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Illuftrs.ted by
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r^^TTTJEW YORK
TUBLIC LIBRARY
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Contents
THE GOLDEN BIRD .
HANS IN LUCK
JORINDA AND JORINGEL .
THE BREMEN TOWN MUSICIANS .
OLD SULTAN ....
THE STRAW, THE COAL, AND THE BEAN
BRIAR ROSE . . , , .
THE DOG AND THE SPARROW
THE TWELVE DANCING PRINCESSES
THE FISHERMAN AND HIS WIFE
THE WREN AND THE BEAR
THE FROG PRINCE .
THE CAT AND MOUSE IN PARTNERSHIP
THE GOOSEGIRL ....
THE ADVENTURES OF CHANTICLEER AND PARTLET RAPUNZEL .......
FUNDEVOGEL .......
THE VALIANT TAILOR . . . . .
1
10 17 21 26 29 31 36 41 47 57 60 64 67 74 80 84
c 73jij!rw
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
HANSEL AND GRETHEL
THE MOUSE, THE BIRD, AND THE SAUSAGE
MOTHER HULDA
RED RIDING HOOD .
THE ROBBER BRIDEGROOM
TOM THUMB
RUMPELSTILTSKIN
CLEVER GRETHEL
THE OLD MAN AND HIS GRANDSON
THE LITTLE PEASANT
FRED AND KATE
SWEETHEART ROLAND
SNOWDROP
THE PINK
CLEVER ELSA .
THE JEW AMONG THE THORNS
ASHENPUTTEL
THE WHITE SNAKE .
THE WOLF AND THE SEVEN KIDS
THE QUEEN BEE
THE ELVES AND THE SHOEMAKER
THE WOLF AND THE MAN . .
. .vi . . . . c . ,
CONTENTS
THE TURNIP .....
CLEVER HANS .....
THE THREE LANGUAGES .
THE FOX AND THE CAT .
THE FOUR CLEVER BROTHERS .
THE LADY AND THE LION
THE FOX AND THE HORSE
THE BLUE LIGHT ....
THE RAVEN
THE GOLDEN GOOSE
THE WATER OF LIFE
THE TWELVE HUNTSMEN .
THE KING OF THE GOLDEN MOUNTAIN
DOCTOR KNOW-ALL ....
THE SEVEN RAVENS ....
THE MARRIAGE OF MRS. REYNARD
THE SALAD .....
THE YOUTH WHO COULD NOT SHUDDER
KING THRUSHBEARD
IRON HANS .....
213 217 223 227 229 235 241 244 250 257 264 271 274 281 284
300 312 317
PREFATORY NOTE BY THE ARTIST
Some years ago a selection of Grimm's Fairy Tales with one hundred illustrations of mine in black and white was published — in 1900, by Messrs. Freemantle and Co., and afterwards by Messrs. Archibald Constable & Co., Ltd.
At intervals since then I have been at work on the original drawings, partially or entirely re-drawing some of them in colour, adding new ones in colour and in black and white, and generally overhauling them as a set, supplementing and omitting, with a view to the present edition.
Of the forty coloured illustrations, many are elabora- tions of the earlier black and white drawings or are founded on them. The frontispiece, and those facing pp. 34, 70, 94, 104, 116, 118, and 190 are entirely new, and several of the text illustrations also have not been pub- hshed before. The remaining illustrations in the text have been reconsidered and worked on again to a greater or less degree.
Hampstead, September 1909. ARTHUR RACKHAM.
List of Illustrations
PAGE
The Prince carried off the beautiful Maiden on the Golden Horse . 7
Just then a butcher came along the road, trundling a young pig in a
wheel-barrow . .13
At last the old woman came back, and said in a droning voice :
' Greeting to thee, Zachiel ! ' ..... 19
A short time after they came upon a Cat, sitting in the road, with a face
as long as a wet week ...... 22
The Ass brayed, the Hound barked, the Cat mewed, and the Cock
crowed ........ 24
' The Thirteenth Fairy ' . . . . . .32
But round the castle a hedge of briar roses began to grow up , . 34)
On the road he met a Sparrow . .... 36
On the opposite side of the lake stood a splendid brightly-lighted Castle 45
There was once a Fisherman, who lived with his Wife in a miserable
little hovel close to the sea ...... 48
' Flounder, Flounder in the sea, Prythee, hearken unto me ' . .55
She did not go once but many times, backwards and forwards to the
well ......... 85
' Wait a bit, and I '11 give it you ! ' So saying, he struck out at them
mercilessly ........ 89
ix
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
PAGE
Hansel picked up the fjlitterina; white pebbles and filled his pockets
with them . . . . . . .100
' Stupid goose ! ' cried the Witch. ' The opening is big enough ; you
can see that I could get into it myself ' , . . .106
The Mouse had to carry water, while the Sausage did the cooking . 109
The Bird took the wood and flew sadly home with it . . .110
At last she came to a little house, out of which an old woman was
looking . . . ,112
So the lazy girl went home, but she was quite covered with pitch . 114
They hurried away as quickly as they could . . .122
Tom Thumb . . . . .126
Then all at once the door sprang open, and in stepped a little Mannikin 134
Round the fire an indescribably ridiculous little man was leaping,
hopping on one leg, and singing . . . .136
The Bailiff sprang into the water with a great splash, and the whole
party plunged in after him , . . , . .147
Kate ran after him, and chased him a good way over the fields . 150
The Maiden fetched the magic wand, and then she took her step-sister's
head, and dropped three drops of blood from it . . .157
' Mirror, Mirror on the wall, Who is fairest of us all .> ' . . . i62
In the evening the seven Dwarfs came back . .164
The scullions brought live coals, which he had to eat till the flames
poured out of his mouth . . . , , .173
When she saw the pickaxe just above her head, Clever Elsa burst into tears .......
X
179
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAOB
The Jew was forced to spring up and begin to dance . . .184
Dancing as hard as he could . . . . . .186
The Three Sleeping Princesses ...... 208
So the rich Brother had to put his Brother's Turnip into a cart, and
have it taken home ....... 214
When he got home he had the rope in his hand, but there was nothing
at the end of it ....... 221
On the way he passed a swamp, in which a number of Frogs were
croaking ........ 224
The Cat crept stealthily up to the topmost branch . . . 227
They found the Princess still on the rock, but the Dragon was asleep
with his head on her lap ...... 233
The poor Horse was very sad, and went into the forest to get a little
shelter from the wind and weather ..... 242
Then the Horse sprang up, and dragged the Lion away behind him . 243
Before long the Witch came by riding at a furious pace on a tom cat . 246
The Golden Castle of Stromberg ...... 253
One day he saw three Robbers fighting ..... 255
There stands an old tree ; cut it down, and you will find something at
the roots ........ 258
So now there were seven people running behind Simpleton and his
Goose ........ 259
And so they followed up hill and down dale after Simpleton and his
Goose ........ 260
The King could no longer withhold his daughter . . 263
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
FAQB
When she entered she met a Dwarf . . . . .286
The Ravens comhig home ...... 287
Does the gentleman wear red breeches, and has he a pointed muzzle? . 291
But the Old Woman was a witch ..... 293
He tied them all together and drove them along till he came to a mill . 298
Crowds of black cats and dogs swarmed out of every corner . . 306
She immediately clutched at his cap to pull it off; but he held it on
with both hands . . . . .321
He called three times, ' Iron Hans,' as loud as he could . . . 322
List of Coloured Illustrations
The King could not contain himself for joy . . . Fronlispiece
FACING PAGE
Away they flew over stock and stone, at such a pace that his liair
whistled in the wind ....... 2
By day she made herself into a cat . . . . 1 6
. . . Or a screech owl . . . .18
Once there was a poor old woman who lived in a village . . 28
The young Prince said, ' I am not afraid ; I am determined to go and
look upon the lovely Briar Rose ' . . . . .34
At the third sting the Fox screamed, and down went his tail between
his legs ........ 58
So she seized him with two fingers, and carried him upstairs . 62
The Cat stole away behind the city walls to the church . . . 66
Alas ! dear Falada, there thou hangest ..... 70
Blow, blow, little breeze, And Conrad's hat seize ... 72
Now we will go up the hill and have a good feast before the squirrel
carries off all the nuts ...... 74
When he went over the wall he was terrified to see the Witch before
him ......... 80
xiii
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
The Witch climbed up ....
FACING PAGE
82
Pulling the piece of soft cheese out of his pocket, he squeezed it till the moisture ran out • . • . . .
They worked themselves up into such a rage that they tore up trees by the roots, and hacked at each other till they both fell dead
All at once the door opened and an old, old Woman, supporting herself on a crutch, came hobbling out .....
Hansel put out a knuckle-bpne, and the old Woman, whose eyes were dim, could not see, and thought it was his finger, and she was much astonished that he did not get fat .
When she got to the wood, she met a Wolf
' O Grandmother, what big ears you have got,' she said .
At last she reached the cellar, and there she found an old, old worn with a shaking head ......
When Tom had said good-bye to his Father they went away with him
Then he ran after him, still holding the carving-knife, and cried, ' Only one, only one ! '
The Old Man had to sit by himself, and ate his food from a woodei bowl ......
The quicker he played, the higher she had to jump
The Dwarfs, when they came in the evening, found Snowdrop lying or the ground ....
Ashenputtel goes to the ball
The Fishes, in their joy, stretched up their heads above the water, and promised to reward him • . . . .
The Seven Kids and their mother capered and danced round the spring in their joy ...
xiv
90
94
106 116 118
122 128
142 158
168 190
198
LIST OF COLOURED ILLUSTRATIONS
ACING PAGE
The Ducks which he had once saved, dived and brought up the key
from the depths ....... 208
So the four Brothers took their sticks in their hands, bade their Father
good-bye, and passed out of the town gate .... 228
The King's only daughter had been carried off by a Dragon . . 232
She went away accompanied by the Lions .... 236
Good Dwarf, can you not tell me wliere my brothers are.'' . . 266
The Son made a circle, and his Father and he took their places within
it, and the little black Mannikin appeared .... 274
Once upon a time a poor Peasant, named Crabb, was taking a load of
wood drawn by two oxen to the town for sale 280
The good little Sister cut off her own tiny finger, fitted it into the lock,
and succeeded in opening it . . . . . 284
But they said one after another : ' Halloa ! who has been eating off my
plate ? Who has been drinking out of my cup ? ' . 286
Then the Youth took the axe and split the anvil with one blow, catching
in the Old Man's beard at the same time . . . .310
The Beggar took her by the hand and led her away . . . 314
ALONG time ago there was a King who had a lovely pleasure-garden round his palace, and in it stood a tree which bore golden apples. When the apples were nearly ripe they were counted, but the very next morning one was missing.
This was reported to the King, and he ordered a watch to be set every night under the tree.
The King had three sons, and he sent the eldest into the garden at nightfall ; but by midnight he was overcome with sleep, and in the morning another apple was missing.
On the following night the second son had to keep watch, but he fared no better. When the clock struck twelve, he too was fast asleep, and in the morning another apple was gone.
The turn to watch now came to the third son. He was quite ready, but the King had not much confidence in him, and thought that he would accomplish even less than his brothers. At last, however, he gave his permission ; so the youth lay down under the tree to watch, determined not to let sleep get the mastery over him.
As the clock struck twelve there was a rustling in the air,
A 1
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
and by the light of the moon he saw a Bird, whose shining feathers were of pure gold. The Bird settled on the tree, and was just plucking an apple when the young Prince shot an arrow at it. The Bird flew away, but the arrow hit its plum- age, and one of the golden feathers fell to the ground. The Prince picked it up, and in the morning took it to the King and told him all that he had seen in the night.
The King assembled his council, and everybody declared that a feather like that was worth more than the whole king- dom. 'If the feather is worth so much,' said the King, 'one will not satisfy me ; I must and will have the whole Bird.'
The eldest, relying on his cleverness, set out in search of the Bird, and thought that he would be sure to find it soon.
When he had gone some distance he saw a Fox sitting by the edge of a wood ; he raised his gun and aimed at it. The Fox cried out, ' Do not shoot me, and I will give you some good advice. You are going to look for the Golden Bird ; you will come to a village at nightfall, where you will find two inns opposite each other. One of them will be brightly lighted, and there will be noise and revelry going on in it. Be sure you do not choose that one, but go into the other, even if you don't like the look of it so well.'
' How can a stupid animal like that give me good advice ? ' thought the King's son, and he pulled the trigger, but missed the Fox, who turned tail and made off into the wood.
Thereupon the Prince continued his journey, and at night- fall reached the village with the two inns. Singing and dancing were going on in the one, and the other had a poverty- stricken and decayed appearance,
' I should be a fool,' he said, ' if I were to go to that miserable place with this good one so near.'
So he went into the noisy one, and lived there in rioting and revelry, forgetting the Bird, his father, and all his good counsels.
When some time had passed and the eldest son did not come back, the second prepared to start in quest of the 2
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THE GOLDEN BIRD
Golden Bird. He met the Fox, as the eldest son had done, and it gave him the same good advice, of which he took just as little heed.
He came to the two inns, and saw his brother standing at the window of the one whence sounds of revelry proceeded. He could not withstand his brother's calling, so he went in and gave himself up to a life of pleasure.
Again some time passed, and the King's youngest son wanted to go out to try his luck ; but his father would not let him go.
' It is useless,' he said. ' He will be even less able to find the Golden Bird than his brothers, and when any ill luck overtakes him, he will not be able to help himself ; he has no backbone.'
But at last, because he gave him no peace, he let him go. The Fox again sat at the edge of the wood, begged for its life, and gave its good advice. The Prince was good-natured, and said : ' Be calm, little Fox, I will do thee no harm.'
' You won't repent it,' answered the Fox ; ' and so that you may get along faster, come and mount on my tail.'
No sooner had he seated himself than the Fox began to run, and away they flew over stock and stone, at such a pace that his hair whistled in the wind.
When they reached the village, the Prince dismounted, and following the good advice of the Fox, he went straight to the mean inn without looking about him, and there he passed a peaceful night. In the morning when he went out into the fields, there sat the Fox, who said : ' I will now tell you what you must do next. Walk straight on till you come to a castle, in front of which a whole regiment of soldiers is encamped. Don't be afraid of them ; they will all be asleep and snoring. Walk through the midst of them straight into the castle, and through all the rooms, and at last you will reach an apartment where the Golden Bird will be hanging in a common wooden cage. A golden cage stands near it for show, but beware ! whatever you do, you must not take
3
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
the bird out of the wooden cage to put it into the other, or it will be the worse for you.'
After these words the Fox again stretched out his tail, the Prince took his seat on it, and away they flew over stock and stone, till his hair whistled in the wind.
When he arrived at the castle, he found everything just as the Fox had said.
The Prince went to the room where the Golden Bird hung in the wooden cage, with a golden cage standing by, and the three golden apples were scattered about the room. He thought it would be absurd to leave the beautiful Bird in the common old cage, so he opened the door, caught it, and put it into the golden cage. But as he did it, the Bird uttered a piercing shriek. The soldiers woke up, rushed in, and carried him away to prison. Next morning he was taken before a judge, and, as he confessed all, he was sentenced to death. The King, however, said that he would spare his life on one condition, and this was that he should bring him the Golden Horse which runs faster than the wind. In addition, he should have the Golden Bird as a reward.
So the Prince set off with many sighs ; he was very sad, for where was he to find the Golden Horse ?
Then suddenly he saw his old friend the Fox sitting on the road. ' Now you see,' said the Fox, ' all this has happened because you did not listen to me. All the same, keep up your spirits ; I will protect you and tell you how to find the Golden Horse. You must keep straight along the road, and you will come to a palace, in the stable of which stands the Golden Horse. The grooms will be lying round the stable, but they will be fast asleep and snoring, and you can safely lead the horse through them. Only, one thing you must beware of. Put the old saddle of wood and leather upon it, and not the golden one hanging near, or you will rue it.'
Then the Fox stretched out his tail, the Prince took his seat, and away they flew over stock and stone, till his hair whistled in the wind. 4
THE GOLDEN BIRD
Everything happened just as the Fox had said. The Prince came to the stable where the Golden Horse stood, but when he was about to put the old saddle on its back, he thought, ' Such a beautiful animal will be disgraced if I don't put the good saddle upon him, as he deserves.' Hardly had the golden saddle touched the horse than he began neighing loudly. The grooms awoke, seized the Prince, and threw him into a dungeon.
The next morning he was taken before a judge, and con- demned to death ; but the King promised to spare his life, and give him the Golden Horse as well, if he could bring him the beautiful Princess out of the golden palace. With a heavy heart the Prince set out, when to his delight he soon met the faithful Fox.
' I ought to leave you to your fate,' he said ; ' but I will have pity on you and once more help you out of your trouble. Your road leads straight to the golden palace, — you will reach it in the evening ; and at night, when everything is quiet, the beautiful Princess will go to the bathroom to take a bath. As she goes along, spring forward and give her a kiss, and she will follow you. Lead her away with you ; only on no account allow her to bid her parents good-bye, or it will go badly with you.'
Again the Fox stretched out his tail, the Prince seated himself upon it, and off they flew over stock and stone, till his hair whistled in the wind.
When he got to the palace, it was just as the Fox had said. He waited till midnight, and when the whole palace was wrapped in sleep, and the Maiden went to take a bath, he sprang forward and gave her a kiss. She said she was quite willing to go with him, but she implored him to let her say good-bye to her parents. At first he refused ; but as she cried, and fell at his feet, at last he gave her leave. Hardly had the Maiden stepped up to her father's bed, when he and every one else in the palace woke up. The Prince was seized, and thrown into prison.
5
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
Next morning the King said to him, ' Your Ufe is forfeited, and it can only be spared if you clear away the moimtain in front of my window, which shuts out the vicAV. It must be done in eight days, and if you accomplish the task you shall have my daughter as a reward.'
So the Prince began his labours, and he dug and shovelled without ceasing. On the seventh day, when he saw how little he had done, he became very sad, and gave up all hope. However, in the evening the Fox appeared and said, ' You do not deserve any help from me, but lie down and go to sleep ; I will do the work.' In the morning when he woke and looked out of the window, the mountain had disappeared.
Overjoyed, the Prince hurried to the King and told him that his condition was fulfilled, and, whether he liked it or not, he must keep his word and give him his daughter.
So they both went away together, and before long the faithful Fox joined them.
' You certainly have got the best thing of all,' said he ; ' but to the Maiden of the golden palace the Golden Horse belongs.'
' How am I to get it ? ' asked the Prince.
' Oh ! I will tell you that,' answered the Fox. ' First take the beautiful Maiden to the King who sent you to the golden palace. There will be great joy when you appear, and they will bring out the Golden Horse to you. Mount it at once, and shake hands with everybody, last of all with the beautiful Maiden ; and when you have taken her hand firmly, pull her up beside you with a swing and gallop away. No one will be able to catch you, for the horse goes faster than the wind.'
All this was successfully done, and the Prince carried off the beautiful Maiden on the Golden Horse.
The Fox was not far off, and he said to the Prince, ' Now I will help you to get the Golden Bird, too. When you approach the castle where the Golden Bird lives, let the Maiden dis- mount, and I will take care of her. Then ride with the Golden Horse into the courtyard of the castle ; there will be great rejoicing when they see you, and they will bring out the 6
THE GOLDEN BIRD
Golden Bird to you. As soon as you have the cage in your hand, gallop back to us and take up the Maiden again.'
When these plans had succeeded, and the Prince was ready to ride on with all his treasures, the Fox said to him :
' Now you must reward me for my help.'
' What do you want ? ' asked the Prince.
' When you reach that wood, shoot me dead and cut off my head and my paws.'
' That would indeed be grati- tude ! ' said the Prince. ' I can't possibly promise to do such a thing.'
The Fox said, ' If you won't do it, I must leave you ; but before I go I will give you one more piece of advice. Beware of two things ^buy no gallows-birds, and don't sit on the edge of a well.' Saying which, he ran off into the wood.
The Prince thought, ' That is a strange animal ; what whims he has. Who on earth would want to buy gallows-birds ! And the desire to sit on the edge of a well has never yet seized me ! '
He rode on with the beautiful Maiden, and the road led him through the village where his two brothers had stayed behind. There was a great hubbub in the village, and when he asked what it was about, he was told that two per- sons were going to be hanged. When he got nearer he saw that they were his brothers, who had wasted their possessions and done all sorts of evil deeds. He asked if they could not be set free.
7
riie Prince ( anied off the beautiful Alaideii on the Golden Horse.
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
' Yes, if you '11 ransom them,' answered the people ; ' but why will you throw your money away in buying off such wicked people ? '
He did not stop to reflect, however, but paid the ransom for them, and when they were set free they all journej'ed on together.
They came to the wood where they had first met the Fox. It was deliciously cool there, while the sun was broiling out- side, so the two brothers said, ' Let us sit down here by the well to rest a little and eat and drink.' The Prince agreed, and during the conversation he forgot what he was about, and, never dreaming of any foul play, seated himself on the edge of the well. But his two brothers threw him backwards into it, and went home to their father, taking with them the Maiden, the Horse, and the Bird.
' Here we bring you not only the Golden Bird, but the Golden Horse, and the IMaiden from the golden palace, as our booty.'
Thereupon there was great rejoicing; but the Horse would not eat, the Bird wovild not sing, and the Maiden sat and wept all day.
The youngest brother had not perished, however. Happily the well was dry, and he fell upon soft moss without taking any harm ; only, he could not get out.
Even in this great strait the faithful Fox did not forsake him, but came leaping down and scolded him for not taking his advice. ' I can't leave you to your fate, though ; I must help you to get back to the light of day.' He told him to take tight hold of his tail, and then he dragged him up. ' You are not out of every danger even now,' said the Fox. ' Your brothers were not sure of your death, so they have set watchers all over the wood to kill you if they see you.'
A poor old man was sitting by the roadside, and the Prince exchanged clothes with him, and by this means he succeeded in reaching the King's court.
Nobody recognised him, but the Bird began to sing, the 8
THE GOLDEN BIRD
Horse began to eat, and the beautiful Maiden left off crying.
In astonishment the King asked, ' What does all this mean ? '
The Maiden answered : ' I do not know ; but I was very sad, and now I am gay. It seems to me that my true bride- groom must have come.'
She told the King all that had happened, although the two brothers had threatened her with death if she betrayed any- thing. The King ordered every person in the palace to be brought before him. Among them came the Prince disguised as an old man in all his rags ; but the Maiden knew him at once, and fell on his neck. The wicked brothers were seized and put to death ; but the Prince was married to the beautiful Maiden, and proclaimed heir to the King.
But what became of the poor Fox ? Long afterwards, when the Prince went out into the fields one day, he met the Fox, who said : ' You have everything that you can desire, but there is no end to my misery. It still lies in your power to release me.' And again he implored the Prince to shoot him dead, and to cut off his head and his paws.
At last the Prince consented to do as he was asked, and no sooner was it done than the Fox was changed into a man ; no other than the brother of the beautiful Princess, at last set free from the evil spell which so long had lain upon him.
There was nothing now wanting to their happiness for the rest of their lives.
Hans in Luck
HANS had served his master for seven years, when he one day said to him : ' Master, my time is up, I want to go home to my mother ; please give me my wages,'
His master answered, ' You have served me well and faithfully, and as the service has been, so shall the wages be ' ; and he gave him a limtip of gold as big as his head.
Hans took out his pocket-handkerchief and tied up the gold in it, and then slung the bundle over his shoulder, and started on his homeward journey.
As he walked along, just dragging one foot after the other, a man on horseback appeared, riding, fresh and gay, along on his spirited horse.
' Ah ! ' said Hans, quite loud as he passed, ' what a fine thing riding must be. You are as comfortable as if you were in an easy-chair ; you don't stumble over any stones ; you save your shoes, and you get over the road you needn't bother how.'
The horseman, who heard him, stopped and said, ' Hullo, Hans, why are you on foot ? '
' I can't help myself,' said Hans, ' as I have this bundle to carry home. It is true that it is a lump of gold, but I can hardly hold my head up for it, and it weighs down my shoulder frightfully.'
' I '11 tell you what,' said the horseman, ' we will change. I will give you my horse, and you shall give me your bundle.'
' With all my heart,' said Hans ; ' but you will be rarely burdened with it.*
The horseman dismoimted, took the gold, and helped Hans 10
HANS IN LUCK
up, put the bridle into his hands, and said : ' When you want to go very fast, you must cUck your tongue and cry " Gee-up, Gee-up.""'
Hans was deHghted when he found himself so easily riding along on horseback. After a time it occurred to him that he might be going faster, and he began to click with his tongue, and to cry ' Gee-up, Gee-up.' The horse broke into a gallop, and before Hans knew where he was, he was thrown off into a ditch which separated the fields from the high road. The horse would have run away if a peasant coming along the road leading a cow had not caught it. Hans felt himself all over, and picked himself up ; but he was very angry, and said to the peasant : ' Riding is poor fun at times, when you have a nag like mine, which stumbles and throws you, and puts you in danger of breaking your neck. I will never mount it again. I think much more of that cow of yours. You can walk comfortably behind her, and you have her milk into the bargain every day, as well as butter and cheese. What would I not give for a cow like that ! '
' Well,' said the peasant, ' if you have such a fancy for it as all that, I will exchange the cow for the horse.'
Hans accepted the offer with delight, and the peasant mounted the horse and rode rapidly off.
Hans drove his cow peacefully on, and thought what a lucky bargain he had made. ' If only I have a bit of bread, and I don't expect ever to be without that, I shall always have butter and cheese to eat with it. If I am thirsty, I only have to milk my cow and I have milk to drink. My heart ! what more can you desire ? '
When he came to an inn he made a halt, and in great joy he ate up all the food he had with him, all his dinner and his supper too, and he gave the last coins he had for half a glass of beer. Then he went on fiu-ther in the direction of his mother's village, driving his cow before him. The heat was overpowering, and, as midday drew near, Hans found himself on a heath which it took him an hour to cross. He was so
11
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
hot and thirsty, that his tongue was parched and eking to the roof of his mouth.
' This ean easily be set to rights,' thought Hans. ' I will milk my cow and sup up the milk.' He tied her to a tree, and as he had no pail, he used his leather cap instead ; but, try as hard as he liked, not a single drop of milk appeared. As he was very clumsy in his attempts, the impatient animal gave him a severe kick on his forehead with one of her hind legs. He was stunned by the blow, and fell to the ground, where he lay for some time, not knowing where he was.
Happily just then a butcher came along the road, trundhng a young pig in a wheel-barrow.
' What is going on here ? ' he cried, as he helped poor Hans up.
Hans told him all that had happened.
The butcher handed him his flask, and said : ' Here, take a drink, it will do you good. The cow can't give any milk I suppose ; she must be too old, and good for nothing but to be a beast of burden, or to go to the butcher.'
' Oh dear ! ' said Hans, smoothing his hair. ' Now who would ever have thought it ! Killing the animal is all very well, but what kind of meat will it be ? For my part, I don't like cow's flesh ; it 's not juicy enough. Now, if one had a nice young pig like that, it would taste ever so much better ; and then, all the sausages ! '
' Listen, Hans ! ' then said the butcher, ' for your sake I will exchange, and let you have the pig instead of the cow.'
' God reward your friendship ! ' said Hans, handing over the cow, as the butcher untied the pig, and put the halter with which it was tied into his hand.
Hans went on his way, thinking how well everything was turning out for him. Even if a mishap befell him, something else immediately happened to make up for it. Soon after this, he met a lad carrying a beautiful white goose under his arm. They passed the time of day, and Hans began to tell him how lucky he was, and what successful bargains he had 12
HANS IN LUCK
made. The lad told him that he was taking the goose for a christening feast. ' Just feel it,' he Avent on, holding it up by the wings. ' Feel how heavy it is ; it 's true they have been stuffing it for eight weeks. Whoever eats that roast goose will have to wipe the fat off both sides of his mouth.'
Just theu a butcher came along: the road, trundling a young pig in a wheel-barrow.
' Yes, indeed ! ' answered Hans, weighing it in his hand ; ' but my pig is no light weight either.'
Then the lad looked cautiously about from side to side, and shook his head. ' Now, look here,' he began, ' I don't
13
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
think it 's all quite straight about your pig. One has just been stolen out of Sehultze's sty, in the village I have come from. I fear, I fear it is the one you are leading. They have sent people out to look for it, and it would be a bad business for you if you were found with it ; the least they would do, would be to put you in the black hole.'
Poor Hans was very much frightened at this. ' Oh, dear ! oh dear ! ' he said. ' Do help me out of this trouble. You are more at home here ; take my pig, and let me have your goose.'
' Well, I shall run some risk if I do, but I won't be the means of getting you into a scrape.'
So he took the rope in his hand, and quickly drove the pig up a side road ; and honest Hans, relieved of his trouble, plodded on with the goose under his arm.
' When I really come to think it over,' he said to himself, ' I have still had the best of the bargain. First, there is the delicious roast goose, and then all the fat that will drip out of it in roasting, will keep us in goose-fat to eat on our bread for three months at least ; and, last of all, there are the beautiful white feathers which I will stuff my pillow with, and then I shall need no rocking to send me to sleep. How delighted my mother will be.'
As he passed through the last village he came to a knife- grinder with his cart, singing to his wheel as it buzzed merrily
round —
' Scissors and knives I grind so fast, And hang up my cloak against the blast.'
Hans stopped to look at him, and at last he spoke to him and said, ' You must be doing a good trade to be so merry over your grinding.'
' Yes,' answered the grinder. ' The work of one's hands is the foundation of a golden fortune. A good grinder finds money whenever he puts his hand into his pocket. But where did you buy that beautiful goose ? '
' I did not buy it ; I exchanged my pig for it.' 14
HANS IN LUCK
' And the pig ? '
' Oh, I got that instead of my cow.'
' And the cow ? '
' I got that for a horse.'
' And the horse ? '
' I gave a lump of gold as big as my head for it.'
' And the gold ? '
' Oh, that was my wages for seven years' service.'
' You certainly have known how to manage your affairs,' said the grinder. ' Now, if you could manage to hear the money jingling in your pockets when you got up in the morning, you would indeed have made your fortune.'
' How shall I set about that ? ' asked Hans.
' You must be a grinder like me — nothing is needed for it but a whetstone ; everything else will come of itself. I have one here which certainly is a little damaged, but you need not give me anything for it but your goose. Are you willing ? '
' How can you ask me such a question ? ' said Hans. ' Why, I shall be the happiest person in the world. If I can have some money every time I put my hand in my pocket, what more should I have to trouble about ? '
So he handed him the goose, and took the whetstone in exchange.
' Now,' said the grinder, lifting up an ordinary large stone which lay near on the road, ' here is another good stone into the bargain. You can hammer out all your old nails on it to straighten them. Take it, and carry it off.'
Hans shouldered the stone, and went on his way with a light heart, and his eyes shining with joy. ' I must have been born in a lucky hour,' he cried ; ' everything happens just as I want it, and as it would happen to a Sunday's child.'
In the meantime, as he had been on foot since daybreak, he began to feel very tired, and he was also very hungry, as he had eaten all his provisions at once in his joy at his bargain over the cow. At last he could hardly walk any further, and he was obliged to stop every minute to rest. Then the
15
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
stones were frightfully heavy, and he could not get rid of the thought that it would be very nice if he were not obliged to carry them any further. He dragged himself like a snail to a well in the fields, meaning to rest and refresh himself with a draught of the cool water. So as not to injure the stones by sitting on them, he laid them carefully on the edge of the well. Then he sat down, and was about to stoop down to drink when he inadvertently gave them a little push, and both the stones fell straight into the water.
When Hans saw them disappear before his very eyes he jumped for joy, and then knelt down and thanked God, with tears in his eyes, for ha\dng shown him this further grace, and relieved him of the heavy stones (which were all that remained to trouble him) without giving him anything to reproach himself with. ' There is certainly no one under the sun so happy as I,'
And so, with a light heart, free from every care, he now bounded on home to his mother.
16
Jorlnda and Joringel
THERE was once an old castle in the middle of a vast thick wood ; in it there lived an old woman quite alone, and she was a witch. By day she made herself into a cat or a screech-owl, but regularly at night she became a human being again. In this way she was able to decoy wild beasts and birds, which she would kill, and boil or roast. If any man came within a hundred paces of the castle, he was forced to stand still and could not move from the place till she gave the word of release ; but if an innocent maiden came within the circle she changed her into a bird, and shut her up in a cage which she carried into a room in the castle. She must have had seven thousand cages of this kind, contain- ing pretty birds.
Now, there was once a maiden called Jorinda who was more beautiful than all other maidens. She had promised to marry a very handsome youth named Joringel, and it was in the days of their courtship, when they took the greatest joy in being alone together, that one day they wandered out into the forest. ' Take care,' said Joringel ; ' do not let us go too near the castle.'
It was a lovely evening. The sunshine glanced between the tree-trunks of the dark green-wood, while the turtle-doves sang plaintively in the old beech-trees. Yet Jorinda sat down in the sunshine, and could not help weeping and bewailing, while Joringel, too, soon became just as mournful. They both felt as miserable as if they had been going to die. Gazing round them, they found they had lost their way, and did not know how they should find the path home. Half the sun still appeared above the mountain ; half had sunk B 17
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
below. Joringel peered into the bushes and saw the old walls of the castle quite close to them ; he was terror-struck, and became pale as death. Jorinda v/as singing :
' My birdie with its ring so red Sings sorrow, sorrow, sorrow ; My love will mourn when I am dead, To-morrow, morrow, mor jiJg' j^g-^
Joringel looked at her, but she was changed into a nightin- gale who sang ' Jug, jug.'
A screech-owl with glowing eyes flew three times round her, and cried three times ' Shu hu-hu.' Joringel could not stir ; he stood like a stone without being able to speak, or cry, or move hand or foot. The sun had now set ; the owl flew into a bush, out of which appeared almost at the same moment a crooked old woman, skinny and yellow ; she had big, red eyes and a crooked nose whose tip reached her chin. She mumbled something, caught the nightingale, and carried it away in her hand. Joringel could not say a word nor move from the spot, and the nightingale was gone. At last the old woman came back, and said in a droning voice : ' Greeting to thee, Zachiel ! When the moon shines upon the cage, unloose the captive, Zachiel ! '
Then Joringel was free. He fell on his knees before the witch, and implored her to give back his Jorinda ; but she said he should never have her again, and went away. He pleaded, he wept, he lamented, but all in vain. ' Alas ! what is to become of me ? ' said Joringel. At last he went away, and arrived at a strange village, where he spent a long time as a shepherd. He often wandered round about the castle, but did not go too near it. At last he dreamt one night that he found a blood-red flower, in the midst of which was a beautiful large pearl. He plucked the flower, and took it to the castle. Whatever he touched with it was made free of enchantment. He dreamt, too, that by this means he had found his Jorinda again. In the morning when he awoke he 18
At last the old woman came back, and said in a droning voice: ' Greeting to thee, Zachiel ! '
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
began to search over hill and dale, in the hope of finding a flower like this ; he searched till the ninth day, when he found the flower early in the morning. In the middle was a big dewdrop, as big as the finest pearl. This flower he carried day and night, till he reached the castle. He was not held fast as before when he came within the hundred paces of the castle, but walked straight up to the door.
Joringel was filled with joy ; he touched the door with the flower, and it flew open. He went in through the court, and listened for the sound of birds. He went on, and found the hall, where the witch was feeding the birds in the seven thousand cages. When she saw Joringel she was angry, very angry — scolded, and spat poison and gall at him. He paid no attention to her, but turned away and searched among the bird-cages. Yes, but there were many hundred nightin- gales ; how was he to find his Jorinda ?
While he was looking about in this way he noticed that the old woman was secretly removing a cage with a bird inside, and was making for the door. He sprang swiftly towards her, touched the cage and the witch with the flower, and then she no longer had power to exercise her spells. Jorinda stood there, as beautiful as before, and threw her arms round Joringel's neck. After that he changed all the other birds back into maidens again, and went home with Jorinda, and they lived long and happily together.
•20
The Bremen Town Musicians
ONCE upon a time a man had an Ass which for many years carried sacks to the mill without tiring. At last, however, its strength was worn out ; it was no longer of any use for work. Accordingly its master began to ponder as to how best to cut down its keep ; but the Ass, seeing there was mischief in the air, ran away and started on the road to Bremen ; there he thought he could become a town-musician.
When he had been travelling a short time, he fell in with a hound, who was lying panting on the road as though he had run himself off his legs.
' Well, what are you panting so for, Growler ? ' said the Ass.
' Ah,' said the Hound, ' just because I am old, and every day I get weaker, and also because I can no longer keep up with the pack, my master wanted to kill me, so I took my departure. But now, how am I to earn my bread ? '
' Do you know what,' said the Ass. ' I am going to Bremen, and shall there become a town-musician ; come with me and take your part in the music. I shall play the lute, and you shall beat the kettle-drum.'
The Hound agreed, and they went on.
A short time after they came upon a Cat, sitting in the road, with a face as long as a wet week.
' Well, what has been crossing you, Whiskers ? ' asked the Ass.
' Who can be cheerful when he is out at elbows ? ' said the Cat. ' I am getting on in years, and my teeth are blunted and I prefer to sit by the stove and purr instead of hunting round after mice. Just because of this my mistress wanted
21
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
to drown me. I made myself scarce, but now I don't know
where to turn.'
' Come with us to Bremen,' said the Ass. ' You are a great
hand at serenading, so you can become a town-musician.'
The Cat consented, and joined them.
Next the fugitives passed b}- a yard where a barn-door fowl was sitting on the door, crowing with all its might.
' You crow so loud you pierce one through and through,' said the Ass. ' What is the matter ? '
'Why! didn't I prophesy fine weather for Lady Day, when Our Lady washes the Christ Child's httle garment and wants to dry it ? But, not- withstanding this, be- cause Sunday visitors are coming to-morrow, the mistress has no pity, and she has or- dered the cook to make me into soup,
so I shall have my neck wrung to-night. Now I am crowing
with all my might while I have the chance.'
' Come along. Red-comb,' said the Ass ; ' you had much
better come with us. We are going to Bremen, and you
will find a much better fate there. You have a good voice, 22
dort time after they came upon a Cat, sitting in the road, with a face as long as a wet week.
THE BREMEN TOWN MUSICIANS
and when we make music together, there will be quality in it.'
The Cock allowed himself to be persuaded, and they all four went off together. They could not, however, reach the town in one day, and by evening they arrived at a wood, where they determined to spend the night. The Ass and the Hound lay down under a big tree ; the Cat and the Cock settled themselves in the branches, the Cock flying right up to the top, which was the safest place for him. Before going to sleep he looked round once more in every direction ; suddenly it seemed to him that he saw a light burning in the distance. He called out to his comrades that there must be a house not far off, for he saw a light.
' Very well,' said the Ass, ' let us set out and make our way to it, for the entertainment here is very bad.'
The Hound thought some bones or meat would suit him too, so they set out in the direction of the light, and soon saw it shining more clearly, and getting bigger and bigger, till they reached a brightly-Ughted robbers' den. The Ass, being the tallest, approached the window and looked in.
' What do you see, old Jackass ? ' asked the Cock.
' WTiat do I see ? ' answered the Ass ; ' why, a table spread with delicious food and drink, and robbers seated at it enjoying themselves.'
' That would just suit us,' said the Cock.
' Yes ; if we were only there,' answered the Ass.
Then the animals took counsel as to how to set about dri^dng the robbers out. At last they hit upon a plan.
The Ass was to take up his position with his fore-feet on the window-sill, the Hound was to jump on his back, the Cat to climb up on to the Hound, and last of all the Cock flew up and perched on the Cat's head. When they were thus arranged, at a given signal they all began to perform their music ; the Ass brayed, the Hound barked, the Cat mewed, and the Cock crowed ; then they dashed through the window, shivering the panes. The robbers jumped up at the terrible
23
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
noise ; they thought nothing less than that a demon was coming in upon them, and fled into the wood in the greatest alarm. Then the four animals sat down to table, and helped themselves according to taste, and ate as though they had
been starving for weeks. When they had finished they extinguished the light, and looked for sleeping places, each one to suit his nature and taste.
The Ass lay down on the manure heap, the Hound behind the door, the Cat on the hearth near the warm ashes, and the Cock flew up to the rafters. As they were tired from the long journey, they soon went to sleep.
When midnight was past, and the robbers saw from a distance that the light was no longer burn- ing, and that all seemed quiet, the chief said :
' We ought not to have been scared by a false alarm,' and ordered one of the robbers to go and ex- amine the house.
Finding all quiet, the messenger went into the kitchen to kindle a light, and taking the Cat's glowing, fiery eyes for live coals, he held a match close to them so as to light it. But the Cat would stand no nonsense ; it flew at his face, spat and scratched. He was terribly frightened and ran away. 24
The Ass brayed, the Hound barked, the Cat mewed, and the C'ock crowed.
THE BREMEN TOWN MUSICIANS
He tried to get out by the back door, but the Hound, who was lying there, jumped up and bit his leg. As he ran across the manure heap in front of the house, the Ass gave him a good sound kick with his hind legs, while the Cock, who had awoken at the uproar quite fresh and gay, cried out from his perch : ' Cock-a-doodle-doo.' Thereupon the robber ran back as fast as he could to his chief, and said : ' There is a gruesome witch in the house, who breathed on me and scratched me with her long fingers. Behind the door there stands a man with a knife, who stabbed me ; while in the yard lies a black monster, who hit me with a club ; and upon the roof the judge is seated, and he called out, " Bring the rogue here," so I hurried away as fast as I could,'
Thenceforward the robbers did not venture again to the house, which, however, pleased the four Bremen musicians so much that they never wished to leave it again.
And he who last told the story has hardly finished speaking yet.
25
Old Sultan
A PEASANT once had a faithful dog called Sultan, who had grown old and lost all his teeth, and could no longer keep fast hold of his quarry. One day when the peasant was standing in front of his house with his wife, he said : ' To-morrow I intend to shoot old Sultan ; he is no longer any use.'
His wife, who pitied the faithful animal, answered : ' Since he has served us so long and honestly, we might at least keep him and feed him to the end of his days.'
' What nonsense,' said her husband ; ' you are a fool. He has not a tooth left in his head ; thieves are not a bit afraid of him now that they can get away from him. Even if he has served us well, he has been well fed in return.'
The poor dog, who lay near, stretched out in the sun, heard all they said, and was sad at the thought that the next day was to be his last. Now, he had a good friend who was a wolf, and in the evening he slunk off into the wood, and complained to him of the fate which awaited him.
' Listen, comrade,' said the Wolf, ' be of good cheer ; I will help you in yovir need, for I have thought of a plan. To- morrow your master and mistress are going hay-making, and 26
OLD SULTAN
they will take their little child with them because there will be nobody left at home. During their work they usually lay it under the hedge in the shade ; you lie down as though to guard it. I will then come out of the wood and steal the child. You must rush quickly after me, as though you wanted to rescue the child. I will let it fall, and you will take it back to its parents again ; they will think that you have saved it, and will be far too thankful to do you any harm. On the contrary, you will come into high favour, and they will never let you want again.'
The plot pleased the dog, and it was carried out just as it was planned. The father cried out when he saw the Wolf run across the field with his child in its mouth ; but when old Sultan brought it back he was overjoyed, stroked him, and said : ' Not a hair of your coat shall be hm't ; you shall have plenty to eat as long as you live.' Then he said to his wife : ' Go home immediately and prepare some broth for old Sultan which he won't need to bite, and bring the pillow out of my bed. I will give it to him to lie upon.'
Henceforward old Sultan was as well off as he could wish. Soon afterwards the Wolf paid him a visit, and rejoiced that all had turned out so well. ' But, comrade,' he said, ' you must shut your eyes. Suppose some fine day I carry off one of your master's fat sheep ? Nowadays it is hard to get one's living.'
' Don't count on that,' answered the dog. ' I must remain true to my master— I shall never permit it ? '
The Wolf, thinking that he had not spoken in earnest, came and crept in art night, and tried to carry off a sheep. But the peasant, to whom the faithful Sultan had betrayed the Wolf's intention, spied him and belaboured him soundly with a threshing-flail. The Wolf was forced to retreat, but he called out to the dog, ' Wait a bit, you wicked creature — you shall suffer for this.'
The next morning he sent the Boar to invite the Dog into the wood, there to settle matters by a duel. Old Sultan could
27
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
find no second except the Cat, who had only three legs. When they came out the poor Cat hobbled along, lifting up its tail with pain.
The Wolf and his second were already in position ; but when they saw their opponent coming they thought that he was bringing a sword, for they took the outstretched tail of the Cat for one. And because the poor animal hobbled on three legs, they thought nothing less than that it was picking up stones to throw at them every time it stooped. Then both became frightened ; the Boar crept away into a thicket, and the Wolf jumped up into a tree. The Dog and the Cat were astonished, when they arrived, at seeing no one about. The Boar, however, had not been able to conceal himself completely; his ears still stuck out. While the Cat was looking round cautiously, the Boar twitched its ears ; the Cat, who thought that it was a mouse moving, sprang upon it, and began biting with a will. The Boar jumped up and ran away, calling out : ' The guilty party is up in that tree.' The Cat and the Dog looked up and perceived the Wolf, who, ashamed of having shown himself such a coward, made peace with the Dog.
28
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Once there was a poor old Woman who lived in a village.
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The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean
ONCE there was a poor old woman who Uved in a village ; she had collected a bundle of beans, and was going to cook them. So she prepared a fire on her hearth, and to make it burn up quickly she lighted it with a handful of straw. When she threw the beans into the pot, one escaped her minoticed and slipped on to the floor, where it lay by a straw. Soon after a glowing coal jumped out of the fire and joined the others. Then the Straw began, and said : ' Little friends, how came ye hither ? '
The Coal answered : ' I have happily escaped the fire ; and if I had not done so by force of will, my death would certainly have been a most cruel one ; I should have been bvu-nt to a cinder.'
The Bean said : ' I also have escaped so far with a whole skin ; but if the old woman had put me into the pot, I should have been pitilessly boiled down to broth like my comrades.'
' Would a better fate have befallen me, then ? ' asked the Straw ; ' the old woman packed all my brothers into the fire and smoke, sixty of them all done for at once. Fortunately, I sUpped through her fingers.'
' Wliat are we to do now, though ? ' asked the Coal.
' My opinion is,' said the Bean, ' that, as we have escaped death, we must all keep together like good comrades ; and so that we may run no further risks, we had better quit the country.'
This proposal pleased both the others, and they set out together. Before long they came to a little stream, and, as there was neither path nor bridge, they did not know how to get over. The Straw at last had an idea, and said, ' I will
29
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
throw myself over and then you can walk across upon me like a bridge.' So the Straw stretched himself across from one side to the other, and the Coal, which was of a fiery nature, tripped gaily over the newly-built bridge. But when it got to the middle and heard the water rushing below, it was frightened, and remained speechless, not daring to go any further. The Straw beginning to burn, broke in two and fell into the stream ; the Coal, falling with it, fizzled out in the water. The Bean, who had cautiously remained on the bank, could not help laughing over the whole business, and, having begun, could not stop, but laughed till she split her sides. Now, all would have been up with her had not, fortunately, a wandering tailor been taking a rest by the stream. As he had a sympathetic heart, he brought out a needle and thread and stitched her up again ; but, as he used black thread, all beans have a black seam to this dav.
80
Briar Rose
ALONG time ago there lived a King and Queen, who said every day, ' If only we had a child ' ; but for a long time they had none.
It fell out once, as the Queen was bathing, that a frog crept out of the water on to the land, and said to her : ' Your wish shall be fulfilled ; before a year has passed you shall bring a daughter into the world.'
The frog's words came true. The Queen had a little girl who was so beautiful that the King could not contain himself for joy, and prepared a great feast. He invited not only his relations, friends, and acquaintances, but the fairies, in order that they might be favourably and kindly disposed towards the child. There were thirteen of them in the kingdom, but as the King had only twelve golden plates for them to eat from, one of the fairies had to stay at home.
The feast was held with all splendour, and when it came to an end the fairies all presented the child with a magic gift. One gave her virtue, another beauty, a third riches, and so on, with everything in the world that she could wish for.
When eleven of the fairies had said their say, the thirteenth suddenly appeared. She wanted to revenge herself for not having been invited. Without greeting any one, or even glancing at the company, she called out in a loud voice : ' The Princess shall prick herself with a distaff in her fifteenth year and shall fall down dead ' ; and without another word she tiirned and left the hall.
Every one was terror-struck, but the twelfth fairy, whose wish was still unspoken, stepped forward. She could not cancel the curse, but could only soften it, so she said : ' It
31
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
shall not be death, but a deep sleep lasting a hundred years, into which your daughter shall fall.'
The King was so anxious to guard his dear child from the
I'he Thirteenth Fairy.'
misfortune, that he sent out a command that all the distaffs in the whole kingdom should be burned.
As time went on all the promises of the fairies came true. The Princess grew up so beautiful, modest, kind, and clever 32
BRIAR ROSE
that every one who saw her could not but love her. Now it happened that on the very day when she was fifteen years old the King and Queen were away from home, and the Princess was left quite alone in the castle. She wandered about over the whole place, looking at rooms and halls as she pleased, and at last she came to an old tower. She ascended a narrow, winding staircase and reached a little door. A rusty key was sticking in the lock, and when she turned it the door flew open. In a little room sat an old woman with a spindle, spinning her flax busily.
' Good day, Granny,' said the Princess ; ' what are you doing ? '
' I am spinning,' said the old woman, and nodded her head.
' What is the thing that whirls round so merrily ? ' asked the Princess ; and she took the spindle and tried to spin too.
But she had scarcely touched it before the curse was fulfilled, and she pricked her finger with the spindle. The instant she felt the prick she fell upon the bed which was standing near, and lay still in a deep sleep which spread over the whole castle.
The King and Queen, who had just come home and had stepped into the hall, went to sleep, and all their courtiers with them. The horses went to sleep in the stable, the dogs in the yard, the doves on the roof, the flies on the wall ; yes, even the fire flickering on the hearth grew still and went to sleep, and the roast meat stopped crackling ; the cook, who was pulhng the scullion's hair because he had made some mistake, let him go and went to sleep. The wind dropped, and on the trees in front of the castle not a leaf stirred.
But round the castle a hedge of briar roses began to grow up ; every year it grew higher, till at last it surrounded the whole castle so that nothing could be seen of it, not even the flags on the roof.
But there was a legend in the land about the lovely sleeping
Briar Rose, as the King's daughter was caUed, and from time
to time princes came and tried to force a way through the
hedge into the castle. They foimd it impossible, for the
c 33
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
thorns, as though they had hands, held them fast, and the princes remained caught in them without being able to free themselves, and so died a miserable death.
After many, many years a Prince came again to the country and heard an old man tell of the castle which stood behind the briar hedge, in which a most beautiful maiden called Briar
y
But round the castle a hedge of briar roses began to grow up.
Rose had been asleep for the last hundred years, and with her slept the King, Queen, and all her courtiers. He knew also, from his grandfather, that many princes had already come and sought to pierce through the briar hedge, and had remained caught in it and died a sad death.
Then the young Prince said, ' I am not afraid ; I am deter- mined to go and look upon the lovely Briar Rose.' 34
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Thf young Triiice said, ^ I am not afniid ; I am determined to go and look upon the lovely Briar Rose.'
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BRIAR ROSE
The good old man did all in his power to dissuade him, but the Prince would not listen to his words.
Now, however, the hundred years were just ended, and the day had come when Briar Rose was to wake up again. When the Prince approached the briar hedge it was in blossom, and was covered with beautiful large flowers which made way for him of their own accord and let him pass unharmed, and then closed up again into a hedge behind him.
In the courtyard he saw the horses and brindled hounds lying asleep, on the roof sat the doves with their heads under their wings : and when he went into the house the flies were asleep on the walls, and near the throne lay the King and Queen ; in the kitchen was the cook, with his hand raised as though about to strike the scullion, and the maid sat with the black fowl in her lap which she was about to pluck.
He went on further, and all was so still that he could hear his own breathing. At last he reached the tower, and opened the door into the little room where Briar Rose was asleep. There she lay, looking so beautiful that he could not take his eyes off her ; he bent down and gave her a kiss. As he touched her. Briar Rose opened her eyes and looked lovingly at him. Then they went down together ; and the King woke up, and the Queen, and all the courtiers, and looked at each other with astonished eyes. The horses in the stable stood up and shook themselves, the hounds leaped about and wagged their tails, the doves on the roof lifted their heads from under their wings, looked round, and flew into the fields ; the flies on the walls began to crawl again, the fire in the kitchen roused itself and blazed up and cooked the food, the meat began to crackle, and the cook boxed the scullion's ears so soundly that he screamed aloud, while the maid finished plucking the fowl. Then the wedding of the Prince and Briar Rose was celebrated with all splendour, and they lived happily till they died.
35
The Dog and the Sparrow
THERE was once a sheep-dog who had not got a kind master, but one who left him to suffer from hunger. When he could bear it no longer, he went sadly away. On the road he met a Sparrow, who said, ' Brother Dog, why are you so sad ? '
On the road he met a Sparrow.
The Dog answered, ' Because I am hungry and I have nothing to eat.'
' Then,' said the Sparrow, ' Brother Dog, come with me to the town, and I will satisfy your hunger.'
So they went to the town together, and when they came to 36
THE DOG AND THE SPARROW
a butcher's shop, the Sparrow said to the Dog, ' Stay Avhere you are out there and I will peck down a piece of meat.' He perched upon the stall, and looked about to see that he was not noticed ; then he pecked, pulled, and pushed a piece of meat lying near the edge, till at last it fell to the ground. The Dog seized it and ran off with it to a corner, where he devoured it. Then the Sparrow said to him, ' Now come with me to another shop, and I will pull down another piece so that you may have enough.'
When the Dog had gobbled up the second piece of meat, the Sparrow said, ' Brother Dog, have you had enough ? '
' Yes, I have had enough meat,' repUed the Dog ; ' but I haven't had any bread.'
' Oh, you shall have some bread too,' said the Sparrow. ' Come with me.' And then he led him to a baker's shop, where he pecked at a couple of rolls till they fell down. Then, as the Dog still wanted more, he took him to another shop where he pulled down some more bread.
When that was consumed, the Sparrow said, ' Brother Dog, is your hunger satisfied ? '
' Yes,' he answered ; ' now let us go and walk about outside the town for a bit.'
So they both went out on to the high-road. Now it was very warm weather, and Avhen they had walked a little way the Dog said, ' I am tired, and I want to go to sleep.'
' Oh, by all means,' answered the Sparrow ; ' I will sit upon this branch in the meantime.'
So the Dog lay down upon the road and fell fast asleep. While he lay there sleeping, a Carter came along driving a wagon with three horses. The wagon was laden with two casks of wine. The Sparrow saw that he was not going to turn aside, but was going on in the track in which the Dog lay, and he called out, ' Carter, don't do it, or I will ruin you ! '
But the Carter grumbled to himself, ' You won't ruin me,' cracked his whip, and drove the wheels of his wagon right over the Dog and killed him,
37
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
The Sparrow cried out after him, ' Carter, you have killed my brother Dog ; it will cost you your wagon and your team.'
' My wagon and my team indeed, what harm can you do me ? ' asked the Carter, as he drove on. The Sparrow crept under the tarpaulin and pecked at the bunghole of one of the casks till the bung came out, and all the wine trickled away without the Carter's being aware of it. When he looked round and saw the wine dripping from the wagon, he examined the casks and found that one was empty.
' Alas, poor man that I am ! ' he cried.
' Not poor enough yet,' said the Sparrow, as he flew on to the head of one of the horses and pecked out its eyes. When the Carter saw what he was doing, he seized his chopper to throw it at the Sparrow ; but the bird flew away, and the chopper hit the horse on the head, and he dropped down dead.
' Alas, poor man that I am ! ' he cried.
' Not poor enough yet,' said the Sparrow. As the Carter drove on with his two horses, the Sparrow again crept under the tarpaulin and pecked the bung out of the second cask, so that all the wine ran out.
When the Carter perceived it, he cried again, ' Alas, poor man that I am ! '
But the Sparrow answered, ' Not poor enough yet ' ; and he seated himself on the head of the second horse and pecked its eyes out. The Carter ran up with his big chopper and struck at him ; but the Sparrow flew away, and the blow hit the horse and killed it.
' Alas, poor man that I am ! ' cried the Carter.
' Not poor enough yet,' said the Sparrow, as he perched on the head of the third horse and pecked out its eyes. In his rage, the Carter struck out at the Sparrow with his chopper without taking aim, missed the Sparrow, but hit his last horse on the head, and it fell down dead.
' Alas, poor man that I am ! '
' Not poor enough yet,' said the Sparrow. ' Now, I will bring poverty to your home ' ; and he flew away. 38
THE DOG AND THE SPARROW
The Carter had to leave his wagon standing, and he went home full of rage and fury.
' Ah ! ' he said to his wife, ' what misfortunes I have had to-day ; the wine has all run out of the casks, and my three horses are dead.'
' Alas ! husband,' she answered, ' whatever kind of evil bird is this which has come into our house. He has assembled all the birds in the world, and they have settled on our maize and they are eating it clean uj).'
He went up into the loft, where thousands and thousands of birds were sitting on the floor. They had eaten up all the maize, and the Sparrow sat in the middle of them.
Then the Carter cried out, ' Alas, poor man that I am ! '
' Not poor enough,' answered the Sparrow, ' Carter, it will cost you your life yet ' ; and he flew away.
Now the Carter, having lost all that he possessed, went downstairs and sat down beside the stove, very angry and ill-tempered. But the Sparrow sat outside the window and cried, ' Carter, it will cost you your life.'
The Carter seized his chopper and threw it at the Sparrow, but it only smashed the window and did not hit the bird.
Then the Sparrow hopped in and perched on the stove, and cried, ' Carter, it will cost you your life.'
The Carter, mad, and blind with rage, smashed the stove to atoms, but the Sparrow fluttered hither and thither till all the furniture, — the little looking-glass, the bench, the table, — and at last the very walls of his house were destroyed, but without ever hitting the Sparrow, At last he caught it in his hand.
' Then,' said his wife, ' shall I kill it ? '
' No,' he cried ; ' that would be too good for it ; it shall die a much worse death. I will swallow it.' And he took it and gulped it down whole.
But the bird began to flutter about in his inside, and at last fluttered up into the man's mouth. He stretched out his head and cried, ' Carter, it will cost you your life yet.'
39
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
The Carter handed his chopper to his wife and said, ' Wife, kill the bird in my mouth.' The woman hit out, but she aimed badly and hit the Carter on the head, and down he fell, dead.
The Sparrow, however, flew out and right away.
40
The Twelve Dancing Princesses
THERE was once a King who had twelve daughters, each more beautiful than the other. They slept together in a hall where their beds stood close to one another ; and at night, when they had gone to bed, the King locked the door and bolted it. But when he unlocked it in the morning, he noticed that their shoes had been danced to pieces, and nobody could explain how it happened. So the King sent out a proclamation saying that any one who could discover where the Princesses did their night's dancing should choose one of them to be his wife and should reign after his death ; but whoever presented himself, and failed to make the discovery after three days and nights, was to forfeit his life.
A Prince soon presented himself and offered to take the risk. He was well received, and at night was taken into a room adjoining the hall where the Princesses slept. His bed was made up there, and he was to watch and see where they went to dance ; so that they could not do anything, or go anywhere else, the door of his room was left open too. But the eyes of the King's son grew heavy, and he fell asleep. WTien he woke up in the morning all the twelve had been dancing, for the soles of their shoes were full of holes. The second and third evenings passed with the same results, and then the Prince found no mercy, and his head was cut off.
41
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
Many others came after him and offered to take the risk, but they all had to lose their lives.
Now it happened that a poor Soldier, who had been wounded and could no longer serve, found himself on the road to the town where the King lived. There he fell in with an old woman who asked him where he intended to go.
' I really don't know, myself,' he said ; and added, in fun, ' I should like to discover where the King's daughters dance their shoes into holes, and after that to become King.'
' That is not so difficult,' said the old woman. ' You must not drink the wine which will be brought to you in the evening, but must pretend to be fast asleep.' Whereupon she gave him a short cloak, saying : ' When you wear this you will be invisible, and then you can slip out after the Twelve Princesses.'
As soon as the Soldier heard this good advice he took it up seriously, plucked up courage, appeared before the King, and offered himself as suitor. He was as well received as the others, and was dressed in royal garments.
In the evening, when bed-time came, he was conducted to the ante-room. As he was about to go to bed the eldest Princess appeared, bringing him a cup of wine ; but he had fastened a sponge under his chin and let the wine run down into it, so that he did not drink one drop. Then he lay down, and when he had been quiet a little while he began to snore as though in the deepest sleep.
The Twelve Princesses heard him, and laughed. The eldest said : ' He, too, must forfeit his life.'
Then they got up, opened cupboards, chests, and cases, and brought out their beautiful dresses. They decked themselves before the glass, skipping about and revelling in the prospect of the dance. Only the youngest sister said : ' I don't know what it is. You may rejoice, but I feel so strange ; a mis- fortune is certainly hanging over us.'
' You are a little goose,' answered the eldest ; ' you are always frightened. Have you forgotten how many Princes 42
THE TWELVE DANCING PRINCESSES
have come here in vain ? Why, I need not have given the Soldier a sleeping draught at all ; the blockhead would never have awakened.'
When they were all ready they looked at the Soldier ; but his eyes were shut and he did not stir. So they thought they would soon be quite safe. Then the eldest went up to one of the beds and knocked on it ; it sank into the earth, and they descended through the opening, one after another, the eldest first.
The Soldier, who had noticed everything, did not hesitate long, but threw on his cloak and went down behind the youngest. Half-way down he trod on her dress. She was frightened, and said : ' What was that ? who is holding on to my dress ? '
' Don't be so foolish. You must have caught on a nail,' said the eldest. Then they went right down, and when they got quite underground, they stood in a marvellously beautiful avenue of trees ; all the leaves were silver, and glittered and shone.
The Soldier thought, ' I must take away some token with me.' And as he broke off a twig, a sharp crack came from the tree.
The youngest cried out, ' All is not well ; did you hear that sound ? '
' Those are triumphal salutes, because we shall soon have released our Princes,' said the eldest.
Next they came to an avenue where all the leaves were of gold, and, at last, into a third, where they were of shining diamonds. From both these he broke off a twig, and there was a crack each time which made the youngest Princess start with terror ; but the eldest maintained that the sounds were only triumphal salutes. They went on faster, and came to a great lake. Close to the bank lay twelve little boats, and in every boat sat a handsome Prince. They had expected the Twelve Princesses, and each took one with him ; but the Soldier seated himself by the youngest.
43
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
Then said the Prince, ' I don't know why, but the boat is much heavier to-day, and I am obhged to row with ah my strength to get it along.'
' I wonder why it is,' said the youngest, ' unless, perhaps, it is the hot weather ; it is strangely hot.'
On the opposite side of the lake stood a splendid brightly- lighted castle, from which came the sound of the joyous music of trumpets and drums. They rowed across, and every Prince danced with his love ; and the Soldier danced too, unseen. If one of the Princesses held a cup of wine he drank out of it, so that it was empty when she lifted it to her lips. This frightened the youngest one, but the eldest always silenced her. They danced till three next morning, when their shoes were danced into holes, and they were obliged to stop. The Princes took them back across the lake, and this time the Soldier took his seat beside the eldest. On the bank they said farewell to their Princes, and promised to come again the next night. When they got to the steps, the Soldier ran on ahead, lay down in bed, and when the twelve came lagging by, slowly and wearily, he began to snore again, very loud, so that they said, ' We are quite safe as far as he is concerned.' Then they took off their beautiful dresses, put them away, placed the worn-out shoes under their beds, and lay down.
The next morning the Soldier determined to say nothing, but to see the wonderful doings again. So he went with them the second and third nights. Everything was just the same as the first time, and they danced each time till their shoes were in holes ; but the third time the Soldier took away a wine-cup as a token.
When the appointed hour came for his answer, he took the three twigs and the cup with him and went before the King. The Twelve Princesses stood behind the door listening to hear what he would say. When the King put the question, ' Where did my daughters dance their shoes to pieces in the night ? ' he answered : ' With twelve Princes in an under- ground castle.' Then he produced the tokens. 44
Ou the opposite side of the lake stood a splendid brightly-lighted Castle.
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
The King sent for his daughters and asked them whether the Soldier had spoken the truth. As they saw that they were betrayed, and would gain nothing by hes, they were obHged to admit all. Thereupon the King asked the Soldier which one he would choose as his wife. He answered : ' I am no longer young, give me the eldest.'
So the wedding was celebrated that very day, and the kingdom was promised to him on the King's death. But for every night which the Princes had spent in dancing with the Princesses a day was added to their time of enchantment.
46
The Fisherman and his Wife
THERE was once a Fisherman, who hved with his Wife in a miserable little hovel close to the sea. He went to fish every day, and he fished and fished, and at last one day, as he was sitting looking deep down into the shining water, he felt something on his line. When he hauled it up there was a great Flounder on the end of the line. The Flounder said to him, ' Listen, Fisherman, I beg you not to kill me : I am no common Flounder, I am an enchanted prince ! What good will it do you to kill me ?
47
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
I shan't be good to eat ; put me back into the water, and leave me to swim about.'
' Ho ! ho ! ' said the Fisherman, ' you need not make so many words about it. I am quite ready to put back a Flounder that can talk.' And so saying, he put back the Flounder into the shining water, and it sank down to the bottom, leaving a streak of blood behind it.
Then the Fisherman got up and went back to his Wife in the hovel. ' Husband,' she said, ' hast thou caught nothing to-day ? '
' No,' said the Man ; ' all I caught was one Flounder, and he said he was an enchanted prince, so I let him go swim again.'
' Didst thou not wish for anything then ? ' asked the Good- wife.
' No,' said the IMan ; ' what was there to wish for ? '
' Alas ! ' said his Wife, ' isn't it bad enough always to live in this wretched hovel ! Thou mightst at least have wished for a nice clean cottage. Go back and call him, tell him I want a pretty cottage : he will surely give us that.'
' Alas ! ' said the Man, ' what am I to go back there for ? '
' Well,' said the Woman, ' it was thou who didst catch him and let him go again ; for certain he will do that for thee. Be off now ! '
The Man was still not very willing to go, but he did not want to vex his Wife, and at last he went back to the sea.
He found the sea no longer bright and shining, but dull and green. He stood by it and said —
' Flounder, rioiinder in the sea, Prytliee, heai'ken unto me : My Wife, Ilsebil, must have her own will, And sends me to beg a boon of thee.'
The Flounder came swimming up, and said, ' Well, what do you want ? '
' Alas,' said the Man, ' I had to call you, for my Wife said I ought to have wished for something as I caught you. She
48
THE FISHERMAN AND HIS WIFE
doesn't want to live in our miserable hovel any longer, she wants a pretty cottage.'
' Go home again then,' said the Flounder, ' she has her wish fully.'
The Man went home and found his Wife no longer in the old hut, but a pretty little cottage stood in its place, and his Wife was sitting on a bench by the door.
She took him by the hand, and said, ' Come and look in here — isn't this much better ? '
They went inside and found a pretty sitting-room, and a bedroom with a bed in it, a kitchen and a larder furnished with everything of the best in tin and brass and every possible requisite. Outside there was a little yard with chickens and ducks, and a little garden full of vegetables and fruit.
' Look ! ' said the Woman, ' is not this nice ? '
' Yes,' said the Man, ' and so let it remain. We can live here very happily.'
' We will see about that,' said the Woman. With that they ate something and went to bed.
Everything went well for a week or more, and then said the Wife, ' Listen, husband, this cottage is too cramped, and the garden is too small. The Flounder could have given us a bigger house. I want to live in a big stone castle. Go to the Flounder, and tell him to give us a castle.'
' Alas, Wife,' said the Man, ' the cottage is good enough for us : what should we do with a castle ? '
' Never mind,' said his Wife, ' do thou but go to the Flounder, and he will manage it.'
' Nay, Wife,' said the Man, ' the Flounder gave us the cottage. I don't want to go back ; as likely as not he '11 be angry.'
' Go, all the same,' said the Woman. ' He can do it easily enough, and willingly into the bargain. Just go ! '
The Man's heart was heavy, and he was very unwilling to go. He said to himself, ' It 's not right.' But at last he went. D 49
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
He found the sea was no longer green ; it was still calm, but dark violet and grey. He stood by it and said —
' Flounder, Flounder in the sea, Prythee, hearken unto me : My Wife, Ilsebil, must have her own will, And sends me to beg a boon of thee.'
' Now, what do you want ? ' said the Flounder.
'Alas,' said the Man, half scared, 'my wife wants a big stone castle.'
' Go home again,' said the Flounder, ' she is standing at the door of it.'
Then the man went away thinking he would find no house, but when he got back he found a great stone palace, and his Wife standing at the top of the steps, waiting to go in.
She took him by the hand and said, ' Come in with me.'
With that they went in and found a great hall paved with marble slabs, and numbers of servants in attendance, who opened the great doors for them. The walls were hung with beautiful tapestries, and the rooms were furnished with golden chairs and tables, while rich carpets covered the floors, and crystal chandeliers hung from the ceilings. The tables groaned under every kind of delicate food and the most costly wines. Outside the house there was a great courtyard, with stabling for horses, and cows, and many fine carriages. Beyond this there was a great garden filled with the loveliest flowers, and fine fruit-trees. There was also a park, half a mile long, and in it were stags and hinds, and hares, and everything of the kind one could wish for.
' Now,' said the Woman, ' is not this worth having ? '
' Oh yes,' said the Man ; ' and so let it remain. We will live in this beautiful palace and be content.'
' We will think about that,' said his Wife, ' and sleep upon it.'
With that they went to bed.
Next morning the Wife woke up first ; day was just dawn- 50
THE FISHERMAN AND HIS WIFE
ing, and from her bed she could see the beautiful country around her. Her husband was still asleep, but she pushed him with her elbow, and said, ' Husband, get up and peep out of the window. See here, now, could we not be King over all this land ? Go to the Flounder. We will be King.'
' Alas, Wife,' said the Man, ' what should we be King for ? I don't want to be King.'
' Ah,' said his Wife, ' if thou wilt not be King, I will. Go to the Flounder. I will be King.'
' Alas, Wife,' said the Man, ' whatever dost thou want to be King for ? I don't like to tell him.'
' Why not ? ' said the Woman. ' Go thou must. I will be King.'
So the Man went ; but he Avas quite sad because his Wife would be King.
' It is not right,' he said ; ' it is not right.'
When he reached the sea, he found it dark, grey, and rough, and evil smelling. He stood there and said —
' Flounder, Flounder in the sea, Prythee, hearken unto me : My Wife, Ilsebii, must have her own will, And sends me to beg a boon of thee.'
' Now, what does she want ? ' said the Flounder.
' Alas,' said the Man, ' she wants to be King now.'
' Go back. She is King already,' said the Flounder.
So the Man went back, and when he reached the palace he found that it had grown much larger, and a great tower had been added with handsome decorations. There was a sentry at the door, and numbers of soldiers were playing drums and trumpets. As soon as he got inside the house, he found everything was marble and gold ; and the hangings were of velvet, with great golden tassels. The doors of the saloon were thrown wide open, and he saw the whole court assembled. His Wife was sitting on a lofty throne of gold and
51
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
diamonds ; she wore a golden crown, and carried in one hand a sceptre of pure gold. On each side of her stood her ladies in a long row, every one a head shorter than the next.
He stood before her, and said : ' Alas, Wife, art thou now King ? '
' Yes,' she said ; ' now I am King.'
He stood looking at her for some time, and then he said : ' Ah, Wife, it is a fine thing for thee to be King ; now we will not wish to be anything more.'
' Nay, husband,' she answered, quite uneasily ; ' I find the time hang very heavy on my hands. I can't bear it any longer. Go back to the Flounder. King I am, but I must also be Emperor.'
' Alas, Wife,' said the Man, ' why dost thou now want to be Emperor ? '
' Husband,' she answered, ' go to the Flounder. Emperor I will be.'
' Alas, Wife,' said the Man, ' Emperor he can't make thee, and I won't ask him. There is only one Emperor in the country ; and Emperor the Flounder cannot make thee, that he can't.'
' What ? ' said the Woman. ' I am King, and thou art but my husband. To him thou must go, and that right quickly. If he can make a King, he can also make an Emperor. Emperor I will be, so go quickly.'
He had to go, but he was quite frightened. And as he went, he thought, ' This won't end well ; Emperor is too shameless. The Flounder will make an end of the whole thing.'
With that he came to the sea, but now he found it quite black, and heaving up from below in great waves. It tossed to and fro, and a sharp wind blew over it, and the man trembled. So he stood there, and said —
' Flounder, Flounder in the sea, Prythee, hearken unto me : My Wife, Ilsehil, must have her own will, And sends me to beg a boon of thee.' 52
THE FISHERMAN AND HIS WIFE
' What does she want now ? ' said the Flounder.
' Alas, Flounder,' he said, ' my Wife wants to be Emperor.'
' Go back,' said the Flounder. ' She is Emperor.'
So the man went back, and when he got to the door, he found that the whole palace Avas made of polished marble, with alabaster figures and golden decorations. Soldiers marched up and down before the doors, blowing their trumpets and beating their drums. Inside the palace, counts, barons, and dukes walked about as attendants, and they opened to him the doors, which were of pure gold.
He went in, and saw his Wife sitting on a huge throne made of solid gold. It was at least two miles high. She had on her head a great golden crown set with diamonds three yards high. In one hand she held the sceptre, and in the other the orb of empire. On each side of her stood the gentlemen- at-arms in two rows, each one a little smaller than the other, from giants two miles high down to the tiniest dwarf no bigger than my little finger. She was surrounded by princes and dukes.
Her husband stood still, and said : ' Wife, art thou now Emperor ? '
' Yes,' said she ; ' now I am Emperor.'
Then he looked at her for some time, and said : ' Alas, Wife, how much better off art thou for being Emperor ? '
' Husband,' she said, ' what art thou standing there for ? Now I am Emperor, I mean to be Pope ! Go back to the Flounder.'
' Alas, Wife,' said the Man, ' what wilt thou not want ? Pope thou canst not be. There is only one Pope in Christen- dom. That 's more than the Flounder can do.'
' Husband,' she said, ' Pope I will be ; so go at once. I must be Pope this very day.'
' No, Wife,' he said, ' I dare not tell him. It 's no good ; it 's too monstrous altogether. The Flounder cannot make thee Pope.'
' Husband,' said the Woman, ' don't talk nonsense. If
53
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
he can make an Emperor, he can make a Pope. Go immedi- ately. I am Emperor, and thou art but my husband, and thou must obey.'
So he was frightened, and went ; but he was quite dazed. He shivered and shook, and his knees trembled.
A great wind arose over the land, the clouds flew across the sky, and it grew as dark as night; the leaves fell from the trees, and the water foamed and dashed upon the shore. In the distance the ships were being tossed to and fro on the waves, and he heard them firing signals of distress. There was still a Uttle patch of blue in the sky among the dark clouds, but towards the south they were red and heavy, as in a bad storm. In despair, he stood and said —
' Flounder, Flounder in the sea, Prythee, hearken unto me : My Wife, Ilsebil, must have her own will. And sends me to beg a boon of thee.'
' Now, what does she want ? ' said the Flounder.
' Alas,' said the Man, ' she wants to be Pope ! '
' Go back. Pope she is,' said the Flounder.
So back he went, and he found a great church surrounded with palaces. He pressed through the crowd, and inside he found thousands and thousands of lights, and his Wife, entirely clad in gold, was sitting on a still higher throne, with three golden crowns upon her head, and she was surrounded with priestly state. On each side of her were two rows of candles, the biggest as thick as a tower, down to the tiniest little taper. Kings and Emperors were on their knees before her, kissing her shoe.
' Wife,' said the Man, looking at her, ' art thou now Pope ? '
' Yes,' said she ; ' now I am Pope.'
So there he stood gazing at her, and it was like looking at a shining sun.
' Alas, Wife,' he said, ' art thou better off for being Pope ? ' At first she sat as stiff as a post, without stirring. Then he 54
THE FISHERMAN AND HIS WIFE
said : ' Now, Wife, be content with being Pope ; higher thou canst not go.'
' I will think about that,' said the Woman, and with that they both went to bed. Still she was not content, and could not sleep for her inordinate desires. The Man slept well and soundly, for he had walked about a great deal in the day ; but his Wife could tliink of nothing but what further grandeur
' Flounder, Flounder in the sea, Prythee, hearken unto me.'
she could demand. When the dawn reddened the sky she raised herself up in bed and looked out of the window, and when she saw the sun rise, she said :
' Ha ! can I not cause the sun and the moon to rise ? Husband ! ' she cried, digging her elbow into his side, ' wake up and go to the Flounder. I will be Lord of the Universe.'
Her husband, who was still more than half asleep, was so
55
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
shocked that he fell out of bed. He thought he must have heard wrong. He rubbed his eyes, and said :
' Alas, Wife, what didst thou say ? '
' Husband,' she said, ' if I cannot be Lord of the Universe, and cause the sun and moon to set and rise, I shall not be able to bear it. I shall never have another happy moment.'
She looked at him so wildly that it caused a shudder to run through him.
' Alas, Wife,' he said, faUing on his knees before her, ' the Flounder can't do that. Emperor and Pope he can make, but that is indeed beyond him. I pray thee, control thyself and remain Pope.'
Then she flew into a terrible rage. Her hair stood on end ; she kicked him and screamed —
' I won't bear it any longer ; wilt thou go ! '
Then he pulled on his trousers and tore away like a madman. Such a storm was raging that he could hardly keep his feet : houses and trees quivered and swayed, and mountains trembled, and the rocks rolled into the sea. The sky was pitchy black ; it thundered and lightened, and the sea ran in black waves mountains high, crested with white foam. He shrieked out, but could hardly make himself heard —
' Flounder, Flounder in the sea, Prytliee, hearken unto me : My Wife, Ilsebii, must have her own will, And sends me to beg a boon of thee.'
' Now, what does she want ? ' asked the Flounder. ' Alas,' he said, ' she wants to be Lord of the Universe.' ' Now she must go back to her old hovel ; and there she is.' So there they are to this very day.
56
The Wren and the Bear
ONCE upon a time, in the summer, a Bear and a Wolf were taking a walk in a wood when the Bear heard a bird singing most beautifully, and he said, ' Brother Wolf, what kind of bird is that singing so beauti- fully ? '
' That is the King of the birds, and we must bow down to it.' But really it was a Wren.
' If that is so,' said the Bear, ' I should like to see his royal palace. Come, you must take me to it.'
' That 's not so easy,' said the Wolf. ' You must wait till the Queen comes.'
Soon after, the Queen made her appearance, bringing food in her beak, and the King came with her to feed their little ones. The Bear would have liked to go in at once, but the Wolf held him by the sleeve, and said, ' No ; now you must wait till the King and Queen fly away again.'
So they marked the opening of the nest, and trudged on. But the Bear had no rest till he could see the royal palace, and before long he went back.
The King and the Queen had gone out again. He peeped in, and saw five or six young ones lying in the nest.
' Is that the royal palace ? ' cried the Bear. ' What a miserable place ! And do you mean to say that you are royal children ? You must be changelings ! '
When the young Wrens heard this, they were furious, and shrieked, ' No, indeed we 're not. Our parents are honest people ; we must have this out with you.'
The Bear and the Wolf Avere very much frightened. They turned round and ran home to their dens.
57
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
But the young Wrens continued to shriek and scream aloud ; and when their parents came back with more food, they said, ' We won't touch so much as the leg of a fly, even if we starve, till you tell us whether we are really yoiu- lawful children or not. The Bear has been here calling us names.'
Then said the old King, ' Only be quiet, and this shall be seen to.'
Thereupon he and his wife the Queen flew off to the Bear in his den, and called in to him, ' Old Bruin, why have you been calling our children names ? It will turn out badly for you, and it will lead to a bloody war between us.'
So war was declared, and all the four-footed animals were called together — the ox, the ass, the cow, the stag, the roedeer, and every other creature on the earth.
But the Wren called together every creature which flew in the air, not only birds both large and small, but also the gnats, the hornets, the bees, and the flies.
When the time came for the war to begin, the Wren sent out scouts to discover where the commanding generals of the enemv were to be found. The gnats were the most cunning of all. They swarmed in the wood where the enemy were assembled, and at last they hid themselves under a leaf of the tree where the orders were being given.
The Bear called the Fox up to him and said, ' You are the slyest of all the animals, Reynard. You shall be our general, and lead us.'
' Very good,' said the Fox ; ' but what shall we have for a signal ? ' But nobody could think of anything. Then said the Fox, ' I have a fine, long, bushy tail, which almost looks like a red feather brush. When I hold my tail erect, things are going well, and you must march forward at once ; but if it droops, you must all run away as hard as ever you can.'
When the gnats heard this they flew straight home and told the Wrens every detail.
When the day broke, all the four-footed animals came 58
THE WREN AND THE BEAR
rushing to the spot where the battle was to take place. They came with such a tramping that the earth shook.
The Wren and his army also came swarming through the air ; they fluttered and buzzed enough to terrify one. And then they made for one another.
The Wren sent the Hornet down with orders to seat herself under the tail of the Fox and to sting him with all her might.
When the Fox felt the first sting he quivered, and raised one leg in the air ; but he bore it bravely, and kept his tail erect. At the second sting he was forced to let it droop for a moment, but the third time he could bear it no longer ; he screamed, and down went his tail between his legs. When the animals saw this they thought all was lost, and off they ran helter-skelter, as fast as they could go, each to his own den.
So the birds won the battle.
When it was over the King and the Queen flew home to their children, and cried, ' Children, be happy ! Eat and drink to your hearts' content ; we have won the battle.'
But the young Wrens said, ' We won't eat till the Bear comes here to make an apology, and says that we are really and truly j^our lawful children.'
The Wren flew to the Bear's den, and cried, ' Old Bruin, you will have to come and apologise to my children for calling them names, or else you will have all yoiu- ribs broken.'
So in great terror the Bear crept to the nest and apologised, and at last the young Wrens were satisfied, and they ate and drank and made merry till far into the night.
59
The Frog Prince
IN the olden time, when wishing was some good, there hved a King whose daughters were all beautiful, but the youngest was so lovely that even the sun, that looked on many things, could not but marvel when he shone upon her face.
Near the King's palace there was a large dark forest, and in the forest, under an old lime-tree, was a well. When the day was very hot the Princess used to go into the forest and sit upon the edge of this cool well ; and when she was tired of doing nothing she would play with a golden ball, throwing it up in the air and. catching it again, and this was her favourite game. Now on one occasion it so happened that the ball did not fall back into her hand stretched up to catch it, but dropped to the ground and rolled straight into the well. The Princess followed it with her eyes, but it disappeared, for the well was so very deep that it was quite impossible to see the bottom. Then she began to cry bitterly, and nothing would comfort her.
As she was lamenting in this manner, some one called out to her, ' What is the matter, Princess ? Your lamentations would move the heart of a stone.'
She looked round towards the spot whence the voice came, and saw a Frog stretching its broad, ugly face out of the water.
' Oh, it 's you, is it, old splasher ? I am crying for my golden ball which has fallen into the water.'
' Be quiet then, and stop crying,' answered the Frog. ' I know what to do ; but what will you give me if I get you back your plaything ? '
' Whatever you like, you dear old Frog,' she said. ' My 60
THE FROG PRINCE
clothes, my pearls and diamonds, or even the golden crown upon my head.'
The Frog answered, ' I care neither for your clothes, your pearls and diamonds, nor even your golden crown ; but if you will be fond of me, and let me be your playmate, sit by you at table, eat out of your plate, drink out of your cup, and sleep in your little bed — if you will promise to do all this, I will go down and fetch your ball.'
' I will promise anything you like to ask, if only you will get me back my ball.'
She thought, ' What is the silly old Frog chattering about ? He lives in the well, croaking with his mates, and he can't be the companion of a human being.'
As soon as the Frog received her promise, he ducked his head under the water and disappeared. After a little while, back he came with the ball in his mouth, and threw it on to the grass beside her.
The Princess was full of joy when she saw her pretty toy again, picked it up, and ran off with it.
' Wait, wait,' cried the Frog. ' Take me with you ; I can't run as fast as you can.'
But what was the good of his crying ' Croak, croak,' as loud as he could ? She did not listen to him, but hurried home, and forgot all about the poor Frog ; and he had to go back to his well.
The next day, as she was sitting at dinner with the King and all the courtiers, eating out of her golden plate, something came flopping up the stairs, flip, flap, flip, flap. When it reached the top it knocked at the door, and cried : ' Youngest daughter of the King, you must let me in.' She ran to see who it was. When she opened the door and saw the Frog she shut it again very quickly, and went back to the table, for she was very much frightened.
The King saw that her heart was beating very fast, and he said : ' My child, what is the matter ? Is there a giant at the door wanting to take you away ? '
61
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
' Oh no ! ' she said : ' it 's not a giant, but a hideous Frog.'
' What does the Frog want with you ? '
' Oh, father dear, last night, when I was playing by the well in the forest, my golden ball fell into the water. And I cried, and the Frog got it out for me ; and then, because he insisted on it, I promised that he should be my playmate. But I never thought that he would come out of the water, but there he is, and he wants to come in to me.'
He knocked at the door for the second time, and sang — -
' Youngest daugliter of the King, Take me up, I sing; Know'st thou not what yesterday Thou to me didst say By the well in forest dell. Youngest daughter of the King, Take me up, I sing.'
Then said the King, ' What you have promised you must perform. Go and open the door for him.'
So she opened the door, and the Frog shuffled in, keeping close to her feet, till he reached her chair. Then he cried, ' Lift me up beside you.' She hesitated, till the King ordered her to do it. Wlien the Frog was put on the chair, he demanded to be placed upon the table, and then he said, ' Push your golden plate nearer that we may eat together.' She did as he asked her, but very unwillingly, as could easily be seen. The Frog made a good dinner, but the Princess could not swallow a morsel. At last he said, ' I have eaten enough, and I am tired, carry me into your bedroom and arrange your silken bed, that we may go to sleep.'
The Princess began to cry, for she was afraid of the clammy Frog, which she did not dare to touch, and which was now to sleep in her pretty little silken bed. But the King grew very angry, and said, ' You must not despise any one who has helped you in your need.'
So she seized him with two fingers, and carried him upstairs, where she put him in a corner of her room. When she got into 62
THE FROG PRINCE
bed, he crept up to her, and said, ' I am tired, and I want to go to sleep as well as you. Lift me up, or I will tell your father.'
She was very angry, picked him up, and threw him with all her might against the wall, saying, ' You may rest there as well as you can, you hideous Frog.' But when he fell to the ground, he was no longer a hideous Frog, but a handsome Prince with beautiful friendly eyes.
And at her father's wish he became her beloved companion and husband. He told her that he had been bewitched by a wicked fairy, and nobody could have released him from the spells but she herself.
Next morning, when the sun rose, a coach drove up drawn by eight milk-white horses, with white ostrich plumes on their heads, and golden harness. Behind stood faithful Henry, the Prince's body-servant. The faithful fellow had been so distressed when his master was changed into a Frog, that he had caused three iron bands to be placed round his heart, lest it should break from grief and pain.
The coach had come to carry the young pair back into the Prince's own kingdom. The faithful Henry helped both of them into the coach and mounted again behind, delighted at his master's deliverance.
They had only gone a little way when the Prince heard a cracking behind him, as if something were breaking. He turned round, and cried — ■
' " Henry, the coach is giving way ! " " No, Sir, the coach is safe, I say, A band from my heart has falFn in twain. For long I suffered woe and pain. While you a frog within a well Enchanted were by witch's spell ! " '
Once more he heard the same snapping and cracking, and then again. The Prince thought it must be some part of the carriage giving way, but it was only the bands round faithful Henry's heart which were snapping, because of his great joy at his master's deliverance and happiness.
63
The Cat and Mouse in Partnership
^
A CAT once made the acquaintance of a Mouse, and she said so much to it about her love and friendship that at last the Mouse agreed to go into partnership and live with her. ' We must take precau- tions for the winter,' said the Cat, ' or we shall suffer from hunger. You, little Mouse, dare not venture everywhere, and in the end you will get me into a fix.'
So the good advice was followed, and a pot of fat was purchased. They did not know where to keep it, but, after much deUberation, the Cat said, ' I know no place where it would be safer than in the church ; nobody dare venture to take anything there. We will put it under the altar, and will not touch it till we are obliged to.'
So the pot was deposited in safety ; but, before long, the Cat began to hanker after it, and said to the Mouse :
' Oh, little Mouse, my cousin has asked me to be godmother. She has brought a son into the world. He is white, with brown spots ; and I am to hold him at the font. Let me go out to-day, and you stay alone to look after the house.'
' Oh yes,' said the Mouse, ' by all means go ; and if you have anything nice to eat, think of me. I would gladly have a drop of sweet raspberry wine myself.' 64
THE CAT AND MOUSE IN PARTNERSHIP
Now there wasn't a word of truth in all this. The Cat had no cousin, and she had not been invited to be godmother at all. She went straight to the church, crept to the pot of fat, and began to lick it, and she licked and licked the whole of the top off it. Then she took a stroll on the house-tops and re- flected on her proceedings, after which she stretched herself in the sun, and wiped her whiskers every time she thought of the pot of fat. She did not go home till evening.
' Oh, there you are again,' said the Mouse ; ' you must have had a merry time.'
' Oh, well enough,' answered the Cat.
' What kind of name was given to the child ? ' asked the Mouse.
' Top-off,' answered the Cat, drily.
' Top-off ! ' cried the Mouse. ' What an extraordinary name ; is it a common one in your family ? '
' What does it matter ! ' said the Cat. ' It 's not worse than crumbstealers, as your godchildren are called.'
Not long after the Cat was again overcome by her desires. She said to the Mouse, ' You must oblige me again by looking after the house alone. For the second time I have been asked to be sponsor, and, as the child has a white ring round its neck, I can't refuse.'
The good little Mouse was quite ready to oblige, and the Cat stole away behind the city walls to the church, and ate half of the pot of fat. ' Nothing tastes better,' she said, ' than what one eats by oneself ' ; and she was quite satisfied with her day's work. When she got home, the Mouse asked what this child had been named.
' Half-gone.'
' What do you say ? I have never heard such a name in my life. I don't believe you would find it in the calendar.'
Soon the Cat's mouth watered again for the dainty morsel.
' Good things always come in threes,' she said to the Mouse ; ' again I am to stand sponsor. This child is quite black, with big white paws, but not another white hair on its body. Such E G5
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
a thing only occurs once in a few years. You will let me go out again, won't you ? '
' Top-off ! Half-gone ! They are such curious names ; they set me thinking.'
' You sit at home in your dark grey velvet coat,' said the Cat, ' getting your head full of fancies. It all comes of not going out in the daytime.'
During the Cat's absence, the Mouse cleared up and made the house tidy ; but the greedy Cat ate up all the fat. ' When it 's all gone, one can be at peace,' said she to herself, as she went home, late at night, fat and satiated.
The Mouse immediately asked what name had been given to the third child.
' I don't suppose it will please you any better,' said the Cat. ' He is called All-gone ! '
' All-gone ! ' exclaimed the Mouse. ' I have never seen it in print. All-gone ! What is the meaning of it ? '
She shook her head, rolled herself up, and went to sleep.
From this time nobody asked the Cat to be sponsor. But when the winter came, and it grew very difficult to get food, the Mouse remembered their store, and said, ' Come, Cat, we will go to our pot of fat which we have saved up ; won't it be good now ? '
' Yes, indeed ! ' answered the Cat ; ' it will do you just as much good as putting your tongue out of the window.'
They started off to the church, and when they got there they found the fat-pot still in its place, but it was quite empty.
' Alas,' said the Mouse, ' now I see it all. Everything has come to the light of day. You have indeed been a true friend ! You ate it all up when you went to be godmother. First Top-off, then Half-gone, then '
' Hold yoiu" tongue,' cried the Cat. ' Another word, and I '11 eat you too.'
But the unfortimate Mouse had ' All-gone ' on its hps, and hardly had it come out than the Cat made a spring, seized the Mouse, and gobbled it up.
Now, that 's the way of the world, you see, 6G
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The Goosegirl
THERE was once an old Queen whose husband had been dead for many years, and she had a very beautiful daughter. When she grew up she was betrothed to a Prince in a distant country. When the time came for the maiden to be sent into this distant country to be married, the old Queen packed up quantities of clothes and jewels, gold and silver, cups and ornaments, and, in fact, everything suitable to a royal outfit, for she loved her daughter very dearly.
She also sent a Waiting-woman to travel with her, and to put her hand into that of the bridegroom. They each had a horse. The Princess's horse was called Falada, and it could speak.
When the horn- of departure came, the old Queen went to her bedroom, and with a sharp little knife cut her finger and made it bleed. Then she held a piece of white cambric under it, and let three drops of blood fall on to it. This cambric she gave to her daughter, and said, ' Dear child, take good care of this ; it will stand you in good stead on the journey.' They then bade each other a sorrowful farewell. The Princess hid the piece of cambric in her bosom, mounted her horse, and set out to her bridegroom's country.
When they had ridden for a time the Princess became very thirsty, and said to the Waiting-woman, ' Get down and fetch me some water in my cup from the stream. I must have something to drink.'
' If you are thirsty,' said the Waiting- woman, ' dismount yourself, lie down by the water and drink. I don't choose to be yom- servant.'
67
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
So, in her great thirst, the Princess dismounted and stooped down to the stream and drank, as she might not have her golden cup. The poor Princess said, ' Alas ! ' and the drops of blood answered, ' If your mother knew this, it would break her heart.'
The royal bride was humble, so she said nothing, but mounted her horse again. Then they rode several miles further ; but the day was warm, the sun was scorching, and the Princess Avas soon thirsty again.
When they reached a river she called out again to her Waiting- woman, ' Get down, and give me some water in my golden cup ! '
She had forgotten all abovit the rude words which had been said to her. But the Waiting-woman answered more haughtily than ever, ' If you want to drink, get the water for yourself. I won't be your servant.'
Being very thirsty, the Princess dismounted, and knelt by the flowing water. She cried, and said, ' Ah me ! ' and the drops of blood answered, ' If your mother knew this it would break her heart.'
While she stooped over the water to drink, the piece of cambric with the drops of blood on it fell out of her bosom, and floated away on the stream ; but she never noticed this in her great fear. The Waiting-woman, however, had seen it, and rejoiced at getting more power over the bride, who, by losing the drops of blood, had become weak and powerless.
Now, when she was about to mount her horse Falada again, the Waiting-woman said, ' By rights, Falada belongs to me ; this jade will do for you ! '
The poor little Princess was obliged to give way. Then the Waiting-woman, in a harsh voice, ordered her to take off her royal robes, and to put on her own mean garments. Finally, she forced her to swear before heaven that she would not tell a creature at the Court what had taken place. Had she not taken the oath she would have been killed on the spot. But Falada saw all this and marked it. 68
THEGOOSEGIRL
The Waiting - woman then mounted Falada and put the real bride on her poor jade, and they continued their journey.
There was great rejoicing when they arrived at the castle. The Prince hurried towards them, and Hfted the Waiting- woman from her horse, thinking she was his bride. She was led upstairs, but the real Princess had to stay below.
The old King looked out of the window and saw the delicate, pretty little creature standing in the courtyard ; so he went to the bridal apartments and asked the bride about her companion, who was left standing in the courtyard, and wished to know who she was.
' I picked her up on the way, and brought her with me for company. Give the girl something to do to keep her from idling.'
But the old King had no work for her, and could not think of anything. At last he said, ' I have a Uttle lad who looks after the geese ; she may help him.'
The boy was called little Conrad, and the real bride was sent with him to look after the geese.
Soon after, the false bride said to the Prince, ' Dear husband, I pray you do me a favour.'
He answered, ' That will I gladly,'
' Well, then, let the knacker be called to cut off the head of the horse I rode ; it angered me on the way.'
Really, she was afraid that the horse would speak, and tell of her treatment of the Princess. So it was settled, and the faithful Falada had to die.
When this came to the ear of the real Princess, she promised the knacker a piece of gold if he would do her a slight service. There was a great dark gateway to the town, through which she had to pass every morning and evening. ' Would he nail up Falada's head in this gateway, so that she might see him as she passed ? '
The knacker promised to do as she wished, and when the horse's head was cut off, he hung it up in the dark gateway.
69
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
In the early morning, when she and Conrad went through the gateway, she said in passing —
' Alas ! dear Falada, there thou hangest.'
And the Head answered —
' Alas ! Queen's daughter, there thou gangest. If thy mother knew thv fate, Her heart would break with grief so great.'
Then they passed on out of the town, right into the fields, with the geese. When they reached the meadow, the Princess sat down on the grass and let down her hair. It shone like pure gold, and when little Conrad saw it, he was so delighted that he wanted to pluck some out ; but she said —
' Blow, blow, little breeze, And Conrad's hat seize. Let him join in the chase While away it is whirled. Till my tresses are curled And I rest in my place.''
Then a strong wind sprang up, which blew away Conrad's hat right over the fields, and he had to run after it. When he came back, she had finished combing her hair, and it was all put up again ; so he could not get a single hair. This made him very sulky, and he would not say another word to her. And they tended the geese till evening, when they went home.
Next morning, when they passed under the gateway, the Princess said —
' Alas ! dear Falada, there thou hangest.' Falada answered : —
' Alas ! Queen's daughter, there thou gangest. If thy mother knew thy fate, Her heart would break with grief so great.'
70
THE GOOSEGIRL
Again, when they reached the meadows, the Princess undid her hair and began combing it. Conrad ran to pluck some out ; but she said quickly —
' Blow, blow, little breeze, And Conrad's hat seize. Let him join in the chase While away it is whirled, Till my tresses are curled And I rest in my place.'
The wind sprang up and blew Conrad's hat far away over the fields, and he had to run after it. When he came back the hair was all put up again, and he could not pull a single hair out. And they tended the geese till the evening. When they got home Conrad went to the old King, and said, ' I won't tend the geese with that maiden again.'
' Why not ? ' asked the King.
' Oh, she vexes me every day.'
The old King then ordered him to say what she did to vex him.
Conrad said, ' In the morning, when we pass under the dark gateway with the geese, she talks to a horse's head which is hung up on the wall. She says —
' Alas ! Falada, there thou hangest,'
and the Head answers —
'Alas! Queen's daughter, there thou gangest. If thy mother knew thy fate, Her heart would break with grief so great.'
Then Conrad went on to tell the King all that happened in the meadow, and how he had to run after his hat in the wind.
The old King ordered Conrad to go out next day as usual. Then he placed himself behind the dark gateway, and heard the Princess speaking to Falada's head. He also followed her into the field, and hid himself behind a bush, and with his own eyes he saw the Goosegirl and the lad come driving
71
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
the geese into the field. Then, after a time, he saw the girl let down her hair, which glittered in the sun. Directly after this, she said —
' Blow, blow, little breeze, And Conrad's hat seize. I^et him join in the chase While away it is whirled, Till my tresses are curled And I rest in my place.'
Then came a puff of wind, which carried off Conrad's hat and he had to run after it. While he was away, the maiden combed and did up her hair ; and all this the old King observed. Thereupon he went away unnoticed ; and in the evening, when the Goosegirl came home, he called her aside and asked why she did all these things.
' That I may not tell you, nor may I tell any human creature ; for I have sworn it under the open sky, because if I had not done so I should have lost my life.'
He pressed her sorely, and gave her no peace, but he could get nothing out of her. Then he said, ' If you won't tell me, then tell your sorrows to the iron stove there ' ; and he went away.
She crept up to the stove, and, beginning to weep and lament, unburdened her heart to it, and said : ' Here I am, forsaken by all the world, and yet I am a Princess. A false Waiting-woman brought me to such a pass that I had to take off my royal robes. Then she took my place with my bride- groom, while I have to do mean service as a Goosegirl. If my mother knew it she would break her heart.'
The old King stood outside by the pipes of the stove, and heard all that she said. Then he came back, and told her to go away from the stove. He caused royal robes to be put upon her, and her beauty was a marvel. The old King called his son, and told him that he had a false bride — she was only a Waiting-woman ; but the true bride was here, the so-called Goosegirl. 72
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The young Prince was charmed with her youth and beauty. A great banquet was prepared, to which all the courtiers and good friends were bidden. The bridegroom sat at the head of the table, with the Princess on one side and the Waiting- Woman at the other ; but she was dazzled, and did not recognise the Princess in her brilliant apparel.
When they had eaten and drunk and were all very merry, the old King put a riddle to the Waiting- woman. ' What does a person deserve who deceives his master ? ' telling the whole story, and ending by asking, ' What doom does he deserve ? '
The false bride answered, ' No better than this. He must be put stark naked into a barrel stuck with nails, and be dragged along by two white horses from street to street till he is dead.'
' That is your own doom,' said the King, ' and the judgment shall be carried out.'
When the sentence was fulfilled, the young Prince married his true bride, and they ruled their kingdom together in peace and happiness.
73
The Adventures of Chanticleer and Partlet
I. HOW THEY WENT TO THE HHXS TO EAT NUTS
CHANTICLEER said to Partlet one day, 'The nuts must be ripe ; now we will go up the hill together and have a good feast before the squirrel carries them all off.'
' All right,' said Partlet, ' come along ; we '11 have a fine time.' So they went away up the hill, and, as it was a bright day, they stayed till evening.
Now whether they really had grown fat, or whether it was merely pride, I do not know, but, whatever the reason, they would not walk home, and Chanticleer had to make a little carriage of nut-shells. When it was ready, Partlet took her seat in it, and said to Chanticleer, ' Now you get between the shafts.'
' That 's all very fine,' said Chanticleer, ' but I would sooner go home on foot than put myself in harness. I will sit on the box and drive, but draw it myself I never will.'
As they were squabbUng over this, a Duck quacked out, ' You thievish folk I Who told you to come to my nut-hill ? Just you wait, you will suffer for it.'
Then she rushed at Chanticleer with open bill, but he was not to be taken by surprise, and fell upon her with his spurs till she cried out for mercy. At last she allowed herself to be harnessed to the carriage. Chanticleer seated himself on the box as coachman, and cried out unceasingly, ' Now, Duck, run as fast as you can.'
When they had driven a little way they met two foot 74
CHANTICLEER AND PARTLET
passengers, a Pin and a Needle. They called out, ' Stop ! stop ! ' They said it would soon be pitch dark, and they couldn't walk a step further, the road was so dirty ; might they not have a lift ? They had been to the Tailor's Inn by the gate, and had lingered over their beer.
As they were both very thin, and did not take up much room, Chanticleer allowed them to get in, but he made them promise not to tread either on his toes, or on Partlet's. Late in the evening they came to an inn, and as they did not want to drive any further in the dark, and the Duck was getting rather uncertain on her feet, tvunbling from side to side, they drove in.
The Landlord at first made many objections to having them, and said the house was already full ; perhaps he thought they were not very grand folk. But at last, by dint of persuasive words, and promising him the egg which Mrs. Partlet had laid on the way, and also that he should keep the Duck, who laid an egg every day, he consented to let them stay the night.
Then they had a meal served to them, and feasted, and passed the time in rioting.
In the early dawn, before it grew light, and every one was asleep, Partlet woke up Chanticleer, fetched the egg, pecked a hole in it, and between them they ate it all up, and threw the shells on to the hearth. Then they went to the Needle, which was still asleep, seized it by the head and stuck it in the cushion of the Landlord's arm-chair ; the Pin they stuck in his towel, and then, without more ado, away they flew over the heath. The Duck, which preferred to sleep in the open air, and had stayed in the yard, heard them whizzing by, and bestirred herself. She found a stream, and swam away down it; it was a much quicker way to get on than being harnessed to a carriage.
A couple of hours later, the Landlord, who was the first to leave his pillow, got up and washed. When he took up the towel to dry himself, he scratched his face and made a long red line from ear to ear. Then he went to the kitchen to hght
75
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
his pipe, but when he stooped over the hearth the egg-shells flew into his eye.
' Everything goes to my head this morning,' he said angrily, as he dropped on to the cushion of his Grandfather's arm-chair. But he quickly bounded up again, and shouted, ' Gracious me ! ' for the Needle had run into him, and this time not in the head. He grew furious, and his suspicions immediately fell on the guests who had come in so late the night before. When he went to look for them, they were nowhere to be seen. Then he swore never to take such ragamuffins into his house again ; for they ate a great deal, paid nothing, and played tricks, by way of thanks, into the bargain.
II. THE VISIT TO MR. KORBES
Another day, when Partlet and Chanticleer were about to take a journey. Chanticleer built a fine carriage with four red wheels, and harnessed four little mice to it. Mrs. Partlet seated herself in it with Chanticleer, and they drove off together.
Before long they met a Cat. ' Whither away ? ' said she.
Chanticleer answered —
' All on our way A visit to pay To Mr. Korbes at his liouse to-day.''
' Take me with you,' said the Cat.
Chanticleer answered, ' With pleasure ; sit down behind, so that you don't fall out forwards.'
' My wheels so red, pray have a care From any splash of mud to spare. Little wheels hurry ! Little mice scurry ! All on our way A visit to pay
To Mr. Korbes at his house to-day.' 76
CHANTICLEER AND PARTLET
Then came a Millstone, an Egg, a Duck, a Pin, and, last of all, a Needle. They all took their places in the carriage and went with the rest.
But when they arrived at Mr. Korbes' house, he wasn't in. The mice drew the carriage into the coach-house, Partlet and Chanticleer flew on to a perch, the Cat sat down by the fire, the Duck lay down by the well-pole. The Egg rolled itself up in the towel, the Pin stuck itself into the cushion, the Needle sprang into the pillow on the bed, and the Millstone laid itself over the door.
When Mr. Korbes came home, and went to the hearth to make a fire, the Cat threw ashes into his face. He ran into the kitchen to wash, and the Duck squirted water into his face ; seizing the towel to dry himself, the Egg rolled out, broke, and stuck up one of his eyes. He wanted to rest, and sat down in his arm-chair, when the Pin pricked him. He grew very angry, threw himself on the bed and laid his head on the pillow, when the Needle ran into him and made him cry out. In a fury he wanted to rush into the open air, but when he got to the door, the Millstone fell on his head and killed him. What a bad man Mr. Korbes must have been !
III. THE DEATH OF PARTLET
Partlet and Chanticleer went to the nut-hill on another occasion, and they arranged that whichever of them found a nut should share it with the other.
Partlet found a huge nut, but said nothing about it, and meant to eat it all herself ; but the kernel was so big that she could not swallow it. It stuck in her throat, and she was afraid she would be choked. She shrieked, ' Chanticleer, Chanticleer, run and fetch some water as fast as you can, or I shall choke ! '
So Chanticleer ran as fast as he could to the Well, and said, ' Well, Well, you must give me some water ! Partlet
77
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
is out on the nut-hill ; she has swallowed a big nut, and is choking.'
The Well answered, ' First you must run to my Bride, and tell her to give you some red silk.'
Chanticleer ran to the Bride, and said, ' Bride, Bride, give me some red silk : I will give the silk to the Well, and the Well will give me some water to take to Partlet, for she has swallowed a big nut, and is choking.'
The Bride answered, ' Run first and fetch me a wreath which I left hanging on a willow.'
So Chanticleer ran to the willow, pulled the wreath off the branch, and brought it to the Bride. The Bride gave him the red silk, which he took to the Well, and the Well gave him the water for it. Then Chanticleer took the water to Partlet ; but as it happened she had choked in the meantime, and lay there dead and stiff. Chanticleer's grief was so great that he cried aloud, and all the animals came and condoled with him.
Six mice built a little car to draw Partlet to the grave ; and when the car was ready they harnessed themselves to it, and drew Partlet away.
On the way, Reynard the fox joined them. 'Where are you going. Chanticleer ? '
' I 'm going to bury my wife, Partlet.'
' May I go with you ? '
'Jump up behind, we're not yet full, A weight in front, niy nags can't pull.'
So the Fox took a seat at the back, and he was followed by the wolf, the bear, the stag, the lion, and all the other animals of the forest. The procession went on, till they came to a stream.
' How shall we ever get over ? ' said Chanticleer.
A Straw was lying by the stream, and it said, ' I will stretch myself across, and then you can pass over upon me.'
But when the six mice got on to the Straw it collapsed, and the mice fell into the water with it, and they were all drowned. 78
CHANTICLEER AND PARTLET
So their difficulty was as great as ever. Then a Coal came along, and said, ' I am big enough, I will lie down, and you can pass over me.'
So the Coal laid itself across the stream, but unfortunately it just touched the water, hissed, went out, and was dead. A stone, seeing this, had pity on them, and, wanting to help Chanticleer, laid itself over the water. Now Chanticleer drew the car, and he just managed to get across himself with the hen. Then he wanted to pull the others over who were hanging on behind, but it was too much for him, and the car fell back and they all fell into the water and were drowned.
So Chanticleer was left alone with the dead hen, and he dug a grave and laid her in it. Then he made a mound over it, and seated himself upon it and grieved till he died ; and then they were all dead.
79
Rapunzel
THERE was once a man and his wife who had long wished in vain for a child, when at last they had reason to hope that Heaven would grant their wish. There was a little window at the back of their house, which overlooked a beautiful garden, full of lovely flowers and shrubs. It was, however, surrounded by a high wall, and nobody dared to enter it, because it belonged to a powerful Witch, who was feared by everybody.
One day the woman, standing at this window and looking into the garden, saw a bed planted with beautiful ram pi on. It looked so fresh and green that it made her long to eat some of it. This longing increased every day, and as she knew it could never be satisfied, she began to look pale and miserable, and to pine away. Then her husband was alarmed, and said : ' What ails you, my dear wife ? '
' Alas ! ' she answered, ' if I cannot get any of the rampion from the garden behind our house to eat, I shall die.'
Her husband, who loved her, thought, ' Before you let your wife die, you must fetch her some of that rampion, cost what it may.' So in the twiUght he cUmbed over the wall into the Witch's garden, hastily picked a handful of rampion, and took it back to his wife. She immediately dressed it, and ate it up very eagerly. It was so very, very nice, that the next day her longing for it increased threefold. She could have no peace unless her husband fetched her some more. So in the twilight he set out again ; but when he got over the wall he was terrified to see the Witch before him.
' How dare you come into my garden like a thief, and steal my rampion ? ' she said, with angry looks. ' It shall be the worse for you ! ' 80
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' Alas ! ' he answered, ' be merciful to me ; I am only here from necessity. My wife sees your rampion from the window, and she has such a longing for it, that she would die if she could not get some of it.'
The anger of the Witch abated, and she said to him, ' If it is as you say, I will allow you to take away with you as much rampion as you like, but on one condition. You must give me the child which your wife is about to bring into the world. I will care for it like a mother, and all will be well with it.' In his fear the man consented to everything, and when the baby was born, the Witch appeared, gave it the name of Rapunzel (rampion), and took it away with her.
Raptmzel was the most beautiful child under the sun. When she was twelve years old, the Witch shut her up in a tower which stood in a wood. It had neither staircase nor doors, and only a little window quite high up in the wall. When the Witch wanted to enter the tower, she stood at the foot of it, and cried —
' Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair.'
Rapunzel had splendid long hair, as fine as spun gold. As soon as she heard the voice of the Witch, she imfastened her plaits and twisted them round a hook by the window. They fell twenty ells downwards, and the Witch climbed up by them.
It happened a couple of years later that the King's son rode through the forest, and came close to the tower. From thence he heard a song so lovely, that he stopped to listen. It was Rapunzel, who in her loneUness made her sweet voice resound to pass away the time. The King's son wanted to join her, and he sought for the door of the tower, but there was none to find.
He rode home, but the song had touched his heart so deeply that he went into the forest every day to listen to it. Once, when he was hidden behind a tree, he saw a Witch come to the tower and call out —
' Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair.'
F 81
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
Then Rapunzel lowered her plaits of haii' and the Witch climbed up to her.
' If that is the ladder by which one ascends,' he thought, ' I will try my luck myself.' And the next day, when it began to grow dark, he went to the tower and cried —
' Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair.'
The hair fell down at once, and the King's son climbed up by it.
At first Rapunzel was terrified, for she had never set eyes on a man before, but the King's son talked to her kindly, and told her that his heart had been so deeply touched by her song that he had no peace, and he was obliged to see her. Then Rapunzel lost her fear, and when he asked if she would have him for her husband, and she saw that he was young and handsome, she thought, ' He will love me better than old Mother GotheL' So she said, ' Yes,' and laid her hand in his. She said, ' I will gladly go with you, but I do not know how I am to get down from this tower. When you come, will you bring a skein of silk with you every time. I will twist it into a ladder, and when it is long enough I will descend by it, and you can take me away with you on your horse.'
She arranged with him that he should come and see her every evening, for the old Witch came in the daytime.
The Witch discovered nothing, till suddenly Rapunzel said to her, ' Tell me, Mother Gothel, how can it be that you are so much heavier to draw up than the young Prince who will be here before long ? '
' Oh, you wicked child, what do you say ? I thought I had separated you from all the world, and yet you have deceived me.' In her rage she seized Rapunzel's beautiful hair, twisted it twice round her left hand, snatched up a pair of shears and cut off the plaits, which fell to the ground. She was so merciless that she took poor Rapunzel away into a wilderness, where she forced her to live in the greatest grief and misery.
In the evening of the day on which she had banished 82
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Rapunzel, the Witch fastened the plaits which she had cut off to the hook by the window, and when the Prince came and called —
' Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair,' she lowered the hair. The Prince climbed up, but there he found, not his beloved Rapunzel, but the Witch, who looked at him with angry and wicked eyes.
' Ah ! ' she cried mockingly, ' you have come to fetch your ladylove, but the pretty bird is no longer in her nest ; and she can sing no more, for the cat has seized her, and it will scratch your own eyes out too. Rapunzel is lost to you ; you will never see her again.'
The Prince was beside himself with grief, and in his despair he sprang out of the window. He was not killed, but his eyes were scratched out by the thorns among which he fell. He wandered about blind in the wood, and had nothing but roots and berries to eat. He did nothing but weep and lament over the loss of his beloved wife Rapunzel. In this way he wandered about for some years, till at last he reached the wilderness where Rapunzel had been living in great poverty with the twins who had been born to her, a boy and a girl.
He heard a voice which seemed very familiar to him, and he went towards it. Rapunzel knew him at once, and fell weeping upon his neck. Two of her tears fell upon his eyes, and they immediately grew quite clear, and he could see as well as ever.
He took her to his kingdom, where he was received with joy, and they lived long and happily together.
83
Fundevogel
THERE was once a Forester who went into the woods to hunt, and he heard a cry Uke that of a little child. He followed the sound, and at last came to a big tree where a tiny child was sitting high up on one of the top branches. The mother had gone to sleep under the tree, and a bird of prey, seeing the child on her lap, had flown down and carried it off in its beak to the top of the tree.
The Forester climbed the tree and brought down the child, thinking to himself, ' I will take it home, and bring it up with my own little Lina.'
So he took it home, and the two children were brought up together. The foundling was called Fundevogel, because it had been found by a bird. Fundevogel and Lina were so fond of each other, that they could not bear to be out of each other's sight.
Now the Forester had an old Cook, who one evening took two pails, and began carrying water. She did not go once but many times, backwards and forwards to the well.
Lina saw this, and said : ' Dear me, Sanna, why are you carrying so much water ? '
' If thou wilt not tell any one, I will tell thee why.'
Lina said no, she would not tell any one.
So then the Cook said : ' To-morrow morning early, when the Forester goes out hunting, I am going to boil the water, and when it bubbles in the kettle, I am going to throw Fundevogel into it to boil him.'
Next morning the Forester got up very early, and went out hunting, leaving the children still in bed. 84
She did not go once but many times, backwards and forwards to the well.
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
Then said Lina to Fundevogel : ' Never forsake me, and I will never forsake thee.'
And Fundevogel answered : ' I will never forsake thee.'
Then Lina said : ' I must tell thee now. Old Sanna brought in so many pails of water last night, that I asked her what she was doing. She said if I would not tell anybody, she would tell me what it was for. So I promised not to tell anybody, and she said that in the morning, when the father had gone out hunting, she would fill the kettle, and when it was boiling, she would throw thee into it and boil thee. Now we must get up quickly, dress otu-selves, and run away.'
So the children got up, dressed qviickly, and left the house.
When the water boiled, the Cook went to their bedroom to fetch Fundevogel to throw him into it. But when she entered the room, and went up to the bed, both the children were gone. She was terribly frightened, and said to herself : ' Whatever am I to say to the Forester when he comes home and finds the children gone ? We must hurry after them and get them back.' So the Cook despatched three men-servants to catch up the children and bring them back.
The children were sitting near a wood, and when they saw the three men a great way off, Lina said to Fundevogel, ' Do not forsake me, and I will never forsake thee.'
And Fundevogel answered, ' I will never forsake thee as long as I live.'
Then Lina said, ' Thou must turn into a rosebush, and I will be a rosebud upon it.'
When the three men reached the wood, they found nothing but a rosebush with one rosebud on it ; no children were to be seen. They said to each other, ' There is nothing to be done here.' And they went home and told the Cook that they had seen nothing whatever but a rosebush, with one rosebud on it.
The old Cook scolded them, and said : ' You boobies, you ought to have hacked the rosebush to pieces, broken off the bud, and brought it home to me. Off with you at once and do it.' So they had to start off again on the search. 86
FUNDEVOGEL
But the children saw them a long way off, and Lina said to Fundevogel, ' Do not forsake me, and I will never forsake thee.'
Fundevogel said : ' I will never forsake thee as long as I live.'
Then said Lina : ' Thou must become a church, and I will be the chandelier in it.'
Now when the three men came up they found nothing but a church with a chandelier in it ; and they said to each other : ' What are we to do here ? We had better go home again.'
When they reached the house, the Cook asked if they had not found anything. They said : ' Nothing but a church with a chandelier in it.'
' You fools,' screamed the Cook, ' why did you not destroy the church and bring me the chandelier ? ' Then the old Cook put her best foot foremost, and started herself with the three men in pursuit of the children.
But the children saw the three men in the distance, and the old Cook waddhng behind them. Then said Lina : ' Funde- vogel, do not forsake me, and I will never forsake thee.'
And he said : ' I will never forsake thee as long as I live.'
Lina said : ' Thou must become a pond, and I will be the duck swimming upon it.'
When the Cook reached the pond, she lay down beside it to drink it up, but the duck swam quickly forward, seized her head with his bill and dragged her under water ; so the old witch was drowned.
Then the children went home together as happy as possible, and if they are not dead yet, then they are still alive.
87
The Valiant Tailor
A TAILOR was sitting on his table at the window one summer morning. He was a good fellow, and stitched with all his might. A peasant woman came down the street, crying, ' Good jam for sale ! good jam for sale ! '
This had a pleasant sound in the Tailor's ears ; he put his pale face out of the window, and cried, ' You '11 find a sale for your wares up here, good Woman.'
The Woman went up the three steps to the Tailor, with the heavy basket on her head, and he made her unpack all her pots. He examined them all, lifted them up, smelt them, and at last said, ' The jam seems good ; weigh me out four ounces, good Woman, and should it come over the quarter poimd, it will be all the same to me.'
The Woman, who had hoped for a better sale, gave him what he asked for, but went away cross, and grumbling to herself.
' That jam will be a blessing to me,' cried the Tailor ; 'it will give me strength and power.' He brought his bread out of the cupboard, cut a whole slice, and spread the jam on it. ' It won't be a bitter morsel,' said he, ' but I will finish this waistcoat before I stick my teeth into it.'
He put the bread down by his side, and went on with his semng, but in his joy the stitches got bigger and bigger. The smell of the jam rose to the wall, where the flies were clustered in swarms, and tempted them to come down, and they settled on the jam in masses.
' Ah ! who invited you ? ' cried the Tailor, chasing away his unbidden guests. But the flies, who did not understand 88
THE VALIANT TAILOR
his language, were not to be got rid of so easily, and came back in greater numbers than ever. At last the Tailor came to the end of his patience, and seizing a bit of cloth, he cried, ' Wait a bit, and I '11 give it you ! ' So saying, he struck out at them mercilessly. When he looked, he found no fewer than seven dead and motionless. ' So that's the kind of fellow you are,' he said, admiring his own valour. 'The whole town shall know of this.'
In great haste he cut out a belt for himself, and stitched on it, in big letters, ' Seven at one blow ! ' ' The town ! ' he then said, ' the whole world shall know of it ! ' And his heart wagged for very joy like the tail of a lamb. The Tailor fastened the belt round his waist, and wanted to start out into the world at once ; he found his workshop too small for his valour. Before starting, he searched the house to see if there was anything to take with him. He only found an old cheese, but this he put into his pocket. By the gate he saw a bird entangled in a thicket, and he put that into his pocket with the cheese. Then he boldly took to the road, and as he was light and active, he felt no fatigue. The road led up a mountain, and when he reached the highest point, he found a huge Giant sitting there comfortably looking round him.
The Tailor went pluckily up to him, and addressed him.
' Good-day, Comrade, you are sitting there surveying the
89
Wait a bit, and I'll give it you !
.So saying, he struck out at
them mercilessly.
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
wide world, I suppose. I am just on my way to try my luck. Do you feel inclined to go with me ? '
The Giant looked scornfully at the Tailor, and said, ' You jackanapes ! you miserable ragamuffin ! '
' That may be,' said the Tailor, unbuttoning his coat and showing the Giant his belt. ' You may just read what kind of fellow I am.'
The Giant read, ' Seven at one blow,' and thought that it was people the Tailor had slain ; so it gave him a certain amovmt of respect for the little fellow. Still, he thought he would try him ; so he picked up a stone and squeezed it till the water dropped out of it.
' Do that,' he said, ' if you have the strength.'
' No more than that ! ' said the Tailor ; ' why, it 's a mere joke to me.'
He put his hand into his pocket, and pulling out the bit of soft cheese, he squeezed it till the moisture ran out.
' I guess that will equal you,' said he.
The Giant did not know what to say, and could not have believed it of the little man.
Then the Giant picked up a stone, and threw it up so high that one could scarcely follow it with the eye.
' Now, then, you sample of a inannikin, do that after me.'
' Well thrown ! ' said the Tailor, ' but the stone fell to the ground again. Now I will throw one for you which will never come back again.'
So saying, he put his hand into his pocket, took out the bird, and threw it into the air. The bird, rejoiced at its freedom, soared into the air, and was never seen again.
' What do you think of that. Comrade ? ' asked the Tailor.
' You can certainly throw ; but now we will see if you are in a condition to carry anything,' said the Giant.
He led the Tailor to a mighty oak which had been felled, and which lay upon the ground.
' If you are strong enough, help me out of the wood with this tree,' he said. 90
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THE VALIANT TAILOR
' Willingly,' answered the little man. ' You take the trunk on your shoulder, and I will take the branches ; they must certainly be the heaviest.'
The Giant accordingly took the trunk on his shoulder; but the Tailor seated himself on one of the branches, and the Giant, who could not look round, had to carry the whole tree, and the Tailor into the bargain. The Tailor was very merry on the end of the tree, and whistled ' Three Tailors rode merrily out of the town,' as if tree-carrying were a joke to him.
When the Giant had carried the tree some distance, he could go no further, and exclaimed, ' Look oiit, I am going to drop the tree.'
The Tailor sprang to the ground with great agility, and seized the tree with both arms, as if he had been carrying it all the time. He said to the Giant : ' Big fellow as you are, you can't carry a tree.'
After a time they went on together, and when they came to a cherry-tree, the Giant seized the top branches, where the cherries ripened first, bent them down, put them in the Tailor's hand, and told him to eat. The Tailor, however, was much too weak to hold the tree, and when the Giant let go, the tree sprang back, carrying the Tailor with it into the air. When he reached the ground again, Avithout any injury, the Giant said, ' What 's this ? Haven't you the strength to hold a feeble sapling ? '
' It 's not strength that 's wanting,' answered the Tailor. ' Do you think that would be anything to one who killed seven at a blow ? I sprang over the tree because some sportsmen were shooting among the bushes. Spring after me if you like.'
The Giant made the attempt, but he could not clear the tree, and stuck among the branches. So here, too, the Tailor had the advantage of him.
The Giant said, ' If you are such a gallant fellow, come with me to our cave, and stay the night with us.'
The Tailor was quite willing, and went with him. When
91
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
they reached the cave, they found several other Giants sitting round a fire, and each one held a roasted sheep in his hand, which he was eating. The Tailor looked about him, and thought, ' It is much more roomy here than in my workshop.'
The Giant showed him a bed, and told him to lie down and have a good sleep. The bed was much too big for the Tailor, so he did not lie down in it, but crept into a corner. At midnight, when the Giant thought the Tailor would be in a heavy sleep, he got up, took a big oak club, and with one blow crashed right through the bed, and thought he had put an end to the grasshopper. Early in the morning the Giants went out into the woods, forgetting all about the Tailor, when all at once he appeared before them, as lively as possible. They were terrified, and thinking he would strike them all dead, they ran off as fast as ever they could.
The Tailor went on his way, always following his own pointed nose. When he had walked for a long time, he came to the courtyard of a royal palace. He was so tired that he lay down on the grass and went to sleep. While he lay and slept, the people came and inspected him on all sides, and they read on his belt, ' Seven at one blow.' ' Alas ! ' they said, ' why does this great warrior come here in time of peace ; he must be a mighty man.'
They went to the King and told him about it ; and they were of opinion that, should war break out, he would be a useful and powerful man, who should on no account be allowed to depart. This advice pleased the King, and he sent one of his courtiers to the Tailor to offer him a military appointment when he woke up. The messenger remained standing by the Tailor, till he opened his eyes and stretched himself, and then he made the offer.
' For that very purpose have I come,' said the Tailor. ' I am quite ready to enter the King's service.'
So he was received with honour, and a special dAvelling was assigned to him.
The Soldiers, however, bore him a grudge, and wished him 92
THE VALIANT TAILOR
a thousand miles away. ' What will be the end of it ? ' they said to each other. ' When we quarrel with him, and he strikes out, seven of us will fall at once. One of us can't cope with him.' So they took a resolve, and went all together to the King, and asked for their discharge. ' We are not made,' said they, ' to hold our own with a man who strikes seven at one blow.'
It grieved the King to lose all his faithful servants for the sake of one man ; he wished he had never set eyes on the Tailor, and was quite ready to let him go. He did not dare, however, to give him his dismissal, for he was afraid that he would kill him and all his people, and place himself on the throne. He pondered over it for a long time, and at last he thought of a plan. He sent for the Tailor, and said that as he was so great a warrior, he would make him an offer. In a forest in his kingdom lived two giants, who, by robbery, murder, burning, and laying waste, did much harm. No one dared approach them without being in danger of his life. If he could subdue and kill these two Giants, he would give him his only daughter to be his wife, and half his kingdom as a dowry ; also he would give him a hundred Horsemen to accompany and help him.
' That would be something for a man like me,' thought the Tailor. ' A beautiful Prixicess and half a kingdom are not offered to one every day.' ' Oh yes,' was his answer, ' I will soon subdue the Giants, and that without the hundred Horse- men. He who slays seven at a blow need not fear two.' The Tailor set out at once, accompanied by the hundred Horse- men ; but when he came to the edge of the forest, he said to his followers, ' Wait here, I will soon make an end of the Giants by myself.'
Then he disappeared into the wood ; he looked about to the right and to the left. Before long he espied both the Giants lying under a tree fast asleep, and snoring. Their snores were so tremendous that they made the branches of the tree dance up and down. The Tailor, who was no fool,
98
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
filled his pockets with stones, and climbed up the tree. When he got half-way up, he slipped on to a branch just above the sleepers, and then hurled the stones, one after another, on to one of them.
It was some time before the Giant noticed anything ; then he woke up, pushed his companion, and said, ' What are you hitting me for ? '
' You 're dreaming,' said the other. ' I didn't hit you.' They went to sleep again, and the Tailor threw a stone at the other one. ' What 's that ? ' he cried. ' What are you throwing at me ? '
' I 'm not throwing anything,' answered the first one, with a growl.
They quarrelled over it for a time, but as they were sleepy, they made it up, and their eyes closed again.
The Tailor began his game again, picked out his biggest stone, and threw it at the first Giant as hard as he could.
' This is too bad,' said the Giant, flying up like a madman. He pushed his companion against the tree with such violence that it shook. The other paid him back in the same coin, and they worked themselves up into such a rage that they tore up trees by the roots, and hacked at each other till they both fell dead upon the ground.
Then the Tailor jumped down from his perch. ' It was very lucky,' he said, ' that they did not tear up the tree I was sitting on, or I should have had to spring on to another like a squirrel, but we are nimble fellows.' He drew his sword, and gave each of the Giants two or three cuts in the chest. Then he went out to the Horsemen, and said, ' The work is done. I have given both of them the finishing stroke, but it was a difficult job. In their distress they tore trees up by the root to defend themselves ; but all that 's no good when a man like me comes, who slays seven at a blow.'
' Are you not wounded ? ' then asked the Horsemen.
' There was no danger,' answered the Tailor. ' Not a hair of my head was touched.' 94
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THE VALIANT TAILOR
The Horsemen would not believe him, and rode into the forest to see. There, right enough, lay the Giants in pools of blood, and, round about them, the uprooted trees.
The Tailor now demanded his promised reward from the King ; but he, in the meantime, had repented of this promise, and was again trying to think of a plan to shake him off.
' Before I give you my daughter and the half of my kingdom, you must perform one more doughty deed. There is a Unicorn which runs about in the forests doing vast damage ; you must capture it.'
' I have even less fear of one Unicorn than of two Giants. Seven at one stroke is my style.' He took a rope and an axe, and went into the wood, and told his followers to stay outside. He did not have long to wait. The Unicorn soon appeared, and dashed towards the Tailor, as if it meant to run him through with its horn on the spot. ' Softly, softly,' cried the Tailor. ' Not so fast.' He stood still, and waited till the animal got quite near, and then he very nimbly dodged behind a tree. The Unicorn rushed at the tree, and ran its horn so hard into the trunk that it had not strength to pull it out again, and so it was caught. ' Now I have the prey,' said the Tailor, coming from behind the tree. He fastened the rope round the creature's neck, and, with his axe, released the horn from the tree. When this was done he led the animal away, and took it to the King.
Still the King would not give him the promised reward, but made a third demand of him. Before the marriage, the Tailor must catch a Boar which did much damage in the woods : the Huntsmen were to help him,
' Willingly,' said the Tailor. ' That will be mere child's play.'
He did not take the Huntsmen into the wood with him, at which they were well pleased, for they had already more than once had such a reception from the Boar that they had no wish to encounter him again. When the Boar saw the Tailor, it flew at him with foaming mouth, and, gnashing its teeth,
95
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
tried to throw him to the ground ; but the nimble hero darted into a Uttle chapel which stood near. He jumped out again immediately by the window. The Boar rushed in after the Tailor ; but he by this time was hopping about outside, and quickly shut the door upon the Boar. So the raging animal was caught, for it was far too heavy and clumsy to jump out of the window. The Tailor called the Huntsmen up to see the captive with their own eyes.
The hero then went to the King, who was now obliged to keep his word, whether he liked it or not ; so he handed over his daughter and half his kingdom to him. Had he known that it was no warrior but only a Tailor who stood before him, he would have taken it even more to heart. The marriage was held with much pomp, but little joy, and a King was made out of a Tailor.
After a time the young Queen heard her husband talking in his sleep, and sajdng, ' Apprentice, bring me the waistcoat, and patch the trousers, or I will break the yard measure over your head.' So in this manner she discovered the young gentleman's origin. In the morning she complained to the King, and begged him to rid her of a husband who was nothing more than a Tailor.
The King comforted her, and said, ' To-night, leave your bedroom door open. My servants shall stand outside, and when he is asleep they shall go in and bind him. They shall then carry him away, and put him on board a ship which will take him far away.'
The lady was satisfied with this ; but the Tailor's armour- bearer, who was attached to his young lord, told him the whole plot.
' I will put a stop to their plan,' said the Tailor.
At night he went to bed as usual with his wife. When she thought he was asleep, she got up, opened the door, and went to bed again. The Tailor, who had only pretended to be asleep, began to cry out in a clear voice, ' Apprentice, bring me the waistcoat, and you patch the trousers, or I will break 96
THE VALIANT TAILOR
the yard measure over your head. I have slain seven at a blow, killed two Giants, led captive a Unicorn, and caught a Boar ; should I be afraid of those who are standing outside my chamber door ? '
When they heard the Tailor speaking like this, the servants were overcome by fear, and ran away as if wild animals were after them, and none of them would venture near him again.
So the Tailor remained a King till the day of his death.
97
Hansel and Grethel
CLOSE to a large forest there lived a Woodcutter with his Wife and his two children. The boy was called Hansel, and the girl Grethel. They were always very poor, and had very little to live on ; and at one time, when there was famine in the land, he could no longer procure daily bread.
One night he lay in bed worrying over his troubles, and he sighed and said to his Wife : ' What is to become of us ? How are we to feed our poor children when we have nothing for ourselves ? '
' I '11 tell you what. Husband,' answered the Woman, ' to-morrow morning we will take the children out quite early into the thickest part of the forest. We will light a fire, and give each of them a piece of bread ; then we will go to our work and leave them alone. They won't be able to find their way back, and so we shall be rid of them.'
' Nay, Wife,' said the Man ; ' we won't do that. I could never find it in my heart to leave my children alone in the forest ; the wild animals would soon tear them to pieces.'
' What a fool you are ! ' she said. ' Then we must all four die of hunger. You may as well plane the boards for our coffins at once.'
She gave him no peace till he consented. ' But I grieve over the poor children all the same,' said the Man,
The two children could not go to sleep for hunger either, and they heard what their Stepmother said to their Father.
Grethel wept bitterly, and said : ' All is over with us now I '
' Be quiet, Grethel ! ' said Hansel. ' Don't cry ; I will find some way out of it.' 98
HANSEL AND GRETHEL
When the old people had gone to sleep, he got up, put on his little coat, opened the door, and slipped out. The moon was shining brightly, and the white pebbles round the house shone like newly-minted coins. Hansel stooped down and put as many into his pockets as they would hold.
Then he went back to Grethel, and said : ' Take comfort, little sister, and go to sleep. God won't forsake us.' And then he went to bed again.
When the day broke, before the sun had risen, the Woman came and said : ' Get up, you lazybones ; we are going into the forest to fetch wood.'
Then she gave them each a piece of bread, and said : ' Here is something for your dinner, but mind you don't eat it before, for you '11 get no more.'
Grethel put the bread under her apron, for Hansel had the stones in his pockets. Then they all started for the forest.
When they had gone a little way. Hansel stopped and looked back at the cottage, and he did the same thing again and again.
His Father said : ' Hansel, what are you stopping to look back at ? Take care, and put your best foot foremost.'
' O Father ! ' said Hansel, ' I am looking at my white cat, it is sitting on the roof, wanting to say good-bye to me.'
' Little fool ! that 's no cat, it 's the morning sun shining on the chimney.'
But Hansel had not been looking at the cat, he had been dropping a pebble on to the ground each time he stopped. When they reached the middle of the forest, their Father said:
' Now, children, pick up some wood, I want to make a fire to warm you.'
Hansel and Grethel gathered the twigs together and soon made a huge pile. Then the pile was lighted, and when it blazed up, the Woman said : ' Now lie down by the fire and rest yourselves while we go and cut wood ; when we have finished we will come back to fetch you.'
Hansel and Grethel sat by the fire, and when dinner-time came they each ate their little bit of bread, and they thought
99
' Hansel picked up the glittering white pebbles and filled bis pockets with them.
HANSEL AND GRETHEL
their Father was quite near because they could hear the sound of an axe. It was no axe, however, but a branch which the Man had tied to a dead tree, and which blew backwards and forwards against it. They sat there such a long time that they got tired, their eyes began to close, and they were soon fast asleep.
When they woke it was dark night. Grethel began to cry : ' How shall we ever get out of the wood ! '
But Hansel comforted her, and said : ' Wait a little till the moon rises, then we Avill soon find our way.'
When the full moon rose, Hansel took his little sister's hand, and they walked on, guided by the pebbles, which glittered like newly-coined money. They walked the whole night, and at daybreak they found themselves back at their Father's cottage.
They knocked at the door, and when the Woman opened it and saw Hansel and Grethel, she said : ' You bad children, why did you sleep so long in the wood ? We thought you did not mean to come back any more.'
But their Father was delighted, for it had gone to his heart to leave them behind alone.
Not long after they were again in great destitution, and the children heard the Woman at night in bed say to their Father : ' We have eaten up everything again but half a loaf, and then we are at the end of everything. The children must go away ; we will take them further into the forest so that they won't be able to find their way back. There is nothing else to be done.'
The Man took it much to heart, and said : ' We had better share our last crust with the children.'
But the Woman would not listen to a Avord he said, she only scolded and reproached him. Any one who once says A must also say B, and as he had given in the first time, he had to do so the second also. The children were again wide awake and heard what was said.
When the old people went to sleep Hansel again got up,
101
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
meaning to go out and get some more pebbles, but the Woman had locked the door and he couldn't get out. But he con- soled his little sister, and said :
' Don't cry, Grethel ; go to sleep. God will help us.'
In the early morning the Woman made the children get up, and gave them each a piece of bread, but it was smaller than the last. On the way to the forest Hansel crumbled it up in his pocket, and stopped every now and then to throw a crumb on to the ground.
' Hansel, what are you stopping to look about you for ? ' asked his Father.
' I am looking at my dove which is sitting on the roof and wants to say good-bye to me,' answered Hansel.
' Little fool ! ' said the Woman, ' that is no dove, it is the morning sun shining on the chimney.'
Nevertheless, Hansel strewed the crumbs from time to time on the ground. The Woman led the children far into the forest where they had never been in their lives before. Again they made a big fire, and the Woman said :
' Stay where you are, children, and when you are tired you may go to sleep for a while. We are going further on to cut wood, and in the evening when we have finished we will come back and fetch you.'
At dinner-time Grethel shared her bread with Hansel, for he had crumbled his up on the road. Then they went to sleep, and the evening passed, but no one came to fetch the poor children.
It was quite dark when they woke up, and Hansel cheered his little sister, and said : ' Wait a bit, Grethel, till the moon rises, then we can see the bread-crumbs which I scattered to show us the way home.'
When the moon rose they started, but they found no bread- crumbs, for all the thousands of birds in the forest had pecked them up and eaten them.
Hansel said to Grethel : ' We shall soon find the Avay.'
But they could not find it. They walked the whole night, 102
HANSEL AND GRETHEL
and all the next day from morning till night, but they could not get out of the wood.
They were very hungry, for they had nothing to eat but a few berries which they found. They were so tired that their legs would not carry them any further, and they lay down under a tree and went to sleep.
When they woke in the morning, it was the third day since they had left their Father's cottage. They started to walk again, but they only got deeper and deeper into the wood, and if no help came they must perish.
At midday they saw a beautiful snow-white bird sitting on a tree. It sang so beautifully that they stood still to listen to it. When it stopped, it fluttered its wings and flew round them. They followed it till they came to a little cottage, on the roof of which it settled itself.
When they got quite near, they saw that the little house was made of bread, and it was roofed with cake ; the windows were transparent sugar.
' This will be something for us,' said Hansel. ' We will have a good meal. I will have a piece of the roof, Grethel, and you can have a bit of the window, it will be nice and sweet.'
Hansel stretched up and broke off a piece of the roof to try what it was like. Grethel went to the window and nibbled at that. A gentle voice called out from within :
' Nibbling, nibbling like a mouse, Who 's nibbling at my little house ? '
The children answered :
' The wind, the wind doth blow From heaven to earth below,'
and went on eating without disturbing themselves. Hansel, who