The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm (32 page)

Then the youngest son sat down on the fox's tail, and the fox raced over sticks and stones so swiftly that the wind whistled through the prince's hair. Shortly after, everything happened as the fox said it would. The grooms snored and were holding golden saddles in their hands. When he saw the golden horse, he felt sorry for it and thought it would be a shame to put the poor saddle on it. So he decided to give the horse the one that he deserved. Yet, just as he was about to take a good saddle from one of the stable boys, the groom woke up, as did the others. Again he was captured and thrown into prison. The next morning he was sentenced to death again. However, his life would be spared and he would be granted the golden horse and the bird as well if he fetched the marvelously beautiful princess.

So the son sadly set out on his way, and soon the old fox was standing there again.

“Why didn't you listen to me? You'd have the bird and the horse by now. Nevertheless, I'll give you advice one more time. Now go straight out, and toward evening you'll come to a castle. At midnight the princess
will go to the bathhouse to bathe herself. You're to go inside and give her a kiss. By doing this you'll be able to take her with you. But don't allow her to take leave of her parents.”

The fox stretched out his tail and raced over sticks and stones so swiftly that the wind whistled through the prince's hair. When he arrived at the golden castle, it was just as the fox had said it would be. At night he gave the princess a kiss in the bathhouse, and she was ready to go with him, but she implored him with tears to let her say farewell to her parents. At first he refused, but when she kept on weeping and fell at his feet, he finally gave in. But no sooner did the princess approach her father than he and everyone else in the castle woke up, and the young man was taken prisoner.

The next morning the king said to him: “You may have my daughter only if you remove the mountain that's lying in front of my window and blocking my view. You have one week to perform this task.”

This mountain, however, was so huge, so very huge, that it would have taken all the people in the world to carry it away. And after he had worked for seven whole days and saw how little he had accomplished, he became very worried. However, on the evening of the seventh day, the fox appeared and said, “Go lie down and get some sleep. I'll do the job for you.”

The next morning, when the young man awoke, the mountain had vanished. So he went cheerfully to the king and told him that the mountain had been removed, and he was now to give him his daughter. So the king had to do this, and the two of them now set out together.

However, the fox came and said: “Now we must have all three—the princess, the horse, and the bird.”

“Yes,” said the young man. “If you can do all this, but it will be difficult for you.”

“If you only listen, things will work out.” the fox replied. “Now when you come to the king, who demanded the marvelously beautiful princess, tell him, ‘Here she is.' There will be enormous rejoicing. So mount the golden horse that they must give you and shake hands with everyone and say good-bye. Make sure that the beautiful maiden is the last person, and when you have clasped her hand, swing her up to you in one motion and gallop away.”

Everything went as planned, and the fox spoke once more to the young man: “Now, as you approach the castle where the golden bird's being kept, I'll remain with the princess before the gate. Then ride into the castle courtyard. They'll see that the golden horse is the right one, and so they'll carry out the golden bird. You remain sitting and tell them you want to see if the bird is the right one. As soon as you have the cage in your hand, you race away.”

Everything went well, and as soon as he had the bird, the princess got on the horse again, and they continued to ride through the vast forest. Then the fox came and said he wanted the young man to shoot him dead and cut off his head and paws. However, the young man absolutely refused.

“Well then,” said the fox, “at least I'll give you one last piece of advice. Beware of two things: don't buy flesh that's bound for the gallows, and don't sit on the edge of a well.”

“That's not so difficult, if that's all there's to it.”

So now the young man continued his journey with the beautiful maiden until he finally came to the village where his two brothers had remained. All at once there was a great commotion and uproar. So he asked what was going on and was told that two men were about to be hanged. When he came closer to the scene, he saw that the men were his brothers, who had committed all sorts of terrible acts and had squandered all their possessions.

“Can't they be pardoned in any way?” the young man asked.

“No, unless you're willing to spend your money for these crooks and buy their freedom.”

The prince didn't think twice about it and paid what they demanded. His brothers were set free, and he continued the journey in their company.

When they came to the forest where they had first met the fox, it was cool and lovely there, and the two brothers said, “Let's go over to the well and rest awhile. We could also eat and drink.”

The young prince said yes, and during their conversation he forgot the fox's warning and sat down on the edge of the well, not suspecting any evil-doing. But the two brothers pushed him backward down into the well, took the maiden, the horse, and the bird, and went home to the king.

“We've managed to capture all this, and we've brought you everything.”

There was great rejoicing, but the horse refused to eat, the bird didn't sing, and the maiden sat and wept.

Meanwhile, the youngest brother lay down in the well that fortunately was dry, and even though he hadn't broken any of his arms or legs, he couldn't find his way out. Meanwhile the old fox came once again and scolded him for not listening because otherwise this would not have happened. “Nevertheless, I can't help myself and must help you out. Grab my tail and hold on tightly.”

Then the fox pulled him up to the top. When they were above, the fox said: “Your brothers have posted guards who are to kill you if you cross the border.”

So the prince put on the clothes of a poor man and succeeded in reaching the king's court without being recognized. No sooner was he there than the bird began to sing, the horse began to eat, and the princess stopped weeping. Then the prince appeared before the king and revealed his brothers' crime and how everything had happened. So the brothers were seized and executed, and he received the princess. Later, after his father's death, he became king as well.

Many years later the prince went walking through the forest again and encountered the old fox, who implored him desperately to shoot him dead and cut off his head and paws. This time the prince did it, and no sooner was it done than the fox turned into none other than the brother of the beautiful princess and was finally released from a magic spell.

58

LOYAL GODFATHER SPARROW

Once upon a time there was a deer about to give birth, and she asked the fox to be the godfather. However, the fox invited the sparrow to be godfather as well, and the sparrow also wanted to invite his special good friend the house dog to be godfather. However, the dog's master had tied him up with a rope because the dog had returned home very drunk from a wedding. The sparrow thought that this was not a problem and pecked and pecked at the rope one thread after the other as long as it took for the dog to be released. Now they went together to the godfathers' banquet and enjoyed themselves very much, because there was plenty to eat and drink there. The dog, however, didn't pay attention and drank too much wine again. When they stood up, his head was so heavy that he could barely stand on his four legs. Nevertheless, he staggered part of the way toward home. Finally, however, he fell over and remained lying in the middle of the road. Just then a carter came and wanted to drive over him with his cart.

“Carter, don't do that,” the sparrow cried out, “or you'll pay for it with your life!”

However, the carter didn't listen to him. Instead, he whipped the horses and drove the horses right over the dog so that the wheels broke the dog's bones. The fox and the sparrow dragged the godfather home, and when dog's master saw him, he said: “He's dead,” and gave him to the carter to bury.

Now, the carter thought that the dog's skin was still useful. So he loaded the dog onto his cart and drove away. However, the sparrow flew nearby and yelled out: “Carter, you'll pay for this with your life! Carter, you'll pay for this with your life!”

The carter was angry at the little bird because he thought he was being taken for a fool. So he grabbed his axe and tried to hit the sparrow, who flew higher into the air. Instead of hitting the sparrow, the carter hit his horse's head so that the horse fell down dead. The carter had to leave it lying there and drive on with the other two horses. Then the sparrow returned and sat down on the head of another horse.

“Carter, you'll pay for this with your life!”

The carter ran toward the bird and yelled: “I've got you!” but as he tried to hit the sparrow, he struck his horse on the head so that it fell over dead. Now there was only one horse left. The sparrow didn't wait long and sat down on the head of the third horse and cried out: “Carter, you'll pay for this with your life!”

But the carter was now so furious that he didn't think about what he was doing and just swung his axe randomly. Now all his three horses had been beaten to death, and he had to leave the cart standing there. Angry
and vitriolic he went home and sat down behind the oven. But the sparrow had flown after him, sat down in front of the window, and cried out: “Carter, you'll pay for this with your life!”

The carter grabbed his axe and smashed the window, but he didn't hit the sparrow. Now the bird hopped inside the house, sat down on top of the oven, and cried out: “Carter, you'll pay for this with your life!”

Crazy and blind with rage he chopped the entire oven to pieces, and as the sparrow flew from one place to another, the carter smashed all the household utensils, mirrors, chairs, benches, table, and the walls of the house. Finally, he grabbed hold of the sparrow and said: “Now I've got you!” He stuck the bird into his mouth and swallowed it whole. However, when the sparrow was in the carter's body, it began to flap its wings, and it fluttered up to the carter's mouth, stuck its head outside, and cried out: “Carter, you'll pay for this with your life!”

Well now the carter gave the axe to his wife and commanded; “Wife, strike the bird in my mouth and kill it!”

But the wife missed her mark, and instead she struck her husband in the head so that he immediately fell down the ground dead, while the sparrow flew out and away.

59

PRINCE SWAN

There was once a maiden all alone in the middle of a large forest. Suddenly, a swan came flying up to her. It had a ball of yarn and said: “I'm not a swan. I'm an enchanted prince, and if you unravel the yarn to which I'm attached, then I'll be released from a spell. But take care that you don't break it in two. Otherwise, I won't be able to return to my kingdom and won't be saved. If you unravel the yarn, you'll become my bride.”

The maiden took the yarn, and the swan climbed into the sky. The maiden unraveled the yarn easily, and she unraveled and unraveled the entire day so that the end of the yarn could already be seen. However, just then it unfortunately became caught on a thorn bush and broke in two. The maiden was very distressed and wept. Since it was turning night, and
the wind was blowing so loudly in the forest, she became afraid and began to run as fast as she could. And as she was running, she saw a small light and rushed toward it. There she found a house and knocked on the door. A little old woman came out and was astounded to see a maiden standing before her door.

“Oh, my child,” she said. “Where are you coming from so late in the night?”

“Please, may I have a place to sleep for the night and also some food?” she asked. “I've lost my way in the forest.”

“This is a difficult situation,” the old woman replied. “I'd gladly give you what you want, but my husband is a cannibal. If he finds you, he'll eat you. There's no mercy. But if you remain outside, the wild animals will eat you. So I'll see if I can help you get through this.”

The old woman let her enter, gave her some food to eat, and then hid her beneath the bed. The cannibal always came home before midnight right after the sun had fully set and left right before sunrise. So it wasn't long before he entered and said: “I smell, I smell human flesh!” And he searched around the room until he reached under the bed and dragged the maiden out. “Now this will make for a good snack!”

But the old woman pleaded and pleaded for the maiden's life until he promised to let her live overnight and to eat her for his breakfast. However, the old woman woke the maiden before sunrise.