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Little Brother and Little Sister

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ILLUSTRATED*BY
ART]HUR*FAICKHAM

NEW YORK
DODD, MBAD &e COMPANY

LIT TLE*BROTHER
&*LIT TLE*SI STER
AN D OTH ER TALES
BY* THE -BROTHERS* ClirRJIMM
tMAMI/IWJ/ LtirlE/EFD

First Published 917

Printed in Great Britain

PUBLISHERS' NOTE

THESE forty stories, chosen and illustrated for this edition
by Arthur Rackham, together with the selection which we
published some years ago with illustrations by the same
artist, make a total of one hundred stories which include, it
is thought, all the best of the Fairy Tales of the Brothers
Grimm. Of the remainder most are probably of interest
rather to students of folklore than to the girls and boys of
to-day, and many are little more than variants or similar
tales from other sources. The story called The Nose Tree '
has been more or less re-written from the rather abridged
form among the notes where alone it is included in the
original. And in adapting it and the other stories from
the German text, the publishers have to acknowledge the
permission of Messrs. George Bell and Sons to make use
of Mrs. Hunt's translation in Bohn's Standard Library,
which Messrs. Bell claim to be the only complete English
rendering of the original with the notes and comments of the
Brothers Grimnm.

Contents
PAGE
LITTLE BROTHER AND LITTLE SISTER . . i

SNOW-WHITE AND ROSE-RED .

SWEET PORRIDGE .. 16

THUMBLING'S TRAVELS 17

THE SKILFUL HUNTER 22

THE TRUE SWEETHEART 29

THE TWELVE BROTHERS 6

THE THREE SPINNERS 4

THE STAR-MONEY 4

THE OLD WOMAN IN THE WOOD . 49

BEARSKIN 58

ONE-EYE', TWO-EYES, AND THREE-EYES . .. 59

THE WISHING-TABLE, THE GOLD-ASS, AND THE CUDGEL.
IN THE KNAPSACK .. 68

THE WONDERFUL MUSICIAN 80

THE CUNNING LITTLE TAILOR .. 85

THE GNOMES 89

HANS THE HEDGEHOG 94

THET NOSE TREE .. 100to

THE THREE FEATHERS 105

THE GOOSE-GIRL 'tT THE WELL . 108
vii

LITTLE BROTHER AND LITTLE SISTER

PaGE
THE LITTLE PEOPLE'S PRESENTS . 122

THE THREE LITTLE MEN IN THE WOOD .126

THE SPIRIT IN THE BOTTLE 188

THE THREE ARMY SURGEONS . .. 139

THE HARE AND THE HEDGEHOG .148

THE GRIFFIN .14~7

THE SPINDLE, THE SHUTTLE, AND THE NEEDLE 155

MAID MALEEN .. .158

THE YOUNG GIANT .165

THE THREE SONS OF FORTUNE . ... 174~

FITCHER'S BIRD . . . 178

THE POOR MILLER'S BOY AND THE CAT .182

HOW SIX MEN GOT ON IN THE WORLD 186

THE TWO TRAVELLERS .. .192

THE HUT IN THE FOREST 20s

THE PEASANT'S WISE DAUGHTER 209

TH[E TWO BROTHERS .218

THE NIX OF THE MILL-POND .. .288

THE FOX AND THE GEESE .. .2944

THE IRON STOVE .245

List of Illustrations

ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOUR

She took off her golden garter and put it round thle roebuck's neck.
(page 2) Frontispiece
FACING PAGE
The end of his beard was caught in a crack in the tree . 1

The third time, she wore the star-dress which sparkled at every step 4

Suddenly the branches twined round her and turned into two arms .52

Gold pieces fell down on the cloth like a thunder shower 78

He played until the room was entirely filled with gnomes 92

They came at last to their poor old friend 102
What did she find there but real ripe strawberries 128

The Three Army-Surgeons 140

The waiting maid sprang down first and Maid Maleen followed 158

At last she met the bridegroom who was coming slowly back 180

She begged quite prettily to be allowed to spend the night there .206

ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT
PAGE
Headpiece to Little Brother and Little Sister . 1
She cr~ept after them secretly, as witches do creep .

She? met an aged woman who knew of her distress, and presented her
writh a little pot 16

LITTLE BROTHER AND LITTLE SISTER

So, one by one, he threw out all the money 19

The giant gave the one who was sitting next him a box on the ear e5

To whom do these twelve shirts belong ? . . 88. 39

The wicked mother-in-law, was put into a barrel full of boiling oil and
venomous snakes 4

In came the three women dressed in the strangest fashion . 46

Then she gathered the money into this, and was rich all the days of
her life....... 4s

Headpiece to the Old Woman in the Wood 4

The old woman seized her by the gown, and tried to hold her fast .5 I

Whoever saw him, ran away a

Now I know why that stuck-up thing there does not eat G

Little Two-eyes d

Headpiece to the Wishing-Table, the Gold-Ass, and the Cudgel in the
Knapsack 6
The Musician and the Wolf o

The Musician and the Fox 8 I

The Musician and the Hare 8

When the bear heard the music he could not help beginning to dance 8

Hans the Hedgehog .' 94

Headpiece to the Three Feathers 15

The pretty maiden skipped through the hoop as lightly as a deer .I09

Groaning continually, he climbed the mountain 1

There she sat, and would have remained sitting a long time, if there had
not been a rustling and cracking in the boughs of the nearest tree 119

When it was sharp enough, he looked round at the strangers . Ie sr

LIST OF ILLUSTR NATIONS

FAcE
11'ith e\ery- word she said, out of her mnouth~ jumped a toad ..150

A terrible fellow~ half as big as the tree by which hie wa s itaning .i 137

The cat came creeping in .. 140)

The Hare and the Hedgrehog .. 143

He sniffed and said, l'ife. I smell a Chrlutian, . 153

TIhere stood the maiden in her poor garmnllti . . ].57

ll'hen her husband saw hier, he jhouited, H.! comle to mne here' IS

The cat mnade herself mnerry with the mice in the royal palac~e . 17

The poor miiller's boy, and the cat .. 8

It w~as just as if the wind had whistled by 188

Cousin Longlegs came carefully in 90

They found in the earth a morTta. of pure gold 20

ft was not long before the 5seven-headled dlr3aon camer. loudll! roaring 900

Instantly they lay still all turned into stone . S

Headpiece to the Nix of' the Mlill-pondl .23

Headpiece to the Fox anid the Geeje 94

T'he little one went and brought the b~ox . .4

Tailpiece to the fron Store 51

Little Brother and Little Sister

LITTLE BROTHER took Little Sister by the hand and
said, 'Since our mother died we have not had another
happyT hour; our step-mother beats us every day, and
if we come near her she kicks us away with her foot. Our
meals are the hard crusts of bread that are left over; and
the little dog under the table is better off, for she often
throws it a nice morsel. Miay Heaven pity us. If only
our mother knew Come, let us go forth together into the
wide world.'
The whole day they walked through meadows and ~fields,
and over stony wastes; and when it rained Little Sister said,
' Heaven and our hearts are weeping together.' In the
evening they came to a large forest, and they were so weary
with sorrow and hunger and their long journey, that they lay
down in a hollow tree and fell asleep.
Next day when they awoke, the sun was already high in
the sky, and shone down hot into the tree. Then Little
Brother said, Little Sister, I am thirsty; if I knew where
there was a little brook I would go and drink. Listen I I think
I hear one.' So he got up and took Little Sister by the hand,
and they set off to ~fi~nd the brook.

LITTLE BROTHER AND LITTLE: SISTER
But their wicked step-mother was a witch, and had seen
how the two children had gone away, and she had crept after
them secretly, ;as- witches dao creep, and had bewiitched all the
brooks in the forest.
So when they found a little brook le~aping- brightly: over
the stones, Little Bgrother was going to drink out ~of it, but
Little Sister~ heard how .it said as it ran, Who drinks of me
will become a, tig-er; who drinks of me will become a tiger.'
Then Little Sister cried, Pra~y, Little Brother, do not dtrink,
or you wyill b~comie a w~ild beast, and tear me to pieces."
Little Brother did not drink, although he was so thirsty,
but said, 'I will wait for the next spring.'
When they came to the next Little Sister heard this one
also say, Who drinks of me will become a wolf ; who drinks
of me will become a wvolf.' Then Little Sister cried out, Pray,
pray, Little Brother, do not drink, or you will become a wolf,
and eat me up.'
Little Brother did not drink, and said, I will wait until
we come to the next spring, but then I must drink, say what
you like.; for my thirst is too great.'
And when they came to the third brook Little Sister heard
how it said as it ran, Who drinks of me will become a deer;
who drinks of me will become a deer.' Little Sister said, Oh,
I pray you, dear brother, do not drink, or you will become a
deer, and run away from me.' But Little Brother had already
knelt down by the brook, and had leant over and drunk some
water, and as soon as the first drop touched his lips there he
lay, a little roebuck.
And now Little Sister wept over her poor bewitched Little
Brother, and the little fawn wept also, and sat sorrowfully by
her. But at last the maiden said, 'Be quiet, dear little fawn,
I will never, never leave thee.'
Then she took off her golden garter and put it round the
roebuck's neck, and she plucked rushes and wove them into
a soft cord. With this she tied the little fawn and led it
along as she walked deeper ~and deeper into the forest.

1r

She crept after them secretly, as witches do creep.

LITTLE BROTHER AN.D LITTLE SIS.TERl
And when they had gone a very long way~ they came at
last to a little house, and the girl looked in'; and as it was
empty, she thought,' Here we can stay and live.' Then she
sought for leaves and moss to make a soft bed for the fawn;
and every morning she went out and gathered roots and
berries and nuts for herself, and brought tender grass for the
fawn, who ate out of her hand, and was quite content and
frisked about her. In the evening, when Little Sister was
tired, and had said her prayer, she laid her head upon the
roebuck's back : that was her pillow, and she slept softly on
it. And if only Little Brother had had his human form it
would have been a delightful life.
For a long time they lived alone like this in the wilderness.
But it happened that the King of the country held a great
hunt in the forest. Then the blasts of the horns, the barking
of dogs, and the merry shouts of the hunters rang through
the trees, and the little roebuck heard all, and was only too
anxious to be there.
Oh,' said he to Little Sister, 'let me be off to the hunt, I
cannot bear it any longer '; and he begged so hard that at
last she agreed.
'But,' said she to him, come back to me in the evening ;
I must shut my door for fear of the rough hunters, so knock
and say, My Little Sister, let me in that I may know
you; and if you do not say that, I shall not open the door.'
Then the young roebuck leaped away,. so happy was he and
so merry in the open air.
The King and his huntsmen saw the pretty creature, and
made chase after him, but they could not catch him, and
when they- thought that they surely had him, away he sprang
through the bushes and could not be seen. W~hen it was dark
he ran to the cottage and knocked, and said, My Little
Sister, let me in.' Then the door was opened for him, and he
jumped in, and rested the whole night through, upon his
soft bed.
The next day the hun went on afresh, and when the

LITTLE BROTHER AND LITTLE SISTER
roebuck again heard the bugles, and the ho ho I of the
hunters, he had no peace, but said, 'Little Sister, let m-e out,
I must be off.' Little Sister opened the door for him, and
said, But you must be here again in the evening and say your
pass-word.'
When the K~ing and his huntsmen again saw the young
roebuck with the golden collar, they all chased him, but he
was too quick and nimble for them. This went on for the
whole day, but at last by evening the hunters had surrounded
him, and one of them wounded him slightly in the foot, so
that he limped and ran slowly. Then a hunter crept after him
to the cottage and heard how he said, My Little Sister, let
me in,' and saw that the door was opened for him, and was
shut again at once. The hunter took notice of it all, and went
to the King and told him what he had seen and heard.
Then the King said, To-morrow we w~iill hunt once
more.'
Little Sister, however, was dreadfully frightened when she
saw that her fawn was hurt. She washed off the blood and
laid herbs on the wound, and said, Go to your bed, dear
fawn, that you may get well again.' But the wound was so
slight that next morning the roebuck did not feel it any more.
And when again he heard the horns of hunters, he said, I
cannot bear it, I must be there; they shall not find it so easy
to catch me.'
Little Sister cried, and said, 'This time they will kill you,
and here amn I alone in the forest and forsaken by aUl the
world. I will not let you out.'
Then you will have me die of grief,' answered the fawn;
' when I hear the bugles I feel as if I must jump out of my
skin.' Then Little Sister could not do otherwise, but opened
the door for him with a heavy heart, and the roebuck, full of
health and joy, bounded out into the forest.
When the 1King saw him, he said to his huntsman, 'This
time chase -him all day long till nightfall, but take care that
no one does him any harmn.'

LITT LE BROTHER AND LITTLE~ SISTER
As soon as the sun had seit, the King said to the huntsmen,
' Come and show me the cottage in the wood ';- and when he
reached the door, he knocked and called out, Dear Little
Sister, let me in.' The door opened, and the King- walked in,
and there stood a maiden more lovely than he had ever seen
before. The maiden was frightened when there came in, not
her little roebuck, but a man who wore a golden crown upon
his head. But the King looked kindly at her, stretched out
his hand, and said, 'Will you go with me to my palace and
be my dear wife ? '
Yes, indeed,' answered the maiden, but my little fawn
must go with me, I cannot leave him.'
The King said, 'It shall stay with you- as long as you live,
and shall want nothing.' Just then he came running in, and
Little Sister tied him again with the cord of rushes, took it
in her hand, and left the cottage with the King.
The King took the lovely maiden upon his horse and
carried her. to his palace, where the wedding was held with
great pomp. She was now the Queen, and they lived together
happily for a long time ; the roebuck was tended and cherished,
and ran about at liberty in the palace garden.
But their wicked step-mother, because of whom the chil-
dren had gone out into the world, thought aill the time that
Little Sister had been torn to pieces by the wild beasts in the
wood, and that Little Brother had been shot for a roebuck by
the hunters. Now when she heard that they were so happy,
and so well off, envy and hatred rose in her heart and left
her no peace, and she thought of nothing but how she could
bring them to misfortune. HeCr own daughter, who was as
ugly as night, and had only one eye, complained to her and
grumbled. A Queen I she said, 'that ought to have been
my luck.'
Only be quiet,' answered the old woman, and comforted
her by saying, 'when the time comes I shall be ready for it.'
As time went on the Queen had a pretty little boy, and
it happened when the King was out hunting. So the old

LITTLE BROTH~I-ER AN-D LITTLE SISTER
switch took the form of the cha~mber-maid, went into the
room where the Queen lay, and said to her, Come, the bath
is ready; it will do you good, and give you fresh strength;
make haste before it gets cold.'
The daughter also was at hand to help her. So they
carried the Queen into the bath-room, put her into the bath,
and then they shut the door and ran away. But in the bath-
room they had rnade a fire of such deadlyT heat that the
beautiful young Queen was soon suffocated.
Whetn this' was done the old woman took her daughter,
put a nightcap on her head, and laid her in bed in place of
the Quleen. She gave her too the shape and the look of the
Qu!een, only she could not make good the lost eye. But
in order that the King might not see it, she -had to lie on the
side' ori which she had no eye.
In the evening when he came home and heard that he had
a son he was heartily. glad, and was going to the bed of his
dear wife to see how she was.
But the old woman quickly called out, For your life
leave the curtains drawn. The Queen ought not to see the
light yet, and must have rest.' The King went away, and
did not find out that a false Queen was lying in the bed.
But- at midnight when all slept the nurse who was sitting
in the nursery by the cradle, and who was the only person
awake, sa~w the door open and the true Queen walk in.; She
took the child out of the cradle, laid it on her arm, and nursed
it. TChen she shook up its pillow, laid the child down again,
and covered it with the little quilt. And she did not forget
the~ roebuck, but went into the confier where it lay, and stroked
its back.- Then she went quite silently out of the door again.
The next morning the nurse asked the guards whether any
one had come into the palace during the, night, but they
answered, 'No, we have seen no one.'
She came thus many nights and never spoke a word. The
nurse always saw her, but she did not dare to tell any one
about it.

LITTLE BROTHER AND LITTLE SISTER
When some time had passed in this manner, the Queen
began to speak in the night, and said--
How fares my child, how fares my deer ?
But twice again shall I appear.'

The nurse did not answer, but when the Queen had gone
again, went to the King and told himn all. The King said,
' Oh, heavens I what is this ? To-morrow night I will watch
by the child.' In the evening he went into the nursery, and
at midnight the Queen again appeared and said-
How, fares my child, how fares my deer? ?
Still once again shall I appear.'

And she nursed the child as she was wont to do before
she disappeared. The King dared not speak to her, but on
the next night he watched again. Then she said--
How fares my child, how fares my deer ?
Never again shall I appear.'

Then the King could not restrain himself ; he sprang towards
her, and said, 'You can be no other than my owvn dear wife.'
Yes,' she answei'ed, I am your dear wife,' and at the
same moment life came back to her again, and by God's grace
she became fresh, rosy,~ and full of health.
Then she told the King the evil deed which the wicked
witch and her daughter had been guilty of. The King ordered
both to be led before the judge, and judgment was delivered
against them. The daughter was taken into the forest where
she was torn to pieces by wild beasts, but, the witch was cast
into the fire and burnt to death. And as soon as she was burnt
up the roebuck changed his shape, and received his human
form again, so Little Sister and Little Brother lived happily
together all the rest of their lives.

Snow-white and

Rose-re d

THERE was once a poor widow who lived in a lonely
cottage. In front of the cottage was a garden where
stood two rose-trees, one a white rose and the other red.
She had two children who were like the two rose-trees, and one
was called Snow-white, and the other Rose-red. They were
as good and happy, and as busy and cheerful as ever were any
two children in the world, only Snow-white was more quiet
and gentle than Rose-red. Rose-red liked better to run about
in the meadows and fields picking flowers and chasing. butter-
flies. .But Snow-white sat at home with her mother, and
helped her with her house-work, or read to her when there was
nothing to do.
The two children were so fond of each other that they
always held each other by the hand when they went out
together, and when Snow-white said, 'We will not leave each
other,' Rose-red answered, Never so long as we live,' and
their mother would add, 'What one has, she must share with
the other.'
They often ran about the forest alone and gathered red
berries, and no wild animals did them any harm, but came
close to them trustfully. The little hare would eat a cabbag~e-
leaf out of their hands, the roe grazed by their side, the stag
leapt merrily by them, and the birds sat still upon the boughs,
and sang all the songs they knew.
No mishap ever overtook them. If they had stayed too
late in the forest, and night came on, they just laid themselves
down near one another upon the moss, and slept until morn-
ing came, and their mother knew9 this and had no distress on
their account.

LITTLE BROTHER AND LITTLE SISTER
Once when they had spent the night in the wood and
the dawn had roused them, they saw a beautiful child in a
shining white dress sitting near their bed of moss. He rose
up and looked kindly at them, but said nothing and went away
into the forest. And when they looked round they found that
they had been sleeping quite close to a precipice, and would
certainly have fallen over it in the darkness if they had gone
only a few paces further. And their mother told them that
it must have been the angel who watches over good children.
Snow-white and -Rose-red kept their mother's little cottage
so neat that it was a pleasure to look inside it. In the summer
Rose-re~d took care of the house, and every morning laid a. nose-
gay by her mother's bed before she awoke, and in it was a
rose; from each tree. In the winter Snow-white lit the fire and
hung the kettle over it on the hook. The kettle- was of copper
-and shone like gold, so brightly was it polished.
In the evening, when the snowflakes fell, the mother said,
' Go, Snow-white, and bolt the door,' and then they sat round
the hearth, and the mother took her spectacles and read aloud
out of a large book, and the two girls' listened as they sat and
span.- And close by them lay a larnb upon the ~floor, -and
behind them upon a perch sat a white dove wit'h its head
tucked under its wing.
One evening, as they were sitting cosily together, there wals
a knock at the door as if some one wished to be let in.
The mother saitd, 'Quick, Rose-red, open the door, it; must
be a traveller who is seeking shelter.'
Rose-red went and pushed back the bolt, thinking that it
was some poor -man, but it was not. It was a, bear that pushed
his broad, black head in at the door.
Rose-red screamed and sprang back, the lamb bleated, and
the dove fluttered, and Snow-white hid herself behind her
mother's bed. But the' bear began to speak and said, 'Do
not be afraid, I will do you no- harm I am hialf-frozen, and
only wpant to warm myself a little beside your firee'
Poor bear,' said the mother, lie down by the fire, only
10

SNOW-WHITE AND ROSE-RED

take care that you do not burn your coat.' Then she cried,
' Snow-white, Rose-red, come out, the bear will do you no
harm, he means kindly.'
So they both came out again, and by and by the lamb and
dove came nearer, and ceased to be afraid of him.
The bear said, 'Here, children, knock the snow out of my
coat a little.'
So they brought the~ broom and swept the bear's hide
clean, and he stretched himself by the fire and growled con-
tentedly. It was not long before they grew quite at home,
and began to play tricks with their clumsy guest. They
tugged his hair with their hands, put their feet upon his back
and rolled him about, or they took a hazel-switch and beat
him, and when he growled they laughed. But the bear took
it all in good part, only when they were too rough he called
out, 'Children, children, leave me my life '
Snow-white, Rose-red,
Will you beat your lover dead ?'

When it was bed-time, and the others went to bed, the
mother said to the bear, You can lie there by the hearth,
and then, you will be safe from the cold and the bad weather.'
As soon as day dawned the two children let him -out, and he
trotted across the snow into the forest.
Henceforth the bear came every evening at the same time,
laid himself down by the hearth, and let the children iamuse
themselves with him as much as they liked, and they got so
used to him that the doors were never fastened until their black
friend had arrived.
When spring had come and all outside was green, the bear
said one morning to Snow-white, 'Now I must go away, and
cannot come back for the whole summer.'
Where are you going, then, dear bear ?' asked Snow-
white.
I must go into the forest and guard my treasures from
the wicked dwarfs. In the winter, when the earth is frozen

LITTLE ~BROT-HER AND LITTLE SISTER
hard, they are obliged to stay below and cannot work their
way through. But now, when the sun -has thawed and
warmed the.earth, they break through it, and come out to
pry and steal, and what once gets into their hands, and in their
cavils, does not easily see daylight again.'
Snow-white was quite sorry for his going away, and as she
unbolted the door for himn, and the bear was hurrying out, he
caught against the bolt and a piece of his hairy coat was torn
off, and it seemed to Snow-white as if she had seen gold shining
through it, but she was not sure about it. The bear ran away
quickly, and wcas soon out of sight among the trees.
A short time afterwards the mother sent her children into~
the forest to get firewood. There they came to a big fallen
tree which lay on the ground, and close by the trunk: some-
thing was jumping backwards and forwards in the grass, but
they could not make out what it was. When they got nearer
they found it was a dwarf -with an old withered face and a
snow-white beard a yard long. The end of his beard was
caught in a crack in the tree, and the little fellow was jumping
backwards and forwards like a dog tied to a rope, and did not
know what to do.
He glared at the girls with his fiery red eyes and cried,
'Why do you stand there ? Can you not come here and help me ?'
Why, little man, what are you about there ?' asked
Rose-red.
You stupid, prying goose i answered the dwarf ; I was
going to split the tree, of course, to get a little wood to cook
with. The little bit of food that one of us -wants gets burnt up
directly with thick logs. W~e do not swallow so much as you
coarse, greedy folk do. I had just; driven the wedge safely in,
and everything was going as I wished, but the wretched wood
was too smooth and suddenly out jumped the wedge, and t;-;
tree closed so quickly that I could not pull out my beauti.PiI
white beard. So now it is tight in and I cannot get away, and
the silly, sleek, milk-faced things laugh Ugh how odious
yIou are 1 '

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SNOW-WHITE AND ROSE-RED

Tihe children tried very hard, but they could not pull the
beard out, it w\as caught too fast.
'I wFill run and fetchl some one,' said Rose-red.
You senseless gaoose snarled the dwciarf ; why should
you" fetch some one ? You are already two `too many for me.
Canl you not think of something better ? '
Don't be impatient,' said Snow-whlite, 'I will help you,'
and she pulled her scissors out of her pocket, and cut off the
end of his bear~d.
As soon as the dw\\arf felt himself free he laid hold of a bag
which la.y among the roots of the tree, and which was full of
gold, and lifted it up, grumbling to himself, 'Clumsy people,
cutting off a piece of mly fine beard. Bad luck to you i' and
then he swung the bag upon his back, and went off without
even once looking at the children.
Some time after that Snow-white and Rose-red went to
catch a dish of fish. As they came near the brook, they saw
something like a large grasshopper jumping towards the water,
as if it were going to leap in. They ran up and found it was
the dwarf.
'Whnere are you going ? said Rose-red ; you surely- don't
want to go into the water ? '
I am not such a fool !' cried the dwarf ; don't you see
it 's that wretched fish wants- to pull me in ? The little man
had been sitting there fishing, and unluckily the wind twisted
his beard in the fishing-line, at the very moment that a big
fish took' the baitt. The little weakling had not strength to
pull it out, and the fish had the better of it, and was pulling
the dwparf nearer the edge. He held on to all the reeds and
rushes, but it was little good, he was forced to follow the
\movements of the fish, and was in urgent danger of being
dragged into the water.
The girls came just in time. They held him fast and
tried to free his beard from the line, but all in vain; beard
and line were entangled fast together. Nothing was left
but to bring out the scissors and cut the beard, whereby

LITTLE BROTHER AND LITTLE SISTER
-a little bit of it was lost. When the dwarf saw that he
screamed out :
Do you call that civil, you toad-stool, disfiguring one's
face like that ? Was it not enough to clip off the end of my
beard ? Now you have cut off the best part of it. I cannot
let myself be seen by my people. I wish you had been made
to run the soles off your shoes Then he took out a sack of
pearls which lay in the rushes, and without saying a word
more he dragged. it away and disappeared behind a stone.
It happened that soon afterwards the mother sent the two
children to the town to buy needles and thread, and laces and
ribbons. The road led them across a heath upon. which huge
rocks lay strewn here and there. Soon they noticed a great
bird hovering in the air, flying slowly round and round above
them. It sank lower and lower, and at last settled near a
rock not far off.. Directly afterwards they heard a loud cry
of terror. They ran up and saw with horror that the eagle had
seized their old friend the dwarf, and was going to carry him off.
The children, full of pity, at once caught tight hold of the
little man, and pulled against the eagle so long that at last he
let his booty go.
As soon as the dwarf had recovered from his first fright he
cried with his shrill voice, 'Could you not have done it more
carefully I You dragged at my brown coat so that it is all
torn and full of holes, you helpless clumsy creatures I Then
he took up a sack full of precious stones, and slipped away
again under the rock into his hole. The girls, who by this
time were used to his thanklessness, went on their way and did
their business in the town.
As they crossed the heath again on their way home they
surprised the dwarf, who had emptied out his bag of precious
stones in a clean spot, and had not thought that any one
would come there so late. The evening sun shone upon the
brilliant stones. They glittered and sparkled with all colours
so beautifully that the children stood still and looked at
them.
14r

SOVOW-WHIIITE AND R.OSE-:RED

Why do you stand gaping there ? cried the dwarf, and
his -ashen-grey face became copper-red with rage.
He was going on with his bad words when a loud growling
was heard, and a black bear came trotting towards them out
of the forest. The dwarf sprang up in a fright, but he could
not get to his cave, Tor the bear was already close.
Then in t~he dread of his heart he cried, Dear Mr. Bear;,
spare me, I will give you all my treasures. Look, the beautiful
jewels lying there Grant me my life. What do you want
withj such a skinny little fellow as I am ? You would not feel
me between your teeth. Come, take these two wvicked girls,
they are tender morsels for you, fat as young quails.; For
mercy's sake eat then '
The bear took no heed of his words, but gave the scoundrel
j-ust one blow with his pa~w, and he did not move again.
The girls had run aw~ay, but the bear called to them.
'Snow-white and Rose-red, do not be afraid. Wait, I will
come with you.'
Then they knew his v~oice.and waited, and when he came
up to them suddenly his bearskizi- fell off, atnd :he stood there a.
handsome youth, clothled all in gold. .' I am a KInjg's son,' he.
said, 'and I was bew\itchled by that wicked dwarfwho ha~d
stolen my treasures. I have had to run about; the forest 'as a
savage bear until I was freed by his death. Now he has got
his well-deserved punishment.'
Snow-white was married to him, and Rose-red to his
brother, and they divided bet-ween them the great treasure
which the dwarf had gathered together in his cave. The
old mother lived peacefully and happily with her childrenl for
many years. She took the two rose-trees with her, and they
stood before: her window, a~nd every year bore the most
beautiful roses, white and red.

Sweet Porridge

O NCE there was a poor but good little girl who lived alone
with her mother, and the time came when theyr no
longer had anything to eat. So the child went into the
forest, and there she met. an aged woman who knew of her
cloistress, and presented her with a little pot, which when she
said, Cook, little pot, cook,' would cook good, sweet porridge ;
and when she said, 'Stop, little pot,' it would cease cooking.
The little girl took the pot home to her mother, and now they
were freed from their poverty and hunger, an~d ste sweet

THUMBING'S TRAVELS
porridge as often as they chose. Once upon a time when the
girl had gone out, her mother said, Cook, little pot, cook.'
And it did cook~and she ate till she was satisfied, and then she
wanted the pot to stop cooking, but did not know the right
word.. So it went on cooking and the porridge rose over the
edge, -and still it cooked on and on until the kitchen and whole
house were full, and then the next house, and then the whole
street, just as if it wanted to satisfy the hunger of the whole
world, and there was the greatest alarm, but no one knew how
to stop it. At last when only one single house remained, the
child came' home. and just said, Stop, little pot,' and it stopped
and gave up cooking. And whosoever wished to return to the
town had to eat his way back.

Thumbling's Travels

A CERTAIN tailor had a son, who was so tiny that he was
no bigger than a Thumb, and because -of this he was
always called Thumbling. He had, however, plenty of
courage, and said to his father, Father,, I must and will go
out into, the world.'
That 's right, my son,' said the old man, and took -a long
darning-needle and made a knob of sealing-wax on it at the
candle, and there is a sword for thee to take with thee on
the way.'
Then the little tailor wanted to have just one more meal
with them, and. skipped into the kitchen to see what his lady
mother had cooked for the last time. It was just dished up,
and the dish stood on the hearth. Then said he, Mother,
what 's there for dinner to-day ? '
See for thyself,' said his mother.
So Thumbing jumped on to the hearth, and peeped into
the dish, but as he stretched his neck too far in the steam
B 17

LITTLE BROTHER AND LITTLE S-ISTER

from the food caught him, and carried him up the chimney.
He rode about in the air on the steam for a while, until at
length he sank down to the ground again. Now the little
tailor was out in the wide world, and he travelled about, and
went to work with a master in his craft, but the food vrias not
good enough for him. Mistre'ss, if you don't feed us better,
I shall go,' said Thumbling, and early to-morrow morning
I 'll chalk on the door of your house, Too many potatoes,
too little meat I Farewell, Mr. Potato-King." '
What wouldst thou have forsooth, grasshopper ?' said
the mistress, growing angry, and she seized a dish-cloth, and
wras just going to strike him. But my little tailor crept
nimbly under a thimble, and peeped out from beneath it, and
put his tongue out at her. She took up the thimble to catch
him, but little Thumbling hopped into the cloth, and while
the mistress was opening it out and searching for him, he got
into a crack in the table. Ho, ho, lady mistress,' cried he,
and thrust his head out, arid when she hit at him he leapt
down into the drawer. At last, however, she caught him and
drove him out of the house.
The little tailor journeyed on and came to a great forest,
where he fell in with a band of robbers who were planning to
steal the King's treasure. When they saw the little tailor,
they thought, 'That 's the little fellow for us i H~e can creep
through the keyhole and pick the lock.'
Hi cried one of them, thou giant Goliath, wilt thou
go to the treasure-chamber with us ? Thou canst slip in and
throw out the money.'
Thumbling; thought for a moment, and then said yes,'
and he went with them to the treasure-chamber. He began
by searching the doors from top to bottom to see if he could
find a crack in them. It was not long before he.espied one
broad enough to let him in. He -was just about to slip
in at once, when one of the two sentries who stood before
the door, caught sight of him, and said to the other, Eh !
what an ugly spider is creeping there ; I will kill it.'

THUMBL;ING'S TRAVELS
Let the poor creature alone,' said the other, 'it has done
thee no harm.' So Thumbling got safely through the crack
into the treasure-chamber, opened the window beneath which
the robbers were standing, and threw out to them. one dollar
after another. While the little tailor was hard at work, he
heard the King coming to inspect his treasure-chamber, and
crept hastily into hiding. The King noticed that several solid
silver pieces were missing, but could not conceive who could
have stolen them, for locks,
bars, and bolts were all in order,
and' well guarded. Then he
went away again, saying to the
sentries, Be on the watch,
some one is after the money.'
When therefore Thumbling
began again, they heard the
chink, chink of moving coins.
They ran in swiftly to seize the
thief, but the little tailor, who
heard them corning, was still
swifter, and leapt into a corner
and covered 'himself with a
dollar, so that nothing could be
seen of him, and at the same
time he mocked the sentries I -L I ~ A
and cried, Here am I !' So, one by one, he threw out all the money.
Thither ran the sentries, but
by the time they got there, he had already hidden in another
corner and was crying, 'Ho, ho, here am I! The watchmen
dashed there at top speed, but Thumbling had long ago hopped
into~ a third corner, and was crying, 'Ho, ho, here am I!i And
thus he made fools of them, and drove them so long round
about the treasure-chamber that they were tired out and went
away. So, one by one, he threw out all the money. H~e flung
out the last coin with all his might, hopping nimbly on to it
as it flew dowrn through the window. The robbers paid him

LITTLE BROTHER AND LITTLE SISTER

great compliments. Thou art a valiant hero indeed,' said
they; wilt thou be our captain ? '
Thumbling, however, said he wouldn't, as he wanted to see
the world first. They now divided the booty, but the little tailor
asked for one groat only because he could not carry more.
Then he buckled on his sword again, bade the robbers
good-bye, and took to the road. First, he went to work
under some masters, but he had no liking for that, and at last
he hired himself as man-servant in an inn. The maids, how-
ever, could not endure him, for he saw secretly all that they
did without their seeing him, and he- told their master and
mistress what they had helped themselves~ to off the plates, and
carried off out of the cellar. Then said they, Wait We 'll
pay thee off and arranged with each other to play him a trick.
Soon afterwards one of the maids wras mowing in the
garden, and saw Thumbling jumping and creeping up and
down in the long grass. Quickly she mowed him up with the
grass, made it all into a bundle, and took it and threw it to
the cattle. Now among them there was a great black cow,
wvho swallowed him down whole without hurting him. But
down below it pleased him ill, for it was quite dark, and there
wasn't any candle burning either. So while the cow was
being milked he cried,
Str~ip, strap, strull,
Will the pail soon be full ?'

But the noise of the milking kept him from being heard.
After this the master of the house came into the cowshed
and said, 'That cow shall be killed to-morrow.'
Then Thumbling was so alarmed that he cried out in a
clear voice, 'Let me out first, for I am shut up inside her.'
The master heard that quite well, but did not know from
whence the voice came. Where art thou ? asked he.
In the black one,' answered Thumbling, but the master
did not understand what that, meant, and went out.
Next morning the cow was killed. Happily Thumbling;
20

THUMBLING'S TRAVELS

did not meet with one blow at the killing and quartering, and
he got among the sausage-meat. And when the butcher camne
in and began his work, he cried out with aUl his might, 'Don't
chop too deep, don't chop too deep, for I am here.' But no
one heard this because of the .noise of the chopping-knife;
Now, indeed, poor Thumbling was in trouble, but trouble
sharpens the wits, and he dodged about so cleverly between
the blows that none of them touched him, and he got off with
a whole skin. But still he could not get away, there was
nothing for it, and he had to let himself be thrust into a
black-pudding with the bits of bacon. He found himself in
rather close quarters, and besides that he was hung up in the
chimney to be smoked, and there the time did hang terribly
heavy on his hands.
At length in winter he was taken down again, as the
black-pudding was to be set before a guest. And while the
hostess was cutting- it in slices, he took care not to stretch
out his head too far, I can tell you, lest a bit of it should be
sliced off ; at last he saw his opportunity, cleared a way for
himself, and jumped out.
The little .tailor, however, would not stay any longer in a
house where he fared so ill, and at once set out on his journey
again. But his liberty did not last long. In the open country
he met with a fox who snapped him up without thinking.
H[ullo, Mr. Fox,' cried the little tailor. Set me free,
set me free It 's me here, sticking in your throat '
Thou art right,' answered the fox. And it 's little or
nothing thou art to me too. So if thou 'lt promise me the
fowls in thy father's yard I 'll let thee go.'
W;Cith all my heart,' replied Thumbling. Thou shalt
have all the cocks and hens, that I promise thee.'
Then the fox let him go again, and himself carried him.
home. When the father once m-ore saw his dear son, he
willingly gave the fox all the fowls he had. For this I bring
thee a handsome bit of money too,' said Thumbling, and gave
his father the sihrer groat which he had earned on his travels.

The Skilful Hunter

T"ERE was once a young fellow who had learned the trade
of locksmith, and told his father he would now go out
into the world and seek his fortune.
'Very well,' said the father, I am quite content with that,'
and gave him some money for his journey.
So he travelled about and looked for work. After a time
he resolved not to follow the trade of locksmith any more, for
he no longer liked it, but he took a fancy for hunting. Then
there met him in his rambles a hunter dressed in green, who
asked whence he came and where he was going ? The youth
said he was a locksmith's apprentice, but that the trade no
longer pleased him, and he had a liking for woodcraft, would
he teach it to him ?
'Oh, yes,' said the hunter, if thou wilt go with me.'
Then the young fellow went with him, bound himself to
him for some years, and learned the art of hunting. After this
he wished to try his luck elsewhere, and the hunter gave him
nothing in the way of payment but an air-gun, which had,
however, this property, that it hit its mark without fail when-
ever he shot with it. Then he set out and found himself in a
very large forest, which he could not get to the end of in one
day. When evening' came he seated himself in a high tree in
order to escape the wild beasts. Towards midnight, it seemed
to him as if a tiny little light glimmered in the distance. He
looked down through the branches towards it, .and kept well
in his mind where it was. But in the first place he took off
his hat and threw it down in the direction of the light, so that
he might go to the hat as a mark when he had descended.
Then he climbed down and went to his hat, put it on again and
went straight forward. The farther he went, the larger the

THE SKILFUL HUNTER

light grew, and when he got close to it he saw that it was an
enormous fire, and that three giants were sitting by it, who
had an ox on the spit and were roasting it.
Presenitly' one of them said, I must just taste if the meat
will soon be, fit to eat,' and he pulled a scrap off, and was about
to put it in his mouth when the hunter shot it out of his hand.
Well, really,' said the giant, if the wind has not blown
the bit out of my hand !' and helped himself to another.
But when he was just about to taste it, the hunter again
shot it away from him.
On this the giant gave the one who was sitting next him a
box on the ear, and cried angrily, Why art thou snatching my
piece away from me ? '
I have not snatched it away,' said the other; a sharp-
shooter must have shot it away from thee.'
The giant took another piece, but he could not keep it in
his hand, for the hunter shot it out.
Then the giant said, 'That must be a good shot to shoot
the bit out of one's very mouth. Such an one would be
useful to us.' And he cried out loud, Come here, thou sharp-
shooter. Seat thyself at the fire beside us and eat thy fill, we
will not hurt thee. But if thou wilt not come, and we have to
bring thee by force, thou art a lost man, i '
When he heard this, the youth went up to them and told
them he was a skilled hunter, and that whatever he aimed at
with his gun, he was certain to hit. Then they said if he would
go with them he should be well treated, and they told him
that outside the forest there was a great lake, behind which
stood a tower, and in the tower was imprisoned a lovely
princess, whom they wished very much to carry off.
'Good,' said he, I will soon get her for you.'
Then -they added, But there is still something else; there
is a tiny little dog, which begins to bark directly any one
'goes near, and as soon as it barks every one in the royal palace
wakes up, and for this reason wve cannot get there. Canst thou
undertake to shoot it, dead ? "

LITTLE BROTHER. AND LITTLE SISTER
'Yes,' said he, that will be a little bit of fun for me.'
After this he got into a boat and rowed over the lake, and
as soon as he landed, the little dog catme running out, and wvas
about to bark, but the hunter took his air-gun and shot it dead.
When the giants saw that;, they rejoiced, and thought they
already had the King's daughter safe, but the hunter wished
first to see how matters stood, and told them that they must
stay outside until he called them. Then he went into the
castle, and all was perfectly quiet within, and every one was
asleep. When he opened the door of the first room, a sword
was hanging on the wall which was made of pure silver, and
there was a golden star on it, and the name of the King, and on
a table near it lay a sealed letter which he broke open, and
inside it was written that whoever had the sword could kill
any one who opposed him. So he took the sword from the
wall, hung it at his side and went on. Next he entered the
room where the King's daughter was lying asleep, and she was
so beautiful that he stood still and held his breath to: look at
her. He thought to himself, How can ~I give an innocent
maiden into the power of the wild giants, who have evil in their
minds ? He looked about further, and under the bed stood
a pair of slippers, on the right one of which was her father's
name with a star, and on the left her own name with a star.
She wore also a great neck-kerchief of silk embroidered with
gold, and on the right side was her father's name, and on the
left her own, all in golden letters. Then the hunter took a
pair of scissors and cut the right corner off and put it in his
knapsack, and then he took the right slipper with the King's
name, and thrust that in too. The maiden still lay sleeping,
and he cut a little piece from her nightgown, and thrust it in
with the rest, but he did it all without touching her. Then he
went out and left her lying asleep undisturbed, and when he
came to the gate again, the giants were still standing outside
waiting for him, and expecting that he was bringing the
princess. But he cried out to them that they were to come in,
for the maiden was already in their 'power, and that he -could

The giant gave the one who was sitting next him a box on the ear.

rdf ~ i

LITTLE BROTHER AND LITTLE SISTER
not open the gate to~ them, but that there was a hole through
which they must creep. As the first began to creep through
the hunter wound the giant's hair round his hand, pulled
his head in,. and cut it off at one stroke with his sword, and
then he drew the rest of him in. He called to the second to
come on and cut his head off in the same way, and then he
killed the third also,. and he was well pleased that he had
freed the beautiful maiden from her enemies. Before he
went he cut out their tongues and put them too in his knap-
sack. Then thought he, 'I will go home to my father and let
him see what I have already done, and afterwards I will travel
about the world. The luck which God is pleased to grant me
will easily find me.'
But when the King in the castle awoke, he saw the three
giants lying there dead. So he went into his daughter's bedroom,
woke her up, and asked her who could have killed the giants ?
Then said she, Dear father, I know not, I have been asleep.'
But when she rose and would have put on her slippers, the
right one was gone, and when she looked at her neck-kerchief
it was cut, and the right corner was missing, and when she
looked at her nightdress a piece was cut out of it. The King
summoned his whole court together, soldiers and every one else
who was there, and asked who had set his daughter at liberty,
and killed the giants ? Now it happened that he had a
captain, who was one-eyed and hideous, and he said that he
had done it. Then the old King said that as he had accom-
plished this, he should marry his daughter.
But the maiden said, Rather than marry him, dear father,
I will go away into the world as far as my legs can carry me.'
But the King said that if she would not marry him she
should take off her royal garments and wear peasant's clothing,
and out she should go, and that she should go to a potter, and
begin to sell earthen vessels. So she put off her royal apparel,
and went to a potter and borrowed crockery enough for a
stall, and she promised him also that if she had sold it by the
evening, she would pay for it. Then the King said she was

THE SKILFUL HUNTER

to seat herself in a corner, with it and sell it, and he arranged
w~ith some peasants to drive over it with their carts, so that
everything should` be broken into a thousand pieces. So when
the KEiing's daughter had set up her stall in the street, by came
the carts and smashed all she had into fragments.
She began to wveep and said, 'Alas, how shall I ever pay for
the pots now ? '
The K~ing had, however, wished by this to force her to
marry the captain, but instead of that, she went again to the
potter, and asked him if he would lend her some more pots and
p~ans. H~e said no, she must first pay for the things she had
already had.
Then she went to her father and cried and lamented, and
said she would go out into the world.
Then said he, 'I will have a little hut built for thee in the
forest outside, and in it thou shalt stay all thy life long and
cook for every one, but thou shalt take no money for it.'
When the hut was.ready, a sign was hung on the door on
which was written, 'For nothing-to-day, to-morrow for pay.'
There she remained a long time, and it was rumoured about the
world that a maiden was there who cooked without asking for
payment, and that this was set forth on a sign outside her door.
Thne hunter heard it too, and thought to himself, That
would suit thee. Thou art poor, and hast no money.'
So he took his air-gun and his knapsack, with all the things
in. it that he had formerly carried away with him from the
castle as tokens of his truthfulness, and he went into the forest,
and found the hut with, the signl, For nothing to-day, to-
morrow for pay.' He had put on the sword with which he had
cut off the heads of the three giants, and so prepared, he
entered the hut, andl ordered something to eat to be given to
him. He was charmed with the beautiful maiden, who was
indeed as lovely as any picture.
She asked him where he came from, and where he was going,
.and he said, 'I am roaming about the world.'
Then she asked hirn where he had got the sword, for that

LITTLE BROTHI-ER AND LITTLE SISTER
in truth her father's name was on it. He asked her if she were
the King's daughter ?
Yes,' answered she.
'With this sword,' said he, did I cut off the heads of three
giants.' And he took their tongues out of his knapsack in
proof. Then he also showed her the slipper, and the corner
of the neck-kerchief, and the bit of the nightdress. Hereupon
she was overjoyed, and said that he was the one who had
delivered her. On this they went together to the old King and
brought him to the hut, and she led him into her room, and
told him that the hunter was the man who had really set her
free from the giants. And when the aged King saw all the
proofs of this, he could no longer doubt, and said that he was
very glad he knew howT everything had happened, and that the
hunter should marry her, at which the maiden was glad at heart.
Then she dressed the huriter as if he were a foreign nobleman,
and the King ordered a feast to be prepared. When they went
to table, the captain sat on the left side of the King's daughter,
but the hunter was on the right, and the captain thought he was
a foreign lord who had come on a visit. When they had eaten
and drunk, the old King said to the captain that he would set
before him something which he must guess.
Supposing any one said that he had killed the three giants
and he was asked where the giants' tongues were, and was
forced to go and look, and there were none in their heads,
how could that happen ? '
The captain said, 'Then they cannot have had any.'
Not so,' said the King. Every animal has a tongue,'
and then he asked what any one would deserve who made such
an answer.
The captain replied, He ought to be torn to pieces.'
Then the K~ing said he had pronounced his own sentence, and the
captain was put in prison and then torn into four pieces. But
the King's daughter w~as married to the hunter. Afterwards he
sent for his father and mother, and they lived with their son in
happiness, and when the old K~ing died the kingdom came to him.

The True Sweetheart

ONCE upon a time there was a girl who was young and
beautiful, but she had lost her mother when she was
quite a child, and her step-mother did aUl she could to
make the girl's life wretched. Whenever this woman gave her
anything to do, she worked at it with a will, and did the utmost
she could. Still she could not touch the heart of the wicked
woman by that, she never was satisfied, it was never enough.
The harder the girl worked, the more work was put upon
her, and all that the woman thought of was how to -weigh her
down with still heavier burdens, and make her life still more
miserable.
One day she said to her, Here are twelve pounds of
feathers which thou must strip, and if they are not done this
evening, thou mayst expect a good beating. Dost thou
imagine thou art to idle away the whole day ? '
The poor girl sat down to the work, but tears ran down
her cheeks as she did so, for she saw plainly enough that it was
quite impossible to finish the work in one day. Whenever she
had a little heap of feathers lying before her, and she sighed
or smote her hands together in her anguish, they flew awray and
she had to pick them out again, and begin her work anew.
Then she put her elbows on the table, laid her face in her two
hands, and cried, Is there no one, then, on God's earth to
have pity on me ? '
~Then she heard a low voice which said, 'Be comforted, my
child, I have cone to help thee.'
The maiden looked up, and an old woman was by her side.
She took the girl kindly by the hand, and said, 'Just tell me
what is troubling thee.'

LITTLE BROTHER AND ~LITTLE SISTER
As she spoke so kindly, the girl told her of her miserable
life, and how one burden after another was laid upon her,
and how she never could get to the end of the work which was
given to her. If I have not done these feathers by this
evening, my step-mother will beat me. She has threatened she
will, and well I know she keeps her word.'
Her tears began to flow afresh, but the good old woman
said, Do not be afraid, my child. Rest a while, and in the
meantime I will look to thy work.'
The girl lay down on her bed, and soon fell asleep. The
old woman seated herself at the table with the feathers, and
ho i how they did fly off the quills, which she hardly touched
with her withered hands The twelve pounds were soon
finished, and when the girl -woke up, great snow-white heaps
were lying, piled up, and everything in the room was neatly
cleared away, but the old woman had vanished. The maiden
thanked God, and sat still till evening came, when the step-
mother came in and marvelled to see the work completed.
Just look, you awkward creature,' said she, what can be
done when people are industrious. And why couldst thou not
set about something else ? There thou sittest with thy hands
crossed.' But when she went out she said to herself, The
creature is worth more than her salt. I must give her some
work that is still harder.'
Next morning she called the girl, and said, There is a
spoon for thee. With that thou must empty out for me the
great pond which is beside the garden, and if it is not done by
night, thou knowest what will happen.'
The girl took the spoon, and saw that it was full of holes,
but even if it had not been, she never could have emptied the
pond with it. She set to work at once, knelt down by the
water, into which her tears were falling, and began. But the
good old woman appeared again, and when she learned the cause
of her grief, she said, Be of good cheer, my child. Go into the
bushes and lie down and sleep. I will soon do thy work.'
As soon as the old woman was alone, she barely touched

THE TRUE SWEETHEART

the pond, and a vapour rose up on high from the water, and
:mingled itself with the clouds. Gradually the pond was
emptied, and when the maiden awoke before sunset and came
batck, she saw nothing but the fishes which were wriggling in
the mud. She went to her step-mother, and showed her that
the work was done. It ought to have beeri done long before
this,' said she, and grew white with anger, but she began to
think o'f something new.
On the third morning she said to the girl, Out on the plain
there thou Imust build me a splendid castle, and it must be
ready by the evening.'
The maiden was dismayed, and said, 'How can I complete
such a great work ? '
I will stand no contradiction,' screamed the step-mother.
If thou canst empty a pond with a spoon that is full of holes,
thou canst build a castle too. I will take possession of it this
very day, and if anything is wanting, even if -it be the most
trifling thing in the kitchen or cellar, thou knowest what lies
before thee '
She drove the girl out, and when she came to the valley,
there lay the rocks, all tumbled one over the other, and all her
strength would not have enabled her to move even the smallest
of them.. She sat down and wept, and yet she hoped the old
woman would help her. Nor was she long in coming, and she
soon comforted her and said, Lie down there in the shade and
sleep, and I will/soon build the castle for thee. If it would
be a pleasure to thee, thou canst live in it thyself.'
When the maiden had gone away, the old woman touched
the grey rocks. They began to rise, and swiftly began gather-
ing together as if giants were building the walls. On these
Sthe building arose, and it seemed as if countless hands were
working invisibly, placing one stone upon another. There
was a dull~ heavy noise from the ground. Pillars rose up of
their o~wn accord, and ranged themselves in order one by the
other. The tiles laid themselves in rows upon the roof, and
--when noonday came, the great weathercock, in the shape of

LITTLE BROTHER AND LITTLE SISTER

a golden figure of the Virgin with fluttering~ garments, was
already turning itself on the top of the tower. -The inside of
the castle was being finished while evening was drawing near.
How the old woman managed it, I know not, but the walls of
the rooms were hung with silk and velvet, embroidered chairs
were there, and richly ornamented armchairs by marble tables,
crystal chandeliers hung down from the ceilings and were
reflected in the polished floors, green parrots were there in gilt
cages and so were strange birds which sang most beautifully,
and on all sides there was as much magnificence as if a king
was going to live there.
The sun was just setting when the girl woke up, and the
brightness of a thousaixd lights flashed in her face. She
hurried to the castle, anid entered by the open door. The
steps were spread with red cloth, and flowering trees stood upon
the golden balustrade. When she saw the splendour of the
halls, she stood as if turned to stone. Who knows how long
she might have stood there if she had not remembered the
step-mother ? Alas1 she said to herself, if only she could
but be satisfied, and would give up making my life a misery.'
TIhe girl went and told her that the castle w~as ready.
I will move into it at once,' said she, and rose from her
seat. When they entered the castle, she had to hold her hand
before her eyes, the brightness of everything was so dazzling.
' Thou seest,' said she to the girl, ' how easy it has been for
thee to dLo this. I ought to have given thee something harder.'
She went through all the rooms, and examined every corner
to see if anything was wanting or imperfect, but she could
discover nothing. -'Now we will go down below,' said she,
looking at the girl with malicious eyes. The kitchen and the
cellar still have to be eftamined, and if thou hast forgotten
anything thou shalt not escape thy punishment.' But the fire
was burning on the hearth, and the meat was cooking in the
pans, the, tongs and shovel were leaning against the wall, and
the shining brazen utensils all arranged in sight. Nothing was
wanting, not even a coal-box or a water-pail. Which is the

THE TR-UE SWVEETHIEART

wvay to the cellar ? she cried. If that is not abundantly
filled, it shall go ill with thee.' She herself raised the trap-
door a~nd descended. But she had hardly made two steps
before the heavy trap-door which was only laid back, fell with
a bang. The girl heard a scream, and quickly lifted the door to
go to her aid, but she had fallen down, and the girl found her
lying lifeless at the bottom.
And now the magnificent castle belonged to the girl alone.
She did not know at first how to reconcile herself to her good
fortune. Beautiful dresses were hanging in the wardrobes, the
chests were filled with gold or silver, or with pearls and precious
stones, and she had never a wish that could not be fulfilled.
Soon the fame of the beauty and riches of the maiden went
over all the world. Wooers presented themselves daily, but
none pleased her. At length there came the son of the King
himself and he knew how' to touch her heart, and she promised
to mlarrcy him.
In the garden of the castle was a lime-tree, and one day,
when they were sitting under it, he said to her, I will go homne
and get my father's consent to our marriage. I beg thee to
wait for me here, under the lime-tree; I shall be back with thee
in a few hours.'
The maiden kissed him on his left cheek, and' said, Be
true to me, and never let any one else kiss thee on this cheek.
I will wait here under. the lime-tree until thou returnest.'
The maid stayed beneath the linden until sunset, but he
did not return. She sat there three days from morning till
evening waiting for him, but in vain. As he was not there by
the fourth day, she said, 'Assuredly some accident has befallen
him. I will go and seek him, and will not come back until I
have: found him.' She packed up three of her most beautiful
dresses, one embroidered with bright stars, the second with
silver moons, the third with golden suns, tied up a handful of
jewels in her handkerchief, and set out to find the Prince. She
inquired everywhere but no one had seen him. No one knew
anything about him. Far and wide did she wander through

LITTLE BROTHER AND LITTLE SISTER
the world, but she found him not. At last she hired herself
to. a, farmer as a cow-herd, and buried her- dresses and jewels
beneath a stone.
And now she lived as a herdswpoman, taking care of the
kine, but she was very sad and full of longing for her beloved
one. 'She had a little calf which she taught to know her,,
and fed it out of her own hand, and when she said,
Little calf, forget me not,
As the prince his love forgot,
Who beneath the linden sat.'

the little calf knelt down, and she stroked it.
When. she had lived for two years alone and sorrowing, a
report was spread over all the land that the King's daughter
wvas about to -celebrate her marriage. The road to the town
passed through the village where the maiden was living, and
once it happened-when the maiden was driving out her herd, her
betrothed travelled by. He was sitting proudly on his horse,
and never looked round,' but when she saw him she recog-
nised her beloved, and it was as if a sharp knife pierced her
heart. Alas!' said she, I believed him true, but .he has
forsaken me.'
Next day he came ag-ain along the road. WShen he was
near she said to the little calf,
Little calf, forget me not,
As the prince his love forgot,
WFho beneath the linden sat.'

When he heard hei* voice, he looked down and reined in his
horse. He looked into her face, and put his hands before his
eyes as if he were trying to remember something, but after a
minute he rode on and was soon out of sight. Alas 1 .said
she, 'he no longer knows me,' and her grief was greater than
ever.
Soon after this a great festival was to be held for three days
at the King's court, an~d the whole country was invited to it.
84(

THE TRUE SWEETHEART

Now will I try my last chance,' thought the maiden, and
when evening came she went to the stone under which she had
buried her treasures. She took out the dress with the golden
suns and put it on, and adorned herself with their jewels. She
let down her hIair, which she had concealed under a kerchief, and
it fell down in long curls about her, and thus she went into the
town, and in the darkness was observed by no one. When she
entered the bright hall, every one started back in amazement,
but no one knew wvho she was. The King's son went to meet
her, but he did not recognlise her. He led her out to- dance,
and was so enchanted with her beauty that he thought no more
of the other bride. When the ball was over, she vanished in
the crowd, a~nd hastened before daybreak to the village, where
she put on her herd's dress again.
Next evening she took out the dress with the silver moons,
and put a half-moon made of precious stones in her hair.
Whlen she appeared at the festival, all eyes were turned upon
her, but the Kiing's son hastened to meet her, and deeply in
love with her, danced with her alone, and no longer so much
as glanced at any one else. Before she went away she was
forced to promise him to come again to the festival on the last
evening.
W~hen she appeared for the third time, she wore the star-
dress which sparkled at every step she took, and her hair-
ribbon and girdle were starred with jewels. The prince had
already been waiting for her for a long time, and forced his
way up to her. Do but tell who thou art,' said he, I feel
just as if I had already known thee for a long time.'
'Know-est thou not what I did when thou didst leave me ? '
Then she stepped up to him, and kissed him on the left cheek,
and in a moment it was as if scales fell from his eyes, and he
recognised the true bride.
Come,' said he to her, 'here I stay no longer,' and he
gave her his hand, and led her down to the carriage.
The horses sped away to the magic castle as if the wind
had been harnessed to the carriage. The illuminated windows

LITTLE BROTHER AND LITTLE SISTER
already shone in the distance. When they drove past the
lime-tree, countless glow-worms were swarming about it, and
it shook its boughs and shed sweet fragrance around it. On
the steps flowers were blooming, and the rooms echoed with
the song of strange birds, but in the hall the whole court was
assembled, and the priest was waiting to marry the bridegroom
to the true bride.

The Twelve Brothers

ONCE upon a time there were a king and a queen who
lived happily together and had twelve children, but
they were all boys.
Then said the K~ing to his wife, If the thirteenth child
which thou art about to bring into the world is a girl, the
twelve boys shall die, in order that her possessions may be
great, and that the kingdom may fall to her alone.'
He. also caused twelve coffins to be made, and filled with
shavings, and in each lay the little pillow for the dead, and
he had them taken and locked up in a room of which he gave
the Queen the key, bidding her not to speak of this to any one.
The mother, however, now sat and lamented all day long,
until the youngest son, who was always with her, and whom
she had named Benjamin, from the Bible, said to her, Dear
mother, why art thou so sa~d ? '
Dearest child,' she answered, 'I may not tell thee.' But
he let her have no rest until she went and unlocked the room,
and showed him the twelve coffins ready filled with shavings.
Then she said, My dearest Benj'amin, thyT father ha~s had
these coffins made for thee and for thy eleven brothers, for if
I bring a little girl into the world, you are all to be killed anid
buried in them.'
And as she wept while she was saying this, the son com-

THE TWELVE BROTHERS

forted her and said, Weep not, dear mother, we will save
ourselves, and go hence.'
At that she said, 'Go forth into the forest with thy eleven
brothers, and let one of you sit constantly on the highest tree
which can be found, and keep watch, looking towards the
tower here .in the castle. If I give birth to a little son, I will
put up a white flag, and you -may venture to come back, but
if I bear a daughter, I will hoist a red flag, and then fly hence
as quickly as you are able, and may the good God protect
you. And. every night I wil rise up and pray for you--in
winter that you may have a fire to warm you, and in summer
that you may not faint in the heat.'
Therefore, after she had blessed her sons, they went forth
into the forest. They each kept watch in tur~n, and sat on
the highest oak and looked towards the tower. When eleven
days had ,passed and the turn came to -Benjamin, he- saw that
a flag was being run up. It was, however, not white, but the
blood-red flag which announced that they were all to die.
When the brothers heard that, they were very angry and
said, 'Are we all to suffer death for the sake of a girl ? We
swear that we will avenge ourselves 1--wheresoever we find a
girl, her red blood shall flow.'
Thereupon they went deeper into the forest, and in the
very midst of it, where it was the darkest, they found a little
enchanted hut, which was standing empty.
Then said they, 'Here we will dwell, and thou Benjamin,
who art the youngest and weakest, thou shalt stay at home and
keep house, while the rest of us go out and get food.' Then they
went into the forest and shot hares, wild deer, birds and pigeons,
and whatsoever there was to eat; this they took home to
Benjamin, who cooked it for them all. They lived together ten
years in the little hut, nor did the time seem long in passing.
The little daughter to whom their mother the Queen had
given birth, was now grown up; she was good of heart, and
fair of face, and had a golden star on her forehead. Once,
when it was the great washing, she saw twelve men's shirts

LITTLE 'BROTHER AND LITTLE SISTER

amo' the tohmns and
whom do these twelve
shirts belong, for they are far too small for father ?'
Then the Queen answered with a heavy heart, 'Dear child,
these belong to thy twelve brothers.'
Said the maiden, W7here are my twelve brothers ? I have
never yet heard of them.'
God knows where they are,' she replied; they are wander-
ing about the world.' Then she took: the maiden and opened
the chamber for her, and showed her the twelve coffins with
the shavings, and pillows for the head.
These coffins,' said she, 'were destined for thy brothers,
but they went away secretly before thou wert born,' and she
related to her how everything had happened.
Then said the maiden, Dear mother, weep not, I will go
and seek my brothers.'
So she took the twelve shirts and went forth, straight into
the great forest. She walked the whole day, and in the
evening she came to the bewitched hut. Then she entered it
and found a young boy, who asked, From whence comest
88

THE TWELVE BROTHERS

thou, and whither art thou
bound ?' and was astonished
thatt she was so beautiful, and
wore royal garments, and had 'To wPhom do these twelve shirts belong?~
a star on her forehead.
I am a king's daughter,' she answered, and I am seeking
my twelve brothers, and I will walk as far as the sky is blue
until I find them.' She also showed him the twelve shirts
which belonged to them.
Then Benjamin saw that she was his sister, and:
said, I am Benjamnin, thy youngest brother.' And she
began to weep for joy, and Benjamin wept also, and
they kissed and embraced each other with the greatest
love.
But after this he said, Dear sister, there is still one
difficulty.;, We have determined that every maiden ~whom we
meet shall die, because we have been obliged to leave our
kingdom~ on account of a girl.'
Then said she, ' I ,will willingly die, if by so doing I can
deliver my twelve brothers.'
' No,' answered he, thou shalt not die. Seat thyself
89

LITTLE BROTHER AND LITTLE SISTER
beneath this tub until our eleven brothers come, and then I
will soon come to an agreement with them.'
She did so, and when it was night the others came honie
from hunting, and their dinner was ready. And as they were
sitting at table, and eating, they asked, 'What news is there ? '
Said Benjamin, 'Don't you know anything ? '
No,' they answered.
You have been in the forest,' he continued, and I have
stayed at home, and yet I know more than you do.'
Tell us then,' they cried.
Promise me that the first maiden who meets us shall not
be killed.'
Yes,' they all cried, she shall have mercy, only do tell
us the news.'
Then said he, Our sister is here,' and he lifted up the
tub, and the King's daughter came forth in her royal garments
with the golden star on her forehead, and she was beautiful,
delicate, and fair. Then they were all rejoiced, and fell on
her neck, and kissed and loved her with all their hearts.
Now she stayed at home with Benjamin and helped him
with the work. The eleven went into the forest and caught
game, and deer, and birds, and wood-pigeons that they might
have food, and the little sister and Benjamin took care to make
it ready for them. She sought the wood for cooking and
herbs for vegetables, and put the pans on the fire so that
the dinner was always ready when the eleven came. She like-
wise kept order in the little house, and put beautiful clean
white coverings on the little beds, and the brothers were
always contented and lived in great harmony with her.
One day the two a~t home had prepared a lovely feast, and
when they were all there, they sat down to eat and drink
and were full of gladness. Now there was a little garden
belonging to the enchanted cottage where~ grew twelve lilies,
and the sister, wishing to give hei brothers pleasure, picked
the twelve flowers to present each brother with one while they
were at dinner. But at the self-same moment that she
40

THE TWELVE BROTHERS
plucked the flowers the twelve brothers were changed into
twelve ravens, and flew away over the forest. And the little
house and the garden vanished also. And now the poor
maiden was left all alone in the wild forest, and as she looked
round, there was an old woman standing near her.
MyST child,' she said, 'what hast thou done ? Why didst
thou not leave the twelve white flowers growing ? They were
thy brothers, who are now for evermore changed into ravens.'
The maiden burst into tears. Is there no way of deliver-
ing them ? she cried.
No,' said the woman, in the whole world there is but one
way, and that so hard that never wilt thou deliver them by
it, for dumb thou must be for seven years, and mayst. not
speak nor laugh. If thou didst speak one single word, and
only one hour of the seven years were wanting, all would be
in vain, and that one word would be thy brothers' death.'
Then said the maiden in her heart, I know for certain
that I shall set my brothers free,' and she sought a high tree
and climbed up it and there she sat and span, and neither
spoke nor laughed. Now it so happened that a king was
hunting in the forest, who had a great greyhound that ran
to the tree where the maiden was sitting, and leaped round it,
whining, and barking at her. The King came up and saw
the beautiful King's daughter with the golden star on her
brow, and was so enchanted with her beauty that he shouted
to ask her if she would be his wife. She made no answer, but
nodded her head gently. So he climbed up to her and carried
her down, seated her upon his horse, and bore her home. The
wedding took place with great magnificence and rejoicing, but
the. bride neither spoke nor smiled.
When they had lived happily together for a few years, the
King's mother, who was a wicked woman, began to slander
the young Queen, and said to the K~ing, 'This is- but a common
beggar girl whom thou hast brought back with thee. W~ho
knows what sorcery she may not practise in secret I Even
if she be dumb, and not able to speak, she still might laugh

LITTLE: BROTHER AND LITTLE SISTER

for once; those who' do not laugh have bad consciences.' At
~first the King would not believe it, but the old woman urged
this so long, and accused. her of so many evil things, that at

The wicked mother-in-law was put into a barrel full of boiling
oil and venomous snakes.

last the King let himself be persuaded and sentenced her
to death.
And nowr~ a great fire was kindled in the courtyard in which
she was to be burnt, and the King stood above at a window
and looked on with tearful eyes, because he still loved her so
mnuch. And when she was' bound fast to the stake, and the
~flames were licking at her clothing with red tongues, the very

THE TWELVE BROTHERS

last instant of the seven years expired. A whir~ring of wings
was heard in the air, and twelve ravens came flying towards
the place.' They sank down, and no sooner had they touched
the earth when, they became her twelve brothers, whom she
had~ freed from enchantment. They scattered the burning
faggots and trod out the flames, set their dear sister free, and
kissed and embraced her. And now as she dared to open her
mouth and speak, she told the King why she had been dumb,
and had never laughed. The King' rejoiced when he heard
that she was innocent, and they all lived in great happiness
until their death. The wicked mother-in-law was taken before
the judge, and condemned to be put into a barrel full of boiling
oil and venomous snakes, and died an. evil death.

The Three Spinners

T IPHERE was once a girl who was idle and who would not
Spin, and let her mother say what she would, she
could not get her to do it. At last one day the mother
lost all patience, and became so angry that she beat the girl,
'who began to weep aloud. Now at this very moment the
Queen was driving by, and when she heard the crying she
stopped her carriage, went into the house and asked the
mother why she was beating her daughter so that the girl's
cries could be heard right out in the road ? The woman was
so ashamed to expose her daughter's laziness that she said,
I cannot get her to leave off spinning. She 's for ever
wanting to spin and I am, poor, and cannot procure the flax.'
Then answered the Queen, 'There is nothing I like better
to hear than spinning, and I am never so happy a~s when the
wheels are humming. Let me have your daughter with me in
the palace, I have flax enough, and there she shall spin to
her heart's content.' The mother was heartily satisfied with
this, and the Queen took the girl away with her. When they
reached the palace, she led her upstairs to three rooms which
were filled from top to bottom with the finest flax.
Now spin me all this,' said she, and when thou hast
done it, thou shalt have my eldest son for a husband, even
though thou art poor. I care not for that, for thy tireless
industry will be dowry enough.'
The girl was secretly terrified, for she could not spin the
flax, no, not if she lived to be three hundred years old, and
sat at it every day from morning till night. So when she
was alone, she began to cry, and sat thus for three days
without moving a finger. On the third day in came the

THE TH-REE SPINNERS

Queen, and was surprised when she saw that nothing had
been done yet; but the girl excused herself by saying that
she had not been able to begin because of her grief at
leaving her mother's house.. The Queen was satisfied with
this, but said as she left, 'To-morrow, thou must begin to
work.'
When the girl was alone again, she did not know what to
do, and in her distress she went to the window. There she
saw approaching three women. The first of them had a broad
flat foot, the second had such a great underlip that it hung
down over her chin, and the third had a great broad thumb.
They stopped beneath the window, and looked up, and asked
the girl what the matter was. She told them all her trouble,
and they offered to help her.
If thou wilt invite us to thy wedding,' they said and
not be ashamed of us, but wilt call us thine aunts, and place
us at thy table, we 'll spin all the flax for thee, and very
soon too.'
With all my heart,' she agreed, do but come in, and
begin the wo~rk at once.'
Then she let in the three strange- women, and cleared a
place for them in the first room, where, they sat themselves
down and began their spinning. The first one drew out the
thread and turned the wheel with her foot; the second wetted
the thread; the third twisted it, and struck the table with her
thumb; and at each stroke a skein of thread fell to the ground
spun in the finest manner possible. The girl hid the three
spinners from the Queen whenever she came, and showed her
the great quantity of thread, until she could not praise her
enough. When the first room was empty she went on to
the second, and last to. the third, and that too was quickly
cleared. Then the three women took their leave saying,
Forget not what thou hasrt promised us, it will make thy
fortune.'
When the maiden showed the Queen the empty rooms,
and the great heap.0f yarn, she gave orders for the wedding,

LITTLE: BROTHER AND LITTLE SISTER
and the bridegroom rejoiced that he was to have such a clever
and industrious wife, and praised her mightily.-
I have three aunts,' said the girl, 'and as they have been
very kind to me, I should not like to forget them in my good

In came the three women dressed in the strangest fashion.

fortune; pray give me leave to invite them to our wedding,
and let them sit with us at table. The Queen and the Prince
saw no reason why they should not allow that.' So when the
feast began, in came the three women dressed in the strangest
fashion, and the bride said, 'Welcome, dear aunts.'

THE STAR-MONEY

Oh,' said the bridegroom, 'how comes it that thy friends
are so hideous ?' And turning to the one with the broad
foot, he said, How did you come by such a broad flat
foot ? '
By treading,' she answered, 'by treading.'
Then he went to the second, and said, 'How did you come
by your hanging lip ? '
By licking,' she answered, 'by licking.'
Then he asked the third, 'And how did you come by your.
great broad thumb ? '
By twisting the thread,' she answered, 'by twisting the
thread.'
At this the King's son was alarmed and declared, 'Never
again shall my .beautiful bride touch a spinning-wheel.' And
that 's how she got rid of her hateful spinning.

The Star-Mloney

O NCE upon a time there was a little girl whose father and
mother were dead, and she was so poor that she no
longer had any little room to live in or bed to sleep
in, and at last she had nothing else but the clothes she was
wearing and a little bit of bread in her hand which some
charitable soul had given her. She was, however, good and
pious. And asshe was thus forsaken by all the world, she
went forth into the open country, trusting in the good God.
On her way she met a poor man wcho said, Ah, give me
something. to eati, I am so hungry!' At once she gave him
the whole of her piece of bread, and said, 'May God bless it
to thy use,' and went on. Then came a child who moaned and
said, 'My head 'is so cold, do give me something to cover it
with.' So she took off her hood and gave it to him,

LITTLE BROTHER AND LITTLE SISTER

and when she had walked
little farther, she met
another child who had no
jacket and was frozen with
cold. So she gave it her
own jacket, and a little
farther on another one
begged for a frock, and she
gave away that also. At
length she came to a forest
and it had already become
dark, and there came yet
another child, and asked for
a little shirt, and the good
little girl thought to herself,
' It is a dark night and no
one sees thee, thou canst
very well give thy little
smock away,' and took it
off, and gave away that also.
And as she stood there
without onie single thing left
to call her own, suddenly
some stars from heaven fell
down, ~and they were no-
thing else but hard smooth
pieces of money, and al-
though she had just given
her little shirt away,
/ she had a new one
of the -very finest
/ linen. Then she
gathered the money
O / into this, and was
ya/ rich aUl the days of
( / / /her life.

T~he Old W~oman in ~the W~ood

APOOR servant-girl was once travelling with the family
with whom she was in service through a great forest,
and when they were .in the midst of it, robbers came
upon them out of a thicket, and murdered aUl they could find.
All perished together except the girl, who had jumped out of
the carriage in a fright, and hidden behind a tree. When the
robbers had made off with their plunder, she came out and
beheld the great disaster. She began to weep bitterly, and
said, 'What can a poor girl like me do now ? I do not know
how to get out of the forest, no human being lives in it, so I
must certainly starve.' She roamed about looking for a way
out, but could find none. In the evening she seated herself
under a tree, gave herself into God's keeping, and resolved to
sit waiting there and riot go away, let what might happen.
But when she had sat there for a while, a white dove came
flying to her with a little golden key in its beak.
It put the little key in her hand, and said, 'Dost thou see
D 49

LITTLE BROTHERS AN9D LITTLE SISTER
that great tree, therein is a little lock, it opens with the tiny
key, and there thou wilt find food enough, and suffer no more
hunger.' So she went to the tree and opened it, and found
milk in a little dish, and white bread to break into it, so that
she could eat her fill. When she had had enough, she said,
' It is now the time when the hens at home go to roost, and I
amn so tired I could well go to bed too.'
Then the dove flew to her again, and brought another
golden key in its bill, and said, Open that tree there, and
thou wilt find a bed.' So she opened it, and found a beautiful
white bed, and she- prayed God to protect her during the night,
and lay down and slept.
In the morning the dove came for the third time, and
again brought a little key, and said, 'Open that tree there,
and thou wilt find clothes.' And w~hen she opened it, she found
garments beset with gold and with jewels, _more splendid than
those of any king's daughter. So she lived there for some
time, and the dove came every day and provided her with all
she needed, and it was a quiet good life.
Once, however, the dove came and said, Wilt thou do
something for my sake ? '
With all my heart,' said the girl.
Then said the little dove, 'I will guide thee to a little hut.
Go in, and inside will be an old woman sitting by the fire and
she will say, Good-day." But on thy life give her no answer,
let her do what she will, but pass by her on the right side.
Further on, there is a door, which thou must open, and thou
wilt enter into a room where a number of rings of all kinds
are lying, amongst which are some magnificent ones with
shining stones. But leave those where they are and seek out
a plain one, which must also be amzongst them, and bring it
here to me as quickly as thou canst.'
The girl went to the little house, and came to the door.
There sat an old woman who stared when she saw her, and
said, Good-day, my child.' The girl gave her no answer
and opened the door. What art thou after ?' cried the old

TH-IE OLD WOMAN IN THE W~OODi

woman, and seized her by the gown, and tried to hold her
fast, saying, 'This is my house. No one can go in there if I
say not.' But the girl did not speak but got away from. her,

The old woman seized her by the gown, and tried to hold her fast.

and went straight into the room. Now there lay on the table
an enormous number of rings, which gleamed and glittered
before her eyes. She turned them over and looked for the
plain. one, but could not find it. While she was seeking, she
saw the old woman and ]how she was stealing away, and

LITTLE BROTHER AND LITTLE SISTER
wanting to get off with a bird-cage which she had in her hand.
So she ran after her and took the cage out of her hand, and
when she lifted it up and looked into it, there w'as a bird with
the plain ring in its bill. Then she took the ring, and ran
joyously home with it, and thought the little white dove
would come and get the ring, but it did not.
TChen she leant against a tree and determined to wait for
the dove, and as she stood thus, it seemed just as if the tree
became soft and pliant, and was letting its branches down.
Suddenly the branches twined around her, and turned into
two arms, and when she looked round, the tree was a hand-
some man, who embraced her and kissed her heartily, an~d
said, Thou hast delivered me from the power of the old
woman, who is a wicked witch. She had changed me into a
tree, and every day for two hours I became a white dove, and
so long as she possessed the ring I could not regain my human
form.' Then his servants and his horses, who had also been
changed into trees, were freed from. the enchantment too, and
stood beside him. And he led them out of the forest to his
kingdom, for he was a King's son, and they were married, and
lived happily ever after.

:e

*I

Bearskin

THERE was once a young fellow who enlisted as a soldier,
bore himself bravely, and, was always the foremost
when it rained bullets. So lonzg as the war lasted, all
went well, but when peace was made, he received his dis-
missal, and the captain. said he might go where he liked. His
parents were dead, and he had no longer a home, so he went
to his brothers and begged them to take hima in and keep him
until war, broke out again. The brothers, however, were hard-
hearted and said, What can we do with thee ? thou art of
no use to us; go and make a living for thyself.'
The soldier had nothing left but his gun. He took that
on his shoulder, and went forth into the world.~ He came to
a wide heath, on which nothing was to be seen but a circle
of trees. In the shade of these he sat sorrowfully dowc7n, and
began, to think over his fate. I have no money,' thought he;
' I have learned no trade but that of fighting, and now that
they have made peace they don't want me any longer, so I
can see nothing before me but to die of hunger.' All at once
hne heard a rustling, and looked round, and there stood a
strange mnan, who wore a green coat and appeared to be a
person of consequence, but had a hideous cloven foot.
I know already what thou art in need of,' said the man;
' gold and riches shalt thou have, as much as thou canst do,
with, but first I must_ know if thou art fearless, that I may
not bestow my money in vain.'
A soldier and cowardice I How can those two things
~go together ?' was the answer. Just put me to the
proof.'i
'Very well, then,' said the man, c'look behind thee.'

LITTLE: BROTHER AND LITTLE SISTER
The soldier turned round, and saw a large bear coming
growling towards him.
Oho cried the soldier, 'I 'll tickle thy nose for thee,
and thou shalt soon lose thy fancy for growling,' and he took
aim at the bear and shot it right through the muzzle, and it
fell dead on the spot.
I see quite well,' answered Greencoat, 'that thou art not
wanting in courage, but there is still another condition thou
wilt have to fulfil. For the next seven years neither shalt
thou wash thyself, nor comb thy beard, nor thy hair, nor cut
thy nails, nor say one paternoster. I will give thee a coat
and a cloak, which thou must wear all this time. If thou
diest during these seven years, thou art mine. If thou re-
mainest alive, thou art free, and rich to boot for all the rest of
thy life.'
The soldier~ thought of the great need in which he now
found himself, and as he so often had gone to meet death, he
resolved to risk it; now also, and agreed to the terms. The
stranger took off his green coat, gave it to the soldier, and
said, If thou hast this coat on thy back and puttest thy
hand into the pocket, thou wilt always find it full of money.'
Then he pulled the skin off the bear and said, 'This shall be
thy cloak, and thy bed also, for thereon shalt thou sleep, and
in no other bed shalt thou lie, and because of this clothing
thou shalt be called Bearskin.' And as he said this, he
vanished.
The soldier put the coat on, felt at once in the pocket,
and found he had been told the truth. Then he thre~w the
bearskin on and went forth into the -world and enjoyed himself,
denying himself nothing that money could buy. For the first
year his appearance was passable, but during the second he
began to look like a monster. His hair covered nearly the
whole of his face, his beard was matted like a piece of felt, his
fingers had claws, and his face was so covered with dirt that
if cress had been sown on it, it would have come up. Who-
ever saw him, ran away. But as he everywhere gave money

BEAR SKIN

to the poor to pray that he might not die during the seven
years, and as he paid well for all he needed he could stil

?iY~l;t~i

;1\\\

~

Pr ~-

a~93 -Whoever saw him, ran away.

9-- /Pffal alway find shelter. In the fourth year,
J he entered an inn where the landlord
would not receive him, and would not
even give him a place in the stable for fear he should frighten
the horses. But as Bearskin thrust his hand into his pocket
and pulled out a handful of ducats, the host let himself be
persuaded and gave him a room in an outhouse on condition
55

LITTLE BROTHER AND LITTLE SISTER
not to let himself be seen lest the inn should get a bad
name.
As Bearskin was sitting alone in the evening, and wishing
from the bottom of his heart that the 'seven years were over,
he heard some one lamenting aloud in the next room. He
had a compassionate heart so he opened the door, and there
he saw an old man weeping bitterly, and wringing his hands.
Bearskin went nearer, but the man sprang to his feet in terror
and tried to escape from him. At last when the man per-
ceived that Bearskin's voice was human he let himself be
prevailed on, and by kind words Bearskin succeeded so far that
the old man revealed the cause of his grief. His property
had dwindled away by degrees, he and his daughters would
have to starve, and he was so poor that he could not pay the
innkeeper, and was to be put in prison.
If that is your only trouble,' said Bearskin, I have
plenty of money.' And he sent for the innkeeper, paid him
what was due, and put a purse full of gold into the poor old
man's pocket besides.
When the old man saw himself set free from ~all his troubles
he did not know how to be grateful enough. Comle with me,'
said he to Bearskin; my daughters are all marvels of beauty,
choose one of then for thyself as a wife. When she hears~
what thou hast done for mne, she will not refuse thee. Thou
dost in truth look a little strange, but she will soon put thee
to rights again.'
This pleased Bearskin well, and he went with him. When
the eldest girl sawv him she wvas so terribly frightened that she
screamed and ran away. The second stood where she was
and looked at him from head to foot, but then she said,
' How can I accept a husband who no longer has a human
form ? The shaven bear that once was here and pretended
to be a man pleased me far better, for at any rate it wore
a hussar's dress and white gloves. If it were nothing but
ugliness, I might get used to that.'
But the youngest daughter said, Dear father, that must

BE ARSKIN

be a good man to have helped you out of your trouble, so if
you have promised him a bride for doing it, your promise
must be kept.'
It was a pity that Bearskin's face was covered with dirt
and hair, or else they might have seen how delighted he was
when he heard these words. He took a ring from his fi~nger,
broke it in two and gave her one half, while he kept the other
for himself. And he wrote his name on her half, and hers on
his, -and begged her to keep her part carefully. Then he took
his leave and said, 'I must still wander about for three years
a~nd if I do not return then, thou art free, for I shaUl be dead.
But pray to God to guard my life.'
The poor betrothed bride dressed herself entirely in black,
and when she thought of her future bridegroom, tears came
into her eyes. Nothing but contempt and mockery fell to
her lot from her sisters.
Take care,' said the eldest, if thou givest himr thy hand,
he will stick his claws into it.'
Beware I said the second. Bears like sweet things, and
if he takes a fancy to thee, he will eat thee up.'
Thou must always do as he likes,' began the elder agaiin,
' or else he will growl.'
And the second continued, 'But the wedding will be a
merry one, for bears dance well.'
The maiden was silent, and did not let them vex her.
As for Bearskin, he travelled about the world from one
place to another, did good where he was able, and gave
generously to the poor that they might pray for him.'
Aqt length, as the last day of the seven years dawned, he
went oncer more out on to the heath, and seated himself in
the circle of trees. It was not long before the wind whistled,
and the stranger stood before him and looked angrily. at him.
Then he threw Bearskin his old coat, and asked for his own
green one back.
We have not got so far as that yet,' answered Bearskin,
' thou must first make me clean.'

LITTLE BROTHER AND JLITTILE SISTER
And whether he liked it or not, the stranger had to fetch
water, and wash Bearskin, comb his hair, and cut his nails.
After this, he looked like a brave soldier again, much hand-
somer than he had ever been before.
When Greencoat had gone away, Bearskin was quite light-
hearted. He went into the town, put on a magnificent velvet
coat, seated himself in a carriage drawn by four white horses,
and drove to his bride's house. No one recognized him, the
father took him for a distinguished general, and led him into
the room, where his daughters were sitting. Hle was made to
sit between the two eldest, and they helped him to wine,
gave him the best from every dish, and thought that in all
the world they had never seen a handsomer man. The bride,
however, sat opposite to him, in her black dress, and never
raised her eyes nor spoke a word. When at length he asked
the father if he would give himn one of his daughters to wife,
the two eldest jumped up and ran to their bedrooms to put
on splendid dresses, for each. of them fancied she was thne
chosen one. As soon as he was alone with his bride, the
stranger brought out his half of the ring, and threw it in a
glass of wine which he handed across the table to her. She
took the wine, but when she had drunk it and found the half
ring lying at the bottom, her heart began to beat. She got
the other half, which she wore on a ribbon round her neck,
and joined the two halves, and saw that they fitted together
exactly. Then. said he, I am thy betrothed bridegroom,
whom thou sawest as Bearskin, but through thne grace of
Heaven I have again received my human form, and have once
more become clean.' And he took her in1 his arms and kissed
her. Just then the two sisters came back dressed in their
best. And when they saw that the handsome man had fallen
to the share of the youngest and heard that he was Bearskin,
they ran out wild with rage. One of them drowned herself
in the well and the other hanged herself on a tree.

One-eye, Two-eyes, and Three-eyes
THERE was once a woman who had- three daughters, the
eldest of whom was called One-eye, because she had
only one eye in the middle of her forehead, and the
second, Two-eyes, because she had two eyes like other folks,
and the youngest, Three-eyes, because she had three eyes.
And her third eye, also, was in the middle of her forehead.
However, as 'Twvo-eyes saw just as other human beings did,
her sisters and her mother could not endure her.
They said to her, Tou, with thy two eyes, art no better
than the common people. Thou dost not belong to us! '
They pushed her about, and threw old clothes to her, and gave
h~er nothing to eat but what they left, and did everything that
they could to mnake her unhappy.
It came to pass that Two-eyes had to go out into the fields
anld tend the goat, but she wpas still quite hungry, because her
sisters had given her so little to eat. So she sat down on a
ban and began to weep, and she wept so bitterly that two
streams ran down from her eyes. And once in the midst of
her grief she looked up and there stood a woman beside her,
wvho said, Why art thou weeping, little Two-eyes ? '
T~wo-eyes answered, Have I not reason to weep, when I
have two eyes like other people, and my sisters and mother
hate mne for it, and push me from one corner to another, and
throw old clothes at me, and give me nothing to eat but the
scraps they leave ? To-day they have given me so little that I
am still very hungry.'
Then the wise woman said, 'Wipe away thy tears, Two-
eyes, and I will tell thee something to stop thee suffering from
hunger ever again. Just say to thy goat,
Little goat, bleat !
Little table, spread i

LITTLE BROTHER AND LITTLE SISTER
and then a clean wvell-spread little table will stand before thee,
with the most delicious food upon it of which thou maylst eat
as much as ever thou wishest, and when thou hast had enough,
and hast no more ~need of the little table, just say,
Little goat, bleat !
Little table, go !'
and then it will vanish again from thy sight.' Hereupon the
-wise woman departed.
But Two-eyes thought, 'I must try this at once, and see if
what she said is true, for I am too hungry to bear it,' so she said,
Little goat, bleat !
Little table, spread !'
and scarcely had she spoken the words than a little table
covered with a white cloth was standing there, and on it was
a plate with a knife and fork and a silver spoon, and the most
delicious food was there also, warm and smoking as if it had
just come out of the kitchen. Then TCwo-eyes said the shortest
prayer she knew, 'Lord God, be with us always, Amen,' and
helped herself, and enjoyed it very much. Aind when she
was satisfied, she said, as the wvise woman had taught her,
Little goat, bleat!i
Little table, spread!i'
and immediately the little table and everything on it was gone
again. That is a delightful way of keeping house 1 thought
Two-eyes, and was quite glad and happy.
In the evening, wvhen she went home with hler goat, she
found a small earthenware dish with something to eat, which
her sisters had set ready for her, but she did not touch it.
Next day again she went out with her goat, and the few crusts
of bread which had been given her, she left untouched. The
first and second time that she did this, her sisters did not notice
it at all, but as it happened every time, they soon did observe
it, and said, 'There is something wrong about Tswo-eyes, she
always leaves her food untasted, and she used to eat up every-

ONE-EYE, TWO-EYES, AND THREE-EYES
thing that was given her. She must have found other ways
of getting her food.'
In order that they might learn the truth, they resolved to
send One-eye with Two-eyes when she went to drive her goat
to the pasture, to wiPatch what Two-eyes did when she was
there, and whether any one brought her anything to eat and
drink. So when Two-eyes set out the next time, One-eye went
to her and said, I will go with you to the pasture, and see that
the goat is well taken care of, and driven where there is food.'
But Two-eyes knew what was in One-eye's mind, and after
she had driven the goat into long grass, she said, 'Come, One-
eye, we will sit down, and I will sing something to you.'
One-eye sat down, tired with the unaccustomed walk and the
heat of the sunl, and Two-eyes sang constantly,
One eye, wakest thou ?
One eye, sleepest thou?'
until One-eye shut her one eye, and fell asleep, and as soon as
Two-eyes sawp that Onle-eye was fast asleep, and could discover
nothing, she said,
Little goat, bleat!
Little table, spread !'
and seated herself at her table, and ate and drank until she
had had enough, and then she said,
'Little goat, bleat!i
Little table, go!i'
and in an instant all was gone. Two-eyes nowv awakened
One-eye, and said, One-eye, you set out to take care of the
goat, and. go to sleep while you are doing it. In the mean-
timne the goat might run all over the world. Come, let us go
home again.' So they went home, and again Two-eyes let
her little dish stand untouched, and One-eye could not tell
her mother why she would not eat it, and to excuse herself
said, I fell asleep when I was out.'
Next day the mother said to Three-eyes,' Ths time thou
shalt go and watch if Two-eyes eats anything when she is out,

LITTLE BROTHER AND LITTLE SISTER
and if any one fetches her food and drink:, for she must eat and
drink in secret.' So Three-eyes went to Two-eyes, and said,
' I will go with you and see if the goat is taken proper care of,
and driven where there is food.' But Two-eyes knew what was
in Three-eyes' mind, and drove the goat into long grass, and said,
' We will sit down, and I will sing something to you, Three-eyes.

'Now I know why that stuck-up thing there does not eat.'
Three-eyeS sat down, tired with the walk and the heat of the
sun, and Two-eyes began the same song as before, and sang,
Three-eyes, are you waking ? '
but then, instead of singing,
Three-eyes, are you sleeping ? '

ONE-EYE, TWO-EYTES, AND THREE-EYES
as she ought to have done, she thoughtlessly sang,
Two-eyes, are y'ou sleeping? '
andd sang all the time,
Three-eyes, are you waking ?
Two-eyes, are you sleeping? '
Then two of the eyes which Thee-
eyes had, shut and fell asleep, but
the third, as it had not been. named
in the song, did not sleep. It is true
that Three-eyes shut it, but only in
her cunning, to pretend it was asleep
too, but it blinked and could see
everything very well. And when
Two-eyes thought that Three-eyes
was fast asleep, she used her little
charm,
Little goat, bleat !
Little table, spread '
and ate and drank as much as her I
heart desired, and then ordered the i\i
table to go away again,
Little goat, bleat! J
Little table, go! .
and Thr:':~'~':ee-eyes had seenl every- \
thing. Then Two-eyes came to her,
wvaked her and said, 'H~ave you been
asleep, Three-eyes ? You are a good
caretaker 1 Come, ~we will go homne.
And when they got home, Two-eyes
again did not eat, and Three-eyes said to the mother, 'Now
I know why that stuck-up thing there does not eat. When
she is out, she says to the goat,
Little goat, bleat !
Little table, spread !'

LITTLE BROTHER AND LITTLE SISTER
and then a little table appears before her covered with the
best of food, much better than any we have here,- and when she
has eaten all she wants, she says,
Little goat, bleat !
Little table, go!i'

and all disappears. I watched everything closely. She piut
two of my eyes to sleep by using a certain form of words, but
luckily the one in my forehead kept awake.' Then the mother cried, Dost thou want to fare better than we do ?
The desire shall pass away,' and she took a butcher's knife,
and thrust it into the heart of the goat, and it fell down dead.
When Two-eyes saw that, she went out full of trouble,
'seated herself on the grass bank at the edge of the field, and
wept bitter tears. Suddenly the wvise woman once more stood
by her side, and said, 'Two-eyes, why art thou weeping ? '
Have I not reason to weep ? she answered. The goat
that spread the table for me every .day when I spoke your
charm, has been killed by my mother, and now I shall again
have to bear hunger and wantt'
The wise woman said, Two-eyes, I will give thee a piece of
good advice. Ask thy sisters to give thee the entrails of the
slaughtered goat, and bury them in the ground in front of the
house, and thy fortune will be made.'
Then she vanished, and Two-eyes went home and said to
her sisters, 'Dear sisters, do give me some part of my goat. I
don't wish for what is good, but give me the entrails.'
Then they laughed and said, If that 's all you want, you
can have it.'
So Two-eyes took the entrails and buried them quietly in
the evening, in front of the house-door, as the` wise woman. had
counselled her to do.
Next morning, when they all awoke, and went to the house-
door, there stood a strange and beautiful tree with leaves of
silver, and fruit of gold hanging among them, so that in, all
the wide world there was nothing more beautiful or precious.

ONE-EYE, TWVO-EYES, AND THREE-EYES
They did not know how the tree could have come there during
the night, but Two-eyes saw that it had grown up out of the
entrails of the goat, for it was standing on the exact spot where
she had buried them.
Then the mother said to One-eye, Climb up, my child,
and gather some of the fruit of the tree for us.'
One-eye climbed up, but just when she was about to take
hold of one of the golden apples, the branch escaped from her
hands, and that happened each time, so that she could not
pluck a single apple, do what she might.
Then said the mother, Three-eyes, do you climb up;
you with your three eyes can look about you better than
One-eye.'
One-eye slipped down, and Three-eyes climbed up. Three-
eyes was~ not more skilful, and might try as she liked, but the
golden apples always escaped her. ~At length the mother grew
impatient, and climbed up herself, but could get hold of the
fruit no better than One-eye and Three-eyes, for she always
clutched empty air.
Then said Two-eyes, I will just go up, perhaps I may
succeed better.'
The sisters cried, 'You indeed, with your two eyes, what
can you do ? '
But Two-eyes climbed up, and the golden apples did not
get out of her way, but came into her hand of their own accord,
so that she could pick them one after the other, and brought a
whole apronful down with her. The mother took then away
from her, and instead of treating poor Twso-eyes any better for
this, she and One-eye and Three-eyes were only envious, because
Two-eyes alone had been able to get the fruit, and so, they
treated her still more cruelly.
It so befell that once when they were all standing together
by the tree, a young knight came along.
Quick, Two-eyes,' cried the twPo sisters, creep under this,
and don't disgrace us I' and with all speed they turned an
empty barrel which was standing close by the tree over poor
E 65

LITTLE BROTHER AND LITTLE SISTER
Two-eyes, and they pushed the golden' apples that she had been
gathering under it too. When the knight came nearer it
could be seen that he was a fine lord, and handsome too, and
he stopped to admire the magnificent gold and silver tree, and
said to the two sisters, To whom does this fine- tree belong ?
Any one who would give a branch of it to me might in return
ask whatever he desired.'
Then One-eye and Three-eyes replied that the tree belonged
to them, and that they would give him a branch. And they
both tried hard, but they were not able to do it, for the
branches and fruit slipped away from them every time.
Then said the knight, It is very strange that the tree
should belong to you, and yet you are not able to break a
branch off.'
Again they asserted that the tree was theirs. And whilst
they were saying so, Two-eyes rolled out a couple of golden
apples from under the barrel to the feet of the knight, for she
was vexed with One-eye and Three-eyes for not speaking the
truth. When the knight saw the apples he was astonished,
and asked ~where they came from. One-eye and Three-eyes
answered that they had another sister, who was not allowed
to show herself, for she had only two eyes like any common
person. But the knight desired to see her, and cried, 'Two-
eyes, come forth.'
Then Two-eyes, quite comforted, came from, beneath the
barrel, and the knight was surprised at her great beauty, and
said, 'Thou, Two-eyes, canst certainly break off a branch from
the tree for me.'
Yes,' replied Two-eyes, 'that I certainly shall be able to
do, for the tree belongs to me.'
And she climbed up, and with the greatest ease broke off a
branch with beautiful silver leaves and golden fruit, and gave
it to the knight.
Then said the knig-ht, 'Two-eyes, what shall I give thee
for it ? '
Alas !' answered Two-eyes, I suffer from hunger and

ONE-EYE, TWO-EYES, AND TH-REE-EYES
thirst, grief and want, from early morning till late night-. If
only you would take me with you, and deliver me from these
things, I should be happy.'
So the knight lifted Two-eyes on to his horse, and took her
home with him to his father's castle, and there he gave her
beautiful clothes, and meat and drink to her heart's content,
and as he loved her so much he married her, and their wedding
took place with great rejoicing.
When Two-eyes was carried away by the handsome knight,
her two sisters grudged her her good fortune in real earnest.
The wonderful tree, however, still remains with us,'
thought they, 'and even if we can gather no fruit from it,
still every one will stand still and look at it, and come to us
and admire it. Who knows what good things may not be in
store for us ? But next morning the tree had vanished, and
all their hopes wei~e at an end. And when Two-eyes looked out
of the window of her owvn little room, to her great delight it
was standing in front of it, and so it had followed her.
Two-eyes lived a, long time in happiness. Once two poor
women came to her in her castle, and begged for alms. She
looked in their faces, and recognized her sisters, One eye and
Three-eyes, who had fallen into such poverty that they 'had
to wander about and beg their bread from door to door.
Two-eyes, however, made them welcome, and was kind to
them, and took care of them, so that they both with all their
hearts repented the evil that they had done their sister in their
youth.

The Wishing-Table, the Gold-Ass, and
the Cudgel in the Knapsack
ONCE upon a time there was a tailor who had three sons,
and only one goat. But as the goat supported the
whole of them with her milk, she was obliged to
have good food, and had to be taken every day to pasture.
So the sons did this in turn. Once the eldest took her to the
churchyard, where the finest grass was to be found, and let
her eat and run about there. At night when it was time to

WISHING-TABLE, GOLD-ASS, AND CUDGEL

go home he asked, Goa~t, hast thou had enough ? The goat
answered,
I have eaten so much,
Not a leaf more I'll touch, meh meh !'

' Come along home, then,' said the youth, and took hold of
the cord round her neck, led her back to the stable and tied
her up for the night.
Well,' said the old tailor, 'has the goat had as much food
as she ought ? '
Oh,' answered the son, she has eaten so much, not a
leaf more she 'll touch.'
But the father wished to satisfy himself, so he went down
to the stable, stroked the dear animal and asked, Nannie,
art thou full ? The goat answered,
And how should I be full ?
Among the graves I leapt about,
But found no food, so went without, maa.! maa l'

What 's this I hear ?' cried the tailor, and ran upstairs
and said to the youth, 'H~ullo, thou liar; thou saidst the goat
had ha~d enough, anrd hast let her starve 1 and in his anger
he took the yard-measure from the wall, and beat him out
of the house.
Next day it was the turn of the second son, who looked
out for a place near the fence of the garden, where nothing
but good herbs grew, and the goat cleared them all off. At
night ~when he wanted to go home, he asked, 'Goat, art thou
full'l ? 'The goat answered,
I have eaten so much,
Not a leaf more I'll touch, meh meh!i'

Come along home, then,' said the youth, and led her home,
and tied her up in the stable.
Well,' said the old tailor, has the goat had as much food
as she ought ? '

LITTLE BROTHER AND LITTLE SISTER

Oh,' answered the son, ' she has eaten so much, not a
leaf more she 'll touch.'
The tailor would not rely on this, but went down to the
stable and said, 'Nannie, hast thou had enough ? The goat
answered,
And how should I be full ?
Among the graves I leapt about,
But found no food, so went without, maa!i maa!i'
T'he wicked rascal cried the~ tailor, to let such a good
animal hunger,' and he ran up and' drove the_ youth out of
doors with the yard-measure.
Now came the turn of the third son, who was determined
to do his best, and sought out the bushes with the finest leaves,
and let the goat browse there. In the evening when he
wanted to go home, he asked, 'Goat, hast thou had enough ? '
The goat answered,
I have eaten so much,
Not a leaf more I'll touch, meh!i meh!i'
Come along home, then,' said the youth, and led her
back to the stable, and tied'her up.
Well,' said the old tailor, 'has the goat really had enough
this time ? '
She has eaten so much, not a leaf more she 'll touch.'
The tailor did not trust to that, but went down and asked,
' Nannie, hast thou had enough 7' The wicked beast
answered,
And how should I have had enough ?
Among the graves I leapt about,
But found no leaves, so went without, maa!i maa!i'
Oh, what a pack of liars I' cried the tailor, each as
wicked and forgetful- as the other Ye shall no longer make
a fool of me,' and, quite beside himself with anger, he ran
upstairs and belaboured the poor young fellow so vigorously
with the yard-measure that he darted out of the house and
a~way.
70

WISHING-TABLE, GOLD-ASS, AND CUDGEL
The old tailor was now alone with his goat. Next morning
he went down into the stable, caressed the goat and said,
' Com~e, my dear little animal, I will take thee to feed myself.'
He took her by the rope and conducted her where there were
green hedges, and clover, and whatever else goats like to eat.
' There thou mayest for once eat to thy heart's content,' said
he to her, and let her browse till evening. Then he asked,
' Goat, art thou full ? she replied,
I have eaten so much,
Not a leaf more I'll touch, meh!i meh!i'

Comne along home, then,' said the tailor, and led her into
the stable, and tied her fast. When he was going away, he
turned round again and said, 'Well, art thou full for, once ? '
]But the goat did not behave any better to him, and cried,
And how should I be full ?
Among the graves I leapt about,
But found no leaves, so went without, maa maa !'

When the tailor heard that, he was shocked, and saw
clearly that he had driven away his three sons without cause.
' Wait, thou ungrateful creature 1' cried he. It is not enough
to drive thee forth; I will mark thee so that thou wilt no more
dare to show thyself amongst honest tailors.' In great haste
he ran upstairs, fetched his razor, lathered the goat's head,
and shaved her as clean as the palm of his hand. And as the
yard-measure would have been too good for her, he went and
fetched to her the horsewhip, and gave her such a thrashing
that she ran away as fast as she could go.
When the tailor was thus left quite alone in his house he
fell into great grief, and would gladly have had his sons back
again, but no one knew whither they were gone.
Now the eldest had apprenticed himself to a joiner, and
learned industriously and untiringly, and when the time came
for him to go travelling, his master presented him with a
little table which was in no wvay remarkable to look at, and

LITJCTLE BROTHER AND LITTLE SISTER
was made of common wood, but it had one good property;
if any one set it down anywhere and said, Little table, spread
thyself,' the good little table was at once covered with a clean
little cloth, and a plate was there, and a knife and fork beside
it, and dishes with boiled meat, and roasted meat, as many
as there was room for, and a great bumper of red wine shone
so that it made the heart .glad. The young journeyman
thought, With this thou hast enough for thy whole life,'
and wandered joyously~ about the world never troubling him-
self whether an inn was good or bad, or if anything~was to be
had there or not. When it suited him he did not enter an inn
at all, but either in the open country, or in a wood, or a
meadow, or wherever he fancied, he took his little table off
his back, set it down before him, and said, Cover thyself,'
and everything appeared that his ;heart desired. At length he
took it into his head to go back to his father, whose anger
would now be appeased, and who would now willingly receive
him with his wishing-table.
It came to pass that on his way home, he came one evening
to an inn which was filled with guests. They bade him
welcome, and invited him to sit and eat with them, for other-
wise he would have had difficulty in getting anything.
No indeed,' answered the joiner, 'I wouldn't rob you of
a mouthful; rather than that, you shall do me the honour
of being my guests.'
They laughed, and thought he was jesting with them; but
he placed his wooden table in the middle of the room, and said,
' Little table, cover thyself.' Instantly it was covered with
good things, better far than the host could have provided, and
the smell alone would have been too tempting to resist. Fall
to, dear friends,' said the joiner; and the guests when they
saw that he meant it, did not need to be asked twice, but
drew their chairs up, pulled out their knives and attacked it
valiantly. And what surprised them the most was that when
a dish becaine empty, a full one instantly took its place of its
own accord. The innkeeper stood in a corner and watched;

WISHING-TABLE, GOLD-ASS, AND. CUDGEL
he did not at all knowFP what to say, but he thought, Thou
couldst easily find a use for such a cook as that in thy kitchen.'
The joiner and his comrades made merry until late into the
night. At length they all lay down to sleep, the young
apprentice setting his magic table against the wall before he
went to bed. The host's thoughts, however, let him have no
rest; it occurred to him that there was a little old table in
his lumber-room, which looked just like the apprentice's, and
he brought it out quite softly, and exchanged it for the
wishing-table. Next morning, the joiner paid for his bed, took
up his table, never thinking that he had got a false one, and
went his way. At midday he reached the house of his father,
who received him with great joy.
Well, my dear son, what hast thou learned ?' said he
to him.
Father, I have become a joiner.'
A good trade,' replied the old man; but what hast thou
brought back with thee from thy apprenticeship ? '
Father, the best thing that I have brought back with me
is this little table.'
The tailor inspected it on all sides and said, 'Thou didst
not make a masterpiece when thou madest that; it is a
wretched old table that.'
But it is a table which furnishes itself,' replied the son.
'When I set it down, and tell it to cover itself, the most
'beautiful dishes stand on it, and a wine also, which gladdens
the heart. Just invite all our relations and friends; they shall
refresh and enjoy themselves for once, for the table will give
them all they can desire.'
When the company was assembled, he put his table in the
middle of the room and said, Little table, cover thyself,' but
the little table did not bestir itself, and remained just as bare
as any other table which did not understand when it was
spoken to. Then the poor apprentice became awPiare that his
table had been changed, and was ashamed at having to stand
there like a liar. And his relations all mocked him, and were

LITTLE BROTHER AND LITTLE SISTER
forced to go home without having eaten or drunk. His father
brought out his patches again, and went on tailoring, but the
son went off to find a new master.
The second son had gone to a mmler and had apprenticed
himself to him. When his years were over, the master said,
' As thou hast conducted thyself so well, I give thee this ass
of a very unusual kind, which neither draws a cart nor carries
a sack.'
'To what use is he put, then ? asked the young apprentice.
He lets gold drop from his mouth,' answered the miller.
' Set himn on a cloth and say, Bricklebrit to him and the
good animal will drop gold pieces for thee.'
That is a fine thing,' said the apprentice, and thanked the
master, and went out into the world. When he had need of
gold, he had only to say Bricklebrit to his ass, and it rained
gold pieces, and he had nothing to do but to pick them up
from the ground. WTherever he went, the best of everything
was good enough for him, and the dearer the better, for he had
always a full purse. When he had looked about the world
for some time, he thought to himself, Thou must seek out
thy father; if thou goest to him with the gold-ass he will forget
his anger, and receive thee well.'
It came to pass that he came to the same public-house in
which his brother's table had been exchanged. He led his ass
by the bridle, and the host was about to take the animal from
him and tie him up, but the young apprentice said, Don't
trouble yourself, I will take my grey horse into the stable, and
tie him up myself too, for I must know just where he is.' This
struck the host as odd, and he thought that a man who was
forced to look after his ass himself could not have much to
spend; but when the stranger put his hand in his pocket and
brought out two gold pieces, and said he was to provide some-
thing good for him, the host opened his eyes wide, and ran
and sought out the best he could muster. After dinner the
guest asked what he owed. The host did not see why he
should not double the reckoning, and said the apprentice must

WISHING-TABLE, GOLD-ASS, AND CUDGEL

give two more gold pieces. He felt in his pocket, but his
gold had just come to an end.
Wait an instant, sir host,' said he, 'I will go and fetch
some money,' and he took the table-cloth with him. The
host could not imagine what this could mean, and being
curious, he stole after him, and as the guest bolted the stable
door, he peeped through a hole left by a knot in the wood.
The stranger spread out the cloth under the animal and cried,
' Bricklebrit,' and immediately the beast began to let gold
pieces fall, so that it fairly rained down money on the ground.
Eh, my word,' thought the host, 'ducats are quickly
coined there A purse like that is not amiss.' The guest
paid his score, and went to bed, but in the night the host stole
dowvn into the stable, led away the master of the mnint, and
tied up another ass in his place.
Early next morning the apprentice travelled away with
the ass, thinking all the time that he had his gold-ass. At
midday he reached the house of his father, who rejoiced to
see him again, and gladly took him in.
What hast thou made of thyself, my son ? asked the old
man.
A miller, dear father,' he answered.
What hast thou brought back with thee from thy
travels ? '
Nothing else but an ass.'
There are asses enough here,' said the father; I would
rather have had a good goat.'
1Yes,' replied the son, but mine is no common ass, but a
gold-ass. When I say Bricklebrit," the good beast opens its
mouth and drops a whole sheetful of gold pieces. Just
summon all our relations hither, and I will make them rich
people.'
That suits me well,' said the tailor, 'for then I shall have
no need to torment myself any longer with the needle,' and
ran out himself and called the relations together.
As soon as they were assembled, the miller bade them

LITTLE BROTHER AND LITTLE: SISTER
make way, spread out his cloth, and brought the ass into the
room. Now~ watch,l said he, and cried, Bricklebrit,' but no
gold pieces fell, and it was clear that the animal knew nothing
of the art, for every ass does not attain such perfection.
Then the poor miller pulled a long face, saw that he was
betrayed, and begged pardon of the relatives, who went home
as poor as they came. There was no help for it, the old man
had to betake him to his needle once more, and the youth
hired himself to a miller.
The third brother had apprenticed himself to a turner, and
as that is skilled labour, he was the longest in learning. His
brothers, however, told him in a letter how badly things had
gone ~with them, and how the inn-keeper had cheated them
of their wonderful wishing-gifts on the last evening before they
reached home.' When the turner had served his time, and had
to set out on his travels, as he had conducted himself so well,
his master presented him with a knapsack and said, There
is a cudgel in it.'
I can put on the knapsack,' said he, 'and it may be of
good service to me, but why should the cudgel be in it ? It
only makes it heavy.'
I will tell thee why,' replied the master; if any one
has done anything to injure thee, do but say, Out of the
sack, Cudgel !" and the cudgel will leap forth among the
people, and play such a dance on their backs that they will
not be able to stir or move for a, week, and, it will not leave
off until thou sayest, Into the sack, Cudgel '
The apprentice thanked him, put the sack on his back, and
when any one came too near him, and threatened to attack
him, he said, Out of the sack, Cudgel !' and instantly the
cudgel sprang out, and gave the coat of the evil-doer such a
dusting that he soon wished that he had never tried to inter-
fere. In the evening the young turner reached the inn where
his brothers had been cheated. He laid his knapsack on the
table before him, and began to talk of all the wonderful things
which he had seen in the world.

WSISHING-TABLE, GOLD-ASS, AND CUDGEL
Yes,''said he, 'people may easily find a table which will
cover itself, a gold-ass, and things of that kind--extremely
good things which I by no means despise-but these are
nothing in comparison with the treasure which I have won
for myself, and am carrying about with me in my knapsack
there.'
The inn-keeper pricked up his ears. What in the world
can that be ? thought he. The knapsack must be filled
with nothing but jewels; I ought to get them cheap too, for
all good things go in threes.' When it was time for sleep, the
guest stretched himself on, the bench, and laid his knapsack
beneath him for a pillow. When the inn-keeper thought his
guest was lying in a sound sleep, he went to him and pushed
and pulled quite gently and carefully at the knapsack to see
if he could possibly draw it away and lay another in its place.
The turner had, however, been waiting for this for a long
timae, and now just as the inn-keeper was about to give a
hearty tug, he cried, Out of the sack, Cudgel Instantly
the little cudgel came forth, and fell on the inn-keeper, and
gave him a sound thrashing.
The host cried for mercy; but the louder he cried, the
heavier the cudgel beat the time on his back, until at length
he fell to the ground exhausted. Then the turner said, If
thou -dost not give back the table which covers itself,'and the
gold-ass too, the dance shall begin afresh.'
Oh no,' cried the host in terror, 'I will gladly produce
everything, only make th~at dreadful little goblin creep back
into the sack.'
Then said the apprentice, I will have mercy instead of
giving thee thy deserts, but beware of getting into mischief
again!' So he cried, 'Into the sack, Cudgel!' and let himn
have rest.
~Next morning the turner went ]home to his father with the
wishing-table and the gold-ass. The tailor rejoiced when he
saw him once more, and asked him likewise what he had
learned in foreign parts.

LITTLE BROTHER AND LITTLE SISTER
Dear fatherr' said he, 'I have become a turner.'
A skilled trade,' said the father. 'What hast thou
brought back with thee from thy travels ? '
A precious thing, dear father' replied the son, 'a cudgel
in the knapsack.'
What 1 cried the father, 'a cudgel That 's worth thy
trouble, indeed From every tree thou canst cut thyself one.'
But not one like this, dear father. If I say Out of the
sack, Cudgel the cudgel springs out and leads any one who
means ill with me such a dance, I can tell you, and never stops
until he lies on the ground and prays for fair weather. Look
you, with this cudgel I have got back the wishing-table and
the gold-ass which the thievish inn-keeper stole from my
brothers. Now let them both be sent for, and invite all our
kinsmen. I will give them the best to eat and to drink, and
will fill their pockets with gold into the bargain.' The old
tailor would not quite believe, but nevertheless got the
relatives together. Then the turner spread a cloth in the room
and led in the gold-ass, and said to his brother, Nowv, dear
brother, speak to ~him.' T1he miller said, Bricklebrit,' and
instantly the gold pieces fell down on the cloth like a thunder-
shower, and the ass did not stop until every one of them had
.so much that he could carry no more. (I can see in thy face
that thou also wouldst have liked to be there.)
Then the turner brought the little table, and said, 'Now,
dear brother, speak to it.' And scarcely had the carpenter
said, Table, cover thyself,' than it was spread and amply
covered with the most savoury dishes.
Then such a meal took place as the good tailor had never
yet known in his house, and the whole party of kinsmen stayed
till far into the night, and were all merry and glad together.
The tailor locked away in a cupboard needle and thread, yard-
measure and goose, and lived with his three sons in plenty and
happiness.
SWhat, howPever, has become of the goat who was to blame
for the tailor driving out his three sons ? That I will tell
78

"~sB" -;dBa

WTISHING-TABLE, GOLD-ASS, AND CUDGEL
th~ee. She w~as ashamed that she had a bald head, and ran to
a fox's hole and crept into it. When the fox came home, he
was met by two great eyes shining out of the darkness, and
he was terrified and ran away.
A bear met him, and as the fox looked upset, he said,
' What is the matter with thee, brother Fox ? Why dost thou
look like that ? '
Ah,' answered Redskin, 'a fierce beast is in my cave and
stared at me with its fiery eyes.'
We will soon drive him out,' said the bear, and went with
him to the cave and looked in, but when he saw the fiery eyes,
fear seized on him too; he would have nothing to do with
the fearful beast, and took to his heels.
The bee met him, and as she saw that he was ill at ease,
she said, Bear, thou art really pulling a very pitiful face;
what has become of all thy gaiety ? '
It is all very well for thee to talk,' replied the bear;' a
furious beast with staring eyes is in Redskin's house, and we
can't drive him out.'
The bee said, Bear, I pity thee. I am a poor weak creature
whom thou wouldst not turn aside to look at, but still I believe
I can help thee.' And she flew into the fox's cave, settled on
the goat's shaven head, and stung her so -sharply that she
sprang up, crying Meh, meh,' and ran forth into the world
like mad, and to this hour no one knows where she has gone.

The W~onderful Musician

T"ERE was once a wonderful musician, who was going all
Alone through a forest thinking of all manner of things,
and when nothing was left for him. to think about,
he said to himself, 'Time is beginning to pass heavily with me
here in the forest, I 'll call hither some one to keep me companyy'
Then he took his fiddle from his back, and played so that it
echoed through the trees. It was not long before a wolf camne
trotting through the thicket towards him.
Ah, here 's a wolf coming I 've no desire for him I said
the musician.
But the wolf came nearer and said to him, Ah, dear
musician, how beautifully thou dost play I should like to
learn that, too.'
It is soon learned,' the musician replied; thou hast only
to do all that I bid thee.'
O musician,' said the wolf, I will obey thee as a scholar
obeys his master.'

THE WONDERFUL MUSICIAN

The musician bade him follow him, and when they had
gone a little way together, they came.to an old oak-tree which
was hollow, and cleft in the middle.
Look,' said the musician, if thou wilt learn to fiddle, put
thy fore paws into this crack.'

	Front Cover
	Front Matter
	Half Title
	Frontispiece
	Title Page
	Publishers' note
	Table of Contents
	List of Illustrations
	Main
	Back Cover
	Spine

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