Snow-white And Rosy-red
:
Slavonic
:
Fairy Tales From All Nations
In a far-distant land, there reigned a queen, who was one day driving
in a sledge over the new fallen snow, when, as it chanced, she was
seized with a bleeding at her nose, which obliged her to alight. As
she stood leaning against the stump of a tree, and gazed on her
crimson blood that fell on the snow, she thought to herself, "I have
now twelve sons, and not one daughter; could I but have a daughter
fair as that snow
and rosy as that blood, I should no longer care
about my sons." She had scarcely murmured the wish, before a sorceress
stood beside her. "Thou shalt have a daughter," said she, "and she
shall be fair as this snow and rosy as thy blood; but thy twelve sons
shall then be mine; thou may'st, however, retain them with thee, until
thy daughter shall be baptized."
Now, at the appointed time the queen brought into the world a
daughter, who was fair as snow and rosy as blood, just as the
sorceress had promised, and on that account she was called Snow-white
and Rosy-red; and there was great joy throughout all the royal
household, but the queen rejoiced more than all the rest. But when she
remembered her promise to the sorceress, a strange sensation oppressed
her heart, and she sent for a silversmith, and commanded him to make
twelve silver spoons, one for each of the princes; she had one made
for the princess also. On the day that the princess was baptized, the
twelve princes were transformed into twelve wild ducks, and flew away,
and were no more seen. The princess, however, grew up, and became
wonderfully beautiful; but she was always wrapped in her own thoughts,
and so melancholy, that no one could guess what was the matter with
her.
One evening, when the queen was also in a very melancholy mood,
thinking on her lost sons, she said to Snow-white and Rosy-red, "Why
are you always so sad, my daughter? If there is anything the matter
with you, tell it me. If there is anything you wish for, you shall
have it."
"Oh, dear mother," she replied, "all around me seems so desolate;
other children have brothers and sisters, but I have none, and that is
why I am so sad."
"My daughter," said the queen, "you also once had brothers, for I had
twelve sons, but I gave them all up in order to have you;" and
thereupon she related to her all that had occurred.
When the princess heard what had befallen her brothers, she could no
longer remain at home in peace, and notwithstanding all her mother's
tears and entreaties, nothing would satisfy her but she must and would
set off in search of her brothers, for she thought that she alone was
guilty of causing their misfortune; so she secretly left the palace.
She wandered about the world, and went so far that you would not
believe it possible that such a delicate maiden could have gone to
such a distance. Once she strayed about a whole night in a great
forest, and towards the morning she was so tired that she lay down on
a bank and slept. Then she dreamed that she penetrated still farther
into the forest, till she came to a little wooden hut, and therein she
found her brothers. When she awoke, she saw before her a little beaten
path through the moss, and she followed it till in the thickest of the
forest she saw a little wooden hut, just like that she had dreamed
of.
She entered it, but saw no one. There were, however, twelve beds and
twelve chairs, and on the table lay twelve spoons, and, in fact, there
were twelve of every article she saw there. The princess was
overjoyed, for she could not but fancy that her twelve brethren dwelt
there, and that it was to them that the beds, and the chairs, and the
spoons belonged. Then she made a fire on the hearth, swept the room,
and made the beds; afterwards she cooked a meal for them, and set
everything out in the best order possible. And when she had finished
her cooking and had prepared everything for her brothers, she sat down
and ate something for herself, laid her spoon on the table, and crept
under the bed belonging to her youngest brother.
She had scarcely concealed herself there, when she heard a great
rustling in the air, and presently in flew twelve wild ducks; but the
moment they crossed the threshold, they were instantly transformed
into the princes, her brothers!
"Ah, how nicely everything is arranged here, and how delightfully warm
it is already," they exclaimed.
"Heaven reward the person who has warmed our room so nicely, and
prepared such an excellent repast for us;" and hereupon each took his
silver spoon in order to begin eating. But when each prince had taken
his own, there was still one remaining, so like the others that they
could not distinguish it. Then the princes looked at each other, and
were very much astonished.
"That must be our sister's spoon," said they; "and since the spoon is
here, she herself cannot be far off."
"If it is our sister, and if she is here," said the eldest, "she shall
be killed, for she is the cause of our misfortune."
"Nay," said the youngest, "it would be a sin to kill her; she is not
guilty of what we suffer; if any one is in fault, it is no other than
our own mother."
Then they all began to search high and low, and at last they looked
under all the beds, and when they came to the bed of the youngest
prince, they found the princess, and drew her from under it.
The eldest prince was now again for killing her, but she entreated
them earnestly to spare her life, and said, "Ah, do not kill me; I
have wandered about so long seeking for you, and I would willingly
give my life if that would disenchant you."
"Nay, but if you will disenchant us," said they, "we will spare your
life; for you can do it if you will."
"Indeed; only tell me then what I am to do, for I will do anything you
wish," said the princess.
"You must collect the down of the dandelion flowers, and you must
card, and spin, and weave it; and of that material you must cut out
and make twelve caps, and twelve shirts, and twelve cravats, a set for
each of us; but during the time that you are occupied in doing so, you
must neither speak, nor weep, nor smile. If you can do that, we shall
be disenchanted."
"But where shall I be able to find sufficient down for all the caps,
and shirts, and cravats?" asked she.
"That you shall soon see," said the princes; and then they led her out
into a great meadow, where were so many dandelions with their white
down waving in the wind and glittering in the sun, that the glitter of
them could be seen at a very great distance. The princess had never in
all her life seen so many dandelions, and she began directly to pluck
and collect them, and she brought home as many as she could carry; and
in the evening she began to card and spin them into yarn. Thus she
continued doing for a very long time; every day she gathered the down
from the dandelions, and she attended on the princes also; she cooked
for them, and made their beds; and every evening they flew home as
wild ducks, became princes again during the night, and in the morning
flew away again, as wild ducks.
Now it happened one day when Snow-white and Rosy-red had gone to the
meadow to collect the dandelion-down--if I do not mistake, that was
the last time that she required to collect them--that the young king
of the country was hunting, and rode towards the meadow where
Snow-white and Rosy-red was collecting her material. The king was
astonished to see such a beautiful maiden walking there, and gathering
the dandelion-down. He stopped his horse and addressed her; but when
he could get no answer from her, he was still more astonished, and as
the maiden pleased him so well, he resolved to carry her to his royal
residence, and make her his wife. He commanded his attendants,
therefore, to lift her upon his horse; but Snow-white and Rosy-red
wrung her hands, and pointed to the bag wherein she had her work. So
the king understood at last what she meant, and bade his attendants
put the bag also on his horse. That being done, the princess, by
degrees, yielded to his wish that she should go with him, for the king
was a very handsome man, and spoke so gently, and kindly, to her. But
when they arrived at the palace, and the old queen, who was the
king's step-mother, saw how beautiful Snow-white and Rosy-red was, she
became quite jealous and angry; and she said to the king:--"Do you not
see, then, that you have brought home a sorceress with you? for she
can neither speak, nor laugh, nor cry." The king, however, heeded not
his step-mother's words, but celebrated his nuptials with the fair
maiden, and lived very happily with her. She, however, did not cease
to work continually at the shirts.
Before the year was out, Snow-white and Rosy-red brought a little
prince into the world. This made the old queen still more envious and
spiteful than before; and when night came, she slipped into the
queen's room, and whilst she slept, carried off the infant, and threw
it into a pit which was full of snakes. Then she returned, made an
incision in one of the queen's fingers, and having smeared her mouth
with the blood, she went to the king, and said:--"Come now, and see
what sort of a wife you have got; she has just devoured her own
child." Thereupon the king was so distressed that he very nearly shed
tears, and said:--"Yes, it must be true, since I see it with my own
eyes; but she surely will not do so again; this time I will spare
her." Before the year was out the queen brought into the world
another prince, and the same occurred this time, as before. The
step-mother was still more jealous and spiteful; she again slipped
into the young queen's room, during the night, and, whilst she slept,
carried off the babe, and threw it into the pit to the serpents. Then
she made an incision in the queen's finger, smeared her lips with the
blood, and told the king that his wife had again devoured her own
child. The king's distress was greater than can be imagined, and he
said:--"Yes, it must be so, since I see it with my own eyes; but
surely she will never do so again; I will spare her this once more."
Before that year was out, Snow-white and Rosy-red brought a daughter
into the world, and this also the old queen threw into the serpent
hole, as she had done the others, made an incision in the young
queen's finger, smeared her lips with the blood, and then again said
to the king: "Come and see if I do not say truly, she is a sorceress:
for she has now devoured her third child," Then the king was more
distressed than can be described, for he could no longer spare her,
but was obliged to command that she should be burnt alive. Now when
the pile of faggots was blazing, and the young queen was to ascend,
she made signs that twelve boards should be laid round the pile. This
being done she placed on them, the shirts, caps, and cravats, she had
made for her brothers; but the left sleeve of the youngest brother's
shirt was wanting, for she had not been able to finish it. No sooner
had she done this than a great rustling and fluttering was heard in
the air, and twelve wild ducks came flying from the wood, and each
took a shirt, cap, and cravat in his beak, and flew off with them.
"Are you convinced now that she is a sorceress?" said the wicked
step-mother to the king: "make haste and have her burnt before the
flames consume all the wood."
"There is no need of such haste," said the king; "we have plenty more
wood, and I am very desirous to see what will be the end of all this."
At that moment came the twelve princes riding up, all as handsome and
graceful as possible, only the youngest prince, instead of a left arm,
had a duck's wing.
"What are you going to do?" asked the princes.
"My wife is going to be burnt," said the king, "because she is a
sorceress, and has devoured her children."
"That has she not," said the princes. "Speak now, sister! You have
delivered us, now save yourself."
Then Snow-white and Rosy-red spoke, and related all that had happened,
and that each time she had a child, the old queen had slipped into the
room, taken the child, and then made an incision in her finger, and
smeared the blood upon her lips. And the princes led the king to the
serpent hole, and there lay the children, playing with the serpents
and adders, and finer children than these could not be seen. Then the
king carried them with him to his step-mother, and asked her what the
person deserved who had desired to betray an innocent queen, and three
such lovely children.
"To be torn in pieces by twelve wild horses," said the old queen.
"You have pronounced your own doom, and shall suffer the punishment,"
said the king, and forthwith the old queen was tied to twelve wild
horses, and torn to pieces. But Snow-white and Rosy-red set off with
the king, her husband, and her three children, and her twelve
brothers, and went home to her parents, and told them all that had
happened to her; and there were rejoicings throughout the kingdom,
because the princess was saved, and that she had disenchanted her
twelve brothers.