mud/content/library/grimm/097_the_water_of_life.txt

The Water of Life

There was once a King who had an illness, and no one believed that he
would come out of it with his life. He had three sons who were much
distressed about it, and went down into the palace-garden and wept.
There they met an old man who inquired as to the cause of their grief.
They told him that their father was so ill that he would most certainly
die, for nothing seemed to cure him. Then the old man said, “I know of
one more remedy, and that is the water of life; if he drinks of it he
will become well again; but it is hard to find.” The eldest said, “I
will manage to find it,” and went to the sick King, and begged to be
allowed to go forth in search of the water of life, for that alone
could save him. “No,” said the King, “the danger of it is too great. I
would rather die.” But he begged so long that the King consented. The
prince thought in his heart, “If I bring the water, then I shall be
best beloved of my father, and shall inherit the kingdom.” So he set
out, and when he had ridden forth a little distance, a dwarf stood
there in the road who called to him and said, “Whither away so fast?”
“Silly shrimp,” said the prince, very haughtily, “it is nothing to do
with you,” and rode on. But the little dwarf had grown angry, and had
wished an evil wish. Soon after this the prince entered a ravine, and
the further he rode the closer the mountains drew together, and at last
the road became so narrow that he could not advance a step further; it
was impossible either to turn his horse or to dismount from the saddle,
and he was shut in there as if in prison. The sick King waited long for
him, but he came not. Then the second son said, “Father, let me go
forth to seek the water,” and thought to himself, “If my brother is
dead, then the kingdom will fall to me.” At first the King would not
allow him to go either, but at last he yielded, so the prince set out
on the same road that his brother had taken, and he too met the dwarf,
who stopped him to ask, whither he was going in such haste? “Little
shrimp,” said the prince, “that is nothing to thee,” and rode on
without giving him another look. But the dwarf bewitched him, and he,
like the other, rode into a ravine, and could neither go forwards nor
backwards. So fare haughty people.

As the second son also remained away, the youngest begged to be allowed
to go forth to fetch the water, and at last the King was obliged to let
him go. When he met the dwarf and the latter asked him whither he was
going in such haste, he stopped, gave him an explanation, and said, “I
am seeking the water of life, for my father is sick unto death.” “Dost
thou know, then, where that is to be found?” “No,” said the prince. “As
thou hast borne thyself as is seemly, and not haughtily like thy false
brothers, I will give thee the information and tell thee how thou mayst
obtain the water of life. It springs from a fountain in the courtyard
of an enchanted castle, but thou wilt not be able to make thy way to
it, if I do not give thee an iron wand and two small loaves of bread.
Strike thrice with the wand on the iron door of the castle and it will
spring open: inside lie two lions with gaping jaws, but if thou
throwest a loaf to each of them, they will be quieted. Then hasten to
fetch some of the water of life before the clock strikes twelve, else
the door will shut again, and thou wilt be imprisoned.” The prince
thanked him, took the wand and the bread, and set out on his way. When
he arrived, everything was as the dwarf had said. The door sprang open
at the third stroke of the wand, and when he had appeased the lions
with the bread, he entered the castle, and came to a large and splendid
hall, wherein sat some enchanted princes whose rings he drew off their
fingers. A sword and a loaf of bread were lying there, which he carried
away. After this, he entered a chamber, in which was a beautiful maiden
who rejoiced when she saw him, kissed him, and told him that he had
delivered her, and should have the whole of her kingdom, and that if he
would return in a year their wedding should be celebrated; likewise she
told him where the spring of the water of life was, and that he was to
hasten and draw some of it before the clock struck twelve. Then he went
onwards, and at last entered a room where there was a beautiful
newly-made bed, and as he was very weary, he felt inclined to rest a
little. So he lay down and fell asleep. When he awoke, it was striking
a quarter to twelve. He sprang up in a fright, ran to the spring, drew
some water in a cup which stood near, and hastened away. But just as he
was passing through the iron door, the clock struck twelve, and the
door fell to with such violence that it carried away a piece of his
heel. He, however, rejoicing at having obtained the water of life, went
homewards, and again passed the dwarf. When the latter saw the sword
and the loaf, he said, “With these thou hast won great wealth; with the
sword thou canst slay whole armies, and the bread will never come to an
end.” But the prince would not go home to his father without his
brothers, and said, “Dear dwarf, canst thou not tell me where my two
brothers are? They went out before I did in search of the water of
life, and have not returned.” “They are imprisoned between two
mountains,” said the dwarf. “I have condemned them to stay there,
because they were so haughty.” Then the prince begged until the dwarf
released them; but he warned him, however, and said, “Beware of them,
for they have bad hearts.” When his brothers came, he rejoiced, and
told them how things had gone with him, that he had found the water of
life and had brought a cupful away with him, and had rescued a
beautiful princess, who was willing to wait a year for him, and then
their wedding was to be celebrated and he would obtain a great kingdom.
After that they rode on together, and chanced upon a land where war and
famine reigned, and the King already thought he must perish, for the
scarcity was so great. Then the prince went to him and gave him the
loaf, wherewith he fed and satisfied the whole of his kingdom, and then
the prince gave him the sword also wherewith he slew the hosts of his
enemies, and could now live in rest and peace. The prince then took
back his loaf and his sword, and the three brothers rode on. But after
this they entered two more countries where war and famine reigned and
each time the prince gave his loaf and his sword to the Kings, and had
now delivered three kingdoms, and after that they went on board a ship
and sailed over the sea. During the passage, the two eldest conversed
apart and said, “The youngest has found the water of life and not we,
for that our father will give him the kingdom the kingdom which belongs
to us, and he will rob us of all our fortune.” They then began to seek
revenge, and plotted with each other to destroy him. They waited until
they found him fast asleep, then they poured the water of life out of
the cup, and took it for themselves, but into the cup they poured salt
sea-water. Now therefore, when they arrived home, the youngest took his
cup to the sick King in order that he might drink out of it, and be
cured. But scarcely had he drunk a very little of the salt sea-water
than he became still worse than before. And as he was lamenting over
this, the two eldest brothers came, and accused the youngest of having
intended to poison him, and said that they had brought him the true
water of life, and handed it to him. He had scarcely tasted it, when he
felt his sickness departing, and became strong and healthy as in the
days of his youth. After that they both went to the youngest, mocked
him, and said, “You certainly found the water of life, but you have had
the pain, and we the gain; you should have been sharper, and should
have kept your eyes open. We took it from you whilst you were asleep at
sea, and when a year is over, one of us will go and fetch the beautiful
princess. But beware that you do not disclose aught of this to our
father; indeed he does not trust you, and if you say a single word, you
shall lose your life into the bargain, but if you keep silent, you
shall have it as a gift.”

The old King was angry with his youngest son, and thought he had
plotted against his life. So he summoned the court together and had
sentence pronounced upon his son, that he should be secretly shot. And
once when the prince was riding forth to the chase, suspecting no evil,
the King’s huntsman had to go with him, and when they were quite alone
in the forest, the huntsman looked so sorrowful that the prince said to
him, “Dear huntsman, what ails you?” The huntsman said, “I cannot tell
you, and yet I ought.” Then the prince said, “Say openly what it is, I
will pardon you.” “Alas!” said the huntsman, “I am to shoot you dead,
the King has ordered me to do it.” Then the prince was shocked, and
said, “Dear huntsman, let me live; there, I give you my royal garments;
give me your common ones in their stead.” The huntsman said, “I will
willingly do that, indeed I should not have been able to shoot you.”
Then they exchanged clothes, and the huntsman returned home; the
prince, however, went further into the forest. After a time three
waggons of gold and precious stones came to the King for his youngest
son, which were sent by the three Kings who had slain their enemies
with the prince’s sword, and maintained their people with his bread,
and who wished to show their gratitude for it. The old King then
thought, “Can my son have been innocent?” and said to his people,
“Would that he were still alive, how it grieves me that I have suffered
him to be killed!” “He still lives,” said the huntsman, “I could not
find it in my heart to carry out your command,” and told the King how
it had happened. Then a stone fell from the King’s heart, and he had it
proclaimed in every country that his son might return and be taken into
favour again.

The princess, however, had a road made up to her palace which was quite
bright and golden, and told her people that whosoever came riding
straight along it to her, would be the right wooer and was to be
admitted, and whoever rode by the side of it, was not the right one,
and was not to be admitted. As the time was now close at hand, the
eldest thought he would hasten to go to the King’s daughter, and give
himself out as her deliverer, and thus win her for his bride, and the
kingdom to boot. Therefore he rode forth, and when he arrived in front
of the palace, and saw the splendid golden road, he thought, it would
be a sin and a shame if he were to ride over that, and turned aside,
and rode on the right side of it. But when he came to the door, the
servants told him that he was not the right man, and was to go away
again. Soon after this the second prince set out, and when he came to
the golden road, and his horse had put one foot on it, he thought, it
would be a sin and a shame to tread a piece of it off, and he turned
aside and rode on the left side of it, and when he reached the door,
the attendants told him he was not the right one, and he was to go away
again. When at last the year had entirely expired, the third son
likewise wished to ride out of the forest to his beloved, and with her
forget his sorrows. So he set out and thought of her so incessantly,
and wished to be with her so much, that he never noticed the golden
road at all. So his horse rode onwards up the middle of it, and when he
came to the door, it was opened and the princess received him with joy,
and said he was her deliverer, and lord of the kingdom, and their
wedding was celebrated with great rejoicing. When it was over she told
him that his father invited him to come to him, and had forgiven him.
So he rode thither, and told him everything; how his brothers had
betrayed him, and how he had nevertheless kept silence. The old King
wished to punish them, but they had put to sea, and never came back as
long as they lived.