The parents could no longer take back the malediction, and as sad as they were about the loss of their seven sons, they found some solace in their dear daughter, who soon rallied and grew more beautiful every day. For a long time the girl did not even know that she had any siblings, as the parents took pains not to mention them, until one day she overheard people speaking about her. The girl was lovely to look at, they said, but she was, after all, the cause of her seven brothers’ misfortune. Greatly saddened, she went to her father and mother and asked them if she did indeed have brothers, and what had become of them. Now the parents could no longer keep the secret, but told her that fate had wanted it to be so, and that her birth was just a catalyst, not the cause. Nevertheless, every day the girl blamed herself and believed that it was up to her to free them from the spell. She could not rest easy, so one day she opened the door and went out into the world to track down her brothers and free them, whatever it might take. She took nothing with her but a little ring her parents had given her as a keepsake, a loaf of bread to still her hunger, a jug of water to slake her thirst, and a little stool for when she got tired.
She kept on walking, farther and farther, all the way to the end of the world. She came to the sun, but the sun was too hot and terrible and consumed little children for lunch. So the girl ran away as fast as she could and ran to the moon, but the moon was too cold and just as gruesome and evil, and no sooner did it notice the presence of the child than it said, “I smell human flesh.”
So the girl made tracks and came to the stars. They were friendly and good and each one sat on his own little stool. But the morning star stood up, gave her a little chicken bone, and said, “If you don’t have this little chicken bone you can’t unlock the Glass Mountain, and that’s where your brothers are.”
The girl took the little bone, wrapped it in a little cloth, and kept on walking until she came to the Glass Mountain. The gate was locked and she wanted to take out the bone, but when she unfolded the cloth there was nothing in it. She had lost the gift of the good stars. So what was she to do now? She wanted to save her brothers and had no key to unlock the Glass Mountain. The good little sister took a knife, cut off her little finger, stuck it in the hole, and the lock clicked open. As soon as she went in a dwarf approached her and said, “My child, what are you searching for?”
“I’m searching for my brothers, the seven ravens,” she replied.
The dwarf said, “Messrs. Ravens aren’t home, but if you’d like to wait for them to return, you’re welcome to come in.” Thereupon the dwarf brought in the ravens’ food on seven little plates, and their water in seven little cups, and the little sister ate a crumb from each little plate and took a swallow from each little cup. But in the last little cup she dropped the little ring she’d brought along.
Then all of a sudden she heard a whirring and whizzing, whereupon the dwarf said, “Messrs. Ravens are flying home.”
So they came swooping in, wanted to eat and drink, and searched for their little plates and little cups. One after another they said, “Who has eaten from my little plate? Who has drunk from my little cup? It must have been a human mouth.”
And when the seventh raven got to the bottom of his cup a little ring rolled out. He looked it over and recognized that it was a ring that belonged to their father and mother, and said, “God willing, if only our little sister were here, then we’d be saved.”
When the girl, who was hiding behind the door, listening, heard that wish spoken, she stepped out from behind the door, and the ravens all got their human form back. And they hugged and kissed each other and happily hurried home.
THE LEAPING, PEEPING LITTLE LION’S LARK
There once was a man about to set out on a long journey, and upon taking leave he asked his three daughters what they would like him to bring back as a gift. The eldest wanted pearls, the middle daughter wanted diamonds, the youngest said, “Dear Father, I would like a leaping, peeping little lion’s lark.”
The father said, “If I can find it, it’s yours,” then kissed all three goodbye and started on his way. When the time came for him to return home, he had bought the pearls and the diamonds for the two elder sisters, but he had sought in vain for the leaping, peeping little lion’s lark for the youngest, and he felt bad about it because he loved her the most of all. The way home led through a forest, and in the midst of the forest stood a splendid castle, and beside the castle stood a tree, and at the top of the tree, he spotted a leaping, peeping little lion’s lark. “You’re just what the doctor ordered,” he said, overjoyed, and ordered his servant to climb up and catch the little creature.