The Complete Grimm's Fairy Tales

by The Brothers Grimm

  In the morning when the three army surgeons got up, they told the girl she was to bring them the plate on which the hand, heart, and eyes were lying. Then she brought it out of the cupboard, and the first fixed the thief’s hand on and smeared it with his salve, and it promptly grew to his arm. The second took the cat’s eyes and put them in his own head. The third fixed the pig’s heart firm in the place where his own had been, and the innkeeper stood by, admired their skill, and said he had never yet seen such a thing as that done, and would sing their praises and recommend them to everyone. Then they paid their bill, and traveled farther.

  As they were on their way, the one with the pig’s heart did not stay with them at all, but wherever there was a corner he ran to it, and rooted about in it with his nose as pigs do. The others wanted to hold him back by the tail of his coat, but that did no good; he tore himself loose, and ran wherever the dirt was deepest. The second also behaved very strangely; he rubbed his eyes, and said to the others: “Comrades, what has happened? These are not my eyes! I don’t see at all Will one of you lead me, so that I do not fall.” Then with difficulty they traveled on till evening, when they reached another inn. They went into the bar together, and there at a table in the corner sat a rich man counting money. The one with the thief’s hand walked round about him, made a few jerky movements with his arm, and at last when the stranger turned away, snatched at the pile of money, and took a handful from it. One of them saw this, and said: “Comrade, what are you about? You must not steal—shame on you!” “Eh,” said he, “but what can I do? My hand twitches, and I am forced to snatch things whether I will or not.”

  After this, they lay down to sleep, and while they were lying there it was so dark that no one could see his own hand. All at once the one with the cat’s eyes awoke, aroused the others, and said: “Brothers, just look up, do you see the white mice running about there?” The two sat up, but could see nothing. Then said he: “Things are not right with us, we have not got back again what is ours. We must return to the innkeeper, he has deceived us.” So they went back the next morning, and told the host they had not received what was their own; that the first had a thief’s hand, the second cat’s eyes, and the third a pig’s heart. The innkeeper said that the girl must be to blame for that, and was going to call her, but when she had seen the three coming, she had run out by the backdoor, and not come back. Then the three said he must give them a great deal of money, or they would set the red cock on his roof.* He gave them what he had, and whatever he could raise, and the three went away with it. It was enough for the rest of their lives, but they would rather have had their own rightful organs.

  * The symbol of a red cock for fire is of remote antiquity.

  The Seven Swabians

  SEVEN SWABIANS were once together. The first was Master Schulz; the second, Jackli; the third, Marli; the fourth, Jergli; the fifth, Michal; the sixth, Hans; the seventh, Veitli: all seven had made up their minds to travel about the world to seek adventures and perform great deeds. But in order that they might go in safety and with arms in their hands, they thought it would be advisable that they should have one solitary, but very strong, and very long spear made for them. This spear all seven of them took in their hands at once; in front walked the boldest and bravest, and that was Master Schulz; all the others followed in a row, and Veitli was the last. Then it came to pass one day in the hay month, when they had walked a long distance, and still had a long way to go before they reached the village where they were to pass the night, that as they were in a meadow in the twilight a great beetle or hornet flew by them from behind a bush, and hummed in a menacing manner. Master Schulz was so terrified that he all but dropped the spear, and a cold sweat broke out over his whole body. “Hark! hark!” cried he to his comrades, “Good heavens! I hear a drum.” Jackli, who was behind him holding the spear, and into whose nose some smell had risen, said: “Something is most certainly going on, for I smell the powder and the match.” At these words Master Schulz began to take to flight, and in a trice jumped over a hedge, but as he just happened to jump on to the teeth of a rake which had been left lying there after the hay-making, the handle of it struck against his face and gave him a tremendous blow. “O dear! O dear!” screamed Master Schulz. “Take me prisoner; I surrender! I surrender!” The other six all leapt over, one on the top of the other, crying: “If you surrender, I surrender too! If you surrender, I surrender too!” At length, as no enemy was there to bind and take them away, they saw that they had been mistaken, and in order that the story might not be known, and they be treated as fools and ridiculed, they all swore to each other to hold their peace about it until one of them should speak of it by mistake.

  Then they journeyed onwards. The second danger which they survived cannot be compared with the first. Some days afterwards, their path led them through a fallow-field where a hare was sitting sleeping in the sun. Her ears were standing straight up, and her great glassy eyes were wide open. All of them were alarmed at the sight of the horrible wild beast, and they consulted together as to what it would be the least dangerous to do. For if they were to run away, they knew that the monster would pursue and swallow them whole. So they said: “We must go through a great and dangerous struggle. Boldly ventured, is half won,” and all seven grasped the spear, Master Schulz in front, and Veitli behind. Master Schulz was always trying to keep the spear back, but Veitli had become quite brave while behind, and wanted to dash forward and cried:

  “Strike home, in every Swabian’s name,

  Or else I wish you may be lame.”

  But Hans knew how to meet this, and said:

  “Thunder and lightning, it’s fine to prate,

  But for dragon-hunting you are always late.”

  Michal cried:

  “Nothing is missing, not even a hair,

  Be sure the Devil himself is there.”

  Then it was Jergli’s turn, and he said:

  “If it be not he, it’s at least his mother,

  Or else the Devil’s own step-brother.”

  And now Marli had a bright thought, and said to Veitli:

  “Advance, Veitli, advance, advance,

  And I behind will hold the lance.”

  Veitli, however, did not obey, and Jackli said:

  “Tis Schulz’s place the first to be,

  No one deserves that honor but he.”

  Then Master Schulz plucked up his courage, and said, gravely:

  “Then let us boldly advance to the fight,

  Thus we shall show our valor and might.”

  Hereupon they all together set on the dragon. Master Schulz crossed himself and prayed for God’s assistance, but as all this was of no avail, and he was getting nearer and nearer to the enemy, he screamed: “Oho! Oho! ho! ho! ho!” in the greatest anguish. This awakened the hare, which in great alarm darted swiftly away. When Master Schulz saw her thus flying from the field of battle, he cried in his joy:

  “Quick, Veitli, quick, look there, look there,

  The monster’s nothing but a hare!”

  But the Swabian allies went in search of further adventures, and came to the Moselle, a mossy, quiet, deep river, over which there are few bridges, and which in many places people have to cross in boats. As the seven Swabians did not know this, they called to a man who was working on the opposite side of the river, to know how people contrived to get across. The distance and their way of speaking made the man unable to understand what they wanted, and he said: “What? what?” in the way people speak in the neighborhood of Treves. Master Schulz thought he was saying: “Wade, wade through the water,” and as he was the first, began to set out and went into the Moselle. It was not long before he sank in the mud and the deep waves which drove against him, but his hat was blown on the opposite shore by the wind, and a frog sat down beside it, and croaked: “Wat, wat, wat.” The other six on the opposite side heard that, and said: “Oho, comrades, Master Schulz is calling us; if he can wade across, why cannot we?” So they all jumped int
o the water together in a great hurry, and were drowned, and thus one frog took the lives of all six of them, and not one of the Swabian allies ever reached home again.

  The Three Apprentices

  THERE WERE once three apprentices, who had agreed to keep always together while traveling, and always to work in the same town. At one time, however, their masters had no more work to give them, so that at last they were in rags, and had nothing to live on. Then one of them said: “What shall we do? We cannot stay here any longer, we will travel once more, and if we do not find any work in the town we go to, we will arrange with the innkeeper there, that we are to write and tell him where we are staying, so that we can always have news of each other, and then we will separate.” And that seemed best to the others also. They went forth, and met on the way a richly-dressed man who asked who they were. “We are apprentices looking for work; up to this time we have kept together, but if we cannot find anything to do we are going to separate.” “There is no need for that,” said the man, “if you will do what I tell you, you shall not want for gold or for work;—nay, you shall become great lords, and drive in your carriages!” One of them said: “If our souls and salvation be not endangered, we will certainly do it.” “They will not,” replied the man, “I have no claim on you.” One of the others, however, had looked at his feet, and when he saw a horse’s foot and a man’s foot, he did not want to have anything to do with him. Then the Devil said: “Be easy, I have no designs on you, but on another soul, which is half my own already, and whose measure shall but run full.” As they were now secure, they consented, and the Devil told them what he wanted: the first was to answer: “All three of us,” to every question; the second was to say: “For money,” and the third: “And quite right too!” They were always to say this, one after the other, but they were not to say one word more, and if they disobeyed this order, all their money would disappear at once, but so long as they observed it, their pockets would always be full. As a beginning, he at once gave them as much as they could carry, and told them to go to such and such an inn when they got to the town. They went to it, and the innkeeper came to meet them, and asked if they wished for anything to eat? The first replied: “All three of us.” “Yes,” said the host, “that is what I mean.” The second said: “For money.” “Of course,” said the host. The third said: “And quite right too!” “Certainly it is right,” said the host.

  Good meat and drink were now brought to them, and they were well waited on. After the dinner came the payment, and the innkeeper gave the bill to the one who said: “All three of us,” the second said: “For money,” and the third: “And quite right too!” “Indeed it is right,” said the host, “all three pay, and without money I can give nothing.” They, however, paid even more than he had asked. The lodgers, who were looking on, said: “These people must be mad.” “Yes, indeed they are,” said the host, “they are not very wise.” So they stayed some time in the inn, and said nothing else but “All three of us,” “For money,” and “And quite right too!” But they saw and knew all that was going on. It so happened that a great merchant came with a large sum of money, and said: “Sir host, take care of my money for me, here are three crazy apprentices who might steal it from me.” The host did as he was asked. As he was carrying the trunk into his room, he felt that it was heavy with gold. Thereupon he gave the three apprentices a lodging below, but the merchant received a separate apartment upstairs. When it was midnight, and the host thought that all were asleep, he came with his wife, and they had an axe and struck the rich merchant dead; and after they had murdered him they went to bed again. When it was day there was a great outcry; the merchant lay dead in bed bathed in blood. All the guests came running out, but the host said: “The three crazy apprentices have done this;” the lodgers confirmed it, and said: “It can have been no one else.” The innkeeper, however, had them called, and said to them: “Have you killed the merchant?” “All three of us,” said the first; “For money,” said the second; and the third added: “And quite right too!” “There now, you hear,” said the host, “they confess it themselves.” They were taken to prison, therefore, and were to be tried. When they saw that things were going so seriously, they were after all afraid, but at night the Devil came and said: “Bear it just one day longer, and do not spurn your luck, not one hair of your head shall be hurt.”

  The next morning they were led to the bar, and the judge said: “Are you the murderers?” “All three of us.” “Why did you kill the merchant?” “For money.” “You wicked wretches, you have no horror of your sins?” “And quite right too!” “They have confessed, and are still stubborn,” said the judge, “lead them to death instantly.” So they were taken out, and the host had to go with them into the circle. When they were taken hold of by the executioner’s men, and were just going to be led up to the scaffold where the hangman was standing with naked sword, a coach drawn by four chestnut horses came up suddenly, driving so fast that fire flashed from the stones, and someone made signs from the window with a white handkerchief. Then said the hangman: “It is a pardon coming,” and “Pardon! pardon!” was called from the carriage also. Then the Devil stepped out as a very noble gentleman, beautifully dressed, and said: “You three are innocent; you may now speak, make known what you have seen and heard.” Then said the eldest: “We did not kill the merchant, the murderer is standing there in the circle,” and he pointed to the innkeeper. “In proof of this, go into his cellar, where many others whom he has killed are still hanging.” Then the judge sent the executioner’s men thither, and they found it was as the apprentices said, and when they had informed the judge of this, he caused the innkeeper to be led up, and his head was cut off. Then said the Devil to the three: “Now I have got the soul which I wanted to have, and you are free, and have money for the rest of your lives.”

  The King’s Son Who Feared Nothing

  THERE WAS once a king’s son, who was no longer content to stay at home in his father’s house, and as he had no fear of anything, he thought: “I will go forth into the wide world, there the time will not seem long to me, and I shall see wonders enough.” So he took leave of his parents, and went forth, and on and on from morning till night, and whichever way his path led it was the same to him. It came to pass that he arrived at the house of a giant, and as he was so tired he sat down by the door and rested. And as he let his eyes roam here and there, he saw the giant’s playthings lying in the yard. These were a couple of enormous balls, and nine-pins as tall as a man. After a while he had a fancy to set the nine-pins up and then rolled the balls at them, and screamed and cried out when the nine-pins fell, and had a merry time of it. The giant heard the noise, stretched his head out of the window, and saw a man who was not taller than other men, and yet played with his nine-pins. “Little worm,” cried he, “why are you playing with my balls? Who gave you strength to do it?” The King’s son looked up, saw the giant, and said: “Oh, you blockhead, you think indeed that you only have strong arms, I can do everything I want to do.” The giant came down and watched the bowling with great admiration, and said: “Child of man, if you are one of that kind, go and bring me an apple of the tree of life.” “What do you want with it?” said the King’s son. “I do not want the apple for myself,” answered the giant, “but I have a betrothed bride who wishes for it. I have traveled far about the world and cannot find the tree.” “I will soon find it,” said the King’s son, “and I do not know what is to prevent me from getting the apple down.” The giant said: “You really believe it to be so easy! The garden in which the tree stands is surrounded by an iron railing, and in front of the railing lie wild beasts, each close to the other, and they keep watch and let no man go in.” “They will be sure to let me in,” said the King’s son. “Yes, but even if you do get into the garden, and see the apple hanging to the tree, it is still not yours; a ring hangs in front of it, through which any one who wants to reach the apple and break it off, must put his hand, and no one has yet had the luck to do it.�
�� “That luck will be mine,” said the King’s son.