by the Grimm
Brothers
Little brother took his little
sister by the hand and said, "Since our
mother died we have had no happiness.
Our step-mother beats us every day, and
if we come near her she kicks us away
with her foot. Our meals are the hard
crusts of bread that are left over. And
the little dog under the table is better
off, for she often throws it a choice
morsel. God pity us, if our mother only
knew. Come, we will go forth together
into the wide world."
They walked the whole day over
meadows, fields, and stony places. And
when it rained the little sister said,
"Heaven and our hearts are weeping
together." In the evening they came to a
large forest, and they were so weary
with sorrow and hunger and the long
walk, that they lay down in a hollow
tree and fell asleep.
The next day when they awoke, the sun
was already high in the sky, and shone
down hot into the tree. Then the brother
said, "Sister, I am thirsty. If I knew
of a little brook I would go and just
take a drink. I think I hear one
running."
The brother got up and took the
little sister by the hand, and they set
off to find the brook. But the wicked
step-mother was a witch, and had seen
how the two children had gone away, and
had crept after them secretly, as
witches creep, and had bewitched all the
brooks in the forest.
Now when they found a little brook
leaping brightly over the stones, the
brother was going to drink out of it,
but the sister heard how it said as it
ran,
"Who drinks of me will be a tiger,
Who drinks of me will be a tiger."
Then the sister cried, "Pray, dear
brother, do not drink, or you will
become a wild beast, and tear me to
pieces." The brother did not drink,
although he was so thirsty, but said, "I
will wait for the next spring."
When they came to the next brook the
sister heard this also say,
"Who drinks of me will be a wolf,
who drinks of me will be a wolf."
Then the sister cried out, "Pray,
dear brother, do not drink, or you will
become a wolf, and devour me." The
brother did not drink, and said, "I will
wait until we come to the next spring,
but then I must drink, say what you
like. For my thirst is too great."
And when they came to the third brook
the sister heard how it said as it ran,
"Who drinks of me will be a
roebuck,
who drinks of me will be a roebuck."
The sister said, "Oh, I pray you,
dear brother, do not drink, or you will
become a roebuck, and run away from me."
But the brother had knelt down at once
by the brook, and had bent down and
drunk some of the water, and as soon as
the first drops touched his lips he lay
there in the form of a young roebuck.
And now the sister wept over her poor
bewitched brother, and the little roe
wept also, and sat sorrowfully near to
her. But at last the girl said, "Be
quiet, dear little roe, I will never,
never leave you." Then she untied her
golden garter and put it round the
roebuck's neck, and she plucked rushes
and wove them into a soft cord. This she
tied to the little animal and led it on,
and she walked deeper and deeper into
the forest.
And when they had gone a very long
way they came at last to a little house,
and the girl looked in. And as it was
empty, she thought, "We can stay here
and live." Then she sought for leaves
and moss to make a soft bed for the roe.
And every morning she went out and
gathered roots and berries and nuts for
herself, and brought tender grass for
the roe, who ate out of her hand, and
was content and played round about her.
In the evening, when the sister was
tired, and had said her prayer, she laid
her head upon the roebuck's back - that
was her pillow, and she slept softly on
it. And if only the brother had had his
human form it would have been a
delightful life.
For some time they were alone like
this in the wilderness. But it happened
that the king of the country held a
great hunt in the forest. Then the
blasts of the horns, the barking of dogs
and the merry shouts of the huntsmen
rang through the trees, and the roebuck
heard all, and was only too anxious to
be there.
"Oh," said he, to his sister, "let me
be off to the hunt, I cannot bear it any
longer," and he begged so much that at
last she agreed. "But," said she to him,
"come back to me in the evening. I must
shut my door for fear of the rough
huntsmen, so knock and say, 'My little
sister, let me in,' that I may know you.
And if you do not say that, I shall not
open the door."
Then the young roebuck sprang away.
So happy was he and so merry in the open
air. The king and the huntsmen saw the
lovely animal, and started after him,
but they could not catch him, and when
they thought that they surely had him,
away he sprang through the bushes and
vanished. When it was dark he ran to the
cottage, knocked, and said, "My little
sister, let me in." Then the door was
opened for him, and he jumped in, and
rested himself the whole night through
upon his soft bed.
The next day the hunt began again,
and when the roebuck once more heard the
bugle-horn, and the "ho, ho" of the
huntsmen, he had no peace, but said,
"Sister, let me out, I must be off." His
sister opened the door for him, and
said, "But you must be here again in the
evening and say your pass-word." When
the king and his huntsmen again saw the
young roebuck with the golden collar,
they all chased him, but he was too
quick and nimble for them. This lasted
the whole day, but by the evening the
huntsmen had surrounded him, and one of
them wounded him a little in the foot,
so that he limped and ran slowly.
Then a hunter crept after him to the
cottage and heard how he said, "My
little sister, let me in," and saw that
the door was opened for him, and was
shut again at once. The huntsman took
notice of it all, and went to the king
and told him what he had seen and heard.
Then the king said, "To-morrow we will
hunt once more."
The little sister, however, was
dreadfully frightened when she saw that
her fawn was hurt. She washed the blood
off him, laid herbs on the wound, and
said, "Go to your bed, dear roe, that
you may get well again." But the wound
was so slight that the roebuck, next
morning, did not feel it any more. And
when he again heard the sport outside,
he said, "I cannot bear it, I must be
there. They shall not find it so easy to
catch me."
The sister cried, and said, "This
time they will kill you, and here am I
alone in the forest and forsaken by all
the world. I will not let you out."
"Then you will have me die of grief,"
answered the roe. "When I hear the
bugle-horns I feel as if I must jump out
of my skin."
Then the sister could not do
otherwise, but opened the door for him
with a heavy heart, and the roebuck,
full of health and joy, bounded into the
forest. When the king saw him, he said
to his huntsmen, "Now chase him all day
long till night-fall, but take care that
no one does him any harm." As soon as
the sun had set, the king said to the
huntsman, "Now come and show me the
cottage in the wood." And when he was at
the door, he knocked and called out,
"Dear little sister, let me in."
Then the door opened, and the king
walked in, and there stood a maiden more
lovely than any he had ever seen. The
maiden was frightened when she saw, not
her little roe, but a man come in who
wore a golden crown upon his head. But
the king looked kindly at her, stretched
out his hand, and said, "Will you go
with me to my palace and be my dear
wife."
"Yes, indeed," answered the maiden,
"but the little roe must go with me, I
cannot leave him."
The king said, "It shall stay with
you as long as you live, and shall want
nothing." Just then he came running in,
and the sister again tied him with the
cord of rushes, took it in her own hand,
and went away with the king from the
cottage. The king took the lovely maiden
upon his horse and carried her to his
palace, where the wedding was held with
great pomp. She was now the queen, and
they lived for a long time happily
together. The roebuck was tended and
cherished, and ran about in the
palace-garden.
But the wicked step-mother, because
of whom the children had gone out into
the world, had never thought but that
the sister had been torn to pieces by
the wild beasts in the wood, and that
the brother had been shot for a roebuck
by the huntsmen. Now when she heard that
they were so happy, and so well off,
envy and jealousy rose in her heart and
left her no peace, and she thought of
nothing but how she could bring them
again to misfortune.
Her own daughter, who was ugly as
night, and had only one eye, reproached
her and said, "A queen, that ought to
have been my luck."
"Just be quiet," answered the old
woman, and comforted her by saying,
"when the time comes I shall be ready."
As time went on the queen had a
pretty little boy, and it happened that
the king was out hunting. So the old
witch took the form of the chamber maid,
went into the room where the queen lay,
and said to her, "Come the bath is
ready. It will do you good, and give you
fresh strength. Make haste before it
gets cold." Her daughter also was close
by. So they carried the weakly queen
into the bath-room, and put her into the
bath. Then they shut the door and ran
away. But in the bath-room they had made
a fire of such hellish heat that the
beautiful young queen was soon
suffocated.
When this was done the old woman took
her daughter, put a nightcap on her
head, and laid her in bed in place of
the queen. She gave her too the shape
and look of the queen, only she could
not make good the lost eye. But in order
that the king might not see it, she was
to lie on the side on which she had no
eye. In the evening when he came home
and heard that he had a son he was
heartily glad, and was going to the bed
of his dear wife to see how she was. But
the old woman quickly called out, "For
your life leave the curtains closed. The
queen ought not to see the light yet,
and must have rest." The king went away,
and did not find out that a false queen
was lying in the bed.
But at midnight, when all slept, the
nurse, who was sitting in the nursery by
the cradle, and who was the only person
awake, saw the door open and the true
queen walk in. She took the child out of
the cradle, laid it on her arm, and
suckled it. Then she shook up its
pillow, laid the child down again, and
covered it with the little quilt. And
she did not forget the roebuck, but went
into the corner where it lay, and
stroked its back. Then she went quite
silently out of the door again. The next
morning the nurse asked the guards
whether anyone had come into the palace
during the night, but they answered,
"No, we have seen no one." She came thus
many nights and never spoke a word. The
nurse always saw her, but she did not
dare to tell anyone about it.
When some time had passed in this
manner, the queen began to speak in the
night, and said,
"How fares my child,
How fares my roe?
Twice shall I come,
Then never more."
The nurse did not answer, but when
the queen had gone again, went to the
king and told him all. The king said,
"Ah, God. What is this? To-morrow night
I will watch by the child." In the
evening he went into the nursery, and at
midnight the queen again appeared and
said,
"How fares my child,
How fares my roe?
Once will I come,
Then never more."
And she nursed the child as she was
wont to do before she disappeared. The
king dared not speak to her, but on the
next night he watched again. Then she
said,
"How fares my child,
How fares my roe?
This time I come,
Then never more."
Then the king could not restrain
himself. He sprang towards her, and
said, "You can be none other than my
dear wife." She answered, "Yes, I am
your dear wife," and at the same moment
she received life again, and by God's
grace became fresh, rosy and full of
health.
Then she told the king the evil deed
which the wicked witch and her daughter
had been guilty of towards her. The king
ordered both to be led before the judge,
and the judgment was delivered against
them. The daughter was taken into the
forest where she was torn to pieces by
wild beasts, but the witch was cast into
the fire and miserably burnt. And as
soon as she was burnt to ashes, the
roebuck changed his shape, and received
his human form again, so the sister and
brother lived happily together all their
lives.