Favorite Fairy Tales
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Logan Marshall >> Favorite Fairy Tales
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[Illustration]
"Only a girl whom I brought with me for company," said the bride. "Give
the wench some work to do, that she may not grow idle."
The old King, however, had no work for her, and knew of nothing; until
at last he said, "Ah! there is a boy who keeps the geese: she can help
him." This youth was called Conrad, and the true bride was set to keep
geese with him.
Soon after this, the false bride said to her betrothed, "Dearest, will
you grant me a favor?"
"Yes," said he; "with the greatest pleasure."
"Then let the butcher be summoned, that he may cut off the head of the
horse on which I rode hither, for it has angered me on the way." In
reality she feared lest the horse might tell how she had used the
rightful Princess, and she was glad when it was decided that Falada
should die.
This came to the ears of the Princess, and she promised secretly to the
butcher to give him a piece of gold if he would show her a kindness,
which was, that he would nail the head of Falada over a certain large
and gloomy arch, through which she had to pass daily with the geese, so
that then she might still see her old steed as she had been accustomed.
The butcher promised, and, after killing the horse, nailed the head in
the place which the Princess pointed out, over the door of the arch.
Early in the morning, when she and Conrad drove the geese through the
arch, she said in passing:
"Ah, Falada, that you
hang so high!"
and the head replied:
"Ah Princess, that you go humbly by!
Thy mother's heart would surely break
Were she to know of your heart-ache!"
[Illustration]
Then she drove on through the town to a field. When they arrived in the
meadow, she sat down and unloosened her hair, which was of pure gold.
Its shining appearance so charmed Conrad that he tried to pull out a
couple of locks. So she sang:
"Blow, blow, thou wind,
Blow Conrad's hat away."
Immediately there came a strong wind, which snatched Conrad's hat off
his head, and led him a rare chase; and when he returned what with
combing and curling, the Princess had rearranged her hair, so that he
could not catch a loose lock. This made Conrad very angry, and he would
not speak to her; so all day long they tended their geese in silence.
[Illustration]
After they returned home Conrad went to the old King and declared he
would no longer keep geese with the servant.
"Why not?" asked the old King.
"Oh! she vexes me the whole day long," said Conrad; and then the King
bade him tell all that had happened. So Conrad did, and told how, in
the morning, when they passed through a certain archway, she spoke to
a horse's head, which was nailed up over the door, and said:
"Ah, Falada, that you hang so high!"
and it replied:
"Ah, Princess, that you go humbly by!
Thy mother's heart would surely break
Were she to know of your heart-ache!"
[Illustration]
And, further, he told how when they arrived in the meadow, she caused
the wind to blow his hat off, so that he had to run after it ever so
far. When he had finished his tale, the old King ordered him to drive
the geese out again the next morning; and he himself, when morning came,
stationed himself behind the gloomy archway, and heard the servant talk
to the head of Falada. Then he followed them also into the fields. There
he saw with his own eyes the Goose Girl and boy drive in the geese; and
after a while she sat down and, unloosening her hair, which shone like
gold, began to sing the old rhyme:
"Blow, blow, thou wind,
Blow Conrad's hat away."
Then the King felt a breeze come, which took off Conrad's hat, so that
he had to run a long way after it; while the Goose Girl combed out her
hair and put it back in proper trim before his return. All this the King
observed, and then went home unnoticed; and when the Goose Girl returned
at evening, he called her aside, and asked her what it all meant.
"That I dare not tell you, nor any other man," replied she; "for I have
sworn by the free sky not to speak of my griefs, else lose my life."
The King pressed her to say what it was, and left her no peace about it;
but still she refused. So at last he said, "If you will not tell me,
tell your griefs to this fireplace;" and he went away.
Then she crept into the fireplace and began to weep and groan; and soon
she relieved her heart by telling her tale. "Here sit I," she said
"forsaken by all the world, and yet I am a King's daughter; and a false
servant has exercised some charm over me, whereby I was compelled to lay
aside my royal clothes; and she has also taken my place at the
bridegroom's side, and I am forced to perform the common duties of a
Goose Girl. Oh, if my mother knew this, her heart would break with
grief!"
The old King, meanwhile, stood outside by the chimney and listened to
what she said; and when she had finished he came in, and called her away
from the fireplace. Then her royal clothes were put on, and the old
King, calling his son, showed him that he had taken a false bride, who
was only a servant-girl, and that the true bride stood there as a Goose
Girl.
The prince was glad indeed at heart when he saw her beauty and virtue.
Then there was a great feast, at which the bridegroom sat, with the
Princess on one side and the servant-girl on the other. But the latter
was dazzled, and recognized her mistress no longer in her shining dress.
When they had finished their feasting, and were beginning to be gay, the
old King set a riddle to the real servant-girl: What such an one were
worthy of who had, in such and such a manner, deceived her masters; and
he related all that had happened to the true bride. The servant-girl
replied, "Such an one deserves nothing better than to be put into a
cask, lined with sharp nails, and then to be dragged by two horses
through the streets till the wretch be killed."
"You are the woman then!" exclaimed the King; "You have proclaimed your
own punishment, and it shall be strictly fulfilled."
The sentence was at once carried out, and afterwards the Prince married
his rightful bride, and they lived long in peace and happiness.
FAVORITE FAIRY TALES
This is a collection of the fairy tales that children love best, told in
simple language and lavishly illustrated. They are written by various
authors, a selection of the best and most popular fairy stories, culled
from many sources and here collected and presented in most attractive
form, printed in large clear type, with many pictures, some of them
colored.
THE CHILDREN'S BOOKSHELF
BOOKS EVERY CHILD SHOULD OWN
* * * * *
Wonder Book of Myths and Legends
The Wonder Book of Bible Stories
Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes
Dickens' Stories About Children
King Arthur and His Knights
The Man Without a Country
The Boy's Story of Lindbergh
Folk Tales from the Far East
Fairy Tales of Many Lands
The Wings of the Morning
Tales From Shakespeare
The Story of a Bad Boy
Swiss Family Robinson
An Old-Fashioned Girl
Andersen's Fairy Tales
Alice in Wonderland
Favorite Fairy Tales
Grimm's Fairy Tales
Robinson Crusoe
Treasure Island
Arabian Nights
Hans Brinker
Water Babies
Little Women
Black Beauty
Robin Hood
Little Men
Kidnapped
Pinocchio
Heidi
Each volume is bound in cloth, with colored inlay on front cover, also
with an attractive jacket in full colors. This Children's Bookshelf
series is made up of titles taken from the most popular children's
books. Each volume contains 262 to 320 pages. Size, 6-3/4 x 8-3/4
inches. 1-1/4 inches thick.
* * * * *
PRICE $1.25
* * * * *
THE JOHN C. WINSTON CO.
_Publishers_ PHILADELPHIA
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|Transcriber's Notes: |
| |
|Variations between stories in the spelling of |
|today and to-day, woodcutter and wood-cutter, |
|and toward and towards, have been retained. |
+----------------------------------------------+
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