Selected Tales of the Brothers Grimm

by Jacob Grimm

  But the king said, “Bite your tongues and let it be. He is my Faithful Johannes, who knows why he did it?”

  Then they came to the castle, and there in the hall was a bowl with a nuptial robe lying in it that looked like it was made of silver and gold. The young king walked up and wanted to reach for it, but Faithful Johannes shoved him aside, grabbed it with gloves, swiftly brought it to the fireplace, and burned it.

  The other servants once again started grumbling and said, “Will you get a load of that, now the guy even grabs and burns the king’s nuptial robe!”

  But the young king said, “Who knows why he did it? Let him be, he is my Faithful Johannes.”

  So the wedding was celebrated – the dance began, and the bride strode to the dance floor, but Faithful Johannes was ready and looked her in the eye. Suddenly she turned pale and collapsed as if she’d dropped dead. Whereupon he leapt forward, picked her up, and carried her to a bed chamber. There he lay her down, knelt before her, and sucked three drops of blood from her right breast and spit them out. Straightaway she breathed again and got better, but the young king looked on in stunned amazement and, not knowing why Faithful Johannes did what he had done, flew into a rage and cried, “Lock him up!”

  The following morning Faithful Johannes was condemned to die and taken to the gallows, and when he stood there ready to meet his Maker, he said, “Every condemned man about to die may speak a final word. Might I too have that right?”

  “Yes,” said the king, “your request is granted.”

  Whereupon Faithful Johannes spoke up: “I have been falsely accused and always remained faithful to you,” and he went on to tell how back at sea he had overheard the conversation of the ravens, and how, to save his master, he was obliged to do all that he had done.

  Then the king said, “Oh, my Faithful Johannes. Reprieve! Reprieve! Take him down from there and set him free.” But upon speaking his last words, Johannes fell dead, his body turned to stone.

  The king and queen were deeply distraught, and the king said, “Oh how miserably have I rewarded such great faithfulness!” And he had the stone likeness lifted up and set beside his bed. Every time he saw it, he wept and said, “If only I could bring you back to life again, my Faithful Johannes.” Time passed, and the queen gave birth to twins, two little sons, who grew up and were her pride and joy. Once, when the queen went to church and the two boys sat by their father and played, the king again peered in sadness at the stone likeness, sighed, and said, “Oh if only I could bring you back to life, my Faithful Johannes.”

  Whereupon the stone started speaking and said, “Yes, you can bring me back to life again, if you will sacrifice your nearest and dearest.”

  Then the king cried, “Everything I have in the world I would give for you.”

  Said the stone, “If with your own two hands you will hack off your children’s heads and rub their blood on me, I will come back to life again.”

  The king took fright upon hearing that he was to kill his dearly beloved children with his own hands, but then he thought of the dead man’s great fidelity and how Faithful Johannes had died for him. He pulled out his sword, and with his own hand hacked his children’s heads off. And no sooner did he rub their blood on the stone than it came back to life, and Faithful Johannes stood there before him alive and well. He said to the king, “Your fidelity should not go unrewarded,” and took the children’s heads, set them back on their shoulders, rubbed them with their blood, whereupon they instantly leapt back to life, jumped around, and went on playing as though nothing had happened.

  Now the king was overjoyed, and when he saw the queen coming he hid Faithful Johannes and the two children in a big cupboard. When she came in he said to her, “Did you pray in church?”

  “Yes,” she said, “but I couldn’t stop thinking of Faithful Johannes, that we caused him such misery.”

  To which he replied, “Dear wife, we can bring him back to life again, but it will cost us our two little sons. We must sacrifice them.”

  The queen went pale and felt her heart break, but she said, “We owe him that, on account of his great fidelity.”

  Whereupon the king was well-pleased, for they were of one mind, and he went over and unlocked the cupboard, pulled out the children and Faithful Johannes, and said, “Praise God, he is saved, and we have our sons back,” and he told her all that had happened. And they lived happily together until their dying day.

  HANS MY HEDGEHOG

  There once was a plowman who had money and land aplenty, but prosperous as he was, there was something missing in his life without which he could not be happy – he and his wife had no children. Oftentimes when he went to town with other farmers they kidded him and asked why he had no children. That made him angrier and angrier, and when he got home he would burst out: “I want to have a child, even if it’s a hedgehog.”

  Then his wife gave birth to a child who was a hedgehog on the top and a boy on the bottom, and when she saw the child, she took fright and said, “You see, you brought a curse on us.”

  To which the man replied, “There’s no use complaining. The boy must be baptized, but we’ll never find a godfather.”

  Then the woman said, “What else can we name him but Hans My Hedgehog?”

  Once the boy was baptized, the pastor said, “With his prickly quills, such a child can’t sleep in a regular bed.”

  So they strew a tuft of straw behind the oven and placed Hans My Hedgehog on it. He could not suckle at his mother’s breast, since he would have pricked her. So he lay there behind the oven for eight years, and his father grew tired of him and thought, If only he would die. But he did not die, he just kept lying there. Then it so happened that there was a market in town and the plowman wanted to go, so he asked his wife what he could bring her.

  “A little meat and a couple of rolls for dinner,” she said.

  Then he asked the maid, who wanted a pair of slippers and a pair of embroidered stockings.

  Finally he said to his son, “Hans My Hedgehog, what would you like?”

  “Dearest Dad,” the son replied, “bring me back a bagpipe.”

  And when the father returned from the market, he gave his wife the meat and rolls he’d bought for her, then he gave the maid the slippers and embroidered stockings, and finally he went behind the oven and gave Hans My Hedgehog his bagpipe. And when Hans My Hedgehog had the bagpipe in hand, he said, “Dearest Dad, go to the blacksmith and have him hammer horseshoes for the cock, then I’ll ride away and never come back.”

  His father was glad to be rid of him, so he had the cock shod. When it was done, Hans My Hedgehog sat himself upon its back and rode off, also taking along some pigs and a donkey to watch over in the woods. And once they reached the woods, the cock with Hans My Hedgehog on its back fluttered up a tall tree, and there they sat for many years until the herd of pigs grew plentiful, and the father had no contact with his son. But when he sat perched in the tree, Hans my Hedgehog blew on his bagpipe and made music that was very beautiful to hear.

  Once, a king who had lost his way came riding by and heard the music. Surprised by the sound of it, he sent a servant to have a look around and see where the music was coming from. The servant looked around, yet he saw nothing but a small creature perched up in a tree, which looked like a weather-cock with a hedgehog seated on his back playing a bagpipe. Then the king told his servant to inquire why he sat there and if he could tell him the way back to his kingdom.

  Whereupon Hans My Hedgehog climbed down from the tree and said he would show him the way if the king would grant him in writing the first thing he happened upon when he got home. The king thought, What’s the difference? Hans My Hedgehog surely can’t read, and I can write what I please. So the king took up a quill, dipped it in ink, and wrote something down, and once it was done Hans My Hedgehog showed him the way, and he got home safe and sound. But as soon as his daughter saw the king from afar, she was so overjoyed that she came running toward him and covered him
in kisses. Then the king thought of Hans My Hedgehog and told her what had happened to him, and that he had pretended to promise in writing to give this curious creature whatever he first encountered when he got home, and the creature had been mounted on a cock, as though on a horse, and made beautiful music. But the king had written that he would not have it, convinced that in any case Hans My Hedgehog couldn’t read it. The princess was well-pleased with this and said it was a good thing, since she had no intention of ever marrying a hedgehog.

  But Hans My Hedgehog kept watching his donkey and his pigs, seated happily in the treetop, blowing on his bagpipe. It so happened that another king who had lost his way came riding by with his servants and footmen and didn’t know how to get home again because the forest was so vast. He too heard the beautiful music from afar and said to one of his footmen to go have a look and find out where it came from. The footman went and stood under the tree and saw the weathercock with Hans My Hedgehog seated on its back. He asked him what he was up to.

  “I’m guarding my donkey and pigs. But how can I help you?”

  The footman said they had gotten lost and could not find their way back to their kingdom, and asked if he could show them the way. So Hans My Hedgehog climbed down with his cock and told the old king he would gladly show him the way if he would give him whatever he first encountered upon reaching his royal castle. The king agreed and put in writing that Hans My Hedgehog should have what he asked for. Once it was done, Hans rode ahead on his cock to show him the way, and the king was glad to get back home to his kingdom.

  Now the king had an only daughter who was very beautiful and came running toward him, fell into his arms, and kissed him, overjoyed at her old father’s safe return. And when she asked him where in the world he had been for so long, he told her how he had gotten lost and might never have made it home again, but while passing through a great forest he happened upon a curious individual, half hedgehog, half human, mounted on a cock and perched in a tall tree, playing beautiful music, who had helped show him the way home, in exchange for which, however, he had promised to give whatever in his kingdom he first encountered, and that, he was so very sorry to say, turned out to be his daughter. Whereupon she promised, for love of her old father, to go with the curious individual when he came acalling.

  But Hans My Hedgehog kept tending his pigs, and the pigs spawned little piglets, and they became so plentiful that they filled the entire forest. Then Hans My Hedgehog didn’t want to live in the forest any longer, and he sent word to his father that they should empty all the stalls in the village, for he would return with such a great herd that everyone who wanted a pig would have one to slaughter. His father was not pleased when he got wind of this, as he thought his son had long since died. But Hans My Hedgehog sat himself on the weathercock, drove the herd of pigs back to the village, and had them all slaughtered. Heavens, was there ever such hacking and butchering! You could hear the sound of it a full two-hours’ ride away.

  “Dearest Dad,” Hans My Hedgehog said when it was all done, “have my weathercock shod again at the smithy, then I’ll ride away and never return again.” So the father had the cock shod again, happy to be rid of his strange son once and for all.

  Hans My Hedgehog rode off to the first kingdom. There the king had ordered that if anyone came riding on a cock with a bagpipe in hand, he was to be shot, beaten, and stabbed, so that he never made it to the castle. When Hans My Hedgehog came riding up, guards with bayonets fell upon him, but he spurred on his cock, and it flew up over the gate and landed in front of the king’s window, where he dismounted and cried out that the king should give him what he promised, or else he would kill the king and his daughter. Then the king convinced his daughter to go out to him to save their lives. So she dressed herself in white, and her father gave her a coach drawn by six strong horses, with lavishly attired livery, and loaded down with gold and precious goods. She mounted the carriage, and Hans My Hedgehog sat next to her, with his cock and his bagpipe on the seat beside him, bid farewell, and drove off, and the king thought he would never see his daughter again. But things didn’t turn out as he thought they would, since no sooner had they driven a short distance out of town than Hans My Hedgehog pulled off her lovely clothes and poked her with his hedgehog quills until she was bloody all over, saying, “That’s just repayment for you and your father’s deception. Be off, I don’t want you,” and he chased her home, and she was scorned her livelong day.

  But Hans My Hedgehog rode on his cock and with his bagpipe to the second kingdom to which he had shown the king the way home. The king had ordained that if someone meeting the description of Hans My Hedgehog presented himself, his guards should present arms, salute him, give him free entry to the city, and lead him to the royal palace. When the princess saw him she took fright on account of his odd appearance, but she thought to herself, No matter, I promised my father. So she welcomed Hans My Hedgehog, whereupon they were married, and he had to be seated at the king’s table, with her by his side, and they ate and drank.

  Come nightfall, when it was time to go to bed, she feared the prick of his quills, but he said she need not be afraid and that no harm would come to her. And he told the old king to call for four men to keep watch before their bedroom door. They were to light a big fire, and when he went into the bedroom and lay himself in bed, he would wriggle out of his hedgehog skin and lay it down before the bed – then the men were to nimbly leap forward, grab the skin, toss it in the fire, and stand by watching until it was completely consumed by the flames.

  As soon as the church bell struck eleven he went into the bedroom, stripped off his hedgehog skin, and left it lying before the bed. Then the men came and snatched it up, and tossed it into the fire. Once the flames had disposed of it, he was released from the evil spell and lay there in bed, a human from head to toe, but he was black as coal, like he’d been burned. The king sent for his physician, who washed Hans My Hedgehog with salves and wiped him with balms, whereupon he was white and a fine young buck. When the princess saw that, she was pleased, and the next morning they awakened with joy, ate and drank, and the wedding was celebrated, and Hans My Hedgehog inherited the kingdom.

  After some years had passed he rode with his wife to visit his father and said he was his son. His father said he had no son. He’d had one, but the boy was born with prickly quills like a hedgehog and had gone out into the world. Then the young man revealed his true identity, and his old father was pleased and went with him to his son’s kingdom.

  Now my fairy tale is done,

  Go find yourself another one.

  ALL-KIND-OF-HIDE

  There once was a king who had a wife with golden hair, and she was so lovely that the like of her could no longer be found on earth. It came to pass that she fell ill, and when she sensed that she would soon die she called the king to her bedside and said, “If after my death you wish to remarry, then take no woman who isn’t as lovely as me, nor any who lacks the same golden hair. This you must promise me.” After the king had promised to do as she wished, she closed her eyes and died.

  For a long time the king was inconsolable and didn’t think of taking another wife. But finally his court counselors spoke up: “There are no two ways about it, the king must marry again so that we have a queen.”

  So messengers were sent out far and wide to find a bride whose beauty was equal to that of the departed queen. But there was no woman to be found in the whole world, and even if they could have found one, there was none with the same golden hair. So the messengers returned without having accomplished their mission.

  Now the king had a daughter who was just as lovely as her departed mother and had the same golden hair. When she grew up, one day the king looked at her and saw that she resembled in every way his departed wife, and suddenly he felt a powerful love for her. So he said to his court counselors, “I will marry my daughter, for she is the spitting image of my dead wife, and I can’t find any other bride who is her equal.”

 
When the counselors heard this they were appalled and said, “God forbade the father to marry his daughter. Nothing good can come of such a sin, and your kingdom will be dragged along into your ignominy.”

  His daughter was even more horrified when she heard of her father’s resolve, but still hoped to dissuade him. “Before I can fulfill your wish, I must first have three dresses: one as golden as the sun, one as silvery as the moon, and one as sparkling as the stars. Furthermore, I demand a coat of a thousand kinds of fur and hides. Every creature in your realm must contribute a piece of its hide.” She thought to herself, Such a wish is completely impossible to fulfill, and I will thereby dissuade my father from his evil intent.

  But the king did not let up, and the handiest maidens in his realm were commanded to weave the three dresses: one as golden as the sun, one as silvery as the moon, and one as sparkling as the stars. And his hunters had to catch all the creatures in his realm and pull off a piece of its hide, out of which was made a coat of a thousand hides. At last when everything was done as he commanded, the king had them fetch the coat, and when it was spread out before him, he said, “The wedding will take place tomorrow.”

  When the princess saw that there was no more hope of bending her father’s will, she decided to escape. That night, while the palace slept, she got up and took three things from her treasure chest: a golden ring, a golden spinning wheel, and a little golden reel. The three dresses as golden as the sun, as silvery as the moon, and as sparkling as the stars she stuffed into a nutshell, and she donned the coat of all kinds of hides and blackened her face and hands with soot. Then she commended herself to God’s care, dashed out the door, and kept walking all night until she came to a great forest. And since she was tired, she crept inside a hollow tree trunk and fell asleep.

  The sun rose, and she kept sleeping and went right on sleeping until broad daylight.