There was once upon a time a Queen who had a little daughter who was
still so young that she had to be carried. One day the child was
naughty, and the mother might say what she liked, but the child would
not be quiet. Then she became impatient, and as the ravens were flying
about the palace, she opened the window and said, “I wish you were a
raven and would fly away, and then I should have some rest.” Scarcely
had she spoken the words, before the child was changed into a raven,
and flew from her arms out of the window. It flew into a dark forest,
and stayed in it a long time, and the parents heard nothing of their
child. Then one day a man was on his way through this forest and heard
the raven crying, and followed the voice, and when he came nearer, the
bird said, “I am a king’s daughter by birth, and am bewitched, but thou
canst set me free.” “What am I to do,” asked he. She said, “Go further
into the forest, and thou wilt find a house, wherein sits an aged
woman, who will offer thee meat and drink, but you must accept nothing,
for if you eatest and drinkest anything, thou wilt fall into a sleep,
and then thou wilt not be able to deliver me. In the garden behind the
house there is a great heap of tan, and on this thou shalt stand and
wait for me. For three days I will come every afternoon at two o’clock
in a carriage. On the first day four white horses will be harnessed to
it, then four chestnut horses, and lastly four black ones; but if thou
art not awake, but sleeping, I shall not be set free.” The man promised
to do everything that she desired, but the raven said, alas, “I know
already that thou wilt not deliver me; thou wilt accept something from
the woman.” Then the man once more promised that he would certainly not
touch anything either to eat or to drink. But when he entered the house
the old woman came to him and said, “Poor man, how faint you are; come
and refresh yourself; eat and drink.” “No,” said the man, “I will not
eat or drink.” She, however, let him have no peace, and said, “If you
will not eat, take one drink out of the glass; one is nothing.” Then he
let himself be persuaded, and drank. Shortly before two o’clock in the
afternoon he went into the garden to the tan heap to wait for the
raven. As he was standing there, his weariness all at once became so
great that he could not struggle against it, and lay down for a short
time, but he was determined not to go to sleep. Hardly, however, had he
lain down, than his eyes closed of their own accord, and he fell asleep
and slept so soundly that nothing in the world could have aroused him.
At two o’clock the raven came driving up with four white horses, but
she was already in deep grief and said, “I know he is asleep.” And when
she came into the garden, he was indeed lying there asleep on the heap
of tan. She alighted from the carriage, went to him, shook him, and
called him, but he did not awake. Next day about noon, the old woman
came again and brought him food and drink, but he would not take any of
it. But she let him have no rest and persuaded him until at length he
again took one drink out of the glass. Towards two o’clock he went into
the garden to the tan heap to wait for the raven, but all at once felt
such a great weariness that his limbs would no longer support him. He
could not help himself, and was forced to lie down, and fell into a
heavy sleep. When the raven drove up with four brown horses, she was
already full of grief, and said, “I know he is asleep.” She went to
him, but there he lay sleeping, and there was no wakening him. Next day
the old woman asked what was the meaning of this? He was neither eating
nor drinking anything; did he want to die? He replied, “I am not
allowed to eat or drink, and will not do so.” But she set a dish with
food, and a glass with wine before him, and when he smelt it he could
not resist, and swallowed a deep draught. When the time came, he went
out into the garden to the heap of tan, and waited for the King’s
daughter; but he became still more weary than on the day before, and
lay down and slept as soundly as if he had been a stone. At two o’clock
the raven came with four black horses, and the coachman and everything
else was black. She was already in the deepest grief, and said, “I know
that he is asleep and cannot deliver me.” When she came to him, there
he was lying fast asleep. She shook him and called him, but she could
not waken him. Then she laid a loaf beside him, and after that a piece
of meat, and thirdly a bottle of wine, and he might consume as much of
all of them as he liked, but they would never grow less. After this she
took a gold ring from her finger, and put it on his, and her name was
graven on it. Lastly, she laid a letter beside him wherein was written
what she had given him, and that none of the things would ever grow
less; and in it was also written, “I see right well that here you will
never be able to deliver me, but if thou art still willing to deliver
me, come to the golden castle of Stromberg; it lies in thy power, of
that I am certain.” And when she had given him all these things, she
seated herself in her carriage, and drove to the golden castle of
Stromberg.
When the man awoke and saw that he had slept, he was sad at heart, and
said, “She has certainly driven by, and I have not set her free.” Then
he perceived the things which were lying beside him, and read the
letter wherein was written how everything had happened. So he arose and
went away, intending to go to the golden castle of Stromberg, but he
did not know where it was. After he had walked about the world for a
long time, he entered into a dark forest, and walked for fourteen days,
and still could not find his way out. Then it was once more evening,
and he was so tired that he lay down in a thicket and fell asleep. Next
day he went onwards, and in the evening, as he was again about to lie
down beneath some bushes, he heard such a howling and crying that he
could not go to sleep. And at the time when people light the candles,
he saw one glimmering, and arose and went towards it. Then he came to a
house which seemed very small, for in front of it a great giant was
standing. He thought to himself, “If I go in, and the giant sees me, it
will very likely cost me my life.”
At length he ventured it and went in. When the giant saw him, he said,
“It is well that thou comest, for it is long since I have eaten; I will
at once eat thee for my supper.” “I’d rather you would leave that
alone,” said the man, “I do not like to be eaten; but if thou hast any
desire to eat, I have quite enough here to satisfy thee.” “If that be
true,” said the giant, “thou mayst be easy, I was only going to devour
thee because I had nothing else.” Then they went, and sat down to the
table, and the man took out the bread, wine, and meat which would never
come to an end. “This pleases me well,” said the giant, and ate to his
heart’s content. Then the man said to him, “Canst thou tell me where
the golden castle of Stromberg is?” The giant said, “I will look at my
map; all the towns, and villages, and houses are to be found on it.” He
brought out the map which he had in the room and looked for the castle,
but it was not to be found on it. “It’s no matter!” said he, “I have
some still larger maps in my cupboard upstairs, and we will look in
them.” But there, too, it was in vain. The man now wanted to go
onwards, but the giant begged him to wait a few days longer until his
brother, who had gone out to bring some provisions, came home. When the
brother came home they inquired about the golden castle of Stromberg.
He replied, “When I have eaten and have had enough, I will look in the
map.” Then he went with them up to his chamber, and they searched in
his map, but could not find it. Then he brought out still older maps,
and they never rested until they found the golden castle of Stromberg,
but it was many thousand miles away. “How am I to get there?” asked the
man. The giant said, “I have two hours’ time, during which I will carry
you into the neighbourhood, but after that I must be at home to suckle
the child that we have.” So the giant carried the man to about a
hundred leagues from the castle, and said, “Thou canst very well walk
the rest of the way alone.” And he turned back, but the man went
onwards day and night, until at length he came to the golden castle of
Stromberg. It stood on a glass-mountain, and the bewitched maiden drove
in her carriage round the castle, and then went inside it. He rejoiced
when he saw her and wanted to climb up to her, but when he began to do
so he always slipped down the glass again. And when he saw that he
could not reach her, he was filled with trouble, and said to himself,
“I will stay down here below, and wait for her.” So he built himself a
hut and stayed in it for a whole year, and every day saw the King’s
daughter driving about above, but never could go to her. Then one day
he saw from his hut three robbers who were beating each other, and
cried to them, “God be with ye!” They stopped when they heard the cry,
but as they saw no one, they once more began to beat each other, and
that too most dangerously. So he again cried, “God be with ye!” Again
they stopped, looked round about, but as they saw no one they went on
beating each other. Then he cried for the third time, “God be with ye,”
and thought, “I must see what these three are about,” and went thither
and asked why they were beating each other so furiously. One of them
said that he found a stick, and that when he struck a door with it,
that door would spring open. The next said that he had found a mantle,
and that whenever he put it on, he was invisible, but the third said he
had found a horse on which a man could ride everywhere, even up the
glass-mountain. And now they did not know whether they ought to have
these things in common, or whether they ought to divide them. Then the
man said, “I will give you something in exchange for these three
things. Money indeed have I not, but I have other things of more value;
but first I must try yours to see if you have told the truth.” Then
they put him on the horse, threw the mantle round him, and gave him the
stick in his hand, and when he had all these things they were no longer
able to see him. So he gave them some vigorous blows and cried, “Now,
vagabonds, you have got what you deserve, are you satisfied?” And he
rode up the glass-mountain, but when he came in front of the castle at
the top, it was shut. Then he struck the door with his stick, and it
sprang open immediately. He went in and ascended the stairs until he
came to the hall where the maiden was sitting with a golden cup full of
wine before her. She, however, could not see him because he had the
mantle on. And when he came up to her, he drew from his finger the ring
which she had given him, and threw it into the cup so that it rang.
Then she cried, “That is my ring, so the man who is to set me free must
be here.” They searched the whole castle and did not find him, but he
had gone out, and had seated himself on the horse and thrown off the
mantle. When they came to the door, they saw him and cried aloud in
their delight.* Then he alighted and took the King’s daughter in his
arms, but she kissed him and said, “Now hast thou set me free, and
to-morrow we will celebrate our wedding.”