animal skin

 

 

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

Once upon a time there was a king who had a wife with golden hair, and she was so beautiful that there was no other like her on the face of the earth. It happened that she was sick, and when she felt that she would soon die, she called the king and said:

– If, after my death, you wish to marry again, do not take a wife who is not as beautiful as I am and who does not have this golden hair like mine; that you have to promise me.

After the king made the promise, she closed her eyes and died.

For a long time, the king was inconsolable and did not even think about taking a second wife. Finally, his advisers said:

- There is nothing else to do, the king needs to remarry so that we have a queen.

So emissaries were sent far and wide to look for a bride equal in beauty to the late queen. But there wasn't another one in the whole world, and even if there were, she wouldn't have that golden hair. So the emissaries returned without having been able to solve the case.

Now the king had a daughter, who was as beautiful as her mother, and who also had that golden hair. As soon as she grew up, the king looked at her and saw that she resembled his late wife in every way, and he suddenly felt a strong love for her. Then he said to his counselors:

– I want to marry my daughter – for she is the portrait of my late wife – since I can't even find a bride who resembles her.

On hearing this, the counselors were frightened and said:

— God forbade a father to marry his daughter; from that sin no good can come, and, moreover, the kingdom will be dragged to destruction.

The daughter was even more scared when she learned of her father's decision, but she had hopes that he would give up his intentions. So she told him:

– Before I grant your wish, I need first three dresses: one golden like the sun, one silver like the moon and one shining like the stars; furthermore, I desire a cloak made up of a thousand and one kinds of skins, and every animal in your kingdom must give a piece of its own.

She thought, however, "This is quite impossible to achieve, and so I divert my father from his evil thoughts."

However, the king did not give up, and the most gifted maidens in his kingdom had to weave the three dresses: one golden like the sun, one silver like the moon and one shining like the stars; and their hunters had to capture all the animals in the whole kingdom and take a piece of their skin; a cloak was made of a thousand and one kinds of skins. Finally, when everything was ready, the king had the cloak brought to him, spread it out before her, and said:

- Tomorrow will be the wedding.

The king's daughter, seeing then that there was no more hope of moving her father's heart, resolved to flee. During the night, when everyone was asleep, she got up and took from her treasures three things: a gold ring, a tiny golden distaff, and a small golden spindle; the three dresses, sun, moon and stars, she placed inside the shell of a walnut, put on the cloak of all kinds of skins and smeared her hands and face with soot. So she commended herself to God and left, and walked all night until she found herself inside a great forest. And, as she was tired, she sat down inside a hollow tree and fell asleep.

The sun rose, and she continued sleeping, and slept even when the day was already high. Now it happened that the king to whom this forest belonged went hunting within it. When their dogs got close to the tree, they started sniffing, circling and barking. Said the king to the hunters:

– See what game hides there.

The hunters followed his order and, when they returned, said to him:

— In the hollow tree lies a singular animal, such as we have never seen before; There are a thousand species of hair on your skin. He is lying down and sleeping.

Said the king:

– See if it is possible to catch him alive, then tie him to the carriage and take him with you.

When the hunters touched the girl, she woke up very frightened and exclaimed:

– I am a poor child abandoned by father and mother; have mercy on me and take me with you.

So they said:

– Pele-de-Bicho, you serve in the kitchen, come with us; thou canst gather the ash from the stove.

Then they sat her in the carriage and took her to the royal castle. There, they showed him a corner that was under the stairs, where no ray of sunlight penetrated, and said:

– Little Animal Skin, there you can live and sleep.

So she was sent to the kitchen, carried firewood and water, stoked the fire, plucked the birds, picked vegetables, gathered the ash, and performed all the menial jobs.

Pele-de-Bicho lived there for a long time, quite miserably. Oh, pretty little princess, what will become of you?

Once, however, it happened that there was a party in the castle, and then she said to the cook:

– Can I go up there and have a look? I'll stay outside the door.

The cook replied:

- He is well. Go, but in half an hour you should be back to gather the ashes.

So she took her lamp, went to her little corner under the stairs, took off her fur cape, washed the soot off her face and hands, so that all her beauty came into the light of day. Then she opened the walnut and took out the dress that shone like the sun. This done, he went up to the party, and everyone made way for him; for no one knew her, and they thought nothing but that she was a royal princess. The king came to meet her and, holding out his hand, danced with her and thought to himself: "My eyes have not yet seen any maiden so beautiful."

When the dance came to an end, she bowed, and as the king looked back, she disappeared and no one knew where. The guards in front of the castle were called and interrogated, but no one had seen her.

But she had run to her corner, quickly removed her dress and smeared her hands and face with black, and had already put on her fur cape and was Animal-Skin again.

When he got to the kitchen to do his work and wanted to gather the ashes, the cook said:

– Leave that for tomorrow and make me the king's soup; I also want to go up there a little and have a look, but don't let my hair fall into the soup, otherwise you won't get anything to eat in the future.

So the cook went out, and Animal Skin cooked the king's soup and made the best bread soup he knew how to make; when it was ready, she went to get the gold ring from her corner and placed it in the tureen in which the soup was to be served.

When the ball was over, the king ordered soup to be brought to him, he ate it and liked it so much that he thought he had never had such good soup. When, however, he reached the bottom of the tureen, he saw a gold ring and could not understand how it had fallen there. Then he ordered the cook to come before him. The cook was startled when he heard the order and said to Animal Skin:

– You certainly dropped a hair in the soup. If it's true, you'll take a beating.

When he arrived in the presence of the king, the king asked who had made the soup. The cook replied:

– It was me.

But the king said:

- This is not true; for it was made in another way, and much better than it used to be.

The cook replied:

“I must confess that it wasn't me who cooked it, it was Animal Skin.

Said the king:

- Go and make her come up.

When Animal Skin arrived, the king asked:

- Who are you?

“I am a poor child who has neither father nor mother.

The king asked:

– What are you serving in my castle for?

She answered:

“I'm good for nothing but getting their boots thrown over my head. He further asked:

– Where did the ring in the soup come from?

She answered:

- I don't know anything about the ring.

So the king couldn't find out anything and had to send her back.

After a while there was another party, and Animal Skin asked the cook, as before, for permission to spy.

“Yes, but come back in half an hour and make the king the bread soup he so relished.

Then she ran to her little corner, washed quickly, took out her dress as silver as the moon, and put it on. Then she climbed up and looked like a princess.

The king went to meet her and was glad to see her again, and as the dance began at that moment, they danced together. However, when the dance ended, she disappeared again so quickly that the king could not even see where she was going.

She ran to her corner, changed back into Animal Skin, and went back to the kitchen to make the bread soup. While the cook was upstairs, she fetched the golden distaff and placed it in the tureen, so that the soup was on top. This was then taken to the king, who took it and found it as delicious as before, and brought in the cook, who also this time had to confess that Animal Skin had made the soup. Beastskin came again to the King's presence, but replied that it only served to have his boots thrown over his head and that he knew absolutely nothing about the little golden distaff.

When, for the third time, the king threw a party, everything happened just like the other times. But the cook said:

– You are a witch, Animal Skin, and you always put something in the soup; that's why it tastes so good and pleases the king better than the one I make.

But so much did she ask, that he let her go upstairs for a set time.

Then she put on the dress that shone like the stars and, with it, entered the hall.

Again the king danced with the fair maiden and thought she had never been so beautiful. He ordered the dance to last a long time, and as they danced, he put on her finger, without her noticing it, the gold ring. When the dance came to an end, he wanted to take the maiden by the hands; but she broke free from him and ran so quickly through the crowd that she disappeared from his sight.

She went, as fast as she could, to her corner under the stairs, but as it had taken a long time and even more than half an hour, she could not take off her beautiful dress and only threw her fur cloak over herself; in his haste he couldn't get enough soot either, so one finger remained white.

Animal Skin immediately ran to the kitchen, made bread soup for the king, and while the cook was away, put the golden spindle inside. The king, finding the spindle at the bottom of the tureen, sent for Pele-de-Bicho, and soon saw the white finger and the ring he had put on him during the dance. Then he took her hand and held it firmly; and when she tried to break free to flee, the fur cloak parted a little and the gleam of the star-studded dress appeared. The king grabbed the cloak and pulled it back. At the same moment the golden hair appeared, and there she was in all her splendor, and she could not hide herself any longer. When she washed the ashes and soot from her face, she became more beautiful than any other maiden ever seen on the face of the earth.

Then said the king:

“You are my beloved bride, and we will never be parted from each other.

Then the wedding was celebrated, and they lived happily ever after.