THE GOOSE-GIRL

There was once upon a time an old Queen
whose husband had been dead for many
years, and she had a beautiful
daughter. When the princess grew up she
was betrothed to a prince who lived at
a great distance. When the time came
for her to be married, and she had to
journey forth into the distant kingdom,
the aged Queen packed up for her many
costly vessels of silver and gold, and
trinkets also of gold and silver; and
cups and jewels, in short, everything
which appertained to a royal dowry, for
she loved her child with all her heart.
She likewise sent her maid in waiting,
who was to ride with her, and hand her
over to the bridegroom, and each had a
horse for the journey, but the horse of
the King's daughter was called Falada,
and could speak. So when the hour of
parting had come, the aged mother went
into her bedroom, took a small knife
and cut her finger with it until it
bled, then she held a white
handkerchief to it into which she let
three drops of blood fall, gave it to
her daughter and said, "Dear child,
preserve this carefully, it will be of
service to you on your way." So they
took a sorrowful leave of each other;
the princess put the piece of cloth in
her bosom, mounted her horse, and then
went away to her bridegroom. After she
had ridden for a while she felt a
burning thirst, and said to her
waiting-maid, "Dismount, and take my
cup which thou hast brought with thee
for me, and get me some water from the
stream, for I should like to drink."
"If you are thirsty," said the
waiting-maid, "get off your horse
yourself, and lie down and drink out of
the water, I don't choose to be your
servant." So in her great thirst the
princess alighted, bent down over the
water in the stream and drank, and was
not allowed to drink out of the golden
cup. Then she said, "Ah, Heaven!" and
the three drops of blood answered, "If
thy mother knew this, her heart would
break." But the King's daughter was
humble, said nothing, and mounted her
horse again. She rode some miles
further, but the day was warm, the sun
scorched her, and she was thirsty once
more, and when they came to a stream of
water, she again cried to her
waiting-maid, "Dismount, and give me
some water in my golden cup," for she
had long ago forgotten the girl's ill
words. But the waiting-maid said still
more haughtily, "If you wish to drink,
drink as you can, I don't choose to be
your maid." Then in her great thirst
the King's daughter alighted, bent over
the flowing stream, wept and said, "Ah,
Heaven!" and the drops of blood
again replied, "If thy mother knew
this, her heart would break." And as
she was thus drinking and leaning right
over the stream, the handkerchief with
the three drops of blood fell out of
her bosom, and floated away with the
water without her observing it, so
great was her trouble. The
waiting-maid, however, had seen it, and
she rejoiced to think that she had now
power over the bride, for since the
princess had lost the drops of blood,
she had become weak and powerless. So
now when she wanted to mount her horse
again, the one that was called Falada,
the waiting-maid said, "Falada is more
suitable for me, and my nag will do for
thee," and the princess had to be
content with that. Then the
waiting-maid, with many hard words,
bade the princess exchange her royal
apparel for her own shabby clothes; and
at length she was compelled to swear by
the clear sky above her, that she would
not say one word of this to any one at
the royal court, and if she had not
taken this oath she would have been
killed on the spot. But Falada saw all
this, and observed it well. The
waiting-maid now mounted Falada, and
the true bride the bad horse, and thus
they travelled onwards, until at length
they entered the royal palace. There
were great rejoicings over her arrival,
and the prince sprang forward to meet
her, lifted the waiting-maid from her
horse, and thought she was his consort.
She was conducted upstairs, but the
real princess was left standing below.
Then the old King looked out of the
window and saw her standing in the
courtyard, and how dainty and delicate
and beautiful she was, and instantly
went to the royal apartment, and asked
the bride about the girl she had with
her who was standing down below in the
courtyard, and who she was? "I picked
her up on my way for a companion; give
the girl something to work at, that she
may not stand idle." But the old King
had no work for her, and knew of none,
so he said, "I have a little boy who
tends the geese, she may help him." The
boy was called Conrad, and the true
bride had to help him to tend the
geese. Soon afterwards the false bride
said to the young King, "Dearest
husband, I beg you to do me a favour."
He answered, "I will do so most
will- ingiy." "Then send for the
knacker, and have the head of the horse
on which I rode here cut off, for it
vexed me on the way." In reality, she
was afraid that the horse might tell
how she had behaved to the King's
daughter. Then she succeeded in making
the King promise that it should be
done, and the faithful Falada was to
die; this came to the ears of the real
princess, and she secretly promised to
pay the knacker a piece of gold if he
would perform a small service for her.
There was a great dark-looking gateway
in the town, through which morning and
evening she had to pass with the geese:
would he be so good as to nail up
Falada's head on it, so that she might
see him again, more than once. The
knacker's man promised to do that, and
cut off the head, and nailed it fast
beneath the dark gateway. Early in the
morning, when she and Conrad drove out
their flock beneath this gateway, she
said in passing, "Alas, Falada, hanging
there!" Then the head answered, "Alas,
young Queen, how ill you fare! If this
your tender mother knew, Her heart
would surely break in two." Then they
went still further out of the town, and
drove their geese into the country. And
when they had come to the meadow, she
sat down and unbound her hair which was
like pure gold, and Conrad saw it and
delighted in its brightness, and wanted
to pluck out a few hairs. Then she
said, "Blow, blow, thou gentle wind, I
say. Blow Conrad's little hat away, And
make him chase it here and there, Until
I have braided all my hair. And bound
it up again." And there came such a
violent wind that it blew Conrad's hat
far away across country, and he was
forced to run after it. When he came
back she had finished combing her hair
and was putting it up again, and he
could not get any of it. Then Conrad
was angry, and would not speak to her,
and thus they watched the geese until
the evening, and then they went home.
Next day when they were driving the
geese out through the dark gateway, the
maiden said, "Alas, Falada, hanging
there!" Falada answered, "Alas, young
Queen, how ill you fare! If this your
tender mother knew, Her heart would
surely break in two." And she sat down
again in the field and began to comb
out her hair, and Conrad ran and tried
to clutch it, so she said in haste,
"Blow, blow, thou gentle wind, I say,
Blow Conrad's little hat away, And make
him chase it here and there, Uutil I
have braided all my hair. And bound it
up again." Then the wind blew, and blew
his little hat off his head and far
away, and Conrad was forced to run
after it, and when he came back, her
hair had been put up a long time, and
he could get none of it, and so they
looked after their geese till evening
came. But in the evening after they had
got home, Conrad went to the old King,
and said, "I won't tend the geese with
that girl any longer!" "Why not?"
inquired the aged King. "Oh, because
she vexes me the whole day long." Then
the aged King commanded him to relate
what it was that she did to him. And
Conrad said, "In the morning when we
pass beneath the dark gateway with the
flock, there is a sorry horse's head on
the wall, and she says to it, "Alas,
Falada, hanging there!" And the head
replies, "Alas, young Queen how ill you
fare! If this your tender mother knew,
Her heart would surely break in two."
And Conrad went on to relate what
happened on the goose pasture, and how
when there he had to chase his hat. The
aged King commanded him to drive his
flock out again next day, and as soon
as morning came, he placed himself
behind the dark gateway, and heard how
the maiden spoke to the head of Falada,
and then he too went into the country,
and hid himself in the thicket in the
meadow. There he soon saw with his own
eyes the goosegirl and the goose-boy
bringing their flock, and how after a
while she sat down and unplaited her
hair, which shone with radiance. And
soon she said, "Blow, blow, thou gentle
wind, I say, Blow Conrad's little liat
away, And make him chase it here and
there. Until I have braided all my
hair, And bound it up again." Then came
a blast of wind and carried off
Conrad's hat, so that he had to run far
away, while the maiden quietly went on
combing and plaiting her hair, all of
which the King observed. Then, quite
unseen, he went away, and when the
goose-girl came home in the evening, he
called her aside, and asked why she did
all these things. "I may not tell you
that, and I dare not lament my sorrows
to any human being, for I have sworn
not to do so by the heaven which is
above me; if I had not done that, I
should have lost my life." He urged her
and left her no peace, but he could
draw nothing from her. Then said he,
"If thou wilt not tell me anything,
tell thy sorrows to the iron-stove
there," and he went away. Then she
crept into the iron-stove, and began to
weep and lament, and emptied her whole
heart, and said, "Here am I deserted by
the whole world, and yet I am a King's
daughter, and a false waiting-maid has
by force brought me to such a pass that
I have been compelled to put off my
royal apparel, and she has taken my
place with my bridegroom, and I have,
to perform menial service as a
goose-girl. If my mother did but know
that, her heart would break." The aged
King, however, was standing outside by
the pipe of the stove, and was
listening to what she said, and heard
it. Then he came back again, and bade
her come out of the stove. And royal
garments were placed on her, and it was
marvellous how beautiful she was! The
aged King summoned his son, and
revealed to him that he had got the
false bride who was only a
waiting-maid, but that the true one was
standing there, as the sometime
goose-girl. The young King rejoiced
with all his heart when he saw her
beauty and youth, and a great feast was
made ready to which all the people and
all good friends were invited. At the
head of the table sat the bridegroom
with the King's daughter at one side of
him, and the waiting-maid on the other,
but the waiting-maid was blinded, and
did not recognize the princess in her
dazzling array. When they had eaten and
drunk, and were merry, the aged King
asked the waiting-maid as a riddle,
what a person deserved who had behaved
in such and such a way to her master,
and at the same time related the whole
story, and asked what sentence such an
one merited? Then the false bride said,
"She deserves no better fate than to be
stripped entirely naked, and put in a
barrel which is studded inside with
pointed nails, and two white horses
should be harnessed to it, which will
drag her along through one street after
another, till she is dead." "It is
thou," said the aged King, "and thou
hast pronounced thine own sentence, and
thus shall it be done unto thee." And
when the sentence had been carried out,
the young King married his true bride,
and both of them reigned over their
kingdom in peace and happiness. 