THE GOLDEN BIRD (001)_Grimms’ Fairy Tales by The Brothers Grimm...^^..

THE GOLDEN BIRD (001)_Grimms’ Fairy Tales by The Brothers
Grimm...^^..

A certain king had a beautiful garden, and in the garden stood a
tree which bore golden apples. These apples were always counted,
and about the time when they began to grow ripe it was found that
every night one of them was gone. The king became very angry at
this, and ordered the gardener to keep watch all night under the
tree. The gardener set his eldest son to watch; but about twelve
o’clock he fell asleep, and in the morning another of the apples
was missing. Then the second son was ordered to watch; and at
midnight he too fell asleep, and in the morning another apple was
gone.

Then the third son offered to keep watch; but the gardener at
first would not let him, for fear some harm should come to him:
however, at last he consented, and the young man laid himself
under the tree to watch. As the clock struck twelve he heard a
rustling noise in the air, and a bird came flying that was of pure
gold; and as it was snapping at one of the apples with its beak,
the gardener’s son jumped up and shot an arrow at it. But the
arrow did the bird no harm; only it dropped a golden feather
from its tail, and then flew away. The golden feather was
brought to the king in the morning, and all the council was called
together.

Everyone agreed that it was worth more than all the wealth of the
kingdom: but the king said, " One feather is of no use to me, I
must have the whole bird." Then the gardener’s eldest son set out
and thought to find the golden bird very easily; and when he had
gone but a little way, he came to a wood, and by the side of the
wood he saw a fox sitting; so he took his bow and made ready to
shoot at it. Then the fox said, " Do not shoot me, for I will give
you good counsel (direction or helpful suggestions regarding a
decision or future course of action); I know what your business
is, and that you want to find the golden bird. 

You will reach a village in the evening; and when you get there, you
will see two inns opposite to each other, one of which is very
pleasant and beautiful to look at: go not in there, but rest for the
night in the other, though it may appear to you to be very poor and
mean." But the son thought to himself, " What can such a beast as
this know about the matter ?" So he shot his arrow at the fox; but
he missed it, and it set up its tail above its back and ran into the
wood.

Then he went his way, and in the evening came to the village
where the two inns were; and in one of these were people singing,
and dancing, and feasting; but the other looked very dirty, and
poor. " I should be very silly," said he, " if I went to that shabby
house, and left this charming place"; so he went into the smart
house, and ate and drank at his ease, and forgot the bird, and his
country too.

Time passed on; and as the eldest son did not come back, and no
tidings were heard of him, the second son set out, and the same
thing happened to him. He met the fox, who gave him the good
advice: but when he came to the two inns, his eldest brother was
standing at the window where the merry making was, and called
to him to come in; and he could not with stand the temptation, but
went in, and forgot the golden bird and his country in the same
manner.

Time passed on again, and the youngest son too wished to set out
into the wide world to seek for the golden bird; but his father
would not listen to it for a long while, for he was very fond of
his son, and was afraid that some ill luck might happen to him also,
and prevent his coming back. However, at last it was agreed he
should go, for he would not rest at home; and as he came to the
wood, he met the fox, and heard the same good counsel.

But he was thankful to the fox, and did not attempt his life as his
brothers had done; so the fox said, " Sit upon my tail, and you
will travel faster." So he sat down, and the fox began to run, and
away they went over stock and stone so quick that their hair
whistled in the wind.

When they came to the village, the son followed the fox’s counsel,
and without looking about him went to the shabby inn and rested
there all night at his ease. In the morning came the fox again and
met him as he was beginning his journey, and said, " Go straight
forward, till you come to a castle, before which lie a whole troop
of soldiers fast asleep and snoring: take no notice of them, but go
into the castle and pass on and on till you come to a room, where
the golden bird sits in a wooden cage; close by it stands a
beautiful golden cage; but do not try to take the bird out of the
shabby cage and put it into the handsome one, otherwise you will
repent it."

Then the fox stretched out his tail again, and the young man sat
himself down, and away they went over stock and stone till their
hair whistled in the wind. Before the castle gate all was as the
fox had said: so the son went in and found the chamber where
the golden bird hung in a wooden cage, and below stood the golden
cage, and the three golden apples that had been lost were lying
close by it. Then thought he to himself, " It will be a very droll
thing to bring away such a fine bird in this shabby cage"; so he
opened the door and took hold of it and put it into the golden
cage. But the bird set up such a loud scream that all the soldiers
awoke, and they took him prisoner and carried him before the
king.

The next morning the court sat to judge him; and when all was
heard, it sentenced him to die, unless he should bring the king
the golden horse which could run as swiftly as the wind; and if
he did this, he was to have the golden bird given him for his own.
So he set out once more on his journey, sighing, and in great
despair, when on a sudden his friend the fox met him, and said,
" You see now what has happened on account of your not listening
to my counsel. I will still, however, tell you how to find the golden
horse, if you will do as I bid you.

You must go straight on till you come to the castle where the
horse stands in his stall: by his side will lie the groom fast
asleep and snoring: take away the horse quietly, but be sure
to put the old leathern saddle upon him, and not the golden one
that is close by it." Then the son sat down on the fox’s tail, and
away they went over stock and stone till their hair whistled in the
wind. All went right, and the groom lay snoring with his hand upon
the golden saddle. But when the son looked at the horse, he
thought it a great pity to put the leathern saddle upon it. " I will
give him the good one," said he; " I am sure he deserves it."

As he took up the golden saddle the groom awoke and cried out
so loud, that all the guards ran in and took him prisoner, and in
the morning he was again brought before the court to be judged,
and was sentenced to die. But it was agreed, that, if he could
bring thier the beautiful princess, he should live, and have the
bird and the horse given him for his own. Then he went his way
very sorrowful; but the old fox came and said, " Why did not you
listen to me ? If you had, you would have carried away both the
bird and the horse; yet will I once more give you counsel. Go
straight on, and in the evening you will arrive at a castle.

At twelve o’clock at night the princess goes to the bathing house:
go up to her and give her a kiss, and she will let you lead her
away; but take care you do not suffer her to go and take leave
of her father and mother." Then the fox stretched out his tail,
and so away they went over stock and stone till their hair whistled
again. As they came to the castle, all was as the fox had said,
and at twelve o’clock the young man met the princes going to the
bath and gave her the kiss, and she agreed to run away with him,
but begged with many tears that he would let her take leave of
her father.

At first he refused, but she wept still more and more, and fell at
his feet, till at last he consented; but the moment she came to her
father’s house the guards awoke and he was taken prisoner again.
Then he was brought before the king, and the king said, " You
shall never have my daughter, unless in eight days you dig away
the hill that stops the view from my window." Now this hill was
so big that the whole world could not take it away: and when he
had worked for seven days, and had done very little, the fox
came and said.

" Lie down and go to sleep; I will work for you." And in the
morning he awoke and the hill was gone; so he went merrily to
the king, and told him that now that it was removed he must
give him the princess. Then the king was obliged to keep his word,
and away went the young man and the princess; and the fox came
and said to him, " We will have all three, the princess, the horse,
and the bird." " Ah !" said the young man, " that would be a great
thing, but how can you contrive it ?"

" If you will only listen," said the fox, " it can be done. When you
come to the king, and he asks for the beautiful princess, you
must say, " Here she is !" Then he will be very joyful; and you
will mount the golden horse that they are to give you, and put out
your hand to take leave of them; but shake hands with the
princess last. Then lift her quickly on to the horse behind you;
clap your spurs to his side, and gallop away as fast as you can."

All went right: then the fox said, " When you come to the castle
where the bird is, I will stay with the princess at the door, and
you will ride in and speak to the king; and when he sees that it is
the right horse, he will bring out the bird; but you must sit still,
and say that you want to look at it, to see whether it is the true
golden bird; and when you get it into your hand, ride away." This,
too, happened as the fox said; they carried off the bird, the
princess mounted again, and they rode on to a great wood.

Then the fox came, and said, " Pray kill me, and cut off my head
and my feet." But the young man refused to do it: so the fox
said, " I will at any rate give you good counsel: beware of two
things; ransom no one from the gallows (execution consisting of
a wooden frame from which a condemned person is executed by
hanging), and sit down by the side of no river." Then away he went.
" Well," thought the young man, " it is no hard matter to keep that
advice." He rode on with the princess, till at last he came to the
village where he had left his two brothers.

And there he heard a great noise and uproar; and when he asked
what was the matter, the people said, " Two men are going to be
hanged." As he came nearer, he saw that the two men were his
brothers, who had turned robbers; so he said, " Cannot they in any
way be saved ?" But the people said " No," unless he would bestow
all his money upon the rascals and buy their liberty. Then he did not
stay to think about the matter, but paid what was asked, and his
brothers were given up, and went on with him towards their home.

And as they came to the wood where the fox first met them, it was
so cool and pleasant that the two brothers said, " Let us sit down by
the side of the river, and rest a while, to eat and drink." So he said,
" Yes," and forgot the fox’s counsel, and sat down on the side of
the river; and while he suspected nothing, they came behind, and
threw him down the bank, and took the princess, the horse, and
the bird, and went home to the king their master, and said. " All
this have we won by our labour." Then there was great rejoicing
made; but the horse would not eat, the bird would not sing, and
the princess wept.

The youngest son fell to the bottom of the river’s bed: luckily it
was nearly dry, but his bones were almost broken, and the bank
was so steep that he could find no way to get out. Then the old
fox came once more, and scolded him for not following his advice;
otherwise no evil would have be fallen him: " Yet," said he, " I
cannot leave you here, so lay hold of my tail and hold fast." Then
he pulled him out of the river, and said to him, as he got upon the
bank, " Your brothers have set watch to kill you, if they find you
in the kingdom."

So he dressed himself as a poor man, and came secretly to the
king’s court, and was scarcely within the doors when the horse
began to eat, and the bird to sing, and princess left off weeping.
Then he went to the king, and told him all his brothers’ roguery;
and they were seized and punished, and he had the princess given
to him again; and after the king’s death he was heir to his kingdom.
A long while after, he went to walk one day in the wood, and the
old fox met him, and be sought him with tears in his eyes to kill him,
and cut off his head and feet. And at last he did so, and in a
moment the fox was changed into a man, and turned out to be the
brother of the princess, who had been lost a great many many years.

hangtuahcutelegacy.blogspot.com
Norshahuddin Edited Jan 2014...^^..