{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_52521/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_52521","id":"gutenberg_52521","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/52521","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Classics of Literature","Category: German Literature","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Short Stories","Children's stories, German -- Translations into English","Fairy tales","Fairy tales -- Germany"],"text":"[Illustration: HE SAID, \u201cLITTLE TABLE SET THYSELF!\u201d]\n\n\n\n\n GRIMM\u2019S FAIRY\n TALES\n\n EDITED BY\n FRANCES JENKINS OLCOTT\n\n [Illustration]\n\n _Illustrated By\n Rie Cramer_\n\n THE PENN PUBLISHING\n COMPANY PHILADELPHIA\n 1927\n\n\n\n\n COPYRIGHT\n 1922\u00a0\u00a0BY\n THE PENN\n PUBLISHING\n COMPANY\n\n [Illustration]\n\n Grimm\u2019s Fairy Tales\n\n\nPrinted in the U. S. A.\n\n\n\n\nFOREWORD\n\n\nTo our American boys and girls is offered this volume which is really\nGrimm\u2019s _Fairy Tales_, not an abridgment superficial and colorless, nor\nan insipid retelling of the stories.\n\nThis edition is based on the Hunt version, with an introduction by\nthe folk-lorist, Andrew Lang. The Hunt version is considered a most\naccurate English translation.\n\nFrom the full collection, fifty-one stories suitable for children have\nbeen selected. Among these are famous tales as well as many delightful\nones not usually included in children\u2019s volumes.\n\nWhere the Hunt wording is too stilted, the text of the _Hausm\u00e4rchen_\nitself has been followed. The very long sentences have been subdivided.\nWhile that quaint old-fashioned translation, illustrated with woodcuts\nby Wehnert, has contributed its bit of folk phraseology. The Editor\u2019s\ndesire is to restore to the children as large a collection as possible\nof Grimm\u2019s _Fairy Tales_ unmutilated in their literary perfection.\n\nThe illustrations are by the well-known Dutch artist, Mrs. Rie Cramer.\nSome of Rie Cramer\u2019s other fairy tale pictures published in England,\nare said by admiring critics there, to be very charming, of exceptional\nmerit, and to have high artistic merit of their own.\n\nHer illustrations for Grimm are particularly harmonious in color,\nwhile their quaint charm grows on one more and more as one lives with\nthem. They are fanciful or humorous. They have the quality, rare in\nfairy tales, of actually illustrating their text. This will mean added\npleasure to the children. Rie Cramer\u2019s little black and white headings\nare particularly pretty and graceful in outline.\n\nThe tales are presented here in their original form, with nothing left\nout of child-heartedness, humor, poetic feeling, and delicate sentiment\nand fancy. Indeed, it is all here--the poesy and purity which those\nprofound and child-loving scholars, the Brothers Grimm, retained in the\nold folk-tales which, with so much pains, they gathered largely from\namong the peasant-folk themselves.\n\nAnd the Brothers explained, in their preface, that they had planned the\nvolume as an educational book as well as one for scholars; for which\nreason they had eliminated everything which they feared might harm the\nchildren. But since the Brothers issued their book, about a hundred\nyears ago, educational requirements of what is ethically best for\nchildren have materially advanced. Therefore, in this book, a few other\nparts unsuitable for children have been omitted.\n\nSo now this volume of Grimm\u2019s _Fairy Tales_ is offered to our American\nboys and girls; and may they have continued delight in the beautiful\nold folk-fictions, which have come down to us from the fresh and\nsparkling meadows and woods of ancient days.\n\nFathers and mothers, too, will enjoy reading the tales aloud and\nsharing with the children the humor and the deep but simple ethical\ntruths so tenderly and poetically set forth therein.\n\nTeachers and story-tellers, also, may find in this sincere version,\nrich material for kindling the imagination and feeding the poetic fancy\nof their pupils.\n\n The Editor,\n FRANCES JENKINS OLCOTT.\n\n\n\n\nACKNOWLEDGMENTS\n\n\nThe Editor\u2019s acknowledgments are due to the following texts:\n\n_Kinder und Hausm\u00e4rchen_, following the last edition authorized by\nWilliam Grimm with the Grimm Introduction on the origin and educational\nuse of the tales.\n\n_Household Stories_, illustrated by Wehnert, first published in London,\n1853.\n\nBut most especially to _Household Tales_, with the Author\u2019s notes,\ntranslated by Margaret Hunt, introduction by Andrew Lang, Bohn Library.\n\nFor the use of the Hunt text the Editor gratefully acknowledges the\ngracious permission of Messrs. Harcourt, Brace and Company, American\nPublishers of the Bohn Library.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\n PAGE\n THE FROG-KING; OR, IRON HENRY 13\n\n THE WOLF AND THE SEVEN LITTLE KIDS 19\n\n RAPUNZEL 24\n\n LITTLE BROTHER AND LITTLE SISTER 30\n\n THE STAR-MONEY 39\n\n THE FISHERMAN AND HIS WIFE 41\n\n THE WHITE SNAKE 53\n\n HAENSEL AND GRETHEL 59\n\n THE SEVEN RAVENS 69\n\n ASH-MAIDEN 73\n\n THE ELVES AND THE SHOEMAKER 83\n\n THE THREE BROTHERS 86\n\n LITTLE TABLE SET THYSELF, GOLD-ASS, AND CUDGEL OUT OF THE SACK 89\n\n IRON JOHN 105\n\n CLEVER ELSIE 117\n\n THE BREMEN TOWN-MUSICIANS 122\n\n THE SIX SWANS 127\n\n THE POOR MILLER\u2019S BOY AND THE CAT 134\n\n LITTLE RED-CAP 140\n\n KING THRUSHBEARD 145\n\n THE GOLD-CHILDREN 151\n\n LITTLE SNOW-WHITE 159\n\n RUMPELSTILTSKIN 171\n\n LITTLE BRIAR-ROSE 176\n\n THE THREE LITTLE MEN IN THE WOOD 181\n\n THE GOLDEN BIRD 187\n\n THE QUEEN BEE 197\n\n BIRD-FOUND 200\n\n THE GOLDEN GOOSE 204\n\n MOTHER HOLLE 208\n\n THE TWO TRAVELERS 213\n\n JORINDA AND JORINGEL 228\n\n HOW SIX MEN GOT ON IN THE WORLD 232\n\n THE GOOSE-GIRL 240\n\n THE SINGING, SOARING LARK 249\n\n DOCTOR KNOWALL 257\n\n THE BLUE LIGHT 260\n\n THE SPINDLE, THE SHUTTLE, AND THE NEEDLE 267\n\n THE THREE LUCK-CHILDREN 272\n\n THE DONKEY CABBAGES 276\n\n CLEVER HANS 285\n\n THE IRON STOVE 291\n\n SWEET PORRIDGE 299\n\n SNOW-WHITE AND ROSE-RED 301\n\n THE HEDGE-KING 310\n\n ONE-EYE, TWO-EYES, AND THREE-EYES 314\n\n THE GOOSE-GIRL AT THE WELL 325\n\n THE SHOES THAT WERE DANCED TO PIECES 338\n\n THE NIX OF THE MILL-POND 344\n\n THE LITTLE HOUSE IN THE WOOD 352\n\n MAID MALEEN 360\n\n\n\n\nILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\n PAGE\n He Said, \u201cLittle Table Set Thyself!\u201d _Frontispiece_\n\n The Little Kids Cried, \u201cFirst Show Us Your Paws\u201d 20\n\n The King Said, \u201cWill You Be My Dear Wife?\u201d 35\n\n \u201cYes,\u201d Said She, \u201cNow I Am Emperor\u201d 48\n\n There Lay the Gold Ring in the Shell 57\n\n Each Star Sat on Its Own Little Chair 71\n\n The Elves Began to Stitch, Sew, and Hammer 84\n\n The King\u2019s Daughter Pulled Off His Hat, and His Golden Hair\n Rolled Down 111\n\n The Princess Went Out and Gathered Star-Flowers 130\n\n \u201cWell,\u201d She Laughed, \u201cHe Has a Chin Like a Thrush\u2019s Beak\u201d 146\n\n The Maiden Said, \u201cI Will Be True to You, Your Life Long\u201d 155\n\n \u201cPerhaps,\u201d Said She, \u201cYour Name is Rumpelstiltskin?\u201d 174\n\n In the Moonlight He Saw a Bird Whose Feathers Were Shining\n with Gold 188\n\n A Heavy Shower of Gold-Rain Fell 210\n\n The Eldest Got the Merry Tailor for a Husband 227\n\n The Head Answered, \u201cAlas! Young Queen How Ill You Fare\u201d 244\n\n The First Servant Came With a Dish of Delicate Fare 258\n\n When the Corn Was Ripe, They Shot It Down 273\n\n Then the King\u2019s Daughter Came to a Little House and Peeped\n in Through the Window 294\n\n \u201cDon\u2019t Be Impatient,\u201d Said Snow-White, \u201cI Will Help You\u201d 306\n\n When the Gray Mask Fell Off, the Golden Hair Broke Forth\n Like Sunbeams 333\n\n The Full Moon Came: She Combed Her Long Black Hair With\n the Golden Comb 348\n\n The Prince Took Her by the Hand and Led Her to Church 363\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nGRIMM\u2019S FAIRY TALES\n\n\n\n\nTHE FROG-KING; OR, IRON HENRY\n\n\nIn old times, when wishing was having, there lived a King whose\ndaughters were all beautiful, but the youngest was so beautiful that\nthe sun itself, which has seen so much, was astonished whenever it\nshone in her face.\n\nClose by the King\u2019s castle lay a great dark forest, and under an old\nlime-tree in the forest, was a fountain. When the day was very warm,\nthe King\u2019s Child went out into the forest and sat down by the side of\nthe cool fountain, and when she was dull she took a golden ball, and\nthrew it up in the air and caught it. And this ball was her favorite\nplaything.\n\nNow, it so happened one day, the King\u2019s Daughter\u2019s golden ball did not\nfall into the little hand which she was holding up for it, but on to\nthe ground, and rolled straight into the water. The King\u2019s Daughter\nfollowed it with her eyes; but it vanished, and the well was deep, so\ndeep that the bottom could not be seen. On this she began to cry, and\ncried louder and louder, and could not be comforted.\n\nAnd as she thus lamented, some one said to her, \u201cWhat ails you, King\u2019s\nDaughter? You weep so that even a stone would show pity.\u201d\n\nShe looked round to the side from whence the voice came, and saw\na Frog stretching its thick, ugly head from the water. \u201cAh! old\nwater-splasher, is it you?\u201d said she; \u201cI am weeping for my golden ball,\nwhich has fallen into the fountain.\u201d\n\n\u201cBe quiet, and do not weep,\u201d answered the Frog, \u201cI can help you. But\nwhat will you give me if I bring your plaything up again?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhatever you will have, dear Frog,\u201d said she--\u201cmy clothes, my pearls\nand jewels, and even the golden crown which I am wearing.\u201d\n\nThe Frog answered, \u201cI do not care for your clothes, your pearls and\njewels, or your golden crown, but if you will love me and let me be\nyour companion and playfellow, and sit by you at your little table, and\neat off your little golden plate, and drink out of your little cup, and\nsleep in your little bed--if you will promise me this, I will go down\nbelow, and bring your golden ball up again.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, yes,\u201d said she, \u201cI promise you all you wish, if you will but bring\nmy ball back again.\u201d She, however, thought, \u201cHow the silly Frog does\ntalk! He lives in the water with the other frogs and croaks, and can be\nno companion to any human being!\u201d\n\nBut the Frog, when he had received this promise, put his head into the\nwater and sank down. In a short time he came swimming up again with\nthe ball in his mouth, and threw it on the grass. The King\u2019s Daughter\nwas delighted to see her pretty plaything once more, and picked it up,\nand ran away with it.\n\n\u201cWait, wait,\u201d said the Frog. \u201cTake me with you. I can\u2019t run as you\ncan.\u201d But what did it avail him to scream his _croak, croak,_ after\nher, as loudly as he could? She did not listen to it, but ran home and\nsoon forgot the poor Frog, who was forced to go back into his fountain\nagain.\n\nThe next day, when she had seated herself at table with the King\nand all the courtiers, and was eating from her little golden plate,\nsomething came creeping _splish splash, splish splash,_ up the marble\nstaircase. When it got to the top, it knocked at the door, and cried:\n\n \u201c_King\u2019s Daughter, youngest.\n Open the door!_\u201d\n\nShe ran to see who was outside, but when she opened the door, there sat\nthe Frog in front of it. Then she slammed the door in great haste, sat\ndown to dinner again, and was quite frightened.\n\nThe King saw plainly that her heart was beating violently, and said,\n\u201cMy Child, what are you so afraid of? Is there a Giant outside who\nwants to carry you away?\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, no,\u201d replied she, \u201cit is no Giant, but a disgusting Frog.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat does the Frog want with you?\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, dear Father, yesterday when I was in the forest sitting by the\nfountain, playing, my golden ball fell into the water. And because I\ncried so, the Frog brought it out again for me. And because he insisted\nso on it, I promised him he should be my companion; but I never thought\nhe would be able to come out of the water! And now he is here, and\nwants to come in.\u201d\n\nIn the meantime, it knocked a second time, and cried:\n\n \u201c_King\u2019s Daughter, youngest!\n Open to me!\n Don\u2019t you remember yesterday,\n And all that you to me did say,\n Beside the cooling fountain\u2019s spray?\n King\u2019s Daughter, youngest!\n Open to me!_\u201d\n\nThen said the King, \u201cThat which you have promised you must perform. Go\nand let him in.\u201d\n\nShe went and opened the door, and the Frog hopped in and followed her,\nstep by step, to her chair. There he sat still and cried, \u201cLift me up\nbeside you.\u201d\n\nShe delayed, until at last the King commanded her to do it. When the\nFrog was once on the chair, he wanted to be on the table, and when he\nwas on the table, he said, \u201cNow, push your little golden plate nearer\nto me that we may eat together.\u201d\n\nShe did this, but it was easy to see that she did not do it willingly.\nThe Frog enjoyed what he ate, but almost every mouthful she took,\nchoked her.\n\nAt length he said, \u201cI have eaten and am satisfied. Now I am tired,\ncarry me into your little room and make your little silken bed ready;\nand we will both lie down and go to sleep.\u201d\n\nThe King\u2019s Daughter began to cry, for she was afraid of the cold Frog,\nwhich she did not like to touch, and which was now to sleep in her\npretty, clean little bed.\n\nBut the King grew angry and said, \u201cHe who helped you when you were in\ntrouble, ought not afterward to be despised.\u201d\n\nSo she took hold of the Frog with two fingers, carried him upstairs,\nand put him in a corner. But when she was in bed, he crept to her and\nsaid, \u201cI am tired, I want to sleep as well as you; lift me up or I will\ntell your father.\u201d\n\nThen she was terribly angry, and took him up and threw him with all her\nmight against the wall.\n\n\u201cNow, you will be quiet, odious Frog,\u201d said she.\n\nBut when he fell down, he was no Frog but a King\u2019s Son with beautiful\nkind eyes!\n\nHe, by her father\u2019s will, was now her dear companion and husband. Then\nhe told her how he had been bewitched by a wicked Witch, and how no\none could have delivered him from the fountain but herself, and that\nto-morrow they would go together into his kingdom.\n\nThen they went to sleep, and next morning when the sun awoke them, a\ncoach came rolling up drawn by eight white horses, with white ostrich\nfeathers on their heads. They were harnessed with golden chains, and\nbehind stood the young King\u2019s servant, Faithful Henry. Faithful Henry\nhad been so unhappy when his master was changed into a Frog, that he\nhad three iron bands laid round his heart, lest it should burst with\ngrief and sadness.\n\nThe coach was to conduct the young King into his kingdom. Faithful\nHenry helped them both in, and placed himself behind again, and was\nfull of joy because of this deliverance. And when they had driven\na part of the way, the King\u2019s Son heard a cracking behind him as if\nsomething had broken. So he turned round and cried:\n\n \u201c_Henry, the coach does break!_\u201d\n \u201c_No, no, my lord, you do mistake!\n It is the band around my heart,\n That felt such great and bitter smart,\n When you were in the fountain strange,\n When you into a Frog were changed!_\u201d\n\nAgain and once again, while they were on their way, something cracked;\nand each time the King\u2019s Son thought the carriage was breaking. But\nit was only the bands which were springing from the heart of Faithful\nHenry because his master was set free and was happy.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nTHE WOLF AND THE SEVEN LITTLE KIDS\n\n\nThere was once on a time, an old Goat who had seven little Kids, and\nloved them with all the love of a mother for her children.\n\nOne day, she wanted to go into the forest and fetch some food. So\nshe called all seven to her and said, \u201cDear Children, I have to go\ninto the forest. Be on your guard against the Wolf. If he come in, he\nwill devour you all--skin, hair, and all. The wretch often disguises\nhimself; but you will know him at once by his rough voice and his black\nfeet.\u201d\n\nThe Kids said, \u201cDear Mother, we will take good care of ourselves. You\nmay go away without any anxiety.\u201d\n\nThen the old one bleated, and went on her way with an easy mind.\n\nIt was not long before some one knocked at the house-door, and cried,\n\u201cOpen the door, dear Children! Your mother is here, and has brought\nsomething back with her for each of you.\u201d\n\nBut the little Kids knew that it was the Wolf, by his rough voice. \u201cWe\nwill not open the door,\u201d cried they; \u201cyou are not our mother. She has\na soft, pleasant voice, but your voice is rough. You are the Wolf!\u201d\n\nThen the Wolf went away to a shopkeeper, and bought a great lump of\nchalk, ate this and made his voice soft with it. Then he came back,\nknocked at the door of the house, and cried, \u201cOpen the door, dear\nChildren! Your mother is here and has brought something back with her\nfor each of you.\u201d\n\nBut the Wolf had laid his black paws against the window, and the\nchildren saw them, and cried, \u201cWe will not open the door, our mother\nhas not black feet like you. You are the Wolf!\u201d\n\nThen the Wolf ran to a baker, and said, \u201cI have hurt my feet, rub some\ndough over them for me.\u201d\n\nAnd when the baker had rubbed his feet over, he ran to the miller and\nsaid, \u201cStrew some white meal over my feet for me.\u201d The miller thought\nto himself, \u201cThe Wolf wants to deceive some one,\u201d and refused. But the\nWolf said, \u201cIf you will not do it, I will devour you.\u201d Then the miller\nwas afraid, and made his paws white for him. Yes! so are men!\n\nNow, the wretch went for the third time to the house-door, knocked at\nit, and said, \u201cOpen the door for me, Children! Your dear little mother\nhas come home, and has brought every one of you something from the\nforest with her.\u201d\n\nThe little Kids cried, \u201cFirst show us your paws that we may know if you\nare our dear little mother.\u201d\n\nThen he put his paws in through the window. And when the Kids saw that\nthey were white, they believed all that he said, and opened the door.\nBut who should come in but _the Wolf_!\n\n[Illustration: THE LITTLE KIDS CRIED, \u201cFIRST SHOW US YOUR PAWS\u201d]\n\nThey were terrified and wanted to hide themselves. One sprang under the\ntable, the second into the bed, the third into the stove, the fourth\ninto the kitchen, the fifth into the cupboard, the sixth under the\nwashing-bowl, and the seventh into the clock-case. But the Wolf found\nthem all and made no delay, but swallowed one after the other down his\nthroat. The youngest in the clock-case was the only one he did not find.\n\nWhen the Wolf had satisfied his appetite, he took himself off, laid\nhimself down under a tree in the green meadow outside, and began to\nsleep.\n\nSoon afterward, the old Goat came home again from the forest. Ah! what\na sight she saw there! The house-door stood wide open. The table,\nchairs, and benches were thrown down, the washing-bowl lay broken to\npieces, and the quilts and pillows were pulled off the bed.\n\nShe sought her children, but they were nowhere to be found. She called\nthem one after another by name, but no one answered. At last, when she\ncalled the youngest, a soft voice cried, \u201cDear Mother, I am in the\nclock-case.\u201d\n\nShe took the Kid out, and it told her that the Wolf had come and had\neaten all the others. Then you may imagine how she wept over her poor\nchildren!\n\nAt length, in her grief she went out, and the youngest Kid ran with\nher. When they came to the meadow, there lay the Wolf by the tree and\nhe was snoring so loud that the branches shook. She looked at him on\nevery side and saw that something was moving and struggling in his\nstomach. \u201cAh!\u201d said she, \u201cis it possible that my poor children, whom he\nhas swallowed down for his supper, can be still alive?\u201d\n\nThen the Kid had to run home and fetch scissors, and a needle and\nthread, and the Goat cut open the monster\u2019s stomach. Hardly had she\nmade one cut, than a little Kid thrust its head out, and when she had\ncut farther, all six sprang out one after another, and were all still\nalive, and had suffered no hurt whatever, for in his greediness the\nmonster had swallowed them whole.\n\nWhat rejoicing there was! They embraced their dear mother, and jumped\nlike a tailor at his wedding. The mother, however, said, \u201cNow go and\nlook for some big stones. We will fill the wicked beast\u2019s stomach with\nthem, while he is asleep.\u201d\n\nThen the seven Kids dragged the stones thither with all speed, and put\nas many of them into his stomach as they could get in. And the mother\nsewed him up again in the greatest haste; so that he was not aware of\nanything and never once stirred.\n\nWhen the Wolf had had his sleep out, he got on his legs, and as the\nstones in his stomach made him very thirsty, he wanted to go to a well\nto drink. But when he began to walk and to move about, the stones in\nhis stomach knocked against each other and rattled. Then cried he:\n\n \u201c_What rumbles and tumbles\n Against my poor bones?\n I thought \u2019twas six Kids,\n But it\u2019s only big stones!_\u201d\n\nAnd when he got to the well and stooped over the water and was just\nabout to drink, the heavy stones made him fall in. There was no help\nfor it, but he had to drown miserably!\n\nWhen the seven Kids saw that, they came running to the spot and cried\naloud, \u201cThe Wolf is dead! The Wolf is dead!\u201d and danced for joy round\nabout the well with their mother.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nRAPUNZEL\n\n\nThere was once a man and a woman, who had long in vain wished for a\nchild. At length, the woman hoped that God was about to grant her\ndesire.\n\nThese people had a little window at the back of their house from which\na splendid garden could be seen. It was full of the most beautiful\nflowers and herbs. It was, however, surrounded by a high wall, and no\none dared to go into it because it belonged to a Witch, who had great\npower and was dreaded by all the world.\n\nOne day, the woman was standing by this window and looking down\ninto the garden, when she saw a bed which was planted with the most\nbeautiful rampion (rapunzel), and it looked so fresh and green that she\nlonged for it, and had the greatest desire to eat some.\n\nThis desire increased every day, and as she knew that she could not get\nany of it, she quite pined away, and looked pale and miserable.\n\nThen her husband was alarmed, and asked, \u201cWhat ails you, dear Wife?\u201d\n\n\u201cAh,\u201d she replied, \u201cif I can\u2019t get some of the rampion to eat, which is\nin the garden behind our house, I shall die.\u201d\n\nThe man, who loved her, thought, \u201cSooner than let your wife die, bring\nher some of the rampion yourself, let it cost you what it will!\u201d\n\nIn the twilight of evening, he clambered over the wall into the garden\nof the Witch, hastily clutched a handful of rampion, and took it to\nhis wife. She at once made herself a salad of it, and ate it with much\nrelish.\n\nShe, however, liked it so much--so very much--that the next day she\nlonged for it three times as much as before. If he was to have any\nrest, her husband must once more descend into the garden. In the gloom\nof evening, therefore, he let himself down again. But when he had\nclambered down the wall he was terribly afraid, for he saw the Witch\nstanding before him.\n\n\u201cHow dare you,\u201d said she with angry look, \u201cdescend into my garden and\nsteal my rampion like a thief? You shall suffer for it!\u201d\n\n\u201cAh,\u201d answered he, \u201clet mercy take the place of justice! I had to do it\nout of necessity. My wife saw your rampion from the window, and felt\nsuch a longing for it that she would have died, if she had not got some\nto eat.\u201d\n\nThen the Witch let her anger be softened, and said to him, \u201cIf the case\nbe as you say, I will allow you to take away with you as much rampion\nas you will, only I make one condition, you must give me the child\nwhich your wife will bring into the world. It shall be well treated,\nand I will care for it like a mother.\u201d\n\nThe man in his terror consented to everything, and when the woman at\nlast had a little daughter, the Witch appeared at once, gave the child\nthe name of Rapunzel, and took it away with her.\n\nRapunzel grew into the most beautiful child beneath the sun. When she\nwas twelve years old, the Witch shut her into a tower, which lay in\na forest, and had neither stairs nor door. But quite at the top was\na little window. When the Witch wanted to go in, she placed herself\nbeneath this, and cried:\n\n \u201c_Rapunzel, Rapunzel,\n Let down thy hair._\u201d\n\nRapunzel had magnificent long hair, fine as spun gold, and when she\nheard the voice of the Witch, she unfastened her braided tresses and\nwound them round one of the hooks of the window above. And then the\nhair fell twenty ells down, and the Witch climbed up by it.\n\nAfter a year or two, it came to pass that the King\u2019s Son rode through\nthe forest and went by the tower. Then he heard a song, which was so\ncharming that he stood still and listened. This was Rapunzel, who in\nher solitude passed her time in letting her sweet voice resound.\n\nThe King\u2019s Son wanted to climb up to her, and looked for the door of\nthe tower, but none was to be found. He rode home, but the singing had\nso deeply touched his heart, that every day he went out into the forest\nand listened to it.\n\nOnce when he was thus standing behind a tree, he saw that a Witch came\nthere, and he heard how she cried:\n\n \u201c_Rapunzel, Rapunzel,\n Let down thy hair._\u201d\n\nThen Rapunzel let down the braids of her hair, and the Witch climbed up\nto her.\n\n\u201cIf that is the ladder by which one mounts, I will for once try my\nfortune,\u201d said he.\n\nThe next day when it began to grow dark, he went to the tower and cried:\n\n \u201c_Rapunzel, Rapunzel,\n Let down thy hair._\u201d\n\nImmediately the hair fell down, and the King\u2019s Son climbed up.\n\nAt first Rapunzel was terribly frightened when a man, such as her eyes\nhad never yet beheld, came to her. But the King\u2019s Son began to talk\nto her quite like a friend, and told her that his heart had been so\nstirred, that it had let him have no rest, so he had been forced to see\nher.\n\nThen Rapunzel lost her fear, and when he asked her if she would take\nhim for her husband, and she saw that he was young and handsome, she\nthought, \u201cHe will love me more than old Dame Gothel does;\u201d and she said\nyes, and laid her hand in his.\n\nShe said also, \u201cI will willingly go away with you, but I do not know\nhow to get down. Bring with you a skein of silk every time that you\ncome, and I will weave a ladder with it. When that is ready I will\ndescend, and you will take me on your horse.\u201d\n\nThey agreed that until that time, he should come to her every evening,\nfor the old woman came by day. The Witch remarked nothing of this,\nuntil once Rapunzel said to her, \u201cTell me, Dame Gothel, how it happens\nthat you are so much heavier for me to draw up, than the young King\u2019s\nSon--he is with me in a moment.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh! you wicked Child!\u201d cried the Witch. \u201cWhat do I hear you say!\nI thought I had separated you from all the world, and yet you have\ndeceived me!\u201d\n\nIn her anger she clutched Rapunzel\u2019s beautiful tresses, wrapped them\ntwice round her left hand, seized a pair of scissors with the right,\nand _snip, snap,_ they were cut off, and the lovely braids lay on the\nground. And she was so pitiless that she took poor Rapunzel into a\ndesert, where she had to live in great grief and misery.\n\nOn the same day, however, that she cast out Rapunzel, the Witch, in the\nevening, fastened the braids of hair which she had cut off, to the hook\nof the window; and when the King\u2019s Son came and cried:\n\n \u201c_Rapunzel, Rapunzel,\n Let down thy hair,_\u201d\n\nshe let the hair down.\n\nThe King\u2019s Son ascended. He did not find his dearest Rapunzel above,\nbut the Witch, who gazed at him with wicked and venomous looks.\n\n\u201cAha!\u201d she cried mockingly, \u201cyou would fetch your dearest! But the\nbeautiful bird sits no longer singing in the nest. The cat has got it,\nand will scratch out your eyes as well. Rapunzel is lost to you! You\nwill never see her more!\u201d\n\nThe King\u2019s Son was beside himself with grief and in his despair he\nleapt down from the tower. He escaped with his life, but the thorns\ninto which he fell, pierced his eyes. Then he wandered quite blind\nabout the forest, ate nothing but roots and berries, and did nothing\nbut lament and weep over the loss of his dearest wife.\n\nThus he roamed about in misery for some years, and at length came to\nthe desert where Rapunzel lived in wretchedness. He heard a voice,\nand it seemed so familiar to him that he went toward it. When he\napproached, Rapunzel knew him, and fell on his neck and wept. Two of\nher tears wetted his eyes and they grew clear again, and he could see\nwith them as before.\n\nHe led her to his Kingdom where he was joyfully received, and they\nlived for a long time, happy and contented.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nLITTLE BROTHER AND LITTLE SISTER\n\n\nLittle brother took his little sister by the hand and said, \u201cSince our\nmother died, we have had no happiness; our stepmother beats us every\nday, and if we come near her, she kicks us away with her foot. Our\nmeals are the hard crusts of bread that are left over. The little dog\nunder the table is better off, for she often throws it a nice bit.\nMay Heaven pity us! If our mother only knew! Come, we will go forth\ntogether into the wide world.\u201d\n\nThey walked the whole day over meadows, fields, and stony places; and\nwhen it rained the little sister said, \u201cHeaven and our hearts are\nweeping together.\u201d\n\nIn the evening they came to a large forest, and they were so weary with\nsorrow and hunger and the long walk, that they lay down in a hollow\ntree and fell asleep.\n\nThe next day when they awoke, the sun was already high and shone down\nhot into the tree. Then the little brother said, \u201cLittle Sister, I\nam thirsty. If I knew of a little brook I would go and take a drink.\nI think I hear one running.\u201d The little brother got up and took the\nlittle sister by the hand, and they set off to find the brook.\n\nBut the wicked stepmother was a Witch, and had seen how the two\nchildren had gone away. She had crept after them, as Witches do creep,\nand had bewitched all the brooks in the forest.\n\nNow, when they found a little brook leaping brightly over the stones,\nthe little brother was going to drink out of it, but the little sister\nheard how it said as it ran:\n\n \u201c_Who drinks of me, a Tiger be!\n Who drinks of me, a Tiger be!_\u201d\n\nThen the little sister cried, \u201cPray, dear little Brother, do not drink,\nor you will become a wild beast, and tear me to pieces.\u201d\n\nThe little brother did not drink, although he was so thirsty, but said,\n\u201cI will wait for the next spring.\u201d\n\nWhen they came to the next brook, the little sister heard this say:\n\n \u201c_Who drinks of me, a wild Wolf be!\n Who drinks of me, a wild Wolf be!_\u201d\n\nThen the little sister cried out, \u201cPray, dear little Brother, do not\ndrink, or you will become a Wolf, and devour me.\u201d\n\nThe little brother did not drink, and said, \u201cI will wait until we come\nto the next spring, but then I must drink, say what you like; for my\nthirst is too great.\u201d\n\nAnd when they came to the third brook, the little sister heard how it\nsaid as it ran:\n\n \u201c_Who drinks of me, a Roebuck be!\n Who drinks of me, a Roebuck be!_\u201d\n\nThe little sister said, \u201cOh, I pray you, dear little Brother, do not\ndrink, or you will become a Roe, and run away from me.\u201d\n\nBut the little brother had knelt by the brook, and had bent down and\ndrunk some of the water. And as soon as the first drops touched his\nlips, he lay there a young Roe.\n\nAnd now the little sister wept over her poor bewitched little brother,\nand the little Roe wept also, and sat sorrowfully near to her. But at\nlast the girl said, \u201cBe quiet, dear little Roe, I will never, never\nleave you.\u201d\n\nThen she untied her golden garter and put it round the Roe\u2019s neck, and\nshe plucked rushes and wove them into a soft cord. With this she tied\nthe little animal and led it on; and she walked deeper and deeper into\nthe forest.\n\nAnd when they had gone a very long way, they came to a little house.\nThe girl looked in; and as it was empty, she thought, \u201cWe can stay here\nand live.\u201d\n\nThen she sought for leaves and moss to make a soft bed for the Roe.\nEvery morning she went out and gathered roots and berries and nuts for\nherself, and brought tender grass for the Roe, who ate out of her hand,\nand was content and played round about her. In the evening, when the\nlittle sister was tired, and had said her prayer, she laid her head\nupon the Roe\u2019s back: that was her pillow, and she slept softly on it.\nAnd if only the little brother had had his human form, it would have\nbeen a delightful life.\n\nFor some time, they were alone like this in the wilderness. But it\nhappened that the King of the country held a great hunt in the forest.\nThen the blasts of the horns, the barking of dogs, and the merry shouts\nof the huntsmen rang through the trees, and the Roe heard all, and was\nonly too anxious to be there.\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said he to his little sister, \u201clet me be off to the hunt, I\ncannot bear it any longer;\u201d and he begged so much that at last she\nagreed.\n\n\u201cBut,\u201d said she to him, \u201ccome back to me in the evening. I must shut\nmy door for fear of the rough huntsmen, so knock and say, \u2018My little\nSister, let me in!\u2019 that I may know you. And if you do not say that, I\nshall not open the door.\u201d\n\nThen the young Roe sprang away; so happy was he and so merry in the\nopen air.\n\nThe King and the huntsmen saw the pretty creature, and started after\nhim. But they could not catch him, and when they thought that they\nsurely had him, away he sprang through the bushes and was gone.\n\nWhen it was dark he ran to the cottage, knocked, and said, \u201cMy little\nSister, let me in.\u201d Then the door was opened for him, and he jumped in,\nand rested himself the whole night through upon his soft bed.\n\nThe next day, the hunt went on afresh, and when the Roe again heard the\nbugle-horn, and the _ho! ho!_ of the huntsmen, he had no peace, but\nsaid, \u201cSister, let me out, I must be off.\u201d\n\nHis sister opened the door for him, and said, \u201cBut you must be here\nagain in the evening and say your password.\u201d\n\nWhen the King and his huntsmen again saw the young Roe with the golden\ncollar, they all chased him, but he was too quick and nimble for\nthem. This went on for the whole day, but by evening the huntsmen had\nsurrounded him, and one of them wounded him a little in the foot, so\nthat he limped and ran slowly. Then a hunter crept after him to the\ncottage and heard how he said, \u201cMy little Sister, let me in,\u201d and saw\nthat the door was opened for him, and was shut again at once.\n\nThe huntsman took notice of it all, and went to the King and told him\nwhat he had seen and heard. Then the King said, \u201cTo-morrow we will hunt\nonce more.\u201d\n\nThe little sister, however, was dreadfully frightened when she saw that\nher little Roe was hurt. She washed the blood off him, laid herbs on\nthe wound, and said, \u201cGo to your bed, dear Roe, that you may get well\nagain.\u201d\n\nBut the wound was so slight that the Roe, next morning, did not feel it\nany more. And when he again heard the sport outside, he said, \u201cI cannot\nbear it, I must be there. They shall not find it so easy to catch me!\u201d\n\nThe little sister cried, and said, \u201cThis time they will kill you, and\nhere am I alone in the forest, and forsaken by all the world. I will\nnot let you out.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen you will have me die of grief,\u201d answered the Roe. \u201cWhen I hear\nthe bugle-horns I feel as if I must jump out of my skin.\u201d\n\nThen the little sister could not do otherwise, but opened the door for\nhim with a heavy heart, and the Roe, full of health and joy, bounded\naway into the forest.\n\nWhen the King saw him, he said to his huntsman, \u201cNow chase him all day\nlong till nightfall, but take care that no one does him any harm.\u201d\n\nAs soon as the sun had set, the King said to the huntsmen, \u201cNow come\nand show me the cottage in the wood;\u201d and when he was at the door,\nhe knocked and called out, \u201cDear little Sister, let me in.\u201d\n\nThen the door opened, and the King walked in, and there stood a maiden\nmore lovely than any he had ever seen. The maiden was frightened when\nshe saw, not her little Roe, but a man with a golden crown upon his\nhead. But the King looked kindly at her, stretched out his hand, and\nsaid:\n\n\u201cWill you go with me to my palace and be my dear wife?\u201d\n\n[Illustration: THE KING SAID, \u201cWILL YOU BE MY DEAR WIFE?\u201d]\n\n\u201cYes, indeed,\u201d answered the maiden, \u201cbut the little Roe must go with\nme. I cannot leave him.\u201d\n\nThe King said, \u201cHe shall stay with you as long as you live, and shall\nwant nothing.\u201d\n\nJust then he came running in, and the little sister again tied him with\nthe cord of rushes, took it in her own hand, and went away with the\nKing from the cottage.\n\nThe King took the lovely maiden upon his horse and carried her to his\npalace, where the wedding was held with great pomp. She was now the\nQueen, and they lived for a long time happily together. The Roe was\ntended and cherished, and ran about in the palace-garden.\n\nBut the wicked Witch, because of whom the children had gone out into\nthe world, thought all the time that the little sister had been torn to\npieces by the wild beasts in the wood, and that the little brother had\nbeen shot for a Roe by the huntsmen. Now when she heard that they were\nso happy, and so well off, envy and hatred rose in her heart and left\nher no peace, and she thought of nothing but how she could bring them\nagain to misfortune.\n\nHer own daughter, who was as ugly as night, and had only one eye,\ngrumbled at her and said, \u201cA Queen! that ought to have been my luck.\u201d\n\n\u201cOnly be quiet,\u201d answered the old woman, and comforted her by saying,\n\u201cwhen the time comes I shall be ready.\u201d\n\nAs time went on, the Queen had a pretty little boy. It happened that\nthe King was out hunting; so the old Witch took the form of the\nchambermaid, went into the room where the Queen lay, and said to her,\n\u201cCome, the bath is ready. It will do you good, and give you fresh\nstrength. Make haste before it gets cold.\u201d\n\nThe daughter also was close by; so they carried the weak Queen into the\nbathroom, and put her into the bath. Then they shut the door and ran\naway. But in the bathroom they had made a fire of such deadly heat,\nthat the beautiful young Queen was soon suffocated.\n\nWhen this was done, the old woman took her daughter, put a nightcap on\nher head, and laid her in bed in place of the Queen. She gave her too\nthe shape and the look of the Queen, only she could not make good the\nlost eye. But, in order that the King might not see it, she was to lie\non the side on which she had no eye.\n\nIn the evening, when he came home and heard that he had a son, he was\nheartily glad, and was going to the bed of his dear wife to see how she\nwas. But the old woman quickly called out, \u201cFor your life leave the\ncurtains closed. The Queen ought not to see the light yet, and must\nhave rest.\u201d\n\nThe King went away, and did not find out that a false Queen was lying\nin the bed.\n\nBut at midnight, when all slept, the nurse, who was sitting in the\nnursery by the cradle, and who was the only person awake, saw the door\nopen and the true Queen walk in. She took the child out of the cradle,\nlaid it on her arm and nursed it. Then she shook up its pillow, laid\nthe child down again, and covered it with the little quilt. And she did\nnot forget the Roe, but went into the corner where he lay, and stroked\nhis back. Then she went quite silently out of the door again.\n\nThe next morning, the nurse asked the guards whether any one had come\ninto the palace during the night, but they answered, \u201cNo, we have seen\nno one.\u201d\n\nShe came thus many nights and never spoke a word. The nurse always saw\nher, but she did not dare to tell any one about it.\n\nWhen some time had passed in this manner, the Queen began to speak in\nthe night, and said:\n\n \u201c_How fares my child, how fares my Roe?\n Twice shall I come, then never moe!_\u201d\n\nThe nurse did not answer, but when the Queen had gone again, went to\nthe King and told him all.\n\nThe King said, \u201cAh, heavens! what is this? To-morrow night I will watch\nby the child.\u201d\n\nIn the evening he went into the nursery, and at midnight the Queen\nagain appeared, and said:\n\n \u201c_How fares my child, how fares my Roe?\n Once shall I come, then never moe!_\u201d\n\nAnd she nursed the child as she was wont to do before she disappeared.\nThe King dared not speak to her, but on the next night he watched\nagain. Then she said:\n\n \u201c_How fares my child, How fares my Roe?\n This time I come, then never moe!_\u201d\n\nAt that the King could not restrain himself. He sprang toward her, and\nsaid, \u201cYou can be none other than my dear wife.\u201d\n\nShe answered, \u201cYes, I am your dear wife,\u201d and at the same moment she\nreceived life again, and by God\u2019s grace became fresh, rosy, and full of\nhealth.\n\nThen she told the King the evil deed which the wicked Witch and her\ndaughter had been guilty of toward her. The King ordered both to be led\nbefore the judge, and judgment was delivered against them. The daughter\nwas taken into the forest where she was torn to pieces by wild beasts,\nbut the Witch was cast into the fire and miserably burnt.\n\nAnd as soon as she was burnt the Roe changed his shape, and received\nhis human form again. So the little sister and little brother lived\nhappily together all their lives.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nTHE STAR-MONEY\n\n\nThere was once on a time, a little girl whose father and mother were\ndead. She was so poor that she no longer had any little room to live\nin, or bed to sleep in. At last, she had nothing else but the clothes\nshe was wearing and a little bit of bread in her hand which some\ncharitable soul had given her. She was, however, good and pious.\n\nAnd as she was thus forsaken by all the world, she went forth into the\nopen country, trusting in the good God.\n\nThen a poor man met her, who said, \u201cAh, give me something to eat, I am\nso hungry!\u201d\n\nShe reached him the whole of her piece of bread, and said, \u201cMay God\nbless it to your use,\u201d and went onward.\n\nThen came a child who moaned and said, \u201cMy head is so cold, give me\nsomething to cover it with.\u201d\n\nSo she took off her hood and gave it to him.\n\nAnd when she had walked a little farther, she met another child who had\nno jacket and was frozen with cold. Then she gave it her own.\n\nA little farther on one begged for a frock, and she gave away that also.\n\nAt length, she got into a forest and it had already become dark, and\nthere came yet another child, and asked for a little shirt. The good\nlittle girl thought to herself, \u201cIt is a dark night and no one sees me.\nI can very well give my little shirt away,\u201d and took it off, and gave\naway that also.\n\nAnd she so stood, and had not one single thing left. Then suddenly some\nStars from heaven fell down, and they were nothing else but hard smooth\npieces of money! And although she had just given her little shirt away,\nlo! she had a new one which was of the very finest linen.\n\nThen she gathered together the money into this, and was rich all the\ndays of her life.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nTHE FISHERMAN AND HIS WIFE\n\n\nThere was once on a time, a Fisherman who lived with his wife in a\nmiserable hovel close by the sea, and every day he went out fishing.\nAnd once, as he was sitting with his rod, looking at the clear water,\nhis line suddenly went down, far down below, and when he drew it up\nagain, he brought out a large Flounder.\n\nThen the Flounder said to him: \u201cHark, you Fisherman, I pray you, let me\nlive. I am no Flounder really, but an enchanted Prince. What good will\nit do you to kill me? I should not be good to eat. Put me in the water\nagain, and let me go.\u201d\n\n\u201cCome,\u201d said the Fisherman, \u201cthere is no need for so many words about\nit--a fish that can talk I should certainly let go, anyhow.\u201d\n\nWith that he put him back again into the clear water, and the Flounder\nwent to the bottom, leaving a long streak of blood behind him. Then the\nFisherman got up and went home to his wife in the hovel.\n\n\u201cHusband,\u201d said the woman, \u201chave you caught nothing to-day?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said the man, \u201cI did catch a Flounder, who said he was an\nenchanted Prince, so I let him go again.\u201d\n\n\u201cDid you not wish for anything first?\u201d said the woman.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said the man; \u201cwhat should I wish for?\u201d\n\n\u201cAh,\u201d said the woman, \u201cit is surely hard to have to live always in\nthis dirty hovel. You might have wished for a small cottage for us. Go\nback and call him. Tell him we want to have a small cottage. He will\ncertainly give us that.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh,\u201d said the man, \u201cwhy should I go there again?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy,\u201d said the woman, \u201cyou did catch him, and you let him go again. He\nis sure to do it. Go at once.\u201d\n\nThe man still did not quite like to go, but did not want to oppose his\nwife, and went to the sea.\n\nWhen he got there the sea was all green and yellow, and no longer\nsmooth. So he stood and said:\n\n \u201c_Flounder, Flounder in the sea,\n Come, I pray thee, here to me;\n For my wife, Dame Ilsabil,\n Wills not as I\u2019d have her will._\u201d\n\nThen the Flounder came swimming to him and said, \u201cWell, what does she\nwant, then?\u201d\n\n\u201cAh,\u201d said the man, \u201cI did catch you, and my wife says I really ought\nto have wished for something. She does not like to live in a wretched\nhovel any longer. She would like to have a cottage.\u201d\n\n\u201cGo, then,\u201d said the Flounder, \u201cshe has it already.\u201d\n\nWhen the man got home, his wife was no longer in the hovel. But instead\nof it, there stood a small cottage, and she was sitting on a bench\nbefore the door. Then she took him by the hand and said to him, \u201cJust\ncome inside, look. Now isn\u2019t this a great deal better?\u201d\n\nSo they went in, and there was a small porch, and a pretty little\nparlor and bedroom, and a kitchen and pantry, with the best of\nfurniture, and fitted up with the most beautiful things made of tin and\nbrass, whatsoever was wanted. And behind the cottage, there was a small\nyard, with hens and ducks, and a little garden with flowers and fruit.\n\n\u201cLook,\u201d said the wife, \u201cis not that nice!\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the husband, \u201cand so we must always think it,--now we will\nlive quite contented.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe will think about that,\u201d said the wife.\n\nWith that they ate something and went to bed.\n\nEverything went well for a week or a fortnight, and then the woman\nsaid, \u201cHark you, Husband, this cottage is far too small for us, and the\ngarden and yard are little. The Flounder might just as well have given\nus a larger house. I should like to live in a great stone castle. Go to\nthe Flounder, and tell him to give us a castle.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, Wife,\u201d said the man, \u201cthe cottage is quite good enough. Why should\nwe live in a castle?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat!\u201d said the woman; \u201cgo at once, the Flounder can always do that.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, Wife,\u201d said the man, \u201cthe Flounder has just given us the cottage.\nI do not like to go back so soon, it might make him angry.\u201d\n\n\u201cGo,\u201d said the woman, \u201che can do it quite easily, and will be glad to\ndo it. Just you go to him.\u201d\n\nThe man\u2019s heart grew heavy, and he did not wish to go. He said to\nhimself, \u201cIt is not right,\u201d and yet he went.\n\nAnd when he came to the sea, the water was quite purple and dark-blue,\nand gray and thick, and no longer green and yellow, but it was still\nquiet. And he stood there and said:\n\n \u201c_Flounder, Flounder in the sea,\n Come, I pray thee, here to me;\n For my wife, Dame Ilsabil,\n Wills not as I\u2019d have her will._\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, what does she want, now?\u201d said the Flounder.\n\n\u201cAlas,\u201d said the man, half scared, \u201cshe wants to live in a great stone\ncastle.\u201d\n\n\u201cGo to it, then, she is standing before the door,\u201d said the Flounder.\n\nThen the man went home, and when he got there, he found a great stone\npalace, and his wife was just standing on the steps going in. She took\nhim by the hand and said, \u201cCome in.\u201d\n\nSo he went with her, and in the castle was a great hall paved with\nmarble, and many servants, who flung wide the doors. The walls were all\nbright with beautiful hangings, and in the rooms were chairs and tables\nof pure gold. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, and all the\nrooms and bedrooms had carpets. Food and wine of the very best were\nstanding on all the tables, so that they nearly broke down beneath it.\n\nBehind the house, too, there was a great courtyard, with stables\nfor horses and cows, and the very best of carriages. There was a\nmagnificent large garden, too, with the most beautiful flowers and\nfruit-trees, and a park quite half a mile long, in which were stags,\ndeer, and hares, and everything that could be desired.\n\n\u201cCome,\u201d said the woman, \u201cisn\u2019t that beautiful?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, indeed,\u201d said the man, \u201cnow let it be; and we will live in this\nbeautiful castle and be content.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe will consider about that,\u201d said the woman, \u201cand sleep upon it;\u201d\nthereupon they went to bed.\n\nNext morning, the wife awoke first. It was just daybreak, and from her\nbed she saw the beautiful country lying before her. Her husband was\nstill stretching himself, so she poked him in the side with her elbow,\nand said, \u201cGet up, Husband, and just peep out of the window. Look you,\ncouldn\u2019t we be the King over all that land? Go to the Flounder, we will\nbe the King.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, Wife,\u201d said the man, \u201cwhy should we be King? I do not want to be\nKing.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the wife, \u201cif you won\u2019t be King, I will. Go to the\nFlounder, for I will be King.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, Wife,\u201d said the man, \u201cwhy do you want to be King? I do not like to\nsay that to him.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy not?\u201d said the woman; \u201cgo to him at once. I must be King!\u201d\n\nSo the man went, and was quite unhappy because his wife wished to be\nKing. \u201cIt is not right; it is not right,\u201d thought he. He did not wish\nto go, but yet he went.\n\nAnd when he came to the sea, it was quite dark-gray, and the water\nheaved up from below, and smelt putrid. Then he went and stood by it,\nand said:\n\n \u201c_Flounder, Flounder in the sea,\n Come, I pray thee, here to me;\n For my wife, Dame Ilsabil,\n Wills not as I\u2019d have her will._\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, what does she want, now?\u201d said the Flounder.\n\n\u201cAlas,\u201d said the man, \u201cshe wants to be King.\u201d\n\n\u201cGo to her; she is King already.\u201d\n\nSo the man went, and when he came to the palace, the castle had\nbecome much larger, and had a great tower and magnificent ornaments.\nThe sentinel was standing before the door, and there were numbers of\nsoldiers with kettledrums and trumpets. And when he went inside the\nhouse, everything was of real marble and gold, with velvet covers and\ngreat golden tassels. Then the doors of the hall were opened, and there\nwas the Court in all its splendor, and his wife was sitting on a high\nthrone of gold and diamonds, with a great crown of gold on her head,\nand a sceptre of pure gold and jewels in her hand. On both sides of\nher, stood her maids-in-waiting in a row, each of them always one head\nshorter than the last.\n\nThen he went and stood before her, and said, \u201cAh, Wife, and now you are\nKing.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the woman, \u201cnow I am King.\u201d\n\nSo he stood and looked at her, and when he had looked at her thus for\nsome time, he said, \u201cAnd now that you are King, let all else be, we\nwill wish for nothing more.\u201d\n\n\u201cNay, Husband,\u201d said the woman, quite anxiously, \u201cI find time pass\nvery heavily, I can bear it no longer. Go to the Flounder--I am King,\nbut I must be Emperor, too.\u201d\n\n\u201cAlas, Wife, why do you wish to be Emperor?\u201d\n\n\u201cHusband,\u201d said she, \u201cgo to the Flounder. I will be Emperor.\u201d\n\n\u201cAlas, Wife,\u201d said the man, \u201che cannot make you Emperor. I may not say\nthat to the fish. There is only one Emperor in the land. An Emperor,\nthe Flounder cannot make you! I assure you he cannot.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat!\u201d said the woman, \u201cI am the King, and you are nothing but my\nhusband. Will you go this moment? go at once! If he can make a King, he\ncan make an Emperor. I will be Emperor. Go instantly.\u201d\n\nSo he was forced to go. As the man went, however, he was troubled in\nmind, and thought to himself, \u201cIt will not end well! It will not end\nwell! Emperor is too shameless! The Flounder will at last be tired out.\u201d\n\nWith that, he reached the sea, and the sea was quite black and thick,\nand began to boil up from below, so that it threw up bubbles. And such\na sharp wind blew over it that it curdled, and the man was afraid. Then\nhe went and stood by it, and said:\n\n \u201c_Flounder, Flounder in the sea,\n Come, I pray thee, here to me;\n For my wife, Dame Ilsabil,\n Wills not as I\u2019d have her will._\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, what does she want, now?\u201d said the Flounder.\n\n\u201cAlas, Flounder,\u201d said he, \u201cmy wife wants to be Emperor.\u201d\n\n\u201cGo to her,\u201d said the Flounder; \u201cshe is Emperor already.\u201d\n\nSo the man went, and when he got there the whole palace was made of\npolished marble with alabaster figures and golden ornaments. And\nsoldiers were marching before the door blowing trumpets, and beating\ncymbals and drums. In the house, barons, and counts, and dukes were\ngoing about as servants. Then they opened the doors to him, which were\nof pure gold. And when he entered, there sat his wife on a throne,\nwhich was made of one piece of gold, and was quite two miles high;\nand she wore a great golden crown that was three yards high, and set\nwith diamonds and carbuncles. In one hand she had the sceptre, and in\nthe other the imperial orb. And on both sides of her stood the yeomen\nof the guard in two rows, each being smaller than the one before him,\nfrom the biggest Giant, who was two miles high, to the very smallest\nDwarf, just as big as my little finger. And before it stood a number of\nprinces and dukes.\n\nThen the man went and stood among than, and said, \u201cWife, are you\nEmperor now?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said she, \u201cnow I am Emperor.\u201d\n\nThen he stood and looked at her well, and when he had looked at her\nthus for some time, he said, \u201cAh, Wife, be content, now that you are\nEmperor.\u201d\n\n\u201cHusband,\u201d said she, \u201cwhy are you standing there? Now, I am Emperor,\nbut I will be Pope too. Go to the Flounder.\u201d\n\n\u201cAlas, Wife,\u201d said the man, \u201cwhat will you not wish for? You cannot be\nPope. There is but one in Christendom. He cannot make you Pope.\u201d\n\n\u201cHusband,\u201d said she, \u201cI will be Pope. Go immediately. I must be Pope\nthis very day.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: \u201cYES,\u201d SAID SHE \u201cNOW I AM EMPEROR\u201d]\n\n\u201cNo, Wife,\u201d said the man, \u201cI do not like to say that to him; that would\nnot do, it is too much. The Flounder can\u2019t make you Pope.\u201d\n\n\u201cHusband,\u201d said she, \u201cwhat nonsense! if he can make an Emperor he can\nmake a Pope. Go to him directly. I am Emperor, and you are nothing but\nmy husband. Will you go at once?\u201d\n\nThen he was afraid and went. But he was quite faint, and shivered and\nshook, and his knees and legs trembled. And a high wind blew over the\nland, and the clouds flew, and toward evening all grew dark, and the\nleaves fell from the trees, and the water rose and roared as if it were\nboiling, and splashed upon the shore. In the distance he saw ships\nwhich were firing guns in their sore need, pitching and tossing on the\nwaves. And yet in the midst of the sky, there was still a small bit of\nblue, though on every side it was as red as in a heavy storm. So, full\nof despair, he went and stood in much fear, and said:\n\n \u201c_Flounder, Flounder in the sea,\n Come, I pray thee, here to me;\n For my wife, Dame Ilsabil,\n Wills not as I\u2019d have her will._\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, what does she want, now?\u201d said the Flounder.\n\n\u201cAlas,\u201d said the man, \u201cshe wants to be Pope.\u201d\n\n\u201cGo to her then,\u201d said the Flounder; \u201cshe is Pope already.\u201d\n\n

So he went, and when he got there, he saw what seemed to be a large\nchurch surrounded by palaces. He pushed his way through the crowd.\nInside, however, everything was lighted with thousands and thousands of\ncandles, and his wife was clad in gold, and she was sitting on a much\nhigher throne, and had three great golden crowns on, and round about\nher there was much churchly splendor. And on both sides of her was a\nrow of candles, the largest of which was as tall as the very tallest\ntower, down to the very smallest kitchen candle; and all the emperors\nand kings were on their knees before her, kissing her shoe.\n\n\u201cWife,\u201d said the man, and looked attentively at her, \u201care you now Pope?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said she, \u201cI am Pope.\u201d\n\nSo he stood and looked at her, and it was just as if he was looking at\nthe bright sun. When he had stood looking at her thus for a short time,\nhe said, \u201cAh, Wife, if you are Pope, do let well alone!\u201d\n\nBut she looked as stiff as a post, and did not move or show any signs\nof life. Then said he, \u201cWife, now that you are Pope, be satisfied, you\ncannot become anything greater.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will consider about that,\u201d said the woman.\n\nThereupon they both went to bed. But she was not satisfied, and\ngreediness let her have no sleep, for she was continually thinking what\nthere was left for her to be.\n\nThe man slept well and soundly, for he had run about a great deal\nduring the day. But the woman could not fall asleep at all, and flung\nherself from one side to the other the whole night through, thinking\nwhat more was left for her to be, but unable to call to mind anything\nelse.\n\nAt length the sun began to rise, and when the woman saw the red of\ndawn, she sat up in bed and looked at it. And when, through the window,\nshe saw the sun thus rising, she said, \u201cCannot I, too, order the sun\nand moon to rise?\u201d\n\n\u201cHusband,\u201d said she, poking him in the ribs with her elbows, \u201cwake up!\ngo to the Flounder, for I wish to be even as God is.\u201d\n\nThe man was still half asleep, but he was so horrified that he fell out\nof bed. He thought he must have heard amiss, and rubbed his eyes, and\nsaid, \u201cAlas, Wife, what are you saying?\u201d\n\n\u201cHusband,\u201d said she, \u201cif I can\u2019t order the sun and moon to rise, and\nhave to look on and see the sun and moon rising, I can\u2019t bear it. I\nshall not know what it is to have another happy hour, unless I can make\nthem rise myself.\u201d Then she looked at him so terribly that a shudder\nran over him, and said, \u201cGo at once. I wish to be like unto God.\u201d\n\n\u201cAlas, Wife,\u201d said the man, falling on his knees before her, \u201cthe\nFlounder cannot do that. He can make an Emperor and a Pope. I beseech\nyou, go on as you are, and be Pope.\u201d\n\nThen she fell into a rage, and her hair flew wildly about her head, and\nshe cried, \u201cI will not endure this, I\u2019ll not bear it any longer. Will\nyou go?\u201d Then he put on his trousers and ran away like a madman.\n\nBut outside a great storm was raging, and blowing so hard that he\ncould scarcely keep his feet. Houses and trees toppled over, mountains\ntrembled, rocks rolled into the sea, the sky was pitch black, and it\nthundered and lightened. And the sea came in with black waves as high\nas church-towers and mountains, and all with crests of white foam at\nthe top. Then he cried, but could not hear his own words:\n\n \u201c_Flounder, Flounder in the sea,\n Come, I pray thee, here to me;\n For my wife, Dame Ilsabil,\n Wills not as I\u2019d have her will._\u201d\n\n\u201cWell; what does she want, now?\u201d said the Flounder.\n\n\u201cAlas,\u201d said he, \u201cshe wants to be like unto God.\u201d\n\n\u201cGo to her, and you will find her back again in the dirty hovel.\u201d\n\nAnd there they are living at this very time.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nTHE WHITE SNAKE\n\n\nA long time ago, there lived a King who was famed for his wisdom\nthrough all the land. Nothing was hidden from him, and it seemed as if\nnews of the most secret things was brought to him through the air.\n\nBut he had a strange custom. Every day after dinner, when the table was\ncleared, and no one else was present, a trusty servant had to bring him\none more dish. It was covered and even the servant did not know what\nwas in it. Neither did any one know, for the King never took off the\ncover to eat of it, until he was quite alone.\n\nThis had gone on for a long time, when one day the servant, who took\naway the dish, was overcome with such curiosity that he could not help\ncarrying the dish into his room. When he had carefully locked the door,\nhe lifted up the cover, and saw a White Snake lying on the dish. But\nwhen he saw it, he could not deny himself the pleasure of tasting it,\nso he cut off a little bit and put it into his mouth.\n\nNo sooner had it touched his tongue than he heard a strange whispering\nof little voices outside his window. He went and listened, and then\nnoticed that it was the sparrows who were chattering together, and\ntelling one another of all kinds of things which they had seen in the\nfields and woods. Eating the Snake had given him power to understand\nthe language of animals!\n\nNow, it so happened, that on this very day the Queen lost her most\nbeautiful ring, and suspicion of having stolen it fell upon this trusty\nservant, who was allowed to go everywhere. The King ordered the man to\nbe brought before him, and threatened with angry words that unless he\ncould, before the morrow, point out the thief, he himself should be\nlooked upon as guilty and should be executed. In vain, he declared his\ninnocence. He was dismissed with no better answer.\n\nIn his trouble and fear, he went down into the courtyard, and took\nthought how to help himself out of his trouble. Now some ducks were\nsitting together quietly by a brook and taking their rest. And, whilst\nthey were making their feathers smooth with their bills, they were\nhaving a confidential conversation. The servant stood by and listened.\n\nThey were telling one another of all the places where they had been\nwaddling about all the morning, and what good food they had found. And\none said in a pitiful tone, \u201cSomething lies heavy on my stomach; as\nI was eating in haste I swallowed a ring which lay under the Queen\u2019s\nwindow.\u201d\n\nThe servant at once seized her by the neck, carried her to the kitchen,\nand said to the cook, \u201cHere is a fine duck. Pray kill her.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the cook, and weighed her in his hand; \u201cshe has spared\nno trouble to fatten herself, and has been waiting long enough to be\nroasted.\u201d\n\nSo he cut off her head; and as she was being dressed for the spit, the\nQueen\u2019s ring was found inside her.\n\nThe servant could now easily prove his innocence. The King, to make\namends for the wrong, allowed him to ask a favor, and promised him the\nbest place in the Court. The servant refused everything, and asked only\nfor a horse and some money for traveling, as he had a mind to see the\nworld and go about a little. When his request was granted, he set out\non his way.\n\nOne day he came to a pond, where he saw three fishes caught in the\nreeds and gasping for water. Now, though it is said that fishes are\ndumb, he heard them lamenting that they must perish so miserably. As he\nhad a kind heart, he got off his horse and put the three prisoners back\ninto the water.\n\nThey quivered with delight, put out their heads, and cried to him, \u201cWe\nwill remember you, and repay you for saving us!\u201d\n\nHe rode on, and after a while it seemed to him that he heard a voice in\nthe sand at his feet. He listened, and heard an Ant-King complain, \u201cWhy\ncannot folk, with their clumsy beasts, keep off our bodies? That stupid\nhorse, with his heavy hoofs, has been treading down my people without\nmercy!\u201d\n\nSo he turned on to a side path and the Ant-King cried out to him, \u201cWe\nwill remember you---one good turn deserves another!\u201d\n\nThe path led him into a wood, and there he saw two old ravens standing\nby their nest, and throwing out their young ones. \u201cOut with you, you\nidle, good-for-nothing creatures!\u201d cried they; \u201cwe cannot find food\nfor you any longer. You are big enough, and can provide for yourselves.\u201d\n\nBut the poor young ravens lay upon the ground flapping their wings, and\ncrying, \u201cOh, what helpless chicks we are! We must shift for ourselves,\nand yet we cannot fly! What can we do, but lie here and starve?\u201d\n\nSo the good young fellow alighted and killed his horse with his\nsword, and gave it to them for food. Then they came hopping up to it,\nsatisfied their hunger, and cried, \u201cWe will remember you--one good turn\ndeserves another!\u201d\n\nAnd now he had to use his own legs, and when he had walked a long way,\nhe came to a large city. There was a great noise and crowd in the\nstreets, and a man rode up on horseback, crying aloud, \u201cThe King\u2019s\nDaughter wants a husband. But whoever sues for her hand must perform a\nhard task. If he does not succeed he will forfeit his life.\u201d\n\nMany had already made the attempt, but in vain. Nevertheless, when the\nyouth saw the King\u2019s Daughter he was so overcome by her great beauty,\nthat he forgot all danger, went before the King, and declared himself a\nsuitor.\n\nSo he was led out to the sea, and a gold ring was cast into it. Then\nthe King ordered him to fetch this ring up from the bottom of the sea,\nand added, \u201cIf you come up without it, you will be thrown in again and\nagain until you perish amid the waves.\u201d\n\nAll the people grieved for the handsome youth; then they went away;\nleaving him alone by the sea.\n\n[Illustration: THERE LAY THE GOLD RING IN THE SHELL]\n\nHe stood on the shore and considered what he should do, when suddenly\nhe saw three fishes come swimming toward him. They were the very\nfishes whose lives he had saved. The one in the middle held a mussel in\nits mouth, which it laid on the shore at the youth\u2019s feet. When he had\ntaken it up and opened it, there lay the gold ring in the shell. Full\nof joy he took it to the King, and expected that he would grant him the\npromised reward.\n\nBut when the proud Princess perceived that he was not her equal in\nbirth, she scorned him, and required him first to perform another\ntask. She went down into the garden and strewed with her own hands ten\nsacksful of millet-seed on the grass.\n\nThen she said, \u201cTo-morrow morning before sunrise these must be picked\nup, and not a single grain be wanting.\u201d\n\nThe youth sat down in the garden and considered how he might perform\nthis task. But he could think of nothing, and there he sat sorrowfully\nawaiting the break of day, when he should be led to death. But as soon\nas the first rays of the sun shone into the garden, he saw all the\nten sacks standing side by side, quite full, and not a single grain\nwas missing. The Ant-King had come in the night with thousands and\nthousands of ants, and the grateful creatures had, by great industry,\npicked up all the millet-seeds and gathered them into the sacks.\n\nPresently, the King\u2019s Daughter herself came down into the garden, and\nwas amazed to see that the young man had done the task she had given\nhim.\n\nBut she could not yet conquer her proud heart, and said, \u201cAlthough he\nhas performed both the tasks, he shall not be my husband, until he has\nbrought me an apple from the Tree of Life.\u201d\n\nThe youth did not know where the Tree of Life stood, but he set out,\nand would have gone on forever, as long as his legs would carry him,\nthough he had no hope of finding it. After he had wandered through\nthree kingdoms, he came one evening to a wood, and lay down under a\ntree to sleep.\n\nBut he heard a rustling in the branches, and a Golden Apple fell into\nhis hand. At the same time three ravens flew down to him, perched\nthemselves upon his knee, and said, \u201cWe are the three young ravens whom\nyou saved from starving. When we had grown big, and heard that you were\nseeking the Golden Apple, we flew over the sea to the end of the world,\nwhere the Tree of Life stands, and have brought you the apple.\u201d\n\nThe youth, full of joy, set out homeward, and took the Golden Apple\nto the King\u2019s beautiful Daughter, who had now no more excuses left to\nmake. They cut the Apple of Life in two and ate it together; and then\nher heart became full of love for him, and they lived to a great age in\nundisturbed happiness.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nHAENSEL AND GRETHEL\n\n\nHard by a great forest, dwelt a poor woodcutter with his wife and his\ntwo children. The boy was called Haensel and the girl, Grethel. He had\nlittle to bite and to break; and once when great scarcity fell on the\nland, he could no longer procure daily bread.\n\nNow, when he thought over this by night in his bed, and tossed about in\nhis anxiety, he groaned and said to his wife, \u201cWhat is to become of us?\nHow are we to feed our poor children, when we no longer have anything\neven for ourselves?\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll tell you what, Husband,\u201d answered the woman, \u201cearly to-morrow\nmorning we will take the children out into the forest to where it is\nthe thickest; there we will light a fire for them, and give each of\nthem one piece of bread more. Then we will go to our work and leave\nthem alone. They will not find the way home again, and we shall be rid\nof them.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, Wife,\u201d said the man, \u201cI will not do that. How can I bear to leave\nmy children alone in the forest?--the wild animals would soon come and\ntear them to pieces.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, you fool!\u201d said she. \u201cThen we must all four die of hunger. You may\nas well plane the planks for our coffins.\u201d\n\nAnd she left him no peace until he consented. \u201cBut I feel very sorry\nfor the poor children, all the same,\u201d said the man.\n\nThe two children had also not been able to sleep for hunger, and had\nheard what the woman had said to their father.\n\nGrethel wept bitter tears, and said to Haensel, \u201cNow all is over with\nus.\u201d\n\n\u201cBe quiet, Grethel,\u201d said Haensel, \u201cdo not distress yourself, I will\nsoon find a way to help us.\u201d\n\nAnd when the old folk had fallen asleep, he got up, put on his little\ncoat, opened the door below, and crept outside. The moon shone\nbrightly, and the white pebbles, which lay in front of the house,\nglittered like real silver pennies. Haensel stooped and put as many of\nthem in the little pocket of his coat as he could possibly get in.\n\nThen he went back and said to Grethel, \u201cBe comforted, dear little\nSister, and sleep in peace. God will not forsake us,\u201d and he lay down\nagain in his bed.\n\nWhen day dawned, but before the sun had risen, the woman came and awoke\nthe two children, saying, \u201cGet up, you sluggards! we are going into the\nforest to fetch wood.\u201d She gave each a little piece of bread, and said,\n\u201cThere is something for your dinner, but do not eat it up before then,\nfor you will get nothing else.\u201d\n\nGrethel took the bread under her apron, as Haensel had the stones in\nhis pocket. Then they all set out together on the way to the forest.\nWhen they had walked a short time, Haensel stood still and peeped\nback, and did so again and again while he was throwing the white\npebble-stones one by one out of his pocket onto the road.\n\nWhen they had reached the middle of the forest, the father said, \u201cNow,\nChildren, pile up some wood, and I will light a fire that you may not\nbe cold.\u201d\n\nHaensel and Grethel gathered brushwood together, as high as a little\nhill. The brushwood was lighted, and when the flames were burning very\nhigh, the woman said, \u201cNow, Children, lay yourselves down by the fire\nand rest. We will go into the forest and cut some wood. When we have\ndone, we will come back and fetch you away.\u201d\n\nHaensel and Grethel sat by the fire, and when noon came, each ate a\nlittle piece of bread; and, as they heard the strokes of the wood-axe,\nthey believed that their father was near. It was, however, not the axe,\nit was a branch which he had fastened to a withered tree which the wind\nwas blowing backward and forward. And as they had been sitting such a\nlong time, their eyes shut with fatigue, and they fell fast asleep.\n\nWhen at last they awoke, it was already dark night. Grethel began to cry\nand said, \u201cHow are we to get out of the forest now?\u201d\n\nBut Haensel comforted her, and said, \u201cJust wait a little, until the\nmoon has risen, and then we shall soon find the way.\u201d\n\nAnd when the full moon had risen, Haensel took his little sister by the\nhand, and followed the pebbles which shone like newly-coined silver\npieces, and showed them the way.\n\nThey walked the whole night long, and, by break of day, came once more\nto their father\u2019s house. They knocked at the door; and when the woman\nopened it and saw that it was Haensel and Grethel, she said, \u201cYou\nnaughty children, why have you slept so long in the forest?--we thought\nyou were never coming back at all!\u201d\n\nThe father, however, rejoiced, for it had cut him to the heart to leave\nthem behind alone.\n\nNot long afterward, there was another famine in all parts, and\nthe children heard their mother saying at night to their father,\n\u201cEverything is eaten again, we have one-half loaf left, and after that\nthere is an end. The children must go, we will take them farther into\nthe wood, so that they will not find their way out again. There is no\nother means of saving ourselves!\u201d\n\nThe man\u2019s heart was heavy, and he thought \u201cit would be better for you\nto share the last mouthful with your children!\u201d The woman, however,\nwould listen to nothing that he had to say, but scolded and reproached\nhim. He who says A must say B, likewise, and as he had yielded the\nfirst time, he had to do so a second time also.\n\nThe children were, however, still awake and had heard the conversation.\nWhen the old folk were asleep, Haensel again got up to go out and pick\nup pebbles. But the woman had locked the door, and Haensel could not\nget out. Nevertheless he comforted his little sister, and said, \u201cDo not\ncry, Grethel, go to sleep quietly, the good God will help us.\u201d\n\nEarly in the morning, came the woman, and took the children out of\ntheir beds. Their bit of bread was given to them, but it was still\nsmaller than the time before. On the way into the forest, Haensel\ncrumbled his in his pocket, and often stood still and threw a morsel on\nthe ground, and little by little, threw all the crumbs on the path.\n\nThe woman led the children still deeper into the forest, where they had\nnever in their lives been before. Then a great fire was again made, and\nthe mother said, \u201cJust sit there, you Children, and when you are tired\nyou may sleep a little. We are going into the forest to cut wood. In\nthe evening, when we are done, we will come and fetch you away.\u201d\n\nWhen it was noon, Grethel shared her piece of bread with Haensel,\nwho had scattered his by the way. Then they fell asleep, and evening\npassed, but no one came to the poor children.\n\nThey did not awake until it was dark night, and Haensel comforted his\nlittle sister and said, \u201cJust wait, Grethel, until the moon rises, and\nthen we shall see the crumbs of bread which I have strewn. They will\nshow us our way home again.\u201d\n\nWhen the moon came, they set out, but they found no crumbs, for the\nmany thousands of birds, which fly about in the woods and fields, had\npicked them all up. Haensel said to Grethel, \u201cWe shall soon find the\nway,\u201d but they did not find it.\n\nThey walked the whole night and all the next day, from morning till\nevening, but they did not get out of the forest, and were very hungry,\nfor they had nothing to eat but two or three berries, which grew on the\nground. And as they were so weary that their legs would carry them no\nlonger, they lay down beneath a tree and fell asleep.\n\nIt was now three mornings since they had left their father\u2019s house.\nThey began to walk again, but they always got deeper into the forest.\nIf help did not come soon, they must die of hunger and weariness!\n\nWhen it was midday, they saw a beautiful Snow-White Bird sitting on a\nbough, which sang so delightfully that they stood still and listened\nto it. And when it had finished its song, it spread its wings and flew\naway before them. They followed it until they reached a little house,\non the roof of which it alighted.\n\nWhen they came quite up to the little House they saw that it was built\nof bread and covered with cakes, but that the windows were of clear\nsugar.\n\n\u201cWe will set to work on that,\u201d said Haensel, \u201cand have a good meal.\nI will eat a bit of the roof, and you, Grethel, can eat some of the\nwindow; it will taste sweet.\u201d\n\nHaensel reached up and broke off a little of the roof to try how it\ntasted. Grethel leant against the window and nibbled at the panes. Then\na soft voice cried from the room:\n\n \u201c_Nibble, nibble, gnaw!\n Who nibbles at my door?_\u201d\n\nbut the children went on eating without disturbing themselves. Haensel,\nwho thought the roof tasted very nice, tore down a great piece of it.\nGrethel pushed out the whole of one round window-pane, sat down, and\nenjoyed herself with it.\n\nSuddenly the door opened, and a very, very old woman, leaning on\ncrutches, came creeping out. Haensel and Grethel were so terribly\nfrightened that they let fall what they had in their hands.\n\nThe Old Woman, however, nodded her head, and said, \u201cOh, you dear\nChildren, who has brought you here? Do come in, and stay with me. No\nharm shall happen to you.\u201d\n\nShe took them both by the hand, and led them into her little house.\nThen she set good food before them, milk and pancakes, with sugar,\napples, and nuts. Afterward she covered two pretty little beds with\nclean white linen, and Haensel and Grethel lay down in them, and\nthought they were in Heaven.\n\nThe Old Woman had only pretended to be so kind. She was really a wicked\nWitch, who lay in wait for children, and who had built the little bread\nhouse in order to entice them there. When a child fell into her power,\nshe killed it, cooked, and ate it; and that was a feast-day with her.\n\nWitches have red eyes, and cannot see far, but they have a keen\nscent like the beasts\u2019, and are aware when human beings draw near.\nWhen Haensel and Grethel came into her neighborhood, she laughed\nmaliciously, and said mockingly, \u201cI have them, they shall not escape me\nagain!\u201d\n\nEarly in the morning before the children were awake, she was up. And\nwhen she saw both of them sleeping and looking so pretty, with their\nplump red cheeks, she muttered to herself, \u201cThat will be a dainty\nmouthful!\u201d\n\nThen she seized Haensel with her shrivelled hand, carried him into a\nlittle stable, and shut him in with a grated door. He might scream as\nhe liked, that was of no use!\n\nThen she went to Grethel, shook her till she awoke, and cried, \u201cGet up,\nlazy thing, fetch some water, and cook something good for your brother.\nHe is in the stable outside, and is to be made fat. When he is fat, I\nwill eat him.\u201d\n\nGrethel began to weep bitterly. But it was all in vain, she was forced\nto do what the wicked Witch ordered her.\n\nAnd now the best food was cooked for poor Haensel, while Grethel got\nnothing but crab-shells. Every morning the woman crept to the little\nstable, and cried, \u201cHaensel, stretch out your finger that I may feel if\nyou will soon be fat.\u201d\n\nWhen four weeks had gone by she was seized with impatience and would\nnot wait any longer. \u201cHo, there! Grethel,\u201d she cried to the girl, \u201cbe\nactive, and bring some water. Let Haensel be fat or lean, to-morrow I\nwill kill him, and cook him.\u201d\n\nAh! how the poor little sister did lament when she had to fetch the\nwater, and how her tears did flow down over her cheeks! \u201cDear God, do\nhelp us,\u201d she cried. \u201cIf the wild beasts in the forest had but devoured\nus, we should at any rate have died together!\u201d\n\n\u201cJust keep your noise to yourself,\u201d said the Old Woman, \u201call that won\u2019t\nhelp you at all.\u201d\n\nEarly in the morning, Grethel had to go out and hang up the cauldron,\nfull of water, and light the fire.\n\n\u201cWe will bake first,\u201d said the Old Woman, \u201cI have already heated the\noven, and kneaded the dough.\u201d She pushed poor Grethel out to the oven,\nfrom which flames of fire were darting.\n\n\u201cCreep in,\u201d said the Witch, \u201cand see if it is properly heated, so\nthat we can shut the bread in.\u201d And when once Grethel was inside, she\nintended to shut the oven and let her bake in it, and then eat her, too.\n\nBut Grethel saw what she had in her mind, and would not creep in.\n\u201cSilly Goose,\u201d said the Old Woman; \u201cthe door is big enough. Just look,\nI can get in myself!\u201d and she crept up and thrust her head in. Then she\nfell over into the oven and was miserably burnt to death.\n\nGrethel, however, ran as quick as lightning to Haensel, opened his\nlittle stable, and cried, \u201cHaensel, we are saved! The old Witch is\ndead!\u201d\n\nThen Haensel sprang out like a bird from its cage, when the door is\nopened for it. How they did rejoice and embrace each other, and dance\nabout and kiss each other! And as they had no longer any need to fear\nher, they went into the Witch\u2019s house, and in every corner there stood\nchests full of pearls and jewels.\n\n\u201cThese are far better than pebbles!\u201d said Haensel, and thrust into his\npockets whatever could be got in.\n\nAnd Grethel said, \u201cI, too, will take something home with me,\u201d and\nfilled her pinafore full.\n\n\u201cBut now we will go away,\u201d said Haensel, \u201cthat we may get out of the\nWitch\u2019s forest.\u201d\n\nWhen they had walked for two hours, they came to a great piece of\nwater. \u201cWe cannot get over,\u201d said Haensel, \u201cI see no foot-plank, and no\nbridge.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd no boat crosses either,\u201d answered Grethel, \u201cbut a white duck is\nswimming there. If I ask her, she will help us over.\u201d Then she cried:\n\n \u201c_Little Duck, little Duck, dost thou see,\n Haensel and Grethel are waiting for thee?\n There\u2019s never a plank, nor a bridge in sight,\n Take us across on thy back so white._\u201d\n\nThe duck came to them, and Haensel seated himself on her back, and\ntold his sister to sit by him. \u201cNo,\u201d replied Grethel, \u201cthat will be\ntoo heavy for the little duck. She shall take us across, one after the\nother.\u201d\n\nThe good little duck did so, and when they were once safely across and\nhad walked for a short time, the forest seemed to be more and more\nfamiliar to them. At length, they saw from afar their father\u2019s house.\nThen they began to run, rushed into the parlor, and threw themselves\ninto their father\u2019s arms. The man had not known one happy hour since he\nhad left the children in the forest. The woman, however, was dead.\n\nGrethel emptied her pinafore until pearls and precious stones ran about\nthe room, and Haensel threw one handful after another out of his pocket\nto add to them. Then all trouble was at an end, and they lived together\nin perfect happiness.\n\nMy tale is done, there runs a mouse, whosoever catches it, may make\nhimself a big, big fur cap out of it!\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nTHE SEVEN RAVENS\n\n\nThere was once a man who had seven sons, but never a daughter no matter\nhow much he wished for one.\n\nAt length, his wife had a child, and it was a daughter. The joy was\ngreat. But the child was sickly and small, and so weak that it had to\nbe baptized at once.\n\nThe father sent one of the boys in a hurry to the spring, to fetch\nwater for the baptism. The other six boys ran along with him. And as\neach strove to be the first to fill the jug, it fell into the spring.\nThere they stood, and did not know what to do. None of them dared to go\nhome.\n\nWhen they did not come back, the father grew impatient, and said, \u201cThey\nhave forgotten all about it in a game of play, the wicked boys!\u201d\n\nSoon he grew afraid lest the child should die without being baptized,\nand he cried out in anger, \u201cI wish the boys were all turned into\nRavens!\u201d\n\nHardly was the word spoken, before he heard a whirring of wings in\nthe air above his head. He looked up, and saw seven coal-black Ravens\nflying high and away.\n\nThe parents could not recall the curse. And though they grieved over\nthe loss of their seven sons, yet they comforted themselves somewhat\nwith their dear little daughter, who soon grew strong and every day\nmore beautiful.\n\nFor a long time, she did not know that she had had brothers. Her\nparents were careful not to mention them before her. But one day,\nshe chanced to overhear some people talking about her, and saying,\n\u201cthat the maiden is certainly beautiful, but really to blame for the\nmisfortune of her seven brothers.\u201d\n\nThen she was much troubled, and went to her father and mother, and\nasked if it was true that she had had brothers, and what was become of\nthem.\n\nThe parents did not dare to keep the secret longer, and said that her\nbirth was only the innocent cause of what had happened to her brothers.\nBut the maiden laid it daily to heart, and thought that she must\ndeliver her brothers.\n\nShe had no peace and rest until she set out secretly, and went forth\ninto the wide world to seek them out, and set them free, let it cost\nwhat it might. She took nothing with her but a little ring belonging\nto her parents as a keepsake, a loaf of bread against hunger, a little\npitcher of water against thirst, and a little chair as a provision\nagainst weariness.\n\nAnd now, she went continually onward, far, far, to the very end of the\nworld. Then she came to the Sun, but it was too hot and terrible, and\ndevoured little children. Hastily she ran away, and ran to the Moon,\nbut it was far too cold, and also awful and malicious. And when it saw\nthe child, it said:\n\n \u201c_I smell, I smell\n The flesh of men!_\u201d\n\n[Illustration: EACH STAR SAT ON ITS OWN LITTLE CHAIR]\n\nOn this she ran swiftly away, and came to the Stars, which were kind\nand good to her, and each of them sat on its own little chair. But the\nMorning Star arose, and gave her the drumstick of a chicken, and said,\n\u201cIf you have not that drumstick you cannot open the Glass Mountain, and\nin the Glass Mountain are your brothers.\u201d\n\nThe maiden took the drumstick, wrapped it carefully in a cloth, and\nwent onward again until she came to the Glass Mountain. The door was\nshut, and she thought she would take out the drumstick. But when\nshe undid the cloth, it was empty, and she had lost the good Star\u2019s\npresent. What was she now to do? She wished to rescue her brothers, and\nhad no key to the Glass Mountain. The good little sister took a knife,\ncut off one of her little fingers, put it in the door, and succeeded in\nopening it.\n\nWhen she had got inside, a little Dwarf came to meet her, who said, \u201cMy\nChild, what are you looking for?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am looking for my brothers, the Seven Ravens,\u201d she replied.\n\nThe Dwarf said, \u201cThe Lord Ravens are not at home, but if you wish to\nwait here until they come, step in.\u201d\n\nThereupon the little Dwarf carried the Ravens\u2019 dinner in, on seven\nlittle plates, and in seven little glasses. The little sister ate a\nmorsel from each plate, and from each little glass she took a sip. But\nin the last little glass she dropped the ring which she had brought\naway with her.\n\nSuddenly, she heard a whirring of wings and a rushing through the air,\nand then the little Dwarf said, \u201cNow the Lord Ravens are flying home.\u201d\n\nThen they came, and wanted to eat and drink, and looked for their\nlittle plates and glasses. Then said one after the other, \u201cWho has\neaten something from my plate? Who has drunk out of my little glass? It\nwas a human mouth.\u201d\n\nAnd when the seventh came to the bottom of the glass, the ring rolled\nagainst his mouth. Then he looked at it, and saw that it was a ring\nbelonging to his father and mother, and said, \u201cGod grant that our\nlittle sister may be here, and then we shall be free.\u201d\n\nWhen the maiden, who was standing behind the door watching, heard that\nwish, she came forth, and on this all the Ravens were restored to their\nhuman form again. And they embraced and kissed each other, and went\njoyfully home.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nASH-MAIDEN\n\n\nThe wife of a rich man fell sick, and as she felt that her end was\ndrawing near, she called her only daughter to her bedside and said,\n\u201cDear Child, be good and pious, and then the dear God will always\nprotect you, and I will look down on you from Heaven and be near you.\u201d\nThereupon she closed her eyes and departed.\n\nEvery day, the maiden went out to her mother\u2019s grave and wept, and she\nremained pious and good. When winter came the snow spread a white sheet\nover the grave, and when the spring-sun had drawn it off again, the man\nhad taken another wife.\n\nThe woman had brought two daughters into the house with her, who were\nbeautiful and fair of face, but vile and black of heart. Now began a\nbad time for the poor child. \u201cIs the stupid goose to sit in the parlor\nwith us?\u201d said they. \u201cHe who wants to eat bread, must earn it. Out with\nthe kitchen-wench!\u201d\n\nThey took her pretty clothes away from her, put an old gray bedgown\non her and gave her wooden shoes. \u201cJust look at the proud Princess,\nhow decked out she is!\u201d they cried, and laughed, and led her into the\nkitchen.\n\nThere she had to do hard work from morning till night, get up before\ndaybreak, carry water, light fires, cook and wash. Besides this, the\nsisters did her every imaginable injury--they mocked her and emptied\nher peas and lentils into the ashes, so that she was forced to sit and\npick them out again.\n\nIn the evening, when she had worked till she was weary, she had no bed\nto go to, but had to sleep by the fireside in the ashes. And as on that\naccount she always looked dusty and dirty, they called her Ash-Maiden.\n\nIt happened once that the father was going to the Fair, and he asked\nthe two daughters what he should bring back for them.\n\n\u201cBeautiful dresses,\u201d said one. \u201cPearls and jewels,\u201d said the second.\n\n\u201cAnd you, Ash-Maiden,\u201d said he, \u201cwhat will you have?\u201d\n\n\u201cFather, break off for me the first branch which knocks against your\nhat on your way home.\u201d\n\nSo he bought beautiful dresses, pearls and jewels for the two\ndaughters, and on his way home, as he was riding through a green\nthicket, a hazel twig brushed against him and knocked off his hat. Then\nhe broke off the branch and took it with him.\n\nWhen he reached home he gave the two daughters the things which\nthey had wished for, and to Ash-Maiden he gave the branch from the\nhazel-bush. Ash-Maiden thanked him, went to her mother\u2019s grave and\nplanted the branch on it, and wept so much that the tears fell down on\nit and watered it.\n\nIt grew, however, and became a handsome tree. Thrice a day Ash-Maiden\nwent and sat beneath it, and wept and prayed, and a little White Bird\nalways came on the tree. And if Ash-Maiden expressed a wish, the bird\nthrew down to her what she had wished for.\n\nIt happened that the King gave a feast, which was to last three days.\nTo it all the beautiful young girls in the country were invited,\nin order that his son might choose himself a Bride. When the two\nsisters heard that they too were to appear among the number, they were\ndelighted.\n\nThey called Ash-Maiden and said, \u201cComb our hair, brush our shoes, and\nfasten our buckles, for we are going to the feast at the King\u2019s palace.\u201d\n\nAsh-Maiden obeyed, but wept, because she too would have liked to go\nwith them to the dance, and she begged her mother to allow her to do so.\n\n\u201cYou go, Ash-Maiden!\u201d said she; \u201cyou are dusty and dirty, and would go\nto the feast? You have no clothes and shoes, and yet would dance!\u201d\n\nAs, however, Ash-Maiden went on asking, the mother at last said, \u201cI\nhave emptied a dish of lentils into the ashes for you. If you have\npicked them out again in two hours, you shall go with us.\u201d\n\nThe maiden went through the back-door into the garden, and called, \u201cYou\ntame Pigeons, you Turtledoves, and all you birds beneath the sky, come\nand help me to pick\n\n \u201c_The good into the pot,\n The bad into the crop!_\u201d\n\nThen two white pigeons came in by the kitchen-window, and afterward\nthe turtledoves. And at last all the birds beneath the sky came\nwhirring and crowding in, and alighted amongst the ashes. And the\npigeons nodded with their heads and began _pick, pick, pick, pick,_\nand the rest began also _pick, pick, pick, pick,_ and gathered all the\ngood grains into the dish. Hardly had one hour passed before they had\nfinished, and all flew out again.\n\nThen the girl took the dish to the mother, and was glad, and believed\nthat now she would be allowed to go with them to the feast.\n\nBut the mother said, \u201cNo, Ash-Maiden, you have no clothes and you\ncannot dance. You would only be laughed at.\u201d\n\nAnd as Ash-Maiden wept at this, the mother said, \u201cIf you can pick two\ndishes of lentils out of the ashes for me in one hour, you shall go\nwith us.\u201d And she thought to herself, \u201cThat she most certainly cannot\ndo.\u201d\n\nWhen the mother had emptied the two dishes of lentils amongst the\nashes, the maiden went through the back-door into the garden and cried,\n\u201cYou tame Pigeons, you Turtledoves, and all you birds under heaven,\ncome and help me to pick\n\n \u201c_The good into the pot,\n The bad into the crop!_\u201d\n\nThen two white pigeons came in by the kitchen-window, and afterward the\nturtledoves. And at last all the birds beneath the sky came whirring\nand crowding in, and alighted amongst the ashes. And the doves nodded\nwith their heads and began _pick, pick, pick, pick,_ and the others\nbegan also _pick, pick, pick, pick,_ and gathered all the good seeds\ninto the dishes. And before half an hour was over they had already\nfinished, and all flew out again.\n\nThen the maiden carried the dishes to the mother and was delighted, and\nbelieved that she might now go with them to the feast.\n\nBut the mother said, \u201cAll this will not help you. You go not with us,\nfor you have no clothes and cannot dance. We should be ashamed of you!\u201d\n\nThen she turned her back on Ash-Maiden, and hurried away with her two\nproud daughters.\n\nAs no one was now at home, Ash-Maiden went to her mother\u2019s grave\nbeneath the hazel-tree, and cried:\n\n \u201c_Shiver and quiver, Little Tree,\n Silver and gold throw over me!_\u201d\n\nThen the bird threw a gold and silver dress down to her, and slippers\nembroidered with silk and silver. She put on the dress with all speed,\nand went to the feast.\n\nHer sisters and the mother, however, did not know her, and thought she\nmust be a foreign Princess, for she looked so beautiful in the golden\ndress. They never once thought of Ash-Maiden, and believed that she was\nsitting at home in the dirt, picking lentils out of the ashes.\n\nThe Prince went to meet her, took her by the hand, and he danced with\nher. He would dance with no other maiden, and never let go of her hand.\nAnd if any one else came to invite her, he said, \u201cThis is my partner.\u201d\n\nShe danced till it was evening, and then she wanted to go home. But the\nKing\u2019s Son said, \u201cI will go with you and bear you company,\u201d for he\nwished to see to whom the beautiful maiden belonged.\n\nShe escaped from him, however, and sprang into the pigeon-house. The\nKing\u2019s Son waited until her father came, and then he told him that the\nstranger maiden had leapt into the pigeon-house. The old man thought,\n\u201cCan it be Ash-Maiden?\u201d and they had to bring him an axe and a pickaxe\nthat he might hew the pigeon-house to pieces, but no one was inside it.\n\nAnd when they got home, Ash-Maiden lay in her dirty clothes among the\nashes, and a dim little oil-lamp was burning on the mantelpiece. For\nAsh-Maiden had jumped quickly down from the back of the pigeon-house,\nand had run to the little hazel-tree. There she had taken off her\nbeautiful clothes and laid them on the grave, and the bird had taken\nthem away again. Then she had placed herself in the kitchen amongst the\nashes, in her gray gown.\n\nNext day, when the feast began afresh, and her parents and the sisters\nhad gone once more, Ash-Maiden went to the hazel-tree, and said:\n\n \u201c_Shiver and quiver, Little Tree,\n Silver and gold throw over me!_\u201d\n\nThen the bird threw down a much more beautiful dress than on the\npreceding day. And when Ash-Maiden appeared at the feast in this dress,\nevery one was astonished at her beauty.\n\nThe King\u2019s Son had waited until she came, and instantly took her by the\nhand and danced with no one but her. When others came and invited her,\nhe said, \u201cShe is my partner.\u201d\n\nWhen evening arrived, she wished to leave, and the King\u2019s Son followed\nher, and wanted to see into which house she went. But she sprang\naway from him, and into the garden behind the house. Therein stood\na beautiful tall tree on which hung the most magnificent pears. She\nclambered, like a squirrel, so nimbly between the branches, that the\nKing\u2019s Son did not know where she was gone.\n\nHe waited until her father came, and said to him, \u201cThe stranger-maiden\nhas escaped from me, and I believe she has climbed up the pear-tree.\u201d\n\nThe father thought, \u201cCan it be Ash-Maiden?\u201d and had an axe brought and\ncut the tree down, but no one was on it.\n\nAnd when they got into the kitchen, Ash-Maiden lay there amongst the\nashes, as usual, for she had jumped down on the other side of the tree,\nhad taken the beautiful dress to the bird on the little hazel-tree, and\nhad put on her gray gown.\n\nOn the third day, when the parents and sisters had gone away,\nAsh-Maiden went once more to her mother\u2019s grave, and said to the little\ntree:\n\n \u201c_Shiver and quiver, Little Tree,\n Silver and gold throw over me!_\u201d\n\nAnd now the bird threw down to her a dress which was more splendid and\nmagnificent than any she had yet had, and the slippers were golden.\n\nAnd when she went to the feast in the dress, no one knew how to speak\nfor astonishment. The King\u2019s Son danced with her only, and if any one\ninvited her to dance, he said, \u201cShe is my partner.\u201d\n\nWhen evening came, Ash-Maiden wished to leave, and the King\u2019s Son was\nanxious to go with her; but she escaped from him so quickly that he\ncould not follow her. The King\u2019s Son, however, had caused the whole\nstaircase to be smeared with pitch, and there, when she ran down, had\nthe maiden\u2019s left slipper remained sticking. The King\u2019s Son picked it\nup, and it was small and dainty, and all golden.\n\nNext morning, he went with it to the father, and said to him, \u201cNo one\nshall be my wife, but she whose foot this golden slipper fits.\u201d\n\nThen were the two sisters glad, for they had pretty feet. The eldest\nwent with the shoe into her room and wanted to try it on, and her\nmother stood by. But she could not get her big toe into it, for the\nshoe was too small for her.\n\nThen her mother gave her a knife, and said, \u201cCut the toe off. When you\nare Queen you will have no more need to go on foot.\u201d\n\nThe maiden cut the toe off, forced the foot into the shoe, swallowed\nthe pain, and went out to the King\u2019s Son. Then he took her on his horse\nas his Bride, and rode away with her. They were, however, obliged to\npass the grave, and there, on the hazel-tree, sat the two pigeons and\ncried:\n\n \u201c_Turn and peep, turn and peep,\n There\u2019s blood within the shoe!\n The shoe it is too small for her,\n The true Bride waits for you!_\u201d\n\nThen he looked at her foot, and saw how the blood was streaming from\nit. He turned his horse round and took the false Bride home again, and\nsaid she was not the true one, and that the other sister was to put the\nshoe on.\n\nThen this one went into her chamber and got her toes safely into the\nshoe, but her heel was too large.\n\nSo her mother gave her a knife, and said, \u201cCut a bit off your heel.\nWhen you are Queen you will have no more need to go on foot.\u201d\n\nThe maiden cut a bit off her heel, forced her foot into the shoe,\nswallowed the pain, and went out to the King\u2019s Son. He took her on his\nhorse as his Bride, and rode away with her. But when they passed by the\nhazel-tree, two little pigeons sat on it, and cried:\n\n \u201c_Turn and peep, turn and peep,\n There\u2019s blood within the shoe!\n The shoe it is too small for her,\n The true Bride waits for you!_\u201d\n\nHe looked down at her foot, and saw how the blood was running out of\nher shoe, and how it had stained her white stocking. Then he turned his\nhorse and took the false Bride home again. \u201cThis also is not the right\none,\u201d said he. \u201cHave you no other daughter?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said the man; \u201cthere is only a little stunted kitchen-girl which\nmy late wife left behind her, but she cannot possibly be the Bride.\u201d\n\nThe King\u2019s Son said he was to send her up to him; but the mother\nanswered, \u201cOh, no, she is much too dirty, she cannot show herself!\u201d\n\nHe insisted on it, and Ash-Maiden had to be called. She first washed\nher hands and face clean, and then went and bowed down before the\nKing\u2019s Son, who gave her the golden shoe.\n\nThen she seated herself on a stool, drew her foot out of the heavy\nwooden shoe, and put it into the slipper, which fitted like a glove.\n\nAnd when she rose up and the King\u2019s Son looked at her face he\nrecognized the beautiful maiden who had danced with him, and cried,\n\u201cThat is the true Bride!\u201d\n\nThe mother and the two sisters were terrified and became pale with\nrage. He, however, took Ash-Maiden on his horse and rode away with her.\nAs they passed by the hazel-tree, the two white doves cried:\n\n \u201c_Turn and peep, turn and peep,\n No blood is in the shoe!\n The shoe is not too small for her,\n The true Bride rides with you!_\u201d\n\nand when they had cried that, the two came flying down and placed\nthemselves on Ash-Maiden\u2019s shoulders, one on the right, the other on\nthe left, and remained sitting there.\n\nWhen the wedding with the King\u2019s Son had to be celebrated, the two\nfalse sisters came and wanted to get into favor with Ash-Maiden and\nshare her good fortune. When the betrothed couple went to church,\nthe elder was at the right side and the younger at the left, and the\npigeons pecked out one eye of each of them. Afterward as they came\nback, the elder was at the left, and the younger at the right, and\nthen the pigeons pecked out the other eye of each. And thus, for their\nwickedness and falsehood, they were punished with blindness as long as\nthey lived.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nTHE ELVES AND THE SHOEMAKER\n\n\nA shoemaker, by no fault of his own, had become so poor that at last he\nhad nothing left but leather for one pair of shoes. So in the evening,\nhe cut out the shoes which he wished to make the next morning. And as\nhe had a good conscience, he lay down quietly in his bed, commended\nhimself to God, and fell asleep.\n\nIn the morning, after he had said his prayers, and was just going to\nsit down to work, lo! both shoes stood all finished on his table. He\nwas astounded, and did not know what to say. He took the shoes in\nhis hands to examine them closer, and they were so neatly made that\nthere was not one bad stitch in them, just as if they were meant for a\nmasterpiece.\n\nSoon after, a buyer came in, and as the shoes pleased him well, he paid\nmore for them than was customary. And, with the money, the shoemaker\nwas able to purchase leather for two pairs of shoes.\n\nHe cut them out at night, and next morning was about to set to work\nwith fresh courage; but he had no need to do so, for, when he got up,\nthey were already made. And buyers also were not wanting, who gave him\nmoney enough to buy leather for four pairs of shoes.\n\nThe following morning, too, he found the four pairs made. And so it\nwent on constantly, what he cut out in the evening was finished by\nmorning, so that he soon had his honest living again, and at last\nbecame a wealthy man.\n\nNow it befell that, one evening not long before Christmas, when the man\nhad been cutting out, he said to his wife, before going to bed, \u201cWhat\nthink you, if we were to stay up to-night to see who it is that lends\nus this helping hand?\u201d\n\nThe woman liked the idea, and lighted a candle, and then they hid\nthemselves in a corner of the room, behind some clothes which were\nhanging there, and watched.\n\nWhen it was midnight, two pretty tiny naked Little Men came, sat down\nby the shoemaker\u2019s table, took all the work which was cut out before\nthem and began to stitch, sew, and hammer so skilfully and so quickly\nwith their little fingers, that the shoemaker could not turn away his\neyes for astonishment. They did not stop until all was done, and stood\nfinished on the table, and then they ran quickly away.\n\nNext morning, the woman said, \u201cThe Little Men have made us rich, and we\nreally must show that we are grateful for it. They run about so much,\nand have nothing on, and must be cold. I\u2019ll tell you what I\u2019ll do. I\nwill make them little shirts, coats, vests, and trousers, and knit\nboth of them a pair of stockings. Do you make them two little pairs of\nshoes.\u201d\n\nThe man said, \u201cI shall be very glad to do it.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: THE ELVES BEGAN TO STITCH, SEW, AND HAMMER]\n\nAnd one night, when everything was ready, they laid their presents,\ninstead of the cut-out work, all together on the table, and then\nconcealed themselves to see how the Little Men would behave.\n\nAt midnight they came bounding in, and wanted to get to work at once.\nBut as they did not find any leather cut out, only the pretty little\narticles of clothing, they were at first astonished, and then they\nshowed intense delight. They dressed themselves with the greatest\nrapidity, putting the pretty clothes on, and singing:\n\n \u201c_Now we are boys so fine to see,\n Why should we longer cobblers be?_\u201d\n\nThen they danced and skipped and leapt over chairs and benches. At\nlast, they danced out of doors. From that time forth they came no more,\nbut as long as the shoemaker lived all went well with him, and all his\nundertakings prospered.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nTHE THREE BROTHERS\n\n\nThere was once a man who had three sons, and nothing else in the world\nbut the house in which he lived. Now each of the sons wished to have\nthe house after his father\u2019s death; but the father loved them all\nalike, and did not know what to do. He did not wish to sell the house,\nbecause it had belonged to his forefathers, else he might have divided\nthe money amongst them.\n\nAt last a plan came into his head, and he said to his sons, \u201cGo into\nthe world, and try each of you to learn a trade. When you all come\nback, he who makes the best masterpiece shall have the house.\u201d\n\nThe sons were well content with this, and the eldest determined to be a\nblacksmith, the second a barber, and the third a fencing-master. They\nfixed a time when they should all come home again, and then each went\nhis way.\n\nIt chanced that they all found skilful masters, who taught them their\ntrades well. The blacksmith had to shoe the King\u2019s horses, and he\nthought to himself, \u201cThe house is mine, without doubt.\u201d The barber\nshaved only great people, and he too already looked upon the house as\nhis own. The fencing-master got many a blow, but he only bit his lip,\nand let nothing vex him; \u201cfor,\u201d said he to himself, \u201cif you are afraid\nof a blow, you\u2019ll never win the house.\u201d\n\nWhen the appointed time had gone by, the three brothers came back home\nto their father. But they did not know how to find the best opportunity\nfor showing their skill, so they sat down and consulted together.\n\nAs they were sitting thus, all at once a hare came running across the\nfield. \u201cAh, ha, just in time!\u201d said the barber. So he took his basin\nand soap, and lathered away until the hare came up. Then he soaped and\nshaved off the hare\u2019s whiskers whilst he was running at the top of his\nspeed, and did not even cut his skin or injure a hair on his body.\n\n\u201cWell done!\u201d said the old man, \u201cyour brothers will have to exert\nthemselves wonderfully, or the house will be yours.\u201d\n\nSoon after, up came a nobleman in his coach, dashing along at full\nspeed. \u201cNow you shall see what I can do, Father,\u201d said the blacksmith.\nSo away he ran after the coach, took all four shoes off the feet of\none of the horses whilst he was galloping, and put on four new shoes\nwithout stopping him.\n\n\u201cYou are a fine fellow, and as clever as your brother,\u201d said his\nfather. \u201cI do not know to which I ought to give the house.\u201d\n\nThen the third son said, \u201cFather, let me have my turn, if you please.\u201d\nAnd, as it was beginning to rain, he drew his sword, and flourished\nit backward and forward above his head so fast that not a drop fell\nupon him. It rained still harder and harder, till at last it came down\nin torrents. But he only flourished his sword faster and faster, and\nremained as dry as if he were sitting in a house.\n\nWhen his father saw this he was amazed, and said, \u201cThis is the\nmasterpiece, the house is yours!\u201d\n\nHis brothers were satisfied with this, as was agreed before-hand. And,\nas they loved one another very much, they all three stayed together in\nthe house, followed their trades, and, as they had learnt them so well\nand were so clever, they earned a great deal of money.\n\nThus they lived together Happily, until they grew old. And at last,\nwhen one of them fell sick and died, the two others grieved so sorely\nabout it that they also fell ill, and soon after died. And because they\nhad been so clever, and had loved one another so much, they were all\nlaid in the same grave.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nLITTLE TABLE SET THYSELF, GOLD-ASS, AND CUDGEL OUT OF THE SACK\n\n\nThere was once upon a time, a tailor, who had three sons and only one\ngoat. But as the goat supported the whole of them with her milk, she\nwas obliged to have good food, and to be taken every day to pasture.\nThe sons, therefore, did this, in turn.\n\nOnce, the eldest took her to the churchyard, where the finest herbs\nwere to be found, and let her eat and run about there. At night, when\nit was time to go home, he asked, \u201cGoat, have you had enough?\u201d\n\nThe goat answered:\n\n \u201c_I have eaten so much,\n Not a leaf more I\u2019ll touch,\n Ma! Ma!_\u201d\n\n\u201cCome home, then,\u201d said the youth, and took hold of the cord round her\nneck, led her into the stable and tied her up securely.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the old tailor, \u201chas the goat had as much food as she\nought?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d answered the son, \u201cshe has eaten so much, not a leaf more she\u2019ll\ntouch.\u201d\n\nBut the father wished to satisfy himself, and went down to the stable,\nstroked the dear animal and asked, \u201cGoat, are you satisfied?\u201d\n\nThe goat answered:\n\n \u201c_With what should I be satisfied?\n Among the graves I leapt about,\n And found no food, so went without,\n Ma! Ma!_\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat do I hear?\u201d cried the tailor, and ran up-stairs and said to the\nyouth, \u201cHollo, you liar; you said the goat had had enough, and have let\nher go hungry!\u201d and in his anger, he took the yard-measure from the\nwall, and drove him out with blows.\n\nNext day, it was the turn of the second son, who looked out for a place\nin the fence of the garden, where nothing but good herbs grew. And the\ngoat cleared them all off.\n\nAt night, when he wanted to go home, he asked, \u201cGoat, are you\nsatisfied?\u201d\n\nThe goat answered:\n\n \u201c_I have eaten so much,\n Not a leaf more I\u2019ll touch,\n Ma! Ma!_\u201d\n\n\u201cCome home, then,\u201d said the youth, and led her home and tied her up in\nthe stable.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the old tailor, \u201chas the goat had as much food as she\nought?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d answered the son, \u201cshe has eaten so much, not a leaf more she\u2019ll\ntouch.\u201d\n\nThe tailor would not rely on this, but went down to the stable and\nsaid, \u201cGoat, have you had enough?\u201d\n\nThe goat answered:\n\n \u201c_With what should I be satisfied?\n Among the graves I leapt about,\n And found no food, so went without,\n Ma! Ma!_\u201d\n\n\u201cThe godless wretch!\u201d cried the tailor, \u201cto let such a good animal\ngo hungry,\u201d and he ran up and drove the youth out of doors with the\nyard-measure.\n\nNow came the turn of the third son, who wanted to do the thing well,\nand sought out some bushes with the finest leaves, and let the goat\ndevour them.\n\nIn the evening when he wanted to go home, he asked, \u201cGoat, have you had\nenough?\u201d\n\nThe goat answered:\n\n \u201c_I have eaten so much,\n Not a leaf more I\u2019ll touch,\n Ma! Ma!_\u201d\n\n\u201cCome home, then,\u201d said the youth, and led her into the stable, and\ntied her up.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the old tailor, \u201chas the goat had a proper amount of food?\u201d\n\n\u201cShe has eaten so much, not a leaf more she\u2019ll touch.\u201d\n\nThe tailor did not trust to that, but went down and asked, \u201cGoat, have\nyou had enough?\u201d\n\nThe wicked beast answered:\n\n\n \u201c_With what should I be satisfied?\n Among the graves I leapt about,\n And found no leaves, so went without,\n Ma! Ma!_\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, the brood of liars!\u201d cried the tailor, \u201ceach as wicked and\nforgetful of his duty as the other! Ye shall no longer make a fool\nof me,\u201d and, quite beside himself with anger, he ran up-stairs and\nbelabored the poor young fellow so vigorously with the yard-measure\nthat he sprang out of the house.\n\nThe old tailor was now alone with his goat. Next morning he went down\ninto the stable, caressed the goat and said, \u201cCome, my dear little\nanimal, I myself will take you to feed.\u201d\n\nHe took her by the rope and conducted her to green hedges, and amongst\nmilfoil, and whatever else goats like to eat. \u201cThere you may for once\neat to your heart\u2019s content,\u201d said he to her, and let her browse till\nevening.\n\nThen he asked, \u201cGoat, are you satisfied?\u201d She replied:\n\n \u201c_I have eaten so much,\n Not a leaf more I\u2019ll touch,\n Ma! Ma!_\u201d\n\n\u201cCome home, then,\u201d said the tailor, and led her into the stable, and\ntied her fast.\n\nWhen he was going away, he turned round again and said, \u201cWell, are you\nsatisfied for once?\u201d\n\nBut the goat did not behave better to him, and cried:\n\n \u201c_With what should I be satisfied?\n Among the graves I leapt about,\n And found no leaves, so went without,\n Ma! Ma!_\u201d\n\nWhen the tailor heard that, he was shocked, and saw clearly that he\nhad driven away his three sons without cause. \u201cWait, you ungrateful\ncreature,\u201d cried he, \u201cit is not enough to drive you forth, I will mark\nyou so that you will no more dare to show yourself amongst honest\ntailors!\u201d\n\nIn great haste, he ran up-stairs, fetched his razor, lathered the\ngoat\u2019s head, and shaved her as clean as the palm of his hand. And as\nthe yard-measure would have been too good for her, he brought the\nhorsewhip, and gave her such cuts with it that she ran away with mighty\nleaps.\n\nWhen the tailor was thus left quite alone in his house, he fell into\ngreat grief, and would gladly have had his sons back again. But no one\nknew whither they were gone.\n\nThe eldest had apprenticed himself to a joiner, and learnt\nindustriously and unweariedly, and when the time came for him to go on\nhis travels, his master presented him with a little table which had no\nunusual appearance, and was made of common wood. But it had one good\nproperty; if any one put it down, and said:\n\n \u201c_Little Table!\n Set thyself!_\u201d\n\nthe good Little Table was at once covered with a clean little cloth.\nAnd a plate was there, and a knife and fork beside it, and dishes with\nboiled meats and roasted meats, as many as there was room for, and a\ngreat glass of red wine shone so that it made the heart glad.\n\nThe young journeyman thought, \u201cWith this you have enough for your whole\nlife!\u201d and went joyously about the world, and never troubled himself\nwhether an inn was good or bad, or if anything was to be found in it\nor not. When it suited him he did not enter an inn at all, but either\nin the plain, a wood, a meadow, or wherever he fancied, he took his\nLittle Table off his back, set it down before him, and said:\n\n \u201c_Little Table!\n Set thyself!_\u201d\n\nand then everything appeared that his heart desired.\n\nAt length, he took it into his head to go back to his father, whose\nanger would now be appeased, and who would now willingly receive him\nwith his Wishing-Table. It came to pass that on his way home, he\narrived, one evening, at an inn which was filled with guests. They bade\nhim welcome, and invited him to sit and eat with them, for otherwise he\nwould have difficulty in getting anything.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d answered the joiner, \u201cI will not take the few bites out of your\nmouths. Rather than that, you shall be my guests.\u201d\n\nThey laughed, and thought he was joking. He, however, placed his wooden\nLittle Table in the middle of the room, and said:\n\n \u201c_Little Table!\n Set thyself!_\u201d\n\nInstantly it was covered with food, so good that the host could never\nhave procured it, and the smell of it arose pleasantly to the noses of\nthe guests.\n\n\u201cFall to, dear Friends,\u201d said the joiner.\n\nAnd the guests, when they saw that he meant it, did not need to be\nasked twice, but drew near, pulled out their knives and attacked it\nvaliantly. And what surprised them most, was that when a dish became\nempty, a full one instantly took its place. The innkeeper stood in\none corner and watched the doings. He did not know what to say, but\nthought, \u201cI could easily find use for such a cook as that in my\nkitchen.\u201d\n\nThe joiner and his comrades made merry until late into the night. At\nlength they lay down to sleep, and the young apprentice also went to\nbed, and set his Magic Table against the wall.\n\nThe host\u2019s thoughts, however, let him have no rest. It occurred to him\nthat there was a little old table in his lumber-room, which looked\njust like the apprentice\u2019s. And he brought it out quite softly, and\nexchanged it for the Wishing-Table.\n\nNext morning, the joiner paid for his bed, took up his table, never\nthinking that he had got a false one, and went his way.\n\nAt midday, he reached his father, who received him with great joy.\n\u201cWell, my dear son, what have you learnt?\u201d said he to him.\n\n\u201cFather, I have become a joiner.\u201d\n\n\u201cA good trade,\u201d replied the old man; \u201cbut what have you brought back\nwith you from your apprenticeship?\u201d\n\n\u201cFather, the best thing which I have brought back with me is this\nLittle Table.\u201d\n\nThe tailor examined it on all sides and said, \u201cYou did not make a\nmasterpiece, when you made that. It is a bad old table.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut it is a table which furnishes itself,\u201d replied the son. \u201cWhen I\nput it down, and tell it to set itself, the most beautiful dishes stand\non it, and a wine also which gladdens the heart. Just invite all our\nrelations and friends. They shall refresh and enjoy themselves for\nonce, for the table will give them all they require.\u201d\n\nWhen the company was assembled, he put his table in the middle of the\nroom and said:\n\n \u201c_Little Table!\n Set thyself!_\u201d\n\nbut the little table did not bestir itself, and remained just as bare\nas any other table which did not understand language. Then the poor\napprentice became aware that his table had been changed, and was\nashamed at having to stand there like a liar.\n\nThe relations, however, mocked him, and were forced to go home without\nhaving eaten or drunk. The father brought out his patches, and began to\ntailor again, but the son went to a master in the craft.\n\nThe second son had gone to a miller and had apprenticed himself to\nhim. When his years were over, the master said, \u201cAs you have conducted\nyourself so well, I give you an Ass of a peculiar kind, which neither\ndraws a cart nor carries a sack.\u201d\n\n\u201cTo what use is he put, then?\u201d asked the young apprentice.\n\n\u201cHe lets gold drop from his mouth,\u201d answered the miller. \u201cIf you set him\non a cloth, and say:\n\n \u201c\u2018_Bricklebrit!_\u2019\n\nthe good animal will drop gold pieces for you.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is a fine thing,\u201d said the apprentice, and thanked the master,\nand went out into the world. When he had need of gold, he had only to\nsay:\n\n \u201c_Bricklebrit!_\u201d\n\nto his Ass, and it rained gold pieces, and he had nothing to do but\npick them off the ground. Wheresoever he went, the best of everything\nwas good enough for him, and the dearer the better, for he had always a\nfull purse.\n\nWhen he had looked about the world for some time, he thought, \u201cYou\nmust seek out your father; if you go to him with the Gold-Ass, he will\nforget his anger, and receive you well.\u201d\n\nIt came to pass, that he reached the same public-house in which his\nbrother\u2019s table had been exchanged. He led his Ass by the bridle, and\nthe host was about to take the animal from him to tie him up, but the\nyoung apprentice said, \u201cDon\u2019t trouble yourself. I will take my gray\nhorse into the stable, and tie him up myself, for I must know where he\nstands.\u201d\n\nThis struck the host as odd, and he thought that a man who was forced\nto look after his Ass himself, could not have much to spend. But when\nthe stranger put his hand in his pocket and brought out two gold\npieces, and said he was to provide something good for him, the host\nopened his eyes wide, and ran and sought out the best he could muster.\n\nAfter dinner, the guest asked what he owed. The host did not see why he\nshould not double the reckoning, and said the apprentice must give two\nmore gold pieces.\n\nHe felt in his pocket, but his gold was just at an end. \u201cWait an\ninstant, sir host,\u201d said he, \u201cI will go and fetch some money;\u201d but he\ntook the tablecloth with him.\n\nThe host could not imagine what this could mean, and being curious,\nstole after him, and as the guest bolted the stable-door, he peeped\nthrough a hole left by a knot in the wood.\n\nThe stranger spread out the cloth under the animal and cried:\n\n \u201c_Bricklebrit!_\u201d\n\nand immediately the beast began to let gold pieces fall, so that it\nfairly rained down money on the ground.\n\n\u201cEh, my word!\u201d said the host, \u201cducats are quickly coined there! A purse\nlike that is not amiss.\u201d\n\nThe guest paid his score, and went to bed, but in the night the host\nstole down into the stable, led away the master of the mint, and tied\nup another ass in his place. Early next morning, the apprentice went\naway with the ass, and thought that he had his Gold-Ass.\n\nAt midday he reached his father, who rejoiced to see him again, and\ngladly took him in. \u201cWhat have you made of yourself, my Son?\u201d asked the\nold man.\n\n\u201cA miller, dear Father,\u201d he answered.\n\n\u201cWhat have you brought back with you from your travels?\u201d\n\n\u201cNothing else but an ass.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere are asses enough here,\u201d said the father. \u201cI would rather have\nhad a good goat.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d replied the son, \u201cbut it is no common ass, but a Gold-Ass. When\nI say:\n\n \u201c\u2018_Bricklebrit!_\u2019\n\nthe good beast opens its mouth and drops a whole sheetful of gold\npieces. Just summon all our relations hither, and I will make them rich\nfolk.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat suits me well,\u201d said the tailor, \u201cfor then I shall have no need\nto torment myself any longer with the needle;\u201d and he ran out and\ncalled the relations together.\n\nAs soon as they were assembled, the miller bade them make way, spread\nout his cloth, and brought the ass into the room. \u201cNow watch,\u201d said he,\nand cried:\n\n \u201c_Bricklebrit!_\u201d\n\nbut no gold pieces fell, and it was clear that the animal knew nothing\nof the art, for every ass does not attain such perfection.\n\nThen the poor miller pulled a long face, saw that he was betrayed, and\nbegged pardon of the relatives, who went home as poor as they came.\nThere was no help for it, the old man had to betake him to his needle\nonce more, and the youth hired himself to a miller.\n\nThe third brother had apprenticed himself to a turner, and as that is\nskilled labor, he was the longest in learning. His brothers, however,\ntold him in a letter how badly things had gone with them, and how the\ninnkeeper had cheated them of their beautiful wishing-gifts on the last\nevening before they reached home.\n\nWhen the turner had served his time, and had to set out on his travels,\nas he had conducted himself so well, his master presented him with a\nsack, and said, \u201cThere is a Cudgel in it.\u201d\n\n\u201cI can put on the sack,\u201d said he, \u201cand it may be of good service to me,\nbut why should the Cudgel be in it? It only makes it heavy.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will tell you why,\u201d replied the master; \u201cif any one has done\nanything to injure you, do but say:\n\n \u201c\u2018_Cudgel!\n Out of the sack!_\u2019\n\nand the Cudgel will leap forth among the people, and play such a dance\non their backs, that they will not be able to stir or move for a week,\nand it will not leave off until you say:\n\n \u201c\u2018_Cudgel!\n Into the sack!_\u2019\u201d\n\nThe apprentice thanked him, put the sack on his back, and when any one\ncame too near him, and wished to attack him, he said:\n\n \u201c_Cudgel!\n Out of the sack!_\u201d\n\nand instantly the Cudgel sprang out, and dusted the coat or jacket of\none after the other on their backs, and never stopped until it had\nstripped it off them. And it was done so quickly, that before any one\nwas aware, it was already his own turn.\n\nIn the evening, the young turner reached the inn where his brothers\nhad been cheated. He laid his sack on the table before him, and began\nto talk of all the wonderful things which he had seen in the world.\n\u201cYes,\u201d said he, \u201cpeople may easily find a Little Table which will cover\nitself, a Gold-Ass, and things of that kind--extremely good things\nwhich I by no means despise--but these are nothing in comparison with\nthe treasure which I have won for myself, and am carrying about with me\nin my sack there.\u201d\n\nThe innkeeper pricked up his ears. \u201cWhat in the world can that be?\u201d\nthought he. \u201cThe sack must be filled with nothing but jewels. I ought\nto get them cheap too, for all good things go in threes.\u201d\n\nWhen it was time for sleep, the guest stretched himself on the bench,\nand laid his sack beneath him for a pillow. When the innkeeper thought\nhis guest was lying in a sound sleep, he went to him and pushed and\npulled quite gently and carefully at the sack to see if he could\npossibly draw it away and lay another in its place. The turner had,\nhowever, been waiting for this for a long time; and now, just as the\ninnkeeper was about to give a hearty tug, he cried:\n\n \u201c_Cudgel!\n Out of the sack!_\u201d\n\nInstantly the little Cudgel came forth, and fell on the innkeeper, and\ngave him a sound thrashing.\n\nThe host cried for mercy. But the louder he cried, so much the more\nheavily the Cudgel beat time on his back, until at length he fell to\nthe ground exhausted.\n\nThen the turner said, \u201cIf you do not give back the Little Table that\nsets itself, and the Gold-Ass, the dance shall begin afresh.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, no,\u201d cried the host, quite humbly, \u201cI will gladly bring out\neverything, only make the accursed Kobold creep back into the sack!\u201d\n\nThen said the apprentice, \u201cI will let mercy take the place of justice,\nbut beware of getting into mischief again!\u201d So he cried:\n\n \u201c_Cudgel!\n Into the sack!_\u201d\n\nand let him have rest.\n\nNext morning, the turner went home to his father with the\nWishing-Table, and the Gold-Ass. The tailor rejoiced when he saw him\nonce more, and asked him likewise what he had learned in foreign parts.\n\n\u201cDear Father,\u201d said he, \u201cI have become a turner.\u201d\n\n\u201cA skilled trade,\u201d said the father. \u201cWhat have you brought back with\nyou from your travels?\u201d\n\n\u201cA precious thing, dear Father,\u201d replied the son, \u201ca Cudgel in the\nsack.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat!\u201d cried the father, \u201ca Cudgel! That\u2019s worth your trouble, indeed!\nFrom every tree you can cut one for yourself.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut not one like this, dear Father. If I say:\n\n \u201c\u2018_Cudgel!\n Out of the sack!_\u2019\n\nthe Cudgel springs out and leads any one, who means ill by me, a weary\ndance, and never stops until he lies on the ground and prays for fair\nweather. Look you, with this Cudgel have I got back the Wishing-Table\nand the Gold-Ass, which the thievish innkeeper took away from my\nbrothers. Now let them both be sent for, and invite all our kinsmen. I\nwill give them to eat and to drink, and will fill their pockets with\ngold into the bargain.\u201d\n\nThe old tailor would not quite believe, but nevertheless got the\nrelatives together. Then the turner spread a cloth in the room, and led\nin the Gold-Ass, and said to his brother, \u201cNow, dear Brother, speak to\nhim.\u201d\n\nThe miller said:\n\n \u201c_Bricklebrit!_\u201d\n\nand instantly the gold pieces fell down on the cloth like a\nthunder-shower, and the Ass did not stop until every one of them had so\nmuch that he could carry no more. (I can see in your face that you also\nwould have liked to be there!)\n\nThen the turner brought the Little Table, and said, \u201cNow, dear Brother,\nspeak to it.\u201d And scarcely had the carpenter said:\n\n \u201c_Little Table!\n Set thyself!_\u201d\n\nthan it was spread, and covered with the most exquisite dishes. Then\nsuch a meal took place as the good tailor had never yet known in his\nhouse. The whole party of kinsmen stayed together till far in the\nnight, and were all merry and glad. The tailor locked away needle and\nthread, yard-measure and goose, in a press, and lived with his three\nsons in joy and splendor.\n\nWhat, however, has become of the goat, who was to blame for the tailor\ndriving out his three sons? That I will tell you.\n\nShe was ashamed that she had a bald head, and ran to a fox\u2019s hole and\ncrept into it. When the fox came home, he was met by two great eyes\nshining out of the darkness, and was terrified and ran away. A bear\nmet him, and as the fox looked quite disturbed, he said, \u201cWhat is the\nmatter with you, brother Fox, why do you look like that?\u201d\n\n\u201cAh,\u201d answered Redskin, \u201ca fierce beast is in my cave and stared at me\nwith its fiery eyes.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe will soon drive him out,\u201d said the bear, and went with him to the\ncave and looked in. But when he saw the fiery eyes, fear seized him\nlikewise. He would have nothing to do with the furious beast, and took\nto his heels.\n\nThe bee met him, and as she saw that he was ill at ease, she said,\n\u201cBear, you are really pulling a very pitiful face. What has become of\nall your jollity?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is all very well for you to talk,\u201d replied the bear, \u201ca furious\nbeast with staring eyes is in Redskin\u2019s house, and we can\u2019t drive him\nout.\u201d\n\nThe bee said, \u201cBear, I pity you! I am a poor weak creature, whom you\nwould not turn aside to look at. Yet I believe I can help you.\u201d She\nflew into the fox\u2019s cave, lighted on the goat\u2019s clean, shaved head, and\nstung her so hard that she sprang up crying, \u201c_Ma! ma!_\u201d and ran forth\ninto the world like mad; and to this hour no one knows where she has\ngone.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nIRON JOHN\n\n\nOnce on a time there was a King who had a great forest near his palace,\nfull of all kinds of wild animals. One day he sent out a huntsman to\nshoot him a roe, but he did not come back.\n\n\u201cPerhaps some accident has befallen him,\u201d said the King, and the next\nday he sent out two more huntsmen who were to search for him, but they\ntoo stayed away.\n\nThen on the third day, he sent for all his huntsmen, and said, \u201cScour\nthe whole forest through, and do not give up until ye have found all\nthree.\u201d But of these also, none came home again, and of the pack of\nhounds which they had taken with them, none were seen more.\n\nFrom that time forth, no one would any longer venture into the forest,\nand it lay in deep stillness and solitude. Nothing was seen but\nsometimes an eagle or a hawk flying over it. This lasted for many\nyears, when a strange huntsman came to the King asking for work, and\noffered to go into the dangerous forest. The King, however, would not\ngive his consent, and said, \u201cIt is not safe in there. I fear it would\nfare with you no better than with the others, and you would never come\nout again.\u201d\n\nThe huntsman replied, \u201cLord, I will venture it at my own risk; of fear\nI know nothing.\u201d\n\nThe huntsman therefore betook himself with his dog to the forest. It\nwas not long before the dog fell in with some game, and wanted to\npursue it. But hardly had the dog run two steps when he stood before a\ndeep pool and could go no farther. Then a naked arm stretched itself\nout of the water, seized him, and drew him under.\n\nWhen the huntsman saw that, he went back and fetched three men to come\nwith buckets and bale out the water. When they could see the bottom,\nthere lay a Wild Man whose body was brown like rusty iron, and whose\nhair hung over his face down to his knees. They bound him with cords,\nand led him away to the castle.\n\nThere was great astonishment over the Wild Man. The King had him put\nin an iron cage in his courtyard, and forbade the door to be opened\non pain of death, and the Queen herself was to take the key into her\nkeeping. And from this time forth, every one could once more go into\nthe forest with safety.\n\nThe King had a son, eight years old, who one day was playing in the\ncourtyard, and while he was playing, his golden ball fell into the\ncage. The boy ran thither and said, \u201cGive me my ball.\u201d\n\n\u201cNot till you have opened the door for me,\u201d answered the man.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said the boy, \u201cI will not do that. The King has forbidden it,\u201d\nand ran away.\n\nThe next day he again went and asked for his ball. The Wild Man said,\n\u201cOpen my door,\u201d but the boy would not.\n\nOn the third day when the King had ridden out hunting, the boy went\nonce more and said, \u201cI cannot open the door even if I wished, for I\nhave not the key.\u201d\n\nThen the Wild Man said, \u201cIt lies under your mother\u2019s pillow. You can\nget it there.\u201d\n\nThe boy, who wanted to have his ball back, cast all thought to the\nwinds, and brought the key. The door opened with difficulty, and the\nboy pinched his fingers. When it was open, the Wild Man stepped out,\ngave him the golden ball, and hurried away.\n\nBut the boy was afraid. He called and cried after him, \u201cOh, Wild Man,\ndo not go away, or I shall be beaten!\u201d\n\nThe Wild Man turned back, took him up, set him on his shoulder, and\nwent with hasty steps into the forest.\n\nWhen the King came home, he saw the empty cage, and asked the Queen how\nthat had happened. She knew nothing about it, and sought the key, but\nit was gone. She called the boy, but no one answered. The King sent out\npeople to seek for him in the fields, but they did not find him. Then\nhe could easily guess what had happened, and much grief reigned in the\nRoyal Court.\n\nWhen the Wild Man had reached once more the dark forest, he took the\nboy down from his shoulder, and said to him, \u201cYou will never see your\nfather and mother again, but I will keep you with me for you have set\nme free, and I pity you. If you do all I bid you, you shall fare well.\nOf treasure and gold have I enough, and more than any one in the world.\u201d\n\nHe made a bed of moss for the boy on which he slept. And the next\nmorning, the man took him to a well, and said, \u201cBehold, the gold well\nis as bright and clear as crystal; you shall sit beside it, and take\ncare that nothing falls into it, or it will be polluted. I will come\nevery evening to see if you have obeyed my order.\u201d\n\nThe boy placed himself by the margin of the well, and often saw a\ngolden fish or a golden snake show itself therein, and he took care\nthat nothing fell in. As he was sitting thus, his finger hurt him so\nviolently that without thinking he put it in the water. He drew it\nquickly out again, but saw that it was quite gilded. And whatsoever\npains he took to wash the gold off again, all was to no purpose.\n\nIn the evening, Iron John came back, looked at the boy, and said, \u201cWhat\nhas happened to the well?\u201d\n\n\u201cNothing, nothing,\u201d he answered, and held his finger behind his back,\nthat the man might not see it.\n\nBut he said, \u201cYou have dipped your finger into the water. This time it\nmay pass, but take care you do not again let anything get in.\u201d\n\nAt daybreak the boy was already sitting by the well and watching it.\nHis finger hurt him again, and he passed it over his head, and then\nunhappily a hair fell down into the well. He took it quickly out, but\nit was quite gilded.\n\nIron John came, and already knew what had happened. \u201cYou have let a\nhair fall into the well,\u201d said he. \u201cI will allow you to watch by it\nonce more, but if this happens the third time, then the well will be\npolluted, and you can no longer remain with me.\u201d\n\nOn the third day, the boy sat by the well, and did not stir his finger,\nhowever much it hurt him. But the time was long to him, and he looked\nat the reflection of his face on the surface of the water. And as he\nstill bent down more and more trying to look straight into the eyes,\nhis long hair fell down from his shoulders into the water. He raised\nhimself up quickly, but the whole of the hair of his head was golden,\nand shone like the sun.\n\nYou may imagine how terrified the poor boy was! He took his\npocket-handkerchief and tied it round his head, in order that the man\nmight not see it.\n\nWhen he came, he already knew everything, and said, \u201cTake off the\nhandkerchief.\u201d Then the golden hair streamed forth, and let the boy\nexcuse himself as he might, it was of no use. \u201cYou have not stood the\ntrial, and can no longer stay here. Go forth into the world. There you\nwill learn what poverty is. But as you have not a bad heart, and as I\nmean well by you, there is one thing I will grant you. If you fall into\nany difficulty, come to the forest and cry, \u2018Iron John,\u2019 and then I\nwill come and help you. My power is great, greater than you think, and\nI have gold and silver in abundance.\u201d\n\nThen the King\u2019s Son left the forest, and walked by beaten and unbeaten\npaths ever onward, until at length he reached a great city. There he\nlooked for work, but could find none, and he had learnt nothing by\nwhich he could help himself.\n\nAt length, he went to the palace, and asked if they would take him in.\nThe people about Court did not know what use to make of him, but they\nliked him, and told him to stay. At last, the cook took him into his\nservice, and said he might carry wood and water, and rake the cinders\ntogether.\n\nOnce when it happened that no one else was at hand, the cook ordered\nhim to carry the food to the royal table, but as he did not like to\nlet his golden hair be seen, he kept his little hat on. Such a thing\nas that had never come under the King\u2019s notice, and he said, \u201cWhen you\nserve at the royal table you must take off your hat.\u201d\n\nHe answered, \u201cAh, Lord, I cannot.\u201d\n\nThen the King had the cook called before him. He scolded him, and asked\nhow he could take such a boy as that into his service; and said that he\nwas to turn him off at once. The cook, however, had pity on him, and\nexchanged him for the gardener\u2019s boy.\n\nAnd now, the boy had to plant and water the garden, hoe and dig, and\nbear the wind and bad weather.\n\nOne day in summer when he was working alone in the garden, the day was\nso warm he took his little hat off that the air might cool him. As the\nsun shone on his hair it glittered and flashed so that the rays fell\ninto the bedroom of the King\u2019s Daughter. Up she sprang to see what it\ncould be. Then she saw the boy, and cried to him, \u201cBoy, bring me a\nwreath of flowers.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: THE KING\u2019S DAUGHTER PULLED OFF HIS HAT]\n\nHe put his hat on with all haste, and gathered wild field-flowers and\nbound them together. When he was ascending the stairs with them, the\ngardener met him, and said, \u201cHow can you take the King\u2019s Daughter a\ngarland of such common flowers? Go quickly, and get another, and\nseek out the prettiest and rarest.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, no,\u201d replied the boy, \u201cthe wild ones have more scent, and will\nplease her better.\u201d\n\nWhen he went into the room, the King\u2019s Daughter said, \u201cTake your cap\noff, it is not seemly to keep it on in my presence.\u201d\n\nHe again said, \u201cI cannot.\u201d\n\nShe, however, caught at his hat and pulled it off, and then his golden\nhair rolled down on his shoulders. And it was splendid to behold.\n\nHe wanted to run out, but she held him by the arm, and gave him a\nhandful of ducats. With these he departed, but he cared nothing for the\ngold pieces. He took them to the gardener, and said, \u201cI give them to\nyour children, they may play with them.\u201d\n\nThe following day, the King\u2019s Daughter again called to him that he was\nto bring her a wreath of field-flowers. When he went in with it, she\nsnatched at his hat, and wanted to take it away from him, but he held\nit fast with both hands. She again gave him a handful of ducats. But he\nwould not keep them, and presented them to the gardener as playthings\nfor his children.\n\nOn the third day, things went just the same. She could not get his hat\naway from him, and he would not have her money.\n\nNot long afterward, the country was overrun by war. The King gathered\ntogether his people, and did not know whether or not he could overcome\nthe enemy, who was superior in strength and had a mighty army.\n\nThen said the gardener\u2019s boy, \u201cI am grown up, and will go to the wars\nalso, only give me a horse.\u201d\n\nThe others laughed, and said, \u201cSeek one for yourself when we are gone.\nWe will leave one behind us in the stable for you.\u201d\n\nWhen they had gone forth, he went into the stable, and got the horse.\nIt was lame of one foot, and limped _hobblety jig, hobblety jig_.\nNevertheless he mounted it, and rode away to the dark forest. When he\ncame to the outskirts, he called \u201cIron John\u201d three times so loudly that\nit echoed through the trees.\n\nThereupon the Wild Man appeared immediately, and said, \u201cWhat do you\ndesire?\u201d\n\n\u201cI want a strong steed, for I am going to the wars.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat you shall have, and still more than you ask.\u201d Then the Wild Man\nwent back into the forest, and it was not long before a stable-boy\ncame out of it, who led a horse that snorted, and could hardly be\nrestrained. Behind them followed a great troop of soldiers entirely\nequipped in iron, and their swords flashed in the sun. The youth made\nover his three-legged horse to the stable-boy, mounted the other, and\nrode at the head of the soldiers.\n\nWhen he drew near the battle-field, a great part of the King\u2019s men\nhad already fallen, and little was wanting to make the rest give way.\nThen the youth galloped thither with his iron soldiers, broke like a\nhurricane over the enemy, and beat down all who opposed him. They began\nto fly, but the youth pursued, and never stopped, until there was not a\nsingle man left.\n\nInstead, however, of returning to the King, he conducted his troop by\nside-roads to the forest, and called Iron John.\n\n\u201cWhat do you desire?\u201d asked the Wild Man.\n\n\u201cTake back your horse and troops, and give me my three-legged horse\nagain.\u201d All that he asked was done, and soon he was riding on his\nthree-legged horse.\n\nWhen the King returned to his palace, his daughter went to meet him,\nand wished him joy of his victory. \u201cI am not the one who carried away\nthe victory,\u201d said he, \u201cbut a stranger Knight who came to my assistance\nwith his soldiers.\u201d The daughter wanted to hear who the strange Knight\nwas, but the King did not know, and said, \u201cHe followed the enemy, and I\ndid not see him again.\u201d\n\nShe inquired of the gardener where his boy was, but he smiled, and\nsaid, \u201cHe has just come home on his three-legged horse, and the others\nhave been mocking him, and crying, \u2018Here comes our hobblety jig back\nagain!\u2019 They asked, too, \u2018Under what hedge have you been lying sleeping\nall the time?\u2019 He, however, answered, \u2018I did the best of all, and it\nwould have gone badly without me.\u2019 And then he was ridiculed still\nmore.\u201d\n\nThe King said to his daughter, \u201cI will proclaim a great feast that\nshall last for three days, and you shall throw a Golden Apple. Perhaps\nthe unknown will come to it.\u201d\n\nWhen the feast was announced, the youth went out to the forest, and\ncalled Iron John.\n\n\u201cWhat do you desire?\u201d asked he.\n\n\u201cThat I may catch the King\u2019s Daughter\u2019s Golden Apple.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is as safe as if you had it already,\u201d said Iron John. \u201cYou shall\nlikewise have a suit of red armor for the occasion, and ride on a\nspirited chestnut horse.\u201d\n\nWhen the day came, the youth galloped to the spot, took his place\namongst the Knights, and was recognized by no one. The King\u2019s Daughter\ncame forward, and threw a Golden Apple to the Knights. None of them\ncaught it but he; only as soon as he had it, he galloped away.\n\nOn the second day, Iron John equipped him as a white Knight, and gave\nhim a white horse. Again he was the only one who caught the apple, and\nhe did not linger an instant, but galloped off with it.\n\nThe King grew angry, and said, \u201cThat is not allowed. He must appear\nbefore me and tell his name.\u201d He gave the order that if the Knight who\ncaught the apple should go away again, they should pursue him, and, if\nhe would not come back willingly, they should cut him down and stab him.\n\nOn the third day, he received from Iron John a suit of black armor and\na black horse. Again he caught the apple. But when he was riding off\nwith it, the King\u2019s attendants pursued him, and one of them got so near\nthat he wounded the youth\u2019s leg with the point of his sword. The youth\nnevertheless escaped from them, but his horse leapt so violently that\nthe helmet fell from his head, and they could see that he had golden\nhair. They rode back and announced this to the King.\n\nThe following day, the King\u2019s Daughter asked the gardener about his\nboy. \u201cHe is at work in the garden. The queer creature has been at the\nfestival too, and only came home yesterday evening. He has likewise\nshown my children three Golden Apples which he has won.\u201d\n\nThe King had him summoned into his presence. He came and again had his\nhat on his head. But the King\u2019s Daughter went up to him and took it\noff. Then his golden hair fell down over his shoulders, and he was so\nhandsome that all were amazed.\n\n\u201cAre you the Knight who came every day to the festival, always in\ndifferent colors, and who caught the three Golden Apples?\u201d asked the\nKing.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d answered he, \u201cand here are the apples,\u201d and he took them out\nof his pocket, and returned them to the King. \u201cIf you desire further\nproof, you may see the wound which your people gave me when they\nfollowed me. But I am likewise the Knight who helped you win your\nvictory over your enemies.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you can perform such deeds as that, you are no gardener\u2019s boy. Tell\nme, who is your father?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy father is a mighty King, and gold have I in plenty as much as I\nrequire.\u201d\n\n\u201cI well see,\u201d said the King, \u201cthat I owe thanks to you. Can I do\nanything to please you?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d answered he, \u201cthat indeed you can. Give me your daughter to\nwife.\u201d\n\nThe maiden laughed, and said, \u201cHe does not stand much on ceremony, but\nI have already seen by his golden hair that he is no gardener\u2019s boy,\u201d\nand then she went and kissed him.\n\nHis father and mother came to the wedding, and were in great delight,\nfor they had given up all hope of ever seeing their dear son again. And\nas they were sitting at the marriage-feast, the music suddenly stopped,\nthe doors opened, and a stately King came in with a great retinue.\n\nHe went up to the youth, embraced him and said, \u201cI am Iron John, and\nwas by enchantment a Wild Man, but you have set me free. All the\ntreasures which I possess, shall be yours.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nCLEVER ELSIE\n\n\nThere was once a man who had a daughter who was called Clever Elsie.\nAnd when she had grown up her father said, \u201cWe will get her married.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the mother, \u201cif only any one would come who would have her.\u201d\n\nAt length a man came from a distance, and wooed her, who was called\nHans. But he made one condition, that Clever Elsie should be really\nwise.\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said the father, \u201cshe\u2019s sharp enough.\u201d\n\nAnd the mother said, \u201cOh, she can see the wind coming up the street,\nand hear the flies coughing.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Hans, \u201cif she is not really wise, I won\u2019t have her.\u201d\n\nWhen they were sitting at dinner, and had eaten, the mother said,\n\u201cElsie, go into the cellar and fetch some beer.\u201d\n\nThen Clever Elsie took the pitcher from the wall, went into the cellar,\nand tapped the lid briskly as she went that the time might not appear\nlong. When she was below she fetched herself a chair, and set it before\nthe barrel, so that she had no need to stoop, and did not hurt her\nback or do herself any unexpected injury.\n\nThen she placed the can before her, and turned the tap, and while the\nbeer was running, she would not let her eyes be idle, but looked up at\nthe wall. And after much peering here and there, saw a pickaxe exactly\nabove her, which the masons had left there by mistake.\n\nThen Clever Elsie began to weep and said, \u201cIf I get Hans, and we have a\nchild, and he grows big, and we send him into the cellar here to draw\nbeer, then the pickaxe will fall on his head and kill him.\u201d Then she\nsat and wept and screamed with all the strength of her body, over the\nmisfortune which lay before her.\n\nThose upstairs waited for the drink, but Clever Elsie still did not\ncome. Then the woman said to the servant, \u201cJust go down into the cellar\nand see where Elsie is.\u201d\n\nThe maid went and found her sitting in front of the barrel, screaming\nloudly.\n\n\u201cElsie, why do you weep?\u201d asked the maid.\n\n\u201cAh,\u201d she answered, \u201chave I not reason to weep? If I get Hans, and we\nhave a child, and he grows big, and has to draw beer here, the pickaxe\nmay fall on his head, and kill him.\u201d\n\nThen said the maid, \u201cWhat a clever Elsie we have!\u201d and sat down beside\nher and began loudly to weep over the misfortune.\n\nAfter a while, as the maid did not come back, and those upstairs were\nthirsty for the beer, the man said to the boy, \u201cJust go down into the\ncellar and see where Elsie and the girl are.\u201d\n\nThe boy went down, and there sat Clever Elsie and the girl both\nweeping together. Then he asked, \u201cWhy are you weeping?\u201d\n\n\u201cAh,\u201d said Elsie, \u201chave I not reason to weep? If I get Hans, and we\nhave a child, and he grows big, and has to draw beer here, the pickaxe\nwill fall on his head and kill him.\u201d\n\nThen said the boy, \u201cWhat a clever Elsie we have!\u201d and sat down by her,\nand likewise began to howl loudly.\n\nUpstairs they waited for the boy, but as he did not return, the man\nsaid to the woman, \u201cJust go down into the cellar and see where Elsie\nis!\u201d\n\nThe woman went down, and found all three in the midst of their\nlamentations, and inquired what was the cause. Then Elsie told her\nalso, that her future child was to be killed by the pickaxe, when it\ngrew big and had to draw beer, and the pickaxe fell down.\n\nThen said the mother likewise, \u201cWhat a clever Elsie we have!\u201d and sat\ndown and wept with them.\n\nThe man upstairs waited a short time, but as his wife did not come back\nand his thirst grew ever greater, he said, \u201cI must go into the cellar\nmyself and see where Elsie is.\u201d\n\nBut when he got into the cellar, and they were all sitting together\ncrying, and he heard the reason, and that Elsie\u2019s child was the cause,\nand that Elsie might perhaps bring one into the world some day, and\nthat it might be killed by the pickaxe, if it should happen to be\nsitting beneath it, drawing beer just at the very time when it fell, he\ncried, \u201cOh, what a clever Elsie!\u201d and sat down, and likewise wept with\nthem.\n\nThe Bridegroom stayed up-stairs alone for a long time; then as no one\ncame back he thought, \u201cThey must be waiting for me below. I, too, must\ngo there and see what they are about.\u201d\n\nWhen he got down, all five of them were sitting screaming and lamenting\nquite piteously, each outdoing the other.\n\n\u201cWhat misfortune has happened then?\u201d asked he.\n\n\u201cAh, dear Hans,\u201d said Elsie, \u201cif we marry each other and have a child,\nand he is big, and we perhaps send him here to draw something to drink,\nthen the pickaxe which has been left up there might dash his brains\nout, if it were to fall down, so have we not reason to weep?\u201d\n\n\u201cCome,\u201d said Hans, \u201cmore understanding than that is not needed for my\nhousehold, as you are such a clever Elsie, I will have you,\u201d and he\nseized her hand, took her upstairs with him, and married her.\n\nAfter Hans had had her some time, he said, \u201cWife, I am going out to\nwork and earn money for us. Go into the field and cut the corn, that we\nmay have some bread.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, dear Hans, I will do that.\u201d\n\nAfter Hans had gone away, she cooked herself some good broth, and took\nit into the field with her. When she came to the field she said to\nherself, \u201cWhat shall I do? Shall I shear first, or shall I eat first?\nOh, I will eat first.\u201d\n\nThen she emptied her basin of broth, and when she was fully satisfied,\nshe once more said, \u201cWhat shall I do? Shall I shear first, or shall I\nsleep first? I will sleep first.\u201d Then she lay down among the corn and\nfell asleep.\n\nHans had been at home for a long time, but Elsie did not come. Then\nsaid he, \u201cWhat a clever Elsie I have. She is so industrious, that she\ndoes not even come home to eat.\u201d\n\nAs, however, she still stayed away, and it was evening, Hans went out\nto see what she had cut. But nothing was cut, and she was lying among\nthe corn, asleep. Then Hans hastened home and brought a fowler\u2019s net\nwith little bells and hung it round about her, and she still went on\nsleeping. Then he ran home, shut the house-door, and sat down in his\nchair and worked.\n\nAt length, when it was quite dark, Clever Elsie awoke and when she got\nup there was a jingling all round about her, and the bells rang at each\nstep which she took. Then she was frightened, and became uncertain\nwhether she really was Clever Elsie or not, and said, \u201cIs it I, or is\nit not I?\u201d\n\nBut she knew not what answer to make to this, and stood for a time in\ndoubt. At length she thought, \u201cI will go home and ask if it be I, or if\nit be not I. They will be sure to know.\u201d\n\nShe ran to the door of her own house, but it was shut. Then she knocked\nat the window and cried, \u201cHans, is Elsie within?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d answered Hans, \u201cshe is within.\u201d\n\nHereupon she was terrified, and said, \u201cAh, heavens! Then it is not I,\u201d\nand went to another door.\n\nBut when the people heard the jingling of the bells, they would not\nopen it, and she could get in nowhere. Then she ran out of the village,\nand no one has seen her since.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nTHE BREMEN TOWN-MUSICIANS\n\n\nA certain man had a Donkey, which had carried the corn-sacks to the\nmill faithfully for many a long year; but his strength was going, and\nhe was growing more and more unfit for work.\n\nThen his master began to consider how he might best save his keep; but\nthe Donkey, seeing that no good wind was blowing, ran away and set out\non the road to Bremen.\n\n\u201cThere,\u201d he thought, \u201cI can surely be town-musician.\u201d\n\nWhen he had walked some distance, he found a Hound lying on the road,\ngasping like one who had run till he was tired.\n\n\u201cWhat are you gasping so for, you big fellow?\u201d asked the Donkey.\n\n\u201cAh,\u201d replied the Hound, \u201cas I am old, and daily grow weaker and no\nlonger can hunt, my master wants to kill me. So I have taken to flight.\nBut now how am I to earn my bread?\u201d\n\n\u201cI tell you what,\u201d said the Donkey, \u201cI am going to Bremen, and shall\nbe town-musician there. Come with me and engage yourself also as a\nmusician. I will play the lute, and you shall beat the kettledrum.\u201d\n\nThe Hound agreed, and on they went.\n\nBefore long, they came to a Cat, sitting on the path, with a face like\nthree rainy days!\n\n\u201cNow then, old shaver, what has gone askew with you?\u201d asked the Donkey.\n\n\u201cWho can be merry when his neck is in danger?\u201d answered the Cat.\n\u201cBecause I am now getting old, and my teeth are worn to stumps, and I\nprefer to sit by the fire and spin, rather than hunt about after mice,\nmy mistress wants to drown me, so I have run away. But now good advice\nis scarce. Where am I to go?\u201d\n\n\u201cCome with us to Bremen. You understand night-music, so you can be a\ntown-musician.\u201d\n\nThe Cat thought well of it, and went with them.\n\nAfter this the three fugitives came to a farmyard, where the Cock was\nsitting upon the gate, crowing with all his might.\n\n\u201cYour crow goes through and through one,\u201d said the Donkey. \u201cWhat is the\nmatter?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have been foretelling fine weather, because it is the day on\nwhich Our Lady washes the Christ-child\u2019s little shirts, and wants to\ndry them,\u201d said the Cock. \u201cBut guests are coming for Sunday, so the\nhousewife has no pity, and has told the cook that she intends to eat me\nin the soup to-morrow. This evening I am to have my head cut off. Now I\nam crowing at full pitch while I can.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, but Red-Comb,\u201d said the Donkey, \u201cyou had better come away with\nus. We are going to Bremen. You can find something better than death\neverywhere. You have a good voice, and if we make music together, it\nmust have some quality!\u201d\n\nThe Cock agreed to this plan, and all four went on together.\n\nThey could not, however, reach the city of Bremen in one day, and in\nthe evening they came to a forest where they meant to pass the night.\nThe Donkey and the Hound laid themselves down under a large tree. The\nCat and the Cock settled themselves in the branches; but the Cock flew\nright to the top, where he was most safe.\n\nBefore he went to sleep, he looked round on all the four sides, and\nthought he saw in the distance a little spark burning. So he called out\nto his companions that there must be a house not far off, for he saw a\nlight.\n\nThe Donkey said, \u201cIf so, we had better get up and go on, for the\nshelter here is bad.\u201d\n\nThe Hound thought that a few bones with some meat would do him good too!\n\nThey made their way to the place where the light was, and soon saw\nit shine brighter and grow larger, until they came to a well-lighted\nrobber\u2019s house. The Donkey, as the biggest, went to the window and\nlooked in.\n\n\u201cWhat do you see, my Grey-Horse?\u201d asked the Cock.\n\n\u201cWhat do I see?\u201d answered the Donkey; \u201ca table covered with good things\nto eat and drink, and robbers sitting at it enjoying themselves.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat would be the sort of thing for us,\u201d said the Cock.\n\n\u201cYes, yes! ah, how I wish we were there!\u201d said the Donkey.\n\nThen the animals took counsel together as to how they could drive away\nthe robbers, and at last they thought of a plan. The Donkey was to\nplace himself with his forefeet upon the window-ledge, the Hound was\nto jump on the Donkey\u2019s back, the Cat was to climb upon the Hound, and\nlastly the Cock was to fly up and perch upon the head of the Cat.\n\nWhen this was done, at a given signal, they began to perform their\nmusic together. The Donkey brayed, the Hound barked, the Cat mewed, and\nthe Cock crowed. Then they burst through the window into the room, so\nthat the glass clattered!\n\nAt this horrible din, the robbers sprang up, thinking no otherwise\nthan that a ghost had come in, and fled in a great fright out into the\nforest.\n\nThe four companions now sat down at the table, well content with what\nwas left, and ate as if they were going to fast for a month.\n\nAs soon as the four minstrels had done, they put out the light, and\neach sought for himself a sleeping-place according to his nature and\nto what suited him. The Donkey laid himself down upon some straw in\nthe yard, the Hound behind the door, the Cat upon the hearth near the\nwarm ashes, and the Cock perched himself upon a beam of the roof. Being\ntired with their long walk, they soon went to sleep.\n\nWhen it was past midnight, the robbers saw from afar that the light was\nno longer burning in their house, and all appeared quiet.\n\nThe captain said, \u201cWe ought not to have let ourselves be frightened out\nof our wits;\u201d and ordered one of them to go and examine the house.\n\nThe messenger finding all still, went into the kitchen to light a\ncandle, and, taking the glistening fiery eyes of the Cat for live\ncoals, he held a lucifer-match to them to light it. But the Cat did not\nunderstand the joke, and flew in his face, spitting and scratching.\n\nHe was dreadfully frightened, and ran to the back door, but the Dog,\nwho lay there, sprang up and bit his leg.\n\nThen, as he ran across the yard by the straw-heap, the Donkey gave him\na smart kick with his hind foot. The Cock, too, who had been awakened\nby the noise, and had become lively, cried down from the beam:\n\n \u201c_Kicker-ee-ricker-ee-ree!_\u201d\n\nThen the robber ran back as fast as he could to his captain, and said,\n\u201cAh, there is a horrible Witch sitting in the house, who spat on me\nand scratched my face with her long claws. By the door stands a man\nwith a knife, who stabbed me in the leg. In the yard there lies a black\nmonster, who beat me with a wooden club. And above, upon the roof, sits\nthe judge, who called out:\n\n \u201c\u2018_Bring the rogue here to me!_\u2019\n\nso I got away as well as I could.\u201d\n\nAfter this the robbers did not trust themselves in the house again. But\nit suited the four musicians of Bremen so well that they did not care\nto leave it any more.\n\nAnd the mouth of him who last told this story, is still warm.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nTHE SIX SWANS\n\n\nOnce upon a time, a certain King was hunting in a great forest, and he\nchased a wild beast so eagerly that none of his attendants could follow\nhim. When evening drew near, he stopped and looked around him, and saw\nthat he had lost his way. He sought a way out, but could find none.\nThen he perceived an Old Woman with a head which nodded all the time,\nwho came toward him, but she was a Witch.\n\n\u201cGood woman,\u201d said he to her, \u201ccan you not show me the way through the\nforest?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, yes, Lord King,\u201d she answered, \u201cthat I certainly can, but on one\ncondition, and if you do not fulfill that, you will never get out of\nthe forest, and will die of hunger in it.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat kind of a condition is it?\u201d asked the King.\n\n\u201cI have a daughter,\u201d said the old woman, \u201cwho is as beautiful as any\none in the world, and well deserves to be your wife. If you will make\nher your Queen, I will show you the way out of the forest.\u201d\n\nIn the anguish of his heart the King consented, and the old woman led\nhim to her little hut, where her daughter was sitting by the fire. She\nreceived the King as if she had been expecting him. He saw that she was\nvery beautiful, but still she did not please him, and he could not look\nat her without secret horror.\n\nAfter he had taken the maiden up on his horse, the old woman showed him\nthe way, and the King reached his royal palace again, where the wedding\nwas celebrated.\n\nThe King had already been married once, and had by his first wife,\nseven children, six boys and a girl, whom he loved better than anything\nelse in the world. As he now feared that the new Queen might not treat\nthem well, and even do them some injury, he took them to a lonely\ncastle which stood in the midst of a forest. It lay concealed, and the\nway was so difficult to find, that he himself would not have found it\nat all, if a Wise Woman had not given him a ball of yarn with wonderful\nproperties. When he threw it down before him, it unrolled itself and\nshowed him his path.\n\nThe King, however, went so frequently to visit his dear children, that\nthe Queen noticed his absence. She was curious and wanted to know what\nhe did when he was alone in the forest. She gave a great deal of money\nto his servants, and they betrayed the secret to her, and told her\nlikewise of the ball which alone could point out the way.\n\nAnd now she knew no rest until she had learnt where the King kept the\nball of yarn. Then she made little shirts of white silk, and as she had\nlearnt the art of witchcraft from her mother, she sewed a charm inside\nthem. And one day, when the King had ridden forth to hunt, she took the\nlittle shirts and went into the forest, and the ball showed her the\nway.\n\nThe children, who saw from a distance that some one was approaching,\nthought that their dear father was coming to them, and full of joy,\nran to meet him. Then she threw one of the little shirts over each of\nthem. And no sooner had the shirts touched their bodies than they were\nchanged into Swans, and flew away over the forest.\n\nThe Queen went home quite delighted, and thought she had got rid of all\nthe children, but the girl had not run out with her brothers, and the\nQueen knew nothing about her.\n\nNext day, the King went to visit his children, but found no one but the\nlittle girl.\n\n\u201cWhere are your brothers?\u201d asked the King.\n\n\u201cAlas, dear Father,\u201d she answered, \u201cthey have gone away and left me\nalone!\u201d and she told him that she had seen from her little window, how\nher brothers had flown away over the forest in the shape of Swans. And\nshe showed him the feathers, which they had let fall in the courtyard,\nand which she had picked up.\n\nThe King mourned, but he did not think that the Queen had done this\nwicked deed. And as he feared that the girl also would be stolen from\nhim, he wanted to take her away. But she was afraid of the Queen,\nand entreated the King to let her stay just one night more in the\nforest-castle.\n\nThe poor girl thought, \u201cI can no longer remain here. I will go and seek\nmy brothers.\u201d And when night came, she ran away, and went straight into\nthe forest.\n\nShe walked the whole night long, and next day also without stopping,\nuntil she could go no farther for weariness. Then she saw a forest-hut,\nand went into it, and found a room with six little beds. She did not\nventure to get into any of them, but crept under one, and lay down\non the hard ground, to pass the night there. Just before sunset she\nheard a rustling, and saw six Swans come flying in at the window.\nThey alighted on the ground and blew at each other, and blew all the\nfeathers off, and their swan\u2019s skins stripped off like a shirt.\n\nThen the maiden looked at them and recognized her brothers. She\nrejoiced and crept forth from beneath the bed. The brothers were not\nless delighted to see their little sister, but their joy was short.\n\n\u201cHere can you not abide,\u201d they said to her. \u201cThis is a shelter for\nrobbers. If they come home and find you, they will kill you.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut can you not protect me?\u201d asked the little sister.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d they replied, \u201conly for one quarter of an hour each evening, can\nwe lay aside our swan\u2019s skins and have our human form. After that, we\nare once more turned into Swans.\u201d\n\nThe little sister wept, and said, \u201cCan you not be set free?\u201d\n\n\u201cAlas, no,\u201d they answered, \u201cthe conditions are too hard! For six years\nyou may neither speak nor laugh, and in that time you must sew together\nsix little shirts of Star-Flowers for us. And if one single word falls\nfrom your lips, all your work will be lost.\u201d\n\nAnd when the brothers had said this, the quarter of an hour was over,\nand they flew out of the window again as Swans.\n\n[Illustration: THE PRINCESS WENT OUT AND GATHERED STAR-FLOWERS]\n\nThe maiden, however, resolved to deliver her brothers, even if it\nshould cost her her life. She left the hut, went into the midst of the\nforest, seated herself on a tree, and there passed the night. Next\nmorning, she went out and gathered Star-Flowers and began to sew.\nShe could not speak to any one, and she had no wish to laugh. She sat\nthere and looked at nothing but her work.\n\nWhen she had spent a long time there, it came to pass that the King of\nthe country was hunting in the forest, and his huntsmen came to the\ntree on which the maiden was sitting.\n\nThey called to her, and said, \u201cWho are you?\u201d But she made no answer.\n\u201cCome down to us,\u201d said they. \u201cWe will not do you any harm.\u201d\n\nShe only shook her head. As they pressed her further with questions,\nshe threw her golden necklace down to them, and thought to content them\nwith that. They, however, did not cease, and then she threw her girdle\ndown to them, and as this also was to no use, her garters, and little\nby little everything which she had on that she could do without, until\nshe had nothing left but her shift. The huntsmen, however, did not let\nthemselves be turned aside by that, but climbed the tree and fetched\nthe maiden down and led her before the King.\n\nThe King asked, \u201cWho are you? What are you doing on the tree?\u201d\n\nBut she did not answer. He put the question in every language that he\nknew, but she remained as mute as a fish. As she was so beautiful, the\nKing\u2019s heart was touched, and he was smitten with a great love for her.\nHe put his mantle on her, took her before him on his horse, and carried\nher to his castle.\n\nThen he caused her to be dressed in rich garments, and she shone in her\nbeauty like bright daylight, but no word could be drawn from her. He\nplaced her by his side at table, and her modest bearing and courtesy\npleased him so much, that he said, \u201cShe is the one whom I wish to\nmarry, and no other woman in the world.\u201d And a few days after, he\nunited himself to her.\n\nThe King, however, had a wicked mother, who was dissatisfied with his\nmarriage and spoke ill of the young Queen. \u201cWho knows,\u201d said she, \u201cfrom\nwhence comes the creature, who can\u2019t speak? She is not worthy of a\nKing!\u201d\n\nAfter a year had passed, when the Queen brought her first child into\nthe world, the old woman took it away from her and smeared her mouth\nwith blood as she slept. Then she went to the King and accused the\nQueen of being a man-eater. The King would not believe it, and would\nnot suffer any one to do her injury. She, however, sat continually\nsewing at the shirts, and cared for nothing else.\n\nThe next time, when she again bore a beautiful boy, the false old\nwoman used the same treachery, but the King could not bring himself to\nbelieve her words. He said, \u201cShe is too pious and good to do anything\nof that kind. If she were not dumb, and could defend herself, her\ninnocence would come to light.\u201d\n\nBut when the old woman stole away the newly-born child for the third\ntime, and accused the Queen, who did not utter one word of defense, the\nKing could do no otherwise than deliver her over to justice; and she\nwas sentenced to be burned.\n\nWhen the day came for the sentence to be executed, it was the last day\nof the six years during which she was not to speak or laugh, and she\nhad delivered her dear brothers from the power of the enchantment. The\nsix shirts were ready, only the left sleeve of the sixth was wanting.\n\nWhen, therefore, she was led to the stake, she laid the shirts on her\narm. And when she stood on high and the fire was just going to be\nlighted, she looked around and six Swans came flying through the air\ntoward her. Then she saw that her deliverance was near, and her heart\nleapt with joy.\n\nThe Swans swept toward her and sank down so that she could throw the\nshirts over them. And as they were touched by them, their swan\u2019s skins\nfell off, and her brothers stood in their own form before her, vigorous\nand handsome. The youngest lacked only his left arm, and had in its\nplace a swan\u2019s wing on his shoulder.\n\nThey embraced and kissed each other, and the Queen went to the King,\nwho was greatly moved, and she began to speak, and said, \u201cDearest\nHusband, now I may speak and declare to you that I am innocent, and\nfalsely accused.\u201d And she told him of the treachery of the old woman\nwho had taken away her three children, and hidden them.\n\nTo the great joy of the King, they were brought back. And as a\npunishment, the wicked woman was bound to the stake and burned to ashes.\n\nBut the King and the Queen, with their six brothers, lived many years\nin happiness and peace.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nTHE POOR MILLER\u2019S BOY AND THE CAT\n\n\nIn a certain mill, lived an old miller who had neither wife nor child.\nThree apprentices served under him.\n\nAs they had been with him several years, he one day said to them, \u201cI\nam old, and want to sit in the chimney-corner. Go out, and whichsoever\nof you brings me the best horse, to him will I give the mill. And in\nreturn for it, he shall take care of me till my death.\u201d\n\nThe third of the boys was, however, the drudge, who was looked on as\nfoolish by the others. They begrudged the mill to him, and afterward he\nwould not have it.\n\nThen all three went out together, and when they came to the village,\nthe two said to stupid Hans, \u201cYou may just as well stay here; as long\nas you live you will never get a horse.\u201d\n\nHans, however, went with them, and when it was night they came to a\ncave in which they lay down to sleep. The two sharp ones waited until\nHans had fallen asleep, then they got up, and went away leaving him\nwhere he was. They thought they had done a very clever thing, but it\nwas certain to turn out ill for them.\n\nWhen the sun arose, and Hans woke up, he was lying in a deep cavern. He\nlooked around on every side and exclaimed, \u201cOh, alas! where am I?\u201d\n\nThen he got up and clambered out of the cave, into the forest, thinking:\n\n\u201cHere I am quite alone and deserted, how shall I obtain a horse now?\u201d\n\nWhilst he was thus walking full of thought, he met a small Tabby-Cat\nwhich said quite kindly, \u201cHans, where are you going?\u201d\n\n\u201cAlas, you cannot help me.\u201d\n\n\u201cI well know your desire,\u201d said the Cat. \u201cYou wish to have a beautiful\nhorse. Come with me, and be my faithful servant for seven years, and\nthen I will give you a horse more beautiful than any you have ever seen\nin your whole life.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, this is a wonderful Cat!\u201d thought Hans, \u201cbut I am determined to\nsee if she is telling the truth.\u201d\n\nSo she took him with her into her enchanted castle, where there were\nnothing but cats who were her servants. They leapt nimbly upstairs and\ndownstairs, and were merry and happy.\n\nIn the evening when they sat down to dinner, three of them had to make\nmusic. One played the bassoon, the other the fiddle, and the third put\nthe trumpet to his lips, and blew out his cheeks as much as he possibly\ncould.\n\nWhen they had dined, the table was carried away, and the Cat said,\n\u201cNow, Hans, come and dance with me.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said he, \u201cI won\u2019t dance with a pussy cat. I have never done that\nyet.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen take him to bed,\u201d said she to the cats.\n\nSo one of them lighted him to his bedroom, one pulled his shoes off,\none his stockings, and at last one of them blew out the candle.\n\nNext morning they returned and helped him out of bed, one put his\nstockings on for him, one tied his garters, one brought his shoes, one\nwashed him, and one dried his face with her tail.\n\n\u201cThat feels very soft!\u201d said Hans.\n\nHe, however, had to serve the Cat, and chop some wood every day. And\nto do that, he had an axe of silver, while the wedge and saw were of\nsilver and the mallet of copper. So he chopped the wood small.\n\nHe stayed there in the house and had good meat and drink, but never saw\nany one but the Tabby-Cat and her servants.\n\nOnce she said to him, \u201cGo and mow my meadow, and dry the grass,\u201d and\ngave him a scythe of silver, and a whetstone of gold, but bade him\ndeliver them up again carefully.\n\nSo Hans went thither, and did what he was bidden, and when he had\nfinished the work, he carried the scythe, whetstone, and hay to the\nhouse, and asked if it was not yet time for her to give him his reward.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said the Cat, \u201cyou must first do something more for me of the\nsame kind. There is timber of silver, carpenter\u2019s axe, square, and\neverything that is needful, all of silver, with these build me a small\nhouse.\u201d\n\nThen Hans built the small house, and said that he had now done\neverything, and still he had no horse.\n\nNevertheless, the seven years had gone by with him as if they were six\nmonths. The Cat asked him if he would like to see her horses?\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said Hans.\n\nThen she opened the door of the small house. And when she had opened\nit, there stood twelve horses,--such horses, so bright and shining,\nthat his heart rejoiced at the sight of them.\n\nAnd now she gave him to eat and to drink, and said, \u201cGo home. I will\nnot give you your horse to take away with you. But in three days\u2019 time,\nI will follow you and bring it.\u201d\n\nSo Hans set out, and she showed him the way to the mill. She had,\nhowever, never once given him a new coat, and he had been obliged to\nkeep on his dirty old smock-frock, which he had brought with him, and\nwhich during the seven years had everywhere become too small for him.\n\nWhen he reached home, the two other apprentices were there again, and\neach of them certainly had brought a horse with him. But one of them\nwas blind and the other lame. They asked Hans where his horse was.\n\n\u201cIt will follow me in three days\u2019 time.\u201d\n\nThen they laughed and said, \u201cIndeed, stupid Hans! where will you get a\nhorse? It will be a fine one!\u201d\n\nHans went into the parlor, but the miller said he should not sit down\nto table for he was so ragged and torn, that they would all be ashamed\nof him if any one came in. So they gave him a mouthful of food outside.\n\nAt night, when they went to rest, the two others would not let him have\na bed, and at last he was forced to creep into the goose-house, and lie\ndown on a little hard straw.\n\nIn the morning, when he awoke, the three days had passed, and a coach\ncame with six horses and they shone so bright that it was delightful to\nsee them!--and a servant brought a seventh as well, which was for the\npoor miller\u2019s boy.\n\nAnd a magnificent Princess alighted from the coach, and went into the\nmill. And this Princess was the little Tabby-Cat whom poor Hans had\nserved for seven years.\n\nShe asked the miller where the miller\u2019s boy and drudge was.\n\nThen the miller said, \u201cWe will not have him here in the mill, he is so\nragged. He is lying in the goose-house.\u201d\n\nThen the King\u2019s Daughter said that they were to fetch him immediately.\n\nSo they brought him; and he had to hold his little smock together to\ncover himself.\n\nHer servants unpacked splendid garments, and washed him and dressed\nhim. And when it was done, no King could have looked more handsome.\n\nThen the Princess desired to see the horses, which the other\napprentices had brought home with them. One of them was blind and the\nother lame. So she ordered her servants to bring the seventh horse.\n\nWhen the miller saw it, he said such a horse as that had never before\nentered his yard.\n\n\u201cAnd that is for the third miller\u2019s boy,\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cThen he must have the mill,\u201d said the miller.\n\nBut the Princess said that the horse was for himself, and that he was\nto keep his mill as well. Then she took her faithful Hans, set him in\nthe coach, and drove away with him.\n\nThey first drove to the little house, which he had built with the\nsilver tools. Behold! it was a great castle! Everything inside it was\nof silver and gold!\n\nThen she married him; and he was rich, so rich that he had enough for\nall the rest of his life.\n\nAfter this, let no one say that any one who is silly can never become a\nperson of importance.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nLITTLE RED-CAP\n\n\nOnce upon a time, there was a sweet little girl, who was loved by every\none who looked at her, and most of all by her Grandmother. There was\nnothing that she would not have given the child!\n\nOnce she gave her a little cap of red velvet, which suited her so well\nthat she would not wear anything else. So she was always called Little\nRed-Cap.\n\nOne day, her Mother said to her, \u201cCome, Little Red-Cap, here is a piece\nof cake and a bottle of wine. Take them to your Grandmother. She is ill\nand weak, and they will do her good. Set out before it gets hot. Walk\nnicely and quietly. Do not run off the path, or you may fall and break\nthe bottle; then your Grandmother will get nothing! When you go into\nher room, don\u2019t forget to say \u2018Good morning,\u2019 and don\u2019t stop to peep\ninto every corner, before you do it.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll take great care,\u201d said Little Red-Cap to her Mother, and gave her\nhand on it.\n\nThe Grandmother lived in the wood, half an hour\u2019s distance from the\nvillage, and just as Little Red-Cap entered the wood, a Wolf met her.\nRed-Cap did not know what a wicked creature he was, and was not at all\nafraid of him.\n\n\u201cGood-day, Little Red-Cap,\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cThank you kindly, Wolf.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhither away so early, Little Red-Cap?\u201d\n\n\u201cTo my Grandmother\u2019s.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat have you got in your apron?\u201d\n\n\u201cCake and wine. Yesterday was baking-day, so poor sick Grandmother is\nto have something good, to make her stronger.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere does your Grandmother live, Little Red-Cap?\u201d\n\n\u201cA good quarter of an hour farther on in the wood. Her house stands\nunder the three large oak-trees; the nut-trees are just below. You\nsurely must know it,\u201d replied Little Red-Cap.\n\nThe Wolf thought to himself, \u201cWhat a tender young creature! what a nice\nplump mouthful--she will be better to eat than the old woman. I must\nact craftily, so as to catch both.\u201d\n\nHe walked for a short time by the side of Little Red-Cap, and then he\nsaid, \u201cSee, Little Red-Cap, how pretty the flowers are about here--why\ndo you not look round? I believe, too, that you do not hear how sweetly\nthe little birds are singing. You walk gravely along as if you were\ngoing to school, while everything else in the wood is merry.\u201d\n\nLittle Red-Cap raised her eyes, and when she saw the sunbeams\ndancing here and there through the trees, and pretty flowers growing\neverywhere, she thought, \u201cSuppose I take Grandmother a fresh nosegay.\nThat would please her too. It is so early in the day that I shall still\nget there in good time.\u201d\n\nAnd so she ran from the path into the wood to look for flowers. And\nwhenever she had picked one, she fancied that she saw a still prettier\none farther on, and ran after it, and thus got deeper and deeper into\nthe wood.\n\nMeanwhile, the Wolf ran straight to the Grandmother\u2019s house and knocked\nat the door.\n\n\u201cWho is there?\u201d\n\n\u201cLittle Red-Cap,\u201d replied the Wolf. \u201cShe is bringing cake and wine.\nOpen the door.\u201d\n\n\u201cLift the latch,\u201d called out the Grandmother, \u201cI am too weak, and\ncannot get up.\u201d\n\nThe Wolf lifted the latch, the door flew open, and without saying a\nword he went straight to the Grandmother\u2019s bed, and devoured her. Then\nhe put on her clothes, dressed himself in her cap, laid himself in bed,\nand drew the curtains.\n\nLittle Red-Cap, however, had been running about picking flowers. When\nshe had gathered so many that she could carry no more, she remembered\nher Grandmother, and set out on the way to her.\n\nShe was surprised to find the cottage-door standing open. And when she\nwent into the room, she had such a strange feeling, that she said to\nherself, \u201cOh dear! how uneasy I feel to-day, and at other times I like\nbeing with Grandmother so much.\u201d\n\nShe called out, \u201cGood morning,\u201d but received no answer. So she went to\nthe bed and drew back the curtains. There lay her Grandmother with her\ncap pulled far over her face, and looking very strange.\n\n\u201cOh! Grandmother,\u201d she said, \u201cwhat big ears you have!\u201d\n\n\u201cThe better to hear you with, my Child,\u201d was the reply.\n\n\u201cBut, Grandmother, what big eyes you have!\u201d she said.\n\n\u201cThe better to see you with, my dear.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut, Grandmother, what large hands you have!\u201d\n\n\u201cThe better to hug you with.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh! but Grandmother, what a terrible big mouth you have!\u201d\n\n\u201cThe better to eat you with!\u201d And scarcely had the Wolf said this, than\nwith one bound he was out of bed and swallowed up Red-Cap.\n\nWhen the Wolf had satisfied his appetite, he lay down again in the bed,\nfell asleep and began to snore very loud. The huntsman was just passing\nthe house, and thought to himself, \u201cHow the old woman is snoring! I\nmust just see if she wants anything.\u201d\n\nSo he went into the room, and when he came to the bed, he saw the Wolf\nlying in it. \u201cDo I find thee here, thou old sinner!\u201d said he. \u201cI have\nlong sought thee!\u201d\n\nThen just as he was going to fire at him, it occurred to him that the\nWolf might have devoured the grandmother, and that she might still be\nsaved. So he did not fire, but took a pair of scissors, and began to\ncut open the stomach of the sleeping Wolf.\n\nWhen he had made two snips, he saw the little Red-Cap shining, and then\nhe made two snips more, and the little girl sprang out, crying, \u201cAh,\nhow frightened I have been! How dark it was inside the Wolf!\u201d\n\nAnd after that the aged grandmother came out alive also, but scarcely\nable to breathe.\n\nRed-Cap then quickly fetched great stones with which they filled the\nWolf\u2019s body. And when he awoke, he wanted to run away, but the stones\nwere so heavy that he tumbled down at once, and fell dead.\n\nThen all three were delighted. The huntsman drew off the Wolf\u2019s skin\nand went home with it. The grandmother ate the cake and drank the wine\nwhich Red-Cap had brought, and grew strong again.\n\nBut Red-Cap thought to herself, \u201cAs long as I live, I will never leave\nthe path to run into the wood, when my mother has forbidden me to do\nso.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nKING THRUSHBEARD\n\n\nA King had a daughter who was beautiful beyond all measure, but so\nproud and haughty withal that no suitor was good enough for her. She\nsent away one after the other, and made fun of them as well.\n\nOnce the King gave a great feast and invited thereto, from far and\nnear, all the young men likely to marry. They were marshalled in a row\naccording to their rank and standing. First came the Kings, then the\nGrand-dukes, then the Princes, the Earls, the Barons, and the gentry.\n\nThen the King\u2019s Daughter was led through the ranks, but to every one\nshe had some objection to make. One was too fat, \u201cThe wine-cask,\u201d she\nsaid. Another was too tall, \u201cLong and thin has little in.\u201d The third\nwas too short, \u201cShort and thick is never quick.\u201d The fourth was too\npale, \u201cAs pale as death.\u201d The fifth too red, \u201cA fighting-cock.\u201d The\nsixth was not straight enough, \u201cA green log dried behind the stove.\u201d\n\nSo she had something to say against every one. But she made herself\nespecially merry over a good King, who stood quite high up in the row,\nand whose chin had grown a little crooked. \u201cWell,\u201d she cried and\nlaughed, \u201che has a chin like a thrush\u2019s beak!\u201d and from that time he\ngot the name of King Thrushbeard.\n\nBut the old King, when he saw that his daughter did nothing but mock\npeople, and despised all the suitors who were gathered there, was very\nangry, and swore that she should have for her husband the very first\nbeggar that came to his doors.\n\nA few days afterward, a fiddler came and sang beneath the windows,\ntrying to earn a small alms. When the King heard him, he said, \u201cLet him\ncome up.\u201d\n\nSo the fiddler came up, in his dirty, ragged clothes, and sang before\nthe King and his daughter. When he had ended he asked for a trifling\ngift.\n\nThe King said, \u201cYour song has pleased me so well that I will give you\nmy daughter there, to wife.\u201d\n\nThe King\u2019s Daughter shuddered, but the King said, \u201cI have taken an oath\nto give you to the very first beggar man, and I will keep it.\u201d\n\nAll she could say was in vain; the priest was brought, and she had to\nlet herself be wedded to the fiddler on the spot.\n\nWhen that was done the King said, \u201cNow it is not proper for you, a\nbeggar woman, to stay any longer in my palace, you may go away with\nyour husband.\u201d\n\nThe beggar man led her out by the hand, and she was obliged to go away\non foot with him. When they came to a large forest she asked, \u201cTo whom\ndoes that beautiful forest belong?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt belongs to King Thrushbeard. If you had taken him, it would have\nbeen yours.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: \u201cWELL,\u201d SHE LAUGHED, \u201cHE HAS A CHIN LIKE A THRUSH\u2019S\nBEAK\u201d]\n\n\u201cAh, unhappy girl that I am! If I had but taken King Thrushbeard!\u201d\n\nAfterward, they came to a meadow, and she asked again, \u201cTo whom does\nthis beautiful green meadow belong?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt belongs to King Thrushbeard. If you had taken him, it would have\nbeen yours.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, unhappy girl that I am! If I had but taken King Thrushbeard!\u201d\n\nThen they came to a large town, and she asked again, \u201cTo whom does this\nfine large town belong?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt belongs to King Thrushbeard. If you had taken him, it would have\nbeen yours.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, unhappy girl that I am! If I had but taken King Thrushbeard!\u201d\n\n\u201cIt does not please me,\u201d said the fiddler, \u201cto hear you always wishing\nfor another husband. Am I not good enough for you?\u201d\n\nAt last they came to a very little hut, and she said, \u201cOh, goodness!\nwhat a small house! To whom does this miserable, mean hovel belong?\u201d\n\nThe fiddler answered, \u201cThat is my house and yours, where we shall live\ntogether.\u201d\n\nShe had to stoop in order to go in at the low door. \u201cWhere are the\nservants?\u201d said the King\u2019s Daughter.\n\n\u201cWhat servants?\u201d answered the beggar man. \u201cYou must do what you wish\nto have done. Just make a fire at once, and set on water to cook my\nsupper. I am quite tired.\u201d\n\nBut the King\u2019s Daughter knew nothing about lighting fires or cooking,\nand the beggar man had to lend a hand himself to get anything fairly\ndone. When they had finished their scanty meal they went to bed; but he\nforced her to get up quite early in the morning in order to look after\nthe house.\n\nFor a few days, they lived in this way as well as might be, and ate up\nall the food in the house.\n\nThen the man said, \u201cWife, we cannot go on any longer eating and\ndrinking here and earning nothing. You must weave baskets.\u201d\n\nHe went out, cut some willows, and brought them home. Then she began to\nweave, but the tough willows wounded her delicate hands.\n\n\u201cI see that this will not do,\u201d said the man; \u201cyou had better spin;\nperhaps you can do that.\u201d\n\nShe sat down and tried to spin, but the hard thread soon cut her soft\nfingers so that the blood ran down.\n\n\u201cSee,\u201d said the man, \u201cyou are fit for no sort of work. I have made a\nbad bargain with you. Now, I will try to earn a living by selling pots\nand earthenware. You must sit in the market-place and sell the ware.\u201d\n\n\u201cAlas,\u201d thought she, \u201cif any of the people from my father\u2019s kingdom\ncome to the market and see me sitting there, selling, how they will\nmock me!\u201d But it was of no use, she had to yield unless she chose to\ndie of hunger.\n\nFor the first time, she succeeded well, for the people were glad to buy\nthe woman\u2019s wares because she was good-looking, and they paid her what\nshe asked. Many even gave her the money and left the pots with her as\nwell. So they lived on what she had earned as long as it lasted.\n\nThen the husband bought a lot of new crockery. With this she sat down\nat the corner of the market-place, and set it around her ready for\nsale. But suddenly there came a drunken soldier galloping along, and\nhe rode right amongst the pots, so that they were all broken into a\nthousand bits.\n\nShe began to weep, and did not know what to do for fear. \u201cAlas! what\nwill happen to me?\u201d cried she; \u201cwhat will my husband say to this?\u201d She\nran home and told him of the misfortune.\n\n\u201cWho would seat herself at a corner of the market-place with crockery?\u201d\nsaid the man. \u201cLeave off crying. I see very well that you cannot do\nordinary work, so I have been to our King\u2019s palace and have asked\nwhether they cannot find a place for a kitchen-maid. They have promised\nme to take you. In that way, you will get your food for nothing.\u201d\n\nThe King\u2019s Daughter was now a kitchen-maid, and had to be at the\ncook\u2019s beck and call, and do the dirtiest work. In each of her pockets\nshe fastened a little jar, in which she took home her share of the\nleavings, and upon this they lived.\n\nIt happened that the wedding of the King\u2019s eldest son was to be\ncelebrated. So the poor woman went up and placed herself by the door of\nthe hall to look on. When all the candles were lit, and people, each\nmore beautiful than the other, entered, and all was full of pomp and\nsplendor, she thought of her lot with a sad heart, and cursed the pride\nand haughtiness which had humbled her, and brought her to so great\npoverty.\n\nThe smell of the delicious dishes which were being taken in and out\nreached her, and now and then the servants threw her a few morsels.\nThese she put in her jars to take home.\n\nAll at once, the King\u2019s Son entered, clothed in velvet and silk,\nwith gold chains about his neck. And when he saw the beautiful woman\nstanding by the door he seized her by the hand, and would have danced\nwith her. But she refused and shrank back with fear, for she saw that\nit was King Thrushbeard, her suitor whom she had driven away with scorn.\n\nHer struggles were of no use; he drew her into the hall. But the string\nby which her pockets were fastened, broke, the pots fell down, the soup\nran out, and the scraps were scattered all around. And when the people\nsaw it, there arose laughter and derision, and she was so ashamed that\nshe would rather have been a thousand fathoms below ground.\n\nShe sprang to the door and would have run away, but on the stairs a man\ncaught her and brought her back. And when she looked at him it was King\nThrushbeard!\n\nHe said to her kindly, \u201cDo not be afraid, I and the fiddler who has\nbeen living with you in that wretched hovel are one. For love of you I\ndisguised myself so. And I, also, was the soldier who rode through your\ncrockery. This was all done to humble your proud spirit, and to punish\nyou for the insolence with which you mocked me.\u201d\n\nThen she wept bitterly and said, \u201cI have done great wrong, and am not\nworthy to be your wife.\u201d\n\nBut he said, \u201cBe comforted. The evil days are past. Now we will\ncelebrate our wedding.\u201d\n\nThen the maids-in-waiting came, and put the most splendid clothing on\nher. Her father and his whole Court arrived, and wished her happiness\nin her marriage to King Thrushbeard. And the joy now began in earnest.\nI wish you and I had been there too!\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nTHE GOLD-CHILDREN\n\n\nThere was once a poor man and a poor woman who had nothing but a little\ncottage. They earned their bread by fishing, and always lived from hand\nto mouth.\n\nBut it came to pass one day, when the man was sitting by the waterside\nand casting his net, that he drew out a fish entirely of gold.\n\nAs he was looking at the fish, full of astonishment, it began to speak\nand said, \u201cHark you, Fisherman, if you will throw me back again into\nthe water, I will change your little hut into a splendid castle.\u201d\n\nThen the fisherman answered, \u201cOf what use is a castle to me, if I have\nnothing to eat?\u201d\n\nThe Gold Fish continued, \u201cThat shall be taken care of. There will be a\ncupboard in the castle in which, when you open it, shall be dishes of\nthe most delicate meats, and as many of them as you may desire.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf that be true,\u201d said the man, \u201cthen I can well do you a favor.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the Fish, \u201cthere is, however, the condition that you shall\ntell no one in the world, whosoever he may be, whence your good luck\nhas come. If you speak but one single word, all will be over.\u201d\n\nThen the man threw the wonderful Fish back again into the water, and\nwent home.\n\nWhere his hovel had formerly stood, now stood a great castle. He opened\nwide his eyes, entered, and saw his wife dressed in beautiful clothes,\nsitting in a splendid room.\n\nShe was quite delighted, and said, \u201cHusband, how has all this come to\npass? It suits me very well.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the man, \u201cit suits me too. But I am frightfully hungry,\njust give me something to eat.\u201d\n\nSaid the wife, \u201cBut I have got nothing and don\u2019t know where to find\nanything in this new house.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is no need of your knowing,\u201d said the man, \u201cfor I see yonder a\ngreat cupboard, just unlock it.\u201d\n\nWhen she opened it, lo! there stood cakes, meat, fruit, wine.\n\nThen the woman cried joyfully, \u201cWhat more can you want, my dear?\u201d and\nthey sat down, and ate and drank together.\n\nWhen they had had enough, the woman said, \u201cBut, Husband, whence come\nall these riches?\u201d\n\n\u201cAlas,\u201d answered he, \u201cdo not question me about it, for I dare not tell\nyou anything. If I disclose it to any one, then all our good fortune\nwill fly.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery good,\u201d said she, \u201cif I am not to know anything, then I do not\nwant to know anything.\u201d\n\nHowever, she was not in earnest. She never rested day or night, and she\ngoaded her husband until in his impatience he revealed that all was\nowing to a wonderful Gold Fish which he had caught, and to which in\nreturn he had given its liberty.\n\nAnd as soon as the secret was out, the splendid castle with the\ncupboard immediately disappeared. They were once more in the old\nfisherman\u2019s hut, and the man was obliged to follow his former trade and\nfish.\n\nBut fortune would so have it, that he once more drew out the Gold Fish.\n\u201cListen,\u201d said the Fish, \u201cif you will throw me back into the water\nagain, I will once more give you the castle with the cupboard full of\nroast and boiled meats. Only be firm; for your life\u2019s sake don\u2019t reveal\nfrom whom you have it, or you will lose it all again!\u201d\n\n\u201cI will take good care,\u201d answered the fisherman, and threw the fish\nback into the water.\n\nNow at home, everything was once more in its former magnificence. The\nwife was overjoyed at their good fortune. But curiosity left her no\npeace, so that after a couple of days she began to ask again how it had\ncome to pass, and how he had managed to secure it.\n\nThe man kept silence for a short time, but at last she made him so\nangry that he broke out and betrayed the secret. In an instant the\ncastle disappeared, and they were back again in their old hut.\n\n\u201cNow you have got what you want,\u201d said he; \u201cand we can gnaw at a bare\nbone again.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh,\u201d said the woman, \u201cI had rather have no riches; if I am not to know\nfrom whom they come, then I have no peace.\u201d\n\nThe man went back to fish, and after a while he chanced to draw out the\nGold Fish for a third time.\n\n\u201cListen,\u201d said the Fish, \u201cI see very well that I am fated to fall into\nyour hands. Take me home and cut me into six pieces. Give your wife two\nof them to eat, two to your horse, and bury two of them in the ground.\nThen they will bring you a blessing.\u201d\n\nThe fisherman took the Fish home with him, and did as it had bidden him.\n\nIt came to pass that from the two pieces that were buried in the\nground, two Golden Lilies sprang up; that the horse had two Golden\nFoals; and the fisherman\u2019s wife bore two children who were made\nentirely of gold.\n\nThe children grew up, became tall and handsome, and the lilies and\nhorses grew likewise.\n\nThen the lads said, \u201cFather, we want to mount our Golden Steeds and\ntravel out in the world.\u201d\n\nBut he answered sorrowfully, \u201cHow shall I bear it, if you go away and I\nknow not how it fares with you?\u201d\n\nThen they said, \u201cThe two Golden Lilies remain here. By them you may see\nhow it is with us. If they are fresh, then we are in health. If they\nare withered, we are ill. If they perish, then we are dead.\u201d\n\nSo they rode forth and came to an inn, in which were many people. They\nperceived the Gold-Children and began to laugh, and jeer.\n\nWhen one of them heard the mocking he felt ashamed and would not go out\ninto the world, but turned back and went home again to his father. But\nthe other rode forward and reached a great forest.\n\n[Illustration: THE MAIDEN SAID, \u201cI WILL BE TRUE TO YOU, YOUR LIFE LONG\u201d]\n\nAs he was about to enter it, the people said, \u201cIt is not safe for\nyou to ride through; the wood is full of robbers, who would treat you\nbadly. You will fare ill. When they see that you are all of gold and\nyour horse likewise, they will assuredly kill you.\u201d\n\nBut he would not allow himself to be frightened, and said, \u201cI must and\nwill ride through it.\u201d\n\nThen he took bear-skins and covered himself and his horse with them, so\nthat the gold was not seen, and rode fearlessly into the forest. When\nhe had ridden onward a little, he heard a rustling in the bushes, and\nheard voices speaking together.\n\nFrom one side came cries of, \u201cThere is one!\u201d but from the other, \u201cLet\nhim go! \u2019tis an idle fellow, as poor and bare as a church-mouse. What\nshould we gain from him?\u201d\n\nSo the Gold-Child rode joyfully through the forest, and no evil befell\nhim.\n\nOne day he entered a village wherein he saw a maiden, who was so\nbeautiful that he did not believe that any more beautiful than she\nexisted in the world.\n\nAnd as such a mighty love took possession of him, he went up to her and\nsaid, \u201cI love you with my whole heart. Will you be my wife?\u201d\n\nHe, too, pleased the maiden so much that she agreed and said, \u201cYes, I\nwill be your wife, and be true to you your whole life long.\u201d\n\nThey were married. Then just as they were in the greatest happiness,\nhome came the father of the Bride. When he saw that his daughter\u2019s\nwedding was being celebrated, he was astonished, and said, \u201cWhere is\nthe Bridegroom?\u201d\n\nThey showed him the Gold-Child, who, however, still wore his bear-skins.\n\nThen the father said wrathfully, \u201cA vagabond shall never have my\ndaughter!\u201d and was about to kill him.\n\nThen the Bride begged as hard as she could, and said, \u201cHe is my\nhusband, and I love him with all my heart!\u201d until at last he allowed\nhimself to be appeased.\n\nNevertheless the idea never left his thoughts, so that next morning he\nrose early, wishing to see whether his daughter\u2019s husband was a common\nragged beggar. But when he peeped in, he saw a magnificent golden man\nin the bed, and the cast-off bear-skins lying on the ground.\n\nThen he went back, and thought, \u201cWhat a good thing it was that I\nrestrained my anger! I should have committed a great crime.\u201d\n\nBut the Gold-Child dreamed that he rode out to the chase of a splendid\nstag, and when he awoke in the morning, he said to his wife, \u201cI must go\nout hunting.\u201d\n\nShe was uneasy, and begged him to stay there, and said, \u201cYou might\neasily meet with a great misfortune.\u201d\n\nBut he answered, \u201cI must and will go.\u201d\n\nThereupon he got up, and rode forth into the forest. It was not long\nbefore a fine stag crossed his path exactly according to his dream. He\naimed and was about to shoot it, when the stag ran away. He gave chase\nover hedges and ditches for the whole day without feeling tired. In\nthe evening the stag vanished from his sight, and when the Gold-Child\nlooked round him, he was standing before a little house, wherein was a\nWitch.\n\nHe knocked, and a little old woman came out and asked, \u201cWhat are you\ndoing so late in the midst of the great forest?\u201d\n\n\u201cHave you not seen a stag?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d answered she, \u201cI know the stag well,\u201d and thereupon a little dog\nwhich had come out of the house with her, barked at the man violently.\n\n\u201cWill you be silent, you odious toad,\u201d said he, \u201cor I will shoot you\ndead.\u201d\n\nThen the Witch cried out in a passion, \u201cWhat! will you slay my little\ndog?\u201d and immediately she transformed him, so that he lay like a stone.\n\nMeanwhile his Bride awaited him in vain, and thought, \u201cThat which I so\ngreatly dreaded, which lay so heavily on my heart, has come upon him!\u201d\n\nBut at home, the other brother was standing by the Gold-Lilies, when\none of them suddenly drooped. \u201cAlas!\u201d said he, \u201cmy brother has met with\nsome great misfortune! I must away to see if I can possibly rescue him.\u201d\n\nThen he mounted his Golden Horse, and rode forth and entered the great\nforest, where his brother lay turned to stone. The old Witch came out\nof her house and called him, wishing to entrap him also.\n\nHe did not go near her, but said, \u201cI will shoot you, if you do not\nbring my brother to life again.\u201d\n\nShe touched the stone, though very unwillingly, with her forefinger.\nThen he was immediately restored to his human shape.\n\nThe two Gold-Children rejoiced, when they saw each other again. They\nkissed and caressed each other, and rode away together out of the\nforest, the one home to his Bride, the other to his father.\n\nThe father then said, \u201cI knew well that you had rescued your brother,\nfor the Golden Lily suddenly rose up and blossomed out again.\u201d\n\nThen they lived happily, and all prospered with them until their death.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nLITTLE SNOW-WHITE\n\n\nOnce upon a time, in the middle of winter, when the flakes of snow were\nfalling like feathers from the sky, a Queen sat at a window sewing, and\nthe frame of the window was made of black ebony.\n\nAnd whilst she was sewing and looking out of the window at the snow,\nshe pricked her finger with the needle, and three drops of blood fell\nupon the snow. And the red looked pretty upon the white snow, and she\nthought to herself, \u201cWould that I had a child as white as snow, as red\nas blood, and as black as the wood of the window-frame.\u201d\n\nSoon after that she had a little daughter, who was as white as snow,\nand as red as blood, and her hair was as black as ebony. She was\ntherefore called little Snow-White. And when the child was born, the\nQueen died.\n\nAfter a year had passed the King took to himself another wife. She\nwas a beautiful woman, but proud and haughty, and she could not bear\nthat any one else should surpass her in beauty. She had a wonderful\nlooking-glass, and when she stood in front of it and looked at herself\nin it, and said:\n\n \u201c_Looking-Glass, Looking-Glass, on the wall,\n Who in this land is the fairest of all?_\u201d\n\nthe Looking-Glass answered:\n\n \u201c_Thou, O Queen, art the fairest of all!_\u201d\n\nThen she was satisfied, for she knew that the Looking-Glass spoke the\ntruth.\n\nBut little Snow-White was growing up, and grew more and more beautiful.\nWhen she was seven years old she was as beautiful as the day, and more\nbeautiful than the Queen herself. And once when the Queen asked her\nLooking-Glass:\n\n \u201c_Looking-Glass, Looking-Glass, on the wall,\n Who in this land is the fairest of all?_\u201d\n\nit answered:\n\n \u201c_Thou art fairer than all who are here, Lady Queen.\n But more beautiful still is Snow-White, I ween._\u201d\n\nThen the Queen was shocked, and turned yellow and green with envy. From\nthat hour, whenever she looked at little Snow-White, her heart heaved\nin her breast, she hated the maiden so much.\n\nAnd envy and pride grew higher and higher in her heart like a weed, so\nthat she had no peace day or night. She called a huntsman, and said,\n\u201cTake the child away into the forest. I will no longer have her in my\nsight. Kill her.\u201d\n\nThe huntsman obeyed, and took her away. But when he had drawn his\nknife, and was about to pierce little Snow-White\u2019s innocent heart, she\nbegan to weep, and said, \u201cAh, dear Huntsman, leave me my life! I will\nrun away into the wild forest, and never come home again.\u201d\n\nAnd as she was so beautiful, the huntsman had pity on her and said,\n\u201cRun away, then, you poor child.\u201d \u201cThe wild beasts will soon have\ndevoured you,\u201d thought he, and yet it seemed as if a stone had been\nrolled from his heart since it was no longer needful for him to kill\nher.\n\nBut now, the poor child was all alone in the great forest, and so\nterrified that she looked at every leaf of every tree, and did not\nknow what to do. Then she began to run, and ran over sharp stones and\nthrough thorns, and the wild beasts ran past her, but did her no harm.\n\nShe ran as long as her feet would go, until it was almost evening. Then\nshe saw a little cottage and went into it to rest herself. Everything\nin the cottage was small, but neater and cleaner than can be told.\nThere was a table on which was a white cover, and seven little plates,\nand on each plate a little spoon. Moreover, there were seven little\nknives and forks, and seven little mugs. Against the wall stood seven\nlittle beds side by side, and covered with snow-white counterpanes.\n\nLittle Snow-White was so hungry and thirsty, that she ate some\nvegetables and bread from each plate and drank a drop of wine out of\neach mug, for she did not wish to take all from one only. Then, as she\nwas so tired, she laid herself down on one of the little beds, but none\nof them suited her. One was too long, another too short, but at last\nshe found that the seventh one was right, so she remained in it, said a\nprayer and went to sleep.\n\nWhen it was quite dark the owners of the cottage came back. They were\nseven Dwarfs who dug and delved in the mountains for ore. They lit\ntheir seven candles, and, as it was now light within the cottage, they\nsaw that some one had been there, for everything was not in the same\norder in which they had left it.\n\nThe first said, \u201cWho has been sitting on my chair?\u201d\n\nThe second, \u201cWho has been eating off my plate?\u201d\n\nThe third, \u201cWho has been taking some of my bread?\u201d\n\nThe fourth, \u201cWho has been eating my vegetables?\u201d\n\nThe fifth, \u201cWho has been using my fork?\u201d\n\nThe sixth, \u201cWho has been cutting with my knife?\u201d\n\nThe seventh, \u201cWho has been drinking out of my mug?\u201d\n\nThen the first looked round and saw that there was a little hole on his\nbed, and he said, \u201cWho has been getting into my bed?\u201d\n\nThe others came up and each called out, \u201cSomebody has been lying in my\nbed too.\u201d\n\nBut the seventh when he looked at his bed saw little Snow-White, who\nwas lying fast asleep therein. And he called the others, who came\nrunning up, and they cried out with astonishment, and brought their\nseven little candles and let the light fall on little Snow-White.\n\n\u201cOh, oh!\u201d cried they, \u201cwhat a lovely child!\u201d and they were so glad that\nthey did not wake her up, but let her sleep on in the bed. And the\nseventh Dwarf slept with his companions, one hour with each, and so got\nthrough the night.\n\nThe next morning, little Snow-White awoke, and was frightened when she\nsaw the seven Dwarfs. But they were friendly and asked her what her\nname was.\n\n\u201cMy name is little Snow-White,\u201d she answered.\n\n\u201cHow have you come to our house?\u201d said the Dwarfs.\n\nThen she told them that the wicked Queen had wished to have her\nkilled, but that the huntsman had spared her life, and that she had run\nfor the whole day, until at last she had found their dwelling.\n\nThe Dwarfs said, \u201cIf you will take care of our house, cook, make the\nbeds, wash, sew, and knit, and if you will keep everything neat and\nclean, you may stay with us and you shall want for nothing.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said little Snow-White, \u201cwith all my heart,\u201d and she stayed with\nthem.\n\nShe kept the house in order for them. In the mornings they went to the\nmountains and looked for copper and gold, in the evenings they came\nback, and then their supper had to be ready.\n\nThe maiden was alone the whole day, so the good Dwarfs warned her and\nsaid, \u201cBeware of the Queen, she will soon know that you are here. Be\nsure to let no one come in.\u201d\n\nBut the Queen, believing that little Snow-White was dead, could not but\nthink that she herself was again the first and most beautiful of all.\nShe went to her Looking-Glass, and said:\n\n \u201c_Looking-Glass, Looking-Glass, on the wall,\n Who in this land is the fairest of all?_\u201d\n\nand the Glass answered:\n\n \u201c_Oh, Queen, thou art fairest of all I see,\n But over the hills, where the Seven Dwarfs dwell,\n Little Snow-White is alive and well,\n And none is so fair as she._\u201d\n\nThen she was astounded, for she knew that the Looking-Glass never spoke\nfalsely, and she knew that the huntsman had betrayed her, for that\nlittle Snow-White was still alive.\n\nAnd so she thought and thought again how she might kill her, for so\nlong as she herself was not the fairest in the whole land, envy let her\nhave no rest. And when she had at last thought of something to do, she\npainted her face, and dressed herself like an old pedler-woman, and no\none could have known her.\n\nIn this disguise she went over the Seven Mountains to the Seven Dwarfs,\nand knocked at the door and cried, \u201cPretty things to sell, very cheap,\nvery cheap!\u201d\n\nLittle Snow-White looked out at the window, and called, \u201cGood-day, my\ndear woman, what have you to sell?\u201d\n\n\u201cGood things, pretty things,\u201d she answered; \u201cstay-laces of all colors,\u201d\nand she pulled out one which was woven of bright-colored silk.\n\n\u201cI may let the worthy old woman in,\u201d thought little Snow-White, and she\nunbolted the door and bought the pretty laces.\n\n\u201cChild,\u201d said the old woman, \u201cwhat a fright you look. Come, I will lace\nyou properly for once.\u201d\n\nLittle Snow-White had no suspicion, but stood before her, and let\nherself be laced with the new laces. But the old woman laced so quickly\nand laced so tightly that little Snow-White lost her breath and fell\ndown as if dead.\n\n\u201cNow I am the most beautiful,\u201d said the Queen to herself, and ran away.\n\nNot long afterward, in the evening, the Seven Dwarfs came home. But\nhow shocked they were when they saw their dear little Snow-White lying\non the ground, and that she neither stirred nor moved, and seemed to\nbe dead. They lifted her up, and, as they saw that she was laced too\ntightly, they cut the laces. Than she began to breathe a little, and\nafter a while came to life again.\n\nWhen the Dwarfs heard what had happened, they said, \u201cThe old\npedler-woman was no one else than the wicked Queen. Take care and let\nno one come in when we are not with you.\u201d\n\nBut the wicked woman, when she had reached home, went in front of the\nGlass and asked:\n\n \u201c_Looking-Glass, Looking-Glass, on the wall,\n Who in this land is the fairest of all?_\u201d\n\nand it answered as before:\n\n \u201c_Oh, Queen, thou art fairest of all I see,\n But over the hills, where the Seven Dwarfs dwell,\n Little Snow-White is alive and well,\n And none is so fair as she._\u201d\n\nWhen she heard that, all her blood rushed to her heart with fear, for\nshe saw plainly that little Snow-White was again alive. \u201cBut now,\u201d she\nsaid, \u201cI will think of something that shall put an end to you,\u201d and by\nthe help of witchcraft, which she understood, she made a poisonous comb.\n\nThen she disguised herself, and took the shape of another old woman. So\nshe went over the Seven Mountains to the Seven Dwarfs, knocked at the\ndoor, and cried, \u201cGood things to sell, cheap, cheap!\u201d\n\nLittle Snow-White looked out, and said, \u201cGo away. I cannot let any one\ncome in.\u201d\n\n\u201cI suppose you may look,\u201d said the old woman, and pulled the poisonous\ncomb out and held it up.\n\nIt pleased the maiden so well that she let herself be beguiled, and\nopened the door. When they had made a bargain, the old woman said, \u201cNow\nI will comb you properly for once.\u201d\n\nPoor little Snow-White had no suspicion, and let the Old Woman do as\nshe pleased. But hardly had she put the comb in her hair, then the\npoison in it took effect, and the maiden fell down senseless.\n\n\u201cYou paragon of beauty,\u201d said the wicked woman, \u201cyou are done for now!\u201d\nand she went away.\n\nBut fortunately it was almost evening, and the Seven Dwarfs came home.\nWhen they saw little Snow-White lying as if dead upon the ground, they\nat once suspected the Queen. They looked and found the poisoned comb.\nScarcely had they taken it out, when little Snow-White came to herself,\nand told them what had happened. Then they warned her once more to be\nupon her guard, and to open the door to no one.\n\nThe Queen, at home, went in front of the Glass and said:\n\n \u201c_Looking-Glass, Looking-Glass, on the wall,\n Who in this land is the fairest of all?_\u201d\n\nthen it answered as before:\n\n \u201c_Oh, Queen, thou art fairest of all I see,\n But over the hills, where the Seven Dwarfs dwell,\n Little Snow-White is alive and well,\n And none is so fair as she._\u201d\n\nWhen she heard the Glass speak thus, she trembled and shook with rage.\n\u201cLittle Snow-White shall die,\u201d she cried, \u201ceven if it costs me my life!\u201d\n\nThereupon she went into a secret, lonely room, where no one ever came,\nand there she made a very poisonous apple. Outside it looked pretty,\nwhite with a red cheek, so that every one who saw it longed for it.\nBut whoever ate a piece of it must surely die.\n\nWhen the apple was ready, she painted her face, and dressed herself as\na countrywoman, and so she went over the Seven Mountains to the Seven\nDwarfs. She knocked at the door. Little Snow-White put her head out of\nthe window and said, \u201cI cannot let any one in. The Seven Dwarfs have\nforbidden me.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is all the same to me,\u201d answered the woman, \u201cI shall soon get rid\nof my apples. There, I will give you one.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said little Snow-White, \u201cI dare not take anything.\u201d\n\n\u201cAre you afraid of poison?\u201d said the old woman. \u201cLook, I will cut the\napple in two pieces. You eat the red cheek, and I will eat the white.\u201d\n\nThe apple was so cunningly made that only the red cheek was poisoned.\nLittle Snow-White longed for the fine apple, and when she saw that the\nwoman ate part of it, she could resist no longer, and stretched out her\nhand and took the poisonous half. But hardly had she a bit of it in her\nmouth, than she fell down dead.\n\nThen the Queen looked at her with a dreadful look, and laughed aloud,\nand said, \u201cWhite as snow, red as blood, black as ebony-wood! This time\nthe Dwarfs cannot wake you up again!\u201d\n\nAnd when she asked of the Looking-Glass at home:\n\n \u201c_Looking-Glass, Looking-Glass, on the wall,\n Who in this land is the fairest of all?_\u201d\n\nit answered at last:\n\n \u201c_Oh, Queen, in this land thou art fairest of all._\u201d\n\nThen her envious heart had rest, so far as an envious heart can have\nrest.\n\nThe Dwarfs, when they came home in the evening, found little Snow-White\nlying upon the ground. She breathed no longer and was dead. They lifted\nher up, looked to see whether they could find anything poisonous,\nunlaced her, combed her hair, washed her with water and wine, but it\nwas all of no use. The poor child was dead, and remained dead. They\nlaid her upon a bier, and all seven of them sat round it and wept for\nher, and wept three days long.\n\nThen they were going to bury her, but she still looked as if she was\nliving, and still had her pretty red cheeks. They said, \u201cWe could not\nbury her in the dark ground,\u201d and they had a transparent coffin of\nglass made, so that she might be seen from all sides. They laid her in\nit, and wrote her name upon it in golden letters, and that she was a\nKing\u2019s Daughter.\n\nThen they put the coffin out upon the mountain, and one of them always\nstayed by it to watch it. And birds came too, and wept for little\nSnow-White; first an owl, then a raven, and last a dove.\n\nAnd now little Snow-White lay a long, long time in the coffin. She did\nnot change, but looked as if she were asleep; for she was as white as\nsnow, as red as blood, and her hair was as black as ebony.\n\nIt happened, however, that a King\u2019s Son came into the forest, and went\nto the Dwarfs\u2019 house to spend the night. He saw the coffin on the\nmountain, and the beautiful little Snow-White within it, and read what\nwas written upon it in golden letters.\n\nThen he said to the Dwarfs, \u201cLet me have the coffin. I will give you\nwhatever you want for it.\u201d\n\nBut the Dwarfs answered, \u201cWe will not part with it for all the gold in\nthe world.\u201d\n\nThen he said, \u201cLet me have it as a gift, for I cannot live without\nseeing little Snow-White. I will honor and prize her as my dearest\npossession,\u201d As he spoke in this way the good Dwarfs took pity upon\nhim, and gave him the coffin.\n\nAnd now the King\u2019s Son had it carried away by his servants on their\nshoulders. And it happened, that they stumbled over a tree-stump, and\nwith the shock the poisonous piece of apple, which little Snow-White\nhad bitten off, came out of her throat. And before long she opened her\neyes, lifted up the lid of the coffin, sat up, and was once more alive.\n\n\u201cOh, where am I?\u201d she cried.\n\nThe King\u2019s Son, full of joy, said, \u201cYou are with me,\u201d and told her what\nhad happened, and said, \u201cI love you more than everything in the world.\nCome with me to my father\u2019s palace, you shall be my wife.\u201d\n\nAnd little Snow-White was willing, and went with him, and their wedding\nwas held with great show and splendor. But the wicked Queen was also\nbidden to the feast. When she had arrayed herself in beautiful clothes,\nshe went before the Looking-Glass, and said:\n\n \u201c_Looking-Glass, Looking-Glass, on the wall,\n Who in this land is the fairest of all?_\u201d\n\nthe Glass answered:\n\n \u201c_Oh, Queen, of all here the fairest art thou,\n But the young Queen is fairer by far, I trow!_\u201d\n\nThen the wicked woman uttered a curse, and was so wretched, so utterly\nwretched, that she knew not what to do. At first she would not go to\nthe wedding at all, but she had no peace, and must go to see the young\nQueen.\n\nAnd when she went in she knew little Snow-White. And she stood still\nwith rage and fear, and could not stir. But iron slippers had already\nbeen put upon the fire, and they were brought in with tongs, and set\nbefore her. Then she was forced to put on the red-hot shoes, and dance\nuntil she dropped down dead.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nRUMPELSTILTSKIN\n\n\nOnce there was a miller who was poor, but who had a beautiful daughter.\nNow it happened that he had to speak to the King, and in order to make\nhimself appear important he said to him, \u201cI have a daughter who can\nspin straw into gold.\u201d\n\nThe King said to the miller, \u201cThat is an art which pleases me well.\nIf your daughter is as clever as you say, bring her to-morrow to my\npalace, and I will try what she can do.\u201d\n\nAnd when the girl was brought to him, he took her into a room which was\nquite full of straw, gave her a spinning-wheel and a reel, and said,\n\u201cNow set to work. If by to-morrow morning early, you have not spun this\nstraw into gold, you must die.\u201d\n\nThereupon he himself locked up the room, and left her in it alone. So\nthere sat the poor miller\u2019s daughter, and for her life could not tell\nwhat to do. She had no idea how straw could be spun into gold; and she\ngrew more and more miserable, until at last she began to weep.\n\nBut all at once the door opened, and in came a Little Man, and said,\n\u201cGood evening, Mistress Miller. Why are you crying so?\u201d\n\n\u201cAlas!\u201d answered the girl, \u201cI have to spin straw into gold, and I do\nnot know how to do it.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat will you give me,\u201d said the Little Man, \u201cif I do it for you?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy necklace,\u201d said the girl.\n\nThe Little Man took the necklace, seated himself in front of the wheel,\nand _whirr, whirr, whirr,_ three turns, and the reel was full. Then he\nput another on, and _whirr, whirr, whirr,_ three times round, and the\nsecond was full too. And so it went on till the morning, when all the\nstraw was spun, and all the reels were full of gold.\n\nBy daybreak, the King was there, and when he saw the gold, he was\nastonished and delighted, but his heart became only more greedy. He had\nthe miller\u2019s daughter taken into another room full of straw, which was\nmuch larger, and commanded her to spin that also in one night if she\nvalued her life.\n\nThe girl knew not how to help herself, and was crying, when the door\nagain opened, and the Little Man appeared, and said, \u201cWhat will you\ngive me if I spin the straw into gold for you?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe ring on my finger,\u201d answered the girl.\n\nThe Little Man took the ring, again began to turn the wheel, and, by\nmorning, had spun all the straw into glittering gold.\n\nThe King rejoiced beyond measure at the sight, but still he had not\ngold enough. He had the miller\u2019s daughter taken into a still larger\nroom full of straw, and said, \u201cYou must spin this, too, in the course\nof this night. But if you succeed, you shall be my wife.\u201d \u201cEven if she\nbe a miller\u2019s daughter,\u201d thought he, \u201cI could not find a richer wife in\nthe whole world.\u201d\n\nWhen the girl was alone the Little Man came again for the third time,\nand said, \u201cWhat will you give me if I spin the straw for you this time\nalso?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have nothing left that I could give,\u201d answered the girl.\n\n\u201cThen promise me, if you should become Queen, your first child.\u201d\n\n\u201cWho knows whether that will ever happen?\u201d thought the miller\u2019s\ndaughter. And, not knowing how else to help herself in this difficulty,\nshe promised the Little Man what he wanted. And for that he once more\nspan the straw into gold.\n\nAnd when the King came in the morning, and found all as he had wished,\nhe took her in marriage. And the pretty miller\u2019s daughter became a\nQueen.\n\nA year after, she had a beautiful child, and she never gave a thought\nto the Little Man. But suddenly he came into her room, and said, \u201cNow\ngive me what you promised.\u201d\n\nThe Queen was horror-struck, and offered the Little Man all the riches\nof the kingdom if he would leave her the child.\n\nBut the Little Man said, \u201cNo, something that is alive, is dearer to me\nthan all the treasures in the world.\u201d\n\nThen the Queen began to weep and cry, so that the Little Man pitied\nher. \u201cI will give you three days\u2019 time,\u201d said he; \u201cif by that time you\nfind out my name, then you shall keep your child.\u201d\n\nSo the Queen thought the whole night of all the names that she had ever\nheard, and she sent a messenger over the country to inquire, far and\nwide, for any other names there might be.\n\nWhen the Little Man came the next day, she began with _Caspar,\nMelchior, Balthazar,_ and said all the names she knew, one after\nanother. But to every one the Little Man said, \u201cThat is not my name.\u201d\n\nOn the second day, she had inquiries made in the neighborhood as to\nthe names of the people there. And she repeated to the Little Man\nthe most uncommon and curious, \u201cPerhaps your name is _Shortribs_, or\n_Sheepshanks_, or _Laceleg_?\u201d but he always answered, \u201cThat is not my\nname.\u201d\n\nOn the third day, the messenger came back again, and said, \u201cI have not\nbeen able to find a single new name. But as I came to a high mountain\nat the end of the forest, where the fox and the hare bid each other\ngood night, there I saw a little house. Before the house a fire was\nburning, and round about the fire a funny Little Man was jumping. He\nhopped upon one leg, and shouted:\n\n \u201c_To-day I brew, to-morrow I bake,\n And next, I shall the Queen\u2019s child take!\n Ah! well it is, none knows the same--\n That Rumpelstiltskin is my name!_\u201d\n\nYou may think how glad the Queen was when she heard the name! And when\nsoon afterward the Little Man came in, and asked, \u201cNow, Mistress Queen,\nwhat is my name?\u201d she said:\n\n\u201cIs your name _Conrad_?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs your name _Harry_?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo.\u201d\n\n\u201cPerhaps your name is _Rumpelstiltskin_?\u201d\n\n[Illustration: \u201cPERHAPS,\u201d SAID SHE, \u201cYOUR NAME IS RUMPELSTILTSKIN?\u201d]\n\n\u201cThe devil has told you that! the devil has told you that!\u201d cried the\nLittle Man, and in his anger he stamped his right foot so deep into the\nearth that his whole leg went in. And then in rage, he pulled at his\nleft leg so hard with both hands, that he tore himself in two.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nLITTLE BRIAR-ROSE\n\n\nA long time ago, there were a King and Queen who said every day, \u201cAh,\nif only we had a child!\u201d but they never had one.\n\nBut it happened that once when the Queen was bathing, a Frog crept\nout of the water on to the land, and said to her, \u201cYour wish shall be\nfulfilled. Before a year has gone by, you shall have a daughter.\u201d\n\nWhat the Frog had said came true, and the Queen had a little girl, who\nwas so pretty that the King could not contain himself for joy, and\nordered a great feast. He invited not only his kindred, friends and\nacquaintance, but also the Wise Women, in order that they might be kind\nand well-disposed toward the child. There were thirteen of them in his\nkingdom. But, as he had only twelve golden plates for them to eat out\nof, one of them had to be left at home.\n\nThe feast was held with all manner of splendor. When it came to an\nend the Wise Women bestowed their magic gifts upon the baby. One gave\nVirtue, another Beauty, a third Riches, and so on with everything in\nthe world that one can wish for.\n\nWhen eleven of them had made their promises, suddenly the thirteenth\ncame in. She wished to avenge herself for not having been invited, and\nwithout greeting, or even looking at any one, she cried with a loud\nvoice, \u201cThe King\u2019s Daughter, in her fifteenth year, shall prick herself\nwith a spindle, and fall down dead.\u201d And, without saying a word more,\nshe turned round and left the room.\n\nThey were all shocked. But the twelfth, whose good wish still remained\nunspoken, came forward, and as she could not undo the evil sentence,\nbut only soften it, she said, \u201cIt shall not be death, but a deep sleep\nof a hundred years, into which the Princess shall fall.\u201d\n\nThe King, who wished to keep his dear child from the misfortune,\ngave orders that every spindle in the whole kingdom should be burnt.\nMeanwhile, the gifts of the Wise Women were fulfilled on the young\ngirl, for she was so beautiful, modest, sweet tempered, and wise, that\nevery one who saw her, was bound to love her.\n\nIt happened that on the very day, when she was fifteen years old,\nthe King and Queen were not at home, and the maiden was left in the\npalace quite alone. So she went round into all sorts of places, looked\ninto rooms and bedchambers just as she liked, and at last came to an\nold tower. She climbed up the narrow winding-staircase, and reached\na little door. A rusty key was in the lock, and when she turned it\nthe door sprang open. There in a little room sat an Old Woman with a\nspindle, busily spinning flax.\n\n\u201cGood day, old Dame,\u201d said the King\u2019s Daughter; \u201cwhat are you doing\nthere?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am spinning,\u201d said the Old Woman, and nodded her head.\n\n\u201cWhat sort of thing is that, which rattles round so merrily?\u201d said the\nmaiden, and she took the spindle and wanted to spin too. But scarcely\nhad she touched the spindle when the magic decree was fulfilled, and\nshe pricked her finger with it.\n\nAnd, in the very moment when she felt the prick, she fell down upon the\nbed that stood there, and lay in a deep sleep. And this sleep extended\nover the whole palace.\n\nThe King and Queen, who had just come home, and had entered the great\nhall, began to go to sleep, and the whole of the Court with them. The\nhorses, too, went to sleep in the stable, the dogs in the yard, the\npigeons upon the roof, the flies on the wall. Even the fire, that was\nflaming on the hearth, became quiet and slept. The roast meat left off\nfrizzling, and the cook, who was just going to pull the hair of the\nscullery boy, because he had forgotten something, let him go, and went\nto sleep. And the wind fell; and on the trees before the castle not a\nleaf moved again.\n\nBut round about the castle, there began to grow a hedge of thorns.\nEvery year it became higher, and at last grew close up round the castle\nand all over it, so that there was nothing of it to be seen, not even\nthe flag upon the roof.\n\nBut the story of the beautiful sleeping \u201cBriar-Rose,\u201d for so the\nPrincess was named, went about the country, so that from time to time\nKings\u2019 Sons came and tried to get through the thorny hedge into\nthe castle. But they found it impossible, for the thorns held fast\ntogether, as if they had hands, and the youths were caught in them,\ncould not get loose again, and died a miserable death.\n\nAfter long, long years, again a King\u2019s Son came to that country. He\nheard an old man talking about the thorn-hedge, and that a castle was\nsaid to stand behind it in which a wonderfully beautiful Princess,\nnamed Briar-Rose, had been asleep for a hundred years; and that the\nKing and Queen and the whole Court were asleep likewise. He had heard,\ntoo, from his grandfather, that many Kings\u2019 Sons had come, and had\ntried to get through the thorny hedge, but they had remained sticking\nfast in it, so had died a pitiful death.\n\nThen the youth said, \u201cI am not afraid. I will go and see the beautiful\nBriar-Rose.\u201d The good old man might dissuade him as he would, he did\nnot listen to his words.\n\nBut by this time the hundred years had just passed. The day was come\nwhen Briar-Rose was to awake again. When the King\u2019s Son came near to\nthe thorn-hedge, it was nothing but large and beautiful flowers, which\nparted from each other of their own accord, and let him pass unhurt.\nThen they closed again behind him like a hedge.\n\nIn the castle-yard he saw the horses and the spotted hounds lying\nasleep. On the roof, sat the pigeons with their heads under their\nwings. And when he entered the house, the flies were asleep upon the\nwall, the cook in the kitchen was still holding out his hand to seize\nthe boy, and the maid was sitting by the black hen which she was going\nto pluck.\n\nHe went on farther, and in the great hall he saw the whole of the\nCourt lying asleep, and by the throne lay the King and Queen.\n\nThen he went on still farther, and all was so quiet that a breath could\nbe heard. At last he came to the tower, and opened the door into the\nlittle room where Briar-Rose was sleeping. There she lay, so beautiful\nthat he could not turn his eyes away. He stooped down and gave her a\nkiss. But as soon as he kissed her, Briar-Rose opened her eyes and\nawoke, and looked at him quite sweetly.\n\nThen they went down together, and the King awoke, and the Queen, and\nthe whole Court, and gazed at each other in great astonishment. And\nthe horses in the courtyard stood up and shook themselves. The hounds\njumped up and wagged their tails. The pigeons upon the roof pulled\nout their heads from under their wings, looked round, and flew into\nthe open country. The flies on the wall crept again. The fire in the\nkitchen burned up and flickered and cooked the meat. The joint began to\nturn and frizzle, and the cook gave the boy such a box on the ear that\nhe screamed, and the maid plucked the fowl ready for the spit.\n\nAnd then the marriage of the King\u2019s Son and Briar-Rose was celebrated\nwith all splendor, and they lived contented to the end of their days.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nTHE THREE LITTLE MEN IN THE WOOD\n\n\nThere was once a man whose wife died, and a woman whose husband died;\nand the man had a daughter, and the woman also had a daughter.\n\nThe girls were acquainted with each other. They went walking together,\nand came to the woman\u2019s house. Then she said to the man\u2019s daughter:\n\n\u201cListen! Tell your father that I would like to marry him. Then you\nshall wash yourself in milk every morning and drink wine; but my own\ndaughter shall wash herself in water and drink water.\u201d\n\nThe girl went home, and told her father what the woman had said. The\nman said, \u201cWhat shall I do? Marriage is a joy, also a torment!\u201d\n\nAt last, as he could not decide, he pulled off his boot, and said,\n\u201cTake this boot. It has a hole in the sole of it. Go with it upstairs\nto the loft. Hang it on the big nail. Then pour water into it. If it\nholds the water, then I will again take a wife. But if it runs through,\nI will not!\u201d\n\nThe girl did as she was ordered, but the water drew the hole together,\nand the boot became full to the top. She informed her father how it had\nturned out.\n\nThen he himself went up, and when he saw that she was right, he went to\nthe widow and wooed her, and the wedding was celebrated.\n\nThe next morning, when the two girls got up, there stood before the\nman\u2019s daughter, milk for her to wash in and wine for her to drink. But\nbefore the woman\u2019s daughter, stood water to wash herself with and water\nfor drinking.\n\nOn the second morning, stood water for washing and water for drinking\nbefore the man\u2019s daughter as well as before the woman\u2019s daughter.\n\nAnd on the third morning, stood water for washing and water for\ndrinking before the man\u2019s daughter, and milk for washing and wine for\ndrinking, before the woman\u2019s daughter, and so it continued.\n\nThe woman became bitterly unkind to the man\u2019s daughter, and day by day\ndid her best to treat her still worse. She was envious too because the\nman\u2019s daughter was beautiful and lovable, and her own daughter ugly and\nrepulsive.\n\nOne day, in winter, when everything was frozen as hard as a stone, and\nhill and vale lay covered with snow, the woman made a frock of paper,\ncalled the man\u2019s daughter and said, \u201cHere, put on this dress and go out\ninto the wood, and fetch me a little basketful of strawberries,--I have\na fancy for some.\u201d\n\n\u201cAlas!\u201d said the girl, \u201cno strawberries grow in winter! The ground is\nfrozen, and besides the snow has covered everything. And why am I to\ngo in this paper frock? It is so cold outside that one\u2019s very breath\nfreezes! The wind will blow through the frock, and the thorns will tear\nit off my body.\u201d\n\n\u201cWill you contradict me again?\u201d said the woman. \u201cSee that you go,\nand do not show your face again until you have the basketful of\nstrawberries!\u201d\n\nThen she gave her a little piece of hard bread, and said, \u201cThis will\nlast you the day,\u201d and thought, \u201cYou will die of cold and hunger\noutside, and will never be seen again by me.\u201d\n\nThen the girl obeyed, and put on the paper frock, and went out with the\nbasket. Far and wide there was nothing but snow, and not a green blade\nto be seen.\n\nWhen she got into the wood she saw a small house out of which peeped\nthree little Dwarfs. She wished them good day, and knocked modestly at\nthe door. They cried, \u201cCome in,\u201d and she entered the room and seated\nherself on the bench by the stove, where she began to warm herself and\neat her breakfast.\n\nThe Dwarfs said, \u201cGive us some of it.\u201d\n\n\u201cWillingly,\u201d said she, and divided her bit of bread in two, and gave\nthem the half.\n\nThey asked, \u201cWhat do you here in the forest in the winter time, in your\nthin dress?\u201d\n\n\u201cAh,\u201d she answered, \u201cI am to look for a basketful of strawberries, and\nam not to go home until I can take them with me.\u201d\n\nWhen she had eaten her bread, they gave her a broom and said, \u201cSweep\naway the snow at the back door with it.\u201d\n\nBut when she was outside, the three Little Men said to one another,\n\u201cWhat shall we give her as she is so good, and has shared her bread\nwith us?\u201d\n\nThen said the first, \u201cMy gift is, that every day she shall grow more\nbeautiful.\u201d\n\nThe second said, \u201cMy gift is, that gold pieces shall fall out of her\nmouth every time she speaks.\u201d\n\nThe third said, \u201cMy gift is, that a King shall come and take her to\nwife.\u201d\n\nThe girl, however, did as the Little Men had bidden her, swept away the\nsnow behind the little house with the broom. And what did she find but\nreal ripe strawberries, which came up quite dark-red out of the snow!\nIn her joy she hastily gathered her basket full, thanked the Little\nMen, shook hands with each of them, and ran home to take the woman what\nshe had longed for so much.\n\nWhen she went in and said good-evening, a piece of gold at once fell\nout of her mouth. Thereupon she related what had happened to her in the\nwood. But with every word she spoke, gold pieces fell from her mouth,\nuntil very soon the whole room was covered with them.\n\n\u201cNow look at her pride,\u201d cried the woman\u2019s daughter, \u201cto throw about\ngold in that way!\u201d but she was secretly envious of it, and wanted to go\ninto the forest to seek strawberries.\n\nHer mother said, \u201cNo, my dear little Daughter, it is too cold, you\nmight die of cold.\u201d\n\nHowever, as her daughter let her have no peace, the mother at last\nyielded, made her a magnificent dress of fur, which she was obliged to\nput on, and gave her bread-and-butter and cake to take with her.\n\nThe girl went into the forest and straight up to the little house. The\nthree Little Men peeped out again, but she did not greet them. Without\nlooking round at them and without speaking to them, she went awkwardly\ninto the room, seated herself by the stove, and began to eat her\nbread-and-butter and cake.\n\n\u201cGive us some of it,\u201d cried the Little Men.\n\nBut she replied, \u201cThere is not enough for myself, so how can I give it\naway to other people?\u201d\n\nWhen she had done eating, they said, \u201cThere is a broom for you, sweep\nall clean for us outside by the back-door.\u201d\n\n\u201cHumph! Sweep for yourselves,\u201d she answered, \u201cI am not your servant.\u201d\n\nWhen she saw that they were not going to give her anything, she went\nout the door. Then the Little Men said to each other, \u201cWhat shall we\ngive her as she is so naughty, and has a wicked envious heart, that\nwill never let her do a good turn to any one?\u201d\n\nThe first said, \u201cI grant that she may grow uglier every day.\u201d\n\nThe second said, \u201cI grant that at every word she says, a toad shall\nspring out of her mouth.\u201d\n\nThe third said, \u201cI grant that she may die a miserable death.\u201d\n\nThe maiden looked for strawberries outside, but as she found none, she\nwent angrily home. And when she opened her mouth, and was about to tell\nher mother what had happened to her in the wood, with each word she\nsaid, a toad sprang out of her mouth, so that everybody was seized with\nhorror of her.\n\nThen her mother was still more enraged, and thought of nothing but\nhow to do every possible injury to the man\u2019s daughter, whose beauty,\nhowever, grew daily greater. At length she took a cauldron, set it on\nthe fire, and boiled yarn in it. When it was boiled, she flung it on\nthe poor girl\u2019s shoulder, and gave her an axe in order that she might\ngo on the frozen river, cut a hole in the ice, and rinse the yarn.\n\nShe was obedient, went thither and cut a hole in the ice. And while she\nwas in the midst of her cutting, a splendid carriage came driving up,\nin which sat the King. The carriage stopped, and the King asked, \u201cMy\nChild, who are you, and what are you doing here?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am a poor girl, and I am rinsing yarn.\u201d\n\nThen the King felt compassion, and when he saw that she was so very\nbeautiful, he said to her, \u201cWill you go away with me?\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, yes, with all my heart,\u201d she answered, for she was glad to get\naway from the mother and sister.\n\nSo she got into the carriage and drove away with the King, and when\nthey arrived at his palace, the wedding was celebrated with great pomp,\nas the Little Men had granted to the maiden.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nTHE GOLDEN BIRD\n\n\nIn the olden time, there was a King, who had behind his palace a\nbeautiful pleasure-garden, in which there was a tree that bore Golden\nApples. When the apples were getting ripe they were counted, but on the\nvery next morning one was missing. This was told to the King, and he\nordered that a watch should be kept every night beneath the tree.\n\nThe King had three sons, the eldest of whom he sent, as soon as night\ncame, into the garden. But when it was midnight, he could not keep\nhimself from sleeping, and next morning again an apple was gone.\n\nThe following night, the second son had to keep watch, it fared no\nbetter with him. As soon as twelve o\u2019clock had struck he fell asleep,\nand in the morning an apple was gone.\n\nNow, it came to the turn of the third son to watch. He was quite ready,\nbut the King had not much trust in him, and thought that he would be of\nless use than his brothers. But at last he let him go.\n\nThe youth lay down beneath the tree, but kept awake, and did not let\nsleep master him. When it struck twelve, something rustled through\nthe air, and in the moonlight he saw a bird coming whose feathers were\nshining with gold. The bird alighted on the tree, and had just plucked\noff an apple, when the youth shot an arrow at him. The bird flew off,\nbut the arrow had struck his plumage, and one of his golden feathers\nfell down.\n\nThe youth picked it up, and the next morning took it to the King and\ntold him what he had seen in the night. The King called his council\ntogether, and every one declared that a feather like this was worth\nmore than the whole kingdom.\n\n\u201cIf the feather is so precious,\u201d declared the King, \u201cone alone will not\ndo for me. I must and will have the whole bird!\u201d\n\nThe eldest son set out. He trusted to his cleverness, and thought that\nhe would easily find the Golden Bird. When he had gone some distance he\nsaw a Fox sitting at the edge of a wood, so he cocked his gun and took\naim at him.\n\nThe Fox cried, \u201cDo not shoot me! And in return I will give you some\ngood counsel. You are on the way to the Golden Bird. This evening you\nwill come to a village in which stand two inns opposite to one another.\nOne of them is lighted up brightly, and all goes on merrily within, but\ndo not enter it. Go rather into the other, even though it seems a bad\none.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow can such a silly beast give wise advice?\u201d thought the King\u2019s Son,\nand he pulled the trigger. But he missed the Fox, who stretched out his\ntail and ran quickly into the wood.\n\nSo he pursued his way, and by evening came to the village where the two\ninns were. In one they were singing and dancing. The other had a poor,\nmiserable look.\n\n[Illustration: IN THE MOONLIGHT HE SAW A BIRD]\n\n\u201cI should be a fool, indeed,\u201d he thought, \u201cif I were to go into the\nshabby tavern, and pass by the good one.\u201d So he went into the cheerful\none, lived there in riot and revel, and forgot the bird and his father,\nand all good counsels.\n\nSome time had passed, and when the eldest son, month after month,\ndid not come home, the second set out, wishing to find the Golden\nBird. The Fox met him as he had met the eldest, and gave him the good\nadvice, of which he took no heed. He came to the two inns. His brother\nwas standing at the window of the one from which came the music, and\ncalled to him. He could not resist, but went inside, and lived only for\npleasure.\n\nAgain some time passed, and then the youngest King\u2019s Son wanted to set\noff and try his luck. But his father would not allow it. \u201cIt is of no\nuse,\u201d said he, \u201che will be less likely to find the Golden Bird than his\nbrothers. And if a mishap were to befall him, he knows not how to help\nhimself. He is a little wanting at the best.\u201d But at last, as he had no\npeace, he let him go.\n\nAgain the Fox was sitting outside the wood, and begged for his life,\nand offered his good advice. The youth was good-natured, and said, \u201cBe\neasy, little Fox, I will do you no harm.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou shall not repent it,\u201d answered the Fox; \u201cand that you may proceed\nmore quickly, get up behind on my tail.\u201d\n\nAnd scarcely had he seated himself, when the Fox began to run, and\naway he went over stock and stone till his hair whistled in the wind.\nWhen they came to the village, the youth got off. He followed the good\nadvice, and without looking round turned into the little inn, where he\nspent the night quietly.\n\nThe next morning, as soon as he got into the open country, there sat\nthe Fox already, and said, \u201cI will tell you further what you have to\ndo. Go straight forward. At last you will come to a castle, in front\nof which a whole regiment of soldiers is lying, but do not trouble\nyourself about them, for they will all be asleep and snoring.\n\n\u201cGo through the midst of them straight into the castle. Go through all\nthe rooms, till at last you will come to a chamber where a Golden Bird\nis hanging in a wooden cage. Close by, there stands an empty gold cage\nfor show. Beware of taking the bird out of the common cage and putting\nit into the fine one, or it may go badly with you.\u201d\n\nWith these words the Fox again stretched out his tail, and the King\u2019s\nSon seated himself upon it. Away he went over stock and stone, till his\nhair whistled in the wind.\n\nWhen he came to the castle he found everything as the Fox had said. The\nKing\u2019s Son went into the chamber where the Golden Bird was shut up in\na wooden cage, whilst a golden one stood hard by; and the three Golden\nApples lay about the room.\n\n\u201cBut,\u201d thought he, \u201cit would be absurd if I were to leave the beautiful\nbird in the common and ugly cage,\u201d so he opened the door, laid hold of\nit, and put it into the golden cage. But at the same moment the bird\nuttered a shrill cry.\n\nThe soldiers awoke, rushed in, and took him off to prison. The next\nmorning he was taken before a court of justice, and as he confessed\neverything, was sentenced to death.\n\nThe King, however, said that he would grant him his life on one\ncondition--namely, if he brought him the Golden Horse which ran faster\nthan the wind. And in that case he should receive, over and above, as a\nreward, the Golden Bird.\n\nThe King\u2019s Son set off, but he sighed and was sorrowful, for how was he\nto find the Golden Horse? But all at once he saw his old friend the Fox\nsitting on the road.\n\n\u201cLook you,\u201d said the Fox, \u201cthis has happened because you did not give\nheed to me. However, be of good courage. I will help you, and tell you\nhow to get to the Golden Horse. You must go straight on, and you will\ncome to a castle, where in the stable stands the horse. The grooms will\nbe lying in front of the stable.\n\n\u201cThey will be asleep and snoring, and you can quietly lead out the\nGolden Horse. But of one thing you must take heed. Put on him the\ncommon saddle of wood and leather, and not the golden one, which hangs\nclose by, else it will go ill with you.\u201d\n\nThen the Fox stretched out his tail, the King\u2019s Son seated himself upon\nit. Away he went over stock and stone, until his hair whistled in the\nwind.\n\nEverything happened just as the Fox had said. The King\u2019s Son came to\nthe stable in which the Golden Horse was standing, but just as he was\ngoing to put the common saddle upon him, he thought, \u201cIt will be a\nshame to such a beautiful beast, if I do not give him the good saddle\nwhich belongs to him by right.\u201d\n\nBut scarcely had the golden saddle touched the horse than he began to\nneigh loudly. The grooms awoke, seized the youth, and threw him into\nprison. The next morning he was sentenced by the court to death; but\nthe King promised to grant him his life, and the Golden Horse as well,\nif he would rescue the beautiful Princess from the Golden Castle.\n\nWith a heavy heart the youth set out. Yet luckily for him he soon found\nthe trusty Fox.\n\n\u201cI ought to leave you to your ill-luck,\u201d said the Fox, \u201cbut I pity you,\nand will help you once more out of your trouble. This road takes you\nstraight to the Golden Castle. You will reach it by eventide. And at\nnight, when everything is quiet, the beautiful Princess goes to the\nbathing-house to bathe. When she enters it, run up to her and give her\na kiss. Then she will follow you, and you can take her away with you.\nOnly do not allow her to say farewell to her parents first, or it will\ngo ill with you.\u201d\n\nThen the Fox stretched out his tail, the King\u2019s Son seated himself upon\nit. Away the Fox went, over stock and stone, till his hair whistled in\nthe wind.\n\nWhen he reached the Golden Castle it was just as the Fox had said.\nHe waited until midnight, when everything lay in deep sleep, and the\nbeautiful Princess was going to the bathing-house. Then he sprang out\nand gave her a kiss. She said that she would like to go with him, but\nshe asked him pitifully, and with tears, to be allowed to take leave of\nher parents.\n\nAt first he withstood her prayer, but when she wept more and more, and\nfell at his feet, he at last gave in. But no sooner had the maiden\nreached the bedside of her father, than he and all the rest in the\ncastle awoke, and the youth was laid hold of and put into prison.\n\nThe next morning, the King said to him, \u201cYour life is forfeited, and\nyou can only find mercy if you take away the hill which stands in\nfront of my windows, and prevents my seeing beyond it. And you must\nfinish it all within eight days. If you do that you shall have my\ndaughter as your reward.\u201d\n\nThe King\u2019s Son began, and dug and shovelled without leaving off. But\nafter seven days when he saw how little he had done, and how all his\nwork was as good as nothing, he fell into great sorrow and gave up all\nhope.\n\nOn the evening of the seventh day the Fox appeared and said, \u201cYou do\nnot deserve that I should take any trouble about you. Nevertheless, go\naway and lie down to sleep. I will do the work for you.\u201d\n\nThe next morning, when he awoke and looked out of the window, the hill\nhad gone. Full of joy, the youth ran to the King, and told him that the\ntask was fulfilled. And whether he liked it or not, the King had to\nhold to his word and give him his daughter.\n\nSo the two set forth together, and it was not long before the trusty\nFox came up with them. \u201cYou have certainly got what is best,\u201d said he,\n\u201cbut the Golden Horse also belongs to the maiden of the Golden Castle.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow shall I get it?\u201d asked the youth.\n\n\u201cThat I will tell you,\u201d answered the Fox; \u201cfirst take the beautiful\nmaiden to the King who sent you to the Golden Castle. There will be\nunheard-of rejoicing. They will gladly give you the Golden Horse, and\nwill bring it out to you.\u201d\n\nAll was brought to pass successfully, and the King\u2019s Son carried off\nthe beautiful Princess on the Golden Horse.\n\nThe Fox did not remain behind, and he said to the youth, \u201cNow I will\nhelp you to get the Golden Bird. When you come near to the castle\nwhere the Golden Bird is to be found, let the maiden get down, and I\nwill take her into my care. Then ride with the Golden Horse into the\ncastle-yard. There will be great rejoicing at the sight, and they will\nbring out the Golden Bird for you.\u201d\n\nWhen all was accomplished and the King\u2019s Son was about to ride home\nwith his treasures, the Fox said, \u201cNow you shall reward me for my help.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat do you require for it?\u201d asked the youth.\n\n\u201cWhen you get into the wood yonder, shoot me dead, and chop off my head\nand feet.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat would be fine gratitude,\u201d said the King\u2019s Son, \u201cI cannot possibly\ndo that for you.\u201d\n\nThe Fox said, \u201cIf you will not do it I must leave you. But before I\ngo away I will give you a piece of good advice. Be careful about two\nthings. Buy no gallows\u2019-flesh, and do not sit at the edge of any well.\u201d\nAnd then he ran into the wood.\n\nThe youth thought, \u201cThat is a wonderful beast, he has strange whims.\nWho is going to buy gallows\u2019-flesh? and the desire to sit at the edge\nof a well has never yet seized me.\u201d\n\nHe rode on with the beautiful maiden, and his road took him again\nthrough the village in which his two brothers had remained. There was a\ngreat stir and noise, and, when he asked what was going on, he was told\nthat two men were going to be hanged. As he came nearer to the place\nhe saw that they were his brothers, who had been playing all kinds of\nwicked pranks, and had squandered their entire wealth. He inquired\nwhether they could not be set free.\n\n\u201cIf you will pay for them,\u201d answered the people; \u201cbut why should you\nwaste your money on wicked men, and buy them free?\u201d\n\nHe did not think twice about it, but paid for them. And when they were\nset free they all went on their way together.\n\nThey came to the wood where the Fox had first met them, and, as it\nwas cool and pleasant within it, whilst the sun shone hotly, the two\nbrothers said, \u201cLet us rest a little by the well, and eat and drink.\u201d\n\nHe agreed, and whilst they were talking he forgot himself, and sat down\nupon the edge of the well without foreboding any evil. But the two\nbrothers threw him backwards into the well, took the maiden, the Horse,\nand the Bird, and went home to their father. \u201cHere we bring you not\nonly the Golden Bird,\u201d said they; \u201cwe have won the Golden Horse also,\nand the maiden from the Golden Castle.\u201d\n\nThen was there great joy. But the Horse would not eat, the Bird would\nnot sing, and the maiden sat and wept.\n\nBut the youngest brother was not dead. By good fortune the well was\ndry, and he fell upon soft moss without being hurt. But he could not\nget out again. Even in this strait, the faithful Fox did not leave him.\nHe came and leapt down to him, and upbraided him for having forgotten\nhis advice. \u201cBut yet I cannot give it up so,\u201d he said; \u201cI will help you\nup again into daylight.\u201d He bade him grasp his tail and keep tight hold\nof it; and then he pulled him up.\n\n\u201cYou are not out of all danger yet,\u201d said the Fox. \u201cYour brothers were\nnot sure of your death, and have surrounded the wood with watchers, who\nare to kill you if you let yourself be seen.\u201d\n\nBut a poor man was sitting upon the road, with whom the youth changed\nclothes, and in this way he got to the King\u2019s palace.\n\nNo one knew him, but the Bird began to sing, the Horse began to eat,\nand the beautiful maiden left off weeping. The King, astonished, asked,\n\u201cWhat does this mean?\u201d\n\nThen the maiden said, \u201cI do not know, but I have been so sorrowful and\nnow I am so happy! I feel as if my true Bridegroom had come.\u201d She told\nhim all that had happened, although the other brothers had threatened\nher with death if she were to betray anything.\n\nThe King commanded that all people, who were in his castle, should\nbe brought before him; and amongst them came the youth in his ragged\nclothes. But the maiden knew him at once and fell upon his neck. The\nwicked brothers were seized and put to death, but he was married to the\nbeautiful maiden and declared heir to the King.\n\nBut how did it fare with the poor Fox? Long afterward, the King\u2019s Son\nwas once again walking in the wood, when the Fox met him and said, \u201cYou\nhave everything now that you can wish for. But there is never an end to\nmy misery, and yet it is in your power to free me,\u201d and again he asked\nhim with tears to shoot him dead and to chop off his head and feet.\n\nSo he did it, and scarcely was it done when the Fox was changed into a\nman, and was no other than the brother of the beautiful Princess, who\nat last was freed from the magic charm which had been laid upon him.\n\nAnd now nothing more was wanting to their happiness as long as they\nlived.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nTHE QUEEN BEE\n\n\nTwo King\u2019s Sons once went out in search of adventures, and fell into a\nwild, disorderly way of living, so that they never came home again. The\nyoungest, who was called Simpleton, set out to seek his brothers. When\nat length he found them, they mocked him for thinking that he with his\nsimplicity could get through the world, when they two could not make\ntheir way, and yet were so much cleverer.\n\nThey all three traveled away together, and came to an ant-hill. The two\nelder wanted to destroy it, to see the little ants creeping about in\ntheir terror, carrying their eggs away, but Simpleton said, \u201cLeave the\ncreatures in peace. I will not allow you to disturb them.\u201d\n\nThen they went farther, and came to a lake, on which a great number\nof ducks were swimming. The two brothers wanted to catch a couple and\nroast them, but Simpleton would not permit it, and said, \u201cLeave the\ncreatures in peace. I will not suffer you to kill them.\u201d\n\nAt length they came to a bee\u2019s nest, in which there was so much honey,\nthat it ran out of the trunk of the tree where it was. The two wanted\nto make a fire under the tree, and suffocate the bees in order to take\naway the honey, but Simpleton again stopped them and said, \u201cLeave the\ncreatures in peace. I will not allow you to burn them.\u201d\n\nAt last the two brothers arrived at a castle where stone horses were\nstanding in the stables, and no human being was to be seen. They went\nthrough all the halls until they came to a door in which were three\nlocks. In the middle of the door there was a little pane, through which\nthey could see into the room.\n\nThere they saw a little Gray Man sitting at a table. They called him,\nonce, twice, but he did not hear. Then they called him for the third\ntime, when he got up, opened the locks, and came out. He said nothing\nbut led them to a handsomely-spread table; and when they had eaten and\ndrunk, he took each of them to a bedroom.\n\nNext morning, the little Gray Man came to the eldest, beckoned to him,\nand conducted him to a stone table, on which were inscribed three\ntasks, by the doing of which the castle could be delivered. The first\nwas that in the forest, beneath the moss, lay the Princess\u2019s pearls,\na thousand in number, which must be picked up. And if by sunset, one\nsingle pearl was wanting, he who had looked for them would be turned to\nstone.\n\nThe eldest went thither, and sought the whole day, but when it came\nto an end, he had found only one hundred, and what was written on the\ntable came to pass, he was changed into stone.\n\nNext day, the second brother undertook the adventure. It did not,\nhowever, fare much better with him than with the eldest. He did not\nfind more than two hundred pearls, and was changed to stone.\n\nAt last, the turn came to Simpleton, who sought in the moss. But it was\nso hard to find the pearls, and he got on so slowly, that he seated\nhimself on a stone, and wept. And while he was thus sitting, the King\nof the Ants, whose life he had once saved, came with five thousand\nants, and before long the little creatures had got all the pearls\ntogether, and laid them in a heap.\n\nThe second task was to fetch out of the lake the key of the King\u2019s\nDaughter\u2019s bedchamber. When Simpleton came to the lake, the ducks which\nhe had saved, swam up to him, dived down, and brought the key out of\nthe water.\n\nBut the third task was the most difficult. From amongst the three\nsleeping daughters of the King, the youngest and dearest was to be\nsought out. They resembled each other exactly, and were only to be\ndistinguished by their having eaten different sweetmeats before they\nfell asleep: the eldest a bit of sugar; the second a little syrup; and\nthe youngest a spoonful of honey.\n\nThen the Queen of the Bees, which Simpleton had protected from the\nfire, came and tasted the lips of all three. At last she remained\nsitting on the mouth which had eaten honey; and thus the King\u2019s Son\nrecognized the right Princess.\n\nThen the enchantment was at an end. Everything was released from sleep,\nand those who had been turned to stone received once more their natural\nforms. Simpleton married the youngest and sweetest Princess, and after\nher father\u2019s death became King, while his two brothers received the two\nother sisters.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nBIRD-FOUND\n\n\nThere was once a forester, who went into the forest to hunt. When he\nentered it, he heard a screaming as if a little child was there.\n\nHe followed the sound, and at last came to a high tree. In the top of\nit a little child was sitting. His mother had fallen asleep under the\ntree with the child, and a bird of prey had seen him in her arms, flown\ndown, and snatched him away, and set him on the high tree.\n\nThe forester climbed the tree, and brought the child down. And he\nthought to himself, \u201cI will take him home, and bring him up with my\nLina.\u201d\n\nHe took him home, and the two children grew up together. The one he had\nfound in a tree, he called Bird-Found, because a bird had carried it\naway.\n\nBird-Found and Lina loved each other so dearly, that when they did not\nsee each other they were sad.\n\nThe forester, however, had an old cook, who one evening took two pails\nand began to fetch water, and did not go once only, but many times, out\nto the spring.\n\nLina saw this and said, \u201cHark you, old Sanna, why are you fetching so\nmuch water?\u201d\n\nThen the cook said, \u201cEarly to-morrow morning, when the forester is out\nhunting, I will heat the water. When it is boiling in the kettle, I\nwill throw in Bird-Found, and will boil him in it.\u201d\n\nBetimes next morning, the forester got up and went out hunting, and\nwhen he was gone the children were still in bed. Then Lina said to\nBird-Found, \u201cIf you will never leave me, I will never leave you.\u201d\n\nBird-Found said, \u201cNeither now, nor ever, will I leave you.\u201d\n\nThen said Lina, \u201cI will tell you. Last night, old Sanna carried so many\nbuckets of water into the house that I asked her why she was doing so.\nShe said that early to-morrow morning, when Father was out hunting, she\nwould set on the kettle full of water, throw you into it and boil you.\nBut we will get up quickly, dress ourselves, and go away together.\u201d\n\nThe two children, therefore, got up, dressed themselves quickly, and\nwent away. When the water in the kettle was boiling, the cook came into\nthe bedroom to fetch Bird-Found and throw him into it. But when she\ncame in, and went to the beds, both the children were gone.\n\nThen she was terribly frightened, and she said to herself, \u201cWhat shall\nI say now when the forester comes home and sees that the children are\ngone? They must be followed instantly and brought back.\u201d\n\nThen the cook sent three servants after them, who were to run and\novertake the children.\n\nThe children, however, were sitting outside the forest, and when they\nsaw from afar the three servants running, Lina said to Bird-Found,\n\u201cNever leave me, and I will never leave you.\u201d\n\nBird-Found said, \u201cNeither now, nor ever.\u201d\n\nThen said Lina, \u201cDo you become a rose-tree, and I the rose upon it.\u201d\n\nWhen the three servants came to the forest, nothing was there but a\nrose-tree and one rose on it; the children were nowhere. Said they,\n\u201cThere is nothing to be done here,\u201d and they went home and told the\ncook that they had seen nothing in the forest but a little rose-bush\nwith one rose on it.\n\nThen the old cook scolded and said, \u201cYou simpletons, you should have\ncut the rose-bush in two, and have broken off the rose and brought it\nhome with you. Go, and do it at once.\u201d\n\nThey had therefore to go out and look for the second time. The\nchildren, however, saw them coming from a distance.\n\nThen Lina said, \u201cBird-Found, never leave me, and I will never leave\nyou.\u201d\n\nBird-Found said, \u201cNeither now, nor ever.\u201d\n\nSaid Lina, \u201cThen do you become a church, and I\u2019ll be the chandelier in\nit.\u201d\n\nSo when the three servants came, nothing was there but a church, with\na chandelier in it. They said therefore to each other, \u201cWhat can we do\nhere? Let us go home.\u201d When they got home, the cook asked if they had\nnot found them. They said no, they had found nothing but a church, and\nthat there was a chandelier in it.\n\nThe cook scolded them and said, \u201cYou fools! Why did you not pull the\nchurch to pieces, and bring the chandelier home with you?\u201d\n\nAnd now the old cook herself got on her legs, and went, with the three\nservants, in pursuit of the children. The children saw from afar that\nthe three servants were coming, and the cook waddling after them.\n\nThen said Lina, \u201cBird-Found, never leave me, and I will never leave\nyou.\u201d\n\nThen said Bird-Found, \u201cNeither now, nor ever.\u201d\n\nSaid Lina, \u201cBe a fishpond, and I will be the duck upon it.\u201d\n\nThe cook, however, came up to them, and when she saw the pond she lay\ndown by it, and was about to drink it up, when she fell into the water,\nand there the old Witch had to drown.\n\nThen the children went home together, and were heartily delighted, and\nif they are not dead, they are living still.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nTHE GOLDEN GOOSE\n\n\nThere was a man who had three sons, the youngest of whom was called\nDunderhead, and was despised, mocked, and put down on every occasion.\n\nIt happened, that the eldest wanted to go into the forest to hew wood.\nBefore he went his mother gave him a beautiful sweet cake and a bottle\nof wine, that he might not suffer from hunger or thirst.\n\nWhen he entered the forest, there met him a little old Gray Man who\nbade him good-day, and said, \u201cDo give me a piece of cake out of your\npocket, and let me have a draught of your wine. I am so hungry and\nthirsty.\u201d\n\nBut the prudent youth answered, \u201cIf I give you my cake and wine, I\nshall have none for myself. Be off with you,\u201d and he left the Little\nMan standing and went on.\n\nBut when he began to hew down a tree, it was not long before he made a\nfalse stroke, and the axe cut him in the arm. So he had to go home and\nhave it bound up. And this was the little Gray Man\u2019s doing.\n\nAfter this, the second son went into the forest, and his mother gave\nhim, like the eldest, a cake and a bottle of wine. The little old Gray\nMan met him likewise, and asked him for a piece of cake and a drink of\nwine. But the second son, too, said with much reason, \u201cWhat I give you\nwill be taken away from myself. Be off!\u201d and he left the Little Man\nstanding and went on.\n\nHis punishment, however, was not delayed. When he had made a few\nstrokes at the tree, he struck himself in the leg. So he had to be\ncarried home.\n\nThen Dunderhead said, \u201cFather, do let me go and cut wood.\u201d\n\nThe father answered, \u201cYour brothers have hurt themselves doing so.\nLeave it alone. You do not understand anything about it.\u201d\n\nBut Dunderhead begged so long that at last he said, \u201cGo then. You will\nget wiser by hurting yourself.\u201d\n\nHis mother gave him a cake made with water and baked in the cinders,\nand with it a bottle of sour beer.\n\nWhen he came to the forest the little old Gray Man met him likewise,\nand greeting him said, \u201cGive me a piece of your cake and a drink out of\nyour bottle. I am so hungry and thirsty.\u201d\n\nDunderhead answered, \u201cI have only cinder-cake and sour beer. If that\npleases you, we will sit down and eat.\u201d\n\nSo they sat down, and when Dunderhead pulled out his cinder-cake, it\nwas a fine sweet cake, and the sour beer had become good wine.\n\nSo they ate and drank, and after that the Little Man said, \u201cSince you\nhave a good heart, and are willing to divide what you have, I will\ngive you good luck. There stands an old tree. Cut it down, and you will\nfind something at the roots.\u201d\n\nThen the old man took leave of him.\n\nDunderhead went and cut down the tree; and when it fell there was a\nGoose sitting in the roots, with feathers of pure gold. He lifted her\nup, and taking her with him, went to an inn, where he thought he would\nstay the night. Now the host had three daughters, who saw the Goose\nand were curious to know what such a wonderful bird might be. And each\nwanted one of its feathers.\n\nThe eldest thought, \u201cI shall soon find an opportunity of pulling out a\nfeather,\u201d and when Dunderhead was gone out, she seized the Goose by the\nwing. But her finger and hand remained sticking fast to it.\n\nThe second came in soon afterward, thinking only of how she might get a\nfeather for herself, but she had scarcely touched her sister than she\nwas held fast.\n\nAt last, the third came with the like intent, and the others screamed\nout, \u201cKeep away! For goodness\u2019 sake keep away!\u201d\n\nBut she did not understand why she was to keep away. \u201cThe others are\nthere,\u201d she thought, \u201cI may as well be there too,\u201d and ran to them. But\nas soon as she had touched her sister, she remained sticking fast to\nher. So they had to spend the night with the Goose.\n\nThe next morning, Dunderhead took the Goose under his arm and set out,\nwithout troubling himself about the three girls who were hanging on to\nit. They were obliged to run after him, now left, now right, just as he\nwas inclined to go.\n\nIn the middle of the fields, the parson met them, and when he saw the\nprocession he said, \u201cFor shame, you good-for-nothing girls! Why are you\nrunning across the fields after this young man? Is that seemly?\u201d At the\nsame time he seized the youngest by the hand in order to pull her away.\nBut as soon as he touched her, he likewise stuck fast, and was obliged\nto run behind. Before long, the sexton came by and saw his master, the\nparson, running on foot behind three girls. He was astonished at this,\nand called out, \u201cHi! your Reverence! Whither away so quickly? Do not\nforget that we have a christening to-day!\u201d and running after him he\ntook him by the sleeve, but was also held fast.\n\nWhile the five were trotting thus one behind the other, two laborers\ncame with their hoes from the fields. The parson called out to them\nand begged that they would set him and the sexton free. But they had\nscarcely touched the sexton, when they were held fast. And now there\nwere seven of them running behind Dunderhead and the Goose.\n\nSoon afterward, he came to a city, where a King ruled who had a\ndaughter who was so serious that no one could make her laugh. So he had\nput forth a decree that whosoever should make her laugh should marry\nher. When Dunderhead heard this, he went with his Goose and all her\ntrain before the King\u2019s Daughter.\n\nAs soon as she saw the seven people running on and on, one behind the\nother, she began to laugh very loudly as if she would never leave off.\nThereupon Dunderhead asked to have her for his wife, and the wedding\nwas celebrated.\n\nAfter the King\u2019s death, Dunderhead inherited the Kingdom, and lived a\nlong time contentedly with his wife.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nMOTHER HOLLE\n\n\nThere was once a widow who had two daughters, one of whom was beautiful\nand industrious, whilst the other was ugly and lazy. But she was much\nfonder of the ugly and lazy one. Every day, the other, poor girl, had\nto sit by a well in the highway, and _spin, spin_ till her fingers bled.\n\nNow it happened, one day, that the shuttle was stained with her blood.\nShe dipped it in the well to wash the stains off, and it dropped out\nof her hand and fell to the bottom. She began to weep, and ran to the\nwoman, and told her of the mishap.\n\nShe scolded her hard, and was so cruel as to say, \u201cSince you have let\nthe shuttle fall in, you must fetch it out again.\u201d\n\nSo the girl went back to the well, and did not know what to do. Then in\nthe anguish of her heart, she jumped into the well to get the shuttle.\nShe lost her senses. But when she awoke and came to herself, she was\nin a lovely meadow, where the sun was shining and thousands of flowers\nwere growing.\n\nAlong this meadow she went, and at length came to a baker\u2019s oven full\nof bread. And the bread cried:\n\n \u201c_Oh, take me out! Take me out!\n Or I shall burn. I am well baked!_\u201d\n\nSo she went up to it, and, with the bread shovel, took out all the\nloaves one after the other.\n\nAfter that, she went on till she came to a tree covered with apples,\nand it called to her:\n\n \u201c_Oh, shake me! Shake me!\n We apples are all ripe!_\u201d\n\nSo she shook the tree till the apples fell like rain, and went on\nshaking till they were all down. And when she had gathered them into a\nheap, she went on her way.\n\nAt last, she came to a little house out of which an Old Woman was\npeeping. She had such large teeth that the girl was frightened, and was\nabout to run away.\n\nBut the Old Woman called out to her, \u201cWhat are you afraid of, my Child?\nStay with me. If you will do the work in my house carefully, you shall\nbe the better for it! Only you must take care to make my bed well, and\nto shake it thoroughly till the feathers fly--for then it snows on\nearth. I am Mother Holle.\u201d\n\nAs the Old Woman spoke so kindly to her, the girl took heart, and\nwillingly entered her service. She did everything to the Old Woman\u2019s\nsatisfaction, and always shook her bed so hard that the feathers flew\nabout like snowflakes. So she lived happily with her, never an angry\nword, and boiled or roasted meat every day.\n\nShe stayed some time with Mother Holle, then she grew sad. At first she\ndid not know what was the matter with her, but, by and by, she found\nthat it was homesickness. Although she was many thousand times better\noff here than at home, still she had a longing to be there.\n\nAt last, she said to the Old Woman, \u201cI am longing for home. However\nwell off I am down here, I cannot stay any longer. I must go up again\nto my own people.\u201d\n\nMother Holle said, \u201cI am pleased that you long for your home again. You\nhave served me so faithfully, that I myself will take you up again.\u201d\n\nThereupon she took her by the hand, and led her to a large door. The\ndoor was opened, and just as the girl was standing beneath the doorway,\na heavy shower of Gold-Rain fell, and all the gold stuck to her so that\nshe was covered with it.\n\n\u201cYou shall have that because you are so industrious,\u201d said Mother\nHolle. And at the same time, she gave her back the shuttle which she\nhad let fall into the well.\n\nThereupon the door closed, and the girl found herself again upon the\nearth, not far from her mother\u2019s house.\n\nAs she went into the yard, the cock was standing by the well, and cried:\n\n \u201c_Cock-a-doodle-doo!\n Your Golden Girl\u2019s came back to you!_\u201d\n\nSo she went into her mother. And as she was thus covered with gold, she\nwas welcomed by both her and the sister.\n\n[Illustration: A HEAVY SHOWER OF GOLD-RAIN FELL]\n\nThe girl told all that had happened to her. As soon as the mother heard\nhow she had come by such great riches, she was anxious for the same\ngood fortune to befall her ugly and lazy daughter. She had to seat\nherself by the well and spin. And in order that her shuttle might be\nstained with blood, she stuck her hand into a thorn-bush, and pricked\nher finger. Then she threw her shuttle into the well, and jumped in\nafter it.\n\nShe came like the other to the beautiful meadow, and walked along the\nvery same path. When she got to the oven, the bread cried again:\n\n \u201c_Oh, take me out! Take me out!\n Or I shall burn. I am well baked!_\u201d\n\nBut the lazy thing answered, \u201cAs if I wanted to soil myself!\u201d and on\nshe went.\n\nSoon she came to the apple-tree, which cried:\n\n \u201c_Oh, shake me! Shake me!\n We apples are all ripe!_\u201d\n\nBut she answered, \u201cI like that! One of you might fall on my head!\u201d and\non she went.\n\nWhen she came to Mother Holle\u2019s house, she was not afraid, for she had\nalready heard about her big teeth. She hired herself out immediately.\n\nThe first day, she made herself work diligently, and obeyed Mother\nHolle, when she told her to do anything, for she was thinking of all\nthe gold that she would give her.\n\nBut on the second day, she began to be lazy, and on the third day stall\nmore so, for then she would not get up in the morning. Neither did\nshe make Mother Holle\u2019s bed carefully, nor shake it so as to make the\nfeathers fly up.\n\nMother Holle was soon tired of this, and gave her notice to leave.\nThe lazy girl was willing to go, and thought that now the Gold-Rain\nwould come. Mother Holle led her to the great doorway. But while she\nwas standing under it, instead of gold, a big kettleful of pitch was\nemptied over her.\n\n\u201cThat is the reward of your service,\u201d said Mother Holle, and shut the\ndoor.\n\nSo the lazy girl went home. She was covered with pitch, and the cock by\nthe well, as soon as he saw her, cried out:\n\n \u201c_Cock-a-doodle-doo!\n Your Pitchy Girl\u2019s come back to you!_\u201d\n\nBut the pitch stuck fast to her, and could not be got off so long as\nshe lived.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nTHE TWO TRAVELERS\n\n\nHill and vale do not come together, but the children of men do, good\nand bad. In this way a shoemaker and a tailor once met with each other\nin their travels.\n\nThe tailor was a handsome little fellow who was always merry and full\nof enjoyment. He saw the shoemaker coming toward him from the other\nside, and as he observed by his bag what kind of a trade he plied, he\nsang a little mocking song to him:\n\n _Sew me the seam,\n Draw me the thread,\n Spread it with pitch,\n Knock the nail on the head._\n\nThe shoemaker, however, could not endure a joke. He pulled a face as if\nhe had drunk vinegar, and made a gesture as if he were about to seize\nthe tailor by the throat.\n\nBut the little fellow began to laugh, reached him his bottle, and said,\n\u201cNo harm was meant, take a drink, and swallow your anger down.\u201d\n\nThe shoemaker took a very hearty drink, and the storm on his face began\nto clear away.\n\nHe gave the bottle back to the tailor, and said, \u201cI spoke civilly to\nyou. One speaks well after much drinking, but not after much thirst.\nShall we travel together?\u201d\n\n\u201cAll right,\u201d answered the tailor, \u201cif only it suits you to go into a\nbig town where there is no lack of work.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is just where I want to go,\u201d answered the shoemaker. \u201cIn a small\nnest there is nothing to earn; and in the country, people like to go\nbarefoot.\u201d\n\nThey traveled therefore onward together, and always set one foot before\nthe other like a weazel in the snow.\n\nBoth of them had time enough, but little to bite and to break. When\nthey reached a town, they went about and paid their respects to the\ntradesmen.\n\nBecause the tailor looked so lively and merry, and had such pretty red\ncheeks, every one gave him work willingly. And when luck was good, the\nmaster\u2019s daughters gave him a kiss beneath the porch, as well. When he\nagain fell in with the shoemaker, the tailor had always the most in his\nbundle.\n\nThe ill-tempered shoemaker made a wry face, and thought, \u201cThe greater\nthe rascal the more the luck.\u201d\n\nBut the tailor began to laugh and to sing, and shared all he got with\nhis comrade. If a couple of pence jingled in his pockets, he ordered\ngood cheer, and thumped the table in his joy till the glasses danced,\nand it was lightly come, lightly go, with him.\n\nWhen they had traveled for some time, they came to a great forest\nthrough which passed the road to the capital. Two foot-paths, however,\nled through it, one of them a seven days\u2019 journey, and the other only\ntwo. But neither of the travelers knew which way was the short one.\n\nThey seated themselves beneath an oak-tree, and took counsel together\nas to what they should do and for how many days they should provide\nthemselves with bread.\n\nThe shoemaker said, \u201cOne must look before one leaps. I will take with\nme bread for a week.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat!\u201d said the tailor, \u201cdrag bread for seven days on one\u2019s back like\na beast of burden, and not be able to look about. I shall trust in God,\nand not trouble myself about anything! The money I have in my pocket is\nas good in summer as in winter; but in hot weather bread gets dry and\nmouldy into the bargain. Even my coat does not go as far as it might.\nBesides, why should we not find the right way? Bread for two days, and\nthat\u2019s enough.\u201d\n\nEach, therefore, bought his own bread. And then they tried their luck\nin the forest.\n\nIt was as quiet there as in a church. No wind stirred, no brook\nmurmured, no bird sang, and through the thickly-leaved branches, no\nsunbeam forced its way.\n\nThe shoemaker spoke never a word, the heavy bread weighed down his back\nuntil the perspiration streamed down his cross and gloomy face.\n\nThe tailor, however, was quite merry; he jumped about, whistled on a\nleaf, or sang a song, and thought to himself, \u201cGod in Heaven must be\npleased to see me so happy.\u201d\n\nThis lasted two days, but on the third the forest would not come to an\nend, and the tailor had eaten up all his bread, so after all his heart\nsank down a yard deeper. In the meantime, he did not lose courage, but\nrelied on God and on his luck.\n\nOn the third day, he lay down in the evening hungry under a tree, and\nrose again next morning hungry still.\n\nSo also passed the fourth day, and when the shoemaker seated himself on\na fallen tree and devoured his dinner, the tailor was only a looker-on.\n\nIf he begged for a little piece of bread the other laughed mockingly,\nand said, \u201cYou have always been so merry, now you can try for once what\nit is to be sad. The birds which sing too early in the morning, are\nstruck by the hawk in the evening,\u201d in short he was pitiless.\n\nBut on the fifth morning, the poor tailor could no longer stand up, and\nwas hardly able to utter one word for weakness. His cheeks were white,\nand his eyes red.\n\nThen the shoemaker said to him, \u201cI will give you a bit of bread to-day,\nbut in return for it, I will put out your right eye.\u201d\n\nThe unhappy tailor, who still wished to save his life, could not do it\nin any other way. He wept once more with both eyes, and then held them\nout. The shoemaker, who had a heart of stone, put out his right eye\nwith a sharp knife.\n\nThe tailor called to remembrance what his mother had formerly said to\nhim when he had been eating secretly in the pantry, \u201cEat what one can,\nand suffer what one must.\u201d\n\nWhen he had consumed his dearly-bought bread, he got on his legs again,\nforgot his misery and comforted himself with the thought that he could\nalways see enough with one eye.\n\nBut on the sixth day, hunger made itself felt again, and gnawed him\nalmost to the heart. In the evening he fell down by a tree, and on the\nseventh morning he could not raise himself up for faintness, and death\nwas close at hand.\n\nThen said the shoemaker, \u201cI will show mercy and give you bread once\nmore, but you shall not have it for nothing. I shall put out your other\neye for it.\u201d\n\nAnd now the tailor felt how thoughtless his life had been, prayed to\nGod for forgiveness, and said, \u201cDo what you will, I will bear what I\nmust, but remember that our Lord God does not always look on passively,\nand that an hour will come when the evil deed, which you have done to\nme and which I have not deserved of you, will be requited. When times\nwere good with me, I shared what I had with you. My trade is of that\nkind that each stitch must always be exactly like the other. If I no\nlonger have my eyes and can sew no more, I must go a-begging. At any\nrate, do not leave me here alone when I am blind, or I shall die of\nhunger.\u201d\n\nThe shoemaker, however, who had driven God out of his heart, took the\nknife and put out his left eye. Then he gave him a bit of bread to eat,\nheld out a stick to him, and drew him on behind him.\n\nWhen the sun went down, they got out of the forest, and before them in\nthe open country stood the gallows. Thither the shoemaker guided the\nblind tailor, and then left him alone and went his way.\n\nWeariness, pain, and hunger made the wretched man fall asleep, and he\nslept the whole night. When day dawned he awoke, but knew not where he\nlay.\n\nTwo poor sinners were hanging on the gallows, and a crow sat on the\nhead of each of them. Then one of the men who had been hanged began to\nspeak, and said, \u201cBrother, are you awake?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, I am awake,\u201d answered the second.\n\n\u201cThen I will tell you something,\u201d said the first; \u201cthe dew which this\nnight has fallen down over us from the gallows, gives every one who\nwashes himself with it, his eyes again. If blind people did but know\nthis, how many would regain their sight who do not believe that to be\npossible!\u201d\n\nWhen the tailor heard that, he took his pocket-handkerchief, pressed it\non the grass, and when it was moist with dew, washed the sockets of his\neyes with it. Immediately was fulfilled what the man on the gallows had\nsaid, and a couple of healthy new eyes filled the sockets.\n\nIt was not long before the tailor saw the sun rise behind the\nmountains. In the plain before him, lay the great royal city with its\nmagnificent gates and hundred towers. The golden balls and crosses\nwhich were on the spires began to shine. He could distinguish every\nleaf on the trees, saw the birds which flew past, and the midges which\ndanced in the air. He took a needle out of his pocket, and as he could\nthread it as well as ever he had done, his heart danced with delight.\n\nHe threw himself on his knees, thanked God for the mercy he had shown\nhim, and said his morning prayer.\n\nThen he took his bundle on his back, and soon forgot the pain of heart\nhe had endured, and went on his way singing and whistling.\n\nThe first thing he met was a brown foal running about the fields at\nlarge. He caught it by the mane, and wanted to spring on it and ride\ninto the town.\n\nThe foal, however, begged to be set free. \u201cI am still too young,\u201d it\nsaid, \u201ceven a light tailor such as you are would break my back in\ntwo--let me go till I have grown strong. A time may come when I can\nreward you for it.\u201d\n\n\u201cRun off,\u201d said the tailor, \u201cI see you are still a giddy thing.\u201d\n\nHe gave it a touch with a switch over its back, whereupon it kicked up\nits hind legs for joy, leapt over hedges and ditches, and galloped away\ninto the open country.\n\nBut the little tailor had eaten nothing since the day before. \u201cThe sun\nto be sure fills my eyes,\u201d said he, \u201cbut the bread does not fill my\nmouth. The first thing that comes across me and is even half eatable,\nwill have to suffer for it.\u201d\n\nIn the meantime a stork stepped solemnly over the meadow toward him.\n\n\u201cHalt, halt!\u201d cried the tailor, and seized him by the leg. \u201cI don\u2019t\nknow if you are good to eat or not, but my hunger leaves me no great\nchoice. I must cut your head off, and roast you.\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t do that,\u201d replied the stork; \u201cI am a sacred bird which brings\nmankind great profit, and no one ever does me an injury. Leave me my\nlife, and I may do you good in some other way.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, be off, Cousin Longlegs,\u201d said the tailor.\n\nThe stork rose up, let its long legs hang down, and flew gently away.\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019s to be the end of this?\u201d said the tailor to himself at last; \u201cmy\nhunger grows greater and greater, and my stomach more and more empty.\nWhatsoever comes in my way now is lost.\u201d\n\nAt this moment, he saw a couple of young ducks which were on a pond,\ncome swimming toward him.\n\n\u201cYou come just at the right moment,\u201d said he, and laid hold of one of\nthem and was about to wring its neck.\n\nOn this an old duck, which was hidden among the reeds, began to scream\nloudly and swam to him with open beak, and begged him urgently to spare\nher dear children.\n\n\u201cCan you not imagine,\u201d said she, \u201chow your mother would mourn if any\none wanted to carry you off, and give you your death blow?\u201d\n\n\u201cOnly be quiet,\u201d said the good-tempered tailor; \u201cyou shall keep your\nchildren,\u201d and he put the prisoner back into the water.\n\nWhen he turned round, he was standing in front of an old tree which was\npartly hollow, and saw some wild bees flying in and out of it.\n\n\u201cThere I shall at once find the reward of my good deed,\u201d said the\ntailor; \u201cthe honey will refresh me.\u201d\n\nBut the Queen-Bee came out, threatened him and said, \u201cIf you touch my\npeople, and destroy my nest, our stings shall pierce your skin like ten\nthousand red-hot needles. But if you will leave us in peace and go your\nway, we will do you a service for it another time.\u201d\n\nThe little tailor saw that here also nothing was to be done. \u201cThree\ndishes empty and nothing on the fourth is a bad dinner!\u201d He dragged\nhimself therefore with his starved-out stomach into the town. It was\njust striking twelve, all was ready-cooked for him in the inn, and he\nwas able to sit down at once to dinner.\n\nWhen he was satisfied, he said, \u201cNow I will get to work.\u201d\n\nHe went round the town, sought a master, and soon found a good\nsituation. As he had thoroughly learned his trade, it was not long\nbefore he became famous, and every one wanted to have a new coat made\nby the little tailor, whose importance increased daily.\n\n\u201cI can go no further in skill,\u201d said he, \u201cand yet things improve every\nday.\u201d\n\nAt last the King appointed him court-tailor.\n\nBut how things do happen in the world! On the very same day his former\ncomrade, the shoemaker, also became court-shoemaker. When the latter\ncaught sight of the tailor, and saw that he had once more two healthy\neyes, his conscience troubled him.\n\n\u201cBefore he takes revenge on me,\u201d thought he to himself, \u201cI must dig a\npit for him.\u201d\n\nHe, however, who digs a pit for another, falls into it himself.\n\nIn the evening when work was over and it had grown dusk, he stole to\nthe King and said, \u201cLord King, the tailor is an arrogant fellow and has\nboasted that he will get the gold crown back again, which was lost in\nancient times.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat would please me very much,\u201d said the King.\n\nHe caused the tailor to be brought before him next morning, and ordered\nhim to get the crown back again, or to leave the town for ever.\n\n\u201cOho!\u201d thought the tailor, \u201ca rogue gives more than he has got. If the\nsurly King wants me to do what can be done by no one, I will not wait\ntill morning, but will go out of the town at once, to-day.\u201d\n\nHe packed up his bundle, but when he was without the gate, he could not\nhelp being sorry to give up his good fortune and turn his back on the\ntown in which all had gone so well with him. He came to the pond where\nhe had made the acquaintance of the ducks.\n\nAt that very moment the old one whose young ones he had spared was\nsitting there by the shore, pluming herself with her beak. She knew him\nagain and asked why he was hanging his head.\n\n\u201cYou will not be surprised when you hear what has befallen me,\u201d replied\nthe tailor, and told her his fate.\n\n\u201cIf that be all,\u201d said the duck, \u201cwe can help you. The crown fell into\nthe water, and lies at the bottom. We will soon bring it up again for\nyou. In the meantime just spread out your handkerchief on the bank.\u201d\n\nShe dived down with her twelve young ones. And in five minutes she was\nup again with the crown resting on her wings. The twelve young ones\nwere swimming round about and had put their beaks under it, and were\nhelping to carry it. They all swam to the shore and put the crown on\nthe handkerchief.\n\nNo one can imagine how magnificent the crown was. When the sun shone on\nit, it gleamed like a hundred thousand carbuncles. The tailor tied his\nhandkerchief together by the four corners, and carried it to the King,\nwho was full of joy, and put a gold chain round the tailor\u2019s neck.\n\nWhen the shoemaker saw that one stroke had failed, he contrived a\nsecond, and went to the King and said, \u201cLord King, the tailor has\nbecome insolent again. He boasts that he will copy in wax the whole of\nthe royal palace, with everything that pertains to it, loose or fast,\ninside and out.\u201d\n\nThe King sent for the tailor and ordered him to copy in wax the whole\nof the royal palace, with everything that pertained to it, movable\nor immovable, within and without. And if he did not succeed in doing\nthis, or if so much as one nail on the wall were wanting, he should be\nimprisoned for his whole life underground.\n\nThe tailor thought, \u201cIt gets worse and worse! No one can endure that!\u201d\nand threw his bundle on his back, and went forth.\n\nWhen he came to the hollow tree, he sat down and hung his head. The\nbees came flying out, and the Queen-Bee asked him if he had a stiff\nneck, since he held his head so awry.\n\n\u201cAlas, no,\u201d answered the tailor, \u201csomething quite different weighs me\ndown,\u201d and he told her what the King had demanded of him.\n\nThe bees began to buzz and hum amongst themselves, and the Queen-Bee\nsaid, \u201cJust go home again. But come back to-morrow at this time, and\nbring a large sheet with you, and then all will be well.\u201d\n\nSo he turned back again, but the bees flew to the royal palace and\nstraight into it through the open windows, crept round about into every\ncorner, and inspected everything most carefully.\n\nThen they hurried back and modeled the palace in wax with such rapidity\nthat any one looking on would have thought it was growing before his\neyes. By the evening all was ready.\n\nAnd when the tailor came next morning, the whole of the splendid\nbuilding was there, and not one nail in the wall or tile of the roof\nwas wanting, and it was delicate withal and white as snow, and smelt\nsweet as honey.\n\nThe tailor wrapped it carefully in his cloth and took it to the King,\nwho could not admire it enough, placed it in his largest hall, and in\nreturn for it presented the tailor with a large stone house.\n\nThe shoemaker, however, did not give up, but went for the third time to\nthe King and said, \u201cLord King, it has come to the tailor\u2019s ears that\nno water will spring up in the courtyard of the castle. He has boasted\nthat it shall rise up in the midst of the courtyard to a man\u2019s height\nand be clear as crystal.\u201d\n\nThen the King ordered the tailor to be brought before him and said,\n\u201cIf a stream of water does not rise in my courtyard by to-morrow as\nyou have promised, the executioner shall in that very place make you\nshorter by the head.\u201d\n\nThe poor tailor did not take long to think about it, but hurried out to\nthe gate, and because this time it was a matter of life and death to\nhim, tears rolled down his face.\n\nWhilst he was thus going forth full of sorrow, the foal to which he\nhad formerly given its liberty, and which had now become a beautiful\nchestnut horse, came leaping toward him.\n\n\u201cThe time has come,\u201d it said to the tailor, \u201cwhen I can repay you for\nyour good deed. I know already what is needful to you, but you shall\nsoon have help. Get on me, my back can carry two such as you.\u201d\n\nThe tailor\u2019s courage came back to him. He jumped up in one bound; and\nthe horse went full speed into the town, and right up to the courtyard\nof the castle. It galloped as quick as lightning thrice round it, and\nat the third time it fell violently down. At the same instant there was\na terrific clap of thunder, a fragment of earth in the middle of the\ncourtyard sprang like a cannon ball into the air, and over the castle.\nDirectly after it, a jet of water rose as high as a man on horseback,\nand the water was as pure as crystal, and the sunbeams began to dance\non it.\n\nWhen the King saw that he arose in amazement, and went and embraced the\ntailor in the sight of all men.\n\nBut good fortune did not last long. The King had daughters in plenty,\neach one prettier than the other, but he had no son.\n\nSo the malicious shoemaker betook himself for the fourth time to the\nKing, and said, \u201cLord King, the tailor has not given up his arrogance.\nHe has now boasted that if he liked, he could cause a son to be brought\nto the Lord King through the air.\u201d\n\nThe King commanded the tailor to be summoned, and said, \u201cIf you cause\na son to be brought to me within nine days, you shall have my eldest\ndaughter to wife.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe reward is indeed great,\u201d thought the little tailor. \u201cOne would\nwillingly do something for it, but the cherries grow too high for me.\nIf I climb for them, the bough will break beneath me, and I shall fall.\u201d\n\nHe went home, seated himself cross-legged on his work-table, and\nthought over what was to be done.\n\n\u201cIt can\u2019t be managed,\u201d cried he at last. \u201cI will go away. After all I\ncan\u2019t live in peace here.\u201d\n\nHe tied up his bundle and hurried away to the gate. When he got to the\nmeadow, he perceived his old friend the stork, who was walking backward\nand forward like a philosopher. Sometimes he stood still, took a frog\ninto close consideration, and at length swallowed it down.\n\nThe stork came to him and greeted him. \u201cI see,\u201d he began, \u201cthat you\nhave your pack on your back. Why are you leaving the town?\u201d\n\nThe tailor told him what the King had required of him, and how he could\nnot perform it, and lamented his misfortune.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t let your hair grow gray about that,\u201d said the stork. \u201cI will\nhelp you out of your difficulty. For a long time past, I have carried\nthe children in swaddling-clothes into the town. So for once, I can\nfetch a little Prince out of the well. Go home and be easy. In nine\ndays from this time repair to the royal palace, and there will I come.\u201d\n\nThe little tailor went home, and at the appointed time was at the\ncastle. It was not long before the stork came flying thither and tapped\nat the window. The tailor opened it, and Cousin Longlegs came carefully\nin, and walked with solemn steps over the smooth marble pavement.\n\nHe had a baby in his beak that was as lovely as an angel, and stretched\nout its little hands to the Queen. The stork laid it in her lap, and\nshe caressed it and kissed it, and was beside herself with delight.\n\nBefore the stork flew away he took his traveling bag off his back and\nhanded it over to the Queen. In it there were little paper parcels\nfull of colored sweetmeats, and they were divided amongst the little\nPrincesses.\n\n[Illustration: THE ELDEST GOT THE MERRY TAILOR FOR A HUSBAND]\n\nThe eldest, however, had none of them, but got the merry tailor for a\nhusband.\n\n\u201cIt seems to me,\u201d said he, \u201cjust as if I had won the highest prize. My\nmother was right after all; she always said that whoever trusts in God\nand his own fortune can never fail.\u201d\n\nThe shoemaker had to make the shoes in which the little tailor danced\nat the wedding festival. After which he was commanded to quit the town\nfor ever.\n\nThe road to the forest led him to the gallows. Worn out with anger,\nrage, and the heat of the day, he threw himself down. When he had\nclosed his eyes and was about to sleep, the two crows flew down from\nthe heads of the men who were hanging there, and pecked his eyes out.\n\nIn his madness he ran into the forest and must have died there of\nhunger, for no one has ever either seen him again or heard of him.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nJORINDA AND JORINGEL\n\n\nThere was once an old castle in the midst of a large and thick forest,\nand in it an old woman, who was a Witch, dwelt all alone.\n\nIn the daytime, she changed herself into a cat or a screech-owl, but\nin the evening she took her proper shape again as a human being. She\ncould lure wild beasts and birds to her, then she killed and boiled and\nroasted them.\n\nIf any one came within one hundred paces of the castle he was obliged\nto stand still, and could not stir from the place until she bade him\nbe free. But whenever an innocent maiden came within this circle, she\nchanged her into a bird, shut her up in a wicker-work cage, and carried\nthe cage into a room in the castle. She had about seven thousand cages\nof rare birds in the castle.\n\nNow, there was once a maiden who was called Jorinda, who was fairer\nthan all other girls. She and a handsome youth named Joringel had\npromised to marry each other, and their greatest happiness was being\ntogether.\n\nOne day, in order that they might be able to talk together in quiet,\nthey went for a walk in the forest.\n\n\u201cTake care,\u201d said Joringel, \u201cthat you do not go too near the castle.\u201d\n\nIt was a beautiful evening. The sun shone brightly between the trunks\nof the trees into the dark green of the forest, and the turtledoves\nsang mournfully upon the young boughs of the birch-trees.\n\nJorinda wept now and then. She sat down in the sunshine and was\nsorrowful. Joringel was sorrowful too. They were as sad as if they were\nabout to die. Then they looked around them, and were quite at a loss,\nfor they did not know by which way to go home. The sun was half above\nthe mountain and half set.\n\nJoringel looked through the bushes, and saw the old walls of the castle\nclose at hand. He was horror-stricken and filled with deadly fear.\n\nJorinda was singing:\n\n \u201c_My little Bird, with the necklace red,\n Sings sorrow, sorrow, sorrow,\n He sings that the Dove must soon be dead,\n Sings sorrow, sor----jug, jug, jug!_\u201d\n\nJoringel looked for Jorinda. She was changed into a Nightingale, and\nsang \u201c_jug, jug, jug!_\u201d\n\nA screech-owl with glowing eyes flew three times round about her, and\nthree times cried, \u201c_to-whoo, to-whoo, to-whoo!_\u201d\n\nJoringel could not move. He stood there like a stone, and could neither\nweep nor speak, nor move hand or foot.\n\nThe sun had now set. The owl flew into the thicket. Directly afterward\nthere came out of it a crooked Old Woman, yellow and lean, with large\nred eyes and a hooked nose, the point of which reached to her chin. She\nmuttered to herself, caught the Nightingale, and took it away in her\nhand.\n\nJoringel could neither speak nor move from the spot. The Nightingale\nwas gone.\n\nAt last the woman came back, and said in a hollow voice, \u201cGreet thee,\nZachiel. If the moon shines on the cage, Zachiel, let him loose at\nonce.\u201d\n\nThen Joringel was freed. He fell on his knees before the woman and\nbegged that she would give him back his Jorinda. But she said that he\nshould never have her again, and went away. He called, he wept. He\nlamented, but all in vain, \u201cAh, what is to become of me?\u201d\n\nJoringel went away, and at last came to a strange village. There he\nkept sheep for a long time. He often walked round and round the castle,\nbut not too near to it. One night he dreamt that he found a Blood-Red\nFlower, in the middle of which was a beautiful large pearl; that he\npicked the flower and went with it to the castle, and that everything\nhe touched with the flower was freed from enchantment. He also dreamt\nthat by means of it, he recovered his Jorinda.\n\nIn the morning, when he awoke, he began to seek over hill and dale to\nfind such a flower. He sought until the ninth day, and then, early in\nthe morning, he found the Blood-Red Flower. In the middle of it, there\nwas a large dew-drop, as big as the finest pearl.\n\nDay and night, he journeyed with this flower to the castle. When he\nwas within a hundred paces of it he was not held fast, but walked on to\nthe door.\n\nJoringel was full of joy. He touched the door with the flower, and it\nsprang open. He walked in through the courtyard, and listened for the\nsound of the birds. At last he heard it. He went on, and found the room\nfrom whence it came. There the Witch was feeding the birds in the seven\nthousand cages.\n\nWhen she saw Joringel, she was angry, very angry, and scolded and spat\npoison and gall, but she could not come within two paces of him. He did\nnot take any notice of her, but went and looked at the cages with the\nbirds. But there were many hundred Nightingales, how was he to find his\nJorinda again?\n\nJust then he saw the Old Woman quietly take away a cage with a bird in\nit, and go toward the door.\n\nSwiftly he sprang toward her, touched the cage with the flower, and\nalso the Old Woman.\n\nShe could now no longer bewitch any one. And Jorinda was standing\nthere, clasping him round the neck, and she was as beautiful as ever!\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nHOW SIX MEN GOT ON IN THE WORLD\n\n\nThere was once a man who understood all kinds of arts. He served\nin war, and behaved well and bravely, but when the war was over he\nreceived his dismissal, and three farthings for his expenses on the\nway. \u201cStop,\u201d said he, \u201cI shall not be content with this. If I can but\nmeet with the right people, the King will have to give me all the\ntreasure of the country.\u201d\n\nThen full of anger he went into the forest, and saw a man standing\ntherein who had plucked up six trees as if they were blades of corn. He\nsaid to him, \u201cWill you be my servant and go with me?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d he answered, \u201cbut, first, I will take this little bundle of\nsticks home to my mother,\u201d and he took one of the trees, and wrapped\nit round the five others, lifted the bundle on his back and carried it\naway.\n\nThen he returned and went with his master, who said, \u201cWe two ought to\nbe able to get through the world very well.\u201d\n\nWhen they had walked on for a short while they found a huntsman who was\nkneeling, had shouldered his gun, and was about to fire. The master\nsaid to him, \u201cHuntsman, what are you going to shoot?\u201d\n\nHe answered, \u201cTwo miles from here a fly is sitting on the branch of an\noak-tree, and I want to shoot its left eye out.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, come with me,\u201d said the man, \u201cif we three are together, we\ncertainly ought to be able to get on in the world!\u201d\n\nThe huntsman was ready, and went with him.\n\nThey came to seven windmills whose sails were turning round with great\nspeed, and yet no wind was blowing either on the right or the left, and\nno leaf was stirring. Then said the man, \u201cI know not what is driving\nthe windmills, not a breath of air is stirring,\u201d and he went onward\nwith his servants, and when they had walked two miles they saw a man\nsitting on a tree, who was shutting one nostril, and blowing out of the\nother. \u201cGood gracious! what are you doing up there?\u201d\n\nHe answered, \u201cTwo miles from here are seven windmills. Look, I am\nblowing them till they turn round.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, come with me,\u201d said the man. \u201cIf we four are together, we shall\ncarry the whole world before us!\u201d\n\nThen the blower came down and went with him.\n\nAfter a while they saw a man who was standing on one leg and had taken\noff the other, and laid it beside him. Then the master said, \u201cYou have\narranged things very comfortably to have a rest.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am a runner,\u201d he replied, \u201cand to stop myself running far too fast,\nI have taken off one of my legs, for if I run with both, I go quicker\nthan any bird can fly.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, come with me. If we five are together, we shall carry the whole\nworld before us.\u201d\n\nSo he went with them.\n\nIt was not long before they met a man who wore a cap, but had put it\nquite on one ear. Then the master said to him, \u201cGracefully! gracefully!\ndon\u2019t stick your cap on one ear, you look just like a tom-fool!\u201d\n\n\u201cI must not wear it otherwise,\u201d said he, \u201cfor if I set my hat straight,\na terrible frost comes on, and all the birds in the air are frozen, and\ndrop dead on the ground.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, come with me,\u201d said the master. \u201cIf we six are together, we can\ncarry the whole world before us.\u201d\n\nNow the six came to a town where the King had proclaimed that whosoever\nran a race with his daughter and won the victory, should be her\nhusband, but whosoever lost it, must lose his head.\n\nThen the man presented himself and said, \u201cI will, however, let my\nservant run for me.\u201d\n\nThe King replied, \u201cThen his life also must be staked, so that his head\nand thine are both set on the victory.\u201d\n\nWhen that was settled and made secure, the man buckled the other leg on\nthe runner, and said to him, \u201cNow be nimble, and help us to win.\u201d\n\nIt was fixed that the one who was the first to bring some water from a\nfar distant well, was to be the victor. The runner received a pitcher,\nand the King\u2019s Daughter one too, and they began to run at the same\ntime. But in an instant, when the King\u2019s Daughter had got a very little\nway, the people who were looking on could see no more of the runner, it\nwas just as if the wind had whistled by.\n\nIn a short time he reached the well, filled his pitcher with water,\nand turned back. Half-way home, however, he was overcome with fatigue,\nand set his pitcher down, lay down himself, and fell asleep. He had,\nhowever, made a pillow of a horse\u2019s skull which was lying on the\nground, in order that he might lie uncomfortably, and soon wake up\nagain.\n\nIn the meantime, the King\u2019s Daughter, who could also run very\nwell--quite as well as any ordinary mortal can--had reached the well,\nand was hurrying back with her pitcher full of water, and when she saw\nthe runner lying there asleep, she was glad and said, \u201cMy enemy is\ndelivered over into my hands,\u201d emptied his pitcher, and ran on.\n\nAnd now all would have been lost if by good luck the huntsman had not\nbeen standing at the top of the castle, and had not seen everything\nwith his sharp eyes. Then said he, \u201cThe King\u2019s Daughter shall still not\nprevail against us.\u201d\n\nHe loaded his gun, and shot so cleverly, that he shot the horse\u2019s\nskull away from under the runner\u2019s head without hurting him. Then the\nrunner awoke, leapt up, and saw that his pitcher was empty, and that\nthe King\u2019s Daughter was already far in advance. He did not lose heart,\nhowever, but ran back to the well with his pitcher, again drew some\nwater, and was still at home again, ten minutes before the King\u2019s\nDaughter. \u201cBehold!\u201d said he, \u201cI have not bestirred myself till now. It\ndid not deserve to be called running before.\u201d\n\nBut it pained the King, and still more his daughter, that she should\nbe carried off by a common disbanded soldier like that. So they took\ncounsel with each other how to get rid of him and his companions.\n\nThen said the King to her, \u201cI have thought of a way. Don\u2019t be afraid,\nthey shall not come back again.\u201d And he said to them, \u201cYou shall now\nmake merry together, and eat and drink.\u201d\n\nHe conducted them to a room which had a floor of iron, and the doors\nalso were of iron, and the windows were guarded with iron bars. There\nwas a table in the room covered with delicious food, and the King said\nto them, \u201cGo in, and enjoy yourselves.\u201d\n\nAnd when they were inside, he ordered the doors to be shut and bolted.\nThen he sent for the cook, and commanded him to make a fire under the\nroom until the iron became red-hot. This the cook did, and the six who\nwere sitting at table began to feel quite warm, and they thought the\nheat was caused by the food. But as it became still greater, and they\nwanted to get out, and found that the doors and windows were bolted,\nthey became aware that the King had an evil intention, and wanted to\nsuffocate them.\n\n\u201cHe shall not succeed, however,\u201d said the one with the cap. \u201cI will\ncause a frost to come, before which the fire shall be ashamed, and\ncreep away.\u201d\n\nThen he put his cap on straight, and immediately there came such a\nfrost that all heat disappeared, and the food on the dishes began to\nfreeze.\n\nWhen an hour or two had passed by, and the King believed that they had\nperished in the heat, he had the doors opened to behold them himself.\nBut when the doors were opened, all six were standing there, alive\nand well, and said that they should very much like to get out to warm\nthemselves, for the very food was fast frozen to the dishes with the\ncold.\n\nThen, full of anger, the King went down to the cook, scolded him and\nasked why he had not done what he had been ordered to do. But the\ncook replied, \u201cThere is heat enough there, just look yourself.\u201d Then\nthe King saw that a fierce fire was burning under the iron room, and\nperceived that there was no getting the better of the six in this way.\n\nAgain the King considered how to get rid of his unpleasant guests, and\ncaused their chief to be brought and said, \u201cIf you will take gold and\nrenounce my daughter, you shall have as much as you wish.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, yes, Lord King,\u201d he answered, \u201cgive me as much as my servant can\ncarry, and I will not ask for your daughter.\u201d\n\nOn this the King was satisfied, and the other continued, \u201cIn fourteen\ndays, I will come and fetch it.\u201d\n\nThereupon he summoned together all the tailors in the whole kingdom,\nand they were to sit for fourteen days and sew a sack. And when it was\nready, the strong one who could tear up trees had to take it on his\nback, and go with it to the King.\n\nThen said the King, \u201cWho can that strong fellow be who is carrying a\nbundle of linen on his back that is as big as a house?\u201d and he was\nalarmed and said, \u201cWhat a lot of gold he can carry away!\u201d\n\nThen he commanded a ton of gold to be brought. It took sixteen of his\nstrongest men to carry it, but the strong one snatched it up in one\nhand, put it in his sack, and said, \u201cWhy don\u2019t you bring more at the\nsame time?--that hardly covers the bottom!\u201d\n\nThen, little by little, the King caused all his treasure to be brought\nthither, and the strong one pushed it into the sack, and still the sack\nwas not half full with it. \u201cBring more,\u201d cried he, \u201cthese few crumbs\ndon\u2019t fill it.\u201d\n\nThen seven thousand carts with gold had to be gathered together in the\nwhole kingdom, and the strong one thrust them and the oxen harnessed to\nthem into his sack. \u201cI will examine it no longer,\u201d said he, \u201cbut will\njust take what comes, so long as the sack is but full.\u201d\n\nWhen all that was inside, there was still room for a great deal\nmore. Then he said, \u201cI will just make an end of the thing. People do\nsometimes tie up a sack even when it is not full.\u201d So he took it on his\nback, and went away with his comrades.\n\nWhen the King now saw how one single man was carrying away the entire\nwealth of the country, he became enraged, and bade his horsemen mount\nand pursue the six, and ordered them to take the sack away from the\nstrong one. Two regiments speedily overtook the six, and called out,\n\u201cYou are prisoners. Put down the sack with the gold, or you will all be\ncut to pieces!\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat say you?\u201d cried the blower, \u201cthat we are prisoners! Rather than\nthat should happen, all of you shall dance about in the air.\u201d And he\nclosed one nostril, and with the other blew on the two regiments. Then\nthey were driven away from each other, and carried into the blue sky\nover all the mountains--one here, the other there.\n\nOne sergeant cried for mercy. He had nine wounds, and was a brave\nfellow who did not deserve ill-treatment. The blower stopped a little\nso that he came down without injury, and then the blower said to him,\n\u201cNow go home to your King, and tell him he had better send some more\nhorsemen, and I will blow them all into the air.\u201d\n\nWhen the King was informed of this he said, \u201cLet the rascals go. They\nhave the best of it.\u201d\n\nThen the six conveyed the riches home, divided it amongst them, and\nlived in content until their death.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nTHE GOOSE-GIRL\n\n\nThere was once upon a time, an old Queen, whose husband had been dead\nfor many years, and she had a beautiful daughter.\n\nWhen the Princess grew up, she was betrothed to a Prince who lived very\nfar away. When the time came for her to be married, and she had to\njourney forth into the distant kingdom, the aged Queen packed up for\nher many costly vessels of silver and gold, and trinkets, also of gold\nand silver, and cups and jewels, in short, everything which appertained\nto a royal dowry, for she loved her child with all her heart.\n\nShe likewise sent her maid-in-waiting, who was to ride with her, and\nhand her over to the Bridegroom. Each had a horse for the journey, but\nthe horse of the King\u2019s Daughter was called Falada, and could speak.\n\nSo when the hour of parting had come, the aged mother went into her\nbedroom, took a small knife and cut her finger with it until it bled.\nThen she held a white handkerchief to it, into which she let three\ndrops of blood fall.\n\nShe gave the handkerchief to her daughter and said, \u201cDear Child,\npreserve this carefully. It will be of service to you on your way.\u201d\n\nSo they took a sorrowful leave of each other. The Princess put the\npiece of cloth in her bosom, mounted her horse, and then went away to\nher Bridegroom.\n\nAfter she had ridden for a while she felt a burning thirst, and said\nto her waiting-maid, \u201cDismount, and take my cup which you have brought\nwith you, and get me some water from the stream, for I should like to\ndrink.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you are thirsty,\u201d said the waiting-maid, \u201cget off your horse\nyourself, and lie down and drink out of the water. I don\u2019t choose to be\nyour servant.\u201d\n\nSo in her great thirst the Princess alighted, bent down over the water\nin the stream and drank, and was not allowed to drink out of the golden\ncup. Then she said, \u201cAh, Heaven!\u201d and the three drops of blood answered:\n\n \u201c_If thy Mother only knew,\n \u2019Twould surely break her heart in two!_\u201d\n\nBut the King\u2019s Daughter was humble, said nothing, and mounted her horse\nagain.\n\nShe rode some miles further, but the day was warm, the sun scorched\nher, and she was thirsty once more. When they came to a stream of\nwater, she again cried to her waiting-maid, \u201cDismount, and give me some\nwater in my golden cup,\u201d for she had long ago forgotten the girl\u2019s ill\nwords.\n\nBut the waiting-maid said still more haughtily, \u201cIf you wish to drink,\ndrink as you can, I don\u2019t choose to be your maid.\u201d\n\nThen in her great thirst the King\u2019s Daughter alighted, bent over the\nflowing stream, wept and said, \u201cAh, Heaven!\u201d and the drops of blood\nagain replied:\n\n \u201c_If thy Mother only knew,\n \u2019Twould surely break her heart in two!_\u201d\n\nAnd as she was thus drinking and leaning right over the stream, the\nhandkerchief with the three drops of blood fell out of her bosom, and\nfloated away with the water without her observing it, so great was her\ntrouble. The waiting-maid, however, had seen it, and she rejoiced to\nthink that she had now power over the Bride, for since the Princess had\nlost the drops of blood, she had become weak and powerless.\n\nSo now, when she wanted to mount her horse again, the one that was\ncalled Falada, the waiting-maid said, \u201cFalada is more suitable for me,\nand my nag will do for you,\u201d and the Princess had to be content with\nthat.\n\nThen the waiting-maid, with many hard words, bade the Princess exchange\nher royal apparel for her own shabby clothes; and at length she was\ncompelled to swear by the clear sky above her, that she would not say\none word of this to any one at the Royal Court. And if she had not\ntaken this oath she would have been killed on the spot. But Falada saw\nall this, and observed it well.\n\nThe waiting-maid now mounted Falada, and the true Bride the bad horse,\nand thus they traveled onward, until they entered the royal palace.\nThere were great rejoicings over her arrival, and the Prince sprang\nforward to meet her, lifted the waiting-maid from her horse, and\nthought she was his Bride. She was conducted up-stairs, but the real\nPrincess was left standing below.\n\nThen the old King looked out of the window and saw her standing in\nthe courtyard, and how dainty and delicate and beautiful she was. He\ninstantly went to the royal apartment, and asked the Bride about the\ngirl she had with her, who was standing down below in the courtyard,\nand who she was.\n\n\u201cI picked her up on my way for a companion. Give the girl something to\nwork at, that she may not stand idle.\u201d\n\nBut the old King had no work for her, and knew of none, so he said, \u201cI\nhave a little boy who tends the geese, she may help him.\u201d\n\nThe boy was called Conrad, and the true Bride had to help him to tend\nthe geese.\n\nSoon afterward the false Bride said to the young King, \u201cDearest\nHusband, I beg you to do me a favor.\u201d\n\nHe answered, \u201cI will do so most willingly.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen send for the butcher, and have the head of the horse on which I\nrode here, cut off, for it vexed me on the way.\u201d In reality, she was\nafraid that the horse might tell how she had behaved to the King\u2019s\nDaughter.\n\nThen she succeeded in making the King promise that it should be done,\nand the faithful Falada was to die. This came to the ears of the real\nPrincess, and she secretly promised the butcher a piece of gold if he\nwould perform a small service for her. There was a great dark-looking\ngateway in the town, through which, morning and evening, she had to\npass with the geese: would he be so good as to nail up Falada\u2019s head on\nit, so that she might see him again? The butcher promised to do that,\nand cut off the head, and nailed it fast beneath the dark gateway.\n\nEarly in the morning, when she and Conrad drove out their flock beneath\nthis gateway, she said in passing:\n\n \u201c_Alas, Falada, hanging there!_\u201d\n\nThen the head answered:\n\n \u201c_Alas! young Queen, how ill you fare!\n If this your tender Mother knew,\n Her heart would surely break in two!_\u201d\n\nThen they went still farther out of the town, and drove their geese\ninto the country. And when they had come to the meadow, she sat down\nand unbound her hair which was like pure gold. Conrad saw it and\ndelighted in its brightness, and wanted to pluck out a few hairs. Then\nshe said:\n\n \u201c_Blow, blow, thou gentle Wind, I say,\n Blow Conrad\u2019s little hat away,\n And make him chase it here and there,\n Until I\u2019ve braided all my hair,\n And bound it up again._\u201d\n\nAnd there came such a violent wind that it blew Conrad\u2019s hat far away\nacross county, and he was forced to run after it.\n\nWhen he came back she had finished combing her hair and was putting\nit up again and he could not get any of it. Then Conrad was angry,\nand would not speak to her. And thus they watched the geese until the\nevening, and then they went home.\n\n[Illustration: THE HEAD ANSWERED, \u201cALAS! YOUNG QUEEN HOW ILL YOU FARE\u201d]\n\nNext day when they were driving the geese out through the dark gateway,\nthe maiden said:\n\n \u201c_Alas, Falada, hanging there!_\u201d\n\nFalada answered:\n\n \u201c_Alas! young Queen, how ill you fare!\n If this your tender Mother knew,\n Her heart would surely break in two!_\u201d\n\nAnd she sat down again in the field and began to comb out her hair.\nConrad ran and tried to clutch it, so she said in haste:\n\n \u201c_Blow, blow, thou gentle Wind, I say,\n Blow Conrad\u2019s little hat away,\n And make him chase it here and there,\n Until I\u2019ve braided all my hair,\n And bound it up again._\u201d\n\nThen the wind blew, and blew his little hat off his head and far away,\nand Conrad was forced to run after it. When he came back, her hair had\nbeen put up a long time, and he could get none of it. So they looked\nafter their geese till evening came.\n\nBut in the evening, after they had got home, Conrad went to the old\nKing, and said, \u201cI won\u2019t tend the geese with that girl any longer!\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy not?\u201d inquired the old King.\n\n\u201cOh, because she vexes me the whole day long.\u201d\n\nThen the old King commanded him to relate what it was that she did to\nhim.\n\nAnd Conrad said, \u201cIn the morning, when we pass beneath the dark gateway\nwith the flock, there is a sorry horse\u2019s head on the wall, and she says\nto it:\n\n \u201c\u2018_Alas, Falada, hanging there!_\u2019\n\nAnd the head replies:\n\n \u201c\u2018_Alas! young Queen, how ill you fare!\n If this your tender Mother knew,\n Her heart would surely break in two!_\u2019\u201d\n\nAnd Conrad went on to relate what happened on the goose-pasture, and\nhow when there he had to chase his hat.\n\nThe old King commanded him to drive his flock out again next day, and\nas soon as morning came, he placed himself behind the dark gateway, and\nheard how the maiden spoke to the head of Falada. Then he went into the\ncountry, and hid himself in the thicket in the meadow. There he soon\nsaw with his own eyes, the goose-girl and the goose-boy bringing their\nflock, and how after a while she sat down and unplaited her hair, which\nshone with radiance. And soon she said:\n\n \u201c_Blow, blow, thou gentle Wind, I say,\n Blow Conrad\u2019s little hat away,\n And make him chase it here and there,\n Until I\u2019ve braided all my hair,\n And bound it up again._\u201d\n\nThen came a blast of wind and carried off Conrad\u2019s hat, so that he had\nto run far away, while the maiden quietly went on combing and plaiting\nher hair. All of which the King observed.\n\nThen, quite unseen, he went away, and when the goose-girl came home\nin the evening, he called her aside, and asked why she did all these\nthings.\n\n\u201cI may not tell you that, and I dare not lament my sorrows to any human\nbeing, for I have sworn not to do so by the heaven which is above me.\nIf I had not done that, I should have lost my life.\u201d\n\nHe urged her and left her no peace, but he could draw nothing from her.\nThen said he, \u201cIf you will not tell me anything, tell your sorrows to\nthe iron stove there,\u201d and he went away.\n\nThen she crept into the iron stove, and began to weep and lament, and\nemptied her whole heart, and said, \u201cHere am I deserted by the whole\nworld, and yet I am a King\u2019s Daughter, and a false waiting-maid has by\nforce brought me to such a pass, that I have been compelled to put off\nmy royal apparel. She has taken my place with my Bridegroom, and I have\nto do the mean work of a goose-girl.\n\n \u201c_If my Mother only knew,\n \u2019Twould surely break her heart in two!_\u201d\n\nThe old King was standing outside by the pipe of the stove, and was\nlistening to what she said, and heard it. Then he came back again,\nand bade her come out of the stove. And royal garments were placed on\nher, and it was marvelous how beautiful she was! The old King called\nhis son, and revealed to him, that he had got the false Bride who was\nonly a waiting-maid, but that the true one was standing there, as the\ngoose-girl.\n\nThe young King rejoiced with all his heart when he saw her beauty and\nyouth, and a great feast was made ready to which all the people and all\ngood friends were invited. At the head of the table sat the Bridegroom\nwith the King\u2019s Daughter at one side of him, and the waiting-maid on\nthe other, but the waiting-maid was blinded, and did not recognize the\nPrincess in her dazzling array.\n\nWhen they had eaten and drunk, and were merry, the old King asked the\nwaiting-maid as a riddle, what a person deserved who had behaved in\nsuch and such a way to her master, and at the same time related the\nwhole story, and asked what sentence such a one merited?\n\nThen the false Bride said, \u201cShe deserves no better fate than to be put\nin a barrel which is studded inside with pointed nails, and two white\nhorses should be harnessed to it, to drag her along through one street\nafter another, till she is dead.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is you,\u201d said the old King, \u201cand you have pronounced your own\nsentence. Thus shall it be done unto you.\u201d\n\nAnd when the sentence had been carried out, the young King married his\ntrue Bride, and both of them reigned over their kingdom in peace and\nhappiness.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nTHE SINGING, SOARING LARK\n\n\nThere was once on a time, a man who was about to set out on a long\njourney. At parting he asked his three daughters what he should bring\nback for them.\n\nWhereupon the eldest wished for pearls, the second wished for diamonds,\nbut the third said, \u201cDear Father, I should like a Singing, Soaring\nLark.\u201d\n\nThe father said, \u201cYes, if I can get it, you shall have it,\u201d kissed all\nthree, and set out.\n\nNow, when the time had come for him to return home, he had brought\npearls and diamonds for the two eldest. But he had sought everywhere\nin vain for a Singing, Soaring Lark for the youngest, and he was very\nunhappy about it, for she was his favorite child.\n\nThen his road lay through a forest, and in the midst of it was a\nsplendid castle. Near the castle stood a tree, and quite on the top of\nthe tree, he saw a Singing, Soaring Lark.\n\n\u201cAha, you come just at the right moment!\u201d he said, quite delighted, and\ncalled to his servant to climb up and catch the little creature.\n\nBut as he approached the tree, a Lion leapt from beneath it, shook\nhimself, and roared till the leaves on the tree trembled. \u201cHe who tries\nto steal my Singing, Soaring Lark,\u201d he cried, \u201cwill I devour.\u201d\n\nThen the man said, \u201cI did not know that the bird belonged to you. I\nwill make amends for the wrong I have done, and ransom myself with a\nlarge sum of money, only spare my life.\u201d\n\nThe Lion said, \u201cNothing can save you, unless you will promise to give\nme for mine own what first meets you on your return home. But if you\nwill do that, I will grant you your life, and you shall have the bird\nfor your daughter, into the bargain.\u201d\n\nThe man hesitated and said, \u201cThat might be my youngest daughter, she\nloves me best, and always runs to meet me on my return home.\u201d\n\nThe servant, however, was terrified and said, \u201cWhy should your daughter\nbe the very one to meet you, it might as easily be a cat, or dog?\u201d\n\nThen the man allowed himself to be persuaded, took the Singing, Soaring\nLark, and promised to give the Lion whatsoever should first meet him on\nhis return home.\n\nWhen he reached home and entered his house, the first who met him was\nno other than his youngest and dearest daughter, who came running up,\nkissed and embraced him. When she saw that he had brought with him a\nSinging, Soaring Lark, she was beside herself with joy.\n\nThe father, however, could not rejoice, but began to weep, and said,\n\u201cMy dearest Child, I have bought the little bird at a great cost! In\nreturn for it, I have been obliged to promise you to a savage Lion.\nWhen he has you he will tear you in pieces and devour you,\u201d and he told\nher all, just as it had happened, and begged her not to go thither,\ncome what might.\n\nBut she consoled him and said, \u201cDearest Father, indeed your promise\nmust be fulfilled. I will go thither and soften the Lion, so that I may\nreturn to you safely.\u201d\n\nNext morning, she had the road pointed out to her, took leave, and went\nfearlessly out into the forest. The Lion, however, was an enchanted\nPrince and was by day a Lion, and all his people were Lions with him.\nBut in the night, they resumed their natural human shapes.\n\nOn her arrival, she was kindly received and led into the castle. When\nnight came, the Lion turned into a handsome man, and their wedding\nwas celebrated with great magnificence. They lived happily together,\nremained awake at night, and slept in the daytime.\n\nOne day, he came and said, \u201cTo-morrow there is a feast in your father\u2019s\nhouse, because your eldest sister is to be married, and if you are\ninclined to go there, my Lions shall conduct you.\u201d\n\nShe said, \u201cYes, I should very much like to see my father again,\u201d and\nwent thither, accompanied by the Lions.\n\nThere was great joy when she arrived, for they had all believed that\nshe had been torn in pieces by the Lion, and had long ceased to live.\nBut she told them what a handsome husband she had, and how well off she\nwas. She remained with them while the wedding-feast lasted, and then\nwent back again to the forest.\n\nWhen the second daughter was about to be married, and she was again\ninvited to the wedding, she said to the Lion, \u201cThis time, I will not go\nalone. You must come with me.\u201d\n\nThe Lion, however, said that it was too dangerous for him, for if a ray\nfrom a burning candle should fall on him, he would be changed into a\nDove, and for seven years long would have to fly about with the Doves.\n\nShe said, \u201cAh, but do come with me, I will take great care of you and\nguard you from all light.\u201d\n\nSo they went away together, and took with them their little child as\nwell. She had a chamber built, so strong and thick that no ray could\npierce through it. In this he was to shut himself up when the candles\nwere lit for the wedding-feast. But the door was made of green wood\nwhich warped and left a little crack which no one noticed.\n\nThe wedding was celebrated with magnificence; but when the procession\nwith all its candles and torches came back from church and passed by\nthis apartment, a ray about the breadth of a hair fell on the King\u2019s\nSon. When this ray touched him, he was transformed in an instant. And\nwhen she came in, and looked for him, she did not see him, but a white\nDove was sitting there.\n\nThe Dove said to her, \u201cFor seven years must I fly about the world, but\nat every seventh step that you take I will let fall a drop of red blood\nand a white feather. These will show you the way. If you follow the\ntrace you can release me.\u201d\n\nThereupon the Dove flew out at the door, and she followed him. At every\nseventh step a red drop of blood and a little white feather fell down,\nand showed her the way.\n\nSo she went continually farther and farther, in the wide world, never\nlooking about her nor resting, and the seven years were almost past.\nThen she rejoiced and thought that they would soon be delivered, and\nyet they were so far from it!\n\nOnce when they were thus moving onwards, no little feather and no\ndrop of red blood fell, and when she raised her eyes the Dove had\ndisappeared. And as she thought to herself, \u201cIn this no man can help\nme,\u201d she climbed up to the Sun, and said to him, \u201cYou shine into every\ncrevice, and over every peak, have you not seen a white Dove flying?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said the Sun, \u201cI have seen none, but I present you with a casket.\nOpen it when you are in sorest need.\u201d\n\nThen she thanked the Sun, and went on until evening came and the Moon\nappeared. She then asked her, \u201cYou shine the whole night through, and\non every field and forest, have you not seen a white Dove flying?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said the Moon, \u201cI have seen no Dove, but here I give you an egg.\nBreak it when you are in great need.\u201d\n\nShe thanked the Moon, and went on until the Night Wind came up and blew\non her, then she said to it, \u201cYou blow over every tree and under every\nleaf, have you not seen a white Dove flying?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said the Night Wind, \u201cI have seen none, but I will ask the three\nother Winds; perhaps they have seen it.\u201d\n\nThe East Wind and the West Wind came, and had seen nothing, but the\nSouth Wind said, \u201cI have seen the white Dove, it has flown to the Red\nSea, there it has become a Lion again, for the seven years are over.\nThe Lion is there fighting with a Dragon. The Dragon, however, is an\nenchanted Princess.\u201d\n\nThe Night Wind then said to her, \u201cI will advise you. Go to the Red\nSea, on the right bank are some tall reeds, count them, break off the\neleventh, and strike the Dragon with it. Then the Lion will be able\nto subdue it, and both then will regain their human form. After that,\nlook round and you will see the Griffin which is by the Red Sea. Swing\nyourself with your beloved, on to his back, and the bird will carry you\nover the sea to your own home.\n\n\u201cHere is a nut for you, when you are above the centre of the sea, let\nthe nut fall. It will immediately shoot up, and a tall nut-tree will\ngrow out of the water on which the Griffin may rest; for if he cannot\nrest, he will not be strong enough to carry you across. If you forget\nto throw down the nut, he will let you fall into the sea.\u201d\n\nThen she went thither, and found everything as the Night Wind had said.\nShe counted the reeds by the sea, and cut off the eleventh, struck the\nDragon with it, whereupon the Lion overcame it. Immediately both of\nthem regained their human shapes. But when the Princess, who had been\nthe Dragon, was delivered from enchantment, she took the youth by the\narm, seated herself on the Griffin, and carried him off with her.\n\nThere stood the poor maiden, who had wandered so far and was again\nforsaken! She sat down and cried, but at last she took courage and\nsaid, \u201cStill I will go as far as the Wind blows and as long as the cock\ncrows, until I find him.\u201d\n\nShe went forth by long, long roads, until at last she came to the\ncastle, where both of them were living together. There she heard that a\nfeast was to be held, in which they would celebrate their wedding, but\nshe said, \u201cGod still helps me,\u201d and opened the casket that the Sun had\ngiven her. A dress lay therein as brilliant as the sun itself.\n\nSo she took it out and put it on, and went up into the castle, and\nevery one, even the Bride, looked at her with astonishment. The\ndress pleased the Bride so well that she thought it might do for her\nwedding-dress, and asked if it was for sale?\n\n\u201cNot for money or land,\u201d answered she, \u201cbut for flesh and blood.\u201d\n\nThe Bride asked her what she meant by that, then she said, \u201cLet me\nsleep a night in the chamber where the Bridegroom sleeps.\u201d\n\nThe Bride would not, yet wanted very much to have the dress. At last\nshe consented, but the page was to give the Prince a sleeping-draught.\n\nWhen it was night, and the youth was already asleep, she was led into\nthe chamber. She seated herself on the bed and said, \u201cI have followed\nyou for seven years. I have been to the Sun and the Moon, and the\nFour Winds, and have inquired for you and have helped you against the\nDragon. Will you, then, forget me?\u201d\n\nBut the Prince slept so soundly that it only seemed to him as if the\nwind were whistling outside in the fir-trees. When therefore day broke,\nshe was led out again, and had to give up the golden dress. And as that\nhad been of no avail, she was sad, went out into a meadow, sat down\nthere, and wept.\n\nWhile she was sitting there, she thought of the egg which the Moon had\ngiven her. She opened it, and there came out a clucking hen with twelve\nchickens all of gold. They ran about chirping, and crept again under\nthe old hen\u2019s wings. Nothing more beautiful was ever seen in the world!\n\nShe arose, and drove them through the meadow. The Bride looked out of\nthe window, and the little chickens pleased her so that she came down\nand asked if they were for sale.\n\n\u201cNot for money or land, but for flesh and blood. Let me sleep again in\nthe chamber where the Bridegroom sleeps.\u201d\n\nThe Bride said, \u201cYes,\u201d intending to cheat her as on the former evening.\nBut when the Prince went to bed he asked the page what the murmuring\nand rustling in the night had been. On this the page told all; that he\nhad been forced to give him a sleeping-draught, because a poor girl had\nslept secretly in the chamber, and that he was to give him another that\nnight.\n\nThe Prince said, \u201cPour out the draught by the bedside.\u201d\n\nAt night, she was again led in, and when she began to relate how ill\nall had fared with her, he immediately recognized his beloved wife by\nher voice, sprang up and cried, \u201cNow I really am released! I have been\nas it were in a dream, for the strange Princess has bewitched me so\nthat I have been compelled to forget you! But God has delivered me from\nthe spell at the right time.\u201d\n\nThen they both left the castle secretly in the night, for they feared\nthe father of the Princess, who was a sorcerer. They seated themselves\non the Griffin which bore them across the Red Sea. When they were in\nthe midst of it, she let fall the nut. Immediately a tall nut-tree grew\nup, whereon the bird rested, and then carried them home, where they\nfound their child, who had grown tall and beautiful.\n\nAnd they lived thenceforth happily until their death.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nDOCTOR KNOWALL\n\n\nThere was once on a time, a poor peasant called Crab, who drove two\noxen with a load of wood to town, and sold it to a doctor for two\ndollars.\n\nWhen the money was being counted out to him, it so happened that the\ndoctor was sitting at table, and when the peasant saw how daintily he\nate and drank, his heart desired what he saw, and he would willingly\nhave been a doctor. So he remained standing a while, and at length\ninquired if he, too, could not be a doctor.\n\n\u201cOh, yes,\u201d said the doctor, \u201cthat is soon managed.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat must I do?\u201d asked the peasant.\n\n\u201cIn the first place, buy yourself an A B C book of the kind which has\na cock on the frontispiece. In the second, turn your cart and your two\noxen into money, and get yourself some clothes, and whatsoever else\npertains to medicine. Thirdly, have a sign painted with the words, \u2018I\nam Doctor Knowall,\u2019 and have that nailed up above your house-door.\u201d\n\nThe peasant did everything that he had been told to do. When he had\ndoctored people a while, but not long, a rich and great lord had some\nmoney stolen. Then he was told about Doctor Knowall who lived in such\nand such a village, and must know what had become of the money. So the\nlord had the horses put in his carriage, drove out to the village, and\nasked Crab if he were Doctor Knowall?\n\nYes, he was, he said.\n\nThen he was to go with him and bring back the stolen money.\n\n\u201cOh, yes, but Grethe, my wife, must go too.\u201d\n\nThe lord was willing, and let both of them have a seat in the carriage.\nThey all drove away together. When they came to the nobleman\u2019s castle,\nthe table was spread, and Crab was told to sit down and eat.\n\n\u201cYes, but my wife, Grethe, too,\u201d said he, and he seated himself with\nher at the table.\n\nAnd when the first servant came with a dish of delicate fare, the\npeasant nudged his wife, and said, \u201cGrethe, that was the first,\u201d\nmeaning that was the servant who brought the first dish.\n\nThe servant, however, thought he intended by that to say, \u201cThat is the\nfirst thief,\u201d and as he actually was so, he was terrified, and said to\nhis comrade outside, \u201cThe doctor knows all! we shall fare badly; he\nsaid I was the first.\u201d\n\nThe second did not want to go in at all, but was obliged to. So when he\nwent in, the peasant nudged his wife, and said, \u201cGrethe, that is the\nsecond.\u201d This servant was so frightened, that he got out.\n\nWith the third, it did not fare any better, for the peasant said again,\n\u201cGrethe, that is the third.\u201d\n\nThe fourth had to carry in a covered dish. In it were crabs.\n\n[Illustration: THE FIRST SERVANT CAME WITH A DISH OF DELICATE FARE]\n\nThe lord told the doctor that he must show his skill by guessing what\nwas under the cover. The doctor looked at the dish, had no idea what\nwas in it, and cried out, \u201cAlas! poor Crab!\u201d\n\nWhen the lord heard that, he cried, \u201cThere! he knows who has the money!\u201d\n\nAt this, the servants were terribly anxious. They winked at the doctor\nto come out to them. When he went out, they all four confessed that\nthey had stolen the money, and that they were willing to restore it.\nThey led him to the spot where it was hidden.\n\nThus the lord got back his wealth, and Doctor Knowall received a large\nreward and became a famous man.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nTHE BLUE LIGHT\n\n\nThere was once on a time, a soldier who for many years had served the\nKing faithfully. But when the war came to an end he could serve no\nlonger because of the many wounds which he had received.\n\nThe King said to him, \u201cYou may return to your home, I need you no\nlonger. You will not receive any more money, for only he receives wages\nwho renders me service for them.\u201d\n\nThen the soldier did not know how to earn a living, went away greatly\ntroubled, and walked the whole day, until in the evening he entered a\nforest. When darkness came on, he saw a light, which he went toward,\nand came to a house wherein lived a Witch.\n\n\u201cDo give me one night\u2019s lodging, and a little to eat and drink,\u201d said\nhe to her, \u201cor I shall starve.\u201d\n\n\u201cOho!\u201d she answered, \u201cwho gives anything to a runaway soldier? Yet will\nI be compassionate, and take you in, if you will do what I wish.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat do you wish?\u201d said the soldier.\n\n\u201cThat you should dig all round my garden for me, to-morrow.\u201d\n\nThe soldier consented, and next day labored with all his strength, but\ncould not finish it by the evening.\n\n\u201cI see well enough,\u201d said the Witch, \u201cthat you can do no more to-day.\nBut I will keep you yet another night, in payment for which you must\nto-morrow chop me a load of wood, and make it small.\u201d\n\nThe soldier spent the whole day in doing it, and in the evening the\nWitch proposed that he should stay one night more. \u201cTo-morrow, you\nshall do me a very trifling piece of work. Behind my house, there is an\nold, dry well, into which my light has fallen. It burns blue, and never\ngoes out, and you shall bring it up again for me.\u201d\n\nNext day, the Old Woman took him to the well, and let him down in a\nbasket. He found the Blue Light, and made her a signal to draw him\nup again. She did draw him up, but when he came near the edge, she\nstretched down her hand and wanted to take the Blue Light away from him.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said he, perceiving her evil intention, \u201cI will not give you the\nlight, until I am standing with both feet upon the ground.\u201d\n\nThe Witch fell into a passion, let him down again into the well, and\nwent away.\n\nThe poor soldier fell without injury on the moist ground, and the\nBlue Light went on burning. But of what use was that to him? He\nsaw very well that he could not escape death. He sat for a while\nvery sorrowfully, then suddenly he felt in his pocket and found his\npipe, which was still half full of tobacco. \u201cThis shall be my last\npleasure,\u201d thought he, pulled it out, lit it at the Blue Light and\nbegan to smoke.\n\nWhen the smoke had circled about the cavern, suddenly a little Black\nMan stood before him, and said, \u201cMaster, what are your commands?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat commands have I to give you?\u201d replied the soldier, quite\nastonished.\n\n\u201cI must do everything you bid me,\u201d said the Little Man.\n\n\u201cGood,\u201d said the soldier; \u201cthen in the first place help me out of this\nwell.\u201d\n\nThe Little Man took him by the hand, and led him through an underground\npassage, but the soldier did not forget to take the Blue Light with\nhim. On the way the Little Man showed him treasures hidden there, and\nthe soldier took as much gold as he could carry.\n\nWhen he was above, he said to the Little Man, \u201cNow go and bind the old\nWitch, and carry her before the judge.\u201d\n\nIn a short time she, with frightful cries, came riding by, as swift\nas the wind, on a wild tom-cat, nor was it long after that before the\nLittle Man reappeared. \u201cIt is all done,\u201d said he, \u201cand the Witch is\nalready hanging on the gallows. What further commands has my lord?\u201d\ninquired the Little Man.\n\n\u201cAt this moment, none,\u201d answered the soldier; \u201cyou may return home.\nOnly be at hand immediately, if I summon you.\u201d\n\n\u201cNothing more is needed than that you should light your pipe at the\nBlue Light, and I will appear before you at once.\u201d Thereupon he\nvanished from sight.\n\nThe soldier returned to the town from which he had come. He went to the\nbest inn, ordered himself handsome clothes, and then bade the landlord\nfurnish him a room as magnificent as possible.\n\nWhen it was ready and the soldier had taken possession of it, he\nsummoned the Little Black Man and said, \u201cI have served the King\nfaithfully, but he has dismissed me, and left me to hunger, and now I\nwant to punish him.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat am I to do?\u201d asked the Little Man.\n\n\u201cLate at night, when the King\u2019s Daughter is in bed, bring her here in\nher sleep; she shall do servant\u2019s work for me.\u201d\n\nThe Little Man said, \u201cThat is an easy thing for me to do, but a very\ndangerous thing for you, for if it is discovered, you will fare ill.\u201d\n\nWhen twelve o\u2019clock had struck, the door sprang open, and the Little\nMan carried in the Princess.\n\n\u201cAha! are you there?\u201d cried the soldier, \u201cget to your work at once!\nFetch the broom and sweep the chamber.\u201d\n\nWhen she had done this, he ordered her to come to his chair. Then he\nstretched out his feet and said, \u201cPull off my boots for me,\u201d and made\nher pick them up again, and clean and brighten them.\n\nShe, however, did everything he bade her, without opposition, silently\nand with half-shut eyes. When the first cock crowed, the Little Man\ncarried her back to the royal Palace, and laid her in her bed.\n\nNext morning, when the Princess arose, she went to her father, and told\nhim that she had had a very strange dream. \u201cI was carried through the\nstreets with the rapidity of lightning,\u201d said she, \u201cand taken into a\nsoldier\u2019s room, and I had to wait upon him like a servant, sweep his\nroom, clean his boots, and do all kinds of menial work. It was only a\ndream, and yet I am just as tired as if I really had done everything.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe dream may have been true,\u201d said the King. \u201cI will give you a piece\nof advice. Fill your pocket full of peas, and make a small hole in it,\nand then if you are carried away again, they will fall out and leave a\ntrack in the streets.\u201d\n\nBut unseen by the King, the Little Man was standing beside him when\nhe said that, and heard all. At night, when the sleeping Princess was\nagain carried through the streets, some peas certainly did fall out of\nher pocket, but they made no track, for the crafty Little Man had just\nbefore scattered peas in every other street. And again the Princess was\ncompelled to do servant\u2019s work until cock-crow.\n\nNext morning, the King sent his people out to seek the track, but\nit was all in vain, for in every street poor children were sitting,\npicking up peas, and saying, \u201cIt must have rained peas, last night.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe must think of something else,\u201d said the King; \u201ckeep your shoes on\nwhen you go to bed, and before you come back from the place where you\nare taken, hide one of them there. I will soon find it.\u201d\n\nThe Little Black Man heard this plot, and at night when the soldier\nagain ordered him to bring the Princess, revealed it to him, and told\nhim that he knew of no way to overcome this stratagem, and that if the\nshoe were found in the soldier\u2019s house it would go badly with him.\n\n\u201cDo what I bid you,\u201d replied the soldier. And again this third night,\nthe Princess was obliged to work like a servant, but before she went\naway, she hid her shoe under the bed.\n\nNext morning, the King had the entire town searched for his daughter\u2019s\nshoe. It was found at the soldier\u2019s, and the soldier himself, who at\nthe entreaty of the Little Man, had gone outside the city-gate, was\nsoon brought back, and thrown into prison.\n\nIn his flight he had forgotten the most valuable things he had, the\nBlue Light and the gold, and had only one ducat in his pocket. And now\nloaded with chains, he was standing at the window of his dungeon, when\nhe chanced to see one of his comrades passing by.\n\nThe soldier tapped at the pane of glass, and when this man came up,\nsaid to him, \u201cBe so kind as to fetch me the small bundle I have left\nlying in the inn, and I will give you a ducat for doing it.\u201d\n\nHis comrade ran thither and brought him what he wanted. As soon as the\nsoldier was alone again, he lighted his pipe and summoned the Little\nBlack Man.\n\n\u201cHave no fear,\u201d said the latter to his master. \u201cGo wheresoever they\ntake you, and let them do what they will, only take the Blue Light with\nyou.\u201d\n\nNext day the soldier was tried, and though he had done nothing wicked,\nthe judge condemned him to death. When he was led forth to die, he\nbegged a last favor of the King.\n\n\u201cWhat is it?\u201d asked the King.\n\n\u201cThat I may smoke one more pipe on my way.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou may smoke three,\u201d answered the King, \u201cbut do not imagine that I\nwill spare your life.\u201d\n\nThen the soldier pulled out his pipe and lighted it at the Blue Light.\nAnd as soon as a few wreaths of smoke had ascended the Little Man was\nthere with a small cudgel in his hand, and said, \u201cWhat does my lord\ncommand?\u201d\n\n\u201cStrike down to earth that false judge there, and his constable, and\nspare not the King who has treated me so ill.\u201d\n\nThen the Little Man fell on them like lightning, darting this way and\nthat, and whosoever was so much as touched by his cudgel fell to earth,\nand did not venture to stir again. The King was terrified; he threw\nhimself on the soldier\u2019s mercy, and begged merely to be allowed to\nlive. He gave him his kingdom for his own, and the Princess to wife.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nTHE SPINDLE, THE SHUTTLE, AND THE NEEDLE\n\n\nThere was once a girl whose father and mother died while she was still\na little child. All alone, in a small house at the end of the village,\ndwelt her godmother, who supported herself by spinning, weaving, and\nsewing. The old woman took the forlorn child to live with her, kept her\nto her work, and educated her in all that is good.\n\nWhen the girl was fifteen, the old woman became ill, called the child\nto her bedside, and said, \u201cDear Daughter, I feel my end drawing near.\nI leave you the little house, which will protect you from wind and\nweather, and my spindle, shuttle, and needle, with which you can earn\nyour bread.\u201d\n\nThen she laid her hands on the girl\u2019s head, blessed her, and said,\n\u201cOnly preserve the love of God in your heart, and all will go well with\nyou.\u201d\n\nThereupon she closed her eyes, and when she was laid in the earth, the\nmaiden followed the coffin, weeping bitterly, and paid her the last\nmark of respect.\n\nAnd now the maiden lived quite alone in the little house, and was\nindustrious, and span, wove, and sewed, and the blessing of the good\nold woman was on all that she did. It seemed as if the flax in the room\nincreased of its own accord, and whenever she wove a piece of cloth\nor carpet, or had made a shirt, she at once found a buyer who paid\nher amply for it. So that she was in want of nothing, and even had\nsomething to share with others.\n\nAbout this time, the Son of the King was traveling about the country\nlooking for a Bride. He was not to choose a poor one, and did not\nwant to have a rich one. So he said, \u201cShe shall be my wife who is the\npoorest, and at the same time the richest.\u201d\n\nWhen he came to the village where the maiden dwelt, he inquired, as he\ndid wherever he went, who was the richest and also the poorest girl in\nthe place? They first named the richest; the poorest, they said, was\nthe girl who lived in the small house quite at the end of the village.\n\nThe rich girl was sitting in all her splendor before the door of her\nhouse, and when the Prince approached her, she got up, went to meet\nhim, and made him a low curtsey. He looked at her, said nothing, and\nrode on.\n\nWhen he came to the house of the poor girl, she was not standing at\nthe door, but sitting in her little room. He stopped his horse, and\nsaw, through the window on which the bright sun was shining, the girl\nsitting at her spinning-wheel, busily spinning. She looked up, and when\nshe saw that the Prince was gazing in, blushed all over her face, let\nher eyes fall, and went on spinning. I do not know whether, just at\nthat moment, the thread was quite even; but she went on spinning until\nthe King\u2019s Son had ridden away again.\n\nThen she stepped to the window, opened it, and said, \u201cIt is so warm in\nthis room!\u201d but she still looked after him as long as she could see the\nwhite feathers in his hat. Then she sat down to work again in her own\nroom and went on with her spinning. And a saying which the old woman\nhad often repeated when she was sitting at her work, came into her\nmind, and she sang these words to herself:\n\n \u201c_Spindle, my Spindle, haste, haste thee away,\n Here to my house bring the wooer, I pray._\u201d\n\nAnd what do you think happened? The spindle sprang out of her hand in\nan instant, and out of the door. And when, in her astonishment, she got\nup and looked after it, she saw that it was dancing out merrily into\nthe open country, and drawing a shining golden thread after it. Before\nlong, it had entirely vanished from her sight.\n\nAs she had now no spindle, the girl took the weaver\u2019s shuttle in her\nhand, sat down to her loom, and began to weave.\n\nThe spindle, however, danced continually onward, and just as the thread\ncame to an end, reached the Prince.\n\n\u201cWhat do I see?\u201d he cried; \u201cthe spindle certainly wants to show me the\nway!\u201d He turned his horse about, and rode back with the golden thread.\nThe girl was, however, sitting at her work singing:\n\n \u201c_Shuttle, my Shuttle, weave well this day,\n And guide the wooer to me, I pray._\u201d\n\nImmediately the shuttle sprang out of her hand and out by the door.\nBefore the threshold, however, it began to weave a carpet which was\nmore beautiful than the eyes of man had ever yet beheld. Lilies and\nroses blossomed on both sides of it. And on a golden ground in the\ncentre green branches ascended, under which bounded hares and rabbits.\nStags and deer stretched their heads in between them. Brightly-colored\nbirds were sitting in the branches above. They lacked nothing but the\ngift of song. The shuttle leapt hither and thither, and everything\nseemed to grow of its own accord.\n\nAs the shuttle had run away, the girl sat down to sew. She held the\nneedle in her hand and sang:\n\n \u201c_Needle, my Needle, sharp-pointed and fine,\n Prepare for a wooer this house of mine._\u201d\n\nThen the needle leapt out of her fingers, and flew everywhere about\nthe room as quick as lightning. It was just as if invisible spirits\nwere working. They covered tables and benches with green cloth in an\ninstant, and the chairs with velvet, and hung the windows with silken\ncurtains.\n\nHardly had the needle put in the last stitch, than the maiden saw\nthrough the window the white feathers of the Prince, whom the spindle\nhad brought thither by the golden thread. He alighted, stepped over the\ncarpet into the house, and when he entered the room, there stood the\nmaiden in her poor garments, but she shone out from them like a rose\nsurrounded by leaves.\n\n\u201cYou are the poorest and also the richest,\u201d said he to her. \u201cCome with\nme, you shall be my Bride.\u201d\n\nShe did not speak, but she gave him her hand. Then he kissed her, and\nled her forth, lifted her on to his horse, and took her to the royal\ncastle, where the wedding was solemnized with great rejoicings.\n\nThe spindle, shuttle, and needle were preserved in the\ntreasure-chamber, and held in great honor.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nTHE THREE LUCK-CHILDREN\n\n\nA father once called his three sons before him. He gave to the first a\ncock, to the second a scythe, and to the third a cat.\n\n\u201cI am old,\u201d said he, \u201cmy death is nigh, and I have wished to take\nthought for you before my end. Money I have not, and what I now give\nyou seems of little worth. But all depends on your making a sensible\nuse of it. Only seek out a country where such things are still unknown,\nand your fortune is made.\u201d\n\nAfter the father\u2019s death, the eldest went away with his cock. But\nwherever he came the cock was already known. In the towns, he saw him\nfrom a long distance, sitting upon the steeples and turning round with\nthe wind; and in the villages he heard more than one crowing. No one\nwould show any wonder at the creature, so that it did not look as if he\nwould make his fortune by it.\n\n[Illustration: WHEN THE CORN WAS RIPE, THEY SHOT IT DOWN]\n\nAt last, however, it happened that he came to an island where the\npeople knew nothing about cocks, and did not even understand how to\ntell time. They certainly knew when it was morning or evening. But\nat night, if they did not sleep through it, not one of them knew how to\nfind out the time.\n\n\u201cLook!\u201d said he, \u201cwhat a proud creature! It has a ruby-red crown upon\nits head, and wears spurs like a knight. It calls you three times\nduring the night, at fixed hours; and when it calls for the last time,\nthe sun soon after rises. But if it crows by broad daylight, then take\nnotice, for there will certainly be a change of weather.\u201d\n\nThe people were well pleased. For a whole night they did not sleep, and\nlistened with great delight as the cock at two, four, and six o\u2019clock,\nloudly and clearly proclaimed the time. They asked if the creature were\nfor sale, and how much he wanted for it.\n\n\u201cAbout as much gold as an ass can carry,\u201d answered he.\n\n\u201cA ridiculously small price for such a precious creature!\u201d they cried\nall together, and willingly gave him what he had asked.\n\nWhen he came home with his wealth, his brothers were astonished, and\nthe second said, \u201cWell, I will go forth and see whether I cannot get\nrid of my scythe as profitably.\u201d But it did not look as if he would,\nfor laborers met him everywhere, and they had scythes upon their\nshoulders as well as he.\n\nAt last, however, he chanced upon an island where the people knew\nnothing of scythes. When the corn was ripe, they took cannon out to\nthe fields and shot it down. Now this was rather an uncertain affair.\nMany shot right over it, others hit the ears instead of the stems and\nshot them away, whereby much was lost; and besides all this it made a\nterrible noise.\n\nSo the man set to work and mowed it down so quietly and quickly that\nthe people opened their mouths with astonishment. They agreed to give\nhim what he wanted for the scythe, and he received a horse laden with\nas much gold as it could carry.\n\nAnd now the third brother wanted to take his cat to the right man. He\nfared just like the others. So long as he stayed on the mainland, there\nwas nothing to be done. Every place had cats, and there were so many of\nthem that most new-born kittens were drowned in the ponds.\n\nAt last, he sailed to an island, and it luckily happened that no cats\nhad ever yet been seen there, and that the mice had got the upper\nhand so much, that they danced upon the tables and benches whether\nthe master were at home or not. The people complained bitterly of the\nplague. The King himself, in his palace, did not know how to secure\nhimself against them. Mice squeaked in every corner, and gnawed\nwhatever they could lay hold of with their teeth.\n\nBut now the cat began her chase, and soon cleared a couple of rooms,\nand the people begged the King to buy the wonderful beast for the\ncountry. The King willingly gave what was asked, which was a mule laden\nwith gold; and the third brother came home with the greatest treasure\nof all.\n\nThe cat made merry with the mice in the royal palace, and killed so\nmany that they could not be counted. At last she grew warm with the\nwork and thirsty, so she stood still, lifted up her head and cried,\n\u201cMew! mew!\u201d\n\nWhen they heard this strange cry, the King and all his people were\nfrightened, and in their terror ran out of the palace.\n\nThen the King took counsel what was best to be done. At last, it was\ndecided to send a herald to the cat, and command her to leave the\npalace; if not, she was to expect that force would be used against her.\n\nThe councilors said, \u201cWe would rather be plagued with mice to which\nmisfortune we are accustomed, than give up our lives to such a monster\nas this.\u201d\n\nA noble youth, therefore, was sent to ask the cat whether she \u201cwould\npeaceably quit the palace.\u201d But the cat, whose thirst had become still\ngreater, answered again, \u201cMew! Mew!\u201d\n\nThe youth thought that she said, \u201cMost certainly not! Most certainly\nnot!\u201d and took this answer to the King.\n\n\u201cThen,\u201d said the councilors, \u201cshe must yield to force.\u201d\n\nCannon were brought out, and the palace was soon in flames. When the\nfire reached the room where the cat was sitting, she sprang safely out\nof the window. But the besiegers did not leave off, until the whole\npalace was shot down to the ground.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nTHE DONKEY CABBAGES\n\n\nThere was once a young huntsman, who went into the forest to lie in\nwait. He had a fresh and joyous heart, and as he was going thither,\nwhistling upon a leaf, an ugly old crone came up, who spoke to him and\nsaid, \u201cGood-day, dear huntsman, truly you are merry and contented, but\nI am suffering from hunger and thirst, do give me an alms.\u201d\n\nThe huntsman had compassion on the poor old creature, felt in his\npocket, and gave her what he could afford.\n\nHe was then about to go further, but the old woman stopped him and\nsaid, \u201cListen, dear Huntsman, to what I tell you. I will make you a\npresent in return for your kindness. Go on your way now, but in a\nlittle while you will come to a tree, whereon nine birds are sitting\nwhich have a cloak in their claws, and are plucking at it. Take your\ngun and shoot into the midst of them. They will let the cloak fall down\nto you, but one of the birds will be hurt, and will drop dead.\n\n\u201cCarry away the cloak, it is a Wishing-Cloak. When you throw it over\nyour shoulders, you only have to wish to be in a certain place, and you\nwill be there in the twinkling of an eye. Take out the heart of the\ndead bird, swallow it whole, and every morning early, when you get up,\nyou will find a gold piece under your pillow.\u201d\n\nThe huntsman thanked the Wise Woman, and thought to himself, \u201cThose are\nfine things that she has promised me, if all does but come true!\u201d\n\nAnd verily when he had walked about a hundred paces, he heard in the\nbranches above him a screaming and twittering. He looked up and saw a\ncrowd of birds, who were tearing a piece of cloth with their beaks and\nclaws, and tugging and fighting as if each wanted to have it all to\nhimself.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the huntsman, \u201cthis is wonderful. It has come to pass just\nas the old wife foretold!\u201d and he took the gun from his shoulder, aimed\nand fired right into the midst of them, so that the feathers flew about.\n\nThe birds instantly took to flight with loud outcries, but one dropped\ndown dead, and the cloak fell at the same time. Then the huntsman did\nas the old woman had directed him, cut open the bird, sought the heart,\nswallowed it down, and took the cloak home with him.\n\nNext morning, when he awoke, the promise occurred to him. He wished to\nsee if it also had been fulfilled. When he lifted up the pillow, the\ngold piece shone in his eyes. The next day, he found another, and so\nit went on, every time he got up. He gathered together a heap of gold,\nbut at last he thought, \u201cOf what use is all my gold to me if I stay at\nhome? I will go forth and see the world.\u201d\n\nHe then took leave of his parents, buckled on his huntsman\u2019s pouch and\ngun, and went out into the world.\n\nIt came to pass, that one day he traveled through a dense forest, and\nwhen he came to the end of it, in the plain before him was a fine\ncastle. An Old Woman was standing with a wonderfully beautiful maiden,\nlooking out of one of the windows.\n\nThe Old Woman, however, was a Witch and said to the maiden, \u201cThere\ncomes a man out of the forest, who has a wonderful treasure in his\nbody. We must filch it from him, my dear Daughter. It is more suitable\nfor us than for him. He has a bird\u2019s heart about him, by means of which\nevery morning, a gold piece lies under his pillow.\u201d She told her what\nshe was to do to get it, and what part she had to play, and finally\nthreatened her, and said with angry eyes, \u201cAnd if you do not attend to\nwhat I say, it will be the worse for you.\u201d\n\nNow when the huntsman came nearer he descried the maiden, and said to\nhimself, \u201cI have traveled about for such a long time, I will take a\nrest for once, and enter that beautiful castle. I have certainly money\nenough.\u201d Nevertheless, the real reason was that he had caught sight of\nthe pretty maiden.\n\nHe entered the house, and was well received and courteously\nentertained. Before long, he was so much in love with the young Witch\nthat he no longer thought of anything else, and saw things as she saw\nthem, and did what she desired.\n\nThe Old Woman then said, \u201cNow we must have the bird\u2019s heart, he will\nnever miss it.\u201d She prepared a drink, and when it was ready, poured\nit into a cup and gave it to the maiden, who was to present it to the\nhuntsman.\n\nShe did so, saying, \u201cNow, my Dearest, drink to me.\u201d\n\nSo he took the cup, and when he had swallowed the draught, he brought\nup the heart of the bird. The girl had to take it away secretly and\nswallow it herself, for the Old Woman would have it so. Thenceforward\nhe found no more gold under his pillow. But it lay instead under that\nof the maiden, from whence the Old Woman fetched it away every morning.\nBut he was so much in love and so befooled, that he thought of nothing\nelse but of passing his time with the maiden.\n\nThen the old Witch said, \u201cWe have the bird\u2019s heart, but we must also\ntake the Wishing-Cloak away from him.\u201d\n\nThe maiden answered, \u201cWe will leave him that; he has lost his wealth.\u201d\n\nThe Old Woman was angry and said, \u201cSuch a mantle is a wonderful thing,\nand is seldom to be found in this world. I must and will have it!\u201d She\ngave the maiden several blows, and said that if she did not obey, it\nshould fare ill with her.\n\nSo she did the Old Woman\u2019s bidding, placed herself at the window and\nlooked on the distant country, as if she were very sorrowful.\n\nThe huntsman asked, \u201cWhy do you stand there so sorrowfully?\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, my Beloved,\u201d was her answer, \u201cover yonder lies the Garnet\nMountain, where the precious stones grow. I long for them so much that\nwhen I think of them, I feel quite sad, but who can get them? Only the\nbirds; they fly and can reach them, but a man never.\u201d\n\n\u201cHave you nothing else to complain of?\u201d said the huntsman. \u201cI will soon\nremove that burden from your heart.\u201d\n\nWith that he drew her under his mantle, wished himself on the Garnet\nMountain. In the twinkling of an eye they were sitting on it together.\nPrecious stones were glistening on every side, so that it was a joy to\nsee them. Together they gathered the finest and costliest of them.\n\nNow, the Old Woman had, through her sorceries, contrived that the eyes\nof the huntsman should become heavy. He said to the maiden, \u201cWe will\nsit down and rest a while. I am so tired, that I can no longer stand on\nmy feet.\u201d\n\nThen they sat down, and he laid his head in her lap, and fell asleep.\nWhen he was asleep, she unfastened the mantle from his shoulders, and\nwrapped herself in it, picked up the garnets and stones, and wished\nherself back at home with them.\n\nBut when the huntsman had had his sleep out, he awoke, and perceived\nthat his sweetheart had betrayed him, and left him alone on the wild\nmountain. Then he said, \u201cOh, what treachery there is in the world!\u201d and\nsat there in care and sorrow, not knowing what to do.\n\nBut the mountain belonged to some wild and monstrous Giants, who dwelt\nthereon and lived their lives there, and he had not sat long, before he\nsaw three of them coming toward him. The Giants came up, and the first\nkicked him with his foot and said, \u201cWhat sort of an earthworm is lying\ncurled up here?\u201d\n\nThe second said, \u201cStep upon him and kill him.\u201d\n\nBut the third said, \u201cWould that be worth your while? Let him live, he\ncannot remain here. When he climbs higher, toward the summit of the\nmountain, the clouds will lay hold of him and bear him away.\u201d So saying\nthey passed by.\n\nBut the Huntsman had paid heed to their words, and as soon as they\nwere gone, he rose and climbed up to the summit of the mountain.\nAnd when he had sat there a while, a cloud floated toward him,\ncaught him up, carried him away, and traveled about for a long time\nin the heavens. Then it sank lower, and let itself down on a great\ncabbage-garden, girt round by walls, so that he came softly to the\nground on cabbages and vegetables.\n\nThen the huntsman looked about him, and said, \u201cIf I only had something\nto eat! I am so hungry, and my hunger will grow greater. But I see here\nneither apples nor pears, nor any other sort of fruit, everywhere there\nis nothing but cabbages.\u201d At length he thought, \u201cAt a pinch I can eat\nsome of the leaves. They do not taste particularly good, but they will\nrefresh me.\u201d\n\nWith that he picked himself out a fine head of cabbage, and ate it. But\nscarcely had he swallowed a couple of mouthfuls, when wonderful! he\nfelt quite changed.\n\nFour legs grew on him, a large head and two thick ears; and he saw with\nhorror that he was changed into a Donkey. Still as his hunger became\ngreater every minute, and as the juicy leaves were suitable to his\npresent nature, he went on eating with great zest. At last he arrived\nat a different kind of cabbage, but as soon as he had swallowed it, he\nagain felt a change, and resumed his human shape.\n\nThen the huntsman lay down, and slept off his fatigue. When he awoke\nnext morning, he broke off one head of the bad cabbages and another of\nthe good ones, and thought to himself, \u201cThis shall help me to get my\nown again and punish treachery.\u201d\n\nThen he took the cabbages with him, climbed over the wall, and went\nforth to seek for the castle of his sweetheart.\n\nAfter wandering about for a couple of days, he was lucky enough to find\nit again. He dyed his face brown, so that his own mother would not have\nknown him; and begged for shelter. \u201cI am so tired,\u201d said he, \u201cthat I\ncan go no further.\u201d\n\nThe Witch asked, \u201cWho are you, Countryman, and what is your business?\u201d\n\nSaid he, \u201cI have been so fortunate as to find the most wonderful salad\nwhich grows under the sun, and am carrying it about with me.\u201d\n\nWhen the Old Woman heard of the exquisite salad, she was greedy, and\nsaid, \u201cDear Countryman, let me just taste this wonderful salad.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy not?\u201d answered he, \u201cI have brought two heads with me, and will\ngive you one of them,\u201d and he opened his pouch and handed her the bad\ncabbage.\n\nThe Witch suspected nothing amiss, and her mouth watered so for this\nnew dish, that she herself went into the kitchen and prepared it. When\nit was ready she could not wait until it was set on the table, but took\na couple of leaves at once, and put them in her mouth. Hardly had she\nswallowed them, than she was deprived of her human shape, and she ran\nout into the courtyard in the form of a Donkey.\n\nPresently the maid-servant entered the kitchen, saw the salad standing\nthere ready prepared, and was about to carry it up. But on the way,\naccording to habit, she was seized by the desire to taste, and she ate\na couple of leaves. Instantly the magic power showed itself, and she\nlikewise became a Donkey, and ran out to the Old Woman. And the dish\nof salad fell to the ground.\n\nMeantime the huntsman sat beside the beautiful maiden, and as no one\ncame with the salad and she also was longing for it, she said, \u201cI don\u2019t\nknow what has become of the salad.\u201d\n\nThe huntsman thought, \u201cThe salad must have already taken effect,\u201d and\nsaid, \u201cI will go to the kitchen and inquire about it.\u201d\n\nAs he went down he saw the two Donkeys running about in the courtyard.\nThe salad, however, was lying on the ground. \u201cAll right,\u201d said he, \u201cthe\ntwo have taken their portion,\u201d and he picked up the other leaves, laid\nthem on the dish, and carried them to the maiden. \u201cI bring you the\ndelicate food myself,\u201d said he, \u201cin order that you may not have to wait\nlonger.\u201d\n\nThen she ate of it, and was, like the others, immediately deprived of\nher human form, and ran out into the courtyard in the shape of a Donkey.\n\nAfter the huntsman had washed his face, so that the transformed ones\ncould recognize him, he went down into the courtyard, and said,\n\u201cNow you shall receive the wages of your treachery,\u201d and bound them\ntogether, all three with one rope, and drove them along until he came\nto a mill.\n\nHe knocked at the window, the miller put out his head, and asked what\nhe wanted. \u201cI have three unmanageable beasts,\u201d answered he, \u201cwhich I\ndon\u2019t want to keep any longer. Will you take them in, and give them\nfood and stable room, and manage them as I tell you? Then I will pay\nyou what you ask.\u201d\n\nThe miller said, \u201cWhy not? But how am I to manage them?\u201d\n\nThe huntsman then said that he was to give three beatings and one\nmeal daily to the old Donkey, and that was the Witch; one beating and\nthree meals to the younger one, which was the servant-girl; and to the\nyoungest, which was the maiden, no beatings and three meals, for he\ncould not bring himself to have the maiden beaten. After that he went\nback into the castle, and found therein everything he needed.\n\nAfter a couple of days, the miller came and said he must inform him\nthat the old Donkey which had received three beatings and only one\nmeal daily, was dead; \u201cthe two others,\u201d he continued, \u201care certainly\nnot dead, and are fed three times daily, but they are so sad that they\ncannot last much longer.\u201d\n\nThe huntsman was moved to pity, put away his anger, and told the miller\nto drive them back again to him. And when they came, he gave them some\nof the good salad, so that they became human again.\n\nThe beautiful maiden fell on her knees before him, and said, \u201cAh, my\nBeloved, forgive me for the evil I have done you. My mother drove\nme to it. It was done against my will, for I love you dearly. Your\nWishing-Cloak hangs in a cupboard, and as for the Bird\u2019s-Heart I will\ntake a potion and bring it up again.\u201d\n\nBut he thought otherwise, and said, \u201cKeep it. It is all the same, for I\nwill take you for my true wife.\u201d\n\nSo the wedding was celebrated, and they lived happily together until\ntheir death.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nCLEVER HANS\n\n\nI\n\nThe mother of Hans said, \u201cWhither away, Hans?\u201d\n\nHans answered, \u201cTo Grethel.\u201d\n\n\u201cBehave well, Hans.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I\u2019ll behave well. Good-bye, Mother.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood-bye, Hans.\u201d\n\nHans comes to Grethel. \u201cGood day, Grethel.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood day, Hans. What do you bring that is good?\u201d\n\n\u201cI bring nothing, I want to have something given me.\u201d\n\nGrethel presents Hans with a needle.\n\nHans says, \u201cGood-bye, Grethel.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood-bye, Hans.\u201d\n\nHans takes the needle, sticks it into a hay-cart, and follows the cart\nhome. \u201cGood evening, Mother.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood evening, Hans. Where have you been?\u201d\n\n\u201cWith Grethel.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat did you take her?\u201d\n\n\u201cTook nothing; had something given me.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat did Grethel give you?\u201d\n\n\u201cGave me a needle.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere is the needle, Hans?\u201d\n\n\u201cStuck in the hay-cart.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat was ill done, Hans. You should have stuck the needle in your\nsleeve.\u201d\n\n\u201cNever mind, I\u2019ll do better next time.\u201d\n\n\nII\n\n\u201cWhither away, Hans?\u201d\n\n\u201cTo Grethel, Mother.\u201d\n\n\u201cBehave well, Hans.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I\u2019ll behave well. Good-bye, Mother.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood-bye, Hans.\u201d\n\nHans comes to Grethel. \u201cGood day, Grethel.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood day, Hans. What do you bring that is good?\u201d\n\n\u201cI bring nothing, I want to have something given me.\u201d\n\nGrethel presents Hans with a knife.\n\n\u201cGood-bye, Grethel.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood-bye, Hans.\u201d\n\nHans takes the knife, sticks it in his sleeve, and goes home.\n\n\u201cGood evening, Mother.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood evening, Hans. Where have you been?\u201d\n\n\u201cWith Grethel.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat did you take her?\u201d\n\n\u201cTook her nothing, she gave me something.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat did Grethel give you?\u201d\n\n\u201cGave me a knife.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere is the knife, Hans?\u201d\n\n\u201cStuck it in my sleeve.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s ill done, Hans, you should have put the knife in your pocket.\u201d\n\n\u201cNever mind, will do better next time.\u201d\n\n\nIII\n\n\u201cWhither away, Hans?\u201d\n\n\u201cTo Grethel, Mother.\u201d\n\n\u201cBehave well, Hans.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I\u2019ll behave well. Good-bye, Mother.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood-bye, Hans.\u201d\n\nHans comes to Grethel. \u201cGood day, Grethel.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood day, Hans. What good thing do you bring?\u201d\n\n\u201cI bring nothing. I want something given me.\u201d\n\nGrethel presents Hans with a young goat.\n\n\u201cGood-bye, Grethel.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood-bye, Hans.\u201d\n\nHans takes the goat, ties its legs, and puts it in his pocket. When he\ngets home it is suffocated.\n\n\u201cGood evening, Mother.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood evening, Hans. Where have you been?\u201d\n\n\u201cWith Grethel.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat did you take her?\u201d\n\n\u201cTook nothing, she gave me something.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat did Grethel give you?\u201d\n\n\u201cShe gave me a goat.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere is the goat, Hans?\u201d\n\n\u201cPut it in my pocket.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat was ill done, Hans, you should have put a rope round the goat\u2019s\nneck.\u201d\n\n\u201cNever mind, will do better next time.\u201d\n\n\nIV\n\n\u201cWhither away, Hans?\u201d\n\n\u201cTo Grethel, Mother.\u201d\n\n\u201cBehave well, Hans.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I\u2019ll behave well. Good-bye, Mother.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood-bye, Hans.\u201d\n\nHans comes to Grethel. \u201cGood day, Grethel.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood day, Hans. What good thing do you bring?\u201d\n\n\u201cI bring nothing, I want something given me.\u201d\n\nGrethel presents Hans with a piece of bacon.\n\n\u201cGood-bye, Grethel.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood-bye, Hans.\u201d\n\nHans takes the bacon, ties it to a rope, and drags it away behind him.\nThe dogs come and devour the bacon. When he gets home, he has the rope\nin his hand, and there is no longer anything hanging to it.\n\n\u201cGood evening, Mother.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood evening, Hans. Where have you been?\u201d\n\n\u201cWith Grethel.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat did you take her?\u201d\n\n\u201cI took her nothing, she gave me something.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat did Grethel give you?\u201d\n\n\u201cGave me a bit of bacon.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere is the bacon, Hans?\u201d\n\n\u201cI tied it to a rope, brought it home, dogs took it.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat was ill done, Hans, you should have carried the bacon on your\nhead.\u201d\n\n\u201cNever mind, will do better next time.\u201d\n\n\nV\n\n\u201cWhither away, Hans?\u201d\n\n\u201cTo Grethel, Mother.\u201d\n\n\u201cBehave well, Hans.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll behave well. Good-bye, Mother.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood-bye, Hans.\u201d\n\nHans comes to Grethel. \u201cGood day, Grethel.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood day, Hans. What good thing do you bring?\u201d\n\n\u201cI bring nothing, but would have something given me.\u201d\n\nGrethel presents Hans with a calf.\n\n\u201cGood-bye, Grethel.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood-bye, Hans.\u201d\n\nHans takes the calf, puts it on his head, and the calf kicks his face.\n\n\u201cGood evening, Mother.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood evening, Hans. Where have you been?\u201d\n\n\u201cWith Grethel.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat did you take her?\u201d\n\n\u201cI took nothing, but had something given me.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat did Grethel give you?\u201d\n\n\u201cA calf.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere have you the calf, Hans?\u201d\n\n\u201cI set it on my head and it kicked my face.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat was ill done, Hans, you should have led the calf, and put it in\nthe stall.\u201d\n\n\u201cNever mind, will do better next time.\u201d\n\n\nVI\n\n\u201cWhither away, Hans?\u201d\n\n\u201cTo Grethel, Mother.\u201d\n\n\u201cBehave well, Hans.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll behave well. Good-bye, Mother.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood-bye, Hans.\u201d\n\nHans comes to Grethel. \u201cGood day, Grethel.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood day, Hans. What good thing do you bring?\u201d\n\n\u201cI bring nothing, but would have something given me.\u201d\n\nGrethel says to Hans, \u201cI will go with you.\u201d\n\nHans takes Grethel, ties her to a rope, leads her to the rack, and\nbinds her fast. Then Hans goes to his mother.\n\n\u201cGood evening, Mother.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood evening, Hans. Where have you been?\u201d\n\n\u201cWith Grethel.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat did you take her?\u201d\n\n\u201cI took her nothing.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat did Grethel give you?\u201d\n\n\u201cShe gave me nothing, she came with me.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere have you left Grethel?\u201d\n\n\u201cI led her by the rope, tied her to the rack, and scattered some grass\nfor her.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat was ill done, Hans, you should have cast friendly eyes on her.\u201d\n\n\u201cNever mind, will do better.\u201d\n\nHans went into the stable, cut out all the calves\u2019 and sheep\u2019s eyes,\nand threw them in Grethel\u2019s face. Then Grethel became angry, tore\nherself lose and ran away, and became the Bride of Hans.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nTHE IRON STOVE\n\n\nIn the days when wishing was having, a King\u2019s Son was enchanted by an\nold Witch, and shut up in an Iron Stove in a forest. There he passed\nmany years, and no one could deliver him.\n\nThen a King\u2019s Daughter came into the forest, who had lost herself and\ncould not find her father\u2019s kingdom again. After she had wandered about\nfor nine days, she at length came to the Iron Stove. Then a voice\nissued from it, and asked her, \u201cWhence come you, and whither go you?\u201d\n\nShe answered, \u201cI have lost my father\u2019s kingdom, and cannot get home\nagain.\u201d\n\nThen a voice inside the Iron Stove said, \u201cI will help you to get home,\nand that indeed most swiftly, if you will promise to do what I desire\nof you. I am the son of a far greater King than your father, and I will\nmarry you.\u201d\n\nThen was she afraid, and thought, \u201cAlas! What use could I have with\nan Iron Stove?\u201d But as she much wished to get home to her father, she\npromised to do as he desired.\n\nHe said, \u201cYou shall return here, and bring a knife with you, and scrape\na hole in the iron.\u201d\n\nThen he gave her a companion who walked near her, but did not speak.\nIn two hours he took her home. There was great joy in the castle when\nthe King\u2019s Daughter came back, and the old King fell on her neck, and\nkissed her.\n\nShe, however, was sorely troubled, and said, \u201cDear Father, what I\nhave suffered! I should never have got home again from the great wild\nforest, if I had not come to an Iron Stove. But I have been forced to\ngive my word that I will go back to it, set it free, and marry it.\u201d\n\nThen the old King was so terrified that he all but fainted, for he had\nonly this one daughter. They, therefore, resolved they would send, in\nher place, the miller\u2019s daughter, who was very beautiful. They took her\nthere, gave her a knife, and said she was to scrape at the Iron Stove.\nSo she scraped at it for four-and-twenty hours, but could not bring off\nthe least morsel of it.\n\nWhen day dawned, a voice in the stove said, \u201cIt seems to me it is day\noutside.\u201d\n\nThen she answered, \u201cIt seems so to me too. I fancy I hear the noise of\nmy father\u2019s mill.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo you are a miller\u2019s daughter! Then go your way at once. Let the\nKing\u2019s Daughter come here.\u201d\n\nShe went away at once, and told the old King that the man outside there\nwould have none of her--he wanted the King\u2019s Daughter.\n\nThey, however, still had a swineherd\u2019s daughter, who was even prettier\nthan the miller\u2019s daughter, and they determined to give her a piece\nof gold to go to the Iron Stove, instead of the King\u2019s Daughter. So\nshe was taken thither, and she also had to scrape for four-and-twenty\nhours. She, likewise, made nothing of it.\n\nWhen day broke, a voice inside the stove cried, \u201cIt seems to me it is\nday outside!\u201d\n\nThen answered she, \u201cSo it seems to me. I fancy I hear my father\u2019s horn\nblowing.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen you are a swineherd\u2019s daughter! Go away at once. Tell the King\u2019s\nDaughter to come, and tell her all must be done as was promised. And\nif she does not come, everything in the kingdom shall be ruined, and\ndestroyed, and not one stone be left standing on another.\u201d\n\nWhen the King\u2019s Daughter heard that, she began to weep. But now there\nwas nothing for it but to keep her promise. So she took leave of her\nfather, put a knife in her pocket, and went forth to the Iron Stove in\nthe forest.\n\nWhen she got there, she began to scrape, and the iron gave way, and\nwhen two hours were over, she had already scraped a small hole. Then\nshe peeped in, and saw a youth so handsome, and so brilliant with gold\nand with precious jewels, that her very soul was delighted. Therefore,\nshe went on scraping, and made the hole so large that he was able to\nget out.\n\nThen said he, \u201cYou are mine, and I am yours. You are my Bride, and have\nreleased me.\u201d\n\nHe wanted to take her away with him to his kingdom, but she entreated\nhim to let her go once again to her father. The King\u2019s Son allowed her\nto do so, but she was not to say more to her father than three words,\nand then she was to come back again.\n\nSo she went home, but she spoke more than three words, and instantly\nthe Iron Stove disappeared, and was taken far away over glass mountains\nand piercing swords. But the King\u2019s Son was set free, and no longer\nshut up in it.\n\nAfter this, she bade good-bye to her father, took some money with her,\nbut not much, and went back to the great forest, and looked for the\nIron Stove, but it was nowhere to be found. For nine days she sought\nit. Then her hunger grew so great that she did not know what to do, for\nshe could no longer live.\n\nWhen it was evening, she seated herself in a small tree, and made up\nher mind to spend the night there, as she was afraid of wild beasts.\nWhen midnight drew near, she saw in the distance a small light, and\nthought, \u201cAh, there I may be saved!\u201d She got down from the tree, and\nwent toward the light, and on the way she prayed. Then she came to a\nlittle old house, and much grass had grown all about it, and a small\nheap of wood lay in front of it.\n\nShe thought, \u201cAh, whither have I come!\u201d and peeped in through the\nwindow. But she saw nothing inside but Toads, big and little, except a\ntable covered with wine and roast meat, while the plates and glasses\nwere of silver. Then she took courage, and knocked at the door. The fat\nToad cried:\n\n \u201c_Little green Waiting-Maid,\n Waiting-Maid with the limping leg,\n Little Dog of the limping leg,\n Hop hither and thither,\n And quickly see who is without!_\u201d\n\nand a small Toad came along and opened the door to her.\n\n[Illustration: THEN THE KING\u2019S DAUGHTER CAME TO A LITTLE HOUSE]\n\nWhen she entered, they all bade her welcome, and she was forced to\nsit down. They asked, \u201cWhere have you come from, and whither are you\ngoing?\u201d\n\nThen she related all that had befallen her, and how because she had\ndisobeyed the order which had been given her not to say more than three\nwords, the stove, and the King\u2019s Son also, had disappeared, and now she\nwas seeking him over hill and dale until she found him. At that, the\nold fat one said:\n\n \u201c_Little green Waiting-Maid,\n Waiting-Maid with the limping leg,\n Little Dog of the limping leg,\n Hop hither and thither,\n And bring me the great box._\u201d\n\nThen the little one went and brought the box. After this they gave her\nmeat and drink, and took her to a well-made bed, which felt like silk\nand velvet. She laid herself therein, in God\u2019s name, and slept.\n\nWhen morning came she arose, and the old Toad gave her three needles\nout of the great box, which she was to take with her; they would be\nneeded by her, for she had to cross a high Glass Mountain, and go\nover three piercing swords and a great lake. If she did all this, she\nwould get her lover back again. Then she gave her three things, which\nshe was to take the greatest care of, namely, three large needles, a\nplough-wheel, and three nuts.\n\nWith these she traveled onwards, and when she came to the Glass\nMountain, which was so slippery, she stuck the three needles first\nbehind her feet and then before them, and so got over it. And when\nshe was over it, she hid them in a place which she marked carefully.\nAfter this she came to the three piercing swords, and then she seated\nherself on her plough-wheel, and rolled over them. At last she arrived\nin front of a great lake, and when she had crossed it, she came to a\nlarge and beautiful castle.\n\nShe went in and asked for a place. She knew, however, that the King\u2019s\nSon whom she had released from the Iron Stove in the great forest, was\nin the castle. Then she was taken as a scullery-maid at low wages. But,\nalready the King\u2019s Son had another maiden by his side, whom he wanted\nto marry, for he thought that she had long been dead.\n\nIn the evening, when she had washed up and was done, she felt in her\npocket and found the three nuts which the old Toad had given her. She\ncracked one with her teeth, and was going to eat the kernel, when, lo\nand behold, there was a stately royal garment in it! But when the Bride\nheard of this she came and asked for the dress, and wanted to buy it,\nand said, \u201cIt is not a dress for a servant-girl.\u201d\n\nShe said, no, she would not sell it, but if the Bride would grant her\none thing she should have it, and that was, leave to sleep one night\nin her Bridegroom\u2019s chamber. The Bride gave her permission because the\ndress was so pretty, and she had never had one like it.\n\nWhen it was evening, she said to her Bridegroom, \u201cThat silly girl will\nsleep in your room.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you are willing so am I,\u201d said he.\n\nShe, however, gave him a glass of wine in which she had poured a\nsleeping-draught. So the Bridegroom and the scullery-maid went to sleep\nin the room, and he slept so soundly that she could not waken him.\n\nShe wept the whole night and cried, \u201cI set you free when you were in an\nIron Stove in the wild forest. I sought you, and walked over a Glass\nMountain, and three sharp swords, and a great lake before I found you,\nand yet you will not hear me!\u201d\n\nThe servants sat by the chamber-door, and heard how she thus wept the\nwhole night through, and in the morning they told it to their lord.\n\nAnd the next evening, when she had washed up, she opened the second\nnut, and a far more beautiful dress was within it. When the Bride\nbeheld it, she wished to buy that also. But the girl would not take\nmoney, and begged that she might once again sleep in the Bridegroom\u2019s\nchamber. The Bride, however, gave him a sleeping-drink, and he slept so\nsoundly that he could hear nothing.\n\nBut the scullery-maid wept the whole night long, and cried, \u201cI set you\nfree when you were in an Iron Stove in the wild forest. I sought you,\nand walked over a Glass Mountain, and over three sharp swords and a\ngreat lake before I found you, and yet you will not hear me!\u201d\n\nThe servants sat by the chamber-door and heard her weeping the whole\nnight through, and in the morning informed their lord of it.\n\nAnd on the third evening, when she had washed up, she opened the third\nnut, and within it was a still more beautiful dress which was stiff\nwith pure gold.\n\nWhen the Bride saw that, she wanted to have it, but the maiden gave it\nup only on condition that she might for the third time sleep in the\nBridegroom\u2019s apartment. The King\u2019s Son was, However, on his guard, and\nthrew the sleeping-draught away.\n\nNow, therefore, when she began to weep and to cry, \u201cDearest Love, I set\nyou free when you were in the Iron Stove in the terrible wild forest,\u201d\nthe King\u2019s Son leapt up and said, \u201cYou are the true one, you are mine,\nand I am yours.\u201d\n\nThereupon, while it was still night, he got into a carriage with her,\nand they took away the false Bride\u2019s clothes so that she could not get\nup. When they came to the great lake, they sailed across it, and when\nthey reached the three sharp-cutting swords they seated themselves on\nthe plough-wheel, and when they got to the Glass Mountain they thrust\nthe three needles in it. And so at length they reached the little old\nhouse. But when they went inside that, it was a great castle, and the\nToads were all disenchanted, and were King\u2019s children, and full of\nhappiness.\n\nThen the wedding was celebrated, and the King\u2019s Son and the Princess\nremained in the castle, which was much larger than the castles of their\nfathers. But, as the old King grieved at being left alone, they fetched\nhim away, and brought him to live with them. And they had two Kingdoms,\nand lived together happily ever afterward.\n\n _A Mouse did run,_\n _The story\u2019s done!_\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nSWEET PORRIDGE\n\n\nThere was a poor, good little girl, who lived alone with her mother,\nand they had nothing more to eat.\n\nSo the child went into the forest, and an Old Woman met her, who knew\nof her sorrow, and gave her a Little Pot, which, when she said:\n\n \u201c_Boil, Little Pot, boil!_\u201d\n\nwould cook good sweet Porridge. And when she said:\n\n \u201c_Stop, Little Pot, stop!_\u201d\n\nit ceased to cook.\n\nThe little girl took the Pot home to her mother. And now they were\nfreed from their poverty and hunger, and ate sweet Porridge as often as\nthey liked.\n\nOnce on a time, when the little girl had gone out, the mother said:\n\n \u201c_Boil, Little Pot, boil!_\u201d\n\nAnd it began to cook, and she ate till she was satisfied. Then she\nwanted the Pot to stop cooking, but did not know the word.\n\nSo it went on cooking, and the Porridge rose over the edge. And still\nit cooked on till the kitchen, and the whole house was full, and then\nthe next house, and then the whole street, just as if it wanted to\nsatisfy the hunger of the whole world. And there was the greatest\ntrouble, and no one knew how to stop it. At last, when only a single\nhouse was left, the child came home and just said:\n\n \u201c_Stop, Little Pot, stop!_\u201d\n\nand it stopped cooking.\n\nAnd whosoever wished to return to the town, had to eat his way back.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nSNOW-WHITE AND ROSE-RED\n\n\nThere was once a poor widow who lived in a lonely cottage. In front of\nthe cottage was a garden wherein stood two rose-trees, one of which\nbore white and the other red roses. She had two children who were like\nthe two rose-trees. One was called Snow-White, and the other Rose-Red.\n\nThey were as good and happy, as busy and cheerful as ever two children\nin the world were, only Snow-White was more quiet and gentle than\nRose-Red. Rose-Red liked better to run about in the meadows and fields\nseeking flowers and catching butterflies. But Snow-White sat at home\nwith her mother, and helped her with the housework, or read to her when\nthere was nothing to do.\n\nThe two children were so fond of each other, that they always held each\nother by the hand when they went out together. When Snow-White said,\n\u201cWe will not leave each other,\u201d Rose-Red answered, \u201cNever so long as we\nlive.\u201d And their mother would add, \u201cWhat one has, she must share with\nthe other.\u201d\n\nThey often ran about the forest alone and gathered red berries. Beasts\nnever did them any harm, but came close to them trustfully. The little\nhare would eat a cabbage-leaf out of their hands, the roe grazed by\ntheir side, the stag leapt merrily by them, and the birds sat still\nupon the boughs, and sang whatever they knew.\n\nNo mishap overtook them. If they stayed too late in the forest, and\nnight came on, they laid themselves down near one another upon the\nmoss, and slept until morning. Their mother knew this, and had no worry\non their account.\n\nOne day, when they had spent the night in the wood and the dawn had\nroused them, they saw a beautiful Child in a shining white dress\nsitting near their bed. He got up and looked quite kindly at them, but\nsaid nothing and went away into the forest. And when they looked round,\nthey found that they had been sleeping quite close to a precipice, and\nwould certainly have fallen into it in the darkness, if they had gone\nonly a few paces farther. And their mother told them that it must have\nbeen the Angel who watches over good children.\n\nSnow-White and Rose-Red kept their mother\u2019s little cottage so neat,\nthat it was a pleasure to look inside it. In the summer, Rose-Red took\ncare of the house, and every morning laid a wreath of flowers by her\nmother\u2019s bed before she awoke, in which was a rose from each tree. In\nthe winter, Snow-White lit the fire and hung the kettle on the hook.\nThe kettle was of copper and shone like gold, so brightly was it\npolished.\n\nIn the evening, when the snowflakes fell, the mother said, \u201cGo,\nSnow-White, and bolt the door,\u201d and then they sat round the hearth, and\nthe mother took her spectacles and read aloud out of a large book. The\ntwo girls listened as they sat and span. And close by them lay a lamb\nupon the floor, and behind them upon a perch sat a white dove with its\nhead hidden beneath its wings.\n\nOne evening, as they were thus sitting comfortably together, some one\nknocked at the door as if he wished to be let in. The mother said,\n\u201cQuick, Rose-Red, open the door, it must be a traveler who is seeking\nshelter.\u201d\n\nRose-Red went and pushed back the bolt, thinking that it was a poor\nman, but it was not. It was a Bear that stretched his broad, black head\nwithin the door.\n\nRose-Red screamed and sprang back, the lamb bleated, the dove\nfluttered, and Snow-White hid herself behind her mother\u2019s bed.\n\nBut the Bear began to speak and said, \u201cDo not be afraid. I will do you\nno harm! I am half-frozen, and only want to warm myself a little beside\nyou.\u201d\n\n\u201cPoor Bear,\u201d said the mother, \u201clie down by the fire. Only take care\nthat you do not burn your coat.\u201d Then she cried, \u201cSnow-White, Rose-Red,\ncome out, the Bear will do you no harm, he means well.\u201d\n\nSo they both came out, and by-and-by the lamb and dove came nearer, and\nwere not afraid of him.\n\nThe Bear said, \u201cHere, Children, knock the snow out of my coat a\nlittle;\u201d so they brought the broom and swept the Bear\u2019s hide clean.\nAnd he stretched himself by the fire and growled contentedly and\ncomfortably.\n\nIt was not long before they grew quite at home, and played tricks with\ntheir clumsy guest. They tugged at his hair with their hands, put their\nfeet upon his back and rolled him about, or they took a hazel-switch\nand beat him, and, when he growled, they laughed. But the Bear took it\nall in good part, only when they were too rough he called out, \u201cLeave\nme alive, Children:\n\n \u201c_Snowy-white, Rosy-red,_\n _Will you beat your lover dead?_\u201d\n\nWhen it was bedtime, and the others went to sleep, the mother said to\nthe Bear, \u201cYou may lie there by the hearth, and then you will be safe\nfrom the cold and the bad weather.\u201d\n\nAs soon as day dawned the two children let him out, and he trotted\nacross the snow into the forest.\n\nHenceforth the Bear came every evening at the same time, laid himself\ndown by the hearth, and let the children amuse themselves with him as\nmuch as they liked. They got so used to him, that the doors were never\nfastened until their black friend had arrived.\n\nWhen spring was come and all outside was green, the Bear said one\nmorning to Snow-White, \u201cNow I must go away, and cannot come back for\nthe whole summer.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere are you going, then, dear Bear?\u201d asked Snow-White.\n\n\u201cI must go into the forest and guard my treasures from the wicked\nDwarfs. In the winter, when the earth is frozen hard, they are obliged\nto stay below and cannot work their way through. But now, when the sun\nhas thawed and warmed the earth, they break through it, and come out to\npry and steal. And what once gets into their hands and in their caves,\ndoes not easily see daylight again.\u201d\n\nSnow-White was very sorry for his going away. And as she unbolted the\ndoor for him, and the Bear was hurrying out, he caught against the bolt\nand a piece of his hairy coat was torn off. It seemed to Snow-White as\nif she saw gold shining through it, but she was not sure about it. The\nBear ran away quickly, and was soon out of sight behind the trees.\n\nA short time afterward, the mother sent her children into the forest\nto get fire-wood. There they found a big tree which lay felled on the\nground, and close by the trunk something was jumping backward and\nforward in the grass. But they could not make out what it was.\n\nWhen they came nearer they saw a Dwarf with an old withered face and\na snow-white beard a yard long. The end of the beard was caught in a\ncrevice of the tree, and the little fellow was jumping backward and\nforward like a dog tied to a rope, and did not know what to do.\n\nHe glared at the girls with his fiery red eyes and cried, \u201cWhy do you\nstand there? Can you not come here and help me?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat are you about there, Little Man?\u201d asked Rose-Red.\n\n\u201cYou stupid, prying goose!\u201d answered the Dwarf; \u201cI was going to split\nthe tree to get a little wood for cooking. The little bit of food that\none of us wants gets burnt up directly with thick logs. We do not\nswallow so much as you coarse, greedy folk. I had just driven the wedge\nsafely in, and everything was going as I wished; but the wretched wood\nwas too smooth and suddenly sprang asunder, and the tree closed so\nquickly that I could not pull out my beautiful white beard. So now it\nis tight in, and I cannot get away. And you silly, sleek, milk-faced\nthings laugh! Ugh! how odious you are!\u201d\n\nThe children tried very hard, but they could not pull the beard out, it\nwas caught too fast.\n\n\u201cI will run and fetch some one,\u201d said Rose-Red.\n\n\u201cYou senseless goose!\u201d snarled the Dwarf. \u201cWhy should you fetch\nsome one? You are already two too many for me. Can you not think of\nsomething better?\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t be impatient,\u201d said Snow-White, \u201cI will help you,\u201d and she\npulled her scissors out of her pocket, and cut off the end of the beard.\n\nAs soon as the Dwarf felt himself free, he grabbed a bag which lay\namongst the roots of the tree, and which was full of gold, and lifted\nit up, grumbling to himself, \u201cRude people, to cut off a piece of my\nfine beard! Bad luck to you!\u201d and then he swung the bag upon his back,\nand went off without even once looking at the children.\n\nSome time after that Snow-White and Rose-Red went to catch a dish of\nfish. As they came near the brook, they saw something like a large\ngrasshopper jumping toward the water, as if it were going to leap in.\nThey ran to it and found it was the Dwarf.\n\n\u201cWhere are you going?\u201d said Rose-Red; \u201cyou surely don\u2019t want to go into\nthe water?\u201d\n\n[Illustration: \u201cDON\u2019T BE IMPATIENT,\u201d SAID SNOW-WHITE, \u201cI WILL HELP YOU\u201d]\n\n\u201cI am not such a fool!\u201d cried the Dwarf; \u201cdon\u2019t you see that the\naccursed fish wants to pull me in?\u201d The Little Man had been sitting\nthere fishing, and unluckily the wind had twisted his beard with the\nfishing-line. Just then a big fish bit, and the feeble creature had not\nstrength to pull it out. The fish kept the upper hand and was pulling\nthe Dwarf toward him. He held on to all the reeds and rushes, but it\nwas of little good, he was forced to follow the fish, and was in\ngreat danger of being dragged into the water.\n\nThe girls came just in time. They held him fast and tried to free his\nbeard from the line. But all in vain, beard and line were entangled\nfast together. Nothing was left but to bring out the scissors and cut\nthe beard, whereby a small part of it was lost.\n\nWhen the Dwarf saw that, he screamed out, \u201cIs that civil, you\ntoadstool, to disfigure one\u2019s face? Was it not enough to clip off the\nend of my beard? Now you have cut off the best part of it. I cannot\nlet myself be seen by my people. I wish you had been made to run the\nsoles off your shoes!\u201d Then he took out a sack of pearls which lay in\nthe rushes, and, without saying a word more, he dragged it away and\ndisappeared behind a stone.\n\nIt happened that soon afterward the mother sent the two children to the\ntown to buy needles and thread, and laces and ribbons. The road led\nthem across a heath upon which huge pieces of rock lay strewn about.\nThey now noticed a large bird hovering in the air, flying slowly round\nand round above them. It sank lower and lower, and at last settled near\na rock not far off. Directly afterward they heard a loud, piteous cry.\nThey ran up and saw, with horror, that the eagle had seized their old\nacquaintance the Dwarf, and was going to carry him off.\n\nThe children, full of pity, at once took tight hold of the Little Man,\nand pulled against the eagle so long that at last he let his booty go.\n\nAs soon as the Dwarf had recovered from his first fright, he cried\nwith his shrill voice, \u201cCould you not have done it more carefully! You\ndragged at my brown coat, so that it is all torn and full of holes. You\nhelpless, clumsy creatures!\u201d Then he took up a sack full of precious\nstones, and slipped away again under the rock into his hole.\n\nThe girls, who by this time were used to his thanklessness, went on\ntheir way and did their business in the town.\n\nAs they crossed the heath again on their way home they surprised the\nDwarf, who had emptied out his bag of precious stones in a clean spot,\nand had not thought that any one would come there at such a late hour.\nThe evening sun shone upon the brilliant stones. They glittered and\nsparkled with all colors so beautifully, that the children stood still\nand looked at them.\n\n\u201cWhy do you stand gaping there?\u201d cried the Dwarf, and his ashen-gray\nface became copper-red with rage. He was going on with his bad words,\nwhen a loud growling was heard, and a black Bear came trotting toward\nthem out of the forest. The Dwarf sprang up in a fright, but he could\nnot get to his cave, for the Bear was already close.\n\nThen in the fear of his heart he cried, \u201cDear Mr. Bear, spare me! I\nwill give you all my treasures! Look, the beautiful jewels lying there!\nGrant me my life. What do you want with such a slender little fellow\nas I? You would not feel me between your teeth. Come, take these two\nwicked girls, they are tender morsels for you, fat as young quails. For\nmercy\u2019s sake eat them!\u201d\n\nThe Bear took no heed of his words, but gave the wicked creature a\nsingle blow with his paw, and he did not move again.\n\nThe girls had run away, but the Bear called to them, \u201cSnow-White and\nRose-Red, do not be afraid. Wait, I will come with you.\u201d\n\nThen they knew his voice and waited. And when he came up to them,\nsuddenly his bear-skin fell off, and he stood there a handsome man,\nclothed all in gold.\n\n\u201cI am a King\u2019s Son,\u201d he said, \u201cand I was bewitched by that wicked\nDwarf, who had stolen my treasures. I have had to run about the forest\nas a savage bear until I was freed by his death. Now he has got his\nwell-deserved punishment.\u201d\n\nSnow-White was married to him, and Rose-Red to his brother. They\ndivided between them the great treasure which the Dwarf had gathered\ntogether in his cave. The old mother lived peacefully and happily with\nher children for many years. She took the two rose-trees with her, and\nthey stood before her window, and every year bore the most beautiful\nroses, white and red.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nTHE HEDGE-KING\n\n\nIn former days, every sound had its meaning, the birds also had their\nown language which every one understood. Now it only sounds like\nchirping, screeching, and whistling, and to some, like music without\nwords.\n\nIt came into the birds\u2019 mind, however, that they would no longer be\nwithout a ruler, and would choose one of themselves to be King.\n\nOne alone amongst them, the green plover, was opposed to this. He had\nlived free and would die free, and anxiously flying hither and thither,\nhe cried, \u201cWhere shall I go? where shall I go?\u201d He retired into a\nlonely and unfrequented marsh, and showed himself no more among his\nfellows.\n\nThe birds now wished to discuss the matter, and on a fine May morning\nthey all gathered together from the woods and fields: eagles and\nchaffinches, owls and crows, larks and sparrows, how can I name them\nall? Even the cuckoo came, and the hoopoe, his clerk, who is so called\nbecause he is always heard a few days before him, and a very small bird\nwhich as yet had no name, mingled with the band.\n\nThe hen, which by some accident had heard nothing of the whole matter,\nwas astonished at the great assemblage. \u201cWhat, what, what is going to\nbe done?\u201d she cackled. But the cock calmed his beloved hen, and said,\n\u201cOnly rich people,\u201d and told her what they had on hand.\n\nIt was decided, however, that the one who could fly the highest should\nbe King. A tree-frog which was sitting among the bushes, when he heard\nthat, cried a warning, \u201cNo, no, no! no!\u201d because he thought that many\ntears would be shed because of this. But the crow said, \u201cCaw, caw,\u201d and\nthat all would pass off peaceably.\n\nIt was now determined that, on this fine morning, they should at once\nbegin to ascend, so that hereafter no one should be able to say, \u201cI\ncould easily have flown much higher, but the evening came on, and I\ncould do no more.\u201d\n\nOn a given signal, therefore, the whole troop rose up in the air. The\ndust ascended from the land, and there was tremendous fluttering and\nwhirring and beating of wings. It looked as if a black cloud was rising\nup. The little birds were, however, soon left behind. They could go no\nfarther, and fell back to the ground.\n\nThe larger birds held out longer, but none could equal the eagle, who\nmounted so high that he could have picked the eyes out of the sun. And\nwhen he saw that the others could not get up to him, he thought, \u201cWhy\nshould I fly any higher, I am the King?\u201d and began to let himself down\nagain.\n\nThe birds beneath him at once cried to him, \u201cYou must be our King, no\none has flown so high as you.\u201d\n\n\u201cExcept me,\u201d screamed the little fellow without a name, who had crept\ninto the breast-feathers of the eagle. And as he was not at all tired,\nhe rose up and mounted so high that he reached heaven itself. When,\nhowever, he had gone as far as this, he folded his wings together, and\ncalled down with clear and penetrating voice:\n\n \u201c_I am King! I am King!_\u201d\n\n\u201cYou, our King?\u201d cried the birds angrily. \u201cYou have done this by trick\nand cunning!\u201d\n\nSo they made another condition. He should be King who could go down\nlowest in the ground. How the goose did flap about with its broad\nbreast when it was once more on the land! How quickly the cock\nscratched a hole! The duck came off the worst of all, for she leapt\ninto a ditch, but sprained her legs, and waddled away to a neighboring\npond, crying, \u201cCheating, cheating!\u201d\n\nThe little bird without a name, however, sought out a mouse-hole,\nslipped down into it, and cried out of it, with his small voice:\n\n \u201c_I am King! I am King!_\u201d\n\n\u201cYou our King!\u201d cried the birds still more angrily. \u201cDo you think your\ncunning shall prevail?\u201d\n\nThey determined to keep him a prisoner in the hole and starve him out.\nThe owl was placed as sentinel in front of it, and was not to let the\nrascal out if she had any value for her life. When evening was come all\nthe birds were feeling very tired after exerting their wings so much\nthat they went to bed with their wives and children.\n\nThe owl alone remained standing by the mouse-hole, gazing steadfastly\ninto it with her great eyes. In the meantime she, too, had grown tired\nand thought to herself, \u201cYou might certainly shut one eye, you will\nstill watch with the other, and the little miscreant shall not come out\nof his hole.\u201d So she shut one eye, and with the other looked straight\nat the mouse-hole.\n\nThe little fellow put his head out and peeped, and wanted to slip away,\nbut the owl came forward, and he drew his head back. Then the owl\nopened the one eye again, and shut the other, intending to shut them in\nturn all through the night.\n\nBut when she next shut the one eye, she forgot to open the other. And\nas soon as both her eyes were shut, she fell asleep. The little fellow\nsoon saw that, and slipped away.\n\nFrom that day forth, the owl has never dared to show herself by\ndaylight, for if she does the other birds chase her and pluck her\nfeathers out. She only flies out by night, but hates and pursues mice\nbecause they make such ugly holes.\n\nThe little bird, too, is very unwilling to let himself be seen, because\nhe is afraid it will cost him his life if he is caught. He steals\nabout in the hedges, and when he is quite safe, he sometimes cries, \u201cI\nam King,\u201d and for this reason, the other birds call him in mockery,\n\u201cHedge-King.\u201d\n\nNo one, however, was so happy as the lark at not having to obey the\nlittle King. As soon as the sun appears, she ascends high in the air\nand cries, \u201cAh, how beautiful that is! beautiful that is! beautiful,\nbeautiful! ah, how beautiful that is!\u201d\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nONE-EYE, TWO-EYES, AND THREE-EYES\n\n\nThere was once a woman who had three daughters, the eldest of whom\nwas called One-Eye, because she had only one eye in the middle of her\nforehead, and the second, Two-Eyes, because she had two eyes like other\nfolks, and the youngest, Three-Eyes, because she had three eyes; and\nher third eye was in the centre of her forehead.\n\nNow, as Two-Eyes saw just as other human beings did, her sisters and\nher mother could not endure her. They said to her, \u201cYou, with your two\neyes, are no better than common folk. You do not belong to us!\u201d\n\nThey pushed her about, and threw old clothes to her, and gave her\nnothing to eat but what they left, and did everything that they could\nto make her unhappy.\n\nIt came to pass that Two-Eyes had to go out into the fields and tend\nthe goat, but she was still very hungry, because her sisters had given\nher so little to eat. She sat down on a ridge and began to weep, and so\nbitterly that two streams ran down from her eyes.\n\nAnd one day, when she looked up in her grief, a woman was standing\nbeside her, who said, \u201cWhy are you weeping, little Two-Eyes?\u201d\n\nTwo-Eyes answered, \u201cHave I not reason to weep, when I have two eyes\nlike other people, and my sisters and mother hate me for it, and push\nme from one corner to another, throw old clothes at me, and give me\nnothing to eat but the scraps they leave? To-day, they have given me so\nlittle that I am still very hungry.\u201d\n\nThen the Wise Woman said, \u201cWipe away your tears, Two-Eyes, and I will\ntell you something to stop your ever suffering from hunger again; just\nsay to your goat:\n\n \u201c\u2018_Bleat, bleat, my little Goat, bleat,\n Cover the table with something to eat!_\u2019\n\nand then a clean well-spread little table will stand before you, with\nthe most delicious food upon it, of which you may eat as much as you\nare inclined. And when you have had enough, and have no more need of\nthe little table, just say:\n\n \u201c\u2018_Bleat, bleat, my little Goat, I pray,\n And take the table quite away!_\u2019\n\nand then it will vanish again from your sight.\u201d\n\nHereupon the Wise Woman departed.\n\nBut Two-Eyes thought, \u201cI must instantly make a trial, and see if what\nshe said is true, for I am far too hungry,\u201d and she said:\n\n \u201c_Bleat, bleat, my little Goat, bleat,\n Cover the table with something to eat!_\u201d\n\nand scarcely had she spoken the words than a little table, covered with\na white cloth, was standing there, and on it was a plate with a knife\nand fork, and a silver spoon; and the most delicious food was there\nalso, warm and smoking as if it had just come out of the kitchen.\n\nThen Two-Eyes said a little prayer she knew, \u201cLord God, be with us\nalways, Amen,\u201d and helped herself to some food, and enjoyed it. And\nwhen she was satisfied, she said, as the Wise Woman had taught her:\n\n \u201c_Bleat, bleat, my little Goat, I pray,\n And take the table quite away!_\u201d\n\nand immediately the little table and everything on it was gone again.\n\n\u201cThat is a delightful way of keeping house!\u201d thought Two-Eyes, and was\nquite glad and happy.\n\nIn the evening, when she went home with her goat, she found a small\nearthenware dish with some food, which her sisters had set ready for\nher, but she did not touch it. Next day, she again went out with her\ngoat, and left the few bits of broken bread which had been handed to\nher, lying untouched.\n\nThe first and second time that she did this, her sisters did not notice\nit, but as it happened every time, they did observe it, and said,\n\u201cThere is something wrong about Two-Eyes, she always leaves her food\nuntasted. She used to eat up everything that was given her. She must\nhave discovered other ways of getting food.\u201d\n\nIn order that they might learn the truth, they resolved to send One-Eye\nwith Two-Eyes, when she went to drive her goat to the pasture, to watch\nwhat Two-Eyes did while she was there, and whether any one brought\nher things to eat and drink. So when Two-Eyes set out the next time,\nOne-Eye went to her and said, \u201cI will go with you to the pasture, and\nsee that the goat is well taken care of, and driven where there is\nfood.\u201d\n\nBut Two-Eyes knew what was in One-Eye\u2019s mind, and drove the goat into\nhigh grass and said, \u201cCome, One-Eye, we will sit down, and I will sing\nsomething to you.\u201d\n\nOne-Eye sat down, and was tired with the unaccustomed walk and the heat\nof the sun, and Two-Eyes sang constantly:\n\n \u201c_One-Eye, wakest thou?\n One-Eye, sleepest thou?_\u201d\n\nuntil One-Eye shut her one eye, and fell asleep. As soon as Two-Eyes\nsaw that One-Eye was fast asleep, and could discover nothing, she said:\n\n \u201c_Bleat, bleat, my little Goat, bleat,\n Cover the table with something to eat!_\u201d\n\nand seated herself at her table, and ate and drank until she was\nsatisfied. Then she again cried:\n\n \u201c_Bleat, bleat, my little Goat, I pray,\n And take the table quite away!_\u201d\n\nand in an instant all was gone.\n\nTwo-Eyes now awakened One-Eye, and said, \u201cOne-Eye, you want to take\ncare of the goat, and yet go to sleep while you are doing it! In the\nmeantime, the goat might run all over the world. Come, let us go home\nagain.\u201d\n\nSo they went home, and again Two-Eyes let her little dish stand\nuntouched, and One-Eye could not tell her mother why she would not eat\nit, and to excuse herself said, \u201cI fell asleep when I was out.\u201d\n\nNext day, the mother said to Three-Eyes, \u201cThis time you shall go and\nwatch if Two-Eyes eats anything when she is out, and if any one fetches\nher food and drink, for she must eat and drink in secret.\u201d\n\nSo Three-Eyes went to Two-Eyes, and said, \u201cI will go with you and see\nif the goat is taken proper care of, and driven where there is food.\u201d\n\nBut Two-Eyes knew what was in Three-Eyes\u2019 mind, and drove the goat into\nhigh grass and said, \u201cWe will sit down, and I will sing something to\nyou, Three-Eyes.\u201d\n\nThree-Eyes sat down and was tired with the walk and with the heat of\nthe sun, and Two-Eyes began the same song as before, and sang:\n\n \u201c_Three-Eyes, are you waking?_\u201d\n\nbut then, instead of singing,\n\n \u201c_Three-Eyes, are you sleeping?_\u201d\n\nas she ought to have done, she thoughtlessly sang:\n\n \u201c_Two-Eyes, are you sleeping?_\u201d\n\nand sang all the time,\n\n \u201c_Three-Eyes, are you waking?\n Two-Eyes, are you sleeping?_\u201d\n\nThen two of the eyes which Three-Eyes had, shut and fell asleep, but\nthe third, as it had not been named in the song, did not sleep. It is\ntrue that Three-Eyes shut it, but only in her cunning, to pretend it\nwas asleep too. But it blinked, and could see everything very well. And\nwhen Two-Eyes thought that Three-eyes was fast asleep, she used her\nlittle charm:\n\n \u201c_Bleat, bleat, my little Goat, bleat,\n Cover the table with something to eat!_\u201d\n\nand ate and drank as much as her heart desired, and then ordered the\ntable to go away again:\n\n \u201c_Bleat, bleat, my little Goat, I pray,\n And take the table quite away!_\u201d\n\nand Three-Eyes had seen everything.\n\nThen Two-Eyes came to her, waked her and said, \u201cHave you been asleep,\nThree-Eyes? You are a good caretaker! Come, we will go home.\u201d\n\nAnd when they got home, Two-Eyes again did not eat, and Three-Eyes said\nto the mother, \u201cNow, I know why that proud thing there does not eat.\nWhen she is out, she says to the goat:\n\n \u201c\u2018_Bleat, bleat, my little Goat, bleat,\n Cover the table with something to eat!_\u2019\n\nand then a little table appears before her covered with the best of\nfood, much better than any we have here. When she has eaten all she\nwants, she says:\n\n \u201c\u2018_Bleat, bleat, my little Goat, I pray,\n And take the table quite away!_\u2019\n\nand all disappears. I watched everything closely. She put two of my\neyes to sleep by using a charm, but luckily the one in my forehead kept\nawake.\u201d\n\nThen the envious mother cried, \u201cDo you want to fare better than we do?\nThe desire shall pass away!\u201d and she fetched a butcher\u2019s knife, and\nthrust it into the heart of the goat, which fell down dead.\n\nWhen Two-Eyes saw that, full of sorrow, she went outside, and seated\nherself on the ridge of grass at the edge of the field, and wept bitter\ntears.\n\nSuddenly the Wise Woman once more stood by her side, and said,\n\u201cTwo-Eyes, why are you weeping?\u201d\n\n\u201cHave I not reason to weep?\u201d she answered. \u201cThe goat, which covered the\ntable for me every day when I spoke your charm, has been killed by my\nmother, and now I shall again have to bear hunger and want.\u201d\n\nThe Wise Woman said, \u201cTwo-Eyes, I will give you a piece of good advice.\nAsk your sisters to give you the entrails of the slaughtered goat, and\nbury them in the ground in front of the house, and your fortune will be\nmade.\u201d\n\nThen she vanished, and Two-Eyes went home and said to her sisters,\n\u201cDear Sisters, do give me some part of my goat. I don\u2019t wish for what\nis good, but give me the entrails.\u201d\n\nThen they laughed and said, \u201cIf that\u2019s all you want, you may have it.\u201d\n\nSo Two-Eyes took the entrails and buried them quietly, at evening, in\nfront of the house-door, as the Wise Woman had counseled her to do.\n\nNext morning, when they all awoke, and went to the house-door, there\nstood a wonderful, magnificent tree with leaves of silver, and fruit\nof gold hanging among them, so that in all the wide world there was\nnothing more beautiful or precious. They did not know how the tree\ncould have come there during the night, but Two-Eyes saw that it had\ngrown up out of the entrails of the goat, for it was standing on the\nexact spot where she had buried them.\n\nThen the mother said to One-Eye, \u201cClimb up, my Child, and gather some\nof the fruit of the tree for us.\u201d\n\nOne-Eye climbed up, but when she was about to lay hold of one of the\ngolden apples, the branch escaped from her hands. And that happened\neach time, so that she could not pluck a single apple, let her do what\nshe might.\n\nThen said the mother, \u201cThree-Eyes, do you climb up. You with your three\neyes can look about you better than One-Eye.\u201d\n\nOne-Eye slipped down, and Three-Eyes climbed up. Three-Eyes was not\nmore skillful, and might search as she liked, but the golden apples\nalways escaped her.\n\nAt length, the mother grew impatient, and climbed up herself, but could\ngrasp the fruit no better than One-Eye and Three-Eyes, for she always\nclutched empty air.\n\nThen said Two-Eyes, \u201cI will go up, perhaps I may succeed better.\u201d\n\nThe sisters cried, \u201cYou, indeed, with your two eyes! What can you do?\u201d\n\nBut Two-Eyes climbed up, and the golden apples did not get out of her\nway, but came into her hand of their own accord, so that she could\npluck them one after the other. And she brought a whole apronful down\nwith her. The mother took them away from her, and instead of treating\npoor Two-Eyes any better for this, she and One-Eye and Three-Eyes were\nonly envious, because Two-Eyes alone had been able to get the fruit.\nThey treated her still more cruelly.\n\nIt so befell that once, when they were all standing together by the\ntree, a young Knight came up. \u201cQuick, Two-Eyes,\u201d cried the two sisters,\n\u201ccreep under this and don\u2019t disgrace us!\u201d and with all speed they\nturned an empty barrel, which was standing close by the tree, over\npoor Two-Eyes, and they pushed the golden apples which she had been\ngathering, under it too.\n\nWhen the Knight came nearer he was a handsome lord, who stopped and\nadmired the magnificent gold and silver tree, and said to the two\nsisters, \u201cTo whom does this fine tree belong? Any one who will bestow\none branch of it on me may, in return for it, ask whatsoever he\ndesires.\u201d\n\nThen One-Eye and Three-Eyes replied that the tree belonged to them, and\nthat they would give him a branch. They both tried very hard, but they\nwere not able to do it, for every time the branches and fruit moved\naway from them.\n\nThen said the Knight, \u201cIt is very strange that the tree should belong\nto you, and yet you should still not be able to break a piece off.\u201d\n\nThey again insisted that the tree was their property. Whilst they were\nsaying so, Two-Eyes rolled a couple of golden apples from under the\nbarrel to the feet of the Knight, for she was vexed with One-Eye and\nThree-Eyes, for not speaking the truth.\n\nWhen the Knight saw the apples he was astonished, and asked from whence\nthey came. One-Eye and Three-Eyes answered that they had another\nsister, who was not allowed to show herself, for she had only two eyes\nlike any common person.\n\nThe Knight, however, desired to see her, and cried, \u201cTwo-Eyes, come\nhither!\u201d\n\nThen Two-Eyes, quite cheered, came from beneath the barrel, and the\nKnight was surprised at her great beauty, and said, \u201cYou, Two-Eyes, can\ncertainly break off a branch from the tree for me.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d replied Two-Eyes, \u201cthat I certainly shall be able to do, for the\ntree belongs to me.\u201d And she climbed up, and with the greatest ease\nbroke off a branch with beautiful silver leaves and golden fruit, and\ngave it to the Knight.\n\nThen said the Knight, \u201cTwo-Eyes, what shall I give you for it?\u201d\n\n\u201cAlas!\u201d answered Two-Eyes, \u201cI suffer from hunger and thirst, grief and\nwant, from early morning till late night. If you would take me with\nyou, and deliver me from these things, I should be happy.\u201d\n\nSo the Knight lifted Two-Eyes on his horse, and took her home with\nhim to his father\u2019s castle. There he gave her beautiful clothes and\nmeat and drink to her heart\u2019s content. And as he loved her so much he\nmarried her, and the wedding was solemnized with great rejoicing.\n\nWhen Two-Eyes was thus carried away by the handsome Knight, her two\nsisters grudged her good fortune in downright earnest. \u201cThe wonderful\ntree, however, remains with us,\u201d thought they, \u201cand even if we can\ngather no fruit from it, every one will stand still and look at it, and\ncome to us and admire it. Who knows what good things may be in store\nfor us?\u201d\n\nBut next morning, the tree had vanished, and all their hopes were at\nan end. And when Two-Eyes looked out of the window of her own little\nroom, to her great delight it was standing in front of it. And so it\nhad followed her.\n\nTwo-Eyes lived a long time in happiness. One day, two poor women came\nto her castle, and begged for alms. She looked in their faces, and\nrecognized her sisters, One-Eye, and Three-Eyes, who had fallen into\nsuch poverty that they had to wander about and beg their bread from\ndoor to door. Two-Eyes made them welcome, and was kind to them, and\ntook care of them, so that they both, with all their hearts, repented\nof the evil that they had done in their youth to their sister.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nTHE GOOSE-GIRL AT THE WELL\n\n\n_The Old Witch_\n\nThere was once upon a time, a very old woman, who lived with her flock\nof geese in a waste place among the mountains, and there had a little\nhouse. The waste was surrounded by a large forest, and every morning\nthe Old Woman took her crutch and hobbled into it.\n\nThere, however, the dame was quite active, more so than any one would\nhave thought, considering her age, and collected grass for her geese,\npicked all the wild fruit she could reach, and carried everything home\non her back. Any one would have thought that the heavy load would have\nweighed her to the ground, but she always brought it safely home.\n\nIf any one met her, she greeted him quite courteously. \u201cGood day, dear\nCountryman, it is a fine day. Ah! you wonder that I should drag grass\nabout, but every one must take his burthen on his back.\u201d\n\nNevertheless, people did not like to meet her if they could help it,\nand took by preference a roundabout way. And when a father with his\nboys passed her, he whispered to them, \u201cBeware of the Old Woman. She\nhas claws beneath her gloves. She is a Witch.\u201d\n\nOne morning, a handsome young man was going through the forest. The sun\nshone bright, the birds sang, a cool breeze crept through the leaves,\nand he was full of joy and gladness. He had as yet met no one, when he\nsuddenly perceived the old Witch kneeling on the ground cutting grass\nwith a sickle. She had already thrust a whole load into her cloth, and\nnear it stood two baskets, which were filled with wild apples and pears.\n\n\u201cBut, good little Mother,\u201d said he, \u201chow can you carry all that away?\u201d\n\n\u201cI must carry it, dear Sir,\u201d answered she; \u201crich folk\u2019s children have\nno need to do such things, but with the peasant folk the saying goes,\n\u2018Don\u2019t look behind you, you will only see how crooked your back is!\u2019\n\n\u201cWill you help me?\u201d she said, as he remained standing by her. \u201cYou have\nstill a straight back and young legs, it would be a trifle to you.\nBesides, my house is not so very far from here. It stands there on the\nheath behind the hill. How soon you would bound up thither!\u201d\n\nThe young man took compassion on the Old Woman. \u201cMy father is certainly\nno peasant,\u201d replied he, \u201cbut a rich Count. Nevertheless, that you may\nsee it is not only peasants who can carry things, I will take your\nbundle.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you will try it,\u201d said she, \u201cI shall be very glad. You will\ncertainly have to walk for an hour, but what will that signify to you?\nOnly you must carry the apples and pears as well.\u201d\n\nIt now seemed to the young man just a little serious, when he heard\nof an hour\u2019s walk, but the Old Woman would not let him off, packed the\nbundle on his back, and hung the two baskets on his arm. \u201cSee, it is\nquite light,\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cNo, it is not light,\u201d answered the Count, and pulled a rueful\nface. \u201cVerily, the bundle weighs as heavily as if it were full of\ncobblestones, and the apples and pears are as heavy as lead! I can\nscarcely breathe.\u201d\n\nHe had a mind to put everything down again, but the Old Woman would\nnot allow it. \u201cJust look,\u201d said she mockingly, \u201cthe young gentleman\nwill not carry what I, an old woman, have so often dragged along! You\nare ready with fine words, but when it comes to being in earnest, you\nwant to take to your heels. Why are you standing loitering there?\u201d she\ncontinued. \u201cStep out. No one will take the bundle off again.\u201d\n\nAs long as he walked on level ground, it was still bearable, but when\nthey came to the hill and had to climb, and the stones rolled down\nunder his feet as if they were alive, it was beyond his strength. The\ndrops of perspiration stood on his forehead, and ran, hot and cold,\ndown his back.\n\n\u201cDame,\u201d said he, \u201cI can go no farther. I want to rest a little.\u201d\n\n\u201cNot here,\u201d answered the Old Woman, \u201cwhen we have arrived at our\njourney\u2019s end, you can rest. But now you must go forward. Who knows\nwhat good it may do you?\u201d\n\n\u201cOld woman, you are shameless!\u201d said the Count, and tried to throw off\nthe bundle, but he labored in vain. It stuck as fast to his back, as if\nit grew there. He turned and twisted, but he could not get rid of it.\n\nThe Old Woman laughed at this, and sprang about quite delighted on her\ncrutch. \u201cDon\u2019t get angry, dear Sir,\u201d said she, \u201cyou are growing as red\nin the face as a turkey-cock! Carry your bundle patiently. I will give\nyou a good present when we get home.\u201d\n\nWhat could he do? He was obliged to submit to his fate, and crawl\nalong patiently behind the Old Woman. She seemed to grow more and more\nnimble, and his burden still heavier. All at once, she made a spring,\njumped on to the bundle and seated herself on the top of it. And\nhowever withered she might be, she was yet heavier than the stoutest\ncountry lass.\n\nThe youth\u2019s knees trembled, but when he did not go on, the Old Woman\nhit him about the legs with a switch and with stinging-nettles.\nGroaning continually, he climbed the mountain, and at length reached\nthe Old Woman\u2019s house, when he was just about to drop.\n\nWhen the geese perceived the Old Woman, they flapped their wings,\nstretched out their necks, ran to meet her, cackling all the while.\nBehind the flock walked, stick in hand, an old wench, strong and big,\nbut ugly as night. \u201cGood Mother,\u201d said she to the Old Woman, \u201chas\nanything happened to you, you have stayed away so long?\u201d\n\n\u201cBy no means, my dear Daughter,\u201d answered she, \u201cI have met with nothing\nbad, but, on the contrary, with this kind gentleman, who has carried\nmy burthen for me. Only think, he even took me on his back when I was\ntired. The way, too, has not seemed long to us. We have been merry, and\nhave been cracking jokes with each other all the time.\u201d\n\nAt last the Old Woman slid down, took the bundle off the young man\u2019s\nback, and the baskets from his arm, looked at him quite kindly, and\nsaid, \u201cNow seat yourself on the bench before the door, and rest. You\nhave fairly earned your wages, and they shall not be wanting.\u201d\n\nThen she said to the goose-girl, \u201cGo into the house, my little\nDaughter, it is not becoming for you to be alone with a young\ngentleman. One must not pour oil on to the fire, he might fall in love\nwith you.\u201d\n\nThe Count knew not whether to laugh or to cry. \u201cSuch a sweetheart as\nthat,\u201d thought he, \u201ccould not touch my heart, even if she were thirty\nyears younger.\u201d\n\nIn the meantime, the Old Woman stroked and fondled her geese as if they\nwere children, and then went into the house with her daughter. The\nyouth lay down on the bench, under a wild apple-tree. The air was warm\nand mild. On all sides stretched a green meadow, which was set with\ncowslips, wild thyme, and a thousand other flowers. Through the midst\nof it rippled a clear brook on which the sun sparkled, and the white\ngeese went walking backward and forward, or paddled in the water.\n\n\u201cIt is quite delightful here,\u201d said he, \u201cbut I am so tired that I\ncannot keep my eyes open. I will sleep a little. If only a gust of wind\ndoes not come and blow my legs off my body, for they are as brittle as\ntinder.\u201d\n\nWhen he had slept a little while, the Old Woman came and shook him till\nhe awoke. \u201cSit up,\u201d said she, \u201cyou cannot stay here. I have certainly\ntreated you badly, still it has not cost you your life. Of money and\nland you have no need, here is something else for you.\u201d\n\nThereupon she thrust a little book into his hand, which was cut out of\na single emerald. \u201cTake great care of it,\u201d said she, \u201cit will bring you\ngood fortune.\u201d\n\nThe Count sprang up, and as he felt that he was quite fresh, and had\nrecovered his vigor, he thanked the Old Woman for her present, and set\noff without even once looking back at the beautiful daughter. When he\nwas already some way off, he still heard in the distance the noisy cry\nof the geese.\n\nFor three days, the Count had to wander in the wilderness before he\ncould find his way out. He then reached a large town. As no one knew\nhim, he was led into the royal palace, where the King and Queen were\nsitting on their throne. The Count fell on one knee, drew the emerald\nbook out of his pocket, and laid it at the Queen\u2019s feet. She bade him\nrise and hand her the little book.\n\nHardly, however, had she opened it, and looked therein, than she fell\nas if dead to the ground. The Count was seized by the King\u2019s servants,\nand was being led to prison, when the Queen opened her eyes, and\nordered them to release him, and every one was to go out, as she wished\nto speak with him in private.\n\nWhen the Queen was alone, she began to weep bitterly, and said, \u201cOf\nwhat use to me are the splendors and honors with which I am surrounded!\nEvery morning I awake in pain and sorrow. I had three daughters, the\nyoungest of whom was so beautiful, that the whole world looked on her\nas a wonder. She was as white as snow, as rosy as apple-blossoms, and\nher hair as radiant as sunbeams. When she cried, not tears fell from\nher eyes, but pearls and jewels only.\n\n\u201cWhen she was fifteen years old, the King summoned all three sisters\nto come before his throne. You should have seen how all the people\ngazed when the youngest entered. It was just as if the sun were rising!\nThen the King spoke, \u2018My Daughters, I know not when my last hour may\narrive. I will to-day decide what each shall receive at my death. You\nall love me, but the one of you who loves me best, shall fare the best.\u2019\n\n\u201cEach of them said she loved him best. \u2018Can you not express to me,\u2019\nsaid the King, \u2018how much you do love me, and thus I shall see what you\nmean?\u2019\n\n\u201cThe eldest spoke. \u2018I love my Father as dearly as the sweetest sugar.\u2019\nThe second, \u2018I love my Father as dearly as my prettiest dress.\u2019 But the\nyoungest was silent.\n\n\u201cThen the father said, \u2018And you, my dearest Child, how much do you love\nme?\u2019 \u2018I do not know, and can compare my love with nothing.\u2019 But her\nfather insisted that she should name something. So she said at last,\n\u2018The best food does not please me without salt, therefore I love my\nFather like salt.\u2019\n\n\u201cWhen the King heard that, he fell into a passion and said, \u2018If you\nlove me like salt, your love shall also be repaid with salt.\u2019\n\n\u201cThen he divided the kingdom between the two elder, but caused a sack\nof salt to be bound on the back of the youngest, and two servants had\nto lead her forth into the wild forest.\n\n\u201cWe all begged and prayed for her,\u201d said the Queen, \u201cbut the King\u2019s\nanger was not to be appeased. How she cried when she had to leave us!\nThe whole road was strewn with the pearls which flowed from her eyes.\n\n\u201cThe King soon afterward repented of his great severity, and had the\nwhole forest searched for the poor child, but no one could find her.\nWhen I think that the wild beasts have devoured her, I know not how to\ncontain myself for sorrow. Many a time I console myself with the hope\nthat she is still alive, and may have hidden herself in a cave, or has\nfound shelter with compassionate people.\n\n\u201cBut picture to yourself, when I opened your little emerald book, a\npearl lay therein, of exactly the same kind as those which used to fall\nfrom my daughter\u2019s eyes. And then you can also imagine how the sight of\nit stirred my heart! You must tell me how you came by that pearl.\u201d\n\nThe Count told her that he had received it from the Old Woman in the\nforest, who had appeared very strange to him, and must be a Witch.\nBut he had neither seen nor heard anything of the Queen\u2019s child. The\nKing and the Queen resolved to seek out the Old Woman. They thought\nthat there where the pearl had been, they would obtain news of their\ndaughter.\n\n\n_The Gray Mask_\n\nThe Old Woman was sitting in that lonely place at her spinning-wheel,\nspinning. It was already dusk, and a log which was burning on the\nhearth gave a scanty light. All at once, there was a noise outside,\nthe geese were coming home from the pasture, and uttering their hoarse\ncries. Soon afterward the daughter entered. But the Old Woman scarcely\nthanked her, and only shook her head a little. The daughter sat down\nbeside her, took her spinning-wheel, and twisted the threads as nimbly\nas a young girl. Thus they both sat for two hours, and exchanged never\na word.\n\n[Illustration: WHEN THE GRAY MASK FELL OFF, HER GOLDEN HAIR BROKE\nFORTH]\n\nAt last, something rustled at the window, and two fiery eyes peered in.\nIt was an old night-owl, which cried, \u201c_Uhu!_\u201d three times.\n\nThe Old Woman looked up just a little, then she said, \u201cNow, my little\nDaughter, it is time for you to go out and do your work.\u201d\n\nShe rose and went out, and where did she go? Over the meadows ever\nonward into the valley. At last, she came to a well, with three old\noak-trees standing beside it. Meanwhile the moon had risen large and\nround over the mountain, and it was so light that one could have found\na needle.\n\nShe removed a skin which covered her face, then bent down to the well,\nand began to wash herself. When she had finished, she dipped the skin\nalso in the water, and laid it on the meadow, so that it should bleach\nin the moonlight, and dry again.\n\nBut how the maiden was changed! Such a change as that was never seen\nbefore! When the gray mask fell off, her golden hair broke forth like\nsunbeams, and spread about like a mantle over her whole form. Her eyes\nshone out as brightly as the stars in heaven, and her cheeks bloomed a\nsoft red like apple-blossoms.\n\nBut the fair maiden was sad. She sat down and wept bitterly. One tear\nafter another forced itself out of her eyes, and rolled through her\nlong hair to the ground. There she sat, and would have remained sitting\na long time, if there had not been a rustling and cracking in the\nboughs of the neighboring tree. She sprang up like a roe which has been\novertaken by the shot of the hunter.\n\nJust then the moon was obscured by a dark cloud, and in an instant the\nmaiden had slipped on the old skin and vanished, as does a light blown\nout by the wind.\n\nShe ran back home, trembling like an aspen-leaf. The Old Woman was\nstanding on the threshold, and the maiden was about to relate what had\nbefallen her, but the Old Woman laughed kindly, and said, \u201cI already\nknow it.\u201d\n\nShe led her into the room and lighted a new log. She did not, however,\nsit down to her spinning again, but fetched a broom and began to sweep\nand scour. \u201cAll must be clean and sweet,\u201d she said to the maiden.\n\n\u201cBut, Mother,\u201d said the maiden, \u201cwhy do you begin work at so late an\nhour? What do you expect?\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you know then what time it is?\u201d asked the Old Woman.\n\n\u201cNot yet midnight,\u201d answered the maiden, \u201cbut already past eleven\no\u2019clock.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you not remember,\u201d continued the Old Woman, \u201cthat it is three years\nto-day since you came to me? Your time is up, we can no longer remain\ntogether.\u201d\n\nThe maiden was terrified, and said, \u201cAlas! dear Mother, will you cast\nme off? Where shall I go? I have no friends, and no home to which I\ncan go. I have always done as you bade me, and you have always been\nsatisfied with me. Do not send me away.\u201d\n\nThe Old Woman would not tell the maiden what lay before her. \u201cMy stay\nhere is over,\u201d she said to her, \u201cbut when I depart, house and parlor\nmust be clean: therefore do not hinder me in my work. Have no care for\nyourself. You shall find a roof to shelter you, and the wages which I\nwill give you shall also content you.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut tell me what is about to happen,\u201d the maiden continued to entreat.\n\n\u201cI tell you again, do not hinder me in my work. Do not say a word\nmore, go to your chamber, take the skin off your face, and put on the\nsilken gown which you had on when you came to me, and then wait in your\nchamber until I call you.\u201d\n\n\n_The Goose-Girl_\n\nBut I must once more tell of the King and Queen, who had journeyed\nforth with the Count in order to seek out the Old Woman in the\nwilderness. The Count had strayed away from them in the wood by night,\nand had to walk onward alone.\n\nNext day, it seemed to him that he was on the right track. He still\nwent forward, until darkness came on, then he climbed a tree, intending\nto pass the night there, for he feared that he might lose his way. When\nthe moon illumined the surrounding country he perceived a figure coming\ndown the mountain. She had no stick in her hand, yet he could see that\nit was the goose-girl, whom he had seen before in the house of the Old\nWoman.\n\n\u201cOho,\u201d cried he, \u201cthere she comes, and if I once get hold of one of the\nWitches, the other shall not escape me!\u201d\n\nBut how astonished he was, when she went to the well, took off the\nskin and washed herself. Her golden hair fell down all about her,\nand she was more beautiful than any one whom he had ever seen in the\nwhole world. He hardly dared to breathe, but stretched his head as far\nforward through the leaves as he dared, and stared at her. Either he\nbent over too far, or whatever the cause might be, the bough suddenly\ncracked, and that very moment the maiden slipped into the skin, sprang\naway like a roe, and as the moon was suddenly covered, disappeared from\nhis eyes.\n\nHardly had she disappeared, before the Count descended from the tree,\nand hastened after her with nimble steps. He had not gone far before he\nsaw, in the twilight, two figures coming over the meadow. It was the\nKing and Queen, who had perceived from a distance the light shining in\nthe Old Woman\u2019s little house, and were going to it.\n\nThe Count told them what wonderful thing he had seen by the well, and\nthey did not doubt but that she was their lost daughter. They walked\nonward full of joy, and soon came to the little house. The geese were\nsitting all round it, and had thrust their heads under their wings and\nwere sleeping, and not one of them moved.\n\nThe King and Queen looked in at the window. The Old Woman was sitting\nthere quietly spinning, nodding her head and never looking round. The\nroom was perfectly clean, as if the little Mist Men, who carry no dust\non their feet, lived there. Their daughter, however, they did not see.\nThey gazed at all this for a long time. At last they took heart, and\nknocked softly at the window.\n\nThe Old Woman appeared to have been expecting them. She rose, and\ncalled out quite kindly, \u201cCome in,--I know you already.\u201d\n\nWhen they had entered the room, the Old Woman said, \u201cYou might have\nspared yourself the long walk, if you had not three years ago unjustly\ndriven away your child, who is so good and lovable. No harm has come\nto her. For three years she has had to tend the geese. With them\nshe has learnt no evil, but has preserved her purity of heart. You,\nhowever, have been sufficiently punished by the misery in which you\nhave lived.\u201d\n\nThen she went to the chamber and called, \u201cCome out, my little Daughter.\u201d\n\nThereupon the door opened, and the Princess stepped out in her silken\ngarments, with her golden hair and her shining eyes, and it was as if\nan Angel from Heaven had entered.\n\nShe went up to her father and mother, fell on their necks and kissed\nthem. There was no help for it, they all had to weep for joy. The young\nCount stood near them; and when she perceived him, she became as red in\nthe face as a moss-rose, she herself did not know why.\n\nThe King said, \u201cMy dear Child, I have given away my kingdom, what shall\nI give thee?\u201d\n\n\u201cShe needs nothing,\u201d said the Old Woman. \u201cI give her the tears that she\nhas wept on your account. They are precious pearls, finer than those\nthat are found in the sea, and worth more than your whole kingdom, and\nI give her my little house as payment for her services.\u201d\n\nWhen the Old Woman had said that, she disappeared from their sight. The\nwalls rattled a little, and when the King and Queen looked round, the\nlittle house had changed into a splendid palace, a royal table had been\nspread, and the servants were running hither and thither.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nTHE SHOES THAT WERE DANCED TO PIECES\n\n\nThere was once upon a time, a King who had twelve daughters, each one\nmore beautiful than the other. They all slept together in one chamber,\nin which their beds stood side by side.\n\nEvery night, when they were in them, the King locked the door, and\nbolted it. But in the morning, when he unlocked the door, he saw that\ntheir shoes were worn out with dancing, and no one could find out how\nthat had happened.\n\nThen the King caused it to be proclaimed that whosoever could discover\nwhere they danced at night, should choose one of them for his wife and\nbe King after his death. But that whosoever came forward and had not\ndiscovered it within three days and nights, should forfeit his life.\n\nIt was not long before a King\u2019s Son presented himself, and offered to\nundertake the enterprise. He was well received, and in the evening was\nled into a room adjoining the Princesses\u2019 sleeping-chamber. His bed\nwas placed there, and he was to watch where they went and danced. And\nin order that they might do nothing secretly or go away to some other\nplace, the door of their room was left open.\n\nBut the eyelids of the Prince grew heavy as lead, and he fell asleep.\n\nWhen he awoke in the morning, all twelve had been to the dance, for\ntheir shoes were standing there with holes in the soles.\n\nOn the second and third nights it fell out just the same, and then his\nhead was struck off without mercy. Many others came after this and\nundertook the enterprise, but all forfeited their lives.\n\nNow, it came to pass that a poor soldier, who had a wound, and could\nserve no longer, found himself on the road to the town where the King\nlived. There he met an Old Woman, who asked him where he was going.\n\n\u201cI hardly know myself,\u201d answered he, and added in jest, \u201cI had half a\nmind to discover where the Princesses danced their shoes into holes,\nand thus become King.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is not so difficult,\u201d said the Old Woman, \u201cyou must not drink the\nwine which will be brought to you at night.\u201d\n\nWith that she gave him a little cloak, and said, \u201cIf you put on that,\nyou will be invisible, and then you can steal after the twelve.\u201d\n\nWhen the soldier had received this good advice, he took heart, went to\nthe King, and announced himself as a suitor. He was as well received as\nthe others, and royal garments were put upon him.\n\nHe was conducted that evening, at bedtime, into the outer-chamber, and\nas he was about to go to bed, the eldest came and brought him a cup of\nwine.\n\nHe lay down, but did not drink the wine.\n\nThe Twelve Princesses, in their chamber, laughed, and the eldest said,\n\u201cHe, too, might as well have saved his life.\u201d\n\nWith that they got up, opened wardrobes, presses, cupboards, and\nbrought out pretty dresses; dressed themselves before the mirrors,\nsprang about, and rejoiced at the prospect of the dance.\n\nOnly the youngest said, \u201cI know not how it is. You are very happy, but\nI feel strange. Some misfortune is certainly about to befall us.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are a goose, who are always frightened,\u201d said the eldest. \u201cHave\nyou forgotten how many King\u2019s Sons have already come here in vain? I\nhad hardly any need to give the soldier a sleeping-draught. In any\ncase, the clown would not have awakened.\u201d\n\nWhen they were all ready, the eldest then went to her bed and tapped it.\n\nIt immediately sank into the earth; and one after the other they\ndescended through the opening, the eldest going first.\n\nThe soldier, who had watched everything, tarried no longer, put on his\nlittle cloak, and went down last with the youngest. Half-way down the\nsteps, he just trod a little on her dress.\n\nShe was terrified at that, and cried out, \u201cWhat is that? who is pulling\nat my dress?\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t be so silly!\u201d said the eldest, \u201cyou have caught it on a nail.\u201d\n\nThen they went all the way down, and when they were at the bottom, they\nwere standing in a wonderfully pretty avenue of trees, all the leaves\nof which were of silver, and shone and glistened. The soldier thought,\n\u201cI must carry a token away with me,\u201d and broke off a twig from one of\nthem, on which the tree cracked with a loud report.\n\nThe youngest cried out again, \u201cSomething is wrong, did you hear the\ncrack?\u201d\n\nBut the eldest said, \u201cIt is a gun fired for joy, because we have got\nrid of our Prince so quickly.\u201d\n\nAfter that they came into an avenue where all the leaves were of gold,\nand lastly into a third where they were of bright diamonds. He broke\noff a twig from each, which made such a crack each time that the\nyoungest started back in terror, but the eldest still declared that\nthey were salutes.\n\nThey went on and came to a great lake whereon stood twelve little\nboats, and in every boat sat a handsome Prince, all of whom were\nwaiting for the Twelve Princesses. Each took one of them with him, but\nthe soldier seated himself by the youngest.\n\nThen her Prince said, \u201cI can\u2019t tell why the boat is so much heavier\nto-day. I shall have to row with all my strength, if I am to get it\nacross.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat should cause that,\u201d said the youngest, \u201cbut the warm weather? I\nfeel very warm too.\u201d\n\nOn the opposite side of the lake stood a splendid, brightly-lit castle,\nfrom whence resounded the joyous music of trumpets and kettle-drums.\nThey rowed thither, entered, and each Prince danced with the maiden he\nloved, but the soldier danced with them unseen. And when one of them\nhad a cup of wine in her hand he drank it up, so that the cup was empty\nwhen she carried it to her mouth. The youngest was alarmed at this, but\nthe eldest always made her be silent.\n\nThey danced there till three o\u2019clock in the morning, when all the shoes\nwere danced into holes, and they were forced to leave off. The Princes\nrowed them back again over the lake, and this time the soldier seated\nhimself by the eldest. On the shore they took leave of their Princes,\nand promised to return the following night.\n\nWhen they reached the stairs, the soldier ran on in front and lay down\nin his bed, and when the Twelve Princesses had come up slowly and\nwearily, he was already snoring so loudly that they could all hear him,\nand they said, \u201cSo far as he is concerned, we are safe.\u201d\n\nThey took off their beautiful dresses, laid them away, put the worn-out\nshoes under the bed, and lay down. Next morning, the soldier was\nresolved not to speak, but to watch the wonderful goings on, and that\nnight again went with them. Then everything was done just as it had\nbeen done the first time, and they danced until their shoes were worn\nto pieces. But the third time, he took a cup away with him as a token.\n\nWhen the hour had arrived for him to give his answer, he took the three\ntwigs and the cup, and went to the King, but the Twelve Princesses\nstood behind the door, and listened for what he was going to say.\n\nWhen the King put the question, \u201cWhere have my Twelve Daughters danced\ntheir shoes to pieces in the night?\u201d he answered, \u201cIn an underground\ncastle with Twelve Princes,\u201d and related how it had come to pass, and\nbrought out the tokens.\n\nThe King then summoned his daughters, and asked them if the soldier had\ntold the truth, and when they saw that they were betrayed, and that\nfalsehood would be of no avail, they were obliged to confess all.\n\nThereupon the King asked which of them he would have for his wife?\n\nHe answered, \u201cI am no longer young, so give me the eldest.\u201d\n\nThen the wedding was celebrated on the self-same day, and the kingdom\nwas promised him after the King\u2019s death. But the Princes were bewitched\nfor as many days more as they had danced nights with the Twelve.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nTHE NIX OF THE MILL-POND\n\n\nThere was once upon a time, a miller who lived with his wife in great\ncontentment. They had money and land, and their prosperity increased\nyear by year more and more. But ill-luck comes like a thief in the\nnight, as their wealth had increased so did it again decrease, year by\nyear.\n\nAt last the miller could hardly call the mill in which he lived his\nown. He was in great distress, and when he lay down after his day\u2019s\nwork, found no rest, but full of care, tossed about in his bed.\n\nOne morning, he rose before daybreak and went out into the open air,\nthinking that perhaps there his heart might become lighter. As he\nwas stepping over the mill-dam, the first sunbeam was just breaking\nforth, and he heard a rippling sound in the pond. He turned round and\nperceived a beautiful woman, rising slowly out of the water. Her long\nhair, which she was holding off her shoulders with her soft hands, fell\ndown on both sides, and covered her white body.\n\nHe saw that she was the Nix of the Mill-pond, and in his fright did not\nknow whether he should run away or stay where he was.\n\nBut the Nix made her sweet voice heard, called him by his name, and\nasked him why he was so sad? The miller was at first struck dumb, but\nwhen he heard her speak so kindly, he took heart, and told her how he\nhad formerly lived in wealth and happiness, but that now he was so poor\nthat he did not know what to do.\n\n\u201cBe easy,\u201d answered the Nix, \u201cI will make you richer and happier than\nyou have ever been before, only you must promise to give me the young\nthing which has just been born in your house.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat else can that be,\u201d thought the miller, \u201cbut a young puppy or\nkitten?\u201d and he promised her what she desired.\n\nThe Nix descended into the water again, and he hurried back to his\nmill, consoled and in good spirits. He had not yet reached it, when the\nmaid-servant came out of the house, and cried to him to rejoice, for\nhis wife had a little boy. The miller stood as if struck by lightning.\nHe saw very well that the cunning Nix had been aware of it, and had\ncheated him.\n\nHanging his head, he went up to his wife\u2019s bedside and when she said,\n\u201cWhy do you not rejoice over the fine boy?\u201d he told her what had\nbefallen him, and what kind of a promise he had given to the Nix. \u201cOf\nwhat use to me are riches and prosperity?\u201d he added, \u201cif I am to lose\nmy child; but what can I do?\u201d\n\nEven the relations, who had come thither to wish them joy, did not\nknow what to say. In the meantime prosperity again returned to the\nmiller\u2019s house. All that he undertook succeeded; it was as if presses\nand coffers filled themselves of their own accord, and as if money\nmultiplied nightly in the cupboards. It was not long before his wealth\nwas greater than it had ever been before. But he could not rejoice over\nit untroubled, the bargain which he had made with the Nix tormented his\nsoul.\n\nWhenever he passed the mill-pond, he feared she might ascend and remind\nhim of his debt. He never let the boy himself go near the water.\n\u201cBeware,\u201d he said to him, \u201cif you do but touch the water, a hand will\nrise, seize you, and draw you down.\u201d\n\nBut as year after year went by, and the Nix did not show herself again,\nthe miller began to feel at ease. The boy grew up to be a youth and\nwas apprenticed to a huntsman. When he had learnt everything, and had\nbecome an excellent huntsman, the lord of the village took him into his\nservice. In the village lived a beautiful and true-hearted maiden, who\npleased the huntsman. When his master perceived that, he gave him a\nlittle house, the two were married, lived peacefully and happily, and\nloved each other with all their hearts.\n\nOne day, the huntsman was chasing a roe. And when the animal turned\naside from the forest into the open country, he pursued it and at last\nshot it. He did not notice that he was now in the neighborhood of the\ndangerous mill-pond, and went, after he had disembowelled the stag, to\nthe water, in order to wash his blood-stained hands.\n\nScarcely, however, had he dipped them in than the Nix ascended,\nsmilingly wound her dripping arms around him, and drew him quickly down\nunder the waves, which closed over him.\n\nWhen it was evening, and the huntsman did not return home, his wife\ngrew alarmed. She went out to seek him, and as he had often told her\nthat he had to be on his guard against the snares of the Nix, and\ndared not venture into the neighborhood of the mill-pond, she already\nsuspected what had happened. She hastened to the water, and when she\nfound his hunting-pouch lying on the shore, she could no longer have\nany doubt of the misfortune.\n\nLamenting her sorrow, and wringing her hands, she called on her beloved\nby name, but in vain. She hurried across to the other side of the\npond, and called him anew. She reviled the Nix with harsh words, but\nno answer followed. The surface of the water remained calm, only the\ncrescent moon stared steadily back at her. The poor woman did not leave\nthe pond. With hasty steps, she paced round and round it, without\nresting a moment, sometimes in silence, sometimes uttering a loud cry,\nsometimes softly sobbing. At last her strength came to an end, she sank\ndown to the ground and fell into a heavy sleep.\n\nPresently a dream took possession of her. She was anxiously climbing\nupward between great masses of rock. Thorns and briars caught her feet,\nthe rain beat in her face, and the wind tossed her long hair about.\nWhen she had reached the summit, quite a different sight presented\nitself to her. The sky was blue, the air soft, the ground sloped gently\ndownward, and on a green meadow, gay with flowers of every color, stood\na pretty cottage. She went up to it and opened the door. There sat an\nOld Woman with white hair, who beckoned to her kindly.\n\nAt that very moment, the poor woman awoke, day had already dawned,\nand she at once resolved to act in accordance with her dream. She\nlaboriously climbed the mountain. Everything was exactly as she\nhad seen it in the night. The Old Woman received her kindly, and\npointed out a chair on which she might sit. \u201cYou must have met with a\nmisfortune,\u201d she said, \u201csince you have sought out my lonely cottage.\u201d\n\nWith tears, the woman related what had befallen her.\n\n\u201cBe comforted,\u201d said the Old Woman, \u201cI will help you. Here is a Golden\nComb for you. Tarry till the full moon has risen, then go to the\nmill-pond, seat yourself on the shore, and comb your long black hair\nwith this comb. When you have done, lay it down on the bank, and you\nwill see what will happen.\u201d\n\nThe woman returned home, but the time till the full moon came, passed\nslowly. At last the shining disc appeared in the heavens, then she went\nout to the mill-pond, sat down and combed her long black hair with the\nGolden Comb. When she had finished, she laid it down at the water\u2019s\nedge.\n\nIt was not long before there was a movement in the depths, a wave rose,\nrolled to the shore, and bore the comb away with it.\n\nIn not more than the time necessary for the comb to sink to the bottom,\nthe surface of the water parted, and the head of the huntsman arose.\nHe did not speak, but looked at his wife with sorrowful glances. At\nthe same instant, a second wave came rushing up, and covered the man\u2019s\nhead. All had vanished, the mill-pond lay peaceful as before, and\nnothing but the face of the full moon shone on it.\n\n[Illustration: SHE COMBED HER LONG BLACK HAIR]\n\nFull of sorrow, the woman went back, but again the dream showed\nher the cottage of the Old Woman. Next morning, she again set out and\ncomplained of her woes to the Wise Woman.\n\nThe Old Woman gave her a Golden Flute, and said, \u201cTarry till the full\nmoon comes again, then take this flute. Play a beautiful air on it, and\nwhen you have finished, lay it on the sand. Then you will see what will\nhappen.\u201d\n\nThe wife did as the old woman told her. No sooner was the flute lying\non the sand, than there was a stirring in the depths, and a wave rushed\nup and bore the flute away with it.\n\nImmediately afterward the water parted, and not only the head of\nthe man, but half of his body also arose. He stretched out his arms\nlongingly toward her. But a second wave came up, covered him, and drew\nhim down again.\n\n\u201cAlas, what does it profit me?\u201d said the unhappy woman, \u201cthat I should\nsee my beloved, only to lose him again?\u201d\n\nDespair filled her heart anew, but the dream led her a third time\nto the house of the Old Woman. She sat out, and the Wise Woman gave\nher a Golden Spinning-Wheel, consoled her and said, \u201cAll is not yet\nfulfilled, tarry until the time of the full moon. Then take the\nspinning-wheel, seat yourself on the shore, and spin the spool full.\nWhen you have done that, place the spinning-wheel near the water, and\nyou will see what will happen.\u201d\n\nThe woman obeyed all she said exactly. As soon as the full moon showed\nitself, she carried the Golden Spinning-Wheel to the shore, and spun\nindustriously until the flax came to an end, and the spool was quite\nfilled with the threads. No sooner was the wheel standing on the shore\nthan there was a more violent movement than before in the depths of\nthe pond, and a mighty wave rushed up, and bore the wheel away with it.\n\nImmediately the head and the whole body of the man rose into the air,\nin a water-spout. He quickly sprang to the shore, caught his wife by\nthe hand and fled.\n\nBut they had scarcely gone a very little distance, when the whole pond\nrose with a frightful roar, and streamed out over the open country. The\nfugitives already saw death before their eyes, when the woman in her\nterror implored the help of the Old Woman, and in an instant they were\ntransformed, she into a Toad, he into a Frog.\n\nThe flood which had overtaken them could not destroy them, but it tore\nthem apart and carried them far away.\n\nWhen the water had dispersed and they both touched dry land again, they\nregained their human form, but neither knew where the other was. They\nfound themselves among strange people, who did not know their native\nland. High mountains and deep valleys lay between them. In order to\nkeep themselves alive, they were both obliged to tend sheep.\n\nFor many long years, they drove their flocks through field and forest\nand were full of sorrow and longing. When spring had once more broken\nforth on the earth, one day they both went out with their flocks, and\nas chance would have it, they drew near each other. They met in a\nvalley, but did not recognize each other. Yet they rejoiced that they\nwere no longer so lonely. Henceforth they every day drove their flocks\nto the same place. They did not speak much, but they felt comforted.\n\nOne evening when the full moon was shining in the sky, and the sheep\nwere already at rest, the shepherd pulled the flute out of his pocket,\nand played on it a beautiful but sorrowful air. When he had finished,\nhe saw that the shepherdess was weeping bitterly.\n\n\u201cWhy are you weeping?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cAlas,\u201d answered she, \u201cthus shone the full moon when I played this air\non the flute for the last time, and the head of my beloved rose out of\nthe water.\u201d\n\nHe looked at her, and it seemed as if a veil fell from his eyes, and\nhe recognized his dear wife. And when she looked at him, and the moon\nshone in his face she knew him also. They embraced and kissed each\nother, and no one need ask if they were happy.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nTHE LITTLE HOUSE IN THE WOOD\n\n\nA poor woodcutter lived with his wife and three daughters in a little\nhut on the edge of a lonely wood. One morning as he was about to go to\nhis work, he said to his wife, \u201cLet my dinner be brought into the wood\nto me by my eldest daughter, or I shall never get my work done. And in\norder that she may not miss her way,\u201d he added, \u201cI will take a bag of\nmillet with me and strew the seeds on the path.\u201d\n\nWhen, therefore, the sun was just above the centre of the wood, the\ngirl set out on her way with a bowl of soup. But the field-sparrows,\nand wood-sparrows, larks and finches, blackbirds and siskins had picked\nup the millet long before, and the girl could not find the track. Then\ntrusting to chance, she went on and on, until the sun sank and night\nbegan to fall. The trees rustled in the darkness, the owls hooted, and\nshe began to be afraid.\n\nThen in the distance she perceived a light which glimmered between the\ntrees. \u201cThere ought to be some people living there, who can take me in\nfor the night,\u201d thought she, and went up to the light. It was not long\nbefore she came to a house the windows of which were all lighted up.\n\nShe knocked, and a rough voice from the inside cried, \u201cCome in.\u201d\n\nThe girl stepped into the dark entrance, and knocked at the door of the\nroom. \u201cJust come in,\u201d cried the voice.\n\nAnd when she opened the door, an old gray-haired man was sitting at the\ntable, supporting his face with both hands, and his white beard fell\ndown over the table almost as far as the ground. By the stove lay three\nanimals, a hen, a cock, and a brindled cow.\n\nThe girl told her story to the Old Man, and begged for shelter for the\nnight. The man said:\n\n \u201c_Pretty little Hen,\n Pretty little Cock,\n And pretty brindled Cow,\n What say ye all now?_\u201d\n\n\u201c_Duks,_\u201d answered the animals, and that must have meant, \u201cWe are\nwilling,\u201d for the Old Man said, \u201cHere you shall have shelter and food.\nGo to the fire, and cook us our supper.\u201d\n\nThe girl found in the kitchen abundance of everything and cooked a good\nsupper, but had no thought of the animals. She carried the full dishes\nto the table, seated herself by the gray-haired man, ate and satisfied\nher hunger.\n\nWhen she had had enough, she said, \u201cBut now I am tired. Where is there\na bed in which I can lie down, and sleep?\u201d The animals replied:\n\n \u201c_Thou hast eaten with him,\n Thou hast drunk with him,\n Thou hast had no thought for us,\n So find out for thyself where thou canst pass the night._\u201d\n\nThen said the Old Man, \u201cJust go up-stairs, and you will find a room\nwith two beds. Shake them up, and put white linen on them, and then I,\ntoo, will come and lie down to sleep.\u201d\n\nThe girl went up, and when she had shaken the beds and put clean sheets\non, she lay down in one of them without waiting any longer for the Old\nMan.\n\nAfter some time, however, the gray-haired man came, took his candle,\nlooked at the girl and shook his head. When he saw that she had fallen\ninto a sound sleep, he opened a trap-door, and let her down into the\ncellar.\n\nLate at night, the woodcutter came home, and reproached his wife for\nleaving him to hunger all day. \u201cIt is not my fault,\u201d she replied, \u201cthe\ngirl went out with your dinner, and must have lost herself, but she is\nsure to come back to-morrow.\u201d\n\nThe woodcutter, however, arose before dawn to go into the wood, and\nrequested that the second daughter should take him his dinner that day.\n\u201cI will take a bag with lentils,\u201d said he; \u201cthe seeds are larger than\nmillet. The girl will see them better, and can\u2019t lose her way.\u201d\n\nAt dinner-time, therefore, the girl took out the food, but the lentils\nhad disappeared. The birds of the wood had picked them up as they had\ndone the day before, and had left none.\n\nThe girl wandered about in the wood until night, and then she too\nreached the house of the Old Man, was told to go in, and begged for\nfood and a bed. The man with the white beard again asked the animals:\n\n \u201c_Pretty little Hen,_\n _Pretty little Cock,_\n _And pretty brindled Cow,_\n _What say ye all now?_\u201d\n\nThe animals again replied \u201c_Duks_.\u201d And everything happened just as it\nhad happened the day before. The girl cooked a good meal, ate and drank\nwith the Old Man, and did not concern herself about the animals, and\nwhen she inquired about her bed, they answered:\n\n \u201c_Thou hast eaten with him,_\n _Thou hast drunk with him,_\n _Thou hast had, no thought for us,_\n _So find out for thyself where thou canst pass the night._\u201d\n\nWhen she was asleep the Old Man came, looked at her, shook his head,\nand let her down into the cellar.\n\nOn the third morning, the woodcutter said to his wife, \u201cSend our\nyoungest child out with my dinner to-day, she has always been good and\nobedient, and will stay in the right path, and not run about after\nevery wild bumblebee, as her sisters did.\u201d\n\nThe mother did not want to do it, and said, \u201cAm I to lose my dearest\nchild, as well?\u201d\n\n\u201cHave no fear,\u201d he replied, \u201cthe girl will not go astray; she is too\nprudent and sensible. Besides, I will take some peas with me, and strew\nthem about. They are still larger than lentils, and will show her the\nway.\u201d\n\nBut when the girl went out with her basket on her arm, the wood-pigeons\nhad already got all the peas in their crops, and she did not know which\nway to turn. She was full of sorrow and never ceased to think how\nhungry her father would be, and how her good mother would grieve, if\nshe did not return home.\n\nAt length, when it grew dark, she saw the light and came to the house\nin the wood. She begged quite prettily to be allowed to spend the night\nthere. And the man with the white beard once more asked his animals:\n\n \u201c_Pretty little Hen,\n Pretty little Cock,\n And pretty brindled Cow,\n What say ye all now?_\u201d\n\n\u201c_Duks_,\u201d said they. Then the girl went to the stove where the animals\nwere lying, and petted the cock and hen, and stroked their smooth\nfeathers with her hand, and caressed the brindled cow between her horns.\n\nAnd when, in obedience to the Old Man\u2019s orders, she had made ready some\ngood soup, and the bowl was placed upon the table, she said, \u201cAm I to\neat as much as I want, and the good animals to have nothing? Outside is\nfood in plenty, I will look after them first.\u201d\n\nSo she went and brought some barley and strewed it for the cock and\nhen, and a whole armful of sweet-smelling hay for the cow. \u201cI hope you\nwill like it, dear Animals,\u201d said she, \u201cand you shall have a refreshing\ndraught in case you are thirsty.\u201d\n\nThen she fetched in a bucketful of water, and the cock and hen jumped\non to the edge of it and dipped their beaks in. Then held up their\nheads as the birds do when they drink, and the brindled cow also took a\nhearty draught.\n\nWhen the animals were fed, the girl seated herself at the table by the\nOld Man, and ate what he had left. It was not long before the cock and\nthe hen began to thrust their heads beneath their wings, and the eyes\nof the cow likewise began to blink. Then said the girl, \u201cOught we not\nto go to bed?\u201d\n\n \u201c_Pretty little Hen,\n Pretty little Cock,\n And pretty brindled Cow,\n What say ye all now?_\u201d\n\nThe animals answered \u201c_Duks_.\u201d\n\n \u201c_Thou hast eaten with us,\n Thou hast drunk with us,\n Thou hast had kind thought for all of us,\n We wish thee good-night._\u201d\n\nThen the girl went up-stairs, shook the feather-beds, and laid clean\nsheets on them. And when she had done it the Old Man came and lay down\non one of the beds, and his white beard reached down to his feet. The\ngirl lay down on the other, said her prayers, and fell asleep.\n\nShe slept quietly till midnight, and then there was such a noise in the\nhouse that she awoke. There was a sound of cracking and splitting in\nevery corner. The doors sprang open, and beat against the walls. The\nbeams groaned as if they were being torn out of their joints. It seemed\nas if the staircase were falling down. And at length there was a crash\nas if the entire roof had fallen in.\n\nAs, however, all grew quiet once more, and the girl was not hurt, she\nstayed quietly lying where she was, and fell asleep again. But when she\nwoke up in the morning with the brilliancy of the sunshine, what did\nher eyes behold?\n\nShe was lying in a vast hall, and everything around her shone with\nroyal splendor. On the walls, golden flowers grew up on a ground of\ngreen silk. The bed was of ivory, and the canopy of red velvet, and on\na chair close by, was a pair of shoes embroidered with pearls.\n\nThe girl believed that she was in a dream, but three richly clad\nattendants came in, and asked what orders she would like to give?\n\n\u201cIf you will go,\u201d she replied, \u201cI will get up at once and make ready\nsome soup for the Old Man, and then I will feed the pretty little hen,\nand the cock, and the beautiful brindled cow.\u201d\n\nShe thought the Old Man was up already, and looked round at his bed.\nHe, however, was not lying in it, but a stranger.\n\nAnd while she was looking at him, and becoming aware that he was young\nand handsome, he awoke, sat up in bed, and said, \u201cI am a King\u2019s Son,\nand was enchanted by a wicked Witch, and made to live in this wood, as\nan old gray-haired man. No one was allowed to be with me but my three\nattendants in the form of a cock, a hen, and a brindled cow. The spell\nwas not to be broken until a girl came to us, whose heart was so good\nthat she showed herself full of love, not only toward mankind, but\ntoward animals--and that you have done, and by you, at midnight, we\nwere set free, and the old house in the wood was changed back again\ninto my royal palace.\u201d\n\nAnd when they had arisen, the King\u2019s Son ordered the three attendants\nto set out and fetch the father and mother of the girl to the marriage\nfeast.\n\n\u201cBut where are my two sisters?\u201d inquired the girl.\n\n\u201cI have locked them in the cellar, and to-morrow they shall be led into\nthe wood, and shall live as servants to a charcoal-burner, until they\nhave grown kinder, and do not leave poor animals to suffer hunger.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nMAID MALEEN\n\n\nThere was once a King who had a son who asked in marriage the daughter\nof a mighty King. She was called Maid Maleen, and was very beautiful.\nAs her father wished to give her to another, the Prince was rejected.\n\nBut since they both loved each other with all their hearts, they would\nnot give each other up, and Maid Maleen said to her father, \u201cI can and\nwill take no other for my husband.\u201d\n\nThen the King flew into a passion, and ordered a dark tower to be\nbuilt, into which no ray of sunlight or moonlight should enter. When\nit was finished, he said, \u201cTherein shall you be imprisoned for seven\nyears, and then I will come and see if your perverse spirit is broken.\u201d\n\nMeat and drink for the seven years were carried into the tower; and\nthen she and her waiting-woman were led into it and walled up, and\nthus cut off from the sky and from the earth. There they sat in the\ndarkness, and knew not when day or night began. The King\u2019s Son often\nwent round and round the tower, and called their names, but no sound\nfrom without pierced through the thick walls. What else could they do\nbut lament and complain?\n\nMeanwhile, the time passed, and by the small amount of food and drink\nleft they knew that the seven years were coming to an end. They thought\nthe moment of their deliverance was come. But no stroke of the hammer\nwas heard, no stone fell out of the wall, and it seemed to Maid Maleen\nthat her father had forgotten her. As they had food for only a short\ntime longer, and saw a miserable death awaiting them, Maid Maleen said,\n\u201cWe must try our last chance, and see if we can break through the wall.\u201d\n\nShe took the bread-knife, and picked and bored at the mortar of a\nstone, and when she was tired, the waiting-maid took her turn. With\ngreat labor they succeeded in getting out one stone, then a second, and\nthird. And when three days were over, the first ray of light fell on\ntheir darkness, and at last the opening was so large that they could\nlook out.\n\nThe sky was blue, and a fresh breeze played on their faces; but how\nmelancholy everything looked all around! Her father\u2019s castle lay\nin ruins, the town and the villages were, so far as could be seen,\ndestroyed by fire, the fields far and wide laid to waste, and no human\nbeing was visible.\n\nWhen the opening in the wall was large enough for them to slip through,\nthe waiting-maid sprang down first, and then Maid Maleen followed. But\nwhere were they to go? The enemy had ravaged the whole kingdom, driven\naway the King, and slain all the inhabitants. They wandered forth to\nseek another country, but nowhere did they find a shelter, or a human\nbeing to give them a mouthful of bread. Their need was so great that\nthey were forced to appease their hunger with nettle-plants.\n\nWhen, after long journeying, they came into another country, they tried\nto get work everywhere. But wherever they knocked they were turned\naway, and no one would have pity on them.\n\nAt last they arrived in a large city and went to the royal palace.\nThere also they were ordered to go away, but at last the cook said that\nthey might stay in the kitchen and be scullions.\n\nThe King\u2019s Son in whose kingdom they were, was, however, the very man\nwho had been betrothed to Maid Maleen. His father had chosen another\nBride for him, whose face was as ugly as her heart was wicked. The\nwedding was fixed, and the girl had already arrived. Because of her\ngreat ugliness, however, she shut herself in her room, and allowed no\none to see her, and Maid Maleen had to take her her meals from the\nkitchen.\n\nWhen the day came for the Bride and the Bridegroom to go to church,\nshe was ashamed of her ugliness, and afraid that if she showed herself\nin the streets, she would be mocked and laughed at by the people. Then\nsaid she to Maid Maleen, \u201cA great piece of luck has befallen you. I\nhave sprained my foot, and cannot walk through the streets. You shall\nput on my wedding-clothes and take my place. A greater honor than that\nyou cannot have!\u201d\n\nMaid Maleen, however, refused it, and said, \u201cI wish for no honor which\nis not suitable for me.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: THE PRINCE TOOK HER BY THE HAND AND LED HER TO CHURCH]\n\nIt was in vain, too, that the Bride offered her gold. At last she\nsaid angrily, \u201cIf you do not obey me, it shall cost you your life. I\nhave but to speak the word, and your head will lie at your feet.\u201d\n\nThen she was forced to obey, and put on the Bride\u2019s magnificent clothes\nand all her jewels. When she entered the royal hall, every one was\namazed at her great beauty, and the King said to his son, \u201cThis is the\nBride whom I have chosen for you, and whom you must lead to church.\u201d\n\nThe Bridegroom was astonished, and thought, \u201cShe is like my Maid\nMaleen, and I should believe that it was she herself, but she has long\nbeen shut up in the tower or dead.\u201d\n\nHe took her by the hand and led her to church. On the way was a\nnettle-plant, and she said:\n\n \u201c_Nettle-plant, Nettle-plant,\n Nettle-plant so small!\n What are you doing here,\n Alone by the wall?\n I have the time known,\n When unroasted, unboiled,\n I ate thee alone!_\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat are you saying?\u201d asked the King\u2019s Son.\n\n\u201cNothing,\u201d she replied, \u201cI was only thinking of Maid Maleen.\u201d\n\nHe was surprised that she knew about her, but kept silence. When they\ncame to the foot-plank into the churchyard, she said:\n\n \u201c_Foot-bridge, break not,\n I am not the true Bride._\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat are you saying there?\u201d asked the King\u2019s Son.\n\n\u201cNothing,\u201d she replied, \u201cI was only thinking of Maid Maleen.\u201d\n\nWhen they came to the church-door, she said once more:\n\n \u201c_Church-door, break not,\n I am not the true Bride._\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat are you saying there?\u201d asked he.\n\n\u201cAh,\u201d she answered, \u201cI was only thinking of Maid Maleen.\u201d\n\nThen he took out a precious chain, put it round her neck, and fastened\nthe clasp. Thereupon they entered the church, and the priest joined\ntheir hands together before the altar, and married them. He led her\nhome but she did not speak a single word the whole way.\n\nWhen they got back to the royal palace, she hurried into the Bride\u2019s\nchamber, put off the magnificent clothes and the jewels, dressed\nherself in her gray gown, and kept nothing but the jewel on her neck,\nwhich she had received from the Bridegroom.\n\nWhen the night came, and the Bride was to be led into the apartment of\nthe King\u2019s Son, she let her veil fall over her face, that he might not\nobserve the deception.\n\nAs soon as every one had gone away, he said to her, \u201cWhat did you say\nto the nettle-plant which was growing by the wayside?\u201d\n\n\u201cTo which nettle-plant?\u201d asked she; \u201cI don\u2019t talk to nettle-plants.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you did not do it, then you are not the true Bride,\u201d said he.\n\nSo she bethought herself, and said:\n\n \u201c_I must go my maid to see,\n Who keeps my secret thoughts for me._\u201d\n\nShe went out and sought Maid Maleen. \u201cGirl, what have you been saying\nto the nettle?\u201d\n\n\u201cI said nothing but:\n\n \u201c_Nettle-plant, Nettle-plant,\n Nettle-plant so small!\n What are you doing here,\n Alone by the wall?\n I have the time known,\n When unroasted, unboiled,\n I ate thee alone!_\u201d\n\nThe Bride ran back into the chamber, and said, \u201cI know now what I said\nto the nettle,\u201d and she repeated the words which she had just heard.\n\n\u201cBut what did you say to the foot-bridge when we went over it?\u201d asked\nthe King\u2019s Son.\n\n\u201cTo the foot-bridge?\u201d she answered. \u201cI don\u2019t talk to foot-bridges.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen you are not the true Bride.\u201d\n\nShe again said:\n\n \u201c_I must go my maid to see,\n Who keeps my secret thoughts for me,_\u201d\n\nand ran out and found Maid Maleen. \u201cGirl, what did you say to the\nfoot-bridge?\u201d\n\n\u201cI said nothing but:\n\n \u201c_Foot-bridge, break not,\n I am not the true Bride._\u201d\n\n\u201cThat costs you your life!\u201d cried the Bride, but she hurried into the\nroom, and said, \u201cI know now what I said to the foot-bridge,\u201d and she\nrepeated the words.\n\n\u201cBut what did you say to the church-door?\u201d\n\n\u201cTo the church-door?\u201d she replied; \u201cI don\u2019t talk to church-doors.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen you are not the true Bride.\u201d\n\nShe went out and found Maid Maleen, and said, \u201cGirl, what did you say\nto the church-door?\u201d\n\n\u201cI said nothing but:\n\n \u201c_Church-door, break not,\n I am not the true Bride._\u201d\n\n\u201cThat will break your neck for you!\u201d cried the Bride, and flew into a\nterrible passion, but she hastened back into the room, and said, \u201cI\nknow now what I said to the church-door,\u201d and she repeated the words.\n\n\u201cBut where have you the jewel which I gave you at the church-door?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat jewel?\u201d she answered; \u201cyou did not give me any jewel.\u201d\n\n\u201cI myself put it round your neck, and I myself fastened it. If you do\nnot know that, you are not the true Bride.\u201d\n\nHe drew the veil from her face, and when he saw her ugliness, he sprang\nback terrified, and said, \u201cHow come you here? Who are you?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am your betrothed Bride, but because I feared lest the people should\nmock me when they saw me out of doors, I commanded the scullery-maid to\ndress herself in my clothes, and to go to church instead of me.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere is the girl?\u201d said he; \u201cI want to see her, go and bring her\nhere.\u201d\n\nShe went out and told the servants that the scullery-maid was an\nimpostor, and that they must take her out into the courtyard and strike\noff her head.\n\nThe servants laid hold of Maid Maleen and wanted to drag her out, but\nshe screamed so loudly for help, that the King\u2019s Son heard her voice,\nhurried out of his chamber and ordered them to set the maiden free.\n\nLights were brought, and then he saw on her neck the gold chain which\nhe had given her at the church-door.\n\n\u201cYou are the true Bride,\u201d said he, \u201cwho went with me to church. Come\nwith me now to my room.\u201d\n\nWhen they were both alone, he said, \u201cOn the way to the church you did\nname Maid Maleen, who was my betrothed Bride. If I could believe it\npossible, I should think she was standing before me--you are like her\nin every respect.\u201d\n\nShe answered, \u201cI am Maid Maleen, who for your sake was imprisoned seven\nyears in the darkness, who suffered hunger and thirst, and has lived\nso long in want and poverty. To-day, however, the sun is shining on me\nonce more. I was married to you in the church, and I am your lawful\nwife.\u201d\n\nThen they kissed each other, and were happy all the days of their lives.\n\nThe false Bride was rewarded for what she had done by having her head\ncut off.\n\nThe tower in which Maid Maleen had been imprisoned remained standing\nfor a long time, and when the children passed by it, they sang:\n\n \u201c_Kling, klang, gloria.\n Who sits within this tower?\n A King\u2019s Daughter, she sits within,\n A sight of her I cannot win,\n The wall it will not break,\n The stone cannot be pierced.\n Little Hans, with your coat so gay,\n Follow me, follow me, fast as you may._\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTranscriber\u2019s Notes\n\n\nPunctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made consistent when a\npredominant preference was found in this book; otherwise they were not\nchanged.\n\nSimple typographical errors were corrected; ambiguous hyphens at the\nends of lines were retained.","title":"Grimm's Fairy Tales","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":90721}