King Thrushbeard

by The Brothers Grimm

　　A King had a daughter who was beautiful beyond all measure, but so proudand haughty withal that no suitor was good enough for her. She sent awayone after the other, and ridiculed them as well.

　　Once the King made a great feast and invited thereto, from far andnear, all the young men likely to marry. They were all marshalledin a row according to their rank and standing; first came the kings,then the grand-dukes, then the princes, the earls, the barons, and thegentry. Then the King's daughter was led through the ranks, but to everyone she had some objection to make; one was too fat, "The wine-cask,"she said. Another was too tall, "Long and thin has little in." The thirdwas too short, "Short and thick is never quick." The fourth was too pale,"As pale as death." The fifth too red, "A fighting-cock." The sixth wasnot straight enough, "A green log dried behind the stove."

　　So she had something to say against every one, but she made herselfespecially merry over a good king who stood quite high up in the row,and whose chin had grown a little crooked. "Well," she cried and laughed,"he has a chin like a thrush's beak!" and from that time he got the nameof King Thrushbeard.

　　But the old King, when he saw that his daugher did nothing but mock thepeople, and despised all the suitors who were gathered there, was veryangry, and swore that she should have for her husband the very firstbeggar that came to his doors.

　　A few days afterwards a fiddler came and sang beneath the windows,trying to earn a small alms. When the King heard him he said, "Let himcome up." So the fiddler came in, in his dirty, ragged clothes, and sangbefore the King and his daughter, and when he had ended he asked for atrifling gift. The King said, "Your song has pleased me so well that Iwill give you my daughter there, to wife."

　　The King's daughter shuddered, but the King said, "I have taken an oathto give you to the very first beggar-man, and I will keep it." All shecould say was in vain; the priest was brought, and she had to let herselfbe wedded to the fiddler on the spot. When that was done the King said,"Now it is not proper for you, a beggar-woman, to stay any longer in mypalace, you may just go away with your husband."

　　The beggar-man led her out by the hand, and she was obliged to walk awayon foot with him. When they came to a large forest she asked, "To whomdoes that beautiful forest belong?" "It belongs to King Thrushbeard;if you had taken him, it would have been yours." "Ah, unhappy girl thatI am, if I had but taken King Thrushbeard!"

　　Afterwards they came to a meadow, and she asked again, "To whom doesthis beautiful green meadow belong?" "It belongs to King Thrushbeard;if you had taken him, it would have been yours." "Ah, unhappy girl thatI am, if I had but taken King Thrushbeard!"

　　Then they came to a large town, and she asked again, "To whom doesthis fine large town belong?" "It belongs to King Thrushbeard; if youhad taken him, it would have been yours." "Ah, unhappy girl that I am,if I had but taken King Thrushbeard!"

　　"It does not please me," said the fiddler, "to hear you always wishingfor another husband; am I not good enough for you?" At last they cameto a very little hut, and she said, "Oh goodness! what a small house;to whom does this miserable, mean hovel belong?" The fiddler answered,"That is my house and yours, where we shall live together."

　　She had to stoop in order to go in at the low door. "Where are theservants?" said the King's daughter. "What servants?" answered thebeggar-man; "you must yourself do what you wish to have done. Just make afire at once, and set on water to cook my supper, I am quite tired." Butthe King's daughter knew nothing about lighting fires or cooking, and thebeggar-man had to lend a hand himself to get anything fairly done. Whenthey had finished their scanty meal they went to bed; but he forced herto get up quite early in the morning in order to look after the house.

　　For a few days they lived in this way as well as might be, and came tothe end of all their provisions. Then the man said, "Wife, we cannot goon any longer eating and drinking here and earning nothing. You weavebaskets." He went out, cut some willows, and brought them home. Thenshe began to weave, but the tough willows wounded her delicate hands.

　　"I see that this will not do," said the man; "you had better spin,perhaps you can do that better." She sat down and tried to spin, but thehard thread soon cut her soft fingers so that the blood ran down. "See,"said the man, "you are fit for no sort of work; I have made a bad bargainwith you. Now I will try to make a business with pots and earthenware;you must sit in the market-place and sell the ware." "Alas," thought she,"if any of the people from my father's kingdom come to the market and seeme sitting there, selling, how they will mock me?" But it was of no use,she had to yield unless she chose to die of hunger.

　　For the first time she succeeded well, for the people were glad to buythe woman's wares because she was good-looking, and they paid her whatshe asked; many even gave her the money and left the pots with her aswell. So they lived on what she had earned as long as it lasted, then thehusband bought a lot of new crockery. With this she sat down at the cornerof the market-place, and set it out round about her ready for sale. Butsuddenly there came a drunken hussar galloping along, and he rode rightamongst the pots so that they were all broken into a thousand bits. Shebegan to weep, and did now know what to do for fear. "Alas! what willhappen to me?" cried she; "what will my husband say to this?"

　　She ran home and told him of the misfortune. "Who would seat herselfat a corner of the market-place with crockery?" said the man; "leaveoff crying, I see very well that you cannot do any ordinary work, soI have been to our King's palace and have asked whether they cannotfind a place for a kitchen-maid, and they have promised me to take you;in that way you will get your food for nothing."

　　The King's daughter was now a kitchen-maid, and had to be at the cook'sbeck and call, and do the dirtiest work. In both her pockets she fasteneda little jar, in which she took home her share of the leavings, and uponthis they lived.

　　It happened that the wedding of the King's eldest son was to becelebrated, so the poor woman went up and placed herself by the door ofthe hall to look on. When all the candles were lit, and people, eachmore beautiful than the other, entered, and all was full of pomp andsplendour, she thought of her lot with a sad heart, and cursed the prideand haughtiness which had humbled her and brought her to so great poverty.

　　The smell of the delicious dishes which were being taken in and outreached her, and now and then the servants threw her a few morsels ofthem: these she put in her jars to take home.

　　All at once the King's son entered, clothed in velvet and silk, with goldchains about his neck. And when he saw the beautiful woman standing by thedoor he seized her by the hand, and would have danced with her; but sherefused and shrank with fear, for she saw that it was King Thrushbeard,her suitor whom she had driven away with scorn. Her struggles were of noavail, he drew her into the hall; but the string by which her pocketswere hung broke, the pots fell down, the soup ran out, and the scrapswere scattered all about. And when the people saw it, there arose generallaughter and derision, and she was so ashamed that she would rather havebeen a thousand fathoms below the ground. She sprang to the door and wouldhave run away, but on the stairs a man caught her and brought her back;and when she looked at him it was King Thrushbeard again. He said to herkindly, "Do not be afraid, I and the fiddler who has been living with youin that wretched hovel are one. For love of you I disguised myself so;and I also was the hussar who rode through your crockery. This was alldone to humble your proud spirit, and to punish you for the insolencewith which you mocked me."

　　Then she wept bitterly and said, "I have done great wrong, and am notworthy to be your wife." But he said, "Be comforted, the evil days arepast; now we will celebrate our wedding." Then the maids-in-waiting cameand put on her the most splendid clothing, and her father and his wholecourt came and wished her happiness in her marriage with King Thrushbeard,and the joy now began in earnest. I wish you and I had been there too.