Hansel & Grethel - & Other Tales by the Brothers Grimm

by Jacob Grimm

  While he was looking about in this way he noticed that the old woman was secretly removing a cage with a bird inside, and was making for the door. He sprang swiftly towards her, touched the cage and the witch with the flower, and then she no longer had power to exercise her spells. Jorinda stood there, as beautiful as before, and threw her arms round Joringel’s neck. After that he changed all the other birds back into maidens again, and went home with Jorinda, and they lived long and happily together.

  The Bremen Town Musicians

  Once upon a time a man had an Ass which for many years carried sacks to the mill without tiring. At last, however, its strength was worn out; it was no longer of any use for work. Accordingly its master began to ponder as to how best to cut down its keep; but the Ass, seeing there was mischief in the air, ran away and started on the road to Bremen; there he thought he could become a town-musician.

  When he had been travelling a short time, he fell in with a hound, who was lying panting on the road as though lie had run himself off his legs.

  ‘Well, what are you panting so for, Growler?’ said the Ass.

  ‘Ah,’ said the Hound, ‘just because I am old, and every day I get weaker, and also because I can no longer keep up with the pack, my master wanted to kill me, so I took my departure. But now, how am I to earn my bread?’

  ‘Do you know what,’ said the Ass. ‘I am going to Bremen, and shall there become a town-musician; come with me and take your part in the music. I shall play the lute, and you shall beat the kettle-drum.’

  The Hound agreed, and they went on.

  A short time after they came upon a Cat, sitting in the road, with a face as long as a wet week.

  ‘Well, what has been crossing you, Whiskers?’ asked the Ass.

  ‘Who can be cheerful when he is out at elbows?’ said the Cat. ‘I am getting on in years, and my teeth are blunted and I prefer to sit by the stove and purr instead of hunting round after mice. Just because of this my mistress wanted to drown me. I made myself scarce, but now I don’t know where to turn.’

  ‘Come with us to Bremen,’ said the Ass. ‘You are a great hand at serenading, so you can become a town-musician.’

  The Cat consented, and joined them.

  A short time after they came upon a Vat, sitting in, the road, with a face as long as a wet week.

  Next the fugitives passed by a yard where a barn-door fowl was sitting on the door, crowing with all its might.

  ‘You crow so loud you pierce one through and through,’ said the Ass. ‘What is the matter?’

  ‘Why I didn’t I prophesy fine weather for Lady Day, when Our Lady washes the Christ Child’s little garment and wants to dry it? But, not-withstanding this, because Sunday visitors are coming to-morrow, the mistress has no pity, and she has ordered the cook to make me into soup, so I shall have my neck wrung to-night. Now I am crowing with all my might while I have the chance.’

  ‘Come along, Red-comb,’ said the Ass; ‘you had much better come with us. We are going to Bremen, and you will find a much better fate there. You have a good voice, and when we make music together, there will be quality in it.’

  The Cock allowed himself to be persuaded, and they all four went off together. They could not, however, reach the town in one day, and by evening they arrived at a wood, where they determined to spend the night. The Ass and the Hound lay down under a big tree; the Cat and the Cock settled themselves in the branches, the Cock flying right up to the top, which was the safest place for him. Before going to sleep he looked round once more in every direction; suddenly it seemed to him that he saw a light burning in the distance. He called out to his comrades that there must be a house not far off, for he saw a light.

  ‘Very well,’ said the Ass, ‘let us set out and make our way to it, for the entertainment here is very bad:’

  The Hound thought some bones or meat would suit him too, so they set out in the direction of the light, and soon saw it shining more clearly, and getting bigger and bigger, till they readied a brightly-lighted robbers’ den. The Ass, being the tallest, approached the window and looked in.

  ‘What do you see, old Jackass?’ asked the Cock.

  ‘What do I see?’ answered the Ass; ‘why, a table spread, with delicious food and drink, and robbers seated at it enjoying themselves.’

  ‘That would just suit us,’ said the Cock.

  ‘Yes; if we were only there,’ answered the Ass.

  Then the animals took counsel as to how to set about driving the robbers out. At last they hit upon a plan.

  The Ass was to take up his position with his fore-feet on the window-sill, the Hound was to jump on his back, the Cat to climb up on to the Hound, and last of all the Cock flew up and perched on the Cat’s head. When they were thus arranged, at a given signal they all began to perform their music; the Ass brayed, the Hound barked, the Cat mewed, and the Cock crowed; then they dashed through the window, shivering the panes. The robbers jumped up at the terrible noise; they thought nothing less than that a demon was coming in upon them, and fled into the wood in the greatest alarm. Then the four animals sat down to table, and helped themselves according to taste, and ate as though they had been starving for weeks. When they had finished they extinguished the light, and looked for sleeping places, each one to suit his nature and taste.

  The Ass brayed, the Hound barked, the Cat mewed, and the Cock crowed.

  The Ass lay down on the manure heap, the Hound behind the door, the Cat on the hearth near the warm ashes, and the Cock flew up to the rafters. As they were tired from the long journey, they soon went to sleep.

  When midnight was past, and the robbers saw from a distance that the light was no longer burning, and that all seemed quiet, the chief said:

  ‘We ought not to have been scared by a false alarm,’ and ordered one of the robbers to go and examine the house.

  Finding all quiet, the messenger went into the kitchen to kindle a light, and taking the Cat’s glowing, fiery eyes for live coals, he held a match close to them so as to light it. But the Cat would stand no nonsense; it flew at his face, spat and scratched. He was terribly frightened and ran away.

  He tried to get out by the back door, but the Hound, who was lying there, jumped up and bit his leg. As he ran across the manure heap in front of the house, the Ass gave him a good sound kick with his hind legs, while the Cock, who had awoken at the uproar quite fresh, and gay, cried out from his perch: ‘Cock-a-doodle-doo,’ Thereupon the robber ran back as fast as he could to his chief, and said: ‘There is a gruesome witch in the house, who breathed on me and scratched me with her long fingers. Behind the door there stands a man with a knife, who stabbed me; while in the yard lies a black monster, who hit me with a club; and upon, the roof the judge is seated, and he called out, “Bring the rogue here,” so I hurried away as fast as I could.’

  Thenceforward the robbers did not venture again to the house, which, however, pleased the four Bremen musicians so much that they never wished to leave it again.

  And he who last told the story has hardly finished speaking yet.

  Old Sultan

  A Peasant once had a faithful dog called Sultan, who had grown old and lost all his teeth, and could no longer keep fast hold of his quarry. One day when the peasant was standing in front of his house with his wife, he said: ‘To-morrow I intend to shoot old Sultan; he is no longer any use.’

  His wife, who pitied the faithful animal, answered: ‘Since he has served us so long and honestly, we might at least keep him and feed him to the end of his days.’

  ‘What nonsense,’ said her husband; ‘you are a fool. He has not a tooth left in his head; thieves are not a bit afraid of him now that they can get away from him. Even if he has served us well, he has been well fed in return.’

  The poor dog, who lay near, stretched out in the sun, heard all they said, and was sad at the thought that the next day was to be his last. Now, he had a good friend who was a wolf, and in the evening he slunk off into the wood, and complain
ed to him of the fate which awaited him.

  ‘Listen, comrade,’ said the Wolf, ‘be of good cheer; I will help you in your need, for I have thought of a plan. Tomorrow your master and mistress are going hay-making, and they will take their little child with them because there will be nobody left at home, During their work they usually lay it under the hedge in the shade; you lie down as though to guard it. I will then come out of the wood and steal the child. You must rush quickly after me, as though you wanted to rescue the child. I will let it fail, and you will take it back to its parents again; they will think that you have saved it, and will be far too thankful to do you any harm. On the contrary, you will come into high favour, and they will never let you want again.’

  The plot pleased the dog, and it was carried out just as it was planned. The father cried out when he saw the Wolf run across the held with his child in its mouth; but when old Sultan brought it back lie was overjoyed, stroked him, and said: ‘Not a hair of your coat shall be hurt; you shall have plenty to eat as long as you live.’ Then he said to his wife: ‘Go home immediately and prepare some broth for old Sultan which he won’t need to bite, and bring the pillow-out of my bed. I will give it to him to lie upon.’

  Henceforward old Sultan was as well off as he could wish. Soon afterwards the Wolf paid him a visit, and rejoiced that all had turned out so well. ‘But, comrade,’ he said, ‘you must shut your eyes. Suppose some fine day I carry off one of your master’s fat sheep? Nowadays it is hard to get one’s living.’

  ‘Don’t count on that,’ answered the dog, ‘I must remain true to my master—I shall never permit it?’

  The Wolf, thinking that he had not spoken in earnest, came and crept in at night, and tried to carry off a sheep. But the peasant, to whom the faithful Sultan had betrayed the Wolf’s intention, spied him and belaboured him soundly with a threshing-flail. The Wolf was forced to retreat, but he called out to the dog, ‘Wait a bit, you wicked creature—you shall suffer for this.’

  The next morning he sent the Boar to invite the Dog into the wood, there to settle matters by a duel. Old Sultan could find no second except the Cat, who had only three legs. When they came out the poor Cat hobbled along, lifting up its tail with pain.

  The Wolf and his second were already in position; but when they saw their opponent coming they thought that he was bringing a sword, for they took the outstretched tail of the Cat for one. And because the poor animal hobbled on three legs, they thought nothing less than that it was picking up stones to throw at them every time it stooped. Then both became frightened; the Boar crept away into a thicket, and the Wolf jumped up into a tree. The Dog and the Cat were astonished, when they arrived, at seeing no one about. The Boar, however, had not been able to conceal himself completely; his ears still stuck out. While the Cat was looking round cautiously, the Boar twitched its ears; the Cat, who thought that it was a mouse moving, sprang upon it, and began biting with a will. The Boar jumped up and ran away, calling out: ‘The guilty party is up in that tree,’ The Cat and the Dog looked up and perceived the Wolf, who, ashamed of having shown himself such a coward, made peace with the Dog.

  The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean

  Once there was a poor old woman who lived in a village; she had collected a bundle of beans, and was going to cook them. So she prepared a Ire on her hearth, and to make it bum up quickly she lighted it with a handful of straw. When she threw the beans into the pot, one escaped her unnoticed and slipped on to the floor, where it lay by a straw. Soon after a glowing coal jumped out of the fire and joined the others. Then the Straw began, and said: ‘Little Mends, how came ye hither?’

  The Coal answered: ‘I have happily escaped the fire; and if I had not done so by force of will, my death would certainly have been a most cruel one; I should have been burnt to a cinder.’

  The Bean said: ‘I also have escaped so far with a whole skin; but if the old woman had put me into the pot, I should have been pitilessly boiled down to broth like my comrades.’

  ‘Would a better fate have befallen, me, then?’ asked the Straw; ‘the old woman packed all my brothers into the fire and smoke, sixty of them all done for at once. Fortunately, I slipped through her fingers.’

  ‘What are we to do now, though?’ asked the Coal.

  ‘My opinion is,’ said the Bean, ‘that, as we have escaped death, we must all keep together like good comrades; and so that we may run no further risks, we had better quit the country.’

  This proposal pleased both the others, and they set out together. Before long they came to a little stream, and, as there was neither path, nor bridge, they did not know how to get over. The Straw at last had an idea, and said, ‘I will throw myself over and then yon can walk across upon me like a bridge.’ So the Straw stretched himself across from one side to the other, and the Coal, which was of a fiery nature, tripped gaily over the newly-built bridge. Rut when it got to the middle and heard the water rushing below, it was frightened, and remained speechless, not daring to go any further. The Straw beginning to burn, broke in two and fell Into the stream; the Coal, falling with it, fizzled out in the water. The Bean, who had cautiously remained on the bank, could not help laughing over the whole business, and, having begun, could not stop, but laughed till she split her sides. Now, all would have been up with her had not, fortunately, a wandering tailor been taking a rest by the stream. As he had a sympathetic heart, he brought out a needle and thread and stitched her up again; but, as he used black thread, all beans have a black seam to this day.

  Clever Elsa

  There was once a Man who had a daughter called Clever Elsa. When she was grown up, her Father said: ‘We must get her married.’

  ‘Yes,’ said her Mother;, ‘if only somebody came who would have her.’

  At last a suitor, named Hans, came from a distance, He made an offer for her on condition that she really was as clever as she was said to be.

  ‘Oh!’ said her Father, ‘she is a long-headed lass.’

  And her Mother said: ‘She can see the wind blowing in the street, and hear the flies coughing.’

  ‘Well,’ said Hans, ‘if she is not really clever, I won’t have her.’

  When they were at dinner, her Mother said; ‘Elsa, go to the cellar and draw some beer.’

  Clever Elsa took the jug from the nail, on the wall, and went to the cellar, clattering the lid as she went, to pass the time. When she reached the cellar she placed a chair near the cask so that she need not hurt her back by stooping. Then she put down the jug before her and turned the tap. And while the beer was running, so as not to be idle, she let her eyes rove all over the place, looking this way and that.

  Suddenly she discovered a pickaxe just above her head, which a mason had by chance left hanging among the rafters.

  Clever Elsa burst into tears, and said; ‘If I marry Hans, and we have a child, when it grows big, and we send it down to draw beer, the pickaxe will fall on its head and kill it.’ So there she sat crying and lamenting loudly at the impending mishap.

  The others sat upstairs waiting for the beer, but Clever Elsa never came back.

  Then the Mistress said to her Servant: ‘Go down to the cellar, and see why Elsa does not come back.’

  The Maid went, and found Elsa sitting by the cask, weeping bitterly. ‘Why, Elsa, whatever are you crying for?’ she asked.

  ‘Alas!’ she answered, ‘have I not cause to cry? If I marry Hans, and we have a child, when he grows big, and we send him down to draw beer, perhaps that pickaxe will fall on his head and kill him.’

  Then the Maid said: ‘What a Clever Elsa we have’; and she, too, sat down by Elsa, and began to cry over the misfortune.

  After a time, as the Maid did not come back, and they were growing very thirsty, the Master said to the Serving-man: ‘Go down to the cellar and see what has become of Elsa and the Maid.’

  The Man went down, and there sat Elsa and the Maid weeping together. So he said: ‘What are you crying for?’

  ‘Alas!’
said Elsa, ‘have I not enough to cry for? If I marry Hans, and we have a child, and we send it when it is big enough into the cellar to draw beer, the pickaxe will fall on its head and kill it.’

  The Man said: ‘What a Clever Elsa we have’; and he, too, joined them and howled in company.

  The people upstairs waited a long time for the Serving-man, but as he did not come back, the Husband said to his Wife: ‘Go down to the cellar yourself, and see what has become of Elsa.’

  So the Mistress went down and found all three making loud lamentations, and she asked the cause of their grief.

  Then Elsa told her that her future child would be killed by the falling of the pickaxe when it was big enough to be sent to draw the beer. Her Mother said with the others: ‘Did you ever see such a Clever Elsa as we have?’

  Her Husband upstairs waited some time, but as his Wife did not return, and his thirst grew greater, he said: ‘I must go to the cellar myself to see what has become of Elsa.’

  But when he got to the cellar, and found all the others sitting together in tears, caused by the fear that a child which Elsa might one day have, if she married Hans, might be killed by the falling of the pickaxe, when it went to draw beer, he too cried—

  ‘What a Clever Elsa we have!’

  Then he, too, sat down and added his lamentations to theirs.

  The bridegroom waited alone upstairs for a long time; then, as nobody came back, he thought: ‘They must be waiting for me down there, I must go and see what they are doing.’