Grimms' Fairy Tales

By Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm

THE GOLDEN BIRD

A king had a lovely garden.
In the garden stood a tree.
The tree grew golden apples.

Someone always counted the apples.
Every night, one apple went missing.
This made the king very angry.

He told his gardener to watch the tree.
The gardener sent his oldest son.
At midnight, the son fell asleep.
In the morning, one more apple was gone.

Next, the second son watched.
He fell asleep too.
Another apple went missing.

Then the youngest son wanted to try.
At first, the gardener said no.
He was scared his son might get hurt.
But at last, he let him try.

At midnight, the young man heard a noise.
A bird made of gold flew down.
It tried to eat an apple.
The young man shot an arrow at it.

The arrow missed the bird.
But one gold feather fell down.
The bird flew away.

The next day, they showed the feather to the king.
Everyone said it was very special.
But the king said, "I want the whole bird."

So the oldest son went to find the golden bird.
Soon, he met a fox in the woods.
The fox said, "Do not shoot me.
I will give you good advice.
You want to find the golden bird.
Tonight, you will see two inns.
One looks fancy. One looks plain.
Stay at the plain one."

But the son did not believe the fox.
He shot an arrow at it.
He missed, and the fox ran away.

That night, he found the two inns.
He picked the fancy one instead.
He ate, drank, and had fun.
He forgot all about the golden bird.

Time went by.
The oldest son never came home.
So the second son went to look too.
He met the same fox.
He got the same advice.
But he also chose the fancy inn.
He forgot the bird as well.

More time went by.
Now the youngest son wanted to go.
His father did not want him to go.
He loved his son very much.
He worried something bad might happen.
But at last, he said yes.

The youngest son met the fox too.
He did not shoot at it.
He was kind to the fox.

The fox said, "Sit on my tail.
We will go fast together."
So they ran fast as the wind.

That night, the young man stayed at the plain inn.
The next day, the fox met him again.
The fox said, "Go straight ahead.
You will find a castle.
Soldiers will be sleeping outside.
Walk past them quietly.
Inside, you will find the golden bird.
It sits in a plain wooden cage.
Next to it is a fancy golden cage.
Do NOT put the bird in the golden cage.
If you do, you will be sorry."

The fox said, "Sit on my tail again."
They ran fast as the wind once more.

Everything happened just as the fox said.
The young man found the bird.
He thought, "It's silly to use this old cage."
So he moved the bird to the golden cage.

The bird screamed loudly!
All the soldiers woke up.
They caught the young man.

The next day, the court judged him.
They said he must die.
But there was one way to live.
He must bring back a golden horse.
This horse could run as fast as the wind.
If he did this, he could keep the bird too.

So he set out again, feeling very sad.
Then the fox found him again.
The fox said, "This happened because you did not listen.
I will still help you.
Go to the castle.
You will find the horse in its stall.
A guard will be sleeping close by.
Take the horse quietly.
Use the old leather saddle.
Do NOT use the golden saddle."

They ran fast as the wind again.

Everything happened just as the fox said.
But the young man looked at the horse.
He thought, "This horse deserves the golden saddle."
He picked up the golden saddle.

The guard woke up and shouted!
All the guards came running.
They caught the young man again.

The court judged him again.
He must die, unless...
He must bring back a beautiful princess.
Then he could keep the bird and the horse too.

He walked away, feeling very sad.
The old fox came back.
The fox said, "Why didn't you listen to me?
If you had, you would have both the bird and the horse.
But I will help you one more time.
Go straight ahead.
Tonight, you will reach a castle.
At midnight, the princess goes to bathe.
Give her a kiss.
She will want to go with you.
But do NOT let her say goodbye to her parents."

They ran fast as the wind again.

Everything happened just as the fox said.
The young man kissed the princess.
She agreed to leave with him.
But she cried and begged to say goodbye to her father.

At first, he said no.
But she cried more and more.
At last, he said yes.

The moment she said goodbye, the guards woke up.
They caught the young man again.

This time, the king said, "You may marry my daughter.
But first, you must move a huge hill.
It blocks the view from my window.
You have eight days to do it."

The hill was too big for anyone to move.
After seven days, he had barely started.
Then the fox came and said, "Sleep now.
I will do the work for you."

In the morning, the hill was gone!
The young man told the king it was done.
The king had to keep his promise.

The young man and the princess left together.
Then the fox said, "We can get all three things.
The princess, the horse, and the bird."

"How can we do that?" asked the young man.

The fox said, "Listen carefully.
When you see the king, show him the princess.
He will be very happy.
He will give you the golden horse.
Say goodbye to everyone.
But shake the princess's hand last.
Then quickly pull her onto the horse.
Ride away fast!"

Everything worked perfectly.

Then the fox said, "Now for the bird.
I will wait with the princess outside.
You go in and show the king the horse.
He will bring out the bird.
Say you want to check if it's the real golden bird.
Once you hold it, ride away fast!"

This worked too!
Now they had the bird, the horse, and the princess.
They rode into a big forest.

Then the fox said, "Please kill me.
Cut off my head and my feet."
But the young man said no.

So the fox said, "Then let me give you two more warnings.
Never pay to save someone from hanging.
Never sit down by a river."
Then the fox went away.

The young man thought, "That will be easy to remember."

He rode on with the princess.
Soon, they came to the village where his brothers were.
There was a lot of noise and shouting.
"What's happening?" he asked.

"Two men are about to be hanged," said the people.

He looked closer.
The two men were his own brothers!