My Book of Favorite Fairy Tales | Page 3

the sun, he ran up, and would have pulled some of the
locks out; but she cried--
"Blow, breezes, blow! Let Curdken's hat go! Blow, breezes, blow! Let
him after it go! O'er hills, dales, and rocks. Away be it whirl'd, Till the
golden locks Are all comb'd and curl'd!"
[Illustration]
Then there came a wind, so strong that it blew off Curdken's hat, and
away it flew over the hills, and he after it; till, by the time he came back,
she had done combing and curling her hair, and put it up again safe.
Then he was very angry and sulky, and would not speak to her at all;
but they watched the geese until it grew dark in the evening, and then
drove them homewards.
The next morning, as they were going through the dark gate, the poor
girl looked up at Falada's head, and cried--
"Falada, Falada, there thou art hanging!"
and it answered--
"Bride, bride, there thou art ganging! Alas! alas! if thy mother knew it,
Sadly, sadly her heart would rue it."
Then she drove on the geese and sat down again in the meadow, and
began to comb out her hair as before, and Curdken ran up to her, and
wanted to take hold of it; but she cried out quickly--
"Blow, breezes, blow! Let Curdken's hat go, Blow, breezes, blow! Let
him after it go! O'er hills, dales, and rocks, Away be it whirl'd, Till the
golden locks Are all comb'd and curl'd!"

Then the wind came and blew his hat, and off it flew a great way, over
the hills and far away, so that he had to run after it; and when he came
back, she had done up her hair again, and all was safe. So they watched
the geese till it grew dark.
In the evening, after they came home, Curdken went to the old king,
and said, "I cannot have that strange girl to help me to keep the geese
any longer."
"Why?" said the king.
"Because she does nothing but tease me all day long."
Then the king made him tell all that had passed.
And Curdken said, "When we go in the morning through the dark gate
with our flock of geese, she weeps, and talks with the head of a horse
that hangs upon the wall, and says--
"'Falada, Falada, there thou art hanging!'"
and the head answers--
"'Bride, bride, there thou art ganging! Alas! alas! if thy mother knew it,
Sadly, sadly her heart would rue it.'"
And Curdken went on telling the king what had happened upon the
meadow where the geese fed; and how his hat was blown away, and he
was forced to run after it, and leave his flock. But the old king told him
to go out again as usual the next day, and when morning came, the king
placed himself behind the gate, and heard how she spoke to Falada, and
how Falada answered; and then he went into the field and hid himself
in a bush by the meadow's side, and soon saw with his own eyes how
they drove the flock of geese, and how, after a little time, she let down
her hair that glittered in the sun; and then he heard her say--
"Blow, breezes, blow! Let Curdken's hat go! Blow, breezes, blow! Let
him after it go! O'er hills, dales, and rocks, Away be it whirl'd, Till the
golden locks, Are all comb'd and curl'd!"
[Illustration: "THEN THERE CAME A WIND SO STRONG THAT IT
BLEW OFF CURDKEN'S HAT."]
And soon came a gale of wind, and carried away Curdken's hat, while
the girl went on combing and curling her hair.
All this the old king saw: so he went home without being seen; and
when the little goose girl came back in the evening, he called her aside,
and asked her why she did so: but she burst into tears, and said, "That I
must not tell you or any man, or I shall lose my life."

But the old king begged so hard that she had no peace till she had told
him all, word for word: and it was very lucky for her that she did so, for
the king ordered royal clothes to be put upon her, and gazed on her with
wonder, she was so beautiful.
Then he called his son, and told him that he had only the false bride, for
that she was merely a waiting-maid, while the true one stood by.
And the young king rejoiced when he saw her beauty, and heard how
meek and patient she had been; and without saying anything, ordered a
great feast to be got ready for all his court.
The bridegroom sat at the top, with the false princess