The Crystal Ball

by The Brothers Grimm

　　

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There was once an enchantress, who had three sons who loved each other asbrothers, but the old woman did not trust them, and thought they wantedto steal her power from her. So she changed the eldest into an eagle,which was forced to dwell in the rocky mountains, and was often seensweeping in great circles in the sky. The second, she changed into awhale, which lived in the deep sea, and all that was seen of it was thatit sometimes spouted up a great jet of water in the air. Each of themonly bore his human form for only two hours daily. The third son, whowas afraid she might change him into a raging wild beast a bear perhaps,or a wolf, went secretly away. He had heard that a King's daughter whowas bewitched, was imprisoned in the Castle of the Golden Sun, and waswaiting for deliverance. Those, however, who tried to free her riskedtheir lives; three-and-twenty youths had already died a miserable death,and now only one other might make the attempt, after which no more mustcome. And as his heart was without fear, he caught at the idea of seekingout the Castle of the Golden Sun. He had already travelled about for along time without being able to find it, when he came by chance into agreat forest, and did not know the way out of it. All at once he sawin the distance two giants, who made a sign to him with their hands,and when he came to them they said, "We are quarrelling about a cap, andwhich of us it is to belong to, and as we are equally strong, neitherof us can get the better of the other. The small men are cleverer thanwe are, so we will leave the decision to thee." "How can you disputeabout an old cap?" said the youth. "Thou dost not know what propertiesit has! It is a wishing-cap; whosoever puts it on, can wish himself awaywherever he likes, and in an instant he will be there." "Give me the cap,"said the youth, "I will go a short distance off, and when I call you,you must run a race, and the cap shall belong to the one who gets firstto me." He put it on and went away, and thought of the King's daughter,forgot the giants, and walked continually onward. At length he sighedfrom the very bottom of his heart, and cried, "Ah, if I were but at theCastle of the Golden Sun," and hardly had the words passed his lips thanhe was standing on a high mountain before the gate of the castle.

　　He entered and went through all the rooms, until in the last he foundthe King's daughter. But how shocked he was when he saw her. She hadan ashen-gray face full of wrinkles, blear eyes, and red hair. "Areyou the King's daughter, whose beauty the whole world praises?" criedhe. "Ah," she answered, "this is not my form; human eyes can only seeme in this state of ugliness, but that thou mayst know what I am like,look in the mirror it does not let itself be misled it will show theemy image as it is in truth." She gave him the mirror in his hand, and hesaw therein the likeness of the most beautiful maiden on earth, and saw,too, how the tears were rolling down her cheeks with grief. Then said he,"How canst thou be set free? I fear no danger." She said, "He who getsthe crystal ball, and holds it before the enchanter, will destroy hispower with it, and I shall resume my true shape. Ah," she added, "somany have already gone to meet death for this, and thou art so young;I grieve that thou shouldst encounter such great danger." "Nothing cankeep me from doing it," said he, "but tell me what I must do." "Thoushalt know everything," said the King's daughter; "when thou descendestthe mountain on which the castle stands, a wild bull will stand belowby a spring, and thou must fight with it, and if thou hast the luck tokill it, a fiery bird will spring out of it, which bears in its body aburning egg, and in the egg the crystal ball lies like a yolk. The birdwill not, however, let the egg fall until forced to do so, and if itfalls on the ground, it will flame up and burn everything that is near,and melt even ice itself, and with it the crystal ball, and then allthy trouble will have been in vain."

　　The youth went down to the spring, where the bull snorted and bellowedat him. After a long struggle he plunged his sword in the animal's body,and it fell down. Instantly a fiery bird arose from it, and was about tofly away, but the young man's brother, the eagle, who was passing betweenthe clouds, swooped down, hunted it away to the sea, and struck it withhis beak until, in its extremity, it let the egg fall. The egg did not,however, fall into the sea, but on a fisherman's hut which stood on theshore and the hut began at once to smoke and was about to break out inflames. Then arose in the sea waves as high as a house, they streamedover the hut, and subdued the fire. The other brother, the whale, hadcome swimming to them, and had driven the water up on high. When the firewas extinguished, the youth sought for the egg and happily found it;it was not yet melted, but the shell was broken by being so suddenlycooled with the water, and he could take out the crystal ball unhurt.

　　When the youth went to the enchanter and held it before him, the lattersaid, "My power is destroyed, and from this time forth thou art theKing of the Castle of the Golden Sun. With this canst thou likewise giveback to thy brothers their human form." Then the youth hastened to theKing's daughter, and when he entered the room, she was standing therein the full splendour of her beauty, and joyfully they exchanged ringswith each other.

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