She called them by name, one after the other; but no one answered. At last, when she came to the name of the youngest, a little voice replied, “Here I am, dear mother, in the clock-case.” She took her out, and heard how the Wolf had come and swallowed all the others. You cannot think how she wept for her poor little ones.

At last she went out in all her misery, and the young Goat ran by her side; and when they came to the meadow, there lay the Wolf under the tree, snoring so that the boughs quivered. She viewed him on all sides, and perceived that something moved and stirred about in his body. “Ah, mercy!” thought she, “should my poor children, whom he has swallowed for his dinner, be yet alive!” So saying, she ran home and fetched a pair of scissors and a needle and thread. Then she cut open the monster’s hairy coat, and had scarcely made one slit, before one little Goat put his head out, and as she cut further, out jumped one after another, all six, still alive, and without any injury, for the monster, in his eagerness, had gulped them down quite whole. There was a joy! They hugged their dear mother, and jumped about like tailors keeping their wedding-day. But the old mother said, “Go and pick up at once some large stones, that we may fill the monster’s stomach, while he lies fast asleep.” So the seven little Goats dragged up in great haste a pile of stones, and put them in the Wolf’s stomach, as many as they could bring; and then the old mother went, and, looking at him in a great hurry, saw that he was still insensible, and did not stir, and so she sewed up the slit.

When the Wolf at last woke up, he raised himself upon his legs, and, because the stones which were lying in his stomach made him feel thirsty, he went to a brook in order to drink. But as he went along, rolling from side to side, the stones began to tumble about in his body, and he called out

“What rattles, what rattles
Against my poor bones!
Not little goats, I think,
But only big stones!”

And when the Wolf came to the brook he stooped down to drink, and the heavy stones made him lose his balance, so that he fell, and sunk beneath the water.

As soon as the seven little Goats saw this, they came running up, singing aloud, “The Wolf is dead! the Wolf is dead!” and they danced for joy around their mother by the side of the brook.

Faithful John

010

O nce upon a time there lived an old King, who fell very sick, and thought he was lying upon his death-bed so he said, “Let faithful John come to me.” This faithful John was his affectionate servant, and was so called because he had been true to him all his lifetime. As soon as John came to the bedside, the King said, “My faithful John, I feel that my end approaches, and I have no other care than about my son, who is still so young that he cannot always guide himself aright. If you do not promise to instruct him in every thing he ought to know, and to be his guardian, I cannot close mine eyes in peace.” Then John answered, “I will never leave him; I will always serve him truly, even if it cost me my life.” So the old King was comforted, and said, “Now I can die in peace. After my death you must show him all the chambers, halls, and vaults in the castle, and all the treasures which are in them; but the last room in the long corridor you must not show him, for in it hangs the portrait of the daughter of the King of the Golden Palace; if he sees her picture, he will conceive a great love for her, and will fall down in a swoon, and on her account undergo great perils, therefore you must keep him away.” The faithful John pressed his master’s hand again in token of assent, and soon after the King laid his head upon the pillow and expired.

After the old King had been laid in his grave, the faithful John related to the young King all that his father had said upon his death-bed, and declared, “All this I will certainly fulfil; I will be as true to you as I was to him, if it cost me my life.” When the time of mourning was passed, John said to the young King, “It is now time for you to see your inheritance; I will show you your paternal castle.” So he led the King all over it, up-stairs and down-stairs, and showed him all the riches, and all the splendid chambers; only one room he did not open, containing the perilous portrait, which was so placed that one saw it directly the door was opened, and, moreover, it was so beautifully painted, that one thought it breathed and moved; nothing in all the world could be more lifelike or more beautiful. The young King remarked, however, that the faithful John always passed by one door, so he asked, “Why do you not open that one?” “There is something in it,” he replied, “which will frighten you.”

But the King said, “I have seen all the rest of the castle, and I will know what is in there;” and he went and tried to open the door by force. The faithful John pulled him back, and said, “I promised your father before he died that you should not see the contents of that room; it would bring great misfortunes both upon you and me.”

“Oh, no,” replied the young King, “if I do not go in, it will be my certain ruin; I should have no peace night nor day until I had seen it with my own eyes. Now I will not stir from the place till you unlock the door.”

Then the faithful John saw that it was of no use talking, so, with a heavy heart and many sighs, he picked the key out of the great bunch. When he had opened the door he went in first, and thought he would cover up the picture that the King should not see it; but it was of no use, for the King stepped upon tiptoes and looked over his shoulder; and as soon as he saw the portrait of the maiden, which was so beautiful and glittered with precious stones, he fell down on the ground insensible. The faithful John lifted him up and carried him to his bed, and thought with great concern, “Mercy on us! the misfortune has happened; what will come of it?” and he gave the young King wine until he came to himself. The first words he spoke were, “Ah, who is that beautiful picture?”—“That is the daughter of the King of the Golden Palace,” was the reply.

“Then,” said the King, “my love for her is so great that if all the leaves on the trees had tongues they should not gainsay it; my life is set upon the search for her. You are my faithful John, you must accompany me.”

The trusty servant deliberated for a long while how to set about this business, for it was very difficult to get into the presence of the King’s daughter. At last he be-thought himself of a way, and said to the King, “Every thing that she has around her is of gold,—chairs, tables, dishes, bowls, and all the household utensils. Among your treasures are five tons of gold; let one of the goldsmiths of your kingdom manufacture vessels and utensils of all kinds therefrom—all kinds of birds, and wild and wonderful beasts, such as will please her; then we will travel with these and try our luck.” Then the King summoned all his goldsmiths, who worked day and night until many very beautiful things were ready. When all had been placed on board a ship, the faithful John put on merchant’s clothes, and the King likewise, so that they might travel quite unknown. Then they sailed over the wide sea, and sailed away until they came to the city where dwelt the daughter of the King of the Golden Palace.

The faithful John told the King to remain in the ship and wait for him. “Perhaps,” said he, “I shall bring the King’s daughter with me; therefore take care that all is in order, and set out the golden vessels and adorn the whole ship.” Thereupon John placed in a napkin some of the golden cups, stepped upon land, and went straight to the King’s palace. When he came into the castleyard, a beautiful maid stood by the brook, who had two golden pails in her hand drawing water; and when she had filled them, and had turned round, she saw a strange man, and asked who he was. Then John answered, “I am a merchant,” and opening his napkin, he showed her its contents. Then she exclaimed, “Oh, what beautiful golden things!” and setting the pails down she looked at the cups one after another, and said, “The King’s daughter must see these; she is so pleased with any thing made of gold that she will buy all these.” And taking him by the hand she led him in, for she was the lady’s maid. When the King’s daughter saw the golden cups she was much pleased, and said, “They are so finely worked that I will purchase them all.” But the faithful John replied, “I am only the servant of a rich merchant; what I have here is nothing in comparison to those which my master has in his ship, than which nothing more delicate or costly has ever been worked in gold.” Then the King’s daughter wished to have them all brought, but he said, “It would take many days, and so great is the quantity that your palace has not halls enough in it to place them around.” Then her curiosity and desire was still more excited, and at last she said, “Take me to the ship; I will go myself and look at your master’s treasure.”

The faithful John conducted her to the ship with great joy, and the King, when he beheld her, saw that her beauty was still greater than the picture had represented, and thought nothing else but that his heart would jump out of his mouth. Presently she stepped on board, and the King conducted her below; but the faithful John remained on deck by the steersman, and told him to unmoor the ship and put on all the sail he could, that it might fly as a bird in the air. Meanwhile the King showed the Princess all the golden treasures,—the dishes, cups, bowls, the birds, the wild and wonderful beasts.