The Grimm Reader

by Maria Tatar

  The next day, when the festivities started up again and the parents had left with the stepsisters, Cinderella went to the hazel tree and said:

  “Shake your branches, little tree,

  Toss gold and silver down on me.”

  The bird tossed down a dress that was even more splendid than the previous one. And when she appeared at the wedding in this dress, everyone was dazzled by her beauty. The prince, who had been waiting for her to arrive, took her by the hand and danced with her alone. Whenever anyone came and asked her to dance, he would say: “She is my partner.”

  As night fell, Cinderella wanted to leave, and the prince decided to follow her, hoping to see which house she would enter. But she bounded away and disappeared into the garden behind the house, where there was a beautiful, tall tree with magnificent pears hanging from its branches. Cinderella climbed up through the branches as nimbly as a squirrel, and the prince had no idea where she was. He waited until her father got there and said to him: “The strange girl escaped, but I believe that she climbed up into the pear tree.”

  The father wondered: “Could it be Cinderella?” and he sent for an ax and chopped down the tree. But no one was in it. When he went to the kitchen with the prince, Cinderella was, as usual, lying in the ashes, for she had jumped down the other side of the tree, taken her beautiful dress to the bird on the hazel tree, and slipped on her little gray smock again.

  On the third day, when the parents and sisters had left, Cinderella went to her mother’s grave and said to the little tree:

  “Shake your branches, little tree,

  Toss gold and silver down on me.”

  The bird tossed down a dress that was more splendid and radiant than anything she had ever seen, and the slippers were covered in gold. When she got to the wedding in that dress, everyone who saw her was speechless with amazement. The prince danced with her alone, and if someone asked her to dance, he would say: “She is my partner.”

  When night fell, Cinderella was planning to return home, and the prince wanted to escort her, but she slipped away so quickly that he was unable to follow her. The prince had planned a trick. The entire staircase had been coated with pitch, and when Cinderella started running down the stairs, her left slipper got stuck in the tar. The prince lifted it up: it was a dainty little shoe covered with gold.

  The next morning the prince went with the shoe to his father and said to him: “The woman whose foot fits this golden shoe will be my bride.” The two sisters were overjoyed to hear the news, for they both had beautiful feet. The elder went with her mother into a special room to try it on. But the shoe was too small for her, and she couldn’t get her big toe into it. Her mother handed her a knife and said: “Cut your toe off. Once you’re queen, you won’t need to go on foot any more.”

  The girl sliced off her toe, forced her foot into the shoe, gritted her teeth, and went out to meet the prince. He lifted her up on his horse as his bride, and rode away with her. But they had to pass by the mother’s grave, and two little doves were perched on the hazel tree, calling out:

  “Roo coo coo, roo coo coo,

  Blood is dripping from the shoe:

  The foot’s too long and far too wide,

  Go back and find the proper bride.”

  When the prince looked down at the girl’s foot, he saw that blood was spurting from the shoe, and he turned his horse around. He brought the false bride back home, and said that since she was not the true bride, her sister should try the shoe on. The sister went into her room and succeeded in getting her toes into the shoe, but her heel was way too big. Her mother handed her a knife too and said: “Cut off part of your heel. Once you’re queen, you won’t need to go on foot anymore.”

  The girl sliced off a piece of her heel, forced her foot into the shoe, gritted her teeth, and went out to meet the prince. He lifted her up on his horse as his bride and rode away with her. When they passed by the little hazel tree, two little doves were perched on a branch, calling out:

  “Roo coo coo, roo coo coo,

  Blood is dripping from the shoe:

  The foot’s too long and far too wide,

  Go back and find the proper bride.”

  When he looked down at her foot, he saw blood spurting from it and staining her white stockings completely red. Then he turned his horse around and brought the false bride back home. “She’s not the true bride either,” he said. “Don’t you have another daughter?”

  “No,” said the man, “there’s no one left but puny little Cinderella, the daughter of my first wife, but she can’t possibly become your bride.”

  The prince asked that she be sent for, but the mother said: “Oh no, she’s much too dirty to show her face.”

  The prince insisted, and Cinderella was summoned. First she washed her hands and face until they were completely clean, then she went and curtsied before the prince, who handed her the golden shoe. She sat down on a stool, took her foot out of the heavy wooden shoe, and put it into the slipper. It fit perfectly. And when she stood up and the prince looked her straight in the face, he recognized the beautiful girl with whom he had danced, and he shouted: “She is the true bride.”

  The stepmother and her two daughters were horrified, and they turned pale with rage. But the prince lifted Cinderella up on his horse and rode away with her. When they passed by the little hazel tree, the two little white doves called out:

  “Roo coo coo, roo coo coo,

  No blood at all in that shoe,

  The foot’s not long and not too wide,

  The true bride’s riding at his side.”

  After they had chanted those words, the doves both came flying over and perched on Cinderella’s shoulders, one on the right, the other on the left, and there they stayed.

  On the day of the wedding to the prince, the two false sisters came and tried to curry favor with Cinderella and share in her good fortune. When the bridal couple entered the church, the elder sister was on the right, the younger on the left. The doves pecked one eye from each sister. Later, when they left the church, the elder sister was on the left, the younger on the right. The doves pecked the other eye from each sister. And so they were punished for their wickedness and malice with blindness for the rest of their lives.

  MOTHER HOLLE

  here was once a widow who had two daughters. One of them was beautiful and hardworking, the other ugly and lazy. The woman was much fonder of the ugly, lazy girl, because she was her own daughter. The other one was forced to do all the work and became the Cinderella of the household. Every day that poor girl had to go sit down by a well near the roadside and spin for so long that her fingers would start bleeding.

  One day it happened that her spindle was covered with blood, and so she went over to the well to rinse it off. The spindle slipped out of her hands and fell all the way down to the bottom of the well. The girl burst into tears and ran home to tell the stepmother about her misfortune. The woman scolded her mercilessly and was so nasty that, in the end, she told her: “If you let the spindle drop into the well, then go back and get it.”

  The girl went back to the well and tried to figure out what to do. She was so terrified about having lost the spindle that she finally just jumped into the well to retrieve it. She lost consciousness down at the bottom, and when she came to her senses and woke up, she found that she was lying in a beautiful meadow. The sun was shining and there were thousands of lovely flowers around.

  The girl wandered around on the meadow and discovered in the middle of it an oven that was full of bread. The bread called out to her: “Take me out, take me out, otherwise I’ll burn. I was done a long time ago.” The girl went over to the oven, and took the loaves out, one at a time.

  The girl continued on her way until she came to a tree whose branches were heavy with apples. The tree called out to her: “Shake me, shake me, all of m
y apples are ripe and ready.” She shook the tree until the apples all came down as if it were raining fruit. She put the apples into a pile and continued on her way.

  Finally the girl arrived at a little house. At the window there was an old lady with teeth so huge that the girl got scared and wanted to run away. But the woman called after her: “What are you afraid of, dear child? Stay with me, and if you’re good about doing the household chores, you won’t be sorry. But you have to be sure to make my bed right and to shake the eiderdown so that the feathers start to fly. That’s how you get snow on earth. I am called Mother Holle.”

  The woman had spoken so gently with her that the girl felt encouraged and agreed to work for her. It was settled. She carried out all her chores to Mother Holle’s satisfaction, shaking the bed so vigorously that the feathers flew about like snowflakes. In return, her life was not unpleasant—there were no harsh words spoken, and every day there was meat on the table, boiled or roasted.

  The girl had been living with Mother Holle for a while when she began to feel sad. She wasn’t sure what the matter was, but she soon realized that she was feeling homesick. Even though she was a thousand times better off here than at home, still she longed to go back. Finally she said to Mother Holle: “I have a strange yearning to return home. I know that I’m better off here than back there, but I just can’t stay any longer. I have to see my family again.”

  Mother Holle replied: “I’m not at all angry that you’re asking to go back home. Since you served me so loyally, I’ll take you back myself.” She took the girl by the hand and guided her to a large gate. When the gate opened and the girl was passing through it, gold showered down on her, and it stuck to her so that she was covered with it from head to toe. “That’s your reward for working so hard,” said Mother Holle, and she gave her back the spindle that had fallen into the well. Then the gate closed, and suddenly the girl found herself back up on earth, not far from her mother’s house. When she got to the yard, a rooster was perched at the well, crowing:

  “Cock-a-doodle-doo, cock-a-doodle-doo,

  Golden-girl’s here and she’s well-to-do.”

  Then she went into the house, and since she was covered with gold, her mother and sister made a big fuss over her.

  The girl told them everything that had happened to her, and when the mother learned how she had come by such great wealth, she was anxious to bring the same good fortune to the ugly, lazy girl. She told her daughter to go over to the well and start spinning. To make the spindle bloody, the girl put her hand into a hedge of thorns and pricked her finger. Then she threw the spindle into the well and jumped in after it. Like her sister, she found herself on a beautiful meadow. But when she saw the oven with the bread crying: “Take me out, take me out, otherwise I’ll burn. I was done long ago,” the lazy girl replied: “Do you really think I want to get all dirty doing that?” And she kept going. Soon she came to the apple tree, which called out to her: “Shake me, shake me, all my apples are ripe and ready!” Here was her answer: “What are you thinking? Why would I want to get hit on the head?” And she kept on going. When she arrived at Mother Holle’s house, she was not at all afraid, for she had already learned that she had big teeth, and so right away she agreed to work for her.

  On the first day, she forced herself to work hard and did everything that Mother Holle told her to do, for she really wanted to get her hands on all that gold. On the second day, she began to take things a little easier. On the third, she took it even easier and decided to stay in bed. She even refused to make Mother Holle’s bed as she had promised, forgetting that she was supposed to shake it until the feathers flew around. Before long Mother Holle was fed up and ended her service. The lazy girl didn’t mind at all and was sure that gold would now rain down on her. Mother Holle took her to the gate, and when she passed through it, a cauldron of pitch—not gold—poured down over her head.

  “That’s the reward for your service,” Mother Holle said as she closed the gate.

  The lazy girl got back home, but she was covered with pitch, and when the rooster at the well saw her, he cried out:

  “Cock-a-doodle-doo, cock-a-doodle-doo,

  Tar-girl’s here and she needs shampoo.”

  But the pitch wouldn’t come off, and it stayed on her for the rest of her life.

  THE SEVEN RAVENS

  here once lived a man who had seven sons, and no matter how often he wished it, he still didn’t have a little daughter. Finally his wife gave him hope for another child, and when it was born, it turned out to be a little girl. There was great rejoicing, but the baby was so small and weak that she had to be baptized at home. The father told one of the boys to hurry off to the well to get some baptismal water. The other six boys ran after him, and when they got there, there was such a scramble to be the first to get the water that the pitcher fell into the well. They all stood there stunned, not knowing what to do and not daring to go back home.

  When the boys failed to return home, their father became impatient and said: “Those wicked boys must have forgotten what they were supposed to do. They’re probably playing games.” He was afraid that the girl would die unbaptized, and in his frustration, he cried out: “I wish those boys would all turn into ravens!” As soon as he finished the sentence, he heard a whirring sound over his head and looked up to see seven coal-black ravens flying off into the distance.

  It was too late to undo the curse, and no matter how sad the parents felt about the loss of their seven sons, they consoled themselves somewhat with their precious little daughter, who gained strength quickly and became more beautiful with each passing day.

  For a long time, the child was not aware that she had brothers, for the parents were careful not to mention them. But one day she happened to hear some people talking about her, saying that, as beautiful as she was, she was still the one responsible for the unfortunate fate of her seven brothers. Upon hearing this, she felt heartbroken and went to her father and mother to ask if she really did have some brothers and what had happened to them. Then the parents knew that they could no longer keep the secret from her, but they told her that the will of heaven had caused her brothers’ misfortune and her birth really had nothing to do with it. But day after day the girl’s conscience plagued her, and she believed that it was up to her to disenchant her brothers. She didn’t have a moment’s peace until finally she secretly decided to leave home and go out into the world to find her brothers and rescue them, no matter what it cost. All that she took with her was a little ring to remind her of her parents, a loaf of bread in case she got hungry, a jug of water in case she got thirsty, and a little stool in case she got tired.

  And so she started walking, and she traveled very far to the end of the world. She came to the sun, but it was way too hot and frightening, and besides it ate small children up. She ran away as fast as she could and went to the moon, but it was way too cold and also scary and evil, and when the moon saw the child, it said: “I smell something, and it’s human flesh.” The girl raced off as fast as she could and got to the stars, which were friendly and kind, and each one was sitting on its own little chair. The morning star stood up, handed her a wishbone, and said: “Unless you have this wishbone, you won’t be able to open up the glass mountain, and that’s the place where your brothers are living.”

  The girl took the wishbone, wrapped it up carefully in a cloth, and kept going until she reached the glass mountain. The gates were locked, and she was about to take out the wishbone, but when she took the cloth out, there was nothing in it, and she must have lost the gift given to her by the good star. What should she do now? She wanted desperately to save her brothers, but she no longer had the key to the glass mountain. The little sister took a knife, cut off her little finger, put it into the lock, and presto, it opened up. After she had walked in, a little dwarf came up to meet her and asked: “My dear child, what are you looking for?”

  �
�I’m looking for my brothers, the seven ravens,” she replied.

  The dwarf said: “My masters, the ravens, aren’t at home, but you can come in and wait for them until they return.” Then the dwarf carried in the food for the ravens on seven little plates and in seven little glasses. The little sister took a tiny bite from each little plate, and she took a little sip from each little cup. Then she dropped the ring she had brought with her into the last cup.

  All of a sudden she heard a whirring and fluttering of wings high up in the air, and the dwarf said: “My masters, the ravens, will be here in a minute.” They arrived just as he said, and they were so hungry and thirsty that they started looking for their plates and cups. One after another of them said: “Who’s been eating from my plate? Who’s been drinking from my cup? It must have been a human mouth.”

  When the seventh raven reached the bottom of his glass, the little ring rolled out. He took a good look at it and recognized that it was a ring belonging to his father and mother and said: “May God grant that our little sister be here. Then we would be saved.” Their sister was standing behind the door listening to every word, and when she heard what he said, she came out and all the ravens got back their human form. They hugged and kissed each other and went happily home.

  LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD

  nce upon a time there lived a dear little girl. Everyone who met her liked her, but the person who loved her best of all was her grandmother, and she was always giving her gifts. Once she made her a little hood of red velvet. It was so becoming to her that the girl wanted to wear it all the time, and so she came to be called Little Red Riding Hood.

  One day the girl’s mother said to her: “Little Red Riding Hood, here are some cakes and a bottle of wine. Take them to your grandmother. She’s ill and feels weak, and they will make her strong. You’d better start off now, before it gets too hot, and when you’re out in the woods, look straight ahead like a good little girl and don’t stray from the path. Otherwise you’ll fall and break the bottle, and then there’ll be nothing for Grandmother. And when you walk into her parlor, don’t forget to say good morning, and don’t go poking around in all the corners of the house.”