Brothers Grimm Vol. I (English)

Brothers Grimm Vol I

Brüder Grimm Vol I

English partly translated anew from German.

Copyright © 2013 Nik Marcel

All rights reserved.

2Language Books

(A Bilingual Dual-Language Project)

Cinderella

A rich man had a very sick wife, and when she felt that her end drew near, called her only daughter to her bedside, and said, “Dear child, remain pious and good. Then God will always love you, and I will look down on you from heaven, and will be with you.”

Then she closed her eyes and died. The girl went every day to her mother’s grave and wept, and remained pious and good.

When winter came, the snow spread a white sheet over the grave; and when the spring sun had melted it away, the man had taken another wife.

The woman brought two daughters into the house, whose faces were beautiful and fair, but were ugly and dark at heart.

Now began a very difficult time for the poor stepchild.

“Is the stupid goose to sit by our side in the room,” they said. “Whoever wants to eat bread must earn it; out with the kitchen-maid!”

They took her pretty clothes away from her, put her in an old grey gown, and gave her wooden shoes.

“Just look at the proud princess; how decked out she is!” they cried out; and they laughed and led her into the kitchen.

She had hard work to do from the morning until night: rising early, carrying water, lighting the fire, cooking, and washing.

In addition, her sisters did her every imaginable injury: they mocked her and emptied her peas and lentils into the ashes, so that she had to sit and pick them out again.

In the night, when she was weary from work, there was no bed for her. Rather, she had to lie down next to the hearth, in the ashes; and because she was always full of dust and ashes, they named her Cinderella.

It happened that the father was once going to the fair, and he asked his two stepdaughters what he should bring them.

“A beautiful dress,” said one; “pearls and jewels,” added the second.

“And you, Cinderella,” he said, “what do you want?”

“Father, break off and bring for me the first branch that brushes your hat on the way home.”

For his two stepdaughters he brought beautiful dresses, pearls, and precious stones; and on the way back, as he rode by a green bush, a hazel twig brushed against him and knocked off his hat. Then he broke off the branch and took it with him.

When he returned to his house, he gave the two stepdaughters what they had requested, and gave the branch from the hazel bush to Cinderella.

Cinderella thanked him, went to her mother’s grave, planted the branch on it, and wept so much that the tears fell down on it, and so watered it.

It grew without delay, and became a splendid tree.

Cinderella went to be with the tree three times a day – to weep and to pray – and a little white bird always came to rest on the tree; and if Cinderella expressed a wish, the bird threw down what she had desired.

It happened then that the King ordered a festival – that was to last for three days – to which all the beautiful young girls in the country were invited: so that his son might choose a bride.

When the two stepsisters heard that they would also attend the proceedings, they called out to Cinderella and said, “Comb our hair, brush our shoes, and fasten our buckles, for we are going to the wedding at the King’s palace.”

Cinderella obeyed, though she wept, for she would have loved to accompany them to the dance; and so she pleaded with her stepmother to permit her.

“You, Cinderella,” she said, “are full of dust and ashes, and you want to go to a festival? You have neither clothes nor shoes, and you want to dance?”

However, as the girl asked persistently, she finally said to her, “I have emptied a plate of lentils into the ashes. If you pick them out within two hours, you shall go.”

The young girl went, via the back door, out into the garden, and she cried out, “Tame pigeons, turtle-doves, all the birds beneath the sky, come and help me to collect: the good into the pot; the bad into the crop.”

Two white doves entered by the kitchen window; then came two turtledoves; and finally all the birds of the sky came fluttering. They all settled into the ashes.

The pigeons nodded their heads and began… pick, pick, pick, pick… and the others began… pick, pick, pick, pick… and gathered all the good grains onto the plate.

Hardly an hour had passed and they had finished; and they flew off again.

Delighted, the girl then took the dish to her stepmother, believing she could now go to the celebrations.

However, she said, “No, Cinderella, you have no clothes and cannot dance. You will just be laughed at!”

Since Cinderella then began to weep, she said, “if in one hour you can collect from the ashes two dishes full of lentils, you can come with us;” and she thought, “this much she cannot do.”

When she had tipped the two dishes full of lentils into the ashes, the young maiden went through the back door, out into the garden, and cried, “Gentle pigeons, turtledoves, all the birds under the sky, come and help me to pick: the good into the pot; the bad into the crop.”

Two white doves entered by the kitchen window; afterwards came two turtledoves; and lastly, all the birds of the sky came fluttering, and settled down into the ashes.

The pigeons nodded their heads and began… pick, pick, pick, pick… and the others also started… pick, pick, pick, pick… and gathered all the good grains onto the dishes.

Well, only half an hour had passed before they had finished, and they all flew off again.

Delighted, the girl then took the dishes to her stepmother, believing she would now with them to the party.

However, she said, “it is no help to you at all: you cannot come, for you have no clothes and cannot dance; we would be ashamed of you.”

On this, she turned her back and hurried away with her two proud daughters.

As no one else was now at home, Cinderella went to her mother’s grave beneath the hazel tree, and began to cry out, “Little tree, shake yourself and rattle yourself; throw gold and silver over me.”

Then the bird threw down a gold and silver dress, with slippers embroidered with silk and silver.

In utter haste, she put on the dress and went to the festival. However, her sisters and stepmother did not recognise her, and thought she was some foreign princess, for she looked so beautiful in the golden dress.

They never once thought of Cinderella, believing that she was sitting at home in the dirt, picking lentils out of the ashes.

The King’s son went to meet her, took her by the hand, and danced with her.

He did not want to dance with anyone else – so much so that he would not let go of her hand – and if anyone else came to invite her, he said, “This is my dance partner.”

There was dancing late into the evening, and then she wanted to go home.

The prince said to her, “I will come and accompany you;” for he wanted to see who this beautiful maiden belonged to.

However, she escaped from him, and sprang into the pigeon-house.

The King’s son then waited until her father came, and told him that the foreign maiden had leapt into the pigeon-house.

The old man thought, “might it be Cinderella;” and he had a pickaxe and hoe brought, so he could break the loft apart. However, no one was inside.

When they went into the house, Cinderella was lying in her dirty clothes among the ashes, and a dim oil lamp was burning by the chimney.

Cinderella had promptly jumped down from the pigeon-house, and had run to the little hazel tree.

Once there, she had taken of her beautiful clothes and laid them on the grave; the bird had taken them away again; and then she put on her grey petticoat, and went into the kitchen, by the ashes.

The next day, when the festival began anew – and her parents and stepsisters had once again departed – Cinderella went to the hazel tree, and said, “Little tree, shake yourself and rattle yourself; throw gold and silver over me.”

Then the bird threw down a much more beautiful dress than on the preceding day; and when she appeared at the festival, everyone was astonished by her beauty.

The prince, who had waited until she came, took her by the hand and danced with her alone.

When the others came to invite her to dance, he said, “That is my partner.”

As evening came she wanted to leave, and the King’s son followed her to see which house she entered into. However, she sprang away from him, into the garden behind the house.

Therein stood a beautiful tall tree, on which hung the most magnificent pears. She climbed so swiftly, like a squirrel, up between the branches, and the King’s son did not know where she had gone.

However, he waited until her father came, and said to him, “the foreign damsel has escaped from me, and I believe she has jumped up into the pear tree.”

The father wondered, “could it be Cinderella,” and left to get his axe. He returned and chopped down the tree, but there was no one in it.

When they came into the kitchen, Cinderella was lying there in the ashes as usual, for she had jumped down from the other side of the tree. She left her beautiful gown by the hazel tree for the bird, and put on her grey frock.

On the third day, when her parents and sisters had left, Cinderella went to her mother’s grave, and said to the little tree, “Little tree, shake yourself and rattle yourself; throw gold and silver over me.”

Then the bird threw down a dress that was much more striking and magnificent than any of the ones before, and the slippers were entirely of gold.

When she presented herself at the festival in this dress, no one had the words to express their amazement.

The King’s son danced with her alone, and when any one approached her, he said, “This is my partner.”

When it was late in the evening, Cinderella insisted on leaving. The prince wanted to accompany her; but she escaped so swiftly that he could not follow her.

However, the King’s son had employed a ruse: he had the entire staircase smeared with tar. As the maiden rushed down, her left shoe became stuck there. The prince picked it up, and saw it was small – petite actually – and golden.

The next day he took it to the man, and said to him, “no one else shall be my wife save the one whose foot fits this golden shoe.”

The two sisters rejoiced, for they had pretty feet. Then the eldest entered into her bedroom with the shoe, intending to try it on, with her mother standing by.

However, she could not insert the foot for her big toe was too big, and the shoe was very small. Her mother then gave her a knife and said, “Cut off your toes; when you are Queen you will no longer need to go on foot.”

The young lady cut off her toes, forced the foot on the shoe, swallowed her pain, and went out to meet with the King’s son.

He took her as his bride, lifted her onto his horse, and rode off with her.

However, they had to pass by the grave, where two pigeons were sitting on the hazel bush, and they cried out, “Turn and peep, turn and peep; blood is in the shoe; the shoe is too small; the right bride sits still at home.”

On looking down at her feet, he saw blood gushing out. He then turned his horse round, and took the fake bride home again; saying, this is not the right one, and, that the other sister must try on the shoe.

With this, the sister went into her bedroom, and managed to fit her toes in the shoe, but the heel was too thick.

Her mother then handed her a knife and said, “Cut off a piece of the heel. When you are Queen, you will never have to go on foot.”

The young woman cut a chunk off the heel, shoved her foot in the shoe, concealed the pain, and went out to see the King’s son.

He raised her up onto his horse – as if she were his bride – and rode away with her.

As they passed by the hazel tree, the two pigeons cried out, “Turn and peep, turn and peep; blood is in the shoe; the shoe is too small; the right bride still sits at home.”

He looked down at her feet, saw blood pouring out of the shoes, and saw how it had made the white stockings all red. He therefore turned his horse and took the false bride home again.

“This is also not the right one,” he said; “have you no other daughter?”

“No,” replied the husband; “only a bitter little girl we call Cinderella – from my late wife – but she cannot possibly be the bride you seek.”

END OF PREVIEW