<h2>The Goosegirl</h2>
<p><span class="dropcap">T</span>HERE was once an old Queen whose husband had been
dead for many years, and she had a very beautiful
daughter. When she grew up she was betrothed
to a Prince in a distant country. When the time came for
the maiden to be sent into this distant country to be married,
the old Queen packed up quantities of clothes and jewels,
gold and silver, cups and ornaments, and, in fact, everything
suitable to a royal outfit, for she loved her daughter very
dearly.</p>
<p>She also sent a Waiting-woman to travel with her, and to
put her hand into that of the bridegroom. They each had a
horse. The Princess’s horse was called Falada, and it could
speak.</p>
<p>When the hour of departure came, the old Queen went to her
bedroom, and with a sharp little knife cut her finger and made
it bleed. Then she held a piece of white cambric under it,
and let three drops of blood fall on to it. This cambric she
gave to her daughter, and said, ‘Dear child, take good care of
this; it will stand you in good stead on the journey.’ They
then bade each other a sorrowful farewell. The Princess hid
the piece of cambric in her bosom, mounted her horse, and set
out to her bridegroom’s country.</p>
<p>When they had ridden for a time the Princess became very
thirsty, and said to the Waiting-woman, ‘Get down and fetch
me some water in my cup from the stream. I must have
something to drink.’</p>
<p>‘If you are thirsty,’ said the Waiting-woman, ‘dismount
yourself, lie down by the water and drink. I don’t choose
to be your servant.’</p>
<p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_91" id="Page_91"></SPAN></span>
So, in her great thirst, the Princess dismounted and stooped
down to the stream and drank, as she might not have her
golden cup. The poor Princess said, ‘Alas!’ and the drops
of blood answered, ‘If your mother knew this, it would break
her heart.’</p>
<p>The royal bride was humble, so she said nothing, but
mounted her horse again. Then they rode several miles
further; but the day was warm, the sun was scorching, and
the Princess was soon thirsty again.</p>
<p>When they reached a river she called out again to her
Waiting-woman, ‘Get down, and give me some water in my
golden cup!’</p>
<p>She had forgotten all about the rude words which had been
said to her. But the Waiting-woman answered more
haughtily than ever, ‘If you want to drink, get the water for
yourself. I won’t be your servant.’</p>
<p>Being very thirsty, the Princess dismounted, and knelt by
the flowing water. She cried, and said, ‘Ah me!’ and the
drops of blood answered, ‘If your mother knew this it would
break her heart.’</p>
<p>While she stooped over the water to drink, the piece of
cambric with the drops of blood on it fell out of her bosom,
and floated away on the stream; but she never noticed this
in her great fear. The Waiting-woman, however, had seen
it, and rejoiced at getting more power over the bride, who,
by losing the drops of blood, had become weak and powerless.</p>
<p>Now, when she was about to mount her horse Falada again,
the Waiting-woman said, ‘By rights, Falada belongs to me;
this jade will do for you!’</p>
<p>The poor little Princess was obliged to give way. Then
the Waiting-woman, in a harsh voice, ordered her to take off
her royal robes, and to put on her own mean garments.
Finally, she forced her to swear before heaven that she would
not tell a creature at the Court what had taken place. Had
she not taken the oath she would have been killed on the spot.
But Falada saw all this and marked it.</p>
<p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_92" id="Page_92"></SPAN></span>
The Waiting-woman then mounted Falada and put
the real bride on her poor jade, and they continued their
journey.</p>
<p>There was great rejoicing when they arrived at the castle.
The Prince hurried towards them, and lifted the Waiting-woman
from her horse, thinking she was his bride. She was
led upstairs, but the real Princess had to stay below.</p>
<p>The old King looked out of the window and saw the delicate,
pretty little creature standing in the courtyard; so he went
to the bridal apartments and asked the bride about her
companion, who was left standing in the courtyard, and
wished to know who she was.</p>
<p>‘I picked her up on the way, and brought her with me for
company. Give the girl something to do to keep her from
idling.’</p>
<p>But the old King had no work for her, and could not think
of anything. At last he said, ‘I have a little lad who looks
after the geese; she may help him.’</p>
<p>The boy was called little Conrad, and the real bride was sent
with him to look after the geese.</p>
<p>Soon after, the false bride said to the Prince, ‘Dear husband,
I pray you do me a favour.’</p>
<p>He answered, ‘That will I gladly.’</p>
<p>‘Well, then, let the knacker be called to cut off the head
of the horse I rode; it angered me on the way.’</p>
<p>Really, she was afraid that the horse would speak, and tell
of her treatment of the Princess. So it was settled, and the
faithful Falada had to die.</p>
<p>When this came to the ear of the real Princess, she promised
the knacker a piece of gold if he would do her a slight service.
There was a great dark gateway to the town, through which
she had to pass every morning and evening. ‘Would he nail
up Falada’s head in this gateway, so that she might see him
as she passed?’</p>
<div class="figcenter ipadbase" style="width: 414px;">
<SPAN name="pl11" id="pl11"></SPAN>
<ANTIMG src="images/pl11.jpg" width-obs="414" height-obs="600" alt="Alas! dear Falada, there thou hangest." /></div>
<p>The knacker promised to do as she wished, and when the
horse’s head was cut off, he hung it up in the dark gateway.
<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_93" id="Page_93"></SPAN></span>
In the early morning, when she and Conrad went through the
gateway, she said in passing—</p>
<div class="cpoem">
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">‘Alas! dear Falada, there thou hangest.’<br/></span></div>
</div></div>
<p>And the Head answered—</p>
<div class="cpoem">
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">‘Alas! Queen’s daughter, there thou gangest.<br/></span>
<span class="i0">If thy mother knew thy fate,<br/></span>
<span class="i0">Her heart would break with grief so great.’<br/></span></div>
</div></div>
<p>Then they passed on out of the town, right into the fields,
with the geese. When they reached the meadow, the Princess
sat down on the grass and let down her hair. It shone like
pure gold, and when little Conrad saw it, he was so delighted
that he wanted to pluck some out; but she said—</p>
<div class="cpoem">
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">‘Blow, blow, little breeze,<br/></span>
<span class="i0">And Conrad’s hat seize.<br/></span>
<span class="i0">Let him join in the chase<br/></span>
<span class="i0">While away it is whirled,<br/></span>
<span class="i0">Till my tresses are curled<br/></span>
<span class="i0">And I rest in my place.’<br/></span></div>
</div></div>
<p>Then a strong wind sprang up, which blew away Conrad’s
hat right over the fields, and he had to run after it. When
he came back, she had finished combing her hair, and it was
all put up again; so he could not get a single hair. This
made him very sulky, and he would not say another word to
her. And they tended the geese till evening, when they went
home.</p>
<p>Next morning, when they passed under the gateway, the
Princess said—</p>
<div class="cpoem">
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">‘Alas! dear Falada, there thou hangest.’<br/></span></div>
</div></div>
<p>Falada answered:—</p>
<div class="cpoem">
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">‘Alas! Queen’s daughter, there thou gangest.<br/></span>
<span class="i0">If thy mother knew thy fate,<br/></span>
<span class="i0">Her heart would break with grief so great.’<br/></span></div>
</div></div>
<p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_94" id="Page_94"></SPAN></span>
Again, when they reached the meadows, the Princess undid
her hair and began combing it. Conrad ran to pluck some
out; but she said quickly—</p>
<div class="cpoem">
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">‘Blow, blow, little breeze,<br/></span>
<span class="i0">And Conrad’s hat seize.<br/></span>
<span class="i0">Let him join in the chase<br/></span>
<span class="i0">While away it is whirled,<br/></span>
<span class="i0">Till my tresses are curled<br/></span>
<span class="i0">And I rest in my place.’<br/></span></div>
</div></div>
<p>The wind sprang up and blew Conrad’s hat far away over
the fields, and he had to run after it. When he came back
the hair was all put up again, and he could not pull a single
hair out. And they tended the geese till the evening. When
they got home Conrad went to the old King, and said, ‘I
won’t tend the geese with that maiden again.’</p>
<p>‘Why not?’ asked the King.</p>
<p>‘Oh, she vexes me every day.’</p>
<p>The old King then ordered him to say what she did to vex
him.</p>
<p>Conrad said, ‘In the morning, when we pass under the dark
gateway with the geese, she talks to a horse’s head which is
hung up on the wall. She says—</p>
<div class="cpoem">
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">‘Alas! Falada, there thou hangest,’<br/></span></div>
</div></div>
<p>and the Head answers—</p>
<div class="cpoem">
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">‘Alas! Queen’s daughter, there thou gangest.<br/></span>
<span class="i0">If thy mother knew thy fate,<br/></span>
<span class="i0">Her heart would break with grief so great.’<br/></span></div>
</div></div>
<p>Then Conrad went on to tell the King all that happened in the
meadow, and how he had to run after his hat in the wind.</p>
<p>The old King ordered Conrad to go out next day as usual.
Then he placed himself behind the dark gateway, and heard
the Princess speaking to Falada’s head. He also followed
her into the field, and hid himself behind a bush, and with
his own eyes he saw the Goosegirl and the lad come driving
<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_95" id="Page_95"></SPAN></span>
the geese into the field. Then, after a time, he saw the girl
let down her hair, which glittered in the sun. Directly after
this, she said—</p>
<div class="cpoem">
<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">‘Blow, blow, little breeze,<br/></span>
<span class="i0">And Conrad’s hat seize.<br/></span>
<span class="i0">Let him join in the chase<br/></span>
<span class="i0">While away it is whirled,<br/></span>
<span class="i0">Till my tresses are curled<br/></span>
<span class="i0">And I rest in my place.’<br/></span></div>
</div></div>
<p>Then came a puff of wind, which carried off Conrad’s hat
and he had to run after it. While he was away, the maiden
combed and did up her hair; and all this the old King
observed. Thereupon he went away unnoticed; and in the
evening, when the Goosegirl came home, he called her aside
and asked why she did all these things.</p>
<p>‘That I may not tell you, nor may I tell any human
creature; for I have sworn it under the open sky, because if
I had not done so I should have lost my life.’</p>
<p>He pressed her sorely, and gave her no peace, but he could
get nothing out of her. Then he said, ‘If you won’t tell me,
then tell your sorrows to the iron stove there’; and he went
away.</p>
<p>She crept up to the stove, and, beginning to weep and
lament, unburdened her heart to it, and said: ‘Here I am,
forsaken by all the world, and yet I am a Princess. A false
Waiting-woman brought me to such a pass that I had to take
off my royal robes. Then she took my place with my bridegroom,
while I have to do mean service as a Goosegirl. If
my mother knew it she would break her heart.’</p>
<p>The old King stood outside by the pipes of the stove, and
heard all that she said. Then he came back, and told her to
go away from the stove. He caused royal robes to be put
upon her, and her beauty was a marvel. The old King called
his son, and told him that he had a false bride—she was only a
Waiting-woman; but the true bride was here, the so-called
Goosegirl.</p>
<p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_96" id="Page_96"></SPAN></span>
The young Prince was charmed with her youth and beauty.
A great banquet was prepared, to which all the courtiers and
good friends were bidden. The bridegroom sat at the head
of the table, with the Princess on one side and the Waiting-woman
at the other; but she was dazzled, and did not
recognise the Princess in her brilliant apparel.</p>
<p>When they had eaten and drunk and were all very merry,
the old King put a riddle to the Waiting-woman. ‘What
does a person deserve who deceives his master?’ telling the
whole story, and ending by asking, ‘What doom does he
deserve?’</p>
<p>The false bride answered, ‘No better than this. He must
be put stark naked into a barrel stuck with nails, and be
dragged along by two white horses from street to street till
he is dead.’</p>
<p>‘That is your own doom,’ said the King, ‘and the judgment
shall be carried out.’</p>
<p>When the sentence was fulfilled, the young Prince married
his true bride, and they ruled their kingdom together in peace
and happiness.</p>
<div class="figcenter ipadbase" style="width: 445px;">
<SPAN name="pl12" id="pl12"></SPAN>
<ANTIMG src="images/pl12.jpg" width-obs="445" height-obs="420" alt="Blow, blow, little breeze, And Conrad's hat seize." /></div>
<p class="padtop"><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_97" id="Page_97"></SPAN></span></p>
<div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/goose.png" width-obs="124" height-obs="150" alt="A goose" /></div>
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