1812
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
THE WATER OF LIFE
by Jacob Ludwig Grimm and Wilhelm Carl Grimm
Electronically Enhanced Text (c) Copyright 1996, World Library(R)
THE WATER OF LIFE
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A KING was very ill, and no one believed that he would come out of
it with his life. He had three sons who were much distressed about it,
and went down into the palace-garden and wept. There they met an old
man who inquired as to the cause of their grief. They told him that
their father was so ill that he would most certainly die, for
nothing seemed to cure him. Then the old man said, "I know of one more
remedy, and that is the water of life; if he drinks of it he will
become well again; but it is hard to find." The eldest said, "I will
manage to find it," and went to the sick King, and begged to be
allowed to go forth in search of the water of life, for that alone
could save him. "No," said the King, "the danger of it is too great. I
would rather die." But he begged so long that the King consented.
The Prince thought in his heart, "If I bring the water, then I shall
be best beloved of my father, and shall inherit the kingdom."
So he set out, and when he had ridden forth a little distance, a
dwarf stood there in the road who called to him and said, "Whither
away so fast?" "Silly shrimp," said the Prince, very haughtily, "it is
nothing to you," and rode on. But the little dwarf had grown angry,
and had wished an evil wish. Soon after this the Prince entered a
ravine, and the further he rode the closer the mountains drew
together, and at last the road became so narrow that he could not
advance a step further; it was impossible either to turn his horse
or to dismount from the saddle, and he was shut in there as if in
prison. The sick King waited long for him, but he came not.
Then the second son said, "Father, let me go forth to seek the
water," and thought to himself, "If my brother is dead, then the
kingdom will fall to me." At first the King would not allow him to
go either, but at last he yielded, so the Prince set out on the same
road that his brother had taken, and he too met the dwarf, who stopped
him to ask whither he was going in such haste. "Little shrimp," said
the Prince, "that is nothing to you," and rode on without giving him
another look. But the dwarf bewitched him, and he, like the other, got
into a ravine, and could neither go forwards nor backwards. So fare
haughty people.
As the second son also remained away, the youngest begged to be
allowed to go forth to fetch the water, and at last the King was
obliged to let him go. When he met the dwarf and the latter asked
him whither he was going in such haste, he stopped, gave him an
explanation, and said, "I am seeking the water of life, for my
father is sick unto death." "Dost thou know, then, where that is to be
found?" "No," said the Prince. Then said the dwarf: "As thou hast
borne thyself politely and not haughtily like thy false brothers, I
will give thee the information and tell thee how thou mayst obtain the
water of life. It springs from a fountain in the court-yard of an
enchanted castle, but thou wilt not be able to make thy way to it,
if I do not give thee an iron wand and two small loaves of bread.
Strike thrice with the wand on the iron door of the castle, and it
will spring open. Inside lie two lions with gaping jaws, but if thou
throwest a loaf to each of them, they will be quieted; then hasten
to fetch some of the water of life before the clock strikes twelve,
else the door will shut again, and thou wilt be imprisoned."
The Prince thanked him, took the wand and the bread, and set out
on his way. When he arrived, everything was as the dwarf had said. The
door sprang open at the third stroke of the wand, and when he had
appeased the lions with the bread, he entered into the castle, and
came in a large and splendid hall, wherein sat some enchanted
Princes whose rings he drew off their fingers. A sword and a loaf of
bread were lying there, which he carried away. After this, he
entered a chamber in which was a beautiful maiden who rejoiced when
she saw him, kissed him, and told him that he had delivered her, and
should have the whole of her kingdom, and that if he would return in a
year their wedding should be celebrated; likewise she told him where
the spring of the water of life was, and that he was to hasten and
draw some of it before the clock struck twelve. Then he went
onwards, and at last entered a room where there was a beautiful
newly-made bed, and as he was very weary, he felt inclined to rest a
little. So he lay down and fell asleep.
When he awoke, it was striking a quarter to twelve. He sprang up
in a fright, ran to the spring, drew some water in a cup which stood
near, and hastened away. But just as he was passing through the iron
door, the clock struck twelve, and the door fell to with such violence
that it carried away a piece of his heel. He, however, rejoicing at
having obtained the water of life, went homewards, and again passed
the dwarf. When the latter saw the sword and the loaf, he said,
"With these thou hast won great wealth; with the sword thou canst slay
whole armies, and the bread will never come to an end."
But the Prince would not go home to his father without his brothers,
and said, "Dear dwarf, canst thou not tell me where my two brothers
are? They went out before I did in search of the water of life, and
have not returned." "They are imprisoned between two mountains,"
said the dwarf. "I have condemned them to stay there, because they
were so haughty." Then the Prince begged until the dwarf released
them; he warned him, however, and said, "Beware of them, for they have
bad hearts."
When his brothers came, he rejoiced, and told them how things had
gone with him, that he had found the water of life, and had brought
a cupful away with him, and had delivered a beautiful Princess, who
was willing to wait a year for him, and then their wedding was to be
celebrated, and he would obtain a great kingdom.
After that they rode on together, and chanced upon a land where
war and famine reigned, and the King already thought he must perish,
for the scarcity was so great. Then the Prince went to him and gave
him the loaf, wherewith he fed and satisfied the whole of his kingdom,
and then the Prince gave him the sword also, wherewith he slew the
hosts of his enemies, and could now live in rest and peace. The Prince
then took back his loaf and his sword, and the three brothers rode on.
After this they entered two more countries where war and famine
reigned, and each time the Prince gave his loaf and his sword to the
Kings, and had now delivered three kingdoms, and after that they
went on board a ship and sailed over the sea. During the passage,
the two eldest conversed apart and said, "The youngest has found the
water of life and not we; for that our father will give him the
kingdom- the kingdom which belongs to us, and he will rob us of all
our fortune." They began to seek revenge, and plotted with each
other to destroy him. They waited until once when they found him
fast asleep, then they poured the water of life out of the cup, and
took it for themselves, but into the cup they poured salt sea-water.
Now therefore, when they arrived at home, the youngest took his cup to
the sick King in order that he might drink out of it, and be cured.
But scarcely had he drunk a very little of the salt sea-water than
he became still worse than before. And as he was lamenting over
this, the two eldest brothers came, and accused the youngest of having
intended to poison him, and said that they had brought him the true
water of life, and handed it to him. He had scarcely tasted it, when
he felt his sickness departing, and became strong and healthy as in
the days of his youth.
After that they both went to the youngest, mocked him, and said,
"You certainly found the water of life, but you have had the pain, and
we the gain. You should have been sharper, and should have kept your
eyes open. We took it from you while you were asleep at sea, and
when a year is over, one of us will go and fetch the beautiful
Princess. But beware that you do not disclose aught of this to our
father; indeed he does not trust you, and if you say a single word,
you shall lose your life into the bargain, but if you keep silent, you
shall have it as a gift."
The old King was angry with his youngest son, and thought he had
plotted against his life. So he summoned the court together, and had
sentence pronounced upon his son that he should be secretly shot.
And once when the Prince was riding forth to the chase, suspecting
no evil, the King's huntsman had to go with him, and when they were
quite alone in the forest, the huntsman looked so sorrowful that the
Prince said to him, "Dear huntsman, what ails you?" The huntsman said,
"I cannot tell you, and yet I ought." Then the Prince said, "Say
openly what it is, I will pardon you." "Alas!" said the huntsman, "I
am to shoot you dead, the King has ordered me to do it." Then the
Prince was shocked, and said, "Dear huntsman, let me live; there, I
give you my royal garments; give me your common ones in their
stead." The huntsman said, "I will willingly do that, indeed I
should not have been able to shoot you." Then they exchanged
clothes, and the huntsman returned home; the Prince, however, went
further into the forest.
After a time three wagons of gold and precious stones came to the
King for his youngest son, which were sent by the three Kings who
had slain their enemies with the Prince's sword, and maintained
their people with his bread, and who wished to show their gratitude
for it. The old King then thought, "Can my son have been innocent?"
and said to his people, "Would that he were still alive; how it
grieves me that I have suffered him to be killed!" "He still lives,"
said the huntsman, "I could not find it in my heart to carry out
your command," and told the King how it had happened. Then a great
weight fell from the King's heart, and he had it proclaimed in every
country that his son might return and be taken into favor again.
The Princess, however, had a road made up to her palace which was
quite bright and golden, and told her people that whosoever came
riding straight along it to her, would be the right wooer and was to
be admitted, and whoever rode by the side of it, was not the right
one, and was not to be admitted. As the time was now close at hand,
the eldest son thought he would hasten to go to the King's daughter,
and give himself out as her deliverer, and thus win her for his bride,
and the kingdom to boot. Therefore he rode forth, and when he
arrived in front of the palace, and saw the splendid golden road, he
thought it would be a sin and a shame if he were to ride over that,
and turned aside, and rode on the right side of it. When he came to
the door, the servants told him that he was not the right man, and was
to go away again.
Soon after this the second Prince set out, and when he came to the
golden road, and his horse had put one foot on it, he thought it would
be a sin and a shame to tread a piece of it off, and he turned aside
and rode on the left side of it, and when he reached the door, the
attendants told him he was not the right one, and was to go away
again.
When at last the year had entirely expired, the third son likewise
wished to ride out of the forest to his beloved, with her to forget
his sorrows. So he set out and thought of her so incessantly, and
wished to be with her so much, that he never noticed the golden road
at all. So his horse rode onwards up the middle of it, and when he
came to the door, it was opened and the Princess received him with
joy, and said he was her deliverer, and lord of the kingdom, and their
wedding was celebrated with great rejoicing.
When it was over she told him that his father invited him to come to
him, and had forgiven him. So he rode thither, and told him
everything; how his brothers had betrayed him, and how he had
nevertheless kept silence. The old King wished to punish them, but
they had put to sea, and never came back as long as they lived.
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THE END
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