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| Illustration by Walter Crane |
THE TWELVE BROTHERS
By Brothers Grimm
Translated by Margaret Hunt
There were once on a time a king and a
queen who lived happily together and had twelve children, but they were all
boys. Then said the King to his wife, “If the thirteenth child which thou art
about to bring into the world, is a girl, the twelve boys shall die, in order
that her possessions may be great, and that the kingdom may fall to her alone.”
He caused likewise twelve coffins to be made, which were already filled with
shavings, and in each lay the little pillow for the dead, and he had them taken
into a locked-up room, and then he gave the Queen the key of it, and bade her
not to speak of this to any one.
The mother, however, now sat and lamented
all day long, until the youngest son, who was always with her, and whom she had
named Benjamin, from the Bible, said to her, “Dear mother, why art thou so
sad?”
“Dearest child,” she answered, “I may not
tell thee.” But he let her have no rest until she went and unlocked the room,
and showed him the twelve coffins ready filled with shavings. Then she said, my
dearest Benjamin, thy father has had these coffins made for thee and for thy
eleven brothers, for if I bring a little girl into the world, you are all to be
killed and buried in them.” And as she wept while she was saying this, the son
comforted her and said, “Weep not, dear mother, we will save ourselves, and go
hence.” But she said, “Go forth into the forest with thy eleven brothers, and
let one sit constantly on the highest tree which can be found, and keep watch,
looking towards the tower here in the castle. If I give birth to a little son,
I will put up a white flag, and then you may venture to come back, but if I
bear a daughter, I will hoist a red flag, and then fly hence as quickly as you
are able, and may the good God protect you. And every night I will rise up and
pray for you —-in winter that you may be able to warm yourself at a fire, and
in summer that you may not faint away in the heat.”
After she had blessed her sons therefore,
they went forth into the forest. They each kept watch in turn, and sat on the
highest oak and looked towards the tower. When eleven days had passed and the
turn came to Benjamin, he saw that a flag was being raised. It was, however,
not the white, but the blood-red flag which announced that they were all to
die. When the brothers heard that, they were very angry and said, “Are we all
to suffer death for the sake of a girl? We swear that we will avenge ourselves!
— wheresoever we find a girl, her red blood shall flow.”
Thereupon they went deeper into the
forest, and in the midst of it, where it was the darkest, they found a little
bewitched hut, which was standing empty. Then said they, “Here we will dwell,
and thou Benjamin, who art the youngest and weakest, thou shalt stay at home
and keep house, we others will go out and get food.” Then they went into the
forest and shot hares, wild deer, birds and pigeons, and whatsoever there was
to eat; this they took to Benjamin, who had to dress it for them in order that
they might appease their hunger. They lived together ten years in the little
hut, and the time did not appear long to them.
The little daughter which their mother the
Queen had given birth to, was now grown up; she was good of heart, and fair of
face, and had a golden star on her forehead. Once, when it was the great
washing, she saw twelve men’s shirts among the things, and asked her mother,
“To whom do these twelve shirts belong, for they are far too small for father?”
Then the Queen answered with a heavy heart, “Dear child, these belong to thy
twelve brothers.” Said the maiden, “Where are my twelve brothers, I have never yet
heard of them?” She replied, “God knows where they are, they are wandering
about the world.” Then she took the maiden and opened the chamber for her, and
showed her the twelve coffins with the shavings, and pillows for the head.
“These coffins,” said she, “were destined for thy brothers, but they went away
secretly before thou wert born,” and she related to her how everything had
happened; then said the maiden, “Dear mother, weep not, I will go and seek my
brothers.”
So she took the twelve shirts and went
forth, and straight into the great forest. She walked the whole day, and in the
evening she came to the bewitched hut. Then she entered it and found a young
boy, who asked, “From whence comest thou, and whither art thou bound?” and was
astonished that she was so beautiful, and wore royal garments, and had a star
on her forehead. And she answered, “I am a king’s daughter, and am seeking my
twelve brothers, and I will walk as far as the sky is blue until I find them.”
She likewise showed him the twelve shirts which belonged to them. Then Benjamin
saw that she was his sister, and said, “I am Benjamin, thy youngest brother.”
And she began to weep for joy, and Benjamin wept also, and they kissed and
embraced each other with the greatest love. But after this he said, “Dear
sister, there is still one difficulty. We have agreed that every maiden whom we
meet shall die, because we have been obliged to leave our kingdom on account of
a girl.” Then said she, “I will willingly die, if by so doing I can deliver my
twelve brothers.”
“No,” answered he, “thou shalt not die,
seat thyself beneath this tub until our eleven brothers come, and then I will
soon come to an agreement with them.”
She did so, and when it was night the
others came from hunting, and their dinner was ready. And as they were sitting
at table, and eating, they asked, “What news is there?” Said Benjamin, “Don’t
you know anything?” “No,” they answered. He continued, “You have been in the
forest and I have stayed at home, and yet I know more than you do.” “Tell us
then,” they cried. He answered, “But promise me that the first maiden who meets
us shall not be killed.” “Yes,” they all cried, “she shall have mercy, only do
tell us.”
Then said he, “Our sister is here,” and he
lifted up the tub, and the King’s daughter came forth in her royal garments
with the golden star on her forehead, and she was beautiful, delicate and fair.
Then they were all rejoiced, and fell on her neck, and kissed and loved her
with all their hearts.
Now she stayed at home with Benjamin and
helped him with the work. The eleven went into the forest and caught game, and
deer, and birds, and wood-pigeons that they might have food, and the little
sister and Benjamin took care to make it ready for them. She sought for the
wood for cooking and herbs for vegetables, and put the pans on the fire so that
the dinner was always ready when the eleven came. She likewise kept order in
the little house, and put beautifully white clean coverings on the little beds,
and the brothers were always contented and lived in great harmony with her.
Once on a time the two at home had
prepared a beautiful entertainment, and when they were all together, they sat
down and ate and drank and were full of gladness. There was, however, a little
garden belonging to the bewitched house wherein stood twelve lily flowers,
which are likewise called students. She wished to give her brothers pleasure,
and plucked the twelve flowers, and thought she would present each brother with
one while at dinner. But at the self-same moment that she plucked the flowers
the twelve brothers were changed into twelve ravens, and flew away over the
forest, and the house and garden vanished likewise. And now the poor maiden was
alone in the wild forest, and when she looked around, an old woman was standing
near her who said, “My child, what hast thou done? Why didst thou not leave the
twelve white flowers growing? They were thy brothers, who are now for evermore
changed into ravens.” The maiden said, weeping, “Is there no way of delivering
them?”
“No,” said the woman, “there is but one in
the whole world, and that is so hard that thou wilt not deliver them by it, for
thou must be dumb for seven years, and mayst not speak or laugh, and if thou
speakest one single word, and only an hour of the seven years is wanting, all
is in vain, and thy brothers will be killed by the one word.”
Then said the maiden in her heart, “I know
with certainty that I shall set my brothers free,” and went and sought a high
tree and seated herself in it and span, and neither spoke nor laughed. Now it
so happened that a king was hunting in the forest, who had a great greyhound
which ran to the tree on which the maiden was sitting, and sprang about it,
whining, and barking at her. Then the King came by and saw the beautiful King’s
daughter with the golden star on her brow, and was so charmed with her beauty
that he called to ask her if she would be his wife. She made no answer, but
nodded a little with her head. So he climbed up the tree himself, carried her
down, placed her on his horse, and bore her home. Then the wedding was
solemnized with great magnificence and rejoicing, but the bride neither spoke
nor smiled. When they had lived happily together for a few years, the King’s
mother, who was a wicked woman, began to slander the young Queen, and said to
the King, “This is a common beggar girl whom thou hast brought back with thee.
Who knows what impious tricks she practises secretly! Even if she be dumb, and
not able to speak, she still might laugh for once; but those who do not laugh
have bad consciences.” At first the King would not believe it, but the old
woman urged this so long, and accused her of so many evil things, that at last
the King let himself be persuaded and sentenced her to death.
And now a great fire was lighted in the
courtyard in which she was to be burnt, and the King stood above at the window
and looked on with tearful eyes, because he still loved her so much. And when
she was bound fast to the stake, and the fire was licking at her clothes with
its red tongue, the last instant of the seven years expired. Then a whirring
sound was heard in the air, and twelve ravens came flying towards the place,
and sank downwards, and when they touched the earth they were her twelve
brothers, whom she had delivered. They tore the fire asunder, extinguished the
flames, set their dear sister free, and kissed and embraced her. And now as she
dared to open her mouth and speak, she told the King why she had been dumb, and
had never laughed. The King rejoiced when he heard that she was innocent, and
they all lived in great unity until their death. The wicked step-mother was
taken before the judge, and put into a barrel filled with boiling oil and
venomous snakes, and died an evil death.
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