Query any story you want.

There was once a man, whose wife was dead, and a woman, whose husband was dead; and the man had a daughter, and so had the woman. The girls were acquainted with each other, and used to play together sometimes in the woman's house. So the woman said to the man's daughter,

"Listen to me, tell your father that I will marry him, and then you shall have milk to wash in every morning and wine to drink, and my daughter shall have water to wash in and water to drink."

The girl went home and told her father what the woman had said. The man said,

"What shall I do! Marriage is a joy, and also a torment."

At last, as he could come to no conclusion, he took off his boot, and said to his daughter,

"Take this boot, it has a hole in the sole; go up with it into the loft, hang it on the big nail and pour water in it. If it holds water, I will once more take to me a wife; if it lets out the water, so will I not."

The girl did as she was told, but the water held the hole together, and the boot was full up to the top. So she went and told her father how it was. And he went up to see with his own eyes, and as there was no mistake about it, he went to the widow and courted her, and then they had the wedding.

The next morning, when the two girls awoke, there stood by the bedside of the man's daughter milk to wash in and wine to drink, and by the bedside of the woman's daughter there stood water to wash in and water to drink.

On the second morning there stood water to wash in and water to drink for both of them alike. On the third morning there stood water to wash in and water to drink for the man's daughter, and milk to wash in and wine to drink for the woman's daughter; and so it remained ever after. The woman hated her step-daughter, and never knew how to treat her badly enough from one day to another. And she was jealous because her step-daughter was pleasant and pretty, and her real daughter was ugly and hateful.

Once in winter, when it was freezing hard, and snow lay deep on hill and valley, the woman made a frock out of paper, called her step-daughter, and said,

"Here, put on this frock, go out into the wood and fetch me a basket of strawberries; I have a great wish for some."

"Oh dear," said the girl, "there are no strawberries to be found in winter; the ground is frozen, and the snow covers everything. And why should I go in the paper frock? it is so cold out of doors that one's breath is frozen; the wind will blow through it, and the thorns will tear it off my back!"

"How dare you contradict me!" cried the step-mother, "be off, and don't let me see you again till you bring me a basket of strawberries."

Then she gave her a little piece of hard bread, and said,

"That will do for you to eat during the day," and she thought to herself, "She is sure to be frozen or starved to death out of doors, and I shall never set eyes on her again."

So the girl went obediently, put on the paper frock, and started out with the basket. The snow was lying everywhere, far and wide, and there was not a blade of green to be seen. When she entered the wood she saw a little house with three little men peeping out of it. She wished them good day, and knocked modestly at the door. They called her in, and she came into the room and sat down by the side of the oven to warm herself and eat her breakfast. The little men said,

"Give us some of it."

"Willingly," answered she, breaking her little piece of bread in two, and giving them half. They then said,

"What are you doing here in the wood this winter time in your little thin frock?"

"Oh," answered she, "I have to get a basket of strawberries, and I must not go home without them."

When she had eaten her bread they gave her a broom, and told her to go and sweep the snow away from the back door. When she had gone outside to do it the little men talked among themselves about what they should do for her, as she was so good and pretty, and had shared her bread with them. Then the first one said,

"She shall grow prettier every day." The second said,

"Each time she speaks a piece of gold shall fall from her mouth." The third said,

"A king shall come and take her for his wife."

In the meanwhile the girl was doing as the little men had told her, and had cleared the snow from the back of the little house, and what do you suppose she found? fine ripe strawberries, showing dark red against the snow! Then she joyfully filled her little basket full, thanked the little men, shook hands with them all, and ran home in haste to bring her step-mother the thing she longed for. As she went in and said, "Good evening," a piece of gold fell from her mouth at once. Then she related all that had happened to her in the wood, and at each word that she spoke gold pieces fell out of her mouth, so that soon they were scattered all over the room.

"Just look at her pride and conceit!" cried the step-sister, "throwing money about in this way!" but in her heart she was jealous because of it, and wanted to go too into the wood to fetch strawberries. But the mother said,

"No, my dear little daughter, it is too cold, you will be frozen to death."

But she left her no peace, so at last the mother gave in, got her a splendid fur coat to put on, and gave her bread and butter and cakes to eat on the way.

The girl went into the wood and walked straight up to the little house. The three little men peeped out again, but she gave them no greeting, and without looking round or taking any notice of them she came stumping into the room, sat herself down by the oven, and began to eat her bread and butter and cakes.

"Give us some of that," cried the little men, but she answered,

"I've not enough for myself; how can I give away any?"

Now when she had done with her eating, they said,

"Here is a broom, go and sweep all clean by the back door."

"Oh, go and do it yourselves," answered she; "I am not your housemaid."

But when she saw that they were not going to give her anything, she went out to the door. Then the three little men said among themselves,

"What shall we do to her, because she is so unpleasant, and has such a wicked jealous heart, grudging everybody everything?" The first said,

"She shall grow uglier every day." The second said,

"Each time she speaks a toad shall jump out of her mouth at every word." The third said,

"She shall die a miserable death."

The girl was looking outside for strawberries, but as she found none, she went sulkily home. And directly she opened her mouth to tell her mother what had happened to her in the wood a toad sprang out of her mouth at each word, so that every one who came near her was quite disgusted.

The step-mother became more and more set against the man's daughter, whose beauty increased day by day, and her only thought was how to do her some injury. So at last she took a kettle, set it on the fire, and scalded some yarn in it. When it was ready she hung it over the poor girl's shoulder, and gave her an axe, and she was to go to the frozen river and break a hole in the ice, and there to rinse the yarn. She obeyed, and went and hewed a hole in the ice, and as she was about it there came by a splendid coach, in which the King sat. The coach stood still, and the King said,

"My child, who art thou, and what art thou doing there?" She answered,

"I am a poor girl, and am rinsing yarn."

Then the King felt pity for her, and as he saw that she was very beautiful, he said,

"Will you go with me?"

"Oh yes, with all my heart," answered she; and she felt very glad to be out of the way of her mother and sister.

So she stepped into the coach and went off with the King; and when they reached his castle the wedding was celebrated with great splendour, as the little men in the wood had foretold.

At the end of a year the young Queen had a son; and as the step-mother had heard of her great good fortune she came with her daughter to the castle, as if merely to pay the King and Queen a visit. One day, when the King had gone out, and when nobody was about, the bad woman took the Queen by the head, and her daughter took her by the heels, and dragged her out of bed, and threw her out of the window into a stream that flowed beneath it. Then the old woman put her ugly daughter in the bed, and covered her up to her chin. When the King came back, and wanted to talk to his wife a little, the old woman cried,

"Stop, stop! she is sleeping nicely; she must be kept quiet to-day."

The King dreamt of nothing wrong, and came again the next morning; and as he spoke to his wife, and she answered him, there jumped each time out of her mouth a toad instead of the piece of gold as heretofore. Then he asked why that should be, and the old woman said it was because of her great weakness, and that it would pass away.

But in the night, the boy who slept in the kitchen saw how something in the likeness of a duck swam up the gutter, and said,—

But there was no answer. Then it said,

So the kitchen-boy answered,

It asked again,

And he answered,

Then the duck took the shape of the Queen and went to the child, and gave him to drink, smoothed his little bed, covered him up again, and then, in the likeness of a duck, swam back down the gutter. In this way she came two nights, and on the third she said to the kitchen-boy,

"Go and tell the King to brandish his sword three times over me on the threshold!"

Then the kitchen-boy ran and told the King, and he came with his sword and brandished it three times over the duck, and at the third time his wife stood before him living, and hearty, and sound, as she had been before.

The King was greatly rejoiced, but he hid the Queen in a chamber until the Sunday came when the child was to be baptized. And after the baptism he said,

"What does that person deserve who drags another out of bed and throws him in the water?"

And the old woman answered,

"No better than to be put into a cask with iron nails in it, and to be rolled in it down the hill into the water."

Then said the King,

"You have spoken your own sentence;" and he ordered a cask to be fetched, and the old woman and her daughter were put into it, and the top hammered down, and the cask was rolled down the hill into the river.

Once upon a time there lived a man, whose wife had died; and a

woman, also, who had lost her husband: and this man and this woman

had each a daughter. These two maidens were friendly with each

other, and used to walk together, and one day they came by the

widow's house. Then the widow said to the man's daughter, "Do you

hear, tell your father I wish to marry him, and you shall every

morning wash in milk and drink wine, but my daughter shall wash in

water and drink water." So the girl went home and told her father

what the woman had said, and he replied, "What shall I do? Marriage

is a comfort, but it is also a torment." At last, as he could come

to no conclusion, he drew off his boot and said: "Take this boot,

which has a hole in the sole, and go with it out of doors and hang

it on the great nail and then pour water into it. If it holds the

water, I will again take a wife; but if it runs through, I will not

have her." The girl did as he bid her, but the water drew the hole

together and the boot became full to overflowing. So she told her

father how it had happened, and he, getting up, saw it was quite

true; and going to the widow he settled the matter, and the wedding

was celebrated.

The next morning, when the two girls arose, milk to wash in and

wine to drink were set for the man's daughter, but only water, both

for washing and drinking, for the woman's daughter. The second

morning, water for washing and drinking stood before both the man's

daughter and the woman's; and on the third morning, water to wash

in and water to drink were set before the man's daughter, and milk

to wash in and wine to drink before the woman's daughter, and so it

continued.

Soon the woman conceived a deadly hatred for her step-daughter,

and knew not how to behave badly enough to her from day to day. She

was envious, too, because her step-daughter was beautiful and

lovely, and her own daughter was ugly and hateful.

Once, in the winter-time, when the river was frozen as hard as a

stone, and hill and valley were covered with snow, the woman made a

cloak of paper, and called the maiden to her and said, "Put on this

cloak, and go away into the wood to fetch me a little basketful of

strawberries, for I have a wish for some."

"Mercy on us!" said the maiden, "in winter there are no

strawberries growing; the ground is frozen, and the snow, too, has

covered everything. And why must I go in that paper cloak? It is so

cold out of doors that it freezes one's breath even, and if the

wind does not blow off this cloak, the thorns will tear it from my

body."

"Will you dare to contradict me?" said the step-mother. "Make

haste off, and let me not see you again until you have found me a

basket of strawberries." Then she gave her a small piece of dry

bread, saying, "On that you must subsist the whole day." But she

thought—out of doors she will be frozen and starved, so that

my eyes will never see her again!

So the girl did as she was told, and put on the paper cloak, and

went away with the basket. Far and near there was nothing but snow,

and not a green blade was to be seen. When she came to the forest

she discovered a little cottage, out of which three little Dwarfs

were peeping. The girl wished them good morning, and knocked gently

at the door. They called her in, and entering the room, she sat

down on a bench by the fire to warm herself, and eat her breakfast.

The Dwarfs called out, "Give us some of it!" "Willingly," she

replied, and, dividing her bread in two, she gave them half. They

asked, "What do you here in the forest, in the winter-time, in this

thin cloak?"

"Ah!" she answered, "I must, seek a basketful of strawberries,

and I dare not return home until I can take them with me." When she

had eaten her bread, they gave her a broom, saying, "Sweep away the

snow with this from the back door." But when she was gone out of

doors the three Dwarfs said one to another, "What shall we give

her, because she is so gentle and good, and has shared her bread

with us?" Then said the first, "I grant to her that she shall

become more beautiful every day." The second said, "I grant that a

piece of gold shall fall out of her mouth for every word she

speaks." The third said, "I grant that a King shall come and make

her his bride."

Meanwhile, the girl had done as the Dwarf had bidden her, and

had swept away the snow from behind the house. And what do you

think she found there? Actually, ripe strawberries! which came

quite red and sweet up under the snow. So filling her basket in

great glee, she thanked the little men and gave them each her hand,

and then ran home to take her step-mother what she wished for. As

she went in and said "Good evening," a piece of gold fell from her

mouth. Thereupon she related what had happened to her in the

forest; but at every word she spoke a piece of gold fell, so that

the whole floor was covered.

"Just see her arrogance," said the step-sister, "to throw away

money in that way!" but in her heart she was jealous, and wished to

go into the forest, too, to seek strawberries. Her mother said,

"No, my dear daughter; it is too cold, you will be frozen!" but as

her girl let her have no peace, she at last consented, and made her

a beautiful fur cloak to put on; she also gave her buttered bread

and cooked meat to eat on her way.

The girl went into the forest and came straight to the little

cottage. The three Dwarfs were peeping out again, but she did not

greet them; and, stumbling on without looking at them, or speaking,

she entered the room, and, seating herself by the fire, began to

eat the bread and butter and meat. "Give us some of that,"

exclaimed the Dwarfs; but she answered, "I have not got enough for

myself, so how can I give any away?" When she had finished they

said, "You have a broom there, go and sweep the back door clean."

"Oh, sweep it yourself," she replied; "I am not your servant." When

she saw that they would not give her anything she went out at the

door, and the three Dwarfs said to each other, "What shall we give

her? She is so ill-behaved, and has such a bad and envious

disposition, that nobody can wish well to her." The first said, "I

grant that she becomes more ugly every day." The second said, "I

grant that at every word she speaks a toad shall spring out of her

mouth." The third said, "I grant that she shall die a miserable

death." Meanwhile the girl had been looking for strawberries out of

doors, but as she could find none she went home very peevish. When

she opened her mouth to tell her mother what had happened to her in

the forest, a toad jumped out of her mouth at each word, so that

every one fled away from her in horror.

The step-mother was now still more vexed, and was always

thinking how she could do the most harm to her husband's daughter,

who every day became more beautiful. At last she took a kettle, set

it on the fire, and boiled a net therein. When it was sodden she

hung it on the shoulder of the poor girl, and gave her an axe, that

she might go upon the frozen pond and cut a hole in the ice to drag

the net. She obeyed, and went away and cut an ice-hole; and while

she was cutting, an elegant carriage came by, in which the King

sat. The carriage stopped, and the King asked, "My child, who are

you? and what do you here?" "I am a poor girl, and am dragging a

net," said she. Then the King pitied her, and saw how beautiful she

was, and said, "Will you go with me?" "Yes, indeed, with all my

heart," she replied, for she was glad to get out of the sight of

her mother and sister.

So she was handed into the carriage, and driven away with the

King; and as soon as they arrived at his castle the wedding was

celebrated with great splendor, as the Dwarfs had granted to the

maiden. After a year the young Queen bore a son; and when the

step-mother heard of her great good fortune, she came to the castle

with her daughter, and behaved as if she had come on a visit. But

one day when the King had gone out, and no one was present, this

bad woman seized the Queen by the head, and her daughter caught

hold of her feet, and raising her out of bed, they threw her out of

the window into the river which ran past. Then, laying her ugly

daughter in the bed, the old woman covered her up, even over her

head; and when the King came back he wished to speak to his wife,

but the old woman exclaimed, "Softly! softly! do not go near her;

she is lying in a beautiful sleep, and must be kept quiet to-day."

The King, not thinking of an evil design, came again the next

morning the first thing; and when he spoke to his wife, and she

answered, a toad sprang out of her mouth at every word, as a piece

of gold had done before. So he asked what had happened, and the old

woman said, "That is produced by her weakness, she will soon lose

it again."

But in the night the kitchen-boy saw a Duck swimming through the

brook, and the Duck asked:

"King, King, what are you doing?

Are you sleeping, or are you waking?"

And as he gave no answer, the Duck said:

"What are my guests a-doing?"

Then the boy answered:

"They all sleep sound."

And she asked him:

"How fares my child?"

And he replied:

"In his cradle he sleeps."

Then she came up in the form of the Queen to the cradle, and

gave the child drink, shook up his bed, and covered him up, and

then swam away again as a duck through the brook. The second night

she came again; and on the third she said to the kitchen-boy, "Go

and tell the King to take his sword, and swing it thrice over me,

on the threshold." Then the boy ran and told the King, who came

with his sword, and swung it thrice over the Duck; and at the third

time his bride stood before him, bright, living, and healthful, as

she had been before.

Now the King was in great happiness, but he hid the Queen in a

chamber until the Sunday when the child was to be christened; and

when all was finished he asked, "What ought to be done to one who

takes another out of a bed and throws her into the river?" "Nothing

could be more proper," said the old woman, "than to put such a one

into a cask, stuck round with nails, and to roll it down the hill

into the water." Then the King said, "You have spoken your own

sentence"; and ordering a cask to be fetched, he caused the old

woman and her daughter to be put into it, and the bottom nailed up.

Then the cask was rolled down the hill until it fell into the

water.