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

by Brothers Grimm

  The Little Lamb and the Little Fish

  Once upon a time there were a Brother and Sister who loved one another very much. Their own mother was dead, but they had a stepmother who was very unkind to them, and did them privately all the injury she could. One day it happened that the two were playing with other children on the meadow before their house, in the middle of which was a pond which ran past one side of the house. Round this the children used to run, joining hands and singing,

  “Eneke, Beneke, let me go,

  And I will give my bird to you;

  The bird shall fetch of straw a bunch,

  And that the cow shall have to munch;

  The cow shall give me milk so sweet,

  And that I’ll to the baker take;

  Who with it shall a small cake bake;

  The cake the cat shall have to eat,

  And for it catch a mouse for me,

  Which I will turn to sausage meat,

  And cut it all to pieces!”

  While they sang they ran round and round, and upon whom the word “pieces” fell he had to run away, and the others must pursue him and catch him. The old Stepmother stood at her window and watched the game, which vexed her very much; but, as she understood witches’ arts, she wished that both of the children might be changed, the one into a lamb and the other into a fish. Thereupon the Brother swam round the pond in the form of a fish, and the Sister trotted to and fro on the meadow, sorrowful and unhappy, and would not eat or touch a single blade of grass. Thus a long time passed, till one day foreign strangers came to the castle on a visit. “Now is a good opportunity!” thought the Step-mother, and called the cook, and bade him fetch the lamb out of the meadow, for there was nothing else for the visitors. The cook went for the lamb, and leading it into the kitchen, tied it by the foot, that it might suffer patiently. While he went for his knife, and was sharpening it on the grindstone, to kill the poor animal with, a little fish swam up the gutter to the sink, and looked at him. But this fish was the Brother, and he had seen the cook carry away his lamb, and had swum from the pond to the house. When the lamb saw him, she cried,

  “Ah! my brother in the pond,

  Woe is in my heart so fond!

  The cook is sharpening now his knife,

  To take away my tender life!”

  The fish replied:—

  “Ah! my sister; woe is me,

  That I am far away from thee!

  Swimming in this deep, deep sea!”

  When the cook heard the lamb speaking, and observed the sorrowful words which she said to the fish, he was frightened, for he thought it could not be a natural animal, but had been bewitched by the wicked woman in the house. So he said to the lamb, “Be still, I will not kill you!” And with these words he fetched another lamb and dressed it for the guests. Then he took the lamb to a good honest countrywoman, and told her all he had seen and heard. Now, this woman was in former days the nurse of the two children, and she conjectured what had really taken place, and went with them to a wise woman. This latter said a blessing over the lamb and fish, and thereby they regained their natural forms. Then the little Brother and Sister went into the forest and built for themselves a little cottage, in which they lived happily and contentedly, though alone.

  Simeli Mountain13

  Once upon a time there lived two Brothers, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man, however, gave nothing to the poor one, who earned a miserable living by treading in corn; and sometimes he was so badly off that he had no bread for his wife or children. Once he was trundling his barrow through the forest, and suddenly he perceived on one side of the road a great mountain, naked and uncultivated; and, because he had never observed it before, he stopped in astonishment. As he stood thus, twelve great Wild Men came up, and, thinking they were robbers, he pushed his barrow among the brushwood, and climbed up a tree to watch their proceedings. The twelve men went up to a mountain and exclaimed, “Semsi-Mountain, Semsi-Mountain, open!” Immediately the hill parted in two, and the twelve men entering it closed again as soon as they had done so. In a little while the mountain opened, and the men came out carrying heavy sacks on their shoulders, and as soon as they had all emerged into daylight they said, “Semsi-Mountain, Semsi-Mountain, shut yourself up!” Then the hill closed directly, and there was no opening to be seen, and the twelve men went away. When they were out of sight the poor man descended from the tree, feeling curious to know what was hidden in the mountain. So he went up and said, “Semsi-Mountain, Semsi-Mountain, open!” It opened directly, and stepping in he found the hill was hollow and filled with gold and silver, and in the further part of it heaps of pearls and precious stones were accumulated like corn. The poor man did not know what to take, for there were so many treasures to choose from; at length he filled his pockets with gold and silver, and let alone the pearls and precious stones. As soon as he got outside again he said the words, “Semsi-Mountain, close up!” and immediately all appeared as if there were no opening to be made. He went home with his barrow, and had now no cares to trouble him, for with his gold he could buy bread and wine for his wife and children; and could afford to live freely and liberally, besides giving to the poor and doing good to everybody. But when his money came to an end he went to his brother, and borrowed a measure, with which he fetched more money, but touched none of the precious stones. A third time he borrowed this measure, but this time his brother’s cupidity was excited, for the rich man had for a long while been dissatisfied with his property, and his already beautiful house, and he could not conceive where his Brother got so well paid, or what he did with the measure. So he bethought himself of a stratagem, and spread the bottom of the measure with pitch; and, when his brother returned to him, he found a gold piece sticking in it. Thereupon he went to his Brother, and asked him what he had measured with the measure. “Corn and beans,” said the other. Then the rich man showed the gold piece, and threatened his Brother if he did not tell the truth to take him before the sheriff. The poor Brother therefore related all that happened, and the rich man, harnessing his horses to his carriage, went away, determined to profit by the circumstance, and bring home greater treasures. As soon as he came to the mountain he called out, “Semsi-Mountain, Semsi-Mountain, open!” The hill opened immediately, and he went in. There lay all the treasures before him, and for a long while he stood considering what he should take. At length he seized the precious stones and took as much as he could carry; but when he wanted to leave the mountain he had forgotten its name, for his heart and mind were full of the treasures which he had seen. “Simeli Mountain, Simeli Mountain, open!” he cried; but that was not the right name, and the mountain moved not, but remained closed. Soon he became terrified, but the longer he thought the more bewildered he became, and all his treasures availed nothing. In the evening, however, the mountain opened, and the twelve robbers came in, and as soon as they saw the rich man they laughed and exclaimed, “Ah! have we caught you at last, my bird? did you think we had not remarked your two previous visits, when we could not catch you? but this time you will not go out again.”

  “It was not me, but my Brother,” cried the rich man; but his protestations were of no use, and beg as he might for his life, they had no mercy, but cut off his head.

  Going Out A-Traveling

  Once upon a time there was a poor Woman who had a Son so very fond of travelling that his mother used to say to him, “Where can you ride, when you have no money to take with you?” “I can help myself well,” said the Son; “and all day long I will say, ‘Not much, not much, not much!’ ”

  So he travelled a whole day and kept saying, “Not much, not much, not much!” By-and-by he came to a Fisherman, to whom he said, “God help you, not much!” “How say you, fellow?” cried the Fisherman, “not much!” When he drew out the net there were very few fish, and taking up a stick he beat the Youth, saying, “Have you never seen me thrash?” “What shall I say, then?” asked the Youth. “A good catch, a good catch, a good catch!”
>
  Thereupon the Youth walked a whole day long, crying, “A good catch!” till he came to a gallows, where they were about to hang up a poor Criminal. “Good morning!” said the Youth, “a good catch, a good catch!” “What do you say, fellow?” said the Criminal; “shall there not be a bad man in the world? is one not enough?” So saying he went up the ladder. “What shall I say, then?” asked the Youth. “You should say, ‘God comfort a poor soul!’ ”

  The next day accordingly the Youth walked all day long, repeating, “God comfort a poor soul!” Presently he came to a grave, whereby stood a Knacker about to kill an old horse. “Good morning! God comfort the poor soul!” said the Youth. “What do you say, you silly fellow?” said the Knacker, giving the Youth a blow on the ear, so that he could scarce see out of his eyes. “What shall I say, then?” “You should say, ‘There lies a carcass in its grave!’ ”

  So all the next day the Youth went on, saying, “There lies a carcass in its grave!” Presently he met a wagon full of people. “Good morning! there lies a carcass in its grave!” said the Youth. As he spoke the wagon fell into the grave, and the driver, jumping off, gave the Youth a cut with his whip, and drove him home to his Mother.

  And all his life long afterwards he never went out a travelling.

  The Little Ass

  Once upon a time there lived a King and Queen, who were very rich, and possessed all they desired, but children. On this account the Queen used to cry and groan all day long, saying, “I am like a barren field where nothing will grow!” At last her wishes and prayers were answered, and a child was born; but when the nurses took it they said it was a Little Ass, and not a human child. When the mother perceived this, she began to cry and groan again, for she would rather have had no child than a Little Ass, and she ordered them to throw the thing into the water, that it might feed the fishes. The King, however, said, “No! God gave it, and it shall be my son and heir, and at my death sit upon the throne, and wear the royal crown.” So the Little Ass was taken care of and brought up well, while its ears grew to a good size and were straight and well formed. Now, it was a frolicsome animal, and used to jump about, and, besides, it had a very great passion for music, so much so that it went to a celebrated Musician, and said, “Teach me your art, that I may strike the lute as well as you.” “Ah! my dear sir,” replied the Musician, “that would be difficult; your fingers are not altogether made for the purpose; I am afraid you could not touch the strings.”

  The Ass, however, would not be put off, and, being determined to learn, he applied himself so strenuously and industriously that in the course of time he could play as well as the master himself. One day afterwards the young Prince went out walking in a thoughtful mood, and, presently coming to a running brook, he looked in and saw his own figure reflected like an ass. The sight made him so sad that he wandered away from his home, attended but by one trusty friend. They travelled to and fro for many months, and at last came to a kingdom over which ruled an old King, who had an only but very beautiful daughter. “Here we will stay,” said the Ass Prince; and, knocking at the palace-door, he cried out, “Open, if you please! a visitor stands without who wishes to come in.” The door was not opened, and so the Ass sat down on the steps and played his lute in the most charming way with his two fore-feet. At this the guard at the door opened his eyes very wide, and running to the King told him that a young Ass was at the door, who was playing the lute like a regular musician. “Let him come in then,” said the King. But, as soon as the Ass entered, all began to laugh at such a lute-player, and he was told to sit down and feed with the slaves at the lower end of the hall. This he would not do, but said, “I am no common animal, I am a distinguished Ass.” “If you are so,” said the others, “take your place with the soldiers.” “No; I will sit by the King himself,” said the Ass. The King laughed, but said, good-naturedly, “Yes, it shall be so, as you desire; come up hither.” By-and-by the King asked, “How does my daughter please you?” The Ass turned his head towards her, looked at her, and, nodding, said, “The Princess pleases me beyond measure, she is so beautiful as I have never seen any one before.” “Well, then, you shall sit by her,” said the King. “That is just right,” said the Ass, and, sitting down by her side, he ate and drank with her, for he knew how to conduct himself before company.

  At this court the noble beast stayed many months; but soon he began to think, “Of what use is all this? I may as well return home;” and, hanging his head down, he went to the King and mentioned his wishes. But the King had become very partial to the Ass, and said, “What is the matter, my dear friend? you look as sour as a vinegar cruet. Do stop with me, I will give you whatever you desire; do you want money?” “No,” said the Ass, shaking his head. “Do you need treasures or jewels?” “No.” “Will you have the half of my kingdom?” “Ah, no, no!” “I would I knew what would content you,” cried the King; “will you have my beautiful daughter to wife?” “Oh yes! that would please me well,” replied the Ass, and his spirits returned at once, for it was the very thing he had wished. So thereupon a large and magnificent wedding was celebrated. At night, when the bride and bridegroom were about to go to their sleeping-apartment, the King took a fancy to know if he would retain his form or not, and so he bade a servant to conceal himself in his room. By-and-by, when they entered, the bridegroom bolted the door after him, and then, believing that he and his wife were alone, he threw off his Ass’s skin, and stood up a handsome and well-formed man. “Now you see,” said he to his bride, “who I am, and that I am not unworthy of you.” She was of course in transports of joy to see the good change, and kissed him, and thenceforth loved him dearly. As soon as morning came over, he got up and put on again his skin, so that no one ever would have known what was concealed beneath it. Soon the old King came, and when he saw the Ass he exclaimed, “Ah! what, up already!” and then turning to his daughter he said to her, “Alas! you are doubtless in grief, because you have not really a human husband.” “Oh no, dear father,” she replied; “I love him as much as if he were the handsomest man possible, and I will comfort him all my life.”

  The King went away astonished; but the servant followed him and told him what had happened. “That never can be true,” said the King. “Then watch yourself to-night, my lord King,” answered the servant; “and you will see with your own eyes the truth of my words; but I would advise you to snatch away the skin and burn it, and then your son-in-law will be compelled to show himself in his true character. “Your advice is good,” said the King; and in the middle of the night, when everybody was asleep, he slipped into the chamber of his son-in-law, and when he looked at the bed the moonbeams showed clearly that it was no Ass, but a fine young man who laid in it, while by the side, the skin had been thrown down on the floor. The King took the skin up and caused a great fire to be made, into which he threw it, and stood by till it was burnt to ashes. He was anxious still to see how the youth would behave when he discovered his loss, and so he stopped the rest of the night watching. At daybreak the youth arose, and looked about for his ass-skin; but he could find it nowhere. Then he was frightened, and cried out in sorrow and anguish, “Alas! I must make my escape!” But as he left the room, he found the King standing outside, who said, “Whither away, my son, in such a hurry? what do you intend? Remain here; you are too handsome a man to be readily parted with. I will give you now the government of half of my kingdom, and at my death you shall have the whole.”

  “So wish I that this good beginning may have a good ending,” said the youth. “I will remain with you.”

  Thereupon the old King put the half of the kingdom under his care, and, when he died about a year after, the whole government descended to the young King, and in another year he was called upon to rule the kingdom of his own father, who died and left it to him. And over these two countries he ruled so wisely that the people prospered, and his Queen and he were happy and contented.

  The Old Griffinx

  There was once a King, but where he re
igned and how he was called I know nothing about. He had no son, only a daughter who was always ill, and no doctor could cure her; then it was prophesied to the King that his Daughter would eat herself well with an apple. So he made it known all over the kingdom, whoever brought his Daughter some apples with which she could eat herself well should marry her and be king. Now, a Peasant, who had three sons, heard of it; and he said to the eldest, “Go to the garden, take a basket full of those beautiful apples with the red cheeks, and carry them to the court. Perhaps the King’s Daughter will be able to eat herself well with them; and then you can marry her and be king.” The chap did as he was bid, and took to the road. When he had walked awhile he met quite a little Iron Man, who asked him what he had in his basket. So Hele, for that was his name, said, “Frogs’ legs!” The little Man then said, “Well, so it shall be, and remain;” and then went on. At last Hele came to the castle, and had it announced that he had got some apples which would cure the King’s Daughter if she ate them. At that the King was mightily pleased, and had Hele in court. Oh, dear! when he opened it, instead of apples, he had frogs’ legs in the basket, and they were kicking about still. The King got into a great rage and had him kicked out of the house. When he got home he told his Father how he had fared. Then the Father sent his next son, whose name was Saeme, but it went just the same with him as with Hele. The little Iron Man met him very soon, and asked him what he had in the basket, and Saeme said, “Sow-bristles;” and the little Man said, “Well, so it shall be, and remain.” When he arrived at the King’s castle, and said he had apples with which the King’s Daughter could eat herself well, they would not let him in, and told him there had already been one who had made fools of them. But Saeme insisted he had really such apples; they should only let him in. At last they believed him, and took him before the King; but when he opened the basket he had nothing but sow-bristles. That annoyed the King most dreadfully, so that he had Saeme whipped out of the house. When he got home he told them what had happened to him. Then came the youngest boy, whom they had always called stupid Jack, and asked the Father whether he, too, might go with apples. “Yes,” said the Father, “you are just the right sort of fellow; if the clever ones can’t succeed, what will you be able to do?” The boy did not believe it. “Well, Father, I will go too.” “Get away, you stupid chap!” said the Father; “you must wait till you grow wiser;” and then turned his back upon him; but the boy tugged at his smock-frock behind and said, “Now, Father, I will go too.” “Well, just as you like; go—you will be sure to come back,” he answered in a spiteful way. The boy was beyond measure delighted, and jumped for joy. “Ay, there! act like a fool! You get stupider from one day to the next,” said the Father. That did not affect Jack a bit, who would not be disturbed in his joy. As night soon came on, he thought he would wait the next morning; any how, he would not be able to get to court that day. He could not sleep that night in bed, and when he only slumbered a little he dreamed of beautiful maidens, of castles, gold, silver, and all that sort of thing. Early next morning he went his way, and soon the little Man in his iron dress met him and asked him what he had in the basket. “Apples,” he answered, “with which the King’s Daughter should eat herself well.” “Well,” said the little Man, “such it shall be, and remain.” But at court they would not let Jack in at all; for that there had been two who had said they brought apples, and one had frogs’ legs, and the other sow-bristles. But Jack insisted tremendously he had no frogs’ legs, but the most beautiful apples that grew in the kingdom. As he spoke so nicely the door-keeper thought he could not be telling a lie, and let him in; and they did quite right too, for, when Jack uncovered the basket before the King, gold-yellow apples came tumbling out. The King was delighted, and had some of them taken to his daughter at once, and waited in anxious expectation until they should bring him word what effect they had. Not long after news is brought him; but what think you it was? It was the Daughter herself! As soon as she had ate of those apples she had jumped out of bed quite well. What the King’s delight was cannot be described.