the crystal ball

Tale by the Brothers Grimm, translated by Ruth Salles and Renate Kaufmann.

Once upon a time there was a sorceress who had three children who loved each other fraternally; the old woman, however, did not trust them, thinking that they wanted to rob her of her power. He then transformed the eldest into an eagle, who had to go live on top of a rocky mountain; and now and then you could see him making great circles in the air, up and down.

The second she transformed into a whale, which lived in the depths of the sea; and one could only see him when he sometimes squirted a strong jet of water upwards. Both assumed their human form only twice a day.

The third son, fearing that she would also turn him into a ferocious animal, left the house in secret. Why, he had heard that in the Castle of the Golden Sun there was an enchanted princess awaiting his release. But anyone who tried to free her was obliged to risk his life, and already twenty-three young men had died a horrible death; only one more could try, and then no one else would be allowed.

As his heart feared nothing, the young man resolved to look for that castle. He had been wandering around for a long time, without being able to find him, when he found himself in a large forest and did not know where the exit was. Suddenly, he saw two giants in the distance who waved at him and, as soon as he approached, they said to him:

– We are fighting over a hat, to know who it should belong to; as we have the same strength, neither can subdue the other; little men are smarter than we are, so we want to leave it to you to decide.

– How can you fight over an old hat? asked the young man.

– You do not know the virtues he has; it's a magic hat, and whoever puts it on can want to go wherever he wants, and instantly he'll be there.

Then said the young man:

- Give me the hat! I will walk a part of the way, and when I call you, start running; and the hat will go to the one who reaches me first.

Putting his hat on his head, he walked away, but with the princess in mind, he forgot about the giants and continued walking. Now it happened that, sighing from the bottom of his heart, he exclaimed:

“Oh, if only I were in the Golden Sun Castle!

As soon as he had spoken, he found himself on top of a high hill, in front of the castle gates.
He went through all the rooms, until in the last he found the princess. But what a fright it was when he looked at her: she had a gray face, full of wrinkles, dull eyes and red hair.

– Are you the princess whose beauty everyone praises? he exclaimed.

– Oh! – she replied – this is not my appearance, human eyes can only see me in this ugly aspect; but that you may know what I am, look into this mirror; he is not fooled and shows my true image.

She put the mirror in her hand, where the young man saw reflected the portrait of the most beautiful maiden in the world, and saw how, with so much sadness, the tears rolled down her cheeks. Then he said:

– How can you be saved? I am not afraid of any danger.

She replied:

- Whoever gets the crystal ball and presents it to the sorcerer will break its power, and I return to my true form. Oh! – he continued – because of that, several have already gone to their death, and you, so young, I'm sorry that you expose yourself to such great dangers.

“Nothing can stop me,” he said, “but tell me what I must do.

“You will know everything,” she replied. – Coming down from the hill where the castle is, you will find below, by a fountain, a wild bull, and with him you must fight. If you are lucky enough to kill it, a firebird will rise from within it, carrying a glowing egg in its body, and this egg has a crystal ball as its yolk. The bird, however, does not release the egg until it is forced to do so; and if by chance the egg falls to the ground, it catches fire, and everything around it burns, and it melts, and with it the crystal ball; and all your efforts will have been in vain.

The young man went down to the fountain, where the ox snorted and bellowed at him. After a long struggle, he knocked him down. In the twinkling of an eye, the firebird arose from within and wanted to take flight; but the eagle, which was the brother of the young man, and which was flying among the clouds, rushed upon him, chasing him to the sea, and pecked at him until he let the egg drop. This one, however, did not fall into the sea, but onto a fisherman's hut situated on the shore, which soon began to smoke, ready to be consumed by flames. Then huge waves rose from the sea which, flooding the hut, dominated the fire. The other brother, who was the whale, had come swimming and had driven up the water. The fire having been put out, the young man looked for the egg and, happily, found it. It had not melted, but the shell, due to the sudden shock of the cold water, had cracked, and the crystal ball could be removed intact.

As the young man went to introduce her to the sorcerer, he said to him:

“My power is broken, and from this day forward you are the king of the Castle of the Golden Sun. With this, you will also be able to return your brothers to human form.

Then the young man ran to meet the princess, and when he entered her chambers, she was there in all the splendor of her beauty. And both of them, full of joy, exchanged their rings.