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The Goose-Girl
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A Child's Book of Stories |
by Penrhyn W. Coussens |
A choice collection of favorite fairy tales, to delight children of all ages. The 86 stories selected for this collection include folk tales from England, Norway, and India, as well as the best fairy tales from Grimm, Andersen, and Perrault. The volume also contains a handful of fables from Aesop and several tales from the Arabian Nights. Ages 5-9 | 589 pages |
$19.95 |
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THE GOOSE-GIRL
[41]
NCE upon a time an old queen, whose husband had been dead
for many years, had a beautiful daughter. When she
grew up she was betrothed to a prince who lived a great
way off. Now, when the time drew near for her to be
married and to depart into a foreign kingdom, her old
mother gave her much costly baggage and many ornaments,
gold and silver, trinkets and knick-knacks, and in fact
everything that belonged to a royal trousseau, for she
loved her daughter very dearly. She gave her a
waiting-maid also, who was to ride with her and hand
her over to the bridegroom, and she provided each of
them with a horse for the journey. The princess' horse
was called Falada and could speak.
When the hour for departure drew near the old mother
went to her bedroom, and taking a small knife she cut
her fingers till they bled; then she held a white rag
under them, and letting three drops of blood fall into
it, she gave it to her daughter and said: "Dear child,
take great care of this rag. It may be of use to you
on the journey."
So they took a sad farewell of each other, and the
princess stuck the rag in front of her dress, mounted
her horse, and set forth on the journey to her
bridegroom's kingdom. After they had ridden for about
an hour the princess began to feel very thirsty and
said to her waiting-maid: "Pray get down and fetch me
some water in my golden cup out of yonder stream. I
would like a drink." "If you're thirsty," said the
maid,
[42] "dismount yourself and lie down by the water and drink.
I don't mean to be your servant any longer." The
princess was so thirsty that she got down, bent over
the stream, and drank, for she wasn't allowed to drink
out of the golden goblet. As she drank she murmured,
"Oh! Heaven, what am I to do?" and the three drops of
blood replied:
"If your mother only knew,
Her heart would surely break in two."
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But the princess was meek and said nothing about her
maid's rude behavior, and quietly mounted her horse
again. They rode on their way for several miles, but
the day was hot and the sun's rays smote fiercely on
them, so that the princess was soon overcome by thirst
again. And as they passed a brook she called once more
to her waiting-maid, "Pray get down and give me a drink
from my golden cup," for she had long ago forgotten her
maid's rude words. But the waiting-maid replied, more
haughtily even than before: "If you want a drink you
can dismount and get it. I don't mean to be your
servant." Then the princess was compelled by her
thirst to get down, and bending over the flowing water
she cried and said, "Oh! Heaven, what am I to do?" and
the three drops of blood replied:
"If your mother only knew,
Her heart would surely break in two."
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And as she drank thus and leaned right over the water,
the rage containing the three drops of blood fell from
her bosom and floated down the stream, and she in her
anxiety never even noticed her loss. But the
waiting-maid had observed it with delight, as she knew
it gave her power over the bride, for in losing the
drops of blood the princess had become weak and
powerless. When she wished to get on her horse Falada
again
[43] the waiting-maid called out, "I mean to ride Falada;
you must mount my beast," and this too she had to
submit to. Then the waiting-maid commanded her harshly
to take off her royal robes and to put on her common
ones, and finally she made her swear by Heaven not to
say a word about the matter when they reached the
palace; and if she hadn't taken this oath she would
have been killed on the spot. But Falada observed
everything and laid it all to heart.
The waiting-maid now mounted Falada and the real bride
the worse horse, and so they continued their journey
till at length they arrived at the palace yard. There
was great rejoicing over the arrival, and the prince
sprang forward to meet them, and taking the
waiting-maid for his bride, he lifted her down from her
horse and led her upstairs to the royal chamber. In
the mean time the real princess was left standing below
in the court-yard. The old king, who was looking out
of his window, beheld her in this plight, and it struck
him how sweet and gentle, even beautiful she looked.
He went at once to the royal chamber and asked the
bride who it was she had brought with her and had left
thus standing in the court below. "Oh!" replied the
bride, "I brought her with me to keep me company on the
journey. Give the girl something to do, that she
mayn't be idle." But the old king had no work for her
and couldn't think of anything; so he said: "I've a
small boy who looks after the geese—she'd better
help him." The youth's name was Curdken, and the real
bride was made to assist him in herding geese.
Soon after this the false bride said to the prince,
"Dearest husband, I pray you grant me a favor." He
answered: "That I will." "Then let the slaughterer
cut off the head of the horse I rode here upon, because
it behaved very badly on the journey." But the truth
was she was afraid lest the horse should speak and tell
how she had treated the princess. She
[44] carried her point and the faithful Falada was doomed to
die. When the news came to the ears of the real
princess she went to the slaughterer and secretly
promised him a piece of gold if he would do something
for her. There was in the town a large dark gate,
through which she had to pass night and morning with
the geese; would he "kindly hang up Falada's head
there, that she might see it once again?" The
slaughterer said he would do as she desired, chopped
off the head, and nailed it firmly over the gateway.
Early next morning, as she and Curdken were driving
their flock through the gate, she said as she passed
under,
"Oh! Falada, 't is you hang there,"
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and the head replied:
" 'T is you; pass under, princess fair.
If your mother only knew,
Her heart would surely break in two."
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Then she left the tower and drove the geese into a
field. And when they had reached the common where the
geese fed she sat down and unloosed her hair, which was
of pure gold. Curdken loved to see it glitter in the
sun and wanted much to pull some hair out. Then she
spoke:
"Wind, wind, gently sway,
Blow Curdken's hat away;
Let him chase o'er field and wold
Till my locks of ruddy gold,
Now astray and hanging down,
Be combed and plaited in a crown."
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Then a gust of wind blew Curdken's hat away, and he had
to chase it over hill and dale. When he returned from
the
[45] pursuit she had finished her combing and curling, and
his chance of getting any hair was gone. Curdken was
very angry and wouldn't speak to her. So they herded
the geese till evening and then went home.
The next morning, as they passed under the gate, the
girl said,
"Oh! Falada, 't is you hang there,"
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and the head replied:
" 'T is you; pass under, princess fair.
If your mother only knew,
Her heart would surely break in two."
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Then she went on her way till she came to the common,
where she sat down and began to comb out her hair; then
Curdken ran up to her and wanted to grasp some of the
hair from her head, but she called out hastily:
"Wind, wind, gently sway,
Blow Curdken's hat away;
Let him chase o'er field and wold
Till my locks of ruddy gold,
Now astray and hanging down,
Be combed and plaited in a crown."
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Then a puff of wind came and blew Curdken's hat far
away, so that he had to run after it; and when he
returned she had long finished putting up her golden
locks, and he couldn't get any hair; so they watched
the geese till it was dark.
But that evening when they got home Curdken went to the
old king and said: "I refuse to herd geese any longer
with that girl." "For what reason?" asked the old
king. "Because she does nothing but annoy me all day
long," replied Curdken; and he proceeded to relate all
her iniquities and said: "Every
morn- [45] ing as we drive the flock through the dark gate she
says to a horse's head that hangs on the wall,
" 'Oh! Falada, 't is you hang there,'
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and the head replied:
" ' 'T is you; pass under, princess fair.
If your mother only knew,'"
Her heart would surely break in two."
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And Curdken went on to tell what passed on the common
where the geese fed and how he had always to chase his
hat.
The old king bade him go and drive forth his flock as
usual next day, and when morning came he himself took
up position behind the dark gate and heard how the
goose-girl greeted Falada. Then he followed her
through the field and hid himself behind a bush on the
common. He soon saw with his own eyes how the
goose-boy and the goose-girl looked after the geese,
and how after a time the maiden sat down and loosed her
hair, that glittered like gold, and repeated:
"Wind, wind, gently sway,
Blow Curdken's hat away;
Let him chase o'er field and wold
Till my locks of ruddy gold,
Now astray and hanging down,
Be combed and plaited in a crown."
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Then a gust of wind came and blew Curdken's hat away,
so that he had to fly over hill and dale after it, and
the girl in the mean time quietly combed and plaited
her hair: al this the old king observed and returned to
the palace without any one having noticed him. In the
evening when the goose-girl came home he called her
aside and asked her why she behaved as she did. "I
mayn't tell you why. How dare I confide my woes to any
[47] one? for I swore not to by Heaven, otherwise I should
have lost my life." The old king begged her to tell
him all, and left her no peace, but he could get
nothing out of her. At last he said, "Well, if you
won't tell me, confide your trouble to the iron stove
there," and he went away. Then she crept to the stove
and began to sob and cry and to pour out her poor
little hear, and said: "Here I sit, deserted by all
the world, I who am a king's daughter, and a false
waiting-maid has forced me to take off my own clothes
and has taken my place with my bridegroom, while I have
to fulfill the lowly office of a goose-girl.
" 'If your mother only knew,
Her heart would surely break in two.' "
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But the old king stood outside at the stove chimney and
listened to her words. Then he entered the room again,
and bidding her leave the stove, he ordered royal
apparel to be put on her, in which she looked amazingly
lovely. Then he summoned his son and revealed to him
that he had got the false bride, who was nothing but a
waiting-maid, while the real one, in the guise of the
ex-goose-girl, was standing at his side. The young
kind rejoiced from his heard when he saw her beauty and
learned how good she was, and a great banquet was
prepared, to which every one was bidden. The
bridegroom sat at the head of the table, the princess
on one side of him and the waiting-maid on the other;
but she was so dazzled that she did not recognized the
princess in her glittering garments. Now, when they
had eaten and drunk and were merry, the old king asked
the waiting-maid to solve a knotty point for him.
"What," said he, "should be done to a certain person
who has deceived every one?" and he proceeded to relate
the whole story, ending up with, "Now, what sentence
should be passed?" Then the false bride answered:
"She deserves to be put stark
[48] naked into a barrel lined with sharp nails, which
should be dragged by two white horses up and down the
street till she is dead."
"You are the person," said the king, "and you have
passed sentence on yourself; and even so it shall be
done to you." And when the sentence had been carried
out the young king was married to his real bride, and
both reigned over the kingdom in peace and happiness.
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