Grimm's Fairy Stories - THE LITTLE BROTHER AND SISTER

There was once a little brother who took his Sister by the hand, andsaid, "Since our own dear mother's death we have not had one happy hour;our stepmother beats us every day, and, when we come near her, kicks usaway with her foot. Come, let us wander forth into the wide world." Soall day long they travelled over meadows, fields, and stony roads. Bythe evening they came into a large forest, and laid themselves down in ahollow tree, and went to sleep. When they awoke the next morning, thesun had already risen high in the heavens, and its beams made the treeso hot that the little boy said to his sister, "I am so very thirsty,that if I knew where there was a brook, I would go and drink. Ah! Ithink I hear one running;" and so saying, he got up, and taking hisSister's hand they went to look for the brook.
The wicked stepmother, however, was a witch, and had witnessed thedeparture of the two children: so, sneaking after them secretly, as isthe habit of witches, she had enchanted all the springs in the forest.
Presently they found a brook, which ran trippingly over the pebbles, andthe Brother would have drunk out of it, but the Sister heard how it saidas it ran along, "Who drinks of me will become a tiger!" So the Sisterexclaimed, "I pray you, Brother, drink not, or you will become a tiger,and tear me to pieces!" So the Brother did not drink, although histhirst was very great, and he said, "I will wait till the next brook."As they came to the second, the Sister heard it say, "Who drinks of mebecomes a wolf!" The Sister ran up crying, "Brother, do not, pray do notdrink, or you will become a wolf and eat me up!" Then the Brother didnot drink, saying, "I will wait until we come to the next spring, butthen I must drink, you may say what you will; my thirst is much toogreat." Just as they reached the third brook, the Sister heard the voicesaying, "Who drinks of me will become a fawn--who drinks of me willbecome a fawn!" So the Sister said, "Oh, my Brother do not drink, or youwill be changed into a fawn, and run away from me!" But he had alreadykneeled down, and he drank of the water, and, as the first drops passedhis lips, his shape took that of a fawn.
At first the Sister wept over her little, changed Brother, and he wepttoo, and knelt by her, very sorrowful; but at last the maiden said, "Bestill, dear little fawn, and I will never forsake you!" and, taking offher golden garter, she placed it around his neck, and, weaving rushes,made a girdle to lead him with. This she tied to him, and taking theother end in her hand, she led him away, and they travelled deeper anddeeper into the forest. After they had gone a long distance they came toa little hut, and the maiden, peeping in, found it empty, and thought,"Here we can stay and dwell." Then she looked for leaves and moss tomake a soft couch for the Fawn, and every morning she went out andcollected roots and berries and nuts for herself, and tender grass forthe Fawn. In the evening when the Sister was tired, and had said herprayers, she laid her head upon the back of the Fawn, which served for apillow, on which she slept soundly. Had but the Brother regained his ownproper form, their lives would have been happy indeed.
Thus they dwelt in this wilderness, and some time had elapsed when ithappened that the King of the country had a great hunt in the forest;and now sounded through the trees the blowing of horns, the barking ofdogs, and the lusty cry of the hunters, so that the little Fawn heardthem, and wanted very much to join in. "Ah!" said he to his Sister, "letme go to the hunt, I cannot restrain myself any longer;" and he beggedso hard that at last she consented. "But," she told him, "return againin the evening, for I shall shut my door against the wild huntsmen, and,that I may know you, do you knock, and say, 'Sister, dear, let me in,'and if you do not speak I shall not open the door."
As soon as she had said this, the little Fawn sprang off quite glad andmerry in the fresh breeze. The King and his huntsmen perceived thebeautiful animal, and pursued him; but they could not catch him, andwhen they thought they certainly had him, he sprang away over thebushes, and got out of sight. Just as it was getting dark, he ran up tothe hut, and, knocking, said, "Sister mine, let me in." Then sheunfastened the little door, and he went in, and rested all night longupon his soft couch. The next morning the hunt was commenced again, andas soon as the little Fawn heard the horns and the tally-ho of thesportsmen he could not rest, and said, "Sister, dear, open the door; Imust be off." The Sister opened it, saying, "Return at evening, mind,and say the words as before." When the King and his huntsmen saw himagain, the Fawn with the golden necklace, they followed him, close, buthe was too nimble and quick for them. The whole day long they kept upwith him, but towards evening the huntsmen made a circle around him, andone wounded him slightly in the hinder foot, so that he could run butslowly. Then one of them slipped after him to the little hut, and heardhim say, "Sister, dear, open the door," and saw that the door was openedand immediately shut behind him. The huntsman, having observed all this,went and told the King what he had seen and heard, and he said, "On themorrow I will pursue him once again."
The Sister, however, was terribly afraid when she saw that her Fawn waswounded, and, washing off the blood, she put herbs upon the foot, andsaid, "Go and rest upon your bed, dear Fawn, that your wound may heal."It was so slight, that the next morning he felt nothing of it, and whenhe heard the hunting cries outside, he exclaimed, "I cannot stop away--Imust be there, and none shall catch me so easily again!" The Sister weptvery much and told him, "Soon will they kill you, and I shall be herealone in this forest, forsaken by all the world: I cannot let you go."
"I shall die here in vexation," answered the Fawn, "if you do not, forwhen I hear the horn, I think I shall jump out of my skin." The Sister,finding she could not prevent him, opened the door, with a heavy heart,and the Fawn jumped out, quite delighted, into the forest. As soon asthe King perceived him, he said to his huntsmen, "Follow him all daylong till the evening, but let no one do him any harm." Then when thesun had set, the King asked his huntsman to show him the hut; and asthey came to it he knocked at the door and said, "Let me in, dearSister." Upon this the door opened, and, stepping in, the King saw amaiden more beautiful than he had ever beheld before. She was frightenedwhen she saw not her Fawn, but a man enter, who had a golden crown uponhis head. But the King, looking at her with a kindly glance, held out toher his hand, saying, "Will you go with me to my castle, and be my dearwife?" "Oh, yes," replied the maiden; "but the Fawn must go too: him Iwill never forsake." The King replied, "He shall remain with you as longas you live, and shall never want."
The King took the beautiful maiden upon his horse, and rode to hiscastle, where the wedding was celebrated with great splendor and shebecame Queen, and they lived together a long time; while the Fawn wastaken care of and played about the castle garden.
The wicked stepmother, however, on whose account the children hadwandered forth into the world, had supposed that long ago the Sister hadbeen torn into pieces by the wild beasts, and the little Brother in hisFawn's shape hunted to death by the hunters. As soon, therefore, as sheheard how happy they had become, and how everything prospered with them,envy and jealousy were aroused in her wicked heart, and left her nopeace; and she was always thinking in what way she could bringmisfortune upon them.
Her own daughter, who was as ugly as night, and had but one eye, forwhich she was continually reproached, said, "The luck of being a Queenhas never happened to me." "Be quiet, now," replied the old woman, "andmake yourself contented: when the time comes I will help and assistyou." As soon, then, as the time came when the Queen gave birth to abeautiful little boy, which happened when the King was out hunting, theold witch took the form of a chambermaid, and got into the room wherethe Queen was lying, and said to her, "The bath is ready, which willrestore you and give you fresh strength; be quick before it gets cold."Her daughter being at hand, they carried the weak Queen between theminto the room, and laid her in the bath, and then, shutting the door,they ran off; but first they made up an immense fire in the stove, whichmust soon suffocate the poor young Queen.
When this was done, the old woman took her daughter, and, putting a capupon her head, laid her in the bed in the Queen's place. She gave her,too, the form and appearance of the real Queen, as far as she was able;but she could not restore the lost eye, and, so that the King might notnotice it, she turned her upon that side where there was no eye.
When midnight came, and every one was asleep, the nurse, who sat byherself, wide awake, near the cradle, in the nursery, saw the door openand the true Queen come in. She took the child in her arms, and rockedit a while, and then, shaking up its pillow, laid it down in its cradle,and covered it over again. She did not forget the Fawn, either, butgoing to the corner where he was, stroked his head, and then wentsilently out of the door. The nurse asked in the morning of the guardsif any one had passed into the castle during the night; but theyanswered, "No, we have not seen anybody." For many nights afterwards shecame constantly, but never spoke a word; and the nurse saw her always,but she would not trust herself to speak about it to any one.
When some time had passed away, the Queen one night began to speak, andsaid--
"How fares my child! how fares my fawn? Twice more will I come, but never again."
The nurse made no reply; but, when she had disappeared, went to theKing, and told him. The King exclaimed, "Oh, mercy! what does thismean?--the next night I will watch myself by the child." So in theevening he went into the nursery, and about midnight the Queen appeared,and said--
"How fares my child! how fares my fawn? Once more will I come, but never again."
And she nursed the child, as she usually did, and then disappeared. TheKing dared not speak; but he watched the following night, and this timeshe said--
"How fares my child! how fares my fawn? This time have I come, but never again."
At these words the King could hold back no longer, but, springing up,cried, "You can be no other than my dear wife!" Then she answered, "Yes,I am your dear wife;" and at that moment her life was restored by God'smercy, and she was again as beautiful and charming as ever. She told theKing the fraud which the witch and her daughter had practised upon him,and he had them both tried, and sentence was pronounced against them.The little Fawn was disenchanted, and received once more his human form;and the Brother and Sister lived happily together to the end of theirdays.