Grimm's Fairy Tales (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)

by Brothers Grimm

  “Ah!” replied he, “let pardon be granted before justice; I have only done this from a great necessity: my wife saw your radishes from her window, and took such a fancy to them that she would have died if she had not eaten of them.” Then the Witch ran after him in a passion, saying, “If she behave as you say I will let you take away all the radishes you please, but I make one condition: you must give me the child which your wife will bring into the world. All shall go well with it, and I will care for it like a mother.” In his anxiety the man consented, and when the child was born the Witch appeared at the same time, gave the child the name “Rapunzel,” and took it away with her.

  Rapunzel grew to be the most beautiful child under the sun, and when she was twelve years old the Witch shut her up in a tower, which stood in a forest, and had neither stairs nor door, and only one little window just at the top. When the Witch wished to enter she stood beneath, and called out—for Rapunzel had long and beautiful hair, as fine as spun gold; and as soon as she heard the Witch’s voice she unbound her tresses, opened the window, and then the hair fell down twenty ells, and the Witch mounted up by it.

  “Rapunzel! Rapunzel!

  Let down your hair!”

  After a couple of years had passed away, it happened that the King’s son was riding through the wood, and came by the tower. There he heard a song so beautiful that he stood still and listened. It was Rapunzel, who, to pass the time of her loneliness away, was exercising her sweet voice. The King’s son wished to ascend to her and looked for a door to the tower, but he could not find one. So he rode home, but the song had touched his heart so much that he went every day to the forest and listened to it; and, as he thus stood one day behind a tree, he saw the Witch come up and heard her call out—Then Rapunzel let down her tresses, and the Witch mounted up. “Is that the ladder on which one must climb? Then I will try my luck, too,” said the Prince; and the following day, as he felt quite lonely, he went to the tower, and said—Then the tresses fell down, and he climbed up. Rapunzel was much frightened at first when a man came in, for she had never seen one before; but the King’s son began to talk in a friendly way to her, and told her how his heart had been so moved by her singing that he had had no peace until he had seen her himself. So Rapunzel lost her terror, and when he asked her if she would have him for a husband, and she saw that he was young and handsome, she thought, “Any one may have me, rather than the old woman;” so saying “Yes,” she put her hand within his: “I will willingly go with you, but I know not how I am to descend. When you come, bring with you a skein of silk each time, out of which I will weave a ladder, and when it is ready I will come down by it, and you must take me upon your horse.” Then they agreed that they should never meet till the evening, as the Witch came in the daytime. The old woman remarked nothing about it, until one time Rapunzel began to say to her, “Tell me, mother, how it happens you find it more difficult to come up to me than the young King’s son, who is with me in a moment?”

  “Rapunzel! Rapunzel!

  Let down your hair!”

  “Rapunzel! Rapunzel!

  Let down your hair!”

  “Oh, you wicked child!” exclaimed the Witch, “what do I hear? I thought I had separated you from all the world, and yet you have deceived me.” And, seizing Rapunzel’s beautiful hair in a fury, she gave her a couple of blows with her left hand, and, taking a pair of scissors in her right, snip, snap! she cut it all off; and the beautiful tresses lay upon the ground. Then she was so hard-hearted that she took the poor maiden into a great desert, and left her to live in great misery and grief.

  But the same day when the old Witch had carried Rapunzel off, in the evening she made the tresses fast above to the window latch, and when the King’s son came, and called out—she let them down. The Prince mounted; but when he got to the top he found, not his dear Rapunzel, but the Witch, who looked at him with furious and wicked eyes. “Aha!” she exclaimed, scornfully, “you would fetch your dear wife; but the beautiful bird sits no longer in her nest, singing; the cat has taken her away, and will now scratch out your eyes. To you Rapunzel is lost; you will never see her again.”

  “Rapunzel! Rapunzel!

  Let down your hair!”

  The Prince lost his senses with grief at these words, and sprang out of the window of the tower in his bewilderment. His life he escaped with, but the thorns into which he fell put out his eyes. So he wandered, blind, in the forest, eating nothing but roots and berries, and doing nothing but weeping and lamenting for the loss of his dear wife. He wandered about thus, in great misery, for some few years, and at last arrived at the desert where Rapunzel, with the twins to which she had given birth, lived in great sorrow. Hearing a voice which he thought he knew, he went up to her; and as he approached, Rapunzel recognised him, and fell upon his neck and wept. Two of her tears moistened his eyes, and they became clear again, so that he could see as well as formerly.

  Then he led her away to his kingdom, where he was received with great demonstrations of joy, and where they lived long contented, and happy.

  What became of the old Witch, no one ever knew.

  The White Snake

  A long while ago there lived a King whose wisdom was world-renowned. Nothing remained unknown to him, and it seemed as if the tidings of the most hidden things were borne to him through the air. But he had one strange custom: every noontime, when the table was quite cleared, and no one was present, his trusty servant had to bring him a dish, which was covered up, and the servant himself did not know what lay in it, and no man knew, for the King never uncovered it nor ate thereof until he was quite alone. This went on for a long time, until one day such a violent curiosity seized the servant, who as usual carried the dish, that he could not resist the temptation, and took the dish into his chamber. As soon as he had carefully locked the door, he raised the cover, and there lay before him a White Snake. At the sight he could not restrain the desire to taste it, so he cut a piece off and put it in his mouth. But scarcely had his tongue touched it, when he heard before his window a curious whispering of low voices. He went and listened, and found out that it was the Sparrows who were conversing with one another, and relating what each had seen in field or wood. The morsel of the Snake had given him the power to understand the speech of animals. Now it happened just on this day that the Queen lost her finest ring, and suspicion fell on this faithful servant, who had the care of all the rings, that he had stolen it. The King ordered him to appear before him, and threatened in angry words that he should be taken up and tried if he did not know before the morrow whom to name as the guilty person. He protested his innocence in vain, and was sent away without any mitigation of the sentence. In his anxiety and trouble he went away into the courtyard, thinking how he might help himself. There, on a running stream of water, the Ducks were congregated familiarly together, and smoothing themselves down with their beaks while they held a confidential conversation. The Servant stood still and listened to them as they narrated to each other whereabouts they had waddled, and what nice food they had found; and one said in a vexed tone, “Something very hard is in my stomach, for in my haste I swallowed a ring which lay under the Queen’s window.” Then the Servant caught the speaker up by her neck, and carried her to the Cook, saying, “Just kill this fowl, it is finely fat.” “Yes,” said the Cook, weighing it in her hand, “it has spared no trouble in cramming itself; it ought to have been roasted long ago.” So saying, she chopped off its head, and, when she cut it open, in its stomach was found the Queen’s ring. Now, the Servant was able to prove easily his innocence to the Queen, and, as she wished to repair her injustice, she granted him her pardon, and promised him the greatest place of honour which he wished for at court. The Servant refused every thing, and only requested a horse and money, for he had a desire to see the world, and to travel about it for a while. As soon as his request was granted he set off on his tour, and came one day by a pond, in which he remarked three Fishes which were caught in the reeds, and lay gas
ping for water. Although men say Fishes are dumb, yet he understood their complaint, that they must die so miserably. Having a compassionate heart, he dismounted and put the three prisoners again into the water. They splashed about for joy, and, putting their heads above water, said to him, “We shall be grateful, and repay you for saving us.” He rode onwards, and, after a while, it happened that he heard, as it were, a voice in the sand at his feet. He listened, and perceived that an Ant King was complaining thus:—“If these men could but keep away with their great fat beasts! Here comes an awkward horse treading my people under foot unmercifully.” So he rode on to a side path, and the Ant King called to him, “We will be grateful and reward you.” His way led him into a forest, and there he saw a male and female Crow, standing by their nest, and dragging their young out, “Off with you, you gallows birds!” they exclaimed, “we can feed you no longer, you are big enough now to help yourselves.” The poor young ones lay on the ground fluttering and beating their wings, and crying, “We, helpless children, we must feed ourselves, we who cannot fly yet! What is left to us but to die here of hunger?” Then the Servant dismounted, and, killing his horse with his sword, left it for the young Crows to feed upon. They soon hopped upon it, and when they were satisfied they exclaimed, “We will be grateful, and reward you in time of need!”

  He was obliged now to use his own legs, and after he had gone a long way he came to a large town, where in the streets there was a great crowd and shouting, and a man upon horseback riding along, who proclaimed, “The Princess seeks a husband; but he who would win her must perform a difficult task, and, if he should not luckily complete it, his life will be forfeited.” Many had tried already, but in vain; their lives had been forfeited. But the Youth, when he had seen the Princess, was so blinded by her beauty, that he forgot all danger, and stepping before the King, offered himself as a suitor. Immediately he was conducted to the sea, and a golden ring thrown in before his eyes. Then the King bade him fetch this ring up again from the bottom of the sea, adding, “If you rise without the ring, you shall be thrown in again and again, until you perish in the waves.” Every one pitied the handsome Youth, and then left him alone on the seashore. There he stood considering what he should do, and presently he saw three fishes at once swimming towards him, and they were no others than the three whose lives he had saved. The middle one bore a mussel-shell in its mouth, which it laid on the shore at the feet of the Youth, who taking up and opening it, found the gold ring within. Full of joy, he brought it to the King, expecting that he should receive his promised reward. But the proud Princess, when she saw that he was not her equal in birth, was ashamed of him, and desired that he should undertake a second task. She went into the garden, and strewed there ten bags of millet-seed in the grass, “These he must pick up by the morning, before the sunrise, and let him not venture to miss one grain.” The Youth sat himself down in the garden, thinking how it was possible to perform the task, but that he could not discover, and so he sat there sorrowfully, awaiting at the dawn of day to be conducted to death. But, as soon as the first rays of sun fell on the garden, he saw that the ten sacks were all filled, and standing by him, while not a single grain remained in the grass. The Ant King had come in the night with his thousands and thousands of men, and the grateful insects had collected the millet with great industry, and put it into the sacks. The Princess herself came into the garden, and saw with wonder that the Youth had performed what was required of him. But still she could not bend her proud heart, and she said, “Although he may have done these two tasks, yet he shall not be my husband until he has brought me an apple from the tree of life.” The Youth did not know where the tree of life stood; he got up, indeed, and was willing to go so long as his legs bore him, but he had no hope of finding it. After he had wandered through three kingdoms, he came by evening into a forest, and, sitting down under a tree, he wished to sleep; when he heard a rustling in the branches, and a golden apple fell into his hand. At the same time three Ravens flew down, and settled on his knee, saying, “We are the three young Ravens whom you saved from dying of hunger; when we were grown up, and heard that you sought the golden apple, then we flew over the sea, even to the end of the world where stands the tree of life, and we have fetched you the apple.”

  Full of joy, the Youth set out homewards, and presented the golden apple to the beautiful Princess, who now had no more excuses. So they divided the apple of life, and ate it between them; then her heart was filled with love towards him, and they lived to a great age in undisturbed tranquility.

  The Fisherman and His Wife

  There was once upon a time a fisherman and his wife, who lived together in a little hut near the sea, and every day he went down to fish. There he sat with his rod, and looked out upon the blank water; and this he did for many a long day. One morning the line went to the bottom, and, when he drew it up, a great Flounder was hooked at the end. The Flounder said to him, “Let me go, I pray you, fisherman; I am not a real fish, but an enchanted prince. What good shall I do you if you pull me up? I shall not taste well; put me back into the water, and let me swim.”

  “Ah,” said the man, “you need not make such a palaver, a fish which can speak I would rather let swim,” and, so saying, he put the fish into the water, and as it sunk to the bottom it left a long streak of blood behind it. Then the fisherman got up, and went back to his wife in their hut.

  “Have you caught nothing to-day, husband?” said she. “Oh!” he replied, “I caught a flounder, who said he was an enchanted Prince; so I threw him again into the sea to swim.”

  “Did you not wish first?” she inquired. “No!” said he.

  “Ah!” said the wife, “that is very unlucky; is one to remain in this hovel for ever? You might have wished for a better hut at least. Go again and call him; tell him we choose to have a better hut, and for certain you’ll get it.”

  “Ah!” replied he, “how shall I manage that?” “Why,” said his wife, “you must catch him again, and before you let him swim away he will grant what you ask: be quick.” The man was not much pleased, and wished his wife further; but, nevertheless, he went down to the sea. When he came to the water, it was green and yellow, and looked still more blank; he stood by it and said,

  “Flounder, Flounder in the sea,

  Hither quickly come to me;

  For my wife, dame Isabel,

  Wishes what I scarce dare tell!”

  Then the fish came swimming up, and said, “What do you want with me?” “Oh!’ said the man, “I was to catch you again; for my wife says I ought to have wished before. She won’t stay any longer in her hovel, and desires a cottage.”

  “Go home again,” said the Flounder, “she has it already.” So the fisherman departed, and there was his wife, no longer in the dirty hovel, for in its place stood a clean cottage, before whose door she sat upon a bench. She took him by the hand, saying, “Come in now and see: is not this much better?” So in they went, and in the cottage there was a beautiful parlour, and a fine fireplace, and a chamber where a bed stood; there were also a kitchen and a store-room, with nice earthen ware, all of the best; tinware and copper vessels, and every thing very clean and neat. At the back was a large yard, with hens and chickens; as well as a nice garden, full of fruit trees and vegetables. “See!” said the wife, “is not this charming?”

  “Yes,” said her husband, “so long as it blooms you will be very well content with it.”

  “We will consider about that,” she replied, and they went to bed.

  Thus eight to fourteen days passed on, when the wife said, “Husband, the hut is far too narrow for me, and the yard and garden are so small; the flounder may very well give us a larger house. I wish to live in a large stone palace; go, then, to the flounder, and ask him to give us a castle.”

  “Ah, wife!” said he, “the cottage is good enough; why should you choose to have a castle?”

  “Go along!” she replied. “the flounder will soon give you that.”

 
“Nay, wife,” he said, “the flounder gave us the cottage at first, but when I go again he will perhaps be angry.”

  “Never you mind,” said she; “he can do what I wish for very easily, and willingly; go and try.” The husband was vexed at heart, and did not like going, and said to himself, “This is not right.” But at last he set off.

  When he came to the sea, the water was quite clouded and deep blue coloured, and black and thick: it looked green no longer, yet it was calm. So he went and said,

  “Flounder, Flounder in the sea,

  Hither, quickly come to me,

  For my wife, dame Isabel,

  Wishes what I scarce dare tell.”

  “Now, then, what do you want?” said the Flounder. “Oh,” said the man, half-frightened, “she wants to live in a great stone castle.” “Go home, and see it at your door,” replied the fish.

  The fisherman went away, and lo! where formerly his house stood, there was a great stone castle; and his wife called to him from the steps to come in, and, taking him by the hand, she said, “Now let us look about.” So they walked about, and in the castle there was a great hall, with marble tables, and there were ever so many servants, who ushered them through folding doors into rooms hung all round with tapestry, and filled with fine golden stools and chairs, with crystal looking-glasses on the walls; and all the rooms were similarly fitted up. Outside the house were large courtyards, with horse and cow stalls, and wagons, all of the best, and besides a beautiful garden filled with magnificent flowers and fruit trees, and a meadow full a mile long, covered with deer, and oxen, and sheep, as many as one could wish for. “Is not this pretty?” said the wife. “Ah,” said her husband, “so long as the humour lasts you will be content with this, and then you will want something else.”