The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm (29 page)

“What should we do here? Let's go home.”

When they got home, the cook asked whether they had found anything. They said no. They'd found nothing but a church with a chandelier inside.

“You fools!” the cook scolded them. “Why didn't you destroy the church and bring back the chandelier?”

This time the old cook herself set out on foot accompanied by the three servants and pursued the children. But the children saw the three servants coming from afar and also the cook, who was waddling behind them.

“Foundling,” said little Lena. “If you won't forsake me, I won't forsake you.”

“Never ever,” said Foundling.

“Then change yourself into a pond,” said little Lena, “and I'll be the duck swimming on it.”

When the cook arrived and saw the pond, she lay down beside it and began to drink it up. However, the duck quickly swam over, grabbed her head in its beak, and dragged her into the water. The old witch was thus drowned, and the children went home together. They were very happy, and if they haven't died, they're still alive.

52

KING THRUSHBEARD

A king had a daughter who was marvelously beautiful but so proud and haughty that she rejected one suitor after the other out of stubbornness and ridiculed them as well.

Once her father held a great feast and invited all the marriageable young men to the event. They were all lined up according to their rank and class: first came the kings, then the dukes, princes, counts, and barons, and finally the gentry. The king's daughter was led down the line, and she found fault with each one of the suitors there. In particular, she made the most fun of a good king who stood at the head of the line and had a chin that was a bit crooked.

“My goodness!” she exclaimed and laughed. “He's got a chin like a thrush's beak!”

From then on, everyone called him Thrushbeard.

When her father saw how his daughter did nothing but ridicule people, he became furious and swore that she would have to marry the very first beggar who came to his door. A few days later a minstrel appeared and began singing beneath the princess's window. When the king heard him, he ordered him to come up to him immediately. Despite his dirty appearance, his daughter had to accept him as her bridegroom. A minister was summoned right away, and the wedding took place. After the wedding was finished, the king said to his daughter: “It's not fitting for you to stay in my palace any longer since you're a beggar woman. You must now depart with your husband.”

The beggar took her away, and as they walked through a huge forest, she asked the beggar:

“Tell me, who might the owner of this beautiful forest be?”

“King Thrushbeard owns the forest and all you can see.

If you had taken him, it would belong to you.”

“Alas, poor me! What can I do?

I should have wed King Thrushbeard. If only I knew!”

Soon they crossed a meadow, and she asked again:

“Tell me, who might the owner of this beautiful green meadow be?”

“King Thrushbeard owns the meadow and all you can see.

If you had taken him, it would belong to you.”

“Alas, poor me! What can I do?

I should have wed King Thrushbeard. If only I knew!”

Then they came to a large city, and she asked once more:

“Tell me, who might the owner of this beautiful big city be?”

“King Thrushbeard owns the forest and all you can see.

If you had taken him, it would belong to you.”

“Alas, poor me! What can I do?

I should have wed King Thrushbeard. If only I knew!”

The minstrel became very grumpy when he heard that she always desired another man and didn't think that he was good enough for her. Finally, they came to a tiny cottage, and she exclaimed:

“Oh, Lord! What a wretched tiny house!

It's not even fit for a little mouse.”

The beggar answered, “This house is our house, and we shall live here together.”

“Now, make a fire at once and put the water on so you can cook me my meal. I'm very tired.”

However, the king's daughter knew nothing about cooking, and the beggar had to lend a hand himself. At first things went reasonably well, and after they had eaten, they went to bed. But the next morning she had to get up very early and work. For a few days they lived miserably until the man finally said: “Wife, we can't go on this way any longer. We're eating everything up and not earning anything. You've got to weave baskets.”

He went out and cut some willows and brought them home, and she had to begin to weave baskets. However, the rough willows bruised her hands.

“I see you can't do this work,” said the man. “So try spinning. Perhaps you'll be better at that.”

She sat down and spun, but her fingers were so soft that the hard thread soon cut her, and blood began to flow.

“You're not fit for any kind of work,” said the man who was now very irritated. “I'm going to start a business with earthenware. You're to sit in the marketplace and sell the wares.”

On the first occasion everything went well. People gladly bought her pots because she was beautiful, and they paid what she asked. Indeed, many gave her money and didn't even bother to take the pots with them. When everything had been sold, her husband bought a lot of new earthenware. Once again his wife sat down with it at the marketplace and hoped to make a good profit. Suddenly, a drunken hussar came galloping along and rode right over the pots so that they were all smashed to pieces. The woman became terrified, and for the rest of the day she didn't dare to go home. When she finally did, the beggar was nowhere to be seen.

For some time she lived in poverty and in great need. Then a man came and invited her to a wedding. She wanted to take all kinds of
leftovers from the wedding and live off them for a while. So she put on her little coat with a pot underneath and stuck a large leather purse with it. The wedding was magnificent and with plenty of good things. She filled the pot with soup and her leather purse with scraps. As she was about to leave with everything, one of the guests demanded that she dance with him. She resisted with all her might, but to no avail. He grabbed hold of her, and she had to go with him. All at once the pot fell so that the soup flowed on the ground, and the many scraps also tumbled out of her purse. When the guests saw all this, they broke out in laughter and ridiculed her.

She was so ashamed that she wished she were a thousand fathoms under the earth. She ran out the door and tried to escape, but a man caught up with her on the stairs and brought her back. When she looked at him, she saw it was King Thrushbeard, and he said: “I and the beggar are the same person, and I was also the hussar who rode over your pots and smashed them to pieces. All this happened to you for your benefit and to punish you because you had ridiculed me some time ago. Now, however, our wedding will be celebrated.”

Then her father also appeared with his entire court, and she was cleaned and magnificently dressed, appropriate for her position, and the festive event was her marriage with King Thrushbeard.

53

LITTLE SNOW WHITE

Once upon a time, in the middle of winter, when snowflakes were falling like feathers from the sky, a beautiful queen was sitting and sewing at a window with a black ebony frame. And as she was sewing and looking out the window at the snow, she pricked her finger with the needle, and three drops of blood fell on the snow. The red looked so beautiful on the white snow that she thought to herself, “If only I had a child as white as snow, as red as blood, and as black as the wood of the window frame!” Soon thereafter she gave birth to a little daughter who was as white as snow, as red as blood, and her hair as black as ebony. That's why the child was called Little Snow White.

The queen was the most beautiful woman in the entire land and very proud about her beauty. She also had a mirror, and every morning she stepped in front of it and asked:

“Mirror, mirror, on the wall,

who in this land is fairest of all?”

The mirror would answer:

“You, my queen, are the fairest of all.”

And then she knew for certain that there was nobody more beautiful in the entire world. However, Little Snow White grew up, and when she was seven years old, she was so beautiful that her beauty surpassed even that of the queen, and when the queen asked her mirror:

“Mirror, mirror, on the wall,

who in this land is fairest of all?”

The mirror answered:

“You, my queen, may have a beauty quite rare,

but Little Snow White is a thousand times more fair.”

When the queen heard the mirror speak this way, she became pale with envy, and from that hour onward, she hated Snow White, and when she looked at her and thought that Little Snow White was to blame that she, the queen, was no longer the most beautiful woman in the world, her heart turned against Little Snow White. Her jealousy kept upsetting her, and so she summoned the huntsman and said: “Take the child out into the forest to a spot far from here. Then stab her to death and bring me back her lungs and liver as proof of your deed. After that I'll cook them with salt and eat them.”

The huntsman took Little Snow White and led her out into the forest, but when he drew his hunting knife and was about to stab her, she began to weep and pleaded so much to let her live and promised never to return but to run deeper into the forest, the huntsman was moved to pity, also because she was so beautiful. Anyway, he thought the wild
beasts in the forest would soon devour her: “I'm glad that I won't have to kill her.” Just then a young boar came dashing by, and the huntsman stabbed it to death. He took out the lungs and liver and brought them to the queen as proof that the child was dead. Then she boiled them in salt, ate them, and thought that she had eaten Little Snow White's lungs and liver.

Meanwhile, Little Snow White was so all alone in the huge forest that she became afraid and began to run and run over sharp stones and through thorn bushes. She ran the entire day. Finally, as the sun was about to set, she came upon a little cottage that belonged to seven dwarfs. However, they were not at home but had gone to the mines. When Little Snow White entered, she found everything tiny, but dainty and neat. There was a little table with a white tablecloth, and on it were seven little plates with seven tiny spoons, seven tiny knives and tiny forks, and seven tiny cups. In a row against the wall stood seven little beds recently covered with sheets. Since she was so hungry and thirsty, Little Snow White ate some vegetables and bread from each of the little plates and had a drop of wine to drink out of each of the tiny cups. And since she was so tired, she wanted to lay down and sleep. So she began trying out the beds, but none of them suited her until she found that the seventh one was just right. So she lay down in it and fell asleep.

When it turned night, the seven dwarfs returned home from their work and lit their seven little candles. Then they saw that someone had been in their house.

The first dwarf said: “Who's been sitting in my chair?”

“Who's eaten off my plate?” said the second.

“Who's eaten some of my bread?” said the third.

“Who's eaten some of my vegetables?” said the fourth.

“Who's been using my little fork?” said the fifth.

“Who's been cutting with my little knife?” said the sixth.

“Who's had something to drink from my little cup?” said the seventh.

Then the first dwarf looked around and said, “Who's been sleeping in my bed?”

Then the second cried out, “Someone's been sleeping in my bed!”

And he was followed by each one of them until the seventh dwarf looked at his bed and saw Little Snow White lying there asleep. The others came running over to him, and they were so astounded that they screamed and fetched their seven little candles to observe Little Snow White.

“Oh, my Lord! Oh, my Lord!” they exclaimed. “How beautiful she is!”

They took great delight in her but didn't wake her up. Instead, they let her sleep in the bed, while the seventh dwarf spent an hour in each one of his companions' beds until the night had passed. When Little Snow White awoke, they asked her who she was and how she had managed to come to their cottage. Then she told them how her mother had wanted to have her killed, how the huntsman had spared her life, and how she had run all day until she had eventually arrived at their cottage.

Then the dwarfs took pity on her and said, “If you'll keep house for us, cook, sew make the beds, wash, and knit, and if you'll keep everything neat and orderly, you can stay with us, and we'll provide you with everything you need. When we come home in the evening, dinner must be ready. During the day we're in the mines and dig for gold. You'll be alone and will have to watch out for the queen and not let anyone enter the cottage.”

In the meantime, the queen believed that she was once again the most beautiful woman in the land and stepped before her mirror and asked:

“Mirror, mirror, on the wall,

who in this land is fairest of all?”

The mirror answered:

“You, my queen, may have a beauty quite rare,

but beyond the seven mountains, this I must tell,

Little Snow White is living quite well.

Indeed, she's still a thousand times more fair.”

When the queen heard this, she was horrified, for she saw that she had been deceived and that the huntsman had not killed Little Snow White. Since nobody but the seven dwarfs lived in the seven mountains region, the queen knew immediately that Little Snow White was dwelling with them and began once again plotting ways to kill her. As long as the mirror
refused to say that she was the most beautiful woman in the land, she would remain upset. Since she couldn't be absolutely certain and didn't trust anyone, she disguised herself as an old peddler woman, painted her face so that nobody could recognize her, and went to the cottage of the seven dwarfs, where she knocked at the door and cried out, “Open up! Open up! I'm the old peddler woman. I've got pretty wares for sale!”