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 Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 7:13 pm
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Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 7:14 pm
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Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 7:15 pm
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Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 7:17 pm
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Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 7:17 pm
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Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 7:18 pm
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Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 7:20 pm
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Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 7:21 pm
The Golden Lion
"A merchant had three sons. The oldest set out and found a city where the king had proclaimed that whoever found his daughter within eight days would marry her, but anyone who tried and failed would lose his head. The son tried and failed. His second brother followed and also failed.
The youngest son, following his brothers, discovered their fates and rebuffed an old woman who sought alms from him. She asked if he was in trouble, and the son explained the situation. She told him that he should purchase a statue of a golden lion that played music, so that he could hide inside it. After the statue was completed, the man hid inside. The old woman showed the lion to the king. When he wanted it, she told him she could only lend it to him overnight. He brought it down a secret stairway to twelve identical women. During the night, the youth implored the princess to help him, and she told him she would wear a white sash when he came hunting for her so he could identify her.
The old woman took the lion away. The youth came out of hiding and went to the king, who gave him permission to search for the princess. The young man went to the place where the princess was hidden and chose the woman who was wearing the white sash.
The king agreed to their wedding. The merchant's son and the princess then sailed off with her dowry. They also gave the old woman enough money for the rest of her days."
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Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 7:22 pm
The Golden Stag
"An old woman told her husband that he had to lose his two children, a son and a daughter, by his first marriage, in the woods. The first time, the boy had been playing in the ashes, and the children came back, but the second time, the old man succeeded in losing them. They could not find water anywhere, until they came to the tracks of a fox where water was welling, but the sister warned her brother that drinking that would turn him into a fox. At the tracks of a bear, she warned him again. At the tracks of a stag, she warned him again, but he was too thirsty and drank. He became a golden stag. He carried off his sister in cradle in his antlers, and made a nest for her, up in a tree, where she grew up.
One day, a king's son saw her and fell in love. He promised a fortune to whoever wooed that girl for him. An old woman saw the golden stag and did not know how to address it, so she lured the girl down by pretending to be foolish with her cook fire, and carried her off to the prince. When the stag followed, the sister said that he was her brother, and the king's son gave him a fine stable with plenty to eat. They were all happy except a gypsy girl who had been the king's son's favorite. She lured the sister into the forest where she went to sleep. Then the gypsy dressed herself as the king's son's wife and disguised her face, but the stag knew her at once. The king's son and his men followed the stag and retrieved the girl; then he had the gypsy girl stoned to death."
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Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 7:23 pm
The Golden Slipper
"An old man brought back two fish from the market for his daughters. The older one ate hers, but the younger asked her fish what to do with it. It told her to put it in water, and it might repay her; she puts it in the well.
The old woman, their mother, loved her older daughter and hated her younger. She dressed up the older to take to Mass, and ordered the younger to husk two bushels of rye while they were gone. She wept beside the well. The fish gave her fine clothing and sent her off, husking the rye while she was gone. The mother came back talking of the beauty they had seen at Mass. She took the older daughter again, leaving the younger to husk three measures of barley and the younger went to Mass again with the fish's aid. A king's son saw her and caught her slipper with some pitch. He found the younger daughter and tried the shoe on her; when it fit, they married."
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Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 7:24 pm
The Gold-spinners
"In a hut hidden deep in a forest, three beautiful maidens spend each waking moment weaving gold flax into yarn. An old woman supervises them, collecting every finished thread. She leaves them only for short journeys - always leaving a full slate of work along with the warning to keep their eyes on their work, and to speak to no man; otherwise the gold will lose its shine and great misfortunes will follow.
During one of her absences, a Prince is separated from his hunting party, and wandering in the forest, comes across the hut. The elder maidens hide from him, but the youngest seeks out his company. Days later, when the King's search party finds the hut, the Prince and maiden sit before it lost in conversation. The Prince promises to return for the maiden, who sits to work her neglected wheel. Sure enough, the bright thread is dull now, just as the old woman had predicted. Terrified, she is convinced that misfortunes will now come. Soon enough, the old woman comes and with one glance at the tarnished thread knows everything. The youngest maiden manages to send a message to her Prince through a raven. The Prince comes to her and carries her off.
The old woman is enraged and, as she is a witch, promptly casts a spell. She conjures a magic ball, which flies by the maiden as she is held by the mounted Prince crossing a bridge. Whirlwinds cast her from the Prince's arms and into the river. Though he tries to dive in after her, he is restrained by his men. A year later, visiting the spot, he sees a yellow water lily in the river and hears a voice sing a forlorn song about being bewitched and forsaken. He goes on through the forest to the hut and consults the gold-spinners, who insist that the flower must be their sister. He sleeps the night in the hut, having a magic cake for his dinner secretly prepared by the eldest sister. In the morning, as he rides off, he understands the language of the birds. In this way he learns that the Wizard of Finland can help him, and through the birds, contacts him. The wizard, in the form of an eagle, instructs him to stand on the river bank, smeared with mud, and say" From a man to a crab". Once he becomes a crab, he is to swim to the flower, cut its roots, and rise with the lilly to the surface. Drifting with the current, he is to ascend a large stone, say "From a crab to a man, from a water-lily to a maiden" and so save the maiden.
He does all of these things and the maiden is restored, more beautiful than ever and dressed in magnificent robes and jewels. Now, although to the Prince only hours had passed in fulfilling his mission, actually 10 days had gone by and the King and Queen were at church, weeping for their dead son. The Prince and maiden arrive and are married on the spot. In their happiness, the Prince forgets his promise to the Wizard, to free the two maidens. A crow upbraids them, how could they forget the sisters? Must they spin gold forever? Chagrinned, the Prince rescues the pair. The eldest this time makes up a poison cake, which the old witch eats on her return. The Prince and his bride and her sisters live quite happily, recovering 50 wagonloads of the gold thread that had been hidden away by the witch."
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Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 7:25 pm
Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree
"ONCE upon a time there was a king who had a wife, whose name was Silver-tree, and a daughter, whose name was Gold-tree. On a certain day of the days, Gold-tree and Silver-tree went to a glen, where there was a well, and in it there was a trout.
Said Silver-tree, "Troutie, bonny little fellow, am not I the most beautiful queen in the world?"
"Oh indeed you are not."
"Who then?"
"Why, Gold-tree, your daughter."
Silver-tree went home, blind with rage. She lay down on the bed, and vowed she would never be well until she could get the heart and the liver of Gold-tree, her daughter, to eat. At nightfall the king came home, and it was told him that Silver-tree, his wife, was very ill. He went where she was, and asked her what was wrong with her.
"Oh! only a thing which you may heal if you like."
"Oh! indeed there is nothing at all which I could do for you that I would not do."
"If I get the heart and the liver of Gold-tree, my daughter, to eat, I shall be well."
Now it happened about this time that the son of a great king had come from abroad to ask Gold-tree for marrying. The King now agreed to this, and they went abroad. The king then went and sent his lads to the hunting-hill for a he-goat, and he gave its heart and its liver to his wife to eat; and she rose well and healthy.
A year after this Silver-tree went to the glen, where there was the well in which there was the trout.
"Troutie, bonny little fellow," said she, " am not I the most beautiful queen in the world?"
"Oh! indeed you are not."
"Who then?"
"Why, Gold-tree, your daughter."
"Oh! well, it is long since she was living. It is a year since I ate her heart and liver."
"Oh! indeed she is not dead. She is married to a great prince abroad."
Silver-tree went home, and begged the king to put the long-ship in order, and said, "I am going to see my dear Gold-tree, for it is so long since I saw her." The long-ship was put in order, and they went away. It was Silver-tree herself that was at the helm, and she steered the ship so well that they were not long at all before they arrived. The prince was out hunting on the hills. Gold-tree knew the long-ship of her father coming.
"Oh!" said she to the servants, "my mother is coming, and she will kill me."
"She shall not kill you at all; we will lock you in a room where she cannot get near you."
This is how it was done; and when Silver-tree came ashore, she began to cry out: "Come to meet your own mother, when she comes to see you," Gold-tree said that she could not, that she was locked in the room, and that she could not get out of it.
"Will you not put out," said Silver-tree, "your little finger through the keyhole, so that your own mother may give a kiss to it?" She put out her little finger, and Silver-tree went and put a poisoned stab in it, and Gold-tree fell dead.
When the prince came home, and found Gold-tree dead, he was in great sorrow, and when he saw how beautiful she was, he did not bury her at all, but he locked her in a room where nobody would get near her. In the course of time he married again, and the whole house was under the hand of this wife but one room, and he himself always kept the key of that room. On a certain day of the days he forgot to take the key with him, and the second wife got into the room. What did she see there but the most beautiful woman that she ever saw. She began to turn and try to wake her, and she noticed the poisoned stab in her finger. She took the stab out, and Gold-tree rose alive, as beautiful as she was ever. At the fall of night the prince came home from the hunting-hill, looking very downcast.
"What gift," said his wife, "would you give me that I could make you laugh?"
"Oh! indeed, nothing could make me laugh, except Gold-tree were to come alive again."
"Well, you'll find her alive down there in the room."
When the prince saw Gold-tree alive he made great rejoicings, and he began to kiss her, and kiss her, and kiss her. Said the second wife, "Since she is the first one you had it is better for you to stick to her, and I will go away."
"Oh! indeed you shall not go away, but I shall have both of you."
At the end of the year, Silver-tree went to the glen, where there was the well, in which there was the trout.
"Troutie, bonny little fellow," said she, "am not I the most beautiful queen in the world?"
"Oh! indeed you are not."
"Who then?"
"Why, Gold-tree, your daughter."
"Oh! well, she is not alive. It is a year since I put the poisoned stab into her finger."
"Oh! indeed she is not dead at all, at all."
Silver-tree went home, and begged the king to put the long-ship in order, for that she was going to see her dear Gold-tree, as it was so long since she saw her. The long-ship was put in order, and they went away. It was Silver-tree herself that was at the helm, and she steered the ship so well that they were not long at all before they arrived.
The prince was out hunting on the hills. Gold-tree knew her father's ship coming.
"Oh!" said she, "my mother is coming, and she will kill me."
"Not at all," said the second wife; "we will go down to meet her."
Silver-tree came ashore. "Come down, Gold-tree, love," said she, "for your own mother has come to you with a precious drink."
"It is a custom in this country," said the second wife, "that the person who offers a drink takes a draught out of it first."
Silver-tree put her mouth to it, and the second wife went and struck it so that some of it went down her throat, and she fell dead. They had only to carry her home a corpse and bury her. The prince and his two wives were long alive after this, pleased and peaceful."
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Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 7:25 pm
The Goose Girl
"A queen sends her daughter - who is betrothed to a prince in a far-off land - to her bridegroom. She sends her with a trousseau, a waiting-maid, and a horse for each of them; the princess's horse is named Falada and has the ability to speak. The queen takes a small knife and cuts herself, putting three drops of her blood onto a white handkerchief and bids her daughter to keep it with her, as it will aid her on her journey.
The princess and her waiting-maid travel for a time, then the princess grows thirsty. She asks the maid to go and fetch her some water, but the girl refuses, so the princess goes and drinks water from the stream from her goblet. The princess sighs and the drops of blood - hidden in the princess's bodice - reply, "If your mother only knew, her heart would surely break in two." The princess and the waiting-maid travel on, and the princess grows thirsty again. By that time, the princess had forgotten the waiting-maid's rude speech earlier and asks the waiting-maid again, "Waiting maid, please fetch me some water with my goblet for I have grown thirsty again." "No," she replies, "if you are thirsty, go and get it yourself. I shall not be your waiting maid any longer." The maid sounded stern and furious, so she stops and drops her goblet to be the same as everyone else. She drinks with her hands. The princess does not notice that her handkerchief with the drops of blood on it falls out of her bodice and into the stream.
Deprived of the magical protection of her mother's handkerchief and blood, the princess is defenseless when the maid makes her change places, including their horses and dresses. She is also forced to take an oath not to speak of the switch. When they reach their destination, the maid continues the charade, going so far as to have the horse Falada butchered, for fear he would reveal the secret. In addition, she informs the king that the princess is merely a peasant girl procured for the journey and now unneeded. He puts the princess to work.
The princess - now a goose girl - promises the butcher a piece of gold if he would give Falada a proper burial. The butcher hangs out Falada's head on the wall of the gate. Every morning, as she drives out the geese with Conrad, the goose herder, she sadly greets Falada's head and Falada's head repeats the same words previously spoken by the drops of blood: "If your mother only knew, her heart would surely break in two." Every day, she combs her hair in the pasture. Conrad always tries to steal some of the golden locks, and she charms the wind to blow his hat far away, so he can not return until she is finished. The prince comes to her pasture and falls in love with her.
Conrad goes to the king and declares he will not herd geese with the princess any longer because of the strange things that happen. The king tells him to do it one more time, and the king himself hides and watches. That evening, the king asks the princess to tell him her story. She explains that she took an oath not to tell. He tells her to tell her troubles to the iron stove and eavesdrops as she does so.
The king then has royal garments given to her as befits her station, and brings her to the prince's attention. At dinner later that evening, everyone eats and drinks and is quite merry. The princess and the waiting-maid are present, although the waiting-maid does not recognize the princess in her new finery. The king tells the princess's story, without naming any names, and asks the waiting-maid what the appropriate punishment would be. The waiting-maid answers that such a person should be put naked into a barrel lined with nails, which should be dragged by horses from street to street until the person is dead. The sentence is carried out on her, and the prince marries the true princess."
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Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 7:27 pm
The Goose-Girl at the Well
"An old woman raised geese in the mountains. One day, speaking of her heavy burden, she persuaded a count to carry it for her up the mountain. He found it burdensome, but she would not let him even rest. When they arrived at the hut, there was an ugly girl tending the old woman's geese, but the old woman would not let them stay together, lest "he may fall in love with her". Before the old woman sent the count away, she gave him a box cut out of an emerald as thanks for carrying her burden.
The count wandered the woods for three days before he arrived at a town where a king and queen reigned. He showed them the box. When the queen saw the box, she collapsed as if dead, and the count was led to a dungeon and kept there. When the queen woke, she insisted on speaking with him. She told him that her youngest daughter had been a beautiful girl who wept pearls and jewels. But one day, when the king had asked his three daughters how well they loved him, the youngest said that she loved him like salt. The king divided his kingdom between the two older girls and drove the youngest out, giving her only a sack of salt. The king regretted this decision afterward, but the girl was never to be found again.
When the queen had opened the box, a pearl just like how her daughter's jewel tears looked like was in it. The count told them where he had gotten the box, and the king and queen resolved to speak with the old woman.
Meanwhile, in the mountains, the ugly girl washed in a well by night. She became a beautiful girl, though sad. She returned to her usual form when the moonlight was blocked. When she returned to the hut, the old woman was cleaning the hut, although it was late. The old woman told the girl that it had been three years, so they could stay no longer together. The girl was upset, and asked what would happen to her, but the old woman said that she was disrupting her work and sent her to wait in her room.
The count had gone with the king and queen but become separated. He saw the ugly girl make herself beautiful and was entranced by her beauty. He followed her, and met with the king and queen at the hut. The old woman said to the king and queen that they could have spared themselves a walk if they had not been so unjust to their daughter. She led them in and told their daughter to come out of the room, and the family wept to see each other again.
The old woman disappeared and the hut became a castle. The count married the youngest princess, and they lived there ever afterward"
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Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 7:27 pm
Graciosa and Percinet
"A king and queen had a beautiful daughter, Graciosa, and an ugly duchess hated her. One day, the queen died. The king grieved so much that his doctors ordered him to hunt. Weary, he stopped at the duchess's castle and discovered how rich she was. He agreed to marry her even though she demanded control of her stepdaughter.
The princess was reasoned into behaving well by her nurse. A handsome young page, Percinet, appeared. He was a rich young prince with a fairy gift, and he was in her service. He gave her a horse to ride to greet the duchess. It made the duchess's look ugly, and she demanded it, and that Percinet led it as he led it for Graciosa. Nevertheless the horse ran away, and her disarray made her look even uglier. The duchess had Graciosa beaten with rods, except that the rods were turned into peacock feathers, and she suffered no harm.
The wedding went on, and the king arranged a tournament to flatter the queen. The king's knights overthrew all the challengers, for all the ugliness of the queen, until a young challenger overthrew them and showed the portrait of the princess as the most beautiful woman in the world. The queen had her abandoned in the woods. Percinet rescued her, but she wished to return to her father, and when Percinet showed her how the queen had claimed her dead and buried a log of wood in her place, she insisted. He told her that she would never see his castle again until she was buried.
The king was glad to see her, but when the queen returned and insisted, he seemed convinced that Graciosa was an imposter. The queen imprisoned her, and with the aid of a wicked fairy, set her to disentangle a skein, on pain of her life. Graciosa thought Percinet would not aid her, but finally in despair called on him, and he disentangled it. The outraged queen set her to sort a room filled with feathers, and Percinet did that as well. Then the queen set her to bring a box to her own castle, and forbad her to open it. Curiosity got the better of her, and Graciosa freed a swarm of little men and women whom she could not get back in. Percinet helped her. The servants would not admit Graciosa, but gave her a letter telling they would not let her in.
The queen suggested that they lift a stone in the garden, which covered a well, on the grounds she had heard it covered a treasure. When it was up, she pushed Graciosa in, and dropped the stone. Percinet and his mother rescued her, and this time, Graciosa agreed to marry him."
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