Once upon a time there was a poor husbandman1 who
had many children and little to give them in the way either of food or
clothing. They were all pretty, but the prettiest of all was the youngest
daughter, who was so beautiful that there were no bounds to her beauty.
So once - it was
late on a Thursday evening in autumn, and wild weather outside, terribly dark,
and raining so heavily and blowing so hard that the walls of the cottage shook
again - they were all sitting together by the fireside, each of them busy with
something or other, when suddenly some one rapped three times against the
window- pane. The man went out to see what could be the matter, and when he got
out there stood a great big white bear.
"Good-evening
to you," said the White Bear.
"Good-evening,"
said the man.
"Will you
give me your youngest daughter?" said the White Bear; "if you will,
you shall be as rich as you are now poor.
Truly the man
would have had no objection to be rich, but he thought to himself: "I must
first ask my daughter about this," so he went in and told them that there
was a great white bear outside who had faithfully promised to make them all
rich if he might but have the youngest daughter.
She said no, and
would not hear of it; so the man went out again, and settled with the White
Bear that he should come again next Thursday evening, and get her answer. Then
the man persuaded her, and talked so much to her about the wealth that they
would have, and what a good thing it would be for herself, that at last she
made up her mind to go, and washed and mended all her rags, made herself as
smart as she could, and held herself in readiness to set out. Little enough had
she to take away with her.
Next Thursday
evening the White Bear came to fetch her. She seated herself on his back with
her bundle, and thus they departed. When they had gone a great part of the way,
the White Bear said: "Are you afraid?"
"No, that I
am not," said she.
"Keep tight
hold of my fur, and then there is no danger," said he.
And thus she rode
far, far away, until they came to a great mountain. Then the White Bear knocked
on it, and a door opened, and they went into a castle where there were many
brilliantly lighted rooms which shone with gold and silver, likewise a large
hall in which there was a well-spread table, and it was so magnificent that it
would be hard to make anyone understand how splendid it was. The White Bear
gave her a silver bell, and told her that when she needed anything she had but
to ring this bell, and what she wanted would appear. So after she had eaten,
and night was drawing near, she grew sleepy after her journey, and thought she
would like to go to bed.
She rang the
bell, and scarcely had she touched it before she found herself in a chamber
where a bed stood ready made for her, which was as pretty as anyone could wish
to sleep in. It had pillows of silk, and curtains of silk fringed with gold,
and everything that was in the room was of gold or silver, but when she had
lain down and put out the light a man came and lay down beside her, and behold
it was the White Bear, who cast off the form of a beast during the night. She
never saw him, however, for he always came after she had put out her light, and
went away before daylight appeared.
So all went well
and happily for a time, but then she began to be very sad and sorrowful, for
all day long she had to go about alone; and she did so wish to go home to her
father and mother and brothers and sisters. Then the White Bear asked what it
was that she wanted, and she told him that it was so dull there in the
mountain, and that she had to go about all alone, and that in her parents'
house at home there were all her brothers and sisters, and it was because she
could not go to them that she was so sorrowful.
"There might
be a cure for that," said the White Bear, "if you would but promise
me never to talk with your mother alone, but only when the others are there
too; for she will take hold of your hand," he said, "and will want to
lead you into a room to talk with you alone; but that you must by no means do,
or you will bring great misery on both of us."
So one Sunday the
White Bear came and said that they could now set out to see her father and
mother, and they journeyed thither, she sitting on his back, and they went a
long, long way, and it took a long, long time; but at last they came to a large
white farmhouse, and her brothers and sisters were running about outside it,
playing, and it was so pretty that it was a pleasure to look at it.
"Your
parents dwell here now," said the White Bear; "but do not forget what
I said to you, or you will do much harm both to yourself and me."
"No,
indeed," said she, "I shall never forget;" and as soon as she
was at home the White Bear turned round and went back again.
There were such
rejoicings when she went in to her parents that it seemed as if they would
never come to an end. Everyone thought that he could never be sufficiently
grateful to her for all she had done for them all. Now they had everything that
they wanted, and everything was as good as it could be. They all asked her how
she was getting on where she was. All was well with her too, she said; and she
had everything that she could want. What other answers she gave I cannot say,
but I am pretty sure that they did not learn much from her. But in the
afternoon, after they had dined at midday, all happened just as the White Bear
had said. Her mother wanted to talk with her alone in her own chamber. But she
remembered what the White Bear had said, and would on no account go. "What
we have to say can be said at any time," she answered. But somehow or
other her mother at last persuaded her, and she was forced to tell the whole
story. So she told how every night a man came and lay down beside her when the
lights were all put out, and how she never saw him, because he always went away
before it grew light in the morning, and how she continually went about in
sadness, thinking how happy she would be if she could but see him, and how all
day long she had to go about alone, and it was so dull and solitary.
"Oh!" cried the mother, in horror, "you are very likely sleeping
with a troll! But I will teach you a way to see him. You shall have a bit of
one of my candles, which you can take away with you hidden in your breast. Look
at him with that when he is asleep, but take care not to let any tallow drop
upon him."
So she took the
candle, and hid it in her breast, and when evening drew near the White Bear
came to fetch her away. When they had gone some distance on their way, the
White Bear asked her if everything had not happened just as he had foretold,
and she could not but own that it had. "Then, if you have done what your
mother wished," said he, "you have brought great misery on both of
us." "No," she said, "I have not done anything at
all." So when she had reached home and had gone to bed it was just the
same as it had been before, and a man came and lay down beside her, and late at
night, when she could hear that he was sleeping, she got up and kindled a
light, lit her candle, let her light shine on him, and saw him, and he was the
handsomest prince that eyes had ever beheld, and she loved him so much that it
seemed to her that she must die if she did not kiss him that very moment. So
she did kiss him; but while she was doing it she let three drops of hot tallow
fall upon his shirt, and he awoke. "What have you done now?" said he;
"you have brought misery on both of us. If you had but held out for the
space of one year I should have been free. I have a step-mother who has
bewitched me so that I am a white bear by day and a man by night; but now all
is at an end between you and me, and I must leave you, and go to her. She lives
in a castle which lies east of the sun and west of the moon, and there too is a
princess with a nose which is three ells long, and she now is the one whom I
must marry."
She wept and
lamented, but all in vain, for go he must. Then she asked him if she could not
go with him. But no, that could not be. "Can you tell me the way then, and
I will seek you -- that I may surely be allowed to do!"
"Yes, you
may do that," said he; "but there is no way thither. It lies east of
the sun and west of the moon, and never would you find your way there."
When she awoke in
the morning both the Prince and the castle were gone, and she was lying on a
small green patch in the midst of a dark, thick wood. By her side lay the
self-same bundle of rags which she had brought with her from her own home. So
when she had rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, and wept till she was weary, she
set out on her way, and thus she walked for many and many a long day, until at
last she came to a great mountain. Outside it an aged woman was sitting,
playing with a golden apple. The girl asked her if she knew the way to the
Prince who lived with his stepmother in the castle which lay east of the sun
and west of the moon, and who was to marry a princess with a nose which was
three ells long. "How do you happen to know about him?" inquired the
old woman; "maybe you are she who ought to have had him." "Yes,
indeed, I am," she said. "So it is you, then?" said the old
woman; "I know nothing about him but that he dwells in a castle which is
east of the sun and west of the moon. You will be a long time in getting to it,
if ever you get to it at all; but you shall have the loan of my horse, and then
you can ride on it to an old woman who is a neighbor of mine: perhaps she can
tell you about him. When you have got there you must just strike the horse
beneath the left ear and bid it go home again; but you may take the golden
apple with you."
So the girl
seated herself on the horse, and rode for a long, long way, and at last she
came to the mountain, where an aged woman was sitting outside with a gold
carding-comb. The girl asked her if she knew the way to the castle which lay
east of the sun and west of the moon; but she said what the first old woman had
said: "I know nothing about it, but that it is east of the sun and west of
the moon, and that you will be a long time in getting to it, if ever you get
there at all; but you shall have the loan of my horse to an old woman who lives
the nearest to me: perhaps she may know where the castle is, and when you have
got to her you may just strike the horse beneath the left ear and bid it go
home again." Then she gave her the gold carding-comb, for it might,
perhaps, be of use to her, she said.
So the girl
seated herself on the horse, and rode a wearisome long way onward again, and
after a very long time she came to a great mountain, where an aged woman was
sitting, spinning at a golden spinning-wheel. Of this woman, too, she inquired
if she knew the way to the Prince, and where to find the castle which lay east
of the sun and west of the moon. But it was only the same thing once again.
"Maybe it was you who should have had the Prince," said the old
woman. "Yes, indeed, I should have been the one," said the girl. But
this old crone knew the way no better than the others -- it was east of the sun
and west of the moon, she knew that, "and you will be a long time in
getting to it, if ever you get to it at all," she said; "but you may
have the loan of my horse, and I think you had better ride to the East Wind,
and ask him: perhaps he may know where the castle is, and will blow you
thither. But when you have got to him you must just strike the horse beneath
the left ear, and he will come home again." And then she gave her the
golden spinning-wheel, saying: "Perhaps you may find that you have a use
for it."
The girl had to
ride for a great many days, and for a long and wearisome time, before she got
there; but at last she did arrive, and then she asked the East Wind if he could
tell her the way to the Prince who dwelt east of the sun and west of the moon.
"Well," said the East Wind, "I have heard tell of the Prince,
and of his castle, but I do not know the way to it, for I have never blown so
far; but, if you like, I will go with you to my brother the West Wind: he may
know that, for he is much stronger than I am. You may sit on my back, and then
I can carry you there." So she seated herself on his back, and they did go
so swiftly! When they got there, the East Wind went in and said that the girl
whom he had brought was the one who ought to have had the Prince up at the
castle which lay east of the sun and west of the moon, and that now she was
traveling about to find him again, so he had come there with her, and would
like to hear if the West Wind knew whereabout the castle was. "No,"
said the West Wind; "so far as that have I never blown; but if you like I
will go with you to the South Wind, for he is much stronger than either of us,
and he has roamed far and wide, and perhaps he can tell you what you want to
know. You may seat yourself on my back, and then I will carry you to him."
So she did this,
and journeyed to the South Wind, neither was she very long on the way. When
they had got there, the West Wind asked him if he could tell her the way to the
castle that lay east of the sun and west of the moon, for she was the girl who
ought to marry the Prince who lived there. "Oh, indeed!" said the
South Wind, "is that she? Well," said he, "I have wandered about
a great deal in my time, and in all kinds of places, but I have never blown so
far as that. If you like, however, I will go with you to my brother, the North
Wind; he is the oldest and strongest of all of us, and if he does not know
where it is no one in the whole world will be able to tell you. You may sit
upon my back, and then I will carry you there." So she seated herself on
his back, and off he went from his house in great haste, and they were not long
on the way. When they came near the North Wind's dwelling, he was so wild and
frantic that they felt cold gusts a long while before they got there.
"What do you want?" he roared out from afar, and they froze as they
heard.
Said the South
Wind: "It is I, and this is she who should have had the Prince who lives
in the castle which lies east of the sun and west of the moon. And now she
wishes to ask you if you have ever been there, and can tell her the way, for
she would gladly find him again."
"Yes,"
said the North Wind, "I know where it is. I once blew an aspen leaf there,
but I was so tired that for many days afterward I was not able to blow at all.
However, if you really are anxious to go there, and are not afraid to go with
me, I will take you on my back, and try if I can blow you there."
"Get there I
must," said she; "and if there is any way of going I will; and I have
no fear, no matter how fast you go."
"Very well
then," said the North Wind; "but you must sleep here to-night, for if
we are ever to get there we must have the day before us."
The North Wind
woke her betimes next morning, and puffed himself up, and made himself so big
and so strong that it was frightful to see him, and away they went, high up
through the air, as if they would not stop until they had reached the very end
of the world. Down below there was such a storm! It blew down woods and houses,
and when they were above the sea the ships were wrecked by hundreds. And thus
they tore on and on, and a long time went by, and then yet more time passed,
and still they were above the sea, and the North Wind grew tired, and more
tired, and at last so utterly weary that he was scarcely able to blow any
longer, and he sank and sank, lower and lower, until at last he went so low
that the waves dashed against the heels of the poor girl he was carrying.
"Art thou afraid?" said the North Wind. "I have no fear,"
said she; and it was true. But they were not very, very far from land, and
there was just enough strength left in the North Wind to enable him to throw
her on to the shore, immediately under the windows of a castle which lay east
of the sun and west of the moon; but then he was so weary and worn out that he
was forced to rest for several days before he could go to his own home again.
Next morning she
sat down beneath the walls of the castle to play with the golden apple, and the
first person she saw was the maiden with the long nose, who was to have the
Prince. "How much do you want for that gold apple of yours, girl?"
said she, opening the window. "It can't be bought either for gold or
money," answered the girl. "If it cannot be bought either for gold or
money, what will buy it? You may say what you please," said the Princess.
"Well, if I
may go to the Prince who is here, and be with him to-night, you shall have
it,"56 said the girl who had come with the North Wind. "You may do
that," said the Princess, for she had made up her mind what she would do.
So the Princess got the golden apple, but when the girl went up to the Prince's
apartment that night he was asleep, for the Princess had so contrived it. The
poor girl called to him, and shook him, and between whiles she wept; but she
could not wake him.58 In the morning, as soon as day dawned, in came the
Princess with the long nose, and drove her out again. In the daytime she sat
down once more beneath the windows of the castle, and began to card with her
golden carding-comb; and then all happened as it had happened before. The
Princess asked her what she wanted for it, and she replied that it was not for
sale, either for gold or money, but that if she could get leave to go to the
Prince, and be with him during the night, she should have it. But when she went
up to the Prince's room he was again asleep, and, let her call him, or shake him,
or weep as she would, he still slept on, and she could not put any life in him.
When daylight came in the morning, the Princess with the long nose came too,
and once more drove her away. When day had quite come, the girl seated herself
under the castle windows, to spin with her golden spinning-wheel, and the
Princess with the long nose wanted to have that also. So she opened the window,
and asked what she would take for it. The girl said what she had said on each
of the former occasions - that it was not for sale either for gold or for
money, but if she could get leave to go to the Prince who lived there, and be
with him during the night, she should have it.
"Yes,"
said the Princess, "I will gladly consent to that."
But in that place
there were some Christian folk who had been carried off, and they had been
sitting in the chamber which was next to that of the Prince, and had heard how
a woman had been in there who had wept and called on him two nights running,
and they told the Prince of this. So that evening, when the Princess came once
more with her sleeping-drink, he pretended to drink, but threw it away behind
him, for he suspected that it was a sleeping-drink. So, when the girl went into
the Prince's room this time he was awake, and she had to tell him how she had
come there. "You have come just in time," said the Prince, "for
I should have been married to-morrow; but I will not have the long-nosed
Princess, and you alone can save me. I will say that I want to see what my
bride can do, and bid her wash the shirt which has the three drops of tallow on
it. This she will consent to do, for she does not know that it is you who let
them fall on it; but no one can wash them out but one born of Christian folk:
it cannot be done by one of a pack of trolls; and then I will say that no one
shall ever be my bride but the woman who can do this, and I know that you
can." There was great joy and gladness between them all that night, but
the next day, when the wedding was to take place, the Prince said, "I must
see what my bride can do." "That you may do," said the
stepmother.
"I have a
fine shirt which I want to wear as my wedding shirt, but three drops of tallow
have got upon it which I want to have washed off, and I have vowed to marry no
one but the woman who is able to do it. If she cannot do that, she is not worth
having."
Well, that was a
very small matter, they thought, and agreed to do it. The Princess with the
long nose began to wash as well as she could, but, the more she washed and
rubbed, the larger the spots grew. "Ah! you can't wash at all," said
the old troll-hag, who was her mother. "Give it to me." But she too
had not had the shirt very long in her hands before it looked worse still, and,
the more she washed it and rubbed it, the larger and blacker grew the spots.
So the other
trolls had to come and wash, but, the more they did, the blacker and uglier
grew the shirt, until at length it was as black as if it had been up the
chimney. "Oh," cried the Prince, "not one of you is good for
anything at all! There is a beggar-girl sitting outside the window, and I'll be
bound that she can wash better than any of you! Come in, you girl there!"
he cried. So she came in. "Can you wash this shirt clean?" he cried.
"Oh! I don't know," she said; "but I will try." And no
sooner had she taken the shirt and dipped it in the water than it was white as
driven snow, and even whiter than that. "I will marry you," said the
Prince.
Then the old
troll-hag flew into such a rage that she burst, and the Princess with the long
nose and all the little trolls must have burst too, for they have never been
heard of since. The Prince and his bride set free all the Christian folk who
were imprisoned there, and took away with them all the gold and silver that
they could carry, and moved far away from the castle which lay east of the sun
and west of the moon.
