Array The Brothers Grimm - Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm - A New English Version

Then came a day when he said, ‘My darling, everything is nearly ready. Tomorrow we shall be married!’

She saw there was no hope, and the only way out was to run away. When everyone in the palace was asleep, she gathered together three little things from her treasures: a gold ring, a tiny golden spinning wheel and a little golden bobbin. She folded the three dresses so small that they fitted into a nutshell, put on her thousand-fur cloak, and blackened her face and hands with soot. Then, commending herself to God, she left the palace and set out on the high road.

She walked and walked till she came to a mighty forest. By that time the night was coming to an end, and the first birds were beginning to sing; and the princess was so tired that she found a hollow tree, curled up inside it, and was asleep in a moment.

The sun rose, and she was still asleep. Broad daylight came, and still she slept on. Now it happened that the king who owned that forest was out hunting that very morning. His hounds caught the scent of something strange, and they ran up to the tree and circled it, barking and barking.

‘There’s an animal hiding in there,’ the king said to his huntsmen. ‘Go and see what it is.’

They did as he said, and came back to say, ‘It’s a strange beast, your majesty, like nothing we’ve ever seen in these woods. Its skin seems to be made of a thousand kinds of fur, and it’s just lying there asleep.’

‘See if you can catch it alive,’ said the king. ‘We’ll tie it to the cart and take it back to the castle.’

Taking care in case she was dangerous, the huntsmen reached into the hollow tree and seized the princess.

She woke up to find herself being dragged out of her hiding place, and full of fear she cried out, ‘Don’t hurt me! I’m a poor girl, that’s all! My mother and father abandoned me and I was lost!’

‘Well, Thousandfurs, you’re not lost now,’ they said. ‘You’re a trophy, you are. You belong to us. We’ll take you to the kitchen and you can wash the dishes.’

Seeing that she wasn’t a rare beast, the king himself lost interest. The huntsmen set her up on the cart and off they went, bumping over the ruts all the way back to the castle, where the domestic servants took her in and showed her a little cubbyhole under the stairs, dark and dusty.

‘You can live in there, you furry creature,’ they told her.

They made her work in the kitchen. She carried wood and kept the fire going, she drew water from the well, she plucked chickens, she washed and peeled the vegetables, she washed the greasy dishes — all the dirty work was given to Thousandfurs. And there she lived as a skivvy for a long time. Ah, my lovely princess, what’s to become of you!

Well, one day it was announced that the king was to hold a grand ball in the castle. Thousandfurs was curious to see, and she said to the cook, ‘Could I go upstairs and have a look? I’ll stay outside the door.’

‘Go on then,’ said the cook. ‘But make sure you’re back here in half an hour. Those ashes won’t clear themselves.’

Thousandfurs took a lamp and a bowl of water and went into her cubbyhole. There she took off her cloak and washed her hands and face, so that her beauty was clear to see. Then she opened the nutshell and took out the dress that was as gold as the sun, and put that on, and then she went upstairs to the ballroom. All the servants bowed to her, and the guests smiled politely, because everyone thought she must be a princess.

When the king saw her he felt as if a thunderbolt had struck his heart. He’d never seen such beauty in all his life. He danced with her, half dazed, and when the dance was over, she curtseyed and vanished so quickly that he didn’t see where she went. He made enquiries of every guard and every sentry: had she left the castle? Had anyone seen where she’d gone?

But no one had, because she’d slipped away very quickly and gone back to her cubbyhole. She folded the dress away, put on her fur cloak, dirtied her face and hands, and once again she was Thousandfurs the kitchen maid.

She began to clear the ashes away, but the cook said, ‘Leave that till tomorrow. I’ve got another job for you: make some soup for the king while I go and have a look upstairs. But mind you don’t let a hair fall into it, or there’ll be no food for you from now on.’

The cook went upstairs, and Thousandfurs set about making some bread soup, as well as she knew how. When it was ready she got her gold ring and placed it in the king’s bowl.

After the ball was over the king called for his soup, and it tasted so good that he thought he’d never tasted better. And when he reached the bottom of the bowl…

‘What’s this? A gold ring? How in the world did that get in there? Send for the cook!’

The cook was terrified. As he hurried out of the kitchen he said to Thousandfurs, ‘You must have let a hair fall in the soup. Didn’t I warn you about that? Just you wait till I get back. You’ll be black and blue, my girl.’

The cook came before the king, trembling and twisting his apron in his hands.

‘Did you make this soup?’ said the king. ‘Stop fiddling. Stand up straight.’

‘Yes, your majesty,’ said the cook faintly.

‘You’re not telling the truth. This is different from what you normally send up, and it’s much better. Who made it, eh?’

‘I’m sorry, your majesty, yes, you’re right, sire, it wasn’t me; it was that little furry skivvy.’

‘Send her up here.’

When Thousandfurs arrived the king said, ‘Who are you?’

‘I’m a poor child who has no mother or father.’

‘How did you come to work in my castle?’

‘I was found in a tree, sire.’

‘H’mm. And where did you get this ring?’

‘I don’t know anything about a ring, your majesty.’

The king thought she must be simple, and dismissed her.

Some time later there was another ball, and as before Thousandfurs asked the cook for permission to go upstairs and have a look.

‘Well, all right,’ he said. ‘Half an hour, that’s all. And then come back here and make that bread soup the king likes so much.’

Thousandfurs ran to her cubbyhole, washed herself quickly, and put on the dress that was as silver as the moon. She went up into the ballroom, and the king saw her at once through all the crowd of dancers, for she was even more beautiful than before. They danced together, and it only seemed like a moment to him, for as soon as the dance was over she disappeared at once.

She ran down to her cubbyhole, put the dress away, and became Thousandfurs again before hurrying into the kitchen to make some bread soup. While the cook was upstairs watching the dancing, she put the little golden spinning wheel into the bowl and poured the soup over it.

And as before the king found it and sent for the cook, and the cook admitted that it was again Thousandfurs who’d made it, so the king sent for her.

‘I have to say I’m puzzled by you,’ he said to her. ‘Tell me again where you came from.’

‘From a hollow tree, your majesty.’

No, he thought, the poor girl must have lost her wits. Such a shame — she might be pretty under all that dirt. But she plainly knew nothing about the little golden spinning wheel, so he sent her away.

When the king gave a third ball, everything happened as before. The cook was getting suspicious, though, and he said, ‘I think you must be a witch, you furry creature. You always put something in the soup that makes the king like it more than mine.’ But he was good-natured enough, and he let her go up and look at the lords and ladies as she’d done before.

She put on the dress that glittered like the stars and hurried to the ballroom. The king had never seen anyone as lovely, and he ordered the orchestra to play a very long dance so that he might have the chance to talk to her. She was as light in his arms as the starlight itself, but she said very little; however, he did manage to slip a ring on her finger without her noticing it.