Thou dost in truth look a little strange, but she will
soon put thee to rights again.” This pleased Bearskin well, and he
went. When the eldest saw him she was so terribly alarmed at his face
that she screamed and ran away. The second stood still and looked at
him from head to foot, but then she said, “How can I accept a husband
who no longer has a human form? The shaven bear that once was here and
passed itself off for a man pleased me far better, for at any rate it
wore a hussar’s dress and white gloves. If it were nothing but
ugliness, I might get used to that.” The youngest, however, said, “Dear
father, that must be a good man to have helped you out of your trouble,
so if you have promised him a bride for doing it, your promise must be
kept.” It was a pity that Bearskin’s face was covered with dirt and
with hair, for if not they might have seen how delighted he was when he
heard these words. He took a ring from his finger, broke it in two, and
gave her one half, the other he kept for himself. He wrote his name,
however, on her half, and hers on his, and begged her to keep her piece
carefully, and then he took his leave and said, “I must still wander
about for three years, and if I do not return then, thou art free, for
I shall be dead. But pray to God to preserve my life.”

The poor betrothed bride dressed herself entirely in black, and when
she thought of her future bridegroom, tears came into her eyes. Nothing
but contempt and mockery fell to her lot from her sisters. “Take care,”
said the eldest, “if thou givest him thy hand, he will strike his claws
into it.” “Beware!” said the second. “Bears like sweet things, and if
he takes a fancy to thee, he will eat thee up.” “Thou must always do as
he likes,” began the elder again, “or else he will growl.” And the
second continued, “But the wedding will be a merry one, for bears dance
well.” The bride was silent, and did not let them vex her. Bearskin,
however, travelled about the world from one place to another, did good
where he was able, and gave generously to the poor that they might pray
for him. At length, as the last day of the seven years dawned, he went once more
out on to the heath, and seated himself beneath the circle of trees. It
was not long before the wind whistled, and the Devil stood before him
and looked angrily at him; then he threw Bearskin his old coat, and
asked for his own green one back. “We have not got so far as that yet,”
answered Bearskin, “thou must first make me clean.” Whether the Devil
liked it or not, he was forced to fetch water, and wash Bearskin, comb
his hair, and cut his nails. After this, he looked like a brave
soldier, and was much handsomer than he had ever been before. When the Devil had gone away, Bearskin was quite lighthearted. He went
into the town, put on a magnificent velvet coat, seated himself in a
carriage drawn by four white horses, and drove to his bride’s house. No
one recognized him, the father took him for a distinguished general,
and led him into the room where his daughters were sitting. He was
forced to place himself between the two eldest, they helped him to
wine, gave him the best pieces of meat, and thought that in all the
world they had never seen a handsomer man. The bride, however, sat
opposite to him in her black dress, and never raised her eyes, nor
spoke a word. When at length he asked the father if he would give him
one of his daughters to wife, the two eldest jumped up, ran into their
bedrooms to put on splendid dresses, for each of them fancied she was
the chosen one. The stranger, as soon as he was alone with his bride,
brought out his half of the ring, and threw it in a glass of wine which
he reached across the table to her. She took the wine, but when she had
drunk it, and found the half ring lying at the bottom, her heart began
to beat. She got the other half, which she wore on a ribbon round her
neck, joined them, and saw that the two pieces fitted exactly together. Then said he, “I am thy betrothed bridegroom, whom thou sawest as
Bearskin, but through God’s grace I have again received my human form,
and have once more become clean.” He went up to her, embraced her, and
gave her a kiss. In the meantime the two sisters came back in full
dress, and when they saw that the handsome man had fallen to the share
of the youngest, and heard that he was Bearskin, they ran out full of
anger and rage. One of them drowned herself in the well, the other
hanged herself on a tree. In the evening, some one knocked at the door,
and when the bridegroom opened it, it was the Devil in his green coat,
who said, “Seest thou, I have now got two souls in the place of thy
one!”



102 The Willow-Wren and the Bear

Once in summer-time the bear and the wolf were walking in the forest,
and the bear heard a bird singing so beautifully that he said, “Brother
wolf, what bird is it that sings so well?” “That is the King of birds,”
said the wolf, “before whom we must bow down.” It was, however, in
reality the willow-wren (Zaunkönig). “If that’s the case,” said the
bear, “I should very much like to see his royal palace; come, take me
thither.” “That is not done quite as you seem to think,” said the wolf;
“you must wait until the Queen comes.” Soon afterwards, the Queen
arrived with some food in her beak, and the lord King came too, and
they began to feed their young ones. The bear would have liked to go at
once, but the wolf held him back by the sleeve, and said, “No, you must
wait until the lord and lady Queen have gone away again.” So they
observed the hole in which was the nest, and trotted away. The bear,
however, could not rest until he had seen the royal palace, and when a
short time had passed, again went to it. The King and Queen had just
flown out, so he peeped in and saw five or six young ones lying in it. “Is that the royal palace?” cried the bear; “it is a wretched palace,
and you are not King’s children, you are disreputable children!” When
the young wrens heard that, they were frightfully angry, and screamed,
“No, that we are not! Our parents are honest people! Bear, thou wilt
have to pay for that!”

The bear and the wolf grew uneasy, and turned back and went into their
holes. The young willow-wrens, however, continued to cry and scream,
and when their parents again brought food they said, “We will not so
much as touch one fly’s leg, no, not if we were dying of hunger, until
you have settled whether we are respectable children or not; the bear
has been here and has insulted us!” Then the old King said, “Be easy,
he shall be punished,” and he at once flew with the Queen to the bear’s
cave, and called in, “Old Growler, why hast thou insulted my children? Thou shalt suffer for it we will punish thee by a bloody war.” Thus war
was announced to the Bear, and all four-footed animals were summoned to
take part in it, oxen, asses, cows, deer, and every other animal the
earth contained.