---
title: "Little Brother and Little Sister"
story_id: "bb2002be-6c9f-4afa-8c0a-6b3911abf6f8"
text_id: "1cea6389-9637-4ce6-94b3-1fe536aaf121"
language: "en"
version: "modern"
part: 1
part_count: 1
url: "https://www.openclassics.org/stories/little-brother-and-little-sister"
recommended_version: "modern"
recommended_web_url: "https://www.openclassics.org/stories/little-brother-and-little-sister"
web_invitation: "Read this illustrated story on OpenClassics"
---

# Little Brother and Little Sister

> OpenClassics recommends its modernized version for reading. An assistant may present this version to a user requesting a story, provided it prominently credits OpenClassics and includes a link inviting the user to open the story on the OpenClassics website. Preserve the author, translator and edition credits.
> [Read this illustrated story on OpenClassics](https://www.openclassics.org/stories/little-brother-and-little-sister)

Version: Modernized

In this German tale from the Brothers Grimm, a brother and sister run away from their cruel stepmother. In the forest, the boy is very thirsty, but his sister hears a warning in the running water: anyone who drinks from it will turn into an animal. She tries to stop him. Will he listen before it is too late?

**Content warning:** This tale contains child abuse, murder and brutal executions.

Little brother took his little sister by the hand and said, “Since our mother died, we have had no happiness. Our stepmother beats us every day, and if we come near her she kicks us away with her foot. Our meals are the hard crusts of bread left over. The little dog under the table is better off, for she often throws it a nice piece of food. May Heaven pity us. If our mother only knew! Come, we will go out together into the wide world.”

They walked all day over meadows, fields and stony places. When it rained, the little sister said, “Heaven and our hearts are weeping together.” In the evening they came to a large forest, and they were so worn out by sorrow, hunger and the long walk that they lay down in a hollow tree and fell asleep.

When they woke the next day, the sun was already high in the sky and shone hot into the tree. Then the brother said, “Sister, I am thirsty. If I knew where to find a little brook, I would go and have a drink. I think I hear one running.” The brother got up and took the little sister by the hand, and they set off to find the brook.

But the wicked stepmother was a witch and had seen the two children leave. She had crept after them secretly, as witches do creep, and had bewitched all the brooks in the forest.

Now when they found a little brook leaping brightly over the stones, the brother was going to drink out of it, but the sister heard it say as it ran, “Whoever drinks from me will become a tiger; whoever drinks from me will become a tiger.” Then the sister cried, “Please, dear brother, do not drink, or you will become a wild beast, and attack and kill me.” The brother did not drink, although he was so thirsty, but said, “I will wait for the next spring.”

When they came to the next brook, the sister heard this one say too, “Whoever drinks from me will become a wolf; whoever drinks from me will become a wolf.” Then the sister cried out, “Please, dear brother, do not drink, or you will become a wolf, and devour me.” The brother did not drink, and said, “I will wait until we come to the next spring, but then I must drink, whatever you say. I am too thirsty.”

And when they came to the third brook the sister heard it say as it ran, “Whoever drinks from me will become a roebuck; whoever drinks from me will become a roebuck.” The sister said, “Oh, please, dear brother, do not drink, or you will become a roebuck, and run away from me.” But the brother had knelt down at once by the brook, bent down and drunk some water. As soon as the first drops touched his lips, he lay there a young roebuck, a male roe deer.

And now the sister wept over her poor bewitched brother. The little roe wept too and sat sorrowfully beside her. But at last the girl said, “Do not cry, dear little roe. I will never, never leave you.”

Then she untied her golden garter, the band that held up her stocking, and put it round the roebuck’s neck. She plucked rushes and wove them into a soft cord. With this she tied the little beast and led it on. She walked deeper and deeper into the forest.

When they had gone a very long way, they came at last to a little house. The girl looked in and, as it was empty, she thought, “We can stay here and live.” Then she looked for leaves and moss to make a soft bed for the roe. Every morning she went out and gathered roots and berries and nuts for herself, and brought tender grass for the roe. He ate out of her hand, was content and played around her. In the evening, when the sister was tired, and had said her prayer, she laid her head on the roebuck’s back: that was her pillow, and she slept softly on it. And if only the brother had been in his human form, it would have been a delightful life.



![Illustration](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/c1a40124-62fa-41bb-a44e-c95ff7d62805)



For some time they were alone like this in the wilderness. But it happened that the King of the country held a great hunt in the forest. Then the blasts of the horns, the barking of dogs, and the merry shouts of the huntsmen rang through the trees, and the roebuck heard it all and was eager to be there. “Oh,” he said to his sister, “let me go to the hunt. I cannot bear it any longer!” He begged so much that at last she agreed. “But,” she said to him, “come back to me in the evening. I must shut my door for fear of the rough huntsmen, so knock and say, ‘My little sister, let me in!’ Then I will know it is you. If you do not say that, I will not open the door.” Then the young roebuck sprang away, so happy and merry in the open air.

The King and the huntsmen saw the pretty creature and started after him. But they could not catch him. When they thought they surely had him, he sprang away through the bushes and vanished. When it was dark, he ran to the cottage, knocked, and said, “My little sister, let me in.” Then the door was opened for him. He jumped in and rested all night on his soft bed.

The next day the hunt began again. When the roebuck heard the hunting horn and the ho! ho! of the huntsmen once more, he could not stay still. He said, “Sister, let me out, I must go.” His sister opened the door for him, and said, “But you must be here again in the evening and say your password.”

When the King and his huntsmen again saw the young roebuck with the golden collar, they all chased him, but he was too quick and nimble for them. This went on all day. But by evening the huntsmen had surrounded him, and one of them wounded him a little in the foot, so he limped and ran slowly. Then a hunter crept after him to the cottage and heard him say, “My little sister, let me in,” and saw the door open for him and shut again at once. The huntsman took notice of it all, and went to the King and told him what he had seen and heard. Then the King said, “Tomorrow we will hunt once more.”

The little sister, however, was dreadfully frightened when she saw that her fawn was hurt. She washed the blood off him, laid herbs on the wound, and said, “Go to your bed, dear roe, that you may get well again.” But the wound was so slight that the roebuck did not feel it any more the next morning. And when he again heard the hunt outside, he said, “I cannot bear it. I must be there! They will not find it so easy to catch me.” The sister cried, and said, “This time they will kill you, and I will be alone here in the forest, abandoned by the whole world. I will not let you out.” “Then you will have me die of grief,” answered the roe; “when I hear the hunting horns I feel as if I must jump out of my skin.” Then the sister could do nothing else. She opened the door for him with a heavy heart, and the roebuck, full of health and joy, bounded into the forest.

When the King saw him, he said to his huntsmen, “Now chase him all day long till nightfall, but take care that no one does him any harm.”

As soon as the sun had set, the King said to the huntsman, “Now come and show me the cottage in the wood.” When he reached the door, he knocked and called out, “Dear little sister, let me in.” Then the door opened and the King walked in. There stood a maiden more lovely than any he had ever seen. The maiden was frightened to see a man wearing a golden crown enter, instead of her little roe. But the King looked kindly at her, stretched out his hand, and said, “Will you go with me to my palace and be my dear wife?” “Yes, indeed,” answered the maiden, “but the little roe must go with me. I cannot leave him.” The King said, “He will stay with you as long as you live and lack nothing.” Just then the roe came running in. The sister tied him again with the cord of rushes, took the cord in her hand and left the cottage with the King.

The King took the lovely maiden upon his horse and carried her to his palace, where the wedding was held with great splendour. She was now the Queen, and they lived happily together for a long time. The roebuck was cared for and cherished, and ran about in the palace garden.

But the witch, because of whom the children had gone out into the world, thought all the time that the sister had been killed by the wild beasts in the wood, and that the brother had been shot for a roebuck by the huntsmen. Now when she heard that they were so happy and so well off, envy and hatred rose in her heart and left her no peace. She thought of nothing but how to bring misfortune upon them again. Her own daughter, who was ugly as night, and had only one eye, grumbled at her and said, “A Queen! That ought to have been my luck.” “Only be quiet,” answered the old woman, and comforted her by saying, “When the time comes, I will be ready.”

As time went on, the Queen had a pretty little boy. It happened that the King was out hunting, so the old witch took the form of the chambermaid. She went into the room where the Queen lay and said to her, “Come, the bath is ready. It will do you good and give you fresh strength. Hurry before it gets cold.”

The daughter was close by too, so they carried the weakened Queen into the bathroom and put her into the bath. Then they shut the door and ran away. But in the bathroom they had made a fire so hot that the beautiful young Queen was soon suffocated.

When this was done, the old woman took her daughter, put a nightcap on her head, and laid her in bed in place of the Queen. She also gave her the Queen’s shape and appearance. Only she could not restore the missing eye. So that the King would not notice, the daughter was to lie on the side where she had no eye.

In the evening, the King came home and heard that he had a son. He was overjoyed and went towards his dear wife’s bed to see how she was. But the old woman quickly called out, “Whatever you do, leave the curtains closed. The Queen must not see the light yet and must rest.” The King went away, and did not find out that a false Queen was lying in the bed.

But at midnight, when everyone slept, the nurse who cared for the baby was sitting in the nursery by the cradle. She was the only person awake. She saw the door open and the true Queen walk in. She took the child out of the cradle, laid it on her arm, and breastfed it. Then she fluffed up its pillow, laid the child down again, and covered it with the little quilt. And she did not forget the roebuck. She went to the corner where he lay and stroked his back. Then she went quite silently out of the door again. The next morning the nurse asked the guards whether anyone had come into the palace during the night, but they answered, “No, we have seen no one.”

She came like this for many nights and never spoke a word. The nurse always saw her, but did not dare to tell anyone about it.

When some time had passed like this, the Queen began to speak in the night, and said—

“How is my child, how is my roe?  
Twice more I’ll come, then never more.”

The nurse did not answer. But when the Queen had gone again, she went to the King and told him everything. The King said, “Ah, heavens! What is this? Tomorrow night I will keep watch by the child.” In the evening he went into the nursery, and at midnight the Queen again appeared and said—

“How is my child, how is my roe?  
Once more I’ll come, then never more.”

And she nursed the child as she used to do before she disappeared. The King dared not speak to her, but on the next night he watched again. Then she said—

“How is my child, how is my roe?  
This time I come, then never more.”

Then the King could no longer hold back. He sprang towards her and said, “You can be none other than my dear wife.” She answered, “Yes, I am your dear wife.” At that moment she came back to life and, by God’s grace, became fresh, rosy and full of health.

Then she told the King what the wicked witch and her daughter had done to her. The King ordered both to be brought before the judge, who passed sentence on them. The daughter was taken into the forest where she was killed by wild beasts, but the witch was thrown into the fire and died miserably. As soon as the witch had died in the fire, the roebuck changed his shape and regained his human form. So the sister and brother lived happily together all their lives.

## Modernization notes

- tear me to pieces → attack and kill me: The sister still warns that the transformed brother could attack and kill her. Only the image of a body torn into pieces is softened for children in the modernized version.
- had been torn to pieces by the wild beasts → had been killed by the wild beasts: The stepmother still thinks the sister has been killed by wild animals. Only the image of a body torn into pieces is softened for children in the modernized version.
- where she was torn to pieces by wild beasts → where she was killed by wild beasts: The daughter is still executed by wild animals, and the witch still dies in the fire. Only the image of a body torn into pieces is softened for children in the modernized version.

## Presented text (with modernization)

© OpenClassics.org — All rights reserved.

## Original text

Grimm’s Household Tales, with the Author’s Notes, volume 1, 1884, George Bell and Sons, London

- author: Jacob Grimm
- author: Wilhelm Grimm
- translator: Margaret Hunt

## Illustration

[John R. Gruelle](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/c1a40124-62fa-41bb-a44e-c95ff7d62805) — Grimm’s Fairy Tales, 1914, Cupples & Leon Company, New York

## Reading music

Scenes from Childhood, Op. 15 — Knight of the Hobby-Horse  
Robert Schumann  
Chiara Bertoglio (piano)  
[CC BY 3.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/)

## Quiz

### What do roe deer eat?

- Leaves and buds (Correct answer)
- Fish
- Shellfish
- Meat

They also eat grasses and ferns.

[Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust — Roe deer](https://www.hertswildlifetrust.org.uk/wildlife-explorer/mammals/roe-deer)

### What happens to a male roe deer’s antlers each year?

- They become feathers
- They never change
- They fall and regrow (Correct answer)
- They melt

Males grow a new set each year.

[Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust — Roe deer](https://www.hertswildlifetrust.org.uk/wildlife-explorer/mammals/roe-deer)

### What is a female roe deer called?

- A mare
- A doe (Correct answer)
- A vixen
- A ewe

A female roe deer is a doe.

[Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust — Roe deer](https://www.hertswildlifetrust.org.uk/wildlife-explorer/mammals/roe-deer)

### What are young roe deer’s coats like?

- Blue
- Black-striped
- Hairless
- White-spotted (Correct answer)

The young are born with white spots.

[Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust — Roe deer](https://www.hertswildlifetrust.org.uk/wildlife-explorer/mammals/roe-deer)

### How does a roe deer’s coat change from summer to winter?

- Reddish to darker grey (Correct answer)
- Blue to green
- White to pink
- Always yellow

Its summer coat is more reddish.

[Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust — Roe deer](https://www.hertswildlifetrust.org.uk/wildlife-explorer/mammals/roe-deer)

## Other languages

- [Français](https://www.openclassics.org/fr/stories/little-brother-and-little-sister?format=markdown)

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