The Griffin

There was once upon a time a king, but where he reigned and what
he was called, I do not know. He had no son, but an only daughter
who had always been ill, and no doctor had been able to cure her.
Then it was foretold to the king that his daughter would find her
health by eating an apple. So he ordered it to be proclaimed
throughout the whole of his kingdom, that whosoever brought his
daughter an apple with which she could find her health, should
have her to wife, and be king. This became known to a peasant
who had three sons, and he said to the eldest, go out into the
garden and take a basketful of those beautiful apples with
the red cheeks and carry them to the court, perhaps the king's
daughter will be able to find her health with them, and then you
will marry her and be king. The lad did so, and set out. When
he had gone a short way he met a hoary little man who asked him
what he had there in the basket, to which replied uele for so was
he named, frogs, legs. At this the little man said, well, so
shall it be, and remain, and went away. At length uele arrived at
the palace, and made it known that he had brought apples which
would cure the king's daughter if she ate them. This delighted the
king hugely, and he caused uele to be brought before him, but,
alas. When he opened the basket, instead of having apples in it he
had frogs, legs which were still kicking about. On this the king
grew angry, and had him driven out of the house. When he got home
he told his father how it had fared with him. Then the father
sent the next son, who was called same, but all went with him just
as it had gone with uele. He also met the hoary little man,
who asked what he had there in the basket. Same said, hogs,
bristles, and the hoary man said, well, so shall it be, and remain.
When same got to the king's palace and said he brought apples with
which the king's daughter might find her health, they did not
want to let him go in, and said that one fellow had already been
there, and had treated them as if they were fools. Same, however,
maintained that he certainly had the apples, and that they ought
to let him go in. At length they believed him, and led him to the
king. But when he uncovered the basket, he had but hogs, bristles.
This enraged the king most terribly, so he caused same to be whipped
out of the house. When he got home he related all that had befallen
him, whereupon the youngest boy, whose name was Hans, but who was
always called stupid Hans, came and asked his father if he might
go with some apples. Oh, said the father, you would be just the
right fellow for such a thing. If the clever one can't manage it,
what can you do. The boy, however, insisted and said, indeed,
father, I wish to go. Just get away, you stupid fellow, you must
wait till you are wiser, said the father to that, and turned his
back. Hans, however, pulled at the back of his smock and
said, indeed, father, I wish to go. Well, then, so far as I am
concerned you may go, but you will soon come home again, replied
the old man in a spiteful voice. The boy was tremendously delighted
and jumped for joy. Well, act like a fool. You grow more stupid
every day, said the father again. But Hans was not discouraged, and
did not let it spoil his pleasure, but as it was then night, he
thought he might as well wait until the morrow, for he could
not get to court that day. All night long he could not sleep in his
bed, and if he did doze for a moment, he dreamt of beautiful
maidens, of palaces, of gold, and of silver, and all kinds of things
of that sort. Early in the morning, he went forth on his way, and
directly afterwards the little shabby-looking man in his icy
clothes, came to him and asked what he was carrying in the basket.
Hans gave him the answer that he was carrying apples with which the
king's daughter was to find her health. Then, said the little man,
so shall they be, and remain. But at the court they would none of
them let Hans go in, for they said two had already been there who
had told them that they were bringing apples, and one of them had
frogs, legs, and the other hogs, bristles. Hans, however,
resolutely maintained that he most certainly had no frogs, legs,
but some of the most beautiful apples in the whole kingdom. As he
spoke so pleasantly, the door-keeper thought he could not be
telling a lie, and asked him to go in, and he was right, for when
Hans uncovered his basket in the king's presence, golden-yellow
apples came tumbling out. The king was delighted, and caused some
of them to be
taken to his daughter, and then waited in anxious expectation until
news should be brought to him of the effect they had. But
before much time had passed by, news was brought to him. And who
do you think it was who came. It was the daughter herself. As
soon as she had eaten of those apples, she was cured, and sprang
out of her bed. The joy the king felt cannot be described. But
now he did not want to give his daughter in marriage to Hans, and
said he must first make him a boat which would go quicker on dry
land than on water. Hans agreed to the condition, and went home,
and related how it had fared with him. Then the father sent
uele into
the forest to make a boat of that kind. He worked diligently,
and whistled all the time. At mid-day, when the sun was at
its highest, came the little icy man and asked what he was making.
Uele gave him for answer, wooden bowls for the kitchen. The
icy man said, so it shall be, and remain. By evening uele
thought he had now made the boat, but when he wanted to get
into it, he had nothing but wooden bowls. The next day same
went into the forest, but everything went with him just as it
had done with uele. On the third day stupid Hans went. He worked
away most industriously, so that the whole forest resounded
with the heavy blows, and all the while he sang and whistled
right merrily. At mid-day, when it was the hottest, the little
man came again, and asked what he was making. A boat which will
go quicker on dry land than on water, replied Hans, and when
I have finished it, I am to have the king's daughter for my wife.
Well, said the little man, such an one shall it be, and remain.
In the evening, when the sun had turned into gold, Hans finished
his boat, and all that was wanted for it. He got into it and
rowed to the palace. The boat went as swiftly as the wind. The
king saw it from afar, but would not give his daughter to Hans
yet, and said he must first take a hundred hares out to pasture
from early morning until late evening, and if one of them got
away, he should not have his daughter. Hans was contented
with this, and the next day went with his flock to the pasture,
and took great care that none of them ran away.
Before many hours had passed came a servant from the palace, and
told Hans that he must give her a hare instantly, for some
visitors had come unexpectedly. Hans, however, was very well
aware what that meant, and said he would not give her one. The
king might set some hare soup before his guest next day. The
maid, however, would not accept his refusal, and at last she
began to argue with him. Then Hans said that if the king's
daughter came herself, he would give her a fare. The maid told
this in the palace, and the daughter did go herself. In the
meantime the little man came again to Hans, and asked him what he
was doing there. He said he had to watch over a hundred hares
and see that none of them ran away,
and then he might marry the king's daughter and be king. Good,
said the little man, there is a whistle for you, and if one of
them runs away, just whistle with it, and then it will come
back again. When the king's daughter came, Hans gave her a
hare into her apron, but when she had gone about a hundred steps
with it, he whistled, and the hare jumped out of the apron,
and before she could turn round was back to the flock again.
When the evening came the hare-herd whistled once more, and
looked to see if all were there, and then drove them to the
palace. The king wondered how Hans had been able to take a
hundred hares to graze without losing any of them, but he still
would not give him his daughter yet, and said he must now
bring him a feather from the griffin's tail. Hans set out at
once, and walked straight forwards. In the evening he came
to a castle, and there he asked for a night's lodging, for at
that time there were no inns. The lord of the castle promised
him that with much pleasure, and asked where he was going. Hans
answered, to the griffin. Oh, to the griffin. They tell me
he knows everything, and I have lost the key of an iron money-chest.
So you might be so good as to ask him where it is. Yes,
indeed, said Hans, I will do that. Early the next morning he
went onwards, and on his way arrived at another castle in which
he again stayed the night. When the people who lived there
learnt that he was going to the griffin, they said they had
in the house a daughter who was ill, and that they had already
tried every means to cure her, but none of them had done her
any good, and he might be so kind as to ask the griffin what
would make their daughter healthy again. Hans said he would
willingly do that, and went onwards. Then he came to a lake,
and instead of a ferry-boat, a tall, tall man was there who
had to carry everybody across. The man asked Hans whither he was
journeying. To the griffin, said Hans. Then when you get to
him, said the man, just ask him why I am forced to carry
everybody over the lake. Yes, indeed, most certainly I'll do
that, said Hans. Then the man took him up on his shoulders, and
carried him across. At length Hans arrived at the griffin's
house, but the wife only was at home, and not the griffin
himself. Then the woman asked him what he wanted. Thereupon he
told her everything - that he had to get a feather out of the
griffin's tail, and that there was a castle where they had lost
the key of their money-chest, and he was to ask the griffin where
it was - that in another castle the daughter was ill, and
he was to learn what would cure her - and then not far from thence
there was a lake and a man beside it, who was forced to carry
people across it, and he was very anxious to learn why the man
was obliged to do it. Then said the woman, look here, my good
friend, no christian can speak to the griffin. He devours them
all, but if you like you can lie down under his bed, and in the
night, when he is quite fast asleep, you can reach out and pull
a feather out of his tail, and as for those things which you
are to learn, I will ask about them myself. Hans was quite
satisfied with
this, and got under the bed. In the evening, the griffin came
home, and as soon as he entered the room, said, wife, I smell
a christian. Yes, said the woman, one was here to-day, but he
went away again. And on that the griffin said no more.
In the middle of the night when the griffin was snoring loudly,
Hans reached out and plucked a feather from his tail. The
griffin woke up instantly, and said, wife, I smell a christian,
and it seems to me that somebody was pulling at my tail. His
wife said, you have certainly been dreaming, and I told you
before that a christian was here to-day, but that he went away
again. He told me all kinds of things - that in one castle they
had lost the key of their money-chest, and could find it nowhere.
Oh. The fools, said the griffin. The key lies in the wood-house
under a log of wood behind the door. And then he said that in
another castle the daughter was ill, and they knew no remedy
that would cure her. Oh. The fools, said the griffin. Under
the cellar-steps a toad has made its nest of her hair, and if
she got her hair back she would be well. And then he also
said that there was a place where there was a lake and a man
beside it who was forced to carry everybody across. Oh, the
fool, said the griffin. If he only put one man down in the
middle, he would never have to carry another across. Early the
next morning the griffin got up and went out. Then Hans
came forth from under the bed, and he had a beautiful feather,
and had heard what the griffin had said about the key, and
the daughter, and the man. The griffin's wife repeated it all
once more to him that he might not forget it, and then he went
home again. First he came to the man by the lake, who asked
him what the griffin had said, but Hans replied that he must
first carry him across, and then he would tell him. So the man
carried him across, and when he was over Hans told him that all
he had to do was to set one person down in the middle of the
lake, and then he would never have to carry over any more. The
man was hugely delighted, and told Hans that out of gratitude he
would take him once more across, and back again. But Hans said
no, he would save him the trouble, he was quite satisfied
already, and pursued his way. Then he came to the
castle where the daughter was ill. He took her on his shoulders,
for she could not walk, and carried her down the cellar-steps and
pulled out the toad's nest from beneath the lowest step and gave
it into her hand, and she sprang off his shoulder and up the
steps before him, and was quite cured. Then were the father and
mother beyond measure rejoiced, and they gave Hans gifts of gold
and of silver, and whatsoever else he wished for, that they
gave him. And when he got to the other castle he went at once
into the wood-house, and found the key under the log of wood
behind the door, and took it to the lord of the castle. He
was not a little pleased, and gave Hans as a reward much of the
gold that was in the chest, and all kinds of things besides,
such as cows, and sheep, and goats. When Hans arrived before
the king, with all these things - with the money, and the gold,
and the silver and the cows, sheep and goats, the king asked
him how he had come by them. Then Hans told him that the
griffin gave every one whatsoever he wanted. So the king thought
he himself could make use of such things, and set out on his way
to the griffin, but when he got to the lake, it happened that
he was the very first who arrived there after Hans, and the man
put him down in the middle of it and went away, and the king
was drowned. Hans, however, married the daughter, and became
king.