{"collection":"Northern European Mythology","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/neu/grimm/ht38.htm","path":"neu/grimm/ht38.htm","source_url":"https://sacred-texts.com/neu/grimm/ht38.htm","text":"The Two Kings' Children\nThere was once upon a time a King who had a little boy of whom it had\nbeen foretold that he should be killed by a stag when he was sixteen years of\nage, and, when he had reached that age, the huntsmen once went hunting with\nhim. In the forest, the King's son was separated from the others, and all at\nonce he saw a great stag which he wanted to shoot, but could not hit. At\nlength he chased the stag so far that they were quite out of the forest, and\nthen suddenly a great tall man was standing there instead of the stag, and\nsaid, \"It is well that I have thee, I have already ruined six pairs of glass\nskates with running after thee, and have not been able to get thee.\" Then he\ntook the King's son with him, and dragged him through a great lake to a great\npalace, and then he had to sit down to table with him and eat something. When\nthey had eaten something together, the King said, \"I have three daughters,\nthou must keep watch over the eldest for one night, from nine in the evening\ntill six in the morning, and every time the clock strikes, I will come myself\nand call, and if thou then givest me no answer, to-morrow morning thou shalt\nbe put to death, but if thou always givest me an answer, thou shalt have her\nto wife.\"\nWhen the young folks went to the bed-room, there stood a stone image of\nSt. Christopher, and the King's daughter said to it, \"My father will come at\nnine o'clock, and every hour till it strikes three; when he calls, give him an\nanswer instead of the King's son.\" Then the stone image of St. Christopher\nnodded its head quite quickly, and then more and more slowly till at last it\nstood still. The next morning the King said to him, \"Thou hast done the\nbusiness well, but I cannot give my daughter away, thou must now watch a night\nby my second daughter, and then I will consider with myself whether thou canst\nhave my eldest daughter to wife, but I shall come every hour myself, and when\nI call thee, answer me, and if I call thee and thou dost not reply, thy blood\nshall flow.\" Then they both went into the sleeping-room, and there stood a\nstill larger stone image of St. Christopher, and the King's daughter said to\nit, \"If my father calls, do you answer him.\" Then the great stone image of St.\nChristopher again nodded its head quite quickly and then more and more slowly,\nuntil at last it stood still again. And the King's son lay down on the\nthreshold, put his hand under his head and slept. The next morning the King\nsaid to him, \"Thou hast done the business really well, but I cannot give my\ndaughter away; thou must now watch a night by the youngest princess, and then\nI will consider with myself whether thou canst have my second daughter to\nwife, but I shall come every hour myself, and when I call thee answer me, and\nif I call thee and thou answerest not, thy blood shall flow for me.\"\nThen they once more went to the sleeping-room together, and there was a\nmuch greater and much taller image of St. Christopher than the two first had\nbeen. The King's daughter said to it, \"When my father calls, do thou answer.\"\nThen the great tall stone image of St. Christopher nodded quite half an hour\nwith its head, until at length the head stood still again. And the King's son\nlay down on the threshold of the door and slept. The next morning the King\nsaid, \"Thou hast indeed watched well, but I cannot give thee my daughter now;\nI have a great forest, if thou cuttest it down for me between six o'clock this\nmorning and six at night, I will think about it.\" Then he gave him a glass\naxe, a glass wedge, and a glass mallet. When he got into the wood, he began to\ncut, but the axe broke in two, then he took the wedge, and struck it once with\nthe mallet, and it became as short and as small as sand. Then he was much\ntroubled and believed he would have to die, and sat down and wept.\nNow, when it was noon, the King said, \"One of you girls must take him\nsomething to eat.\" \"No,\" said the two eldest, \"we will not take it to him; the\none by whom he last watched can take him something.\" Then the youngest was\nforced to go and take him something to eat. When she got into the forest, she\nasked him how he was getting on? \"Oh,\" said he, \"I am getting on very badly.\"\nThen she said he was to come and just eat a little. \"Nay,\" said he, \"I cannot\ndo that, I shall still have to die, so I will eat no more.\" Then she spoke so\nkindly to him and begged him just to try, that he came and ate something. When\nhe had eaten something she said, \"I will comb thy hair a while, and then thou\nwilt feel happier.\"\nSo she combed his hair, and he became weary and fell asleep, and then she\ntook her handkerchief and made a knot in it, and struck it three times on the\nearth, and said, \"Earth-workers, come forth.\" In a moment, numbers of little\nearth-men came forth, and asked what the King's daughter commanded? Then\nsaid she, \"In three hours' time the great forest must be cut down, and the\nwhole of the wood laid in heaps.\" So the little earth-men went about and got\ntogether the whole of their kindred to help them with the work. They began at\nonce, and when the three hours were over, all was done, and they came back to\nthe King's daughter and told her so. Then she took her white handkerchief\nagain and said, \"Earth-workers, go home.\" On this they all disappeared.\nWhen the King's son awoke, he was delighted, and she said, \"Come home\nwhen it has struck six o'clock.\" He did as she told him, and then the King\nasked, \"Hast thou made away with the forest?\" \"Yes,\" said the King's son. When\nthey were sitting at table, the King said, \"I cannot yet give thee my daughter\nto wife, thou must still do something more for her sake.\" So he asked what it\nwas to be, then? \"I have a great fish-pond,\" said the King. \"Thou must go to\nit tomorrow morning and clear it of all mud until it is as bright as a mirror,\nand fill it with every kind of fish.\" The next morning the King gave him a\nglass shovel and said, \"The fish-pond must be done by six o'clock.\" So he\nwent away, and when he came to the fish-pond he stuck his shovel in the mud\nand it broke in two, then he stuck his hoe in the mud, and broke it also. Then\nhe was much troubled. At noon the youngest daughter brought him something to\neat, and asked him how he was getting on? So the King's son said everything\nwas going very ill with him, and he would certainly have to lose his head. \"My\ntools have broken to pieces again.\" \"Oh,\" said she, \"thou must just come and\neat something, and then thou wilt be in another frame of mind.\" \"No,\" said he,\n\"I cannot eat, I am far too unhappy for that!\" Then she gave him many good\nwords until at last he came and ate something. Then she combed his hair again,\nand he fell asleep, so once more she took her handkerchief, tied a knot in it,\nand struck the ground thrice with the knot, and said, \"Earth-workers, come\nforth.\" In a moment a great many little earth-men came and asked what she\ndesired, and she told them that in three hours' time they must have the fish -\npond entirely cleaned out, and it must be so clear that people could see\nthemselves reflected in it, and every kind of fish must be in it. The little\nearth-men went away and summoned all their kindred to help them, and in two\nhours it was done. Then they returned to her and said, \"We have done as thou\nhast commanded.\" The King's daughter took the handkerchief and once more\nstruck thrice on the ground with it, and said, \"Earth-workers, go home\nagain.\" Then they all went away.\nWhen the King's son awoke, the fish-pond was done. Then the King's\ndaughter went away also, and told him that when it was six he was to come to\nthe house. When he arrived at the house the King asked, \"Hast thou got the\nfish-pond done?\" \"Yes,\" said the King's son. That was very good.\nWhen they were again sitting at table, the King said, \"Thou hast\ncertainly done the fish-pond, but I cannot give thee my daughter yet; thou\nmust just do one thing more.\" What is that, then?\" asked the King's son. The\nKing said he had a great mountain on which there was nothing but briars which\nmust all be cut down, and at the top of it the youth must build up a great\ncastle, which must be as strong as could be conceived, and all the furniture\nand fittings belonging to a castle must be inside it. And when he arose next\nmorning the King gave him a glass axe and a glass gimlet with him, and he was\nto have all done by six o'clock. As he was cutting down the first briar with\nthe axe, it broke off short, and so small that the pieces flew all round\nabout, and he could not use the gimlet either. Then he was quite miserable,\nand waited for his dearest to see if she would not come and help him in his\nneed. When it was mid-day she came and brought him something to eat. He went\nto meet her and told her all, and ate something, and let her comb his hair and\nfell asleep. Then she once more took the knot and struck the earth with it,\nand said, \"Earth-workers, come forth!\" Then came once again numbers of earth\n- men, and asked what her desire was. Then said she, \"In the space of three\nhours they must cut down the whole of the briars, and a castle must be built\non the top of the mountain that must be as strong as any one could conceive,\nand all the furniture that pertains to a castle must be inside it. They went\naway, and summoned their kindred to help them and when the time was come, all\nwas ready. Then they came to the King's daughter and told her so, and the\nKing's daughter took her handkerchief and struck thrice on the earth with it,\nand said \"Earth-workers, go home,\" on which they all disappeared. When\ntherefore the King's son awoke and saw everything done, he was as happy as a\nbird in air.\nWhen it had struck six, they went home together. Then said the King, \"Is\nthe castle ready?\" \"Yes,\" said the King's son. When they sat down to table,\nthe King said, \"I cannot give away my youngest daughter until the two eldest\nare married.\" Then the King's son and the King's daughter were quite troubled,\nand the King's son had no idea what to do. But he went by night to the King's\ndaughter and ran away with her. When they had got a little distance away, the\nKing's daughter peeped round and saw her father behind her. \"Oh,\" said she,\n\"what are we to do? My father is behind us, and will take us back with him. I\nwill at once change thee into a briar, and myself into a rose, and I will\nshelter myself in the midst of the bush.\" When the father reached the place,\nthere stood a briar with one rose on it, then he was about to gather the rose,\nwhen the thorn came and pricked his finger so that he was forced to go home\nagain. His wife asked why he had not brought their daughter back with him? So\nhe said he had nearly got up to her, but that all at once he had lost sight of\nher, and a briar with one rose was growing on the spot.\nThen said the Queen, \"If thou hadst but gathered the rose, the briar\nwould have been forced to come too.\" So he went back again to fetch the rose,\nbut in the meantime the two were already far over the plain, and the King ran\nafter them. Then the daughter once more looked round and saw her father\ncoming, and said, \"Oh, what shall we do now? I will instantly change thee into\na church and myself into a priest, and I will stand up in the pulpit, and\npreach.\"\nWhen the King got to the place, there stood a church, and in the pulpit was a\npriest preaching. So he listened to the sermon, and then went home again.\nThen the Queen asked why he had not brought their daughter with him, and\nhe said, \"Nay, I ran a long time after her, and just as I thought I should\nsoon overtake her, a church was standing there and a priest was in the pulpit\npreaching.\" \"Thou shouldst just have brought the priest,\" said his wife, \"and\nthen the church would soon have come. It is no use to send thee, I must go\nthere myself.\" When she had walked for some time, and could see the two in the\ndistance, the King's daughter peeped round and saw her mother coming, and\nsaid, \"Now we are undone, for my mother is coming herself: I will immediately\nchange thee into a fish-pond and myself into a fish.\"\nWhen the mother came to the place, there was a large fish-pond, and in\nthe midst of it a fish was leaping about and peeping out of the water, and it\nwas quite merry. She wanted to catch the fish but she could not. Then she was\nvery angry, and drank up the whole pond in order to catch the fish, but it\nmade her so ill that she was forced to vomit, and vomited the whole pond out\nagain. Then she cried, \"I see very well that nothing can be done now,\" and\nsaid that now they might come back to her. Then the King's daughter went back\nagain, and the Queen gave her daughter three walnuts, and said, \"With these\nthou canst help thyself when thou art in thy greatest need.\" So the young\nfolks went once more away together. And, when they had walked quite ten miles,\nthey arrived at the castle from whence the King's son came, and close by it\nwas a village. When they reached it, the King's son said, \"Stay here, my\ndearest, I will just go to the castle, and then will I come with a carriage\nand with attendants to fetch thee.\"\nWhen he got to the castle, they all rejoiced greatly at having the King's\nson back again, and he told them he had a bride who was now in the village,\nand they must go with the carriage to fetch her. Then they harnessed the\nhorses at once, and many attendants seated themselves outside the carriage.\nWhen the King's son was about to get in, his mother gave him a kiss, and he\nforgot everything which had happened, and also what he was about to do. On\nthis his mother ordered the horses to be taken out of the carriage again, and\nevery one went back into the house. But the maiden sat in the village and\nwatched and watched, and thought he would come and fetch her, but no one came.\nThen the King's daughter took service in the mill which belonged to the\ncastle, and was obliged to sit by the pond every afternoon and clean the tubs.\nAnd the Queen came one day on foot from the castle, and went walking by the\npond, and saw the well-grown maiden sitting there, and said, \"What a fine\nstrong girl that is! She pleases me well!\" Then she and all with her looked at\nthe maid, but no one knew her. So a long time passed by during which the\nmaiden served the miller honourably and faithfully. In the meantime, the Queen\nhad sought a wife for her son, who came from quite a distant part of the\nworld. When the bride came, they were at once to be married. And many people\nhurried together, all of whom wanted to see everything. Then the girl said to\nthe miller that he might be so good as to give her leave to go also. So the\nmiller said, \"Yes, do go there.\" When she was about to go, she opened one of\nthe three walnuts, and a beautiful dress lay inside it. She put it on, and\nwent into the church and stood by the altar. Suddenly came the bride and\nbridegroom, and seated themselves before the altar, and when the priest was\njust going to bless them, the bride peeped half round and saw the maiden\nstanding there. Then she stood up again, and said she would not be given away\nuntil she also had as beautiful a dress as that lady there. So they went back\nto the house again, and sent to ask the lady if she would sell that dress. No,\nshe would not sell it, but the bride might perhaps earn it. Then the bride\nasked her how she was to do this? Then the maiden said if she might sleep one\nnight outside the King's son's door, the bride might have what she wanted. So\nthe bride said, \"Yes, she was to do that.\" But the servants were ordered to\ngive the King's son a sleeping drink, and then the maiden laid herself down on\nthe threshold and lamented all night long. She had had the forest cut down for\nhim, she had had the fish-pond cleaned out for him, she had had the castle\nbuilt for him, she had changed him into a briar, and then into a church, and\nat last into a fish-pond, and yet he had forgotten her so quickly. The\nKing's son did not hear one word of it, but the servants had been awakened,\nand had listened to it, and had not known what it could mean. The next morning\nwhen they were all up, the bride put on the dress, and went away to the church\nwith the bridegroom. In the meantime the maiden opened the second walnut, and\na still more beautiful dress was inside it. She put it on, and went and stood\nby the altar in the church, and everything happened as it had happened the\ntime before. And the maiden again lay all night on the threshold which led to\nthe chamber of the King's son, and the servant was once more to give him a\nsleeping-drink. The servant, however, went to him and gave him something to\nkeep him awake, and then the King's son went to bed, and the miller's maiden\nbemoaned herself as before on the threshold of the door, and told of all that\nshe had done. All this the King's son heard, and was sore troubled, and what\nwas passed came back to him. Then he wanted to go to her, but his mother had\nlocked the door. The next morning, however, he went at once to his beloved,\nand told her everything which had happened to him, and prayed her not to be\nangry with him for having forgotten her. Then the King's daughter opened the\nthird walnut, and within it was a still more magnificent dress, which she put\non, and went with her bridegroom to church, and numbers of children came who\ngave them flowers, and offered them gay ribbons to bind about their feet, and\nthey were blessed by the priest, and had a merry wedding. But the false mother\nand the bride had to depart. And the mouth of the person who last told all\nthis is still warm.","title":"The Two Kings' Children","type":"page"}