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Grimms' Fairy Tales
The
Gnome
There was once upon a time a rich King who
had three daughters, who daily went to walk in the palace
garden, and the King was a great lover of all kinds of fine
trees, but there was one for which he had such an affection,
that if anyone gathered an apple from it he wished him a
hundred fathoms underground. And when harvest time came,
the apples on this tree were all as red as blood. The three
daughters went every day beneath the tree, and looked to
see if the wind had not blown down an apple, but they never
by any chance found one, and the tree was so loaded with
them that it was almost breaking, and the branches hung
down to the ground. Then the King's youngest child had a
great desire for an apple, and said to her sisters, "Our
father loves us far too much to wish us underground, it
is my belief that he would only do that to people who were
strangers." And while she was speaking, the child plucked
off quite a large apple, and ran to her sisters, saying,
"Just taste, my dear little sisters, for never in my
life have I tasted anything so delightful." Then the
two other sisters also ate some of the apple, whereupon
all three sank deep down into the earth, where they could
hear no cock crow.
When mid-day came, the King wished to call them to come
to dinner, but they were nowhere to be found. He sought
them everywhere in the palace and garden, but could not
find them. Then he was much troubled, and made known to
the whole land that whosoever brought his daughters back
again should have one of them to wife. Hereupon so many
young men went about the country in search, that there was
no counting them, for every one loved the three children
because they were so kind to all, and so fair of face. Three
young huntsmen also went out, and when they had travelled
about for eight days, they arrived at a great castle, in
which were beautiful apartments, and in one room a table
was laid on which were delicate dishes which were still
so warm that they were smoking, but in the whole of the
castle no human being was either to be seen or heard. They
waited there for half a day, and the food still remained
warm and smoking, and at length they were so hungry that
they sat down and ate, and agreed with each other that they
would stay and live in that castle, and that one of them,
who should be chosen by casting lots, should remain in the
house, and the two others seek the King's daughters. They
cast lots, and the lot fell on the eldest; so next day the
two younger went out to seek, and the eldest had to stay
home. At mid-day came a small, small mannikin and begged
for a piece of bread, then the huntsman took the bread which
he had found there, and cut a round off the loaf and was
about to give it to him, but whilst he was giving it to
the mannikin, the latter let it fall, and asked the huntsman
to be so good as to give him that piece again. The huntsman
was about to do so and stooped, on which the mannikin took
a stick, seized him by the hair, and gave him a good beating.
Next day, the second stayed at home, and he fared no better.
When the two others returned in the evening, the eldest
said, "Well, how have you got on?"
"Oh, very badly," said he, and then they lamented
their misfortune together, but they said nothing about it
to the youngest, for they did not like him at all, and always
called him Stupid Hans, because he did not exactly belong
to the forest. On the third day, the youngest stayed at
home, and again the little mannikin came and begged for
a piece of bread. When the youth gave it to him, the elf
let it fall as before, and asked him to be so good as to
give him that piece again. Then said Hans to the little
mannikin, "What! canst thou not pick up that piece
thyself? If thou wilt not take as much trouble as that for
thy daily bread, thou dost not deserve to have it."
Then the mannikin grew very angry and said he was to do
it, but the huntsman would not, and took my dear mannikin,
and gave him a thorough beating. Then the mannikin screamed
terribly, and cried, "Stop, stop, and let me go, and
I will tell thee where the King's daughters are." When
Hans heard that, he left off beating him and the mannikin
told him that he was an earth mannikin, and that there were
more than a thousand like him, and that if he would go with
him he would show him where the King's daughters were. Then
he showed him a deep well, but there was no water in it.
And the elf said that he knew well that the companions Hans
had with him did not intend to deal honourably with him,
therefore if he wished to deliver the King's children, he
must do it alone. The two other brothers would also be very
glad to recover the King's daughters, but they did not want
to have any trouble or danger. Hans was therefore to take
a large basket, and he must seat himself in it with his
hanger and a bell, and be let down. Below were three rooms,
and in each of them was a princess, with a many-headed dragon,
whose heads she was to comb and trim, but he must cut them
off. And having said all this, the elf vanished. When it
was evening the two brothers came and asked how he had got
on, and he said, "pretty well so far," and that
he had seen no one except at mid-day when a little mannikin
had come and begged for a piece of bread, that he had given
some to him, but that the mannikin had let it fall and had
asked him to pick it up again; but as he did not choose
to do that, the elf had begun to lose his temper, and that
he had done what he ought not, and had given the elf a beating,
on which he had told him where the King's daughters were.
Then the two were so angry at this that they grew green
and yellow. Next morning they went to the well together,
and drew lots who should first seat himself in the basket,
and again the lot fell on the eldest, and he was to seat
himself in it, and take the bell with him. Then he said,
"If I ring, you must draw me up again immediately."
When he had gone down for a short distance, he rang, and
they at once drew him up again. Then the second seated himself
in the basket, but he did just the same as the first, and
then it was the turn of the youngest, but he let himself
be lowered quite to the bottom. When he had got out of the
basket, he took his hanger, and went and stood outside the
first door and listened, and heard the dragon snoring quite
loudly. He opened the door slowly, and one of the princesses
was sitting there, and had nine dragon's heads lying upon
her lap, and was combing them. Then he took his hanger and
hewed at them, and the nine fell off. The princess sprang
up, threw her arms round his neck, embraced and kissed him
repeatedly, and took her stomacher, which was made of pure
gold, and hung it round his neck. Then he went to the second
princess, who had a dragon with five heads to comb, and
delivered her also, and to the youngest, who had a dragon
with four heads, he went likewise. And they all rejoiced,
and embraced him and kissed him without stopping. Then he
rang very loud, so that those above heard him, and he placed
the princesses one after the other in the basket, and had
them all drawn up, but when it came to his own turn he remembered
the words of the elf, who had told him that his comrades
did not mean well by him. So he took a great stone which
was lying there, and placed it in the basket, and when it
was about half way up, his false brothers above cut the
rope, so that the basket with the stone fell to the ground,
and they thought that he was dead, and ran away with the
three princesses, making them promise to tell their father
that it was they who had delivered them, and then they went
to the King, and each demanded a princess in marriage.
In the meantime the youngest huntsman was wandering about
the three chambers in great trouble, fully expecting to
have to end his days there, when he saw, hanging on the
wall, a flute; then said he, "Why dost thou hang there,
no one can be merry here?" He looked at the dragons,
heads likewise and said, "You too cannot help me now."
He walked backwards and forwards for such a long time that
he made the surface of the ground quite smooth. But at last
other thoughts came to his mind, and he took the flute from
the wall, and played a few notes on it, and suddenly a number
of elves appeared, and with every note that he sounded one
more came. Then he played until the room was entirely filled.
They all asked what he desired, so he said he wished to
get above ground back to daylight, on which they seized
him by every hair that grew on his head, and thus they flew
with him onto the earth again. When he was above ground,
he at once went to the King's palace, just as the wedding
of one princess was about to be celebrated, and he went
to the room where the King and his three daughters were.
When the princesses saw him they fainted. Hereupon the King
was angry, and ordered him to be put in prison at once,
because he thought he must have done some injury to the
children. When the princesses came to themselves, however,
they entreated the King to set him free again. The King
asked why, and they said that they were not allowed to tell
that, but their father said that they were to tell it to
the stove. And he went out, listened at the door, and heard
everything. Then he caused the two brothers to be hanged
on the gallows, and to the third he gave his youngest daughter,
and on that occasion I wore a pair of glass shoes, and I
struck them against a stone, and they said, "Klink,"
and were broken.
From Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, Household Tales, trans. Margaret
Hunt (London: George Bell, 1884), 2:24-28. |
