A Fairy Tale of the Brothers Grimm
[38]
so she was forced to give up her horse, and soon afterwards to take off her royal clothes and put on her maid’s shabby ones.
[39]
At last, as they drew near the end of their journey, this treacherous servant threatened to kill her mistress if she ever told anyone what had happened.
[40]
But Falada saw it all, and marked it well.
[41]
Then the waiting-maid got upon Falada, and the real bride rode upon the other horse,
[42]
and they went on in this way till at last they came to the royal court.
[43]
There was great joy at their coming, and the prince flew to meet them,
[44]
and lifted the maid from her horse, thinking she was the one who was to be his wife;
[45]
and she was led upstairs to the royal chamber; but the true princess was told to stay in the court below.
[46]
Now the old king happened just then to have nothing else to do;
[47]
so he amused himself by sitting at his kitchen window, looking at what was going on; and he saw her in the courtyard.
[48]
As she looked very pretty, and too delicate for a waiting-maid, he went up into the royal chamber to ask the bride
[49]
who it was she had brought with her, that was thus left standing in the court below.
[50]
“I brought her with me for the sake of her company on the road,” said she; “pray give the girl some work to do, that she may not be idle.”
[51]
The old king could not for some time think of any work for her to do; but at last he said,
[52]
“I have a lad who takes care of my geese; she may go and help him.”
[53]
Now the name of this lad, that the real bride was to help in watching the king’s geese, was Curdken.
[54]
But the false bride said to the prince,
[55]
“Dear husband, pray do me one piece of kindness.”
[56]
“That I will,” said the prince.
[57]
“Then tell one of your slaughterers to cut off the head of the horse I rode upon, for it was very unruly, and plagued me sadly on the road;”
[58]
but the truth was, she was very much afraid lest Falada should some day or other speak, and tell all she had done to the princess.
[59]
She carried her point, and the faithful Falada was killed; but when the true princess heard of it,
[60]
she wept, and begged the man to nail up Falada’s head against a large dark gate of the city,
[61]
through which she had to pass every morning and evening, that there she might still see him sometimes.
[62]
Then the slaughterer said he would do as she wished; and cut off the head, and nailed it up under the dark gate.
[63]
Early the next morning, as she and Curdken went out through the gate, she said sorrowfully,
[64]
“Falada, Falada, there thou hangest (you hang)!”
[65]
and the head answered:
[66]
“Bride, bride, there thou gangest (you pass)!
Alas! alas! if thy (your) mother knew it,
Sadly, sadly, would she rue it.”
[67]
Then they went out of the city, and drove the geese on.
[68]
And when she came to the meadow, she sat down upon a bank there, and let down her waving locks of hair, which were all of pure silver;
[69]
and when Curdken saw it glitter in the sun, he ran up, and would have pulled some of the locks out, but she cried,
[70]
“Blow, breezes, blow!
Let Curdken’s hat go!
Blow, breezes, blow!
Let him after it go!
Over hills, dales, and rocks,
away be it whirled
Till the silvery locks
are all combed and curled.”
[71]
Then there came a wind, so strong that it blew off Curdken’s hat; and away it flew over the hills: and he was forced to turn and run after it;
[72]
till, by the time he came back, she had done combing and curling her hair, and had put it up again safe.
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