Grimm's Fairy Tales (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)
Page 33
“Why are you such a glutton?” asked the Fox.
The next day they went again into the fields, and the covetous Wolf said to the Fox, “Get me something to eat now, or I will devour you!”
The Fox said that he knew a country house where the cook was going that evening to make some pancakes, and thither they went. When they arrived, the Fox sneaked and crept round the house, until he at last discovered where the dish was standing, out of which he drew six pancakes, and took them to the Wolf, saying, “There is something for you to eat!” and then ran away. The Wolf despatched these in a minute or two, and, wishing to taste some more, he went and seized the dish, but took it away so hurriedly that it broke in pieces. The noise of its fall brought out the woman, who, as soon as she saw the Wolf, called her people, who, hastening up, beat him with such a good will that he ran home to the Fox, howling, with two lame legs! “What a dirty place have you drawn me into now!” cried he; “the peasants have caught me, and dressed my skin finely!”
“Why, then, are you such a glutton?” said the Fox.
When they went out again the third day, the Wolf limping along with weariness, he said to the Fox, “Get me something to eat now, or I will devour you!”
The Fox said he knew a man who had just killed a pig, and salted the meat down in a cask in his cellar, and that they could get at it. The Wolf replied that he would go with him on condition that he helped him if he could not escape. “Oh, of course I will, on mine own account!” said the Fox, and showed him the tricks and ways by which they could get into the cellar. When they went in there was meat in abundance, and the Wolf was enraptured at the sight. The Fox, too, had a taste, but kept looking round while eating, and ran frequently to the hole by which they had entered, to see if his body would slip through it easily. Presently the Wolf asked, “Why are you running about so, you Fox, and jumping in and out?” “I want to see if any one is coming,” replied the Fox, cunningly; “but mind you do not eat too much!”
The Wolf said he would not leave till the cask was quite empty; and meanwhile the peasant, who had heard the noise made by the Fox, entered the cellar. The Fox, as soon as he saw him, made a spring, and was through the hole in a jiffy; and the Wolf tried to follow his example, but he had eaten so much that his body was too big for the hole, and he stuck fast. Then came the peasant with a cudgel, and beat him to death; but the Fox leapt away into the forest, very glad to get rid of the old glutton.
The Pink
Once upon a time there lived a Queen who had been denied children hitherto, but every morning she went into the garden and prayed to God that he would grant her a son or a daughter. And once an Angel came down and said to her, “Be satisfied! you shall have a son gifted with this power: whatsoever he wishes for in this world shall be given unto him.”
The Queen went directly to the King, and told him the joyful message; and when the time arrived she bore a son, and the King rejoiced exceedingly.
Now, the Queen went every morning into the park with her child, and washed it at a clear spring which flowed there. One day she fell asleep with the child in her lap, and the old Cook, who knew that the child possessed wishing powers, took it from her; and, killing a fowl, sprinkled the blood upon the Queen’s apron and clothes. Then he carried the child away to a secret place, where a nurse took charge of it, and then ran to the King, and stated that the Queen had allowed her son to be torn from her by the wild beasts. The King, when he saw the blood upon her apron, believed the tale, and fell in such a rage that he caused a high tower to be built, into which neither sun nor moon shone, and therein he shut up his wife, to stay there for seven years without meat or drink, and so perish. But two white doves flew daily twice to her with food during the whole seven years.
But the Cook thought to himself, “Since this child has the gift of wishing, it may bring me into misfortune if I stop here;” and so he left the castle and went to the child, who had already grown so much that he could speak. He told the child to wish for a noble house, with a garden, and all appurtenances; and scarcely were the words out of his mouth before all appeared. After a time had elapsed the Cook said to the boy, “It is not good for you to be so alone; therefore wish for a beautiful maiden to bear you company.” This also the boy did, and immediately there stood before him one more beautiful than any painter could depict. The two children played together, and grew to love each other much, while the old Cook went daily to hunt like any gentleman. By-and-by, however, the thought occurred to him that perhaps the young Prince might wish to be with his father, and so bring him into great trouble, and to prevent that he took the maiden aside one day, and said to her, “To-night, when the boy sleeps, stick this dagger into his heart, and cut out his tongue; and if you do not do it your own life shall be sacrificed.”
So saying, he went out as usual, and when he returned the next day she had not done it, and excused herself by saying, “What! shall I take the life of an innocent youth who has never yet injured any one?”
“If you do not,” said the Cook, “your own life shall pay the forfeit!”
Afterwards, when he was gone out, the maiden had a little calf fetched, and killed, and its heart and tongue taken out, which she laid upon a plate, and, when she saw the old Cook return, she told the youth to get into bed and draw the covering over him.
Soon the old wretch came in, and asked, “Where is the heart and tongue of the boy?” The maiden reached him the plate, but the Prince threw off the covering and cried, “You old sinner! why would you have killed me? now I will pronounce your sentence. You shall become a black poodle-dog, and wear a golden chain about your neck, and swallow live coals, so that you shall breathe out fire.”
As soon as he had spoken these words, the Cook took the form of a poodle-dog, and had a golden chain round his neck, and when he ate live coals a flame burst out of his mouth. The King’s son remained in the palace a short time, but soon remembered his mother, and wondered if she were yet alive. And at last he said to the maiden, “I must go home to my father, and if you will go with me I will take care of you.”
“Alas!” she replied, “the way is too far, and what shall I do in a strange land where I am unknown?”
But the young Prince would not depart without her, and when he found her inflexible he wished her into a beautiful pink,p and carried her away in that form. The dog had to run behind, and so they travelled to their native land. There he went to the tower where his mother dwelt, and as it was so lofty he wished for a ladder which reached to the top. Then he mounted, and, looking in, called, “Dearest mother, lady Queen, are you yet alive, or are you dead?”
The Queen replied, “I have just eaten, and am satisfied;” for she thought it was the dove who spoke.
But the prince said, “I am your dear son, whom the wild beasts were said to have stolen from your lap, but I am yet alive, and will soon rescue you.”
So saying, he went down, and came to his father’s palace, and caused himself to be announced as a huntsman who desired to enter the King’s service. The King answered, that he might do so if he could procure any venison, but he himself had not been able to find any in any part of his territories. Then the huntsman promised to procure him as many deer as he could use for the royal table, and caused all the others to be summoned to accompany him. So they went out, and the young Prince bade them enclose a large circle, open at one end, in the middle of which he placed himself, and began to wish. Soon two hundred and odd head of game ran into the circle, at which the huntsmen began to shoot. All these were heaped upon sixty carts, and driven home to the king, who once more, after a long interval, was enabled to garnish his table with venison.
The King therefore received the game with great satisfaction, and ordered that on the following day his whole court should dine with him at a great festival. When they were assembled, he said to the young huntsman, “Since you are so clever, you must sit next me;” but he replied, “May it please your majesty to excuse me, I am but a poor huntsman.”
But the King said, “She suffered my beloved son to be torn away by wild beasts, and I will hear nothing of her.”
At these words the huntsman got up and said, “My dear and gracious father, she is still alive, and I am her son, for the wild beasts did not take me away, but that wretch the Cook took me out of her lap when she was asleep, and sprinkled the blood of a hen over her apron.”
Thereupon he took up the dog with the golden necklace, and said, “This is the wretch!” and he ordered live coals to be brought, which he was forced to eat in the presence of all, so that the flames burst out of his mouth. Then he changed him back into his right form again, and there stood the Cook with his white apron on, and his knife by his side. As soon as the King recognised him he became terribly angry, and ordered him to be thrown into the deepest dungeon of the castle. Then the young Prince asked his father whether he would see the maiden who had treated him so tenderly, and had saved his life at the peril of her own, and the King replied, “Yes, most willingly.” “I will show you her first in the form of a flower,” said the Prince, and searching in his bosom he took out the pink, and placed it upon the royal table, and all confessed they had never seen so beautiful a flower. “Now I will show you the real maiden,” said the Prince, and, wishing again, she stood before all, and appeared more beautiful than any artist could have painted.
After this the King sent two men of the household, and two attendants, up into the tower, to fetch the Queen and bring her to the royal table. But as soon as she was led in she ceased to eat, and murmured, “The all-gracious and all-merciful God who preserved me in the tower will soon release me!” For three days after this she lingered, and then she died happily; and, when she was buried, two white doves followed her, which were those which had brought her food in the tower, and after her burial they hovered above her grave in the form of two angels from heaven.
But the old King grieved at heart for her for some time, and at length died, and the young King then married the beautiful maiden whom he had cherished in his bosom as a flower; but whether they yet live is not known to me.
The Clever Grethel
Once upon a time there was a Cook who wore shoes with red knots, and when she went out with them on she used to figure her feet about here and there, and then say to herself, quite complacently, “Ah, you are still a pretty girl!” And when she came home she drank a glass of wine for joy, and, as the wine made her wish to eat, she used to look out the best she had, and excuse herself by saying, “The Cook ought to know how her cooking tastes.”
One day it happened that the master said to her, “Grethel, this evening a guest is coming, so cook me two fowls.” “I will do it directly, master,” replied Grethel. She soon killed the fowls, plucked, dressed, and spitted them, and, as evening came on, she put them down to the fire to roast. They soon began to brown and warm through, but still the guest was not come, and Grethel said to the master, “If your guest does not come soon I shall have to take the fowls from the fire, but it will be a great shame not to eat them soon, when they are just in the gravy.”
The master agreed, therefore, to run out himself and bring home his guest; and, as soon as he had turned his back, Grethel laid aside the spit, with its two fowls, and thought to herself, “Ah, I have stood so long before the fire, I am quite hot and thirsty; who knows when he will come? Meanwhile I will run down into the cellar and have a draught.”
Grethel ran down the stairs and filled a jug, and, saying “God bless you, Grethel!” took a good pull at the beer, and when that was done she had another draught. Then she went up again, and placed the fowls before the fire, and turned the spit round quite merrily, first spreading some butter over their skins. However, the roasting fowls smelt so well that Grethel thought she had better try how they tasted; and so she dipped her finger into the gravy, and said, “Ah, how good these fowls are! it is a sin and shame that they should not be eaten at once!” She ran to the window, therefore, to see if her master was yet coming with his guest, but there was nobody, and she turned again to the fowls. “Ah, one wing is burnt!” said she, “I had better eat that!” and, cutting it off, she ate it. But then she thought, “Master will see that something is wanting, I had better take the other!” When she had finished the two wings, she went again to see whether her master was coming, but without success. “Who knows,” said she, “whether they will come or not? and perhaps they are stopping where they are. Come, Grethel, be of good courage! the one is begun, have another drink, and then eat it up completely, for when it is all done you will be at rest, and besides, why should the good things be spoiled?” So thinking, Grethel ran once more into the cellar, took a capital drink, and then ate up one fowl with great pleasure. As soon as it was down, and the master still had not returned, Grethel looked at the other fowl, and said, “Where the one is, the other ought to be also; the two belong to one another; what is right for the one is right for the other; I believe if I take another draught it will not hurt me.” So saying, she took a hearty drink, and let the second fowl slip down after the other.
Just as she was in the best of the eating, the master came running up, and called, “Make haste, Grethel! the guest is coming directly!”
“Yes, master,” said she, “it will soon be ready.”
The master went in to see if the table were properly laid, and, taking up the great knife wherewith he was to carve the fowls, he went to sharpen it upon the stones. Meantime came the guest, and knocked politely at the door. Grethel ran to see who it was; and, when she perceived the guest, she held her finger to her mouth to enjoin silence, and said, “Make haste quickly away! if my master discovers you here, you are lost! he certainly did invite you here to supper, but he has it in his mind to cut off your ears; just listen now how he is sharpening his knife!”
The guest listened to the sound, and then hurried down the steps as fast as he could, while Grethel ran screaming to her master, and said to him, “You have invited a fine guest!”
“Eh! what?” said he, “what do you mean?”
“Why,” replied Grethel, “just as I was about to serve them up, your guest has taken the two fowls from off the dish, and bolted away with them!”
“That is fine manners, certainly!” said the master, grieved for his fine fowls, “if he had but left me one at the least, that I might have had something to eat!” Then he called after his guest, who pretended not to hear him; and so he pursued him, knife in hand, calling out, “Only one! only one!” meaning that his guest should leave one fowl behind him; but the latter supposed that his host meant that he would only cut off one ear, and so he ran faster and faster, as if fire were at his heels, that he might reach home safe and sound.
The Gold Children
Once upon a time there was a poor Man and his Wife, who had nothing in the world but their hut, and they lived from hand to mouth by catching fish. But once it happened that the man, sitting by the water’s edge, threw in his net and drew out a golden Fish. And while he was looking at the fish with great wonderment, it exclaimed, “Do you hear, fisherman? throw me back into the water, and I will change your hut into a fine castle.” But the Fisherman replied, “What use is a castle to me if I have nothing to eat?” “That is taken care about,” rejoined the Fish, “for in the castle you will find a cupboard which, on opening, you will see full of dishes of the most delicate food, and as much as you like.”
“Well, if that be so,” said the Man, “you shall soon have your wish.”
“Yes,” said the Fish, “but there is one condition: that you disclose to nobody in the w
orld, whoever he may be, from whence your luck comes, for if you speak a single word about it, all will be lost.”
The Man threw the wonderful Fish back into the water and went home, and where formerly stood his hut was a large castle. The sight made him open his eyes, and, stepping in, he found his Wife dressed out in costly clothes, sitting in a magnificent room. She appeared very much pleased, and said, “Husband, how has all this happened? this is very nice!”
“Yes,” replied her Husband, “it pleases me also; but now I am tremendously hungry, so give me something to eat.”
His Wife said, “I have got nothing, and I am sure I do not know where to find any food in this new house!”
“Oh! there is a great cupboard; open that,” said the Husband; and, as soon as she did so, behold! there were cakes, meat, fruit, and wine. At the sight of these the Wife laughed exultingly, and cried, “What else can you wish for now, my dear?” and she and he commenced eating and drinking at once. But, when they had had enough, the Wife asked, “Now, my husband, whence comes all this?” “Ah,” he replied, “do not ask me! I dare not tell you, for if I let out the secret to any one our fortune will fly.” “Well, if I may not know, I am sure I do not want,” replied she; but she was not in earnest, and let him have no peace night or day, teasing and tormenting him so long, till at last, in a fit of impatience, he let out that all their fortune came from a golden Fish which he had caught and set at liberty again. Scarcely were the words out of his mouth when all the fine castle, with its cupboard, disappeared, and they found themselves again in their old hut.