The Complete Grimm's Fairy Tales (Pantheon Books) - Jacob Grimm [300]
The neighbor willingly gave a beehive for the two goats. The bees flew in and out from early morning till late evening without ever tiring, and filled the hive with the most beautiful honey, so that in autumn Harry was able to take a whole pitcherful out of it.
They placed the jug on a board which was fixed to the wall of their bed-room, and as they were afraid that it might be stolen, or that the mice might find it, Trina brought in a stout hazel-stick and put it beside her bed, so that without unnecessary motion she might reach it with her hand, and drive away the uninvited guests.
Lazy Harry did not like to leave his bed before noon. “He who rises early,” said he, “wastes his substance.” One morning when he was still lying amongst the feathers in broad daylight, resting after his long sleep, he said to his wife: “Women are fond of sweet things, and you are always tasting the honey in private; it will be better for us to exchange it for a goose with a young gosling, before you eat up the whole of it.” “But,” answered Trina, “not before we have a child to take care of them! Am I to worry myself with the little geese, and spend all my strength on them to no purpose?” “Do you think,” said Harry, “that the youngster will look after geese? Now-a-days children no longer obey, they do according to their own fancy, because they consider themselves cleverer than their parents, just like that lad who was sent to seek the cow and chased three blackbirds.” “Oh,” replied Trina, “this one shall fare badly if he does not do what I say! I will take a stick and belabor his skin with more blows than I can count. Look, Harry,” cried she in her zeal, and seized the stick with which she used to drive the mice away, “look, this is the way I will fall on him!” She reached her arm out to strike, but unhappily hit the honey-pitcher above the bed. The pitcher struck against the wall and fell down in shards, and the fine honey streamed out on the ground. “There lie the goose and the young gosling,” said Harry, “and want no looking after. But it is lucky that the pitcher did not fall on my head. We have all reason to be satisfied with our lot.” And then as he saw that there was still some honey in one of the shards he stretched out his hand for it, and said quite gaily: “The remains, my wife, we will still eat with relish, and we will rest a little after the fright we have had. What does it matter if we do get up a little later—the day is always long enough.” “Yes,” answered Trina, “we shall always get to the end of it at the proper time. You know, the snail was once asked to a wedding and set out to go, but arrived at the christening. In front of the house it fell over the fence, and said: ‘Speed does no good.’ ”
The Griffin
THERE WAS once upon a time a King, but where he reigned and what he was called, I do not know. He had no son, but an only daughter who had always been ill, and no doctor had been able to cure her. Then it was foretold to the King that his daughter would find her health by eating an apple. So he ordered it to be proclaimed throughout the whole of his kingdom, that whosoever brought his daughter an apple with which she could find her health, should have her to wife, and be King. This became known to a peasant who had three sons, and he said to the eldest: “Go out into the garden and take a basketful of those beautiful apples with the red cheeks and carry them to the court; perhaps the King’s daughter will be able to find her health with them, and then you will marry her and be King.” The lad did so, and set out. When he had gone a short way he met a hoary little man who asked him what he had there in the basket, to which replied Uele—for so was he named—: “Frogs’ legs.” At this the little man said: “Well, so shall it be, and remain,” and went away. At length Uele arrived at the palace, and made it known that he had brought apples which would cure the King