026_Grimms Fairy Tales

By Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm
CONTENTS

By Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm

  THE BROTHERS GRIMM FAIRY TALES

  THE GOLDEN BIRD
  A certain king had a beautiful garden, and in the garden stood a tree
  which bore golden apples. These apples were always counted, and about the
  time when they began to grow ripe it was found that every night one of
  them was gone. The king became very angry at this, and ordered the
  gardener to keep watch all night under the tree. The gardener set his
  eldest son to watch; but about twelve o&rsquo;clock he fell asleep, and in the
  morning another of the apples was missing. Then the second son was ordered
  to watch; and at midnight he too fell asleep, and in the morning another
  apple was gone. Then the third son offered to keep watch; but the gardener
  at first would not let him, for fear some harm should come to him:
  however, at last he consented, and the young man laid himself under the
  tree to watch. As the clock struck twelve he heard a rustling noise in the
  air, and a bird came flying that was of pure gold; and as it was snapping
  at one of the apples with its beak, the gardener&rsquo;s son jumped up and shot
  an arrow at it. But the arrow did the bird no harm; only it dropped a
  golden feather from its tail, and then flew away. The golden feather was
  brought to the king in the morning, and all the council was called
  together. Everyone agreed that it was worth more than all the wealth of
  the kingdom: but the king said, &lsquo;One feather is of no use to me, I must
  have the whole bird.&rsquo;
<br />
  Then the gardener&rsquo;s eldest son set out and thought to find the golden bird
  very easily; and when he had gone but a little way, he came to a wood, and
  by the side of the wood he saw a fox sitting; so he took his bow and made
  ready to shoot at it. Then the fox said, &lsquo;Do not shoot me, for I will give
  you good counsel; I know what your business is, and that you want to find
  the golden bird. You will reach a village in the evening; and when you get
  there, you will see two inns opposite to each other, one of which is very
  pleasant and beautiful to look at: go not in there, but rest for the night
  in the other, though it may appear to you to be very poor and mean.&rsquo; But
  the son thought to himself, &lsquo;What can such a beast as this know about the
  matter?&rsquo; So he shot his arrow at the fox; but he missed it, and it set up
  its tail above its back and ran into the wood. Then he went his way, and
  in the evening came to the village where the two inns were; and in one of
  these were people singing, and dancing, and feasting; but the other looked
  very dirty, and poor. &lsquo;I should be very silly,&rsquo; said he, &lsquo;if I went to
  that shabby house, and left this charming place&rsquo;; so he went into the
  smart house, and ate and drank at his ease, and forgot the bird, and his
  country too.
<br />
  Time passed on; and as the eldest son did not come back, and no tidings
  were heard of him, the second son set out, and the same thing happened to
  him. He met the fox, who gave him the good advice: but when he came to the
  two inns, his eldest brother was standing at the window where the
  merrymaking was, and called to him to come in; and he could not withstand
  the temptation, but went in, and forgot the golden bird and his country in
  the same manner.
<br />
  Time passed on again, and the youngest son too wished to set out into the
  wide world to seek for the golden bird; but his father would not listen to
  it for a long while, for he was very fond of his son, and was afraid that
  some ill luck might happen to him also, and prevent his coming back.
  However, at last it was agreed he should go, for he would not rest at
  home; and as he came to the wood, he met the fox, and heard the same good
  counsel. But he was thankful to the fox, and did not attempt his life as
  his brothers had done; so the fox said, &lsquo;Sit upon my tail, and you will
  travel faster.&rsquo; So he sat down, and the fox began to run, and away they
  went over stock and stone so quick that their hair whistled in the wind.
<br />
  When they came to the village, the son followed the fox&rsquo;s counsel, and
  without looking about him went to the shabby inn and rested there all
  night at his ease. In the morning came the fox again and met him as he was
  beginning his journey, and said, &lsquo;Go straight forward, till you come to a
  castle, before which lie a whole troop of soldiers fast asleep and
  snoring: take no notice of them, but go into the castle and pass on and on
  till you come to a room, where the golden bird sits in a wooden cage;
  close by it stands a beautiful golden cage; but do not try to take the
  bird out of the shabby cage and put it into the handsome one, otherwise
  you will repent it.&rsquo; Then the fox stretched out his tail again, and the
  young man sat himself down, and away they went over stock and stone till
  their hair whistled in the wind.
<br />
  Before the castle gate all was as the fox had said: so the son went in and
  found the chamber where the golden bird hung in a wooden cage, and below
  stood the golden cage, and the three golden apples that had been lost were
  lying close by it. Then thought he to himself, &lsquo;It will be a very droll
  thing to bring away such a fine bird in this shabby cage&rsquo;; so he opened
  the door and took hold of it and put it into the golden cage. But the bird
  set up such a loud scream that all the soldiers awoke, and they took him
  prisoner and carried him before the king. The next morning the court sat
  to judge him; and when all was heard, it sentenced him to die, unless he
  should bring the king the golden horse which could run as swiftly as the
  wind; and if he did this, he was to have the golden bird given him for his
  own.
<br />
  So he set out once more on his journey, sighing, and in great despair,
  when on a sudden his friend the fox met him, and said, &lsquo;You see now what
  has happened on account of your not listening to my counsel. I will still,
  however, tell you how to find the golden horse, if you will do as I bid
  you. You must go straight on till you come to the castle where the horse
  stands in his stall: by his side will lie the groom fast asleep and
  snoring: take away the horse quietly, but be sure to put the old leathern
  saddle upon him, and not the golden one that is close by it.&rsquo; Then the son
  sat down on the fox&rsquo;s tail, and away they went over stock and stone till
  their hair whistled in the wind.
<br />
  All went right, and the groom lay snoring with his hand upon the golden
  saddle. But when the son looked at the horse, he thought it a great pity
  to put the leathern saddle upon it. &lsquo;I will give him the good one,&rsquo; said
  he; &lsquo;I am sure he deserves it.&rsquo; As he took up the golden saddle the groom
  awoke and cried out so loud, that all the guards ran in and took him
  prisoner, and in the morning he was again brought before the court to be
  judged, and was sentenced to die. But it was agreed, that, if he could
  bring thither the beautiful princess, he should live, and have the bird
  and the horse given him for his own.
<br />
  Then he went his way very sorrowful; but the old fox came and said, &lsquo;Why
  did not you listen to me? If you had, you would have carried away both the
  bird and the horse; yet will I once more give you counsel. Go straight on,
  and in the evening you will arrive at a castle. At twelve o&rsquo;clock at night
  the princess goes to the bathing-house: go up to her and give her a kiss,
  and she will let you lead her away; but take care you do not suffer her to
  go and take leave of her father and mother.&rsquo; Then the fox stretched out
  his tail, and so away they went over stock and stone till their hair
  whistled again.
<br />
  As they came to the castle, all was as the fox had said, and at twelve
  o&rsquo;clock the young man met the princess going to the bath and gave her the
  kiss, and she agreed to run away with him, but begged with many tears that
  he would let her take leave of her father. At first he refused, but she
  wept still more and more, and fell at his feet, till at last he consented;
  but the moment she came to her father&rsquo;s house the guards awoke and he was
  taken prisoner again.
<br />
  Then he was brought before the king, and the king said, &lsquo;You shall never
  have my daughter unless in eight days you dig away the hill that stops the
  view from my window.&rsquo; Now this hill was so big that the whole world could
  not take it away: and when he had worked for seven days, and had done very
  little, the fox came and said. &lsquo;Lie down and go to sleep; I will work for
  you.&rsquo; And in the morning he awoke and the hill was gone; so he went
  merrily to the king, and told him that now that it was removed he must
  give him the princess.
<br />
  Then the king was obliged to keep his word, and away went the young man
  and the princess; and the fox came and said to him, &lsquo;We will have all
  three, the princess, the horse, and the bird.&rsquo; &lsquo;Ah!&rsquo; said the young man,
  &lsquo;that would be a great thing, but how can you contrive it?&rsquo;
<br />
  &lsquo;If you will only listen,&rsquo; said the fox, &lsquo;it can be done. When you come to
  the king, and he asks for the beautiful princess, you must say, &ldquo;Here she
  is!&rdquo; Then he will be very joyful; and you will mount the golden horse that
  they are to give you, and put out your hand to take leave of them; but
  shake hands with the princess last. Then lift her quickly on to the horse
  behind you; clap your spurs to his side, and gallop away as fast as you
  can.&rsquo;
<br />
  All went right: then the fox said, &lsquo;When you come to the castle where the
  bird is, I will stay with the princess at the door, and you will ride in
  and speak to the king; and when he sees that it is the right horse, he
  will bring out the bird; but you must sit still, and say that you want to
  look at it, to see whether it is the true golden bird; and when you get it
  into your hand, ride away.&rsquo;
<br />
  This, too, happened as the fox said; they carried off the bird, the
  princess mounted again, and they rode on to a great wood. Then the fox
  came, and said, &lsquo;Pray kill me, and cut off my head and my feet.&rsquo; But the
  young man refused to do it: so the fox said, &lsquo;I will at any rate give you
  good counsel: beware of two things; ransom no one from the gallows, and
  sit down by the side of no river.&rsquo; Then away he went. &lsquo;Well,&rsquo; thought the
  young man, &lsquo;it is no hard matter to keep that advice.&rsquo;
<br />
  He rode on with the princess, till at last he came to the village where he
  had left his two brothers. And there he heard a great noise and uproar;
  and when he asked what was the matter, the people said, &lsquo;Two men are going
  to be hanged.&rsquo; As he came nearer, he saw that the two men were his
  brothers, who had turned robbers; so he said, &lsquo;Cannot they in any way be
  saved?&rsquo; But the people said &lsquo;No,&rsquo; unless he would bestow all his money
  upon the rascals and buy their liberty. Then he did not stay to think
  about the matter, but paid what was asked, and his brothers were given up,
  and went on with him towards their home.
<br />
  And as they came to the wood where the fox first met them, it was so cool
  and pleasant that the two brothers said, &lsquo;Let us sit down by the side of
  the river, and rest a while, to eat and drink.&rsquo; So he said, &lsquo;Yes,&rsquo; and
  forgot the fox&rsquo;s counsel, and sat down on the side of the river; and while
  he suspected nothing, they came behind, and threw him down the bank, and
  took the princess, the horse, and the bird, and went home to the king
  their master, and said. &lsquo;All this have we won by our labour.&rsquo; Then there
  was great rejoicing made; but the horse would not eat, the bird would not
  sing, and the princess wept.
<br />
  The youngest son fell to the bottom of the river&rsquo;s bed: luckily it was
  nearly dry, but his bones were almost broken, and the bank was so steep
  that he could find no way to get out. Then the old fox came once more, and
  scolded him for not following his advice; otherwise no evil would have
  befallen him: &lsquo;Yet,&rsquo; said he, &lsquo;I cannot leave you here, so lay hold of my
  tail and hold fast.&rsquo; Then he pulled him out of the river, and said to him,
  as he got upon the bank, &lsquo;Your brothers have set watch to kill you, if
  they find you in the kingdom.&rsquo; So he dressed himself as a poor man, and
  came secretly to the king&rsquo;s court, and was scarcely within the doors when
  the horse began to eat, and the bird to sing, and the princess left off
  weeping. Then he went to the king, and told him all his brothers&rsquo; roguery;
  and they were seized and punished, and he had the princess given to him
  again; and after the king&rsquo;s death he was heir to his kingdom.
<br />
  A long while after, he went to walk one day in the wood, and the old fox
  met him, and besought him with tears in his eyes to kill him, and cut off
  his head and feet. And at last he did so, and in a moment the fox was
  changed into a man, and turned out to be the brother of the princess, who
  had been lost a great many many years.

  HANS IN LUCK
  Some men are born to good luck: all they do or try to do comes right&mdash;all
  that falls to them is so much gain&mdash;all their geese are swans&mdash;all
  their cards are trumps&mdash;toss them which way you will, they will
  always, like poor puss, alight upon their legs, and only move on so much
  the faster. The world may very likely not always think of them as they
  think of themselves, but what care they for the world? what can it know
  about the matter?
<br />
  One of these lucky beings was neighbour Hans. Seven long years he had
  worked hard for his master. At last he said, &lsquo;Master, my time is up; I
  must go home and see my poor mother once more: so pray pay me my wages and
  let me go.&rsquo; And the master said, &lsquo;You have been a faithful and good
  servant, Hans, so your pay shall be handsome.&rsquo; Then he gave him a lump of
  silver as big as his head.
<br />
  Hans took out his pocket-handkerchief, put the piece of silver into it,
  threw it over his shoulder, and jogged off on his road homewards. As he
  went lazily on, dragging one foot after another, a man came in sight,
  trotting gaily along on a capital horse. &lsquo;Ah!&rsquo; said Hans aloud, &lsquo;what a
  fine thing it is to ride on horseback! There he sits as easy and happy as
  if he was at home, in the chair by his fireside; he trips against no
  stones, saves shoe-leather, and gets on he hardly knows how.&rsquo; Hans did not
  speak so softly but the horseman heard it all, and said, &lsquo;Well, friend,
  why do you go on foot then?&rsquo; &lsquo;Ah!&rsquo; said he, &lsquo;I have this load to carry: to
  be sure it is silver, but it is so heavy that I can&rsquo;t hold up my head, and
  you must know it hurts my shoulder sadly.&rsquo; &lsquo;What do you say of making an
  exchange?&rsquo; said the horseman. &lsquo;I will give you my horse, and you shall
  give me the silver; which will save you a great deal of trouble in
  carrying such a heavy load about with you.&rsquo; &lsquo;With all my heart,&rsquo; said
  Hans: &lsquo;but as you are so kind to me, I must tell you one thing&mdash;you
  will have a weary task to draw that silver about with you.&rsquo; However, the
  horseman got off, took the silver, helped Hans up, gave him the bridle
  into one hand and the whip into the other, and said, &lsquo;When you want to go
  very fast, smack your lips loudly together, and cry &ldquo;Jip!&rdquo;&rsquo;
<br />
  Hans was delighted as he sat on the horse, drew himself up, squared his
  elbows, turned out his toes, cracked his whip, and rode merrily off, one
  minute whistling a merry tune, and another singing,
<br />

‘No care and no sorrow,
A fig for the morrow!
We’ll laugh and be merry,
Sing neigh down derry!’
After a time he thought he should like to go a little faster, so he smacked his lips and cried ‘Jip!’ Away went the horse full gallop; and before Hans knew what he was about, he was thrown off, and lay on his back by the road-side. His horse would have ran off, if a shepherd who was coming by, driving a cow, had not stopped it. Hans soon came to himself, and got upon his legs again, sadly vexed, and said to the shepherd, ‘This riding is no joke, when a man has the luck to get upon a beast like this that stumbles and flings him off as if it would break his neck. However, I’m off now once for all: I like your cow now a great deal better than this smart beast that played me this trick, and has spoiled my best coat, you see, in this puddle; which, by the by, smells not very like a nosegay. One can walk along at one’s leisure behind that cow—keep good company, and have milk, butter, and cheese, every day, into the bargain. What would I give to have such a prize!’ ‘Well,’ said the shepherd, ‘if you are so fond of her, I will change my cow for your horse; I like to do good to my neighbours, even though I lose by it myself.’ ‘Done!’ said Hans, merrily. ‘What a noble heart that good man has!’ thought he. Then the shepherd jumped upon the horse, wished Hans and the cow good morning, and away he rode.
Hans brushed his coat, wiped his face and hands, rested a while, and then drove off his cow quietly, and thought his bargain a very lucky one. ‘If I have only a piece of bread (and I certainly shall always be able to get that), I can, whenever I like, eat my butter and cheese with it; and when I am thirsty I can milk my cow and drink the milk: and what can I wish for more?’ When he came to an inn, he halted, ate up all his bread, and gave away his last penny for a glass of beer. When he had rested himself he set off again, driving his cow towards his mother’s village. But the heat grew greater as soon as noon came on, till at last, as he found himself on a wide heath that would take him more than an hour to cross, he began to be so hot and parched that his tongue clave to the roof of his mouth. ‘I can find a cure for this,’ thought he; ‘now I will milk my cow and quench my thirst’: so he tied her to the stump of a tree, and held his leathern cap to milk into; but not a drop was to be had. Who would have thought that this cow, which was to bring him milk and butter and cheese, was all that time utterly dry? Hans had not thought of looking to that.
While he was trying his luck in milking, and managing the matter very clumsily, the uneasy beast began to think him very troublesome; and at last gave him such a kick on the head as knocked him down; and there he lay a long while senseless. Luckily a butcher soon came by, driving a pig in a wheelbarrow. ‘What is the matter with you, my man?’ said the butcher, as he helped him up. Hans told him what had happened, how he was dry, and wanted to milk his cow, but found the cow was dry too. Then the butcher gave him a flask of ale, saying, ‘There, drink and refresh yourself; your cow will give you no milk: don’t you see she is an old beast, good for nothing but the slaughter-house?’ ‘Alas, alas!’ said Hans, ‘who would have thought it? What a shame to take my horse, and give me only a dry cow! If I kill her, what will she be good for? I hate cow-beef; it is not tender enough for me. If it were a pig now—like that fat gentleman you are driving along at his ease—one could do something with it; it would at any rate make sausages.’ ‘Well,’ said the butcher, ‘I don’t like to say no, when one is asked to do a kind, neighbourly thing. To please you I will change, and give you my fine fat pig for the cow.’ ‘Heaven reward you for your kindness and self-denial!’ said Hans, as he gave the butcher the cow; and taking the pig off the wheel-barrow, drove it away, holding it by the string that was tied to its leg.
So on he jogged, and all seemed now to go right with him: he had met with some misfortunes, to be sure; but he was now well repaid for all. How could it be otherwise with such a travelling companion as he had at last got?
The next man he met was a countryman carrying a fine white goose. The countryman stopped to ask what was o’clock; this led to further chat; and Hans told him all his luck, how he had so many good bargains, and how all the world went gay and smiling with him. The countryman then began to tell his tale, and said he was going to take the goose to a christening. ‘Feel,’ said he, ‘how heavy it is, and yet it is only eight weeks old. Whoever roasts and eats it will find plenty of fat upon it, it has lived so well!’ ‘You’re right,’ said Hans, as he weighed it in his hand; ‘but if you talk of fat, my pig is no trifle.’ Meantime the countryman began to look grave, and shook his head. ‘Hark ye!’ said he, ‘my worthy friend, you seem a good sort of fellow, so I can’t help doing you a kind turn. Your pig may get you into a scrape. In the village I just came from, the squire has had a pig stolen out of his sty. I was dreadfully afraid when I saw you that you had got the squire’s pig. If you have, and they catch you, it will be a bad job for you. The least they will do will be to throw you into the horse-pond. Can you swim?’
Poor Hans was sadly frightened. ‘Good man,’ cried he, ‘pray get me out of this scrape. I know nothing of where the pig was either bred or born; but he may have been the squire’s for aught I can tell: you know this country better than I do, take my pig and give me the goose.’ ‘I ought to have something into the bargain,’ said the countryman; ‘give a fat goose for a pig, indeed! ‘Tis not everyone would do so much for you as that. However, I will not be hard upon you, as you are in trouble.’ Then he took the string in his hand, and drove off the pig by a side path; while Hans went on the way homewards free from care. ‘After all,’ thought he, ‘that chap is pretty well taken in. I don’t care whose pig it is, but wherever it came from it has been a very good friend to me. I have much the best of the bargain. First there will be a capital roast; then the fat will find me in goose-grease for six months; and then there are all the beautiful white feathers. I will put them into my pillow, and then I am sure I shall sleep soundly without rocking. How happy my mother will be! Talk of a pig, indeed! Give me a fine fat goose.’
As he came to the next village, he saw a scissor-grinder with his wheel, working and singing,
‘O’er hill and o’er dale
So happy I roam,
Work light and live well,
All the world is my home;
Then who so blythe, so merry as I?’
Hans stood looking on for a while, and at last said, ‘You must be well off, master grinder! you seem so happy at your work.’ ‘Yes,’ said the other, ‘mine is a golden trade; a good grinder never puts his hand into his pocket without finding money in it—but where did you get that beautiful goose?’ ‘I did not buy it, I gave a pig for it.’ ‘And where did you get the pig?’ ‘I gave a cow for it.’ ‘And the cow?’ ‘I gave a horse for it.’ ‘And the horse?’ ‘I gave a lump of silver as big as my head for it.’ ‘And the silver?’ ‘Oh! I worked hard for that seven long years.’ ‘You have thriven well in the world hitherto,’ said the grinder, ‘now if you could find money in your pocket whenever you put your hand in it, your fortune would be made.’ ‘Very true: but how is that to be managed?’ ‘How? Why, you must turn grinder like myself,’ said the other; ‘you only want a grindstone; the rest will come of itself. Here is one that is but little the worse for wear: I would not ask more than the value of your goose for it—will you buy?’ ‘How can you ask?’ said Hans; ‘I should be the happiest man in the world, if I could have money whenever I put my hand in my pocket: what could I want more? there’s the goose.’ ‘Now,’ said the grinder, as he gave him a common rough stone that lay by his side, ‘this is a most capital stone; do but work it well enough, and you can make an old nail cut with it.’
Hans took the stone, and went his way with a light heart: his eyes sparkled for joy, and he said to himself, ‘Surely I must have been born in a lucky hour; everything I could want or wish for comes of itself. People are so kind; they seem really to think I do them a favour in letting them make me rich, and giving me good bargains.’
Meantime he began to be tired, and hungry too, for he had given away his last penny in his joy at getting the cow.
At last he could go no farther, for the stone tired him sadly: and he dragged himself to the side of a river, that he might take a drink of water, and rest a while. So he laid the stone carefully by his side on the bank: but, as he stooped down to drink, he forgot it, pushed it a little, and down it rolled, plump into the stream.
For a while he watched it sinking in the deep clear water; then sprang up and danced for joy, and again fell upon his knees and thanked Heaven, with tears in his eyes, for its kindness in taking away his only plague, the ugly heavy stone.
‘How happy am I!’ cried he; ‘nobody was ever so lucky as I.’ Then up he got with a light heart, free from all his troubles, and walked on till he reached his mother’s house, and told her how very easy the road to good luck was.

  JORINDA AND JORINDEL
  There was once an old castle, that stood in the middle of a deep gloomy
  wood, and in the castle lived an old fairy. Now this fairy could take any
  shape she pleased. All the day long she flew about in the form of an owl,
  or crept about the country like a cat; but at night she always became an
  old woman again. When any young man came within a hundred paces of her
  castle, he became quite fixed, and could not move a step till she came and
  set him free; which she would not do till he had given her his word never
  to come there again: but when any pretty maiden came within that space she
  was changed into a bird, and the fairy put her into a cage, and hung her
  up in a chamber in the castle. There were seven hundred of these cages
  hanging in the castle, and all with beautiful birds in them.
<br />
  Now there was once a maiden whose name was Jorinda. She was prettier than
  all the pretty girls that ever were seen before, and a shepherd lad, whose
  name was Jorindel, was very fond of her, and they were soon to be married.
  One day they went to walk in the wood, that they might be alone; and
  Jorindel said, &lsquo;We must take care that we don&rsquo;t go too near to the fairy&rsquo;s
  castle.&rsquo; It was a beautiful evening; the last rays of the setting sun
  shone bright through the long stems of the trees upon the green underwood
  beneath, and the turtle-doves sang from the tall birches.
<br />
  Jorinda sat down to gaze upon the sun; Jorindel sat by her side; and both
  felt sad, they knew not why; but it seemed as if they were to be parted
  from one another for ever. They had wandered a long way; and when they
  looked to see which way they should go home, they found themselves at a
  loss to know what path to take.
<br />
  The sun was setting fast, and already half of its circle had sunk behind
  the hill: Jorindel on a sudden looked behind him, and saw through the
  bushes that they had, without knowing it, sat down close under the old
  walls of the castle. Then he shrank for fear, turned pale, and trembled.
  Jorinda was just singing,

‘The ring-dove sang from the willow spray, Well-a-day! Well-a-day! He mourn’d for the fate of his darling mate, Well-a-day!’

  when her song stopped suddenly. Jorindel turned to see the reason, and
  beheld his Jorinda changed into a nightingale, so that her song ended with
  a mournful . An owl with fiery eyes flew three times round
  them, and three times screamed:

‘Tu whu! Tu whu! Tu whu!’

  Jorindel could not move; he stood fixed as a stone, and could neither
  weep, nor speak, nor stir hand or foot. And now the sun went quite down;
  the gloomy night came; the owl flew into a bush; and a moment after the
  old fairy came forth pale and meagre, with staring eyes, and a nose and
  chin that almost met one another.
<br />
  She mumbled something to herself, seized the nightingale, and went away
  with it in her hand. Poor Jorindel saw the nightingale was gone&mdash;but
  what could he do? He could not speak, he could not move from the spot
  where he stood. At last the fairy came back and sang with a hoarse voice:

‘Till the prisoner is fast, And her doom is cast, There stay! Oh, stay! When the charm is around her, And the spell has bound her, Hie away! away!’

  On a sudden Jorindel found himself free. Then he fell on his knees before
  the fairy, and prayed her to give him back his dear Jorinda: but she
  laughed at him, and said he should never see her again; then she went her
  way.
<br />
  He prayed, he wept, he sorrowed, but all in vain. &lsquo;Alas!&rsquo; he said, &lsquo;what
  will become of me?&rsquo; He could not go back to his own home, so he went to a
  strange village, and employed himself in keeping sheep. Many a time did he
  walk round and round as near to the hated castle as he dared go, but all
  in vain; he heard or saw nothing of Jorinda.
<br />
  At last he dreamt one night that he found a beautiful purple flower, and
  that in the middle of it lay a costly pearl; and he dreamt that he plucked
  the flower, and went with it in his hand into the castle, and that
  everything he touched with it was disenchanted, and that there he found
  his Jorinda again.
<br />
  In the morning when he awoke, he began to search over hill and dale for
  this pretty flower; and eight long days he sought for it in vain: but on
  the ninth day, early in the morning, he found the beautiful purple flower;
  and in the middle of it was a large dewdrop, as big as a costly pearl.
  Then he plucked the flower, and set out and travelled day and night, till
  he came again to the castle.
<br />
  He walked nearer than a hundred paces to it, and yet he did not become
  fixed as before, but found that he could go quite close up to the door.
  Jorindel was very glad indeed to see this. Then he touched the door with
  the flower, and it sprang open; so that he went in through the court, and
  listened when he heard so many birds singing. At last he came to the
  chamber where the fairy sat, with the seven hundred birds singing in the
  seven hundred cages. When she saw Jorindel she was very angry, and
  screamed with rage; but she could not come within two yards of him, for
  the flower he held in his hand was his safeguard. He looked around at the
  birds, but alas! there were many, many nightingales, and how then should
  he find out which was his Jorinda? While he was thinking what to do, he
  saw the fairy had taken down one of the cages, and was making the best of
  her way off through the door. He ran or flew after her, touched the cage
  with the flower, and Jorinda stood before him, and threw her arms round
  his neck looking as beautiful as ever, as beautiful as when they walked
  together in the wood.
<br />
  Then he touched all the other birds with the flower, so that they all took
  their old forms again; and he took Jorinda home, where they were married,
  and lived happily together many years: and so did a good many other lads,
  whose maidens had been forced to sing in the old fairy&rsquo;s cages by
  themselves, much longer than they liked.

  THE TRAVELLING MUSICIANS
  An honest farmer had once an ass that had been a faithful servant to him a
  great many years, but was now growing old and every day more and more
  unfit for work. His master therefore was tired of keeping him and began to
  think of putting an end to him; but the ass, who saw that some mischief
  was in the wind, took himself slyly off, and began his journey towards the
  great city, &lsquo;For there,&rsquo; thought he, &lsquo;I may turn musician.&rsquo;
<br />
  After he had travelled a little way, he spied a dog lying by the roadside
  and panting as if he were tired. &lsquo;What makes you pant so, my friend?&rsquo; said
  the ass. &lsquo;Alas!&rsquo; said the dog, &lsquo;my master was going to knock me on the
  head, because I am old and weak, and can no longer make myself useful to
  him in hunting; so I ran away; but what can I do to earn my livelihood?&rsquo;
  &lsquo;Hark ye!&rsquo; said the ass, &lsquo;I am going to the great city to turn musician:
  suppose you go with me, and try what you can do in the same way?&rsquo; The dog
  said he was willing, and they jogged on together.
<br />
  They had not gone far before they saw a cat sitting in the middle of the
  road and making a most rueful face. &lsquo;Pray, my good lady,&rsquo; said the ass,
  &lsquo;what&rsquo;s the matter with you? You look quite out of spirits!&rsquo; &lsquo;Ah, me!&rsquo;
  said the cat, &lsquo;how can one be in good spirits when one&rsquo;s life is in
  danger? Because I am beginning to grow old, and had rather lie at my ease
  by the fire than run about the house after the mice, my mistress laid hold
  of me, and was going to drown me; and though I have been lucky enough to
  get away from her, I do not know what I am to live upon.&rsquo; &lsquo;Oh,&rsquo; said the
  ass, &lsquo;by all means go with us to the great city; you are a good night
  singer, and may make your fortune as a musician.&rsquo; The cat was pleased with
  the thought, and joined the party.
<br />
  Soon afterwards, as they were passing by a farmyard, they saw a cock
  perched upon a gate, and screaming out with all his might and main.
  &lsquo;Bravo!&rsquo; said the ass; &lsquo;upon my word, you make a famous noise; pray what
  is all this about?&rsquo; &lsquo;Why,&rsquo; said the cock, &lsquo;I was just now saying that we
  should have fine weather for our washing-day, and yet my mistress and the
  cook don&rsquo;t thank me for my pains, but threaten to cut off my head
  tomorrow, and make broth of me for the guests that are coming on Sunday!&rsquo;
  &lsquo;Heaven forbid!&rsquo; said the ass, &lsquo;come with us Master Chanticleer; it will
  be better, at any rate, than staying here to have your head cut off!
  Besides, who knows? If we care to sing in tune, we may get up some kind of
  a concert; so come along with us.&rsquo; &lsquo;With all my heart,&rsquo; said the cock: so
  they all four went on jollily together.
<br />
  They could not, however, reach the great city the first day; so when night
  came on, they went into a wood to sleep. The ass and the dog laid
  themselves down under a great tree, and the cat climbed up into the
  branches; while the cock, thinking that the higher he sat the safer he
  should be, flew up to the very top of the tree, and then, according to his
  custom, before he went to sleep, looked out on all sides of him to see
  that everything was well. In doing this, he saw afar off something bright
  and shining and calling to his companions said, &lsquo;There must be a house no
  great way off, for I see a light.&rsquo; &lsquo;If that be the case,&rsquo; said the ass,
  &lsquo;we had better change our quarters, for our lodging is not the best in the
  world!&rsquo; &lsquo;Besides,&rsquo; added the dog, &lsquo;I should not be the worse for a bone or
  two, or a bit of meat.&rsquo; So they walked off together towards the spot where
  Chanticleer had seen the light, and as they drew near it became larger and
  brighter, till they at last came close to a house in which a gang of
  robbers lived.
<br />
  The ass, being the tallest of the company, marched up to the window and
  peeped in. &lsquo;Well, Donkey,&rsquo; said Chanticleer, &lsquo;what do you see?&rsquo; &lsquo;What do I
  see?&rsquo; replied the ass. &lsquo;Why, I see a table spread with all kinds of good
  things, and robbers sitting round it making merry.&rsquo; &lsquo;That would be a noble
  lodging for us,&rsquo; said the cock. &lsquo;Yes,&rsquo; said the ass, &lsquo;if we could only get
  in&rsquo;; so they consulted together how they should contrive to get the
  robbers out; and at last they hit upon a plan. The ass placed himself
  upright on his hind legs, with his forefeet resting against the window;
  the dog got upon his back; the cat scrambled up to the dog&rsquo;s shoulders,
  and the cock flew up and sat upon the cat&rsquo;s head. When all was ready a
  signal was given, and they began their music. The ass brayed, the dog
  barked, the cat mewed, and the cock screamed; and then they all broke
  through the window at once, and came tumbling into the room, amongst the
  broken glass, with a most hideous clatter! The robbers, who had been not a
  little frightened by the opening concert, had now no doubt that some
  frightful hobgoblin had broken in upon them, and scampered away as fast as
  they could.
<br />
  The coast once clear, our travellers soon sat down and dispatched what the
  robbers had left, with as much eagerness as if they had not expected to
  eat again for a month. As soon as they had satisfied themselves, they put
  out the lights, and each once more sought out a resting-place to his own
  liking. The donkey laid himself down upon a heap of straw in the yard, the
  dog stretched himself upon a mat behind the door, the cat rolled herself
  up on the hearth before the warm ashes, and the cock perched upon a beam
  on the top of the house; and, as they were all rather tired with their
  journey, they soon fell asleep.
<br />
  But about midnight, when the robbers saw from afar that the lights were
  out and that all seemed quiet, they began to think that they had been in
  too great a hurry to run away; and one of them, who was bolder than the
  rest, went to see what was going on. Finding everything still, he marched
  into the kitchen, and groped about till he found a match in order to light
  a candle; and then, espying the glittering fiery eyes of the cat, he
  mistook them for live coals, and held the match to them to light it. But
  the cat, not understanding this joke, sprang at his face, and spat, and
  scratched at him. This frightened him dreadfully, and away he ran to the
  back door; but there the dog jumped up and bit him in the leg; and as he
  was crossing over the yard the ass kicked him; and the cock, who had been
  awakened by the noise, crowed with all his might. At this the robber ran
  back as fast as he could to his comrades, and told the captain how a
  horrid witch had got into the house, and had spat at him and scratched his
  face with her long bony fingers; how a man with a knife in his hand had
  hidden himself behind the door, and stabbed him in the leg; how a black
  monster stood in the yard and struck him with a club, and how the devil
  had sat upon the top of the house and cried out, &lsquo;Throw the rascal up
  here!&rsquo; After this the robbers never dared to go back to the house; but the
  musicians were so pleased with their quarters that they took up their
  abode there; and there they are, I dare say, at this very day.

  OLD SULTAN
  A shepherd had a faithful dog, called Sultan, who was grown very old, and
  had lost all his teeth. And one day when the shepherd and his wife were
  standing together before the house the shepherd said, &lsquo;I will shoot old
  Sultan tomorrow morning, for he is of no use now.&rsquo; But his wife said,
  &lsquo;Pray let the poor faithful creature live; he has served us well a great
  many years, and we ought to give him a livelihood for the rest of his
  days.&rsquo; &lsquo;But what can we do with him?&rsquo; said the shepherd, &lsquo;he has not a
  tooth in his head, and the thieves don&rsquo;t care for him at all; to be sure
  he has served us, but then he did it to earn his livelihood; tomorrow
  shall be his last day, depend upon it.&rsquo;
<br />
  Poor Sultan, who was lying close by them, heard all that the shepherd and
  his wife said to one another, and was very much frightened to think
  tomorrow would be his last day; so in the evening he went to his good
  friend the wolf, who lived in the wood, and told him all his sorrows, and
  how his master meant to kill him in the morning. &lsquo;Make yourself easy,&rsquo;
  said the wolf, &lsquo;I will give you some good advice. Your master, you know,
  goes out every morning very early with his wife into the field; and they
  take their little child with them, and lay it down behind the hedge in the
  shade while they are at work. Now do you lie down close by the child, and
  pretend to be watching it, and I will come out of the wood and run away
  with it; you must run after me as fast as you can, and I will let it drop;
  then you may carry it back, and they will think you have saved their
  child, and will be so thankful to you that they will take care of you as
  long as you live.&rsquo; The dog liked this plan very well; and accordingly so
  it was managed. The wolf ran with the child a little way; the shepherd and
  his wife screamed out; but Sultan soon overtook him, and carried the poor
  little thing back to his master and mistress. Then the shepherd patted him
  on the head, and said, &lsquo;Old Sultan has saved our child from the wolf, and
  therefore he shall live and be well taken care of, and have plenty to eat.
  Wife, go home, and give him a good dinner, and let him have my old cushion
  to sleep on as long as he lives.&rsquo; So from this time forward Sultan had all
  that he could wish for.
<br />
  Soon afterwards the wolf came and wished him joy, and said, &lsquo;Now, my good
  fellow, you must tell no tales, but turn your head the other way when I
  want to taste one of the old shepherd&rsquo;s fine fat sheep.&rsquo; &lsquo;No,&rsquo; said the
  Sultan; &lsquo;I will be true to my master.&rsquo; However, the wolf thought he was in
  joke, and came one night to get a dainty morsel. But Sultan had told his
  master what the wolf meant to do; so he laid wait for him behind the barn
  door, and when the wolf was busy looking out for a good fat sheep, he had
  a stout cudgel laid about his back, that combed his locks for him finely.
<br />
  Then the wolf was very angry, and called Sultan &lsquo;an old rogue,&rsquo; and swore
  he would have his revenge. So the next morning the wolf sent the boar to
  challenge Sultan to come into the wood to fight the matter. Now Sultan had
  nobody he could ask to be his second but the shepherd&rsquo;s old three-legged
  cat; so he took her with him, and as the poor thing limped along with some
  trouble, she stuck up her tail straight in the air.
<br />
  The wolf and the wild boar were first on the ground; and when they espied
  their enemies coming, and saw the cat&rsquo;s long tail standing straight in the
  air, they thought she was carrying a sword for Sultan to fight with; and
  every time she limped, they thought she was picking up a stone to throw at
  them; so they said they should not like this way of fighting, and the boar
  lay down behind a bush, and the wolf jumped up into a tree. Sultan and the
  cat soon came up, and looked about and wondered that no one was there. The
  boar, however, had not quite hidden himself, for his ears stuck out of the
  bush; and when he shook one of them a little, the cat, seeing something
  move, and thinking it was a mouse, sprang upon it, and bit and scratched
  it, so that the boar jumped up and grunted, and ran away, roaring out,
  &lsquo;Look up in the tree, there sits the one who is to blame.&rsquo; So they looked
  up, and espied the wolf sitting amongst the branches; and they called him
  a cowardly rascal, and would not suffer him to come down till he was
  heartily ashamed of himself, and had promised to be good friends again
  with old Sultan.

  THE STRAW, THE COAL, AND THE BEAN
  In a village dwelt a poor old woman, who had gathered together a dish of
  beans and wanted to cook them. So she made a fire on her hearth, and that
  it might burn the quicker, she lighted it with a handful of straw. When
  she was emptying the beans into the pan, one dropped without her observing
  it, and lay on the ground beside a straw, and soon afterwards a burning
  coal from the fire leapt down to the two. Then the straw began and said:
  &lsquo;Dear friends, from whence do you come here?&rsquo; The coal replied: &lsquo;I
  fortunately sprang out of the fire, and if I had not escaped by sheer
  force, my death would have been certain,&mdash;I should have been burnt to
  ashes.&rsquo; The bean said: &lsquo;I too have escaped with a whole skin, but if the
  old woman had got me into the pan, I should have been made into broth
  without any mercy, like my comrades.&rsquo; &lsquo;And would a better fate have fallen
  to my lot?&rsquo; said the straw. &lsquo;The old woman has destroyed all my brethren
  in fire and smoke; she seized sixty of them at once, and took their lives.
  I luckily slipped through her fingers.&rsquo;
<br />
  &lsquo;But what are we to do now?&rsquo; said the coal.
<br />
  &lsquo;I think,&rsquo; answered the bean, &lsquo;that as we have so fortunately escaped
  death, we should keep together like good companions, and lest a new
  mischance should overtake us here, we should go away together, and repair
  to a foreign country.&rsquo;
<br />
  The proposition pleased the two others, and they set out on their way
  together. Soon, however, they came to a little brook, and as there was no
  bridge or foot-plank, they did not know how they were to get over it. The
  straw hit on a good idea, and said: &lsquo;I will lay myself straight across,
  and then you can walk over on me as on a bridge.&rsquo; The straw therefore
  stretched itself from one bank to the other, and the coal, who was of an
  impetuous disposition, tripped quite boldly on to the newly-built bridge.
  But when she had reached the middle, and heard the water rushing beneath
  her, she was after all, afraid, and stood still, and ventured no farther.
  The straw, however, began to burn, broke in two pieces, and fell into the
  stream. The coal slipped after her, hissed when she got into the water,
  and breathed her last. The bean, who had prudently stayed behind on the
  shore, could not but laugh at the event, was unable to stop, and laughed
  so heartily that she burst. It would have been all over with her,
  likewise, if, by good fortune, a tailor who was travelling in search of
  work, had not sat down to rest by the brook. As he had a compassionate
  heart he pulled out his needle and thread, and sewed her together. The
  bean thanked him most prettily, but as the tailor used black thread, all
  beans since then have a black seam.

  BRIAR ROSE
  A king and queen once upon a time reigned in a country a great way off,
  where there were in those days fairies. Now this king and queen had plenty
  of money, and plenty of fine clothes to wear, and plenty of good things to
  eat and drink, and a coach to ride out in every day: but though they had
  been married many years they had no children, and this grieved them very
  much indeed. But one day as the queen was walking by the side of the
  river, at the bottom of the garden, she saw a poor little fish, that had
  thrown itself out of the water, and lay gasping and nearly dead on the
  bank. Then the queen took pity on the little fish, and threw it back again
  into the river; and before it swam away it lifted its head out of the
  water and said, &lsquo;I know what your wish is, and it shall be fulfilled, in
  return for your kindness to me&mdash;you will soon have a daughter.&rsquo; What
  the little fish had foretold soon came to pass; and the queen had a little
  girl, so very beautiful that the king could not cease looking on it for
  joy, and said he would hold a great feast and make merry, and show the
  child to all the land. So he asked his kinsmen, and nobles, and friends,
  and neighbours. But the queen said, &lsquo;I will have the fairies also, that
  they might be kind and good to our little daughter.&rsquo; Now there were
  thirteen fairies in the kingdom; but as the king and queen had only twelve
  golden dishes for them to eat out of, they were forced to leave one of the
  fairies without asking her. So twelve fairies came, each with a high red
  cap on her head, and red shoes with high heels on her feet, and a long
  white wand in her hand: and after the feast was over they gathered round
  in a ring and gave all their best gifts to the little princess. One gave
  her goodness, another beauty, another riches, and so on till she had all
  that was good in the world.
<br />
  Just as eleven of them had done blessing her, a great noise was heard in
  the courtyard, and word was brought that the thirteenth fairy was come,
  with a black cap on her head, and black shoes on her feet, and a
  broomstick in her hand: and presently up she came into the dining-hall.
  Now, as she had not been asked to the feast she was very angry, and
  scolded the king and queen very much, and set to work to take her revenge.
  So she cried out, &lsquo;The king&rsquo;s daughter shall, in her fifteenth year, be
  wounded by a spindle, and fall down dead.&rsquo; Then the twelfth of the
  friendly fairies, who had not yet given her gift, came forward, and said
  that the evil wish must be fulfilled, but that she could soften its
  mischief; so her gift was, that the king&rsquo;s daughter, when the spindle
  wounded her, should not really die, but should only fall asleep for a
  hundred years.
<br />
  However, the king hoped still to save his dear child altogether from the
  threatened evil; so he ordered that all the spindles in the kingdom should
  be bought up and burnt. But all the gifts of the first eleven fairies were
  in the meantime fulfilled; for the princess was so beautiful, and well
  behaved, and good, and wise, that everyone who knew her loved her.
<br />
  It happened that, on the very day she was fifteen years old, the king and
  queen were not at home, and she was left alone in the palace. So she roved
  about by herself, and looked at all the rooms and chambers, till at last
  she came to an old tower, to which there was a narrow staircase ending
  with a little door. In the door there was a golden key, and when she
  turned it the door sprang open, and there sat an old lady spinning away
  very busily. &lsquo;Why, how now, good mother,&rsquo; said the princess; &lsquo;what are you
  doing there?&rsquo; &lsquo;Spinning,&rsquo; said the old lady, and nodded her head, humming
  a tune, while buzz! went the wheel. &lsquo;How prettily that little thing turns
  round!&rsquo; said the princess, and took the spindle and began to try and spin.
  But scarcely had she touched it, before the fairy&rsquo;s prophecy was
  fulfilled; the spindle wounded her, and she fell down lifeless on the
  ground.
<br />
  However, she was not dead, but had only fallen into a deep sleep; and the
  king and the queen, who had just come home, and all their court, fell
  asleep too; and the horses slept in the stables, and the dogs in the
  court, the pigeons on the house-top, and the very flies slept upon the
  walls. Even the fire on the hearth left off blazing, and went to sleep;
  the jack stopped, and the spit that was turning about with a goose upon it
  for the king&rsquo;s dinner stood still; and the cook, who was at that moment
  pulling the kitchen-boy by the hair to give him a box on the ear for
  something he had done amiss, let him go, and both fell asleep; the butler,
  who was slyly tasting the ale, fell asleep with the jug at his lips: and
  thus everything stood still, and slept soundly.
<br />
  A large hedge of thorns soon grew round the palace, and every year it
  became higher and thicker; till at last the old palace was surrounded and
  hidden, so that not even the roof or the chimneys could be seen. But there
  went a report through all the land of the beautiful sleeping Briar Rose
  (for so the king&rsquo;s daughter was called): so that, from time to time,
  several kings&rsquo; sons came, and tried to break through the thicket into the
  palace. This, however, none of them could ever do; for the thorns and
  bushes laid hold of them, as it were with hands; and there they stuck
  fast, and died wretchedly.
<br />
  After many, many years there came a king&rsquo;s son into that land: and an old
  man told him the story of the thicket of thorns; and how a beautiful
  palace stood behind it, and how a wonderful princess, called Briar Rose,
  lay in it asleep, with all her court. He told, too, how he had heard from
  his grandfather that many, many princes had come, and had tried to break
  through the thicket, but that they had all stuck fast in it, and died.
  Then the young prince said, &lsquo;All this shall not frighten me; I will go and
  see this Briar Rose.&rsquo; The old man tried to hinder him, but he was bent
  upon going.
<br />
  Now that very day the hundred years were ended; and as the prince came to
  the thicket he saw nothing but beautiful flowering shrubs, through which
  he went with ease, and they shut in after him as thick as ever. Then he
  came at last to the palace, and there in the court lay the dogs asleep;
  and the horses were standing in the stables; and on the roof sat the
  pigeons fast asleep, with their heads under their wings. And when he came
  into the palace, the flies were sleeping on the walls; the spit was
  standing still; the butler had the jug of ale at his lips, going to drink
  a draught; the maid sat with a fowl in her lap ready to be plucked; and
  the cook in the kitchen was still holding up her hand, as if she was going
  to beat the boy.
<br />
  Then he went on still farther, and all was so still that he could hear
  every breath he drew; till at last he came to the old tower, and opened
  the door of the little room in which Briar Rose was; and there she lay,
  fast asleep on a couch by the window. She looked so beautiful that he
  could not take his eyes off her, so he stooped down and gave her a kiss.
  But the moment he kissed her she opened her eyes and awoke, and smiled
  upon him; and they went out together; and soon the king and queen also
  awoke, and all the court, and gazed on each other with great wonder. And
  the horses shook themselves, and the dogs jumped up and barked; the
  pigeons took their heads from under their wings, and looked about and flew
  into the fields; the flies on the walls buzzed again; the fire in the
  kitchen blazed up; round went the jack, and round went the spit, with the
  goose for the king&rsquo;s dinner upon it; the butler finished his draught of
  ale; the maid went on plucking the fowl; and the cook gave the boy the box
  on his ear.
<br />
  And then the prince and Briar Rose were married, and the wedding feast was
  given; and they lived happily together all their lives long.

  THE DOG AND THE SPARROW
  A shepherd&rsquo;s dog had a master who took no care of him, but often let him
  suffer the greatest hunger. At last he could bear it no longer; so he took
  to his heels, and off he ran in a very sad and sorrowful mood. On the road
  he met a sparrow that said to him, &lsquo;Why are you so sad, my friend?&rsquo;
  &lsquo;Because,&rsquo; said the dog, &lsquo;I am very very hungry, and have nothing to eat.&rsquo;
  &lsquo;If that be all,&rsquo; answered the sparrow, &lsquo;come with me into the next town,
  and I will soon find you plenty of food.&rsquo; So on they went together into
  the town: and as they passed by a butcher&rsquo;s shop, the sparrow said to the
  dog, &lsquo;Stand there a little while till I peck you down a piece of meat.&rsquo; So
  the sparrow perched upon the shelf: and having first looked carefully
  about her to see if anyone was watching her, she pecked and scratched at a
  steak that lay upon the edge of the shelf, till at last down it fell. Then
  the dog snapped it up, and scrambled away with it into a corner, where he
  soon ate it all up. &lsquo;Well,&rsquo; said the sparrow, &lsquo;you shall have some more if
  you will; so come with me to the next shop, and I will peck you down
  another steak.&rsquo; When the dog had eaten this too, the sparrow said to him,
  &lsquo;Well, my good friend, have you had enough now?&rsquo; &lsquo;I have had plenty of
  meat,&rsquo; answered he, &lsquo;but I should like to have a piece of bread to eat
  after it.&rsquo; &lsquo;Come with me then,&rsquo; said the sparrow, &lsquo;and you shall soon have
  that too.&rsquo; So she took him to a baker&rsquo;s shop, and pecked at two rolls that
  lay in the window, till they fell down: and as the dog still wished for
  more, she took him to another shop and pecked down some more for him. When
  that was eaten, the sparrow asked him whether he had had enough now.
  &lsquo;Yes,&rsquo; said he; &lsquo;and now let us take a walk a little way out of the town.&rsquo;
  So they both went out upon the high road; but as the weather was warm,
  they had not gone far before the dog said, &lsquo;I am very much tired&mdash;I
  should like to take a nap.&rsquo; &lsquo;Very well,&rsquo; answered the sparrow, &lsquo;do so, and
  in the meantime I will perch upon that bush.&rsquo; So the dog stretched himself
  out on the road, and fell fast asleep. Whilst he slept, there came by a
  carter with a cart drawn by three horses, and loaded with two casks of
  wine. The sparrow, seeing that the carter did not turn out of the way, but
  would go on in the track in which the dog lay, so as to drive over him,
  called out, &lsquo;Stop! stop! Mr Carter, or it shall be the worse for you.&rsquo; But
  the carter, grumbling to himself, &lsquo;You make it the worse for me, indeed!
  what can you do?&rsquo; cracked his whip, and drove his cart over the poor dog,
  so that the wheels crushed him to death. &lsquo;There,&rsquo; cried the sparrow, &lsquo;thou
  cruel villain, thou hast killed my friend the dog. Now mind what I say.
  This deed of thine shall cost thee all thou art worth.&rsquo; &lsquo;Do your worst,
  and welcome,&rsquo; said the brute, &lsquo;what harm can you do me?&rsquo; and passed on.
  But the sparrow crept under the tilt of the cart, and pecked at the bung
  of one of the casks till she loosened it; and then all the wine ran out,
  without the carter seeing it. At last he looked round, and saw that the
  cart was dripping, and the cask quite empty. &lsquo;What an unlucky wretch I
  am!&rsquo; cried he. &lsquo;Not wretch enough yet!&rsquo; said the sparrow, as she alighted
  upon the head of one of the horses, and pecked at him till he reared up
  and kicked. When the carter saw this, he drew out his hatchet and aimed a
  blow at the sparrow, meaning to kill her; but she flew away, and the blow
  fell upon the poor horse&rsquo;s head with such force, that he fell down dead.
  &lsquo;Unlucky wretch that I am!&rsquo; cried he. &lsquo;Not wretch enough yet!&rsquo; said the
  sparrow. And as the carter went on with the other two horses, she again
  crept under the tilt of the cart, and pecked out the bung of the second
  cask, so that all the wine ran out. When the carter saw this, he again
  cried out, &lsquo;Miserable wretch that I am!&rsquo; But the sparrow answered, &lsquo;Not
  wretch enough yet!&rsquo; and perched on the head of the second horse, and
  pecked at him too. The carter ran up and struck at her again with his
  hatchet; but away she flew, and the blow fell upon the second horse and
  killed him on the spot. &lsquo;Unlucky wretch that I am!&rsquo; said he. &lsquo;Not wretch
  enough yet!&rsquo; said the sparrow; and perching upon the third horse, she
  began to peck him too. The carter was mad with fury; and without looking
  about him, or caring what he was about, struck again at the sparrow; but
  killed his third horse as he done the other two. &lsquo;Alas! miserable wretch
  that I am!&rsquo; cried he. &lsquo;Not wretch enough yet!&rsquo; answered the sparrow as she
  flew away; &lsquo;now will I plague and punish thee at thy own house.&rsquo; The
  carter was forced at last to leave his cart behind him, and to go home
  overflowing with rage and vexation. &lsquo;Alas!&rsquo; said he to his wife, &lsquo;what ill
  luck has befallen me!&mdash;my wine is all spilt, and my horses all three
  dead.&rsquo; &lsquo;Alas! husband,&rsquo; replied she, &lsquo;and a wicked bird has come into the
  house, and has brought with her all the birds in the world, I am sure, and
  they have fallen upon our corn in the loft, and are eating it up at such a
  rate!&rsquo; Away ran the husband upstairs, and saw thousands of birds sitting
  upon the floor eating up his corn, with the sparrow in the midst of them.
  &lsquo;Unlucky wretch that I am!&rsquo; cried the carter; for he saw that the corn was
  almost all gone. &lsquo;Not wretch enough yet!&rsquo; said the sparrow; &lsquo;thy cruelty
  shall cost thee thy life yet!&rsquo; and away she flew.
<br />
  The carter seeing that he had thus lost all that he had, went down into
  his kitchen; and was still not sorry for what he had done, but sat himself
  angrily and sulkily in the chimney corner. But the sparrow sat on the
  outside of the window, and cried &lsquo;Carter! thy cruelty shall cost thee thy
  life!&rsquo; With that he jumped up in a rage, seized his hatchet, and threw it
  at the sparrow; but it missed her, and only broke the window. The sparrow
  now hopped in, perched upon the window-seat, and cried, &lsquo;Carter! it shall
  cost thee thy life!&rsquo; Then he became mad and blind with rage, and struck
  the window-seat with such force that he cleft it in two: and as the
  sparrow flew from place to place, the carter and his wife were so furious,
  that they broke all their furniture, glasses, chairs, benches, the table,
  and at last the walls, without touching the bird at all. In the end,
  however, they caught her: and the wife said, &lsquo;Shall I kill her at once?&rsquo;
  &lsquo;No,&rsquo; cried he, &lsquo;that is letting her off too easily: she shall die a much
  more cruel death; I will eat her.&rsquo; But the sparrow began to flutter about,
  and stretch out her neck and cried, &lsquo;Carter! it shall cost thee thy life
  yet!&rsquo; With that he could wait no longer: so he gave his wife the hatchet,
  and cried, &lsquo;Wife, strike at the bird and kill her in my hand.&rsquo; And the
  wife struck; but she missed her aim, and hit her husband on the head so
  that he fell down dead, and the sparrow flew quietly home to her nest.

  THE TWELVE DANCING PRINCESSES
  There was a king who had twelve beautiful daughters. They slept in twelve
  beds all in one room; and when they went to bed, the doors were shut and
  locked up; but every morning their shoes were found to be quite worn
  through as if they had been danced in all night; and yet nobody could find
  out how it happened, or where they had been.
<br />
  Then the king made it known to all the land, that if any person could
  discover the secret, and find out where it was that the princesses danced
  in the night, he should have the one he liked best for his wife, and
  should be king after his death; but whoever tried and did not succeed,
  after three days and nights, should be put to death.
<br />
  A king&rsquo;s son soon came. He was well entertained, and in the evening was
  taken to the chamber next to the one where the princesses lay in their
  twelve beds. There he was to sit and watch where they went to dance; and,
  in order that nothing might pass without his hearing it, the door of his
  chamber was left open. But the king&rsquo;s son soon fell asleep; and when he
  awoke in the morning he found that the princesses had all been dancing,
  for the soles of their shoes were full of holes. The same thing happened
  the second and third night: so the king ordered his head to be cut off.
  After him came several others; but they had all the same luck, and all
  lost their lives in the same manner.
<br />
  Now it chanced that an old soldier, who had been wounded in battle and
  could fight no longer, passed through the country where this king reigned:
  and as he was travelling through a wood, he met an old woman, who asked
  him where he was going. &lsquo;I hardly know where I am going, or what I had
  better do,&rsquo; said the soldier; &lsquo;but I think I should like very well to find
  out where it is that the princesses dance, and then in time I might be a
  king.&rsquo; &lsquo;Well,&rsquo; said the old dame, &lsquo;that is no very hard task: only take
  care not to drink any of the wine which one of the princesses will bring
  to you in the evening; and as soon as she leaves you pretend to be fast
  asleep.&rsquo;
<br />
  Then she gave him a cloak, and said, &lsquo;As soon as you put that on you will
  become invisible, and you will then be able to follow the princesses
  wherever they go.&rsquo; When the soldier heard all this good counsel, he
  determined to try his luck: so he went to the king, and said he was
  willing to undertake the task.
<br />
  He was as well received as the others had been, and the king ordered fine
  royal robes to be given him; and when the evening came he was led to the
  outer chamber. Just as he was going to lie down, the eldest of the
  princesses brought him a cup of wine; but the soldier threw it all away
  secretly, taking care not to drink a drop. Then he laid himself down on
  his bed, and in a little while began to snore very loud as if he was fast
  asleep. When the twelve princesses heard this they laughed heartily; and
  the eldest said, &lsquo;This fellow too might have done a wiser thing than lose
  his life in this way!&rsquo; Then they rose up and opened their drawers and
  boxes, and took out all their fine clothes, and dressed themselves at the
  glass, and skipped about as if they were eager to begin dancing. But the
  youngest said, &lsquo;I don&rsquo;t know how it is, while you are so happy I feel very
  uneasy; I am sure some mischance will befall us.&rsquo; &lsquo;You simpleton,&rsquo; said
  the eldest, &lsquo;you are always afraid; have you forgotten how many kings&rsquo;
  sons have already watched in vain? And as for this soldier, even if I had
  not given him his sleeping draught, he would have slept soundly enough.&rsquo;
<br />
  When they were all ready, they went and looked at the soldier; but he
  snored on, and did not stir hand or foot: so they thought they were quite
  safe; and the eldest went up to her own bed and clapped her hands, and the
  bed sank into the floor and a trap-door flew open. The soldier saw them
  going down through the trap-door one after another, the eldest leading the
  way; and thinking he had no time to lose, he jumped up, put on the cloak
  which the old woman had given him, and followed them; but in the middle of
  the stairs he trod on the gown of the youngest princess, and she cried out
  to her sisters, &lsquo;All is not right; someone took hold of my gown.&rsquo; &lsquo;You
  silly creature!&rsquo; said the eldest, &lsquo;it is nothing but a nail in the wall.&rsquo;
  Then down they all went, and at the bottom they found themselves in a most
  delightful grove of trees; and the leaves were all of silver, and
  glittered and sparkled beautifully. The soldier wished to take away some
  token of the place; so he broke off a little branch, and there came a loud
  noise from the tree. Then the youngest daughter said again, &lsquo;I am sure all
  is not right&mdash;did not you hear that noise? That never happened
  before.&rsquo; But the eldest said, &lsquo;It is only our princes, who are shouting
  for joy at our approach.&rsquo;
<br />
  Then they came to another grove of trees, where all the leaves were of
  gold; and afterwards to a third, where the leaves were all glittering
  diamonds. And the soldier broke a branch from each; and every time there
  was a loud noise, which made the youngest sister tremble with fear; but
  the eldest still said, it was only the princes, who were crying for joy.
  So they went on till they came to a great lake; and at the side of the
  lake there lay twelve little boats with twelve handsome princes in them,
  who seemed to be waiting there for the princesses.
<br />
  One of the princesses went into each boat, and the soldier stepped into
  the same boat with the youngest. As they were rowing over the lake, the
  prince who was in the boat with the youngest princess and the soldier
  said, &lsquo;I do not know why it is, but though I am rowing with all my might
  we do not get on so fast as usual, and I am quite tired: the boat seems
  very heavy today.&rsquo; &lsquo;It is only the heat of the weather,&rsquo; said the
  princess: &lsquo;I feel it very warm too.&rsquo;
<br />
  On the other side of the lake stood a fine illuminated castle, from which
  came the merry music of horns and trumpets. There they all landed, and
  went into the castle, and each prince danced with his princess; and the
  soldier, who was all the time invisible, danced with them too; and when
  any of the princesses had a cup of wine set by her, he drank it all up, so
  that when she put the cup to her mouth it was empty. At this, too, the
  youngest sister was terribly frightened, but the eldest always silenced
  her. They danced on till three o&rsquo;clock in the morning, and then all their
  shoes were worn out, so that they were obliged to leave off. The princes
  rowed them back again over the lake (but this time the soldier placed
  himself in the boat with the eldest princess); and on the opposite shore
  they took leave of each other, the princesses promising to come again the
  next night.
<br />
  When they came to the stairs, the soldier ran on before the princesses,
  and laid himself down; and as the twelve sisters slowly came up very much
  tired, they heard him snoring in his bed; so they said, &lsquo;Now all is quite
  safe&rsquo;; then they undressed themselves, put away their fine clothes, pulled
  off their shoes, and went to bed. In the morning the soldier said nothing
  about what had happened, but determined to see more of this strange
  adventure, and went again the second and third night; and every thing
  happened just as before; the princesses danced each time till their shoes
  were worn to pieces, and then returned home. However, on the third night
  the soldier carried away one of the golden cups as a token of where he had
  been.
<br />
  As soon as the time came when he was to declare the secret, he was taken
  before the king with the three branches and the golden cup; and the twelve
  princesses stood listening behind the door to hear what he would say. And
  when the king asked him. &lsquo;Where do my twelve daughters dance at night?&rsquo; he
  answered, &lsquo;With twelve princes in a castle under ground.&rsquo; And then he told
  the king all that had happened, and showed him the three branches and the
  golden cup which he had brought with him. Then the king called for the
  princesses, and asked them whether what the soldier said was true: and
  when they saw that they were discovered, and that it was of no use to deny
  what had happened, they confessed it all. And the king asked the soldier
  which of them he would choose for his wife; and he answered, &lsquo;I am not
  very young, so I will have the eldest.&rsquo;&mdash;And they were married that
  very day, and the soldier was chosen to be the king&rsquo;s heir.

  THE FISHERMAN AND HIS WIFE
  There was once a fisherman who lived with his wife in a pigsty, close by
  the seaside. The fisherman used to go out all day long a-fishing; and one
  day, as he sat on the shore with his rod, looking at the sparkling waves
  and watching his line, all on a sudden his float was dragged away deep
  into the water: and in drawing it up he pulled out a great fish. But the
  fish said, &lsquo;Pray let me live! I am not a real fish; I am an enchanted
  prince: put me in the water again, and let me go!&rsquo; &lsquo;Oh, ho!&rsquo; said the man,
  &lsquo;you need not make so many words about the matter; I will have nothing to
  do with a fish that can talk: so swim away, sir, as soon as you please!&rsquo;
  Then he put him back into the water, and the fish darted straight down to
  the bottom, and left a long streak of blood behind him on the wave.
<br />
  When the fisherman went home to his wife in the pigsty, he told her how he
  had caught a great fish, and how it had told him it was an enchanted
  prince, and how, on hearing it speak, he had let it go again. &lsquo;Did not you
  ask it for anything?&rsquo; said the wife, &lsquo;we live very wretchedly here, in
  this nasty dirty pigsty; do go back and tell the fish we want a snug
  little cottage.&rsquo;
<br />
  The fisherman did not much like the business: however, he went to the
  seashore; and when he came back there the water looked all yellow and
  green. And he stood at the water&rsquo;s edge, and said: