Grimm's Household Tales

Once upon a time there was a King who had a little boy. It had been foretold that the boy would be killed by a stag when he was sixteen years old, and when he had reached that age, the huntsmen went hunting with him one day. In the forest, the King’s son was separated from the others, and all at once he saw a great stag that he wanted to shoot but could not hit. At length he chased the stag so far that they were completely out of the forest, and then suddenly a great tall man stood there instead of the stag and said, “It is good that I have you. I have already ruined six pairs of glass skates running after you, and I have not been able to catch you.” Then he took the King’s son with him and dragged him through a great lake to a great palace, where the boy had to sit down at the table with him and eat something. When they had eaten something together, the King said, “I have three daughters. You must keep watch over the eldest for one night, from nine in the evening until six in the morning. Every time the clock strikes, I will come myself and call, and if you then give me no answer, you will be put to death tomorrow morning. But if you always give me an answer, you will have her as your wife.”

When the young people went to the bedroom, there stood a stone statue of St. Christopher, and the King’s daughter said to it, “My father will come at nine o’clock, and then every hour until it strikes three. When he calls, give him an answer instead of the King’s son.” Then the stone statue of St. Christopher nodded its head very quickly, and then more and more slowly until at last it stood still. The next morning the King said to him, “You have done the job well, but I cannot give my daughter away. You must now keep watch for a night over my second daughter, and then I will consider whether you can have my eldest daughter as your wife. But I will come myself every hour, and when I call you, answer me. If I call you and you do not reply, your blood will flow.” Then they both went into the bedroom, and there stood an even larger stone statue of St. Christopher, and the King’s daughter said to it, “If my father calls, answer him.” Then the great stone statue of St. Christopher again nodded its head very quickly and then more and more slowly, until at last it stood still again. And the King’s son lay down on the threshold, put his hand under his head, and slept. The next morning the King said to him, “You have done the job really well, but I cannot give my daughter away. You must now keep watch for a night over the youngest princess, and then I will consider whether you can have my second daughter as your wife. But I will come myself every hour, and when I call you, answer me. If I call you and you do not answer, your blood will flow for me.”

Then they went to the bedroom together once more, and there was a much larger and much taller statue of St. Christopher than the first two had been. The King’s daughter said to it, “When my father calls, answer him.” Then the great tall stone statue of St. Christopher nodded its head for a full half hour, until at length the head stood still again. And the King’s son lay down on the threshold of the door and slept. The next morning the King said, “You have indeed watched well, but I cannot give you my daughter now. I have a great forest. If you cut it down for me between six o’clock this morning and six at night, I will think about it.” Then he gave him a glass axe, a glass wedge, and a glass mallet. When he got into the wood, he began to cut at once, but the axe broke in two. Then he took the wedge and struck it once with the mallet, and it shattered into bits as small as sand. Then he was very troubled and believed he would have to die, so he sat down and wept.

Now when it was noon, the King said, “One of you girls must take him something to eat.” “No,” said the two eldest, “we will not take it to him. The one he watched over last can take him something.” Then the youngest was forced to go and take him something to eat. When she got into the forest, she asked him how he was doing. “Oh,” he said, “I am doing very badly.” Then she said he was to come and just eat a little. “No,” he said, “I cannot do that. I will still have to die, so I will eat no more.” Then she spoke so kindly to him and begged him so earnestly just to try that he came and ate something. When he had eaten something, she said, “I will comb your hair for a while, and then you will feel happier.”

So she combed his hair, and he became weary and fell asleep. Then she took her handkerchief, made a knot in it, struck it three times on the ground, and said, “Earth-workers, come out.” In a moment, many little earthmen came out and asked what the King’s daughter commanded. Then she said, “In three hours’ time the great forest must be cut down, and all of the wood must be laid in heaps.” So the little earthmen went about and gathered all of their relatives to help them with the work. They began at once, and when the three hours were over, everything was done, and they came back to the King’s daughter and told her so. Then she took her white handkerchief again and said, “Earth-workers, go home.” At this they all disappeared. When the King’s son woke up, he was delighted, and she said, “Come home when the clock has struck six.” He did as she told him, and then the King asked, “Have you cleared away the forest?” “Yes,” said the King’s son. When they were sitting at the table, the King said, “I cannot give you my daughter as your wife yet. You must still do something more for her sake.” So he asked what, then, it was to be. “I have a great fishpond,” said the King. “You must go to it tomorrow morning and clear it of all mud until it is as bright as a mirror, and fill it with every kind of fish.” The next morning the King gave him a glass shovel and said, “The fishpond must be finished by six o’clock.” So he went away, and when he came to the fishpond, he stuck his shovel in the mud, and it broke in two. Then he stuck his hoe in the mud and broke it also. Then he was very troubled. At noon the youngest daughter brought him something to eat and asked him how he was doing. So the King’s son said that everything was going very badly for him and that he would certainly have to lose his head. “My tools have broken to pieces again.” “Oh,” she said, “you must just come and eat something, and then you will be in a different frame of mind.” “No,” he said, “I cannot eat. I am far too unhappy for that!” Then she spoke many kind words to him until at last he came and ate something. Then she combed his hair again, and he fell asleep, so once more she took her handkerchief, tied a knot in it, struck the ground three times with the knot, and said, “Earth-workers, come out.” In a moment a great many little earthmen came and asked what she desired, and she told them that in three hours’ time they must have the fishpond entirely cleaned out, that it must be so clear that people could see themselves reflected in it, and that every kind of fish must be in it. The little earthmen went away and summoned all of their relatives to help them, and in two hours it was done. Then they returned to her and said, “We have done as you commanded.” The King’s daughter took the handkerchief, struck the ground three times with it once more, and said, “Earth-workers, go home again.” Then they all went away.

When the King’s son woke up, the fishpond was done. Then the King’s daughter went away also and told him that when it was six o’clock he was to come to the house. When he arrived at the house, the King asked, “Have you gotten the fishpond done?” “Yes,” said the King’s son. That was very good.

When they were sitting at the table again, the King said, “You have certainly done the fishpond, but I cannot give you my daughter yet. You must do just one thing more.” “What is that, then?” asked the King’s son. The King said that he had a great mountain on which there was nothing but briars that must all be cut down, and that on top of it the youth must build a great castle, which must be as strong as could be imagined, and that all the furniture and fittings belonging to a castle must be inside it. And when he got up the next morning, the King gave him a glass axe and a glass gimlet to take with him, and he was to have everything done by six o’clock. As he was cutting down the first briar with the axe, the axe broke off short and splintered into such tiny pieces that they flew all around, and he could not use the gimlet either. Then he was completely miserable, and he waited for his beloved to see whether she would come and help him in his need. When it was midday, she came and brought him something to eat. He went to meet her, told her everything, ate something, let her comb his hair, and fell asleep. Then she once more took the knotted handkerchief, struck the ground with it, and said, “Earth-workers, come out!” Once again many earthmen came and asked what she desired. She said, “In the space of three hours you must cut down all of the briars, and a castle must be built on top of the mountain that is as strong as anyone could imagine, and all the furniture that belongs in a castle must be inside it.” They went away and summoned their relatives to help them, and when the time came, everything was ready. Then they came to the King’s daughter and told her so, and the King’s daughter took her handkerchief, struck the ground three times with it, and said, “Earth-workers, go home,” and at that they all disappeared. When the King’s son woke up and saw everything done, he was as happy as a bird in the air.

When the clock had struck six, they went home together. Then the King said, “Is the castle ready?” “Yes,” said the King’s son. When they sat down at the table, the King said, “I cannot give away my youngest daughter until the two eldest are married.” Then the King’s son and the King’s daughter were very troubled, and the King’s son had no idea what to do. But he went to the King’s daughter by night and ran away with her. When they had gone a little distance, the King’s daughter peeped around and saw her father behind her. “Oh,” she said, “what are we to do? My father is behind us and will take us back with him. I will change you into a briar at once, and myself into a rose, and I will shelter myself in the middle of the bush.” When the father reached the place, there stood a briar with one rose on it. He was about to gather the rose when the thorn came and pricked his finger, so that he was forced to go home again. His wife asked why he had not brought their daughter back with him. He said that he had nearly caught up with her, but that all at once he had lost sight of her, and a briar with one rose was growing on the spot.

Then the Queen said, “If you had only gathered the rose, the briar would have been forced to come too.” So he went back again to fetch the rose, but in the meantime the two were already far across the plain, and the King ran after them. Then the daughter once more looked around and saw her father coming, and said, “Oh, what should we do now? I will instantly change you into a church and myself into a priest, and I will stand up in the pulpit and preach.” When the King got to the place, there stood a church, and in the pulpit was a priest preaching. So he listened to the sermon and then went home again.

Then the Queen asked why he had not brought their daughter with him, and he said, “No, I ran after her for a long time, and just as I thought I would soon overtake her, a church was standing there and a priest was in the pulpit preaching.” “You should have just brought the priest,” said his wife, “and then the church would soon have come. It is no use to send you; I must go there myself.” When she had walked for some time and could see the two in the distance, the King’s daughter peeped around and saw her mother coming and said, “Now we are lost, for my mother is coming herself. I will immediately change you into a fishpond and myself into a fish.”

When the mother came to the place, there was a large fishpond, and in the middle of it a fish was leaping about and peeping out of the water, and it was very merry. She wanted to catch the fish, but she could not. Then she became very angry and drank up the whole pond in order to catch the fish, but it made her so ill that she was forced to vomit, and she vomited the whole pond out again. Then she cried, “I see very well that nothing can be done now,” and said that they might now come back to her. Then the King’s daughter went back again, and the Queen gave her daughter three walnuts and said, “With these you can help yourself when you are in your greatest need.” So the young people went on their way together once more. And when they had walked a full ten miles, they arrived at the castle that the King’s son had come from, and close by it was a village. When they reached it, the King’s son said, “Stay here, my dearest; I will just go to the castle, and then I will come back with a carriage and attendants to fetch you.”

When he got to the castle, they all rejoiced greatly at having the King’s son back again, and he told them that he had a bride who was now in the village and that they must go with the carriage to fetch her. Then they harnessed the horses at once, and many attendants seated themselves outside the carriage. When the King’s son was about to get in, his mother gave him a kiss, and he forgot everything that had happened and also what he was about to do. At this his mother ordered the horses to be taken out of the carriage again, and everyone went back into the house. But the maiden sat in the village and watched and watched, and thought he would come and fetch her, but no one came. Then the King’s daughter took a job at the mill that belonged to the castle and was obliged to sit by the pond every afternoon and clean the tubs.

One day the Queen came on foot from the castle and went walking by the pond, and she saw the well-grown maiden sitting there and said, “What a fine strong girl that is! She pleases me very much!” Then she and everyone with her looked at the maid, but no one knew her. So a long time passed, during which the maiden served the miller honorably and faithfully. In the meantime, the Queen had sought a wife for her son, a woman who came from quite a distant part of the world. When the bride came, they were to be married at once. And many people came hurrying together, all of whom wanted to see everything. Then the girl asked the miller to be so good as to give her leave to go too. So the miller said, “Yes, do go there.” When she was about to go, she opened one of the three walnuts, and a beautiful dress lay inside it. She put it on, went into the church, and stood by the altar. Suddenly the bride and bridegroom came and seated themselves before the altar, and when the priest was just about to bless them, the bride peeped halfway around and saw the maiden standing there. Then she stood up again and said that she would not be given away until she also had a dress as beautiful as that lady’s. So they went back to the house again and sent to ask the lady whether she would sell that dress. No, she would not sell it, but the bride might perhaps earn it. Then the bride asked her how she was to do this. Then the maiden said that if she were allowed to sleep one night outside the King’s son’s door, the bride could have what she wanted. So the bride said, “Yes, I am willing to do that.” But the servants were ordered to give the King’s son a sleeping drink, and then the maiden lay down on the threshold and lamented all night long. She had had the forest cut down for him, she had had the fishpond cleaned out for him, and she had had the castle built for him. She had changed him into a briar, then into a church, and at last into a fishpond, and yet he had forgotten her so quickly. The King’s son did not hear a single word of it, but the servants had been awakened and had listened to it, and they had not known what it could mean. The next morning, when they were all up, the bride put on the dress and went to the church with the bridegroom. In the meantime the maiden opened the second walnut, and an even more beautiful dress was inside it. She put it on, went and stood by the altar in the church, and everything happened just as it had the time before. And the maiden again lay all night on the threshold that led to the chamber of the King’s son, and the servant was once more to give him a sleeping drink. The servant, however, went to him and gave him something to keep him awake, and then the King’s son went to bed, and the miller’s maiden lamented as before on the threshold of the door and told of all that she had done. The King’s son heard all of this and was deeply troubled, and the past came back to him. Then he wanted to go to her, but his mother had locked the door. The next morning, however, he went at once to his beloved, told her everything that had happened to him, and begged her not to be angry with him for having forgotten her. Then the King’s daughter opened the third walnut, and within it was an even more magnificent dress. She put it on and went to church with her bridegroom, and many children came who gave them flowers and offered them bright ribbons to bind around their feet, and they were blessed by the priest and had a merry wedding. But the false mother and the bride had to leave. And the mouth of the person who last told all this is still warm.