[Note: this tale was received by the Grimms from the Hassenpflug family in the autumn of 1812; the Hassenpflugs came originally from Hanau, and the Grimms accordingly regarded this tale as belonging to that region rather than the Hassenpflugs’ current domicile. About the Grimm Collection.]
Long ago there lived a king whose wisdom was famed throughout the country. He knew everything, and it seemed as though news about the most hidden things was carried to him through the air. He had, however, a strange habit. Every noon when the table had been quite cleared and no one was present, a trusted servant had to bring him one more dish. But it was covered, and the servant himself didn’t know what was in it, nor did anyone else, for the king didn’t uncover it and didn’t eat any of it until he was all alone. This had been going on for quite a long time, when one day the servant, who was removing the dish, was overcome with curiosity and took it into his room. After carefully locking the door, he lifted the cover and saw that a white snake was inside. On seeing it he couldn’t restrain his desire to taste it, Cut off a small piece, and put it in his mouth. No sooner had it touched his tongue than he heard a strange whispering of small voices outside his window. He went and listened and noticed that it was sparrows that were talking to one another, telling stories about what they’d seen in forest and field. Tasting the snake had given him the power to understand the language of animals.
Now it happened that on that very day the queen lost her finest ring, and suspicion of having stolen it fell on the trusted servant, who had access to everything. The king had him come into his presence and with abusive words threatened to hold him responsible and condemn him unless he could name the guilty party by the next day. There was no use protesting his innocence; he was curtly dismissed. In his anxiety and fear he went down into the courtyard and wondered how he might get out of his difficulty. Some ducks were sitting there peacefully by a running stream, resting and preening themselves and talking confidentially. The servant stopped and listened to what they were saying. They were telling one another how that morning they’d all been waddling about and what good food they’d found. Then one of them said crossly, “Something’s sitting heavy on my stomach: in my haste I swallowed a ring that was lying under the queen’s window.”
Then the servant at once seized it by the neck, carried it into the kitchen, and said to the chef, “Just kill this duck; it’s good and fat.” “Yes,” said the chef, weighing it with his hands, “it’s not been lazy about feeding itself and has been waiting for a long time now to be roasted.” He cut off its neck, and when it was cleaned, the queen’s ring was found in its stomach. The servant could now easily prove his innocence to the king, and since the latter was anxious to make amends for his injustice, he granted him a boon and promised him the highest court position he might desire.
The servant declined everything, only asking for a horse and traveling money, for he wanted to see the world and journey about for a time. When his request was granted, he set out and one day passed a pond where he noticed three fish that had been caught in the reeds and were gasping for water. Though people say that fish can’t talk, nevertheless he heard them lamenting that they had to perish so miserably. Being kindhearted, he dismounted and put the three captives back into the water. They wriggled with joy, stuck their heads out, and called to him, “We’ll remember you for this and repay you for having saved us.” He rode on and after a while seemed to hear at his feet a voice in the sand. He listened and heard a king of the ants lamenting, “If only people would keep their clumsy animals off us! That stupid horse there is mercilessly trampling my people to death with its heavy hoofs.” He turned the horse onto a side path, and the king of the ants called out to him, “We’ll remember you for this and repay you.”
His way led into a forest, and there he saw a father-raven and a mother-raven standing by their nest and throwing their young out. “Out with you, you good-for-nothings!” they cried; “we can’t keep up with your appetites any longer; you’re big enough to provide for yourselves.” The poor little birds were lying on the ground, fluttering and beating their wings and crying, “We helpless children! We’re supposed to provide for ourselves and can’t yet fly! What’s left for us but to die here of starvation?” Then the goodhearted youth dismounted, killed his horse with his sword, and left it for the young ravens to feed on. They came hopping up, ate their fill, and cried, “We’ll remember you for this and repay you.”
Now he had to use his own legs, and when he’d walked a long way, he reached a large town. There was a lot of noise and big crowds in the streets, and a man came on horseback and read a proclamation: “The king’s daughter is in search of a husband, but whoever wants to woo her will have to carry out a difficult task, and if he fails in this, he will forfeit his life.” Many had had a try at it already but had ventured their lives in vain. When the youth saw the king’s daughter, he was so dazzled by her great beauty that he forgot all danger, went into the king’s presence, and declared himself a suitor.
He was promptly led out to the sea, and a golden ring was thrown in before his eyes. Then the king bade him fetch this ring from the bottom, adding, “If you come up without it, you’ll be thrown in again and again, until you perish in the waves.” Everybody felt sorry for the handsome youth and then left him alone by the sea. He stood on the shore pondering what to do, when all of a sudden he saw three fishes swimming along, the very ones whose lives he’d saved. The middle one was holding in its mouth a shell, which it laid on the beach at the young man’s feet. When the latter picked it up and opened it, there was the golden ring inside. Joyfully he brought it to the king, expecting to be granted the promised reward, but when the king’s proud daughter learned that he was her inferior by birth, she scorned him and demanded that he first accomplish a second task.
She went down into the garden and herself scattered ten bags of millet in the grass. “He must have it picked up by daybreak tomorrow,” she said, “and not one grain may be missing.” The youth sat down in the garden and reflected on how he might accomplish this task but could think of nothing and sat there quite sad, expecting to be led to his death at dawn. But when the sun’s first rays fell on the garden, he saw the ten bags standing side by side and quite full, and not one grain was missing. During the night the king of ants had come with his thousands and thousands of ants, and the grateful animals had most industriously picked up the millet and gathered it in the bags. The king’s daughter herself came down into the garden and saw with amazement that the youth had accomplished the task she had set him.
Nevertheless, she still couldn’t conquer her proud heart and said, “Though he’s accomplished both tasks, still he shan’t be my husband until he’s brought me an apple from the Tree of Life.” The youth didn’t know where the Tree of Life was but set out, intending to keep going as long as his legs would carry him, even though he had no hope of finding it. When he’d already passed through three kingdoms and one evening had got into a forest, he sat down under a tree and was about to go to sleep. Then he heard a noise in the branches, and a golden apple fell into his hand. At the same moment three ravens swooped down on him, perched on his knees, and said, “We’re the three young ravens you saved from starvation. When we grew up and heard you were looking for the golden apple, we flew across the sea to the end of the world, where the Tree of Life is, and fetched the apple for you.” Joyfully the youth set out for home and brought the golden apple to the king’s daughter, who now had no further excuse. So they divided the Apple of Life and between them ate it. Then her heart was filled with love for him, and they lived in untroubled happiness to a ripe old age.