Hansel & Grethel - & Other Tales By The Brothers Grimm Read online

  ‘No,’ said the Man; ‘what was there to wish for?’

  ‘Alas!’ said his Wife, ‘isn’t it bad enough always to live in this wretched hovel! Thou mightst at least have wished for a nice clean cottage. Go back and call him, tell him I want a pretty cottage: he will surely give us that.’

  ‘Alas!’ said the Man, ‘what am I to go back there for?’

  ‘Well,’ said the Woman, ‘it was thou who didst catch him and let him go again; for certain he will do that for thee. Re off now!’

  The Man was still not very willing to go, but he did not want to vex his Wife, and at last he went back to the sea.

  He found the sea no longer bright and shining, but dull and green. He stood by it and said—

  ‘Flounder, Flounder in the sea,

  Pry thee, hearken unto me:

  My Wife, Ilsebil, must have her own will,

  And sends me to beg a boon of thee.’

  The Flounder came swimming up, and said, ‘Well, what do you want?’

  ‘Alas’ said the Man, ‘I had to call you, for my Wife said I ought to have wished for something as I caught you. She doesn’t want to live in our miserable hovel any longer, she wants a pretty cottage.’

  ‘Go home again then,’ said the Flounder, ‘she has her wish fully.’

  The Man went home and found his Wife no longer in. the old hut, but a pretty little cottage stood in its place, and his Wife was sitting on a bench by the door.

  She took him by the hand, and said, ‘Come and look in here—isn’t this much better?’

  They went inside and found, a pretty sitting-room, and a bedroom with a bed in it, a kitchen and a larder furnished, with everything of the best in tin and brass and every possible requisite. Outside there was a little yard with chickens and ducks, and a little garden full of vegetables and fruit.

  ‘Look!’ said the Woman, ‘is not this nice?’

  ‘Yes,’ said the Man, ‘and so let it remain. We can live here very happily.’

  ‘We will see about that,’ said the Woman. With that they ate something and went to bed.

  Everything went well for a week or more, and then said the Wife, ‘Listen, husband, this cottage is too cramped, and the garden is too small. The Flounder could have given us a bigger house. I want to live in a big stone castle. Go to the Flounder, and tell him to give us a castle.’

  ‘Alas, Wife,’ said the Man, ‘the cottage is good enough for us: what should we do with a castle?’

  ‘Never mind,’ said his Wife, ‘do thou but go to the Flounder, and he will manage it.’

  ‘Nay, Wife,’ said the Man, ‘the Flounder gave us the cottage, I don’t want to go back; as likely as not he’ll be angry.’

  ‘Go, all the same,’ said the Woman. ‘He can do it easily enough, and willingly into the bargain. Just go!’

  The Man’s heart was heavy, and he was very unwilling to go. He said to himself, ‘It’s not right.’ But at last he went.

  He found the sea was no longer green; it was still calm, but dark violet and grey. He stood by it and said—

  ‘Flounder, Flounder in the sea,

  Prythee, hearken unto me:

  My Wife, Ilsebil, must have her own will,

  And seeds me to beg a boon of thee.’

  ‘Now, what do you want?’ said the Flounder.

  ‘Alas,’ said the Man, half scared, ‘my wife wants a big stone castle.’

  ‘Go home again,’ said the Flounder, ‘she is standing at the door of it.’

  Then the man went away thinking he would find no house, but when he got back he found, a great stone palace, and his Wife standing at the top of the steps, waiting to go in.

  She took him by the hand, and said, ‘Come in with me.’

  With that they went in and found a great hall paved with marble slabs, and numbers of servants in attendance, who opened the great doors for them. The walls were hung with beautiful tapestries, and the rooms were furnished with golden chairs and tables, while rich carpets covered the floors, and crystal chandeliers hung from the ceilings. The tables groaned under every kind of delicate food and the most costly wines. Outside the house there was a great courtyard, with stabling for horses, and cows, and many fine carriages. Beyond this there was a great garden tilled with the loveliest flowers, and fine fruit-trees. There was also a park, half a mile long, and in it were stags and hinds, and hares, and everything of the kind one could wish for.

  ‘Now,’ said the Woman, ‘is not this worth having?’

  ‘Oh yes,’ said the Man; ‘and so let it remain. We will live in this beautiful palace and be content.’

  ‘We will think about that,’ said his Wife, ‘and sleep upon it.’

  With that they went to bed.

  Next morning the Wife woke up first; day was just dawning, and from her bed she could see the beautiful country around her. Her husband was still asleep, but she pushed him with her elbow, and said, ‘Husband, get up and peep out of the window. See here, now, could we not be King over all this land? Go to the Flounder, We will be King.’

  ‘Alas, Wife,’ said the Man, ‘what should we be King for? I don’t want to be King.’

  ‘Ah,’ said his Wife, ‘if thou wilt not be King, I will. Go to the Flounder, I will be King.’

  ‘Alas, Wife,’ said the Man, ‘whatever dost thou want to be King for? I don’t like to tell him.’

  ‘Why not?’ said the Woman. ‘Go thou must. I will be King.’

  So the Man went; but he was quite sad because his Wife would be King.

  ‘It is not right,’ he said; ‘it is not right.’

  When he reached the sea, he found it dark, grey, and rough, and evil smelling. He stood there and said—

  ‘Flounder, Flounder in the sea,

  Pry thee, hearken unto me

  My Wife, Ilsebil, must have her own will,

  And sends me to beg a boon of thee.’

  ‘Now, what does she want?’ said the Flounder.

  ‘Alas,’ said the Man, ‘she wants to be King now.’

  ‘Go back. She is King already,’ said the Flounder.

  So the Han went back, and when he reached the palace he found that it had grown much larger, and a great tower had been added with handsome decorations. There was a sentry at the door, and numbers of soldiers were playing drums and trumpets. As soon as he got inside the house, he found everything was marble and gold; and the hangings were of velvet, with great golden tassels. The doors of the saloon were thrown wide open, and he saw the whole court assembled. His Wife was sitting on a lofty throne of gold and diamonds; she wore a golden crown, and carried in one hand a sceptre of pure gold. On each side of her stood her ladies in a long row, every one a head shorter than the next.

  He stood before her, and said: ‘Alas, Wife, art thou now King?’

  ‘Yes,’ she said; ‘now I am King.’

  He stood looking at her for some time, and then he said; ‘Ah, Wife, it is a fine thing for thee to be King; now we will not wish to be anything more.’

  ‘Nay, husband,’ she answered, quite uneasily; ‘I find the time hang very heavy on my hands. I can’t bear it any longer. Go back to the Flounder. King I am, but I must also be Emperor.’

  ‘Alas, Wife,’ said the Man, ‘why dost thou now want to be Emperor?’

  ‘Husband,’ she answered, ‘go to the Flounder, Emperor I will be.’

  ‘Alas, Wife,’ said the Man, ‘Emperor he can’t make thee, and I won’t ask him. There is only one Emperor in the country; and Emperor the Flounder cannot make thee, that he can’t.’

  ‘What?’ said the Woman. ‘I am King, and thou art but my husband. To him thou must go, and that right quickly. If he can make a King, he can also make an Emperor. Emperor I will be, so go quickly,’

  He had to go, but he was quite frightened. And as he went, he thought, ‘This won’t end well; Emperor is too shameless. The Flounder will make an end of the whole thing.’

  With that he came to the sea, but now he found it quite black,
and heaving up from below in great waves. It tossed to and fro, and a sharp wind blew over it, and the man trembled. So he stood there, and said—

  ‘Flounder, Flounder in the sea,

  Pry thee, hearken unto me:

  My Wife, Usebil, must have her own will,

  And sends me to beg a boon of thee.’

  ‘What does she want now? ‘said the Flounder.

  ‘Alas, Flounder,’ he said, ‘my Wife wants to be Emperor.’

  ‘Go back,’ said the Flounder. ‘She is Emperor.’

  So the man went back, and when he got to the door, he found that the whole palace was made of polished marble, with alabaster figures and golden decorations. Soldiers marched up and down before the doors, blowing their trumpets and beating their drums. Inside the palace, counts, barons, and dukes walked about as attendants, and they opened to him the doors, which were of pure gold.

  He went in, and saw his Wife sitting on a huge throne made of solid gold. It was at least two miles high. She had on her head a great golden crown set with diamonds three yards high. In. one hand she held the sceptre, and in the other the orb of empire. On each side of her stood the gentlemen-at-arms in two rows, each one a little smaller than the other, from giants two miles high down to the tiniest dwarf no bigger than my little finger. She was surrounded by princes and dukes.

  Her husband stood still, and said: ‘Wife, art thou now Emperor?’

  ‘Yes,’ said she; ‘now I am Emperor.’

  Then he looked at her for some time, and said: ‘Alas, Wife, how much better off art thou for being Emperor?’

  ‘Husband,’ she said, ‘what art thou standing there for? Now I am Emperor, I mean to be Pope! Go back to the Flounder.’

  ‘Alas, Wife,’ said the Man, ‘what wilt thou not want? Pope thou canst not be. There is only one Pope in Christendom. That’s more than the Flounder can do.’

  ‘Husband,’ she said, ‘Pope I will be; so go at once. I must be Pope this very day.’

  ‘No, Wife,’ he said, ‘I dare not tell him. It’s no good; it’s too monstrous altogether. The Flounder cannot make thee Pope.’

  ‘Husband,’ said the Woman, ‘don’t talk nonsense. If he can make an Emperor, he can make a Pope, Go immediately. I am Emperor, and thou, art but my husband, and thou must obey.’

  So he was frightened, and went; but he was quite dazed. He shivered and shook, and his knees trembled.

  A great wind arose over the land, the clouds flew across the sky, and it grew as dark as night; the leaves Ml from the trees, and the water foamed and dashed upon the shore. In the distance the ships were being tossed to and fro on the waves, and he heard them, firing signals of distress. There was still a little patch of blue in the sky among the dark clouds, but towards the south they were red and heavy, as in a bad storm. In despair, he stood and said—

  ‘Flounder, Flounder in the sea,

  Prythee, hearken unto me:

  My Wife, Ilsehil, must have her own will,

  And sends me to beg a boon of thee.’

  ‘Now, what does she want?’ said the Flounder.

  ‘Alas,’ said the Man, ‘she wants to be Pope!’

  ‘Go back. Pope she is,’ said the Flounder.

  So back he went, and he found a great church surrounded with palaces. He pressed through the crowd, and inside he found thousands and thousands of lights, and his Wife, entirely clad in gold, was sitting on a still higher throne, with three golden crowns upon her head, and she was surrounded with, priestly state. On each side of her were two rows of candles, the biggest as thick as a tower, down to the tiniest little taper. Kings and Emperors were on their knees before her, kissing her shoe.

  ‘Wife,’ said the Man, looking at her, ‘art thou now Pope?’

  ‘Yes,’ said she; ‘now I am Pope.’

  So there he stood gazing at her, and it was like looking at a shining sun.

  ‘Alas, Wife,’ he said, ‘art thou better off for being Pope?’ At first she sat as stiff as a post, without stirring. Then he said: ‘Now, Wife, be content with being Pope; higher thou canst not go.’

  ‘I will think about that,’ said the Woman, and with that they both went to bed. Still she was not content, and could not sleep for her inordinate desires. The Man slept well and soundly, for he had walked about a great deal in the day; but his Wife could think of nothing but what further grandeur she could demand. When the dawn reddened the sky she raised herself up in bed and looked out of the window, and when she saw the sun rise, she said:

  ‘Flounder, Flounder in the sea, Prythee, hearken unto me.’

  ‘Ha! can I not cause the sun and the moon to rise? Husband!’ she cried, digging her elbow into his side, ‘wake up and go to the Flounder. I will be Lord of the Universe.’

  Her husband, who was still more than hall asleep, was so shocked that he fell out of bed. He thought he must have heard wrong. He rubbed his eyes, and said:

  ‘Alas, Wife, what didst thou say?’

  ‘Husband,’ she said, ‘if I cannot be Lord of the Universe, and cause the sun and moon to set and rise, I shall not be able to bear it. I shall never have another happy moment.’

  She looked at him so wildly that it caused a shudder to run through him.

  ‘Alas, Wife,’ he said, falling on his knees before her, ‘the Flounder can’t do that. Emperor and Pope he can make, but that is indeed beyond him. I pray thee, control thyself and remain Pope.’

  Then she flew into a terrible rage. Her hair stood on end; she kicked him and screamed—

  ‘I won’t bear it any longer; wilt thou go!’

  Then he pulled on his trousers and tore away like a madman. Such a storm was raging that he could hardly keep his feet: houses and trees quivered and swayed, and mountains trembled, and the rocks rolled into the sea. The sky was pitchy black; it thundered and lightened, and the sea ran in black waves mountains high, crested with white foam. He shrieked out, but could hardly make himself heard—

  ‘Flounder, Flounder in the sea,

  Prythee, hearken unto me:

  My Wife, Ilsebil, must have her own will,

  And sends me to beg a boon of thee.’

  ‘Now, what does she want?’ asked the Flounder.

  ‘Alas,’ he said, ‘she wants to be Lord of the Universe.’

  ‘Now she must go back to her old hovel; and there she is.’

  So there they are to this very day.

  The Wren and the Bear

  Once upon, a time, in the summer, a Bear and a Wolf were taking a walk in a wood when the Bear heard a bird singing most beautifully, and he said, ‘Brother Wolf, what kind of bird is that singing so beautifully?’

  ‘That is the King of the birds, and we must bow down to it.’

  But really it was a Wren.

  ‘If that is so,’ said the Bear, ‘I should like to see his royal palace. Come, you. must take me to it.’

  ‘That’s not so easy,’ raid the Wolf. ‘You must wait till the Queen comes.’

  Soon after, the Queen made her appearance, bringing food in her beak, and the King came with her to feed their little ones. The Bear would have liked to go in at once, but the Wolf held, him by the sleeve, and said, ‘No; now you must wait till the King and Queen fly away again.’

  So they marked the opening of the nest, and trudged on. But the Bear had no rest till he could see the royal palace, and before long he went back.

  The King and the Queen had gone out again. He peeped in, and saw five or six young ones lying in the nest.

  ‘Is that the royal palace?’ cried the Bear. ‘What a miserable place! And do you mean to say that you are royal children? You must be changelings!’

  When the young Wrens heard this, they were furious, and shrieked, ‘No, indeed we’re not. Our parents are honest people; we must have this out with you.’

  The Bear and the Wolf were very much frightened. They turned round and ran home to their dens.

  But the young Wrens continued to shriek and scream aloud; and when thei
r parents came back with more food, they said, ‘We won’t touch so much as the leg of a fly, even if we starve, till you tell us whether we are really your lawful children or not. The Bear has been here calling us names.’

  Then said the old King, ‘Only be quiet, and this shall be seen to.’

  Thereupon he and his wife the Queen flew off to the Bear in his den, and called in to him, ‘Old Bruin, why have you been calling our children names? It will turn out badly for you, and it will lead to a bloody war between us.’

  So war was declared, and all the four-footed animals were called together—the ox, the ass, the cow, the stag, the roedeer, and every other creature on the earth.

  But the Wren called together every creature which flew in the air, not only birds both large and small, but also the gnats, the hornets, the bees, and the flies.

  When the time came for the war to begin, the Wren sent out scouts to discover where the commanding generals of the enemy were to be found. The gnats were the most cunning of all. They swarmed in the wood where the enemy were assembled, and at last they hid themselves under a leaf of the tree where the orders were being given.

  The Bear called the Fox up to him and said, ‘You are the slyest of all the animals, Reynard. You shall be our general, and lead us.’

  ‘Very good,’ said the Fox; ‘but what shall we have for a signal?’ But nobody could think of anything. Then said the Fox, ‘I have a fine, long, bushy tail, which almost looks like a red feather brush. When I hold my tail erect, things are going well, and you must march forward at once; but if it droops, you must all run away as hard as ever you can.’

  When the gnats heard this they flew straight home and told the Wrens every detail.

  When the day broke, all the four-footed animals came rushing to the spot where the battle was to take place. They came with such a tramping that the earth shook.

  The Wren and his army also came swarming through the air; they fluttered and buzzed enough to terrify one. And then they made for one another.