Selected Tales of the Brothers Grimm

by Jacob Grimm

  The king regretted forfeiting all his faithful fighters on account of one warrior. He wished he’d never set his eyes upon him and wanted to be rid of him again. But he did not dare give him his walking papers, as he feared the fellow might slaughter him along with all his people and set himself on the throne. After pondering long and hard, he finally had an idea. He sent word to the little tailor and told him that, because he was such a great war hero, he wanted to make him an offer. In his realm there lived two giants who wreaked havoc with looting, murder, arson, and such; no one dared face them at the risk of his life. If he could prevail and lay them low, he would be given the king’s only daughter as a bride and half the kingdom as a dowry, and he would have a hundred cavalrymen as reinforcements.

  That would be something for a guy like me, thought the little tailor. It isn’t every day you’re offered a pretty princess and half a kingdom. “Very well,” he replied, “I’ll put those giants in their place, and I don’t need the help of a hundred cavalrymen to do it – he who can fell seven with one blow needn’t worry about two.”

  So the little tailor set out and the hundred cavalrymen followed him. When he got to the edge of the forest, he said to his retinue, “You just stay here, I’ll make short shrift of the giants on my own.” Then he leapt into the forest and peered to the right and to the left. A little while later he spotted the two giants – they lay asleep under a tree, snoring so hard the branches bent up and down. Without dawdling, the little tailor filled both his pockets with stones and climbed the tree. Once he’d reached the middle, he slipped down a branch, until he was seated directly over the sleepers, and let fall one stone after another on the chest of one of the giants. For the longest time the giant felt nothing, but finally he woke up, poked his partner, and said, “Why are you hitting me?”

  “You’re dreaming,” said the other. “I haven’t touched you.”

  As soon as they went back to sleep, the tailor tossed stones down on the second giant.

  “What’s the idea!” the latter cried out. “Why are you throwing things at me?”

  “I’m not throwing anything at you,” the other grumbled.

  They squabbled for a while, but seeing as they were tired, they soon made up and their eyes fell shut again. Then the little tailor began his game again. He searched for the heaviest stone he could find and hurled it with all his might at the chest of the first giant.

  “That does it!” he cried, and leaping up like a lunatic, shoved his partner so hard against the tree trunk that it trembled. The other giant responded in like manner, and they got so angry they tore up trees and pummeled each other until finally both lay dead on the ground. Whereupon the little tailor leapt down from his perch. “Lucky thing,” he said, “they didn’t tear up the tree in which I sat, or else I would have had to leap like a squirrel to another tree – but a guy like me has got to stay on his toes!” He pulled out his sword and dealt each of the giants a mighty stroke in the chest, whereupon he went back to the cavalrymen and reported, “The job is done, I finished them both off. Though they put up a fight and tore up trees to defend themselves, it was no use against a guy like me who can fell seven with one blow.”

  “Aren’t you even wounded?” asked the cavalrymen.

  “Not a scratch,” replied the tailor. “They didn’t ruffle a hair on my head.”

  The cavalrymen did not want to believe him and rode into the forest. There they found the giants bathed in blood, and ’round about them lay the uprooted trees.

  So the little tailor demanded his just reward from the king, who, however, regretted his promise and pondered how to get rid of the hero. “Before you can get my daughter and half of my kingdom,” said the king, “you must still accomplish one more heroic act. In the forest there is a unicorn running wild and wreaking havoc. You’ve got to catch it first.”

  “I’m far less afraid of a unicorn than of two giants. Seven with one blow, that’s my motto.”

  The little tailor took along an ax and a rope and went to the forest, and again he told his retinue to wait for him. He didn’t have to search for long before the unicorn came charging right at him as though it meant to spear him through with a single thrust.

  “Not so fast,” he said, “you’ll have to do better than that.” Then he stood stock-still, waited until the beast was almost upon him, whereupon he spryly leapt behind a tree. The unicorn ran with all its might against the tree and got its horn stuck so fast in the trunk that it didn’t have the strength to pull it out again, and so was trapped. “Now I’ve got the bird in the bag,” said the tailor, stepping forth from behind the tree. First he tied the rope around the unicorn’s neck, then with a heave of his ax cut the horn from the tree, and once he was done he led the creature and brought it before the king.

  But the king would still not grant him the promised reward and made a third demand. Before the wedding could take place the tailor had to catch the wild boar that was wreaking havoc in the forest. The king’s hunters would lend him a hand.

  “Gladly,” said the tailor. “That’s child’s play.”

  The little tailor did not take the hunters with him into the forest, and they were right pleased about that, for the wild boar had already more than once welcomed them with its tusks, so that they had no desire to stalk it. When the boar spotted the tailor, it lunged at him with foaming mouth and gnashing teeth and wanted to mow him down, but the fleet-footed hero slipped inside a chapel that stood nearby and promptly leapt back out a window. The boar ran in after him, but the little tailor hopped to it outside and slammed the door shut behind the boar, and being much too heavy and cumbersome to jump out the window, the seething beast was trapped inside. The little tailor called for the hunters to come see the captive creature with their own eyes, while the hero made tracks to the king, who now, whether he wanted to or not, had to keep his promise and hand over his daughter and half his kingdom. Had he known that it was no war hero but a lowly little tailor standing there before him, he would have regretted it even more. The wedding was held with great pomp and little joy, whereupon the tailor became a king.

  Some time after that the young queen overheard her husband muttering aloud in his sleep, “Better sew my vest, son, and patch up my pants, or I’ll box your ears with this yardstick!” from which she surmised the young man’s humble origins, of which she complained the next morning to the king, asking him to help her separate from this fellow who was nothing but a lowly tailor.

  The king comforted her and said, “Leave your bedroom door open tonight. My servants will stand outside, and once he’s asleep, they’ll sneak in, tie him up, and put him on a ship bound for some far distant shore.”

  She was pleased with the plan, but the king’s standard-bearer, who had overheard everything and was kindly disposed to the young man, revealed the entire plot to him.

  “I’ll nip that plan in the bud,” said the little tailor.

  That evening he went to bed with his wife at the regular time. Once she thought he was asleep, she got up, opened the door, and went back to bed. But the little tailor, who only pretended to be asleep, started clamoring, “Better sew my vest, son, and patch up my pants, or I’ll box your ears with this yardstick! I felled seven with one blow, slew two giants, ensnared a unicorn, and trapped a wild boar, and those waiting outside my bedroom door think I’m afraid of them!” When the king’s servants heard this, they were overcome by fear, and not a one of them dared draw near. So the little tailor held on to his crown and remained a king for the rest of his life.

  THE FROG KING, OR IRON HENRY

  In olden times, when wishing still worked, there lived a king whose daughters were all beautiful, but the youngest was so lovely that the sun itself that had seen so much was stunned every time it cast its rays on her face. Not far from the king’s castle there was a deep, dark woods, and in the woods under an old linden tree, there was a spring. At the hottest time of the day the king’s lovely child was wont to venture out into the woods and sit on the
edge of the cool spring – and when she didn’t know what to do, she took a golden ball, tossed it up in the air, and caught it again, and that was her favorite plaything.

  It came to pass on one occasion that the golden ball did not drop into her open hands but fell short, struck the ground, and rolled right into the water. The king’s daughter followed it with her eyes, but the ball disappeared, and the spring was deep, so deep you couldn’t see the bottom. And she started crying, and kept crying louder and louder. She was beside herself with sadness.

  Whereupon, in answer to her tears, a voice cried out, “What’s the matter, princess? Your tears make even a stone take pity.”

  Looking around to see where the voice came from, she spotted a frog poking his thick ugly head up out of the water. “Oh, it’s you, old splatterpuss,” she said. “I’m crying on account of my golden ball that fell into the spring.”

  “Be still and cry no more,” replied the frog, “I might be able to help. But what will you give me if I bring back your precious plaything?”

  “I’ll give you whatever you want, dear frog,” she said, “my clothes, my pearls and precious stones, and even the golden crown on my head.”

  To which the frog replied, “I couldn’t give a hoot about your clothes, your pearls and precious stones, nor even your golden crown, but if you’ll take me to heart, let me be your bosom friend and playmate, let me sit beside you at your little table, eat from your little golden plate, drink from your little cup, sleep in your little bed – if you promise to do that, then I’ll dive down and bring up your golden ball.”

  “Oh, yes,” she said, “I promise to do everything you wish, if you bring me back my golden ball.” But she thought to herself, Foolish frog, what nonsense he blabbers! He floats and croaks among his own kind in the water and can’t very well cavort with a human being.

  But no sooner did she agree than the frog poked his head in the water and dove down, and a little while later came paddling back up with the ball in his mouth and flung it on the grass. The princess, overjoyed to see her splendid plaything again, picked it up and ran off with it.

  “Wait, wait,” cried the frog, “take me with you. I can’t run as fast as you!”

  But what good did it do him to croak after her as loud as he could! She wasn’t listening. She hurried on home and promptly forgot the poor little frog, who had to hop back into its spring.

  The next day while she sat at the table with the king and all his courtiers and ate from her little golden plate, splitter-splat, splitter-splat, something came creeping up the marble steps, and once it reached the top, it knocked on the door and called out, “Little princess, let me in!”

  She ran to see who it was outside, but when she opened the door she spotted the frog. So she slammed the door shut and went back to her seat at the table, trembling with fear. The king noticed that her heart was beating fast, and said, “My child, what’s the matter? Is there a giant at the door who wants to drag you off?”

  “Oh, no,” she replied, “it’s no giant, just a disgusting frog.”

  “What does the frog want from you?”

  “Oh, Father dear, yesterday, when I sat by the spring in the forest playing with my golden ball, it fell into the water. And hearing me crying bitterly, the frog dove down and fetched it, and since he insisted, I promised he could be my mate, but I never thought he’d be able to wiggle his way out of the water. So now he’s waiting outside and wants to come in.”

  Then the frog started knocking again and cried:

  “Little princess, let me in,

  Don’t you recall

  What you said by the spring

  When you lost your ball,

  Your favorite plaything?

  Little princess, let me in!”

  Then the king said, “A promise is a promise. Go now and let him in.”

  So she went and opened the door, and the frog hopped in and followed hot on her heels all the way to her little chair. He sat there and said, “Pick me up, princess.” She hesitated, until finally the king made her do as the frog asked. And once he was on her chair, he wanted to be put on the table, and no sooner was he seated there than he said, “Now push your little golden plate toward me, so that we may eat together,” which she did, though you could tell she didn’t do it gladly. The frog ate with gusto, but every bite the princess took stayed stuck in her pretty throat. Finally he said, “I’ve eaten my fill and now I’m tired. Take me to your little room and fold down your silken bedcover. We’ll take a little nap together.”

  The king’s daughter started crying, afraid of the cold frog, whom she didn’t dare touch and who now wanted to sleep in her clean and lovely little bed.

  But the king got angry and said, “You dare not scorn him now, he who helped you when you were in need.” Then he grabbed the frog with two fingers, carried him upstairs, and set him in a corner of her room. But when she lay in bed, the frog came crawling over and said, “I’m tired, princess, and want to sleep just like you do – pick me up or I’ll tell your father.”

  Whereupon she flew into a bitter rage, picked him up, and flung him against the wall with all her might. “Enough is enough, you disgusting frog!”

  But when he fell down, he was a frog no more, but a prince with beautiful and friendly eyes. And by her father’s will they were wed. Then he told her how a witch had cast an evil spell on him, and nobody could have freed him from the spring but she alone. Tomorrow, he said, they would ride back to his realm.

  Then they fell asleep, and the next morning when they were awakened by the first rays of sunlight, a carriage came rolling up drawn by eight white horses with peacock feathers on their heads, attached by golden chains, and in the coachman’s box sat the young king’s servant, Faithful Henry. Faithful Henry was so upset to see his master turned into a frog that he’d had three iron bands strung around his heart so that it wouldn’t burst in pain and sorrow. The carriage had come to take the young king back to his kingdom. Faithful Henry lifted them both into the rig and climbed back into the coachman’s box, overjoyed at the prince’s deliverance from the evil spell. And after they’d driven for a while, the prince heard a crack, as though something had broken. So he turned around and cried: “Henry, the wagon’s breaking.”

  “No, sire, it’s my heart no longer aching,

  A band has burst

  To see you no more cursed,

  The frog’s hide you shed

  When the princess took you to bed.”

  Again, and then again, something cracked along the way, and each time the prince thought it was the wagon breaking, but it was just the bands around Faithful Henry’s heart bursting to see his master at last released from the spell, hale and happy with his lovely bride.

  THE WHITE SNAKE

  Long, long ago there lived a king renowned far and wide for his wisdom. There was nothing he didn’t know about, and it was as if the knowledge of the most obscure things were reported to him through thin air. But he had one curious custom. Every day after the midday meal, when all the dishes were cleared from the table and everyone else had dispersed, a trusted servant had to bring him a bowl. But it was covered with a lid and even the servant had no idea what it contained, and not a soul knew the secret, for the king would not lift the lid and eat from it until he was all alone. This had been going on for quite some time, when, one day, as soon as the king was done, while carrying off the bowl, curiosity got the better of the servant, who brought the bowl to his room. Once he had locked the door behind him, he lifted the lid and saw a white snake curled up in the bottom of the bowl. As soon as he caught sight of it he could not resist the temptation to take a bite, so he cut off a little piece and put it in his mouth. But no sooner did it touch his tongue than he heard outside the window a strange whispering of faint voices. He poked his head out the window and pricked up his ears, and fathomed that it was the sparrows chattering, telling each other all that they had witnessed flying over field and forest. That snippet of snake had granted him t
he ability to understand the language of animals.

  It so happened that on that very day the queen lost her loveliest ring, and suspicion fell on the trusted servant who had privileged access to every corner of the castle. The king called for him, and giving him a good tongue-lashing, threatened that if he could not find the thief by the following morning, then he himself would bear the guilt and be executed. It did the servant no good to swear to his innocence, the die was cast. In his angst and distress, he went walking up and down the castle grounds pondering how to get out of the mess he was in. He noticed a flock of ducks bobbing peacefully side by side in a bubbling brook, polishing their beaks, engaged in an intimate conversation. The servant stood still and listened in. They told each other where they had been waddling that morning and what tasty morsels they had managed to snap up, whereupon one remarked grumpily, “I’ve got something hard stuck in my gut. While nibbling away, in my haste I gobbled up and swallowed a ring lying under the queen’s window.”

  Thereupon the servant grabbed the duck by the neck, carried her into the kitchen, and said to the cook, “Slaughter this one, she’s good and fat.”

  “Right,” said the cook, “she’s good and fat and ready to be roasted.” He cut the duck by the throat, and once she was served and carved up the queen’s ring was found in her gut. So the servant could easily prove his innocence before the king, and since His Majesty wanted to make amends for his unjust accusation, he bid him request a favor and seek for himself the most respected position at court.

  The servant refused all the king’s offers, asking only for a horse and travel money, for he had a hankering to see the world and to spend some time kicking about. As soon as his wish was granted he set out, and one day he rode past a pond in which he noticed three fishes caught in the reeds and panting for water. Although it is said that fish are dumb, he immediately fathomed their lament at having to die in such a miserable way. Since he had a big heart, he promptly dismounted from his horse and released the three captives back into the water. They flounced about for joy, raised their heads, and called to him, “We will remember and repay your kindness at having saved us!”