Selected Tales of the Brothers Grimm(17)

“If only they knew!” the Devil replied. “There is a toad under a stone in the well. If they kill it, the wine will flow again.”

His grandmother went on plucking lice until he fell asleep again and snored so loudly the windows rattled. Then she tore out a second hair.

“Hey! What’s the idea?” cried the Devil in a rage.

“Don’t take it badly,” she replied. “I did it in my dream.”

“What did you dream this time?” he asked.

“I dreamed of a fruit tree standing in a kingdom, which used to bear golden apples but now won’t even grow a leaf. What do you suppose is the reason?”

“If only they knew!” the Devil replied. “A mouse is gnawing at the roots. If they kill the mouse, the tree will bear golden apples again, but if it keeps on gnawing, the tree will wither and die. But don’t bother me any more with your dreams. If you disturb my sleep again I’ll box your ears.”

His grandmother calmed him down and went back to picking lice until he fell back asleep and snored. Then she grabbed the third golden hair and tore it out.

The Devil jumped up, hollered, and was about to strike her, but she managed to calm him down again and said, “I can’t help it if I dream bad dreams!”

“What did you dream this time?” he asked, quite curious.



“I dreamed of a ferryman who complained that he had to keep ferrying back and forth and nobody ever took his place. What do you suppose is the reason?”

“That numskull!” replied the Devil. “If somebody comes by and wants to be ferried across, he’s got to hand the other man the pole, then the other is stuck ferrying and he is free to go.”

Once the grandmother had plucked out the three golden hairs and made the old Devil answer the three questions, she left him in peace and he slept until daybreak.

As soon as the Devil had departed, the old woman plucked the ant out of a pleat in her skirt and gave the good-luck child his human form back. “Here are your three golden hairs,” she said. “You heard for yourself what the Devil said in answer to your questions.”

“Yes,” he replied, “I heard it and will remember it.”

“Happy to have been of assistance,” she said. “So now you can continue on your way.”

He thanked the old woman for her help in a pinch, left Hell behind, and was glad that everything had worked out so well. Once he came to the ferryman, it was time to pass on the promised reply. “First ferry me across,” said the good-luck child, “then I’ll tell you how you can save yourself.” And once he’d reached the far shore, he gave the ferryman the Devil’s advice: “The next time somebody comes by and asks to be ferried across, just hand him the pole.”

Then he kept on walking and came to the city with the sterile tree, where the gatekeeper had also sought a reply. He told the gatekeeper the Devil’s advice: “Kill the mouse that’s gnawing at the roots, and the tree will bear golden apples again.” The gatekeeper thanked him and as a reward gave him two donkeys loaded with gold to follow him on his way.

Finally he came to the city with the well that had run dry. Then he told the guard what the Devil had said: “There’s a toad in the well hiding under a stone. Find it and kill it and the well will once again bubble with wine.” The guard thanked him and gave him another two donkeys loaded with gold.

At last the good-luck child got home to his wife, who rejoiced to see him again and to hear that everything had gone well. He brought the king the Devil’s three golden hairs he had asked for, and when the king saw the four donkeys loaded with gold he was glad and said, “Now that all my demands have been fulfilled you can keep my daughter. But, my dear son-in-law, do tell me where you got all that gold. It’s quite a treasure trove!”

“I crossed a river,” the good-luck child replied, “and that’s where I picked it up. The shoreline on the other side is strewn with gold instead of sand.”

“Can I get myself some too?” asked the king with greedy glee.

“As much as you want,” the lad replied. “There’s a ferryman by the river. Just ask him to carry you across, and you can fill your bags on the other side.”

The avaricious king went as fast as he could, and when he came to the river he waved to the ferryman to take him across. The ferryman came and asked him to climb in, and as soon as they reached the far shore he passed him the pole and leapt ashore. And from then on the king had to keep ferrying back and forth for his sins.

“Is he still at it?”

“What do you think? Who would have been fool enough to let him pass them the pole?”