For
a long time she did not know that she had had brothers, for her parents
were careful not to mention them before her, but one day she
accidentally heard some people saying of herself, “that the girl was
certainly beautiful, but that in reality she was to blame for the
misfortune which had befallen her seven brothers.” Then she was much
troubled, and went to her father and mother and asked if it was true
that she had had brothers, and what had become of them? The parents now
dared keep the secret no longer, but said that what had befallen her
brothers was the will of Heaven, and that her birth had only been the
innocent cause. But the maiden took it to heart daily, and thought she
must deliver her brothers. She had no rest or peace until she set out
secretly, and went forth into the wide world to trace out her brothers
and set them free, let it cost what it might. She took nothing with her
but a little ring belonging to her parents as a keepsake, a loaf of
bread against hunger, a little pitcher of water against thirst, and a
little chair as a provision against weariness. And now she went continually onwards, far, far to the very end of the
world. Then she came to the sun, but it was too hot and terrible, and
devoured little children. Hastily she ran away, and ran to the moon,
but it was far too cold, and also awful and malicious, and when it saw
the child, it said, “I smell, I smell the flesh of men.” On this she
ran swiftly away, and came to the stars, which were kind and good to
her, and each of them sat on its own particular little chair. But the
morning star arose, and gave her the drumstick of a chicken, and said,
“If you thou hast not that drumstick thou canst not open the Glass
mountain, and in the Glass mountain are thy brothers.”

The maiden took the drumstick, wrapped it carefully in a cloth, and
went onwards again until she came to the Glass mountain. The door was
shut, and she thought she would take out the drumstick; but when she
undid the cloth, it was empty, and she had lost the good star’s
present. What was she now to do? She wished to rescue her brothers, and
had no key to the Glass mountain. The good sister took a knife, cut off
one of her little fingers, put it in the door, and succeeded in opening
it. When she had gone inside, a little dwarf came to meet her, who
said, “My child, what are you looking for?” “I am looking for my
brothers, the seven ravens,” she replied. The dwarf said, “The lord
ravens are not at home, but if you will wait here until they come, step
in.” Thereupon the little dwarf carried the ravens’ dinner in, on seven
little plates, and in seven little glasses, and the little sister ate a
morsel from each plate, and from each little glass she took a sip, but
in the last little glass she dropped the ring which she had brought
away with her. Suddenly she heard a whirring of wings and a rushing through the air,
and then the little dwarf said, “Now the lord ravens are flying home.”
Then they came, and wanted to eat and drink, and looked for their
little plates and glasses. Then said one after the other, “Who has
eaten something from my plate? Who has drunk out of my little glass? It
was a human mouth.” And when the seventh came to the bottom of the
glass, the ring rolled against his mouth. Then he looked at it, and saw
that it was a ring belonging to his father and mother, and said, “God
grant that our sister may be here, and then we shall be free.” When the
maiden, who was standing behind the door watching, heard that wish, she
came forth, and on this all the ravens were restored to their human
form again. And they embraced and kissed each other, and went joyfully
home. 26 Little Red-Cap

Once upon a time there was a dear little girl who was loved by every
one who looked at her, but most of all by her grandmother, and there
was nothing that she would not have given to the child. Once she gave
her a little cap of red velvet, which suited her so well that she would
never wear anything else; so she was always called “Little Red-Cap.”

One day her mother said to her, “Come, Little Red-Cap, here is a piece
of cake and a bottle of wine; take them to your grandmother, she is ill
and weak, and they will do her good. Set out before it gets hot, and
when you are going, walk nicely and quietly and do not run off the
path, or you may fall and break the bottle, and then your grandmother
will get nothing; and when you go into her room, don’t forget to say,
‘Good-morning,’ and don’t peep into every corner before you do it.”

“I will take great care,” said Little Red-Cap to her mother, and gave
her hand on it. The grandmother lived out in the wood, half a league from the village,
and just as Little Red-Cap entered the wood, a wolf met her. Red-Cap
did not know what a wicked creature he was, and was not at all afraid
of him. “Good-day, Little Red-Cap,” said he. “Thank you kindly, wolf.”

“Whither away so early, Little Red-Cap?”

“To my grandmother’s.”

“What have you got in your apron?”

“Cake and wine; yesterday was baking-day, so poor sick grandmother is
to have something good, to make her stronger.”

“Where does your grandmother live, Little Red-Cap?”

“A good quarter of a league farther on in the wood; her house stands
under the three large oak-trees, the nut-trees are just below; you
surely must know it,” replied Little Red-Cap. The wolf thought to himself, “What a tender young creature! what a nice
plump mouthful—she will be better to eat than the old woman. I must act
craftily, so as to catch both.” So he walked for a short time by the
side of Little Red-Cap, and then he said, “See Little Red-Cap, how
pretty the flowers are about here—why do you not look round? I believe,
too, that you do not hear how sweetly the little birds are singing; you
walk gravely along as if you were going to school, while everything
else out here in the wood is merry.”

Little Red-Cap raised her eyes, and when she saw the sunbeams dancing
here and there through the trees, and pretty flowers growing
everywhere, she thought, “Suppose I take grandmother a fresh nosegay;
that would please her too. It is so early in the day that I shall still
get there in good time;” and so she ran from the path into the wood to
look for flowers. And whenever she had picked one, she fancied that she
saw a still prettier one farther on, and ran after it, and so got
deeper and deeper into the wood. Meanwhile the wolf ran straight to the grandmother’s house and knocked
at the door. “Who is there?”

“Little Red-Cap,” replied the wolf. “She is bringing cake and wine;
open the door.”

“Lift the latch,” called out the grandmother, “I am too weak, and
cannot get up.”

The wolf lifted the latch, the door flew open, and without saying a
word he went straight to the grandmother’s bed, and devoured her. Then
he put on her clothes, dressed himself in her cap, laid himself in bed
and drew the curtains.