by Jacob Grimm
The king consented out of fear, and the dwarf helped him find his way. As he took leave of the king, he cried out: “I’ll be coming to fetch my bride in a week.”
When the king reached home, he was sad about his promise because his youngest daughter was his favorite. His daughters noticed how sad he was and wanted to know what the cause of his worry was. Finally, he had to tell them that he had promised the youngest of them to a little white dwarf in the forest and that the dwarf would be coming to fetch her in a week. However, they told him to cheer up, for they would lead the dwarf on a wild goose chase.
When the day came for the dwarf’s arrival, they dressed a cowherd’s daughter in their clothes and sat her down in their room.
“If someone comes to fetch you, you’re to go with him!” they ordered, and they themselves left the house.
No sooner had they left than a fox entered the castle and said to the maiden, “Sit down on my furry tail, Hurleburlebutz! Off to the forest!”
The maiden sat down on the fox’s tail, and he carried her out into the forest. When they came to a beautiful clearing, where the sun was shining very bright and warm, the fox said, “Get off and take the lice out of my hair!”
The maiden followed his orders, and the fox laid his head on her lap so she could louse him. While she was doing this, the maiden said, “When I was in the forest yesterday about this time, it was more beautiful!”
“What were you doing in the forest?” the fox asked.
“Oh, I was tending the cows with my father.”
“So, you’re not the princess! Sit down on my furry tail, Hurleburlebutz! Back to the castle!”
The fox carried her back and said to the king, “You’ve deceived me. That was a cowherd’s daughter. I’ll come again in a week and fetch your daughter.”
At the end of the week the princesses dressed a gooseherd’s daughter in splendid garments, sat her down, and went away. Then the fox came again and said, “Sit down on my furry tail, Hurleburlebutz! Off to the forest!”
When they arrived at a sunny spot in the forest, the fox said once more, “Get off and take the lice out of my hair!”
As the maiden was lousing the fox, she sighed and said, “I wonder where my geese are now?”
“What do you know about geese?”
“Oh, I take them to the meadow every day with my father.”
“So, you’re not the king’s daughter! Sit down on my furry tail, Hurleburlebutz! Back to the castle!”
The fox carried her back and said to the king, “You’ve deceived me again. That was the gooseherd’s daughter. I’m going to come again in a week, and if you don’t give me your daughter, you’ll be in for trouble.”
The king became frightened, and when the fox returned, he gave him the princess.
“Sit down on my furry tail, Hurleburlebutz! Off to the forest!”
She had to ride on the fox’s tail, and when they got to a sunny place, he said to her, “Get off and take the lice out of my hair!”
However, when he laid his head in her lap, the princess began to cry and said, “I’m a king’s daughter, and yet I must louse a fox! If I were sitting at home now, I’d be looking at the flowers in my garden!”
Then the fox knew that he had the right bride and turned himself into the little white dwarf. He was now her husband, and she had to live with him in a little hut and cook and sew for him. This lasted a good long time, and the dwarf did everything he could to please her.
One day the dwarf said to her, “I’ve got to go away, but three white doves will soon come flying here. When they swoop down to the ground, catch the middle one. Once you’ve got it, cut off its head right away. But pay attention and make sure you’ve got the middle dove, or else there’ll be a disaster.”
The dwarf departed, and it didn’t take long for the three white doves to come flying toward her. The princess paid close attention and grabbed the middle one. Then she took a knife and cut off its head. No sooner was the dove lying on the ground than a handsome young prince stood before her and said, “A fairy cast a spell over me causing me to lose my human form for seven years. Then I was to fly by my wife as a dove between two other doves, and she would have to catch me and cut off my head. If she didn’t catch me, or if she caught another and I flew by, then everything would be lost, and I would never be saved. That’s why I asked you to pay attention, for I’m the white dwarf, and you’re my wife.”
The princess was delighted, and together they went to her father. When he died, they inherited the kingdom.
67
THE KING WITH THE LION
A young prince sat with his bride-to-be and said: “I’m going to give you a ring and my picture and want you to carry these things to remember me and to remain true to me. My father is deathly ill and has asked me to come to him. He wants to see me one more time before he dies and I become king. So I want you to go home now.”
Upon saying this the prince rode off and found his father on his deathbed. Right before he died, he asked his son to marry a particular princess after his death. The prince was so depressed and loved his father so much that, without thinking about it, he said yes, and right after that the king closed his eyes and died.
After he was acclaimed king and the mourning period ended, he had to keep his word and asked permission to court the other princess who had been promised to him. Meanwhile, the first bride had heard that the prince was courting another princess, and she grieved so much that she almost died. Her father asked her why she was so sad and told her all she had to do was to ask him for what she wanted and her wish would be granted. So the princess reflected for a moment, and then she asked for eleven young women who completely resembled her in size as well as in stature. So the king had his men search for the eleven young women throughout his entire kingdom, and when they were all together, she dressed herself in hunter’s clothes and had the eleven dressed the same way so that all twelve of them were completely alike. Shortly thereafter, she rode to the king, her former bridegroom, and requested a position for herself and the others as hunters. The king didn’t recognize her, but because they were such handsome people, he gladly granted the request and welcomed them to his court.
Now the king had a lion, and nothing could be kept from him. This lion knew all the secrets of the court. One evening the lion said to the king: “You believe you’ve employed twelve hunters, but they’re actually twelve young women.”
The king refused to believe him, but the lion added: “Have peas spread out in your anteroom one time. Men have a heavy step, and if they walk over the peas, none of the peas will move. But women, they skip and shuffle, and the peas roll beneath their feet.”
The king liked this plan, but one of the king’s servants loved the hunters and had overheard all this. So he ran to the young women and said: “The lion thinks that you’re women and wants to have peas spread out in the anteroom to test you.”
Consequently, the princess ordered her eleven young ladies to use all their might and step firmly on the peas. When it turned morning and the peas were all spread out, the king summoned the twelve hunters, but they had such a firm and strong gait that not one single pea moved.
That evening the king reproached the lion and accused him of lying. In response the lion said: “They covered up who they really are. Now, just have twelve spinning wheels set up in the anteroom, and they’ll show how pleased they are. No man would ever do that.”
The king followed the lion’s advice once more and had the spinning wheels set up in the room. However, the servant revealed to the hunters what was happening so that the princess ordered the young ladies once more not to look at the spinning wheels at all. So that’s what they did, and the king refused to believe the lion any more. He became more and more fond of the hunters, and when he went out hunting, they had to go along with him.
One time, when they were out in the forest, news arrived that the prince’s bride was coming and that she would soon be there. When the prince’s real
bride heard this, she fainted. The king thought that something had happened to his dear hunter. He ran over and wanted to help him. As he took off his glove, he noticed that she was wearing the ring that he had given to his first bride, and moreover, when he saw the picture that she was carrying in her necklace, he recognized her and immediately notified the other bride to return to her realm because he already had a wife, and when one recovers an old key, one doesn’t need a new one. Soon after, the wedding was celebrated, and it was clear that the lion had not lied, and he once again found favor in the king’s eyes.
68
THE SUMMER AND THE WINTER GARDEN
A merchant wanted to go to a fair and asked his three daughters what he should bring back for them. The eldest said: “A beautiful dress.”
The second: “A pair of pretty shoes.”
The third: “A rose.”
But it was difficult to find a rose because it was midwinter. However, since the youngest was the most beautiful daughter and was so extremely fond of flowers, the father replied that he would see whether he could find a rose and would make every effort to do so.
When the merchant was returning home after the fair, he carried a splendid dress for the eldest and a pair of beautiful shoes for the second daughter, but he hadn’t been able to obtain a rose for the youngest daughter. Each time he had entered a garden and had asked for roses, the people had made fun of him and asked him whether he really believed that roses grew in snow. He was very sorry about that, and as he was pondering whether there might be something that he could bring home for his favorite child, he reached a castle, and there was a garden on one side in which it was half summer and half winter. On one side the most beautiful small and large flowers were blooming, and on the other side, everything was bare and deep snow lay on the ground. The man got off his horse, and since he noticed an entire hedge full of roses on the summer side, he was glad and went over there. Then he plucked a rose, got on his horse, and began riding away. He had ridden only a short distance when he heard something running behind him and panting. So he turned around and saw a large black beast that shouted: “Return my rose to me, or I’ll kill you! Return my rose to me, or I’ll kill you!”
The man replied: “Please, let me keep the rose. I’m supposed to bring it to my daughter. She is the most beautiful maiden in the world.”
“If you like. But in exchange, I want you to give me your beautiful daughter as my wife.”
In order to get rid of the beast, the man said, yes, and thought he wouldn’t come come and demand his daughter, but the beast yelled after him: “I’m coming to fetch my bride in one week.”
Now the merchant brought each one of his daughters what she had wished. All of them were delighted, and the youngest daughter was the most pleased by the rose. After a week had passed, the three sisters were sitting at the dinner table when all of a sudden someone with heavy footsteps came up the stairs and knocked at the door.
“Open up! Open up!” he yelled.
So they opened the door, but they were truly horrified when a large black beast entered.
“Since my bride didn’t come and the time is up, I’ve come to fetch her myself!”
Upon saying that he went up to the youngest daughter and grabbed her. She began to scream, but that didn’t help at all. She had to go off with him, and when her father came home, he found that his dearest child had been kidnapped.
Meanwhile the black beast carried the beautiful maiden into his castle, which was quite wonderful and beautiful. There were musicians, who had begun playing, and below was the garden that was half summer and half winter. And the beast did everything to make her feel comfortable, and one could read from her eyes how pleased she was. They ate together, and she had to ladle out the food for him, otherwise he wouldn’t eat. The beast thought she was precious, and eventually she became very fond of the beast.
One day she said to him: “I’ve become very anxious, and I don’t know why, but I feel as though my father were ill, or that perhaps one of my sisters is sick. Couldn’t I see them just one time?”
So the beast led her to a mirror and said: “Look into the mirror,” and when she looked into the mirror, it was as if she were at home. She saw her room and her father, who was really sick from heartbreak. Indeed, he felt guilty that a wild beast had kidnapped his daughter and had probably been devoured by him. If he had known how well she was, he wouldn’t have been so depressed. She also saw her two sisters at the father’s bedside, and they were weeping. All this troubled her heart, and she asked the beast whether he might let her return home for several days.
“Go to your father, but promise me that you’ll return within a week.”
She promised him, and as she was leaving, he called after her: “Don’t stay any longer than one week.”
When she returned home, her father rejoiced that he was able to see her one more time, but the illness and the sorrow had eaten away at his heart too much. Consequently, he couldn’t regain his health and died after a couple of days. So his daughter couldn’t think of anything else due to her grief, and before her father was buried, she went to his corpse and wept with her sisters, and they consoled each other. Finally, when she thought about her dear beast once again, more than a week had gone by. All of a sudden she became really anxious, and she felt as if he were also sick, and she immediately set out and went directly to his castle. When she arrived there once again, the castle was completely silent and sad. The musicians weren’t playing, and everything was draped in black. The garden was now completely winter and covered by snow. And when she went to look for the beast, he was gone. She searched all over the place but couldn’t find him. Now she was doubly distressed and didn’t know how to console herself. Sadly she went into the garden and saw a heap of cabbage heads. The ones at the top were already old and rotten. She spread them around, and when she had turned over a few, she saw her dear beast, who had been lying under them, and he was dead. Quickly she fetched some water and continually poured water on him. All of a sudden, he jumped up and was suddenly changed into a handsome prince. A wedding was held, and the musicians immediately began playing. The summer side of the garden became splendid again, the black drapes were torn down, and they lived there happily ever after.
69
JORINDA AND JORINGEL
Once upon a time there was an old castle in the middle of a great, dense forest. An old woman lived there all by herself; and she was a powerful sorceress. During the day she turned herself into a cat or a night owl, but in the evening she would return to her normal human form. She had the ability to lure game and birds, which she would slaughter and then cook or roast. If any man came within a hundred steps of the castle, she would cast a spell over him, so that he wouldn’t be able to move from the spot until she broke the spell. If an innocent maiden came within her magic circle, she would change her into a bird and stuff her into a wicker basket. Then she would carry the basket up to a room in her castle where she had well over seven thousand baskets with rare birds of this kind.
Now, once there was a maiden named Jorinda, who was more beautiful than any other maiden in the kingdom. She was betrothed to a handsome youth named Joringel. During the time before their marriage, they took great pleasure in each other’s company. One day they went for a walk in the forest so they could be alone and talk intimately with one another.
“Be careful,” Joringel said, “that you don’t go too close to the castle.”
At dusk the sun shone brightly through the tree trunks and cast its light on the dark green of the forest. The turtledoves were singing mournfully in the old beech trees, and at times Jonrinda wept. Then she sat down in the sunshine and sighed, and Joringel sighed too. They became very sad as if they were doomed to die, and when they looked around them, they became confused and didn’t know how to get home. The sun was still shining half above and half behind the mountains. When Joringel looked through the bushes and saw the wall of the old castle not very far away, he became so ala
rmed that he was nearly frightened to death, while Jorinda sang:
“Oh, my bird, with your ring of red,
sitting and singing your tale of woe!
You tell us now that the poor dove is dead.
You sing your tale of woe—oh-oh, oh-oh!”
Just then, as Joringel looked at Jorinda, she was turned into a nightingale singing “oh-oh, oh-oh!”
A night owl with glowing eyes flew around her three times, and each time it cried, “To-whoo! To-whoo! To-whoo!”
Joringel couldn’t budge. He stood there like a stone unable to weep, to talk, or to move hand or foot. When the sun was about to set, the owl flew into a bush and then immediately returned as a haggard old woman, yellow and scrawny, with large red eyes and a crooked nose that almost touched her chin with its tip. She muttered something to herself, caught the nightingale, and carried it away in her hand. Joringel was still unable to speak, nor could he move from the spot. The nightingale was gone. Soon the woman came back and said with a muffled voice, “Greetings, Zachiel. When the moon shines into the basket, let him loose, Zachiel, just at the right moment.”
Then Joringel was set free, and he fell on his knees before the woman and begged her to give Jorinda back to him, but she said he would never get her back again and went away. Joringel shouted. He wept, he moaned, but it was all in vain. “Oh, now what’s to become of me?”
Joringel went off and eventually came to a strange village, where he tended sheep for a long time. He often went around and around the castle and always kept his distance. Finally, he dreamed one night that he had found a flower as red as blood, and in the middle of it was a pearl. He plucked the flower and went with it to the castle: everything that he touched with the flower was released from the magic spell. He also dreamed that he managed to regain his Jorinda with the flower.