them this, but as soon as the three months of the Prince’s enchantment
were over, he ceased to be an eagle and became once more a man, and
they returned home together. And then they lived happily, and we who
hear the story are happier still.
_THE IRON STOVE_[7]
Once upon a time when wishes came true there was a king’s son who was
enchanted by an old witch, so that he was obliged to sit in a large
iron stove in a wood. There he lived for many years, and no one could
free him. At last a king’s daughter came into the wood; she had lost
her way, and could not find her father’s kingdom again. She had been
wandering round and round for nine days, and she came at last to the
iron case. A voice came from within and asked her, ‘Where do you come
from, and where do you want to go?’ She answered, ‘I have lost my way
to my father’s kingdom, and I shall never get home again.’ Then the
voice from the iron stove said, ‘I will help you to find your home
again, and that in a very short time, if you will promise to do what I
ask you. I am a greater prince than you are a princess, and I will
marry you.’ Then she grew frightened, and thought, ‘What can a young
lassie do with an iron stove?’ But as she wanted very much to go home
to her father, she promised to do what he wished. He said, ‘You must
come again, and bring a knife with you to scrape a hole in the iron.’
[Footnote 7: Grimm.]
Then he gave her someone for a guide, who walked near her and said
nothing, but he brought her in two hours to her house. There was great
joy in the castle when the Princess came back, and the old King fell
on her neck and kissed her. But she was very much troubled, and said,
‘Dear father, listen to what has befallen me! I should never have come
home again out of the great wild wood if I had not come to an iron
stove, to whom I have had to promise that I will go back to free him
and marry him!’ The old King was so frightened that he nearly fainted,
for she was his only daughter. So they consulted together, and
determined that the miller’s daughter, who was very beautiful, should
take her place. They took her there, gave her a knife, and said she
must scrape at the iron stove. She scraped for twenty-four hours, but
did not make the least impression. When the day broke, a voice called
from the iron stove, ‘It seems to me that it is day outside.’ Then she
answered, ‘It seems so to me; I think I hear my father’s mill
rattling.’
[Illustration: You Are Mine & I Am Thine—The Iron Stove]
‘So you are a miller’s daughter! Then go away at once, and tell the
King’s daughter to come.’
Then she went away, and told the old King that the thing inside the
iron stove would not have her, but wanted the Princess. The old King
was frightened, and his daughter wept. But they had a swineherd’s
daughter who was even more beautiful than the miller’s daughter, and
they gave her a piece of gold to go to the iron stove instead of the
Princess. Then she was taken out, and had to scrape for
four-and-twenty hours, but she could make no impression. As soon as
the day broke the voice from the stove called out, ‘It seems to be
daylight outside.’ Then she answered, ‘It seems so to me too; I think
I hear my father blowing his horn.’ ‘So you are a swineherd’s
daughter! Go away at once, and let the King’s daughter come. And say
to her that what I foretell shall come to pass, and if she does not
come everything in the kingdom shall fall into ruin, and not one stone
shall be left upon another.’ When the Princess heard this she began to
cry, but it was no good; she had to keep her word. She took leave of
her father, put a knife in her belt, and went to the iron stove in the
wood. As soon as she reached it she began to scrape, and the iron gave
way and before two hours had passed she had made a little hole. Then
she peeped in and saw such a beautiful youth all shining with gold and
precious stones that she fell in love with him on the spot. So she
scraped away harder than ever, and made the hole so large that he
could get out. Then he said, ‘You are mine, and I am thine; you are my
bride and have set me free!’ He wanted to take her with him to his
kingdom, but she begged him just to let her go once more to her
father; and the Prince let her go, but told her not to say more than
three words to her father, then to come back again. So she went home,
but alas! she said _more than three words_; and immediately the iron
stove vanished and went away over a mountain of glass and sharp
swords. But the Prince was free, and was no longer shut up in it. Then
she said good-bye to her father, and took a little money with her, and
went again into the great wood to look for the iron stove; but she
could not find it. She sought it for nine days, and then her hunger
became so great that she did not know how she could live any longer.
And when it was evening she climbed a little tree and wished that the
night would not come, because she was afraid of the wild beasts. When
midnight came she saw afar off a little light, and thought, ‘Ah! if
only I could reach that!’ Then she got down from the tree and went
towards the light. She came to a little old house with a great deal of
grass growing round, and stood in front of a little heap of wood. She
thought, ‘Alas! what am I coming to?’ and peeped through the window;
but she saw nothing inside except big and little toads, and a table
beautifully spread with roast meats and wine, and all the dishes and
drinking-cups were of silver. Then she took heart and knocked. Then a
fat toad called out:
‘Little green toad with leg like crook,
Open wide the door, and look
Who it was the latch that shook.’
And a little toad came forward and let her in. When she entered they
all bid her welcome, and made her sit down. They asked her how she
came there and what she wanted. Then she told everything that had
happened to her, and how, because she had exceeded her permission only
to speak three words, the stove had disappeared with the Prince; and
how she had searched a very long time, and must wander over mountain
and valley till she found him.
Then the old toad said:
‘Little green toad whose leg doth twist,
Go to the corner of which you wist,
And bring to me the large old kist.’
And the little toad went and brought out a great chest. Then they gave
her food and drink, and led her to a beautifully made bed of silk and
samite, on which she lay down and slept soundly. When the day dawned
she arose, and the old toad gave her three things out of the huge
chest to take with her. She would have need of them, for she had to
cross a high glass mountain, three cutting swords, and a great lake.
When she had passed these she would find her lover again. So she was
given three large needles, a plough-wheel, and three nuts, which she
was to take great care of. She set out with these things, and when she
came to the glass mountain which was so slippery she stuck the three
needles behind her feet and then in front, and so got over it, and
when she was on the other side put them carefully away.
Then she reached the three cutting swords, and got on her plough-wheel
and rolled over them. At last she came to a great lake, and, when she
had crossed that, arrived at a beautiful castle. She went in and gave
herself out as a servant, a poor maid who would gladly be engaged. But
she knew that the Prince whom she had freed from the iron stove in the
great wood was in the castle. So she was taken on as a kitchenmaid for
very small wages. Now the Prince was about to marry another princess,
for he thought she was dead long ago.
[Illustration: ‘Then she reached the three cutting swords, and got on
her plough-wheel and rolled over them’]
In the evening, when she had washed up and was ready, she felt in her
pocket and found the three nuts which the old toad had given her. She
cracked one and was going to eat the kernel, when behold! there was a
beautiful royal dress inside it! When the bride heard of this, she
came and begged for the dress, and wanted to buy it, saying that it
was not a dress for a serving-maid. Then she said she would not sell
it unless she was granted one favour—namely, to sleep by the Prince’s
door. The bride granted her this, because the dress was so beautiful
and she had so few like it. When it was evening she said to her
bridegroom, ‘That stupid maid wants to sleep by your door.’
‘If you are contented, I am,’ he said. But she gave him a glass of
wine in which she had poured a sleeping-draught. Then they both went
to his room, but he slept so soundly that she could not wake him. The
maid wept all night long, and said, ‘I freed you in the wild wood out
of the iron stove; I have sought you, and have crossed a glassy
mountain, three sharp swords, and a great lake before I found you, and
will you not hear me now?’ The servants outside heard how she cried
the whole night, and they told their master in the morning.
When she had washed up the next evening she bit the second nut, and
there was a still more beautiful dress inside. When the bride saw it
she wanted to buy it also. But the maid did not want money, and asked
that she should sleep again by the Prince’s door. The bride, however,
gave him a sleeping-draught, and he slept so soundly that he heard
nothing. But the kitchenmaid wept the whole night long, and said, ‘I
have freed you in a wood and from an iron stove; I sought you and have
crossed a glassy mountain, three sharp swords, and a great lake to
find you, and now you will not hear me!’ The servants outside heard
how she cried the whole night, and in the morning they told their
master. And when she had washed up on the third night she bit the
third nut, and there was a still more beautiful dress inside that was
made of pure gold. When the bride saw it she wanted to have it, but
the maid would only give it her on condition that she should sleep for
the third time by the Prince’s door. But the Prince took care not to
drink the sleeping-draught. When she began to weep and to say,
‘Dearest sweetheart, I freed you in the horrible wild wood, and from
an iron stove,’ he jumped up and said, ‘You are right. You are mine,
and I am thine.’ Though it was still night, he got into a carriage
with her, and they took the false bride’s clothes away, so that she
could not follow them. When they came to the great lake they rowed
across, and when they reached the three sharp swords they sat on the
plough-wheel, and on the glassy mountain they stuck the three needles
in. So they arrived at last at the little old house, but when they
stepped inside it turned into a large castle. The toads were all
freed, and were beautiful King’s children, running about for joy.
There they were married, and they remained in the castle, which was
much larger than that of the Princess’s father’s. But because the old
man did not like being left alone, they went and fetched him. So they
had two kingdoms and lived in great wealth.
A mouse has run,
My story’s done.
_THE DRAGON AND HIS GRANDMOTHER_
There was once a great war, and the King had a great many soldiers,
but he gave them so little pay that they could not live upon it. Then
three of them took counsel together and determined to desert.
One of them said to the others, ‘If we are caught, we shall be hanged
on the gallows; how shall we set about it?’ The other said, ‘Do you
see that large cornfield there? If we were to hide ourselves in that,
no one could find us. The army cannot come into it, and to-morrow it
is to march on.’
They crept into the corn, but the army did not march on, but remained
encamped close around them. They sat for two days and two nights in
the corn, and grew so hungry that they nearly died; but if they were
to venture out, it was certain death.
They said at last, ‘What use was it our deserting? We must perish here
miserably.’
Whilst they were speaking a fiery dragon came flying through the air.
It hovered near them, and asked why they were hidden there. They
answered, ‘We are three soldiers, and have deserted because our pay
was so small. Now if we remain here we shall die of hunger, and if we
move out we shall be strung up on the gallows.’ ‘If you will serve me
for seven years,’ said the dragon, I will lead you through the midst
of the army so that no one shall catch you.’ ‘We have no choice, and
must take your offer,’ said they. Then the dragon seized them in his
claws, took them through the air over the army, and set them down on
the earth a long way from it.
He gave them a little whip, saying, ‘Whip and slash with this, and as
much money as you want will jump up before you. You can then live as
great lords, keep horses, and drive about in carriages. But after
seven years you are mine.’ Then he put a book before them, which he
made all three of them sign. ‘I will then give you a riddle,’ he said;
‘if you guess it, you shall be free and out of my power.’ The dragon
then flew away, and they journeyed on with their little whip. They had
as much money as they wanted, wore grand clothes, and made their way
into the world. Wherever they went they lived in merrymaking and
splendour, drove about with horses and carriages, ate and drank, but
did nothing wrong.
[Illustration: The Dragon carries off the three soldiers]
The time passed quickly away, and when the seven years were nearly
ended two of them grew terribly anxious and frightened, but the third
made light of it, saying, ‘Don’t be afraid, brothers, I wasn’t born
yesterday; I will guess the riddle.’
They went into a field, sat down, and the two pulled long faces. An
old woman passed by, and asked them why they were so sad. ‘Alas! what
have you to do with it? You cannot help us.’ ‘Who knows?’ she
answered. ‘Only confide your trouble in me.’
Then they told her that they had become the servants of the Dragon for
seven long years, and how he had given them money as plentifully as
blackberries; but as they had signed their names they were his, unless
when the seven years had passed they could guess a riddle. The old
woman said, ‘If you would help yourselves, one of you must go into the
wood, and there he will come upon a tumble-down building of rocks
which looks like a little house. He must go in, and there he will find
help.’
The two melancholy ones thought, ‘That won’t save us!’ and they
remained where they were. But the third and merry one jumped up and
went into the wood till he found the rock hut. In the hut sat a very
old woman, who was the Dragon’s grandmother. She asked him how he
came, and what was his business there. He told her all that happened,
and because she was pleased with him she took compassion on him, and
said she would help him.
She lifted up a large stone which lay over the cellar, saying, ‘Hide
yourself there; you can hear all that is spoken in this room. Only sit
still and don’t stir. When the Dragon comes, I will ask him what the
riddle is, for he tells me everything; then listen carefully what he
answers.’
At midnight the Dragon flew in, and asked for his supper. His
grandmother laid the table, and brought out food and drink till he was
satisfied, and they ate and drank together. Then in the course of the
conversation she asked him what he had done in the day, and how many
souls he had conquered.
‘I haven’t had much luck to-day,’ he said, ‘but I have a tight hold on
three soldiers.’
‘Indeed! three soldiers!’ said she. ‘Who cannot escape you?’
‘They are mine,’ answered the Dragon scornfully, ‘for I shall only
give them one riddle which they will never be able to guess.’
‘What sort of a riddle is it?’ she asked.
‘I will tell you this. In the North Sea lies a dead sea-cat—that
shall be their roast meat; and the rib of a whale—that shall be their
silver spoon; and the hollow foot of a dead horse—that shall be their
wineglass.’
When the Dragon had gone to bed, his old grandmother pulled up the
stone and let out the soldier.
‘Did you pay attention to everything?’
‘Yes,’ he replied, ‘I know enough, and can help myself splendidly.’
Then he went by another way through the window secretly, and in all
haste back to his comrades. He told them how the Dragon had been
outwitted by his grandmother, and how he had heard from his own lips
the answer to the riddle.
Then they were all delighted and in high spirits, took out their whip,
and cracked so much money that it came jumping up from the ground.
When the seven years had quite gone, the Fiend came with his book,
and, pointing at the signatures, said, ‘I will take you underground
with me; you shall have a meal there. If you can tell me what you will
get for your roast meat, you shall be free, and shall also keep the
whip.’
Then said the first soldier, ‘In the North Sea lies a dead sea-cat;
that shall be the roast meat.’
The Dragon was much annoyed, and hummed and hawed a good deal, and
asked the second, ‘But what shall be your spoon?’
‘The rib of a whale shall be our silver spoon.’
The Dragon made a face, and growled again three times, ‘Hum, hum,
hum,’ and said to the third, ‘Do you know what your wineglass shall
be?’
‘An old horse’s hoof shall be our wineglass.’
Then the Dragon flew away with a loud shriek, and had no more power
over them. But the three soldiers took the little whip, whipped as
much money as they wanted, and lived happily to their lives’ end.
[Illustration: The Fiend defeated]
_THE DONKEY CABBAGE_
There was once a young Hunter who went boldly into the forest. He had
a merry and light heart, and as he went whistling along there came an
ugly old woman, who said to him, ‘Good-day, dear hunter! You are very
merry and contented, but I suffer hunger and thirst, so give me a
trifle.’ The Hunter was sorry for the poor old woman, and he felt in
his pocket and gave her all he could spare. He was going on then, but
the old woman stopped him and said, ‘Listen, dear hunter, to what I
say. Because of your kind heart I will make you a present. Go on your
way, and in a short time you will come to a tree on which sit nine
birds who have a cloak in their claws and are quarrelling over it.
Then take aim with your gun and shoot in the middle of them; they will
let the cloak fall, but one of the birds will be hit and will drop
down dead. Take the cloak with you; it is a wishing-cloak, and when
you throw it on your shoulders you have only to wish yourself at a
certain place, and in the twinkling of an eye you are there. Take the
heart out of the dead bird and swallow it whole, and early every
morning when you get up you will find a gold piece under your pillow.’
The Hunter thanked the wise woman, and thought to himself ‘These are
splendid things she has promised me, if only they come to pass!’ So he
walked on about a hundred yards, and then he heard above him in the
branches such a screaming and chirping that he looked up, and there he
saw a heap of birds tearing a cloth with their beaks and feet,
shrieking, tugging, and fighting, as if each wanted it for himself.
‘Well,’ said the Hunter, ‘this is wonderful! It is just as the old
woman said’; and he took his gun on his shoulder, pulled the trigger,
and shot into the midst of them, so that their feathers flew about.
Then the flock took flight with much screaming, but one fell dead, and
the cloak fluttered down. Then the Hunter did as the old woman had
told him: he cut open the bird, found its heart, swallowed it, and
took the cloak home with him. The next morning when he awoke he
remembered the promise, and wanted to see if it had come true. But
when he lifted up his pillow, there sparkled the gold piece, and the
next morning he found another, and so on every time he got up. He
collected a heap of gold, but at last he thought to himself, ‘What
good is all my gold to me if I stay at home? I will travel and look a
bit about me in the world.’ So he took leave of his parents, slung his
hunting knapsack and his gun round him, and journeyed into the world.
It happened that one day he went through a thick wood, and when he
came to the end of it there lay in the plain before him a large
castle. At one of the windows in it stood an old woman with a most
beautiful maiden by her side, looking out. But the old woman was a
witch, and she said to the girl, ‘There comes one out of the wood who
has a wonderful treasure in his body which we must manage to possess
ourselves of, darling daughter; we have more right to it than he. He
has a bird’s heart in him, and so every morning there lies a gold
piece under his pillow.’
She told her how they could get hold of it, and how she was to coax it
from him, and at last threatened her angrily, saying, ‘And if you do
not obey me, you shall repent it!’
When the Hunter came nearer he saw the maiden, and said to himself, ‘I
have travelled so far now that I will rest, and turn into this
beautiful castle; money I have in plenty.’ But the real reason was
that he had caught sight of the lovely face.
He went into the house, and was kindly received and hospitably
entertained. It was not long before he was so much in love with the
witch-maiden that he thought of nothing else, and only looked in her
eyes, and whatever she wanted, that he gladly did. Then the old witch
said, ‘Now we must have the bird-heart; he will not feel when it is
gone.’ She prepared a drink, and when it was ready she poured it in a
goblet and gave it to the maiden, who had to hand it to the hunter.
‘Drink to me now, my dearest,’ she said. Then he took the goblet, and
when he had swallowed the drink the bird-heart came out of his mouth.
The maiden had to get hold of it secretly and then swallow it herself,
for the old witch wanted to have it. Thenceforward he found no more
gold under his pillow, and it lay under the maiden’s; but he was so
much in love and so much bewitched that he thought of nothing except
spending all his time with the maiden.
Then the old witch said, ‘We have the bird-heart, but we must also get
the wishing-cloak from him.’
The maiden answered, ‘We will leave him that; he has already lost his
wealth!’
The old witch grew angry, and said, ‘Such a cloak is a wonderful
thing, it is seldom to be had in the world, and have it I must and
will.’ She beat the maiden, and said that if she did not obey it would
go ill with her.
[Illustration: The Maiden Obtains the Bird-Heart]
So she did her mother’s bidding, and, standing one day by the window,
she looked away into the far distance as if she were very sad.
‘Why are you standing there looking so sad?’ asked the Hunter.
‘Alas, my love,’ she replied, ‘over there lies the granite mountain
where the costly precious stones grow. I have a great longing to go
there, so that when I think of it I am very sad. For who can fetch
them? Only the birds who fly; a man, never.’
‘If you have no other trouble,’ said the Hunter, ‘that one I can
easily remove from your heart.’
So he wrapped her round in his cloak and wished themselves to the
granite mountain, and in an instant there they were, sitting on it!
The precious stones sparkled so brightly on all sides that it was a
pleasure to see them, and they collected the most beautiful and costly
together. But now the old witch had through her witchcraft caused the
Hunter’s eyes to become heavy.
He said to the maiden, ‘We will sit down for a little while and rest;
I am so tired that I can hardly stand on my feet.’
So they sat down, and he laid his head on her lap and fell asleep. As
soon as he was sound asleep she unfastened the cloak from his
shoulders, threw it on her own, left the granite and stones, and
wished herself home again.
But when the Hunter had finished his sleep and awoke, he found that
his love had betrayed him and left him alone on the wild mountain.
‘Oh,’ said he, ‘why is faithlessness so great in the world?’ and he
sat down in sorrow and trouble, not knowing what to do.
But the mountain belonged to fierce and huge giants, who lived on it
and traded there, and he had not sat long before he saw three of them
striding towards him. So he lay down as if he had fallen into a deep
sleep.
The giants came up, and the first pushed him with his foot, and said,
‘What sort of an earthworm is that?’
The second said, ‘Crush him dead.’
But the third said contemptuously, ‘It is not worth the trouble! Let
him live; he cannot remain here, and if he goes higher up the mountain
the clouds will take him and carry him off.’