The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm (56 page)

So his father had the rooster shod and was glad that Hans My Hedgehog didn't want to return again. Now, when Hans My Hedgehog departed, he set out for the country of the first king whom he had helped, but the king had given his men orders to stop anyone who was riding on a rooster and playing bagpipes from entering the castle. If necessary, they were to use their guns, spears, or swords to stop him. So when Hans My Hedgehog came riding, they attacked him with their bayonets, but he put spurs to his rooster, and the bird rose in the air, flew over the gate, and landed on the ledge of the king's window. He called to the king to keep his promise and give him the princess; otherwise, he would take his life and his daughter's as well. Then the king implored his daughter with the best words he could use to go with Hans My Hedgehog to save their lives. So she dressed herself all in white, and her father gave her a coach with six horses, splendid servants, money, and property. She got into the coach and was followed by Hans My Hedgehog, with his bagpipes and his rooster by his side. They then said good-bye and drove away, and the king thought that was the last be would ever see of his daughter, but things happened much differently from how he thought they would. When they had gone a little way from the city, Hans My Hedgehog took off the princess's beautiful clothes and stuck her with his quills until she was covered with blood.

“This is what you get for being so deceitful!” he said. “Go away. I don't want you.”

Then he chased her home, and she lived in disgrace for the rest of her life.

Meanwhile, Hans My Hedgehog took his bagpipes, got on his rooster, and continued his journey toward the second kingdom, which belonged to the other king whom he had led out of the forest. However, this king had ordered his men to present arms, to allow Hans My Hedgehog to enter, and to greet him by shouting “Long may he live!” After that they were to escort him into the royal palace. When the king's daughter saw him, she was frightened because he looked so strange. However, she thought there was nothing she could do, for she had promised her father to go with him. Therefore, she welcomed Hans My Hedgehog and had to go with him to the royal table, where she sat next to him. Then they ate and drank. When evening came and it was time to go to bed, she was very much afraid of his quills, but he said not to fear because he had no intention of harming her. Then he told the old king to have four men stand watch in front of the bedroom door and to make a big fire, for when he got inside and prepared to go to bed, he would slip out of his hedgehog's skin and leave it in front of the bed. The men were then to rush in quickly, throw the skin on the fire, and stand there until it was completely extinguished.

When the clock struck eleven, he went into the room, stripped off the hedgehog's skin, and left it on the floor in front of the bed. Right after this the men came, picked up the skin, and threw it into the fire. When the fire had consumed it, he was set free and lay in bed just like a human being, but he was pitch black, as if he had been burned. The king sent for his doctor, who rubbed him with special ointments and balms, and gradually, he became white and turned into a handsome young man. When the princess saw that, she was very happy. The next morning they got up in a joyful mood and had a fine meal. Then the wedding was held, and Hans My Hedgehog was given the kingdom by the old king.

After some years had passed, the young king took his wife and drove to visit his father, and he told the old man that he was his son. The father, however, said he had no son, though he once had one, but he had been born with quills like a hedgehog and had gone off into the world. Then Hans My Hedgehog revealed himself to his father, and the old man rejoiced and went back with him to his kingdom.

23

THE LITTLE SHROUD

A mother had a little boy of seven who was handsome, and she loved him more than anything in the world. But, all of a sudden, he died. The mother couldn't stop grieving and wept day and night. Not long after the boy was buried, he began to appear at night in places where he had formerly sat and played when he had been alive. Then, whenever his mother wept, he would weep too, and when morning came, he would disappear. Since his mother wouldn't stop her weeping, he came one night clad in the little white shroud that he had worn in his coffin and with a wreath on his head. He sat down at her feet on the bed and said, “Oh, Mother, please stop weeping. Otherwise, I won't be able to get to sleep in my coffin. My little shroud is all wet from the tears you've been shedding on it.”

Upon hearing this, his mother became frightened and stopped weeping. The next night, the child came again with a light in his hand and said, “You see, now my shroud is almost dry, and I can rest in my grave.”

Then his mother commended her grief to the dear Lord and bore it silently and patiently. The child never returned after that but slept in his little bed beneath the ground.

24

THE JEW IN THE THORNBUSH

A farmer had a hard-working and faithful servant, who served him for three years without receiving any wages. Finally, it occurred to the servant that he really didn't want to work for nothing, and he went to his master and said: “I've served you honestly and tirelessly for a long time. That's why I trust you'll now want to give me what's due to me, in keeping with God's commandments.”

However, the farmer was a sleazy man and knew that the servant was simple-minded. So he took three pennies and gave him a penny for each year. That's how the servant was paid. Meanwhile, he believed that all this was a fortune and thought, “Why should I put up with drudgery
anymore? I can now take care of myself and be free and have a merry time in the world.” So he stuck his huge amount of money in a sack and began traveling cheerfully over hill and dale.

When he came to a field, skipping and singing, a little man appeared and asked him why he was so merry.

“Oh, why should I be gloomy? I'm healthy, and I've got an enormous amount of money and don't need to worry. I've saved all that I earned from working for my master three years, and it's all mine!”

“How much is your treasure?”asked the little man.

“Three whole pennies,” answered the servant.

“I'm a poor man. Give me your three pennies.”

Now since the servant had a kind heart and took pity on the little man, he gave him the money.

Then the man said: “Because you have a pure heart, you are to be granted three wishes, one for each penny. Now you may have what your heart desires.”

The servant was satisfied with this and thought, “I prefer things to money,” and he said: “First, I wish for a fowling gun that hits everything I aim at; second I wish for a fiddle that will make everyone dance when I play it; third I want people always to do what I request.”

The little man said, “All your wishes are granted,” and he immediately gave him the fiddle and the gun and went off on his way.

Well, if the servant had been happy before, he thought that he was now ten times happier, and he had not gone very far when he encountered an old Jew. A tree was standing there, and a small lark was sitting on top of the highest branch and sang and sang.

“It's a miracle of God that such a little bird can sing like that!” said the Jew. “I'd give anything to have it.”

“Well, if that's all you want, the bird will soon come down to us,” said the servant. Then he took aim with his gun and shot the lark between the eyes so that it fell down from the tree.

“Go and pick it up,” he said to the Jew.

However, the bird had fallen into some thornbushes that were under the tree. The Jew crawled into the bushes, and when he was stuck in the
middle of the bushes, the servant took out his fiddle and began playing. Then the Jew started to dance and couldn't stop. Instead, he jumped even higher with more force. Meanwhile, the thorns ripped his clothes so that they hung in shreds on him, and he was scratched and wounded, causing his entire body began to bleed. .

“For God's sake!” the Jew screamed. “Stop playing your fiddle. What crime have I done to deserve this?”

“You've skinned enough people,” thought the servant, “so you're just getting the justice that you deserve.” And he played a new jig. Meanwhile the Jew began pleading and making promises and said he'd give him money if he stopped. At first, however, the servant didn't think the Jew offered him enough and drove him to dance even more until the Jew promised him a hundred solid gold coins that he was carrying in his bag and that he had just obtained by cheating a good Christian. When the servant saw all that money, he said: “Well, given this condition, yes, I'll stop.” So he took the bag and stopped playing his fiddle. Then he calmly and happily went on his way.

Meanwhile the Jew broke out of the thornbush. He was half naked and miserable and began contemplating how he'd avenge himself. He cursed the fellow and wished evil things would happen to him. Finally, he ran to a judge and complained that, without being at fault, he had been robbed of his money by a scoundrel and that he had been beaten mercilessly, and the fellow who had done this was carrying a gun on his back, and a fiddle was hanging from his shoulder. So the judge sent out some couriers and officers who were supposed to track down the servant and see where they could find him. Soon the young man was discovered and brought before the court.

The Jew accused the servant of robbing his money, but the servant said: “You gave the money to me so that I'd stop playing my fiddle.”

The judge made short matter of all this and sentenced the servant to hang on the gallows. Well, soon he stood on the platform of the gallows with the noose around his neck, and he said, “Judge, please grant me one last request.”

“As long as you don't ask me to spare your life.”

“It's not about my life. I'd like to play my fiddle just one last time.”

The Jew started screaming: “For God's sake, don't let him do this! Don't let him do this!”

But the judge declared: “I'm going to allow him to do this one last time, and let's leave it at that.”

Also, since he had such talent, nobody at the marketplace wanted to refuse or have his request denied.

“For God's sake,” the Jew shouted. “Tie me up!”

Then the servant took the fiddle and stroked it with the bow. Everyone started to shake and sway—the judge, the clerk, and the officers. Nobody could tie up the Jew. Now the servant stroked the fiddle a second time, and the hangman let go of the rope and began to dance himself, and when the servant really started fiddling, everyone danced together—the judge and the Jew at the head of all the people who had come to the marketplace to watch. At the beginning it was quite merry, but since the fiddling and dancing didn't end, they all screamed miserably and pleaded with the servant to stop. However, he refused to do it unless the judge granted him his life and also promised to let him have the hundred gold coins. In addition he yelled to the Jew: “You swindler, confess and tell us where you got the money from, otherwise I'll keep playing the fiddle for you only.”

“I stole it, I stole it!” he screamed so that everyone heard him. “And you earned it honestly.”

So the servant stopped playing the fiddle, and the scoundrel was hung in his place on the gallows.

25

THE EXPERT HUNTSMAN

Once upon a time there was a young fellow, and after he had learned the locksmith's trade, he told his father that he had to go out into the world and try his luck.

“Yes,” said his father. “I'm satisfied with your decision,” and he gave him money for his journey.

So the young man wandered about looking for work. After some time he found that he was not very successful as a locksmith. Moreover, the
trade no longer suited him, for he had a craving to become a huntsman. Then one day during his travels he met a huntsman clad in green, who asked him where he came from and where he was going. The young man told him he was a locksmith but no longer liked the trade and wanted to become a huntsman, and he asked whether the man could take him on as an apprentice.

“Yes, I can if you want to come along with me.”

The young fellow went with him, hired himself out for several years, and learned the craft of hunting. After his apprenticeship had ended, he wanted to try his luck elsewhere. The only wage he received from the huntsman was an air gun, but it was made in such a special way that it never missed when fired.

The young huntsman set off and soon came to a very large forest that was impossible to cross in one day. When evening came, he climbed a high tree to keep himself safe from wild animals. Toward midnight he thought he saw the glimmer of a small light in the distance. He looked through the branches at the spot and took note of where the light was coming from. Then he removed his hat and threw it toward the light so that he would have a marker to point him in the direction he wanted to go. After he climbed down, he went after his hat, put it on again, and proceeded straight ahead. The farther he went, the larger the light grew, and when he got up close to it, he saw a tremendous fire with three giants sitting around and eating, with large pieces of meat in their mouths that they had roasted on the fire. Then the huntsman took his gun and shot a piece of meat away from the first giant's mouth just as he was about to bite into it. He did this also to the second giant. Then the giants said to one another, “Anyone who can shoot a piece of meat from our mouths must be a real sharpshooter. We'd certainly like him to join us if he wants to.”

But the huntsman now shot a piece of meat from the third giant's mouth, and the giants shouted, “Who are you? Come over to us. Sit down and eat with us.”

So now, the young fellow joined the giants and told them he was an expert huntsman, and that whatever he took aim at with his gun he was sure to hit. After hearing this, the giants told him things would go well for
him if he came along with them. There was a large river at the other end of the forest, they explained, and on the other side of the river was a tower, and in the tower there was a beautiful princess, whom they intended to kidnap.