The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm (54 page)

18

THE FAITHFUL ANIMALS

Once upon a time there was a man who didn't have much money, and he went out into the wide world with the little money that he had left. He arrived at a village, where some young boys had gathered together and were making noise and yelling.

“What's going on?” the man asked.

“Oh, we've got a mouse,” they answered, “and we're making it dance for us. Just look at the funny way the mouse toddles!”

But the man felt sorry for the poor little animal, and he said, “Let the mouse go, boys, and I'll give you some money if you do.”

So he gave them money, and they let the mouse go. The poor animal ran into a hole as fast as it could. The man went off and came to another village. There some boys had a monkey, who was being forced to dance and do somersaults. The boys were laughing at the monkey and wouldn't leave it in peace. Once again the man gave them money to let the monkey go. Afterward the man came to a third village, where some boys had a bear on a chain. The bear had to stand on its hind legs and dance, and when it growled, the boys laughed at it even more. The man bought the bear's freedom as well, and the bear was happy to run on his four feet again and dashed off.

Now the man had given away the last of his money and didn't have a red cent left in his pocket. So he said to himself, “The king has a great deal of money in his treasure chamber, and he doesn't need it all. You can't let yourself die of hunger. You might as well go and take some, and if you make money later, you can replace what you take.”

Well, he managed to get into the treasure chamber and take some money. However, as he was creeping out, he was caught by the king's men. They accused him of being a thief and took him to the court. Since he had committed a crime, he was sentenced to be put into a box, and the box was cast off into water. The lid of the box was full of holes so that air could get inside. In addition, he had been given a jug of water and a loaf of bread. As he was floating on the water in a state of fright, he heard some fumbling with the lock and then some gnawing and puffing. All of a sudden, the lock sprang open, the lid popped up, and there stood the mouse, the monkey, and the bear, who had opened the box. Since he had helped them, they wanted to repay him. However, they didn't know what step to take next and began discussing the matter with one another. While they were doing this, a white stone that looked like a round egg came rolling into the water.

“It's come just at the right moment,” said the bear. “That's a magic stone. Whoever possesses it can wish for whatever he desires.”

The man fetched the stone from the water, and when he held it in his hand, he wished for a castle with a garden and stables. No sooner had he uttered the wish than he sat in a castle with a garden and stables. Everything was so beautiful and splendid that he couldn't get over his amazement. After some time passed, several merchants came his way.

“Just look!” they exclaimed. “What a glorious castle! The last time we came by here, there was nothing but mere sand.”

Since they were curious, they went inside and asked the man how he had managed to build everything so swiftly.

“It wasn't I who did it,” he said. “It was my magic stone.”

“What kind of a stone is it?” they asked.

The man went to fetch it and showed it to the merchants. They wanted very much to buy it and asked him to sell it in exchange for all their beautiful wares. The man took a fancy to the wares, and since the heart can be fickle and yearn for new things, he let himself be fooled and thought the beautiful wares were more valuable than his magic stone. So he gave it away, and no sooner did it leave his hands than his good fortune disappeared, and he sat once more in the locked box on the river with nothing but a jug of water and a loaf of bread. When the faithful animals—the mouse, the monkey, and the bear—saw his misfortune, they came again and wanted to help him, but this time they couldn't get the lock open because it was much stronger than the first one.

“We've got to get the magic stone back,” said the bear, “or else everything we try will be useless.”

Since the merchants were still living in the castle, the animals went there together. As they were approaching it, the bear said, “Mouse, go through the keyhole and tell us what to do. You're small, and nobody will notice you.”

The mouse agreed but came back and said, “There's nothing we can do. I looked inside, but the stone is hanging on a red ribbon under the mirror, and all around it are cats with fiery eyes. They're stationed there to guard it.”

Then the bear and monkey said, “Go back inside and wait until their master is lying asleep in his bed. Then slip through the hole, crawl on top of his bed, pinch his nose, and bite off some of his hair.”

The mouse crawled back inside and did what the others told him to do. The master woke up and rubbed his nose in great annoyance.

“The cats are useless!” he said. “The mice go right by them and bite the hair off my head.”

So he chased the cats away, and the mouse won the day. When the master went to sleep the following night, the mouse crept inside, and she nibbled and gnawed on the red ribbon on which the stone was hanging until the ribbon split in two and the stone fell to the ground. Then the mouse dragged it to the house door. However, this was hard work for the mouse, and she said to the monkey, who was keeping a lookout, “Pull it out with your paw.”

This was easy for the monkey, and after he took the stone in his hand, they all returned to the river.

“How are we going to get to the box?” the monkey asked.

“We'll deal with that soon enough,” said the bear. “I'll get into the water and swim. Monkey, you get on my back. Hold on to me tightly and put the stone in your mouth. Mouse, you can sit in my right ear.”

So they did what he said and swam down the river. After they had gone some distance, the bear felt that it was too quiet and wanted to talk.

“Listen, monkey,” he said. “I think we're good comrades. What do you think?”

However, the monkey kept quiet and didn't reply.

“Is that the way to behave?” said the bear. “Won't you give your comrade an answer? You're some lousy fellow if you don't!”

Now the monkey could no longer keep silent. He let the stone fall into the water and cried out, “You stupid fellow! How could I answer you with the stone in my mouth? Now it's lost, and you're to blame.”

“Let's not quarrel,” said the bear. “We'll think of something.”

They discussed the situation and then called together the frogs, the toads, and all the animals that lived in the water and said, “A powerful enemy intends to attack you. Go and collect all the stones you can find, and we'll build a wall to protect you.”

The animals were frightened and brought stones from all over the place. Finally, a fat, old croaker of a frog emerged from the bottom carrying the magic stone with the red ribbon in his mouth. Now the bear was happy. He relieved the frog of his burden, told the animals that everything was all right, and sent them home with a quick farewell. Then the three swam down the river to the man in the box, opened the lid with the help of the stone, and arrived just at the right moment, for the man had consumed the bread and had drunk the water and was already half dead. As soon as he held the magic stone in his hands once again, he wished to regain his good health and to be transported to his beautiful castle with the garden and stables. Then he lived there in happiness, and the three animals stayed with him and had a good life for the rest of their years.

19

TALES ABOUT TOADS

I

A child sat on the ground in front of the house door and had a little bowl with milk and bread nearby and ate. A toad came crawling and dipped its little head into the bowl and ate with the boy. The next day it came again and did this every day for some time. The child took delight in this, and when he saw, however, that the toad would only drink the milk and leave the bread lying there, the child took his little spoon, hit the toad a little on its head, and said: “You thing you, eat the bread too.”

In the meantime the boy had become handsome and big, and his mother stood right behind him and saw the toad. Then she ran over to them and beat the toad to death. From that time on the child became emaciated and finally died.

II

A little orphan girl was sitting on the city wall and spinning when she saw a toad come toward her. So she spread out a blue silk neckerchief next
to her that toads like to walk on very much. As soon as the toad caught sight of the kerchief, it turned back, but it soon returned carrying a tiny golden crown. It laid the crown on the kerchief and went away again. The girl picked up the crown in her hands. It glittered and was made out of delicately spun gold. The toad soon came back a second time, but when it didn't see the crown anymore, it crawled to the wall and began hitting its head against the wall out of grief. The toad continued doing this until its strength gave out, and it finally lay there dead. If the little girl had left the crown lying on the kerchief, the toad would probably have brought even more of its treasures out of the hole.

III

“
Hoo-hoo, hoo-hoo
,” called the toad.

“Come out,” said the child,

The toad came out, and the child asked about his little sister. “Have you seen Little Red Stocking by any chance?”

“No,” the toad said. “I haven't seen her either. How about you?
Hoo-hoo, hoo-hoo, hoo-hoo
.”

20

THE POOR MILLER'S APPRENTICE AND THE CAT

Once there were three young men who worked in a mill owned by an old miller who lived there without wife or children. After the men had worked for him for some years, he said to them: “Go out and see who can bring back the best horse. The winner will get my mill.”

Now, the third of the hired hands was just an apprentice, and the other two thought he was a simpleton and didn't deserve the mill. He, in fact, didn't even want it, but he set out with the other two workers, and when they came to a village, the two men said to simple Hans, “You might as well stop here. You'll never get a horse as long as you live.”

But Hans went on with them, and when night came, they arrived at a cave and lay down to sleep inside. The two clever ones waited until Hans fell asleep. Then they got up and made off, while Hans continued sleeping. They thought that they had made a smart move, but just wait, fortune is not about to shine on them!

When the sun rose and Hans woke up, he was lying in the deep cave; he looked all around and cried, “Oh, God, where am I?”

Then he got up and crawled out of the cave. He went into the forest and began thinking, “How shall I ever get a horse?” While he was walking along and pondering his situation, he met a little multicolored cat, and she spoke to him in a friendly way.

“Where are you going, Hans?”

“Oh, you can't help me.”

“I know quite well what you're looking for,” said the cat. “You want a fine horse. Come with me and be my faithful servant for seven years. After that I'll give you the finest-looking horse you'll ever see in your life.”

Then she took him with her to her enchanted castle, where he had to serve her. He chopped wood every day, and she gave him a silver axe, a silver wedge and saw, and a copper mallet for this chore. So he chopped firewood, stayed with the cat, and had plenty to eat and to drink. He saw nobody except the multicolored cat.

One day she said to him: “Go and mow my meadow and dry out the grass.”

She gave him a silver scythe and a golden whetstone and told him to return everything to her in proper condition when he was finished. Hans did as he was told, and when he was finished with the work, he brought in the hay and returned the scythe and whetstone. Then he asked whether he could have his payment.

“No,” said the cat. “First you must do one more thing for me. Here, now take this wood made of silver, an axe, a square, and everything you need, all in silver. I want you to build me a small cottage.”

So Hans built the cottage, and when it was finished, he pointed out that he had completed his task and still didn't have a horse. Indeed, even
though it felt like only six months, the seven years had passed. So the cat asked whether he would like to see her horses.

“Yes,” said Hans.

Then she went to her cottage and opened the door: twelve proud horses were standing there, and their coats were so sparkling bright and shiny that his heart jumped with joy. The cat gave Hans something to eat and drink and said, “It's time for you to go home, but I'm not going to give you your horse now. I'll bring it with me in three days' time.”

The cat showed Hans the way to the mill, and he set out. However, she hadn't given him any new clothes, so he had to keep wearing the old tattered overalls he had been wearing all these years, and they had become much too short all over for him. When he reached home, the two other hired men were there already. Of course, each of them had brought a horse with him, but one horse was blind, and the other lame.

“Hans,” they asked, “where's your horse?”

“I'm expecting it in three days.”

They laughed and said, “Where in the world could you ever get a horse? We can't wait to see your fine creature!”

Hans went into the miller's house, but the miller told him he was too ragged and disheveled to sit at the table. If anyone happened by, he would disgrace them. So they gave him a little food outside. When they went to sleep in the evening, the other two hired men refused to give him a bed. Finally, he had to crawl into the goose house, where he lay down on some hard straw. When he awoke the next morning, the three days were already up, and a coach drawn by six horses arrived at the mill. My, how the horses glistened in the sunlight! It was a beautiful sight, and a servant had brought a seventh horse, which was intended for the poor miller's apprentice. Then a gorgeous princess stepped out of the coach and went into the mill. This princess was none other than the little multicolored cat whom Hans had served for seven years. She asked the miller where the apprentice was.