The Red Fairy Book - Andrew Lang (best novels for beginners TXT) 📗

who dwells with the seven little men,

Is as fair as you, as fair again.’

 

When she heard these words she literally trembled and shook with rage.

 

`Snowdrop shall die,’ she cried; `yes, though it cost me my own life.’

 

Then she went to a little secret chamber, which no one knew of

but herself, and there she made a poisonous apple. Outwardly it

looked beautiful, white with red cheeks, so that everyone who saw

it longed to eat it, but anyone who might do so would certainly die

on the spot. When the apple was quite finished she stained her

face and dressed herself up as a peasant, and so she went over

the seven hills to the seven Dwarfs’. She knocked at the door, as

usual, but Snowdrop put her head out of the window and called

out:

 

`I may not let anyone in, the seven Dwarfs have forbidden me

to do so.’

 

`Are you afraid of being poisoned?’ asked the old woman. `See, I

will cut this apple in half. I’ll eat the white cheek and you can eat

the red.’

 

But the apple was so cunningly made that only the red cheek

was poisonous. Snowdrop longed to eat the tempting fruit, and when

she saw that the peasant woman was eating it herself, she couldn’t

resist the temptation any longer, and stretching out her hand she

took the poisonous half. But hardly had the first bite passed her

lips than she fell down dead on the ground. Then the eyes of the

cruel Queen sparkled with glee, and laughing aloud she cried:

 

`As white as snow, as red as blood, and as black as ebony, this

time the Dwarfs won’t be able to bring you back to life.’

 

When she got home she asked the mirror:

 

`Mirror, mirror, hanging there,

Who in all the land’s most fair?’

 

and this time it replied:

 

`You are most fair, my Lady Queen,

None fairer in the land, I ween.’

 

Then her jealous heart was at rest—at least, as much at rest

as a jealous heart can ever be.

 

When the little Dwarfs came home in the evening they found

Snowdrop lying on the ground, and she neither breathed nor stirred.

They lifted her up, and looked round everywhere to see if they

could find anything poisonous about. They unlaced her bodice,

combed her hair, washed her with water and wine, but all in vain;

the child was dead and remained dead. Then they placed her on

a bier, and all the seven Dwarfs sat round it, weeping and sobbing

for three whole days. At last they made up their minds to bury

her, but she looked as blooming as a living being, and her cheeks

were still such a lovely colour, that they said:

 

`We can’t hide her away in the black ground.’

 

So they had a coffin made of transparent glass, and they laid her

in it, and wrote on the lid in golden letters that she was a royal

Princess. Then they put the coffin on the top of the mountain, and

one of the Dwarfs always remained beside it and kept watch over it.

And the very birds of the air came and bewailed Snowdrop’s death,

first an owl, and then a raven, and last of all a little dove.

 

Snowdrop lay a long time in the coffin, and she always looked

the same, just as if she were fast asleep, and she remained as white

as snow, as red as blood, and her hair as black as ebony.

 

Now it happened one day that a Prince came to the wood and

passed by the Dwarfs’ house. He saw the coffin on the hill, with

the beautiful Snowdrop inside it, and when he had read what was

written on it in golden letters, he said to the Dwarf:

 

`Give me the coffin. I’ll give you whatever you like for it.’

 

But the Dwarf said: `No; we wouldn’t part with it for all the

gold in the world.’

 

`Well, then,’ he replied, `give it to me, because I can’t live

without Snowdrop. I will cherish and love it as my dearest possession.’

 

He spoke so sadly that the good Dwarfs had pity on him,

and gave him the coffin, and the Prince made his servants bear

it away on their shoulders. Now it happened that as they were

going down the hill they stumbled over a bush, and jolted the coffin

so violently that the poisonous bit of apple Snowdrop had

swallowed fell out of her throat. She gradually opened her eyes,

lifted up the lid of the coffin, and sat up alive and well.

 

`Oh! dear me, where am I?’ she cried.

 

The Prince answered joyfully, `You are with me,’ and he told her

all that had happened. adding, `I love you better than anyone

in the whole wide world. Will you come with me to my father’s palace

and be my wife?’

 

Snowdrop consented, and went with him, and the marriage was

celebrated with great pomp and splendour.

 

Now Snowdrop’s wicked stepmother was one of the guests

invited to the wedding feast. When she had dressed herself very

gorgeously for the occasion, she went to the mirror, and said:

 

`Mirror, mirror, hanging there,

Who in all the land’s most fair?’

 

and the mirror answered:

 

`My Lady Queen, you are fair, ‘tis true,

But Snowdrop is fairer far than you.’

 

When the wicked woman heard these words she uttered a

curse, and was beside herself with rage and mortification. At first

she didn’t want to go to the wedding at all, but at the same time

she felt she would never be happy till she had seen the young

Queen. As she entered Snowdrop recognised her, and nearly

fainted with fear; but red-hot iron shoes had been prepared for the

wicked old Queen, and she was made to get into them and dance

till she fell down dead.[29]

 

[29] Grimm.

THE GOLDEN GOOSE

THERE was once a man who had three sons. The youngest of

them was called Dullhead, and was sneered and jeered at and

snubbed on every possible opportunity.

 

One day it happened that the eldest son wished to go into the

forest to cut wood, and before he started his mother gave him a fine

rich cake and a bottle of wine, so that he might be sure not to suffer

from hunger or thirst.

 

When he reached the forest he met a little old grey man who

wished him `Good-morning,’ and said: `Do give me a piece of that

cake you have got in your pocket, and let me have a draught of

your wine—I am so hungry and thirsty.’

 

But this clever son replied: `If I give you my cake and wine I

shall have none left for myself; you just go your own way;’ and

he left the little man standing there and went further on into the

forest. There he began to cut down a tree, but before long he made

a false stroke with his axe, and cut his own arm so badly that he

was obliged to go home and have it bound up.

 

Then the second son went to the forest, and his mother gave

him a good cake and a bottle of wine as she had to his elder brother.

He too met the little old grey man, who begged him for a morsel of

cake and a draught of wine.

 

But the second son spoke most sensibly too, and said:

`Whatever I give to you I deprive myself of. Just go your own way, will

you?’ Not long after his punishment overtook him, for no sooner

had he struck a couple of blows on a tree with his axe, than he cut

his leg so badly that he had to be carried home.

 

So then Dullhead said: `Father, let me go out and cut wood.’

 

But his father answered: `Both your brothers have injured

themselves. You had better leave it alone; you know nothing

about it.’

 

But Dullhead begged so hard to be allowed to go that at last

his father said: `Very well, then—go. Perhaps when you have hurt

yourself, you may learn to know better.’ His mother only gave

him a very plain cake made with water and baked in the cinders,

and a bottle of sour beer.

 

When he got to the forest, he too met the little grey old man,

who greeted him and said: `Give me a piece of your cake and a

draught from your bottle; I am so hungry and thirsty.’

 

And Dullhead replied: `I’ve only got a cinder-cake and some

sour beer, but if you care to have that, let us sit down and eat.’

 

So they sat down, and when Dullhead brought out his cake he

found it had turned into a fine rich cake, and the sour beer into

excellent wine. Then they ate and drank, and when they had

finished the little man said: `Now I will bring you luck, because

you have a kind heart and are willing to share what you have with

others. There stands an old tree; cut it down, and amongst its

roots you’ll find something.’ With that the little man took leave.

 

Then Dullhead fell to at once to hew down the tree, and when

it fell he found amongst its roots a goose, whose feathers were all

of pure gold. He lifted it out, carried it off, and took it with him

to an inn where he meant to spend the night.

 

Now the landlord of the inn had three daughters, and when

they saw the goose they were filled with curiosity as to what this

wonderful bird could be, and each longed to have one of its golden

feathers.

 

The eldest thought to herself: `No doubt I shall soon find a good

opportunity to pluck out one of its feathers,’ and the first time

Dullhead happened to leave the room she caught hold of the goose

by its wing. But, lo and behold! her fingers seemed to stick fast

to the goose, and she could not take her hand away.

 

Soon after the second daughter came in, and thought to pluck a

golden feather for herself too; but hardly had she touched her

sister than she stuck fast as well. At last the third sister came

with the same intentions, but the other two cried out: `Keep off!

for Heaven’s sake, keep off!’

 

The younger sister could not imagine why she was to keep off,

and thought to herself: `If they are both there, why should not I be

there too?’

 

So she sprang to them; but no sooner had she touched one of

them than she stuck fast to her. So they all three had to spend the

night with the goose.

 

Next morning Dullhead tucked the goose under his arm and

went off, without in the least troubling himself about the three girls

who were hanging on to it. They just had to run after him right

or left as best they could. In the middle of a field they met the

parson, and when he saw this procession he cried: `For shame,

you bold girls! What do you mean by running after a young fellow

through the fields like that? Do you call that proper behaviour?’

And with that he caught the youngest girl by the hand to try and

draw her away. But directly he touched her he hung on himself,

and had to run along with the rest of them.

 

Not long after the clerk came that way, and was much surprised

to see the parson following the footsteps of