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

by Brothers Grimm

  “All that is necessary for that,” said the Dwarf, “is, that you should light your pipe at the blue lamp, and immediately I shall present myself.” With these words the little man disappeared.

  Then the Soldier returned to the city from whence he first came, and, going to the head inn, ordered some fine clothes, and bade the landlord furnish him a room in the most expensive style. As soon as it was ready, the Soldier took possession of it, and summoned the black Dwarf, to whom he said, “The King of this city I served formerly for many years, faithfully, but he sent me away to suffer hunger, and now I will take my revenge.”

  “What shall I do then?” inquired the Dwarf. “Late in the evening, when the King’s daughter is asleep, you must fetch her out of her bed, and bring her here to wait upon me as my maid-servant.”

  The Dwarf expostulated with the Soldier, but to no purpose, telling him that though it would be an easy matter for him to bring her, it might cause him danger if it were found out. Accordingly, when twelve o’clock struck, the Dwarf appeared with the Princess. “Aha! you are there,” cried the Soldier, to the Princess; “come, fetch your brush and sweep the room.” When she had done that, he called her to his seat, and, stretching his feet out, bade her pull off his boots. This she did, and, as he threw the boots in her face, she was obliged to go and wash herself. But all was done by her with eyes half shut, without complaint or resistance; and at the first crow of the cock the Dwarf carried her back again to bed in the royal castle.

  The next morning when the Princess arose she went to her father, and told him what a curious dream she had had. “I was carried,” she said, “though the streets with lightning speed, and taken into the room of a soldier, whom I waited upon as his maid, even sweeping the room, and polishing his boots. But it was only a dream, and yet I am as tired as if I had really done all this work.”

  “The dream may have been real,” said the King, “and so I will give you this piece of advice. To-night, fill your pocket with peas, and make a hole in it, so that if you are fetched again, they will drop through as you go along, and leave a trace on the road.”

  While the King spoke this the Dwarf was standing by and overheard all he said; and at night he strewed peas in every street, so that those dropped by the Princess, as he carried her along, were no guide afterwards. The poor maiden had again to do all sorts of hard work till the first cock-crow, when the dwarf took her home to bed.

  The next morning the King sent out his servants to seek traces of his daughter’s journey: but it was all in vain, for in every street the children were picking up the peas and saying, “It has rained peas during the night.”

  “We must think of some other plan,” said the King, when his servants returned unsuccessful; and he advised his daughter to keep her shoes on when she went to bed; and then, if she were carried off, she must leave one behind in the room whither she was taken, and in the morning it should be searched after. But the black Dwarf again overheard the plan, and counselled the Soldier not to have the Princess that evening, for there was no remedy for the stratagem her father had planned. The Soldier however, would be obeyed, although the finding of the shoe would be a serious offence: and the poor Princess was obliged again to work like any servant; but she managed to conceal one of her shoes beneath the bed before she was taken back to the palace.

  The following morning the King ordered the whole city to be searched for his daughter’s shoe, and it was discovered in the room of the Soldier, who, however, at the entreaty of the Dwarf, had slipped out at the door. He was soon caught and thrown into prison, but, unfortunately, he had left behind his best possessions—the blue light and his gold, and had only a single ducat with him in his pocket. While he stood at the window of his cell, laden with chains, he perceived one of his old comrades passing by. So he knocked at the bars, and beckoned his comrade, whom he asked to go to the inn, and bring back a bundle which he had left behind, and he should receive a ducat for the service. The man ran away and soon returned with the wished-for bundle. As soon, then, as the Soldier was alone, he lighted his pipe and summoned up the Dwarf. “Be not afraid,” said the black mannikin; “go whither you are led and let everything happen as it may, only take with you the blue light.”

  The next day the Soldier was brought up to be tried, and although he had done no great wrong, he was condemned to death by the judge. When he was led out for execution, he begged a last favour of the King. “What is it?” asked the King. “Permit me to smoke one pipe before I die.” “You may smoke three if you please,” said the King; “but do not expect me to spare your life.” Thereupon the Soldier drew out his pipe and lighted it at the blue light; and before a couple of wreaths of smoke had ascended the Black Dwarf appeared, holding a little cudgel in his hand, and asked, “What are your commands, master?” “Knock down, first, the unjust judge, and his constables and do not spare the King even, who has treated me so shabbily.” The little Black Dwarf commenced wielding his cudgel, and at every blow down went a man, who never ventured to rise again. The King was terribly frightened when he saw this, and begged for mercy, but the Soldier only pardoned him on condition of his giving him his daughter to wife, and his kingdom to rule; and to this the unhappy King consented, for he had no choice.

  The Three Army Surgeons

  Three Army Surgeons were once on their travels confident that they had learnt their profession perfectly; and one day they arrived at an inn where they wished to pass the night. The landlord asked them whence they came and whither they were going; and one of them replied that they were travelling about in search of employment for their talents. “In what do your talents consist?” inquired the landlord. The first said he would cut off his hand, and in the morning put it on again without difficulty; the second said he would take out his eyes, and in the morning replace them without injury; and the third declared he would take out his own heart and put it back again.

  “Can you do these things?” said the landlord: “then indeed you are well taught.” But they had a salve which healed whatever it touched; and the bottle which contained it they always carried carefully with them. So the one cut off his hand, another took out his eyes, and the third cut out his heart as they had said, and gave them on a dish to the landlord, who delivered them to the servant to put them by in a cupboard till the morning. Now this servant had a sweetheart on the sly, who was a soldier; and he, coming in, wanted something to eat. As soon as the landlord and the Three Surgeons had gone to bed, the maid opened the cupboard and fetched her lover something; but in her hurry she forgot to shut the door again, and sat down to table with the soldier, and they made themselves merry. While she sat thus, apprehending no misfortune, the cat came slipping in, and, seeing the cupboard-door open, snatched the hand, heart and eyes of the Three Surgeons and ran away with them. As soon as the soldier had finished, the maid went to put the dish away in the cupboard and then perceived that the plate which her master had given into her care was gone. She was terribly frightened and exclaimed, “Oh! what will become of me? the hand is gone, the heart is gone, and the eyes too; how shall I manage in the morning?” “Be quiet,” said her sweetheart, “I will help you out of your difficulty; on the gallows outside hangs a thief, whose hand I can cut off; which was it?” “The right,” said she, and gave him a sharp knife, with which he went and cut off the right hand of the criminal, and brought it in. Then he caught the cat and took out her eyes; but what was to be done for the heart? “Did you not kill a pig to-day and put the carcass in the cellar?” asked the soldier. “Yes,” said the maid. “Then that is just the thing,” returned the soldier; “go and fetch the heart from it.” The servant did so, and they placed all three on the plate and put them in the cupboard, and then her sweetheart having taken leave, the maid went to bed.

  On the morrow when the three Army Surgeons were up, they bade the servant fetch the plate, on which lay the hand, heart, and eyes. She brought it from the cupboard, and the first man spread the hand with his salve, and immediately it j
oined as if it had grown there. The second took up the cat’s eyes and placed them in his head, while the third put the pig’s heart where his own came from. The landlord meanwhile stood by, wondering at their learning, and saying he would never have believed them had he not seen what they did. Afterwards they paid their bill and went away.

  They had not gone far before he with the pig’s heart began to run about and snuff in every corner after the manner of swine. The others tried to hold him by the coat, but it was of no use, he would run about among the thickest brush-wood. The second Surgeon all this while kept rubbing his eyes and could not make out what was amiss. “What have I done?” said he to his comrades; “these are not my eyes, I cannot see; you must lead me, or I shall fall.” So they travelled till evening with great trouble to themselves, when they came to another inn. They stepped into the parlour, and there in the corner sat a rich man at a table, counting his money. The Surgeon with the thief’s hand went up to him and peered at him, and as soon as his back was turned, made a grasp at the gold and took a handful. “For shame, comrade,” cried the others; “you must not steal; what are you doing?” “Oh, how can I help myself?” he asked; “my hand is drawn to it, and I must take it whether I will or not!” Soon after this they went to bed, and it was so dark that one could not see his hand before his eyes. All at once the Surgeon with the cat’s eyes woke up, and disturbing the others, cried out, “See, see, how the white mice are running about in the room!” The two others thereupon raised their heads, but they could see nothing. “It is evident to me now,” said the first Surgeon, “that we have not got our own, we must go back to the landlord who deceived us.”

  The following morning they rode back to the first inn, and told the landlord they had not received their own things again, for one had got a thief’s hand, another a pig’s heart, and a third a cat’s eyes. The landlord thereupon went to call the servant-maid, but she had escaped out of the backdoor as soon as she saw the Surgeons coming, and did not return. The three now threatened to set fire to the house if the landlord did not give them a large sum of money; and the poor man was compelled to give them all he could scrape together, with which they went away. But although they had enough to last them their lifetime, each would rather have had his own hand, heart, or eyes than all the money in the world.

  Ferdinand the Faithful and Ferdinand the Unfaithful

  Once upon a time there lived a certain Man and his Wife who as long as they were in prosperous circumstances were blessed with no children, but as soon as poverty came upon them a little boy was born to them. They were now so poor that they could get no one to stand godfather to their child, and the Man determined he would go to another town and seek one. On his way he met a poor man, who inquired whither he was going, and he told him he was in search of some one to be sponsor to his son. “Oh!” said the poor man, “you are in distress, and I also! I will be godfather to your child, although I am too poor to give him any gift; go tell your wife and let her come to the church with the child.” As soon as they got there the beggar said the name of the boy should be Ferdinand the Faithful; and so he was baptized.

  When they came away from the church the beggar said to the Mother, “I cannot go with you because I have nothing to give you, nor you to me; but take this key and let your husband take care of it till your boy is fourteen years old; and at that age he must go up the hill, and he will there come to a castle to which this key belongs and whatever is in the castle it shall be his.”

  When the boy reached the age of seven, he was once playing with other children, and they teased him and said he had received no present from his godfather as they had all done. Thereupon the boy went to his father and asked him whether what they said was true. “Oh! no,” replied the father, “your godfather left a key for you which unlocks a castle which you will find up the hill.” The boy went up, but no castle was to be seen or heard of; but by-and-by, when another seven years had passed, he went up again, and there saw the castle. As soon as he unlocked it he found a horse in a stable, and this so pleased him that he mounted it and rode back to his father, saying, “Now, I have got a steed, I will travel.”

  So he went off, and on the roadside he found a shepherd whom he thought at first of taking with him, but he resolved not to do so, and rode on. But as he passed, the man called, “Ferdinand the Faithful, take me with you.” So he went back and took him up behind him. After they had ridden a little way they came to a lake on the shore of which a fish was lying gasping in agony. “Ah! my good fish,” cried Ferdinand, “I must help you back into the water;” and, taking it up, he threw it in, and the Fish called out as it fell into the water, “Now since you have assisted me when I was in trouble I will also help you; take this reed pipe, and when you are in need blow thereon, and I will come; and if you chance to fall into the water I will help you out.” After this Ferdinand rode on, and by-and-by he asked his companion whither he would go. “To the nearest place; but what is your name?” “Ferdinand the Faithful.” “Indeed,” replied the other; “then your name is like mine, for I am called Ferdinand the Unfaithful.” So they rode on to the nearest place and stopped at the first inn.

  Now, it was unfortunate that Ferdinand the Unfaithful came there, for he knew all manner of evil tricks. There was at this inn a maiden fair-faced and clear-eyed who took a liking to Ferdinand the Faithful as soon as he came, because he was handsome and cheerful, and she asked him where he was going. When he had told her he was travelling about, she advised him to stop where he was, for the King needed good servants and couriers, and he was just the sort of man for him. At first he refused to hear about the matter, and said he must go on; so the maiden went herself to the King and said she knew of a good servant. The King bade her bring him before him; and as he had a horse which he said he could not part with on any account the King made him his courier. As soon then as Ferdinand the Unfaithful heard of this, he asked the maiden if she could not assist him also; and, willing to oblige both, she went to the King and got him a place in the royal household also.

  A morning or two after their arrival the King awoke groaning and lamenting that his dear bride was not with him. As soon as Ferdinand the Unfaithful heard this, he went to the King (because all along he had a spite against Ferdinand the Faithful) and advised him to send a messenger after her. “You have a courier,” he said; “why not send him off to fetch her back? and if he does not bring her let his head pay the forfeit!” Thereupon the King summoned Ferdinand the Faithful and ordered him on pain of death to bring back his beloved bride from the place where she was.

  Ferdinand went into the stable to his favourite horse, and began to groan and weep, “Oh! what an unlucky man am I!” The Horse thereupon began to speak, and asked him what was the matter? Ferdinand was astonished to hear the horse speak, and exclaimed, “What, Schummel, can you talk? Know, then, that I have to fetch the King’s bride and know not where to go.” Schummel replied, “Go you to the King, and tell him that, if he will give you what you ask, you will fetch his bride; but it must be a shipful of meat and another full of bread, for there are giants across the lake where you must go, who would eat you if you brought no meat, and there are birds also who would peck out your eyes if you took no bread.”

  Ferdinand went and told the King, who caused all the butchers to kill and dress meat, and all the bakers to make loaves, with which two ships were filled. As soon as these were ready, Schummel said to Ferdinand, “Now take me with you in the ship, and set sail, and when we come to the Giants, say to them,

  “ ‘Peace be with you, Giants, dear.

  For I have brought you, never fear,

  A good supply of fleshly cheer!’

  “And when the Birds come, say,

  “ ‘Peace be with you, Ravens, dear,

  For I have brought you, never fear,

  A good supply of baker’s cheer!’

  “With these words they will be satisfied and leave you, and when you come to the castle, the Giants will help you; and two of
them will go with you to where the Princess sleeps, whom the King wants. You must not awaken her, but the Giants must take her up in her bed, and carry her to the ship.”

  All this happened precisely as the Horse said, and Ferdinand the Faithful gave the Giants and the Birds what he had brought with him, and thereupon the Giants were satisfied, and brought the Princess to the King. As soon as she came, she said she must have her letters, which were left behind at the castle, and the King ordered Ferdinand the Faithful to fetch them, on pain of death.

  Ferdinand went again into the stable, and told his horse what duty he had to perform, and Schummel advised him to load the ships as before and sail to the castle. This he did, and the Giants and Birds were satisfied a second time; and when they arrived at the castle, Schummel told Ferdinand where the sleeping chamber of the Princess was, and he went up and fetched the packet of letters. On their way back Ferdinand unluckily dropped the letters into the water, and Schummel said, “Alas! alas! I cannot help you now!” Then Ferdinand bethought himself of his reed pipe, and began to blow it, and presently the fish which he had formerly saved made its appearance, carrying in its mouth the letters, which it delivered to its preserver. After this they brought home the letters safely to the palace where the wedding was about to be held.

  Now, the Queen did not love the King much, because he had a small nose, but she took a great fancy to Ferdinand the Faithful. And once, when all the court was assembled, the Queen said she knew some curious arts. She could cut off a person’s head and put it on again, without doing him any harm. When Ferdinand the Unfaithful heard this, he suggested that she should make the experiment on Ferdinand the Faithful. And so, after a while, she did; and after cutting off his head, put it on again, and it healed up, so that only a red mark was visible round the neck. “Where did you learn to do that, my child?” asked the King. “Oh, I understand it well enough,” she replied; “shall I experiment on you?” The King consented, but when she had cut off his head she would not put it on again; and after the lapse of some time she married Ferdinand the Faithful.