The Raven

Once upon a time there was a queen who had a little daughter who was still so young that she had to be carried everywhere. One day the child was naughty, and no matter what the mother said, the child would not be quiet.

The queen grew impatient, and as the ravens were flying around the palace, she opened the window and said, "I wish you were a raven and would fly away, then I would have some peace!" No sooner had she spoken the words than the child was changed into a raven and flew out of her arms and out the window.

It flew into a dark forest and stayed there for a long time. The parents heard nothing of their child.

One day a man was walking through this forest and heard the raven crying. He followed the voice, and when he came closer, the bird said, "I am a king's daughter by birth, and I am bewitched. You can set me free."

"What must I do?" asked the man.

She said, "Go deeper into the forest. You will find a house where an old woman sits. She will offer you food and drink, but you must accept nothing. If you eat or drink anything, you will fall asleep and then you will not be able to free me.

In the garden behind the house there is a big pile of bark. You must stand on that and wait for me. For three days I will come every afternoon at two o'clock in a carriage.

On the first day four white horses will pull it, on the second day four chestnut horses, and on the third day four black horses. But if you are not awake, but sleeping, I will not be set free."

The man promised to do everything she wanted. But the raven said sadly, "I already know that you will not free me. You will accept something from the woman."

The man promised again that he would certainly not touch anything to eat or drink.

When he entered the house, the old woman came to him and said, "Poor man, how tired you look! Come and refresh yourself; eat and drink."

"No," said the man, "I will not eat or drink."

But she would not leave him alone. She said, "If you will not eat, at least take one drink from the glass. One drink is nothing."

He let himself be persuaded and drank.

Shortly before two o'clock in the afternoon, he went into the garden to the pile of bark to wait for the raven. As he stood there, his weariness suddenly became so great that he could not fight it. He lay down for a short time, determined not to fall asleep. But no sooner had he lain down than his eyes closed by themselves, and he fell into such a deep sleep that nothing in the world could wake him.

At two o'clock the raven came driving up with four white horses. She was already very sad and said, "I know he is asleep." When she came into the garden, he was indeed lying there asleep on the pile of bark. She got out of the carriage, went to him, shook him, and called him, but he did not wake up.

The next day around noon, the old woman came again and brought him food and drink, but he would not take any. But she gave him no peace and persuaded him until at last he took another drink from the glass. Toward two o'clock he went into the garden to the pile of bark to wait for the raven, but suddenly he felt so tired that his legs would not hold him. He could not help himself; he had to lie down, and he fell into a heavy sleep.

When the raven drove up with four brown horses, she was already full of grief and said, "I know he is asleep." She went to him, but he lay there sleeping, and she could not wake him.

The next day the old woman asked, "Why won't you eat or drink? Do you want to die?"

He replied, "I am not allowed to eat or drink, and I will not."

But she set a dish of food and a glass of wine before him, and when he smelled it, he could not resist. He took a deep drink. When the time came, he went out into the garden to the pile of bark and waited for the king's daughter. But he became even more tired than the day before, lay down, and slept as soundly as if he were a stone.

At two o'clock the raven came with four black horses. The coachman and everything else was black. She was in the deepest grief and said, "I know he is asleep and cannot free me." When she came to him, he was lying fast asleep.

She shook him and called him, but she could not wake him. Then she laid a loaf of bread beside him, and then a piece of meat, and thirdly a bottle of wine. He could eat and drink as much as he liked, but they would never run out.

After that she took a gold ring from her finger, put it on his, and her name was engraved on it. Finally she laid a letter beside him. In the letter was written what she had given him and that none of these things would ever run out.

It also said: "I see clearly that you will never be able to free me here. But if you are still willing to free me, come to the golden castle of Stromberg. It is in your power, of that I am certain." When she had given him all these things, she got into her carriage and drove to the golden castle of Stromberg.

When the man woke up and saw that he had slept, he was sad at heart and said, "She has certainly driven by, and I have not set her free." Then he saw the things lying beside him and read the letter that told how everything had happened. So he got up and went away, intending to go to the golden castle of Stromberg. But he did not know where it was.

After he had walked around the world for a long time, he entered a dark forest and walked for fourteen days, but he could not find his way out. Then evening came again. He was so tired that he lay down in a thicket and fell asleep.

The next day he went on. In the evening, as he was about to lie down under some bushes, he heard such howling and crying that he could not sleep. At the time when people light candles, he saw a glimmering light. He got up and walked toward it.

He came to a house that looked very small, because a huge giant was standing in front of it. The man thought, "If I go in and the giant sees me, it will probably cost me my life."

At last he dared and went in. When the giant saw him, he said, "It is good that you have come. I haven't eaten in a long time. I will eat you for supper right now."

"I'd rather you didn't," said the man. "I don't like being eaten. But if you are hungry, I have enough here to satisfy you."

"If that is true," said the giant, "then you can relax. I was only going to eat you because I had nothing else."

They sat down at the table, and the man took out the bread, wine, and meat that would never run out. "This pleases me well," said the giant, and he ate to his heart's content.

Then the man said to him, "Can you tell me where the golden castle of Stromberg is?"

The giant said, "I will look at my map. All the towns, villages, and houses are on it." He brought out the map that he had in the room and looked for the castle, but it was not on it. "It does not matter," said the giant. "I have even bigger maps in the cupboard upstairs. We will look in those." But there too it could not be found.

The man now wanted to move on, but the giant begged him to wait a few days until his brother, who had gone out for provisions, came home. When the brother came home, they asked about the golden castle of Stromberg. He replied, "When I have eaten and had enough, I will look in the map." Then he went with them to his chamber, and they searched in his map, but they could not find it. He brought out even older maps, and they did not rest until they found the golden castle of Stromberg. But it was many thousand miles away.

"How will I get there?" asked the man.

The giant said, "I have two hours of free time. I will carry you part of the way. But after that I must go home to nurse the child we have." So the giant carried the man to about a hundred miles from the castle and said, "You can walk the rest of the way alone." Then he turned back.

The man walked on day and night until he finally came to the golden castle of Stromberg. It stood on a glass mountain. The bewitched maiden drove in her carriage around the castle and then went inside.

He rejoiced when he saw her and wanted to climb up to her, but when he tried, he always slipped back down the glass. When he saw that he could not reach her, he was filled with sorrow and said to himself, "I will stay down here and wait for her." So he built himself a hut and stayed there for a whole year.

Every day he saw the king's daughter driving around above, but he could never reach her.

Then one day he saw three robbers from his hut. They were beating each other. He cried out, "God be with you!" They stopped when they heard the cry, but they saw no one, so they started beating each other again, and this time very dangerously. He cried again, "God be with you!" They stopped again, looked around, but saw no one, and continued beating each other. He cried a third time, "God be with you!" and thought, "I must see what is going on." He went over and asked why they were beating each other so fiercely.

One of them said that he had found a stick. If he struck a door with it, the door would spring open. The second said he had found a cloak. When he put it on, he became invisible. The third said he had found a horse on which a man could ride anywhere, even up a glass mountain. Now they could not agree whether they should share these things or divide them.

The man said, "I will give you something in exchange for these three things. I don't have money, but I have other things of value. First I must test yours to see if you have told the truth." They put him on the horse, threw the cloak over his shoulders, and gave him the stick. When he had all these things, they could no longer see him. So he gave them some hard blows and cried, "Now, you vagabonds, you have what you deserve. Are you satisfied?"

Then he rode up the glass mountain. When he came to the castle gate at the top, it was shut. He struck the door with his stick, and it flew open. He went in and climbed the stairs until he came to the great hall where the maiden sat with a golden cup of wine in front of her.

She could not see him because he wore the cloak. He came up to her, took the ring from his finger that she had given him, and dropped it into the cup, so that it clinked. Then she cried out, "That is my ring!

Then the man who is to free me must be here." They searched the whole castle but did not find him. But he had gone outside, taken off the cloak, and seated himself on the horse. When they came to the door, they saw him and shouted for joy.

He dismounted, took the king's daughter in his arms, and she kissed him and said, "Now you have set me free. Tomorrow we will celebrate our wedding."