Grimm's Household Tales

First Story.

There was once a little child whose mother gave her a small bowl of milk and bread every afternoon, and the child sat down in the yard with it. When she began to eat, however, a snake came creeping out of a crevice in the wall, dipped its little head in the dish, and ate with her. The child took pleasure in this, and when she was sitting there with her little dish and the snake did not come at once, she cried:

“Snake, snake, come swiftly, / Come here, you tiny thing. / You will have your crumbs of bread, / You will refresh yourself with milk.”

Then the snake came in haste and enjoyed its food. Moreover, it showed gratitude, for it brought the child all kinds of pretty things from its hidden treasures: bright stones, pearls, and golden playthings. The snake, however, only drank the milk and left the breadcrumbs alone. Then one day the child took her little spoon and struck the snake gently on its head with it and said, “Eat the breadcrumbs as well, little thing.” The mother, who was standing in the kitchen, heard the child talking to someone. When she saw that the child was striking a snake with her spoon, she ran out with a log of wood and killed the good little creature.

From that time on, a change came over the child. As long as the snake had eaten with her, she had grown tall and strong, but now she lost her pretty rosy cheeks and wasted away. It was not long before the funeral bird began to cry in the night and the robin began to collect little branches and leaves for a funeral garland, and soon afterward the child lay on her bier.

Second Story.

An orphan child was sitting on the town walls, spinning, when she saw a snake coming out of a hole low down in the wall. Swiftly she spread out beside the hole one of the blue silk handkerchiefs that snakes have such a strong liking for and that are the only things they will creep on. As soon as the snake saw it, it went back, then returned, bringing with it a small golden crown, laid it on the handkerchief, and then went away again. The girl took up the crown. It glittered and was made of delicate golden filigree work. It was not long before the snake came back a second time, but when it no longer saw the crown, it crept up to the wall and in its grief struck its little head against it as long as it had the strength to do so, until at last it lay there dead. If the girl had only left the crown where it was, the snake would certainly have brought still more of its treasures out of the hole.

Third Story.

A snake cries, “Huhu, huhu.” A child says, “Come out.” The snake comes out, and then the child inquires about her little sister: “Have you not seen little Red-stockings?” The snake says, “No.” “Neither have I.” “Then I am like you. Huhu, huhu, huhu.”