"Turn back, turn back, young maiden dear,
'Tis a murderer's house you enter here."
The maiden looked up, and saw that the voice came from a bird, whichwas hanging in a cage on the wall. Again it cried,
"Turn back, turn back, young maiden dear,
'Tis a murderer's house you enter here."
Then the young maiden went on farther from one room to another, andwalked through the whole house, but it was entirely empty and not onehuman being was to be found. At last she came to the the cellar, andthere sat an extremely aged woman, whose head shook constantly. "Canyou not tell me," said the maiden, "if my betrothed lives here?"
"Alas, poor child," replied the old woman, "whither hast thou come? Thouart in a murderer's den. Thou thinkest thou art a bride soon to bemarried, but thou wilt keep thy wedding with death. Look, I have beenforced to put a great kettle on there, with water in it, and when theyhave thee in their power, they will cut thee to pieces without mercy,will cook thee, and eat thee, for they are eaters of human flesh. If Ido not have compassion on thee, and save thee, thou art lost."
Thereupon the old woman led her behind a great hogshead where she couldnot be seen. "Be as still as a mouse," said she, "do not make a sound,or move, or all will be over with thee. At night, when the robbers areasleep, we will escape; I have long waited for an opportunity." Hardlywas this done, than the godless crew came home. They dragged with themanother young girl. They were drunk, and paid no heed to her screams andlamentations. They gave her wine to drink, three glasses full, one glassof white wine, one glass of red, and a glass of yellow, and with thisher heart burst in twain. Thereupon they tore off her delicate raiment,laid her on a table, cut her beautiful body in pieces and strewed saltthereon. The poor bride behind the cask trembled and shook, for she sawright well what fate the robbers had destined for her. One of them noticeda gold ring on the little finger of the murdered girl, and as it would notcome off at once, he took an axe and cut the finger off, but it sprangup in the air, away over the cask and fell straight into the bride'sbosom. The robber took a candle and wanted to look for it, but could notfind it. Then another of them said, "Hast thou looked behind the greathogshead?" But the old woman cried, "Come and get something to eat, andleave off looking till the morning, the finger won't run away from you."
Then the robbers said, "The old woman is right," and gave up their search,and sat down to eat, and the old woman poured a sleeping-draught in theirwine, so that they soon lay down in the cellar, and slept and snored. Whenthe bride heard that, she came out from behind the hogshead, and had tostep over the sleepers, for they lay in rows on the ground, and great washer terror lest she should waken one of them. But God helped her, andshe got safely over. The old woman went up with her, opened the doors,and they hurried out of the murderers' den with all the speed in theirpower. The wind had blown away the strewn ashes, but the peas and lentilshad sprouted and grown up, and showed them the way in the moonlight. Theywalked the whole night, until in the morning they arrived at the mill,and then the maiden told her father everything exactly as it had happened.
When the day came when the wedding was to be celebrated, the bridegroomappeared, and the Miller had invited all his relations and friends. Asthey sat at table, each was bidden to relate something. The bridesat still, and said nothing. Then said the bridegroom to the bride,"Come, my darling, dost thou know nothing? Relate something to us likethe rest." She replied, "Then I will relate a dream. I was walking alonethrough a wood, and at last I came to a house, in which no living soulwas, but on the wall there was a bird in a cage which cried,
"Turn back, turn back, young maiden dear,
'Tis a murderer's house you enter here."
And this it cried once more. 'My darling, I only dreamt this. ThenI went through all the rooms, and they were all empty, and there wassomething so horrible about them! At last I went down into the cellar,and there sat a very very old woman, whose head shook; I asked her,'Does my bridegroom live in this house? She answered, 'Alas poor child,thou hast got into a murderer's den, thy bridegroom does live here,but he will hew thee in pieces, and kill thee, and then he will cookthee, and eat thee.' My darling, I only dreamt this. But the old womanhid me behind a great hogshead, and, scarcely was I hidden, when therobbers came home, dragging a maiden with them, to whom they gave threekinds of wine to drink, white, red, and yellow, with which her heartbroke in twain. My darling, I only dreamt this. Thereupon they pulledoff her pretty clothes, and hewed her fair body in pieces on a table,and sprinkled them with salt. My darling, I only dreamt this. And oneof the robbers saw that there was still a ring on her little finger,and as it was hard to draw off, he took an axe and cut it off, but thefinger sprang up in the air, and sprang behind the great hogshead, andfell in my bosom. And there is the finger with the ring!" And with thesewords she drew it forth, and showed it to those present.
The robber, who had during this story become as pale as ashes, leapt upand wanted to escape, but the guests held him fast, and delivered himover to justice. Then he and his whole troop were executed for theirinfamous deeds.
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