by Jacob Grimm
“Oh, I might as well tell you. I lost it in the hay. I’ll have to go and search for it first.”
“You haven’t lost it,” Bluebeard said angrily. “You stuck it there so the hay would absorb the bloodstains. It’s clear that you’ve disobeyed my command and entered the room. Now, you’ll enter the room whether you want to or not.”
Then he ordered her to fetch the key, which was still stained with blood.
“Now, prepare yourself for your death. You shall die today,” Bluebeard declared. He fetched his big knife and took her to the threshold of the house.
“Just let me say my prayers before I die,” she said.
“All right. Go ahead, but you’d better hurry. I don’t have much time to waste.”
She ran upstairs and cried out of the window as loud as she could, “Brothers, my dear brothers! Come help me!”
The brothers were sitting in the forest and drinking some cool wine. The youngest said, “I think I heard our sister’s voice. Let’s go! We must hurry and help her!”
They jumped on their horses and rode like thunder and lightning. Meanwhile, their sister was on her knees, praying in fear.
“Well, are you almost done?” Bluebeard called from below, and she heard him sharpening his knife on the bottom step. She looked out the window but could only see a cloud of dust as if a herd were coming. So she screamed once again, “Brothers, my dear brothers! Come help me!”
And her fear became greater and greater when Bluebeard called, “If you don’t come down soon, I’ll be up to get you. My knife’s been sharpened!’
She looked out the window again and saw her three brothers riding across the field as though they were birds flying through the air. For the third time she screamed desperately and with all her might, “Brothers, my dear brothers! Come help me!”
The youngest brother was already so near that she could hear his voice. “Calm yourself. Another moment, dear sister, and we’ll be at your side!”
But Bluebeard cried out, “That’s enough praying! I’m not going to wait any longer. If you don’t come, I’m going to fetch you.”
“Oh, just let me pray for my three dear brothers!”
However, he wouldn’t listen to her. Instead, he went upstairs and dragged her down. Then he grabbed her by the hair and was about to plunge the knife into her heart when the three brothers knocked at the door, charged inside, and tore their sister out of his hands. They then drew out their sabers and cut him down. Afterward he was hung up in the bloody chamber next to the women he had killed. Later, the brothers took their dear sister home with them, and all of Bluebeard’s treasures belonged to her.
63
THE GOLDEN CHILDREN
Once upon a time there lived a poor man and a poor woman who had nothing but a little hut. The husband was a fisherman, and one day, as he was sitting by the water’s edge and had cast out his net, he caught a golden fish, and the fish said: “If you throw me back into the water, I’ll turn your little hut into a splendid castle, and in the castle there will be a cupboard. When you open it, there’ll be dishes of boiled and roasted meat in them, as much as you desire. But you may not tell anyone in the world how you came by your good fortune, otherwise, you will lose it all.”
The fisherman threw the golden fish back into the water, and when he came home, a huge castle was standing where otherwise his hut usually stood, and his wife sat in the middle of a splendid room. The man was very pleased by this, but he also wanted to eat something.
“Wife, give me something to eat,” he said. “I’m tremendously hungry.”
However, his wife answered:”I don’t have a thing and can’t find anything in this large castle.”
“Just go over there to the cupboard.”
When his wife opened the cupboard, she found cake, meat, fruit, and wine.
“What more could my heart desire?” His wife was astonished, and then she said: “Tell me, where in the world has this treasure of riches come from all of a sudden?”
“I’m not allowed to tell you. If I tell you, our good fortune will vanish.”
After he said this, his wife became only more curious, and she kept asking him and tormenting him and didn’t allow him any peace day and night until he finally revealed to her that everything came from a golden fish. No sooner had he said this than the castle and all the rich treasures vanished, and the fisherman and his wife were sitting once again in the old fishing hut.
Now the man had to resume his work all over again, and he fished and fished until he caught the golden fish once more. The fish promised the fisherman again that, if he let it go free, the fish would give him the beautiful castle again and the cupboard full of boiled and roasted meat but only on condition that he remain silent about who granted this favor. Well, the fisherman held out for a while but eventually his wife tormented him so drastically that he revealed the secret, and in that very moment they sat once again in their shabby hut.
So the husband went fishing again, and he fished and caught the golden fish a third time.
“Listen,” said the fish. “Take me home with you and cut me into six pieces. Give two to your wife to eat, two to your horse, and plant two in the ground. You’ll reap a blessing by doing this. Your wife will give birth to two golden children, The horse will produce two golden foals. And two golden lilies will grow from the earth.”
The fisherman obeyed, and the fish’s prophecy came true. Soon the two golden children grew and became strong young men. “Father,” they said, “we want to set out into the world. We’ll mount our golden horses, and you’ll be able to see from the golden lilies how we are doing. If they are fresh, then we are healthy. If they wilt, then we’re sick. If they perish, then we shall be dead.”
Upon saying this they rode off and came to an inn where there were many people inside, and when the people saw the two golden children on the golden horses, they began to make fun of them. In turn, the young men became angry, and one of them became ashamed, turned around, and rode home. However, the other continued to ride on and came to a forest. But the people outside the forest told him that he shouldn’t enter because it was full of robbers, and they would attack him. But the golden boy wouldn’t let himself be scared by that and said: “I must and shall go through the forest!”
Then he took a bearskin and covered himself and his horse with it so that nothing more of the gold could be seen, and he then rode into the forest. Soon thereafter he heard something calling out in the bushes: “Here’s one!”
Then another voice spoke: “Let him go. What should we do with a bearskin? He’s as poor and empty-handed as a church mouse!”
So this is how the golden young man escaped the robbers and rode into a village where he saw a maiden who was so beautiful that he couldn’t imagine any other maiden as beautiful as she was in the whole world. So he asked her to marry him, and the maiden said yes, and she would remain true to him for the rest of her life. So they held the wedding and were happy. Then the bride’s father came home, and when he saw that his daughter had married a loafer in a bearskin (for he hadn’t taken off his bearskin), he became angry and wanted to murder the bridegroom. However, the bride pleaded as best she could and told her father that she loved the man in the bearskin very much, and after all, he was her husband! Finally, the father calmed down, and the next morning he got up and wanted to see his son-in-law one more time, and all at once he saw a splendid, golden young man lying in bed. But the bridegroom had dreamed that he should go hunting after a magnificent stag, and when he awoke, he wanted to go into the forest to hunt this stag. His newlywed wife implored him to stay there and was afraid that something might happen to him. However, he said: “I must and shall go off.”
Upon saying this he got up and went into the forest. Soon he saw a proud stag standing before him just as in his dream. But when he took aim and was about to shoot, the stag began to flee. The golden man went after him and followed him over ditches and through bushes the entire day and wasn’t tired.
Yet, the deer evaded him, and the young man soon found himself in front of a witch’s house. He called out and asked whether she had seen the stag. She answered, “yes,” while the witch’s small dog kept barking at him without stopping. So he became angry and wanted to shoot it. When the witch saw this, she changed the young man into a millstone. And at that very same moment the golden lily perished at the golden youth’s home. When the other brother saw this, he mounted his golden steed and raced away and came upon the witch. He threatened her with death unless she restored his brother to his natural form. So the witch had to obey, and the two brothers rode home together, the first one to his bride, and the other to his father. In the meantime, the golden lily revived itself, and if the lilies haven’t perished, then both of them are still standing.
64
THE SIMPLETON
The White Dove
There was once a splendid pear tree that stood in front of a king’s castle, and each year it produced the most beautiful fruit. However, as soon as the pears became ripe, they were taken that very night, and nobody knew who the thief was.
Now, the king had three sons, and the youngest among them was considered simple-minded and was called Simpleton. The oldest was ordered by the king to guard the tree for one year so that the thief could be caught. He did this and watched every night. Soon, the fruit was in full bloom and was full of fruit, and as the pears began to turn ripe, he kept watch even more diligently. Finally, the pears were completely ripe and were to be picked the next day. However, on the last night, the king’s son became drowsy and fell asleep, and when he awoke, every single one of the pears was gone. Only the leaves were left.
Then the king commanded the second son to keep watch for a year. However, he didn’t fare any better than his older brother. On the last night he couldn’t fend off sleep, and the next morning, all the pears had been picked.
Finally, the king ordered Simpleton to keep watch for a year. Everyone at the king’s court laughed about this. Nevertheless, Simpleton kept watch, and in the last night he resisted sleep and saw how a white dove came and carried off the pears one by one. As the dove made off with the last one, Simpleton stood up and followed it to the top of a high mountain, where it disappeared into a crack along the cliffs. Simpleton looked around him, and suddenly a little gray man was standing next to him.
“God bless you,” said Simpleton.
“God has already blessed me in this very moment through your words,” answered the little gray man. “You have released me from a magic spell. Now, if you climb down the cliff, your fortune will be made.”
So Simpleton climbed down the rocks. Many steps led him to the bottom, where he saw the white dove trapped and entangled in a spider’s web. When the bird caught sight of him, it ripped through the web, and after the last thread had been torn, a beautiful princess stood before him. Simpleton had also released her from a spell, and she became his wife, and he, a rich king, who ruled his country with wisdom.
The Queen Bee
Once two princes went forth in search of adventure, and after they fell into a wild, decadent way of life, they never returned home again. Their youngest brother, who was called Simpleton, went out to look for them, but when he finally found them, they ridiculed him for thinking that he, so naïve as he was, could make his way in the world when they, who were much more clever, had not been able to succeed.
After a while the three of them traveled together and came to an anthill. The two oldest wanted to smash it and watch the little ants crawl around in fright and carry away their eggs, but Simpleton said, “Leave the little creatures in peace. I won’t let you disturb them.”
So they continued on their way and came to a lake where a great many ducks were swimming. The two brothers wanted to catch a few and roast them, but Simpleton said again, “Leave the creatures in peace. I won’t let you kill them.”
Finally, they came to a beehive, and there was so much honey in the hive that it had dripped down the tree trunk. The two older brothers wanted to build a fire beneath it and suffocate the bees to get at the honey. However, Simpleton prevented them again and said, “Leave the creatures in peace. I won’t let you burn them.”
Soon the three brothers came to a castle, and they saw nothing but stone horses standing in the stables. Not a living soul could be seen. They went through all the halls until they reached the end, where there was a door with three locks hanging on it. In the middle of the door there was a peephole through which one could look into the room, and they saw a little gray man sitting at a table. They called to him once, then twice, but he didn’t hear them. Finally, they called a third time, and he got up and came out. However, he didn’t say a word. Instead, he just led them to a table richly spread with food, and after they had something to eat and drink, he brought each one to his own bedroom.
The next morning the little gray man went to the oldest brother, beckoned to him, and conducted him to a stone tablet on which were inscribed three tasks that had to be performed if the castle was to be disenchanted. The first task involved gathering one thousand pearls that were lying in the moss of the forest. They belonged to the king’s daughter and had to be picked up from the moss before sundown. If one single pearl were to be missing, the seeker would be turned to stone.
The prince went to the moss and searched the entire day, but when the day drew to an end, he had found only a hundred. Consequently, he was turned into stone. The next day the second brother undertook the adventure, but he didn’t fare much better than the oldest: he found only two hundred pearls and was turned into stone. Finally, it was Simpleton’s turn to search for the pearls in the moss. However, since it was so difficult to find them and everything went so slowly, he sat down on a stone and began to weep. While he was sitting on the stone and weeping, the king of the ants whose life he had once saved came along with five thousand ants, and it didn’t take long before the little creatures had gathered the pearls together and stacked them in a pile.
Now, the second task involved fetching the key to the bedroom of the king’s daughter from the lake. When Simpleton came to the lake, the ducks whose lives he had once saved came swimming toward him and then dived down to fetch the key from the bottom of the lake.
Next came the third task, which was the hardest. The king had three daughters who lay asleep, and Simpleton had to pick out the youngest and the loveliest. However, they all looked exactly alike, and the only difference between them was that they each had eaten a different kind of sweet before falling asleep: the oldest had eaten a piece of sugar, the second a little syrup, the youngest a spoonful of honey. Just then the queen bee whom Simpleton had protected from the fire came along and tested the lips of all three princesses. At last she settled on the mouth of the princess who had eaten honey, and thus the prince was able to recognize the right daughter. Now the magic spell was broken, and everyone was set free from the deep sleep. All those who had been turned into stone regained their human form. Simpleton married the youngest and loveliest daughter and became king after her father’s death, while his two brothers were married to the other two sisters.
The Three Feathers
Once upon a time there was a king who decided to send his three sons off into the world. Whoever would bring him the finest woven linen was to take over the realm after his death. Consequently, he went outside in front of the castle and blew three feathers into the air so that they would know in what direction they should go, and he told each one to follow the flight of his feather.
One feather flew to the west and was followed by the eldest son. The next to the east was followed by the second son. However, the third feather flew and fell on a stone not far from the palace. So the third son, the Simpleton, had to remain behind. His two brothers made fun of him and said that he should search for the linen beneath the stone.
Meanwhile Simpleton sat down on the stone and wept, and as he swayed back and forth, the stone slid away, and beneath it was a marble slab with a ring on top. Simpleton lifted the
slab and discovered some stairs that led below. So he went down and came to a subterranean vault, where he found a maiden sitting and weaving flax. She asked him why his eyes were so wet from tears, and he revealed his sorrows to her and told her that he had to find the finest woven linen and had not been able to set out and search for it. Then the maiden reeled off her yarn, and all at once he saw the most splendid woven linen, and she told him to bring it up to his father.
When he came up from the ground, he had already been gone for a long time, and his brothers had just returned and thought that they had surely brought the finest woven linen back to their father. However, after each one of them showed their linen, Simpleton’s turned out to be much finer, and the realm would have been his, but the two brothers were not satisfied and insisted that their father set another condition. So the king demanded the most beautiful carpet and once again blew three feathers into the air, and the third fell on the stone again. So Simpleton was prevented from setting out while the others went to the east and the west.
Simpleton lifted the stone and went down to the vault again and found the maiden weaving a marvelously beautiful carpet out of blazing colors, and when she was done, she said: “I made this for you. Carry it up to your father. No one in the world will have such a magnificent carpet.”
So he appeared before his father and once again surpassed his brothers, who had brought the most beautiful carpets from many different countries. And they insisted again that their father set another condition as to who would inherit the realm, and the king now demanded that they must bring the most beautiful woman back home. The feathers were blown once more, and Simpleton’s landed on the stone. So he went beneath the ground and complained to the maiden how his father had once more set a difficult condition. But the maiden said that she would gladly help him. All he had to do was to go farther into the vault, and he would find the most beautiful woman in the world.