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The Riddle
Tales Collected by the Brothers Grimm
There was once a King's son who was seized with a desire to travel
about the world, and took no one with him but a faithful servant.
One day he came to a great forest, and when darkness overtook him
he could find no shelter, and knew not where to pass the night.
Then he saw a girl who was going towards a small house, and when
he came nearer, he saw that the maiden was young and beautiful.
He spoke to her, and said, "Dear child, can I and my servant find
shelter for the night in the little house?" "Oh, yes," said the
girl in a sad voice, "that you certainly can, but I do not advise
you to venture it. Do not go in." "Why not?" asked the King's son.
The maiden sighed and said, "My step-mother
practises wicked arts; she is ill-disposed toward strangers."
Then he saw very well that he had come to the house of a witch,
but as it was dark, and he could not go farther, and also was
not afraid, he entered. The old woman was sitting in an armchair
by the fire, and looked at the stranger with her red eyes. "Good
evening," growled she, and pretended to be quite friendly. "Take
a seat and rest yourselves." She blew up the fire on which she was
cooking something in a small pot. The daughter warned the two to
be prudent, to eat nothing, and drink nothing, for the old woman
brewed evil drinks. They slept quietly until early morning. When
they were making ready for their departure, and the King's son was
already seated on his horse, the old woman said, "Stop a moment,
I will first hand you a parting draught." Whilst she fetched
it, the King's son rode away, and the servant who had to buckle
his saddle tight, was the only one present when the wicked witch
came with the drink. "Take that to your master," said she. But
at that instant the glass broke and the poison spirted on the
horse, and it was so strong that the animal immediately fell down
dead. The servant ran after his master and told him what had
happened, but would not leave his saddle behind him, and
ran back to fetch it. When, however, he came to the dead horse
a raven was already sitting on it devouring it. "Who knows
whether we shall find anything better to-day?" said the servant; so he killed the raven, and took it
with him. And now they
journeyed onwards into the forest the whole day, but could not
get out of it. By nightfall they found an inn and entered it.
The servant gave the raven to the innkeeper to make ready for supper.
They had, however, stumbled on a den of murderers, and during
the darkness twelve of these came, intending to kill the strangers
and rob them. Before they set about this work, they sat down
to supper, and the innkeeper and the witch sat down with them,
and together they ate a dish of soup in which was cut up the
flesh of the raven. Hardly, however, had they swallowed a couple of
mouthfuls, before they all fell down dead, for the raven had
communicated to them the poison from the horse-flesh. There
was no no one else left in the house but the innkeeper's daughter,
who was honest, and had taken no part in their godless deeds. She
opened all doors to the stranger and showed him the heaped-up
treasures. But the King's son said she might keep everything, he
would have none of it, and rode onwards with his servant.
After they had traveled about for a long time, they came to a
town in which was a beautiful but proud princess, who had caused it to be proclaimed that
whosoever should set her a riddle which she could
not guess, that man should be her husband; but if she guessed
it, his head must be cut off. She had three days to guess it
in, but was so clever that she always found the answer to the
riddle given her, before the appointed time. Nine suitors had
already perished in this manner, when the King's son arrived, and
blinded by her great beauty, was willing to stake his life for
it. Then he went to her and laid his riddle before her. "What
is this?" said he, "One slew none, and yet slew twelve." She
did not know what that was, she thought and thought, but she
could not find out, she opened her riddle-books, but it was
not in them -- in short, her wisdom was at an end. As she
did not know how to help herself, she ordered her maid to
creep into the lord's sleeping-chamber, and listen to his
dreams, and thought that he would perhaps speak in his sleep
and discover the riddle. But the clever servant had placed
himself in the bed instead of his master, and when the maid
came there, he tore off from her the mantle in which she had
wrapped herself, and chased her out with rods. The second night
the King's daughter sent her maid-in-waiting, who was to see
if she could succeed better in listening, but the servant
took her mantle also away from her, and hunted her out with
rods. Now the master believed himself safe for the third
night, and lay down in his own bed. Then came the princess
herself, and she had put on a misty-grey mantle, and she
seated herself near him. And when she thought that he was
asleep and dreaming, she spoke to him, and hoped that he
would answer in his sleep, as many do, but he was awake, and
understood and heard everything quite well. Then she asked,
"One slew none, what is that?" He replied, "A raven, which
ate of a dead and poisoned horse, and died of it." She
inquired further, "And yet slew twelve, what is that?" He
answered, "That means twelve murderers, who ate the raven and died
of it."
When she knew the answer to the riddle she wanted to steal
away, but he held her mantle so fast that she was forced to
leave it behind her. Next morning, the King's daughter
announced that she had guessed the riddle, and sent for the
twelve judges and expounded it before them. But the youth
begged for a hearing, and said, "She stole into my room in the
night and questioned me, otherwise she could not have
discovered it." The judges said, "Bring us a proof of this."
Then were the three mantles brought thither by the servant,
and when the judges saw the misty-grey one which the King's
daughter usually wore, they said, "Let the mantle be
embroidered with gold and silver, and then it will be your
wedding-mantle.
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