Grimm's Household Tales

There was once a King who had an illness, and no one believed that he would come out of it alive. He had three sons, who were much distressed about it and went down into the palace garden and wept. There they met an old man, who inquired about the cause of their grief. They told him that their father was so ill that he would most certainly die, for nothing seemed to cure him. Then the old man said, “I know of one more remedy, and that is the water of life. If he drinks of it, he will become well again, but it is hard to find.” The eldest said, “I will manage to find it,” and went to the sick King and begged to be allowed to go out in search of the water of life, for that alone could save him. “No,” said the King, “the danger of it is too great. I would rather die.” But the eldest begged so long that the King consented. The prince thought in his heart, “If I bring the water, then I will be loved best by my father and will inherit the kingdom.” So he set out, and when he had ridden a little distance, a dwarf stood there in the road and called to him and said, “Where are you going in such a hurry?” “Silly shrimp,” said the prince very haughtily, “it has nothing to do with you,” and rode on. But the little dwarf had grown angry and had made an evil wish. Soon after this the prince entered a ravine, and the farther he rode, the closer the mountains drew together, and at last the road became so narrow that he could not advance a step farther. It was impossible either to turn his horse or to dismount from the saddle, and he was shut in there as if in prison. The sick King waited a long time for him, but he did not come. Then the second son said, “Father, let me go out to look for the water,” and thought to himself, “If my brother is dead, then the kingdom will fall to me.” At first the King would not allow him to go either, but at last he yielded, so the prince set out on the same road that his brother had taken, and he too met the dwarf, who stopped him to ask where he was going in such haste. “Little shrimp,” said the prince, “that is no concern of yours,” and rode on without giving him another look. But the dwarf bewitched him, and he, like the other, rode into a ravine and could go neither forward nor backward. That is how haughty people fare.

Since the second son also stayed away, the youngest begged to be allowed to go out to fetch the water, and at last the King was obliged to let him go. When he met the dwarf and the dwarf asked him where he was going in such haste, he stopped, gave him an explanation, and said, “I am looking for the water of life, for my father is deathly ill.” “Do you know, then, where that is to be found?” “No,” said the prince. “Because you have behaved properly, and not haughtily like your false brothers, I will give you the information and tell you how you can obtain the water of life. It springs from a fountain in the courtyard of an enchanted castle, but you will not be able to make your way to it if I do not give you an iron wand and two small loaves of bread. Strike three times with the wand on the iron door of the castle, and it will spring open. Inside lie two lions with gaping jaws, but if you throw a loaf to each of them, they will be quieted. Then hurry to fetch some of the water of life before the clock strikes twelve; otherwise the door will shut again, and you will be imprisoned.” The prince thanked him, took the wand and the bread, and set out on his way. When he arrived, everything was as the dwarf had said. The door sprang open at the third stroke of the wand, and when he had appeased the lions with the bread, he entered the castle and came to a large and splendid hall, in which sat some enchanted princes, whose rings he drew off their fingers. A sword and a loaf of bread were lying there, and these he carried away. After this, he entered a chamber in which was a beautiful maiden, who was overjoyed when she saw him. She kissed him and told him that he had delivered her and was to have the whole of her kingdom, and that if he would return in a year, their wedding would be celebrated. She also told him where the spring of the water of life was, and that he was to hurry and draw some of it before the clock struck twelve. Then he went onward and at last entered a room where there was a beautiful, newly made bed, and since he was very weary, he felt inclined to rest a little. So he lay down and fell asleep. When he awoke, the clock was striking a quarter to twelve. He sprang up in a fright, ran to the spring, drew some water in a cup that stood nearby, and hurried away. But just as he was passing through the iron door, the clock struck twelve, and the door slammed shut with such violence that it carried away a piece of his heel. He, however, rejoicing at having obtained the water of life, went homeward and passed the dwarf again. When the dwarf saw the sword and the loaf, he said, “With these you have won great wealth. With the sword you can slay whole armies, and the bread will never come to an end.” But the prince would not go home to his father without his brothers and said, “Dear dwarf, can you not tell me where my two brothers are? They went out before I did in search of the water of life and have not returned.” “They are imprisoned between two mountains,” said the dwarf. “I have condemned them to stay there, because they were so haughty.” Then the prince begged until the dwarf released them, but the dwarf warned him, saying, “Beware of them, for they have bad hearts.” When his brothers came, he rejoiced and told them how things had gone with him: that he had found the water of life and had brought a cupful away with him, and that he had rescued a beautiful princess, who was willing to wait a year for him, after which their wedding was to be celebrated and he would obtain a great kingdom. After that they rode on together and chanced upon a land where war and famine reigned, and the King already thought he must perish, for the scarcity was so great. Then the prince went to him and gave him the loaf, with which he fed and satisfied his whole kingdom. Then the prince also gave him the sword, with which he slew the hosts of his enemies, and the King could now live in rest and peace. The prince then took back his loaf and his sword, and the three brothers rode on. But after this they entered two more countries where war and famine reigned, and each time the prince gave his loaf and his sword to the kings. He had now delivered three kingdoms, and after that they went on board a ship and sailed over the sea. During the voyage, the two eldest talked together privately and said, “The youngest has found the water of life, and we have not, and because of that our father will give him the kingdom that belongs to us, and he will rob us of all our fortune.” They then began to seek revenge and plotted with each other to destroy him. They waited until they found him fast asleep. Then they poured the water of life out of the cup and took it for themselves, but into the cup they poured salt seawater. Now, therefore, when they arrived home, the youngest took his cup to the sick King so that he might drink out of it and be cured. But he had scarcely drunk a very little of the salt seawater when he became even worse than before. And as he was lamenting over this, the two eldest brothers came and accused the youngest of having intended to poison him. They said that they had brought him the true water of life, and they handed it to him. He had scarcely tasted it when he felt his sickness departing, and he became strong and healthy as in the days of his youth. After that they both went to the youngest, mocked him, and said, “You certainly found the water of life, but you have had the pain, and we have the gain. You should have been sharper and should have kept your eyes open. We took it from you while you were asleep at sea, and when a year is over, one of us will go and fetch the beautiful princess. But beware that you do not disclose anything of this to our father. Indeed, he does not trust you, and if you say a single word, you shall lose your life into the bargain, but if you keep silent, you shall have it as a gift.”

The old King was angry with his youngest son and thought he had plotted against his life. So he summoned the court together and had sentence pronounced upon his son: that he should be secretly shot. And once, when the prince was riding out to the hunt, suspecting no harm, the King’s huntsman had to go with him, and when they were quite alone in the forest, the huntsman looked so sorrowful that the prince said to him, “Dear huntsman, what is troubling you?” The huntsman said, “I cannot tell you, and yet I ought.” Then the prince said, “Say openly what it is; I will pardon you.” “Alas!” said the huntsman, “I am to shoot you dead; the King has ordered me to do it.” Then the prince was shocked and said, “Dear huntsman, let me live. There, I give you my royal garments; give me your common ones in their place.” The huntsman said, “I will gladly do that. Indeed, I could not have shot you.” Then they exchanged clothes, and the huntsman returned home; the prince, however, went farther into the forest. After a time three wagons of gold and precious stones came to the King for his youngest son. They were sent by the three kings who had slain their enemies with the prince’s sword and had sustained their people with his bread, and who wished to show their gratitude for it. The old King then thought, “Can my son have been innocent?” and said to his people, “I wish he were still alive! How it grieves me that I have allowed him to be killed!” “He still lives,” said the huntsman. “I could not find it in my heart to carry out your command.” And he told the King how it had happened. Then a stone fell from the King’s heart, and he had it proclaimed in every country that his son could return and be taken into favor again.

The princess, however, had a road made up to her palace, a road that was quite bright and golden, and she told her people that whoever came riding straight along it to her would be the right suitor and was to be admitted, and whoever rode by the side of it was not the right one and was not to be admitted. As the time was now close at hand, the eldest thought he would hurry to go to the King’s daughter and pass himself off as her deliverer, and thus win her for his bride, and the kingdom as well. Therefore he rode out, and when he arrived in front of the palace and saw the splendid golden road, he thought it would be a sin and a shame if he were to ride over that, and he turned aside and rode on the right side of it. But when he came to the door, the servants told him that he was not the right man and was to go away again. Soon after this the second prince set out, and when he came to the golden road and his horse had put one foot on it, he thought it would be a sin and a shame to tread a piece of it off, so he turned aside and rode on the left side of it. When he reached the door, the attendants told him that he was not the right one and that he was to go away again. When at last the year had entirely expired, the third son likewise wished to ride out of the forest to his beloved and forget his sorrows with her. So he set out and thought of her so incessantly, and wished so much to be with her, that he never noticed the golden road at all. So his horse went onward up the middle of it, and when he came to the door, it was opened, and the princess received him with joy and said he was her deliverer and lord of the kingdom, and their wedding was celebrated with great rejoicing. When it was over, she told him that his father invited him to come to him and had forgiven him. So he rode there and told him everything: how his brothers had betrayed him, and how he had nevertheless kept silent. The old King wished to punish them, but they had put to sea and never came back as long as they lived.