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JESSICA PEiXQTTO 
 3864-1941 
 
THE RED 
 FAIRY BOOK 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 ANDREW LANG 
 
 Author of 
 
 THE BLUE FAIRY BOOK, THE YELLOW FAIRY BOOK 
 
 THE GREEN FAIRY BOOK, ETC., ETC. 
 
 WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS BY 
 
 H. J. FORD and LANCELOT SPEED 
 
 New york 
 GROSSET & DUNLAP 
 
 PUBLISHERS 
 
 ' ! g ? j 
 

 //? Oo Cm ofc/#/y) 
 J(Cfi> PEtXOTTO 
 
 GIFT 
 
"SO 
 
 MASTER BILLY TREMAYNE MILES, 
 
 A PROFOUND STUDENT, 
 
 YET 
 
 aST AMIABLE CKBiSSO. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 In a second gleaning of the fields of fairyland we cannot 
 expect to find a second Perr^ult, but there are good stories 
 enough left, and it is hoped that some in the Red Fairy- 
 Book may have the attraction of being less familiar than 
 many of the old friends. The tales have been translated, 
 or, in the case of Madame d'Aulnoy's long stories, adapted, 
 by Mrs. Hunt from the Norse, by Miss Minnie Wright from 
 Madame d'Aulnoy, by Mrs. Lang and Miss Bruce from 
 other French sources, by Miss May Sellar, Miss Farquhar- 
 son, and Miss Blackley from the German, while the 
 story of " Sigurd " is condensed by the editor from Mr. Will- 
 iam Morris' prose version of the " Volsunga Saga." The 
 editor has to thank his friend, M. Charles Marelles, for per- 
 mission to reproduce his versions of the "Pied Piper," of 
 " Drakestail," and of "Little Golden Hood" from the 
 French, and M. Henri Carnoy for the same privilege in re- 
 gard to " The Six Sillies " from " La Tradition." 
 
 Lady Frances Balfour has kindly copied an old version 
 of "Jack and the Beanstalk," and Messrs. Smith & Elder 
 have permitted the publication of two of Mr. Ralston's ver- 
 sions from the Russian, A. L. 
 
 M141174 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 FAGS 
 
 The Twelve Dancing Princesses, 1 
 
 The Princess Mayblossom, 13 
 
 Soria Moria Castle, , 30 
 
 The Death op Koshchei the Deathless, .... 42 
 
 The Black Thief and Knight of the Glen, ... 54 
 
 The Master-Thief, 66 
 
 Brother and Sister, 83 
 
 Princess Rosette, 90 
 
 The Enchanted Fig, 106 
 
 The Norka, 117 
 
 The Wonderful Birch, 124 
 
 Jack and the Beanstalk, 135 
 
 The Little Good Mouse 147 
 
 Graciosa and Percinet, .... . 159 
 The Three Princesses of Whtteland, . . . .177 
 
 The Voice of Death, 184 
 
 The Six Sillies, 187 
 
 Kari Woodengown, 190 
 
 Drakestail, 203 
 
 The Ratcatcher 209 
 
 True History of Little Goldenhood, . . . .216 
 
 The Golden Branch, 220 
 
 The Three Dwarfs, . . * 239 
 
 Dapplegrim, 247 
 
 The Enchanted Canary, 258 
 
 The Twelve Brothers, 276 
 
 Bapunzel, 283 
 
 v 
 
VI CONTENTS. 
 
 v PAGB 
 
 The Nettle Spinner, ...... . 287 
 
 Farmer Weatherbeard, 294 
 
 Mother Holle, 304 
 
 Minnikin, 307 
 
 Bushy Bride, 323 
 
 Snowdrop 330 
 
 The Golden Goose , . . . 341 
 
 The Seven Foals, 346 
 
 The Marvelous Musician, ..,.. 854 
 
 The Story op Sigurd, . . mi 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 THE TWELVE DANCING PKINCESSES. 
 
 Once upon a time there lived in the village of Montign- 
 ies-sur-Roc a little cow-boy without either father or mother. 
 His real name was Michael, but he was always called the Star 
 Gazer, because when he drove his cows over the common to 
 seek for pasture, he went along with his head in the air, 
 gazing at nothing. As he had a white skin, blue eyes, and 
 hair that curled all over his head, the village girls used to 
 cry after him, " Well, Star Gazer, what are you doing ? " and 
 Michael would answer, " Oh, nothing," and go on his way 
 without even turning to look at them. 
 
 The fact was, he thought them very ugly, with their sun- 
 burnt necks, their great red hands, their coarse petticoats, 
 and their wooden shoes. He had heard that somewhere in 
 the world there were girls whose necks were white and whose 
 hands were small, who were always dressed in the finest silks 
 and laces, and were called princesses, and while his compan- 
 ions around the fire saw nothing in the flames but common 
 every-day fancies, he dreamed that he had the happiness to 
 marry a princess. 
 
 II. 
 
 One morning about the middle of August, just at midday 
 when the sun was hottest, Michael ate his dinner of a piece 
 of dry bread, and went to sleep under an oak. And while 
 he slept he dreamed that there appeared before him a beau- 
 tiful lady, dressed in a robe of cloth of gold, who said to 
 him : " Go to the castle of Beloeil, and there you shall marry 
 a princess." 
 
a - THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 That evening the little cow-boy, who had been thinking a 
 great deal about the advice of the lady in the golden dress, 
 told his dream to the farm people. But, as was natural, 
 they only laughed at the Star Gazer. 
 
 The next day at the same hour he went to sleep again 
 under the same tree. The lady appeared to him a second 
 time, and said : " Go to the castle of Beloeil, and you shall 
 marry a princess." 
 
 In the evening Michael told his friends that he had 
 dreamed the same dream again, but they only laughed at 
 him more than before. " Never mind," he thought to him- 
 self ; " if the lady appears to me a third time, I will do as 
 she tells me." 
 
 The following day, to the great astonishment of all the 
 village, about two o'clock in the afternoon a voice was heard 
 singing : 
 
 "Raleo, rale6, 
 How the cattle go ! " 
 
 It was the little cow-boy driving his herd back to the 
 byre. 
 
 The farmer began to scold him furiously, but he answered 
 quietly, " I am going away," made his clothes into a bundle, 
 said good-by to all his friends, and boldly set out to seek 
 his fortunes. 
 
 There was great excitement through all the village, and 
 on the top of the hill the people stood holding their sides 
 with laughing, as they watched the Star Gazer trudging 
 bravely along the valley with his bundle at the end of his 
 stick. 
 
 It was enough to make anyone laugh, certainly. 
 
 ni. 
 
 It was well known for full twenty miles round that there 
 lived in the castle of Belceil twelve princesses of wonderful 
 beauty, and as proud as they were beautiful, and who were 
 besides so very sensitive and of such truly royal blood that 
 they would have felt at once the presence of a pea in their 
 beds, even if the mattresses had been laid over it. 
 
 It was whispered about that they led exactly the lives 
 that princesses ought to lead, sleeping far into the morning, 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 3 
 
 and never getting up till midday. They had twelve beds 
 all in the same room, but what was very extraordinary was 
 the fact that though they were locked in by triple bolts, every 
 morning their satin shoes were found worn into holes. 
 
 When they were asked what they had been doing all night, 
 they always answered that they had been asleep; and, in- 
 deed, no noise was ever heard in the room, yet the shoes 
 could not wear themselves out alone ! 
 
 At last the Duke of Beloail ordered the trumpet to be 
 sounded, and a proclamation to be made that whoever could 
 discover how his daughters wore out their shoes should 
 choose one of them for his wife. 
 
 On hearing the proclamation a number of princes ar- 
 rived at the castle to try their luck. They watched all night 
 behind the open door of the princesses, but when the morn- 
 ing came they had all disappeared, and no one could tell 
 what had become of them. 
 
 IV. 
 
 When he reached the castle, Michael went straight to the 
 gardener and offered his services. Now, it happened that 
 the garden boy had just been sent away, and though the 
 Star Gazer did not look very sturdy, the gardener agreed 
 to take him, as he thought that his pretty face and golden 
 curls would please the princesses. 
 
 The first thing he was told was that when the princesses 
 got up he was to present each one with a bouquet, and 
 Michael thought if he had nothing more unpleasant to do 
 than that he should get on very well. 
 
 Accordingly he placed himself behind the door of the 
 princesses' room, with the twelve bouquets in a basket. He 
 gave one to each of the sisters, and they took them without 
 even deigning to look at the lad, except Lina, the youngest, 
 who fixed her large black eyes, as soft as velvet, on him, and 
 exclaimed, " Oh, how pretty he is our new flower boy ! " 
 The rest all burst out laughing, and the eldest pointed out 
 that a princess ought never to lower herself by looking at a 
 garden boy. 
 
 Now Michael knew quite well what had happened to all 
 the princes, but notwithstanding, the beautiful eyes of the 
 
4 
 
 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 Princess Lina inspired him with a violent longing to try his 
 fate. Unhappily he did not dare to come forward, being 
 afraid that he should only be jeered at, or even turned away 
 from the castle on account of his impudence. 
 
 V. 
 
 Nevertheless, the Star Gazer had another dream. The 
 lady in the golden dress appeared to him once more, holding 
 
 in one hand two young 
 laurel trees, a cherry laurel 
 and a rose laurel, in the 
 other hand a little golden 
 rake, a little golden bucket, 
 and a silken towel. She 
 thus addressed him: 
 
 "Plant these two laurels 
 in large pots, rake them 
 over with the rake, water 
 them with the bucket, and 
 wipe them with the towel. 
 When they have grown as 
 tall as a girl of fifteen, say 
 to each of them, ' My beau- 
 tiful laurel, with the golden 
 rake I have raked you, with 
 the golden bucket I have 
 watered you, with the silken 
 towel I have wiped you.' 
 Then, after that, ask anything you choose, and the laurels 
 will give it to you." 
 
 Michael thanked the lady in the golden dress, and when 
 he woke he found the two laurel bushes beside him. So 
 he carefully obeyed the orders he had been given by the lady. 
 The trees grew very fast, and when they were as tall as 
 a girl of fifteen he said to the cherry laurel, " My lovely 
 cherry laurel, with the golden rake I have raked thee, with 
 the golden bucket I have watered thee, with the silken towel 
 I have wiped thee. Teach me how to become invisible." 
 Then there instantly appeared on the laurel a pretty flower, 
 which Michael gathered and stuck into his button-hole. 
 
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THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 5 
 
 VI. 
 
 That evening when the princesses went upstairs to bed, he 
 followed them barefoot, so that he might make no noise, and 
 hid himself under one of the twelve beds, so as not to take 
 up much room. 
 
 The princesses began at once to open their wardrobes and 
 boxes. They took out of them the most magnificent dresses, 
 which they put on before their mirrors, and when they had 
 finished, turned themselves all round to admire their ap- 
 pearances. 
 
 Michael could see nothing from his hiding-place, but he 
 could hear everything, and he listened to the princesses 
 laughing and jumping with pleasure. At last the eldest 
 said, " Be quick, my sisters, our partners will be impatient." 
 At the end of an hour, when the Star Gazer heard no more 
 noise, he peeped out and saw the twelve sisters in splendid 
 garments, with their satin shoes on their feet, and in their 
 hands the bouquets he had brought them. 
 
 " Are you ready ? " asked the eldest. 
 
 " Yes," replied the other eleven in chorus, and they took 
 their places one by one behind her. 
 
 Then the eldest princess clapped her hands three times 
 and a trap-door opened. All the princesses disappeared down 
 a secret staircase, and Michael hastily followed them. 
 
 As he was following on the steps of the Princess Lina, 
 he carelessly trod on her dress. 
 
 " There is somebody behind me," cried the princess ; " they 
 are holding my dress." 
 
 "You foolish thing," said her eldest sister, "you are 
 always afraid of something. It is only a nail which caught 
 you." 
 
 VII. 
 
 They went down, down, down, till at last they came to a 
 passage with a door at one end, which was only fastened with 
 a latch. The eldest princess opened it, and they found them- 
 selves immediately in a lovely little wood, where the leaves 
 were spangled with drops of silver which shone in the bril- 
 liant light of the moon. 
 
 They next crossed another wood where the leaves were 
 
6 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 sprinkled with gold, and after that another still, where the 
 leaves glittered with diamonds. 
 
 At last the Star Gazer perceived a large lake, and on the 
 shore of the lake twelve little boats with awnings, in which 
 were seated twelve princes, who, grasping their oars, awaited 
 the princesses. 
 
 Each princess entered one of the boats, and Michael 
 slipped into that which held the youngest. The boats glided 
 along rapidly, but Lina's, from being heavier, was always be- 
 hind the rest. " We never went so slowly before," said the 
 princess ; " what can be the reason ? " 
 
 " I don't know," answered the prince. " I assure you I am 
 rowing as hard as I can." 
 
 On the other side of the lake the garden boy saw a beau- 
 tiful castle splendidly illuminated, whence came the lively 
 music of fiddles, kettle-drums, and trumpets. 
 
 In a moment they touched land, and the company jumped 
 out of the boats; and the princes, after having securely fas- 
 tened their barks, gave their arms to the princesses and con- 
 ducted them to the castle. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Michael followed, and entered the ball-room in their train. 
 Everywhere were mirrors, lights, flowers, and damask hang- 
 ings. 
 
 The Star Gazer was quite bewildered at the magnificence 
 of the sight. 
 
 He placed himself out of the way in a corner, admiring 
 the grace and beauty of the princesses. Their loveliness was 
 of every kind. Some were fair and some were dark; some 
 had chestnut hair, or curls darker still, and some had golden 
 locks. Never were so many beautiful princesses seen to- 
 gether at one time, but the one whom the cow-boy thought 
 the most beautiful and the most fascinating was the little 
 princess with the velvet eyes. 
 
 With what eagerness she danced ! leaning on her partner's 
 shoulder she swept by like a whirlwind. Her cheeks flushed, 
 her eyes sparkled, and it was plain that she loved dancing 
 better than anything else. 
 
 The poor boy envied those handsome young men with 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 7 
 
 whom she danced so gracefully, but he did not know how 
 little reason he had to be jealous of them. 
 
 The young men were really the princes who, to the number 
 of fifty, at least, had tried to steal the princesses' secret. The 
 princesses had made them drink something of a philter, which 
 froze the heart and left nothing but the love of dancing. 
 
 IX. 
 
 They danced on till the shoes of the princesses were worn 
 into holes. When the cock crowed the third time the fiddles 
 stopped, and a delicious supper was served by negro boys, 
 consisting of sugared orange flowers, crystallized rose leaves, 
 powdered violets, cracknels, wafers and other dishes, which 
 are, as everyone knows, the favorite food of princesses. 
 
 After supper the dancers all went back to their boats, and 
 this time the Star Gazer entered that of the eldest princess. 
 They crossed again the wood with the diamond-spangled 
 leaves, the wood with gold-sprinkled leaves, and the wood 
 whose leaves glittered with drops of silver, and as a proof 
 of what he had seen, the boy broke a small branch from a tree 
 in the last wood. Lina turned as she heard the noise made 
 by the breaking of the branch. 
 
 " What was that noise ? " she said. 
 
 " It was nothing," replied her eldest sister ; " it was only 
 the screech of the barn-owl that roosts in one of the turrets 
 of the castle." 
 
 While she was speaking Michael managed to slip in front, 
 and running up the staircase, he reached the princesses' 
 room first. He flung open the window, and sliding down 
 the vine which climbed up the wall, found himself in the gar- 
 den just as the sun was beginning to rise, and it was time 
 for him to set to his work. 
 
 That day, when he made up the bouquets, Michael hid the 
 branch with the silver drops in the nosegay intended for the 
 youngest princess. 
 
 When Lina discovered it she was much surprised. How- 
 ever, she said nothing to her sisters, but as she met the boy 
 
8 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 by accident while she was walking under the shade of the 
 elms, she suddenly stopped as if to speak to him ; then, alter- 
 ing her mind, went on her way. 
 
 The same evening the twelve sisters went again to the 
 ball, and the Star Gazer again followed them and crossed 
 the lake in Lina's boat. This time it was the prince who 
 complained that the boat seemed very heavy. 
 
 " It is the heat," said the princess. " I, too, have been feel- 
 ing very warm." 
 
 During the ball she looked everywhere for the gardener's 
 boy, but she never saw him. 
 
 As they came back, Michael gathered a branch from the 
 wood with the gold-spangled leaves, and now it was the eldest 
 princess who heard the noise that it made in breaking. 
 
 " It is nothing," said Lina ; " only the cry of the owl which 
 roosts in the turrets of the castle." 
 
 XI. 
 
 As soon as she got up she found the branch in her bouquet. 
 When the sisters went down she stayed a little behind and 
 said to the cow-boy : " Where does this branch come from ? " 
 
 " Your royal highness knows well enough," answered Mi- 
 chael. 
 
 "So you have followed us? " 
 
 " Yes, princess." 
 
 " How did you manage it ? We never saw you." 
 
 " I hid myself," replied the Star Gazer quietly. 
 
 The princess was silent a moment, and then said: 
 
 " You know our secret ! keep it. Here is the reward ot 
 your discretion." And she flung the boy a purse of gold. 
 
 " I do not sell my silence," answered Michael, and he went 
 away without picking up the purse. 
 
 For three nights Lina neither saw nor heard anything 
 extraordinary; on the fourth she heard a rustling among 
 the diamond-spangled leaves of the wood. That day there 
 was a branch of the tree in her bouquet. 
 
 She took the Star Gazer aside and said to him in a harsh 
 voice : " You know what price my father has promised to 
 pay for our secre* * " 
 
 " I know, princess," answered Michael. 
 
THE BED FAIEY BOOK. 
 
 9 
 
 " Don't you mean to tell him ? " 
 
 "That is not my intention." 
 
 " Are you afraid ? " 
 
 " No, princess." 
 
 " What makes you so discreet, then ? " 
 
 But Michael was silent. 
 
 XII. 
 
 Lina's sisters had seen her talking to the little garden boy, 
 and jeered at her for it. 
 
 "What prevents your marrying him?" asked the eldest; 
 
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 "you would become a gardener, too; it is a charming pro- 
 fession. You could live in a cottage at the end of the park, 
 and help your husband draw up water from the well, and 
 when we get up you could bring us our bouquets." 
 
 The Princess Lina was very angry, and when the Star 
 Gazer presented her bouquet, she received it in a disdainful 
 manner. 
 
 Michael behaved most respectfully. He never raised his 
 
10 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 eyes to her, but nearly all day she felt him at her side with- 
 out ever seeing him. 
 
 One day she made up her mind to tell everything to her 
 eldest sister. 
 
 " What ! " said she, " this rogue knows our secret, and you 
 never told me! I must lose no time in getting rid of him." 
 
 "But how?" 
 
 " Why, by having him taken to the tower with the dun- 
 geons, of course." 
 
 For this was the way that in old times beautiful princesses 
 got rid of the people who knew too much. 
 
 But the astonishing part of it was that the youngest sis- 
 ter did not seem at all to relish this method of stopping the 
 mouth of the gardener's boy, who, after all, had said nothing 
 to their father. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 It was agreed that the question should be submitted to the 
 other ten sisters. All were on the side of the eldest. Then 
 the youngest sister declared if they laid a finger on the little 
 garden boy, she would herself go and tell their father the se- 
 cret of the holes in their shoes. 
 
 At last it was decided that Michael should be put to the 
 test; that they would take him to the ball, and at the end 
 of supper would give him the philter which was to enchant 
 him like the rest. 
 
 They sent for the Star Gazer and asked him how he had 
 contrived to learn their secret; but still he remained silent. 
 
 Then, in commanding tones, the eldest sister gave him 
 the order they had agreed upon. 
 
 He only answered: 
 
 " I will obey." 
 
 He had really been present, invisible, at the council of the 
 princesses, and had heard all; but he had made up his mind 
 to drink of the philter and sacrifice himself to the happiness 
 of her he loved. 
 
 Not wishing, however, to cut a poor figure at the ball by 
 the side of the other dancers, he went at once to the laurels, 
 and said : 
 
 " My lovely rose laurel, with the golden rake I have raked 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 11 
 
 thee, with the golden bucket I have watered thee, with the 
 silken towel I have dried thee. Dress me like a prince." 
 
 A beautiful pink flower appeared. Michael gathered it, and 
 found himself in a moment clothed in velvet, which was as 
 black as the eyes of the little princess, with a cap to match, a 
 diamond aigrette, and a blossom of the rose laurel in his but- 
 ton-hole. 
 
 . Thus dressed, he presented himself that evening before the 
 Duke of Belceil, and obtained leave to try and discover his 
 daughters' secret. He looked so distinguished that hardly 
 anyone would have known who he was. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 The twelve princesses went upstairs to bed. Michael fol- 
 lowed them, and waited behind the open door till they gave 
 the signal for departure. 
 
 This time he did not cross in Lina's boat. He gave his 
 arm to the eldest sister, danced with each in turn, and was 
 so graceful that everyone was delighted with him. At last 
 the time came for him to dance with the little princess. She 
 found him the best partner in the world, but he did not 
 dare to speak a single word to her. 
 
 When he was taking her back to her place she said to him 
 in a mocking voice: 
 
 " Here you are at the summit of your wishes : you are be- 
 ing treated like a prince." 
 
 " Don't be afraid," replied the Star Gazer gently. " You 
 shall never be a gardener's wife." 
 
 The little princess stared at him with a frightened face, 
 and he left her without waiting for an answer. 
 
 When the satin slippers were worn through the fiddles 
 stopped, and the negro boys set the table. Michael was 
 placed next to the eldest sister and opposite to the youngest. 
 
 They gave him the most exquisite dishes to eat, and the 
 most delicate wines to drink; and in order to turn his head 
 more completely, compliments and flattery were heaped on 
 him from every side. 
 
 But he took care not to be intoxicated, either by the wine 
 or the compliments. 
 
12 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 XV. 
 
 At last the eldest sister made a sign, and one of the black 
 pages brought in a large golden cup. 
 
 " The enchanted castle has no more secrets for you," she 
 said to the Star Gazer. " Let us drink to your triumph." 
 
 He cast a lingering glance at the little princess and with- 
 out hesitation lifted the cup. 
 
 " Don't drink ! " suddenly cried out the little princess ; " I 
 would rather marry a gardener." 
 
 And she burst into tears. 
 
 Michael flung the contents of the cup behind him, sprang 
 over the table, and fell at Lina's feet. The rest of the princes 
 fell likewise at the knees of the princesses, each of whom 
 chose a husband and raised him to her side. The charm was 
 broken. 
 
 The twelve couples embarked in the boats, which crossed 
 back many times in order to carry over the other princes. 
 Then they all went through the three woods, and when they 
 had passed the door of the underground passage a great noise 
 was heard, as if the enchanted castle was crumbling to the 
 earth. 
 
 They went straight to the room of the Duke of Beloail, who 
 had just awoke. Michael held in his hand the golden cup, 
 and he revealed the secret of the holes in the shoes. 
 
 " Choose, then," said the duke, " whichever you prefer." 
 
 " My choice is already made," replied the garden boy, and 
 he offered his hand to the youngest princess, who blushed and 
 lowered her eyes. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 The Princess Lina did not become a gardener's wife; on 
 the contrary, it was the Star Gazer who became a prince: 
 but before the marriage ceremony the princess insisted that 
 her lover should tell her how he came to discover the secret. 
 
 So he showed her the two laurels which had helped him, 
 and she, like a prudent girl, thinking they gave him too much 
 advantage over his wife, cut them off at the root and threw 
 them in the fire. 
 
 And this is why the country girls go about singing 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 13 
 
 ** Nous n'irons plus au bois, 
 Les lauriers sunt coupes," 
 
 and dancing in summer by the light of the moon. 
 
 THE PEINCESS MAYBLOSSOM * 
 
 Once upon a time there lived a king and queen whose chil- 
 dren had all died, first one and then another, until at last 
 only one little daughter remained, and the queen was at 
 her wits' end to know where to find a really good nurse 
 who would take care of her and bring her up. A herald was 
 sent who blew a trumpet at every street corner, and com- 
 manded all the best nurses to appear before the queen, that 
 she might choose one for the little princess. So on the ap- 
 pointed day the whole palace was crowded with nurses, 
 who came from the four corners of the world to offer them- 
 selves, until the queen declared if she was ever to see half 
 of them, they must be brought out to her, one by one, as she 
 sat in a shady wood near the palace. 
 
 This was accordingly done, and the nurses, after they had 
 made their courtesy to the king and queen, ranged them- 
 selves in a line before her that she might choose. Most of 
 them were fair and fat and charming, but there was one 
 who was dark-skinned and ugly, and spoke a strange lan- 
 guage which nobody could understand. The queen wondered 
 how she dared to offer herself, and she was told to go away, as 
 she certainly would not do. Upon which she muttered some- 
 thing and passed on, but hid herself in a hollow tree, from 
 which she could well see all that happened. The queen, with- 
 out giving her another thought, chose a pretty, rosy-faced 
 nurse, but no sooner was her choice made than a snake, 
 which was hiddden in the grass, bit that very nurse on her 
 foot, so that she fell down as if dead. The queen was very 
 much vexed by this accident, but she soon selected another, 
 who was just stepping forward when an eagle flew by and 
 dropped a large tortoise on her head, which was cracked in 
 pieces like an egg-shell. At this the queen was much hor- 
 rified ; nevertheless, she chose a third time, but with no better 
 
 * La Princesse PrintanUre. Par Madame d'Aulnoy. 
 
14 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 fortune, for the nurse, moving quickly, ran into the branch 
 of a tree and blinded herself with a thorn. Then the queen 
 in dismay cried that there must be some malignant influence 
 at work, and that she would choose no more that day; and 
 she had just risen to return to the palace when she heard 
 peals of malicious laughter behind her, and turning round 
 saw the ugly stranger whom she had dismissed, who was 
 making very merry over the disasters and mocking every 
 one, but especially the queen. This annoyed her majesty 
 very much, and she was about to order that she should be 
 arrested, when the witch for she was a witch with two 
 blows from a wand summoned a chariot of fire drawn by 
 winged dragons, and was whirled off through the air utter- 
 ing threats and cries. When the king saw this he cried : 
 
 " Alas ! now we are ruined, indeed, for that was no other 
 than the Fairy Carabosse, who has had a grudge against me 
 ever since I was a boy and put sulphur into her porridge one 
 day for fun." 
 
 Then the queen began to cry. 
 
 " If I had only known who it was," she said, " I would have 
 done my best to make friends with her; now I suppose alLis 
 lost." 
 
 The king was sorry to have frightened her so much, and 
 proposed that they should go and hold a council as to what 
 was best to be done to avert the misfortunes which Cara- 
 bosse certainly meant to bring upon the little princess. 
 
 So all the counselors were summoned to the palace, and 
 when they had shut every door and window, and stuffed up 
 every keyhole that they might not be overheard, they talked 
 the affair over, and decided that every fairy for a thousand 
 leagues round should be invited to the christening of the prin- 
 cess, and that the time of the ceremony should be kept a pro- 
 found secret, in case the Fairy Carabosse should take it into 
 her head to attend it. 
 
 The queen and her ladies set to work to prepare presents 
 for the fairies who were invited: for each one a blue velvet 
 cloak, a petticoat of apricot satin, a pair of high-heeled 
 shoes, some sharp needles, and a pair of golden scissors. 
 Of all the fairies the queen knew, only five were able to come 
 on the day appointed, but they began immediately to be- 
 stow gifts upon the princess. One promised that she should 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 15 
 
 be perfectly beautiful, the second that she should under- 
 stand anything no matter what the first time it was ex- 
 plained to her, the third that she should sing like a night- 
 ingale, the fourth that she should succeed in everything she 
 undertook, and the fifth was opening her mouth to speak 
 when a tremendous rumbling was heard in the chimney, and 
 Carabosse, all covered with soot, came rolling down, crying : 
 
 " I say that she shall be the unluckiest of the unlucky until 
 she is twenty years old." 
 
 Then the queen and all the fairies began to beg and beseech 
 her to think better of it, and not be so unkind to the poor 
 little princess, who had never done her any harm. But the 
 ugly old fairy only grunted and made no answer. So the 
 last fairy, who had not yet given her gift, tried to mend mat- 
 ters by promising the princess a long and happy life after 
 the fatal time was over. At this Carabosse laughed mali- 
 ciously, and climbed away up the chimney, leaving them all 
 in great consternation, and especially the queen. How- 
 ever, she entertained the fairies splendidly, and gave them 
 beautiful ribbons, of which they are very fond, in addition 
 to the other presents. 
 
 When they were going away the oldest fairy said that they 
 were of opinion that it would be best to shut the princess 
 up in some place, with her waiting-women, so that she might 
 not see anyone else until she was twenty years old. So the 
 king had a tower built on purpose. It had no windows, so it 
 was lighted with wax candles, and the only way into it was 
 by an underground passage, which had iron doors only 
 twenty feet apart, and guards were posted everywhere. 
 
 The princess had been named Mayblossom, because she 
 was as fresh and blooming as spring itself, and she grew up 
 tall and beautiful, and everything she did and said was 
 charming. Every time the king and queen came to see her 
 they were more delighted with her than before, but though 
 she was weary of the tower, and often begged them to take 
 her away from it, they always refused. The princess' nurse, 
 who had never left her, sometimes told her about the world 
 outside the tower, and though the princess had never seen 
 anything for herself, yet she always understood exactly, 
 thanks to the second fairy's gift. Often the king said to 
 the queen: 
 
16 THE EED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 " We were cleverer than Carabosse, after all. Our May- 
 blossom will be happy in spite of her predictions." 
 
 And the queen laughed until she was tired at the idea of 
 having outwitted the old fairy. They had caused the prin- 
 cess' portrait to be painted and sent to all the neighboring 
 courts, for in four days she would have completed her twen- 
 tieth year, and it was time to decide whom she should marry. 
 All the town was rejoicing at the thought of the princess' 
 approaching freedom, and when the report came that King 
 Merlin was sending his ambassador to ask her in marriage 
 for his son, they were still more delighted. The nurse, who 
 kept the princess informed of everything that went forward 
 in the town, did not fail to repeat the news that so nearly 
 concerned her, and gave such a description of the splendor 
 in which the ambassador Fanfaronade would enter the town, 
 that the princess was wild to see the procession for herself. 
 
 " What an unhappy creature I am," she cried, " to be shut 
 up in this dismal tower as if I had committed some crime! 
 I have never seen the sun, or the stars, or a horse, or a 
 monkey, or a lion, except in pictures, and though the king 
 and queen tell me I am to be set free when I am twenty, I be- 
 lieve they only say it to keep me amused, when they never 
 mean to let me out at all." 
 
 And then she began to cry, and her nurse, and the nurse's 
 daughter, and the cradle-rocker, and the nursery-maid, who 
 all loved her dearly, cried, too, for company, so that nothing 
 could be heard but sobs and sighs. It was a scene of woe. 
 When the princess saw that they all pitied her she made up 
 her mind to have her own way. So she declared that she 
 would starve herself to death if they did not find some means 
 of letting her see Fanfaronade's grand entry into the town. 
 
 " If you really love me," she said, " you will manage it, 
 somehow or other, and the king and queen need never know 
 anything about it." 
 
 Then the nurse and all the others cried harder than ever, 
 and said everything they could think of to turn the prin- 
 cess from her idea. But the more they said the more deter- 
 mined she was, and at last they consented to make a tiny 
 hole in the tower on the side that looked toward the city 
 
 After scratching 8nd scraping all day and all night, they 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 17 
 
 presently made a hole through which they could, with great 
 mmculty push a very slender needle, and out of this the 
 princess looked at the daylight for the first time. She was 
 to dazzled and delighted by what she saw that there she 
 stayed, never taking her eyes away from the peep-hole tor a 
 single minute, until presently the ambassador's precession 
 apppeared in sight. 
 
 At the head of it rode Fanfaronade himself upon a white 
 horse, which pranced and caracoled to the sound of the trum- 
 pets. Nothing could have been more splendid than the am- 
 bassador's attire. His coat was nearly hidden under an em- 
 broidery of pearls and diamonds, his boots were solid gold, 
 and from his helmet floated scarlet plumes. At the sight of 
 him the princess lost her wits entirely, and determined that 
 Fanfaronade and nobody else would she marry. 
 
 " It is quite impossible," she said, " that his master should 
 be half as handsome and delightful. I am not ambitious, 
 and having spent all my life in this tedious tower, anything 
 even a house in the country -will seem a delightful change. 
 I am sure that bread and water shared with Fanfaronade 
 will please me far better than roast chicken and sweetmeats 
 with anybody else." 
 
 And so she went on, talk, talk, talking, until her waiting- 
 women wondered where she got it all from. But when they 
 tried to stop her, and represented that her high rank made 
 it perfectly impossible that she should do any such thing, she 
 would not listen, and ordered them to be silent. 
 
 As soon as the ambassador arrived at the palace the queen 
 started to fetch her daughter. 
 
 All the streets were spread with carpets, and the windows 
 were full of ladies who were waiting to see the princess, 
 and carried baskets of flowers and sweetmeats to shower upon 
 her as she passed. 
 
 They had hardly begun to get the princess ready when a 
 dwarf arrived, mounted upon an elephant. He came from 
 the five fairies, and brought for the princess a crown, a scep- 
 ter, and a robe of golden brocade, with a petticoat marvel- 
 ously embroidered with butterflies' wings. They also sent a 
 casket of jewels, so splendid that no one had ever seen any- 
 thing like it before, and the queen was perfectly dazzled 
 when she opened it. But the princess scarcely gave a glance 
 
18 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 tc any of these treasures, for she thought of nothing but 
 Fanfaronade. The dwarf was rewarded with a gold piece, 
 and decorated with so many ribbons that it was hardly poc- 
 sible to see him at all. The princess sent to each of the 
 fairies a new spinning-wheel with a distaff of cedar wood, 
 and the queen said she mirt look through her treasures and 
 find something very charn ing to send them also. 
 
 When the princess was arrayed in all the gorgeous things 
 the dwarf had brought, she was more beautiful than ever, 
 and as she walked along the streets the people cried : " How 
 pretty she is ! how pretty she is ! " 
 
 The procession consisted of the queen, the princess, five 
 dozen other princesses her cousins, and ten dozen who came 
 from the neighboring kingdoms; and as they proceeded at a 
 stately pace the sky began to grow dark, then suddenly the 
 thunder growled, and rain and hail fell in torrents. The 
 queen put her royal mantle over her head, and all the prin- 
 cesses did the same with their trains. Maybossom was just 
 about to follow their example when a terrific croaking, as of 
 an immense army of crows, rooks, ravens, screech-owls, and 
 all birds of ill-omen, was heard, and at the same instant a 
 huge owl skimmed up to the princess, and threw over her a 
 scarf woven of spiders' webs and embroidered with bats' 
 wings. And then peals of mocking laughter rang through 
 the air, and they guessed that this was another of the Fairy 
 Carabosse's unpleasant jokes. 
 
 The queen Was terrified at such an evil omen, and tried to 
 pull the black scarf from the princess' shoulders, but it really 
 seemed as if it must be nailed on, it clung so closely. 
 
 " Ah ! " cried the queen, " can nothing appease this enemy 
 of ours? What good was it that I sent her more than fifty 
 pounds of sweetmeats, and as much again of the best sugar, 
 not to mention two Westphalia hams? She is as angry as 
 wer." 
 
 While she lamented in this way, and everybody was as wet 
 as if they had been dragged through a river, the princess 
 still thought of nothing but the ambassador, and just at this 
 moment he appeared before her, with the king, and there 
 was a great blowing of trumpets, and all the people shouted 
 louder than ever. Fanfaronade was not generally at a loss 
 for something to say, but when he saw the princess, she was 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 19 
 
 so much more beautiful and majestic than he had expected, 
 that he could only stammer out a few words, and entirely for- 
 got the harangue which he had been learning for months, 
 and knew well enough to have repeated it in his sleep. To 
 gain time to remember at least part of it, he made several 
 low bows to the princess, who on her side dropped half a 
 dozen courtesies without stopping to think, and then said, to 
 relieve his evident embarrassment : 
 
 " Sir Ambassador, I am sure that everything you intend to 
 say is charming, since it is you who mean to say it ; but let 
 us make haste into the palace, as it is pouring cats and dogs, 
 and the wicked Fairy Carabosse will be amused to see us all 
 stand dripping here. When we are once under shelter we 
 can laugh at her." 
 
 Upon this the ambassador found his tongue, and replied 
 gallantly that the fairy had evidently foreseen the flames 
 that would be kindled by the bright eyes of the princess, and 
 had sent this deluge to extinguish them. Then he offered 
 his hand to conduct the princess, and she said softly: 
 
 " As you could not possibly guess how much I like you, 
 Sir Fanfaronade, I am obliged to tell you plainly that, since 
 I saw you enter the town on your beautiful prancing horse, 
 I have been sorry that you came to speak for another instead 
 of for yourself. So, if you think about it as I do, I will marry 
 you instead of your master. Of course, I know you are not a 
 prince, but I shall be just as fond of you as if you were, and 
 we can go and live in some cozy little corner of the world, and 
 be as happy as the days are long." 
 
 The ambassador thought he must be dreaming, and could 
 hardly believe what the lovely princess said. He dared not 
 answer, but only squeezed the princess' hand until he really 
 hurt her little finger, but she did not cry out. When they 
 reached the palace the king kissed his daughter on both 
 cheeks, and said: 
 
 " My little lambkin, are you willing to marry the great 
 King Merlin's son, for this ambassador has come on his be- 
 half to fetch you?" 
 
 "If you please, sire," said the princess, dropping a cour- 
 tesy. 
 
 "I consent, also," said the queen; "so let the banquet be 
 prepared." 
 
20 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 This was done with all speed, and everybody feasted ex- 
 cept Mayblossom and Fanfaronade, who looked at one an- 
 other and forgot everything else. 
 
 After the banquet came a ball, and after that again a bal- 
 let, and at last they were all so tired that everyone fell asleep 
 just where he sat. Only the lovers were as wide awake as 
 mice, and the princess, seeing that there was nothing to fear, 
 said to Fanfaronade: 
 
 " Let us be quick and run away, for we shall never have a 
 better chance than this." 
 
 Then she took the king's dagger, which was in a diamond 
 sheath, and the queen's neck-handkerchief, and gave her 
 hand to Fanfaronade, who carried a lantern, and they ran out 
 together into the muddy street and down to the seashore. 
 Here they got into a little boat in which the poor old boat- 
 man was sleeping, and when he woke up and saw the lovely 
 princess, with all her diamonds and her spiders'-web scarf, he 
 did not know what to think, and obeyed her instantly when 
 she commanded him to set out. They could see neither 
 moon nor stars, but in the queen's neck-handkerchief there 
 was a carbuncle that glowed like fifty torches. Fanfaronade 
 asked the princess where she would like to go, but she only 
 answered that she did not care where she went as long as he 
 was with her. 
 
 " But, princess," said he, "I dare not take you back to King 
 Merlin's court. He would think hanging too good for me." 
 
 " Oh, in that case," she answered, " we had better go to 
 Squirrel Island; it is lonely enough, and too far off for any- 
 one to follow us there." 
 
 So she ordered the old boatman to steer for Squirrel Island. 
 
 Meanwhile the day was breaking, and the king and queen 
 and all the courtiers began to wake up and rub their eyes, 
 and think it was time to finish the preparations for the wed- 
 ding. And the queen asked for her neck-handkerchief, that 
 she might look smart. Then there was a scurry hither and 
 thither, and a hunting everywhere: they looked into every 
 place, from the wardrobes to the stoves, and the queen her- 
 self ran about from the garret to the cellar, but the hand- 
 kerchief was nowhere to be found. 
 
 By this time the king had missed his dagger, and the search 
 began all over again. They opened boxes and chests of which 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 21 
 
 the keys had been lost for a hundred years, and found num- 
 bers of curious things, but not the dagger, and the king tore 
 his beard, and the queen tore her hair, for the handkerchief 
 and the dagger were the most valuable things in the king- 
 dom. 
 
 When the king saw that the search was hopeless he said: 
 
 " Never mind, let us make haste and get the wedding over 
 before anything else is lost." And then he asked where 
 the process was. Upon this t r nurse came forward and 
 said: 
 
 " Sire, I have been seeking her these two hours, but she is 
 nowhere to be found." This was more than the queen could 
 bear. She gave a shriek of alarm, and fainted away, and 
 they had to pour two barrels of eau-de-cologne over her be- 
 
22 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 fore she recovered. When she came to herself everybody 
 was looking for the princess in the greatest terror and con- 
 fusion, but as she did not appear, the king said to his page: 
 
 " Go and find the Ambassador Fanfaronade, who is doubt- 
 less asleep in some corner, and tell him the sad news." 
 
 So the page hunted hither and thither, but Fanfaronade 
 was no more to be found than the princess, the dagger, or 
 the neck-handkerchief! 
 
 Then the king summoned his counselors and his guards, 
 and, accompanied by the queen, went into his great hall. As 
 he had not had time to prepare his speech beforehand, the 
 king ordered that silence should be kept for three hours, and 
 at the end of that time he spoke, as follows: 
 
 " Listen, great and small ! My dear daughter Mayblossom 
 is lost: whether she has been stolen away or has simply dis- 
 apppeared, I cannot tell. The queen's neck-handkerchief and 
 my sword, which are worth their weight in gold, are also 
 missing, and, what is worst of all, Ambassador Fanfaronade 
 is nowhere to be found. I greatly fear that the king, his 
 master, when he receives no tidings from him, will come to 
 seek him among us, and will accuse us of having made mince- 
 meat of him. Perhaps I could bear even that if I had any 
 money, but I assure you that the expenses of the wedding 
 have completely ruined me. Advise me, then, my dear sub- 
 jects, what I had better do to recover my daughter, Fanfar- 
 onade, and the other things." 
 
 This was the most eloquent speech the king had been 
 known to make, and when everybody had done admiring it 
 the prime minister made answer: 
 
 " Sire, we are all very sorry to see you so sorry. We would 
 give everything we value in the world to take away the cause 
 of your sorrow, but this seems to be another of the tricks of 
 the Fairy Carabosse. The princess' twenty unlucky years 
 were not quite over, and really, if the truth must be told, 
 I noticed that Fanfaronade and the princess admired one an- 
 other greatly. Perhaps this may give some clew to the mys- 
 tery of their disappearance." 
 
 Here the queen interrupted him, saying, " Take care what 
 you say, sir. Believe me, the Princess Mayblossom was far 
 too well brought up to think of falling in love with an am- 
 bassador." 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 23 
 
 At this the nurse came forward, and falling on her knees, 
 confessed how they had made the little needle-hole in the 
 tower, and how the princess had declared when she saw the 
 ambassador that she would marry him and nobody else. 
 Then the queen was very angry, and gave the nurse and the 
 cradle-rocker and the nursery-maid such a scolding that they 
 shook in their shoes. But the Admiral Cocked-hat inter- 
 rupted her, crying: 
 
 " Let us be off after this good-for-nothing Fanfaronade, 
 for without a doubt he has run away with our princess." 
 
 Then there was a great clapping of hands, and everybody 
 shouted, " By all means let us be after him." 
 
 So while some embarked upon the sea, the others ran from 
 kingdom to kingdom beating drums and blowing trumpets, 
 and wherever a crowd collected they cried: 
 
 " Whoever wants a beautiful doll, sweetmeats of all kinds, 
 a little pair of scissors, a golden robe, and a satin cap has 
 only to say where Fanfaronade has hidden the Princess May- 
 blossom." 
 
 But the answer everywhere was, "You must go further, 
 we have not seen them." 
 
 However, those who went by sea were more fortunate, for 
 after sailing about for some time they noticed a light before 
 them which burned at night like a great fire. At first they 
 dared not go near it, not knowing what it might be, but by 
 and by it remained stationary over Squirrel Island, for, as 
 you have guessed already, the light was the glowing of the 
 carbuncle. The princess and Fanfaronade upon landing upon 
 the island had given the boatman a hundred gold pieces, and 
 made him promise solemnly to tell no one where he had taken 
 them ; but the first thing that happened was that, as he rowed 
 away, he got into the midst of the fleet, and before he could 
 escape the admiral had seen him and sent a boat after him. 
 
 When he was searched they found the gold pieces in his 
 pocket, and as they were quite new coins, struck in honor of 
 the princess' wedding, the admiral felt certain that the boat- 
 man must have been paid by the princess to aid her in her 
 flight. But he would not answer any questions, and pre- 
 tended to be deaf and dumb. 
 
 Then the admiral said : " Oh ! deaf and dumb is he ? Lash 
 him to the mast and give him a taste of the cat-o'-nine-tails. 
 
24 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 I don't know anything better than that for curing the deaf 
 and dumb ! " 
 
 And when the old boatman saw he was in earnest, he told 
 all he knew about the cavalier and the lady whom he had 
 landed upon Squirrel Island, and the admiral knew it must 
 be the princess and Fanfaronade; so he gave the order tor 
 the fleet to surround the island. 
 
 Meanwhile the Princess Mayblossom, who was by this time 
 terribly sleepy, had found a grassy bank in the shade, and 
 throwing herself down had already fallen into a profound 
 slumber, when Fanfaronade, who happened to be hungry and 
 not sleepy, came and woke her up, saying very crossly : 
 
 " Pray, madam, how long do you mean to stay here ? I see 
 nothing to eat, and though you may be very charming, the 
 sight of you does not prevent me from famishing." 
 
 " What ! Fanfaronade," said the princess, sitting up and 
 rubbing her eyes, " is it possible that when I am here with 
 you you can want anything else ? You ought to be thinking 
 all the time how happy you are." 
 
 " Happy ! " cried he ; " say rather unhappy. I wish with all 
 my heart that you were back in your dark tower again." 
 
 "Darling, don't be cross," said the princess. "I will go 
 and see if I can find some wild fruit for you." 
 
 "I wish you might find a wolf to eat you up," growled 
 Fanfaronade. 
 
 The princess, in great dismay, ran hither and thither all 
 about the wood, tearing her dress and hurting her pretty 
 white hands with the thorns and brambles, but she could 
 find nothing good to eat, and at last she had to go back sor- 
 rowfully to Fanfaronade. When he saw that she came 
 empty-handed, he got up and left her angrily, grumbling to 
 himself. 
 
 The next day they searched again, but with no better suc- 
 cess. 
 
 " Alas ! " said the princess, " if only I could find something 
 for you to eat, I should not mind being hungry myself." 
 
 " No, I should not mind that either," answered Fanfaron- 
 ade. 
 
 " Is it possible," said she, " that you would not care if I 
 died of hunger? Oh, Fanfaronade, you said you loved 
 me!" 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 25 
 
 " That was when we were in quite another place and I was 
 not hungry," said he. " It makes a great difference in one's 
 ideas when one is dying of hunger and thirst on a desert 
 island." 
 
 At this the princess was dreadfully vexed, and she sat down 
 under a white rose bush and began to cry bitterly. 
 
 " Happy roses," she thought to herself, " they have only to 
 blossom in the sunshine and be admired, and there is nobody 
 to be unkind to them." And the tears ran down her cheeks 
 and splashed on the rose-tree roots. Presently she was sur- 
 prised to see the whole bush rustling and shaking, and a soft 
 little voice from the pretttiest rosebud said: 
 
 " Poor princess ! look in the trunk of that tree and you will 
 find a honeycomb, but don't be foolish enough to share it 
 with Fanfaronade." 
 
 Mayblossom ran to the tree, and sure enough there was the 
 honey. Without losing a moment she ran with it to Fanfar- 
 onade, crying gayly: 
 
 " See, here is a honeycomb that I have found. I might 
 have eaten it up all by myself, but I had rather share it with 
 you." 
 
 But without looking at her or thanking her, he snatched 
 the honeycomb out of her hands and ate it all up every bit, 
 without offering her a morsel. Indeed, when she humbly 
 asked for some he said mockingly that it was too sweet for 
 her, and would spoil her teeth. 
 
 Mayblossom, more downcast than ever, went sadly away 
 and sat down under an oak tree, and her tears and sighs were 
 so piteous that the oak fanned her with his rustling leaves 
 and said: 
 
 " Take courage, pretty princess, all is not lost yet. Take 
 this pitcher of milk and drink it up, and whatever you do, 
 don't leave a drop for Fanfaronade." 
 
 The princess, quite astonished, looked round and saw a 
 big pitcher full of milk, but before she could raise it to her 
 lips the thought of how thirsty Fanfaronade must be, after 
 eating at least fifteen pounds of honey, made her run back to 
 him and say : 
 
 " Here is a pitcher of milk ; drink some, for you must be 
 thirsty, I am sure ; but pray save a little for me, as I am dy- 
 ing of hunger and thirst." 
 
26 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 But he seized the pitcher and drank all it contained at a 
 single draught, and then broke it to atoms on the nearest 
 stone, saying, with a malicious smile : " As you have not eaten 
 anything you cannot be thirsty." 
 
 " Ah ! " cried the princess, " I am well punished for dis- 
 appointing the king and queen, and running away with this 
 ambassador, of whom I knew nothing." 
 
 And so saying she wandered away into the thickest part of 
 the wood, and sat down under a thorn tree, where a nightin- 
 gale was singing. Presently she heard him say : " Search 
 under the bush, princess; you will find some sugar almonds 
 and some tarts there. But don't be silly enough to offer Fan- 
 faronade any." And this time the princess, who was faint- 
 ing with hunger, took the nightingale's advice, and ate what 
 she found, all by herself. But Fanfaronade, seeing that she 
 had found something good, and was not going to share 
 it with him, ran after her in such a fury that 
 she hastily drew out the queen's carbuncle, which had the 
 property of rendering people invisible if they were in dan- 
 ger, and when she was safely hidden from him she reproached 
 him gently for his unkindness. 
 
 Meanwhile Admiral Cocked-hat had dispatched Jack-the- 
 chatterer-of-the-straw-boots, courier in ordinary to the prime 
 minister, to tell the king that the princess and the ambas- 
 sador had landed on Squirrel Island, but that not knowing 
 the country he had not pursued them, for fear of being cap- 
 tured by concealed enemies. Their majesties were overjoyed 
 at the news, and the king sent for a great book, each leaf of 
 which was eight ells long. It was the work of a very clever 
 fairy, and contained a description of the whole earth. He 
 very soon found that Squirrel Island was uninhabited. 
 
 "Go," said he to Jack-the-chatterer, "tell the admiral 
 from me to land at once. I am surprised at his not having 
 done so sooner." As soon as this message reached the fleet, 
 every preparation was made for war, and the noise was so 
 great that it reached the ears of the princess, who at once 
 flew to protect her lover. As he was not very brave he ac- 
 cepted her aid gladly. 
 
 "You stand behind me," said she, "and I will hold the 
 carbuncle, which will make us invisible, and with the king's 
 dagger I can protect you from the enemy." So when the 
 
THE BED FAIET BOOK. 
 
 27 
 
 soldiers landed they could see nothing, but the princess 
 touched them one after another with the dagger and they fell 
 insensible upon the sand, so that at last the admiral, seeing 
 that there was some enchantment, hastily gave orders for a 
 retreat to be sounded, and got his men back into their boats 
 in great confusion. 
 
 Fanfaronade, being once more left with the princess, be- 
 gan to think that if he could get rid of her, and possess him- 
 self of the carbuncle and the dagger, he would be able to 
 make his escape. So as they walked over the cliffs he gave 
 
 the princess a great push, 
 hoping that she would fall 
 into the sea; but she 
 stepped aside so quickly 
 that he only succeeded in 
 overbalancing himself, and 
 over he went and sank to 
 the bottom of the sea like 
 a lump of lead, and was 
 never heard of any more. 
 While the princess was 
 still looking after him in 
 horror her attention was 
 attracted by a rushing 
 noise over her head, and 
 looking up she saw two 
 chariots approaching rap- 
 idly from opposite direc- 
 tions. One was bright 
 and glittering, and drawn 
 by swans and peacocks, 
 while the fairy who sat in 
 it was beautiful as a sun- 
 beam; the other drawn by 
 bats and ravens, contained a frightful little dwarf, who 
 was dressed in a snake's skin, and wore a great toad upon 
 her head for a hood. The chariots met with a frightful crash 
 in mid-air, and the princess looked on in breathless anxiety 
 while a furious battle took place between the lovely fairy 
 with her golden lance, and the hideous little dwarf with her 
 rusty pike. But very soon it was evident that the beauty had 
 
48 
 
 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 the best of it, and the dwarf turned her bats' heads and flick- 
 ered away in great confusion, while the fairy came down to 
 where the princess stood, and said, smiling : " You see, prin- 
 cess, I have completely routed that malicious old Carabosae. 
 
 Will you believe it! she actually wanted to claim authority 
 over you forever, because you came out of the tower four 
 aays before the twenty years were ended. However, I think 
 I have settled her pretensions, and I hope you will be v< 3, 
 H.ppy and enjoy the freedom I have won for you." 
 
 The princess thanked her heartily and then the fairy dis' 
 ^tftched one of her peacocks to her palace to bring a gorg*H^ 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 29 
 
 robe for Mayblossom, who certainly needed it, for her own 
 was torn to shreds by the thorns and briars. Another pea- 
 cock was sent to the admiral to tell him that he could now 
 land in perfect safety, which he at once did, bringing all his 
 men with him, even to Jack-the-chatterer, who, happening 
 to pass the spit upon which the admiral's dinner was roast- 
 ing, snatched it up and brought it with him. 
 
 Admiral Cocked-hat was immensely surprised when he 
 came upon the golden chariot, and still more so to see two 
 lovely ladies walking under the trees a little further away. 
 When he reached them of course he recognized the prin- 
 cess, and he went down on his knees and kissed her hand 
 
 quite joyfully. Then she presented him to the fairy, and 
 told him how Carabosse had been finally routed, and he 
 thanked and congratulated the fairy, who was most gracious 
 to him. While they were talking she cried suddenly : 
 
 " I declare, I smell a savory dinner." 
 
 "Why, yes, madam, here it is," said Jack-the-chatterer, 
 holding up the spit, where all the pheasants and partridges 
 were frizzling. " Will your highness please to taste any of 
 them?" 
 
30 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 "By all means," said the fairy, "especially as the prin- 
 cess will certainly be glad of a good meal." 
 
 So the admiral sent back to his ship for everything thau 
 was needful, and they feasted merrily under the trees. By 
 the time they had finished, the peacock had come back with a 
 robe for the princess, in which the fairy arrayed her. It was 
 of green and gold brocade, embroidered with pearls and ru- 
 bies, and her long golden hair was tied back with strings 
 of diamonds and emeralds, and crowned with flowers. The 
 fairy made her mount beside her in the golden chariot, and 
 took her on board the admiral's ship, where she bade fare- 
 well, sending many messages of friendship to the queen, and 
 bidding the princess ted her she was the fifth fairy who had 
 attended the christening. Then salutes were fired, the fleet 
 weighed anchor, and very soon they reached the port. Here 
 the king and queen were waiting, and they received the 
 princess with such joy and kindness that she could not get 
 a word in edgeways, to say how sorry she was for having 
 run away with such a very poor-spirited ambassador. But, 
 after all, it must have been all Carabosse's fault. Just at 
 this lucky moment who should arrive but King Merlin's son, 
 who had become uneasy at not receiving any news from his 
 ambassador, and so had started himself with a magnificent 
 escort of a thousand horsemen, and thirty body-guards in 
 gold and scarlet uniforms, to see what could have happened. 
 As he was a hundred times handsomer and braver than the 
 ambassador, the princess found she could like him very much. 
 So the wedding was held at once, with so much splendor and 
 rejoicing that all the previous misfortunes were quite for- 
 gotten 
 
 SOMA MOKIA CASTLE * 
 
 There were once upon a time a couple of old folks who had 
 a son called Halvor. Ever since he had been a little boy he 
 had been unwilling to do any work, and had just sat raking 
 about among the ashes. His parents sent him away to learn 
 several things, but Halvor stayed nowhere, for when he had 
 been gone two or three days he always ran away from his 
 
 * From P. C. Asbjornsen. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 31 
 
 master, hurried off home, and sat down in the chimney cor- 
 ner to grub among the ashes again. 
 
 One day, however, a sea captain came and asked Halvor if 
 he hadn't a fancy to come with him and go to sea, and be- 
 hold foreign lands. And Halvor had a fancy for that, so he 
 was not long in getting ready. 
 
 How long they sailed I have no idea, but after a long, long 
 time there was a terrible storm, and when it was over and 
 all had become calm again they knew not where they we rr 
 for they had been driven away to a strange coast of which 
 none of them had any knowledge. 
 
 As there was no wind at all they lay there becalmed, and 
 Halvor asked the skipper to give him leave to go on shore to 
 look about him, for he would much rather do that than lie 
 there and sleep. 
 
 " Dost thou think that thou art fit to go where people can 
 see thee ? " said the skipper ; " thou hast no clothes but those 
 rags thou art going about in ! " 
 
 Halvor still begged for leave, and at last got it, but he 
 was to come back at once if the wind began to rise. 
 
 So he went on shore and it was a delightful country; 
 whithersoever he went there were wide plains with fields and 
 meadows, but as for people there were none to be seen. The 
 wind began to rise, but Halvor thought that he had not seen 
 enough yet, and that he would like to walk about a little 
 longer, to try if he could not meet somebody. So after 
 a while he came to a great highway, which was so smooth 
 that an egg might have been rolled along it without breaking. 
 Halvor followed this, and when evening drew near he saw a 
 big castle far away in the distance, and there were lights 
 in it. So as he had now been walking the whole day and had 
 not brought anything to eat away with him, he was fright- 
 fully hungry. Nevertheless, the nearer he came to the castle 
 the more afraid he was. 
 
 A fire was burning in the castle, and Halvor went into the 
 kitchen, which was more magnificent than any kitchen he 
 had ever yet beheld. There were vessels of gold and silver, 
 but not one human being was to be seen. When Halvor had 
 stood there for some time, and no one had come out, he went 
 in and opened a door, and inside a princess was sitting at 
 her wheel spinning. 
 
32 THE RED YAIU1 BOOK. 
 
 " Nay ! " she cried, " can Christian folk dare to come 
 hither ? But the best thing that you can do is to go away 
 again, for if not the troll will devour you. A troll with 
 three heads lives here." 
 
 " I should have been just as well pleased if he had had 
 four heads more, for I should have enjoyed seeing the fel- 
 low," said the youth ; " and I won't go away, for I have done 
 no harm, but you must give me something to eat, for I am 
 frightfully hungry." 
 
 When Halvor had eaten his fill, the princess told him to 
 try if he could wield the sword which was hanging on the 
 wall, but he could not wield it, nor could he even lift it up. 
 
 " Well, then, you must take a drink out of that bottle 
 which is hanging by its side, for that's what the troll does 
 whenever he goes out and wants to use the sword," said the 
 princess. 
 
 Halvor took a draught and in a moment he was able to 
 swing the sword about with perfect ease. And now he 
 thought it was high time for the troll to make his appear- 
 ance, and at that very moment he came, panting for breath. 
 
 Halvor got behind the door. 
 
 " Hutetu ! " said the troll, as he put his heads in at the 
 door. " It smells just as if there was a Christian man's 
 blood here ! " 
 
 " Yes, you shall learn that there is ! " said Halvor, and cut 
 off all his heads. 
 
 The princess was so rejoiced to be free that she danced 
 and sang, but then she remembered her sisters, and said : 
 
 " If my sisters were but free, too ! " 
 
 " Where are they ? " asked Halvor. 
 
 So she told him where they were. One of them had been 
 taken away by a troll to his castle, which was six miles off, 
 and the other had been carried off to a castle which was nine 
 miles further off still. 
 
 " But now," said she, " you must first help me to get this 
 dead body away from here." 
 
 Halvor was so strong that he cleared everything away, and 
 made all clean and tidy very quickly. So then they ate and 
 drank, and were happy, and next morning he set off in the 
 gray light of dawn. He gave himself no rest, but walked or 
 ran the livelong day. When he came in sight of the castle 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 33 
 
 he was again just a little afraid. It was much more splen- 
 did than the other, but here, too, there was not a human be- 
 ing to be seen. So Halvor went into the kitchen, and did 
 not linger there either, but went straight in. 
 
 " Nay ! do Christian folk dare to come here % " cried the 
 second princess. " I do not know how long it is since I my- 
 self came, but during all that time I have never seen a 
 Christian man. It will be better for you to depart at once, 
 for a troll lives here who has six heads." 
 
 " No, I shall not go," said Halvor ; " even if he had six more 
 I would not." 
 
 " He will swallow you up alive," said the princess. 
 
 But she spoke to no purpose, for Halvor would not go; he 
 was not afraid of the troll, but he wanted some meat and 
 drink, for he was hungry after his journey. So she gave him 
 as much as he would have, and then she once more tried to 
 make him go away. 
 
 "No," said Halvor, "I will not go, for I have not done 
 anything wrong, and I have no reason to be afraid." 
 
 "He won't ask any questions about that," said the prin- 
 cess, "for he will take you without leave or right; but as 
 you will not go, try if you can wield that sword which the 
 troll uses in battle." 
 
 He could not wield the sword ; so the princess said that he 
 was to take a draught from the flask which hung by its side, 
 and when he had done that he could wield the sword. 
 
 Soon afterward the troll came, and he was so large and 
 stout that he was forced to go sideways to get through the 
 door. When the troll got his first head in he cried : 
 
 " Hutetu ! It smells of a Christian man's blood here ! " 
 
 With that Halvor cut off the first head, and so on, with 
 all the rest. The princess was now exceedingly delighted, 
 but then she remembered her sisters, and wished that they 
 too, were free. Halvor thought that might be managed, and 
 wanted to set off immediately; but first he had to help the 
 princess to remove the troll's body, so that it was not until 
 morning that he set forth on his way. 
 
 It was a long way to the castle, and he both walked and 
 ran to get there in time. Late in the evening he caught 
 sight of it, and it was very much more magnificent than 
 either of the others. And this time he was not the least bit 
 
34 
 
 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 afraid, but went into the kitchen and then straight on inside 
 the castle. There a princess was sitting who was so beau- 
 tiful that there was never anyone to equal her. She, too, 
 said what the others had said, that no Christian folk had 
 ever been there since she had come, and entreated him to 
 
 go away again, or else the troll would swallow him up alive. 
 The troll had nine heads, she told him. 
 
 "Yes, and if he had nine added to the nine, and then 
 nine more still, I would not go away," said Halvor, and went 
 and stood by the stove. 
 
 The princess begged him very prettily to go lest the troll 
 should devour him ; but Halvor said, " Let him come when he 
 will." 
 
 So she gave him the troll's sword, and bade him take a 
 drink from the flask to enable him to wield it. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 35 
 
 At the same moment the troll came, breathing hard, and 
 he Was ever so much bigger and stouter than either of the 
 others, and he, too, was forced to go sideways to get in 
 through the door. 
 
 " Hutetu ! what a smell of Christian blood there is here ! " 
 said he. 
 
 Then Halvor cut off the first head, and after that the 
 others, but the last was the toughest of them all, and it was 
 the hardest work that Halvor had ever done to get it off, but 
 he still believed he would have strength enough to do it. 
 
 And now all the princesses came to the castle and were to- 
 gether again, and they were happier than they had ever been 
 in their lives; and they were delighted with Halvor, and he 
 with them, and he was to choose the one he liked best ; but of 
 the three sisters the youngest loved him best. 
 
 But Halvor went about and was so strange and so mourn- 
 ful and quiet that the princesses asked what it was that he 
 longed for, and if he did not like to be with them. He said 
 that he did like to be with them, for they had enough to live 
 on, and he was very comfortable there; but he longed to go 
 home, for his father and mother were -alive, and he had a 
 great desire to see them again. 
 
 They thought that this might easily be done. 
 
 " You shall go and return in perfect safety if you will fol- 
 low our advice," said the princesses. 
 
 So he said that he would do nothing that they did not wish. 
 
 Then they dressed him so splendidly that he was like a 
 king's son ; and they put a ring on his finger, and it was one 
 which would enable him to go there and back again by wish- 
 ing, but they told him he must not throw it away or name 
 their names; for if he did, all his magnificence would be at 
 an end, and then he would never see them more. 
 
 " If I were but at home again, or if home were but here ! " 
 said Halvor, and no sooner had he wished this than it was 
 granted. Halvor was standing outside his father and 
 mother's cottage before he knew what he was about. The 
 darkness of night was coming on, and when the father and 
 mother saw such a stately stranger walk in they were so star- 
 tled that they both began to bow and courtesy. 
 
 Halvor then inquired if he could stay there and have lodg- 
 ing for the night. No, that he certainly could not. "We 
 
36 THE EED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 can give you no such accommodations," they said, " for we 
 have none of the things that are needful when a great lord 
 like you is to be entertained. It will be better for you to go 
 up to the farm. It is not far off, you can see the chimney- 
 pots from here, and there they have plenty of everything." 
 
 Halvor would not hear of that, he was absolutely deter- 
 mined to stay where he was; but the old folks stuck to 
 what they had said, and told him that he was to go to the 
 farm, where he could get both meat and drink, whereas they 
 themselves had not even a chair to offer him. 
 
 " No," said Halvor, " I will not go up there till early to- 
 morrow morning; let me stay here to-night. I can sit down 
 on the hearth." 
 
 They could say nothing against that, so Halvor sat down 
 on the hearth and began to rake about among the ashes just 
 as he had done before, when he lay there idling away his 
 time. 
 
 They chattered much about many things, and told Halvor 
 of this and of that, and at last he asked them if they had 
 never had any child. 
 
 " Yes," they said ; they had had a boy who was called Hal- 
 vor, but they did not know where he had gone, and they could 
 not even say whether he were dead or alive. 
 
 " Could I be he ? " said Halvor. 
 
 "I should know him well enough," said the old woman, 
 rising. " Our Halvor was so idle and slothful that he never 
 did anything at all, and he was so ragged that one hole ran 
 into another all over his clothes. Such a fellow as he was 
 could never turn into such a man as you are, sir." 
 
 In a short time the old woman had to go to the fireplace 
 to stir the fire, and when the blaze lit up Halvor, as it used 
 to do when he was at home raking up the ashes, she knew him 
 again. 
 
 " Good heavens ! is that you, Halvor ? " said she, and such a 
 great gladness fell over the old parents there were no bounds 
 to it. And now he had to relate everything that had befallen 
 him, and the old woman was so delighted with him that she 
 would take him up to the farm at once to show him to the 
 girls who had formerly looked down on him so. She went 
 there first, and Halvor followed her. When she got there 
 she told them how Halvor had come home again, and now 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 37 
 
 they should just see how magnificent he was. " He looks like 
 a prince," she said. 
 
 " We shall see that he is just the same ragamuffin that he 
 was before," said the girls, tossing their heads. 
 
 At that same moment Halvor entered, and the girls were 
 so astonished that they left their kirtles lying in the chim- 
 ney-corner, and ran away in nothing but their petticoats. 
 When they came in again they were so shamefaced that they 
 hardly dared to look at Halvor, toward whom they had always 
 been so proud and haughty before. 
 
 " Aye, aye ! you have always thought you were so pretty 
 and dainty that no one was equal to you," said Halvor, " but 
 you should just see the eldest princess whom I set free. You 
 look like herdswomen compared with her, and the second 
 princess is also much prettier than you; but the youngest, 
 who is my sweetheart, is more beautiful than either sun or 
 moon. I wish to Heaven they were here, and then you could 
 see them." 
 
 Scarcely had he said this before they were standing by his 
 side, but then he was very sorrowful, for the words which 
 they had said to him came to his mind. 
 
 Up at the farm a great feast was made ready for the prin- 
 cesses, and much respect paid to them, but they would not 
 stay there. 
 
 " We want to go down to your parents," they said to Hal- 
 vor, " so we will go out and look about us." 
 
 He followed them out, and they came to a large pond out- 
 side the farm-house. Very near the water there was a pretty 
 green bank, and there the princesses said they would sit down 
 and while away an hour, for they thought it would be pleas- 
 ant to sit and look out over the water, they said. 
 
 Here they, sat down, and when they had sat for a short 
 time the youngest princess said, " I may as well comb your 
 hair a little, Halvor." 
 
 So Halvor laid his head down on her lap and she combed 
 it, and it was not long before he fell asleep. Then she took 
 her ring from him and put another in its place, and then 
 she said to her sisters : " Hold me as I am holding you. I 
 would that we were at Soria Moria Castle." 
 
 When Halvor awoke he knew that he had lost the prin- 
 cesses, and began to weep and lament, and was so unhappy 
 
38 TEE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 that he could not be comforted. In spite of all his father's 
 and mother's entreaties, he would not stay, but bade them 
 farewell, saying that he would never see them more, for if he 
 did not find the princess again he did not think it worth 
 while to live. 
 
 He again had three hundred dollars, which he put into his 
 pocket and went on his way. When he had walked some dis- 
 tance he met a man with a tolerably good horse. Halvor 
 longed to buy it, and began to bargain with the man. 
 
 " Well, I have not exactly been thinking of selling him." 
 said the man, "but if we could agree, perhaps " 
 
 Halvor inquired how much he wanted to have for the horse. 
 
 " I did not give much for him, and he is not worth much ; 
 he is a capital horse to ride, but good for nothing at draw- 
 ing; but he will always be able to carry your bag of pro- 
 visions and you, too, if you walk and ride by turns." At last 
 they agreed about the price, and Halvor laid his bag on the 
 horse, and sometimes he walked and sometimes he rode. In 
 the evening he came to a green field where stood a great tree, 
 under which he seated himself. Then he let the horse loose 
 and lay down to sleep, but before he did that he took his bag 
 off the horse. At daybreak he set off again, for he did not 
 feel as if he could take any rest. So he walked and rode the 
 whole day, through a great wood where there were many 
 green places which gleamed very prettily among the trees. 
 He did not know where he was or whither he was going, but 
 he never lingered longer in any place than was enough to let 
 his horse get a little food when they came to one of those 
 green spots, while he himself took out his bag of provisions. 
 
 So he walked and he rode, and it seemed to him that the 
 wood would never come to an end. But on the evening of the 
 second day he saw a light shining through the trees. 
 
 "If only there were some people up there I might warm 
 myself and get something to eat," thought Halvor. 
 
 When he got to the place where the light had come from, 
 he saw a wretched little cottage, and through a small pane of 
 glass he saw a couple of old folks inside. They were very 
 old, and as gray-headed as a pigeon, and the old woman had 
 such a long nose that she sat in the chimney-corner and used 
 it to stir the fire. 
 
 a Good-evening ! good-evening ! " said the old hag ; " but 
 
THE EED FAIRY BOOK. 39 
 
 what errand have you that can bring you here? No Chris- 
 tian folk have been here for more than a hundred years." 
 
 So Halvor told her that he wanted to get to Soria Moria 
 Castle, and inquired if she knew the way thither. 
 
 " No," said the old woman, " that I do not, but the moon 
 will be here presently and I will ask her, and she will know. 
 She can easily see it for she shines on all things." 
 
 So when the moon stood clear and bright above the tree- 
 tops the old woman went out. " Moon ! moon ! " she screamed, 
 " Canst thou tell me the way to Soria Moria Castle ? " 
 
 " No," said the moon, " that I can't, for when I shone there, 
 there was a cloud before me." 
 
 " Wait a little longer," said the old woman to Halvor, " for 
 the west wind will presently be here, and he will know it, 
 for he breathes gently or blows into every corner. 
 
 " What ! have you a horse, too ? " she said when she came 
 in again. " Oh ! let the poor creature loose in our bit of 
 fenced-in pasture, and don't let it stand there starving at 
 our very door. But won't you exchange him with me? We 
 have a pair of old boots here with which you can go fifteen 
 quarters of a mile at each step. You shall have them for the 
 horse, and then you will be able to get sooner to Soria Moria 
 castle." 
 
 Halvor consented to this at once, and the old woman was 
 so delighted with the horse that she was ready to dance. 
 "For now I, too, shall be able to ride to church," she said. 
 Halvor could take no rest and wanted to set off immediately; 
 but the old woman said that there was no need to hasten. 
 "Lie down on the bench and sleep a little, for we have no 
 bed to offer you," said she, " and I will watch for the coming 
 of the west wind." 
 
 Ere long came the west wind, roaring so loud that the 
 walls creaked. 
 
 The old woman went out and cried : 
 
 "West wind! west wind! Canst thou tell me the way to 
 Soria Moria Castle ? Here is one who would go thither." 
 
 " Yes, I know it well," said the west wind. " I am just on 
 my way there to dry the clothes for the wedding which is to 
 take place. If he is fleet of foot he can go with me." 
 
 Out ran Halvor. 
 
 " You will have to make haste if you mean to go with me," 
 
40 
 
 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 said the west wind; and away it went over hill and dale, and 
 moor and morass, and Halvor had enough to do to keep up 
 with it. 
 
 " Well, now I have no time to stay with you any longer," 
 said the west wind, "for I must first go and tear uwn a bit 
 of spruce fir before I go to the bleaching-ground to dry the 
 clothes; but just go along the side of the hill and you will 
 come to some girls who are standing there washing clothes, 
 and then you will not have to walk far before you are at 
 Soria Moria Castle." 
 
 Shortly afterward Halvor came to the girls who were stand- 
 foil washing, and they asked him if he had seen anything 
 
 fcf the west wind, who was to come there to dry the clothes 
 f or the wedding. 
 
 " Yes," said Halvor, "he has only ^one to break down a 
 bit of spruce fir. It won't be long before he is here." And 
 then he asked them the way to Soria Moria Castle. They 
 put him in the right way, and when he came in front of the 
 castle it was so full of horses and people that it swarmed 
 with them. But Halvor was so ragged and torn with follow- 
 ing the west wind through bushes and bogs that h kept on 
 one side, and would not go among the crowd unti> the last 
 day, when the feast was at noon. 
 
THE RED FAIET BOOK. 
 
 41 
 
 So when, as was the usage and custom, all were to drink 
 to the bride and the young giris who were present, the cup- 
 bearer filled the cup for each in turn, both bride and bride- 
 groom, and knights and servants, and at last, after a very 
 
 long time, he came to Halvor. He drank their health, and 
 then slipped the ring which the princess had put on his finger 
 when they were sitting by the waterside into the glass, and 
 ordered the cup-bearer to carry the glass to the bride from 
 him and greet her. 
 
 Then the princess at once rose up from the table, and said, 
 "Who is most worthy to have one of us he who has de- 
 
42 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 livered us from the trolls or he who is sitting here as bride- 
 groom ? " 
 
 There could be but one opinion as to that, everyone 
 thought, and when Halvor heard what they said he was 
 not long in flinging off his beggar's rags and arraying himself 
 as a bridegroom. 
 
 "Yes, he is the right one," cried the youngest princess 
 when she caught sight of him; so she flung the other out of 
 the window and held her wedding with Halvor. 
 
 THE DEATH OF KOSHCHEI THE DEATHLESS . 
 
 In a certain kingdom there lived a Prince Ivan. He had 
 three sisters. The first was the Princess Marya, the second 
 the Princess Olga, the third the Princess Anna. When their 
 father and mother lay at the point of death, they had thus 
 enjoined their son : " Give your sisters in marriage to the 
 very first suitors who come to woo them. Don't go keeping 
 them by you ! " 
 
 They died, and the prince buried them, and then, to solace 
 his grief, he went with his sisters into the garden green to 
 stroll. Suddenly the sky was covered by a black cloud ; a ter- 
 rible storm arose. 
 
 " Let us go home, sisters ! " he cried. 
 
 Hardly had they got into the palace when the thunder 
 pealed, the ceiling split open, and into the room where they 
 were came flying a falcon bright. The falcon smote upon 
 the ground, became a brave youth, and said : 
 
 " Hail, Prince Ivan ! Before I came as a guest, but now I 
 have come as a wooer ! I wish to propose for your sister, the 
 Princess Marya." 
 
 " If you find favor in the eyes of my sister, I will not in- 
 terfere with her wishes. Let her marry you, in God's name ! " 
 
 The Princess Marya gave her consent; the falcon married 
 her and bore her away into his own realm. 
 
 Days follow days, hours chase hours ; a whole year goes by. 
 One day Prince Ivan and his sisters went out to stroll in 
 the garden green. Again there arose a storm-cloud, with 
 whirlwind and lightning. 
 
 * Ralston. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 43 
 
 " Let us go home, sisters ! " cries the prince. Scarcely had 
 they entered the palace when the thunder crashed, the roof 
 burst into a blaze, the ceiling split in twain, and in flew an 
 eagle. The eagle smote upon the ground, and became a brave 
 youth. 
 
 "Hail, Prince Ivan! Before I came as a guest, but 
 now I have come as a wooer ! " 
 
 And he asked for the hand of the Princess Olga. Prince 
 Ivan replied : 
 
 "If you find favor in the eyes of the Princess Olga, then 
 let her marry you. I will not interfere with her liberty of 
 choice." 
 
 The Princess Olga gave her consent and married the 
 eagle. The eagle took her and carried her off to his own 
 kingdom. 
 
 Another year went by. Prince Ivan said to his youngest 
 sister : 
 
 " Let us go out and stroll in the garden green ! " 
 
 They strolled about for a time. Again there arose a storm- 
 cloud, with whirlwind and lightning. 
 
 " Let us return home, sister ! " said he. 
 
 They returned home, but they hadn't had time to sit down 
 then the thunder crashed, the ceiling split open and in flew 
 a raven. The raven smote upon the floor and became a brave 
 youth. The former youths had been handsome, but this one 
 was handsomer still. 
 
 "Well, Prince Ivan! Before I came as a guest, but now 
 I have come as a wooer! Give me the Princess Anna to 
 wife." 
 
 " I won't interfere with my sister's freedom. If you gain 
 her affections, let her marry you." 
 
 So the Princess Anna married the raven, and he bore 
 her away into his own realm. Prince Ivan was left alone. A 
 whole year he lived without his sisters ; then he grew weary, 
 and said: 
 
 " I will set out in search of my sisters." 
 
 He got ready for the journey, he rode and rode, and one 
 day he saw a whole army lying dead on the plain. He cried 
 aloud, " If there be a living man there let him make answer ! 
 Who has slain this mighty host ? " 
 
 There replied unto him a living man: 
 
44 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 "All this mighty host has been slain by the fair Prin- 
 cess Marya Morevna." 
 
 Prince Ivan rode further on, and came to a white tent, 
 and forth came to meet him the fair Princess Marya Mor- 
 evna. 
 
 " Hail, prince ! " says she ; " whither does God send you ? 
 and is it of your free will or against your will ? " - 
 
 Prince Ivan replied: "Not against their will do brave 
 youths ride!" 
 
 "Well, if your business be not pressing, tarry awhile 
 in my tent." 
 
 Thereat was Prince Ivan glad. He spent two nights in 
 the tent and he found favor in the eyes of Marya Morevna, 
 and she married him. The fair princess, Marya Morevna, 
 carried him off into her own realm. 
 
 They spent some time together, and then the princess took 
 it into her head to go a-warring. So she handed over all 
 the housekeeping affairs to Prince Ivan, and gave him these 
 instructions : 
 
 " Go about everywhere, keep watch over everything ; only 
 do not venture to look into that closet there." 
 
 He couldn't help doing so. The moment Marya Morevna 
 had gone he rushed to the closet, pulled open the door, and 
 looked in there hung Koshchei the Deathless, fettered by 
 twelve chains. Then Koshchei entreated Prince Ivan, say- 
 in: 
 
 "Have pity upon me and give me to drink! Ten years 
 long have I been here in torment, neither eating nor drink- 
 ing ; my throat is utterly dried up." 
 
 The prince gave him a bucketful of water; he drank it 
 up and asked for more, saying: 
 
 " A single bucket of water will not quench my thirst ; give 
 me more ! " 
 
 The prince gave him a second bucketful. Koshchei 
 drank it up and asked for a third, and when he had swal- 
 lowed the third bucketful he regained his former strength, 
 gave his chains a shake, and broke all twelve at once. 
 
 " Thanks, Prince Ivan ! " cried Koshchei the Deathless, 
 "now you will sooner see your own ears than Marya Mor- 
 evna ! " and out of the window he flew in the shape of a ter- 
 rible whirlwind. And he came up with the fair Princess 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 45 
 
 Marya Morevna as she was going her way, laid hold of her 
 and carried her off home with him. But Prince Ivan wept 
 full sore, and he arrayed himself and set out a-wandering, 
 saying to himself, " Whatever happens I will go and look 
 for Marya Morevna ! * 
 
 One day passed, another day passed; at the dawn of the 
 third day he saw a wondrous palace, and by the side of the 
 
 palace stood an oak, and on the oak sat a falcon bright. 
 
 Down flew the falcon from the oak, smote upon the ground, 
 
 turned into a brave youth, and cried aloud : 
 
 " Ha, dear brother-in-law ! how deals the Lord with you ? " 
 Out came running the Princess Marya, joyfully greeted 
 
 her brother Ivan, and began inquiring after his health, and 
 
46 THE BED FAIEY BOOK. 
 
 telling him all about herself. The prince spent three days 
 with them; then he said: 
 
 " I cannot abide with you ; I must go in search of my wife, 
 the fair Princess Marya Morevna." 
 
 " Hard will it be for you to find her," answered the fal- 
 con. " At all events, leave with us your silver spoon. We 
 will look at it and remember you." So Prince Ivan left his 
 silver spoon at the falcon's, and went on his way again. 
 
 On he went one day, on he went another day, and by the 
 dawn of the third day he saw a palace still grander than the 
 former one, and hard by the palace stood an oak, and on the 
 oak sat an eagle. Down flew the eagle from the oak, smote 
 upon the ground, turned into a brave youth, and cried aloud : 
 
 " Kise up, Princess Olga ! Here comes our brother dear ! " 
 
 The Princess Olga immediately ran to meet him, and be- 
 gan kissing him and embracing him, asking after his health, 
 and telling him all about herself. With them Prince Ivan 
 stopped three days; then he said: 
 
 "I cannot stay here any longer. I am going to look for 
 my wife, the fair Princess Marya Morevna." 
 
 "Hard will it be for you to find her," replied the eagle. 
 " Leave with us a silver fork. We will look at it and re- 
 member you." 
 
 He left a silver fork behind and went his way. He trav- 
 eled one day, he traveled two days; at daybreak on the third 
 day he saw a palace grander than the first two, and near the 
 palace stood an oak, and on the oak sat a raven. Down flew 
 the raven from the oak, smote upon the ground, turned into 
 a brave youth, and cried aloud : 
 
 "Princess Anna, come forth quickly! our brother is com- 
 ing." 
 
 Out ran the Princess Anna, greeted him joyfully, and be- 
 gan kissing and embracing him, asking after his health and 
 telling him all about herself. Prince Ivan stayed with them 
 three days; then he said: 
 
 " Farewell ! I am going to look for my wife, the fair Prin- 
 cess Marya Morevna." 
 
 "Hard will it be for you to find her," replied the raven. 
 "Anyhow, leave your silver snuff-box with us. We will look 
 at it and remember you." 
 
 The prince handed over his silver snuff-box, took his leave, 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. . fc.jf 
 
 and went his way. One day he went, another day he went, 
 and on the third day he came to where Marya Morevna was. 
 She caught sight of her love, flung her arms around his neck, 
 burst into tears and exclaimed: 
 
 " Oh, Prince Ivan ! why did you disobey me and go look- 
 ing into the closet and letting out Koshchei the Deathless ? " 
 
 "Forgive me, Marya Morevna. Remember not the past; 
 much better fly with me while Koshchei the Deathless is 
 out of sight. Perhaps he won't catch us." 
 
 So they got ready and fled. Now Koshchei was out hunt- 
 ing. Toward evening he was returning home, when his good 
 steed stumbled beneath him. 
 
 "Why stumblest thou, sorry jade? Scentest thou some 
 ill?" 
 
 The steed replied : 
 
 "Prince Ivan has come and carried off Marya Morevna." 
 
 " Is it possible to catch them ? " 
 
 "It is possible to sow wheat, to wait till it grows up, to 
 reap it and thresh it, to grind it to flour, to make five pies of 
 it, to eat those pies, and then to start in pursuit and even 
 then to be in time." 
 
 Koshchei galloped off and caught up Prince Ivan. 
 
 " Now," says he, " this time I will forgive you in return 
 for your kindness in giving me water to drink. And a sec- 
 ond time I will forgive you; but the third time, beware! I 
 will cut you to bits." 
 
 Then he took Marya Morevna from him and carried her 
 off. But Prince Ivan sat down upon a stone and burst into 
 tears. He wept and wept and then returned back again to 
 Marya Morevna. Now Koshchei the Deathless happened not 
 to be at home. 
 
 " Let us fly, Marya Morevna ! " 
 
 " Ah, Prince Ivan ! he will catch us." 
 
 " Suppose he does catch us. At all events we shall have 
 spent an hour or two together." 
 
 So they got ready and fled. As Koshchei the Deathless 
 was returning home, his good steed stumbled beneath him. 
 
 "Why stumblest thou, sorry jade? Scentest thou some 
 ill?" 
 
 "Prince Ivan has come and carried off Marya Morevna/ J 
 
 " Is it possible to catch them ? " 
 
48 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 "It is possible to sow barley, to wait till it grows up, to 
 reap it and thresh it, to brew beer, to drink ourselves drunk 
 on it, to sleep our fill, and then to set off in pursuit and yet 
 to be in time." 
 
 Koshchei galloped off, caught up Prince Ivan. 
 
 " Didn't I tell you that you should not see Marya Mor- 
 evna any more than your own ears ? " 
 
 And he took her away and carried her off home with him. 
 
 Prince Ivan was left there alone. He wept and wept. 
 Then he went back again after Marya Morevna. Koshchei 
 happened to be away from home at that moment. 
 
 " Let us fly, Marya Morevna ! " 
 
 " Ah, Prince Ivan ! he is sure to catch us and hew you in 
 pieces." 
 
 " Let him hew away ! I cannot live without you." 
 
 So they got ready and fled. 
 
 Koshchei the Deathless was returning home when his good 
 steed stumbled beneath him. 
 
 " Why stumblest thou ? Scentest thou any ill ? " 
 
 " Prince Ivan has come and has carried off Marya Mor- 
 evna." 
 
 Koshchei galloped off, caught Prince Ivan, chopped him 
 into little pieces, put them into a barrel, smeared it with 
 pitch and bound it with iron hoops, and flung it into the 
 blue sea. But Marya Morevna he carried off home. 
 
 At that very time the silver articles turned black which 
 Prince Ivan had left with his brothers-in-law. 
 
 u Ah ! " said they, " the evil is accomplished, sure enough ! " 
 
 Then the eagle hurried to the blue sea, caught hold of the 
 barrel and dragged it ashore; the falcon flew away for the 
 water of life, and the raven for the water of death. 
 
 Afterward they all three met, broke open the barrel, took 
 out the remains of Prince Ivan, washed them, and put them 
 together in fitting order. The raven sprinkled them with the 
 water of death the pieces joined together, the body became 
 whole. The falcon sprinkled it with the water of life 
 Prince Ivan shuddered, stood up, and said: 
 
 " Ah ! wnat a time I've been sleeping ! " 
 
 "You'd have gone on sleeping a good deal longer if it 
 hadn't been for us," replied his brothers-in-law. " Now come 
 and pay us a visit." 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 49 
 
 " ITay, brothers ; I shall go and look for Marya Morevna." 
 
 And when he had found her, he said to her: 
 
 u find out from Koshchei the Deathless from whence k^ 
 
 got so good a steed." 
 
 So Marya Morevna chose a favorable moment, and began 
 
 asking Koshchei about it. Koshchei replied : 
 
 " Beyond thrice nine lands, in the thirtieth kingdom, on 
 
 the other side of the fiery river, there lives a baba yaga. She 
 
 has so good a mare that she flies right round the worid on it 
 
 every day. And she has many other splendid mares. I 
 watched her herds for three days without losing a single 
 mare, and in return for that the baba yaga gave me a foal." 
 " But how did you get across the fiery river ? " 
 " ^hv, I've a handkerchief of this kind when I wave it 
 thrice on the right hand, there springs up a very lofty bridge, 
 and the fire cannot reach it." 
 
 Marya Morevna listened to all this and repeated it to 
 Prince Ivan, and she carried off the handkerchief and gave 
 it to him. So he managed to get across the fiery river, and 
 
50 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 then went on to the baba yaga's. Long went he on without 
 getting anything either to eat or to drink. At last he came 
 across an outlandish bird and its young ones. Says Prince 
 Ivan: 
 
 " I'll eat one of these chickens." 
 
 " Don't eat it, Prince Ivan ! " begs the outlandish bird ; 
 " some time or other I'll do you a good turn." 
 
 He went on further and saw a hive of bees in the forest. 
 
 " I'll get a bit of honeycomb," says he. 
 
 " Don't disturb my honey, Prince Ivan ! " exclaims the 
 queen-bee ; " some time or other I'll do you a good turn." 
 
 So he didn't disturb it, but went on. Presently there met 
 him a lioness with her cub. 
 
 " Anyhow, I'll eat this lion cub," says he ; " I'm so hungry 
 I feel quite unwell ! " 
 
 "Please let us alone, Prince Ivan," begs the lioness; 
 tt some time or other I'll do you a good turn." 
 
 " Very well ; have it your own way," says he. 
 
 Hungry and faint he wandered on, walked further and 
 further, and at last came to where stood the house of the 
 baba yaga. Pound the house were set twelve poles in a 
 circle, and on each of eleven of these poles was stuck a hu- 
 man head; the twelfth alone remained unoccupied. 
 
 "Hail, granny!" 
 
 " Hail, Prince Ivan ! wherefore have you come ? Is it of 
 your own accord or on compulsion ? " 
 
 " I have come to earn from you an heroic steed." 
 
 " So be it, prince ! You won't have to serve a year with 
 me, but just three days. If you take good care of my mares 
 I will give you an heroic steed. But if you don't why, then 
 you mustn't be annoyed at finding your head stuck on top of 
 the last pole up there." 
 
 Prince Ivan agreed to these terms. The baba yaga gave 
 nim food and drink and bade him set about his business. 
 But the moment he had driven the mares afield, they cocked 
 up their tails and away they tore across the meadows in all 
 directions. Before the prince had time to look round they 
 were all out of sight. Thereupon he began to weep and to 
 disquiet himself, and then he sat down upon a stone and went 
 to sleep. But when the sun was near its setting the outland- 
 ish bird came flying up to him and awakened him, saying: 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 51 
 
 "Arise, Prince Ivan! The mares are at home now." 
 
 The prince arose and returned home. There the baba yaga 
 was storming and raging at her mares, and shrieking: 
 
 " Whatever did ye come home for ? " 
 
 " How could we help coming home ? " said they. " There 
 came flying birds from every part of the world, and all but 
 pecked our eyes out." 
 
 " Well, well ! to-morrow don't go galloping over the mead- 
 ows, but disperse amid the thick forests." 
 
 Prince Ivan slept all night. In the morning the baba yaga 
 says to him: 
 
 " Mind, Prince ! if you don't take good care of the mares, 
 if you lose merely one of them your bold head will be stuck 
 on that pole ! " 
 
 He drove the mares afield. Immediately they cocked up 
 their tails and dispersed among the thick forests. Again 
 did the prince sit down on the stone, weep and weep, and 
 then go to sleep. The sun went down behind the forest. Up 
 came running the lioness. 
 
 " Arise, Prince Ivan ! The mares are all collected." 
 
 Prince Ivan arose and went home. More than ever did the 
 baba yaga storm at her mares and shriek: 
 
 " Whatever did ye come back home for ? " 
 
 "How could we help coming back? Beasts of prey came 
 running at us from all parts of the world, and all but tore 
 us utterly to pieces." 
 
 " Well, to-morrow run off into the blue sea." 
 
 Again did Prince Ivan sleep through the night. Next 
 morning the baba yaga sent him forth to watch the mares. 
 
 " If you don't take good care of them," says she, " your 
 bold head will be stuck on that pole 1 " 
 
 He drove the mares afield. Immediately they cocked up 
 their tails, disappeared from sight and fled into the blue sea. 
 There they stood, up to their necks in water. Prince Ivan 
 sat down on the stone, wept, and fell asleep. But when the 
 sun had set behind the forest, up came flying a bee, and said : 
 
 "Arise, prince! The mares are all collected. But when 
 you get home don't let the baba yaga set eyes on you, but go 
 into the stable and hide behind the mangers. There you will 
 find a sorry colt rolling in the muck. Do you steal it, and 
 at the dead of night ride away from the house." 
 
52 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 Prince Ivan arose, slipped into the stable, and lay down be- 
 hind the mangers, while the baba yaga was storming away 
 at her mares and shrieking: 
 
 " Why did ye come back ? " 
 
 " How could we help coming back ? There came flying bees 
 in countless numbers from all parts of the world, and began 
 stinging us on all sides till the blood came ! " 
 
 The baba yaga went to sleep. In the dead of the night 
 Prince Ivan stole the sorry colt, saddled it, jumped on its 
 back, and galloped away to the fiery river. When he came 
 to the river he waved the handkerchief three times on the 
 right hand, and suddenly, springing goodness knows whence, 
 there hung across the river, high in the air, a splendid 
 bridge. The prince rode across the bridge and waved the 
 handkerchief twice only on the left hand; there remained 
 across the river a thin, ever so thin a bridge! 
 
 When the baba yaga got up in the morning the sorry colt 
 was not to be seen ! Off she set in pursuit. At full speed did 
 she fly in her iron mortar, urging it on with the pestle, 
 sweeping away her traces with the broom. She dashed up to 
 the fiery river, gave a glance, and said, " A capital bridge ! " 
 She drove on to the bridge, but had only got half-way when 
 the bridge broke in two, and the baba yaga went flop into 
 the river. There truly did she meet with a cruel death! 
 
 Prince Ivan fattened up the colt in the green meadows, and 
 it turned into a wondrous steed. Then he rode to where 
 Marya Morevna was. She came running out, and flung her- 
 self on his neck, crying: 
 
 " By what means has God brought you back to life ? " 
 
 " Thus and thus," says he. " Now come along with me." 
 
 "I am afraid, Prince Ivan! If Koshchei catches us you 
 will be cut in pieces again." 
 
 "No, he won't catch us! I have a splendid heroic steed 
 now; it flies just like a bird." So they got on its back and 
 rode away. 
 
 Koshchei the Deathless was returning home when his 
 horse stumbled beneath him. 
 
 "What art thou stumbling for, sorry jade? Dost thou 
 scent any ill ? " 
 
 "Prince Ivan has come and carried off Marya Morevna." 
 
 u Can we catch them ? " 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 53 
 
 *' God knows ! Prince Ivan has a horse now which is better 
 than I," 
 
 " Well, I can't stand it," says Koshchei the Deathless. " I 
 will pursue." 
 
 After a time he came up with Prince Ivan, lighted on the 
 ground, and was going to chop him up with his sharp sword. 
 But at that moment Prince Ivan's horse smote Koshchei th 
 Deathless full swing with its hoof, and cracked his skull, 
 
 and the prince made an end of him with a club. Afterward 
 the prince heaped up a pile of wood, set fire to it, burned 
 Koshchei the Deathless on the pyre, and scattered his ashes 
 to the wind. Then Marya Morevna mounted Koshchei's 
 horse and Prince Ivan got on his own, and they rode away to 
 visit first the raven, and then the eagle, and then the falcon. 
 Wherever they went they met with a joyful greting. 
 
 " Ah, Prince Ivan ! why, we never expected to see you 
 again. Well, it wasn't for nothing that you gave yourself 
 so much trouble. Such a beauty as Marya Morevna one 
 might search for all the world over and never find one like 
 her!" 
 
 And so they visited, and they feasted; and afterward they 
 went off to their own realm. 
 
54 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 THE BLACK THIEF AND KNIGHT OF THE GLEN * 
 
 In times of yore there was a king and queen in the south 
 of Ireland who had three sons, all beautiful children ; but the 
 queen their mother sickened unto death when they were 
 yet very young, which caused great grief throughout the 
 court, particularly to the king, her husband, who could in no 
 wise be comforted. Seeing that death was drawing near her, 
 she called the king to her and spoke as follows : 
 
 " I am now going to leave you, and as you are young and 
 in your prime of course after mv death you will marry again. 
 Now all the request that I ask of you is that you will build 
 a tower in an island in the sea wherein you will keep your 
 three sons until they are come of age and fit to do for them- 
 selves ; so that they may not be under the power or jurisdic- 
 tion of any other woman. Neglect not to give them an edu- 
 cation suitable to their birth, and let them be trained up to 
 every exercise and pastime requisite for kings' sons to learn. 
 This is all I have to say, so farewell." 
 
 The king had scarce time, with tears in his eyes, to assure 
 her she should be obeyed in everything, when she, turning 
 herself in her bed, with a smile gave up the ghost. Never was 
 greater mourning seen than was throughout the court and 
 the whole kingdom; for a better woman than the queen, to 
 rich and poor, was not to be found in the world. She was 
 interred with great pomp and magnificence, and the king, 
 her husband, became in a manner inconsolable for the loss 
 of her. However, he caused the tower to be built, and his 
 sons placed in it, under proper guardians, according to his 
 promise. 
 
 In process of time the lords and knights of the kingdom 
 counseled the king (as he was young) to live no longer as 
 he had done, but to take a wife; which counsel prevailing, 
 they chose him a rich and beautiful princess to be his consort 
 a neighboring king's daughter, of whom he was very fond. 
 Not long after the queen had a fine son, which caused great 
 feasting and rejoicing at the court, insomuch that the late' 
 queen, in a manner, was entirely forgotten. That fared well, 
 
 * The Hibernian Tales. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 55 
 
 and king and queen lived happy together for several years 
 At length the queen having some business with the hen- 
 wife, went herself to her, and after a long conference passed, 
 was taking leave of her, when the hen-wife prayed that if 
 ever she should come back to her again she might break her 
 neck. The queen, greatly incensed at such a daring insult 
 from one of her meanest subjects, demanded immediately the 
 reason or she would have her put to death. 
 
 "It was worth your while, madame," says the hen-wife, 
 " to pay me well for it, for the reason I prayed so on you con- 
 cerns you much." 
 
 " What must I pay you ? " asked the queen. 
 
 " You must give me," says she, " the full of a pack of wool, 
 and I have an ancient crock which you must fill with butter, 
 likewise a barrel which you must fill for me full of wheat." 
 
 " How much wool will it take to the pack ? " says the queen. 
 
 " It will take seven herds of sheep," said she, " and theii 
 increase for seven years." 
 
 " How much butter will it take to fill your crock ? " 
 
 " Seven dairies," said she, " and their increase for seven 
 years." 
 
 " And how much will it take to fill the barrel you have ? " 
 says the queen. 
 
 "It will take the increase of seven barrels of wheat for 
 seven years." 
 
 " That is a great quantity," says the queen ; " but the rea- 
 son must be extraordinary, and before I want it, I will give 
 you all you demand." 
 
 " Well," says the hen-wife, " it is because you are so stupid 
 that you don't observe or find out those affairs that are so 
 dangerous and hurtful to yourself and your child." 
 
 "What is that?" says the queen. 
 
 " Why," says she, " the king, your husband, has three fine 
 sons he had by the late queen, whom he keeps shut up in a 
 tower until they come of age, intending to divide the king- 
 dom between them and let your son push his fortune; now, 
 if you don't find some means of destroying them, your child, 
 and, perhaps, yourself, will be left desolate in the end." 
 
 " And what would you advise me to do ? " said she. " I am 
 wholly at a loss in what manner to act in this affair." 
 
 "You must make known to the king," says the hen-wife. 
 
56 TKE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 " that you heard of his sons, and wonder greatly that he con- 
 cealed them all this time from you; tell him you wish to see 
 them, and that it is fuli time for them to be liberated, and 
 that you would be desirous he would bring them to the court. 
 The king will then do so, and there will be a great feast pre- 
 pared on that account, and also diversions of every sort to 
 amuse the people ; and in these sports," said she, " ask the 
 king's sons to play a game at cards with you, which they will 
 not refuse. Now," says the hen-wife, " you must make a bar- 
 gain, that if you win they must do whatever you command 
 them, and if they win you must do whatever they command 
 you to do; this bargain must be made before the assembly, 
 and here is a pack of cards," says she, " that I am thinking 
 you will not lose by." 
 
 The queen immediately took the cards, and after returning 
 the hen-wife thanks for her kind instruction, went to the 
 palace, where she was quite uneasy until she got speaking to 
 the king in regard of his children; at last she broke it ofi to 
 him in a very polite and engaging manner, so that he could 
 see no sinister design in it. He readily consented to her 
 desire, and his sons were sent for to the tower, who gladly 
 came to court, rejoicing that they were freed from such con- 
 finement. They were all very handsome, and very expert in 
 all arts and exercises, so that they gained the love and esteem 
 of all that had seen them. 
 
 The queen, more jealous with them than ever, thought it 
 an age until all the feasting and rejoicing was over, that she 
 might get making her proposal, depending greatly on the hen- 
 wife's cards. At length this royal assembly began to sport 
 and play at all kinds of diversions, and the queen very cun- 
 ningly challenged the three princes to play at cards with her, 
 making bargain with them as she had been instructed. 
 
 They accepted the challenge, and the eldest son and she 
 played the first game, which she won; then the second son 
 played and she won that game likewise; the third son and 
 she then played the last game, and he won it, which sorely 
 grieved her that she had not him in her power as well as the 
 rest, being by far the handsomest and most beloved of the 
 three. 
 
 However, everyone was anxious to hear the queen's com- 
 mands in regard to the two princes, not thinking that she had 
 
THE BED FAIEY BOOK.. 
 
 57 
 
 any ill design in her head against them. Whether it was the 
 hen-wife instructed her, or whether it was from her own 
 knowledge, I cannot tell ; but she gave out that they must go 
 and bring her the Knight of the Glen's wild steed of bells, or 
 they should lose their heads. 
 
 The young princes were not in the least concerned, not 
 knowing what they had to do; but the whole court was 
 amazed at her demand, knowing very well that it was impos- 
 sible for them ever to get the steed, as all who ever sought 
 
 him perished in the attempt. However, they could not re- 
 tract the bargain, and the youngest prince was desired to tell 
 what demand he had on the queen, as he had won his game. 
 " My brothers," says he, " are now going to travel, and, as I 
 understand, a perilous journey wherein they know not what 
 road to take or .?hat may happen them. I am resolved, there- 
 fore, not to stay here, but to go with them, let what will be- 
 tide; and I request and command, according to my bar- 
 gain, that the queen shall stand on the highest tower of the 
 palace until we come back (or find out that we are certainly 
 
58 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 dead), with nothing but sheaf corn for her food and cold 
 water for her drink, if it should be for seven years and 
 longer." 
 
 All things being now fixed, the three princes departed the 
 court in search of the Knight of the Glen's palace, and trav- 
 eling along the road they came up with a man who was a 
 little lame and seemed to be somewhat advanced in years; 
 they soon fell into discourse, and the youngest of the princes 
 asked the stranger his name, or what was the reason he wore 
 so remarkable a black cap as he saw on him. 
 
 " I am called," said he, " the Thief of Sloan, and some- 
 times the Black Thief, from my cap " ; and so telling the 
 prince the most of his adventures, he asked him again where 
 they were bound for, or what they were about. 
 
 The prince, willing to gratify his request, told him their 
 affairs from the beginning to the end. " And now," said he, 
 " we are traveling, and do not know whether we are on the 
 right road or not." 
 
 " Ah ! my brave fellows," says the Black Thief, " you little 
 know the danger you run. I am after that steed myself these 
 seven years, and can never steal him on account of a silk 
 covering he has on him in the stable, with sixty bells fixed 
 to it, and whenever you approach the place he quickly ob- 
 serves it and shakes himself; which, by the sound of the 
 bells not only alarms the prince and his guards, but the whole 
 country round, so that it is impossible ever to get him, and 
 those who are so unfortunate as to be taken by the Knight of 
 the Glen are boiled in a red-hot fiery furnace." 
 
 " Bless me," says the young prince, " what will we do ? If 
 we return without the steed we will lose our heads, so I see 
 we are ill-fixed on both sides." 
 
 " Well," says the Thief of Sloan, " if it were my case I 
 would rather die by the knight than by the wicked queen ; be- 
 sides, I will go with you myself and show you the road, and 
 whatever fortune you will have, I will take chance of the 
 same." 
 
 They returned him sincere thanks for his kindness, and he, 
 being well acquainted with the road, in a short time brought 
 them within view of the knight's castle. 
 
 " Now," says he, " we must stay here till night comes ; for 
 I know all the ways of the place, and if there be any chance 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 59 
 
 for it, it is when they are all at rest; for the steed is all the 
 watch the knight keeps there." 
 
 Accordingly, in the dead hour of the night, the king's three 
 sons and the Thief of Sloan attempted the steed of bells in 
 order to carry him away, but before they could reach the 
 stables the steed neighed most terribly and shook himself so, 
 and the bells rang with such noise, that the knight and all 
 his men were up in a moment. 
 
 The Black Thief and the king's sons thought to make their 
 escape, but they were suddenly surrounded by the knight's 
 guards and taken prisoners, when they were brought into 
 that dismal part of the palace where the knight kept a fur- 
 nace always boiling, in which he threw all offenders that 
 came in his way, which in a few moments would entirely 
 consume them. 
 
 " Audacious villains ! " says the Knight of the Glen, " how 
 dare you attempt so bold an action as to steal my steed? 
 See now, the reward of your folly; for your greater punish- 
 ment I will not boil you all together, but one after the other, 
 so that he that survives may witness the dire afflictions of his 
 unfortunate companions." 
 
 So saying, he ordered his servants to stir up the fire. " We 
 will boil the eldest-looking of these young men first," said he, 
 " and so on to the last, which will be this old champion with 
 the black cap. He seems to be the captain, and looks as if 
 he had come through many toils." 
 
 "I was as near death once as the prince is yet," says the 
 Black Thief, " and escaped ; and so will he too." 
 
 " No, you never were," said the knight ; " for he is within 
 two or three minutes of his latter end." 
 
 " But," says the Black Thief, " I was within one moment 
 of my death, and I am here yet." 
 
 "How was that?" says the knight; "I would be glad to 
 hear it, for it seems impossible." 
 
 " If you think, sir knight," says the Black Thief, " that the 
 danger I was in surpasses that of this young man, will you 
 pardon him his crime ? " 
 
 " I will," says the knight, " so go on with your story. 
 
 " I was, sir," says he, " a very wild boy in my youth, and 
 came through many distresses; once in particular, as I was 
 on my rambling, I was benighted and could find no lodging. 
 
60 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 At length I came to an old kiln, and being much fatigued I 
 went up and lay on the ribs. I had not been there long when 
 I saw three witches coming in with three bags of gold. Each 
 put their bags of gold under their heads as if to sleep. I 
 heard one of them say to the other that if the Black Thief 
 came on them while they slept, he would not leave them a 
 penny. I found by their discourse that everybody had got 
 my name into their mouth, though I kept silent as death 
 during their discourse. At length they fell fast asleep, and 
 then I stole softly down, and seeing some turf convenient, I 
 placed one under each of their heads, and off I went with 
 their gold as fast as I could. 
 
 " I had not gone far," continued the Thief of Sloan, " until 
 I saw a greyhound, a hare, and a hawk in pursuit of me, and 
 began to think it must be the witches who had taken the 
 shapes in order that I might not escape them unseen either 
 by land or water. Seeing they did not appear in any for- 
 midable shape, I was more than once resolved to attack them, 
 thinking that with my broadsword I could easily destroy 
 them. But considering again that it was perhaps still in 
 their power to become alive again, I gave over the attempt, 
 and climbed with difficulty up a tree, bringing my sword in 
 my hand and all the gold along with me. However, when 
 they came to the tree they found what I had done, and making 
 further use of their hellish art, one of them was changed into 
 a smith's anvil and another into a piece of iron, of which the 
 third soon made a hatchet. Having the hatchet made she 
 fell to cutting down the tree, and in the course of an hour 
 it began to shake with me. At length it began to bend, and 
 I found that one or two blows at the most would put it down. 
 I then began to think that my death was inevitable, consid- 
 ering that those who were capable of doing so much would 
 soon end my life; but just as she had the stroke drawn that 
 would terminate my fate, the cock crew, and the witches dis- 
 appeared, having resumed their natural shapes for fear of 
 being known, and I got safe off with my bags of gold. 
 
 "Now, sir," says he to the Knight of the Glen, " if that be 
 not as great an adventure as you ever heard, to be within 
 one blow of a hatchet of my end, and that blow even drawn, 
 and after all to escape, I leave it to yourself." 
 
 " Well, I cannot say but it is very extraordinary," says the 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 61 
 
 Knight of the Glen, " and on that account pardon this young 
 man of his crime; so stir up the fire till I boil this second 
 one.'" 
 
 "Indeed," says the Black Thief, "I would fain think he 
 would not die this time either." 
 
 " How so ? " said the knight ; " it is impossible for him to 
 escape." 
 
 " I escaped death more wonderfully myself," says the 
 Thief of Sloan, " than if you had him ready to throw into the 
 furnace, and I hope it will be the case with him likewise." 
 
 " Why, have you been in another great danger ? " says the 
 knight. " I would be glad to hear the story, too, and if it be 
 as wonderful as the last, I will pardon this young man as 
 I did the other." 
 
 "My way of living, sir," says the Black Thief, "was not 
 good, as I told you before; and being at a certain time fairly 
 run out of cash, and meeting with no enterprise worthy of no- 
 tice, I was reduced to great straits. At length a rich bishop 
 died in the neighborhood I was then in, and I heard he was 
 interred with a great deal of jewels and rich robes upon him, 
 all which I intended in a short time to be master of. Ac- 
 cordingly that very night I set about it, and coming to the 
 place, I understood he was placed at the further end of a long, 
 
62 THE BED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 dark vault, which I slowly entered. I had not gone in far 
 until I heard a foot coming toward me with a quick pace, and 
 although naturally bold and daring, yet, thinking of the de- 
 ceased bishop and the crime I was engaged in, I lost courage 
 and ran toward the entrance of the vault. I had retreated 
 but a few paces when I observed between me and the light 
 the figure of a tall black man standing in the entrance. Be- 
 ing in great fear, and not knowing how to pass, I fired a pis- 
 tol at him and he immediately fell across the entrance. Per- 
 ceiving he still retained the figure of a mortal man, I began 
 to imagine that it could not be the bishop's ghost ; recovering 
 myself therefore from the fear I was in, I ventured to the 
 upper end of the vault, where I found a large bundle, and 
 upon further examination found that the corpse was already 
 rifled, and that which I had taken to be a ghost was no more 
 than one of his own clergy. I was then very sorry that I had 
 the misfortune to kill him, but then it could not be helped. 
 I took up the bundle that contained everything belonging to 
 the corpse that was valuable, intending to take my departure 
 from this melancholy abode; but just as I came to the 
 mouth of the entrance I saw the guards of the place coming 
 toward me, and distinctly heard them saying they would look 
 in the vault, for that the Black Thief would think little of 
 robbing the corpse if he was anywhere in the place. I did not 
 then know in what manner to act, for if I was seen I would 
 surely lose my life, as everybody had a lookout at that time, 
 and because there was no person bold enough to come in on 
 me, I knew very well that on the first sight of me that could 
 be got, I would be shot like a dog. However, I had no time 
 to lose. I took and raised up the man which I had killed, as 
 if he was standing on his feet, and I, crouching behind him, 
 bore him up as well as I could, so that the guards readily 
 saw him as they came up to the vault. Seeing the man in 
 black, one of the men cried that was the Black Thief, and, 
 presenting his piece, fired at the man, at which I let him 
 fall, and crept into a little dark corner myself, that was at 
 the entrance of the place. When they saw the man fall, they 
 ran all into the vault, and never stopped until they were at 
 the end of it, for fear, as I thought, that there might be 
 some others along with him that was killed. But while they 
 were busy inspecting the corpse and the vault to see what they 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 63 
 
 could miss, I slipped out, and, once away, and still away ; but 
 they never had the Black Thief in their power since." 
 
 " Well, my brave fellow," says the Knight of the Glen, " I 
 see you have come through many dangers: you have freed 
 these two princes by your stories ; but I am sorry myself that 
 this young prince has to suffer for all. Now, if you could 
 tell me something as wonderful as you have told already, I 
 would pardon him likewise; I pity this youth and do not 
 want to put him to death if I could help it." 
 
 " That happens well," says the Thief of Sloan, " for I like 
 him best myself, and have reserved the most curious passage 
 for the last on his account." 
 
 " Well, then," says the knight, " let us hear it." 
 
 " I was one day on my travels," says the Black Thief, " arid 
 I came into a large forest, where I wandered a long time and 
 could not get out of it. At last I came to a large castle, and 
 fatigue obliged me to call in the same, where I found a young 
 woman and a child sitting on her knee, and she crying. 
 I asked her what made her cry, and where the lord of the 
 castle was, for I wondered greatly that I saw no stir of serv- 
 ants or any person about the place. 
 
 " ' It is well for you,' says the young woman, ' that the lord 
 of this castle is not at home at present ; for he is a monstrous 
 giant with but one eye in his forehead, who lives on human 
 flesh. He brought me this child,' says she, 'I do not know 
 where he got it, and ordered me to make it into a pie, and I 
 cannot help crying at the command.' 
 
 " I told her that if she knew of any place convenient that 
 I could leave the child safely I would do it, rather than it 
 should be killed by such a monster. 
 
 " She told me of a house a distance off where I would get a 
 woman who would take care of it. ' But what will I do in 
 regard of the pie ? ' 
 
 " ' Cut a finger off it,' said I, ' and I will bring you in a 
 young wild pig out of the forest, which you may dress as if 
 it was the child, and put the finger in a certain place, that 
 if the giant doubts anything about it you may know where 
 to turn it over at the first, and when he sees it he will be 
 fully satisfied that the pie is made of the child.' 
 
 " She agreed to the scheme I proposed, and cutting off the 
 child's finger, by her direction I soon had it at the house ah 
 
0*k 
 
 KED FAIRY EGOK. 
 
 told me of, and brought her the little pig in the place of it. 
 She then made ready the pie, and after eating and drinking 
 heartily myself, I was just taking my leave of the young 
 woman when we observed the giant coming through the 
 castle gates. 
 
 " ' Bless me,' said she r ' what will you do now ? Run away 
 and lie down among the dead bodies that he has in the room 
 [showing me the place], and strip off your clothes, that he 
 may not know you fron> the rest if he has occasion to go 
 that way.' 
 
 " I took her advice and ^aid myself down among the rest, 
 
 js if dead, to see how he would behave. The first thing 1 
 heard was him calling for his pie. When she set it down 
 before him he swore it smelled like swine's flesh, but know- 
 ing where to find the finger she immediately turned it up, 
 which fairly convinced him to the contrary. The pie only 
 Served to sharpen his appetite, and I heard hina. sJwus*** 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 65 
 
 ing his knife and saying he must have a collop or two, for he 
 was hot near satisfied. But what was my terror when I heard 
 the giant groping among the bodies, and, fancying myself, 
 cut the half of my hip off and took it with him to be roasted. 
 You may be certain I was in great pain, but the fear of be- 
 ing killed prevented me from making any complaint. How- 
 ever, when he had eaten all he began to drink hot liquors 
 in great abundance so that in a short time he could not hold 
 up his head, but threw himself on a large creel he had made 
 for the purpose, and fell fast asleep. When I heard him 
 snoring, as I was I went up and caused the woman to bind 
 my wound with a handkerchief; and taking the giant's spit, 
 reddened it in the fire and ran it through the eye, but was 
 not able to kill him. 
 
 "However, I left the spit sticking in his head, ana zws. 
 to my heels ; but I soon found that he was in pursuit of me, 
 although blind; and having an enchanted ring, he threw it 
 at me, and it fell on my big toe and remained fastened to it. 
 
 " The giant then called to the ring, where it was, and to 
 my great surprise it made him answer on my foot; and he, 
 guided by the same, made a leap at me which I had the good 
 luck to observe, and fortunately escaped the danger. How- 
 ever, I found running was of no use in saving me as long as 
 I had the ring on my foot; so I took my sword and cut off 
 the toe it was fastened on, and threw both into a large fish- 
 pond that was convenient. The giant called again to the 
 ring, which by the power of enchantment always made him 
 ztnswer; but he, not knowing what I had done, imagined it 
 vas still on some part of me, and made a violent leap to 
 seize me, when he went into the pond, over head and ears, 
 and was drowned. Now, sir knight," says the Thief of Sloan, 
 ' ,l you see what dangers I came through and always escaped ; 
 but, indeed, I am lame for the want of my toe ever since." 
 
 " My lord and master," says an old woman that was listen- 
 ing all the time, " that story is but too true, as I well know, 
 for I am the very woman that was in the giant's castle, 
 and you, my lord, the child that I was to make into a pie; 
 and this is the very man that saved your life, which you may 
 know by the want of the finger that was taken off, as you 
 have heard, to deceive the giant." 
 
 The Knight of the Glen, greatly surprised at what he had 
 
66 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 heard the old woman tell, and knowing he wanted his finger 
 from his childhood, began to understand that the story was 
 true enough. 
 
 " And this is my deliverer ? " says he. " Oh, brave fellow, 
 I not only pardon you all, but will keep you with myself while 
 you live, where you shall feast like princes, and have every 
 attendance that I have myself." 
 
 They all returned thanks on their knees, and the Black 
 Thief told him the reason they attempted to steal the steed 
 of bells, and the necessity they were under in going home. 
 
 " Well," says the Knight of the Glen, " if that is the case 
 I bestow you my steed rather than this brave fellow should 
 die; so you may go when you please, only remember to call 
 and see me betimes, that we may know each other well." 
 
 They promised they would, and with great joy they set off 
 for the king their father's palace, and the Black Thief along 
 with them. 
 
 The wicked queen was standing all this time on the tower, 
 and hearing the bells ringing at a great distance off knew 
 very well it was the princes coming home, and the steed with 
 them, and through spite and vexation precipitated herself 
 from the tower and was shattered to pieces. 
 
 The three princes lived happily and well during their 
 father's reign, and always keeping the Black Thief along 
 with them; but how they did after the old king's death is 
 not known. 
 
 THE MASTEK-THIEF* 
 
 There was once upon a time a husbandman who had three 
 sons. He had no property to bequeath to them, and no means 
 of putting them in the way of getting a living, and he did 
 not know what to do, so he said they had his leave to take 
 anything they most fancied, and go to any place they liked 
 best. He would gladly accompany them for some part of 
 their way, he said, and that he did. He went with them till 
 they came to a place where three roads met, and there each 
 of them took his own way, and the father bade them farewell 
 and returned to his own home again. What became of the 
 * From P. C. Asbjornsen. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 67 
 
 two elder I have never been able to discover, but the youngest 
 went both far and wide. 
 
 It came to pass one night as he was going through a great 
 wood that a terrible storm came on. It blew so hard and 
 rained so heavily that he could scarcely keep his eyes open, 
 and before he was aware of it he had got quite out of the 
 track, and could find neither road nor path. But he went on, 
 and at last he saw a light far away in the wood. Then he 
 thought he must try and get to it, and after a long, long time 
 he did reach it. There was a large house, and the fire was 
 burning so brightly inside that he could tell that the people 
 were not in bed. So he went in, and inside there was an old 
 woman who was busy about some work. 
 
 " Good-evening, mother ! " said the youth. 
 
 " Good-evening ! " said the old woman. 
 
 " Hutetu ! it is terrible weather outside to-night," said the 
 young fellow. 
 
 " Indeed, it is," said the old woman. 
 
 " Can I sleep here, and have shelter for the night ? " asked 
 the youth. 
 
 " It wouldn't be good for you to sleep here," said the old 
 hag, " for if the people of the house come home and find you, 
 they will kill both you and me." 
 
 " What kind of people are they, then, who dwell here ? " 
 said the youth. 
 
 " Oh ! robbers, and rabble of that sort," said the old woman ; 
 " they stole me away when I was little and I have had to keep 
 house for them ever since." 
 
 " I still think I will go to bed, all the same," said the youth. 
 "No matter what happens, I'll not go out to-night in such 
 weather as this." 
 
 "Well, then, it will be the worse for yourself," said the 
 old woman. 
 
 The young man lay down in a bed which stood near, but he 
 dared not go to sleep; and it was better that he didn't, for 
 the robbers came, and the old woman said that a young fellow 
 who was a stranger had come there, and she had not been 
 able to get him to go away again. 
 
 " Did you see if he had any money ? " said the robbers. 
 
 " He's not one to have money, he is a tramp ! If he has 
 a few clothes to his back, that is all." 
 
68 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 Then the robbers began to mutter to each other apart about 
 what they should do with him; whether they should murder 
 him, or what else they should do. In the meantime the boy 
 got up and began to talk to them, and ask them if they did 
 not want a man-servant, for he could find pleasure enough 
 in serving them. 
 
 " Yes," said they, " if you have a mind to take to the trade 
 that we follow, you may have a place here." 
 
 " It's all the same to me what trade I follow," said the 
 youth, " for when I came away from home my father gave 
 me leave to take any trade I fancied." 
 
 " Have you a fancy for stealing, then ? " said the rob- 
 bers. 
 
 " Yes," said the boy, for he thought that was a trade which 
 would not take long to learn. 
 
 Not very far off there dwelt a man who had three oxen, one 
 of which he was to take to the town to sell. The robbers had 
 heard of this, so they told the youth that if he were able to 
 steal the ox from him on the way, without his knowing, and 
 without doing him any harm, he should have leave to be their 
 servant-man. So the youth set off, taking with him a pretty 
 shoe with a silver buckle that was lying about the house. He 
 put this in the road by which the man must go with his ox, 
 and then went into the wood and hid himself under a bush. 
 When the man came up he at once saw the shoe. 
 
 " That's a brave shoe," said he~ "Tf I had but the fellow 
 to it I would carry it home with me, and then I should put 
 my old woman into a good humor for once." 
 
 For he had a wife who was so cross and ill-tempered that 
 the time between the beatings she gave him was very short. 
 But then he bethought himself he could do nothing with 
 one shoe if he had not the fellow to it, so he journeyed on- 
 ward and let it lie where it was. Then the youth picked 
 up the shoe and hurried off away through the wood as fast 
 as he was able, to get in front of the man, and then put the 
 shoe in the road before him again. 
 
 When the man came with the ox and saw the shoe, he was 
 quite vexed at having been so stupid as to leave the fellow to 
 it lying where it was, instead of bringing it on with him. 
 
 " I will just run back and fetch it now," he said to himself, 
 u and then I shall take back a pair of good shoes to the old 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 69 
 
 woman, and she may perhaps throw a kind word to me for 
 once." 
 
 So he went and searched for the other shoe for a long, 
 long time, but no shoe was to be found, and at last he was 
 forced to go back with the one which he had. 
 
 In the meantime the youth had taken the ox and gone off 
 with it. When the man got there and found that his ox 
 was gone he began to weep and wail, for he was afraid that 
 
 when his old woman got to know she would be the death of 
 him. But all at once it came into his head to'go home and 
 get the other ox and drive it to the town, and take good care 
 that his old wife knew nothing about it. So he did this; 
 he went home and took the ox without his wife's knowing 
 about it, and went on his way to the town with it. But the 
 
70 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 robbers, they knew it well, because they got out their magic. 
 So they told the youth that if he could take this ox also 
 without the man knowing anything about it, and without 
 doing him any hurt, he should then be on an equality with 
 them. 
 
 " Well, that will not be a very hard thing to do," thought 
 the youth. 
 
 This time he took with him a rope and put it under his 
 arms and tied himself up to a tree which hung over the road 
 that the man would have to take. So the man came with his 
 ox, and when he saw the body hanging there he felt a little 
 queer. 
 
 " What a hard lot yours must have been to make you hang 
 yourself ! " said he. " Ah, well ! you may hang there for me ; 
 I can't breathe life into you again." 
 
 So he went on with his ox. Then the youth sprang down 
 from the tree, ran by a short cut and got before him, and 
 once more hung himself up on a tree in the road before the 
 man. 
 
 " How I should like to know if you really were so sick at 
 heart that you hanged yourself there, or if it is only a hob- 
 goblin that's before me ! " said the man. " Ah, well ! you may 
 hang there for me, whether you are a hobgoblin or not," and 
 on he went with his ox. 
 
 Once more the youth did just as he had done twice already ; 
 jumped down from the tree, ran by a short cut through the 
 wood, and again hanged himself in the very middle of the 
 road before him. But when the man once more saw this 
 he said to himself, " What a bad business this is ! Can they 
 all have been so heavy-hearted that they have all three hanged 
 themselves? No, I can't believe it is anything but witch- 
 craft ! But I will know the truth," he said ; " if the two 
 others are still hanging there it is true, but if they are not 
 it's nothing else but witchcraft." 
 
 So he tied up his ox and ran back to see if they really were 
 hanging there. While he was going, and looking up at every 
 tree as he went, the youth leaped down and tcok his ox and 
 went off with it. Anyone may easily imagine the fury the 
 man fell into when he came back and saw that his ox was 
 gone. He wept and he raged, but at last he took comfort' 
 and told himself that the best thing to do was to go home and 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 71 
 
 take the third ox without letting his wife know anything 
 about it, and then to try to sell it so well as to get a good 
 sum of money for it. So he went home and took the third 
 ox and drove it off without his wife knowing anything about 
 it. But the robbers knew all about it and they told the youth 
 if he could steal this as he had stolen the two others he should 
 be master of the whole troop. So the youth set out and went 
 to the wood and when the man was coming along with the ox 
 he began to bellow loudly, just like a great ox somewhere in- 
 side the wood. When the man heard that he was right glad, 
 for he fancied he recognized the voice of his big bullock, and 
 thought that now he should find both of them again. So he 
 tied up the third and ran away off the road to look for them 
 in the wood. In the meantime the youth went away with 
 the third ox. When the man returned and found that he had 
 lost that, too, he fell into such a rage that there were no 
 bounds to it. He wept and lamented, and for many days he 
 did not dare to go home again, for he was afraid that the 
 old woman would slay him outright. The robbers, also, were 
 not very well pleased at this, for they were forced to own 
 that the youth was at the head of them all. So one day 
 they made up their minds to set to work to do something 
 which it was not in his power to accomplish, and they all 
 took to the road together and left him at home alone. When 
 they were well out of the house the first thing that he did 
 was to drive the oxen out on the road, whereupon they all ran 
 home again to the man from whom he had stolen them, and 
 right glad was the husbandman to see them. Then he brought 
 out all the horses the robbers had and loaded them with the 
 most valuable things he could find vessels of gold and of 
 silver, and clothes and other magnificent things and then 
 he told the old woman to greet the robbers from him and 
 thank them from him, and say that he had gone away, and 
 that they would have a great deal of difficulty in finding him 
 again, and with that he drove the horses out of the court- 
 yard. After a long, long time he came to the road upon 
 which he was traveling when he came to the robbers. And 
 when he had got very near home and was in sight of the 
 house where his father lived, he put on a uniform which he 
 had found among the things taken from the robbers, which 
 was made just like a general's, and drove into the yard just 
 
72 THE KED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 as if he were a great man. Then he entered the house and 
 asked if he could find a lodging there. 
 
 " No, indeed you can't ! " said his father. " How could I 
 possibly be able to lodge such a great gentleman as you '{ It 
 is all that I can do to find clothes and bedding for myseii, 
 and wretched they are." 
 
 " You were always a hard man," said the youth, " and hard 
 you are still if you refuse to let your own son come into 
 your house." 
 
 " Are you my son ? " said the man. 
 
 " Do you not know me again, then ? " said the youth. 
 
 Then he recognized him and said, "But what trade have 
 you taken to that has made you such a great man in so short 
 a time ? " 
 
 " Oh, that I will tell you," answered the youth. " You said 
 that I might take to anything I liked, so I apprenticed my- 
 self to some thieves and robbers, and now I have served my 
 time and become master-thief." 
 
 Now the governor of the province lived by his father's 
 cottage, and this governor had such a large house and so 
 much money that he did not even know how much it was, and 
 he had a daughter, too, who was both pretty and dainty, and 
 good and wise. So the master-thief was determined to have 
 her to wife, and told his father to go to the governor 
 and ask for his daughter for him. " If he asks what trade I 
 follow, you may say that I am a master-thief," said he. 
 
 " I think you must be crazy," said the man, " for you can't 
 be in your senses if you think of anything so foolish." 
 
 " You must go to the governor and beg for his daughter 
 there is no help," said the youth. 
 
 " But I dare not go to the governor and say this. He is so 
 rich and has so much wealth of all kinds," said the man. 
 
 " There is no help for it," said the master-thief ; " go you 
 must, whether you like it or not. If I can't get you to go b;\ 
 using good words, I will soon make you go with bad ones." 
 
 But the man was still unwilling, so the master-thief fol- 
 lowed him, threatening him with a great birch stick, till he 
 went weeping and wailing through the door to the governoi 
 of the province. 
 
 " Now, my man, and what's amiss with you ? " said the 
 governor 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 73 
 
 So he told him that he had three sons who had gone away- 
 one day, and how he had given them permission to go where 
 they chose, and take to whatsoever work they fancied. 
 " Now," he said, " the youngest of them has come home, and 
 has threatened me till I have come to you to ask your daugh- 
 ter for him, and I am to say that he is a master-thief," and 
 again the man fell a-weeping and lamenting. 
 
 " Console yourself, my man," said the governor, laughing. 
 " You may tell him from me that he must first give me some 
 proof of this. If he can steal the joint off the spit in the 
 kitchen on Sunday, when every one of us is watching it, 
 he shall have my daughter. Will you tell him that ? " 
 
 The man did tell him, and the youth thought it would 
 be easy enough to do it. So he set himself to work to catch 
 three hares alive, put them in a bag, clad himself in some 
 old rags so that he looked so poor and wretched that it was 
 quite pitiable to see him, and in this guise on Sunday fore- 
 noon he sneaked into the passage with his bag, like any 
 beggar boy. The governor himself and everyone in the 
 house, was in the kitchen, keeping watch over the joint. 
 While they were doing this the youth let one of the hares 
 slip out of his bag, and off it set and began to run around 
 the yard. 
 
 " Just look at that hare," said the people in the kitchen, 
 and wanted to go out and catch it. 
 
 The governor saw it, too, but said, " Oh, let it go ! it's no 
 use to think of catching a hare when it's running away." 
 
 It was not long before the youth let another hare out, and 
 the people in the kitchen saw this, too, and thought that it 
 was the same. So again they wanted to go out and catch 
 it, but the governor told them that it was of no use to try. 
 
 Very soon afterward, however, the youth let slip the third 
 hare, and it set off and ran round and round the court-yard. 
 The people in the kitchen saw this, too, and believed that it 
 was still the same hare that was running about, so they 
 wanted to go out and catch it. 
 
 " It's a remarkably fine hare ! " said the governor. " Come 
 and let us see if we can get hold of it." So out he went, and 
 the others with him, and away went the hare, and they after 
 it, in real earnest. 
 
 In the meantime, however, the master-thief took the joint 
 
u 
 
 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 And ran off with it, and whether the governor got any roast 
 meat for his dinner that day I know not, but I know that he 
 had no roast hare, though he chased it till he was both 
 Jiot and tired. 
 
 At noon came the priest, and when the governor had told 
 "him of the trick played by the master-thief, there was no 
 end to the ridicule he cast on the governor. 
 
 " For my part," said the priest, " I can't imagine myself 
 >being made a fool of by such a fellow as -that ! " 
 
 " Well, I advise you to be careful," said the governor, 
 *" for he. may be with you before you are at all aware." 
 
 But the priest repeated what he had said, and mocked 
 
 i:he governor for having allowed himself to be made such a 
 iool of. 
 
 Later in the afternoon the master-thief came and wanted 
 to have the governor's daughter as he had promised. 
 
 "You must first give some more samples of your skill," 
 said the governor, trying to speak him fair, " for what you 
 did to-day was no such very great thing after all. Couldn't 
 you play off a really good trick on the priest? for he is sit- 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 75 
 
 ting inside there and calling me a fool for having let myself 
 be taken in by such a fellow as you." 
 
 " Well, it wouldn't be very hard to do that," said the mas- 
 ter-thief. So he dressed himself up like a bird, and threw 
 a great white sheet over himself; broke off a goose's wings, 
 and set them on his back; and in this attire climbed into a 
 great maple tree which stood in the priest's garden. So 
 when the priest returned home in the evening the youth 
 began to cry, " Father Lawrence ! Father Lawrence ! " for 
 the priest was called Father Lawrence. 
 
 " Who is calling me ? " said the priest. 
 
 " I am an angel sent to announce to thee that because of 
 thy piety thou shalt be taken away alive into heaven," said 
 the master-thief. " Wilt thou hold thyself in readiness to 
 travel away next Monday night? for then will I come and 
 fetch thee, and bear thee away with me in a sack, and thou 
 must lay all thy gold and silver, and whatsoever thou may'st 
 possess of this world's wealth, in a heap in thy best parlor." 
 
 So Father Lawrence fell down on his knees before the an* 
 gel and thanked him, and on the following Sunday he 
 preached a farewell sermon, and gave out that an angel 
 had come down into the large maple tree in his garden, and 
 had announced to him that because of his righteousness, he 
 should be taken up alive into heaven, and as he thus 
 preached and told them this, everyone in the church, old or 
 young, wept. 
 
 On Monday night the master-thief once more came as an 
 angel, and before the priest was put into the sack he fell on 
 his knees and thanked him; but no sooner was the priest 
 safely inside it than the master-thief began to drag him 
 away over stocks and stones. 
 
 " Oh ! oh ! " cried the priest in the sack. " Where are you 
 taking me?" 
 
 " This is the way to heaven. The way to heaven is not an 
 easy one," said the master-thief, and dragged him along till 
 he all but killed him. 
 
 At last he flung him into the governor's goose-house, and 
 the geese began to hiss and peck at him, till he felt more 
 dead than alive. 
 
 " Oh ! oh ! oh ! Where am I now ? " asked the priest. 
 
 " Now you are in purgatory," said the master-thief, and off 
 
76 
 
 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 he went and took the gold and the silver and all the precious 
 
 things which the priest had laid together in his best parlor. 
 
 Next morning when the goose-girl came to let out the 
 
 Wither Lawrence, Conceiving Himself to be Addressed by an AngeL 
 Falls on His Knees Before Him. 
 
 geese, she heard the priest bemoaning himseF 3s he lay in 
 the sack in the goose-house. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 77 
 
 " Oh, heavens ! what is that, and what ails you ? " said she. 
 
 " Oh," said the priest, " if you are an angel from heaven 
 do let me out and let me go back to earth again, for no place 
 was ever so bad as this the little fiends nip me so with 
 their tongues." 
 
 " I am no angel," said the girl, and helped the priest out 
 of the sack. "I only look after the governor's geese, that's 
 what I do, and they are the little fiends which have pinched 
 your reverence." 
 
 " This is the master-thief's doing I Oh, my gold and my 
 silver and my best clothes ! " shrieked the priest, and, wild 
 with rage, he ran home so fast that the goose-girl thought 
 he had suddenly gone mad. 
 
 When the governor learned what had happened to the 
 priest he laughed till he nearly killed himself, but when 
 the master-thief came and wanted to have his daughter ac- 
 cording to promise, he once more gave him nothing but fine 
 words, and said, " You must give me one more proof of your 
 skill, so that I can really judge of your worth. I have twelve 
 horses in my stable, and I will put twelve stable-boys in it, 
 one on each horse. If you are clever enough to steal the 
 horses from under them, I will see what I can do for you." 
 
 "What you set me to do can be done," said the master- 
 thief, " but am I certain to get your daughter when it is? " 
 
 " Yes ; if you can do that I will do my best for you," said 
 the governor. 
 
 So the master-thief went to a shop and bought enough 
 brandy to fill two pocket flasks, and he put a sleeping drink 
 into one of these, but into the other he poured brandy only. 
 Then he engaged eleven men to lie that night in hiding 
 behind the governor's stable. After this, by fair words and 
 good payment, he borrowed a ragged gown and a jerkin 
 from an aged woman, and then, with a staff in his hand and 
 a poke on his back, he hobbled off as evening came on to- 
 ward the governor's stable. The stable boys were just water- 
 ing the horses for the night, and it was quite as much as they 
 could do to attend to that. 
 
 "What on earth do you want here?" said one of them to 
 the old woman. 
 
 " Oh, dear, oh, dear ! How cold it is ! " she said, sobbing, 
 and shivering with cold. " Oh, dear ! oh, dear ! it's cold 
 
78 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 enough to freeze a poor old body to death ! " and she shir- 
 ered and shook again, and said, " For Heaven's sake give me 
 leave to stay here and sit just inside the stable door." 
 
 " You will get nothing of the kind ! Be off this moment ! 
 If the governor were to catch sight of you here, he would 
 lead us a pretty dance," said one. 
 
 " Oh ! what a poor helpless old creature ! " said another, 
 who felt sorry for her. " That poor old woman can do no 
 harm to anyone. She may sit there and welcome." 
 
 The rest of them thought that she ought not to stay, but 
 while they were disputing about this and looking after the 
 horses, she crept further and further into the stable, and at 
 last sat down behind the door, and when once she was inside 
 no one took any more notice of her. 
 
 As the night wore on the stable-boys found it rather cold 
 work to sit still on horseback. 
 
 " Hutetu ! But it is fearfully cold ! " said one, and began 
 to beat his arms backward and forward across his breast. 
 
 " Yes, I am so cold that my teeth are chattering," said an 
 other. 
 
 " If one had but a little tobacco," said a third. 
 
 Well, one of them had a little, so they shared it among 
 them, though there was very little for each man, but they 
 chewed it. This was some help for them, but very soon they 
 were just as cold as before. 
 
 " Hutetu ! " said one of them, shivering again. 
 
 " Hutetu ! " said the old woman, gnashing her teeth to- 
 gether till they chattered inside her mouth ; and then she got 
 out the flask which contained nothing but brandy, and her 
 hands trembled so that she shook the bottle about, and when 
 she drank it made a great gulp in her throat. 
 
 " What is that you have in your flask, old woman ? " asked 
 one of the stable-boys. 
 
 " Oh, it's only a drop of brandy, your honor," she said. 
 
 "Brandy! What! Let me have a drop! Let me have 
 a drop ! " screamed all the twelve at once. 
 
 " Oh, but what I have is so little," whimpered the old 
 woman. " It will not even wet your mouths." 
 
 But they were determined to have it, and there was noth- 
 ing to be done but give it ; so she took out the flask with the 
 sleeping drink and put it to the lips of the first of them ; and 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 79 1 
 
 now she shook no more, but guided the flask so that each 
 of them got just as much as he ought, and the twelfth had 
 not done drinking before the first was already sitting snor- 
 ing. Then the master-thief flung off his beggar's rags, and 
 took one stable boy after the other and gently set him 
 astride on the partitions which divided the stalls, and then 
 he -called his eleven men who were waiting outside, and they 
 rode off with the governor's horses. 
 
 In the morning when the governor came to look after his 
 stable-boys they were just beginning to come to again. 
 They were driving their spurs into the partition till the 
 splinters flew about, and some of the boys fell off, and some 
 hung on and sat looking like fools. " Ah, well," said the 
 governor, " it is easy to see who has been here ; but what a 
 worthless set of fellows you must be to sit here and let the 
 master-thief steal the horses from under you ! " And they all 
 got a beating for not having kept watch better. 
 
 Later in the day the master-thief came and related what 
 he had done, and wanted to have the governor's daughter* 
 as had been promised. But the governor gave him a hun- 
 dred dollars, and said that he must do something that was 
 better still. 
 
 " Do you think you can steal my horse from under me 
 when I am out riding on it ? " said he. 
 
 " Well, it might be done," said the master-thief, " if I were 
 absolutely certain that I should get your daughter." 
 
 So the governor said that he would see what he could do, 
 and then he said that on a certain day he would ride out 
 to a great common where they drilled the soldiers. 
 
 So the master-thief immediately got hold of an old worn- 
 out mare, and set himself to work to make a collar for it 
 of green withes and branches of broom; bought a shabby 
 old cart and a great cask, and then he told a poor -old beg- 
 gar woman that he would give her ten dollars if she would 
 get into the cask and keep her mouth wide open beneath the 
 tap-hole, into which he was going to stick his finger. No 
 harm should happen to her, he said; she should only be 
 driven about a little, and if he took his finger out more than 
 once she should have ten dollars more. Then he dressed 
 himself in rags, dyed himself with soot, and put on a wig 
 and a great beard of goat's hair, so that it was impossible 
 
80 
 
 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 to reco & :iize him, and went to the parade ground, where th 
 governor had already been riding about a long time. 
 
 When the master-thief got there the mare went along so 
 slowly and quietly that the cart hardly seemed to move from 
 the spot. The mare pulled it a little forward, and then a 
 little back, and then it stopped quite short. Then the mare 
 pulled a little forward again, and it moved with such diffi- 
 culty that the governor had not the least idea that this 
 
 was the master-thief. He rode straight up to him and asked 
 him if he had seen anyone hiding anywhere about in a wood 
 that was close by. 
 
 " No," said the man, " that I have not." 
 
 "Hark you," said the governor. "If you will ride into 
 that wood and search it carefully to see if you can light upon 
 a fellow who is hiding in there, you shall have the loan of 
 my horse and a good present of money for your trouble." 
 
 " I am not sure that I can do it," said the man, " for I 
 have to go to a wedding with this cask of mead which I have 
 been to fetch, and the tap has fallen out on the way, so now I 
 have to keep my finger in the tap-hole as I drive." 
 
 " Oh, just ride off," said the governor, " and I will look 
 after the cask and the horse, too." 
 
 So the man said that if he would do that he would go, but 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 81 
 
 he begged the governor to be very careful to put his finger 
 into the tap-hole the moment he took his out. 
 
 oo the governor said that he would do his very best, and 
 the master-thief got on the governor's horse. 
 
 But time passed, and it grew later and later, and still the 
 man did not come back, and at last the governor got so 
 weary of keeping his finger in the tap-hole that he took it 
 out. 
 
 " !STow I shall have ten dollars more ! " cried the old woman 
 inside the cask; so he soon saw what kind of mead it was, 
 and set out homeward. When he had gone a very little way 
 he met his servant bringing him the horse, for the master- 
 thief had already taken it home. 
 
 The following day he went to the governor and wanted 
 to have his daughter, according to promise. But the gov- 
 ernor again put him off with fine words, and only gave him 
 three hundred dollars, saying that he must do one more mas- 
 terpiece of skill, and if he were but able to do that he should 
 have her. 
 
 Well, the master-thief thought he might if he could hear 
 what it was. 
 
 " Do you think you can steal the sheet off our bed, and my 
 wif e ; s night-gown ? " said the governor. 
 
 " That is by no means impossible," said the master-thief. 
 " I only wish I could get your daughter as easily." 
 
 So late at night the master-thief went and cut down a 
 thief who was hanging on the gallows, laid him on his own 
 shoulders and took him away with him. Then he got hold 
 of a long ladder, set it up against the governor's bedroom 
 window, and climbed up and moved the dead man's head up 
 and down, just as if he were someone who was standing out- 
 side and peeping in. 
 
 " There's the master-thief, mother ! " said the governor, 
 nudging his wife. " Now I'll just shoot him, that I will ! " 
 
 So he took up a rifle which he had laid at his bedside. 
 
 " Oh, no, you must not do that," said his wife ; " you your- 
 self arranged that he was to come here." 
 
 " Yes, mother, I will shoot him," said he, and lay there 
 aiming, and then aiming again, for no sooner was the head 
 up and he caught sight of it than it was gone again. At last 
 he got a chance and fired, and the dead body fell with a 
 
82 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 loud thud to the ground, and down went the master-thief, 
 too, as fast as he could. 
 
 " Well," said the governor, " I certainly am the chief man 
 about here, but people soon begin to talk, and it would be 
 very unpleasant if they were to see this dead body; the best 
 thing I can do is to go out and bury him." 
 
 " Just do what you think best, father," said his wife. 
 
 So the governor got up and went downstairs, and as soon 
 as he had gone out through the door, the master-thief stole 
 in and went straight upstairs to the woman. 
 
 " Well, father dear," said she, for she thought it was her 
 husband. " Have you got done already ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes, I only put him into a hole," said he, " and 
 raked a little earth over him; that's all I have been able to 
 do to-night, for it is fearful weather outside. I will bury 
 him better afterward, but just let me have the sheet to wipe 
 myself with, for he was bleeding, and I have got covered 
 with blood with carrying him." 
 
 So she gave him the sheet. 
 
 "You will have to let me have your night-gown, too," he 
 said, " for I begin to see the sheet won't be enough." 
 
 Then she gave him her night-gown, but just then it came 
 into his head that he had forgotten to lock the door, and he 
 was forced to go downstairs and do it before he could lie 
 down in bed again. So off he went with the sheet and the 
 night-gown too. 
 
 An hour later the real governor returned. 
 
 " Well, what a time it has taken to lock the house door, 
 father ! " said his wife, " and what have you done with the 
 sheet and the night-gown ? " 
 
 " What do you mean ? " asked the governor. 
 
 " Oh, I am asking you what you have done with the night- 
 gown and the sheet that you got to wipe the blood off your- 
 self with," said she. 
 
 " Good heavens ! " said the governor, " has he actually got 
 the better of me again ? " 
 
 When day came the master-thief came too, arid the gover- 
 nor dared not do otherwise than give his daughter to him, 
 and much money besides, for he feared that if he did not 
 the master-thief might steal the very eyes out of his head, 
 and that he himself would be ill-spoken of by all men. The 
 
THE BED FAIRY BOOK. 83 
 
 master-thief lived well and happily from that time forth, 
 and whether he ever stole any more or not I cannot tell you, 
 but if he did it was but for pastime. 
 
 BROTHER AND SISTEE * 
 
 Brother took sister by the hand and said : " Look here ; we 
 haven't had one single happy hour since our mother died. 
 That stepmother of ours beats us regularly every day, and if 
 we dare go near her she kicks us away. We never get any- 
 thing but hard, dry crusts to eat why, the dog under the 
 table is better off than we are. She does throw him a good 
 morsel or two now and then. Oh, dear! if our own dear 
 mother only knew all about it! Come along, and let us go 
 forth into the wide world together." 
 
 So off they started through fields and meadows, over 
 hedges and ditches, and walked through the whole day long, 
 and when it rained sister said: 
 
 " Heaven and our hearts are weeping together." 
 
 Toward evening they came to a large forest and were so 
 tired out with hunger and their long walk, as well as their 
 trouble, that they crept into a hollow tree and soon fell fast 
 asleep. 
 
 Next morning, when they woke up, the sun was already 
 high in the heavens and was shining down bright and warm 
 into the tree. Then said brother: 
 
 " I'm so thirsty, sister ; if I did but know where to find a 
 little stream, I'd go and have a drink. I do believe I hear 
 one." He jumped up, took sister by the hand, and they set 
 off to hunt for the brook. 
 
 Now their cruel stepmother was in reality a witch, and 
 she knew perfectly well that the two children had run away. 
 She had crept secretly after them and had cast her spells 
 over all the streams in the forest. 
 
 Presently the children found a little brook dancing and 
 glittering over the stones, and brother was eager to drink 
 of it, but as it rushed past sister heard it murmuring: 
 
 " Who drinks of me will be a tiger ! who drinks of me will 
 be a tiger ! " 
 
 * Grimm. 
 
84 
 
 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 So she cried out, " Oh ! dear brother, pray don't drink, or 
 you'll be turned into a wild beast and tear me to pieces." 
 
 Brother was dreadfully thirsty, but he did not drink. 
 
 " Very well," said he, " I'll wait till we come to the next 
 spring." 
 
 When they came to the second brook, sister heard it re- 
 peating too: 
 
 " Who drinks of me will be a wolf ! who drinks of me will 
 be a wolf ! " 
 
 And she cried, " Oh ! brother, pray don't drink here, either, 
 or you'll be turned into a wolf and eat me up." 
 
 Again brother did not drink, but he said: 
 
 "Well, I'll wait a little longer till we reach the next 
 
 stream, but then, whatever you may say, I really must drink, 
 for I can bear this thirst no longer." 
 
 And when they got to the third brook, sister heard it say 
 as it rushed past : 
 
 " Who drinks of me will be a roe ! who drinks of me will 
 be a roe ! " 
 
 And she begged, " Ah ! brother, don't drink yet, or you'll 
 become a roe and run away from me." 
 
 But her brother was already kneeling by the brook and 
 bending over it to drink, and, sure, enough, no sooner had 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 85 
 
 his lips touched the water than he fell on the grass, trans- 
 formed into a little roebuck. 
 
 Sister cried bitterly over her poor bewitched brother, and 
 the little roe wept too, and sat sadly by her side. At last the 
 girl said: 
 
 " Never mind, dear little fawn, I will never forsake you," 
 and she took off her golden garter and tied it round the roe's 
 neck. 
 
 Then she plucked rushes and plaited a soft cord of them, 
 which she fastened to the collar. When she had done this 
 she led the roe further and further, right into the depths 
 of the forest. 
 
 After they had gone a long, long way they came to a little 
 house, and when the girl looked into it she found it was 
 quite empty, and she thought "perhaps we might stay and 
 live here." 
 
 So she hunted up leaves and moss to make a soft bed for 
 the little roe, and every morning and evening she went out 
 and gathered roots, nuts, and berries for herself, and tender 
 young grass for the fawn. And he fed from her hand, and 
 played round her and seemed quite happy. In the evening, 
 when sister was tired, she said her prayers and then laid 
 her head on the fawn's back and fell sound asleep with it 
 as a pillow. And if brother had but kept his natural form, 
 really it would have been a most delightful kind of life. 
 
 They had been living for some time in the forest in this 
 way, when it came to pass that the king of that country had 
 a great hunt through the woods. Then the whole forest 
 rang with such a blowing of horns, baying of dogs, and joy- 
 ful cries of huntsmen, that the little roe heard it and longed 
 to join in too. 
 
 " Ah ! " said he to sister, " do let me go off to the hunt ! I 
 can't keep still any longer." 
 
 And he begged and prayed until at last she consented. 
 
 " But," said she, " mind you come back in the evening. I 
 shall lock my door fast for fear of those wild huntsmen ; so, 
 to make sure of my knowing you, knock at the door and say, 
 'My sister, dear, open; I'm here.' If you don't speak, I 
 shan't open the door." 
 
 So off sprang the little roe, and he felt quite well and 
 happy in the free open air. 
 
86 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 The king and his huntsmen soon saw the beautiful creat- 
 ure and started in pursuit, but they could not come up with 
 it, and whenever they thought they were sure to catch it, 
 it bounded off to one side into the bushes and disappeared. 
 When night came on it ran home, and knocking at the door 
 of the little house, cried: 
 
 " My sister, dear, open ; I'm here." The door opened, and 
 he ran in and rested all night on his soft mossy bed. 
 
 Next morning the hunt began again, and as soon as the 
 little roe heard the horns and the " Ho ! ho ! " of the hunts- 
 men, he could not rest another moment, and said: 
 
 " Sister, open the door, I must get out." 
 
 So sister opened the door and said, " Now mind and get 
 back by nightfall, and say your little rhyme." 
 
 As soon as the king and his huntsmen saw the roe with the 
 golden collar they all rode off after it, but it was far too 
 quick and nimble for them. This went on all day, but as 
 evening came on the huntsmen had gradually encircled the 
 roe, and one of them wounded it slightly in the foot, so that 
 it limped and ran off slowly. 
 
 Then the huntsman stole after it as far as the little house, 
 and heard it call out, " My sister, dear, open ; I'm here," and 
 he saw the door open and close immediately the fawn had 
 run in. 
 
 The huntsman remembered all this carefully, and went 
 off straight to the king and told him all he had seen and 
 heard. 
 
 " To-morrow we will hunt again," said the king. 
 
 Poor sister was terribly frightened when she saw how her 
 little fawn had been wounded. She washed off the blood, 
 bound up the injured foot with herbs, and said: "Now, 
 dear, go and lie down and rest, so that your wound may 
 heal." 
 
 The wound was really so slight that it was quite well next 
 day, and the little roe did not feel it at all. No sooner did it 
 hear the sounds of hunting in the forest than it cried: 
 
 "I can't stand this, I must be there too; I'll take care 
 they shan't catch me." 
 
 Sister began to cry, and said, " They are certain to kill 
 you, and then I shall be left all alone in the forest and for- 
 saken by everyone* I can't and won't let you out." 
 
THE EED FAIRY BOOK. 87 
 
 u Then I shall die of grief," replied the roe, " for when 
 I hear that horn I feel as if I must jump right out of my 
 skin." 
 
 So at last, when sister found there was nothing else to 
 be done, she opened the door with a heavy heart, and the 
 roe darted forth, full of glee and health, into the forest. 
 
 As soon as the king saw the roe, he said to his huntsman, 
 " Now then, give chase to it all day until evening, but mind 
 and be careful not to hurt it." 
 
 When the sun had set the king said to his huntsman, 
 " Now come and show me the little house you saw in tne 
 wood." 
 
 And when he got to the house he knocked at the dootr and 
 said, " My sister, dear, open; I'm here." Then the door 
 opened and the king walked in, and there stood the love- 
 liest maiden he had ever seen. 
 
 The girl was much startled when instead of the little roe 
 she expected she saw a man with a gold crown on his head 
 walk in. But the king looked kindly at her, held out his 
 hand, and said, " Will you come with me to my castle and be 
 my dear wife ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes !" replied the maiden, " but you must let my roe 
 come too. I could not possibly forsake it." 
 
 " It shall stay with you as long as you live, and shall want 
 for nothing," the king promised. 
 
 In the meantime the roe came bounding in, and sister tied 
 the rush cord once more to its collar, took the end in her 
 hand, and so they left the little house in the forest to- 
 gether. 
 
 The king lifted the lovely maiden onto his horse, and led 
 her to his castle, where the wedding was celebrated with the 
 greatest splendor. The roe was petted and caressed, and ran 
 about at will in the palace gardens. 
 
 Now all this time the wicked stepmother, who had been the 
 cause of these poor children's misfortunes and trying adven- 
 tures, was feeling persuaded that sister had been torn to 
 pieces by wild beasts, and brother shot to death in the shape 
 of a roe. When she heard how happy and prosperous they 
 were, her heart was filled with envy and hatred, and she could 
 think of nothing but how to bnng some fresh misfortune 
 on them. Her own daughter, who was as hideous as nigkt 
 
88 
 
 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 and had only one eye, reproached her by saying, "It is I 
 who ought to have had this good luck and been queen." 
 
 " Be quiet, will you," said the old woman, " when the time 
 comes I shall be at hand." 
 
 Now after some time it happened one day when the king 
 
 was out hunting that the 
 queen gave birth to a beauti- 
 ful little boy. The old witch 
 thought here was a good 
 chance for her; so she took 
 the form of the lady in wait- 
 ing, and hurrying into the 
 room where the queen lay in 
 her bed, called out, " The 
 bath is quite ready; it will 
 help to make you strong 
 again. Come, let us be 
 quick, for fear the water 
 should get cold." Her 
 daughter was at hand, too, 
 and between them they car- 
 ried the queen, who was still 
 very weak, into the bath- 
 room and laid her in the 
 bath; then they locked the 
 door and ran away. 
 They took care beforehand to make a blazing hot fire 
 under the bath, so that the lovely young queen might be 
 suffocated. 
 
 As soon as they were sure this was the case the old witch 
 tied a cap on her daughter's head and laid her in the queen's 
 bed. She managed, too, to make her figure and general ap- 
 pearance look like the queen's, but even her power could not 
 restore the eye she had lost; so she made her lie on the side 
 of the missing eye, to prevent the king's noticing anything. 
 In the evening when the king came home and heard the 
 news of his son's birth, he was full of delight, and insisted 
 on going at once to his dear wife's bedside to see how she 
 was getting on. But the old witch cried out, " Take care and 
 keep the curtains drawn; don't let the light get into the 
 queen's eyes; she must be kept perfectly quiet.' So the king 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 89 
 
 went away and never knew that it was a false queen that 
 lay in the bed. 
 
 When midnight came and everyone in the palace was 
 sound asleep, the nurse who alone watched by the baby's 
 cradle in the nursery saw the door open gently, and who 
 should come in but the real queen. She lifted the child 
 from its cradle, laid it on her arm, and nursed it for some 
 time. Then she carefully shook up the pillows of the little 
 bed, laid the baby down and tucked the coverlet in all round 
 him. She did not forget the little roe, either, but went to 
 the corner where it lay, and gently stroked its back. Then 
 she silently left the room, and next morning when the nurse 
 asked the sentries if they had seen anyone go into the castle 
 that night, they all said, " No, we saw no one at all." 
 
 For many nights the queen came in the same way, but 
 she never spoke a word, and the nurse was too frightened 
 to say anything about her visits. 
 
 After some little time had elapsed the queen spoke one 
 night, and said: 
 
 M Is my child well? Is my Roe well? 
 I'll come back twice and then farewell." 
 
 The nurse made no answer, but as soon as the queen had 
 disappeared she went to the king and told him all. The 
 king exclaimed, " Good heavens ! what do you say ? I will 
 watch myself to-night by the child's bed." 
 
 When the evening came he went to the nursery, and at 
 midnight the queen appeared and said: 
 
 " Is my child well? Is my Roe well? 
 I'll come back once and then farewell." 
 
 And she nursed and petted the child as usual before she 
 disappeared. The king dared not trust himself to speak to 
 her, but the following night he kept watch again. 
 
 That night when the queen came she said: 
 
 " Is my child well? Is my Roe well? 
 I've come this once, and now farewell." 
 
 Then the king could restrain himself no longer, but sprang 
 to her side and cried, " You can be no one but my dear 
 wife!" 
 
 " Yes," said she, " I am your dear wife ! " and in the sam\i 
 
90 THE BED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 moment she was restored to life, and was as fresh and well 
 and rosy as ever. Then she told the king all the cruel things 
 the wicked witch and her daughter had done. The king had 
 them both arrested at once, and brought to trial, and they 
 were condemned to death. The daughter was led into the 
 forest, where the wild beasts tore her to pieces, and the old 
 witch was burned at the stake. 
 
 As soon as she was reduced to ashes the spell was taken off 
 the little roe, and he was restored to his natural shape once 
 more, and so brother and sister lived happily ever after. 
 
 PRINCESS ROSETTE* 
 
 Once upon a time there lived a king and queen who had 
 two beautiful sons and one little daughter, who was so pretty 
 that no one who saw her could help loving her. When it 
 was time for the christening of the princess, the queen as 
 she always did sent for all the fairies to be present at the 
 ceremony, and afterward invited them to a splendid banquet. 
 
 When it was all over, and they were preparing to go away, 
 the queen said to them : 
 
 " Do not forget your usual good custom. Tell me what 
 is going to happen to Rosette." 
 
 Eor that was the name they had given the princess. 
 
 But the fairies said they had left their book of magic at 
 home and they would come another day and tell her. 
 
 " Ah ! " said the queen, " I know very well what that means 
 you have nothing good to say; but at least I beg that you 
 will not hide anything from me." 
 
 So, after a great deal of persuasion, they said : 
 
 " Madam, we fear that Rosette may be the cause of great 
 misfortunes to her brothers; they may even meet with their 
 death through her; that is all we have been able to foresee 
 about your dear little daughter. We are very sorry to have 
 nothing better to tell you." 
 
 Then they went away, leaving the queen very sad, so sad 
 that the king noticed it, and asked her what was the matter. 
 
 The queen said she had been sitting too near the fire, and 
 had burned all the flax that was upon her distaff. 
 * Madame d'Aulnoy. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 91 
 
 " Oh ! is that all ? " said the king, and he went up into 
 the garret and brought her down more flax than she could 
 spin in a hundred years. But the queen still looked sad, and 
 the king asked her again what was the matter. She an- 
 swered that she had been walking by the river and had 
 dropped one of her green satin slippers into the water. 
 
 " Oh ! if that's all," said the king, and he sent to all the 
 shoemakers in his kingdom, and they very soon made the 
 queen ten thousand green satin slippers, but still she looked 
 sad. So the king asked her again what was the matter, and 
 this time she answered that in eating her porridge too has- 
 tily she had swallowed her wedding ring. But it so happened 
 that the king knew better, for he had the ring himself, and 
 he said: 
 
 " Oh ! you are not telling me the truth, for I have your 
 ring here in my purse." 
 
 Then the queen was very much ashamed, and she saw that 
 the king was vexed with her; so she told him all that the 
 fairies had predicted about Rosette, and begged him to think 
 how the misfortunes might be prevented. 
 
 Then it was the king's turn to look sad, and at last he 
 said: 
 
 " I see no way of saving our sons except by having Ro- 
 sette's head cut off while she is still little." 
 
 But the queen cried that she would far rather have her own 
 head cut off, and that he had better think of something else, 
 for she would never consent to such a thing. So they thought 
 and thought, but they could not tell what to do, until at last 
 the queen heard that in a great forest near the castle there 
 was an old hermit, who lived in a hollow tree, and that peo- 
 ple came from far and near to consult him; so she said: 
 
 " I had better go and ask his advice ; perhaps he will know 
 what to do to prevent the misfortunes which the fairies fore- 
 told." 
 
 She set out very early the next morning, mounted upon a 
 pretty little white mule, which was shod with solid gold, and 
 two of her ladies rode behind her on beautiful horses. When 
 they reached the forest they dismounted, for the trees grew 
 bo thickly that the horses could not pass, and made their 
 way on foot to the hollow tree where the hermit lived. At 
 first when he saw them coming he was vexed, for he was 
 
92 
 
 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 not fond of ladies; but when he recognized the queen he 
 said: 
 
 " You are welcome, queen. What do you come to ask of 
 me?" 
 
 Then the queen told him all the fairies had foreseen for 
 Rosette, and asked what she should do, and the hermit an- 
 swered that she must shut the princess up in a tower and 
 never let her come out of it again. The queen thanked and 
 rewarded him, and hastened back to the castle to tell the 
 king. When he heard the news he had a great tower built 
 
 as quickly as possible, and there the princess was shut up, 
 and the king and queen and her two brothers went to see her 
 every day that she might not be dull. The eldest brother 
 was called "the great prince," and the second "the little 
 prince." They loved their sister dearly, for she was the 
 sweetest, prettiest princess who was ever seen, and the least 
 little smile from her was worth more than a hundred pieces 
 of gold. When Rosette was fifteen years old the great prince 
 went to the king and asked if it would not soon be time for 
 her to be married, and the little prince put the same question 
 to the queen. 
 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 93 
 
 Their majesties were amused at them for thinking of it, 
 but did not make any reply, and soon after both the king 
 and the queen were taken ill, and died on the same day. 
 Everybody was sorry, Rosette especially, and all the bells 
 in the kingdom were tolled. 
 
 Then all the dukes and counselors put the great prince 
 upon a golden throne, and crowned him with a diamond 
 crown, and they all cried, " Long live the king ! " And after 
 that there was nothing but feasting and rejoicing. 
 
 The new king and his brother said to one another: 
 
 "Now that we are masters, let us take our sister out of 
 that dull tower which she is so tired of." 
 
 They had only to go across the garden to reach the tower, 
 which was very high, and stood up in a corner. Rosette was 
 busy at her embroidery, but when she saw her brothers she 
 got up, and taking the king's hand cried: 
 
 "Good morning, dear brother. Now that you are king, 
 please take me out of this dull tower, for I am so tired of it." 
 
 Then she began to cry, but the king kissed her and told 
 her to dry her tears, as that was just what they had come 
 for, to take her out of the tower and bring her to their beau- 
 tiful castle, and the prince showed her the pocketful of 
 sugar-plums he had brought for her, and said: 
 
 " Make haste, and let us get away from this ugly tower, 
 and very soon the king will arrange a grand marriage for 
 you." 
 
 When Rosette saw the beautiful garden, full of fruit and 
 flowers, with green grass and sparkling fountains, she was 
 so astonished that not a word could she say, for she had 
 never in her life seen anything like it before. She looked 
 about her and ran hither and thither gathering fruit and 
 flowers, and her little dog Frisk, who was bright green all 
 over, and had but one ear, danced before her, crying " Bow- 
 wow-wow," and turning head over heels in the most en- 
 chanting way. 
 
 Everybody was amused at Frisk's antics, but all of a sud- 
 den he ran away into a little wood, and the princess was 
 following him, when, to her great delight, she saw a peacock, 
 who was spreading his tail in the sunshine. Rosette thought 
 she had never seen anything so pretty. She could not take 
 her eyes off him, and there she stood entranced until the 
 
94 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 king and prince came up and asked what was amusing hei 
 so much. She showed them the peacock, and asked what it 
 was, and they answered that it was a bird which people some- 
 times ate. 
 
 " What ! " said the princess, " do they dare to kill that 
 beautiful creature and eat it? I declare that I will never 
 marry anyone but the king of the peacocks, and when I am 
 queen I will take very good care that nobody eats any of 
 my subjects." 
 
 At this the king was very much astonished. 
 
 "But, little sister," said he, "where shall we find the 
 king of the peacocks ? " 
 
 " Oh ! wherever you like, sire," she answered, " but I will 
 never marry anyone else." 
 
 After this they took Rosette to the beautiful castle, and 
 the peacock was brought with her, and told to walk about on 
 the terrace outside her windows, so that she might always see 
 him, and then the ladies of the court came to see the prin- 
 cess, and they brought her beautitul presents dresses and 
 ribbons and sweetmeats, diamonds and pearls and dolls and 
 embroidered slippers, and she was so well brought up, and 
 said, " Thank you ! " so prettily, and was so gracious, that 
 everyone went away delighted with her. 
 
 Meanwhile the king and the prince were considering how 
 they should find the king of the peacocks, if there was such 
 a person in the world. And first of all they had a portrait 
 made of the princess, which was so like her that you really 
 would not have been surprised if it had spoken to you. Then 
 they said to her : 
 
 " Since you will not marry anyone but the king of the 
 peacocks, we are going out together into the wide world to 
 search for him. If we find him for you we shall be very 
 glad. In the meantime, mind you take good care of our 
 kingdom." 
 
 Rosette thanked him for all the trouble they were taking 
 on her account, and promised to take great care of the king- 
 dom, and only to amuse herself by looking at the peacock, 
 and making Frisk dance while they were away. 
 
 So they set out and asked everyone they met: 
 
 "Do you know the king of the peacocks?" 
 
 But the answer was always, " No, no." 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 95 
 
 Then they went on and on, so far that no one has ever 
 been further, and at last they came to the kingdom of the 
 cockchafers. 
 
 They had never before seen such a number of cockchafers, 
 and the buzzing was so loud that the king was afraid he 
 should be deafened by it. He asked the most distinguished- 
 
 looking cockchafer they met if he knew where they coitid 
 find the king of the peacocks. 
 
 u Sire," replied the cockchafer, " his kingdom is thirty 
 thousand leagues from this ; you have come the longest way." 
 
 " And how do you know that ? " said the king. 
 
 " Oh ! " said the cockchafer, " we all know you very well, 
 since we spend two or three months in your garden every 
 year." 
 
 Thereupon the king and the prince made great friends 
 with him, and they all walked arm in arm and dined to- 
 gether, and afterward the cockchafer showed them all the 
 curiosities of his strange country, where the tiniest green 
 leaf costs a gold piece and more. Then they set out again to 
 finish their journey, and this time, as they knew the way 
 
96 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 they were not long upon the road. It was easy to guess that 
 they had come to the right place, for they saw peacocks in 
 every tree, and their cries could be heard a long way off. 
 
 When they reached the city they found it full of men and 
 women who were dressed entirely in peacock's feathers, 
 which were evidently thought prettier than anything else 
 
 They soon met the king, who was driving about in a beau- 
 tiful little golden carriage which glittered with diamonds, 
 and was drawn at full speed by twelve peacocks. The king 
 and prince were delighted to see that the king of the pea- 
 cocks was as handsome as possible. He had curly golden 
 hair and was very pale, and he wore a crown of peacocks* 
 feathers. 
 
 When he saw Rosette's brothers he knew at once that they 
 were strangers, and stopping his carriage he sent for them 
 to speak to them. When they had greeted him they said: 
 
 " Sire, we have come from very far away to show you a 
 beautiful portrait." 
 
 So saying they drew from their traveling bag the picture 
 of Rosette. 
 
 The king looked at it in silence a long time, but at last 
 he said: 
 
 " I could not have believed that there was such a beau- 
 tiful princess in the world ! " 
 
 " She is really a hundred times as pretty as that," said 
 her brothers. 
 
 " I think you must be making fun of me," said the king 
 of the peacocks. 
 
 " Sire," said the prince, " my brother is a king, like your- 
 self. He is called ' the king,' I am called ' the prince,' 
 and that is the portrait of our sister, the Princess Rosette. 
 We have come to ask you if you would like to marry her. 
 She is as good as she is beautiful, and we will give her a 
 bushel of gold pieces for her dowry." 
 
 " Oh ! with all my heart," replied the king, " and I will 
 make her very happy. She shall have whatever she likes, 
 and I shall love her dearly; only I warn you that if she is 
 not as pretty a you have told me, I will have your heads cut 
 off." 
 
 v Oh! certainly, we quite agree to that," said the brothers 
 in one breath. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 97 
 
 " Very well. Off with you into prison, and stay there until 
 the princess arrives," said the king of the peacocks. 
 
 And the princes were so sure that Rosette was far pret- 
 tier than her portrait that they went without a murmur. 
 They were very kindly treated, and that they might not feel 
 dull the king came often to see them. As for Rosette's por- 
 trait, that was taken up to the palace, and the king did noth- 
 ing but gaze at it all day and all night. 
 
 As the king and prince had to stay in prison, they sent a 
 letter to the princess telling her to pack up all her treasures 
 as quickly as possible, and come to them, as the king of the 
 peacocks was waiting to marry her; but they did not say 
 that they were in prison, for fear of making her uneasy. 
 
 When Rosette received the letter she was so delighted that 
 she ran about telling everyone that the king of the peacocks 
 was found, and she was going to marry him. 
 
 Guns were fired, and fireworks let off. Everyone had as 
 many cakes and sweetmeats as he wanted. And for three 
 days everybody who came to see the princess was presented 
 with a slice of bread and jam, a nightingale's egg, and some 
 hippocras. After having thus entertained her friends, she 
 distributed her dolls among them, and left her brother's 
 kingdom to the care of the wisest old men of the city, telling 
 them to take charge of everything, not to spend any money,' 
 but save it all up until the king should return, and, above 
 all, not to forget to feed her peacock. Then she set out, only 
 taking with her her nurse, and the nurse's daughter, and the 
 little green dog, Frisk. 
 
 They took a boat and put out to sea, carrying with them 
 the bushel of gold pieces and enough dresses to last the prin- 
 cess ten years if she wore two every day, and they did noth- 
 ing but laugh and sing. The nurse asked the boatman : 
 
 " Can you take us, can you take us to the kingdom of the 
 peacocks ? " 
 
 But he answered: 
 
 "Oh, no! oh, no!" 
 
 Then she said: 
 
 " You must take us, you must take us." 
 
 And he answered : 
 
 "Very soon, very soon." 
 
 Then the nurse said: 
 
98 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 "Will you take us? will you take us?" 
 
 And the boatman answered: 
 
 " Yes, yes." 
 
 Then she whispered in his ear: 
 
 " Do you want to make your fortune ? " 
 
 And he said : 
 
 " Certainly, I do." 
 
 " I can tell you how to get a bag of gold," said she. 
 
 " I ask nothing better," said the boatman. 
 
 "Well," said the nurse, "to-night, when the princess is 
 asleep, you must help me to throw her into the sea, and when 
 she is drowned I will put her beautiful clothes upon my 
 daughter, and we will take her to the king of the peacocks, 
 who will be only too glad to marry her, and as your reward 
 you shall have your boat full of diamonds." 
 
 The boatman was very much surprised at this proposal, 
 and said: 
 
 " But what a pity to drown such a pretty princess ! " 
 
 However, at last, the nurse persuaded him to help her, 
 and when the night came and the princess was fast asleep 
 as usual, with Frisk curled up on his own cushion at the foot 
 of her bed, the wicked nurse fetched the boatman and her 
 daughter, and between them they picked up the princess, 
 feather bed, mattress, pillows, blankets, and all, and threw 
 her into the sea, without even waking her. Now, luckily, 
 the princess' bed was entirely stuffed with phoenix feathers, 
 which are very rare, and have the property of always float- 
 ing upon water, so Rosette went on swimming about as if 
 she had been in a boat. After awhile she began to feel 
 very cold, and turned round so often that she waked Frisk, 
 who started up, and having a very good nose, smelled the 
 soles and herrings so close to him that he began to bark. He 
 barked so long and so loud that he woke all the other fish, 
 who came swimming up around the princess' bed, and pok- 
 ing at it with their heads. As for her, she said to herself: 
 
 "How our boat does rock upon the water! I am really 
 glad that I am not often as uncomfortable as I have been to- 
 night." 
 
 The wicked nurse and the boatman, who were by this time 
 quite a long way off, heard Frisk barking, and said to each 
 other : 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 99 
 
 "That horrid little animal and his mistress arc drinking 
 our health in sea water now. Let us make haste to land, for 
 we must be quite near the city of the king of the peacocks." 
 
 The king had sent a hundred carriages to meet them, 
 drawn by every kind of strange animal. There were lions, 
 bears, wolves, stags, horses, buffaloes, eagles, and peacocks. 
 The carriage intended for the Princess Rosette had six blue 
 monkeys which could turn somersaults, and dance on a tight- 
 
 rope, and do many other charming tricks. Their harness was 
 all of crimson velvet with golden buckles, and behind the car- 
 riage walked sixty beautiful ladies chosen by the king to 
 wait upon Rosette and amuse her. 
 
 The nurse had taken all the pains imaginable to deck out 
 her daughter. She put on her Rosette's prettiest frock, and 
 covered her with diamonds from head to foot. But she was 
 so ugly that nothing could make her look nice, and, what was 
 worse, she was sulky and ill-tempered, and did nothing but 
 grumble all the time. 
 
 When she stepped from the boat and the escort sent by the 
 king of the peacocks caught sight of her they were so sur- 
 prised that they could not say a single word. 
 
 " Now then, look alive," cried the false princess. " If you 
 don't bring me something to eat, I will have all your hears 
 cut off!" 
 
100 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 Then they whispered one to another : 
 
 " Here's a pretty state of things ! she is as wicked as she 
 is ngly. What a bride for our poor king ! She certainly was 
 not worth bringing from the other end of the world ! " 
 
 But she went on ordering them all about, and for no fault 
 at all would give slaps and pinches to everyone she could 
 reach. 
 
 As the procession was so long it advanced but slowly, and 
 the nurse's daughter sat up in her carriage trying to look 
 like a queen. But the peacocks, who were seated upon every 
 tree, waiting to salute her, and who had made up their minds 
 to cry, " Long live our beautiful queen ! " when they caught 
 sight of the false bride could not help crying instead: 
 
 " Oh ! how ugly she is ! " 
 
 Which offended her so much that she said to the guards : 
 
 " Make haste and kill all these insolent peacocks who have 
 dared to insult me." 
 
 But the peacocks only flew away, laughing at her. 
 
 The rogue of a boatman, who noticed all this, said softly 
 to the nurse: 
 
 "This is a bad business for us, gossip; your daughter 
 ought to have been prettier." 
 
 But she answered: 
 
 " Be quiet, stupid, or you will spoil everything." 
 
 Now they told the king that the princess was approaching. 
 
 " Well," said he, " did her brothers tell me truly ? Is she 
 prettier than her portrait?" 
 
 " Sire," they answered, " if she were as pretty that would 
 do very well." 
 
 " That's true," said the king; "I for one will be quite sat- 
 isfied if she is. Let us go and meet her." For they knew by 
 the uproar that she had arrived, but they could not tell what 
 all the shouting was about. The king thought he could hear 
 the words : 
 
 " How ugly she is ! How ugly she is ! " and he fancied 
 they must refer to some dwarf the princess was bringing 
 with her. It never occurred to him that they could apply to 
 the bride herself. 
 
 The Princess Rosette's portrait was carried at the head of 
 the procession, and after it walked the king surrounded 
 by his courtiers. He was all impatience to see the lovely 
 
THE RED FAIRY B()0^. j !\ i 201 
 
 princess, but when he caught sight of the nurse's daughter 
 he was furiously angry, and would not advance another step. 
 For she was really ugly enough to have frightened anybody. 
 
 " What ! " he cried, " have the two rascals who are my pris- 
 oners dared to play me such a trick as this? Do they pro- 
 pose that I shall marry this hideous creature? Let her be 
 shut up in my great tower with her nurse and those who 
 brought her here; and as for them, I will have their heads 
 cut off." 
 
 Meanwhile, the king and the prince, who knew that their 
 sister must have arrived, had made themselves smart and 
 sat expecting every minute to be summoned to greet he/. 
 So when the jailer came with soldiers and carried them down 
 into a black dungeon which swarmed with toads and bats, 
 and where they were up to their necks in water, nobody could 
 have been more surprised and dismayed than they were. 
 
 " This is a dismal kind of wedding," they said; "what can 
 have happened that we should be treated like this? They 
 must mean to kill us." 
 
 And this idea annoyed them very much. Three days 
 passed before they heard any news, and then the king of the 
 peacocks came and berated them through a hole in the wall. 
 
 " You have called yourselves king and prince," he cried, 
 " to try and make me marry your sister, but you are nothing 
 but beggars, not worth the water you drink. I mean to make 
 short work with you, and the sword is being sharpened that 
 will cut off your heads ! " 
 
 " King of the peacocks," answered the king angrily, " you 
 had better take care what you are about. I am as good a 
 king as yourself, and have a splendid kingdom, and robe 
 and crowns, and plenty of good red gold to do what I like 
 with. You are pleased to jest about having our heads cut off; 
 perhaps you think we have stolen something from you ? " 
 
 At first the king of the peacocks was taken aback by this 
 lK>ld speech, and had half a mind to send them all away; 
 but his prime minister declared that it would never do to let 
 such a trick as that pass unpunished, everybody would laugh 
 at him; so the accusation was drawn up against them, that 
 they were impostors, and that they had promised the king a 
 beautiful princess in marriage, who, when she arrived, proved 
 to be an ugly peasant girl. 
 
102 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 This accusation was read to the prisoners, who cried out 
 that they had spoken the truth, that their sister was indeed 
 a princess more beautiful than the day, and that there was 
 some mystery about all this which they could not fathom. 
 Therefore they demanded seven days in which to prove their 
 innocence. The king of the peacocks was so angry that he 
 would hardly even grant them this favor, but at last he was 
 persuaded to do so. 
 
 While all this was going on at court, let us see what had 
 been happening to the real princess. When the day broke 
 she and Frisk were equally astonished at finding themselves 
 alone upon the sea, with no boat and no one to help them. 
 The princess cried and cried, until even the fishes were sorry 
 for her. 
 
 " Alas ! " she said, " the king of the peacocks must have or- 
 dered me to be thrown into the sea because he had changed 
 his mind and did not want to marry me. But how strange 
 of him, when I should have loved him so much, and we should 
 have been so happy together ! " 
 
 And then she cried harder than ever, for she could not 
 help still loving him. So for two days they floated up and 
 down the sea, wet and shivering with the cold, and so hungry 
 that when the princess saw some oysters she caught them, 
 and she and Frisk both ate some, though they didn't like 
 them at all. When night came the princess was so fright- 
 ened that she said to Frisk: 
 
 " Oh ! Do please keep on barking for fear the soles should 
 come and eat us up ! " 
 
 Now it happened that they had floated close in to the 
 shore, where a poor old man lived all alone in a little cottage. 
 When he heard Frisk's barking he thought to himself : 
 
 " There must have been a shipwreck ! " (for no dogs ever 
 passed that way by any chance) and he went out to see if he 
 could be of any use. He soon saw the princess and Frisk 
 floating up and down, and Rosette, stretching out her hands 
 to him, cried: 
 
 " Oh ! Good old man, do save me, or I shall die of cold 
 and hunger ! " 
 
 When he heard her cry out so piteously he was very sorry 
 for her, and ran back into his houe to fetch a long boat-hook. 
 Then he waded into the water jp to his chin, and after be- 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 103 
 
 ing nearly drowned once or twice he at last succeeded in 
 getting hold of the princess' bed and dragging it on shore. 
 
 Rosette and Frisk were joyful enough to find themselves 
 once more on dry land, and the princess thanked the old 
 man heartily; then, wrapping herself up in her blankets, she 
 daintily picked her way up to the cottage on her little bare 
 feet. There the old man lighted a fire of straw, and then 
 drew from an old box his wife's dress and shoes, which the 
 princess put on, and thus roughly clad looked as charming 
 as possible, and Frisk danced his very best to amuse her. 
 
 The old man saw that Rosette must be some great lady, for 
 
 her bed coverings were all of satin and gold. He begged that 
 she would tell him all her history, as she might safely trust 
 him. The princess told him everything, weeping bitterly 
 again at the thought that it was by the king's orders that 
 she had been thrown overboard. 
 
 " And now, my daughter, what is to be done ? " said the 
 old man. " You are a great princess, accustomed to fare 
 daintily, and I have nothing to offer you but black bread 
 and radishes, which will not suit you at all. Shall I go and 
 tell the king of the peacocks that you are here? If he sees 
 you he will certainly wish to marry you." 
 
 " Oh, no ! " cried Rosette, " he must be wicked, since he 
 tried to drown me. Don't let us tell him, but if you have a 
 little basket give it to me." 
 
104 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 The old man gave her a basket, and tying it around Frisk's 
 neck she said to him : " Go and find out the best cooking-pot 
 in the town and bring the contents to me." 
 
 Away went Frisk, and as there was no better dinner cook- 
 ing in all the town than the king's, he adroitly took the cover 
 off the pot and brought all it contained to the princess, who 
 said: 
 
 " Now go back to the pantry and bring the best of every- 
 thing you find there." 
 
 So Frisk went back and filled his basket with white bread 
 and red wine, and every kind of sweetmeat, until it was 
 almost too heavy for him to carry. 
 
 When the king of the peacocks wanted his dinner there 
 was nothing in the pot and nothing in the pantry. All 
 the courtiers looked at one another in dismay, and the king 
 was terribly cross. 
 
 " Oh, well ! " he said, " if there is no dinner I cannot dine, 
 but take care that plenty of things are roasted far supper." 
 
 When evening came the princess said to Frisk: 
 
 " Go into the town and find out the best kitchen, and 
 bring me all the nicest morsels that are being roasted upon 
 the spit." 
 
 Frisk did as he was told, and as he knew of no better 
 kitchen than the king's, he went in softly, and when the 
 cook's baok was turned took everything that was upon the 
 spit. As it happened it was all done to a turn, and looked 
 so good that it made him hungry only to see it. He carried 
 his basket to the princess, who at once sent him back to the 
 pantry to bring all the tarts and sugar-plums that had been 
 prepared for the king's supper. 
 
 The king, as he had had no dinner, was very hungry and 
 wanted his supper early, but when he asked for it, lo, and 
 behold, it was all gone, and he had to go to bed half-starved 
 and in a terrible temper. The next day the same thing hap- 
 pened, and the next, so that for three days the king got noth- 
 ing at all to eat, because just when the dinner or supper 
 was ready to be served it mysteriously disappeared. At last 
 the prime minister began to be afraid that the king would 
 be starved to death, so he resolved to hide himself in some 
 dark corner of the kitchen, and never take his eyes off the 
 cooking pot. His surprise was great when he presently saw 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 105 
 
 a little green dog with one ear slip softly into the kitchen, 
 uncover the pot, transfer all its contents to his basket, and 
 run off. The prime minister followed hastily and tracked 
 him all through the town to the cottage of the good old man ; 
 then he ran back to the king and told that he had found out 
 where all his dinners and suppers went. The king, who was 
 very much astonished, said he would like to go and see for 
 himself. So he set out, accompanied by the prime minister 
 and a guard of archers, and arrived just in time to find the 
 old man and the princess finishing his dinner. 
 
 The king ordered that they should be seized and bound 
 with ropes, and Frisk also. 
 
 When they were brought back to the palace someone told 
 } he king, who said: 
 
 " To-day is the last day of the respite granted to those im- 
 postors; they shall have their heads cut off at the same time 
 hs these stealers of my dinner." Then the old man went 
 down on his knees before the king and begged for time to 
 tell him everything. While he spoke the king looked for the 
 first time attentively at the princess, because he was sorry 
 to see how she cried, and when he heard the old man saying 
 that her name was Rosette, and that she had been treach- 
 erously thrown into the sea, he turned head over heels three 
 times without stopping, in spite of being quite weak from 
 hunger, and ran to embrace her, and untied the ropes which 
 bound her with his own hands, declaring that he loved her 
 with all his heart. 
 
 Messengers were sent to bring the princes out of prison, 
 and they came very sadly, believing that they were to be ex- 
 ecuted at once; the nurse and her daughter and the boat- 
 man were brought also. As soon as they came in Rosette 
 ran to embrace her brothers, while the traitors threw them- 
 selves down before her and begged for mercy. The king and 
 the princess were so happy that they freely forgave them, 
 and as for the good old man he was splendidly rewarded, and 
 spent the rest of his days in the palace. The king of the 
 peacocks made ample amends to the king and prince for the 
 way in which they had been treated, and did everything in 
 his power to show how sorry he was. 
 
 The nurse restored to Rosette all her dresses and jewels, 
 and the bushel of gold pieces; the wedding was held at once, 
 
106 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 and they all lived happily ever after even to Frisk, who 
 enjoyed the greatest luxury, and never had anything worse 
 than the wing of a partridge for his dinner all the rest of 
 ihis life. 
 
 THE ENCHANTED PIG * 
 
 Once upon a time there lived a king who had three 
 -daughters. Now it happened that he had to go out to bat- 
 tle, so he called his daughters and said to them: 
 
 " My dear children, I am obliged to go to the wars. The 
 enemy is approaching us with a large army. It is a great 
 grief to me to leave you all. During my absence take care 
 of yourselves and be good girls; behave well and look after 
 everything in the house. You may walk in the garden and 
 you may go into all the rooms in the palace, except the room 
 at the back in the right-hand corner; into that you must not 
 enter, for harm would befall you." 
 
 "You may keep your mind easy, father," they replied. 
 * We have never been disobedient to you. Go in peace, and 
 may Heaven give you a glorious victory ! " 
 
 When everything was ready for his departure the king 
 gave them the keys of all the rooms and reminded them once 
 more of what he had said. His daughters kissed his hands 
 with tears in their eyes, and wished him prosperity, and he 
 gave the eldest the keys. 
 
 Now when the girls found themselves alone they felt so 
 sad and dull they did not know what to do. So, to pass the 
 time, they decided to work for part of the day, to read for 
 part of the day, and to enjoy themselves in the garden for 
 part of the day. As long as they did this all went well with 
 them. But this happy state of things did not last long. 
 Every day they grew more and more curious, and you will 
 see what the end of that was. 
 
 " Sisters," said the eldest princess, " all day long we sew, 
 spin, and read. We have been several days quite alone, 
 and there is no corner of the garden we have not explored. 
 We have been v in all the rooms of our father's palace and 
 have admired the rich and beautiful furniture: why should 
 
 * Kumanische Marchen iibersetzt von Nite Krenmitz. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 107 
 
 we not go into the room that our father forbade us to 
 enter?" 
 
 " Sister," said the youngest, " I cannot think how you can 
 tempt us to break our father's command. When he told us 
 not to go into that room he must have known what he was 
 saying, and have had good reason for saying it." 
 
 " Surely the sky won't fall about our heads if we do go in," 
 said the second princess. " Dragons and such like monsters 
 that will devour us will not be hidden in the room. And how 
 will our father ever find out that we have gone in ? " 
 
 While they were speaking thus, encouraging each other, 
 they had reached the room ; the eldest fitted the key into the 
 lock, and snap ! the door stood open. 
 
 The three girls entered, and what do you think they saw? 
 
 The room was quite empty, and without any ornament, but 
 in the middle stood a large table, with a gorgeous cloth, and 
 on it lay a big open book. 
 
 Now the princesses were curious to know what was writ- 
 ten in the book, especially the eldest, and this is what sh 
 read: 
 
 " The eldest daughter of this king will marry a prince 
 from the east." 
 
 Then the second girl stepped forward, and turning over 
 the page she read: 
 
 " The second daughter of this king will marry a prince 
 from the west." 
 
 The girls were delighted, and laughed and teased each 
 other. 
 
 But the youngest princess did not want to go near the 
 table or to open the book. Her elder sisters, however, left 
 her no peace, and will she, nill she, they dragged her up to 
 the table, and in fear and trembling she turned over the 
 page and read: 
 
 " The youngest daughter of this king will be married to 
 a pig from the north." 
 
 Now if a thunderbolt had fallen upon her from heaven 
 it would not have frightened her more. 
 
 She almost died of misery, and if her sisters had not held 
 her up, she would have sunk to the ground and cut her head 
 open. 
 
 When she came out of the fainting fit into which she 
 
108 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 had fallen in her terror, her sisters tried to comfort her, say- 
 ing : 
 
 "How can you believe such nonsense? When did it ever 
 happen that a king's daughter married a pig ? " 
 
 " What a baby you are ! " said the other sister ; " has not 
 our father enough soldiers to protect you, even if the dis- 
 gusting creature did come to woo you ? " 
 
 The youngest princess would fain have let herself be con- 
 vinced by her sister's words, and have believed what they 
 said, but her heart was heavy. Her thoughts kept turning to 
 the book, in which stood written that great happiness waited 
 her sisters, but that a fate was in store for her such as had 
 never before been known in the world. 
 
 Besides, the thought weighed on her heart that she had 
 been guilty of disobeying her father. She began to get 
 quite ill, and in a few days she was so changed that it was 
 difficult to recognize her; formerly she had been rosy and 
 merry, but now she was pale, and nothing gave her any 
 pleasure. She gave up playing with her sisters in the gar- 
 den, ceased to gather flowers to put in her hair, and never 
 sang when they sat together at their spinning and sewing. 
 
 In the meantime the king won a great victory, and having 
 completely defeated and driven off the enemy, he hurried 
 home to his daughters, to whom his thoughts had constantly 
 turned. Everyone went out to meet him with cymbals and 
 fifes and drums, and there was great rejoicing over his vic- 
 torious return. The king's first act on reaching home was 
 to thank heaven for the victory he had gained over the ene- 
 mies who had risen against him. He then entered his palace 
 and the three princesses stepped forward to meet him. His 
 joy was great when he saw that they were all well, for the 
 youngest did her best not to appear sad. 
 
 In spite of this, however, it was not long before the king 
 noticed that his third daughter was getting very thin and 
 sad-looking. And all of a sudden he felt as if a hot iron 
 were entering his sou', for it flashed through his mind that 
 she had disobeyed his word. He felt sure he was right; but 
 to be quite certain hf called his daughters to him, questioned 
 them, and ordered them to speak the truth. They confessed 
 everything, but took good care not to say which had led the 
 other two into temptation. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 109 
 
 The king was so distressed when he heard it that he was 
 almost overcome by grief. But he took heart and tried to 
 comfort his daughters, who looked frightened to death. He 
 saw that what had happened had happened, and that a thou- 
 sand words would not alter matters by a hair's-breadth. 
 
 Well, these events had almost been forgotten when one fine 
 day a prince from the east appeared at the court and asked 
 the king for the hand of his eldest daughter. The king 
 gladly gave his consent. A great wedding banquet was pre- 
 pared, and after three days of feasting the happy pair were 
 accompanied to the frontier with much ceremony and re- 
 joicing. 
 
 After some time the same thing befell the second daugh- 
 ter, who was wooed and won by a prince from the west. 
 
 Now when the young princess saw that everything fell out 
 
 exactly as had been written in the book, she grew very sad. 
 She refused to eat, and would not put on her fine clothes nor 
 go out walking, and declared that she would rather die than 
 become a laughing-stock to the world. But the king would 
 not allow her to do anything so wrong,, and he comforted 
 her in all possible ways. 
 
 So the time passed, till, lo, and behold ! one fine day an 
 enormous pig from the north walked into the palace, and go* 
 
110 THE RED FAIRY BOOT 
 
 ing straight up to the king said, " Hail, oh king ! May your 
 life be as prosperous and bright as sunrise on a clear 
 day!" 
 
 " I am glad to see you well, friend," answered the king, 
 " but what wind has brought you hither ? " 
 
 " I come a-wooing," replied the pig. 
 
 Now the king was astonished to hear so fine a speech from 
 a pig, and at once it occurred to him that something strange 
 was the matter. He would gladly have turned the pig's 
 thoughts in another direction, as he did not wish to give him 
 the princess for a wife; but when he heard that the court 
 and the whole street were full of all the pigs in the world, he 
 saw that there was no escape, and that he must give his con- 
 sent. The pig was not satisfied with mere promises, but in- 
 sisted that the wedding should take place within a week, and 
 would not go away until the king had sworn a royal oath 
 upon it. 
 
 The king then sent for his daughter and advised her to 
 submit to fate, as there was nothing else to be done. And he 
 added : 
 
 " My child, the words and whole behavior of this pig are 
 quite unlike those of other pigs. I do not myself believe 
 that he always was a pig. Depend upon it, some magic or 
 witchcraft has been at work. Obey him and do everything 
 that he wishes, and I feel sure that heaven will shortly send 
 you release." 
 
 " If you wish me to do this, dear father, I will do it," re- 
 plied the girl. 
 
 In the meantime the wedding-day drew near. After the 
 marriage, the pig and his bride set out for his home in one of 
 the royal carriages. On the way they passed a great bog, and 
 the pig ordered the carriage to stop, and got out and rolled 
 about in the mire till he was covered with mud from head 
 to foot ; then he got back into the carriage and told his wife 
 to kiss him. What was the poor girl to do ? She bethought 
 herself of her father's words, and pulling out her pocket 
 handkerchief she gently wiped the pig's snout and kissed it. 
 
 By the time they reached the pig's dwelling, which stood 
 in a thick wood, it was quite dark. They sat down quietly 
 for a while as they were tired after their drive; then they 
 had supper together and lay down to rest. During the night 
 
THE RED FAIKY BOOK. Ill 
 
 the princess noticed that the pig had changed into a man. 
 She was not a little surprised, but remembering her father's 
 words, she took courage, determined to wait and see what 
 would happen. 
 
 And now she noticed that every night the pig became a 
 man, and every morning he was changed into a pig before 
 she awoke. This happened several nights running, and the. 
 princess could not understand it at all. Clearly her hus- 
 band must be bewitched. In time she grew quite fond of 
 him, he was so kind and gentle. 
 
 One fine day as she was sitting alone she saw an old witch 
 go past. She felt quite excited, as it was so long since she 
 had seen a human being, and she called out to the old woman- 
 to come and talk to her. Among other things the witch told 
 her that she understood all magic arts, and that she could 
 foretell the future and knew the healing powers of herbs 
 and plants, i e 
 
 " I shall be grateful to you all my life, old dame," said the 
 princess, "if you will tell me what is the matter with my 
 husband. Why is he a pig by day and a human being by 
 night?" 
 
 " I was just going to tell you that one thing, my dear, to* 
 show you what a good fortune-teller I am. If you like, I 
 will give you an herb to break the spell." 
 
 " If you will only give it to me," said the princess, " I will 
 give you anything you choose to ask for, for I cannot bear 
 to see him in this state." 
 
 "Here, then, my dear child," said the witch, "take this 
 thread, but do not let him know about it, for if he did it 
 would lose its healing power. At night, when he is asleen. 
 you must get up very quietly and fasten the thread round 
 his left foot as firmly as possible; and you will see in the 
 morning he will not have changed back into a pig, but will 
 still be a man. I do not want any reward. I shall be suffi- 
 ciently repaid by knowing that you are happy. It almost 
 breaks my heart to think of all you have suffered, and I only 
 wish I had known it sooner, as I should have come to your 
 rescue at once." 
 
 When the old witch had gone away the princess hid the 
 thread verv carefully, and at mVM she g^t nn ouietlv. and 
 with a beating heart she bound the thread round her bus* 
 
112 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 band's foot. Just as she was pulling the knot tight there was 
 a crack and the thread broke, for it was rotten. 
 
 Her husband awoke with a start, and said to her, " Un- 
 happy woman, what have you done? Three days more and 
 this unholy spell would have fallen from me, and now, who 
 knows how long I may have to go about in this disgusting 
 shape? I must leave you at once and we will not meet 
 again until you have worn out three pairs of iron shoes and 
 blunted a steel staff in your search for me." So saying, he 
 disappeared. 
 
 Now, when the princess was left alone she began to weep 
 and moan in a way that was pitiful to hear; but when she 
 saw that her tears and groans did her no good she got up, 
 determined to go wherever fate should lead her. 
 
 On reaching a town the first thing she did was to order 
 three pairs of iron sandals and a steel staff, and having made 
 these preparations for her journey she set out in search of 
 her husband. On and on she wandered over nine seas and 
 across nine continents; through forests with trees whose 
 stems were as thick as beer barrels; stumbling and knock- 
 ing herself against the fallen branches, then picking herself 
 up and going on; the boughs of the trees hit her face, and 
 the shrubs tore her hands, but on she went, and never looked 
 back. At last, wearied with her long journey and worn out 
 and overcome with sorrow, but still with hope at her heart, 
 she reached a house. 
 
 Now who do you think lived there ? The moon. 
 
 The princess knocked at the door and begged to be let in 
 that she might rest a little. The mother of the moon, when 
 she saw her sad plight, felt a great pity for her, and took her 
 in and nursed and tended her. And while she was here the 
 princess had a little baby. 
 
 One day the mother of the moon asked her: 
 
 "How was it possible for you, a mortal, to get hither to 
 the house of the moon ? " 
 
 Then the poor princess told her all that happened to her, 
 and added : " I shall always be thankful to heaven for lead- 
 ing me hither, and grateful to you that you took pity on me 
 and on my baby, and did not leave us to die. Now I beg one 
 last favor of you; can your daughter, the moon, tell me 
 where my husband is ? " 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 113 
 
 " She cannot tell yon that, my child," replied the goddess, 
 " but if you will travel toward the east, until you reach the 
 dwelling of the sun, he may be able to tell you something." 
 
 Then she gave the princess a roast chicken to eat, and 
 warned her to be very careful not to lose any of the bones, 
 because they might be of great use to her. 
 
 When the princess had thanked her once more for her hos- 
 pitality and for her good advice, and had thrown away one 
 pair of shoes that were worn out, and had put on a second 
 pair, she tied up the chicken bones in a bundle, and taking 
 her baby in her arms and her staff in her hand, she set out 
 once more on her wanderings. 
 
 On and on and on she went across bare sandy deserts, 
 where the roads were so heavy that for every two steps she 
 took forward she fell back one; but she struggled on till she 
 had passed these dreary plains; next she crossed high, rocky 
 mountains, jumping from crag to crag and from peak to 
 peak. Sometimes she would rest for a little on a mountain, 
 and then start afresh always further and further on. She 
 had to cross swamps and to scale mountain peaks covered 
 with flints, so that her feet and knees and elbows were all torn 
 and bleeding, and sometimes she came to a precipice across 
 which she could not jump, and she had to crawl round on 
 hands and knees, helping herself along with her staff. At 
 length, wearied to death, she reached the palace in which 
 the sun lived. She knocked and begged for admission. The 
 mother of the sun opened the door and was astonished at be- 
 holding a mortal from the distant earthly shores, and wept 
 with pity when she heard of all she had suffered. Then, hav- 
 ing promised to ask her son about the princess's husband, she 
 hid her in the cellar, so that the sun might notice nothing 
 on his return home, for he was always in a bad temper when 
 he came in at night. 
 
 The next day the princess feared that things would not 
 go well with her, for the sun had noticed that someone from 
 the other world had been in the palace. But the mother had 
 soothed him with soft words, assuring him that this was not 
 so. So the princess took heart when she saw how kindly 
 she was treated, and asked: 
 
 " But how in the world is it possible for the sun to be 
 angry? He is so beautiful and so good to mortals." 
 
114 
 
 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 " This is how it happens," replied the sun's mother. " In 
 the morning when he stands at the gates of paradise he is 
 happy, and smiles on the whole world, but during the day he 
 gets cross because he sees all the evil deeds of men, and that 
 is why his heat becomes so scorching; but in the evening he 
 is both sad and angry, for he stands at the gates of death; 
 that is his usual course. From there he comes back here." 
 
 She then told the princess that she had asked about her 
 husband, but that her son had replied that he knew nothing 
 about him, and that her only hope was to go and inquire of 
 the wind. 
 
 Before the princess left the mother of the sun gave her 
 a roast chicken to eat, and advised her to take great care of 
 
 the bones, which she did, 
 wrapping them up in a bun- 
 dle. She then threw away 
 her second pair of shoes, 
 which were quite worn out, 
 and with her child on her 
 arm and her staff in her 
 hand, she set forth on her 
 way to the wind. 
 
 In these wanderings she 
 met with even greater diffi- 
 culties than before, for she 
 came upon one mountain of 
 flints after another, out of 
 which tongues of fire would 
 flame up ; she passed through 
 woods which had never been 
 trodden by human foot, and 
 had to cross fields of ice and 
 avalanches of snow. The 
 poor woman nearly died of 
 these hardships, but she kept a brave heart, and at length she 
 reached an enormous cave in the side of the mountain. This 
 was where the wind lived. There was a little door in the rail- 
 ing in front of the cave, and here the princess knocked and 
 begged for admission. The mother of the wind had pity on 
 her and took her in, that she might rest a little. Here, too, 
 she was hidden away, so that the wind might not notice her. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 115 
 
 The next morning the mother of the wind told her that 
 her husband was living in a thick wood, so thick that no ax 
 had been able to cut a way through it ; here he had built him- 
 self a sort of house by placing trunks of trees together and 
 fastening them with withes, and here he lived alone, shun- 
 ning human kind. 
 
 After the mother of the wind had given the princess a 
 chicken to eat, and had warned her to take care of the bones, 
 she advised her to go by the Milky Way, which at night lies 
 across the sky, and to wander on till she reached her goal. 
 
 Having thanked the old woman with tears in her eyes for 
 her hospitality, and for the good news she had given her, the 
 princess set out on her journey and rested neither night nor 
 day, so great was her longing to see her husband again. On 
 and on she walked until her last pair of shoes fell in pieces. 
 So she threw them away, and went on with bare feet, not 
 heeding the bogs nor the thorns that wounded her nor the 
 stones that bruised her At last she reached a beautiful 
 green meadow on the edge of a wood. Her heart was cheered 
 by the sight of the flowers and the soft cool grass, and she sat 
 down and rested for a little. But hearing the birds chirping 
 to their mates among the trees made her think with long- 
 ing of her husband, and she wept bitterly, and taking her 
 child in her arms, and her bundle of chicken bones on her 
 shoulder, she entered the wood. 
 
 For three days and three nights she struggled through it, 
 but could find nothing. She was quite worn out with weari- 
 ness and hunger, and even her staff was no further help to 
 her, for in her many wanderings it had become quite blunted. 
 She almost gave up in despair, but made one last great 
 effort, and suddenly in a thicket she came upon the sort of 
 house that the mother of the wind had described. It had no 
 windows, and the door was up in the roof. Round the house 
 she went in search of steps, but could find none. What was 
 she to do? How was she to get in? She thought and 
 thought, and tried in vain to climb up to the door. Then 
 suddenly she bethought her of the chicken bones that she 
 had dragged all that weary way, and she said to herself: 
 " They would not all have told me to take such good care of 
 these bones if they had not had some reason for doing so. 
 Perhaps now, in my hour of need, they may be of use to me." 
 
116 
 
 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 So she took the bones out of her bundle, and having 
 thought for a moment she placed the two ends together. To 
 her surprise they stuck tight ; then she added the other bones 
 till she had two long poles the height of the house ; these she 
 placed against the wall at a distance of a yard from one an- 
 other. Across them she placed the other bones, piece by 
 piece, like the steps of a ladder. As soon as one step was 
 finished she stood upon it and made the next one, and then 
 the next, till she was close to the door. But just as she got 
 near the top she noticed that there were no bones left for 
 the last rung of the ladder. What was she to do? Without 
 that last step the whole ladder was useless. She must have 
 lost one of the bones. Then sud- 
 denly an idea came to her. Taking 
 a knife she chopped off her little 
 finger, and placing it on the last 
 step, it stuck as the bones had 
 done. The ladder was complete, 
 and with her child on her arm she 
 entered the door of the house. 
 Here she found everything in per- 
 fect order. Having taken some 
 food, ghe laid the child down to 
 sleep in a trough, and sat down 
 herself to rest. 
 
 When her husband, the pig, 
 came back to his house, he was 
 startled by what he saw. At first 
 he could not believe his eyes, and 
 stared at the ladder of bones, and 
 at the little finger on top of it. He 
 felt that some fresh magic must be 
 at work, and in his terror he almost 
 turned away from the house; but 
 then a better idea came to him and 
 he changed himself into a dove, so that no witchcraft could 
 have power over him. and flew into the room with out touch- 
 ing the ladder. Here he found a woman rocking a child. At 
 the sight of her, looking so changed by all that she had suf- 
 fered for his sake, his heart was moved by such love and 
 pity that he suddenly became a man. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 117 
 
 The princess stood up when she saw him, and her heart 
 beat with fear, for she did not know him. But when he had 
 told her who he was, in her great joy she forgot all her suf- 
 ferings, and they seemed as nothing to her. He was a very 
 handsome man, as straight as a fir tree. They sat down to- 
 gether and she told him all her adventures, and he wept at 
 the tale. And then he told her his own history. 
 
 " I am a king's son. Once when my father was fighting 
 against some dragons who were the scourge of our country, 
 I slew the youngest dragon. His mother, who was a witch, 
 cast a spell over me and changed me into a pig. It was she 
 who in the disguise of an old woman gave you the thread to 
 bind round my foot. So that instead of the three days that 
 had to run before the spell was broken, I was forced to re- 
 main a pig for three more years. Now that we have suffered 
 for each other and have found each other again, let us for- 
 get the past." 
 
 Next morning they set out early to return to his father's 
 kingdom. Great was the rejoicing of all the people when 
 they saw him and his wife; his father and his mother em- 
 braced them both, and there was feasting in the palace 
 for three days and three nights. 
 
 Then they set out to see her father. The old king nearly 
 went out of his mind with joy at seeing his daughter again. 
 When she had told him all her adventures, he said to her : 
 
 " Did I not tell you that I was quite sure that that creature 
 who wooed and won you as his wife had not been born a 
 pig ? You see, my child, how wise you were in doing what I 
 told you." 
 
 And as the king was old and had no heirs, he put them 
 on the throne in his place. And they ruled as only kings 
 rule who have suffered many things. And if they are not 
 dead they are still living and ruling happily. 
 
 THE NOKKA. 
 
 Once upon a time there lived a king and queen. They had 
 three sons, two of them with their wits about them, but the 
 third a simpleton. Now the king had a deer park in which 
 were quantities of wild animals of different kinds. Into that 
 
118 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 park there used to come a huge beast norka was its name 
 and do fearful mischief, devouring some of the animals evei-y 
 night. The king did all he could, but was unable to destroy 
 it. So at last he called his sons together and said : " Who- 
 ever will destroy the norka, to him will I give the half of 
 my kingdom." 
 
 Well, the eldest son undertook the task. As soon as it was 
 night he took his weapons and set out. But before he reached 
 the park he went into a traktir (tavern), and there he spent 
 the whole night in revelry. When he came to his senses 
 it was too late, the day had already dawned. He felt himself 
 disgraced in the eyes of his father, but there was no help for 
 it. The next day the second son went, and did just the same. 
 Their father scolded them both soundly and there was an 
 end of it. 
 
 Well, on the third day the youngest son undertook the 
 task. They all laughed him to scorn because he was so stu- 
 pid, feeling sure he wouldn't do anything. But he took his 
 arms and went straight into the park and sat down on the 
 grass in such a position that the moment he went asleep his 
 weapons would prick him, and he would awake. 
 
 Presently the midnight hour sounded. The earth began 
 to shake, and the norka came rushing up and burst right 
 through the fence into the park, so huge was it. 
 
 The prince pulled himself together, leaped to his feet, 
 crossed himself and went straight at the beast. It fled back 
 and the prince ran after it. But he soon saw that he couldn't 
 catch it on foot, so he hastened off to the stable, laid his 
 hands on the best horse there, and set off in pursuit. Pres- 
 ently he came up with the beast and they began a fight. They 
 fought and fought; the prince gave the beast three wounds. 
 At last they were both utterly exhausted, so they lay down to 
 take a short rest. But the moment the prince closed his 
 eyes, up jumped the beast and took to flight. The prince's 
 horse awoke him; up he jumped again in a moment, and set 
 off again in pursuit, caught up the beast and began fighting 
 with it. Again the prince gave the beast three wounds, and 
 then he and the beast lay down again to rest. Thereupon 
 away fled the beast as before. The prince caught it up and 
 again gave it three wounds. But all of a sudden, just as the 
 prince began chasing it for the fourth time, the beast fled 
 
THE RE1> FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 11* 
 
 1m a great white stone, tilted it tip and escaped into the other 
 irorid, crying out to the prince : " Then only will you over- 
 tome me when you enter here." 
 
 The prince went home, told his father all that had hap- 
 pened, and asked him to have a leather rope plaited long 
 enough to reach to the other world. His father ordered this 
 to be done. When the rope was made the prince called for 
 his brothers, and he and they, having taken servants with 
 Them, and everything that was needed for a whole year, set 
 out for the place where the beast had disappeared under the 
 stone. When they got there they built a palace on the spot, 
 and lived in it for some time. But when everything was 
 
 ;ady the youngest brother said to the others : " Now, 
 >rothers, who is going to lift this stone ? " 
 
 Neither of them could as much as stir it, but as soon as 
 le touched it, away it flew to a distance, though it was ever 
 big big as a hill. And when he had flung the stone 
 aside, he spoke a second time to his brothers, saying: 
 
 " Who is going into the other world to overcome the 
 novka ? " 
 
 Neither of them offered to do so. Then he laughed at them 
 for being such cowards, and said: 
 
 " Well, brothers, farewell ! Lower me into the other world 
 
120 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 and don't go away from here, but as soon as the cord is 
 jerked, pull it up." 
 
 His brothers lowered him accordingly, and when he had 
 reached the other world underneath the earth, he went on his 
 way. He walked and walked. Presently he espied a horse 
 with rich trappings, and it said to him: 
 
 " Hail, Prince Ivan ! Long have I awaited thee ! " 
 
 He mounted the horee and rode on rode and rode, until 
 he saw a palace before him made of copper. He entered 
 the court-yard, tied up his horse, and went indoors. In one 
 o* the rooms a dinner was laid out. He sat down and dined 
 and then went into a bedroom. There he found a bed, on 
 which he lay down to rest. Presently there came a lady, more 
 beautiful than can be imagined anywhere but in a fairy 
 tale, who said: 
 
 " Thou who art in my house, name thyself ! If thou art 
 an old man thou shalt be my father; if a middle-aged man, 
 my brother; but if a young man thou shalt be my husband 
 dear. And if thou art a woman, and an old one, thou shalt 
 be my grandmother; if middle-aged, my mother; and if a 
 girl, thou shalt be my own sister." 
 
 Thereupon he came forth. And when she sav him she 
 was delighted with him, and said: 
 
 "Wherefore, O Prince Ivan my husband dear shalt thou 
 be ! wherefore hast thou come hither ? " 
 
 Then he told her all that had happened, and she said : 
 
 " That beast which thou wishest to overcome is my* 
 brother. He is staying just now with my second sister, who 
 lives not far from here in a silver palace. I bound up three 
 of the wounds which thou didst give him." 
 
 Well, after this they drank and enjoyed themselves, and 
 held sweet converse together, and then the prince took leave 
 of her and then went on to the second sister, the one who 
 lived in the silver palace, and with her also he stayed awhile. 
 She told him that her brother norka was then at her young- 
 est sister's. So he went on to the youngest sister, who lived 
 in a golden palace. She told him that her brother was at. 
 that time asleep on the blue sea, and she gave him a sword 
 of steel and a draught of the water of strength, and she told 
 him to cut off her brother's head at a single stroke. And 
 when he had heard these things he went his way. 
 
THE EED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 121 
 
 And when the prince had come to the blue sea, he looked 
 there slept the norka on a stone in the middle of the sea; 
 and when it snored the water was agitated for seven miles 
 around. The prince crossed himself, went up to it, and 
 smote it on the head with his sword. The head jumped off, 
 saying the while, "Well, I'm done for now!" and rolled 
 far away into the sea. 
 
 After killing the beast the prince went back again, picking 
 up all the three sisters by the way, with the intention of 
 
 taking them out into the upper world : for they all loved him 
 and would not be separated from him. Each of them turned 
 her palace into an egg for they were all enchantresses 
 ^nd they taught him how to change the eggs into palaces, 
 and back again, and they handed over the eggs to him And 
 they all went to the place from which they had to be hoisted 
 into the upper world. And when they nam* tc where the 
 
122 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 rope was the prince took hold of it and made the maidens 
 fast to it. Then he jerked at the rope and his brothers be- 
 gan to haul it up. And when they had hauled it up and had 
 set eyes on the wondrous maidens, they went aside and said : 
 " Let's lower the rope, pull our brother part of the way up, 
 and then cut the rope. Perhaps he'll be killed; but then if 
 he isn't he'll never give us these beauties as wives." 
 
 So when they had agreed on this they lowered the rope. 
 But their brother was no fool ; he guessed what they were at, 
 so he fastened the rope to a stone, and then gave it a pull. 
 His brothers hoisted the stone to a great height, and then cut 
 the rope. Down fell the stone and broke in pieces ; the prince 
 poured forth tears and went away. Well, he walked and 
 walked. Presently a storm arose; the lightning flashed, the 
 thunder roared, the rain fell in torrents. He went up to a 
 tree in order to take shelter under it, and on that tree he 
 saw some young birds which were being thoroughly 
 drenched. So he took off his coat and covered them over 
 with it, and he himself sat down under the tree. Presently 
 there came a flying bird such a big one that the light was 
 blotted out by it. It had been dark there before, but now 
 it became darker still. Now this was the mother of those 
 small birds which the prince had covered up. And when the 
 bird had come flying up, she perceived that her little ones 
 were covered over, and she said : " Who has wrapped up my 
 nestlings ? " and presently, seeing the prince, she added : 
 " Didst thou do that ? Thanks ! In return, ask of me any- 
 thing thou desirest. I will do anything for thee." 
 
 " Then carry me into the other world," he replied. 
 
 " Make me a large vessel with a partition in the middle," 
 she said ; " catch all sorts of game and put them into one 
 half of it, and into the other half pour water; so that there 
 may be meat and drink for me." 
 
 All this the prince did. Then the bird having taken 
 the vessel on her back, with the prince sitting in the mid- 
 dle of it began to fly. And after flying some distance she 
 brought him to his journey's end, took leave of him, and 
 flew away back. But he went to the house of a certain tailor 
 and engaged himself as his servant. So much the worse for 
 wear was he, so thoroughly had he altered in appearance, 
 that nobody would have suspected him of being a prince. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 123 
 
 Having entered into the service of this master, the prince 
 began to ask what was going on in that country. And nis 
 master replied : " Our two princes for the third one has dis- 
 appeared have brought away brides from the other world, 
 and want to marry them, but those brides refuse. For they 
 insist on having all their wedding-clothes made for them 
 first, exactly like those which they used to have in the other 
 world, and that without being measured for them. The king 
 has called all the workmen together, but not one of them 
 will undertake to do it." 
 
 The prince, having heard all this, said : " Go to the king, 
 master, and tell him that you will provide everything that's 
 in your line." 
 
 " How can I undertake to make clothes of that sort ? I 
 work for quite common folks," says his master. 
 
 " Go along, master ! I will answer for everything," says 
 the prince. 
 
 So the tailor went. The king was delighted that at least 
 one good workman had been found, and gave him as much 
 money as ever, he wanted. When his tailor had settled 
 everything, he went home. And the prince said to him: 
 
 " Now then, pray to God, and lie down to sleep ; to-morrow 
 all will be ready." And the tailor followed his lad's advice 
 and went to bed. 
 
 Midnight sounded. The prince arose, went out of the city 
 into the fields, took out of his pocket the eggs which the 
 maidens had given him, and, as they had taught him, turned 
 them into three palaces. Into each of these he entered, took 
 the maidens' robes, went out again, turned the palaces back 
 into eggs, and went home. And when he got there he hung 
 up the robes on the wall and lay down to sleep. 
 
 Early in the morning his master awoke, and, behold ! there 
 hung such robes as he had never seen before, all shining with 
 gold and silver and precious stones. He was delighted, and 
 he seized them and carried them off to the king. When the 
 princesses saw that the clothes were those which had been 
 theirs in the other world, they guessed that Prince Ivan was 
 in this world, so they exchanged glances with each other, 
 but they held their peace. And the master, having handed 
 over the clothes, went home, but he no longer found his dear 
 journeyman there. For the prince had gone to a shoemaker's 1 
 
124 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 and him, too, he sent to work for the king; and in the same 
 way he went the round of all the artificers, and they all 
 proffered him thanks, inasmuch as through him they were 
 enriched by the king. 
 
 By the time the princely workman had gone the round of 
 all the artificers the princesses had received what they had 
 asked for ; all their clothes were just like what they had been 
 in the other world. Then they wept bitterly because the 
 prince had not come, and it was impossible for them to hold 
 out any longer; it was necessary that they should be mar- 
 ried. But when they were ready for the wedding, the young- 
 est bride said to the king: 
 
 " Allow me, my father, to go and give alms to the beggars." 
 
 He gave her leave, and she went and began bestowing alms 
 upon them, and examining them closely. And when she had 
 come to one of them, and was going to give him some money 
 she caught sight of the ring which she had given to the 
 prince in the other world, and her sister's rings too for it 
 really was he. So she seized him by the hand, and brought 
 him into the hall, and said to the king: 
 
 " Here is he who brought us out of the other world. His 
 brothers forbade us to say that he was alive, threatening to 
 slay us if we did." 
 
 Then the king was wrath with those sons, and punished 
 them as he thought best. And afterward three weddings 
 were celebrated. 
 
 THE WONDEKFUL BIECH* 
 
 i 
 Once upon a time there were a man and a woman, who had 
 
 an only daughter. Now it happened that one of their sheep 
 
 went astray, and they set out to look for it, and searched, 
 
 each in a different part of the wood. Then the good wife met 
 
 a witch, who said to her: 
 
 " If you spit, you miserable creature, if you spit into the 
 
 sheath of my knife, or' if you run between my legs, I shall 
 
 change you into a black sheep." 
 
 The woman neither spat, nor did she run between her legs, 
 
 but yet the witch changed her into a sheep. Then she made 
 * From the Russo-Karelian. 
 
 / 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 125 
 
 herself look exactly like the woman, and called out to the 
 good man: 
 
 "Ho, old man, halloo! I have found the sheep already!" 
 
 The man thought the witch was really his wife, and he did 
 not know that his wife was the sheep; so he went home with 
 her, glad at heart because his sheep was found. When they 
 were safe at home the witch said to the man : 
 
 " Look here, old man, we must really kill that sheep lest V 
 it run away to the wood again." 
 
 The man, who was a peaceable, quiet sort of fellow, made 
 no objection, but simply said: ~ 
 
 " Good, let us do so." 
 
 The daughter, however, overheard their talk, and she ran 
 to the flock and lamented aloud: 
 
 " Oh, dear little mother, they are going to slaughter you ! " >C 
 
 "Well, then, if they do slaughter me," was the black \/ 
 sheep's answer, " eat you neither the meat nor the broth that ' 
 is made of me, but gather all my bones and bury them by 
 the edge of the field." 
 
 Shortly after this they took the black sheep from the flock 
 and slaughtered it. The witch made pea soup of it and set it 
 before the daughter. But the girl remembered her mother's 
 warning. She did not touch the soup, but she carried the 
 bones to the edge of the field and buried them there: and 
 there sprang up on the spot a birch tree a very lovely birch 
 tree. 
 
 Some time had passed away who can tell how long they 
 might have been living there? when the witch, to whom a 
 child had been born in the meantime, began to take an ill- 
 will to the man's daughter, and to torment her in all sorts 
 of ways. 
 
 !Now it happened that a great festival was to be held at 
 the palace, and the king had commanded that all the people 
 should be invited, and that this proclamation should be 
 made: 
 
 " Come, people all! 
 Poor and wretched, one and all! 
 Blind and crippled though ye be, 
 Mount your steeds or come by sea." 
 
 And so they drove to the king's feast all the outcasts, and 
 the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. In the good man'a 
 
126 THE KED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 house, too, preparations were made to go to the palace. The 
 witch said to the man: 
 
 " Go you on in front, old man, with our youngest ; I will 
 give the elder girl work to keep her from being dull in our 
 absence." 
 
 So the man took the child and set out. But the witch 
 kindled a fire on the hearth, threw a potful of barleycorns 
 among the cinders, and said to the girl : 
 
 " If you have not picked the barley out of the ashes and 
 X put it all back in the pot before nightfall, I shall eat you 
 up!" 
 
 Then she hastened after the others, and the poor girl 
 titayed at home and wept. She tried to be sure to pick up 
 the grains of barley, but she soon saw how useless her labor 
 was; and so she went in her sore trouble to the birch tree on 
 her mother's grave, and cried and cried, because her mother 
 lay dead beneath the sod and could help her no longer. In 
 the midst of her grief she suddenly heard her mother's 
 voice speak from the grave and say to her: 
 
 " Why do you weep, little daughter ? " 
 
 " The witch has scattered barleycorns on the hearth, and 
 bid me pick them out of the ashes," said the girl ; " that is 
 why I weep, dear little mother." 
 
 " Do not weep," said her mother consolingly. " Break off 
 one of my branches and strike the hearth with it crossways, 
 and all will be put right." 
 
 The girl did so. She struck the hearth with the birchen 
 branch, and lo! the barleycorns flew into the pot, and the 
 hearth was clean. Then she went back to the birch tree and 
 laid the branch upon the grave. Then her mother bade her 
 bathe on one side of the stem, dry herself on another, and 
 dress on the third. When the girl had done all that she had 
 grown so lovely that no one on earth could rival her. Splen- 
 did clothing was given to her, and a horse, with hair partly 
 of gold, partly of silver, and partly of something more pre- 
 cious still. The girl sprang into the saddle, and rode as 
 swift as an arrow to the palace. As she turned into the 
 court-yard of the castle the king's son came out to meet her, 
 tied her steed to a pillar, and led her in. He never left her 
 side as they passed through the castle rooms; and all the 
 people gazed at her, and wondered who the lovely maiden 
 
THE EED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 127 
 
 was, and from what castle she came; but no one knew her 
 no one knew anything about her. At the banquet the prince 
 invited her to sit next to him in the place of honor; but the 
 witch's daughter gnawed the bones under the table. The 
 prince did not see her, and thinking it was a dog, he gave 
 her such a push with his foot that her arm was broken. Are 
 
 you not sorry for the witch's daughter ? It was not her fault 
 that her mother was a witch. 
 
 Toward evening the good man's daughter thought it was 
 time to go home; but as she went her ring caught on the 
 latch of the door, for the king's son had had it smeared 
 with tar. She did not take time to pull it off, but, hastily 
 unfastening her horse from the pillar, she rode away beyond 
 the castle walls as swift as an arrow. Arrived at home she 
 took off her clothes by the birch tree, left her horse standing 
 there, and hastened to her place behind the stove. In a short 
 time the man and the woman came home again too, and the 
 witch said to the girl : 
 
 "Ah! you poor thing, there you are, to be sure! You 
 don't know what fine times we have had at the palace ! The 
 
128 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 king's son carried my daughter about, but the poor thing 
 fell and broke her arm." 
 
 The girl knew well how matters really stood, but she pre- 
 tended to know nothing about it, and sat dumb behind the 
 stove. 
 
 The next day they were invited again to the king's ban- 
 quet. 
 
 "Hey, old man," said the witch, "get on your clothes as 
 quick as you can ; we are bidden to the feast. Take you the 
 child ; I will give the other one work, lest she weary." 
 
 She kindled the fire, threw a potful of hemp seed among 
 the ashes, and said to the girl: 
 
 " If you do not get this sorted, and all the seed back into 
 the pot, I shall kill you ! " 
 
 The girl wept bitterly; then she went to the birch tree, 
 washed herself on one side of it and dried herself on the 
 other; and this time still finer clothes were given to her, 
 and a very beautiful steed. She broke off a branch of the 
 birch tree, struck the hearth with it, so that the seeds flew 
 into the pot, and then hastened to the castle. 
 
 Again the king's son came out to meet her, tied her horse 
 to a pillar, and led her into the banqueting hall. At the feast 
 the girl sat next him in the place of honor, as she had done 
 the day before. But the witch's daughter gnawed bones un- 
 der the table, and the prince gave her a push by mistake, 
 which broke her leg he had never noticed her crawling 
 about among the people's feet. She was very unlucky! 
 
 The good man's daughter hastened home again betimes, 
 but the king's son had smeared the door-posts with tar, and 
 the girl's golden circlet stuck to it. She had not time to 
 look for it, but sprang to the saddle and rode like an arrow 
 to the birch tree. There she left her horse and her fine 
 clothes, and said to her mother : 
 
 "I have lost my circlet at the castle; the door-post was 
 tarred, and it stuck fast." 
 
 "And even had you lost two of them," answered her 
 mother, " I would give you finer ones." 
 
 Then the girl hastened home, and when her father came 
 home from the feast with the witch, she was in her usual 
 place behind the stove. Then the witch said to her: 
 
 " You poor tiring ! what is there to see here compared with 
 
THE EEJj *AIRY BOOK. 129 
 
 what we have seen at the palace ? The king's son carried my 
 daughter from one room to another; he let her fall, 'tis 
 true, and my child's foot was broken." 
 
 The man's daughter held her peace all the time, and 
 busied herself about the hearth. 
 
 The night passed, and when the day began to dawn, the 
 witch awakened her husband, crying : 
 
 " Hi ! get up, old man ! We are bidden to the banquet." 
 
 So the old man got up. Then the witch gave him the 
 child, saying: 
 
 "Take you the little one; I will give the other girl work ' 
 to do, else she will weary at home alone." 
 
 She did as usual. This time it was a dish of milk ohe 
 poured upon the ashes, saying: 
 
 " If you do not get all the milk into the dish again before \J 
 I come home, you will suffer for it." 
 
 How frightened the girl was this time! She ran to the 
 birch tree, and by its magic power her task was accom- 
 plished; and then she rode away to the palace as before. 
 When she got to the court-yard she found the prince waiting 
 for her. He led her into the hall, where she was highly 
 honored; but the witch's daughter sucked the bones under 
 the table, and crouching at the people's feet she got an eye 
 knocked out, poor thing ! Now no one knew any more than 
 before about the good man's daughter, no one knew whence 
 she came; but the prince had had the threshold smeared with 
 tar, and as she fled her gold slippers stuck to it. She reached 
 the birch tree and laying aside her finery, she said: 
 
 " Alas ! dear little mother, I have lost my gold slippers ! " ^ 
 
 " Let them be," was her mother's reply ; " if you need them 
 I shall give you finer ones." 
 
 Scarcely was she in her usual place behind the stove when 
 her father came home with the witch. Immediately the 
 witch began to mock her, saying : 
 
 " Ah ! you poor thing, there is nothing for you to see w 
 here, and we ah! what great things we have seen at the 
 palace ! My little girl was carried about again, but had the 
 ill-luck to fall and get her eye knocked out. You stupid 
 thing, you, what do you know about anything?" 
 
 " Yes, indeed, what can I know ? " replied the girl ; " I had >J 
 enough to do to get the hearth clean." 
 

 
 y- 
 
 130 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 Now the prince had kept all the things the girl had lost, 
 and he soon set about finding the owner of them. For this 
 purpose a great banquet was given on the fourth day, and all 
 the people were invited to the palace. , The witch got ready 
 to go too. She tied a wooden beetle on where her child's 
 foot should have been, a log of wood instead of an arm, and 
 stuck a bit of dirt in the empty socket for an eye, and took 
 the child with her to the castle. When all the people were 
 gathered together the king's son stepped in among the crowd 
 and cried: 
 
 v " The maiden whose finger this ring slips over, whose head 
 this golden hoop encircles, and whose foot this shoe fits, shall 
 be my bride." 
 
 What a great trying on there was now among them all! 
 The things would fit no one, however. 
 
 " The cinder wench is not here," said the prince at last ; 
 " go and fetch her and let her try on the things." 
 
 So the girl was fetched, and the prince was just going to 
 hand the ornaments to her, when the witch held him back, 
 saying : 
 
 "Don't give them to her; she soils everything with cin- 
 ders; give them to my daughter, rather." 
 
 Well, then the prince gave the witch's daughter the ring, 
 and the woman filed and pared away at her daughter's finger 
 till the ring fitted. It was the same with the circlet and 
 shoes of gold. The witch would not allow them to be handed 
 to the cinder wench; she worked at her own daughter's head 
 and feet till she got the things forced on. What was to be 
 done now? The prince had to take the witch's daughter for 
 his bride, whether he would or no; he sneaked away to her 
 father's house with her, however, for he was ashamed to 
 hold the wedding festivities at the palace with so strange a 
 bride. Some days passed, and at last he had to take his 
 bride home to the palace, and he got ready to do so. Just as 
 they were taking leave the kitchen wench sprang down from 
 her place by the stove, on the pretext of fetching some- 
 thing from the cow-house, and in going by she whispered in 
 the prince's ear as he stood in the yard : 
 
 " Alas, dear prince, do not rob me of my silver and my 
 gold." 
 
 Thereupon the king's son recognized the cinder wench; 
 
THE BED FAIEY BOOK. 131 
 
 so lie took both the girls with him, and set out. After they 
 had gone some little way they came to the bank of a 
 river, and the prince threw the witch's daughter across to 
 serve as a bridge, and so got over with the cinder wench. 
 There lay the witch's daughter, then, like a bridge over the 
 river, and could not stir, though her heart was consumed 
 with grief. No help was near, so she cried at last in her 
 anguish : 
 
 " May there grow a golden hemlock out of my body ! per- \J 
 haps my mother will know me by that token." 
 
 Scarcely had she spoken when a golden hemlock sprang up 
 from her, and stood upon the bridge. 
 
 Now, as soon as the prince had got rid of the witch's 
 daughter he greeted the cinder wench as his bride, and they 
 wandered together to the birch tree which grew upon the 
 mother's grave. There they received all sorts of treasures 
 and riches, three sacks full of gold, and as much silver, and 
 a splendid steed which bore them home to the palace. ' There 
 they lived a long time together, and the young wife bore a 
 son to the prince. Immediately word was brought to the 
 witch that her daughter had borne a son for they all be- 
 lieved the young king's wife to be the witch's daughter. 
 
 " So, so," said the witch to herself ; " I had better away ^ 
 with my gift for the infant then." 
 
 And so saying, she set out. Thus it happened that she 
 came to the bank of the river, and there she saw the beautiful 
 golden hemlock growing in the middle of the bridge, and 
 when she began to cut it down to take to her grandchild, she 
 heard a voice moaning: v, 
 
 " Alas ! dear mother, do not cut me so ! " 
 
 " Are you here ? " demanded the witch. ^ 
 
 " Indeed I am, dear little mother," answered the daughter. 
 " They threw me across the river to make a bridge of 
 me." 
 
 In a moment the witch had the bridge shivered to atoms, 
 and then she hastened away to the palace. Stepping up to 
 the young queen's bed she began to try her magic arts upon 
 her, saying: 
 
 " Spit, you wretch, on the blade of my knife ; bewitch my 
 knife blade for me, and I shall change you into a reindeer 
 of the forest." 
 
132 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 "Are you there again to bring trouble upon me?" said 
 the young woman. 
 
 She neither spat nor did anything else, but still the witch 
 changed her into a reindeer, and smuggled her own daughter 
 into her place as the prince's wife. But now the child gic\V 
 restless and cried, because it missed its mother's care. They 
 took it to the court and tried to pacify it in every conceiv- 
 able way, but its crying never ceased. 
 
 " What makes the child so restless ? " asked the prince, 
 and he went to a wise widow woman to ask her advice. 
 
 " Aye, aye, your own wife is not at home," said the widow 
 woman ; " she is living like a reindeer in the wood ; you have 
 the witch's daughter for a wife now, and the witch herself 
 for a mother-in-law." 
 
 " Is there any way of getting my own wife back from the 
 wood again ? " asked the prince. 
 
 " Give me the child," answered the widow woman. " I'll 
 take it with me to-morrow when I go to drive the cows to 
 the wood. I'll make a rustling among the birch leaves and 
 a trembling among the aspens perhaps the boy will grow 
 quiet when he hears it." 
 
 "Yes, take the child away, take it to the wood with you 
 to quiet it," said the prince, and led the widow woman into 
 the castle. 
 
 "How now? you are going to send the child away to the, 
 wood ? " said the witch in a suspicious tone, and tried to in- 
 terfere. 
 
 But the king's son stood firm by what he had commanded, 
 and said: 
 
 " Carry the child about the wood ; perhaps that will pacify 
 it." 
 
 So the widow woman took the child to the wood. She 
 eame to the edge of a marsh and seeing a herd of reindeer 
 there she began all at once to sing : 
 
 " Little Bright-eyes, little Redskin, 
 Come nurse the child you bore! 
 
 That blood-thirsty monster, 
 
 That man-eater grim, 
 Shall nurse him, shall tend him no more. 
 
 They may threaten and force as they will, 
 
 He turns from her, shrinks from her still." 
 
 And immediately the reindeer drew near and nursed and 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 133 
 
 tended the child the whole day long; but at nightfall it had 
 to follow the herd, and said to the widow woman: 
 
 " Bring me the child to-morrow, and again the following 
 day; after that I must wander with the herd far away to 
 other lands." 
 
 The following morning the widow woman went back to the 
 castle to fetch the child. The witch interfered, of course, 
 but the prince said: 
 
 "Take it, and carry it about in the open air; the boy is 
 quieter at night, to be sure, when he has been in the wood 
 all day." 
 
 So the widow woman took the child in her arms and car- 
 
 fied it to the marsh in the forest. There she sung, as on the 
 receding day: 
 
 * Little Bright-eyes, little Bedskin, 
 Come nurse the child you bore! 
 
 That blood-thirsty monster, 
 
 That man-eater grim, 
 Shall nurse him, shall tend him no more. 
 
 They may threaten and force as they will, 
 
 He turns from her, shrinks from her still." 
 
 And immediately the reindeer left the herd and came to the 
 child, and tended it as on the day before. And so it was that 
 the child throve, till not a finer boy was to be seen anywhere. 
 But the king's son had been pondering over all these things, 
 and he said to the widow woman: 
 
 " Is there no way of changing the reindeer into a human 
 being again ? " 
 
 " I don't rightly know," was her answer. " Come to the 
 wood with me, however; when the woman puts off her rein- 
 deer skin I shall comb her head for her; while I am doing *V 
 so you must burn the skin." 
 
 Thereupon they both went to the wood with the child; 
 scarcely were they there when the reindeer appeared and 
 nursed the child as before. Then the widow woman said to 
 the reindeer: 
 
 " Since you are going far away to-morrow, and I shall not / 
 see you again, let me comb your head for the last time, as a 
 remembrance of you." 
 
 Good ; the young woman stripped off the reindeer skin, and 
 let the widow woman do as she wished. In the meantime the 
 king's son threw the reindeer skin into the fire unobserved 
 
 K 
 
134 
 
 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 " What smells of singeing here ? " asked the young woman, 
 and looking round she saw her own husband. " Woe is me! 
 you have burned my skin. Why did you do that ? " 
 " To give you back your human form again." 
 " Alack-a-day ! I have nothing to cover me now, poor 
 creature that I am ! " cried the young woman, and trans- 
 formed herself first into a distaff, then into a wooden beetle, 
 
 then into a spindle, and into all imaginable shapes. But all 
 these shapes the king's son went on destroying till she stood 
 before him in human form again. 
 
 "Alas! wherefore take me home with you again." cried 
 the young woman, " since the witch is sure to eat me up ? " 
 
 " She will not eat you up," answered her husband ; and 
 they started for home with the child. 
 
 But when the witch wife saw them she ran away with 
 her daughter, and if she has not stopped she is running 
 still, though at a great age. And the prince, and his wife, 
 and the baby lived happy ever afterward. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 135 
 
 JACK AND THE BEANSTALK 
 
 JACK SELLS THE COW. 
 
 Once upon a time there was a poor widow who lived in a 
 little cottage with her only son Jack. 
 
 Jack was a giddy, thoughtless boy, but very kind-hearted 
 and affectionate. There had been a hard winter, and after 
 it the poor woman had suffered from fever and ague. Jack 
 did no work as yet, and by degrees they grew dreadfully poor. 
 The widow saw that there was no means of keeping Jack 
 and herself from starvation but by selling her cow, so one 
 morning she said to her son : " I am too weak to go myself, 
 Jack, so you must take the cow to market for me, and sell 
 her." 
 
 Jack liked going to market to sell the cow very much ; but 
 as he was on his way he met a butcher who had some beau- 
 tiful beans in his hand. Jack stopped to look at them, 
 and the butcher told the boy that they were of great value, 
 and persuaded the silly lad to sell the cow for these beans. 
 
 When he brought them home to his mother instead of the 
 money she expected for her nice cow, she was very vexed, 
 and shed many tears, scolding Jack for his folly. He was 
 very sorry, and mother and son went to bed very sadly that 
 night; their last hope seemed gone. 
 
 At daybreak Jack rose and went out into the garden. 
 
 " At least," he thought, " I will sow the wonderful beans. 
 Mother says that they are just plain scarlet-runners, anct 
 nothing else ; but I may as well sow them." 
 
 So he took a piece of stick and made some holes in the 
 ground, and put in the beans. 
 
 That day they had very little dinner, and went sadly to 
 bed, knowing that for the next day there would be none; 
 and Jack, unable to sleep from grief and vexation, got up 
 at day-dawn and went out into the garden. 
 
 What was his amazement to find that the beans had grown 
 up in the night, and climbed up and up till they covered the 
 high cliff that sheltered the cottage, and disappeared above 
 it ! The stalks had twined and twisted themselves until they 
 formed quite a ladder. 
 
136 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 " It would be easy to climb it," thought Jack. 
 
 And having thought of the experiment he at once re- 
 solved to carry it out, for Jack was a good climber. How- 
 ever, after his late mistake about the cow, he thought he had 
 better consult his mother first. 
 
 WONDERFUL GROWTH OF THE BEANSTALK. 
 
 So Jack called his mother, and they both gazed in silent 
 wonder at the beanstalk, which was not only of great height, 
 but was thick enough to bear Jack's weight. 
 
 "I wonder where it ends," said Jack to his mother; "I 
 think I will climb up and see." 
 
 His mother wished him not to venture up this strange 
 ladder, but Jack coaxed her to give her consent to the at- 
 tempt, for he was certain there must be something won- 
 derful in the beanstalk; so at last she yielded to his wishes. 
 
 Jack instantly began to climb, and went up and up on the 
 ladder-like stalk till everything he had left behind him the 
 cottage, the village, and even the tall church tower looked 
 quite little, and still he could not see the top of the bean- 
 stalk. 
 
 Jack felt a little tired, and thought for a moment that he 
 would go back again; but he was a very persevering boy, 
 and he knew that the way to succeed in anything is not to 
 give up. So, after resting for a moment, he went on. 
 
 After climbing higher and higher, till he grew afraid to 
 look down for fear he should be giddy, Jack at last reached 
 the top of the beanstalk, and found himself in a beautiful 
 country, finely wooded, with beautiful meadows covered 
 with sheep. A crystal stream ran through the pastures ; not 
 far from the place where he had got off the beanstalk stood 
 a fine, strong castle. 
 
 Jack wondered very much that he had never heard of or 
 seen this castle before; but when he reflected on the sub- 
 ject, he saw that it was as much separated from the village 
 by the perpendicular rock on which it stood, as if it were 
 in another land. 
 
 While Jack was standing looking at the castle a very 
 strange-looking woman came out of the wood, and advanced 
 toward him. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 137 
 
 She wore a pointed cap of quilted red satin turned up 
 with ermine, her hair streamed loose over her shoulders, and 
 she walked with a staff. Jack took off his cap and made her 
 a bow. 
 
 " If you please, ma'am," said he, " is this your house ? " 
 
 " No," said the old lady. " Listen, and I will tell you the 
 story of that castle: 
 
 " Once upon a time there was a noble knight who lived in 
 this castle, which is on the borders of fairyland. He had a 
 fair and beloved wife and several lovely children: and as 
 his neighbors the little people were very friendly toward 
 him, they bestowed on him many excellent and precious 
 gifts. 
 
 " Kumors whispered of these treasures ; and a monstrous 
 giant, who lived at no great distance, and who was a very 
 wicked being, resolved to obtain possession of them. 
 
 " So he bribed a false servant to let him inside the castle, 
 when the knight was in bed and asleep, and he killed him 
 as he lay. Then he went to the part of the castle which was 
 the nursery, and also killed all the poor little ones he found 
 there. 
 
 " Happily for her, the lady was not to be found. She had 
 gone with her infant son, who was only two or three months 
 old, to visit her old nurse, who lived in the valley; and she 
 had been detained all night there by a storm. 
 
 "The next morning, as soon as it was light, one of the 
 servants at the castle, who had managed to escape, came to 
 tell the poor lady of the sad fate of her husband and her 
 pretty babes. She could scarcely believe him at first, and 
 was eager at once to go back and share the fate of her dear 
 ones ; but the old nurse with many tears besought her to re- 
 member that she had still a child, and that it was her duty 
 to preserve her life for the sake of the poor innocent. 
 
 " The lady yielded to this reasoning and consented to re- 
 main at her nurse's house as the best place of concealment; 
 for the servant had told her that the giant had vowed, if he 
 could find her, he would kill both her and her baby. Years 
 rolled on. The old nurse died, leaving her cottage and the 
 few articles of furniture it contained to her poor lady, who 
 dwelt in it, working as a peasant for her daily bread. Her 
 epinning-wheel and the milk of a cow, which she had pur- 
 
JS THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 fcjisfcd with the little money she had with her, sufficed for 
 the scanty subsistence of herself and her little son. There 
 was a nice little garden attached to the cottage, in which 
 they cultivated peas, beans, and cabbages, and the lady was 
 not ashamed to go out at harvest time, and glean in the fields 
 to supply her little son's wants. 
 
 "Jack, that poor lady is your mother. This castle was 
 once your father's, and must again be yours." 
 
 Jack uttered a cry of surprise. 
 
 " My mother ! Oh, madam, what ought I to do ? My poor 
 father ! My dear mother ! " 
 
 " Your duty requires you to win it back for your mother. 
 But the task is a very difficult one, and full of peril, Jack. 
 Have you the courage to undertake it ? " 
 
 "I fear nothing when I am doing right," said Jack. 
 
 " Then," said the lady in the red cap, " you are one of 
 those who slay giants. You must get into the castle, and if 
 possible possess yourself of a hen that lays golden eggs, and 
 a harp that talks. Remember, all the giant possesses is really 
 yours." As she ceased speaking, the lady of the red hat sud- 
 denly disappeared, and of course Jack knew she was a fairy, 
 
 Jack determined at once to undertake the adventure; so 
 he advanced and blew the horn which hung at the castle por- 
 tal. The door was opened in a minute or two by a frightful 
 giantess, with one great eye in the middle of her forehead. 
 
 As soon as Jack saw her he turned to run away, but she 
 caught him and dragged him into the castle. 
 
 " Ho, ho ! " she laughed terribly. " You didn't expect to 
 see me here, that is clear! No, I shan't let you go again. I 
 am weary of my life. I am so overworked, I don't see 
 why I should not have a page as well as other ladies. And 
 you shall be my boy. You shall clean the knives and black 
 the boots, and make the fires, and help me generally when 
 the giant is out. When he is at home I must hide you, for 
 he has eaten up all my pages, hitherto, and you would be a 
 dainty morsel, my little lad." 
 
 While she spoke she dragged Jack right into the castle. 
 The poor boy was very much frightened, as I am sure you 
 and I would have been in his place. But he remembered that 
 fear disgraces a man; so he struggled to be brave and make 
 the best of things. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 13< 
 
 "I am quite ready to help you, and do all I can to serve 
 you, madam," he said, " only I beg you will be good enougfc 
 to hide me from your husband, for I should not like to bt 
 eaten at all." 
 
 " That's a good boy," said the giantess, nodding her head; 
 " it is lucky for you that you did not scream out when you 
 
 saw me, as the other boys who have been here did, for if you 
 had done so my husband would have awakened and have 
 eaten you, as he did them, for breakfast. Come here, child ; 
 go into my wardrobe: he never ventures to open that; you 
 will be safe there." 
 
 And she opened a huge wardrobe which stood in the great 
 hall, and shut him into it. But the keyhole was so large 
 
140 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 that it admitted plenty of air, and he could see everything 
 that took place through it. By and by he heard a heavy 
 tramp on the stairs, like the lumbering along of a great can- 
 non, and then a voice like thunder cried out : 
 
 " Fe, fa, fl-fo-fum, 
 I smell the breath of an Englishman. 
 Let him be alive or let him be dear* , 
 I'll grind his bones to make my bread." 
 
 "Wife," cried the giant, "there is a man in the castle. 
 Let me have him for breakfast." 
 
 " You are grown old and stupid," cried the lady in her 
 loud tones. " It is only a nice fresh steak off an elephant, 
 that I have cooked for you, which you smell. There, sit 
 down and make a good breakfast." 
 
 And she placed a huge dish before him of savory steaming 
 meat, which greatly pleased him and made him forget his 
 idea of an Englishman being in the castle. When he had 
 breakfasted he went out for a walk; and then the giantess 
 opened the door, and made Jack come out to help her. He 
 helped her all day. She fed him well, and when evening 
 came put him back in the wardrobe. 
 
 THE HEN THAT LAYS GOLDEN EGGS. 
 
 The giant came in to supper. Jack watched him through 
 the keyhole, and was amazed to see him pick a wolf's bone 
 and put half a fowl at a time into his capacious mouth. 
 
 When the supper was ended he bade his wife bring him his 
 hen that laid the golden eggs. 
 
 " It lays as well as it did when it belonged to that paltry 
 knight," he said ; " indeed, I think the eggs are heavier than 
 ever." 
 
 The giantess went away, and soon returned with a little 
 brown hen, which she placed on the table before her husband. 
 " And now, my dear," she said, " I am going for a walk, if 
 you don't want me any longer." 
 
 " Go," said the giant ; " I shall be glad to have a nap by 
 and by." 
 
 Then he took up the brown hen and said to her: 
 
 " Lay ! " And she instantly laid a golden egg. 
 
 " Lay ! " said the giant again. And she laid another. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 141 
 
 "Lay!" he repeated the third time. And again a goldem 
 egg lay on the table. 
 
 Now Jack was sure this hen was that of which the fairy 
 had spoken. 
 
 By and by the giant put the hen down on the floor, and 
 soon after went fast asleep, snoring so loud that it sounded 
 like thunder. 
 
 Directly Jack perceived that the giant was fast asleep, he 
 pushed open the door of the wardrobe and crept out; very 
 softly he stole across the room, and, picking up the hen, 
 made haste to quit the apartment. He knew the way to the 
 kitchen, the door of which he found was left ajar; he opened 
 it, shut and locked it after him, and flew back to the bean- 
 stalk, which he descended as fast as his feet would move. 
 
 When his mother saw him enter the house she wept for 
 joy, for she had feared that the fairies had carried him away 
 or that the giant had found him. But Jack put the brown 
 hen down before her, and told her how he had been in the 
 giant's castle, and all his adventures. She was very glad to 
 see the hen, which would make them rich once more. 
 
 THE MONEY BAGS. 
 
 Jack made another journey up the beanstalk to the giant's 
 castle one day while his mother had gone to market; but 
 first he dyed his hair and disguised himself. The old 
 woman did not know him again, and dragged him in as she 
 had done before to help her to do the work; but she heard 
 her husband coming, and hid him in the wardrobe, not 
 thinking that it was the same boy who had stolen the hen. 
 She bade him stay quite still there, or the giant would eat 
 him. 
 
 Then the giant came in, saying: 
 
 " Fe, fa, fi-fo-fum, 
 I smell the breath of an Englishman. 
 Let him be alive or let him be dead, 
 I'll grind his bones to make my bread.'* 
 
 " Nonsense ! " said the wife, " it is only a roasted bullock 
 that I thought would be a tit-bit for your supper; sit down 
 and I will bring it up at once." The giant sat down, and 
 soon his wife brought up a roasted bullock on a large dish, 
 
142 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 and they began their supper. Jack was amazed to see them 
 pick the bones of the bullock as if it had been a lark. As 
 soon as they had finished their meal the giantess rose and 
 said : 
 
 " JSTow, my dear, with your leave I am going up to my 
 room to finish the story I am reading. If you want me call 
 for me." 
 
 " First," answered the giant, " bring me my money bags, 
 that I may count my golden pieces before I sleep." The 
 giantess obeyed. She went and soon returned with two large 
 bags over her shoulders, which she put down by her hus- 
 band. 
 
 " There," she said : " that is all that is left of the knight's 
 money. When you have spent it you must go and take an- 
 other baron's castle." 
 
 " That he shan't, if I can help it," thought Jack. 
 
 The giant, when his wife was gone, took out heaps and 
 heaps of golden pieces, and counted them, and put them in 
 piles, till he was tired of the amusement. Then he swept 
 them all back into their bags, and leaning back in his chair 
 fell fast asleep, snoring so loud that no other sound was 
 audible. 
 
 Jack stole softly out of the wardrobe, and taking up the 
 bags of money (which were his very own, because the giant 
 had stolen them from his father), he ran off, and with 
 great difficulty descending the beanstalk, laid the bags of 
 gold on his mother's table. She had just returned from 
 town, and was crying at not finding Jack. 
 
 " There, mother, I have brought you the gold that my 
 father lost." 
 
 " Oh, Jack ! you are a very good boy, but I wish you would 
 not risk your precious life in the giant's castle. Tell me 
 how you came to go there again." 
 
 And Jack told her all about it. 
 
 Jack's mother was very glad to get the money, but she did 
 not like him to run any risk for her. 
 
 But after a time Jack made up his mind to go again t 
 the giant's castle. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 143 
 
 THE TALKING HARP. 
 
 So he climbed the beanstalk once more, and blew the horn 
 at the giant's gate. The giantess soon opened the door; she 
 was very stupid, and did not know him again, but she stopped 
 a minute before she took him in. She feared another rob- 
 bery; but Jack's fresh face looked so innocent that she could 
 not resist him, and so she bade him come in, and again hid 
 him away in the wardrobe. 
 
 By and by the giant came home, and as soon as he had 
 crossed the threshold he roared out : 
 
 " Fe, fa, fi-fo-fnm, 
 I smell the breath of an Englishman. 
 Let him be alive or let him be dead, 
 I'll gx-ind his bones to make my bread." 
 
 "You stupid old giant," said his wife, "you only smell a 
 nice sheep, which I have grilled for your dinner." 
 
 And the giant sat down, and his wife brought up a whole 
 sheep for his dinner. When he had eaten it all up, he said : 
 
 "Now bring me my harp, and I will have a little music 
 while you take your walk." 
 
 The giantess obeyed and returned with a beautiful harp. 
 The framework was all sparkling with diamonds and rubies, 
 and the strings were all of gold. 
 
 " This is one of the nicest things I took from the knight," 
 said the giant. " I am very fond of music, and my harp is a 
 faithful servant." 
 
 So he drew the harp toward him and said : 
 
 "Play!" 
 
 And the harp played a very soft, sad air. 
 
 " Play something merrier ! " said the giant. 
 
 And the harp played a merry tune. 
 
 " Now play me a lullaby," roared the giant ; and the harp 
 played a sweet lullaby, to the sound of which its master fell 
 asleep. 
 
 Then Jack stole softly out of the wardrobe, and went 
 into the huge kitchen to see if the giantess had gone out; 
 he found no one there, so he went to the door and opened 
 it softly, for he thought he could not do so with the harp in 
 his hand. 
 
 Then h entered the giant's room and seized the harp 
 
144 
 
 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 and ran away with it; but as he jumped over the threshold 
 the harp called: 
 
 " Master ! Master ! " 
 
 And the giant woke up. 
 
 With a tremendous roar he sprang from his seat, and in 
 two strides had reached the door. 
 
 But Jack was very nimble. He fled like lightning with the 
 
 harp, talking to it as he went (for he saw it was a fairy), 
 and telling it he was the son of its old master, the knight. 
 
 Still the giant came on so fast that he was quite close to 
 poor Jack, and had stretched out his great hand to catch 
 him. But, luckily, just at that moment he stepped upon a 
 loose stone, stumbled, and fell flat on the ground, where he 
 lay at his full length. 
 
 This accident gave Jack time to get on the beanstalk and 
 hasten down it; but just as he reached their own garden he 
 beheld the giant descending after him. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 145 
 
 " Mother ! mother ! " cried Jack, " make haste and give 
 me the ax." 
 
 His mother ran to him with a hatchet in her hand, and 
 Jack with one tremendous blow cut through all the bean- 
 stalks except one. 
 
 " Now, mother, stand out of the way ! " said he. 
 
 THE GIANT BREAKS HIS NECK. 
 
 Jack's mother shrank back, and it was well she did so, 
 for just as the giant took hold of the last branch of the 
 beanstalk, Jack cut the stem quite through and darted from 
 the spot. 
 
 Down came the giant with a terrible crash, and as he fell 
 on his head he broke his neck, and lay dead at the feet of 
 the woman he had so much injured. 
 
 Before Jack and his mother had recovered from their 
 alarm and agitation, a beautiful lady stood before them. 
 
 u Jack," said she, " you have acted like a brave knight's 
 son, and deserve to have your inheritance restored to you. 
 Dig a grave and bury the giant, and then go and kill the 
 giantess." 
 
 " But," said Jack, " I could not kill anyone unless I were 
 fighting with him; and I could not draw my sword upon a 
 woman. Moreover, the giantess was very kind to me." 
 
 The fairy smiled on Jack. 
 
 " I am very much pleased with your generous feeling," she 
 said. " Nevertheless, return to the castle, and act as you 
 will find needful." 
 
 Jack asked the fairy if she would show him the way to the 
 castle, as the beanstalk was now down. She told him that 
 she would drive him there in her chariot, which was drawn 
 by two peacocks. Jack thanked her, and sat down in the 
 chariot with her. 
 
 The fairy drove him a long distance round, till they 
 reached a village which lay at the bottom of the hill. Here 
 they found a number of miserable-looking men assembled. 
 The fairy stopped her carriage and addressed them. 
 
 " My friends," said she, " the cruel giant who oppressed 
 you and ate up all your flocks and herds is dead, and this 
 young gentleman was the means of your being delivered 
 
146 
 
 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 from him, and is the son of your kind old master, the 
 knight." 
 
 The men gave a loud cheer at these words, and pressed 
 forward to say that they would serve Jack as faithfully as 
 they had served his father. The fairy bade them follow her 
 
 to the castle, and they marched thither in a body, and Jack 
 blew the horn and demanded admittance. 
 
 The old giantess saw them coming from the turret loop- 
 hole. She was very much frightened, for she guessed that 
 something had happened to her husband; and as she came 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 147 
 
 downstairs very fast she caught her foot in her dress, and 
 fell from the top to the bottom and broke her neck. 
 
 When the people outside found that the door was not 
 opened to them, they took crowbars and forced the portal. 
 Nobody was to be seen, but on leaving the hall they found 
 the body of the giantess at the foot of the stairs. 
 
 Thus Jack took possession of the castle. The fairy went 
 and brought his mother to him, with the hen and the harp. 
 He had the giantess buried and endeavored as much as lay 
 in his power to do right to those whom the giant had robbed. 
 
 Before her departure for fairyland, the fairy explained to 
 Jack that she had sent the butcher to meet him with the 
 beans, in order to try what sort of lad he was. 
 
 "If you had looked at the gigantic beanstalk and only 
 stupidly wondered about it," she said, "I should have left 
 you where misfortune had placed you, only restoring her cow 
 to your mother. But you showed an # inquiring mind, a great 
 courage and enterprise, therefore you deserve to rise; and 
 when you mounted the beanstalk you climbed the ladder of 
 fortune." 
 
 She then took her leave of Jack and his mother. 
 
 THE LITTLE GOOD MOUSE * 
 
 Once upon a time there lived a king and queen who loved 
 each other so much that they were never happy unless they 
 were together. Day after day they went out hunting or fish- 
 ing; night after night they went to balls or to the opera; 
 they sang, and danced, and ate sugar-plums, and were the 
 gayest of the gay, and all their subjects followed their ex- 
 ample, so that the kingdom was called the Joyous Land. 
 Now, in the next kingdom everything was as different as 
 it could possibly be. The king was sulky and savage, and 
 never enjoyed himself at all. He looked so ugly and cross 
 that all his subjects feared him, and he hated the sight of a 
 cheerful face; so if he ever caught anyone smiling he had 
 his head cut off that very minute. This kingdom was very ap- 
 propriately called the Land of Tears. Now when this wicked 
 king heard of the happiness of the jolly king, he was so 
 * La bonne petite Souris. Par Madame d'Aulnoy 
 
148 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 jealous that he collected a great army and set out to fight 
 him, and the news of his approach was soon brought to the 
 king and queen. The queen, when she heard of it, was 
 frightened out of her wits, and began to cry bitterly. " Sire, 
 she said, " let us collect all our riches and run away as far 
 as ever we can, to the other side of the world." 
 But the king answered: 
 
 " Fie, madam ! I am far too brave for that. It is better 
 to die than to be a coward." 
 
 Then he assembled all his armed men, and after bidding 
 the queen a tender farewell, he mounted his splendid horse 
 and rode away. When he was lost to sight the queen could 
 do nothing but weep, and wring her hands, and cry: 
 
 "Alas! If the king is killed, what will become of me 
 and of my little daughter ? " and she was so sorrowful that 
 she could neither eat nor sleep. 
 
 The king sent her a letter every day, but at last, one 
 morning, as she looked out of the palace window, she saw a 
 messenger approaching in hot haste. 
 
 " What news, courier ? What news ? " cried the queen, 
 and he answered : 
 
 " The battle is lost, and the king is dead, and in another 
 moment the enemy will be here." 
 
 The poor queen fell back insensible, and all her ladies 
 carried her to bed, and stood round her weeping and wailing. 
 Then began a tremendous noise and confusion, and they 
 knew that the enemy had arrived, and very soon they heard 
 the king himself stamping about the palace seeking the 
 queen. Then the ladies put the little princess into her arms, 
 and covered her up, head and all, in the bedclothes, and ran 
 for their lives, and the poor queen lay there shaking, and 
 hoping she would not be found. But very soon the wicked 
 king clattered into the room, and in a fury because the 
 queen would not answer when he called to her he tore back 
 her silken coverings and tweaked off her lace cap, and when 
 all her lovely hair came tumbling down over her shoulders, 
 he wound it three times round his hand and threw her over 
 his shoulder, where he carried her like a sack of flour. 
 
 The poor queen held her little daughter safe in her arms 
 and shrieked for mercy, but the wicked king only mocked 
 her and begged her to go on shrieking, as it amused him, 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 149 
 
 and so mounted his great black horse and rode back to his 
 own country. When he got there he declared that he would 
 have the queen and the little princess hanged on the nearest 
 tree; but his courtiers said that seemed a pity, for when 
 the baby grew up she would be a very nice wife for the king's 
 only son. 
 
 The king was rather pleased with this idea, and shut the 
 queen up in the highest room of a tall tower, which was 
 very tiny, and miserably furnished with a table and a very 
 hard bed upon the floor. Then he sent for a fairy who lived 
 near his kingdom, and after receiving her with more polite- 
 ness than he generally showed, and entertaining her at a 
 sumptuous feast, he took her up to see the queen. The fairy 
 was so touched by the sight of her misery that when she 
 kissed her hand she whispered: 
 
 " Courage, madam ! I think I see a way to help you." 
 
 The queen, a little comforted by these words, received the 
 graciously, and begged her to take pity upon the poor little 
 princess, who had met with such a sudden reverse of for- 
 tune. But the king got very cross when he saw them 
 whispering together, and cried harshly: 
 
 "Make an end of these fine speeches, madam. I brought 
 you here to tell me if the child will grow up pretty and for- 
 tunate." 
 
 Then the fairy answered that the princess would be as 
 pretty, and clever, and well brought up as it was possi- 
 ble to be, and the old king growled to the queen that it was 
 lucky for her that it was so, as they would certainly have 
 been hanged if it were otherwise. Then he stamped off, tak- 
 ing the fairy with him, and leaving the poor queen in tears. 
 
 " How can I wish my daughter to grow up pretty if she is 
 to be married to that horrid little dwarf, the king's son," 
 she said to herself, "and yet, if she is ugly we shall both be 
 killed. If I could only hide her away somewhere, so that the 
 cruel king could never find her." 
 
 As the days went on the queen and the little princess grew 
 thinner and thinner, for their hard-hearted jailer gave them 
 every day only three boiled peas and a tiny morsel of black 
 bread, so they were always terribly hungry. 
 
 At last, one evening as the queen sat at her spinning- 
 wheel for the king was so avaricious that she was made to 
 
150 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 work day and night she saw a tiny, pretty little mouse creep 
 out of a hole, and said to it: 
 
 "Alas, little creature! what are you coming to look for 
 here? I have only three peas for my day's provision, so un- 
 less you wish to fast, you must go elsewhere." 
 
 But the mouse ran hither and thither, and danced and ca- 
 pered so prettily that at last the queen gave it her last pea, 
 which she was keeping for her supper, saying : " Here, little 
 one, eat it up; I have nothing better to offer you, but I give 
 this willingly in return for the amusement I have had from 
 you." 
 
 She had hardly spoken when she saw upon the table a 
 delicious little roast partridge, and two dishes of preserved 
 fruit. " Truly," said she, " a kind action never goes unre- 
 warded " ; and she and the little princess ate their supper with 
 great satisfaction, and then the queen gave what was left 
 to the little mouse, who danced better than ever afterward. 
 The next morning came the jailer with the queen's allow- 
 ance of three peas, which he brought in upon a large dish 
 to make them look smaller; but as soon as he set it down 
 the little mouse came and ate up all three, so that when the 
 queen wanted her dinner there was nothing left for her. 
 Then she was quite provoked, and said: 
 
 " What a bad little beast that mouse must be ! If it goes on 
 like this I shall be starved." But when she glanced at the 
 dish again it was covered with all sorts of nice things to eat, 
 and the queen made a very good dinner, and was gayer than 
 usual over it. But afterward, as she sat at her spinning- 
 wheel she began to consider what would happen if the little 
 princess did not grow up pretty enough to please the king, 
 and she said to herself: 
 
 " Oh ! if I could only think of some way of escaping." 
 
 As she spoke she saw the little mouse playing in a corner 
 with some long straws. The queen took them and began to 
 plait them, saying: 
 
 " If I only had straws enough I would make a basket with 
 them, and let my baby down in it from the window to any 
 kind passer-by who would take care of her." 
 
 By the time the straws were all plaited the little mouse 
 had dragged in more and more, until the queen had plenty 
 to make her basket, and she worked at it day and night, 
 
THE RED FAITCY BOOK, '' 
 
 151 
 
 while the little mouse danced for her amusement; and at 
 dinner and supper time the queen gave it the three peas and 
 the bit of black bread, and always found something good in 
 the dish in their place. She really could not imagine where 
 all the nice things came from. At last one day when the 
 basket was finished, the queen was looking out of the win- 
 dow to see how long a cord she must make to lower it to the 
 bottom of the tower, when she noticed a little old woman 
 who was leaning on her stick and looking up at her. Pres- 
 ently she said: 
 
 " I know your trouble, madam. If you like, I will help 
 you." 
 
 " Oh ! my dear friend," said the queen, " if you really 
 wish to be of use to me you will come at the time that I will 
 appoint, and I will let down my poor little baby in a basket. 
 If you will take her and bring her up for me, when I am rich 
 I will reward you splendidly." 
 
 " I don't care about the reward," said the old woman, " but 
 there is one thing I should like. You must know that I am 
 very particular about what I eat, and if there is one thing 
 that I fancy above all others, it is a plump, tender little 
 mouse. If there is such a thing in your garret just throw 
 it down to me, and in return I will promise that your daugh- 
 ter will be well taken care of." 
 
 The queen, when she heard this, began to cry, but made 
 no answer, and the old woman, after waiting a few min- 
 utes, asked her what was the matter. 
 
 " Why," said the queen, " there is only one mouse in this 
 garret, and that is such a dear, pretty little thing that I 
 cannot bear to think of its being killed." 
 
 " What ! " cried the old woman, in a rage. " Do you care 
 more for a miserable mouse than for your own baby? Guod- 
 by, madam! I leave you to enjoy its company, and for m.y 
 own part I thank my stars that I can get plenty of mice 
 without troubling you to give them to me." 
 
 And she hobbled off, grumbling and growling. As to the 
 queen, she was so disappointed that, in spite of finding a 
 better dinner than usual, and seeing the little mouse danc- 
 ing in its merriest mood, she could do nothing but cry. That 
 night when the baby was fast asleep she packed it into the 
 basket, and wrote on a slip of paper, " This unhappy little 
 
152 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 girl is called Delicia ! " This she pinned to its robe, and 
 then very sadly she was shutting the basket, when in sprang 
 the little mouse and sat on the baby's pillow. 
 
 " Ah ! little one," said the queen, " it cost me dear to save 
 your life. How shall I know now whether my Delicia is be- 
 ing taken care of or no? Anyone else would have let the 
 greedy old woman have you, and eat you up, but I could not 
 bear to do it." Whereupon the mouse answered : 
 
 " Believe me, madam, you will never repent of your kind- 
 ness." 
 
 The queen was immensely astonished when the mouse be- 
 gan to speak, and still more so when she saw its little sharp 
 nose turn to a beautiful face, and its paws to hands and 
 feet; then it suddenly grew tall, and the queen recognized 
 the fairy who had come with the wicked king to visit her. 
 
 The fairy smiled at her astonished look, and said: 
 
 " I wanted to see if you were faithful and capable of feel- 
 ing a real friendship for me, for you see we fairies are rick 
 in everything but friends, and those are hard to find." 
 
 "It is not possible that you should want for friends, you 
 charming creature," said the queen, kissing her. 
 
 " Indeed it is so," the fairy said. " For those who are only 
 friendly with me for their own advantage I do not count 
 at all. But when you cared for the poor little mouse you 
 could not have known there was anything to be gained by it, 
 and to try you further I took the form of the old woman 
 whom you talked to from the window, and then I was con- 
 vinced that you really loved me." Then turning to the little 
 princess, she kissed her rosy lips three times, saying : 
 
 " Dear little one, I promise that you shall be richer than 
 your father, and shall live a hundred years, always pretty 
 and happy, without fear of old age and wrinkles." 
 
 The queen, quite delighted, thanked the fairy gratefully, 
 and begged her to take charge of the little Delicia and 
 bring her up as her own daughter. This she agreed to do. 
 and then they shut the basket and lowered it carefully, baby 
 and all, to the ground at the foot of the tower. The fairy 
 then changed herself back into the form of a mouse, and 
 this delayed her a few seconds, after which she ran nimbly 
 down the straw rope, but only to find when she got to the 
 bottom that the baby had disappeared. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 153 
 
 In the greatest terror she ran up to the queen, crying: 
 
 " All is lost ! my enemy Cancaline has stolen the princess 
 away. You must know that she is a cruel fairy who hates 
 me, and as she is older than I am and has more power, I can 
 do nothing against her. I know of no way of rescuing De- 
 licia from her clutches." 
 
 When the queen heard this terrible news she was heart- 
 broken, and begged the fairy to do all she could to get the 
 poor little princess back again. At this moment in came the 
 jailer, and when he missed the little princess he at once told 
 the king, who came in a great fury asking what the queen 
 had done with her, She answered that a fairy, whose name 
 she did not know, had come and carried her off by force. 
 Upon this the king stamped upon the ground, and cried in a 
 terrible voice: 
 
 " You shall be hung ! I always told you you should." 
 And without another word he dragged the unlucky queen 
 out into the nearest wood, and climbed up into a tree to look 
 for a branch to which he could hang her. But when he was 
 quite high up, the fairy, who had made herself invisible and 
 followed them, gave him a sudden push, which made him lose 
 his footing and fall to the ground with a crash and break 
 four of his teeth, and while he was trying to mend them the 
 fairy carried the qaeen off in her flying chariot to a beautiful 
 castle, where she was so kind to her that but for the loss 
 of Delicia the qaeen would have been perfectly happy. But 
 though the good little mouse did her very utmost, they could 
 not find out where Cancaline had hidden the little princess. 
 
 Thus fifteen years went by and the queen had somewhat 
 recovered from her grief, when the news reached her that 
 the son of the wicked king wished to marry the little maiden 
 who kept the turkeys, and that she had refused him; the 
 wedding dresses had been made, nevertheless, and the festivi- 
 ties were to be so splendid that all the people for leagues 
 around were flocking in to be present at them. The queen 
 felt quite curious about a little turkey-maiden who did not 
 wish to be a queen, so the little mouse conveyed herself to 
 the poultry yard to find out what she was like. 
 
 She found the turkey-maiden sitting upon a big stone, 
 barefooted, and miserably dressed in an old coarse linen 
 gown and cap; the ground at her feet was all strewn with 
 
154 THE RED FAIRT BOOK. 
 
 robes of gold and silver, ribbons and laces, diamonds and 
 pearls, over which the turkeys were stalking to and fro, while 
 the king's ugly, disagreeable son stood opposite her, declaring 
 angrily that if she would not marry him she should be 
 killed. 
 
 The turkey-maiden answered proudly: 
 
 " I never will marry you ! you are too ugly and too much 
 like your cruel father. Leave me in peace with my turkeys, 
 which I like far better than all your fine gifts." 
 
 The little mouse watched her with the greatest admira- 
 tion, for she was as beautiful as the spring; and as soon as 
 the wicked prince was gone, she took the form of an old 
 peasant woman and said to her: 
 
 " Good-day, my pretty one ! you have a fine flock of tur- 
 keys there." 
 
 The young turkey-maiden turned her gentle eyes upon 
 the old woman and answered: 
 
 " Yet they wish me to leave them to become a miserable 
 queen ! What is your advice upon the matter ? " 
 
 " My child," said the fairy, " a crown is a very pretty thing, 
 but you know neither the price nor the weight of it." 
 
 " I know so well that I have refused tc wear one," said the 
 little maiden, " though I don't know who was my father, or 
 who was my mother, and I have not a fi-iend in the world." 
 
 " You have goodness and beauty, which are of more value 
 than ten kingdoms," said the wise fairy. " But tell me, child, 
 how came you here, and how is it you have neither father, 
 nor mother, nor friend ? " 
 
 " A fairy called Cancaline is the cause of my being here," 
 answered she, " for while I lived with her I got nothing but 
 blows and harsh words, until at last I could bear it no longer, 
 and ran away from her without knowing where I was going, 
 and as I came through a wood the wicked prince met me, 
 and offered me charge of the poultry-yard. I accepted 
 gladly, not knowing that I should have to see him day by 
 day. And now he wants to marry me, but that I will never 
 consent to." 
 
 Upon hearing this the fairy became convinced that the 
 little turkey-maiden was none other than the Princess De- 
 licia. 
 
 " What is your name, my little one ? " said she. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 155 
 
 " I am called Delicia, if it please you," she answered. 
 
 Then the fairy threw her arms round the princess' neck, 
 and nearly smothered her with kisses, saying: 
 
 " Ah, Delicia ! I am a very old friend of yours, and I am 
 truly glad to find you at last ; but you might look nicer than 
 you do in that old gown, which is only fit for a kitchen maid. 
 
 Take this pretty dress and let us see the difference it will 
 make." 
 
 So Delicia took off the ugly cap and shook out all her fair 
 shining hair, and bathed her hands and face in clear water 
 from the nearest spring till her cheeks were like roses, and 
 when she was adorned with the diamonds and the splendid 
 robe which the fairy had given her, she looked the most 
 beautiful princess in the world, and the fairy with great 
 delight cried : 
 
156 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 "Now you look as you ought to look, Delicia: wkat do 
 you think about it yourself ? " 
 
 And Delicia answered: 
 
 " I feel as if I were the daughter of some great king." 
 
 " And would you be glad if you were { " said the fairy. 
 
 " Indeed I should," answered she. 
 
 " Ah, well, said the fairy, " to-morrow I may have some 
 pleasant news for you." 
 
 So she hurried back to her castle, where the queen sat busy 
 with her embroidery, and cried: 
 
 " Well, madam ! will you wager your thimble and your 
 golden needle that I am bringing you the best news you 
 could possibly hear ? " 
 
 " Alas ! " sighed the queen, " since the death of the jolly 
 king and the loss of my Delicia, all the news in the world is 
 not worth a pin to me." 
 
 " There, there, don't be melancholy," said the fairy. " I 
 assure you the princess is quite well, and I have never seen 
 her equal for beauty. She might be a queen to-morrow if she 
 chose " ; and then she told all that had happened, and the 
 queen first rejoiced over the thought of Delicia's beauty, and 
 then wept at the idea of her being a turkey-maiden. 
 
 "I will not hear of her being made to marry the wicked 
 king's son," she said. "Let us go at once and bring her 
 here." 
 
 In the meantime the wicked prince, who was very angry 
 with Delicia, had sat himself down under a tree, and cried 
 and howled with rage and spite until the king heard him, 
 and cried out from the window : 
 
 " What is the matter with you, that you are making all 
 this disturbance ? " 
 
 The prince replied: 
 
 " It is all because that turkey-maiden of ours will not love 
 me!" 
 
 " Won't love you, eh ? " said the king. " We'll see about 
 that ! " So he called his guards and told them to go and 
 fetch Delicia. " See if I don't make her change her mind 
 pretty soon ! " said the wicked king, with a chuckle. 
 
 Then the guards began to search the poultry-yard, and 
 could find nobody there but Delicia, who, with her splendid 
 dress, and her crown of diamonds, looked such a lovely 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 157 
 
 princess that they hardly dared to speak to her. But she said 
 to them very politely: 
 
 " Pray tell me what you are looking for here ? " 
 
 " Madam," they answered, "we are sent for an insignifi- 
 cant little person called Delicia." 
 
 " Alas ! " said she, " that is my name. What can you want 
 with me ? " 
 
 So the guards tied her hands and feet with thick ropes, 
 for fear she might run away, and brought her to the king, 
 who was waiting with his son. 
 
 When he saw her he was very much astonished at her 
 
 beauty, which would have made anyone less hard-hearted 
 sorry for her. But the wicked king only laughed and mocked 
 at her, and cried : " Well, little fright, little toad ! why don't 
 you love my son, who is far too handsome and too good for 
 you? Make haste and begin to love him this instant, or 
 you shall be tarred and feathered." 
 
 Then the poor little princess, shaking with terror, went 
 down on her knees, crying: 
 
 " Oh, don't tar and feather me, please ! It would be so 
 uncomfortable. Let me have two or three days to make up 
 my mind, and then you shall do as you like with me." 
 
158 THE KED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 The wicked prince would have liked very much to see her 
 tarred and feathered, but the king ordered that she should be 
 shut up in a dark dungeon. It was just at this moment that 
 the queen and the fairy arrived in the flying chariot, and the 
 queen was dreadfully distressed at the turn affairs had taken, 
 and said miserably, that she was destined to be unfortunate 
 all her days. But the fairy bade her take courage. 
 
 " I'll pay them out yet," said she, nodding her head with 
 an air of great determination. 
 
 That very same night, as soon as the wicked king had 
 gone to bed, the fairy changed herself into the little mouse, 
 and creeping up on to his pillow nibbled his ear, so that he 
 squealed out quite loudly and turned over on his other side; 
 but that was no good, for the little mouse only set to work 
 and gnawed away at the second ear until it hurt more than 
 the first one. 
 
 Then the king cried " Murder ! " and " Thieves ! " and all 
 his guards ran out to see what was the matter, but they 
 could find nothing and nobody, for the little mouse had run 
 off to the prince's room and was serving him in exactly the 
 same way. All night long she ran from one to the other, 
 until at last, driven quite frantic by terror and want of 
 sleep, the king rushed out of the palace crying: 
 
 " Help ! help ! I am pursued by rats." 
 
 The prince when he heard this, got up also, and ran after 
 the king, and they had not gone far when they both fell into 
 the river and were never heard of again. 
 
 Then the good fairy ran to tell the queen, and they went 
 together to the black dungeon where Delicia was imprisoned. 
 The fairy touched each door with her wand, and it sprang 
 open instantly, but they had to go through forty before they 
 came to the princess, who was sitting on the floor looking 
 very dejected. But when the queen rushed in and kissed 
 her twenty times in a minute, and laughed, and cried, and 
 told Delicia all her history, the princess was wild with de- 
 light. Then the fairy showed her all the wonderful dresses 
 and jewels she had brought for her, and said : 
 
 " Don't let us waste time ; we must go and harangue the 
 people." 
 
 So she walked first, looking very serious and dignified, and 
 wearing a dress the train of which was at least ten ells long. 
 
THE RED FAIEY BOOK. 159 
 
 Behind her came the queen wearing a blue velvet robe em- 
 broidered with gold, and a diamond crown that was brighter 
 than the sun itself. Last of all walked Delicia, who was so 
 beautiful that it was nothing short of marvelous. 
 
 They proceeded through the streets, returning the saluta- 
 tions of all they met, great or small, and all the people 
 turned and followed them, wondering who these noble ladies 
 could be. 
 
 When the audience hall was quite full, the fairy said to 
 the subjects of the wicked king that if they would accept De- 
 licia, who was the daughter of the jolly king, as their queen, 
 she would undertake to find a suitable husband for her, and 
 would promise that during their reign there should be noth- 
 ing but rejoicing and merry-making, and all dismal things 
 should be entirely banished. Upon this the people cried 
 with one accord: "We will, we will! we have been gloomy 
 and miserable too long already." And they all took hands 
 and danced around the queen, and Delicia, and the good 
 fairy, singing : " Yes, yes ; we will, we will ! " 
 
 Then there were feasts and fireworks in every street in the 
 town, and early the next morning the fairy, who had been 
 all over the world in the night, brought back with her, in her 
 flying chariot, the most handsome and good-tempered prince 
 she could find anywhere. He was so charming that De- 
 licia loved him from the moment their eyes met, and as for 
 him, of course he could not help thinking himself the luckiest 
 prince in the world. The queen felt that she had really come 
 to the end of her misfortunes at last, and they all lived hap- 
 pily ever after. 
 
 GKACIOSA AND PERCINET * 
 
 Once upon a time there lived a king and queen who had 
 one charming daughter. She was so graceful and pretty and 
 clever that she was called Graciosa, and the queen was so 
 fond of her that she could think of nothing else. 
 
 Every day she gave the princess a lovely new frock of gold 
 brocade, or satin, or velvet, and when she was hungry she 
 had bowls full of sugar plums, and at least twenty pots of 
 
 * Cracieuse et Percinet. Madame d'Aulnoy. 
 
160 
 
 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 jam. Everybody said she was the happiest princess in the 
 world. Now there lived at this same court a rich old duchess 
 whose name was Grumbly. She was more frightful than 
 tongue can tell ; her hair was red as fire, and she had but one 
 eye, and that not a pretty one ! Her face was as broad as a 
 full moon, and her mouth was so large that everybody who 
 met her would have been afraid they were going to be eaten 
 up, only she had no teeth. As she was as cross as she was 
 ugly, she could not bear to hear anyone saying how pretty 
 and how charming Graciosa was; so she presently went away 
 from the court to her own castle, which was not far off. But 
 if anybody who went to see her happened to mention the 
 charming princess, she would cry angrily: 
 
 " It's not true that she is lovely. I have more beauty in 
 my little finger than she has in her whole body." 
 
 Soon after this, to the great grief of the princess, the 
 
 queen was taken ill and died, and the king became so mel- 
 ancholy that for a whole year he shut himself up in his 
 palace. At last, his physicians, fearing that he would fall 
 ill, ordered that he should go out and amuse himself; so a 
 hunting party was arranged, but as it was very hot weather 
 the king soon got tired, and said he would dismount and rest 
 at a castle which they were passing. 
 
 This happened to be the Duchess Grumbly's castle, and 
 when she heard that the king was coming she went ou* to 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 161 
 
 meet him, and said that the cellar was the coolest place 
 in the whole castle, if he would condescend to come down 
 into it. So down they went together, and the king seeing 
 about two hundred great casks ranged side by side, asked if 
 it was for herself that she had this immense store of wine. 
 
 " Yes, sire," answered she, " it is for myself alone, but I 
 shall be most happy to let you taste some of it. Which do 
 you like, canary, St. Julien, champagne, hermitage, sack, 
 raisin, or cider ? " 
 
 " Well," said the king, " since you are so kind as to ask 
 me, I prefer champagne to anything else." 
 
 Then Duchess Grumbly took up a little hammer and 
 tapped upon the cask twice, and out came at least a thou- 
 sand crowns. 
 
 " What is the meaning of this ? " said she, smiling. 
 
 Then she tapped the next cask, and out came a bushel 
 of gold pieces. 
 
 " I don't understand this at all," said the duchess, smiling 
 more than before. 
 
 Then she went on to the third cask, tap, tap, and out came 
 such a stream of diamonds and pearls that the ground was 
 covered with them. 
 
 " Ah ! " she cried, " this is altogether beyond my compre- 
 hension, sire. Someone must have stolen my good wine and 
 put all this rubbish in its place." 
 
 "Kubbish, do you call it, Madam Grumbly?" cried the 
 king. "Kubbish! why, there is enough there to buy ten 
 kingdoms." 
 
 " Well," said she, " you must know that all those casks are 
 full of gold and jewels, and if you like to marry me it shall 
 all be yours." 
 
 Now the king loved money more than anything else in 
 the world, so he cried joyfully: 
 
 "Marry you? why, with all my heart! to-morrow if you 
 like." 
 
 " But I make one condition," said the duchess ; " I must 
 have entire control of your daughter, to do as I please with 
 her." 
 
 " Oh, certainly, you shall kave your own way; let us shake 
 hands upon the bargain," said the king. 
 
 So they shook hands and went up out of the cellar of 
 
162 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 treasure together, and the duchess locked the door and gave 
 the key to the king. 
 
 When he got back to his own palace Graciosa ran out to 
 meet him, and asked if he had had good sport. 
 
 " I have caught a dove," answered he. 
 
 " Oh ! do give it to me," said the princess, " and I will 
 keep it and take care of it." 
 
 " I can hardly do that," said he, " for, to speak more 
 plainly, I mean that I met the Duchess Grumbly, and have 
 promised to marry her." 
 
 " And you call her a dove ? " cried the princess, " I should 
 have called her a screech-owl." 
 
 " Hold your tongue," said the king very crossly. " I intend 
 you to behave prettily to her. So now go and make yourself 
 fit to be seen, for I am going to take you to visit her." 
 
 So the princess went very sorrowfully to her own room, 
 and her nurse seeing her tears, asked what was vexing her. 
 
 " Alas ! who would not be vexed ? " answered she, " for the 
 king intends to marry again, and has chosen for his new 
 bride my enemy, the hideous Duchess Grumbly." 
 
 " Oh, well ! " answered the nurse, " you must remember 
 that you are a princess, and are expected to set a good ex- 
 ample in making the best of whatever happens. You must 
 promise me not to let the duchess see how much you dis- 
 like her." 
 
 At first the princess would not promise, but the nurse 
 showed her so many good reasons for it that in the end 
 she agreed to be amiable to her stepmother. 
 
 Then the nurse dressed her in a robe of pale green and 
 gold brocade, and combed out her long fair hair until it 
 floated round her like a golden mantle, and put on her head 
 a crown of roses and jasmine with emerald leaves. 
 
 When she was ready nobody could have been prettier, but 
 she still could not help looking sad. 
 
 Meanwhile the Duchess Grumbly was also occupied in at- 
 tiring herself. She had one of her shoe heels made an inch 
 or so higher than the other, so that she might not limp so 
 much, and put in a cunningly made glass eve in the place 
 of the one she had lost. She dyed her red hair black, and 
 painted her face. Then she put on a gorgeous robe of lilac 
 satin, lined with blue, and a yellow petticoat trimmed with 
 
THE KED FAIRY BOOK. 163 
 
 violet ribbons, and because she had heard that queens always 
 rode into their new dominions, she ordered a horse to be 
 made ready for her to ride. 
 
 While Graciosa was waiting until the king should be ready 
 to set out, she went down all alone through the garden into 
 a little wood, where she sat down upon a mossy bank and be- 
 gan to think. And her thoughts were so doleful that very 
 soon she began to cry, and she cried, and cried, and forgot 
 all about going back to the palace, until she suddenly saw 
 a handsome page standing before her. He was dressed in 
 green, and the cap which he held in his hand was adorned 
 with white plumes. When Graciosa looked at him he went 
 down on one knee and said to her: 
 
 " Princess, the king awaits you." 
 
 The princess was surprised, and, if the truth must be 
 told, very much delighted at the appearance of this charm- 
 ing page, whom she could not remember to have seen be- 
 fore. Thinking he might belong to the household of the 
 duchess, she said : 
 
 " How long have you been one of the king's pages ? " 
 
 " I am not in the service of the king, madam," answered 
 he, "but in yours." 
 
 " In mine ? " said the princess, with great surprise. " Then 
 how is it that I have never seen you before ? " 
 
 " Ah, princess ! " said he, " I have never before dared to 
 present myself to you, but now the king's marriage threatens 
 you with so many dangers that I have resolved to tell you 
 at once how much I love you already, and I trust that in 
 time I may win your regard. I am Prince Percinet, of whose 
 riches you may have heard, and whose fairy gift will, I hope, 
 be of use to you in all your difficulties, if you will permit 
 me to accompany you under this disguise." 
 
 " Ah, Percinet ! " cried the princess, " is it really you ? I 
 have so often heard of you and wished to see you. If you 
 will indeed be my friend, I shall not be afraid of that wicked 
 old duchess any more." 
 
 They went back to the palace together, and there Graciosa 
 found a beautiful horse which Percinet had brought for her 
 to ride. As it was very spirited, he led it by the bridle, and 
 this arrangement enabled him to turn and look at the prin- 
 cess often, which he did not fail to do. Indeed, she was so 
 
164 THE RED FAIRY BOOR. 
 
 pretty that it was a real pleasure to look at her. When th 
 horse which the duchess was to ride appeared beside Gra- 
 ciosa's it looked no better than an old cart horse, and as to 
 their trappings, there was simply no comparison between 
 them, as the princess' saddle and bridle were one glittering 
 mass of diamonds. The king had so many other things to 
 think of that he did not notice this, but all of his courtiers 
 were entirely taken up with admiring the princess and her 
 charming page in green, who was more handsome and dis- 
 tinguished-looking than all the rest of the court put to- 
 gether. 
 
 When they met the Duchess Grumbly she was seated in 
 an open carriage, trying in vain to look dignified. The king 
 and the princess saluted her, and her horse was brought 
 forward for her to mount. But when she saw Graciosa's 
 she cried angrily: 
 
 " If that child is to have a better horse than mine, I will 
 go back to my own castle this very minute. What is the 
 good of being a queen if one is to be slighted like this ? " 
 
 Upon this the king commanded Graciosa to dismount and 
 to beg the duchess to honor her by mounting her horse. The 
 princess obeyed in silence, and the duchess, without looking 
 at her or thanking her, scrambled up upon the beautiful 
 horse, where she sat looking like a bundle of clothes, and 
 eight officers had to hold her up for fear she should fall off. 
 
 Even then she was not satisfied, and was still grumbling 
 and muttering, so they asked her what was the matter. 
 
 " I wish that page in green to come and lead the horse, as 
 he did when Graciosa rode it," she said very sharply. 
 
 And the king ordered the page to come and lead the 
 queen's horse. Percinet and the princess looked at one an- 
 other, but said never a word, and then he did as the king 
 commanded, and the procession started in great pomp. The 
 duchess was greatly elated, and as she sat there in state, 
 would not have wished to change places even with Graciosa. 
 But at the moment when it was least expected, the beauti- 
 ful horse began to plunge and rear and kick, and, finally, to 
 run away at such a pace that it was impossible to stop him. 
 
 At first the duchess clung to the saddle, but she was very 
 soon thrown off and fell in a heap among the stones and 
 thorns, and there they found her, shaken to a jelly, and col- 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 165 
 
 lected what was left of her as if she had been a broken 
 glass. Her bonnet was here and her shoes there, her face 
 was scratched and her fine clothes were covered with mud. 
 Never was a bride in such a dismal plight. They carried 
 her back to the palace and put her to bed, but as soon as 
 she recovered enough to be able to speak, she began to scold 
 and rage, and declared that the whole affair was Graciosa's 
 fault, that she had contrived it on purpose to try and get rid 
 of her, and that if the king would not have her punished, 
 she would go back to her castle and enjoy her riches by her- 
 self. 
 
 At this the king was terribly frightened, for he did not 
 want to lose all those barrels of gold and jewels. So he has- 
 tened to appease the duchess, and told her she might punish 
 Graciosa in any way she pleased. 
 
 Thereupon she sent for Graciosa, who turned pale and 
 trembled at the summons, for she guessed that it promised 
 nothing agreeable for her. She looked all about for Percinet 
 but he was nowhere to be seen; so she had no choice but to 
 go to the Duchess Grumbly's room. She had hardly got in- 
 side the door when she was seized by four waiting-women, 
 who looked so tall and strong and cruel that the princess 
 shuddered at the sight of them, and still more when she saw 
 them arming themselves with great bundles of rods, and 
 heard the duchess call out to them from her bed to beat the 
 princess without mercy. Poor Graciosa wished miserably 
 that Percinet could only know what was happening and 
 come to rescue her. But no sooner did they begin to beat 
 her than she found, to her great relief, that the rods had 
 changed to bundles of peacock's feathers, and though the 
 duchess' women went on until they were so tired that they 
 could no longer raise their arms from their sides, yet she 
 was not hurt in the least. However, the duchess thought 
 she must be black and blue after such a beating; so Gra- 
 ciosa, when she was released, pretended to feel very bad, and 
 went away into her own room, where she told her nurse all 
 that had happened, and then the nurse left her, and when the 
 princess turned round there stood Percinet beside her. She 
 thanked him gratefully for helping her so cleverly, and they 
 laughed and were very merry over the way they had taken 
 in the duchess and her waiting-maids; but Percinet advised 
 
166 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 her still to pretend to be ill for a few days, and after prom- 
 ising to come to her aid whenever she needed him, he dis- 
 appeared as suddenly as he had come. 
 
 The duchess was so delighted at the idea that Graciosa 
 was really ill that she herself recovered twice as fast as she 
 would have done otherwise, and the wedding was held with 
 great magnificence. Now as the king knew that, above all 
 other things, the queen loved to be told that she was beau- 
 tiful, he ordered that her portrait should be painted, and 
 that a tournament should be held, against which all the 
 bravest knights of his court should maintain against all 
 comers that Grumbly was the most beautiful princess in all 
 the world. 
 
 Numbers of knights came from far and wide to accept 
 the challenge, and the hideous queen sat in great state in 
 a balcony hung with cloth of gold, to watch the contests, 
 and Graciosa had to stand up behind her, where her love- 
 liness was so conspicuous that the combatants could not 
 keep their eyes off her. But the queen was so vain that she 
 thought all their admiring glances were for herself, espe- 
 cially as, in spite of the badness of their cause, the king's 
 knights were so brave that they were the victors in every 
 combat. 
 
 However, when nearly all the strangers had been defeated, 
 a young unknown knight presented himself. He carried a 
 portrait, inclosed in a box incrusted with diamonds, and he 
 declared himself willing to maintain against them all that 
 the queen was the ugliest creature in the world, and that 
 the princess whose portrait he carried was the most beau- 
 tiful. 
 
 So one by one the knights came out against him, and one 
 by one he vanquished them all, and then he opened the box, 
 and said that, to console them, he would show them the por- 
 trait of his queen of beauty, and when he did so, everyone 
 recognized the Princess Graciosa. The unknown knight 
 then saluted her gracefully and retired, without telling his 
 name to anybody. But Graciosa had no difficulty in guess- 
 ing that it was Percinet. 
 
 As to the queen, she was so furiously angry that she 
 could hardly speak; but she soon recovered her voice, and 
 overwhelmed Graciosa with a torrent of reproaches. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 167 
 
 " What ! " she said, " do you dare to dispute with me for 
 the prize of beauty, and expect me to endure this insult to 
 my knights? But I will not bear it, proud princess. I will 
 have my revenge." 
 
 " I assure you, madam," said the princess, " that I had 
 nothing to do with it and am quite willing that you shall 
 be declared queen of beauty." 
 
 " Ah ! you are pleased to jest, popinjay ! " said the queen, 
 " but it will be my turn soon! " 
 
 The king was speedily told what had happened, and how 
 the princess was in terror of the angry queen, but he only 
 said: 
 
 " The queen must do as she pleases. Graciosa belongs to 
 her!" 
 
 The wicked queen waited impatiently until night fell, and 
 then she ordered her carriage to be brought. Graciosa, much 
 against her will, was forced into it, and away they drove, 
 and never stopped until they reached a great forest a hun- 
 dred leagues from the palace. This forest was so gloomy 
 and so full of lions, tigers, bears, and wolves, that nobody 
 dared pass through it even by daylight, and here they set 
 down the unhappy princess in the middle of the black night, 
 and left her in spite of all her tears and entreaties. The 
 princess stood quite still at first from sheer bewilderment, 
 but when the last sound of the retreating carriages died 
 away in the distance, she began to run aimlessly hither and 
 thither, sometimes knocking herself against a tree, some- 
 times tripping over a stone, fearing every minute that she 
 would be eaten up by the lions. Presently she was too tired 
 to advance another step, so she threw herself down upon the 
 ground and cried miserably: 
 
 " Oh, Percinet ! where are you ? Have you forgotten me 
 altogether?" 
 
 She had hardly spoken when all the forest was lighted up 
 with a sudden glow. Every tree seemed to be sending out 
 a soft radiance, which was clearer than moonlight and softer 
 than daylight, and at the end of a long avenue of trees op- 
 posite to her the princess saw a palace of clear crystal which 
 blazed like the sun. At that moment a slight sound behind 
 her made her start round, and there stood Percinet himself. 
 
 "Did I frighten you, my princess?" said he. "I come 
 
168 
 
 THE BED FAIKY BOOK. 
 
 to bid you welcome to our fairy palace in the name of the 
 queen, my mother, who is prepared to love you as much as 
 I do." The princess joyfully mounted with him into a little 
 sledge drawn by two stags, which bounded off and drew them 
 swiftly to the wonderful palace, where the queen received 
 her with the greatest kindness, and a splendid banquet was 
 served at once. Graciosa was so happy to have found Per- 
 cinet, and to have escaped from the gloomy forest and all 
 its terrors, that she was very hungry and very merry, and 
 they were a gay party. After supper they went into another 
 lovely room, where the crystal walls were covered with pic- 
 tures, and the princess saw with great surprise that her 
 
 own history was represented, even down to the moment when 
 Percinet found her in the forest. 
 
 " Your painters must indeed be diligent," she said, point- 
 ing out the last picture to the prince. 
 
 " They are obliged to be, for I will not have anything for- 
 gotten that happens to you," he answered. 
 
 When the princess grew sleepy, twenty-four charming 
 maidens put her to bed in the prettiest room she had ever 
 seen, and then sang to her so sweetly that Graciosa's dreams 
 were all of mermaids, and cool sea waves, and caverns, in 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 169 
 
 which she wandered with Percinet; but when she woke up 
 again her first thought was that, delightful as this fairy pal- 
 ace seemed to her, yet she could not stay in it, but must 
 go back to her father. When she had been dressed by the 
 twenty-four maidens in a charming robe which the queen 
 had sent fur her, and in which she looked prettier than ever. 
 Prince Percinet came to see her, and was bitterly disap- 
 pointed when she told him what she had been thinking. He 
 begged her to consider again how unhappy the wicked queen 
 would make her, and how, if she would but marry him, all 
 the fairy palace would be hers, and his one thought would 
 be to please her. But, in spite of everything he could say, 
 the princess was quite determined to go back, though he at 
 last persuaded her to stay eight days, which were so full of 
 pleasure and amusement that they passed like a few hours. 
 On the last day, Graciosa, who had often felt anxious to 
 know what was going on in her father's palace, said to Per- 
 cinet that she was sure that he could find out for her, if he 
 would, what reason the queen had given her father for her 
 sudden disappearance. Percinet at first offered to send his 
 courier to find out, but the princess said : 
 
 " Oh ! Is there not some quicker way of knowing than 
 that?" 
 
 "Very well," said Percinet, "you shall see for yourself." 
 
 So up they went together to the top of a very high tower, 
 which, like the rest of the castle, was built entirely of rock- 
 crystal. 
 
 There the prince held Graciosa's hand in his, and made 
 her put the tip of her little finger into her mouth, and look 
 toward the town, and immediately she saw the wicked queen 
 go to the king, and heard her say to him: " That miserable 
 princess is dead, and no great loss, either. I have ordered 
 that she shall be buried at once." 
 
 And then the princess saw how she dressed up a log of 
 wood and had it buried, and how the old king cried, and all 
 the people murmured that the queen had killed Graciosa 
 with her cruelties, and that she ought to have her head cut 
 off. When the princess saw that the king was so sorry for 
 her pretended death that he could neither eat nor d* ; nk, sh 
 cried : 
 
 "Ah, Percinet! take me back quickly if you love me." 
 
170 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 And so, though he did not want to at all, he was obliged 
 to promise that he would let her go. 
 
 " You may not regret me, princess," he said sadly, " for I 
 fear that you do not love me well enough ; but I foresee that 
 you will more than once regret that you left this fairy palace 
 where we have been so happy." 
 
 But, in spite of all he could say, she bade farewell to the 
 queen, his mother, and prepared to set out; so Percinet, very 
 unwillingly, brought the little sledge with the stags and she 
 mounted beside him. But they had hardly gone twenty 
 yards when a tremendous noise behind her made Graciosa 
 look back, and she saw the palace of crystal fly into a million 
 splinters, like the spray of a fountain, and vanish. 
 
 " Oh, Percinet ! " she cried, " what has happened ? The 
 palace is gone." 
 
 "Yes," he answered, "my palace is a thing of the past; 
 you will see it again, but not until after you have been 
 buried." 
 
 " Now you are angry with me," said Graciosa in her most 
 coaxing voice, "though after all I am more to be pitied 
 than you are." 
 
 When they got near the palace the prince made the sledge 
 and themselves invisible, so the princess got in unobserved, 
 and ran up to the great hall where the king was sitting all 
 by himself. At first he was very much startled by Gra- 
 ciosa's sudden appearance, but she told him how the queen 
 had left her out in the forest, and how she had caused a log 
 of wood to be buried. The king, who did not know what to 
 think, sent quickly and had it dug up, and, sure enough, 
 it was as the princess had said. Then he caressed Gra- 
 ciosa and made her sit down to supper with him, and they 
 were as happy as possible. But someone had by this time 
 told the wicked queen that Graciosa had come back, and was 
 at supper with the king, and in she flew in a terrible fury. 
 The poor old king quite trembled before her, and when she 
 declared that Graciosa was not the princess at all, but a 
 wicked impostor, and that if the king did not give her up 
 at once she would go back to her own castle and never see 
 him again, he had not a word to say, and really seemed to 
 believe it was not Graciosa after all. So the queen in great 
 triumph sent for her waiting-women, who dragged the un- 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 171 
 
 happy princess away and shut her up in a garret; they took 
 away all her jewels and her pretty dress, and gave her a 
 rough cotton frock, wooden shoes, and a little cloth cap. 
 There was some straw in a corner, which was all she had 
 for a bed, and they gave her a very little bit of black bread 
 to eat. In this miserable plight Graciosa did indeed regret 
 the fairy palace, and she would have called Percinet to her 
 aid, only she felt sure he was still vexed with her for leav- 
 ing him, and thought that she could not expect him to come. 
 
 Meanwhile the queen had sent for an old fairy as mali- 
 cious as herself, and said to her: 
 
 " You must find me some task for this fine princess which 
 she cannot possibly do, for I mean to punish her, and if she 
 does not do what I order, she will not be able to say that I 
 am unjust." So the old fairy said she would think it over, 
 and come again the next day. When she returned she 
 brought with her a skein of thread three times as big as her- 
 self ; it was so fine that a breath of air would break it, and 
 so tangled that it was impossible to see the beginning or the 
 end of it. 
 
 The queen sent for Graciosa, and said to her: 
 
 " Do you see this skein ? Set your clumsy fingers w work 
 upon it, for I must have it disentangled by sunset, and if 
 you break a single thread it will be the worse for you." So 
 saying she left her, locking the door behind her with three 
 keys. 
 
 The princess stood dismayed at the sight of the terrible 
 skein. If she did but turn it over to see where to begin, 
 she broke a thousand threads, and not one could she disen- 
 tangle. At last she threw it into the middle of the floor, cry- 
 ing: 
 
 " Oh, Percinet ! this fatal skein will be the death of 
 me if you will not forgive me and help me once more." 
 
 And immediately in came Percinet as easily as if he had 
 all the keys in his own possession. 
 
 "Here I am, princess, as much as ever at your service,", 
 said he, " though really you are not very kind to me." 
 
 Then he just stroked the skein with his wand, and all +he 
 broken threads joined themselves together, and the whole 
 skein wound itself smoothly off in the most surprising man- 
 ner, and the prince, turning to Graciosa, asked if there was 
 
172 
 
 THE RED FJLIRY BOOK. 
 
 nothing else that she wished him to do for her, and if the 
 time would never come when she would wish for him for his 
 own sake. 
 
 " Don't be vexed with me, Percinet," she said. " I am un- 
 happy enough without that." 
 
 " But why should you be unhappy, my princess ? " cried he. 
 " Only come with me and we shall be as happy as the day is 
 long together." 
 
 " But suppose you get tired of me ? " said Graciosa. 
 
 The prince was so grieved at this want of confidence that 
 he left her without another word. 
 
 The wicked queen was in such a hurry to punish Graciosa 
 that she thought the sun would never set ; and indeed it was 
 
 before the appointed time that she came with her four fairies 
 and as she fitted the three keys into the locks she said: 
 
 " I'll venture to say that the idle minx has not done any- 
 thing at all she prefers to sit with her hands before her 
 to keep them white." r 
 
 But as soon as she entered Graciosa presented her with the 
 ball of thread in perfect order, so that she had no fault to 
 find, and could only pretend to discover that it was soiled, 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 173 
 
 for which imaginary fault she gave Graciosa a blow on each 
 cheek, that made her white-and-pink skin turn green and 
 yellow. And then she sent her back to be locked into the 
 garret once more. 
 
 Then the queen sent for the fairy again and scolded her 
 furiously. "Don't make such a mistake again; find me 
 something that it will be quite impossible for her to do," she 
 said. 
 
 So the next day the fairy appeared with a huge barrel full 
 of the feathers of all sorts of birds. There were nightin- 
 gales, canaries, goldfinches, linnets, tomtits, parrots, owls, 
 sparrows, doves, ostriches, bustards, peacocks, larks, par- 
 tridges, and everything else that you can think of. These 
 feathers were all mixed up in such confusion that the birds 
 themselves could not have chosen out their own. " Here," 
 said the fairy, " is a little task which it will take all your 
 prisoner's skill and patience to accomplish. Tell her to pick 
 out and lay in a separate heap the feathers of each bird. She 
 would need to be a fairy to do it." 
 
 The queen was more than delighted at the thought of the 
 despair this task would cause the princess. She sent 
 for her, and with the same threats as before locked her up 
 with the three keys, ordering that all the feathers should be 
 sorted by sunset. Graciosa set to work at once, but before 
 she had taken out a dozen feathers she found it was per- 
 fectly impossible to know one from another. 
 
 " Ah ! well," she sighed, " the queen wishes to kill me, and 
 if I must die, I must. I cannot ask Percinet to help me again, 
 for if he really loved me he would not wait till I called him, 
 he would come without that." 
 
 " I am here, my Graciosa," cried Percinet, springing out 
 of the barrel, where he had been hiding. "How can you 
 still doubt that I love you with all my heart ? " 
 
 Then he gave three strokes of his wand upon the barrel, 
 and all the feathers flew out in a cloud and settled down in 
 neat little separate heaps all round the room. 
 
 " What should I do without you, Percinet ? " said Gra- 
 ciosa gratefully. Still she could not quite make up her mind 
 to go with him and leave her father's kinardom forever; so 
 she begged him to give her more time to think of it, and he 
 had to go away disappointed once more. 
 
174 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 When the wicked queen came at sunset she was amazed 
 and infuriated to find the task done. However, she com- 
 plained that the heaps of feathers were badly arranged, and 
 for that the princess was beaten and sent back to her garret. 
 Then the queen sent for the fairy once more, and scolded 
 her until she was fairly terrified, and promised to go home 
 and think of another task for Graciosa, worse than either 
 of the others. 
 
 At the end of three days she came again, bringing with 
 her a box. 
 
 " Tell your slave," said she, " to carry this wherever you 
 please, but on no account to open it. She will not be able 
 to help doing so, and then you will be quite satisfied with the 
 result." So the queen came to Graciosa and said: 
 
 " Carry this box to my castle and place it on the table 
 in my own room. But I forbid you, on pain of death, to 
 look at what it contains." 
 
 Graciosa set out, wearing her little cap and wooden shoes, 
 and the old cotton frock, but even in this disguise she was 
 so beautiful that all the passers-by wondered who she could 
 be. She had not gone far before the heat of the sun and the 
 weight of the box tired her so much that she sat down to 
 rest in the shade of a little wood which lay on one side of 
 a green meadow. She was carefully holding the box on her 
 lap when suddenly she felt the greatest desire to open it. 
 
 " What could possibly happen if I did ? " she said to her- 
 self. "I should not take anything out. I should only just 
 see what was there." 
 
 And without further hesitation she lifted the cover. 
 
 Instantly out came swarms of little men and women, no 
 taller than her finger, and scattered themselves all over the 
 meadow, singing and dancing, and playing the merriest 
 games, so that at first Graciosa was delighted, and watched 
 them with much amusement. But presently, when she was 
 rested and wished to go on her way, she found that, do what 
 she would, she could not get them back into their box. If she 
 chased them in the meadow they fled into the wood, and if 
 she pursued them into the wood they dodged round trees and 
 behind sprigs of moss, and with peals of elfin laughter scam- 
 pered back again into the meadow. 
 
 At last, weary and terrified, she sat down and cried. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 175 
 
 "It is my own fault," she said sadly. "Percinet, if you 
 can still care for such an imprudent princess, do come and 
 help me once more." 
 
 Immediately Percinet stood before her. 
 
 " Ah, Princess ! " he said, " but for the wicked queen I fear 
 you would never think of me at all." 
 
 " Indeed I should," said Graciosa ; "lam not so ungrate- 
 ful as you think. Only wait a little and I believe I shall 
 love you quite dearly." 
 
 Percinet was pleased at this, and with one stroke of his 
 wand compelled all the willful little people to come back to 
 
 their places in the box, and then rendering the princess in- 
 visible he took her with him in his chariot to the castle. 
 
 When the princess presented herself at the door, and said 
 that the queen had ordered her to place the box in her own 
 room, the governor laughed heartily at the idea. 
 
 " No, no, my little shepherdess," said he, " that is not the 
 place for you. No wooden shoes have ever been over that 
 floor yet." 
 
176 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 Then Graciosa begged him to give her a written message 
 telling the ueen that he had refused to admit her. This he 
 did, and she went back to Percinet, who was waiting for her, 
 and they set out together for the palace. You may imagine 
 that they did not go the shortest way, but the princess did 
 not find it too long, and before they parted she had promised 
 that if the queen was still cruel to her, and tried again to 
 play her any spiteful trick, she would leave her and come 
 to Percinet forever. 
 
 When the queen saw her returning she fell upon the fairy, 
 whom she had kept with her, and pulled her hair and 
 scratched her face, and would really have killed her if a 
 fairy could be killed. And when the princess presented the 
 letter and the box she threw them both upon the fire with- 
 out opening them, and looked very much as if she would 
 like to throw the princess after them. However, what she 
 really did do was to have a great hole as deep as a well dug 
 in her garden, and the top of it covered with a flat stone. 
 Then she went out and walked near it, and said to Graciosa 
 and all her ladies who were with her: 
 
 " I am told that a great treasure lies under that stone : let 
 us see if we can lift it." 
 
 They all began to push and pull at it, and Graciosa among 
 the others, which was just what the queen wanted; for as 
 soon as the stone was lifted high enough she gave the prin- 
 cess a push which sent her down to the bottom of the well, 
 and then the stone was let fall again, and there she was, 
 a prisoner. Graciosa felt that now indeed she was hopelessly 
 lost; surely not even Percinet could find her in the heart of 
 the earth. 
 
 " This is like being buried alive," she said with a shudder. 
 " Oh, Percinet ! if you only knew how I am suffering for my 
 want of trust in you! But how could I be sure that you 
 would not be like other men and tire of me from the mo- 
 ment you were sure I loved you ? " 
 
 As she spoke she suddenly saw a little door open, and the 
 sunshine blazed into the dismal well. Graciosa did not hesi- 
 tate an instant, but passed through into a charming garden. 
 Flowers and fruit grew on every side, fountains plashed, and 
 birds sang in the branches overhead, and when she reached 
 a great avenue of trees and looked up to see where it would 
 
THE RED FAIEY BOOK. 177 
 
 lead her, she found herself close to the palace of crystal. 
 Yes! there was no mistaking it, and the queen and Per- 
 cinet were coming to meet her. 
 
 44 Ah, princess ! " said the queen, " don't keep this poor 
 Percinet in suspense any longer. You little guess the anxi- 
 ety he has suffered while you were in the power of that mis- 
 erable queen." 
 
 The princess kissed her gratefully, and promised to do as 
 she wished in everything, and holding out her hand to Per- 
 cinet, with a smile, she said: 
 
 " Do you remember telling me that I should not see your 
 palace again until I had been buried? I wonder if you 
 guessed then that when that happened I should tell you that 
 I love you with all my heart, and will marry you whenever 
 you like?" 
 
 Prince Percinet joyfully took the hand that was given 
 him, and, for fear the princess should change her mind, 
 the wedding was held at once, with the greatest splendor, 
 and Graciosa and Percinet lived happily ever after. 
 
 THE THREE PRINCESSES OF WHITELAND* 
 
 There was once upon a time a fisherman who lived hard by 
 a palace, and fished for the king's table. One day he was out 
 fishing, but caught nothing at all. Let him do what he might 
 with rod and line, there was never even so much as a sprat 
 upon his hook; but when the day was well-nigh over a head 
 rose up out of the water and said: 
 
 " If you will give me what your wife shows you when you 
 go home, you shall catch fish enough." 
 
 So the man said " Yes " in a moment, and then he caught 
 fish in plenty; but when he got home at night, and his wife 
 showed him a baby which had just been born, and fell 
 a-weeping and wailing when he told her of the promise which 
 he had given, he was very unhappy. 
 
 All this was soon told to the king up at the palace, and 
 when he heard what sorrow the woman was in, and the rea- 
 son of it, he said that he himself would take the child and 
 
 *From J. Moe. 
 
178 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 see if he could not save it. The baby was a boy, and the king 
 took him at once and brought him up as his own son until 
 the lad grew up. Then one day he begged to have leave to 
 go out with his father to fish; he had a strong desire to do 
 this, he said. The king was very unwilling to permit it, but 
 at last the lad got leave. He stayed with his father, and 
 all went prosperously and well with them the whole day, 
 until they came back to land in the evening. Then the lad 
 found that he had lost his pocket-handkerchief, and would 
 go out in the boat after it ; but no sooner had he got into the 
 boat than it began to move off with him so quickly that the 
 water foamed all round about, and all that the lad did to 
 keep the boat back with the oars was done to no purpose, 
 for it went on and on the whole night through, and at 
 last he came to a white strand that lay far, far away. 
 There he landed, and when he had walked on for some dis- 
 tance he met an old man with a long white beard. 
 
 " What is the name of this country ? " said the youth. 
 
 "Whiteland," answered the man, and then he begged the 
 youth to tell him whence he came, and what he was going to 
 do, and the youth did so. 
 
 " Well, then," said the man, " if you walk on further along 
 the seashore here, you will come to three princesses who are 
 standing in the earth so that their heads alone are out of 
 it. Then the first of them will call you she is the eldest 
 and will beg you very prettily to come to her and help her, 
 and the second will do the same, but you must not go near 
 either of them. Hurry past, as if you neither saw nor heard 
 them; but you shall go to the third and do what she bids 
 you; it will bring you good fortune." 
 
 When the youth came to the first princess she called to 
 him and begged him to come to her very prettily, but he 
 walked on as if he did not even see her, and he passed by the 
 second in the same way, but he went up to the third. 
 
 " If thou wilt do what I tell thee, thou shalt choose among 
 us three," said the princess. 
 
 So the lad said that he was most willing, and she told him 
 that three trolls had planted them all three there in the 
 earth, but formerly they had dwelt in the castle which he 
 could see at some distance in the wood. 
 
 " Now," she said, " thou shalt go into the castle, and let 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 179 
 
 the trolls beat thee one night for each of us, and if thou 
 canst but endure that, thou wilt set us free." 
 
 " Yes " answered the lad, " I will certainly try to do so." 
 
 " When thou goest in," continued the princess, " two lions 
 
 will stand by the doorway, but if thou only goest straight 
 
 between them they will do thee no harm; go straight for- 
 
 ward into a small dark chamber; there thou shalt lie down. 
 Then the troll will come and beat thee, but thou shalt take 
 the flask which is hanging on the wall, and anoint thyself 
 wheresoever he has wounded thee, after which thou shalt be 
 as well as before. Then lay hold of the sword which is hang- 
 ing by the side of the flask, and smite the troll dead." 
 
 So he did what the princess had told him. He walked 
 straight in between the lions just as if he did not see them, 
 
180 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. . 
 
 and then into the small chamber, and lay down on the 
 bed. 
 
 The first night a troll came with three heads and three 
 rods, and beat the lad most unmercifully; but he held out 
 until the troll was done with him, and then he took the flask 
 and rubbed himself. Having done this he grasped the sword 
 and smote the troll dead. 
 
 In the morning when he went to the seashore the prin- 
 cesses were out of the earth as far as their waists. 
 
 The next night everything happened in the same way, but 
 the troll who came then had six heads and six rods, and he 
 beat him much more severely than the first had done, but 
 when the lad went out of doors next morning, the prin- 
 cesses were out of the earth as far as their knees. 
 
 On the third night a troll came who had nine heads and 
 nine rods, and he struck the lad and flogged him so long, 
 that at last he swooned away; so the troll took him up and 
 flung him against the wall, and this made the flask of oint- 
 ment fall down, and it splashed all over him, and he became 
 as strong as ever again. 
 
 Then, without loss of time, he grasped the sword and 
 struck the troll dead, and in the morning when he went out 
 of the castle the princesses were standing there entirely out 
 of the earth. So he took the youngest for his queen, and 
 lived with her very happily for a long time. 
 
 At last, however, he took a fancy to go home for a short 
 time to see his parents. His queen did not like this, but 
 when his longing grew so great that he told her he must and 
 would go, she said to him: 
 
 " One thing shalt thou promise me, and that is, to do 
 what thy father bids thee, but not what thy mother bids 
 thee," and this he promised. 
 
 So she gave him a ring which enabled him who wore it to 
 obtain two wishes. 
 
 He wished himself at home, and instantly found him- 
 self there; but his parents were so amazed at the splendor 
 .'f his apparel that their wonder never ceased. 
 
 When he had been at home for some days his mother 
 wanted him to go up to the palace, to show the king what a 
 great man he had become. 
 
 The father said, "No; he must not do that, for if he 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 181 
 
 does we shall have no more delight in him this time " ; 
 but he spoke in vain, for the mother begged and prayed until 
 at last he went. 
 
 When he arrived there he was more splendid, both in rai- 
 ment and in all else, than the other king, who did not like 
 it and said: 
 
 " Well, you can see what kind of queen mine is, but I can't 
 see yours. I do not believe you have such a pretty queen 
 as I have." 
 
 " Would to Heaven she were standing here, and then you 
 would be able to see ! " said the young king, and in an instant 
 she was standing there. 
 
 But she was very sorrowful, and said to him : " Why 
 didst thou not remember my words, and listen only to what 
 thy father said? Now must I go home again at once, and 
 thou hast wasted both thy wishes." 
 
 Then she tied a ring in his hair, which had her name upon 
 it, and wished herself at home again. 
 
 And now the young king was deeply afflicted, and day out 
 and day in went thinking of naught else but how to get 
 back again to his queen. " I will try to see if there is any 
 place where I can learn how to find Whiteland," he thought, 
 and journeyed forth out into the world. 
 
 When he had gone some distance he came to a mountain, 
 where he met a man who was lord over all the beasts in 
 the forest for they all came to him when he blew a horn 
 which he had. So the king asked where Whiteland was. 
 
 u I do not know that," he answered, " but I will ask my 
 beasts." Then he blew his horn and inquired whether any 
 of them knew where Whiteland lay, but there was not one 
 who knew that. 
 
 So the man gave him a pair of snowshoes. " When you 
 have these on," he said, "you will come to my brother, who 
 lives hundreds of miles from here; he is lord over all the 
 birds in the air ask him. When you have got there, just 
 turn the shoes so that the toes point this way, and then they 
 will come home again of their own accord." 
 
 When the king arrived there he turned the shoes as the 
 lord of the beasts had bidden him, and they went back. 
 
 And now once more he asked after Whiteland, and the 
 man summoned all the birds together, and inquired if any 
 
182 
 
 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 of them knew where Whiteland lay. No one knew this. 
 Long after the others there came an old eagle. He had been 
 absent ten whole years, but he too knew no more than the 
 rest. 
 
 * Well, well," said the man, " then you shall have the loan 
 of a pair of snowshoes of mine. If you wear them you will 
 get to my brother, who lives hundreds of miles from here. 
 He is lord of all the fish in the sea you can ask him. But 
 do not forget to turn the shoes round." 
 
 The king thanked him, put on the shoes, and when he had 
 got to him who was lord of all the fish in the sea, he turned 
 
 the snowshoes round, and back they went just as the others 
 had gone, and he asked once more where Whiteland was. 
 
 The man called the fish together with his horn, but none 
 of them knew anything about it. At last came an old, old 
 pike, which he had- great difficulty in bringing home to him. 
 
 When he asked the pike, it said : " Yes, Whiteland is well 
 known to me, for I have been cook there these ten years. To- 
 morrow morning I have to go back there, for now the queen, 
 whose king is staying away, is to marry someone else." 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 183 
 
 * If that be the case I will give you a piece of advice," said 
 the man. " Not far from here on a moor stand three 
 brothers, who have stood there a hundred years fighting for 
 a hat, a cloak, and a pair of boots ; if anyone has these three 
 things he can make himself invisible, and if he desires to go 
 to any place, he has but to wish, and he is there. You may 
 tell them that you have a desire to try these things, and then 
 you will be able to decide which of the men is to have them." 
 
 So the king thanked him and went, and did what he had 
 said. 
 
 "What is this that you are standing fighting about for- 
 ever and ever ? " said he to the brothers ; " let me make a 
 trial of these things, and then I will judge between you." 
 
 They willingly consented to this, but when he had got 
 the hat, the cloak, and the boots, he said, " Next time we 
 meet you shall have my decision," and hereupon he wished 
 himself away. 
 
 While he was going quickly through the air he fell in 
 with the north wind. 
 
 " And where may you be going ? " said the north wind. 
 
 " To Whiteland," said the king, and then he related what 
 had happened to him. 
 
 " Well," said the north wind, " you can easily go a little 
 quicker than I can, for I have to puff and blow into every 
 corner; but when you get there, place yourself on the stairs 
 by the side of the door, and then I will come blustering in 
 as if I wanted to blow down the whole castle, and when the 
 prince who is to have your queen comes out to see what is 
 astir, just take him by the throat and fling him out, and 
 then I will try to carry him away from court." 
 
 As the north wind had said, so did the king. He stood 
 on the stairs, and when the north wind came howling and 
 roaring, and caught the roof and walls of the castle till 
 they shook again, the prince went out to see what was the 
 matter; but as soon as he came the king came arid took 
 him by the neck and flung him out, and then the north wind 
 laid hold of him and carried him off. And when he was rid 
 of him the king went into the castle. At fir=t th^ nuepu 
 did not know him, because he had grown so thin and mle 
 from having traveled so long and so sorrowfully; but when 
 he saw her ring she was heartily glad, and then the right- 
 
184 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 ful wedding was held, and held in snch a way that it tow 
 talked about far and wide. 
 
 THE VOICE OF DEATH* 
 
 Once upon a time there lived a man whose one wish and 
 prayer was to get rich. Day and night he thought of noth- 
 ing else, and at last his prayers were granted, and he be- 
 came very wealthy. Now being so rich, and having so much 
 to lose, he felt that it would be a terrible thing to die and 
 leave all his possessions behind; so he made up his mind to 
 set out in search of a land where there was no death. He 
 got ready for his journey, took leave of his wife, and started. 
 Whenever he came to a new country the first question that he 
 asked was whether people died in that land, and when he 
 heard that they did, he set out again on his quest. At last 
 he reached a country where he was told that the people did 
 not even know the meaning of the word death. Our traveler 
 was delighted when he heard this, and said: 
 
 " But surely there are great numbers of people in your 
 land, if no one ever dies ? " 
 
 "No," they replied, "there are not great numbers, for 
 you see from time to time a voice is heard calling first one 
 and then another, and whoever hears that voice gets up and 
 goes away, and never comes back." 
 
 "And do they see the person who calls them," he asked, 
 " or do they only hear his voice ? " 
 
 " They both see and hear him," was the answer. 
 
 Well, the man was amazed when he heard that the people 
 were stupid enough to follow the voice, though they knew 
 that if they went when it called them they would never re- 
 turn. And he went back to his own home and got all his pos- 
 sessions together, and, taking his wife and family, he set out 
 resolved to go and live in that country where the people did 
 not die, but where instead they heard a voice calling them, 
 which they followed into a land from which they never re- 
 turned. For he had made up his own mind that when he or 
 any of his family heard that voice they would pay no heed 
 to it, however loudly it called. 
 
 * Roumanian Tales from the German of Mite Thremnitz. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 185 
 
 After he had settled down in his new home and had got 
 everything in order about him, he warned his wife and 
 family that, unless they wanted to die, they must on no ac- 
 count listen to a voice which they might some day hear 
 calling them. 
 
 For some years everything went well with them, and they 
 lived happily in their new home. But one day, while they 
 ere all sitting together round the table, his wife suddenly 
 started up, exclaiming in a loud voice: 
 " I am coming ! I am coming ! " 
 
 And she began to look round for her fur coat, but her 
 
 < 
 
 husband jumped up, and taking firm hold of her by the hand, 
 held her fast, and reproached her, saying : 
 
 " Don't you remember what I told you ? Stay where you 
 are unless you wish to die." 
 * " But don't you hear that voice calling me ? " she answered. 
 " I am merely going to see why I am wanted. I shall come 
 come back directly." 
 
 So she fought and struggled to get away from her hus- 
 band, and to go where the voice summoned. But he would 
 
 < 
 
186 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 not let her go, and had all the doors of the house shut and 
 bolted. When she saw that he had done this, she said : 
 > r " Very well, dear husband, I shall do what you wish, and 
 
 remain where I am." 
 
 So her husband believed that it was all right, and that 
 she had thought better of it, and had got over her mad im- 
 pulse to obey the voice. But in a few minutes later she made 
 a dash for one of the doors, opened it and darted out, fol- 
 lowed by her husband. He caught her by the fur coat, and 
 Pegged and implored her not to go, for if she did she would 
 never return.. She said nothing but let her arms fall 
 backward, and suddenly bending herself forward, she slipped 
 out of the coat, leaving it in her husband's hands. He, poor 
 man, seemed turned to stone as he gazed after her hurrying 
 away from him, and calling at the top of her voice as she ran : 
 
 " I am coming ! I am coming ! " 
 
 When she was quite out of sight her husband recovered 
 his wits and went back into the house, murmuring: 
 
 "If she is so foolish as to wish to die, I can't help it. I 
 warned and implored her to pay no heed to that voice, how- 
 ever loudly it might call." 
 
 Well, days and weeks and months and years passed, and 
 nothing happened to disturb the peace of the household. 
 But one day the man was at the barber's as usual, being 
 shaved. The shop was full of people, and his chin had just 
 been covered with a lather of soap, when, suddenly starting 
 up from the chair, he called out in a loud voice : 
 
 " I won't come, do you hear ? I won't come ! " 
 
 The barber and the other people in the shop listened to 
 him with amazement. But again looking toward the door, 
 he exclaimed: 
 
 " I tell you, once and for all, I do not mean to come, so go 
 away." 
 
 And a few minutes later he called out again : 
 
 " Go away, I tell you, or it will be the worse for you. You 
 may call as much as you like, but you will never get me to 
 come." 
 
 And he got so angry that you might have thought that 
 someone was actually standing a^ the door, tormenting him. 
 At last he jumped up, and caught the razor out of the bar- 
 ber's hand, exclaiming: 
 
X. 
 
 THE BED FAIRY BOOK. 187 
 
 "Give me that razor, and I'll teach him to let people 
 alone for the future." 
 
 And he rushed out of the house as if he were running 
 after someone, whom no one else saw. The barber, deter- 
 mined not to lose his razor, pursued the man, and they 
 both continued running at full speed till they had got well 
 out of the town, when all of a sudden the man fell head 
 foremost down a precipice, and never was seen again. So 
 he too, like the others, had been forced against his will to 
 follow the voice that called him. 
 
 The barber, who went home whistling and congratulating 
 himself on the escape he had made, described what had hap- 
 pened, and it was noised abroad in the country that the peo- 
 ple who had gone away, and had never returned, had all fal- 
 len into that pit; for till then they had never known what 
 had happened to those who had heard the voice and obeyed 
 its call. 
 
 But when crowds of people went out from the town to 
 examine the ill-fated pit that had swallowed up such num- 
 bers, and yet never seemed to be full, they could discover 
 nothing. All that they could see was a vast plain, that 
 looked as if it had been there since the beginning of the 
 world. And from that time the people began to die like ordi- 
 nary mortals the world over. 
 
 THE SIX SILLIES* 
 
 Once upon a time there was a young girl who reached the 
 age of thirty-seven without ever having had a lover, for she 
 was so foolish that no one wanted to marry her. 
 
 One day, however, a young man arrived to pay his ad- 
 dresses to her, and her mother, beaming wfth joy, sent her 
 daughter down to the cellar to draw a jug of beer. 
 
 As the girl never came back the mother went down to 
 see what had become of her, and found her sitting on the 
 stairs, her head in her hands, while by her side the beer 
 was running all over the floor, as she had forgotten to close 
 the tap. " What are you doing there ? " asked the mother. 
 
 * Story from Hainant. (M. Lemoine. La Tradition. No. 34.) 
 
188 
 
 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 " I was thinking what I shall call my first child after I am 
 married to that young man. All the names in the calendar 
 are taken already." 
 
 The mother sat down on the stairway beside her daugh- 
 ter and said : " I will think about it with you, my dear." 
 
 The father, who had stayed upstairs with the young man, 
 was surprised that neither his wife nor his daughter came 
 back, and in his turn went down to look for them. He 
 found them both sitting on the stairs, while beside them 
 
 
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 all over the ground from the tap, 
 The beer is running all 
 
 the beer was running 
 which was wide open. 
 
 "What are you doing there? 
 orer the cellar." 
 
 * \V e were thinking what we shall call the children that our 
 daughter will have, when she marries that young man. All 
 the names in the calenda\ g~e teken already." 
 
 "Well," said the father, " I win ;hink *hn U t it with you." 
 
 As neither mother nor daughter nor father came upstair* 
 
THE BED FAIRY BOOK. 189 
 
 again, the lover grew impatient, and went down into the cel- 
 lar to see what they could all be doing. He found them all 
 three sitting on the stairs, while beside them the beer was 
 running all over the ground from the tap, which was wide 
 open. 
 
 " What in the world are you all doing that you don't come 
 upstairs, and that you let the beer run all over the cellar ( n 
 
 u Yes, I know, my boy," said the father, " but if you marry 
 our daughter what shall you call your children? All the 
 names in the calendar are taken." 
 
 When the young man heard this answer he replied : 
 
 " Well ! good-by, I am going away. When I shall have 
 found three people sillier than you I will come back and 
 marry your daughter." 
 
 So he continued his journey, and after walking a long 
 way he reached an orchard. There he saw some people knock- 
 ing down walnuts, and trying to throw them into a cart with 
 a fork. 
 
 " What are you doing there ? " he asked. 
 
 " We want to load the cart with our walnuts, but we can't 
 manage to do it." 
 
 The lover advised them to get a basket and to put the 
 walnuts in it, so as to turn them into the cart. 
 
 " Well," he said to himself, " I have already found some- 
 one more foolish than those three." 
 
 So he went on his way, and by and by he came to a wood. 
 There he saw a man who wanted to give his pig some acorns 
 to eat, and was trying with all his might to make him climb 
 up the oak tree. 
 
 u What are you doing, my good man ? " asked he. 
 
 "I want to make my pig eat some acorns, and I can't 
 get him to go up the tree." 
 
 " If you were to climb up and shake down the acorns the 
 pig would pick them up." 
 
 * Oh, I never thought of that." 
 
 " Here is the second idiot," said the lover to himself. 
 
 Some way further along the road he came upon a man 
 who had never worn any trousers, and who was trying to put 
 on a pair. So he had fastened them to a tree and was 
 jumping with all his might up in the air so that he should 
 hit the two legs of the trousers as he came down. 
 
190 THE RED FAIEY BOOK. 
 
 " It would be much better if you held them in your hands," 
 said the young man, " and then put your legs one after the 
 other in each hole." 
 
 " Dear me, to be sure ! You are sharper than I am, for 
 that never occurred to me." 
 
 And having found three people more foolish than his 
 bride or her father or her mother, the lover went back to 
 marry the young lady. 
 
 And in the course of time they had a great many children. 
 
 KAEI WOODENGOWK* 
 
 There was once upon a time a king who had become a 
 widower. His queen had left one daughter behind her, and 
 she was so wise and so pretty that it was impossible for any- 
 one to be wiser or prettier. For a long time the king went 
 sorrowing for his wife, for he had loved her exceedingly; 
 but at last he grew tired of living alone, and married a 
 queen who was a widow, and she also had a daughter, who 
 was just as ill-favored and wicked as the other was good and 
 beautiful. The stepmother and her daughter were envious 
 of the king's daughter because she was so pretty, but so long 
 as the king was at home they dared do her no harm, be- 
 cause his love for her was so great. 
 
 Then there came a time when he made war on another 
 king and went out to fight, and then the new queen thought 
 that she could do what she liked; so she both hungered and 
 beat the king's daughter and chased her about into every 
 corner. At last she thought that everything was too good 
 for her, and set her to work to look after the cattle. So she 
 went about with the cattle, and herded them in the woods 
 and in the fields. Of food she got little or none, and grew 
 pale and thin, and was nearly always weeping and sad. 
 Among the herd there was a great blue bull, which always 
 kept itself very smart and sleek, and often came to the 
 king's daughter and let her stroke him. So one day, when 
 she was again sitting crying and sorrowing, the bull came up 
 to her and asked why she was always so full of care? Sh 
 made no answer, but continued to weep. 
 * From P. C. Asbjornsen. 
 
THE BED FAIBY BOOK. 
 
 191 
 
 " Well," said the bull, " I know what it is, though you will 
 not tell me; you are weeping because the queen is unkid 
 to you, and because she wants to starve you to death. But 
 you need be under no concern about food, for in my left ear 
 there lies a cloth, and if you will but take it and spread it 
 out, you can have as many dishes as you like." 
 
 So she did this, and took the cloth and spread it out upon 
 the grass, and then it was covered with the daintiest dishes 
 that anyone could desire, and there were wine, and mead, and 
 cake. And now she became brisk and well again, and grew 
 so rosy, and plump, and fair that the queen and her scraggy 
 
 daughter turned blue and white with vexation at it. The 
 queen could not imagine how her stepdaughter could look 
 so well on such bad food, so she ordered one of her hand- 
 maidens to follow her into the wood and watch her, 
 and see how it was, for she thought that some of 
 the servants must be giving her food. So the maid 
 followed her into the wood and watched, and saw how 
 the stepdaughter took the cloth out of the blue bull's ear, 
 and spread it out, and how the cloth was then covered with 
 the most delicate dishes, which the stepdaughter ate and re- 
 galed herself with. So the waiting-maid went home and told 
 the queen. 
 
192 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 And now the king came home, and he had conquered the 
 other king with whom he had been at war. So there was 
 great gladness in the palace, but no one was more glad than 
 the king's daughter. The queen, however, pretended to be 
 ill, and gave the doctor much money to say that she would 
 never be well again unless she had some of the flesh of the 
 blue bull to eat. Both the king's daughter and the people 
 in the palace asked the doctor if there were no other means 
 of saving her, and begged for the bull's life, for they were 
 fond of him, and they all declared that there was no such 
 bull in the whole country; but it was all in vain, he was to 
 be killed, and should be killed, and nothing else would serve. 
 When the king's daughter heard it she was full of sorrow, 
 and went down to the byre to the bull. He too was standing 
 there hanging his head, and looking so downcast that she fell 
 a-weeping over him. 
 
 " What are you weeping for ? " said the bull. 
 
 So she told him that the king had come home again, and 
 that the queen had pretended to be ill, and that she had 
 made the doctor say that she could never be well again un- 
 less some of the flesh of the blue bull was given her to eat, 
 and that now he was to be killed. 
 
 "When once they have taken my life they will soon kill 
 you also," said the bull. " If you are of the same mind with 
 me, we will take our departure this very night." 
 
 The king's daughter thought it was bad to go and leave 
 her father, but that it was worse still to be in the same house 
 with the queen, so she promised the bull that she would 
 come. 
 
 At night, when all the others had gone to bed, the king's 
 daughter stole softly down to the byre to the bull, and he 
 took her on his back and got out of the courtyard as quickly 
 as he could. So at cock-crow next morning, when the peo- 
 ple came to kill the bull, he was gone, and when the king got 
 up and asked for his daughter she was gone too. He sent 
 forth messengers to all parts of the kingdom to search for 
 them, and published his loss in all the parish churches, but 
 there was no one who had seen anything of them. 
 
 In the meantime the bull traveled through many lands 
 with the king's daughter on his back, and one day they came 
 to a great copper wood, where the trees, and the branches, 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 193 
 
 and the leaves, and the flowers, and everything else were of 
 copper. 
 
 But before they entered the wood the bull said to the 
 king's daughter: 
 
 "When we enter this wood, you must take the greatest 
 care not to touch a leaf of it, or all will be over both with me 
 and with you, for a troll with three heads, who is the owner 
 of the wood, lives here." 
 
 So she said she would be on her guard, and not touch any- 
 thing. And she was very careful, and bent herself out of 
 the way of the branches, and put them aside with her hands ; 
 but it was so thickly wooded that it was all but impossible 
 to get forward, and do what she might, she somehow or other 
 tore off a leaf which got into her hand. 
 
 " Oh ! oh ! What have you done now ? " said the bull. 
 " It will now cost us a battle for life or death ; but do be care- 
 ful to keep the leaf ! " 
 
 Very soon afterward they came to the end of the wood, 
 and the troll with three heads came rushing up to them. 
 
 "Who is that who is touching my wood?" said the troll. 
 
 " The wood is just as much mine as yours ! " said the bull. 
 
 " We shall have a tussle for that ! " shrieked the troll. 
 
 " That may be," said the bull. 
 
 So they rushed on each other and fought, and as for the 
 bull, he butted and kicked with all the strength of his body, 
 but the troll fought quite as well as he did, and the whole 
 day went by before the bull put an end to him, and then he 
 himself was so full of wounds and so worn out that he was 
 scarcely able to move. So they had to wait a day, and the 
 bull told the king's daughter to take the horn of ointment 
 which hung at the troll's belt, and rub him with it ; then he 
 was himself again, and the next day they set off once more. 
 And now they journeyed on for many, many days, and then 
 after a long, long time they came to a silver wood. The 
 trees, and the boughs, and the leaves, and the flowers, and 
 everything else were of silver. 
 
 Before the bull went into the" wood, he said to the king's 
 daughter: "When we enter into this wood you must, for 
 Heaven's sake, be very careful not to touch anything at 
 all, and not to pluck even so much as one leaf, or else all will 
 be over both with you and me. A troll with six heads 
 
194 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 lives here, who is the owner of the wood, and I do not think 
 I should be able to overcome him." 
 
 " Yes," said the king's daughter, " I will take good care 
 not to touch what you do not wish me to touck." 
 
 But when they got into the wood it was so crowded, and 
 the trees so close together, that they could scarcely get for- 
 ward. She was as careful as she could be, and bent aside to 
 get out of the way of the branches, and thrust them away 
 from before her with her hands; but every instant a branch 
 struck against her eyes, and in spite of all her care, she hap- 
 pened to pull off one leaf. 
 
 " Oh ! oh ! What have you done now ? " said the bull. " It 
 will now cost us a battle for life or death, for this troll has 
 six heads and is twice as strong as the other, but do be care- 
 ful to keep the leaf." 
 
 Just as he said this along came the troll. " Who is that 
 who is touching my wood ? " he said. 
 
 " It is just as much mine as yours ! " 
 
 " We shall have a tussle for that ! " screamed the troll. 
 
 " That may be," said the bull, and rushed at the troll, 
 and gored out his eyes, and drove his horns right through 
 him so that his entrails gushed out, but the troll fought 
 just as well as he did, and it was three whole days before the 
 bull got the life out of him. But the bull was then so weak 
 and worn out that it was only with pain and effort that he 
 could move, and so covered with wounds that the blood 
 streamed from him. So he told the king's daughter to take 
 the horn that was hanging at the troll's belt, and anoint him 
 with it. She did this, and then he came to himself again, 
 but they had to stay there and rest for a week before the bull 
 was able to go any further. 
 
 At last they set forth on their way again, but the bull 
 was still weak, and at first could not go quickly. The king's 
 daughter wished to spare him, and said that she was so 
 young and light of foot that she would willingly walk, but he 
 would not give her leave to do that, and she was forced to 
 seat herself on his back again. So they traveled for a long 
 time, and through many lands, and the king's daughter did 
 not at all know where he was taking her, but after a long, 
 long time they came to a gold wood. It was so golden that 
 the gold dripped off it, and the trees, and the branches, and 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 195 
 
 the flowers, and the leaves were all of pure gold. Here all 
 happened just as it had happened in the copper wood and 
 silver wood. The bull told the king's daughter that on no 
 account was she to touch it, for there was a troll with nine 
 heads who was the owner, and that he was much larger and 
 stronger than both the others put together, and that he did 
 not believe that he could overcome him. So she said that 
 she would take great care not to touch anything, and he 
 should see that she did. But when they got into the wood it 
 was still thicker than the silver wood, and the further they 
 got into it the worse it grew. The wood became thicker and 
 thicker, and closer and closer, and at last she thought there 
 was no way whatsoever by which they could get forward; 
 she was so terrified lest she should break anything off that 
 she sat and twisted and turned herself on this side and on 
 that, to get out of the way of the branches, and pushed them 
 away from her with her hands, but every moment they struck 
 against her eyes, so that she could not see what she was 
 clutching at, and before she knew what she was doing she 
 had a golden apple in her hands. She was now in such ter- 
 ror that she began to cry, and wanted to throw it away, but 
 the bull said that she was to keep it, and take the greatest 
 care of it, and comforted her as well as he could, but he be- 
 lieved that it would be a hard struggle, and he doubted 
 whether it would go well with him. 
 
 Just then the troll with nine heads came, and he was so 
 frightful that the king's daughter scarcely dared to look at 
 him. 
 
 " Who is this who is breaking my wood ? " he screamed. 
 
 " It is as much mine as yours ! " said the bull. 
 
 " We shall have a tussle for that ! " screamed the troll. 
 
 " That may be," said the bull ; so they rushed at each other, 
 and fought, and it was such a dreadful sight that the king's 
 daughter very nearly swooned. The bull gored the troll's 
 eyes out and ran his horns right through him, but the troll 
 fought as well as he did, and when the bull had gored one 
 head to death the other heads breathed life into it again, 
 so it was a whole week before the bull was able to kill him. 
 But then he himself was so worn out and weak that he could 
 not move at all. His body was all one wound, and he could 
 not even so much as tell the king's daughter to take the horn 
 
196 
 
 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 of ointment out of the troll's belt and rub him with it. She 
 did this without being told; so he came to himself again, 
 but he had to lie there for three weeks and rest before he 
 was in a state to move. 
 
 Then they journeyed onward by degrees, for the bull said 
 that they still had a little further to go, and in this way they 
 
 crossed many high hills and thick woods. This lasted for 
 awhile, and then they came upon the fells. 
 
 " Do you see anything ? " asked the bull. 
 
 " IsTo, I see nothing but the sky above and the wild fell 
 side," said the king's daughter. 
 
 Then they climbed up higher, and the fell grew more 
 level, so that they could see further around them. 
 
 " Do you see anything now ? " said the bull. 
 
 "Yes, I see a small castle, far, far away," said the prin- 
 
 " It is not so very little after all," said the bull. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 197 
 
 After a long, long time they came to a high hill, where 
 there was a precipitous wall of rock. 
 
 " Do you see nothing now ? " said the bull. 
 
 " Yes, now I see the castle quite near, and now it is much, 
 much larger," said the king's daughter. 
 
 " Thither shall you go," said the bull ; " immediately be- 
 low the castle there is a pig-sty, where you shall dwell. 
 When you get there you will find a wooden gown which you 
 are to put on, and then go to the castle and say that you 
 are called Kari Woodengown, and that you are seeking a 
 place. But now you must take out your little knife and cut 
 off my head with it, and then you must flay me and roll up 
 my hide and put it there under the rock, and beneath the 
 hide you must lay the copper leaf, and the silver leaf, and 
 the golden apple. Close beside the rock a stick is standing, 
 and when you want me for anything you have only to knock 
 at the wall of rock with that." 
 
 At first she would not do it, but when the bull said that 
 this was the only reward that he would have for what he 
 had done for her, she could not do otherwise. So though 
 she thought it very cruel, she slaved on and cut at the great 
 animal with the knife till she had cut off his head and hide, 
 and then she folded up the hide and laid it beneath the 
 mountain wall, and put the copper leaf, and the silver leaf, 
 and the golden apple inside of it. 
 
 When she had done that she went away to the pig-sty, 
 but all the way as she went she wept, and was very sorrow- 
 ful. Then she put on the wooden gown, and walked to the 
 king's palace. When she got there she went into the kitchen 
 and begged for a place, saying that her name was Kari 
 Woodengown. 
 
 The cook told her that she might have a place and leave 
 to stay there at once and wash up, for the girl who had done 
 that before had just gone away. "And as soon as you get 
 tired of being here you will likewise take yourself off too," 
 said he. 
 
 " No," said she, " that I shall certainly not." 
 
 And then she washed up, and did it very tidily. 
 
 On Sunday some strangers were coming to the king's 
 palace, so Kari begged to have leave to carry up the water 
 for the prince's bath, but the others laughed at her and said, 
 
198 
 
 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 "What do you want there? Do you think the prince will 
 ever look at such a fright as you ? " 
 
 She would not give it up, however, but went on begging 
 until at last she got leave. When she was going upstairs 
 her wooden gown made such a clatter that the prince came 
 out and said : " What sort of a creature may you be ? " 
 " I was to take this water to you," said Kari. 
 "Do you suppose that I will have any water that you 
 bring ? " said the prince, and emptied it over her. 
 
 She had to bear that, but then she asked permission to go 
 
 to church. She got that, for 
 the church was very near. 
 But first she went to the rock 
 and knocked at it with the 
 stick which was standing 
 there, as the bull had told her 
 to do. Instantly a man came 
 forward and asked her what 
 she wanted. The king's 
 daughter said that she had 
 got leave to go to church and 
 listen to the priest, but that 
 she had no clothes to go in. 
 So he brought her a gown 
 that was as bright as the cop- 
 per wood, and she got a horse 
 and saddle too from him. 
 When she reached the church 
 she was so pretty and so 
 splendidly dressed that every- 
 one wondered who she could 
 be, and hardly anyone lis- 
 tened to what the priest was saying, for they were all 
 looking far too much at her, and the prince himself 
 liked her so well that he could not take his eyes off 
 her for an instant. As she was walking out of the church 
 the prince followed her and shut the church door after her, 
 and thus he kept one of her gloves in his hand. Then she 
 went away and mounted her horse again; the prince again 
 followed her, and asked her whence she came. 
 
 "Oh! I am from Bathland," said Kari. And when the 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 199 
 
 prince took out the glove and wanted to give it back to her, 
 she said: 
 
 " Darkness behind me, but light on my way, 
 That the Prince may not see where I'm going to-day! " 
 
 The prince had never seen the equal of that glove, and 
 he went far and wide, asking after the country which the 
 proud lady, who rode away without her glove, had said that 
 she came from, but there was no one who could tell him. 
 
 Next Sunday someone had to take up a towel to the 
 prince. 
 
 " Ah ! may I have leave to go up with that ? " said Kari. 
 
 " What would be the use of that ? * said the others who 
 were in the kitchen; "you saw what happened last time." 
 
 Kari would not give in, but went on begging for leave till 
 she got it, and then she ran up the stairs so that her wooden 
 gown clattered again. Out came the prince, and when he 
 saw that it was Kari, he snatched the towel from her and 
 flung it right into her eyes. 
 
 " Be off at once, you ugly troll," said he ; " do you think 
 that I will have a towel handled by your dirty fingers ? " 
 
 After that the prince went to church, and Kari also asked 
 leave to go. They all asked how she could want to go to 
 church when she had nothing to wear but that wooden gown, 
 which was so black and hideous. But Kari said she thought 
 the priest was such a good man at preaching that she got 
 much benefit from what he said, so at last she got leave. 
 
 She went to the rock and knocked, whereupon out came 
 the man and gave her a gown which was much more mag- 
 nificent than the first. It was embroidered with silver all 
 over, and it shone like the silver wood, and he gave her also 
 a most beautiful horse, with housings embroidered with 
 silver, and a bridle of silver too. 
 
 When the king's daughter got to church all the people 
 were standing outside upon the hillside, and all of them 
 wondered who on earth she could be, and the prince was on 
 the alert in a moment, and came and wanted to hold her 
 horse while she alighted. But she jumped off and said that 
 there was no need for that, for the horse was so well broken 
 in that it stood still when she bade it and came when she 
 called it. So they all went into the church together, but 
 
200 THE BED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 there was scarcely anyone who listened to what the priest was 
 saying, for they were all looking far too much at her, and 
 the prince fell much more deeply in love with her than he 
 had been before. 
 
 When the sermon was over and she went out of the church,, 
 and was just going to mount her horse, the prince again 
 came and asked her where she came from. 
 
 " I am from Towelland," said the king's daughter, and 
 as she spoke she dropped her riding-whip, and while the 
 prince was stooping to pick it up she said: 
 
 " Darkness behind me, but light on my way. 
 That the Prince may not see where I'm going to-day! " 
 
 And she was gone again, neither could the prince see what 
 had become of her. He went far and wide to inquire for 
 that country from whence she had said that she came, but 
 there was no one who could tell him where it lay, so he was 
 forced to have patience once more. 
 
 Next Sunday someone had to go to the prince with a 
 comb. Kari begged leave to go with it, but the others re- 
 minded her of what had happened last time, and scolded 
 her for wanting to let the prince see her when she was so 
 black and so ugly in her wooden gown, but she would not 
 give up asking until they gave her leave to go up to the 
 prince with the comb. When she went clattering up the 
 stairs again, out came the prince and took the comb and 
 flung it at her, and ordered her to be off as fast as she could. 
 After that the prince went to church, and Kari also begged 
 for leave to go. Again they all asked what she would do 
 there, she who was so black and ugly, and had no clothes that 
 she could be seen in by other people. The prince or some- 
 one else might very easily catch sight of her, they said, and 
 then both she and they would suffer for it; but Kari said 
 that they had something else to do than to look at her, and 
 she never ceased begging until she got leave to go. 
 
 And now all happened just as it had happened twice al- 
 ready. She went away to the rock and knocked at it with 
 the stick, and then the man came out and gave her a gown 
 which was very much more magnificent than either of the 
 others. It was almost entirely made of pure gold and dia- 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK 201 
 
 monds, and she also got a noble horse with housings em- 
 broidered with gold, and a golden bridle. 
 
 When the king's daughter came to the church the priest 
 and people were all standing on the hillside waiting for 
 her, and the prince ran up and wanted to hold the horse, 
 but she j jumped off, saying: 
 
 "No, thank you, there is no need ; my horse is so well 
 broken in that it will stand still when I bid it." 
 
 So they all hastened into the church together and the 
 priest got into the pulpit, but no one listened to what he 
 said, for they were looking for too much at her and 
 wondering whence she came ; and the prince was far more 
 in love than he had been on either of the former oc- 
 casions; he was mindful of nothing but looking at her. 
 about to leave the church, the prince had caused a firkin 
 
 When the sermon was over and the king's daughter was 
 of tar to be emptied out in the porch in order that he might 
 go to help her over it ; she, however, did not trouble her- 
 self in the least about the tar, but set her foot down in the 
 middle of it and jumped over it, and thus one of her gold 
 shoes were left sticking in it. When she had seated her- 
 self on the horse the prince came running out of the 
 church and ask her whence she came. 
 
 "From Combland," said Kari. But when the prince 
 wanted to reach her her gold shoe, she said : 
 
 "Darkness behind me, but light on my way, 
 That the Prince may not see where I'm going to-day !'* 
 
 The prince did not know what had become of her, so 
 he traveled for a long and wearisome time all over the 
 world, asking where Combland was, but when no one could 
 tell him where that coutry was, he caused it to be made 
 known everywhere that he would marry any woman who 
 could put on the gold shoe. So fair maidens and ugly 
 maidens came thither from all regions, but there was none 
 who had a foot so small that she could put on the gold 
 shoe. After a long, long while came Kari Woodengown's 
 wicked stepmother, with her daughter too, and shoe fitted 
 her. But she was so ugly and looked so loathsome that 
 the prince was very unwilling to do what he had prom- 
 ised. Nevertheless all was got ready for the wedding, 
 
202 
 
 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 and she was decked out as a bride, but as they were riding 
 to church a little bird sat upon a tree and sang: 
 
 A slice off her heel 
 And a slice off her toes, 
 Kari Woodengown's shoe 
 Fills with blood as she goes! " 
 
 And when they looked to it the bird had spoken the truth, 
 for blood was trickling out of the shoe. So all the waiting- 
 maids, and all the womenkind in the castle had to come and 
 try on the shoe, but there was not one whom it would fit. 
 " But where is Kari Woodengown, then ? " asked the 
 
 prince, when all the others had tried on the shoe, for he 
 understood the song of birds and it came to his mind what 
 the bird had said. 
 
 " Oh ! that creature ! " said the others ; u it's not the 
 least use for her to come here, for she has feet like a horse ! " 
 
 " That may be," said the prince, " but as all the others 
 have tried it, Kari may try it too. Kari ! " he called out 
 through the door, and Kari came upstairs, and her wooden 
 gown clattered as if a whole regiment of dragoons were 
 coming up. 
 
 " Now you are to try on the gold shoe and be a princess," 
 
THE BED FAIRY BOOK. 203 
 
 said the other servants, and they laughed at her and mocked 
 her. Kari took up the shoe, put her foot into it as easily 
 as possible, and then threw off her wooden gown, and there 
 she stood in the golden gown, which flashed like rays of sun- 
 shine, and on her other foot she had the fellow to the gold 
 shoe. The prince knew her in a moment, and was so glad 
 that he ran and took her in his arms and kissed her, and 
 when he heard that she was a king's daughter he was gladder 
 still, and then they had the wedding. 
 
 DRAKESTAIL* 
 
 Drakestail was very little, that is why he was called 
 Drakestail; but tiny as he was he had brains, and he knew 
 what he was about, for having begun with nothing he ended 
 by amassing a hundred crowns. JSTow the king of the coun- 
 try, who was very extravagant and never kept any money, 
 having heard that Drakestail had some, went one day in 
 his own person to borrow his hoard, and, my word, in those 
 days Drakestail was not a little proud of having lent money 
 to the king. But after the first and second year, seeing that, 
 they never even dreamed of paying the interest, he became 
 uneasy, so much so that at last he resolved to go and see his 
 majesty himself, and get repaid. So one fine morning 
 Drakestail, very spruce and fresh, takes the road, singing: 
 " Quack, quack, quack, when shall I get my money back ? " 
 
 He had not gone far when he met friend Fox, on his 
 rounds that way. 
 
 " Good-morning, neighbor," says the friend ; " where are 
 you off to so early ? " 
 
 " I am going to the king for what he owes me." 
 
 "Oh! take me with thee!" 
 
 Drakestail said to himself : " One can't have too many 
 friends." Aloud says he, "I will, but going on all fours 
 you will soon be tired. Make yourself quite small, get into 
 my throat go into my gizzard and I will carry you." 
 
 " Happy thought ! " says friend Fox. 
 
 * GorUe of Ch. Marelles. 
 
204 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 He takes bag and baggage, and, presto ! is gone like a let- 
 ter into the post. 
 
 And Drakestail is off again, all spruce and fresh, still sing- 
 ing : " Quack, quack, quack, when shall I have my money 
 back?" 
 
 He had not gone far when he met his lady friend, Ladder, 
 leaning on her wall. 
 
 " Good-morning, my duckling," says the lady friend, 
 " whither away so bold ? " 
 
 " I am going to the king for what he owes me." 
 
 " Oh ! take me with thee ! " 
 
 Drakestail said to himself : " One can't have too many 
 friends." Aloud says he: "I will, but then with your 
 wooden legs you will soon be tired. Make yourself quite 
 small, get into my throat go into my gizzard and I will 
 carry you." 
 
 " Happy thought ! " says my friend, Ladder, and nimble, 
 bag and baggage, goes to keep company with friend Fox. 
 
 And " Quack, quack, quack," Drakestail is off again, sing- 
 ing and spruce as before. A little further he meets his 
 sweetheart, my friend Kiver, wandering quietly in the sun- 
 shine. 
 
 " Thou, my cherub," says she, " whither so lonesome, with 
 arching tail, on this muddy road ? " 
 
 " I am going to the king, you know, for what he owes me." 
 
 "Oh! take me with thee!" 
 
 Drakestail said to himself : " We can't have too many 
 friends." Aloud says he: I will, but you who sleep while 
 you walk will soon get tired. Make yourself quite small 
 get into my throat go into my gizzard and I will carry you." 
 
 " Ah ! happy thought ! " says my friend River. 
 
 She takes bag and baggage, and glou, glou, glou she takes 
 her place between friend Fox and my friend Ladder. 
 
 And " Quack, quack, quack," Drakestail is off again sing- 
 ing. 
 
 A little further on he meets comrade Wasp's-nest, ma- 
 neuvering his wasps. 
 
 " Well, good-morning, friend Drakestail," said comrade 
 Wasp's-nest, " where are we bound for, so spruce and fresh ? " 
 
 " I am going to the king for what he owes me." 
 
 "Oh! take me with thee!" 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 205 
 
 Drakestail said to himself, " One can't have too many 
 friends." Aloud says he: "I will, but then with your bat- 
 talion to drag along, you will soon be tired. Make your- 
 self quite small, go into my throat get into my gizzard and 
 I will carry you." 
 
 " By Jove ! that's a good idea ! " says comrade Wasp's- 
 nest. 
 
 And left file! he takes the same road to join the others 
 with all his party. There was not much room, but by closing 
 up a bit they managed. And Drakestail is off again singing. 
 
 He arrived thus at the capital, and threaded his way 
 straight up the High Street, still running and singing 
 " Quack, quack, quack, when shall I get my money back ? " 
 to the great astonishment of the good folks, till he came to 
 the king's palace. 
 
 He strikes with the knocker : " Toe ! toe ! " 
 
 " Who is there ? " asks the porter, putting his head out of 
 the wicket. 
 
 "'Tis I, Drakestail. I wish to speak to the king." 
 
 " Speak to the king ! That's easily said. The king is din- 
 ing, and will not be disturbed." 
 
 " Tell him that it is I, and I have come he well knows 
 why." 
 
 The porter shuts his wicket and goes up to say it to the 
 king, who was just sitting down to dinner with a napkin 
 round his neck, and all his ministers. 
 
 " Good, good ! " said the king, laughing. " I know wha\ 
 it is ! Make him come in, and put him with the turkeys and 
 chickens." 
 
 The porter descends. 
 
 " Have the goodness to enter." 
 
 " Good ! " says Drakestail to himself, " I shall now see how 
 they eat at court." 
 
 " This way, this way," says the porter. a One step fur- 
 ther. There, there you are." 
 
 " How ? what ? in the poultry-yard ? " 
 
 Fancy how vexed Drakestail was ! 
 
 "Ah! so that's it," says he. "Wait! I will compel you 
 to receive me. Quack, quack, quack, when shall I get my 
 money back ? " But turkeys and chickens are creatures who 
 don't like people that are not as themselves. When they saw 
 
206 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 the new-comer and how he was made, and when they heard 
 him crying too, they began to look black at him. 
 
 " What is it ? what does he want ? " 
 
 Finally they rushed at him altogether, to overwhelm him 
 with pecks. 
 
 " I am lost ! " said Drakestail to himself, when by good 
 luck he remembers his comrade friend Fox, and he cries: 
 
 >f Reynard, Reynard, come out of your earth, 
 Or Drakestail's life is of little worth." 
 
 Then friend Fox, who was only waiting for these words, 
 hastens out, throws himself on the wicked fowls, and quick! 
 quack! he tears them to pieces; so much so that at the end 
 of five minutes there was not one left alive. And Drakes- 
 tail, quite content, began to sing again, " Quack, quack, 
 quack, when shall I get my money back ? " 
 
 When the king, who was still at table, heard this refrain, 
 and the poultry-woman came to tell him what had been go- 
 ing on in the yard, he was terribly annoyed. 
 
 He ordered them to throw this tail of a drake into the 
 well, to make an end of him. 
 
 And it was done as he commanded. Drakestail was in de- 
 spair of getting himself out of such a deep hole, when he re- 
 membered his lady friend Ladder. 
 
 ' Ladder, Ladder, come out of thy hold, 
 Or Drakestail's days will soon be told." 
 
 My friend Ladder, who was only waiting for these words, 
 hastens out, leans her two arms on the edge of the well, 
 then Drakestail climbs nimbly on her back, and hop ! he is in 
 the yard, where he begins to sing louder than ever. 
 
 When the king, who was still at table and laughing at the 
 good trick he had played his creditor, heard him again re- 
 claiming his money, he became livid with rage. 
 
 He commanded that the furnace should be heated, and 
 this tail of a drake thrown into it, because he must be a 
 sorcerer. 
 
 The furnace was soon hot, but this time Drakestail was 
 not so afraid; he counted on his sweetheart, my friend 
 River. 
 
 11 River, River, outward flow, 
 Or to death Drakestail must go." 
 
THE EED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 207 
 
 Drakestail Meeting his Various Friends on his Journey to the 
 King's Palace. 
 
 My friend River hastens out, and errouf ! throws herself 
 into the furnace, which she floods, with all the people who 
 had lighted it; after which she flowed growling into the hall 
 of the palace to the height of more than four feet. 
 
 And Drakestail, quite content, begins to swim, singing 
 deaf eningly, " Quack, quack, quack, when shall I get my 
 money back ? " 
 
208 THE BED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 The king was still at table, and thought himself quite 
 sure of his game; but when he heard Drakestail singing 
 again, and when they told him all that had passed, he be- 
 came furious and got up from the table brandishing his 
 fists. 
 
 " Bring him here, and I'll cut his throat ! Bring him here 
 quick ! " cried he. 
 
 And quickly two footmen ran to fetch Drakestail. 
 
 "At last," said the poor chap, going up the great stairs, 
 " they have decided to receive me." 
 
 Imagine his terror when on entering he sees the king as 
 red as a turkey cock, and all his ministers attending him 
 standing sword in hand. He thought this time it was all 
 up with him. Happily he remembered that there was still 
 one remaining friend, and he cried with dying accents: 
 
 " "Wasp's nest, Wasp's nest, make a sally, 
 Or Drakestail nevermore may rally." 
 
 Hereupon the scene changes. 
 
 " Bs, bs, bayonet them ! " The brave Wasp's-nest rushes 
 out with all his wasps. They threw themselves on the in- 
 furiated king and his ministers, and stung them so fiercely 
 in the face that they lost their heads, and not knowing 
 where to hide themselves they all jumped pell-mell from 
 the window and broke their necks on the pavement. 
 
 Behold Drakestail much astonished, all alone in the big 
 saloon and master of the field. He could not get over it. 
 
 Nevertheless, he remembered shortly what he had come 
 for to the palace, and improving the occasion, he set to 
 work to hunt for his dear money. But in vain he rum- 
 maged in all the drawers; he found nothing; all had been 
 spent. 
 
 And ferreting thus from room to room he came at last 
 to the one with the throne in it, and feeling fatigued, he 
 sat himself down on it to think over his adventure. In 
 the meanwhile the people had found their king and his min- 
 isters with their feet in the air on the pavement, and they 
 had gone into the palace to know how it had occurred. On 
 entering the throne-room, when the crowd saw that there 
 was already someone on the royal seat, they broke out in 
 cries of surprise and joy: 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 209 
 
 M The King is dead, long live the King! 
 Heaven has sent us down this thing." 
 
 Drakestail, who was no longer surprised at anything, 
 received the acclamations of the people as if he had never 
 done anything else all his life. 
 
 A few of them certainly murmured that a Drakestail 
 would make a fine king; those who knew him replied that 
 a knowing Drakestail was a more worthy king than a 
 
 spendthrift like him who was lying on the pavement. In 
 short, they ran and took the crown off the head of the 
 deceased, and placed it on that of Drakestail, whom it fitted 
 like wax. 
 
 Thus he became king. 
 
 " And now," said he after the ceremony, " ladies and gen- 
 tlemen, let's go to supper. I am so hungry ! " 
 
 THE KATCATCIIEK* 
 
 A very long time ago the town of Ilamel in Germany 
 was invaded 'by bands of rats, the like of which had nevei 
 been seen before nor will ever be again. 
 * Ch. iMai-elles. 
 
210 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 They were great black creatures that ran boldly in broad 
 daylight through the streets, and swarmed so, all over the 
 houses, that people at last could not put their hand or foot 
 down anywhere without touching one. When dressing in the 
 morning they found them in their breeches and petticoats, 
 in their pockets and in their boots; and when they wanted 
 a morsel to eat, the voracious horde had swept away every- 
 thing from cellar to garret. The night was even worse. As 
 soon as the lights were out, these untiring nibblers set to 
 work. And everywhere, in the ceilings, in the floors, in 
 the cupboards, at the doors, there were a chase and a rum- 
 mage, and so furious a noise of gimlets, pinchers, and saws 
 that a deaf man could not have rested for one hour together. 
 
 Neither cats nor dogs, nor poison nor traps, nor prayers 
 nor candles burned to all the saints nothing would do any- 
 thing. The more they killed the more came. And the in- 
 habitants of Hamel began to go to the dogs (not that they 
 were of much use), when one Friday there arrived in the 
 town a man with a queer face, who played the bagpipes 
 and sang this refrain: 
 
 " Qui vivra verra : 
 Le voil&, 
 Le preneur des rats." 
 
 He was a great gawky fellow, dry and bronzed, with a 
 crooked nose, a long rat-tail mustache, two great yellow 
 piercing and mocking eyes, under a large felt hat set off 
 by a scarlet cock's feather. He was dressed in a green jacket 
 with a leather belt and red breeches, and on his feet were 
 sandals fastened by thongs passed round his legs in the 
 gypsy fashion. 
 
 That is how he may be seen to this day, painted on a 
 window of the cathedral of Hamel. 
 
 He stopped on the great market-place before the town 
 
 hall, turned his back to the church, and went on with his 
 
 music, singing: 
 
 Who lives shall see: 
 This he is, 
 The ratcatcher. 
 
 The town council had just assembled to consider once 
 more this plague of Egypt, from which no one could save the 
 town. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 211 
 
 The stranger sent word to the councilors that, if they 
 would make it worth his while, he would rid them of all 
 their rats before night, down to the very last. 
 
 " Then he is a sorcerer ! " cried the citizens with one 
 voice ; " we must beware of him." 
 
 The town counselor, who was considered clever, reas- 
 sured them. 
 
 He said : " Sorcerer or no, if this bagpiper speaks the 
 truth, it was he who sent us this horrible vermin that he 
 wants to rid us of to-day for money. Well, we must learn 
 to catch the devil in his own snares. You leave it to me." 
 
 "Leave it to the town counselor," said the citizens one 
 to another. 
 
 And the stranger was brought before them. 
 
 " Before night," said he, " I shall have dispatched all the 
 rats in Hamel if you will pay me a gros a head." 
 
 " A gros a head ! " cried the citizens, " but that will come 
 to millions of florins ! " 
 
 The town counselor simply shrugged his shoulders and 
 said to the stranger: 
 
 " A bargain ! To work ; the rats will be paid one gros 
 a head as you ask." 
 
 The bagpiper announced that he would operate that very 
 evening when the moon rose. He added that the inhabi- 
 tants should at that hour leave the streets free, and content 
 themselves with looking out of their windows at what was 
 passing, and that it would be a pleasant spectacle. When 
 the people of Hamel heard of the bargain, they too ex- 
 claimed: "A gros a head! but this will cost us a deal of 
 money ! " 
 
 "Leave it to the town counselor," said the town council 
 with a malicious air. And the good people of Hamel re- 
 peated with their councilors, " Leave it to the town coun- 
 selor." 
 
 Toward nine at night the bagpiper appeared on the market- 
 place. He turned, as at first, his back to the church, and the 
 moment the moon rose on the horizon, " Trarira, trari ! " the 
 bagpipes resounded. 
 
 It was first a slow, caressing sound, then more and more 
 lively and urgent, and so sonorous and piercing that it pene- 
 trated as far as the furthest alleys and retreats of the town. 
 
212 
 
 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 Soon from the bottom of the cellars, the top of the garrets, 
 from under all the furniture, from all the nooks and corners 
 of the houses, out come the rats, search for the door, fling 
 themselves into the street, and trip, trip, trip, begin to run 
 
 in file toward the front of the town hall, so squeezed together 
 that they covered the pavement like the waves of flooded tor- 
 rents. 
 
 When the square was quite full the bagpiper faced about, 
 and, still playing briskly, turned toward the river that runs 
 at the foot of the walls of Hamel. 
 
 Arrived there he turned round; the rats were following. 
 
 " Hop ! hop ! " he cried, pointing with his finger to the 
 middle of the stream, where the water whirled and was 
 drawn down as if through a funnel. And hop ! hop ! without 
 hesitating, the rats took the leap, swam straight to the fun- 
 nel, plunged in head foremost and disappeared. 
 
THE RED FAIEY BOOK. 213 
 
 The plunging continued thus without ceasing till mid- 
 night. 
 
 At last, dragging himself with difficulty, came a big rat, 
 white with age, and stopped on the bank. 
 
 It was the king of the band. 
 
 "Are they all there, friend Blanchet?" asked the bag- 
 piper. 
 
 " They are all there," replied friend Blanchet. 
 
 " And how many were they ? " 
 
 "Nine hundred and ninety thousand, nine hundred and 
 ninety-nine." 
 
 "Well reckoned?" 
 
 " Well reckoned." 
 
 " Then go and join them, old sire, and au revoir." . 
 
 Then the old white rat sprang in his turn into the river, 
 swam to the whirlpool and disappeared. 
 
 When the bagpiper had thus concluded his business he 
 went to bed at his inn. And for the first time during three 
 months the people at Hamel slept quietly through the 
 night. 
 
 The next morning, at nine o'clock, the bagpiper repaired 
 to the town hall, where the town council awaited him. 
 
 " All your rats took a jump into the river yesterday," 
 said he to the councilors, " and I guarantee that not one 
 of them comes back. They were nine hundred and ninety 
 thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine, at one gros a 
 head. Reckon ! " 
 
 "Let us reckon the heads first. One gros a head is one 
 head the gros. Where are the heads ? " 
 
 The ratcatcher did not expect this treacherous stroke 
 He paled with anger and his eyes flashed fire. 
 
 " The heads ! " cried he ; " if you care about them, go 
 and find them in the river." 
 
 " So," replied the town counselor, " you refuse to hold to 
 the terms of your agreement? We ourselves could refuse 
 you all payment. But you have been of use to us, and we 
 will not let you go without recompense," and he offered him 
 fifty crowns. 
 
 "Keep your recompense for yourself," replied the rat- 
 catcher proudly. " If you do not pay me I will be paid bj 
 your heirs." 
 
214 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 Thereupon he pulled his hat down over his eyes, went 
 hastily out of the hall, and left town without speaking to a 
 soul. 
 
 When the Hamel people heard how the affair had ended 
 they rubbed their hands, and with no more scruple than their 
 town counselor, they laughed over the ratcatcher, who, they 
 said, was caught in his own trap. But what made, them 
 laugh above all was his threat of getting himself paid by 
 their heirs. Ha ! they wished that they only had such credi- 
 tors for the rest of their lives. 
 
 Next day, which was a Sunday, they all went gayly to 
 church, thinking that after Mass they would at last be able 
 to eat some good thing that the rats had not tasted before 
 them. 
 
 They never suspected the terrible surprise that awaited 
 them on their return home. No children anywhere, they had 
 all disappeared! 
 
 " Our children ! where are our poor children ? " was the 
 cry that was soon heard in all the streets. 
 
 Then through the east door of the town came three 
 little boys, who cried and wept, and this is what they told : 
 
 While the parents were at church a wonderful music had 
 resounded. Soon all the little boys and all the little girls 
 that had been left at home had gone out, attracted by the 
 magic sounds, and had rushed to the great market-place. 
 There they found the ratcatcher playing his bagpipes at 
 the same spot as the evening before. Then the stranger had 
 begun to walk quickly, and they had followed, running, 
 singing, and dancing to the sound of the music, as far as 
 the foot of the mountain which one sees on entering Hamel. 
 At their approach the mountain had opened a little, and 
 the bagpiper had gone in with them, after which it had 
 closed again. Only the three little ones who told the ad- 
 venture had remained outside, as if by a miracle. One was 
 bandy-legged and could not run fast enough; the other, who 
 had left the house in haste, one foot shod, the other bare, 
 had hurt himself against a big stone and could not walk 
 without difficulty; the third had arrived in time, but in 
 hurrying to go in with the others had struck so violently 
 against the wall of the mountain that he fell backwards at 
 the moment it closed upon his comrades. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 215 
 
 At this story the parents redoubled their lamentations. 
 They ran with their pikes and mattocks to the mountain, and 
 searched till evening to find the opening by which their 
 children had disappeared, without being able to find it. At 
 last, the night falling, they returned desolate to Hamel. 
 
 But the most unhappy of all was the town counselor, for 
 he had lost three little boys and two pretty little girls, and 
 to crown all, the people of Hamel overwhelmed him with 
 
 reproaches, forgetting that the evening before they had all 
 agreed with him. 
 
 What had become of all these unfortunate children ? 
 . The parents always hoped they were not dead, and that 
 the ratcather, who certainly must have come out of the 
 mountain, would have taken them with him to his country. 
 That is why for several years they sent in search of them to 
 different countries, but no one ever came on the trace of the 
 poor little ones. 
 
 It was not till much later that anything was to be heard of 
 them. 
 
 About one hundred and fifty years after the event, when 
 there was no longer one left of the fathers, mothers, brothers, 
 or sisters of that day, there arrived one evening in Hamel 
 some merchants of Bremen returning from the East, who 
 asked to speak with the citizens. They told that they, in 
 
216 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 crossing Hungary, had sojourned in a mountainous coun- 
 try called Transylvania, where the inhabitants only spoke 
 German, while all around them nothing was spoken but 
 Hungarian. These people also declared that they came 
 from Germany, but they did not know how they chanced to 
 be in this strange country. "Now," said the merchants of 
 Bremen, "these Germans cannot be other than the de- 
 scendants of the lost children of Hamel." 
 
 The people of Hamel did not doubt it; and since that 
 day they regard it as certain that the Transylvanians of 
 Hungary are their country folk, whose ancestors, as children, 
 were brought there by the ratcatcher. There are more dim- 
 cult things to believe than that. 
 
 TRUE HISTOEY OF LITTLE GOLDEN HOOD.* 
 
 You know the tale of poor Little Red Riding Hood, that 
 the wolf deceived and devoured, with her cake, her little 
 butter can, and her grandmother; well, the true story hap- 
 pened quite differently, as we know now. And first of all 
 the little girl was called and is still called Little Golden 
 Hood; secondly, it was not she, nor the good granddame, 
 but the wicked wolf who was, in the end, caught and de- 
 voured. 
 
 Only listen. 
 
 The story begins something like the tale. 
 
 There was once a little peasant girl, pretty and nice as 
 a star in its season. Her real name was Blanchette, but 
 she was more often called Little Golden Hood, on account 
 of a wonderful little cloak with a hood, gold and fire colored, 
 which she always had on. This little hood was given her by 
 her grandmother, who was so old that she did not know her 
 age; it ought to bring her good luck, for it was made of a 
 ray of sunshine, she said. And as the good old woman was 
 considered something of a witch, everyone thought the little 
 hood rather bewitched too. 
 
 And so it was, as you will see. 
 
 One day the mother said to the child: "Let us see, my 
 littk Golden Hood, if you know now how to find your way by 
 *Ch. MarelleB. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 217 
 
 yourself. You shall take this good piece of cake to your 
 grandmother for a Sunday treat to-morrow. You will ask 
 her how she is, and come back at once, without stopping to 
 chatter on the way with people who don't know. Do you 
 quite understand ? " 
 
 " I quite understand," replied Blanchette gayly. And 
 off she went with the cake, quite proud of her errand. 
 
 But the grandmother lived in another village, and there 
 was a big wood to cross before getting there. At a turn of 
 the road under the trees, suddenly " Who goes there ? " 
 
 " Friend Wolf." 
 
 He had seen the child start alone, and the villain was wait- 
 ing to devour her, when at the same moment he perceived 
 some wood-cutters who might observe him, and he changed 
 his mind. Instead of falling upon Blanchette he came frisk- 
 ing up to her like a good dog. 
 
 " 'Tis you ! my nice Little Golden Hood," said he. So the 
 little girl stops to talk with the wolf, who, for all that, she 
 did not know in the least. 
 
 " You know me, then I " said she ; " what is your name ? " 
 
 " My name is friend Wolf. And where are you going thus, 
 my pretty one, with your little basket on your arm ? " 
 
 " I am going to my grandmother, to take her a good piece 
 of cake for her Sunday treat to-morrow." 
 
 " And where does she live, your grandmother ? " 
 
 11 She lives at the other side of the wood, in the first 
 house in the village, near the windmill, you know." 
 
 " Ah ! yes ! I know now," said the wolf. " Well, that's just 
 where I'm going ; I shall get there before you, no doubt, with 
 your little bits of legs, and I'll tell her you're coming to see 
 her; then she'll wait for you." 
 
 Thereupon the wolf cuts across the wood, and in five min- 
 utes arrives at the grandmother's house* 
 
 He knocks at the door: toe, toe. 
 
 No answer. 
 
 He knocks louder. 
 
 Nobody. 
 
 Then he stands up n end, puts his two fore paws on the 
 latch, and the door opens. 
 
 Not a soul in the house. 
 
 The old woman had risen early to sell herbs in the town, 
 
218 THE BED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 and she had gone off in such haste that she had left her 
 bed unmade, with her great night-cap on the pillow. 
 
 " Good! " said the wolf to himself, " I know what I'll do." 
 
 He shuts the door, pulls on the grandmother's night-cap 
 down to his eyes, then he lies down all his length in the bed 
 and draws the curtains. 
 
 In the meantime the good Blanchette went quietly on her 
 way, as little girls do, amusing herself here and there by 
 picking Easter daisies, watching the little birds making 
 their nests, and running after the butterflies which flut- 
 tered in the sunshine. 
 
 At last she arrives at the door. 
 
 Knock, knock. 
 
 " Who is there ? " says the wolf, softening his rough 
 voice as best he can. 
 
 " It's me, granny, your Little Golden Hood. I'm bring- 
 ing you a big piece of cake for your Sunday treat to-mor- 
 row." 
 
 "Press your finger on the latch, then push and the door 
 opens." 
 
 " Why, you've got a cold, granny," said she, coming in. 
 
 "Ahem! a little, my dear, a little," replies the wolf, 
 pretending to cough. " Shut the door well, my little lamb. 
 Put your basket on the table, and then tak6 off your frock 
 and come and lie down by me; you shall rest a little." 
 
 The good child undresses, but observe this ! She kept her 
 little hood upon her head. When she saw what a figure 
 her granny cut in bed, the poor little thing was much sur- 
 prised. 
 
 " Oh ! " cries she, " how like you are to friend Wolf, grand- 
 mother ! " 
 
 " That's on account of my night-cap, child," replies the 
 wolf. 
 
 "Oh! what ha^ry arms you've got, grandmother!" 
 
 " All the better to hug you, my child." 
 
 " Oh ! what a big tongue you've got, grandmother ! " 
 
 " All the better for answering, child." 
 
 " Oh ! what a mouthful of great white teeth you have, 
 grandmother ! " 
 
 " That's for crunching little children with ! " And the 
 wolf opened his jaws wide to swallow Blanchette. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 219 
 
 But she put down her head, crying: 
 
 " Mamma ! mamma ! " and the wolf only caught her little 
 hood. 
 
 Thereupon, oh, dear! oh, dear! he draws back, crying and 
 shaking his jaw as if he had swallowed red-hot coals. 
 
 It was the little fire-colored hood that had burnt his 
 tongue right down his throat. 
 
 The little hood, you see, was one of those magic caps 
 
 that they used to have in former times, in the stories, fof 
 making one's self invisible or invulnerable. 
 
 So there was the wolf with his throat burned, jumping 
 off the bed and trying to find the door, howling and howl- 
 ing as if all the dogs in the country were at his heels. 
 
 Just at this moment the grandmother arrives, returning 
 from the town with her long sack empty on her shoulder. 
 
 * Ah, brigand ! " she cries, " wait a bit ! " Quickly she 
 
220 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 opens her sack wide across the door, and the maddened wolf 
 springs in head downward. 
 
 It is he now that is caught, swallowed like a letter in the 
 post. 
 
 For the brave old dame shuts her sack, so; and she runs 
 and empties it in the well, where the vagabond, still howling, 
 tumbles in and is drowned. 
 
 " Ah, scoundrel ! you thought you would crunch my little 
 grandchild! Well, to-morrow we will make her a muff of 
 your skin, and you yourself shall be crunched, for we will 
 give your carcass to the dogs." 
 
 Thereupon the grandmother hastened to dress poor 
 Blanchette, who was still trembling with fear in the bed. 
 
 " Well," she said to her, " without my little hood where 
 would you be now, darling ? " And, to restore heart and legs 
 to the child, she made her eat a good piece of her cake, and 
 drink a good draught of wine, after which she took her by 
 the hand and led her back to the house. 
 
 And then, who was it who scolded her when she knew all 
 that had happened? 
 
 It was the mother. 
 
 But Blanchette promised over and over again that she 
 would never more stop to listen to a wolf, so that at last 
 the mother forgave her. 
 
 And Blanchette, the Little Golden Hood, kept her word. 
 And in fine weather she may still be seen in the fields with 
 her pretty little hood, the color of the sun. 
 
 But to see her you must rise early. 
 
 THE GOLDEN" BKANCH* 
 
 Once upon a time there was a king who was so morose and 
 disagreeable that he was feared by all his subjects, and with 
 good reason, as for the most trifling offenses he would have 
 their heads cut off. This King Grumpy, as he was called, 
 had one son, who was as different from his father as he could 
 possibly be. No prince equaled him in cleverness and kind- 
 ness of heart, but unfortunately he was most terribly ugly. 
 He had crooked legs and squinting eyes, a large mouth all on 
 * Le Rameau cP Or. Par Madame d'Aulnoy. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 221 
 
 one side, and p. humped back. Never was there such a beau- 
 tiful soul in such a frightful little body, but in spite of his 
 appearance everybody loved him. The queen, his mother, 
 called him Curlicue, because it was a name she rather liked, 
 and it seemed to suit him. 
 
 King Grumpy, who cared a great deal more for his own 
 grandeur than for his son's happiness, wished to betroth 
 the prince to the daughter of a neighboring king, whose 
 great estates joined his own, for he thought that this alliance 
 would make him more powerful than ever, and as for the 
 princess, she would do very well for Prince Curlicue, for 
 she was as ugly as himself. Indeed, though she was the 
 most amiable creature in the world, there was no concealing 
 the fact that she was frightful, and so lame that she always 
 went about with a crutch, and people called her Princess 
 Cabbage-Stalk. 
 
 The king, ha ring asked for and received a portrait of this 
 princess, had it placed in his great hall under a canopy, and 
 sent for Prince Curlicue, to whom he said that as this was 
 the portrait of his future bride, he hoped the prince found 
 it charming. 
 
 The prince after one glance at it turned away with a dis- 
 dainful air, which greatly offended his father. 
 
 " Am I to understand that you are not pleased ? " he said 
 very sharply. 
 
 "No, sire," replied the prince. "How could I be pleased 
 to marry an ugly, lame princess ? " 
 
 " Certainly it is becoming in you to object to that," said 
 King Grumpy, " since you are ugly enough to frighten any- 
 one yourself." 
 
 " That is the very reason," said the prince, " that I wish 
 to marry someone who is not ugly. I am quite tired enough 
 of seeing myself." 
 
 " I tell you that you shall marry her," cried King Grumpy 
 angrily. 
 
 And the prince, seeing that it was of no use to remon- 
 strate, bowed and retired. 
 
 As King Grumpy was not used to being contradicted in 
 anything, he was very much displeased with his son, and 
 ordered that he should be imprisoned in the tower that was 
 kept on purpose for rebellious princes, but had not been used 
 
222 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 for about two hundred years, because there had not been 
 any. The prince thought all the rooms looked strangely 
 old-fashioned, with their antique furniture, but as there was 
 a good library he was pleased, for he was very fond of read- 
 ing, and he soon got permission to have as many books as he 
 liked. But when he looked at them he found that they were 
 written in a forgotten language, and he could not understand 
 a single word, though he amused himself with trying. 
 
 King Grumpy was so convinced that Prince Curlicue 
 would soon get tired of being in prison, and so consent to 
 marry the Princess Cabbage-Stalk, that he sent ambassa- 
 dors to her father proposing that she should come and be 
 married to his son, who would make her perfectly happy. 
 
 The king was delighted to receive so good an offer for his 
 unlucky daughter, though, to tell the truth, he found it im- 
 possible to admire the prince's portrait which had been sent 
 to him. However, he had it placed in as favorable a light 
 as possible, and sent for the princess, but the moment she 
 caught sight of it she looked the other way and began to 
 cry. The king, who was very much annoyed to see how 
 greatly she disliked it, took a mirror, and holding it up be- 
 fore the unhappy princess, said: 
 
 " I see you do not think the prince handsome, but look at 
 yourself, and see if you have any right to complain about 
 that." 
 
 " Sire," she antwered, " I do not wish to complain, only I 
 beg of you do not make me marry at all. I would rather 
 be the unhappy Princess Cabbage-Stalk all my life than in- 
 flict the sight of my ugliness on anyone else." 
 
 But the king would not listen to her, and sent her away 
 with the ambassadors. 
 
 In the meantime the prince was kept safely locked up 
 in his tower, and, that he might be as dull as possible, King 
 Grumpy ordered that no one should speak to him, and that 
 they should give him next to nothing to eat. But all the 
 prince's guards were so fond of him that they did everything 
 they dared, in spite of the king, to make the time pass 
 pleasantly. 
 
 One day, as the prince was walking up and down the great 
 gallery, thinking how miserable it was to be ugly, and to be 
 forced to marry an equally frightful princess, he looked up 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 223 
 
 suddenly and noticed that the painted windows were particu- 
 larly bright and beautiful, and for the sake of doing some- 
 thing that would change his sad thoughts he began to exam- 
 ine them attentively. He found tkat the pictures seemed to 
 be scenes from the life of a man who appeared in every win- 
 dow, and the prince, fancying that he saw in this man some 
 resemblance to himself, began to be deeply interested. In 
 the first window there was a picture of him in one of the 
 turrets of the tower, further on he was seeking something 
 in a chink in the wall, in the next picture he was opening 
 an old cabinet with a golden key, and so it went on through 
 numbers of scenes, and presently the prince noticed that 
 another figure occupied the most important place in each 
 scene, and this time it was a tall, handsome young man; 
 poor Prince Curlicue found it a pleasure to look at him, he 
 was so straight and strong. By this time it had grown dark, 
 and the prince had to go back to his own room, and to amuse 
 himself he took up a quaint old book and began to look at 
 the pictures. But his surprise was great to find that they 
 represented the same scenes as the windows of the gallery, 
 and what was more, that they seemed to be alive. In look- 
 ing at pictures of musicians he saw their hands move and 
 heard sweet sounds; there was a picture of a ball, and the 
 prince could watch the little dancing people come and go. 
 He turned a page, and there was an excellent smell of 
 savory dinner, and one of the figures who sat at the feast 
 looked at him and said : 
 
 "We drink your health, Curlicue. Try to give us our 
 queen again, for if you do you will be rewarded; if not, it 
 will be the worse for you." 
 
 At these words the prince, who had been growing more and 
 more astonished, was fairly terrified, and dropping the book 
 with a crash he sank back insensible. The noise he made 
 brought his guards to his aid, and as soon as he revived they 
 asked him what was the matter. He answered that he was 
 so faint and giddy with hunger that he had imagined he saw 
 and heard all sorts of strange things. Thereupon in spite 
 of the king's orders the guards gave him an excellent sup- 
 per, and when he had eaten it he again opened his book, 
 but could see none of the wonderful pictures, which con- 
 vinced him that he must have been dreaming before. 
 
224 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 However, when he went into the gallery next day and 
 looked at the painted windows again, he found that they 
 moved, and the figures came and went as if they had been 
 alive, and after watching the one who was like himself 
 find the key in the crack of the turret wall and open the old 
 cabinet, he determined to go and examine the place him- 
 self, and try to find out what the mystery was. So he went 
 up into the turret and began tc search about and tap upon the 
 walls, and all at once he came upon a place that sounded 
 hollow. Taking a hammer he broke away a bit of the stone, 
 and found behind it a little golden key. The next thing 
 to do was to find the cabinet, and the prince soon came to it, 
 hidden away in a dark corner, though indeed it was so old 
 and battered-looking that he would never have noticed it 
 of his own accord. At first he could not see any keyhole, but 
 after a careful search he found one hidden in the carving, 
 and the golden key just fitted it; so the prince gave it a 
 vigorous turn and the doors flew open. 
 
 Ugly and old as the cabinet was outside, nothing could 
 have been more rich and beautiful than what met the 
 prince's astonished eyes. Every drawer was made of crystal, 
 of amber, or of some precious stone, and was quite full of 
 every kind of treasure. Prince Curlicue was delighted; he 
 opened one after another, until at last he came to one tiny 
 drawer which contained only an emerald key. 
 
 " I believe that this must open that little golden door in 
 the middle," said the prince to himself. And he fitted in 
 the little key and turned it. The tiny door swung back, 
 and a soft crimson light gleamed over the whole cabinet. 
 The prince found that it proceeded from an immense glowing 
 carbuncle, made into a box, which lay before him. He lost 
 no time in opening it, but what was his horror when he 
 found that it contained a man's hand, which was holding 
 a portrait. His first thought was to put back the terrible 
 box and fly from the turret; but a voice in his ear said: 
 " This hand belonged to one whom you can help and re- 
 store. Look at this beautiful portrait, the original of which 
 was the cause of all my misfortunes, and if you wish to help 
 me, go without a moment's delay to the great gallery, no- 
 tfce where the sun's rays fall most brightly, and if you seek 
 there you will find my treasure." 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 225 
 
 The voice ceased, and though the prince in his bewilder- 
 ment asked various questions, he received no answer. So he 
 put back the box and locked the cabinet up again, and, hav- 
 ing replaced the key in the crack in the wall, hastened dowr 
 to the gallery. 
 
 When he entered it all the windows shook and clattered 
 in the strangest way, but the prince did not heed them; 
 he was looking so carefully for the place where the sun 
 shone most brightly, and it seemed to him that it was upon 
 the portrait of a most splendidly handsome and well-dressed 
 young man. 
 
 He went up and examined it, and found that it rested 
 against the ebony and gold paneling, just like any of the 
 other pictures in the gallery. He was puzzled, not knowing 
 what to do next, until it occurred to him to see if the win- 
 dows would help him, and, looking at the nearest, he saw a 
 picture of himself lifting the picture from the wall. 
 
 The prince took the hint, and lifting aside the picture with- 
 out difficulty, found himself in a marble hall adorned with 
 statues; from this he passed on through numbers of splen- 
 did rooms, until at last he reached one all hung with blue 
 gauze. The walls were of turquoises, and upon a low couch 
 lay a lovely lady, who seemed to be asleep. Her hair, black 
 as ebony, was spread across the pillows, making her face look 
 ivory-white, and the prince noticed that she was unquiet; 
 and when he softly advanced, fearing to wake her, he could 
 hear her sigh, and murmur to herself : 
 
 " Ah ! how dared you think to win my love by separating 
 me from my beloved Florimond, and in my presence cutting 
 off that dear hand that even you should have feared and 
 honored?" 
 
 And then the tears rolled slowly down the lovely lady's 
 cheeks, and Prince Curlicue began to comprehend that she 
 was under an enchantment, and that it was the hand of 
 her lover that he had found. 
 
 At this moment a huge eagle flew into the room, holding 
 in its talons a golden branch, upon which were growing 
 what looked like clusters of cherries, only every cherry was 
 a single glowing ruby. 
 
 This he presented to the prince, who guessed by this time 
 that he was in some way to break the enchantment that 
 
226 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 surrounded the sleeping lady. Taking the branch he touched 
 her lightly with it, saying: 
 
 " Fair one, I know not by what enchantment thou art 
 bound, but in the name of thy beloved Florimond I conjure 
 thee to come back to the life which thou hast lost, but noi 
 forgotten." 
 
 Instantly the lady opened her lustrous eyes, and saw the 
 eagle hovering near. 
 
 " Ah ! stay, dear love, stay," she cried. But the eagle, 
 uttering a dolorous cry, fluttered his broad wings and dispp- 
 peared. Then the lady turned to Prince Curlicue, and said : 
 
 "I know that it is to you I owe my deliverance from an 
 enchantment which has held me for two hundred years. If 
 there is anything I can do for you in return, you have only 
 to tell me, and all my fairy power shall be used to make you 
 happy." 
 
 " Madam," said Prince Curlicue, " I wish to be allowed to 
 restore your beloved Florimond to his natural form, since I 
 cannot forget the tears you shed for him." 
 
 " That is very amiable of you, dear prince," said the fairy, 
 " but it is reserved for another person to do that. I cannot 
 explain more at present. But is there nothing you wish for 
 yourself ? " 
 
 "Madam," cried the prince, flinging himself down at her 
 feet, " only look at my ugliness. I am called Curlicue, and 
 am an object of derision; I entreat you to make me less 
 ridiculous." 
 
 "Rise, prince," said the fairy, touching him with the 
 golden branch. " Be as accomplished as you are handsome, 
 and take the name of Prince Peerless, since that is the only 
 title which will suit you now." 
 
 Silent from joy, the prince kissed her hand to express his 
 thanks, and when he rose and saw his new reflection in 
 the mirrors which surrounded him, he understood that Cur- 
 licue was indeed gone forever. 
 
 "How I wish," said the fairy, "that I dared to tell you 
 what is in store for you, and warn you of the traps which 
 lie in your path, but I must not. Fly from the tower, prince, 
 and remember that the fairy Douceline will be your friend 
 always." 
 
 When she had finished speaking the prince, to his great 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 227 
 
 astonishment, found himself no longer in the tower, but set 
 down in a thick forest at least a hundred leagues away from 
 it. And there we must leave him for the present, and see 
 what is happening elsewhere. 
 
 When the guards found that the prince did not ask for 
 his supper as usual, they went into his room, and not finding 
 him there, were very much alarmed, and searched the tower 
 from turret to dungeon, but without success. Knowing that 
 the king would certainly have their heads cut off for allowing 
 the prince to escape, they then agreed to say that he was ill, 
 and after making the smallest among them look as much like 
 
 Prince Curlicue as possible, they put him into his bed and 
 sent to inform the king. 
 
 King Grumpy was quite delighted to hear that his son 
 was ill, for he thought that he would all the sooner be 
 brought to do as he wished, and marry the princess. So 
 he sent back to the guards to say that the prince was to be 
 treated as severely as before, which was just what they had 
 hoped he would say. In the meantime the Princess Cab- 
 bage-Stalk had reached the palace, traveling in a litter. 
 
 King Grumpy went out to meet her, but when he saw her, 
 
228 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 with a skin like a tortoise's, her thick eyebrows meeting 
 above her large nose, and her mouth from ear to ear, he 
 could not help crying out : 
 
 "Well, I must say Curlicue is ugly enough, but I don't 
 think you need have thought twice before consenting to 
 marry him." 
 
 " Sire," she replied, " I know too well what I am like to 
 be hurt by what you say, but I assure you that I have no 
 wish to marry your son. I had rather be called Princess 
 Cabbage-Stalk than Queen Curlicue." 
 
 This made King Grumpy very angry. 
 
 " Your father has sent you here to marry my son," he 
 said, " and you may be sure that I am not going to offend 
 him by altering his arrangements." So the poor princess 
 was sent away in disgrace to her own apartments, and the 
 ladies who attended upon her were charged to bring her to a 
 better mind. 
 
 At this juncture the guards, who were in great fear that 
 they would be found out, sent to tell the king that his son 
 was dead, which annoyed him very much. He at once made 
 up his mind that it was entirely the princess' fault, and 
 gave orders that she should be imprisoned in the tower in 
 Prince Curlicue's place. The Princess Cabbage-Stalk was 
 immensely astonished at this unjust proceeding, and sent 
 many messages of remonstrance to King Grumpy, but he 
 was in such a temper that no one dared to deliver them, 
 or to send the letters which the princess wrote to her father. 
 However, as she did not know this, she lived in hope of soon 
 going back to her own country, and tried to amuse herself as 
 well as she could until the time should come. Every day 
 she walked up and down the long gallery, until she too was 
 attracted by the ever-changing pictures in the windows, and 
 recognized herself in one of the figures. " They seem to have 
 taken a great delight in painting me since I came to this 
 country," she said to herself. " One would think that I and 
 my crutch were put in on purpose to make that slim, charm- 
 ing young shepherdess in the next picture look prettier by 
 contrast. Ah! how nice it would be to be as pretty as that." 
 And then she looked at herself in a mirror, and turned away 
 quickly with tears in her eyes from the doleful sight. All 
 at once she became aware that she was not alone, for be- 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 229 
 
 kind her stood a tiny old woman in a cap, who was as ugly 
 again as herself and quite as lame. 
 
 " Princess," she said, " your regrets are so piteous that 
 I have come to offer you the choice of goodness or beauty. 
 If you wish to be pretty you shall have your way, but you 
 will also be vain, capricious, and frivolous. If you remain 
 as you are now, you shall be wise and amiable and modest." 
 
 " Alas ! madam," cried the princess, " is it impossible 
 to be at once wise and beautiful ? " 
 
 "No, child," answered the old woman, "only to you it is 
 
 
 decreed tnat you must choose between the two. See, I have 
 brought with me my white-and-yellow muff. Breathe upon 
 the yellow side and you will become like the pretty shep- 
 herdess you so much admire, and you will have won the love 
 of the handsome shepherd whose picture I have already seen 
 
230 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 you studying with interest. Breathe upon the white side 
 and your looks will not alter, but you will grow better and 
 happier day by day. Now you may choose." 
 
 " Ah, well," said the princess, " I suppose one can't have 
 everything, and it's certainly better to be good than pretty." 
 
 And so she breathed upon the white side of the muff 
 and thanked the old fairy, who immediately disappeared. 
 The Princess Cabbage-Stalk felt very forlorn when she was 
 gone, and began to think that it was quite time her father 
 sent an army to rescue her. 
 
 " If I could but get up into the turret," she thought, " to 
 see if anyone is coming." But to climb up there seemed im- 
 impossible. Nevertheless she presently hit upon a plan. 
 The great clock was in the turret, as she knew, though the 
 weights hung down into the gallery. Taking one of them off 
 the rope, she tied itself on in its place, and when the clock 
 was wound, up she went triumphantly into the turret. She 
 looked out over the country the first thing, but seeing noth- 
 ing she sat down to rest a little, and accidentally leaned back 
 against the wall which Curlicue, or rather Prince Peerless, 
 had so hastily mended. Out fell the broken stone, and with 
 it the golden key. The clatter it made upon the floor at- 
 tracted the Princess Cabbage- Stalk's attention. 
 
 She picked it up, and after a moment's consideration de- 
 cided that it must belong to the curious cabinet in the cor- 
 ner, which had no visible keyhole. And then it was not 
 long before she had it open, and was admiring the treasures 
 it contained as much as Prince Peerless had done before her, 
 and at last she came to the carbuncle box. No sooner had she 
 opened it than with a shudder of horror she tried to throw it 
 down, but found that some mysterious power compelled her 
 to hold it against her will. And at this moment a voice in 
 her ear said softly: 
 
 " Take courage, princess ; upon this adventure your fu- 
 ture happiness depends." 
 
 " What am I to do ? " said the princess, trembling. 
 
 " Take the box," replied the voice, " and hide it under 
 your pillow, and when you see an eagle, give it to him with- 
 out losing a moment." 
 
 Terrified as the princess wa9, she did not hesitate to obey, 
 and hastened to put back all the other precious things pre- 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 231 
 
 cisely as she had found them. By this time her guards were 
 seeking her everywhere, and they were amazed to find her 
 up in the turret, for they said she could have only got 
 there by magic. For three days nothing happened, but at 
 last in the night the princess heard something flutter against 
 her window, and drawing back the curtains she saw in the 
 moonlight that it was an eagle. 
 
 Limping across at her utmost speed she threw the window 
 open, and the great eagle sailed in, beating with his wings 
 for joy. The princess lost no time in offering it the carbnucle 
 box, which it grasped in its talons, and instantly disappeared, 
 leaving in its place the most beautiful prince she had ever 
 seen, who was splendidly dressed, and wore a diamond 
 crown. 
 
 " Princess," said he, " for two hundred years has a wicked 
 enchanter kept me here. We both loved the same fairy, 
 but she preferred me. However, he was more powerful than 
 I, and succeeded, when for a moment I was off my guard, in 
 changing me into an eagle, while my queen was left in an 
 enchanted sleep. I knew that after two hundred years a 
 prince would recall her to the light of day, and a princess, in 
 restoring to me the hand which my enemy had cut off, would 
 give me back my natural form. The fairy who watches over 
 your destiny told me this, and it was she who guided you to 
 the cabinet in the turret, where she had placed my hand. 
 It is she also who permits me to show my gratitude to you 
 by granting whatever favor you may ask of me. Tell me, 
 princess, what is it that you wish for most? Shall I make 
 you as beautiful as you deserve to be ? " 
 
 " Ah, if you only would ! " cried the princess, and at the 
 same moment she heard a crick-cracking in all her bones. 
 She grew tall and straight and pretty, with eyes like shining 
 stars, and a skin as white as milk. 
 
 " Oh, wonderful ! can this really be my poor little self ? " 
 she exclaimed, looking down in amazement at her tiny worn' 
 out crutch as it lay upon the floor. 
 
 " Indeed, princess," replied Florimond, " it is yourself, 
 but you must have a new name, since the old one does not 
 suit you now. Be called Princess Sunbeam, for you are 
 bright and charming enough to deserve the name." 
 
 And so saying he disappeared, and the princess, without 
 
252 THE KED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 knowing how she got there, found herself walking under 
 shady trees by a clear river. Of course, the first thing she 
 did was to look at her own reflection in the water, and she 
 was extremely surprised to find that she was exactly like th< 
 shepherdess she had so much admired, and wore the same 
 white dress and flowery wreath that she had seen in the 
 painted windows. To complete the resemblance, her flock 
 of sheep appeared, grazing round her, and she found a gay 
 crook adorned with flowers upon the bank of the river. 
 Quite tired out by so many new and wonderful experiences, 
 the princess sat down to rest at the foot of a tree, and there 
 she fell fast asleep. Now it happened that it was in this 
 very country that Prince Peerless had been set down, and 
 while the Princess Sunbeam was still sleeping peacefully, 
 he came strolling along in search of a shady pasture for 
 his sheep. 
 
 The moment he caught sight of the princess he recognized 
 her as the charming shepherdess whose picture he had so 
 often seen in the tower, and as she was far prettier than he 
 had remembered her, he was delighted that chance led him 
 that way. 
 
 He was still watching her admiringly w T hen the princess 
 opened her eyes, and as she also recognized him they were 
 soon great friends. The princess asked Prince Peerless, as 
 he knew the country better than she did, to tell her of some 
 peasant who would give her a lodging, and he said he knew 
 of an old woman whose cottage would be the very place for 
 her, it was so nice and so pretty. So they went there to- 
 gether, and the princess was charmed with the old woman 
 and everything belonging to her. Supper was soon spread 
 for her under a shady tree, and she invited the prince to 
 share the cream and brown bread which the old woman pro- 
 vided. This he was delighted to do, and having first fetched 
 from his own garden all the strawberries, cherries, nuts, and 
 flowers he could find, they sat down together and were very 
 merry. After this they met every day as they guarded their 
 flocks, and were so happy that Prince Peerless begged the 
 princess to marry him, so that they might never be parted 
 again. Now though the Princess Sunbeam appeared to be 
 only a poor shepherdess she never forgot that she was a real 
 princess, and she was not at all sure that she ought to marry 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 233 
 
 a humble shepherd, though she knew she would like to do so 
 very much. 
 
 So she resolved to consult an enchanter of whom she had 
 heard a great deal since she had been a shepherdess, and 
 without saying a word to anybody she set out to find the 
 castle in which he lived with his sister, who was a powerful 
 fairy. The way was long, and lay through a thick wood, 
 where the princess heard strange voices calling to her from 
 every side, but she was in such a hurry that she stopped for 
 nothing, and at last she came to the court-yard of the en- 
 chanter's castle. 
 
 The grass and briers were growing as high as if it were a 
 hundred years since anyone had set foot there, but the 
 princess got through at last, though she gave herself a good 
 many scratches by the way, and then she went into a dark, 
 gloomy hall, where there was but one tiny hole in the wall 
 through which the daylight could enter. The hangings were 
 all of bats' wings, and from the ceiling hung twelve cats, 
 who filled the hall with their ear-piercing yells. Upon the 
 long table twelve mice were fastened by the tail, and just 
 in front of each one's nose, but quite beyond its reach, lay 
 a tempting morsel of fat bacon. So the cats could always 
 see the mice, but could not touch them, and the hungry mice 
 were tormented by the sight and smell of the delicious mor- 
 sels which they could never seize. 
 
 The princess was looking at the poor creatures in dis- 
 may, when the enchanter suddenly entered, wearing a long 
 black robe and with a crocodile upon his head. In his hand 
 he carried a whip made of twenty long snakes, all alive and 
 writhing, and the princess was so terrified at the sight that 
 she heartily wished she had never come. Without saying 
 a word she ran to the door, but it was covered with a thick 
 spider's web, and when she broke it she found another, and 
 another, and another. In fact there was no end to them; 
 the princess' arms ached with tearing them down, and yet 
 she was no nearer to getting out, and the wicked enchanter 
 behind her laughed maliciously. At last he said : 
 
 "You might spend the rest of your life over that with- 
 out doing any good, but as you are young, and quite the 
 prettiest creature I have seen for a long time, I will marry 
 you if you like, and I will give you those cats and mice 
 
234 
 
 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 that you see there for your own. They are princes and prin- 
 cesses who have happened to offend me. They used to love 
 one another as much as they now hate one another. Aha! 
 It's a pretty little revenge to keep them like that." 
 
 " Oh ! If you would only change me into a mouse too," 
 cried the princess. 
 
 " Oh ! so you won't marry me ? " said he. " Little sim- 
 pleton, you should have everything heart can desire." 
 
 "No, indeed; nothing should make me marry you; in 
 
 fact, I don't think I shall ever love anyone," cried the 
 princess. 
 
 "In that case," said the enchanter, touching her, "you 
 had better become a particular kind of creature that is 
 neither fish nor fowl; you shall be light and airy, and as 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 235 
 
 green as the grass you live in. Off with you, Madam Grass- 
 hopper." And the princess, rejoiced to find herself free once 
 more, skipped out into the garden, the prettiest little green 
 grasshopper in the world. But as soon as she was safely out 
 she began to be rather sorry for herself. 
 
 " Ah ! Florimond," she sighed, " is this the end of your 
 gift? Certainly beauty is short-lived, and this funny little 
 face and a green crape dress are a comical end to it. I had 
 better have married my amiable shepherd. It must be for 
 my pride that I am condemned to be a grasshopper, and 
 sing day and night in the grass by this brook, when I feel 
 far more inclined to cry." 
 
 In the meantime Prince Peerless had discovered the prin- 
 cess' absence, and was lamenting over it by the river's 
 brim, when he suddenly became aware of the presence of a 
 little old woman. She was quaintly dressed in a ruff and 
 farthingale, and a velvet hood covered her snow-white hair. 
 
 " You seem sorrowful, my son," she said. " What is the 
 matter?" 
 
 " Alas ! mother," answered the prince, " I have lost my 
 sweet shepherdess, but I am determined to find her again, 
 though I should have to traverse the whole world in search of 
 her." 
 
 " Go that way, my son," said the old woman, pointing 
 toward the path that led to the castle. " I have an idea 
 that you will soon overtake her." 
 
 The prince thanked her heartily and set out. As he met 
 with no hindrance, he soon reached the enchanted wood 
 which surrounded the castle, and there he thought he saw 
 the Princess Sunbeam gliding before him among the trees. 
 Prince Peerless hastened after her at the top of his speed* 
 but could not get any nearer; then he called to her: 
 
 " Sunbeam, my darling only wait for me a moment." 
 
 But the phantom did but fly the faster, and the prince 
 spent the whole day in this vain pursuit. When night came 
 he saw the castle before him all lighted up, and as he imag- 
 ined that the princess must be in it, he made haste to get 
 there too. He entered without difficulty, and in the hall 
 the terrible old fairy met him. She was so thin that the light 
 shone through her, and her eyes glowed like lamps; her skin 
 was like a shark's, her arms were thin as laths, and her fingers 
 
236 
 
 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 like spindles. Nevertheless she wore rouge and patches, u 
 mantle of silver brocade and a crown of diamonds, and her 
 dress was covered with jewels and green and pink ribbons. 
 
 " At last you have come to see me, prince," said she. 
 " Don't waste another thought upon that little shepherdess, 
 who is unworthy of your notice. I am the queen of the 
 comets, and can bring you to great honor if you will marry 
 me." 
 
 " Marry you, madam ! " cried the prince in horror. " No, 
 I will never consent to that." 
 
 Thereupon the fairy, in a rage, gave two strokes of her 
 
 wand and filled the gallery with horrid goblins, against whom 
 the prince had to fight for his life. Though he had only 
 his dagger, he defended himself so well that he escaped v^'tii- 
 *>'it any harm, and presently the old fairy stopped tLe ivay 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 287 
 
 and asked the prince if he was still of the same mind. When 
 he answered firmly that he was, she called up the appearance 
 of the Princess Sunbeam to the other end of the gallery, and 
 said: 
 
 "You see your beloved there? Take care what you are 
 about, for if you again refuse to marry me she shall be torn 
 in pieces by two tigers." 
 
 The prince was distracted, for he fancied he heard his dear 
 shepherdess weeping and begging him to save her. In de- 
 spair he cried: 
 
 " Oh, Fairy Douceline, have you abandoned me after so 
 many promises of friendship ? Help, help us now ! " 
 
 Immediately a soft voice said in his ear: 
 
 " Be firm, happen what may, and seek the golden branch." 
 
 Thus encouraged, the prince persevered in his refusal, and 
 at length the old fairy in her fury cried : 
 
 " Get out of my sight, obstinate prince. Become a 
 cricket ! " 
 
 And instantly the handsome Prince Peerless became a poor 
 little black cricket, whose only idea would have been to 
 find a cozy cranny behind some blazing hearth, if he had 
 not luckily remembered Fairy Douceline's injunction to 
 seek the golden branch. 
 
 So he hastened to depart from the fatal castle, and sought 
 shelter in a hollow tree, where he found a forlorn-looking 
 little grasshopper crouching in a corner, too miserable to 
 sing. 
 
 Without in the least expecting an answer, the prince 
 asked it: 
 
 " And where may you be going, Gammer Grasshopper ? " 
 
 " Where are you going yourself, Gaffer Cricket ? " replied 
 the grasshopper. 
 
 "What! can you speak?" said he. 
 
 "Why should I not speak as well as you? Isn't a grass- 
 hopper as good as a cricket ? " said she. 
 
 " I can talk because I was a prince," said the cricket. 
 
 " And for that very same reason I ought to be able to talk 
 more than you, for I was a princess," replied the grasshopper. 
 
 " Then you have met with the same fate as I have," said 
 ha " But where are you going now ? Cannot we journey to- 
 gether?" 
 
238 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 " I seemed to hear a voice in the air which said : ' Be 
 firm, happen what may, and seek the golden branch,' " an- 
 swered the grasshopper, " and I thought the command must 
 be for me, so I started at once, though I don't know the way." 
 
 At this moment their conversation was interrupted by two 
 mice, who, breathless from running, flung themselves head- 
 long through the hole into the tree, nearly crushing the 
 grasshopper and the cricket, though they got out of the way 
 as fast as they could and stood up in a dark corner. 
 
 " Ah, madam," said the fatter of the two, " I have such a 
 pain in my side from running so fast. How does your high: 
 ness find yourself ? " 
 
 "I have pulled my tail off," replied the younger mouse, 
 "but as I should be on the sorcerer's table unless I had, 
 I do not regret it. Are we pursued, think you ? How lucky 
 we were to escape ! " 
 
 " I only trust that we may escape cats and traps, and reach 
 the golden branch soon," said the fat mouse. 
 
 " You know the way then ? " said the other. 
 
 " Oh, dear, yes ! as well as the way to my own house, 
 madam. This golden branch is indeed a marvel; a single 
 leaf from it makes one rich forever. It breaks enchantments, 
 and makes all who approach it young and beautiful. We 
 must set out for it at the break of day." 
 
 "May we have the honor of traveling with you this re- 
 spectable cricket and myself ? " said the grasshopper, step- 
 ping forward. " We also are on a pilgrimage to the golden 
 branch." 
 
 The mice courteously assented, and after many polite 
 speeches the whole party fell asleep. With the earliest dawn 
 they were on their way, and though the mice were in con- 
 stant fear of being overtaken or trapped, they reached the 
 golden branch in safety. 
 
 It grew in the midst of a wonderful garden, all the paths 
 of which were strewn with pearls as big as peas. The roses 
 were crimson diamonds, with emerald leaves. The pome- 
 granates were garnets, the marigolds topazes, the daffodils 
 yellow diamonds, the violets sapphires, the cornflowers tur- 
 quoises, the tulips amethysts, opals, and diamonds, so that 
 the garden borders blazed like the sun. The golden branch 
 itself had become as tall as a forest tree, and sparkled witk 
 
THE BED FAIRY BOOK. 239 
 
 ruby cherries to its topmost twig. ~No "sooner had the grass- 
 hopper and the cricket touched it than they were restored to 
 their natural forms, and their surprise and joy were great 
 when they recognized each other. At this moment Flori- 
 mond and Fairy Douceline appeared in great splendor, and 
 the fairy, as she descended from her chariot, said with a 
 srcu.e :- 
 
 "So you two have found one another again, I see, but 
 I have still a surprise left for you. Don't hesitate, prin- 
 cess, to tell your devoted shepherd how dearly you love him, 
 as lie is the very prince your father sent you to marry. So 
 come here both of you and let me crown you, and we will 
 have the wedding at once." 
 
 The prince and princess thanked her with all their hearts, 
 and declared that to her they owed all their happiness, 
 and then the two princesses who had so lately been 
 mice came and begged that the fairy would use her power 
 to release their unhappy friends who were still under the en- 
 chanter's spell. 
 
 " Really," said Fairy Douceline, " on this happy occasion I 
 cannot find it in my heart to refuse you anything." And she 
 gave three strokes of her wand upon the golden branch, and 
 immediately all the prisoners in the enchanter's castle found 
 themselves free, and came with all speed to the wonderful 
 garden, where one touch of the golden branch restored each 
 one to his natural form, and they greeted one another with 
 many rejoicings. To complete her generous work the fairy 
 presented them with the wonderful cabinet and all the treas- 
 ures it contained, which were worth at least ten kingdoms. 
 But to Prince Peerless and the Princess Sunbeam she gave 
 the palace and garden of the golden branch, where, im- 
 mensely rich and greatly beloved by all their subjects, they 
 liver happily ever after. 
 
 THE THREE DWARFS .* 
 
 There was once upon a time a man who lost his wife, and 
 a woman who lost her husband ; and the man had a daughter 
 and so had the woman. The two girls were great friends and 
 * Grimm. 
 
240 
 
 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 used often to play together. One day the woman turned to 
 the man's daughter and said: 
 
 "Go and tell your father that I will marry him, and then 
 you shall wash in milk and drink wine, but my own daughter 
 shall wash in water and drink it too." 
 
 The girl went straight home and told her father what the 
 woman had said. 
 
 " What am I to do ? " he answered. " Marriage is either 
 a success or it is a failure." 
 
 At last, being of an undecided character and not being 
 
 able to make up his mind, he took off his boot, and hand' 
 ing it to his daughter, said: 
 
 " Take thit boot which has a hole in the sole, and hang it 
 up on a nail in the hay-loft, and p >ur water into it. If it 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 241 
 
 holds water I will marry again, but if it doesn't I won't." 
 The girl did as she was bid, but the water drew the hole 
 together and the boot filled up to the very top. So she went 
 and told her father the result. He got up and went to see 
 for himself, and when he saw that it was true and no mistake, 
 he accepted his fate, proposed to the widow, and they were 
 married at once. 
 
 On the morning after the wedding, when the two girls 
 awoke, milk was standing for the man's daughter to wash 
 in and wine for her to drink; but for the woman's daughter, 
 only water to wash in and only water to drink. On the 
 second morning, water to wash in and water to drink was 
 standing for the man's daughter as well. And on the third 
 morning, water to wash in and water to drink was standing 
 for the man's daughter, and milk to wash in and wine to 
 drink for the woman's daughter; and so it continued ever 
 after. The woman hated her stepdaughter from the bottom 
 of her heart, and did all she could to make her life miserable. 
 She was as jealous as she could possibly be, because the girl 
 was so beautiful and charming, while her own daughter was 
 both ugly and repulsive. 
 
 One winter's day when there was a hard frost, and 
 mountain and valley were covered with snow, the woman 
 made a dress of paper, and calling the girl to her said: 
 
 " There, put on this dress and go out into the wood and 
 fetch me a basket of strawberries ! " 
 
 " Now Heaven help us," replied her stepdaughter ; " straw- 
 berries don't grow in winter; the earth is all frozen and the 
 snow has covered up everything; and why send me in a 
 paper dress? It is so cold outside that one's very breath 
 freezes; the wind will whistle through my dress, and the 
 brambles tear it from my body." 
 
 " How dare you contradict me ! " said her stepmother ; 
 "be off with you at once, and don't show your face again 
 till you have filled the basket with strawberries." 
 
 Then she gave her a hard crust of bread, saying : 
 
 * That will be enough for you to-day," and she thought 
 to herself : " The girl will certainly perish of hunger and 
 cold outside, and I shan't be bothered with her any more." 
 
 The girl was so obedient that she put on the paper dress 
 and set out with her little basket. There was nothing but 
 
242 
 
 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 snow far and near, and not a green blade of grass to be seen 
 anywhere. When she came to the wood she saw a little 
 house, and out of it peeped three little dwarfs. She wished 
 them good-day, and knocked modestly at the door. They 
 called out to her to enter, so she stepped in and sat down on 
 a seat by the fire, wishing to warm herself and eat some 
 
 breakfast. The dwarfs said at once : " Give us some of your 
 food!" 
 
 "Gladly," she said, and breaking her crust in two, she 
 gave them the half. 
 
 Then they asked her what she was doing in the depths 
 of winter in her thin dress. 
 
 " Oh," she answered, " I have been sent to get a basketful 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 243 
 
 t>f strawberries; and I daren't show my face again at home 
 till I bring them with me." 
 
 When she had finished her bread they gave her a broom 
 and told her to sweep away the snow from the back door. 
 As soon as she left the room the three little men consulted 
 what they should give her as a reward far being so sweet 
 and good, and for sharing her last crust with them. 
 
 The first said : " Every day she shall grow prettier." 
 
 The second : " Every time she opens her mouth a piece 
 of gold shall fall out." 
 
 And the third : " A king shall come and marry her." 
 
 The girl in the meantime was doing as the dwarfs had 
 bidden her, and was sweeping the snow away from the 
 back door, and what do you think she found there? He^pa 
 of fine ripe strawberries that showed out dark red against 
 the white snow. She joyfully picked enough to fill her 
 basket, thanked the little men for their kindness, shook 
 hands with them, and ran home to bring her stepmother 
 what she had asked for. When she walked in and said 
 " Good-evening," a piece of gold fell out of her mouth. 
 Then she told what had happened to her in the wood, and 
 at every word pieces of gold dropped from her mouth, so 
 that the room was soon covered with them. 
 
 " She's surely more money than wit to throw gold about 
 like that," said her stepsister, but in her secret heart she 
 was very jealous, and determined that she too would go 
 to the wood and look for strawberries. But her mother re- 
 fused to let her go, saying : 
 
 " My dear child, it is far too cold ; you might freeze to 
 death." 
 
 The girl, however, left her no peace, so she was forced at 
 last to give in, but she insisted on her putting on a beautiful 
 fur cloak, and she gave her tyread-and-butter and cakes tc 
 eat on the way. \ 
 
 The girl went straight to the little house in the wood, 
 and as before the three little men were looking out of the 
 window. She took no notice of them, and without as 
 much as " By your leave," or " With your leave," she 
 flounced into the room, sat herself down at the fir, and 
 began to eat her bread-and-butter and cakes. 
 
 " Give us some," cried the dwarfs. 
 
244 THE EED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 But she answered : " No, I won't, it's hardly enough for 
 myself; so catch me giving you any." 
 
 When she had finished eating they said: 
 
 " There's a broom for you, go and clear up our back door." 
 
 "I'll see myself further," she answered rudely. "Do it 
 yourselves ; I'm not your servant." 
 
 When she saw that they did not mean to give her any- 
 thing, she left the house in no amiable frame of mind. 
 Then the three little men consulted what they should do 
 to her, because she was so bad and had such an evil, covetous 
 heart that she grudged everybody their good fortune. 
 
 The first said : " She shall grow uglier every day." 
 
 The second: "Every time she speaks a toad shall jump 
 out of her mouth." 
 
 And the third : " She shall die a most miserable death." 
 
 The girl searched for strawberries, but she found none, 
 and returned home in a very bad temper. When she opened 
 her mouth to tell her mother what had befallen her in the 
 wood, a toad jumped out, so that everyone was quite dis- 
 gusted with her. 
 
 Then the stepmother was more furious than ever, and 
 did nothing but plot mischief against the man's daughter, 
 who was daily growing more and more beautiful. At last, 
 one day the wicked woman took a large pot, put it on the 
 fire, and boiled some yarn in it. When it was well scalded 
 she hung it round the poor girl's shoulder, and giving her 
 an ax, she bade her break a hole in the frozen river, and 
 rinse the yarn in it. Her stepdaughter obeyed as usual, 
 and went and broke a hole in the ice. When she was in the 
 act of wringing out the yarn a magnificent carriage passed, 
 and the king sat inside. The carriage stood still, and the 
 king asked her: 
 
 " My child, who are you, and what in the wide world are 
 you doing here ? " 
 
 " I am only a poor girl," she answered, " and am rinsing 
 out my yarn in the river." Then the king wae sorry for her, 
 and when he saw how beautiful she was he said : 
 
 " Will you come away with me ? " 
 
 "Most gladly," she replied, for she knew how willingly 
 she would leave her stepmother and sister, and how glad 
 they would be to be rid of her. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 245 
 
 So she stepped into the carriage and drove away with 
 the king, and when they reached his palace the wedding was 
 celebrated with much splendor. So all turned out just as 
 the three little dwarfs had said. After a year the queen 
 gave birth to a little son. When her stepmother heard of 
 her good fortune she came to the palace with her daughter 
 by way of paying a call, and took up her abode there. Now 
 one day, when the king was out and nobody else near, the bad 
 woman took the queen by her head, and the daughter took 
 her by her heels, and they dragged her from her bed, and 
 flung her out of the window into the stream which flowed 
 beneath it. Then the stepmother laid her ugly daughter 
 
 in the queen's place, and covered her up with the clothes, 
 so that nothing of her was seen. When the king came home 
 and wished to speak to his wife the woman called out : 
 
 " Quietly, quietly ! this will never do ; your wife is very 
 ill, you must let her rest all to-day." The king suspected 
 no evil, and didn't come again until next morning. When 
 he spoke to his wife and she answered him, instead of the 
 usual piece of gold a toad jumped out of her mouth. Then 
 he asked what it meant, and the old woman told him it was 
 nothing but weakness, and that she would soon be all rigkt 
 again. 
 
246 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 But that same evening the scullion noticed a duck swim- 
 ming up the gutter, saying as it passed: 
 
 " What does the King, I pray you tell, 
 Is he awake or sleeps he well? " 
 
 and receiving no reply it continued : 
 
 " And all my guests, are they asleep? 
 
 and the scullion answered: 
 
 " Yes, one and all they slumber deep." 
 
 Then the duck went on: 
 
 " And what about my baby dear? " 
 
 and he answered : 
 
 " Oh, it sleeps soundly, never fear." 
 
 Then the duck assumed the queen's shape, went up to 
 the child's room, tucked him up comfortably in his cradle, 
 and then swam back down the gutter again, in the like- 
 ness of a duck. This was repeated for two nights, and on 
 the third the duck said to the scullion: 
 
 " Go and tell the king to swing his sword three times 
 over me on the threshold." 
 
 The scullion did as the creature bade him, and the king 
 came with his sword and swung it three times over the 
 bird, and lo and behold! his wife stood before him once 
 more, alive, and as blooming as ever. 
 
 The king rejoiced greatly, but he kept the queen in hiding 
 till the Sunday on which the child was to be christened. 
 After the christening he said : 
 
 "What punishment does that person deserve who drags 
 another out of bed, and throws him or her, as the case may 
 be, into the water ? " 
 
 Then the wicked stepmother answered: 
 
 "No better fate than to be put in a barrel lined with 
 sharp nails, and to be rolled in it down the hill into the 
 water." 
 
 "You have pronounced your own doom," said the king; 
 and he ordered a barrel to be made lined with sharp nails, 
 and in it he put the bad old woman and her daughter. Then 
 it was fastened down securely, and the barrel was rolled 
 down the hill till it fell into the river. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 247 
 
 DAPPLEGKIM* 
 
 There was once upon a time a couple of rich folks who 
 had twelve sons, and when the youngest was grown up he 
 would not stay at home any longer, but he would go out into 
 the world and seek his fortune. His father and mother 
 said that they thought he was very well off at home, and 
 that he was welcome to stay with them; but he could not 
 rest, and said that he must and would go, so at last they 
 had to give him leave. When he had walked a long way, 
 he came to a king's palace. There he asked for a place 
 and got it. 
 
 Now the daughter of the king of that country had been 
 carried off into the mountains by a troll, and the king had 
 no other children, and for this cause both he and all his 
 people were full of sorrow and affliction, and the king had 
 promised the princess and half his kingdom to anyone 
 who would set her free; but there was no one who could 
 do it, though a great number had tried. So when the youth 
 had been there for the space of a year or so, he wanted to 
 go home again to pay his parents a visit; but when he got 
 there his father and mother were dead, and his brothers had 
 divided everything that their parents possessed between 
 themselves, so that there was nothing at all left for him. 
 
 " Shall I, then, receive nothing at all of my inheritance ? " 
 asked the youth. 
 
 " Who could know that you were still alive you who 
 have been a wanderer so long ? " answered the brothers. 
 " However, there are twelve mares upon the hills which we 
 have not yet divided among us, and if you would like to 
 have them for your share, you may take them." 
 
 So the youth, well pleased with this, thanked them, and 
 at once set off to the hill where the twelve mares were at 
 pasture. When he got up there and found them, each mare 
 had her foal, and by the side of one of them was a big 
 dapple-gray foal as well, which was so sleek that it shone 
 again. 
 
 "Well, my little foal, you are a fine fellow!" said th 
 jouth. 
 
 * From J. Moe. 
 
248 
 
 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 " Yes, but if you will kill all the other little foals so that 
 T can suck all the mares for a year, you shall see how big 
 and handsome I shall be then ! " said the foal. 
 
 So the youth did this he killed all the twelve foals, and 
 then went back again. 
 
 Next year, when he came home again to look after his 
 mares and the foal, it was as fat as it could be, and its 
 coat shone with brightness, and it was so big that the lad 
 had tne greatest difficulty in getting on its back, and each 
 of the mares had another foal. 
 
 "Well, it's very evident that I have lost nothing by let- 
 ting you suck all my mares," said the lad to the yearling; 
 
 tl but now you are quite big enough, and must come away 
 with me." 
 
 "No," said the colt, "I must stay here another year; 
 kill the twelve little foals, and then I can suck all the mares 
 this year also, and you shall see how big and handsome 
 I shall be by summer." 
 
 So the youth did it again, and when he went up on the 
 hill next year to look after his colt and mares, each of the 
 mares had her foal again; but the dappled colt was so big 
 that when the lad wanted to feel its neck to see how fat it 
 was, he could not reach up to it, it was so high, and it was so- 
 bright that the light glanced off its coat. " Big and hand- 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 249 
 
 some you were last year, my colt, but this year you are ever 
 so much handsomer," said the youth ; " in all the king's 
 court no such horse is to be found. But now you shall come 
 away with me." 
 
 "No," said the dappled colt once more; "here I must 
 stay for another year. Just kill the twelve little foals 
 again, so that I can suck the mares this year also, and then 
 come and look at me in the summer." 
 
 So the youth did it he killed all the little foals, and 
 then went home again. 
 
 But next year, when he returned to look after the dap- 
 pled colt and the mares, he was quite appalled. He had 
 never imagined that any horse could become so big and over- 
 grown, for the dappled horse had to lie down on all fours 
 before the youth could get on his back, and it was very hard 
 to do that even when it was lying down, and it was so plump 
 that its coat shone and glistened just as if it had been a 
 looking-glass. This time the dappled horse was not unwill- 
 ing to go away with the youth, so he mounted it, and when he 
 came riding home to his brothers they all smote their hands 
 together and crossed themselves, for never in their lives 
 had they either seen or heard tell of such a horse as that. 
 
 " If you will procure me the best shoes for my horse, 
 and the most magnificent saddle and bridle that can be 
 found," said the youth, " you may have all my twelve mares 
 just as they are standing out on the hill, and their twelve 
 foals into the bargain." For this year also each mare had 
 her foal. The brothers were quite willing to do this; so the 
 lad got such shoes for his horse that the sticks and stones 
 flew high up into the air as he rode away over the hills, and 
 such a gold saddle and such a gold bridle that they could be 
 seen glittering and glancing from afar. 
 
 " And now we will go to the king's palace," said Dapple- 
 grim that was the horse's name, " but bear in mind that 
 you must ask the king for a good stable and excellent fodder 
 for me," 
 
 So the lad promised not to forget to do that. He rpde 
 to the palace, and it will be easily understood that with 
 such a horse as he had he was not long on the way. 
 
 When he arrived there the king was standing out on the 
 steps, and how he did stare at the man who came riding up ! 
 
250 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 " Nay," said he, " never in my whole life have I seen such 
 a man and such a horse." 
 
 And when the youth inquired if he could have a place in 
 the king's palace, the king was so delighted that he could 
 have danced on the steps where he was standing, and there 
 and then the lad was told that he should have a place. 
 
 " Yes ; but I must have a good stable and most excellent 
 fodder for my horse," said he. 
 
 So they told him that he should have sweet hay and 
 oat3, and as much of them as the dappled horse chose to 
 have, and all the other riders had to take their horses out 
 of the stable that Dapplegrim might stand alone and really 
 have plenty of room. 
 
 But this did not last long, for the other people in the 
 king's court became envious of the lad, and there was no 
 bad thing that they would not have done to him if they 
 had but dared. At last they bethought themselves of telling 
 the king that the youth had said that, if he chose, he was 
 quite able to rescue the princess who had been carried off 
 into the mountain a long time ago by the troll. 
 
 The king immediately summoned the lad into his pres- 
 ence, and said that he had been informed that he had said 
 that it was in his power to rescue the princess, so he was 
 now to do it. If he succeeded in this he no doubt knew 
 that the king had promised his daughter and half the king- 
 dom to anyone who set her free, which promise should be 
 faithfully kept, but if he failed he should be put to death. 
 The youth denied that he had said this, but all to no pur- 
 pose, for the king was deaf to all his words; so there was 
 nothing to be done but say that he would make the attempt. 
 
 He went down into the stable, and very sad and full of 
 care he was. Then Dapplegrim inquired why he was so 
 troubled, and the youth told him, and said that he did not 
 know what to do, " for as to setting the princess free, that 
 was downright impossible." 
 
 " Oh, but it might be done," said Dapplegrim. " I will 
 help you; but you must first have me well shod. You must 
 ask for ten pounds of iron and twelve pounds of steel for 
 the shoeing, and one smith to hammer and one to hold." 
 
 So the youth did this, and no one said him nay. He got 
 both the iron and the steel and the smiths, and thus was 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 251 
 
 DapplegTim shod strongly and well, and when the youth 
 went out of the king's palace a cloud of dust rose up behind 
 him. But when he came to the mountain into which the 
 princess had bean carried, the difficulty was to ascend the 
 precipitous wall of rock by which he was to get on to the 
 mountain beyond, for the rock stood right up on end, as 
 steep as a house side and as smooth as a sheet of glass. 
 The first time the youth rode at it he got a little way up 
 the precipice, but then both Dapplegrim's fore legs slipped, 
 and down came horse and rider with a sound like thunder 
 among the mountains. The next time that he rode at it he 
 got a little further up, but then one of Dapplegrim's fore 
 legs slipped, and down they went with the sound of a land- 
 
 slip. But the third time Dapplegrim said, "Now we must 
 show what we can do," and went at it once more till the 
 stones sprang up sky-high, and thus they got up. Then the 
 lad rode into the mountain cleft at full gallop and caught 
 up the princess on his saddle-bow, and then out again 
 before the troll even had time to stand up, and thus the 
 princess was set free. 
 
 When the youth returned to the palace the king was both 
 happy and delighted to get his daughter back again, as 
 
252 THE BED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 may easily be believed, but somehow or other the people 
 about the court had so worked on him that he was angry 
 with the lad too. " Thou shalt have my thanks for setting 
 my princess free," he said, when the youth came into the 
 palace with her, and was then about to go away. 
 
 " She ought to be just as much my princess as she is 
 yours now, for you are a man of your word," said the 
 youth. 
 
 "Yes, yes," said the king. "Have her thou shalt, as I 
 have said it; but first of all thou must make the sun shine 
 into my palace here." 
 
 For there was a large and high hill outside the windows 
 which overshadowed the palace so much that the sun could 
 not shine in. 
 
 " That was no part of our bargain," answered the youth. 
 " But as nothing that I can say will move you, I suppose I 
 shall have to try to do my best, for the princess I will 
 have." 
 
 So he went down to Dapplegrim again and told him what 
 the king desired, and Dapplegrim thought that it might 
 easily be done; but first of all he must have new shoes, and 
 ten pounds of iron and twelve pounds of steel must go to 
 the making of them, and two smiths were also necessary, 
 one to hammer and one to hold, and then it would be very 
 easy to make the sun shine into the king's palace. 
 
 The lad asked for these things and obtained them in- 
 stantly, for the king thought that for very shame he could 
 not refuse to give them, and so Dapplegrim got new shoes, 
 and they were good ones. The youth seated himself on 
 him, and once more they went their way, and for each hop 
 that Dapplegrim made, down went the hill fifteen ells into 
 the earth, and so they went on until there was no hill left 
 for the king to see. 
 
 When the youth came down again to the king's palace 
 he asked the king if the princess should not at last be his, 
 for now no one could say that the sun was not shining into 
 the palace. But the other people in the palace had again 
 stirred up the king, and he answered that the youth should 
 have her, and that he had never intended that he should not ; 
 but first of all he must get her quite as good a horse to ride 
 to the wedding on as that which he had himself. The youth 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 253 
 
 said that the king had never told him he was to do 
 that, and it seemed to him that he had now really earned 
 the princess; but the king stuck to what he had said, and if 
 the youth were unable to do it he was to lose his life, the 
 king said. The youth went down to the stable again, and 
 very sad and sorrowful he was, as anyone may well imagine. 
 Then he told Dapplegrim that the king had now required 
 that he should get the princess as good a bridal horse as 
 that which the bridegroom had, or he should lose his life. 
 '' But that will be no easy thing to do," said he, " for your 
 equal is not to be found in all the world." 
 
 " Oh, yes, there is one to match me," said Dapplegrim. 
 " But it will not be easy to get him, for he is underground. 
 However, we will try. Now you must go up to the king and 
 ask for new shoes for me, and for them we must again have 
 ten pounds of iron, twelve pounds of steel, and two smiths, 
 one to hammer and one to hold, but be very particular to 
 see that the hooks are very sharp. And you must also ask 
 for twelve barrels of rye, and twelve slaughtered oxen must 
 we have with us, and all the twelve ox-hides with twelve hun- 
 dred spikes set in each of them; all these things must we 
 have, likewise a barrel of tar with twelve tons of tar in it." 
 The youth went to the king and asked for all the things that 
 Dapplegrim had named, and once more, as the king thought 
 that it would be disagreeable to refuse them to him, he ob- 
 tained them all. 
 
 So he mounted Dapplegrim and rode away from the court, 
 and when he had ridden for a long, long time over hills and 
 moors, Dapplegrim asked : " Do you hear anything ? " 
 
 "Yes; there is such a dreadful whistling up above in the 
 air that I think I am growing quite alarmed," said the 
 youth. 
 
 " That is all the wild birds in the forest flying about ; 
 they are sent to stop us," said Dapplegrim. " But just cut 
 a hole in the corn sacks, and then they will be so busy with 
 the corn that they will forget us." 
 
 The youth did it. He cut holes in the corn sacks so that 
 barley and rye ran out on every side, and all the wild birds 
 that were in the forest came in such numbers that they dark- 
 ened the sun. But when they caught sight of the corn 
 they could not refrain from it, but flew down and began to 
 
254 THE EED FAIEY BOOK. 
 
 scratch and pick at the corn and rye, and at last they began 
 to fight among themselves, and forgot all about the youth 
 and Dapplegrim, and did them no harm. 
 
 And now the youth rode onward for a long, long time, 
 over hill and dale, over rocky places and morasses, and 
 then Dapplegrim began to listen again, and asked the youth 
 if he heard anything now. 
 
 " Yes ; now I hear such a dreadful crackling and crash- 
 ing in the forest on every side that I think I shall be really 
 afraid," said the youth. 
 
 " That is all the wild beasts of the forest," said Dapple- 
 grim; "they are sent out to stop us. But just throw out 
 the twelve carcasses of the oxen, and they will be so much 
 occupied with them that they will quite forget us." So the 
 youth threw out the carcasses of the oxen, and then all the 
 wild beasts in the forest, both bears and wolves, and lions, 
 and grim beasts of all kinds came. But when they caught 
 sight of the carcasses of the oxen they began to fight for 
 them until the blood flowed, and they entirely forgot Dap- 
 plegrim and the youth. 
 
 So the youth rode onward again, and many and many 
 were the new scenes they saw, for traveling on Dapplegrim's 
 back was not traveling slowly, as may be imagined, and then 
 Dapplegrim neighed. 
 
 " Do you hear anything ? " he said. 
 
 " Yes ; I heard something like a foal neighing quite 
 plainly a long way off," answered the youth. 
 
 " That's a full-grown colt," said Dapplegrim, " if you hear 
 it so plainly when it is so far away from us." 
 
 So they traveled onward a long time, and saw one new 
 scene after another once more. Then Dapplegrim neighed 
 again- 
 
 " Do you hear anything now ? " said he. 
 
 "Yes; now I heard it quite distinctly, and it neighed 
 like a full-grown horse," answered the youth. 
 
 " Yes, and you will hear it again very soon," said Dapple- 
 grim ; " and then you will hear what a voice it has." 
 
 So they traveled on through many more different kinds 
 of country, and then Dapplegrim neighed for the third 
 time ; but before he could ask the youth if he heard anything, 
 there was such a neighing on the other side of the heath 
 
THE BED FAIEY BOOK. 255 
 
 that the youth thought that the hills and rocks would be: 
 rent in pieces. 
 
 " Now he is here ! " said Dapplegrim. " Be quick, and 
 fling over me the ox-hides that have spikes in them, throw 
 the twelve tons of tar over the field, and climb up into that, 
 great spruce fir tree. When he comes, fire will spurt out 
 of both nostrils, and then the tar will catch fire. Now mark 
 what I say if the flame ascends I conquer, and if it sinks 
 I fail; but if you see that I am winning, fling the bridle, 
 which you must take off me, over his head, and then he will 
 become quite gentle." 
 
 Just as the youth had flung all the hides with the spikes 
 over Dapplegrim, and the tar over the field, and had got 
 
 safely up into the spruce fir, a horse came with flame spout- 
 ing from his nostrils, and the tar caught fire in a moment; 
 and Dapplegrim and the horse began to fight until the 
 stones leaped up to the sky. They bit, and they fought 
 with their fore legs and their hind legs, and sometimes the 
 youth looked at them, and sometimes he looked at the tar, 
 but at last the flames began to rise, for wheresoever the 
 strange horse bit or wheresoever he kicked he hit upon the 
 spikes in the hides, and at length he had to yield. When 
 the youth saw that, he was not long in getting down from the 
 
256 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 tree and flinging the bridle over the horse's head, and then 
 he became so tame that he might have been led by a thin 
 string. 
 
 This horse was dappled too, and so like Dapplegrim that 
 no one could distinguish the one from the other. The 
 youth seated himself on the dappled horse which he had 
 captured, and rode home again to the king's palace, and 
 Dapplegrim ran loose by his side. When he got there, the 
 king was standing outside in the court-yard. 
 
 " Can you tell me which is the horse I have caught, and 
 which is the one I had before ? " said the youth. " If you 
 can't, I think your daughter is mine." 
 
 The king went and looked at both the dappled horses; he 
 looked high and he looked low, he looked before and he 
 looked behind, but there was not a hair's difference between 
 the two. 
 
 " No," said the king ; " that I cannot tell thee, and as 
 thou hast procured such a splendid bridal horse for my 
 daughter thou shalt have her; but first we must have one 
 more trial, just to see if thou art fated to have her. She 
 shall hide herself twice, and then thou shalt hide thyself 
 twice. If thou canst find her each time that she hides her- 
 self, and if she cannot find thee in thy hiding-places, then 
 it is fated, and thou shalt have the princess." 
 
 " That, too, was not in our bargain," said the youth. u But 
 we will make this trial since it must be so." 
 
 So the king's daughter was to hide herself first. 
 
 Then she changed herself into a duck and lay swimming 
 in a lake that was just outside the palace. But the youth 
 went down into the stable and asked Dapplegrim what she 
 had done with herself. 
 
 " Oh, all that you have to do is to take your gun, and go 
 down to the water and aim at the duck which is swimming 
 about there, and she will soon discover herself," said Dap- 
 plegrim. 
 
 The youth snatched up his gun and ran to the lake. "I 
 will just have a shot at that duck," said he, and began to aim 
 at it. 
 
 " Oh, no, dear friend, don't shoot ! It is I," said the prin- 
 cess. So he had found her once. 
 
 The second time the princess changed herself into a loaf, 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 257 
 
 and laid herself on the table among four other loaves; and 
 she was so like the other loaves that no one could see any 
 difference betwen them. 
 
 But the youth again went down to the stable to Dapple- 
 grim, and told him that the princess had hidden herself 
 again, and that he had not the least idea what had become 
 of her. 
 
 " Oh, just take a very large bread-knife, sharpen it, and 
 pretend that you are going to cut straight through the third 
 of the four loaves which are lying on the kitchen table in 
 the king's palace count them from right to left and you 
 will soon find her," said Dapplegrim. 
 
 So the youth went up to the kitchen, and began to sharpen 
 the largest bread-knife that he could find; then he caught 
 hold of the third loaf on the left-hand side, and put 
 the knife to it as if he meant to cut it straight in 
 two. " I will have a bit of this bread for myself," said he. 
 
 " ]STo, dear friend, don't cut, it is I ! " said the princess 
 again; so he had found her the second time. 
 
 And now it was his turn to go and hide himself; but 
 Dapplegrim had given him such good instructions that it 
 was not easy to find him. First he turned himself into a 
 horse-fly, and hid himself in Dapplegrim's left nostril. The 
 princess went poking about and searching everywhere, high 
 and low, and wanted to go into Dapplegrim's stall too, but 
 he began to bite and kick about so that she was afraid to 
 go there, and could not find the youth. " Well," said she, " as 
 I am unable to find you, you must show yourself ; " where- 
 upon the youth immediately appeared, standing there on the 
 stable floor. 
 
 Dapplegrim told him what he was to do the second time, 
 and he turned himself into a lump of earth, and stuck him- 
 self between the hoof and the shoe on Dapplegrim's left 
 fore foot. Once more the king's daughter went and sought 
 everywhere, inside and outside, until at last she came into 
 the stable, and wanted to go into the stall beside Dapple- 
 grim. So this time he allowed her to go into it, and she 
 peered about high and low, but she could not look under his 
 hoofs, for he stood much too firmly on his legs for that, and 
 she could not find the youth. 
 
 "Well, you will just have to show where you are your- 
 
258 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 self, for I can't find you," said the princess, and in an in- 
 stant the youth was standing by her side on the floor of the 
 stable. 
 
 " Now you are mine ! " said he to the princess. " Now you 
 can see that it is fated that she should be mine," he said to 
 the king. 
 
 " Yes, fated it is," said the king. " So what must be, 
 must." 
 
 Then everything was made ready for the wedding with 
 great splendor and promptitude, and the youth rode to 
 church on Dapplegrim, and the king's daughter on the other 
 horse. So everyone must see that they could not be long on 
 their way thither. 
 
 THE ENCHANTED CANAKY.* 
 I. 
 
 Once upon a time in the reign of King Gambrinus, 
 there lived at Avesnes one of his lords, who was the finest 
 man by which I mean the fattest in the whole country of 
 Flanders. He ate four meals a day, slept twelve hours 
 out of the twenty-four, and the only thing he ever did was 
 to shoot at small birds with his bow and arrow. 
 
 Still, with all his practice he shot very badly, he was so 
 fat and heavy, and as he grew daily fatter, he was obliged 
 to give up walking, and be dragged about in a wheel-chair, 
 and the people made fun of him, and gave him the name of 
 my Lord Tubby. 
 
 Now, the only trouble that Lord Tubby had was about his 
 son, whom he loved very much, although they were not in the 
 least alike, for the young prince was as thin as a cuckoo. 
 And what vexed him more than all was, that though the 
 young ladies throughout all his lands did their best to make 
 the prince fall in love with them, he would have nothing to 
 say to any of them, and told his father he did not wish to 
 marry. 
 
 Instead of chatting to them in the dusk, he wandered 
 about in the woods, whispering to the moon. No wonder the 
 * Charles Deulin, Conies du Roi Gambrinus. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 259 
 
 young ladies thought him very odd, but they liked him all 
 the better for that; and as he had received at his birth the 
 name of Desire, they all called him d' Amour Desire. 
 
 " What is the matter with you ? " his father often said to 
 him. "You have everything you can possibly wish for; a 
 good bed, good food, and tuns full of beer. The only thing 
 you want, in order to become as fat as a pig, is a wife that 
 can bring you broad, rich lands. So marry, and you will be 
 perfectly happy." 
 
 "I ask nothing better than to marry," replied Desire, 
 "but I have never seen a woman that pleases me. All the 
 girls here are pink and white, and I am tired to death of 
 their eternal lilies and roses." 
 
 " My faith ! " cried Tubby ; " do you want to marry a 
 negress, and give me grandchildren as ugly as monkeys and 
 as stupid as owls ? " 
 
 "ISTo, father, nothing of the sort. But there must be 
 women somewhere in the world who are neither pink nor 
 white, and I tell you, once for all, that I will never marry 
 until I have found one exactly to my taste." 
 
 II. 
 
 Some time afterward, it happened that the prior of the 
 Abbey of Saint Amand sent to the Lord of Avesnes a 
 basket of oranges, with a beautifully written letter saying 
 that these golden fruit, then unknown in Flanders, came 
 straight from a land where the sun always shone. 
 
 That evening Tubby and his son ate the golden apples at 
 supper, and thought them delicious. 
 
 Next morning as the day dawned, Desire went down to 
 the stable and saddled his pretty white horse. Then he 
 went, all dressed for a journey, to the bedside of Tubby, and 
 found him smoking his first pipe. 
 
 " Father," he said gravely, " I have come to bid you fare- 
 well. Last night I dreamed I was walking in a wood, where 
 the trees were covered with golden apples. I gathered one 
 of them, and when I opened it there came out a lovely 
 princess with a golden skin. That is the wife I want, and 
 I am going to look for her." 
 
 The Lord of Avesnes was so much astonished that he let 
 
260 
 
 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 his pipe fall to the ground; then he became so diverted at 
 the notion of his son marrying a yellow woman, and a 
 woman shut up inside an orange, that he burst into fits of 
 laughter, 
 
 Desire waited to bid him good-by until he was quiet 
 again; but as his father went on laughing and showed no 
 signs of stopping, the young man took his hand, kissed it 
 tenderly, opened the door, and in the twinkling of an eye 
 
 was at the bottom of the staircase. He jumped lightly 
 on his horse, and was a mile from home before Tubby had 
 ceased laughing. 
 
 " A yellow wife ! He must be mad ! fit for a strait 
 waistcoat," cried the good man, when he was able to speak. 
 " Here ! quick ! bring him back to me." 
 
 The servants mounted their horses and rode after the 
 prince; but as they did not know which road he had taken, 
 they went all ways except the right one, and instead of bring- 
 ing him back they returned themselves when it grew dark. 
 
THE BED FAIRY BOOK. 261 
 
 HI. 
 
 When Desire thought they could no longer catch him, 
 he pulled his horse into a walk, like a prudent man who 
 knows he has far to go. He traveled in this way for many 
 weeks, passing by villages, towns, mountains, valleys, and 
 plains, but always pushing south, where every day the sun 
 seemed hotter and more brilliant. 
 
 At last, one day at sunset, Desire felt the sun so warm 
 that he thought that he must now be near the place of his 
 dream. He was at that moment close to the corner of a 
 wood where stood a little hut, before the door of which his 
 horse stopped of his own accord. An old man with a 
 white beard was sitting on the doorstep, enjoying the fresh 
 air. The prince got down from his horse and asked leave 
 to rest, 
 
 " Come in, my young friend," said the old man ; " my 
 house is not large, but it is big enough to hold a stranger." 
 
 The traveler entered, and his host put before him a 
 simple meal. When his hunger was satisfied the old man 
 said to him: 
 
 "If I do not mistake, you come from far. May I ask 
 where you are going ? " 
 
 "I will tell you," answered Desire, "though most likely 
 you will laugh at me. I dreamed that in the land of the 
 sun there was a wood full of orange-trees, and that in one 
 of the oranges I should find a beautiful princess who is to 
 be my wife. It is she I am seeking." 
 
 " Why should I laugh? " asked the old man. " Madness in 
 youth is true wisdom. Go, young man, follow your dream, 
 and if you do not find the happiness that you seek, at any 
 rate you will have had the happiness of seeking it." 
 
 IV. 
 
 The next day the prince arose early and took leave of his 
 host. 
 
 "The wood that you saw in your dream is not far from 
 here," said the old man. " It is in the depth of a forest, and 
 this road will lead you there. You will come to a vast park 
 surrounded by high walls. In the middle of the park is a 
 
262 THE RED FAIRY BOOK 
 
 castle, where dwells a horrible witch who allows no living 
 being to enter the doors. Behind the castle is the orange 
 grove. Follow the wall till you come to a heavy iron gate. 
 Don't try to press it open, but oil the hinges with this," and 
 the old man gave him a small bottle. 
 
 " The gate will open of itself," he continued, " and a huge 
 dog which guards the castle will come to you with his 
 mouth wide open, but just throw him this oat cake. Next, 
 you will see a baking-woman leaning over her heated oven. 
 Give her this brush. Lastly, you will find a well on your 
 left; do not forget to take the cord off the bucket and spread 
 it in the sun. When you have done this do not enter the cas- 
 tle, but go round and enter the orange grove. , Then gather 
 three oranges, and get back to the gate as fast as you can. 
 Once out of the gate, leave the forest by the opposite side. 
 
 "Now, attend to this: whatever happens, do not open 
 your oranges till you reach the bank of a river, or a foun- 
 tain. Out of each orange will come a princess, and you 
 can choose which you like for your wife. Your choice once 
 made, be very careful never to leave your bride for an in- 
 stant, and remember that the danger which is most to be 
 feared is never the danger we are most afraid of." 
 
 V. 
 
 Desire thanked his host warmly, and took the road he 
 pointed out. In less than an hour he arrived at the wall, 
 which was very high indeed. He sprang to the ground, 
 fastened his horse to a tree, and soon found the iron gate. 
 Then he took out his bottle and oiled the hinges, when 
 the gate opened of itself, and he saw an old castle standing 
 inside. The prince entered boldly into the court-yard. 
 
 Suddenly he heard fierce howls* and a dog as tall as a don- 
 key, with eyes like billiard balls, came toward him, showing 
 his teeth, which were like the prongs of a fork. Desire 
 flung him the oat cake, which the great dog instantly 
 snapped up, and the young prince passed quietly on. 
 
 A few yards further he saw a huge oven, with a wide, 
 red-hot gaping mouth. A woman as tall as a giant was 
 leaning over the oven. Desire gave her the brush, which 
 ehe took in silence. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 263 
 
 Then lie went on to the well, drew up the cord, which 
 was half-rotten, and stretched it out in the sun. 
 
 Lastly he went round the castle, and plunged into the 
 orange grove. There he gathered the three most beautiful 
 oranges he could find, and turned to go back to the gate. 
 
 But just at this moment the sun was darkened, the earth 
 trembled, and Desire heard a voice crying: 
 
 " Baker, baker, ta*ke him by his feet, and throw him into 
 the oven ! " 
 
 " No," replied the baker ; " a long time has passed since 
 I first began 4;o scour this oven with my own flesh. You 
 
 never cared to give me a brush; but he has given me one, 
 and he shall go in peace." 
 
 " Rope, oh, rope ! " cried the voice again, " twine your- 
 self round his neck and strangle him." 
 
 "No," replied the rope; "you have left me for many 
 
264 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 years past to fall to pieces with the damp. He has stretched 
 me out in the sun. Let him go in peace." 
 
 "Dog, my good dog," cried the voice, more and more 
 angry, "jump at his throat and eat him up." 
 
 " No," replied the dog ; " though I have served you long, 
 you never gave me any bread. He has given me as much 
 as I want. Let him go in peace." 
 
 " Iron gate, iron gate," cried the voice, growling like 
 thunder, " fall on him and grind him to powder." 
 
 " No," replied the gate ; " it is a hundred years since you 
 left me to rust, and he has oiled me. Let him go in peace." 
 
 VI. 
 
 Once outside, the young adventurer put his oranges into 
 a bag that hung from his saddle, mounted his horse, and 
 rode quickly out of the forest. 
 
 Now, as he was longing to see the princesses, he was 
 anxious to come to a river or a fountain, but, though he 
 rode for hours, a river or a fountain was nowhere to be 
 seen. Still his heart was light, for he felt that he had got 
 through the most difficult part of his task, and the rest was 
 easy. 
 
 About mid-day he reached a sandy plain, scorching in 
 the sun. Here he was seized with dreadful thirst; he took 
 his gourd and raised it to his lips. 
 
 But the gourd was empty; in the excitement of his joy 
 he had forgotten to fill it. He rode on, struggling with 
 his sufferings, but at last he could bear it no longer. 
 
 He let himself slide to the earth, and lay down beside his 
 horse, his throat burning, his chest heaving, and his head 
 going round. Already he felt that death was near him,, 
 when his eyes fell on the bag where the oranges peeped out. 
 
 Poor Desire, who had braved so many dangers to win the 
 lady of his dreams, would have given at this moment all 
 the princesses in the world, were they pink or golden, for 
 a single drop of water. 
 
 " Ah ! " he said to himself. " If only these oranges were 
 real fruit fruit as refreshing as what I ate in Flanders! 
 And, after all, who knows ? " 
 
 This idea put some life into him. He had the strength 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 265 
 
 The Princess Zizi.is Restored to her Proper Shape. 
 
 co lift himself up and put his hand into his bag. He drew 
 out an orange and opened it with his knife. 
 
 Out of it flew the prettiest little female canary that ever 
 was seen. 
 
 " Give me something to drink, I am dying of thirst," said 
 the golden bird. 
 
266 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 " Wait a minute," replied Desire, so much astonished that 
 he forgot his own sufferings; and to satisfy the bird he took 
 a second orange, and opened it without thinking what he was 
 doing. Out of it flew another canary, and she too began to 
 cry: 
 
 " I am dying of thirst ; give me something to drink." 
 Then Tubby's son saw his folly, and while the two canaries 
 flew away he sank on the ground, where, exhausted by his 
 last effort, he lay unconscious. 
 
 vn. 
 
 When he came to himself, he had a pleasant feeling of 
 freshness all about him. It was night, the sky was spark- 
 ling with stars, and the earth was covered with a heavy dew. 
 
 The traveler, having recovered, mounted his horse, and at 
 the first streak of dawn he saw a stream dancing in front of 
 him, and stooped down and drank his fill. 
 
 He hardly had courage to open his last orange. Then 
 he remembered that the night before he had disobeyed the 
 orders of the old man. Perhaps his terrible thirst was a 
 trick of the old witch, and suppose, even though he opened 
 the orange on the banks of the stream, that he did not find in 
 it the princess that he sought ? 
 
 He took his knife and cut it open. Alas ! out of it flew a 
 little canary, just like the others, who cried: 
 
 " I am thirsty ; give me something to drink." 
 
 Great was the disappointment of Desire. However, he 
 was determined not to let this bird fly away; so he took up 
 some water in the palm of his hand and held it to its beak. 
 
 Scarcely had the canary drank when she became a beau- 
 tiful girl, tall and straight as a poplar tree, with black eyes 
 and a golden skin. Desire had never seen anyone half so 
 lovely, and he stood gazing at her in delight. 
 
 On her side she seemed quite bewildered, but she looked 
 about her with happy eyes, and was not at all afraid of her 
 deliverer. 
 
 He asked her name. She answered that she was called 
 the Princess Zizi; she was about sixteen years old, and 
 for ten years of that time the witch had kept her shut up in 
 an orange, in the shape of a canary. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 267 
 
 "Well, then, my charming Zizi," said the young prince, 
 who was longing to marry her, " let us ride away quickly so 
 as to escape from the wicked witch." 
 
 But Zizi wished to know where he wished to take her. 
 
 " To my father's castle," he said. 
 
 He mounted his horse and took her in front of him, 
 and, holding her carefully in his arms, they began their 
 journey. 
 
 vm. 
 
 Everything the princess saw was new to her, and in pass- 
 ing through the mountains, valleys, and towns, she asked a 
 thousand questions. Desire was charmed to answer them. 
 It is so delightful to teach those one loves i 
 
 Once she inquired what the girls in his country were 
 like. 
 
 " They are pink and white," he replied, " and their eyes 
 are blue. 
 
 " Do you like blue eyes ? " said the princess ; but Desire 
 thought it was a good opportunity to find out what was in 
 her heart, so he did not answer. " And no doubt," went on 
 the princess, " one of them is your intended bride ? " 
 
 Still he was silent, and Zizi drew herself up proudly. 
 
 "No," he said at last. "None of the girls of my own 
 country are beautiful in my eyes, and that is why I came to 
 look for a wife in the land of the sun. Was I wrong, my 
 lovely Zizi ? " 
 
 This time it was Zizi's turn to be silent. 
 
 IX. 
 
 Talking in this way they drew near the castle. When 
 they were about four stone-throws from the gates they 
 dismounted in the forest, by the edge of a fountain. 
 
 "My dear Zizi," said Tubbv's son, "we cannot present 
 ourselves before my father like two common people who 
 have come back from a walk. We must enter the castle with 
 more ceremony. Wait for me here, and in an hour I will 
 return with carriages and horses fit for a princess." 
 
268 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 "Don't be long," replied Zizi, and she watched him go 
 with wistful eyes. 
 
 When she was left by herself the poor girl began to feel 
 afraid. She was alone for the first time in her life, and in 
 the middle of a thick forest. 
 
 Suddenly she heard a noise among the trees. Fearing 
 lest it should be a wolf, she hid herself in the hollow trunk 
 of a willow tree which hung over the fountain. It was big 
 enough to hold her altogether, but she peeped out, and her 
 pretty head was reflected in the clear water. 
 
 Then there appeared, not a wolf, but a creature quite 
 as wicked and quite as ugly. Let us see who this creature 
 was. 
 
 'Not far from the fountain there lived a family of 
 bricklayers. Now, fifteen years before this time, the father 
 in walking through the forest found a little girl, who had 
 been deserted by the gypsies. He carried her home to his 
 wife, and the good woman was sorry for her, and brought 
 her up with her own sons. As she grew older, the little 
 gypsy became much more remarkable for strength and 
 cunning than for sense or beauty. She had a low forehead, 
 a flat nose, thick lips, coarse hair, and a skin not golden like 
 that of Zizi, but the color of clay. 
 
 As she was always being teased about her complexion, 
 she got as noisy and cross as a titmouse. So they used to 
 call her Titty. 
 
 Titty was often sent by the bricklayer to fetch water 
 from the fountain, and as she was very proud and lazy the 
 gypsy disliked this very much. 
 
 It was she who had frightened Zizi by appearing with 
 her pitcher on her shoulder. Just as she was stooping to 
 fill it, she saw reflected in the water the lovely image of the 
 princess. 
 
 " What a pretty face ! " she exclaimed. " Why, it must 
 be mine! How in the world can they call me ugly? I am 
 certainly much too pretty to be their water-carrier ! " 
 
 So saying, she broke her pitcher and went home. 
 
 " Where is your pitcher ? " asked the bricklayer. 
 
THE BED FAIRY BOOK. 269 
 
 "Well, what do you expect? The pitcher may go many 
 times to the well " 
 
 "But at last it is broken. Well, here is a bucket that 
 will not break." 
 
 The gypsy returned to the fountain, and addressing once 
 more the image of Zizi, she said: 
 
 " No ; I don't mean to be a beast of burden any longer." 
 
 And she flung the bucket so high in the air that it stuck 
 in the branches of an oak. 
 
 " I met a wolf," she told the bricklayer, " and I broke 
 the bucket across his nose." 
 
 The bricklayer asked her no more questions, but took 
 down a broom and gave her such a beating that her pride 
 was humbled a little. 
 
 Then he handed to her an old copper milk-can, and said : 
 
 "If you don't bring it back full, your bones shall suffer 
 for it." 
 
 XL 
 
 Titty went off rubbing her sides; but this time she did 
 not dare to disobey, and in a very bad temper stooped down 
 over the well. It was not at all easy to fill the milk-can, 
 which was large and round. It would not go down into 
 the well, and the gypsy had to try again and again. 
 
 At last her arms grew so tired that when she did manage 
 to get the can properly under the water she had no strength 
 to pull it up, and it rolled to the bottom. 
 
 On seeing the can disappear, she made such a miserable 
 face that Zizi, who had been watching her all this time, 
 burst into fits of laughter. 
 
 Titty turned round and perceived the mistake she had 
 made; and she felt so angry that she made up her mind to 
 be revenged at once. 
 
 " What are you doing there, you lovely creature ? " she 
 said to Zizi. 
 
 "I am waiting for my lover," Zizi replied; and then, 
 with a simplicity quite natural in a girl who so lately had 
 been a canary, she told all her story. 
 
 The gypsy had often seen the young prince pass by, with 
 his gun on his shoulder, when he was going after crows. 
 
270 
 
 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 She was too ugly and ragged for him ever to have noticed 
 her, but Titty on her side had admired him, though she 
 thought he might well have been a little fatter. 
 
 " Dear, dear ! " she said to herself. " So he likes yellow 
 women! Why, I am yellow too, and if I could only think 
 of a way " 
 
 It was not long before she did think of it. 
 
 " What ! " cried the sly Titty, " they are coming with 
 great pomp to fetch you, and you are not afraid to show 
 
 yourself to so many fine lords and ladies with your hair 
 down like that? Get down at once, my poor child, and let 
 me dress your hair for you ! " 
 
 The innocent Zizi came down at once, and stood by 
 Titty. The gypsy began to comb her long brown locks, 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 271 
 
 when suddenly she drew a pin from her stays, and, just as 
 the titmouse digs its beak into the heads of linnets and 
 larks, Titty dug the pin into the head of Zizi. 
 
 No sooner did Zizi feel the prick of the pin than she 
 became a bird again, and, spreading her wings, she flew 
 away. 
 
 " That was neatly done," said the gypsy. " The prince 
 will be clever if he finds his bride." And, arranging her 
 dress, she seated herself on the grass to await Desire. 
 
 xn. 
 
 Meanwhile the prince was coming as fast as his horse 
 could carry him. He was so impatient that he was always 
 full fifty yards in front of the lords and ladies sent by 
 Tubby to bring back Zizi. 
 
 At the sight of the hideous gypsy he was struck dumb 
 with surprise and horror. 
 
 " Ah, me ! " said Titty, " so you don't know your poor 
 Zizi? While you were away the wicked witch came, and 
 turned me into this. But if you only have the courage to 
 marry me I shall get back my beauty." And she began 
 to cry bitterly. 
 
 Now the good-natured Desire was as soft-hearted as he 
 was brave. "Poor girl," he thought to himself. "It is 
 not her fault, after all, that she has grown so ugly, it is 
 mine. Oh! why did I not follow the old man's advice? 
 Why did I leave her alone? And besides, it depends on 
 me to break the spell, and I love her too much to let her 
 remain like this." 
 
 So he presented the gypsy to the lords and ladies of the 
 court, explaining to them the terrible misfortune which 
 had befallen his beautiful bride. 
 
 They all pretended to believe it, and the ladies at once 
 put on the false princess the rich dresses they had brought 
 for Zizi. 
 
 She was then perched on the top of a magnificent ambling 
 palfrey, and they set forth to the castle. 
 
 But unluckily the rich dress and jewels only made Titty 
 look uglier still, and Desire could not help feeling hot 
 
272 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 and uncomfortable when he made his entry with her into 
 the city. 
 
 Bells were pealing, chimes ringing, and the people filling 
 the streets and standing at their doors to watch the pro- 
 cession go by, and they could hardly believe their eyes as 
 they saw what a strange bride their prince had chosen. 
 
 In order to do her more honor, Tubby came to meet her 
 at the foot of the great marble staircase. At the sight of. 
 the hideous creature he almost fell backward. 
 
 "What!" he cried. "Is this the wonderful beauty?" 
 
 "Yes, father, it is she," replied Desire with a sheepish 
 look. " But she has been bewitched by a wicked sorceress, 
 and will not regain her beauty until she is my wife." 
 
 "Does she say so? Well, if you believe that, you may 
 drink cold water and think it bacon," the unhappy Tubby 
 answered crossly. 
 
 But all the same, as he adored his son, he gave the gypsy 
 his hand and led her to the great hall, where the bridal feast 
 was spread. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 The feast was excellent, but Desire hardly touched any- 
 thing. However, to make up, the other guests ate greedily, 
 and as for Tubby, nothing ever took away his appetite. 
 
 When the moment arrived to serve the roast goose, there 
 was a pause, and Tubby took the opportunity to lay down 
 his knife and fork for a little. But as the goose gave no 
 sign of appearing, he sent his head carver to find out what 
 was the matter in the kitchen. 
 
 Now this was what had happened. 
 
 While the goose was turning on the spit, a beautiful little 
 canary hopped on to the sill of the open window. 
 
 " Good-morning, my fine cook," she said in a silvery voice 
 to the man who was watching the roast. 
 
 " Good-morning, lovely golden bird," replied the chief of 
 the scullions, who had been well brought up. 
 
 "I pray that Heaven may send you to sleep," said the 
 golden bird, "and that the goose may burn, so that there 
 may be none left for Titty." 
 
 And instantly the chief of the scullions fell fast asleep, 
 and the goose was burned to a cinder. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 273 
 
 When he awoke he was horrified, and gave orders to 
 pluck another goose, to stuff it with chestnuts, and put it 
 on the spit. 
 
 While it was browning at the fire, Tubby inquired for 
 his goose a second time. The master cook himself mounted 
 to the hall to make his excuses, and to beg his lord to have 
 a little patience. Tubby showed his patience by abusing his 
 son. 
 
 " As if it wasn't enough," he grumbled between his teeth, 
 
 "that the boy should pick up a hag without a penny, but 
 the goose must go and burn now. It isn't a wife he has 
 brought me, it is Famine herself." 
 
 XIV. 
 
 While the master cook was upstairs, the golden bird 
 came again to perch on the window-sill, and called in her 
 clear voice to the head scullion, who was watching the spit : 
 
 " Good-morning, my fine scullion ! " 
 
 " Good-moming, lovely golden bird," replied tbe scullion, 
 whom the master cook had forgotten in his excitement to 
 warn. 
 
 "I pray Heaven," went on the canary, "that it will send 
 
274 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 you to sleep, and that the goose may burn, so that there 
 may be none left for Titty." 
 
 And the scullion fell fast asleep, and when the master 
 cook came back he found the goose as black as the chimney. 
 
 In a fury he woke the scullion, who in order to save him- 
 self from blame told the whole story. 
 
 " That accursed bird," said the cook ; " it will end by 
 getting me sent away. Come, some of you, and hide your- 
 selves, and if it comes again, catch it and wring its neck." 
 
 He spitted a third goose, lit a huge fire, and seated himself 
 by it. 
 
 The bird appeared a third time, and said: "Good-morn- 
 ing, my fine cook." 
 
 " Good-morning, lovely golden bird," replied the cook, as 
 if nothing had happened, and at the moment that the 
 canary was beginning, " I pray Heaven that it may send," 
 a scullion who was hidden outside rushed out and shut the 
 shutters. The bird flew into the kitchen. Then all the 
 cooks and scullions sprang after it, knocking at it with 
 their aprons. At length one of them caught it just at the 
 very moment that Tubby entered the kitchen, waving his 
 scepter. He had come to see for himself why the goose had 
 never made its appearance. 
 
 The scullion stopped at once, just as he was about to wring 
 the canary's neck. 
 
 XV. 
 
 "Will someone be kind enough to tell me the meaning 
 of all this ? " cried the Lord of Avesnes. 
 
 " Your excellency, it is the bird," replied the scullion, and 
 he placed it in his hand. 
 
 " Nonsense ! What a lovely bird ! " said Tubby, and in 
 stroking its head he touched a pin that was sticking between 
 its feathers. He pulled it out, and lo! the canary at once 
 became a beautiful girl with a golden skin who jumped 
 lightly to the ground. 
 
 " Gracious ! what a pretty girl ! " said Tubby. 
 
 " Father ! it is she ! it is Zizi ! " exclaimed Desire, who 
 entered at this moment. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 275 
 
 And he took her in his arms, crying: "My darling Zizi, 
 how happy I am to see you once more ! " 
 
 " Well, and the other one ? " asked Tubby. 
 
 The other one was stealing quietly to the door. 
 
 " Stop her! " called Tubby. " We will judge her cause at 
 once." 
 
 And he seated himself solemnly on the oven, and con- 
 demned Titty to be burned alive. After which the lords 
 and cooks formed themselves in lines, and Tubby betrothed 
 Desire to Zizi. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 The marriage took place a few days later. All the boys 
 in the countryside were there, armed with wooden swords, 
 and decorated with epaulets made of gilt paper. 
 
 Zizi obtained Titty's pardon, and she was sent back to the 
 brick-fields, followed and hooted at by all the boys, and this 
 is why to-day the country boys always throw stones at a 
 titmouse. 
 
 On the evening of the wedding-day all the larders, eel- 
 
276 THE BED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 lars, cupboards, and tables of the people, whether rich or 
 poor, were loaded as if by enchantment with bread, wine, 
 beer, cakes and tarts, roast larks, and even geese, so that 
 Tubby could not complain any more that his son had married 
 Famine. 
 
 Since that time there has always been plenty to eat in 
 that country, and since that time, too, you see in the midst 
 of the fair-haired blue-eyed women of Flanders a few beauti- 
 ful girls, whose eyes are black and whose skins are the color 
 of gold. They are the descendants of Zizi. 
 
 THE TWELVE BKOTHERS.* 
 
 There were once upon a time a king and a queen who 
 lived happily together, and they had twelve children, all 
 of whom were boys. One day the king said to his wife : 
 
 " If our thirteenth child is a girl, all her twelve brothers 
 must die, so that she may be very rich and the kingdom hers 
 alone." 
 
 Then he ordered twelve coffins to be made, and filled them 
 with shavings, and placed a little pillow in each. These he 
 put away in an empty room, and giving the key to his wife, 
 he bade her tell no one of it. 
 
 The queen grieved over the sad fate of her sons and re- 
 fused to be comforted, so much so that the youngest boy, who 
 was always with her, and whom she had christened Benja- 
 min, said to her one day: 
 
 " Dear mother, why are you so sad ? " 
 
 " My child," she answered, " I may not tell you the reason." 
 
 But he left her no peace, till she went and unlocked the 
 room and showed him the twelve coffins filled with shav- 
 ings, and with the little pillow laid in each. 
 
 Then she said: "My dearest Benjamin, your father has 
 had these coffins made for you and your eleven brothers, 
 because if I bring a girl into the world you are all to be 
 killed and buried in them." 
 
 She wept bitterly as she spoke, but her son comforted her 
 and said: 
 
 Grimm. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 277 
 
 "Don't cry, dear mother; we'll manage to escape some- 
 how, and will fly for our lives." 
 
 "Yes," replied his mother, "that is what you must do 
 go with your eleven brothers out into the wood, and let one 
 of you always sit on the highest tree you can find, 
 keeping watch on the tower of the castl. If I give birth 
 to a little son I will wave a white flag, and then you may 
 safely return; but if I give birth to a little daughter I will 
 wave a red flag, which will warn you to fly away as quickly 
 as you can, and may the kind Heaven have pity on you. 
 Every night I will get up and pray for you, in winter that 
 
 & * r-r' l^'.'-''. 
 
 
 yeu may always have a fire to warm yourselves by, and in 
 summer that you may not languish in the heat." 
 
 Then she blessed her sons and they set out into the wood. 
 They found a very high oak tree, and there they sat, turn 
 about, keeping their eyes always fixed on the castle tower. 
 On the twelfth day when the turn came to Benjamin, he no- 
 
278 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 ticed a flag waving in the air, but alas! it was not white, 
 but blood-red, the sign which told them they must all die. 
 When the brothers heard this they were very angry, and 
 said: 
 
 " Shall we forsooth suffer death for the sake of a wretched 
 girl? Let us swear vengeance, and vow that wherever and 
 wherever we shall meet one of her sex, she shall die at our 
 hands." 
 
 Then they went their way deeper into the wood, and in 
 the middle of it, where it was thickest and darkest, they 
 came upon a little enchanted house which stood empty. 
 
 "Here," they said, "let us take up our abode, and you, 
 Benjamin, you are the youngest and weakest, you shall stay 
 at home and keep house for us; we others will go out and 
 fetch food." So they went forth into the wood, and shot 
 hares and roe-deer, birds and wood-pigeons, and any other 
 game they came across. They always brought their spoils 
 home to Benjamin, who soon learned to make them into 
 dainty dishes. So they lived for ten years in this little 
 house, and the time slipped merrily away. 
 
 In the meantime their little sister at home was growing 
 up quickly. She was kind-hearted and of a fair countenance, 
 and she had a gold star right in the middle of her forehead. 
 One day a big washing was going on at the palace, and the 
 girl looking down from her window saw twelve men's shirts 
 hanging up to dry, and asked her mother: 
 
 "Who in the world do these shirts belong to? Surely 
 they are far too small for my father ? " 
 
 And the queen answered sadly : " Dear child, they belong 
 to your twelve brothers." 
 
 "But where are my twelve brothers?" said the girl. "I 
 have never even heard of them." 
 
 " Heaven alone knows in what part of the wide world they 
 are wandering," replied her mother. 
 
 Then she took the girl and opened the locked-up room; 
 she showed her the twelve coffins filled with shavings, 
 and with the little pillow laid in each. 
 
 " These coffins," she said, " were intended for your 
 brothers, but they stole secretly away before you were born." 
 
 Then she proceeded to tell her all that had happened, 
 and when she had finished her daughter said: 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 279 
 
 "Do not cry, dearest mother; I will go forth and seek my 
 brothers till I find them." 
 
 So she took the twelve shirts and went on straight into 
 the middle of the big wood. She walked all day long, and 
 came in the evening to the little enchanted honse. She 
 stepped in and found a youth who, marveling at her beauty, 
 at the royal robes she wore, and at the golden star on her 
 forehead, asked her where she came from and whither she 
 was going. 
 
 "1 am a princess," she answered, "and am seeking for 
 my twelve brothers. I mean to wander as far as the blue 
 sky stretches over the earth till I find them." 
 
 Then she showed him the twelve shirts which she had 
 taken with her, and Benjamin saw that it must be his 
 sister, and said: 
 
 "I am Benjamin, your youngest brother." 
 
 So they wept for joy, and kissed and hugged each other 
 again and again. After a time Benjamin said: 
 
 "Dear sister, there is still a little difficulty, for we had 
 all agreed that any girl we met should die at our hands, 
 because it was for the sake of a girl that we had to leave 
 our kingdom." 
 
 " But," she said, " I will gladly die if by that means I can 
 restore my twelve brothers to their own." 
 
 "No," he answered, "there is no need for that; only go 
 and hide under that tub till our eleven brothers come in, 
 and I'll soon make matters right? with them." 
 
 She did as she was bid, and soon the others came home 
 from the chase and sat down to supper. 
 
 "Well, Benjamin, what's the news?" they asked. 
 
 But he replied: "I like that; have you nothing to tell 
 me?" 
 
 "No," they answered. 
 
 Then he said : " Well, now, you've been out in the wood all 
 the day and I've stayed quietly at home, and all the same 
 I know more than you do." 
 
 "Then tell us," they cried. 
 
 But he answered : " Only on condition that yon promise 
 faithfully that the first girl we meet shall not be killed." 
 
 " She shall be spared," they promised, " only tell us the 
 news." 
 
280 
 
 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 Then Benjamin said: "Our sister is here!" and he 
 lifted up the tub and the princess stepped forward, with 
 her royal robes and with the golden star on her forehead, 
 looking so lovely and sweet and charming that they all fell 
 in love with her on the spot. 
 
 They arranged that she should stay at home with Benja- 
 min and help him in the housework, while the rest of the 
 
 brothers went out into the wood and shot hares and roe- 
 deer, birds and wood-pigeons. And Benjamin and bis sis- 
 ter cooked their meals for them. She gathered herbs to 
 cook the vegetables in, fetched the wood, and watched the 
 pots on the fire, and always when her eleven brothers re- 
 turned she had their supper ready for them. Besides this, 
 she kept the house in order, tidied all the rooms, and made 
 herself so generally useful that her brothers were delighted, 
 and they all lived happily together. 
 
 One day the two at home prepared a fine feast, &r* A when 
 
THE RED FAIKY BOOK. 
 
 281 
 
 they were all assembled they sat down and ate and drank 
 and made merry. 
 
 Now there was a little garden round the enchanted house, 
 in which grew twelve tall lilies. The girl, wishing to please 
 her brothers, plucked the twelve flowers, meaning to present 
 one to each of them as they sat at supper. But harolly had 
 she plucked the flowers when her brothers were turned' into 
 
 twelve ravens, who flew croaking over the wood, and the 
 house and garden vanished also. 
 
 So the poor girl found herself left all alone in the wood, 
 and as she looked around her she noticed an old woman 
 standing close beside her, who said : 
 
282 THE BED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 "My child, what have you done? Why didn't you leave 
 the flowers alone? They were your twelve brothers. Now 
 they are changed forever into ravens." 
 
 The girl asked, sobbing: "Is there no means of setting 
 them free ? " 
 
 " ~No" said the old woman, " there is only one way in 
 the whole world, and that is so difficult that you won't free 
 them by it, for you would have to be dumb and not laugh for 
 seven years, and if you spoke a single word, though but an 
 hour were wanting to the time, your silence would all have 
 been in vain, and that one word would slay your brothers." 
 Then the girl said to herself: "If that is all I am quite 
 sure I can free my brothers." So she searched for a high 
 tree, and when she found one she climbed up it and spun all 
 day long, never laughing nor speaking one word. 
 
 Now it happened one day that a king who was hunting 
 in the wood had a large greyhound, who ran sniffing to the 
 tree on which the girl sat, and jumped round it, yelping and 
 barking furiously. The king's attention was attracted, and 
 when he looked up and beheld the beautiful princess with 
 the golden star on her forehead, he was so enchanted by her 
 beauty that he asked her on the spot to be his wife. She 
 gave no answer, but nodded slightly with her head. Then 
 he climbed up the tree himself, lifted her down, put her on 
 his horse, and bore her home to his palace. 
 
 The marriage was celebrated with much pomp and cere- 
 mony, but the bride neither spoke nor laughed. 
 
 When they had lived a few years happily together, the 
 king's mother, who was a wicked old woman, began to slander 
 the young queen, and said to the king : 
 
 " She is only a low-born beggar maid that you have mar- 
 ried; who knows what mischief she is up to? If she is 
 deaf and can't speak, she might at least laugh; depend upon 
 it, those who don't laugh have a bad conscience." 
 
 At first the king paid no heed to her words, but the old 
 woman harped so long on the subject, and accused the young 
 queen of so many bad things, that at last he let himself be 
 talked over, and condemned his beautiful wife to death. 
 
 So a great fire was lit in the court-yard of the palace, 
 where she was to be burned, and the king watched the pro- 
 ceedings from an upper window, crying bitterly the while, 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 283 
 
 for he still loved his wife dearly. But just as she had been 
 bound to the stake, and the flames were licking her garments 
 with their red tongues, the very last moment of the seven 
 years had come. Then a sudden rushing sound was heard in 
 the air, and twelve ravens were seen flying overhead. They 
 swooped downward, and as soon as they touched the jround 
 they turned into her twelve brothers, and she knew that she 
 had freed them. 
 
 They quenched the flames and put out the fire, and, un- 
 binding their dear sister from the stake, they kissed and 
 hugged her again and again. And now that she was able 
 to open her mouth and speak, she told the king why she had 
 been dumb and not able to laugh. 
 
 The king rejoiced greatly when he heard she was inno- 
 cent, and they all lived happily ever afterward. 
 
 KAPUNZEL* 
 
 Once upon a time there lived <t man and his wife who 
 were very unhappy because they had no children. These 
 good people had a little window at the back of their house, 
 which looked into the most lovely garden, full of all manner 
 of beautiful flowers an vegetables ; but the garden was sur- 
 rounded by a high wall, and no one dared to enter it, for 
 it belonged to a witch of great power, who was feared by the 
 whole world. One day the woman stood at the window 
 overlooking the garden, and saw there a bed full of the 
 finest rampion : the leaves looked so fresh and green that she 
 longed to eat them. The desire grew day by day, and just 
 because she knew she couldn't possibly get any, she pined 
 away and became quite pale and wretched. Then her hus- 
 band grew alarmed and said : 
 
 " What ails you, dear wife ? " 
 
 " Oh," she answered, " if I don't get some rampion to 
 eat out of the garden behind the house, I know I shall die." 
 
 The man, who loved her dearly, thought to himself: 
 
 " Come ! rather than let your wife die you shall fetch her 
 
 some rampion, no matter what the cost." So at dusk he 
 
 climbed over the wall into the witch's garden, and, hastily 
 
 * Grimm. 
 
284 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 gathering a handful of rampion leaves, he returned with 
 them to his wife. She made them into a salad, which tasted 
 so good that her longing for the forbidden food was greater 
 than ever. If she were to know any peace of mind, there 
 was nothing for it but that her husband should climb over 
 the garden wall again, and fetch her some more. So at dusk 
 over he got, but when he reached the other side he drew back 
 in terror, for there, standing before him, was the old witch. 
 
 " How dare you," she said, with a wrathful glance, " climb 
 into my garden and steal my rampion like a common thief ? 
 You shall suffer for your foolhardiness." 
 
 " Oh ! " he implored, " pardon my presumption ; neces- 
 sity alone drove me to the deed. My wife saw your rampion 
 from her window, and conceived such a desire for it that 
 she would certainly have died if her wish had not been 
 gratified." Then the witch's anger was a little appeased, 
 and she said: 
 
 " If it's as you say, you may take as much rampion away 
 with you as you like, but on one condition only that you 
 give me the child your wife will shortly bring into the 
 world. All shall go well with it, and I will look after it like 
 a mother." 
 
 The man in his terror agreed to everything she asked, 
 and as soon as the child was born the witch appeared, and 
 having given it the name of Rapunzel, which is the same 
 as rampion, she carried it off with her. 
 
 Rapunzel was the most beautiful child under the sun. 
 When she was twelve years old the witch shut her up in a 
 tower, in the middle of a great wood, and the tower had 
 neither stairs nor doors, only high up at the very top a 
 small window. When the old witch wanted to get in she 
 stood underneath and called out : 
 
 " Rapunzel, Eapunzel, 
 Let down your golden hair," 
 
 for Rapunzel had wonderful long hair, and it was as fine as 
 spun gold. Whenever she heard the witch's voice she un- 
 loosed her plaits, and let her hair fall down out of the win- 
 dow about twenty yards below, and the old witch climbed up 
 by it. 
 
 After they had lived like this for a few years, it happened 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 285 
 
 one day that a prince was riding through the wood and 
 passed by the tower. As he drew near it he heard someone 
 singing so sweetly that he stood still spell-bound and listened. 
 It was Rapunzel in her loneliness trying to while away the 
 time by letting her sweet voice ring out into the wood. The 
 prince longed to see the owner of the voice, but he sought 
 in vain for a door in the tower. He rode home, but he was so 
 haunted by the song he had heard that he returned every 
 day in the wood and listened. One day, when he was stand- 
 ing thus behind a tree, he saw the old witch approach and 
 heard her call out: 
 
 " Rapunzel, Rapunzel, 
 Let down your golden hair," 
 
 Then Rapunzel let down her plaits, and the witch climbed 
 up by them. 
 
 " So that's the staircase, is it ? " said the prince. " Then 
 I too will climb it and try my luck." 
 
 So on the following day, at dusk, he went to the foot of 
 the tower and cried : 
 
 " Rapunzel, Rapunzel, 
 Let down your golden hair," 
 
 and as soon as she had let it down the prince climbed up. 
 
 At first Rapunzel was terribly frightened when a man 
 came in, for she had never seen one before; but the prince 
 spoke to her so kindly, and told her at once that his heart 
 had been so touched by her singing, that he felt he should 
 know no peace of mind till he had seen her. Very soon 
 Rapunzel forgot her fear, and when he asked her to marry 
 him she consented at once. " For," she thought, " he is 
 young and handsome, and I'll certainly be happier with 
 him than the old witch." So she put her hand in his 
 and said: 
 
 "Yes, I will gladly go with you, only how am I to get 
 down out of the tower? Every time you come to see me 
 you must bring a skein of silk with you, and I will make 
 a ladder of them, and when it is finished I will climb down 
 by it, and you will take me away on your horse." 
 
 They arranged that, till the ladder was ready, he was to 
 come to her every evening, because the old woman was with 
 her during the day. The old witch, of course, knew nothing 
 
286 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 of what was going on, till one day Rapunzel, not thinking 
 of what she was about, turned to the witch and said : 
 
 " How is it, good mother, that you are so much harder to 
 pull up than the young prince? He is always with me in 
 a moment." 
 
 " Oh ! you wicked child," cried the witch. " What is this 
 I hear? I thought I had hidden you safely from the whole 
 world, and in spite of it you have managed to deceive me." 
 
 In her wrath she seized Rapunzel's beautiful hair, wound 
 it round and round her left hand, and then grasping a pair 
 of scissors in her right, snip snap, off it came, and the beau- 
 tiful plaits lay on the ground. And, worse than this, she 
 was so hard-hearted that she took Rapunzel to a lonely 
 desert place, and there left her to live in loneliness and 
 misery. 
 
 But on the evening of the day in which she had driven 
 poor Rapunzel away, the witch fastened the plaits on to a 
 hook in the window, and when the prince came and called 
 out: 
 
 " Rapunzel, Rapunzel, 
 Let down your golden hair," 
 
 she let them down, and the prince climbed up as usual, but 
 instead of his beloved Rapunzel he found the old witch, 
 who fixed her evil, glittering eyes on him, and cried mock- 
 ingly : 
 
 " Ah, ah ! you thought to find your lady-love, but the 
 pretty bird has flown and its song is dumb; the cat caught 
 it, and will scratch out your eyes too. Rapunzel is lost to 
 you forever you will never see her more." 
 
 The prince was beside himself with grief, and in his de- 
 spair he jumped right down from the tower, and, though 
 he escaped with his life, the thorns among which he fell 
 pierced his eyes out. Then he wandered, blind and miser- 
 able, through the wood, eating nothing but roots and ber- 
 ries, and weeping and lamenting the loss of his lovely bride. 
 So he wandered about for some years, as wretched and un- 
 happy as he could well be, and at last he came to the desert 
 place where Rapunzel was living. Of a sudden he heard a 
 voice which seemed strangely familiar to him. He walked 
 eagerly in the direction of the sound, and when he was 
 quite close, Rapunzel recognized him and fell on his neck 
 
THE BED FAIRY BOOK. 287 
 
 and wept. But two of her tears touched his eyes, and in a 
 moment they became quite clear again, and he saw as well 
 as he had ever done. Then he led her to his kingdom, where 
 they were received and welcomed with great joy, and they 
 lived happily ever after. 
 
 THE NETTLE SPINNER* 
 I. 
 
 Once upon a time there lived at Quesnoy, in Flanders, 
 a great lord whose name was Burchard, but whom the 
 country people called Burchard the Wolf. Now Burchard 
 had such a wicked, cruel heart that it was whispered how 
 he used to harness his peasants to the plow, and force them 
 by blows from his whip to till his land with naked feet. 
 
 His wife, on the other hand, was always tender and pitiful 
 to the poor and miserable. 
 
 Every time that she heard of another misdeed of her 
 husband's she secretly went to repair the evil, which caused 
 her name to be blessed throughout the whole country side. 
 This countess was adored as much as the count was hated. 
 
 n. 
 
 One beautiful day when the count was out hunting he 
 passed through a forest, and at the door of a beautiful cot- 
 tage he saw a beautiful girl spinning hemp. 
 
 "What is your name?" he asked her. 
 
 "Renelde, my lord." 
 
 " You must get tired of staying in such a lonely place ? " 
 
 "I am accustomed to it, my lord, and I never get tired 
 of it." 
 
 " That may be so ; but come to the castle, and I will make 
 you lady's-maid to the countess." 
 
 "I cannot do that, my lord. I have to look after my 
 grandmother, who is very helpless." 
 
 " Come to the castle, I tell you. I shall expect you this 
 vening," and he went on his way. 
 * Ch. Deulin. 
 
288 
 
 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 But Renelde, who was betrothed to a young wood-cutter 
 called Guilbert, had no intention of obeying the count, and 
 she had, besides, to take care of her grandmother. 
 
 Three days later the count again passed by. 
 
 " Why didn't you come ? " he asked the pretty spinner. 
 
 " I told you, my lord, that I have to look after my grand- 
 mother." 
 
 " Come to-morrow, and I will make you lady-in-waiting 
 to the countess," and he went on his way. 
 
 This offer produced no more effect than the other, and 
 Renelde did not go to the castle. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 289 
 
 " If you will only come," said the count to her when next 
 he rode by, " I will send away the countess, and will marry 
 you." 
 
 But two years before, when Renelde's mother was dying 
 of a long illness, the countess had not forgotten them, but 
 had given help when they sorely needed it. So even if 
 the count had really wished to marry Kenelde, she would 
 always have refused. 
 
 in. 
 
 Some weeks pased before Burchard appeared again. 
 
 Renelde hoped she had got rid of him, when one day he 
 stopped at the door, his duck-gun under his arm and his 
 game-bag on his shoulder. This time Renelde was spinning 
 not hemp, but flax. 
 
 " What are you spinning ? " he asked in a rough voice. 
 
 " My wedding-shift, my lord." 
 
 " You are going to be married, then ? " 
 
 "Yes, my lord, by your leave." 
 
 For at that time no peasant could marry without the 
 leave of his master. 
 
 "I will give you leave on one condition. Do you see 
 those tall nettles that grow on the tomb in the church- 
 yard? Go gather them and spin them into two fine shifts. 
 One shall be your bridal shift, and the other shall be my 
 shroud. For you shall be married the day that I am laid 
 in my grava" And the count turned away with a mocking 
 laugh. 
 
 Renelde trembled. Never in all Locquignol had such a 
 thing been heard of as the spinning of nettles. 
 
 And besides, the count seemed made of iron and was 
 very proud of his strength, often boasting that he should 
 live to be a hundred. 
 
 Every evening, when his work was done, Guilbert came 
 to visit his future bride. This evening he came as usual, 
 and Renelde told him what Burchard had said. 
 
 "Would you like me to watch for the Wolf, and split 
 his skull with a blow from my ax ? " 
 
 "No," replied Renelde, "there must be no blood on 
 
290 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 my bridal bouquet. And then we must not hurt the count. 
 Remember how good the countess was to my mother." 
 
 An old, old woman now spoke: she was the mother of 
 Benelde's grandmother, and was more than ninety years 
 old. All day long she sat in her chair nodding her head and 
 never saying a word. 
 
 " My children," she said, " all the years that I have lived 
 in the world, I have never heard of a shift spun from nettles. 
 But what God commands, man can do. Why should not 
 Eenelde try it?" 
 
 IV. 
 
 Eenelde did try, and to her great surprise the nettles 
 when crushed and prepared gave a good thread, soft and light 
 and firm. Very soon she had spun the first shift, which was 
 for her own wedding. She wove and cut it out at once, hop- 
 ing that the count would not force her to begin the other. 
 Just as she had finished sewing it, Burchard the Wolf 
 passed by. 
 
 " Well," said he, " how are the shifts getting on ? " 
 
 " Here, my lord, is my wedding-garment," answered 
 Eenelde, showing him the shift, which was the finest and 
 whitest ever seen. 
 
 The count grew pale, but he replied roughly : " Very good. 
 Now begin the other." 
 
 The spinner set to work. As the count returned to the 
 castle a cold shiver passed over him, and he felt, as the 
 saying is, that someone was walking over his grave. He 
 tried to eat his supper, but could not; he went to bed shak- 
 ing with fever. But he did not sleep, and in the morning 
 could not manage to rise. 
 
 This sudden illness, which every instant became worse, 
 made him very uneasy. No doubt Benelde's spinning-wheel 
 knew all about it. Was it not necessary that his body, as 
 well as his shroud, should be ready for his burial? 
 
 The first thing Burchard did was to send to Eenelde and 
 to stop her wheel. 
 
 Eenelde obeyed, and that evening Guilbert asked her : 
 
 " Has the count given his consent to our marriage ? " 
 
 " No," said Eenelde. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 291 
 
 u Continue your work, sweetheart. It is the only way of 
 gaining it. You know he told you. so himself." 
 
 The following morning, as soon as she had put the house 
 in order, the girl sat down to spin. Two hours after there 
 arrived some soldiers, and when they saw her spinning they 
 seized her, tied her arms and legs, and carried her to the 
 bank of the. river, which was swollen by the late rains. 
 
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 her sink, after which they left her. But Eenelde rose to the 
 surface, and though she could not swim she struggled to 
 land. 
 
 Directly she got home she sat down and began to spin. 
 
 Again came the two soldiers to the cottage and seized 
 the girl, carried her to the river bank, tied a stone to her 
 neck, and flung her into the water. 
 
 The moment their backs were turned the stone untied 
 itself. Eenelde waded the ford, returned to the hut, and 
 sat down to spin. 
 
292 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 This time the count resolved to go to Locquignol him- 
 self ; but, as he was very weak and unable to walk, he had 
 himself borne in a litter. And still the spinner spun. 
 
 When he saw her he fired a shot at her, as he would have 
 fired at a wild beast. The bullet rebounded without harm- 
 ing the spinner, who still spun on. 
 
 Burchard fell into such a violent rage that it nearly 
 killed him. He broke the wheel into a thousand pieces, 
 and then fell fainting on the ground. He was carried back 
 to the castle, unconscious. 
 
 The next day the wheel was mended, and the spinner sat 
 down to spin. Feeling that while she was spinning he 
 was dying, the count ordered that her hands should be tied, 
 and that they should not lose sight of her one instant. 
 
 But the guards fell asleep, the bonds loosed themselves, 
 and the spinner spun on. 
 
 Burchard had every nettle rooted up for three leagues 
 round. Scarcely had they been torn from the soil when 
 they sowed themselves afresh, and grew as you were looking 
 at them. 
 
 They sprang up even in the well-trodden floor of the cot- 
 tage, and as fast as they were uprooted the distaff gathered 
 to itself a supply of nettles, crushed, prepared, and ready 
 for spinning. 
 
 And every day Burchard grew worse, and watched his 
 end approaching. 
 
 VI. 
 
 Moved by pity for her husband, the countess at last found 
 out the cause of his illness, and entreated him to allow him- 
 self to be cured. But the count in his pride refused more 
 than ever to give his consent to the marriage. 
 
 So the lady resolved to go without his knowledge to pray 
 for mercy from the spinner, and in the name of Renelde's 
 dead mother, she besought her to spin no more. Renelde 
 gave her promise, but in the evening Guilbert arrived at the 
 cottage. Seeing that the cloth was no further advanced 
 than it was the evening before, he inquired the reason. 
 Renelde confessed that the countess had prayed her not to 
 let her husband die. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 293 
 
 * Will lie consent to our marriage ? " 
 
 "No." 
 
 "Let him die, then." 
 
 " But what will the countess say ? " 
 
 " The countess will understand that it is not your fault ; 
 the count alone is guilty of his own death." 
 
 " Let us wait a little. Perhaps his heart may be softened." 
 
 So they waited for one month, for two, for six, for a 
 year. The spinner spun no more. The count had ceased 
 to persecute her, but he still refused his consent to the mar- 
 riage. Guilbert became impatient. 
 
 The poor girl loved him with her whole soul, and she was 
 more unhappy than she had been before, when Burchard was 
 only tormenting her body. 
 
 " Let us have done with it," said Guilbert. 
 
 " Wait a little still," pleaded Eenelde. 
 
 But the young man grew weary. He came more rarely 
 to Locquignol, and very soon he did not come at all. Eenelde 
 felt as if her heart would break, but she held firm. 
 
 One day she met the count. She clasped her hands as 
 if in prayer, and cried: 
 
 " My lord, have mercy ! " 
 
 Burchard the Wolf turned away his head and passed on. 
 
 She might have humbled his pride had she gone to her 
 spinning-wheel again, but she did nothing of the sort. 
 
 Not long after this she learned that Guilbert had left the 
 country. He did not even come to say good-by to her, 
 but, all the same, she knew the day and hour of his de- 
 parture, and hid herself on the road to see him once more. 
 
 When she came in she put her silent wheel into a corner 
 and cried for three days and three nights. 
 
 VII. 
 
 So another year went by. Then the count fell ill, and the 
 countess supposed that Eenelde, weary of waiting, had be- 
 gun her spinning anew; but when she came to the cottage 
 to see, she found the wheel silent. 
 
 However, the count grew worse and worse till he was 
 given up by the doctors. The passing bell was rung, and he 
 
294 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 lay expecting death to come for him. But death was not so 
 near as the doctors thought, and still he lingered. 
 
 He seemed in a desperate condition, but he got neither 
 better nor worse. He could neither live nor die; he suffered 
 horribly, and called loudly on death to put an end to his 
 pains. 
 
 In this extremity he remembered what he had told the 
 little spinner long ago. If death was so slow in coming, it 
 was because he was not ready to follow him, having no 
 shroud for his burial. 
 
 He sent to fetch Renelde, placed her by his bedside, and 
 ordered her at once to go on spinning his shroud. 
 
 Hardly had the spinner begun to work when the count 
 began to feel his pains grow less. 
 
 Then at last his heart melted; he was sorry for all the 
 evil he had done out of pride, and implored Renelde to for- 
 give him. So Renelde forgave him, and went on spinning 
 night and day. 
 
 "When the thread of the nettles was spun she wove it with 
 her shuttle, and then she cut the shroud and began to sew it. 
 
 And as before, when she sewed the count felt his pains 
 grow less, and the life sinking within him, and when the 
 needle made the last stitch he gave his last sigh. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 At the same hour Guilbert returned to the country, and, 
 as he had never ceased to love Renelde, he married her eight 
 days later. 
 
 He had lost two years of happiness, but comforted him- 
 self with thinking that his wife was a clever spinner, and 
 what was much more rare, a brave and good woman. 
 
 FARMER WEATHERBEARD* 
 
 There were once upon a time a man and a woman who 
 had an only son, and he was called Jack. The woman 
 thought that it was his duty to go out to service, and told 
 her husband that he was to take him somewhere. 
 *From P. C. AsbjornRen. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 295 
 
 <{ You must get him such, a good place that he will be- 
 come master of all masters," she said, and then she put some 
 food and a roll of tobacco into a bag for them. 
 
 Well, they went to a great many masters, but all said 
 that they could make the lad as good as they were them- 
 selves, but better than that they could not make him. When 
 the man came home to the old woman with this answer, 
 she said : " I shall be equally well pleased whatever you do 
 with him; but this I do say, that you are to have him made 
 
 a master over all masters." Then she once more put some 
 food and a roll of tobacco into the bag, and the man and 
 his son had to set out again. 
 
 When they had walked some distance they got upon the 
 ice, and there they met a man in a carriage who was driving 
 a black horse. 
 
 " Where are you going ? " he asked. 
 
 " I have to go and get my son apprenticed to someone who 
 will be able to teach him a trade, for my old woman comes 
 of such well-to-do folk that she insists on his being taught 
 to be master of all masters," said the man. 
 
 "We are not ill met, then," said the man who was driv- 
 
296 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 ing, "for I am the kind of a man who can do that, and I 
 am just looking out for such an apprentice. Get up be- 
 hind with you," he said to the boy, and off the horse went 
 with him straight up into the air. 
 
 " No, no, wait a little ! " screamed the father of the boy. 
 " I ought to know what your name is and where you live." 
 
 " Oh, I am at home both in the north and the south and 
 the east and the west, and I am called Farmer Weather- 
 beard," said the master. "You may come here again in a 
 year's time, and then I will tell you if the lad suits me." 
 And then they set off again and were gone. 
 
 When the man got home the old woman inquired what 
 had become of her son. 
 
 " Ah ! Heaven only knows what has become of him ! " 
 said the man. " They went up aloft." And then he told 
 her what had happened. 
 
 But when the woman heard that, and found that the man 
 did not at all know either when their son would be out of his 
 apprenticeship, or where he had gone, she packed him off 
 again to find out, and gave him a bag of food and a roll of 
 tobacco to take with him. 
 
 When he had walked for some time he came to a great 
 wood, and it stretched before him all day long as he went 
 on, and when night began to fall he saw a great light, and 
 went toward it. After a long, long time he came to a small 
 hut at the foot of a rock, outside which an old woman was 
 standing drawing water up from a well with her nose, it 
 was so long. 
 
 " Good-evening, mother," said the man. 
 
 " Good-evening to you too," said the old woman. " No 
 one has called me mother this hundred years." 
 
 " Can I lodge here to-night ? " said the man. 
 
 "No," said the old woman. But the man took out his 
 roll of tobacco, lighted it, and then gave her a whiff. Then 
 she was so delighted that she began to dance, and thus the 
 man got leave to stay the night there. It was not long before 
 he asked about Farmer Weatherbeard. 
 
 She said that she knew nothing about him, but that she 
 ruled over all the four-footed beasts, and some of them might 
 know him. So she gathered them all together by blowing 
 a whistle which she had, and questioned them, but there was 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 297 
 
 not one of them which knew anything about Farmer Weather- 
 beard. 
 
 "Well," said the old woman, "there are three of us sis- 
 ters; it may be that one of the other two knows where he is 
 to be found. You shall have the loan of my horse and car- 
 riage, and then you will get there by night ; but her house is 
 three hundred miles off, go the nearest way you will." 
 
 The man set out and got there at night. When he ar- 
 rived, this old woman also was standing drawing water out 
 of the well with her nose. 
 
 " Good-evening, mother," said the man. 
 
 " Good-evening to you," said the old woman. " No one 
 has ever called me mother this hundred years." 
 
 " Can I lodge here to-night ? " said the man. 
 
 " No," said the old woman. 
 
 Then he took out the roll of tobacco, took a whiff, and 
 gave the old woman some snuff on the back of her hand. 
 Then she was so delighted that she began to dance, and 
 the man got leave to stay all night. It was not long before he 
 began to ask about Farmer Weatherbeard. 
 
 She knew nothing about him, but she ruled over all the 
 fishes, she said, and perhaps some of them might know some- 
 thing. So she gathered them all together by blowing a 
 whistle which she had, and questioned them, but there 
 was not one of them which knew anything about Farmer 
 Weatherbeard. 
 
 "Well," said the old woman, "I have another sister; 
 perhaps she may know something about him. She lives 
 six hundred miles off, but you shall have my horse and car- 
 riage, and then you will get there by nightfall." 
 
 So the man set off and he got there by nightfall. The 
 old woman was standing raking the fire, and she was doing 
 it with her nose, so long it was. 
 
 " Good-evening, mother," said the man. 
 
 " Good-evening to you," said the old woman. " No one 
 has called me mother this hundred years." 
 
 " Can I lodge here to-night ? " said the man. 
 
 "No," said the old woman. But the man pulled out 
 his roll of tobacco again, and filled his pipe with some of it, 
 and gave the old woman enough snuff to cover the back of 
 her hand. Then she was so delighted that she began to 
 
298 
 
 THE EED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 dance, and the man got leave to stay in her house. It was 
 not long before he asked about Farmer Weatherbeard. She 
 knew nothing at all about him, she said, but she governed 
 all the birds; and she gathered them together with her whis- 
 tle. When she questioned them all the eagle was not there, 
 but it came soon afterward, and when asked it said that 
 it had just come from Farmer Weatherbeard's. Then the 
 old woman said that it was to guide the man to him. But 
 the eagle would have something to eat first, and then it 
 
 wanted to wait until the next day, for it was so tired with 
 the long journey that it was scarcely able to rise from the 
 earth. 
 
 When the eagle had had plenty of food and rest, the old 
 woman plucked a feather out of its tail, and set the man in 
 the feather's place, and then the bird flew away with him, 
 but they did not get to Farmer Weatherbeard's before mid- 
 night. 
 
 When they got there the eagle said : " There are a great 
 many dead bodies lying outside the door, but you must not 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 299 
 
 concern yourself about them. The people, who are inside 
 the house are all so sound asleep that it will not be easy to 
 awake them; but you must go straight to the table-drawer, 
 and take out three bits of bread, and if you hear anyone 
 snoring, pluck three feathers from his head; he will not 
 waken for that." 
 
 The man did this; when he had got the bits of bread he 
 first plucked out one feather. 
 
 " Oof ! " screamed Farmer Weatherbeard. 
 
 So the man plucked out another, and then Farmer Weather- 
 beard shrieked " Oof ! " again ; but when the man had plucked 
 the third, Farmer Weatherbeard screamed so that the man 
 thought that brick and mortar would be rent in twain, but 
 for all that he went on sleeping. And now the eagle told the 
 man what he was to do next, and he did it. He went to the 
 stable door, and there he stumbled against a hard stone, 
 which he picked up, and beneath it lay three splinters of 
 wood, which he also picked up. He knocked at the stable 
 door and it opened at once. He threw down the three little 
 bits of bread and a hare came out and ate them. He caught 
 the hare. Then the eagle told him to pluck three feathers 
 out of its tail, and put in the hare, the stone, the splinters 
 of wood and himself instead of them, and then he would 
 be able to carry them all home. 
 
 When the eagle had flown a long way it alighted on a 
 stone. 
 
 " Do you see anything ? " it asked. 
 
 " Yes ; I see a flock of crows coming flying after us," said 
 the man. 
 
 " Then we shall do well to fly on a little further," said the 
 eagle, and off it se<-. 
 
 In a short time it isked again: "Do you see anything 
 now?" 
 
 "Yes; now the crows are close behind us," said the man. 
 
 " Then throw down the three feathers which you plucked 
 out of his head," said the eagle. 
 
 So the man did this, and no sooner had he flung them 
 down than the feathers became a flock of ravens, which 
 chased the crows home again. Then the eagle flew on much 
 further with *Je man, but at length it alighted on a stone 
 for awhile. 
 
300 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 " Do you see anything ? " it said. 
 
 " I am not quite certain," said the man, " but I think I 
 see something coming in the far distance." 
 
 " Then we shall do well to fly on a little further," said 
 the eagle, and away it went. 
 
 "Do you see anything now?" it said, after some time 
 had gone by. 
 
 " Yes ; now they are close behind us," said the man. 
 
 " Then throw down the splinters of wood which you took 
 from beneath the gray stone by the stable door," said the 
 eagle. The man did this, and no sooner had he flung them 
 down than they grew up into a great thick wood, and Far- 
 mer Weatherbeard had to go home for an ax to cut his way 
 through it. So the eagle flew on a long, long way, but then 
 it grew tired and sat down on a fir tree. 
 
 " Do you see anything ? " it asked. 
 
 " Yes ; I am not quite certain," said the man, " but I think 
 I can catch a glimpse of something far, far away." 
 
 " Then we shall do well to fly on a little further," said 
 the eagle, and it set off again. 
 
 " Do you see anything now ? " it said after some time had 
 gone by. 
 
 " Yes ; he is close behind us now," said the man. 
 
 " Then you must fling down the great stone which you 
 took away from the stable door," said the eagle. 
 
 The man did so, and it turned into a great *high mountain 
 of stone, which Farmer Weatherbeard had to break his way 
 through before he could follow them. But when he had got 
 to the middle of the mountain he broke one of his legs, so 
 that he had to go home to get it put right. 
 
 While he was doing this the eagle flew off to the man's 
 home with him, and with the hare, and when they had got 
 home the man went to the churchyard, and had some Chris- 
 tian earth laid upon the hare, and then it turned into his son 
 Jack. 
 
 When the time came for the fair the youth turned him- 
 self into a light-colored horse, and bade his father go to 
 the market with him. " If anyone should come who wants 
 to buy me," said he, " you are to tell him that you want a 
 hundred dollars for me; but you must not forget to take off 
 the halter, for if you do I shall never be able to get away 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 301 
 
 from Farmer Weatherbeard, for he is the man who will come 
 and bargain for me." 
 
 And thus it happened. A horse dealer came who had a 
 great fancy to bargain for the horse, and the man got a hun- 
 dred dollars for it, but when the bargain was made, and 
 Jack's father had got the money, the horse dealer warned 
 to have the halter. 
 
 " That was no part of our bargain," said the man, " and 
 the halter you shall not have, for I have other horses which 
 I shall have to sell." 
 
 So each of them went his way. But the horse dealer had 
 not got very far with Jack before he resumed his own 
 form again, and when the man got home he was sitting 
 on the bench by the stove. 
 
 The next day he changed himself into a brown horse 
 and told his father that he was to set off to market with 
 him. "If a man should come who wants to buy me," said 
 Jack, "you are to tell him that you want two hundred dol- 
 lars, for that he will give, and treat you besides; but what- 
 soever you drink, and whatsoever you do, don't forget to take 
 the halter off me, or you will never see me more." 
 
 And thus it happened. The man got his two hundred dol- 
 lars for the horse, and was treated as well, and when they 
 parted from each other it was just as much as he could do to 
 remember to take off the halter. But the buyer had not 
 gone far on his way before the youth took his own form 
 again, and when the man reached home Jack was already 
 sitting on the bench by the stove. 
 
 On the third day all happened in the same way. The 
 youth changed himself into a great black horse, and told 
 his father that if a man came and offered him three hun- 
 dred dollars and treated him well and handsomely into the 
 bargain, he was to sell him, but whatsoever he did, or how 
 much soever he drank, he must not forget to take off the 
 halter, or else he himself would never get away from Farmer 
 Weatherbeard as long as he lived. 
 
 " No," said the man, " I will not forget." 
 
 When he got to the market, he received the three hun- 
 dred dollars, but Farmer Weatherbeard treated him so hand- 
 somely that he quite forgot to take off the halter; so Farmer 
 Weatherbeard went away with the horse. 
 
302 
 
 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 When he had got some distance he had to go into an inn 
 to get some more brandy; so he set a barrel full of red- 
 hot nails under his horse's nose, and a trough filled with 
 oats beneath its tail, and then he tied the halter fast to a 
 hook and went away into the inn. So the horse stood there 
 stamping and kicking, and snorting, and rearing, and out 
 came a girl who thought it a sin and a shame to treat a 
 horse so ill. 
 
 " Ah, poor creature, what a master you must have to treat 
 you thus ! " she said, and pushed the halter off the hook so 
 that the horse might turn round and eat the oats. 
 
 " I am here ! " shrieked Farmer Weatherbeard, rushing out 
 
 of doors. But the horse had already shaken off the halter 
 and flung himself into a goose-pond, where he changed him- 
 self into a little fish. Farmer Weatherbeard went after him, 
 and changed himself into a great pike. So Jack turned him- 
 self into a dove, and Farmer Weatherbeard turned himself 
 into a hawk, and flew after the dove and struck it. But a 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 303 
 
 princess was standing at a window in the king's palace 
 watching the struggle. 
 
 " If thou didst but know as much as I know, thou wouldst 
 fly in to me through the window," said the princess to the 
 dove. 
 
 So the dove came flying in through the window and 
 changed itself into Jack again, and told her all as it had 
 happened. 
 
 " Change thyself into a gold ring, and set thyself on my 
 finger," said the princess. 
 
 " No, that will not do," said Jack, " for then Farmer 
 Weatherbeard will make the king fall sick, and there will 
 be no one who can make him well again before Farmer 
 Weatherbeard comes and cures him, and for that he will de- 
 mand the gold ring." 
 
 " I will say that it was my mother's, and that I will not 
 part with it," said the princess. 
 
 So Jack changed himself into a gold ring, and set himself 
 on the princess' finger, and Farmer Weatherbeard could 
 not get at him there. But then all that the youth foretold 
 came to pass. 
 
 The king became ill, and there was no doctor who could 
 cure him till Farmer Weatherbeard arrived, and he de- 
 manded the ring which was on the princess' finger as a 
 reward. 
 
 So the king sent a messenger to the princess for the ring. 
 She, however, refused to part with it, because she had in- 
 herited it from her mother. When the king was informed 
 of this he fell into a rage, and said that he would have the 
 ring, let her have inherited it from whom she might. 
 
 "Well, it's of no use to be angry about it," said the 
 princess, " for I can't get it off. If you want the ring you 
 will have to take the finger too ! " 
 
 "I will try, and then the ring will very soon come off," 
 said Farmer Weatherbeard. 
 
 "No, thank you, I will try myself," said the princess, 
 and she went away to the fireplace and put some ashes on 
 the ring. 
 
 So the ring came off and was lost among the ashes. 
 
 Farmer Weatherbeard changed himself into a hare, which 
 scratched and scraped about in the fireplace after the ring 
 
304 THE BED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 until the ashes went up to its ears. But Jack changed him- 
 self into a fox, and bit the hare's head off, and if Farmer 
 Weatherbeard was possessed of the evil one all was now over 
 with him. 
 
 MOTHER HOLLE * 
 
 Once upon a time there was a widow who had two daugh- 
 ters; one of them was pretty and clever, and the other ugly 
 and lazy. But as the ugly one was her own daughter, she 
 liked her far the best of the two, and the pretty one had to 
 do all the work of the house, and was in fact the regular 
 maid-of-all-work. Every day she had to sit by a well on the 
 high-road, and spin till her fingers were so sore that they 
 often bled. One day some drops of blood fell on her spindle, 
 so she dipped it into the well meaning to wash it, but, as 
 luck would have it, it dropped from her hand and fell right 
 in. She ran w T eeping to her stepmother, and told her what 
 had happened, but she scolded her harshly, and was so mer- 
 ciless in her anger that she said: 
 
 "Well, since you've dropped the spindle down, you must 
 just go after it yourself, and don't let me see your face again 
 until you bring it with you." 
 
 Then the poor girl returned to the well, and not know- 
 ing what she was about, in the despair and misery of her 
 heart she sprang into the well and sank to the bottom. For 
 a time she lost all consciousness, and when she came to her- 
 self again she was lying in a lovely meadow, with the sun 
 shining brightly overhead, and a thousand flowers blooming 
 at her feet. She rose up and wandered through this en- 
 chanted place, till sk came to a baker's oven full of bread, 
 and the bread called out to her as she passed: 
 
 " Oh ! take me out, take me out, or I shall be burned to a 
 cinder. I am quite done enough." 
 
 So she stepped up quickly to the oven and took out all 
 the loaves one after the other. Then she went on a little 
 further and came to a tree loaded with beautiful rosy- 
 cheeked apples, and as she passed by it called out : 
 
 " Oh ! shake me, shake me, my apples are all quite ripe." 
 
 She did as she was asked, and shook the tree till the 
 * Grimm. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 305 
 
 apples fell like rain and none were left hanging. When 
 she had gathered them all up into a heap she went on her 
 way again, and came at length to the little house, at the door 
 of t which sat an old woman. The old dame had such large 
 teeth that the girl felt frightened and wanted to run away, 
 but the old woman called after her: 
 
 " What are you afraid of, dear child ? Stay with me 
 and be my little maid, and if you do your work well I will 
 reward you handsomely; but you must be very careful how 
 you make my bed you must shake it well till the feathers 
 fly; then people in the world below say it snows, for I am 
 Mother Holle." 
 
 She spoke so kindly that the girl took heart and agreed 
 readily to enter her service. She did her best to please the 
 old woman, and shook her bed with such a will that the 
 feathers flew about like snow-flakes; so she led a very easy 
 life, was never scolded, and lived on the fat of the land. 
 But after she had been some time with Mother Holle she 
 grew sad and depressed, and at first she hardly knew herself 
 what was the matter. At last she discovered that she was 
 homesick, so she went to Mother Holle and said : 
 
 "I know I am a thousand times better off here than I 
 ever was in my life before, but notwithstanding, I have a 
 great longing to go home, in spite of all your kindness to 
 me. I can remain with you no longer, but must return to 
 my own people." 
 
 " Your desire to go home pleases me," said Mother Holle, 
 " and because you have served me so faithfully, I will show 
 you the way back into the world myself." 
 
 So she took her by the hand and led her to an open door, 
 and as the girl passed through it there fell a heavy shower 
 of gold all over her, till she was covered with it from top to 
 toe. 
 
 " That's a reward for being such a good little maid," said 
 Mother Holle, and she gave her the spindle too that had 
 fallen into the well. Then she shut the door, and the girl 
 found herself back in the world again, not far from her own 
 house; and when she came to the court-yard the old hen, 
 who sat on the top of the wall, called out: 
 
 ** Click, clock, clack, 
 Our golden maid's come back. 1 ' 
 
306 
 
 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 Then she went in to her stepmother, and as she had re- 
 turned covered with gold she was welcomed home. 
 
 She proceeded to tell all that had happened to her, and 
 when the mother heard how she had come by her riches, 
 she was most anxious to secure the same luck for her own 
 idle, ugly daughter; so she told her to sit at the well and 
 spin. In order to make her spindle bloody, she stuck her 
 
 hand into a hedge of thorns and pricked her finger. Then 
 she threw the spindle into the well, and jumped in herself 
 after it. Like her sister she came to the beautiful meadow, 
 and followed the same path. When she reached the baker's 
 oven the bread called out as before : 
 
 " Oh ! take me out, or I shall be burned to a cinder. I am 
 quite done enough." 
 
 But the good-for-nothing girl answered : 
 
THE BED FAIRY BOOK. 307 
 
 "A pretty joke, indeed; just as if I should dirty my 
 hands for you ! " 
 
 And on she went. Soon she came to the apple-tree, 
 which cried: 
 
 " Oh ! shake me, shake me, my apples are all quite ripe." 
 
 " I'll see myself further," she replied ; " one of them might 
 fall on my head." 
 
 And so she pursued her way. When she came to Mother 
 Holle's house she wasn't the least afraid, for she had been 
 warned about her big teeth, and she readily agreed to be- 
 come her maid. The first day she worked very hard, and 
 did all her mistress told her, for she thought of the gold she 
 would give her; but on the second day she began to be lazy, 
 and on the third she wouldn't even get up in the morning. 
 She didn't make Mother Holle's bed as she ought to have 
 done, and never shook it enough to make the feathers fly. 
 So her mistress soon grew weary of her, and dismissed her, 
 much to the lazy creature's delight. 
 
 " For now," she thought, " the shower of golden rain will 
 come." 
 
 Mother Holle led her to the same door as she had done 
 her sister, but when she passed through it, instead of the 
 gold rain a kettle full of pitch came showering over her. 
 
 " That's a reward for your service," said Mother Holle, 
 and she closed the door behind her. 
 
 So the lazy girl came home all covered with pitch, and 
 when the old hen on top of the wall saw her, it called out: 
 
 u Click, clock, clack, 
 Our dirty maid's come back." 
 
 But the pitch remained sticking to her, and never as long 
 as she lived could it be got off. 
 
 MIKNTKIN".* 
 
 There was once upon a time a couple of needy folk who 
 
 lived in a wretched hut, in which there was nothing but 
 
 black want ; so they had neither food to eat nor wood to 
 
 burn. But if they had next to nothing of all else they had 
 
 * From J. Moe. 
 
3Q8 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 the blessing of God so far as children were concerned, and 
 every year brought them one more. The man was not over- 
 pleased at this. He was always going about grumbling and 
 growling, and saying that it seemed to him that there might 
 be such a thing as having too many of these good gifts; so 
 shortly before another baby was born he went into the wood 
 for some firewood, saying that he did not want to see the 
 new child; he would hear him quite soon enough when he 
 began to squall for some food. 
 
 As soon as this baby was born it began to look about the 
 room. " Ah, my dear mother ! " said he, " give me some 
 of my brothers' old clothes, and food enough for a few days, 
 and I will go out into the world and seek my fortune, for, 
 so far as I can see, you have children enough." 
 
 " Heaven help thee, my son ! " said the mother, " that will 
 never do; thou art still far too little." 
 
 But the little creature was determined to do it, and begged 
 and prayed so long that the mother was forced to let him 
 have some old rags and tie up a little food for him, and then 
 gayly and happily he went out into the world. 
 
 But almost before he was out of the house another boy 
 was born, and he too looked about him, and said, " Ah, my 
 dear mother! give me some of my brothers' old clothes, and 
 food for some days, and then I will go out into the world and 
 find my twin brother, for you have children enough." 
 
 "Heaven help thee, little creature! thou art far too little 
 for that," said the woman ; " it would never do." 
 
 But she spoke to no purpose, for the boy begged and 
 prayed until he had got some old rags and a bundle of pro- 
 visions, and then he set out manfully into the world to find 
 his twin brother. 
 
 When the younger had walked for some time he caught 
 sight of his brother a short distance in front of him, and 
 called to him and made him to stop. 
 
 "Wait a minute," he said; "you are walking as if for a 
 wager, but you ought to have stayed to see your younger 
 brother before you hurried off into the world." 
 
 So the elder stood still and looked back, and when the 
 younger had got up to him, and had told him that he was 
 his brother, he said : " But now, let us sit down and see what 
 kind of food our mother has given us," and that they did. 
 
THE EED FAIEY BOOK. 
 
 309 
 
 When they had walked on a little further they came to a 
 brook which ran through a green meadow, and there the 
 younger said they ought to christen each other. " As we had 
 to make such haste, and had no time to do it at home, we 
 may as well do it here," said he. 
 
 " What will you be called ? " asked the elder. 
 
 "I will be called Minnikin," answered the second; "and 
 you, what will you be called ? " 
 
 " I will be called King Pippin," answered the elder. 
 
 They christened each other and then went onward. When 
 
 they had walked for some time they came to a cross-way, 
 and there they agreed to part, and each take his own road. 
 This they did, but no sooner had they walked a short dis- 
 tance than they met again. So they parted once more, and 
 each took his own road, but in a very short time the same 
 :- hing happened again they met each other before they were 
 >xc all aware, and so it happened the third time also. Then 
 they arranged with each other that each should choose h"'** 
 wn Quarter and one should go east and the other west 
 
310 
 
 THE EED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 "But if ever you fall into any need or trouble," said the 
 elder, "call me thrice and I will come and help you; only 
 you must not call me until you are in the utmost need." 
 
 " In that case we shall not see each other for some time," 
 said Minnikin; so they bade farewell to each other ana 
 Minnikin went east and King Pippin went west. 
 
 When Minnikin had walked a long way alone he met am 
 
 old, old crook-backed hag, who had only one eye. Minnikin 
 stole it. 
 
 " Oh ! oh ! " cried the old hag, " what has become of my 
 eye?" 
 
 "What will you give me to get your eye back?" said 
 Minnikin. 
 
 "I will give thee a sword which is such a sword that it 
 can conquer a whole army, let it be ever so great," replied 
 the woman. 
 . " Let me have it, then," said Minnikin. 
 
 The old hag gave him the sword, so she got her eye back. 
 Then Minnikin went onward, and when he had wandered on 
 for some time he again met an old, old crook-backed hag, 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 311 
 
 who had only one eye. Minnikin stole it before she waa 
 aware. 
 
 " Oh ! oh ! what has become of my eye ? " cried the old 
 hag. 
 
 " What will you give me to get your eye back ? " said 
 Minnikin. 
 
 " I will give thee a ship which can sail over fresh water 
 and salt water, over high hills and deep dales," answered 
 the old woman. 
 
 " Let me have it, then," said Minnikin. 
 
 So the old woman gave him a little bit of a ship which 
 was no bigger than he could put in his pocket, and then she 
 got her eye back, and she went her way and Minnikin his. 
 When he had walked on for a long time he met for the third 
 time an old, old crook-backed hag, who had only one eye. 
 This eye also Minikin stole, and when the woman screamed 
 and lamented, and asked what had become of her eye, Min- 
 nikin said : " What will you give me to get your eye back ? " 
 
 " I will give thee the art to brew a hundred lasts of malt 
 in one brewing." 
 
 So, for teaching that art, the old hag got her eye back, 
 and they both went away by different roads. 
 
 But when Minnikin had walked a short distance, it 
 seemed to him that it might be worth while to see what his 
 ship could do; so he took it out of his pocket, and first he 
 put one foot into it, and then the other, and no sooner had 
 he put one foot into the ship than it became much larger, 
 and when he set the other foot into it, it grew as large as 
 ships that sail on the sea. 
 
 Then Minnikin said: "Now go over fresh water and 
 salt water, over high hills and deep dales, and do not stop 
 until thou comest to the king's palace." 
 
 And in an instant the ship went away as swiftly as any 
 bird in the air till it got just below the king's palace, and 
 there it stood still. 
 
 From the windows of the king's palace many persons had 
 seen Minnikin come sailing thither, and had stood to watch 
 him; and they were all so astounded that they ran down to 
 see what manner of man this could be who came sailing 
 in a ship through the air. But while they were running 
 down from the king's palace, Minnikin had got out of the 
 
312 
 
 THE RED FAIRY BOOK 
 
 ship and had put it in his pocket again; for the moment he 
 got out of it, it once more became as small as it had been 
 when he got it from the old woman, and those who came 
 from the king's palace could see nothing but a ragged little 
 boy who was standing down by the seashore. The king 
 asked where he had come from, but the boy said he did not 
 know, nor yet could he tell them how he had got there, but 
 he begged very earnestly and prettily for a place in the king's 
 palace. If there was nothing else for him to do, he said, he 
 
 would fetch wood and water for the kitchen-maid, and that 
 he obtained leave to do. 
 
 When Minnikjn went up to the king's palace he saw that 
 everything there was hung with black both outside and in- 
 side, from the bottom to the top; so he asked the kitchen- 
 maid what that meant. 
 
 " Oh, I will tell you that," answered the kitchen-maid. 
 " The king's daughter was long ago promised away to three 
 trolls, and next Thursday evening one of' them is to eome to 
 fetch her. Bitter Red has said that he will be able to set 
 her free, but who knows whether he will be able to do it i so 
 you may easily imagine what grief and distress we are in. 
 toie." 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 313 
 
 So when Thursday evening came, Hitter Red aecompanied 
 the princess to the seashore; for there she was to meet the 
 troll, and Ritter Red was to stay with her and protect her. 
 He, however, was very unlikely to do the troll much injury, 
 for no sooner had the princess seated herself by the seashore 
 than Ritter Red climbed up into a great tree which was 
 standing there, and hid himself as well as he could among 
 the branches. 
 
 The princess wept, and begged him most earnestly not to 
 go and leave her; but Ritter Red did not concern himself 
 about that. "It is better that one should die than two," 
 said he. 
 
 In the meantime Minnikin begged the kitchen-maid very 
 prettily to give him leave to go down to the strand for a 
 short time. 
 
 " Oh, what could you do down to the strand ? " said the 
 kitchen-maid. " You have nothing to do there." 
 
 " Oh, yes, my dear, just let me go," said Minnikin. " I 
 should like to go and play with the other children." 
 
 " Well, well, go then ! " said the kitchen-maid, " but don't 
 let me find you staying there over the time when the pan has 
 to be set on the fire for supper, and the roast put on the 
 spit; and mind you bring back a good armful of wood for 
 the kitchen." 
 
 Minnikin promised this, and ran down to the seashore. 
 
 Just as he got to the place where the king's daughter was 
 sitting, the troll came rushing up with a great whistling 
 and whirring, and he was so big and stout that he was 
 terrible to see, and he had five heads. 
 
 " Fire ! " screeched the troll. 
 
 " Fire yourself ! " said Minnikin. 
 
 " Can you fight ? " roared the troll. 
 
 " If not, I can learn," said Minnikin. 
 
 So the troll struck at him with a great thick iron bar 
 which he had in his fist, till the sods flew five yards up into 
 the air. 
 
 " Fie ! " said Minnikin. " That was not much of a blow. 
 Now you shall see one of mine." 
 
 So he grasped the sword which he had got from the old 
 crook-backed woman, and slashed at the troll, so that all 
 five heads went flying away over the sands. 
 
314 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 When the princess saw that she was delivered she was so 
 delighted that she did not know what she was doing, and 
 skipped and danced. 
 
 " Come and sleep a bit with your head in my lap," she 
 said to Minnikin, and as he slept she put a golden dress 
 on him. 
 
 But when Kitter Red saw that there was no longer any 
 danger afoot, he lost no time in creeping down from the 
 tree. He then threatened the princess, until at length she 
 was forced to promise to say that it was he who had rescued 
 ^ier, for he told her if she did not he would kill her. Then 
 he took the troll's lungs and tongue and put them in his 
 pocket-handkerchief, and led the princess back to the king's 
 palace; and whatsoever had been lacking to him in the way 
 of honor before was lacking no longer, for the king did not 
 know how to exalt him enough, and always set him on his 
 own right hand at table. 
 
 As for Minnikin, first he went out on the troll's ship and 
 took a great quantity of gold and silver hoops away with 
 him, and then he trotted back to the king's palace. 
 
 When the kitchen-maid caught sight of all this gold and 
 silver she was quite amazed, and said : " My dear friend 
 Minnikin, where have you got all that from ? " for she was 
 half -afraid that he had not come by it honestly. 
 
 " Oh," answered Minnikin, " I have been home awhile, 
 and these hoops had fallen off some of our buckets, so I 
 brought them away with me for you." 
 
 So when the kitchen-maid heard that they were for her, 
 she asked no more questions about the matter. She thanked 
 Minnikin, and everything was right again at once. 
 
 Next Thursday evening all went just the same, and every- 
 one was full of grief and affliction, but Bitter Bed said that 
 he had been able to deliver the king's daughter from one 
 troll, so that he could very easily deliver her from another, 
 and he led her down to the seashore. But he did not do 
 much harm to this troll either, for when the time came when 
 the troll might be expected, he said as he had said before: 
 " It is better that one should die than two," and then climbed 
 up into the tree again. 
 
 Minnikin once more begged the cook's leave to go down 
 to the seashore for a short time. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 315 
 
 " Oh, what can you do there ? " said the cook. 
 
 " My dear, do let me go ! " said Minnikin ; " I should so 
 like to go down there and amuse myself a little with the 
 other children." 
 
 So this time also she said that he should have leave to go, 
 but he must first promise that he would be back by the time 
 the joint was turned, and that he would bring a great arm- 
 ful of wood with him. 
 
 No sooner had Minnikin got down to the strand than the 
 troll came rushing along with a great whistling and whirr- 
 ing, and he was twice as big as the first troll, and he had 
 ten heads. 
 
 "Fire!" shrieked the troll. 
 
 " Fire yourself ! " said Minnikin. 
 
 " Can you fight ? " roared the troll. 
 
 " If not, I can learn," said Minnikin. 
 
 So the troll struck at him with his iron club which was 
 still bigger than that which the first troll had had so that 
 the earth flew ten yards up in the air. 
 
 " Fie ! " said Minnikin. " That was not much of a blow. 
 Now you shall see one of my blows." 
 
 Then he grasped his sword and struck at the troll, so that 
 all his ten heads danced away over the sands. 
 
 And again the king's daughter said to him, " Sleep awhile 
 on my lap," and while Minnikin lay there she drew some 
 silver raiment over him. 
 
 As soon as Fitter Red saw that there was no longer any 
 danger afoot, he crept down from the tree and threatened 
 the princess, until at last she was again forced to promise 
 to say that it was he who had rescued her ; after which he took 
 the tongue and lungs of the troll and put them in his 
 pocket-handkerchief, and then he conducted the princess 
 back to the palace. There was joy and gladness in the 
 palace, as may be imagined, and the king did not know how 
 to show enough honor and respect to Hitter Red. 
 
 Minnikin, however, took home with him an armful of 
 gold and silver hoops from the troll's ship. When he came 
 back to the king's palace the kitchen-maid clapped her hands 
 and wondered where he could have got all that gold and sil- 
 ver; but Minnikin answered that he had been home for a 
 short time, and that it was only the hoops which had fallen 
 
316 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 off some pails, and that he had brought them away for 
 the kitchen-maid. 
 
 When the third Thursday evening came, everything hap- 
 pened exactly as it had happened on the two former occa- 
 sions. Everything in the king's palace was hung with black, 
 and everyone was sorrowful and distressed; but Ritter Red 
 said that he did not think that they had much reason to be 
 afraid he had delivered the king's daughter from two 
 trolls, so he could easily deliver her from the third as 
 well. 
 
 He led her down to the strand, but when the time drew 
 near for the troll to come, he climbed into the tree again 
 and hid himself. 
 
 The princess wept and entreated him to stay, but all to 
 no purpose. He stuck to his old speech, " It is better that one 
 life should be lost than two." 
 
 This evening also Minnikin begged leave to go down to 
 the seashore. 
 
 " Oh, what can you do there ? " answered the kitchen- 
 maid. 
 
 However, he begged until at last he got leave to go, but 
 he was forced to promise that he would be back again in 
 the kitchen when the roast had to be turned. 
 
 Almost immediately after he had got down to the sea- 
 shore the troll came with a great whizzing and whirring, and 
 he was much, much bigger than either of the two former 
 ones, and he had fifteen heads. 
 
 " Fire ! " roared the troll. 
 
 " Fire yourself ! " said Minnikin. 
 
 " Can you fight ? " screamed the troll. 
 
 "If not, I can learn," said Minnikin. 
 
 "I will teach you," yelled the troll, and struck at him 
 with his iron club so that the earth flew up fifteen yards high 
 into the air. 
 
 " Fie ! " said Minnikin. " That was not much of a blow. 
 Now I will let you see one of my blows." 
 
 So saying he grasped his sword, and cut at the troll in 
 such a way that all his fifteen heads danced away over 
 the sands. 
 
 Then the princess was delivered, and she thanked Min- 
 nikin and blessed him for saving her. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 317 
 
 u Sleep awhile now on my lap," said she, and while he lay 
 there she put a garment of brass upon him. 
 
 " But now, how shall we have it made known that it was 
 you who saved me ? " said the king's daughter. 
 
 " That I will tell you," answered Minnikin. " When 
 Ritter Red has taken you home again, and given out that 
 it was he who rescued you, he will, as you know, have you 
 to wife, and half the kingdom. But when they ask you on 
 your wedding-day whom you will have to be your cup-bearer, 
 you must say, ' I will have the ragged boy who is in the kit- 
 chen, and carries wood and water for the kitchen-maid'; 
 and when I am filling your cups for you, I will spill a drop 
 upon his plate but none upon yours, and then he will be 
 angry and strike me, and this will take place thrice. But 
 the third time you must say, i Shame on you thus to smite 
 the beloved of mine heart. It is he who delivered me from 
 the trolls, and he is the one whom I will have.' " 
 
 Then Minnikin ran back to the king's palace as he had 
 done before, but first he went on board the troll's ship and 
 took a great quantity of gold and silver and other precious 
 things, and out of these he once more gave to the kitchen- 
 maid a whole armful of gold and silver hoops. 
 
 ~No sooner did Ritter Red see that all danger was over 
 than he crept down from the tree, and threatened the king's 
 daughter till he made her promise to say that he had rescued 
 her. Then he conducted her back to the king's palace, and 
 if honor enough had not been done him before it was cer- 
 tainly done now, for the king had no other thought than 
 how to make much of the man who had saved his daughter 
 from the three trolls; and it was settled then that Ritter 
 Red should marry her, and receive half the kingdom. 
 
 On the wedding-day, however, the princess begged that 
 she might have the little boy who was in the kitchen, and 
 carried wood and water for the kitchen-maid, to fill the wine- 
 cups at the wedding feast. 
 
 " Oh, what can you want with that dirty, ragged boy in 
 here?" said Ritter Red, but the princess said that she in- 
 sisted on having him as cup-bearer and would have no 
 one else: and at last she got leave, and then everything was 
 done a* had been agreed on between the princess and Minni- 
 kin. J3<b spilled a drop on Ritter Red's plate, but none upon 
 
318 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 hers, and each time that he did it Hitter Red fell into a 
 rage and struck him. At the first blow all the ragged gar- 
 ments which he had worn in the kitchen fell from off Min- 
 nikin, at the second blow the brass garments fell off, and at 
 the third the silver raiment, and there he stood in the 
 golden raiment, which was so bright and splendid that light 
 flashed from it. 
 
 Then the king's daughter said : " Shame on you thus to 
 smite the beloved of my heart. It is he who delivered me 
 from the trolls, and he is the one whom I will have." 
 
 Ritter Red swore that he was the man who had saved her, 
 but the king said : " He who delivered my daughter must 
 have some token in proof of it." 
 
 So Ritter Red ran off at once for his handkerchief with 
 the lungs and tongue, and Minnikin went and brought all 
 the gold and silver and precious things which he had taken 
 out of the troll's ships; and they each of them laid these to- 
 kens before the king. 
 
 " He who has such precious things in gold and silver and 
 diamonds," said the king, " must be the one who killed the 
 trolls, for such things are not to be had anywhere else." 
 So Ritter Red was thrown into the snake-pit, and Minni- 
 kin was to have the princess and half the kingdom. 
 
 One day the king want out walking with Minnikin, and 
 Minnikin asked him if he had never had any other children. 
 
 " Yes," said the king, " I had another daughter, but the 
 troll carried her away because there was no one who could 
 deliver her. You are going to have one daughter of mine, 
 but if you can set free the other, who has been taken by the 
 troll, you shall willingly have her too, and the other half of 
 the kingdom as well." 
 
 " I may as well make the attempt," said Minnikin, " but 
 I must have an iron rope which is five hundred ells long, 
 and then I must have five hundred men with me, and pro- 
 visions for five weeks, for I have a long voyage before me." 
 
 So the king said he should have these things, but the 
 king was afraid that he had no ship large enough to carry 
 mem all. 
 
 "But I have a ship of my own," said Minnikin, and he 
 took the one which the old woman had given him out of 
 his pocket. The king laughed at him and thought that 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 319 
 
 it was only one of his jokes, but Minnikin begged him just 
 to give him what he asked for, and then he should see some- 
 thing. Then all that Minnikin had # asked for was brought; 
 and first he ordered them to lay the cable in the ship, but 
 there was no one who was able to lift it, and there was only 
 room for one or two men at a time in the little bit of a ship. 
 Then Minnikin himself took hold of the cable, and laid one 
 or two links of it into the ship, and as he threw the links 
 into it the ship grew bigger and bigger, and at last it was 
 so large that the cable, and the five hundred men, and pro- 
 visions, and Minnikin himself, had room enough. 
 
 "Now go over fresh water and salt water, over hill and 
 dale, and do not stop until thou comest to where the king's 
 daughter is," said Minnikin to the ship, and off it went in 
 a moment over land and water till the wind whistled and 
 moaned all round about it. 
 
 When they had sailed thus a long, long way, the ship 
 stopped short in the middle of the sea. 
 
 " Ah, now we have got there," said Minnikin, " but how 
 we are to get back again is a very different thing." 
 
 Then he took the cable and tied one end of it round his 
 body. " Now I must go to the bottom," he said, " but when 
 I give a good jerk to the cable and want to come up again, 
 you must all pull like one man, or there will be an end of 
 all life both for you and for me." So saying he sprang into 
 the water, and yellow bubbles rose up all around him. He 
 sank lower and lower, and at last he came to the bottom. 
 There he saw a large hill with a door in it, and in he went. 
 When he had got inside he found the other princess sitting 
 sewing, but when she saw Minnikin she joyfully clapped her 
 hands. 
 
 " Ah, Heaven be praised ! " she said. " I have not seen a 
 Christian man since I came here." 
 
 " I have come for you," said Minnikin. 
 
 "Alas! you will not be able to get me," said the king's 
 daughter. " It is of no use even to think of that ; if the troll 
 catches sight of you he will take your life." 
 
 "You had better tell me about him," said Minnikin. 
 " Where is he gone? It would be amusing to see him." 
 
 So the king's daughter told Minnikin that the troll was 
 out trying to get hold of someone who could brew a hundred 
 
320 
 
 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 lasts of malt at one brewing, for there was to be a feast at 
 the troll's, at which less than that would not be drunk. 
 
 " I can do that," said Minnikin. 
 
 " Ah ! if only the troll were not so quick-tempered I might 
 have told him that," answered the princess, " but he is so 
 ill-natured that he will tear you to pieces, I fear, as soon as 
 he comes in. But I will try to find some way of doing it 
 
 Can you hide yourself here in the cupboard? and thei pq 
 will see what happens." 
 
 Minnikin did this, and almost before he had crept ^)to 
 the cupboard and hidden himself, came the troll. 
 
 " Huf ! What a smell of Christian man's blood ! " said 
 the troll. 
 
 " Yes, a bird flew over the roof with a Christian man's 
 bone in his bill, and let it fall down our chimney," answered 
 the princess. "I made haste enough to get it away again, 
 1/ut it must be that which smells so, notwithstanding." 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 321 
 
 "Yes, it must be that," said the troll. 
 
 Then the princess asked if he had got hold of anyone 
 who could brew a hundred lasts of malt at one brewing. 
 
 " No, there is no one who can do it," said the troll. 
 
 "A short time since there was a man here who said he 
 could do it," said the king's daughter. 
 
 " How clever you always are ! " said the troll. " How 
 could you let him go away? You must have known that 
 I was just wanting a man of that kind." 
 
 " Well, but I didn't let him go, after all," said the princess ; 
 "but father is so quick-tempered, so I hid him in the cup- 
 board, but if father has not found anyone then the man is 
 Btill here." 
 
 " Let him come in," said the troll. 
 
 When Minnikin came, the troll asked if it were true that 
 he could brew a hundred lasts of malt at one brewing. 
 
 " Yes," said Minnikin, " it is." 
 
 "It is well, then, that I have lighted on thee," said the 
 troll. "Fall to work this very minute, but Heaven help 
 thee if thou dost not brew the ale strong." 
 
 " Oh, it shall taste well," said Minnikin, and at once set 
 himself to work to brew. " But I must have more trolls to 
 help to carry what is wanted," said Minnikin; "these that 
 I have are good for nothing." 
 
 So he got more and so many that there was a swarm of 
 them, and then the brewing went on. When the sweet- 
 wort was ready they were all, as a matter of course, anxious 
 to taste it, first the troll himself and then the others; but 
 Minnikin had brewed the wort so strong that they all fell 
 down dead like so many flies as soon as they had drunk of it. 
 At last there was no one left but one wretched old hag who 
 was lying behind the stove. 
 
 " Oh, poor old creature ! " said Minnikin, " you shall have 
 a taste of the wort too like the rest." So he went away and 
 scooped up a little from the bottom of the brewing vat in 
 a milk pan, and gave it to her, and then he was quit of the 
 whole of them. 
 
 While Minnikin was now standing there looking about 
 him, he cast his eye on a large chest. This he took and 
 filled it with gold and silver, and then tied the cable round 
 l^niself and the princess and the chest, and tugged at the 
 
322 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 rope with all his might, whereupon his men drew them up 
 safe and sound. 
 
 As soon as Minnikin had got safely on his ship again, he 
 said : " Now go over salt water and fresh water, over hill 
 and dale, and do not stop until thou comest unto the king's 
 palace." And in a moment the ship went up so fast that 
 the yellow foam rose up all round about it. 
 
 When those who were in the king's palace saw the ship, 
 they lost no time in going to meet him with song and music, 
 and thus they marched up toward Minnikin with great re- 
 joicings; but the gladdest of all was the king, for now he 
 had got his other daughter back again. 
 
 But now Minnikin was not happy, for both the princesses 
 wanted to have him, and he wanted to have none other than 
 the one whom he had first saved, and she was the younger. 
 For this cause he was continually walking backward and 
 forward, thinking how he could contrive to get her, and yet 
 do nothing that was unkind to her sister. 
 
 One day when he was walking about and thinking of this, 
 it came into his mind that if he only had his brother, King 
 Pippin, with him, who was so like himself that no one 
 could distinguish the one from the other, he could let him 
 have the elder princess and half the kingdom; for himself 
 the other half was enough. As soon as this thought occurred 
 to him he went outside the palace and called King Pippin, 
 but no one came. So he called a second time, and a little 
 louder, but no one came. So Mannikin called for the third 
 time, and with all his might, and there stood his brother by 
 his side. 
 
 " I told you that you were not to call me unless you were 
 in the utmost need," he said to Minnikin, " and there is not 
 even so much as a midge here who can do you any harm ! " 
 and with that he gave Minnikin such a blow that he rolled 
 over on the grass. 
 
 " Shame on you to strike me ! " said Minnikin. " First 
 have I won one princess and half the kingdom, and then 
 the other princess and the other half of the kingdom; and 
 now, when I was just thinking that I would give you one 
 of the princesses and one of the halves of the kingdom, do 
 you think you have any reason to give me such a blow ? " 
 
 When King Pippin heard that he begged his brother's 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 323 
 
 pardon, and they were reconciled at once and became good 
 friends. 
 
 " Now, as you know," said Minnikin, " we are so like each 
 other that no one can tell one of us from the other; so just 
 change clothes with me and go up to the palace, and then 
 the princesses will think that I am coming in, and the one 
 who kisses you first shall be yours, and I will have the other." 
 For he knew that the elder princess was the stronger, so 
 he could very well guess how things would go. 
 
 King Pippin at once agreed to this. He changed clothes 
 with his brother, and went into the palace. When he en- 
 tered the princesses' apartments they believed that he was 
 Minnikin, and both of them ran up to him at once; but the 
 elder, who was bigger and stronger, pushed her sister aside, 
 and threw her arms around King Pippin's neck and kissed 
 him; so he got her to wife, and Minnikin the younger sister. 
 It will be easy to understand that two weddings took place, 
 and they were so magnificent that they were heard of and 
 talked about all over seven kingdoms. 
 
 BUSHY BRIDE * 
 
 There was once upon ^i time a widower who had a son and 
 a daughter by his first wife. They were both good children, 
 and loved each other with all their hearts. After some time 
 had gone by the man married again, and he chose a 
 widow with one daughter who was ugly and wicked, 
 and her mother was ugly and wicked too. From the 
 very day that the new wife came into the house there 
 was no peace for the man's children, and not a corner to 
 be found where they could get any rest; so the boy thought 
 that the best thing he could do was to go out into the world 
 and try to earn his own bread. 
 
 When he had roamed about for some time he came to the 
 king's palace, where he obtained a place under the coachman ; 
 and very brisk and active he was, and the horses that he 
 looked after were so fat and sleek that they shone again. 
 
 But his sister, who was still at home, fared worse and 
 worse. Both her stepmother and her stepsister were always 
 * From J. Moe. 
 
324 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 finding fault with her, whatsoever she did and whitherso- 
 ever she went, and they scolded her and abused her so that 
 she never had an hour's peace. They made her do all the 
 hard work, and hard words fell to her lot early and late, 
 but little enough food accompanied them. 
 
 One day they sent her to the brook to fetch some water 
 home, and an ugly and horrible head rose up out of the 
 water and said : " Wash me, girl ! " 
 
 " Yes, I will wash you with pleasure," said the girl, and 
 began to wash and scrub the ugly face, but she couldn't help 
 thinking that it was a very unpleasant piece of work. When 
 she had done it, and done it well, another head*rose up out 
 of the water, and this one was uglier still. 
 
 " Brush me, girl ! " said the head. 
 
 "Yes, I will brush you with pleasure," said the girl, and 
 set to work with the tangled hair, and, as may be easily 
 imagined, this too was by no means pleasant work. 
 
 When she had got it done, another and a much more ugly 
 and horrible head rose up out of the water. 
 
 " Kiss me, girl ! " said the head. 
 
 " Yes, I will kiss you," said the man's daughter, and she 
 did it, but she thought it was the worst bit of work that she 
 had ever had to do in her life. 
 
 So the heads all began to talk to each other, and to ask 
 what they should do for this girl who was so full of kind- 
 liness. 
 
 " She shall be the prettiest girl that ever was, and fair and 
 bright as the day," said the first head. 
 
 " Gold shall drop from her hair whenever she brushes it," 
 said the second. 
 
 " Gold shall drop from her mouth whenever she speaks," 
 said the third head. 
 
 So when the man's daughter went home, looking as beau- 
 tiful and bright as day, the stepmother and her daughter 
 grew much more ill-tempered, and it was worse still when 
 she began to talk, and they saw that golden coins dropped 
 from her mouth. The stepmother fell into such a towering 
 passion that she drove the man's daughter into the pig-stye 
 she might stay there with her fine show of gold, the step- 
 mother said, but she should not be permitted to set foot in 
 the house. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 325 
 
 It was not long before the mother wanted her own daughter 
 to go to the stream to fetch some water. 
 
 When she got there with her pails, the first head rose up 
 out of the water close to the bank. " Wash me, girl ! " 
 it said. 
 
 " Wash yourself ! " answered the woman's daughter. 
 
 Then the second head appeared. 
 
 " Brush me, girl ! " said the head. 
 
 " Brush yourself ! " said the woman's daughter. 
 
 So down it went to the bottom and the third head came up. 
 
 " Kiss me, girl ! " said the head. 
 
 " As if I would kiss your ugly mouth ! " said the girl. 
 
 So again the heads talked together about what they should 
 do for this girl who was so ill-tempered and full of her own 
 importance, and they agreed that she should have a nose 
 
 
 9\^^ I'M 
 
 fe^5Sfe% 
 
 W^SSdj, 
 
 that was four ells long, and a jaw that was three ells, and 
 a fir bush in the middle of her forehead, and every time 
 she spoke ashes should fall from her mouth. 
 
 When she came back to the cottage door with her pails, 
 she called to her mother who was inside, " Open the door ! " 
 
 " Open the door yourself, my own dear child ! " said the 
 mother. 
 
 " I can't get near, because of my nose," said the daughter. 
 
 When the mother came and saw her you may imagine 
 what a state of mind she was in, and how she screamed and 
 lamented, but neither the nose nor the jaw grew any the 
 less for that. 
 
326 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 Now the brother, who was in service in the king's palace, 
 had taken a portrait of his sister, and he had carried the 
 picture away with him, and every morning and evening 
 he knelt down before it and prayed for his sister, so dearly 
 did he love her. 
 
 The other stable boys had heard him doing this, so they 
 peeped through the keyhole into his room, and saw that he 
 was kneeling there before a picture; so they told everyone 
 that every morning and evening the youth knelt down and 
 prayed to an idol which he had ; and at last they went to the 
 king himself, and begged that he too would peep through the 
 keyhole, and see for himself what the youth did. At first the 
 king would not believe this, but after a long, long time, they 
 prevailed with him, and he crept on tiptoe to the door, peeped 
 through, and saw the youth on his knees, with his hands 
 clasped together before a picture which was hanging on the 
 wall. 
 
 " Open the door ! " cried the king, but the youth did not 
 hear. 
 
 So the king called to him again, but the youth was pray- 
 ing so fervently that he did not hear him this time either. 
 
 " Open the door, I say ! " cried the king again. " It is I ! 
 I want to come in." 
 
 So the youth sprang to the door and unlocked it, but in 
 his haste he forgot to hide the picture. 
 
 When the king entered and saw it, he stood still as if he 
 were in fetters, and could not stir from the spot, for the 
 picture seemed to him so beautiful. 
 
 " There is nowhere on earth so beautiful a woman as this ! " 
 said the king. 
 
 But the youth told him that she was his sister, and that 
 he had painted her, and that if she was not prettier than the 
 picture she was at all events not uglier. 
 
 "Well, if she is as beautiful as that, I will have her fo> 
 my queen," said the king, and he commanded the youth to 
 go home and fetch her without a moment's delay, and to 
 lose no time in coming back. The youth promised to make 
 all the haste he could, and set forth from the king's palace. 
 
 When the brother arrived at home to fetch his sister, her 
 stepmother and stepsister would go too. So they all set 
 out together, and the man's daughter took with her a casket 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 327 
 
 in which she kept her gold, and a dog which she called 
 Little Snow. These two things were all that she had in- 
 herited from her mother. When they had traveled for some 
 time they had to cross the sea, and the brother sat down at 
 the helm, and the mother and the two half-sisters went to the 
 forward part of the vessel, and they sailed a long, long way. 
 At last they came in sight of land. 
 
 " Look at that white strand there ; that is where we shall 
 land," said the brother, pointing across the sea. 
 
 " What is my brother saying ? " inquired the man's 
 daughter. 
 
 " He says that you are to throw your casket out into the 
 sea," answered the stepmother. 
 
 "Well, if my brother says so, I must do it," said the 
 man's daughter, and she flung her casket into the sea. 
 
 When they had sailed for some time longer, the brother 
 once more pointed over the sea. " There you may see the 
 palace to which we are bound," said he. 
 
 " What is my brother saying ? " asked the man's daughter. 
 
 " Now he says that you are to throw your dog into the sea," 
 answered the stepmother. 
 
 The man's daughter wept, and was sorely troubled, for 
 Little Snow was the dearest thing she had on earth, but at 
 last she threw him overboard. 
 
 " If my brother says that I must do it, but Heaven knows 
 how unwilling I am to throw thee out, Little Snow ! " said 
 she. 
 
 So they sailed onward a long way further. 
 
 " There may'st thou see the king coming out to meet 
 thee," said the brother, pointing to the seashore. 
 
 " What is my brother saying ? " asked his sister again. 
 
 " Now he says that you are to make haste and throw your- 
 self overboard," answered the stepmother. 
 
 She wept and she wailed, but as her brother had said 
 that, she thought she must do it; so she leaped into the 
 sea. 
 
 But when they arrived at the palace, and the king beheld 
 the ugly bride with a nose that was four ells long, a jaw 
 that was three ells, and a forehead that had a bush in the 
 middle of it, he was quite terrified; but the wedding feast 
 was all prepared, as regarded brewing and baking, and all 
 
328 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 the wedding guests were waiting, so, ugly as she was, the 
 king was forced to take her. 
 
 But he was very wroth, and none can blame him for that; 
 so he caused the brother to be thrown into a pit full of 
 snakes. 
 
 On the first Thursday after this a beautiful maiden came 
 into the kitchen of the palace, and begged the kitchen- 
 maid, who slept there, to lend her a brush. She begged 
 very prettily, and got it, and then she brushed her hair, 
 and the gold dropped from it. 
 
 A little dog was with her, and she said to it : " Go out, 
 Little Snow, and see if it will soon be day." 
 
 This she said thrice, and the third time that she sent out 
 the dog to see, it was near dawn. Then she was forced to 
 depart, but as she went she said : 
 
 ** Out on thee, ugly Bushy Bride, 
 Sleeping so soft by the young King's side, 
 On sand and stones my bed I make, 
 And my brother sleeps with the cold snake, 
 Unpitied and unwept. 
 
 I shall come twice more, and then never again," said she. 
 
 In the morning the kitchen-maid related what she had 
 seen and heard, and the king said that next Thursday night 
 he himself would watch in the kitchen and see if this 
 were true, and when it had begun to grow dark he went 
 out into the kitchen to the girl. But though he rubbed 
 his eyes and did everything he could to keep himself awake 
 it was all in vain, for the bushy bride crooned and sang till 
 his eyes were fast closed, and when the beautiful young 
 maiden came he was sound asleep and snoring. 
 
 This time also, as before, she borrowed a brush and 
 brushed her hair with it, and the gold dropped down as 
 she did it; and again she sent the dog out three times, and 
 when the day dawned she departed, but as she was going she 
 said as she said before : " I shall come once more, and then 
 never again." 
 
 On the third Thursday night the king once more insisted 
 on keeping watch. Then he set two men to hold him; 
 each of them was to take an arm, and shake him and jerk 
 him by the arm whenever he seemed to be going to fall 
 asleep; and he set two men to watch his bushy brida 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 329 
 
 But as the night wore on the bushy bride again began to 
 croon and to sing, so that his eyes began to close and 
 
 The Sleeping King, Guided by his Attendants, Cuts the Finger of 
 the Beautiful Maiden. 
 
 his head to droop on one side. Then came the lorely 
 maiden, and got the brush and brushed her hair till the 
 gold dropped from it, and then she sent her Little SnoT 
 out to see if it would soon be day, and this she did three 
 
330 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 times. The third time it was just beginning to grow light, 
 and then she said : 
 
 " Out on thee, ugly Bushy Bride. 
 Sleeping so soft by the young King's side, 
 On sand and stones my bed I make, 
 And my brother sleeps with the cold snake, 
 Unpitied and unwept." 
 
 Now I shall never come again," she said, and then she 
 turned to go. But the two men who were holding the 
 king by the arms seized his hands and forced a knife into 
 his grasp, and then made him cut her little finger just 
 enough to make it bleed. 
 
 Thus the true bride was freed. The king then awoke, 
 and she told him all that had taken place, and how her 
 stepmother and stepsister had betrayed her. Then the 
 brother was at once taken out of the snake-pit the snakes 
 had never touched him and the stepmother and stepsister 
 were flung down into it instead of him. 
 
 No one can tell how delighted the king was to get rid 
 of that hideous bushy bride, and get a queen who was 
 bright and beautiful as day itself. 
 
 And now the real wedding was held, and held in such a 
 way that it was heard of and spoken about all over seven 
 kingdoms. The king and his bride drove to church, and 
 Little Snow was in the carriage too. When the blessing 
 was given they went home again, and after that I saw no 
 more of them. 
 
 SNOWDROP* 
 
 Once upon a time, in the middle of winter when the 
 snow-flakes were falling like feathers on the earth, a queen 
 sat at a window framed in black ebony, and sewed. And 
 as she sewed and gazed out to the white landscape, she 
 pricked her finger with the needle, and three drops of blood 
 fell on the snow outside, and because the red showed out 
 so well against the white she thought to herself : 
 
 "Oh! what wouldn't I give to have a child as white as 
 snow, as red as blood, and as black as ebony !" 
 * Grimm. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 331 
 
 And her wish was granted, for not long after a little 
 daughter was born to her, with a skin as white as snow, 
 lips and cheeks as red as blood, and hair as black as ebony. 
 They called her Snowdrop, and not long after her birth the 
 queen died. 
 
 After a year the king married again. His new wife was 
 a beautiful woman, but so proud and overbearing that she 
 couldn't stand any rival to her beauty. She possessed a 
 magic mirror, and when she used to stand before it gazing 
 at her own reflection and asked, 
 
 u Mirror, mirror, hanging there, 
 Who in all the land's most fair? " 
 
 it always replied: 
 
 " You are most fair, my Lady Queen. 
 None fairer in the land, I ween." 
 
 Then she was quite happy, for she knew the mirror 
 always spoke the truth. 
 
 But Snowdrop was growing prettier and prettier every 
 
 day, and when she was seven years old she was as beautiful 
 
 as she could be, and fairer even than the queen herself. 
 
 One day when the latter asked her mirror the usual question, 
 
 it replied: 
 
 " My Lady Queen, you are fair, 'tis true, 
 But Snowdrop is fairer far than you." 
 
 Then the queen flew into the most awful passion, and 
 turned every shade of green in her jealousy. From this 
 hour she hated poor Snowdrop like poison, and every day 
 her envy, hatred, and malice grew, for envy and jealousy 
 are like evil weeds which spring up and choke the heart. 
 At last she could endure Snowdrop's presence no longer, 
 and, calling a huntsman to her, she said : 
 
 " Take the child out into the wood, and never let me see 
 her face again. You must kill her, and bring me back 
 her lungs and liver, that I may know for certain she is 
 dead." 
 
 The huntsman did as he was told and led Snowdrop out 
 into the wood, but as he was in the act of drawing out his 
 knife to slay her, she began to cry, and said : 
 
 " Oh, dear huntsman, spare my life, and I will promise to 
 
332 
 
 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 fly forth into the Tride wood and never to return liomt: 
 again." 
 
 And because she was so young and pretty the huntsman 
 had pity on her, and sa'd: 
 
 " Well, run along, poor child." For he thought to him 
 self, " The wild beasts will soon eat her up." 
 
 And his heart felt lighter because he hadn't had to do 
 the deed himself. And as he turned away a young boar 
 came running past, so he shot it, and brought its lungs and 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 333 
 
 liver home to the queen as a proof that Snowdrop was really 
 dead. And the wicked woman had them stewed in salt, and 
 ate them up, thinking that she had made an end of Snow- 
 drop forever. 
 
 Now when the poor child found herself alone in the big 
 wood the very trees around her seemed to assume strange 
 shapes, and she felt so frightened that she didn't know what 
 to do. Then she began to run over the sharp stones, and 
 through the bramble bushes, and the wild beasts ran past 
 her, but they did her no harm. She ran as far as her legs 
 would carry her, and as evening approached she saw a little 
 house, and she stepped inside to rest. Everything was very 
 small in the little house, but cleaner and neater than any- 
 thing you can imagine. In the middle of the room there 
 stood a table, covered with a white table-cloth, and seven 
 little plates and forks and spoons and knives and tumblers. 
 Side by side against the wall there were seven little beds, cov- 
 ered with snow-white counterpanes. Snowdrop felt so hun- 
 gry and so thirsty that she ate a bit of bread and a little 
 porridge from each plate, and drank a drop of wine out of 
 each tumbler. Then feeling tired and sleepy she lay down 
 on one of the beds, but it wasn't comfortable; then she tried 
 all the others in turn, but one was too long, and another too 
 short, and it was only when she got to the seventh that 
 she found one to suit her exactly. So she lay down upon it, 
 said her prayers like a good child, and fell fast asleep. 
 
 When it got quite dark the masters of the little house 
 returned. They were seven dwarfs who worked in the mines, 
 right down deep in the heart of the mountain. They lighted 
 their seven little lamps, and as soon as their eyes got accus- 
 tomed to the glare they saw that someone had been in the 
 room, for all was not in the same order as they had left it. 
 
 The first said : 
 
 " Who's been sitting on my little chair ? " 
 
 The second said: 
 
 " Who's been eating my little loaf ? " 
 
 The third said: 
 
 "Who's been tasting my porridge?" 
 
 The fourth said: 
 
 "Who's been eating out of my little plate?" 
 
 The fifth said: 
 
334 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 " Who's been using my little fork ? " 
 
 The sixth said: 
 
 " Who's been cutting with my little knife ? " 
 
 The seventh said: 
 
 " Who's been drinking out of my little tumbler ? " 
 
 Then the first dwarf looked round and saw a little hollow 
 in his bed, and he asked again : 
 
 " Who's been lying on my bed ? " 
 
 The others came running round, and cried when they saw 
 their beds: 
 
 " Somebody has lain on ours too." 
 
 But when the seventh came to his bed he started back 
 in amazement, for there he beheld Snowdrop fast asleep. 
 Then he called the others, who turned their little lamps 
 full on the bed, and when they saw Snowdrop lying there 
 they nearly fell down with surprise. 
 
 " Goodness gracious ! " they cried, " what a beautiful 
 child!" 
 
 And they were so enchanted by her beauty that they did 
 not wake her, but let her sleep on in the little bed. But the 
 seventh dwarf slept with his companions one hour in each 
 bed, and in this way he managed to pass the night. 
 
 In the morning Snowdrop awoke, but when she saw the 
 seven little dwarfs she felt very frightened. But they 
 were so friendly, and asked her what her name was in such 
 a kind way, that she replied: 
 
 " I am Snowdrop." 
 
 " Why did you come to our house ? " continued the dwarfs. 
 
 Then she told them how her stepmother had wished her 
 put to death, and how the huntsman had spared her life, 
 and how she had run the whole day till she had come to 
 their little house. The dwarfs, when they had heard her sad 
 story, asked her : 
 
 "Will you stay and keep house for us, cook, make the 
 beds, do the washing, sew and knit? And if you give satis- 
 faction and keep everything neat and clean, you shall want 
 for nothing." 
 
 "Yes," answered Snowdrop, "I will gladly do all you 
 ask." 
 
 And so she took up her abode with them. Every morn- 
 ing the dwarfs went into the mountain, to dig for gold, and 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 335 
 
 in the evening, when they returned home, Snowdrop always 
 had their supper ready for them. But during the day the 
 girl was left quite alone, so the good dwarfs warned her, 
 saying : 
 
 " Beware of your stepmother. She will soon find out you 
 are here, and whatever you do don't let anyone into the 
 house." 
 
 Now the queen, after she thought she had eaten Snow- 
 drop's lungs and liver, never dreamed but that she was 
 once more the most beautiful woman in the world; so step^ 
 ping before her mirror one day she said : 
 
 " Mirror, mirror, hanging there, 
 Who in all the land's most fair? " 
 
 and the mirror replied: 
 
 " My Lady Queen, yon are fair, 'tis true, 
 But Snowdrop is fairer far than you. 
 Snowdrop, who dwells with the seven little men, 
 Is as fair as you, as fair again." 
 
 When the queen heard these words she was nearly struck 
 dumb with horror, for the mirror always spoke the truth, 
 and she knew now that the huntsman must have deceived 
 her, and that Snowdrop was still alive. She pondered day 
 and night how she might destroy her, for as long as she felt 
 she had a rival in the land her jealous heart left her no rest. 
 At last she hit upon a plan. She stained her face and dressed 
 herself up as an old peddler wife, so that she was quite un- 
 recognizable. In this guise she went over the seven hills 
 till she came to the house of the seven dwarfs. Then she 
 knocked at the door, calling out at the same time: 
 " Fine wares to sell, fine wares to sell ! " 
 Snowdrop peeped out of the window, and called out : 
 " Good-day, mother, what have you to sell ? " 
 "Good wares, fine wares," she answered; "laces of every 
 shade and description," and she held up one that was made 
 f some gay-colored silk. 
 
 " Surely I can let the honest woman in," thought Snow- 
 drop; so she unbarred the door and bought the pretty lace. 
 "Good gracious! child," said the old woman, "what a 
 figure you've got. Come ! I'll lace you up properly for once." 
 Snowdrop, suspecting no evil, stood before her and let 
 
336 THE EED FAIEY BOOK. 
 
 her lace her bodice up, but the old woman laced her so 
 quickly and so tightly that it took Snowdrop's breath away, 
 and she fell down dead. 
 
 " Now you are no longer the fairest," said the wicked old 
 woman, and then she hastened away. 
 
 In the evening the seven dwarfs came home, and you 
 may think what a fright they got when they saw their dear 
 Snowdrop lying on the floor, as still and motionless as a 
 dead person. They lifted her up tenderly, and when they 
 saw how tightly laced she was they cut the lace in two, and 
 she began to breathe a little and gradually oame back to 
 life. When the dwarfs heard what had happened, they said : 
 
 "Depend upon it, the old peddler wife was none other 
 than the old queen. In future you must be sure to let nc 
 one in, if we are not at home." 
 
 As soon as the wicked old queen got home she went straight 
 to her mirror, and said : 
 
 " Mirror, mirror, hanging there, 
 Who in all the land's most fair?" 
 
 and the mirror answered as before : 
 
 11 My Lady Queen, you are fair, 'tis true, 
 But Snowdrop is fairer far than you. 
 Snowdrop, who dwells with the seven little mea, 
 Is as fair as you, as fair again." 
 
 When she heard this she became as pale as death, be- 
 cause she saw at once that Snowdrop must be alive again. 
 
 " This time," she said to herself, " I will think of some- 
 thing that will make an end of her once and for all." 
 
 And by the witchcraft which she understood so well she 
 made a poisonous comb; then she dressed herself up and 
 assumed the form of another old woman. So she went over 
 the seven hills till she reached the house of the seven dwarfs, 
 and knocking at the door she called out: 
 
 " Fine wares for sale." 
 
 Snowdrop looked out of the window and said: 
 
 " You must go away, for I may not let anyone in." 
 
 11 But surely you are not forbidden to look out ? " said the 
 old woman, and she held up the poisonous comb for her to 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 337 
 
 It pleased the girl so much that she let herself be taken in, 
 and opened the door. When they had settled their bargain 
 the old woman said: 
 
 " Now I'll comb your hair properly for you, for once in 
 the way." 
 
 Poor Snowdrop thought no evil, but hardly had the comb 
 touched her hair than the poison worked and she fell down 
 unconscious. 
 
 " Now, my fine lady, you're really done for this time," said 
 the wicked woman, and she made her way home as fast as 
 she could. 
 
 Fortunately it was now near evening, and the seven 
 dwarfs returned home. When they saw Snowdrop lying 
 dead on the ground, they at once suspected that her wicked 
 stepmother had been at work again; so they searched till 
 they found the poisonous comb, and the moment they pulled 
 it out of her head Snowdrop came to herself again, and told 
 them what had happened. Then they warned her once more 
 to be on her guard, and to open the door to no one. 
 
 As soon as the queen got home she went straight to her 
 
 mirror, and asked : 
 
 " Mirror, mirror, hanging there, 
 Who in all the land's most fair? " 
 
 and it replied as before : 
 
 11 My Lady Queen, you are fair, 'tis true. 
 But Sno'wdrop is fairer far than you. 
 Snowdrop, who dwells with the seven little men, 
 Is as fair as you, as fair again." 
 
 VVTien she heard these words she literally trembled and 
 shook with rage. 
 
 " Snowdrop shall die," she cried ; " yes, though it cost me 
 my own life." 
 
 Then she went to the little secret chamber, which no one 
 knew of but herself, and there she made a poisonous apple. 
 Outwardly it looked beautiful, white with red cheeks, so that 
 everyone who saw it longed to eat it, but anyone who might 
 do so would certainly die on the spot. When the apple was 
 quite finished she stained her face and dressed herself up 
 as a peasant, and so she went over the seven hills to the 
 seven dwarfs'. She knocked at the door, as usual, but Snow- 
 drop put her head out of the window and called out : 
 
SSS THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 "I may not let anyone in: the seven dwarfs have for- 
 bidden me to do so." 
 
 " Are yon afraid of being poisoned ? " asked the old 
 woman. "See, I will cut this apple in half. I'll eat the 
 white cheek and you can eat the red." 
 
 But the apple was so cunningly made that only the 
 red cheek was poisonous. Snowdrop longed to eat the 
 tempting fruit, and when she saw the peasant woman 
 was eating it herself, she couldn't resist the temptation any 
 longer, and stretching out her hand she took the poisonous 
 half. But hardly had the first bite passed her lips than 
 she fell down dead on the ground. Then the eyes of the 
 cruel queen sparkled with glee, and laughing aloud she 
 cried : 
 
 " As white as snow, as red as blood, and as black as ebony, 
 this time the dwarfs won't be able to bring you back to 
 life." 
 
 When she got home she asked the mirror: 
 
 11 Mirror, mirror, hanging there, 
 Who in all the land's most fair? " 
 
 and this time it replied: 
 
 " You are most fair, my Lady Queen, 
 None fairer in the land, I ween." 
 
 Then her jealous heart was at rest at least, as much at 
 rest as a jealous heart can ever be. 
 
 When the little dwarfs came home in the evening they 
 found little Snowdrop lying on the ground, and she neither 
 breathed nor stirred. They lifted her up, and looked round 
 everywhere to see if they could find anything poisonous 
 about. They unlaced her bodice, combed her hair, washed 
 her with water and wine, but all in vain ; the child was dead 
 and remained dead. Then they placed her on a bier, and all 
 the seven dwarfs sat round it, weeping and sobbing for three 
 whole days. At last they made up their minds to bury her, 
 but she looked as blooming as a living being, and her cheeks 
 were still such a lovely color that they said : 
 
 " We can't hide her away in the black ground." 
 
 So they had a coffin made of transparent glass, and they 
 laid her in it, and wrote on the lid in golden letters that 
 she was a royal princess. Then they put the coffin on the 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 339 
 
 top of the mountain, and one of the dwarfs always re- 
 mained beside it and kept watch over it. And the very 
 birds of the air came and bewailed Snowdrop's death, first 
 an owl, and then a raven, and last of all a little dove. 
 
 Snowdrop lay a long time in the coffin, and she always 
 looked the same, just as if she were fast asleep, and she re- 
 mained as white as snow, as red as blood, and her hair as 
 black as ebony. 
 
 Now it happened one day that a prince came to the 
 
 wood and passed by the dwarfs' house. He saw the coffin 
 on the hill, with the beautiful Snowdrop inside it, and when 
 he had read what was written on it in golden letters, he said 
 to the dwarf: 
 
 "Give me the coffin. I'll give you whatever you like 
 for it" 
 
340 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 But the dwarf said: "No; we wouldn't part with it for 
 all the gold in the world." 
 
 " Well, then," he replied, " give it to me, because I can't 
 live without Snowdrop. I will cherish and love it as my 
 dearest possession." 
 
 He spoke so sadly that the good dwarfs had pity on him, 
 and gave him the coffin, and the prince made his servants 
 bear it away on their shoulders. Now it happened that as 
 they were going down the hill they stumbled over a bush, 
 and jolted the coffin so violently that the poisonous bit of 
 apple Snowdrop had swallowed fell out of her throat. She 
 gradually opened her eyes, lifted up the lid of the coffin, 
 and sat up alive and well. 
 
 " Oh ! dear me, where am I ? " she cried. 
 
 The prince answered joyfully, "You are with me," and 
 he told her all that had happened, adding, " I love you better 
 than anyone in the whole wide world. Will you come with 
 me to my father's palace and be my wife ? " 
 
 Snowdrop consented, and went with him, and the marriage 
 was celebrated with great pomp and splendor. 
 
 Now Snowdrop's wicked stepmother was one of the guests 
 invited to attend the wedding feast. When she had dressed 
 herself very gorgeously for the occasion, she went to the 
 mirror, and said: 
 
 " Mirror, mirror, hanging there 
 Who in all the land's most fair? " 
 
 and the mirror answered: 
 
 '* My Lady Queen, yon are fair, 'tis true, 
 But Snowdrop is fairer far than you." 
 
 When the wicked woman heard these words she uttered 
 a curse, and was beside herself with rage and mortification. 
 At first she didn't want to go to the wedding at all, but at 
 the same time she felt that she would never be happy till 
 she had seen the young queen. As she entered Snowdrop 
 recognized her, and nearly fainted with fear; but red-hot 
 iron shoes had been prepared for the wicked old queen, and 
 she was made to get into them and dance till she fell down 
 dead. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 341 
 
 THE GOLDEN GOOSE* 
 
 There was once a man who had three sons. The youngest 
 of them was called Dullhead, and was sneered and jeered 
 at and snubbed on every possible opportunity. 
 
 One day it happened that the eldest son wished to go into 
 the forest to cut wood, and before he started his mother 
 gave him a fine rich cake and a bottle of wine, so that he 
 might be sure not to suffer from hunger or thirst. 
 
 When he reached the forest he met a little old gray man 
 who wished him " Good-morning," and said : " Do give 
 me a piece of that cake you have got in your pocket, and 
 let me have a draught of your wine I am so hungry and 
 thirsty." 
 
 But this clever son replied : " If I give you my cake and 
 wine I shall have none left for myself : you just go your own 
 way"; and he left the little man standing there and went 
 further into the forest. There he began to cut down a tree, 
 but before long he made a false stroke with his ax, and cut 
 his own arm so badly that he was obliged to go home and 
 have it bound up. 
 
 Then the second son went to the forest, and his mother 
 gave him a good cake and a bottle of wine as she had to his 
 elder brother. He too met the little old gray man, who 
 begged nim for a morsel of cake and a draught of wine. 
 
 But the second son spoke most sensibly too, and said: 
 " Whatever I give to you I deprive myself of. Just go your 
 own way, will you ? " Not long after his punishment over- 
 took him, for no sooner had he struck a couple of blows on 
 a tree with his ax, than he cut his leg so badly that he had to 
 be carried home. 
 
 So then Dullhead said: "Father, let me go out and cut 
 wood." 
 
 But his father answered: "Both your brothers have in- 
 jured themselves. You had better leave it alone; you know 
 nothing about it." 
 
 But Dullhead begged so hard to be allowed to go that at 
 last his father said : " Very well, then go. Perhaps when 
 you have hurt yourself, you may learn to know better." His 
 * Grimm. 
 
342 
 
 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 mother only gave him a very plain cake made with water 
 and baked in cinders, and a bottle of sour beer. 
 
 When he got to the forest, he too met the little old gray 
 man, who greeted him and said : " Give me a piece of your 
 cake and a draught from your bottle; I am so hungry and 
 thirsty." 
 
 And Dullhead replied : " I've only got a cinder-cake and 
 some sour beer, but if you care to have that, let us sit down 
 and eat." 
 
 So they sat down, and when Dullhead brought out his 
 cake he found it had turned into a fine rich cake, and the 
 sour beer into excellent wine. Then they ate and drank. 
 
 and when they had finished the little man said: "Now I 
 will bring you luck, because you have a kind heart and are 
 willing to share what you have with others. There stands 
 an old tree; cut it down, and among its roots you'll find 
 something." With that the little man took leave. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 343 
 
 Then Dullhead fell to at once to hew down the tree, and 
 when it fell he found among its roots a goose, whose 
 feathers were all of pure gold. He lifted it out, carried it 
 off, and took it with him to an inn where he meant to spend 
 the night. 
 
 Now the landlord of the inn had three daughters, and 
 when they saw the goose they were filled with curiosity as 
 to what this wonderful bird could be, and each longed to 
 have one of its golden feathers. 
 
 The eldest thought to herself: "No doubt I shall soon 
 find a good opportunity to pluck out one of its feathers," 
 and the first time Dullhead happened to leave the room 
 she caught hold of the goose by its wing. But, lo and be- 
 hold! her fingers seemed to stick fast to the goose, and she 
 could not take her hand away. 
 
 Soon after the second daughter came in, and thought to 
 pluck a golden feather for herself too; but hardly had she 
 touched her sister than she stuck fast as well. At last the 
 third sister came with the same intentions, but the other 
 two cried : " Keep off ! for Heaven's sake, keep off ! " 
 
 The younger sister could not imagine why she was to 
 keep off, and thought to herself: "If they are both there, 
 why should not I be there too ? " 
 
 So she sprang to them ; but no sooner had she touched one 
 of them than she stuck fast to her. So they all three had 
 to spend the night with the goose. 
 
 Next morning Dullhead tucked the goose under his arm 
 and went off, without in the least troubling himself about 
 the three girls who were hanging on to it. They just had to 
 run after him right or left as best they could. In the middle 
 of a field they met a parson, and when he saw this proces- 
 sion he cried: "For shame, you bold girls! What do you 
 mean by running after a young fellow through the fields 
 like that ? Do you call that proper behavior ? " And with 
 that he caught the youngest girl by the hand to try and 
 draw her away. But directly he touched her he hung on him- 
 self, and had to run along with the rest of them. 
 
 Not long after the clerk came that way, and was much 
 surprised to see the parson following the footsteps of three 
 girls. " Why, where is your reverence going so fast ? " cried 
 he; don't forget there is to be a christening to-day"; and 
 
344 
 
 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 he ran after him, caught him by the sleeve, and hnng on to 
 it himself. As the five of them trotted along in this fashion 
 one after the other, two peasants were coming from their 
 work with their hoes. On seeing them the parson called out 
 and begged them to come and rescue him and the clerk. Bx. t 
 no sooner did they touch the clerk than they stuck on too, 
 and so there were seven of them running after Dullhead and 
 his goose. 
 
 After a time they all came to a town where a king reigned 
 whose daughter was so serious and solemn that no one could 
 
 ever manage to make her laugh. So the king had decreed 
 that whoever should succeed in making her laugh should 
 marry her. 
 
 When Dullhead heard this he marched before the princess 
 with his goose and its appendages, and as soon as she saw 
 these seven people continually running after each other she 
 burst out laughing, and could not stop herself. Then Dull- 
 head claimed her as his bride, but the king, who did not 
 much fancy him as a son-in-law, made all sorts of objections, 
 and told him he must first find a man who could drink up * 
 whole cellarf ul of wine. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 345 
 
 Dullhead bethought him of the little gray man, who could, 
 he felt sure, help him; so he went off to the forest, and on 
 the very spot where he had cut down the tree he saw a man 
 sitting with a most dismal expression of face. 
 
 Dullhead asked him what he was taking so much to heart, 
 and the man answered : " I don't know how I am ever to 
 quench the terrible thirst I am suffering from. Cold water 
 doesn't suit me at all. To be sure I've emptied a whole bar- 
 rel of wine, but what is one drop on a hot stone ? " 
 
 " I think I can help you," said Dullhead. " Come with 
 me, and you shall drink to your heart's content." So he took 
 him to the king's cellar, and the man sat down before the 
 huge casks and drank and drank till he drank up the whole 
 contents of the cellar before the day closed. 
 
 Then Dullhead asked once more for his bride, but the 
 king felt vexed at the idea of a stupid fellow whom people 
 called "Dullhead" carrying off his daughter, and he began 
 to make fresh conditions. He required Dullhead to find a 
 man who could eat a mountain of bread. Dullhead did not 
 wait to consider long, but went straight off to the forest, and 
 there on the same spot sat a man who was drawing in a 
 strap as tight as he could round his body, and making a 
 most woeful face the while. Said he: "I'v eaten up a 
 whole oven full of loaves, but what's the good of that to 
 anyone who is as hungry as I am? I declare my stomach 
 feels quite empty, and I must draw my belt tight if I'm not 
 to die of starvation." 
 
 Dullhead was delighted, and said: "Get up and come 
 with me, and you shall have plenty to eat," and he brought 
 him to the king's court. 
 
 Now the king had given orders to have all the flour in his 
 kingdom brought together, and to have a huge mountain 
 baked of it. But the man from the wood just took up his 
 stand before the mountain and began to eat, and in one day 
 it had all vanished. 
 
 For the third time Dullhead asked for his bride, but again 
 the king tried to make some evasion, and demanded a ship 
 " which could sail on land and water. When you come sail- 
 ing in such a ship," said he, "you shall have my daughter 
 without further delay." 
 
 Again Dullhead started off to the forest, and there he 
 
346 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 found the little old gray man with whom he had shared his 
 cake, and who said : " I have eaten and I have drunk for 
 you, and now I will give you Ifcte ship. I have done all this 
 for you because you were kind and merciful to me." 
 
 Then he gave Dullhead a ship which could sail on land 
 or water, and when the king saw it he felt he could no longer 
 refuse him his daughter. 
 
 So they celebrated the wedding with great rejoicings; 
 and after the king's death Dullhead succeeded to the king- 
 dom, and lived happily with his wife for many years after. 
 
 THE SEVEN FOALS * 
 
 There was once upon a time a couple of poor folks who 
 lived in a wretched hut, far away from everyone else, in a 
 wood. They only just managed to live from hand to mouth, 
 and had great difficulty in doing even so much as that, but 
 they had three sons, and the youngest of them was called 
 Cinderlad, for he did nothing else but lie and poke about 
 among the ashes. 
 
 One day the eldest lad said that he would go out to earn 
 his living; he soon got leave to do that, and set out on his 
 way into the world. He walked on and on for the whole 
 day, and when night was beginning to fall he came to a 
 royal palace. The king was standing outside on the steps, 
 and asked where he was going. 
 
 " Oh, I am just going about seeking a place, my father," 
 said the youth. 
 
 " Wilt thou serve me, and watch my seven foals ? " asked 
 the king. "If thou canst watch them for a whole day and 
 tell me at night what they eat and drink, thou shalt have the 
 princess and half my kingdom, but if thou canst not, I will 
 eut three red stripes on thy back." 
 
 The youth thought that it was very easy work to watch 
 the foals, and that he could do it well enough. 
 
 Next morning, when day was beginning to dawn, the king's 
 
 master of the horse let out the seven foals; and they ran 
 
 away, and the youth after them just as it chanced, over hill 
 
 and dale, through woods and bogs. When the youth had run 
 
 From J. Moe. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 347 
 
 thus for a long time lie began to be tired, and when he had 
 held on a little longer he was heartily weary of watching at 
 all, and at the same moment he came to a cleft in a rock 
 where an old woman was sitting spinning with her distaff in 
 her hand. 
 
 As soon as she caught sight of the youth, who was running 
 after the foals till the perspiration streamed down his face, 
 she cried: 
 
 " Come hither, come hither, my handsome son, and let me 
 comb your hair for you." 
 
 The lad was willing enough, so he sat down in the cleft 
 of the rock beside the old hag, and laid his head on her knees, 
 
 and she combed his hair all day while he lay there and gave 
 himself up to idleness. 
 
 When evening was drawing near, the youth wanted to go. 
 
 " I may just as well go straight home again," said he, " for 
 it is no use to go to the king's palace." 
 
 "Wait till it is dusk," said the old hag, "and then the 
 king's foals will pass by this place again, and you can run 
 home with them; no one will ever know that you have been 
 lying here all day instead of watching the foals." 
 
 So when they came she gave the lad a bottle of water 
 and a bit of moss, and told him to show these to the king 
 and say this was what his seven foals ate and drank. 
 
 "Hast thou watched faithfully and well the whole day 
 
348 THE EED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 long ? " said the king, when the lad came into his presence 
 in the evening. 
 
 " Yes, that I have ! " said the youth. 
 
 " Then you are able to tell me what it is that my seven 
 foals eat and drink," said the king. 
 
 So the youth produced a bottle of water and a bit of moss 
 which he had got from the old woman, saying: 
 
 " Here you see their meat, and here you see their drink." 
 
 Then the king knew how his watching had been done, and 
 fell into such a rage that he ordered his people to chase 
 the youth back to his own home at once; but first they were 
 to cut three red stripes in his back, and rub salt into them. 
 
 When the youth reached home again, anyone can imagine 
 what a state of mind he was in. He had gone out once to 
 seek a place, he said, but never would he do such a thing 
 again. 
 
 Next day the second son said that he would now go out 
 into the world to seek his fortune. His father and mother 
 said " No," and bade him look at his brother's back, but 
 the youth would not give up his design, and stuck to it, 
 and after a long, long time he got leave to go, and set 
 forth on his way. When he had walked all day he too came 
 to the king's palace, and the king was standing outside on the 
 steps, and asked where he was going; and when the youth 
 replied that he was going about in search of a place, the 
 king said that he might enter into his service and watch 
 his seven foals. Then the king promised him the same pun- 
 ishment and the same reward that he had promised his 
 brother. 
 
 The youth at once consented to this and entered into 
 the king's service, for he thought he could easily watch the 
 foals and inform the king what they ate and drank. 
 
 In the gray light of dawn the master of the horse let out 
 the seven foals, and off they went again over hill and dale, 
 and off went the lad after them. But all went with him as it 
 had gone with his brother. When he had run after the 
 foals for a long, long time and was hot and tired, he passed 
 by a cleft in the rock where an old woman was sitting spin- 
 ning with a distaff, and she called to him : 
 
 "Come hither, come hither, my handsome son, and let 
 me comb your hair." 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 349 
 
 The youth liked the thought of this, and let the foals run 
 where they chose, and seated himself in the cleft of the rock 
 by the side of the old hag. So there he sat with his head on 
 her lap, taking his ease the livelong day. 
 
 The foals came back in the evening, and then he too got 
 a bit of moss and a bottle of water from the old hag, which 
 things he was to show to the king. But when the king asked 
 the youth : " Canst thou tell me what my seven foals eat 
 and drink ? " and the youth showed him the bit of moss and 
 the bottle of water, and said: "Yes, here may you behold 
 their meat, and here their drink," the king once more became 
 wroth, and commanded that three red stripes should be cut 
 on the lad's back, that salt should be strewn upon them, 
 and that he should then be instantly chased back to his own 
 home. So when the youth got home again he too related 
 all that had happened to him, and he too said that he had 
 gone out in search of a place once, but that never would he 
 do it again. 
 
 On the third day Cinderlad wanted to set out. He had 
 a fancy to try to watch the seven foals himself, he said. 
 
 The two others laughed at him and mocked him. 
 " What ! when all went so ill with us, do you suppose that you 
 are going to succeed? You look like succeeding you who 
 have never done anything else but lie and poke about among 
 the ashes," said they. 
 
 "Yes, I will go too," said Cinderlad, "for I have taken 
 it into my head." 
 
 The two brothers laughed at him, and his father and 
 mother begged him not to go, but all to no purpose, and 
 Cinderlad set out on his way. So when he had walked the 
 whole day, he too came to the king's palace as darkness be- 
 gan to fall. 
 
 There stood the king outside on the steps, and he asked 
 whither he was bound. 
 
 "I am walking about in search of a place," said Cinder- 
 lad. 
 
 "From whence do you come, then?" inquired the king, 
 for by this time he wanted to know a little more about the 
 men before he took any of them into his service. 
 
 So Cinderlad told him whence he came, and that he was 
 brother to the two who had watched the seven foals for the 
 
350 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 king, and then he inquired if he might be allowed to try to 
 watch them on the following day. 
 
 " Oh, shame on them ! " said the king, for it enraged him 
 even to think of them. "If thou art brother to those two, 
 thou too art not good for much. I have had enough of such 
 fellows." 
 
 " Well, but as I have come here, you might just give me 
 leave to make the attempt," said Cinderlad. 
 
 " Oh, very well, if thou art absolutely determined to have 
 thy back flayed, thou may'st have thine own way if thou wilt," 
 said the king. 
 
 " I would much rather have the princess," said Cinderlad. 
 
 Next morning in the gray light of dawn, the master of the 
 horse let out the seven foals again, and off they set over hill 
 and dale, through woods and bogs, and off went Cinderlad 
 after them. When he had run thus for a long time, he too 
 came to the cleft in the rock. There the old hag was once 
 more sitting spinning from her distaff, and she cried to Cin- 
 derlad : 
 
 " Come hither, come hither, my handsome son, and let me 
 comb your hair for you." 
 
 " Come to me, then ; come to me ! " said Cinderlad, as he 
 passed by jumping and running, and keeping tight hold of 
 one of the foals' tails. 
 
 When he had got safely past the cleft in the rock, the 
 youngest foal said: 
 
 " Get on my back, for we have still a long way to go." 
 So the lad did this. 
 
 And thus they journeyed onward a long, long way. 
 
 " Dost thou see anything now ? " said the foal. 
 
 No," said Cinderlad. 
 
 So they journeyed onward a good bit further. 
 
 * Dost thou see anything now ? " asked the foal. 
 
 " Oh, no," said the lad. 
 
 When they had gone thus for a long, long way, the ft>al 
 again asked : 
 
 " Dost thou see anything now? " 
 
 " Yes, now I see something that is white," said Cinderlad. 
 u It looks like the trunk of a great thick birch tree." 
 
 " Yes, that is where we are to go in," said the foal. 
 
 When they got to the trunk, the eldest foal broke it do^m 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 351 
 
 a one side, and then they saw a door where the trunk had 
 been standing, and inside this there was a small room, and 
 in the room there was scarcely anything but a small fireplace 
 and a couple of benches, but behind the door hung a great 
 rusty sword and a small pitcher. 
 
 " Canst thou wield that sword ? " asked the foal. 
 
 Cinderlad tried, but could not do it; so he had to take a 
 draught from the pitcher, and then one more, and after 
 that still another, and then he was able to wield the sword 
 with perfect ease. 
 
 " Good," said the foal ; " and now thou must take the 
 sword away with thee, and with it shalt thou cut off the 
 heads of all seven of us on thy wedding-day, and then we 
 
 shall become princes again as we were before. For we ar 
 brothers of the princess whom thou art to have when thou 
 canst tell the king what we eat and drink, but there is a 
 mighty troll who has cast a spell over us. When thou hast 
 cut off our heads, thou must take the greatest care to lay 
 each head at the tail of the body to which it belonged be- 
 fore, and then the spell which the troll has cast upon us will 
 lose all its power." 
 
 Cinderlad promised to do this, and then they went on 
 further. 
 
352 THE KED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 When they had traveled a long, long way, the foal said: 
 
 "Dost thou see anything?" 
 
 "No," said Cinderlad. 
 
 So they went on a great distance further. 
 
 " And now," inquired the foal, " seest thou nothing 
 now ? " 
 
 " Alas ! no," said Cinderlad. 
 
 So they traveled onward again, for many and many a mile, 
 over hill and dale. 
 
 " Now, then," said the foal, " dost thou not see anything 
 now?" 
 
 " Yes," said Cinderlad ; " now I see something like a bluish 
 streak, far, far away." 
 
 " That is a river," said the foal, " and we have to cross it." 
 
 There was a long, handsome bridge over the river, and 
 when they had got to the other side of it they again traveled 
 on a long, long way, and then once more the foal inquired 
 if Cinderlad saw anything. Yes, this time he saw something 
 that looked black, far, far away, and was rather like a church 
 tower. 
 
 " Yes," said the foal, " we shall go into that." 
 
 When the foals got into the churchward they turned into 
 men again, and looked like the sons of a king, and their 
 clothes were so magnificent that they shone with splendor, 
 and they went into the church and received bread and wine 
 from the priest, who was standing before the altar, and Cin- 
 derlad went in too. But when the priest had laid his hands 
 on the princes and read the blessing, they went out of the 
 church again, and Cinderlad went out too, but he took with 
 him a flask of wine and some consecrated bread. No sooner 
 had the seven princes come out into the churchyard than 
 they became foals again, and Cinderlad got upon the back of 
 the youngest, and they returned by the way they had come, 
 only they went much, much faster. 
 
 First they went over the bridge, and then past the trunk of 
 the birch tree, and then past the old hag who sat in the 
 cleft of the rock spinning, and they went by so fast that 
 Cinderlad could not hear what the old hag screeched after 
 him, but just heard enough to understand that she was terri- 
 bly enraged. 
 
 It was all but dark when they got back to the king at night- 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 353 
 
 fall, and he himself was standing in the court-yard waiting 
 for them. 
 
 " Hast thou watched well and faithfully the whole day ? " 
 said the king to Cinderlad. 
 
 " I have done my best," replied Cinderlad. 
 
 " Then thou canst tell me what my seven foals eat and 
 drink ? " asked the king. 
 
 So Cinderlad pulled out the consecrated bread and the 
 flask of wine, and showed them to the king. " Here may you 
 behold their meat, and here their drink," said he. 
 
 "Yes, diligently and faithfully hast thou watched," said 
 the king, "thou shalt have the princess and half the king- 
 dom." 
 
 So all was made ready for the wedding, and the king said 
 that it was to be so stately and magnificent that everyone 
 should hear of it, and everyone inquire about it. 
 
 But when they sat down to the marriage-feast, the bride- 
 groom arose and went down to the stable, for he said that he 
 had forgotten something which he must go and look to. 
 When he got there he did what the foals had bidden him, 
 and cut off the heads of all the seven. First the eldest, and 
 then the second, and so on according to their age, and he was 
 extremely careful to lay each head at the tail of the foal to 
 which it had belonged, and when that was done, all the foals 
 became princes again. When he returned to the marriage- 
 feast with the seven princes, the king was so joyful that he 
 both kissed Cinderlad and clapped him on the back, and his 
 bride was still more delighted with him than she had been 
 before. 
 
 " Half my kingdom is thine already," said the king, " and 
 the other half shall be thine after my death, for my sons 
 can get countries and kingdoms for themselves now that 
 they have become princes again." 
 
 Therefore, as all may well believe, there were joy and mer- 
 riment at that wedding. 
 
354 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 THE MARVELOUS MUSICIAN * 
 
 There was once upon a time a marvelous musician. One 
 day he was wandering through a wood all by himself, think- 
 ing now of one thing, now of another, till there was nothing 
 else left to think about. Then he said to himself: 
 
 " Time hangs very heavily on my hands when I'm all 
 alone in the wood. I must try and find a pleasant com- 
 panion." 
 
 So he took his fiddle out, and fiddled till he woke the echoes 
 round. After a time a wolf came through the thicket and 
 trotted up to the musician. 
 
 " Oh ! it's a wolf, is it ? " said he. " I've not the smallest 
 wish for his society." 
 
 But the wolf approached him and said : 
 
 " Oh, my dear musician, how beautifully you play ! I 
 wish you'd teach me how it's done." 
 
 " That's easily learned," answered the fiddler ; " you must 
 only do exactly as I tell you." 
 
 " Of course I will," replied the wolf. " I can promise 
 that you will find me a most apt pupil." 
 
 So they joined company and went on their way together, 
 and after a time they came to an old oak tree, which was 
 hollow and had a crack in the middle of the trunk. 
 
 " Now," said the musician, " if you want to learn to fiddle, 
 here's your chance. Lay your front paws in this crack." 
 
 The wolf did as he was told, and the musician quickly 
 seized a stone, and wedged both his fore paws so firmly into 
 the crack that he was held there, a fast prisoner. 
 
 "Wait there till I return," said the fiddler, and he went 
 on his way. 
 
 After a time he said to himself again : 
 
 " Time hangs very heavily on my hands when I'm all alone 
 in the wood ; I must try and find a companion." 
 
 So he drew out his fiddle, and fiddled away lustily. Pres- 
 ently a fox slunk through the trees. 
 / "Aha! what have we here?" said the musician. "A fox; 
 
 well, I haven't the smallest desire for his company." 
 
 The fox came straight up to him and said: 
 * Grimm. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 355 
 
 "My dear friend, how beautifully you play the fiddle; I >^ 
 would like to learn how you do it." 
 
 "Nothing easier," said the musician, "if you'll promise 
 to do exactly as I tell you." 
 
 " Certainly," said the fox, " you have only to say the word." 
 
 " Well, then, follow me," replied the fiddler. 
 
 When they had gone a bit of the way, they came to a path 
 with high trees on each side. Here the musician halted, 
 bent a stout hazel bough down to the ground from one side 
 of the path, and put his foot on the end of it to keep it down. 
 Then he bent a branch down from the other side and said : 
 
 " Give me your left front paw, my little fox, if you really 
 wish to learn how it's done." 
 
 The fox did as he was told, and the musician tied his 
 front paw to the end of one of the branches. 
 
 " Now, my friend," he said, " give me your right paw." 
 
 This he bound to the other branch, and having carefully 
 seen that his knots were all secure, he stepped off the ends of 
 the branches, and they sprang back, leaving the poor fox 
 suspended in mid-air. 
 
 " Just you wait where you are till I return," said the 
 musician, and he went on his way again. 
 
 Once more he said to himself: 
 
 " Time hangs heavily on my hands when I'm all alone 
 in the wood ; I must try and find another companion." 
 
 So he took out his fiddle and played as merrily as before. 
 This time a little hare came running up at the sound. 
 
 " Oh ! here comes a hare," said the musician ; " I've not 
 the smallest desire for his company." 
 
 "How beautifully you play, dear Mr. Fiddler," said the 
 little hare. " I wish I could learn how you do it." 
 
 " It's easily learned," answered the musician ; " just do ex- 
 actly as I tell you." 
 
 " That I will," said the hare. " You will find me a most at- s 
 tentive pupil." 
 
 They went on a bit together, till they came to a thin part 
 of the wood, where they found an aspen tree growing. The 
 musician bound a long cord round the little hare's neck, 
 the other end of which he fastened to the tree. 
 
 "Now, my merry little friend," said the musician, "run 
 twenty times round the tree." 
 
356 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 The little hare obeyed, and when it had run twenty times 
 round the tree, the cord had twisted itself twenty times round 
 the trunk, so that the poor little beast was held a fast pris- 
 oner, and it might bite and tear as much as it liked, it 
 couldn't free itself, and the cord only cut its tender neck. 
 
 " Wait there till I return," said the musician, and went on 
 his way. 
 
 In the meantime the wolf had pulled and bitten and 
 scratched at the stone, till at last he succeeded in getting 
 his paws out. Full of anger, he hurried after the musician, 
 determined when he met him to tear him to pieces. When 
 the fox saw him running by, he called out as loud as he could : 
 
 " Brother Wolf, come to my rescue ; the musician has de- 
 ceived me, too." 
 
 The wolf pulled the branches down, bit the cord in two, 
 and set the fox free. So they went on their way together, 
 both vowing vengeance on the musician. They found the 
 poor imprisoned little hare, and having set him free also, 
 they all set out to look for their enemy. 
 
 During this time the musician had once more played his 
 iddle, and had been more fortunate in the result. The 
 sounds pierced to the ears of a poor woodman, who instantly 
 left his work, and with his hatchet under his arm cnme to 
 listen to the music. 
 
 "At last I've got a proper sort of companion," said the 
 musician, "for it was a human being I wanted all along, 
 and not a wild animal." 
 
 And he began playing so enchantingly that the poor man 
 stood there as if bewitched, and his heart leaped for joy as 
 he listened. 
 
 And as he stood thus, the wolf and fox and little hare 
 came up, and the woodman saw at once that they meant mis- 
 chief. He lifted his glittering ax and placed himself in 
 front of the musician, as much as to say : " If you touch a 
 hair of his head, beware, for you will have to answer for it 
 to me." 
 
 Then the beasts were frightened, and they all three ran 
 back into the wood, and the musician played the woodman 
 one of his best tunes, by way of thanks, and then continued 
 his way. 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 357 
 
 THE STOKY OF SIGUKD* 
 
 [This is a very old story: the Danes who used to fight with the English 
 is King Alfred's time knew this story. They have carved on the rocks 
 pictures of some of the things that happen in the tale, and those carvings 
 may still be seen. Because it is so old and so beautiful the story is told 
 here again, but it has a sad ending indeed it is all sad, and all about 
 fighting and killing, as might be expected from the Danes.] 
 
 Once upon a time there was a king in the north who had 
 won many wars, but now he was old. Yet he took a new 
 wife, and then another prince, who wanted to have married 
 her, came up against him with a great army. The old king 
 went out and fought bravely, but at last his sword broke, 
 and he was wounded and his men fled. But in the night, 
 when the battle was over, his young wife came out and 
 searched for him among the slain, and at last she found him, 
 and asked whether he might be healed. But he said " No," 
 his luck was gone, his sword was broken, and he must die. 
 And he told her that she would have a son, and that son 
 would be a great warrior, and would avenge him on the 
 other king, his enemy. And he bade her keep the broken 
 pieces of the sword, to make a new sword for his son, and 
 that blade should be called Gram. 
 
 Then he died. And his wife called her maid to her and 
 said : " Let us change clothes, and you shall be called by my 
 name, and I by yours, lest the enemy find us." 
 
 So this was done, and they hid in a wood, but there some 
 strangers met them and carried them off in a ship to Den- 
 mark. And when they were brought before the king, he 
 thought the maid looked like a queen and the queen like a 
 maid. So he asked the queen: "How do you know in 
 the dark of night whether the hours of night are wearing 
 to the morning?" 
 
 And she said: 
 
 " I know because, when I was younger, I used to have to 
 rise and light the fires, and still I waken at the same time." 
 
 "A strange queen to light the fires," thought the king. 
 
 Then he asked the queen, who was dressed like a maid: 
 * How do you know in the dark of night whether the hours 
 are wearing near the dawn ? " 
 
 The Volsunga Saga. 
 
358 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 " My father gave me a gold ring," said she, " and always, 
 ere the dawning, it grows cold on my finger." 
 
 " A rich house where the maids wore gold," said the king. 
 " Truly you are no maid, but a king's daughter." 
 
 So he treated her royally, and as time went on she had a 
 son called Sigurd, a beautiful boy and very strong. He had 
 a tutor to be with him, and once the tutor bade him go to 
 the king and ask for a horse. 
 
 " Choose a horse for yourself," said the king; and Sigurd 
 went to the wood, and there he met an old man with a white 
 beard, and said : " Come ! help me in horse-choosing." 
 
 Then the old man said : " Drive all the horses into the 
 river, and choose the one that swims across." 
 
 So Sigurd drove them, and only one swam across. Sigurd 
 chose him; his name was Grani, and he came of Sleipnir's 
 breed, and was the best horse in the world. For Sleipnir was 
 the horse of Odin, the God of the North, and was as swift as 
 the wind. 
 
 But a day or two later his tutor said to Sigurd : " There 
 is a great treasure of gold hidden not far from here, and 
 it would become you to win it." 
 
 But Sigurd answered : " I have heard stories of that 
 treasure, and I know that the dragon Fafnir guards it, and 
 he is so huge and wicked that no man dares to go near 
 him." 
 
 "He is no bigger than other dragons," said the tutor, 
 " and if you were as brave as your father you would not 
 fear him." 
 
 " I am no coward," says Sigurd ; " why do you want me to 
 fight the dragon ? " 
 
 Then his tutor, whose name was Regin, told him that all 
 this great hoard of gold had once belonged to his own 
 father. And his father had three sons the first was Fafnir, 
 the dragon; the next was Otter, who could put on the shape 
 of an otter when he liked ; and the next was himself, Regin, 
 and he was a great smith and maker of swords. 
 
 Now there was at that time a dwarf called Andvari, who 
 lived in a pool beneath a waterfall, and there he had hidden 
 a great hoard of gold. And one day Otter had been fishing 
 there, and had killed a salmon and eaten it, and was sleep- 
 ing, like an otter, on a stone. Then someone came by and 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 359 
 
 threw a stone at the otter and killed it, and flayed off the 
 skin, and took it to the house of Otter's father. Then he 
 knew his son was dead, and to punish the person who had 
 killed him he said he must have the otter's skin filled with 
 gold, and covered all over with red gold, or it should go worse 
 with him. Then the person who had killed Otter went down 
 and caught the dwarf who owned all the treasure and took it 
 from him. 
 
 Only one ring was left, which the dwarf wore, and even 
 that was taken from him. 
 
 Then the poor dwarf was very angry, and he prayed that 
 
 the gold might never bring any but bad luck to all the men 
 *yho might own it, forever. 
 
 Then the otter skin was filled with gold and covered with 
 gold, all but one hair, and that was covered with the poor 
 dwarf's last ring. 
 
 But it brought good luck to nobody. First Fafnir, the 
 dragon, killed his own father, and then he went and wal- 
 
360 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 lowed on the gold, and would let his brother have none, and 
 no man dared go near it. 
 
 When Sigurd heard the story he said to Regin : 
 
 " Make me a good sword that I may kill this dragon." 
 
 So Regin made a sword, and Sigurd tried it with a blow 
 on a lump of iron, and the sword broke. 
 
 Another sword he made, and Sigurd broke that too. 
 
 Then Sigurd went to his mother, and asked for the broken 
 pieces of his father's blade, and gave them to Regin. And 
 he hammered and wrought them into a new sword, so sharp 
 that fire seemed to burn along its edges. 
 
 Sigurd tried this blade on the lump of iron, and it did not 
 break, but split the iron in two. Then he threw a lock of 
 wool into the river, and when it floated down against the 
 sword it was cut into two pieces. So Sigurd said that sword 
 would do. But before he went against the dragon he led an 
 army to fight the men who had killed his father, and he slew 
 their king, and took all his wealth, and went home. 
 
 When he had been at home a few days, he rode out with 
 Regin one morning to the heath where the dragon used to 
 lie. Then he saw the track which the dragon made when he 
 went to a cliff to drink, and the track was as if a great river 
 had rolled along and left a deep valley. 
 
 Then Sigurd went down into that deep place, and dug 
 many pits in it, and in one of the pits he lay hidden with his 
 sword drawn. There he waited, and presently the earth be- 
 gan to shake with the weight of the dragon as he crawled 
 to the water. And a cloud of venom flew before him as he 
 snorted and roared, so that it would have been death to stand 
 before him. 
 
 But Sigurd waited till half of him had crawled over the 
 pit, and then he thrust the sword Gram right into his very 
 heart. 
 
 Then the dragon lashed with his tail till stones broke and 
 trees crashed about him. 
 
 Then he spoke, as he died, and said : 
 
 "Whoever thou art that has slain me, this gold shall be 
 thy ruin, and the ruin of all who own it." 
 
 Sigurd said: 
 
 "I would touch none of it if by losing it I should never 
 die. But all men die, and no brave man lets death frighten 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 361 
 
 him from his desire. Die thou, Fafnir," and then Fafnir 
 died. 
 
 And after that Sigurd was called Fafnir's Bane, and 
 Dragon-slayer. 
 
 Then Sigurd rode back, and met Regin, and Regin asked 
 him to roast Fafnir's heart and let him taste of it. 
 
 So Sigurd put the heart of Fafnir on a stake, and roasted 
 it. But it chanced that he touched it with his finger, and 
 
 it burned him. Then he put his finger in his mouth, and so 
 tasted the heart of Fafnir. 
 
 Then immediately he understood the language of birds, 
 and he heard the woodpeckers say: 
 
 " There is Sigurd roasting Fafnir's heart for another, 
 vhen he should taste of it himself and learn all wisdom." 
 
 The next bird said: 
 
 " There lies Regin, ready to betray Sigurd, who trusts 
 him." 
 
 The third bird said: 
 
 "Let him cut off Regin's head, and keep all the gold to 
 himself." 
 
 The fourth bird said : 
 
362 THE BED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 " That let him do, and then ride over Hindf ell, to the 
 place where Brynhild sleeps." 
 
 When Sigurd heard all this, and how Regin was plotting 
 to betray him, he cut off Regin's head with one blow of the 
 sword Gram. 
 
 Then all the birds broke out singing : 
 
 u We know a fair maid, 
 A fair maiden sleeping; 
 Signrd, be not afraid; 
 Sigurd, win thou the maid 
 Fortune is keeping. 
 
 ' High over Hindfell 
 Red fire is flaming, 
 There doth the maiden dwell, 
 She that should love thee well, 
 Meet for thy taming. 
 
 11 There must she sleep till thou 
 Comest for her waking, 
 Bise up and ride, for now 
 Sure she will swear the vow 
 Fearless of breaking." 
 
 Then Sigurd remembered how the story went that some- 
 where, far away, there was a beautiful lady enchanted. 
 She was under a spell, so that she must always sleep in a 
 castle surrounded by flaming fire; there she must sleep for- 
 ever till there came a knight who would ride through the 
 fire and waken her. There he determined to go, but first he 
 rode right down the horrible trail of Fafnir. And Fafnir 
 had lived in a cave with iron doors, a cave dug deep down 
 in the earth, and full of gold bracelets, and crowns, and 
 rings; and there, too, Sigurd found the helm of dread, a 
 golden helmet, and whoever wears it is invisible. All these 
 he piled on the back of the good horse Grani, and then he 
 rode south to Hindfell. 
 
 Now it was night, and 01 the crest of the hill Sigurd saw 
 a red fire blazing up into the sky, and within the flame a 
 castle, and a banner on the topmost tower. Then he set 
 the horse Grani at the fire, and he leaped through it lightly, 
 as if it had been through the heather. So Sigurd went 
 within the castle door, and there he saw someone sleeping, 
 clad all in armor. Then he took the helmet off the head of 
 
THE EED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 363 
 
 the sleeper, and behold, she was a most beautiful lady. And 
 she wakened and said: "Ah! is it Sigurd, Sigmund's son, 
 who has broken the curse, and comes here to waken me at 
 last?" 
 
 This curse came upon her when the thorn of the tree of 
 sleep ran into her hand long ago as a punishment because 
 she had displeased Odin the god. Long ago, too, she had 
 
 rowed never to marry a man who knew fear, and dared not 
 ride through the fence of flaming fire. For she was a war- 
 rior maid herself, and went armed into the battle like a man. 
 But now she and Sigurd loved each other and promised to 
 be true to each other, and he gave her a ring, and it was the 
 last ring taken from the dwarf Andvari. Then Sigurd rode 
 away, and he came to the house of a king who had a fair 
 daughter. Her name was Gudrun, and her mother was a 
 witch. Now Gudrun fell ia love with Sigurd, but he was 
 
364 
 
 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 always talking of Brynhild, how beautiful she was and how 
 dear. So one day Gudrun's witch mother put poppy and 
 forgetful drugs in a magical cup, and bade Sigurd drink to 
 her health, and he drank, and instantly he forgot poor Bryn- 
 
 hild and he loved Gudrun, and they were married with great 
 rejoicings. 
 
 Now the witch, the mother of Gudrun, wanted her son 
 Gunnar to marry Brynhild, and she bade him ride out with 
 Sigurd and go and woo her. So forth they rode to her 
 father's house, for Brynhild had quite gone out of Sigurd's 
 mind by reason of the witch's wine, but she remembered 
 him and loved him still. Then Brynhild's father told Gun- 
 nar that she would marry none but him who could ride the 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 365 
 
 in front of her enchanted tower, and thither they rode, 
 and Gunnar set his horse at the flame, but he would not face 
 it. Then Gunnar tried Sigurd's horse Grani, but he would 
 not move with Gunnar on his back. Then Gunnar remem- 
 bered witchcraft that his mother had taught him, and "by 
 his magic he made Sigurd look exactly like himself, and he 
 looked exactly like Gunnar. Then Sigurd, in the shape of 
 Gunnar and in his mail, mounted on Grani, and Grani 
 leaped the fence of fire, and Sigurd went in and found 
 Brynhild, but he did not remember her yet, because of the 
 forgetful medicine in the cup of the witch's wine. 
 
 Now Brynhild had no help but to promise she would be 
 his wife, the wife of Gunnar as she supposed, for Sigurd 
 wore Gunnar's shape and she had sworn to wed whoever 
 should ride the flames. And he gave her a ring, and she 
 gave him back the ring he had given her before in his own 
 shape as Sigurd, and it was the last ring of that poor dwarf 
 Andvari. Then he rode out again, and he and Gunnar 
 changed shapes, and each was himself again, and they went 
 home to the witch queen's, and Sigurd gave the dwarf's ring 
 to his wife, Gudrun. And Brynhild went to her father, and 
 said that a king had come called Gunnar, and had ridden 
 the fire, and she must marry him. "Yet I thought," she 
 said, "that no man could have done this deed but Sigurd, 
 Fafnir's bane, who was my true love. But he has forgotten 
 me, and my promise I must keep." 
 
 So Gunnar and Brynhild were married, though it was not 
 Gunnar, but Sigurd in Gunnar's shape, that had ridden the 
 fire. 
 
 And when the wedding was over and all the feast, then 
 the magic of the witch's wine went out of Sigurd's brain, 
 and he remembered all. He remembered how he had freed 
 Brynhild from the spell, and how she was his own true love, 
 and how he had forgotten and had married another woman, 
 and won Brynhild to be the wife of another man. 
 
 But he was brave, and he spoke not a word of it to the 
 others to make them unhappy. Still he could not keep away 
 the curse which was to come on everyone who owned the 
 treasure of the dwarf Andvari, and his fatal golden ring. 
 
 And the curse soon came upon all of them. For one day, 
 Crhcn Brynhild and Gudrun were bathing, Brynhild waded 
 
366 
 
 THE RED FAIRY BOOK. 
 
 furthest out into the river, and said she did that to show she 
 was Gudrun's superior. For her husband, she said, had rid- 
 den through the flame when no other man dared face it. 
 
 Then Gudrun was very angry, and said that it was Sigurd, 
 not Gunnar, who had ridden the flame, and had received 
 from Brynhild that fatal ring, the ring of the dwarf 
 Andvari. 
 
 Then Brynhild saw the ring which Sigurd had given to 
 Gudrun, and she knew it and knew all, and she turned as 
 pale as a dead woman, and went home. All that evening she 
 
 never spoke. Next day she told Gunnar, her husband, that 
 he was a coward and a liar, for he had never ridden the 
 flame, but had sent Sigurd to do it for him, and pretended 
 that he had done it himself. And she said he would never 
 see her glad in his hall, never drinking wine, never playing 
 chess, never embroidering with the golden thread, never 
 speaking words of kindness. Then she rent all her needle- 
 work asundr and wept aloud, so that everyone in the house 
 heard her. For her heart was broken, and her pride wag 
 
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. * 
 
 broken in the same hour. She had lost her true love, Sigurd, 
 the slayer of Fafnir, and she was married to a man who was 
 a liar. 
 
 Then Sigurd came and tried to comfort her, but she would 
 not listen, and said she wished the sword stood fast in his 
 heart. 
 
 " Not long to wait," he said, " till the bitter sword stands 
 fast in my heart, and thou wilt not live long when I am 
 dead. But, dear Brynhild, live and be comforted, and love 
 Gunnar thy husband, and I will give thee all the gold, the 
 treasure of the dragon Fafnir." 
 
 Brynhild said: 
 
 " It is too late." 
 
 Then Sigurd was so grieved and his heart so swelled in 
 his breast that it burst the steel rings of his shirt of mail. 
 
 Sigurd went out and Brynhild determined to slay him. 
 She mixed serpent's venom and wolf's flesh, and gave them 
 in one dish to her husband's younger brother, and when he 
 had tasted them he was mad, and he went into Sigurd's 
 chamber while he slept and pinned him to the bed with a 
 sword. But Sigurd woke, and caught the sword Gram in 
 his hand, and threw it at the man as he fled, and the sword 
 cut him in twain. Thus died Sigurd, Fafnir's bane, whom 
 no ten men could have slain in fair fight. Then Gudrun 
 wakened and saw him dead, and she moaned aloud, and 
 Brynhild heard her and laughed; but the kind horse Grani 
 lay down and died of very grief. And then Brynhild fell 
 a-weeping till her heart broke. So they attired Sigurd in 
 all his golden armor, and built a great pile of wood on board 
 his ship, and at night laid on it the dead Sigurd and the 
 dead Brynhild, and the good horse Grani, and set fire to it, 
 and launched the ship. And the wind bore it blazing out to 
 sea, flaming into the dark. So there were Sigurd and Bryn- 
 hild burned together, and the curse of the dwarf Andvari 
 was fulfilled. 
 
THE CHILDREN'S 
 
 CRIMSON SERIES 
 
 May be had wherever books are sold. Ask for Grosset & Danlap's list 
 
 The Editors; and What the Children's 
 Crimson Series Offers Your Child 
 
 IN THE first place, "The Children's Crimson Series" is designed 
 to please and interest every child, by reason of the sheer fascina- 
 tion of the stories and poems contained therein. 
 
 To accomplish such an end, a vast amount of patient labor, a rare 
 judgment, a life-long study of children, and a genuine love for all 
 that is best in literature, are essential factors of success. 
 
 Kate Douglas Wiggin (Mrs. Riggs) and Nora Archibald Smith 
 possess these qualities and this experience. Their efforts, as pioneers 
 of kindergarten work, the love and admiration in which their works 
 are held by all young people, prove them to be in full sympathy with 
 this unique piece of work. 
 
 Let all parents, who wish their little ones to have their minds and 
 tastes developed along the right paths, remember that once a child is 
 interested and amused, the rest is comparatively easy. Stories and 
 poems so admirably selected, cannot then but sow the seeds of a real 
 literary culture, which must be encouraged in childhood if it is ever 
 to exercise a real influence in life. 
 
 Edited by Kate Douglas Wiggin and Nora Archibald Smith 
 
 THE FAIRY RING: Fairy Tales for Children 4 to 8 
 MAGIC CASEMENTS: Fairy Tales for Children 6 to 12 
 TALES OF LAUGHTER: Fairy Tales for Growing Boys and Girls 
 TALES OF WONDER: Fairy Tales that Make One I Fonder 
 PINAFORE PALACE: Rhymes and Jingles for Tiny Tots 
 THE POSY RING: Verses and Poems that Children Love and Learn 
 GOLDEN NUMBERS: Verses and Poem> for Ch Idren and Grown-ups 
 THE TALKING BEASTS: Birds and Beasts in Fable 
 
 Edited by Asa Don Dickinson 
 CHRISTMAS STORIES: "Read Us a Story About Christmas" 
 
 Edited by Mary E. Burt and W. T. CnArm 
 STORIES AND POEMS FROM KIPLING: "How the Camel Got His Hump,* 
 
 and other Stories. 
 
 Grosset & Dunlap, Publishers, New York 
 
THE EVERY CHILD 
 SHOULD KNOW SERIES 
 
 May be had wherever books are sold. Ask for Grosset & Dunlap's list 
 
 BIRDS EVERY CHILD SHOULD KNOW 
 
 By Neltje Blanchan. Illustrated 
 
 EARTH AND SKY EVERY CHILD SHOULD KNOW 
 
 By Julia Ellen Rogers. Illustrated 
 
 ESSAYS EVERY CHILD SHOULD KNOW 
 
 Edited by Hamilton W. Mabie 
 
 FAIRY TALES EVERY CHILD SHOULD KNOW 
 
 Edited by Hamilton W. Mabie 
 
 FAMOUS STORIES EVERY CHILD SHOULD KNOW 
 
 Edited by Hamilton W. Mabis 
 
 FOLK TALES EVERY CHILD SHOULD KNOW 
 
 Edited by Hamilton W. Mabie 
 
 HEROES EVERY CHILD SHOULD KNOW 
 
 Edited by Hamilton W. Mabie 
 
 HEROINES EVERY CHILD SHOULD KNOW 
 
 Coedited by Hamilton W. Mabw ind Kate Stephss* 
 
 HYMNS EVERY CHILD SHOULD KNOW 
 
 Edited by Dolores Bacon 
 
 LEGENDS EVERY CHILD SHOULD KNOW 
 
 Edited by Hamilton W. Mabib 
 
 MYTHS EVERY CHILD SHOULD KNOW 
 
 Edited by Hamilton W. Mabib 
 
 OPERAS EVERY CHILD SHOULD KNOW 
 
 By Dolores Bacon. Illustrated 
 
 PICTURES EVERY CHILD SHOULD KNOW ) 
 
 By Dolores Bacon. Illustrated 
 
 POEMS EVERY CHILD SHOULD KNOW 
 
 Edited by Mary E. Burt 
 
 PROSE EVERY CHILD SHOULD KNOW 
 
 Edited by Mary E. Burt 
 
 SONGS EVERY CHILD SHOULD KNOW 
 
 Edited by Dolores Bacon 
 
 TREES EVERY CHILD SHOULD KNOW 
 
 By Julia Ellen Rogers. Illustrated 
 
 WATER WONDERS EVERY CHILD SHOULD KNOW" 
 
 By Jean M. Thompson. Illustrated 
 
 WILD ANIMALS EVERY CHILD SHOULD KNOW 
 
 By Julia Ellen Rogers. Illustrated 
 
 WILD FLOWERS EVERY CHILD SHOULD KNOW 
 
 By Frederic William Stajk. Illustrated 
 
 = r x 
 
 Grosset & Dunlap, Publishers, New Yor* 
 
0" 
 
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