The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm (24 page)

38

MRS. FOX

I

Once upon a time there was an old fox with nine tails. Since he wanted to know how faithful his wife was, he stretched himself out beneath the bench and pretended to be as dead as a door mouse. Then his wife, Mrs. Fox, went upstairs into her room and locked the door. Her maid, the cat, was sitting on the hearth and cooking. When it became known now that the old fox had died, there was a knocking at the door:

“What are you doing, my fine maiden cat?

Are you awake? Where are you at?”

The cat went to the door and opened it. A young fox stood outside.

“I'm not sleeping. I'm awake.

I'm cooking warm beer and a butter cake.

Would the gentlemen like to be my guest?”

“No, thank you. But what is Mrs. Fox doing?”

“Mrs. Fox sits up in her room until it's late

and yammers all about her fate.

She weeps until her eyes are silky red

all because Mr. Fox is dead.”

“Well, tell her a young fox is here who'd like to court her.”

So the cat went up to the stairs,
trippety-trap
.

She opened the door,
clippety-clap
.

“Mrs. Fox, are you there?”

“Yes, my little cat, I'm here.”

“There's a young fox outside who wants to court you.”

And Mrs. Fox said to her:

“My child, what's he look like to you?

Does he also have nine so bushy tails like blessed Mr. Fox?”

“Oh, no, he only has one tail.”

“Then I don't want him.”

So the cat went down the stairs and sent the suitor away. Soon after there was another knocking at the door, and it was another fox that had two tails, and the same thing happened to him that happened to the first fox. Afterward others came with more tails than the previous fox until a suitor came with nine tails. Now Mrs. Fox said to the cat:

“Open the door and gate quite wide

and drag old Mr. Fox outside!”

But when they were just about to hold the wedding, old Mr. Fox reappeared. Within seconds he threw the entire crowd out of the house and chased Mrs. Fox away.

II

Old Mr. Fox died, and a suitor, a wolf, came to the door and knocked:

“Good day, Miss Cat von Kehrewitz.

How come you're sitting there alone

What are you making, it smells so good?”

Cat: “I'm making porridge out of milk and bread

Does the gentleman desire now to be fed?”

Wolf: “No, thanks. Is Mrs. Fox at home?”

Cat: “She sits up in her room until it's late

and yammers all about her hard cruel fate.

She weeps about her misery until her eyes are silky red,

all because Mr. Fox is dead.”

Wolf: “If she wants to have another husband now,

tell her I'm here and have her come down.”

So the cat ran up the stairs to find her way

through hallway after hallway,

until she came to a very large room packed full of things,

where she knocked on the door with her five golden rings:

“Mrs. Fox are you inside?

If you want a husband right now,

then you should come down, please come down.”

Mrs. Fox: “Is the gentleman wearing red pants

and does he have a pointed mouth?”

Cat: “No.”

Mrs. Fox: “Then he's of no use to me.”

Now the wolf was rejected, and afterward a dog came, and he was treated the same way. Then came a moose, a rabbit, a bear, a lion, and all the animals of the forest. But they were all lacking something that the old fox had possessed, and the cat had to send them all away. Finally, a young fox came.

Mrs. Fox: “Is the gentleman wearing red pants

and does he have a pointed mouth?”

Cat: “Yes.”

Mrs. Fox: “Well then, let him come up.

But first clean the room,

and throw Mr. Fox out the window!

He brought many a fat mouse into the house

but ate them alone, the nasty old louse,

he never gave me one to eat in this house.”

Now the wedding was held, and they danced, and if they haven't stopped dancing, then they are still dancing.

39

THE ELVES

About the Shoemaker for Whom They Did the Work

A shoemaker had become so poor that he didn't have enough leather left for a single pair of shoes. In the evening he cut out the shoes that he planned to work on the next morning. However, when he got up the next day and was about to sit down to do his work, he saw the two shoes already finished and beautifully made, standing on the table. Soon a customer paid so well that the shoemaker could purchase enough leather for two pairs of shoes, which he cut out that evening. The next morning when he once again wanted to sit down and work, they were already finished, just as the pair had been the other day. Now he was able to purchase enough leather for four pairs of shoes from the money he received from the two pairs. And so it went. Whatever he cut out in the evening was finished by morning, and soon he was a well-to-do man again.

Now one evening right before Christmas after he had cut out many shoes and wanted to go to bed, he said to his wife: “We should stay up one time and see who does our work in the night.”

So they lit a candle, hid themselves in the corner of the room behind the clothes that had been hung up there, and watched closely. At midnight two cute little naked men came and sat down at the workbench, took all the cutout pieces of the shoes, and worked so swiftly and nimbly that the shoemaker could not take his eyes off them. Indeed, they were incredibly fast, and he was amazed. They didn't stop until they had finished the work on all the shoes. Then they scampered away, and it wasn't even day yet.

Now the shoemaker's wife said to him: “The little men have made us rich. So we ought to show that we're grateful. I feel sorry for them running around without any clothes and freezing. I want to sew shirts, coats,
jackets, and trousers for them, and you should make a pair of shoes for each one of them.”

The shoemaker agreed, and when everything was finished, they set all the things out in the evening. They wanted to see what the little men would do and hid themselves again. Then the little ones appeared as usual at midnight. When they saw the clothes lying there, they seemed to be quite pleased. They put the clothes on extremely quickly, and when they were finished, they began to hop, jump, and dance. Finally, they danced right out the door and never returned.

About a Servant Girl Who Acted as Godmother

A poor maiden was industrious and neat and swept the dirt from the door of a large house every day. One morning she found a letter lying in front of the door, and since she couldn't read, she brought it to her employers. The letter was an invitation to the maiden from the elves, who asked her to be godmother to one of their children. The maiden thought about this for a while, but after her employers convinced her that she shouldn't refuse the invitation, she said yes.

Soon after, three elves came and led her to a hollow mountain. Everything was small there and also incredibly dainty and splendid. The mother was lying on a black ebony bed with pearl knobs. The covers were embroidered with gold. The cradle was ivory. The bathtub was made of gold. The maiden performed her duties as godmother and then wanted to depart right after doing this. But the elves asked her to remain with them for another three days. She spent those days with great joy, and when they were over and she wanted to return home, they filled her pockets full of gold and led her back out of the mountain. And when she came to her home, she realized that it wasn't three days she had been gone but one whole year.

About a Woman Whose Child They Had Exchanged

The elves had taken a mother's child from the cradle and replaced the baby with a changeling who had a fat head and glaring eyes and who would do
nothing but eat and drink. In her distress the mother went to her neighbor and asked her for advice. The neighbor told her to carry the changeling into the kitchen, put him down on the hearth, light the fire, and boil water in two egg shells. That would cause the changeling to laugh, and when he laughed, he would lose his power. The woman did everything the neighbor said, and when she put the eggshells filled with water on the fire, the blockheaded changeling said:

“Now I'm as old

as the Wester Wood,

and in all my life I've never seen

eggshells cooked as these have been.”

And the changeling had to laugh about this, and as soon as he laughed, a crowd of elves came all at once. They brought the right child with them, placed him down on the hearth, and carried off the changeling.

40

THE ROBBER BRIDEGROOM

A princess was pledged to marry a prince, and he asked her many times to come once and visit him in his castle. But since the way to the castle led through a large forest, she continually refused because she feared she might lose her way. If that was her concern, the prince told her, he would readily help her by tying a ribbon on each tree so that she could easily find her way. Nevertheless, she tried to postpone the trip for some time since she inwardly dreaded it. Finally, she couldn't make any more excuses and had to set out one day on the journey.

It took her the entire day to walk through a long, long forest. When she finally arrived at a large house, everything was quiet inside, and only an old woman sat in front of the door.

“Can you tell me whether the prince, my bridegroom, lives here?”

“It's good, my child, that you have come now,” responded the woman, “because the prince is not at home. Before your arrival I had to fetch water
and pour it into a large kettle. They want to kill you, and afterward they'll cook and eat you.”

Just as she was saying this the prince could be seen returning from a robbery with his villainous band of robbers. Fortunately, the old woman took pity on the princess because of her youth and beauty, and before anyone had noticed her, she said: “Quick, go down into the cellar and hide yourself behind the large barrel!”

No sooner did the princess dash down into the cellar than the robbers also went down there, dragging an old woman whom they had captured. The princess saw clearly that it was her grandmother, for she could see everything that happened from her corner without being noticed. The robbers grabbed hold of the old grandmother, killed her, and pulled off all the rings from her fingers, one after the other. However, the gold ring on one of her fingers wouldn't come off. So one of the robbers took a hatchet and chopped off the finger, but the finger sprang behind the barrel and fell right into the princess's lap. After the robbers had searched in vain for the finger a long time, one of them spoke out: “Has anyone looked behind the large barrel?”

“It's better if we continue searching when there's more light,” another said. “Early tomorrow morning we'll continue looking. Then we'll soon find the ring.”

Soon thereafter the robbers lay down to sleep in the cellar, and as they were sleeping and snoring, the bride came out from behind the barrel. The robbers were lying there all in a row, and she had to step over the sleeping men until she came to the door. She cautiously entered the rooms in between, and she was constantly afraid that she might wake someone, but fortunately nothing happened, and once she reached the outside door and was in the forest again, she followed the ribbons, for the moon shone brightly up to the time that she managed to reach her home.

She told her father everything that had happened to her, and he immediately gave orders for an entire regiment to surround the castle as soon as the bridegroom was to arrive. The soldiers did as he ordered. Then the bridegroom came the same day and asked right away why the princess had not come to him as she had promised to do.

Then she said: “I had such a dreadful dream. I dreamt I came to a house where an old woman was sitting in front of the door, and she
said to me: ‘What a good thing it is, my child, that you have come now because nobody is home, and I must tell you, I had to carry water to a large kettle. They want to kill you and then boil and eat you.' And as she was speaking, the robbers came home. Then, before anyone could notice, the old woman said: ‘Quick, go down into the cellar and hide behind the large barrel.' No sooner did I hide behind the barrel than the robbers came down the cellar stairs and dragged an old woman with them. Then they grabbed hold of her and murdered her. After they had murdered the old woman, they pulled off all the rings from her fingers, one after another. But they couldn't pull off the gold ring from one of the fingers. So one of the robbers grabbed a hatchet and chopped off the finger, which flew into the air and fell behind the barrel right into my lap, and
here is the finger!
”

Upon saying this, the princess suddenly drew the finger from her pocket.

When the bridegroom heard and saw all this, he became chalk white from fright. He immediately thought of fleeing and jumped through the window. However, there were guards standing beneath the window. They caught the bridegroom and his entire band of robbers. All of them were executed as payment for their villainy.