Part 1
# Household Tales by Brothers Grimm ### By Grimm, Jacob
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Household Tales by Brothers Grimm
by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm
Translated by Margaret Hunt
CONTENTS
1 The Frog King, or Iron Henry (Der Froschkönig oder der eiserne Heinrich) 2 Cat and Mouse in Partnership (Katze und Maus in Gesellschaft) 3 Our Lady’s Child (Marienkind) 4 The Story of the Youth Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was (Märchen von einem, der auszog, das Fürchten zu lernen) 5 The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids (Der Wolf und die sieben jungen Geißlein) 6 Faithful John (Der treue Johannes) 7 The Good Bargain (Der gute Handel) 8 The Strange Musician (Der wunderliche Spielmann) 9 The Twelve Brothers (Die zwölf Brüder) 10 The Pack of Ragamuffins (Das Lumpengesindel) 11 Little Brother and Little Sister (Brüderchen und Schwesterchen) 12 Rapunzel (Rapunzel) 13 The Three Little Men in the Forest (Die drei Männlein im Walde) 14 The Three Spinning Women (Die drei Spinnerinnen) 15 Hansel and Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel) 16 The Three Snake-Leaves (Die drei Schlangenblätter) 17 The White Snake (Die weiße Schlange) 18 Straw, Coal, and Bean (Strohhalm, Kohle und Bohne) 19 The Fisherman and His Wife (Von dem Fischer un syner Fru) 20 The Brave Little Tailor (Das tapfere Schneiderlein) 21 Cinderella (Aschenputtel) 22 The Riddle (Das Rätsel) 23 The Mouse, the Bird, and the Sausage (Von dem Mäuschen, Vögelchen und der Bratwurst) 24 Frau Holle (Frau Holle) 25 The Seven Ravens (Die sieben Raben) 26 Little Red-Cap (Rotkäppchen) 27 The Bremen Town Musicians (Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten) 28 The Singing Bone (Der singende Knochen) 29 The Devil with the Three Golden Hairs (Der Teufel mit den drei goldenen Haaren) 30 Little Louse and Little Flea (Läuschen und Flöhchen) 31 The Girl without Hands (Das Mädchen ohne Hände) 32 Clever Hans (Der gescheite Hans) 33 The Three Languages (Die drei Sprachen) 34 Clever Elsie (Die kluge Else) 35 The Tailor in Heaven (Der Schneider im Himmel) 36 The Wishing-table, the Gold-ass, and the Cudgel in the Sack (Tischchendeckdich, Goldesel und Knüppel aus dem Sack) 37 Thumbling (Daumesdick) 38 The Wedding of Mrs. Fox (Die Hochzeit der Frau Füchsin) 39 The Elves (Die Wichtelmänner) 40 The Robber Bridegroom (Der Räuberbräutigam) 41 Herr Korbes (Herr Korbes) 42 The Godfather (Der Herr Gevatter) 43 Frau Trude (Frau Trude) 44 Godfather Death (Der Gevatter Tod) 45 Thumbling as Journeyman [Thumbling’s Travels] (Daumerlings Wanderschaft) 46 Fitcher’s Bird [Fowler’s Fowl] (Fitchers Vogel) 47 The Juniper-Tree (Von dem Machandelboom) 48 Old Sultan (Der alte Sultan) 49 The Six Swans (Die sechs Schwäne) 50 Little Briar-Rose (Dornröschen) 51 Foundling-Bird (Fundevogel) 52 King Thrushbeard (König Drosselbart) 53 Little Snow-White (Sneewittchen) 54 The Knapsack, the Hat, and the Horn (Der Ranzen, das Hütlein und das Hörnlein) 55 Rumpelstiltskin (Rumpelstilzchen) 56 Sweetheart Roland (Der Liebste Roland) 57 The Golden Bird (Der goldene Vogel) 58 The Dog and the Sparrow (Der Hund und der Sperling) 59 Frederick and Catherine (Der Frieder und das Catherlieschen) 60 The Two Brothers (Die zwei Brüder) 61 The Little Peasant (Das Bürle) 62 The Queen Bee (Die Bienenkönigin) 63 The Three Feathers (Die drei Federn) 64 The Golden Goose (Die goldene Gans) 65 Allerleirauh [All-Kinds-Of-Fur] (Allerleirauh) 66 The Hare’s Bride (Häsichenbraut) 67 The Twelve Huntsmen (Die zwölf Jäger) 68 The Thief and His Master (De Gaudeif un sien Meester) 69 Jorinde and Joringel (Jorinde und Joringel) 70 The Three Children of Fortune (Die drei Glückskinder) 71 How Six Men Got On in the World (Sechse kommen durch die ganze Welt) 72 The Wolf and the Man (Der Wolf und der Mensch) 73 The Wolf and the Fox (Der Wolf und der Fuchs) 74 The Fox and His Cousin (Der Fuchs und die Frau Gevatterin) 75 The Fox and the Cat (Der Fuchs und die Katze) 76 The Pink (Die Nelke) 77 Clever Grethel (Das kluge Gretel) 78 The Old Man and His Grandson (Der alte Großvater und der Enkel) 79 The Water-Nix (Die Wassernixe) 80 The Death of the Little Hen (Von dem Tode des Hühnchens) 81 Brother Lustig (Bruder Lustig) 82 Gambling Hansel (De Spielhansl) 83 Hans in Luck (Hans im Glück) 84 Hans Married (Hans heiratet) 85 The Gold-Children (Die Goldkinder) 86 The Fox and the Geese (Der Fuchs und die Gänse) 87 The Poor Man and the Rich Man (Der Arme und der Reiche) 88 The Singing, Springing Lark (Das singende springende Löweneckerchen) 89 The Goose-Girl (Die Gänsemagd) 90 The Young Giant (Der junge Riese) 91 The Gnome (Dat Erdmänneken) 92 The King of the Golden Mountain (Der König vom goldenen Berg) 93 The Raven (Die Rabe) 94 The Peasant’s Clever Daughter (Die kluge Bauerntochter) 95 Old Hildebrand (Der alte Hildebrand) 96 The Three Little Birds (De drei Vügelkens) 97 The Water of Life (Das Wasser des Lebens) 98 Dr. Know-All (Doktor Allwissend) 99 The Spirit in the Bottle (Der Geist im Glas) 100 The Devil’s Sooty Brother (Des Teufels rußiger Bruder) 101 Bearskin (Der Bärenhäuter) 102 The Willow-Wren and the Bear (Der Zaunkönig und der Bär) 103 Sweet Porridge (Der süße Brei) 104 Wise Folks (Die klugen Leute) 105 Stories about Snakes (Märchen von der Unke) 106 The Poor Miller’s Boy and the Cat (Der arme Müllerbursch und das Kätzchen) 107 The Two Travellers (Die beiden Wanderer) 108 Hans the Hedgehog (Hans mein Igel) 109 The Shroud (Das Totenhemdchen) 110 The Jew among Thorns (Der Jude im Dorn) 111 The Skilful Huntsman (Der gelernte Jäger) 112 The Flail from Heaven (Der Dreschflegel vom Himmel) 113 The Two Kings’ Children (De beiden Künigeskinner) 114 The Cunning Little Tailor (Vom klugen Schneiderlein) 115 The Bright Sun Brings It to Light (Die klare Sonne bringt’s an den Tag) 116 The Blue Light (Das blaue Licht) 117 The Wilful Child (Das eigensinnige Kind) 118 The Three Army Surgeons (Die drei Feldscherer) 119 The Seven Swabians (Die sieben Schwaben) 120 The Three Apprentices (Die drei Handwerksburschen) 121 The King’s Son Who Feared Nothing (Der Königssohn, der sich vor nichts fürchtet) 122 Donkey Cabbages (Der Krautesel) 123 The Old Woman in the Wood (Die Alte im Wald) 124 The Three Brothers (Die drei Brüder) 125 The Devil and His Grandmother (Der Teufel und seine Großmutter) 126 Ferdinand the Faithful (Ferenand getrü un Ferenand ungetrü) 127 The Iron Stove (Der Eisenofen) 128 The Lazy Spinner (Die faule Spinnerin) 129 The Four Skilful Brothers (Die vier kunstreichen Brüder) 130 One-Eye, Two-Eyes, and Three-Eyes (Einäuglein, Zweiäuglein und Dreiäuglein) 131 Fair Katrinelje and Pif Paf Poltrie (Die schöne Katrinelje und Pif Paf Poltrie) 132 The Fox and the Horse (Der Fuchs und das Pferd) 133 The Shoes that Were Danced to Pieces (Die zertanzten Schuhe) 134 The Six Servants (Die sechs Diener) 135 The White Bride and the Black One (Die weiße und die schwarze Braut) 136 Iron John (Der Eisenhans) 137 The Three Black Princesses (De drei schwatten Prinzessinnen) 138 Knoist and His Three Sons (Knoist un sine dre Sühne) 139 The Maid of Brakel (Dat Mäken von Brakel) 140 Domestic Servants (Das Hausgesinde) 141 The Lambkin and the Little Fish (Das Lämmchen und Fischchen) 142 Simeli Mountain (Simeliberg) 143 Going A-Travelling (Up Reisen gohn) 144 The Donkey (Das Eselein) 145 The Ungrateful Son (Der undankbare Sohn) 146 The Turnip (Die Rübe) 147 The Old Man Made Young Again (Das junggeglühte Männlein) 148 The Lord’s Animals and the Devil’s (Des Herrn und des Teufels Getier) 149 The Beam (Der Hahnenbalken) 150 The Old Beggar-Woman (Die alte Bettelfrau) 151 The Three Sluggards (Die drei Faulen) 151* The Twelve Idle Servants (Die zwölf faulen Knechte) 152 The Shepherd Boy (Das Hirtenbüblein) 153 The Star-Money (Die Sterntaler) 154 The Stolen Farthings (Der gestohlene Heller) 155 Brides on their Trial (Die Brautschau) 156 Odds and Ends (Die Schlickerlinge) 157 The Sparrow and His Four Children (Der Sperling und seine vier Kinder) 158 The Story of Schlauraffen Land [The Tale of Cockaigne] (Das Märchen vom Schlauraffenland) 159 The Ditmarsh Tale of Wonders (Das Diethmarsische Lügenmärchen) 160 A Riddling Tale (Rätselmärchen) 161 Snow-White and Rose-Red (Schneeweißchen und Rosenrot) 162 The Wise Servant (Der kluge Knecht) 163 The Glass Coffin (Der gläserne Sarg) 164 Lazy Harry (Der faule Heinz) 165 The Griffin (Der Vogel Greif) 166 Strong Hans (Der starke Hans) 167 The Peasant in Heaven (Das Bürle im Himmel) 168 Lean Lisa (Die hagere Liese) 169 The Hut in the Forest (Das Waldhaus) 170 Sharing Joy and Sorrow (Lieb und Leid teilen) 171 The Willow-Wren (Der Zaunkönig) 172 The Sole [The Flounder] (Die Scholle) 173 The Bittern and Hoopoe (Rohrdommel und Wiedehopf) 174 The Owl (Die Eule) 175 The Moon (Der Mond) 176 The Duration of Life (Die Lebenszeit) 177 Death’s Messengers (Die Boten des Todes) 178 Master Pfriem (Meister Pfriem) 179 The Goose-Girl at the Well (Die Gänsehirtin am Brunnen) 180 Eve’s Various Children (Die ungleichen Kinder Evas) 181 The Nixie of the Mill-Pond (Die Nixe im Teich) 182 The Little Folks’ Presents (Die Geschenke des kleinen Volkes) 183 The Giant and the Tailor (Der Riese und der Schneider) 184 The Nail (Der Nagel) 185 The Poor Boy in the Grave (Der arme Junge im Grab) 186 The True Sweetheart [The True Bride] (Die wahre Braut) 187 The Hare and the Hedgehog (Der Hase und der Igel) 188 The Spindle, the Shuttle, and the Needle (Spindel, Weberschiffchen und Nadel) 189 The Peasant and the Devil (Der Bauer und der Teufel) 190 The Crumbs on the Table (Die Brosamen auf dem Tisch) 191 The Sea-Hare (Das Meerhäschen) 192 The Master Thief (Der Meisterdieb) 193 The Drummer (Der Trommler) 194 The Ear of Corn (Die Kornähre) 195 The Grave Mound (Der Grabhügel) 196 Old Rinkrank (Oll Rinkrank) 197 The Crystal Ball (Die Kristallkugel) 198 Maid Maleen (Jungfrau Maleen) 199 The Boot of Buffalo Leather (Der Stiefel von Büffelleder) 200 The Golden Key (Der goldene Schlüssel) Children’s Legends Legend 1 St. Joseph in the Forest (Der heilige Joseph im Walde) Legend 2 The Twelve Apostles (Die zwölf Apostel) Legend 3 The Rose (Die Rose) Legend 4 Poverty and Humility Lead to Heaven (Armut und Demut führen zum Himmel) Legend 5 God’s Food (Gottes Speise) Legend 6 The Three Green Twigs (Die drei grünen Zweige) Legend 7 Our Lady’s Little Glass (Muttergottesgläschen) Legend 8 The Aged Mother (Die alte Mütterchen) Legend 9 The Heavenly Wedding (Die himmlische Hochzeit) Legend 10 The Hazel Branch (Die Haselrute)
1 The Frog-King, or Iron Henry
In old times when wishing still helped one, there lived a king whose daughters were all beautiful, but the youngest was so beautiful that the sun itself, which has seen so much, was astonished whenever it shone in her face. Close by the King’s castle lay a great dark forest, and under an old lime-tree in the forest was a well, and when the day was very warm, the King’s child went out into the forest and sat down by the side of the cool fountain, and when she was dull she took a golden ball, and threw it up on high and caught it, and this ball was her favorite plaything.
Now it so happened that on one occasion the princess’s golden ball did not fall into the little hand which she was holding up for it, but on to the ground beyond, and rolled straight into the water. The King’s daughter followed it with her eyes, but it vanished, and the well was deep, so deep that the bottom could not be seen. On this she began to cry, and cried louder and louder, and could not be comforted. And as she thus lamented some one said to her, “What ails thee, King’s daughter? Thou weepest so that even a stone would show pity.” She looked round to the side from whence the voice came, and saw a frog stretching forth its thick, ugly head from the water. “Ah! old water-splasher, is it thou?” said she; “I am weeping for my golden ball, which has fallen into the well.”
“Be quiet, and do not weep,” answered the frog, “I can help thee, but what wilt thou give me if I bring thy plaything up again?” “Whatever thou wilt have, dear frog,” said she—“My clothes, my pearls and jewels, and even the golden crown which I am wearing.”
The frog answered, “I do not care for thy clothes, thy pearls and jewels, or thy golden crown, but if thou wilt love me and let me be thy companion and play-fellow, and sit by thee at thy little table, and eat off thy little golden plate, and drink out of thy little cup, and sleep in thy little bed—if thou wilt promise me this I will go down below, and bring thee thy golden ball up again.”
“Oh yes,” said she, “I promise thee all thou wishest, if thou wilt but bring me my ball back again.” She, however, thought, “How the silly frog does talk! He lives in the water with the other frogs, and croaks, and can be no companion to any human being!”
But the frog when he had received this promise, put his head into the water and sank down, and in a short while came swimmming up again with the ball in his mouth, and threw it on the grass. The King’s daughter was delighted to see her pretty plaything once more, and picked it up, and ran away with it. “Wait, wait,” said the frog. “Take me with thee. I can’t run as thou canst.” But what did it avail him to scream his croak, croak, after her, as loudly as he could? She did not listen to it, but ran home and soon forgot the poor frog, who was forced to go back into his well again.
The next day when she had seated herself at table with the King and all the courtiers, and was eating from her little golden plate, something came creeping splish splash, splish splash, up the marble staircase, and when it had got to the top, it knocked at the door and cried, “Princess, youngest princess, open the door for me.” She ran to see who was outside, but when she opened the door, there sat the frog in front of it. Then she slammed the door to, in great haste, sat down to dinner again, and was quite frightened. The King saw plainly that her heart was beating violently, and said, “My child, what art thou so afraid of? Is there perchance a giant outside who wants to carry thee away?” “Ah, no,” replied she. “It is no giant but a disgusting frog.”
“What does a frog want with thee?” “Ah, dear father, yesterday as I was in the forest sitting by the well, playing, my golden ball fell into the water. And because I cried so, the frog brought it out again for me, and because he so insisted, I promised him he should be my companion, but I never thought he would be able to come out of his water! And now he is outside there, and wants to come in to me.”
In the meantime it knocked a second time, and cried,
“Princess! youngest princess! Open the door for me! Dost thou not know what thou saidst to me Yesterday by the cool waters of the fountain? Princess, youngest princess! Open the door for me!”
Then said the King, “That which thou hast promised must thou perform. Go and let him in.” She went and opened the door, and the frog hopped in and followed her, step by step, to her chair. There he sat and cried, “Lift me up beside thee.” She delayed, until at last the King commanded her to do it. When the frog was once on the chair he wanted to be on the table, and when he was on the table he said, “Now, push thy little golden plate nearer to me that we may eat together.” She did this, but it was easy to see that she did not do it willingly. The frog enjoyed what he ate, but almost every mouthful she took choked her. At length he said, “I have eaten and am satisfied; now I am tired, carry me into thy little room and make thy little silken bed ready, and we will both lie down and go to sleep.”
The King’s daughter began to cry, for she was afraid of the cold frog which she did not like to touch, and which was now to sleep in her pretty, clean little bed. But the King grew angry and said, “He who helped thee when thou wert in trouble ought not afterwards to be despised by thee.” So she took hold of the frog with two fingers, carried him upstairs, and put him in a corner. But when she was in bed he crept to her and said, “I am tired, I want to sleep as well as thou, lift me up or I will tell thy father.” Then she was terribly angry, and took him up and threw him with all her might against the wall. “Now, thou wilt be quiet, odious frog,” said she. But when he fell down he was no frog but a King’s son with beautiful kind eyes. He by her father’s will was now her dear companion and husband. Then he told her how he had been bewitched by a wicked witch, and how no one could have delivered him from the well but herself, and that to-morrow they would go together into his kingdom. Then they went to sleep, and next morning when the sun awoke them, a carriage came driving up with eight white horses, which had white ostrich feathers on their heads, and were harnessed with golden chains, and behind stood the young King’s servant Faithful Henry. Faithful Henry had been so unhappy when his master was changed into a frog, that he had caused three iron bands to be laid round his heart, lest it should burst with grief and sadness. The carriage was to conduct the young King into his Kingdom. Faithful Henry helped them both in, and placed himself behind again, and was full of joy because of this deliverance. And when they had driven a part of the way the King’s son heard a cracking behind him as if something had broken. So he turned round and cried, “Henry, the carriage is breaking.”
“No, master, it is not the carriage. It is a band from my heart, which was put there in my great pain when you were a frog and imprisoned in the well.” Again and once again while they were on their way something cracked, and each time the King’s son thought the carriage was breaking; but it was only the bands which were springing from the heart of faithful Henry because his master was set free and was happy.
2 Cat and Mouse in Partnership
A certain cat had made the acquaintance of a mouse, and had said so much to her about the great love and friendship she felt for her, that at length the mouse agreed that they should live and keep house together. “But we must make a provision for winter, or else we shall suffer from hunger,” said the cat, “and you, little mouse, cannot venture everywhere, or you will be caught in a trap some day.” The good advice was followed, and a pot of fat was bought, but they did not know where to put it. At length, after much consideration, the cat said, “I know no place where it will be better stored up than in the church, for no one dares take anything away from there. We will set it beneath the altar, and not touch it until we are really in need of it.” So the pot was placed in safety, but it was not long before the cat had a great yearning for it, and said to the mouse, “I want to tell you something, little mouse; my cousin has brought a little son into the world, and has asked me to be godmother; he is white with brown spots, and I am to hold him over the font at the christening. Let me go out to-day, and you look after the house by yourself.” “Yes, yes,” answered the mouse, “by all means go, and if you get anything very good, think of me, I should like a drop of sweet red christening wine too.” All this, however, was untrue; the cat had no cousin, and had not been asked to be godmother. She went straight to the church, stole to the pot of fat, began to lick at it, and licked the top of the fat off. Then she took a walk upon the roofs of the town, looked out for opportunities, and then stretched herself in the sun, and licked her lips whenever she thought of the pot of fat, and not until it was evening did she return home. “Well, here you are again,” said the mouse, “no doubt you have had a merry day.” “All went off well,” answered the cat. “What name did they give the child?” “Top off!” said the cat quite coolly. “Top off!” cried the mouse, “that is a very odd and uncommon name, is it a usual one in your family?” “What does it signify,” said the cat, “it is no worse than Crumb-stealer, as your god-children are called.”
Before long the cat was seized by another fit of longing. She said to the mouse, “You must do me a favour, and once more manage the house for a day alone. I am again asked to be godmother, and, as the child has a white ring round its neck, I cannot refuse.” The good mouse consented, but the cat crept behind the town walls to the church, and devoured half the pot of fat. “Nothing ever seems so good as what one keeps to oneself,” said she, and was quite satisfied with her day’s work. When she went home the mouse inquired, “And what was this child christened?” “Half-done,” answered the cat. “Half-done! What are you saying? I never heard the name in my life, I’ll wager anything it is not in the calendar!”
The cat’s mouth soon began to water for some more licking. “All good things go in threes,” said she, “I am asked to stand godmother again. The child is quite black, only it has white paws, but with that exception, it has not a single white hair on its whole body; this only happens once every few years, you will let me go, won’t you?” “Top-off! Half-done!” answered the mouse, “they are such odd names, they make me very thoughtful.” “You sit at home,” said the cat, “in your dark-grey fur coat and long tail, and are filled with fancies, that’s because you do not go out in the daytime.” During the cat’s absence the mouse cleaned the house, and put it in order but the greedy cat entirely emptied the pot of fat. “When everything is eaten up one has some peace,” said she to herself, and well filled and fat she did not return home till night. The mouse at once asked what name had been given to the third child. “It will not please you more than the others,” said the cat. “He is called All-gone.” “All-gone,” cried the mouse, “that is the most suspicious name of all! I have never seen it in print. All-gone; what can that mean?” and she shook her head, curled herself up, and lay down to sleep.