are so kind and good, you may wish three things for yourselves and I
will grant them." Then the man said, "What else should I wish for but
eternal happiness, and that we two, as long as we live, may be healthy
and have every day our daily bread; for the third wish, I do not know
what to have." And the Lord said to him, "Will you wish for a new house
instead of this old one?" "Oh, yes," said the man; "if I can have that,
too, I should like it very much." And the Lord fulfilled his wish, and
changed their old house into a new one, again gave them his blessing,
and went on.

The sun was high when the rich man got up and leaned out of his window
and saw, on the opposite side of the way, a new clean-looking house with
red tiles and bright windows where the old hut used to be. He was very
much astonished, and called his wife and said to her, "Tell me, what
can have happened? Last night there was a miserable little hut standing
there, and to-day there is a beautiful new house. Run over and see how
that has come to pass."

So his wife went and asked the poor man, and he said to her, "Yesterday
evening a traveler came here and asked for a night's lodging, and this
morning when he took leave of us he granted us three wishes - -eternal
happiness, health during this life and our daily bread as well, and
besides this, a beautiful new house instead of our old hut."

When the rich man's wife heard this, she ran back in haste and told
her husband how it had happened. The man said, "I could tear myself to
pieces! If I had but known that! That traveler came to our house too,
and wanted to sleep here, and I sent him away." "Quick!" said his wife,
"get on your horse. You can still catch the man up, and then you must
ask to have three wishes granted to you."

The rich man followed the good counsel and galloped away on his horse,
and soon came up with the Lord. He spoke to him softly and pleasantly,
and begged him not to take it amiss that he had not let him in directly;
he was looking for the front-door key, and in the meantime the stranger
had gone away, if he returned the same way he must come and stay
with him. "Yes," said the Lord; "if I ever come back again, I will do
so." Then the rich man asked if might not wish for three things too,
as his neighbor had done? "Yes," said the Lord, he might, but it would
not be to his advantage, and he had better not wish for anything; but the
rich man thought that he could easily ask for something which would add
to his happiness, if he only knew that it would be granted. So the Lord
said to him, "Ride home, then, and three wishes which you shall form,
shall be fulfilled."

The rich man had now gained what he wanted, so he rode home, and began
to consider what he should wish for. As he was thus thinking he let
the bridle fall, and the horse began to caper about, so that he was
continually disturbed in his meditations, and could not collect his
thoughts at all. He patted its neck, and said, "Gently, Lisa," but the
horse only began new tricks. Then at last he was angry, and cried quite
impatiently, "I wish your neck was broken!" Directly he had said the
words, down the horse fell on the ground, and there it lay dead and never
moved again. And thus was his first wish fulfilled. As he was miserly
by nature, he did not like to leave the harness lying there; so he cut
it off, and put it on his back; and now he had to go on foot. "I have
still two wishes left," said he, and comforted himself with that thought.

And now as he was walking slowly through the sand, and the sun was burning
hot at noon-day, he grew quite hot-tempered and angry. The saddle hurt
his back, and he had not yet any idea what to wish for. "If I were to
wish for all the riches and treasures in the world," said he to himself,
"I should still to think of all kinds of other things later on, I know
that, beforehand. But I will manage so that there is nothing at all left
me to wish for afterwards." Then he sighed and said, "Ah, if I were but
that Bavarian peasant, who likewise had three wishes granted to him,
and knew quite well what to do, and in the first place wished for a great
deal of beer, and in the second for as much beer as he was able to drink,
and in the third for a barrel of beer into the bargain."

Many a time he thought he had found it, but then it seemed to him to be,
after all, too little. Then it came into his mind, what an easy life his
wife had, for she stayed at home in a cool room and enjoyed herself. This
really did vex him, and before he was aware, he said, "I just wish she
was sitting there on this saddle, and could not get off it, instead of
my having to drag it along on my back." And as the last word was spoken,
the saddle disappeared from his back, and he saw that his second wish
had been fulfilled. Then he really did feel warm. He began to run and
wanted to be quite alone in his own room at home, to think of something
really large for his last wish. But when he arrived there and opened the
parlour-door, he saw his wife sitting in the middle of the room on the
saddle, crying and complaining, and quite unable to get off it. So he
said, "Do bear it, and I will wish for all the riches on earth for thee,
only stay where thou art." She, however, called him a fool, and said,
"What good will all the riches on earth do me, if I am to sit on this
saddle? Thou hast wished me on it, so thou must help me off." So whether
he would or not, he was forced to let his third wish be that she should
be quit of the saddle, and able to get off it, and immediately the wish
was fulfilled. So he got nothing by it but vexation, trouble, abuse,
and the loss of his horse; but the poor people lived happily, quietly,
and piously until their happy death.


88 The Singing, Springing Lark

There was once on a time a man who was about to set out on a long journey,
and on parting he asked his three daughters what he should bring back with
him for them. Whereupon the eldest wished for pearls, the second wished
for diamonds, but the third said, "Dear father, I should like a singing,
soaring lark." The father said, "Yes, if I can get it, you shall have
it," kissed all three, and set out. Now when the time had come for him
to be on his way home again, he had brought pearls and diamonds for the
two eldest, but he had sought everywhere in vain for a singing, soaring
lark for the youngest, and he was very unhappy about it, for she was his
favorite child. Then his road lay through a forest, and in the midst of
it was a splendid castle, and near the castle stood a tree, but quite
on the top of the tree, he saw a singing, soaring lark. "Aha, you come
just at the right moment!" he said, quite delighted, and called to his
servant to climb up and catch the little creature. But as he approached
the tree, a lion leapt from beneath it, shook himself, and roared till the
leaves on the trees trembled. "He who tries to steal my singing, soaring
lark," he cried, "will I devour." Then the man said, "I did not know
that the bird belonged to thee. I will make amends for the wrong I have
done and ransom myself with a large sum of money, only spare my life."
The lion said, "Nothing can save thee, unless thou wilt promise to give
me for mine own what first meets thee on thy return home; and if thou
wilt do that, I will grant thee thy life, and thou shalt have the bird
for thy daughter, into the bargain." But the man hesitated and said,
"That might be my youngest daughter, she loves me best, and always runs to
meet me on my return home." The servant, however, was terrified and said,
"Why should your daughter be the very one to meet you, it might as easily
be a cat, or dog?" Then the man allowed himself to be over-persuaded,
took the singing, soaring lark, and promised to give the lion whatsoever
should first meet him on his return home.

When he reached home and entered his house, the first who met him was
no other than his youngest and dearest daughter, who came running up,
kissed and embraced him, and when she saw that he had brought with him
a singing, soaring lark, she was beside herself with joy. The father,
however, could not rejoice, but began to weep, and said, "My dearest
child, I have bought the little bird dear. In return for it, I have
been obliged to promise thee to a savage lion, and when he has thee he
will tear thee in pieces and devour thee," and he told her all, just as
it had happened, and begged her not to go there, come what might. But
she consoled him and said, "Dearest father, indeed your promise must be
fulfilled. I will go thither and soften the lion, so that I may return
to thee safely." Next morning she had the road pointed out to her, took
leave, and went fearlessly out into the forest. The lion, however, was
an enchanted prince and was by day a lion, and all his people were lions
with him, but in the night they resumed their natural human shapes. On
her arrival she was kindly received and led into the castle. When
night came, the lion turned into a handsome man, and their wedding
was celebrated with great magnificence. They lived happily together,
remained awake at night, and slept in the daytime. One day he came and
said, "To-morrow there is a feast in thy father's house, because your
eldest sister is to be married, and if thou art inclined to go there,
my lions shall conduct thee." She said, "Yes, I should very much like to
see my father again," and went thither, accompanied by the lions. There
was great joy when she arrived, for they had all believed that she had
been torn in pieces by the lion, and had long ceased to live. But she
told them what a handsome husband she had, and how well off she was,
remained with them while the wedding-feast lasted, and then went back
again to the forest. When the second daughter was about to be married,
and she was again invited to the wedding, she said to the lion, "This
time I will not be alone, thou must come with me." The lion, however,
said that it was too dangerous for him, for if when there a ray from
a burning candle fell on him, he would be changed into a dove, and for
seven years long would have to fly about with the doves. She said, "Ah,
but do come with me, I will take great care of thee, and guard thee from
all light." So they went away together, and took with them their little
child as well. She had a chamber built there, so strong and thick that no
ray could pierce through it; in this he was to shut himself up when the
candles were lit for the wedding-feast. But the door was made of green
wood which warped and left a little crack which no one noticed. The
wedding was celebrated with magnificence, but when the procession with
all its candles and torches came back from church, and passed by this
apartment, a ray about the breadth of a hair fell on the King's son, and
when this ray touched him, he was transformed in an instant, and when
she came in and looked for him, she did not see him, but a white dove was
sitting there. The dove said to her, "For seven years must I fly about the
world, but at every seventh step that you take I will let fall a drop of
red blood and a white feather, and these will show thee the way, and if
thou followest the trace thou canst release me." Thereupon the dove flew
out at the door, and she followed him, and at every seventh step a red
drop of blood and a little white feather fell down and showed her the way.

So she went continually further and further in the wide world, never
looking about her or resting, and the seven years were almost past; then
she rejoiced and thought that they would soon be delivered, and yet they
were so far from it! Once when they were thus moving onwards, no little
feather and no drop of red blood fell, and when she raised her eyes the
dove had disappeared. And as she thought to herself, "In this no man can
help thee," she climbed up to the sun, and said to him, "Thou shinest
into every crevice, and over every peak, hast thou not seen a white dove
flying?" "No," said the sun, "I have seen none, but I present thee with a
casket, open it when thou art in sorest need." Then she thanked the sun,
and went on until evening came and the moon appeared; she then asked her,
"Thou shinest the whole night through, and on every field and forest,
hast thou not seen a white dove flying?" "No," said the moon, "I have
seen no dove, but here I give thee an egg, break it when thou art in
great need." She thanked the moon, and went on until the night wind came
up and blew on her, then she said to it, "Thou blowest over every tree
and under every leaf, hast thou not seen a white dove flying?" "No," said
the night wind, "I have seen none, but I will ask the three other winds,
perhaps they have seen it." The east wind and the west wind came, and had
seen nothing, but the south wind said, "I have seen the white dove, it
has flown to the Red Sea, where it has become a lion again, for the seven
years are over, and the lion is there fighting with a dragon; the dragon,
however, is an enchanted princess." The night wind then said to her,
"I will advise thee; go to the Red Sea, on the right bank are some tall
reeds, count them, break off the eleventh, and strike the dragon with
it, then the lion will be able to subdue it, and both then will regain
their human form. After that, look round and thou wilt see the griffin
which is by the Red Sea; swing thyself, with thy beloved, on to his back,
and the bird will carry you over the sea to your own home. Here is a nut
for thee, when thou are above the center of the sea, let the nut fall,
it will immediately shoot up, and a tall nut-tree will grow out of the
water on which the griffin may rest; for if he cannot rest, he will not
be strong enough to carry you across, and if thou forgettest to throw
down the nut, he will let you fall into the sea."

Then she went thither, and found everything as the night wind had
said. She counted the reeds by the sea, and cut off the eleventh, struck
the dragon therewith, whereupon the lion overcame it, and immediately
both of them regained their human shapes. But when the princess, who
had before been the dragon, was delivered from enchantment, she took the
youth by the arm, seated herself on the griffin, and carried him off with
her. There stood the poor maiden who had wandered so far and was again
forsaken. She sat down and cried, but at last she took courage and said,
"Still I will go as far as the wind blows and as long as the cock crows,
until I find him," and she went forth by long, long roads, until at
last she came to the castle where both of them were living together;
there she heard that soon a feast was to be held, in which they would
celebrate their wedding, but she said, "God still helps me," and opened
the casket that the sun had given her. A dress lay therein as brilliant
as the sun itself. So she took it out and put it on, and went up into
the castle, and everyone, even the bride herself, looked at her with
astonishment. The dress pleased the bride so well that she thought it
might do for her wedding-dress, and asked if it was for sale? "Not for
money or land," answered she, "but for flesh and blood." The bride asked
her what she meant by that, so she said, "Let me sleep a night in the
chamber where the bridegroom sleeps." The bride would not, yet wanted
very much to have the dress; at last she consented, but the page was
to give the prince a sleeping-draught. When it was night, therefore,
and the youth was already asleep, she was led into the chamber; she
seated herself on the bed and said, "I have followed after thee for
seven years. I have been to the sun and the moon, and the four winds,
and have enquired for thee, and have helped thee against the dragon;
wilt thou, then quite forget me?" But the prince slept so soundly that
it only seemed to him as if the wind were whistling outside in the
fir-trees. When therefore day broke, she was led out again, and had
to give up the golden dress. And as that even had been of no avail,
she was sad, went out into a meadow, sat down there, and wept. While she
was sitting there, she thought of the egg which the moon had given her;
she opened it, and there came out a clucking hen with twelve chickens
all of gold, and they ran about chirping, and crept again under the old
hen's wings; nothing more beautiful was ever seen in the world! Then
she arose, and drove them through the meadow before her, until the bride
looked out of the window. The little chickens pleased her so much that
she immediately came down and asked if they were for sale. "Not for
money or land, but for flesh and blood; let me sleep another night
in the chamber where the bridegroom sleeps." The bride said, "Yes,"
intending to cheat her as on the former evening. But when the prince
went to bed he asked the page what the murmuring and rustling in the
night had been? On this the page told all; that he had been forced to
give him a sleeping-draught, because a poor girl had slept secretly in
the chamber, and that he was to give him another that night. The prince
said, "Pour out the draught by the bed-side." At night, she was again
led in, and when she began to relate how ill all had fared with her,
he immediately recognized his beloved wife by her voice, sprang up and
cried, "Now I really am released! I have been as it were in a dream,
for the strange princess has bewitched me so that I have been compelled
to forget thee, but God has delivered me from the spell at the right
time." Then they both left the castle secretly in the night, for they
feared the father of the princess, who was a sorcerer, and they seated
themselves on the griffin which bore them across the Red Sea, and when
they were in the midst of it, she let fall the nut. Immediately a tall
nut-tree grew up, whereon the bird rested, and then carried them home,
where they found their child, who had grown tall and beautiful, and they
lived thenceforth happily until their death.


89 The Goose-Girl

THERE was once upon a time an old Queen whose husband had been dead for
many years, and she had a beautiful daughter. When the princess grew up
she was betrothed to a prince who lived at a great distance. When the time
came for her to be married, and she had to journey forth into the distant
kingdom, the aged Queen packed up for her many costly vessels of silver
and gold, and trinkets also of gold and silver; and cups and jewels,
in short, everything which appertained to a royal dowry, for she loved
her child with all her heart. She likewise sent her maid in waiting, who
was to ride with her, and hand her over to the bridegroom, and each had
a horse for the journey, but the horse of the King's daughter was called
Falada, and could speak. So when the hour of parting had come, the aged
mother went into her bedroom, took a small knife and cut her finger with
it until it bled, then she held a white handkerchief to it into which she
let three drops of blood fall, gave it to her daughter and said, "Dear
child, preserve this carefully, it will be of service to you on your way."

So they took a sorrowful leave of each other; the princess put the piece
of cloth in her bosom, mounted her horse, and then went away to her
bridegroom. After she had ridden for a while she felt a burning thirst,
and said to her waiting-maid, "Dismount, and take my cup which thou
hast brought with thee for me, and get me some water from the stream,
for I should like to drink." "If you are thirsty," said the waiting-maid,
"get off your horse yourself, and lie down and drink out of the water,
I don't choose to be your servant." So in her great thirst the princess
alighted, bent down over the water in the stream and drank, and was not
allowed to drink out of the golden cup. Then she said, "Ah, Heaven!" and
the three drops of blood answered, "If thy mother knew, her heart would
break." But the King's daughter was humble, said nothing, and mounted
her horse again. She rode some miles further, but the day was warm,
the sun scorched her, and she was thirsty once more, and when they came
to a stream of water, she again cried to her waiting-maid, "Dismount,
and give me some water in my golden cup," for she had long ago forgotten
the girl's ill words. But the waiting-maid said still more haughtily,
"If you wish to drink, drink as you can, I don't choose to be your
maid." Then in her great thirst the King's daughter alighted, bent over
the flowing stream, wept and said, "Ah, Heaven!" and the drops of blood
again replied, "If thy mother knew this, her heart would break." And as
she was thus drinking and leaning right over the stream, the handkerchief
with the three drops of blood fell out of her bosom, and floated away
with the water without her observing it, so great was her trouble. The
waiting-maid, however, had seen it, and she rejoiced to think that she
had now power over the bride, for since the princess had lost the drops
of blood, she had become weak and powerless. So now when she wanted to
mount her horse again, the one that was called Falada, the waiting-maid
said, "Falada is more suitable for me, and my nag will do for thee"
and the princess had to be content with that. Then the waiting-maid,
with many hard words, bade the princess exchange her royal apparel for
her own shabby clothes; and at length she was compelled to swear by the
clear sky above her, that she would not say one word of this to any one
at the royal court, and if she had not taken this oath she would have
been killed on the spot. But Falada saw all this, and observed it well.

The waiting-maid now mounted Falada, and the true bride the bad horse,
and thus they traveled onwards, until at length they entered the royal
palace. There were great rejoicings over her arrival, and the prince
sprang forward to meet her, lifted the waiting-maid from her horse,
and thought she was his consort. She was conducted upstairs, but the
real princess was left standing below. Then the old King looked out
of the window and saw her standing in the courtyard, and how dainty
and delicate and beautiful she was, and instantly went to the royal
apartment, and asked the bride about the girl she had with her who
was standing down below in the courtyard, and who she was? "I picked
her up on my way for a companion; give the girl something to work at,
that she may not stand idle." But the old King had no work for her,
and knew of none, so he said, "I have a little boy who tends the geese,
she may help him." The boy was called Conrad, and the true bride had to
help him to tend the geese. Soon afterwards the false bride said to the
young King, "Dearest husband, I beg you to do me a favour." He answered,
"I will do so most willingly." "Then send for the knacker, and have the
head of the horse on which I rode here cut off, for it vexed me on the
way." In reality, she was afraid that the horse might tell how she had
behaved to the King's daughter. Then she succeeded in making the King
promise that it should be done, and the faithful Falada was to die;
this came to the ears of the real princess, and she secretly promised to
pay the knacker a piece of gold if he would perform a small service for
her. There was a great dark-looking gateway in the town, through which
morning and evening she had to pass with the geese: would he be so good
as to nail up Falada's head on it, so that she might see him again, more
than once. The knacker's man promised to do that, and cut off the head,
and nailed it fast beneath the dark gateway.

Early in the morning, when she and Conrad drove out their flock beneath
this gateway, she said in passing,


"Alas, Falada, hanging there!"

Then the head answered,


"Alas, young Queen, how ill you fare!
If this your tender mother knew,
Her heart would surely break in two."

Then they went still further out of the town, and drove their geese
into the country. And when they had come to the meadow, she sat down and
unbound her hair which was like pure gold, and Conrad saw it and delighted
in its brightness, and wanted to pluck out a few hairs. Then she said,


"Blow, blow, thou gentle wind, I say,
Blow Conrad's little hat away,
And make him chase it here and there,
Until I have braided all my hair,
And bound it up again."

And there came such a violent wind that it blew Conrad's hat far away
across country, and he was forced to run after it. When he came back she
had finished combing her hair and was putting it up again, and he could
not get any of it. Then Conrad was angry, and would not speak to her, and
thus they watched the geese until the evening, and then they went home.

Next day when they were driving the geese out through the dark gateway,