Alfred David and Mary Elizabeth Meek have compiled a collection of fairy tales that ranges from the Grimm brothers' inimitable recreations of archetypal folktales to the modern prose charm of James Thurber's Many Moons. The appeal of the stories is wide and varied: the refined intelligence of Perrault, the wondrous imagination of Andersen, the descriptive power of Ruskin, the bittersweet melancholy of Wilde. These are but a few of the artists represented in this remarkably inclusive selection of works from Germany, Russia, France, Scandinavia, England, and America. Many are in new translations in the modern idiom and all testify eloquently to the unceasing vitality of this literary genre. The Twelve Dancing Princesses and Other Fairy Tales By Alfred David, Mary Elizabeth Meek Indiana University Press Copyright © 1964 Alfred and Mary Elizabeth David All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-253-20173-7 Contents Introduction, ix, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, THE TWELVE DANCING PRINCESSES, 23, THE GOOSEGIRL, 29, RAPUNZEL, 37, THE DEVIL'S THREE GOLDEN HAIRS, 42, BRIAR ROSE, 50, SNOW WHITE, 54, OUR LADY'S CHILD, 64, THE BREMEN TOWN MUSICIANS, 70, Peter Christen Asbjörnsen and Jörgen Moe EAST OF THE SUN AND WEST OF THE MOON, 75, Peter Christen Asbjörnsen THE COMPANION, 87, Aleksandr Nikolaevich Afanasiev, VASILISA THE BEAUTIFUL, 101, PRINCE IVAN, THE FIREBIRD, AND THE GRAY WOLF, 111, Charles Perrault, SLEEPING BEAUTY, 125, PUSS IN BOOTS, 136, THE FAIRIES, 142, CINDERELLA, 146, Madame Leprince de Beaumont, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, 155, Hans Jacob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen, THE FIRST OF THE BEARSKINS, 171, Wilhelm Hauff, DWARF LONGNOSE, 179, Hans Christian Andersen, THE TINDERBOX, 211, THE SWINEHERD, 220, THE PRINCESS ON THE PEA, 226, THE UGLY DUCKLING, 229, THE NIGHTINGALE, 240, THE LITTLE MERMAID, 251, John Ruskin, THE KING OF THE GOLDEN RIVER, 275, Oscar Wilde, THE SELFISH GIANT, 303, James Thurber, MANY MOONS, 309, CHAPTER 1 Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm THE TWELVE DANCING PRINCESSES Once upon a time there was a king who had twelve daughters, each one more beautiful than the next. They slept together in a large room with their beds lined up in a row, and at night, after they had gone to bed, the king locked and bolted the door. But when he opened the door in the morning, he saw that their shoes were all worn out from dancing, and nobody could discover how this happened. The king issued a proclamation that whoever could find out where they went dancing at night could choose one of them for his wife and succeed him as king; but anyone who volunteered and could not find out after three days and nights was to forfeit his life. It wasn't long until a king's son offered to take the risk. He was received with hospitality, and at night he was taken to a room that opened on the bedroom. His bed was made there, and he was supposed to see where they went dancing. And in order to keep them from playing any secret tricks or going out by some other way, the door to the bedroom was left open. But the eyes of the king's son suddenly felt like lead and he fell asleep, and when he woke up the next morning, all twelve had been to the dance, for there were their shoes with the soles worn right through. The second and third nights were just the same, and so his head was chopped off without pity. Many others followed him and offered to undertake the dangerous enterprise, but they all lost their lives. Now it happened that a poor soldier, who had been wounded and was no longer fit for service, was on his way to the city where the king lived. He met an old woman who asked him where he was going. "I'm not very sure myself," he said, and he added jokingly, "I'd really like to find out where the king's daughters wear out their shoes dancing, and then get to be king." "That's not so hard," said the old woman. "You mustn't drink the wine they bring you before you go to bed, and you must pretend that you're fast asleep." With that, she gave him a little cloak and said, "If you put that around your shoulders, you'll be invisible and then you can steal after the twelve princesses." Having been so well advised, the soldier took the matter in good earnest, and so he screwed up his courage, went before the king, and volunteered to be a suitor. He was received with the same hospitality as the others, and they gave him royal garments to wear. At bedtime he was led to the anteroom, and when he got ready for bed, the oldest daughter brought him a goblet of wine. But he had tied a sponge under his chin and let the wine run into it so that he didn't drink a drop. Then he lay down, and after lying there a little while, he started snoring as if he were fast asleep. The twelve princesses heard him and laughed. "That one shouldn't have risked his life, either," said the oldest. Then they got up, opened wardrobes, chests, and boxes, and took out magnificent clothes. They primped in front of the mirror