tales of heroines who find their prince charmings

8/6/2019 Tales of Heroines Who Find Their Prince Charmings

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TALES OF HEROINES WHO FIND THEIR

PRINCE CHARMINGS



Table of Contents

Rags to Riches............................................................................................................3

Cinderella, Or The Little Glass Slipper ....................................................................3

Ashputtel................................................................................................................7

Donkey-skin...........................................................................................................11

Animal Bridegrooms.................................................................................................20

Beauty And The Beast...........................................................................................20

The Singing, Springing Lark...................................................................................33

East Of The Sun And West Of The Moon................................................................37

The Frog-Prince.....................................................................................................45

Snow-white and Rose-red......................................................................................47

Bewitched.................................................................................................................51

Briar Rose..............................................................................................................51

Rapunzel................................................................................................................53

Snowdrop..............................................................................................................55

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There are many tales of down and out heroines who by succeed in rising above their

circumstances. The first story listed is the most commonly thought of when we think

of Cinderella these days. But there are other versions which are worth exploring.

RAGS TO RICHES

CINDERELLA, OR THE LITTLE GLASS SLIPPER

By Charles Perrault

From The Blue Fairy Book. Edited by Andrew Lang.

Once there was a gentleman who married, for his second wife, the proudest and

most haughty woman that was ever seen. She had, by a former husband, two

daughters of her own humor, who were, indeed, exactly like her in all things. He had

likewise, by another wife, a young daughter, but of unparalleled goodness andsweetness of temper, which she took from her mother, who was the best creature in

the world.

No sooner were the ceremonies of the wedding over but the mother-in-law began to

show herself in her true colors. She could not bear the good qualities of this prettygirl, and the less because they made her own daughters appear the more odious.

She employed her in the meanest work of the house: she scoured the dishes, tables,

etc., and scrubbed madam's chamber, and those of misses, her daughters; she lay

up in a sorry garret, upon a wretched straw bed, while her sisters lay in fine rooms,with floors all inlaid, upon beds of the very newest fashion, and where they had

looking-glasses so large that they might see themselves at their full length from

head to foot. The poor girl bore all patiently, and dared not tell her father, who would have rattledher off; for his wife governed him entirely. When she had done her work, she used

to go into the chimney-corner, and sit down among cinders and ashes, which made

her commonly be called Cinderwench; but the youngest, who was not so rude and

uncivil as the eldest, called her Cinderella. However, Cinderella, notwithstanding hermean apparel, was a hundred times handsomer than her sisters, though they were

always dressed very richly.

It happened that the King's son gave a ball, and invited all persons of fashion to it.

Our young misses were also invited, for they cut a very grand figure among thequality. They were mightily delighted at this invitation, and wonderfully busy in

choosing out such gowns, petticoats, and head-clothes as might become them. Thiswas a new trouble to Cinderella; for it was she who ironed her sisters' linen, and

plaited their ruffles; they talked all day long of nothing but how they should bedressed.

"For my part," said the eldest, "I will wear my red velvet suit with French trimming."

"And I," said the youngest, "shall have my usual petticoat; but then, to make

amends for that, I will put on my gold-flowered manteau, and my diamondstomacher, which is far from being the most ordinary one in the world."

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They sent for the best tire-woman they could get to make up their head-dresses andadjust their double pinners, and they had their red brushes and patches from

Mademoiselle de la Poche.

Cinderella was likewise called up to them to be consulted in all these matters, for

she had excellent notions, and advised them always for the best, nay, and offeredher services to dress their heads, which they were very willing she should do. As

she was doing this, they said to her:

"Cinderella, would you not be glad to go to the ball?"

"Alas!" said she, "you only jeer me; it is not for such as I am to go thither.""Thou art in the right of it," replied they; "it would make the people laugh to see a

Cinderwench at a ball."

Anyone but Cinderella would have dressed their heads awry, but she was very good,

and dressed them perfectly well They were almost two days without eating, somuch were they transported with joy. They broke above a dozen laces in trying to

be laced up close, that they might have a fine slender shape, and they were

continually at their looking-glass. At last the happy day came; they went to Court,

and Cinderella followed them with her eyes as long as she could, and when she had

lost sight of them, she fell a-crying.Her godmother, who saw her all in tears, asked her what was the matter.

"I wish I could—I wish I could—"; she was not able to speak the rest, being

interrupted by her tears and sobbing. This godmother of hers, who was a fairy, said to her, "Thou wishest thou couldst go

to the ball; is it not so?"

"Y—es," cried Cinderella, with a great sigh.

"Well," said her godmother, "be but a good girl, and I will contrive that thou shaltgo." Then she took her into her chamber, and said to her, "Run into the garden, and

bring me a pumpkin."

Cinderella went immediately to gather the finest she could get, and brought it to

her godmother, not being able to imagine how this pumpkin could make her go tothe ball. Her godmother scooped out all the inside of it, having left nothing but the

rind; which done, she struck it with her wand, and the pumpkin was instantly turned

into a fine coach, gilded all over with gold.

She then went to look into her mouse-trap, where she found six mice, all alive, andordered Cinderella to lift up a little the trapdoor, when, giving each mouse, as it

went out, a little tap with her wand, the mouse was that moment turned into a fine

horse, which altogether made a very fine set of six horses of a beautiful mouse-

colored dapple-gray. Being at a loss for a coachman,"I will go and see," says Cinderella, "if there is never a rat in the rat-trap—we may

make a coachman of him."

"Thou art in the right," replied her godmother; "go and look."

Cinderella brought the trap to her, and in it there were three huge rats. The fairymade choice of one of the three which had the largest beard, and, having touched

him with her wand, he was turned into a fat, jolly coachman, who had the smartest

whiskers eyes ever beheld. After that, she said to her:

"Go again into the garden, and you will find six lizards behind the watering-pot,bring them to me."

She had no sooner done so but her godmother turned them into six footmen, who

skipped up immediately behind the coach, with their liveries all bedaubed with gold

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and silver, and clung as close behind each other as if they had done nothing elsetheir whole lives. The Fairy then said to Cinderella:

"Well, you see here an equipage fit to go to the ball with; are you not pleased with

it?"

"Oh! yes," cried she; "but must I go thither as I am, in these nasty rags?"Her godmother only just touched her with her wand, and, at the same instant, her

clothes were turned into cloth of gold and silver, all beset with jewels. This done,

she gave her a pair of glass slippers, the prettiest in the whole world. Being thus

decked out, she got up into her coach; but her godmother, above all things,commanded her not to stay till after midnight, telling her, at the same time, that if

she stayed one moment longer, the coach would be a pumpkin again, her horses

mice, her coachman a rat, her footmen lizards, and her clothes become just as they

were before.She promised her godmother she would not fail of leaving the ball before midnight;

and then away she drives, scarce able to contain herself for joy. The King's son who

was told that a great princess, whom nobody knew, was come, ran out to receive

her; he gave her his hand as she alighted out of the coach, and led her into the ball,

among all the company. There was immediately a profound silence, they left off dancing, and the violins ceased to play, so attentive was everyone to contemplate

the singular beauties of the unknown new-comer. Nothing was then heard but a

confused noise of:"Ha! how handsome she is! Ha! how handsome she is!"

The King himself, old as he was, could not help watching her, and telling the Queen

softly that it was a long time since he had seen so beautiful and lovely a creature.

All the ladies were busied in considering her clothes and headdress, that they mighthave some made next day after the same pattern, provided they could meet with

such fine material and as able hands to make them.

The King's son conducted her to the most honorable seat, and afterward took her

out to dance with him; she danced so very gracefully that they all more and moreadmired her. A fine collation was served up, whereof the young prince ate not a

morsel, so intently was he busied in gazing on her.

She went and sat down by her sisters, showing them a thousand civilities, giving

them part of the oranges and citrons which the Prince had presented her with,which very much surprised them, for they did not know her. While Cinderella was

thus amusing her sisters, she heard the clock strike eleven and three-quarters,

whereupon she immediately made a courtesy to the company and hasted away as

fast as she could.When she got home she ran to seek out her godmother, and, after having thanked

her, she said she could not but heartily wish she might go next day to the ball,

because the King's son had desired her.

As she was eagerly telling her godmother whatever had passed at the ball, her twosisters knocked at the door, which Cinderella ran and opened.

"How long you have stayed!" cried she, gaping, rubbing her eyes and stretching

herself as if she had been just waked out of her sleep; she had not, however, any

manner of inclination to sleep since they went from home."If thou hadst been at the ball," said one of her sisters, "thou wouldst not have been

tired with it. There came thither the finest princess, the most beautiful ever was

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seen with mortal eyes; she showed us a thousand civilities, and gave us orangesand citrons."

Cinderella seemed very indifferent in the matter; indeed, she asked them the name

of that princess; but they told her they did not know it, and that the King's son was

very uneasy on her account and would give all the world to know who she was. Atthis Cinderella, smiling, replied:

"She must, then, be very beautiful indeed; how happy you have been! Could not I

see her? Ah! dear Miss Charlotte, do lend me your yellow suit of clothes which you

wear every day.""Ay, to be sure!" cried Miss Charlotte; "lend my clothes to such a dirty Cinderwench

as thou art! I should be a fool."

Cinderella, indeed, expected well such answer, and was very glad of the refusal; for

she would have been sadly put to it if her sister had lent her what she asked for jestingly.

The next day the two sisters were at the ball, and so was Cinderella, but dressed

more magnificently than before. The King's son was always by her, and never

ceased his compliments and kind speeches to her; to whom all this was so far from

being tiresome that she quite forgot what her godmother had recommended to her;so that she, at last, counted the clock striking twelve when she took it to be no

more than eleven; she then rose up and fled, as nimble as a deer. The Prince

followed, but could not overtake her. She left behind one of her glass slippers, whichthe Prince took up most carefully. She got home but quite out of breath, and in her

nasty old clothes, having nothing left her of all her finery but one of the little

slippers, fellow to that she dropped. The guards at the palace gate were asked:

If they had not seen a princess go out.Who said: They had seen nobody go out but a young girl, very meanly dressed, and

who had more the air of a poor country wench than a gentlewoman.

When the two sisters returned from the ball Cinderella asked them: If they had been

well diverted, and if the fine lady had been there. They told her: Yes, but that she hurried away immediately when it struck twelve,

and with so much haste that she dropped one of her little glass slippers, the

prettiest in the world, which the King's son had taken up; that he had done nothing

but look at her all the time at the ball, and that most certainly he was very much inlove with the beautiful person who owned the glass slipper.

What they said was very true; for a few days after the King's son caused it to be

proclaimed, by sound of trumpet, that he would marry her whose foot the slipper

would just fit. They whom he employed began to try it upon the princesses, then theduchesses and all the Court, but in vain; it was brought to the two sisters, who did

all they possibly could to thrust their foot into the slipper, but they could not effect

it. Cinderella, who saw all this, and knew her slipper, said to them, laughing:

"Let me see if it will not fit me."Her sisters burst out a-laughing, and began to banter her. The gentleman who was

sent to try the slipper looked earnestly at Cinderella, and, finding her very

handsome, said:

It was but just that she should try, and that he had orders to let everyone maketrial.

He obliged Cinderella to sit down, and, putting the slipper to her foot, he found it

went on very easily, and fitted her as if it had been made of wax. The astonishment

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her two sisters were in was excessively great, but still abundantly greater whenCinderella pulled out of her pocket the other slipper, and put it on her foot.

Thereupon, in came her godmother, who, having touched with her wand

Cinderella's clothes, made them richer and more magnificent than any of those she

had before.And now her two sisters found her to be that fine, beautiful lady whom they had

seen at the ball. They threw themselves at her feet to beg pardon for all the ill-

treatment they had made her undergo. Cinderella took them up, and, as she

embraced them, cried: That she forgave them with all her heart, and desired them always to love her.

She was conducted to the young prince, dressed as she was; he thought her more

charming than ever, and, a few days after, married her. Cinderella, who was no less

good than beautiful, gave her two sisters lodgings in the palace, and that very sameday matched them with two great lords of the Court.

ASHPUTTEL

By Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

From Grimms' Fairy Tales. Translated by Edgar Taylor and Marian Edwardes.

The wife of a rich man fell sick; and when she felt that her end drew nigh, she called

her only daughter to her bed-side, and said, 'Always be a good girl, and I will look

down from heaven and watch over you.' Soon afterwards she shut her eyes and

died, and was buried in the garden; and the little girl went every day to her graveand wept, and was always good and kind to all about her. And the snow fell and

spread a beautiful white covering over the grave; but by the time the spring came,

and the sun had melted it away again, her father had married another wife. This

new wife had two daughters of her own, that she brought home with her; they were

fair in face but foul at heart, and it was now a sorry time for the poor little girl.'What does the good-for-nothing want in the parlour?' said they; 'they who would

eat bread should first earn it; away with the kitchen-maid!' Then they took away her

fine clothes, and gave her an old grey frock to put on, and laughed at her, andturned her into the kitchen.

There she was forced to do hard work; to rise early before daylight, to bring thewater, to make the fire, to cook and to wash. Besides that, the sisters plagued her

in all sorts of ways, and laughed at her. In the evening when she was tired, she had

no bed to lie down on, but was made to lie by the hearth among the ashes; and as

this, of course, made her always dusty and dirty, they called her Ashputtel.

It happened once that the father was going to the fair, and asked his wife's

daughters what he should bring them. 'Fine clothes,' said the first; 'Pearls and

diamonds,' cried the second. 'Now, child,' said he to his own daughter, 'what willyou have?' 'The first twig, dear father, that brushes against your hat when you turn

your face to come homewards,' said she. Then he bought for the first two the fine

clothes and pearls and diamonds they had asked for: and on his way home, as he

rode through a green copse, a hazel twig brushed against him, and almost pushedoff his hat: so he broke it off and brought it away; and when he got home he gave it

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to his daughter. Then she took it, and went to her mother's grave and planted itthere; and cried so much that it was watered with her tears; and there it grew and

became a fine tree. Three times every day she went to it and cried; and soon a little

bird came and built its nest upon the tree, and talked with her, and watched over

her, and brought her whatever she wished for.

Now it happened that the king of that land held a feast, which was to last three

days; and out of those who came to it his son was to choose a bride for himself.

Ashputtel's two sisters were asked to come; so they called her up, and said, 'Now,comb our hair, brush our shoes, and tie our sashes for us, for we are going to dance

at the king's feast.' Then she did as she was told; but when all was done she could

not help crying, for she thought to herself, she should so have liked to have gone

with them to the ball; and at last she begged her mother very hard to let her go.'You, Ashputtel!' said she; 'you who have nothing to wear, no clothes at all, and who

cannot even dance—you want to go to the ball? And when she kept on begging, she

said at last, to get rid of her, 'I will throw this dishful of peas into the ash-heap, and

if in two hours' time you have picked them all out, you shall go to the feast too.'

Then she threw the peas down among the ashes, but the little maiden ran out at the

back door into the garden, and cried out:

'Hither, hither, through the sky,

Turtle-doves and linnets, fly!

Blackbird, thrush, and chaffinch gay,

Hither, hither, haste away!One and all come help me, quick!

Haste ye, haste ye!—pick, pick, pick!'

Then first came two white doves, flying in at the kitchen window; next came two

turtle-doves; and after them came all the little birds under heaven, chirping andfluttering in: and they flew down into the ashes. And the little doves stooped their

heads down and set to work, pick, pick, pick; and then the others began to pick,

pick, pick: and among them all they soon picked out all the good grain, and put it

into a dish but left the ashes. Long before the end of the hour the work was quitedone, and all flew out again at the windows.

Then Ashputtel brought the dish to her mother, overjoyed at the thought that now

she should go to the ball. But the mother said, 'No, no! you slut, you have noclothes, and cannot dance; you shall not go.' And when Ashputtel begged very hard

to go, she said, 'If you can in one hour's time pick two of those dishes of peas out of

the ashes, you shall go too.' And thus she thought she should at least get rid of her.

So she shook two dishes of peas into the ashes.

But the little maiden went out into the garden at the back of the house, and cried

out as before:

'Hither, hither, through the sky,

Turtle-doves and linnets, fly!

Blackbird, thrush, and chaffinch gay,

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Hither, hither, haste away!One and all come help me, quick!

Haste ye, haste ye!—pick, pick, pick!'

Then first came two white doves in at the kitchen window; next came two turtle-

doves; and after them came all the little birds under heaven, chirping and hoppingabout. And they flew down into the ashes; and the little doves put their heads down

and set to work, pick, pick, pick; and then the others began pick, pick, pick; and

they put all the good grain into the dishes, and left all the ashes. Before half an

hour's time all was done, and out they flew again. And then Ashputtel took thedishes to her mother, rejoicing to think that she should now go to the ball. But her

mother said, 'It is all of no use, you cannot go; you have no clothes, and cannot

dance, and you would only put us to shame': and off she went with her two

daughters to the ball.

Now when all were gone, and nobody left at home, Ashputtel went sorrowfully and

sat down under the hazel-tree, and cried out:

'Shake, shake, hazel-tree,Gold and silver over me!'

Then her friend the bird flew out of the tree, and brought a gold and silver dress for

her, and slippers of spangled silk; and she put them on, and followed her sisters tothe feast. But they did not know her, and thought it must be some strange princess,

she looked so fine and beautiful in her rich clothes; and they never once thought of

Ashputtel, taking it for granted that she was safe at home in the dirt.

The king's son soon came up to her, and took her by the hand and danced with her,

and no one else: and he never left her hand; but when anyone else came to ask her

to dance, he said, 'This lady is dancing with me.'

Thus they danced till a late hour of the night; and then she wanted to go home: and

the king's son said, 'I shall go and take care of you to your home'; for he wanted to

see where the beautiful maiden lived. But she slipped away from him, unawares,

and ran off towards home; and as the prince followed her, she jumped up into thepigeon-house and shut the door. Then he waited till her father came home, and told

him that the unknown maiden, who had been at the feast, had hid herself in the

pigeon-house. But when they had broken open the door they found no one within;

and as they came back into the house, Ashputtel was lying, as she always did, inher dirty frock by the ashes, and her dim little lamp was burning in the chimney. For

she had run as quickly as she could through the pigeon-house and on to the hazel-

tree, and had there taken off her beautiful clothes, and put them beneath the tree,

that the bird might carry them away, and had lain down again amid the ashes in herlittle grey frock.

The next day when the feast was again held, and her father, mother, and sisters

were gone, Ashputtel went to the hazel-tree, and said:

'Shake, shake, hazel-tree,

Gold and silver over me!'

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And the bird came and brought a still finer dress than the one she had worn the daybefore. And when she came in it to the ball, everyone wondered at her beauty: but

the king's son, who was waiting for her, took her by the hand, and danced with her;

and when anyone asked her to dance, he said as before, 'This lady is dancing with

me.'

When night came she wanted to go home; and the king's son followed here as

before, that he might see into what house she went: but she sprang away from him

all at once into the garden behind her father's house. In this garden stood a finelarge pear-tree full of ripe fruit; and Ashputtel, not knowing where to hide herself,

jumped up into it without being seen. Then the king's son lost sight of her, and

could not find out where she was gone, but waited till her father came home, and

said to him, 'The unknown lady who danced with me has slipped away, and I thinkshe must have sprung into the pear-tree.' The father thought to himself, 'Can it be

Ashputtel?' So he had an axe brought; and they cut down the tree, but found no one

upon it. And when they came back into the kitchen, there lay Ashputtel among the

ashes; for she had slipped down on the other side of the tree, and carried her

beautiful clothes back to the bird at the hazel-tree, and then put on her little greyfrock.

The third day, when her father and mother and sisters were gone, she went againinto the garden, and said:

'Shake, shake, hazel-tree,

Gold and silver over me!' Then her kind friend the bird brought a dress still finer than the former one, and

slippers which were all of gold: so that when she came to the feast no one knew

what to say, for wonder at her beauty: and the king's son danced with nobody but

her; and when anyone else asked her to dance, he said, 'This lady is my partner,sir.'

When night came she wanted to go home; and the king's son would go with her,

and said to himself, 'I will not lose her this time'; but, however, she again slippedaway from him, though in such a hurry that she dropped her left golden slipper

upon the stairs.

The prince took the shoe, and went the next day to the king his father, and said, 'Iwill take for my wife the lady that this golden slipper fits.' Then both the sisters

were overjoyed to hear it; for they had beautiful feet, and had no doubt that they

could wear the golden slipper. The eldest went first into the room where the slipper

was, and wanted to try it on, and the mother stood by. But her great toe could notgo into it, and the shoe was altogether much too small for her. Then the mother

gave her a knife, and said, 'Never mind, cut it off; when you are queen you will not

care about toes; you will not want to walk.' So the silly girl cut off her great toe, and

thus squeezed on the shoe, and went to the king's son. Then he took her for hisbride, and set her beside him on his horse, and rode away with her homewards.

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But on their way home they had to pass by the hazel-tree that Ashputtel hadplanted; and on the branch sat a little dove singing:

'Back again! back again! look to the shoe!

The shoe is too small, and not made for you!Prince! prince! look again for thy bride,

For she's not the true one that sits by thy side.'

Then the prince got down and looked at her foot; and he saw, by the blood that

streamed from it, what a trick she had played him. So he turned his horse round,and brought the false bride back to her home, and said, 'This is not the right bride;

let the other sister try and put on the slipper.' Then she went into the room and got

her foot into the shoe, all but the heel, which was too large. But her mother

squeezed it in till the blood came, and took her to the king's son: and he set her ashis bride by his side on his horse, and rode away with her.

But when they came to the hazel-tree the little dove sat there still, and sang:

'Back again! back again! look to the shoe!The shoe is too small, and not made for you!

Prince! prince! look again for thy bride,

For she's not the true one that sits by thy side.' Then he looked down, and saw that the blood streamed so much from the shoe,

that her white stockings were quite red. So he turned his horse and brought her also

back again. 'This is not the true bride,' said he to the father; 'have you no other

daughters?' 'No,' said he; 'there is only a little dirty Ashputtel here, the child of myfirst wife; I am sure she cannot be the bride.' The prince told him to send her. But

the mother said, 'No, no, she is much too dirty; she will not dare to show herself.'

However, the prince would have her come; and she first washed her face and

hands, and then went in and curtsied to him, and he reached her the golden slipper. Then she took her clumsy shoe off her left foot, and put on the golden slipper; and it

fitted her as if it had been made for her. And when he drew near and looked at her

face he knew her, and said, 'This is the right bride.' But the mother and both the

sisters were frightened, and turned pale with anger as he took Ashputtel on hishorse, and rode away with her. And when they came to the hazel-tree, the white

dove sang:

'Home! home! look at the shoe!Princess! the shoe was made for you!

Prince! prince! take home thy bride,

For she is the true one that sits by thy side!'

And when the dove had done its song, it came flying, and perched upon her rightshoulder, and so went home with her.

DONKEY-SKIN

by Charles Perrault

From The Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault. Translated by Robert Samber and J. E.Mansion.

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Once upon a time there was a King, so great, so beloved by his people, and so

respected by all his neighbours and allies that one might almost say he was the

happiest monarch alive. His good fortune was made even greater by the choice he

had made for wife of a Princess as beautiful as she was virtuous, with whom helived in perfect happiness. Now, of this chaste marriage was born a daughter

endowed with so many gifts that they had no regret because other children were

not given to them.

Magnificence, good taste, and abundance reigned in the palace; there were wise

and clever ministers, virtuous and devoted courtiers, faithful and diligent servants.

The spacious stables were filled with the most beautiful horses in the world, and

coverts of rich caparison; but what most astonished strangers who came to admirethem was to see, in the finest stall, a master donkey, with great long ears.

Now, it was not for a whim but for a good reason that the King had given this

donkey a particular and distinguished place. The special qualities of this rare animal

deserved the distinction, since nature had made it in so extraordinary a way that itslitter, instead of being like that of other donkeys, was covered every morning with

an abundance of beautiful golden crowns, and golden louis of every kind, which

were collected daily.

Since the vicissitudes of life wait on Kings as much as on their subjects, and good is

always mingled with ill, it so befell that the Queen was suddenly attacked by a fatal

illness, and, in spite of science, and the skill of the doctors, no remedy could befound. There was great mourning throughout the land. The King who,

notwithstanding the famous proverb, that marriage is the tomb of love, was deeply

attached to his wife, was distressed beyond measure and made fervent vows to all

the temples in his kingdom, and offered to give his life for that of his belovedconsort; but he invoked the gods and the Fairies in vain. The Queen, feeling her last

hour approach, said to her husband, who was dissolved in tears: "It is well that I

should speak to you of a certain matter before I die: if, perchance, you should desire

to marry again...." At these words the King broke into piteous cries, took his wife'shands in his own, and assured her that it was useless to speak to him of a second

marriage.

"No, my dear spouse," he said at last, "speak to me rather of how I may follow you."

"The State," continued the Queen with a finality which but increased the laments of

the King, "the State demands successors, and since I have only given you a

daughter, it will urge you to beget sons who resemble you; but I ask you earnestlynot to give way to the persuasions of your people until you have found a Princess

more beautiful and more perfectly fashioned than I. I beg you to swear this to me,

and then I shall die content."

Perchance, the Queen, who did not lack self-esteem, exacted this oath firmly

believing that there was not her equal in the world, and so felt assured that the King

would never marry again. Be this as it may, at length she died, and never did

12



husband make so much lamentation; the King wept and sobbed day and night, andthe punctilious fulfilment of the rites of widower-hood, even the smallest, was his

sole occupation.

But even great griefs do not last for ever. After a time the magnates of the Stateassembled and came to the King, urging him to take another wife. At first this

request seemed hard to him and made him shed fresh tears. He pleaded the vows

he had made to the Queen, and defied his counsellors to find a Princess more

beautiful and better fashioned than was she, thinking this to be impossible. But theCouncil treated the promise as a trifle, and said that it mattered little about beauty

if the Queen were but virtuous and fruitful. For the State needed Princes for its

peace and prosperity, and though, in truth, the Princess, his daughter, had all the

qualities requisite for making a great Queen, yet of necessity she must choose analien for her husband, and then the stranger would take her away with him. If, on

the other hand, he remained in her country and shared the throne with her, their

children would not be considered to be of pure native stock, and so, there being no

Prince of his name, neighbouring peoples would stir up wars, and the kingdom

would be ruined.

The King, impressed by these considerations, promised that he would think over the

matter. And so search was made among all the marriageable Princesses for onethat would suit him. Every day charming portraits were brought him, but none gave

promise of the beauty of his late Queen; instead of coming to a decision he brooded

over his sorrow until in the end his reason left him. In his delusions he imagined

himself once more a young man; he thought the Princess his daughter, in her youthand beauty, was his Queen as he had known her in the days of their courtship, and

living thus in the past he urged the unhappy girl to speedily become his bride.

The young Princess, who was virtuous and chaste, threw herself at the feet of theKing her father and conjured him, with all the eloquence she could command, not to

constrain her to consent to his unnatural desire.

The King, in his madness, could not understand the reason of her desperatereluctance, and asked an old Druid-priest to set the conscience of the Princess at

rest. Now this Druid, less religious than ambitious, sacrificed the cause of innocence

and virtue to the favour of so great a monarch, and instead of trying to restore the

King to his right mind, he encouraged him in his delusion.

"HE THOUGHT THE PRINCESS WAS HIS QUEEN"

The young Princess, beside herself with misery, at last bethought her of the Lilac-

fairy, her godmother; determined to consult her, she set out that same night in apretty little carriage drawn by a great sheep who knew all the roads. When she

arrived the Fairy, who loved the Princess, told her that she knew all she had come

to say, but that she need have no fear, for nothing would harm her if only she

faithfully fulfilled the Fairy's injunctions. "For, my dear child," she said to her, "itwould be a great sin to submit to your father's wishes, but you can avoid the

necessity without displeasing him. Tell him that to satisfy a whim you have, he must

13



give you a dress the colour of the weather. Never, in spite of all his love and hispower will he be able to give you that."

The Princess thanked her godmother from her heart, and the next morning spoke to

the King as the Fairy had counselled her, and protested that no one would win herhand unless he gave her a dress the colour of the weather. The King, overjoyed and

hopeful, called together the most skilful workmen, and demanded this robe of them;

otherwise they should be hanged. But he was saved from resorting to this extreme

measure, since, on the second day, they brought the much desired robe. Theheavens are not a more beautiful blue, when they are girdled with clouds of gold,

than was that lovely dress when it was unfolded. The Princess was very sad because

of it, and did not know what to do.

Once more she went to her Fairy-godmother who, astonished that her plan had

been foiled, now told her to ask for another gown the colour of the moon.

The King again sought out the most clever workmen and expressly commanded

them to make a dress the colour of the moon; and woe betide them if between thegiving of the order and the bringing of the dress more than twenty-four hours

should elapse.

The Princess, though pleased with the dress when it was delivered, gave way to

distress when she was with her women and her nurse. The Lilac-fairy, who knew all,

hastened to comfort her and said: "Either I am greatly deceived or it is certain that

if you ask for a dress the colour of the sun we shall at last baffle the King yourfather, for it would never be possible to make such a gown; in any case we should

gain time."

So the Princess asked for yet another gown as the Fairy bade her. The infatuatedKing could refuse his daughter nothing, and he gave without regret all the diamonds

and rubies in his crown to aid this superb work; nothing was to be spared that could

make the dress as beautiful as the sun. And, indeed, when the dress appeared, all

those who unfolded it were obliged to close their eyes, so much were they dazzled.And, truth to tell, green spectacles and smoked glasses date from that time.

What was the Princess to do? Never had so beautiful and so artistic a robe been

seen. She was dumb-founded, and pretending that its brilliance had hurt her eyesshe retired to her chamber, where she found the Fairy awaiting her.

On seeing the dress like the sun, the Lilac-fairy became red with rage. "Oh! this

time, my child," she said to the Princess, "we will put the King to terrible proof. Inspite of his madness I think he will be a little astonished by the request that I

counsel you to make of him; it is that he should give you the skin of that ass he

loves so dearly, and which supplies him so profusely with the means of paying all

his expenses. Go, and do not fail to tell him that you want this skin." The Princess,overjoyed at finding yet another avenue of escape; for she thought that her father

could never bring himself to sacrifice the ass, went to find him, and unfolded to him

her latest desire.

14



Although the King was astonished by this whim, he did not hesitate to satisfy it; the

poor ass was sacrificed and the skin brought, with due ceremony, to the Princess,

who, seeing no other way of avoiding her ill-fortune, was desperate.

At that moment her godmother arrived. "What are you doing, my child?" she asked,

seeing the Princess tearing her hair, her beautiful cheeks stained with tears. "This is

the most happy moment of your life. Wrap yourself in this skin, leave the palace,

and walk so long as you can find ground to carry you: when one sacrificeseverything to virtue the gods know how to mete out reward. Go, and I will take care

that your possessions follow you; in whatever place you rest, your chest with your

clothes and your jewels will follow your steps, and here is my wand which I will give

you: tap the ground with it when you have need of the chest, and it will appearbefore your eyes: but haste to set forth, and do not delay." The Princess embraced

her godmother many times, and begged her not to forsake her. Then after she had

smeared herself with soot from the chimney, she wrapped herself up in that ugly

skin and went out from the magnificent palace without being recognised by a single

person.

The absence of the Princess caused a great commotion. The King, who had caused

a sumptuous banquet to be prepared, was inconsolable. He sent out more than ahundred gendarmes, and more than a thousand musketeers in quest of her; but the

Lilac-fairy made her invisible to the cleverest seekers, and thus she escaped their

vigilance.

Meanwhile the Princess walked far, far and even farther away; after a time she

sought for a resting place, but although out of charity people gave her food, she

was so dishevelled and dirty that no one wanted to keep her. At length she came to

a beautiful town, at the gate of which was a small farm. Now the farmer's wife hadneed of a wench to wash the dishes and to attend to the geese and the pigs, and

seeing so dirty a vagrant offered to engage her. The Princess, who was now much

fatigued, accepted joyfully. She was put into a recess in the kitchen where for the

first days she was subjected to the coarse jokes of the men-servants, so dirty andunpleasant did the donkey-skin make her appear. At last they tired of their

pleasantries; moreover she was so attentive to her work that the farmer's wife took

her under her protection. She minded the sheep, and penned them up when it was

necessary, and she took the geese out to feed with such intelligence that it seemedas if she had never done anything else. Everything that her beautiful hands

undertook was done well.

One day she was sitting near a clear fountain where she often repaired to bemoanher sad condition, when she thought she would look at herself in the water. The

horrible donkey-skin which covered her from head to toe revolted her. Ashamed,

she washed her face and her hands, which became whiter than ivory, and once

again her lovely complexion took its natural freshness. The joy of finding herself sobeautiful filled her with the desire to bathe in the pool, and this she did. But she had

to don her unworthy skin again before she returned to the farm.

15



By good fortune the next day chanced to be a holiday, and so she had leisure to tapfor her chest with the fairy's wand, arrange her toilet, powder her beautiful hair and

put on the lovely gown which was the colour of the weather; but the room was so

small that the train could not be properly spread out. The beautiful Princess looked

at herself, and with good reason, admired her appearance so much that sheresolved to wear her magnificent dresses in turn on holidays and Sundays for her

own amusement, and this she regularly did. She entwined flowers and diamonds in

her lovely hair with admirable art, and often she sighed that she had no witness of

her beauty save the sheep and geese, who loved her just as much in the horribledonkey-skin after which she had been named at the farm.

One holiday when Donkey-skin had put on her sun-hued dress, the son of the King

to whom the farm belonged alighted there to rest on his return from the hunt. ThisPrince was young and handsome, beloved of his father and of the Queen his

mother, and adored by the people. After he had partaken of the simple collation

which was offered him he set out to inspect the farm-yard and all its nooks and

corners. In going thus from place to place, he entered a dark alley at the bottom of

which was a closed door. Curiosity made him put his eye to the keyhole. Imagine hisastonishment at seeing a Princess so beautiful and so richly dressed, and withal of

so noble and dignified a mien, that he took her to be a divinity. The impetuosity of

his feelings at this moment would have made him force the door, had it not been forthe respect with which that charming figure filled him.

"CURIOSITY MADE HIM PUT HIS EYE TO THE KEYHOLE"

It was with difficulty that he withdrew from this gloomy little alley, intent ondiscovering who the inmate of the tiny room might be. He was told that it was a

scullion called Donkey-skin because of the skin which she always wore, and that she

was so dirty and unpleasant that no one took any notice of her, or even spoke to

her; she had just been taken out of pity to look after the geese.

The Prince, though little satisfied by this information, saw that these dense people

knew no more, and that it was useless to question them. So he returned to the

palace of the King his father, beyond words in love, having continually before hiseyes the beautiful image of the goddess whom he had seen through the keyhole. He

was full of regret that he had not knocked at the door, and promised himself that he

would not fail to do so next time. But the fervency of his love caused him such great

agitation that the same night he was seized by a terrible fever, and was soon atdeath's door. The Queen, who had no other child, was in despair because all

remedies proved useless. In vain she promised great rewards to the doctors; though

they exerted all their skill, nothing would cure the Prince. At last they decided that

some great sorrow had caused this terrible fever. They told the Queen, who, full of tenderness for her son, went to him and begged him to tell her his trouble. She

declared that even if it was a matter of giving him the crown, his father would yield

the throne to him without regret; or if he desired some Princess, even though there

should be war with the King her father and their subjects should, with reason,complain, all should be sacrificed to obtain what he wished. She implored him with

tears not to die, since their life depended on his. The Queen did not finish this

touching discourse without moving the Prince to tears.

16



"Madam," he said at last, in a very feeble voice, "I am not so base that I desire the

crown of my father, rather may Heaven grant him life for many years, and that I

may always be the most faithful and the most respectful of his subjects! As to the

Princesses that you speak of, I have never yet thought of marriage, and you wellknow that, subject as I am to your wishes, I shall obey you always, even though it

be painful to me."

"Ah! my son," replied the Queen, "we will spare nothing to save your life. But, mydear child, save mine and that of the King your father by telling me what you desire,

and be assured that you shall have it."

"Well, Madam," he said, "since you would have me tell you my thought, I obey you.It would indeed be a sin to place in danger two lives so dear to me. Know, my

mother, that I wish Donkey-skin to make me a cake, and to have it brought to me

when it is ready."

The Queen, astonished at this strange name, asked who Donkey-skin might be.

"It is, Madam," replied one of her officers who had by chance seen this girl, "It is the

most ugly creature imaginable after the wolf, a slut who lodges at your farm, andminds your geese."

"It matters not," said the Queen; "my son, on his way home from the chase, has

perchance eaten of her cakes; it is a whim such as those who are sick do sometimeshave. In a word, I wish that Donkey-skin, since Donkey-skin it is, make him

presently a cake."

A messenger ran to the farm and told Donkey-skin that she was to make a cake forthe Prince as well as she possibly could. Now, some believe that Donkey-skin had

been aware of the Prince in her heart at the moment when he had put his eye to the

keyhole; and then, looking from her little window, she had seen him, so young, so

handsome, and so shapely, that the remembrance of him had remained, and thatoften the thought of him had cost her some sighs. Be that as it may, Donkey-skin,

either having seen him, or having heard him spoken of with praise, was overjoyed

to think that she might become known to him. She shut herself in her little room,

threw off the ugly skin, bathed her face and hands, arranged her hair, put on abeautiful corsage of bright silver, and an equally beautiful petticoat, and then set

herself to make the much desired cake. She took the finest flour, and newest eggs

and freshest butter, and while she was working them, whether by design or no, a

ring which she had on her finger fell into the cake and was mixed in it. When thecooking was done she muffled herself in her horrible skin and gave the cake to the

messenger, asking him for news of the Prince; but the man would not deign to

reply, and without a word ran quickly back to the palace.

The Prince took the cake greedily from the man's hands, and ate it with such

voracity that the doctors who were present did not fail to say that this haste was

not a good sign. Indeed, the Prince came near to being choked by the ring, which he

17



nearly swallowed, in one of the pieces of cake. But he drew it cleverly from hismouth, and his desire for the cake was forgotten as he examined the fine emerald

set in a gold keeper-ring, a ring so small that he knew it could only be worn on the

prettiest little finger in the world.

He kissed the ring a thousand times, put it under his pillow, and drew it out every

moment that he thought himself unobserved. The torment that he gave himself,

planning how he might see her to whom the ring belonged, not daring to believe

that if he asked for Donkey-skin she would be allowed to come, and not daring tospeak of what he had seen through the keyhole for fear that he would be laughed at

for a dreamer, brought back the fever with great violence. The doctors, not knowing

what more to do, declared to the Queen that the Prince's malady was love,

whereupon the Queen and the disconsolate King ran to their son.

"My son, my dear son," cried the affected monarch, "tell us the name of her whom

you desire: we swear that we will give her to you. Even though she were the vilest

of slaves."

The Queen embracing him, agreed with all that the King had said, and the Prince,

moved by their tears and caresses, said to them: "My father and my mother, I in no

way desire to make a marriage which is displeasing to you." And drawing theemerald from under his pillow he added: "To prove the truth of this, I desire to

marry her to whom this ring belongs. It is not likely that she who owns so pretty a

ring is a rustic or a peasant."

The King and the Queen took the ring, examined it with great curiosity, and agreed

with the Prince that it could only belong to the daughter of a good house. Then the

King, having embraced his son, and entreated him to get well, went out. He ordered

the drums and fifes and trumpets to be sounded throughout the town, and theheralds to cry that she whose finger a certain ring would fit should marry the heir to

the throne.

First the Princesses arrived, then the duchesses, and the marquises, and thebaronesses; but though they did all they could to make their fingers small, none

could put on the ring. So the country girls had to be tried, but pretty though they all

were, they all had fingers that were too fat. The Prince, who was feeling better,

made the trial himself. At last it was the turn of the chamber-maids; but theysucceeded no better. Then, when everyone else had tried, the Prince asked for the

kitchen-maids, the scullions, and the sheep-girls. They were all brought to the

palace, but their coarse red, short, fingers would hardly go through the golden hoop

as far as the nail.

"You have not brought that Donkey-skin, who made me the cake," said the Prince.

Everyone laughed and said, "No," so dirty and unpleasant was she.

"Let someone fetch her at once," said the King; "it shall not be said that I left out

the lowliest." And the servants ran laughing and mocking to find the goose-girl.

18



The Princess, who had heard the drums and the cries of the heralds, had no doubt

that the ring was the cause of this uproar. Now, she loved the Prince, and, as true

love is timorous and has no vanity, she was in perpetual fear that some other lady

would be found to have a finger as small as hers. Great, then, was her joy when themessengers came and knocked at her door. Since she knew that they were seeking

the owner of the right finger on which to set her ring, some impulse had moved her

to arrange her hair with great care, and to put on her beautiful silver corsage, and

the petticoat full of furbelows and silver lace studded with emeralds. At the firstknock she quickly covered her finery with the donkey-skin and opened the door. The

visitors, in derision, told her that the King had sent for her in order to marry her to

his son. Then with loud peals of laughter they led her to the Prince, who was

astonished at the garb of this girl, and dared not believe that it was she whom hehad seen so majestic and so beautiful. Sad and confounded, he said, "Is it you who

lodge at the bottom of that dark alley in the third yard of the farm?"

"Yes, your Highness," she replied.

"Show me your hand," said the Prince trembling, and heaving a deep sigh.

Imagine how astonished everyone was! The King and the Queen, the chamberlainsand all the courtiers were dumb-founded, when from beneath that black and dirty

skin came a delicate little white and rose-pink hand, and the ring slipped without

difficulty on to the prettiest little finger in the world. Then, by a little movement

which the Princess made, the skin fell from her shoulders and so enchanting washer guise, that the Prince, weak though he was, fell on his knees and held her so

closely that she blushed. But that was scarcely noticed, for the King and Queen

came to embrace her heartily, and to ask her if she would marry their son. The

Princess, confused by all these caresses and by the love of the handsome youngPrince, was about to thank them when suddenly the ceiling opened, and the Lilac-

fairy descended in a chariot made of the branches and flowers from which she took

her name, and, with great charm, told the Princess's story. The King and Queen,

overjoyed to know that Donkey-skin was a great Princess redoubled their caresses,but the Prince was even more sensible of her virtue, and his love increased as the

Fairy unfolded her tale. His impatience to marry her, indeed, was so great that he

could scarcely allow time for the necessary preparations for the grand wedding

which was their due. The King and Queen, now entirely devoted to their daughter-in-law, overwhelmed her with affection. She had declared that she could not marry

the Prince without the consent of the King her father, so, he was the first to whom

an invitation to the wedding was sent; he was not, however, told the name of the

bride. The Lilac-fairy, who, as was right, presided over all, had recommended thiscourse to prevent trouble. Kings came from all the countries round, some in sedan-

chairs, others in beautiful carriages; those who came from the most distant

countries rode on elephants and tigers and eagles. But the most magnificent and

most glorious of all was the father of the Princess. He had happily recovered hisreason, and had married a Queen who was a widow and very beautiful, but by

whom he had no child. The Princess ran to him, and he recognised her at once and

embraced her with great tenderness before she had time to throw herself on her

19



knees. The King and Queen presented their son to him, and the happiness of all wascomplete. The nuptials were celebrated with all imaginable pomp, but the young

couple were hardly aware of the ceremony, so wrapped up were they in one

another.

In spite of the protests of the noble-hearted young man, the Prince's father caused

his son to be crowned the same day, and kissing his hand, placed him on the

throne.

The celebrations of this illustrious marriage lasted nearly three months, but the love

of the two young people would have endured for more than a hundred years, had

they out-lived that age, so great was their affection for one another.

The Moral

It scarce may be believed,

This tale of Donkey-skin;

But laughing children in the home; Yea, mothers, and grandmothers too,

Are little moved by facts!

By them 'twill be received.

ANIMAL BRIDEGROOMS

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

By Madame de Villeneuve.

From The Blue Fairy Book. Edited by Andrew Lang.

Once upon a time, in a very far-off country, there lived a merchant who had been so

fortunate in all his undertakings that he was enormously rich. As he had, however,

six sons and six daughters, he found that his money was not too much to let themall have everything they fancied, as they were accustomed to do.

But one day a most unexpected misfortune befell them. Their house caught fire and

was speedily burnt to the ground, with all the splendid furniture, the books,pictures, gold, silver, and precious goods it contained; and this was only the

beginning of their troubles. Their father, who had until this moment prospered in all

ways, suddenly lost every ship he had upon the sea, either by dint of pirates,shipwreck, or fire. Then he heard that his clerks in distant countries, whom hetrusted entirely, had proved unfaithful; and at last from great wealth he fell into the

direst poverty.

All that he had left was a little house in a desolate place at least a hundred leaguesfrom the town in which he had lived, and to this he was forced to retreat with his

children, who were in despair at the idea of leading such a different life. Indeed, the

20



daughters at first hoped that their friends, who had been so numerous while theywere rich, would insist on their staying in their houses now they no longer

possessed one. But they soon found that they were left alone, and that their former

friends even attributed their misfortunes to their own extravagance, and showed no

intention of offering them any help. So nothing was left for them but to take theirdeparture to the cottage, which stood in the midst of a dark forest, and seemed to

be the most dismal place upon the face of the earth. As they were too poor to have

any servants, the girls had to work hard, like peasants, and the sons, for their part,

cultivated the fields to earn their living. Roughly clothed, and living in the simplestway, the girls regretted unceasingly the luxuries and amusements of their former

life; only the youngest tried to be brave and cheerful. She had been as sad as

anyone when misfortune overtook her father, but, soon recovering her natural

gaiety, she set to work to make the best of things, to amuse her father and brothersas well as she could, and to try to persuade her sisters to join her in dancing and

singing. But they would do nothing of the sort, and, because she was not as doleful

as themselves, they declared that this miserable life was all she was fit for. But she

was really far prettier and cleverer than they were; indeed, she was so lovely that

she was always called Beauty. After two years, when they were all beginning to getused to their new life, something happened to disturb their tranquillity. Their father

received the news that one of his ships, which he had believed to be lost, had come

safely into port with a rich cargo. All the sons and daughters at once thought thattheir poverty was at an end, and wanted to set out directly for the town; but their

father, who was more prudent, begged them to wait a little, and, though it was

harvest time, and he could ill be spared, determined to go himself first, to make

inquiries. Only the youngest daughter had any doubt but that they would soonagain be as rich as they were before, or at least rich enough to live comfortably in

some town where they would find amusement and gay companions once more. So

they all loaded their father with commissions for jewels and dresses which it would

have taken a fortune to buy; only Beauty, feeling sure that it was of no use, did notask for anything. Her father, noticing her silence, said: "And what shall I bring for

you, Beauty?"

"The only thing I wish for is to see you come home safely," she answered.

But this only vexed her sisters, who fancied she was blaming them for having asked

for such costly things. Her father, however, was pleased, but as he thought that at

her age she certainly ought to like pretty presents, he told her to choose something.

"Well, dear father," she said, "as you insist upon it, I beg that you will bring me a

rose. I have not seen one since we came here, and I love them so much."

So the merchant set out and reached the town as quickly as possible, but only to

find that his former companions, believing him to be dead, had divided between

them the goods which the ship had brought; and after six months of trouble and

expense he found himself as poor as when he started, having been able to recoveronly just enough to pay the cost of his journey. To make matters worse, he was

obliged to leave the town in the most terrible weather, so that by the time he was

within a few leagues of his home he was almost exhausted with cold and fatigue.

21



Though he knew it would take some hours to get through the forest, he was soanxious to be at his journey's end that he resolved to go on; but night overtook him,

and the deep snow and bitter frost made it impossible for his horse to carry him any

further. Not a house was to be seen; the only shelter he could get was the hollow

trunk of a great tree, and there he crouched all the night which seemed to him thelongest he had ever known. In spite of his weariness the howling of the wolves kept

him awake, and even when at last the day broke he was not much better off, for the

falling snow had covered up every path, and he did not know which way to turn.

At length he made out some sort of track, and though at the beginning it was so

rough and slippery that he fell down more than once, it presently became easier,

and led him into an avenue of trees which ended in a splendid castle. It seemed to

the merchant very strange that no snow had fallen in the avenue, which wasentirely composed of orange trees, covered with flowers and fruit. When he reached

the first court of the castle he saw before him a flight of agate steps, and went up

them, and passed through several splendidly furnished rooms. The pleasant warmth

of the air revived him, and he felt very hungry; but there seemed to be nobody in all

this vast and splendid palace whom he could ask to give him something to eat.Deep silence reigned everywhere, and at last, tired of roaming through empty

rooms and galleries, he stopped in a room smaller than the rest, where a clear fire

was burning and a couch was drawn up closely to it. Thinking that this must beprepared for someone who was expected, he sat down to wait till he should come,

and very soon fell into a sweet sleep.

When his extreme hunger wakened him after several hours, he was still alone; but alittle table, upon which was a good dinner, had been drawn up close to him, and, as

he had eaten nothing for twenty-four hours, he lost no time in beginning his meal,

hoping that he might soon have an opportunity of thanking his considerate

entertainer, whoever it might be. But no one appeared, and even after another longsleep, from which he awoke completely refreshed, there was no sign of anybody,

though a fresh meal of dainty cakes and fruit was prepared upon the little table at

his elbow. Being naturally timid, the silence began to terrify him, and he resolved to

search once more through all the rooms; but it was of no use. Not even a servantwas to be seen; there was no sign of life in the palace! He began to wonder what he

should do, and to amuse himself by pretending that all the treasures he saw were

his own, and considering how he would divide them among his children. Then he

went down into the garden, and though it was winter everywhere else, here the sunshone, and the birds sang, and the flowers bloomed, and the air was soft and sweet.

The merchant, in ecstacies with all he saw and heard, said to himself:

"All this must be meant for me. I will go this minute and bring my children to shareall these delights."

In spite of being so cold and weary when he reached the castle, he had taken his

horse to the stable and fed it. Now he thought he would saddle it for his homeward journey, and he turned down the path which led to the stable. This path had a

hedge of roses on each side of it, and the merchant thought he had never seen or

smelt such exquisite flowers. They reminded him of his promise to Beauty, and he

22



stopped and had just gathered one to take to her when he was startled by a strangenoise behind him. Turning round, he saw a frightful Beast, which seemed to be very

angry and said, in a terrible voice:

"Who told you that you might gather my roses? Was it not enough that I allowedyou to be in my palace and was kind to you? This is the way you show your

gratitude, by stealing my flowers! But your insolence shall not go unpunished." The

merchant, terrified by these furious words, dropped the fatal rose, and, throwing

himself on his knees, cried: "Pardon me, noble sir. I am truly grateful to you for yourhospitality, which was so magnificent that I could not imagine that you would be

offended by my taking such a little thing as a rose." But the Beast's anger was not

lessened by this speech.

"You are very ready with excuses and flattery," he cried; "but that will not save you

from the death you deserve."

"Alas!" thought the merchant, "if my daughter could only know what danger her

rose has brought me into!"

And in despair he began to tell the Beast all his misfortunes, and the reason of his

journey, not forgetting to mention Beauty's request.

"A king's ransom would hardly have procured all that my other daughters asked."

he said: "but I thought that I might at least take Beauty her rose. I beg you to

forgive me, for you see I meant no harm."

The Beast considered for a moment, and then he said, in a less furious tone:

"I will forgive you on one condition—that is, that you will give me one of yourdaughters."

"Ah!" cried the merchant, "if I were cruel enough to buy my own life at the expense

of one of my children's, what excuse could I invent to bring her here?"

"No excuse would be necessary," answered the Beast. "If she comes at all she must

come willingly. On no other condition will I have her. See if any one of them is

courageous enough, and loves you well enough to come and save your life. Youseem to be an honest man, so I will trust you to go home. I give you a month to see

if either of your daughters will come back with you and stay here, to let you go free.

If neither of them is willing, you must come alone, after bidding them good-by for

ever, for then you will belong to me. And do not imagine that you can hide from me,for if you fail to keep your word I will come and fetch you!" added the Beast grimly.

The merchant accepted this proposal, though he did not really think any of his

daughters could be persuaded to come. He promised to return at the timeappointed, and then, anxious to escape from the presence of the Beast, he asked

permission to set off at once. But the Beast answered that he could not go until next

day.

23



"Then you will find a horse ready for you," he said. "Now go and eat your supper,

and await my orders."

The poor merchant, more dead than alive, went back to his room, where the mostdelicious supper was already served on the little table which was drawn up before a

blazing fire. But he was too terrified to eat, and only tasted a few of the dishes, for

fear the Beast should be angry if he did not obey his orders. When he had finished

he heard a great noise in the next room, which he knew meant that the Beast wascoming. As he could do nothing to escape his visit, the only thing that remained was

to seem as little afraid as possible; so when the Beast appeared and asked roughly

if he had supped well, the merchant answered humbly that he had, thanks to his

host's kindness. Then the Beast warned him to remember their agreement, and toprepare his daughter exactly for what she had to expect.

"Do not get up to-morrow," he added, "until you see the sun and hear a golden bell

ring. Then you will find your breakfast waiting for you here, and the horse you are to

ride will be ready in the courtyard. He will also bring you back again when you comewith your daughter a month hence. Farewell. Take a rose to Beauty, and remember

your promise!"

The merchant was only too glad when the Beast went away, and though he could

not sleep for sadness, he lay down until the sun rose. Then, after a hasty breakfast,

he went to gather Beauty's rose, and mounted his horse, which carried him off so

swiftly that in an instant he had lost sight of the palace, and he was still wrapped ingloomy thoughts when it stopped before the door of the cottage.

His sons and daughters, who had been very uneasy at his long absence, rushed to

meet him, eager to know the result of his journey, which, seeing him mounted upona splendid horse and wrapped in a rich mantle, they supposed to be favorable. He

hid the truth from them at first, only saying sadly to Beauty as he gave her the rose:

"Here is what you asked me to bring you; you little know what it has cost."

But this excited their curiosity so greatly that presently he told them his adventures

from beginning to end, and then they were all very unhappy. The girls lamented

loudly over their lost hopes, and the sons declared that their father should notreturn to this terrible castle, and began to make plans for killing the Beast if it

should come to fetch him. But he reminded them that he had promised to go back.

Then the girls were very angry with Beauty, and said it was all her fault, and that if

she had asked for something sensible this would never have happened, andcomplained bitterly that they should have to suffer for her folly.

Poor Beauty, much distressed, said to them:

"I have, indeed, caused this misfortune, but I assure you I did it innocently. Who

could have guessed that to ask for a rose in the middle of summer would cause so

24



much misery? But as I did the mischief it is only just that I should suffer for it. I willtherefore go back with my father to keep his promise."

At first nobody would hear of this arrangement, and her father and brothers, who

loved her dearly, declared that nothing should make them let her go; but Beautywas firm. As the time drew near she divided all her little possessions between her

sisters, and said good-by to everything she loved, and when the fatal day came she

encouraged and cheered her father as they mounted together the horse which had

brought him back. It seemed to fly rather than gallop, but so smoothly that Beautywas not frightened; indeed, she would have enjoyed the journey if she had not

feared what might happen to her at the end of it. Her father still tried to persuade

her to go back, but in vain. While they were talking the night fell, and then, to their

great surprise, wonderful colored lights began to shine in all directions, and splendidfireworks blazed out before them; all the forest was illuminated by them, and even

felt pleasantly warm, though it had been bitterly cold before. This lasted until they

reached the avenue of orange trees, where were statues holding flaming torches,

and when they got nearer to the palace they saw that it was illuminated from the

roof to the ground, and music sounded softly from the courtyard. "The Beast mustbe very hungry," said Beauty, trying to laugh, "if he makes all this rejoicing over the

arrival of his prey."

But, in spite of her anxiety, she could not help admiring all the wonderful things she

saw.

The horse stopped at the foot of the flight of steps leading to the terrace, and whenthey had dismounted her father led her to the little room he had been in before,

where they found a splendid fire burning, and the table daintily spread with a

delicious supper.

The merchant knew that this was meant for them, and Beauty, who was rather less

frightened now that she had passed through so many rooms and seen nothing of

the Beast, was quite willing to begin, for her long ride had made her very hungry.

But they had hardly finished their meal when the noise of the Beast's footsteps washeard approaching, and Beauty clung to her father in terror, which became all the

greater when she saw how frightened he was. But when the Beast really appeared,

though she trembled at the sight of him, she made a great effort to hide her terror,

and saluted him respectfully.

This evidently pleased the Beast. After looking at her he said, in a tone that might

have struck terror into the boldest heart, though he did not seem to be angry:

"Good-evening, old man. Good-evening, Beauty."

The merchant was too terrified to reply, but Beauty answered sweetly: "Good-

evening, Beast."

"Have you come willingly?" asked the Beast. "Will you be content to stay here when

your father goes away?"

25



Beauty answered bravely that she was quite prepared to stay.

"I am pleased with you," said the Beast. "As you have come of your own accord, you

may stay. As for you, old man," he added, turning to the merchant, "at sunrise to-morrow you will take your departure. When the bell rings get up quickly and eat

your breakfast, and you will find the same horse waiting to take you home; but

remember that you must never expect to see my palace again."

Then turning to Beauty, he said:

"Take your father into the next room, and help him to choose everything you think

your brothers and sisters would like to have. You will find two traveling-trunks there;fill them as full as you can. It is only just that you should send them something very

precious as a remembrance of yourself."

Then he went away, after saying, "Good-by, Beauty; good-by, old man"; and though

Beauty was beginning to think with great dismay of her father's departure, she wasafraid to disobey the Beast's orders; and they went into the next room, which had

shelves and cupboards all round it. They were greatly surprised at the riches it

contained. There were splendid dresses fit for a queen, with all the ornaments thatwere to be worn with them; and when Beauty opened the cupboards she was quite

dazzled by the gorgeous jewels that lay in heaps upon every shelf. After choosing a

vast quantity, which she divided between her sisters—for she had made a heap of

the wonderful dresses for each of them—she opened the last chest, which was fullof gold.

"I think, father," she said, "that, as the gold will be more useful to you, we had

better take out the other things again, and fill the trunks with it." So they did this;but the more they put in the more room there seemed to be, and at last they put

back all the jewels and dresses they had taken out, and Beauty even added as

many more of the jewels as she could carry at once; and then the trunks were not

too full, but they were so heavy that an elephant could not have carried them!

"The Beast was mocking us," cried the merchant; "he must have pretended to give

us all these things, knowing that I could not carry them away."

"Let us wait and see," answered Beauty. "I cannot believe that he meant to deceive

us. All we can do is to fasten them up and leave them ready."

So they did this and returned to the little room, where, to their astonishment, theyfound breakfast ready. The merchant ate his with a good appetite, as the Beast's

generosity made him believe that he might perhaps venture to come back soon and

see Beauty. But she felt sure that her father was leaving her for ever, so she was

very sad when the bell rang sharply for the second time, and warned them that thetime had come for them to part. They went down into the courtyard, where two

horses were waiting, one loaded with the two trunks, the other for him to ride. They

were pawing the ground in their impatience to start, and the merchant was forced

26



to bid Beauty a hasty farewell; and as soon as he was mounted he went off at sucha pace that she lost sight of him in an instant. Then Beauty began to cry, and

wandered sadly back to her own room. But she soon found that she was very

sleepy, and as she had nothing better to do she lay down and instantly fell asleep.

And then she dreamed that she was walking by a brook bordered with trees, andlamenting her sad fate, when a young prince, handsomer than anyone she had ever

seen, and with a voice that went straight to her heart, came and said to her, "Ah,

Beauty! you are not so unfortunate as you suppose. Here you will be rewarded for

all you have suffered elsewhere. Your every wish shall be gratified. Only try to findme out, no matter how I may be disguised, as I love you dearly, and in making me

happy you will find your own happiness. Be as true-hearted as you are beautiful,

and we shall have nothing left to wish for."

"What can I do, Prince, to make you happy?" said Beauty.

"Only be grateful," he answered, "and do not trust too much to your eyes. And,

above all, do not desert me until you have saved me from my cruel misery."

After this she thought she found herself in a room with a stately and beautiful lady,

who said to her:

"Dear Beauty, try not to regret all you have left behind you, for you are destined to

a better fate. Only do not let yourself be deceived by appearances."

Beauty found her dreams so interesting that she was in no hurry to awake, butpresently the clock roused her by calling her name softly twelve times, and then she

got up and found her dressing-table set out with everything she could possibly

want; and when her toilet was finished she found dinner was waiting in the room

next to hers. But dinner does not take very long when you are all by yourself, andvery soon she sat down cosily in the corner of a sofa, and began to think about the

charming Prince she had seen in her dream.

"He said I could make him happy," said Beauty to herself.

"It seems, then, that this horrible Beast keeps him a prisoner. How can I set him

free? I wonder why they both told me not to trust to appearances? I don't

understand it. But, after all, it was only a dream, so why should I trouble myself about it? I had better go and find something to do to amuse myself."

So she got up and began to explore some of the many rooms of the palace.

The first she entered was lined with mirrors, and Beauty saw herself reflected on

every side, and thought she had never seen such a charming room. Then a bracelet

which was hanging from a chandelier caught her eye, and on taking it down she was

greatly surprised to find that it held a portrait of her unknown admirer, just as shehad seen him in her dream. With great delight she slipped the bracelet on her arm,

and went on into a gallery of pictures, where she soon found a portrait of the same

handsome Prince, as large as life, and so well painted that as she studied it he

27



seemed to smile kindly at her. Tearing herself away from the portrait at last, shepassed through into a room which contained every musical instrument under the

sun, and here she amused herself for a long while in trying some of them, and

singing until she was tired. The next room was a library, and she saw everything

she had ever wanted to read, as well as everything she had read, and it seemed toher that a whole lifetime would not be enough to even read the names of the books,

there were so many. By this time it was growing dusk, and wax candles in diamond

and ruby candlesticks were beginning to light themselves in every room.

Beauty found her supper served just at the time she preferred to have it, but she

did not see anyone or hear a sound, and, though her father had warned her that she

would be alone, she began to find it rather dull.

But presently she heard the Beast coming, and wondered tremblingly if he meant to

eat her up now.

However, as he did not seem at all ferocious, and only said gruffly:

"Good-evening, Beauty," she answered cheerfully and managed to conceal her

terror. Then the Beast asked her how she had been amusing herself, and she told

him all the rooms she had seen.

Then he asked if she thought she could be happy in his palace; and Beauty

answered that everything was so beautiful that she would be very hard to please if

she could not be happy. And after about an hour's talk Beauty began to think thatthe Beast was not nearly so terrible as she had supposed at first. Then he got up to

leave her, and said in his gruff voice:

"Do you love me, Beauty? Will you marry me?"

"Oh! what shall I say?" cried Beauty, for she was afraid to make the Beast angry by

refusing.

"Say 'yes' or 'no' without fear," he replied.

"Oh! no, Beast," said Beauty hastily.

"Since you will not, good-night, Beauty," he said.

And she answered, "Good-night, Beast," very glad to find that her refusal had not

provoked him. And after he was gone she was very soon in bed and asleep, anddreaming of her unknown Prince. She thought he came and said to her:

"Ah, Beauty! why are you so unkind to me? I fear I am fated to be unhappy for many

a long day still."

28



And then her dreams changed, but the charming Prince figured in them all; andwhen morning came her first thought was to look at the portrait, and see if it was

really like him, and she found that it certainly was.

This morning she decided to amuse herself in the garden, for the sun shone, and allthe fountains were playing; but she was astonished to find that every place was

familiar to her, and presently she came to the brook where the myrtle trees were

growing where she had first met the Prince in her dream, and that made her think

more than ever that he must be kept a prisoner by the Beast. When she was tiredshe went back to the palace, and found a new room full of materials for every kind

of work—ribbons to make into bows, and silks to work into flowers. Then there was

an aviary full of rare birds, which were so tame that they flew to Beauty as soon as

they saw her, and perched upon her shoulders and her head.

"Pretty little creatures," she said, "how I wish that your cage was nearer to my

room, that I might often hear you sing!"

So saying she opened a door, and found, to her delight, that it led into her ownroom, though she had thought it was quite the other side of the palace.

There were more birds in a room farther on, parrots and cockatoos that could talk,and they greeted Beauty by name; indeed, she found them so entertaining that she

took one or two back to her room, and they talked to her while she was at supper;

after which the Beast paid her his usual visit, and asked her the same questions as

before, and then with a gruff "good-night" he took his departure, and Beauty wentto bed to dream of her mysterious Prince. The days passed swiftly in different

amusements, and after a while Beauty found out another strange thing in the

palace, which often pleased her when she was tired of being alone. There was one

room which she had not noticed particularly; it was empty, except that under eachof the windows stood a very comfortable chair; and the first time she had looked out

of the window it had seemed to her that a black curtain prevented her from seeing

anything outside. But the second time she went into the room, happening to be

tired, she sat down in one of the chairs, when instantly the curtain was rolled aside,and a most amusing pantomime was acted before her; there were dances, and

colored lights, and music, and pretty dresses, and it was all so gay that Beauty was

in ecstacies. After that she tried the other seven windows in turn, and there was

some new and surprising entertainment to be seen from each of them, so thatBeauty never could feel lonely any more. Every evening after supper the Beast

came to see her, and always before saying good-night asked her in his terrible

voice:

"Beauty, will you marry me?"

And it seemed to Beauty, now she understood him better, that when she said, "No,

Beast," he went away quite sad. But her happy dreams of the handsome youngPrince soon made her forget the poor Beast, and the only thing that at all disturbed

her was to be constantly told to distrust appearances, to let her heart guide her,

29



and not her eyes, and many other equally perplexing things, which, consider as shewould, she could not understand.

So everything went on for a long time, until at last, happy as she was, Beauty began

to long for the sight of her father and her brothers and sisters; and one night,seeing her look very sad, the Beast asked her what was the matter. Beauty had

quite ceased to be afraid of him. Now she knew that he was really gentle in spite of

his ferocious looks and his dreadful voice. So she answered that she was longing to

see her home once more. Upon hearing this the Beast seemed sadly distressed, andcried miserably.

"Ah! Beauty, have you the heart to desert an unhappy Beast like this? What more

do you want to make you happy? Is it because you hate me that you want toescape?"

"No, dear Beast," answered Beauty softly, "I do not hate you, and I should be very

sorry never to see you any more, but I long to see my father again. Only let me go

for two months, and I promise to come back to you and stay for the rest of my life."

The Beast, who had been sighing dolefully while she spoke, now replied:

"I cannot refuse you anything you ask, even though it should cost me my life. Take

the four boxes you will find in the room next to your own, and fill them with

everything you wish to take with you. But remember your promise and come back

when the two months are over, or you may have cause to repent it, for if you do notcome in good time you will find your faithful Beast dead. You will not need any

chariot to bring you back. Only say good-by to all your brothers and sisters the night

before you come away, and when you have gone to bed turn this ring round upon

your finger and say firmly: 'I wish to go back to my palace and see my Beast again.'Good-night, Beauty. Fear nothing, sleep peacefully, and before long you shall see

your father once more."

As soon as Beauty was alone she hastened to fill the boxes with all the rare andprecious things she saw about her, and only when she was tired of heaping things

into them did they seem to be full.

Then she went to bed, but could hardly sleep for joy. And when at last she did beginto dream of her beloved Prince she was grieved to see him stretched upon a grassy

bank, sad and weary, and hardly like himself.

"What is the matter?" she cried.

He looked at her reproachfully, and said:

"How can you ask me, cruel one? Are you not leaving me to my death perhaps?"

30



"Ah! don't be so sorrowful," cried Beauty; "I am only going to assure my father that Iam safe and happy. I have promised the Beast faithfully that I will come back, and

he would die of grief if I did not keep my word!"

"What would that matter to you?" said the Prince "Surely you would not care?"

"Indeed, I should be ungrateful if I did not care for such a kind Beast," cried Beauty

indignantly. "I would die to save him from pain. I assure you it is not his fault that he

is so ugly."

Just then a strange sound woke her—someone was speaking not very far away; and

opening her eyes she found herself in a room she had never seen before, which was

certainly not nearly so splendid as those she was used to in the Beast's palace.Where could she be? She got up and dressed hastily, and then saw that the boxes

she had packed the night before were all in the room. While she was wondering by

what magic the Beast had transported them and herself to this strange place she

suddenly heard her father's voice, and rushed out and greeted him joyfully. Her

brothers and sisters were all astonished at her appearance, as they had neverexpected to see her again, and there was no end to the questions they asked her.

She had also much to hear about what had happened to them while she was away,

and of her father's journey home. But when they heard that she had only come tobe with them for a short time, and then must go back to the Beast's palace for ever,

they lamented loudly. Then Beauty asked her father what he thought could be the

meaning of her strange dreams, and why the Prince constantly begged her not to

trust to appearances. After much consideration, he answered: "You tell me yourself that the Beast, frightful as he is, loves you dearly, and deserves your love and

gratitude for his gentleness and kindness; I think the Prince must mean you to

understand that you ought to reward him by doing as he wishes you to, in spite of

his ugliness."

Beauty could not help seeing that this seemed very probable; still, when she

thought of her dear Prince who was so handsome, she did not feel at all inclined to

marry the Beast. At any rate, for two months she need not decide, but could enjoyherself with her sisters. But though they were rich now, and lived in town again, and

had plenty of acquaintances, Beauty found that nothing amused her very much; and

she often thought of the palace, where she was so happy, especially as at home she

never once dreamed of her dear Prince, and she felt quite sad without him.

Then her sisters seemed to have got quite used to being without her, and even

found her rather in the way, so she would not have been sorry when the two

months were over but for her father and brothers, who begged her to stay, andseemed so grieved at the thought of her departure that she had not the courage to

say good-by to them. Every day when she got up she meant to say it at night, and

when night came she put it off again, until at last she had a dismal dream which

helped her to make up her mind. She thought she was wandering in a lonely path inthe palace gardens, when she heard groans which seemed to come from some

bushes hiding the entrance of a cave, and running quickly to see what could be the

matter, she found the Beast stretched out upon his side, apparently dying. He

31



reproached her faintly with being the cause of his distress, and at the samemoment a stately lady appeared, and said very gravely:

"Ah! Beauty, you are only just in time to save his life. See what happens when

people do not keep their promises! If you had delayed one day more, you wouldhave found him dead."

Beauty was so terrified by this dream that the next morning she announced her

intention of going back at once, and that very night she said good-by to her fatherand all her brothers and sisters, and as soon as she was in bed she turned her ring

round upon her finger, and said firmly, "I wish to go back to my palace and see my

Beast again," as she had been told to do.

Then she fell asleep instantly, and only woke up to hear the clock saying "Beauty,

Beauty" twelve times in its musical voice, which told her at once that she was really

in the palace once more. Everything was just as before, and her birds were so glad

to see her! But Beauty thought she had never known such a long day, for she was

so anxious to see the Beast again that she felt as if suppertime would never come.

But when it did come and no Beast appeared she was really frightened; so, after

listening and waiting for a long time, she ran down into the garden to search forhim. Up and down the paths and avenues ran poor Beauty, calling him in vain, for

no one answered, and not a trace of him could she find; until at last, quite tired, she

stopped for a minute's rest, and saw that she was standing opposite the shady path

she had seen in her dream. She rushed down it, and, sure enough, there was thecave, and in it lay the Beast—asleep, as Beauty thought. Quite glad to have found

him, she ran up and stroked his head, but, to her horror, he did not move or open

his eyes.

"Oh! he is dead; and it is all my fault," said Beauty, crying bitterly.

But then, looking at him again, she fancied he still breathed, and, hastily fetching

some water from the nearest fountain, she sprinkled it over his face, and, to hergreat delight, he began to revive.

"Oh! Beast, how you frightened me!" she cried. "I never knew how much I loved you

until just now, when I feared I was too late to save your life."

"Can you really love such an ugly creature as I am?" said the Beast faintly. "Ah!

Beauty, you only came just in time. I was dying because I thought you had forgotten

your promise. But go back now and rest, I shall see you again by and by."

Beauty, who had half expected that he would be angry with her, was reassured by

his gentle voice, and went back to the palace, where supper was awaiting her; and

afterward the Beast came in as usual, and talked about the time she had spent withher father, asking if she had enjoyed herself, and if they had all been very glad to

see her.

32



Beauty answered politely, and quite enjoyed telling him all that had happened toher. And when at last the time came for him to go, and he asked, as he had so often

asked before, "Beauty, will you marry me?"

She answered softly, "Yes, dear Beast."

As she spoke a blaze of light sprang up before the windows of the palace; fireworks

crackled and guns banged, and across the avenue of orange trees, in letters all

made of fire-flies, was written: "Long live the Prince and his Bride."

Turning to ask the Beast what it could all mean, Beauty found that he had

disappeared, and in his place stood her long-loved Prince! At the same moment the

wheels of a chariot were heard upon the terrace, and two ladies entered the room.One of them Beauty recognized as the stately lady she had seen in her dreams; the

other was also so grand and queenly that Beauty hardly knew which to greet first.

But the one she already knew said to her companion:

"Well, Queen, this is Beauty, who has had the courage to rescue your son from the

terrible enchantment. They love one another, and only your consent to their

marriage is wanting to make them perfectly happy."

"I consent with all my heart," cried the Queen. "How can I ever thank you enough,

charming girl, for having restored my dear son to his natural form?"

And then she tenderly embraced Beauty and the Prince, who had meanwhile been

greeting the Fairy and receiving her congratulations.

"Now," said the Fairy to Beauty, "I suppose you would like me to send for all yourbrothers and sisters to dance at your wedding?"

And so she did, and the marriage was celebrated the very next day with the utmost

splendor, and Beauty and the Prince lived happily ever after.

THE SINGING, SPRINGING LARK

By Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm

From Household Tales.

There was once on a time a man who was about to set out on a long journey, and

on parting he asked his three daughters what he should bring back with him for

them. Whereupon the eldest wished for pearls, the second wished for diamonds, but

the third said, "Dear father, I should like a singing, soaring lark." The father said,"Yes, if I can get it, you shall have it," kissed all three, and set out. Now when the

time had come for him to be on his way home again, he had brought pearls and

diamonds for the two eldest, but he had sought everywhere in vain for a singing,

soaring lark for the youngest, and he was very unhappy about it, for she was hisfavorite child. Then his road lay through a forest, and in the midst of it was a

33



splendid castle, and near the castle stood a tree, but quite on the top of the tree, hesaw a singing, soaring lark. "Aha, you come just at the right moment!" he said, quite

delighted, and called to his servant to climb up and catch the little creature. But as

he approached the tree, a lion leapt from beneath it, shook himself, and roared till

the leaves on the trees trembled. "He who tries to steal my singing, soaring lark,"he cried, "will I devour." Then the man said, "I did not know that the bird belonged

to thee. I will make amends for the wrong I have done and ransom myself with a

large sum of money, only spare my life." The lion said, "Nothing can save thee,

unless thou wilt promise to give me for mine own what first meets thee on thyreturn home; and if thou wilt do that, I will grant thee thy life, and thou shalt have

the bird for thy daughter, into the bargain." But the man hesitated and said, "That

might be my youngest daughter, she loves me best, and always runs to meet me on

my return home." The servant, however, was terrified and said, "Why should yourdaughter be the very one to meet you, it might as easily be a cat, or dog?" Then the

man allowed himself to be over-persuaded, took the singing, soaring lark, and

promised to give the lion whatsoever should first meet him on his return home.

When he reached home and entered his house, the first who met him was no otherthan his youngest and dearest daughter, who came running up, kissed and

embraced him, and when she saw that he had brought with him a singing, soaring

lark, she was beside herself with joy. The father, however, could not rejoice, butbegan to weep, and said, "My dearest child, I have bought the little bird dear. In

return for it, I have been obliged to promise thee to a savage lion, and when he has

thee he will tear thee in pieces and devour thee," and he told her all, just as it had

happened, and begged her not to go there, come what might. But she consoled himand said, "Dearest father, indeed your promise must be fulfilled. I will go thither and

soften the lion, so that I may return to thee safely." Next morning she had the road

pointed out to her, took leave, and went fearlessly out into the forest. The lion,

however, was an enchanted prince and was by day a lion, and all his people werelions with him, but in the night they resumed their natural human shapes. On her

arrival she was kindly received and led into the castle. When night came, the lion

turned into a handsome man, and their wedding was celebrated with great

magnificence. They lived happily together, remained awake at night, and slept inthe daytime. One day he came and said, "To-morrow there is a feast in thy father's

house, because your eldest sister is to be married, and if thou art inclined to go

there, my lions shall conduct thee." She said, "Yes, I should very much like to see

my father again," and went thither, accompanied by the lions. There was great joywhen she arrived, for they had all believed that she had been torn in pieces by the

lion, and had long ceased to live. But she told them what a handsome husband she

had, and how well off she was, remained with them while the wedding-feast lasted,

and then went back again to the forest. When the second daughter was about to bemarried, and she was again invited to the wedding, she said to the lion, "This time I

will not be alone, thou must come with me." The lion, however, said that it was too

dangerous for him, for if when there a ray from a burning candle fell on him, he

would be changed into a dove, and for seven years long would have to fly aboutwith the doves. She said, "Ah, but do come with me, I will take great care of thee,

and guard thee from all light." So they went away together, and took with them

their little child as well. She had a chamber built there, so strong and thick that no

34



ray could pierce through it; in this he was to shut himself up when the candles werelit for the wedding-feast. But the door was made of green wood which warped and

left a little crack which no one noticed. The wedding was celebrated with

magnificence, but when the procession with all its candles and torches came back

from church, and passed by this apartment, a ray about the breadth of a hair fell onthe King's son, and when this ray touched him, he was transformed in an instant,

and when she came in and looked for him, she did not see him, but a white dove

was sitting there. The dove said to her, "For seven years must I fly about the world,

but at every seventh step that you take I will let fall a drop of red blood and a whitefeather, and these will show thee the way, and if thou followest the trace thou canst

release me." Thereupon the dove flew out at the door, and she followed him, and at

every seventh step a red drop of blood and a little white feather fell down and

showed her the way.

So she went continually further and further in the wide world, never looking about

her or resting, and the seven years were almost past; then she rejoiced and thought

that they would soon be delivered, and yet they were so far from it! Once when

they were thus moving onwards, no little feather and no drop of red blood fell, andwhen she raised her eyes the dove had disappeared. And as she thought to herself,

"In this no man can help thee," she climbed up to the sun, and said to him, "Thou

shinest into every crevice, and over every peak, hast thou not seen a white doveflying?" "No," said the sun, "I have seen none, but I present thee with a casket, open

it when thou art in sorest need." Then she thanked the sun, and went on until

evening came and the moon appeared; she then asked her, "Thou shinest the whole

night through, and on every field and forest, hast thou not seen a white doveflying?" "No," said the moon, "I have seen no dove, but here I give thee an egg,

break it when thou art in great need." She thanked the moon, and went on until the

night wind came up and blew on her, then she said to it, "Thou blowest over every

tree and under every leaf, hast thou not seen a white dove flying?" "No," said thenight wind, "I have seen none, but I will ask the three other winds, perhaps they

have seen it." The east wind and the west wind came, and had seen nothing, but

the south wind said, "I have seen the white dove, it has flown to the Red Sea, where

it has become a lion again, for the seven years are over, and the lion is therefighting with a dragon; the dragon, however, is an enchanted princess." The night

wind then said to her, "I will advise thee; go to the Red Sea, on the right bank are

some tall reeds, count them, break off the eleventh, and strike the dragon with it,

then the lion will be able to subdue it, and both then will regain their human form.After that, look round and thou wilt see the griffin which is by the Red Sea; swing

thyself, with thy beloved, on to his back, and the bird will carry you over the sea to

your own home. Here is a nut for thee, when thou are above the center of the sea,

let the nut fall, it will immediately shoot up, and a tall nut-tree will grow out of thewater on which the griffin may rest; for if he cannot rest, he will not be strong

enough to carry you across, and if thou forgettest to throw down the nut, he will let

you fall into the sea."

Then she went thither, and found everything as the night wind had said. She

counted the reeds by the sea, and cut off the eleventh, struck the dragon therewith,

whereupon the lion overcame it, and immediately both of them regained their

35



human shapes. But when the princess, who had before been the dragon, wasdelivered from enchantment, she took the youth by the arm, seated herself on the

griffin, and carried him off with her. There stood the poor maiden who had

wandered so far and was again forsaken. She sat down and cried, but at last she

took courage and said, "Still I will go as far as the wind blows and as long as thecock crows, until I find him," and she went forth by long, long roads, until at last she

came to the castle where both of them were living together; there she heard that

soon a feast was to be held, in which they would celebrate their wedding, but she

said, "God still helps me," and opened the casket that the sun had given her. Adress lay therein as brilliant as the sun itself. So she took it out and put it on, and

went up into the castle, and everyone, even the bride herself, looked at her with

astonishment. The dress pleased the bride so well that she thought it might do for

her wedding-dress, and asked if it was for sale? "Not for money or land," answeredshe, "but for flesh and blood." The bride asked her what she meant by that, so she

said, "Let me sleep a night in the chamber where the bridegroom sleeps." The bride

would not, yet wanted very much to have the dress; at last she consented, but the

page was to give the prince a sleeping-draught. When it was night, therefore, and

the youth was already asleep, she was led into the chamber; she seated herself onthe bed and said, "I have followed after thee for seven years. I have been to the sun

and the moon, and the four winds, and have enquired for thee, and have helped

thee against the dragon; wilt thou, then quite forget me?" But the prince slept sosoundly that it only seemed to him as if the wind were whistling outside in the fir-

trees. When therefore day broke, she was led out again, and had to give up the

golden dress. And as that even had been of no avail, she was sad, went out into a

meadow, sat down there, and wept. While she was sitting there, she thought of theegg which the moon had given her; she opened it, and there came out a clucking

hen with twelve chickens all of gold, and they ran about chirping, and crept again

under the old hen's wings; nothing more beautiful was ever seen in the world! Then

she arose, and drove them through the meadow before her, until the bride lookedout of the window. The little chickens pleased her so much that she immediately

came down and asked if they were for sale. "Not for money or land, but for flesh

and blood; let me sleep another night in the chamber where the bridegroom

sleeps." The bride said, "Yes," intending to cheat her as on the former evening. Butwhen the prince went to bed he asked the page what the murmuring and rustling in

the night had been? On this the page told all; that he had been forced to give him a

sleeping-draught, because a poor girl had slept secretly in the chamber, and that he

was to give him another that night. The prince said, "Pour out the draught by thebed-side." At night, she was again led in, and when she began to relate how ill all

had fared with her, he immediately recognized his beloved wife by her voice, sprang

up and cried, "Now I really am released! I have been as it were in a dream, for the

strange princess has bewitched me so that I have been compelled to forget thee,but God has delivered me from the spell at the right time." Then they both left the

castle secretly in the night, for they feared the father of the princess, who was a

sorcerer, and they seated themselves on the griffin which bore them across the Red

Sea, and when they were in the midst of it, she let fall the nut. Immediately a tallnut-tree grew up, whereon the bird rested, and then carried them home, where they

found their child, who had grown tall and beautiful, and they lived thenceforth

happily until their death.

36



EAST OF THE SUN AND WEST OF THE MOON

By Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Engebretsen Moe

From East of the Sun and West of the Moon: Old Tales from the North.

Once on a time there was a poor husbandman who had so many children that he

hadn’t much of either food or clothing to give them. Pretty children they all were,but the prettiest was the youngest daughter, who was so lovely there was no end to

her loveliness.

So one day, ’twas on a Thursday evening late at the fall of the year, the weatherwas so wild and rough outside, and it was so cruelly dark, and rain fell and wind

blew, till the walls of the cottage shook again. There they all sat round the fire, busy

with this thing and that. But just then, all at once something gave three taps on the

window-pane. Then the father went out to see what was the matter; and, when hegot out of doors, what should he see but a great big White Bear.

“Good-evening to you!” said the White Bear.

“The same to you!” said the man.

“Will you give me your youngest daughter? If you will, I’ll make you as rich as you

are now poor,” said the Bear.

Well, the man would not be at all sorry to be so rich; but still he thought he must

have a bit of a talk with his daughter first; so he went in and told them how there

was a great White Bear waiting outside, who had given his word to make them so

rich if he could only have the youngest daughter.

The lassie said “No!” outright. Nothing could get her to say anything else; so the

man went out and settled it with the White Bear that he should come again the next Thursday evening and get an answer. Meantime he talked his daughter over, and

kept on telling her of all the riches they would get, and how well off she would be

herself; and so at last she thought better of it, and washed and mended her rags,made herself as smart as she could, and was ready to start. I can’t say her packing

gave her much trouble.

“Well, mind and hold tight by my shaggy coat, and then there’s nothing to fear,”

said the Bear, so she rode a long, long way.

Next Thursday evening came the White Bear to fetch her, and she got upon hisback with her bundle, and off they went. So, when they had gone a bit of the way,

the White Bear said:

“Are you afraid?”

37



“No,” she wasn’t.

“Well! mind and hold tight by my shaggy coat, and then there’s nothing to fear,”

said the Bear.

So she rode a long, long way, till they came to a great steep hill. There, on the face

of it, the White Bear gave a knock, and a door opened, and they came into a castle

where there were many rooms all lit up; rooms gleaming with silver and gold; and

there, too, was a table ready laid, and it was all as grand as grand could be. Thenthe White Bear gave her a silver bell; and when she wanted anything, she was only

to ring it, and she would get it at once.

Well, after she had eaten and drunk, and evening wore on, she got sleepy after her journey, and thought she would like to go to bed, so she rang the bell; and she had

scarce taken hold of it before she came into a chamber where there was a bed

made, as fair and white as any one would wish to sleep in, with silken pillows and

curtains and gold fringe. All that was in the room was gold or silver; but when she

had gone to bed and put out the light, a man came and laid himself alongside her. That was the White Bear, who threw off his beast shape at night; but she never saw

him, for he always came after she had put out the light, and before the day dawned

he was up and off again. So things went on happily for a while, but at last she beganto get silent and sorrowful; for there she went about all day alone, and she longed

to go home to see her father and mother and brothers and sisters. So one day,

when the White Bear asked what it was that she lacked, she said it was so dull and

lonely there, and how she longed to go home to see her father and mother andbrothers and sisters, and that was why she was so sad and sorrowful, because she

couldn’t get to them.

“Well, well!” said the Bear, “perhaps there’s a cure for all this; but you mustpromise me one thing, not to talk alone with your mother, but only when the rest

are by to hear; for she’ll take you by the hand and try to lead you into a room alone

to talk; but you must mind and not do that, else you’ll bring bad luck on both of us.”

So one Sunday the White Bear came and said, now they could set off to see her

father and mother. Well, off they started, she sitting on his back; and they went far

and long. At last they came to a grand house, and there her brothers and sisters

were running about out of doors at play, and everything was so pretty, ’twas a joyto see.

“This is where your father and mother live now,” said the White Bear; “but don’t

forget what I told you, else you’ll make us both unlucky.”

“No! bless her, she’d not forget;”—and when she had reached the house, the White

Bear turned right about and left her.

Then, when she went in to see her father and mother, there was such joy, there was

no end to it. None of them thought they could thank her enough for all she had

38



done for them. Now, they had everything they wished, as good as good could be,and they all wanted to know how she got on where she lived.

Well, she said, it was very good to live where she did; she had all she wished. What

she said beside I don’t know, but I don’t think any of them had the right end of thestick, or that they got much out of her. But so, in the afternoon, after they had done

dinner, all happened as the White Bear had said. Her mother wanted to talk with her

alone in her bedroom; but she minded what the White Bear had said, and wouldn’t

go upstairs.

“Oh! what we have to talk about will keep!” she said, and put her mother off. But,

somehow or other, her mother got round her at last, and she had to tell her the

whole story. So she said, how every night when she had gone to bed a man cameand lay down beside her as soon as she had put out the light; and how she never

saw him, because he was always up and away before the morning dawned; and how

she went about woeful and sorrowing, for she thought she should so like to see him;

and how all day long she walked about there alone; and how dull and dreary and

lonesome it was.

“My!” said her mother; “it may well be a Troll you slept with! But now I’ll teach you

a lesson how to set eyes on him. I’ll give you a bit of candle, which you can carryhome in your bosom; just light that while he is asleep, but take care not to drop the

tallow on him.”

Yes! she took the candle and hid it in her bosom, and as night drew on, the WhiteBear came and fetched her away.

But when they had gone a bit of the way, the White Bear asked if all hadn’t

happened as he had said.

“Well, she couldn’t say it hadn’t.”

“Now, mind,” said he, “if you have listened to your mother’s advice, you havebrought bad luck on us both, and then, all that has passed between us will be as

nothing.”

“No,” she said, “she hadn’t listened to her mother’s advice.”

So when she reached home, and had gone to bed, it was the old story over again.

There came a man and lay down beside her; but at dead of night, when she heard

he slept, she got up and struck a light, lit the candle, and let the light shine on him,and so she saw that he was the loveliest Prince one ever set eyes on, and she fell so

deep in love with him on the spot, that she thought she couldn’t live if she didn’t

give him a kiss there and then. And so she did; but as she kissed him, she dropped

three hot drops of tallow on his shirt, and he woke up.

“What have you done?” he cried; “now you have made us both unlucky, for had you

held out only this one year, I had been freed. For I have a step-mother who has

39



bewitched me, so that I am a White Bear by day, and a Man by night. But now allties are snapt between us; now I must set off from you to her. She lives in a Castle

which stands East of the Sun and West of the Moon, and there, too, is a Princess,

with a nose three ells long, and she’s the wife I must have now.”

She wept and took it ill, but there was no help for it; go he must.

Then she asked if she mightn’t go with him.

No, she mightn’t.

“Tell me the way, then,” she said, “and I’ll search you out; that surely I may get

leave to do.”

“Tell me the way, then,” she said, “and I’ll search you out.”

“Yes,” she might do that, he said; “but there was no way to that place. It lay East of

the Sun and West of the Moon, and thither she’d never find her way.”

So next morning, when she woke up, both Prince and castle were gone, and then

she lay on a little green patch, in the midst of the gloomy thick wood, and by herside lay the same bundle of rags she had brought with her from her old home.

And then she lay on a little green patch in the midst of the gloomy thick wood.

So when she had rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, and wept till she was tired, she

set out on her way, and walked many, many days, till she came to a lofty crag.

Under it sat an old hag, and played with a gold apple which she tossed about. Herethe lassie asked if she knew the way to the Prince, who lived with his step-mother

in the Castle, that lay East of the Sun and West of the Moon, and who was to marry

the Princess with a nose three ells long.

“How did you come to know about him?” asked the old hag; “but maybe you are the

lassie who ought to have had him?”

Yes, she was.

“So, so; it’s you, is it?” said the old hag. “Well, all I know about him is, that he lives

in the castle that lies East of the Sun and West of the Moon, and thither you’ll come,

late or never; but still you may have the loan of my horse, and on him you can rideto my next neighbour. Maybe she’ll be able to tell you; and when you 18 get there,

just give the horse a switch under the left ear, and beg him to be off home; and,

stay, this gold apple you may take with you.”

So she got upon the horse, and rode a long, long time, till she came to another crag,

under which sat another old hag, with a gold carding-comb. Here the lassie asked if

she knew the way to the castle that lay East of the Sun and West of the Moon, and

40



she answered, like the first old hag, that she knew nothing about it, except it waseast of the sun and west of the moon.

“And thither you’ll come, late or never, but you shall have the loan of my horse to

my next neighbour; maybe she’ll tell you all about it; and when you get there, justswitch the horse under the left ear, and beg him to be off home.”

And this old hag gave her the golden carding-comb; it might be she’d find some use

for it, she said. So the lassie got up on the horse, and rode a far, far way, and aweary time; and so at last she came to another great crag, under which sat another

old hag, spinning with a golden spinning-wheel. Her, too, she asked if she knew the

way to the Prince, and where the castle was that lay East of the Sun and West of the

Moon. So it was the same thing over again.

“Maybe it’s you who ought to have had the Prince?” said the old hag.

Yes, it was.

But she, too, didn’t know the way a bit better than the other two. “East of the sun

and west of the moon it was,” she knew—that was all.

“And thither you’ll come, late or never; but I’ll lend you my horse, and then I think

you’d best ride to the East Wind and ask him; maybe he knows those parts, and can

blow you thither. But when you get to him, you need only give the horse a switch

under the left ear, and he’ll trot home of himself.”

And so, too, she gave her the gold spinning-wheel. “Maybe you’ll find a use for it,”

said the old hag.

Then on she rode many many days, a weary time, before she got to the East Wind’s

house, but at last she did reach it, and then she asked the East Wind if he could tell

her the way to the Prince who dwelt east of the sun and west of the moon. Yes, the

East Wind had often heard tell of it, the Prince and the castle, but he couldn’t tellthe way, for he had never blown so far.

“But, if you will, I’ll go with you to my brother the West Wind, maybe he knows, for

he’s much stronger. So, if you will just get on my back, I’ll carry you thither.”

Yes, she got on his back, and I should just think they went briskly along.

So when they got there, they went into the West Wind’s house, and the East Windsaid the lassie he had brought was the one who ought to have had the Prince who

lived in the castle East of the Sun and West of the Moon; and so she had set out to

seek him, and how he had come with her, and would be glad to know if the West

Wind knew how to get to the castle.

“Nay,” said the West Wind, “so far I’ve never blown; but if you will, I’ll go with you

to our brother the South Wind, for he’s much stronger than either of us, and he has

41



flapped his wings far and wide. Maybe he’ll tell you. You can get on my back, and I’llcarry you to him.”

Yes! she got on his back, and so they travelled to the South Wind, and weren’t so

very long on the way, I should think.

When they got there, the West Wind asked him if he could tell her the way to the

castle that lay East of the Sun and West of the Moon, for it was she who ought to

have had the Prince who lived there.

“You don’t say so! That’s she, is it?” said the South Wind.

“Well, I have blustered about in most places in my time, but so far have I neverblown; but if you will, I’ll take you to my brother the North Wind; he is the oldest

and strongest of the whole lot of us, and if he don’t know where it is, you’ll never

find any one in the world to tell you. You can get on my back, and I’ll carry you

thither.”

Yes! she got on his back, and away he went from his house at a fine rate. And this

time, too, she wasn’t long on her way.

So when they got to the North Wind’s house, he was so wild and cross, cold puffs

came from him a long way off.

“Blast you both, what do you want?” he roared out to them ever so far off, so that itstruck them with an icy shiver.

“Well,” said the South Wind, “you needn’t be so foul-mouthed, for here I am, your

brother, the South Wind, and here is the lassie who ought to have had the Princewho dwells in the castle that lies East of the Sun and West of the Moon, and now

she wants to ask you if you ever were there, and can tell her the way, for she would

be so glad to find him again.”

“Yes, I know well enough where it is,” said the North Wind; “once in my life I blew

an aspen-leaf thither, but, I was so tired I couldn’t blow a puff for ever so many

days, after. But if you really wish to go thither, and aren’t afraid to come along with

me, I’ll take you on my back and see if I can blow you thither.”

Yes! with all her heart; she must and would get thither if it were possible in any

way; and as for fear, however madly he went, she wouldn’t be at all afraid.

“Very well, then,” said the North Wind, “but you must sleep here to-night, for we

must have the whole day before us, if we’re to get thither at all.”

Early next morning the North Wind woke her, and puffed himself up, and blewhimself out, and made himself so stout and big, ’twas gruesome to look at him; and

so off they went high up through the air, as if they would never stop till they got to

the world’s end.

42



Down here below there was such a storm; it threw down long tracts of wood and

many houses, and when it swept over the great sea, ships foundered by hundreds.

The North Wind goes over the sea.

So they tore on and on—no one can believe how far they went—and all the while

they still went over the sea, and the North Wind got more and more weary, and so

out of breath he could scarce bring out a puff, and his wings drooped and drooped,till at last he sunk so low that the crests of the waves dashed over his heels.

“Are you afraid?” said the North Wind.

“No!” she wasn’t.

But they weren’t very far from land; and the North Wind had still so much strength

left in him that he managed to throw her up on the shore under the windows of the

castle which lay East of the Sun and West of the Moon; but then he was so weakand worn out, he had to stay there and rest many days before he could get home

again.

Next morning the lassie sat down under the castle window, and began to play with

the gold apple; and the first person she saw was the Long-nose who was to have the

Prince.

“What do you want for your gold apple, you lassie?” said the Long-nose, and threw

up the window.

“It’s not for sale, for gold or money,” said the lassie.

“If it’s not for sale for gold or money, what is it that you will sell it for? You may

name your own price,” said the Princess.

“Well! if I may get to the Prince, who lives here, and be with him to-night, you shall

have it,” said the lassie whom the North Wind had brought.

Yes! she might; that could be done. So the Princess got the gold apple; but whenthe lassie came up to the Prince’s bed-room at night he was fast asleep; she called

him and shook him, and between whiles she wept sore; but all she could do she

couldn’t wake him up. Next morning, as soon as day broke, came the Princess with

the long nose, and drove her out again.

So in the daytime she sat down under the castle windows and began to card with

her carding-comb, and the same thing happened. The Princess asked what she

wanted for it; and she said it wasn’t for sale for gold or money, but if she might getleave to go up to the Prince and be with him that night, the Princess should have it.

But when she went up she found him fast asleep again, and all she called, and all

she shook, and wept, and prayed, she couldn’t get life into him; and as soon as the

43



first gray peep of day came, then came the Princess with the long nose, and chasedher out again.

So, in the daytime, the lassie sat down outside under the castle window, and began

to spin with her golden spinning-wheel, and that, too, the Princess with the longnose wanted to have. So she threw up the window and asked what she wanted for

it. The lassie said, as she had said twice before, it wasn’t for sale for gold or money;

but if she might go up to the Prince who was there, and be with him alone that

night, she might have it.

Yes! she might do that and welcome. But now you must know there were some

Christian folk who had been carried off thither, and as they sat in their room, which

was next the Prince, they had heard how a woman had been in there, and wept andprayed, and called to him two nights running, and they told that to the Prince.

That evening, when the Princess came with her sleepy drink, the Prince made as if

he drank, but threw it over his shoulder, for he could guess it was a sleepy drink.

So, when the lassie came in, she found the Prince wide awake; and then she toldhim the whole story how she had come thither.

“Ah,” said the Prince, “you’ve just come in the very nick of time, for to-morrow is tobe our wedding-day; but now I won’t have the Long-nose, and you are the only

woman in the world who can set me free. I’ll say I want to see what my wife is fit

for, and beg her to wash the shirt which has the three spots of tallow on it; she’ll

say yes, for she doesn’t know ’tis you who put them there; but that’s a work only forChristian folk, and not for such a pack of Trolls, and so I’ll say that I won’t have any

other for my bride than the woman who can wash them out, and ask you to do it.”

So there was great joy and love between them all that night. But next day, whenthe wedding was to be, the Prince said:

“First of all, I’d like to see what my bride is fit for.”

“Yes!” said the step-mother, with all her heart.

“Well,” said the Prince, “I’ve got a fine shirt which I’d like for my wedding shirt, but

somehow or other it has got three spots of tallow on it, which I must have washedout; and I have sworn never to take any other bride than the woman who’s able to

do that. If she can’t, she’s not worth having.”

Well, that was no great thing they said, so they agreed, and she with the long-nosebegan to wash away as hard as she could, but the more she rubbed and scrubbed,

the bigger the spots grew.

“Ah!” said the old hag, her mother, “you can’t wash; let me try.”

44



But she hadn’t long taken the shirt in hand before it got far worse than ever, andwith all her rubbing, and wringing, and scrubbing, the spots grew bigger and

blacker, and the darker and uglier was the shirt.

Then all the other Trolls began to wash, but the longer it lasted, the blacker anduglier the shirt grew, till at last it was as black all over as if it had been up the

chimney.

“Ah!” said the Prince, “you’re none of you worth a straw; you can’t wash. Whythere, outside, sits a beggar lassie, I’ll be bound she knows how to wash better than

the whole lot of you. Come in, Lassie!” he shouted.

Well, in she came.

“Can you wash this shirt clean, lassie you?” said he.

“I don’t know,” she said, “but I think I can.”

And almost before she had taken it and dipped it in the water, it was as white as

driven snow, and whiter still.

“Yes; you are the lassie for me,” said the Prince.

At that the old hag flew into such a rage, she burst on the spot, and the Princess

with the long nose after her, and the whole pack of Trolls after her—at least I’venever heard a word about them since.

As for the Prince and Princess, they set free all the poor Christian folk who had been

carried off and shut up there; and they took with them all the silver and gold, andflitted away as far as they could from the Castle that lay East of the Sun and West

of the Moon.

THE FROG-PRINCE



One fine evening a young princess put on her bonnet and clogs, and went out to

take a walk by herself in a wood; and when she came to a cool spring of water, thatrose in the midst of it, she sat herself down to rest a while. Now she had a golden

ball in her hand, which was her favourite plaything; and she was always tossing it

up into the air, and catching it again as it fell. After a time she threw it up so high

that she missed catching it as it fell; and the ball bounded away, and rolled alongupon the ground, till at last it fell down into the spring. The princess looked into the

spring after her ball, but it was very deep, so deep that she could not see the

bottom of it. Then she began to bewail her loss, and said, 'Alas! if I could only get

my ball again, I would give all my fine clothes and jewels, and everything that Ihave in the world.'

45



Whilst she was speaking, a frog put its head out of the water, and said, 'Princess,

why do you weep so bitterly?' 'Alas!' said she, 'what can you do for me, you nasty

frog? My golden ball has fallen into the spring.' The frog said, 'I want not your

pearls, and jewels, and fine clothes; but if you will love me, and let me live with youand eat from off your golden plate, and sleep upon your bed, I will bring you your

ball again.' 'What nonsense,' thought the princess, 'this silly frog is talking! He can

never even get out of the spring to visit me, though he may be able to get my ball

for me, and therefore I will tell him he shall have what he asks.' So she said to thefrog, 'Well, if you will bring me my ball, I will do all you ask.' Then the frog put his

head down, and dived deep under the water; and after a little while he came up

again, with the ball in his mouth, and threw it on the edge of the spring. As soon as

the young princess saw her ball, she ran to pick it up; and she was so overjoyed tohave it in her hand again, that she never thought of the frog, but ran home with it

as fast as she could. The frog called after her, 'Stay, princess, and take me with you

as you said,' But she did not stop to hear a word.

The next day, just as the princess had sat down to dinner, she heard a strange noise—tap, tap—plash, plash—as if something was coming up the marble staircase: and

soon afterwards there was a gentle knock at the door, and a little voice cried out

and said:

'Open the door, my princess dear,

Open the door to thy true love here!

And mind the words that thou and I saidBy the fountain cool, in the greenwood shade.'

Then the princess ran to the door and opened it, and there she saw the frog, whom

she had quite forgotten. At this sight she was sadly frightened, and shutting the

door as fast as she could came back to her seat. The king, her father, seeing thatsomething had frightened her, asked her what was the matter. 'There is a nasty

frog,' said she, 'at the door, that lifted my ball for me out of the spring this morning:

I told him that he should live with me here, thinking that he could never get out of

the spring; but there he is at the door, and he wants to come in.'

While she was speaking the frog knocked again at the door, and said:

'Open the door, my princess dear,Open the door to thy true love here!

And mind the words that thou and I said

By the fountain cool, in the greenwood shade.'

Then the king said to the young princess, 'As you have given your word you mustkeep it; so go and let him in.' She did so, and the frog hopped into the room, and

then straight on—tap, tap—plash, plash—from the bottom of the room to the top, till

he came up close to the table where the princess sat. 'Pray lift me upon chair,' said

he to the princess, 'and let me sit next to you.' As soon as she had done this, thefrog said, 'Put your plate nearer to me, that I may eat out of it.' This she did, and

when he had eaten as much as he could, he said, 'Now I am tired; carry me

upstairs, and put me into your bed.' And the princess, though very unwilling, took

46



him up in her hand, and put him upon the pillow of her own bed, where he slept allnight long. As soon as it was light he jumped up, hopped downstairs, and went out

of the house. 'Now, then,' thought the princess, 'at last he is gone, and I shall be

troubled with him no more.'

But she was mistaken; for when night came again she heard the same tapping at

the door; and the frog came once more, and said:

'Open the door, my princess dear,Open the door to thy true love here!

And mind the words that thou and I said

By the fountain cool, in the greenwood shade.'

And when the princess opened the door the frog came in, and slept upon her pillowas before, till the morning broke. And the third night he did the same. But when the

princess awoke on the following morning she was astonished to see, instead of the

frog, a handsome prince, gazing on her with the most beautiful eyes she had ever

seen, and standing at the head of her bed.

He told her that he had been enchanted by a spiteful fairy, who had changed him

into a frog; and that he had been fated so to abide till some princess should take

him out of the spring, and let him eat from her plate, and sleep upon her bed forthree nights. 'You,' said the prince, 'have broken his cruel charm, and now I have

nothing to wish for but that you should go with me into my father's kingdom, where

I will marry you, and love you as long as you live.'

The young princess, you may be sure, was not long in saying 'Yes' to all this; and as

they spoke a gay coach drove up, with eight beautiful horses, decked with plumes

of feathers and a golden harness; and behind the coach rode the prince's servant,

faithful Heinrich, who had bewailed the misfortunes of his dear master during hisenchantment so long and so bitterly, that his heart had well-nigh burst.

They then took leave of the king, and got into the coach with eight horses, and all

set out, full of joy and merriment, for the prince's kingdom, which they reachedsafely; and there they lived happily a great many years.

SNOW-WHITE AND ROSE-RED

By Grimm Jakob Ludwig Karl.

From Grimm's household tales with the author's notes. Translated by Margaret Hunt.

There was once a poor widow who lived in a lonely cottage. In front of the cottage was a garden wherein

stood two rose-trees, one of which bore white and the other red roses. She had two children who were like

the two rose-trees, and one was called Snow-white, and the other Rose-red. They were as good and

happy, as busy and cheerful as ever two children in the world were, only Snow-white was more quiet and

47



gentle than Rose- red. Rose-red liked better to run about in the meadows and fields seeking flowers and

catching butterflies; but Snow-white sat at home with her mother, and helped her with her house-work, or

read to her when there was nothing to do.

The two children were so fond of each another that they always held each other by the hand when they

went out together, and when Snow-white said, "We will not leave each other," Rose-red answered,

"Never so long as we live," and their mother would add, "What one has she must share with the other."

They often ran about the forest alone and gathered red berries, and no beasts did them any harm, but came

close to them trustfully. The little hare would eat a cabbage-leaf out of their hands, the roe grazed by their

side, the stag leapt merrily by them, and the birds sat still upon the boughs, and sang whatever they knew.

No mishap overtook them; if they had stayed too late in the forest, and night came on, they laid

themselves down near one another upon the moss, and slept until morning came, and their mother knew

this and had no distress on their account.

Once when they had spent the night in the wood and the dawn had roused them, they saw a beautiful child

in a shining white dress sitting near their bed. He got up and looked quite kindly at them, but said nothing

and went away into the forest. And when they looked round they found that they had been sleeping quite

close to a precipice, and would certainly have fallen into it in the darkness if they had gone only a few paces further. And their mother told them that it must have been the angel who watches over good

children.

Snow-white and Rose-red kept their mother's little cottage so neat that it was a pleasure to look inside it.

In the summer Rose-red took care of the house, and every morning laid a wreath of flowers by her

mother's bed before she awoke, in which was a rose from each tree. In the winter Snow-white lit the fireand hung the kettle on the wrekin. The kettle was of copper and shone like gold, so brightly was it

polished. In the evening, when the snowflakes fell, the mother said, "Go, Snow-white, and bolt the door,"

and then they sat round the hearth, and the mother took her spectacles and read aloud out of a large book,

and the two girls listened as they sat and span. And close by them lay a lamb upon the floor, and behind

them upon a perch sat a white dove with its head hidden beneath its wings.

One evening, as they were thus sitting comfortably together, some one knocked at the door as if hewished to be let in. The mother said, "Quick, Rose-red, open the door, it must be a traveller who is

seeking shelter." Rose-red went and pushed back the bolt, thinking that it was a poor man, but it was not;

it was a bear that stretched his broad, black head within the door.

Rose-red screamed and sprang back, the lamb bleated, the dove fluttered, and Snow-white hid herself

behind her mother's bed. But the bear began to speak and said, "Do not be afraid, I will do you no harm! I

am half-frozen, and only want to warm myself a little beside you."

"Poor bear," said the mother, "lie down by the fire, only take care that you do not burn your coat." Then

she cried, "Snow-white, Rose-red, come out, the bear will do you no harm, he means well." So they both

came out, and by-and-by the lamb and dove came nearer, and were not afraid of him. The bear said,

"Here, children, knock the snow out of my coat a little;" so they brought the broom and swept the bear'shide clean; and he stretched himself by the fire and growled contentedly and comfortably. It was not long

before they grew quite at home, and played tricks with their clumsy guest. They tugged his hair with their

hands, put their feet upon his back and rolled him about, or they took a hazel-switch and beat him, and

when he growled they laughed. But the bear took it all in good part, only when they were too rough he

called out, "Leave me alive, children,

"Snowy-white, Rosy-red,

Will you beat your lover dead?"

48



When it was bed-time, and the others went to bed, the mother said to the bear, "You can lie there by the

hearth, and then you will be safe from the cold and the bad weather." As soon as day dawned the two

children let him out, and he trotted across the snow into the forest.

Henceforth the bear came every evening at the same time, laid himself down by the hearth, and let the

children amuse themselves with him as much as they liked; and they got so used to him that the doors

were never fastened until their black friend had arrived.

When spring had come and all outside was green, the bear said one morning to Snow-white, "Now I must

go away, and cannot come back for the whole summer." "Where are you going, then, dear bear?" asked

Snow-white. "I must go into the forest and guard my treasures from the wicked dwarfs. In the winter,

when the earth is frozen hard, they are obliged to stay below and cannot work their way through; but now,

when the sun has thawed and warmed the earth, they break through it, and come out to pry and steal; and

what once gets into their hands, and in their caves, does not easily see daylight again."

Snow-white was quite sorry for his going away, and as she unbolted the door for him, and the bear was

hurrying out, he caught against the bolt and a piece of his hairy coat was torn off, and it seemed to Snow-

white as if she had seen gold shining through it, but she was not sure about it. The bear ran away quickly,

and was soon out of sight behind the trees.

A short time afterwards the mother sent her children into the forest to get fire-wood. There they found a

big tree which lay felled on the ground, and close by the trunk something was jumping backwards and

forwards in the grass, but they could not make out what it was. When they came nearer they saw a dwarf

with an old withered face and a snow-white beard a yard long. The end of the beard was caught in a

crevice of the tree, and the little fellow was jumping backwards and forwards like a dog tied to a rope,

and did not know what to do.

He glared at the girls with his fiery red eyes and cried, "Why do you stand there? Can you not come here

and help me?" "What are you about there, little man?" asked Rose-red. "You stupid, prying goose!"

answered the dwarf; "I was going to split the tree to get a little wood for cooking. The little bit of food

that one of us wants gets burnt up directly with thick logs; we do not swallow so much as you coarse,

greedy folk. I had just driven the wedge safely in, and everything was going as I wished; but the wretchedwood was too smooth and suddenly sprang asunder, and the tree closed so quickly that I could not pull

out my beautiful white beard; so now it is tight in and I cannot get away, and the silly, sleek, milk-faced

things laugh! Ugh! how odious you are!"

The children tried very hard, but they could not pull the beard out, it was caught too fast. "I will run andfetch some one," said Rose-red. "You senseless goose!" snarled the dwarf; "why should you fetch some

one? You are already two too many for me; can you not think of something better?" "Don't be impatient,"

said Snow-white, "I will help you," and she pulled her scissors out of her pocket, and cut off the end of

the beard.

As soon as the dwarf felt himself free he laid hold of a bag which lay amongst the roots of the tree, and

which was full of gold, and lifted it up, grumbling to himself, "Uncouth people, to cut off a piece of myfine beard. Bad luck to you!" and then he swung the bag upon his back, and went off without even once

looking at the children.

Some time after that Snow-white and Rose-red went to catch a dish of fish. As they came near the brook

they saw something like a large grasshopper jumping towards the water, as if it were going to leap in.

They ran to it and found it was the dwarf. "Where are you going?" said Rose-red; "you surely don't want

to go into the water?" "I am not such a fool!" cried the dwarf; "don't you see that the accursed fish wantsto pull me in?" The little man had been sitting there fishing, and unluckily the wind had twisted his beard

49



with the fishing-line; just then a big fish bit, and the feeble creature had not strength to pull it out; the fish

kept the upper hand and pulled the dwarf towards him. He held on to all the reeds and rushes, but it was

of little good, he was forced to follow the movements of the fish, and was in urgent danger of being

dragged into the water.

The girls came just in time; they held him fast and tried to free his beard from the line, but all in vain,

beard and line were entangled fast together. Nothing was left but to bring out the scissors and cut the beard, whereby a small part of it was lost. When the dwarf saw that he screamed out, "Is that civil, you

toad-stool, to disfigure one's face? Was it not enough to clip off the end of my beard? Now you have cut

off the best part of it. I cannot let myself be seen by my people. I wish you had been made to run the soles

off your shoes!" Then he took out a sack of pearls which lay in the rushes, and without saying a word

more he dragged it away and disappeared behind a stone.

It happened that soon afterwards the mother sent the two children to the town to buy needles and thread,

and laces and ribbons. The road led them across a heath upon which huge pieces of rock lay strewn here

and there. Now they noticed a large bird hovering in the air, flying slowly round and round above them; it

sank lower and lower, and at last settled near a rock not far off. Directly afterwards they heard a loud,

piteous cry. They ran up and saw with horror that the eagle had seized their old acquaintance the dwarf,

and was going to carry him off.

The children, full of pity, at once took tight hold of the little man, and pulled against the eagle so long that

at last he let his booty go. As soon as the dwarf had recovered from his first fright he cried with his shrill

voice, "Could you not have done it more carefully! You dragged at my brown coat so that it is all torn and

full of holes, you helpless clumsy creatures!" Then he took up a sack full of precious stones, and slipped

away again under the rock into his hole. The girls, who by this time were used to his thanklessness, went

on their way and did their business in the town.

As they crossed the heath again on their way home they surprised the dwarf, who had emptied out his bag

of precious stones in a clean spot, and had not thought that anyone would come there so late. The evening

sun shone upon the brilliant stones; they glittered and sparkled with all colors so beautifully that the

children stood still and looked at them. "Why do you stand gaping there?" cried the dwarf, and his ashen-

gray face became copper-red with rage. He was going on with his bad words when a loud growling washeard, and a black bear came trotting towards them out of the forest. The dwarf sprang up in a fright, but

he could not get to his cave, for the bear was already close. Then in the dread of his heart he cried, "Dear

Mr. Bear, spare me, I will give you all my treasures; look, the beautiful jewels lying there! Grant me my

life; what do you want with such a slender little fellow as I? you would not feel me between your teeth.

Come, take these two wicked girls, they are tender morsels for you, fat as young quails; for mercy's sakeeat them!" The bear took no heed of his words, but gave the wicked creature a single blow with his paw,

and he did not move again.

The girls had run away, but the bear called to them, "Snow-white and Rose-red, do not be afraid; wait, I

will come with you." Then they knew his voice and waited, and when he came up to them suddenly his

bearskin fell off, and he stood there, a handsome man, clothed all in gold. "I am a King's son," he said,

"and I was bewitched by that wicked dwarf, who had stolen my treasures; I have had to run about theforest as a savage bear until I was freed by his death. Now he has got his well-deserved punishment."

Snow-white was married to him, and Rose-red to his brother, and they divided between them the great

treasure which the dwarf had gathered together in his cave. The old mother lived peacefully and happily

with her children for many years. She took the two rose-trees with her, and they stood before her window,

and every year bore the most beautiful roses, white and red.

50



BEWITCHED

BRIAR ROSEBy Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm


A king and queen once upon a time reigned in a country a great way off, where

there were in those days fairies. Now this king and queen had plenty of money, and

plenty of fine clothes to wear, and plenty of good things to eat and drink, and a

coach to ride out in every day: but though they had been married many years theyhad no children, and this grieved them very much indeed. But one day as the queen

was walking by the side of the river, at the bottom of the garden, she saw a poor

little fish, that had thrown itself out of the water, and lay gasping and nearly dead

on the bank. Then the queen took pity on the little fish, and threw it back again intothe river; and before it swam away it lifted its head out of the water and said, 'I

know what your wish is, and it shall be fulfilled, in return for your kindness to me—

you will soon have a daughter.' What the little fish had foretold soon came to pass;

and the queen had a little girl, so very beautiful that the king could not ceaselooking on it for joy, and said he would hold a great feast and make merry, and

show the child to all the land. So he asked his kinsmen, and nobles, and friends, and

neighbours. But the queen said, 'I will have the fairies also, that they might be kind

and good to our little daughter.' Now there were thirteen fairies in the kingdom; butas the king and queen had only twelve golden dishes for them to eat out of, they

were forced to leave one of the fairies without asking her. So twelve fairies came,

each with a high red cap on her head, and red shoes with high heels on her feet,and a long white wand in her hand: and after the feast was over they gatheredround in a ring and gave all their best gifts to the little princess. One gave her

goodness, another beauty, another riches, and so on till she had all that was good in

the world.

Just as eleven of them had done blessing her, a great noise was heard in the

courtyard, and word was brought that the thirteenth fairy was come, with a black

cap on her head, and black shoes on her feet, and a broomstick in her hand: and

presently up she came into the dining-hall. Now, as she had not been asked to thefeast she was very angry, and scolded the king and queen very much, and set to

work to take her revenge. So she cried out, 'The king's daughter shall, in herfifteenth year, be wounded by a spindle, and fall down dead.' Then the twelfth of

the friendly fairies, who had not yet given her gift, came forward, and said that theevil wish must be fulfilled, but that she could soften its mischief; so her gift was,

that the king's daughter, when the spindle wounded her, should not really die, but

should only fall asleep for a hundred years.

However, the king hoped still to save his dear child altogether from the threatened

evil; so he ordered that all the spindles in the kingdom should be bought up and51



burnt. But all the gifts of the first eleven fairies were in the meantime fulfilled; forthe princess was so beautiful, and well behaved, and good, and wise, that everyone

who knew her loved her.

It happened that, on the very day she was fifteen years old, the king and queenwere not at home, and she was left alone in the palace. So she roved about by

herself, and looked at all the rooms and chambers, till at last she came to an old

tower, to which there was a narrow staircase ending with a little door. In the door

there was a golden key, and when she turned it the door sprang open, and there satan old lady spinning away very busily. 'Why, how now, good mother,' said the

princess; 'what are you doing there?' 'Spinning,' said the old lady, and nodded her

head, humming a tune, while buzz! went the wheel. 'How prettily that little thing

turns round!' said the princess, and took the spindle and began to try and spin. Butscarcely had she touched it, before the fairy's prophecy was fulfilled; the spindle

wounded her, and she fell down lifeless on the ground.

However, she was not dead, but had only fallen into a deep sleep; and the king and

the queen, who had just come home, and all their court, fell asleep too; and thehorses slept in the stables, and the dogs in the court, the pigeons on the house-top,

and the very flies slept upon the walls. Even the fire on the hearth left off blazing,

and went to sleep; the jack stopped, and the spit that was turning about with agoose upon it for the king's dinner stood still; and the cook, who was at that

moment pulling the kitchen-boy by the hair to give him a box on the ear for

something he had done amiss, let him go, and both fell asleep; the butler, who was

slyly tasting the ale, fell asleep with the jug at his lips: and thus everything stoodstill, and slept soundly.

A large hedge of thorns soon grew round the palace, and every year it becamehigher and thicker; till at last the old palace was surrounded and hidden, so that not

even the roof or the chimneys could be seen. But there went a report through all

the land of the beautiful sleeping Briar Rose (for so the king's daughter was called):

so that, from time to time, several kings' sons came, and tried to break through thethicket into the palace. This, however, none of them could ever do; for the thorns

and bushes laid hold of them, as it were with hands; and there they stuck fast, and

died wretchedly.

After many, many years there came a king's son into that land: and an old man told

him the story of the thicket of thorns; and how a beautiful palace stood behind it,

and how a wonderful princess, called Briar Rose, lay in it asleep, with all her court.

He told, too, how he had heard from his grandfather that many, many princes hadcome, and had tried to break through the thicket, but that they had all stuck fast in

it, and died. Then the young prince said, 'All this shall not frighten me; I will go and

see this Briar Rose.' The old man tried to hinder him, but he was bent upon going.

Now that very day the hundred years were ended; and as the prince came to the

thicket he saw nothing but beautiful flowering shrubs, through which he went with

ease, and they shut in after him as thick as ever. Then he came at last to the

52



palace, and there in the court lay the dogs asleep; and the horses were standing inthe stables; and on the roof sat the pigeons fast asleep, with their heads under their

wings. And when he came into the palace, the flies were sleeping on the walls; the

spit was standing still; the butler had the jug of ale at his lips, going to drink a

draught; the maid sat with a fowl in her lap ready to be plucked; and the cook in thekitchen was still holding up her hand, as if she was going to beat the boy.

Then he went on still farther, and all was so still that he could hear every breath he

drew; till at last he came to the old tower, and opened the door of the little room inwhich Briar Rose was; and there she lay, fast asleep on a couch by the window. She

looked so beautiful that he could not take his eyes off her, so he stooped down and

gave her a kiss. But the moment he kissed her she opened her eyes and awoke, and

smiled upon him; and they went out together; and soon the king and queen alsoawoke, and all the court, and gazed on each other with great wonder. And the

horses shook themselves, and the dogs jumped up and barked; the pigeons took

their heads from under their wings, and looked about and flew into the fields; the

flies on the walls buzzed again; the fire in the kitchen blazed up; round went the

jack, and round went the spit, with the goose for the king's dinner upon it; the butlerfinished his draught of ale; the maid went on plucking the fowl; and the cook gave

the boy the box on his ear.

And then the prince and Briar Rose were married, and the wedding feast was given;

and they lived happily together all their lives long.

RAPUNZEL



There were once a man and a woman who had long in vain wished for a child. At

length the woman hoped that God was about to grant her desire. These people had

a little window at the back of their house from which a splendid garden could beseen, which was full of the most beautiful flowers and herbs. It was, however,

surrounded by a high wall, and no one dared to go into it because it belonged to an

enchantress, who had great power and was dreaded by all the world. One day thewoman was standing by this window and looking down into the garden, when she

saw a bed which was planted with the most beautiful rampion (rapunzel), and it

looked so fresh and green that she longed for it, she quite pined away, and began

to look pale and miserable. Then her husband was alarmed, and asked: 'What ailsyou, dear wife?' 'Ah,' she replied, 'if I can't eat some of the rampion, which is in the

garden behind our house, I shall die.' The man, who loved her, thought: 'Sooner

than let your wife die, bring her some of the rampion yourself, let it cost what it

will.' At twilight, he clambered down over the wall into the garden of theenchantress, hastily clutched a handful of rampion, and took it to his wife. She at

once made herself a salad of it, and ate it greedily. It tasted so good to her—so very

good, that the next day she longed for it three times as much as before. If he was to

have any rest, her husband must once more descend into the garden. In the gloomof evening therefore, he let himself down again; but when he had clambered down

53



the wall he was terribly afraid, for he saw the enchantress standing before him.'How can you dare,' said she with angry look, 'descend into my garden and steal my

rampion like a thief? You shall suffer for it!' 'Ah,' answered he, 'let mercy take the

place of justice, I only made up my mind to do it out of necessity. My wife saw your

rampion from the window, and felt such a longing for it that she would have died if she had not got some to eat.' Then the enchantress allowed her anger to be

softened, and said to him: 'If the case be as you say, I will allow you to take away

with you as much rampion as you will, only I make one condition, you must give me

the child which your wife will bring into the world; it shall be well treated, and I willcare for it like a mother.' The man in his terror consented to everything, and when

the woman was brought to bed, the enchantress appeared at once, gave the child

the name of Rapunzel, and took it away with her.

Rapunzel grew into the most beautiful child under the sun. When she was twelve

years old, the enchantress shut her into a tower, which lay in a forest, and had

neither stairs nor door, but quite at the top was a little window. When the

enchantress wanted to go in, she placed herself beneath it and cried:

'Rapunzel, Rapunzel,

Let down your hair to me.'

Rapunzel had magnificent long hair, fine as spun gold, and when she heard thevoice of the enchantress she unfastened her braided tresses, wound them round

one of the hooks of the window above, and then the hair fell twenty ells down, and

the enchantress climbed up by it.

After a year or two, it came to pass that the king's son rode through the forest and

passed by the tower. Then he heard a song, which was so charming that he stood

still and listened. This was Rapunzel, who in her solitude passed her time in letting

her sweet voice resound. The king's son wanted to climb up to her, and looked forthe door of the tower, but none was to be found. He rode home, but the singing had

so deeply touched his heart, that every day he went out into the forest and listened

to it. Once when he was thus standing behind a tree, he saw that an enchantress

came there, and he heard how she cried:



Then Rapunzel let down the braids of her hair, and the enchantress climbed up toher. 'If that is the ladder by which one mounts, I too will try my fortune,' said he,

and the next day when it began to grow dark, he went to the tower and cried:

'Rapunzel, Rapunzel,Let down your hair to me.'

Immediately the hair fell down and the king's son climbed up.

At first Rapunzel was terribly frightened when a man, such as her eyes had neveryet beheld, came to her; but the king's son began to talk to her quite like a friend,

and told her that his heart had been so stirred that it had let him have no rest, and

he had been forced to see her. Then Rapunzel lost her fear, and when he asked her

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if she would take him for her husband, and she saw that he was young andhandsome, she thought: 'He will love me more than old Dame Gothel does'; and she

said yes, and laid her hand in his. She said: 'I will willingly go away with you, but I

do not know how to get down. Bring with you a skein of silk every time that you

come, and I will weave a ladder with it, and when that is ready I will descend, andyou will take me on your horse.' They agreed that until that time he should come to

her every evening, for the old woman came by day. The enchantress remarked

nothing of this, until once Rapunzel said to her: 'Tell me, Dame Gothel, how it

happens that you are so much heavier for me to draw up than the young king's son—he is with me in a moment.' 'Ah! you wicked child,' cried the enchantress. 'What

do I hear you say! I thought I had separated you from all the world, and yet you

have deceived me!' In her anger she clutched Rapunzel's beautiful tresses, wrapped

them twice round her left hand, seized a pair of scissors with the right, and snip,snap, they were cut off, and the lovely braids lay on the ground. And she was so

pitiless that she took poor Rapunzel into a desert where she had to live in great

grief and misery.

On the same day that she cast out Rapunzel, however, the enchantress fastenedthe braids of hair, which she had cut off, to the hook of the window, and when the

king's son came and cried:



she let the hair down. The king's son ascended, but instead of finding his dearest

Rapunzel, he found the enchantress, who gazed at him with wicked and venomouslooks. 'Aha!' she cried mockingly, 'you would fetch your dearest, but the beautiful

bird sits no longer singing in the nest; the cat has got it, and will scratch out your

eyes as well. Rapunzel is lost to you; you will never see her again.' The king's son

was beside himself with pain, and in his despair he leapt down from the tower. Heescaped with his life, but the thorns into which he fell pierced his eyes. Then he

wandered quite blind about the forest, ate nothing but roots and berries, and did

naught but lament and weep over the loss of his dearest wife. Thus he roamed

about in misery for some years, and at length came to the desert where Rapunzel,with the twins to which she had given birth, a boy and a girl, lived in wretchedness.

He heard a voice, and it seemed so familiar to him that he went towards it, and

when he approached, Rapunzel knew him and fell on his neck and wept. Two of her

tears wetted his eyes and they grew clear again, and he could see with them asbefore. He led her to his kingdom where he was joyfully received, and they lived for

a long time afterwards, happy and contented.

SNOWDROPBy Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm


It was the middle of winter, when the broad flakes of snow were falling around, that

the queen of a country many thousand miles off sat working at her window. Theframe of the window was made of fine black ebony, and as she sat looking out upon

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the snow, she pricked her finger, and three drops of blood fell upon it. Then shegazed thoughtfully upon the red drops that sprinkled the white snow, and said,

'Would that my little daughter may be as white as that snow, as red as that blood,

and as black as this ebony windowframe!' And so the little girl really did grow up;

her skin was as white as snow, her cheeks as rosy as the blood, and her hair asblack as ebony; and she was called Snowdrop.

But this queen died; and the king soon married another wife, who became queen,

and was very beautiful, but so vain that she could not bear to think that anyonecould be handsomer than she was. She had a fairy looking-glass, to which she used

to go, and then she would gaze upon herself in it, and say:

'Tell me, glass, tell me true!Of all the ladies in the land,

Who is fairest, tell me, who?'

And the glass had always answered:

'Thou, queen, art the fairest in all the land.'But Snowdrop grew more and more beautiful; and when she was seven years old

she was as bright as the day, and fairer than the queen herself. Then the glass one

day answered the queen, when she went to look in it as usual:

'Thou, queen, art fair, and beauteous to see,

But Snowdrop is lovelier far than thee!'

When she heard this she turned pale with rage and envy, and called to one of herservants, and said, 'Take Snowdrop away into the wide wood, that I may never see

her any more.' Then the servant led her away; but his heart melted when Snowdrop

begged him to spare her life, and he said, 'I will not hurt you, thou pretty child.' So

he left her by herself; and though he thought it most likely that the wild beastswould tear her in pieces, he felt as if a great weight were taken off his heart when

he had made up his mind not to kill her but to leave her to her fate, with the chance

of someone finding and saving her.

Then poor Snowdrop wandered along through the wood in great fear; and the wild

beasts roared about her, but none did her any harm. In the evening she came to a

cottage among the hills, and went in to rest, for her little feet would carry her no

further. Everything was spruce and neat in the cottage: on the table was spread awhite cloth, and there were seven little plates, seven little loaves, and seven little

glasses with wine in them; and seven knives and forks laid in order; and by the wall

stood seven little beds. As she was very hungry, she picked a little piece of each

loaf and drank a very little wine out of each glass; and after that she thought shewould lie down and rest. So she tried all the little beds; but one was too long, and

another was too short, till at last the seventh suited her: and there she laid herself

down and went to sleep.

By and by in came the masters of the cottage. Now they were seven little dwarfs,

that lived among the mountains, and dug and searched for gold. They lighted up

their seven lamps, and saw at once that all was not right. The first said, 'Who has

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been sitting on my stool?' The second, 'Who has been eating off my plate?' Thethird, 'Who has been picking my bread?' The fourth, 'Who has been meddling with

my spoon?' The fifth, 'Who has been handling my fork?' The sixth, 'Who has been

cutting with my knife?' The seventh, 'Who has been drinking my wine?' Then the

first looked round and said, 'Who has been lying on my bed?' And the rest camerunning to him, and everyone cried out that somebody had been upon his bed. But

the seventh saw Snowdrop, and called all his brethren to come and see her; and

they cried out with wonder and astonishment and brought their lamps to look at

her, and said, 'Good heavens! what a lovely child she is!' And they were very glad tosee her, and took care not to wake her; and the seventh dwarf slept an hour with

each of the other dwarfs in turn, till the night was gone.

In the morning Snowdrop told them all her story; and they pitied her, and said if shewould keep all things in order, and cook and wash and knit and spin for them, she

might stay where she was, and they would take good care of her. Then they went

out all day long to their work, seeking for gold and silver in the mountains: but

Snowdrop was left at home; and they warned her, and said, 'The queen will soon

find out where you are, so take care and let no one in.'

But the queen, now that she thought Snowdrop was dead, believed that she must

be the handsomest lady in the land; and she went to her glass and said:

'Tell me, glass, tell me true!

Of all the ladies in the land,

Who is fairest, tell me, who?'And the glass answered:

'Thou, queen, art the fairest in all this land:

But over the hills, in the greenwood shade,Where the seven dwarfs their dwelling have made,

There Snowdrop is hiding her head; and she

Is lovelier far, O queen! than thee.'

Then the queen was very much frightened; for she knew that the glass alwaysspoke the truth, and was sure that the servant had betrayed her. And she could not

bear to think that anyone lived who was more beautiful than she was; so she

dressed herself up as an old pedlar, and went her way over the hills, to the place

where the dwarfs dwelt. Then she knocked at the door, and cried, 'Fine wares tosell!' Snowdrop looked out at the window, and said, 'Good day, good woman! what

have you to sell?' 'Good wares, fine wares,' said she; 'laces and bobbins of all

colours.' 'I will let the old lady in; she seems to be a very good sort of body,' thought

Snowdrop, as she ran down and unbolted the door. 'Bless me!' said the old woman,'how badly your stays are laced! Let me lace them up with one of my nice new

laces.' Snowdrop did not dream of any mischief; so she stood before the old woman;

but she set to work so nimbly, and pulled the lace so tight, that Snowdrop's breath

was stopped, and she fell down as if she were dead. 'There's an end to all thybeauty,' said the spiteful queen, and went away home.

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In the evening the seven dwarfs came home; and I need not say how grieved theywere to see their faithful Snowdrop stretched out upon the ground, as if she was

quite dead. However, they lifted her up, and when they found what ailed her, they

cut the lace; and in a little time she began to breathe, and very soon came to life

again. Then they said, 'The old woman was the queen herself; take care anothertime, and let no one in when we are away.'

When the queen got home, she went straight to her glass, and spoke to it as before;

but to her great grief it still said:

'Thou, queen, art the fairest in all this land:

But over the hills, in the greenwood shade,

Where the seven dwarfs their dwelling have made,There Snowdrop is hiding her head; and she

Is lovelier far, O queen! than thee.'

Then the blood ran cold in her heart with spite and malice, to see that Snowdrop

still lived; and she dressed herself up again, but in quite another dress from the one

she wore before, and took with her a poisoned comb. When she reached the dwarfs'cottage, she knocked at the door, and cried, 'Fine wares to sell!' But Snowdrop said,

'I dare not let anyone in.' Then the queen said, 'Only look at my beautiful combs!'

and gave her the poisoned one. And it looked so pretty, that she took it up and putit into her hair to try it; but the moment it touched her head, the poison was so

powerful that she fell down senseless. 'There you may lie,' said the queen, and went

her way. But by good luck the dwarfs came in very early that evening; and when

they saw Snowdrop lying on the ground, they thought what had happened, andsoon found the poisoned comb. And when they took it away she got well, and told

them all that had passed; and they warned her once more not to open the door to

anyone.

Meantime the queen went home to her glass, and shook with rage when she read

the very same answer as before; and she said, 'Snowdrop shall die, if it cost me my

life.' So she went by herself into her chamber, and got ready a poisoned apple: the

outside looked very rosy and tempting, but whoever tasted it was sure to die. Thenshe dressed herself up as a peasant's wife, and travelled over the hills to the

dwarfs' cottage, and knocked at the door; but Snowdrop put her head out of the

window and said, 'I dare not let anyone in, for the dwarfs have told me not.' 'Do as

you please,' said the old woman, 'but at any rate take this pretty apple; I will give ityou.' 'No,' said Snowdrop, 'I dare not take it.' 'You silly girl!' answered the other,

'what are you afraid of? Do you think it is poisoned? Come! do you eat one part, and

I will eat the other.' Now the apple was so made up that one side was good, though

the other side was poisoned. Then Snowdrop was much tempted to taste, for theapple looked so very nice; and when she saw the old woman eat, she could wait no

longer. But she had scarcely put the piece into her mouth, when she fell down dead

upon the ground. 'This time nothing will save thee,' said the queen; and she went

home to her glass, and at last it said:

'Thou, queen, art the fairest of all the fair.'

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And then her wicked heart was glad, and as happy as such a heart could be.

When evening came, and the dwarfs had gone home, they found Snowdrop lying on

the ground: no breath came from her lips, and they were afraid that she was quite

dead. They lifted her up, and combed her hair, and washed her face with wine andwater; but all was in vain, for the little girl seemed quite dead. So they laid her

down upon a bier, and all seven watched and bewailed her three whole days; and

then they thought they would bury her: but her cheeks were still rosy; and her face

looked just as it did while she was alive; so they said, 'We will never bury her in thecold ground.' And they made a coffin of glass, so that they might still look at her,

and wrote upon it in golden letters what her name was, and that she was a king's

daughter. And the coffin was set among the hills, and one of the dwarfs always sat

by it and watched. And the birds of the air came too, and bemoaned Snowdrop; andfirst of all came an owl, and then a raven, and at last a dove, and sat by her side.

And thus Snowdrop lay for a long, long time, and still only looked as though she was

asleep; for she was even now as white as snow, and as red as blood, and as black

as ebony. At last a prince came and called at the dwarfs' house; and he sawSnowdrop, and read what was written in golden letters. Then he offered the dwarfs

money, and prayed and besought them to let him take her away; but they said, 'We

will not part with her for all the gold in the world.' At last, however, they had pity onhim, and gave him the coffin; but the moment he lifted it up to carry it home with

him, the piece of apple fell from between her lips, and Snowdrop awoke, and said,

'Where am I?' And the prince said, 'Thou art quite safe with me.'

Then he told her all that had happened, and said, 'I love you far better than all the

world; so come with me to my father's palace, and you shall be my wife.' And

Snowdrop consented, and went home with the prince; and everything was got ready

with great pomp and splendour for their wedding.

To the feast was asked, among the rest, Snowdrop's old enemy the queen; and as

she was dressing herself in fine rich clothes, she looked in the glass and said:

'Tell me, glass, tell me true!

Of all the ladies in the land,

Who is fairest, tell me, who?'

And the glass answered:

'Thou, lady, art loveliest here, I ween;

But lovelier far is the new-made queen.'

When she heard this she started with rage; but her envy and curiosity were sogreat, that she could not help setting out to see the bride. And when she got there,

and saw that it was no other than Snowdrop, who, as she thought, had been dead a

tales of heroines who find their prince charmings

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