asked where he was going. Hansanswered, "To the GriflBn." "Oh! to the Griffin! They tell me heknows everything, and I have lost the key of an iron money-chest;so you might be so good as to ask him where it is." "Yes, indeed,"said Hans, "I wiU soon do that." Early the next morning he wentonwards, and on his way arrived at another castle in which heagain stayed the night. When the people who Hved there learntthat he was going to the Griffin, they said they had in the house adaughter who was ill, and that they had aheady tried every meansto cure her, but none of them had done her any good, and he mightbe so kind as to ask the Griffin what would make their daughterhealthy again. Hans said he would willingly do that, and went on-wards. Then he came to a lake, and instead of a ferryboat, a tall,tall man was there who had to carry everybody across. The manasked Hans whither he was joimieying. "To the Griffin," said Hans."Then when you get to him," said the man, "just ask him why I amforced to carry everybody over the lake?" "Yes, indeed, most cer-
The Griffin 201
tainly I'll do that," said Hans. Then the man took him up on hisshoulders, and carried him across.
At length Hans arrived at the GriflBn's house, but the wife onlywas at home, and not the GriflBn himself. Then the woman askedhim what he wanted. Thereupon he told her everything: that hehad to get a feather out of the Griffin's tail; and that there was acastle where they had lost the key of their money-chest, and he wasto ask the Griffin where it was; that in another castle the daughterwas iU, and he was to learn what would cure her; and then not farfrom thence there was a lake and a man beside it, who was forcedto carry people across it, and he was very anxious to leam why theman was obliged to do it.
Then said the woman, "But look here, my good friend, no Chris-tian can speak to the Griffin. He devours them all. But if you like,you can lie down under his bed, and in the night, when he is quitefast asleep, you can reach out and pull a feather out of his tail; andas for those things which you are to leam, I will ask about themmyself." Hans was quite satisfied with this, and got under the bed.In the evening, the Griffin came home, and as soon as he enteredthe room, said, "Wife, I smell a Christian.'' "Yes," said the woman,"one was here today, but he went away again." Then the Griffinsaid no more.
In the middle of the night when the Griffin was snoring loudly,Hans reached out and plucked a feather from his tail. The Griffinwoke up instantly, and said, "Wife, I smell a Christian, and itseems to me that somebody was pulling at my tail." His wife said,"You have certainly been dreaming, and I told you before that aChristian was here today, but that he went away again. He told meall kinds of things—that in one castle they had lost the key of theirmoney-chest, and could find it nowhere." "Oh! the fools!" said theGriffin; "the key lies in the wood-house under a log of wood behindthe door." "And then he said that in another castle the daughterwas ill, and they knew no remedy that would ciure her." "Oh! thefools!" said the Griffin; "under the cellar-steps a toad has made itsnest of her hair, and if she got her hair back she would be well.""And then he also said that there was a place where there was alake and a man beside it who was forced to carry everybodyacross." "Oh, the fool!" said the Griffin; "if he only put one mandown in the middle, he would never have to carry another across."
Early the next morning the Griffin got up and went out. ThenHans came forth from under the bed, and he had a beautifulfeather, and had heard what the Griffin had said about the key, and
the daughter, and the ferry-man. The Griffin's wife repeated it allonce more to him that he might not forget it, and then he wenthome again.
First he came to the man by the lake, who asked him what theGriffin had said, but Hans replied that he must first carry himacross, and then he would tell him. So the man carried him across,and when he was over Hans told him that all he had to do was toset one person down in the middle of the lake, and then he wouldnever have to carry over any more. The man was hugely delisted,and told Hans that out of gratitude he would take him once moreacross, and back again. But Hans said no, he would save him thetrouble, he was quite satisfied already, and pursued his way. Thenhe came to the castle where the daughter was ill; he took her on hisshoulders, for she could not walk, and carried her down the cellar-steps and puUed out the toad's nest from beneath the lowest stepand gave it into her hand, and she sprang off his shoulder and upthe steps before him, and was quite ciued. Then were the fatherand mother beyond measure rejoiced, and they gave Hans gifts ofgold and of silver, and whatsoever else he wished for, that theygave him. And when he got to the other castle he went at once intothe wood-house, and found the key under the log of wood behindthe door, and took it to the lord of the castle. He also was not a lit-tle pleased, and gave Hans as a reward much of the gold that wasin the chest, and all Idnds of things besides, such as cows, andsheep, and goats.
When Hans arrived before the King, with all these things—withthe money, and the gold, and the silver and the cows, sheep andgoats, the King asked him how he had come by them. Then Hanstold him that the Griffin gave every one whatsoever he wanted. Sothe King thought he himself could make such things useful, and setout on his way to the Griffin; but when he got to the lake, it hap-pened that he was the very first who arrived there after Hans, andthe man put him down in the middle of it and went away, and theKing was drowned. Hans, however, married the daughter, and be-came King.
The Sea-Hare
There was once upon a time a Princess, who, high under the battle-ments in her castle, had an apartment with twelve windows, whichlooked out in every possible direction, and when she climbed up toit and looked around her, she could inspect her whole kingdom.When she looked out of the first, her sight was more keen than thatof any other human being; from the second she could see still bet-ter, from the third more distinctly still, and so it went on, until thetwelfth, from which she saw everything above the earth and xmderthe earth, and nothing at all could be kept secret from her. More-over, as she was haughty, and would be subject to no one, butwished to keep the dominion for herself alone, she caused it to beproclaimed that no one should ever be her husband who could notconceal himself from her so effectually, that it should be quite im-possible for her to find him. He who tried this, however, and wasdiscovered by her, was to have his head struck off, and stuck on apost. Ninety-seven posts with the heads of dead men were aheadystanding before the castle, and no one had come forward for a longtime. The Princess was delighted, and thought to herself, "Now Ishall be free as long as I live."
Then three brothers appeared before her, and announced to herthat they were desirous of trying their luck. The eldest beheved hewould be quite safe if he crept into a limepit, but she saw him fromthe first window, made him come out, and had his head cut off. Thesecond crept into the cellar of the palace, but she perceived himalso from the first window, and his fate was sealed. His head wasplaced on the nine and ninetieth post. Then the youngest came toher and entreated her to give him a day for consideration, and alsoto be so gracious as to overlook it if she should happen to discoverhim twice, but if he failed the third time, he would look on his lifeas over. As he was so handsome, and begged so earnestly, she said,"Yes, I will grant thee that, but thou wilt not succeed."
Next day he meditated for a long time how he should hide him-self, but all in vain. Then he seized his gun and went out hunting.He saw a raven, took a good aim at him, and was just going to fire,when the bird cried, "Don't shoot; I will make it worth thy whilenot to kill me." He put his gun down, went on, and came to a lake
where he surprised a large fish which had come up from the depthsbelow to the siuf ace of the water. When he had aimed at it, the fishcried, "Don't shoot, and I will make it worth thy while." He al-lowed it to dive down again, went onwards, and met a fox whichwas lame. He fired and missed it, and the fox cried, "You had muchbetter come here and draw the thorn out of my foot for me." Hedid this; but then he wanted to kill the fox and sldn it. The fox said,"Stop, and I will make it worth thy while." The youth let him go,and then as it was evening, returned home.
Next day he was to hide himself; but howsoever much he puz-zled his brains over it, he did not know where. He went into theforest to the raven and said, "I let thee live on, so now teU mewhere I am to hide myself, so that the King's daughter shall not seeme." The raven hung his head and thought it over for a long time.At length he croaked, *T have it." He fetched an egg out of his nest,cut it into two parts, and shut the youth inside it; then made itwhole again, and seated himself on it. When the King's daughterwent to the first window she could not discover him, nor could shefrom the others, and she begain to be uneasy, but from the eleventhshe saw him. She ordered the raven to be shot, and the egg to bebrought and broken, and the youth was forced to come out. Shesaid, "For once thou art excused, but if thou dost not do betterthan this, thou art lost!"
Next day he went to the lake, called the fish to him and said, "Isuffered thee to live, now tell me where to hide myself so that theKing's daughter may not see me." The fish thought for a while, andat last cried, "I have it! I will shut thee up in my stomach." Heswallowed him, and went down to the bottom of the lake. TheKing's daughter looked through her windows, and even from theeleventh did not see him, and was alarmed; but at length from thetwelfth she saw him. She ordered the fish to be caught and killed,and then the youth appeared. Every one can imagine what a stateof mind he was in. She said, "Twice thou art forgiven, but be surethat thy head will be set on the hundredth post."
On the last day, he went with a heavy heart into the country, andmet the fox. "Thou knowest how to find all kinds of hiding-places,"said he; '1 let thee live, now advise me where I shall hide myself sothat the King's daughter shall not discover me." "That's a hardtask," answered the fox, looking very thoughtful. At length he cried,"1 have it!" and went with him to a spring, dipped himself in it,and came out as a stall-keeper in the market, and dealer in animals.The youth had to dip himself in the water also, and was changed
into a small sea-hare. The merchant went into the town, andshowed the pretty little animal, and many persons gathered to-gether to see it.
At length the King's daughter came hkewise, and as she Uked itvery much, she bought it, and gave the merchant a good deal ofmoney for it. Before he gave it over to her, he said to it, "When theKing's daughter goes to the window, creep quickly under the braidsof her hair."
And now the time arrived when she was to search for him. Shewent to one window after another in turn, from the first to the elev-enth, and did not see him. When she did not see him from thetwelfth either, she was full of anxiety and anger, and shut it downwith such violence that the glass in every window shivered into athousand pieces, and the whole castle shook.
She went back and felt the sea-hare beneath the braids of herhair. Then she seized it, and threw it on the grormd exclaiming,"Away with thee, get out of my sight!" It ran to the merchant, andboth of them hmried to the spring, wherein they plunged, and re-ceived back their true forms. The youth thanked the fox, and said,"The raven and the fish are idiots compared with thee; thou knowestthe right tune to play, there is no denying thatl"
The youth went straight to the palace. The Princess was alreadyexpecting him, and accomanodated herself to her destiny. The wed-ding was solemnized, and now he was King, and lord of all thekingdom. He never told her where he had concealed himself for thethird time, and who had helped him, so she believed that he haddone everything by his own skill, and she had a great respect forhim, for she thought to herself, "He is able to do more than I."
The Maiden Without Hands
A MILLER, who had gradually become very poor, had nothing leftbut his mill and a large apple tree behind it. One day when hewent into the forest to gather wood, an old man, whom he hadnever seen before, came toward him, and said, "Why do you takethe trouble to cut down wood? I will give you great riches if youwill promise to let me have what stands behind your mill.""That can be no other than my apple tree," thought the miller. "I
possess nothing else." So he said to the old man, "Yes, I will let youhave it."
Then the stranger smiled maliciously, and said, "In three years Iwill come again to claim what belongs to me," and after saying thishe departed.
As soon as the miller returned home, his wife came toward himand said: "Miller, from whence have all these riches come so sud-denly to our house? All at once every drawer and chest has becomefull of gold. No one brought it here, and I know not where it camefrom."
"Oh," replied her husband, *1 know all about it. A strange manwhom I met in the wood promised me great treasures if I wouldmake over to him what stood behind the mill. I knew I had nothingthere but the large apple tree, so I gave him my promise."
"Oh, husband!" said the wife in alarm, "that must have been thewizard. He did not mean the apple tree, but our daughter, who wasbehind the mill sweeping out the court."
The miller's daughter was a modest and beautiful maiden, andHved in innocence and obedience to her parents for three years,until the day came on which the v^dcked wizard was to claim her.She knew he was coming, and after washing till she was pm"e andclean as snow, she drew a circle of white chalk and stood within it.
The v^dzard made his appearance very early, but he did not dareto venture over the white circle, therefore he could not get nearher. In great anger he said to the miller, "Take away every drop ofwater, that she may not wash, otherwise I shall have no power overher!"
The frightened miller did as he desired, but on the next morning,when the wizard came again, her hands were as pure and clean asever, for she had wept over them. On this account the wdzard wasstill unable to approach her; so he flew into a rage, and said, "Chopher hands off, otherwise I cannot touch her."
Then the miller was terrified, and exclaimed, "How can I cut offthe hands of my own child?"
Then the wicked wizard threatened him, and said, "If you willnot do as I desire you, then I can claim you instead of your daugh-ter, and carry you off."
The father listened in agony, and in his fright promised to obey.He went to his daughter, and said to her, "Oh, my child, unless Icut off your two hands the wizard will take me away vvdth him, andin mv anguish I have promised. Help me in my trouble, and forgive
me for the wicked deed I have promised to do." "Dear father," shereplied, "do with me what you will: I am your child."
Thereupon she placed her two hands on the table before him,and he cut them oflF. The wizard came next day for the third time,but the poor girl had wept so bitterly over the stumps of her armsthat they were as clean and white as ever. Then he was obhged togive way, for he had lost all right to the maiden.
As soon as the wizard had departed the miller said, "My child, Ihave obtained so much good through your conduct that for yourwhole lifetime I shall hold you most precious and dear." "But Icannot stay here, father," she replied; "I am not safe; let me goaway with people who will give me the sympathy I need so much.""I fear such people are very seldom to be found in the world," saidher father. However, he let her go. So she tied up her maimed armsand went forth on her way at sunrise.
For a whole day she traveled without food, and as night came onfound herself near one of the royal gardens. By the Hght of themoon she could see many trees laden with beautiful fruit, but shecould not reach them, because the place was surrotmded by a moatfull of water. She had been without a morsel to eat the whole day,and her hunger was so great that she could not help crying out,"Oh, if I were only able to get some of that delicious fruitl I shalldie unless I can obtain something to eat very soon."
Then she knelt down and prayed for help, and while she prayeda guardian fairy appeared and made a channel in the water so thatshe was able to pass through on dry ground.
When she entered the garden the fairy was with her, althoughshe did not know it, so she walked to a tree full of beautiful pears,not knowing that they had been coimted.
Being unable to pluck any without hands, she went quite close tothe tree and ate one with her mouth as it himg. One, and no more,just to stay her himger. The gardener, who saw her with the^aitystanding near her, thought it was a spirit, and was too frightened tomove or speak.
After having satisfied her hunger the maiden went and laid her-self down among the shrubs and slept in peace. On the followingmorning the King, to whom the garden belonged, came out to lookat his fruit trees, and when he reached the pear tree and countedthe pears, he foimd one missing. At first he thought it had fallen,but it was not under the tree, so he went to the gardener and askedwhat had become of it.
Then said the gardener, "There was a ghost in the garden last
night who had no hands, and ate a pear oflE the tree with itsmouth." "How could the ghost get across the water?" asked theKing; "and what became of it after eating the pear?"
To this the gardener replied, "Some one came first in snow-whiterobes from heaven, who made a channel and stopped the flow ofthe water so that the ghost walked through on dry ground. It musthave been an angel," continued the gardener; "and therefore I wasafraid to ask questions or to call out. As soon as the specter hadeaten one pear it went away."
Then said the King, "Conceal from every one what you have toldme, and I will watch myself tonight."
As soon as it was dark the King came into the garden andbrought a priest with him to address the ghost, and they bothseated themselves vmder a tree, with the gardener standing nearthem, and waited in silence. About midnight the maiden crept outfrom the bushes and went to the pear tree, and the three watcherssaw her eat a pear from the tree without picking it, while an angelstood near in white garments.
Then the priest went toward her, and said, "Art thou come fromHeaven or earth? Art thou a spirit or a human being?"
Then the maiden answered, "Ah, me! I am no ghost, only a poorcreatiure forsaken by every one but God."
Then said the King, "You may be forsaken by all the world, butif you will let me be yoin: friend, I will never forsake you."
So the maiden was taken to the King's castle, and she was sobeautiful and modest that the King learned to love her with all hisheart. He had silver hands made for her, and very soon after theywere married with great pomp.
About a year after, the King had to go to battle, and he placedhis young wife under the care of his mother, who promised to bevery kind to her, and to write to him.
Not long after this the Queen had a little son bom, and theKing's mother wrote a letter to him immediately, so that he mighthave the earliest intelligence, and sent it by a messenger.
The messenger, however, after traveling a long way, becametired and sat down to rest by a brook, where he soon fell fastasleep. Then came the wizard, who was always trying to injure thegood Queen, took away the letter from the sleeping messenger, andreplaced it by another, in which it was stated that the little childwas a changeling.
Knowing nothing of the change, the messenger carried this letterto the King, who, when he read it, was terribly distressed and trou-
The Maiden Without Hands 209
bled. However, he wrote in reply to say that the Queen was to haveevery attention and care till his return.
The wicked wizard again watched for the messenger, and whilehe slept exchanged the King's kind letter for another, in which waswritten to the King's mother an order to kill both the Queen andher child.
The old mother was quite terrified when she read this letter, forshe could not believe the King meant her to do anything so dread-ful. She wrote again to the King, but there was no answer, for thewicked wizard always interrupted the messengers, and sent falseletters. The last was worse than all, for it stated that instead ofkilling the mother and her child, they were to cut out the tongue ofthe changeUng and put out the mother's eyes.
But the King's mother was too good to attend to these dreadfulorders, so she said to the Queen, while her eyes streamed withtears, "I cannot Idll you both, as the King desires me to do; but Imust not let you remain here any longer. Go, now, out into theworld with your child, and do not come here again." Then shebound the boy on his mother's back, and the poor woman departed,weeping as she went.
After walking some time she reached a dense forest, and knewnot which road to take. So she knelt down and prayed for help. Asshe rose from her knees she saw a light shining from the window ofa little cottage, on which was hung a small sign-board, with thesewords: "Every one who dwells here is safe." Out of the cottagestepped a maiden dressed in snowy garments, and said, "Welcome,Queen wife," and led her in. Then she unfastened the baby fromhis mother's back, and hushed him in her arms till he slept sopeacefully that she laid him on a bed in another room, and cameback to his mother.
The poor woman looked at her earnestly, and said, "How didyou know I was a Queen?" The white maiden replied: "I am agood fairy sent to take care of you and your child."
So she remained in that cottage many years, and was very happy,and so pious and good that her hands, which had been cut off, wereallowed to grow again, and the little boy became her great comfort.
Not long after she had been sent away from the castle the Kingreturned, and immediately asked to see his wife and child.
Then his old mother began to weep, and said, "You wicked man,how can you ask me for your wife and child when you wrote mesuch dreadful letters, and told me to kill two such innocentbeings?"
The King, in distress, asked her what she meant; and she showedhim the letters she had received, which were changed by thedreadful wizard. Then the King began to weep so bitterly for hiswife and child that the old woman pitied him, and said, "Do not beso unhappy; they still hve; I could not Idll them. But your wife andchild are gone into the wide world, never to come back for fear ofyour anger."
Then said the King, "I will go to the ends of the earth to findthem, and I wiU neither eat nor drink till I find my dear wife, evenif I should die of hunger."
Thereupon the King started on his expedition, traveling overrocks and vaUeys, over mountains and highways, for seven longyears. But he found her not, and he thought she was starved todeath, and that he should never see her again.
He neither ate nor drank during the whole time of earthly food,but Heaven sent him help. At last he arrived at a large forest andfound the little cottage with the sign-board, and the words upon it:"Every one who dwells here is safe."
While he stood reading the words the maiden in white raimentcame out, took him by the hand, and led him into the cottage, say-ing, "My lord the King is welcome; but why is he here?" Then hereplied, "I have been for seven years traveHng about the worldhoping to find my wife and child, but I have not yet succeeded.Can you help me?" "Sit down," said the angel, "and take somethingto eat and drink first."
The King was so tired that he gladly obeyed, for he reallywanted rest. Then he laid himself down and slept, and the maidenin the white raiment covered his face.
Then she went into an inner chamber where the Queen sat withher little son, whom she had named "Pain-bringer," and said to her,"Go out together into the other chamber; your husband is come."
The poor Queen went out, but still sorrowfully, for she remem-bered the cruel letters his mother had received, and knew not thathe still loved her. Just as she entered the room the covering fell oflFhis face, and she told her Uttle son to replace it.
The boy went forward and laid the cloth gently over the face ofthe strange man. But the King heard the voice in his slumber, andmoved his head so that the covering again fell oflF.
"My child," said the Queen, "cover the face of thy father."
He looked at her in surprise, and said, "How can I cover my fa-ther s face, dear mother? I have no father in this world. You havetaught me to pray to 'Ovoc Father, which art in heaven,' and I
thought my father was God. This strange man is not my father; Idon't know him."
When the King heard this he started up and asked who theywere. Then said the Queen, "I am your wife, and this is your son."
The King looked at her with surprise. "Your face and your voiceare the same," he said; "but my wife had silver hands, and yoiursare natural." "My hands have mercifully been allowed to growagain," she replied; and, as he still doubted, the maiden in whiteentered the room, carrying the silver hands, which she showed tothe King.
Then he saw at once that this was indeed his dear lost wife andhis own little son; and he embraced them, full of joy, exclaiming,"Now has a heavy stone fallen from my heartl"
The maiden prepared a dinner for them, of which they all par-took together; and, after a kind farewell, the King started with hiswife and child to return home to the castle, where his mother andall the household received them with great joy.
A second marriage-feast was prepared, and the happiness of theirlatter days made amends for all they had sufEered through thewicked demon who had caused them so much pain and trouble.
The Pink
There was once a Queen, who had not been blessed with children.As she walked in her garden, she prayed every morning that a sonor a daughter might be given to her. One day an Angel came andsaid to her, "Be content; you shall have a son, and he shall be en-dowed with the power of wishing, so that whatsoever he wishes forshall be granted to him." She hurried to the King, and told him thejoyful news; and when the time came a son was bom to them, andthey were filled with delight.
Every morning the Queen used to take her Httle son into the gar-dens, where the wild animals were kept, to wash him in a clear,sparkling fountain. It happened one day, when the child was a littleolder, that as she sat with him on her lap she fell asleep.
The old cook, who knew that the child had the power of wishing,came by and stole the infant. He also killed a chicken and droppedsome of its blood on the Queen's garments. He took the child away
to a secret place, where he placed it out to be nursed. Then he ranback to the King, and accused the Queen of having allowed herchild to be carried o£F by a wild animal.
When the King saw the blood on the Queen's garments hebelieved the story, and was overwhelmed v^dth anger. He caused ahigh tower to be built, into which neither the sun nor the mooncould penetrate. Then he ordered his wife to be shut up in it, andthe door walled up. She was to stay there for seven years, withouteating or drinking, so as gradually to pine away. But two Angelsfrom heaven, in the shape of white doves, came to her, bringingfood twice a day till the seven years were ended.
But the cook thought, "If the child really has the power of wish-ing, and I stay here, I might easily fall into disgrace." So he left thepalace, and went to the boy, who was old enough to talk now, andsaid to him, "Wish for a beautiful castle, with a garden, and every-thing belonging to it." Hardly had the words passed the boy's lipsthan all that he had asked for was there. After a time the cook said,"It is not good for you to be so much alone; wish for a beautifulmaiden to be your companion."
The Prince uttered the wish, and immediately a maiden stood be-fore them, more beautiful than any painter could paint. So theygrew very fond of each other, and played together, while the cookwent out hunting like any grand gentleman. But the idea came tohim one day that the Prince might wish to go to his father sometime, and he would thereby be placed in a very awkward position.So he took the maiden aside, and said to her, "Tonight, when theboy is asleep, go and drive this knife into his heart. Then bring mehis heart and his tongue. If you fail to do it, you will lose your ownlife."
Then he went away; but when the next day came, the maidenhad not yet obeyed his command, and she said, "Why should Ished his innocent blood, when he has never done any harm to acreature in his life?"
The cook again said, 'If you do not obey me, you will lose yourown Hfe."
When he had gone away, she ordered a young hind to be broughtand killed; then she cut out its heart and its tongue, and put them ona dish. When she saw the old man coming she said to the boy, "Getinto bed, and cover yourself right over."
The old scoundrel came in and said, "Where are the tongue andthe heart of the boy?"
The maiden gave him the dish; but the Prince threw ofiE the cov-
The Pink 213
erings, and said, "You old sinner, why did you want to Idll me?Now bear your sentence. You shall be tiu-ned into a black poodle,with a gold chain round your neck, and you shall be made to eatlive coals, so that flames of fire may come out of your mouth."
As he said the words, the old man was changed into a black poo-dle, with a gold chain round his neck; and the scullions brought outlive coals, which he had to eat till the flames poured out of hismouth.
The Prince stayed on at the castle for a time, thinking of hismother, and wondering if she was still alive. At last he said to themaiden, "I am going into my own country. If you like you can gowith me; I will take you."
She answered, "Alasl it is so far off, and what should I do in astrange coimtry where I know no one?"
As she did not wish to go, and yet they could not bear to beparted, he changed her into a beautiful pink, which he took withhim.
Then he set out on his journey, and the poodle was made to runalongside till the Prince reached his own country.
Arrived there, he went straight to the tower where his motherwas imprisoned, and as the tower was so high he wished for aladder to reach the top. Then he climbed up, looked in, and cried,"Dearest mother, lady Queen, are you still alive?"
She, thinking it was the Angels who brought her food come back,said, "I have just eaten; I do not want anything more."
Then he said, "I am your own dear son whom the wild animalswere supposed to have devoured; but I am still ahve, and I shallsoon come and rescue you."
Then he got down and went to his father. He had himself an-nounced as a strange huntsman, anxious to take service with theKing, who said, "Yes; if you are skilled in game preserving, and canprocure plenty of venison, I will engage you. But there has neverbefore been any game in the whole district."
The huntsman promised to procure as much game as the Kingcould possibly require for the royal table.
Then he called the whole hunt together, and ordered them allinto the forest with him. He caused a great circle to be enclosed,with only one outlet; then he took his place in the middle, andbegan to wish as hard as he could. Immediately over two hundredhead of game came running into the enclosure. These the hunts-men had to shoot, and then they were piled on to sixty country
wagons, and driven home to the King. So for once he was able toload his board with game, after having had none for many years.
The King was much pleased, and commanded his whole court toa banquet on the following day. When they were all assembled, hesaid to the huntsman, Tou shall sit by me as you are so clever."
He answered, "My Lord and King, may it please your Majesty, Iam only a poor huntsmani"
The King, however, insisted, and said, "1 command you to sit byme."
As he sat there, his thoughts wandered to his dear mother, andhe wished one of the courtiers would speak of her. Hardly had hewished it than the Lord High Marshal said, "Your Majesty, we areall rejoicing here, how fares it with Her Majesty the Queen? Is shestill alive in the tower, or has she perished?"
But the King answered, "She allowed my beloved son to bedevoured by wild animals, and I do not wish to hear anythingabout her."
Then the huntsman stood up and said, "Gracious father, she isstiU alive, and I am her son. He was not devoured by wild animals;he was taken away by the scoundrel of a cook. He stole me whilemy mother was asleep, and sprinkled her garments with the bloodof a chicken." Then he brought up the black poodle with thegolden chain, and said, "This is the villain."
He ordered some live coals to be brought, which he made thedog eat in the sight of all the people till the flames poured out ofhis mouth. Then he asked the King if he would like to see the cookin his true shape, and wished him back, and there he stood in hiswhite apron, with his knife at his side. The King was furious whenhe saw him, and ordered him to be thrown into the deepest dun-geon.
Then the himtsman said further, "My father, would you like tosee the maiden who so tenderly saved my life when she was or-dered to kill me, although by so doing she might have lost her ownHfe?"
The King answered, "Yes, I will gladly see her."
Then his son said, "Gracious father, I will show her to you first inthe guise of a beautiful flower."
He put his hand into his pocket, and brought out the pink. It wasa finer one than the King had ever seen before. Then his son said,"Now, I will show her to you in her true form."
In a moment after his wish was uttered, she stood before them inall her beauty, which was greater than any artist could paint.
The King sent ladies and gentlemen-in-waiting to the tower tobring the Queen back to his royal table. But when they reached thetower they found that she would no longer eat or drink, and shesaid, "The merciful God, who has preserved my life so long, willsoon release me now."
Three days after she died. At her burial the two white doveswhich had brought her food during her captivity, followed andhovered over her grave.
The old King caused the wicked cook to be torn into four quar-ters; but his own heart was filled with grief and remorse, and hedied soon after.
His son married the beautiful maiden he had brought home withhim as a flower, and, for all I know, they may be living still.
Mother Hulda
A WIDOW had two daughters; one was pretty and industrious, theother was ugly and la2y. And as the ugly one was her own daugh-ter, she loved her much the best, and the pretty one was made todo all the work, and be the drudge of the house. Every day thepoor girl had to sit by a well on the high road and spin until herfingers bled. Now it happened once that as the spindle was bloody,she dipped it into the well to wash it; but it sHpped out of her handand fell in. Then she began to cry, and ran to her step-mother, andtold her of her misfortune; and her step-mother scolded her withoutmercy, and said in her rage, "As you have let the spindle fall in,you must go and fetch it out again!"
Then the girl went back again to the well, not knowing what todo, and in the despair of her heart she jumped down into the wellthe same way the spindle had gone. After that she knew nothing;and when she came to herself she was in a beautifuJ meadow, andthe sun was shining on the flowers that grew round her. And shewalked on through the meadow until she came to a baker's oventhat was full of bread; and the bread called out to her, "Oh, takeme out, take me out, or I shall bm*n; I am baked enough aheadyl"
Then she drew near, and with the baker's peel she took out allthe loaves one after the other. And she went farther on till shecame to a tree weighed down with apples, and it called out to her.
2i6 Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales
"Oh, shake me, shake me, we apples are all of us ripel" Then sheshook the tree imtil the apples fell Hke rain, and she shook mitilthere were no more to fall; and when she had gathered them to-gether in a heap, she went on farther.
At last she came to a little house, and an old woman was peepingout of it, but she had such great teeth that the girl was terrified andabout to run away, only the old woman called her back. *What areyou afraid of, my dear child? Come and live with me, and if you dothe house-work well and orderly, things shall go well with you.You must take great pains to make my bed well, and shake it upthoroughly, so that the feathers fly about, and then in the world itsnows, for I am Mother Hulda."*
As the old woman spoke so kindly, the girl took courage, con-sented, and went to her work. She did everything to the oldwoman's satisfaction, and shook the bed with such a will that thefeathers flew about like snow-flakes; and so she led a good life, hadnever a cross word, but boiled and roast meat every day. When shehad lived a long time with Mother Hulda, she began to feel sad,not knowing herself what ailed her; at last she began to think shemust be home-sick; and although she was a thousand times betteroff than at home where she was, yet she had a great longing to gohome. At last she said to her mistress, "I am home-sick, and al-though I am very well off here, I cannot stay any longer; I must goback to my own home."
Mother Hulda answered, "It pleases me well that you shouldwish to go home, and, as you have served me faithfully, I will un-dertake to send you therel"
She took her by the hand and led her to a large door standingopen, and as she was passing through it there fell upon her a heavyshower of gold, and the gold himg all about her, so that she wascovered with it.
"All this is yours, because you have been so industrious," saidMother Hulda; and, besides that, she returned to her her spindle,the very same that she had dropped in the well. And then the doorwas shut again, and the girl found herself back again in the world,not far from her mother's house; and as she passed through theyard the cock stood on the top of the weU and cried,
"Cock-a-doodle doo!Our golden girl has come home toor
• In Hesse, when it snows, they still say, "Mother Hulda is making her bed."
Mother Hulda 217
Then she went in to her mother, and as she had returned coveredwith gold she was well received.
So the girl related all her history, and what had happened to her,and when the mother heard how she came to have such greatriches she began to wish that her ugly and idle daughter mighthave the same good fortune. So she sent her to sit by the well andspin; and in order to make her spindle bloody she put her hand intothe thorn hedge. Then she threw the spindle into the well, andjumped in herself. She foimd herself, hke her sister, in the beautifulmeadow, and followed the same path, and when she came to thebaker's oven, the bread cried out, "Oh, take me out, take me out, orI shall bum; I am quite done already!"
But the lazy-bones answered, 'T have no desire to black myhands," and went on farther. Soon she came to the apple tree, whocalled out, "Oh, shake me, shake me, we apples are all of us ripel"But she answered, "That is all very fine, suppose one of you shouldfall on my head," and went on farther.
When she came to Mother Hulda's house she did not feel afraid,as she knew beforehand of her great teeth, and entered into herservice at once. The first day she put her hand well to the work,and was industrious, and did everything Mother Hulda bade her,because of the gold she expected; but the second day she began tobe idle, and the third day still more so, so that she would not get upin the morning. Neither did she make Mother Hulda's bed as itought to have been made, and did not shake it for the feathers tofly about. So that Mother Hulda soon grew tired of her, and gaveher warning, at which the lazy thing was well pleased, and thoughtthat now the shower of gold was coming; so Mother Hulda led herto the door, and as she stood in the doorway, instead of the showerof gold a great kettle fuU of pitch was emptied over her.
"That is the reward for your service," said Mother Hulda, andshut the door. So the lazy girl came home all covered with pitch,and the cock on the top of the well seeing her, cried,
"Cock-a-doodle doolOur dirty girl has come home tool"
And the pitch remained sticking to her fast, and never, as long asshe lived, could it be got off.
The True Bride
There was once on a time a girl who was young and beautiful, butshe had lost her mother when she was quite a child, and her step-mother did all she could to make the girl's life wretched. Wheneverthis woman gave her anything to do, she worked at it indefatigably,and did everything that lay in her power. Still she could not touchthe heart of the wicked woman by that; she was never satisfied; itwas never enough. The harder the girl worked, the more work wasput upon her, and all that the woman thought of was how to weighher down with still heavier burdens, and make her life still moremiserable.
One day she said to her, "Here are twelve pounds of featherswhich you must pick, and if they are not done this evening, youmay expect a good beating. Do you imagine you can idle away thewhole day?" The poor girl sat down to the work, but tears randown her cheeks as she did so, for she saw plainly enough that itwas quite impossible to finish the work in one day. Whenever shehad a Httle heap of feathers lying before her, and she sighed orsmote her hands together in her anguish, they flew away, and shehad to pick them out again, and begin her work anew. Then sheput her elbows on the table, laid her face in her two hands, andcried, "Is there no one, then, on God's earth to have pity on me?"
Then she heard a low voice which said, "Be comforted, my child,I have come to help you." The maiden looked up, and an oldwoman was by her side. She took the girl kindly by the hand, andsaid, "Only tell me what is troubling you." As she spoke so kindly,the girl told her of her miserable Hfe, and how one burden after an-other was laid upon her, and she never could get to the end of thework which was given to her. "If I have not done these feathers bythis evening, my step-mother will beat me; she has threatened shewill, and I know she keeps her word." Her tears began to flowagain, but the good old woman said, "Do not be afraid, my child;rest a while, arid in the meantime I wiU look to your work." The girllay down on her bed, and soon fell asleep.
The old woman seated herself at the table with the feathers, andhow they did fly off the quills, which she scarcely touched with her
withered hands! The twelve pounds were soon finished, and whenthe girl awoke, great snow-white heaps were lying, piled up, andeverything in the room was neatly cleared away, but the oldwoman had vanished. The maiden thanked God, and sat still tillevening came, when the step-mother came in and marveled to seethe work completed. "Just look, you awkward creature," said she,"what can be done when people are industrious; and why couldyou not set about something else? There you sit with your handscrossed." When she went out she said, "The creatxure is worth morethan her salt. I must give her some work that is stiU harder."
Next morning she called the girl, and said, "There is a spoon foryou. With that you must empty out for me the great pond which isbeside the garden, and if it is not done by night, you know whatwill happen." The girl took the spoon, and saw that it was full ofholes; but even if it had not been, she never could have emptiedthe pond with it. She set to work at once, knelt down by the water,into which her tears were falling, and began to empty it. But thegood old woman appeared again, and when she learnt the cause ofher grief, she said, "Be of good cheer, my child. Go into the thicketand he down and sleep; I will soon do your work."
As soon as the old woman was alone, she barely touched thepond, and a vapor rose up on high from the water, and mingled it-self with the clouds. Gradually the pond was emptied, and whenthe maiden awoke before sunset and came thither, she saw nothingbut the fishes which were struggling in the mud. She went to herstep-mother, and showed her that the work was done. "It ought tohave been done long before this," said she, and grew white withanger, but she meditated something new.
On the third morning she said to the girl, "You must build me acastle on the plain there, and it must be ready by the evening." Themaiden was dismayed, and said, "How can I complete such a greatwork?" "I will endure no opposition," screamed the step-mother.'If you can empty a pond with a spoon that is full of holes, you canbuild a castle too. I will take possession of it this very day, and ifanything is wanting, even if it be the most trifling thing in thekitchen or cellar, you know what lies before you!" She drove thegirl out, and when she entered the valley, the rocks were there,piled up one above the other, and all her strength would not haveenabled her even to move the very smallest of them. She sat downand wept, and still she hoped the old woman would help her. The
old woman was not long in coming; she comforted her and said,"Lie down there in the shade and sleep, and I will soon build thecastle for you. If it would be a pleasure to you, you can hve in 'tyourself."
When the maiden had gone away, the old woman touched thegray rocks. They began to rise, and immediately moved together asif giants had built the walls; and on these the building arose, and itseemed as if countless hands were working invisibly, and placingone stone upon another. There was a dull heavy noise from theground; pillars arose of their own accord on high, and placed them-selves in order near each other. The tiles laid themselves in orderon the roof, and when noon-day came, the great weather-cock wasalready turning itself on the summit of the tower, Hke a goldenfigure of the Virgin with fluttering garments. The inside of the cas-tle was being finished while evening was drawing near. How theold woman managed it, I know not; but the walls of the room werehung v^dth silk and velvet; embroidered chairs were there, andrichly ornamented arm-chairs by marble tables; crystal chandeliershung down from the ceilings and mirrored themselves in thesmooth pavement; green parrots were there in gilt cages, and sowere strange birds which sang most beautifully; and there was onall sides as much magnificence as if a Idng were going to hve there.
The Sim was just setting when the girl awoke, and the brightnessof a thousand fights flashed in her face. She hurried to the castle,and entered by the open door. The steps were spread with redcloth, and the golden balustrade beset with flowering trees. Whenshe saw the splendor of the apartment, she stood as if turned tostone. Who knows how long she might have stood there if she hadnot remembered the step-mother. "Alasl" she said to herself, "if shecould but be satisfied at last, and would give up making my life amisery to me." The girl went and told her that the castle was ready.*1 will move into it at once," said she, and rose from her seat.
When they entered the castle, she was forced to hold her handbefore her eyes, the brilHancy of everything was so dazzling. "Yousee," said she to the girl, 'liow easy it has been for you to do this; Iought to have given you something harder." She went through aUthe rooms, and examined every comer to see if anything was want-ing or defective; but she could discover nothing. "Now we wiU godown below," said she, looking at the girl with malicious eyes."The kitchen and the cellar still have to be examined, and if youhave forgotten anything you shall not escape punishment." But the
The True Bride 221
fire was burning on the hearth, and the meat was cooking in thepans, the tongs and shovel were leaning against the wall, and theshining brazen utensils all arranged in sight. Nothing was wanting,not even a coal-box and water-pail. "Which is the way to the cel-lar?" she cried. "If that is not abundantly filled, it shall go ill withyou." She herself raised up the trap-door and descended; but shehad hardly made two steps before the heavy trap-door which wasonly laid back, fell down. The girl heard a scream, lifted up thedoor very quickly to go to her aid, but she had fallen down, and thegirl found her lying lifeless at the bottom.
And now the magnificent castle belonged to the girl alone. She atfirst did not know how to reconcile herself to her good fortune.Beautiful dresses were hanging in the wardrobes, the chests werefilled with gold or silver, or with pearls and jewels, and she neverfelt a desire that she was not able to gratify. And soon the fameof the beauty and riches of the maiden went over all the world.Wooers presented themselves daily, but none pleased her. At lengththe son of the King came and he knew how to touch her heart, andshe betrothed herself to him. In the garden of the castle was a limetree, under which they were one day sitting together, when he saidto her, "I will go home and obtain my father's consent to our mar-riage. I entreat you to wait for me here under this lime tree; I shallbe back with you in a few hours." The maiden kissed him on hisleft cheek, and said, "Keep true to me, and never let any one elseIdss you on this cheek. I will wait here under the lime tree until youreturn."
The maid stayed beneath the lime tree until sunset, but he didnot return. She sat there three days from morning till evening, wait-ing for him, but in vain. As he still was not there by the fourth day,she said, "Some accident has assuredly befallen him. I vwll go outand seek him, and will not come back until I have found him." Shepacked up three of her most beautiful dresses, one embroideredVidth bright stars, the second with silver moons, the third withgolden suns, tied up a handful of jewels in her handkerchief, andset out. She inquired everywhere for her betrothed, but no one hadseen him; no one knew anything about him. Far and vidde did shewander through the world, but she found him not. At last she hiredherself to a farmer as a cow-herd, and buried her dresses andjewels beneath a stone.
And now she lived as a herdswoman, guarded her herd, and wasvery sad and full of longing for her beloved one. She had a little
calf which she taught to know her, and fed it out of her own hand,and when she said,
"Little calf, little calf, kneel by my side.And do not forget thy shepherd-maid,As the Prince forgot his betrothed bride.
Who waited for him 'neath the lime tree's shade."
the little calf knelt down, and she stroked it.
And when she had lived for a couple of years alone and full ofgrief, a report was spread over all the land that the King's daughterwas about to celebrate her marriage. The road to the town passedthrough the village where the maiden was living, and it came topass that once when the maiden was driving out her herd, herbridegroom traveled by. He was sitting proudly on his horse, andnever looked round, but when she saw him she recognized her be-loved, and it was just as if a sharp knife had pierced her heart."Alasl" said she, *1 believed him true to me, but he has forgottenme."
Next day he again came along the road. When he was near hershe said to the little calf,
"Little calf, little calf, kneel by my side.And do not forget thy shepherd-maid.As the Prince forgot his betrothed bride.
Who waited for him 'neath the lime tree's shade."
When he was aware of the voice, he looked down and reined inhis horse. He looked into the herd's face, and then put his handsbefore his eyes as if he were trying to remember something, but hesoon rode onwards and was out of sight. "Alas!" said she, "he nolonger knows me," and her grief was ever greater.
Soon after this a great festival three days long was to be held atthe King's court, and the whole country was invited to it.
"Now will I try my last chance," thought the maiden, and whenevening came she went to the stone under which she had buriedher treasures. She took out the dress with the golden suns, put it on,and adorned herself with the jewels. She let down her hair, whichshe had concealed under a handkerchief, and it fell down in longcurls about her, and thus she went into the town, and in the dark-ness was observed by no one. When she entered the brightlylighted hall, every one started back in amazement, but no one knewwho she was. The King's son went to meet her, but he did not rec-ognize her. He led her out to dance, and was so enchanted with her
beauty, that he thought no more of the other bride. When the feastwas over, she vanished in the crowd, and hastened before daybreakto the village, where she once more put on her herds dress.
Next evening she took out the dress with the silver moons, andput a half-moon made of precious stones in her hair. When she ap-peared at the festival, all eyes were turned upon her, but the King'sson hastened to meet her, and filled with love for her, danced withher alone, and no longer so much as glanced at any one else. Beforeshe went away she was forced to promise him to come again to thefestival on the last evening.
When she appeared for the third time, she wore the stardresswhich sparkled at every step she took, and her hair-ribbon and gir-dle were starred with jewels. The Prince had already been waitingfor her for a long time, and forced his way up to her. "Do but tellwho you are," said he, "I feel just as if I had already known you along time." "Do you not know what I did when you left me?" Thenshe stepped up to him, and kissed him on his left cheek, and in amoment it was as if scales fell from his eyes, and he recognized thetrue bride. "Come," said he to her, "here I stay no longer," gaveher his hand, and led her dovioi to the carriage.
The horses hurried away to the magic castle as if the wind hadbeen harnessed to the carriage. The illuminated windows alreadyshone in the distance. When they drove past the lime tree, count-less glow-worms were swarming about it. It shook its branches, andsent forth their fragrance. On the steps flowers were blooming, andthe rooms echoed with the song of strange birds, but in the hall theentire court was assembled, and the priest was waiting to marry thebridegroom to the true bride.
The Three Little Birds
About a thousand or more years ago, there were in this countrynothing but small Kings, and one of them, who lived on the Keuter-berg, was very fond of hunting. Once on a time when he was ridingforth from his castle with his huntsmen, three girls were watchingtheir cows upon the mountain, and when they saw the King withall his followers, the eldest girl pointed to him, and called to thetwo other girls, "Hilloal hilloal If I do not get that one, I will have
none." Then the second girl answered from the other side of thehill, and pointed to the one who was on the King's right hand,"Hilloal hilloa! If I do not get that one, I will have none." And thenthe youngest pointed to the one who was on the left hand, andcried, "Hilloal hilloa! If I do not get him I will have no one."These, however, were the two ministers.
The King heard aU this, and when he had come back from thechase, he caused the three girls to be brought to him, and askedthem what they had said yesterday on the mountain. They wouldnot tell him that, so the King asked the eldest if she reaUy wouldtake him for her husband. Then she said "Yes," and the two min-isters married the two sisters, for they were aU three fair and beau-tiful of face, especially the Queen, who had hair Hke flax.
The two sisters had no children, and once when the King wasobHged to go from home he invited them to come to the Queen inorder to cheer her, for she was about to bear a child. She had a lit-tle boy who brought a bright red star into the world with him. Thetwo sisters said to each other that they would throw the beautifulboy into the water. When they had thrown him in the river, a littlebird flew up into the air, which sang,
"To thy death art thou sped.Until Gods word he said.In the white lily bloom.Brave hoy, is thy tomh."
When the two heard that, they were frightened to death, and ranaway in great haste. When the King came home they told him thatthe Queen had been delivered of a dog. Then the King said, "WhatGod does, is well done!" But a fisherman who dwelt near the waterfished the Httle boy out again while he was stiU aHve, and as hiswife had no children they reared him.
When a year had gone by, the King again went away, and theQueen had another fittle boy, whom the false sisters likewise tookand threw into the water. Then up flew a little bird again and sang,
"To thy death art thou sped,Until Gods word he said.In the white lily hloom.Brave hoy, is thy tomh."
And when the King came back, they told him that the Queen hadonce more given birth to a dog, and he again said, "What Goddoes, is well done." The fisherman, however, fished this one also outof the water, and reared him.
The Three Little Birds 225
Then the King again journeyed forth, and the Queen had a littlegirl, whom also the false sisters threw into the water. Then again alittle bird flew up on high and sang,
"To thy death art thou sped.Until Gods word he said.In the white lily bloom.Bonny girl, is thy tomb."
When the King came home they told him that the Queen hadbeen delivered of a cat. Then the King grew angry, and ordered hiswife to be cast into prison, and therein was she shut up for manylong years.
In the meantime the children had grown up. Then the eldestonce went out with some other boys to fish, but the other boyswould not have him with them, and said, "Go thy way, foimdling."
Hereupon he was much troubled, and asked the old fisherman ifthat was true. The fisherman told him that once when he wasfishing he had drawn him out of the water. So the boy said hewould go forth and seek his father. The fisherman, however, en-treated him to stay, but he would not let himself be hindered, andat last the fisherman consented. Then the boy went on his way andwalked for many days together, and at last he came to a great pieceof water by the side of which stood an old woman fishing.
"Good day, mother," said the boy. "Many thanks," said she. "Youwill fish long enough before you catch anything." "And you willseek long enough before you find your father. How will you getover the water?" said the woman. "God knows."
Then the old woman took him up on her back and carried himthrough it, and he sought for a long time, but could not find his fa-ther.
When a year had gone by, the second boy set out to seek hisbrother. He came to the water, and all fared with him just as withhis brother. And now there was no one at home but the daughter,and she mourned for her brothers so much that at last she alsobegged the fisherman to let her set forth, for she wished to go insearch of her brothers. Then she likewise came to the great piece ofwater, and she said to the old woman, "Good day, mother," "Manythanks," replied the old woman. "May God help you with yourfishing," said the maiden.
When the old woman heard that, she became quite friendly, andcarried her over the water, gave her a wand, and said to her, "Go,my daughter, ever onwards by this road, and when you come to a
great black dog, you must pass it silently and boldly, without eitherlaughing or looking at it. Then you will come to a great high castle,on the threshold of which you must let the wand fall, and gostraight through the castle and out again on the other side. Thereyou wiU see an old fountain out of which a large tree has grown,whereon hangs a bird in a cage which you must take down. Takelikewise a glass of water out of the fountain, and with these twothings go back by the same way. Pick up the wand again from thethreshold and take it with you, and when you again pass by the dogstrike him in the face with it, but be sure that you hit him, and thenjust come back here to me."
The maiden found everything exactly as the old woman had said,and on her way back she foimd her two brothers who had soughteach other over half the world. They went together to the placewhere the black dog was lying on the road; she struck it in the face,and it turned into a handsome Prince who went with them to theriver. There the old woman was still standing. She rejoiced much tosee them again, and carried them all over the water, and then shetoo went away, for now she was freed. The others, however, wentto the old fisherman, and all were glad that they had found eachother again, and they hung the bird on the wall.
But the second son could not settle at home, and took his cross-bow and went a-hunting. When he was tired he took his flute, andmade music. The King, however, was hunting too, and heard thatand went thither, and when he met the youth, he said, "Who hasgiven you leave to hunt here?" "Oh, no one." "To whom do you be-long, then?" "I am the fisherman's son." "But he has no children.""If you will not believe, come with me."
That the King did and questioned the fisherman, who told every-thing to him, and the httle bird on the waU began to sing,
"The mother sits aloneThere in the prison small,O King of royal blood.These are thy children all.The sisters twain so false,They wrought the children woe.There in the waters deepWhere the fishermen come and go."
Then they were all terrified, and the King took the bird, thefisherman and the three children back with him to the castle, andordered the prison to be opened and brought his wife out again.
She had, however, grown quite ill and weak. Then the daughtergave her some of the water of the fountain to drink, and she be-came strong and healthy. But the two false sisters were burnt, andthe daughter married the Prince.
The Three Snake-Leaves
There was once a man who was so poor that he could hardly earnenough to keep himself and his son from starving. One day the boysaid to him, "Dear father, I see you going about every day lookingso sad and tired that I am determined to go out into the world andtry to earn my own living."
So his father gave him his blessing and took leave of him withmany tears. Just at this time a great King was going to war with theKing of another country, and the youth took service under him andmarched to the battle-field as a soldier. In the first conflict with theenemy he was in great danger and had a wonderful escape, for hiscomrades fell on each side of him. Their commander also waswounded, and several were inclined to take flight and run from thefield. But the youth stepped forth to raise their courage, and cried,"No, no, we will never allow our fatherland to sink to the groundl"Then they took courage and followed their young leader, who ledthem forward, attacked and quickly vanquished the enemy. Whenthe King heard to whom he owed this great victory, he sent for theyouth, raised him to a position of great honor, gave him great treas-ures, and made him first in the kingdom next to himself.
Now the King had a daughter who was very beautiful, but shewas also very whimsical. She had made a vow that she would takeno man for a husband who did not promise that if she should diehe would allow himself to be buried alive with her in the grave. "Ifhe loves me," she said, "he wiU. not wish to outlive me." In returnfor this she would also promise to be buried in the grave with herspouse should he die first.
This strange vow had hitherto frightened away all wooers, butthe young soldier was so struck with the beauty of the Princess thathe disregarded the vow, although her father warned him and said,"Do you know what a terrible promise you will have to make?""Yes," replied the yoimg man, "I must be buried with her in the
grave if I outlive her. But my love for her is so strong, that I disre-gard that danger." Then the King gave his consent, and the mar-riage was celebrated with great pomp.
After they had lived together for some time in great happinessand contentment, the young queen was seized with a terrible iUnessfrom which her physicians were unable to restore her. As she laydead, the yoimg husband remembered what he had promised andthe thought of lying in the grave alive filled him with horror, butthere was no escape. The King placed a watch at every outlet fromthe castle, so that it was not possible to avoid his fate. When theday of the funeral arrived and the body had been carried down andplaced in the royal vault, he was taken there also, and the doorfirmly fastened with locks and bolts. Near to the coffin stood a tableupon which were four lights, four loaves of bread, and four bottlesof wine, and he knew that when these provisions came to an end,he must starve. So he seated himself, feeling full of grief and sor-row, but with a determination to take only a small piece of breadand the least drop of wine, to make them last.
One day when death seemed nearer than ever, he saw from acomer of the vault just opposite to where he sat, a white snakecreep out and approach the body. He rose in horror, thinking it wasabout to gnaw it, and drawing his sword, exclaimed, as with twoblows he cut the snake into three pieces, "As long as I live youshall not touch that."
After a while a second snake crept out of the comer, but as soonas he saw the other lying dead in three pieces, he went back andquickly returned with three green leaves in his mouth. Then hetook the three separate portions of the snake, placed them togetherand laid a leaf on each wound, and no sooner were they joined,than the snake raised himself as lively as ever, and went away hast-ily with his companion.
The leaves remained lying on the groimd, and as he looked atthem, the thoughts of the poor unfortunate man were full of thewonderful properties they possessed, and it suddenly occurred tohim that a leaf which could restore a dead snake to life, might beuseful to human beings. He stooped and picked up the leaves, thenadvancing softly towards the body, he laid one on the mouth of thedead, and the others on both the eyes. In a moment he saw theefiFect of what he had done. The blood began to circulate in theveins and blushed softly in the pale face and lips of his dead wife.She drew a deep breath, opened her closed eyes and exclaimedfaintly, "Where am I?"
The Three Snake-Leaves 229
"You are with me, dear wife," answered her husband; and thenhe told her all that had happened, and how he had wakened her tolife.
After taking a httle of the wine and bread she became stronger,and was able to rise from the bier and walk to the door of the vaultwith her husband. Here they knocked and called loudly for a longtime, till at last the watchman heard them and word was sent to theKing, He came himself very quickly and ordered the door of thevault to be opened. How astonished and joyful he was to find themboth alive and uninjured, and to know that his anxiety was overlThe whole matter had been a great trouble to him.
The three leaves, the young Prince took with him, and gave themto a servant to take care of, saying, "Preserve them carefully forme, and see that they are safe every day; who knows what helpthey may be to us in any future trouble?"
A great change appeared in the wife of the young Prince afterthis event—it was as if with her return to Hfe, all her love for herhusband had vanished from her heart.
Not long after, he wished to take a voyage across the sea to seehis old father, and she accompanied him. While they were on boardship, she forgot all the true and great love he had shown for her intrying to restore her to life when she was dead, and made friendswith the captain, who was as wicked as herself.
One day when the young Prince lay asleep on deck, she calledthe skipper to her and told him to take her husband by the feet,while she raised his head, and before he was awake enough to savehimself, these two wicked people threw him overboard into the sea.As soon as this shameful deed was accomplished, she said to theskipper, "Now let us sail home again and say that the Prince hasdied on the voyage. I will praise and extol you so greatly to my fa-ther, that I know he will readily give his consent to our marriage,and leave the crown to you after his death."
But the faithful servant to whom the Prince had entrusted thewonderful leaves saw all that his master's wife had done. Unno-ticed, he lowered one of the boats from the ship's side, got on boardand very soon discovered the body of the Prince. Dragging it hast-ily into the boat, he rowed away and soon left the traitors farbehind. As soon as he felt safely out of sight, he produced the pre-cious leaves which he always carried about with him, laid one oneach eye and one on the mouth of the dead man, who very quicklyshowed signs of life, and was at last sufBciently restored to help inrowing the boat. They both rowed with all their strength day and
night, and their httle bark flew so swiftly over the waves, that theyarrived at the King's palace long before his daughter and the cap-tain.
The King wondered greatly when he saw his son-in-law and theservant enter, and asked them what had happened. But when heheard of his daughter's wickedness, he said, "I can scarcely believeshe would act so basely. However, the truth will soon be brought tolight. For the present, I advise you both to hide yourselves in a pri-vate chamber, and make yoiu^selves quite at home till the ship re-turns."
The master and servant took the King's advice, and a few daysafterwards the large ship made its appearance, and the King'sguilty daughter appeared before her father with a sorrowful coun-tenance.
"Why have you come back alone?" he asked. "Where is yoiu:husband?"
"Ah! dear father," she replied, "I come home to you in great sor-row, for, during the voyage, my husband was taken suddenly illand died, and if the good captain had not stood by me and con-ducted me home, I cannot tell what evil might have happened tome. He stood by my husband's deathbed, and he can tell you allthat occurred."
"OhI" said the King, "I can restore your dead husband to lifeagain, so do not grieve any longer." He threw open the door of theprivate room as he spoke, and told his son and the servant to comeout.
When the wife saw her husband she was thunderstruck, and sankon her knees imploring mercy.
"I can show you no mercy," said the King. "Your husband wasnot only ready to be buried and die with you, but he used themeans which restored you to hfe, and you have murdered himwhile he slept, and shall receive the reward you so truly merit."
Then was she with her accomplice placed in a boat full of holes,and driven out to sea, where they were soon overwhelmed in thewaves and drowned.
A LONG TIME ago there lived a King whose wisdom was noisedabroad in all the country. Nothing remained long miknown to him,and it was as if the knowledge of hidden things was brought to himin the air. However, he had one curious custom. Every day at din-ner, after the table had been cleared and every one gone away, atrusty servant had to bring in one other dish. But it was covered up,and the servant himself did not know what was in it, and no oneelse knew, for the King waited until he was quite alone before heuncovered the dish.
This had gone on a long time, but at last there came a day whenthe servant could restrain his curiosity no longer, but as he was car-rying the dish away he took it into his ov^oi room. As soon as he hadfastened the door securely, he lifted the cover, and there he saw awhite snake lying on the dish. After seeing it he could not resist thedesire to taste it, and so he cut off a small piece and put it in hismouth. As soon as it touched his tongue he heard outside his win-dow a strange chorus of delicate voices. He went and listened, andfound that it was the sparrows talking together, and telling eachother all they had seen in the fields and woods. The virtue of thesnake had given him power to understand the speech of animals.
Now it happened one day that the Queen lost her most splendidring, and suspicion fell upon the trusty servant, who had the gen-eral superintendence, and he was accused of stealing it. The Kingsummoned him to his presence, and after many reproaches told himthat if by the next day he was not able to name the thief he shouldbe considered guilty, and punished. It was in vain that he protestedhis innocence; he could get no better sentence. In his uneasinessand anxiety he went out into the courtyard, and began to considerwhat he could do in so great a necessity. There sat the ducks by therunning water and rested themselves, and plixmed themselves withtheir flat bills, and held a comfortable chat. The servant stayedwhere he was and hstened to them. They told how they had wad-dled about all yesterday morning and found good food; and thenone of them said pitifully, "Something lies very heavy in my craw-it is the ring that was lying under the Queen's window; I swallowedit down in too great a hmrry."
Then the servant seized her by the neck, took her into thekitchen, and said to the cook, "Kill this one, she is quite ready forcooking.'' "Yes," said the cook, weighing it in her hand; "there willbe no trouble of fattening this one—it has been ready ever so long."
She then slit up its neck, and when it was opened the Queen'sring was found in its craw. The servant could now clearly prove hisinnocence, and in order to make up for the injustice he had sufferedthe King permitted him to ask some favor for himself, and alsopromised him the place of greatest honor in the royal household.
But the servant refused it, and only asked for a horse and moneyfor traveling, for he had a fancy to see the world, and look abouthim a little. So his request was granted, and he set out on his way;and one day he came to a pool of water, by which he saw threefishes who had got entangled in the rushes, and were panting forwater. Although fishes are usually considered dumb creatures, heunderstood very well their lament that they were to perish so mis-erably; and as he had a compassionate heart he dismounted fromhis horse, and put the three fishes back again into the water. Theyquivered aU over with joy, stretched out their heads, and called outto him, "We will remember and reward you, because you havedelivered us."
He rode on, and after a while he heard a small voice come upfrom the sand underneath his horse's feet. He listened, and under-stood how an ant-ldng was complaining, "If only these men wouldkeep off, with their great awkward beasts! Here comes this stupidhorse treading down my people with his hard hoofs!"
The man then turned his horse to the side-path, and the ant-kingcalled out to him, "We will remember and reward you!"
The path led him through a wood, and there he saw a father-raven and mother-raven standing by their nest and throwing theiryoung ones out.
"Off with you! young gaUows-birds!" cried they; "we cannot stuffyou any more; you are big enough to fend for yourselves!" Thepoor young ravens lay on the ground, fluttering, and beating the airwith their pinions, and crying, "We are poor helpless things, wecannot fend for ourselves, we cannot even fly! We can only die ofhunger!"
Then the kind young man dismounted, killed his horse with hisdagger, and left it to the young ravens for food. They came hop-ping up, feasted away at it, and cried, "We will remember, and re-ward you!"
So now he had to use his own legs, and when he had gone a long
The White Snake 233
way he came to a great town. There was much noise and throngingin the streets, and there came a man on a horse, who proclaimed,"The King's daughter seeks a husband, but he who wishes to marryher must perform a difficult task, and if he cannot carry it throughsuccessfully, he must lose his Hfe."
Many had already tried, but had lost their Hves in vain. Theyoung man, when he saw the King's daughter, was so dazzled byher great beauty, that he forgot all danger, went to the King andoffered himself as a wooer.
Then he was led to the sea-side, and a gold ring was thrown intothe water before his eyes. Then the King told him that he mustfetch the ring up again from the bottom of the sea, saying, "If youcome back without it, you shall be put under the waves again andagain imtil you are drowned."
Every one pitied the handsome young man, but they went, andleft him alone by the sea. As he was standing on the shore andthinking of what he should do, there came three fishes swimmingby, none other than those he had set free. The middle one had amussel in his mouth, and he laid it on the strand at the young man'sfeet; and when he took it up and opened it there was the gold ringinside! Full of joy he carried it to the King, and expected thepromised reward; but the King's daughter, proud of her high birth,despised him, and set him another task to perform. She went outinto the garden, and strewed about over the grass ten sacks full ofmillet seed. "By the time the sun rises in the morning you musthave picked up all these," she said, "and not a grain must bewanting."
The young man sat down in the garden and considered how itwas possible to do this task, but he could contrive nothing, andstayed there, feeling very sorrowful, and expecting to be led todeath at break of day. But when the first beams of the sun fell onthe garden he saw that the ten sacks were aU filled, standing one bythe other, and not even a grain was missing. The ant-king had ar-rived in the night with his thousands of ants, and the grateful crea-tures had picked up all the millet seed, and filled the sacks withgreat industry. The King's daughter came herself into the gardenand saw with astonishment that the young man had performed allthat had been given him to do. But she could not let her proudheart melt, but said, "Although he has completed the two tasks, heshall not be my bridegroom unless he brings me an apple from thetree of Hfe."
The young man did not know where the tree of life was to be
found, but he set out and went on and on, as long as his legs couldcarry him, but he had no hope of finding it. When he had gonethrough three kingdoms he came one evening to a wood, andseated himself under a tree to go to sleep; but he heard a rustlingin the boughs, and a golden apple fell into his hand. Immediatelythree ravens flew towards him, perched on his knee, and said, "Weare the three young ravens that you delivered from starving; whenwe grew big, and heard that you were seeking the golden apple, weflew over the sea to the end of the earth, where the tree of Mestands, and we fetched the apple."
Full of joy the yoimg man set off on his way home, and broughtthe golden apple to the King's beautiful daughter, who was withoutany further excuse.
So they divided the apple of hfe, and ate it together; and theirhearts were filled with love, and they lived in undisturbed happi-ness to a great age.
The Three Spinners
There was once a girl who was lazy and would not spin, and hermother could not persuade her to it, do what she would. At last themother became angry and out of patience, and gave her a goodbeating, so that she cried out loudly. At that moment the Queenwas going by; as she heard the crying, she stopped; and, going intothe house, she asked the mother why she was beating her daughter,so that every one outside in the street could hear her cries.
The woman was ashamed to tell of her daughter's laziness, so shesaid, 'T cannot stop her from spinning; she is forever at it, and I ampoor and cannot furnish her with flax enough."
Then the Queen answered, "I Hke nothing better than the soundof the spinning-wheel, and always feel happy when I hear its hima-ming; let me take your daughter with me to the castle—I haveplenty of flax, she shall spin there to her heart's content."
The mother was only too glad of the offer, and the Queen tookthe girl with her. When they reached the castle the Queen showedher three rooms which were filled with the finest flax as fuU as theycould hold.
*T^ow you can spin me this flax," said she, "and when you can
The Three Spinners 235
show it me all done you shall have my eldest son for bridegroom;you may be poor, but I make nothing of that—your industry isdowry enough."
The girl was inwardly terrified, for she could not have spun theflax, even if she were to live to be a hundred years old, and were tosit spinning every day of her life from morning to evening. Andwhen she foimd herself alone she began to weep, and sat so forthree days without putting her hand to it. On the third day theQueen came, and when she saw that nothing had been done of thespinning she was much surprised; but the girl excused herself bysaying that she had not been able to begin because of the distressshe was in at leaving her home and her mother. The excuse con-tented the Queen, who said, however, as she went away, "Tomor-row you must begin to work."
When the girl found herself alone again she could not tell how tohelp herself or what to do, and in her perplexity she went andgazed out of the window. There she saw three women passing by,and the first of them had a broad flat foot, the second had a bigunder-hp that hung down over her chin, and the third had a remark-ably broad thumb. They all of them stopped in front of the win-dow, and called out to know what it was that the girl wanted. Shetold them all her need, and they promised her their help, and said,'Then will you invite us to your wedding, and not be ashamed ofus, and call us your cousins, and let us sit at your table? If you willpromise this, we will finish off your flax-spinning in a very shorttime." "With all my heart," answered the girl; "only come in now,and begin at once."
Then these same women came in, and she cleared a space in thefirst room for them to sit and carry on their spinning. The first onedrew out the thread and moved the treadle that turned the wheel;the second moistened the thread; the third twisted it, and rappedwith her finger on the table; and as often as she rapped a heap ofyam fell to the ground, and it was most beautifully spun. But thegirl hid the three spinsters out of the Queen's sight, and onlyshowed her, as often as she came, the heaps of well-spun yarn; andthere was no end to the praises she received. When the first roomwas empty they went on to the second, and then to the third, sothat at last all was finished. Then the three women took their leave,saying to the girl, "Do not forget what you have promised, and itwill be all the better for you."
So when the girl took the Queen and showed her the emptyrooms, and the great heaps of yam, the wedding was at once ar-
ranged, and the bridegroom rejoiced that he should have so cleverand diligent a wife, and praised her exceedingly.
"I have three cousins," said the girl, "and as they have shown mea great deal of kindness, I would not wish to forget them in mygood fortune; may I be allowed to invite them to the wedding, andto ask them to sit at the table with us?"
The Queen and the bridegroom said at once, "There is no reasonagainst it."
So when the feast began, in came the three spinsters in strangeguise, and the bride said, "Dear cousins, you are welcome."
"Oh," said the bridegroom, "how come you to have such dread-fully ugly relations?"
And then he went up to the first spinster and said, "How is isthat you have such a broad flat foot?" "With treading," answeredshe, "with treading."
Then hc'went up to the second and said, "How is it that youhave such a great hanging Hp?" "With licking," answered she,"with licking."
Then he asked the third, "How is it that you have such a broadthumb?" "With twisting thread," answered she, "with twistingthread."
Then the bridegroom said that from that time forward his beauti-ful bride should never touch a spinning-wheel.
And so she escaped that tiresome flax-spinning.
Rumpelstiltskin
There was once a miller who was poor, but he had one beautifuldaughter. It happened one day that he came to speak with theKing, and, to give himself consequence, he told him that he had adaughter who could spin gold out of straw. The King said to themiller, "That is an art that pleases me well; if your daughter is asclever as you say, bring her to my castle tomorrow, that I may puther to the proof."
When the girl was brought to him, he led her into a room thatwas quite full of straw, and gave her a wheel and spindle, and said,"Now set to work, and if by the early morning you have not spun
Rumpelstiltskin 237
this straw to gold you shall die." And he shut the door himself, andleft her there alone.
And so the poor miller's daughter was left there sitting, andcould not think what to do for her life: she had no notion how toset to work to spin gold from straw, and her distress grew so greatthat she began to weep. Then all at once the door opened, and incame a little man, who said, "Good evening, miller s daughter; whyare you crying?" "Oh!" answered the girl, "I have got to spin goldout of straw, and I don't understand the business."
Then the little man said, "What will you give me if I spin it foryou?" "My necklace," said the girl.
The little man took the necklace, seated himself before thewheel, and whirr, whirr, whirr! three times round and the bobbinwas full; then he took up another, and whirr, whirr, whirr! threetimes round, and that was full; and so he went on till the morning,when all the straw had been spun, and all the bobbins were full ofgold. At sunrise came the King, and when he saw the gold he wasastonished and very much rejoiced, for he was very avaricious. Hehad the miller's daughter taken into another room filled with straw,much bigger than the last, and told her that as she valued her lifeshe must spin it all in one night.
The girl did not know what to do, so she began to cry, and thenthe door opened, and the little man appeared and said, "What willyou give me if I spin all this straw into gold?" "The ring from myfinger," answered the girl.
So the little man took the ring, and began again to send thewheel whirring round, and by the next morning all the straw wasspun into glistening gold. The King was rejoiced beyond measiu-eat the sight, but as he could never have enough of gold, he had themiller's daughter taken into a still larger room full of straw, andsaid, 'This, too, must be spun in one night, and if you accomplish ityou shall be my wife." For he thought, "Although she is but amiller's daughter, I am not likely to find any one richer in the wholeworld."
As soon as the girl was left alone, the little man appeared for thethird time and said, "What will you give me if I spin the straw foryou this time?" "I have nothing left to give," answered the girl.'Then you must promise me the first child you have after you areQueen," said the little man.
"But who knows whether that will happen?" thought the girl;but as she did not know what else to do in her necessity, she prom-ised the little man what he desired, upon which he began to spin.
until all the straw was gold. And when in the morning the Kingcame and found aU done according to his wish, he caused the wed-ding to be held at once, and the miUer's pretty daughter became aQueen.
In a year's time she brought a fine child into the world, andthought no more of the Httle man; but one day he came suddenlyinto her room, and said, "Now give me what you promised me."
The Queen was terrified greatly, and ofiFered the Httle man all theriches of the kingdom if he would only leave the child; but the littleman said, "No, I would rather have something hving than aU thetreasures of the world."
Then the Queen began to lament and to weep, so that the littleman had pity upon her. "I wiU give you three days," said he, "andif at the end of that time you cannot tell my name, you must giveup the child to me."
Then the Queen spent the whole night in thinking over all thenames that she had ever heard, and sent a messenger through theland to ask far and wide for all the names that could be found. Andwhen the little man came next day, beginning with Caspar, Mel-chior, Balthazar, she repeated all she knew, and went through thewhole Hst, but after each the little man said, "That is not myname."
The second day the Queen sent to inquire of all the neighborswhat the servants were called, and told the Httle man all the mostunusual and singular names, saying, "Perhaps you are Roast-ribs, orSheepshanks, or Spindleshanks?" But he answered nothing but"That is not my name."
The third day the messenger came back again, and said, *T havenot been able to find one single new name; but as I passed throughthe woods I came to a high hiU, and near it was a Httle house, andbefore the house burned a fire, and round the fire danced a comicalHttle man, and he hopped on one leg and cried,
"Today do I bake, tomorrow I brew.The day after that the Queens child comes in;And oh! I am glad that nobody knewThat the name I am called is Rumpelstiltskin!"
You cannot think how pleased the Queen was to hear that name,and soon afterwards, when the Httle man walked in and said,"Now, Mrs. Queen, what is my name?" she said at first, "Are youcalled Jack?" "No," answered he. "Are you called Harry?" she
The Queen Bee 239
asked again. "No," answered he. And then she said, "Then per-haps your name is Rumpelstiltskinl"
"The devil told you that! the devil told you thatl" cried the littleman, and in his anger he stamped with his right foot so hard that itwent into the ground above his knee; then he seized his left footwith both his hands in such a fury that he split in two, and therewas an end of him.
The Queen Bee
Two King's sons who sought adventures fell into a wild, recklessway of living, and gave up all thoughts of going home again. Theirthird and youngest brother, who was called Witling, and had re-mained behind, started o£F to seek them; and when at last he foundthem, they jeered at his simplicity in thinking that he could makehis way in the world, while they who were so much cleverer wereunsuccessful. But they all three went on together until they came toan ant-hill, which the two eldest brothers wished to stir up, thatthey might see the Httle ants hurry about in their fright and carry-ing off their eggs, but Witling said, "Leave the httle creaturesalone, I will not suffer them to be disturbed."
And they went on farther until they came to a lake, where anumber of ducks were swimming about. The two eldest brotherswanted to catch a couple and cook them, but WitHng would notallow it, and said, "Leave the creatures alone, I will not suffer themto be killed."
And then they came to a bee's-nest in a tree, and there was somuch honey in it that it overflowed and ran down the trunk. Thetwo eldest brothers then wanted to make a fire beneath the tree,that the bees might be stifled by the smoke, and then they couldget at the honey. But WitHng prevented them, saying, "Leave thelittle creatures alone, I will not suffer them to be stifled."
At last the three brothers came to a castle where there were inthe stables many horses standing, all of stone, and the brotherswent through all the rooms until they came to a door at the end se-cured with three locks, and in the middle of the door a small open-ing through which they could look into the room. And they saw alittle gray-haired man sitting at a table. They called out to him one,
twice, and he did not hear, but at the third time he got up, undidthe locks, and came out. Without speaking a word he led them to atable loaded with aU sorts of good things, and when they had eatenand drunk he showed to each his bed-chamber. The next morningthe little gray man came to the eldest brother, and beckoning him,brought him to a table of stone, on which were written three thingsdirecting by what means the castle could be delivered from its en-chantment. The first thing was, that in the wood under the moss laythe pearls belonging to the Princess—a thousand in nimfiber—andthey were to be sought for and collected, and if he who should un-dertake the task had not finished it by sunset—if but one pearl weremissing—he must be turned to stone. So the eldest brother wentout, and searched all day, but at the end of it he had only foundone hundred; just as was said on the table of stone came to passand he was turned into stone. The second brother undertook theadventure next day, but it fared with him no better than with thefirst; he found two hundred pearls, and was turned into stone.
And so at last it was Witling's turn, and he began to search in themoss; but it was a very tedious business to find the pearls, and hegrew so out of heart that he sat down on a stone and began toweep. As he was sitting thus, up came the ant-king with five thou-sand ants, whose fives had been saved through Witling's pity, and itwas not very long before the Httle insects had collected aU thepearls and put them in a heap.
Now the second thing ordered by the table of stone was to getthe key of the Princess's sleeping-chamber out of the lake. Andwhen Witling came to the lake, the ducks whose fives he had savedcame swimming, and dived below, and brought up the key fromthe bottom.
The third thing that had to be done was the most diflBcult, andthat was to choose out the youngest and lovefiest of the threePrincesses, as they lay sleeping. AU bore a perfect resemblanceeach to the other, and only differed in this, that before they went tosleep each one had eaten a different sweetmeat—the eldest a pieceof sugar, the second a Httle syrup, and the third a spoonful ofhoney. Now the Queen-bee of those bees that Witfing had pro-tected from the fire came at this moment, and trying the fips of allthree, settled on those of the one that had eaten honey, and so itwas that the Eling's son knew which to choose. Then the spell wasbroken; every one awoke from stony sleep, and took his right formagain.
And Witling married the yoimgest and lovefiest Princess, and
became King after her father's death. But his two brothers had toput up with the two other sisters.
The Golden Goose
There was a man who had three sons, the youngest of whom wascalled the Simpleton, and was despised, laughed at, and neglected,on every occasion. It happened one day that the eldest son wishedto go into the forest to cut wood, and before he went his mothergave him a delicious pancake and a flask of wine, that he might notsuffer from hunger or thirst. When he came into the forest a Httleold gray man met him, who wished him good day, and said, "Giveme a bit of cake out of your pocket, and let me have a drink of yourwine; I an so hungry and thirsty."
But the prudent youth answered, "Give you my cake and mywine? I haven't got any; be off with you." And leaving the littleman standing there, he went off.
Then he began to feU a tree, but he had not been at it long be-fore he made a wrong stroke, and the hatchet bit him in the arm, sothat he was obHged to go home and get it boimd up. That waswhat came of the little gray man.
Afterwards the second son went into the wood, and the mothergave to him, as to the eldest, a pancake and a flask of wine. The lit-tle old gray man met him also, and begged for a Httle bit of cakeand a drink of wine. But the second son spoke out plainly, saying,*What I give you I lose myself, so be off with you." And leavingthe little man standing there, he went off.
The punishment followed. As he was chopping away at the tree,he hit himself in the leg so severely that he had to be carried home.
Then said the Simpleton, "Father, let me go for once into the for-est to cut wood"; and the father answered, "Yoiur brothers havehiut themselves by so doing; give it up, you understand nothingabout it."
But the Simpleton went on begging so long, that the father saidat last, "Well, be off with you; you will only learn by experience."
The mother gave him a cake (it was only made with water, andbaked in the ashes), and with it a flask of sour beer. When hecame into the forest the little old gray man met him, and greeted
him, saying, "Give me a bit of your cake, and a drink from yourflask; I am so hungry and thirsty."
And the Simpleton answered, "I have only a flour and water cakeand som- beer; but if that is good enough for you, let us sit down to-gether and eat." Then they sat down, and as the Simpleton took outhis floLir and water cake it became a rich pancake, and his sour beerbecame good wine. Then they ate and drank, and afterwards thelittle man said, "As you have such a kind heart, and share what youhave so willingly, I v^dll bestow good luck upon you. Yonder standsan old tree; cut it down, and at its roots you will find something,"and thereupon the little man took his departure.
The Simpleton went there, and hewed away at the tree, andwhen it fell he saw, sitting among the roots, a goose vwth feathersof pure gold. He lifted it out and took it vvdth him to an inn wherehe intended to stay the night.
The landlord had three daughters who, when they saw the goose,were curious to know what wonderful kind of bird it was, andended by longing for one of its golden feathers. The eldest thought,"I will wait for a good opportunity, and then I will pull out one ofits feathers for myself'; and so, when the Simpleton was gone out,she seized the goose by its vvdng—but there her finger and hand hadto stay, held fast. Soon after came the second sister with the sameidea of plucking out one of the golden feathers for herself; butscarcely had she touched her sister than she also was obliged tostay, held fast. Lastly came the third with the same intentions; butthe others screamed out, "Stay away! for heaven's sake stay away!"But she did not see why she should stay away, and thought, 'Ifthey do so, why should not I?" and went towards them. But whenshe reached her sisters there she stopped, hanging on wdth them.And so they had to stay, all night.
The next morning the Simpleton took the goose under his armand went away, unmindful of the three girls that hung on to it. Thethree had to run after him, left and right, wherever his legs carriedhim. In the midst of the fields they met the parson, who, when hesaw the procession, said, "Shame on you, girls, running after ayoung fellow through the fields Hke this," and forthwdth he seizedhold of the youngest by the hand to drag her away, but hardly hadhe touched her when he too was obliged to run after them himself.
Not long after the sexton came that way, and seeing the re-spected parson following at the heels of the three girls, he calledout, "Ho, your reverence, whither away so quickly? You forget thatwe have another christening today"; and he seized hold of him by
The Golden Goose 243
his gown; but no sooner had he touched him than he was obliged tofollow on too. As the five tramped on, one after another, two peas-ants with their hoes came up from the fields, and the parson criedout to them, and begged them to come and set him and the sextonfree, but no sooner had they touched the sexton than they had tofollow on too; and now there were seven following the Simpletonand the goose.
By and by they came to a town where a King reigned, who hadan only daughter who was so serious that no one could make herlaugh; therefore the King had given out that whoever should makeher laugh should have her in marriage. The Simpleton, when heheard this, went with his goose and his hangers-on into the pres-ence of the King's daughter, and as soon as she saw the seven peo-ple following always one after the other, she burst out laughing,and seemed as if she could never stop. And so the Simpleton earneda right to her as his bride; but the King did not like him for a son-in-law and made all kinds of objections, and said he must first bringa man who could drink up a whole cellar of wine.
The Simpleton thought that the little gray man would be able tohelp him, and went out into the forest, and there, on the very spotwhere he felled the tree, he saw a man sitting with a very sad coun-tenance. The Simpleton asked him what was the matter, and he an-swered, "I have a great thirst, which I cannot quench: cold waterdoes not agree with me; I have indeed drunk up a whole cask ofwine, but what good is a drop like that?"
Then said the Simpleton, 'T can help you; only come with me,and you shall have enough."
He took him straight to the King's cellar, and the man sat himselfdown before the big vats, and drank, and drank, and before a daywas over he had drunk up the whole cellar-full. The Simpletonagain asked for his bride, but the King was annoyed that awretched fellow, called the Simpleton by everybody, should carryoff his daughter, and so he made new conditions. He was to pro-duce a man who could eat up a mountain of bread. The Simpletondid not hesitate long, but ran quickly off to the forest, and there inthe same place sat a man who had fastened a strap round his body,making a very piteous face, and saying, "I have eaten a wholebakehouse full of rolls, but what is the use of that when one is sohungry as I am? My stomach feels quite empty, and I am obligedto strap myself together, that I may not die of hunger."
The Simpleton was quite glad of this, and said, "Get up quickly,and come along with me, and you shall have enough to eat."
He led him straight to the King's courtyard, where all the meal inthe kingdom had been collected and baked into a mountain ofbread. The man out of the forest settled himself down before it andhastened to eat, and in one day the whole mountain had disap-peared.
Then the Simpleton asked for his bride the third time. The King,however, foimd one more excuse, and said he must have a ship thatshould be able to sail on land or on water. "So soon," said he, "asyou come sailing along with it, you shall have my daughter for yourwife."
The Simpleton went straight to the forest, and there sat the littleold gray man with whom he had shared his cake, and he said, "1have eaten for you, and I have drunk for you, I will also give youthe ship; and all because you were land to me at the JBrst."
Then he gave him the ship that could sail on land and on water,and when the King saw it he knew he could no longer withhold hisdaughter. The marriage took place immediately, and at the deathof the King the Simpleton possessed the kingdom, and lived longand happily with his wife.
The Three Feathers
There was once a King who had three sons. Two of them were con-sidered wise and prudent; but the youngest, who said very Httle,appeared to others so silly that they gave him the name of Simple.When the King became old and weak, and began to think that hisend was near, he knew not to which of his sons to leaA^ his kingdom.
So he sent for them, and said, "I have made a determination thatwhichever of you brings me the finest carpet shall be King after mydeath."
They immediately prepared to start on their expedition, and thatthere might be no dispute between them, they took three feathers.As they left the castle each blew a feather into air, and said, "Wewill travel in whatever direction these feathers take." One flew tothe east, and the other to the west; but the third soon fell on theearth and remained there. Then the two eldest brothers turned oneto the'right, and the other to the left, and they laughed at Simplebecause where his feather feU he was obliged to remain.
The Three Feathers 245
Simple sat down after his brothers were gone, feeling very sad;but presently, looking round, he noticed near where his feather lay akind of trap-door. He rose quickly, went toward it, and lifted it up.To his surprise he saw a flight of steps, down which he descended,and reached another door; hearing voices within he knocked hast-ily. The voices were singing,
"Little frogs, crooked legs.
Where do you hide?Go and see quickly
Who is outside."
At this the door opened of itself, and the youth saw a large fatfrog seated with a niunber of little frogs round her.
On seeing him the large frog asked what he wanted. "I have agreat wish for the finest and most beautiful carpet that can be got,"he replied. Then the old frog called again to her little ones,
"Little frogs, crooked legs.
Run here and there;Bring me the large hagThat hangs over there."
The young frogs fetched the bag, and when it was opened theold frog took from it a carpet so fine and so beautifully worked thatnothing on earth could equal it. This she gave to the young man,who thanked her and went away up the steps.
Meanwhile, his elder brothers, quite believing that their foolishbrother would not be able to get any carpet at all, said one to an-other, "We need not take the trouble to go further and seek foranything very wonderful; ours is sure to be the best." And as thefirst person they met was a shepherd, wearing a shepherd's plaid,they bought the large plaid cloth and carried it home to the King.
At the same time the younger brother returned with his beautifulcarpet, and when the King saw it he was astonished, and said, 'Ifjustice is done, then the kingdom belongs to my youngest son."
But the two elder brothers gave the King no peace; they said itwas impossible for Simple to become King, for his understandingfailed in everything, and they begged their father to make anothercondition.
At last he said, "Whoever finds the most beautiful ring andbrings it to me shall have the kingdom."
Away went the brothers a second time, and blew three feathersinto the air to direct their ways. The feathers of the elder two flew
east and west, but that of the youngest fell, as before, near the trap-door and there rested. He at once descended the steps, and told thegreat frog that he wanted a most beautiful ring. She sent for herlarge bag and drew from it a ring which sparkled with preciousstones, and was so beautiful that no goldsmith on earth could makeone like it.
The elder brothers had again laughed at Simple when his featherfell so soon to the ground, and forgetting his former success withthe carpet, scorned the idea that he could ever find a gold ring. Sothey gave themselves no trouble, but merely took a plated ringfrom the harness of a carriage horse, and brought it to their father.
But when the King saw Simple's splendid ring he said at once,"The kingdom belongs to my youngest son."
His brothers, however, were not yet inclined to submit to the de-cision; they begged their father to make a third condition, and atlast he promised to give the kingdom to the son who brought homethe most beautiful woman to be his wife.
They all were again guided by blowing the feathers, and the twoelder took the roads pointed out to them. But Simple, without hesi-tation, went at once to the frog, and said, "This time I am to takehome the most beautiful woman."
"Hey-dayl" said the frog. "I have not one by me at present, butyou shall have one soon." So she gave him a carrot which had beenhollowed out, and to which six mice were harnessed.
Simple took it quite sorrowfully, and said, "What am I to do withthis?" "Seat one of my little frogs in it," she said.
The youth, on this, caught one up at a venture, and seated it inthe carrot. No sooner had he done so than it became a most beauti-ful young lady; the carrot was turned into a gilded coach; and themice were changed to prancing horses.
He kissed the maiden, seated himself in the carriage with her,drove away to the castle, and led her to the King.
Meanwhile his brothers had proved more silly than he; not for-getting the beautiful carpet and the ring, they still thought it wasimpossible for Simple to find a beautiful woman also. They there-fore took no more trouble than before, and merely chose the hand-somest peasant maideas they could find to bring to their father.
When the King saw the beautiful maiden his youngest son hadbrought he said, "The kingdom must now belong to my youngestson after my death."
But the elder brothers deafened the King's ears with their cries,"We cannot consent to let our stupid brother be King. Give us one
more trial. Let a ring be hung in the hall, and let each womanspring through it." For they thought the peasant maidens wouldeasily manage to do this, because they were strong, and that thedelicate lady would, no doubt, kill herself. To this trial the old Kingconsented.
The peasant maidens jumped first; but they were so heavy Eindawkward that they feU, and one broke her arm and the other herleg. But the beautiful lady whom Simple had brought home sprangas lightly as a deer through the ring, and thus put an end to aU op-position.
The yoimgest brother married the beautiful maiden, and after hisfather's death ruled the kingdom for many years with wisdom andequity.
The Hut in the Forest
A POOR WOOD-CUTTER livcd with his wife and three daughters in alittle hut on the edge of a lonely forest. One morning as he wasabout to go to his work, he said to his wife, "Let my dinner bebrought into the forest to me by my eldest daughter, or I shaUnever get my work done, and in order that she may not miss herway," he added, "I will take a bag of millet with me and strew theseeds on the path." When, therefore, the sun was just above thecenter of the forest, the girl set out on her way with a bowl of soup,but the field-sparrows, and wood-sparrows, larks and finches, black-birds and siskins had picked up the miUet long before, and the girlcould not find the track. Then, trusting to chance, she went on andon until the sun sank and night began to fall. The trees rustled inthe darkness, the owk hooted, and she began to be afraid. Then inthe distance she perceived a light which glimmered between thetrees. "There ought to be some people living there who can takeme in for the night," thought she, and went up to the light.
It was not long before she came to a house the windows of whichwere all lighted up. She knocked, and a rough voice from the insidecried, "Come in." The girl stepped into the dark entrance, andknocked at the door of the room. "Just come in," cried the voice,and when she opened the door, an old gray-haired man was sittingat the table, supporting his face with both hands, and his white
beard fell down over the table almost as far as the ground. By thestove lay three animals, a hen, a cock, and a brindled cow. The girltold her story to the old man, and begged for shelter for the night.The man said,
"Pretty little hen.Pretty little cock.And pretty brindled cow.What say ye to thatF'
"Duks," answered the animals, and that must have meant, "We arewilUng," for the old man said, "Here you shall have shelter andfood; go to the fire, and cook us our supper," The girl found in thekitchen abundance of everything, and cooked a good supper, buthad no thought of the animals. She carried the full dishes to thetable, seated herself by the gray-haired man, ate and satisfied herhunger. When she had had enough, she said, "But now I am tired,where is there a bed in which I can lie down, and sleep?" The ani-mals repHed,
"Thou hast eaten with him.Thou hast drunk with him.Thou hast had no thought for us.So find out for thyself where thou canst pass the night."
Then said the old man, "Just go upstairs, and you will find a roomwith two beds, shake them up, and put white Hnen on them, andthen I, too, will come and He down to sleep." The girl went up, andwhen she had shaken the beds and put clean sheets on, she laydown in one of them without waiting any longer for the old man.After some time, however, the gray-haired man came, took his can-dle, looked at the girl and shook his head. When he saw that shehad fallen into a sound sleep, he opened a trap-door, and let herdown into the cellar.
Late at night the wood-cutter came home, and reproached hiswife for leaving him to hunger all day. 'It is not my fault," shereplied, "the girl went out with your dinner, and must have lostherself, but she is sure to come back tomorrow." The wood-cutter,however, arose before dawn to go into the forest, and requestedthat the second daughter should take him his dinner that day. "Iwill take a bag with lentils," said he; "the seeds are larger thanmillet, the girl will see them better, and can't lose her way." Atdinner-time, therefore, the girl took out the food, but the lentils haddisappeared. The birds of the forest had picked them up as they
The Hut in the Forest 249
had done the day before, and had left none. The girl wanderedabout in the forest until night, and then she, too, reached the houseof the old man, was told to go in, and begged for food and a bed.The man with the white beard again asked the animals,
"Pretty little hen.Pretty little cock.And pretty brindled cow,What say ye to that?"
The animals again replied "Duks," and everything happened just asit had happened the day before. The girl cooked a good meal, ateand drank with the old man, and did not concern herself about theanimals, and when she inquired about her bed they answered,
"Thou hast eaten with him.Thou hast drunk with him.Thou hast had no thought for us.So find out for thyself where thou canst pass the night."
When she was asleep the old man came, looked at her, shook hishead, and let her down into the cellar.
On the third morning the wood-cutter said to his wife, "Send ouryoungest child out with my dinner today, she has always been goodand obedient, and will stay in the right path, and not run aboutafter every wild bumble-bee, as her sisters did." The mother did notwant to do it, and said, "Am I to lose my dearest child, as well?"
"Have no fear," he repUed, "the girl will not go astray; she is tooprudent and sensible; besides I will take some peas with me, andstrew them about. They are stiU larger than lentils, and will showher the way." But when the girl went out with her basket on herarm, the wood-pigeons had already got all the peas in their crops,and she did not know which way she was to turn. She was full ofsorrow and never ceased to think how hungry her father would be,and how her good mother would grieve, if she did not go home. Atlength when it grew dark, she saw the light and came to the housein the forest. She begged quite prettily to be allowed to spend thenight there, and the man with the white beard once more asked hisanimals,
"Pretty little hen.Pretty little cock.And pretty brindled cow,What say ye to that?"
"Duks," said they. Then the girl went to the stove where the ani-
mals were lying, and petted the cock and hen, and stroked theirsmooth feathers with her hand, and caressed the brindled cow be-tween her horns, and when, in obedience to the old man's orders,she had made ready some good soup, and the bowl was placedupon the table, she said, "Am I to eat as much as I want, and thegood animals to have nothing? Outside is food in plenty, I will lookafter them first." So she went and brought some barley and strewedit for the cock and hen, and a whole armful of sweet-smelling hayfor the cow. "I hope you will Hke it, dear animals," said she, "andyou shall have a refreshing draught in case you are thirsty." Thenshe fetched in a bucketful of water, and the cock and hen jumpedon to the edge of it and dipped their beaks in, and then held uptheir heads as the birds do when they drink, and the brindled cowalso took a hearty draught. When the animals were fed, the girlseated herself at the table by the old man, and ate what he had left.It was not long before the cock and the hen began to thrust theirheads beneath their wings, and the eyes of the cow Hkewise beganto bHnk. Then said the girl, "Ought we not to go to bed?
"Pretty little hen.Pretty little cock.And beautiful brindled cow.What say ye to that?"
The animals answered "Dulcs,
"Thou hast eaten with us,Thou hast drunk with us,Thou hast had kind thought for all of us.We uAsh thee good-night."
Then the maiden went upstairs, shook the feather-beds, and laidclean sheets on them, and when she had done it the old man cameand lay dovini on one of the beds, and his white beard reacheddown to his feet. The girl lay down on the other, said her prayers,and fell asleep.
She slept quietly till midnight, and then there was such a noise inthe house that she awoke. There was a sound of cracking and spht-ting in every comer, and the doors sprang open, and beat againstthe walls. The beams groaned as if they were being torn out oftheir joints, it seemed as if the staircase were falling down, and atlength there was a crash as if the entire roof had fallen in. As, how-ever, all grew quiet once more, and the girl was not hurt, shestayed quietly lying where she was, and fell asleep again. But when
she woke up in the morning with the brilliancy of the sunshine,what did her eyes behold? She was lying in a vast hall, and every-thing around her shone with royal splendor; on the walls, goldenflowers grew up on a ground of green silk, the bed was of ivory,and the canopy of red velvet, and on a chair close by, was a pair ofshoes embroidered wdth pearls.
The girl believed that she was in a dream, but three richly cladattendants came in, and asked what orders she would Hke to give."If you will go," she replied, "I v^dll get up at once and make readysome soup for the old man, and then I will feed the pretty littlehen, and the cock, and the beautiful brindled cow." She thoughtthe old man was up already, and looked round at his bed; he, how-ever, was not lying in it, but a stranger. And while she was lookingat him, and becoming aware that he was young and handsome, heawoke, sat up in bed, and said, "1 am a King's son, and was be-wdtched by a wicked witch, and made to live in this forest, as anold gray-haired man; no one was allowed to be with me but mythree attendants in the form of a cock, a hen, and a brindled cow.The spell was not to be broken until a girl came to us whose heartwas so good that she showed herself full of love, not only towardsmankind, but towards animals—and that thou hast done, and bythee at midnight we were set free, and the old hut in the forest waschanged back again into my royal palace." And when they hadarisen, the King's son ordered the three attendants to set out andfetch the father and mother of the girl to the marriage feast.
"But where are my two sisters?" inquired the maiden. "I havelocked them in the cellar, and tomorrow they shall be led into theforest, and shall live as servants to a charcoal-burner, until theyhave grown kinder, and do not leave poor animals to suffer hunger."
Donkey Cabbages
There was once a young huntsman who went into the forest to liein wait. He had a fresh and joyous heart, and as he was goingthither, whistling upon a leaf, an ugly old crone came up, whospoke to him and said, "Good-day, dear huntsman, truly you aremerry and contented, but I am suffering from hunger and thirst, dogive me an alms." The huntsman had compassion on the poor old
creature, felt in his pocket, and gave her what he could afford. Hewas then about to go further, but the old woman stopped him andsaid, "Listen, dear huntsman, to what I tell you; I wiU make you apresent in return for your kindness. Go on your way now, but in alittle while you will come to a tree, whereon nine birds axe sittingwhich have a cloak in their claws, and are plucking at it; take yourgun and shoot into the midst of them, they will let the cloak falldown to you, but one of the birds will be hurt, and will drop downdead. Carry away the cloak, it is a wishing-cloak; when you throwit over your shoulders, you only have to wish to be in a certainplace, and you wiU be there in the twinkling of an eye. Take outthe heart of the dead bird and swaUow it whole, and every morningearly, when you get up, you wiU find a gold piece under yourpillow."
The huntsman thanked the wise woman, and thought to himself,*Those are fine things that she has promised me, if aU does butcome true." And verily when he had walked about a hundredpaces, he heard in the branches above him such a screaming andtwittering that he looked up and saw there a crowd of birds whowere tearing a piece of cloth about with their beaks and claws, andtugging and fighting as if each wanted to have it all to himself."Well," said the huntsman, "this is wonderful; it has really come topass just as the old wife foretoldl" and he took the gun from hisshoulder, aimed and fired right into the midst of them, so that thefeathers flew about. The birds instantly took to flight with loud out-cries, but one dropped down dead, and the cloak fell at the sametime. Then £he huntsman did as the old woman directed him, cutopen the bird, sought the heart, swallowed it down, and took thecloak home with him.
Next morning, when he awoke, the promise occurred to him, andhe wished to see if it also had been fulfilled. When he lifted up thepillow, the gold piece shone in his eyes, and next day he ^ound an-other, and so it went on, every time he got up. He gathered to-gether a heap of gold, but at last he thought, "Of what use is aU mygold to me if I stay at home? I wiU go forth and see the world."
He then took leave of his parents, buckled on his huntsman'spouch and gun, and went out into the world. It came to pass, thatone day he traveled through a dense forest, and when he came tothe end of it, in the plain before him stood a fine castle. An oldwoman was standing with a wonderfully beautiful maiden, lookingout of one of the windows. The old woman, however, was a witchand said to the maiden, "There comes one out of the forest, who
has a wonderful treasure in his body, we must filch it from him, mydear daughter, it is more suitable for us than for him. He has abird's heart about him, by means of which a gold piece lies everymorning under his piUow." She told her what she was to do to getit, and what part she had to play, and finally threatened her, andsaid with angry eyes, "And if you do not attend to what I say, itwill be the worse for you." Now when the huntsman came nearerhe descried the maiden, and said to himself, "I have traveled aboutfor such a long time, I will take a rest for once, and enter that beau-tiful castle. I have certainly money enough." Nevertheless, the realreason was that he had caught sight of the pretty girl.
He entered the house, and was well received and courteously en-tertained. Before long he was so much in love v/iih. the young witchthat he no longer thought of anything else, and only saw things asshe saw them, and did what she desired. The old woman then said,"Now we must have the bird's heart, he will never miss it." Sheprepared a drink, and when it was ready, poured it into a cup andgave it to the maiden, who was to present it to the himtsman. Shedid so, saying, "Now, my dearest, drink to me." So he took the cup,and when he had swallowed the draught, he brought up the heartof the bird. The girl had to take it away secretly and swallow itherself, for the old woman would have it so. Thenceforward hefound no more gold under his pillow, but it lay instead under thatof the maiden, from whence the old woman fetched it away everymorning; but he was so much in love and so befooled, that hethought of nothing else but of passing his time with the girl.
Then the old witch said, "We have the bird's heart, but we mustalso take the wishing-cloak away from him." The girl answered,"We will leave him that, he has lost his wealth." The old womanwas angry and said, "Such a mantle is a wonderful thing, and is sel-dom to be found in this world. I must and vvdll have itl" She gavethe girl several blows, and said that if she did not obey, it shouldfare ill with her. So she did the old woman's bidding, placed herselfat the window and looked on the distant country, as if she werevery sorrowful. The huntsman asked, *Why dost thou stand thereso sorrowfully?" "Ah, my beloved," was her answer, "over yonder Hesthe Garnet Mountain, where the precious stones grow. I long forthem so much that when I think of them, I feel quite sad, but whocan get them? Only the birds; they fly and can reach them, but aman, hever." "Have you nothing else to complain of?" said thehuntsman. "I will soon remove that burden from your heart."
With that he drew her under his mantle, wished himself on the
Garnet Mountain, and in the twinkling of an eye they were sittingon it together. Precious stones were glistening on every side so thatit was a joy to see them, and together they gathered the finest andcostliest of them. Now, the old woman had, through her sorceries,contrived that the eyes of the huntsman should become heavy. Hesaid to the maiden, ''We will sit down and rest awhile, I am sotired that I can no longer stand on my feet." Then they sat down,and he laid his head in her lap, and fell asleep. When he wasasleep, she imfastened the mantle from his shoulders, and wrappedherself in it, picked up the garnets and stones, and wished herselfback at home with them.
But when the himtsman had had his sleep out and awoke, andperceived that his sweetheart had betrayed him, and left him aloneon the vwld mountain, he said, "Oh, what treachery there is in theworld!" and sat dovioi there in care and sorrow, not knowing whatto do. But the mountain belonged to some wild and monstrous gi-ants who dwelt thereon and lived their Hves there, and he had notsat long before he saw three of them coming towards him, so he laydown as if he were sunk in a deep sleep. Then the giants came up,and the first kicked him v^dth his foot and said, "What sort of anearth-worm is lying curled up here?" The second said, "Step uponhim and kill him." But the third said, "That would indeed be worthyour while; just let him live, he cannot remain here; and when heclimbs higher, towards the summit of the mountain, the clouds wdlllay hold of him and bear him away." So saying they passed by. Butthe huntsman had paid heed to their words, and as soon as theywere gone, he rose and climbed up to the summit of the mountain,and when he had sat there a while, a cloud floated towards him,caught him up, carried him away, and traveled about for a longtime in the heavens. Then it sank lower, and let itself dov^ni on agreat cabbage-garden, girt round by walls, so that he came softly tothe ground on cabbages and vegetables.
Then the huntsman looked about him and said, 'If I only hadsomething to eat! I am so hungry, and my hunger will increase incourse of time; but I see here neither apples nor pears, nor anyother sort of fruit, everywhere nothing but cabbages." At length hethought, "At a pinch I can eat some of the leaves, they do not tasteparticularly good, but they will refresh me." With that he pickedhimself out a fine head of cabbage, and ate it, but scarcely had heswallowed a couple of mouthfuls than he felt very strange andquite different.
Four legs grew on him, a large head and two thick ears, and he
Donkey Cabbages 255
saw with horror that he was changed into an ass. Still as his hungerincreased every minute, and as the juicy leaves were suitable to hispresent nature, he went on eating with great zest. At last he arrivedat a different land of cabbage, but as soon as he had swallowed it,he again felt a change, and reassumed his former human shape.
Then the huntsman lay down and slept off his fatigue. When heawoke next morning, he broke off one head of the bad cabbagesand another of the good ones, and thought to himself, "This shallhelp me to get my own again and to punish treachery." Then hetook the cabbages with him, climbed over the wall, and went forthto seek for the castle of his sweetheart. After wandering about for acouple of days he was lucky enough to find it again. He dyed hisface brown, so that his own mother would not have known him;and begged for shelter. "I am so tired," said he, "that I can go nofurther." The witch asked, "Who are you, countryman, and what isyour business?" "I am a King's messenger, and was sent out to seekthe most delicious salad which grows beneath the sun. I have evenbeen so fortunate as to find it, and am carrying it about with me;but the heat of the sun is so intense that the deUcate cabbagethreatens to wither, and I do not know if I can carry it any further."
When the old woman heard of the exquisite salad, she wasgreedy, and said, "Dear countryman, let me just taste this wonder-ful salad." "Why not?" answered he, '1 have brought two headswith me, and will give you one of them," and he opened his pouchand handed her the bad cabbage. The vwtch suspected nothingamiss, and her mouth watered so for this new dish that she herselfwent into the kitchen and dressed it. When it was prepared shecould not wait until it was set on the table, but took a couple ofleaves at once, and put them in her mouth, but hardly had sheswallowed them than she was deprived of her human shape, andshe ran out into the courtyard in the form of an ass.
Presently the maid-servant entered the kitchen, saw the saladstanding there ready prepared, and was about to carry it up; but onthe way, according to habit, she was seized by the desire to taste,and she ate a couple of leaves. Instantly the magic power showeditself, and she likewise became an ass and ran out to the oldwoman, and the dish of salad fell to the ground. Meantime the mes-senger sat beside the beautiful girl, and as no one came with thesalad and she also was longing for it, she said, "I don't know whathas become of the salad-" The huntsman thought, 'The salad musthave already taken effect," and said, "I will go to the kitchen andinquire about it." As he went down he saw the two asses running
about in the courtyard; the salad, however, was lying on theground. "All right," said he, "the two have taken their portion," andhe picked up the other leaves, laid them on the dish, and carriedthem to the maiden. "I.bring you the delicate food myself," said he,"in order that you may not have to wait longer." Then she ate ofit, and was, Hke the others, immediately deprived of her humanform, and ran out into the courtyard in the shape of an ass.
After the huntsman had washed his face, so that the transformedones could recognize him, he went down into the courtyard, andsaid, "Now you shall receive the wages of your treachery," andboimd them together, aU three with one rope, and drove themalong until he came to a mill. He knocked at the window, the millerput out his head, and asked what he wanted. "I have three un-manageable beasts," answered he, "which I don't want to keep anylonger. Will you take them in, and give them food and stable room,and manage them as I tell you, and then I will pay you what youask." The miller said, "Why not? but how am I to manage them?"The huntsman then said that he was to give three beatings and onemeal daily to the old donkey, and that was the witch; one beatingand three meals to the younger one, which was the servant-girl;and to the youngest, which was the maiden, no beatings and threemeals, for he could not bring himself to have the maiden beaten.After that he went back into the castle, and foimd therein every-thing he needed.
After a couple of days, the miller came and said he must informhim that the old ass which had received three beatings and onlyone meal daily was dead; "the two others," he continued, "are cer-tainly not dead, and are fed three times daily, but they are so sadthat they cannot last much longer." The huntsman was moved topity, put away his anger, and told the miller to drive them backagain to him. And when they came, he gave them some of the goodsalad, so that they became human again. The beautiful girl fell onher knees before him, and said, "Ah, my beloved, forgive me forthe evil I have done you; my mother drove me to it; it was doneagainst my wdll, for I love you dearly. Your vidshing-cloak hangs ina cupboard, and as for the bird's-heart I will take a vomiting po-tion." But he thought otherwise, and said, "Keep it; it is all thesame, for I will take you for my true wife." So the wedding was cel-ebrated, and they Hved happily together until their death.
There was once a poor widow who lived in a lonely cottage. Infront of the cottage was a garden wherein stood two rose trees, oneof which bore white and the other red roses. She had two childrenwho were like the two rose trees, and one was called Snow-white,and the other Rose-red. They were as good and happy, as busy andcheerful as ever two children in the world were, only Snow-whitewas more quiet and gentle than Rose-red. Rose-red liked better torun about in the meadows and fields seeking flowers and catchingbutterflies; but Snow-white sat at home with her mother, andhelped her with her house-work, or read to her when there wasnothing to do.
The two children were so fond of each other that they alwaysheld each other by the hand when they went out together, andwhen Snow-white said, "We will not leave each other," Rose-redanswered, "Never so long as we Hve," and their mother would add,"What one has she must share with the other."
They often ran about the forest alone and gathered red berries,and no beasts did them any harm, but came close to them trust-fully. The Httle hare would eat a cabbage-leaf out of their hands,the roe grazed by their side, the stag leapt merrily by them, and thebirds sat still upon the boughs, arid sang whatever they knew.
No mishap overtook them; if they had stayed too late in the for-est, and night came on, they laid themselves down near one anotherupon the moss, and slept until morning came, and their motherknew this and had no distress on their account.
Once when they had spent the night in the wood and the dawnhad roused them, they saw a beautiful child in a shining whitedress sitting near their bed. He got up and looked quite kindly atthem, but said nothing and went away into the forest. And whenthey looked round they found that they had been sleeping quiteclose to a precipice, and would certainly have fallen into it in thedarkness if they had gone only a few paces further. And theirmother told them that it must have been the angel who watchesover good children.
Snow-white and Rose-red kept their mother's little cottage soneat that it was a pleasure to look inside it. In the summer Rose-red
took care of the house, and every morning laid a wreath of flowersby her mother's bed before she awoke, in which was a rose fromeach tree. In the winter Snow-white lit the fire and hung the kettleon the hob. The kettle was of copper and shone Hke gold, sobrightly was it polished. In the evening, when the snowflakes fell,the mother said, "Go, Snow-white, and bolt the door," and thenthey sat round the hearth, and the mother took her spectacles andread aloud out of a large book, and the two girls Hstened as they satand spim. And close by them lay a lamb upon the floor, and behindthem upon a perch sat a white dove v^th its head hidden beneathits wings.
One evening, as they were thiis sitting comfortably together,some one knocked at the door as if he wished to be let in. Themother said, "Quick, Rose-red, open the door, it must be a travelerwho is seeking shelter." Rose-red went and pushed back the bolt,thinking that it was a poor man, but it was not; it was a bear thatstretched his broad, black head vidthin the door.
Rose-red screamed and sprang back, the lamb bleated, the dovefluttered, and Snow-white hid herself behind her mother's bed. Butthe bear began to speak and said, "Do not be afraid, I •wiU do youno harm! I am heilf-frozen, and only want to warm myself a littlebeside you."
"Poor bear," said the mother, "lie down by the fire, only takecare that you do not bum your coat." Then she cried, "Snow-white,Rose-red, come out, the bear will do you no harm, he means well."So they both came out, and by-and-by the lamb and dove camenearer, and were not afraid of him. The bear said, "Here, children,knock the snow out of my coat a little"; so they brought the broomand swept the bear's hide clean; and he stretched himself by thefire and growled contentedly and comfortably. It was not long be-fore they grew quite at home, and played tricks with their clumsyguest. They tugged his hair with their hands, put their feet uponhis back and rolled him about, or they took a hazel-switch and beathim, and when he growled they laughed. But the bear took it all ingood part, only when they were too rough he called out, "Leaveme aHve, children,
"Snowy-white, Rosy-red,Will you beat your lover dead?"
When it was bed-time, and the others went to bed, the mothersaid to the bear, "You can lie there by the hearth, and then you wiUbe safe from the cold and the bad weather." As soon as day dawned
the two children let him out, and he trotted across the snow intothe forest.
Henceforth the bear came every evening at the same time, laidhimself down by the hearth, and let the children amuse themselveswith him as much as they liked; and they got so used to him thatthe doors were never fastened until their black friend had arrived.
When spring had come and all outside was green, the bear saidone morning to Snow-white, "Now I must go away, and cannotcome back for the whole summer." "Where are you going, then,dear bear?" asked Snow-white. *1 must go into the forest and guardmy treasures from the wicked dwarfs. In the winter, when the earthis frozen hard, they are obliged to stay below and caimot worktheir way through; but now, when the sun has thawed and warmedthe earth, they break through it, and come out to pry and steal; andwhat once gets into their hands, and in their caves, does not easilysee daylight again."
Snow-white was quite sorry for his going away, and as she un-bolted the door for him, and the bear was hiurying out, he caughtagainst the bolt and a piece of his hairy coat was torn off, and itseemed to Snow-white as if she had seen gold shining through it,but she was not sure about it. The bear ran away quickly, and wassoon out of sight behind the trees.
A short time afterwards the mother sent her children into the for-est to get fire-wood. There they foimd a big tree which lay felled onthe ground, and close by the trunk something was jumping back-wards and forwards in the grass, but they could not make out whatit was. When they came nearer they saw a dwarf with an oldwithered face and a snow-white beard a yard long. The end of thebeard was caught in a crevice of the tree, and the httle fellow wasjvunping backwards and forwards hke a dog tied to a rope, and didnot know what to do.
He glared at the girls with his fiery red eyes and cried, "Why doyou stand there? Can you not come here and help me?" "What areyou about there, Httle man?" asked Rose-red. "You stupid, pryinggoose!" answered the dwarf; "I was going to split the tree to get alittle wood for cooking. The littie bit of food that one of us wantsgets burnt up directly with thick logs; we do not swallow so muchas you coarse, greedy folk. I had just driven the wedge safely in,and everything was going as I wished; but the wretched wood wastoo smooth and suddenly sprang asunder, and the tree closed soquickly that I could not pull out my beautiful white beard; so now
it is tight in and I cannot get away, and the silly, sleek, milk-facedthings laughl Ugh I how odious you arel"
The children tried very hard, but they could not pull the beardout, it was caught too fast. "I will run and fetch some one," saidRose-red. "You senseless goosel" snarled the dwarf; "why shouldyou fetch some one? You are already two too many for me; can younot think of something better?" "Don't be impatient," said Snow-white, "I will help you," and she pulled her scissors out of herpocket, and cut off the end of the beard.
As soon as the dwarf felt himself free he laid hold of a bag whichlay amongst the roots of the tree, and which was full of gold, andlifted it up, grumbling to himself, "Uncouth people, to cut off apiece of my fine beard. Bad luck to you!" and then he swung thebag upon his back, and went off without even once looking at thechildren.
Some time after that Snow-white and Rose-red went to catch adish of fish. As they came near the brook they saw something like alarge grasshopper jumping towards the water, as if it were going toleap in. They ran to it and found it was the dwarf. "Where are yougoing?" said Rose-red; "you surely don't want to go into thewater?" "I am not such a fool!" cried the dwarf; "don't you see thatthe accursed fish wants to pull me in?" The little man had been sit-ting there fishing, and unluckily the wind had twisted his beardwith the fishing-Hne; just then a big fish bit, and the feeble creaturehad not strength to pull it out; the fish kept the upper hand andpulled the dwarf towards him. He held on to all the reeds andrushes, but it was of little good, he was forced to follow the move-ments of the fish, and was in urgent danger of being dragged intothe water.
The girls came just in time; they held him fast and tried to freehis beard from the line, but all in vain, beard and line were entan-gled fast together. Nothing was left but to bring out the scissorsand cut the beard, whereby a small part of it was lost. When thedwarf saw that he screamed out, "Is that civil, you toadstool, todisfigure one's face? Was it not enough to clip off the end of mybeard? Now you have cut off the best part of it. I cannot let myselfbe seen by my people. I wish you had been made to run the solesoff your shoes!" Then he took out a sack of pearls which lay in therushes, and without saying a word more he dragged it away anddisappeared behind a stone.
It happened that soon afterwards the mother sent the two chil-dren to the town to buy needles and thread, and laces and ribbons.
Snoio-White and Rose-Red 261
The road led them across a heath upon which huge pieces of rocklay strewn here and there. Now they noticed a large bird hoveringin the air, flying slowly round and round above them; it sank lowerand lower, and at last settled near a rock not far off. Directly after-wards they heard a loud, piteous cry. They ran up and saw withhorror that the eagle had seized their old acquaintance the dwarf,and was going to carry him off.
The children, full of pity, at once took tight hold of the littleman, and pulled against the eagle so long that at last he let hisbooty go. As soon as the dwarf had recovered from his first frighthe cried with his shrill voice, "Could you not have done it morecarefully! You dragged at my brown coat so that it is all torn andfull of holes, you helpless clumsy creatures I" Then he took up asack full of precious stones, and slipped away again under the rockinto his hole. The girls, who by this time were used to his thank-lessness, went on their way and did their business in the town.
As they crossed the heath again on their way home they sur-prised the dwarf, who had emptied out his bag of precious stones ina clean spot, and had not thought that any one would come thereso late. The evening sim shone upon the brilliant stones; they glit-tered and sparkled with all colors so beautifully that the childrenstood still and looked at them. 'Why do you stand gaping there?"cried the dwarf, and his ashen-gray face became copper-red withrage. He was going on with his bad words when a loud growlingwas heard, and a black bear came trotting towards them out of theforest. The dwarf sprang up in a fright, but he could not get to hiscave, for the bear was akeady close. Then in the dread of his hearthe cried, "Dear Mr. Bear, spare me, I will give you all my treas-ures; look, the beautiful jewels lying therel Grant me my life; whatdo you want with such a slender little fellow as I? you would notfeel me between your teeth. Come, take these two wicked girls,they are tender morsels for you, fat as young quails; for mercy'ssake eat theml" The bear took no heed of his words, but gave thewicked creature a single blow with his paw, and he did not moveagain.
The girls had run away, but the bear called to them, "Snow-whiteand Rose-red, do not be afraid; wait, I vsdll come with you." Thenthey knew his voice and waited, and when he came up to themsuddenly his bearskin fell off, and he stood there a handsome man,clothed all in gold. "I am a King's son," he said, "and I was be-witched by that wicked dwarf, who had stolen my treasures; I have
had to run about the forest as a savage bear until I was freed by hisdeath. Now he has got his well-deserved punishment."
Snow-white was married to him, and Rose-red to his brother, andthey divided between them the great treasure which the dwarf hadgathered together in his cave. The old mother lived peacefully andhappily with her children for many years. She took the two rosetrees with her, and they stood before her window, and every yearbore the most beautiful roses, white and red.
The Poor Miller's Boy and the Cat
There once lived an old miller who had neither wife nor child, andthree apprentices served imder him. As they had been with himseveral years, one day he said to them, "I am old, and want to sit inthe chimney-comer; go out, and whichsoever of you brings me thebest horse home, to him wdll I give the miU, and in return for it heshall take care of me tiU my death." The third of the boys was,however, the drudge, who was looked on as fooUsh by the others;they begrudged the mill to him, and afterwards he would not haveit. Then all three went out together, and when they came to the vil-lage, the two said to stupid Hans, "Thou mayst just as well stayhere; as long as thou livest thou wilt never get a horse."
Hans, however, went with them, and when it was night theycame to a cave in which they lay ^own to sleep. The two sharpones waited imtil Hans had fallen asleep, then they got up, andwent away leaving him where he was. And they thought they haddone a very clever thing, but it was certain to turn out iU for them.When the sun arose, and Hans woke up, he was lying in a deepcavern. He looked around on every side and exclaimed, "Oh,heavens, where am I?" Then he got up and clambered out of thecave, went into the forest, and thought, "Here I am quite alone anddeserted, how shall I obtain a horse now?"
While he was thus walking full of thought, he met a small tabby-cat which said quite kindly, "Hans, where are you going?" "Alas,you cannot help me." "I well know your desire," said the cat. "Youwish to have a beautiful horse. Come with me, and be my faithfulservant for seven years long, and then I will give you one morebeautiful than any you have ever seen in your whole hfe." "Well,
The Poor Millers Boy and the Cat 263
this is a wonderful cat!" thought Hans, "but I am determined to seeif she is telling the truth."
So she took him with her into her enchanted castle, where therewere nothing but cats who were her servants. They leapt nimblyupstairs and downstairs, and were merry and happy. In the eveningwhen they sat down to dinner, three of them had to make music.One played the bassoon, the other the fiddle, and the third put thetrumpet to his hps, and blew out his cheeks as much as he possiblycould. When they had dined, the table was carried away, and thecat said, "Now, Hans, come and dance with me." "No," said he, "Iwon't dance with a pussy-cat. I have never done that yet." "Thentake him to bed," said she to the cats. So one of them Hghted him tohis bed-room, one pulled his shoes off, one his stockings, and at lastone of them blew out the candle.
Next morning they retmrned and helped him out of bed, one puthis stockings on for him, one tied his garters, one brought his shoes,one washed him, and one dried his face v^dth her tail. "That feelsvery softl" said Hans. He, however, had to serve the cat, and chopsome wood every day, and to do that he had an axe of silver, andthe wedge and saw were of silver and the mallet of copper. So hechopped the wood small; stayed there in the house and had goodmeat and drink, but never saw any one but the tabby-cat and herservants.
Once she said to him, "Go and mow my meadow, and dry thegrass," and gave him a scythe of silver, and a whetstone of gold,but bade him deliver them up again carefully. So Hans wentthither, and did what he was bidden, and when he had finished thework, he carried the scythe, whetstone, and hay to the house, andasked if it was not yet time for her to give him his reward. "No,"said the cat, "you must first do something more for me of the samekind. There is timber of silver, carpenter's axe, square, and every-thing that is needful, all of silver; with these build me a smallhouse." Then Hans built the small house, and said that he had nowdone everything, and still he had no horse. Nevertheless, the sevenyears had gone by with him as if they were six months.
The cat asked him if he would like to see her horses? "Yes," saidHans. Then she opened the door of the small house, and when shehad opened it, there stood twelve horses—such horses, so bright andshining, that his heart rejoiced at the sight of them. She gave him toeat and to drink, and said, "Go home, I will not give you yourhorse away with you; but in three days' time I will follow you andbring it." So Hans set out, and she showed him the way to the mill.
She had, however, never once given him a new coat, and he hadbeen obliged to keep on his dirty old smock-frock, which he hadbrought with him, and which during the seven years had every-where become too small for him.
When he reached home, the two other apprentices were thereagain as well, and each of them certainly had brought a horse withhim, but one of them was a blind one, and the other lame. Theyasked Hans where his horse was. 'It will follow me in three days'time." Then they laughed and said, 'Indeed, stupid Hans, wherewilt thou get a horse? It will be a fine one!" Hans went into the par-lor, but the miller said he should not sit down to table, for he wasso ragged and torn, that they would all be ashamed of him if anyone came in. So they gave him a mouthful of food outside, and atnight, when they went to rest, the two others would not let himhave a bed, and at last he was forced to creep into the goose-house,and lie down on a little hard straw. In the morning when he awoke,the three days had passed, and a coach came with six horses andthey shone so bright that it was delightful to see themi And a ser-vant brought a seventh as well, which was for the poor miller s boy.
A magnificent Princess alighted from the coach and went into themill, and this princess was the little tabby-cat whom poor Hans hadserved for seven years. She asked the miUer where the miUer's boyand drudge was? Then the miller said, "We cannot have him herein the miU, for he is so ragged; he is lying in the goose-house."Then the King's daughter said that they were to bring him immedi-ately. So they brought him out, and he had to hold his little smock-frock together to cover himself. The servants unpacked splendidgarments, and washed him and dressed him, and when that wasdone, no Eling could have looked more handsome. Then the maidendesired to see the horses which the other apprentices had broughthome with them, and one of them was blind and the other lame.
So she ordered the servant to bring the seventh horse, and whenthe miller saw it, he said that such a horse as that had never yet en-tered his yard. "And that is for the third miller's-boy," said she."Then he must have the mill," said the miller, but the King'sdaughter said that the horse was there, and that he was to keep hismill as well, and took her faithful Hans and set him in the coach,and drove away with him.
They first drove to the little house which he had built with thesilver tools, and behold it was a great castle, and everything insideit was of silver and gold; and then she married him, and he was
The Old Woman in the Wood 265
rich, so rich that he had enough for all the rest of his life. After this,let no one ever say that any one who is silly can never become aperson of importance.
The Old Woman in the Wood
A POOR servant-girl was once traveling with the family she servedthrough a great forest, and when they were in the midst of it, rob-bers came out of the thicket, and murdered all they found. Allperished together except the girl, who had jumped out of the car-riage in a fright, and hidden herself behind a tree. When the robbershad gone away with their booty, she came out and beheld the greatdisaster. Then she began to weep bitterly, and said, "What can apoor girl like me do now? I do not know how to get out of the for-est, no human being Hves in it, so I must certainly starve." Shewalked about and looked for a road, but could find none. When itwas evening she seated herself under a tree, gave herself into God'skeeping, and resolved to sit waiting there and not go away, letwhat might happen.
When, however, she had sat there for a while, a white dove cameflying to her with a Httle golden key in its mouth. It put the httlekey in her hand, and said, "Do you see that great tree, therein is alittle lock, it opens with the tiny key; inside the tree you will findfood enough, and sufFer no more hunger." Then she went to thetree and opened it, and found milk in a little dish, and white breadto break into it, so that she could eat her fill. When she wassatisfied, she said, "It is now the time when the hejns at home go toroost; I am so tired I could go to bed too." Then the dove flew toher again, and brought another golden key in its biU, and said,"Open that tree there, and you will find a bed." So she opened it,and found a beautiful white bed, and she prayed God to protecther during the night, and lay down and slept. In the morning thedove came for the third time, and again brought a little key, andsaid, "Open that tree there, and you will find clothes." And whenshe opened it, she found garments beset with gold and with jewels,more splendid than those of any King's daughter. So she lived therefor some time, and the dove came every day and provided her wdthaU she needed, and it was a quiet good fife.
Once, however, the dove came and said, "Will you do somethingfor my sake?" "With all my heart," said the girl. Then said the littledove, "I will guide you to a small house; enter it, and inside it, anold woman will be sitting by the fire and will say, 'Good-day.' Buton your life give her no answer, let her do what she will, but passby her on the right side; further on, there is a door, open it, andyou will enter into a room where a quantity of rings of aU kinds arelying, among which are some magnificent ones with shining stones.Leave them, however, where they are, and seek out a plain one,which must likewise be among them, and bring it here to me asquickly as you can."
The girl went to the little house, and came to the door. There satan old woman who stared when she saw her, and said, "Good-day,my child." The girl gave her no answer, and opened the door."Whither away," cried the old woman, and seized her by the gown,and wanted to hold her fast, saying, "That is my house; no one cango in there if I choose not to allow it." But the girl was silent, gotaway from her, and went straight into the room.
On the table lay an enormous quantity of rings, which gleamedand glittered before her eyes. She turned them over and looked forthe plain one, but could not find it. While she was seeking, she sawthe old woman and how she was stealing away, and wanting to getoff with a bird-cage which she had in her hand. So she went afterher and took the cage out of her hand, and when she raised it upand looked into it, a bird was inside which had the plain ring in itsbill. Then she took the ring, and ran quite joyously home with it,and thought the little white dove would come and get the ring, butit did not.
Then she leant against a tree and determined to wait for thedove, and, as she thus stood, it seemed just as if the tree was softand phant, and was letting its branches down. And suddenly thebranches twined around her, and were two arms, and when shelooked round, the tree was a handsome man, who embraced andkissed her heartily, and said, "You have delivered me from thepower of the old woman, who is a wicked witch. She had changedme into a tree, and every day for two hours I was a white dove, andso long as she possessed the ring I could not regain my humanform." Then his servants and his horses, who had likewise beenchanged into trees, were freed from the enchantment also, andstood beside him. And he led them forth to his kingdom, for he wasa King's son, and they married, and lived happily.
The Lambkin and the Little Fish
There were once a little brother and a little sister, who loved eachother with all their hearts. Their own mother was, however, dead,and they had a step-mother, who was not kind to them, and se-cretly did everything she could to hurt them. It so happened thatthe two were playing with other children in a meadow before thehouse, and there was a pond in the meadow which came up to oneside of the house. The children ran about it, and caught each other,and played at counting out.
"Eneke Beneke, let me live.And I to thee my bird will give.The little bird, for straw shall seek.The straw Til give to the cow to eat.The pretty cow shall give me milk.The milk I'll to the baker take.The baker he shall bake a cake.The cake I'll give unto the cat.The cat shall catch some mice for that.The mice I'll hang up in the smoke.And then you'll see the snow."
They stood in a circle while they played this, and the one towhom the word snow fell, had to run away and all the others ranafter him and caught him. As they were running about so merrilythe step-mother watched them from the vdndow, and grew angry.And as she understood arts of vwtchcraft she bev^atched them both,and changed the Httle brother into a fish, and the little sister into alamb. Then the fish swam here and there about the pond and wasvery sad, and the lambkin walked up and down the meadow, andwas miserable, and could not eat or touch one blade of grass.
Thus passed a long time, and then strangers came as visitors tothe castle. The false step-mother thought, "This is a good opportu-nity," and called the cook and said to him, "Go and fetch the lambfrom the meadow and kill it, we have nothing else for the visitors."Then the cook went away and got the lamb, and took it into thekitchen and tied its feet, and all this it bore patiently. When he haddrawn out his knife and was whetting it on the door-step to kill the
lamb, he noticed a little fish swimming backwards and forwards inthe water in front of the kitchen-sink and looking up at him. This,however, was the brother, for when the fish saw the cook take thelamb away, it followed them and swam along the pond to thehouse; then the lamb cried down to it,
"Ah, brother, in the pond so deep.How sad is my poor heartiEven now the cook he whets his knifeTo take away my tender life."
The little fish answered,
"Ah, little sister, up on high.How sad is my poor heartWhile in this pond I lie."
When the cook heard that the lambkin could speak and said suchsad words to the fish down below, he was terrified and thought thiscould be no common lamb, but must be bewitched by the wickedwoman in the house. Then said he, "Be easy, I will not Idll thee,"and took another sheep and made it ready for the guests, and con-veyed the lambkin to a good peasant woman, to whom he relatedall that he had seen and heard.
The peasant was, however, the very woman who had been foster-mother to the little sister, and she suspected at once who the lambwas, and went with it to a wise woman. Then the wise woman pro-noimced a blessing over the lambkin and the little fish, by means ofwhich they regained their human forms, and after this she tookthem both into a Httle hut in a great forest, where they lived alone,but were contented and happy.
The Juniper Tree
A LONG, long time ago, perhaps as much as two thousand years,there was a rich man, and he had a beautiful and pious wife, andthey loved each other very much, and they had no children, thoughthey wished greatly for some, and the wife prayed for one day andnight. Now, in the courtyard in front of their house stood a junipertree; and one day in winter the wife was standing beneath it, and
paring an apple, and as she pared it she cut her finger, and theblood fell upon the snow.
"Ah," said the woman, sighing deeply, and looking down at theblood, "if only I could have a child as red as blood, and as white assnowl"
And as she said these words, her heart suddenly grew light, andshe felt siure she should have her wish. So she went back to thehouse, and when a month had passed the snow was gone; in twomonths everything was green; in three months the flowers sprangout of the earth; in four months the trees were in full leaf, and thebranches were thickly entwined; the Httle birds began to sing, sothat the woods echoed, and the blossoms fell from the trees; whenthe fifth month had passed the wife stood imder the juniper tree,and it smelt so sweet that her heart leaped within her, and she fellon her knees for joy; and when the sixth month had gone, the fruitwas thick and fine, and she remained still; and the seventh monthshe gathered the berries and ate them eagerly, and was sick andsorrowful; and when the eighth month had passed she called to herhusband, and said, weeping, 'If I die, bury me under the junipertree."
Then she was comforted and happy until the ninth month hadpassed, and then she bore a child as white as snow and as red asblood, and when she saw it her joy was so great that she died.
Her husband buried her under the juniper tree, and he weptsore; time passed, and he became less sad; and after he had grieveda little more he left ofiF, and then he took another wife.
His second wife bore him a daughter, and his first wife's childwas a son, as red as blood and as white as snow. Whenever the wifelooked at her daughter she felt great love for her, but whenever shelooked at the Httle boy, evil thoughts came into her heart, of howshe could get all her husband's money for her daughter, and howthe boy stood in the way; and so she took great hatred to him, anddrove him from one comer to another, and gave him a buffet hereand cuff there, so that the poor child was always in disgrace; whenhe came back after school hours there was no peace for him.
Once, when the wife went into the room upstairs, her littledaughter followed her, and said, "Mother, give me an apple."
"Yes, my child," said the mother, and gave her a fine apple out ofthe chest, and the chest had a great heavy lid with a strong ironlock.
"Mother," said the little girl, "shall not my brother have onetoo?"
That was what the mother expected; and she said, "Yes, when hecomes back from school."
And when she saw from the window that he was coming, an evilthought crossed her mind, and she snatched the apple, and took itfrom her little daughter, saying, "You shall not have it before yourbrother."
Then she threw the apple into the chest, and shut the Hd. Thenthe little boy came in at the door, and she said to him in a kindtone, but with evil looks, "My son, vvdll you have an apple?"
"Mother," said the boy, "how terrible you lookl Yes, give me anapple 1"
Then she spoke as Idndly as before, holding up the cover of thechest, "Come here and take out one for yourself."
And as the boy was stooping over the open chest, crash went thelid down, so that his head flew off among the red apples. But thenthe woman felt great terror, and wondered how she could escapethe blame. And she went to the chest of drawers in her bedroomand took a white handkerchief out of the nearest drawer, andfitting the head to the neck, she bound them with a handkerchief,so that nothing should be seen, and set him on a chair before thedoor with the apple ia his hand.
Then came little Marjory into the kitchen to her mother, who wasstanding before the fire stirring a pot of hot water.
"Mother," said Marjory, "my brother is sitting before the doorand he has an apple in his hand, and looks very pale; I asked himto give me the apple, but he did not answer me; it seems verystrange." "Go again to him," said the mother, "and if he will notanswer you, give him a box on the ear."
So Marjory went again and said, "Brother, give me the apple."
But as he took no notice, she gave him a box on the ear, and hishead fell off^, at which she was greatly terrified, and began to cryand scream, and ran to her mother, and said, "Oh motherl I haveknocked my brothers head offl" and cried and screamed, andwould not cease.
"Oh Marjoryl" said her mother, "what have you done? But keepquiet, that no one may see there is anything the matter; it can't behelped now; we will put him out of the way safely."
When the father came home and sat down to table, he said,"Where is my son?" But the mother was filling a great dish full ofblack broth, and Marjory was crying bitterly, for she could not re-frain. Then the father said again, "Where is my son?" "Oh," saidthe mother, "he is gone into the coimtry to his great-imcle's to stay
for a little while." "What should he go for?" said the father, "andwithout bidding me good-bye, tool" "Oh, he wanted to go so much,and he asked me to let him stay there six weeks; he will be welltaken care of." 'TDear me," said the father, "1 am quite sad about it;it was not right of him to go without bidding me good-bye."
With that he began to eat, saying, "Marjory, what are you cryingfor? Your brother will come back some time."
After a while he said, "Well, wife, the food is very good; give mesome more."
And the more he ate the more he wanted, until he had eaten itall up, and he threw the bones under the table. Then Marjory wentto her chest of drawers, and took one of her best handkerchiefsfrom the bottom drawer, and picked up all the bones from underthe table and tied them up in her handkerchief, and went out at thedoor crying bitterly. She laid them in the green grass under thejuniper tree, and immediately her heart grew light again, and shewept no more.
Then the juniper tree began to wave to and fro, and the boughsdrew together and then parted, just like a clapping of hands forjoy; then a cloud rose from the tree, and in the midst of the cloudthere burned a fire, and out of the fire a beautiful bird arose, and,singing most sweetly, soared high into the air; and when he hadflown away, the juniper tree remained as it was before, but thehandkerchief full of bones was gone. Marjory felt quite glad andlight-hearted, just as if her brother were still alive. So she wentback merrily into the house and had her dinner.
The bird, when it flew away, perched on the roof of a goldsmith'shouse, and began to sing,
"It uxis my mother who murdered me;It was my father who ate of me;It was my sister MarjoryWho all my bones in pieces found;Them in a handkerchief she hound.And laid them under the juniper tree.Kywitt, kywitt, kywitt, I cry.Oh what a beautiful bird am IF'
The goldsmith was sitting in his shop making a golden chain, andwhen he heard the bird, who was sitting on his roof and singing, hQstarted up to go and look, and as he passed over his threshold helost one of his slippers; and he went into the middle of the streetwith a slipper on one foot and only a sock on the other; with his
apron on, and the gold chain in one hand and the pincers in theother; and so he stood in the sunshine looking up at the bird.
"Bird," said he, "how beautifully you sing; do sing that pieceover again." "No," said the bird, "I do not sing for nothing twice; ifyou will give me that gold chain I will sing again." "Very well,"said the goldsmith, "here is the gold chain; now do as you said."
Down came the bird and took the gold chain in his right claw,perched in front of the goldsmith, and sang,
"It was my mother who murdered me;It was my father who ate of me;It was my sister MarjoryWho all my hones in pieces found;Them in a handkerchief she hound.And laid them under the juniper tree.Kywitt, kywitt, kywitt, I cry.Oh what a beautiful bird am II"
Then the bird flew to a shoemaker's, and perched on his roof, andsang,
"It was my mother who murdered me;It was my father who ate of me;It was my sister MarjoryWho all my bones in pieces found;Them in a handkerchief she bound.And laid them under the juniper tree.Kywitt, kywitt, kywitt, I cry,Oh what a beautiful bird am IF'
When the shoemaker heard, he ran out of his door in his shirtsleeves and looked up at the roof of his house, holding his hand toshade his eyes from the sun. "Bird," said he, 'Tiow beautifully yousing!" Then he called in at his door, "Wife, come out directly; hereis a bird singing beautifully. Just Hsten."
Then he called his daughter, all his children, and acquaintance,both young men and maidens, and they came up the street andgazed on the bird, and saw how beautiful it was with red andgreen feathers, and round its throat was as it were gold, and itseyes twinkled in its head Hke stars.
"Bird," said the shoemaker, "do sing that piece over again.""No," said the bird, "I may not sing for nothing twice; you mustgive me something." "Wife," said the man, "go into the shop; onthe top shelf stands a pair of red shoes; bring them here." .So the
wife went and brought the shoes. "Now bird," said the man, "singus that piece again."
And the bird came down and took the shoes in his left claw, andflew up again to the roof, and sang,
"It was my mother who murdered me;It was my father who ate of me;It uoas my sister MarjoryWho all my hones in pieces found;Them in a handkerchief she hound.And laid them under the juniper tree.Kywitt, kywitt, kywitt, I cry.Oh what a beautiful bird am I!"
And when he had finished he flew away, with the chain in hisright claw and the shoes in his left claw, and he flew till he reacheda miU, and the mill went "cKp-clap, clip-clap, clip-clap." And in themill sat twenty miller's-men hewing a millstone—'luck-hack, hick-hack, hick-hack," while the mill was going "clip-clap, cHp-clap,chp-clap." And the bird perched on a Unden tree that stood in frontof the mill, and sang,
"It was my mother who murdered me";
Here one of the men looked up.
"It was my father who ate of me";
Then two more looked up and listened.
"It vxis my sister Marjory"
Here four more looked up.
"Who all my bones in pieces found;Them in a handkerchief she bound,"
Now there were only eight left hewing.
"And laid them under the juniper tree."
Now only five.
"Kywitt, kywitt, kywitt, I cry,"
Now only one.
"Oh what a beautiful bird am IF'
At length the last one left off, and he only heard the end."Bird," said he, "how beautifully you sing; let me hear it all. Sing
that againl" "No," said the bird, "I may not sing it twice for noth-ing; if you will give me the millstone I will sing it again." "Indeed,"said the man, "if it belonged to me alone you should have it." "Allright," said the others, "if he sings again he shall have it."
Then the bird came down, and all the twenty millers heaved upthe stone with poles—"yo! heave-hol yol heave-hol" and the birdstuck his head through the hole in the middle, and with the mill-stone round his neck he flew up to the tree and sang,
"It was my mother who murdered me;It was my father who ate of me;It was my sister MarjoryWho all my hones in pieces found;Them in a handkerchief she hound.And laid them under the juniper tree.KyuMt, kywitt, kywitt, I cry.Oh what a beautiful hird am 11"
And when he had finished, he spread his wings, having in theright claw the chain, and in the left claw the shoes, and round hisneck the millstone, and he flew away to his father's house.
In the parlor sat the father, the mother, and Marjory at the table;the father said, "How light-hearted and cheerful I feel." "Nay," saidthe mother, "I feel very low, just as if a great storm were coming."
But Marjory sat weeping; and the bird came flying, and perchedon the roof.
"Oh," said the father, "I feel so joyful, and the sun is shining sobright; it is as if I were going to meet with an old friend." "Nay,"said the wife, "1 am terrified, my teeth chatter, and there is fire inmy veins," and she tore open her dress to get air; and Marjory sat ina comer and wept, with her plate before her, until it was quite fullof tears. Then the bird perched on the juniper tree, and sang,
"It was my mother who murdered me";
And the mother stopped her ears and hid her eyes, and wouldneither see nor hear; nevertheless, the noise of a fearful storm wasin her ears, and in her eyes a quivering and burning as of lightning.
"It was my father who ate of me";
"Oh, motherl" said the father, "there is a beautiful bird singingso finely, and the sun shines, and everything smells as sweet as cin-namon."
"It was my sister Marjory"
The Juniper Tree 275
Marjory hid her face in her lap and wept, and the father said, "Imust go out to see the bird." "Oh do not gol" said the wife, "I feelas if the house were on fire."
But the man went out and looked at the bird.
"Who all my bones in pieces found;Them in a handkerchief she bound.And laid them under the juniper tree.Kywitt, kywitt, kywitt, I cry.Oh what a beautiful bird am I!"
With that the bird let fall the gold chain upon his father's neck,and it fitted him exactly. So he went indoors and said, "Look whata beautiful chain the bird has given me!"
Then his wife was so terrified that she fell down on the floor, andher cap came off. Then the bird began again to sing,
"It vxis my mother who murdered me";
"Oh," groaned the mother, "that I were a thousand fathomsunder ground, so as not to be obliged to hear it."
"It was my father who ate of me";
Then the woman lay as if she were dead.
"It was my sister Marjory"
"Oh," said Marjory, "I will go out, too, and see if the bird willgive me anything." And so she went.
"Who all my bones in pieces found;Them in a handkerchief she bound,"
Then he threw the shoes down to her.
"And laid them under the juniper tree.Kywitt, kywitt, kywitt, I cry.Oh what a beautiful bird am I!"
And poor Marjory all at once felt happy and joyful, and put onher red shoes, and danced and jumped for joy. "Oh dear," said she,"I felt so sad before I went outside, and now my heart is so HghtlHe is a charming bird to have given me a pair of red shoes."
But the mother's hair stood on end, and looked like flame, andshe said, "Even if the world is coming to an end, I must go out fora little relief."
Just as she came outside the door, crash went the millstone onher head, and crushed her flat. The father and daughter rushed out,
and saw smoke and flames of fire rise up; but when tliat had goneby, there stood the Kttle brother; and he took his father and Mar-jory by the hand, and they felt very happy and content, and wentindoors, and sat at the table, and had their dinner.
Jorinda and Joringel
Theee once was an old castle in the midst of a large and thick for-est, and in it an old woman who was a witch dwelt all alone. In thedaytime she changed herself into a cat or a screech-owl, but in theevening she took her proper shape again as a human being. Shecould lure wild beasts and birds to her, and then she killed andboiled and roasted them. If any one came within one himdredpaces of the castle he was obliged to stand still, and could not stirfrom the place until she bade him be free. But whenever an inno-cent maiden came within this circle, she changed her into a bird,and shut her up in a wicker-work cage, and carried the cage into aroom in the castle. She had about seven thousand cages of rarebirds in the castle.
Now there was a maiden who was called Jorinda, fairer than allother girls. She and a handsome youth named Joringel had prom-ised to marry each other. They were stiU in the days of betrothal,and their greatest happiness was being together. One day in orderthat they might be able to talk together in quiet they went for awalk in the forest. 'Take care," said Joringel, "that you do not gotoo near the castle."
It was a beautiful evening; the sun shone brightly between thetrunks of the trees into the dark green of the forest, and the turtle-doves sang mournfully upon the young boughs of the birch trees.
Jorinda wept now and then. She sat down in the sunshine andwas sorrowful. Joringel was sorrowful too; they were as sad as ifthey were about to die. Then they looked around them, and werequite at a loss, for they did not know by which way they should gohome. The sun was stiU half above the rpountain and half set.
Joringel looked through the bushes, and saw the old walls of thecastle close at hand. He was horror-stricken and filled with deadlyfear. Jorinda was singing.
Jorinda and Joringel nyy
"My little bird, with the necklace red.
Sings sorrow, sorrow, sorrow,He sings that the dove must soon be dead.Sings sorrow, sor—jug, jug, jug."
Joringel looked for Jorinda. She was changed into a nightingale,and sang "jug, jug, jug." A screech-owl with glowing eyes flewthree times round about her, and three times cried "to-whoo, to-whoo, to-whool"
Joringel could not move: he stood there Hke a stone, and couldneither weep nor speak, nor move hand or foot.
The sun had now set. The owl flew into the thicket, and directlyafterwards there came out of it a crooked old woman, yellow andlean, with large red eyes and a hooked nose, the point of whichreached to her chin. She muttered to herself, caught the nightin-gale, and took it away in her hand.
Joringel could neither speak nor move from the spot; the nightin-gale was gone. At last the woman came back, and said in a hollowvoice, "Greet thee, Zachiel. If the moon shines on the cage, Zachiel,let him loose at once." Then Joringel was freed. He fell on his kneesbefore the woman and begged that she would give him back hisJorinda, but she said that he shoidd never have her again, and wentaway. He called, he wept, he lamented, but all in vain, "Ah, what isto become of me?"
Joringel went away, and at last came to a strange village; therehe kept sheep for a long time. He often walked roimd and roundthe castle, but not too near to it. At last he dreamt one night that hefound a blood-red flower, in the middle of which was a beautifullarge pearl; that he picked the flower and went with it to the castle,and that everything he touched with the flower was freed from en-chantment; he also dreamt that by means of it he recovered hisJorinda.
In the morning, when he awoke, he began to seek over hill anddale if he could find such a flower. He sought until the ninth day,and then, early in the morning, he found the blood-red flower. Inthe middle of it there was a large dew-drop, as big as the finestpearl.
Day and night he journeyed with this flower to the castle. Whenhe was within a hundred paces of it he was not held fast, butwalked on to the door. Joringel was full of joy; he touched the doorwith the flower, and it sprang open. He walked in through thecourtyard, and listened for the sound of the birds. At last he heard
it. He went on and found the room from whence it came, and therethe witch was feeding the birds in the seven thousand cages.
When she saw Joringel she was angry, very angry, and scoldedand spat poison and gall at him, but she could not come within twopaces of him. He did not take any notice of her, but went andlooked at the cages with the birds, but there were many hundrednightingales; how was he to find his Jorinda again?
Just then he saw the old woman quietly take away a cage with abird in it, and go towards the door.
Swiftly he sprang towards her, touched the cage with the flower,and also the old woman. She could now no longer bewitch any one;and Jorinda was standing there, clasping him round the neck, andshe was as beautiful as ever!
The Goose-Girl at the Well
There was once upon a time a very old woman, who Hved with herflock of geese in a waste place among the mountains, and there hada httle house. The waste was surrounded by a large forest, andevery morning the old woman took her crutch and hobbled into it.There, however, the dame was quite active, more so than any onewould have thought, considering her age, and collected grass forher geese, picked all the wild fruit she could reach, and carried ev-erything home on her back. Any one would have thought that theheavy load would have weighed her to the groimd, but she alwaysbrought it safely home. If any one met her, she greeted him quitecourteously. "Good day, dear countryman, it is a fine day. Ah! youwonder that I should drag grass about, but every one must take hisburden on his back." Nevertheless, people did not like to meet herif they could help it, and took by preference a roundabout way,and when a father with his boys passed her, he whispered to them,"Beware of the old woman. She has claws beneath her gloves; sheis a witch."
One morning a handsome young man was going through theforest. The sun shone bright, the birds sang, a cool breeze creptthrough the leaves, and he was full of joy and gladness. He had asyet met no one, when he suddenly perceived the old witch kneelingon the ground cutting grass with a sickle. She had already thrust a
whole load into her cloth, and near it stood two baskets, whichwere filled with wild apples and pears. "But, good little mother,"said he, 'liow can you carry all that away?" "1 must carry it, dearsir," answered she, "rich folk's children have no need to do suchthings, but with the peasant folk the saying goes, 'Don't look be-hind you, you will only see how crooked your back isl'"
"Will you help me?" she said, as he remained standing by her."You have still a straight back and young legs, it would be a trifle toyou. Besides, my house is not so very far from here, it stands thereon the heath behind the hill. How soon you would bound upthither!" The young man took compassion on the old woman. "Myfather is certainly no peasant," replied he, "but a rich count; never-theless, that you may see that it is not only peasants who can carrythings, I will take yoiu: bundle." "If you will try it," said she, "Ishall be very glad. You will certainly have to walk for an hour, butwhat will that signify to you; only you must carry the apples andpears as well."
It now seemed to the young man just a little serious, when heheard of an hour's walk, but the old woman would not let him ofiF,packed the bundle on his back; and himg the two baskets on hisarm. "See, it is quite light," said she. "No, it is not Hght," answeredthe count, and pulled a rueful face. "Verily, the bimdle weighs asheavily as if it were full of cobblestones, and the apples and pearsare as heavy as lead! I can scarcely breathe." He had a mind to puteverything down again, but the old woman would not allow it."Just look," said she mockingly, "the young gentleman will notcarry what I, an old woman, have so often dragged along. You areready with fine words, but when it comes to be earnest, you want totake to your heels. Why are you standing loitering there?" she con-tinued. "Step out. No one will take the bundle ofiE again."
As long as he walked on level ground, it was still bearable, butwhen they came to the hill and had to climb, and the stones roUeddown under his feet as if they were ahve, it was beyond hisstrength. The drops of perspiration stood on his forehead, and ran,hot and cold, down his back. "Dame," said he, "I can go no farther.I want to rest a little." "Not here," answered the old woman, "whenwe have arrived at our joiu*ney's end, you can rest; but now youmust go forward. Who knows what good it may do you?" "Oldwoman, you are becoming shameless!" said the count, and tried tothrow off the bundle, but he labored in vain; it stuck as fast to hisback as if it grew there. He turned and twisted, but he could notget rid of it. The old woman laughed at this, and sprang about
quite delighted on her crutch. "Don't get angry, dear sir," said she,"you are growing as red in the face as a turkey-cockl Carry yourbundle patiently. I will give you a good present when we gethome."
What could he do? He was obliged to submit to his fate, andcrawl along patiently behind the old woman. She seemed to growmore and more nimble, and his burden still heavier. All at once shemade a spring, jumped on to the bundle and seated herself on thetop of it; and however withered she might be, she was yet heavierthan the stoutest country lass. The youth's knees trembled, butwhen he did not go on, the old woman hit him about the legswith a switch and with stinging-nettles. Groaning continually, heclimbed the mountain, and at length reached the old woman'shouse, when he was just about to drop. When the geese perceivedthe old woman, they flapped their wings, stretched out their necks,ran to meet her, cackling all the while. Behind the flock walked,stick in hand, an old wench, strong and big, but ugly as night."Good mother," said she to the old woman, "has anything hap-pened to you, you have stayed away so long?" "By no means, mydear daughter," answered she, "I have met with nothing bad. Onthe contrary, only with this kind gentleman, who has carried myburden for me; only think, he even took me on his back when I wastired. The way, too, has not seemed long to us; we have beenmerry, and have been cracking jokes with each other all the time."
At last the old woman slid down, took the bundle off the youngman's back, and the baskets from his arm, looked at him quitekindly, and said, "Now seat yourself on the bench before the door,and rest. You have fairly earned your wages, and they shall not bewanting." Then she said to the goose-girl, "Go into the house, mydear daughter, it is not becoming for you to be alone with a younggentleman; one must not pour oil on to the fire, he might fall inlove with you." The count knew not whether to laugh or to cry."Such a sweetheart as that," thought he, "could not touch myheart, even if she were thirty years younger."
In the meantime the old woman stroked and fondled her geese asif they were children, and then went into the house with herdaughter. The youth lay down on the bench, under a wild appletree. The air was warm and mild; on all sides stretched a greenmeadow, which was set with cowslips, wild thyme, and a thousandother flowers; through the midst of it rippled a clear brook onwhich the sun sparkled, and the white geese went walking back-wards and forwards, or paddled in the water. "It is quite delightful
here," said he, "but I am so tired that I cannot keep my eyes open;I will sleep a little. If only a gust of wind does not come and blowmy legs off my body, for they are as rotten as tinder."
When he had slept a little while, the old woman came and shookhim tiU he awoke. "Sit up," said she, "you cannot stay here; I havecertainly treated you hardly, still it has not cost you your life. Ofmoney and land you have no need; here is something else for you."Thereupon she thrust a little book into his hand, which was cut outof a single emerald. "Take great care of it," said she, "it will bringyou good fortune." The count sprang up, and as he felt that he wasquite fresh, and had recovered his vigor, he thanked the old womanfor her present, and set off without even once looking back at the"beautfful" daughter. When he was already some way off, he stiUheard in the distance the noisy cry of the geese.
For three days the count had to wander in the wilderness beforehe could find his way out. He then reached a large town, and as noone knew him, he was led into the royal palace, where the Kingand Queen were sitting on their throne. The coimt fell on one knee,drew the emerald book out of his pocket, and laid it at the Queen'sfeet. She bade him rise and hand her the little book. Hardly, how-ever, had she opened it, and looked therein, than she fell as if deadto the ground. The count was seized by the King's servants, andwas being led to prison, when the Queen opened her eyes, and or-dered them to release him, and every one was to go out, as shewished to speak with him in private.
When the Queen was alone, she began to weep bitterly, and said,"Of what use to me are the splendors and honors with which I amsurrounded; every morning I awake in pain and sorrow. I had threedaughters, the youngest of whom was so beautiful that the wholeworld looked on her as a wonder. She was as white as snow, as rosyas apple-blossom, and her hair as radiant as sunbeams. When shecried, not tears fell from her eyes, put pearls and jewels only. Whenshe was fifteen years old, the King summoned all three sisters tocome before his throne. You should have seen how all the peoplegazed when the youngest entered, it was just as if the sim wererising!
"Then the King spoke, 'My daughters, I know not when my lastday may arrive; I will today decide what each shall receive at mydeath. You all love me, but the one of you who loves me best, shallfare the best.' Each of them said she loved him best. 'Can you notexpress to me,' said the King, 'how much you do love me, and thusI shall see what you mean?' The eldest spoke. 1 love my father as
dearly as the sweetest sugar.' The second, 1 love my father asdearly as my prettiest dress.' But the youngest was silent. Then herfather said, 'And you, my dearest child, how much do you love me?*1 do not know, and can compare my love with nothing.' But her fa-ther insisted that she should name something. So she said at last,'The best food does not please me without salt, therefore I love myfather like salt.'
"When the King heard that, he fell into a passion, and said, Tfyou love me Hke salt, your love shall also be repaid you with salt.'Then he divided the kingdom between the two elder, but caused asack of salt to be bound on the back of the youngest, and two ser-vants had to lead her forth into the wild forest. We all begged andprayed for her," said the Queen, "but the King's anger was not tobe appeased. How she cried when she had to leave usl The wholeroad was strewn with the pearls which flowed from her eyes. TheKing soon afterwards repented of his great severity, and had thewhole forest searched for the poor child, but no one could find her.When I think that the wild beasts have devoured her, I know nothow to contain myself for sorrow; many a time I console myselfwith the hope that she is still alive, and may have hidden herself ina cave, or has found shelter with compassionate people. But pictureto yourself, when I opened your Httle emerald book, a pearl laytherein, of exactly the same kind as those which used to fall frommy daughter s eyes; and then you can also imagine how the sight ofit stirred my heart. You must tell me how you came by that pearl."
The count told her that he had received it from the old woman inthe forest, who had appeared very strange to him, and must be awitch, but he had neither seen nor heard anything of the Queen'schild. The King and Queen resolved to seek out the old woman.They thought that there where the pearl had been, they would ob-tain news of their daughter.
The old woman was sitting in that lonely place at her spinning-wheel, spinning. It was aheady dusk, and a log which was burningon the hearth gave a scanty light. All at once there was a noise out-side, the geese were coming home from the pasture, and utteringtheir hoarse cries. Soon afterwards the daughter also entered. Butthe old woman scarcely thanked her, and only shook her head a lit-tle. The daughter sat down beside her, took her spinning-wheel,and twisted the threads as nimbly as a young girl. Thus they bothsat for two hours, and exchanged never a word. At last somethingrustled at the window, and two fiery eyes peered in. It was an oldnight-owl, which cried, "Uhul" three times. The old woman looked
up just a little, then she said, "Now, my little daughter, it is timefor you to go out and do your work." She rose and went out, andwhere did she go?—over the meadows into the valley. At last shecame to a well, with three old oak trees standing beside it; mean-while the moon had risen large and round over the mountain, andit was so light that one could have found a needle. She removed asldn which covered her face, then bent down to the well, and beganto wash herself. When she had finished, she dipped the sldn also inthe water, and then laid it on the meadow, so that it should bleachin the moonlight, and dry again. But how the maiden was changedlSuch a change as that was never seen before! When the gray maskfell off, her golden hair broke forth like simbeams, and spreadabout like a mantle over her whole form. Her eyes shone out asbrightly as the stars in heaven, and her cheeks bloomed a soft redlike apple-blossom.
But the fair maiden was sad. She sat down and wept bitterly.One tear after another forced itself out of her eyes, and rolledthrough her long hair to the ground. There she sat, and would haveremained sitting a long time, if there had not been a rustling andcracking in the boughs of the neighboring tree. She sprang up likea roe which had been overtaken by the shot of the hunter. Just thenthe moon was obsciured by a dark cloud, and in an instant themaiden had slipped on the old skin and vanished, Uke a Hght blownout by the wind.
She ran back home, trembling Hke an aspen-leaf. The old womanwas standing on the threshold, and the girl was about to relatewhat had befallen her, but the old woman laughed kindly, andsaid, "I already know all." She led her into the room and Kghted anew log. She did not, however, sit down to her spinning again, butfetched a broom and began to sweep and scour. "All must be cleanand sweet," she said to the girl. "But, mother," said the maiden,"why do you begin work at so late an hour? What do you expect?""Do you know what time it is?" asked the old woman. "Not yetmidnight," answered the maiden, "but already past eleven o'clock.""Do you not remember," continued the old woman, "that it is threeyears today since you came to me? Your time is up, we can nolonger remain together." The girl was terrified, and said, "Alas!dear mother, will you cast me off? Where shall I go? I have nofriends, and no home to which I can go. I have always done as youbade me, and you have always been satisfied with me; do not sendme away."
The old woman would not teU the maiden what lay before her.
"My stay here is over," she said to her, 'Taut when I depart, houseand parlor must be clean; therefore do not hinder me in my work.Have no care for yourself; you shall find a roof to shelter you, andthe wages which I will give shall also content you." "But tell mewhat is about to happen," the maiden continued to entreat. "I tellyou again, do not hinder me in my work. Do not say a word more,go to yoiu: chamber, take the skin off your face, and put on thesilken gown which you had on when you came to me, and thenwait in yoiu- chamber imtil I caU you."
But I must once more tell of the King and Queen, who had jour-neyed forth with the count in order to seek out the old woman inthe wilderness. The count had strayed away from them in the woodby night, and had to walk onwards alone. Next day it seemed tohim that he was on the right track. He still went forward, untildarkness came on, then he chmbed a tree, intending to pass thenight there, for he feared that he might lose his way. When themoon illumined the surrounding country he perceived a figure com-ing down the mountain. She had no stick in her hand, but yet hecould see that it was the goose-girl, whom he had seen before inthe house of the old woman. "Oho," cried he, "there she comes,and if I once get hold of one of the witches, the other shall not es-cape me!" But how astonished he was, when she went to the well,took off the sldn and washed herself, when her golden hair felldown all about her, and she was more beautiful than any onewhom he had ever seen in the whole world. He hardly dared tobreathe, but stretched his head as far forward through the leaves ashe dared, and stared at her. Either he bent over too far, or what-ever the cause might be, the bough suddenly cracked, and that verymoment the maiden slipped into the skin, sprang away Hke a roe,and as the moon was suddenly covered, disappeared from his eyes.
Hardly had she disappeared, before the count descended fromthe tree, and hastened after her with nimble steps. He had not beengone long before he saw, in the twilight, two figures coming overthe meadow. It was the King and Queen, who had perceived froma distance the light shining in the old woman's little house, andwere going to it. The count told them what wonderful things hehad seen by the well, and they did not doubt that it had been theirlost daughter. They walked onwards full of joy, and soon came tothe httle house. The geese were sitting all round it, and had thrusttheir heads under their wings and were sleeping, and not one ofthem moved. The King and Queen looked in at the window, the oldwoman was sitting there quietly spirming, nodding her head and
The Goose-Girl at the Well 285
never looldng round. The room was perfectly clean, as if the littlemist men, who carry no dust on their feet, lived there. Their daugh-ter, however, they did not see. They gazed at all this for a longtime; at last they took heart, and knocked softly at the window.
The old woman appeared to have been expecting them; she rose,and called out quite kindly, "Come in—I know you aheady." Whenthey had entered the room, the old woman said, "You might havespared yourself the long walk, if you had not three years agounjustly driven away your child, who is so good and lovable. Noharm has come to her; for three years she has had to tend thegeese; with them she has learnt no evil, but has preserved her pu-rity of heart. You, however, have been suflBciently punished by themisery in which you have hved." Then she went to the chamberand called, "Come out, my little daughter." Thereupon the dooropened, and the Princess stepped out in her silken garments, withher golden hair and her shining eyes, and it was as if an angel fromheaven had entered.
She went up to her father and mother, fell on their necks andkissed them; there was no help for it, they all had to weep for joy.The young count stood near them, and when she perceived him shebecame as red in the face as a moss-rose, she herself did not knowwhy.
The King said, "My dear child, I have given away my kingdom.What shall I give you?" "She needs nothing," said the old woman.'T give her the tears that she has wept on your accoimt; they areprecious pearls, finer than those that are found in the sea, andworth more than your whole kingdom, and I give her my littlehouse as payment for her services." When the old woman had saidthat, she disappeared from their sight. The walls rattled a Httle, andwhen the King and Queen looked round, the little house hadchanged into a splendid palace, a royal table had been spread, andthe servants were running hither and thither.
The story goes still further, but my grandmother, who related itto me, had partly lost her memory, and had forgotten the rest. Ishall always believe that the beautiful Princess married the count,and that they remained together in the palace, and lived there in allhappiness so long as God willed it. Whether the snow-white geese,which were kept near the little hut, were verily young maidens (noone need take offense) whom the old woman had taken under herprotection, and whether they now received their human forms again,and stayed as handmaids to the young Queen, I do not exactlyknow, but I suspect it. This much is certain, that the old woman
was no witch, as people thought, but a wise woman, who meantwell. Very likely it was she who, at the Princess's birth, gave hefthe gift of weeping pearls instead of tears. That does not happennowadays, or else the poor would soon become rich.
The Three Little Men in the Wood
There was once a man, whose wife was dead, and a woman, whosehusband was dead; the man had a daughter, and so had thewoman. The girls were well acquainted with each other, and usedto play together in the woman's house. One day the woman said tothe man's daughter,
"Listen to me, teU your father that I will marry him, and thenyou shall have miUc to wash in every morning and wine to drink,and my daughter shall have water to wash in and water to drink."
The girl went home and told her father what the woman hadsaid. The man said, ''What shall I do! Marriage is a joy, and also atorment."
At last, as he could come to no conclusion, he took o£E his boot,and said to his daughter, "Take this boot, it has a hole in the sole;go up with it into the loft, hang it on the big nail and pour water init. If it holds water, I will once more take to me a wife; if it lets outthe water, so will I not."
The girl did as she was told, but the water held the hole to-gether, and the boot was full up to the top. So she went and toldher father how it was. And he went up to see with his own eyes,and as there was no mistake about it, he went to the widow andcourted her, and then they had the wedding.
The next morning, when the two girls awoke, there stood by thebedside of the man's daughter milk to wash in and wine to drink,and by the bedside of the woman's daughter there stood water towash in and water to drink.
On the second morning there stood water to wash in and waterto drink for both of them ahke. On the third morning there stoodwater to wash in and water to drink for the man's daughter, andmilk to wash in and wine to drink for the woman's daughter; and soit remaioed ever after. The woman hated her step-daughter, andnever knew how to treat her badly enough from one day to an-
other. And she was jealous because her step-daughter was pleasantand pretty, and her real daughter was ugly and hateful.
Once m winter, when it was freezing hard, and snow lay deep onhill and vaUey, the woman made a frock out of paper, called herstep-daughter, and said, "Here, put on this frock, go out into thewood and fetch me a basket of strawberries; I have a great wish forsome."
"Oh dear," said the girl, "there are no strawberries to be foundin winter; the ground is frozen, and the snow covers everything.And why should I go in the paper frock? It is so cold out of doorsthat one's breath is frozen; the wind wiU blow through it, and thethorns will tear it oflF my back!"
"How dare you contradict mel" cried the step-mother, "he oflF,and don't let me see you again till you bring me a basket of straw-berries." Then she gave her a little piece of hard bread, and said,"That wiU do for you to eat during the day," and she thought toherself, "She is sure to be frozen or starved to death out of doors,and I shall never set eyes on her again."
So the girl went obediently, put on the paper frock, and startedout with the basket. The snow was lying everywhere, far and v^dde,and there was not a blade of green to be seen. When she enteredthe wood she saw a little house with three Httle men peeping out ofit. She wished them good-day, and knocked modestly at the door.They called her in, and she came into the room and sat down bythe side of the oven to warm herself and eat her breakfast.
The Httle men said, "Give us some of it." "Willingly," answeredshe, breaking her little piece of bread in two, and giving them half.They then said, "What are you doing here in the wood this wintertime in your little thin frock?" "Oh," answered she, "I have to get abasket of strawberries, and I must not go home without them."
When she had eaten her bread they gave her a broom, and toldher to go and sweep the snow away from the back door. When shehad gone outside to do it the httle men talked among themselvesabout what they should do for her, as she was so good and pretty,and had shared her bread with them. Then the first one said, "Sheshall grow prettier every day." The second said, "Each time shespeaks a piece of gold shall fall from her mouth." The third said,"A king shall come and take her for his wife."
In the meanwhile the girl was doing as the little men had toldher, and had cleared the snow from the back of the little house, andwhat do you suppose she found?—fine ripe strawberries, showingdark red against the snowl Then she joyfully filled her little basket
full, thanked the little men, shook hands with them all, and ranhome in haste to bring her step-mother the thing she longed for. Asshe went in and said, "Good evening," a piece of gold fell from hermouth at once. Then she related all that had happened to her in thewood, and at each word that she spoke gold pieces fell out of hermouth, so that soon they were scattered all over the room.
"Just look at her pride and conceit!" cried the step-sister, "throw-ing money about in this wayl" but in her heart she was jealous be-cause of it, and wanted to go too into the wood to fetch strawber-ries. But the mother said, "No, my dear Kttle daughter, it is toocold, you will be frozen to death."
But she left her no peace, so at last the mother gave in, got her asplendid fur coat to put on, and gave her bread and butter andcakes to eat on the way.
The girl went into the wood and walked straight up to the Httlehouse. The three little men peeped out again, but she gave them nogreeting, and without looking round or taking any notice of themshe came stumping into the room, sat herself down by the oven,and began to eat her bread and butter and cakes.
"Give us some of that," cried the Httle men, but she answered,'Tve not enough for myself; how can I give away any?"
Now when she had done with her eating, they said, "Here is abroom, go and sweep all clean by the back door." "Oh, go and do ityourselves," answered she; "I am not your housemaid."
But when she saw that they were not going to give her anything,she went out to the door. Then the three little men said amongthemselves, "What shall we do to her, because she is so unpleasant,and has such a wicked jealous heart, grudging everybody every-thing?" Jhe first said, "She shall grow ugHer every day." The sec-ond said, "Each time she speaks a toad shall jump out of her mouthat every word." The third said, "She shall die a miserable death,"
The girl was looking outside for strawberries, but as she foundnone, she went sulkily home. And directly she opened her mouth toteU her mother what had happened to her in the wood a toadsprang out of her mouth at each word, so that every one who camenear her was quite disgusted.
The step-mother became more and more set against the man'sdaughter, whose beauty increased day by day, and her onlythought was how to do her some injury. So at last she took a kettle,set it on the fire, and scalded some yam in it. When it was readyshe hung it over the poor girl's shoulder, and gave her an axe, andshe was to go to the frozen river and break a hole in the ice, and
The Three Little Men in the Wood 289
there to rinse the yam. She obeyed, and went and hewed a hole inthe ice, and as she was about it there came by a splendid coach, inwhich the King sat. The coach stood still, and the King said, "Mychild, who art thou, and what art thou doing there?" She answered,"I am a poor girl, and am rinsing yam."
Then the Eling felt pity for her, and as he saw that she was verybeautiful, he said, "Will you go with me?" "Oh yes, with all myheart," answered she; and she felt very glad to be out of the way ofher mother and sister.
So she stepped into the coach and went off with the King; andwhen they reached his castle the wedding was celebrated withgreat splendor, as the little men in the wood had foretold.»At the end of a year the young Queen had a son; and as the step-mother had heard of her great good fortune she came with herdaughter to the castle, as if merely to pay the King and Queen avisit. One day, when the King had gone out, and when nobody wasabout, the bad woman took the Queen by the head, and her daugh-ter took her by the heels, and dragged her out of bed, and threwher out of the window into a stream that flowed beneath it. Thenthe old woman put her ugly daughter in the bed, and covered herup to her chin. When the King came back, and wanted to talk tohis wife a httle, the old woman cried, "Stop, stopl she is sleepingnicely; she must be kept quiet today."
The King dreamt of nothing wrong, and came again the nextmorning; and as he spoke to his wife, and she answered him, therejumped each time out of her mouth a toad instead of the piece ofgold as heretofore. Then he asked why that should be, and the oldwoman said it was because of her great weakness, and that it wouldpass away.
But in the night, the boy who slept in the kitchen saw how some-thing in the likeness of a duck swam up the gutter, and said,
"My King, what mak'st thou?Sleepest thou, or wak'st thou?*
But there was no answer. Then it said,
"What cheer my two guests keep they?"
So the kitchen-boy answered,
"In bed all soundly sleep they."
It asked again,
"And my little baby, how does he?"
And he answered,
"He sleeps in his cradle quietly."
Then the duck took the shape of the Queen, and went to thechild, and gave him to drink, smoothed his little bed, covered himup again, and then, in the likeness of a duck, swam back down thegutter. In this way she came two nights, and on the third she saidto the kitchen-boy, "Go and tell the King to brandish his swordthree times over me on the thresholdl"
Then the Idtchen-boy ran and told the King, and he came withhis sword and brandished it three times over the duck, and at thethird time his wife stood before him living, and hearty, and sound,as she had been before.
The King was greatly rejoiced, but he hid the Queen in a cham-ber until the Simday came when the child was to be baptized. Andafter the baptism he said, "What does that person deserve whodrags another out of bed and throws him in the water?" And theold woman answered, "No better than to be put into a cask withiron nails in it, and to be rolled in it down the hill into the water."
Then said the King, "You have spoken your own sentence"; andhe ordered a cask to be fetched, and the old woman and her daugh-ter were put into it, and the top hammered down, and the cask wasrolled down the hill iuto the river.
The White Bride and the Black Bride
A WOMAN was going about the coimtryside with her daughter andher step-daughter, when the Lord came towards them in the formof a poor man, and asked, "Which is the way into the village?" 'Ifyou want to know," said the mother, "seek it for yourself," and thedaughter added, 'If you are afraid you will not find it, take a guidewith you." But the step-daughter said, "Poor man, I will take youthere, come with me."
Then God was angry with the mother and daughter, and turnedHis back on them, and wished that they should become as black asnight and as ugly as sin. To the poor step-daughter, however, Godwas gracious, and went with her, and when they were near the vil-lage. He said a blessing over her, and spake, "Choose three things
for thyself, and I will grant them to thee."' Then said the maiden, 1should like to be as beautiful and fair as the sun," and instantly shewas white and fair as day. *Then I should like to have a purse ofmoney which would never grow empty." The Lord gave her thatalso, but He said, "Do not forget what is best of all." She said. Tormy third wish, I desire, after my death, to inhabit the eternal king-dom of Heaven." That also was granted unto her, and then theLord left her.
When the step-mother came home with her daughter, and theysaw that they were both as black as coal and ugly, but that thestep-daughter was white and beautiful, wickedness increased stillmore in their hearts, and they thought of nothing else but how theycould do her an injury. The step-daughter, however, had a brothercalled Reginer, whom she loved much, and she told him all thathad happened. Once on a time Reginer said to her, 'Dear sister, Iwill take thy likeness, that I may continually see thee before mineeyes, for my love for thee is so great that I should like always tolook at thee." Then she answered, "But, I pray thee, let no one seethe picture." So he painted his sister and hung up the pictmre in hisroom; he, however, dwelt in the King's palace, for he was hiscoachman.
Every day he went and stood before the picture, and thankedGod for the happiness of having such a dear sister. Now it hap-pened that the King whom he served had just lost his wife, wHohad been so beautiful that no one could be found to compare withher, and on this account the King was in deep grief. The attendantsabout the court, however, remarked that the coachman stood dailybefore this beautiful picture, and they were jealous of him, so theyinformed the King. Then the latter ordered the picture to bebrought to him, and when he saw that it was like his lost wife inevery respect, except that it was stiU more beautiful, he fell mor-tally in love with it. He caused the coachman to be brought beforehim, and asked whom that portrait represented. The coachman saidit was his sister, so the King resolved to take no one but her as hiswife, and gave him a carriage and horses and splendid garments ofcloth of gold, and sent him forth to fetch his chosen bride.
When Reginer came on this errand, his sister was glad, but theblack maiden was jealous of her good fortune, and grew angryabove all measure, and said to her mother, "Of what use are aUyour arts to us now when you cannot procure such a piece of luckfor me?" "Be quiet," said the old woman, "I will soon divert it toyou"—and by her arts of witchcraft, she so troubled the eyes of the
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coachman that he was half-blind, and she stopped the ears of thewhite maiden so that she was half-deaf. Then they got into the car-riage, first the bride in her noble royal apparel, then the step-mother with her daughter, and Reginer sat on the box to drive.When they had been on the way for some time the coachman cried,
"Cover thee well, my sister dear.That the rain may not wet thee.That the wind may not load thee with dust,That thou mayst he fair and beautifulWhen thou appearest before the King."
The bride asked, "What is my dear brother saying?" "Ah," saidthe old woman, "he says that you ought to take off your goldendress and give it to your sister." Then she took it off, and put it onthe black maiden, who gave her in exchange for it a shabby graygown. They drove onwards, and a short time afterwards, thebrother again cried,
"Cover thee well, my sister dear.That the rain may not wet thee,That the wind may not load thee with dust.That thou mayst be fair and beautifulWhen thou appearest before the King."
The bride asked, "What is my dear brother saying?" "Ah," saidthe old woman, "he says that you ought to take off your goldenhood and give it to your sister." So she took off the hood and put iton her sister, and sat with her own head uncovered. And they droveon farther. After a while, the brother once more cried,
"Cover thee well, my sister dear.That the rain may not wet thee.That the wind may not load thee with dust,That thou mayst be fair and beautifulWhen thou appearest before the King."
The bride asked, "What is my dear brother saying?" "Ah," saidthe old woman, "he says you must look out of the carriage." Theywere, however, just on a bridge, which crossed deep water. Whenthe bride stood up and leant forward out of the carriage, they bothpushed her out, and she fell into the middle of the water. At thesame moment that she sank, a snow-white duck arose out of themirror-smooth water, and swam down the river. The brother hadobserved nothing of it, and drove the carriage on until they reachedthe court. Then he took the black maiden to the King as his sister.
The White Bride and the Black Bride 293
and thought she really was so, because his eyes were dim, and hesaw the golden garments glittering. When the King saw the bound-less ugliness of his intended bride, he was very angry, and orderedthe coachman to be thrown into a pit which was full of adders andnests of snakes. The old witch, however, knew so well how to flatterthe King and deceive his eyes by her arts, that he kept her and herdaughter until she appeared quite endurable to him, and he reallymarried her.
One evening when the black bride was sitting on the King's knee,a white duck came swimming up the gutter to the kitchen, and saidto the kitchen-boy, "Boy, light a fire, that I may warm myfeathers." The kitchen-boy did it, and lighted a fire on the hearth.Then came the duck and sat down by it, and shook herself andsmoothed her feathers to rights with her bill. While she was thussitting and enjoying herself, she asked, "What is my brother Re-giner doing?" The scullery-boy replied, "He is imprisoned in the pitwith adders and with snakes." Then she asked, "What is the blackwitch doing in the house?" The boy answered, "She is loved by theKing and happy." "May God have mercy on him," said the duck,and swam forth by the sink.
The next night she came again and put the same questions, andthe third night also. Then the Idtchen-boy could bear it no longer,and went to the King and discovered all to him. The King, how-ever, wanted to see it for himself, and next evening went thither,and when the duck thrust her head in through the sink, he took hissword and cut through her neck, and suddenly she changed into amost beautiful maiden, exactly like the picture which her brotherhad made of her. The King was full of joy, and as she stood therequite wet, he caused splendid apparel to be brought and had herclothed in it. Then she told how she had been betrayed by cunningand falsehood, and at last thrown down into the water, and her firstrequest was that her brother should be brought forth from the pitof snakes, and when the King had fulfilled this request, he wentinto the chamber where the old witch was, and asked, "What doesshe deserve who does this and that?" and related what had hap-pened. Then was she so blinded that she was aware of nothing andsaid, "She deserves to be stripped naked, and put into a barrel withnails, and that a horse should be harnessed to the barrel, and thehorse sent all over the world." All of which was done to her, and toher black daughter. But the King married the white and beautifulbride, and rewarded her faithful brother, and made him a rich anddistinguished man.
Brother and Sister
A BROTHER took his sister's hand and said to her,
"Since our mother died we have had no good days; our step-mother beats us every day, and if we go near her she lacks us away;we have nothing to eat but hard crusts of bread left over; the dogimder the table fares better; he gets a good piece every now andthen. If our mother only knew, how she would pity usl Come, let usgo together out into the wide worldl"
So they went, and journeyed the whole day through fields andmeadows and stony places, and if it rained the sister said, "Theskies and we are weeping together."
In the evening they came to a great wood, and they were soweary with hunger and their long journey, that they chmbed upinto a high tree and fell asleep.
The next morning, when they awoke, the sun was high in heaven,and shone brightly through the leaves. Then said the brother,"Sister, I am thirsty; if I only knew where to find a brook, that Imight go and drinkl I almost think that I hear one rushing." So thebrother got down and led his sister by the hand, and they went toseek the brook. But their wicked step-mother was a witch, and hadknown quite well that the two children had run away, and hadsneaked after them, as only witches can, and had laid a spell on allthe brooks in the forest. So when they found a little stream flowingsmoothly over its pebbles, the brother was going to drink of it; butthe sister heard how it said in its rushing,
"He a tiger will be who drinks of me.Who drinks of me a tiger will beF'
Then the sister cried, "Pray, dear brother, do not drink, or youwill become a wild beast, and will tear me in pieces."
So the brother refrained from drinking, though his thirst wasgreat, and he said he would wait till he came to the next brook.When they came to a second brook the sister heard it say,
"He a wolf will be who drinks of me.Who drinks of me a wolf will be!"
Then the sister cried, "Pray, dear brother, do not drink, or youwiU be tiimed into a wolf, and will eat me upl"
So the brother refrained from drinkmg, and said, "I will waituntil we come to the next brook, and then I must drink, whateveryou say; my thirst is so great."
And when they came to the third brook the sister heard how inits rushing it said,
"He a fawn will be who drinks of me.Who drinks of me a fawn will hel"
Then the sister said, "O my brother, I pray drink not, or you willbe turned into a fawn, and nm away far from me."
But he had already kneeled by the side of the brook and stoopedand drunk of the water, and as the first drops passed his lips he be-came a fawn. And the sister wept over her poor lost brother, andthe fawn wept also, and stayed sadly beside her. At last the maidensaid, "Be comforted, dear fawn, indeed I will never leave you."
Then she untied her golden girdle and bound it round the fawn'sneck, and went and gathered rushes to make a soft cord, which shefastened to him; and then she led him on, and they went deeperinto the forest. And when they had gone a long long way, theycame at last to a httle house, and the maiden looked inside, and asit was empty she thought, "We might as well live here."
And she fetched leaves and moss to make a soft bed for the fawn,and every morning she went out and gathered roots and berriesand nuts for herself, and fresh grass for the favm, who ate out ofher hand with joy, frolicking round her. At night, when the sisterwas tired, and had said her prayers, she laid her head on the fawn'sback, which served her for a pillow, and softly fell asleep. And ifonly the brother could have got back his own shape again, it wouldhave been a charming life. So they lived a long while in the wilder-ness alone.
Now it happened that the King of that country held a great huntin the forest. The blowing of the horns, the barking of the dogs,and the lusty shouts of the himtsmen sounded through the wood,and the fawn heard them and was eager to be among them.
"Oh," said he to his sister, "do let me go to the hunt; I cannotstay behind any longer," and begged so long that at last she con-sented.
"But mind," said she to him, "come back to me at night. I mustlock my door against the wild htmters, so, in order that I may knowyou, you must knock and say, 'Little sister, let me in,' and unless Ihear that I shall not unlock the door."
Then the fawn sprang out, and felt glad and merry in the open
air. The King and his huntsmen saw the beautiful animal, andbegan at once to pursue him, but they could not come within reachof him, for when they thought they were certain of him he sprangaway over the bushes and disappeared. As soon as it was dark hewent back to the little house, knocked at the door, and said, TLittlesister, let me in."
Then the door was opened to him, and he went in, and rested thewhole night long on his soft bed. The next morning the hunt begananew, and when the fawn heard the hunting-horns and the tally-hoof the huntsmen he could rest no longer, and said, TLittle sister, letme out, I must go." The sister opened the door and said, "Now,mind you must come back at night and say the same words."
When the King and his hunters saw the fawn with the goldencollar again, they chased him closely, but he was too nimble andswift for them. This lasted the whole day, and at last the hunterssurroimded him, and one of them wounded his foot a little, so thathe was obliged to Hmp and to go slowly. Then a hunter slippedafter him to the little house, and heard how he called out, "Littlesister, let me in," and saw the door open and shut again after himdirectly. The hunter noticed aU this carefully, went to the King, andtold him all he had seen and heard. Then said the King, "Tomor-row we will hunt again."
But the sister was very terrified when she saw that her fawn waswounded. She washed his foot, laid cooling leaves round it, andsaid, "Lie down on your bqd, dear fawn, and rest, that you may besoon well." The wound was very sHght, so that the fawn felt noth-ing of it the next morning. And when he heard the noise of thehunting outside, he said, "1 cannot stay in, I must go after them; Ishall not be taken easily again!" The sister began to weep, and said,"I know you will be killed, and I left alone here in the forest, andforsaken of everybody. I cannot let you go!"
"Then I shall die here with longing," answered the fawn; "whenI hear the soimd of the horn I feel as if I should leap out of mysldn."
Then the sister, seeing there was no help for it, unlocked thedoor with a heavy heart, and the fawn boimded away into the for-est, well and merry. When the King saw him, he said to his himters,"Now, follow him up all day long till the night comes, and see thatyou do him no hurt."
So as soon as the sun had gone down, the King said to the hunts-men: "Now, come and show me the Httle house in the wood." Andwhen he got to the door he knocked at it, and cried, "Little sister,
Brother and Sister 297
let me inl" Then the door opened, and the King went in, and therestood a maiden more beautiful than any he had seen before.
The maiden shrieked out when she saw, instead of the fawn, aman standing there with a gold crown on his head. But the Kinglooked kindly on her, took her by the hand, and said, "Will you gowith me to my castle, and be my dear wife?" "Oh yes," answeredthe maiden, "but the fawn must come too. I could not leave him."And the King said, "He shall remain with you as long as you Uve,and shall lack nothing." Then the fawn came bounding in, and thesister tied the cord of rushes to him, and led him by her own handout of the little house.
The King put the beautiful maiden on his horse, and carried herto his castle, where the wedding was held with great pomp; so shebecame lady Queen, and they lived together happily for a longwhile; the fawn was well tended and cherished, and he gamboledabout the castle garden.
Now the wicked step-mother, whose fault it was that the childrenwere driven out into the world, never dreamed but that the sisterhad been eaten up by wild beasts in the forest, and that thebrother, in the Hkeness of a fawn, had been slain by the hunters.But when she heard that they were so happy, and that things hadgone so well with them, jealousy and envy arose in her heart, andleft her no peace, and her chief thought was how to bring misfor-tune upon them.
Her own daughter, who was as ugly as sin, and had only one eye,complained to her, and said, "I never had the chance of being aQueen." "Never mind," said the old woman, to satisfy her; "whenthe time comes, I shall be at hand."
After a while the Queen brought a beautiful baby boy into theworld, and that day the King was out hunting. The old witch tookthe shape of the bed-chamber woman, and went into the roomwhere the Queen lay, and said to her, "Come, the bath is ready; itwill give you refreshment and new strength. Quick, or it wall becold."
Her daughter was within call, so they carried the sick Queen intothe bath-room, and left her there. And in the bath-room they hadmade a great fire, so as to suflFocate the beautiful young Queen.
When that was managed, the old woman took her daughter, put acap on her, and laid her in the bed in the Queen's place, gave heralso the Queen's form and countenance, only she could not restorethe lost eye. So, in order that the King might not remark it, she hadto He on the side where there was no eye.
In the evening, when the King came home and heard that a littleson was bom to him, he rejoiced with all his heart, and was goingat once to his dear wife's bedside to see how she did. Then the oldwoman cried hastily, "For your life, do not draw back the curtains,to let in the light upon her; she must be kept quiet." So the Kingwent away, and never knew that a false Queen was lying in thebed.
Now, when it was midnight, and every one was asleep, the nurse,who was sitting by the cradle in the nursery and watching therealone, saw the door open, and the true Queen come in. She took thechild out of the cradle, laid it in her bosom, and fed it. Then sheshook out its little pillow, put the child back again, and covered itwith the coverlet. She did not forget the fawn either; she went tohim where he lay in the comer, and stroked his back tenderly.Then she went in perfect silence out at the door, and the nurse nextmorning asked the watchmen if any one had entered the castle dur-ing the night, but they said they had seen no one. And the Queencame many nights, and never said a word; the nurse saw her al-ways, but she did not dare speak of it to any one.
After some time had gone by in this manner, the Queen seemedto find voice, and said one night,
"My child my fawn twice more I come to see.Twice more I come and then the end must he."
The nurse said nothing, but as soon as the Queen had disap-peared she went to the King and told him all. The King said, "Ah,heavenl what do I hearl I will myself watch by the child tomorrownight."
So at evening he went into the nursery, and at midnight theQueen appeared, and said,
"My child my fawn once more I come to see.Once more I come, and then the end must he!*
And she tended the child, as she was accustomed to do, beforeshe vanished. The King dared not speak to her, but he watchedagain the following night, and heard her say,
"My child my fawn this once I come to see.This once I come, and now the end must he."
Then the King could contain himself no longer, but rushed to-wards her, saying, "You are no other than my dear wife!" Then sheanswered, "Yes, I am your dear wife," and in that moment, by the
grace of heaven, her life returned to her, and she was once morewell and strong. Then she told the King the snare that the wickedwitch and her daughter had laid for her.
The King had them both brought to judgment, and sentence waspassed upon them. The daughter was sent away into the woods,where she was devoured by the wild beasts, and the witch wasburned, and ended miserably. As soon as her body was in ashes thespell was removed from the fawn, and he took human shape again.Then the sister and brother lived happily together until the end.
The Gold Children
A LONG time ago there lived in a little cottage a poor fisherman andhis wife, who had very little to live upon but the fish the husbandcaught. One day as he sat by the water throwing his net he saw afish drawn out which was quite golden. He examined it with won-der; but what was his smprise to hear it say, "Listen, fisherman! ifyou will throw me again in the water, I will change your little hutinto a splendid castle."
The fisherman replied, "What would be the use of a castle to mewhen I have nothing to eat?"
"On that account," said the gold fish, '1 will take care that thereshall be a cupboard in the castle in which, when you unlock it, youwill find dishes containing everything to eat that heart can wish."
'If it is so," said the man, "then I am quite willing to do as youplease."
"There is, however, one condition," continued the fish; "you mustnot mention to a living creature in the world, be it who it may, thesource of your good fortune. If you utter a single word, it will atonce be at an end."
The man, upon this, threw the fish back into the water, and wenthome. But where his little hut had once stood now rose the walls ofa large castle.
He stared with astonishment, and then stepped in and saw hiswife dressed in costly clothes, and sitting in a handsomelyfurnished room. She seemed quite contented, and yet she said,"Husband, how has all this happened? I am so pleased!"
"Yes," said the man, "it pleases me also; but I am so hungry; give
me something to eat in our fine house!" "Oh dearl" she replied, *1have nothing, and I don't know where any is to be foimd here.""There will be no trouble on that account," he replied. "Do you seethat great cupboard? Just unlock it."
When the cupboard was opened they saw with surprise that itcontained every requisite for a beautiful feast—bread, meat, vegeta-bles, cake, wine, and fruit.
"Dear husband," cried the wife, full of joy, "what more can wedesire than this?"
Then they sat down, and ate and drank together in great com-fort.
After they had finished the wife said, "Husband, where do allthese good things and riches come from?" "Ahl" he replied, "do notask me; I dare not tell you. If I disclose anything all our good for-tune will come to an end."
"Very well," she replied, "if I am not to be told I shall not desireto know"; but this was merely pretense, for she gave her husbandno peace night or day, and she tormented and worried the poorman so terribly that she exhausted his patience, and he told her atlast.
"This good fortune," he said, "all comes from a wonderful goldfish which I caught, and afterward gave it freedom by throwing itback into the water."
No sooner had he uttered these words than the castle with itswonderful cupboard disappeared, and they were again sitting inthe fisherman's hut. The husband was now again obliged to followhis trade and go fishing, and as luck would have it he again caughtthe golden fish.
"Listenl" cried the fish; "if you will again throw me into thewater I will once more give you a castle and a cupboard full ofgood things; but be firm this time, and reveal to no one from whomit comes, or all will be again lost." *T will keep it to myself," an-swered the fisherman, and threw the fish into the water.
Everything at home now was in its former splendor, and thefisherman's wife joyful over their good fortune; but her cmiositygave her no peace, and two days had scarcely passed before shebegan to ask how it all happened, and what was the cause.
Her husband kept silence for a long time, but at last she madehim so angry that he incautiously revealed the secret. In a momentthe castle and all that it contained vanished, and they were againsitting in their little old hut.
"See what you have done!" he said. "We shall have again to
starve with hunger." "Oh, weU," she replied, "I would rather nothave such riches if I am not to know where they come from; it de-stroys my peace."
The husband again went fishing, and after a time what should heagain pull up in his net but the gold fish for the third time.
"Listen!" cried the fish; "1 see I am always to fall into yourhands; therefore you must take me to your house, and cut me intwo pieces. These you must place in the ground, and you will havegold enough to last your life."
The man took the fish home, and did exactly as he had been told.
It happened after a while that from the pieces of the fish placedin the earth two golden lilies sprang up, which were taken greatcare of.
Not long after the fisherman's wife had two little children, butthey were both golden, as well as the two Httle foals in the stable.The children grew tall and beautiful, and the lilies and the foalsgrew also.
One day the children said to their father, 'We should like to rideout and see the world on our golden steeds. Will you let us?"
But the parents answered sorrowfully, "How shall we be able toendure the thought that you are far away from us and perhaps ill orin danger?" "Oh," they replied, "the two golden lilies will remain,and by them you can always tell how we are going on. If they arefresh, we are in health; if they fade, we are sick; and when theyfall, we shall diel"
So the parents let them go, and they rode away for some time tillthey came to an ion where a number of people were staying. Butwhen they saw the two gold children they began to laugh andmake a mockery of them.
As soon as one of them heard the laughter and mocking words hewould not go any further, but turned back and went home to his fa-ther. The other, however, rode on tiU he came to a large forest. Ashe was about to enter the forest some people came by and said,"You had better not ride there, for the wood is fuU of robbers whowill overcome you and rob you, especially when they see that youand your horse are golden, and you will both be IdUed."
He would not, however, allow himself to be frightened, but said,"I must and will ride throughl"
He took bearskins and threw them over himself and his horse,that the gold might not be seen, and rode confidently into thewood. He had not ridden far when he heard a rustling in thebushes, and voices spealdng audibly to each other.
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"That is one!" said a voice; but the other said, "No; let him alone—he has nothing on but a bearskin, and is, I dare say, as poor andcold as a church mouse. What do we want with him?"
So the gold child rode through the wood, and no harm happenedto him.
One day he came to a town in which he saw a maiden who ap-peared to him so beautiful that he did not think there could be an-other so beautiful in the world.
And as his love became stronger for her he went to her and said,"I love you with my whole heartl Will you be my wife?"
The maiden was so pleased that she answered willingly, "Yes, Iwill be your wife, and be true to you as long as I live."
Very soon after they were married, and just as they were enjoy-ing themselves with the guests on the wedding-day, the bride's fa-ther returned home. When he found his daughter already married,he was much astonished, and said, "Where is the bridegroom?" Hewas pointed out to him, and he still wore the bearskin dress. Onseeing him he exclaimed in great anger, "My daughter shall neverhave a bearskin wearer for a husband!" and wanted to murder him.
But the bride interceded for him as much as she could, and said,"He is already my husband, and I shall always love him with mywhole heart." And at last her father was appeased. However, hecould not help thinking about it all night, and in the morning, whenthe bridegroom was dressing, he peeped into his room, and saw anoble-looking golden man, and the bearskin lying on the ground.Then he went back to his own room and said to himself, "How for-tunate it is that I restrained my anger last night, or I should havecommitted a great crime!"
The same morning the gold child told his wife that he haddreamed of being in the hunt and catching a beautiful stag, so thathe must on that day go out hunting.
She was very uneasy at the thought, and said, "Pray don't go; amisfortune might so easily happen to you." But he replied, "I willand must go!"
As soon as he was ready he rode out into the wood, and had notbeen there long before he saw just such a stag as the one in hisdream. He raised his gun to shoot it, but the stag sprang away, andhe followed it over hedges and ditches the whole day without feel-ing tired. At last, as night came on, it vanished from his eyes.
Then the gold child looked round him and saw close by a smallhouse in which sat an old woman, who was a witch; but he did not
The Gold Children 303
know it. He knocked at the door, and she came out and asked himwhat he wanted so late as that in the middle of the wood.
He said, "Have you seen a stag pass this way?" "Yes," she re-plied; "I know the stag weU."
And while she spoke a httle dog that had come out of the housewith the old woman began to bark furiously. "Be quiet, will you,"he cried, "you spiteful cur, or I will shoot youl"
"Whatl you will kill my dog?" cried the old witch in a rage. "Ah,I'll soon stop that." And in a moment he lay on the ground turnedinto stone.
His bride waited for his return in vain, and thought, "Somethinghas certainly happened to him, or else why am I so anxious andtroubled in my heart?"
On the same evening the brother, who was at home, was stand-ing by the golden lily, when it suddenly fell drooping on its stem."Ah me!" he exclaimed; "there has some misfortune happened tomy brother; I must go to him. Very likely I shall be able to savehim."
Then said his father, "No, no; stay here. If I were to lose bothof you, what should I do?" But the youth answered, "I must andwill go and find my brother."
Then he mounted his golden horse and rode away quickly to thewood where his brother lay turned to stone.
The old witch saw him in the distance, and came out of herhouse, and tried to mislead him about his brother, and called tohim to come in. But he would not go near her, and raising his gunhe cried, "If you do not this moment restore my brother to life, IwiU shoot you deadl"
She saw he was in earnest, yet she moved imwillingly toward astone that lay near the door, touched it with her finger, and imme-diately the gold child stood before his brother in his own form.They were both overjoyed to meet again, and kissed and embracedeach other. Then they rode together out of the wood, and therethey parted—the one to hasten back to his bride, the other home tohis parents.
"Ah," said his father, "we knew that your brother had beenreleased from his trouble, for the golden lily is again erect and infull bloom."
And after this they lived in happiness and contentment for therest of their days.
The Twin Brothers
There "were once two brothers; one was rich, the other poor. Therich brother was a goldsmith, and had a wicked heart. The poorbrother supported himself by making brooms, and was good andhonest. He had two children, twin brothers, who resembled eachother as closely as one drop of water resembles another. The twoboys went sometimes to the house of their rich uncle to get thepieces that were left from the table, for they were often very himgry.
It happened one day that while their father was in the wood,gathering rushes for his brooms, he saw a bird whose plumageshone like gold—he had never seen in his life any bird like it. Hepicked up a stone and threw it at the bird, hoping to be luckyenough to secure it; but the stone only knocked oflE a goldenfeather, and the bird flew away.
The man took the feather and brought it to his brother, who,when he saw it, exclaimed, "That is real gold!" and gave him agreat deal of money for it. Another day, as the man cUmbed up abeech tree, hoping to find the golden bird's nest, the same bird flewover his head, and on searching further he found a nest, and in itlay two golden eggs. He took the eggs home and showed them tohis brother, who said again, "They are real gold," and gave himwhat they were worth. At last the goldsmith said, "You may as weUget me the bird, if you can."
So the poor brother went again to the wood, and after a time,seeing the bird perched on a tree, he knocked it down with a stoneand brought it to his brother, who gave him a large heap of moneyfor it. "Now," thought he, "1 can support myself for the future,"and went home to his house full of joy.
The goldsmith, however, who was clever and cunning, knew wellthe real value of the bird. So he called his wife, and said, "Roastthe gold bird for me, and be careful that no one comes in, as I wishto eat it quite alone."
The bird was, indeed, not a common bird; it had a wonderfulpower even when dead. For any person who ate the heart and liverwould every morning find under his pillow a piece of gold. Thegoldsmith's wife prepared the bird, stuck it on the spit, and left itto roast.
Now, it happened that while it was roasting, and the mistress ab-sent from the kitchen about other household work, the two childrenof the broom-binder came in and stood for a few moments watch-ing the spit as it turned roimd. Presently two little pieces fell fromthe bird into the dripping-pan underneath. One of them said, "Ithink we may have those two little pieces; no one will ever missthem, and I am so hungry." So the children each took a piece andate it up.
In a few moments the goldsmith's wife came in and saw that theyhad been eating something, and said, "What have you been eat-ing?" "Only two little pieces that fell from the bird," they replied.
"Ohl" exclaimed the wife in a great fright, "they must have beenthe heart and Hver of the btrdl" and then, that her husband mightnot miss them, for she was afraid of his anger, she quickly killed achicken, took out the heart and hver, and laid them on the goldenbird.
As soon as it was ready she carried it in to the goldsmith, who ateit aU up, without leaving her a morsel. The next morning, however,when he felt under his pillow, expecting to find the gold-pieces,nothing was there.
The two children, however, who knew nothing of the good for-tune which had befallen them, never thought of searching undertheir piUow. But the next morning, as they got out of bed, some-thing fell on the ground and tinkled, and when they stooped to pickit up, there were two pieces of gold. They carried them at once totheir father, who wondered very much, and said, "What can thismean?"
As, however, there were two more pieces the next morning, andagain each day, the father went to his brother and told him of thewonderful circumstances. The goldsmith, as he listened, knew wellthat these gold-pieces must be the result of the children havingeaten the heart and hver of the golden bird, and therefore that hehad been deceived. He determined to be revenged, and thoughhard-hearted and jealous, he managed to conceal the real truthfrom his brother, and said to him, "Your children are in league withthe Evil One; do not touch the gold, and on no account allow yourchildren to remain in your house any longer, for the Evil One haspower over them, and could bring ruin upon you through them."
The father feared this power, and therefore, sad as it was to him,he led the twins out into the forest and left them there with aheavy heart.
When they found themselves alone the two children ran here and
there in the wood to try and discover the way home, but they wan-dered back always to the same place. At last they met a hmiter,who said to them, "Whose children are you?"
"We are a poor broom-binder's children," they replied, "and oiu"father will not keep us any longer in the house because every morn-ing there is a piece of gold found under our pillows."
"Ah," exclaimed the hunter, "that is not bad! Well, if you arehonest, and have told me the truth, I will take you home and be afather to you." In fact, the children pleased the good man, and ashe had no children of his own, he gladly took them home with him.
While they were with him he taught them to hunt in the forest,and the gold-pieces which they found every morning under theirpillows they gave to him; so for the future he had nothing to fearabout poverty.
As soon as the twins were groMm up their foster-father took themone day into the wood, and said, "Today you are going to makeyour first trial at shooting, for I want you to be free if you like, andto be hunters for yourselves."
Then they went with him to a suitable point, and waited a longtime, but no game appeared. Presently the hunter saw flying overhis head a flock of wild geese, in the form of a triangle, so he said,"Aim quickly at each comer and fire." They did so, and their firstproof-shot was successful.
Soon after another flock appeared in the form of a figure 2."Now," he exclaimed, "shoot again at each comer and bring themdownl" This proof-shot was also successful, and the hunter directlysaid, "Now I pronounce you free; you are quite accompKshedsportsmen."
Then the two brothers went away into the wood together, to holdcounsel with each other, and at last came to an agreement aboutwhat they wished to do.
In the evening, when they sat down to supper, one of them saidto their foster-father, "We will not remain to supper, or eat one bit,tiU you have granted us our request." "And what is your request?"he asked. "You have taught us to hunt, and to earn our Hving," theyreplied, "and we want to go out in the world and seek our fortune.Will you give us permission to do so?"
The good old man replied joyfully, 'Tou speak like bravehimters; what you desire is my own wish. Go when you will, youwdU be sure to succeed." Then they ate and drank together joyfully.
When the appointed day came the hunter presented each of
them with a new rifle and a dog, and allowed them to take as muchas they would from his store of the gold-pieces. He accompaniedthem for some distance on the way, and before saying fareweU hegave them each a white penknife, and said, 'If at any time youshould get separated from each other, the knife must be placedcrossways in a tree, one side of the blade turmhg east, the otherwest, pointing out the road which each should take. If one shoulddie the blade will rust on one side; but as long as he lives it willremain bright."
After saying this he wished the brothers farewell, and theystarted on their way.
After travehng for some time they came to an immense forest, solarge that it was impossible to cross it in one day. They stayedthere all night, and ate what they had in their game-bags; but fortwo days they walked on through the forest without finding them-selves any nearer the end.
By this time they had nothing left to eat, so one said to the other,*'We must shoot something, for this hunger is not to be endured."So he loaded his gun, and looked about him. Presently an old harecame running by; but as he raised his rifle the hare cried,
"Dearest hunters, let me live;1 tdll to you my young ones give"
Then she sprang up into the bushes, and brought out two youngones, and laid them before the hunters. The little animals were sofull of tricks and played about so prettily that the hunters had notthe heart to Idll them; they kept them, therefore, alive, and the littleanimals soon learned to follow them about like dogs.
By and by a fox appeared, and they were about to shoot him, buthe cried also,
"Dearest hunters, let me live.And I will you my young ones give"
Then he brought out two little foxes, but the hunters could not killthem, so they gave them to the hares as companions, and the littlecreatures followed the hunters wherever they went.
Not long after a wolf stepped before them out of the thicket, andone of the brothers instantly leveled his gun at him, but the wolfcried out,
'Dear, kind hunters, let me live;I wiU to you my young ones give."
The hunters took the young wolves and treated them as they haddone the other animals, and they followed them also.
Presently a bear came by, and they quite intended to kill him,but he also cried out,
"Dear, kind hunters, let me live.And I will you my young ones give."
The two young bears were placed with the others, of whom therewere already eight.
At last who should come by but a lion, shaking his mane. Thehunters were not at all alarmed; they only pointed their guns athim. But the lion cried out in the same manner,
"Dear, kind hunters, let me live.And I will you two young ones give."
So he fetched two of his cubs, and the hunters placed them withthe rest. They had now two lions, two bears, two wolves, two foxes,and two hares, who traveled with them and served them. Yet, afterall, their hunger was not appeased.
So one of them said to the fox, "Here, you little sneak, who are soclever and sly, go find us something to eat."
Then the fox answered, "Not far from here lies a town where wehave many times fetched away chickens. I will show you the way."
So the fox showed them the way to the village, where theybought some provisions for themselves and food for the animals,and went on further.
The fox, however, knew quite well the best spots in that part ofthe country, and where to find the hen-houses; and he could, aboveall, direct the hunters which road to take.
After traveling for a time in this way they could find no suitableplace for them all to remain together, so one said to the other, 'Theonly thing for us to do is to separate"; and to this the other agreed.Then they divided the animals so that each had one Hon, one bear,one wolf, one fox, and one hare. When the time came to say fare-well they promised to live in brotherly love till death, stuck theknives that their foster-father had given them in a tree, and thenone turned to the east, and the other to the west.
The youngest, whose steps we will follow first, soon arrived at alarge town, in which the houses were all covered with black crape.He went to an inn, and asked the landlord if he could give shelterto his animals. The landlord pointed out a stable for them, andtheir master led them in and shut the door.
The Tunn Brothers 309
But in the wall of the stable was a hole, and the hare slippedthrough easily and fetched a cabbage for herself. The fox followed,and came back with a hen; and as soon as he had eaten it he weiitfor the cock also. The wolf, the bear, and the lion, however, weretoo large to get through the hole. Then the landlord had a cowkilled and brought in for them, or they would have starved.
The hunter was just going out to see if his animals were beingcared for when he asked the landlord why the houses were so himgwith mourning crape. "Because," he replied, "tomorrow morningour King's daughter will die." "Is she seriously iU, then?" asked thehunter. "No," he answered; "she is in excellent health; still, shemust die." "What is the cause of this?" said the young man.
Then the landlord explained. "Outside the town," he said, "is ahigh moimtain in which dwells a dragon, who every year demandsa young maiden to be given up to him, otherwise he will destroythe whole country. He has already devoured all the young maidensin the town, and there are none remaining but the King's daughter.Not even for her is any favor shown, and tomorrow she must bedelivered up to him."
"Why do you not IdU the dragon?" exclaimed the yoimg hunter.
"Ahl" repHed the landlord, "many young knights have sought todo so, and lost their Hves in the attempt. The King has even prom-ised his daughter in marriage to whoever wiU destroy the dragon,and also that he shall be heir to his throne."
The hunter made no reply to this; but the next morning he roseearly, and taking his animals with him climbed up the dragon'smountain.
There stood near the top a little church, and on the altar insidewere three full goblets, bearing this inscription: "Whoever drinksof these goblets wiU be the strongest man upon earth, and wiU dis-cover the sword which lies buried before the threshold of thisdoor."
The hunter did not drink; he first went out and sought for thesword in the ground, but he could not find the place. Then he re-turned and drank up the contents of the goblets. How strong itmade him feell And how quickly he found the sword, which, heavyas it was, he could wield easily!
Meanwhile the hour came when the young maiden was to begiven up to the dragon, and she came out accompanied by the.King, the marshal, and the courtiers.
They saw from the distance the himter on the mountain, and thePrincess, thinking it was the dragon waiting for her, would not go
on. At last she remembered that to save the town from being lost,she must make this painful sacrifice, and therefore wished her fa-ther farewell. The King and the comt returned home full of greatsorrow. The King's marshal, however, was to remain, and see froma distance all that took place.
When the King's daughter reached the top of the mountain, shefound, instead of the dragon, a handsome young hunter, who spoketo her comforting words, and, telling her he had come to rescueher, led her into the church, and locked her in.
Before long, with a rushing noise and a roar, the seven-headeddragon made his appearance. As soon as he caught sight of thehimter he wondered to himself, and said at last, "What businesshave you here on this moimtain?" "My business is a combat withyoul" replied the hunter.
"Many knights and nobles have tried that, and lost their lives,"replied the dragon; "with you I shall make short work!"
And he breathed out fire as he spoke from his seven throats.
The flames set fire to the dry grass, and the hunter would havebeen stifled with heat and smoke had not his faithful animals runforward and stamped out the fire. Then in a rage the dragon drewnear, but the hunter was too quick for him; swinging his sword onhigh, it whizzed through the air and, falling on the dragon, cut offthree of his heads.
Then was the monster furious; he raised himself on his hind legs,spat fiery flames on the hunter, and tried to overthrow him. But theyoung man again swung his sword, and as the dragon approached,he with one blow cut off three more of his heads. The monster, madwith rage, sank on the ground, still trying to get at the hunter; butthe young man, exerting his remaining strength, had no difficulty incutting off his seventh head, and his tail; and then, finding he couldresist no more, he called to his animals to come and tear the dragonin pieces.
As soon as the combat was ended the hunter unlocked the churchdoor, and found the King's daughter lying on the ground; for dur-ing the combat all sense and life had left her, from fear and terror.
He raised her up, and as she came to herself and opened her eyeshe showed her the dragon torn in pieces, and told her that she wasreleased from all danger.
Oh, how joyful she felt when she saw and heard what he haddone! She said, "Now you will be my dear husband, for my fatherhas himself promised me in marriage to whoever should kiU thedragon."
Then she took off her coral necklace of five strings, and divided itamong the animals as a reward; the lion's share being in additionthe gold clasp. Her pocket handkerchief, which bore her name, shepresented to the hunter, who went out, and cut the seven tonguesout of the dragon's heads, which he wrapped up carefully in thehandkerchief.
After all the fighting, and the fire and smoke, the hunter felt sofaint and tired that he said to the maiden, "I think a little restwould do us both good after all the fight and the struggles with thedragon that I have had, and your terror and alarm. Shall we sleepfor a little while before I take you home safely to your father'shouse?" "Yes," she replied, "I can sleep peacefully now."
So she laid herself down, and as soon as she slept he said to thelion, "You must lie near and watch that no one comes to harm us."Then he threw himself on the ground, quite worn out, and wassoon fast asleep.
The Hon laid himself down at a little distance to watch; but hewas also tired and overcome with the combat, so he called to thebear, and said, 'Xie down near me; I must have a little rest, and ifany one comes, wake me up."
Then the bear lay down; but he was also very tired, so he criedto the wolf, "Just lie down by me; I must have a Httle sleep, and ifanything happens, wake me up."
The wolf complied; but as he was also tired, he called to the fox,and said, 'Xie down near me; I must have a little sleep, and if any-thing comes, wake me up."
Then the fox came and laid himself down by the wolf; but he toowas tired, and called out to the hare, "Lie down near me; I mustsleep a little, and, whatever comes, wake me up."
The hare seated herself near the fox; but the poor Httle hare wasvery tired, and although she had no one to ask to watch and callher, she also went fast asleep. And now the King's daughter, thehunter, the bear, the Hon, the wolf, the fox, and the hare were all ina deep sleep, while danger was at hand.
The marshal, from the distance, had tried to see what was goingon, and being surprised that the dragon had not yet flown awaywith the King's daughter, and that all was quiet on the mountain,took courage, and ventured to cHmb up to the top. There he sawthe mangled and headless body of the dragon, and at a Httle dis-tance the King's daughter, the hunter, and all the animals sunk in adeep sleep. He knew in a moment that the stranger hunter hadkilled the dragon, and, being wicked and envious, he drew his
sword and cut off the hunter s head. Then he seized the sleepingmaiden by the arm, and carried her away from the mountain.
She woke and screamed; but the marshal said, **You are in mypower, and therefore you shall say that I have killed the dragon 1"'1 cannot say so," she replied, "for I saw the hunter kill him, andthe animals tear him in pieces."
Then he drew his sword, and threatened to kill her if she did notobey him; so that to save her life she was forced to promise to sayall he wished.
Thereupon he took her to the King, who knew not how to con-tain himself for joy at finding his dear child still alive, and that shehad been saved from the monsters power.
Then the marshal said, "I have killed the dragon and freed theKing's daughter, therefore I demand her for my wife, according tothe King's promise."
*ls this aU true?" asked the King of his daughter.
"Ah, yes," she replied, "I suppose it is true; but I shall refuse toallow the marriage to take place for one year and a day. For,"thought she, "lq that time I may hear something of my dearhunter."
AU this while on the dragon's mountain the animals lay sleepingnear their dead master. At last a large bmnble-bee settled on thehare's nose, but she only whisked it off with her paw, and sleptagain. The bee came a second time, but the hare again shook himoff, and slept as soundly as before. Then came the bumble-bee athird time, and stung the hare in the nose; thereupon she woke. Assoon as she was quite aroused she woke the fox; the fox, the wolf;the wolf, the bear; and the bear, the lion.
But when the lion roused himself, and saw that the maiden wasgone and his master dead, he gave a terrible roar, and cried,"Whose doing is this? Bear, why did you not wake me?" Then saidthe bear to the woLf, "Wolf, why did you not wake me?" "Fox,"cried the wolf, "why did you not wake me?" "Hare," said the fox,"and why did you not wake me?"
The poor hare had no one to ask why he did not wake her, andshe knew she must bear all the blame. Indeed, they were all readyto tear her to pieces, but she cried, "Don't destroy my lifel I wiU re-store our master. I know a mountain on which grows a root thatwill cure every womid and every disease if it is placed in the per-son's mouth; but the moimtain on which it grows Hes two hundredmiles from here."
'Then,* said the Hon, "we will give you twenty-four hours, butnot longer, to find this root and bring it to us."
Away sprang the hare very fast, and in twenty-four hours she re-turned with the root. As soon as they saw her the Hon quicklyplaced the head of the hunter on the neck; and the hare, when shehad joined the woimded parts together, put the root into themouth, and in a few moments the heart began to beat, and lifecame back to the hunter.
On awaking he was terribly alarmed to find that the maidenhad disappeared. "She must have gone away while I slept," he said,"and is lost to me foreverl"
These sad thoughts so occupied him that he did not notice any-thing wrong about his head, but in truth the lion had placed it onin such a hiury that the face was turned the wrong way. He firstnoticed it when they brought him something to eat, and then hefound that his face looked backward. He was so astonished that hecould not imagine what had happened, and asked his animals thecause. Then the lion confessed that they had all slept in conse-quence of being so tired, and that when they at last awoke theyfound the Princess gone, and himself lying dead, with his head cutoff. The lion told him also that the hare had fetched the healingroot, but in their haste they had placed the head on the wrong way.This mistake, they said, could be easily rectified. So they took thehimter's head off again, turned it round, placed it on properly, andthe hare stuck the parts together with the wonderful root. Afterthis the himter went away again to travel about the world, feelingvery sorrowful, and he left his animals to be taken care of by thepeople of the town.
It so happened that at the end of a year he came back again tothe same town where he had freed the King's daughter and killedthe dragon. This time, instead of black crape the houses were hungwith scarlet cloth. "What does it mean?" he said to the landlord."Last year when I came yom* houses were all hung with blackcrape, and now it is scarlet cloth."
"Oh," repfied the landlord, 'last year we were expecting ourKing's daughter to be given up to the dragon, but the marshalfought with him and killed him, and tomorrow his marriage withthe King's daughter will take place; that is the cause of our townbeing so gay and bright—it is joy now instead of sorrow."
The next day, when the marriage was to be celebrated, thehunter said, 'Xandlord, do you believe that I shall eat bread fromthe King's table here with any one who will join me?"
"1 will lay a hundred gold-pieces," replied the landlord, "thatyou will do nothing of the kind.''
The hunter took the bet, and taking out his purse placed thegold-pieces aside for payment if he should lose.
Then he called the hare, and said to her, "Go quickly to the cas-tle, dear Springer, and bring me some of the bread which the Kingeats."
Now, the hare was such an insignificant httle thing that no oneever thought of ordering a conveyance for her, so she was obligedto go on foot. "Oh," thought she, "when I am running through thestreets, suppose the cruel hoxmd should see me." Just as she gotnear the castle she looked behind her, and there truly was a hoxmdready to seize her. But she gave a start forward, and before the sen-tinel was aware rushed into the sentry-box. The dog followed, andwanted to bring her out, but the soldier stood in the doorway andwould not let him pass, and when the dog tried to get in he struckhim with his staflF, and sent him away howHng.
As soon as the hare saw that the coast was clear she rushed outof the sentry-box and ran to the castle, and finding the door of theroom where the Princess was sitting open, she darted in and hidunder her chair. Presently the Princess felt something scratchingher foot, and thinking it was the dog, she said, "Be quiet, Sultan;go awayl" The hare scratched again at her foot, but she stiUthought it was the dog, and cried, "Will you go away, Sultan?" Butthe hare did not allow herself to be sent away, so she scratched thefoot a third time. Then the Princess looked down and recognizedthe hare by her necklace. She took the creature at once in her arms,carried her to her own room, and said, "Dear little hare, what doyou want?"
The hare replied instantly, "My master, who killed the dragon, ishere, and he has sent me to ask for some of the bread that the Kingeats."
Then was the King's daughter full of joy; she sent for the cook,and ordered him to bring her some of the bread which was madefor the King. When he brought it the hare cried, "The cook mustgo with me, or that cruel hound may do me some harm." So thecook carried the bread, and went with the hare to the door of theinn.
As soon as he was gone she stood on her hind legs, took thebread in her fore-paws, and brought it to her master.
"Therel" cried the hxmter; "here is the bread, landlord, and thehimdred gold-pieces are mine."
The landlord was much surprised, but when the hunter declaredhe would also have some of the roast meat from the King's table, hesaid: "The bread may be here, but I'U warrant you will get nothingmore."
The hunter called the fox, and said to him, "My fox, go and fetchme some of the roast meat such as the King eats."
The red fox knew a better trick than the hare: he went across thefields, and slipped in without being seen by the hound. Then heplaced himself under the chair of the King's daughter, and touchedher foot. She looked down immediately, and recognizing him by hisnecklace, took him into her room. "What do you want, dear fox?"she asked.
"My master, who killed the dragon, is here," he replied, "and hassent me to ask for some of the roast meat that is cooked for theKing."
The cook was sent for again, and the Princess desired him tocarry some meat for the fox to the door of the iim. On arriving, thefox took the dish from the cook, and after whisking away the fliesthat had settled on it, with his tail, brought it to his master.
"See, landlord," cried the hunter, "here are bread and meat suchas the King eats, and now I will have vegetables." So he called thewolf, and said, "Dear wolf, go and fetch me vegetables such as theKing eats."
Away went the wolf straight to the castle, for he had no fear ofanything, and as soon as he entered the room he went behind thePrincess and pulled her dress, so that she was obliged to lookround. She recognized the wolf irmnediately by the necklace, tookhim into her chamber, and said, "Dear wolf, what do you want?"He replied, "My master, who killed the dragon, is here, and hassent me to ask for some vegetables such as the King eats."
The cook was sent for again, and told to take some vegetablesalso to the inn door; and as soon as they arrived the wolf took thedish from him and carried it to his master.
"Look here, landlord," cried the hunter, *1 have now bread,meat, and vegetables; but I will also have some sweetmeats fromthe King's table." He called the bear, and said, "Dear bear, I knowyou are fond of sweets. Now go and fetch me some sweetmeatssuch as the King eats."
The bear trotted off to the castle, and every one ran away whenthey saw him coming. But when he reached the castle gates, thesentinel held his gun before him and would not let him pass in. Butthe bear rose on his hind legs, boxed his ears right and left with his
fore-paws, and leaving him tumbled all of a heap in his sentry-box,went into the castle. Seeing the King's daughter entering he fol-lowed her and gave a slight growl. She looked behind her and, rec-ognizing the bear, called him into her chamber, and said, "Dearbear, what do you want?"
"My master, who killed the dragon, is here," he replied, "and hehas sent me to ask for some sweetmeats like those which the Kingeats."
The Princess sent for the confectioner, and desired him to bakesome sweetmeats and take them with, the bear to the door of theinn. As soon as they arrived the bear first licked up the sugar dripswhich had dropped on his fur, then stood upright, took the dish,and carried it to his master.
"See now, landlord," cried the hunter, "I have bread, and meat,and vegetables, and sweetmeats, and I mean to have vmie also,such as the King drinks." So he called the Hon to him, and said,"Dear lion, you drink tiU you are quite tipsy sometimes. Now goand fetch me some wine such as the King drinks."
As the Uon trotted through the streets all the people ran awayfrom him. The sentinel, when he saw him coming, tried to stop theway; but the lion gave a little roar, and made him run for his Hfe.Then the hon entered the castle, passed through the King's apart-ment, and knocked at the door of the Princess's room with his tail.The Princess, when she opened it and saw the Hon, was at firstrather frightened; but presently she observed on his neck the goldnecklace clasp, and knew it was the hunter's hon. She called himinto her chamber, and said, "Dear hon, what do you want?"
"My master, who killed the dragon," he rephed, "is here, and hehas sent me to ask for some wine, such as the King drinks."
Then she sent for the King's cup-bearer, and told him to give theHon some of the King's wine.
"I will go with him," said the Hon, "and see that he draws theright sort." So the Hon went with the cup-bearer to the wine-cellar,and when he saw him about to draw some of the ordinary winewhich the King's vassals drank, the Hon cried, "StopI I will taste thevwne first." So he drew himself a pint, and swallowed it down at agulp. "No," he sdd, "that is not the right sort."
The cup-bearer saw he was found out; however, he went over toanother cask that was kept for the King's marshal. "StopI" cried theHon again, "1 will taste the wdne first." So he drew another pint anddrank it off. "Ahl" he said, "that is better, but still not the rightwine."
Then the cup-bearer was angry, and said, "What can a stupidbeast like you understand about wine?"
But the lion, with a lash of his tail, knocked him down, and be-fore the man could move himself found his way stealthily into a Ht-tle private cellar, in which were casks of wine never tasted by anybut the King. The Hon drew half a pint, and when he had tasted it,he said to himself, "That is wine of the right sort." So he called thecup-bearer and made him draw six flagons full.
As they came up from the cellar into the open air the lion's headswam a little, and he was almost tipsy; but as the cup-bearer wasobliged to carry the wine for him to the door of the inn, it did notmuch matter. When they arrived, the Hon took the handle of the bas-ket in his mouth, and carried the wine to his master.
"Now, Master landlord," said the hunter, "I have bread, meat,vegetables, sweetmeats, and wine, such as the King has, so I will sitdown and with my faithful animals enjoy a good meal"; and, in-deed, he felt very happy, for he knew now that the King's daughterstill loved him.
After they had finished, the hunter said to the landlord, "Nowthat I have eaten and drunk of the same provisions as the King, Iwill go to the King's castle and marry his daughter."
"Well," said the landlord, "how that is to be managed I cannottell, when she has already a bridegroom to whom she will today bemarried."
The hunter, without a word, took out the pocket handkerchiefwhich the King's daughter had given him on the dragon's moun-tain, and opening it, showed the landlord the seven tongues of themonster, which he had cut out and wrapped in the handkerchief.'That which I have so carefully preserved vidll help me," said thehunter.
The landlord looked at the handkerchief and said, "I may believeall the rest, but I would bet my house and farm-yard that you willnever marry the King's daughter."
"Very well," said the hunter, "I accept yoiu: bet, and if I lose,there are my hundred gold-pieces"; and he laid them on the table.
That same day, when the King and his daughter were seated attable, the King said, "What did all those wild animals want whocame to you today, going in and out of my castle?" "I cannot teUyou yet," she replied; "but if you will send into the town for themaster of these animals, then I will do so."
The King sent, on hearing this, a servant at once to the inn withan invitation to the stranger who owned the animals, and the ser-
vant arrived just as the hunter had finished his bet with the land-lord.
"See, landlord!" he cried, "the King has sent me an invitation byhis servant; but I cannot accept it yet." He turned to the man whowaited, and said, "Tell my lord the King that I cannot obey hiscommands to visit him unless he sends me suitable clothes for aroyal palace, and a carriage with six horses, and servants to waitupon me."
The servant returned with the message, and when the Kingheard it he said to his daughter, '"What shall I do?"
'T. would send for him as he requests," she replied.
So they sent royal robes, and a carriage and six horses with ser-vants, and when the hunter saw them coming he said to the land-lord, "Seel they have sent for me as I wished."
He dressed himself in the kingly clothes, took the handkerchiefcontaining the dragon's tongues, and drove away to the castle.
As soon as he arrived the King said to his daughter, "How shall Ireceive him?" *1 should go and meet him," she replied.
So the King went to meet him, and led him into the royal apart-ment, and all his animals followed. The King pointed him to a seatby his daughter. The marshal sat on her other side as bridegroom,but the visitor knew it not.
Just at this moment the dragon s seven heads were brought intothe room to show to the company, and the King said: "These headsbelonged to the dragon who was for so many years the terror ofthis town. The marshal slew the dragon, and saved my daughterslife; therefore I have given her to him in marriage, according to mypromise."
At this the hunter rose, and advancing, opened the seven throatsof the dragon, and said, "Where are the tongues?"
The marshal turned white with fear, and knew not what to do. Atlast he said in his terror, *T)ragons have no tongues."
"Liars get nothing for their pains," said the hunter; "the dragon'stongues shall prove who was his conqueror 1"
He unfolded the handkerchief as he spoke. There lay the seventongues. He took them up and placed each in the mouth of thedragon's head to which it belonged, and it fitted exactly. Then hetook up the pocket handkerchief which was marked with the nameof the King's daughter, showed it to the maiden, and asked her ifshe had not given it to him. "Yes," she replied; "I gave it to you onthe day you kiUed the dragon."
He called his animals to him, took from each the necklace, and
from the lion the one with the golden clasp, and asked to whomthey belonged.
"They are mine," she replied; "they are a part of my cxjral neck-lace which had five strings of beads, which I divided among theanimals because they aided you in killing the dragon, and after-ward tore him in pieces. I cannot tell how the marshal could havecarried me away from you," she continued, "for you told me to Hedown and sleep after the fatigue and fright I had endured."
"I slept myself," he repUed, "for I was quite worn out with mycombat, and as I lay sleeping the marshal came and cut oflE myhead."
"I begin to understand now," said the King; "the marshal carriedaway my daughter, supposing you were dead, and made us believethat he had killed the dragon, till you arrived with the tongues, thehandkerchief, and the necklace. But what restored you to life?"asked the King.
Then the hunter related how one of his animals had healed himand restored him to Kfe through the application of a wonderfulroot, and how he had been wandering about for a whole year, andhad only returned to the town that very day, and heard from thelandlord of the marshal's deceit.
Then said the King to his daughter, "Is it true that this mankilled the dragon?"
"Yes," she answered, "quite true, and I can venture now to ex-pose the wickedness of the marshal; for he carried me away thatday against my wish, and forced me with threats to keep silent. Idid not know he had tried to kill the real slayer of the dragon, but Ihoped he would come back, and on that account I begged to havethe marriage put ofiF for a year and a day."
The King, after this, ordered twelve judges to be summoned totry the marshal, and the sentence passed upon him was that heshould be torn to pieces by wild oxen. As soon as the marshal waspunished the King gave his daughter to the hunter, and appointedhim to the high position of stadtholder over the whole kingdom.
The marriage caused great joy, and the hunter, who was now aPrince, sent for his father and foster-father, and overloaded themvwth treasures.
Neither did he forget the landlord, but sent for him to come tothe castle, and said, "See, landlord, I have married the King'sdaughter, and your house and farm-yard belong to me." 'That isquite true," replied the landlord.
"Ah," said the Prince, "but I do not mean to keep them; they are
still yours, and I make you a present of the hundred gold-piecesalso."
For a time the young Prince and his wife lived most happily to-gether. He still, however, went out himting, which was his greatdeHght, and his faithful animals remained with him. They hved,however, in a wood close by, from which he could call them at anytime; yet the wood was not safe, for he once went in and did notget out again very easily.
Whenever the Prince had a wish, to go hunting, he gave the Kingno rest tiU he allowed him to do so. On one occasion, while ridingwith a large nimiber of attendants in the wood, he saw at a dis-tance a snow-white deer, and he said to his people, "Stay here till Icome back; I must have that beautiful creature, and so many wiUfrighten her."
Then he rode away through the wood, and only his animals fol-lowed him. The attendants drew rein, and waited till evening, butas he did not come they rode home and told the young Princessthat her husband had gone into an enchanted forest to hunt a whitedeer, and had not returned.
This made her very anxious, more especially when the morrowcame and he did not return; indeed, he could not, for he kept rid-ing after the beautiful wild animal, but without being able to over-take it. At times, when he fancied she was within reach of his gun,the next moment she was leaping away at a great distance, and atlast she vanished altogether.
Not till then did he notice how far he had penetrated into theforest. He raised his horn and blew, but there was no answer, forhis attendants could not hear it; and then as night came on he sawplainly that he should not be able to find his way home tiU the nextday, so he alighted from his horse, Ht a fire by a tree, and deter-mined to make himself as comfortable as he could for the night.
As he sat imder the tree by the fire, with his animals lying nearhim, he heard, as he thought, a human voice. He looked round, butcould see nothing. Presently there was a groan over his head; helooked up and saw an old woman sitting on a branch, who keptgrumbling, "Oh, oh, how cold I ami I am free2angr "If you arecold, come down and warm yomrself,'' he said. "No, no," she re-plied; "your animals vwll bite me." 'Indeed they vidU do no suchthing. Come down, old mother," he said kindly; "none of them shallhurt you."
He did not know that she was a wicked witch, so when she said,"I will throw you dovvni a little switch from the tree, and if you just
touch them on the back with it they cannot hurt me," he did as shetold him, and as soon as they were touched by the wand the ani-mals were all turned to stone. Then she jumped down, and touch-ing the Prince on the back with the switch, he also was instantlyturned into stone. Thereupon she laughed maliciously, and draggedhim and his animals into a grave where several similar stones lay.
When the Princess foimd that her husband did not return, heranxiety and care increased painfully, and she became at last veryunhappy.
Now, it so happened that just at this time the twin brother of thePrince, who since their separation had been wandering in the East,arrived in the country of which his brother's father-in-law wasKing. He had tried to obtain a situation, but could not succeed, andonly his animals were left to him.
One day, as he was wandering from one place to another, it oc-curred to his mind that he might as well go and look at the knifewhich they had stuck in the trunk of a tree at the time of their sep-aration. When he came to it there was his brother's side of the knifehalf-rusted, and the other half still bright.
In great alarm he thought, "My brother must have fallen intosome terrible trouble. I will go and find him. I may be able to res-cue him, as the half of the knife is still bright."
He set out with his animals on a journey, and while travelingwest came to the town in which his brother's wife, the King'sdaughter, lived. As soon as he reached the gate of the town thewatchman advanced toward him and asked if he should go and an-nounce his arrival to the Princess, who had for two days been ingreat trouble about him, fearing that he had been detained in theforest by enchantment.
The watchman had not the least idea that the young man wasany other than the Prince himself, especially as he had the wild ani-mals running behind him. The twin brother saw this, and he said tohimself, "Perhaps it vAU be best for me to allow myself to be takenfor my brother; I shall be able more easily to save him." So he fol-lowed the sentinel to the castle, where he was received with greatjoy.
The young Princess had no idea that this was not her husband,and asked him why he had remained away so long.
He replied, "I rode a long distance into the wood, and could notfind my way out again." At night he was taken to the royal bed, buthe laid a two-edged sword between him and the young Princess; shedid not know what that could mean, but did not venture to ask.
In a few days he discovered all about his brother that he wishedto know, and was determined to go and seek for him in the en-chanted wood. So he said, "I must go to the hunt just once more."
The King and the young Princess said all they could to dissuadehim, but to no purpose, and at length he left the castle with a largecompany of attendants.
When he reached the wood aU happened as it had done with hisbrother. He saw the beautiful white deer, and told his attendants towait while he went after it, followed only by his animals; but nei-ther could he overtake it; and the white deer led him far down intothe forest, where he foimd he must remain aU night.
After he had lighted a fire he heard, as his brother had done, theold woman in the tree, crying out that she was freezing with cold,and he said to her, "If you are cold, old mother, come down andwarm yom-self!" "No," she cried, "your animals wiU bite mel" "No,indeed they will not," he said. "I can't trust them!" she cried; "here, Iwill throw you a little switch, and if you gently strike them acrossthe back, then they will not be able to hurt me."
When the himter heard that he began to mistrust the old woman,and said, "No; I will not strike my animals; you come down, or Iwill fetch you." "Do as you Hke," she said; "you can't hurt me." "Ifyou don't come down," he replied, "I will shoot you." "Shootaway," she said; "your bullet can do me no harm."
He pointed his gun and shot at her; but the witch was proofagainst a leaden bullet. She gave a shrill laugh, and cried, "It is nouse trying to hit me."
The hunter knew, however, what to do; he cut ofiF three silverbuttons from his coat, and loaded his gun with them. Against theseshe knew all her arts were vain; so as he drew the trigger she fellsuddenly to the ground with a scream. Then he placed his footupon her, and said, "Old witch, if you do not at once confess wheremy brother is, I will take you up and throw you into the fire."
She was in a great fright, begged for pardon, and said, "He islying with his animals, turned to stone, in a grave."
Then he forced her to go with him, and said, "You old cat, if youdon't instantly restore my brother to life, and all the creatures thatare with him, over you go into the fire."
She was obliged to take a switch and strike the stones, and im-mediately the brother, his animals, and many others—traders, me-chanics, and shepherds—stood before him, alive and in their ownforms.
Thankful for having gained their freedom and their Hves, they all
The Twin Brothers 323
hastened home; but the twin brothers, when they saw each otheragain, were full of joy, and embraced and kissed each other withgreat affection. They seized the old witch, bound her, and placedher on the fire, and as soon as she was burned the forest becamesuddenly clear and Hght, and the King's castle appeared at a verylittle distance.
After this the twin brothers walked away together toward thecastle, and on the road related to each other the events that hadhappened to them since they parted. At last the youngest told hisbrother of his marriage to the King's daughter, and that the Kinghad made him lord over the whole land.
"I know all about it," replied the other; "for when I came to thetown, they all took me for you and treated me with kingly state;even the yoimg Princess mistook me for her husband, and made mesit by her side."
But as he spoke his brother became so fierce with jealousy andanger that he drew his sword and cut off his brother's head. Thenas he saw him lie dead at his feet his anger was quelled in a mo-ment, and he repented bitterly, crying, "Oh, my brother is dead,and it is I who have killed him!" and kneeling by his side hemourned with loud cries and tears.
In a moment the hare appeared and begged to be allowed tofetch the life-giving root, which she knew would cure him. She wasnot away long, and when she retiuned, the head was replaced andfastened with the healing power of the plant, and the brother re-stored to life, while not even a sign of the woimd remained to benoticed.
The brothers now walked on most lovingly together, and the onewho had married the King's daughter said, "I see that you havekingly clothes, as I have; your animals are the same as mine. Let usenter the castle at two opposite doors, and approach the old Kingfrom two sides together."
So they separated; and as the King sat wdth his daughter in theroyal apartment a sentinel approached him from two distant en-trances at the same time, and informed him that the Prince, vnthhis animals, had arrived. "That is impossible!" cried the King; "oneof you must be wrong; for the gates at which you watch are quite aquarter of a mile apart."
But while the King spoke the two young men entered at oppositeends of the room, and both came forward and stood before theKing.
With a bewildered look the King turned to his daughter, and
said, "Which is your husband? For they are both so exactly alike Icannot tell."
She was herself very much frightened, and could not speak; atlast she thought of the necklace that she had given to the animals,and looking earnestly among them she saw the gHtter of the goldenclasp on the lion's neck. "See," she cried in a happy voice, "hewhom that lion follows is my husband!"
The Prince laughed, and said, "Yes; you are right; and this is mytwin brother."
So they sat down happily together and told the King and theyoung Princess aU their adventures.
When the King's daughter and her husband were alone she saidto him, "Why have you for the last several nights always laid atwo-edged sword in our bed? I thought you had a wish to kiU me."
Then the Prince knew how true and honorable his twin brotherhad been.
Ferdinand the Faithful andFerdinand the Unfaithful
Once upon a time there Hved a man and a woman who, so long asthey were rich, had no children; but when they were poor they hada little boy. They could, however, find no godfather for him, so theman said he would just go to another place to see if he could getone there. As he went, a poor man met him, who asked him wherehe was going. He said he was going to see if he could get a godfa-ther; that he was poor, so no one would stand as godfather for him."Oh," said the poor man, "thou art poor, and I am poor; I will begodfather for thee, but I am so iU-ofiE I can give the child nothing.Go home and teU the nurse that she is to come to the church withthe child."
When they all got to the church together, the beggar was alreadythere, and he gave the child the name of Ferdinand the Faithful.
When he was going out of the church, the beggar said, "Now gohome, I can give thee nothing, and thou likewise ought to give menothing." But he gave a key to the nurse, and told her when she gothome she was to give it to the father, who was to take care of it
until the child was fourteen years old, and then he was to go on theheath where there was a castle, which the key would fit, and thatall which was therein should belong to him.
Now when the child was seven years old and had grown verybig, he once went to play with some other boys, and each of themboasted that he had got more from his godfather than the other;but the child could say nothing, and was vexed, and went homeand said to his father, "Did I get nothing at all, then, from my godfa-ther?" "Oh, yes," said the father, "thou hadst a key—if there is acastle standing on the heath, just go to it and open it." Then theboy went thither, but no castle was to be seen, or heard of.
After seven years more, when he was fourteen years old, he againwent thither, and there stood the castle. When he had opened it,there was nothing within but a horse—a white one. Then the boywas so full of joy because he had a horse, that he mounted on itand galloped back to his father. "Now I have a white horse, and Iwill travel," said he. So he set out, and as he was on his way, a penwas lying on the road. At first he thought he would pick it up, butthen again he thought to himself, "Thou shouldst leave it lyingthere; thou wilt easily find a pen where thou art going, if thou hastneed of one." As he was thus riding away, a voice called after him,"Ferdinand the Faithful, take it with thee." He looked around, butsaw no one; then he went back again and picked it up.
When he had ridden a Kttle way farther, he passed by a lake, anda fish was lying on the bank, gasping and panting for breath, so hesaid, "Wait, my dear fish, I wiU help thee to get into the water,"and he took hold of it by the tail, and threw it into the lake. Thenthe fish put its head out of the water and said, "As thou hast helpedme out of the mud, I will give thee a flute; when thou art in anyneed, play on it, and then I wiU. help thee, and if ever thou lettestanything fall in the water, just play and I wiU reach it out to thee."
Then he rode away, and there came to him a man who asked himwhere he was going. "Oh, to the next place." Then the man askedwhat his name was. 'Terdinand the Faithful." "Sol then we havealmost the same name, I am called Ferdinand the Unfaithful." Andthey both set out to the inn in the nearest place.
Now it was unfortunate that Ferdinand the Unfaithful knew ev-erything that the other had ever thought and everything he wasabout to do; he knew it by means of all lands of wicked arts.
There was, however, in the inn an honest girl, who had a brightface and behaved very prettily. She fell in love with Ferdinand theFaithful because he was a handsome man, and she asked him
whither he was going. "Oh, I am just traveling round about," saidhe. Then she said he ought to stay there, for the King of that coun-try wanted an attendant or an outrider, and he ought to enter hisservice. He answered he could not very well go to any one like thatand oflFer himself. Then said the maiden, "Oh, but I will soon dothat for thee." And so she went straight to the King, and told himthat she knew of an excellent servant for him. He was well pleasedwith that, and had Ferdinand the Faithful brought to him, andwanted to make him his servant. He, however, liked better to be anoutrider, for where his horse was, there he also wanted to be, so theKing made him an outrider. When Ferdinand the Unfaitliful learntthat, he said to the girl, "What! Dost thou help him and not me?""Oh," said the girl, "I will help thee too." She thought, "I mustkeep friends with that man, for he is not to be trusted." She went tothe King, and ofiFered him as a servant, and the King was wiUing.
Now when the King met his lords in the morning, he alwayslamented and said, "Oh, if I had but my love with me." Ferdinandthe Unfaithful was, however, always hostile to Ferdinand theFaithful. So once, when the King was complaining thus, he said,"Thou hast the outrider, send him away to get her, and if he doesnot do it, his head must be struck off." Then the King sent for Fer-dinand the Faithful, and told him that there was, in this place or inthat place, a girl he loved, and that he was to bring her to him, andif he did not do it he should die.
Ferdinand the Faithful went into the stable to his white horse,and complained and lamented, "Oh, what an unhappy man I am!"Then some one behind him cried, "Ferdinand the Faithful, whyweepest thou?" He looked round but saw no one, and went onlamenting; "Oh, my dear little white horse, now must I leave thee;now must I die." Then some one cried once more, "Ferdinand theFaithful, why weepest thou?" Then for the first time he was awarethat it was his little white horse who was putting that question."Dost thou speak, my little white horse; canst thou do that?" Andagain, he said, "I am to go to this place and to that, and am tobring the bride; canst thou tell me how I am to set about it?" Thenanswered the little white horse, "Go thou to the King, and say if hewill give thee what thou must have, thou wilt get her for him. If hewill give thee a ship full of meat, and a ship full of bread, it willsucceed. Great giants dwell on the lake, and if thou takest no meatwith thee for them, they will tear thee to pieces, and there are thelarge birds which would pick the eyes out of thy head if thou hadstno bread for them."
Ferdinand the Faithful 327
Then the King made all the butchers in the land kill, and aW. thebakers bake, that the ships might be filled. When they were full,the little white horse said to Ferdinand the Faithful, "Now mountme, and go with me into the ship and then when the giants come,say,
'Peace, peace, my dear little giants,1 have had thought of ye.Something I have brought for ye.'
"When the birds come, thou shalt again say,
'Peace, peace, my dear little birds,I have had thought of ye.Something I have brought for ye'
"They will do nothing to thee, and when thou comest to the cas-tle, the giants will help thee. Then go up to the castle, and take acouple of giants with thee. There the Princess lies sleeping; thoumust, however, not awaken her, but the giants must lift her up, andcarry her in her bed to the ship." And now everything took place asthe little white horse had said, and Ferdinand the Faithful gave thegiants and the birds what he had brought with him for them, andthat made the giants willing, and they carried the Princess in herbed to the King. And when she came to the King, she said shecould not live, she must have her writings, they had been left in hercastle. Then by the instigation of Ferdinand the Unfaithful, Fer-dinand the Faithful was called, and the King told him he mustfetch the writings from the castle, or he should die.
Then he went once more into the stable, and bemoaned himselfand said, "Oh, my dear little white horse, now I am to go awayagain, how am I to do it?" Then the little white horse said he wasjust to load the ships fuU again. So it happened again as it had hap-pened before, and the giants and the birds were satisfied, and madegentle by the meat. When they came to the castle, the white horsetold Ferdinand the Faithful that he must go in, and that on thetable in the Princess's bed-room lay the writings. And Ferdinandthe Faithful went in, and fetched them. When they were on thelake, he let his pen fall into the water. Then said the white horse,"Now I cannot help thee at all." But he remembered his flute, andbegan to play on it, and the fish came with the pen in its mouth,and gave it to him. So he took the writings to the castle, where thewedding was celebrated.
The Queen, however, did not love the King because he had no
328 Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales
nose, but she would have much liked to love Ferdinand the Faith-ful. Once, therefore, when all the lords of the court were together,the Queen said she could do feats of magic, that she could cut offany one's head and put it on again, and that one of them ought justto try it. But none of them would be the first, so Ferdinand theFaithful, again at the instigation of Ferdinand the Unfaithful, un-dertook it and she hewed off his head, and put it on again for him,and it healed together directly, so that it looked as if he had a redthread round his throat.
Then the King said to her, "My child, and where hast thou learntthat?" "Yes," she said, "I understand the art; shall I just try it onthee also?" "Oh, yes," said he. But she cut off his head, and did notput it on again; but pretended that she could not get it on, and thatit would not keep fixed. Then the King was buried, but she marriedFerdinand the Faithful.
He, however, always rode on his white horse, and once when hewas seated on it, it told him that he was to go on to the heathwhich he knew, and gallop three times round it. And when he haddone that, the white horse stood up on its hind legs, and waschanged into a King's son.
The Three Black Princesses
East India was besieged by an enemy who would not retire untilhe had received six hundred dollars. Then the townsfolk caused it tobe proclaimed by beat of drum that whosoever was able to procurethe money should be burgomaster. Now there was a poor fishermanwho fished on the lake with his son, and the enemy came and tookthe son prisoner, and gave the father six hundred dollars for him.So the father went and gave them to the great men of the town,and the enemy departed, and the fisherman became bxurgomaster.Then it was proclaimed that whosoever did not say, "Mr. Bur-gomaster," should be put to death on the gallows.
The son got away again from the enemy, and came to a great for-est on a high mountain. The mountain opened, and he went into agreat enchanted castle, wherein chairs, tables, and benches were allhung with black. Then came three young Princesses who were en-tirely dressed in black, but had a little white on their faces; they
The Three Black Princesses 329
told him he was not to be afraid, they would not hurt him, and thathe could deliver them. He said he would gladly do that, if he didbut know how. On this, they told him he must for a whole year notspeak to them and also not look at them, and what he wanted tohave he was just to ask for, and if they dared give him an answerthey would do so. When he had been there for a long while he saidhe should hke to go to his father, and they told him he might go.He was to take with him this purse with money, put on this coat,and in a week he must be back there again.
Then he was caught up, and was instantly in East India. Hecould no longer find his father in the fisherman's hut, and asked thepeople where the poor fisherman could be, and they told him hemust not say that, or he would come to the gallows. Then he wentto his father and said, "Fisherman, how hast thou got here?" Thenthe father said, 'Thou must not say that, if the great men of thetown knew of that, thou wouldst come to the gallows." He, how-ever, would not stop, and was brought to the gallows.
When he was there, he said, "O, my masters, just give me leaveto go to the old fisherman's hut." Then he put on his old smock-frock, and came back to the great men, and said, TDo ye not nowsee? Am I not the son of the poor fisherman? Did I not earn breadfor my father and mother in this dress?" Hereupon his father knewhim again, and begged his pardon, and took him home with him,and then he related all that had happened to him, and how he hadgot into a forest on a high mountain, and the mountain had openedand he had gone into an enchanted castle, where all was black, andthree young Princesses had come to him who were black except alittle white on their faces. And they had told him not to fear, andthat he could deliver them. Then his mother said that might verylikely not be a good thing to do, and that he ought to take a holy-water vessel with him, and drop some boiling water on their faces.
He went back again, and he was in great fear, and he droppedthe water on their faces as they were sleeping, and they all turnedhalf-white. Then all the three Princesses sprang up, and said, 'Thouaccursed dog, our blood shall cry for vengeance on theel Now thereis no man bom in the world, nor will any ever be bom who can setus free! We have still three brothers who are bound by sevenchains—they shall tear thee to pieces." Then there was a loudshrieking all over the castle, and he sprang out of the window, andbroke his leg, and the castle sank into the earth again, the mountainshut to again, and no one knew where the castle had stood.
Snow-White and the Seven Dwarfs
It was the middle of winter, and the snow-flakes were falling likefeathers from the sky, and a Queen sat at her window working, andher embroidery-frame was of ebony. And as she worked, gazing attimes out on the snow, she pricked her finger, and there fell from itthree drops of blood on the snow. And when she saw how brightand red it looked, she said to herself, "Oh that I had a child aswhite as snow, as red as blood, and as black as the wood of the em-broidery frame!"
Not very long after she had a daughter, with a skin as white assnow, lips as red as blood, and hair as black as ebony, and she wasnamed Snow-white. And when she was bom the Queen died.
After a year had gone by the King took another wife, a beautifulwoman, but proud and overbearing, and she could not bear to besmpassed in beauty by any one. She had a magic looking-glass, andshe used to stand before it, and look in it, and say,
"Looking-glass upon the wall.Who is fairest of us aW
And the looking-glass would answer,
'you are fairest of them all."
And she was contented, for she knew that the looking-glass spokethe truth.
Now, Snow-white was growing prettier and prettier, and whenshe was seven years old she was as beautiful as day, far more sothan the Queen herself. So one day when the Queen went to hermirror and said,
it answered.
^Looking-glass upon the wall,Who is fairest of us all?"
"Queen, you are full fair, 'tis true.But Snou)-white fairer is than you'
This gave the Queen a great shock, and she became yellow andgreen with envy, and from that hour her heart turned against
Snow-white, and she hated her. And envy and pride like ill weedsgrew in her heart higher every day, until she had no peace day ornight. At last she sent for a huntsman, and said, 'Take the child outinto the woods, so that I may set eyes on her no more. You mustput her to death, and bring me her heart for a token."
The huntsman consented, and led her away; but when he drewhis cutlass to pierce Snow-white's irmocent heart, she began toweep, and to say, "Oh, dear huntsman, do not take my life; I willgo away into the wild wood, and never come home again."
And as she was so lovely the huntsman had pity on her, and said,"Away with you then, poor child"; for he thought the wild animalswould be sure to devour her, and it was as if a stone had beenrolled away from his heart when he did not put her to death. Just atthat moment a yoimg wild boar came running by, so he caughtand killed it, and taking out its heart, he brought it to the Queen fora token. And it was salted and cooked, and the wicked woman ate itup, thinking that there was an end of Snow-white.
Now, when the poor child foimd herself quite alone in the wildwoods, she felt full of terror, even of the very leaves on the trees,and she did not know what to do for fright. Then she began to nmover the sharp stones and through the thorn bushes, and the wildbeasts after her, but they did her no harm. She ran as long as herfeet would carry her; and when the evening drew near she came foa little house, and she went inside to rest. Everything there wasvery small, but as pretty and clean as possible. There stood the Ht-tle table ready laid, and covered with a white cloth, and seven littleplates, and seven knives and forks, and drinking-cups. By the wallstood seven little beds, side by side, covered with clean whitequilts. Snow-white, being very hungry and thirsty, ate from eachplate a little porridge and bread, and drank out of each little cup adrop of wine, so as not to finish up one portion alone. After that shefelt so tired that she lay down on one of the beds, but it did notseem to suit her; one was too long, another too short, but at last theseventh was quite right; and so she lay down upon it, committedherself to Heaven, and fell asleep.
When it was quite dark, the masters of the house came home.They were seven dwarfs, whose occupation was to dig under-grormd among the moimtains. When they had lighted their sevencandles, and it was quite light in the little house, they saw thatsome one must have been in, as everything was not in the sameorder in which they left it.
The first said, "Who has been sitting in my little chair?"The second said, "Who has been eating from my little plate?"The third said, "Who has been taking my little loaf?"The fourth said, "Who has been tasting my porridge?"The fifth said, "Who has been using my little fork?"The sixth said, "Who has been cutting with my fittle knife?"The seventh said, "Who has been drinking from my little cup?"Then the first one, looking round, saw a hollow in his bed, andcried, "Who has been lying on my bed?" And the others camerunning, and cried, "Some one has been on our beds tool"
But when the seventh looked at his bed, he saw little Snow-whitelying there asleep. Then he told the others, who came running up,crying out in their astonishment, and holding up their seven Httlecandles to throw a Hght upon Snow-white.
"O goodnessl O gracious!" cried they, "what beautiful child isthis?" and were so full of joy to see her that they did not wake her,but let her sleep on. And the seventh dwarf slept with his com-rades, an hour at a time with each, until the night had passed.
When it was morning, and Snow-white awoke and saw the sevendwarfs, she was very frightened; but they seemed quite friendly,and asked her what her name was, and she told them; and thenthey asked how she came to be in their house. And she related tothem how her step-mother had wished her to be put to death, andhow the huntsman had spared her life, and how she had run thewhole day long, until at last she had found their little house.
Then the dwarfs said, "If you will keep our house for us, andcook, and wash, and make the beds, and sew and knit, and keep ev-erything tidy and clean, you may stay with us, and you shall lacknothing."
"With all my heart," said Snow-white; and so she stayed, andkept the house in good order. In the morning the dwarfs went tothe mountain to dig for gold; in the evening they came home, andtheir supper had to be readv for them. All the day long the maidenwas left alone, and the good little dwarfs warned her, saying, "Be-ware of your step-mother, she will soon know you are here. Let noone into the house."
Now the Queen, having eaten Snow-white's heart, as she sup-posed, felt quite sure that now she was the first and fairest, and soshe came to her mirror, and said,
"Looking-glass upon the wall.Who is fairest of us all?"
And the glass answered,
"Queen, thou art of beauty rare.But Snow-white living in the glenWith the seven little menIs a thousand times mxyre fair."
Then she was very angry, for the glass always spoke the truth,and she knew that the huntsman must have deceived her, and thatSnow-white must still be Hving. And she thought and thought howshe could manage to make an end of her, for as long as she was notthe fairest in the land, envy left her no rest. At last she thought of aplan; she painted her face and dressed herself like an old peddlerwoman, so that no one would have known her. In this disguiseshe went across the seven mountains, imtil she came to the house ofthe seven Uttle dwarfs, and she knocked at the door and cried,"Fine wares to seUI fine wares to selll"
Snow-white peeped out of the window and cried, "Good-day,good woman, what have you to sell?"
"Good wares, fine wares," answered she, "laces of aU colors"; andshe held up a piece that was woven of variegated silk.
"I need not be afraid of letting in this good woman," thoughtSnow-white, and she unbarred the door and bought the pretty lace.
"What a figure you are, childl" said the old woman, "come andlet me lace you properly for once."
Snow-white, suspecting nothing, stood up before her, and let herlace her with the new lace; but the old woman laced so quickly andtightly that it took Snow-white's breath away, and she fell down asdead.
"Now you have done with being the fairest," said the old womanas she hastened away.
Not long after that, towards evening, the seven dwarfs camehome, and were terrified to see their dear Snow-white lying on theground, without life or motion; they raised her up, and when theysaw how tightly she was laced they cut the lace in two; then shebegan to draw breath, and little by Httle she returned to life. Whenthe dwarfs heard what had happened they said, "The old peddlerwoman was no other than the wicked Queen; you must bewEure ofletting any one in when we are not here I"
And when the wicked woman got home she went to her glass andsaid,
"Looking-glass against the wall.Who is fairest of us allF'
And it answered as before,
"Queen, thou art of beauty rare.But Snow-white living in the glenWith the seven little menIs a thousand times more fair."
When she heard that she was so struck with surprise that all theblood left her heart, for she knew that Snow-white must stiU beliving.
"But now," said she, "I will think of something that wiU be herruin." And by witchcraft she made a poisoned comb. Then shedressed herself up to look like another different sort of old woman.So she went across the seven mountains and came to the house ofthe seven dwarfs, and knocked at the door and cried, "Good waresto sell! good wares to seUI"
Snow-white looked out and said, "Go away, I must not let any-body in."
"But you are not forbidden to look," said the old woman, takingout the poisoned comb and holding it up. It pleased the poor childso much that she was tempted to open the door; and when the bar-gain was made the old woman said, "Now, for once, your hair shallbe properly combed."
Poor Snow-white, thinking no harm, let the old woman do as shewould, but no sooner was the comb put in her hair than the poisonbegan to work, and the poor girl fell dov^Ti senseless.
"Now, you paragon of beauty," said the wicked woman, "this isthe end of you," and went off. By good luck it was now near eve-ning, and the seven little dwarfs came home. When they saw Snow-white lying on the ground as dead, they thought directly that it wasthe step-mother's doing, and looked about, found the poisonedcomb, and no sooner had they drawn it out of her hair than Snow-white came to herself, and related all that had passed. Then theywarned her once more to be on her guard, and never again to letany one in at the door.
And the Queen went home and stood before the looking-glassand said,
"Looking-glass against the wall.Who is fairest of us allF'
And the looking-glass answered as before,
"Queen, thou art of beauty rare.But Snow-white living in the glen
Snow-White and the Seven Dwarfs 335
With the seven little men
Is a thousand times more fair."
When she heard the looking-glass speak thus she trembled andshook with anger. "Snow-white shall die," cried she, "though itshould cost me my own lifel"
And then she went to a secret lonely chamber, where no one waslikely to come, and there she made a poisonous apple. It was beauti-ful to look upon, being white with red cheeks, so that any one whoshould see it must long for it, but whoever ate even a little bit of itmust die. When the apple was ready she painted her face andclothed herself like a peasant woman, and went across the sevenmountains to where the seven dwarfs hved. And when she knockedat the door Snow-white put her head out of the window and said,'1 dare not let anybody in; the seven dwarfs told me not to."
"All right," answered the woman; "I can easily get rid of myapples elsewhere. There, I will give you one."
"No," answered Snow-white, "I dare not take anything."
"Are you afraid of poison?" said the woman, 'look here, I will cutthe apple in two pieces; you shall have the red side, I will have thewhite one."
For the apple was so cunningly made, that all the poison was inthe rosy half of it. Snow-white longed for the beautiful apple, andas she saw the peasant woman eating a piece of it she could nolonger refrain, but stretched out her hand and took the poisonedhalf. But no sooner had she taken a morsel of it into her mouth thanshe fell to the earth as dead. And the Queen, casting on her a terri-ble glance, laughed aloud and cried, "As white as snow, as red asblood, as black as ebony! This time the dwarfs will not be able tobring you to life again."
And when she went home and asked the looking-glass,
"Looking-glass against the wall.Who is fairest of us all?"
at last it answered, "You are the fairest now of all."
Then her envious heart had peace, as much as an envious heartcan have.
The dwarfs, when they came home in the evening, found Snow-white lying on the groimd, and there came no breath out of hermouth, and she was dead. They lifted her up, sought if anythingpoisonous was to be found, cut her laces, combed her hair, washedher with water and wine, but all was of no avail, the poor child wasdead, and remained dead. Then they laid her on a bier, and sat all
seven of them round it, and wept and lamented three whole days.And then they would have buried her, but that she looked stiU as ifshe were living, with her beautiful blooming cheeks.
So they said, "We cannot hide her away in the black ground."And they had made a coffin of clear glass, so as to be looked intofrom all sides, and they laid her in it, and wrote in golden lettersupon it her name, and that she was a King's daughter. Then theyset the coffin out upon the mountain, and one of them alwaysremained by it to watch. And the birds came too, and mommed forSnow-white, first an owl, then a raven, and lastly, a dove.
Now, for a long while Snow-white lay in the coffin and neverchanged, but looked as if she were asleep, for she was still as whiteas snow, as red as blood, and her hair was as black as ebony.
It happened, however, that one day a King's son rode throughthe wood and up to the dwarfs' house, which was near it. He sawon the mountain the coffin, and beautiful Snow-white within it, andhe read what was written in golden letters upon it. Then he said tothe dwarfs, "Let me have the coffin, and I will give you whateveryou like to ask for it."
But the dwarfs told him that they could not part with it for allthe gold in the world. But he said, '1 beseech you to give it me, forI cannot live v^athout looking upon Snow-white; if you consent Iwill bring you to great honor, and care for you as if you were mybrethren."
When he so spoke the good little dwarfs had pity upon him andgave him the coffin, and the King's son called his servants and bidthem carry it away on their shoulders. Now it happened that asthey were going along they stumbled over a bush, and with theshaking the bit of poisoned apple flew out of her throat. It was notlong before she opened her eyes, threw up the cover of the coffin,and sat up, ahve and well.
"Oh dearl where am I?" cried she. The King's son answered, fuUof joy, "You are near me," and, relating all that had happened, hesaid, "1 wotJd rather have you than anything in the world; comevidth me to my father's castle and you shall be my bride."
And Snow-white was kind, and went with him, and their wed-ding was held with pomp and great splendor.
But Snow-white's wicked step-mother was also bidden to thefeast, and when she had dressed herself in beautiful clothes shewent to her looking-glass and said,
"Looking-glass upon the wall.Who is fairest of us alW
Tlie looking-glass answered,
"O Queen, although you are of beauty rare.The young bride is a thousand times more fair."
Then she railed and cm-sed, and was beside herself with disap-pointment and anger. First she thought she would not go to thewedding; but then she felt she should have no peace until she wentand saw the bride. And when she saw her she knew her for Snow-white, and could not stir from the place for anger and terror. Forthey had ready red-hot iron shoes, in which she had to dance untilshe fell down dead.
The Shoes That Were Danced to Pieces
Theee was once upon a time a King who had twelve daughters,each one more beautiful than the other. They all slept together inone chamber, in which their beds stood side by side, and everynight when they were in them the King locked the door, and boltedit. But in the morning when he unlocked the door, he saw that theirshoes were worn out with dancing, and no one could find out howthat had come to pass. Then the King caused it to be proclaimedthat whosoever could discover where they danced at night, shouldchoose one of them for his wiie and be King after his death; butthat whosoever came forward and had not discovered it withinthree days and nights, should have forfeited his Hfe.
It was not long before a King's son presented himself, and ofiFeredto undertake the enterprise. He was well received, and in the eve-ning was led into a room adjoining the Princesses' sleeping-chamber. His bed was placed there, and he was to observe wherethey went and danced, and in order that they might do nothingsecretly or go away to some other place, the door of their room wasleft open.
But the eyelids of the Prince grew heavy as lead, and he fellasleep, and when he awoke in the morning, aU twelve had been tothe dance, for their shoes were standing there with holes in thesoles. On the second and third nights it fell out just the same, andthen his head was struck off without mercy. Many others cameafter this and undertook the enterprise, but all forfeited their Hves.
Now it came to pass that a poor soldier who had a wound, andcould serve no longer, found himself on the road to the town wherethe King lived. There he met an old woman, who asked him wherehe was going. "I hardly know myself," answered he, and added injest, 'Tl had half a mind to discover where the Princesses dancedtheir shoes into holes, and thus become King." "That is not sodifficult," said the old woman, "you must not drink the wane whichwiU be brought to you at night, and must pretend to be soundasleep."
With that she gave him a little cloak, and said, "If you put onthat, you vvdll be invisible, and then you can steal after the twelve."When the soldier had received this good advice, he went into thething in earnest, took heart, went to the King, and announced him-self as a suitor. He was as well received as the others, and royalgarments were put upon him. He was conducted that evening atbed-time into the ante-chamber, and as he was about to go to bed,the eldest came and brought him a cup of wine, but he had tied asponge imder his chin, and let the wine run down into it, withoutdrinking a drop. Then he lay down and when he had lain a while,he began to snore, as if in the deepest sleep.
The twelve Princesses heard that, and laughed, and the eldestsaid, "He, too, might as well have saved his life." With that theygot up, opened wardrobes, presses, cupboards, and brought outpretty dresses; dressed themselves before the mirrors, sprang about,and rejoiced at the prospect of the dance. Only the youngest said,'1 know not how it is; you are very happy, but I feel very strange;some misfortune is certainly about to befall us." "You are a goose,who is always frightened," said the eldest. "Have you forgottenhow many Kings' sons have already come here in vain? I hadhardly any need to give the soldier a sleeping-draught; in any casethe clown would not have awakened." When they were all readythey looked carefully at the soldier, but he had closed his eyes anddid not move or stir, so they felt themselves quite secure. The eld-est then went to her bed and tapped it; it immediately sank into theearth, and one after the other they descended through the opening,the eldest going first.
The soldier, who had watched everything, tarried no longer, puton his little cloak, and went down last with the youngest. Half-waydown the steps, he just trod a Uttle on her dress; she was terrified atthat, and cried out, "What is that? who is pulling at my dress?""Don't be so sillyl" said the eldest, "you have caught it on a nail."
Then they went all the way down, and when they were at the
The Shoes That Were Danced to Pieces 339
bottom, they were standing in a wonderfully pretty avenue of trees,all the leaves of which were of silver, and shone and glistened. Thesoldier thought, "I must carry a token away with me," and brokeoflF a twig from one of them, on which the tree cracked with a loudreport. The youngest cried out again, "Something is wrong, did youhear the crack?" But the eldest said, "It is a gun fired for joy, be-cause we have got rid of our Prince so quickly." After that theycame into an avenue where all the leaves were of gold, and lastlyinto a third avenue where they were of bright diamonds. He brokeoff a twig from each, which made such a crack each time that theyoungest started back in terror, but the eldest still maintained thatthey were salutes. They went on and came to a great lake whereonstood twelve little boats, and in every boat sat a handsome Prince,all of whom were waiting for the twelve, and each took one of themwith him, but the soldier seated himself by the youngest. Then herPrince said, "I can't tell why the boat is so much heavier today; Ishall have to row with all my strength, if I am to get it across.""What should cause that," said the youngest, "but the warmweather? I feel very warm too." On the opposite side of the lakestood a splendid, brightly Ht castle, from whence resounded thejoyous music of trumpets and kettle-drums. They rowed over there,entered, and each Prince danced with the girl he loved, but the sol-dier danced with them unseen, and when one of them had a cup ofwine in her hand he drank it up, so that the cup was empty whenshe carried it to her mouth; the youngest was alarmed at this, butthe eldest always m^de her be silent.
They danced there till three o'clock in the morning when all theshoes were danced into holes, and they were forced to leave off.The Princes rowed them back again over the lake, and this time thesoldier seated himself by the eldest. On the shore they took leave oftheir Princes, and promised to return the following night. Whenthey reached the stairs the soldier ran on in front and lay down inhis bed, and when the twelve had come up slowly and wearily, hewas already snoring so loudly that they could all hear him, andthey said, "So far as he is concerned, we are safe." They took offtheir beautiful dresses, laid them away, put the worn-out shoesunder the bed, and lay down. Next morning the soldier was re-solved not to speak, but to watch the wonderful goings on, andagain went with them.
Everything was done just as it had been done the first time, andeach time they danced until their shoes were worn to pieces. Butthe third time he took a cup away with him as a token. When the
hour had arrived for him to give his answer, he took the three twigsand the cup, and went to the King, but the twelve stood behind thedoor, and listened for what he was going to say. When the King putthe question, "Where have my twelve daughters danced their shoesto pieces in the night?" he answered, 'In an underground castlewith twelve Princes," and related how it had come to pass, andbrought out the tokens.
The King then summoned his daughters, and asked them if thesoldier had told the truth, and when they saw that they were be-trayed, and that falsehood would be of no avail, they were obligedto confess all. Thereupon the King asked which of them he wouldhave to wife. He answered, 'T am no longer young, so give me theeldest." Then the wedding was celebrated on the self-same day,and the kingdom was promised him after the King's death. But thePrinces were bewitched for as many days as they had dancednights with the twelve.
The Boots of Buffalo Leather
A SOLDIER who is afraid of nothing, troubles himself about nothing.One of this kind had received his discharge, and as he had learntno trade and could earn nothing, he traveled about and beggedalms of kind people. He had an old water-proof on his back, and apair of riding-boots of buffalo leather which were still left to him.One day he was walking, he knew not where, straight out intothe open cotmtry, and at length came to a forest. He did not knowwhere he was, but saw sitting on the trunk of a tree, which hadbeen cut down, a man who was well dressed and wore a greenshooting-coat. The soldier shook hands with him, sat down on thegrass by his side, and stretched out his legs. "1 see you have goodboots which are well blacked," said he to the huntsman; "but if youhad to travel about as I have, they would not last long. Look atmine, they are of buffalo leather, and have been worn for a longtime, but in them I can go through thick and thin." After a whilethe soldier got up and said, "I can stay no longer, hunger drives meonwards; but. Brother Bright-boots, where does this road lead to?"*T don't know that myseff," answered the huntsman, "I have lostmy way in the=f orest." "Then you are in the same pHght as I," said
The Boots of Buffalo Leather 341
the soldier. "Birds of a feather flock together; let us remain to-gether and seek our way." The huntsman smiled a little, and theywalked on further and further, until night fell. "We do not get outof the forest," said the soldier, "but there in the distance I see alight shining, which will help us to something to eat."
They found a stone house, knocked at the door, and an oldwoman opened it. "We are looking for quarters for the night," saidthe soldier, "and some Hning for our stomachs, for mine is as emptyas an old knapsack." "You cannot stay here," answered the oldwoman. "This is a robber's house, and you would do wisely to getaway before they come home, or you will be lost." "It won't be sobad as that," answered the soldier, "I have not had a mouthful fortwo days, and whether I am murdered here or die of hunger in theforest is all the same to me. I shall go in." The huntsman would notfollow, but the soldier drew him in with him by the sleeve. "Come,my dear brother, we shall not come to an end so quickly as that!"The old woman had pity on them and said, "Creep in here behindthe stove, and if they leave anything, I will give it to you on the slywhen they are asleep." Scarcely were they in the corner beforetwelve robbers came bursting in, seated themselves at the tablewhich was aheady laid, and vehemently demanded some food. Theold woman brought in some great dishes of roast meat, and the rob-bers enjoyed that thoroughly.
When the smell of the food reached the nostrils of the soldier, hesaid to the huntsman, "I cannot hold out any longer, I shall seatmyself at the table, and eat with them." "You will bring us to de-struction," said the huntsman, and held him back by the arm. Butthe soldier began to cough loudly. When the robbers heard that,they threw away their knives and forks, leapt up, and discoveredthe two who were behind the stove. "Aha, gentlemen, are you inthe comer?" cried they, "what are you doing here? Have you beensent as spies? Wait a while, and you shall learn how to fly on a drybough." "But do be civil," said the soldier, "I am hungry, give mesomething to eat, and then you can do what you Hke with me."
The robbers were astonished, and the captain said, "I see thatyou have no fear. Well, you shall have some food, but after thatyou will die." "We shall see," said the soldier, and seated himself atthe table, and began to cut away valiantly at the roast meat."Brother Bright-boots, come and eat," cried he to the huntsman."You must be as hungry as I am, and cannot have better roast meatat home." But the huntsman would not eat. The robbers looked at
the soldier in astonishment, and said, "The rascal uses no cere-mony."
After a while he said, "I have had enough food, now get mesomething good to drink." The captain was in the mood to humorhim in this also, and called to the old woman, "Bring a bottle out ofthe cellar, and mind it be of the best." The soldier drew the corkout with a loud noise, and then went with the bottle to the himts-man and said, "Pay attention, brother, and you shall see somethingthat will surprise you. I am now going to drink the health of thewhole clan." Then he brandished the bottle over the heads of therobbers, and cried, "Long life to you all, but with your mouthsopen and your right hands lifted up," and then he drank a heartydraught. Scarcely were the words said than they all sat motionlessas if made of stone, and their mouths were open and their righthands stretched up in the air.
The huntsman said to the soldier, "I see that you are acquaintedwith tricks of another kind, but now come and let us go home.""Oho, my dear brother, but that would be marching away far toosoon; we have conquered the enemy, and must first take the booty.Those men there are sitting fast, and are opening their mouths withastonishment, but they will not be allowed to move until I permitthem. Come, eat and drink." The old woman had to bring anotherbottle of the best wine, and the soldier would not stir imtil he hadeaten enough to last for three days. At last when day came, he said,"Now it is time to strike our tents, and that our march may be ashort one, the old woman shall show us the nearest way to thetown."
When they had arrived there, he went to his old comrades, andsaid, "Out in the forest I have found a nest fuU of gallows' birds,come with me and we will take it." The soldier led them, and saidto the huntsman, "You must go back again with me to see how theyshake when we seize them by the feet." He placed the men roundabout the robbers, and then he took the bottle, drank a mouthful,brandished it above them, and cried, "Live again." Instantly theyair regained the power of movement, but were thrown down andbound hand and foot with cords. Then the soldier ordered them tobe thrown into a cart as if they had been so many sacks, and said,"Now drive them straight to prison." The huntsman, however, tookone of the men aside and gave him another commission besides."Brother Bright-boots," said the soldier, "we have safely routed theenemy and been well fed, now we will quietly walk behind them asif we were stragglers!"
When they approached the town, the soldier saw a crowd of peo-ple pouring through the gate of the town who were raising loudcries of joy, and waving green boughs in the air. Then he saw thatthe entire body-guard was coming up. "What can this mean?" saidhe to the huntsman. "Do you not know," he replied, "that the Kinghas for a long time been absent from his kingdom, and that todayhe is returning, and every one is going to meet him?" "But where isthe King?" said the soldier, "I do not see him." "Here he is," an-swered the huntsman, "I am the King, and have announced my ar-rival." Then he opened his hunting-coat, and his royal garmentswere visible.
The soldier was alarmed, and fell on his knees and begged him toforgive him for having in his ignorance treated him as an equal,and spoken to him by such a name. But the King shook hands withhim, and said, "You are a brave soldier, and have saved my life.You shall never again be in want, I will take care of you. And ifever you would like to eat a piece of roast meat as good as that inthe robber's hoiise, come to the royal kitchen. But if you woulddrink a health, you must first ask my permission."
The Six Servants
In days of old there lived an aged Queen who was a sorceress, andher daughter was the most beautiful maiden under the sun. The oldwoman, however, had no other thought than how to lure mankindto destruction, and when a wooer appeared, she said that whoso-ever wished to have her daughter, must first perform a task, or die.Many had been dazzled by the daughter s beauty, and had actuallyrisked this, but they never could accomplish what the old womanenjoined them to do, and then no mercy was shown; they had tokneel down, and their heads were struck ofiF.
A certain King's son who had also heard of the maiden's beauty,said to his father, "Let me go there, I want to demand her in mar-riage." "Never," answered the King; "if you were to go, it would begoing to your death." On this the son lay down and was sick imtodeath, and for seven years he lay there, and no physician could healhim. When the father perceived that all hope was over, with aheavy heart he said to him, "Go thither, and try your luck, for I
know no other means of curing you." When the son heard that, herose from his bed and was well again, and joyfully set out on hisway.
It came to pass that as he was riding across a heath, he saw fromafar something like a great heap of hay lying on the ground, andwhen he drew nearer, he could see that it was the stomach of aman, who had laid himself down there, but the stomach looked hkea smaU mountain. When the fat man saw the traveler, he stood upand said, "If you are in need of any one, take me into yom: service."The Prince answered, "What can I do with such a great big man?""Oh," said the Stout One, "this is nothing, when I stretch myselfout well, I am three thousand times fatter." "If that's the case," saidthe Prince, "I can make use of you, come with me." So the StoutOne followed the Prince, and after a while they found another manwho was lying on the ground with his ear laid to the tvirf. "Whatare you doing there?" asked the King's son. "1 am listening," repliedthe man. "What are you hstening to so attentively?" "I am listeningto what is just going on in the world, for nothing escapes my ears; Ieven hear the grass growing." 'Tell me," said the Prince, "what youhear at the court of the old Queen who has the beautiful daughter."Then he answered, "I hear the whizzing of the sword that isstriking off a wooer's head." The King's son said, "I can make use ofyou, come with me."
They went onwards, and then saw a pair of feet lying and part ofa pair of legs, but could not see the rest of the body. When theyhad walked on for a great distance, they came to the body, and atlast to the head also. "Why," said the Prince, "what a taU rascalyou are!" "Oh," replied the Tall One, "that is nothing at aU yet;when I really stretch out my Hmbs, I am three thousand times astall, and taller than the highest mountain on earth. I will gladlyenter your service, if you will take me." "Come with me," said thePrince, "I can make use of you." They went onwards and found aman sitting by the road who had bound up his eyes. The Princesaid to him, "Have you weak eyes, that you cannot look at thehght?" "No," replied the man, "but I must not remove the bandage,for whatsoever I look at with my eyes, splits to pieces, my glance isso powerful. If you can use that, I shall be glad to serve you.""Come with me," rephed the King's son, "I can make use of you."
They journeyed onwards and foimd a man who was lying in thehot sunshine, trembling and shivering all over his body, so that nota Hmb was still. "How can you shiver when the sun is shining sowarm?" said the King's son. "Alack," replied the man, '1 am of
quite a different nature. The hotter it is, the colder I am, and thefrost pierces through all my bones; and the colder it is, the hotter Iam. In the midst of ice, I cannot endure the heat, nor in the midstof fire, the cold." "You are a strange fellow!" said the Prince, "but ifyou will enter my service, follow me."
They traveled onwards, and saw a man standing who made along neck and looked about him, and could see over all the moun-tains. "What are you looking at so eagerly?" said the King's son.The man replied, "I have such sharp eyes that I can see into everyforest and field, and hill and valley, all over the world." The Princesaid, "Come with me if you will, for I am still in want of such anone."
Now the King's son and his six servants came to the town wherethe aged Queen dwelt. He did not tell her who he was, but said,*Tf you will give me your beautiful daughter, I will perform anytask you set me." The sorceress was deHghted to get such a hand-some youth as this into her net, and said, "I will set you three tasks,and if you are able to perform them all, you shall be husband andmaster of my daughter." "What is the first to be?" "You shall fetchme my ring which I have dropped into the Red Sea." So the King'sson went home to his servants and said, "The first task is not easy.A ring is to be got out of the Red Sea. Come find some way ofdoing it." Then the man with the sharp sight said, '1 will see whereit is lying," and looked down into the water and said, "It is stickingthere, on a pointed stone." The Tall One carried them thither, andsaid, "1 would soon get it out, if I could only see it." "Oh, is thatall!" cried the Stout One, and lay down and put his mouth to thewater, on which all the waves fell into it just as if it had been awhirlpool, and he drank up the whole sea till it was as dry as ameadow. The Tall One stooped down a fittle, and brought out thering with his hand.
Then the King's son rejoiced when he had the ring, and took it tothe old Queen. She was astonished, and said, "Yes, it is the rightring. You have safely performed the first task, but now comes thesecond. Do you see the meadow in front of my palace? Three hun-dred fat oxen are feeding there, and these must you eat, skin, hair,bones, horns and all; and down below in my cellar He three hun-dred casks of wine, and these you must drink up as well, and if onehair of the oxen, or one little diop of the wine is left, your life willbe forfeited to me." "May I invite no guests to this repast?" in-quired the Prince, "no dinner is good without some company." The
old woman laughed maliciously, and replied, "You may invite onefor the sake of companionship, but no more."
The King's son went to his servants and said to the Stout One,"You shall be my guest today, and shall eat your fill." Hereupon theStout One stretched himself out and ate up the three hundred oxenwithout leaving one single hair, and then he asked if he was to havenothing but his breakfast. He drank the wine straight from thecasks without feeling any need of a glass, and he licked the lastdrop from his finger-nails.
When the meal was over, the Prince went to the old woman, andtold her that the second task also was performed. She wondered atthis and said, "No one has ever done so much before, but one taskstill remains," and she thought to herself, "You shall not escape me,and will not keep your head on your shoulders! This night," saidshe, "I will bring my daughter to you in yomr chamber, and youshall put yom: arms round her, but when you are sitting there to-gether, beware of falling asleep. When twelve o'clock is striking, Iwill come, and if she is then no longer in your arms, you are lost.**The Prince thought, "The task is easy, I will most certainly keepmy eyes open." Nevertheless he called his servants, told them whatthe old woman had said, and remarked, "Who knows what treach-ery may lurk behind this. Foresight is a good thing—keep watch,and take care that the maiden does not go out of my room again."When night fell, the old woman came with her daughter, and gaveher into the Prince's arms, and then the Tall One wound himselfround the two in a circle, and the Stout One placed himself by thedoor, so that no living creature could enter. There the two sat, andthe maiden spake never a word, but the moon shone through thewindow on her face, and the Prince could behold her wondrousbeauty. He did nothing but gaze at her, and was filled with loveand happiness, and his eyes never felt weary. This lasted untileleven o'clock, when the old woman cast such a spell over all ofthem that they fell asleep, and at the self-same moment the maidenwas carried away.
Then they all slept soundly until a quarter to twelve, when themagic lost its power, and all awoke again. "Oh, misery and misfor-tunel" cried the Prince, "now I am lostl" The faithful servants alsobegan to lament, but the Listener said, "Be quiet, I want to listen."Then he Hstened for an instant and said, "She is on a rock, threehundred leagues from hence, bewailing her fate. You alone. TallOne, can help her; if you will stand up, you vwll be there in a cou-ple of steps."
The Six Servants 347
"Yes," answered the Tall One, "but the one with the sharp eyesmust go with me, that we may destroy the rock." Then the Tall Onetook the one with bandaged eyes on his back, and in the twinldingof an eye they were on the enchanted rock. The Tall One immedi-ately took the bandage from the other's eyes, and he did but lookround, and the rock shivered into a thousand pieces. Then the TallOne took the maiden in his arms, carried her back in a second, thenfetched his companion with the same rapidity, and before it strucktwelve they were all sitting as they had sat before, quite merrilyand happily.
When twelve struck, the aged sorceress came stealing in with amalicious face, which seemed to say, "Now he is minel" for shebelieved that her daughter was on the rock three hundred leaguesoflF. But when she saw her in the Prince's arms, she was alarmed,and said, "Here is one who knows more than I do!" She dared notmake any opposition, and was forced to give him her daughter. Butshe whispered in her ear, *lt is a disgrace to you to have to obeycommon people, and that you are not allowed to choose a husbandto your own hking."
At this the proud heart of the maiden was filled with anger, andshe meditated revenge. Next morning she caused three hundredgreat bundles of wood to be got together, and said to the Princethat though the three tasks were performed, she would still not behis wife until some one was ready to seat himself in the midst ofthe wood, and bear the fire. She thought that none of his servantswould let themselves be burnt for him, and that out of love for her,he himself would place himself upon it, and then she would befree. But the servants said, "Every one of us has done somethingexcept the Frosty One, he must set to work," and they put him inthe middle of the pile, and set fire to it. Then the fire began tobum, and burnt for three days until all the wood was consumed,and when the flames had burnt out, the Frosty One was standingamid the ashes, trembling like an aspen leaf, and saying, "I neverfelt such a frost during the whole course of my fife; if it had lastedmuch longer, I should have been benumbed!"
As no other pretext was to be found, the beautiful maiden wasnow forced to take the unknown youth as a husband. But whenthey drove away to church, the old woman said, "I cannot endurethe disgrace," and sent her warriors after them with orders to cutdown all who opposed them, and bring back her daughter. But theListener had sharpened his ears, and heard the secret discourse ofthe old woman. "What shall we do?" said he to the Stout One. But
he knew what to do, and spat out once or twice behind the carriagesome of the sea-water which he had drunk, and a great sea arose inwhich the warriors were caught and drowned. When the sorceressperceived that, she sent her mailed knights; but the Listener heardthe rattling of their armor, and undid the bandage from one eye ofSharp-eyes, who looked for a while rather fixedly at the enemy'stroops, on which they all sprang to pieces like glass. Then the youthand the maiden went on their way undisturbed, and when the twohad been blessed in church, the six servants took leave, and said totheir master, "Your wishes are now satisfied, you need us no longer,we will go our way and seek our fortunes."
Half a league from the palace of the Prince's father was a villagenear which a swineherd tended his herd, and when they camethither the Prince said to his wife, "Do you know who I really am?I am no Prince, but a herder of swine, and the man who is therewith that herd is my father. We two shall have to set to work also,and help him." Then he alighted with her at the inn, and secretlytold the innkeepers to take away her royal apparel during the night.So when she awoke in the morning, she had nothing to put on, andthe innkeeper's wife gave her an old govm and a pair of worstedstockings, and at the same time seemed to consider it a great pres-ent, and said, "If it were not for the sake of your husband I shouldhave given you nothing at alll" Then the Princess believed that hereally was a swineherd, and tended the herd vnth him, and thoughtto herself, '1 have deserved this for my haughtiness and pride."This lasted for a week, and then she could endure it no longer, forshe had sores on her feet. And now came a couple of people whoasked if she knew who her husband was. "Yes," she answered, "heis a swineherd, and has just gone out with cords and ropes to try todrive a Ifttle bargain." But tiiey said, "Just come with us, and wewill take you to him," and they took her to the palace, and whenshe entered the hall, there stood her husband in kingly raiment. Butshe did not recognize him until he took her in his arms, kissed her,and said, "I suffered much for you, and now you, too, have had tosuffer for me."
Then the wedding was celebrated. And he who has told you allthis, vidshes that he, too, had been present at it.
There was once a man who was a Jack-of-all-trades. He had servedin the war, and had been brave and bold, but at the end of it hewas sent about his business, with three farthings and his discharge.
"I am not going to stand this," said he. "Wait till I find the rightman to help me, and the Eang shall give me all the treasures of hiskingdom before he has done with me."
Then, full of wrath, he went into the forest, and he saw onestanding there by six trees which he had rooted up as if they hadbeen stalks of com. And he said to him, "Will you be my man, andcome along with me?"
"All right," answered he. "I must just take this bit of wood hometo my father and mother." And taking one of the trees, he bound itround the other five, and putting the faggot on his shoulder, hecarried it off; then soon coming back, he went along with hisleader, who said, "Two such as we can stand against the wholeworld."
And when they had gone on a little while, they came to a hunts-man who was kneeling on one knee and taking careful aim with hisrifle.
"Huntsman," said the leader, "what are you aiming at?" "Twomiles from here," answered he, "there sits a fly on the bough of anoak tree, I mean to put a bullet into its left eye." "Oh, come alongwith me," said the leader; "three of us together can stand againstthe world."
The huntsman was quite willing to go with him, and so theywent on till they came to seven windmills, whose sails were goinground briskly, and yet there was no wind blowing from any quar-ter, and not a leaf stirred.
"Well," said the leader, "I cannot think what ails the windmills,turning without wind"; and he went on with his followers abouttwo miles farther, and then they came to a man sitting up in a tree,holding one nostril and blowing with the other.
"Now then," said the leader, "what are you doing up there?""Two miles from here," answered he, "there are seven windmills; Iam blowing, and they are going round." "Oh, go with me," criedthe leader, "foiu* of us together can stand against the world."
So the blower got down and went with them, and after a timethey came to a man standing on one leg, and the other had beentaken off and was lying near him.
''You seem to have got a handy way of resting yourself," said theleader to the man. "I am a runner," answered he, "and in order tokeep myself from going too fast I have taken off a leg, for when Irun with both, I go faster than a bird can fly." "Oh, go with me,"cried the leader, "five of us together may well stand against theworld."
So he went with them all together, and it was not long beforethey met a man with a little hat on, and he wore it just over oneear.
"Mannersl mannersl" said the leader; "with your hat like that,you look like a jack-fool." "I dare not put it straight," answered theother; "if I did, there would be such a terrible frost that the verybirds would be frozen and fall dead from the sky to the ground.""Oh, come with me," said the leader; "we six together may wellstand against the whole world."
So the six went on until they came to a town where the Kinghad caused it to be made known that whoever would run a racewith his daughter and win it might become her husband, but thatwhoever lost must lose his head into the bargain. And the leadercame forward and said one of his men should run for him.
"Then," said the King, "his Ufe too must be put in pledge, and ifhe fails, his head and yours too must fall."
When this was quite settled and agreed upon, the leader calledthe runner, and strapped his second leg on to him. "Now, look out,"said he, "and take care that we win."
It had been agreed that the one who should bring water firstfrom a far distant brook should be accounted winner. Now theKing's daughter and the runner each took a pitcher, and theystarted both at the same time; but in one moment, when the King'sdaughter had gone but a very Httle way, the runner was out ofsight, for his running was as if the wind rushed by. In a short timehe reached the brook, filled his pitcher full of water, and turnedback again. About half-way home, however, he was overcome withweariness, and setting down his pitcher, he lay down on the groundto sleep. But in order to awaken soon again by not lying too softhe had taken a horse's skull which lay near and placed it under hishead for a pillow. In the meanwhile the King's daughter, who reallywas a good runner, good enough to beat an ordinary man, had
Six Soldiers of Fortune 351
reached the brook, and filled her pitcher, and was hastening with itback again, when she saw the runner lying asleep.
"The day is mine," said she with much joy, and she emptied hispitcher and hastened on. And now all had been lost but for thehuntsman who was standing on the castle wall, and with his keeneyes saw all that happened.
"We must not be outdone by the King's daughter," said he, andhe loaded his rifle and took so good an aim that he shot the horse'sskull from under the runner's head without doing him any harm.And the rmmer awoke and jumped up, and saw his pitcher stand-ing empty and the King's daughter far on her way home. But, notlosing courage, he ran swiftly to the brook, filled it again withwater, and for all that, he got home ten minutes before the King'sdaughter.
"Look you," said he; "this is the first time I have really stretchedmy legs; before it was not worth the name of running."
The King was vexed, and his daughter yet more so, that sheshould be beaten by a discharged common soldier; and they tookcounsel together how they might rid themselves of him and of hiscompanions at the same time.
"I have a plan," said the King; "do not fear but that we shall bequit of them forever." Then he went out to the men and bade themto feast and be merry and eat and drink; and he led them into aroom, which had a floor of iron, and the doors were iron, the win-dows had iron frames and bolts; in the room was a table set outwith costly food. "Now, go in there and make yourselves comfort-able," said the King.
And when they had gone in, he had the door locked and bolted.Then he called the cook, and told him to make a big fire under-neath the room, so that the iron floor of it should be red hot. Andthe cook did so, and the six men began to feel the room growingvery warm, by reason, as they thought at first, of the good dinner;but as the heat grew greater and greater, and they foimd the doorsand windows fastened, they began to think it was an evil plan ofthe King's to suffocate them.
"He shall not succeed, however," said the man with the little hat;"I will bring on a frost that shall make the fire feel ashamed of it-self, and creep out of the way."
So he set his hat straight on his head, and immediately therecame such a frost that all the heat passed away and the food frozein the dishes. After an hour or two had passed, and the Kingthought they must have all perished in the heat, he caused the door
to be opened, and went himself to see how they fared. And whenthe door flew back, there they were all six quite safe and sound,and they said they were quite ready to come out, so that they mightwarm themselves, for the great cold of that room had caused thefood to freeze in the dishes.
Full of wrath, the King went to the cook and scolded him, andasked why he had not done as he was ordered. "It is hot enoughthere, you may see for yourself," answered the cook. And the Kinglooked and saw an immense fire burning underneath the room ofiron, and he began to think that the six men were not to be got ridof in that way. And he thought of a new plan by which it might bemanaged, so he sent for the leader and said to him, "If you wiUgive up your right to my daughter, and take gold instead, you mayhave as much as you like."
"Certainly, my lord King," answered the man; "let me have asmuch gold as my servant can carry, and I give up all claim to yourdaughter." And the King agreed that he should come again in afortnight to fetch the gold. The man then called together all the tai-lors in the kingdom, and set them to work to make a sack, and ittook them a fortnight. And when it was ready, the strong man whohad been found rooting up trees took it on his shoulder, and wentto the King.
"Who is this immense fellow carrying on his shoulder a bundleof stuff as big as a house?" cried the King, terrified to think howmuch gold he would carry off. And a ton of gold was dragged in bysixteen strong men, but he put it all into the sack with one hand,saying, "Why don't you bring some more? this hardly covers thebottom!" So the King bade them fetch by degrees the whole of histreasure, and even then the sack was not half full.
"Bring morel" cried the man; "these few scraps go no way atall!" Then at last seven thousand wagons laden with gold collectedthrough the whole kingdom were driven up; and he threw them inhis sack, oxen and all. "I wiU not look too closely," said he, "buttake what I can get, so long as the sack is full." And when all wasput in there was still plenty of room. "I must make an end of this,"he said; "if it is not full, it is so much the easier to tie up." And hehoisted it on his back, and went off with his comrades.
When the King saw all the wealth of his reahn carried off by asingle man he was full of wrath, and he bade his cavalry mount andfollow after the six men, and take the sack away from the strongman. Two regiments were soon up to them, and called them to con-
sider themselves prisoners, and to deliver up the sack, or be cut inpieces.
"Prisoners, say you?" said the man who could blow, "supposeyou first have a little dance together in the air," and holding onenostril, and blowing through the other, he sent the regiments flyinghead over heels, over the hills and far away. But a sergeant whohad nine wounds and was a brave fellow, begged not to be put toso much shame. And the blower let him down easily, so that hecame to no harm, and he bade him go to the King and tell him thatwhatever regiments he liked to send more should be blown awayjust the same. And the King, when he got the message, said, "Letthe fellows be; they have some right on their side." So the six com-rades carried home their treasure, divided it among them, and Hvedcontented till they died.
The Two Travelers
A SHOEMAKER and'k tailor once met with each other in their travels.The tailor was a handsome httle fellow who was always merry andfull of enjoyment. He saw the shoemaker coming towards him fromthe other side, and as he observed by his bag what kind of a tradehe plied, he sang a little mocking song to him:
"Sew me the seam.Draw me the thread.Spread it over with pitch.Knock the nail on the head."
The shoemaker, however, could not endure a joke. He pulled aface as if he had drunk vinegar, and made a gesture as if he wereabout to seize the tailor by the throat. But the httle feUow began tolaugh, reached him his bottle, and said, "No harm was meant, takea drink, and swallow thy anger down." The shoemaker took a veryhearty drink, and the storm on his face began to clear away. Hegave the bottle back to the tailor, and said, "I spoke civilly to thee;one speaks well after much drinking, but not after much thirst.Shall we travel together?" "All right," answered the tailor, "if onlyit suits thee to go into a big town where there is no lack of work.""That is just where I want to go," answered the shoemaker. "In a
small nest there is nothing to earn, and in the country, people liketo go barefoot." They traveled therefore onwards together, and al-ways set one foot before the other like a weasel in the snow.
Both of them had time enough, but httle to bite and to break.When they reached a town they went about and paid their respectsto the tradesmen, and because the tailor looked so lively and merry,and had such pretty red cheeks, every one gave him work wiUingly,and when luck was good the master's daughters gave him a Idss be-neath the porch, as well. When he again fell in with the shoemaker,the tailor had always the most in his bimdle. The ill-tempered shoe-maker made a wry face, and thought, "The greater the rascal themore the luck," but the tailor began to laugh and to sing, andshared aU he got with his comrade. If a couple of pence jingled inhis pockets, he ordered good cheer, and thumped the table in hisjoy till the glasses danced, and it was lightly come, Hghtly go, withhim.
When they had traveled for some time, they came to a great for-est through which passed the road to the capital. Two footpaths,however, led through it, one of which was a seven days' journey,and the other only two, but neither of the travelers knew whichway was the short one. They seated themselves beneath an oaktree, and took counsel together how they should forecast, and forhow many days they should provide themselves with bread. Theshoemaker said, "One must look before one leaps, I will take withme bread for a week." "Whatl" said the tailor, "drag bread forseven days on one's back like a beast of burden, and not be able tolook about. I shall trust in God, and not trouble myself about any-thing! The money I have in my pocket is as good in summer as inwinter, but in hot weather bread gets dry, and moldy into the bar-gain; even my coat does not go as far as it might. Besides, whyshould we not find the right way? Bread for two days, and that'senough." Each, therefore, bought his own bread, and then theytried their luck in the forest.
It was as quiet there as in a church. No wind stirred, no brookmurmured, no bird sang, and through the thickly leaved branchesno sunbeam forced its way. The shoemaker spoke never a word, theheavy bread weighed down his back until the perspirationstreamed down his cross and gloomy face. The tailor, however, wasquite merry, he jumped about, whistled on a leaf, or sang a song,and thought to himself, "God in Heaven must be pleased to see meso happy."
This lasted two days, but on the third the forest would not come
to an end, and the tailor had eaten up all his bread, so after all hisheart sank down a yard deeper. In the meantime he did not losecorn-age, but relied on God and on his luck. On the third day he laydown in the evening, hungry, under a tree, and rose again nextmorning hungry still; so also passed the fourth day, and when theshoemaker seated himself on a fallen tree and devoured his dinner,the tailor was only a looker-on. If he begged for a little piece ofbread the other laughed mockingly, and said, "Thou hast alwaysbeen so merry, now thou canst try for once what it is to be sad: thebirds which sing too early in the morning are struck by the hawk inthe evening," in short he was pitiless. But on the fifth morning thepoor tailor could no longer stand up, and was hardly able to utterone word for weakness; his cheeks were white, and his eyes red.Then the shoemaker said to him, "I will give thee a bit of breadtoday, but in return for it, I will put out thy right eye." The un-happy tailor who still wished to save his Ufe, could not do it in anyother way; he wept once more with both eyes, and then held themout, and the shoemaker, who had a heart of stone, put out his righteye with a sharp knife. The tailor remembered what his mother hadformerly said to him when he had been eating secretly in the pan-try. "Eat what one can, and suffer what one must."
When he had consumed his dearly bought bread, he got on hislegs again, forgot his misery and comforted himself with thethought that he could always see enough with one eye. But on thesixth day, hunger made itself felt again, and gnawed him almost tothe heart. In the evening he fell down by a tree, and on the seventhmorning he could not raise himself up for faintness, and death wasclose at hand. Then said the shoemaker, "1 will show mercy andgive thee bread once more, but thou shalt not have it for nothing, Ishall put out thy other eye for it."
And now the tailor felt how thoughtless his life had been, prayedto God for forgiveness, and said, "Do what thou wilt, I will bearwhat I must, but remember that our Lord God does not alwayslook on passively, and that an hour wiU come when the evil deedwhich thou hast done to me, and which I have not deserved ofthee, will be requited. When times were good with me, I sharedwhat I had with thee. My trade is of that kind that each stitch mustalways be exactly like the other. If I no longer have my eyes andcan sew no more I must go a-begging. At any rate do not leave mehere alone when I am bUnd, or I shall die of hunger." The shoe-maker, however, who had driven God out of his heart, took the
knife and put out his left eye. Then he gave him a bit of bread toeat, held out a stick to him, and drew him on behind him.
When the sun went down, they got out of the forest, and beforethem in the open country stood the gallows. Thither the shoemakerguided the blind tailor, and then left him alone and went his way.Weariness, pain, and hunger made the wretched man fall asleep,and he slept the whole night. When day dawned he awoke, butknew not where he lay. Two poor sinners were hanging on the gal-lows, and a crow sat on the head of each of them. Then one of themen who had been hanged began to speak, and said, "Brother, artthou awake?" "Yes, I am awake," answered the second. "Then Iwill tell thee something," said the first; "the dew which this nighthas fallen down over us from the gallows, gives every one whowashes himself with it his eyes again. If bHnd people did but knowthis how many would regain their sight who do not believe that tobe possible."
When the tailor heard that, he took his pocket-handkerchief,pressed it on the grass, and when it was moist with dew, washedthe sockets of his eyes with it. Immediately was fulfilled what theman on the gallows had said, and a couple of healthy new eyesfilled the sockets. It was not long before the tailor saw the sun risebehind the mountains; in the plain before him lay the great royalcity with its magnificent gates and hundred towers, and the goldenbalk and crosses which were on the spires began to shine. He coulddistinguish every leaf on the trees, saw the birds which flew past,and the midges which danced in the air. He took a needle out ofhis pocket, and as he could thread it as well as ever he had done,his heart danced with delight. He threw himself on his knees,thanked God for the mercy he had shown him, and said his morn-ing prayer. He did not forget also to pray for the poor sinners whowere hanging there swinging against each other in the wind likethe pendulums of clocks. Then he took his bundle on his back andsoon forgot the pain of heart he had endured, and went on his waysinging and whistling.
The fijrst thing he met was a brown foal running about the fieldsat large. He caught it by the mane, and wanted to spring on it andride into the town. The foal, however, begged to be set free. "I amstill too young," it said, "even a light tailor such as thou art wouldbreak my back in two—let me go till I have grown strong. A timemay perhaps come when I may reward thee for it." "Run off," saidthe tailor, "I see thou art stiU a giddy thing." He gave it a touchwith a switch over its back, whereupon it kicked up its hind legs for
joy, leapt over hedges and ditches, and galloped away, far out intothe open country.
But the little tailor had eaten nothing since the day before. "Thesun to be sure fills my eyes," said he, "but the bread does not fillmy mouth. The first thing that comes across me and is even halfeatable will have to suffer for it." In the meantime a stork steppedsolemnly over the meadow towards him. "Halt, halt!" cried the tai-lor, and seized him by the leg; '1 don't know if thou art good to eator not, but my hunger leaves me no great choice. I must cut thyhead off, and roast thee." 'T)on't do that," repKed the stork; "I am asacred bird which brings mankind great profit, and no one does mean injury. Leave me my Hfe, and I may do thee good in some otherway." 'Well, be off. Cousin Longlegs," said the tailor. The storkrose up, let its long legs hang down, and flew gently away.
"What's to be the end of this?" said the tailor to himself at last,"my himger grows greater and greater, and my stomach more andmore empty. Whatsoever comes in my way now is lost." At this mo-ment he saw a couple of young ducks which were on a pond comeswimming towards him. "You come just at the right moment," saidhe, and laid hold of one of them and was about to wring its neck.On this an old duck which was hidden among the reeds, began toscream loudly, and swam to him with open beak, and begged himurgently to spare her dear children. "Canst thou not imagine," saidshe, "how thy mother would mourn if any one wanted to carry theeoff, and give thee thy finishing stroke?" "Only be qmet," said thegood-tempered tailor, "thou shalt keep thy children," and put theprisoner back into the water.
When he turned round, he was standing in front of an old treewhich was partly hollow, and saw some wild bees flying in and outof it. "There I shall at once find the reward of my good deed," saidthe tailor, "the honey will refresh me." But the Queen-bee cameout, threatened him and said, "If thou touchest my people, and de-stroyeth my nest, our stings shall pierce thy sldn like ten thousandred-hot needles. But if thou wilt leave us in peace and go thy way,we will do thee a service for it another time."
The Httle tailor saw that here also nothing was to be done."Three dishes empty and nothing on the fourth is a bad dinnerl"He dragged himseff therefore with his starved-out stomach into thetown, and as it was just striking twelve, all was ready-cooked forhim in the inn, and he was able to sit down at once to dinner.When he was satisfied he said, "Now I will get to work." He wentround the town, sought a master, and soon found a good situation.
As, however, he had thoroughly learnt his trade, it was not longbefore he became famous, and every one wanted to have his newcoat made by the little tailor, whose importance increased daily. 1can go no further in sldll," said he, "and yet things improve everyday." At last the King appointed him court-tailor.
But how things do happen in the worldl On the very same dayhis former comrade, the shoemaker, also became court-shoemaker.When the latter caught sight of the tailor, and saw that he had oncemore two healthy eyes, his conscience troubled him. "Before hetakes revenge on me," thought he to himself, "I must dig a pit forhim." He, however, who digs a pit for another, falls into it himself.In the evening when work was over and it had grown dusk, he stoleto the King and said, 'Xord King, the tailor is an arrogant fellowand has boasted that he will get the gold crown back again whichwas lost in ancient times." "That would please me very much," saidthe King, and he caused the tailor to be brought before him nextmorning, and ordered him to get the crown back again, or to leavethe town forever. "Ohol" thought the tailor, "a rogue gives morethan he has got. If the surly King wants me to do what can be doneby no one, I will not wait till morning, but wiH go out of the townat once, today."
He packed up his bimdle, therefore, but when he was withoutthe gate he could not help being sorry to give up his good fortune,and turn his back on the town in which all had gone so well withhim. He came to the pond where he had made the acquaintance ofthe ducks; at that very moment the old one whose yoimg ones hehad spared, was sitting there by the shore, pluming herself with herbeak. She knew him again instantly, and asked why he was hanginghis head so. "Thou wilt not be surprised when thou hearest whathas befallen me," replied the tailor, and told her his fate. "If thatbe aU," said the duck, "we can help thee. The crown fell into thewater, and lies down below at the bottom; we will soon bring it upagain for thee. In the meantime just spread out thy handkerchief onthe bank." She dived down with her twelve young ones, and in fiveminutes she was up again and sat with the crown resting on herwings, and the twelve young ones were swimming round about andhad put their beaks under it, and were helping to carry it. Theyswam to the shore and put the crown on the handkerchief. No onecan imagine how magnificent the crown was; when the sun shoneon it, it gleamed Hke a hundred thousand carbuncles. The tailortied his handkerchief together by the foiu: comers, and carried it to
The Two Travelers 359
the King, who was full of joy, and put a gold chain round the tai-lor's neck.
When the shoemaker saw that one stroke had failed, he contriveda second, and went to the King and said, 'Xord King, the tailor hasbecome insolent again; he boasts that he will copy in wax thewhole of the royal palace, with everything that pertains to it, looseor fast, inside and out." The King sent for the tailor and ordered himto copy in wax the whole of the royal palace, with everything thatpertained to it, movable or inuiiovable, within and without, and ifhe did not succeed in doing this, if so much as one nail on the wallwere wanting, he should be imprisoned for his whole life undergroimd.
The tailor thought, 'It gets worse and worse! No one can endurethatl" and threw his bundle on his back, and went forth. When hecame to the hollow tree, he sat down and hung his head. The beescame flying out, and the Queen-bee asked him if he had a stiffneck, since he held his head so awry. "Alas, no," answered the tai-lor, "something quite different weighs me down," and he told herwhat the King had demanded of him. The bees began to buzz andhum among themselves, and the Queen-bee said, "Just go homeagain, but come back tomorrow at this time, and bring a large sheetvidth thee, and then all will be well." So he turned back again, butthe bees flew to the royal palace and straight into it through theopen windows, crept round about into every comer, and inspectedeverything most carefully. Then they hurried back and modeled thepalace in wax with such rapidity that any one looking on wouldhave thought it was growing before his eyes. By the evening all wasready, and when the tailor came next morning, the whole of thesplendid building was there, and not one nail in the wall or tile ofthe roof was wanting, and it was delicate withal, and white assnow, and smelt sweet as honey. The tailor wrapped it carefully inhis cloth and took it to the King, who could not admire it enough,placed it in his largest haU, and in return for it presented the tailorwith a large stone house.
The shoemaker, however, did not give up, but went for the thirdtime to the King and said, "Lord King, it has come to the tailor'sears that no water will spring up in the court-yard of the castle, andhe has boasted that it shall rise up in the midst of the court-yard toa man's height and be clear as crystal." Then the King ordered thetailor to be brought before him and said, "If a stream of water doesnot rise in my court-yard by tomorrow as thou hast promised, theexecutioner shall in that very place make thee shorter by the head."
The poor tailor did not take long to think about it, but hiuriedout to the gate, and because this time it was a matter of life anddeath to him, tears rolled down his face. While he was thus goingforth fuU of sorrow, the foal to which he had formerly given itsHberty, and which had now become a beautiful chestnut horse,came leaping towards him. "The time has come," it said to the tai-lor, "when I can repay thee for thy good deed. I know alreadywhat is needful to thee, but thou shalt soon have help; get on me,my back can carry two such as thou." The tailor's courage cameback to him; he jiunped up in one bound, and the horse went fullspeed into the town, and right up to the court-yard of the castle. Itgalloped as quick as lightning thrice round it, and at the third timeit fell violently down. At the same instant, however, there was aterrific clap of thunder, a fragment of earth in the middle of thecomt-yard sprang like a cannon-ball into the air, and over the cas-tle, and directly after it a jet of water rose as high as a man onhorseback, and the water was as pure as crystal, and the sunbeamsbegan to dance on it. When the King saw that he arose in amaze-ment, and went and embraced the tailor in the sight of aU men.
But good fortune did not last long. The King had daughters inplenty, one prettier than the other, but he had no son. So the mali-cious shoemaker betook himself for the fourth time to the King, andsaid, *Xord King, the tailor has not given up his arrogance. He hasnow boasted that if he liked, he could cause a son to be brought tothe Lord King through the air." The King commanded the tailor tobe summoned, and said, *Tf thou causest a son to be brought to mewithin nine days, thou shalt have my eldest daughter to wife.""The reward is indeed great," thought the little tailor; "one wouldwillingly do something for it, but the cherries grow too high for me,if I cHmb for them, the bough will break beneath me, and I shallfaU."
He went home, seated himself cross-legged on his work-table,and thought what was to be done. "It can't be managed," cried heat last, "I will go away; after all I can't live in peace here." He tiedup his bundle and hurried away to the gate. When he got to themeadow, he perceived his old friend the stork, who was walkingbackwards and forwards like a philosopher. Sometimes he stoodstill, took a frog into close consideration, and at length swallowed itdown. The stork came to him and greeted him. "I see," he began,"that thou hast thy pack on thy back. Why art thou leaving thetown?" The tailor told him what the King had required of him, andhow he could not perform it, and lamented his misfortune. "Don't
The Ear of Corn 361
let thy hair grow gray about that," said the stork, '1 will help theeout of thy diflBculty. For a long time now, I have carried the chil-dren in swaddling-clothes into the town, so for once in a way I canfetch a little Prince out of the well. Go home and be easy. In ninedays from this time repair to the royal palace, and there will Icome."
The httle tailor went home, and at the appointed time was at thecastle. It was not long before the stork came flying thither andtapped at the window. The tailor opened it, and Cousin Longlegscame carefully in, and walked with solenm steps over the smoothmarble pavement He had, however, a baby in his beak that was aslovely as an angel, and stretched out its little hands to the Queen.The stork laid it in her lap, and she caressed it and kissed it, andwas beside herself with dehght. Before the stork flew away, he tookhis traveling bag off his back and handed it over to the Queen. In itthere were little paper parcels with colored sweetmeats, and theywere divided among the httle Princesses. The eldest, however, hadnone of them, but got the merry tailor for a husband. "It seems tome," said he, "just as if I had won the highest prize. My motherwas right after all, she always said that whoever trusts in God andonly has good luck, can never fail."
The shoemaker had to make the shoes in which the Httle tailordanced at the wedding festival, after which he was commanded toquit the town forever. The road to the forest led him to the gallows.Worn out with anger, rage, and the heat of the day, he threw him-self down. When he had closed his eyes and was about to sleep, thetwo crows flew down from the heads of the men who were hangingthere, and pecked his eyes out. In his madness he ran into the forestand must have died there of hunger, for no one has ever either seenhim again or heard of him.
The Ear of Corn
In former times, when God himself still walked the earth, thefruitfulness of the soil was much greater than it is now; then, theears of com did not bear fifty or sixty, but foiu- or five hundred-fold. Then the com grew from the bottom to the very top of thestalk, and according to the length of the stalk was the length of the
362 Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales
ear. Men however are so made, that when they are too well oflE theyno longer value the blessings which come from God, but growindifferent and careless.
One day a woman was passing by a corn-field when her littlechild, who was running beside her, fell into a puddle, and dirtiedher frock. On this the mother tore up a handful of the beautifulears of com, and cleaned the frock with them.
When the Lord, who just then came by, saw that, he was angry,and said, "Henceforth shall the stalks of com bear no more ears;men are no longer worthy of heavenly gifts." The by-standers whoheard this, were terrified, and fell on their knees and prayed that hewould still leave something on the stalks, even if the people wereundeserving of it, for the sake of the innocent birds which wouldotherwise have to starve. The Lord, who foresaw their suffering,had pity on them, and granted the request. So the ears were left asthey now grow.
The Aged Mother
In a large town there was an old woman who sat in the eveningalone in her room thinking how she had lost Gist her husband, thenboth her children, then, one by one, all her relations, and at length,that very day, her last friend; and now she was quite alone and des-olate. She was very sad at heart, and heaviest of aU her losses to herwas that of her sons, and in her pain she blamed God for it.
She was Still sitting lost in thought, when all at once she heardthe bells ringing for early prayer. She was surprised that she hadthus in her sorrow watched through the whole night, and lightedher lantern and went to chiu-ch. It was already Ughted up when shearrived, but not as it usually was with wax candles, but with a dimlight. It was also crowded already with people, and all the seatswere filled; and when the old woman got to her usual place it alsowas not empty, but the whole bench was entirely fuU. And whenshe looked at the people, they were none other than her dead rela-tions who were sitting there in their old-fashioned garments, butwith pale faces. They neither spoke nor sang; but a soft himimingand whispering was heard all over the church. Then an aunt of hers
The Hazel Branch 363
stood up, stepped forward, and said to the poor old woman, *Xookthere beside the altar, and you will see your sons." The old womanlooked there and saw her two children, one hanging on the gallows,the other bound to the wheel. Then sEiid the aunt, "Behold, sowould it have been with them if they had Uved, and if the goodGod had not taken them to Himself when they were innocent chil-dren."
The old woman went trembhng home, and on her knees thankedGod for having dealt with her more kindly than she had been ableto understand, and on the third day she lay down and died.
The Hazel Branch
One afternoon the Christ-child had laid himself in his cradle-bedand had fallen asleep. Then his mother came to him, looked at himfull of gladness, and said, "Hast thou laid thyself down to sleep,my child? Sleep sweetly, and in the meantime I v^ill go into thewood, and fetch thee a handful of strawberries, for I know thatthou wilt be pleased with them when thou awakest." In the woodoutside, she found a spot with the most beautiful strawberries; butas she was stooping down to gather one, an adder sprang up out ofthe grass. She was alarmed, left the strawberries where they were,and hastened away. The adder darted after her; but Our Lady, asyou can readily understand, knew what it was best to do. She hidherself behind a hazel bush, and stood there imtil the adder hadcrept away again. Then she gathered the strawberries, and as sheset out on her way home she said, "As the hazel bush has been myprotection this time, it shall in futLue protect others also." There-fore, from the most remote times, a green hazel branch has beenthe safest protection against adders, snakes, and everything elsewhich creeps on the earth.
The Old Grandfather's Corner
Once upon a time there was a very old man who lived with his sonand daughter-in-law. His eyes were dim, his knees tottered underhim when he walked, and he was very deaf. As he sat at table hishand shook so that he would often spill the soup over the table-cloth or on his clothes, and sometimes he could not even keep it inhis mouth when it got there. His son and daughter were so annoyedto see his conduct at the table that at last they placed a chair forhim in a corner behind the screen, and gave him his meals in anearthenware basin quite away from the rest. He would often looksorrowfully at the table with tears in his eyes, but he did not com-plain.
One day, while he was thinking sadly of the past, the earthen-ware basin, which he could scarcely hold in his trembling hands,fell to the ground and was broken. The young wife scolded himwell for being so careless, but he did not reply, only sighed deeply.Then she bought him a wooden bowl for a penny and gave him hismeals in it.
Some days afterward his son and daughter saw their Httle boy,who was about four years old, sitting on the ground and trying tofasten together some pieces of wood.
'^What are you making, my boy?" asked his father.
"I am making a little bowl for papa and mamma to eat their foodin when I grow up," he replied.
The husband and wife looked at each other without speaking forsome minutes. At last they began to shed tears, and went andbrought their old father back to the table, and from that day he al-ways took his meals with them and was never again treatedunkindly.
The Ungrateful Son
A MAN and his wife were once sitting by the door of their house,and they had a roasted chicken set before them, and were about to
The Bittern and the Hoopoe 365
eat it together. Then the man saw that his aged father was coming,and hastily took the chicken and hid it, for he would not permithim to have any of it. The old man came, took a drink, and wentaway. The son wanted to put the roasted chicken on the tableagain, but when he took it up, it had become a great toad, whichjumped into his face and sat there and never went away again, andif any one wanted to take it ofiF, it looked venomously at him as if itwould jump in his face, so that no one would venture to touch it.And the ungrateful son was forced to feed the toad every day, orelse it fed itself on his face; and thus he went about the world with-out knowing rest.
The Bittern and the Hoopoe
"Whebe do you like best to feed your flocks?" said a man to an oldcow-herd. "Here, sir, where the grass is neither too rich nor toopoor, or else it is no use." "Why not?" asked the man. "Do you hearthat melancholy cry from the meadow there?" answered the shep-herd, "that is the bittern; he was once a shepherd, and so was thehoopoe also—I will tell you the story.
"The bittern pastured his flocks on rich green meadows whereflowers grew in abundance, so his cows became wild and un-manageable. The hoopoe drove his cattle on to high barren hills,where the vwnd plays with the sand, and his cows became thin, andgot no strength. When it was evening, and the shepherds wanted todrive their cows homewards, the bittern could not get his togetheragain; they were too high-spirited, and ran away from him. Hecalled, 'Come, cows, come,' but it was of no use; they took no noticeof his calling. The hoopoe, however, could not even get his cows upon their legs, so faint and weak had they become. 'Up, up, up,'screamed he, but it was in vain, they remained lying on the sand.That is the way when one has no moderation. And to this day,though they have no flocks now to watch, the bittern cries, 'Come,cows, come'; and the hoopoe, 'Up, up, up."
The Three Languages
In Switzerland there lived an old count, who had an only son, aboy who was so stupid he never learned anything. One day the fa-ther said, "My son, listen to what I have to say; do all I may, I canknock nothing into yoinr head. Now you shall go away, and an emi-nent master shall try his hand with you."
So the youth was sent to a foreign city, and remained a wholeyear with his master, and at the end of that time he returned home.His father asked him at once what he had learned, and he repHed,"My father, I have learned what the dogs bark."
"Heavens!" exclaimed the father, "is this all you have learned? Iwill send you to some other city, to another master." So the youthwent away a second time, and after he had remained a year withthis master, came home again. His father asked him, as before,what he had learned, and he replied, "I have learned what thebirds sing." This answer put the father in a passion, and he ex-claimed, "Oh, you prodigal! Has all this precious time passed, andhave you learned nothing? Are you not ashamed to come into mypresence? Once more, I will send you to a third master; but if youlearn nothing this time I will no longer be a father to you."
With this third master the boy remained, as before, a twelve-month; and when he came back to his father, he told him that hehad learned the language that the frogs croak. At this the fatherflew into a great rage, and, calling his people together, said, "Thisyouth is no longer my son; I cast him off, and command that youlead him into the forest and take away his life."
The servants led him away into the forest, but they had not theheart to kill him, so they let him go. They cut out, however, theeyes and the tongue of a fawn, and took them for a token to the oldcount.
The young man wandered along, and after some time came to acastle, where he asked for a night's lodging. The lord of the castlesaid, "Yes, if you will sleep down below. There is the tower; youmay go, but I warn you it is very perilous, for it is full of wild dogs,which bark and howl at every one, and, at certain hours, a manmust be thrown to them, whom they devour."
Now, on account of these dogs the whole country round was in
The Three Languages 367
terror and sorrow, for no one could prevent their ravages; but theyouth, being afraid of nothing, said, "Only let me in to these bark-ing hounds, and give me something to throw to them; they will notharm me."
Since he himself wished it, they gave him some meat for the wildhounds, and let him into the tower. As soon as he entered, the dogsran about him quite in a friendly way, wagging their tails, andnever once barking. They ate, also, the meat he brought, and didnot attempt to do him the least injury. The next morning, to the as-tonishment of every one, he came forth unharmed, and told thelord of the castle, "The hounds have informed me, in their lan-guage, why they thus waste and bring destruction upon the land.They have the guardianship of a large treasiu^e beneath the tower,and tiU that is raised, they have no rest. In what way and mannerthis is to be done I have also understood from them."
At these words every one began rejoicing, and the lord promisedhim his daughter in marriage, if he could raise the treasure. Thistask he happily accomplished, and the wild hounds thereupon dis-appeared, and the country was freed from that plague. Then thebeautiful maiden was married to him, and they lived happily to-gether.
After some time, he one day got into a carriage with his wife andset out on the road to Rome. On their way thither, they passed aswamp, where the frogs sat croaking. The young count listened,and when he heard what they said, he became quite thoughtful andsad, but he did not teU his wife the reason. At last they arrived atRome, and found the Pope was just dead, and there was a greatcontention among the cardinals as to who should be his successor.They at length resolved, that he on whom some miraculous signshould be shown should be elected. Just as they had thus resolved,at the same moment the young count stepped into the church, andsuddenly two snow-white Doves flew down, one on each of hisshoulders, and remained perched there. The clergy recognized inthis circumstance the sign they required, and asked him on the spotwhether he would be Pope. The young count was undecided, andknew not whether he were worthy; but the Doves whispered to himthat he might take the honor, and so he consented. Then he wasanointed and consecrated; and so was fulfilled what the frogs hadprophesied—and which had so disturbed him—that he should be-come Pope. Upon his election he had to sing a mass, of which heknew nothing; but the two Doves sitting upon his shoulder told himall that was required.
The Star Money
There was once on a time a little girl whose father and motherwere dead, and she was so poor that she no longer had any Httleroom to live in, or bed to sleep in, and at last she had nothing elsebut the clothes she was wearing and a little bit of bread in herhand which some charitable soul had given her. She was, however,good and pious. And as she was thus forsaken by all the world, shewent forth into the open country, trusting in the good God.
Then a poor man met her, who said, "Ah, give me something toeat, I am so hungry!" She reached him the whole of her piece ofbread, and said, "May God bless it to your use," and went onwards.Then came a child who moaned and said, "My head is so cold, giveme something to cover it with." So she took o£E her hood and gave itto him. And when she had walked a little farther, she met anotherchild who had no jacket and was frozen with cold so she gave it herown. A little farther on one begged for a frock, and she gave awaythat also. At length she got into a forest and it had already becomedark, and there came yet another child, and asked for a little shirt,and the good little girl thought to herself, "It is a dark night and noone sees you, you can very well give yoiu: little shirt away"; andtook it oflF, and gave away that also.
And as she so stood, and had not one single thing left, suddenlysome stars from heaven fell down, and they were nothing else buthard, smooth pieces of money, and although she had just given herlittle shirt away, she had a new one which was of the very finestlinen. Then she gathered together the money, put it into the shirtand was rich all the days of her life.
The Poor Man and the Rich Man
In ancient times, when the Lord God himself still used to walkabout on this earth among men, it once happened that He was tiredand overtaken by the darkness before He could reach an inn. Now
there stood on the road before Him two houses facing each other;the one large and beautiful, the other small and poor. The large onebelonged to a rich man, and the small one to a poor man.
Then the Lord thought, "1 shall be no burden to the rich man, Iwill stay the night with him." When the rich man heard some oneknocking at his door, he opened the window and asked the strangerwhat he wanted. The Lord answered, "I only ask for a night'slodging."
Then the rich man looked at the traveler from head to foot, and asthe Lord was wearing common clothes, and did not look like onewho had much money in his pocket, he shook his head, and said,"No, I cannot take you in, my rooms are full of herbs and seeds;and if I were to lodge every one who knocked at my door, I mightvery soon go begging myself. Go somewhere else for a lodging."And with this he shut down the window and left the Lord standingthere.
So the Lord turned his back on the rich man, and went across tothe small house and knocked. He had hardly done so when thepoor man opened the little door and bade the traveler come in."Pass the night with me, it is aheady dark," said he; "you cannotgo any further tonight." This pleased the Lord, and He went in.The poor man's wife shook hands with Him, and welcomed Him,and said He was to make Himself at home and put up with whatthey had; they had not much to offer Him, but what they had theywould give Him with all their hearts. Then she put the potatoes onthe fire, and while they were boiling, she milked the goat, that theymight have a little milk with them. When the cloth was laid, theLord sat down with the man and his wife, and He enjoyed theircoarse food, for there were happy faces at the table.
When they had had supper and it was bed-time, the womancalled her husband apart and said, "Hark you, dear husband, let usmake up a bed of straw for ourselves tonight, and then the poortraveler can sleep in our bed and have a good rest, for he has beenwalking the whole day through, and that makes one weary." "Withall my heart," he answered. "I will go and offer it to him"; and hewent to the stranger and invited him, if he had no objection, tosleep in their bed and rest his Umbs properly. But the Lord was un-willing to take their bed from the two old folks; however, theywould not be satisfied, until at length He did it and lay down intheir bed, while they themselves lay on some straw on the ground.
Next morning they got up before daybreak, and made as good abreakfast as they could for the guest. When the sun shone in
through the little window, and the Lord had got up, He again atewith them, and then prepared to set out on His jovuTiey.
But as He was standing at the door He turned round and said,"As you are so land and good, you may wish three things for your-selves and I will grant them." Then the man said, "What elseshould I wish for but eternal happiness, and that we two, as long aswe live, may be healthy and have every day oiu* daily bread; forthe third wish, I do not know what to have." And the Lord said tohim, "Will you wish for a new house iastead of this old one?" "Oh,yes," said the man; "if I can have that, too, I should like it verymuch." And the Lord fulfilled his wish, and changed their oldhouse into a new one, again gave them His blessing, and went on.
The sun was high when the rich man got up and leaned out ofhis window and saw, on the opposite side of the way, a new clean-looking house with red tiles and bright windows, where the old hutused to be. He was very much astonished, and called his v^rife andsaid to her, "Tell me, what can have happened? Last night therewas a miserable Httle hut standing there, and today there is a beau-tiful new house. Run over and see how that has come to pass."
So his wife went and asked the poor man, and he said to her,"Yesterday evening a traveler came here and asked for a night'slodging, and this morning when he took leave of us he granted usthree vvdshes—eternal happiness, health during this life and ourdaily bread as well, and, besides this, a beautiful new house insteadof our old hut."
When the rich man's wife heard this, she ran back in haste andtold her husband how it had happened. The man said, "I could tearmyself to pieces! If I had but known that! The traveler came to ourhouse too, and wanted to sleep here, and I sent him away.""Quick!" said his wife, "get on your horse. You can still catch theman up, and then you must ask to have three wishes granted you."
The rich man followed the good counsel and galloped away onhis horse, and soon came up with the Lord. He spoke to Him softlyand pleasantly, and begged Him not to take it amiss that he hadnot let Him in directly; he had been looking for the front-door key,and'in the meantime the stranger had gone away; if He returnedthe same way He must come and stay with him. "Yes," said theLord; "if I ever come back again, I viall do so." Then the rich manasked if he might not wish for three things too, as his neighbor haddone. "Yes," said the Lord, he might, but it would not be to his ad-vantage, and he had better not v^dsh for anything; but the rich manthought that he could easily ask for something which would add to
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his happiness, if only he knew that it would be granted. So theLord said to him, "Ride home, then, and three wishes which youshall form, shall be fulfilled."
The rich man had now gained what he wanted, so he rode home,and began to consider what he should wish for. As he was thusthinking he let the bridle fall, and the horse began to caper about,so that he was continually disturbed in his meditations, and couldnot collect his thoughts at all. He patted its neck, and said, "Gently,Lisa," but the horse only began new tricks. Then at last he wasangry, and cried quite impatiently, "I wish your neck was broken!"
Directly he had said the words, down the horse fell on theground, and there it lay dead and never moved again. And thuswas his first wish fulfilled. As he was miserly by natinre, he did notlike to leave the harness lying there, so he cut it off, and put it onhis back; and now he had to go on foot. "1 have still two wishesleft," said he, and comforted himself with that thought.
And now as he was walking slowly through the sand, and the sunwas burning hot at noon-day, he grew quite hot-tempered andangry. The saddle hurt his back, and he had not yet any idea what towish for. "If I were to wish for all the riches and treasures in theworld," said he to himself, "I should still think of all kinds of thingsbesides later on; I know that, beforehand. But I will manage sothat there is nothing at all left me to wish for afterwards." Thenhe sighed and said, "Ah, if I were but that Bavarian peasant, wholikewise had three wishes granted to him, and knew quite well whatto do, and in the first place wished for a great deal of beer, andin the second for as much beer as he was able to drink, and inthe third for a barrel of beer into the bargain."
Many a time he thought he had found it, but then it seemed tohim to be, after all, too little. Then it came into his mind, whatan easy life his wife had, for she stayed at home in a cool roomand enjoyed herself. This really did vex him, and before he wasaware, he said, "I just wish she was sitting there on this saddle,and could not get off it, instead of my having to drag it along onmy back." And as the last word was spoken, the saddle disappearedfrom his back, and he saw that his second wish had been fulfilled.Then he really did feel warm.
He began to run and wanted to be quite alone in his own roomat home, to think of something really large for his last wish. Butwhen he arrived there and opened the parlor-door, he saw his wifesitting in the middle of the room on the saddle, crying and complain-
ing, and quite unable to get off it. So he said, "Do bear it, andI will wish for all the riches on earth for you, only stay where youare." She, however, called him a fool, and said, "What good wiUall the riches on earth do me, if I am to sit on this saddle? Youhave wished me on it, so you must help me off."
So whether he would or not, he was forced to let his third wishbe that she should be quit of the saddle, and able to get off it,and immediately the wish was fulfilled. So he got nothing by it butvexation, trouble, abuse, and the loss of his horse; but the poorpeople lived happily, quietly, and piously until their happy death.
The Stolen Pennies
A FATHER was oue day sitting at dinner with his wife and his chil-dren, and a good friend who had come on a visit was with them.And as they thus sat, and it was striking twelve o'clock, the strangersaw the door open, and a very pale child dressed ia snow-whiteclothes came in. It did not look around, and it did not speak, butwent straight into the next room. Soon afterwards it came back, andwent out at the door again in the same quiet manner. On the secondand on the third day, it came also exactly in the same way. At lastthe stranger asked the father to whom the beautiful child that wentinto the next room every day at noon belonged? "I have never seenit," said he, neither did he know to whom it could belong. Thenext day when it again came, the stranger pointed it out to thefather, who however did not see it, and the mother and the childrenalso all saw nothing.
At this the stranger got up, went to the room door, opened it alittle, and peeped in. Then he saw the child sitting on the ground,and digging and seeking about industriously among the crevicesbetween the boards of the floor, but when it saw the stranger, itdisappeared. He now told what he had seen and described thechild exactly, and the mother recognized it, and said, "Ah, it is mydear child who died a month ago."
They took up the boards and found two pennies which the childhad once received from its mother that it might give them to a poorman. It, however, had thought, *T can buy myself a biscuit forthat," and had kept the pennies, and hidden them in the openings
The Wilful Child 373
between the boards. Therefore it had had no rest in its grave, andhad come every day at noon to seek for these pennies. The parentsgave the money at once to a poor man, and after that the child wasnever seen again.
The Shroud
Thebe was once a mother who had a little boy seven years old, whowas so handsome and loveable that no one could look at him with-out hking him, and she herself worshipped him above everything inthe world. Now it so happened that he suddenly became ill, andGod took him to Himself; and for this the mother could not becomforted, and wept both day and night. But soon afterwards,when the child had been buried, it appeared by night in the placeswhere it had sat and played during its hfe; and if the mother wept,it wept also, and when morning came it disappeared. As, however,the mother would not stop crying, it came one night, in the httlewhite shroud in which it had been laid in its coflfin, and with itswreath of flowers round its head, and stood on the bed at her feet,and said, "Oh, mother, do stop crying, or I shall never fall asleep inmy coffin, for my shroud will not dry because of all thy tears, whichfall upon it." The mother was afraid when she heard that, and weptno more. The next night the child came again, and held a little Hghtin its hand, and said, "Look, mother, my shroud is nearly dry, and Ican rest in my grave." Then the mother gave her sorrow into God'skeeping, and bore it quietly and patiently, and the child came nomore, but slept in its little bed beneath the earth.
The Wilful Child
Once upon a time there was a child who was wilful, and would notdo what her mother wished. For this reason God had no pleasure inher, and let her become ill, and no doctor could do her any good,and in a short time she lay on her death-bed. When she had beenlowered into her grave, and the earth was spread over her, all at
once her arm came out again, and stretched upwards, and whenthey had put it in and spread fresh earth over it, it was all to nopurpose, for the arm always came out again. Then the mother her-self was obliged to go to the grave and strike the arm with a rod,and when she had done that, it was drawn in, and then at last thechild had rest beneath the ground.
The Rose
Thebe was once a poor woman who had two children. Theyoungest had to go every day into the forest to fetch wood. Oncewhen she had gone a long way to seek it, a little child, who wasquite strong, came and helped her industriously to pick up thewood and carry it home, and then before a moment had passed thestrange child disappeared. The child told her mother this, but atfirst she would not believe it. At length she brought a rose home,and told her mother that the beautiful child had given her this rose,and had told her that when it was in full bloom, he would retium.The mother put the rose in water. One morning her child could notget out of bed. The mother went to the bed and found her dead,but looking very happy. One the same morning, the rose was in fullbloom.
The Tailor in Heaven
One very fine day it came to pass that the good God wished toenjoy Himself in the heavenly garden, and took all the apostles andsaints with Him, so that no one stayed in heaven but Saint Peter.The Lord had commanded him to let no one in during His absence,so Peter stood by the door and kept watch. Before long someoneknocked. Peter asked who was there, and what he wanted.
"I am a poor, honest tailor who prays for admission," replied asmooth voice.
"Honest Indeed," said Peter, "like the thief on the gallows! You
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have been light-fingered and have snipped folks' clothes avv^ay. Youwill not get into heaven. The Lord has forbidden me to let any onein while he is out."
"Come, do be merciful," cried the tailor. "Little scraps whichfall off the table of their own accord are not stolen, and are notworth speaking about. Look, I am lame, and have bhsters on myfeet with waUdng here, I carmot possibly turn back again. Only letme in, and I will do all the rough work. I will carry the children,and wash their clothes, and wash and clean the benches on whichthey have been playing, and patch all their torn clothes."
Saint Peter let himself be moved by pity, and opened the door ofheaven just wide enough for the lame tailor to sHp his lean body in.He was forced to sit down in a comer behind the door, and was tostay quietly and peaceably there, in order that the Lord, when Heretimaed, might not observe him and be angry.
The tailor obeyed, but once when Saint Peter went outside thedoor, he got up, and full of curiosity, went round about into everycorner of heaven, and inspected the arrangement of every place. Atlength he came to a spot where many beautiful and dehghtfulchairs were standing, and in the midst was a seat all of gold whichwas set with shining jewels; likewise it was much higher than theother chairs, and a footstool of gold was before it. It was, however,the seat on which the Lord sat when He was at home, and fromwhich He could see everything which happened on earth. The tai-lor stood still, and looked at the seat for a long time, for it pleasedhim better than all else. At last he could master his ciuiosity nolonger, and climbed up and seated himself in the chair.
Then he saw everything which was happening on earth, and ob-served an ugly old woman who was standing washing by the sideof a stream, secretly laying two veils on one side for herself. Thesight of this made the tailor so angry that he laid hold of the goldenfootstool, and threw it down to earth through heaven, at the oldthief. As, however, he could not bring the stool back again, heslipped quietly out of the chair, seated himself in his place behindthe door, and behaved as if he had never stirred from the spot.
When the Lord and Master came back again with His heavenlycompanions, He did not see the tailor behind the door, but whenHe seated Himself on His chair the footstool was missing. He askedSaint Peter what had become of the stool, but he did not know.Then He asked if he had let anyone come in.
"I know of no one who has been here," answered Peter, "but alame tailor, who is still sitting behind the door." Then the Lord had
the tailor brought before Him, and asked him if he had taken awaythe stool, and where he had put it.
"Oh, Lord," answered the tailor joyously, "1 threw it in my angerdown to earth at an old woman whom I saw stealing two veils atthe washing."
"Oh, you knave," said the Lord, "were I to judge as you judge,how do you think you could have escaped so long? I should longago have had no chairs, benches, seats, nay, not even an oven-fork,but should have thrown everything down at the sinners. Henceforthyou can stay no longer in heaven, but must go outside the dooragain. Then go where you will. No one shall give punishment here,but I alone, the Lord."
Peter was obliged to take the tailor out of heaven again, and ashe had torn shoes, and feet covered with blisters, he took a stick inhis hand, and went to the Waitabit inn, where the good soldiers sitand make merry.
Poverty and Humility Lead to Heaven
There was once a King's son who went out into the world, and hewas full of thought and sad. He looked at the sky, which was sobeautifully pure and blue, then he sighed, and said, "How wellmust all be with one up there in heaven!" Then he saw a poor gray-haired man who was coming along the road towards him, and hespoke to him, and asked, "How can I get to heaven?" The man an-swered, "By poverty and humility. Put on my ragged clothes, wan-der about the world for seven years, and get to know what miseryis, take no money, but if thou art himgry ask compassionate heartsfor a bit of bread; in this way thou wilt reach heaven."
Then the King's son took off his magnificent coat, and wore in itsplace the beggar's garment, went out into the wide world, andsuffered great misery. He took nothing but a little food, said noth-ing, but prayed to the Lord to take him into His heaven.
When the seven years were over, he returned to his father's pal-ace, but no one recognized him. He said to the servants, "Go andtell my parents that I have come back again." But the servants didnot believe it, and laughed and left him standing there. Then saidhe, "Go and tell it to my brothers that they may come down, for I
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should so like to see them again." The servants would not do thateither, but at last one of them went, and told it to the King's chil-dren, but these did not believe it, and did not trouble themselvesabout it.
Then he MTOte a letter to his mother, and described to her all hismisery, but he did not say that he was her son. So, out of pity, theQueen had a place under the stairs assigned to him, and food takento him daily by two servants. But one of them was ill-natured andsaid, "Why should the beggar have the good food?" and kept it forhimself, or gave it to the dogs, and took the weak, wasted-awaybeggar nothing but water; the other, however, was honest, and tookthe beggar what was sent to him. It was Httle, but he could Uve onit for a while, and all the time he was quite patient, but he grewcontinually weaker. As, however, his illness increased, he desired toreceive the last sacrament. When the host was being elevated downbelow, all the bells in the town and neighborhood began to ring.After mass the priest went to the poor man under the stairs, andthere he lay dead. In one hand he had a rose, in the other a Uly,and beside him was a paper in which was written his history.
When he was buried, a rose grew on one side of his grave, and alily on the other.
The Flail from Heaven
A COUNTRYMAN was oncc going out to plough with a pair of oxen.When he got to the field, both the animals' horns began to grow,and went on growing, and when he wanted to go home they wereso big that the oxen could not get through the gateway for them.By good luck a butcher came by just then, and he delivered themover to him, and made the bargain in this way, that he should takethe butcher a measure of turnip-seed, and then the butcher was tocount him out a Brabant thaler for every seed. I call that well soldiThe peasant now went home, and carried the measure of turnip-seed to him on his back. On the way, however, he lost one seed outof the bag. The butcher paid him justly as agreed on, and if thepeasant had not lost the seed, he would have had one thaler themore.In the meantime, when he went on his way back, the seed had
grown into a tree which reached up to the sky. Then thought thepeasant, "As thou hast the chance, thou must just see what the an-gels are doing up there above, and for once have them before thineeyes." So he climbed up, and saw that the angels above werethreshing oats, and he looked on.
While he was thus watching them, he observed that the tree onwhich he was standing, was beginning to totter; he peeped down,and saw that some one was just going to cut it down. "If I were tofall down from here it would be a bad thing," thought he, and inhis necessity he did not know how to save himself better than bytaking the chaff of the oats which lay there in heaps, and twisting arope of it. He likewise snatched a hoe and a flail which were lyingabout in heaven, and let himself down by the rope. But he camedown on the earth exactly in the middle of a deep, deep hole. So itwas a real piece of luck that he had brought the hoe, for he hoedhimself a flight of steps with it, and mounted up, and took the flailwith him as a token of his truth, so that no one could have anydoubt of his story.
The Moon
In days gone by there was a land where the nights were alwaysdark, and the sky spread over it like a black cloth, for there themoon never rose, and no star shone in the obscurity. At the creationof the world, the light at night had been sufficient. For youngfellows once went out of this country on a traveling expedition, andarrived in another kingdom, where, in the evening when the sunhad disappeared behind the mountains, a shining globe was placedon an oak tree, which shed a soft light far and wide. By means ofthis, everything could very well be seen and distinguished, eventhough it was not so brilliant as the sun. The travelers stopped andasked a countryman who was driving past with his cart what landof a light that was. "That is the moon," answered he; "our mayorbought it for three thalers, and fastened it to the oak tree. He has topour oil into it daily, and to keep it clean, so that it may alwaysbum clearly. He receives a thaler a week from us for doing it."
When the countryman had driven away, one of them said, "Wecould make some use of this lamp, we have an oak tree at home.
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which is just as big as this, and we could hang it on that. What apleasure it would be not to have to feel about at night in the dark-ness!" "I'll tell you what we'll do," said the second; "we will fetch acart and horses and carry away the moon. The people here maybuy themselves another." "I'm a good climber," said the third, "IwiU bring it down." The fourth brought a cart and horses, and thethird climbed the tree, bored a hole in the moon, passed a ropethrough it, and let it down. When the shining baU lay in the cart,they covered it over with a cloth, that no one might observe thetheft. They conveyed it safely into their own country, and placed iton a high oak. Old and young rejoiced when the new lamp let itslight shine over the whole land, and bed-rooms and sitting-roomswere filled with it. The dwarfs came forth from their caves in therocks, and the tiny elves in their little red coats danced in rings onthe meadows.
The four took care that the moon was provided with oil, cleanedthe wick, and received their weekly thaler; but they became oldmen, and when one of them grew ill, and saw that he was about todie, he appointed that one quarter of the moon, should, as his prop-erty, be laid in the grave with him. When he died, the mayorclimbed up the tree, and cut off a quarter with the hedge-shears,and this was placed in his coffin. The hght of the moon decreased,but still not visibly. When the second died, the second quarter wasburied with him, and the light diminished. It grew weaker stillafter the death of the third, who likewise took his part of it awaywith him; and when the fourth was borne to his grave, the old stateof darkness recommenced, and whenever the people went out atnight without their lanterns they knocked their heads together.
When, however, the pieces of the moon had imited themselvestogether again in the world below, where darkness had alwaysprevailed, it came to pass that the dead became restless and awokefrom their sleep. They were astonished when they were able to seeagain; the moonlight was quite sufficient for them, for their eyeshad become so weak that they could not have borne the brillianceof the sun. They rose up and were merry, and fell into their formerways of living. Some of them went to the play and to dance, othershastened to the public-houses, where they asked for wine, gotdrunk, brawled, quarreled, and at last took up cudgels, and bela-bored each other. The noise became greater and greater, and at lastreached even to heaven.
Saint Peter who guards the gate of heaven thought the lowerworld had broken out in revolt and gathered together the heavenly
troops, which are to drive back the Evil One when he and his asso-ciates storm the abode of the blessed. As these, however, did notcome, he got on his horse and rode through the gate of heaven,down into the world below. There he reduced the dead to subjec-tion, bade them He down in their graves again, took the moon awaywith him, and hung it up in heaven.
The Peasant in Heaven
Once upon a time a poor pious peasant died, and arrived beforethe gate of heaven. At the same time a very rich, rich lord camethere who also wanted to get into heaven. Then Saint Peter camewith the key, and opened the door, and let the great man in, butapparently did not see the peasant, and shut the door again. Andnow the peasant outside heard how the great man was received inheaven with all kinds of rejoicing, and how they were makingmusic, and singing within. At length aU became quiet again, andSaint Peter came and opened the gate of heaven, and let the peas-ant in. The peasant, however, expected that they would makemusic and sing when he went in also, but all remained quite quiet.He was received with great aflFection, it is true, and the angels cameto meet him, but no one sang.
Then the peasant asked Saint Peter how it was that they did notsing for him as they had done when the rich man went in, and saidthat it seemed to him that there in heaven things were done withjust as much partiality as on earth. Then said Saint Peter, "By nomeans, thou art just as dear to us as any one else, and wilt enjoyevery heavenly delight that the rich man enjoys, but poor fellowslike thee come to heaven every day, but a rich man like this doesnot come more than once in a hundred years 1"
Eve's Various Children
When Adam and Eve were driven out of Paradise, they were com-pelled to build a house for themselves on unfruitful ground, and eat
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their bread in the sweat of their brow. Adam dug up the land, andEve span. Every year Eve brought a child into the world; but thechildren were unlike each other, some pretty, and some ugly.
After a considerable time had gone by, God sent an angel tothem, to announce that He was coming to inspect their household.Eve, dehghted that the Lord should be so gracious, cleaned herhouse diligently, decked it with flowers, and strewed reeds on thefloor. Then she brought in her children, but only the beautiful ones.She washed and bathed them, combed their hair, put clean raimenton them, and cautioned them to conduct themselves decorously andmodestly in the presence of the Lord. They were to bow down be-fore Him civilly, hold out their hands, and to answer His questionsmodestly and sensibly.
The ugly children were, however, not to let themselves be seen.One hid himself beneath the hay, another imder the roof, a third inthe straw, the fourth in the stove, the fifth in the cellar, the sixthunder a tub, the seventh beneath the wdne-cask, the eighth xmderan old fur cloak, the ninth and tenth beneath the cloth out of whichshe always made their clothes, and the eleventh and twelfth underthe leather out of which she cut their shoes. She had scarcely gotready, before there was a knock at the house-door. Adam lookedthrough a chink, and saw that it was the Lord. Adam opened thedoor respectfully, and the Heavenly Father entered.
There, in a row, stood the pretty children, and bowed beforeHim, held out their hands, and knelt down. The Lord, however,began to bless them, laid His hands on the first, and said, "Thoushalt be a powerful king"; and to the second, "Thou a prince"; tothe third, "Thou a count"; to the fourth, "Thou a knight"; to thefifth, "Thou a nobleman"; to the sixth, "Thou a burgher"; to theseventh, "Thou a merchant"; to the eighth, "Thou a learned man."He bestowed upon them also all His richest blessings.
When Eve saw that the Lord was so mild and gracious, shethought, "I will bring hither my ill-favored children also; it may bethat He wiU bestow His blessing on them likewise." So she ran andbrought them out of the hay, the straw, the stove, and whereverelse she had concealed them. Then came the whole coarse, dirty,shabby, sooty band. The Lord smiled, looked at them all, and said,"1 will bless these also." He laid His hands on the first, and said tohim, "Thou shalt be a peasant"; to the second, "Thou a fisherman";to the third, "Thou a smith"; to the fourth, "Thou a tanner"; to thefifth, "Thou a weaver"; to the sixth, "Thou a shoemaker"; to theseventh, "Thou a tailor"; to the eighth, "Thou a potter"; to the
ninth, "Thou a wagoner"; to the tenth, "Thou a sailor"; to the elev-enth, "Thou an errand-boy"; to the twelfth, "Thou a scullion all thedays of thy life."
When Eve had heard all this she said, "Lord, how unequallyThou dividest Thy gifts! After all they are all of them my children,whom I have brought into the world. Thy favors should be given toall alike." But God answered, "Eve, thou dost not understand. It isright and necessary that the entire world should be supplied fromthy children. If they were all Princes and lords, who would growcom, thresh it, grind and bake it? Who would be blacksmiths,weavers, carpenters, masons, laborers, tailors and seamstresses?Each shall have his own place, so that one shall support the other,and all shall be fed Hke the limbs of one body." Then Eve an-swered, "Ah, Lord, forgive me, I was too quick in speaking toThee. Have Thy divine will with my duldren."
The Poor Boy in the Grave
There was once a poor shepherd-boy whose father and motherwere dead, and he was placed by the authorities in the house of arich man, who was to feed him and bring him up. The man and hiswife had, however, bad hearts, and were greedy and anxious abouttheir riches, and vexed whenever any one put a morsel of theirbread in his mouth. The poor young fellow might do what he Hked,he got little to eat, but only so many blows the more.
One day he had to watch a hen and her chickens, but she ranthrough a quick-set hedge with them, and a hawk darted down in-stantly, and carried her off through the air. The boy called, "Thieflthiefl rascall" with all the strength of his body. But what good didthat do? The hawk did not bring its prey back again. The manheard the noise, and ran to the spot, and as soon as he saw that hishen was gone, he fell in a rage, and gave the boy such a beatingthat he could not stir for two days. Then he had to take care of thechickens without the hen, but now his difficulty was greater, forone ran here and the other there. He thought he was doing a verywise thing when he tied them all together with a string, becausethen the hawk would not be able to steal any of them away fromhim. But he was very much mistaken. After two days, worn out
The Poor Boy in the Grave 383
with running about and hunger, he fell asleep. The bird of preycame, and seized one of the chickens, and as the others were tied fastto it, it carried them all oflF together, perched itself on a tree, anddevoured them. The farmer was just coming home, and when hesaw the misfortune, he got angry and beat the boy so unmercifullythat he was forced to he in bed for several days.
When he was on his legs again, the farmer said to him, "You aretoo stupid for me, I cannot make a herdsman of you, you must goas errand-boy." Then he sent him to the judge, to whom he was tocarry a basketful of grapes, and he gave him a letter as well. On theway, himger and thirst tormented the unhappy boy so violently thathe ate two of the bimches of grapes. He took the basket to thejudge, but when the judge had read the letter, and counted thebunches he said, "Two clusters are wanting." The boy confessedquite honestly that, driven by hunger and thirst, he had devouredthe two which were wanting. The judge wrote a letter to thefarmer, and asked for the same number of grapes again. These alsothe boy had to take to him with a letter. As he again was so ex-tremely hungry and thirsty, he could not help it, and again ate twobunches. But first he took the letter out of the basket, put it under astone and seated himself thereon in order that the letter might notsee and betray him. The judge, however, again made him give anexplanation about the missing bunches. "Ah," said the boy, "howhave you learnt that? The letter could not know about it, for I putit imder a stone before I did it." The judge could not help laughingat the boy's simplicity, and sent the man a letter wherein he cau-tioned him to keep the poor boy better, and not let him want formeat and drink, and also that he was to teach him what was rightand what was wrong.
"I will soon show you the difference," said the hard man. "If youmust eat, you must work, and if you do anything wrong, you shallbe taught by blows."
The next day he set him a hard task. He was to chop two bundlesof straw for food for the horses, and then the man threatened: "Infive hours I shall be back again, and if the straw is not cut to chaffby that time, I will beat you until you cannot move a limb." Thefarmer went with his wife, the manservant and the girl, to theyearly fair, and left nothing behind for the boy but a small bit ofbread. The boy seated himself on the bench, and began to workwith all his might. As he got warm over it he put his httle coat offand threw it on the straw. In his terror lest he should not get done
in time he kept constantly cutting, and in his haste, without notic-ing it, he chopped his little coat as well as the straw. He becameaware of the misfortune too late; there was no repairing it. "Ah,"cried he, "now all is over with mel The wicked man did notthreaten me for nothing; if he comes back and sees what I havedone, he will kill me. Rather than that I will take my own hfe."
The boy had once heard the farmer's wife say, "I have a pot withpoison in it under my bed." She, however, had only said that tokeep away greedy people, for there was honey in it. The boy creptunder the bed, brought out the pot, and ate all that was in it. "I donot know," said he, "folks say death is bitter, but it tastes verysweet to me. It is no wonder that the farmer's wife has so oftenlonged for death." He seated himself in a little chair, and wasprepared to die. But instead of becoming weaker he felt himselfstrengthened by the noiuishing food. "It cannot have been poison,"thought he, "but the farmer once said there was a small bottle ofpoison for flies in the box in which he keeps his clothes; that, nodoubt, will be the true poison, and bring death to me." It was, how-ever, no poison for flies, but Himgarian wine. The boy got out thebottle, and emptied it. "This death tastes sweet too," said he, butshortly after when the wine began to mount into his brain andstupefy him, he thought his end was drawing near. "I feel that Imust die," said he, *1 will go away to the church-yard, and seek agrave." He staggered out, reached the church-yard, and laid him-self in a newly-dug grave. He lost his senses more and more. In theneighborhood was an inn where a wedding was being kept. Whenhe heard the music, he fancied he was already in Paradise, until atlength he lost all consciousness. The poor boy never awoke again;the heat of the strong wine and the cold night-dew deprived him ofHfe, and he remained in the grave in which he had laid himself.
When the farmer heard the news of the boy's death he wasterrified, and afraid of being brought to justice—indeed, his distresstook such a powerful hold of him that he fell fainting to theground. His wife, who was standing on the hetirth with a pan of hotfat, ran to him to help him. But the flames darted against the panand the whole house caught fire. In a few hours it lay in ashes, andthe rest of the years they had to live they passed in poverty andmisery, tormented by the pangs of conscience.
Close to a large forest there lived a wood-cutter and his wife. Theyhad an only child, a little girl three years old. They were so poorthat they no longer had daily bread, and did not know how to getfood for her. One morning the wood-cutter went out sorrowfully tohis work in the forest, and while he was cutting wood, suddenlythere stood before him a tall and beautiful woman with a crown ofshining stars on her head. She said to him, "I am the Virgin Mary,mother of the child Jesus. Thou art poor and needy, bring thy childto me, I will take her with me and be her mother, and care for her."The wood-cutter obeyed, brought his child, and gave her to theVirgin Mary, who took her up to heaven with her. There the childfared well, ate sugar-cakes, and drank sweet milk, and her clotheswere of gold, and the little angels played with her.
And when she was foiuteen years of age, the Virgin Mary calledher one day and said, "Dear child, I am about to make a long jour-ney, so take into thy keeping the keys of the thirteen doors ofheaven. Twelve of these thou mayest open, and behold the glorywhich is within them, but the thirteenth, to which this little key be-longs, is forbidden thee. Beware of opening it, or thou wilt bringmisery on thyself." The girl promised to be obedient, and when theVirgin Mary was gone, she began to examine the dwellings of thekingdom of heaven. Each day she opened one of them, imtil shehad made the round of the twelve. In each of them sat one of theApostles in the midst of a great light, and she rejoiced in all themagnificence and splendor, and the Httle angels who always accom-panied her rejoiced with her.
Then the forbidden door alone remained, and she felt a greatdesire to know what could be hidden behind it, and said to the an-gels, "I will not quite open it, and I will not go inside it, but I willunlock it so that we can just see a little through the opening." *Oh,no," said the little angels, "that would be a sin. The Virgin Maryhas forbidden it, and it might easily cause thy imhappiness." Thenshe was silent, but the desire in her heart was not stilled, butgnawed there and tormented her, and let her have no rest. Andonce when the angels had aU gone out, she thought, "Now I amquite alone, and I could peep in. If I do it, no one will ever know."
She took the key, put it in the lock, and turned it round. Then thedoor sprang open, and she saw there the Trinity sitting in fire andsplendor. She stayed there awhile, and looked at everything inamazement; then she touched the light a Httle with her finger, andher finger became quite golden. Immediately a great fear fell onher. She shut the door violently, and ran away. Nor would her ter-ror quit her, let her do what she might, and her heart beat con-tinuEdly and would not be still; the gold, too, stayed on her finger,and would not go away, let her rub it and wash it ever so much.
It was not long before the Virgin Mary came back from her jour-ney. She called the girl before her, and asked to have the keys ofheaven back. When the maiden gave her the bunch, the Virginlooked into her eyes and said, "Hast thou not opened the thirteenthdoor also?" "No," she replied. Then she laid her hand on the girl'sheart, and felt how it beat and beat, and saw right well that shehad disobeyed her order and had opened the door. Then she saidonce again, "Art thou certain that thou hast not done it?" "Yes,"said the girl, for the second time. Then she perceived the fingerwhich had become golden from touching the fire of heaven, andsaw well that the child had sinned, and said for the third time,"Hast thou not done it?" "No," said the girl for the third time.Then said the Virgin Mary, "Thou hast not obeyed me, and besidesthat thou hast Med; thou art no longer worthy to be in heaven."
Then the girl fell into a deep sleep, and when she awoke she layon the earth below, and in the midst of a wilderness. She wanted tocry out, but she could bring forth no sound. She sprang up andwanted to run away, but whithersoever she turned herself, she wascontinually held back by thick hedges of thorns through which shecould not break. In the desert in which she was imprisoned, therestood an old hollow tree, and this had to be her dwelling-place.Into this she crept when night came, and here she slept. Here, too,she found a shelter from storm and rain, but it was a miserable Hfe,and bitterly did she weep when she remembered how happy shehad been in heaven, and how the angels had played with her. Rootsand wild berries were her only food, and for these she sought as faras she could go.
In the autumn she picked up the fallen nuts and leaves, andcarried them into the hole. The nuts were her food in winter, andwhen snow and ice came, she crept among the leaves like a poor Ht-tle animal that she might not freeze. Before long her clothes wereall torn, and one bit of them after another feU off her. As soon, how-ever, as the sun shone warm again, she went out and sat in front of
Our Lady's Child 387
the tree, and her long hair covered her on all sides Hlce a mantle.Thus she sat year after year, and felt the pain and misery of theworld.
One day, when the trees were once more clothed in fresh green,the King of the country was hunting in the forest, and followed aroe, and as it had fled into the thicket which shut in this bit of theforest, he got off his horse, tore the bushes asunder, and cut himselfa path with his sword. When he had at last forced his way through,he saw a wonderfully beautiful maiden sitting under the tree; andshe sat there and was entirely covered with her golden hair downto her very feet. He stood still and looked at her full of surprise,then he spoke to her and said, "Who art thou? Why art thou sittinghere in the wilderness?" But she gave no answer, for she could notopen her mouth. The King continued, "Wilt thou go with me to mycastle?" Then she just nodded her head a little. The King took herin his arms, carried her to his horse, and rode home with her, andwhen he reached the royal castle he caused her to be dressed inbeautiful garments, and gave her all things in abundance. Althoughshe could not speak, she was still so beautiful and charming that hebegan to love her with all his heart, and it was not long before hemarried her.
After a year or so had passed, the Queen brought a son into theworld. Thereupon the Virgin Mary appeared to her in the nightwhen she lay in her bed alone, and said, "If thou wilt tell the truthand confess that thou didst unlock the forbidden door, I will openthy mouth and give thee back thy speech, but if thou perseverest inthy sin, and deniest obstinately, I will take thy new-bom childaway with me." Then the Queen was permitted to answer, but sheremained hard, and said, "No, I did not open the forbidden door";and the Virgin Mary took the new-bom child from her arms, andvanished with it. Next morning, when the child was not to befound, it was whispered among the people that the Queen was aman-eater, and had killed her own child. She heard all this andcould say nothing to the contrary, but the King would not believeit, for he loved her so much.
When a year had gone by the Queen again bore a son, and in thenight the Virgin Mary again came to her, and said, 'If thou wiltconfess that thou openedst the forbidden door, I will give thee thychild back and untie thy tongue; but if thou continuest in sin anddeniest it, I will take away with me this new child also." Then theQueen again said, "No, I did not open the forbidden door"; and theVirgin took the child out of her arms, and away with her to heaven.
Next morning, when this child also had disappeared, the people de-clared quite loudly that the Queen had devoured it, and the King'scouncillors demanded that she should be brought to justice. TheKing, however, loved her so dearly that he would not beUeve it,and commanded the councillors under pain of death not to say anymore about it.
The following year the Queen gave birth to a beaiitiful littledaughter, and for the third time the Virgin Mary appeared to her inthe night and said, "Follow me." She took the Queen by the handand led her to heaven, and showed her there her two elder chil-dren, who smiled at her, and were playing with the baU of theworld. When the Queen rejoiced thereat, the Virgin Mary said, "Isthy heart not yet softened? If thou wilt own that thou openedst theforbidden door, I will give thee back thy two httle sons." But forthe third time the Queen answered, "No, I did not open the forbid-den door." Then the Virgin let her sink down to earth once more,and took from her likewise her third child.
Next morning, when the loss was reported, all the people criedloudly, "The Queen is a man-eaterl She must be judged," and theKing was no longer able to restrain his councillors. Thereupon atrial was held, and as she could not answer, and defend herself, shewas condemned to be burnt ahve. The wood was got together, andwhen she was fast boimd to the stake, and the fire began to bmmround about her, the hard ice of pride melted, her heart was movedby repentance, and she thought, 'If I could but confess before mydeath that I opened the door." Then her voice came back to her,and she cried out loudly, "Yes, Mary, I did it." Straightway rain fellfrom the sky and extinguished the flames of fire, and a fight brokeforth above her, and the Virgin Mary descended with the two fittlesons by her side, and the new-bom daughter in her arms. She spokekindly to her, and said, "He who repents his sin and acknowledgesit, is forgiven." Then she gave her the three children, untied hertongue, and granted her happiness throughout her life.
Gambling Hansel
Once upon a time there was a man who did nothing but gamble,and for that reason people never called him anything but Gambfing
Gambling Hansel 389
Hansel, and as he never ceased to gamble, he played away bisbouse and aU that he had.
Now the very day before bis creditors were to take bis bousefrom him, came the Lord and St. Peter, and asked him to give themshelter for the night. Then Gambling Hansel said, "For my part,you may stay the night, but I cannot give you a bed or anything toeat."
So the Lord said he was just to take them in, and they themselveswould buy something to eat, to which Gambling Hansel made noobjection. Thereupon St. Peter gave him three groschen, and saidhe was to go to the baker's and fetch some bread.
So Gambling Hansel went, but when he reached the house wherethe other gambling vagabonds were gathered together, they, al-though they had won all that he had, greeted him clamorously, andsaid, "Hansel, do come in." "Oh," said he, "do you want to win thethree groschen, too?" On this they would not let him go. So he wentin, and played away the three groschen also.
Meanwhile St. Peter and the Lord were waiting, and as he was solong in coming, they set out to meet him. When Gambling Hanselcame, however, he pretended that the money had fallen into thegutter, and kept raking about in it all the while to find it, but ourLord already knew that he had lost it in play. St. Peter again gavehim three groschen, and now he did not allow himself to be ledaway once more, but fetched them the loaf. Our Lord then in-quired if he had no wine, and he said, "Alack, sir, the casks are allemptyl" But the Lord said he was to go down into the cellar, forthe best wine was still there. For a long time he would not believethis, but at length he said, "Well, I will go down, but I know thatthere is none there." When he turned the tap, however, lo andbehold, the best of wine ran outi So he took it to them, and the twopassed the night there.
Early next day our Lord told Gambling Hansel that he might begthree favors. The Lord expected that he would ask to go to Heaven;but Gambling Hansel asked for a pack of cards with which hecould win everything, for dice with which he would win every-thing, and for a tree whereon every kind of fruit would grow, andfrom which no one who had climbed up, could descend until hebade him do so. The Lord gave him all that he had asked, and de-parted with St. Peter.
And now Gambling Hansel at once set about gambling in realearnest, and before long he had gained half the world. Upon thisSt. Peter said to the Lord, "Lord, this thing must not go on, he will
wii^ and Thou lose, the whole world. We must send Death to him."When Death appeared. Gambling Hansel had just seated himself atthe gaming-table, and Death said, "Hansel, come out a while." ButGambling Hansel said, "Jxist wait a little until the game is done,and in the meantime get up into that tree out there, and gather alittle fruit that we may have something to mimch on our way."Thereupon Death climbed up, but when he wanted to come downagain, he could not, and GambHng Hansel left him up there forseven years, during which time no one died.
So St. Peter said to the Lord, 'Xord, this thing must not go on.People no longer die; we must go om-selves." And they went them-selves, and the Lord commanded Hansel to let Death come down.So Hansel went at once to Death and said to him, "Come down,"and Death took him directly and put an end to him.
They went away together and came to the next world, and tbenGambling Hansel made straight for the door of Heaven, andknocked at it. "Who is there?" "Gambling Hansel." "Ah, we willhave nothing to do with himl Begonel" So he went to the door ofPurgatory, and knocked once more. "Who is there?" "GamblingHansel." "Ah, there is quite enough weeping and wailing herewithout him. We do not want to gamble, just go away again." Thenhe went to the door of Hell, and there they let him in.
There was, however, no one at home but old Lucifer and thecrooked devils who had just been doing their evil work in theworld. And no sooner was Hansel there than he sat down to gambleagain. Lucifer, however, had nothing to lose but his misshapendevils, and GambHng Hansel won them from him, as with his cardshe could not fail to do.
Now he was off again with his crooked devils, and they went toHohenfuert and pulled up a hop-hole, and with it went to Heavenand began to thrust the pole against it, and Heaven began to crack.So again St. Peter said, "Lord, this thing cannot go on, we must lethim in, or he will throw us down from Heaven." And they let himin. But GambHng Hansel instantly began to play again, and therewas such a noise and confusion that there was no hearing whatthey themselves were saying. Therefore St. Peter once more said,"Lord, this cannot go on, we must throw him down, or he willmake all Heaven rebelHous." So they went to him at once, andthrew him down, and his soul broke into fragments, and went intothe gambHng vagabonds who are Hving this very day.
The Old Man Made Young Again
In the time when our Lord still walked this earth, He and St. Peterstopped one evening at a smith's and received free quarters. Thenit came to pass that a poor beggar, badly pressed by age andinfirmity, came to this house and begged alms of the smith. StPeter had compassion on him and said, "Lord and Master, if itplease Thee, ciure his torments that he may be able to win his ownbread." The Lord said kindly, "Smith, lend Me thy forge, and puton some coals for Me, and then I will make this ailing old manyoung again." The smith was quite willing, and St. Peter blew thebellows, and when the coal fire sparkled up large and high ourLord took the little old man, pushed him in the forge in the midstof the red-hot fire, so that he glowed like a rose-bush, and praisedGod with a loud voice. After that the Lord went to the quenchingtub, put the glowing little man into it so that the water closed overhim, and after He had carefully cooled him, gave him His blessing,when beholdl the little man sprang nimbly out, looking fresh,straight, healthy, and as if he were but twenty.
The smith, who had watched everything closely and attentively,invited them all to supper. He, however, had an old, half-blind,crooked mother-in-law who went to the youth, and with greatearnestness asked if the fire had burnt him much. He answered thathe had never felt more comfortable, and that he had sat in the redheat as if he had been in cool dew. The youth's words echoed inthe ears of the old woman all night long, and early next morning,when the Lord had gone on His way again and had heartilythanked the smith, the latter thought he might make his oldmother-in-law young again likewise, as he had watched everythingso carefully, and it lay in the province of his trade. So he called toask her if she, too, would like to go bounding about Hke a girl ofeighteen. She said, "With all my heart, as the youth has come outof it so well."
So the smith made a great fire, and thrust the old woman into it,and she writhed about this way and that, and uttered terrible criesof murder. "Sit still; why art thou screaming and jumping aboutso?" cried he, and as he spoke he blew the bellows again until allher rags were burnt. The old woman cried without ceasing, and the
smith thought to himself, '1 have not quite the right art," and tookher out and threw her into the cooling-tub. Then she screamed soloudly that the smith's wife upstairs and her daughter-in-law heard,and they both ran downstairs, and saw the old woman lying in aheap in the quenching-tub, howling and screaming, with her facewrinkled and shriveled and all out of shape. Thereupon the two,who were both with child, were so terrified that that very night twoboys were bom who were not made Hke men but apes, and theyran into the woods, and from them sprang the race of apes.
The Lord's Animals and the Devil's
The Lord God had created all animals, and had chosen the wolf tobe his dog, but he had forgotten the goat. Then the Devil madeready and began to create also, and created goats with fine longtails. Now when they went to pasture, they generally remainedcaught in the hedges by their tails; then the Devil had to go thereand disentangle them, with a great deal of trouble. This enragedhim at last, and he went and bit off the tail of every goat, as may beseen to this day by the stump. Then he let them go to pastiuealone.
It came to pass that the Lord God perceived how at one timethey gnawed away at a fruitful tree, at another injiured the noblevines, or destroyed other tender plants. This distressed Him, so thatin His goodness and mercy He summoned His wolves, who soontore in pieces the goats that went there.
When the Devil observed this, he went before the Lord and said,'Thy creatures have destroyed mine." The Lord answered, "Whydidst thou create things to do harm?" The Devil said, "I was com-pelled to do it: inasmuch as my thoughts rtm on evil, what I createcan have no other nature, and thou must pay me heavy damages.""I will pay thee as soon as the oak leaves fall; come then, thymoney will then be ready counted out." When the oak leaves hadfallen, the Devil came and demanded what was due to him. But theLord said, "In the church of Constantinople stands a tall oak treewhich still has all its leaves." With raging and curses, the Devil de-parted, and went to seek the oak, wandered in the wilderness forsix months before he found it, and when he returned, all the oaks
had in the meantime covered themselves again with green leaves.Then he had to forfeit his indemnity, and in his rage he put out theeyes of all the remaining goats, and put his own in instead.
This is why all goats have devil's eyes, why their tails are bittenofiF, and why he Hkes to assume their shape.
Master Pfriem
Master Pfkeem* was a short, thin, but lively man, who neverrested a moment. His face, of which his tumed-up nose was theonly prominent feature, was marked with smallpox and pale asdeath; his hair was gray and shaggy, his eyes small, but theyglanced perpetually about on all sides. He saw everything, criti-cized everything, knew everything best, and was always in theright. When he went into the streets, he moved his arms about as ifhe were rowing; and once he struck the pail of a girl, who was car-rying water, so high in the air that he himself was wetted all overby it. "Stupid thing," cried he to her, while he was shaking himself,"could you not see that I was coming behind you?"
By trade he was a shoemaker, and when he worked he pulled histhread out with such force that he drove his fist into every one whodid not keep far enough off. No apprentice stayed more than amonth with him, for he had always some fault to find with the verybest work. At one time it was that the stitches were not even; at an-other that one shoe was too long, or one heel higher than the other,or the leather not cut large enough. "Wait," said he to his appren-tice, "I will soon show you how we make sldns soft," and hebrought a strap and gave him a couple of strokes across the back.He called them all sluggards. He himself did not turn much workout of his hands, for he never sat still for a quarter of an hour.
If his wife got up very early in the morning and lighted the fire,he jumped out of bed, and ran bare-footed into the kitchen, crying,"Will you bum my house down for me? That is a fire one couldroast an ox byl Does wood cost nothing?" If the servants werestanding by their wash-tubs and laughing, and telling each other allthey knew, he scolded them, and said, "There stand the geese cack-
• Pfriem: a cobbler's awl.
ling, and forgetting their work, to gossip! And why fresh soap? Dis-graceful extravagance and shameful idleness into the bargain!They want to save their hands, and not rub the things properly!"And out he would run and knock a pail full of soap and water over,so that the whole kitchen was flooded.
Some one was building a new house, so he hurried to the windowto look on. "There, they are using that red sand-stone again thatnever dries!" cried he. "No one v^dll ever be healthy in that house!And just look how badly the fellows are laying the stones! Besides,the mortar is good for nothing! It ought to have gravel in it, notsand. I shall live to see that house tumble down on the people whoare in it." He sat dowm, put a couple of stitches in, and then jumpedup again, unfastened his leather-apron, and cried, "I vwll just goout, and appeal to those men's consciences." He stumbled on thecarpenters. "What's this?" cried he, "you are not working by theline! Do you expect the beams to be straight?—one wrong wall putall wrong." He snatched an axe out of a carpenter's hand andwanted to show him how he ought to cut; but as a cart loaded withclay came by, he threw the axe away, and hastened to the peasantwho was walking by the side of it. "You are not in your rightmind," said he, "who yokes young horses to a heavily laden cart?The poor beasts will die on the spot." The peasant did not give himan answer, and Pfriem in a rage ran back into his workshop.
When he was setting himself to work again, the apprenticereached him a shoe. "Well, what's that again?" screamed he."Haven't I told you you ought not to cut shoes so broad? Who wouldbuy a shoe like this, which is hardly anything else but a sole? I in-sist on my orders being followed exactly." "Master," answered theapprentice, "you may easily be quite right about the shoe being abad one, but it is the one which you yourself cut out, and yourselfset to work at. When you jumped up a while since, you knocked itoff the table, and I have only just picked it up. An angel fromheaven, however, would never make you believe that."
One night Master Pfriem dreamed he was dead, and on his wayto heaven. When he got there, he knocked loudly at the door. '1wonder," said he to himself, "that they have no knocker on the door—one knocks one's knuckles sore." The apostle Peter opened thedoor, and wanted to see who demanded admission so noisily. "Ah,it's you, Master Pfriem"; said he, "well, I'll let you in, but I warnyou that you must give up that habit of yours, and find fault withnothing you see in heaven, or you may fare ill." "You might havespared your warning," answered Pfriem. "I know already what is
Master Pfriem 395
seemly, and here, God be thanked, everything is perfect, and thereis nothing to blame as there is on earth." So he went in, and walkedup and down the wide expanses of heaven. He looked around him,to the left and to the right, but sometimes shook his head, or mut-tered something to himself.
Then he saw two angels who were carrying away a beam. It wasthe beam which some one had had in his own eye while he waslooking for the splinter in the eye of another. They did not, how-ever, carry the beam lengthways, but obliquely. "Did any one eversee such a piece of stupidity?" thought Master Pfriem; but he saidnothing, and seemed satisfied with it. "It comes to the same thingafter all, whichever way they carry the beam, straight or crooked, ifthey only get along with it, and truly I do not see them knockagainst anything."
Soon after this he saw two angels who were drawing water out ofa well into a bucket, but at the same time he observed that thebucket was full of holes, and that the water was running out of iton every side. They were watering the earth with rain. "Hang it,"he exclaimed; but happily recollected himself, and thought, "Per-haps it is only a pastime. If it is an amusement, then it seems theycan do useless things of this kind even here in heaven, where peo-ple, as I have already noticed, do nothing but idle about."
He went farther and saw a cart which had stuck fast in a deephole. 'It's no wonder," said he to the man who stood by it; "whowould load so unreasonably? What have you there?" "Goodwishes," replied the man. "I could not go along the right way withit, but still I have pushed it safely up here, and they won't leave mesticking here." In fact an angel did come and harnessed two horsesto it. "That's quite right," thought Pfriem, 'TDut two horses won'tget that cart out, it must at least have four to it." Another angelcame and brought two more horses; she did not, however, harnessthem in front of it, but behind.
That was too much for Master Pfriem. "Clumsy creature," heburst out with, "what are you doing there? Has any one ever sincethe world began seen a cart drawn in that way? But you, in yourconceited arrogance, think that you know everything best." He wasgoing to say more, but one of the inhabitants of heaven seized himby the throat and pushed him forth with irresistible strength. Be-neath the gateway Master Pfriem turned his head roiind to take onemore look at the cart, and saw that it was being raised into the airby four winged horses.
At this moment Master Pfriem awoke. "Things are certainly ar-
396 Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales
ranged in heaven otherwise than they are on earth," said he to him-self, "and that excuses much; but who can see horses harnessedboth behind and before with patience; to be sure they had wings,but who could know that? It is, besides, great folly to fix a pair ofwings to a horse that has four legs to run with already! But I mustget up, or else they will make nothing but mistakes for me in myhouse. It is a lucky thing for me though, that I am not really dead."
The Heavenly Wedding
A POOR PEASANT-BOY One day heard the priest say in church thatwhosoever desired to enter into the kingdom of heaven must alwaysgo straight onward. So he set out, and walked continually straightonward over hill and valley without ever turning aside. At lengthhis way led him into a great town, and into the midst of a chmrch,where just at that time God's service was being performed. Nowwhen he beheld all the magnificence of this, he thought he hadreached heaven, sat down, and rejoiced with his whole heart. Whenthe service was over, and the clerk bade him go out, he rephed,"No, I will not go out again, I am glad to be in heaven at last." Sothe clerk went to the priest, and told him that there was a child inthe church who would not go out again, because he believed hewas in heaven. The priest said, "If he believes that, we will leavehim inside." So he went to him, and asked if he had any inclinationto work. "Yes," the little fellow replied, "I am accustomed to work,but I will not go out of heaven again."
So he stayed in the church, and when he saw how the peoplecame and knelt and prayed to Our Lady with the blessed childJesus which was carved in wood, he thought "that is the goodGod," and said, "Dear God, how thin You arel The people mustcertainly let You starve; but every day I will give You half my din-ner." From this time forth, he every day took half his dinner to theimage, and the image began to enjoy the food. When a few weekshad gone by, people remarked that the image was growing largerand stout and strong, and wondered much. The priest also couldnot understand it, but stayed in the church, and followed the littleboy about, and then he saw how he shared his food with the VirginMary, and how She accepted it.
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After some time the boy became ill, and for eight days could notleave his bed; but as soon as he could get up again, the first thinghe did was to take his food to Our Lady. The priest followed him,and heard him say, "Dear God, do not take it amiss that I have notbrought You anything for such a long time, for I have been ill andcould not get up." Then the image answered him and said, "I haveseen thy good-wiU, and that is enough for me. Next Sunday thoushalt go with me to the wedding." The boy rejoiced at this, andrepeated it to the priest, who begged him to go and ask the imageif he, too, might be permitted to go. "No," answered the image,"thou alone." The priest wished to prepare him first, and give himthe holy communion and the child was willing, and next Sunday,when the host came to him, he fell down and died, and was at theeternal wedding.
God's Food
There w^ere once upon a time two sisters, one of whom had no chil-dren and was rich, and the other had five and was a widow, and sopoor that she no longer had food enough to satisfy herself and herchildren. In her need, therefore, she went to her sister, and said,"My children and I are suffering the greatest hunger; thou art rich,give me a mouthful of bread." The very rich sister was as hard as astone, and said, "I myself have nothing in the house," and droveaway the poor creature with harsh words.
After some time the husband of the rich sister came home, andwas just going to cut himself a piece of bread, but when he madethe first cut into the loaf, out flowed red blood. When the womansaw that she was terrified and told him what had occurred. He hur-ried away to help the widow and her children, but when he enteredher room, he found her praying. She had her two younger childrenin her arms, and the three older ones were lying dead. He offeredher food, but she answered, "For earthly food have we no longerany desire. God has already satisfied the hunger of three of us, andHe will hearken to our supplications likewise." Scarcely had she ut-tered these words than the two httle ones drew their last breath,whereupon her heart broke, and she sank down dead.
St. Joseph in the Forest
There was once oii a time a mother who had three daughters, theeldest of whom was rude and wicked, the second much better, al-though she had her faults, but the yoimgest was a pious, goodchild. The mother was, however, so strange, that it was just the eld-est daughter whom she most loved, and she could not bear theyoimgest. On this account, she often sent the poor girl out into thegreat forest in order to get rid of her, for she thought she wouldlose herself and never come back again. But the guardian-angelwhich every good child has, did not forsake her, but alwaysbrought her into the right path again.
Once, however, the guardian-angel behaved as if he were notthere, and the child could not find her way out of the forest again.She walked on constantly until evening came, and then she saw atiny light burning in the distance, ran up to it at once, and came toa little hut. She knocked, the door opened, and she came to a sec-ond door, where she knocked again. An old man, who had a snow-white beard and looked venerable, opened it for her; and he was noother than St. Joseph. He said quite kindly, "Come, dear child, seatthyself on my little chair by the fire, and warm thyself; I will fetchthee clear water if thou art thirsty; but here in the forest, I havenothing for thee to eat but a couple of little roots, which thou mustfirst scrape and boil."
St. Joseph gave her the roots. The girl scraped them clean, thenshe brought a piece of pancake and the bread that her mother hadgiven her to take with her; mixed all together in a pan, and cookedherself a thick soup. When it was ready, St. Joseph said, "I am sohungry; give me some of thy food." The child was quite wilHng,and gave him more than she kept for herself, but God's blessingwas with her, so that she was satisfied. When they had eaten, St.Joseph said, "Now we will go to bed; I have, however, only onebed, lay thyself in it. I will lie on the ground on the straw." "No,"answered she, "stay in thy own bed, the straw is soft enough forme." St. Joseph, however, took the child in his arms and carried herinto the Httle bed, and there she said her prayers, and fell asleep.
Next morning when she awoke, she wanted to say good morningto St. Joseph, but she did not see him. Then she got up and looked
St. Joseph in the Forest 399
for him, but could not find him anywhere; at last she perceived,behind the door, a bag with money so heavy that she could justcarry it, and on it was written that it was for the child who hadslept there that night. On this she took the bag, bounded away withit, and got safely to her mother, and as she gave her mother all themoney, she could not help being satisfied with her.
The next day, the second child also took a fancy to go into theforest. Her mother gave her a much larger piece of pancake andbread. It happened with her just as with the first child. In the eve-ning, she came to St. Joseph's little hut, who gave her roots for athick soup. When it was ready, he likewise said to her, "I am sohungry, give me some of thy food." Then the child said, "Thoumayest have thy share." Afterwards, when St. Joseph offered her hisbed and wanted to lie on the straw, she replied, "No, lie down inthe bed, there is plenty of room for both of us." St. Joseph took herin his arms and put her in the bed, and laid himself on the straw.
In the morning when the child awoke and looked for St. Joseph,he had vanished, but behind the door she found a little sack ofmoney that was about as long as a hand, and on it was written thatit was for the child who had slept there last night. So she took thelittle bag and ran home with it, and took it to her mother, but shesecretly kept two pieces for herself.
The eldest daughter had by this time grown curious, and the nextmorning also insisted on going out into the forest. Her mother gaveher pancakes with her—as many as she wanted, and bread andcheese as weU. In the evening she found St. Joseph in his little hut,just as the two others had found him. When the soup was readyand St. Joseph said, "I am so hungry, give me some of the food,"the girl answered, "Wait until I am satisfied; then if there is any-thing left thou shalt have it." She ate, however, nearly the whole ofit, and St. Joseph had to scrape the dish. Afterwards, the good oldman offered her his bed, and wanted to He on the straw. She took itwithout making any opposition, laid herseff down in the httle bed,and left the hard straw to the white-hatred man.
Next morning when she awoke, St. Joseph was not to be found,but she did not trouble herseff about that. She looked behind thedoor for a money-bag. She fancied something was lying on theground, but as she could not very well distinguish what it was, shestooped down and examined it closely, but it remained hanging toher nose, and when she got up again, she saw, to her horror, that itwas a second nose, which was hanging fast to her own. Then shebegan to scream and howl, but that did no good; she was forced to
see it always on her nose, for it stretched out so far. Then she ranout and screamed without stopping till she met St. Joseph, at whosefeet she fell and begged until, out of pity, he took the nose off heragain, and even gave her two pennies.
When she got home, her mother was standing before the door,and asked, "What hast thou had given to thee?" Then she Hed andsaid, "A great bag of money, but I have lost it on the way." "Lostitr cried the mother, "oh, but we will soon find it again," and tookher by the hand, and wanted to seek it with her. At first she beganto cry, and did not wish to go, but at last she went. On the way,however, so many lizards and snakes broke loose on both of them,that they did not know how to save themselves. At last they stungthe wicked child to death, and they stung the mother in the foot,because she had not brought her up better.
The Three Green Twigs
There was once on a time a hermit who lived in a forest at the footof a mountain, and passed his time in prayer and good works, andevery evening he carried, to the glory of God, two pails of water upthe mountain. Many a beast drank of it, and many a plant wasrefreshed by it, for on the heights above a strong wind blew con-tinually, which dried the air and the ground, and the wild birdswhich dread mankind wheel about there, and with their sharpeyes search for a drink. And because the hermit was so pious, anangel of God, visible to his eyes, went up with him, counted hissteps, and when the work was completed, brought him his food,even as the prophet of old was by God's command fed by theraven. When the hermit in his piety had already reached a greatage, it happened that he once saw from afar a poor sinner beingtaken to the gallows. He said carelessly to himself, "There, that oneis getting his deserts 1"
In the evening, when he was carrying the water up the mountain,the angel who usually accompanied him did not appear, and alsobrought him no food. Then he was terrified, and searched his heart,and tried to think how he could have sinned, as God was so angry,but he did not discover it. Then he neither ate nor drank, threw
The Three Green Twigs 401
himself down on the ground, and prayed day and night. And as hewas one day thus bitterly weeping in the forest, he heard a littlebird singing beautifully and delightfully, and then he was stillmore troubled and said, "How joyously thou singest, the Lord isnot angry with thee. Ah, if thou couldst but tell me how I can haveoffended Him, that I might do penance, and then my heart alsowould be glad again."
Then the bird began to speak and said, "Thou hast done injus-tice, in that thou hast condemned a poor sinner who was being ledto the gallows, and for that the Lord is angry with thee. He alonesits in judgment. However, if thou wilt do penance and repent thysins, He will forgive thee." Then the angel stood beside him with adry branch in his hand and said, "Thou shalt carry this dry branchuntil three green twigs sprout out of it, but at night when thou vvdltsleep, thou shalt lay it under thy head. Thou shalt beg thy breadfrom door to door, and not tarry more than one night in the samehouse. That is the penance which the Lord lays on thee."
Then the hermit took the piece of wood, and went back into theworld, which he had not seen for so long. He ate and drank nothingbyt what was given him at the doors; many petitions were, how-ever, not Ustened to, and many doors remained shut to him, so thathe often did not get a crumb of bread.
Once when he had gone from door to door from morning tiUnight, and no one had given him anything, and no one would shel-ter him for the night, he went forth into a forest, and at last found acave which some one had made, and an old woman was sitting init. Then said he, "Good woman, keep me with you in your housefor this night"; but she said, "No, I dare not, even if I wished. Ihave three sons who are wicked and wild; if they come home fromtheir robbing expedition, and find you, they wiU IdU us both." Thehermit said, "Let me stay, they will do no injury either to you or tome," and the woman was compassionate, and let herself be per-suaded. Then the man lay down beneath the stairs, and put the bitof wood imder his head. When the old woman saw him do that, sheasked the reason of it, on which he told her that he carried the bitof wood about with him for a penance, and used it at night for apillow, and that he had offended the Lord, because, when he hadseen a poor sinner on the way to the gallows, he had said he wasgetting his deserts. Then the woman began to weep and cried, 'Tfthe Lord thus punishes one single word, how will it fare with mysons when they appear before Him in judgment?"
At midnight the robbers came home and blustered and stormed.They made a fire, and when it had lighted up the cave and theysaw a man lying under the stairs, they feU in a rage and cried totheir mother, "Who is the man? Have we not forbidden any onewhatsoever to be taken in?" Then said the mother, "Let him alone,it is a poor sinner who is expiating his crime." The robbers asked,"What has he done?" "Old man," cried they, "tell us thy sins." Theold man raised himself and told them how he, by one single word,had so sinned that God was angry with him, and how he was nowexpiating this crime.
The robbers were so powerfully touched in their hearts by thisstory, that they were shocked with their life up to this time,reflected, and began with hearty repentance to do penance for it.The hermit, after he had converted the three sinners, lay down tosleep again under the stairs. In the morning, however, they foundhim dead, and out of the dry wood on which his head lay, threegreen twigs had grown up on high. Thus the Lord had once morereceived him into His favor.
Our Lady's Little Glass
Once upon a time a wagoner s cart which was heavily laden withwine had stuck so fast that in spite of all that he could do, he couldnot get it to move again. Then it chanced that Our Lady just hap-pened to come by that way, and when She perceived the poorman's distress. She said to him, "I am tired and thirsty, give Me aglass of wine, and I will set thy cart free for thee." "Willingly," an-swered the wagoner, 'Tjut I have no glass in which I can give Theethe wine." Then Our Lady plucked a little white flower with redstripes, called field bindweed, which looks very like a glass, andgave it to the wagoner. He filled it with wine, and then Our Ladydrank it, and in the self-same instant the cart was set free, and thewagoner could drive onwards. The little flower is still always calledOur Lady's Little Glass.
For a long time the King of a certain country had been at war. Atlast it came to an end, and many soldiers were discharged. One ofthem was a fellow called Brother Frolick because he was such alighthearted, jolly fellow; and although he only received a smallloaf and four kreutzers in gold, he started on a journey through theworld with a merry heart.
He had not gone far, when he saw a poor beggar sitting by theroadside begging, but he did not know that it was a saint in dis-guise. The beggar asked for alms, and Brother Frolick said, "Whatshall I give you? I am only a poor, discharged soldier, and all theyhave given me is a loaf of bread and four kreutzers, and when it isall gone, I must beg as well as you. However, I will give you some-thing." Then he divided the loaf into four pieces, and gave one tothe beggar, as well as one of his gold pieces.
The beggar thanked him, and went away, but only to a little dis-tance. Again changing his appearance and face, he seated himselfby the highway, waited for Brother FroHck to pass, and againbegged for alms. The good-natured soldier gave this beggar also afourth of his bread and a gold piece.
The saint thanked him, and, after walking some distance, a thirdtime seated himself in another form to beg of Brother Frolick. Thistime, also, he gave him a third piece of the divided loaf and anotherkreutzer. The beggar thanked him and went away.
The Idndhearted fellow had now only a fourth part of the loafand one gold piece left, so he went to an inn, ate the bread, andpaid his kreutzer for a jug of beer. As soon as he had finished, hewent out, and traveled on for some distance, and there again wasthe saint in the form of a discharged soldier hke himself. "Goodevening, comrade," he said; "could you give me a piece of bread,and a kreutzer to buy something to drink?"
"Where am I to get it?" answered Brother Frolick. "I had my dis-charge today, and they gave me a loaf of bread and foiu- goldkreutzers. But I met three beggars on the high road, and I gavethem each a fourth part of my bread and a kreutzer, and the lastkreutzer I have just paid for something to drink with my last piece
of bread. Now I am empty, and if you also have nothing, we can goand beg together."
"No," answered the saint, "we need not do that; I understand alittle of medicine and surgery, and can soon earn as much as I shallwant." "Well," replied Brother Frolick, "I don't understand doctor-ing at all, so I must go and beg alone." "No; come with me," criedthe other; "whatever I earn, you shall have half." "That is goodnews for me," said Brother FroHck, so they went away together.
After a time, as they passed a peasant's house, they heard greatcries and lamentations, so they went in, and found the husbandvery ill and at the point of death, and the wife weeping and howl-ing with all her might. "Leave off that noise," said the saint; "I willsoon cure your husband." Then he took some salve out of hispocket, and healed the man so quickly that he could stand up andwas quite well.
The husband and wife joyfully thanked the stranger, and said,"What can we give you in return for this kindness?" But the saintwould name nothing, and, worse still, refused all they brought tohim; and although Brother FroHck nudged him more than once, hestill said, "No; I will take nothing—we do not want it."
At last the grateful people brought a lamb, and said that he musttake it whether he would or not. Then Brother Frolick nudged himin the side, and said, "Take it, stupid; you know we do want it."
Then the saint said at last, "Well, I will take the lamb, but I can-not carry it; you must do that, if you want it so much." "Oh, thatwill be no trouble to me," cried the other, and taking it on hisshoulder they went away together.
After a while, they came to a wood, and Brother Frolick, whobegan to feel tired and hungry, for the lamb was heavy, proposedthat they should stop and rest. "See," he said, "this is a beautifulplace for us to cook the lamb and eat it."
"I^'s all the same to me," replied the saint, "but I can have noth-ing to do with the cooking; you must do that if you have a kettle,and I will go away for a little while till it is ready. You must not,however, eat any till I come back; I will be here quite in time." "Goalong," said Brother Frolick, "1 understand how to cook, and I willsoon have dinner ready."
Then the saint went away, and Brother Frolick slaughtered thelamb, lighted a fire, and threw some of the flesh into the kettle toboil. The meat was quite ready, however, before the saint returned,and Brother Frolick became so impatient, that he took out of thekettle a part of the flesh, in which was the heart. "The heart is the
best of all," he said, tasting it, and finding it very good he ate it aU.
At last his comrade returned and said: "You may eat aU the lambyourself, I only want the heart, so just give it me."
Then Brother Frolick took a knife and fork and began searchingamong the pieces of meat for the heart, which, of coiurse, he couldnot find. Then he said pertly, "It is not there."
"Then where can it be?" said the saint.
"I do not know," said Brother Frolick; "but see," he added,"why, what a couple of fools we are, searching for a lamb's heart;of course there is not one to be found, for a lamb has no heart."
"Ah," said the other, "that is news. Every animal has a heart,why should not a lamb?"
"No, certainly, brother," he said, "a lamb has no heart; reflect aHttle, and you will be convinced that it really has none."
"Well, certainly, it is quite clear that there is no heart to befoimd in this one, and as I do not want any other part, you may eatit all yourself."
"I cannot eat it all," replied Brother Frolick, "so what is left Iwill put into my knapsack."
When this was done, the two started to continue their journey,and Brother Peter, as the saint called himself, caused a large quan-tity of water to rise on the road just across where they had to pass.Said Brother Peter, "You go first." "No," answered the other, "Iwould rather see you across," for he thought, "if the water is verydeep, I won't go at all."
So Brother Peter stepped over, and the water only came up to hisknees. His comrade prepared to follow, but he had not gone farwhen the water came up to his neck. "Brother, help me," he cried."Will you confess, then, that you ate the lamb's heart?" he replied."No," he said, "I did not eat it."
Immediately the water became deeper, and flowed to his mouth."Help! help me, brother," he cried. "Will you confess now that youhave eaten the lamb's heart?" cried Brother Peter. "No," he repHed,"I did not eat it."
Now the saint did not intend to drown him, so he allowed thewater to subside, and Brother FroUck crossed over safely. Theytraveled after this till they reached a foreign land, and in the chiefcity heard that the King's daughter was very iU, and not expectedto live.
"Holloal brother," said the soldier, "that is a good chance for us;if you cxure her, we shall never know want again."
But Brother Peter did not hurry himself, and when his comrade
begged him to put his best foot foremost, he went slower than ever.Brother Frolick pushed him and dragged him on, but all to no pur-pose, and at last they heard that the King's daughter was dead."There now," cried Brother Frolick, "we have lost our chance, aUthrough your sleepy walking."
"Be quiet, now," said Brother Peter; "I can not only cure thesick, but I can restore the dead to life." "If that is the case," repliedhis comrade, "you may be sure that the King will be ready to giveus the half of his kingdom for joy."
They therefore went to the King's castle, and found them all ingreat grief. But Brother Peter said to the King, "Do not mourn, Ican restore the Princess to Hfe."
He and his comrade were at once led to her room, and telling ev-eryone to go out, they were left alone with the dead Princess.Brother Peter immediately stripped the body of the grave-clothes,and laid it in a bath of very hot water, which he had ordered to bebrought. Then he uttered a few strange words, which his conu-adetried to remember, and turning to the Princess, said, "I commandthee to come out of the bath, and stand on thy feet."
Immediately the Princess rose, and was again aHve and well. Thechamber-women were sent for, and the Princess in her royal clotheswas taken to her father, who received her with great joy, and saidto the two strangers, "Name your reward; it shall be yours, even tothe half of my kingdom." But Brother Peter replied, "No, I willtake no reward for what I have done." "Oh, you foolish fellow,"thought Brother Frolick to himself. Then he nudged him again inthe side: "How can you be so stupid? If you don't want anything, Ido."
Brother Peter, however, stiU refused, but the King, seeing that hiscomrade was quite willing to accept something, told his treasurer tofin the soldier's knapsack with gold.
They left the city after this, and traveled on tiU they came to awood. Then said Brother Peter, "We may as weU divide that gold.""With all my heart," repHed the good-natured fellow.
Peter took the gold, and divided it into three portions. "What isthat for?" asked Brother Frolick. "What have you got in your headnow? There are only two of us."
"Oh," he replied, "it is all right. One third is for myself, one thirdfor you, and one third for hinn who ate the lamb's heart." "Oh, I atethat," cried Brother Frolick, gathering the money up quickly. "I didindeed; can't you believe me?"
"How can it be true?" replied Peter; "a lamb has no heart."
"Nonsense, brother," he said, "what are you thinldng of? A lambhas a heart as well as other animals. Why should he not have one?"
"Now really this is too good," replied Brother Peter. "However,you may keep all the gold to yourself, but I wi\l go on my wayalone in future." "As you please, brother," answered the soldier."Farewell." Then Peter started on another road, and left BrotherFrolick to go oflF by himself. "It is just as well," thought he, "butstill he is a most wonderful man."
The soldier had now quite as much money as he wanted, but heknew not how to spend it properly. He wasted it or gave it away,till as time went on he was again almost penniless. At last he ar-rived at a city where he heard that the King's daughter had justdied. "Hello," thought he, "here is an opportunity; I know how torestore her to life, and they will pay me something worth havingthis time." So he went to the King and told him that he could re-store his daughter to life.
Now the King had heard of the discharged soldier who hadlately given new life to a Princess, and he thought Brother Frolickwas the man. StiU, as he was not quite siu^e, he asked him first forhis opinion, and whether he would venture if the Princess was re-ally dead.
The soldier had no fear, so he ordered the bath to be filled withhot water, and went into the room with the dead Princess alone.Then he stripped her of her clothes, placed her in the bath, andsaid, as he supposed, the words which Brother Peter had said, butthe dead body did not move, although he repeated the words threetimes. He now began to feel alarmed, and cried out in angry tones,"Stand up, will you, or you will get what you don't expect."
At this moment the saint appeared in his former shape as adischarged soldier, and entered the room through the window."You foolish man," he cried, "how can you raise the dead to Hfe? Iwill help you this time, but don't attempt it again."
Thereupon he pronoimced the magic words, and immediately thePrincess rose and stood on her feet, and was as well and strong asever. Then the saint went away through the window, the maidswere sent for to dress the Princess in her royal robes, and then thesoldier led her to her father. He knew, however, that he was notfree to ask for a reward, for Peter had forbidden him to take any-thing, and therefore when the King asked him what he would have,he said he would take nothing, although he wanted it so muchthrough extravagance and folly. Yet the King ordered his knapsackto be filled with gold, and with many thanks he took his departiure.
Outside near the castle gate he met the saint, who said to him,"See now, I forbade you to take anything, and yet you have re-ceived a knapsack full of gold.** "What could I do," he replied,"when they would put it in for me?"
"Then I can only tell you," was the reply, "that if you get intotrouble a second time by undertaking what you cannot perform, itwill be worse for you." "All right, brother; I don't care, now I havethe gold, and I shall not care about putting dead people into a bathagain after this."
"Ah," said the saint, "your gold wiU not last long. However, ifyou do not after this go into imlawful paths, I will give to yourknapsack the power of containing in itself whatever you may wishfor. And now farewell, you will see me no more."
"Good-bye," said the soldier, as he turned away. "Well," hethought, "I am glad that he is gone; he is a wonderful fellow, nodoubt, but I am better without him for a companion."
To the wonderful power with which he had endowed his knap-sack Brother Frolick never gave a thought.
He went on his way with his gold from place to place, and spentand wasted it as he did before, and at last he had nothing left butfour kreutzers. With this sum he entered an inn by the roadside,and felt that the money must go, so he spent three kreutzers inwine, and one in bread.
As he sat eating his bread and drinking his wine, the fragrantsmell of roast goose reached his nose. Brother Frolick looked roundand peeped about, and at last saw that the landlady had two geeseroasting in the oven.
Then he suddenly remembered what his old comrade had said,that whatever he wished for he would find in his knapsack. "Aha,"he said to himself, "then I must wish for the geese to be there."Then he went out, and before the door he said, "I wish that thetwo geese roasting in the oven were in my knapsack." When he hadsaid this he took it ofiF, peeped in, and there they both lay. "Ahl" heexclaimed, "this is all right. I am a mighty fellow after all," andgoing farther into a meadow, sat down to enjoy his good fare.
Just as he had finished eating one goose, two farmhands came by,and when they saw the remaining goose, they stood stiU and lookedat it with hungry eyes. "Well," thought Brother Frolick, "one isenough for me." So he beckoned the workers nearer, and said,"Here, take this goose, and drink my health as you eat it."
They thanked him and went away quickly to the inn, bought
Brother Frolick 409
some wine and bread, and then unpacked the goose which hadbeen given them, and began to eat it.
The landlady, when she saw it, went to her husband, and said,"Those two are eating goose, just see if one of ours is gone from theoven."
The landlord ran to look, and found the oven empty. Touthieves 1" he exclaimed, running out to them, "where did you getroast goose to eat? TeU me instantly, or I wiU give you a taste ofgreen hazel juicel" "We are not thieves," they cried; "a dischargedsoldier gave us this goose yonder in the meadow." "You are notgoing to make me believe that," cried the landlord; "that soldierhas been here, and a most respectable fellow he is; I watched himwhen he left the house and he had nothing with him then. No; youare the thieves, and shall pay for the goosel" But as they could notpay for it, he took a stick and thrashed them out of the house.
Quite ignorant of all this, Brother Frolick went on his way, till hecame to a place where stood a beautiful castle, and not far from it,a large but mean-looldng inn. The soldier went up to the inn andasked for a night's lodging. But the landlord said, "There is noroom here; the house is full of noble guests." "I wonder at that,"said Brother Frolick, "why should they come here instead of goingto that beautiful castle yonder?"
"Ah, yes,' said the landlord, "many have thought as you do; theyhave gone to spend a night at the castle, but they have never re-turned aUve. None are allowed to remain," said the landlord, "whodo not go in on their heads." "I am not likely to walk in on myhead," said the soldier; "but now, landlord, let me take somethingwith me to eat and drink, and I'll go."
So the landlord brought him a good supper to take with him, andthen Brother Frolick set out to go to the castle. On arriving, he firstsat down and ate with great relish, and when he began to feelsleepy, laid himself on the groimd, for there was no bed, and wassoon asleep.
In the night, however, he was wakened by a terrible noise, andwhen he roused himself he saw nine hideous imps in the room,dancing round a pole, which they held in their hands. "Danceaway," he cried, "as long as you will, but don't come near me." Theimps, however, disregarded his orders; nearer and nearer they ap-proached as they danced, till one of them trod on his face, with hisheavy foot.
"Keep away, you wretches," he cried. But still they came nearer.Then Brother Frolick grew angry. He started up, seized a chair.
and struck out right and left. But nine imps against one soldier israther too much, and if he struck one before him, another behindwould pull his hair most immercifully. "You demons," he cried sud-denly, "I'll take care of you; wait a bit—now then, all nine of youinto my knapsack." Whisk! and they were all in; quick as Hghtninghe fastened the bag and threw it into a comer.
Then all was quiet, and Brother Frolick laid himself down againand slept till broad daylight, when the arrival of the landlord of theinn and the nobleman to whom the castle belonged, woke him.They were astonished to find him aHve and full of spirits, and saidto him, "Have you not seen any ghosts dming the night, and didthey not try to hurt you?"
"Well, not very much," answered Brother Frolick. "I have themall nine quite safe in my knapsack there," and he pointed to thecomer. "You can dwell in your castle in peace now," he said to thenobleman. "They will never trouble you again."
The nobleman thanked the soldier and loaded him v^dth presents;he also begged him to remain in his service, and promised to takecare of him for the remainder of his hfe. But the soldier said, "No;I have a roving disposition; I could never rest in one place. I wiUgo and travel farther."
Then Brother Frolick went to a smith's, and laying the knapsackcontaining the imps on the anvil, asked the smith and his man tostrike it with their great hammers, with all their strength. The impsset up a loud screech, and when at last all was quiet, the knapsackwas opened. Eight of them were found quite dead, but the ninth,who had laid himself in a fold, was still living. He slipped out whenthe knapsack was opened and escaped.
Thereupon Brother FroHck traveled a long time about the world,and those who know can tell many a tale about him. But at last hegrew old and thought of his end, so he went to a hermit who wasknown to be a pious man, and said to him, "1 am tired of wander-ing about, and want now to behave in such a manner that I shallenter into the kingdom of Heaven."
The hermit replied, "There are two roads: One is broad andpleasant, and leads to Hell; the other is narrow and rough, andleads to Heaven."
"I should be a fool," thought Brother Frolick, "if I were to takethe narrow, rough road." So he set out and took the broad andpleasant road, and at length came to a great black door, which wasthe door of Hell.
Brother Frolick knocked, and the door-keeper peeped out to see
The Bright Sun Brings It to Light 411
who was there. But when he saw Brother Frolick, he was terrified,for he was the very same ninth imp who had been shut up in theknapsack and had escaped from it with a black eye. So he pushedthe bolt in again as quickly as he could, ran to the highest demon,and said, "There is a fellow outside with a knapsack, who wants tocome in, but as you value your lives don't allow him to enter, or hewill wish the whole of Hell into his knapsack. He once gave me afrightful hammering when I was inside it." So they called out toBrother Frolick to go away again, for he should not get in therel
*lf they won't have me here," thought he, "I wiU see if I can finda place for myself in Heaven, for I must stay somewhere." So heturned about and went onwards imtil he came to the door ofHeaven, where he knocked.
St. Peter was sitting hard by as door-keeper. Brother Frolick rec-ognized him at once, and thought, "Here I find an old friend, Ishall get on better." But St. Peter said: "I can hardly believe thatyou want to come into Heaven." "Let me in, brother; I must get insomewhere; if they would have taken me into Hell, I should nothave come here." "No," said St. Peter, "you shall not enter." "Thenif you will not let me in, take your knapsack back, for I will havenothing at all from you." "Give it here, then," said St. Peter.
Then Brother Frolick gave him the knapsack into Heaventhrough the bars, and St. Peter took it and himg it up beside hisseat. Then said Brother Frolick, "And now I wish myself inside myknapsack," and in a second he was in it, and in Heaven, and St.Peter was forced to let him stay there.
The Bright Sun Brings It to Light
A tailor's apprentice was traveling about the world in search ofwork, and at one time he could find none, and his poverty was sogreat that he had not a penny to five on. Presently he met a Jew onthe road, and as he thought he would have a great deal of moneyabout him, the tailor thrust God out of his heart, fell on the Jew,and said, "Give me your money, or I will strike you dead." Thensaid the Jew, "Grant me my fife, I have no money but eight pen-nies." But the tailor said, "Money you have, and it must be pro-duced," and used violence and beat him until he was near death.
And when the Jew was dying, the last words he said were, 'Thebright sun will bring it to light," and thereupon he died.
The tailor's apprentice felt in his pockets and sought for money,but he found nothing but eight pennies, as the Jew had said. Thenhe took him up and carried him behind a clump of trees, and wentonwards to seek work. After he had traveled about a long while, hegot work in a town with a master who had a pretty daughter, withwhom he fell in love, and he married her, and lived in good andhappy wedlock.
After a long time when he and his wife had two children, thewife's father and mother died, and the young people kept housealone. One morning, when the husband was sitting at the table be-fore the window, his wife brought him his coffee, and when he hadpoured it out into the saucer, and was just going to drink, the sunshone on it and the reflection gleamed hither and thither on thewall above, and made circles on it. Then the tailor looked up andsaid, "Yes, it would Hke very much to bring it to Hght, and cannotl"The woman said, "Oh, dear husband, and what is that, then? Whatdo you mean by that?" He answered, "I must not teU you." But shesaid, *Tf you love me, you must tell me," and used her most affec-tionate words, and said that no one should ever know it, and lefthim no rest.
Then he told her how years ago, when he was traveling aboutseeking work and quite worn out and peimiless, he had killed aJew, and that in the last agonies of death, the Jew had spoken thewords, "The bright sun will bring it to Hght." And now, the sim hadjust wanted to bring it to Hght, and had gleamed and made circleson the wall, but had not been able to do it. After this, he againcharged her particularly never to tell this, or he would lose his Hfe,and she did promise.
When, however, he had sat down to work again, she went to hergreat friend and confided the story to her, but she was never torepeat it to any human being, but before two days were over, thewhole town knew it, and the tailor was brought to trial, and con-demned. And thus, after all, the bright sun did bring it to Hght.
The Sparrow and His Four Children
A SPARROW had four young ones in a swallow's nest. When theywere fledged, some naughty boys pulled out the nest, but fortu-nately all the birds got safely away in the high wind. Then the oldbird was grieved that as his sons had all gone out into the world, hehad not first warned them of every kind of danger, and given themgood instruction how to deal with each. In the autumn a greatmany sparrows assembled together in a wheatfield, and there theold bird met his four children again, and full of joy took them homewith him. "Ah, my dear sons, what pain I have been in about youall through the summer, because you got away in the wind withoutmy teaching; listen to my words, obey your father, and be well onyoiu: guard. Little birds have to encounter great dangers I"
Then he asked the eldest where he had spent the summer, andhow he had supported himself. "I stayed in the gardens, andlooked for caterpillars and small worms, until the cherries got ripe.""Ah, my son," said the father, "tit-bits are not bad, but there isgreat risk about them; on that account take great care of yourselfhenceforth, and particularly when people are going about the gar-dens who carry long green poles which are hollow inside and havea little hole at the top." "Yes, father, but what if a Httle green leaf isstuck over the hole with wax?" said the son. "Where have you seenthat?" "In a merchant's garden," said the youngster. "Oh, my son,merchant folks are quick folks," said the father. "If you have beenamong the children of the world, you have learned worldly shift-iness enough; only see that you use it well, and do not be tooconfident."
After this he asked the next, "Where have you passed yourtime?" "At court," said the son. "Sparrows and silly little birds areof no use in that place—there one finds much gold, velvet, silk,armor, harnesses, sparrow-hawks, screech-owls and hen-harriers;keep to the horses' stable where they winnow oats, or thresh, andthen fortune may give you your daily grain of com in peace." "Yes,father," said the son, "but when the stable-boys make traps and fixtheir gins and snares in the straw, many a one is caught fast.""Where have you seen that?" said the old bird. "At cotirt, among
the stable-boys." "Oh, my son, court boys are bad boys! If you havebeen to court and among the lords, and have left no feathers there,you have learnt a fair amount, and will know very well how to goabout the world, but look around, for the wolves devour the wisestdogs."
The father examined the third also: "Where did you seek your for-tune?" "I have broken up tubs and ropes on the cartroads and high-ways, and sometimes met with a grain of com or barley." "That isindeed dainty fare," said the father, 'l3ut take care what you areabout and look carefully around, especially when you see any onestooping and about to pick up a stone; there is not much time tostay then." "That is true," said the son, "but what if any one shouldcarry a bit of rock, or ore, ready beforehand in his breast orpocket?" "Where have you seen that?" "Among the mountaineers,dear father; when they go out, they generally take little bits of orewith them." "Mountain folks are working folks, and clever folks. Ifyou have been among mountain lads, you have seen and learntsomething, but when you go thither beware, for many a sparrowhas been brougTit to a bad end by a mountain boy."
At length the father came to the youngest son: "You, my dearchirping nestling, were always the silliest and weakest. Stay withme. The world has many rough, wicked birds which have crookedbeaks and long claws, and lie in wait for poor little birds and swal-low them. Keep with those of your own kind, and pick up Httle spi-ders and caterpillars from the trees, or the house, and then you willlive long in peace." "My dear father, he who feeds himself withoutinjury to other people fares well, and no sparrow-hawk, eagle, orkite will hurt him if he specially commits himself and his lawfulfood, evening and morning, faithfully to God, who is the Creatorand Preserver of all forest and village birds, who likewise hears thecry and prayer of the young ravens, for no sparrow or wren everfalls to the ground except by his will." "Where have you learntthis?" The son answered, "When the great blast of wind tore meaway from you I came to a church, and there during the summer Ihave picked up the flies and spiders from the windows, and heardthis discourse preached. The Father of all sparrows fed me all thesummer through, and kept me from all mischance and from fero-cious birds."
"In sooth, my dear son, if you take refuge in the churches andhelp to clear away spiders and buzzing flies, and cry unto God Hkethe young ravens, and commend yoiu^self to the eternal Creator, all
The Duration of Life 415
will be well with you, even if the whole world were full of wild ma-licious birds.
"He who to God commits his ways.In silence suffers, waits, and prays.Preserves his faith and conscience pure.He is of Gods protection sure."
The Duration of Life
When God had created the world and was about to fix the length ofeach creature's hfe, the ass came and asked, "Lord, how long shallI live?" "Thirty years," replied God; "does that content thee?" "Ah,Lord," answered the ass, "that is a long time. Think of my painfulexistence! To carry heavy burdens from morning to night, to dragsacks of com to the mill, that others may eat bread, to be cheeredand refreshed with nothing but blows and kicks. Relieve me of aportion of this long time." Then God had pity on him and rehevedhim of eighteen years.
The ass went away comforted, and the dog appeared. "How longwouldst thou like to live?" said God to him. "Thirty years are toomany for the ass, but thou wilt be satisfied with that." "Lord," an-swered the dog, "is that Thy will? Consider how I shall have torun; my feet will never hold out so long, and when I have once lostmy voice for barking, and my teeth for biting, what will be left forme to do but run from one corner to another and growl?" God sawthat he was right, and released him from twelve years of life.
Then came the monkey. "Thou wilt certainly live thirty yearswillingly," said the Lord to him. "Thou hast no need to work as theass and the dog have to do, and wilt always enjoy thyself." "AhlLord," he answered, "it may seem as if that were the case, but it isquite different. When it reiins porridge I have no spoon. I am al-ways to play merry pranks, and make faces which force people tolaugh, and if they give me an apple, and I bite into it, why it issourl How often sadness hides itself behind mirth! I shall never beable to hold out for thirty years." God was gracious and took offten.
At last man appeared, joyous, healthy and vigorous, and begged
God to appoint his time for him. Thirty years shalt thou live," saidthe Lord. "Is that enough for thee?" "What a short time," criedman, "when I have built my house and my fire bums on my ownhearth; when I have planted trees which blossom and bear fruit,and am just intending to enjoy my life, I am to die 1 O Lord,lengthen my time." "1 will add to it the ass's eighteen years," saidGod. "That is not enough," replied the man. "Thou shalt also havethe dog's twelve years." "Still too Mttle!" "Well, then," said God, '1will give thee the monkey's ten years also, but more thou shalt nothave." The man went away, but was not satisfied.
So man lives seventy years. The first thirty are his human years,which are soon gone; then is he healthy, merry, works with pleas-ure, and is glad of his life. Then follow the ass's eighteen years,when one burden after another is laid on him; he has to carry thecom which feeds others, and blows and kicks are the reward of hisfaithful services. Then come the dog's twelve years, when he hes inthe comer, and growls and has no longer any teeth to bite with,and when this time is over the monkey's ten years form the end.Then man is weak-headed and fooHsh, does silly things, and be-comes the jest of the children.
The Twelve Apostles
Three hundred years before the birth of the Lord Christ, therelived a mother who had twelve sons, but was so poor and needythat she no longer knew how she was to keep them alive at all. Sheprayed to God daily that He would grant that all her sons might beon the earth with the Redeemer who was promised. When her ne-cessity became still greater she sent one of them after the other outinto the world to seek bread for her.
The eldest was called Peter, and he went out and had alreadywalked a long way, a whole day's journey, when he came into agreat forest. He sought for a way out, but could find none, andwent farther and farther astray, and at the same time felt suchgreat hunger that he could scarcely stand. At length he became soweak that he was forced to lie down, and he believed death to be athand. Suddenly there stood beside him a small boy who shone withbrightness, and was as beautiful and kind as an angel. The child
smote his little hands together, until Peter was forced to look upand saw him. Then the child said, "Why art thou sitting there insuch trouble?" "Alas!" answered Peter, "I am going about theworld seeking bread. That I may yet see the dear Saviour who ispromised, that is my greatest desire." The child said, "Come withme, and thy wish shall be fulfilled."
He took poor Peter by the hand, and led him between some clifiFsto a great cavern. When they entered it, everything was shiningwith gold, silver, and crystal, and in the midst of it twelve cradleswere standing side by side. Then said the little angel, "Lie down inthe first, and sleep a while, I will rock thee." Peter did so, and theangel sang to him and rocked him until he was asleep. And whenhe was asleep, the second brother came also, guided thither by hisguardian angel, and he was rocked to sleep like the first, and thuscame the others, one after the other, until all twelve lay there sleep-ing in the golden cradles. They slept, however, three hundredyears, until the night when the Savioiur of the world was bom.Then they awoke, and were with him on earth, and were called thetwelve apostles.
Faithful John
Thebe was once an old King, who, having fallen sick, thought tohimself, "This is very likely my death-bed on which I am lying."
Then he said, "Let Faithful John be sent for."
Faithful John was his best-beloved servant, and was so called be-cause he had served the King faithfully all his life long. When hecame near the bed, the King said to him, "Faithful John, I feel myend drawing near, and my only care is for my son; he is yet of ten-der years, and does not always know how to shape his conduct; andunless you promise me to instruct him in all his actions and be atrue foster-father to him, I shall not be able to close my eyes inpeace."
Then answered Faithful John, "I will never forsake him, and willserve him faithfully, even though it should cost me my life."
And the old King said, "Then I die, being of good cheer and atpeace." And he went on to say, "After my death, you must lead himthrough the whole castle, into all the chambers, halls, and vaults,
and show him the treasures that in them lie; but the last chamberin the long gallery, in which lies hidden the picture of the Princessof the Golden Palace, you must not show him. If he were to seethat picture, he would directly fall into so great a love for her, thathe would faint with the strength of it, and afterwards for her sakerun into great dangers; so you must guard him well."
And as Faithful John gave him his hand upon it, the old King be-came still and silent, laid his head upon the pillow, and died.
When the old King was laid in the grave, Faithful John told theyoung King what he had promised to his father on his death-bed,and said, "And I will certainly hold to my promise and be faithfulto you, as I was faithful to him, even though it should cost me myMfe."
When the days of mourning were at an end, Faithful John said tothe Prince, *lt is now time that you should see your inheritance; Iwill show you all the paternal castle."
Then he led him over all the place, upstairs and downstairs, andshowed him all the treasinres and the splendid chambers; one cham-ber only he did not open, that in which the perilous picture hung.Now the picture was so placed that when the door opened it wasthe first thing to be seen, and was so wonderfully painted that itseemed to breathe and move, and in the whole world was therenothing more lovely or more beautiful.
The young King noticed how Faithful John always passed by thisone door, and asked, "Why do you not undo this door?" "There issomething inside that would terrify you," answered he.
But the King answered, "I have seen the whole castle, and I willknow what is in here also." And he went forward and tried to openthe door by force.
Then Faithful John called him back, and said, "I promised yourfather on his death-bed that you should not see what is in thatroom; it might bring great misfortune on you and me were I tobreak my promise."
But the young King answered, "I shall be undone if I do not goinside that room; I shall have no peace day or night until I haveseen it with these eyes; and I will not move from this place untilyou have unlocked it."
Then Faithful John saw there was no help for it, and he choseout the key from the big bunch with a heavy heart and many sighs.When the door was opened he walked in first, and thought that bystanding in front of the King he might hide the picture from him,but that was no good, the King stood on tiptoe, and looked over his
shoulder. And when he saw the image of the lady that was so won-derfully beautiful, and so glittering with gold and jewels, he fell onthe ground powerless. Faithful John helped him up, took him to hisbed, and thought with sorrow, "Ah mel the evil has come to pass;what will become of us?"
Then he strengthened the King with wine, until he came to him-self. The first words that he said were, "Oh, the beautiful picture!Whose portrait is it?" "It is the portrait of the Princess of theGolden Palace," answered Faithful John.
Then the King said, "My love for her is so great that if all theleaves of the forest were tongues they could not utter it! I stake mylife on the chance of obtaining her, and you, my Faithful John,must stand by me."
The faithful servant considered for a long time how the businessshould be begun; it seemed to him that it would be a difficult mat-ter to come at just a sight of the Princess. At last he thought out away, and said to the King,
"All that she has about her is of gold—tables, chairs, dishes,drinldng-cups, bowls, and all the household furniture; in your treas-ury are five tons of gold, let the goldsmiths of yom* kingdom work itup into all kinds of vessels and implements, into all kinds of birds,and wild creatures, and wonderful beasts, such as may please her;then we will carry them oflF with us, and go and seek our fortime."
The King had all the goldsmiths fetched, and they worked dayand night, until at last some splendid things were got ready. Whena ship had been loaded with them. Faithful John put on the garb ofa merchant, and so did the King, so as the more completely to dis-guise themselves. Then they journeyed over the sea, and went sofar that at last they came to the city where the Princess of theGolden Palace dwelt.
Faithful John told the King to stay in the ship, and to wait forhim. "Perhaps," said he, *T shall bring the Princess back with me,so take care that everything is in order; let the golden vessels beplaced about, and the whole ship be adorned."
Then he gathered together in his apron some of the gold things,one of each kind, landed, and went up to the royal castle. Andwhen he reached the courtyard of the castle there stood by the wella pretty maiden, who had two golden pails in her hand, and shewas drawing water with them; and as she turned round to carrythem away she saw the strange man, and asked him who he was.
He answered, "I am a merchant," and opened his apron, and lether look within it.
"Ah, what beautiful things!" cried she, and setting down herpails, she turned the golden toys over, and looked at them one afteranother.
Then she said, "The Princess must see these; she takes so muchpleasure in gold things that she wiU buy them aU from you." Thenshe took him by the hand and led him in, for she was the chamber-maid.
When the Princess saw the golden wares she was very pleased,and said, "All these are so finely worked that I should like to buythem of you."
But the Faithful John said, "I am only the servant of a rich mer-chant, and what I have here is nothing to what my master has inthe ship—the cunningest and costliest things that ever were made ofgold."
The Princess then wanted it all to be brought to her; but he said,"That would take up many days; so great is the number of them,and so much space would they occupy that there would not beenough room for them in your house."
But the Princess's curiosity and fancy grew so much that at lastshe said, "Lead me to the ship; I will go and see your master'streasures."
Then Faithful John led her to the ship joyfully, and the King,when he saw that her beauty was even greater than the picture hadset forth, felt his heart leap at the sight. Then she climbed up intothe ship, and the King received her. Faithful John stayed by thesteersman, and gave orders for the ship to push off, saying, "Spreadall sail, that she may fly like a bird in the air."
So the King showed her all the golden things, each separately—the dishes, the bowls, the birds, the wild creatures, and the wonder-ful beasts. Many hours were passed in looking at them all, and inher pleasure the Princess never noticed that the ship was movingonwards. When she had examined the last, she thanked the mer-chant, and prepared to return home; but when she came to the ship'sside, she saw that they were on the high seas, far from land, andspeeding on imder full sail.
"Ahl" cried she, full of terror, 'T am betrayed and carried off bythis merchant. Oh that I had died rather than have fallen into hispower!"
But the King took hold of her hand, and said, "No merchant amI, but a King, and no baser of birth than thyself; it is because of myover-mastering love for thee that I have carried thee off by cun-ning. The first time I saw thy picture I fell fainting to the earth."
When the Princess of the Golden Palace heard this she becamemore trustful, and her heart inclined favorably towards him, so thatshe willingly consented to become his wife.
It happened, however, as they were still journeying on the opensea, that Faithful John, as he sat in the forepart of the ship andmade music, caught sight of three ravens in the air flying overhead.Then he stopped playing, and Ustened to what they said one to an-other, for he understood them quite well. The first one cried, "Ay,there goes the Princess of the Golden Palace."
"Yes," answered the second; "but he has not got her safe yet."
And the third said, "He has her, though; she sits beside him inthe ship."
Then the first one spoke again, "What does that avail him? Whenthey come on land a fox-red horse will spring towards them; thenwill the King try to mount him; and if he does, the horse will risewith him into the air, so that he will never see his bride again."
The second raven asked, "Is there no remedy?"
"Oh yes; if another man mounts quickly, and takes the pistol outof the holster and shoots the horse dead with it, he will save theyoung King. But who knows that? and he that knows it and does itwill become stone from toe to knee."
Then said the second, "I know further, that if the horse shouldbe killed, the young King will not even then be smre of his bride.When they arrive at the castle there will lie a wrought bride-shirtin a dish, and it will seem all woven of gold and silver, but it is re-ally of sulphur and pitch, and if he puts it on it will bmn him to themarrow of his bones."
The third raven said, 'Is there no remedy?"
"Oh yes," answered the second; "if another man with gloves onpicks up the shirt, and throws it into the fire, so that it is consmned,then is the young King delivered. But what avails that? He whoknows it and does it will be tiimed into stone from his heart to hisknee."
Then spoke the third, "I know yet more, that even when thebride-shirt is burnt up the King is not sure of his bride; when at thewedding the dance begins, and the young Queen dances, she willsuddenly grow pale and fall to the earth as if she were dead, andunless some one lifts her up and takes three drops of blood fromher right breast, she will die. But he that knows this and does thiswill become stone from the crown of his head to the sole of hisfoot."
When the ravens had spoken thus among themselves they flew
away. Faithful John had understood it all, and from that time heremained quiet and sad, for he thought to himself that were he toconceal what he had heard from his master, misfortune would be-fall; and were he to reveal it his own life would be sacrificed. Atlast, however, he said within himself, "I will save my master, thoughI myself should perish!"
So when they came on land, it happened just as the ravens hadforetold, there sprang forward a splendid fox-red horse.
"Come on I" said the King, 'Tie shall carry me to the castle," andwas going to mount, when Faithful John passed before him andmounted quickly, drew the pistol out of the holster, and shot thehorse dead.
Then the other servants of the King cried out (for they did notwish well to Faithful John), "How shameful to kill that beautifulanimal that was to have carried the King to his castle." But theKing said, "Hold your tongues, and let him be; he is my FaithfulJohn; he knows what is the good of it."
Then they went up to the castle, and there stood in the hall adish, and the wrought bride-shirt that lay on it seemed as if of goldand silver. The young King went up to it and was going to put iton, but Faithful John pushed him away, picked it up with hisgloved hands, threw it quickly on the fire, and there let it burn.
The other servants began grumbling again, and said, "Look, he iseven burning up the King's bridal shirt!" But the young King said,"Who knows but that there may be a good reason for it? Let himbe, he is my Faithful John."
Then the wedding feast was held; and the bride led the dance;Faithful John watched her carefully, and all at once she grew paleand fell down as if she were dead. Then he went quickly to her,and carried her into a chamber hard by, laid her down, and kneel-ing, took three drops of blood from her right breast. Immediatelyshe drew breath again and raised herself up, but the young Kingvwtnessing all, and not knowing why Faithful John had done this,grew very angry, and cried out. "Tbrow liim into prison!"
The next morning Faithful John was condemned to death and ledto the gallows, and as he stood there ready to suflFer, he said, "Hewho is about to die is permitted to speak once before his end; mayI claim that right?"
"Yes," answered the King, "it is granted to you."
Then said Faithful John, "I have been condemned imjustly, for Ihave always been faithful," and he related how he had heard on the
Faithful John 423
sea voyage the talk of the ravens, and how he had done everythingin order to save his master.
Then cried the King, "O my Faithful John, pardon! pardon! Leadhim down!" But Faithful John, as he spoke the last words, fell life-less, and became stone.
The King and Queen had great grief because of this, and theKing said, "Ah, how could I have evil-rewarded such faithfulness!"and he caused the stone image to be lifted up and put to stand inhis sleeping-room by the side of his bed. And as often as he saw ithe wept and said, "Would that I could bring thee back to hfe, myFaithful John!"
After some time the Queen bore twins—two little sons—that grewand thrived, and were the joy of their parents. One day, when theQueen was in church, the two children were sitting and playingwith their father, and he gazed at the stone image full of sadness,sighed, and cried, "Oh that I could bring thee back to life, myFaithful John!"
Then the stone began to speak, and said, "Yes, thou canst bringme back to life again, if thou wilt bestow therefor thy best-be-loved."
Then cried the King, "All that I have in the world will I give upfor thee!"
The stone went on to say, 'If thou wilt cut off the heads of thytwo children with thy own hand, and besmear me with their blood,I shall receive life again."
The King was horror-struck at the thought that he mvist put hisbeloved children to death, but he remembered aU John's faith-fulness, and how he had died for him, and he drew his sword andcut off his children's heads with his own hand.
And when he had besmeared the stone with their blood, life re-turned to it, and Faithful John stood alive and well before him; andhe said to the King, "Thy faithfulness shall not be unrewarded,"and, taking up the heads of the children, he set them on again, andbesmeared the wounds with their blood, upon which in a momentthey were whole again, and jumped about, and went on playing asif nothing had happened to them.
Now was the King full of joy; and when he saw the Queen com-ing he put the Faithful John and the two children in a great chest.When she came in he said to her, "Hast thou prayed in church?"
"Yes," answered she, 'T^ut I was thinking all the while of FaithfulJohn, and how he came to such great misfortune through us."
"Then," said he, "dear wife, we can give him life again, but itwill cost us both our little sons, whom we must sacrifice."
The Queen grew pale and sick at heart, but said, "We owe ithim, because of his great faithfulness."
Then the King rejoiced because she thought as he did, and hewent and unlocked the chest and took out the children and FaithfulJohn, and said, "God be praised, he is delivered, and our little sonsare ours again"; and he related to her how it had come to pass.
After that they all Hved together happily to the end of their Hves.
The Six Swans
Once a King was hunting in a great wood, and he pursued a wildanimal so eagerly that none of his people could follow him. Whenevening came he stood still, and looking round him he found thathe had lost his way; and seeking a path, he found none. Then all atonce he saw an old woman with a nodding head coming up to him;and it was a witch.
"My good woman," said he, "can you show me the way out ofthe wood?"
"Oh yes, my lord King," answered she, "certainly I can; but Imust make a condition, and if you do not fulfill it, you will neverget out of the wood again, but die there of hunger."
"What is the condition?" asked the King.
"I have a daughter," said the old woman, "who is as fair as anyin the world, and if you will take her for your bride, and make herQueen, I will show you the way out of the wood."
The King consented, because of the difiBculty he was in, and theold woman led him into her little house, and there her daughterwas sitting by the fire.
She received the King just as if she had been expecting him, andthough he saw that she was very beautiful, she did not pleasehim, and he could not look at her vidthout an inward shudder. Nev-ertheless, he took the maiden before him on his horse, and the oldwoman showed him the way, and soon he was in his royal castleagain, where the wedding was held.
The King had been married before, and his first wife had leftseven children, six boys and one girl, whom he loved better than all
the world, and as lie was afraid the step-mother might not behavewell to them, and perhaps would do them some mischief, he tookthem to a lonely castle standing in the middle of a wood. Therethey remained hidden, for the road to it was so hard to find that theKing himself could not have found it, had it not been for a clew ofyarn, possessing wonderful properties, that a v^dse woman hadgiven him; when he threw it down before him, it unrolled itself andshowed him the way.
And the King went so often to see his dear children, that theQueen was displeased at his absence; and she became curious andwanted to know what he went out into the wood for so often alone.She bribed his servants with much money, and they showed her thesecret, and told her of the clew of yarn, which alone could pointout the way; then she gave herself no rest until she had found outwhere the King kept the clew, and then she made some Uttle whitesilk shirts, and sewed a charm in each, as she had learned v^dtch-craft of her mother. And once when the King had ridden to thehunt, she took the little shirts and went into the wood, and the clewof yarn showed her the way. The children seeing some one in thedistance, thought it was their dear father coming to see them, andcame jumping for joy to meet him. Then the wicked Queen threwone of the little shirts over each, and as soon as the shirts touchedtheir bodies, they were changed into swans, and flew away throughthe wood. So the Queen went home very pleased to think she hadgot rid of her step-children; but the maiden had not run out v^dthher brothers, and so the Queen knew nothing about her.
The next day the King went to see his children, but he foimdnobody but his daughter. "Where are thy brothers?" asked theKing.
"Ah, dear father," answered she, "they are gone away and haveleft me behind," and then she told him how she had seen from herwindow her brothers in the guise of swans fly away through thewood, and she showed him the feathers which they had let fallin the courtyard, and which she had picked up. The King wasgrieved, but he never dreamt that it was the Queen who had donethis wicked deed, and as he feared lest the maiden also should bestolen away from him, he wished to take her away with him. Butshe was afraid of the step-mother, and begged the King to let herremain one more night in the castle in the wood.
Then she said to herself, "I must stay here no longer, but go andseek for my brothers."
And when the night came, she fled away and went straight into
the wood. She went on all that night and the next day, until shecould go no longer for weariness. At last she saw a rude hut, andshe went in and found a room with six little beds in it; she did notdare to lie down in one, but she crept under one and lay on thehard boards and wished for night. When it was near the time ofsun-setting she heard a rustling sound, and saw six swans comeflying in at the window. They alighted on the ground, and blew atone another until they had blown all their feathers oflF, and thenthey stripped off their swan-skin as if it had been a shirt. And themaiden looked at them and knew them for her brothers, and wasvery glad, and crept from under the bed. The brothers were notless glad when their sister appeared, but their joy did not last long.
"You must not stay here," said they to her; "this is a robbers'haunt, and if they were to come and find you here, they would killyou."
"And cannot you defend me?" asked the Httle sister.
"No," answered they, "for we can only get rid of our swan-skinsand keep our human shape every evening for a quarter of an hour,but after that we must be changed again into swans."
Their sister wept at hearing this, and said, "Can nothing be doneto set you free?"
"Oh no," answered they, "the work would be too hard for you.For six whole years you would be obliged never to speak or laugh,and make during that time six little shirts out of aster-flowers. Ifyou were to let fall a single word before the work was ended, allwould be of no good."
And just as the brothers had finished telling her this, the quarterof an hour came to an end, and they changed into swans and flewout of the window.
But the maiden made up her mind to set her brothers free, eventhough it should cost her her fife. She left the hut, and going intothe middle of the wood, she climbed a tree, and there passed thenight. The next morning she set to work and gathered asters andbegan sewing them together: as for speaking, there was no one tospeak to, and as for laughing, she had no mind to it; so she sat onand looked at nothing but her work.
When she had been going on like this for a long time, it hap-pened that the King of that country went a-hunting in the wood,and some of his huntsmen came up to the tree in which the maidensat. They called out to her, saying, "Who art thou?" But she gaveno answer. "Come down," cried they; "we will do thee no harm."But she only shook her head. And when they tormented her further
The Six Swans 427
with questions she threw down to them her gold necklace, hopingthey could be content with that. But they would not leave off, soshe threw down to them her girdle, and when that was no good,her garters, and one after another everything she had on and couldpossibly spare, until she had nothing left but her smock. But aU wasno good, the huntsmen would not be put off any longer, and theyclimbed the tree, carried the maiden off, and brought her to theKing.
The King asked, "Who art thou? What wert thou doing in thetree?" But she answered nothing. He spoke to her in all the lan-guages he knew, but she remained dimib: but, being very beauti-ful, the King inclined to her, and he felt a great love rise up in hisheart towards her; and casting his mantle round her, he put her be-fore him on his horse and brought her to his castle. Then he causedrich clothing to be put upon her, and her beauty shone as bright asthe morning, but no word would she utter. He seated her by hisside at table, and her modesty and gentle mien so pleased him, thathe said, "This maiden I choose for wife, and no other in all theworld," and accordingly after a few days they were married.
But the King had a wicked mother, who was displeased with themarriage, and spoke ill of the young Queen. "Who knows wherethe maid can have come from?" said she, "and not able to speak awordl She is not worthy of a kingi"
After a year had passed, and the Queen brought her first childinto the world, the old woman carried it away, and marked theQueen's mouth with blood as she lay sleeping. Then she went tothe King and declared that his wife was an eater of human flesh.The King would not believe such a thing, and ordered that no oneshould do her any harm. And the Queen went on quietly sevwngthe shirts and caring for nothing else.
The next time that a fine boy was bom, the wicked step-motherused the same deceit, but the King would give no credence to herwords, for he said, "She is too tender and good to do any suchthing, and if she were only not dimib, and could justify herself,then her innocence would be as clear as day."
When for the third time the old woman stole away the new-bomchild and accused the Queen, who was unable to say a word in herdefense, the King could do no other but give her up to justice, andshe was sentenced to suffer death by fire.
The day on which her sentence was to be carried out was thevery last one of the sixth year of the years during which she hadneither spoken nor laughed, to free her dear brothers from the evil
spell. The six shirts were ready, aU except one which wanted theleft sleeve. And when she was led to the pile of wood, she carriedthe six shirts on her arm, and when she mounted the pile and thefire was about to be kindled, all at once she cried out aloud, forthere were six swans coming flying through the air; and she sawthat her deliverance was near, and her heart beat for joy. Theswans came close up to her with rushing wings, and stooped roundher, so that she could throw the shirts over them; and when thathad been done the swan-skins fell ofiF them, and her brothers stoodbefore her in their own bodies quite safe and sound; but as oneshirt wanted the left sleeve, so the youngest brother had a swan'swing instead of a left arm.
They embraced and kissed each other, and the Queen went up tothe King, who looked on full of astonishment, and began to speakto him and to say, 'T)earest husband, now I may dare to speak andtell you that I am innocent, and have been falsely accused," and sherelated to him the treachery of the step-mother, who had takenaway the three children and hidden them. And she was reconciledto the King with great joy, and the wicked step-mother was boundto the stake on the pile of wood and burnt to ashes.
And the King and Queen Uved many years with their six brothersin peace and joy.
The Seven Ravens
A MAN had seven sons, but not a single daughter. This made bothhim and his wife very unhappy. At last a daughter was bom, totheir great joy; but the child was very small and slight, and so weakthat they feared it would die. So the father sent his sons to thespring to fetch water that he might baptize her.
Each of the boys ran in great haste to be the first to draw thewater for their little sister's baptism, but in the struggle to be firstthey let the pitcher fall into the well.
Then they stood still and knew not what to do; not one of themdared to venture home without the water. As the time went on andthey did not return, the father became very impatient, and said, "Isuppose in the midst of their play they have forgotten what I sentthem for, the careless children."
He was in such an agony lest the child should die unbaptized
The Seven Ravens 429
that he exclaimed thoughtlessly, "I wish the youngsters were allturned into ravens I"
The words were scarcely uttered when there was heard a rushingof wings in the air over his head, and presently seven coal-blackravens flew over the house.
The father could not recall the dreadful words, and both parentsgrieved terribly over the loss of their seven sons; their only consola-tion now was the little daughter, who every day grew stronger andmore beautiful.
For a long time the maiden was not told that she had brothers;her parents were most careful to avoid all mention of them. But oneday she overheard some persons talking, and they said that nodoubt the young girl was very beautiful, but that there must havebeen some strange cause for the misfortxme which had happened toher seven brothers.
Oh, how surprised and sad she felt when she heard this! Shewent at once to her father and mother and asked them if she reallyhad had any brothers, and what had become of them. Then herparents dared not any longer keep the secret from her. They toldher, however, that it was the decree of Heaven, and that her birthwas the innocent cause of all. As soon as she was alone she made afirm determination that she would try to break the enchantment inwhich her brothers were held.
She had neither rest nor peace till she had made up her mind toleave home and seek her brothers and set them free, cost what itmight.
When at last she left home, she took nothing with her but a littlering, in memory of her parents, a loaf of bread, a jug of water, anda little stool, in case she felt tired.
So she went from her home, and traveled further and further, tillshe came to the end of the world, and there was the sun; but it wasso hot and fierce that it scorched the Httle child, and she ran awayin such a hurry that she ran into the moon. Here it was quite coldand dismal, and she heard a voice say, "I smell man's flesh," whichmade her escape from the moon as quickly as she could, and at lastshe reached the stars.
They were very kind and friendly to her. Each of the stars wasseated on a wonderful chair, and the Morning Star stood up andsaid, "If you have not a key you will not be able to unlock the ice-berg in which your brothers are shut up."
So the Morning Star gave the maiden the key, and told hef towrap it up carefully in her little handkerchief, and showed her the
way to the iceberg. When she arrived the gate was closed; sheopened her handkerchief to take out the key, but found it empty;she had forgotten the advice of the kind stars. What was she to donow? She wished to rescue her brothers and had no key to the ice-berg.
At last the good little sister thought she would put her finger intothe lock instead of a key. After twisting and tinning it about, whichhurt her very much, she happily succeeded in opening it, and im-mediately entered.
Presently a Httle dwarf came forward to meet her, and said, "Mychild, what are you seeking?" '1 seek my brothers, the sevenravens," she said. *Trhe seven ravens are not at home," replied thedwarf; "but if you would Hke to wait here till they return, pray stepin."
Then the little dwarf took the maiden to the room where supperwas prepared for the seven ravens, on seven little plates, by whichstood seven little cups of water.
So the sister ate a few crumbs from each plate and drank a httledraught from each cup, and into the last cup she let fall the ringthat she brought from home.
Before she could get it out again she heard the rushing of wingsin the air, and the little dwarf said, "Here come the seven Mr.Ravens flying home."
Then she hid herself behind the door to see and hear what theywould do. They came in and were about to eat their supper, but asthey caught sight of their Uttle cups and plates, they said one to an-other: "Who has been eating from my httle plate?" "Who has beendrinking from my httle cup?" *Tt has been touched by the mouth ofa human being," cried one; "and, look here, what is this?" He tookup his cup and turned it over, and out rolled the httle ring, whichthey knew had once belonged to their father and mother.
Then said the eldest, "Oh, I remember that ringl Oh, if our sisterwould only come here, we should be freel" The maiden, who heardthe wish from behind the door, came forth smihng, and stood be-fore them.
In that same moment the seven ravens were freed from the en-chantment, and became seven handsome young men. Oh, how joy-fully they aU kissed each other and their little sister, and started offat once in great happiness to their parents and their homel
Once upon a time there lived a King and Queen very peacefully to-gether; they had twelve children, all boys.
Now the King said to the Queen one day, 'If our thirteenth childshould be a girl the twelve boys shall die, so that her riches may bethe greater, and the kingdom fall to her alone."
Then he caused twelve coflBns to be made; and they were jBlledwith shavings, and a Httle pillow laid in each, and they werebrought and put in a locked-up room; and the King gave the key tothe Queen, and told her to say nothing about it to any one.
But the mother sat the whole day sorrowing, so that her youngestson, who never left her, and to whom she had given the Bible nameBenjamin, said to her, "Dear mother, why are you so sad?""Dearest child," answered she, "I dare not tell you."
But he let her have no peace until she went and unlocked theroom, and showed him the twelve cofl&ns with the shavings and theHttle pillows.
Then she said, "My dear Benjamin, your father has caused thesecoflBns to be made for you and your eleven brothers, and if I bringa little girl into the world you are all to be put to death togetherand buried therein." And she wept as she spoke, and her Httle soncomforted her and said, "Weep not, dear mother, we will save our-selves and go far away."
Then she answered, "Yes, go with your eleven brothers out intothe world, and let one of you always sit on the top of the highesttree that can be found, and keep watch upon the tower of this cas-tle. If a Httle son is bom I will put out a white flag, and then youmay safely venture back again; but if it is a Httle daughter I willput out a red flag, and then flee away as fast as you can, and thedear God watch over you. Every night will I arise and pray for you—in winter that you may have a fii-e to warm yourselves by, and insummer that you may not languish in the heat."
After that, when she had given her sons her blessing, they wentaway out into the wood. One after another kept watch, sitting onthe highest oak tree, looking towards the tower. When eleven dayshad passed, and Benjamin's turn came, he saw a flag put out, but itwas not white, but blood red, to wain them that they were to die.
When the brothers knew this they became angry, saying, "Shall wesuffer death because of a girl! we swear to be revenged; whereverwe find a girl we will shed her blood."
Then they went deeper into the wood; and in the middle, whereit was darkest, they foimd a little enchanted house, standing empty.Then they said, **Here will we dwell; and you, Benjamin, theyoimgest and weakest, shall stay at home and keep house; weothers will go abroad and purvey food."
Then they went into the wood and caught hares, wild roes, birds,and pigeons, and whatever else is good to eat, and brought them toBenjamin for him to cook and make ready to satisfy their hunger.So they lived together in the little house for ten years, and the timedid not seem long.
By this time the Queen's Httle daughter was growing up; she hada land heart and a beautiful face, and a golden star on her fore-head.
Once when there was a great wash she saw among the clothestwelve shirts, and she asked her mother, "Whose are these twelveshirts? they are too small to be my father s." Then the mother an-swered with a sore heart, *T)ear child, they belong to your twelvebrothers." The little girl said, "Where are my twelve brothers? Ihave never heard of them." And her mother answered, "God onlyknows where they are wandering about in the world."
Then she led the little girl to the secret room and unlocked it,and showed her the twelve coflBns with the shavings and the littlepillows. "These coflfins," said she, "were intended for your twelvebrothers, but they went away far from home when you were bom,"and she related how everything had come to pass. Then said thelittle girl, "Dear mother, do not weep, I wiU go and seek mybrothers."
So she took the twelve shirts and went far and wide in the greatforest. The day sped on, and in the evening she came to the en-chanted house. She went in and found a youth, who asked,"Whence do you come, and what do you want?" and he marveledat her beauty, her royal garments, and the star on her forehead.
Then she answered, "I am a King's daughter, and I seek mytwelve brothers, and I will go everywhere under the blue sky untilI find them." And she showed him the twelve shirts which belongedto them. Then Benjamin saw that it must be his sister, and said, "Iam Benjamin, your youngest brother."
And she began weeping for joy, and Benjamin also, and theykissed and cheered each other with great love. After a while he
The Twelve Brothers 433
said, 'Dear sister, there is still a hindrance; we have sworn that anymaiden that we meet must die, as it was because of a maiden thatwe had to leave our kingdom."
Then she said, "1 wiU willingly die, if so I may benefit my twelvebrothers." "No," answered he, "you shall not die; sit down underthis tub imtil the eleven brothers come, and I agree with themabout it." She did so; and as night came on they returned fromhimting, and supper was ready.
And as they were sitting at table and eating, they asked, "Whatnews?" And Benjamin said, "Don't you know any?" "No," answeredthey. So he said, "You have been in the wood, and I have stayed athome, and yet I know more than you." "Tell usl" cried they.
He answered, "Promise me that the first maiden we see shall notbe put to death." "Yes, we promise," cried they all, "she shall havemercy; tell us now."
Then he said, "Our sister is here," and lifted up the tub, and theKing's daughter came forth in her royal garments with her goldenstar on her forehead, and she seemed so beautiful, delicate, andsweet, that they all rejoiced, and fell on her neck and kissed her,and loved her with all their hearts.
After this she remained with Benjamin in the house and helpedhim with the work. The others went forth into the woods to catchwild animals, does, birds, and pigeons, for food for them all, andtheir sister and Benjamin took care that all was made ready forthem. She fetched the wood for cooking, and the vegetables, andwatched the pots on the fire, so that supper was always readywhen the others came in. She kept also great order in the house,and the beds were always beautifully white and clean, and thebrothers were contented, and lived in unity.
One day the two got ready a fine feast, and when they were allassembled they sat down and ate and drank, and were full of joy.
Now there was a little garden belonging to the enchanted house,in which grew twelve lilies; the maiden, thinking to please herbrothers, went out to gather the twelve flowers, meaning to giveone to each as they sat at meat. But as she broke off the flowers, inthe same moment the brothers were changed into twelve ravens,and flew over the wood far away, and the house with the gardenalso disappeared. So the poor maiden stood alone in the wild wood,and as she was looking around her she saw an old woman standingby her, who said, "My child, what hast thou done! why couldstthou not leave the twelve flowers standing? They were thy twelvebrothers, who are now changed to ravens forever."
The maiden said, weeping, "Is there no means of setting themfree?"
"No," said the old woman, "there is in the whole world no waybut one, and that is diflBcult; thou canst not release them but bybeing dumb for seven years: thou must neither speak nor laugh;and wert thou to speak one single word, and it wanted but onehour of the seven years, all would be in vain, and thy brotherswould perish because of that one word."
Then the maiden said in her heart, "I am quite siu-e that I can setmy brothers free," and went and sought a tall tree, climbed up, andsat there spinning, and never spoke or laughed. Now it happenedthat a King, who was hunting in the wood, had with him a largegreyhound, who ran to the tree where the maiden was, sprang upat it, and barked loudly. Up came the King and saw the beautifulPrincess with the golden star on her forehead, and he was socharmed with her beauty that he prayed her to become his wife.She gave no answer, only a little nod of her head. Then he himselfclimbed the tree and brought her down, set her on his horse andtook her home. The wedding was held with great splendor and re-joicing, but the bride neither spoke nor laughed.
After they had lived pleasantly together for a few years, theKing's mother, who was a wicked woman, began to slander theyoung Queen, and said to the King, "She is only a low beggar-maidthat you have taken to yourself; who knows what mean tricks she isplaying? Even if she is really dumb and cannot speak she might atleast laugh; not to laugh is the sign of a bad conscience."
At first the King would beHeve nothing of it, but the old womantalked so long, and suggested so many bad things, that he at last lethimself be persuaded, and condemned the Queen to death.
Now a great fire was kindled in the courtyard, and she was to beburned in it; and the King stood above at the window, and watchedit all with weeping eyes, for he had held her very dear. And whenshe was aheady fast bound to the stake, and the fire was Hcldng hergarments with red tongues, the last moment of the seven yearscame to an end. Then a rushing sound was heard in the air, andtwelve ravens came flying and sank downwards; and as theytouched the earth they became her twelve brothers that she hadlost. They rushed through the fire and quenched the flames, and settheir dear sister free, kissing and consoHng her. And now that hermouth was opened, and that she might venture to speak, she toldthe King the reason of her dumbness, and why she had never
laughed. The King rejoiced when he heard of her innocence, andthey all lived together in happiness until their death.
But the wicked mother-in-law was very unhappy, and died mis-erably.
Iron John
Once upon a time there lived a King who had a great forest nearhis palace, full of all kinds of wild animals. One day he sent out ahuntsman to shoot him a roe, but he did not come back. "Perhapssome accident has befallen him," said the King, and the next day hesent out two more huntsmen who were to search for him, but theytoo stayed away. Then on the third day, he sent for all his hunts-men, and said, "Scour the whole forest through, and do not give upuntil ye have found all three." But of these also, none came homeagain, and of the pack of hounds which they had taken with them,none were seen more. From that time forth, no one would anylonger venture into the forest, and it lay there in deep stillness andsohtude, and nothing was seen of it, but sometimes an eagle or ahawk flying over it.
This lasted for many years, when a strange huntsman announcedhimself to the King as seeking a situation, and offered to go into thedangerous forest. The King, however, would not give his consent,and said, 'It is not safe in there; I fear it would fare wdth thee nobetter than with the others, and thou wouldst never come outagain." The huntsman replied, "Lord, I vvdll ventrue it at my ownrisk; I have no fear."
The huntsman therefore betook himself with his dog to the for-est. It was not long before the dog fell in with some game on theway, and wanted to pursue it; but hardly had the dog run two stepswhen it stood before a deep pool, could go no farther, and a nakedarm stretched itself out of the water, seized it, and drew it under.When the huntsman saw that, he went back and fetched three mento come wdth buckets and bail out the water. When they could seeto the bottom there lay a wdld man whose body was brown likerusty iron, and whose hair hung over his face down to kis knees.They bound him with cords, and led him away to the castle. Therewas great astonishment over the wild man; the King, however, had
him put in an iron cage in his court-yard, and forbade the door tobe opened on pain of death, and the Queen herself was to take thekey into her keeping. And from this time forth every one couldagain go into the forest with safety.
The King had a son eight years old, who was once playing in thecourt-yard, and while he was playing, his golden ball fell into thecage. The boy ran thither and said, "Give me my ball." "Not tillthou hast opened the door for me," answered the man. "No," saidthe boy, "I will not do that; the King has forbidden it," and ranaway. The next day he again went and asked for his ball; the wildman said, "Open my door," but the boy would not. On the thirdday the King had ridden out hunting, and the boy went once moreand said, "1 cannot open the door even if I wished, for I have notthe key." Then the wild man said, "It Hes under thy mother's pil-low, thou canst get it there." The boy, who wanted to have his ballback, cast all thought to the winds, and brought the key. The dooropened with diflBculty, and the boy pinched his fingers. When itwas open the wild man stepped out, gave him the golden ball, andhurried away. The boy had become afraid; he called and cried afterhim, "Oh, wild man, do not go away, or I shall be beateni" Thewild man turned back, took him up, set him on his shoulder, andwent with hasty steps into the forest.
When the King came home, he observed the empty cage, andasked the Queen how that had happened. She knew nothing aboutit, and sought the key, but it was gone. She called the boy, but noone answered. The King sent out people to seek for him in thefields, but they did not find him. Then he could easily guess whathad happened, and much grief reigned in the royal court.
When the wild man had once more reached the dark forest, hetook the boy down from his shoulder, and said to him, "Thou wiltnever see thy father and mother again, but I will keep thee vwthme, for thou hast set me free, and I have compassion on thee. Ifthou dost all I bid thee, thou shalt fare well. Of treasure and gold Ihave enough, and more than any one in the world." He made a bedof moss for the boy on which he slept, and the next morning theman took him to a well, and said, "Behold, the gold well is as brightand clear as crystal; thou shalt sit beside it, and take care that noth-ing falls into it, or it will be polluted. I wdll come every evening tosee if thou hast obeyed my order." The boy placed himself by themargin of the well, and often saw a golden fish or a golden snakeshow itself therein, and took care that nothing fell in. As he wasthus sitting, his finger hiurt him so violently that he involuntarily
put it in the water. He drew it quickly out again, but saw that itwas quite gilded, and whatsoever pains he took to wash the gold offagain, all was to no purpose.
In the evening Iron John came back, looked at the boy, and said,"What has happened to the well?" "Nothing, nothing," he an-swered, and held his finger behind his back, that the man might notsee it. But he said, "Thou hast dipped thy finger into the water; thistime it may pass, but take care thou dost not let anything go in." Bydaybreak the boy was aheady sitting by the well and watching it.His finger hurt him again and he passed it over his head, and thenunhappily a hair fell down into the well. He took it quickly out, butit was already quite gilded. Iron John came, and aheady knewwhat had happened. "Thou hast let a hair fall into the well," saidhe. "I will aUow thee to watch by it once more, but if this happensfor the third time then the well is polluted, and thou canst nolonger remain with me."
On the third day, the boy sat by the well, and did not stir hisfinger, however much it hurt him. But the time was long to him,and he looked at the reflection of his face on the surface of thewater. And as he still bent down more and more while he wasdoing so, and trying to look straight into the eyes, his long hair felldown from his shoulders into the water. He raised himself upquickly, but the whole of the hair of his head was aheady goldenand shone Uke the sim. You may imagine how terrified the poor boywasl He took his pocket-handkerchief and tied it round his head, inorder that the man might not see it. When he came he aheadyknew everything, and said, "Take the handkerchief off." Then thegolden hair streamed forth, and let the boy excuse himself as hemight, it was of no use. "Thou hast not stood the trial, and canststay here no longer. Go forth into the world, there thou wilt learnwhat poverty is. But as thou hast not a bad heart, and as I meanwell by thee, there is one thing I will grant thee; if thou fallest intoanv difficulty, come to the forest and cry, Iron John,' and then Iwill come and help thee. My power is great, greater than thouthinkest, and I have gold and silver in abundance."
Then the King's son left the forest, and walked by beaten and un-beaten paths ever onwards until at length he reached a great city.There he looked for work, but could find none, and he had learntnothing by which he could help himself. At length he went to thepalace, and asked if they would take him in. The people aboutcourt did not at all know what use they could make of him, butthey Uked him, and told him to stay. At length the cook took him
into his service, and said he might carry food and water, and rakethe cinders together. Once when it so happened that no one elsewas at hand, the cook ordered him to carry the food to the royaltable, but as he did not Hke to let his golden hair be seen, he kepthis little cap on.
Such a thing as that had never yet come imder the King's notice,and he said, "When thou comest to the royal table thou must takethy hat off." He answered, "Ah, Lord, I cannot; I have a bad soreplace on my head." Then the King had the cook called before himand scolded him, and asked how he could take such a boy as thatinto his service, and that he was to tiurn him off at once. The cook,however, had pity on him, and exchanged him for the gardener'sboy.
Now the boy had to plant and water the garden, hoe and dig,and bear the wdnd and bad weather. Once in summer when he wasworking alone in the garden, the day was so warm he took his littlecap off that the air might cool him. As the sun shone on his hair itglittered and flashed so that the rays fell into the bed-room of theKing's daughter, and up she sprang to see what that could be. Thenshe saw the boy, and cried to him, "Boy, bring me a wreath offlowers." He put his cap on with all haste, and gathered wild field-flowers and bound them together. When he was ascending thestairs with them, the gardener met him, and said, "How canst thoutake the King's daughter a garland of such common flowers? Goquickly, and get another, and seek out the prettiest and rarest.""Oh, no," replied the boy, "the vvdld ones have more scent, and wiWplease her better."
When he got into the room, the King's daughter said, "Take thycap off, it is not seemly to keep it on in my presence." He againsaid, "I may not, I have a sore head." She, however, caught at hiscap and pulled it off, and then his golden hair rolled down on hisshoulders, and it was splendid to behold. He wanted to run out, butshe held him by the arm, and gave him a handful of ducats. Withthese he departed, but he cared nothing for the gold pieces. Hetook them to the gardener, and said, "1 present them to thy chil-dren, they can play with them."
The follov^dng day the King's daughter again called to him thathe was to bring her a vweath of field-flowers, and when he went inwith it, she instantly snatched at his cap, and wanted to take itaway from him, but he held it fast wiih both hands. She again gavehim a handful of ducats, but he would not keep them, and gavethem to the gardener for playthings for his children. On the third
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day things went just the same; she could not get his cap away fromhim, and he would not have her money.
Not long afterwards, the country was overrun by war. The Kinggathered together his people, and did not know whether or not hecould offer any opposition to the enemy, who was superior instrength and had a mighty army. Then said the gardener's boy, "Iam grown up, and will go to the wars also, only give me a horse."The others laughed, and said, "Seek one for thyself when we aregone, we will leave one behind us in the stable for thee." Whenthey had gone forth, he went into the stable, and got the horse out;it was lame of one foot, and limped hobblety jig, hobblety jig; nev-ertheless he mounted it, and rode away to the dark forest. When hecame to the outskirts, he called "Iron John" three times so loudlythat it echoed through the trees. Thereupon the wild man appearedimmediately, and said, "What dost thou desire?" "I want a strongsteed, for I am going to the wars." "That thou shalt have, and stillmore than thou askest for."
Then the wild man went back into the forest, and it was not longbefore a stable-boy came out of it, who led a horse that snortedwith its nostrils, and could hardly be restrained, and behind themfollowed a great troop of soldiers entirely equipped in iron, andtheir swords flashed in the sun. The youth made over his three-legged horse to the stable-boy, moimted the other, and rode at thehead of the soldiers. When he got near the battle-field a great partof the King's men had already fallen, and little was wanting tomake the rest give way. Then the youth galloped thither with hisiron soldiers, broke Hke a hiuricane over the enemy, and beat downall who opposed him. They began to fly, but the youth pursued,and never stopped, until there was not a single man left. Instead,however, of returning to the King, he conducted his troop by bye-ways back to the forest, and called forth Iron John. "What dostthou desire?" asked the wild man. "Take back thy horse and thytroops, and give me my three-legged horse again." All that he askedwas done, and soon he was riding on his three-legged horse.
When the King retiuned to his palace, his daughter went to meethim, and wished him joy of his victory. "I am not the one whocarried away the victory," said he, "but a stranger knight who cameto my assistance with his soldiers." The daughter wanted to hearwho the strange knight was, but the King did not know, and said,"He followed the enemy, and I did not see him again." She in-quired of the gardener where his boy was, but he smiled, and said,"He has just come home on his three-legged horse, and the others
have been mocking him, and crying, 'Here comes our hobblety jigback againl' They asked, too, 'Under what hedge hast thou beenlying sleeping all the time?' He, however, said, 'I did the best of all,and it would have gone badly without me.' And then he was stillmore ridiculed."
The King said to his daughter, "I will proclaim a great feast thatshall last for three days, and thou shalt throw a golden apple. Per-haps the unknown will come to it." When the feast was announced,the youth went out to the forest, and called Iron John. "What dostthou desire?" asked he. "That I may catch the King's daughter'sgolden apple." 'Tt is as safe as if thou hadst it already," said IronJohn. "Thou shalt likewise have a suit of red armor for the occa-sion, and ride on a spirited chestnut horse." When the day came,the youth galloped to the spot, took his place amongst the knights,and was recognized by no one. The King's daughter came forward,and threw a golden apple to the knights, but none of them caughtit but he, only as soon as he had it he galloped away.
On the second day Iron John equipped him as a white knight,and gave him a white horse. Again he was the only one who caughtthe apple, and he did not Hnger an instant, but galloped off with it.The King grew angry, and said, "That is not allowed; he must ap-pear before me and teU his name." He gave the order that if theknight who caught the apple should go away again they shouldpursue him, and if he did not come back willingly, they were to cuthim down and stab him.
On the third day, he received from Iron John a suit of blackarmor and a black horse, and again he caught the apple. But whenhe was riding off with it, the King's attendants pursued him, andone of them got so near him that he woimded the youth's leg withthe point of his sword. The youth nevertheless escaped from them,but his horse leapt so violently that the helmet fell from the youth'shead, and they could see that he had golden hair. They rode backand announced this to the King.
The following day the King's daughter asked the gardener abouthis boy. "He is at work in the garden; the queer creature has beenat the festival too, and only came home yesterday evening; he haslikewise shown my children three golden apples which he haswon."
The King had him summoned into his presence, and he came andagain had his little cap on his head. But the King's daughter wentup to him and took it off, and then his golden hair fell down overhis shoulders, and he was so handsome that all were amazed. "Art
thou the knight who came every day to the festival, always indifferent colors, and who caught the three golden apples?" askedthe King. "Yes," answered he, "and here the apples are," and hetook them out of his pocket, and returned them to the King. 'Ifthou desirest further proof, thou mayest see the wound which thypeople gave me when they followed me. But I am likewise theknight who helped thee to thy victory over thine enemies." "If thoucanst perform such deeds as that, thou art no gardener's boy; tellme, who is thy father?" "My father is a mighty King, and gold haveI in plenty as great as I require." "I well see," said the King, "that Iowe thanks to thee; can I do anything to please thee?" "Yes," an-swered he, "that indeed thou canst. Give me thy daughter to wife."The maiden laughed, and said, "He does not stand much on cer-emony, but I have already seen by his golden hair that he was nogardener's boy," and then she went and kissed him. His father andmother came to the wedding, and were in great delight, for theyhad given up all hope of ever seeing their dear son again. And asthey were sitting at the marriage-feast, the music suddenly stopped,the doors opened, and a stately King came in with a great retinue.He went up to the youth, embraced him and said, "I am Iron John,and was by enchantment a wild man, but thou hast set me free; allthe treasures which I possess, shall be thy property."
The King's Son Who Feared Nothing
Once there was a King's son who was no longer content to stay athome in his father's house. Since he had no fear of anything, hethought, "1 will go forth into the wide world; there the time willnot seem long to me, and I shall see wonders enough." So he tookleave of his parents, and went forth, and on and on from morningtill night, and whichever way his path led it was the same to him.It came to pass that he got to the house of a giant, and as he wasso tired he sat down by the door and rested. And as he let his eyesroam here and there, he saw the giant's playthings lying in theyard. These were a couple of enormous balls, and nine-pins as tallas a man. After a while he had a fancy to set the nine-pins up andthen rolled the balls at them, and screamed and cried out when thenine-pins fell, and had a merry time of it.
The giant heard the noise, stretched his head out of the window,and saw a man who was not taller than other men, and yet playedwith his nine-pins. 'Xiittle worm," cried he, "why art thou playingwith my balls? Who gave thee strength to do it?" The King's sonlooked up, saw the giant, and said, "Oh, thou blockhead, thouthinkest indeed that thou only hast strong arms. I can do every-thing I want to do."
The giant came down and watched the bowling with great admi-ration, and said, "Child of man, if thou art one of that land, go andbring me an apple of the tree of hfe." "What dost thou want withit?" said the King's son. "I do not want the apple for myself," an-swered the giant, "but I have a betrothed bride who wishes for it. Ihave traveled far about the world and cannot find the tree." "I willsoon find it," said the King's son, "and I do not know what is toprevent me from getting the apple down."
The giant said, "Thou really believest it to be so easyl The gar-den in which the tree stands is surrounded by an iron railing, andin front of the raiUng lie wild beasts, each close to the other, andthey keep watch and let no man go in." "They wiU be sure to letme in," said the King's son. "Yes, but even if thou dost get into thegarden, and seest the apple hanging to the tree, it is still not thine;a ring hangs in front of it, through which any one who wants toreach the apple and break it off, must put his hand, and no one hasyet had the luck to do it." "That luck will be mine," said the King'sson.
Then he took leave of the giant, and went forth over mountainand valley, and through plains and forests, until at length he cameto the wondrous garden.
The beasts lay round about it, but they had put their heads downand were asleep. Moreover, they did not awake when he went upto them, so he stepped over them, climbed the fence, and got safelyinto the garden. There, in the very middle of it, stood the tree oflife, and the red apples were shining upon the branches. Heclimbed up the trunk to the top, and as he was about to reach outfor an apple, he saw a ring hanging before it; but he thrust hishand through that without any difficulty, and gathered the apple.The ring closed tightly on his arm, and all at once he felt a prodi-gious strength flowing through his veins.
When he had come down again from the tree with the apple, hewould not climb over the fence, but grasped the great gate, andhad no need to shake it more than once before it sprang open witha loud crash. Then he went out, and the Hon, which had been lying
down before, was awake and sprang after him, not in rage andfierceness, but following him humbly as its master.
The King's son took the giant the apple he had promised him,and said, "Seest thou, I have brought it without diflBculty." Thegiant was glad that his desire had been so soon satisfied, hastenedto his bride, and gave her the apple for which she had wished. Shewas a beautiful and wise maiden, and as she did not see the ring onhis arm, she said, "I shall never believe that thou hast brought theapple, until I see the ring on thine arm."
The giant said, "I have nothing to do but go home and fetch it,"and thought it would be easy to take away by force from the weakman what he would not give of his own free will. He thereforedemanded the ring from him, but the King's son refused it. "Wherethe apple is, the ring must be also," said the giant; "if thou wilt notgive it of thine own accord, thou must fight with me for it."
They wrestled with each other for a long time, but the giantcould not get the better of the King's son, who was strengthened bythe magical power of the ring. Then the giant thought of a strata-gem, and said, "I have got warm with fighting, and so hast thou. Wewill bathe in the river, and cool ourselves before we begin again."The King's son, who knew nothing of falsehood, went with him tothe water, and pulled off with his clothes the ring also from his arm,and sprang into the river. The giant instantly snatched the ring, andran away with it, but the Hon, which had observed the theft, pur-sued the giant, tore the ring out of his hand, and brought it back toits master. Then the giant placed himself behind an oak tree, andwhile the King's son was busy putting on his clothes again, sur-prised him, and put both his eyes out.
The unhappy King's son stood there, and was blind and knew nothow to help himself. Then the giant came back to him, took him bythe hand as if he were some one who wanted to guide him, and ledhim to the top of a high rock. There he left him standing, andthought, "Just two steps more, and he will fall down and Idll him-self, and I can take the ring from him." But the faithful lion had notdeserted its master; it held him fast by the clothes, and drew himgradually back again.
When the giant came and wanted to rob the dead man, he sawthat his cunning had been in vain. "Is there no way, then, of de-stroying a weak child of man Hke that?" said he angrily to himself,and seized the King's son and led him back again to the precipiceby another way, but the lion, which saw his evil design, helped its
444 Grimm*s Complete Fairy Tales
master out of danger here also. When they had got close to theedge, the giant let the bHnd man's hand drop, and was going toleave him behind alone, but the lion pushed the giant so that hewas thrown down and fell, dashed to pieces, on the ground.
The faithful animal again drew its master back from the preci-pice, and guided him to a tree by which flowed a clear brook. TheKing's son sat down there, but the Hon lay down, and sprinkled thewater in his face with its paws. Scarcely had a couple of drops wet-ted the sockets of his eyes, than he was once more able to see some-thing, and remarked a Kttle bird flying quite close by, whichwounded itself against the trunk of a tree. On this it went down tothe water and bathed itself therein, and then it soared upwards andswept between the trees without touching them, as if it had recov-ered its sight again. Then the King's son recognized a sign fromGod and stooped down to the water, and washed and bathed hisface in it. And when he arose he had his eyes once more, brighterand clearer than they had ever been.
The King's son thanked God for his great mercy, and traveledwith his Hon onwards through the world. And it came to pass thathe arrived before a castle which was enchanted. In the gatewaystood a maiden of beautiful form and fine face, but she was quiteblack. She spoke to him and said, "Ah, if thou couldst but deHverme from the evil spell which is thrown over me." "What shall Ido?" said the King's son. The maiden answered, "Thou must passthree nights in the great hall of this enchanted castle, but thou mustlet no fear enter thy heart. When they are doing their worst to tor-ment thee, if thou bearest it without letting a sound escape thee, Ishall be free. Thy life they dare not take." Then said the King's son,'1 have no fear; with God's help I will try it."
So he went gaily into the castle, and when it grew dark he seatedhimself in the large hall and waited. Everything was quiet, how-ever, till midnight, when all at once a great tumult began, and outof every hole and comer came Httle devils. They behaved as if theydid not see him, seated themselves in the middle of the room,Hghted a fire, and began to gamble. When one of them lost, he said,"It is not right; some one is here who does not belong to us; it is hisfault that I am losing." "Wait, you fellow behind the stove, I amcoming," said another. The screaming became still louder, so thatno one could have heard it without terror. The King's son stayedsitting quite quietly, and was not afraid; but at last the devilsjumped up from the ground, and fell on him, and there were so
The Kin^s Son Who Feared Nothing 445
many of them that he could not defend himself from them. Theydragged him about on the floor, pinched him, pricked him, beathim, and tormented him, but no sound escaped from him.
Towards morning they disappeared, and he was so exhaustedthat he could scarcely move his Umbs, but when day dawned theblack maiden came to him. She bore in her hand a little bottlewherein was the water of life wherewith she washed him, and he atonce felt all pain depart and new strength flow through his veins.She said, "Thou hast held out successfully for one night, but twomore He before thee." Then she went away again, and as she wasgoing, he observed that her feet had become white.
The next night the devils came and began their gambling anew.They fell on the King's son, and beat him much more severely thanthe night before, until his body was covered vidth wounds. But ashe bore all quietly, they were forced to leave him, and when davmappeared, the maiden came and healed him wath the water of life.And when she went away, he saw with joy that she had already be-come white to the tips of her fingers.
Now he had only one night more to go through, but it was theworst. The hobgoblins came again: "Art thou there still?" criedthey, "thou shalt be tormented till thy breath stops." They prickedhim and beat him, and threw him here and there, and pulled himby the arms and legs as if they wanted to tear him to pieces, buthe bore everything, and never uttered a cry. At last the devilsvanished, but he lay fainting there, and did not stir, nor could heraise his eyes to look at the maiden who came in, and sprinkled andbathed him with the water of life. But suddenly he was freed fromall pain, and felt fresh and healthy as if he had awakened fromsleep, and when he opened his eyes he saw the maiden standing byhim, snow-white, and fair as day. "Rise," said she, "and swing thysword three times over the stairs, and then all will be dehvered."
And when he had done that, the whole castle was released fromenchantment, and the maiden was a rich King's daughter. The ser-vants came and said that the table was aheady set in the great hall,and dinner served up. Then they sat dov^ni and ate and drank to-gether, and in the evening the wedding was solemnized with greatrejoicings.
The Drummer
A YOUNG DRUMMER Went out alone one evening into the country,and came to a lake on the shore of which he perceived three piecesof white linen lying. "What fine hnen," said he, and put one piecein his pocket. He returned home, thought no more of what he hadfound, and went to bed.
Just as he was going to sleep, it seemed to him as if some onewas saying his name. He listened, and was aware of a soft voicewhich cried to him, "Drummer, drummer, wake up!" As it was adark night he could see no one, but it appeared to him that a figurewas hovering about his bed. "What do you want?" he asked. "Giveme back my dress," answered the voice, "that you took away fromme last evening by the lake." "You shall have it back again," saidthe drummer, "if you will tell me who you are." "Ah," replied thevoice, "I am the daughter of a mighty King; but I have fallen intothe power of a witch, and am shut up on the glass-mountain. I haveto bathe in the lake every day with my two sisters, but I cannot flyback again without my dress. My sisters have gone away, but Ihave been forced to stay behind. I entreat you to give me my dressback." "Be easy, poor child," said the drummer. "I will wiUinglygive it back to you."
He took it out of his pocket, and reached it to her in the dark.She snatched it in haste, and wanted to go away with it. "Stop amoment, perhaps I can help you." "You can only help me by as-cending the glass-mountain, and freeing me from the power of thewitch. But you cannot come to the glass-moimtain, and indeed ifyou were quite close to it you could not ascend it." "When I want todo a thing I always can do it," said the drummer; *1 am sorry foryou, and have no fear of anything. But I do not know the waywhich leads to the glass-mountain." "The road goes through thegreat forest, in which the man-eaters live," she answered, "andmore than that, I dare not tell you." And then he heard her wingsquiver, and she flew away.
By daybreak the drummer arose, buckled on his drum, and wentwithout fear straight into the forest. After he had walked for awhile without seeing any giants, he thought to himself, "1 mustwaken up the sluggards," and he hung his dnrni before him, and
beat such a reveille that the birds flew out of the trees with loudcries. It was not long before a giant who had been lying sleepingamong the giass, rose up, and was as tall as a fir tree.
"Wretch!" cried he; "what art thou drumming here for, andwakening me out of my best sleep?" "I am drumming," he replied,"because I want to show the way to many thousands who are fol-lowing me." "What do they want in my forest?" demanded thegiant. "They want to put an end to thee, and cleanse the forest ofsuch a monster as thou artl" "Ohol" said the giant, "I will trampleyou all to death like so many ants." "Dost thou think thou canst doanything against us?" said the drummer; "if thou stoopest to takehold of one, he will jump away and hide himself; but when thou artlying down and sleeping, they will come forth from every thicket,and creep up to thee. Every one of them has a hammer of steel inhis belt, and with that they will beat in thy skull."
The giant grew angry and thought, "If I meddle with the craftyfolk, it might turn out badly for me. I can strangle wolves andbears, but I cannot protect myself from these earthworms." "Listen,little fellow," said he; "go back again, and I v^all promise thee thatfor the futiure I will leave thee and thy comrades in peace, and ifthere is anything else thou wishest for, tell me, for I am quitewilling to do something to please thee."
"Thou hast long legs," said the drummer, "and canst run quickerthan I; carry me to the glass-mountain, and I will give my followersa signal to go back, and they shall leave thee in peace this time.""Come here, worm," said the giant; "seat thyself on my shoulder, Iwill carry thee where thou wishest to be." The giant lifted him up,and the drummer began to beat his drum up aloft to his heart'sdelight. The giant thought, "That is the signal for the other peopleto turn back."
After a while, a second giant was standing in the road, who tookthe drummer from the first, and stuck him in his own button-hole.The drummer laid hold of the button, which was as large as a dish,held on by it, and looked merrily around. Then they came to a thirdgiant, who took him out of the button-hole, and set him on the rimof his hat. Then the drummer walked backwards and forwards upabove, and looked over the trees, and when he perceived a moun-tain in the blue distance, he thought, "That must be the glass-mountain," and so it was. The giant only made two steps more, andthey reached the foot of the mountain, when the giant put himdown. The drummer demanded to be put on the summit of the
glass-mountain, but the giant shook his head, growled something inhis beard, and went back into the forest.
And now the poor drummer was standing before the mountain,which was as high as if three mountains were piled on each other,and at the same time as smooth as a looking-glass, and did notknow how to get up it. He began to climb, but that was useless, forhe always slipped back again. "If one were a bird now," thoughthe; but what was the good of wishing, no wings grew for him.
While he was standing thus, not knowing what to do, he saw, notfar from him, two men who were struggling fiercely together. Hewent up to them and saw that they were disputing about a saddlewhich was lying on the ground before them, and which both ofthem wanted to have. "What fools you are," said he, "to quarrelabout a saddle, when you have not a horse for it!" "The saddle isworth fighting about," answered one of the men; "whosoever sits onit, and wishes himself in any place, even if it should be the veryend of the earth, gets there the instant he has uttered the wish. Thesaddle belongs to us in common. It is my turn to ride on it, but thatother man will not let me do it." "I will soon decide the quarrel,"said the drummer, and he went to a short distance and stuck a whiterod in the ground. Then he came back and said, "Now run to thegoal, and whoever gets there first, shall ride first." Both put them-selves into a trot; but hardly had they gone a couple of steps beforethe drummer swung himself on the saddle, wished himself on theglass-mountain, and before any one could turn round, he was there.
On the top of the mountain was a plain. There stood an old stonehouse, and in front of the house lay a great fish-pond, but behind itwas a dark forest. He saw neither men nor animals, everything wasquiet; only the wind rustled among the trees, and the clouds movedby quite close above his head. He went to the door and knocked.When he had knocked for the third time, an old woman with abrown face and red eyes opened the door. She had spectacles onher long nose, and looked sharply at him; then she asked what hewanted. "Entrance, food, and a bed for the night," replied thedrummer. "That thou shalt have," said the old woman, "if thou wiltperform three services in return." "Why not?" he answered, "1 amnot afraid of any kind of work, however hard it may be."
The old woman let him go in, and gave him some food and agood bed at night. The next morning when he had had his sleepout, she took a thimble from her wrinkled finger, reached it to thedrummer, and said, "Go to work now, and empty out the pondwith this thimble; but thou must have it done before night, and
must have sought out all the fishes which are in the water and laidthem side by side, according to their kind and size." "That isstrange work," said the drummer, but he went to the pond, andbegan to empty it. He bailed the whole morning; but what can anyone do to a great lake with a thimble, even if he were to bail for athousand years?
When it was noon, he thought, "It is all useless, and whether Iwork or not it will come to the same thing." So he gave it up andsat down. Then came a maiden out of the house who set a Httlebasket with food before him, and said, "What ails thee, that thousittest so sadly here?" He looked at her, and saw that she waswondrously beautiful. "Ah," said he, "I cannot finish the first pieceof work, how will it be with the others? I came forth to seek a King'sdaughter who is said to dwell here, but I have not found her, and Iwill go farther." "Stay here," said the maiden, "1 will help thee outof thy diflSculty. Thou art tired, lay thy head in my lap, and sleep.When thou awakest again, thy work will be done." The drummerdid not need to be told that twice. As soon as his eyes were shut,she turned a wishing-ring and said, "Rise, water. Fishes, come out."Instantly the water rose on high like a white mist, and moved awaywith the other clouds, and the fishes sprang on the shore and laidthemselves side by side each according to his size and kind.
When the drummer awoke, he saw with amazement that all wasdone. But the maiden said, "One of the fish is not lying with thoseof its own Idnd, but quite alone; when the old woman comes to-night and sees that all she demanded has been done, she will askthee, What is this fish lying alone for?* Then throw the fish in herface, and say, 'This one shall be for thee, old witch.'" In the eve-ning the witch came, and when she had put this question, he threwthe fish in her face. She behaved as if she did not remark it, andsaid nothing, but looked at him with malicious eyes.
Next morning she said, "Yesterday it was too easy for thee, Imust give thee harder work. Today thou must hew down thewhole of the forest, split the wood into logs, and pile them up, andeverything must be finished by the evening." She gave him an axe,a mallet, and two wedges. But the axe was made of lead, and themallet and wedges were of tin. When he began to cut, the edge ofthe axe turned back, and the mallet and wedges were beaten out ofshape.
He did not know how to manage, but at mid-day the maidencame once more with his dinner and comforted him. "Lay thy headon my lap," said she, "and sleep; when thou awakest, thy work will
be done." She turned her wishing-ring, and in an instant the wholeforest fell down with a crash, the wood split, and arranged itself inheaps, and it seemed just as if unseen giants were finishing thework. When he awoke, the maiden said, "Dost thou see that thewood is piled up and arranged, one bough alone remains; but whenthe old woman comes this evening and asks thee about that bough,give her a blow with it, and say, 'That is for thee, thou witch.'"
The old woman came, "Therel Thou seest how easy the workwas!" said she; "but for whom hast thou left that bough which islying there still?" "For thee, thou witch," he repHed, and gave her ablow with it. But she pretended not to feel it, laughed scornfully,and said, "Early tomorrow morning thou shalt arrange all the woodin one heap, set fire to it, and bum it."
He rose at break of day, and began to pick up the wood, but howcan a single man get a whole forest together? The work made noprogress. The maiden, however, did not desert him in his need. Shebrought him his food at noon, and when he had eaten, he laid hishead on her lap, and went to sleep. When he awoke, the entire pileof wood was burning in one enormous flame, which stretched itstongues out into the sky. "Listen to me," said the maiden, "whenthe witch comes, she wiU give thee all kinds of orders; do whatevershe asks thee without fear, and then she will not be able to get thebetter of thee, but if thou art afraid, the fire will lay hold of thee,and consume thee. At last when thou hast done everything, seizeher with both thy hands, and throw her into the midst of the fire."
The maiden departed, and the old woman came sneaking up tohim. "Oh, I am cold," said she, "but that is a fire that bums; itwarms my old bones for me, and does me good! But there is a loglying there which won't bum, bring it out for me. When thou hastdone that, thou art free, and mayst go where thou Hkest; come, go inwith a good will."
The drummer did not reflect long; he sprang into the midst of theflames, but they did not hurt him, and could not even singe a hairof his head. He carried the log out, and laid it down. Hardly, how-ever, had the wood touched the earth than it was transformed, andthe beautiful maiden who had helped him in his need stood beforehim, and by the silken and shining golden garments which she wore,he knew right well that she was the King's daughter. But the oldwoman laughed venomously, and said, "Thou thinkest thou hast hersafe, but thou hast not got her yet!" Just as she was about to fallon the maiden and take her away, the youth seized the old woman
with both his hands, raised her up on high, and threw her into thejaws of the fire, which closed over her as if it were dehghted that theold witch was to be burnt.
Then the King's daughter looked at the drummer, and when shesaw that he was a handsome youth and remembered how he hadrisked his life to deliver her, she gave him her hand, and said, "Thouhast ventured everything for my sake, but I also will do everythingfor thine. Promise to be true to me, and thou shalt be my husband.We shall not want for riches, we shall have enough with what thewitch has gathered together here." She led him into the house, wherethere were chests and cofiFers crammed with the old woman's treas-ures. The maiden left the gold and silver where it was, and took onlythe precious stones. She would not stay any longer on the glass-mountain, so the drummer said to her, "Seat thyself by me on mysaddle, and then we will fly down Uke birds." "I do not Hke the oldsaddle," said she, "I need only turn my wishing-ring and we shall beat home." "Very well, then," answered the drummer, "then wish us infront of the town-gate." In the twinkHng of an eye they were there,but the drummer said, "I vidll just go to my parents and tell themthe news, wait for me outside here, I shall soon be back." "Ah,"said the King's daughter, "I beg thee to be careful. On thy arrivaldo not Idss thy parents on the right cheek, or else thou wilt forgeteverything, and I shall stay behind here outside, alone and de-serted." "How can I forget thee?" said he, and promised her tocome back very soon, and gave his hand upon it.
When he went into his father s house, he had changed so muchthat no one knew who he was, for the three days which he hadpassed on the glass-mountain had been three years. Then he madehimself known, and his parents fell on his neck with joy, and hisheart was so moved that he forgot what the maiden had said, andkissed them on both cheeks. But when he had given them the kisson the right cheek, every thought of the King's daughter vanishedfrom him. He emptied out his pockets, and laid handfuls of thelargest jewels on the table. The parents had not the least idea whatto do with the riches. Then the father built a magnificent castle allsurrounded by gardens, woods, and meadows as if a Prince weregoing to live in it, and when it was ready, the mother said, "I havefound a maiden for thee, and the wedding shall be in three days."The son was content to do as his parents desired.
The poor King's daughter had stood for a long time vidthout thetown waiting for the retiun of the yotmg man. When evening came,she said, "He must certainly have kissed his parents on the right
452 GrimnCs Complete Fairy Tales
cheek, and has forgotten me." Her heart was full of sorrow, shewished herself into a solitary little hut in a forest, and would not re-turn to her father's court. Every evening she went into the townand passed the young man's house; he often saw her, but he nolonger knew her. At length she heard the people saying, "The wed-ding will take place tomorrow." Then she said, "I will try if I canwin his heart back."
On the first day of the wedding ceremonies, she turned her wish-ing-ring, and said, "A dress as bright as the sun." Instantly thedress lay before her, and it was as bright as if it had been woven ofreal sunbeams. When all the guests were assembled, she enteredthe hall. Every one was amazed at the beautiful dress, and thebride most of all, and as pretty dresses were the things she hadmost delight in, she went to the stranger and asked if she would sellit to her. "Not for money," she answered, 'Taut if I may pass thefirst night outside the door of the room where your betrothedsleeps, I will give it up to you." The bride could not overcome herdesire and consented, but she mixed a sleeping-draught with thewine her betrothed took at night, which made him fall into a deepsleep. When all had become quiet, the King's daughter croucheddown by the door of the bedroom, opened it just a little, and cried,
"Drummer, drummer, I pray thee hear!Hast thou forgotten thou heldest me dear?That on the glass-mountain we sat hour by hour?That I rescued thy life from the witch's power?Didst thou not plight thy troth to me?Drummer, drummer, harken to meF'
But it was all in vain, the drummer did not awake, and when morn-ing dawned, the King's daughter was forced to go back again as shecame.
On the second evening she turned her wishing-ring and said, "Adress as silvery as the moon." When she appeared at the feast in thedress which was as soft as moonbeams, it again excited the desireof the bride, and the King's daughter gave it to her for permissionto pass the second night also, outside the door of the bedroom.Then in the stillness of the night, she cried,
"Drummer, drummer, I pray thee hear!Hast thou forgotten thou heldest me dear?That on the glass-mountain we sat hour by hour?That I rescued ^hu life from the witch's power?Didst thou not pliaht thy troth to me?Drummer, drummer, harken to me!"
The Drummer 453
But the drummer, who was stupefied with the sleeping-draught,could not be aroused. Sadly next morning she went back to her hutin the forest. But the people in the house had heard the lamenta-tion of the stranger-maiden, and told the bridegroom about it. Theytold him also that it was impossible that he could hear anything ofit, because the maiden he was going to marry had poured a sleeping-draught into his wine.
On the third evening, the King's daughter turned her wishing-ring, and said, "A dress glittering Hke the stars." When she showedherself therein at the feast, the bride was quite beside herself withthe splendor of the dress, which far surpassed the others, and shesaid, "I must, and will have it." The maiden gave it as she hadgiven the others for permission to spend the night outside the bride-groom's door. The bridegroom, however, did not drink the winewhich was handed to him before he went to bed, but poured itbehind the bed, and when everything was quiet, he heard a sweetvoice which called to him,
"Drummer, drummer, I pray thee hear!Hast thou forgotten thou heldest me dear?That on the glass-mountain we sat hour by hour?That I rescued thy life from, the witch's power?Didst thou not plight thy troth to me?Drummer, drummer, harken to me!"
Suddenly, his memory returned to him. "Ah," cried he, *liow canI have acted so imfaithfully; but the Idss which in the joy of myheart I gave my parents, on the right cheek, that is to blame for itall, that is what stupefied mel" He sprang up, took the King'sdaughter by the hand, and led her to his parents' bed. 'This is mytrue bride," said he; "if I marry the other, I shall do a great wrong."The parents, when they heard how everything had happened, gavetheir consent. Then the lights in the hall were Hghted again, drumsand trmnpets were brought, friends and relations were invited tocome, and the real wedding was solemnized with great rejoicing.The first bride received the beautiful dresses as a compensation,and declared herself satisfied.
The Two Kings' Children
A KING had a little boy of whom it had been foretold that he shouldbe Idlled by a stag when he was sixteen years of age. When he hadreached that age the huntsmen once went hunting with him. In theforest, the King's son was separated from the others, and all at oncehe saw a great stag which he wanted to shoot but could not hit. Atlength he chased the stag so far that they were quite out of the for-est, and then suddenly a great tall man was standing there insteadof the stag, and said, "It is weU that I have thee, I have aheadyruined six pairs of glass skates with running after thee, and havenot been able to get thee."
Then he took the King's son with him, and dragged him througha great lake to a great palace, and then he had to sit down to tablewith him and eat something. When they had eaten something to-gether the tall King said, "I have three daughters. Thou must keepwatch over the eldest for one night, from nine in the evening till sixin the mornings and every time the clock strikes, I will come myselfand caU, and if thou then givest me no answer, tomorrow morningthou shalt be put to death, but if thou always givest me an answer,thou shalt have her to wife."
When the young folks went to the bed-room there stood a stoneimage of St. Christopher, and the King's daughter said to it, "Myfather will come at nine o'clock, and every hour till it strikes six;when he calls, give him an answer instead of the King's son." Thenthe stone image of St. Christopher nodded its head quite quickly,and then more and more slowly till at last it stood still.
The next morning the King said to him, "Thou hast done thebusiness well, but I cannot give my daughter away; thou must nowwatch a night by my second daughter, and then I will considerwith myself whether thou canst have my eldest daughter to wife,but I shall come every hour myself, and when I call thee, answerme, and if I call thee and thou dost not reply, thy blood shall flow."Then the Prince and the Princess went into the sleeping-room, andthere stood a still larger stone image of St. Christopher, and theKing's daughter said to it, "If my father calls, do thou answer him."Then the great stone image of St. Christopher again nodded itshead quite quickly and then more and more slowly, imtil at last it
stood still again. And the King's son lay down on the threshold, puthis hand under his head and slept.
The next morning the King said to him, 'Thou hast done thebusiness really well, but I cannot give my daughter away; thoumust now watch a night by the youngest Princess, and then I willconsider with myself whether thou canst have my second daughterto wife, but I shaU come every hour myself, and when I call theeanswer me, and if I call thee and thou answerest not, thy bloodshall flow for me."
Then they once more went to the sleeping-room together, andthere was a much greater and much taller image of St. Christopherthan the two first had been. The King's daughter said to it, "Whenmy father calls, do thou answer." Then the great tall stone image ofSt. Christopher nodded quite half an hour with its head, until atlength the head stood still again. And the King's son laid himselfdown on the threshold of the door and slept.
The next morning the King said, "Thou hast indeed watchedwell, but I cannot give thee my daughter now; I have a great forest,if thou cuttest it down for me between six o'clock this morning andsix at night, I will think about it." Then he gave him a glass axe, aglass wedge, and a glass mallet. When he got into the wood, hebegan at once to cut, but the axe broke in two, then he took thewedge, and struck it once with the mallet, and it became as shortand as small as sand. Then he was much troubled and beheved hewould have to die, and sat down and wept.
Now when it was noon the King said, "One of you girls musttake him something to eat." "No," said the two eldest, "we will nottake it to him; the one by whom he last watched, can take himsomething." Then the youngest was forced to go and take himsomething to eat. When she got into the forest, she asked him howhe was getting on. "Oh," said he, "I am getting on very badly."Then she said he was to come and just eat a Uttle. "Nay," said he,"I cannot do that, I shall still have to die, so I will eat no more."Then she spoke so kindly to him and begged him just to try, that hecame and ate something. When he had eaten something she said, "1will comb thy hair a while, and then thou wilt feel happier."
So she combed his hair, and he became weary and fell asleep,and then she took her handkerchief and made a knot in it, andstruck it three times on the earth, and said, "Earth-workers, comeforth." In a moment, numbers of little earth-men came forth, andasked what the King's daughter commanded. Then said she, 'Inthree hours' time the great forest must be cut down, and the whole
of the wood Isdd in heaps." So the little earth-men went about andgot together the whole of their kindred to help them with the work.They began at once, and when the three hours were over, all wasdone, and they came back to the King's daughter and told her so.Then she took her white handkerchief again and said, "Earth-workers, go home." On this they all disappeared.
When the King's son awoke, he was delighted, and she said,"Come home when it has struck six o'clock." He did as she toldhim, and then the King asked, "Hast thou made away with the for-est?" "Yes," said the King's son. When they were sitting at table,the King said, "I cannot yet give thee my daughter to wife, thoumust still do something more for her sake." So he asked what it wasto be, then. "I have a great fish-pond," said the Eling. "Thou mustgo to it tomorrow morning and clear it of all mud until it is asbright as a mirror, and fill it with every land of fish." The nextmorning the King gave him a glass shovel and said, "The fish-pondmust be done by six o'clock." So he went away, and when he cameto the fish-pond he stuck his shovel in the mud and it broke in two,then he stuck his hoe in the mud, and broke it also. Then he wasmuch troubled.
At noon the youngest daughter brought him something to eat,and asked him how he was getting on. So the King's son said every-thing was going very ill with him, and he would certainly have tolose his head. "My tools have broken to pieces again." "Oh," saidshe, "thou must just come and eat something, and then thou wilt bein another frame of mind." "No," said he, "I cannot eat, I am fartoo unhappy for thatl" Then she gave him many good words untilat last he came and ate something. Then she combed his hair again,and he fell asleep, so once more she took her handkerchief, tied aknot in it, and struck the ground thrice with the knot, and said,"Earth-workers, come forth." In a moment a great many little earth-men came and asked what she desired, and she told them that inthree hours' time, they must have the fish-pond entirely cleanedout, and it must be so clear that people could see themselvesreflected in it, and every kind of fish must be in it. The little earth-men went away and summoned all their kindred to help them, andin two hours it was done. Then they returned to her and said, "Wehave done as thou hast commanded." The King's daughter took thehandkerchief and once more struck thrice on the ground with it,and said, "Earth-workers, go home again." Then they all wentaway.
When the King's son awoke the fish-pond was done. Then the
King's daughter went away also, and told him that when it was sixhe was to come to the house. When he arrived at the house theKing asked, "Hast thou got the fish-pond done?" "Yes," said theKing's son. That was very good.
When they were again sitting at table the King said, "Thou hastcertainly done the fish-pond, but I cannot give thee my daughteryet; thou must just do one thing more." "What is that, then?" askedthe King's son. The King said he had a great mountain on whichthere was nothing but briars which must all be cut down, and atthe top of it the youth must build up a great castle, which must beas strong as could be conceived, and all the furniture and fittingsbelonging to a castle must be inside it. And when he arose nextmorning the King gave him a glass axe and a glass gimlet with him,and he was to have all done by six o'clock. As he was cutting downthe first briar with the axe, it broke off short, and so small that thepieces flew all round about, and he could not use the gimlet either.Then he was quite miserable, and waited for his dearest to see ifshe would not come and help him in his need.
When it was mid-day she came and brought him something to eat.He went to meet her and told her all, and ate something, and lether comb his hair and fell asleep. Then she once more took the knotand struck the earth with it, and said, "Earth-workers, come forth!"Then came once again numbers of earth-men, and asked what herdesire was. Then said she, *ln the space of three hours you mustcut down the whole of the briars, and a castle must be built on thetop of the mountain that must be as strong as any one could con-ceive, and all the furniture that pertains to a castle must be insideit." They went away, and summoned their Idndred to help themand when the time was come, all was ready. Then they came to theKing's daughter and told her so, and the King's daughter took herhandkerchief and struck thrice on the earth with it, and said,"Earth-workers, go home," on which they all disappeared. Whentherefore the King's son awoke and saw everything done, he was ashappy as a bird in air.
When it had struck six, they went home together. Then said theKing, "Is the castle ready?" "Yes," said the King's son. When theysat down to table, the King said, "1 cannot give away my yoimgestdaughter until the two eldest are married." Then the King's son andthe King's daughter were quite troubled, and the King's son had noidea what to do. But he went by night to the King's daughter andran away with her.
When they had got a little distance away, the King's daughter
peeped round and saw her father behind her. "Oh," said she,"what are we to do? My father is behind us, and will take us backwith him. I will at once change thee into a briar, and myself into arose, and I will shelter myself in the midst of the bush." When thefather reached the place, there stood a briar with one rose on it;then he was about to gather the rose, when the thorn came andpricked his finger so that he was forced to go home again. His wifeasked why he had not brought their daughter back with him. So hesaid he had nearly got up to her, but that all at once he had lostsight of her, and a briar with one rose was growing on the spot.
Then said the Queen, "If thou hadst but gathered the rose, thebriar would have been forced to come too." So he went back againto fetch the rose, but in the meantime the two were already farover the plain, and the King ran after them.
Then the daughter once more looked round and saw her fathercoming, and said, "Oh, what shall we do now? I will instantlychange thee into a church and myself into a priest, and I will standup in the pulpit, and preach." When the King got to the place,there stood a church, and in the pulpit was a priest preaching. Sohe listened to the sermon, and then went home again.
Then the Queen asked why he had not brought their daughterwith him, and he said, "Nay, I ran a long time after her, and just asI thought I should soon overtake her, a church was standing thereand a priest was in the pulpit preaching." 'TThou shouldst just havebrought the priest," said his wife, "and then the chm*ch would soonhave come. It is no use to send thee, I must go there myself." Whenshe had walked for some time, and could see the two in the dis-tance, the King's daughter peeped round and saw her mother com-ing, and said, "Now we are undone, for my mother is coming her-self. I will immediately change thee into a fish-pond and myselfinto a fish."
When the mother came to the place, there was a large fish-pond,and in the midst of it a fish was leaping about and peeping out ofthe water, and it was quite merry. She wanted to catch the fish, butshe could not. Then she was very angry, and drank up the wholepond in order to catch the fish, but it made her so ill that she wasforced to vomit, and vomited the whole pond out again. Then shecried, "I see very well that nothing can be done now," and said thatnow they might come back to her.
Then the King's daughter went back again, and the Queen gaveher daughter three walnuts, and said, "With these thou canst helpthyself when thou art in thy greatest need." So the young folks
The Two Kings' Children 459
went once more away together. And when they had walked quiteten miles, they arrived at the castle from whence the King's soncame, and close by it was a village. When they reached it, theKing's son said, "Stay here, my dearest, I wiU just go to the castle,and then v^ll I come with a carriage and vwth attendants to fetchthee."
When he got to the castle they all rejoiced greatly at having theKing's son back again, and he told them he had a bride who wasnow in the village, and they must go with the carriage to fetch her.Then they harnessed the horses at once, and many attendantsseated themselves outside the carriage. When the King's son wasabout to get in, his mother gave him a Idss, and he forgot every-thing which had happened, and also what he was about to do. Onthis his mother ordered the horses to be taken out of the carriageagain, and every one went back into the house. But the maiden satin the village and watched and watched, and thought he wouldcome and fetch her, but no one came.
Then the King's daughter took service in the mill which belongedto the castle, and was obKged to sit by the pond every afternoonand clean the tubs. And the Queen came one day on foot from thecastle, and went walking by the pond, and saw the well-grownmaiden sitting there, and said, "What a fine strong girl that is! Shepleases me welll" Then she and all with her looked at the maid, butno one knew her. So a long time passed by during which themaiden served the miller honorably and faithfully. In the mean-time, the Queen had sought a wife for her son who came fromquite a distant part of the world. When the bride came, they wereat once to be married. And many people hurried together, all ofwhom wanted to see everything. Then the girl said to the millerthat he might be so good as to give her leave to go also. So themiller said, "Yes, do go there."
When she was about to go, she opened one of the three walnuts,and a beautiful dress lay inside it. She put it on, and went into thechurch and stood by the altar. Suddenly came the bride and bride-groom, and seated themselves before the altar, and when the priestwas just going to bless them, the bride peeped half round and sawthe maiden standing there. Then she stood up again, and said shewould not be given away until she also had as beautiful a dress asthat lady there. So they went back to the house again, and sent toask the lady if she would sell that dress. No, she would not sell it,but the bride might perhaps earn it. Then the bride asked her howshe was to do this. Then the maiden said if she might sleep one
night outside the King's son's door, the bride might have what shewanted. So the bride said, yes, she was to do that. But the servantswere ordered to give the King's son a sleeping-drink, and then themaiden laid herself down on the threshold and lamented all nightlong. She had had the forest cut down for him, she had had thefish-pond cleaned out for him, she had had the castle built for him,she had changed him into a briar, and then into a church, and atlast into a fish-pond, and yet he had forgotten her so quickly. TheKing's son did not hear one word of it, but the servants had beenawakened, and had listened to it, and had not known what it couldmean.
The next morning when they were all up, the bride put on thedress, and went away to the church with the bridegroom. In themeantime the maiden opened the second walnut, and a still morebeautiful dress was inside it. She put it on, and went and stood bythe altar in the church, and everything happened as it had hap-pened the time before. And the maiden again lay all night on thethreshold which led to the chamber of the King's son, and the ser-vant was once more to give him a sleeping-drink. The servant, how-ever, went to him and gave him something to keep him awake, andthen the King's son went to bed, and the miller's maiden bemoanedherself as before on the threshold of the door, and told of all thatshe had done. All this the King's son heard, and was sore troubled,and what was past came back to him. Then he wanted to go to her,but his mother had locked the door.
The next morning, however, he went at once to his beloved, andtold her everything which had happened to him, and prayed hernot to be angry with him for having forgotten her. Then the King'sdaughter opened the third walnut, and within it was a stiU moremagnificent dress, which she put on, and went with her bridegroomto church, and numbers of children came who gave them flowers,and offered them gay ribbons to bind about their feet, and theywere blessed by the priest, and had a merry wedding. But the falsemother and the bride had to depart. And the mouth of the personwho last told all this is still warm.
In the days when wishing was still of some use, a King's son wasbewitched by an old witch, and shut up in an iron stove in a forest.There he passed many years, and no one could deliver him. Then aKing's daughter came into the forest, who had lost herself, andcould not find her father's kingdom again. After she had wanderedabout for nine days, she at length came to the iron stove. Then avoice came forth from it, and asked her, "Whence comest thou, andwhither goest thou?" She answered, "I have lost my father's king-dom, and cannot get home again." Then a voice inside the iron stovesaid, "I wdll help thee to get home again, and that indeed mostswiftly, if thou wilt promise to do what I desire of thee. I am theson of a far greater King than thy father, and I will marry thee."
Then was she afraid, and thought, "Good Heavens! What can Ido with an iron stove?" But as she much wished to get home to herfather, she promised to do as he desired. But he said, "Thou shaltreturn here, and bring a knife with thee, and scrape a hole in theiron." Then he gave her a companion who walked near her, but didnot speak, but in two hours he took her home; there was great joyin the castle when the King's daughter came home, and the oldKing fell on her neck, and kissed her. She, however, was sorelytroubled, and said, "Dear father, what I have suffered! I shouldnever have got home again from the great vwld forest, if I had notcome to an iron stove, but I have been forced to give my word thatI will go back to it, set it free, and marry it."
Then the old King was so terrified that he all but fainted, for hehad but this one daughter. They therefore resolved they wouldsend, in her place, the miller's daughter, who was very beautiful.They took her there, gave her a knife, and said she was to scrape atthe iron stove. So she scraped at it for four-and-twenty hours, butcould not bring off the least morsel of it. When day daviTied, avoice in the stove said, "It seems to me it is day outside." Then sheanswered, 'Tt seems so to me too; I fancy I hear the noise of my fa-ther's mill."
"So thou art a miller's daughter! Then go thy way at once, andlet the King's daughter come here." Then she went away at once,and told the old King that the man outside there, would have none
of her—he wanted the King's daughter. They, however, still had aswine-herd's daughter, who was even prettier than the miller'sdaughter, and they determined to give her a piece of gold to go tothe iron stove instead of the King's daughter. So she was takenthither, and she also had to scrape for four-and-twenty hours. She,however, made nothing of it. When day broke, a voice inside thestove cried, 'It seems to me it is day outside!" Then answered she,"So it seems to me also; I fancy I hear my father's horn blowing."
"Then thou art a swine-herd's daughterl Go away at once, andtell the King's daughter to come, and tell her all must be done aswas promised, and if she does not come, everything in the kingdomshall be ruined and destroyed, and not one stone be left standingon another." When the King's daughter heard that she began toweep, but now there was nothing for it but to keep her promise. Soshe took leave of her father, put a knife in her pocket, and wentforth to the iron stove in the forest. When she got there, she beganto scrape, and the iron gave way, and when two hours were over,she had already scraped a small hole. Then she peeped in, and sawa youth so handsome, and so brilliant with gold and with preciousjewels, that her very soul was deUghted. Now, therefore, she wenton scraping, and made the hole so large that he was able to get out.
Then said he, "Thou art mine, and I am thine; thou art my bride,and hast released me." He wanted to take her away with him to hiskingdom, but she entreated him to let her go once again to her fa-ther, and the King's son allowed her to do so, but she was not to saymore to her father than three words, and then she was to comeback again. So she went home, but she spoke more than threewords, and instantly the iron stove disappeared, and was taken faraway over glass-moimtains and piercing swords; but the King's sonwas set free, and no longer shut up in it. After this she bade good-bye to her father, took some money with her, but not much, andwent back to the great forest, and looked for the iron stove, but itwas nowhere to be found. For nine days she sought it, and then herhunger grew so great that she did not know what to do, for shecould no longer live.
When it was evening, she seated herself in a small tree, andmade up her mind to spend the night there, as she was afraid ofwild beasts. When midnight drew near she saw in the distance asmall light, and thought, "Ah, there I should be saved!" She gotdown from the tree, and went towards the light, but on the way sheprayed. Then she came to a little old house, and much grass hadgrown all about it, and a small heap of wood lay in front of it. She
The Iron Stove 463
thought, "Ah, whither have I come," and peeped in through thewindow, but she saw nothing inside but toads, big and little, excepta table well covered with wine and roast meat, and the plates andglasses were of silver. Then she took coiurage, and knocked at thedoor. The fat toad cried,
"Little green waiting-maid.Waiting-maid with the limping leg.Little dog of the limping leg.Hop hither and thither.And quickly see who is without."
And a small toad came walking by and opened the door to her.When she entered, they all bade her welcome, and she was forcedto sit down. They asked, "Where hast thou come from, and whitherart thou going?" Then she related all that had befallen her, andhow because she had transgressed the order which had been givenher not to say more than three words, the stove, and the King's sonalso, had disappeared, and now she was about to seek him over hilland dale until she found him. Then the old fat one said,
"Little green waiting-maid.Waiting-maid with the limping leg.Little dog of the limping leg.Hop hither and thither.And bring me the great box."
Then the little one went and brought the box. After this theygave her meat and drink, and took her to a well-made bed, whichfelt like silk and velvet, and she laid herself therein, in God's name,and slept. When morning came she arose, and the old toad gaveher three needles out of the great box which she was to take withher; they would be needed by her, for she had to cross a high glass-mountain, and go over three piercing swords and a great lake. Ifshe did all this she would get her lover back again. Then he gaveher three things, which she was to take the greatest care of, namely,three large needles, a plough-wheel, and three nuts. With these shetraveled onwards, and when she came to the glass-mountain whichwas so slippery, she stuck the three needles first behind her feetand then before them, and so got over it, and when she was over it,she hid them in a place which she marked carefully. After this shecame to the three piercing swords, and then she seated herself onher plough-wheel, and rolled over them.
At last she arrived in front of a great lake, and when she had
crossed it, she came to a large and beautiful castle. She went in andasked for a place; she was a poor girl, she said, and would like tobe hired. She knew, however, that the King's son whom she hadreleased from the iron stove in the great forest was in the castle.Then she was taken as a scullery-maid at low wages. But, alreadythe King's son had another maiden by his side whom he wanted tomarry, for he thought that she had long been dead.
In the evening, when she had washed up and was done, she feltin her pocket and found the three nuts which the old toad hadgiven her. She cracked one v^dth her teeth, and was going to eat thekernel when lo and behold there was a stately royal garment in it!But when the bride heard of this she came and asked for the dress,and wanted to buy it, and said, 'It is not a dress for a servant-girl."But she said, no, she would not sell it, but if the bride would granther one thing she should have it, and that was, leave to sleep onenight in her bridegroom's chamber.
The bride gave her permission because the dress was so pretty,and she had never had one Hke it. When it was evening she said toher bridegroom, "That silly girl wdll sleep in thy room." "If thou artwilling so am I," said he. She, however, gave him a glass of wine inwhich she had poured a sleeping-draught. So the bridegroom andthe scullery-maid went to sleep in the room, and he slept sosoundly that she could not waken him.
She wept the whole night and cried, 'T set thee free when thouwert in an iron stove in the v^dld forest, I sought thee, and walkedover a glass-mountain, and three sharp swords, and a great lake be-fore I found thee, and yet thou wilt not hear me I"
The servants sat by the chamber-door, and heard how she thuswept the whole night through, and in the morning they told it totheir lord. And the next evening when she had washed up, sheopened the second nut, and a far more beautiful dress was withinit, and when the bride beheld it, she v^dshed to buy that also. Butthe girl would not take money, and begged that she might onceagain sleep in the bridegroom's chamber. The bride, however, gavehim a sleeping-drink, and he slept so soundly that he could hearnothing. But the scullery-maid wept the whole night long, andcried, "1 set thee free when thou wert in an iron stove in the wdldforest, I sought thee, and walked over a glass-mountain, and overthree sharp swords and a great lake before I found thee, and yetthou wilt not hear me!"
The servants sat by the chamber-door and heard her weeping thewhole night through, and in the morning informed their lord of it.
And on the third evening, when she had washed up, she opened thethird nut, and within it was a still more beautiful dress which wasstiff with pure gold. When the bride saw that she wanted to have it,but the maiden only gave it up on condition that she might for thethird time sleep in the bridegroom's apartment. The King's son was,however, on his guard, and threw the sleeping-draught away. Now,therefore, when she began to weep and to cry, "Dearest love, I setthee free when thou wert in the iron stove in the terrible wild for-est," the King's son leapt up and said, "Thou art the true one, thouart mine, and I am thine." Thereupon, while it was still night, hegot into a carriage with her, and they took away the false bride'sclothes so that she could not get up.
When they came to the great lake, they sailed across it, andwhen they reached the three sharp-cutting swords they seatedthemselves on the plough-wheel, and when they got to the glass-mountain they thrust the three needles in it, and so at length theygot to the little old house; but when they went inside that, it was agreat castle, and the toads were all disenchanted, and were King'schildren, and full of happiness. Then the wedding was celebrated,and the King's son and the Princess remained in the castle, whichwas much larger than the castles of their fathers. As, however, theold King grieved at being left alone, they fetched him away, andbrought him to live with them, and they had two kingdoms, andlived in happy wedlock.
Let the mouse run;My story's done.
The Singing, Soaring Lark
There was once a man who was about to set out on a long journey,and on parting he asked his three daughters what he should bringback with him for them. The eldest wished for pearls, the secondwished for diamonds, but the third said, "Dear father, I should likea singing, soaring lark." The father said, "Yes, if I can get it, youshall have it," kissed all three, and set out.
When the time had come for him to be on his way home again,he brought pearls and diamonds for the two eldest; but he had
sought everywhere in vain for a singing, soaring lark for theyoungest, and he was very unhappy about it, for she was his favor-ite child. His road lay through a forest, and in the midst of it was asplendid castle, and near the castle stood a tree, but quite on thetop of the tree, he saw a singing, soaring lark. "Aha, you come justat the right momenti" he said, quite deHghted, and called to his ser-vant to cKmb up and catch the little creature.
But as he approached the tree, a Hon leapt from beneath it, shookhimself, and roared till the leaves on the tree trembled. "He whotries to steal my singing, soaring lark," he cried, "will I devour."Then the man said, "I did not know that the bird belonged to tliee.I will make amends for the wrong I have done and ransom myselfwith a large sum of money, only spare my Hfe." The Hon said,"Nothing can save thee, unless thou wilt promise to give me formine own what first meets thee on thy return home; but if thou wiltdo that, I will grant thee thy Hfe, and thou shalt have the bird forthy daughter, into the bargain."
But the man hesitated and said, "That might be my youngestdaughter, she loves me best, and always runs to meet me on my re-turn home." The servant, however, was terrified and said, "Whyshould your daughter be the very one to meet you, it might as eas-ily be a cat, or dog?" Then the man allowed himself to be per-suaded, took the singing, soaring lark, and promised to give the Honwhatsoever should first meet him on his return home.
When he reached home and entered his house, the first who methim was no other than his youngest and dearest daughter, whocame running up, kissed and embraced him, and when she saw thathe had brought with him a singing, soaring lark, she was besideherself with joy. The father, however, could not rejoice, but beganto weep, and said, "My dearest child, I have bought the Httle birddear. In return for it, I have been obHged to promise thee to a sav-age Hon, and when he has thee he will tear thee in pieces and de-voiu- thee," and he told her all, just as it had happened, and beggedher not to go there, come what might. But she consoled him andsaid, "Dearest father, indeed your promise must be fulfilled. I willgo thither and soften the Hon, so that I may return to thee safely."
Next morning she had the road pointed out to her, took leave,and went fearlessly out into the forest. The Hon, however, was anenchanted Prince and was by day a Hon, and all his people wereHons with him, but in the night they resumed their natural humanshapes. On her arrival she was kindly received and led into the cas-tle. When night came, the Hon turned into a handsome man, and
their wedding was celebrated with great magnificence. They livedhappily together, remained awake at night, and slept in the day-time.
One day he came and said, "Tomorrow there is a feast in thy fa-ther's house, because thy eldest sister is to be married, and if thouart inclined to go there, my Hons shall conduct thee." She said,"Yes, I should very much like to see my father again," and wentthither, accompanied by the lions. There was great joy when she ar-rived, for they had all believed that she had been torn in pieces bythe lion, and had long ceased to hve. But she told them what ahandsome husband she had, and how well off she was, remainedwith them while the wedding-feast lasted, and then went backagain to the forest.
When the second daughter was about to be married, and she wasagain invited to the wedding, she said to the lion, "This time I willnot be alone, thou must come with me." The lion, however, saidthat it was too dangerous for him, for if when there a ray from aburning candle fell on him, he would be changed into a dove, andfor seven years long would have to fly about with the doves. Shesaid, "Ah, but do come with me, I will take great care of thee, andguard thee from all light." So they went away together, and tookwith them their little child as well. She had a chamber built there,so strong and thick that no ray could pierce through it; in this hewas to shut himself up when the candles were Ht for the wedding-feast. But the door was made of green wood which warped and lefta little crack which no one noticed.
The wedding was celebrated with magnificence, but when theprocession with all its candles and torches came back from church,and passed by this apartment, a ray about the breadth of a hair fellon the King's son, and when this ray touched him, he was trans-formed in an instant, and when she came in and looked for him, shedid not see him, but a white dove was sitting there. The dove saidto her, "For seven years must I fly about the world, but at everyseventh step that thou takest I will let fall a drop of red blood anda white feather, and these will show thee the way, and if thoufollowest the trace thou canst release me." Thereupon the dove flewout at the door, and she followed him, and at every seventh step ared drop of blood and a Httle white feather fell downi and showedher the way.
So she went continually further and further in the vidde world,never looking about her or resting, and the seven years were almostpast; then she rejoiced and thought that they would soon be deliv-
ered; and yet they were so far from iti Once when they were thusmoving onwards, no little feather and no drop of red blood fell, andwhen she raised her eyes the dove had disappeared. And as shethought to herself, "In this no man can help thee," she climbed upto the sun, and said to him, "Thou shinest into every crevice, andover every peak, hast not thou seen a white dove flying?" "No,"said the sun, "I have seen none, but I present thee with a casket,open it when thou art in sorest need."
Then she thanked the sun, and went on until evening came andthe moon appeared; she then asked her, "Thou shinest the wholenight through, and on every field and forest, hast thou not seen awhite dove flying?" "No," said the moon, "I have seen no dove, buthere I give thee an egg, break it when thou art in great need." Shethanked the moon, and went on until the night wind came up andblew on her, then she said to it, "Thou blowest over every tree andunder every leaf, hast thou not seen a white dove flying?" "No,"said the night wind, "I have seen none, but I will ask the threeother winds, perhaps they have seen it."
The east wind and the west wind came, and had seen nothing,but the south wind said, "1 have seen the white dove, it has flownto the Red Sea; there it has become a lion again, for the seven yearsare over, and the lion is there fighting with a dragon; the dragon,however, is an enchanted Princess." The night wind then said toher, "I will advise thee; go to the Red Sea, on the right bank aresome tall reeds, count them, break off the eleventh, and strike thedragon with it, then the lion will be able to subdue it, and boththen will regain their human form. After that, look round and thouwilt see the griffin which is by the Red Sea; swing thyself, with thybeloved, on to his back, and the bird wdll carry thee over the sea tothine own home. Here is a nut for thee, when thou art above thecenter of the sea, let the nut fall, it will immediately shoot up, anda tall nut tree will grow out of the water, on which the griffin mayrest; for if he cannot rest, he will not be strong enough to carry theeacross, and if thou forgettest to throw down the nut, he will let theefall into the sea."
Then she went thither, dnd found everything as the night windhad said. She counted the reeds by the sea, and cut off the elev-enth, struck the dragon therewith, whereupon the lion overcame it,and immediately both of them regained their human shapes. Butwhen the Princess, who had before been the dragon, was deliveredfrom enchantment, she took the youth by the arm, seated herself onthe griffin, and carried him off with her.
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There stood the poor maiden who had wandered so far and wasagain forsaken. She sat down and cried, but at last she took coinrageand said, "Still I will go as far as the wind blows and as long as thecock crows, until I find him," and she went forth by long, longroads, until at last she came to the castle where both of them wereliving together. There she heard that soon a feast was to be held, inwhich they would celebrate their wedding, but she said, "God stillhelps me," and opened the casket that the sim had given her. Adress lay therein as brilliant as the sun itself. So she took it out andput it on, and went up into the castle, and every one, even thebride herself, looked at her with astonishment.
The dress pleased the bride so well that she thought it might dofor her wedding-dress, and asked if it was for sale. "Not for moneyor land," answered she, "but for flesh and blood." The bride askedher what she meant by that, then she said, "Let me sleep a night inthe chamber where the bridegroom sleeps." The bride would not,yet wanted very much to have the dress; at last she consented, butthe page was to give the Prince a sleeping-draught.
When it was night, therefore, and the youth was already asleep,she was led into the chamber; she seated herself on the bed andsaid, "I have followed after thee for seven years. I have been to thesun and the moon, and the foiur winds, and have inquired for thee,and have helped thee against the dragon; vidlt thou, then, quite for-get me?" But the Prince slept so soundly that it only seemed to himas if the wind were whistling outside in the fir trees.
When therefore day broke, she was led out again, and had togive up the golden dress. And as even that had been of no avail,she was sad, went out into a meadow, sat down there, and wept.While she was sitting there, she thought of the egg which the moonhad given her; she opened it, and there came out a clucking henwith twelve diickens all of gold, and they ran about chirping, andcrept again under the old hen's wings; nothing more beautiful wasever seen in the worldl Then she arose, and drove them through themeadow before her, until the bride looked out of the vidndow. TheHttle chickens pleased her so much that she immediately camedown and asked if they were for sale. "Not for money or land, butfor flesh and blood; let me sleep another night in the chamberwhere the bridegroom sleeps." The bride said, "Yes," intending tocheat her as on the former evening. But when the Prince went tobed he asked the page what the murmuring and rustling in thenight had been. On this the page told all; that he had been forcedto give him a sleeping-draught, because a poor girl had slept se-
470 Grimwks Complete Fairy Tales
cretly in the chamber, and that he was to give him another thatnight. The Prince said, "Pour out the draught by the bed-side."
At night, she was again led in, and when she began to relate howill all had fared with her, he immediately recognized his belovedwife by her voice, sprang up and cried, "Now I really am released!I have been as it were in a dream, for the strange Princess has be-witched me so that I have been compelled to forget thee, but Godhas dehvered me from the spell at the right time." Then they bothleft the castle secretly in the night, for they feared the father of thePrincess, who was a sorcerer, and they seated themselves on thegriffin, which bore them across the Red Sea, and when they were inthe midst of it, she let fall the nut. Immediately a tall nut tree grewup, whereon the bird rested, and then carried them home, wherethey found their child, who had grown tall and beautifiil, and theylived thenceforth happily until their death.
The Nixie of the Mill-Pond
Once upon a time there was a miller who lived with his wife ingreat contentment. They had money and land, and their prosperityincreased year by year more and more. But ill-luck comes like athief in the night; as their wealth had increased so did it againdecrease, year by year, and at last the miller could hardly call themill in which he lived, his own. He was in great distress, and whenhe lay down after his day's work, found no rest, but tossed about inhis bed, full of care.
One morning he rose before daybreak and went out into theopen air, thinking that perhaps there his heart might becomelighter. As he was stepping over the mill-dam the first sunbeam wasjust breaking forth, and he heard a rippling sound in the pond. Heturned round and perceived a beautiful woman, rising slowly out ofthe water. Her long hair, which she was holding off her shoulderswith her soft hands, fell down on both sides, and covered her whitebody. He soon saw that she was the Nixie of the Mill-pond, and inhis fright did not know whether he should run away or stay wherehe was. But the nixie made her sweet voice heard, called him by hisname, and asked him why he was so sad. The miller was at firststruck dumb, but when he heard her speak so kindly, he took
heart, and told her how he had formerly lived in wealth and happi-ness, but that now he was so poor that he did not know what to do."Be easy," answered the nixie, "I will make thee richer and happierthan thou hast ever been before, only thou must promise to give methe young thing which has just been bom in thy house."
"What else can that be," thought the miller, "but a young puppyor kitten?" and he promised her what she desired. The nixie de-scended into the water again, and he hurried back to his mill, con-soled and in good spirits. He had not yet reached it, when themaid-servant came out of the house, and cried to him to rejoice, forhis wife had given birth to a little boy. The miller stood as if struckby Hghtning; he saw very well that the cunning mbde had beenaware of it, and had cheated him. Hanging his head, he went up tohis wife's bed-side and when she said, "Why dost thou not rejoiceover the fine boy?" he told her what had befallen him, and whatland of a promise he had given to the nixie. "Of what use to me areriches and prosperity?" he added, "if I am to lose my child; butwhat can I do?" Even the relations, who had come thither to wishthem joy, did not know what to say.
In the meantime prosperity again returned to the miller's house.All that he undertook succeeded, it was as if presses and coffersfilled themselves of their own accord, and as if money multiphednightly in the cupboards. It was not long before his wealth wasgreater than it had ever been before. But he could not rejoice overit untroubled, the bargain which he had made with the nixie tor-mented his soul. Whenever he passed the mill-pond, he feared shemight ascend and remind him of his debt. He never let the boyhimself go near the water. "Beware," he said to him, "if thou dostbut touch the water, a hand will rise, seize thee, and draw theedown." But as year after year went by and the nixie did not showherself again, the miller began to feel at ease.
The boy grew up to be a youth and was apprenticed to a hunts-man. When he had learnt everything, and had become an excellenthuntsman, the lord of the village took him into his service. In thevillage lived a beautiful and true-hearted maiden, who pleased thehuntsman, and when his master perceived that, he gave him a Httlehouse, the two were married, lived peacefully and happily, andloved each other with all their hearts.
One day the huntsman was chasing a roe; and when the animalturned aside from the forest into the open country, he pursued itand at last.shot it. He did not notice that he was now in the neigh-borhood of the dangerous mill-pond, and went, after he had disem-
bowelled the stag, to the water, in order to wash his blood-stainedhands. Scarcely, however, had he dipped them in than the nixie as-cended, smihngly woimd her dripping arms around him, and drewhim quickly down under the waves, which closed over him.
When it was evening, and the himtsman did not return home, hiswife became alarmed. She went out to seek him, and as he hadoften told her that he had to be on his guard against the snares ofthe nixie and dared not venture into the neighborhood of the mill-pond, she already suspected what had happened. She hastened tothe water, and when she found his hunting-pouch lying on theshore, she could no longer have any doubt of the misfortune. La-menting her sorrow, and wringing her hands, she called on her be-loved by name, but in vain. She hurried across to the other side ofthe pond, and called him anew; she reviled the nixie with harshwords, but no answer followed. The surface of the water remainedcalm, only the crescent moon stared steadily back at her. The poorwoman did not leave the pond. With hasty steps, she paced roundand round it, without resting a moment, sometimes in silence,sometimes uttering a loud cry, sometimes softly sobbing. At last herstrength came to an end, she sank down to the ground and fell intoa heavy sleep.
Presently a dream took possession of her. She was anxiouslyclimbing upwards between great masses of rock; thorns and briarscaught her feet, the rain beat in her face, and the wind tossed herlong hair about. When she had reached the summit, quite adifferent sight presented itself to her; the sky was blue, the air soft,the ground sloped gently downwards, and on a green meadow, gaywith flowers of every color, stood a pretty cottage. She went up toit and opened the door; there sat an old woman with white hair,who beckoned to her kindly.
At that very moment, the poor woman awoke, day had alreadydawned, and she at once resolved to act in accordance with herdream. She laboriously climbed the mountain; everything was ex-actly as she had seen it in the night. The old woman received herkindly, and pointed out a chair on which she might sit. 'Thou musthave met with a misfortune," she said, "since thou hast sought outmy lonely cottage." With tears, the woman related what had be-fallen her. "Be comforted," said the old woman. "T will help thee.Here is a golden comb for thee. Tarry till the full moon has risen,then go to the mill-pond, seat thyself on the shore, and comb thylong black hair with this comb. When thou hast done, lay it downon the bank, and thou wilt see what wiU happen."
The Nixie of the Mill-Pond 473
The woman returned home, but the time till the full moon came,passed slowly. At last the shining disc appeared in the heavens,then she went out to the mill-pond, sat down and combed her longblack hair with the golden comb, and when she had finished, shelaid it down at the water's edge. It was not long before there was amovement in the depths, a wave rose, rolled to the shore, and borethe comb away with it. In not more than the time necessary for thecomb to sink to the bottom, the siirface of the water parted, and thehead of the huntsman arose. He did not speak, but looked at hiswife with sorrowful glances. At the same instant, a second wavecame rushing up, and covered the man's head. All had vanished,the mill-pond lay peaceful as before, and nothing but the face ofthe full moon shone on it.
Full of sorrow, the woman went back, but again the dreamshowed her the cottage of the old woman. Next morning she againset out and complained of her woes to the wise woman. The oldwoman gave her a golden flute, and said, "Tarry till the full mooncomes again, then take this flute; play a beautiful air on it, andwhen thou hast finished, lay it on the sand; then thou wilt see whatwill happen." The wife did as the old woman told her. No soonerwas the flute lying on the sand than there was a stirring in thedepths, and a wave rushed up and bore the flute away with it. Im-mediately afterwards the water parted, and not only the head ofthe man, but half of his body also arose. He stretched out his armslongingly towards her, but a second wave came up, covered him,and drew him down again. "Alas, what does it profit me?" said theunhappy woman, "that I should see my beloved, only to lose himagain!"
Despair filled her heart anew, but the dream led her a third timeto the house of the old woman. She set out, and the wise womangave her a golden spinning-wheel, consoled her and said, "All isnot yet fulfilled, tarry until the time of the full moon, then take thespinning-wheel, seat thyself on the shore, and spin the spool fvdl,and when thou hast done that, place the spinning-wheel near thewater, and thou wilt see what will happen." The woman obeyed allshe said exactly; as soon as the fuU moon showed itself, she carriedthe golden spinning-wheel to the shore, and spun industriouslyuntil the flax came to an end, and the spool was quite filled withthe threads. No sooner was the wheel standing on the shore thanthere was a more violent movement than before in the depths ofthe pond, and a mighty wave rushed up, and bore the wheel awaywith it. Immediately the head and the whole body of the man rose
into the air, in a water-spout. He quickly sprang to the shore,caught his wife by the hand and fled. But they had scarcely gone avery little distance, when the whole pond rose with a frightful roar,and streamed out over the open coimtry. The fugitives already sawdeath before their eyes, when the woman in her terror implored thehelp of the old woman, and in an instant they were transformed,she into a toad, he into a frog. The flood which had overtaken themcould not destroy them, but it tore them apart and carried them faraway.
When the water had dispersed and they both touched dry landagain, they regained their human form, but neither knew where theother was; they found themselves among strange people, who didnot know their native land. High mountains and deep valleys laybetween them. In order to keep themselves aHve, they were bothobliged to tend sheep. For many long years they drove their flocksthrough field and forest and were full of sorrow and longing. Whenspring had once more broken forth on the earth, they both went outone day with their flocks, and as chance would have it, they drewnear each other. They met in a valley, but did not recognize eachother; yet they rejoiced that they were no longer so lonely. Hence-forth they each day drove their flocks to the same place; they didnot speak much, but they felt comforted.
One evening when the full moon was shining in the sky, and thesheep were aheady at rest, the shepherd pulled the flute out of hispocket, and played on it a beautiful but sorrowful air. When he hadfinished he saw that the shepherdess was weeping bitterly. "Whyare thou weeping?" he asked. "Alas," answered she, "thus shone thefull moon when I played this air on the flute for the last time, andthe head of my beloved rose out of the water." He looked at her,and it seemed as if a veil fell from his eyes, and he recognized hisdear wife, and when she looked at him, and the moon shone in hisface she knew him also. They embraced and kissed each other, andno one need ask if they were happy.
The Raven
Once there was a Queen who had a little daughter who was still soyoimg that she could not walk. One day the child was naughty. The
mother might say what she liked, but the child would not be quiet.Then the Queen became impatient, and as the ravens were flyingabout the palace, she opened the window and said, "I wish youwere a raven and would fly away, and then I should have somerest." Scarcely had she spoken the words, before the child waschanged into a raven, and flew from her arms out of the window. Itflew into a dark forest, and stayed in it a long time, and the parentsheard nothing of their child.
One day a man was on his way through this forest and heard theraven crying, and followed the voice, and when he came nearer, thebird said, "I am a King's daughter by birth, and am bewitched, butthou canst set me free." "What am I to do?" asked he. She said,"Go further into the forest, and thou wilt find a house, wherein sitsan aged woman, who will offer thee meat and drink, but thou mustaccept nothing; for if thou eatest or drinkest anything, thou wilt fallinto a sleep, and then thou wilt not be able to dehver me. In thegarden behind the house there is a great heap of tan, and on thisthou shalt stand and wait for me. For three days I will come everyafternoon at two o'clock in a carriage. On the first day four whitehorses will be harnessed to it, then four chestnut horses, and lastlyfour black ones; but if thou art not awake, but sleeping, I shall notbe set free." The man promised to do everything that she desired,but the raven said, "Alasl I know already that thou wilt not dehverme; thou wilt accept something from the woman."
The man once more promised that he would certainly not touchanything either to eat or to drink. But when he entered the housethe old woman came to him and said, "Poor man, how faint youare; come and refresh yourself; eat and drink." "No," said the man,"1 will not eat or drink." She, however, let him have no peace, andsaid, "If you will not eat, take one drink out of the glass; one isnothing." Then he let himself be persuaded, and drank. Shortly be-fore two o'clock in the afternoon he went into the garden to the tanheap to wait for the raven. As he was standing there, his wearinessaU at once became so great that he could not struggle against it,and lay down for a short time, but he was determined not to go tosleep. Hardly, however, had he lain down, than his eyes closed oftheir own accord, and he fell asleep and slept so soundly that noth-ing in the world could have aroused him.
At two o'clock the raven came driving up with four white horses,but she was aheady in deep grief and said, "I know he is asleep."And when she came into the garden, he was indeed lying there
asleep on the heap of tan. She alighted from the carriage, went tohim, shook him, and called him, but he did not awake.
Next day about noon, the old woman came again and broughthim food and drink, but he would not take any of it. But she lethim have no rest and persuaded him until at length he again tookone drink out of the glass. Towards two o'clock he went into thegarden to the tan heap to wait for the raven, but all at once feltsuch a great weariness that his hmbs would no longer support him.He could not stand upright, and was forced to lie down, and fellinto a heavy sleep. When the raven drove up with four brownhorses, she was aheady full of grief, and said, "I know he isasleep." She went to him, but there he lay sleeping, and there wasno wakening him.
Next day the old woman asked what was the meaning of this? Hewas neither eating nor drinking anything; did he want to die? Hereplied, "I am not allowed to eat or drink, and will not do so." She,however, set a dish with meat, and a glass with wine before him,and when he smelt it he could not resist, and swallowed a deepdraught. When the time came, he went out into the garden to theheap of tan, and waited for the King's daughter; but he became stiUmore weary than on the day before, and lay down and slept assoundly as if he had been a stone.
At two o'clock the raven came with four black horses, and thecoachman and everything else was black. She was aheady in thedeepest grief, and said, "1 know that he is asleep and cannotdehver me." When she came to him, there he was lying fast asleep.She shook him and called him, but she could not waken him. Thenshe laid a loaf beside him, and after that a piece of meat, andthirdly a bottle of wine, and he might consiune as much of aU ofthem as he Hked, but they would never grow less. After this shetook a gold ring from her finger, and put it on his, and her namewas graven on it. Lastly, she laid a letter beside him wherein waswritten what she had given him, and that none of the things wouldever grow less; and in it was also written, "1 see right weU thatthou wilt never be able to deliver me here, but if thou art stillwilling to dehver me, come to the golden castle of Stromberg; it liesin thy power, of that I am certain." And when she had given him allthese things, she seated herself in her carriage, and drove to thegolden castle of Stromberg.
When the man awoke and saw that he had slept, he was sad atheart, and said, "She has certainly driven by, and I have not set herfree." Then he perceived the things which were lying beside him,
The Raven 477
and read the letter wherein was written how everything had hap-pened. So he arose and went away, intending to go to the goldencastle of Stromberg, but he did not know where it was. After hehad walked about the world for a long time, he entered into a darkforest, and walked for fourteen days without stopping, and stillcould not find his way out. Then it was once more evening, and hewas so tired that he lay down in a thicket and fell asleep.
Next day he went onwards, and in the evening, as he was againabout to lie down beneath some bushes, he heard such a howlingand crying that he could not go to sleep. And when the time camewhen people light the candles, he saw one gUmmering, and aroseand went towards it. Then he came to a house which seemed verysmall, for in front of it a great giant was standing. He thought tohimself, "If I go in, and the giant sees me, it will very likely costme my hfe."
At length he ventured it and went in. When the giant saw him,he said, *Tt is well that thou comest, for it is long since I haveeaten; I will at once eat thee for my supper." "I'd rather thouwouldst leave that alone," said the man, "I do not Hke to be eaten;but if thou hast any desire to eat, I have quite enough here to sat-isfy thee." "If that be true," said the giant, "thou mayst be easy, Iwas only going to devour thee because I had nothing else." Thenthey went, and sat down to the table, and the man took out thebread, wine, and meat which would never come to an end. "Thispleases me well," said the giant, and ate to his heart's content. Thenthe man said to him, "Canst thou tell me where the golden castle ofStromberg is?" The giant said, "I will look in my map; all thetowns, and villages, and houses are to be found in it." He broughtout the map which he had in the room and looked for the castle,but it was not to be found in it. 'It's no matterl" said he, "I havesome still larger maps in my cupboard upstairs, and we will look inthem." But there, too, it was in vain.
The man now wanted to go onwards, but the giant begged himto wait a few days longer until his brother, who had gone out tobring some provisions, came home. When the brother came homethey inquired about the golden castle of Stromberg. He replied,"When I have eaten and have had enough, I will look in the map."Then he went with them up to his chamber, and they searched inhis map, but could not find it. Then he brought out still older maps,and they never rested until they found the golden castle of Strom-berg, but it was many thousand miles away. "How am I to getthere?" asked the man. The giant said, "I have two hours' time.
during which I will carry thee into the neighborhood, but after thatI must be at home to suckle the child that we have."
So the giant carried the man to about a hundred leagues from thecastle, and said, "Thou canst very well walk the rest of the wayalone." And he turned back, but the man went onwards day andnight, imtil at length he came to the golden castle of Stromberg. Itstood on a glass-mountain, and the bewitched maiden drove in hercarriage round the castle, and then went inside it. He rejoicedwhen he saw her and wanted to cHmb up to her, but when hebegan to do so he always slipped down the glass again. And whenhe saw that he could not reach her, he was filled with trouble, andsaid to himself, "I will stay down here below, and wait for her."
So he built himself a hut and stayed in it for a whole year, andevery day saw the King's daughter driving about above, but nevercould go to her. Then one day he saw from his hut three robberswho were beating each other, and cried to them, "God be with ye!"They stopped when they heard the cry, but as they saw no one,they once more began to beat each other, and that too most dan-gerously. So he again cried, "God be with ye." Again they stopped,looked round about, but as they saw no one they went on beatingeach other. Then he cried for the third time, "God be with ye," andthought, "I must see what these three are about," and went thitherand asked why they were beating each other so furiously. One ofthem said that he had found a stick, and that when he struck a doorwith it, that door would spring open. The next said that he hadfound a mantle, and that whenever he put it on, he was invisible,but the third said he had foimd a horse on which a man could rideeverywhere, even up the glass-mountain. And now they did notknow whether they ought to have these things in conmion, orwhether they ought to divide them.
Then the man said, '1 wiU give you something in exchange forthese three things. Money indeed have I not, but I have otherthings of more value; but first I must try yours to see if you havetold the truth." They put him on the horse, threw the mantle roundhim, and gave him the stick in his hand, and when he had all thesethings they were no longer able to see him. So he gave them somevigorous blows and cried, "Now, vagabonds, you have got whatyou deserve; are you satisfied?"
He rode up the glass-mountain; but when he came in front of thecastle at the top, it was shut. Then he struck the door with his stick,and it sprang open immediately. He went in and ascended thestairs until he came to the hall where the maiden was sitting with a
The Crystal Ball 479
golden cup full of wine before her. She, however, could not see himbecause he had the mantle on. And when he came up to her, hedrew from his finger the ring which she had given him, and threwit into the cup so that it rang. Then she cried, "That is my ring, sothe man who is to deliver me must be here." They searched thewhole castle and did not find him, but he had gone out, and hadseated himself on the horse and thrown o£F the mantle. When theycame to the door, she saw him and cried aloud in her delight. Thenhe ahghted and took the King's daughter in his arms, but she kissedhim and said, "Now hast thou set me free, and tomorrow we willcelebrate our wedding."
The Crystal Ball
There was once an enchantress who had three sons who loved eachother as brothers, but the old woman did not trust them, andthought they wanted to steal her power from her. So she changedthe eldest into an eagle, which was forced to dwell in the rockymountains, and was often seen sweeping in great circles in the sky.The second, she changed into a whale, which lived in the deep sea,and all that was seen of it was that it sometimes spouted up a greatjet of water in the air. Each of them only bore his human form fortwo hours daily. The third son, who was afraid she might changehim into a raging wild beast—a bear perhaps, or a wolf—went se-cretly away.
He had heard that a King's daughter who was bewitched, wasimprisoned in the Castle of the Golden Sun, and was waiting fordeliverance. Those, however, who had tried to free her risked theirlives; three-and-twenty youths had already died a miserable death,and now only one other might make the attempt, after which nomore must come. And as his heart was without fear, he caught atthe idea of seeking out the Castle of the Golden Sun. He had al-ready traveled about for a long time without being able to find it,when he came by chance into a great forest, and did not know theway out of it.
All at once he saw in the distance two giants, who made a sign tohim with their hands, and when he came to them they said, "Weare quarrehng about a cap, and which of us it is to belong to, and
as we are equally strong, neither of us can get tiie better of theother. The small men are cleverer than we are, so we will leave thedecision to thee." "How can you dispute about an old cap?" saidthe youth. "Thou dost not know what properties it has! It is awishing-cap; whosoever puts it on, can wish himself away whereverhe likes, and in an instant he will be there." "Give me the cap," saidthe youth, "I will go a short distance off, and when I call you, youmust run a race, and the cap shall belong to the one who gets firstto me." He put it on and went away, and thought of the King'sdaughter, forgot the giants, and walked continually onward. Atlength he sighed from the very bottom of his heart, and cried, "Ah,if I were but at the Castle of the Golden Sun," and hardly had thewords passed his lips than he was standing on a high mountain be-fore the gate of the castle.
He entered and went through all the rooms, until in the last hefound the King's daughter. But how shocked he was when he sawher. She had an ashen-grey face full of wrinkles, blear eyes, and redhair. "Art thou the King's daughter, whose beauty the whole worldpraises?" cried he. "Ah," she answered, "this is not my form;hmnan eyes can only see me in this state of ugliness, but that thoumayst know what I am like, look in the mirror—it does not let itselfbe misled—it will show thee my image as it is in truth." She gavehim the mirror in his hand, and he saw therein the likeness of themost beautiful maiden on earth, and saw, too, how the tears wererolling down her cheeks with grief.
Then said he, "How canst thou be set free? I fear no danger."She said, "He who gets the crystal ball, and holds it before theenchanter, will destroy his power with it, and I shall resume mytrue shape. Ah," she added, "so many have already gone to meetdeath for this, and thou art so young; I grieve that thou shouldstencoimter such great danger." "Nothing can keep me from doingit," said he, "but tell me what I must do." "Thou shalt know every-thing," said the King's daughter; "when thou descendest the moun-tain on which the castle stands, a wild bull will stand below by aspring, and thou must fight with it, and if thou hast the luck to killit, a fiery bird will spring out of it, which bears in its body a burn-ing egg, and in the egg the crystal ball lies like a yoDc. The bird willnot, however, let the egg fall until forced to do so, and if it fall onthe ground, it will flame up and bum everything that is near, andmelt even ice itself, and with it the crystal ball, and then all thytrouble will have been in vain."
The youth went down to the spring, where the bull snorted and
bellowed at him. After a long struggle he plunged his sword in theanimal's body, and it fell down. Instantly a fiery bird arose from it,and was about to fly away, but the yoimg man's brother, the eagle,who was passing between the clouds, swooped down, hunted itaway to the sea, and struck it with his beak imtil, in its extremity, itlet the egg fall. The egg did not, however, fall into the sea, but on afisherman's hut which stood on the shore and the hut began at onceto smoke and was about to break out in flames.
Then arose in the sea waves as high as a house, they streamedover the hut, and subdued the fire. The other brother, the whale,had come swimming to them, and had driven the water up on high.When the fire was extinguished, the youth sought for the egg andhappily found it; it was not yet melted, but the shell was broken bybeing so suddenly cooled with the water, and he could take out thecrystal ball unhurt.
When the youth went to the enchanter and held it before him,the latter said, "My power is destroyed, and from this time forththou art the King of the Castle of the Golden Sun. With this canstthou likewise give back to thy brothers their human form," Thenthe youth hastened to the King's daughter, and when he enteredthe room, she was standing there in the fuU splendor of her beauty,and joyfully they exchanged rings with each other.
The Donkey
Once ui>on a time there lived a King and a Queen, who were rich,and had everything they wanted except one thing: they had nochildren. The Queen lamented over this day and night, and said, "Iam like a field on which nothing grows." At last God gave her herwish, but when the child came into the world, it did not look like ahuman child, but was a httle donkey. When the mother saw that,her lamentations and outcries began in real earnest; she said shewould far rather have had no child at all than have a donkey, andthat they were to throw it into the water that the fishes might de-vour it. But the King said, *No, since God has sent him he shall bemy son and heir, and after my death sit on the royal throne, andwear the kingly crown."
The donkey, therefore, was brought up and grew bigger, and his
ears grew up beautifully high and straight. He was, however, of amerry disposition, jumped about, played and had especial pleasurein music, so that he went to a celebrated musician and said, "Teachme thine art, that I may play the lute as well as thou dost." "Ah,dear little master," answered the musician, "that would come veryhard to you, your fingers are certainly not suited to it, and are fartoo big. I am afraid the strings would not last."
No excuses were of any use. The donkey was determined to playthe lute; he was persevering and industrious, and at last learnt todo it as well as the master himself. The young lordHng once wentout walking full of thought and came to a well; he looked into itand in the mirror-clear water saw his donkey's form. He was sodistressed about it, that he went out into the wide world and onlytook with him one faithful companion. They traveled up and down,and at last they came into a kingdom where an old King reignedwho had an only but wonderfully beautiful daughter. The donkeysaid, "Here we will stay," knocked at the gate, and cried, "A guestis without—open, that he may enter." As, however, the gate was notopened, he sat down, took his lute and played it in the most de-lightful manner with his two fore-feet. Then the door-keeperopened his eyes most wonderfully wide, and ran to the King andsaid, "Outside by the gate sits a young donkey which plays the luteas well as an experienced masterl" "Then let the musician come tome," said the King.
When, however, a donkey came in, every one began to laugh atthe lute-player. And now the donkey was to sit down and eat withthe servants. He, however, was unwilMng, and said, "I am no com-mon stable-ass, I am a noble one." Then they said, 'Tf that is whatthou art, seat thyself with the men of war." "No," said he, "1 will sitby the King." The King smiled, and said good-humoredly, "Yes, itshall be as thou wilt, little ass, come here to me." Then he asked,"Little ass, how does my daughter please thee?" The donkey turnedhis head towards her, looked at her, nodded and said, "I like herabove measure, I have never yet seen any one so beautiful as sheis." "Well, then, thou shalt sit next her too," said the King. "That isexactly what I wish," said the donkey, and he placed himself by herside, ate and drank, and knew how to behave himself daintily andcleanly.
When the noble beast had stayed a long time at the King's court,he thought, "What good does all this do me, I shall still have to gohome again," let his head hang sadly, and went to the King andasked for his dismissal. But the King had grown fond of him, and
The Donkey 483
said, 'Xittle ass, what ails thee? Thou lookest as sour as a jug ofvinegar; I will give thee what thou wantest. Dost thou want gold?"'T^o," said the donkey, and shook his head. "Dost thou want jewelsand rich dress?" "No." "Dost thou wish for half my kingdom?" "In-deed, no." Then said the King, "If I did but know what wouldmake thee content. Wilt thou have my pretty daughter to wife?""Ah, yes," said the ass, "I should indeed like her," and all at oncehe became quite merry and full of happiness, for that was exactlywhat he was wishing for.
So a great and splendid wedding was held. In the evening, whenthe bride and bridegroom were led into their bed-room, the Kingwanted to know if the ass would behave well, and ordered a ser-vant to hide himself there. When they were both within, the bride-groom bolted the door, looked aroimd, and as he believed that theywere quite alone, he suddenly threw off his ass's skin, and stoodthere in the form of a handsome royal youth. "Now," said he, "thouseest who I am, and seest also that I am not unworthy of thee."Then the bride was glad, and kissed him, and loved him dearly.
When morning came, he jumped up, put his animal's skin onagain, and no one could have guessed what kind of a form was hid-den beneath it. Soon came the old King, "Ah," cried he, "is the lit-tle ass merry? But surely thou art sad," said he to his daughter,"that thou hast not got a proper man for thy husband?" "Oh, no,dear father, I love him as well as if he were the handsomest in theworld, and I wiU keep him as long as I hve." The King was sur-prised, but the servant who had concealed himself came and re-vealed everything to him. The King said, "That cannot be true.""Then watch yourself the next night, and you will see it with yourown eyes; and hark you, lord King, if you were to take his skinaway and throw it in the fire, he would be forced to show himselfin his true shape." "Thy advice is good," said the King, and at nightwhen they were asleep, he stole in, and when he got to the bed hesaw by the light of the moon a noble-looking youth lying there, andthe sldn lay stretched on the ground.
So he took it away, and had a great fire lighted outside, andthrew the skin into it, and remained by it himself until it was allburnt to ashes. As, however, he was anxious to know how therobbed man would behave himself, he stayed awake the wholenight and watched. When the youth had slept his sleep out, he gotup by the first light of morning, and wanted to put on the ass's sldn,but it was not to be found. On this he was alarmed, and, full of griefand anxiety, said, "Now I shall have to contrive to escape." But
when he went out, there stood the King, who said, "My son,whither away in such haste? what hast thou in thy mind? Stay here,thou art such a handsome man, thou shalt not go away from me. Iwill now give thee half my kingdom, and after my death thou shalthave the whole of it." "Then I hope that what begins so well mayend well, and I will stay v^dth you," said the youth.
And the old man gave him half the kingdom, and in a year'stime, when he died, the youth had the whole, and after the deathof his father he had another kingdom as well, and lived in allmagnificence.
Hans the Hedgehog
There once was a countryman who had money and land in plenty,but no matter how rich he was, one thing was still wanting to com-plete his happiness—he had no children. Often when he went intothe town with the other peasants they mocked him and asked whyhe had no children. At last he became angry, and when he gothome he said, "I will have a child, even if it be a hedgehog." Thenhis wife had a child, that was a hedgehog in the upper part of hisbody, and a boy in the lower, and when she saw the child, she wasterrified, and said, "See, there thou hast brought ill-luck on us."Then said the man, "What can be done now? The boy must bechristened, but we shall not be able to get a godfather for him."The woman said, "And we cannot call him anything else but Hansthe Hedgehog."
When he was christened, the parson said, "He cannot go into anyordinary bed because of his spikes." So a Httle straw was put be-hind the stove, and Hans the Hedgehog was laid on it. His mothercould not suckle him, for he would have pricked her with his quills.So he lay there behind the stove for eight years, and his father wastired of him and thought, "If he would but die!" He did not die,however, but remained lying there.
Now it happened that there was a fair in the town, and the peas-ant was about to go to it, and asked his wife what he should bringback v^th him for her. "A little meat and a couple of white rollswhich are wanted for the house," said she. Then he asked the ser-vant, and she wanted a pair of slippers and some stockings with
clocks. At last he said also, "And what wilt thou have, Hans myHedgehog?" "Dear father," he said, "do bring me bagpipes."
When, therefore, the father came home again, he gave his wifewhat he had bought for her—meat and white rolls, and then hegave the maid the slippers, and the stockings with clocks; andlastly, he went behind the stove, and gave Hans the Hedgehog thebagpipes. And when Hans the Hedgehog had the bagpipes, he said,"Dear father, do go to the forge and get the cock shod, and then Iwill ride away, and never come back again." On this, the father wasdelighted to think that he was going to get rid of him, and had thecock shod for him, and when it was done, Hans the Hedgehog goton it, and rode away, but took swine and asses with him which heintended to keep in the forest.
When they got there he made the cock fly on to a high tree withhim, and there he sat for many a long year, and watched his assesand swine until the herd was quite large, and his father knew noth-ing about him. While he was sitting in the tree, however, he playedhis bagpipes, and made music which was very beautiful. Once aKing came traveling by who had lost his way and heard the music.He was astonished at it, and sent his servant forth to look all roundand see from whence this music came. He spied about, but sawnothing but a little animal sitting up aloft on the tree, which lookedlike a cock with a hedgehog on it which made this music. Then theKing told the servant he was to ask why he sat there, and if heknew the road which led to his kingdom.
So Hans the Hedgehog descended from the tree, and said hewould show the way if the King would write a bond and promisehim whatever he first met in the royal courtyard as soon as he ar-rived at home. Then the King thought, "I can easily do that, Hansthe Hedgehog understands nothing, and I can write what I like." Sothe King took pen and ink and wrote something, and when he haddone it, Hans the Hedgehog showed him the way, and he got safelyhome. But his daughter, when she saw him from afar, was so over-joyed that she ran to meet him, and kissed him. Then he remem-bered Hans the Hedgehog, and told her what had happened, andthat he had been forced to promise whatsoever first met him whenhe got home, to a verv strange animal which sat on a cock as if itwere a horse, and made beautiful music, but that instead of writingthat he should have what he wanted, he had written that he shouldnot have it. Thereupon the Princess was glad, and said he had donewell, for she never would have gone away with the Hedgehog.
Hans the Hedgehog, however, looked after his asses and pigs.
and was always merry and sat on the tree and played his bagpipes.
Now it came to pass that another King came journeying by withhis attendants and runners, and he also had lost his way, and didnot know how to get home again because the forest was so large.He likewise heard the beautiful music from a distance, and askedhis rimner what that could be, and told him to go and see. Then therunner went under the tree, and saw the cock sitting at the top ofit, and Hans the Hedgehog on the cock. The runner asked himwhat he was about up there. "1 am keeping my asses and my pigs;but what is your desire?" The messenger said that they had losttheir way, and could not get back into their own kingdom, andasked if he would not show them the way. Then Hans the Hedge-hog got down the tree with the cock, and told the aged King thathe would show him the way, if he would give him for his ownwhatsoever first met him in front of his royal palace. The King said,'Tfes," and wrote a promise to Hans the Hedgehog that he shouldhave this. That done, Hans rode on before him on the cock, andpointed out the way, and the King reached his kingdom again insafety.
When he got to the courtyard, there were great rejoicings. TheKing had an only daughter who was very beautiful; she ran to meethim, threw her arms round his neck, and was deHghted to have herold father back again. She asked him where in the world he hadbeen so long. So he told her how he had lost his way, and had verynearly not come back at all, but that as he was traveling through agreat forest, a creature, half hedgehog, half man, who was sittingastride a cock in a high tree, and making music, had shown him theway and helped him to get out; but that in return he had promisedhim whatsoever first met him in the royal coiutyard, and how thatwas she herself, which made him unhappy now. But on this shepromised that, for love of her father, she would wilKngly go withthis Hans if he came.
Hans the Hedgehog, however, took care of his pigs, and the pigsmultiplied until they became so many in number that the wholeforest was filled with them. Then Hans the Hedgehog resolved notto five in the forest any longer, and sent word to his father to haveevery sty in the village emptied, for he was coming with such agreat herd that aU might kill who wished to do so. When his fatherheard that he was troubled, for he thought Hans the Hedgehog haddied long ago. Hans the Hedgehog, however, seated himself on thecock, and drove the pigs before him into the village, and orderedthe slaughter to begin. Hal—but there was a killing and a chopping
Hans the Hedgehog 487
that might have been heard two miles off! After this Hans theHedgehog said, "Father, let me have the cock shod once more atthe forge, and then I will ride away and never come back as long asI hve." Then the father had the cock shod once more, and waspleased that Hans the Hedgehog would never return again.
Hans the Hedgehog rode away to the first kingdom. There theKing had commanded that whosoever came moimted on a cock andhad bagpipes with him should be shot at, cut down, or stabbed byevery one, so that he might not enter the palace. When, therefore,Hans the Hedgehog came riding thither, they all pressed forwardagainst him with their pikes, but he spurred the cock and it flew upover the gate in front of the King's window and lighted there, andHans cried that the King must give him what he had promised, orhe would take both his life and his daughters.
Then the King began to speak softly to his daughter and beg herto go away with Hans in order to save her own life and her father s.So she dressed herself in white, and her father gave her a carriagewith six horses and magnificent attendants together with gold andpossessions. She seated herself in the carriage, and placed Hans theHedgehog beside her with the cock and the bagpipes, and then theytook leave and drove away, and the King thought he should neversee her again. He was, however, deceived in his expectation, forwhen they were at a short distance from the town, Hans the Hedge-hog took her pretty clothes off, and pierced her with his hedgehog'ssldn until she bled all over. 'That is the reward of your falseness,"said he, "go your way, I will not have youl" and on that he chasedher home again, and she was disgraced for the rest of her life.
Hans the Hedgehog, however, rode on further on the cock, withhis bagpipes, to the dominions of the second King to whom he hadshown the way. This one, however, had arranged that if any oneresembling Hans the Hedgehog should come, they were to presentarms, give him safe conduct, cry long life to him, and lead him tothe royal palace.
But when the King's daughter saw him she was terrified, for helooked quite too strange. She remembered, however, that she couldnot change her mind, for she had given her promise to her father.So Hans the Hedgehog was welcomed by her, and married to her,and had to go with her to the royal table, and she seated herself byhis side, and they ate and drank. When the evening came and theywanted to go to sleep, she was afraid of his quills, but he told hershe was not to fear, for no harm would befall her, and he told theold King that he was to appoint four men to watch by the door of
the chamber, and Mght a great fire, and when he entered the roomand was about to get into bed, he would creep out of his hedge-hog's skin and leave it lying there by the bed-side, and that the menwere to run nimbly to it, throw it in the fire, and stay by it until itwas consumed.
When the clock struck eleven, he went into the chamber,stripped oflE the hedgehog's skin, and left it lying by the bed. Thencame the men and fetched it swoftly, and threw it in the fire; andwhen the fire had consumed it, he was deHvered, and lay there inbed in hiunan form, but he was coal-black as if he had been burnt.The King sent for his physician who washed him with precioussalves, and anointed him, and he became white, and was a hand-some young man. When the King's daughter saw that she was glad,and the next morning they arose joyfully, ate and drank, and thenthe marriage was properly solemnized, and Hans the Hedgehog re-ceived the kingdom from the aged King.
When several years had passed he went v^dth his wiie to his fa-ther, and said that he was his son. The father, however, declared hehad no son—he had never had but one, and he had been born Hke ahedgehog with, spikes, and had gone forth into the world. ThenHans made himself known, and the old father rejoiced and wentwith him to his kingdom.
The King of the Golden Mountain
A CERTAIN MERCHANT had two children, a boy and a girl; they wereboth yoimg, too young to walk. And two richly-laden ships of hissailed forth to sea with all his property on board, and just as he wasexpecting to vidn much money by them, news came that they hadgone to the bottom, and now instead of being a rich man he was apoor one, and had nothing left but one field outside the town.
In order to drive his misfortune a httle out of his thoughts, hewent out to this field, and as he was walking backwards and for-wards in it, a little black mannildn stood suddenly by his side, andasked why he was so sad, and what he was taking so much to heart.
Then said the merchant, "If thou couldst help me I would will-ingly tell thee." "Who knows?" replied the black dwarf. "Perhaps Ican help thee." Then the merchant told him that all he possessed
had gone to the bottom of the sea, and that he had nothing left butthis field. "Do not trouble thyself," said the dwarf. "If thou wiltpromise to give me the first thing that rubs itself against thy legwhen thou art at home again, and to bring it here to this place intwelve years' time, thou shalt have as much money as thou wilt."The merchant thought, "What can that be but my dog?" and didnot remember his little boy, so he said yes, gave the black man awritten and sealed promise, and went home.
When he reached home, his fittle boy was so delighted that heheld by a bench, tottered up to him and seized him fast by the legs.The father was shocked, for he remembered his promise, and nowknew what he had pledged himself to do; as, however, he stillfound no money in his chest, he thought the dwarf had only beenjesting. A month afterwards he went up to the garret, intending togather together some old tin and to sell it, and saw a great heap ofmoney lying. Then he was happy again, made pm-chases, became agreater merchant than before, and felt that this world was well gov-erned.
In the meantime the boy grew tall, and at the same time sharpand clever. But the nearer the twelfth year approached the moreanxious grew the merchant, so that his distress might be seen in hisface. One day his son asked what ailed him, but the father wouldnot say. The boy, however, persisted so long, that at last he toldhim that without being aware of what he was doing, he had prom-ised him to a black dwarf, and had received much money for doingso. He said likewise that he had set his hand and seal to this, andthat now when twelve years had gone by he would have to givehim up.
Then said the son, "Oh, father, do not be uneasy, all will go well.The black man has no power over me." The son had himself blessedby the priest, and when the time came, father and son went to-gether to the field, and the son made a circle and placed himself in-side it with his father. Then came the black dwarf and said to theold man, "Hast thou brought with thee that which thou hast prom-ised me?" He was silent, but the son asked, "What dost thou wanthere?" Then said the black dwarf, *T have to speak with thy father,and not with thee." The son replied, "Thou hast betrayed andmisled my father; give back the writing." "No," said the blackdwarf, "I will not give up my rights."
They spoke tosether for a lone time after this, but at last theyagreed that the son, as he did not belong to the enemy of mankind,nor yet to his father, should seat himself in a smaU boat, which
should lie on water which was flowing away from them, and thatthe father should push it o£E with his own foot, and then the sonshould remain given up to the water. So he took leave of his father,placed himself in a little boat, and the father had to push it off withhis own foot. The boat capsized so that the keel was uppermost,and the father beheved his son was lost, and went home andmourned for him.
The boat, however, did not sink, but floated quietly away, andthe boy sat safely inside it, and it floated thus for a long time, untilat last it stopped by an unknown shore. .Then he landed and saw abeautiful castle before him, and set out to go to it.
When he entered it, however, he found that it was bewitched.He went through every room, but all were empty imtil he reachedthe last, where a snake lay coiled in a ring. The snake, however,was an enchanted maiden, who rejoiced to see him, and said, "Hastthou come, oh, my deliverer? I have already waited twelve yearsfor thee; this kingdom is bewitched, and thou must set it free.""How can I do that?" he inquired. "Tonight come twelve blackmen, covered with chains, who will ask what thou art doing here;keep silence, however; give them no answer, and let them do whatthey wiU with thee; they will torment thee, beat thee, stab thee; leteverything pass, only do not speak; at twelve o'clock, they must goaway again.
"On the second night twelve others will come; on the third, foin:-and-twenty, who will cut off thy head, but at twelve o'clock theirpower will be over, and then if thou hast endured aU, and hast notspoken the sHghtest word, I shall be released. I will come to thee,and will have, in a bottle, some of the water of Hfe. I will rub theewith that, and then thou wilt come to life again, and be as healthyas before." Then said he, "I will gladly set thee free."
Everything happened just as she had said. The black men couldnot force a single word from him, and on the third night the snakebecame a beautiful princess who came with the water of life andbrought him back to Me again. So she threw herseff into his armsand kissed him, and there was joy and gladness in the whole castle.After this their marriage was celebrated, and he was King of theGolden Moimtain.
They lived very happily together, and the Queen bore a fine boy.Eight years had already gone by, when the King bethought him ofhis father; his heart was moved, and he wished to visit him. TheQueen, however, would not let him go away, and said, 'T know be-forehand that it will cause my unhappiness"; but he suffered her to
The King of the Golden Mountain 491
have no rest until she consented. At their parting she gave him awishing-ring, and said, "Take this ring and put it on thy finger, andthen thou wilt immediately be transported whithersoever thouwouldst be, only thou must promise me not to use it in wishing meaway from this place and with thy father." That he promised her,put the ring on his finger, and wished himself at home, just outsidethe town where his father lived.
Instantly he found himself there, and made for the town, butwhen he came to the gate, the sentries would not let him go in, be-cause he wore such strange and yet such rich and magnificentclothing. Then he went to a hill where a shepherd was watching hissheep, changed clothes with him, put on his old shepherd's-coat,and then entered the town without hindrance. When he came to hisfather, he made himself known to him, but he did not at all beHevethat the shepherd was his son, and said he certainly had had a son,but that he was dead long ago; however, as he saw he was a poor,needy shepherd, he would give him something to eat.
Then the shepherd said to his parents, "I am verily your son. Doyou know of no mark on my body by which you could recognizeme?" "Yes," said his mother, "our son had a raspberry mark underhis right arm." He shpped back his shirt, and they saw the rasp-berry under his right arm, and no longer doubted that he was theirson. Then he told them that he was King of the Golden Mountain,and a Ring's daughter was his wife, and that they had a fine son ofseven years old. Then said the father, "That is certainly not true; itis a fine kind of King who goes about in a ragged shepherd's-coat."At these words the son flew into a passion, and without thinking ofhis promise, turned his ring round, and wished both his wife andchild with him. They were there in a second, but the Queen wept,and reproached him, and said that he had broken his word, andhad brought misfortune upon her. He said, "I have done it thought-lessly, and not with evil intention," and tried to calm her, and shepretended to believe this; but she had mischief in her mind.
Then he led her out of the town into the field, and showed herthe stream where the little boat had been pushed off, and then hesaid, 'T am tired; sit down, I will sleep awhile on thy lap." And helaid his head on her lap, and fell asleep. When he was asleep, shefirst drew the ring from his finger, then she drew away the footwhich was under him, leaving only the slipper behind her, and shetook her child in her arms, and wished herself back in her ownkingdom.
When he awoke, there he lay quite deserted, and his wife and
child were gone, and so was the ring from his finger; the slipperonly was still there as a token. "Home to thy parents thou canst notreturn," thought he, "they would say that thou wast a wizard; thoumust be off, and walk on until thou arrivest in thine own kingdom."So he went away and came at length to a hill by which three giantswere standing, disputing with each other because they did notknow how to divide their father's property. When they saw himpassing by, they called to him and said Httle men had quick wits,and that he was to divide their inheritance for them.
The inheritance, however, consisted of a sword, which had thisproperty that if any one took it in his hand, and said, "All heads offbut mine," every head would lie on the ground; secondly, of a cloakwhich made any one who put it on invisible; thirdly, of a pair ofboots which could transport the wearer to any place he wished in amoment. He said, "Give me the three things that I may see if theyare still in good condition." They gave him the cloak, and when hehad put it on, he was invisible and changed into a fly. Then he re-sumed his ovm form and said, "The cloak is a good one, now giveme the sword." They said, "No, we will not give thee that; if thouwert to say, 'All heads off but mine,' all our heads would be off, andthou alone wouldst be left with thine." Nevertheless they gave it tohim with the condition that he was only to try it against a tree. Thishe did, and the sword cut in two the trunk of a tree as if it hadbeen a blade of straw. Then he wanted to have the boots likev^se,but they said, "No, we will not give them; if thou hadst them onthy feet and wert to wish thyself at the top of the hill, we should beleft dovm here with nothing." "Oh, no," said he, "I wdll not dothat." So they gave him the boots as well.
And now when he had got all these things, he thought of nothingbut his -wiie and his child, and said just as it were to himself, "Oh,if I were but on the Golden Mountain," and at the same moment hevanished from the sight of the giants, and thus their inheritancewas divided.
When he was near his palace, he heard sounds of joy, and fiddles,and flutes, and the people told him that his wife was celebratingher wedding wdth another. He fell into a rage, and said, "Falsewoman, she betrayed and deserted me while I was asleep!" So heput on his cloak, and unseen by all went into the palace. When heentered the dining-hall a great table was spread wdth deliciousfood, and the guests were eating and drinking, and laughing andjesting. She sat on a royal seat in the midst of them in splendid ap-parel, wdth a crown on her head. He placed himself behind her, and
no one saw him. When she put a piece of meat on a plate for her-self, he took it away and ate it, and when she poured out a glass ofwine for herself, he took it away and drank it. She was always help-ing herself to something, and yet she never got anything, for plateand glass disappeared immediately. Then dismayed and ashamed,she arose and went to her chamber and wept, but he followed herthere. She said, "Has the devil power over me, or did my deliverernever come?" Then he struck her in the face, and said, "Did thydeliverer never come? It is he who has thee in his power, thoutraitress. Have I deserved this from thee?" Then he made himselfvisible, went into the hall, and cried, "The wedding is at an end,the true King has returned."
The Kings, Princes and coundllors who were assembled there,ridiculed and mocked him, but he did not trouble to answer them,and said, "Will you go away, or not?" On this they tried to seizehim and pressed upon him, but he drew his sword and said, "Allheads oflF but mine," and all the heads rolled on the ground. And healone was master, once more King of the Golden Mountain.
The Golden Bird
In times gone by there was a King who had at the back of his cas-tle a beautiful pleasure-garden, in which stood a tree that boregolden apples. As the apples ripened they were counted, but onemorning one was missing. Then the King was angry, and he or-dered that watch should be kept about the tree every night. Nowthe King had three sons, and he sent the eldest to spend the wholenight in the garden: so he watched till midnight, and then he couldkeep off sleep no longer, and in the morning another apple wasmissing. The second son had to watch the following night; but itfared no better, for when twelve o'clock had struck he went tosleep, and in the morning another apple was missing. Now camethe tmn of the third son to watch, and he was ready to do so; butthe King had less trust in him, and believed he would acquit him-self still worse than his brothers, but in the end he consented to lethim try. So the young man lay down vmder the tree to watch, andresolved that sleep should not be master. When it struck twelvesomething came rushing through the air, and he saw in the moon-
light a bird flying towards him, whose feathers glittered like gold.The bird perched upon the tree, and had already pecked off anapple, when the young man let fly an arrow at it. The bird flewaway, but the arrow had struck its target, and one of its goldenfeathers fell to the ground. The young man picked it up, and tak-ing it next morning to the King, told him what had happened in thenight.
The King called his council together, and all declared that sucha feather was worth more than the whole kingdom. "Since thefeather is so valuable," said the King, "one is not enough for me; Imust and will have the whole bird."
So the eldest son set off, and relying on his own cleverness hethought he should soon find the golden bird. When he had gonesome distance he saw a fox sitting at the edge of a wood, and hepointed his gun at him.
The fox cried out, "Do not shoot me, and I will give you goodcounsel. You are on your way to find the golden bird, and this eve-ning you will come to a village, in which two taverns stand facingeach other. One will be brightly lighted up, and there will beplenty of merriment going on inside; do not mind about that, butgo into the other one, although it will look to you very uninviting."
"How can a silly beast give one any rational advice?" thought theKing's son, and let fly at the fox, but missed him, and he stretchedout his tail and ran quickly into the wood. Then the young manwent on his way, and towards evening he came to the village, andthere stood the two taverns; in one singing and dancing was goingon, the other looked quite dull and wretched. "I should be a fool,"said he, "to go into that dismal place, while there is anything sogood close by." So he went into the merry inn, and there lived inclover, quite forgetting the bird and his father, and all good counsel.
As time went on, and the eldest son never came home, the secondson set out to seek the golden bird. He met with the fox, just as theeldest did, and received good advice from him without attending toit. And when he came to the ^"^ taverns, his broJ^lier was cfon^^ngand calling to him at the window of one of them, out of whichcame sounds of merriment; so he could not resist, but went in andreveled to his heart's content.
And then, as time went on, the youngest son wished to go forth,and to try his luck, but his father would not consent. 'Tt would beuseless," said he; "he i<; much less likely to find the bird th^n bisbrothers, and if any misfortune were to happen to him he wouldnot know how to help himself; his wits are none of the best."
But at last, as there was no peace to be had, he let him go. Bythe side of the wood sat the fox, begged him to spare his life, andgave him good counsel. The young man was Idnd, and said, "Beeasy, little fox, I will do you no harm."
"You shall not repent of it," answered the fox, "and that you mayget there all the sooner, get up and sit on my tail."
And no sooner had he done so than the fox began to run, and oflFthey went over stock and stone, so that the wind whistled in theirhair. When they reached the village the young man got down, and,following the fox's advice, went into the mean-looldng tavern, with-out hesitating, and there he passed a quiet night.
The next morning, when he went out into the field, the fox, whowas sitting there already, said, "I will tell you further what youhave to do. Go straight on until you come to a castle, before whicha great band of soldiers lie, but do not trouble yourself about them,for they will be all asleep and snoring; pass through them and for-ward into the castle, and go through all the rooms, until you cometo one where there is a golden bird hanging in a wooden cage.Near at hand will stand, empty, a golden cage of state, but youmust beware of taking the bird out of his ugly cage and puttinghim into the fine one; if you do so you will come to harm."
After he had finished saying this the fox stretched out his tailagain, and the King's son sat him down upon it; then away theywent over stock and stone, so that the wind whistled through theirhair. And when the King's son reached the castle he found every-thing as the fox had said, and he at last entered the room where thegolden bird was hanging in a wooden cage, while a golden one wasstanding by; the three golden apples too were in the room. Then,thinking it foolish to let the beautiful bird stay in that mean andugly cage, he opened the door of it, took hold of it, and put it in thegolden one. In the same moment the bird uttered a piercing cry.The soldiers awaked, rushed in, seized the King's son and put himin prison. The next morning he was brought before a judge, and, ashe confessed everything, condemned to death. But the King said hewould spare his Hfe on one condition, that he should bring him thegolden horse whose paces were swifter than the wind, and thatthen he should also receive the golden bird as a reward.
So the King's son set off to find the golden horse, but he sighed,and was very sad, for how should it be accomplished? And then hesaw his old friend the fox sitting by the roadside.
"Now, you see," said the fox, "aU this has happened because youwould not listen to me. But be of good courage, I wiU bring you
through, and will tell you how you are to get the golden horse. Youmust go straight on until you come to a castle, where the horsestands in his stable; before the stable-door the grooms will be lying,but they will all be asleep and snoring; and you can go and quietlylead out the horse. But one thing you must mind—take care to putupon him the plain saddle of wood and leather, and not the goldenone, which will hang close by; otherwise it will go badly with you."
Then the fox stretched out his tail, and the King's son seated him-self upon it, and away they went over stock and stone until thewind whistled through their hair. And everything happened just asthe fox had said, and he came to the stall where the golden horsewas, and as he was about to put on him the plain saddle, he thoughtto himself, "Such a beautiful animal would be disgraced were I notto put on him the good saddle, which becomes him so well."
However, no sooner did the horse feel the golden saddle touchhim than he began to neigh. And the grooms all awoke, seized theKing's son and threw him into prison. The next morning he wasdelivered up to justice and condemned to death, but the Kingpromised him his life, and also to bestow upon him the goldenhorse, if he could convey thither the beautiful Princess of thegolden castle.
With a heavy heart the King's son set out, but by great good luckhe soon met with the faithful fox.
1 ought now to leave you to your own ill-luck," said the fox,"but I am sorry for you, and will once more help you in your need.Your way hes straight up to the golden castle. You will arrive therein the evening, and at night when all is quiet, the beautiful Princessgoes to the bath. And as she is entering the bathing-house, go up toher and give her a kiss, then she will follow you, and you can leadher away; but do not suffer her first to go and take leave of her par-ents, or it will go ill with you."
Then the fox stretched out his tail, the King's son seated himselfupon it, and away they went over stock and stone, so that the windwhistled through their hair. And when he came to the golden castleall was as the fox had said. He waited until midnight, when all layin deep sleep, and then as the beautiful Princess went to the bath-ing-house he went up to her and gave her a Idss, and she will-ingly promised to go with him, but she begged him earnestly, andwith tears, that he would let her first go and take leave of her par-ents. At first he denied her prayer, but as she wept so much themore, and fell at his feet, he gave in at last. And no sooner had thePrincess reached her father's bedside than he, and all who were in
the castle, waked up, and the young man was seized and throwninto prison.
The next morning the King said to him, "Thy Hfe is forfeit, butthou shalt find grace if thou canst level that mountain that lies be-fore my windows, and over which I am not able to see; and if thisis done within eight days thou shalt have my daughter for a re-ward."
So the King's son set to work, and dug and shoveled away with-out ceasing, but when, on the seventh day, he saw how little he hadaccomplished, and that all his work was as nothing, he fell intogreat sadness, and gave up aU hope. But on the evening of the sev-enth day the fox appeared, and said, "You do not deserve that Ishould help you, but go now and lie down to sleep, and I will dothe work for you."
The next morning when he awoke, and looked out of the win-dow, the mountain had disappeared. The young man hastened fullof joy to the King, and told him that his behest was fulfilled, and,whether the King Hked it or not, he had to keep to his word, and lethis daughter go.
So they both went away together, and it was not long before thefaithful fox came up to them.
"WeU., you have got the best first," said he; 'iDut you must knowthe golden horse belongs to the Princess of the golden castle."
"But how shall I get it?" asked the young man.
*T am going to teU you," answered the fox. "First, go to the Kingwho sent you to the golden castle, and take to him the beautifulPrincess. There wiU. then be very great rejoicing; he will wdUinglygive you the golden horse, and they v^dU lead him out to you; thenmount him without delay, and stretch out yoiu: hand to each ofthem to take leave, and last of all to the Princess, and when youhave her by the hand swing her up on the horse behind you, andoff you go! nobody will be able to overtake you, for that horse goesswifter than the wind."
And so it was all happily done, and the King's son carried off thebeautiful Princess on the golden horse. The fox did not stay behind,and he said to the young man, "Now, I will help you to get thegolden bird. When you draw near the castle where the bird is, letthe lady ahght, and I wiU take her under my care; then you mustride the golden horse into the castle-yard, and there will be greatrejoicing to see it, and they will bring out to you the golden bird.As soon as you have the cage in your hand, you must start off backto us, and then you shall carry the lady away."
498 Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales
The plan was successfully carried out; and when the yoxmg manreturned with the treasure, the fox said, "Now, what will you giveme for my reward?"
'What would you like?" asked the young man.
*When we are passing through the wood, I desire that youshould slay me, and cut my head and feet oJff."
"That were a strange sign of gratitude," said the King's son, "andI could not possibly do such a thing."
Then said the fox, "If you will not do it, I must leave you; butbefore I go let me give you some good advice. Beware of twothings: buy no gallows-meat, and sit at no brook-side." With thatthe fox ran off into the wood.
The young man thought to himself, "That is a wonderful animal,with most singular ideas. How should any one buy gallows-meat?and I am sure I have no particular fancy for sitting by a brook-side."
So he rode on with the beautiful Princess, and their way ledthem through the village where his two brothers had stayed. Therethey heard great outcry and noise, and when he asked what it wasall about, they told him that two people were going to be hanged.And when he drew near he saw that it was his two brothers, whohad done aU sorts of evil tricks, and had wasted all their goods. Heasked if there were no means of setting them free.
"Oh yesl if you will buy them off," answered the people; "butwhy should you spend your money in redeeming such worthlessmen?"
But he persisted in doing so; and when they were let go they allwent on their journey together.
After a while they came to the wood where the fox had met themfirst, and there it seemed so cool and sheltered from the sun's burn-ing rays that the two brothers said, "Let us rest here for a little bythe brook, and eat and drink to refresh ourselves."
The young man consented, quite forgetting the fox's warning,and he seated himself by the brook-side, suspecting no evil. But thetwo brothers thrust him backwards into the brook, seized the Prin-cess, the horse, and the bird, and went home to their father.
"Is not this the golden bird that we bring?" said they; "and wehave also the golden horse, and the Princess of the golden castle.*
Then there was great rejoicing in the royal castle, but the horsedid not feed, the bird did not chirp, and the Princess sat still andwept.
The youngest brother, however, had not perished. The brook
The Golden Bird 499
was, by good fortune, dry, and he fell on soft moss without receiv-ing any hurt, but he could not get up again. But in his need thefaithful fox was not lacking; he came up running, and reproachedhim for having forgotten his advice.
"But I cannot forsake you all the same," said he; "1 will help youback again into daylight." So he told the yoimg man to grasp histail, and hold on to it fast, and so he drew him up again.
"Still you are not quite out of all danger," said the fox; "yourbrothers, not being certain of your death, have surrounded thewood with sentinels, who are to put you to death if you let yourselfbe seen."
A poor beggar-man was sitting by the path, and the young manchanged clothes with him, and went in that disguise into the King'scourtyard. Nobody knew him, but the bird began to chirp, and thehorse began to feed, and the beautiful Princess ceased weeping.
"What does this mean?" said the King, astonished.
The Princess answered, "I cannot tell, except that I was sad, andnow I am joyful; it is to me as if my rightful bridegroom had re-turned,"
Then she told him all that happened, although the two brothershad threatened to put her to death if she let out anything. The Kingthen ordered every person who was in the castle to be brought be-fore him, and with the rest came the yoimg man like a beggar in hiswretched garments; but the Princess knew him, and greeted himwell, falling on his neck and kissing him. The wicked brothers wereseized and put to death, and the youngest brother was married tothe Princess, and succeeded to the inheritance of his father.
But what became of the poor fox? Long afterwards the King'sson was going through the wood, and the fox met him and said,"Now, you have everything that you can wish for, but my misfor-tunes never come to an end, and it lies in your power to free mefrom them." And once more he prayed the King's son earnestly toslay him, and cut off his head and feet. So, at last, he consented,and no sooner was it done than the fox was changed into a man,and was no other than the brother of the beautiful Princess; andthus he was set free from a spell that had boimd him for a long,long time.
And now, indeed, there lacked nothing to their happiness as longas they lived.
Strong Hans
There were once a man and a woman who had an only child, andlived quite alone in a soHtary valley. It came to pass that the motheronce went into the wood to gather branches of fir, and took withher little Hans, who was just two years old. As it was spring-time,and the child took pleasure in the many-colored flowers, she wentstill further onwards with him into the forest. Suddenly two robberssprang out of the thicket, seized the mother and child, and carriedthem far away into the black forest, where no one ever came fromone year's end to another. The poor woman urgently begged therobbers to set her and her child free, but their hearts were made ofstone, they would not listen to her prayers and entreaties, and droveher on farther by force.
After they had worked their way through bushes and briars forabout two miles, they came to a rock where there was a door, atwhich the robbers knocked and it opened at once. They had to gothrough a long dark passage, and at last came into a great cavern,which was lighted by a fire which burnt on the hearth. On the wallhung swords, sabers, and other deadly weapons which gleamed inthe light, and in the midst stood a black table at which four otherrobbers were sitting gambling, and the captain sat at the head of it.As soon as he saw the woman he came and spoke to her, and toldher to be at ease and have no fear, they would do nothing to hurther, but she must look after the housekeeping, and if she kept ev-erything in order, she should not fare ill with them. Thereupon theygave her something to eat, and showed her a bed where she mightsleep with her child.
The woman stayed many years with the robbers, and Hans grewtall and strong. His mother told him stories, and taught him to readan old book of tales about knights which she found in the cave.When Hans was nine years old, he made himself a strong club outof a branch of fir, hid it behind the bed, and then went to hismother and said, "Dear mother, pray tell me who is my father; Imust and will know." His mother was silent and would not tell him,that he might not become home-sick; moreover she knew that thegodless robbers would not let him go away, but it almost broke herheart that Hans should not go to his father. In the night, when the
robbers came home from their robbing expedition, Hans broughtout his club, stood before the captain, and said, "1 now wish toknow who is my father, and if thou dost not at once tell me I willstrike thee down." Then the captain laughed, and gave Hans such abox on the ear that he rolled under the table. Hans got up again,held his tongue, and thought, "I will wait another year and then tryagain, perhaps I shaU do better then." When the year was over, hebrought out his club again, rubbed the dust off it, looked at it well,and said, "It is a stout strong club."
At night the robbers came home, drank one jug of wine after an-other, and their heads began to be heavy. Then Hans brought outhis club, placed himself before the captain, and asked him who washis father. But the captain again gave him such a vigorous box onthe ear that Hans rolled under the table, but it was not long beforehe was up again, and beat the captain and the robbers so with hisclub, that they could no longer move either their arms or their legs.His mother stood in a comer full of admiration of his bravery andstrength. When Hans had done his work, he went to his mother,and said, "Now I have shown myself to be in earnest, but now Imust also know who is my father." "Dear Hans," answered themother, "come, we will go and seek him until we find him."
She took from the captain the key to the entrance-door, and Hansfetched a great meal-sack and packed into it gold and silver, andwhatsoever else he could find that was beautiful, until it was full,and then he took it on his back. They left the cave, but how Hansdid open his eyes when he came out of the darkness into daylight,and saw the green forest, and the flowers, and the birds, and themorning sun in the sky. He stood there and wondered at everythingjust as if he had not been very wise. His mother looked for the wayhome, and when they had walked for a couple of hours, they gotsafely into their lonely valley and to their little house.
The father was sitting in the doorway. He wept for joy when herecognized his wife and heard that Hans was his son, for he hadlong regarded them both as dead. But Hans, although he was nottwelve years old, was a head taller than his father. They went intothe Httle room together, but Hans had scarcely put his sack on thebench by the stove, than the whole house began to crack—thebench broke down and then the floor, and the heavy sack fellthrough into the cellar. "God save us I" cried the father, "what'sthat? Now you have broken our little house to pieces!" *T)on't growany gray hairs about that, dear father," answered Hans; "there, inthat sack, is more than is wanting for a new house." The father and
Hans at once began to build a new house; to buy cattle and land,and to keep a farm. Hans ploughed the fields, and when he fol-lowed the plough and pushed it into the ground, the bullocks hadscarcely any need to draw.
Next spring Hans said, "Keep all the money and get a walking-stick that weighs a hundred-weight made for me that I may go a-traveling." When the wished-for stick was ready, he left his father shouse, went forth, and came to a deep, dark forest. There he heardsomething cnmching and crackling, looked around, and saw a firtree which was wound round like a rope from the bottom to thetop, and when he looked upwards he saw a great fellow who hadlaid hold of the tree and was twisting it like a willow-wand."Hollol" cried Hans, ''What are you doing up there?" The fellowreplied, "I got some faggots together yesterday and am twisting arope for them." "That is what I hke," thought Hans, "he has somestrength," and he called to him, "Leave that alone, and come withme." The feUow came down, and he was taller by a whole headthan Hans, and Hans was not little. "Your name is now Fir-twister,"said Hans to him.
Thereupon they went further and heard something knocking andhammering with such force that the ground shook at every stroke.Shortly afterwards they came to a mighty rock, before which agiant was standing and striking great pieces of it away with his fist.When Hans asked what he was about, he answered, "At night,when I want to sleep, bears, wolves, and other vermin of that kindcome, which sniff and snu£Be about me and won't let me rest; so Iwant to build myself a house and lay myself inside it, so that I mayhave some peace." "Oh, indeed," thought Hans, "I can make use ofthis one also"; and said to him, "Leave your house-building alone,and go with me; you shall be called Rock-spHtter." The man con-sented, and they all three roamed through the forest, and whereverthey went the wild beasts were terrified, and ran away from them.
In the evening they came to an old deserted castle, went up intoit, and laid themselves down in the hall to sleep. The next morningHans went into the garden. It had run quite wild, and was full ofthorns and bushes. And as he was thus waUdng round about, a wildboar rushed at him; he, however, gave it such a blow with his clubthat it fell directly. He took it on his shoulders and carried it in,and they put it on a spit, roasted it, and enjoyed themselves. Thenthey arranged that each day, in turn, they should go out hunting,and one should stay at home, and cook nine pounds of meat for
Strong Hans 503
each of them. Fir-twister stayed at home the first, and Hans andRock-splitter went out hunting.
When Fir-twister was busy cooking, a little shriveled-up oldmannikin came to him in the castle, and asked for some meat. "BeoflF, sly hypocrite," he answered, "you need no meat." But how as-tonished Fir-twister was when the little insignificant dwarf sprangup at him, and belabored him so with his fists that he could not de-fend himself, but fell on the ground and gasped for breathi Thedwai-f did not go away until he had thoroughly vented his anger onhim. When the two others came home from hunting, Fir-twistersaid nothing to them of the old mannikin and of the blows whichhe himself had received, and thought, "When they stay at home,they may just try their chance with the fittle scrubbing-brush"; andthe mere thought of that gave him pleasure already.
The next day Rock-splitter stayed at home, and he fared just asFir-twister had done, he was very ill-treated by the dwarf because.he was not willing to give him any meat. When the others camehome in the evening. Fir-twister easily saw what he had suffered,but both kept silence, and thought, "Hans also must taste some ofthat soup."
Hans, who had to stay at home the next day, did his work in thekitchen as it had to be done, and as he was standing skimming thepan, the dwarf came and without more ado demanded a bit ofmeat. Then Hans thought, "He is a poor wretch, I will give himsome of my share, that the others may not run short," and handedhim a bit. When the dwarf had devom-ed it, he again asked forsome meat, and good-natured Hans gave it to him, and told him itwas a handsome piece, and that he was to be content with it. Butthe dwarf begged again for the third time. "You are shameless 1"said Hans, and gave him none. Then the malicious dwarf wanted tospring on him and treat him as he had treated Fir-twister andRock-spHtter, but he had got to the wrong man. Hans, without ex-erting himself much, gave him a couple of blows which made himjump down the castle steps. Hans was about to nm after him, butfell right over him, for he was so tall. When he rose up again, thedwarf had got the start of him. Hans hurried after him as far as theforest, and saw him slip into a hole in the rock. Hans now wenthome, but he had marked the spot.
When the two others came back, they were surprised that Hanswas so well. He told them what had happened, and then they nolonger concealed how it had fared with them. Hans laughed andsaid, "It served you quite right; why were you so greedy with yoiu*
meat? It is a disgrace that you who are so big should have let your-selves be beaten by the dwarf." Thereupon they took a basket anda rope, and all three went to the hole in the rock into which thedwarf had sHpped, and let Hans and his club down in the basket.
When Hans had reached the bottom, he found a door, and whenhe opened it a maiden was sitting there who was lovely as any pic-ture, nay, so beautiful that no words can express it, and by her sidesat the dwarf and grinned at Hans like a sea-catl She, however, wasbound with chains, and looked so mournfully at him that Hans feltgreat pity for her, and thought to himself, "You must deliver herout of the power of the wicked dwarf," and gave him such a blowwith his club that he fell down dead. Immediately the chains fellfrom the maiden, and Hans was enraptured with her beauty.
She told him she was a King's daughter whom a savage counthad stolen away from her home, and imprisoned there among therocks, because she would have nothing to say to him. The counthad, however, set the dwarf as a watchman, and he had made herbear misery and vexation enough. And now Hans placed the maidenin the basket and had her drawn up; the basket came downagain, but Hans did not trust his two companions, and thought,"They have already shown themselves to be false, and told menothing about the dwarf; who knows what design they may haveagainst me?" So he put his club in the basket, and it was lucky hedid; for when the basket was half-way up, they let it fall again, andif Hans had really been sitting in it he would have been killed. Butnow he did not know how he was to work his way out of thedepths, and when he turned it over and over in his mind he foundno counsel. *lt is indeed sad," said he to himself, "that I have towaste away down here," and as he was thus walking backwardsand forwards, he once more came to the Httle chamber where themaiden had been sitting, and saw that the dwarf had a ring on hisfinger which shone and sparkled.
Then he drew it off and put it on, and when he turned it roimdon his finger, he suddenly heard something rustle over his head. Helooked up and saw spirits of the air hovering above, who told himhe was their master, and asked what his desire might be. Hans wasat first struck dumb, but afterwards he said that they were to carryhim above again. They obeyed instantly, and it was just as if hehad flown up himself. When, however, he was above again, hefound no one in sight. Fir-twister and Rock-splitter had hurriedaway, and had taken the beautiful maiden with them. But Hans
turned the ring, and the spirits of the air came and told him thatthe two were on the sea.
Hans ran and ran without stopping, imtil he came to the sea-shore, and there far, far out on the water, he perceived a little boatin which his faithless comrades were sitting; and in fierce anger heleapt, without thinking what he was doing, club in hand, into thewater, and began to swim, but the club, which weighed a hundred-weight, dragged him deep down until he was all but drowned.Then in the very nick of time he turned his ring, and immediatelythe spirits of the air came and bore him as swift as lightning intothe boat. He swimg his club and gave his wicked comrades the re-ward they merited and threw them into the water, and then hesailed with the beautiful maiden, who had been in the greatestalarm, and whom he delivered for the second time, home to her fa-ther and mother, and married her, and all rejoiced exceedingly.
The Blue Light
A SOLDIER had served the King faithfully for many years, but whenthe war came to an end could serve no longer because of the manywounds he had received. The King said to him, *Tfou may return toyour home, I need you no longer, and you will not receive anymore money, for he only receives wages who renders me service forthem." Then the soldier did not know how to earn a living, wentaway greatly troubled, and walked the whole day, until in the eve-ning he entered a forest.
When darkness came on, he saw a light, which he went up to,and came to a house wherein lived a witch. "Do give me onenight's lodging, and a little to eat and drink," said he to her, "or Ishall starve." "Ohol" she answered, "who gives anything to a runa-way soldier? Yet will I be compassionate, and take you in, if youwill do what I wish." "What do you wish?" said the soldier. "Thatyou should dig all round my garden for me, tomorrow." The soldierconsented, and next day labored with all his strength, but could notfinish it by the evening. *1 see well enough," said the witch, "thatyou can do no more today, but I will keep you yet another night, inpayment for which you must tomorrow chop me a load of wood,and make it small." The soldier spent the whole day in doing it, and
in the evening the witch proposed that he should stay one nightmore. 'Tomorrow, you shall only do me a very trifling piece ofwork. Behind my house, there is an old dry well, into which mylight has fallen; it burns blue, and never goes out, and you shallbring it up agEiin for me."
Next day the old woman took him to the well, and let him downin a basket. He found the blue light, and made her a signal to drawhim up again. She did draw him up, but when he came near theedge, she stretched down her hand and wanted to take the bluelight away from him. "No," said he, perceiving her evil intention,T wiU not give you the hght until I am standing with both feetupon the ground." The witch fell into a passion, let him down againinto the well, and went away.
The poor soldier fell without injury on the moist ground, and theblue light went on burning, but of what use was that to him? Hesaw very well that he could not escape death. He sat for a whilevery sorrowfully, then suddenly he felt in his pocket and fotmd histobacco pipe, which was still half full. "This shall be my last pleas-ure," thought he, pulled it out, lit it at the blue Hght and beganto smoke. When the smoke had circled about the cavern, suddenlya little black dwarf stood before him, and said, "Lord, what areyour commands?" "What commands have I to give you?" repHedthe soldier, quite astonished. "I must do everything you bid me,"said the little man. "Good," said the soldier; "then in the first placehelp me out of this well."
The little man took him by the hand, and led him through anunderground passage, but he did not forget to take the blue Hghtwith him. On the way the dwarf showed him the treasures which thewitch had collected and hidden there, and the soldier took as muchgold as he could carry. When he was above, he said to the Httleman, "Now go and bind the old witch, and carry her before thejudge." In a short time she, with frightful cries, came riding by, asswift as the vidnd on a wild tom-cat, nor was it long after that be-fore the Httle man reappeared. "It is aU done," said he, "and thewitch is already hanging on the gallows. What further commandshas my lord?" inquired the dwarf. "At this moment, none," an-swered the soldier; "you can return home, only be at hand immedi-ately, if I summon you." "Nothing more is needed than that youshould Hght your pipe at the blue Hght, and I will appear beforeyou at once." Thereupon he vanished from his sight.
The soldier returned to the town from which he had come. Hewent to the best inn, ordered himself handsome clothes, and then
The Blue Light 507
bade the landlord furnish him a room as handsomely as possible.When it was ready and the soldier had taken possession of it, hesummoned the little black mannildn and said, "I have served theKing faithfully, but he has dismissed me, and left me to hunger,and now I want to take my revenge." "What am I to do?" asked thelittle man. "Late at night, when the King's daughter is in bed, bringher here in her sleep, she shall do servant's work for me." Themannildn said, "That is an easy thing for me to do, but a very dan-gerous thing for you, for if it is discovered, you v^dll fare ill." Whentwelve o'clock had struck, the door sprang open, and the mannikincarried in the Princess. "Aha! are you there?" cried the soldier, "getto your work at oncel Fetch the broom and sweep the chamber."When she had done this, he ordered her to come to his chair, andthen he stretched out his feet and said, "Pull oflF my boots for me,"and then he threw them in her face, and made her pick them upagain, and clean and brighten them. She, however, did everythinghe bade her, without opposition, silently and with half-shut eyes.When the first cock crowed, the mannikin carried her back to theroyal palace, and laid her in her bed.
Next morning when the Princess arose, she went to her father,and told him that she had had a very strange dream. "I was carriedthrough the streets with the rapidity of lightning," said she, "andtaken into a soldier's room, and I had to wait upon him like a ser-vant, sweep his room, clean his boots, and do all lands of menialwork. It was only a dream, and yet I am just as tired as if I reallyhad done everything." "The dream may have been true," said theKing, "I will give you a piece of advice. Fill your pocket full ofpeas, and make a small hole in it, and then if you are carried awayagain, they will fall out and leave a track in the streets." But unseenby the King, the mannikin was standing beside him when he saidthat, and heard all. At night when the sleeping Princess was againcarried through the streets, some peas certainly did faU out of herpocket, but they made no track, for the crafty mannikin had justbefore scattered peas in every street there was. And again the Prin-cess was compelled to do servant's work until cock-crow.
Next morning the King sent his people out to seek the track, butit was all in vain, for in every street poor children were sitting,picking up peas, and saying, "It must have rained peas, last night."*We must think of something else," said the King; "keep yourshoes on when you go to bed, and before you come back from theplace where you are taken, hide one of them there; I will soon con-trive to find it." The black mannikin heard this plot, and at nigh<-
when the soldier again ordered him to bring the Princess, revealedit to him, and told him that he knew of no expedient to cotmteractthis stratagem, and that if the shoe were found in the soldier'shouse it would go badly with him. "Do what I bid you," repliedthe soldier, and again this third night the Princess was obliged towork like a servant, but before she went away, she hid her shoeunder the bed.
Next morning the King had the entire town searched for hisdaughter's shoe. It was found at the soldier's, and the soldier him-self, who at the entreaty of the dwarf had gone outside the gate,was soon brought back, and thrown into prison. In his flight he hadforgotten the most valuable things he had, the blue light and thegold, and had only one ducat in his pocket. And now, loaded withchains, he was standing at the window of his dungeon, when hechanced to see one of his comrades passing by. The soldier tappedat the pane of glass, and when this man came up, said to him, "Beso kind as to fetch me the small bimdle I have left lying in the inn,and I wiU give you a ducat for doing it." His comrade ran thitherand brought him what he wanted. As soon as the soldier was aloneagain, he lighted his pipe and summoned the black mannikin."Have no fear," said the latter to his master, "Go wheresoever theytake you, and let them do what they wiU, only take the blue lightwith you."
Next day the soldier was tried, and though he had done nothingwicked, the judge condemned him to death. When he was led forthto die, he begged a last favor of the King. "What is it?" asked theKing. "That I may smoke one more pipe on my way." "You maysmoke three," answered the King, 'Taut do not imagine that I willspare your Hfe." Then the soldier pulled out his pipe and lighted itat the blue light, and as soon as a few wreaths of smoke had as-cended, the mannikin was there with a small cudgel in his hand,and said, "What does my lord command?" "Strike down to earththat false judge there, and his constable, and spare not the Kingwho has treated me so iU." Then the mannikin fell on them likelightning, darting this way and that way, and whosoever was somuch as touched by his cudgel fell to earth, and did not venture tostir again. The King was terrified. He threw himself on the soldier'smercy, and merely to be allowed to live at all, gave him his king-dom for his own, and the Princess to wife.
There was once a fisherman and his wife who lived together in ahovel by the sea-shore, and the fisherman went out every day withhis hook and line to catch fish, and he angled and angled.
One day he was sitting with his rod and looking into the clearwater, and he sat and sat.
At last down went the line to the bottom of the water, and whenhe drew it up he found a great flounder on the hook. And theflounder said to him, "Fisherman, listen to me; let me go. I am nota real fish but an enchanted Prince. What good shall I be to you ifyou land me? I shall not taste well; so put me back into the wateragain, and let me swim away."
"Well," said the fisherman, "no need of so many words about thematter; as you can speak I had much rather let you swim away."
Then he put him back into the clear water, and the flounder sankto the bottom, leaving a long streak of blood behind him. Then thefisherman got up and went home to his wife in their hovel.
"Well, husband," said the wife, "have you caught nothingtoday?" "No," said the man—"that is, I did catch a flounder, but ashe said he was an enchanted Prince, I let him go again." "Then, didyou wish for nothing?" said the wife. "No," said the man; "whatshould I wish for?"
"Oh dear!" said the wife; "and it is so dreadful always to live inthis evil-smelling hovel; you might as well have wished for a littlecottage. Go again and call him; tell him we want a little cottage, Idaresay he will give it us; go, and be quick."
And when he went back, the sea was green and yeUow, and notnearly so clear. So he stood and said,
"O man, O man!—if man you be.Or flounder, flounder, in the sea-Such a tiresome wife I've got.For she wants what I do not."
Then the flounder came swimming up, and said, "Now then, whatdoes she want?"
"Oh," said the man, "you know when I caught you my wife saysI ought to have wished for something. She does not want to live
any longer in the hovel, and would rather have a cottage." "Gohome with you," said the flounder, "she has it aheady."
So the man went home, and foimd, instead of the hovel, a Httlecottage, and his wife was sitting on a bench before the door. Andshe took him by the hand, and said to him, "Come in and see if thisis not a great improvement."
So they went in, and there was a little house-place and a beauti-ful little bed-room, a kitchen and larder, with aU sorts of fimiiture,and iron and brass ware of the very best. And at the back was a lit-tle yard with fowls and ducks, and a little garden full of green veg-etables and fruit.
"Look," said the wife, "is not that nice?" "Yes," said the man, "ifthis can only last we shall be very well contented." "We will seeabout that," said the wife. And after a meal they went to bed.
So all went well for a week or fortnight, when the wife said,"Look here, husband, the cottage is reaUy too confined, and the yardand garden are so small; I think the flounder had better get us alarger house; I should like very much to live in a large stone castle;so go to your fish and he wiU send us a castle."
"Oh my dear wife," said the man, "the cottage is good enough;what do we want a castle for?" "We want one," said the wife; "goalong with you; the flounder can give us one."
"Now, wife," said the man, "the flounder gave us the cottage; Ido not like to go to him again, he may be angry." "Go along," saidthe wife, "he might just as well give us it as not; do as I sayl"
The man felt very reluctant and unwilling; and he said to him-self, "It is not the right thing to do"; nevertheless he went.
So when he came to the sea-side, the water was purple and darkblue and gray and thick, and not green and yellow as before. Andhe stood and said,
"O man, O man!—if man you be.Or flounder, flounder, in the sea-Such a tiresome wife I've got.For she wants what I do not."
"Now then, what does she want?" said the flounder.
"Oh," said the man, half frightened, "she wants to live in a largestone castle." "Go home with you, she is already standing beforethe door," said the flounder.
Then the man went home, as he supposed, but when he gotthere, there stood in the place of the cottage a great castle of stone,
and his wife was standing on the steps, about to go in; so she tookhim by the hand, and said, "Let us enter."
With that he went in with her, and in the castle was a great hallwith a marble pavement, and there were a great many servants,who led them through large doors, and the passages were deckedwith tapestry, and the rooms with golden chairs and tables, andcrystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling; and all the rooms hadcarpets. And the tables were covered with eatables and the bestwine for any one who wanted them. And at the back of the housewas a great stable-yard for horses and cattle, and carriages of thefinest; besides, there was a splendid large garden, with the mostbeautiful flowers and fine fruit trees, and a pleasance fuU half amile long, with deer and oxen and sheep, and everything that heartcould wish for.
"Therel" said the wife, "is not this beautiful?" "Oh yes," said theman, "if it will only last we can live in this fine castle and be verywell contented." "We will see about that," said the wife, "in themeanwhile we will sleep upon it." With that they went to bed.
The next morning the wife was awake first, just at the break ofday, and she looked out and saw from her bed the beautiful coun-try lying all round. The man took no notice of it, so she poked himin the side with her elbow, and said, "Husband, get up and justlook out of the window. Look, just think if we could be King overall this country! Just go to your fish and tell him we should like tobe King."
"Now, wife," said the man, "what should we be Kings for? Idon't want to be King." "Well," said the wife, "if you don't want tobe King, I will be King."
"Now, wife," said the man, "what do you want to be King for? Icould not ask him such a thing." "Why not?" said the wife, "youmust go directly all the same; I must be King."
So the man went, very much put out that his wife should want tobe King.
*Tt is not the right thing to do—not at all the right thing,"thought the man. He did not at all want to go, and yet he went allthe same.
And when he came to the sea the water was quite dark gray, andrushed far inland, and had an ill smell. And he stood and said,
"O man, O man!—if man you be.Or flounder, flounder, in the sea-Such a tiresome wife I've got.For she wants what I do not."
"Now then, what does she want?" said the fish, "Oh dearl" saidthe man, "she wants to be King." "Go home with you, she is Kingahready," said the fish.
So the man went back, and as he came to the palace he saw itwas very much larger, and had great towers and splendid gate-ways; the herald stood before the door, and a number of soldierswith kettle-drums and trumpets.
And when he came inside everything was of marble and gold,and there were many curtains with great golden tassels. Then hewent through the doors of the saloon to where the great throne-room was, and there was his wife sitting upon a throne of gold anddiamonds, and she had a great golden crown on, and the scepter inher hand was of pure gold and jewels, and on each side stood sixpages in a row, each one a head shorter than the other. So the manwent up to her and said, "Well, wife, so now you are King!" "Yes,"said the wife, "now I am King."
So then he stood and looked at her, and when he had gazed ather for some time he said, "Well, wife, this is fine for you to beKingI Now there is nothing more to wish for." "Oh husband!" saidthe wife, seeming quite restless, "I am tired of this aheady. Go toyour fish and tell him that now I am King I must be Emperor."
"Now, wife," said the man, "what do you want to be Emperorfor?" "Husband," said she, "go and tell the fish I want to be Em-peror."
"Oh dearl" said the man, "he could not do it—I cannot ask himsuch a thing. There is but one Emperor at a time; the fish can't pos-sibly make any one Emperor—indeed he can't."
"Now, look here," said the wife, "I am King, and you are onlymy husband, so wiU you go at once? Go alongl for if he was able tomake me King he is able to make me Emperor; and I will and mustbe Emperor, so go alongl"
So he was obhged to go; and as he went he felt very uncom-fortable about it, and he thought to himself, "It is not at aU theright thing to do; to want to be Emperor is reaUy going too far; theflounder wiU soon be beginning to get tired of this."
With that he came to the sea, and the water was quite black andthick, and the foam flew, and the wind blew, and the man wasterrified. But he stood and said,
"O m43,n, O man!—if man you he.Or flounder, flounder, in the sea-Such a tiresome wife I've got.For she wants what I do not."
The Fisherman and His Wife 513
"What is it now?" said the fish. "Oh dearl" said the man, "mywife wants to be Emperor." "Go home with you," said the fish, "sheis Emperor abready."
So the man went home, and found the castle adorned withpolished marble and alabaster figures, and golden gates. The troopswere being marshaled before the door, and they were blowingtrumpets and beating drums and cymbals; and when he entered hesaw barons and earls and dukes waiting about like servants; andthe doors were of bright gold. And he saw his wife sitting upon athrone made of one entire piece of gold, and it was about two mileshigh; and she had a great golden crown on, which was about threeyards high, set with brilliants and carbimcles; and in one hand sheheld the scepter, and in the other the globe; and on both sides ofher stood pages in two rows, all arranged according to their size,from the most enormous giant of two miles high to the tiniest dwarfof the size of my httle finger; and before her stood earls and dukesin crowds.
So the man went up to her and said, "Well, wife, so now you areEmperor." "Yes," said she, "now I am Emperor."
Then he went and sat down and had a good look at her, and thenhe said, "Well now, wife, there is nothing left to be, now you areEmperor." "What are you talking about, husband?" said she; *T amEmperor, and next I will be Popel so go and tell the fish so."
"Oh dearl" said the man, "what is it that you don't want? Youcan never become Pope; there is but one Pope in Christendom, andthe fish can't possibly do it." "Husband," said she, "no more wordsabout it; I must and wiU be Pope; so go along to the fish."
"Now, wife," said the man, "how can I ask him such a thing? Itis too bad—it is asking a Httle too much; and, besides, he could notdo it." "What rubbishi" said the wife; "if he could make me Em-peror he can make me Pope. Go along and ask him; I am Emperor,and you are only my husband, so go you must."
So he went, feeling very frightened, and he shivered and shook,and his knees trembled; and there arose a great wind, and theclouds flew by, and it grew very dark, and the sea rose mountainshigh, and the ships were tossed about, and the sky was partly bluein the middle, but at the sides very dark and red, as in a greattempest. And he felt very despondent, and stood trembling andsaid,
"O man, O man!—if man you be.Or flounder, flounder, in the sea—
Such a tiresome wife I've got.For she wants what I do not."
'Well, what now?" said the fish. "Oh dearl" said the man, "shewants to be Pope." "Go home with you, she is Pope akeady," saidthe fish.
So he went home, and he found himself before a great church,with palaces all roimd. He had to make his way through a crowd ofpeople; and when he got inside he found the place lighted up withthousands and thousands of lights; and his wife was clothed in agolden garment, and sat upon a very high throne, and had threegolden crowns on, all in the greatest priestly pomp; and on bothsides of her there stood two rows of lights of all sizes—from the sizeof the longest tower to the smallest rushlight, and all the Emperorsand Kings were kneeling before her and kissing her foot.
"Well, wife," said the man, and sat and stared at her, "so you arePope." "Yes," said she, "now I am Popel"
And he went on gazing at her till he felt dazzled, as if he weresitting in the sun. And after a little time he said, "Well, now, wife,what is there left to be, now you are Pope?" And she sat up verystiff and straight, and said nothing.
And he said again, "Well, wife, I hope you are contented at lastwith being Pope; you can be nothing more."
"We will see about that," said the wife. With that they both wentto bed; but she was as far as ever from being contented, and shecould not get to sleep for thinking of what she should like to benext.
The husband, however, slept as fast as a top after his busy day;but the wife tossed and turned from side to side the whole nightthrough, thinking all the while what she could be next, but nothingwould occur to her; and when she saw the red dawn she slipped offthe bed, and sat before the window to see the sun rise, and as itcame up she said, "Ah, I have iti Cannot I make the sun and moonto rise? Husbandl" she cried, and stuck her elbow in his ribs, "wakeup, and go to your fish, and tell him I want to be God."
The man was so fast asleep that when he started up he fell out ofbed. Then he shook himself together, and opened his eyes and said,"Oh wife, what did you say?"
"Husband," said she, "if I cannot get the power of making thesun and moon rise when I want them, I shall never have anotherquiet hour. Go to the fish and tell him so."
"Oh wifel" said the man, and fell on his knees to her, "the fish
can really not do that for you. I grant you he could make you Em-peror and Pope. Do be contented with that, I beg of you."
And she became wild with impatience, and screamed out, "I canwait no longer, go at oncel I want to be God!"
And so oflF he went as well as he could for fright. And a dreadfulstorm arose, so that he could hardly keep his feet; and the housesand trees were blown down, and the mountains trembled, androcks fell in the sea; the sky was quite black, and it thundered andlightninged; and the waves, crowned with foam, ran mountainshigh. So he cried out, without being able to hear his own words,
"O man, O man!—if man you be.Or flounder, flounder, in the sea-Such a tiresome wife I've got.For she wants what I do not."
"Well, what now?" said the flounder.
"Oh dear!" said the man, "she wants to be God!" "Go home withyou!" said the flounder, "you will find her the way she was—in theold hovel."
And there they are sitting to this very day.
The Good Bargain
A PEASANT had led his cow to the market and sold her for sevendollars. On his way home he had to pass a pond, but long before hereached it he could hear the frogs crying "Akt! akt! akt! akt!"**
"Yes, I hear you," he said, "screaming out in your snug quarters;but it's seven I have received, not eight." As soon as he reached thewater he exclaimed: "Stupid creatures that you are, don't you knowbetter? Seven dollars are not eight dollars."
The frogs, taking no heed, continued to cry "Akt! aktl akt!"
"Now," said *^he peasant, "if you do not believe me, I can countit out to you"; and he took the money out of his pocket and countedout his seven dollars in groschen.
The frogs cared nothing for the peasant's reckoning, but went oncroaking "Akt! akt! akt! akt!"
"Oh!" cried the peasant in a rage, "do you know better how to
* The word "acht" is German for eight.
count than I do?" and he threw the money into the water right inthe midst of them. Then he stood and waited till they were ready toreturn his property to him, but the frogs were constant to their firstopinion and screamed out still louder, "Aktl aktl aktl aktl" and didnot attempt to throw the money back again to him.
He waited for a good while till evening came on, and he knew hemust go home. Then he abused the frogs, and cried, "You waterplashersl you thick heads I you blind eyesl With your great jaws, youcan scream enough to split one's ears, but you cannot count sevendollars; and do you think I am going to stay here and wait till youare ready?" Then he walked away very fast, but he heard the frogsstill croaking "Aktl aktl" for a long distance, and he arrived homequite out of humor.
After a time he bought another cow, which he slaughtered, andwhile reckoning how much he should get by the sale of the flesh, aswell as the skin, he hoped to make a good bargain with profits,even with the loss caused by the obstinacy of the frogs.
So he started oflF to the town to sell his dead cow, but on arrivingat the butcher's stall he saw a pack of hounds, who all surroundedhim, barking and smelling at the meat. "Wasl wasl"* they cried.
"Ah, yesl" said the peasant, "it is all very well to say, *What?what?' as if you wanted to know what I have got here, and youknow it is meat all the while."
There was no one to watch the butcher's shop but a large housedog, and the countryman had often heard his master say how trueand faithful he was. So he said to him, "If I leave this meat here,will you answer for these friends of yours that it shan't betouched?" "Wasl wasl" cried the dog; while the others barked"Wasl wasl" and sprang at the meat.
"Oh, Weill" said the peasant to the butcher's dog, "as you havepromised, I will leave the meat for your master to sell; but, re-member, I must have the money in three days, and if he doesn'tsend it, I shall come for it." Thereupon he laid the meat down onthe coimter, and turned to go. The dogs aU ran round it barking"Wasl wasl" and the peasant heard them for a long distance. "Ahl"he said, "they are all longing for a piece; but it's all right, the bigone is answerable for them."
Three days passed, and the countryman made himself quite com-fortable in the thought of what he was to receive. "1 shall have
• The German "was" is translated "what." It is used instead of "bow-wow"for the bark of a dog.
The Good Bargain 517
plenty of money in my pocket by tomorrow evening," he said in acontented tone.
But the morrow came, and no money. He waited two days andthen said, "I can't stand this; I must go and demand my money."The butcher at first thought he was talking about a sparrow.
"Sparrow, indeedl" replied the peasant. "I want my money forthe meat I left under the care of your great dog three days ago—theflesh of a whole cow."
At this the butcher flew in a rage, and seizing a broom, laid itover the peasant's shoulders and drove him out of the shop.
"Just wait," cried the peasant; "there is some justice after all leftin the world." And away he went to the castle, where, as it hap-pened on that day, the King himself sat as chief magistrate, withhis daughter by his side.
"What is your trouble?" asked the King. "Alas! Your Majesty," hereplied, "the frogs and the dogs have taken all I possess, and when Iasked the butcher for my money, he beat me with a broomstick."And then he related in a confused manner aU that had occmred.
On hearing the countryman's story, the King's daughter burstinto a fit of laughter, and laughed so loudly that for some minutesthe King could not speak. At length he said, "I carmot restore toyou the money you have lost, but I can give you my daughter inmarriage. She has never dining her whole Hfe laughed till now. Ilong ago promised her as a wife to the first man who could makeher laugh, and you are that man, so you may thank Heaven foryour good fortune."
"Ah, my lord Kingl" replied the peasant, "I cannot marry thePrincess; I have one wife at home already, and she is quite toomuch for me to manage; there is no room for another in our chim-ney comer."
Then was the King angry, and said, "You are a rude clownl""Ah, my lord Kingl" he replied, "what can you expect from a pigbut a grunt?" and he turned to go.
"Stay!" cried the King, calling him back; "I mean you to havesome reward after all. Five hundred times as much as you have lostshall be ready for you if you come here again in three days."
The peasant looked so joyful as he passed out after hearing thisthat the sentinel asked him the cause. "You have made the Princesslaugh, I hear. What reward are you to have?" "Five hrmdred dol-lars," he replied.
"Why, what wiU you do with all that money?" asked the sentinel."You may as well give me some." "1 will, if you like," he said; "and
if you will go with me to the King in three days, he shall pay youtwo hundred dollars instead of me"; and away he went.
A Jew, who was standing near, overheard this promise, and run-ning after the peasant, pulled him by the sleeve, and said, "You area lucky fellow, friend, to have all that money promised you, butyou must wait three days for it; would you not Mice to receive it atonce, cash down?" "I should, indeed," rephed the peasant. "Howcan it be managed?" "Oh, very easilyl You shall give me an order toreceive the three hundred dollars, and I will pay you the amount insilver and small coin."
So the bill of exchange was dravini, and the money paid; but theJew charged such enormous interest, and some of the coins were sobad, that the peasant did not get much, after all.
At the end of three days the peasant went to the King, accordingto his command. "You must open your pockets very wide to receiveall these dollars," said the King.
"Ah, nol" cried the peasant, "they do not belong to me. Twohundred I have promised to the sentinel, and I have given a Jew abill to receive three hundred, as he gave me cash for it, so that Ihave justly nothing to receive." While he spoke in came the soldierand the Jew, who demanded what they had obtained from thepeasant, and persisted that the money was justly theirs.
At first the King could not help laughing at the countryman'sfolly, and then he became angry at the conduct of the Jew and thesoldier. "So," he said to the peasant, "as you have been so foolish asto give up your money, before it even belonged to you, to strangers,I suppose I must make you some compensation. Go into that roomopposite, and help yourself to as much money as your pockets willhold." The countryman did not require to be told twice; he went, ashe was told, and filled his wide pockets to overflowing.
Away he started to the inn to count his money, and the Jewsneaked after him and heard him talking to him«elf. "Now. if T hadbeen a knave and hidden all this from the King, he would neverhave allowed me to take this money. I wash I knew how much Ihad. Oh, if the King had only told me what amount I was to take.I'm so afraid I may have taken more than I ought."
"Ah! ah I" muttered the Jew, "he is grumbling even now, andspeaking disrespectfully of my lord the King. Catch me quarrelingwith such a simi of money because I couldn't count it."
The Jew had spoken loud enough for the King to hear, and hecalled him, and desired him to fetch the ungrateful man again be-
fore His Majesty. "You must appear before the King immediately!"cried the Jew. "There must be no excuse."
"Indeed, I cannot," he rephed. "Whoever heard of a man withsuch a heap of gold in his pockets as I have, going before the Kingin such a ragged coat as this?"
The Jew, seeing that the peasant was determined, and fearingthat the wrath of the King would cool, promised to lend him a coat,which was very good and nearly new. "I lend it you for true friend-ship's sake," he said; "and that is seldom done in the world."
So the peasant put it on and went into the King's presence. Butwhen the King repeated what he had been told by the Jew, thepeasant exclaimed, "Your Majesty, it is all false; there is never atrue word out of that Jew's mouth. I dare say he will aflSrm that thecoat I have on belongs to him."
"What do you mean?" screamed the Jew. "You know it is mycoat! I lent it you out of pure friendship, that you might appear be-fore the King!"
"Yes, of course, to hear your lies about me, and get punished byhaving the money taken from me," replied the peasant. Then herepeated what he had really said at the inn; and the King dismissedthem both, saying that the Jew's word was evidently not to betaken, and therefore the countryman might keep the coat as hisown as some recompense for the Jew's false accusation.
The peasant went home joyfully to count the gold in his pockets,and said to himself, "This time, at least, I have made a good bar-gain."
Prudent Hans
One day, Hans's mother said, "Where are you going, Hans?" Hansanswered, "To Gretel's, mother."
"Manage well, Hans."
"All right! Good-bye, mother.**
"Good-bye, Hans."
Then Hans came to Gretel's.
"Good morning, Gretel."
"Good morning, Hans. What have you brought me today?"
"1 have brought nothing, but I want something."
So Gretel gave Hans a needle; and then he said, "Good-bye, Gre-tel," and she said, "Good-bye, Hans."
Hans carried the needle away with him, and stuck it in a hay-cartthat was going along, and he followed it home.
"Good evening, mother."
"Good evening, Hans. Where have you been?"
"To Gretel's, mother."
"What did you take her?"
"I took nothing, but I brought away something."
"What did Gretel give you?"
"A needle, mother."
"What did you do with it, Hans?"
"Stuck it in the hay-cart."
'That was very stupid of you, Hans. You should have stuck it inyour sleeve."
"All right, motherl I'll do better next time."
When next time came, Hans's mother said, "Where are yougoing, Hans?"
"To Gretel's, mother."
"Manage well, Hans."
"All right. Good-bye, mother."
"Good-bye, Hans."
Then Hans came to Gretel.
"Good morning, Gretel."
"Good morning, Hans. What have you brought me today?"
"I've brought nothing, but I want something."
So Gretel gave Hans a knife, and then he said, "Good-bye, Gre-tel," and she said, "Good-bye, Hans."
Hans took the knife away with him, and stuck it in his sleeve,and went home.
"Good evening, mother."
"Good evening, Hans. Where have you been?"
"To Gretel's."
"What did you take her?"
"I took nothing, but I brought away something."
"What did Gretel give you, Hans?"
"A knife, mother."
"What did you do vidth it, Hans?"
"Stuck it in my sleeve, mother."
"That was very stupid of you, Hans. You should have put it inyour pocket."
"All right, motherl I'll do better next time."
Prudent Hans 521
When next time came, Hans's mother said, "Where to, Hans?"
"To Gretel's, mother."
"Manage well, Hans."
"All right! Good-bye, mother."
"Good-bye, Hans."
So Hans came to Gretel's.
"Good morning, Gretel."
"Good morning, Hans. What have you brought me today?"
"I've brought nothing, but I want to take away something."
So Gretel gave Hans a young goat; then he said, "Good-bye, Gre-tel," and she said, "Good-bye, Hans."
So Hans carried ofiE the goat, and tied its legs together, and put itin his pocket, and by the time he got home it was suffocated.
"Good evening, mother."
"Good evening, Hans. Where have you been?"
"To Gretel's, mother."
'"What did you take her, Hans?"
"I took nothing, but I brought away something."
"What did Gretel give you, Hans?"
"A goat, mother."
"What did you do with it, Hans?"
"Put it in my pocket, mother."
"That was very stupid of you, Hans. You should have tied a cordround its neck, and led it home."
"All right, mother! I'll do better next time."
Then when next time came, "Where to, Hans?"
"To Gretel's, mother."
"Manage weU, Hans."
"All right! Good-bye, mother."
"Good-bye, Hans."
Then Hans came to Gretel's.
"Good morning, Gretel."
"Good morning, Hans. What have you brought me today?"
"I've brought nothing, but I want to take away something."
So Gretel gave Hans a piece of bacon; then he said, "Good-bye,Gretel."
She said, "Good-bye, Hans."
Hans took the bacon, and tied a string round it, and dragged itafter him on his way home, and the dogs came and ate it up, sothat when he got home he had the string in his hand, and nothingat the other end of it.
"Good evening, mother."
"Good evening, Hans. Where have you been?"
**To Gretel's, mother."
"What did you take her, Hans?"
"I took her nothing, but I brought away something."
**What did Gretel give you, Hans?"
"A piece of bacon, mother."
"What did you do with it, Hans?"
"1 tied a piece of string to it, and led it home, but the dogs ate it,mother."
"That was very stupid of you, Hans. You ought to have carried iton your head."
"All rightl rU do better next tune, mother."
When next time came, "Where to, Hans?"
"To Gretel's, mother."
"Manage weU, Hans."
"All rightl Good-bye, mother."
"Good-bye, Hans."
Then Hans came to GreteFs.
"Good morning, Gretel."
"Good morning, Hans. What have you brought me?"
*1 have brought nothing, but I want to take away something."
So Gretel gave Hans a calf.
"Good-bye, Gretel."
"Good-bye, Hans."
Hans took the calf, and set it on his head, and carried it home,and the calf scratched his face.
"Good evening, mother."
"Good evening, Hans. Where have you been?"
"To Gretel's, mother."
"What did you take her?"
"I took nothing, but I brought away something."
"What did Gretel give you, Hans?"
"A calf, mother."
"What did you do with the calf, Hans?"
"I carried it home on my head, but it scratched my face."
"That was very stupid of you, Hans. You ought to have led homethe calf, and tied it to the manger."
"AU rightl I'll do better next time, mother."
When next time came, "Where to, Hans?"
"To Gretel's, mother."
"Manage well, Hans."
"All right, motherl Good-bye."
"Good-bye, Haiw."
Then Hans came to Gretel's.
"Good morning, Gretel."
"Good morning, Hans, What have you brought me today?"
"I have brought nothing, but I want to take away something."
Then Gretel said to Hans, "You shall take away me."
Then Hans took Gretel, and tied a rope round her neck, and ledher home, and fastened her up to the manger, and went to hismother.
"Good evening, mother."
"Good evening, Hans. Where have you been?"
"To Gretel's, mother."
"What did you take her, Hans?"
"Nothing, mother."
"What did Gretel give you, Hans?"
"Nothing but herself, mother."
"Where have you left Gretel, Hans?"
"1 led her home with a rope, and tied her up to the manger toeat hay, mother."
"That was very stupid of you, Hans. You should have castsheep's eyes at her."
"All right, motherl I'll do better next time."
Then Hans went into the stable, and taking all the eyes out of thesheep, he threw them in Gretel's face. Then Gretel was angry, andgetting loose, she ran away and became the bride of another.
Hans in Luck
Hans had served his master seven years, and at the end of the sev-enth year he said, "Master, my time is up; I want to go home andsee my mother, so give me my wages."
"You have served me truly and faithfully," said the master; "asthe service is, so must the wages be," and he gave him a lump ofgold as big as his head. Hans pulled his handkerchief out of hispocket and tied up the lump of gold in it, hoisted it on his shoulder,and set oflF on his way home. And as he was trudging along, therecame in sight a man riding on a spirited horse, and looking verygay and lively. "OhI" cried Hans aloud, "how splendid riding must
be! Sitting as much at one's ease as in an arm-chair, stumbling overno stones, saving one's shoes, and getting on one hardly knowshowl"
The horseman heard Hans say this, and called out to him, "WellHans, what are you doing on foot?" "I can't help myself," saidHans, "I have this great lump to carry; to be sinre, it is gold, butthen I can't hold my head straight for it, and it hurts my shoulder.""I'll tell you what," said the horseman, "we will change; I will giveyou my horse, and you shall give me your lump of gold." "With allmy heart," said Hans; "but I warn you, you will find it heavy." Andthe horseman got down, took the gold, and, helping Hans up, hegave the reins into his hand. "When you want to go fast," said he,"you must click your tongue and cry 'Gee-upl'"
And Hans, as he sat upon his horse, was glad at heart, and rodeoflE with merry cheer. After a while he thought he should hke to goquicker, so he began to cHck with his tongue and to cry "Gee-upl"And the horse began to trot, and Hans was thrown before he knewwhat was going to happen, and there he lay in the ditch by the sideof the road. The horse would have got away but that he was caughtby a peasant who was passing that way and driving a cow beforehim. And Hans pulled himself together and got upon his feet, feel-ing very vexed. "Poor work, riding," said he, "especially on a jadelike this, who starts off and throws you before you know where youare, going near to break your neck; never shall I try that gameagain; now, your cow is something worth having, one can jog oncomfortably after her and have her milk, butter, and cheese everyday, into the bargain. What would I not give to have such a cowl"
"Well now," said the peasant, "since it will be doing you such afavor, I don't mind exchanging my cow for your horse."
Hans agreed most joyfully, and the peasant, swinging himselfinto the saddle, was soon out of sight.
And Hans went along driving his cow quietly before him, andthinking all the while of the fine bargain he had made.
"With only a piece of bread I shall have everything I can possi-bly want, for I shall always be able to have butter and cheese to it,and if I am thirsty I have nothing to do but to milk my cow; andwhat more is there for heart to wish!"
And when he came to an inn he made a halt, and in the joy of hisheart ate up all the food he had brought with him. dinner and sup-per and all, and bought half a glass of beer with his last two pen-nies. Then on he went again driving his cow, until he should cometo the village where his mother lived. It was now near the middle
Hans in Luck 525
of the day, and the sun grew hotter and hotter, and Hans foundhimself on a heath which it would be an hour's journey to cross.And he began to feel very hot, and so thirsty that his tongue cloveto the roof of his mouth.
"Never mind," said Hans; "I can find a remedy. I will milk mycow at once." And tying her to a dry tree, and taking ofiF his leathercap to serve for a pail, he began to milk, but not a drop came. Andas he set to work rather awkwardly, the impatient beast gave himsuch a Idck on the head with his hind foot that he fell to theground, and for some time could not think where he was; whenlucidly there came by a butcher who was wheeling along a youngpig in a wheelbarrow.
"Here's a fine piece of workl" cried he, helping poor Hans on hislegs again. Then Hans related to him all that had happened; andthe butcher handed him his pocket flask, saying, "Here, take adrink, and be a man again; of course the cow would give no milk;she is old and only fit to draw bmrdens, or to be slaughtered."
"Well, to be sure," said Hans, scratching his head. "Who wouldhave thought it? Of course it is a very handy way of getting meatwhen a man has a beast of his own to kill; but for my part I do notcare much about cow beef, it is rather tasteless. Now, if I had but ayoung pig, that is much better meat, and then the sausagesl"
"Look here, Hans," said the butcher, "just for love of you I willexchange, and will give you my pig instead of your cow." "Heavenreward such kindness I" cried Hans, and handing over the cow, re-ceived in exchange the pig, who was turned out of his wheelbarrowand was to be led by a string.
So on went Hans, thinking how everything turned out accordingto his wishes, and how, if trouble overtook him, all was sure to beset right directly. After a while he fell in with a peasant, who wascarrying a fine white goose imder his arm. They bid each othergood-day, and Hans began to tell about his luck, and how he hadmade so many good exchanges. And the peasant told how he wastaking the goose to a christening feast.
"Just feel how heavy it is," said he, taking it up by the wings; "ithas been fattening for the last eight weeks; and when it is roasted,won't the fat run downl" "Yes, indeed," said Hans, weighing it inhis hand, "very fine to be sure; but my pig is not to be despised."
Upon which the peasant glanced cautiously on aU sides, andshook his head. "I am afraid," said he, "that there is something notquite right about your pig. In the village I have just left one hadactually been stolen from the bailifiPs yard. I fear—I fear you have it
in your hand; they have sent after the thief, and it would be a badlook-out for you if it were found upon you; the least that couldhappen would be to be thrown into a dark hole."
Poor Hans grew pale with fright. 'Tor heaven's sake," said he,'Tielp me out of this scrape; I am a stranger in these parts; take mypig and give me your goose." *lt wiU be running some risk," an-swered the man, Ijut I will do it sooner than that you should cometo grief."
And so, taking the cord in his hand, he drove the pig quicklyalong a by-path, and lucky Hans went on his way home with thegoose imder his arm. "The more I think of it," said he to himself,"the better the bargain seems; first I get the roast goose, then thefat; that will last a whole year for bread and dripping; and lastlythe beautiful white feathers which I can stuff my pillow with; howcomfortably I shall sleep upon it, and how pleased my mother willbel"
And when he reached the last village, he saw a knife-grinder withhis barrow; and his wheel went whirring roimd, and he sang,
"My scissors I grind, and my wheel I turn;And all good fellows my trade should learn,For all that 1 meet with just serves my turn!*
And Hans stood and looked at him; and at last he spoke to himand said, "You seem very well off, and merry with your grinding."
'*Yes," answered the knife-grinder, "my handiwork pays veryweU. I caU a man a good grinder who every time he puts his handin his pocket finds money there. But where did you buy that finegoose?" "I did not buy it, but I exchanged it for my pig," saidHans. "And the pig?" "That I exchanged for a cow." "And thecow?" 'That I exchanged for a horse." "And the horse?" "I gave forthe horse a lump of gold as big as my head." "And the gold?" "Oh,that was my wage for seven years' service."
"You seem to have fended for yourself very well," said the knife-grinder. "Now, if you could but manage to have money in yourpocket every time you put your hand in, your fortune is made.""How shaU I manage that?" said Hans.
"You must be a knife-grinder Hke me," said the man. "All youwant is a grindstone, the rest comes of itself. I have one here; to besure it is a Httle damaged, but I don't mind letting you have it inexchange for your goose; what say you?"
"How can you ask?" answered Hans. "I shall be the luckiest
fellow in the world, for if I find money whenever I put my hand inmy pocket, there is nothing more left to want."
And so he handed over the goose to the peddler and receivedthe grindstone in exchange.
"Now," said the knife-grinder, taking up a heavy common stonethat lay near him, "here is another proper sort of stone that willstand a good deal of wear and that you can hammer out your oldnails upon. Take it with you, and carry it carefully."
Hans lifted up the stone and carried it off with a contented mind.*1 must have been bom under a lucky star!" cried he, while hiseyes sparkled for joy. "I have only to wish for a thing and it ismine."
After a while he began to feel rather tired, as indeed he had beenon his legs since daybreak; he also began to feel rather hungry, asin the fullness of his joy at getting the cow, he had eaten up all hehad. At last he could scarcely go on at all, and had to make a haltevery moment, for the stones weighed him down most immerci-fully, and he could not help wishing that he did not feel obliged todrag them along. And on he went at a snail's pace until he came toa well; then he thought he would rest and take a drink of the freshwater. And he placed the stones carefully by his side at the edge ofthe well; then he sat down, and as he stooped to drink, he hap-pened to give the stones a httle push, and they both fell into thewater with a splash. And then Hans, having watched them disap-pear, jumped for joy, and thanked his stars that he had been solucky as to get rid of the stones that had weighed upon him so longwithout any effort of his own.
"I really think," cried he, "I am the luckiest man under the sun."So on he went, void of care, until he reached his mother's house.
Clever Else
There was once a man who had a daughter who was called"Clever Else," and when she was grown up, her father said shemust be married, and her mother said, "Yes, if we could only findsome one that she would consent to have."At last one came from a distance, and his name was Hans, and
when he proposed to her, he made it a condition that Clever Elseshould be very careful as well.
"Oh," said the father, "she does not want for brains.'
"No, indeed," said the mother, "she can see the wind coming upthe street and hear the flies cough."
"Well," said Hans, "if she does not turn out to be careful too, Iwill not have her."
Now when they were all seated at table, and had weU eaten, themother said, "Else, go into the ceUar and draw some beer."
Then Clever Else took down the jug from the hook in the wall,and as she was on her way to the cellar she rattled the lid up anddown so as to pass away the time. When she got there, she took astool and stood it in front of the cask, so that she need not stoopand make her back ache with needless trouble. Then she put thejug under the tap and turned it, and while the beer was running, inorder that her eyes should not be idle, she glanced hither andthither, and finally caught sight of a pickaxe that the workmen hadleft sticking in the ceiling just above her head.
Then Clever Else began to cry, for she thought, "If I marryHans, and we have a child, and it grows big, and we send it intothe cellar to draw beer, that pickaxe might fall on his head and Idllhim." So there she sat and cried with all her might, lamenting theanticipated misfortune.
All the while they were waiting upstairs for something to drink,and they waited in vain. At last the mistress said to the maid, "Godown to the cellar and see why Else does not come."
So the maid went, and found her sitting in front of the cask cry-ing with all her might. "What are you crying for?" said the maid.
"Oh dear me," answered she, "how can I help crying? If I marryHans, and we have a child, and it grows big, and we send it here todraw beer, perhaps the pickaxe may fall on its head and kill it.""Om- Else is clever indeed!" said the maid, and directly sat down tobewail the anticipated misfortune.
After a while, when the people upstairs found that the maid didnot return, and they were becoming more and more thirsty, themaster said to the boy, "You go down into the cellar, and see whatElse and the maid are doing."
The boy did so, and there he foimd both Clever Else and themaid sitting crying together. Then he asked what was the matter.
"Oh dear me," said Else, "how can we help crying? If I marryHans, and we have a child, and it grows big, and we send it here todraw beer, the pickaxe might faU on its head and kill it." "Our Else
Clever Else 529
is clever indeed!" said the boy, and sitting down beside her, hebegan howling with a good will.
Upstairs they were all waiting for him to come back, but as hedid not come, the master said to the mistress, "TTou go down to thecellar and see what Else is doing."
So the mistress went down and found all three in great lamenta-tions, and when she asked the cause, then Else told her how the fu-ture possible child might be killed as soon as it was big enough tobe sent to draw beer, by the pickaxe falling on it. Then the motherat once exclaimed, "Our Else is clever indeedl" and, sitting down,she wept with the rest.
Upstairs the husband waited a little while, but as his wife did notreturn, and as his thirst constantly increased, he said, 1 must godown to the cellar myself, and see what has become of Else."
And when he came into the cellar, and foimd them all sitting andweeping together, he was told that it was all owing to the child thatElse might possibly have, and the possibility of its being killed bythe pickaxe so happening to fall just at the time the child might besitting underneath it drawing beer; and when he heard all this, hecried, "How clever is our Ekel" and sitting down, he joined histears to theirs.
The intended bridegroom stayed upstairs by himself a long time,but as nobody came back to him, he thought he would go himselfand see what they were aU about. And there he found all fivelamenting and crying most pitifully, each one louder than the other."What misfortime has happened?" cried he.
"O my dear Hans," said Else, "if we marry and have a child, andit grows big, and we send it down here to draw beer, perhaps thatpickaxe which has been left sticking up there might fall down onthe child's head and kill it; and how can we help crying at that!"
"Now," said Hans, "I cannot think that greater sense than thatcould be wanted in my household; so as you are so clever, Else, Iwill have you for my wife," and taking her by the hand he led herupstairs, and they had the wedding at once.
A little while after they were married, Hans said to his wife, "Iam going out to work, in order to get money; you go into the fieldand cut the com, so that we may have bread." "Very well, I wiU doso, dear Hans," said she.
And after Hans was gone she cooked herself some nice stew, andtook it with her into the field. And when she got there, she said toherself, "Now, what shall I do? Shall I reap first, or eat first? Allright, I will eat first." Then she ate her fill of stew, and when she
530 Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales
could eat no more, she said to herself, "Now, what shall I do? ShallI reap first, or sleep first? All right, I wiU sleep first." Then she laydown in the com and went to sleep.
And Hans got home, and waited there a long while, and Else didnot come, so he said to himself, "My Clever Else is so industriousthat she never thinks of coming home and eating."
But when evening drew near and still she did not come, Hans setout to see how much com she had cut; but she had cut no com atall, but there she was lying in it asleep. Then Hans made hastehome, and fetched a bird-net with little bells and threw it over her;and stiU she went on sleeping. And he ran home again and lockedhimself in, and sat him down on his bench to work.
At last, when it was beginning to grow dark, Clever Else woke,and when she got up and shook herself, the beUs jingled at eachmovement that she made. Then she grew frightened, and began todoubt whether she were reaUy Clever Else or not, and said to her-self, "Am I, or am I not?" And, not knovidng what answer to make,she stood for a long while considering; at last she thought, "1 willgo home to Hans and ask him if I am or not; he is sure to know."
So she ran up to the door of her house, but it was locked; thenshe knocked at the vidndow, and cried, "Hans, is Else within?""Yes," answered Hans, "she is in."
Then she was in a greater fright than ever, and crying, "Oh dear,then I am not I," she went to inquire at another door, but the peo-ple hearing the jingling of the bells would not open to her, and shecould get in nowhere. So she ran away beyond the village, andsince then no one has seen her.
Hans Married
Thebe was once a young country chap called Hans, whose Unclewanted very much to marry him to a rich wife, so he set him besidethe oven and let a good fire be lighted. Then he fetched a jug ofmilk and a large piece of white bread, and gave Hans a shiningnewly-coined penny, saying, "Hans, keep this penny safely, andbreak your white bread into this milk; and mind you stop here, anddo not stir from your stool till I return."
Hans Married 531
Tes," said Hans, *1 will faithfully do all you require."
Then the Uncle went and drew on a pair of old spotted breeches,and, walking to the next village, called on a rich farmer's daughter,and asked her whether she would marry his nephew Hans, assuringher that he was a prudent and clever young man, who could notfail to please her. The girl's covetous father, however, asked, "Howis he situated with regard to property? Has he the wherevvdthal tolive?"
**My dear friend," said the Uncle, "my nephew is a warm youth,and has not only a nice penny in hand, but plenty to eat and drink.He can count too, quite as many specks" (meaning money) "as I";and as he spoke, he slapped his hand upon his spotted breeches."Will you," he continued, "take the trouble to go with me, and inan hour's time you shall see everything as I have said?"
The oflFer appeared so advantageous to the covetous farmer thathe would not let it slip, and therefore said, "If it is so, I have noth-ing more to say against the wedding."
So the ceremony was performed on an appointed day, and after-wards the yoimg vnfe wished to go into the fields and view theproperty of her husband. Hans drew his spotted smock first over hisSunday clothes, saying to his bride, "I do not wish to spoil my bestthings!" This done, they went together into the fields, and wherevera vine-stock was planted on the road, or the meadows and fieldsdivided, Hans pointed with his finger there, and then laid it on onegreat spot or another on his smock, and said, "This spot is mine andthine too, my dearl I>o just look at it." Hans meant by this, not thathis wife should gaze at the broad fields, but that she should look athis smock, which was reaUy his ownl
'T)id you then go to the wedding?" "Yesl I was there in full tog-gery. My head-piece was of snow, and there came the sun andmelted it; my clothes were of worsted, and I walked throughthorns, so that they were torn off; my shoes were of glass, and Istepped upon a stone, and they cracked and feU to pieces."
The Youth Who Could Not Shiverand Shake
A FATHER had two sons. The elder was smart and could do any-thing. But the younger was so stupid that he could neither learnnor understand a thing, and people would say, "What a biurdenthat stupid boy must be to his father."
Whatever the father wanted done, Jack, the elder boy, wasobUged to do, even to take messages, for his brother was too stupidto understand or remember. But Jack was a terrible coward, and ifhis father wished him to go anywhere late in the evening, and theroad led through the churchyard, he would say, "Oh, no, father, Ican't go there, it makes me bemble and shake so."
Sometimes when they sat round the fire in the evening, whilesomeone told stories that frightened him, he would say, "Pleasedon't go on, it makes me shake all over."
The younger boy, seated in his comer among the Hsteners, wouldopen his eyes quite wide and say, 'T can't think what he means bysaying it makes him shiver and shake. It must be something verywonderful that could make me shiver and shake."
At last one day the father spoke to his younger son very plainlyand said, 'Xisten, you there in the comer; you are growing tall andstrong, you must learn very soon to earn your own living. See howyour brother works, while you do nothing but run and jump aboutaU day."
"Well, father," he replied, "I am quite ready to earn my own liv-ing when you like, if I may only learn to shiver and shake, for Idon't know how to do that at all."
His brother laughed at this speech, and said to himself, "What asimpleton my brother isl He will have to sweep the streets by andby or else starve."
His father sighed and said, "You will never get your living bythat, boy, but you will soon learn to shiver and shake, no doubt."
Just at this moment the sexton of the church came in, and the fa-ther related the trouble he was in about his younger son who wasso silly and unable to learn. "What do you think he said to mewhen I told him he must learn to eam his own living?" asked thefather. "Something silly, I suppose," answered the sexton. "Silly, in-
deed! he said he wished he could learn to shiver and shake." "Oh!"cried the sexton, "let him come to me, I'll soon manage that forhim; he won't be long learning to shiver and shake if I have himwith me.''
The father was delighted with this proposal; it was really a goodbeginning for his stupid son. So the sexton took the youth in handat once, led him to the church tower, and made him help ring thebells. For the first two days he Hked it very well, but on the third atmidnight the sexton roused him out of his sleep to toll the passingbell; he had to mount to the highest part of the church tower. "Youwill soon learn what it is to shiver and shake now, young man,"thought the sexton, but he did not go home, as we shall hear lateron.
The youth walked through the churchyard and mounted thesteps to the belfry without feeling the least fear, but just as hereached the bell rope, he saw a figure in white standing on thesteps. "Who's there?" he cried. But the figiu-e neither moved norspoke. "Answer me," he said, "or take yourself off; you have nobusiness here."
But the sexton, who had disguised himself to frighten the boy,remained immovable, for he wished to be taken for a ghost, butHans was not to be frightened. He exclaimed, for the second time,"What do you want here? Speak, if you are an honest man, or I willthrow you down the steps."
The sexton, thinking he could not intend to do anything sodreadful, answered not a word, but stood still, as if he were madeof stone. "Once more, I ask you what you want," said Hans; and asthere was still no answer, he sprung upon the sham ghost, and giv-ing him a push, he rolled down ten steps, and falhng into a corner,there remained.
Thereupon Hans went back to the bell, tolled it for the propernumber of minutes, then went home, laid himself down withoutsaying a word, and went fast asleep.
The sexton's wife waited a long time for her husband, andfinding he did not come home she became alarmed, and going toHans, woke him and said, "Do you know why my husband is stay-ing out so late—he was with you in the tower I suppose?"
"There was someone dressed in white standing on the top of thesteps when I went into the belfry, and as he would not answer aword when I spoke to him, I took him for a thief and kicked himdownstairs. We will go and see who it is; if it should be your hus-band I shall be sorry, but of course I did not know."
The wife ran out to the tower and found her husband lying in acomer groaning, for he had broken his leg. Then she went to the fa-ther of Hans with a loud outcry against the boy. "Your son," criedshe, "has brought bad luck to the house; he has thrown my hus-band down the steps and broken his leg; he shan't stay with us anylonger, send for him home."
Then the father was terribly vexed, sent for his son, and scoldedhim. "What do you mean, you wretched boy," he said, "by thesewicked tricks?" "Father," answered the boy, "hear what I have tosay. I never meant to do wrong, but when I saw a white figurestanding there in the night, of course I thought it was there forsome bad piurpose. I did not know it was the sexton, and I warnedhim three times what I would do, if he did not answer."
"Ahl yes, you are the plague of my Hfe," said his father. "Nowget out of my sight, and never let me see you again." "Yes, father, Iwill go right willingly tomorrow, and then if I learn to shiver andshake, I shall acquire knowledge that will enable me to earn my Hv-ing at all events."
'Xeam what you like," said his father, "it's all the same to me.There are fifty dollars, take them and go out into the world whenyou please; but don't tell any one where you come from, or who isyour father, for I am ashamed to own you." "Father," said Hans, 'Twill do just as you tell me; yoiu* orders are very easy to perform."
At daybreak the next morning, the youth put the fifty doUars intohis pocket, and went out into the highroad, saying to himself as hewalked on, "When shall I learn to shiver and shake—when shall Ilearn to be afraid?"
Presently a man met him on the road, overheard what he said,and saw at once that the young man was fearless. He quickly joinedhim, and they walked a little way together till they came to a spotwhere they could see a gaUows.
"Look," he said, "there is a tree where seven men have beenmarried with the ropemaker's daughter, and have learned how toswing; if you only sit down here and watch them till night comeson, ril answer for it you will shiver and shake before morning." "Inever had a better opportunity," answered the youth. "That is veryeasily done. You come to me again early tomorrow morning, and ifit teaches me to shiver and shake, you shall have my fifty dollars."
Then the young man went and seated himself imder the gallowsand waited till the evening, and feeling cold he Hghted a fire; but atmidnight the wind rose and blew so fiercely and chiU, that even alarge fire could not warm him.
The high cold wind made the bodies of the murderers swing toand fro, and he thought to himself, if I am so cold down here bythe fire, they must be frozen up there; and after pitying them forsome time he climbed up, imtied the ropes and brought down allthe seven bodies, stirred the fire into a blaze, and seated themround it so close, that their clothes caught fire. Finding they did notmove, he said to them, "Sit farther back, will you, or I vwll hangyou up again." But the dead could not hear him, they only sat silentand let their rags bum.
Then Hans became angry, and said, *Tf you wiU not move, thereis no help for it; I must not let you biun, I must hang you up." Sohe hung the seven bodies up again all in a row, then laid himselfdown by the fire and fell fast asleep.
In the morning the man came, according to his promise, hopingto get the fifty dollars. 'Well, I suppose you know now what it is toshiver and shake?" he said.
"No, indeed," he replied. "Why should I? Those men up therehave not opened their mouths once; and when I seated them roundthe fire, they allowed their old rags to bum vvdthout moving, and ifI had not hung the bodies up again, they would have been burnedalso." The man looked quite scared when he heard this, and wentaway without attempting to ask for the fifty dollars.
Then Hans continued his journey, and again said aloud to him-self, "1 wonder what this shivering and shaking can be."
A wagoner walking along the road by his horses overtook him,and asked who he was. "1 don't know," he replied. The wagonerasked again, "Why are you here?" "I can't teU," said Hans. "Who isyomr father?" "I dare not say." "What were you grumbling aboutjust now, when I came up with you?" "1 want to learn to shiver andshake," said Hans.
"Don't talk nonsense," said the wagoner. "Come with me, I wiUshow you a little of the world, and find you something to do betterthan that"
So the young man went with the wagoner, and about eveningthey arrived at an inn, where they put up for the night. No sooner,however, did Hans enter the room than he muttered to himself,"Oh! if I could only learn to shiver and shake." The landlord heardhim, and said with a laugh, "If that is all you wish to learn, I cantell you of a splendid opportunity in this part of the world."
"Ah! be silent now," said the landlady. "You know how manypeople have already lost their fives through their curiosity. It would
be a pity for a nice yoiing man like this, with such fine blue eyes,never to see daylight again."
But Hans spoke for himself at once. "If it is so bad as you say,"he cried, "I should like to try as soon as possible; all I want is tolearn how to shiver and shake, so tell me what I am to do." And theyouth gave the landlord no rest till he had explained the matter tohim.
"Well," he said at last, "not far from here stands an enchantedcastle, where you could easily learn to shiver and shake, if youremain in it. The King of the country has promised to give hisdaughter in marriage to any one who will ventiure to sleep in thecastle for three nights, and she is as beautiful a young lady as thesun ever shone upon. Rich and valuable treasures in the castle arewatched over by wicked spirits, and any one who could destroythese goblins and demons, and set free the treasures which are rot-ting in the castle, would be made a rich and lucky man. Lots ofpeople have gone into the castle full of hope that they should suc-ceed, but they have not been heard of since."
Hans was not in the least alarmed by this account, and the nextmorning he started off early to visit the King.
When he was admitted to the palace the King looked at himearnestly, and seemed much pleased with his appearance; then hesaid, "Do you really wish to be allowed to remain for three nightsin the enchanted castle?" "Yes," repHed Hans, "I do request it."
"You can take no living creature with you," said the King; "whatelse will you have?" "I only ask for a fire, a turning lathe, a cuttingboard, and a knife," he replied.
To this the King readily agreed, and these articles Hans was per-mitted to take into the castle during the day. When night came, hetook up his abode in one of the rooms, hghted a fire which soonburned brightly, placed the turning lathe and the cutting boardnear it, and sat down on the cutting board, determined to makehimself comfortable. Presently he exclaimed, "Oh, when shall Ilearn to shiver and shake? Not here, I am certain, for I am feeHngtoo comfortable."
But at midnight, just as he had stirred the fire into a blaze, hesuddenly heard in a comer the cry of a cat: "Miou, miou; howcold it isl" "What a fool you must be, then," cried Hans, "to stayout there in the cold; come and seat yourself by the fire, and getwarm if you will."
As he spoke, two very large black cats sprang forward furiously,seated themselves on each side of the fire, and stared at him with
wild, fiery eyes. After a while, when the cats became thoroughlywarm, they spoke, and said, "Comrade, will you have a game ofcards?" "With all my heart," answered Hans; "but first stretch outyour feet, and let me examine your claws."
The cats stretched out their paws. "Ah!" said he, "what longnails you have, and now that I have seen your fingers, I wouldrather be excused from playing cards with you."
Then he killed them both, and threw them out of the wdndowinto the moat. As soon as he had settled these two intruders, heseated himself again by the fire, hoping to have a little rest; but in afew moments there rushed out from every comer of the room blackcats and black dogs with fiery chains one after another, till thereseemed no end to them. They mewed, and barked, and growled,and at length jumped on bis fire and scattered it about the room, asif they wished to put it out.
For a while he watched them in silence, till at last he got angry,and seizing his cutting board, exclaimed, "Be oflFI you horrid crea-tures!" and then rushing after them, he chased them round theroom. Some few escaped in the clamor, but the rest he killed withhis cutting-knife, and threw into the moat.
As soon as he had cleared the room, he rekindled his fire, bygathering the sparks together, and sat down to warm himself in theblaze. After a time he began to feel so sleepy that his eyes wouldnot keep open any longer; so he looked round the room, and espiedin a comer a large bed. "That is the very place for me," he said, ris-ing, and laying himself upon it; but just as he was closing his eyesto sleep, the bed began to move about the room, and at last in-creased its speed, and went off at a gallop through the castle.
"All right," cried Hans, "now, go on again." At this the bedstarted off, as if six horses were harnessed to it, through the door-way, down the steps, to the great gates of the castle, against whichit came vnth a great bump, and tumbled, legs uppermost, throwingall the pillows and blankets on Hon*: who lav undprneath, a<? if amountain were upon him. He struggled out from the load, and said,"Anyone may travel in that fashion who likes, but I don't." So helaid himself down again by the fire, and slept till the daybreak.
In the morning the King came to the castle, and, as he caughtsight of Hans lying by the fire asleep, he thought the evil spiritshad IdUed him, and that he was dead. "Alasl" said the King, "I amvery sorry; it is a great pity that such a fine youth should lose hislife in this manner."
But Hans, who heard, sprang up in a moment and exclaimed,
"No, King, I am not dead yet." The King, quite astonished and joy-ful at finding him unhurt, asked him how he had passed the night."Oh, very pleasantly indeed," repUed Hans; and then he related tothe King all that had passed, which amused him very much.
On returning to the inn, the landlord stared at him with wideopen eyes: "I never expected to see you again alive; but I supposeyou have learned to shiver and shake by this time." "Not I," hereplied; "I believe it is useless for me to try, for I never shall learnto be afraid."
The second night came, and he again went up to the old castle,and seated himself by the fire, singing the burden of his old song,"When shall I learn to shiver and shake?"
At midnight he heard a noise, as of something falling. It camenearer; then for a little while all was quiet; at last, with a tremen-dous scream, half the body of a man came tumbling down thechimney, and fell right in front of Hans.
"Holloa!" he cried, "all that noise, and only half a man; where'sthe other half?" At this, the noise and tumult began again, and,amid yeUings and howHngs, the other half of the man fell on thehearth.
"Wait," said Hans, rising; "1 will stir the fire into a blaze first."But when he turned to sit down again, he found that the two halvesof the man had joined, and there sat an ugly-looldng object in hisplace. "Stay," cried the young man. "I did not bargain for this; thatseat is mine."
The ugly man tried to push Hans away; but he was too quick forhim, and putting out all his strength, he dislodged the creatiurefrom his seat, and placed himself again upon it.
Immediately there came tumbling down the chimney nine moreof these horrid men, one after the other; each of them held ahimian thigh-bone in his hand, and the first who appeared broughtout two skulls, and presently they set up the nine bones Hke skittles,and began to play, with the skulls for balls.
"Shall I play with you?" asked Hans, after he had looked on forsome time. "Yes, wilfingly," they replied, "if you have any money.""Plenty," he said. "But your balls are not quite roimd." So he tookthe skuUs and turned them on his lathe. "Now they will roll better;come on, let us set to work."
The strange men played with great spirit, and won a few of hisdollars; but all at once the cock crowed, and they vanished fromhis eyes. After they were gone he laid himself down and slept
The Youth Who Could Not Shiver and Shake 539
peacefully till the King arrived, and asked him what had happened,and how it had fared with him during the night.
"Well," said Hans, "I played a game of skittles with some horrid-looking fellows who had bones and skulls for skittles and balls. Iwon sometimes, and I lost a couple of dollars." "Did you not shiverand shake?" asked the King, in siirprise. "Not I, indeedl I wish Icouldl Oh, if I only knew how to shiver and shake."
The third night came, and found our hero once more seated onhis bench by the fire, and saying quite mournfully, "When shall Iever learn to shiver and shake?"
As he spoke there came into the room six tall men, bearing acoffin containing a dead man. "Ahl" said Hans, "I know what youhave there, it is the body of my cousin. He has been dead twodays." Then he beckoned with his finger and said, "Come here, lit-tle cousin, I should like to see youl"
The men placed the coffin on the ground before him, and took offthe hd. Hans touched the face, and it felt as cold as ice. "Wait," hesaid, 'T will soon warm it!" so he went to the fire, and warming hishand, laid it on the face of the dead man, which remained as coldas ever.
At last he took him out of the coffin, carried him to the fire, andplaced him on his lap, while he rubbed the hands and chest that hemight cause the blood to circulate, but all to no piupose; the bodyremained as cold as before. Presently he remembered that whentwo lie in bed together they warm each other, so he placed thedead man in bed, covered him over, and lay down beside him.After a while this seemed to produce warmth in the body, theblood began to circulate, and at last the dead man moved andspoke.
"There, now, dear cousin," said Hans, "see, I have warmed youinto Hfe again, as I said I could." But the dead man sprang up andcried, "Yes, and now I will strangle you."
"Whatl" cried Hans, "is that your gratitude? You may as well goback into your coffin again." He leaped out of bed as he spoke, and,seizing the body, he threw it into the coffin and shut the lid downclosely upon it. Then the six tall men walked in, lifted up the coffinand carried it away.
"That's over," said Hans. "Ohl I am sure nothing will ever teachme to shiver and shake."
As he spoke a man walked in who was taller and larger than anyof the others, and the look of his eyes was frightful; he was old, andwore a long white beard.
"You wretched creature," cried the man, "I will soon teach youwhat it is to shiver and shake, for you shall die." "Not so fast,friend," answered Hans. "You cannot kill me without my own con-sent." "I will soon have you on the ground," repHed the monster."Softly, softly, do not boast; you may be strong, but you will findthat I am stronger than you." "That is to be proved," said the oldman. 'If you are stronger than I am, I wiU let you go. Come, wewill try."
The old man, followed by Hans, led the way through long darkpassages and cellars, till they saw the reflection of a smith's fire, andpresently came to a forge. Then the old man took an axe, and withone blow cut through the anvil right down to the ground.
"I can do better than that," said Hans, taking up the axe andgoing towards another anvil. The monster was so surprised at thisdaring on the part of Hans that he followed him closely, and as heleaned over to watch what the youth was going to do, his longwhite beard fell on the anvil.
Hans raised his axe, spHt the anvil at one blow, wedging the oldman's beard in the opening at the same time.
"Now I have got you, old feUow," cried Hans, "prepare for thedeath you deserve." Then he took up an iron bar and beat the oldman till he cried for mercy, and promised to give him all the richesthat were hidden in the castle.
At this Hans drew out the axe from the anvil, and set the oldman's beard free, while he watched him closely. He kept his word,however, and leading the young man back to the castle, pointedout to him a cellar in which were three immense chests fuU ofgold. "There is one for the poor," said he; "another for the King, andthe third for yourself."
Hans was about to thank him, when the cock crowed, and the oldman vanished, leaving the youth standing in the dark.
*1 must find my way out of this place," he said, after gropingabout for some time, but at last daylight penetrated into the vaults,and he succeeded in reaching his old room, and lying down by thefire, slept soundly till he was aroused by the King's arrival.
"Well," he said, in a glad voice when he saw the young manalive, "have you learned to shiver and shake yet?" "Nol" repliedHans, "what was there to make me fear? My dead cousin came tosee me, and a bearded old man tried to conquer me, but I managedhim, and he has shown me where to find hidden treasures of gold,and how could I shiver and shake at these visitors?"
"Then," said the King, "you have released the castle from en-
chantment. I will give you, as I promised, my daughter in mar-riage."
"That is good news," cried Hans. "But I have not learned toshiver and shake after all."
The gold was soon after brought aWay from the castle, and themarriage celebrated with great pomp. Young Prince Hans, as hewas now called, did not seem quite happy after all. Not even thelove of his bride could satisfy him. He was always saying: "Whenshall I learn to shiver and shake?"
This troubled the Princess very much, tiU her lady's-maid said, "Iwill help you in this matter; I will show you how to make thePrince shiver and shake, that you may depend upon." So the Prin-cess agreed to do what the lady's-maid advised.
First she went out to a brook that flowed through the gardens ofthe palace, and brought in a whole pailful of water, containing tinyfish, which she placed in the room.
"Remember," said the lady's-maid, "when the Prince is asleep inbed, you must throw this pail of water over him; that will makehim shiver and shake, I am quite certain, and then he will be con-tented and happy."
So that night while Hans was in bed and asleep, the Princessdrew down the bedclothes gently, and threw the cold water with thegudgeons aU over him. The httle fish wriggled about as they fellon the bed, and the Prince, waking suddenly, exclaimed, "Oh! dear,how I do shiver and shake, what can it be?" Then seeing the Prin-cess standing by his bed, he guessed what she had done.
"Dear wife," he said, "now I am satisfied, you have taught me toshiver and shake at last," and from that hour he lived happily andcontented with his wife, for he had learned to shiver and shake-but not to fear.
Fred and Kate
There were once a yoimg husband and wife, and their names wereFred and Kate. One day said Fred, "I must go now to my work inthe fields, Kate, and when I come back you must have on the tablesome roast meat to satisfy my hunger, and some cool drink to
quench my thirst." "All right, Fred," answered Kate; "be off withyou, I will see to it."
When dinner-time began to draw near, she took down a sausagefrom the chimney, put it in a frying-pan with some butter, andstood it over the fire. The sausage began to frizzle and fry, andKate stood holding the handle of the pan, and fell into deepthought. At last she said to herself, "While the sausage is cooking Imight as well be drawing the beer in the cellar."
So she saw that the frying-pan was standing firmly, and then tooka can and went down into the cellar to draw the beer. Now, whileKate was watching the beer run into the can, a sudden thoughtcame into her mind.
"HoUoal the dog is not fastened up; he may perhaps get at thesausage," and in a trice she was up the cellar steps: but already thedog had it in his mouth, and was making off with it. Then Kate,with all haste, followed after him and chased him a good way intothe fields, but the dog was quicker than Kate, and, never letting slipthe sausage, was soon at a great distance. "Well, it can't behelped!" said Kate turning back, and as she had tired herself withrunning, she took her time about going home, and walked slowly tocool herself.
All this time the beer was running out of the cask, for Kate hadnot turned off the tap, and as the can was soon full, it began to runover on the cellar floor, and ran, and ran, until the cask was empty.Kate stood on the steps and saw the misfortune. "Dear me!" criedshe, "what am I to do to prevent Fred from noticing it!"
She considered for a while, and then remembered that there wasremaining in the loft from the last fair time a sack of fine wheat-flour; she determined to bring it down, and strew it over the beer."To be sure," said she, "those who know how to save have some-what in time of necessity."
And going up to the loft, she dragged the sack down and threw itright upon the can full of beer, so that Fred's drink ran about thecellar with the rest. "It is all right," said Kate; "where some goesthe rest must follow," and she strewed the meal all over the cellar.When all was done, she was highly pleased, and thought how cleanand neat it looked.
At dirmer-time home came Fred. "Now, wife, what have you gotfor me?" said he.
"O Fred," answered she, "I was going to cook a sausage for you,but while I was drawing the beer the dog got it out of the pan, andwhile I was miming after the dog the beer all ran away, and as I
was going to stop up the beer with the wheat-meal I knocked overthe can: but it is all right now; the cellar is quite dry again."
But said Fred, "O Kate, Kate! what have you been about, lettingthe sausage be carried off, and the beer run out of the cask, andthen to waste all our good meal into the bargain?" "Well, Fred, Idid not know; you should have told me," said Kate.
So the husband thought to himself, "If my v^dfe is Hke this, Imust look after things a little better."
Now he had saved a very pretty sum of money, and he changedit all to gold, and said to Kate, "Do you see these yellow counters?I am going to make a hole in the stable underneath the cows' man-ger and bury them; see that you do not meddle v^th them, or it willbe the worse for you." And she said, "Oh no, Fred, certainly Iwon't."
Now, one day when Fred was away, there came some peddlers tothe village, with earthen pots and basins to sell, and they asked theyoung wife if she had nothing to give in exchange for them.
"O my good men," said Kate, "I have no money to buy anythingwith, but if you had any use for yellow counters, I might do somebusiness with you." "Yellow counters! why not? We might as wellsee them," said they. "Then go into the stable and dig under thecows' manger, and you will find them; but I dare not go near theplace."
So those rogues went and dug, and foimd the gold accordingly.And they seized it quickly, and ran off with it, leaving the pots andpans behind them in the house. Kate thought she must make someuse of her new possessions, so, as she had no need of them inthe kitchen, she spread them out on the ground, and then stuckthem, one after another, for ornament, on the fence which ranround the house.
When Fred came home and saw the new decorations, he said,"Kate, what have you been doing?" "I bought them every one,Fred, with those yellow counters that were buried under the man-ger, and I did not go there myself; the peddlers had to dig them upfor themselves."
"O v^dfel" cried Fred, "what have you done? They were notcounters, but pure gold, and all our capital; you should not havedone so." "Well, Fred, I did not know; you should have told methat before," answered Kate.
Then Kate stood still a Httle while to consider, and at last shesaid, "Listen, Fred, we may be able to get the gold back again. Letus run after the thieves." "Very well," said Fred, "we will try; only
let us take some bread and cheese with us, that we may have some-thing to eat on the way." "All right," she answered.
So they set out, and as Fred was a better walker than Kate, shewas soon left behind. "All the better for me," said she, "for whenwe turn back I shall have so much the less distance to go."
And they came to a mountain where on both sides of the roadthere were deep cart-ruts. And Kate said to herself, "How sad tosee the poor earth torn, and vexed, and oppressed in this wayl Itwill never be healed again in all its Kfe."
And with a compassionate heart, she took out her butter andsmeared the cart-ruts right and left, so that they might not be socut by the wheels; and as she was stooping to perform this mercifulact a cheese fell out of her pocket and rolled down the mountain.
And Kate said, "I have walked over the ground once, and I amnot going to do it again, but another shall rim after that cheese, andbring it back." So saying, she took another cheese, and rolled itafter the first one; and as it did not seem to be coming back again,she sent a third racing after them, thinking, "Perhaps they are wait-ing for company, and are not used to traveling alone."
But when they all three delayed coming, she said, "I can't thinkwhat this means 1 Perhaps it is that the third one has lost his way, soI will send a fourth that he may call out to him as he goes by." Butit went no better with the fourth than with the third. And Kate lostall patience and threw down the fifth and sixth, and that was all.
A long while she stood and waited for them to come up, but asstill they did not come, she said, "Oh, it's like sending good moneyafter bad; there is no getting you back again. If you suppose I amgoing to wait for you any longer, you are very much mistaken: Ishall go on my way and you may overtake me; your legs areyounger than mine." Kate then went on until she overtook Fred,who was standing stiU and waiting, as he wanted something to eat.
"Now, be quick," he said, "and hand over what you havebrought." And she handed him the dry bread. "Now for the butterand the cheese," said the man.
"O Fred," said Kate, "1 anointed the cart-ruts with the butter,and the cheeses will soon be here, they are upon the road; one ofthem ran away, and I sent the others to fetch it back."
Then said Fred, "It was very wrong of you, Kate, to waste thebutter, and roll the cheeses down the hill." And Kate answered,"Well then, you should have told me so."
As they were eating the dry bread together, Fred said, "Kate, did
Fred and Kate 545
you lock up tbe house before leaving?" "No, Fred; you ought tohave told me that before."
And her husband answered, "Well, you must go home at onceand lock up the house before we go any farther, and you might aswell bring something more to eat with you, and I will wait for youhere."
So Kate went, and she thought to herself, "As Fred wants some-thing more to eat, and he does not care much about butter andcheese, I will bring some dried apples and a jug of vinegar backwith me."
Then she bolted the front door, but the back door she took oflE itshinges, and lifted it on her shoulders, thinking that if she had thedoor all safe no harm could come to the house. And she took hertime on the way back, and thought to herself, 'Tred will have somuch the longer to rest." So when she got back to him, she calledout, "Fred, if the house-door is safe, no harm can come to thehouse I"
"Oh dear!" cried he, "what a prudent wife have II To carry awaythe back-door, so that any one may get in, and to bolt the frontdoor! It is too late now to go home, but as you have brought thedoor so far, you may carry it on farther."
"All right, I will carry the door, Fred," said she, "but the driedapples and the vinegar will be too heavy for me; I will hang themon the door and make it carry them."
Now they went into the wood to look for the thieves, but theycould not find them. When it grew dark they got up into a tree topass the night there. No sooner had they settled down when upcame the peddlers, some of those fellows who carry away whatshould not go with them, and who find things before they are lost.They laid themselves down directly under the tree where Fred andKate were, and they made a fire, and began to divide their spoil.
Then Fred got down on the farther side of the tree and gatheredtogether some stones, and then got up again, intending to stone therobbers to death with them. The stones, however, did not hit them,and they said, "It will soon be morning; the wind is rising andshaking down the fir-cones."
Now all the time Kate had the door on her shoulder, and as itweighed upon her heavily, she thought it must be the dried apples,and she said, "Fred, I must throw down the dried apples." "No,Kate, not now," answered he; "we might be discovered." "Oh dear,Fred, but I must! They weigh me down sol" said she. "Well then,do it, if you must, in the name of all that's tormentingl" cried he.
And down rolled the apples between the boughs; and the robberscried, "There are birds in this treel"
After a while, as the door still weighed her down heavily, Katesaid, "O Fred, I must pour away the vinegar"; and he answered,"No, Kate, you must not do that; we might be discovered." "Ohdear me, Fred, but I must! it weighs me dowoi sol" "Then do it, ifyou must, in the name of all that's tormentingl"
And she poured out the vinegar, so that the men were all be-sprinkled. And they said one to another, "The morning dew is be-ginning to fall aheady."
At last Kate began to think that it must really be the door thatweighed so heavy, and she said, "Fred, I must throw down thedoor"; and he answered, "No, Kate, not now; we might be discov-ered." "Oh dear me, Fred, but I musti It weighs me down so." "No,Kate, you must hold it fast." "O Fred, it's slipping, it's falling!""Well then, let it fall in the name of tormentl" cried Fred in a pas-sion.
And so it fell with a great crash, and the thieves below cried,"There is something vvrong about this treel" and they got up in agreat hurry and ran off, leaving their spoil behind them. And earlyin the morning when Fred and Kate came down from the tree theygot all their gold again and carried it home.
And when they reached their house again Fred said, "Now, Kate,you must fall to and be very industrious and work hard." "All right,Fred, I will go into the field and cut com," said she.
And when she came into the field she said to herself, "Shall I eatbefore I cut, or shall I sleep before I cut? Well, I will eat first." Andso she ate, and after that she felt sleepy, but she began to cut andwent on half asleep cutting her own clothes, skirts, gown, and all,and when she at last woke up and found herself in rags, she said toherself, "Is this really I or not? Oh dear, it is not 11"
After a while night came on, and Kate ran into the village andknocked at her husband's door calling out, 'Tredl" "What is it?"said he. "I want to know if Kate is at home," said she. "Oh yes," heanswered, "she is lying here fast asleep."
So she said to herself, "All right then, I am certainly at home,"and she ran on farther.
Soon she came upon some thieves who were looking about forsomething to steal, and she went up to them and offered to helpthem, and the thieves thought she knew of a good place and oppor-tunity, and were glad of her offer. But Kate walked in front of thehouses calling out, "Good people, what have you for us to steal?"
So the thieves thought to themselves, "This will never do," andwished themselves quit of her. At last they said to her, "Just at theend of the village there are some turnips in the parson's field; goand fetch us some."
So Kate went into the field and began to pull some up, but verylazily, and never raised herself. Presently came by a man who sawher, and thought she was some evil thing grubbing for the tin-nips.So he ran quickly into the village and said to the parson, "O par-son, some evil creature is grubbing in your tumip-fieldl"
"Oh dearl" answered the parson, "I have a lame foot, I cannot goto drive it away." And the man at once offered to take him on hisback, and he did so.
Just as they reached the field Kate got up and stood upright.
"Oh, the devil!" cried the parson, and both took to their heels,and the parson was able, out of his great fear, to run faster with hislame foot than the man who had carried him on his back with bothlegs sound.
Wise Folks
One day a peasant took his good hazel-stick out of the comer andsaid to his wife, "Trina, I am going across country, and shall not re-turn for three days. If during that time the cattle-dealer shouldhappen to call and want to buy oui three cows, you may strike abargain at once, but not unless you can get two hundred thalers forthem; nothing less, do you hear?" "For heaven's sake just go inpeace," answered the woman, "I will manage that." "You, indeed,"said the man. "You once fell on your head when you were a littlechild, and that affects you even now; but let me tell you this, if youdo anything fooHsh, I will make your back black and blue, and notwith paint, I assure you, but with the stick which I have in myhand, and the coloring shall last a whole year, you may rely onthat." And having said that, the man went on his way.
Next morning the cattle-dealer came, and the woman had noneed to say many words to him. When he had seen the cows andheard the price, he said, "I am quite willing to give that; honesftlyspeaking, they are worth it. I will take the beasts away with me atonce." He unfastened their chains and drove them out of the byre,
but just as he was going out of the yard-door, the woman clutchedhim by the sleeve and said, "You must give me the two hundredthalers now, or I cannot let the cows go." "True," answered theman, "but I have forgotten to buckle on my money-belt. Have nofear, however, you shall have security for my paying. I will taketwo cows with me and leave one, and then you will have a goodpledge." The woman saw the force of this, and let the man go awaywith the cows, and thought to herself, "How pleased Hans will bewhen he finds how cleverly I have managed it!"
The peasant came home on the third day as he had said hewould, and at once inquired if the cows were sold. "Yes, indeed,dear Hans," answered the woman, "and as you said, for two hun-dred thalers. They are scarcely worth so much, but the man tookthem without making any objection." "Where is the money?" askedthe peasant. "Oh, I have not got the money," replied the woman;"he had happened to forget his money-belt, but he will soon bringit, and he left good seciuity behind him." "What kind of security?"asked the man. "One of the three cows, which he shall not haveuntil he has paid for the other two. I have managed very cunningly,for I have kept the smallest, which eats the least." The man wasenraged and lifted up his stick, and was just going to give her thebeating he had promised her. Suddenly he let the stick faU andsaid, "You are the stupidest goose that ever waddled on God'searth, but I am sorry for you. I will go out into the highways andwait for three days to see if I find any one who is still stupider thanyou. If I succeed in doing so, you shall go scot-free, but if I do notfind him, you shall receive your well-deserved reward without anydiscount."
He went out into the great highways, sat down on a stone, andwaited for what would happen. Then he saw a peasant's wagoncoming towards him, and a woman was standing upright in the mid-dle of it, instead of sitting on the bundle of straw which was lyingbeside her, or walking near the oxen and leading them. The manthought to himself, "That is certainly one of the kind I am in searchof," and jumped up and ran backwards and forwards in front of thewagon like one who is not very wise. "What do you want, myfriend?" said the woman to him; "I don't know you, where do youcome from?" "I have fallen down from Heaven," replied the man,"and don't know how to get back again; couldn't you drive me up?""No," said the woman, "I don't know the way, but if you comefrom Heaven you can surely tell me how my husband, who hasbeen there these three years, is. You must have seen him?" "Oh,
Wise Folks 549
yes, I have seen him, but all men can't get on well. He keeps sheep,and the sheep give him a great deal to do. They run up the moun-tains and lose their way in the wilderness, and he has to run afterthem and drive them together again. His clothes are all torn topieces too, and will soon fall off his body. There is no tailor there,for Saint Peter won't let any of them in, as you know by the story.""Who would have thought it?" cried the woman. "I tell you what, Iwill fetch his Sunday coat which is still hanging at home in thecupboard; he can wear that and look respectable. You will be sokind as to take it with you." "That won't do very well," answeredthe peasant; "people are not allowed to take clothes into Heaven,they are taken away from one at the gate."
"Then Hsten," said the woman, '1 sold my fine wheat yesterdayand got a good lot of money for it; I will send that to him. If youhide the pinse in your pocket, no one will know that you have it.""If you can't manage it any other way," said the peasant, "I will doyou that favor." "Just sit still where you are," said she, "and I willdrive home and fetch the purse, I shall soon be back again. I do notsit down on the bundle of straw, but stand up in the wagon, be-cause it makes it lighter for the cattle." She drove her oxen away,and the peasant thought, "That woman has a perfect talent forfolly, if she really brings the money, my wife may think herself for-tunate, for she will get no beating." It was not long before she camein a great hurry with the money, and with her own hands put it inhis pocket. Before she went away, she thanked him again a thou-sand times for his courtesy.
When the woman got home again, she found her son who hadcome in from the field. She told him what unlooked-for things hadbefallen her, and then added, "I am truly delighted at havingfound an opportunity of sending something to my poor husband.Who would ever have imagined that he could be suffering for wantof anything up in Heaven?"
The son was full of astonishment. "Mother," said he, "it is notevery day that a man comes from Heaven in this way, I will go outimmediately, and see if he is still to be found; he must tell me whatit is like up there, and how the work is done." He saddled the horseand rode off with all speed. He found the peasant who was sittingrmder a willow tree, and was just going to count the money in thepurse. "Have you seen the man who has fallen down fromHeaven?" cried the youth to him. "Yes," answered the peasant, "hehas set out on his way back there, and has gone up that hill, fromwhence it will be rather nearer; you could still catch him if you
were to ride fast." "Alas," said the youth, *1 have been doing tiringwork all day, and the ride here has completely worn me out; youknow the man, be so kind as to get on my horse, and go and per-suade him to come here." "Aha!" thought the peasant, "here is an-other who has no wick in his lampl" "Why should I not do you thisfavor?" said he, and mounted the horse and rode off in a quick trot.
The youth remained sitting there till night fell, but the peasantnever came back. "The man from Heaven must certainly have beenin a great hurry, and would not turn back," thought he, "and thepeasant has no doubt given him the horse to take to my father." Hewent home and told his mother what had happened, and that hehad sent his father the horse so that he might not have to be alwaysrunning about. "You have done well," answered she, "yornr legs areyounger than his, and you can go on foot."
When the peasant got home, he put the horse in the stable besidethe cow which he had as a pledge, and then went to his wife andsaid, "Trina, as your luck would have it, I have found two who arestill sillier fools than you; this time you escape without a beating; Iwdll store it up for another occasion." Then he lighted his pipe, satdown in his grandfather's chair, and said, "It was a good stroke ofbusiness to get a sleek horse and a great purse full of money intothe bargain, for two lean cows. If stupidity always brought in asmuch as that I would be quite willing to hold it in honor." Sothought the peasant, but you no doubt prefer the simple folks.
The Lazy Spinner
In a certain village there once lived a man and his wife. The wifewas so idle that she would never work at anything; whatever herhusband gave her to spin, she did not get done, and what she didspin she did not wind, but let it all remain entangled in a heap. Ifthe man scolded her, she was always ready with her tongue, andsaid, "WeU, how should I vdnd it, when I have no reel? Just you gointo the forest and get me one." "If that is all," said the man, "thenI will go into the forest, and get some wood for making reels."Then the woman was afraid that if he had the wood he wouldmake her a reel of it, and she would have to wind her yam off, andthen begin to spin again. She bethought herself a Httle, and then a
The Lazy Spinner 551
lucky idea occurred to her, and she secredy followed the man intothe forest, and when he had cHmbed into a tree to choose and cutthe wood, she crept into the thicket below where he could not seeher, and cried,
"He who cuts wood for reels shall die.And he who winds, shall perish."
The man listened, laid down his axe for a moment, and began toconsider what that could mean. "Hollo," he said at last, "what canthat have been; my ears must have been singing; I won't alarm my-self for nothing." So he again seized the axe, and began to hew;then again there came a cry from below:
"He who cuts wood for reels shall die.And he who winds, shall perish."
He stopped, and felt afraid and alarmed, and pondered over thecircumstance. But when a few moments had passed, he took heartagain, and a third time he stretched out his hand for the axe, andbegan to cut. But some one called out a third time, and said loudly,
"He who cuts wood for reels shall die.And he who winds, shall perish."
That was enough for him, and all inclination had departed fromhim, so he hastily descended the tree, and set out on his way home.The woman ran as fast as she could by byways so as to get homefirst. So when he entered the parlor, she put on an innocent look asif nothing had happened, and said, "Well, have you brought a nicepiece of wood for reels?" "No," said he, "I see very well that wind-ing won't do," and told her what had happened to him in the forest,and from that time forth left her in peace about it.
Nevertheless, after some time, the man again began to complainof the disorder in the house. "Wife," said he, "it is really a shamethat the spun yam should lie there all entangledl" "I'll teU youwhat," said she, "as we still don't come by any reel, go you up intothe loft, and I will stand down below, and will throw the yam up toyou, and you will throw it down to me, and so we shall get a skeinafter all." "Yes, that will do," said the man. So they did that, andwhen it was done, he said, "The yam is in skeins, now it must beboiled." The woman was again distressed; she said certainly, "Yes,we will boil it tomorrow moming early," but she was secretly con-triving another trick.
Early in the moming she got up, lighted a fire, and put the kettle
on, only instead of the yam, she put in a lump of tow, and let itboil. After that she went to the man, who was stiU lying in bed, andsaid to him, "I must just go out, you must get up and look after theyam which is in the kettle on the fire, but you must be at hand atonce; mind that, for if the cock should happen to crow, and you arenot attending to the yam, it will become tow."
The man was willing and took good care not to loiter. He got upas quickly as he could, and went into the kitchen. But when hereached the kettle and peeped in, he saw, to his horror, nothing buta lump of tow. Then the poor man was as still as a mouse, thinkinghe had neglected it, and was to blame, and in future said no moreabout yam and spinning. But you yourself must own she was anodious womanl
The Three Sluggards
A CERTAIN King had three sons who were aU equally dear to him,and he did not know which of them to appoint as his successorafter his own death. When the time came when he was about todie, he simmioned them to his bedside and said, "Dear children, Ihave been thinking of something which I wiU declare unto you;whichsoever of you is the laziest shall have the kingdom."
The eldest said, **Then, father, the kingdom is mine, for I am soidle that if I lie down to rest, and a drop falls in my eye, I wiU notopen it that I may sleep."
The second said, 'Tather, the kingdom belongs to me, for I amso idle that when I am sitting by the fire warming myself, I wouldrather let my heel be burnt off than draw back my leg."
The third said, "Father, the kingdom is mine, for I am so idlethat if I were going to be hanged, and had the rope already roundmy neck, and any one put a sharp knife into my hand with which Imight cut the rope, I would rather let myself be hanged than raisemy hand to the rope."
When the father heard that, he said, "You have carried it the far-thest, and shall be King."
The Twelve Idle Servants
Twelve servants who had done nothing dining the day would notexert themselves at night either, but laid themselves on the grassand boasted of their idleness. The first said, "What is your lazinessto me, I have to concern myself about mine own? The care of mybody is my principal work; I eat not a little and drink still more.When I have had four meals, I fast a short time imtil I feel hungeragain, and that suits me best. To rise betimes is not for me; when itis getting near midday, I already seek out a resting-place for my-self. If the master call, I do exactly as if I had not heard him, and ifhe call for the second time, I wait a while before I get up, and goto him very slowly. In this way life is endurable."
The second said, "I have a horse to look after, but I leave the bitin his mouth, and if I do not want to do it, I give him no food, andI say he has had it already. I, however, lay myself in the oat-chestand sleep for four hours. After this I stretch out one foot and moveit a couple of times over the horse's body, and then he is combedand cleaned. Who is going to make a great business of that? Never-theless service is too toilsome for me."
The third said, "Why plague oneself with work? Nothing comesof iti I laid myself in the sun, and fell asleep. It began to rain a Ht-tle, but why should I get up? I let it rain on in God's name. At lastcame a splashing shower, so heavy indeed, that it pulled the hairout of my head and washed it away, and I got a hole in the skuU; Iput a plaster on it, and then it was all right. I have already had sev-eral injuries of that kind."
The foiuth said, "If I am to undertake a piece of work, I first loi-ter about for an horn* that I may save up my strength. After that Ibegin quite slowly, and ask if no one is there who could help me.Then I let him do the chief of the work, and in reality only look on;but that also is still too much for me."
The fifth said, "What does that matter? Just think, I am to takeaway the manure from the horse's stable, and load the cart vdth it.I let it go on slowly, and if I have taken anything on the fork, I onlyhalf-raise it up, and then I rest just a quarter of an hour until Iquite throw it in. It is enough and to spare if I take out a cartful inthe day. I have no fancy for killing myself with work."
The sixth said, "Shame on you. I am afraid of no work, but I liedown for three weeks, and never once take my clothes off. What isthe use of buckling your shoes on? For aught I care they may falloff my feet, it is no matter. If I am going up some steps, I drag onefoot slowly after the other on to the first step, and then I count therest of them that I may know where I must rest."
The seventh said, "That will not do with me. My master looksafter my work, only he is not at home the whole day. But I neglectnothing, I run as fast as it is possible to do when one crawls. If I amto get on, foiur sturdy men must push me with aU their might. Icame where six men were lying sleeping on a bed beside eachother. I lay down by them and slept too. There was no wakeningme again, and when they wanted to have me home, they had tocarry me."
The eighth said, "I see plainly that I am the only active fellow; ifa stone He before me, I do not give myself the trouble to raise mylegs and step over it. I lay myself down on the ground, and if I amwet and covered with mud and dirt, I stay lying imtil the sun hasdried me again. At the very most, I only turn myself so that it canshine on me."
The ninth said, "That is the right wayl Today the bread was be-fore me, but I was too idle to take it, and nearly died of hungerlMoreover a jug stood by it, but it was so big and heavy that I didnot like to lift it up, and preferred bearing thirst. Just to turn my-self round was too much for mel I remained lying like a log thewhole day."
The tenth said, "Laziness has brought misfortune on me, a bro-ken leg and swollen calf. Three of us were lying in the road, and Ihad my legs stretched out. Some one came with a cart, and thewheels went over me. I might indeed have drawn my legs back, butI did not hear the cart coming, for the midges were humming aboutmy ears, and creeping in at my nose and out again at my mouth;who can take the trouble to drive the vermin away?"
The eleventh said, "I gave up my place yesterday. I had no fancyfor carrying the heavy books to my master any longer or fetchingthem away again. There was no end of it all day long. But to teUthe truth, he gave me my dismissal, and would not keep me anylonger, for his clothes, which I had left lying in the dust, were allmoth-eaten, and I am very glad of it."
The twelfth said, "Today I had to drive the cart into the country,and made myself a bed of straw on it, and had a good sleep. Thereins slipped out of my hand, and when I awoke, the horse had
Lazy Harry 555
nearly torn itself loose; the harness was gone, the strap which fas-tened the horse to the shafts was gone, and so were the collar, thebridle and bit. Some one had come by, who had carried all off. Be-sides this, the cart had got into a quagmire and stuck fast. I left itstanding, and stretched myself on the straw again. At last themaster came himself, and pushed the cart out, and if he had notcome I should not be lying here but there, and sleeping tranquilly."
Lazy Harry
Harry was lazy, and although he had nothing else to do but drivehis goat daily to pasture, he nevertheless groaned when he wenthome after his day's work was done. "It is a heavy burden," saidhe, "and a wearisome employment to drive a goat into the field thisway year after year, till late into the autumni If one could but liedown and sleep, but no, one must have one's eyes open lest it hurtsthe young trees, or squeezes itself through the hedge into a garden,or runs away altogether. How can one have any rest, or peace ofone's hfe?" He seated himself, collected his thoughts, and consid-ered how he could set his shoulders free from this burden.
For a long time all thinking was to no purpose, but suddenly itwas as if scales fell from his eyes. "I know what I will do," hecried, "I will marry fat Trina who has also a goat, and can takemine out with hers, and then I shall have no more need to troublemyself."
So Harry got up, set his weary legs in motion, and went rightacross the street, for it was no farther, to where the parents of fatTrina lived, and asked for their industrious and virtuous daughterin marriage. The parents did not reflect long. "Birds of a feather,flock together," they thought, and consented.
So fat Trina became Harry's wife and led out both the goats.Harry had a good time and had no work to rest from but his ownidleness. He went out with her only now and then, and said, "Imerely do it that I may afterwards enjoy rest more; otherwise oneloses all feeling for it."
Fat Trina was no less idle. "Dear Harry," said she one day, "whyshould we make our Hves so toilsome when there is no need for it,and thus ruin the best days of our youth? Would it not be better for
556 Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales
us to give the two goats which disturb us every morning in oursweetest sleep with their bleating, to our neighbor, and he will giveus a beehive for them? We will put the beehive in a sunny placebehind the house, and trouble ourselves no more about it. Bees donot require to be taken care of, or driven into the field; they fly outand find the way home again for themselves, and collect honeywithout giving the very least trouble." "You have spoken like a sen-sible woman," repfied Harry. "We will carry out your proposalwithout delay; and besides all that, honey tastes better andnourishes one better than goat's milk, and it can be kept longer,too."
The neighbor willingly gave a beehive for the two goats. Thebees flew in and out from early morning till late evening withoutever tiring, and filled the hive with the most beautiful honey, sothat in autumn Harry was able to take a whole pitcherful out of it.
They placed the jug on a board which was fixed to the wall oftheir bed-room, and as they were afraid that it might be stolenfrom them, or that the mice might find it, Trina brought in a stouthazel-stick and put it beside her bed, so that without unnecessarygetting up she might reach it with her hand, and drive away theuninvited guests.
Lazy Harry did not Hke to leave his bed before noon. "He whorises early," said he, "wastes his substance."
One morning when he was still lying among the feathers in broaddaylight, resting after his long sleep, he said to his wife, "Womenare fond of sweet things, and you are always tasting the honey inprivate; it will be better for us to exchange it for a goose with ayoung gosling, before you eat up the whole of it." "But," answeredTrina, "not before we have a child to take care of them I Am I toworry myself with the Httle geese, and spend all my strength onthem to no purpose?" "Do you think," said Harry, "that the young-ster will look after geese? Nowadays children no longer obey; theydo according to their own fancy, because they consider themselvescleverer than their parents, just Hke that lad who was sent to seekthe cow and chased three blackbirds." "Oh," repHed Trina, "thisone shall fare badly if he does not do what I sayl I will take a stickand belabor his skin for him with more blows than I can coimt.Look, Harry," cried she in her zeal, and seized the stick which shehad to drive the mice away with, "Look, this is the way I will faUon himl"
She reached her arm out to strike, but unhappily, hit the honey-
Odds and Ends 557
pitcher above the bed. The pitcher struck against the wall and felldown in fragments, and the fine honey streamed down on theground. "There lie the goose and the young gosling," said Harry,"and want no looking after. But it is lucky that the pitcher did notfall on my head. We have all reason to be satisfied with our lot."And then as he saw that there was still some honey in one of thefragments he stretched out his hand for it, and said quite gaily,"The remains, my wife, we will still eat with a relish, and we willrest a fittle after the fright we have had. What matters if we do getup a little later—the day is always long enough." "Yes," answeredTrina, "we shall always get to the end of it at the proper time. Doyou know that the snail was once asked to a wedding and set out togo? Instead, it arrived at the christening. In front of the house itfell over the fence, and said, 'Speed does no good.'"
Odds and Ends
There was once on a time a maiden who was pretty, but idle andnegligent. When she had to spin she was so out of temper that ifthere was a fittle knot in the flax, she at once pulled out a wholeheap of it, and strewed it about on the ground beside her. Now shehad a servant who was industrious, and gathered together the bitsof flax which were thrown away, cleaned them, span them fine, andhad a beautiful gown made out of them for herself.
A young man had wooed the lazy girl, and the wedding was totake place. On the eve of the wedding, the industrious one wasdancing merrily about in her pretty dress, and the bride said, "Ah,how that girl does jump about, dressed in my odds and ends."
The bridegroom heard that, and asked the bride what she meantby it. Then she told him that the girl was wearing a dress made ofthe flax which she had thrown away. When ^W. bridegroom heardthat and saw how idle she was, and how industrious the poor girlwas, he gave the lazy girl up, went to the other, and chose her ashis wife.
Brides on Trial
Thebe was once a young shepherd who wished much to marry, andwas acquainted with three sisters who were all equally pretty, sothat it was difficult to him to make a choice, and he could not de-cide to give the preference to any one of them.
Then he asked his mother for advice, and she said, "Invite allthree, and set some cheese before them, and watch how they eatit." The youth did so. The first, however, swallowed the cheese withthe rind on; the second hasti^ out the rind ofif the cheese, but shecut it so quickly that she left much good cheese with it, and threwthat away also; the third peeled the rind ofiF carefully, and cut nei-ther too much nor too little.
The shepherd told all this to his mother, who said, "Take thethird for your wife." This he did, and Hved contendedly and hap-pily with her.
The Spindle, the Shuttle,and the Needle
Thebe was oftce a girl whose father and mother died while she wasstill a little child. All alone, in a small house at the end of the vil-lage, dwelt her godmother, who supported herself by spinning,weaving, and sewing. The old woman took the forlorn child to Hvewith her, kept her to her work, and educated her in all that is good.When the girl was fifteen years old, the old woman became ill,called the child to her bedside, and said, "Dear daughter, I feel myend drawing near. I leave you the Httle house, which will protectyou from wind and weather; and my spindle, shuttle, and needle,with which you can earn your bread." Then she laid her hands onthe girl's head, blessed her, and said, "Only preserve the love ofGod in your heart, and all will go well with you." Thereupon sheclosed her eyes, and when she was laid in the earth, the maiden fol-
The Spindle, the Shuttle, and the Needle 559
lowed the coflBn, weeping bitterly, and paid her the last mark of re-spect.
And now the maiden lived quite alone in the little house, andwas industrious, and span, wove, and sewed, and the blessing of thegood old woman was on all that she did. It seemed as if the flax inthe room increased of its own accord, and whenever she wove apiece of cloth or carpet, or had made a shirt, she at once found abuyer who paid her amply for it, so that she was in want of noth-ing, and even had something to share with others.
About this time, the son of the King was traveling about thecountry looking for a bride. He was not to choose a poor one, anddid not want to have a rich one. So he said, "She shall be my wifewho is the poorest, and at the same time the richest." When hecame to the village where the maiden dwelt, he inquired, as he didwherever he went, who was the richest and also the poorest girl inthe place. They first named the richest; the poorest, they said, wasthe girl who hved in the small house quite at the end of the village.
The rich girl was sitting in all her splendor before the door of herhouse, and when the Prince approached her, she got up, went tomeet him, and made him a low curtsey. He looked at her, saidnothing, and rode on. When he came to the house of the poor girl,she was not standing at the door, but sitting in her httle room. Hestopped his horse, and saw through the window, on which thebright sun was shining, the girl sitting at her spinning-wheel, busilyspinning. She looked up, and when she saw that the Prince waslooking in, she blushed all over her face, let her eyes fall, and wenton spinning. I do not know whether, just at that moment, thethread was quite even; but she went on spinning until the King'sson had ridden away again. Then she went to the window, openedit, and said, "It is so warm in this room I" But she still looked afterhim as long as she could distinguish the white feathers in his hat.
Then she sat down to work again in her own room and went onwith her spinning, and a saying which the old woman had oftenrepeated when she was sitting at her work, came into her mind, andshe sang these words to herself:
"Spindle, my spindle, haste, haste thee away.And here to my house bring the wooer, I pray."
And what do you think happened? The spindle sprang out of herhand in an instant, and out of the door, and when, in her astonish-ment, she got up and looked after it, she saw that it was dancing
out merrily into the open country, and drawing a shining goldenthread after it. Before long, it had entirely vanished from her sight.As she had now no spindle, the girl took the weaver's shuttle in herhand, sat down to her loom, and began to weave.
The spindle, however, danced continually onwards, and just asthe thread came to an end, reached the Prince. "What do I see?" hecried; "the spindle certainly wants to show me the wayl" He turnedhis horse about, and rode back with the golden thread. The girlwas, however, sitting at her work singing,
"Shuttle, my shuttle, weave well this day.And guide the wooer to me, I pray."
Immediately the shuttle sprang out of her hand and out by thedoor. Before the threshold, however, it began to weave a carpetwhich was more beautiful than the eyes of man had ever yet be-held. LiHes and roses blossomed on both sides of it, and on agolden ground in the center green branches ascended, under whichbounded hares and rabbits; stags and deer stretched their heads inbetween them, brightly colored birds were sitting in the branchesabove; they lacked nothing but the gift of song. The shuttle leapthither and thither, and everything seemed to grow of its own ac-cord.
As the shuttle had run away, the girl sat down to sew. She heldthe needle in her hand and sang,
"Needle, my needle, sharp-pointed and fine,Prepare for a wooer this house of mine."
Then the needle leapt out of her fingers, and flew everywhereabout the room as quick as Hghtning. It was just as if invisiblespirits were working; they covered tables and benches with greencloth in an instant, and the chairs with velvet, and hung the win-dows with silken curtains. Hardly had the needle put in the laststitch than the maiden saw through the window the white feathersof the Prince, whom the spindle had brought thither by the goldenthread. He alighted, stepped over the carpet into the house, andwhen he entered the room, there stood the maiden in her poor gar-ments, but she shone out from within them like a rose surroundedby leaves. "You are the poorest and also the richest," said he to her."Come with me; you shall be my bride." She did not speak, but shegave him her hand. Then he gave her a kiss, led her forth, lifted heron to his horse, and took her to the royal castle, where the wedding
was solemnized with great rejoicings. The spindle, shuttle, andneedle were preserved in the treasure-chamber, and held in greathonor.
The Peasant's Wise Daughter
A POOR PEASANT had no land but only a small house and one daugh-ter. Then said the daughter, "We ought to ask oiu: lord the King fora bit of newly cleared land." When the King heard of their poverty,he presented them with a bit of land, which she and her father dugup, and intended to sow -with a little com and grain of that land.When they had dug nearly the whole of the field, they found in theearth a mortar made of pure gold. "Listen," said the father to thegirl, "as our lord the King has been so gracious and presented uswith the field, we ought to give him this mortar in return for it."The daughter, however, would not consent to this, and said, "Fa-ther, if we have the mortar without having the pestle as well, weshall have to get the pestle, so you had much better say nothingabout it." He would, however, not obey her, but took the mortarand carried it to the King, said that he had found it in the clearedland, and asked if he would accept it as a present.
The King took the mortar, and asked if he had found nothing be-sides that. "No," answered the countryman. Then the King saidthat he must now bring him the pestle. The peasant said they hadnot found that, but he might just as well have spoken to the wind;he was put in prison, and was to stay there until he produced thepestle. The servants had daily to carry him bread and water, whichis what people get in prison, and they heard how the man cried outcontinually, "Ahl if I had but listened to my daughterl Alas, alas, ifI had but listened to my daughterl"
Then the servants went to the King and told him how the pris-oner was always crying, "Ahl if I had but listened to my daughterl"and would neither eat nor drink. So he commanded the servants tobring the prisoner before him, and then the King asked the peasantwhy he was always crying, "Ahl if I had but listened to my daugh-terl" and what it was that his daughter had said. "She told me thatI ought not to take the mortar to you, for I should have to producethe pestle as well." "If you have a daughter who is as wise as that.
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let her come here." She was therefore obliged to appear before theKing, who asked her if she reaUy was so wise, and said he wouldset her a riddle, and if she could guess that, he would marry her.She at once said yes, she would guess it. Then said the King,"Come to me not clothed, not naked, not riding, not walking, not iathe road, and not out of the road, and if thou canst do that I willmarry thee."
So she went away, put off everything she had on, and then shewas not clothed, and took a great fishing net, and seated herself init and wrapped it entirely round and round her, and then she wasnot naked; and she hired an ass, and tied the fisherman's net to itstail, so that it was forced to drag her along, and that was neitherriding nor walking. The ass had also to drag her in the ruts, so thatshe only touched the ground with her great toe, and that was nei-ther being in the road nor out of the road. And when she arrived inthat fashion, the King said she had guessed the riddle and fulfilledall the conditions. Then he ordered her father to be released fromthe prison, took her to wife, and gave into her care all the royalpossessions.
Now when some years had passed, the King was once drawingup his troops on parade, when it happened that some peasants whohad been selling wood stopped with their wagons before the pal-ace; some of them had oxen yoked to them, and some horses. Therewas one peasant who had three horses, one of which was deliveredof a young foal, and it ran away and lay down between two oxenwhich were in front of the wagon. When the peasants came to-gether, they began to dispute, to beat each other and make a dis-turbance, and the peasant with the oxen wanted to keep the foal,and said one of the oxen had given birth to it, and the other saidhis horse had had it, and that it was his.
The quarrel came before the King, and he gave the verdict thatthe foal should stay where it had been found, and so the peasantwith the oxen, to whom it did not belong, got it. Then the otherwent away, and wept and lamented over his foal. Now he hadheard how gracious his lady the Queen was because she herself hadsprung from poor peasant folks, so he went to her and begged herto see Lf she could not help him to get his foal back again. Said she,"Yes, I will tell you what to do, if you wiU promise me not to be-tray me. Early tomorrow morning, when the King parades theguard, place yourself there in the middle of the road by which hemust pass, take a great fishing-net and pretend to be fishing; go onfishing too, and empty out the net as if you had got it fuU"—and
The Peasant's Wise Daughter 563
then she told him also what he was to say if he was questioned bythe King. The next day, therefore, the peasant stood there, andfished on dry ground.
When the King passed by, and saw that, he sent his messenger toask what the stupid man was about. He answered, "I am fishing."The messenger asked how he could fish when there was no waterwhatever there. The peasant said, "It is as easy for me to fish ondry land as it is for an ox to have a foal." The messenger went backand took the answer to the King, who ordered the peasant to bebrought to him. The peasant told him that this was not his ownidea, and the King wanted to know whose it was. The peasant mustconfess that at once. The peasant, however, would not do so, andsaid always, God forbid he shouldl—the idea was his own. Theylaid him, however, on a heap of straw, and beat him and tormentedhim so long that at last he admitted that he had got the idea fromthe Queen.
When the King reached home again, he said to his wife, "Whyhast thou behaved so falsely to me? I will not have thee any longerfor a wife; thy time is up, go back to the place from whence thoucamest—to thy peasant's hut." One favor, however, he granted her;she might take with her the one thing that was dearest and best inher eyes; and thus was she dismissed. She said, 'Tes, my dear hus-band, if thou commandest this, I will do it," and she embraced himand kissed him, and said she would take leave of him. Then she or-dered a powerful sleeping draught to be brought, to drink farewellto him; the King took a long draught, but she took only a little. Hesoon fell into a deep sleep, and when she perceived that, she calleda servant and took a fair white Hnen cloth and wrapped the King init, and the servant was forced to carry him into a carriage thatstood before the door, and she drove with him to her own httlehouse. She laid him in her own httle bed, and he slept one day andone night without awakening, and when he awoke he looked roundand said, "Good GodI where am I?" He called his attendants, butnone of them were there.
At length his wife came to his bedside and said, "My dear lordand King, thou toldest me I might bring away with me from thepalace that which was dearest and most precious in my eyes—Ihave nothing more precious and dear than thyself, so I havebrought thee with me." Tears rose to the King's eyes and he said,"Dear wife, thou shalt be mine and I will be thine," and he tookher back with liim to the royal palace and was married again toher, and at the present time they are very fikely still Hving.
The Shepherd Boy
Once upon a time there was a shepherd boy whose fame spread'farand wide because of the wise answers which he gave to every ques-tion. The King of the country heard of it hkewise, but did not be-lieve it, and sent for the boy. Then he said to him, If you can giveme an answer to three questions which I will ask you, I will look onyou as my own child, and you shall dwell with me in my royal pal-ace." The boy said, "What are the three questions?"
The King said, "The first is, how many drops of water are therein the ocean?" The shepherd boy answered, "Lord King, if you willhave all the rivers on earth dammed up so that not a single droprims from them into the sea until I have counted it, I will tell youhow many drops there are in the sea."
The King said, "The next question is, how many stars are therein the sky?" The shepherd boy said, "Give me a great sheet ofwhite paper," and then he made so many fine points on it with apen that they could scarcely be seen, and it was all but impossibleto coimt them; any one who looked at them would have lost hissight. Then he said, "There are as many stars in the sky as there arepoints on the paper; just coimt them." But no one was able to do it.
The King said, "The third question is, how many seconds of timeare there in eternity?" Then said the shepherd boy, "In LowerPomerania is the Diamond Mountain, which is two miles and a halfhigh, two miles and a half wide, and two miles and a half in depth;every hundred years a httle bird comes and sharpens its beak on it,and when the whole mountain is worn away by this, then the firstsecond of eternity will be over."
The King said, "You have answered the three questions hke awise man, and you shall henceforth dweE with me in my royal pal-ace, and I will regard you as my own child."
One day an old man and his wife were sitting in front of a dilapi-dated house resting a while from their work. Suddenly a splendidcarriage with four black horses came driving up, and a richly-dressed man descended from it. The peasant stood up, went to thegreat man, and asked what he wanted, and in what way he couldbe useful to him. The stranger stretched out his hand to the oldman, and said, "I want nothing but to enjoy for once a countrydish. Cook me some potatoes, in the way you always have them,and then I will sit down at your table and eat them with pleasure."The peasant smiled and said, "You are a coimt or a Prince, or per-haps even a duke; noble gentlemen often have such fancies, butyou shall have your wish." The wife went into the kitchen, andbegan to wash and rub the potatoes, and to make them into balls,as they are eaten by the country-folks.
While she was busy with this work, the peasant said to thestranger, "Come into my garden with me for a while, I have stillsomething to do there." He had dug some holes in the garden, andnow wanted to plant some trees in them. "Have you no children,"asked the stranger, "who could help you with your work?" "No,"answered the peasant, "I had a son, it is true, but it is long since hewent out into the world. He was a ne'er-do-well; sharp, and know-ing, but he would learn nothing and was full of bad tricks; at lasthe ran away from me, and since then I have heard nothing of him."
The old man took a young tree, put it in a hole, drove in a postbeside it, and when he had shoveled in some earth and had tram-pled it firmly down, he tied the stem of the tree above, below, andin the middle, fast to the post by a rope of straw. "But tell me,"said the stranger, "why you don't tie that crooked knotted tree,which is lying in the comer there, bent down almost to the groimd,to a post also that it may grow straight, as well as these?" The oldman smiled and said, "Sir, you speak according to your knowledge,it is easy to see that you are not familiar with gardening. That treethere is old, and misshapen, no one can make it straight now. Treesmust be trained while they are young."
"That is how it was with your son," said the stranger, "if you hadtrained him while he was still young, he would not have run away;
now he too must have grown hard and misshapen." "Truly it is along time since he went away," replied the old man, "he must havechanged." "Would you know him again if he were to come to you?"asked the stranger. "Hardly by his face," replied the peasant, "buthe has a mark about him, a birth-mark on his shoulder, that lookshke a bean." When he had said that the stranger puUed off his coat,bared his shoulder, and showed the peasant the bean. "Good God!"cried the old man, "you are really my sonl" and love for his childstirred in his heart. "But," he added, "how can you be my son? Youhave become a great lord and Hve in wealth and luxury. How haveyou contrived to do that?" "Ah, father," answered the son, "theyoung tree was bound to no post and has grown crooked; now it istoo old, it will never be straight again. How have I got all that? Ihave become a thief, but do not be alarmed, I am a master-thief.For me there are neither locks nor bolts, whatsoever I desire ismine. Do not imagine that I steal like a common thiefl I only takesome of the superfluity of the rich. Poor people are safe! I wouldrather give to them than take anything from them. It is the samewith anything which I can have without trouble, cunning and dex-terity—I never touch it." "Alas, my son," said the father, "it stilldoes not please me, a thief is still a thief, I tell you it will endbadly." He took him to his mother, and when she heard that washer son, she wept for joy, but when he told her that he had becomea master-thief, two streams flowed down over her face. At lengthshe said, "Even if he has become a thief, he is still my son, and myeyes have beheld him once more." They sat down to table, andonce again he ate with his parents the wretched food which he hadnot eaten for so long. The father said, "If our Lord, the count uptherie in the castle, leams who you are and what trade you follow,he will not take you in his arms and cradle you in them as he didwhen he held you at the font, but will cause you to swing from ahalter." "Be easy, father, he will do me no harm, for I understandmy trade. I will go to him myself this very day."
When evening drew near, the master-thief seated himself in hiscarriage, and drove to the castle. The count received him civilly, forhe took him for a distinguished man. When, however, the strangermade himself known, the count turned pale and was quite silent forsome time. At length he said, "You are my godson, and on that ac-count mercy shall take the place of justice, and I will deal lenientlywith you. Since you pride yourself on being a master-thief, I willput your art to the proof, but if you do not stand the test, you mustmarry the rope-maker's daughter, and the croaking of the raven
must be your music on the occasion." "Lord count," answered themaster-thief, "Think of three things as difficult as you like, and if Ido not perform your tasks, do with me what you will." The countreflected for some minutes, and then said, "Well, then, in the firstplace, you shall steal the horse I keep for my own riding, out of thestable; in the next, you shall steal the sheet from beneath the bodiesof my wife and myself when we are asleep, without our observingit, and the wedding-ring of my wife as well; thirdly and lastly, youshall steal away out of the church, the parson and clerk. Mark whatI am saying, for your life depends on it."
The master-thief went to the nearest town; there he bought theclothes of an old peasant woman, and put them on. Then he stainedhis face brown, and painted wrinkles on it as well, so that no onecould have recognized him. Then he filled a small cask with oldHungary wine in which was mixed a powerful sleeping-drink. Heput the cask in a basket, which he took on his back, and walkedwith slow and tottering steps to the count's castle. It was akeadydark when he arrived. He sat down on a stone in the court-yardand began to cough, like an asthmatic old woman, and to rub hishands as if he were cold.
In front of the door of the stable some soldiers were lying rounda fire; one of them observed the woman, and called out to her,"Come nearer, old mother, and warm yourself beside us. After all,you have no bed for the night, and must take one where you canfind it." The old woman tottered up to them, begged them to liftthe basket from her back, and sat down beside them at the fire."What have you got in the little cask, old lady?" asked one. "Agood mouthful of vdne," she answered. "I five by trade; for moneyand fair words I am quite ready to let you have a glass." "Let ushave it here, then," said the soldier, and when he had tasted oneglass he said, "When wine is good, I like another glass," and hadanother poiu-ed out for himself, and the rest followed his example."Hallo, comrades," cried one of them to those who were in the sta-ble, "here is an old goody who has wine that is as old as herself;take a draught, it will warm yoiu" stomachs far better than our fire."The old woman carried her cask into the stable. One of the soldiershad seated himself on the saddled riding-horse, another held its bri-dle in his hand, a third had laid hold of its tail. She poured out asmuch as they wanted until the spring ran dry.
It was not long before the bridle fell from the hand of the one,and he fell down and began to snore, the other left hold of the tail,lay down and snored still louder. The one who was sitting in the
saddle, did remain sitting, but bent his head ahnost down to thehorse's neck, and slept and blew with his mouth hke the bellows ofa forge. The soldiers outside had already been asleep for a longtime, and were lying on the ground motionless, as if dead. Whenthe master-thief saw that he had succeeded, he gave the first a ropein his hand instead of the bridle, and the other who had been hold-ing the tail, a wisp of straw, but what was he to do with the onewho was sitting on the horse's back? He did not want to throw himdown, for he might have awakened and have uttered a cry. He hada good idea; he imbuckled the girths of the saddle, tied a couple ofropes which were hanging to a ring on the wall fast to the saddle,and drew the sleeping rider up into the air on it, then he twistedthe rope round the posts, and made it fast. He soon imloosed thehorse from the chain, but if he had ridden over the stony pavementof the yard they would have heard the noise in the castle. So heviTrapped the horse's hoofs in old rags, led him carefully out, leaptupon him, and galloped oflF.
When day broke, the master galloped to the castle on the stolenhorse. The count had just got up, and was looking out of the win-dow. "Good morning, Sir Count," he cried to him, "here is thehorse, which I have got safely out of the stable! Just look, howbeautifully your soldiers are lying there sleeping; and if you willbut go into the stable, you will see how comfortable your watchershave made it for themselves." The coimt could not help laughing,then he said, "For once you have succeeded, but things won't go sowell the second time, and I warn you that if you come before me asa thief, I will handle you as I would a thief."
When the countess went to bed that night, she closed her handVidth the wedding-ring tightly together, and the count said, "All thedoors are locked and bolted, I will keep awake and wait for thethief, but if he gets in by the window, I will shoot him." Themaster-thief, however, went in the dark to the gallows, cut a poorsinner who was hanging there down from the halter, and carriedhim on his back to the castle. Then he set a ladder up to the bed-room, put the dead body on his shoulders, and began to climb up.When he had got so high that the head of the dead man showed atthe window, the count, who was watching in his bed, fired a pistolat him, and immediately the master let the poor sinner fall down,and hid himself in one comer. The night was sufficiently lighted bythe moon, for the master to see distinctly how the count got out ofthe window on to the ladder, came down, carried the dead bodyinto the garden, and began to dig a hole in which to lay it.
The Master-Thief 569
"Now," thought the thief, "the favorable moment has come,"stole nimbly out of his comer, and climbed up the ladder straightinto the countess's bedroom. "Dear wife," he began in the count'svoice, "the thief is dead, but, after all, he is my godson, and hasbeen more of a scapegrace than a villain. I will not put him to openshame. Besides, I am sorry for the parents. I v^dll bury him myselfbefore daybreak, in the garden that the thing may not be known, sogive me the sheet, I will wrap up the body in it, and biury him as adog buries things by scratching." The countess gave him the sheet."I tell you what," continued the thief, "I have a fit of magnanimityon me; give me the ring too—the unhappy man risked his life for it,so he may take it with him into his grave." She would not gainsaythe count, and although she did it unwillingly she drew the ringfrom her finger, and gave it to him. The thief made off with boththese things, and reached home safely before the count in the gar-den had finished his work of burying.
What a long face the count did pull when the master came nextmorning, and brought him the sheet and the ring. "Are you a wiz-ard?" said he, "who has fetched you out of the grave in which Imyself laid you, and brought you to life again?" "You did not buryme," said the thief, "but the poor sinner on the gallows." And hetold him exactly how everything had happened, and the count wasforced to own to him that he was a clever, crafty thief. "But youhave not reached the end yet," he added. "You still have to performthe third task, and if you do not succeed in that, all is of no use."The master smiled and returned no answer.
When night had fallen he went with a long sack on his back, abundle under his arms, and a lantern in his hand to the village-church. In the sack he had some crabs, and in the bundle shortwax-candles. He sat down in the churchyard, took out a crab, andstuck a wax-candle on his back. Then he lighted the little Hght, putthe crab on the ground, and let it creep about. He took a secondout of the sack, and treated it in the same way, and so on until thelast was out of the sack. Hereupon he put on a long black garmentthat looked like a monk's cowl, and stuck a gray beard on his chin.When at last he was quite unrecognizable, he took the sack inwhich the crabs had been, went into the church, and ascended thepulpit. The clock in the tower was just striking twelve; when thelast stroke had sounded, he cried with a loud and piercing voice,"Hearken, sinful men, the end of all things has comel The last dayis at hand! HearkenI Hearken! Whosoever wishes to go to heavenwith me must creep into the sack. I am Peter, who opens and shuts
the gate of heaven. Behold how the dead outside there in thechurchyard, are wandering about collecting their bones. Come,come, and creep into the sack; the world is about to be destroyed!"
The cry echoed through the whole village. The parson and clerkwho Uved nearest to the church, heard it first, and when they sawthe Ughts which were moving about the churchyard, they observedthat something unusual was going on, and went into the church.They Hstened to the sermon for a while, and then the clerk nudgedthe parson and said, *lt would not be amiss if we were to use theopportunity together, and before the dawning of the last day, findan easy way of getting to heaven." "To tell the truth," answered theparson, "that is what I myself have been thinking, so if you are in-cHned, we will set out on our way." "Yes," answered the clerk, "butyou, the pastor, have the precedence, I will follow." So the parsonwent first, and ascended the pulpit where the master opened hissack. The parson crept in first, and then the clerk.
The master immediately tied up the sack tightly, seized it by themiddle, and dragged it down the pulpit-steps, and whenever theheads of the two fools bumped against the steps, he cried, "We aregoing over the mountains." Then he drew them through the villagein the same way, and when they were passing through puddles, hecried, "Now we are going through wet clouds," and when at last hewas dragging them up the steps of the castle, he cried, "Now weare on the steps of heaven, and will soon be in the outer court."When he had got to the top, he pushed the sack into the pigeon-house, and when the pigeons fluttered about, he said, "Hark howglad the angels are, and how they are flapping their wings!" Thenhe bolted the door upon them, and went away.
Next morning he went to the count, and told him that he hadperformed the third task also, and had carried the parson and clerkout of the church. "Where have you left them?" asked the lord."They are lying upstairs in a sack in the pigeon-house, and imaginethat they are in heaven." The count went up himself, and con-vinced himself that the master had told the truth. When he haddelivered the parson and clerk from their captivity, he said, 'Touare an arch-thief, and you have won the wager. For once you es-cape with a whole skin, but leave my land; for if you ever set footon it again, you may count on your elevation to the gallows." Theai'ch-thief took leave of his parents, once more went forth into thewide world, and no one has ever heard of him since.
The Three Brothers
There was once a man who had three sons, and nothing else in theworld but the house in which he lived. Now each of the sonswished to have the house after his father's death; but the fatherloved them all alike, and did not know what to do; he did not wishto sell the house, because it had belonged to his forefathers, else hemight have divided the money among them. At last a plan cameinto his head, and he said to his sons, "Go into the world, and tryeach of you to learn a trade, and, when you all come back, he whomakes the best masterpiece shall have the house."
The sons were satisfied with this; and the eldest determined to bea blacksmith, the second a barber, and the third a fencing-master.They fixed a time when they should all come home again, and theneach went his way.
It chanced that they all found skUful masters, who taught themtheir trades well. The blacksmith had to shoe the Eling's horses, andhe thought to himself, "The house is mine, without doubt." Thebarber only shaved great people, and he too already looked uponthe house as his own. The fencing-master got many a blow, but heonly bit his lip, and let nothing vex him; "for," said he to himself,"if you are afraid of a blow, you'll never win the house."
When the appointed time had gone by, the three brothers cameback home to their father; but they did not know how to find thebest opportunity for showing their skill, so they sat down and con-sulted together. As they were sitting thus, all at once a hare camerunning across the field. "Ah, ha, just in timel" said the barber. Sohe took his basin and soap, and lathered away until the hare cameup; then he soaped and shaved oflE the hare's whiskers while he wasrunning at the top of his speed, and did not even cut his skin or in-jure a hair on his body. "Well donel" said the old man, "yourbrothers will have to exert themselves wonderfully, or the housewill be yours."
Soon after, up came a nobleman in his coach, dashing along atfull speed. "Now you shall see what I can do, father," said theblacksmith; so away he ran after the coach, took all four shoes offthe feet of one of the horses while he was galloping, and put onhim four new shoes without stopping him. "You are a fine feUow,
and as clever as your brother," said his father; "I do not know towhich I ought to give the house."
Then the third son said, "Father, let me have my turn, if youplease"; and, as it was beginning to rain, he drew his sword, andflourished it backwards and forwards about his head so fast thatnot a drop fell upon him. It rained still harder and harder, till atlast it came down in torrents; but he only flourished his swordfaster and faster, and remained as dry as if he were sitting in ahouse. When his father saw this he was amazed, and said, "This isthe masterpiece, the house is yoiu*sl"
His brothers were satisfied with this, as was agreed beforehand;and, as they loved one another very much, they all three stayed to-gether in the house, followed their trades, and, as they had learntthem so well and were so clever, they earned a great deal ofmoney. Thus they fived together happily until they grew old; andat last, when one of them fell sick and died, the two others grievedso sorely about it that they also fell ill, and soon after died. And be-cause they had been so clever, and had loved one another so much,they were all laid in the same grave.
The Four Skilful Brothers
There was once a poor man who had four sons, and when theywere grown up, he said to them, "My dear children, you must nowgo out into the world, for I have nothing to give you, so set out, andgo to some distance and learn a trade, and see how you can makeyour way." So the four brothers took their sticks, bade their fatherfarewell, and went through the town-gate together. When they hadtraveled about for some time, they came to a cross-way whichbranched off in four different directions. Then said the eldest,"Here we must separate, but on this day in four years, we will meeteach other again at this spot, and in the meantime we will seek ourfortunes."
Then each of them went his way, and the eldest met a man whoasked him where he was going, and what he was intending to do.*T want to learn a trade," he replied. Then the other said, "Comewith me, and be a thief." "No," he answered, "that is no longerregarded as a reputable trade, and the end of it is that one has to
swing on the gallows." "Oh," said the man, "you need not be afraidof the gallows; I will only teach you to get such things as no otherman could ever lay hold of, and no one will ever detect you." So heallowed himself to be talked into it, and while with the man be-came an accomplished thief, and so dexterous that nothing was safefrom him if he once desired to have it.
The second brother met a man who put the same question to him—what he wanted to learn in the world. "I don't know yet," herepUed. "Then come with me, and be an astronomer; there is noth-ing better than that, for nothing is hid from you." He liked the idea,and became such a skilful astronomer that when he had learnt ev-erything, and was about to travel onwards, his master gave him atelescope and said to him, "With that you can see whatsoever takesplace either on earth or in heaven, and nothing can remain con-cealed from you."
A huntsman took the third brother into training, and gave himsuch excellent instruction in everything which related to hunts-manship, that he became an experienced hunter. When he wentaway, his master gave him a gun and said, "It will never fail you;whatsoever you aim at, you are certain to hit."
The youngest brother also met a man who spoke to him, andinquired what his intentions were. "Would you not like to be a tai-lor?" said he. "Not that I know of," said the youth; "sitting doubledup from morning till night, driving the needle and the goose back-wards and forwards, is not to my taste." "Oh, but you are speakingin ignorance," answered the man; "with me you would learn a verydifferent kind of tailoriag, which is respectable and proper, and forthe most part very honorable." So he let himself be persuaded, andwent with the man, and learnt his art from the very begiiming.When they parted, the man gave the youth a needle, and said,"With this you can sew together whatever is given you, whether itis as soft as an egg or as hard as steel; and it will all become onepiece of stuff, so that no seam will be visible."
When the appointed four years were over, the four brothers ar-rived at the same time at the cross-roads, embraced and kissed eachother, and returned home to their father. "So now," said he, quitedelighted, "the wind has blown you back again to me." They toldhim of all that had happened to them, and that each had learnt hisown trade. Now they were sitting just in front of the house under alarge tree, and the father said, "I will put you all to the test, andsee what you can do."
Then he looked up and said to his second son, "Between two
574 Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales
branches up at the top of this tree, there is a chafiBnch's nest, tellme how many eggs there are in it." The astronomer took his glass,looked up, and said, "There are five." Then the father said to theeldest, "Fetch the eggs down without disturbing the bird which issitting hatching them." The skilful thief climbed up and took thefive eggs from beneath the bird, which never observed what he wasdoing, and remained quietly sitting where she was, and broughtthem down to his father. The father took them, and put one ofthem on each comer of the table, and the fifth in the middle, andsaid to the huntsman, "With one shot you shall shoot me the fiveeggs in two, through the middle." The himtsman aimed, and shotthe eggs, all five as the father had desired, and that at one shot. Hecertainly must have had some of the powder for shooting roundcomers. "Now it's yoiu: turn," said the father to the fourth son;"you shall sew the eggs together again, and the young birds thatare inside them as well, and you must do it so that they are not hurtby the shot." The tailor brought his needle, and sewed them as hisfather wished. When he had done this the thief had to climb up thetree again, and carry them to the nest, and put them back againunder the bird without her being aware of it. The bird sat her fulltime, and after a few days the young ones crept out, and they had ared line round their necks where they had been sewn together bythe tailor.
"Well," said the old man to his sons, "I begin to think you areworth more than green clover; you have used your time well, andlearnt something good. I can't say which of you deserves the mostpraise. That will be proved if you have but an early opportunity ofusing your talents."
Not long after this, there was a great uproar in the country, forthe King's daughter was carried off by a dragon. The King was fullof trouble about it, both by day and night, and caused it to beproclaimed that whosoever brought her back should have her towife. The four brothers said to each other, "This would be a fineopportunity for us to show what we can do!" and resolved to goforth together and liberate the King's daughter. "I will soon knowwhere she is," said the astronomer, and looked through his tele-scope and said, "I see her already, she is far away from here on arock in the sea, and the dragon is beside her watching her."
Then he went to the King, and asked for a ship for himself andhis brothers, and sailed with them over the sea until they came tothe rock. There the King's daughter was sitting and the dragon waslying asleep on her lap. The huntsman said, "I dare not fire, I
The Four Skilful Brothers 575
should kill the beautiful maiden at the same time." "Then I will trymy art," said the thief, and he crept thither and stole her away fromunder the dragon, so quietly and dexterously, that the monsternever remarked it, but went on snoring. Full of joy, they hurried oflEwith her on board ship, and steered out into the open sea; but thedragon, who when he awoke had found no Princess there, followedthem, and came snorting angrily through the air. Just as he was cir-cling above the ship, and about to descend on it, the huntsmanshouldered his gun, and shot him to the heart. The monster felldown dead, but was so large and powerful that his fall shatteredthe whole ship. Fortunately, however, they laid hold of a couple ofplanks, and swam about the wide sea. Then again they were ingreat peril, but the tailor, who was not idle, took his wondrousneedle, and with a few stitches sewed the planks together, and theyseated themselves upon them, and collected together all the frag-ments of the vessel. Then he sewed these so skilfully together, thatin a very short time the ship was once more seaworthy, and theycould go home again in safety.
When the King once more saw his daughter, there were great re-joicings. He said to the four brothers, "One of you shall have her towife, but which of you it is to be you must settle among your-selves." Then a warm contest arose among them, for each of thempreferred his own claim. The astronomer said, "If I had not seenthe Princess, all your arts would have been useless, so she is mine."The thief said, "What would have been the use of your seeing, if Ihad not got her away from the dragon? So she is mine." The hunts-man said, "You and the Princess, and all of you, would have beentorn to pieces by the dragon if my ball had not hit him, so she ismine." The tailor said, "And if I, by my art, had not sewn the shiptogether again, you would all of you have been miserably drowned,so she is mine." Then the King uttered this saying, "Each of youhas an equal right, and as all of you cannot have the maiden, noneof you shall have her, but I will give to each of you, as a reward,half a kingdom." The brothers were pleased with this decision, andsaid, 'It is better thus than that we should be at variance with eachother." Then each of them received half a kingdom, and they Hvedwith their father in the greatest happiness as long as it pleasedGod.
Tales of Snakes
1
There was once a little child whose mother gave her every after-noon a small bowl of milk and bread, and the child seated herselfin the yard with it. When she began to eat, however, a snake camecreeping out of a crevice in the wall, dipped its little head in thedish, and ate with her. The child had pleasure in this, and whenshe was sitting there with her little dish and the snake did not comeat once, she cried,
"Snake, snake, come swiftly.Hither come, thou tiny thing.Thou shalt have thy crumbs of bread.Thou shalt refresh thyself with milk."
Then the snake came in haste, and enjoyed its food. Moreover itshowed gratitude, for it brought the child all Idnds of pretty thingsfrom its hidden treasures, bright stones, pearls, and gold playthings.The snake, however, only drank the milk, and left the bread-crxmibs alone. Then one day the child took its little spoon andstruck the snake gently on its head with it, and said, "Eat thebread-crumbs as well, little thing." The mother, who was standingin the kitchen, heard the child talking to some one, and when shesaw that she was striking a snake with her spoon, ran out with a logof wood, and killed the good little creature.
From that time forth, a change came over the child. As long asthe snake had eaten with her, she had grown tall and strong, butnow she lost her pretty rosy cheeks and wasted away. It was notlong before the funeral bird began to cry in the night, and theredbreast to collect little branches and leaves for a fvmeral garland,and soon afterwards the child lay on her bier.
11
A SNAKE cries "Huhu, huhu." A child says, "Come out." The snakecomes out, then the child inquires about her Httle sister: "Hast thou
not seen Kttle Red-stocldngs?" The snake says, "No." "Neither haveI." "Then I am like you. Huhu, huhu, huhu."
Ill
An orphan child was sitting on the town walls spinning, when shesaw a snake coming out of a hole low down in the wall. Swiftly shespread out beside this one of the blue silk handkerchiefs whichsnakes have such a strong liking for, and which are the only thingsthey will creep on. As soon as the snake saw it, it went back, thenretiuTied, bringing viith it a small golden crown, laid it on thehandkerchief, and then went away again. The girl took up thecrown; it glittered and was of delicate golden filagree work. It wasnot long before the snake came back for the second time, but whenit no longer saw the crown, it crept up to the wall, and in its griefsmote its little head against it as long as it had strength to do so,until at last it lay there dead. If the girl had but left the crownwhere it was, the snake would certainly have brought still more ofits treasiu"es out of the hole.
The Turnip
There were once two brothers who both served as soldiers; one ofthem was rich, and the other poor. The poor one, to escape from hispoverty, put off his soldiers coat and turned farmer. He dug andhoed his bit of land, and sowed it with turnip-seed. The seed cameup, and one turnip grew there which became large and vigorous,and visibly grew bigger and bigger, and seemed as if it wouldnever stop growing, so that it might have been called the princessof turnips, for never was such an one seen before, and never willsuch an one be seen again.
It finally became so enormous that it filled a whole cart, and twooxen were required to draw it, and the farmer had not the leastidea what he was to do with the turnip, or whether it would be afortune to him or a misfoitune. At last he thought, "If I sell it, whatwill I get for it; and if I eat it myself, why the small turnips would
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taste just as good. It would be better to take it to the King, andmake him a present of it."
So he placed it on a cart, harnessed two oxen, took it to the pal-ace, and presented it to the King. "What strange thing is this?" saidthe King. "Many wonderful things have come before my eyes, butnever such a monster as this! From what seed can this have sprung,or are you a luck-child and have met -with it by chance?" "Ah, no!"said the farmer, "no luck-child am I. I am a poor soldier, who be-cause he could no longer support himself hung his soldier's coat ona nail and took to farming land. I have a brother who is rich andwell known to you, Lord King, but I, because I have nothing, amforgotten by every one."
Then the King felt compassion for him, and said, "You shall beraised from poverty, and shall have such gifts from me that youshall be equal to your rich brother." Then he bestowed on himmuch gold, and lands, and meadows, and herds, and made him im-mensely rich, so that the wealth of the other brother could not becompared with his. Wben the rich brother heard what the poor onehad gained for himself with one single turnip, he envied him, andthought in every way how he also could get hold of a similar pieceof luck. He would, however, set about it in a much wiser way, andtook gold and horses and carried them to the King, and made cer-tain the King would give him a much larger present in return. If hisbrother had got so much for one turnip, what would he not carryaway with him in return for such beautiful things as these? TheKing accepted his present, and said he had nothing to give him inreturn that was more rare and excellent than the great turnip.
So the rich man was obliged to put his brother's turnip in a cartand have it taken to his home. When there he did not know onwhom to vent his rage and anger, until bad thoughts came to him,and he resolved to IdU his brother. He hired murderers, who wereto lie in ambush, and then he went to his brother and said, "Dearbrother, I know of a hidden treasure, we will dig it up together,and divide it between us." The other agreed to this, and accompa-nied him without suspicion. While they were on their way, how-ever, the miu'derers fell on him, bound him, and would havehanged him to a tree. But just as they were doing this, loud singingand the sound of a horse's feet were heard in the distance. On thistheir hearts were filled with terror, and they pushed their prisonerhead first into the sack, hung it on a branch, and took to flight. He,however, worked up there until he had made a hole in the sackthrough which he could put his head.
The Turnip 579
The man who was coming by was no other than a traveling stu-dent, a young fellow who rode on his way through the woodjoyously singing his song. When he who was aloft saw that someone was passing below him, he cried, "Good day! You have come ata lucky time." The student looked round on every side, but did notknow whence the voice came. At last he said, "Who calls me?"Then an answer came from the top of the tree, "Raise your eyes;here I sit aloft in the Sack of Wisdom. In a short time have I learntgreat things. Compared with this all schools are a jest; in a veryshort time I shall have learned everything, and shall descend wiserthan all other men. I understand the stars, and the signs of the zo-diac, and the tracks of the winds, the sand of the sea, the heaHng ofillness, and the virtues of all herbs, birds, and stones. If you wereonce within it you would feel what noble things issue forth fromthe Sack of Knowledge."
The student, when he heard all this, was astonished, and said,"Blessed be the hour in which I have found youl May not I alsoenter the sack for a while?" He who was above replied as if un-willingly, "For a short time I will let you get into it, if you rewardme and give me good words; but you must wait an horn- longer, forone thing remains which I must learn before I do it." When the stu-dent had waited a while he became impatient, and begged to be al-lowed to get in at once, his thirst for knowledge was so very great.So he who was above pretended at last to yield, and said, "In orderthat I may come forth from the house of knowledge you must let itdown by the rope, and then you shall enter it."
So the student let the sack down, untied it, and set him free, andthen cried, "Now draw me up at once," and was about to get intothe sack. "Halt!" said the other, "that won't do," and took him bythe head and put him upside down into the sack, fastened it, anddrew the disciple of wisdom up the tree by the rope. Then heswung him in the air and said, "How goes it with you, my dearfellow? Behold, already you feel wisdom coming, and are gainingvaluable experience. Keep perfectly quiet until you become wiser."Thereupon he mounted the student's horse and rode away, but inan hour's time sent some one to let the student out again.
The Twelve Huntsmen
Thebe was once a King's son who was betrothed to a maiden, andhe loved his bride very much. One day, as they were sitting veryhappily together, there came information that his father lay ill anddying, and wished to see him for the last time before his death. "Imust go and leave you, darhng," said the King's son, "and directlytoo, for I have a long journey to take; but I will give you this ringas a memory token, and when I am King I will come and fetch youhome."
Then he rode away, and when he reached the castle he found hisfather dying and his end very near. But he was able to speak, andsaid, "Dearest son, I have sent for you because I want you to prom-ise to do as I wish about your marriage."
And then he named to him a King's daughter who was wellknown, and asked him to take her as his wife. The son was so sad atthese words that he hardly knew at first what to say; still, he couldnot refuse his dying father, so he replied, "Dear father, whateveryour will is shall be done."
Then the King closed his eyes and died. As soon as the son be-came King, and the mourning was over, he remembered that hemust keep the promise which he had given to his father. He sent,therefore, to the King's daughter, and as she was willing to be hisbride they were betrothed to each other.
The first bride very soon heard of what he had done, and shegrieved so bitterly over her lover's unfaithfulness that her lifeseemed passing away. At last her father, who was also a King, saidto her, "Dearest child, why are you so sad? If anything you wishcan be done, I will do it for you."
She roused herself in a moment, and said, "Dear father, I shouldso like to have as companions eleven maidens exactly like myself incountenance, shape, and size."
Her father replied: "As soon as possible your wish shall befulfilled."
He sent messengers all over the kingdom, who were ordered tofind eleven maidens who should resemble his daughter in face,figure, and size; and after a long time they succeeded, and broughtthem to the King's daughter.
The Twelve Huntsmen 581
As soon as they arrived she ordered twelve hunting dresses to bemade exactly alike, and when they were finished, each of the elevenmaidens put one on, and she did the same. Then she bade her fa-ther farewell and rode away to the castle of her former bridegroom,whom she still loved. On arriving she sent a message to the King,saying she was the chief of twelve young himtsmen who wished tobe taken into the King's service.
He came out to see them, but in the huntsman's dress he did notrecognize his former bride; but he was so pleased with their ap-pearance that he said he should like them to serve him very much,and so they all became the king's huntsmen.
But the King had a lion who was a wonderful animal, for hefound out every concealment or secret.
So it happened one evening that he said to the King, "You thinkthat you have engaged twelve young himtsmen to serve you.""Yes," said the King, "I have engaged twelve huntsmen." "You aremistaken," replied the lion; "they are maidens, not huntsmen.""Well," said the King, "that cannot be true; or, if it is, how can youprove it?" "Oh, easily," said the Hon; "strew peas in the ante-chamber, and you wiU soon see. A man has a firm step; he will ei-ther crush the peas or pass over them without moving them; butmaidens will come tripping or shuflfling along, and set the peasrolling."
The King was very much pleased with this advice, and orderedthe room to be strewn with peas.
But one of the King's own servants was Idnd-hearted, and as heoverheard the lion's advice, he went at once and told the younghuntsmen how they were to be put to the proof, and said also,*The hon wants the King to believe that you are women."
The King's daughter thanked him, and when she spoke afterwardto the maidens about it, she said, "Remember to step strongly andwith a firm foot on the peas."
The next morning the King sent for the twelve huntsmen, andmet them in the antechamber; but as they passed through wherethe peas lay they stepped upon them so heavily, and had such afirm, strong walk, that not a single pea rolled or even moved.
After they were gone the King said to the lion, "You have spokenfalsely to me; they walk like men." "Yes," answered the lion; "theyknew that the peas were put there to prove them, so they exertedall their strength; but now give them another trial; have twelvespinning-wheels placed in the anteroom, and when they see them
they will look quite delighted, whereas no man would notice them."
The King was pleased with this advice also, and gave orders fortwelve spinning-wheels to be placed lq the anteroom.
The servant, however, who reaUy believed in the truthfulness ofthe young huntsmen, disclosed the plan to them. When they werealone the King's daughter cautioned them not even to glance at thespinning-wheels, and to walk firmly.
The next morning the King sent for his twelve huntsmen; but asthey passed through the anteroom with a firm step not one of themtook the slightest notice of the spinning-wheels.
"Wrong again, lion," said the King; "they must be men, for theydid not even see the spinning-wheels." "Because," answered thelion, "they knew that you were trying them with another test."
But after this the King would not believe the Hon.
The twelve huntsmen generally followed or accompanied theKing when he went hunting, and the more he knew of them themore he liked them.
It happened one day while they were out himting that informa-tion was brought of the approach of the King's bride. As soon asthe chief huntsman—who really was the King's first bride, and rodenear him—heard the news, such a pang of grief came upon her thather heart seemed to stop, and she fell oflF her horse to the groimdinsensible. The King, who supposed that his favorite huntsman hadmet with an accident, ran to help him; and raising him up, hisglove fell ofiE. Then the King saw with smprise that he wore on hisfinger a ring which he had given to his first bride, and lookingearnestly in the face, he recognized her. Then was his heart so com-pletely at rest that he kissed her, and as she opened her eyes he ex-claimed, **You are mine, and I am yours, and no one in the worldshall separate us again."
To his other bride he sent a messenger to say that he had a wifeaheady whom he had chosen before he knew her, and that heprayed her to return to her own country.
Soon after the marriage was celebrated, and the Hon taken intofavor; for, after aU, he had spoken the truth.
The Maid of Brakel
A GIRL from Brakel once went to St. Anne's Chapel at the foot ofthe Hinnenberg, and as she wanted to have a husband, and thoughtthere was no one else in the chapel, she sang,
"Oh, holy Saint Anne!Help me soon to a man.Thou know'st him right well.By Suttmer gate does he dwell.His hair it is golden.Thou know'st him right vyell."
The clerk, however, was standing behind the altar and heardthat, so he cried in a very gruff voice, "Thou shalt not have him!Thou shalt not have him!"
The girl thought that the child Mary who stood by her mother,Aime, had called out that to her. She became angry and cried,"Hush, you conceited thing. Hold your tongue, and let your motherspeak!"
Going Traveling
There was once a poor woman who had a son, who much v^dshedto travel, but his mother said, "How canst thou travel? We have nomoney for thee to take away with thee." Then said the son, "I willmanage very well for myself. I will always say. Not much, notmuch, not much."
So he walked for a long time and always said, "Not much, notmuch, not much." Then he passed by a company of fishermen andsaid, "God speed you! not much, not much, not much." "Whatsayst thou, churl, 'not much?'" And when the net was drawn outthey had not caught much fish. So one of them fell on the youthwith a stick and said, "Hast thou never seen me threshing?" "Whatought I to say, then?" asked the youth. "Thou must say, 'Get it full,get it full.'"
584 Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales
After this he again walked a long time, and said, "Get it full, getit full," until he came to the gallows, where they had got a poor sin-ner whom they were about to hang. Then said he, "Good morning;get it full, get it full." "What sayst thou, knave, 'get it full'? Dostthou want to make out that there are still more wicked people inthe world—is not this enough?" And he again got some blows on hisback. "What am I to say, then?" said he. "Thou must say, 'may Godhave pity on the poor soul.'"
Again the youth walked on for a long while and said, "May Godhave pity on the poor soul!" Then he came to a pit by which stooda knacker who was cutting up a horse. The youth said, "Goodmorning; God have pity on the poor soull" "What dost thou say,thou ill-tempered knave?" And the knacker gave him such a box onthe ear, that he could not see out of his eyes. "What am I to say,then?" "Thou must say, 'There lies the carrion in the piti'"
So he walked on, and always said, "There lies the carrion in thepit, there lies the carrion in the pit." And he came to a cart full ofpeople, so he said, "Good morning, there lies the carrion in the pit!"Then the cart pushed him into a hole, and the driver took his whipand cracked it upon the youth, till he was forced to crawl back tohis mother, and as long as he lived he never went traveling again.
Knoist and His Three Sons
Between Werrel and Soist there lived a man whose name wasKnoist, and he had three sons. One was bHnd, the other lame, andthe third stark-naked. Once on a time they went into a field, andthere they saw a hare. The bHnd one shot it, the lame one caught it,the naked one put it in his pocket. Then they came to a mighty biglake, on which there were three boats; one sailed, one sank, thethird had no bottom to it. They all three got into the one with nobottom to it. Then they came to a mighty big forest in which therewas a mighty big tree; in the tree was a mighty big chapel; in thechapel was a sexton made of beech-wood and a box-wood parson,who dealt out holy-water with cudgels.
'How truly happy is that oneWho can from holy water runH
The Story of SchlauraflFen Land
In the time of Schlauraffen* I went there, and saw Rome and theLateran hanging by a small silken thread, and a man without feetwho outran a swift horse, and a keen sharp sword that cut througha bridge. There I saw a young ass with a silver nose which pursuedtwo fleet hares, and a Hme tree that was very large, on which hotcakes were growing. There I saw a lean old goat which carriedabout a hundred cart-loads of fat on his body, and sixty loads ofsalt. Have I not told enough hes?
There I saw a plough ploughing without horse or cow; and achild of one year threw four miUstones from Ratisbon to Treves,and from Treves to Strasburg; and a hawk swam over the Rhine,which he had a perfect right to do. There I heard some fishes beginto make such a disturbance with each other, that it resoimded asfar as Heaven; and sweet honey flowed like water from a deep val-ley at the top of a high mountain, and these were strange things.There were two crows which were mowing a meadow; and I sawtwo gnats building a bridge, and two doves tore a wolf to pieces;two children brought forth two kids; and two frogs threshed comtogether. There I saw two mice consecrating a bishop, and two catsscratching out a bear's tongue. Then a snail came rurming up andkilled two furious Hons. There stood a barber and shaved awoman's beard ofiF; and two sucldng-children bade their motherhold her tongue. There I saw two greyhounds which brought a millout of the water; and a sorry old horse was beside it, and said itwas right. And four horses were standing in the yard threshing comwith all their might, and two goats were heating the stove, and ared cow shot the bread into the oven.
Then a cock crowed, Cock-a-doodle-doo! The story is all told—Cock-a-doodle-doo 1
* A legendary fantastic region, similar to the fabulous Cockaigne, land ofluxury and idleness.
The Ditmarsch Tale of Wonders
I WELL TELL you Something. I saw two roasted fowls flying; theyflew quickly and had their breasts turned to Heaven and theirbacks to Hell; and an anvil and a mill-stone swam across the Rhineprettily, slowly, and gently; and a frog sat on the ice at Whitsuntideand ate a ploughshare.
Four fellows who wanted to catch a hare, went on crutches andstilts; one of them was deaf, the second bHnd, the third dumb, andthe fourth could not stir a step. Do you want to know how it wasdone? First, the blind man saw the hare running across the field,the dumb one called to the deaf one, and the lame one seized it bythe neck.
There were certain men who wished to sail on dry land, and theyset their sails in the wind, and sailed away over great fields. Thenthey sailed over a high mountain, and there they were miserablydrowned.
A crab was chasing a hare which was running away at full speed;and high up on the roof lay a cow which had climbed up there. Inthat country the flies are as big as the goats are here.
Open the vmidow that the Hes may fly out.
Domestic Servants
"Whither goest thou?" "To Walpe." '1 to Walpe, thou to Walpe; so,so, together we'll go."
"Hast thou a man? What is his name?" "Cham." "My manCham, thy man Cham; I to Walpe, thou to Walpe; so, so, togetherwe'll go."
"Hast thou a child; how is he styled?" "Wild." "My child Wild,thy child Wild; my man Cham, thy man Cham; I to Walpe, thou toWalpe; so, so, together we'U go."
"Hast thou a cradle? How callest thou thy cradle?" "Hippoda-dle." "My cradle Hippodadle, thy cradle Hippodadle; my child
The Rogue and His Master 587
Wild, thy child Wild; my man Cham, thy man Cham; I to Walpe,thou to Walpe; so, so, together we'll go."
"Hast thou also a drudge? What name has thy drudge?""From-thy-work-do-not-budge." "My drudge, From-thy-work-do-not-budge, thy drudge, From-thy-work-do-not-budge; my cradleHippodadle, thy aadle Hippodadle; my child Wild, thy child Wild;my man Cham, thy man Cham; I to Walpe, thou to Walpe; so, so, to-gether we'll go."
The Rogue and His Master
A MAN NAMED John greatly desired that his son should learn sometrade, and he went into the church to ask the priest's opinion whatwould be most desirable. Just then the clerk was standing near thealtar, and he cried out, "The rogue, the rogue!" At these words theman went away, and told his son he must learn to be a rogue, for sothe priest had said. So they set out, and asked one man after an-other whether he was a rogue, till, at the end of the day, they en-tered a large forest, and there found a little hut with an old womanin it.
John asked the old woman, "Do you know any man who canteach roguery?" "Here," said the old woman, "here you may learn,for my son is a master of the art." Then John asked the son whetherhe could teach it perfectly, and the rogue replied, "I will teachyour son well; return in four years, and if you know your son then Iwill not ask any recompense; but if you do not, then you must giveme two hundred dollars."
John now went home, and left his son to learn roguery andwitchcraft. When the time was up, the father set out to see his son,considering as he went along by what he should know him. On hisway he met a little man, who stopped him, and asked, "Why areyou grieving and looking so mournful?" "Oh," replied John, "fouryears ago I left my son to learn roguery, and the master said if I re-turned in that time and knew my son, I should have nothing to pay;but if I did not know him, I must give him two hundred dollars;and, since I have no means of recognizing him, I am troubledwhere to procure the money."
Then the little man told him to take a basket of bread with him.
and when he came to the rogue's house to put the basket under ahollow tree which stood there, and the Httle bird which shouldpeep out would be his son.
John went and did as he was told, and out came a Httle bird topeck at the bread. "Holloa, my sonl Are you here?" said John. Theson was very glad to hear his father's voice, and said, "Father, letus gol" But first the rogue-master called out, "The Evil One musthave told you where to find your son!"
So the father and son returned home, and on their way they meta coach, and the son said to his father, "I wiU change myself into afine greyhound, and then you can earn some money by me."
The lord who was riding in the coach called out, "Man, will yousell your dog?" "Yes," replied the father. "How much do you wantfor him?" "Thirty dollars," was the reply. "That is too much, myman," said the lord, "but on account of his very beautiful skin I wiUbuy him of you."
The bargain concluded, the dog was put inside the coach; butwhen they had traveled a mile or two the greyhoimd jumped rightout through the glass, and rejoined his father.
After this adventure they went home together, and the followingday they went to the next village to market. On their way the sonsaid, "Father, I will change myself into a horse, and then you cansell me; but first untie my bridle, and then I can change myself intothe form of a man."
The father drove his horse to market, and thither came therogue-master and bought him for a hundred dollars, but the fatherforgot to untie the bridle.
The rogue rode his horse home, and put him in the stable, and,when the maid came with the com, the horse said to her, "Undomy bridle, undo my bridlel" "Ah, can you speak?" said she,terrified, and untied the horse directly. The horse thereupon be-came a sparrow, and flew away out at the door, pursued by therogue, who changed himself also into a bird. When they came upwith each other, the rogue changed himself into water, and theother into a fish. But the rogue could not catch him so, and hechanged himself into a cock, but the other instantly became a fox,and bit his master's head off, so that he died.
And he Hes there to this very day.
The Wise Servant
How FORTUNATE is the master, and how well all goes in his house,when he has a wise servant who listens to his orders and does notobey them, but prefers following his own wisdom.
A clever John of this kind was once sent out by his master to seeka lost cow. He stayed away a long time, and the master thought,"Faithful John does not spare any pains over his work!" As, how-ever, he did not come back at all, the master was afraid lest somemisfortune had befallen him, and set out himself to look for him.He had to search a long time, but at last he perceived the boy whowas nmning up and down a large field. "Now, dear John," said themaster when he had got up to him, "have you foimd the cow whichI sent you to seek?" "No, master," he answered, "I have not foundthe cow, but then I have not looked for it." "Then what have youlooked for, John?" "Something better, and that luckily I havefound." "What is that, John?" "Three blackbirds," answered theboy. "And where are they?" asked the master. "I see one of them, Ihear the other, and I am running after the third," answered thewise boy.
Take example by this; do not trouble yourselves about yourmasters or their orders, but rather do what comes into your headand pleases you, and then you will act just as wisely as prudentJohnl
The Seven Swabians
Seven Swabians once held a meeting. The first \^ ;s Master Schulz;the second, Jackli; the third, Marh; the fourth, JergH; the fifth,Michal; the sixth, Hans; the seventh, Veitli. All sev^ a had made uptheir minds to travel about the world to seek advci: ures, and per-form great deeds. But in order that they might go in security andwith arms in their hands, they thought it would be .advisable thatthey should have one very strong and very long spe.u- made for
them. This spear all seven of them took in their hands at once. Infront walked the boldest and bravest, and that was Master Schulz;all the others followed in a row, and Veitli was the last.
It came to pass one day in the hay-making month, when they hadwalked a long distance, and still had a long way to go before theyreached the village where they were to pass the night, that as theywere in a meadow in the twilight a great beetle or hornet flew bythem from behind a bush, and hummed in a menacing manner.Master Schulz was so terrified that he all but dropped the spear,and a cold perspiration broke out over his whole body. "Hark!hark!" cried he to his comrades, "good heavens! I hear a drum."Jackh, who was behind him holding the spear, and who perceivedsome kind of a smell, said, "Something is most certainly going on,for I taste powder and matches."
At these words Master Schulz began to take to flight, and in atrice jumped over a hedge, but as he just happened to jump on to theteeth of a rake which had been left lying there after the hay-making,the handle of it struck against his face and gave him a tremendousblow. "Oh dear! Oh dear!" screamed Master Schulz. "Take me pris-oner; I surrender! I surrender!" The other six all leapt over, one onthe top of the other, crying, "If you surrender, I surrender too! Ifyou surrender, I surrender too!" At length, as no enemy was there tobind and take them away, they saw that they had been mistaken,and in order that the story might not be known, and they be treatedas fools and ridiculed, they all swore to each other to hold theirpeace about it until one of them accidentally spoke of it.
Then they journeyed onwards. The second danger which theysurvived cannot be compared with the first. Some days afterwards,their path led them through a fallow-field where a hare was sittingsleeping in the sun. Her ears were standing straight up, and hergreat glassy eyes were wide open. All of them were alarmed at thesight of the horrible wild beast, and they consulted together as towhat would be the least dangerous thing to do. For if they were torun, they knew that the monster would pursue and swallow themwhole. So they said, "We must go through a great and dangerousstruggle. Boldly ventured, is half won," and all seven grasped thespear. Master Schulz in front, and Veitli behind. Master Schulz wasalways trying to keep the spear back, but Veitli had become quitebrave while behind, and wanted to dash forward and cried,
"Strike home, in every Swabian's name.Or else I wish ye may he lame."
The Seven Swabians 591
But Hans knew how to meet this, and said,
"Thunder and lightning, it's fine to prate.But for dragon-hunting thou'rt aye too late."
Michal cried,
"Nothing is wanting, not even a hair.Be sure the Devil himself is there."
Then it was Jergli's turn to speak,
"If it he not, it's at least his mother.Or else it's the Devils own step-brother."
And now Marli had a bright thought, and said to Veitli,
"Advance, Veitli, advance, advance.And I behind will hold the lance."
Veitli, however, did not attend to that, and Jackli said,
"'Tis Schulz's place the first to be.No one deserves that honor but he."
Then Master Schulz plucked up his courage, and said, gravely,
"Then let us boldly advance to the fight.And thus we shall show our valor and might."
Hereupon they all together set on the dragon. Master Schulzcrossed himself and prayed for God's assistance, but as all this wasof no avail, and he was getting nearer and nearer to the enemy, hescreamed, "Ohol Ohol hoi hoi hoi" in the greatest anguish. Thisawakened the hare, which in great alarm darted swiftly away.When Master Schuly saw her thus flying from the field of battle, hecried in his joy,
"Quick, Veitli, quick, look there, look there.The monsters nothing but a hare!"
But the Swabian allies went in search of further adventures,and came to the Moselle, a mossy, quiet, deep river, over whichthere are few bridges, and which in many places people have tocross in boats. As the seven Swabians did not know this, they calledto a man who was working on the opposite side of the river, toknow how people contrived to get across. The distance and theirway of speaking made the man unable to understand what theywanted, and he said, "What? what?" in the way people speak in theneighborhood of Treves. Master Schulz thought he was saying.
"Wade, wade through the water," and as he was the first, began toset out and went into the Moselle.
It was not long before he sank in the mud and the deep waveswhich drove against him, but his hat was blown on the oppositeshore by the wind, and a frog sat down beside it, and croaked"Wat, wat, wat." The other six on the opposite side heard that, andsaid, "Oho, comrades. Master Schulz is calling us; if he can wadeacross, why cannot we?" So they all jumped into the water togetherin a great hurry, and were drowned, and thus one frog took thelives of all six of them, and not one of the Swabian allies everreached home again.
Lean Lisa
Lean Lisa was of a very different way of thinking from lazy Harryand fat Trina, who never let anything disturb their peace. Shescoured everything with ashes, from morning till evening, and bur-dened her husband. Long Laurence, with so much work that hehad heavier weights to carry than an ass with three sacks. It was,however, all to no purpose; they had nothing and came to nothing.
One night as she lay in bed, and could hardly move one limb forweariness, she still did not allow her thoughts to go to sleep. Shethrust her elbows into her husband's side, and said, "Listen Lenz,to what I have been thinking: if I were to find one florin and onewas given to me, I would borrow another to put to them, and youtoo should give me another, and then as soon as I had got the fourflorins together, I would buy a young cow."
This pleased the husband right well. 'It is true," said he, "that Ido not know where I am to get the florin which you want as a giftfrom me; but, if you can get the money together, and can buy acow with it, you will do well to carry out your project. I shall beglad," he added, "if the cow has a calf, and then I shall often get adrink of milk to refresh me." "The milk is not for you," said thewoman; "we must let the calf suck that it may become big and fat,and we may be able to sell it well." "Certainly," replied the man,"but still we will take a little milk; that will do no harm." "Who hastaught you to manage cows?" said the woman; "whether it doesharm or not, I will not allow it, and even if you were to stand on
your head for it, you should not have a drop of the milk! Do youthink, because there is no satisfying you. Long Laurence, that youare to eat up what I earn with so much difficulty?" "Wife," said theman, "be quiet, or I will give you a blow on your mouth!" "What!"cried ;?he, "you threaten me, you glutton, you rascal, you lazyHarryl" She was just laying hold of his hair, but Long Laurence gotup, seized both Lean Lisa's withered arms in one hand, and withthe other he pressed down her head into the pillow, let her scold,and held her until she fell asleep for very weariness.
Whether she continued to wrangle when she awoke next morn-ing, or whether she went out to look for the florin which shewanted to find, that I know not.
Godfather Death
A POOR MAN had twelve children and was forced to work night andday to give them even bread. When therefore the thirteenth cameinto the world, he knew not what to do in his trouble, but ran outinto the great highway, and resolved to ask the first person whomhe met to be godfather.
The first to meet him was the good God who aheady knew whatfilled his heart, and said to him, "Poor man, I pity you. I v^dll holdyour child at its christening, and v^dll take charge of it and make ithappy on earth." The man said, "Who are you?" "I am God.""Then I do not desire to have you for a godfather," said the man;"you give to the rich, and leave the poor to hunger."
Thus spoke the man, for he did not know how vidsely God appor-tions riches and poverty. He turned therefore away from the Lord,and went farther.
Then the Devil came to him and said, "What do you seek? If youwill take me as a godfather for yoirr child, I will give him gold inplenty and all the joys of the world as well." The man asked, "Whoare you?" "I am the Devil." "Then I do not desire to have you forgodfather," said the man; "you deceive men and lead them astray."
He went onward, and then came Death striding up to him withv^dthered legs, and said, "Take me as godfather." The man asked,"Who are you?" "I am Death, and I make all equal." Then said the
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man, Tou are tbe right one, you take the rich as well as the poor,without distinction; you shall be godfather." Death answered, "Iwill make your child rich and famous, for he who has me for afriend can lack nothing." The man said, "Next Sunday is the chris-tening; be there at the right time." Death appeared as he had prom-ised, and stood godfather quite in the usual way.
When the boy had grown up, his godfather one day appearedand bade him go with him. He led him forth into a forest, andshowed him a herb which grew there, and said, "Now shall you re-ceive your godfather's present. I make you a celebrated physician.When you are called to a patient, I will always appear to you. If Istand by the head of the sick man, you may say with confidencethat you will make him well again, and if you give him of this herbhe will recover; but if I stand by the patient's feet, he is mine, andyou must say that all remedies are in vain, and that no physician inthe world could save him. But beware of using the herb against mywill, or it might fare ill with you."
It was not long before the youth was the most famous physicianin the whole world. He had only to look at the patient and he knewhis condition at once, and if he would recover, or must needs die.From far and wide people came to him, sent for him when theyhad anyone ill, and gave him so much money that he soon becamea rich man.
Now it befell that the King became iU, and the physician wassummoned, and was to say if recovery were possible. But when hecame to the bed, Death was standing by the feet of the sick man,and the herb did not grow which could save him.
"If I could but cheat Death for once," thought the physician, "heis sure to take it ill if I do, but, as I am his godson, he will shut oneeye; I will risk it." He therefore took up the sick man, and laid himthe other way, so that now Death was standing by his head. Thenhe gave the King some of the herb, and he recovered and grewhealthy again. But Death came to the physician, looking very blackand angry, threatened him with his finger, and said, "You haveoverreached me. This time I will pardon it, as you are my godson;but if you venture it again, it will cost you yoiur neck, for I will takeyou yourself away with me."
Soon afterwards the King's daughter fell into a severe illness. Shewas his only child, and he wept day and night, so that he began tolose the sight of his eyes, and he caused it to be made known thatwhosoever rescued her from death should be her husband and in-
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herit the crown. When the physician came to the sick girl's bed, hesaw Death by her feet. He ought to have remembered the warninggiven by his godfather, but he was so infatuated by the greatbeauty of the King's daughter, and the happiness of becoming herhusband, that he flung all thought to the winds. He did not see thatDeath was casting angry glances on him, that he was raising hishand in the air, and threatening him with his withered fist. Heraised up the sick girl, and placed her head where her feet had lain.Then he gave her some of the herb, and instantly her cheeksflushed red, and life stirred afresh in her.
When Death saw that for a second time he was defrauded of hisown property, he walked up to the physician with long strides, andsaid, "AU is over with you, and now the lot falls on you," and seizedhim so firmly with his ice-cold hand, that he could not resist, andled him into a cave below the earth. There he saw how thousandsand thousands of candles were burning in countless rows, somelarge, others half-sized, others small. Every instant some were extin-guished, and others again burned up, so that the flames seemed toleap hither and thither in perpetual change.
"See," said Death, "these are the lights of men's lives. The largeones belong to children, the half-sized ones to married people intheir prime; the little ones belong to old people; but children andyoung folks likewise have often only a tiny candle."
"Show me the light of my life," said the physician, and he thoughtthat it would be still very tall. Death pointed to a little end whichwas just threatening to go out, and said, "Behold, it is there."
"Ah, dear godfather," said the horrified physician, "light a newone for me, do it for love of me, that I may enjoy my life, be King,and the husband of the King's beautiful daughter."
"I cannot," answered Death, "one must go out before a new oneis lighted." "Then place the old one on a new one, that wiU go onbiuning at once when the old one has come to an end," pleaded thephysician. Death behaved as if he were going to fulfill his wish, andtook hold of a tall new candle; but as he desired to revenge himself,he purposely made a mistake in fixing it, and the little piece felldown and was extinguished. Immediately the physician feU on thegroimd. And now he himself was in the hands of Death.
Death's Messengers
In ancient times a giant was once traveling on a great highway,when suddenly an unknown man sprang up before him, and said,"Halt, not one step farther!" "Whatl" cried the giant, "a creaturewhom I can crush between my fingers, wants to block my way?Who art thou that thou darest to speak so boldly?" "1 am Death,"answered the other. "No one resists me, and thou also must obeymy commands." But the giant refused, and began to struggle withDeath. It was a long, violent battle. At last the giant got the upperhand, and struck Death down with his fist, so that he dropped by astone. The giant went his way, and Death lay there conquered, andso weak that he could not get up again. "What will be done now,"said he, "if I stay lying here in a comer? No one will die now in theworld, and it will get so full of people that they won't have room tostand beside each other."
In the meantime a young man came along the road, who wasstrong and healthy, singing a song, and glancing around on everyside. When he saw the half-fainting one, he went compassionatelyto him, raised him up, poured a strengthening draught out of hisflask for him, and waited till he came round. 'TDost thou know,"said the stranger, while he was getting up, "who I am, and who itis whom thou hast helped on his legs again?" "No," answered theyouth, "I do not know thee." "I am Death," said he. "I spsire noone, and can make no exception with thee—but that thou mayst seethat I am grateful, I promise thee that I will not fall on thee unex-pectedly, but will send my messengers to thee before I come andtake thee away." "Well," said the youth, "it is something gainedthat I shall know when thou comest, and at any rate be safe fromthee for so long." Then he went on his way, and was light-hearted,and enjoyed himself, and hved without thought. But youth andhealth did not last long; soon came sicknesses and sorrows, whichtormented him by day, and took away his rest by night. "Die, Ishall not," said he to himself, "for Death will send his messengersbefore that, but I do wish these wretched days of sickness wereover."
As soon as he felt himself well again he began once more to livemerrily. Then one day some one tapped him on the shoulder. He
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looked round, and Death stood behind him, and said, "Follow me,the hour of thy departure from this world has come." "What,"repHed the man, "wilt thou break thy word? Didst thou not prom-ise me that thou wouldst send thy messengers to me before comingthyself? I have seen nonel" "Silencel" answered Death. "Have I notsent one messenger to thee after another? Did not fever come andsmite thee, and shake thee, and cast thee down? Has dizziness notbewildered thy head? Has not gout twitched thee in all thy limbs?Did not thine ears sing? Did not tooth-ache bite into thy cheeks?Was it not dark before thine eyes? And besides all that, has not myown brother. Sleep, reminded thee every night of me? Didst thounot He by night as if thou wert aheady dead?" The man could makeno answer; he yielded to his fate, and went away with Death.
The Wonderful Glass
A MAN once had so many children that all his friends had beenasked to become sponsors, so when another child was bom he hadno one to ask, and knew not what to do.
One night when he had laid himself down to sleep in great trou-ble, he had a wonderful dream. He dreamed that a voice said tohim, "Go out early tomorrow morning, and the first person youmeet, ask him to be godfather." On awaking, he determined to fol-low the advice given in his dream, and, dressing himself quickly, hewent out. Near his door he met a man, and Lmmediately asked himto be sponsor for his child.
The stranger, before giving his consent, presented the man with aglass, and said, "This is a most wonderful glass. The water withwhich you fill it has the power of curing sick persons; you haveonly to observe where Death stands. If he stands by the head of thesick person then give him the water, and he will be soon well; butif he stands by the feet all your trouble will be useless, the sick per-son must die."
So the stranger became sponsor for his child, and gave to the fa-ther the wonderful goblet, which endowed the water he put into itwith such heaHng qualities. Besides this, he could always tellwhether the sick person would recover or not, and could therefore
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speak confidently about curing him. By this he made a great deal ofmoney, and his fame spread far and wide.
Even the King sent for him, when one of his children was ill butas the wonderful doctor entered, he saw Death standing at thehead of the bed, and knew that the child would recover after drink-ing the water in the magic glass; and so he did. The second time hewas sent for the same occurred; but on his third visit the doctorsaw Death seated at the foot of the bed, and he told the parentsthat the child must die.
After a while this doctor became curious, and thought he shouldlike to see where his child's godfather, who had given him such avaluable present, lived, and teU him how he was getting on. Butwhen he reached the house the household quite startled him. Onthe first step a mop and a broom were quarreling together andfighting furiously. "Where shaU I find the master of this house?" heasked. "A step higher," answered the broom.
But when he arrived on the second step, he saw a number ofdead fingers lying together, and he inquired again, "Where is themaster?" "A step higher," replied one of the fingers.
On the third step lay a heap of human heads, who directed himto go a step higher. On the foiuiJi step he saw a fish frizzling in thepan, and cooking himself. He spoke to the man and told him to goa step higher. On he went, and at last, on the fifth step he cameupon the door of a room, and peeping through the keyhole, saw thegodfather, and to his surprise, he had large horns; but as soon as heopened the door and went in, the strange man with the hornsrushed away suddenly, laid himself on the bed, and drew theclothes over him.
Then said the man, "What is the meaning of this strange house-hold, good sir? On the steps I met with all sorts of strange things,and was told to go up higher; and when I came to the door of thisroom, I peeped through the keyhole and saw you with a pair ofhorns on your head."
"That is not true," cried the pretended godfather, in such a terri-ble voice that the man, in a fright, turned to run away; but no oneknows what has become of him, for he has never been heard ofsince.
The Old Witch
There was once a little girl who was very obstinate and wilful, andwho never obeyed when her elders spoke to her; and so how couldshe be happy? One day she said to her parents, "I have heard somuch of the old Witch, that I will go and see her. People say she isa wonderful old woman, and has many marvelous things in herhouse; and I am very curious to see them."
Her parents, however, forbade her going, saying, "The Witch is awicked old woman, who performs many godless deeds; and if yougo near her, you are no longer a child of ours."
The girl, however, would not turn back at her parents' command,but went to the Witch's house. When she arrived there the womanasked her, "Why are you so pale?"
"Ah," rephed she, trembling all over, "I have frightened myselfso with what I have just seen."
"And what did you see?" inquired the old Witch.
"I saw a black man on your steps."
"That was a collier," replied she.
"Then I saw a gray man."
"That was a sportsman," said the old woman.
"After him I saw a blood-red man."
"That was a butcher," rephed the woman.
"But oh, I was most terrified," continued the girl, "when Ipeeped through yoiu: window, and saw not you, but a creature witha fiery head."
"Then you have seen the Witch in her proper dress," said the oldwoman. "For you I have long waited, and now you shall give melight." So saying, she changed the girl into a block of wood, andthen threw it into the fire; and when it was fully ahght she satdown on the hearth, warmed herself, and said, "Ah, now for once itbums brightly 1"
The Devil's Sooty Brother
A DISCHARGED SOLDIER had DO moncy left and did not know how toget on. So he went out into the forest, and when he had walked fora short time, he met a Httle man who was, however, the Devil. Thelittle man said to him, "What ails you, you seem so very sorrow-ful?" Then the soldier said, "I am hungry, but have no money." TTieDevil said, "If you will hire yourself to me, and be my serving-man,you shall have enough for all your life. You shall serve me for sevenyears, and after that you shall again be free. But one thing I musttell you, and that is, you must not wash, comb, or trim yourself, orcut yoiu: hair or nails, or wipe the water from your eyes." The sol-dier said, "All right, if there is no help for it," and went off with thelittle man, who straightway led him down into hell.
Then he told him what he had to do: he was to poke the fireunder the kettles wherein the hell-broth was stewing, keep thehouse clean, drive all the sweepings behind the doors, and see thateverything was in order; but if he once peeped into the kettles, itwould go ill with him. The soldier said, "Good, I will take care."And then the old Devil went out again on his wanderings, and thesoldier entered upon his new duties, made the fire, and swept thedirt well behind the doors, just as he had been bidden. When theold Devil came back again, he looked to see if all had been done,appeared satisfied, and went forth a second time.
The soldier now took a good look on every side; the kettles werestanding all round hell with a mighty fire below them, and insidethey were boiling and sputtering. He would have given anything tolook inside them, if the Devil had not so particularly forbiddenhim. At last, he could no longer restrain himself, sHghtly raised thelid of the first kettle, and peeped in, and there he saw his formercorporal shut in. "Aha, old birdi" said he. "Do I meet you here?You once had me in your power, now I have you," and he quicklylet the Hd fall, poked the fire, and added a fresh log. After that, hewent to the second kettle, raised its lid also a little, and peeped in;his former ensign was inside that. "Aha, old bird, so I find youhere! You once had me in your power, now I have you." He closedthe lid again, and fetched yet another log to make it really hot.Then he wanted to see who might be shut up in the third kettle—it
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was actually a general. "Aha, old bird, do I meet you here? Onceyou had me in yoiur power, now I have you," and he fetched thebellows and made hell-fire flare well up under him.
So he did his work seven years in hell, did not wash, comb, ortrim himself, or cut his hair or nails, or wash the water out of hiseyes, and the seven years seemed so short to him that he thought hehad only been half a year. Now when the time had fully gone by,the Devil came and said, "Well, Hans, what have you done?" "Ihave poked the fire under the kettles, and I have swept all the dirtwell behind the doors."
"But you have peeped into the kettles as well; it is lucky for youthat you added fresh logs to them, or else yoiu* life would havebeen forfeited. Now that your time is up, will you go home again?"'^es" said the soldier, "I should very much Hke to see what my fa-ther is doing at home." The Devil said, "In order that you may re-ceive the wages you have earned, go and fiU your knapsack full ofthe sweepings, and take it home with you. You must also gounwashed and uncombed, with long hair on your head and beard,and with uncut nails and dim eyes; and when you are askedwhence you come, you must say, 'From heU,' and when you areasked who you are, you are to say. The Devil's sooty brother, andmy King as well.'" The soldier held his peace, and did as the Devilbade him, but he was not at all satisfied with his wages.
As soon as he was in the forest again, he took his knapsack fromhis back to empty it, but on opening it, the sweepings had becomepure gold. "I should never have expected that," said he, and waswell pleased, and entered the town. The landlord was standing infront of the inn, and when he saw the soldier approaching, he wasterrified, because Hans looked so horrible—worse than a scare-crow.He called to him and asked, "Whence comest thou?" "From hell.""Who art thou?" "The Devil's sooty brother, and my King as well."Then the host would not let him enter, but when Hans showed himthe gold, he came and unlatched the door himself. Hans then or-dered the best room and attendance, ate and drank his fill, but nei-ther washed nor combed himself as the Devil had bidden him, andat last lay down to sleep. But the knapsack full of gold remainedbefore the eyes of the landlord, and left him no peace, and duringthe night he crept in and stole it away.
Next morning, however, when Hans got up and wanted to paythe landlord and travel further, behold, his knapsack was gone! Buthe soon composed himself and thought, "Thou hast been unfortu-nate from no fault of thine ovvm," and straightway went back again
to hell, complained of his misfortune to the old Devil, and beggedfor his help. The Devil said, "Seat yourself, I will wash, comb, andtrim you, cut your hair and nails, and wash your eyes for you." Andwhen he had done with him, he gave him the knapsack back againfull of sweepings, and said, "Go and tell the landlord that he mustreturn you yoru- money, or else I will come and fetch him, and heshall poke the fire in your place." Hans went up and said to thelandlord, "Thou hast stolen my money; if thou dost not return it,thou shalt go down to hell in my place, and wilt look as horrible asI." Then the landlord gave him the money, and more besides, onlybegging him to keep it secret, and Hans was now a rich man.
He set out on his way home to his father, bought himself ashabby smock-frock to wear, and stroUed about making music, forhe had learned to do that while he was with the Devil in hell.There was, however, an old King in that coimtry, before whom hehad to play, and the King was so delighted with his playing, that hepromised him his eldest daughter in marriage. But when she heardthat she was to be married to a common fellow in a smock-frock, shesaid, "Rather than do it, I would go into the deepest water." Andthen the King gave him the youngest, who was quite willing to doit to please her father, and thus the Devil's sooty brother got theKing's daughter, and when the aged King died, the whole kingdomhkewise.
Bearskin
A YOUNG FELLOW enlisted as a soldier and conducted himself sobravely that he was always the foremost when it rained bullets. Aslong as the war lasted, all went well, but when peace was made, hereceived his dismissal, and the captain said he might go where hehked. His parents were dead, and he had no longer a home, so hewent to his brothers and begged them to take him in, and keep himuntil war broke out again. The brothers, however, were hard-hearted and said, "What can we do with thee? Thou art of no useto us; go and make a Hving for thyself." The soldier had nothingleft but his gun; he took that on his shoulder, and went forth intothe world.
He came to a wide heath, on which nothing was to be seen but a
circle of trees; under these he sat sorrowfully down, and began tothink over his fate. "I have no money," thought he, "I have learntno trade but that of fighting, and now that they have made peacethey don't want me any longer; so I see beforehand that I shallhave to starve." All at once he heard a rustling, and when he lookedround, a strange man stood before him, who wore a green coat andlooked right stately, but had a hideous cloven foot. "I know aheadywhat thou art in need of," said the man; "gold and possessions shaltthou have, as much as thou canst make away with, do what thouwilt, but first I must know if thou art fearless, that I may not be-stow my money in vain." "A soldier and fear—how can those twothings go together?" he answered; "thou canst put me to the proof.""Very well, then," answered the man, 'look behind thee."
The soldier turned round, and saw a large bear, which camegrowling towards him. "Ohol" cried the soldier, "I will tickle thynose for thee, so that thou shalt soon lose thy fancy for growling,"and he aimed at the bear and shot it through the muzzle; it felldown and never stirred again. "I see quite well," said the stranger,"that thou art not wanting in courage, but there is still another con-dition which thou wilt have to fulfill." "If it does not endanger mysalvation," replied the soldier, who knew very well who was stand-ing by him. 'If it does, I'll have nothing to do with it." "Thou wiltlook to that for thyself," answered Greencoat; "thou shalt for thenext seven years neither wash thyself, nor comb thy beard, nor thyhair, nor cut thy nails, nor say one paternoster. I will give thee acoat and a cloak, which during this time thou must wear. If thoudiest during these seven years, thou art mine; if thou remainestalive, thou art free, and rich to boot, for all the rest of thy life."
The soldier thought of the great extremity in which he nowfound himself, and as he so often had gone to meet death, he re-solved to risk it now also, and agreed to the terms. The Devil tookofiF his green coat, gave it to the soldier, and said, "If thou hast thiscoat on thy back and puttest thy hand into the pocket, thou wilt al-ways find it full of money." Then he pulled the skin ofi^ the bearand said, "This shall be thy cloak, and thy bed also, for thereonshalt thou sleep, and in no other bed shalt thou lie, and because ofthis apparel shalt thou be called Bearskin." After this the Devilvanished.
The soldier put the coat on, felt at once in the pocket, and foundthat the thing was really true. Then he put on the bearskin andwent forth into the world, and enjoyed himself, refraining fromnothing that did him good and his money harm. Diuing the first
year his appearance was passable, but during the second he beganto look like a monster. His hair covered nearly the whole of hisface, his beard was Hke a piece of coarse felt, his fingers had claws,and his face was so covered with dirt that if cress had been sownon it, it would have come up. Whosoever saw him, ran away, but ashe everywhere gave the poor money to pray that he might not dieduring the seven years, and as he paid well for everything, he stillalways found shelter. In the fourth year, he entered an inn wherethe landlord would not receive him, and would not even let himhave a place in the stable, because he was afraid the horses wouldbe scared. But as Bearskin thrust his hand into his pocket andpulled out a handful of ducats, the host let himself be persuadedand gave him a room in an outhouse. Bearskin was, however,obliged to promise not to let himself be seen, lest the inn should geta bad name.
As Bearskin was sitting alone in the evening, and wishing fromthe bottom of his heart that the seven years were over, he heard aloud lamenting in a neighboring room. He had a compassionateheart, so he opened the door, and saw an old man weeping bitterly,and wringing his hands. Bearskin went nearer, but the man sprangto his feet and tried to escape from him. At last when the man per-ceived that Bearskin's voice was human he let himself be prevailedon, and by kind words Bearskin succeeded so far that the old manrevealed the cause of his grief. His property had dwindled away bydegrees, he and his daughters would have to starve, and he was sopoor that he could not pay the innkeeper, and was to be put inprison. 'If that is thy only trouble," said Bearskin, "I have plenty ofmoney." He caused the innkeeper to be brought thither, paid himand put a purse full of gold into the poor old man's pocket besides.
When the old man saw himself set free from all his troubles hedid not know how to be grateful enough. "Come with me," said heto Bearskin; "my daughters are all miracles of beauty; choose oneof them for thyself as a wife. When she hears what thou hast donefor me, she will not refuse thee. Thou dost in truth look a littlestrange, but she will soon put thee to rights again." This pleasedBearskin well, and he went. When the eldest saw him she was soterribly alarmed at his face that she screamed and ran away. Thesecond stood still and looked at him from head to foot, but then shesaid, "How can I accept a husband who no longer has a humanform? The shaven bear that once was here and passed itself off fora man pleased me far better, for at any rate it wore a hussar's dressand white gloves. If it were nothing but ugliness, I might get used
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to that." Tlie youngest, however, said, "Dear father, that must be agood man to have helped you out of yom- trouble, so if you havepromised him a bride for doing it, your promise must be kept."
It was a pity that Bearsldn's face was covered with dirt and withhair, for if not they might have seen how delighted he was when heheard these words. He took a ring from his finger, broke it in two,and gave her one half, the other he kept for himself. He wrote hisname, however, on her half, and hers on his, and begged her tokeep her piece carefully, and then he took his leave and said, "1must still wander about for three years, and if I do not return then,thou art free, for I shall be dead. But pray to God to preserve myHfe."
The poor betrothed bride dressed herself entirely in black, andwhen she thought of her futare bridegroom tears came into hereyes. Nothing but contempt and mockery fell to her lot from hersisters. "Take care," said the eldest, "if thou givest him thy hand,he will strike his claws into it." "Beware!" said the second. "Bearslike sweet things, and if he takes a fancy to thee, he will eat theeup." "Thou must always do as he likes," began the eldest again, "orelse he will growl." And the second continued, "but the weddingwill be a merry one, for bears dance well." The bride was silent,and did not let them vex her. Bearskin, however, traveled about theworld from one place to another, did good where he was able, andgave generously to the poor that they might pray for him.
At length, as the last day of the seven years dawned, he wentonce more out on to the heath, and seated himself beneath the cir-cle of trees. It was not long before the wind whistled, and the Devilstood before him and looked angrily at him; then he threw Bearskinhis old coat, and asked for his own green one back. "We have notgot so far as that yet," answered Bearskin, "thou must first make meclean." Whether the Devil liked it or not, he was forced to fetchwater, and wash Bearskin, comb his hair, and cut his nails. Afterthis, he looked like a brave soldier, and was much handsomer thanhe had ever been before.
When the Devil had gone away. Bearskin was quite light-hearted. He "went into the town, put on a magnificent velvet coat,seated himself in a carriage drawn by four white horses, and droveto his bride's house. No one recognized him, the father took him fora distinguished general, and led him into the room where hisdaughters were sitting. He was forced to place himself between thetwo elder ones; they helped him to wine, gave him the best piecesof meat, and thought that in all the world they had never seen a
handsomer man. The bride, however, sat opposite to him in herblack dress, and never raised her eyes, nor spoke a word.
When at length he asked the father if he would give him one ofhis daughters to wife, the two eldest jimiped up, ran into their bed-rooms to put on splendid dresses, for each of them fancied she wasthe chosen one. The stranger, as soon as he was alone with hisbride, brought out his half of the ring, and threw it in a glass ofwine which he reached across the table to her. She took the wine,but when she had drunk it, and found the half ring lying at the bot-tom, her heart began to beat. She got the other half, which shewore on a ribbon roimd her neck, joined them, and saw that thetwo pieces fitted exactly together. Then said he, "I am thy be-trothed bridegroom, whom thou sawest as Bearskin, but throughGod's grace I have again received my human form, and have oncemore become clean." He went up to her, embraced her, and gaveher a kiss.
In the meantime the two sisters came back in full dress, andwhen they saw that the handsome man had fallen to the share ofthe youngest, and heard that he was Bearskin, they ran out full ofanger and rage. One of them drowned herself in the well, the otherhanged herself on a tree. In the evening, some one knocked at thedoor, and when the bridegroom opened it, it was the Devil in hisgreen coat, who said, "Seest thou, I have now got two souls in theplace of thy onel"
The Devil and His Grandmother
There was a great war in which the King had many soldiers. Buthe gave them small pay, so small that they could not Hve upon it.Three of them agreed among themselves to desert. One of themsaid to the others, *Tf we are caught we shall be hanged on the gal-lows; how shall we manage it?" Another said, "Look at that greatcornfield, if we were to hide ourselves there, no one could find us;the troops are not allowed to enter it, and tomorrow they are tomarch away." They crept into the com, but the troops did notmarch away, but remained lying all round about it. They stayed inthe com for two days and two nights, and were so hungry that theyall but died, but if they had come out, their death would have been
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certain. Then said they, "What is the use of our deserting if wehave to perish miserably here?"
But now a fiery dragon came flying through the air and it camedown to them and asked why they had concealed themselves there.They answered, "We are three soldiers who have deserted becausethe pay was so bad, and now we shall have to die of hunger if westay here, or to dangle on the gallows if we go out." "If you willserve me for seven years," said the dragon, "I will convey youthrough the army so that no one shall seize you." "We have nochoice and are compelled to accept," they replied. Then the dragoncaught hold of them vidth his claws, and carried them away throughthe air over the army, and put them down again on the earth farfrom it; but the dragon was no other than the Devil. He gave thema small whip and said, "Whip with it and crack it, and then asmuch gold will spring up round about as you can vvdsh for; thenyou can live Hke great lords, keep horses, and drive your carriages,but when the seven years have come to an end, you are my prop-erty." Then he put before them a book which they were all threeforced to sign. "I will, however, then set you a riddle," said he,"and if you can guess that, you shall be free, and released from mypower."
Then the dragon flew away from them, and they went away vidththeir whip, had gold in plenty, ordered themselves rich apparel,and traveled about the world. Wherever they were they hved inpleasure and magnificence, rode on horseback, drove in carriages,ate and drank, but did nothing wicked. The time slipped quicklyaway, and when the seven years were coming to an end, two ofthem were terribly anxious and alarmed; but the third took theaffair easily, and said, "Brothers, fear nothing, my head is sharpenough, I shall guess the riddle." They went out into the opencountry and sat down, and the two pulled sorrowful faces.
Then an aged woman came up to them who inquired why theywere so sad. "Alasl" said they, "how can that concern you? Afterall, you cannot help us." "Who knows?" said she, "confide yourtrouble to me." So they told her that they had been the Devil's ser-vants for nearly seven years, and that he had provided them withgold as plentifully as if it had been blackberries, but that they hadsold themselves to him, and were forfeited to him, if at the end ofthe seven years they could not guess a riddle. The old woman said,"If you are to be saved, one of you must go into the forest; there hewill come to a fallen rock which looks like a little house; he mustenter that, and then he will obtain help." The two melancholy ones
thought to themselves, "That will still not save us," and stayedwhere they were, but the third, the merry one, got up and walkedon in the forest until he found the rock-house.
In the little house, however, a very aged woman was sitting, whowas the Devil's grandmother, and she asked the soldier where hecame from, and what he wanted there. He told her everything thathad happened, and as he pleased her well, she had pity on him,and said she would help him. She lifted up a great stone which layabove a cellar, and said, "Conceal yourself there, you can hear ev-erything that is said here; only sit still, and do not stir. When thedragon comes, I will question him about the riddle. He tells every-thing to me, so listen carefully to his answer."
At twelve o'clock at night, the dragon came flying thither, andasked for his dinner. The grandmother laid the table, and served upfood and drink, so that he was pleased, and they ate and drank to-gether. In the course of conversation, she asked him what kind of aday he had had, and how many souls he had got. "Nothing wentvery well today," he answered, "but I have laid hold of three sol-diers—I have them safe." "Indeedl Three soldiers I That's somethingHke, but they may escape you yet." The Devil said mockingly,"They are minel I will set them a riddle, which they will never inthis world be able to guess!" "What riddle is that?" she inquired. "Iwill tell you. In the great North Sea lies a dead dog-fish; that shallbe your roast meat, and the rib of a whale shall be your silverspoon, and a hollow old horse's hoof shall be your wine-glass."
When the Devil had gone to bed, the old grandmother raised upthe stone, and let out the soldier. "Have you paid particular atten-tion to everything?" "Yes," said he, "I know enough, and will con-trive to save myself." Then he had to go back another way, throughthe window, secretly and with all speed, to his companions. He toldthem how the Devil had been overreached by the old grandmother,and how he had learned the answer to the riddle from him. Thenthey were all joyous, and of good cheer, and took the whip andwhipped so much gold for themselves that it ran all over theground.
When the seven years had fully gone by, the Devil came with abook, showed the signatures, and said, "I will take you with me tohell. There you shall have a meall If you can guess what kind ofroast meat you will have to eat, you shall be free and released fromyour bargain, and may keep the whip as well." Then the first sol-dier began and said, "In the great North Sea lies a dead dog-fish,that no doubt is the roast meat." The Devil was angry, and began
to mutter "Hm! hml hml" and asked the second, "But what willyour spoon be?" "The rib of a whale, that is to be our silver spoon."The Devil made a wry face, again growled "Hml hml hml" andsaid to the third, "And do you also know what your wine-glass is tobe?" "An old horse's hoof is to be our wine-glass."
Then the Devil flew away with a loud cry, and had no morepower over them, but the three kept the whip, whipped as muchmoney for themselves with it as they wanted, and lived happily totheir end.
The Grave Mound
A RICH FARMER was One day standing in his yard inspecting hisfields and gardens. The com was growing up vigorously and thefruit trees were heavily laden with fruit. The grain of the year be-fore still lay in such immense heaps on the floors that the rafterscould hardly bear it. Then he went into the stable, where werewell-fed oxen, fat cows, and horses bright as looking-glass. Atlength he went back into his sitting-room, and cast a glance at theiron chest in which his money lay.
While he was thus standing surveying his riches, all at once therewas a loud knock close by him. The knock was not at the door ofhis room, but at the door of his heart. It opened, and he heard avoice which said to him, "Hast thou done good to thy family withit? Hast thou considered the necessities of the poor? Hast thoushared thy bread with the hungry? Hast thou been contented withwhat thou hast, or didst thou always desire to have more?" Theheart was not slow in answering, "I have been hard and pitiless,and have never shown any kindness to my own family. If a beggarcame, I turned away my eves from him. I have not troubled myselfabout God, but have thought only of increasing my wealth. If ev-erything which the sky covers had been mine own, I should still nothave had enough."
When he was aware of this answer he was greatly alarmed, hisknees began to tremble, and he was forced to sit down.
Then there was another knock, but the knock was at the door ofhis room. It was his neighbor, a poor man who had a number ofchildren whom he could no longer satisfy with food. '1 know,"
thought the poor man, "that my neighbor is rich, but he is as hardas he is rich. I don't believe he will help me, but my children arecrying for bread, so I will venture it." He said to the rich man,"Thou dost not readily give away anything that is thine, but I standhere like one who feels the water rising above his head. My chil-dren are starving; lend me four measures of com."
The rich man looked at him long, and then the first sunbeam ofmercy began to melt away a drop of the ice of greediness. "I willnot lend thee four measures," he answered, "but I will make thee apresent of eight, but thou must fulfill one condition." "What am Ito do?" said the poor man. "When I am dead, thou shalt watch forthree nights by my grave." The peasant was disturbed in his mindat this request, but in the need in which he was, he would haveconsented to anything; he accepted, therefore, and carried the comhome with him.
It seemed as if the rich man had foreseen what was about to hap-pen, for when three days were gone by, he suddenly dropped downdead. No one knew exactly how it came to pass, but no one grievedfor him. When he was buried, the poor man remembered his prom-ise. He woiild willingly have been released from it, but he thought,"After all, he acted kindly by me. I have fed my hungry childrenwith his com, and even if that were not the case, where I have oncegiven my promise I must keep it." At nightfall he went into thechurchyard, and seated himself on the grave moxmd. Everythingwas quiet; only the moon appeared above the grave, and frequentlyan owl flew past and uttered her melancholy cry. When the sunrose, the poor man betook himself in safety to his home, and in thesame manner the second night passed quietly by. On the evening ofthe third day he felt a strange uneasiness; it seemed to him thatsomething was about to happen. When he went out he saw, by thechurchyard-waU, a man whom he had never seen before. He wasno longer young, had scars on his face, and his eyes looked sharplyand eagerly aroxmd. He was entirely covered with an old cloak, andnothing was visible but his great riding-boots. "What art thou look-ing for here?" the peasant asked. "Art thou not afraid of the lonelychurchyard?"
"I am looking for nothing," he answered, "and I am afraid ofnothingi I am like the yoiuigster who went forth to learn how toshiver, and had his labor for his pains, but got the King's daughterto wife and great wealth with her, only I have remained poor. I amnothing but a paid-off soldier, and I mean to pass the night here,
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because I have no other shelter." "If thou art without fear," said thepeasant, "stay with me, and help me to watch that grave there."
"To keep watch is a soldier's business," he replied, "whatever wefall in with here, whether it be good or bad, we will share it be-tween us." The peasant agreed to this, and they seated themselveson the grave together.
All was quiet until midnight, when suddenly a shrill whistlingwas heard in the air, and the two watchers perceived the Evil Onestanding bodily before them. "Be off, you ragamuffinsi" cried he tothem, "the man who Hes in that grave belongs to me; I want to takehim, and if you don't go away I will wring your necks!" "Sir withthe red feather," said the soldier, "you are not my captain, I haveno need to obey you, and I have not yet learned how to fear. Goaway, we shall stay sitting here."
The Devil thought to himself, "Money is the best thing withwhich to get hold of these two vagabonds." So he began to play asofter tune, and asked quite kindly, if they would not accept a bagof money, and go home with it. "That is worth Hstening to," an-swered the soldier, "but one bag of gold won't serve us. If you willgive as much as will go into one of my boots, we wiU quit the fieldfor you and go away."
"1 have not so much as that about me," said the Devil, "but Iwill fetch it. In the neighboring town Hves a money-changer who isa good friend of mine, and will readily advance it to me." When theDevil had vanished the soldier took his left boot off, and said, "Wewill soon pull the charcoal-burner's nose for him; just give me yourknife, comrade." He cut the sole off the boot, and put it in the highgrass near the grave on the edge of a hole that was half over-grown. "That will do," said he; "now the chimney-sweep maycome."
They both sat down and waited, and it was not long before theDevil returned with a small bag of gold in his hand. "Just pour itin," said the soldier, raising up the boot a httle, "but that won't beenough." The Black One shook out all that was in the bag; the goldfeU through, and the boot remained empty. "Stupid Devil," criedthe soldier, "it won't dol Didn't I say so at once? Go back again,and bring more."
The Devil shook his head, went, and in an hour's time came witha much larger bag under his arm. "Now pour it in," cried the sol-dier, "but I doubt the boot will be full." The gold clinked as it fell,but the boot remained empty. The Devil looked in himself with his
burning eyes, and convinced himself of the truth. "You have shame-fully big calves to your legsl" cried he, and made a wry face."Did you think," replied the soldier, "that I had a cloven foot Kkeyou? Since when have you been so stingy? See that you get moregold together, or our bargain v^dll come to nothing!"
The Wicked One went off again. This time he stayed awaylonger, and when at length he appeared he was panting under theweight of a sack which lay on his shoulders. He emptied it into theboot, which was just as far from being filled as before. He becamefurious, and was just going to tear the boot out of the soldiershands, but at that moment the first ray of the rising sun broke forthfrom the sky, and the Evil Spirit fled away with loud shrieks. Thepoor soul was saved.
The peasant v^dshed to divide the gold, but the soldier said,"Give what falls to my lot to the poor. I will come with, thee to thycottage, and together we will live in rest and peace on what re-mains, as long as God is pleased to permit."
The Peasant and the Devil
Theke was once on a time a far-sighted, crafty peasant whose trickswere much talked about. The best story is, however, how he oncegot hold of the Devil and made a fool of him.
The peasant had one day been working in his field, and as twi-light had set in, was making ready for the journey home, when hesaw a heap of burning coals in the middle of his field, and when,full of astonishment, he went up to it, a little black devil was sittingon the live coals. "Thou dost indeed sit upon a treasurel" said thepeasant. "Yes, in truth"; replied the Devil, "on a treasure whichcontains more gold and silver than thou hast ever seen in thy lifel""The treasiure lies in my field and belongs to me," said the peasant."It is thine," answered the Devil, "if thou wait for two years giveme the half of everything thy field produces. Money I have enoughof, but I have a desire for the fruits of the earth." The peasantagreed to the bargain. *Tn order, however, that no dispute mayarise about the division," said he, "everything that is above groundshall belong to thee, and what is under the earth to me." The Devil
was quite satisfied with that, but the cunning peasant had sownturnips.
Now when the time for harvest came, the Devil appeared andwanted to take away his crop; but he found nothing but the yellowwithered leaves, while the peasant, full of delight, was digging uphis turnips. "Thou hast had the best of it for once," said the Devil,*l3ut the next time that won't do. What grows above ground shallbe thine, and what is under it, mine." "I am willing," replied thepeasant; but when the time came to sow, he did not again sow tur-nips, but wheat. The grain became ripe, and the peasant went intothe field and cut the full stalks down to the groimd. When theDevil came, he found nothing but the stubble, and went away in afury down into a cleft in the rocks. "That is the way to cheat theDevil," said the peasant, and went and fetched away the treasure.
The Three Apprentices
There were once three apprentices who had agreed to keep alwaystogether while traveling, and always to work in the same town. Atone time, however, their masters had no more work to give them, sothat at last they were in rags, and had nothing to five on. Thenone of them said, "What shall we do? We cannot stay here anylonger, we will travel once more, and if we do not find any work inthe town we go to, we will arrange with the innkeeper there, thatwe are to write and tell him where we are staying, so that we canalways have news of each other, and then we will separate." Andthat seemed best to the others also.
They went forth, and met on the way a richly dressed man whoasked who they were. "We are apprentices looking for work; up tothis time we have kept together, but if we cannot find anything todo we are going to separate." "There is no need for that," said theman, "if you will do what I tell you, you shall not want for gold orfor work—nay, you shall become great lords, and drive in your car-riages!" One of them said, 'If our souls and salvation be not endan-gered, we wiU certainly do it." "They will not," replied the man, "Ihave no claim on you."
One of the others had, however, looked at his feet, and when he
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saw a horse's foot and a man's foot, he did not want to have any-thing to do with him. The Devil, however, said, "Be easy, I have nodesigns on you, but on another soul, which is half my own already,and whose measure shall but run full." As they were now seciu-e,they consented, and the Devil told them what he wanted. The firstwas to answer, "All three of us," to every question; the second wasto say, "For money," and the third, "And quite right tool" Theywere always to say this, one after the other, but they were not tosay one word more, and if they disobeyed this order, all theirmoney would disappear at once, but so long as they observed it,their pockets would always be full.
As a beginning, he at once gave them as much as they couldcarry, and told them to go to such and such an inn when they gotto the town. They went to it, and the innkeeper came to meet them,and asked if they wished for anything to eat. The first replied, "Allthree of us." "Yes," said the host, "that is what I mean." The secondsaid, "For money." "Of course," said the host. The third said "Andquite right tool" "Certainly it is right," said the host.
Good meat and drink were now brought to them, and they werewell waited on. After the dinner came the payment, and the inn-keeper gave the bill to the one who said, "All three of us," the sec-ond said, "For money," and the third, "And quite right tool" "In-deed it is right," said the_ host, "all three pay, and without money Ican give nothing." They, however, paid still more than he hadasked. The lodgers, who were looking on, said, "These people mustbe mad." "Yes, indeed they are," said the host, "they are not verywise." So they stayed some time in the inn, and said nothing elsebut "All three of U5," "For money," and "And quite right too!" Butthey saw and knew all that was going on.
It so happened that a great merchant came with a large sum ofmoney, and <:«id. "Sir host, take care of my money for me; here arethree crazy apprentices who might steal it from me." The host didas he was ask^d. As he was carrying the trunk into his room, he feltthat it was heavy with gold. Thereupon he gave the three appren-tices a lodging below, but the mprphqnt came upstairs into a sepa-rate apartment. When it was midnight, and the host thought thatall were fi<;lfep, he came with his wife, and they had an axe andstruck the rich merchant dead; and after they had murdered himthey went to bed again.
When it was day there was a great outcry; the merchant lay deadin bed bathed in blood. All the guests ran at once, but the host
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said, "The three crazy apprentices have done this"; the lodgersconfirmed it, and said, "It can have been no one else." The inn-keeper, however, had them called, and said to them, "Have youkilled the merchant?" "All three of us," said the first; "For money,"said the second; and the third added, "And quite right tool" "Therenow, you hear," said the host, "they confess it themselves." Theywere taken to prison, therefore, and were to be tried. When theysaw that things were going so seriously, they were after all afraid,but at night the Devil came and said, "Bear it just one day longer,and do not play away your luck; not one hair of your head shall behurt."
The next morning they were led to the bar, and the judge said,"Are you the murderers?" "All three of us." "Why did you kill themerchant?" "For money." "You wicked wretches, you have no hor-ror of your sins?" "And quite right too!" "They have confessed, andare still stubborn," said the judge, "lead them to death instantly."So they were taken out, and the host had to go with them into thecircle. When they were taken hold of by the executioner's men, andwere just going to be led up to the scaffold where the headsmanwas standing with naked sword, a coach drawTi by four blood-redchestnut horses came up suddenly, driving so fast that fire flashedfrom the stones, and some one made signs from the window with awhite handkerchief.
Then said the headsman, 'It is a pardon coming," and 'TardonIpardon I" was called from the carriage also. The Devil stepped outas a very noble gentleman, beautifully dressed, and said, "Youthi'ee are innocent; you may now speak, make known what youhave seen and heard." Then said the eldest, "We did not kill themerchant; the murderer is standing there in the circle," and hepointed to the innkeeper. "In proof of this, go into his cellar, wheremany others whom he has killed are still hanging."
The judge sent the executioner's men thither, and they found itwas as the apprentices said, and when they had informed th^ judgeof this, he caused the innkeeper to be led up, and his head was cutoff. Then said the Devil to the three, "Now I have got the soulwhich I wanted to have, and you are free, and have money for therest of your lives."
Doctor Knowall
There was once on a time a poor peasant called Crabb, who drovewith two oxen a load of wood to the town, and sold it to a doctorfor two thalers. When the money was being counted out to him, itso happened that the doctor was sitting at table, and when thepeasant saw how daintily he ate and drank, his heart desired whathe saw, and he would wiUingly have been a doctor too. So heremained standing a while, and at length inquired if he too couldnot be a doctor. "Oh, yes," said the doctor, "that is soon managed.""What must I do?" asked the peasant. "In the first place, buythyself an A B C book of the land which has a cock on the frontis-piece; in the second, turn thy cart and thy two oxen into money,and get thyself some clothes, and whatsoever else pertains to medi-cine; thirdly, have a sign painted for thyself with the words, *I amDoctor Knowall,' and have that nailed above thy house-door." Thepeasant did everything that he had been told to do.
When he had doctored people awhile, but not long, a rich andgreat lord had some money stolen. Then he was told about DoctorKnowall who lived in such and such a village, and must know whathad become of the money. So the lord had the horses put in his car-riage, drove out to the village, and asked Crabb if he were DoctorKnowall. Yes, he was, he said. Then he was to go with him andbring back the stolen money. "Oh, yes, but Grethe, my wife, mustgo too." The lord was willing, and let both of them have a seat inthe carriage, and they all drove away together.
When they came to the nobleman's castle, the table was spread,and Crabb was told to sit down and eat. "Yes, but my wife, Grethe,too," said he, and he seated himself with her at the table. And whenthe first servant came with a dish of deUcate fare, the peasantnudged his wife, and said, "Grethe, that was the first." meaningthat was the servant who brought the first dish. The servant, how-ever, thought he intended by that to say, "That is the first thief,"and as he actually was so, he was terrified, and said to his comradeoutside, "The doctor knows all: we shall fare ill, he said I was thefirst."
The second did not want to go in at all, but was forced. So whenhe went in with his dish, the peasant nudged his wiie, and said.
"Grethe, that is the second." This servant was just as muchalarmed, and he got out. The third did not fare better, for the peas-ant again said, "Grethe, that is the third."
The fourth had to carry in a dish that was covered, and the lordtold the doctor that he was to show his skill, and guess what wasbeneath the cover. The doctor looked at the dish, had no idea whatto say, and cried, "Ah, poor Crabb." When the lord heard that, hecried, "Therel He knows who has the moneyl"
On this the servants looked terribly uneasy, and made a sign tothe doctor that they wished him to go out for a moment. Whentherefore he went out, all four of them confessed to him that theyhad stolen the money, and said that they would willingly restore itand give him a heavy siun into the bargain, if he would not de-nounce them, for if he did they would be hanged. They led him tothe spot where the money was concealed.
With this the doctor was satisfied, and returned to the hall, satdown to the table, and said, "My lord, now will I search in mybook where the gold is hidden." The fifth servant, however, creptinto the stove to hear if the doctor knew still more. The doctor,however, sat still and opened his A B C book, turned the pagesbackwards and forwards, and looked for the cock. As he could notfind it immediately he said, "I know you are there, so you had bet-ter show yourself." Then the fellow in the stove thought that thedoctor meant him, and full of terror, sprang out crying, "That manknows everything!" Then Doctor Knowall showed the count wherethe money was, but did not say who had stolen it, and receivedfrom both sides much money in reward, and became a renownedman.
The Three Army Surgeons
Three abmy surgeons who thought they knew their art perfectlyand were travehng about the world, came to an inn where theywanted to pass the night. The host asked whence they came, andwhither they were going. "We are roaming about the world andpracticing our art." "Just show me for once in a way what you cando," said the host. Then the first said he would cut ojff his hand, andput it on again early next morning; the second said he would tear
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out his heart, and replace it next morning; the third said he wouldcut out his eyes and heal them again next morning. "If you can dothat," said the innkeeper, "you have learnt everything." They, how-ever, had a salve, with which they rubbed themselves, which joinedparts together, and they carried the little bottle in which it was, con-stantly with them. Then they cut the hand, heart and eyes from theirbodies as they had said they would, and laid them all together on aplate, and gave it to the innkeeper. The innkeeper gave it to a serv-ant who was to set it in the cupboard, and take good care of it.
The girl, however, had a lover in secret, who was a soldier. Whenthe innkeeper, the three army surgeons, and every one else in thehouse were asleep, the soldier came and wanted something to eat.The girl opened the cupboard and brought him some food, and for-got to shut the cupboard-door again; she seated herself at the tableby her lover, and they chattered away together. While she sat socontentedly there thinking of no ill luck, the cat came creeping in,found the cupboard open, took the hand and heart and eyes of thethree army surgeons, and ran off with them.
When the soldier had done eating, and the girl was taking awaythe things and going to shut the cupboard, she saw that the platewhich the innkeeper had given her to take care of, was empty.Then she said in a fright to her lover, "Ah, what shall I do? Thehand is gone, the heart and the eyes are gone too, what will be-come of me in the morning?" "Be easy," said he, '1 will help youout of your trouble—there is a thief hanging outside on the gaUows,I will cut off his hand. Which hand was it?" "The right one." Thenthe girl gave him a sharp knife, and he went and cut the poor sin-ner's right hand off, and brought it to her. After this he caught thecat and cut its eyes out, and now nothing but the heart was want-ing. "Have you not been slaughtering? And are not the dead pigsin the cellar?" said he. "Yes," said the girl. "That's well," said thesoldier, and he went down and fetched a pig's heart. The girlplaced all together on the plate, and put it in the cupboard, andwhen after this her lover took leave of her, she went quietly to bed.
In the morning when the three army surgeons got up, they toldthe girl she was to bring them the plate on which the hand, heart,and eyes were lying. Then she brought it out of the cupboard, andthe first fixed the thiefs hand on and smeared it with salve, and itgrew to his arm directly. The second took the cat's eyes and putthem in his own head. The third fixed the pig's heart firm in theplace where his own had been, and the iimkeeper stood by, ad-
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mired their sldll, and said he had never yet seen such a thing asthat done, and would sing their praises and recommend them toevery one. Then they paid their bill, and traveled farther.
As they were on their way, the one with the pig's heart did notstay with them at all, but wherever there was a comer he ran to it,and rooted about in it with his nose as pigs do. The others wantedto hold him back by the tail of his coat, but that did no good; hetore himself loose, and ran wherever the dirt was thickest. The sec-ond also behaved very strangely; he rubbed his eyes, and said tothe others, "Comrades, what is the matter? I don't see at all. Willone of you lead me, so that I do not fall." Then with difficulty theytraveled on till evening, when they reached another inn.
They went into the bar together, and there at a table in thecomer sat a rich man counting money. The one with the thiefshand walked round about him, made a sudden movement twicewith his arm, and at last when the stranger turned away, hesnatched at the pile of money, and took a handful from it. One ofthem saw this and said, "Comrade, what are you about? You mustnot steal—shame on you!" "Eh," said he, "but how can I stop my-self? My hand twitches, and I am forced to snatch things whether Iwill or not."
After this, they lay down to sleep, and while they were lyingthere it was so dark that no one could see his ov/n hand. All at oncethe one with the cat's eyes awoke, aroused the others, and said,"Brothers, just look up, do you see the white mice running aboutthere?" The two sat up, but could see nothing. Then said he,"Things are not right with us, we have not got back again what isours. We must return to the innkeeper, he has deceived us."
They went back, therefore, the next morning, and told the hostthey had not got what was their own again; that the first had athiefs hand, the second cat's eyes, and the third a pig's heart. Theinnkeeper said that the girl must be to blame for that, and wasgoing to call her, but when she had seen the three coming, she hadrun out by the back door, and not come back. Then the three saidhe must give them a great deal of money, or they would set hishouse on fire. He gave them what he had, and whatever he couldget together, and the three went away with it. It was enough forthe rest of their lives, but they would rather have had their ovnaproper organs.
The Spirit in the Bottle
There was once a poor woodcutter who toiled from early morningtill late night. When at last he had laid by some money he said tohis boy, "Thou art my only child, I will spend the money which Ihave earned with the sweat of my brow on thy education; if thouleamest some honest trade thou canst support me in my old age,when my limbs have grown stiflF and I am obhged to stay at home."
Then the boy went to a High School and learned diligently sothat his masters praised him, and he remained there a long time.When he had worked through two classes, but was still not yet per-fect in everything, the httle pittance which the father had earnedwas all spent, and the boy was obliged to return home to him."Ah," said the father, sorrowfully, "I can give thee no more, and inthese hard times I cannot earn a farthing more than will suffice forour daily bread."
"Dear father," answered the son, "do not trouble thyself about it,if it is God's wall, it will turn to my advantage. I shall soon accus-tom myself to it." When the father wanted to go into the forest toearn money by helping to pile and stack wood and also to chop it,the son said, "I will go with thee and help thee." "Nay, my son,"said the father, "that would be hard for thee; thou art not accus-tomed to rough work, and wilt not be able to bear it, besides I haveonly one axe and no money left wherewith to buy another." "Justgo to the neighbor," answered the son, "he vidll lend thee his axeuntil I have earned one for myself."
The father then borrowed an axe of the neighbor, and next morn-ing at break of day they went out into the forest together. The sonhelped his father and was quite merry and brisk about it. But whenthe sun was right over their heads, the father said, "We will rest,and have our dirmer, and then we shall work as well again." Theson took his bread in his hands, and said, "Rest thou, father, I amnot tired; I will walk up and down a httle in the forest, and look forbirds' nests." "Oh, thou fool," said the father, "why shouldst thouwant to run about there? Afterwards thou wilt be tired, and nolonger able to raise thy arm; stay here, and sit down beside me."The son, however, went into the forest, ate his bread, was very
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merry and peered in among the green branches to see if he coulddiscover a bird's nest anywhere.
So he went up and down to see if he could find a bird's nest,until at last he came to a great dangerous-looldng oak, which cer-tainly was aheady many hundred years old, and which five mencould not have spanned. He stood still and looked at it, andthought, "Many a bird must have built its nest in that." Then all atonce it seemed to him that he heard a voice. He listened and be-came aware that some one was crying in a very smothered voice,"Let me out, let me out!" He looked around, but could discovernothing; nevertheless, he fancied that the voice came out of theground. Then he cried, "Where art thou?" The voice answered, '1am here down among the roots of the oak tree. Let me outl Let meout!"
The scholar began to loosen the earth under the tree, and searchamong the roots, until at last he found a glass bottle in a httle hol-low. He hfted it up and held it against the fight, and then saw acreature shaped fike a frog springing up and doviTi in it. "Let meoutl Let me outl" it cried anew, and the scholar, thinking no evil,drew the cork out of the bottle. Immediately a spirit ascended fromit, and began to grow, and grew so fast that in a very few momentshe stood before the scholar, a terrible fellow as big as half the treeby which he was standing.
"Knowest thou," he cried in an awful voice, "what thy wages arefor having let me out?" "No," replied the scholar fearlessly, "howshould I know that?" "Then I will tell thee," cried the spirit; "Imust strangle thee for it." "Thou shoiJdst have told me thatsooner," said the scholar, "for I should then have left thee shut up,but my head shall stand fast for all thou canst do; more personsthan one must be consulted about that." "More persons here, morepersons there," said the spirit. "Thou shalt have the wages thouhast earned. Dost thou think that I was shut up there for such along time as a favor? No, it was a punishment for me. I am themighty Mercurius. Whoso releases me, him must I strangle.""Softly," answered the scholar, "not so fast. I must first know thatthou wert shut up in that Httle bottle, and that thou art the rightspirit. If, indeed, thou canst get in again, I will befieve, and thenthou mayst do as thou wilt with me." The spirit said haughtily,"That is a very tiifling feat," drew himself together, and made him-self as small and slender as he had been at first, so that he creptthrough the same opening, and right through the neck of the bottlein again. Scarcely was he within than the scholar thrust the cork he
had drawn back into the bottle, and threw it among the roots of theoak into its old place, and the spirit was betrayed.
And now the scholar was about to return to his father, but thespirit cried very piteously, "Ah, do let me out! ah, do let me outl""No," answered the scholar, "not a second timel He who has oncetried to take my life shall not be set free by me, now that I havecaught him again." 'If thou wilt set me free," said the spirit, "I willgive thee so much that thou wilt have plenty all the days of thylife." "No," answered the scholar, "thou wouldst cheat me as thoudidst the first time." "Thou art playing away thy own good luck,"said the spirit; "I will do thee no harm, but will reward theerichly." The scholar thought, "I will venture it, perhaps he willkeep his word, and anyhow he shall not get the better of me."
Then he took out the cork, and the spirit rose up from the bottleas he had done before, stretched himself out and became as big asa giant. "Now thou shalt have thy reward," said he, and handed thescholar a httle bag just like a plaster, and said, "If thou spreadestone end of this over a wound it will heal, and if thou rubbest steelor iron with the other end it will be changed into silver." '1 mustjust try that," said the scholar, and went to a tree, tore off the barkwith his axe, and rubbed it with one end of the plaster. It immedi-ately closed together and was healed. "Now, it is all right," he saidto the spirit, "and we can part." The spirit thanked him for hisrelease, and the scholar thanked the spirit for his present, and wentback to his father.
"Where hast thou been racing about?" said the father; "why hastthou forgotten thy work? I said at once that thou wouldst never geton with anything." "Be easy, father, I wiU make it up." "Make it upindeed," said the father angrily, "there's no art in that." "Take care,father, I will soon hew that tree there, so that it will split." Then hetook his plaster, rubbed the axe with it, and dealt a mighty blow,but as the iron had changed into silver, the edge turned. "Hollo, fa-ther, just look what a bad axe thou hast given me, it has becomequite crooked." The father was shocked and said, "Ah, what hastthou done? Now I shall have to pay for that, and have not thewherewithal, and that is all the good I have got by thy work.""Don't get angry," said the son, "I will soon pay for the axe." "Oh,thou blockhead," cried the father, "wherewith wilt thou pay for it?Thou hast nothing but what I give thee. These are students' tricksthat are sticking in thy head, but thou hast no idea of woodcutting,"After a while the scholar said, "Father, I can really work no more,we had better take a holiday." "Eh, whati" answered he. 'Dost
thou think I will sit with my hands lying in my lap like thee? I mustgo on working, but thou mayst take thyself home." "Father, I amhere in this wood for the first time, I don't know my way alone. Dogo with me."
As his anger had now abated, the father at last let himself be per-suaded and went home with him. Then he said to the son, "Go andsell thy damaged axe, and see what thou canst get for it, and I mustearn the difference, in order to pay the neighbor." The son took theaxe, and carried it into town to a goldsmith, who tested it, laid it inthe scales, and said, 'It is worth four hundred thalers; I have not somuch as that by me." The son said, "Give me what you have, I willlend you the rest." The goldsmith gave him three hundred thalers,and remained a hundred in his debt. The son thereupon went homeand said, "Father, I have got the money, go and ask the neighborwhat he wants for the axe." "I know that already," answered theold man, "one thaler six groschen." "Then give him two thalers,twelve groschen, that is double and enough; see, I have money inplenty," and he gave the father a hundred thalers, and said, "Youshall never know want; live as comfortably as you like." "Goodheavens!" said the father, "how hast thou come by these riches?"
The scholar then told how all had come to pass, and how he,trusting in his luck, had made such a good hit. But with the moneythat was left, he went back to the High School and went on learn-ing more, and as he could heal all wounds with his plaster, he be-came the most famous doctor in the whole world.
The Three Children of Fortune
Once upon a time a father sent for his three sons. He gave to theeldest a cock, to the second a scythe, and to the third a cat.
"I am now old," said he, "my end is approaching, and I wouldhke to provide for you before I die. Money I have none, and what Inow give you seems of but little worth. Yet it rests with yourselvesto turn my gifts to good account. Go to a country where what youhave is as yet unknown, and your fortune is made."
After the death of the father, the eldest set out with his cock. Butwherever he went, in every town he saw from afar off a cock sittingupon the church steeple, and turning round with the wind. In the
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villages he always heard plenty of them crowing, and his bird wastherefore nothing new; so there did not seem much chance of hismaking his fortune. At length it happened that he came to an islandwhere the people who hved there had never heard of a cock, andknew not even how to reckon the time. They knew, indeed, if itwere morning or evening; but at night, if they lay awake, they hadno means of knowing how time went.
"Behold," said he to them, "what a noble animal this isl How likea knight he isl He carries a bright red crest upon his head, andspurs upon his heels; he crows three times every night, at statedhours, and at the third time the sun is about to rise. But this is notall. Sometimes he screams in broad daylight, and then you musttake warning, for the weather is surely about to change."
This pleased the natives mightily. They kept awake one wholenight, and heard to their great joy how gloriously the cock calledthe hour, at two, four, and six o'clock. Then they asked himwhether the bird was to be sold, and how much he would sell it for."About as much gold as an ass can carry," said he. "A very fairprice for such an animal," they cried with one voice, and agreed togive him what he asked.
When he returned home with his wealth, his brothers wonderedgreatly; and the second said, *T will now set forth likewise, and seeif I can turn my scythe to as good an account." There did not seem,however, much likelihood of this; for go where he would, he wasmet by peasants who had as good a scythe on their shoulders as hehad. At last, as good luck would have it, he came to an islandwhere the people had never heard of a scythe. There, as soon as thecom was ripe, they went into the fields and pulled it up with theirhands, but this was very hard work, and a great deal of it was lost.The man then set to work with his scythe, and mowed down theirwhole crop so quickly that the people stood staring open-mouthedwith wonder. They were willing to give him what he asked for sucha marvelous thing; but he only took a horse laden with as muchgold as it could carry.
Now the third brother had a great longing to go and see what hecould make of his cat. So he set out. At first it happened to him as ithad to the others; so long as he kept upon the main land, he metwith no success. There were plenty of cats everywhere, indeed toomany, so that the young ones were for the most part, as soon asthey came into the world, drowned in the water. At last he passedover to an island, where, as it chanced most luckily for him, nobody
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had ever seen a cat, and they were overrun with mice to such a de-gree, that the Uttle wretches danced upon the tables and chairs,whether the master of the house were at home or not. The peoplecomplained loudly of this grievance; the King himself knew nothow to rid himself of them in his palace. In every comer mice weresqueaking, and they gnawed everything that their teeth could layhold of. Here was a fine field for Puss. She soon began her chase,and had cleared two rooms in the twinkling of an eye. Then thepeople besought their King to buy the wonderful animal for thegood of the public, at any price. The King willingly gave what wasasked—a mule laden with gold and jewels. And thus the thirdbrother returned home with a richer prize than either of the others.
Meantime the cat feasted away upon the mice in the royal pal-ace, and devoured so many that they were no longer in any greatnumbers. At length, quite spent and tired with her work, she be-came extremely thirsty; so she stood stiU, drew up her head, andcried, "Miau, Miaul'
The King gathered together all his subjects when they heard thisstrange cry, and many ran shrieking in a great fright out of the pal-ace. But the King held a council below as to what was best to bedone; and it was at length fixed to send a herald to the cat, to warnher to leave the castle forthwith, or that force would be used toremove her. "For," said the counsellors, "we would far more will-ingly put up with the mice (since we are used to that evil), thanget rid of them at the risk of oiu: lives." A page accordingly went,and asked the cat, whether she were willing to quit the castle. ButPuss, whose thirst became every moment more and more pressing,answered nothing but "Miaul Miaul" which the page interpreted tomean "Nol Nol" and therefore carried this answer to the King.
"Well," said the counsellors, "then we must try what force willdo." So the guns were planted, and the palace was fired upon fromall sides. When the fire reached the room where the cat was, shesprang out of the window and ran away. But the besiegers did notsee her, and went on firing until the whole palace was burnt to theground.
The Cunning Little Tailor
Once upon a time there was a Princess who was extremely proud.If a wooer came she gave him some riddle to guess, and if he couldnot find it out, he was sent contemptuously away. She let it bemade known also that whosoever solved her riddle should marryher, no matter who he might be.
At length three tailors fell in with each other. The two eldestthought they had done so many dexterous bits of work successfullythat they could not fail to succeed in this also; the third did noteven know his trade, but thought he must have some luck in thisventure, for where else was it to come from? Then the two otherssaid to him, "Just stay at home; thou canst not do much with thyMttle bit of understanding." The little tailor, however, did not lethimself be discouraged, and said he had set his head to work aboutthis for once, and he would manage well enough, and he went forthas if the whole world were his.
All three announced themselves to the Princess, and said she wasto propound her riddle to them, and that the right persons werenow come who had understandings so fine that they could bethreaded in a needle. Then said the Princess, "I have two kinds ofhair on my head, of what color is it?" "If that be all," said the first,"it must be black and white, like the cloth which is called pepperand salt.'" The Princess said, "Wrongly guessed; let the second an-swer." Then said the second, "If it be not black and white, thenit is brown and red, Hke my father's company coat." "Wronglyguessed," said the Princess, 'let the third give the answer, for I seevery well he knows it for certain." Then the little tailor steppedboldly forth and said, "The Princess has a silver and a golden hairon her head, and those are the two different colors."
When the Princess heard that, she turned pale and nearly felldown with terror, for the little tailor had guessed her riddle, andshe had firmly believed that no man on earth could discover it.When her coinrage returned she said, "Thou hast not won me yetby that; there is still something else that thou must do. Below, inthe stable, is a bear with which thou shalt pass the night, and whenI get up in the morning if thou art still alive, thou shalt marry me."She expected, however, she should thus get rid of the tailor, for the
The Cunning Little Tailor 627
bear had never yet left any one alive who had fallen into hisclutches. The little tailor did not let himself be frightened away,but was quite delighted, and said, "Boldly ventured is half won."
When, therefore, the evening came, our Httle tailor was takendown to the bear. The bear was about to set at the Httle fellow atonce, and give him a hearty welcome with his paws. "Softly,softly," said the little tailor, "I will soon make thee quiet." Thenquite composedly, and as if he had not an anxiety in the world, hetook some nuts out of his pocket, cracked them, and ate the kernels.When the bear saw that, he was seized with a desire to have somenuts too. The tailor felt in his pockets, and reached him a handful;they were, however, not nuts, but pebbles. The bear put them inhis mouth, but could get nothing out of them, let him bite as hewould. "Ehl" thought he, "what a stupid blockhead I am! I cannoteven crack a nut!" and then he said to the tailor, "Here, crack methe nuts." "There, see what a stupid fellow thou arti" said the httletailor, "to have such a great mouth, and not be able to crack asmall nuti" Then he took the pebble and nimbly put a nut in hismouth in the place of it, and crack, it was in twol "I must try thething again," said the bear; "when I watch thee, I then think Iought to be able to do it too." So the tailor once more gave him apebble, and the bear tried and tried to bite into it with all thestiength of his body. But no one will imagine that he accompHshedit.
When that was over, the tailor took out a viohn from beneath hiscoat, and played a piece on it to himself. When the bear heard themusic, he could not help beginning to dance, and when he haddanced a while, the thing pleased him so well that he said to thelittle tailor, "Hark you, is the fiddle heavy?" "Light enough for achild. Look, with the left hand I lay fingers on it, and with the rightI stroke it with the bow, and then it goes merrily, hop sa sa vivalla-lera!" "So," said the bear; "fiddling is a thing I should hke to un-derstand too, that I might d^noe whenever I had a fancy. Whatdost thou think of that? Wilt thou give me lessons?" "With all myheart," said the tailor, "if thou hast a talent for it. But just let mesee thy claws, they are terribly long, I must cut thy nails a little."Then a vise was brought, and the bear put his claws in it, and theHttle tailor screwed it tieht, and said, "Now wait until I come withthe scissors," and he let the bear srowl as he liked, and lay down inthe corner on a bundle of straw, and fell asleep.
When the Princess heard the bear growHng so fiercely during thenight, she beHeved nothing else but that he was growHng for joy.
and had made an end of the tailor. In the morning she arose care-less and happy, but when she peeped into the stable, the tailorstood gaily before her, and was as healthy as a fish in the water.Now she could not say another word against the wedding becauseshe had given a promise before every one, and the King ordered acarriage to be brought in which she was to drive to church with thetailor, and there she was to be mairied. When they had got into thecarriage, the two other tailors, who had false hearts and envied himhis good fortune, went into the stable and unscrewed the bearagain. The bear in great fury ran after the carriage. The Princessheard him snorting and growling; she was terrified, and she cried,"Ah, the bear is behind us and wants to get theel" The tailor wasquick and stood on his head, stuck his legs out of the window, andcried, "Dost thou see the vise? If thou dost not be ofiF thou shalt beput into it again." When the bear saw that, he turned round andran away. The tailor drove quietly to church, and the Princess wasmarried to him at once, and he Hved with her as happy as a wood-lark. . . . And whoever does not believe this, must pay a thaler.
The Riddle
A king's son once had a great desire to travel through the world, sohe started o£F, taking no one with him but one trusty servant. Oneday he came to a great forest, and as evening drew on and he couldfind no shelter he could not think where to spend the night. All of asudden he saw a girl going toward a Httle house, and as he drewnear he saw that she was both young and pretty. He spoke to her,and said, "Dear child, could I spend the night in this house?"
"Oh, yes," said the girl in a sad tone, "you can if you Hke, but Ishould not advise you to do so. Better not go in."
"Why not?" asked the King's son.
The girl sighed, and answered, "My stepmother deals in blackmagic, and she is not friendly to strangers."
The Prince guessed easily he had come to a wdtch's house, but itwas now dark and he could go no farther. Moreover, he was notafraid, and he stepped in with his groom.
An old woman sat in an armchair near the fire, and as they en-
The Riddle 629
tered, she turned her red eyes on them. "Good evening," she mut-tered, pretending to be friendly. "Won't you sit down?"
She blew up the fire on which she was cooking something in a lit-tle pot. But her daughter had warned the travelers to be careful notto eat or drink anything, as the old woman's brews were likely to bedangerous.
They went to bed and slept soundly till morning. When theywere ready to start, and the King's son had aheady mounted hishorse, the old woman said, "Wait a minute, I must give you a stir-rup cup." While she went to fetch it the King's son rode off, and thegroom who had waited to tighten his saddle girths was alone whenthe witch returned.
"Take that to your master," she said. But as she spoke the glasscracked and the poison spurted over the horse. It was so powerfulthe poor creature sank down dead. The servant ran after his masterand told him what had happened, and then, not wishing to lose thesaddle as well as the horse, he went back to fetch it. When hereached the spot he saw a raven had perched on the carcass andwas pecking at it.
"Who knows whether we shall get anything better to eat todayl"said the man, and he shot the raven and carried it off.
Then they rode on all day through the forest without coming tothe end. At nightfall they reached an inn. The servant made thelandlord a present of the raven. Now, as it happened, this irm wasthe resort of a band of robbers, and the old witch, too, was in thehabit of frequenting it.
As soon as it was dark twelve thieves arrived, with the full inten-tion of killing and robbing the strangers. However, they sat downfirst to table, where the landlord and the old witch joined them,and they all ate some broth in which the flesh of the raven hadbeen boiled. They had hardly taken a couple of spoonfuls whenthey all fell down dead, for the poison had passed from the horse tothe raven and so into the broth. There was no one left belonging tothe house but the landlord's daughter, who was a good, well-mean-ing girl and had taken no part in all the evil doings.
She opened all the doors and showed the strangers the treasuresthe robbers had gathered together. The Prince bade her keep themall for herself, as he wanted none of them, and so he rode on withhis servant.
After traveling about for some time they reached a town wherelived a lovely but arrogant Princess. She had announced that any-one who asked her a riddle which she was unable to guess should
be her husband, but should she guess it he must forfeit his head.She claimed thi-ee days in which to think over the riddles, but shewas so clever she invariably guessed them in much shorter time.Nine suitors had already lost their lives when the King's son ar-rived, and, dazzled by her beauty, determined to risk his Me. Hecame before her and propounded his riddle.
"What is this?" he asked. "One slew none and yet killed twelve."
She could not think what it was! She thought and thought andlooked through all her books of riddles and puzzles. She foundnothing to help her and could not guess. In fact, she was at herwits' end. As she could think of no way to guess the riddle, she or-dered her maid to steal at night into the Prince's bedroom and lis-ten. She thought he might talk aloud in his dreams and so betraythe secret. But the clever servant had taken his master's place, andwhen the maid came, he tore ofiF the cloak she had wrapped aboutherself and chased her oflF.
On the second night the Princess sent her lady-in-waiting, hopingshe might succeed better. But the servant took away her mantleand chased her away also.
On the third night the King's son thought he really might feelsafe, so he went to bed. But in the middle of the night the Princesscame herself, wrapped in a misty gray mantle, and sat down nearhim. When she thought he was fast asleep, she spoke to him, hop-ing he would answer in the midst of his dreams as many people do.But he was wide awake all the time and heard and understood ev-erything very well.
Then she asked, "One slew none—what is that?" And he an-swered, "A raven which fed on the carcass of a poisoned horse."
She went on, "And yet killed twelve—what is that?" "Those aretwelve robbers who ate the raven and died of it."
As soon as she knew the riddle she tried to slip away, but he heldher mantle so tightly she was obliged to leave it behind.
Next morning the Princess announced she had guessed the riddleand sent for the twelve judges, before whom she declared it. Butthe young man begged to be heard. Then he said, "She came bynight to question me; otherwise she never could have guessed it."
The judges said, "Bring us some proof." So the servant broughtout the three cloaks. When the judges saw the gray one, which thePrincess was in the habit of wearing, they said, "Let it be embroi-dered wdth gold and silver. It shall be your wedding mantle."
A Riddling Tale
Three women were changed into flowers which grew m the field,but one of them was allowed to be in her own home at night. Thenonce when day was drawing near, and she was forced to go back toher companions in the field and become a flower again, she said toher husband, "If you will come this afternoon and gather me, Ishall be set free and henceforth stay with you." And he did so.
Now the question is, how did her husband know her, for theflowers were exactly alike, and without any difference?
Answer: Since she was at her home during the night and not inthe field, no dew fell on her as it did on the others, and by this herhusband knew her.
The Beam
There was once a magician who was standing in the midst of agreat crowd of people performing his wonders. He had a cockbrought in, which lifted a heavy beam and carried it as if it were aslight as a feather. But a girl was present who had just found a bit offour-leaved clover, and had thus become so vdse that no deceptioncould stand out against her, and she saw that the beam was nothingbut a straw. So she cried, "You people, do you not see that it is astraw that the cock is carrying, and no beam?" Immediately the en-chantment vanished, and the people saw what it was, and drove themagician away in shame and disgrace. He, however, full of inwardanger, said, "1 will soon revenge myself."
After some time the girl's wedding-day came, and she wasdecked out, and went in a great procession over the fields to theplace where the church was. All at once she came to a streamwhich was very much swollen, and there was no bridge and noplank to cross it. Then the bride nimbly took her clothes up, andwanted to wade through it. And just as she was thus standing in thewater a man—and it was the enchanter—cried mockingly close be-
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side her, "Aha! Where are thine eyes that thou takest that forwater?" Then her eyes were opened, and she saw that she wasstanding with her clothes lifted up in the middle of a field that wasblue with flowers of blue flax. Then all the people saw it likewise,and chased her away with ridicule and laughter.