King Thrushbeard

A King had a daughter who was beautiful beyond all measure, but so proud and haughty  withal that no man who wanted to marry her was good enoughno suitor was good enough for her. She sent away one after the other, and ridiculed them as well.

Once the King made a great feast and invited all the young men who could marry herthereto, from far and near , all the young men likely to marry. They were all lined upmarshalled in a row according to their rank and standing; first came the kings, then the grand dukesgrand-dukes, then the princes, the earls, the barons, and the other gentlemengentry. Then the King’s daughter was led through the ranks, but she found something wrong with every one of themto every one she had some objection to make; one was too fat, “The wine barrelThe wine-cask,” she said. Another was too tall, “Long and thin, with little withinLong and thin has little in.” The third was too short, “Short and thick is never quick.” The fourth was too pale, “As pale as death.” The fifth too red, “A fighting roosterA fighting-cock.” The sixth was not straight enough, “A freshly cut log warped by dryingA green log dried behind the stove.”

So she had something to say against every one, but she laughed especially hard atshe made herself especially merry over a good king who stood quite high up in the row, and whose chin had grown a little crooked. “Well,” she cried and laughed, “he has a chin like a thrush’s beak!” and from that time he got the name of King Thrushbeard.

But the old King, when he saw that his daughter did nothing but mock the people, and despised all the suitors who were gathered there, was very angry, and swore that she should have for her husband the very first beggar that came to his doors.

A few days afterwards a violin player camea fiddler came and sang beneath the windows, hoping fortrying to earn a small giftalms. When the King heard him he said, “Let him come up.” So the violin playerthe fiddler came in, in his dirty, ragged clothes, and sang before the King and his daughter, and when he had ended he asked for a smalltrifling gift. The King said, “Your song has pleased me so well that I will give you my daughter there as your, to wife.”

The King’s daughter shuddered, but the King said, “I have sworn to give you to the very first beggar-man, and I will keep my promise.I have taken an oath to give you to the very first beggar-man, and I will keep it.” Nothing she said made any differenceAll she could say was in vain; the priest was brought, and she had to marrylet herself be wedded to the violin playerthe fiddler then and thereon the spot. When that was done the King said, “Now it is not proper for you, a beggar-woman, to stay any longer in my palace. You may just go awaymy palace, you may just go away with your husband.”

The beggar-man led her out by the hand, and she had to walk away with himshe was obliged to walk away on foot with him. When they came to a large forest she asked, “Who owns that beautiful forest?To whom does that beautiful forest belong?” “It belongs to King Thrushbeard; if you had marriedtaken him, it would have been yours.” “Ah, how unhappy I amAh, unhappy girl that I am, if only I had marriedbut taken King Thrushbeard!”

Afterwards they came to a meadow, and she asked again, “Who owns this beautiful green meadow?To whom does this beautiful green meadow belong?” “It belongs to King Thrushbeard; if you had marriedtaken him, it would have been yours.” “Ah, how unhappy I amAh, unhappy girl that I am, if only I had marriedbut taken King Thrushbeard!”

Then they came to a large town, and she asked again, “Who owns this fine large town?To whom does this fine large town belong?” “It belongs to King Thrushbeard; if you had marriedtaken him, it would have been yours.” “Ah, how unhappy I amAh, unhappy girl that I am, if only I had marriedbut taken King Thrushbeard!”

“I don’t like itIt does not please me,” said the violin playerthe fiddler, “to hear you always wishing for another husband; am I not good enough for you?” At last they came to a very little hut, and she said, “Oh goodness! what a small house; who owns this miserable, shabby hut?to whom does this miserable, mean hovel belong?” The violin player answeredThe fiddler answered, “That is my house and yours, where we’ll live togetherwhere we shall live together.”

She had to bend down to get through the low doorShe had to stoop in order to go in at the low door. “Where are the servants?” said the King’s daughter. “What servants?” answered the beggar-man; “if you want something done, you must do it yourselfyou must yourself do what you wish to have done. Just make a fire at once, and put some water on to heat for my supper. I am quite tiredset on water to cook my supper, I am quite tired.” But the King’s daughter knew nothing about lighting fires or cooking, and the beggar-man had to lend a hand himself to get anything done properlyfairly done. When they had finished their small mealtheir scanty meal they went to bed; but he forced her to get up quite early in the morning in order to look after the house.

For a few days they lived in this way as best they couldwell as might be, and used up all their foodcame to the end of all their provisions. Then the man said, “Wife, we cannot go on any longer eating and drinking here and earning nothing. You must weave baskets.” He went out, cut some willow brancheswillows, and brought them home. Then she began to weave, but the tough willow brancheswillows wounded her delicate hands.

“I see that this will not do,” said the man; “you had better try making threadspin, perhaps you can do that better.” She sat down and tried to spin threadspin, but the hard thread soon cut her soft fingers until they bledso that the blood ran down. “See,” said the man, “you can’t do any kind of workyou are fit for no sort of work; I have made a bad bargain by marryingwith you. Now I will try to start sellingmake a business with pots and clay dishesearthenware; you must sit in the market-place and sell themthe ware.” “Alas,” thought she, “if any of the people from my father’s kingdom come to the market and see me sitting there, selling, how they will mock me!how they will mock me?” But it was of no use, she had to agree or starveyield unless she chose to die of hunger.

AtFor the first she didtime she succeeded well, for the people were glad to buy her pots and dishesthe woman’s wares because she was good-looking, and they paid her what she asked; many even gave her the money and left the pots with her as well. So they lived on what she had earned as long as it lasted, then the husband bought a lot of new crockery. With this she sat down at the corner of the market-place, and set it out round about her ready for sale. But suddenly there came a drunken soldier on horsebacka drunken hussar galloping along, and he rode right amongst the pots so that they were all broken into a thousand bits. She began to weep, and was so frightened she did not know what to doand did not know what to do for fear. “Alas! what will happen to me?” cried she; “what will my husband say to this?”

She ran home and told him of the misfortune. “Who would seat herself at a corner of the market-place with crockery?” said the man; “Stop crying. I see very well that you cannot do any ordinary work, so I have been to our King’s palace to ask whether they need a kitchen-maid. They have promised to take you; you’ll get your meals in return for your work.leave off crying, I see very well that you cannot do any ordinary work, so I have been to our King’s palace and have asked whether they cannot find a place for a kitchen-maid, and they have promised me to take you; in that way you will get your food for nothing.”

The King’s daughter was now a kitchen-maid, and had to be ready to do whateverat the cook askedcook’s beck and call, and do the dirtiest work. In each of her pockets she fastened a little jarIn both her pockets she fastened a little jar, in which she took home her share of the leftoversleavings, and upon this they lived.

The day came for the King’s eldest son to be married. The poor woman went upstairs and stood by the hall door to watch.It happened that the wedding of the King’s eldest son was to be celebrated, so the poor woman went up and placed herself by the door of the hall to look on. The candles were all lit, and the guests came in, each more beautiful than the last. Surrounded by this grand display of wealth, she thought sadly of her fate. She cursed the pride and arrogance that had brought her so low and made her so poor.When all the candles were lit, and people, each more beautiful than the other, entered, and all was full of pomp and splendour, she thought of her lot with a sad heart, and cursed the pride and haughtiness which had humbled her and brought her to so great poverty.

The smell of the delicious dishes which were being taken in and out reached her, and now and then the servants threw her a few mouthfulsmorsels of them: these she put in her jars to take home.

All at once the King’s son entered, clothed in velvet and silk, with gold chains about his neck. And when he saw the beautiful woman standing by the door he seized her by the hand, and wanted to dancewould have danced with her; but she refused and shrank with fear, for she saw that it was King Thrushbeard, the man she had mocked and refused to marryher suitor whom she had driven away with scorn. Her struggles were useless; he drew her into the hallHer struggles were of no avail, he drew her into the hall; but the string by which her pockets were hung broke, the pots fell down, the soup ran out, and the scraps were scattered all about. And when the people saw it, everyone began laughing and mocking herthere arose general laughter and derision, and she was so ashamed that she would rather have been a milethousand fathomsExplanation: A thousand fathoms is about 1.14 miles. The familiar rounded distance keeps her exaggerated wish to disappear. below the ground. She sprang to the door and would have run away, but on the stairs a man caught her and brought her back; and when she looked at him it was King Thrushbeard again. He said to her kindly, “Do not be afraid. I am the violin player who has been living with you in that wretched hut.afraid, I and the fiddler who has been living with you in that wretched hovel are one. For love of you I disguised myself so; and I was alsoalso was the cavalry soldierhussar who rode through your crockery. This was all done to humble your proud spirit, and to punish you for the rudenessinsolence with which you mocked me.”

Then she wept bitterly and said, “I have done great wrong, and am not worthy to be your wife.” But he said, “Don’t be upset; the bad days are overBe comforted, the evil days are past; now we will celebrate our wedding.” Then the ladies who attended hermaids-in-waiting came and dressed her in the most splendid clothescame and put on her the most splendid clothing, and her father and his whole court came and wished her happiness in her marriage with King Thrushbeard, and the joyful celebrations truly beganthe joy now began in earnest. I wish you and I had been there too.