“If you’ll be my sweetheart, my dear,
I’ll give you water clearer than clear.”
“Do you think that would suit me?” the princess replied and ran away.
Finally, the third sister went, and things were no better. But when the frog spoke,
“If you’ll be my sweetheart, my dear,
I’ll give you water clearer than clear,”
she replied, “Yes, why not? I’ll be your sweetheart. Get me some clean water.”
However, she thought, “That won’t do any harm. I can speak to him just as I please. A dumb frog can never become my sweetheart.”
Meanwhile the frog had jumped back into the water, and when she scooped up some water a second time, it was so clear that the sun neatly gleamed with joy in the glass. Then she drank and quenched her thirst and also brought her sisters some of the water.
“Why were you so simple-minded and afraid of the frog,” she said to them, and afterward the princess didn’t think anything more about it and went happily to bed. However, after she had been lying there for a while and couldn’t fall asleep, she suddenly heard some scratching on the door and then some singing:
“Open up! Open up!
Princess, youngest daughter,
don’t you remember, what you said
when I sat on the well on the water’s edge?
You wanted to be my sweetheart, my dear,
and I gave you water clearer than clear.”
“Oh, that’s my sweetheart, the frog,” the princess said, “and since I gave him my word, I’ll open the door.”
So she got out of bed, opened the door a little, and then lay back down in the bed. The frog hopped after her and jumped on the bed down by her feet and remained there. When the night was over and morning dawned, the frog sprang off the bed and went out through the door. The next evening, when the princess was once again lying in bed, there was some scratching and singing at the door once more. The princess opened the door, and the frog lay in the bed at her feet until it turned day. On the third evening the frog came just like he had done the previous evenings.
“This is the last time that I’ll open the door to you,” the princess said to him. “In the future there will be no more of this.”
Then the frog jumped and crawled under her pillow, and the princess fell asleep. When she woke up the next morning, she thought the frog would hop off again. Instead, she saw a handsome young prince standing before her, and he told her that he had been the bewitched frog and that she had saved him because she had promised to be his sweetheart. Then the two of them went to the king, who gave them his blessing, and a wedding was held. Meanwhile, the two other sisters were angry with themselves because they had not taken the frog to be their sweetheart.
14
THE DEVIL’S SOOTY BROTHER
A discharged soldier had nothing to live on and no longer knew what to do with his life. So he went out into the forest, and after walking for a while, he met a little man who was actually the devil himself.
“What’s the matter?” the little man said to him. You look so gloomy.”
“I’m hungry and have no money,” said the soldier.
“If you hire yourself out to me and will be my servant,” the devil said, “you’ll have enough for the rest of your life. But you’ve got to serve me seven years, and after that you’ll be free. There’s just one other thing I’ve got to tell you: you’re not allowed to wash yourself, comb your hair, trim your beard, cut your nails or hair, or wipe your eyes.”
“If that’s the way it must be, let’s get on with it,” the soldier said, and he went away with the little man, who led him straight to hell and told him what his chores were: he was to tend the fires under the kettles in which the damned souls were sitting, sweep the house clean and carry the dirt out the door, and keep everything in order. However, he was never to peek into the kettles, or things would go badly for him.
“I understand,” said the soldier. “I’ll take good care of everything.”
So the old devil set out again on his travels, and the soldier began carrying out his duties. He put fuel on the fires, swept the floor, and took the dirt outside. When the old devil returned, he was satisfied and went off again. Now, for the first time, the soldier took a good look around hell. There were kettles all about, and they were boiling and bubbling with tremendous fires under each one of them. He would have given his life to know what was in them if the devil had not strictly forbidden it. Finally, however, he could no longer restrain himself. He lifted the lid of the first kettle a little and looked inside, only to see his old sergeant sitting there.
“Aha, you crumb!” he said. “Fancy meeting you here! You used to step on me, but now I’ve got you under my foot.”
He let the lid drop quickly, stirred the fire, and added fresh wood. After that he moved to the second kettle, lifted the lid a little, and peeked inside. There sat his lieutenant.
“Aha, you crumb!” he said. “Fancy meeting you here! You used to step on me, but now I’ve got you under my foot.”
He shut the lid again and added a log to the fire to make it really good and hot for him. Now he wanted to see who was sitting in the third kettle, and it turned out to be his general.
“Aha, you crumb! Fancy meeting you here! You used to step on me, but now, I’ve got you under my foot.”
He took out a bellows and pumped it until the fire of hell was blazing hot under him. And so it was that he served out his seven years in hell. He never washed, combed his hair, trimmed his beard, cut his nails, or wiped his eyes. The seven years passed so quickly that he was convinced that only six months had gone by. When his time was completely up, the devil came and said, “Well, Hans, what’ve you been doing all this time?”
“I’ve tended the fires under the kettles, and I’ve swept and carried the dirt out the door.”
“But you also peeked into the kettles. Well, you’re just lucky that you added more wood to the fire; otherwise, you would have forfeited your life. Now your time is up. Do you want to go back home?”
“Yes,” said the soldier. “I’d like to see how my father’s doing.”
“All right, if you want to get your proper reward, you must go and fill your knapsack with the dirt you’ve swept up and take it home with you. And you must also go unwashed and uncombed, with long hair on your head and a long beard, with uncut nails, and with bleary eyes. And if anyone asks you where you come from, you’ve got to say ‘From hell.’ And if anyone asks you who you are, you’re to say ‘I’m the devil’s sooty brother, who’s my king as well.’ ”
The soldier said nothing. Indeed, he carried out the devil’s instructions, but he was not at all satisfied with the reward
As soon as he returned to the world and was out in the forest again, he took the knapsack and wanted to shake it out. But when he opened it, he discovered that the dirt had turned into pure gold. When he saw that, he was delighted and went into the city. An innkeeper was standing in front of his inn as Hans approached, and when he caught sight of Hans, the innkeeper was terrified because the soldier looked so dreadful, even more frightening than a scarecrow. He called out to him and asked, “Where are you coming from?”
“From hell.”
“Who are you?”
“The devil’s sooty brother, who’s my king as well.”
The innkeeper did not want to let him inside, but when Hans showed him the gold, he went and unlatched the door himself. Then Hans ordered the best room and insisted on the finest service. He ate and drank his fill but did not wash or comb his hair as the devil had instructed. Finally, he lay down to sleep, but the innkeeper could not get the knapsack of gold out of his mind. Just the thought of it left him no peace. So he crept into the room during the night and stole it.
When Hans got up the next morning and went to pay the innkeeper before leaving, his knapsack was gone. However, he wasted no words and thought, “It’s not your fault that this happened,” and he turned around an
d went straight back to hell, where he complained about his misfortune to the devil and asked for help.
“Sit down,” said the devil. “I’m going to wash and comb your hair, trim your beard, cut your hair and nails, and wash out your eyes.”
When he was finished with the soldier, he gave him a knapsack full of dirt again and said, “Go there and tell the innkeeper to give you back your gold; otherwise, I’ll come and fetch him, and he’ll have to tend the fires in your place.”
Hans went back up and said to the innkeeper. “You stole my money, and if you don’t give it back, you’ll go to hell in my place and you’ll look just as awful as I did.”
The innkeeper gave him back the money and even more besides. Then he begged him to be quiet about what had happened.
Now Hans was a rich man and set out on his way home to his father. He bought himself a pair of rough linen overalls and wandered here and there playing music, for he had learned that from the devil in hell. Once he happened to play before an old king in a certain country, and the king was so pleased that he promised Hans his oldest daughter in marriage. However, when she heard that she was supposed to wed a commoner in white overalls, she said, “Before I do something like this, I’ll drown myself in the deepest lake.”
So the king gave Hans his youngest daughter, who was willing to marry him out of love for her father. So the devil’s sooty brother got the king’s daughter, and when the old king died, he got the whole kingdom as well.
15
THE DEVIL IN THE GREEN COAT
There were once three brothers, and the two eldest used to push the youngest around, and when they decided to go out into the world, they said to him: “We don’t need you. You can go off wandering by yourself.”
Then they left him, and he had to set off all alone. When he came to a large meadow, he was very hungry and sat down beneath a ring of trees and began to weep. All of a sudden he heard a roar, and when he looked up, the devil came toward him. He was dressed in a green coat and had a cloven foot.
“What’s the matter?” he spoke. “Why are you weeping?”
Then the young man told him his troubles and said: “My brothers have driven me away from them.”
“Well, I’m willing to help you,” replied the devil. “If you put this green coat on, you’ll see that it has pockets that are always full of money. You just have to dig into the pockets whenever you like. But in exchange for the coat I demand that you don’t wash yourself for seven years, that you don’t comb your hair, and that you don’t pray. If you die during the seven years, then you are mine. If, however, you live, then you’ll be free. In addition, you’ll be rich for the rest of your life.”
The young man’s troubles were so great that they drove him to accept the devil’s bargain. So the devil took off the green coat, and the young man put it on. As soon as he stuck his hand in a pocket, he had a handful of money.
Now he set out into the world with the green coat, and the first year was good. He could pay for anything he liked with his money, and he was still regarded as a human being for the most part. Things became worse in the second year. His hair had grown so long that nobody could recognize him and nobody would give him lodging for the night because he looked so atrocious. The more time passed, the worse it became. However, he gave poor people a lot of money so that they would pray for him and request that he wouldn’t die during the seven years and fall in the devil’s hands.
At a certain point in the fourth year he came to an inn, and the innkeeper wouldn’t let him stay there. However, he took out a heap of money and was willing to pay in advance so that the innkeeper gave him a room. That evening he heard a loud moaning in the neighboring room, and so he went next door and saw an old man sitting there. He was crying and complaining about something and told the young man to go away because he wouldn’t be able to help him. The young man asked him, however, what was troubling him. The old man told him that he didn’t have any money and that he owed the innkeeper a great deal. And now he was being detained until he paid his debt. Then the young man in the green coat said: “If that’s all it is, I’ve got plenty of money. I’ll pay, and you’ll be freed of your debts.”
Now the old man had three beautiful daughters and told him to come along with him, and he would give him one of the daughters for his reward. So the young man went with him, and when they arrived at the old man’s home and the eldest daughter saw him, she screamed and cried that she would never marry such a hideous man who didn’t have human traits and looked like a bear. The second daughter immediately ran off and preferred to set out into the wide world than marry the young man. However, the youngest said, “Dear father, since you’ve promised him and he’s helped you get out of trouble, I shall obey you.”
So the young man in the green coat took a ring from his finger and broke it in two. Then he gave her one half and kept the other for himself. He wrote his name in her half and her name in his half and told her to keep her half in a safe place. Afterward he stayed a little while longer with her until he said, “Now I must take my leave. I shall be gone three years. Be true to me during this time. Then I’ll return, and we’ll celebrate our wedding. If I don’t return in three years, you’ll be free, and I shall be dead. However, pray for me and ask God to protect me.”
Now, during the three years, the two older sisters made a great deal of fun of the youngest and said that she couldn’t get a real man and would have to marry a bear. However, the youngest daughter kept quiet and thought, “I must obey my father no matter what.”
In the meantime the young man in the green coat traveled about the world and often stuck his hand into a pocket to buy the most beautiful things he saw for his bride. He didn’t do anything evil. Indeed, he only did good deeds wherever he could and gave poor people money so that they would pray for him. So God showed him mercy, and the three years flew by and he was healthy and alive. Now that the time was over, he went back to the meadow and sat down under the ring of trees. Once again there was a tremendous roar, and the devil arrived. He grumbled and viciously threw the young man’s old coat at him and demanded the green one in return. Well, the young man was glad to take off the green coat and handed it to the devil.
He was now free and rich for the rest of his life. So he went home, cleaned himself, and moved on to visit his bride. When he came to the door, the father met him. The young man greeted him and said he was the bridegroom, but the father didn’t recognize him and wouldn’t believe him. When the young man went over to the bride, she, too, wouldn’t believe him. Finally, he asked whether she still had her half of the ring. She said, yes, and went to fetch it. Then he took out his half and held it next to hers, and they matched. Now they knew that he was definitely the bridegroom. And when she saw that he was a handsome man, she was very happy and fond of him, and they held the wedding. However, since the two sisters had passed up their chance for happiness, they became so furious that one of them drowned herself on the wedding day, and the other hanged herself.
That evening something knocked and banged on the door, and when the bridegroom went and opened it, the devil was standing there in his green coat and said, “You see! Now I’ve got two souls instead of just yours!”
16
THE WREN AND THE BEAR
Once, during summertime, as the bear and the wolf were walking through the forest, the bear heard a bird singing a beautiful song and said, “Brother wolf, what kind of bird can sing as beautifully as that?”
“That’s the king of the birds,” said the wolf. “We must bow down before him.”
However, it was nothing but the wren, popularly known as the fence king.
“If that’s the case,” said the bear, “I’d like very much to see his royal palace. Please take me there.”
“You can’t go there just like that,” said the wolf. “You’ll have to wait until the queen comes.”
Soon thereafter the queen arrived carrying some food in her bill, and the king as well, and they began feeding th
eir young ones. The bear wanted to run in right after them, but the wolf held him by his sleeve and said, “No, you’ve got to wait until His Majesty and Her Highness have gone away again.”
So they took note of the place where the nest was and trotted off. However, the bear could not rest until he saw the royal palace, and after a short while, he went back to it. The king and queen had already flown away, and he looked inside and saw five or six young birds lying there.
“Is that the royal palace?” exclaimed the bear. “It’s a miserable palace. And you’re not royal children in the least. You’re a disgrace!”
When the young wrens heard that, they were tremendously angry and cried out, “No, we’re not! Our parents are honorable people. Bear, you’re going to pay for your remarks!”
The bear and the wolf became frightened. They turned around, went back to their dens, and sat. But the young wrens kept crying and shrieking, and when their parents returned with food, they said, “We’re not going to touch so much as a fly’s leg until you establish whether we’re a disgrace or not. The bear was just here, and he insulted us.”
“Calm down,” said the old king. “I’ll settle this matter.”
He flew away with the queen to the bear’s den and called inside, “Hey, you grumbly old bear, why did you insult my children? You’ll pay for this. We’ll have to settle this matter in a bloody war!”
So war was declared against the bear, who summoned all the four-legged animals: the ox, donkey, steer, stag, deer, and all those beasts that walk upon the earth. To counter this, the wren summoned everything that flies: not only the big and small birds, but also the gnats, hornets, bees, and flies had to come too.
When the time came for the war to begin, the wren sent out scouts to discover who the commanding general of the enemy forces was. The gnat was the wiliest of them all and roamed out into the forest, where the enemy had assembled. Then he hid under a leaf on the tree where the password was to be given out. The bear was standing right there, and he called the fox to him and said, “Fox, you’re the most sly of all the animals. I want you to be our general and to lead us.”