Grimm's Household Tales, Edwardes, Bell 1912
It is now long ago, quite two thousand years, since there was a rich manwho had a beautiful and pious wife, and they loved each other dearly. Theyhad, however, no children, though they wished for them very much, and thewoman prayed for them day and night, but still they had none. Now therewas a court-yard in front of their house in which was a juniper-tree,and one day in winter the woman was standing beneath it, paring herselfan apple, and while she was paring herself the apple she cut her finger,and the blood fell on the snow. "Ah," said the woman, and sighed rightheavily, and looked at the blood before her, and was most unhappy, "ah,if I had but a child as red as blood and as white as snow!" And whileshe thus spake, she became quite happy in her mind, and felt just as ifthat were going to happen. Then she went into the house and a month wentby and the snow was gone, and two months, and then everything was green,and three months, and then all the flowers came out of the earth, andfour months, and then all the trees in the wood grew thicker, and thegreen branches were all closely entwined, and the birds sang until thewood resounded and the blossoms fell from the trees, then the fifth monthpassed away and she stood under the juniper-tree, which smelt so sweetlythat her heart leapt, and she fell on her knees and was beside herselfwith joy, and when the sixth month was over the fruit was large and fine,and then she was quite still, and the seventh month she snatched at thejuniper-berries and ate them greedily, then she grew sick and sorrowful,then the eighth month passed, and she called her husband to her, andwept and said, "If I die then bury me beneath the juniper-tree." Thenshe was quite comforted and happy until the next month was over, andthen she had a child as white as snow and as red as blood, and when shebeheld it she was so delighted that she died.
Then her husband buried her beneath the juniper-tree, and he began toweep sore; after some time he was more at ease, and though he still wepthe could bear it, and after some time longer he took another wife.
By the second wife he had a daughter, but the first wife's child wasa little son, and he was as red as blood and as white as snow. Whenthe woman looked at her daughter she loved her very much, but then shelooked at the little boy and it seemed to cut her to the heart, forthe thought came into her mind that he would always stand in her way,and she was for ever thinking how she could get all the fortune for herdaughter, and the Evil One filled her mind with this till she was quitewroth with the little boy, and slapped him here and cuffed him there,until the unhappy child was in continual terror, for when he came outof school he had no peace in any place.
One day the woman had gone upstairs to her room, and her little daughterwent up too, and said, "Mother, give me an apple." "Yes, my child,"said the woman, and gave her a fine apple out of the chest, but thechest had a great heavy lid with a great sharp iron lock. "Mother,"said the little daughter, "is brother not to have one too?" This madethe woman angry, but she said, "Yes, when he comes out of school." Andwhen she saw from the window that he was coming, it was just as if theDevil entered into her, and she snatched at the apple and took it awayagain from her daughter, and said, "Thou shalt not have one before thybrother." Then she threw the apple into the chest, and shut it. Thenthe little boy came in at the door, and the Devil made her say to himkindly, "My son, wilt thou have an apple?" and she looked wickedly athim. "Mother," said the little boy, "how dreadful you look! Yes, giveme an apple." Then it seemed to her as if she were forced to say to him,"Come with me," and she opened the lid of the chest and said, "Take outan apple for thyself," and while the little boy was stooping inside, theDevil prompted her, and crash! she shut the lid down, and his head flewoff and fell among the red apples. Then she was overwhelmed with terror,and thought, "If I could but make them think that it was not done byme!" So she went upstairs to her room to her chest of drawers, and tooka white handkerchief out of the top drawer, and set the head on the neckagain, and folded the handkerchief so that nothing could be seen, and sheset him on a chair in front of the door, and put the apple in his hand.
After this Marlinchen came into the kitchen to her mother, who wasstanding by the fire with a pan of hot water before her which shewas constantly stirring round. "Mother," said Marlinchen, "brother issitting at the door, and he looks quite white and has an apple in hishand. I asked him to give me the apple, but he did not answer me, andI was quite frightened." "Go back to him," said her mother, "and if hewill not answer thee, give him a box on the ear." So Marlinchen wentto him and said, "Brother, give me the apple." But he was silent, andshe gave him a box on the ear, on which his head fell down. Marlinchenwas terrified, and began crying and screaming, and ran to her mother,and said, "Alas, mother, I have knocked my brother's head off!" and shewept and wept and could not be comforted. "Marlinchen," said the mother,"what hast thou done? but be quiet and let no one know it; it cannot behelped now, we will make him into black-puddings." Then the mother tookthe little boy and chopped him in pieces, put him into the pan and madehim into black puddings; but Marlinchen stood by weeping and weeping,and all her tears fell into the pan and there was no need of any salt.
Then the father came home, and sat down to dinner and said, "But whereis my son?" And the mother served up a great dish of black-puddings,and Marlinchen wept and could not leave off. Then the father again said,"But where is my son?" "Ah," said the mother, "he has gone across thecountry to his mother's great uncle; he will stay there awhile." "Andwhat is he going to do there? He did not even say good-bye to me."
"Oh, he wanted to go, and asked me if he might stay six weeks, he is welltaken care of there." "Ah," said the man, "I feel so unhappy lest allshould not be right. He ought to have said good-bye to me." With that hebegan to eat and said, "Marlinchen, why art thou crying? Thy brother willcertainly come back." Then he said, "Ah, wife, how delicious this foodis, give me some more." And the more he ate the more he wanted to have,and he said, "Give me some more, you shall have none of it. It seems tome as if it were all mine." And he ate and ate and threw all the bonesunder the table, until he had finished the whole. But Marlinchen wentaway to her chest of drawers, and took her best silk handkerchief outof the bottom drawer, and got all the bones from beneath the table, andtied them up in her silk handkerchief, and carried them outside the door,weeping tears of blood. Then the juniper-tree began to stir itself, andthe branches parted asunder, and moved together again, just as if someone was rejoicing and clapping his hands. At the same time a mist seemedto arise from the tree, and in the centre of this mist it burned like afire, and a beautiful bird flew out of the fire singing magnificently,and he flew high up in the air, and when he was gone, the juniper-treewas just as it had been before, and the handkerchief with the bones wasno longer there. Marlinchen, however, was as gay and happy as if herbrother were still alive. And she went merrily into the house, and satdown to dinner and ate.
But the bird flew away and lighted on a goldsmith's house, and beganto sing,
"My mother she killed me,
My father he ate me,
My sister, little Marlinchen,
Gathered together all my bones,
Tied them in a silken handkerchief,
Laid them beneath the juniper-tree,
Kywitt, kywitt, what a beautiful bird am I!"
The goldsmith was sitting in his workshop making a gold chain, when heheard the bird which was sitting singing on his roof, and very beautifulthe song seemed to him. He stood up, but as he crossed the thresholdhe lost one of his slippers. But he went away right up the middleof the street with one shoe on and one sock; he had his apron on,and in one hand he had the gold chain and in the other the pincers,and the sun was shining brightly on the street. Then he went righton and stood still, and said to the bird, "Bird," said he then, "howbeautifully thou canst sing! Sing me that piece again." "No," said thebird, "I'll not sing it twice for nothing! Give me the golden chain,and then I will sing it again for thee." "There," said the goldsmith,"there is the golden chain for thee, now sing me that song again." Thenthe bird came and took the golden chain in his right claw, and went andsat in front of the goldsmith, and sang,
"My mother she killed me,
My father he ate me,
My sister, little Marlinchen,
Gathered together all my bones,
Tied them in a silken handkerchief,
Laid them beneath the juniper-tree,
Kywitt, kywitt, what a beautiful bird am I!"
Then the bird flew away to a shoemaker, and lighted on his roof and sang,
"My mother she killed me,
My father he ate me,
My sister, little Marlinchen,
Gathered together all my bones,
Tied them in a silken handkerchief,
Laid them beneath the juniper-tree,
Kywitt, kywitt, what a beautiful bird am I!"
The shoemaker heard that and ran out of doors in his shirt sleeves, andlooked up at his roof, and was forced to hold his hand before his eyeslest the sun should blind him. "Bird," said he, "how beautifully thoucanst sing!" Then he called in at his door, "Wife, just come outside,there is a bird, look at that bird, he just can sing well." Then hecalled his daughter and children, and apprentices, boys and girls, andthey all came up the street and looked at the bird and saw how beautifulhe was, and what fine red and green feathers he had, and how like realgold his neck was, and how the eyes in his head shone like stars. "Bird,"said the shoemaker, "now sing me that song again." "Nay," said the bird,"I do not sing twice for nothing; thou must give me something." "Wife,"said the man, "go to the garret, upon the top shelf there stands a pairof red shoes, bring them down." Then the wife went and brought theshoes. "There, bird," said the man, "now sing me that piece again." Thenthe bird came and took the shoes in his left claw, and flew back on theroof, and sang,
"My mother she killed me,
My father he ate me,
My sister, little Marlinchen,
Gathered together all my bones,
Tied them in a silken handkerchief,
Laid them beneath the juniper-tree,
Kywitt, kywitt, what a beautiful bird am I!"
And when he had sung the whole he flew away. In his right claw he hadthe chain and the shoes in his left, and he flew far away to a mill,and the mill went, "klipp klapp, klipp klapp, klipp klapp," and in themill sat twenty miller's men hewing a stone, and cutting, hick hack,hick hack, hick hack, and the mill went klipp klapp, klipp klapp, klippklapp. Then the bird went and sat on a lime-tree which stood in frontof the mill, and sang,
"My mother she killed me,"
Then one of them stopped working,
"My father he ate me."
Then two more stopped working and listened to that,
"My sister, little Marlinchen,"
Then four more stopped,
"Gathered together all my bones,
Tied them in a silken handkerchief,"
Now eight only were hewing,
"Laid them beneath"
Now only five,
"The juniper-tree,"
And now only one,
"Kywitt, kywitt, what a beautiful bird am I!"
Then the last stopped also, and heard the last words. "Bird," said he,"how beautifully thou singest! Let me, too, hear that. Sing that oncemore for me."
"Nay," said the bird, "I will not sing twice for nothing. Give me themillstone, and then I will sing it again."
"Yes," said he, "if it belonged to me only, thou shouldst have it."
"Yes," said the others, "if he sings again he shall have it." Then thebird came down, and the twenty millers all set to work with a beam andraised the stone up. And the bird stuck his neck through the hole, andput the stone on as if it were a collar, and flew on to the tree again,and sang,
"My mother she killed me,
My father he ate me,
My sister, little Marlinchen,
Gathered together all my bones,
Tied them in a silken handkerchief,
Laid them beneath the juniper-tree,
Kywitt, kywitt, what a beautiful bird am I!"
And when he had done singing, he spread his wings, and in his rightclaw he had the chain, and in his left the shoes, and round his neckthe millstone, and he flew far away to his father's house.
In the room sat the father, the mother, and Marlinchen at dinner, andthe father said, "How light-hearted I feel, how happy I am!" "Nay,"said the mother, "I feel so uneasy, just as if a heavy storm werecoming." Marlinchen, however, sat weeping and weeping, and then came thebird flying, and as it seated itself on the roof the father said, "Ah,I feel so truly happy, and the sun is shining so beautifully outside,I feel just as if I were about to see some old friend again." "Nay,"said the woman, "I feel so anxious, my teeth chatter, and I seem to havefire in my veins." And she tore her stays open, but Marlinchen sat ina corner crying, and held her plate before her eyes and cried till itwas quite wet. Then the bird sat on the juniper tree, and sang,
"My mother she killed me,"
Then the mother stopped her ears, and shut her eyes, and would not seeor hear, but there was a roaring in her ears like the most violent storm,and her eyes burnt and flashed like lightning,
"My father he ate me,"
"Ah, mother," says the man, "that is a beautiful bird! He sings sosplendidly, and the sun shines so warm, and there is a smell just likecinnamon."
"My sister, little Marlinchen,"
Then Marlinchen laid her head on her knees and wept without ceasing, butthe man said, "I am going out, I must see the bird quite close." "Oh,don't go," said the woman, "I feel as if the whole house were shakingand on fire." But the man went out and looked at the bird:
"Gathered together all my bones,
Tied them in a silken handkerchief,
Laid them beneath the juniper tree,
Kywitt, kywitt, what a beautiful bird am I!"
On this the bird let the golden chain fall, and it fell exactly roundthe man's neck, and so exactly round it that it fitted beautifully. Thenhe went in and said, "Just look what a fine bird that is, and whata handsome gold chain he has given me, and how pretty he is!" But thewoman was terrified, and fell down on the floor in the room, and hercap fell off her head. Then sang the bird once more,
"My mother she killed me."
"Would that I were a thousand feet beneath the earth so as not tohear that!"
"My father he ate me,"
Then the woman fell down again as if dead.
"My sister, little Marlinchen,"
"Ah," said Marlinchen, "I too will go out and see if the bird will giveme anything," and she went out.
"Gathered together all my bones,
Tied them in a silken handkerchief,"
Then he threw down the shoes to her.
"Laid them beneath the juniper-tree,
Kywitt, kywitt, what a beautiful bird am I!"
Then she was light-hearted and joyous, and she put on the new red shoes,and danced and leaped into the house. "Ah," said she, "I was so sadwhen I went out and now I am so light-hearted; that is a splendid bird,he has given me a pair of red shoes!" "Well," said the woman, and sprangto her feet and her hair stood up like flames of fire, "I feel as if theworld were coming to an end! I, too, will go out and see if my heart feelslighter." And as she went out at the door, crash! the bird threw down themillstone on her head, and she was entirely crushed by it. The fatherand Marlinchen heard what had happened and went out, and smoke, flames,and fire were rising from the place, and when that was over, there stoodthe little brother, and he took his father and Marlinchen by the hand,and all three were right glad, and they went into the house to dinner,and ate.
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