by Jacob Grimm
“Maiden, maiden, green and small,
hop to it, hoptoad, and don’t you fall.
Hoptoad’s dog,
hop back and forth,
and quickly see who’s at the door.”
Then a small toad went to the door and opened it. When the princess entered, they all welcomed her and made her sit down while they asked, “Where have you come from? Where are you going?”
She told them everything that had happened to her and how she had disobeyed the prince’s command not to say more than three words, which had caused the stove along with the prince to disappear, and now she intended to search over hill and valley until she found him. Then the fat old toad said:
“Maiden, maiden, green and small,
hop to it, hoptoad, and don’t you fall.
Hoptoad’s dog,
hop back and forth and do it sprightly.
Fetch me the box as quick as can be.”
After the small toad left and then came back with the box, they gave her food and drink and took her to a nicely made bed that was like silk and velvet. She lay down on it and slept with God’s blessing. When morning came, she got up, and the old toad gave her three needles from the box, which she was to take with her. She would need them because she had to cross over a high glass mountain, three sharp swords, and a great lake. If she could manage to do all that, then she would regain her beloved. The toad also gave her three objects that she was to guard very carefully—namely, three big needles, a plow wheel, and three nuts. Upon receiving them, she departed, and when she came to the glass mountain, which was very slick, she stuck the three needles first beneath her feet and then ahead of them, and this was the way she managed to get over it. When she was on the other side, she hid them in a place that she marked carefully. Next she came to the three sharp swords, and she seated herself on the plow wheel and rolled over them. Finally, she came to the great lake, and after crossing it, she arrived at a large, beautiful castle. She went inside and sought work as if she were a poor maiden who wanted to hire herself out. She knew, in fact, that the prince whom she had rescued from the iron stove in the big forest was in this castle. So the princess was taken on as a kitchen maid at low wages. The prince, in the meantime, had already found another maiden whom he wanted to marry, for he thought that the princess had long since died.
That evening, after she had finished washing up and was through with her work, the kitchen maid searched in her pocket and found the three nuts the old toad had given her. She bit one open and was going to eat the kernel when—lo and behold!—she discovered a splendid royal dress inside. When the bride heard about it, she came and asked if she could buy the dress. Indeed, she said that it was not fit for a servant girl. But the kitchen maid replied that she wouldn’t sell it, rather the bride could have it if she would allow the maid to sleep one night in the bridegroom’s chamber. The bride consented because she didn’t have a dress that beautiful. When evening came, she said to her bridegroom, “That silly kitchen maid wants to sleep in your room.”
“If you don’t mind,” he said, “neither do I.”
Nonetheless, the bride gave him a glass of wine with a sleeping potion in it. Then the bridegroom and the kitchen maid went into the chamber to sleep, but he slept so soundly that she couldn’t wake him, which made her weep the entire night: “I rescued you from the wild forest and the iron stove,” she lamented. “I searched for you and went across a glass mountain, three sharp swords, and a great lake until I found you. And now you won’t listen to me.”
The servants outside the bedroom door heard her weeping the entire night and told their master the next day. When the kitchen maid had finished washing up that evening, she bit open the second nut, and there was another dress, even more beautiful than the first one. The bride saw it and wanted to buy this one, too, but the kitchen maid didn’t want money. She requested instead to sleep in the bridegroom’s chamber again However, the bride gave the prince another sleeping potion, and he slept so soundly that he couldn’t hear a thing. The kitchen maid wept the entire night and lamented: “I rescued you from the wild forest and the iron stove. I searched for you and went across a glass mountain, three sharp swords, and a great lake until I found you. And now you won’t listen to me.”
The servants outside the bedroom door heard her weep the entire night and told their master about this in the morning. When the kitchen maid had finished washing up the third night and bit open the third nut, she found a dress lined with pure gold that was even more beautiful than the other two. When the bride saw it, she wanted to have it, but the kitchen maid would give it to her only if she was granted permission to sleep in the bridegroom’s chamber a third night. This time, however, the bridegroom was alert and didn’t drink the sleeping potion. When the kitchen maid began to weep and lament, “Dearest love, I rescued you from the cruel wild forest and the iron stove,” the prince jumped up and said, “You are the true bride! You are mine, and I am yours.”
That very night he got into a carriage with her, and they took away the false bride’s dresses so that she couldn’t get up. When they came to the great lake, they sailed across it, and when they came to the three sharp swords, they sat down on the plow wheel, and when they came to the glass mountain, they stuck the three needles into it. At last they arrived at the old cottage, but when they entered, it became a large castle. The toads were released from a magic spell and turned out to be princes and princesses, and they were all very happy. Then the wedding was celebrated, and the prince and the princess remained in the castle, which was larger than the castle of the king’s daughter. However, since the king complained of being left alone, they traveled to him and brought him back to their castle. Now they had two kingdoms and lived a happily married life.
42
THE LAZY SPINNER
A man and his wife lived in a village, and the wife was so lazy that she never wanted to do any work. Whenever her husband gave her something to spin, she never finished it, and whatever she did spin, she didn’t wind it, but left it tangled on the bobbin. If her husband scolded her, she used her quick tongue and said, “How can I wind the yarn if I don’t have a reel? You go into the forest first and fetch me one.”
“If that’s the problem,” her husband replied, “then I’ll go into the forest and get some wood for a reel.”
Upon hearing this, his wife became anxious because she’d have to wind the yarn and start spinning again if he found the wood to make a reel. So she gave the matter some thought and came up with a good idea. She secretly followed her husband into the forest, and just as he climbed up a tree to choose and cut the wood, she crawled into some bushes below him, where he couldn’t see her, and cried out:
“He who chops wood for reels shall die.
She who winds yarn shall be ruined all her life.”
The husband listened, laid down his axe for a moment, and wondered what all this could possibly mean. “Oh, well,” he said, “I must have been hearing things. No need to get frightened. It’s nothing.”
So he took his axe again and was about to begin chopping when he heard the voice from below once more:
“He who chops wood for reels shall die.
She who winds yarn shall be ruined all her life.”
He stopped again, and in his fear and terror, he tried to grasp what was happening. After some time had passed, his courage returned. He reached for his axe a third time and was about to chop when he heard the voice cry out loudly for a third time:
“He who chops wood for reels shall die.
She who winds yarn shall be ruined all her life.”
This was too much for him, and he lost all desire to chop the wood. He quickly climbed down the tree and made his way home. His wife ran as fast as she could via the byways to get home before he did. When he entered the living room, she acted innocent, as if nothing had happened, and said, “Well, did you bring me a nice piece of wood for a reel?”
“No,” he said, “I’ve realized that it ma
kes no sense to wind,” and he told her what he had encountered in the forest, and from then on he left her in peace.
Yet some time later the husband began complaining again about the messy condition of the house. “Wife,” he said, “it’s a disgrace the way you just leave your spun wool on the bobbin.”
“You know what?” she said. “Since we haven’t managed to get a reel, you go up to the loft, and I’ll stand here below. Then I’ll throw the yarn up to you, and you throw it back down to me. That way we’ll have a skein.”
“Yes, that’ll work,” said her husband. So they did this, and when they were finished, he said, “We’ve got the yarn skeined, and now it needs to be boiled as well.”
His wife became uneasy again and said, “Yes, indeed, we’ll boil it first thing tomorrow morning,” but she was really thinking up a new trick. Early the next morning she got up, made the fire, and set the kettle on it, but instead of putting the yarn in the kettle, she put in a clump of wool and let it boil. After this she went to her husband, who was still lying in bed, and said to him, “I’ve got to go out awhile. So I want you to get up and look after the yarn that’s in the kettle on the fire. Make sure you do this right away, and watch things closely, for if the cock crows and you’re not taking care, the yarn will become wool.”
The husband agreed since he certainly didn’t want anything to go wrong. He got up as fast as he could and went into the kitchen. But when he reached the kettle and looked inside, he was horrified to discover nothing but a clump of wool. Then the husband was as quiet as a mouse, for he thought that he had done something wrong and was to blame. In the future he left his wife in peace when it came to yarn and spinning.
43
THE LION AND THE FROG
There once lived a king and a queen, and they had a son and a daughter who loved each other dearly. The prince went hunting very often and sometimes remained in the forest a long time. However, one day he didn’t return. His sister almost wept herself blind because of this. Finally, when she could no longer stand it, she went into the forest to search for her brother. After she had gone a long way, she was too tired to go any farther, and when she looked around her, a lion was standing nearby. He seemed friendly and very kind. So she sat down on his back, and the lion carried her away. As they went, he kept stroking her with his tail and cooling her cheeks.
After they had traveled a good distance, they came to a cave, and the lion carried her inside. She didn’t get frightened, nor did she want to jump off the lion’s back because he was so friendly. They went deeper into the cave, where it became darker and darker until it was eventually pitch black. Nevertheless, they proceeded for a while until they reached daylight again and were in a beautiful garden. Everything was fresh and glistened in the sun, and in the middle of the garden was a magnificent palace. When they came to the gate, the lion stopped, and the princess climbed down from his back. Then the lion began to speak and said, “You shall live in the beautiful house and serve me, and if you carry out all my orders, you shall see your brother again.”
So the princess served the lion and obeyed all his commands. One day she went for a walk in the garden, where it was very beautiful, but she was still sad because she was alone and forsaken by the world. As she walked here and there she became aware of a pond, and in the middle of the pond was a small island with a tent on it. Underneath the tent she saw a frog, who was as green as grass and had a rose leaf on his head instead of a crown. The frog looked at her and said, “Why are you so sad?”
“Ah,” she replied. “Why shouldn’t I be sad?” And she told him about her troubles.
Then the frog said to her in a very friendly way, “If you need anything, just come to me, and I’ll lend you a helping hand.”
“But how shall I pay you back?”
“You don’t have to pay me back,” said the frog. “Just bring me a fresh rose leaf every day for my crown.”
The princess returned to the palace and was somewhat comforted. Whenever the lion demanded something, she ran to the pond, and the frog hopped here and there and soon brought her what she needed. After a while, the lion said, “This evening I’d like to eat a gnat pie, but it must be prepared very well.”
The princess wondered how she could ever get something like that. It seemed impossible for her. She ran out and told her woes to the frog. But the frog said, “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure that you have a gnat pie.”
He sat down, opened his mouth to the left and right, and when he snapped it shut, he had caught as many gnats as he needed. Then he hopped here and there, gathered together some wood shavings, and built a fire. When it began burning, he kneaded the dough for the pie and put it over the coals. After two hours, the pie was finished, and one could not have wished for anything better. Then he said to the maiden, “I won’t give you the pie until you promise me that, when the lion is asleep, you’ll cut off his head with the sword that’s hidden behind his bed.”
“No,” she said. “I won’t do it. The lion’s always been good to me.”
“If you don’t do it, you’ll never see your brother again,” said the frog. “Besides, you won’t be harming the lion.”
So she summoned her courage, took the pie, and brought it to the lion.
“That looks delicious,” the lion said, and after sniffing it, he began to eat it right away and ate it all up. When he was finished, he felt tired and wanted to sleep a little. So he said to the princess, “Come and sit down beside me and scratch behind my ears a bit until I fall asleep.”
She sat down beside him, scratched him with her left hand, and with her right hand she reached for the sword that was lying behind the bed. After he had fallen asleep, she drew out the sword, closed her eyes, and chopped off the lion’s head with one blow. But when she looked again, the lion had disappeared, and her dear brother stood next to her. He kissed her affectionately and said, “You’ve released me from the spell, for I was the lion and had been cursed to remain so until a maiden’s hand would chop off my head out of love for me as a lion.”
They went together into the garden to thank the frog, but when they got there, they saw that he was hopping all around and gathering together wood shavings to build a fire. When the fire was burning brightly, he hopped into it himself, and it burned a little more until it finally went out and a beautiful maiden was standing there. This was the prince’s sweetheart, who had also been cast under a magic spell. Now they all returned home to the old king and queen, and a great wedding was held. Whoever attended did not go home with an empty stomach,
44
THE SOLDIER AND THE CARPENTER
Two carpenters lived in a city in which their houses touched one other. Each carpenter had a son, and their children were always together and played with one another. That’s why they were called Little Knife and Little Fork, which likewise are always placed side by side on the table. When they grew up, they refused to be separated. Since one was courageous and the other timid, one became a soldier, and the other learned carpentry. As the time came for the carpenter to go on his travels as a journeyman, the soldier didn’t want to be left behind, and so they set out together.
When they reached a city, the carpenter went to work for a master craftsman, and since the soldier wanted to remain there, too, he hired himself out as a servant in the same house. Everything would have gone well, but the soldier had no desire to work. He just loafed about, and it didn’t take long for the master to send him packing. Out of loyalty to his companion the carpenter decided not to stay. He handed his resignation to the master and departed with the soldier. And that’s how things continued to go. If they had work, it didn’t last long because the soldier was lazy and would be sent away, and the carpenter didn’t want to stay without him.
One day they arrived in a large city, but when the soldier refused to lift a finger, he was dismissed the very first evening, and they had to leave that night. Now their way took them to the edge of a large mysterious forest, and the timid carpenter sai
d, “I’m not going to enter. I’m sure there are witches and ghosts jumping all over the place.”
But the soldier replied, “Oh, nonsense! I’m not yet afraid of things like that!”
The soldier went ahead, and since the timid carpenter didn’t want to be separated from him, he went along. In a short time they lost their way and wandered in darkness through the trees. Finally, they saw a light and headed in that direction until they came to a beautiful castle that was brightly lit. In front of the castle was a black dog, and nearby was a red swan on a pond. When they entered the castle, however, they didn’t encounter a living creature until they went into the kitchen, where they found a gray cat standing by a pot on the fire and cooking. They moved on and found many splendid rooms that were all empty, but in one of them there was a table amply covered with food and drink. Since they were both very hungry, they went over to the table and enjoyed a fine meal. Afterward the soldier said, “Now that we’re finished and full, we’re entitled to some sleep!”