Grimm's Fairy Tales (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)

by Brothers Grimm

  “There I can help you,” said Dummling; “come with me, and you shall be satisfied.”

  He led him into the King’s cellar, and the man drank and drank away at the casks till his veins swelled; but before the day was out he had emptied all the wine-barrels. Dummling now demanded his bride again, but the King was vexed that such an ugly fellow, whom every one called Dummling, should take away his daughter, and he made a new condition that he must first find a man who could eat a whole mountain of bread. Dummling did not consider long, but set off into the forest, where, on the same spot as before, there sat a man, who was strapping his body round with a leather strap, and all the while making a horrible face, and saying, “I have eaten a whole ovenful of rolls; but what use is that, when one has such a hunger as I? My stomach remains empty still, and I must strap myself to prevent my dying of hunger!”

  At these words Dummling was glad, and said, “Get up, and come with me, and you shall eat enough to satisfy you.”

  He led him to the royal palace, where the King had collected all the meal in his whole kingdom, and had caused a huge mountain of bread to be baked with it. The man out of the wood, standing before it, began to eat, and in the course of the day the whole mountain had vanished.

  Dummling then, for the third time, demanded his bride, but the King began again to make fresh excuses, and desired a ship which could travel both on land and water.

  “So soon as you return blessed with that,” said the King, “you shall have my daughter for your bride.”

  Dummling went, as before, straight into the forest, and there he found the little old grey man to whom he had given his cake. When Dummling had said what he wanted, the old man gave him the vessel which could travel both on land and water, with these words, “Since I have eaten and drunk with you, I give you the ship, and all this I do because you were good-natured.”

  As soon now as the King saw the ship he could not any longer keep back his daughter, and the wedding was celebrated, and, after the King’s death, Dummling inherited the kingdom, and lived for a long time contentedly with his bride.

  Allerleirauh

  (MANY FURS)9

  There was once a King whose wife had golden hair, and was altogether so beautiful that her equal was not to be found in the world. It happened that she fell ill, and when she felt she must soon die she called the King, and said, “If you marry again after my death, take no one who is not as beautiful as I have been, nor who has not golden hair like mine, and this you must promise me.” After the King had promised she closed her eyes, and soon died.

  For a long time the King would not be comforted, and thought not of taking a second wife, but his councillors said at last that he must marry again. Then messengers were sent far and wide to seek such a bride as should be as beautiful as the late Queen, but there was no one to be found in the whole world so beautiful, and with such golden hair. So the messengers returned home without accomplishing anything.

  Now, the King had a daughter who was just as beautiful as her dead mother, and had also the same golden hair, and, as she grew up, the King saw how like she was to his lost wife. He fell passionately in love with her and told his councillors: “I am going to marry my daughter, for she is the living image of my dead wife, and I’ll never find another like her.” The councillors were horrified. “A father cannot marry his daughter,” they said. “It is forbidden by God. No good can come of such a sin, and the whole kingdom will be dragged down to ruin with you.” The daughter was even more terrified when she heard of her father’s decision, but hoped yet to turn him from his intention. So she said to him, “Before I fulfil your wish I must first have three dresses: one as golden as the sun, another as silver as the moon, and a third as shining as the stars; further, I desire a cloak composed of thousands of skins and hides, and to which every beast in your kingdom must contribute a portion of his skin.”

  The Princess thought this would be impossible to do, and so she should reclaim her father from his intention. But the King would not give it up, and the cleverest maidens in his kingdom had to weave the three dresses, one as golden as the sun, a second as silver as the moon, and a third as shining as the stars, while his Huntsmen had to catch all the beasts in the whole kingdom, and from each take a piece of his skin wherewith a mantle of a thousand pieces was made. At length, when all was ready, the King let the mantle be fetched, and, spreading it before him, said, “To-morrow shall the wedding be.”

  When the King’s daughter now saw that there was no hope left of turning her father from his resolve, she determined to flee away. In the night, while all slept, she got up and took three of her treasures, a golden ring, a gold spinning-wheel, and a gold reel; she put also in a nutshell the three dresses of the sun, moon, and stars, and, putting on the mantle of all skins, she dyed her hands and face black with soot. Then, commending herself to God, she set off and travelled the whole night till she came to a large wood, where, feeling very tired, she took refuge in a hollow tree, and went to sleep. The sun arose, and she still slept and slept on till it was again far into the morning. Then it happened that the King who owned this forest came to hunt in it. As soon as his dogs ran to the tree they snapped about it, barked, and growled, so that the King said to his Huntsmen, “See what wild animal it is that is concealed there.” The Hunters obeyed his orders, and, when they returned, they said, “In that hollow lies a wonderful creature whose like we have never before seen; its skin is composed of a thousand different colours, but it lies quite quiet and asleep.” The King said, “Try if you can catch it alive, and then bind it to the carriage, and we will take it with us.”

  As soon as the Hunters caught hold of the Maiden she awoke full of terror, and called out to them, “I am a poor child forsaken by both father and mother! pray pity me and take me with you!” They named her “Allerleirauh,”o because of her mantle, and took her home with them to serve in the kitchen, and rake out the ashes. They went to the royal palace, and there they showed her a little stable under the step where no daylight could enter, and told her she could live and sleep there. Afterwards she went into the kitchen, and there she had to carry water and wood to make the fire, to pluck the fowls, to peel the vegetables, to rake out the ashes, and to do all manner of dirty work.

  Here, for a length of time, Allerleirauh lived wretchedly; but it happened once that a feast was held in the palace, and she asked the Cook, “May I go and look on for a little while? I will place myself just outside the door.” The Cook said, “Yes, but in half an hour’s time you must return and rake out the ashes.”

  Allerleirauh took an oil-lamp, and, going to her stable, put off the gown of skins, and washed the soot from her face and hands so that her real beauty was displayed. Then she opened her nut, and took out the dress which shone as the sun, and as soon as she was ready she went up to the ball-room, where every one made way for her, supposing that she was certainly some Princess. The King himself soon came up to her, and, taking her hand, danced with her, thinking the while in his heart that he had never seen any one like her. As soon as the dance was finished she curtsied, and before the King could look round she had disappeared, and nobody knew whither. The Watchmen also at the gates were called and questioned, but they had not seen her.

  She had run back to her stable, and, having quickly taken off her dress, had again blackened her face and hands, and put on the dress of all skins, and became “Allerleirauh” once more. As soon as she went into the kitchen to do her work in sweeping up the ashes, the Cook said, “Let that be for once till the morning, and cook the King’s supper for me instead, while I go up stairs to have a peep; but mind you do not let one of your hairs fall in, or you will get nothing to eat for the future.”

  So saying, he went away, and Allerleirauh cooked the King’s supper, making some soup as good as she possibly could, and when it was ready she went into the stable, and fetched her gold ring, and laid it in the dish. When the dance was at an end, the King ordered his supper to be brought, which, when he had
tasted, he thought he had never eaten anything so nice before. Just as he nearly finished it he saw a gold ring at the bottom, and, not being able to imagine how it came there, he commanded the Cook to be brought before him. The Cook was terrified when he heard this order, and said to Allerleirauh, “Are you certain you did not let a hair fall into the soup, for if it is so, you will catch a beating?”

  Then he came before the King, who asked who had cooked the supper, and he answered, “I did.” But the King said, “That is not true; for it is of a much better kind and much better cooked than usual.” Then the Cook said, “I must confess that not I, but Allerleirauh, cooked it.” So the King commanded that she should be brought up.

  When Allerleirauh came, the King asked,—

  “Who are you?”

  “I am a poor child, without father or mother,” replied she.

  “Why did you come to my palace?” then inquired the King.

  “I am good for nothing else but to have the boots thrown at my head,” said she.

  The King asked again, “Where did you get this ring, then, which was in the soup?”

  Allerleirauh said, “I know nothing of it.” And, as she would say no more, she was at last sent away.

  After a time there was another ball, and Allerleirauh asked the Cook’s permission to go again and look on, and he consented, and told her, “Return here in half an hour to cook the King again the same soup which he liked so much before.”

  Allerleirauh ran into the stable, and, washing herself quickly, took out of the shell the dress which was silver as the moon, and put it on. Then she went up to the ballroom and appeared like a princess, and the King, stepping up to her, was very glad to see her again; and, as the dancing was just begun, they joined it. But as soon as it was over, his partner disappeared so quickly, that the King did not notice where she went. She ran to her stable and changed her garments again, and then went into the kitchen to make the soup. While the Cook was upstairs, she fetched the golden spinning-wheel and put it in the tureen, so that the soup was served up with it. Afterwards it was brought before the King, who ate it, and found it taste as good as the former; and the Cook was called, who was obliged to confess again that Allerleirauh had made it. Allerleirauh was accordingly taken before the King, but she repeated what she had before said, that she was of no use but to have boots thrown at her, and that she knew nothing of the gold spinning-wheel.

  Not long afterwards a third feôte was given by the King, at which everything went as before. The Cook said to Allerleirauh when she asked leave to go, “You are certainly a witch, and always put something in the soup which makes it taste better than mine. Still, since you beg so hard, you shall go at the usual time.” This time she put on the dress shining as the stars, and stepped with it into the ball-room. The King danced again with her, and thought he had never seen any maiden so beautiful, and while the dance went on he slipped the gold ring on to her finger without her perceiving it, and told the musicians to prolong the time. When at last it ended, he would have kept fast hold of her hand, but she tore herself away, and sprang so quickly in among the people that she disappeared from his sight. Allerleirauh ran as well as she could back to her stable; but she had stayed over and above the half hour, and she had not time to pull off her beautiful dress, but was obliged to throw over it her cloak of skins. She did not either quite finish the blacking of her skin, but left one finger white. Then she ran into the kitchen, cooked the soup for the King, and put in it the reel while the Cook stayed upstairs. Afterwards, when the King found the reel at the bottom of his soup, he summoned Allerleirauh, and perceived at once her white finger, and the ring which he had put on it during the dance. He took her by the hand, and held her fast, and when she tried to force herself from him and run away, her cloak of skins fell partly off, and the starry dress was displayed to view. The King then pulled the cloak wholly off, and down came her golden hair, and there she stood in all her beauty, and could no longer conceal herself. As soon, then, as the soot and ashes were washed off her face, she stood up and appeared more beautiful than any one could conceive possible on earth. But the King said to her, “You are my dear bride, and we will never separate from each other.” Thereupon was the wedding celebrated, and they lived happily to the end of their lives.

  The Three Luck-Children

  There was once upon a time a father who called his three sons to him, and gave the first a cock, the second a scythe, and the third a cat, and then addressed them thus:—“I am very old, and my end draweth nigh, but I wish to show my care for you before I die. Money I have not, and what I now give you appears of little worth; but do not think that, for if each of you use his gift carefully, and seek some country where such a thing is not known, your fortunes will be made.”

  Soon after the father died, and the eldest son set out on his travels with his cock, but wherever he came such a creature was already well known. In the towns he saw it from afar, sitting upon the church steeples, and turning itself round with the wind; and in the villages he heard more than one crow, and nobody troubled himself about another, so that it did not seem as if he would ever make his fortune by it! At last, however, it fell out that he arrived on an island where the people knew nothing about cocks, nor even how to divide their time. They knew certainly when it was evening and morning, but at night, if they did not sleep through it, they could not comprehend the time! “See,” said he to them, “what a proud creature it is, what a fine red crown it wears on its head, and it has spurs like a knight! Thrice during the night it will crow at certain hours, and the third time it calls you may know the sun will soon rise; but, if it crows by day, you may prepare then for a change of weather.”

  The good people were well pleased, and the whole night they lay awake and listened to the cock, which crowed loudly and clearly at two, four, and six o’clock. The next day they asked if the creature were not for sale, and how much he asked, and he replied, “As much gold as an ass can bear.” “A ridiculously small sum,” said they, “for such a marvellous creature!” and gave him readily what he asked.

  When he returned home with his money, his brothers were astonished, and the second said he would also go out and see what luck his scythe would bring him. But at first it did not seem likely that fortune would favour him, for all the countrymen he met carried equally good scythes upon their shoulders. At last, however, he also came to an island whose people were ignorant of the use of scythes, for when a field of corn was ripe, they planted great cannons and shot it down! In this way it was no uncommon thing that many of them shot quite over it; others hit the ears instead of the stalks, and shot them quite away, so that a great quantity was always ruined, and the most doleful lamentations ensued. But our hero, when he arrived, mowed way so silently and quickly that the people held their breath and noses with wonder, and willingly gave him what he desired, which was a horse laden with as much gold as it could carry.

  On his return the third brother set out with his cat to try his luck, and it happened to him exactly as it had done to the others: so long as he kept on the old roads he met with no place which did not already boast its cat; indeed so many were there that the new-born kittens were usually drowned. At last he voyaged to an island where, luckily for him, cats were unknown animals; and yet the mice were so numerous that they danced upon the tables and chairs, whether the master of the house were at home or not. These people complained continually of the plague, and the King himself knew not how to deliver them from it; for in every corner the mice were swarming, and destroyed what they could not carry away in their teeth. The cat however, on its arrival, commenced a grand hunt; and so soon cleared a couple of rooms of the troublesome visitors, that the people beg]ged the King to buy it for the use of his kingdom. The King gave willingly the price that was asked for the wonderful animal, and the third brother returned home with a still larger treasure, in the shape of a mule laden with gold.

  Meanwhile the cat was having capital sport in the royal palace with the mice, and
bit so many that the dead were not to be numbered. At last she became very thirsty with the hot work, and stopped, and, raising its head, cried, “Miau, miau!” At the unusual sound, the King, together with all his courtiers, was much frightened, and in terror they ran out of the castle. There the King held a council what it were best to do, and at length it was resolved to send a herald to the cat, to demand that it should quit the castle, or force would be used to make it. “For,” said the councillors, “we would rather be plagued by the mice, to which we are accustomed, then surrender ourselves a prey to this beast.” A page was accordingly sent to the cat to ask whether it would quit the castle in peace; but the cat, whose thirst had all the while been increasing, replied nothing but “Miau, miau!” The page understood it to say, “No, no!” and brought the King word accordingly. The councillors agreed then that it should feel their power, and cannons were brought out and fired so that the castle was presently in flames. When the fire reached the room where the cat was, it sprang out of the window, but the besiegers ceased not until the whole was levelled with the ground.

  The Wolf and the Fox

  A wolf, once upon a time, caught a Fox. It happened one day that they were both going through the forest, and the Wolf said to his companion, “Get me some food, or I will eat you up.”

  The Fox replied, “I know a farmyard where there are a couple of young lambs which, if you wish, we will fetch.”

  This proposal pleased the Wolf, so they went, and the Fox, stealing first one of the lambs, brought it to the Wolf, and then ran away. The Wolf devoured it quickly, but was not contented, and went to fetch the other lamb by himself, but he did it so awkwardly that he aroused the attention of the mother, who began to cry and bleat loudly, so that the peasants ran up. There they found the Wolf, and beat him so unmercifully that he ran, howling and limping, to the Fox and said, “You have led me to a nice place, for, when I went to fetch the other lamb, the peasants came and beat me terribly.”