The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm (18 page)

“The lord ravens are flying back home,” said the little dwarf.

And the ravens began to speak one after the other:

“Who has eaten from my little plate?”

“Who has drunk from my little mug?”

As the third raven, however, came to his little mug, he found the ring and saw clearly that their little sister had arrived. They recognized her because of the ring, and they were all saved and transformed and were happy to go home.

26

LITTLE RED CAP

Once upon a time there was a sweet little maiden. Whoever laid eyes upon her couldn't help but love her. But it was her grandmother who could never give the child enough. One day she made her a present, a small, red velvet cap, and since it was so becoming and the maiden always wanted to wear it, people only called her Little Red Cap.

One day her mother said to her: “Come, Little Red Cap, take this piece of cake and bottle of wine and bring them to your grandmother. She's sick and weak, and this will strengthen her. Be nice and good and greet her from me. Go directly there and don't stray from the path, otherwise you'll fall and break the glass, and your grandmother will get nothing.”

Little Red Cap promised to obey her mother. Well, the grandmother lived out in the forest, half an hour from the village, and as soon as Little Red Cap entered the forest, she encountered the wolf. However, Little Red Cap didn't know what a wicked sort of an animal he was and was not afraid of him.

“Good day, Little Red Cap,” he said.

“Thank you kindly, wolf.”

“Where are you going so early, Little Red Cap?”

“To grandmother's.”

“What are you carrying under your apron?”

“Cake and wine. My grandmother's sick and weak, and yesterday we baked this cake so it will help her get well.”

“Where does your grandmother live, Little Red Cap?”

“About a quarter of an hour from here in the forest. Her house is under the three big oak trees. You can tell it by the hazel bushes,” said Little Red Cap.

The wolf thought to himself, “What a juicy morsel she'll be for me! Now, how am I going to catch her?” Then he said, “Listen, Little Red Cap, haven't you seen the beautiful flowers growing in the forest? Why don't you look around? I believe you haven't even noticed how lovely the birds are singing. You march along as if you were going straight to school in the village, and yet it's so delightful out here in the woods!”

Little Red Cap looked around and saw that the sun had broken through the trees and that the woods were full of beautiful flowers. So she thought to herself, “If I bring grandmother a bunch of flowers, she'd certainly like that. It's still early, and I'll arrive on time.”

So she plunged into the woods to look for flowers. And each time she plucked one, she thought she saw another even prettier flower and ran after it, going deeper and deeper into the forest. But the wolf went straight to the grandmother's house and knocked at the door.

“Who's there?”

“Little Red Cap. I've brought you some cake and wine. Open up.”

“Just lift the latch,” the grandmother called. “I'm too weak and can't get up.”

The wolf lifted the latch, and the door sprang open. Then he went straight to the grandmother's bed and gobbled her up. Next he took her clothes, put them on along with her nightcap, lay down in her bed, and drew the curtains.

Meanwhile, Little Red Cap had been running around and looking for flowers, and only when she had as many as she could carry did she continue on the way to her grandmother. She was puzzled when she found the door open, and as she entered the room, it seemed so strange inside that she thought, “Oh, my God, how frightened I feel today, and usually I like to be at grandmother's.” Then she went to the bed and drew back the curtains. There lay her grandmother with her cap pulled down over her face, giving her a strange appearance.

“Oh, grandmother, what big ears you have!”

“The better to hear you with.”

“Oh, grandmother, what big eyes you have!”

“The better to see you with.”

“Oh, grandmother, what big hands you have!”

“The better to grab you with.”

“Oh, grandmother, what a terribly big mouth you have!”

“The better to eat you with!”

No sooner did the wolf say that than he jumped out of bed and gobbled up poor Little Red Cap. After the wolf had the fat chunks in his body, he lay down in bed again, fell asleep, and began to snore very loudly. The huntsman happened to be passing by the house and thought to himself, “The way the old woman's snoring, you'd better see if something's wrong.” He went into the room, and when he came to the bed, he saw the wolf lying in it. He had been searching for the wolf a long time and thought that the beast had certainly eaten the grandmother. “Perhaps she can still be saved,” he said to himself. “I won't shoot.” So he took some scissors and cut open the wolf's belly. After he made a couple of cuts, he saw the little red cap shining forth, and after he made a few more cuts, the girl jumped out and exclaimed, “Oh, how frightened I was! It was so dark in the wolf's body.”

Soon the grandmother emerged alive. Little Red Cap quickly fetched some large heavy stones, and they filled the wolf's body with them. When he awoke and tried to run away, the stones were so heavy that he fell down at once and died.

All three were delighted. The huntsman skinned the fur from the wolf. The grandmother ate the cake and drank the wine that Little Red Cap had brought. And Little Red Cap thought to herself: “Never again will you stray from the path by yourself and go into the forest when your mother has forbidden it.”

It's also been told that Little Red Cap returned to her grandmother one day to bring some baked goods. Another wolf spoke to her and tried to
entice her to leave the path, but this time Little Red Cap was on her guard. She went straight ahead and told her grandmother that she had seen the wolf, that he had wished her good day, but that he had had such a mean look in his eyes that “he would have eaten me if we hadn't been on the open road.”

“Come,” said the grandmother. “We'll lock the door so he can't get in.”

Soon after, the wolf knocked and cried out, “Open up, grandmother. It's Little Red Cap, and I've brought you some baked goods.”

But they kept quiet and didn't open the door. So the wicked wolf circled the house several times and finally jumped on top of the roof. He wanted to wait till evening when Little Red Cap would go home. He intended to sneak after her and eat her up in the darkness. But the grandmother realized what he had in mind. In front of the house was a big stone trough, and she said to the child, “Fetch the bucket, Little Red Cap. I cooked sausages yesterday. Get the water they were boiled in and pour it into the trough.”

Little Red Cap kept carrying the water until she had filled the big, big trough. Then the smell of sausages reached the nose of the wolf. He sniffed and looked down. Finally, he stretched his neck so far that he could no longer keep his balance on the roof. He began to slip from the roof and fell right into the big trough and drowned. Then Little Red Cap went happily and safely to her home.

27

DEATH AND THE GOOSE BOY

A poor goose boy went walking along the bank of a large, turbulent river while looking after a flock of white geese. When he saw Death come toward him across the water, the boy asked him where he had come from and where he intended to go. Death answered that he had come from the water and wanted to leave the world. The poor goose boy asked Death once more how one could actually leave the world. Death said that one must go across the river into the new world that lay on the other side. The
goose boy said he was tired of this life and asked Death to take him across the water. Death said it was not time yet, for there were things Death still had to do.

Not far from there lived a greedy man, who at night kept trying to gather together more and more money and possessions. Death led him to the large river and pushed him in. Since he couldn't swim, he sank to the bottom before he could reach the bank. His cats and dogs that had run after him were also drowned. A few days later Death returned to the goose boy and found him singing cheerfully.

“Do you want to come with me now?” he asked.

The goose boy went willingly and crossed the river with his white geese, which were all turned into white sheep. The goose boy looked at the beautiful country and heard that the shepherds of places like that became kings, and as he was looking around, the arch-shepherds, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, came toward him, put a royal crown on his head, and led him to the castle of the shepherds, where he can still be found.

28

THE SINGING BONE

A wild boar was causing great damage throughout the entire country. Nobody dared to go into the forest, where the beast was running around. Whoever had been so bold as to enter the forest and to try to kill the boar had been ripped apart by its tusks. So the king proclaimed that whoever killed the wild boar would receive his only daughter for a wife.

Now, three brothers were living in the realm. The eldest was wily and smart; the second, somewhat intelligent; and the third and youngest, naïve and dumb. They thought of winning the princess and wanted to look for the wild boar and kill it. The two older brothers went out together, while the youngest proceeded alone. As this young man entered the forest, a little man appeared before him. He was holding a heavy lance in his hand and said: “Take this lance and attack the wild boar without fear. You'll easily be able to kill it.”

And this is what happened. He struck the boar with the black lance so that it fell to the ground. Then he cheerfully lifted the beast on his shoulders and carried it toward home. Along the way he passed by a house in which his older brothers were enjoying themselves by drinking wine. When they saw him carrying the boar on his back, they called out to him: “Come inside and have a drink with us. You must be tired.”

The innocent bumpkin didn't suspect anything evil. So he went inside and told them how he had killed the boar with the lance and was delighted about his good fortune.

In the evening they headed toward their home together, and the two older brothers made a plan to take their brother's life. They let him go ahead of them, and as they approached the city and were on a bridge, they attacked him and beat him to death. Then they buried him deep under the bridge. Afterward the eldest took the boar, carried it to the king, and received the princess for his wife.

It took many years before this deed was revealed, and it happened when a shepherd was crossing the bridge and noticed a little bone lying down below in the sand. Since it was so clean and snow white, he wanted to make a mouthpiece for his horn out of it. So he went down and picked it up. Later he made it into a mouthpiece, and as he set it into the horn and wanted to blow, the little bone began to sing on its own accord:

“Dear shepherd, blowing on my bone,

Hear my song, for I want you to know

My brothers killed me years ago!

They buried me by the brook that flows

and carried off the dead wild boar,

and won the king's lone daughter.”

The shepherd immediately took the horn and brought it to the king, and once again it sang the same words. When the king heard the song, he had the ground beneath the bridge dug up, and the skeleton of the dead brother was revealed. The two evil brothers confessed their crime and were thrown into the water. However, the bone of the murdered brother was laid to rest in a beautiful grave in the churchyard.

29

THE DEVIL WITH THE THREE GOLDEN HAIRS

A woodcutter was chopping wood in front of the king's house, while the princess was standing at a window above and observing him. When noon arrived, he sat down in the shadows and wanted to rest. Now the princess was able to see that he was very handsome and fell in love with him. So she had him summoned to her, and as soon as he caught sight of her and saw how beautiful she was, he fell in love with her. Soon they were united in their love for one another, but the king learned that the princess was in love with a woodcutter, and as soon as he knew this, he went to her and said: “You know that you may only wed the man who brings me the three golden hairs from the devil's head, whether he be a prince or a woodcutter.”