She had not been there long before she heard that the king's eldest
son was passing by, going to be married; and she went to one of the
windows and looked out. Everything was ready, and all the pomp and
brightness of the court was there. Then she bitterly grieved for the
pride and folly which had brought her so low. And the servants gave
her some of the rich meats, which she put into her basket to take
home.

All on a sudden, as she was going out, in came the king's son in
golden clothes; and when he saw a beautiful woman at the door, he took
her by the hand, and said she should be his partner in the dance; but
she trembled for fear, for she saw that it was King Grisly-beard, who
was making sport of her. However, he kept fast hold, and led her in;
and the cover of the basket came off, so that the meats in it fell
about. Then everybody laughed and jeered at her; and she was so
abashed, that she wished herself a thousand feet deep in the earth.
She sprang to the door to run away; but on the steps King Grisly-beard
overtook her, and brought her back and said, 'Fear me not! I am the
fiddler who has lived with you in the hut. I brought you there because
I really loved you. I am also the soldier that overset your stall. I
have done all this only to cure you of your silly pride, and to show
you the folly of your ill-treatment of me. Now all is over: you have
learnt wisdom, and it is time to hold our marriage feast.'

Then the chamberlains came and brought her the most beautiful robes;
and her father and his whole court were there already, and welcomed
her home on her marriage. Joy was in every face and every heart. The
feast was grand; they danced and sang; all were merry; and I only wish
that you and I had been of the party.



IRON HANS

There was once upon a time a king who had a great forest near his
palace, full of all kinds of wild animals. One day he sent out a
huntsman to shoot him a roe, but he did not come back. 'Perhaps some
accident has befallen him,' said the king, and the next day he sent
out two more huntsmen who were to search for him, but they too stayed
away. Then on the third day, he sent for all his huntsmen, and said:
'Scour the whole forest through, and do not give up until you have
found all three.' But of these also, none came home again, none were
seen again. From that time forth, no one would any longer venture into
the forest, and it lay there in deep stillness and solitude, and
nothing was seen of it, but sometimes an eagle or a hawk flying over
it. This lasted for many years, when an unknown huntsman announced
himself to the king as seeking a situation, and offered to go into the
dangerous forest. The king, however, would not give his consent, and
said: 'It is not safe in there; I fear it would fare with you no
better than with the others, and you would never come out again.' The
huntsman replied: 'Lord, I will venture it at my own risk, of fear I
know nothing.'

The huntsman therefore betook himself with his dog to the forest. It
was not long before the dog fell in with some game on the way, and
wanted to pursue it; but hardly had the dog run two steps when it
stood before a deep pool, could go no farther, and a naked arm
stretched itself out of the water, seized it, and drew it under. When
the huntsman saw that, he went back and fetched three men to come with
buckets and bale out the water. When they could see to the bottom
there lay a wild man whose body was brown like rusty iron, and whose
hair hung over his face down to his knees. They bound him with cords,
and led him away to the castle. There was great astonishment over the
wild man; the king, however, had him put in an iron cage in his
courtyard, and forbade the door to be opened on pain of death, and the
queen herself was to take the key into her keeping. And from this time
forth everyone could again go into the forest with safety.

The king had a son of eight years, who was once playing in the
courtyard, and while he was playing, his golden ball fell into the
cage. The boy ran thither and said: 'Give me my ball out.' 'Not till
you have opened the door for me,' answered the man. 'No,' said the
boy, 'I will not do that; the king has forbidden it,' and ran away.
The next day he again went and asked for his ball; the wild man said:
'Open my door,' but the boy would not. On the third day the king had
ridden out hunting, and the boy went once more and said: 'I cannot
open the door even if I wished, for I have not the key.' Then the wild
man said: 'It lies under your mother's pillow, you can get it there.'
The boy, who wanted to have his ball back, cast all thought to the
winds, and brought the key. The door opened with difficulty, and the
boy pinched his fingers. When it was open the wild man stepped out,
gave him the golden ball, and hurried away. The boy had become afraid;
he called and cried after him: 'Oh, wild man, do not go away, or I
shall be beaten!' The wild man turned back, took him up, set him on
his shoulder, and went with hasty steps into the forest. When the king
came home, he observed the empty cage, and asked the queen how that
had happened. She knew nothing about it, and sought the key, but it
was gone. She called the boy, but no one answered. The king sent out
people to seek for him in the fields, but they did not find him. Then
he could easily guess what had happened, and much grief reigned in the
royal court.

When the wild man had once more reached the dark forest, he took the
boy down from his shoulder, and said to him: 'You will never see your
father and mother again, but I will keep you with me, for you have set
me free, and I have compassion on you. If you do all I bid you, you
shall fare well. Of treasure and gold have I enough, and more than
anyone in the world.' He made a bed of moss for the boy on which he
slept, and the next morning the man took him to a well, and said:


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