The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm

by Jacob Grimm

  27

  THE CHILDREN OF THE TWO KINGS

  Once upon a time there was a king who had a little boy, and according to the constellation of the stars, it was predicted that he would be killed by a stag when he turned sixteen. One day, when he had reached that age, the huntsmen went out hunting with him in the forest, but the prince got separated from them. Suddenly, he saw a big stag and kept trying to shoot it, without much success. Finally, the stag ran away and led him on a chase until they were out of the forest. All at once a big, lanky man was standing there instead of the stag and said, “Well, it’s a good thing I’ve got you now. I wore out six pair of glass skates chasing after you and could never catch you.”

  He took the prince with him and dragged him across a large lake toward a big royal castle. Once there the prince had to sit down at a table and eat something with the man. After they had eaten together, the king said, “I’ve got three daughters and want you to watch over the oldest one for me from nine in the evening until six in the morning. Each time the clock strikes the hour, I shall come and call you. If you don’t answer me, you will be put to death in the morning. However, if you answer you shall have my daughter for your wife.”

  When the young people went up to the bedchamber, there was a stone statue of Saint Christopher standing there, and the king’s daughter said to him, “My father will come at nine o’clock and every hour until the clock strikes six. If he asks anything, I want you to answer him in place of the prince.”

  The stone Saint Christopher nodded his head very fast, then more and more slowly until he finally came to a stop. Meanwhile, the prince lay down on the threshold and fell asleep. The next morning the king said to the young prince, “You’ve done well, but I can’t give you my daughter. Now, I want you to watch over my second daughter. Then I’ll consider giving you my oldest daughter for your wife. I shall come every hour on the hour, and when I call, you must answer me. If you don’t answer, your blood will flow.”

  The prince went with the second daughter up to the bedchamber, where there was a stone statue of Saint Christopher, much larger than the first, and the king’s daughter said to him, “If my father asks a question, I want you to answer.”

  The big stone Saint Christopher nodded his head very fast, then more and more slowly until he came to a stop. The prince lay down on the threshold, put his hand under his head, and went to sleep. The next morning the king said to him, “You’ve done well, but I can’t give you my daughter. Now, I want you to watch over my youngest daughter. Then I’ll consider giving you the second for your wife. I shall come every hour, and when I call, answer me. If you don’t answer me when I call, your blood will flow.”

  Again the prince went with the youngest daughter up to the chamber, and there stood a Saint Christopher, much bigger and taller than the other two. The king’s daughter said to him, “When my father calls, I want you to answer.”

  The big, tall Saint Christopher nodded his head for a good hour before he came to a stop, and the prince lay down on threshold and fell asleep. The next morning the king said, “Indeed, you kept watch very well, but I can’t give you my daughter yet. Now, I’ve got a large forest, and if you cut it down for me between six this morning and six this evening, I’ll consider giving her to you.”

  The king gave him a glass axe, a glass wedge, and a glass pickaxe. When the prince reached the forest, he began chopping right away, and the axe broke in two. Then he took the wedge and began hitting it with the pickaxe, but it splintered into tiny pieces the size of grains of sand. This made the prince very downcast, for he thought he would now have to die. So he sat down and wept.

  At noon the king said, “One of you girls must bring him something to eat.”

  “No,” said the oldest, “we won’t bring him anything. Let the one he watched over last take him something.”

  So the youngest daughter had to go and bring him something to eat. When she reached the forest, she asked him how everything was going.

  “Oh,” he said, “things are going very badly.”

  She told him to come over to her and have a little something to eat.

  “No,” he responded. “I can’t, for soon I must die, and I don’t want to eat anymore.”

  She spoke kindly to him and implored him to try. So, he went over to her and ate something. After he had eaten, she said, “Now I’ll louse you a little, and then you’ll feel much better.”

  When she loused him, he became so tired that he fell asleep. Then she took her kerchief, made a knot in it, and struck the ground three times.

  “Workers, come out!” she cried.

  Suddenly numerous gnomes appeared from beneath the earth and told the princess they would carry out her commands.

  “In three hours’ time,” she said, “this great forest must be cut down, and the wood stacked in piles.”

  The gnomes went and called all their relatives to come out and help them with the work. Then they started, and within three hours everything was finished, and they went and reported to the king’s daughter. Once again she took out her white kerchief and said, “Workers, go home!” And they all vanished on the spot.

  When the prince woke up, he was very happy, and she said, “When the clock strikes six, you’re to go home.”

  He did as she told him, and the king asked him, “Have you cut down the whole forest?”

  “Yes,” said the prince.

  When they were sitting at the table, the king said, “I can’t give you my daughter for your wife yet. You must first do something else.”

  The prince asked what he had to do.

  “I have a very large pond,” said the king. “You must go there tomorrow morning and clean it out so that it glistens like a mirror, and there must be all kinds of fish in it.”

  The next morning the king gave him a glass scoop and said, “You must be finished with the pond by six o’clock.”

  The prince departed, and when he reached the pond, he stuck the scoop into the muck, and the end broke off. Then he tried a pickaxe, but it broke as well, and he became discouraged. At noon the youngest daughter brought him something to eat and asked him how everything was going. The prince said that things were going very badly, and he was bound to lose his head. “All the tools fell apart on me again.”

  “Oh,” she said, “you should come and eat something first, then you’ll feel much better.”

  “No,” he said, “I can’t eat. I feel too sad.”

  But she spoke so kindly to him that he finally went and ate something. Once again she loused him, and he fell asleep. She took her kerchief once more, tied a knot in it, and struck the ground three times with it. “Workers, come out!” she cried.

  Suddenly numerous gnomes appeared and asked her what she desired.

  “In three hours’ time the pond must be all cleaned up and must shine so brightly that you can see your own reflection in it. Then you must fill it with all kinds of fish.”

  The gnomes went off and called all their relatives to come and help them. They finished everything in two hours, returned to the king’s daughter, and reported, “We’ve done what you commanded.”

  Once again she took her kerchief and struck the ground three times. “Workers, go home!” And they all vanished on the spot.

  When the prince woke up, the pond was finished, and just as the king’s daughter was about to leave him, she told him to go home at six o’clock. When he got there, the king asked, “Have you finished the pond?”

  “Yes,” said the prince. “Everything’s fine.”

  When they were sitting at the table again, the king said, “Indeed, you finished the pond, but I can’t give you my daughter yet. You must first do one more thing.”

  “What’s that?” asked the prince.

  “I’ve got a big mountain with nothing on it but thornbushes. I want them all cut down, and then you must build the most magnificent castle imaginable, and all the proper furnishings must be in it.”

  When the prince got up t
he next morning, the king gave him a glass axe and glass drill to take with him and told him that he had to be finished by six o’clock. As the prince began to chop the first thornbush with the axe, it broke into little pieces that flew all around him, and the drill also turned out to be useless. Then he became very dejected and waited to see if his beloved would come again and help him out of this desperate situation. At noon she came and brought him something to eat. He went to meet her and told her everything that had happened. Then he ate something, let her louse him, and fell asleep. Once again she took her kerchief and struck the ground with it three times. “Workers, come out!” she cried.

  Numerous gnomes again appeared and asked her what she desired.

  “In three hours’ time,” she said, “you must cut down all the thornbushes and build the most magnificent castle imaginable on the mountain, and all the proper furnishings must be in it.”

  They went off and called all their relatives to come and help them, and when the time was up, everything was finished. Then they went and reported to the king’s daughter, whereupon she took the kerchief and struck the ground three times with it. “Workers, go home!” she said, and they all vanished on the spot.

  When the prince woke up and saw everything, he was as happy as a lark. Since the clock had just struck six, they went home together, and the king asked, “Is the castle finished now?”

  “Yes,” said the prince.

  When they were sitting at the table, the king said, “I can’t give you my youngest daughter until the two oldest are married.”

  The prince and the king’s daughter were very sad, and the prince didn’t know what to do. Then one night he went to the king’s daughter, and they ran away together. After they had gone a short distance, the daughter looked around and saw her father pursuing them. “Oh,” she said, “what shall we do? My father’s after us, and he’ll soon catch up. Wait, I’ll turn you into a rosebush and myself into a rose, and I’ll protect myself by hiding in the middle of the bush.”

  When the father reached the spot, there was a rosebush with a rose standing there. When he tried to pluck the rose, the thorns pricked his fingers, so he had to return home. His wife asked him why he hadn’t brought back the couple. He told her that he had almost caught them, but then had lost sight of them and had found only a rosebush and a rose where he had thought they were.

  “If you had only plucked the rose,” the queen said, “the bush would have come along.”

  So he went away again to fetch the rose. In the meantime, the two had made their way far over some fields, and the king had to run after them. Once again the daughter looked around and saw her father coming after them. “Oh,” she said, “what shall we do now? Wait, I’ll turn you into a church and myself into a pastor. Then I’ll stand in the pulpit and preach.”

  When the king reached the spot, a church was standing there, and a pastor was preaching in the pulpit. So he listened to the sermon and returned home. The queen asked him why he had failed to bring back the couple with him, and he replied, “I ran after them a long time, and just as I thought I had caught up with them, I came upon a church with a pastor preaching in the pulpit.”

  “You should have taken the pastor with you,” said his wife. “The church would have come along. It’s no use sending you anymore. I’ll have to go myself.”

  After she had gone a long way and saw the two from afar, the king’s daughter looked around and saw her mother coming. “We’ve run out of luck now,” she said. “My mother herself is coming. Wait, I’ll turn you into a pond and myself into a fish.”

  When the mother reached the spot, there was a large pond, and a fish was leaping about in the middle of it. The fish stuck its head out of the water, looked around, and was as merry as could be. The mother tried very hard to catch the fish, but she was unable to land it. Then she got so angry that she drank the entire pond dry just to catch the fish. However, she became so sick that she had to spit out the water, and she vomited the entire pond out again. “It’s plain to me that I’m helpless against you.” So she made her peace and asked them to return with her, which they did. Now, the queen gave her daughter three walnuts and said, “These will help you in your greatest need.”

  Then the young couple set off again. After they had walked for ten hours, they had approached the castle where the prince came from, and nearby was a village. When they arrived in the village, the prince said, “Stay here, my dearest. I’ll go up to the castle first and then come back to fetch you with a carriage and servants.”

  When he got to the castle, everyone was happy to see him again. He told them he had a bride, who was now in the village, and he wanted to go fetch her in a carriage. They harnessed the carriage right away, and several servants climbed on the back. Just as the prince was about to get in, his mother gave him a kiss, and he forgot everything that had happened and everything he wanted to do. His mother then ordered them to unharness the carriage, and they all went back into the castle. Meanwhile, the king’s daughter sat in the village and waited and waited. She thought the prince would come and fetch her, but no one came. Finally, she hired herself out at the mill that belonged to the castle. She had to sit by the river every afternoon and wash the pots and jars. Once the queen came out of the castle and took a walk along the river. When she saw the beautiful maiden, she said, “What a lovely girl! She’s quite appealing!” Then everyone around her took a look, but nobody recognized her.

  The king’s daughter served the miller as maid honestly and faithfully for a long time. Meanwhile, the queen had found a wife for her son, and she came from a country far away. When the bride arrived, they were to be married right away, and crowds of people gathered to see the event, and the maid asked the miller if she might go and watch too.

  “Go right along,” said the miller.

  Before she left, she cracked open one of the three walnuts and found a beautiful dress inside. She put it on, wore it to the church, and stood near the altar. All at once the bride and bridegroom arrived and sat down in front of the altar. When the pastor was about to bless them, the bride looked to one side and saw the maid dressed as a lady standing there. Then she stood up and said that she wouldn’t marry until she had a dress as beautiful as the lady’s. So they returned home and sent servants to ask the lady if she would sell the dress. No, she told them, she wouldn’t sell it, but they might be able to earn it. They asked her what they would have to do, and she said that they could have the dress if she could sleep outside the prince’s door that night. They said, yes, she could do that, but the servants were ordered to give the prince a sleeping potion.

  The king’s daughter lay down on the threshold and whimpered all night: she had had the forest cut down for him, she had had the pond cleaned up for him, she had had the castle built for him, she had turned him into a rosebush, then a church, and finally a pond, and yet, he had forgotten her so quickly. The prince didn’t hear a thing, but her cries woke the servants, who listened but didn’t know what to make of it all.

  When they got up the next morning, the bride put on the dress and went to the church with the bridegroom. Meanwhile, the beautiful maid opened the second walnut, and she found a dress more splendid than the first, put it on, and wore it to the church, where she stood near the altar. Then everything happened as on the previous day. Once again the maid lay down in front of the prince’s door during the night, but this time the servants didn’t give the prince a sleeping potion but something to keep him awake, and he went to bed. The miller’s maid whimpered once more, as she had before, and told him about all the things she had done for him. The prince heard it all and became very sad, for he remembered everything that had happened. He wanted to go to her right then and there, but his mother had locked the door. However, the next morning he went straight to his beloved and told her what had happened and begged her not to be angry with him for having forgotten her for so long. Then the king’s daughter opened the third walnut and found a dress that was even more beautiful than
the other two. She put it on and went to the church with her bridegroom. Groups of children gathered around them and gave them flowers and placed colored ribbons at their feet. After they were blessed at the wedding, they had a merry celebration, but the false mother and false bride had to leave.

  And the lips are still warm on the last person who told this tale.

  28

  THE CLEVER LITTLE TAILOR

  Once upon a time there was a princess who was extremely proud. Whenever a suitor appeared before her, she gave him a riddle to solve, and if he couldn’t solve it, she would ridicule him and send him away. Indeed, she let it be known that whoever was able to solve her riddle would be allowed to marry her, no matter who the person might be.

  After some time had passed, three tailors happened to meet. The two oldest thought that, because they had sewn many a fine stitch and had got them all right, they were sure to win the princess and would hit upon the right answer. The third tailor was a useless little thing, who knew next to nothing about his craft. So the other two tailors said to him, “You’d be better off staying at home. You won’t get very far with your dense head.”

  However, the little tailor refused to let himself be confused and said that he had his mind set on it and knew how to take care of himself. So he sallied forth as if he owned the world.