My Book of Favorite Fairy Tales | Page 2

hair answered her, and said--
"Alas! alas! if thy mother knew it, Sadly, sadly her heart would rue it."
But the princess was very humble and meek, so she said nothing to her
maid's ill behaviour, but got upon her horse again.
Then all rode further on their journey, till the day grew so warm, and
the sun so scorching, that the bride began to feel very thirsty again; and
at last, when they came to a river, she forgot her maid's rude speech,
and said, "Pray get down and fetch me some water to drink in my
golden cup." But the maid answered her, and even spoke more
haughtily than before, "Drink, if you will, but I shall not be your
waiting-maid." Then the princess was so thirsty that she got off her
horse and lay down, and held her head over the running stream, and
cried, and said, "What will become of me?" And the lock of hair
answered her again--
"Alas! alas! if thy mother knew it, Sadly, sadly her heart would rue it."

And as she leaned down to drink, the lock of hair fell from her bosom
and floated away with the water, without her seeing it, she was so
frightened. But her maid saw it, and was very glad, for she knew the
charm, and saw that the poor bride would be in her power now that she
had lost the hair. So when the bride had drunk, and would have got
upon Falada again, the maid said, "I shall ride upon Falada and you
may have my horse instead;" so she was forced to give up her horse,
and soon afterwards to take off her royal clothes, and put on her maid's
shabby ones.
At last, as they drew near the end of the journey, this treacherous
servant threatened to kill her mistress if she ever told anyone what had
happened. But Falada saw it all, and marked it well. Then the
waiting-maid got upon Falada, and the real bride was set upon the other
horse, and they went on in this way till at last they came to the royal
court. There was great joy at their coming, the prince hurried to meet
them, and lifted the maid from her horse, thinking she was the one who
was to be his wife; and she was led upstairs to the royal chamber, but
the true princess was told to stay in the court below.
[Illustration]
But the old king happened to be looking out of the window, and saw
her in the yard below; and as she looked very pretty, and too delicate
for a waiting-maid, he went into the royal chamber to ask the bride who
it was she had brought with her, that was thus left standing in the court
below. "I brought her with me for the sake of her company on the
road," said she. "Pray give the girl some work to do, that she may not
be idle." The old king could not for some time think of any work for
her to do, but at last he said, "I have a lad who takes care of my geese;
she may go and help him." Now the name of this lad, that the real bride
was to help in watching the king's geese, was Curdken.
Soon after, the false bride said to the prince, "Dear husband pray do me
one piece of kindness." "That I will," said the prince. "Then tell one of
your slaughterers to cut off the head of the horse I rode upon, for it was
very unruly, and plagued me sadly on the road." But the truth was, she
was very much afraid lest Falada should speak, and tell all she had
done to the princess. She carried her point, and the faithful Falada was
killed; but when the true princess heard of it she wept, and begged the
man to nail up Falada's head against a large dark gate in the city

through which she had to pass every morning and evening, that there
she might still see him sometimes. Then the slaughterer said he would
do as she wished; cut off the head, and nailed it fast under the dark
gate.
Early the next morning, as she and Curdken went out through the gate,
she said sorrowfully--
"Falada, Falada, there thou art hanging!"
and the head answered--
"Bride, bride, there thou art ganging! Alas! alas! if thy mother knew it,
Sadly, sadly her heart would rue it."
Then they went out of the city, and drove the geese in. And when she
came to the meadow, she sat down upon a bank here, and let down her
waving locks of hair, which were all of pure gold; and when Curdken
saw it glitter in