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Grimm brothers' stories
Part I
By
Jacob y Wilhelm Grimm

THE THREE SPINNERS
Back in those days there was a very lazy young woman who didn't want to spin. His
mother was very uncomfortable; but I couldn't make her work. One day he lost his patience
so much that he hit her, and his daughter started crying loudly. At that moment the Queen
was passing by, and hearing the sobs, she ordered her car to stop and entered the house
asking the mother why she hit her daughter so cruelly that the girl's cries could be heard
in the street. The woman, embarrassed, did not want to tell him about her daughter's
laziness, and told him:
-I can't make her let go of the spindle for a single moment, she wants to be
always spinning, and I am so poor that I cannot give him the flax he needs.
"I like nothing as much as the spinning wheel," replied the Queen; I love the sound of
the spindle, let me take your daughter to my palace, I have enough linen and she will spin
whatever she wants. The mother consented to this with the greatest pleasure, and the
Queen took the young woman away.
As soon as they arrived at the palace he led her to three rooms that were full of
top to bottom of a very beautiful linen.
"Spun all that linen for me," he said, "and when it is finished, I will marry you to my
eldest son." Don't worry that you are poor; your love of work is a sufficient endowment.
The young woman did not answer; But she was internally dismayed, because even if
she had worked for three hundred years, without stopping from morning until night, she
would not have been able to spin those enormous piles of tow. So she was left alone, she
started crying, she stayed like that for three days without doing any work. On the third
day, the Queen came to visit her and was amazed to see that she had done nothing; but
the young woman excused herself, alleging her displeasure at being separated from her mother.
The Queen appeared to be satisfied with this excuse, but said to him as she left:
-Good, but tomorrow it is necessary to start working.
When the young woman was left alone, not knowing what to do, she stood at the
window. While there he saw three women coming, the first of whom had a very wide and
very long foot, the second a lower lip so large and drooping that it passed and covered
her beard, and the third had a very long and very long thumb. crushed. They stood in front
of the window, directing their gaze into the room, and asked the young woman what she
wanted. She told them her displeasure and they offered to help her.
"If you promise us," they told her, "to invite us to your wedding, to call us your cousins,
without being ashamed of us, and to sit at your table, we will spin your flax and we will finish
very soon."
"With great pleasure," he replied; Come in and you will begin immediately.
He introduced these three strange women and made a place in the first room to place
them, immediately getting to work. The first spun the tow and made the wheel turn; the
second wet the thread; The third twisted it and rested it on the table with her thumb and each
time she passed her finger she threw out a skein of the finest thread. Whenever the Queen
came in, the young woman hid her spinners and showed her what she had made, and the
Queen was filled with admiration. As soon as the first quarter was empty they moved on to
the second and then the third, concluding in a very short time. Then the three young women
left, saying:
-Don't forget your promise, you won't have anything to regret.
When the young woman showed the Queen the empty pieces and the spun thread, the
wedding day was set. The Prince was admired to have such a skilled and hard-working
woman, and he loved her ardently.
"I have three cousins," he told her, "who have done me a lot of good, and whom I do not
want to forget in my happiness; allow me to invite you to my wedding and sit you down
our table.
The Prince and Queen did not put any obstacles in his way. The wedding day
Three magnificently dressed women arrived, and the bride said to them:
-Welcome, dear cousins.
-Oh! -exclaimed the Prince-, you have some very ugly relatives.
Then addressing the one with the wide foot:
-Why do you have such a big foot? -he asked him.
"To make the wheel go round," he answered, "to make the wheel go round."
To the second:
-Why do you have such a droopy lip?
-Of having wet the thread, of having wet the thread.
And to the third:
-Why do you have such a long finger?
-Of having twisted the thread, of having twisted the thread.

The Prince, frightened when he saw that, swore that from then on he would not
His wife would return to play the spinning wheel, thus freeing her from this hateful occupation.
JOHN THE FAITHFUL
Once upon a time there was a very old king who fell ill. Knowing that he was going to die, he called
for the faithful Juan, who was the one he loved most of his servants, and they called him that because he
had been faithful to his master all his life. As soon as he arrived the king said to him:
-My faithful Juan, I know that my end is approaching: I only care about the fate of my son; He is still
very young, and will not always know how to direct himself well; I will not die peacefully if you do not
promise to watch over him, teach him everything he needs to know, and be a second father to him.
"I promise you," Juan replied, "not to abandon him, and to serve him loyally, even if it costs me my
life."
"Then I can die in peace," said the old king. After my death you will show him the entire palace, all
the surrounding areas, the rooms, the underground rooms with the riches locked in them; but do not let
him enter the last chamber of the large gallery, where the portrait of the princess of the Golden Dome is,
because if he sees this painting, he will experience such an incredible love for her that it will expose him
to the greatest dangers. Try to free him from this.
The faithful Juan repeated his promises, and the old king, calm, bowed his head.
on the pillow and expired.
As soon as they left the old king in the tomb, John told his young man
successor what he had promised his father on his deathbed.
"I am willing to fulfill it," he added, "and I will be faithful to you as I have been to your father, even if
it costs me my life."
As soon as the time of mourning had passed, John said to the king:
-You can now know your heritage. I'm going to show you your father's palace.
He took him all over it, high and low, and showed him all the riches that filled the magnificent rooms,
omitting only the room where the dangerous portrait was. It had been placed in such a way that, as soon
as the door was opened, it was immediately visible, and it was so well made that it seemed to live and
breathe and that nothing in the world was so beautiful or so lovable. The young king immediately saw
that the faithful Juan always passed in front of this
door without opening it, and asked him the reason.
"It is," answered the other, "because there is something in the room that will make you afraid."
"I have already seen the entire palace," said the king, "I want to know what is here."
And I wanted to open by force.
The faithful Juan restrained him by saying:
-I have promised your father, on his deathbed, not to let you enter
this room, from which great misfortunes could result for you and me.
"The greatest misfortune," replied the king, "is that my curiosity is not satisfied." I will not rest
until my eyes have seen it all. I'm not leaving here until you've opened it for me.
The faithful Juan, seeing that there was no way to refuse, went to look for the key, full of
sadness in his heart and sighing heavily. As soon as he opened the door, he entered first, trying
to hide the portrait with his body; Everything was useless: the king, rising on his tiptoes, saw him
over his shoulders.
But upon seeing that image of a young woman so beautiful and dazzling in gold and rhinestones,
he fell unconscious on the ground. The faithful Juan lifted him up and took him to his bed.
-The evil is done! My God, what is going to happen to us?
And he made him drink a little wine to regain his strength.
The king's first word, when he came to, was to ask who that beautiful portrait was of.
"That of the princess of the Golden Dome," answered the faithful Juan.
"The love that has made me conceive is so great," said the king, "that if all the leaves on the
trees were languages, they would not be enough to explain it." My life depends in the future on its
possession. You will help me, you who are my faithful servant.
The faithful Juan reflected for a long time on how he should manage, since it was very difficult
to appear before the princess's eyes. Finally, he imagined a means, and said to the king:
-Everything that surrounds the princess is gold; chairs, cups, glasses and furniture of all kinds.
You have five tons of gold in your treasury; One must be given to the silversmiths so that they can
make gold vessels and jewelry of all shapes; birds, beasts, monsters of a thousand forms, in
short, everything that should please the princess. We will set out with these jewels and try to try
our luck.
The king ordered all the silversmiths in the country to come, and they worked night and day
until everything was finished. Then they put him on a ship. Juan the faithful took the merchant's
suit and the king did the same so that no one could know him. Then they set sail and sailed to the
city where the Princess of the Golden Dome lived.
The faithful Juan disembarked alone and left the king on the ship.
"Perhaps," he said, "I will bring the princess with me; Make sure that everything is in order,
that two golden vessels are visible and that the ship is decorated as for a party.
He immediately filled his belt with many gold jewels and went straight to the king's palace.
As soon as he entered, he saw in the courtyard a young woman drawing water from a
fountain with two golden buckets.
As he turned to leave, he saw the stranger and asked him who he was.
"I'm a merchant," he replied.
And opening his belt, he showed him his wares.
-What beautiful things! -he exclaimed.
And placing his buckets on the ground, he began to look at all the jewels, one after another.
"It is necessary," he said, "for the princess to see all this: she will buy it for you, because she
really likes gold objects." And taking her by the hand, he led her up to the palace, because she
was a maiden.
The princess liked the diamonds so much that she told Juan:
-It's so well done, I'll buy it all from you.
But he answered him.
-I am nothing more than the servant of a very rich merchant; Everything you see here is
nothing compared to what my master has on his ship: in it you will see the most precious and
beautiful works of gold.
He wanted them to bring them to him, but Juan said to the princess:
-There are many: it would take a lot of time and a lot of space; your
palace would not be enough.
His curiosity was further excited by this, and he finally exclaimed:
-Well, take me to that ship, I want to see your treasures myself.

amo.
The faithful Juan accompanied her very joyfully to the ship; and when the king saw her
she seemed even more beautiful than his portrait; his heart leaped with joy; When he came
on board the king offered him his hand; During this time the faithful Juan, who had stayed
behind, ordered the captain to weigh anchor and set off under full sail.
The king went down with her to the chamber and showed her, one by one, all the pieces
of the gold tableware, the plates, the cups and the birds, the wild beasts and the monsters.
Many hours passed like this and while she was busy examining everything, she did not
realize that the ship was sailing. When he had finished, he thanked the supposed merchant
and prepared to return to his palace, but when he reached the bridge he saw that he was
on the high seas, very far from land, and the ship was sailing.
-They have sold me! -she exclaimed full of horror-. I was robbed! fall into
power of a merchant! I'd rather die!
But the king, presenting his hand to him, said:
-I am not a merchant, I am a king, and from as good a family as yours. If I have stolen
from you by cunning, do not attribute it except to the violence of my love. It is so big that
when I saw your portrait for the first time, I fell unconscious to the ground.
These words consoled the princess, her heart was moved, and she consented to marry
the king.
While they were sailing on the high seas, the faithful Juan, while sitting on the stern of
the ship one day, saw three crows in the air that came to stand in front of him. He listened
to what they said to each other, because he understood their language.
-What are you using to take the princess of the Golden Dome with you? -said the first.
"Yes," answered the second, "but it is not yours yet."
"How," said the third, "isn't she sitting next to him?"
-Does matters? -replied the first-; When they disembark they will present the king a
chestnut horse, he will want to ride it; But if he does, the horse will launch into the air with
him and you will never hear from him again.
-But can that be avoided? -said the second.
"Yes," answered the first, "as long as another person jumps on the horse and, taking
one of the pistols he carries on the saddle, leaves him dead on the spot." This is how the
king will be free. But who can know this? In addition, whoever knows and says it will be
turned into stone from his feet to his knees.
The second crow said in turn.
-I know something even more; Even supposing that the horse dies, the young king will
not possess his betrothed. When they enter the palace together, they will present the king
on a tray with a magnificent wedding shirt that
It will seem to be woven of gold and silver, but in reality it is nothing more than pitch and sulfur;
If the king puts it on he will burn to the marrow of his bones.
-Is there no recourse to avoid it? -said the third.
"There is one," answered the second. It is necessary for a person, provided with gloves,
to take the shirt and throw it into the fire. The king will be saved by burning his shirt. But what
good is this, if whoever knows it and says it will turn into stone from the knees to the heart?
The third crow added:
-I know something even more; Even if they burn the shirt, the king will not possess his
fiancée. If there is a dance at the wedding and the queen dances in it, she will suddenly faint
and fall as if dead, and in reality she will remain so if there is not someone to pick her up
immediately and suck three drops of blood from her right shoulder. , which he will spit out
immediately. But whoever knows it and says it will be turned into stone from head to toe.
After this conversation the crows began to fly. The faithful Juan, who had heard them,
began to become sad and silent. To remain silent was to expose the king to misfortune, but to
speak was to seek one's own ruin.
Finally it was said:
-I will save my lord, even if it costs me my life.
When we disembarked, everything that the crow had said happened. They presented to
king a magnificent sorrel horse.
"I'm going to ride it," he said, "to go to the palace."
And he was about to put his foot in the stirrup, when, passing in front of him, the faithful
Juan jumped on top, took the gun from the saddle and laid the dead horse down.
The king's other servants, who did not love the faithful Juan very much, said that it was
necessary to be crazy to kill such a beautiful animal and that the king was going to ride. But
the king said to them:
-Shut up, and let him work; His loyalty is foolproof, and he will have had his
reasons to do so.
They arrived at the palace and in the first room they found the
wedding shirt, which seemed to be made of gold and silver.
The prince was going to touch it but the faithful Juan diverted him, and picking it up with
gloves he threw it into the fire, which consumed it at the same moment. The other servants
began to murmur.
-How daring! -they said-. He has burned the king's wedding shirt!
But the young king still insisted.

-No doubt it has its reasons; Let him work, because his loyalty is foolproof.
The weddings were celebrated. There was a great dance, and the bride began to dance.
From that moment on, the faithful Juan did not lose sight of her. Suddenly she felt like
weakness, and fell dead on the ground. He threw himself on her immediately, picked her up
and carried her to his room; and there, laying her on the bed, he leaned over her and sucked
three drops of blood from her right shoulder, which she immediately spit out.
At the same moment he breathed again and regained consciousness; but the young king,
who had seen everything and did not understand Juan's behavior, ended up getting upset
and ordered him to be arrested.
The next day, John the faithful was sentenced to death and taken to the scaffold.
Being already on the ladder, he said: -Every man who is going to die can speak before his
end. Am I given permission to do this?
"I grant it to you," said the king.
Then he told how he had heard the conversation of the crows in the sea,
and how everything he had done was necessary to save his master.
-Oh, my faithful Juan! -exclaimed the king-; I forgive you, make him come down.
But at the last word that John the faithful had spoken, he fell lifeless, turned into stone.
The queen and the king were very sorry.
-Oh! -said the king-, so much self-denial has been very poorly rewarded.
He had the stone statue taken to his bedroom, near his bed, and whenever he saw it, he
repeated, crying:
-Ah, my faithful Juan, who could return your life!
After some time, the queen gave birth to twin sons who she raised
happily and they were the joy of their parents.
One day when the queen was in church; and the two children were playing in the room
with their father, they turned their eyes to the statue and he still couldn't stop repeating,
sighing:
-Oh, my faithful Juan, why shouldn't I be able to save your life!
But the statue, speaking, said to him:
-You can if you want, sacrificing what you hold most dear.
"Everything I have in the world," exclaimed the king, "I will sacrifice for you."
"Well," said the statue; for it to recover life you have to cut the
head your two children and rub me up and down with their blood.
The king turned pale upon hearing this terrible condition, but thinking of the self-sacrifice
of this faithful servant who had given his life for him, he drew his sword and with his own
hand cut off the heads of his children and rubbed the stone with their blood. The statue
revived at the same instant, and John the faithful appeared before him alive and healthy.
But then he said to the king:
-Every sacrifice for me will have its reward.
And taking the children's heads, he placed them on his shoulders and rubbed their
wounds with their blood: at the same moment they came to life and began to jump and play,
as if nothing had happened.
The king was overjoyed. When she knew that the queen had returned, she made Juan
and her children hide in a large closet. As soon as he entered he asked him:
-Have you prayed in church?
"Yes," he answered, "I have constantly thought about faithful Juan, so unfortunate
because of us."
"Dear woman," he said, "we can give you back your life, but it will cost us the lives of
our children."
The queen turned pale and her heart was oppressed; He responded however:
-We owe him that sacrifice because of his selflessness.
The king, happy to see that he had thought like him, went to open the closet, and
He made the faithful Juan and the two children leave.
"Thank God," he added, "we have saved him and we have our children."
And he told the queen what had happened, and they all lived together for many years.
THE JEW IN THE THORNS
A rich man had a servant who served him with the greatest fidelity: he was the first to
get up in the morning, and the last to go to bed at night. When there was something difficult
to do, from which others ran away, he always began to execute it without hesitation; He
never complained and was always happy and cheerful. When the period of his adjustment
expired, his master did not pay him. With this cunning behavior, he thought to himself, I
save my money, and since my servant cannot leave, he remains at my service.
The servant did not complain; The second year passed like the first, either
He received his wages, but said nothing and continued with his master.
At the end of the third year, the master finally remembered; he took his hand to his
pocket but took nothing out. The servant finally decided to say:
-Lord, I have served you faithfully for three years; be good enough to
give me what rightly belongs to me; I want to go see the world.
"Yes, my friend, yes," answered his miserly master; yes, you have served me well and
you will be well repaid.
He immediately took three eights out of his pocket and gave them to him one by one:
-I give you one eight for each year. This makes a hefty sum; Nowhere would they have
given you such a big salary.
The poor boy, who did not understand coins, took his capital and said:
-I already have a very full pocket; What bad thing can happen to me from now on?
He set out through valleys and mountains, singing and jumping with the greatest
happiness. As he passed by a bush he found a little man who said to him:
-Where are you going so happy? You don't have much care, I see.
-Why should I be sad? -answered the young man-, I am rich and I have three years' salary
in my pocket.
-How much is your treasure? -the little man asked him.
-Three eights, in good coins and well counted.
"Listen," the dwarf told him, "I am a poor man who is in ultimate misery; give me your
three eights; I can't work, but you are young and will easily earn your bread.
The young man had a good heart; He took pity on the little man and gave him his
six maravedíes, saying:
-Take them, for the love of God; I can very well do without them.
Then the dwarf replied:
-You have a good heart; He wants three things, and for every eight you have given me
you will get one of them.
-Ah, ah! -said the young man- do you understand magic? Well, if that is so, I want you to
give me, first of all, a blowgun that will never miss its target; secondly, a violin that forces
everyone who hears it to dance to dance, and finally, I want that when I ask a question to
someone they are forced to
answer me.
"You already have everything," said the dwarf; and he half-opened the chaparro, where
the violin and the blowpipe were, as if he had expressly deposited them, and gave them to
the young man, adding:
-When you ask for something, no one can deny it to you.
-What can I wish for now? -the boy said to himself; and he set off again.
A little further away he found a Jew with a long goatee, who was motionless listening
to the song of a bird, perched on top of a tree:
-Wonder of God! -he exclaimed-. That such a small animal has such a big voice! I
would like to catch him. But who will be in charge of putting salt under its tail?
"If you don't want more than that," said the boy, "the bird will soon be on the ground;
-and he aimed so well that the animal fell into the thorns at the foot of the tree.
"Go, rascal," he said to the Jew, "and take your bird."
The Jew stood on all fours to enter the thorns.
As soon as he was in the middle, our good boy, to have some fun, picked up his violin
and started playing. Immediately the Jew began to move his feet and jump, and the more
he played the violin, the more ardently he danced. But the thorns tore the Jew's rags, tore
off his beard and covered his body with blood.
-Ah! -he exclaimed-; what music is that? Put down your violin, I don't want to dance.
But the boy continued, thinking:
-You have skinned enough people, let them skin your thorns.
The Jew jumped higher and higher, and the pieces of his clothes were left behind.
hanging in the bush.
-Unfortunate me! -he exclaimed-; I'll give you whatever you want if you stop playing; I
will give you a bag full of gold.
"Since you are so generous," said the boy, "I'm going to stop playing; but I will not fail
to do you justice; you dance with the greatest perfection. -With these words he took his
bag and continued on his way.
The Jew saw him leave, and when he was out of sight, he began to shout at the top of
his lungs:
-You miserable musician, tavern fiddle, wait for me to catch you! I will make you run so
hard that you will wear out the soles of your shoes. Damned scoundrel! Put four maravedíes
in your mouth, if you want to be worth two quarters! -and other insults that his imagination
dictated to him.
As soon as he had calmed down a little, and his heart was relieved, he ran into the city
to look for the judge.
-Lord, I appeal to you; Look how they have robbed me and robbed me on the royal
road. The stones of the road must have had compassion on me: my clothes torn to pieces,
my body skinned!, my poor money stolen from my pocket!, good ducats, each more
beautiful! For the love of God, have the guilty person arrested!
"Is it a soldier," asked the judge, "who put you like this, with the sword?"
"He had no sword," said the Jew, "but he had a blowpipe on his shoulder and a
violin around the neck. The evil one is easy to know.
The judge sent his men in pursuit of the culprit: the handsome young man had walked
to and fro along the road; It didn't take them long to find him, and they found a pocket full of
gold on top of him. When he appeared in court:
"I have not touched the Jew," he said; I have not taken his gold; He gave it to me
voluntarily, to silence my violin, because he disliked my music.
-God protect me! -exclaimed the Jew-, catch the lies on the fly like the
flies.
But the judge did not want to believe him and said:
"That's a bad defense, Jews don't just give their money away," and he sentenced the
boy to hang, like a thief in a deserted area.
When they led him to the gallows, the Jew still shouted at him:
-You scoundrel! You musical dog, you're going to pay what you deserve.
The boy calmly climbed the stairs with the executioner, but in the
last step he turned and said to the judge:
-Grant me one thing before I die.
"I grant it to you," said the judge, "unless you ask for life."
"I am not asking for your life," replied the young man; Allow me just for the last time to
play the violin.
The Jew cried out in pain:
-For the love of God, don't allow it, don't allow it.
But the judge said:
-Why not give him that last pleasure?
Furthermore, he could not deny him, because of the boy's gift of

to be granted everything he asked for.
The Jew shouted:
-Oh my god! Tie me, tie me well.
The good boy took his violin, and at the first stroke of the bow everyone began to move
and sway; the judge, the clerk, the executioner's servants, and the rope fell from the hands
of the one who wanted to tie the Jew. At the second blow, everyone began to jump and
dance: the judge and the Jew in front jumped higher than the others. The dance finally
became generalized, with all the spectators dancing, fat and thin, young and old; Even the
dogs got up on their hind legs to dance too. The more he played, the more the dancers
jumped: heads collided with each other and the crowd began to moan sadly. The judge
exclaimed, losing his breath:
-I grant you forgiveness, but stop playing.
The good boy hung his violin around his neck and went down the stairs. He approached
the Jew, who was on the ground and trying to catch his breath.
"Rogue," he said; Confess where your gold comes from, or I'll take my violin and start
again.
-I have stolen it, I have stolen it! -exclaimed the Jew-. You had earned it well.
From this it turned out that the judge caught the Jew and had him hanged like a thief.
THE FROG PRINCE OR IRON HENRY
In those times, when wishes were still fulfilled, there lived a king, whose daughters were
all very beautiful, but the youngest was more beautiful than the sun itself, which when he
saw her he was amazed to reflect on her face.
Near the king's palace there was a large and thick forest, and in the forest, under an old
linden tree, there was a fountain; When it was very hot, the king's daughter would go to the
forest and sit on the edge of the cool fountain; When he was going to be there for a long
time, he would carry a golden ball, which he would throw high and catch it again, this being
his favorite game.
But it happened once that the golden ball of the king's daughter did not fall into his
hands, when he threw it high, but it ended up on the ground and from there rolled into the water.
The king's daughter followed it with her eyes, but the ball disappeared, and the fountain was very
deep, so deep that its bottom could not be seen. Then he began to cry, and he cried louder and
louder and could not console himself. And when he lamented like this, a voice said to him:
-What do you have, daughter of the king, that you lament so much that you can soften a stone?
He then looked around to see where the voice was coming from, and saw a frog sticking its
disgusting head out of the water:
-Ah! Is that you, old puddle-whipper? -Told him-; I cry for my golden ball, which
I dropped it into the fountain.
"Calm down and don't cry," the frog replied; I can get it out of you, but
What do you give me if I give you your toy back?
"Whatever you want, dear frog," he said; my dresses, my pearls and stones
beautiful and even the golden crown that I wear.
The frog answered:
-Your dresses, your pearls and precious stones and your golden crown are of no use to me;
But if you promise to love me and have me by your side as a friend and companion in your games,
to sit with you at your table, to give me a drink from your golden glass, to eat from your plate and
to lie in your bed, I will go down to the bottom of the fountain and I will bring you your golden ball.
-Ah! -Told him-; I promise you everything you want, if you give me back my ball
air
But he thought to himself: "How that poor frog talks!" Because it sings in the water
Among her peers, she figures that she can be a companion to men. »
The frog, as soon as he had received the promise, sank his head into the water, went down
to the bottom and a while later reappeared, carrying the ball in his mouth, which he threw into the
grass. The king's daughter, filled with joy as soon as she saw her beautiful toy, took it and skipped
away with it.
-Wait wait! -the frog shouted at him-. Take me with you; I can't run like you.
But it was of little use to him to shout as loud as he could, because the princess did not listen
to him, she ran towards her house and very soon forgot the poor frog, who had to stay in her
fountain.
The next day, when he sat at table with the king and the courtiers, and when he was eating
from his golden plate, he heard something coming up the marble staircase, and when he reached
the top, he knocked on the door and said:
-Daughter of the king, the smallest, open to me.
The princess got up and wanted to see who was outside; but as soon as he opened it, he saw
the frog in his presence. He quickly closed the door, immediately sat down at the table and became
very sad. The king, seeing his sadness, asked him:
-My daughter, what do you have? Is there some giant at the door and coming to take you?
-Oh no! -he answered-; It is not a giant, but an ugly frog.
-What does the frog want you for?
-Oh, beloved father! When I was playing in the forest yesterday, next to the fountain, my
golden ball fell into the water. And as I was crying, the frog went to look for her, after demanding
that she would be my companion as a promise; but I never believed I could get out of the water.
Now he has left and wants to enter.
Meanwhile he called a second time saying:
- Daughter of the king, the smallest, open to me; Don't you know what you told me yesterday
next to the cold water of the fountain? Daughter of the king, the smallest, open to me.
Then the king said:
-You must fulfill what you have promised him, go and open it to him.
He went and opened the door and the frog entered, always going by his feet until
get to your chair. He stood there and said:
-Put me on top of you.
The girl hesitated until the king ordered her. But when the frog was already in the chair:
-I want to climb on top of the table -and as soon as he put it there, he said-: Now bring me your
golden plate, so we can eat together.
He did it right away; but it was clear that he did not do it willingly. The Frog
He ate a lot, but left almost half of each bite. Finally he said:
-I'm fed up and tired, take me to your little room and throw me in your bed and we'll sleep
together.
The king's daughter began to cry and feared that she would not be able to rest next to the cold
frog, who wanted to sleep in her beautiful, clean bed. But the king became uncomfortable and said:
-You should not despise the one who helped you when you were in need.
Then he picked it up with his two fingers, carried it and put it in a corner. But
As soon as he was in bed, the frog crawled over and said:
-I'm tired, I want to sleep as well as you; Take me up, or I'll tell you
father.
The princess then became very uncomfortable, picked her up and threw her against the
wall with all her strength.
-Now you will rest, disgusting frog.
But when the frog fell to the ground he became the son of a king with beautiful and kind
eyes, who was from then on, by the will of his father, his dear companion and husband and
told him that he had been enchanted by a bad sorceress and that no one could get it from
the source but herself and that the next day they would leave for their country.
Then they slept until the next day and as soon as the sun rose they got into a carriage
drawn by seven white horses that had white feathers on their heads and had gold chains as
reins; Behind him was the young king's servant, who was the faithful Henry. The faithful
Enrique was so distressed when his master was turned into a frog, that he had placed three
iron rods over his heart so that it would not burst from pain and sadness. But the young king
had to make the trip in his car: the faithful Henry got in after both of them, stood behind
them and was full of joy for his master's freedom. And when they had walked a little way
down the road, the king's son heard something that sounded behind him, as if something
was breaking. Then he turned and said:
-Enrique, has the car broken down?
-No, it's not the car that fails, it's a rod from my heart, which was put there when you
were turned into a frog and imprisoned to live in the well.
It sounded again and again on the road and the king's son always believed that the car
was breaking down, and it was the rods that jumped from the heart of the faithful Henry
because his master was free and happy.
THE QUEEN OF THE BEES
Back in those days there was a king who had two sons, who went in search of
adventures, throwing themselves into all the excesses of dissipation, so they did not return
to their paternal home. His younger brother, whom they called Simple, went to look for them,
but when he found them they began to make fun of him, because in his simplicity he
pretended to know how to navigate a world where the two of them had been lost, the two of
them who had much more talent than him.
Having set out together they found an anthill. The two older brothers wanted to fill him
with dirt to have fun watching the anxiety
of the ants that would run everywhere loaded with their eggs; but his brother
the Simple said to them:
-Leave those animals alone; I will not allow you to harm them.
Shortly afterward they found a lake in which I don't know how many ducks were swimming.
The two oldest wanted to take a couple of them to roast, but the youngest
objected, saying:
-Leave those animals alone; I will not allow anyone to kill them.
Far further away they saw a beehive on a tree so full of honey that it ran
down the trunk. The two oldest wanted to set fire to the tree to smoke the
bees and take the honey; but his brother the Simple restrained them, saying:
-Leave those animals alone; I will not allow you to burn them.
The three brothers finally arrived at a castle whose stables were full of
horses turned into stones, and in which no one could be seen. They crossed
all the rooms and finally arrived in front of a door closed with three locks. In
the middle of the door there was a small shutter through which a room could
be seen; From him they could see a short man with gray hair who was sitting
in front of a table. They called once and twice without me apparently hearing
them; On the third occasion he got up, opened the door and advanced
towards them; Then, without saying a word, he led them to a table that was
full of all kinds of delicacies, and as soon as they had eaten and drank, he
took each of them to a different bedroom.
In the morning the old man presented himself to the eldest of the brothers
and, ordering him to follow him, led him in front of a stone table, on which
were written the three tests that were necessary to perform to disenchant the
castle. The first consisted of searching in the moss, in the middle of the
forests, for the thousand pearls of the princess that were planted there; and if
the person looking for them had not found them all before sunset he would be
turned into stone. The older brother spent the whole day searching for the
pearls; but, when night came, he had barely found a hundred, and he was
turned into stone as was written on the table. The second brother undertook
the adventure the next day, but was no more fortunate than his elder brother;
He barely found two hundred pearls and was turned into stone.
Lastly, the third arrived, which was Simple. He began to look for the pearls
in the moss; But since this was very difficult and very long, he sat on a stone
and began to cry. He was in this situation, when the king of the ants whose
life he had saved arrived with five thousand of his subjects, and these little
animals did not need more than a moment to find all the pearls and gather
them in a pile.
The second test was to get the key to the princess's bedroom, which was
at the bottom of the lake. When the young man approached, the ducks, whom
he had saved, came out to meet him, dove into the water and brought him the
key.
But the third test was the most difficult; It consisted of knowing which was
the youngest and most beautiful of the three sleeping princesses. The three
looked completely alike and the only thing that distinguished them was that
before falling asleep the eldest had eaten a lump of sugar, while the second
had taken a sip of syrup, and the third had taken a spoonful of honey.
But the queen of the bees, whom the young man had saved from the fire, came
to his aid; He went to smell the mouths of the three princesses, and stayed on
the lips of the one who had eaten the honey; The prince recognized her like
this. Then the spell was undone, the castle emerged from its magical dream,
and all those who were turned into stone took human form. The supposed
Simple married the youngest and most beautiful of the princesses, and was
king after his father's death. As for his two brothers, they married the other two
sisters.
BROTHER AND SISTER
A little brother took his little sister by the hand and said:
-Since our mother died we have not had a good hour; Our stepmother hits
us every day, and if we get close to her, she kicks us out. The crusts of bread
that remain are our food, and he treats the dog under the table much better
than he treats us, because he occasionally throws in a good piece of bread.
God have mercy on us, if our mother knew? Look, wouldn't it be better to go
and explore the world? Maybe things will be better for us!
They walked all day crossing fields, meadows and mountains, and when
It was raining, the little sister said:
-God cries the same as our hearts.

At night they came to a very thick forest, and they were so fatigued by
hunger, weariness, and disgust, that they huddled together in the hollow of a
tree and fell asleep.
When they woke up the next day, the sun was already high in the sky and
warming the inside of the tree with its rays.
Then the little brother said:
-I'm thirsty, little sister, if I knew where there was a fountain, I would go drink. I think I heard one
ring.
The little brother got up, took his little sister by the hand and they started looking for the fountain.
But her evil stepmother was a sorceress, she had seen the two little brothers leave, she had secretly
followed their steps, as sorceresses do, and she had put enchanted herbs in all the fountains of the
jungle. As soon as they found a fountain that ran murmuring through the stones, the little brother
wanted to drink, but the little sister heard the fountain say in a low voice.
-He who drinks my water becomes a tiger; He who drinks my water becomes a tiger.
The sister told him:
-For God's sake, brother, don't drink, otherwise you will turn into a tiger and tear me to pieces.
The little brother did not drink although he was very thirsty, and said:
-I'll wait until I get to another source.
When they reached the second fountain, the little sister heard her say:
-Whoever drinks my water becomes a wolf; He who drinks my water becomes a wolf.
The little sister told him:
-Don't drink for God's sake, little brother, because you would turn into a wolf and eat me.
The little brother did not drink, and said:
-I will wait until we reach the first fountain, but then I will drink
Even if you say whatever you want, because I am dry with thirst.
When they reached the third fountain, the little sister heard her murmur these words:
-He who drinks my water becomes a deer.
The little sister told him:
-For God's sake, don't drink, little brother, because you would turn into a roe deer and flee from me!
But the little brother had knelt down near the fountain and began to
to drink; As soon as they touched their lips, the water turned into roe deer.
The little sister began to cry over her poor, enchanted brother, and the poor deer also cried
without moving from her side.
The girl finally told him:
-Don't be careful, my dear roe deer, I won't separate from you.

Then he took off his golden garter, and made a collar with it for the deer, then he
plucked some reeds and wove a rope with them, with which he tied the animal and took it
with him into a forest.
After having walked for a long time, they finally arrived at a little house,
where the girl entered, and seeing that it was not inhabited, she said:
-Here we can stop and stay to live.
Then she looked for moss so that the deer could rest, and every morning she went
out, gathered roots, wild fruits and nuts, and also gathered fresh herbs that the deer ate in
her hand and was very happy and jumped for joy in front of her. At night, when the girl was
already tired, and had said her prayers, she would rest her head on the back of the deer,
which served as a rug, and she would fall asleep peacefully, and would have thought
herself happy with this kind of life, if only she had his brother would have still been in his
human form.
They spent some time in that deserted place, but there came a day when the king of
that country had a hunting party in the forest, which resounded with the sound of the
trumpets, the barking of the dogs and the joyful cries of the animals. hunters.
The roe heard all that noise and was sorry that he wasn't close.
"Ah," he said to his little sister, "let me go hunting, I can't resign myself to being here."
And he begged him so much that he finally gave in.
-Look, -he said-, don't stop coming back into the night, I will close the doors so that
Don't let those hunters come in, and so that he knows you, say when you knock:
-It's me, dear little sister, open my little heart; If you don't say that, I won't open the
door.
The deer rushed out of the house, very happy and happy to enjoy the outdoors.
The king and his hunters saw the beautiful animal, and ran in pursuit without being
able to catch up with it; When they thought they were close to catching him, he jumped
over a bramble and disappeared. As soon as it began to get dark, he ran to the house and
knocked saying:
-It's me, dear little sister, open my little heart.
The door opened, he entered the house and slept all night in his soft
bed.
The next day the hunt began again, and when the deer again heard the sound of the
horns and the noise of the hunters, he could not rest any longer, and
said:
-Little sister, open up for me, I have to go out.
The little sister opened the door for him, saying:
-Do not stop coming at night and saying the agreed word.
When the king and the hunters saw the roe again with its golden collar; They all chased after
him, but he was too clever and agile to let himself be caught: the hunters had already surrounded
him in such a way at dusk, that one of them slightly wounded his foot, so that he limped, and with
difficulty. was able to escape. A hunter followed his footsteps until he reached the little house where
he heard him say:
-It's me, dear little sister, open to me, my little heart.
And he saw that the door was opened and immediately closed. The hunter faithfully kept these
words in his memory, went to where the king was and told him what he had seen and heard.
The king said:
-Tomorrow the hunt will also continue.
The little sister was very scared when she saw the wounded deer return, she washed the blood
from the wound, applied herbs to it and said:
-Go rest in bed, dear little dog, to heal yourself.
But the wound was so light that the next day the deer felt nothing, and when he heard the
sound of hunting in the forest again, he said:
-I can't stop here, I need to get out, they won't catch me so easily.
His little sister told him crying:
-Today they are going to kill you, I don't want to let you out.
"I will die here of disgust if you don't let me out," he replied; When I hear the hunting bugle, it
seems to me that my feet are gone.
The little sister could not help but give in, she opened the door full of sadness, and the deer
launched into the forest happy and determined.
The king barely saw him, he told the hunters.
-Pursue him until night, but do not harm him.
As soon as the sun set, the king said to the hunter:
-Come with me and show me the house you told me about.
When they reached the door, he knocked and said:

-It's me, dear little sister, open to me, my little heart.
The door opened and the king entered, finding in his presence a young woman of the
most beautiful I had ever seen.
The young woman was afraid when she saw that instead of the roe, a king entered with the
golden crown on his head; but the king looked at her sweetly and presented his hand to her, saying:
-Do you want to come with me to my palace and be my wife?
-Oh, yes! -answered the young woman-, but the roe deer must come with me,
I can't separate myself from him.
The king said:
-I will remain at your side as long as you live, and you will lack nothing.
At that moment the roe came jumping in, his little sister tied him with her
rope of reeds, took the rope in his hand, and left the house with him.
The king took the young woman to his palace, where the wedding was celebrated with great
magnificence, and from then on she was Her Majesty the queen and they lived together for a long
time. The roe deer was very well cared for and jumped and ran around the palace garden; however;
her evil stepmother, who had been the cause of the two children leaving the parental home, and
imagined that the little sister had been devoured by the wild beasts of the forest and that her little
brother, turned into a deer, had been killed by the hunters, when she knew that they were so happy,
and lived with such prosperity, hatred and envy awoke in his heart, beginning to agitate and disturb
him, and he dedicated himself to searching with the greatest care for a means to plunge both of
them into misfortune. Her real daughter, who was as ugly as the night and had only one eye,
murmured against her saying:
-The fortune of becoming queen is to me who belongs.
"Don't be careful," the old woman told her, trying to appease her; whenever
time!, you will find me ready to serve you.
In fact, as soon as the time came for the queen to give birth to a beautiful child, as the king was
hunting, the sorceress took the form of a maiden, entered the room where the queen was lying and
said to her:
-Come, your bathroom is nearby, it will do you very well, and it will give you many
forces; soon, before it gets cold.
Accompanied by her daughter, she took the convalescent queen to the bathroom, they left her
there, and then they left, closing the door. They had been careful to light a fire similar to that of hell
next to the bathroom, so that the young queen would soon drown.
After this, the old woman took her daughter, put a cap on her head and laid her on the queen's
bed; He also gave her the shape and features of the queen, but he could not give her the eye that
she had lost, and so that the king would not notice, he ordered her to lie on the side where she was
one-eyed.
When at dusk the king returned from hunting and learned that a son had been born to him, he
was glad with all his heart and wanted to go to his dear wife's bed to see how she was.
But the old woman told them immediately:
-For God's sake, don't open the windows; The queen cannot see the light yet; needs rest.
The king left and did not find out that a false queen was lying in the
bed.
But when midnight struck and everyone was asleep, the nurse who was in the child's room, near
her mistress, being the only one watching, saw the door open and the real mother enter. She took
the child out of the cradle, took him in her arms and gave him a drink. Then he fixed the pillow, put it
back in its place, and closed the curtains. He did not forget the roe either, he approached the corner
where it was resting and ran his hand along its back. He then left without saying a single word, and
the next day, when the nurse asked the guards if anyone had entered the palace during the night,
she asked him.
They answered:
-No, we haven't seen anyone.
He returned many nights in the same way without saying a single word.
word; The nurse always saw her, but did not dare to speak to her.
After some time the mother began to talk at night and said:
What is my little son doing?
What is my corcito doing?
I will return two more times,
and I will never come again.
The nurse did not answer him, but as soon as he had disappeared, she ran to tell the king, who
said:
-My God! What does this mean? I'm going to spend the next night next to the child.
In fact, he went to the child's room at night, and around twelve o'clock, the mother appeared and
said:
I will still come back again,
and I will never come again.
Then he caressed the child as he always did, and disappeared. The king did not dare to speak
to him; but the next night he also stayed awake. The queen said:
The king could not contain himself any longer, he rushed towards her and said:
-You must be my dear wife.
"Yes," he answered, "I am your dear wife."
And at the same instant he recovered life by the grace of God, and became so
beautiful and fresh like a rose.
She told the king about the crime that the evil sorceress and her daughter had committed against
her, and the king ordered them to appear before his court, where they were condemned. The
daughter was taken to a forest, where the wild beasts tore her to pieces as soon as they saw her and
the sorceress was condemned to the stake, perishing miserably in the flames; As soon as the fire
had consumed it, the deer returned to its natural form, and little brother and sister lived happily until
the end of their days.
SNOW WHITE AND ROSE RED
A poor woman lived in a cabin in the middle of the field; In a garden located in front of the door,
there were two rose bushes, one of which bore white roses and the other red roses. The widow had
two daughters who looked like two rose bushes, one was called Snow White and the other Rose Red.
The two girls were the kindest, most obedient, and most hardworking that the world had ever
seen, but Snow White had a calmer and kinder character; Rojarosa liked much more to run through
the meadows and fields in search of flowers and butterflies. Snow White stayed at home with her
mother, helped her with the housework and read her a book when they had finished their homework.
The two sisters loved each other so much that they always went hand in hand when they went out,
and when Snow White said: -We can't
We will never separate, Rojarosa answered: -In our entire lives; and the mother added:
-Everything should be common between the two of you.
They frequently went to the forest to pick wild fruits, and the animals respected them
and approached them without fear. The hare ate in her hand, the goat grazed next to
her, the deer played in front of them, and the birds, perched on the branches, sang their
most beautiful chirps.
Nothing bad ever happened to them; If night caught them in the forest, they would
lie down in the moss side by side and sleep until the next day without their mother being
restless.
Once they spent the night in the forest, when the dawn woke them up, they saw at
their side a very beautiful boy, dressed in a robe of resplendent whiteness, who gave
them a friendly look, immediately disappearing into the forest without saying a word.
single word. They then saw that they had lain down near a precipice, and that they would
have fallen into it if they had only taken two more steps in the darkness. Their mother
told them that that boy was the Guardian Angel of good girls.
Snow White and Rose Red kept their mother's cabin so clean that anyone could
look in it. Rojarosa took care of the cleaning in the summer, and every morning, when
she woke up, her mother found a bouquet, in which there was a flower from each of the
two rose bushes. Snow White lit the fire in winter and hung the kettle on the fire, and the
kettle, which was made of yellow copper, shone like pearls, so clean it was. When it
snowed at night, the mother said:
"Snow White, go and lock the door," and then they sat in a corner by the fire; the
mother put on her glasses and read from a large book; and the two girls listened to her
spinning; Near them a small lamb was lying and behind it a turtle dove was sleeping on
its reed with its head under its wing.
One night, when they were talking calmly, there was a knock at the door.
-Reddish; -said the mother-, go run and open it, because it will undoubtedly be some
lost traveler who will seek asylum for tonight.
Rojarosa went to open the lock and was hoping to see some poor person come in,
when a bear peeked its big black head through the half-open door. Rosarosa ran
screaming, the lamb began to bleat, the dove fluttered around the room, and Snow
White ran to hide behind her mother's bed. But the bear told them:
-Do not be afraid, I will not harm you; I only ask your permission to warm up a little;
Well I'm half frozen.
-Come closer to the fire, poor bear; -answered the mother-, but be careful not to burn your
skin.
Then he called his daughters this way:
-Snow White, Rose Red, come; The bear will not hurt you, it has good intentions.
Then the two sisters came, and little by little the lamb and the turtledove also approached
and forgot their fear.
"Daughters," the bear said to them, "do you want to shake off the snow that has fallen on
my back?"
The girls then took the broom and swept all the skin; Then he stretched out in front of the
fire, showing with his grunts that he was happy and satisfied. It didn't take them long to calm
down completely; and even in playing with this unexpected guest. They pulled his hair, climbed
on his back, rolled him around the room, and when he grunted, they started laughing.
The bear let them do whatever they wanted, but when he saw that their games were going
too far, he told them:
-Let me live, don't go to kill your suitor.
When they went to bed, his mother said:
-Stay here; Spend the night in front of the fire, because at least you will be sheltered from
the cold and bad weather.
The girls opened the doors to the dawn, and he went to the forest, trotting through the
snow. From that day on, he returned every night at the same time, stretched out in front of the
fire, and the girls played with him as much as they wanted, having become so accustomed to
his presence that they never bolted the door until that he was coming.
In the spring, as soon as the green began to grow, the bear said to
White snow:
-I'm leaving, and I won't be back all summer.
-Where are you going, dear bear? -Snow White asked him.
-I'm going to the forest, I have to take care of my treasures, so that the evil dwarves don't
steal them from me. In the winter, when the ground is frozen, they are forced to remain in their
holes without being able to break through; but now that the sun has warmed the earth, they are
going to go out on the prowl; What they catch and hide in their holes does not easily see the
light again.
Snow White was very sorry for the bear's departure; when she opened the door, she
skinned herself a little as she passed with the latch, and she thought she saw gold shining under her.
skin, but I wasn't sure about it. The bear left with the greatest speed, and soon disappeared
among the trees.
Some time later, the mother sent her daughters to collect dry wood in the forest, they saw
a very large tree on the ground, and something running through the grass around the trunk,
without being able to clearly distinguish what it was. As they approached they saw a small
dwarf, with an old and wrinkled face; and a white beard a yard long. His beard had gotten
caught in a crack in the tree, and the dwarf was jumping like a little dog tied with a rope that he
cannot break; He fixed his burning eyes on the two girls, and said to them:
-What are you doing there looking? Why don't you come help me?
-How did you let yourself be caught in the net like that, poor little man? -he asked
Redpink.
"You curious fool," replied the dwarf; I wanted to split this tree to have small pieces of wood
and chips for my kitchen, since our dishes are small and large dowels would burn them; We do
not stuff ourselves with food like your rude and gluttonous race. He had already driven the
wedge into the wood, but the wedge was too slippery; It jumped at the moment when I least
expected it and the trunk closed so quickly that I didn't have time to remove my beautiful white
beard, which was left tangled. Do you start laughing, simpletons? How ugly you are!
No matter how hard the girls tried, they couldn't remove the beard that was stuck like a vice.
"I'm going to look for people," said Rojarosa.
-Call people? -exclaimed the dwarf with his hoarse voice-; Aren't you two already too much,
you idiotic idiots?
"Have a little patience," said Snow White, "and everything will be all right."
And taking the scissors out of his pocket he cut off the end of his beard. As soon as the
dwarf was free, he went to get a sack full of gold that was hidden in the roots of the tree, saying:
-What animals those creatures are! Cut off the tip of an ax so

beautiful! The devil take you.
Then he put the bag on his back and left without even looking at them.
A few months later the sisters went fishing in the river; As they approached the shore they
saw a type of large grasshopper running, jumping next to the water as if it wanted to jump into
it, they started running and met the dwarf.
-What do you have? -said Rojarosa-, do you want to jump into the river?
-What a beast you are! -exclaimed the dwarf-, don't you see that it's that damned fish that
Do you want to drag me into the water?
A fisherman had cast the hook, but unfortunately the wind tangled the line in the dwarf's
beard, and when a few moments later a very large fish took the bait, the strength of the weak
creature was not enough to pull him out of the water and the fish he had caught. He had the
advantage and attracted the dwarf towards him, who had to cling to the reeds and grasses
on the bank, despite which the fish dragged him and he was in danger of falling into the
water. The girls arrived in time to stop him and tried to untangle his beard, but all in vain, as it
was caught in the thread. It was necessary to resort to the scissors again and they cut off a
little of the tip. The dwarf then exclaimed angrily:
-You fools, do you have the habit of disfiguring people like this? Wasn't it enough to have
cut my beard once, but you cut it again today? How am I going to introduce myself to my
brothers? I hope you have to run without shoes and skin your feet! and taking a bag of pearls
that was hidden among the reeds, he took it without saying a word and immediately
disappeared behind a stone.
A short time later the mother sent her daughters to the village to buy thread, needles and
ribbons. They had to pass through a wasteland full of roses, where they saw a very large bird
circling in the air, and after having flown for a long time. time above their heads, it began to
descend little by little, ending by suddenly dropping to the ground. At the same time, piercing
and pitiful cries were heard. They ran and saw with amazement an eagle that had its old
acquaintance the dwarf in its talons, and that was trying to carry him away. The girls, guided
by their kind hearts, held the dwarf with all their strength, and also dealt with the eagle, which
ended up releasing its prey; but as soon as the dwarf recovered from his stupor, he shouted
at them in a growling voice:
-Couldn't you have held me a little more gently, since you pulled my poor dress so much
that you tore it to pieces?
How clumsy you are! Then he took a bag of precious stones and slipped into his hole, in the
middle of the roses. The girls were used to his ingratitude and so they continued on their way
without paying attention, going to the village to shop.
When on their return they passed by that place again, they surprised the dwarf who was
emptying his bag of precious stones, not believing that anyone was passing through there at
that time, since it was already very late. The setting sun illuminated the stones and cast such
brilliant rays that the girls remained motionless to contemplate them.
-Why are you standing there dumbfounded? -he told them, and his face ordinarily
gray was entirely red with anger.
He was about to continue a discussion, when a completely black bear emerged from
the depths of the forest, making terrible growls. The dwarf wanted to flee in fear, but he
did not have time to reach his hiding place, because the bear blocked his way; Then he
said to him, pleading with a desperate accent:
-Forgive me, dear Mr. Bear, and I will give you all my treasures, all those jewels that
you see before you, grant me life: what will you gain by killing a miserable dwarf like me?
You would barely feel me between your teeth; Isn't it much better that you take those two
damned girls, who are two good morsels, fat as quails? And eat them in the name of God.
But the bear, without listening to him, gave that evil creature a blow with its paw and it
fell to the ground dead.
The girls had been saved, but the bear shouted at them:
-White snow? Reddish? Don't be afraid, wait for me.
They recognized his voice and stopped, and when he was close to them, he fell
suddenly their bear skin and saw a young man dressed in a golden suit.
"I am a prince," he told them, "that infamous dwarf had turned me into a bear, after
having stolen all my treasures; He had condemned me to roam the forests in this form
and I could only be freed with his death.
Now he has received the reward for his evil.
Snow White married the prince and Red Rose married one of his brothers and they
distributed among all the great treasures that the dwarf had piled up in his hole. His mother
lived for many years, calm and happy near her children. She took the two rose bushes
and placed them in her window, where every spring they gave out beautiful white and red
roses.
RAPUNZEL
There was once a couple who had long wanted to have a child, until finally the woman
hoped that the Lord was about to fulfill her wishes. In the couple's bedroom there was a
small window, whose views overlooked a beautiful garden, in which there were all kinds
of flowers and vegetables. However, it was surrounded by a high wall, and no one dared
to enter inside, because it belonged to a very powerful sorceress who was feared by
everyone. One day the woman was at the window looking at the garden in which she saw
a square planted with ruiponces, and they seemed so green and so fresh that she had a
craving to eat them. His craving grew day by day and, as
She was not unaware that she could not satisfy him, she began to feel sad, pale and
sickly.
The husband was scared and asked:
-What do you have, dear wife?
-Oh! -he answered-, if I can't eat ruiponces from those behind

our house, I will die for sure.
The husband who loved her very much, she thought to herself.
-Before I consent to my wife dying, I will bring her the ruiponce, and whatever God
wants. At dusk he jumped over the walls of the sorceress's garden, grabbed a handful
of ruiponces in a moment, and brought it to his wife, who immediately made a salad
and ate it with the greatest appetite. But it tasted so good, so good, that the next day
she wanted to eat it even more; she couldn't rest if her husband didn't go to the garden
again. So he went at dusk, but he was very frightened, because the sorceress was in
him.
-How dare you, she said angrily, to come to my garden and steal my
Ruiponce like a thief? Don't you know that misfortune can come to you?
-Ah! -he replied-, forgive my boldness, because I did it out of necessity. My wife
saw your ruiponce from the window, and she craved it so much that she would die if
she didn't eat it.
The sorceress then said to him, putting down her anger:
-If this is what you say, take as much ruiponce as you want, but with one condition:
you have to give me the child your wife gives birth to. He will lack nothing, and I will
take care of him as if I were his mother.
The husband was sadly engaged, and as soon as his daughter saw the light he
presented her to the sorceress, who gave the girl the name Rapunzel (which means
ruiponce) and took her away.
Rapunzel was the most beautiful creature ever under the sun. When she was
twelve years old, the sorceress locked her in a tower in a forest, which had no stairs or
door, but only a very small and high window. When the sorceress wanted to enter, she
stood under her and said:
Rapunzel, Rapunzel,
throw your hair
I will go up for them.
Well, Rapunzel had very long and beautiful hair that was so fine.
like spun gold. As soon as she heard the sorceress's voice, she would untie her braid,
let it fall from the top of her window, which was more than twenty yards from the ground,
and the sorceress would then climb through them.
But it happened, after a couple of years, that the king's son passed through that
forest and approached the tower in which he heard a song so sweet and soft that he
stopped listening to it. It was Rapunzel who spent her time in her solitude entertaining
herself by repeating the most pleasant songs with her sweet voice. The king's son would
have liked to enter, and he looked for the door of the tower, but he could not find it. He
went home, but the song had penetrated his heart so much that he went to the forest
every day to listen to it. While one of them was under a tree, he saw a witch arriving and
heard her say:
Rapunzel, Rapunzel,
throw your hair
Rapunzel then let her hair fall and the sorceress climbed up.
"If that is the ladder you climb," said the prince, "I also want to try my luck."
And the next day, when it began to get dark, he approached the tower and said:
Rapunzel, Rapunzel,
throw your hair
Immediately the hair fell and the king's son came up. At first Rapunzel was frightened
when she saw a man enter, since her eyes had not yet seen any, but the king's son
began to speak to her with the greatest kindness, and told her that his song had moved
his heart in such a way that since then He had not been able to rest for a single moment
and had decided to see him and talk to him. With this Rapunzel's fear disappeared and
when he asked her if she wanted to marry him, and she saw that he was young and
good-looking, she thought to herself:
-I will love him much more than the old sorceress.
He said yes, and shook her hand with his, adding:
-I would gladly go with you, but I don't know how to get down; Whenever you come,
bring me silk cords with which I will make a stopover, and when it is long enough, I will
go down, and you will take me on your horse.
They agreed that she would go every night, since the sorceress went during the day,
which he didn't notice anything until Rapunzel asked him once:
-Tell me, grandma, how come it takes you so long to get up, while your son
of the king arrives at my side in a moment?
-Ah, rogue! -the sorceress answered. What do I hear! I thought I had hidden you from everyone,
and you have deceived me!
She grabbed Rapunzel's beautiful hair in anger, turned it a couple of times in her left hand,
took a pair of scissors with her right, and then she cut them off, the beautiful braids falling to the
ground, and her fury reached such an extreme that she took poor Rapunzel to a desert, where he
condemned her to live in tears and pain.
On the same day that the sorceress discovered Rapunzel's secret, at night she took the hair
that she had cut off of her, secured it to the window, and when the prince came she said:
Rapunzel, Rapunzel,
throw your hair
I will go up for them,
He found them hanging. The king's son then went up, but he did not find his beloved Rapunzel,
but the sorceress, who received him with the worst face in the world.
-Hello! -he said mockingly-, you come to look for your darling, but the bird is no longer in its
nest and will not sing again; They have taken him out of his cage and your eyes will no longer see
him. Rapunzel is a lost thing for you, you will never find her.
The prince felt the deepest pain and in his desperation he jumped from the tower; He was
fortunate not to lose his life, but the brambles into which he fell pierced his eyes. He began to walk
blindly through the forest, eating nothing but roots and herbs and only occupying himself with
lamenting and mourning the loss of his dear wife. She wandered thus for some years in the greatest
misery, until at last she reached the desert where Rapunzel lived in continuous distress. He heard
her voice and thought he knew her; He went straight to her, recognized her as soon as he found
her, threw himself on her neck and cried bitterly. The tears that moistened his eyes restored their
former clarity and he saw again as before. He took her to his kingdom where they were received
with great joy, and they lived many happy and content years.
THE GOOSE SHEPHERD AT THE FOUNTAIN

On one occasion there was a very old woman who lived with a flock of geese in a desert
in the middle of the mountains, where she had her room. The desert was in the thickest part of
a forest, and every morning the old woman took her crutch and went to the entrance of the
forest with trembling steps. Once there, the old woman, who was quite active, more than
anyone would have thought considering her age, gathered grass for her geese, took whatever
wild fruits she could reach, and then carried them home on her back.
It seemed like he was going to succumb under such a weight; but he always carried him home
with ease. When he met someone he greeted them friendly.
-Good morning, dear neighbor, the weather is very good. He will miss you without
doubt that it carries this herb; but we must all carry our burden lying down.
However, no one liked to find her and they preferred to take a detour, and if a father
passed near her with his son, he would say:
-Be careful with that old woman; She is cunning as a demon; She is a sorceress.
One morning a very handsome young man was walking through the forest; The sun was
shining, the birds were singing, a fresh wind was blowing through the foliage, and the young
man was cheerful and in good spirits. He had not yet found a living soul, when suddenly he
made out the old sorceress squatting on her haunches cutting the grass with her sickle. He
had already gathered a whole load in his sack and at his side he had two large baskets, filled
to the brim with pears and wild apples.
"Grandma," he said, "how do you plan to handle all that?"
"Well, I have to take it, dear little gentleman," he replied; the children of the
Rich people don't know what jobs are. But the poor are told:
It is necessary to work,
there being no other well-being.
-Do you want to help me? -added the old woman seeing that he stopped-; You still have
straight backs and strong legs: this is nothing for you. Besides, my house is not far from here:
it is in a thicket, on the other side of the hill.
You'll be up there in no time.
The young man had compassion on the old woman, and said to her:
-It is true that my father is not a farmer, but a very rich count; However, so that you can
see that it is not only the poor who know how to carry a burden, I will help you carry yours.
"If you do it like this," answered the old woman, "I will be very happy." You will have to
walk an hour; but what do you care? You will also take the pears and
apples.
The young count began to reflect a little when they told him about an hour's journey; but the old
woman did not let him turn back, she hung the sack on his back and put the two baskets in his hands.
"You see," he said, "that doesn't matter at all."
"No, this is very heavy," the count reviewed, making a horrible gesture; Your bag is so heavy
that anyone would think it was full of stones; apples and pears are as heavy as lead; I barely have
the strength to breathe.
He really wanted to leave his burden, but the old woman wouldn't let him.
-Bah! "I don't think," she said in a mocking tone, "that such a good-looking young man couldn't
wear what I wear constantly, as old as I am." They are ready to help you with words, but if it comes
down to it, they only try to avoid you. Why, he added, do you remain hesitating like this? Moving on,
no one will free you from that burden.
As they walked across the plain, the young man was able to resist it; but when they reached the
mountain and had to climb it, when the stones rolled behind him as if they had been alive, the fatigue
was greater than his strength. Drops of sweat bathed his forehead, sometimes running cold and
sometimes burning through all parts of his body.
"Now," he said, "I can't take it anymore, I'm going to rest a little."
"No," said the old woman, "when we have arrived you will be able to rest; now we have to walk.
Who knows if this can be of any use to you?
"Old woman, you are very shameless," said the count.
And he wanted to get rid of the bag, but he worked in vain, because the bag was tied as well as
if it were part of his back. He turned and stirred, but without being able to loosen the load.
The old woman started laughing, and started jumping very happily with her crutch.
"Don't be upset, my dear little master," he said, "you are truly incarnated as a rooster; carry your
burden with patience; When we get home I'll give you a good tip.
What was there to do? He had to submit to his destiny and patiently crawl behind the old woman,
who seemed to be getting smarter by the moment while her load was getting heavier and heavier.
Suddenly he ran, jumped on top of his bag and sat on it; Although she was old, she weighed twice
as much as the most robust villager. The young man's knees trembled; but when he stopped, he hit
him in the legs with a wand. He panted up the mountain and finally arrived at the old woman's house,
at the same moment when, close to
succumb, made the last effort. When the geese saw the old woman, they extended their beaks
upward, stuck their necks forward, and came out to meet her, shouting "Hu!" huh! Behind the
flock was a tall and robust girl but ugly as the night.
-Mother! -he said to the old woman- has something happened to you? You've been away a
long time.
"No, my daughter," he replied, "nothing bad has happened to me, on the contrary, this good
young man, whom you see here, brought me my grass, and furthermore, since I was tired, he
also carried me on his back." . The road did not seem very long to me, we were in a good mood
and we had a very pleasant conversation.
The old woman, finally, dropped to the ground, took the load off the young man's back, the
baskets from his hands, looked at him happily, and said:
-Now sit on that bench in front of the door, and rest.

You have loyally earned your salary and you will not lose it.
Then he said to the young woman who was looking after the geese:
-Come home, my daughter, it is not right for you to stay here alone with this
young gentleman; You shouldn't put firewood next to the fire, he could fall in love with you.
The count did not know whether he should laugh or cry.
"A woman of that kind," he said under his breath, "couldn't expect much from me."
heart, even though he was only thirty years old.
The old woman, however, took care of the geese as if they were her children; Then he
entered his house with his daughter. The young man lay down on the bench under a wild apple
tree. The atmosphere was calm and not hot; Around him stretched a meadow of primroses,
thyme, and a thousand other kinds of flowers; In its center a clear stream murmured, golden with
the sun's rays, and the white geese strolled along the bank or dipped into the water.
"This place is delicious," he said; but I'm so tired that my eyes close; I want to sleep a little,
as long as the air doesn't blow my legs away, because they are as light as grass.
As soon as he slept for a moment the old woman came and shook him awake.
"Get up," he said; You can't stay here. I have tormented you a little, it is true; but it didn't cost
you your life. Now I am going to give you your salary; you don't need money or goods; I'll give
you something else.
Saying this, he placed a small emerald box in her hand, made in one piece.
"Keep it well," he told him, "it will bring you fortune."
The count got up and seeing that he was rested and had regained his strength, he thanked
the old woman for her gift and set off without thinking for a moment to look at the beautiful
nymph. He was already some distance away when he still heard the happy cry of the geese in
the distance.
The count remained lost in those solitudes for three days before he could
find the way.
Finally he arrived at a city, and since no one knew him, he was led to the king's palace,
where the prince and his wife were sitting on their throne. The count got down on one knee,
took the emerald box out of his pocket and placed it at the queen's feet. He ordered him to get
up and went to present him with his box. But he had barely opened it and looked when it fell to
the ground as if dead. The count was arrested by the king's servants, and was about to be put
in prison, when the queen opened her eyes and ordered them to set him free, and for everyone
to come out, because she wanted to speak to him in secret.
When she was left alone the queen began to cry bitterly and said:
-What good are the splendor and honors that surround me? Every morning I wake up full
of care and afflictions. I have had three daughters, the youngest of whom was so beautiful that
everyone looked at her as a marvel.
She was white as snow, red as the apple blossom, and her hair shone like the rays of the sun.
When she cried, it was not tears that fell from her eyes, but pearls and precious stones. When
she reached the age of thirteen, the king ordered his three daughters to come before his
throne. It was worth seeing how everyone's eyes opened when the youngest entered; one
thought one was witnessing the sunrise. The king said:
-My daughters, I do not know when my last day will come; I want to decide from today
what each of you should receive after my death. The three of you love me, but the one who
loves me the most will have the best part.
Each one said that she was the one who loved her father the most.
"Couldn't you," replied the king, "explain to me how much you love me?" so I will know
What are your feelings?
The oldest said:
-I love my father like the sweetest sugar.
The second:
-I love my father like the most beautiful dress.
But, the minor remained silent.

-And you, said his father, how do you love me?
-I don't know; -he responded-, and I cannot compare my love to anything.
But the father insisted that he designate an object. Finally he said:
-The best of delicacies has no taste for me if it lacks salt; well

Well, I love my father like salt.
-Since you love me like salt, I will also reward your love with salt.
He divided his kingdom between his two eldest daughters, and had a sack of salt tied to the back
of the youngest, and sent two servants to lead her into a wild forest. We have all cried and begged
for her, but there has been no way to appease the king's anger. How much he cried, when he had
to separate from us! He has sown the entire road with the pearls that have fallen from his eyes.
The king soon repented of his cruelty, and had the poor girl searched throughout the forest, but no
one could find her. When I think about whether the wild beasts have eaten her, I cannot live with
sadness; Sometimes I console myself with the hope that she still lives and is hidden in a cave, or
that she has found a refuge among charitable people. But what amazes me is that when I opened
your emerald box it contained a pearl similar in every way to those that fell from my daughter's
eyes, so you can imagine how much my heart was moved. You must tell me how you came to
possess this pearl.
The count told her that he had received her from the old woman in the forest who had seemed
to him to be a strange woman and perhaps a sorceress, but that he had not seen or heard anything
that had anything to do with his daughter.
The king and queen decided to go look for the old woman, hoping that where the pearl had
been found they would also find news of their daughter.
The old woman was in her solitude, sitting at the door next to her spinning wheel and spinning.
It was already night, and some burning chips in the hearth spread a faint light. Suddenly he heard
a noise outside: the geese entered the room from the bushes, giving the hoarsest of their cries.
Shortly after, the young woman entered in her turn. As soon as the old woman greeted her, she
contented herself with shaking her head a little. The young woman sat down next to him, took her
spinning wheel and twisted the thread with the same lightness that the cleverest girl could have
done. They sat like that for two hours without saying a word to each other. Finally they heard a
noise near the window and saw two fiery eyes shining. It was an owlet that screamed three times,
huh! huh! The old woman, barely raising her eyes, said:
-It is time, my son, for you to go out to do your homework.
He got up and left.

Where was he going? Far, far away, to the meadow by the valley. Finally he arrived at the edge
of a fountain, next to which were three oaks. The moon was round and full on top of the mountain,
and gave off so much light that you could look for a pin. The girl lifted a skin that covered her face,
leaned toward the fountain, and began to wash. When he had finished, he put the skin into the water
of the fountain so that it would whiten and dry in the moonlight. But how changed the girl was!
Nothing like it has ever been seen. As soon as she untied her gray braid, her golden hair shone
like rays of sunlight and spread like a cloak over her entire body. Her eyes looked like the stars in the
sky and her cheeks had the soft pink color of the apple blossom.
But the young woman was sad. He sat down and wept bitterly. Tears fell one after another from
her eyes and rolled to the ground through her long hair. He would have remained there for a long time
if the noise of some branches creaking on a nearby tree had not reached his ears. He jumped like a
deer that has heard the hunter's shot. The moon was veiled at that moment by a dark cloud; In a
moment the girl covered herself with the old skin and disappeared like a light extinguished by the wind.
He ran towards the house trembling like the poplar leaf. The old woman was standing at the door;
The young woman wanted to tell her what had happened to her, but the old woman smiled with a
certain grace and said:
-I know everything.
He led her into the room and lit some kindling. But he didn't sit next to
his daughter; He grabbed a broom and began to sweep and dust.
"Everything must be clean and tidy here," he said to the young woman.
"But my goodness," she replied, "it's too late to start this work."
What's that for?
-Do you know what time it is? -the old woman asked him.
"It's not yet twelve," replied the young woman, "but it's already struck eleven."
"Don't you remember," continued the old woman, "that three years ago today you came
to my house? The deadline has expired, we cannot continue together any longer.
The young woman said scared:
-Ah! good mother, do you want to throw me out? Where will I go? I have no friends, no homeland,
where I can find asylum. I have done everything you have wanted and you have always been happy
with me, don't throw me away.
The old woman did not want to tell the girl what was going to happen.
"I cannot stay here any longer," he told him, "but when I leave this dwelling, the house
and the room must be clean." So don't stop me in my work. As for you, don't be careful;
You will find a roof where you can live and you will also be happy with the reward that I
will give you.
"But tell me what is going to happen," the young woman asked again.
-I repeat, do not interrupt me in my work. Don't say another word: go to your room,
take off the skin that covers your face, and put on the dress you wore when you came to
my house; Then stay in your room until I call you.
But I must speak again of the king and queen, who had left with the count to go look
for the old woman in her solitude. The count had separated from them during the night,
and was forced to continue on his way alone. The next day it seemed to him that he was
on the right path and he continued walking until near dusk. Then he climbed a tree to
spend the night, because he feared he would get lost. When the moon illuminated the
terrain, he saw a person coming down from the mountain.
She had a stick in her hand, so he knew she was the young woman who kept the
geese that she had seen in the old woman's house. Ah! -he said-, he's coming this way, I
already see one of the two sorceresses: the other can't escape me.
But what was his astonishment when he saw her approach the source, take off her
skin; when her golden hair covered her and she appeared more beautiful than any woman
he had ever seen in the world! He barely dared to breathe, but he stretched out his neck
as much as he could; through the foliage, and looked at her without turning his eyes;
Whether he had leaned too far, or for some other reason, a branch suddenly creaked, and
he saw the young woman at the same moment hidden under the skin; He jumped like a
roe deer, and the moon having set at that moment, he escaped their gaze.
As soon as she had disappeared, the young man came down from the tree and began
to chase her in a hurry. He had only taken a few steps when he saw in the twilight two
people marching across the meadow. They were the king and queen who had seen a light
in the old woman's house from afar and were heading that way. The count told them about
the wonders he had seen near the fountain and they did not doubt that he was talking
about his lost daughter. They moved forward happily and soon arrived at the house.
The geese were placed around him, sleeping with their heads hidden under their
wings and none of them moved. They looked through the window into the room and saw
the old woman sitting and spinning with the greatest tranquility, bowing her head and
without moving her eyes. The room was as clean as if
was inhabited by those small aerial sylphs that have no dust on their feet. But they didn't see their
daughter. They looked at everything for a few moments, finally cheered up and tapped softly on
the window.
It seemed like the old woman was waiting for them, because she got up and said to them in
her rustic voice:
-Come in, I know who you are.
As soon as they entered the room, the old woman added:
-You could have saved yourself that long journey, if you had not unjustly kicked out, three
years ago, your daughter who is so good and so funny.
He has lost nothing, since for three years he has kept geese, during which time he has learned
nothing bad and has preserved the purity of his heart. But you are sufficiently punished by the
restlessness in which you have lived.
Then he approached the room and said:
-Come out, my daughter.
The door opened and the king's daughter came out dressed in her silk dress, with her golden
hair and shining eyes. It would have been said that an angel descended from heaven. She ran to
her father and mother, threw herself on their necks and hugged everyone, crying without being
able to contain herself. The young count was at his side and when he saw him his face turned red
like a rose; She herself did not know the cause. The king said:
-Dear daughter, I have already divided my kingdom; what can I give you?
"He doesn't need anything," said the old woman; I give him the tears that he has shed for
you; They are so many pearls more beautiful than those found in the sea and they are of a much
greater price than your entire kingdom. And in reward for your services, I give you my little house.
The old woman disappeared as soon as she said these words. They then heard the walls
creak slightly, and when they turned they found the small house converted into a superb palace;
A royal table was placed before the guests, and the servants came and went around it.
The story still continues; but my grandmother who told me about it had lost her memory a
little and forgot the rest. I believe, however, that the king's beautiful daughter married the earl; that
they remained together in the palace and that they lived in the greatest happiness as long as God
wanted. If the white geese that were kept near the house were so many young ones (don't blame
it) that the old woman had collected at her side, if they took on a human form and remained as
ladies at the queen's side, I cannot say it even though I presume it. The truth is that the old woman
was not a sorceress, but a good fairy who wanted nothing more than to do good. probably also
It was she who granted the king's daughter at birth the gift of crying pearls instead
of tears. This does not happen now, because then the poor would soon be rich.
LITTLE BRIAR-ROSE
(SLEEPING BEAUTY)
Many years ago there lived a king and a queen, who said every day:
-Oh, if we had a son! -and none were born to them; But once, while the queen
was bathing, a frog jumped into the water, which said to her:
-Before a year you will see your wish fulfilled, and you will have a daughter.
It didn't take long for what the frog had predicted to be verified, because the
queen gave birth to a girl so beautiful that the king, full of joy, didn't know what to
do and arranged a great feast, to which he invited not only his relatives, friends
and acquaintances, but also to the fairies so that the girl would be kind and of good
morals. There were thirteen fairies in their kingdom, but since they only had twelve
gold cutlery, which are the only ones they eat with, one of them could not attend
the banquet. This was celebrated with great magnificence, and when it was
finished, each of the fairies gave the girl a special gift; this one the virtue, that one
the beauty, the third the riches, and thus they granted her everything that could be
desired in the world; But no sooner had the eleventh spoken than the thirteenth
suddenly entered, eager to take revenge because she had not been invited, and
without greeting or looking at anyone, she said in a loud voice:
-The princess will be injured with a spindle when she turns fifteen and will die
instantly.
And he left the room without saying another word. Everyone present was
frightened, but the twelfth who had not yet given her gift entered immediately; Not
being able to avoid the evil that his companion had predicted, he tried to modify it
and
said: -The princess will not die, but she will be immersed in a deep sleep for a
century, from which she will return after this time.
The king, who wanted to spare his beloved daughter all kinds of misfortunes,
gave the order that all the spindles in his kingdom be burned; But the young
woman was adorned with all the graces that the fairies had granted her, because
she was very beautiful, kind, graceful and knowledgeable, so that everyone who
saw her felt the greatest affection towards her. But when the day arrived when she
turned fifteen, it happened that she was alone in the palace because she had
the king and queen came out; She began to tour that vast dwelling, eager to know
what it contained, and she saw all the rooms one after another until she reached a
very high tower; She climbed a narrow staircase and came to a door, which she soon
opened, revealing a small room, where an old woman was sitting with her spindle
spinning with the greatest industriousness.
"Good morning, grandmother," said the princess, "what are you doing?"
"I'm spinning," answered the old woman, nodding politely.
-What is it that moves so lightly? -the girl continued saying; and he went to take
the spindle to start spinning; But he had barely touched it when the charm was
performed and he hurt his finger.
At the same moment he felt the cut, he ended up in his bed, where he fell into a
deep sleep, which spread to the entire palace. The king and queen, who had entered
at that very moment, fell asleep, as did the entire court; The horses also fell asleep in
the stable, the dogs in the yard, the pigeons on the roof, the flies on the wall, and even
the fire that was burning in the stove stopped burning, and the food stopped cooking,
and the cook and the helpers fell asleep last, so that no one would be left awake. The
wind also ceased and not even the leaf of a tree around the palace moved again.
It didn't take long for a bramble to emerge and grow around that building, which
grew larger every day until it completely surrounded it, so that not even its roof could
be seen, and only the elders of the country could give any news. of the beautiful Briar
Rose who was sleeping there; Because the princess was known by this name, and
from time to time some princes came who wanted to enter the palace through the
bush, but it was impossible for them, because the thorns closed tightly, and the young
men were caught by them, not Many times they could get loose, so they died there.
After many, many years, a prince went to that country and heard what an old man told
about that bush, behind which there was a palace, in which a beautiful princess,
named Briar Rose, had slept since the previous century, and with her The king and
queen and the entire court were asleep. He also added that he had heard his
grandfather say that many princes had already tried to cross through the bramble, but
that they had not been able to do so, leaving them dead.
Then the young man said:
-I am not afraid and I have to see the beautiful Briar Rose.
The good old man wanted to distract him from his purpose, but seeing that he was
not successful, he left him to his fate. But precisely then the hundred years had passed
and the day had arrived when Briar was to awaken.
Rose. When the prince approached the bush, he found it transformed into a beautiful rose
bush, which, opening by itself, allowed him to pass through and then closed.
He arrived at the stable and saw the dogs and horses asleep, he looked at the ceiling and saw
the pigeons with their heads under their wings, and when he entered the building, he noticed
that the flies were asleep on the walls, the cook was in the kitchen in the attitude of calling the
servants, and the maid was near a rooster that seemed ready to crow. He went a little further
and saw in a room the entire court asleep, and the king and queen sleeping on their throne. He
went a little further and everything was quiet, without the slightest noise being heard, until at
last he reached the tower and opened the door to the room in which Briar Rose slept.
He stayed looking at her, and she was so beautiful that he couldn't take his eyes off her; He
leaned down and gave her a kiss, but as soon as his lips had touched her, Briar Rose opened
her eyes, woke up, and looked at him with the greatest kindness. Then they went down together
and the king and queen and the entire court woke up and looked at each other full of admiration;
The horses woke up in the stable and began to neigh, and the dogs barked when they got up
and the pigeons that were on the roof stuck their little heads out from under their wings, looked
around and began to fly; the flies separated from the walls, the fire revived and began to crackle
in the kitchen and the food was cooked; The cook slapped each servant, who began to cry,
and the maid woke up to the rooster's crow. The prince's wedding to Briar Rose was then
celebrated with great magnificence and they lived happily until the end of their days.
THE MUSICIANS OF BREMEN
A poor farmer had a donkey that had served him loyally for many years, but whose strength
had weakened so that it was no longer fit for work. The master thought of skinning him to use
the skin, but the donkey, realizing that the wind was blowing from the wrong direction, escaped
and took the road to Bremen.
-There, -he said-, I will be able to become a musician for the municipality.
After having walked for some time, he found on the road a

hunting dog, which barked like an animal tired from a long race.
-Why do you bark like that, comrade? -Told him.
-Ah! -answered the dog; because I am old, I am losing strength day by day, and I cannot
go hunting, my master wanted to kill me; I have taken those from Villadiego; but how will I
manage to earn my bread?
-Don't be careful, replied the donkey; I'm going to Bremen to become a musician
from the city; Come with me and try to receive yourself into the band as well. I will play the
lute, and you will play the timpani.
The dog accepted and they continued on their way together. A little further on they
found a cat lying on the road with a very sad face, because it had been raining for three
days.
-What do you have, mustachioed old man? -said the donkey.
"When one's head is in danger, one is not in a very good mood," replied the cat;
because my age is somewhat advanced, my teeth are a little worn, and I like sleeping by
the hearth better than running after the mice, my master wanted to kill me, I have been
saved; but what should I do now? Where should I go?
-Come with us to Bremen, you understand night music very well, and
You will become like us a municipal musician.
The cat was pleased with the advice and left with them. Our travelers soon passed in
front of a corral, above whose door there was a rooster crowing with all its might.
-Why are you screaming like that? -said the donkey.
"I am announcing good weather," answered the rooster, "and as tomorrow is Sunday
there is a great meal at home, and the housekeeper without the slightest compassion has
told the cook that she will eat me with the greatest pleasure with rice, and tonight He has
to wring my neck. Thus I have shouted with all my might, not without a certain satisfaction,
seeing that I am still breathing.
"Red crest," said the donkey; come with us to Bremen; anywhere you will find
something better than death. You have a good voice, and when we sing together, we will
have an admirable concert.
The rooster liked the proposal and the four of them started walking together; but they
could not reach the city of Bremen that day; At dusk they stopped in a forest, where they
decided to spend the night. The donkey and the dog placed themselves under a very large
tree; The cat and the rooster won their cup, and the rooster flew again to place himself at
the highest point, where he believed himself to be safer.
Before falling asleep, when he looked towards the four winds, he thought he saw a light in
the distance and told his companions that there must be a house nearby, since it was quite
bright.
"That being so," answered the donkey, "let us vacate and march quickly towards that
side, for this inn is not very to my taste."
To which the dog added: -In
fact, I could use some bones with their little meat.

They headed towards the point where the light came from; It didn't take them long to see
it shine and grow, until finally they arrived at a very well-lit thieves' house.
The donkey, which was the largest of all, approached the house and looked inside.
-What do you see, dapple? -asked the rooster.
-What do I see? -said the donkey-. A table full of delicacies and bottles and around the
thieves, who apparently do not treat each other badly.
-What a good deal that would be for us! -added the rooster.
- Surely, replied the donkey; Ah, if we were inside!
They began to devise a way to drive the thieves out of there and finally they found him.
The donkey got under it, placing its front feet on the window sill; The dog rode on the back of
the donkey, the cat climbed on top of the dog, and the rooster flew and placed itself on top of
the cat's head.
Arranged in this manner, they all began their music at an agreed signal. The donkey began to
bray, the dog to bark, the cat to meow and the rooster to crow, then they rushed through the
window into the room, breaking the glass, which flew into a thousand pieces. The thieves,
upon hearing that horrible noise, believed that some ghost was entering the room and fled
scared into the forest. Then the four companions sat down at the table, prepared themselves
with what was left, and ate as if they had to fast for a month.
As soon as the four instrumentalists had finished, they turned off the lights and looked for
a place to rest, each according to their taste. The donkey lay down in the dung, the dog behind
the door, the cat on the hearth near the hot ashes, the rooster on a beam, and as they were
tired from their long journey, they soon fell asleep. After midnight, when the thieves saw from
afar that there was no light in the house and that everything seemed quiet, the captain told
them.
-We should not have allowed ourselves to be defeated in that way.
And he sent one of his people to go see what was happening in the house. The envoy
found everything quiet; He entered the kitchen and went to turn on the light; He took a straw
and since the cat's inflamed and bright eyes seemed like two embers to him, he brought the
straw close to them to light it; But since the cat didn't understand jokes, he jumped at his face
and scratched him, hissing. Full of horrible fear, our man ran to flee towards the door, but the
dog, who was lying behind it, rushed at him and bit his leg; When he was passing through the
corral next to the manure, the donkey kicked him a couple of times, while the rooster, awake
with the noise and already alert, shouted: quiquiriquí! -from the top of the beam. The thief ran
quickly to where his captain was and said:
-There is a horrible sorceress in our house who has scratched me, snorting,
with her long nails; Next to the door is a man armed with a huge knife, which has
pierced my leg; A black monster has settled in the patio and has beaten me with
the blows of his mace, and on top of the roof the judge has stood and shouted:
-Bring him here, bring him here, in front of me! -so I thought I should flee.
From then on the thieves did not dare to enter the house any more, and the
four musicians from Bremen felt so well there that they did not want to leave it.
CINDERELLA
A rich man had his wife very sick, and when he saw that her end was
approaching, he called his only daughter and said to her:
-Dear daughter, be pious and good, God will protect you from heaven and I
will not leave your side and I will bless you. Shortly afterward he closed his eyes
and expired. The girl went every day to cry at her mother's tomb and always
continued to be pious and good. Winter came and the snow covered the tomb
with its white mantle, spring came and the sun gilded the flowers of the field and
the girl's father married again.
The wife brought two girls who had a very beautiful face, but a very hard and
cruel heart; Then very bad times began for the poor orphan.
-We don't want that piece of goose sitting next to us, let him earn the bread he
eats, go to the kitchen with the maid.
They took off her good clothes, put an old, patched basquiña on her and gave
her some clogs.
-How dirty the proud princess is! -they said laughing, and they sent her to go
to the kitchen: she had to work there from morning until night, get up early, bring
water, light a fire, sew and wash; Her sisters also hurt her as much as possible,
mocked her and poured her food on the fire, so that she had to go down to pick it
up. At night, when she was tired from working so much, she couldn't go to bed,
because she didn't have a bed, and she spent her time lying next to the fireplace,
and since it was always covered in dust and ashes, they called her Cinderella. It
happened that her father once went to a fair and asked his stepdaughters what
they wanted him to bring them.
"A pretty dress," said one.
"A good ring," added the second.
-And you, Cinderella, what do you want? -Told him.
-Father, bring me the first branch you find on the road.
He bought his two stepdaughters beautiful dresses and rings adorned with pearls and
precious stones and on his return, while passing through a forest covered with greenery, he
tripped his hat on a bramble branch and cut it. When he returned home he gave his stepdaughters
what they had asked for and the branch to Cinderella, who thanked him; She ran to her mother's
tomb, planted the branch in it and cried so much that, watered by her tears, it didn't take long for
the branch to grow and become a beautiful tree.
Cinderella went three times every day to see the tree, she cried and prayed, and a little bird
always came to rest on it, and when she felt any desire, the little bird immediately granted her
what she wanted.
At that time the king celebrated great festivals, which were to last three days, and he invited
all the young women of the country to them so that his son could choose the one he liked most
as a wife. When the two stepsisters knew that they had to attend those parties, they called
Cinderella and told her.
-Comb our hair, clean our shoes and put the buckles on them properly, then we are going to
a wedding at the king's palace.
Cinderella heard them crying, because she would have accompanied them with
She really enjoyed the dance, and she begged her stepmother to allow it.
"Cinderella," he said, "you are full of dust and ashes and do you want to go to a wedding?"
You don't have dresses or shoes and you want to dance?
But as he insisted on his pleas, he finally told him:
-A plate of lentils has fallen into the ashes, if you pick them up within two hours, you will
come with us.
The young woman went out to the garden through the back door and said:
-Tender doves, kind doves, birds of the sky, come all and
help me pick up. The good ones in the pot, the bad ones in the cauldron.
Two white doves entered through the kitchen window, then two doves and finally all the
birds from the sky began to flutter around the hearth, which ended up descending into the ashes,
and the pigeons pecked with their beaks saying pee, pee, and The remaining birds also began
to say pee, pee, and put all the good grains on the plate. Not even an hour had passed, and
everything was finished and they flew away.
The girl then, full of joy, took the plate to her stepmother, believing that she would allow her to
go to the wedding, but she told her:
-No, Cinderella, you don't have a dress and you don't know how to dance, they would laugh at us.
But seeing that she was crying he added:
-If you can pick up two plates full of lentils from the ashes in one hour, you will go with us.
Believing in his heart that he couldn't do it, he poured the two plates of lentils into the
ashes and left, but the young woman then went out into the garden through the back door and
said again:
-Tender doves, kind doves, birds of the sky, come all and
help me pick up. The good ones in the pot, the bad ones in the cauldron.
Two white doves entered through the kitchen window, then two turtledoves and finally all
the birds from the sky began to flutter around the hearth and ended up descending into the
ashes and the pigeons pecked with their beaks saying pee, pee, and the rest. The birds also
began to say pee, pee, and put all the good lentils on the plate, and not even half an hour had
passed, when everything was finished and they flew away. The girl, full of joy, took the plate
to her stepmother, thinking that she would allow her to go to the wedding, but she said to her:
-Everything is useless, you can't come, because you don't have a dress and you don't
know how to dance; "They would laugh at us." Then she turned her back and walked away
with her proud daughters.
As soon as she was alone at home, Cinderella went to her mother's tomb,
under the tree, and began to say:
little tree,
give me a dress;
whatever, gold and silver,
very well woven.
The bird then gave her a dress of gold and silver and shoes embroidered with silver and
silk; She immediately put on her dress and went to the wedding; Her sisters and stepmother
did not know her, believing she was some foreign princess, because they thought she was
very beautiful in her gold dress, and they did not even remember Cinderella, believing she
was peeling lentils sitting at home.
The king's son came out to meet her, took her by the hand and danced with her, not
allowing her to dance with anyone, because he did not let go of her hand, and if she approached
someone else to invite her, told her:
-He's my partner.
She danced until dawn and then decided to leave; the prince told him:
"I will go with you and accompany you," because he wanted to know who that young
woman was, but she said goodbye and jumped into the dovecote, then the king's son waited
for his father to come and told him that the foreign maiden had jumped into the dovecote.
The old man thought it must be Cinderella; They brought a pickaxe and a hammer to knock
down the dovecote, but there was no one inside, and when they arrived at Cinderella's
house, they found her sitting on the hearth in her dirty dresses and a dirty lamp was burning
in the fireplace, because Cinderella had She entered and left the dovecote very quickly and
then she had run to her mother's tomb, where she took off the beautiful dresses that the bird
had taken and then went to sit in her gray basquiña in the kitchen.
The next day, when the time came for the party to begin and her parents and sisters left,
Cinderella ran to the tree and said:
little tree,
give me a dress;
very well woven.
The bird then gave her a dress much more beautiful than the one from the previous day
and when she appeared at the wedding in that dress, she left everyone admired by her
extraordinary beauty; The prince who was waiting for her took her by the hand and danced
with her all night; When someone else came to invite her, she said:
-He's my partner.
At dawn she expressed a desire to leave, but the king's son followed her to see the
house she was entering, and suddenly he went into the garden behind the house. There was
in it a very large beautiful tree, from which beautiful pears hung; Cinderella climbed up to its
branches and the prince could not know where she had gone, but he waited until his father
came and said to him:
-The foreign maiden has escaped me; It seems to me that he has jumped into the pear
tree. The father thought it must be Cinderella; He ordered an ax to be brought and felled the
tree, but there was no one in it, and when they arrived at the house, Cinderella was sitting
on the hearth, like the night before, because she had jumped from the other side of the tree
and ran to the tomb. from her mother, where she left the bird her beautiful dresses and took
her gray basquiña.
The next day, when his parents and sisters left, he was also
Cinderella went to her mother's tomb and said to the little tree:
little tree,
give me a dress;
very well woven.
The bird then gave her a dress that was much more beautiful and magnificent than any
of the previous ones, and the shoes were all gold, and when she appeared at the wedding
with that dress, no one had words to express her astonishment; The prince danced with her
all night and when someone came to invite her, he said:
-He's my partner.
At dawn Cinderella insisted on leaving, and the prince wanted to accompany her, but
she ran away so quickly that he could not follow her, but the king's son had ordered the entire
fish ladder to be greased and the girl's left shoe got stuck to it. young; The prince lifted it up
and saw that it was very small, pretty and all made of gold. The next day he went to see
Cinderella's father and said:
-I have decided that my wife will be the one who comes in handy for this golden shoe.
The two sisters were very happy because they had very pretty feet; The oldest went into
her room with the shoe to try it on. Her mother was next to her, but she couldn't put it on,
because her fingers were too long and the shoe was too small; Upon seeing him, his mother
said to him, handing him a knife:
-Cut your fingers, because when you are queen you will never go on foot.
The young woman cut her fingers; She put her shoe on her foot, hid her pain and went
out to meet the king's son, who put her on his horse as if she were his bride, and left with
her, but he had to pass by the tomb of the first woman. his stepfather's wife, on whose tree
there were two doves, which began to say.
Don't go any further,
stop and look for a moment,
that the shoe is very small
and that bride is not its owner.
He stopped, looked at her feet and saw the blood flowing; He turned his horse, led the
pretend bride home and said that it was not the one he had asked for, that the other sister
should try on the shoe. She entered her room and got it right
in front, but the heel was too thick; Then his mother handed him a knife and said:
-Cut a piece of your heel, because when you are queen, you will never walk on foot.
The young woman cut a piece of her heel, put her foot in her shoe, and hiding the pain,
went out to see the king's son, who put her on his horse as if she were his bride and left
with her; When they passed in front of the tree there were two doves that began to say:
Don't go any further,
stop and look for a moment,
that the shoe is very small
and that bride is not its owner.
He stopped, looked at her feet, and saw the blood flowing, he turned his horse and
He led the pretend bride home:
"This is not the one I'm looking for either," he said. Do you have another daughter?
"No," answered the husband; I had a poor girl from my first wife, whom we call
Cinderella, because she is always in the kitchen, but that cannot be the girlfriend you are
looking for.
The king's son insisted on seeing her, but the mother replied:
-No, no, it's too dirty to dare show it.
He insisted, however, on her leaving and Cinderella had to be called.

He first washed his face and hands, and then went out before the prince who handed him
the golden shoe; She sat down on her bench, took the heavy clog off her foot and put on
the shoe that fit her perfectly, and when she got up and the prince saw her face, he
recognized the beautiful maiden who had danced with him, and said:
-This is my real girlfriend.
The stepmother and the two sisters turned pale with anger, but he put Cinderella on
his horse and rode off with her, and when they were passing in front of the tree, the two
white doves said:
Keep going, prince, keep going
without stopping for a single moment,
Well, you already found the
owner of the little shoe.
After saying this, they flew away and placed themselves on the shoulders of the
Cinderella, one on the right and one on the left.
When the wedding took place, the false sisters went to accompany her and take part in her
happiness, and when the bride and groom went to the church, the eldest went on the right and the
youngest on the left, and the doves that Cinderella carried in her shoulders stung the eldest in the
right eye and the youngest in the left, so that each one was stung in one eye; Upon his return, the
eldest was placed on the left and the youngest on the right, and the doves stung each one in the
other eye, leaving them blind all their lives due to their falsehood and envy.
THE FISHERMAN AND HIS WIFE
Once upon a time there was a fisherman who lived with his wife in a hut by the sea. The
fisherman went every day to cast his hook, and he cast it and cast it without ceasing.
One day he was sitting next to his rod on the bank, with his eyes directed towards its clear
water, when suddenly he saw the hook sink and go down to the deepest depths and when he pulled
it out he had a very large barbel on the tip, which he told him :
-I beg you not to take my life; I am not a real barbel, I am an enchanted prince; What good
would it be for you to kill me if I can't be much of a gift to you? Throw me in the water and let me
swim.
"Certainly," said the fisherman, "you didn't need to talk so much, because I won't do anything
other than let a barbel who knows how to talk swim freely."
He threw it into the water and the barbel sank to the bottom, leaving behind a
long trace of blood. The fisherman went to the hut with his wife:
"My husband," she said, "haven't you caught anything today?"
"No," answered the husband; I caught a barbel that told me it was an enchanted prince and I
let it swim the same as before.
-Haven't you asked him for anything for you? -replied the woman.
"No," replied the husband; and what was there to ask him?
-Ah! -answered the woman-; It is so sad, it is so sad to always live in a hut as dirty and infected
as this one; you would have asked for a small house for us; Go back and call the cat, tell him that
we would like to have a small house, because he will give it to us for sure.
-Ah! -said the husband-, and why should I return?
"Haven't you caught him," the woman continued, "and let him swim like before?" Well you will
do it; go running.
The husband did not pay much attention; However, he went to the seashore, and
When he got there, he saw it all yellow and all green, he approached the water and said:
From there to the chanting, to the chanting,
beautiful fish, little neighbor,
My poor Isabel screams and gets angry,
we must give her what she deserves.
The barb advanced towards him and said:
-What do you want?
-Ah! -replied the man-, I recently caught you; My wife says I should have asked you for
something. She is not happy with living in a reed hut, she would prefer a wooden house.
"You can come back," the barbel told him, "well you already have it."
The husband returned and his wife was no longer in the hut, but in its place there was a small
house, and his wife was sitting on a bench at the door. He took her hand and said:
-Come in and see: this is much better.
The two entered and found inside the house a beautiful living room and a bedroom where his
bed was, a dining room and a kitchen with its very shiny copper and tin dish, and all the other
complete utensils. Behind it was a small patio with chickens and ducks, and a basket with
vegetables and fruits.
-Do you see, -said the woman-, how beautiful this is?
"Yes," her husband told her; If we live here forever, we will be very happy.
"We'll see what's best for us," the woman replied.
Then they ate and went to bed.
They continued like this for eight or fifteen days, but at last the woman said:
-Listen, my husband: this house is too narrow, the patio and the
garden are so small!...
The barbel should have actually given us a much bigger house.

I would like to live in a stone palace; go find the barbel; He must give us a palace.
"Ah, woman," replied the husband, "this house is actually very good; of
What good would it do for us to live in a palace?
"See," said the woman, "the barbel can very well do it."
-No, woman, -replied the husband-, the barbel has just given us this house, no.
I want to go back, I would be afraid to bother you.
"See," the woman insisted, "he can do it and he will do it with great pleasure; Go, I tell you.
The husband felt it in his soul to take this step, and he was not in much of a hurry, because he said to
himself:
"It doesn't seem right to me," but he obeyed nonetheless.
When he arrived near the sea, the water had a color of violet and dark blue, seeming ready to swell; It
wasn't green and yellow like the first time; However, the most complete calm reigned. The fisherman
approached and said:
my poor Isabel screams and gets angry,
It is necessary to give him what he deserves.
-What does your wife want? -said the barb.
-Ah! -answered the husband half embarrassed-, he wants to live in a big stone palace.
"Go," replied the barbel, "you will find her at the door."
The husband left, believing he was returning to his home; But as he approached it, he saw in its place
a great stone palace. His wife, who was at the top of the steps, was going to go inside; He took her hand
and said:
-Come in with me.
He followed. The palace had an immense hall, whose walls were made of marble; numerous servants
opened the doors with a great noise in front of them; the walls shone and were covered with beautiful
hangings; the chairs and tables in the rooms were of gold; Thousands of crystal chandeliers were suspended
from the ceilings and there were carpets in all the rooms and rooms; The tables were loaded with the most
exquisite wines and delicacies, to the point that it seemed they would break under their weight. Behind the
palace there was a very large courtyard, with stables for the cows, stables for the horses, and magnificent
carriages; There was also a large and beautiful garden,
adorned with the most beautiful flowers and fruit trees, and lastly, a park at least a league
long, where one could see deer, fallow deer, hares and everything else one could wish for.
-Isn't all this very beautiful? -said the woman.
-Oh yeah! -replied the husband-; let's stay here and we will live very
happy
"We will reflect," said the woman, "let us sleep first" and our people
they went to bed
The next morning the woman woke up when it was already daylight and saw from her bed
the beautiful countryside that was offered to her view; The husband stretched when he woke
up; She nudged him with her elbow and said:
-My husband, get up and look out the window; See, couldn't we get to
be kings of this entire country? Run to find the barbel and we will be kings.
"Ah, woman," replied the husband, "and why should we be kings, I don't feel like being
one."
"Well, if you don't want to be king," the woman replied, "I want to be queen." Go to
look for the barbel, I want to be queen.
"Ah, woman," the husband insisted; why do you want to be queen? I don't want to tell him
that.
-And why not? -said the woman-; go instantly; I must be queen.
The husband went, but he was very sad that his wife wanted to be queen. It doesn't seem
right to me, it doesn't seem right to me, he thought to himself. I do not want to go; and it was
nevertheless.
When he approached the sea, it was gray in color, the water was gushing from the bottom
to the surface and it had a foul smell; He came forward and said:
my poor Isabel screams and gets angry;
-And what does your wife want? -said the barb.
-Ah! -answered the husband-; wants to be queen
"Come back, it already is," replied the barbel.
The husband left and when he approached the palace, he saw that it had become
much larger and had a very tall tower decorated with magnificent ornaments. At the door there were
sentinel guards and a multitude of soldiers with trumpets and kettledrums. When he entered the
building he saw everywhere the purest marble, enriched with gold, velvet tapestries, and large chests
of solid gold. They opened the doors of the room to him: the entire court was assembled and his wife
was sitting on a high throne of gold and diamonds; He wore a large golden crown on his head, he had
in his hand a scepter of pure gold enriched with precious stones, and next to him were placed in a
double row six young women, whose heights were such that each one carried her head to his head.
other. He came forward and said:
-Ah, woman! Are you already queen?
"Yes," she answered, "I am already queen."
He stood in front of her and looked at her, and as soon as he had looked at her for a moment, he
said:
-Ah, woman! How good it is that you are queen! Now you will have nothing more to wish for.
"Not at all, my husband," she answered, very agitated; I have been queen for a long time, I want
to be much more. Go find the barb and tell him that I am already queen, but that I need to be empress.
-Ah, woman! -replied the husband-, I know that he cannot make you empress and
I don't dare tell him that.
"I am a queen," said the woman, "and you are my husband!" Go, if you could
make us kings, he can also make us emperors. Go, I tell you.
He had to leave; But as he walked away he was troubled and said to himself:
-It doesn't seem right to me. Emperor? It's asking too much and the barbel will get tired.
Thinking this, he saw that the water was black and boiling, the foam was rising to the surface and
the wind was picking it up, blowing violently. He shuddered, but he approached and said:
-And what do you want? -said the barb.

-Ah, barbo! -I answer-; My wife wants to become empress.
"Come back," said the barbel; It is from this moment.
The husband returned and when he returned, the entire palace was made of polished marble,
enriched with alabaster statues and adorned with gold. Before the gate there were many legions of
soldiers playing trumpets, kettledrums and drums; Inside the palace the barons, counts and dukes
came and went as simple servants and opened the doors, which were made of solid gold. As soon as
he entered, he saw his wife sitting on a golden throne made of a single piece and more than a thousand
feet high. She was wearing an enormous gold crown of five cubits, decorated with diamonds and
carbuncles; In one hand he had the scepter and in the other the imperial globe; On one side were his
guards in two rows, some smaller than others; In addition, there were enormous giants a hundred feet
high and small dwarfs no larger than a thumb.
Before her stood a crowd of princes and dukes: the husband

He advanced among them and said to him:
-Woman, you are already empress.
"Yes," she answered, "I am already empress."
Then he stood in front of her and began to look at her and it seemed to him that he saw the sun.
As soon as he had looked at her like this for a moment:
"Ah, woman," he said, "what a good thing it is to be an empress!"
But she remained stiff, very stiff, and didn't say a word.
At last the husband exclaimed:
-Woman, you will be happy, you are already empress! What more could you want?
"Let's see," the woman answered.
They immediately went to bed, but she was not happy; Ambition prevented him from sleeping and
he always thought about becoming even more.
The husband slept soundly; She had walked all day, but the woman could not rest for a moment;
he turned from one side to the other all night long, always thinking of being even more; and not finding
anything to decide on. However, it began to dawn and when he perceived the dawn he sat up a little
and looked towards the light and when he saw the sun's rays coming through his window...
-Ah! -thought-; Why shouldn't I be able to command the Sun and the Moon to rise?
"My husband," she said, pushing him with her elbow, "wake up, go look for the barbel; I want to be like
God!
The husband was still asleep, but he was so frightened that he

fell out of bed. Thinking he had heard wrong, he rubbed his eyes and asked:
-Ah, woman! What are you saying?
-My husband, if I cannot order the Sun and the Moon to come out and if it is necessary
for me to see them come out without my order, I will not be able to rest and I will not have
an hour of tranquility, because I will always be thinking that I cannot order them to come out.
And as he said this he looked at him with such a horrible frown that he felt his entire
body bathe in cold sweat.
-Go immediately, I want to be like God.
-Ah, woman! -said the husband, throwing himself at her feet-; the barbel cannot do that;
He could very well have made you queen and empress, but, I beg you, be content with
being empress.
Then he began to cry; her hair flew in disarray around her

head, tore off her belt and kicked her husband, shouting:
-I can't, I don't want to be satisfied with this; works instantly.
The husband quickly dressed and ran, like a fool.
But the storm had broken loose and was roaring furiously; the houses and trees moved;
Pieces of rock were rolling in the sea and the sky was completely black; It thundered,
lightning flashed, and the sea raised black waves as high as steeples and mountains, and
all of them had a white crown of foam on their tops. He began to shout, for he could barely
hear himself saying:
-What do you want, friend? -said the barb.
"Ah," he answered, "he wants to be like God!"
-Go back and you will find her in the hut.

And at this time they still live there.
THE TWO TRAVEL COMPANIONS

Mountains never meet, but men meet and very often the good ones meet the bad ones.
A shoemaker and a tailor met face to face on their travels or adventures through their country.
The tailor was a short man, very cheerful and in a very good mood. He saw the shoemaker
coming towards him, and knowing his job from the package he carried under his arm, he
began to sing a mocking song:
Make sure your stitches
are well secured;
little by little stretch the thread
so that they are not left in suspense.
But the shoemaker, who did not understand jokes, made a face as if he had drunk vinegar:
it looked like he was going to jump on top of the tailor. Fortunately, our man said to him,
laughing and presenting him with his pumpkin:
-Come on, that was a joke; Take a drink to quench the bile.
The shoemaker took a drink and the look on his face changed a little in his appearance.
He returned the pumpkin to the tailor, saying:
-I did not want to refuse your invitation: I have drunk for present thirst and for future thirst.
Do you want us to travel together?
"With great pleasure," said the tailor, "as long as we go to some big city, where there is
no lack of work."
"That is my intention," said the shoemaker; In small places there is nothing to do: people
go with bare feet.
And they began to walk together on foot, like the king's dogs.
They both had more time to waste than money to spend. In all the cities where they
entered, they visited the masters of their trades, and, as the little tailor was a very handsome
boy and in a very good mood, they gave him work with great pleasure, and sometimes the
master's daughter also gave him some than another handshake behind the door. When he
returned to join his companion, his bag was always the most full. Then the shoemaker, always
grunting, became even uglier, grumbling under his breath:
-Only rogues have fortune.
But the tailor did nothing but laugh and shared everything he had with his companion. As
soon as he heard metal ringing in his pocket, he made the best of himself and, expressing his
joy with gestures, made the glasses jump on the table. For him it could very well be said:
"quickly earned, but even sooner spent."
After they had traveled for some time, they came to a thick forest, through which
the road to the capital of the kingdom passed. You had to choose between two paths,
one took seven days to arrive, the other only two; but neither of them knew which was
the shortest. They sat under an oak tree and thought together about the path they
should take and the amount of bread they should take. The shoemaker said:
-You should always take as many precautions as possible, I will buy bread for
seven days.
"What's the point," said the tailor, "carrying bread for seven days on your back, like
a beast of burden?" I have confidence in God, and nothing gives me care.
The money I have in my pocket is worth both summer and winter, but when it's hot the
bread dries out and molds. My jacket is no more than gray: I don't take so many
precautions. And furthermore, why shouldn't we find the best path? Enough bread for
two days.
Each one made their provisions, and they set out on their way to adventure.
In the forest, there was the same calm and tranquility as in a church. Not even a
breath of wind could be heard; Neither the murmur of the streams, nor the song of the
birds, nor the thickness of the foliage stopped the rays of the sun. The shoemaker did
not speak a word, hunched under the load of bread, which made sweat run down his
black and gloomy face. The tailor, on the other hand, was in a very good mood, running
everywhere; whistling, singing some little songs, and said:
-God in his paradise must be happy to see me so happy.
The first two days passed like this; but to the third, as they could not see the end
of their journey, the tailor, who had consumed all his bread; He saw all his joy fade
away; However, without losing heart, he entrusted himself to his good fortune and to
the mercy of God. At night he went to bed under a tree hungry and woke up the next
day without it having gone away. The same thing happened on the fourth day, and
while the shoemaker ate, sitting on the trunk of a fallen tree, the poor tailor had no
other recourse than to look at him as he did. He asked him for a bite of bread, but the
other answered him smiling:
-It doesn't hurt for you, who are always so happy, to know a little about misfortune.
The birds that sing in the morning fall into the clutches of the sparrowhawk in the
afternoon.
In a word, he didn't feel sorry for him.
On the morning of the fifth day, the poor tailor no longer had the strength to get up.
He could barely utter a word in his faint: his cheeks were pale and his eyes were red.
The shoemaker told him:
-I will give you a piece of bread, but on the condition that I have to take out your right eye.
The unfortunate man, forced to accept this horrible contract to preserve his life, cried with both
eyes for the last time and offered himself to his executioner, who took out his right eye with the tip
of his knife.
The tailor then remembered what his mother used to say to him when
He was a child and when he spanked him for taking some candy from him:
-You should eat everything you can, but you should also suffer everything
that cannot be prevented.
As soon as he had eaten the bread that had cost him so much, he stood up and consoled
himself for his misfortune, thinking that he would see quite well with one eye. But on the sixth day
his hunger returned and he felt completely faint.
He fell at night at the foot of a tree and the next morning his weakness prevented him from getting
up. He felt death approaching. The shoemaker told him:
-I have compassion for you, and I am going to give you another piece of bread, but in
exchange I will take out your remaining eye.
The poor man then thought of his lightness, which was the cause of everything.
this; He asked God for forgiveness and said:
-Do what you want, I will suffer as much as necessary. But think that if God does not always
punish immediately, there will nevertheless come a moment when you will pay for the evil you do
to me without having deserved it. In the days of prosperity I have shared with you what I had. I
need my eyes to work: when I lack them, I will no longer be able to sew and I will have to beg. At
least, when I'm blind, don't leave me here alone, because I'd die of hunger.
The shoemaker, who had no fear of God, took his knife and put out his left eye; Then he gave
him a piece of bread and made him hold on to the end of a stick; He took it behind him.
As the sun set they reached the edge of the forest where there was a gallows. The shoemaker
led his blind companion to the foot of the scaffold and leaving him there he continued on his way
alone. The unfortunate man fell asleep, overwhelmed with fatigue, pain and hunger, and spent the
entire night in a deep sleep.
He woke up at dawn without knowing where he was. Two poor sinners were hanging on the
gallows with two crows on their heads. The first hanged man began to say:
-Are you sleeping, brother?
"I'm awake," answered the other.
"Do you know," answered the first, "that the dew that fell tonight from the
gallows, above us, would give sight to the blind who bathed their eyes with it? If they
knew, more than one person who believes they have lost it forever would regain their
sight.
The tailor, upon hearing this, took his handkerchief, rubbed it on the grass until it
was well wet with the dew and moistened the empty cavities of his eyes.
Immediately what the hanged man had predicted came true and his orbits were filled
with two lively and insightful eyes. It didn't take long for the tailor to see the sun rising
behind the mountains. Before him stretched out on the plain the great capital, with its
magnificent gates and its hundred bell towers crowned with brilliant crosses. He could
now count the leaves on the trees, follow the flight of birds and the dance of flies. He
took a needle out of his pocket and tried to thread it: seeing that he succeeded, his
heart was filled with joy. He got down on his knees to thank God for his mercy and to
say the morning prayer, and without forgetting those poor sinners hanging on the
gallows and rattling in the wind, like bell clappers. Throwing away his annoyances, he
took his package under his arm and set out, singing and whistling.
The first being he found was a chestnut colt, which was grazing freely in a meadow.
He took him by the mane and was going to ride him to go to the city. But the colt
begged him to leave him.
"I am still too young," he added; It is true that you are nothing more than a little
tailor, light as a feather, but you would still break my loins; let me eat until I am stronger.
Perhaps there will come a time when I can reward you.
"Go away," replied the tailor; Just like that, I see that you are only good for jumping.
And he hit him on the rump with the palm of his hand. The colt began to spin for
joy and dash across the fields, leaping over hedges and ditches.
However, the tailor had not eaten since the previous day.
"My eyes," he said to himself, "have seen the light again, but my stomach has not
seen bread again." The first thing I find that I can eat, I'll move it to him.
At the same time he saw a stork advancing with the greatest gravity across the
meadow.
"Stop," he shouted, grabbing her by one paw; I don't know if your meat is good to
eat, but hunger doesn't let me hesitate in the choice; I'm going to cut off your head and
roast you.
"Be careful not to do so," said the stork; I am a sacred bird, useful to men and no one has
ever hurt me. Leave me your life and maybe I can be of some use to you again.
"Well then," said the tailor, "start running, long-footed wife."
The stork took flight and rose calmly into the air, letting its legs hang down.
-What is all this going to end up with? -the tailor said to himself-; My hunger does not
diminish and my stomach torments me. Now the first being that comes to hand is lost.
At the same moment he saw two small ducks swimming in a pond.
"They come on purpose," he thought to himself, and picking one up he was going to wring
its neck.
But an old duck, who was hidden among the reeds, ran towards him with
her beak open, and she begged him crying to leave her children.
"Think," he said; in your mother's pain if you were given the death blow.
"Don't be careful," replied the good man; I won't touch him -and he threw the duck he had
caught into the water.
When he returned he saw a very large tree, half hollow, around which wild bees were flying.
"Here I am rewarded for my good deed," he said to himself, "I am going to treat myself to
honey."
But coming out of the tree, the queen of the bees declared to him that if he touched her
people and their nest he would be instantly wounded by a thousand stings; that if, on the other
hand, he left them alone, the bees could be useful to him later.
The tailor soon understood that nothing could wait on that side.
"Three empty plates and nothing in the room," he said to himself, "is a
food without any gift.
Exhausted by hunger, he dragged himself to the city, but as he entered at midday, the
food was prepared in the inns and there was nothing left to do but to sit at the table. As soon
as he finished, he ran around the city to look for work and soon found him with good conditions.
Since she knew her job well, it didn't take long for her to become known and everyone
wanted to have a new dress, made by her hand. His fame grew day by day and the king finally
appointed him court tailor.
But how many times the world goes around! On the same day, his former comrade
the shoemaker, was appointed court shoemaker. When he saw the tailor with his two good
eyes, his conscience was troubled:
"Before he thinks of taking revenge on me," he said to himself, "I have to lay some snare
on him."
But often we lay snares on others in order to fall into them ourselves. At night, having
finished his work, he went to the palace secretly and said to the king:
-Sir, the tailor is a very proud man: he has boasted that

I would find the golden crown that you have lost so long ago.
-I would be very pleased; -said the king.
And the next day he called the tailor to his presence and ordered him to bring him the crown
or leave the city forever.
-Ah! -said the tailor-; Only scoundrels promise what they cannot deliver! Since this king has
the obstinacy to demand of me what no man can do, I will not wait for his threat: I am going to
leave right now.
He packed his suitcase, but as he walked out the door he felt disgusted at leaving a city
where everything had turned out well. He passed in front of the pond where he had made
friends with the ducks; The old duck, to whom she had left her young, was standing on the
shore, arranging her feathers with her beak. She met him right away and asked him where he
was going so sad.
"You won't miss it when you know what has happened to me," replied the tailor and told
him his situation.
-It is not more than that? -said the duck-, we can help you. The crown is precisely at the
bottom of this pond. In a moment you will have it on the shore: extend your handkerchief to
receive it.
She sank into the water with her twelve children and after five minutes she was back and
was swimming in the middle of the crown that she held with her wings, while her children, placed
around, helped her carry it with her beak. They reached the shore and left the crown on the
handkerchief. You can't imagine how beautiful she was: she shone in the sun like a million
carbuncles. The tailor wrapped her in his handkerchief and took her to the king, who in his joy
put a gold chain around her neck.
When the shoemaker saw that he had missed the blow, he resorted to another expedient
and went to tell the king:
-Sir, the tailor has fallen back into his pride: he boasts of being able to reproduce your
palace in wax, with everything it contains inside and out.
outside, with furniture and so on.
The king had the tailor come and ordered him to reproduce his palace in wax, with everything it
contained inside and out, the furniture and so on, warning him that if he did not do it or if he forgot a single
nail in a wall, he would send him to end his days in an underground dungeon.
The poor tailor said to himself:
-This is really going from bad to worse, they are asking me for something impossible.
He packed his suitcase and left the city.
When he reached the foot of the hollow tree he sat down, lowering his head. The bees were flying
around him; The queen asked him, seeing him with his head so low, if it hurt him.
"No," he said, "that's not my illness."
And he told him what the king had commanded him.
The bees began to buzz among themselves and the queen said:
-Go back to your home; and come tomorrow at this time with a large napkin and
you will have everything arranged.
He returned home; but the bees flew to the palace and entered through the open windows to recognize
everything and examine all things in their smallest details and hastening to return to their hive, they built a
palace of wax that could not be seen without being filled with admiration.
Everything was ready at night and when the tailor returned the next day he found the magnificent
building waiting for him, white as snow and exhaling a sweet smell of honey, without a nail missing from
the walls, nor a tile from the roof. The tailor wrapped it carefully in the napkin and took it to the king, who
could not come back from his astonishment. He had the masterpiece placed in the main hall of his palace
and rewarded the tailor with the gift of a large stone house.
The shoemaker still did not give up. He went for the third time to look for the king and said to him:
-Sir, it has reached the ears of the tailor that he has always tried in vain to open a well in the courtyard
of your palace and has boasted of making a cannon of water jump higher than a man and clearer than
crystal.
The king called the tailor and said to him:
-If tomorrow there is not a water game in my yard, just like the one you
you have praised, my executioner will cut off your head in that same courtyard.
The unfortunate tailor without further delay gained the gates of the city and since this
time it was his life, tears ran down his cheeks. He was walking sadly when he found next to
him the colt to which he had granted freedom and which was now a beautiful chestnut horse.
"The moment has come," he said, "when I can express my gratitude to you." I know
your situation, but I will get you out of it; ride on top of me, now I can carry two like you
without any difficulty.
The tailor regained his courage, jumped on the horse which immediately galloped
towards the city and entered the palace courtyard. He galloped three times as fast as
lightning and on the third he stopped suddenly; At the same time a terrifying noise was
heard: a clod of earth jumped like a bomb above the palace and at the same time a set of
water came out as tall as a man on horseback and as pure as crystal. The sun's rays played
on it shining. The king, seeing this, was filled with astonishment and embraced the tailor in
his arms.
But our man was not at peace for long. The king had many daughters, some more
beautiful than the others, but no son. The evil shoemaker addressed the king for the fourth
time and said:
-Sir, the tailor is more proud every day. Now he boasts that if he wants
He will cause a son to come to you from high in the air.
The king sent for the tailor and told him that if he brought him a son within eight days
he would give him his eldest daughter in marriage.
"The reward is good," said the little tailor to himself, "anyone can be happy with it; but
the cherries are too high; If I climb the tree the branches will break and I will fall to the
ground.
He went home and sat cross-legged on his bench to consider what he should do.
"It's impossible," he finally exclaimed; I have to go, there is no rest for me here.
He packed his suitcase and hurried out of the city.
As he passed through the meadow he saw his old friend the stork, who was pacing far
and wide, like a philosopher, stopping from time to time to observe some frogs that he
ended up eating. He went out to meet him to greet him.
-Where are you going with the bag on your back? -Told him-; are you leaving the city now?
The tailor told him about the commitment the king had placed him in and he complained
bitterly of his fate.
"Don't be bothered by such a small thing," he replied; I will get you ahead; I
I have already taken many children and I can very well carry a little prince on an
occasion like this. Go back to your tent and be still. From today in three days if you go
to the king's palace you will find me at your side.
The little tailor returned home and on the agreed day went to the palace.
A moment later the stork arrived in rapid flight and knocked on the window. The tailor
opened it and the long-footed wife entered cautiously and advanced gravely across the
marble pavement. She carried in her beak a child as beautiful as an angel who
stretched out his little hands towards the queen; He stood over her knees and the
queen began to kiss him and hold him to her heart as a sign of her joy.
Before leaving, the stork took his traveling bag from his back and presented it to
the queen. It was full of cones of chocolates of all colors that were distributed to the
little princesses. The eldest did not take any, because she was too big, but they gave
her as a husband to our little tailor.
-I can say, -the tailor thought-, that I have won the big lottery prize. My mother was
right when she said that, with faith in God and fortune, everything turns out well.
The shoemaker was forced to make the shoes that the tailor used for the wedding
dance.
Then they threw him out of the city, forbidding him to ever enter it. He took the path
through the forest and as he passed in front of the gallows, overwhelmed by the heat,
anger and jealousy, he lay down next to the posts. But when he was about to fall
asleep, the two crows that were on top of the heads of the hanged men rushed at him,
shouting loudly, and gouged out his eyes.
He ran like a fool through the forest and must have died of hunger because since then
no one has seen him or heard from him.
THE MAN WITH THE BEAR SKIN
A young man enlisted in the army and behaved with great courage, always being
first in all battles. Everything went well during the war, but as soon as peace was made,
he received the license and order to go wherever he wanted. His parents had died and
he had no home, he begged his brothers to admit him into theirs until the war started
again; But their hearts were very hard and they responded that they could do nothing
for him, that he was of no use and that he should move forward as best he could. The
poor devil only had his rifle, he put it on his back and
He left to wander.
He arrived at a very large desert, in which nothing could be seen but a circle of
trees. He sat there in the shade, thinking sadly of his fate.
-I have no money, I have not learned any trade; While there has been war I have been able
to serve the king, but now that peace has been made I am of no use; As I see, I have to die of
hunger.
At the same time he heard a noise and raising his eyes, he saw in front of him an unknown
man dressed in green with a very luxurious suit, but with a horrible horse's foot.
"I know what you need," said the stranger, "money; You will have as much as you can want,
but first I need to know if you are afraid, because I give nothing to cowards.
"Soldier and coward," answered the young man, "are two words that have not been
never twinned. You can give me any test you want.
"Well," replied the stranger, "look behind you."
The soldier turned and saw a huge bear that was about to pounce on him, making horrible
growls.
-Ah! Ah! -he exclaimed-, I'm going to break your noses and take away your desire to growl;
and throwing the rifle at his face, he shot him in the nose and the bear fell dead on the spot.
"I see," said the stranger, "that you do not lack courage, but you must also fulfill other
conditions."
"Nothing stops me," replied the soldier, "because I saw well who I had to deal with."
I will talk to them, as long as my eternal salvation is not compromised.
"You will judge for yourself," the man replied. For seven years you must not wash or comb
your beard or hair, cut your nails, or pray. I'm going to give you a dress and a cape that you will
wear throughout this time. If you die within this interval you belong to me, but if you live beyond
seven years, you will be free and rich for your entire life.
The soldier thought of the great misery to which he was reduced; He who had defied death
so many times could very well risk it once more.
I agree. The devil took off his green dress and gave it to him saying:
-As long as you are wearing this dress, as long as you put your hand in it
pocket you will take out a handful of gold.
Then he took the skin off the bear and added:
-This will be your cloak and also your bed, since you must not have any other, since
because of this dress they will call you Bearskin.
The devil disappeared immediately.
The soldier put on his dress and putting his hand in his pocket, he saw that the devil had
not deceived him. He also put on the bear skin and began to travel the world, living a good
life and not lacking anything that makes people fat and their pockets thin. The first year he
had a passable figure, but the second year he had all the air of a monster. His hair covered
his face almost completely, his beard had mixed with it and his face was so full of mud that if
they had planted grass on it he would have been born for sure. Everyone ran away from him;
However, since he helped all the poor by asking them to pray to God so that he would not die
within seven years and since he spoke like a good man, he always found a good reception.
In the fourth year he entered an inn, whose owner did not want to receive him even in the
stable, for fear that he would frighten the horses. But when Piel de Oso took a handful of
duros out of his pocket, the boss allowed himself to be won over and gave him a room at the
back of the patio on the condition that he would not be seen so that the establishment would
not lose its reputation.
One night Bearskin was sitting in his room, wishing with all his heart for the completion of
the seven years, when he heard crying in the next room. Because he had a good heart, he
opened the door and saw an old man sobbing with his head in his hands. But seeing Bearskin
enter, the frightened man wanted to flee. But he finally calmed down when he heard a human
voice speaking to him, and Bearskin concluded, by dint of friendly words, by making him
explain the cause of his displeasure.
He had lost all his property and was reduced with his daughters to such misery that he
could not pay the guest and they were going to put him in prison.
"If you have no other care," said Bearskin, "I have enough money to get you out of your
trouble."
And sending the innkeeper to come he paid him and also gave that unfortunate
a large sum for your needs.
The old man, seeing himself saved, did not know how to express his recognition.
"Come with me," he said; My daughters are models of beauty, you will choose one for
your wife and she will not refuse as soon as she knows what you have just done for me. Your
air is indeed a little strange, but a woman will soon reform you.
Bearskin agreed to accompany the old man, but when the eldest daughter saw his horrible
face, she ran away in fear, screaming in fear. The
The second she looked at him and after having looked him up and down, she said:
-How to accept a husband who does not have a human figure? I would prefer the shaved
bear I saw one day at the fair, who was dressed as a man in a hussar's coat and white
gloves. At least it was just ugly and you could get used to it.
But the youngest said:
-Dear father, he must be a very honest man, since he has helped us; You have promised
him a woman and you must honor your word.
Unfortunately Bearskin's face was covered with hair and mud, otherwise the joy that
overflowed in his heart when he heard these words could have been seen shining. He
removed a ring from his finger, broke it in two, gave half to his fiancée, recommending that
she keep it for him while he kept the other part. On the half he gave him he inscribed his
own name and that of the young woman on which he kept for himself. Then he said goodbye
to her, saying:
-I leave you until three years from now, if I come back we will get married, but if I don't
come back it means I have died and then you will be free.
Ask God to preserve my life.
The poor young woman was always sad from that day on and tears came to her eyes
when she remembered her future husband. His sisters, for their part, directed the rudest
jokes at him.
"Be careful," the eldest told her, "when you shake his hand, he doesn't skin you with his
paw."
"Distrust him," the second told him; bears are fond of white meat; If he likes it he will eat
you.
"You will always have to do his will," added the eldest, "otherwise you will have no
shortage of grunts."
"But," added the second, "the wedding dance will be joyful; The bears dance a lot and
well.
The poor young woman let her sisters talk without getting uncomfortable. As for the man
with the Bear Skin, he was always around the world doing all the good he could and giving
generously to the poor so that they would ask for him.
When the last day of the seven years finally arrived, he returned to the desert and stood
in the square of trees. A very strong wind arose and it didn't take long for the devil to appear
in a very bad mood; He gave the soldier his old clothes and asked for his green one.
"Wait," said Bearskin, "you must clean me first."
The devil was forced, despite himself, to fetch water and wash him, comb his hair and cut
his nails. The young man took on the air of a brave soldier, much better looking than he was
before.
Bearskin felt relieved of a great burden when the devil departed without tormenting him in
any other way. He returned to the city and put on a magnificent velvet dress, and getting into
a carriage drawn by four white horses, he was driven to his fiancée's house. Nobody knew
him; The father took him for a superior officer and took him to the room where his daughters
were.
The two oldest made him sit next to them, served him an excellent meal and declared that
they had never seen such a handsome gentleman. As for his fiancée, she was sitting in front
of him in her black dress, eyes downcast and not saying a single word.
The father finally asked him if he wanted to marry one of his daughters and the two eldest
ran to their room to get dressed, each one thinking that she would be the favorite.
The stranger was left alone with his fiancée, took out half of the ring he was carrying in
his pocket and put it in a glass of wine that he offered her. He began to drink and saw that
fragment at the bottom of the glass; His heart trembled with joy.
He took the other half that was hanging around his neck and brought it closer to the first one,
joining both exactly. Then he said to him:
-I am your fiancé, the one you have seen under a bear skin; Now, by the grace of God, I
have recovered the human form and am purified from my sins.
And taking her in his arms, he held her affectionately in them at the very moment when
his two sisters entered with their magnificent dresses; But when they saw that this handsome
young man was for their sister and that he was the man with the bear skin, they left full of
disgust and anger. The first one threw herself into a well and the second hung herself from a
tree.
At night there was a knock at the door and the husband went to open it and saw the devil.
with her green dress who told her:
-I haven't gone wrong; I have lost one soul but I have gained two.
JUANITA AND JUANITO

In the middle of a thick forest there was an old castle inhabited only by an old woman, who was a
sorceress, during the day she turned into a cat or night bird, but at night she took on her human form again. He
caught and hunted animals and birds, killed them, cooked them and ate them; If someone approached within a
hundred paces of his castle, he would remain standing in the place from which he had approached; from which
he could not move, until she allowed him to; If it was a maiden who entered that circle, he turned her into a
bird, locked her in a cage and took her to a room in the castle where he had collected about seven hundred
cages of this kind.
At that time there was a maiden, named Juanita, who was much more beautiful than all the maidens of
her age, who was betrothed to a young man, also very good-looking, named Juanito; They were close to getting
married and had no other pleasure than being together and in order to talk with more confidence, they went to
the forest for a walk.
"Be careful," Juanito told him, "from getting too close to the castle."
But one beautiful afternoon, when the sun illuminated the green grass of the forest through the tops of the
trees and the doves expressed their complaints in animated chirps, Juanita began to listen to them and began
to cry, and when Juanito saw her he began to cry too. . They were as disturbed as if they were close to death;
They looked around, they were lost and did not know where they should return home. The sun was setting
behind the mountain; Juanito looked through the trees and saw that they were close to the old walls of the
castle, he was scared, he became pale and faint. Juanita began to sing:
Little bird, little bird,
the one with the golden necklace;
What do you sing, what do you sing, tell me?
you sing, you sing your sorrow.
What does my little dove sing?
what do you sing, tell me,
do you sing his death?
Cantala you, she, you, she, you.
Juanito looked at Juanita, who had turned into a nightingale, who was singing, yes, you, yes, you. A
nocturnal bird with brilliant eyes flew three times around her and also shouted three times: hu, hu, hu! Juanito
couldn't move, he was like petrified, he couldn't cry, or speak, or move his hand or his foot. The sun had just
set, the bird flew to a bush and shortly after
After a while a pale, skinny old woman came out from behind him; with large red eyes, a nose
that was flattened and twisted at the tip, which reached down to his beard.
He murmured a few words, called the nightingale and took it with his hand. Juanito could not
speak or move from the place where he was; The nightingale disappeared.
Then the woman returned and said in a hoarse voice:
-I greet you, the moon has appeared in the sky, you are free; be in good time.
And Juanito was freed.
He then threw himself at the woman's feet and begged her to allow him to take his Juanita,
but she told him that she would never succeed and left.
He called her, he cried, he lamented, all in vain.
-Oh, what is going to become of me!
Juanito started walking until he reached a distant village; where he kept

sheep for a long time.
He often went for a walk around the castle, but never came nearer; Finally he dreamed one
night that he had found a rose the color of blood, in the center of which there was a very large
pearl; He took the rose, went to the castle and everything he touched with it was disenchanted;
He also dreamed of being reunited with his Juanita. When he woke up in the morning he began
to search the mountains and valleys to see if he could find a rose like the one he had dreamed
of. He searched for it nine days in a row and one morning he found a rose the color of blood; In
its center was a drop of dew as large as a beautiful pearl. He headed to the castle with his rose,
he was not petrified and was able to continue walking until he reached the door.
Juanito became very happy, he knocked on the doors with the flower and they opened; He
entered and stopped in the patio to listen to where the birds were singing, until he finally heard it;
He headed towards that point and found himself in a room in which the sorceress was surrounded
by seven thousand bird cages.
When he saw Juanito he became very angry, he screamed and threw gall and poison at him,
but he couldn't get within two steps of him. However, he didn't want to go back and continued
walking through the cages full of birds; but they contained many hundreds of nightingales; How
to find your Juanita?
Finding herself in this, the old woman sneaked up to a cage that had a bird, to which she
opened the door; He ran, touched the cage with the flower and also the old woman, who since
then could no longer charm anyone, and he found himself next to Juanita, who threw herself
around his neck, much more beautiful than she had ever been.
Before leaving all the birds, she returned to her primitive maiden self and went with her
Juanita to her house, where they lived for a long time.
happy and content.
THE YOUNG GIANT
A farmer had a son as big as his thumb. He never grew taller and for many years his
height did not increase by a single finger. One day when his father was going to work in the
field, the little boy said to him:
-Father, I want to go with you.
-To come with me? -said the father-; stay here! You wouldn't be useful outside the home.
more than to bother; and you could also get lost.
But the dwarf began to cry and to have peace he put his father in the
pocket and took him with him.
As soon as he reached the land he was going to plow, he sat him down in a newly plowed
furrow.
While there, a very large giant appeared coming from the other side of the mountains:
"Look, the bogeyman," his father told him, "who wanted to scare his son so that he would
be more obedient; comes to catch you. But the giant, who had heard this, reached the furrow
in two steps, grabbed the dwarf and led him away without saying a word.
The father, speechless with astonishment, did not even have the strength to scream. He
believed his son was lost and did not expect to see him again.
The giant took him home and raised him by himself, the dwarf suddenly took on a great
stature, grew and became similar to a giant. After two years the giant went with him to the
forest, to test him, he said:
-Take me a rod.
The boy was already so strong that he uprooted a tree with roots from the ground. But the
giant decided to make him grow even more and taking him with him, he raised him for another
two years.
At the end of this time, their strength had increased so much that they could uproot a tree
from the ground, even if it was very old. But this was not enough for the giant; She raised him
for another two years, after which she went with him to the forest and said to him:
-Take me a stick of a regular size.
The young man uprooted the largest oak from the forest, which gave a
horrible outburst, this effort being nothing more than a game for him.
"It is well," said the giant, "your education is now concluded."
And he took him to the land where he had caught him. His father was busy working when
the young giant approached him and said:
-I am here, my father, made a real man.
The farmer, frightened, exclaimed:
-No, you are not my son, I don't love you; leave
-Yes, I am your son. Let me work in your place. I will plow as well and better than you.
-No, no, you are not my son, and you do not know how to plow; leave
But, as he was afraid of the colossus, he left the plow and stood at a distance. Then, the
young man, taking his instrument with one hand, leaned on it with such force that the grate sank
deep into the ground.
The farmer couldn't stop shouting:
-If you want to plow, you should not go so deep, because the work will turn out very poorly.
The young man then unharnessed the horses and hitched himself to the plow, saying to his
father:
-Go home, and tell my mother to prepare me an abundant meal;

Meanwhile I will finish plowing this land.
The farmer went home and told his wife everything. As for the young giant, he plowed the
entire land, which would have been very good two bushels, by himself, and immediately raked
it, dragging two rakes at a time. When he had finished, he went to the forest, uprooted two oaks,
which he put on his shoulder, and hanging the two rakes on one and the two horses on the
other, he carried everything to his parents' house as easily as if it were straw.
When he entered the courtyard, his mother, who did not know him, exclaimed:
-Who is that horrible giant?
"He is our son," said the farmer.
“No,” she said, “he is not our son; Our son has already died. We do not
We have never had one so big: ours was very small.
And addressing him:
"Go away," he shouted; we don't love you.
The young man did not answer him. He took the horses to the stable, gave them hay and oats
and took perfect care of them.
Then, when he had finished, he entered the room and sat down on the bench:
"Mother," he said, "I'm hungry. Is the food ready?"
"Yes," he answered, and placed before him two very large plates, filled to the brim.
above and that would have been enough to eat her and her husband for eight days.
The young man ate everything; He immediately asked if there was anything else.
-No; That's all we have.
-That was hardly enough to whet my appetite; I need something else.
The mother did not dare to refuse: she put a very large pot full of bacon on the fire and
gave it to him as soon as it was cooked.
"Come on," he said, "now you can have a bite."
And he swallowed it all without his hunger going away. Then he said to his father:
-I see that at home there is not what I need to eat. Find me an iron bar, strong enough,
that won't break above my knee and I'll go and run around the world.
The farmer was amazed. He hitched the two horses to the cart and brought from the
forge an iron bar so large and so thick that the two horses could barely drag it.
The young man took it and broke it on his knee like a straw; He threw the pieces aside.
The father hitched four horses and brought another iron bar, much larger and stronger than
the first.
But his son also broke it above the knee, saying:
This one isn't worth anything either, bring me a stronger one. The father finally harnessed
eight horses and brought one that could barely be dragged by all of them. As soon as the
son took it in his hand, he broke off a bit of one end and said to his father:
-Now I see that you cannot provide me with an iron bar like the one you
need. I'm leaving your house.
To travel the world he became a blacksmith. He came to a city where there was a very
miserly blacksmith who never gave anything to anyone and wanted to keep everything for
himself. He showed up at the forge and asked for a job. The master was amazed to see
such a vigorous young man and counted on him to give good hammer blows and earn his
money well.
-How much salary do you want? -he asked him.
"Nothing," answered the other, "but every fortnight when you pay the others
I want to give you two punches, which you will be forced to receive.
The miser was very satisfied with the contract that saved him a lot of money.
The next day the foreign officer was the one who gave the first blow of the
hammer when the master brought the burning iron bar; He gave it such a blow
that the iron broke and jumped, and the anvil sank so deeply into the ground that
they could not get it out again. The teacher, uncomfortable, told him:
-You are not good for the job, because you hit too hard; what do you want me to give you
for that hammer blow you hit?
-I want nothing more than to give you a nudge, just one.
And he gave him such a blow that he made him jump over four wagons of hay. Then he
looked for the thickest iron bar he could find in the forge and, taking it like a staff, he
continued on his way.
A little further on he came to a farm and asked its owner if he needed any servants.
"Yes," he replied, "I need one." You seem like a very young boy to me
vigorous and that you know your obligation. But how much salary do you want?
He replied that he did not want a salary, that he was content to give him three
trompis every year, which he would force himself to receive. The foreigner was very
happy about this contract because he was also very greedy.
The next day we had to go look for wood in the forest, the other servants were already
up, but our young man was still in bed. One of them shouted at him:
-Get up, it's time, we're going to the forest and you need to come with
us.
"Go ahead," he replied abruptly, "I'll be back long before

you.
The others went to look for the master and told him that the new servant was
still in bed and did not want to go with them to the forest. The master told them
to go wake him up again and they gave him the order to harness the horses. But
our man answered them again:
-Go ahead, I will be back before you.
He lay still two hours; At the end of this time he got up and after having picked two
bushels of peas and making a good stew, which he ate calmly, he harnessed the horses to
drive the cart to the forest. To get to this place you had to go through a road that was in a
ravine; He made the cart pass first, then, stopping the horses, he turned back, covered the
road with trees and weeds, so that no
it was possible to pass. When he entered the forest the others were already returning with their
loaded carts and he said to them:
-Go ahead, I'll be home before you.
Without walking any further, he contented himself with uprooting two enormous trees which
he put in his cart and then returned along the same path. When he found them stopped and
unable to pass in front of the trees that he had prepared for that purpose, he told them:
-If you had stayed at home this morning like me, you would have slept an hour more and
you would not have come in another hour later tonight.
And since his horses could not move forward, he unhitched them, placed them on top of
the cart and, taking the spear in his hand, he carried everything as if it were a handful of
feathers. When he was on the other side:
"See," he told them, "how I arrived long before you; -and continued on his way without
waiting for them. When he arrived he took a tree in his hand and showed it to his master, saying:
-Isn't this a beautiful log?
The master said to his wife:
-This is a good servant, if he gets up later than the others, he is also back before them.
He served the farmer for a year. When he expired and the other servants received their
salary, he also wanted to collect his own. But the master, frightened by the prospect of the
blows he had to receive, immediately begged him to forgive them, declaring that he preferred
to be his servant himself and give him the farm.
"No," he replied, "I don't want the farm, I am a servant and I want to continue being one, but
what has been agreed upon must be executed."
The farmer offered to give him everything he wanted, but it was in vain, because he always
responded:
-No.
He asked for a period of fifteen days to look for an escape. The other
he consented.
The tenant then gathered all his servants and asked their opinion.
After having reflected for a long time, they responded that with such a servant no one was sure
of his life and that he would kill a man like a fly. They were, therefore, of the opinion that he
should be lowered into the well, in order to clean him, and as soon as he was down, throw him
on top of his head.
a portion of millstones that were nearby, so that they would kill him on the spot.
The advice pleased the tenant and the servant hurried down to the well. As soon as he
was at the bottom, they threw those huge stones at him, thinking they would break his head,
but he shouted at them from below:
-Throw the chickens out of there, they scratch in the sand and it falls into my eyes, they have
blinded me.
The tenant went spcha! spcha! as if he were throwing out the chickens. When
The servant concluded and went up.
-Look; -he said-, what a beautiful necklace.
It was the largest of the stones he had around his neck.
The servant continued to demand his salary, but the tenant asked for another fifteen days,
determined to think it over. His servants advised him to send the young man to an enchanted
mill to grind grain during the night, since no one had come out alive the next day. This advice
pleased the tenant and at the same moment he sent his servant to the mill to take eight bushels
of wheat and grind them during the night, because they were already needed. The servant put
two bushels of wheat in his right pocket, two in his left, loaded four bushels into a saddlebag,
two in front and two in back, and ran to the mill. The miller told him that he could very well
grind during the day and not at night, since all those who ventured to do so had turned up dead
the next morning.
-I will not die; Go to sea and sleep carelessly.
And entering the mill he began to grind the wheat as if it were nothing.
Around eleven at night he entered the miller's room and sat down on a bench. After a
moment the door opened by itself and he saw a very large table enter, on which a multitude of
plates and bottles full of the most exquisite things were placed by themselves, without anyone
appearing to take them. The stools were also placed around the table, without anyone showing
up, but the young man finally saw fingers without hands or anything, going back and forth to
the plates, and handling the forks and knives. Since he was hungry and the food smelled good,
he also sat down at the table and ate heartily. When he had finished dinner and the empty
plates announced that the invisible ones had also finished, he clearly heard the lights being
turned off and they all went out suddenly. Then, in the darkness, he felt something like a slap
on his cheek and said out loud:
-If you start, I'll start too.

He received, however, a second and then reciprocated.
The slaps given and returned continued all night and the young giant was not far behind in the
game. At dawn everything stopped. The miller arrived and was amazed to find him still alive.
"I have treated myself well," said the giant, "I have received slaps, but I have also given them."
The miller was very happy, because he was already disenchanted with his
windmill; He wanted to give the young giant a lot of money to reward him.
"I don't want money," he told him, "I have more than I need."
And putting his bags of flour on his back, he returned to the farm and declared
to the tenant that his commission was completed and he wanted his salary.
The tenant was frightened; He couldn't stay still in one place, he walked back and forth around
the room and beads of sweat fell down his face. To breathe a little he opened the window; but
before he had time to be suspicious, he gave the servant a kick, which caused him to fly out of the
window and up into the air, and which continued until he was out of sight.
Then the servant said to the tenant:
-Now it's your turn, since your husband has not been able to receive the second point.
But she exclaimed:
-No, no, women are not hit.
And she opened the other window, because sweat was running down her forehead, but she
received a blow that sent her flying through the air, even higher than her husband, because she
was much lighter.
Her husband yelled at her:
-Come with me.
And she responded:
-You come with me, because I can't go.
And they continued floating in the air, without being able to gather together, and perhaps they
still float in it.
As for the young giant, he took his iron rod and set off.
THE BEAR AND THE WRENCH

The bear and the wolf were walking through the forest one day, when the bear heard a
bird singing.
"Brother Wolf," he asked, "who is that beautiful singer?"
"He is the king of the birds," answered the wolf, "we must greet him."
It was indeed the wren.
"In that case," said the bear, "His Majesty will have his corresponding palace."
I'd be happy to see you.
-That is not as easy as you think, -replied the wolf-, because it is necessary
wait for the queen to be there.
The queen arrived during this intermission, who, like the king, had worms in her beak
to feed her children. The bear would have gladly followed them, but the wolf stopped him
by the sleeve, saying:
-No, wait until they come out.
They were only careful with the place where the nest was and continued on their way.
But the bear couldn't stop browsing until he saw the palace of the king of birds and it
didn't take him long to return. The king and queen were outside; He stole a glance and saw
five or six little birds lying in the nest.
"If this is the palace," he exclaimed, "it is a very sad palace; and as for you, you are not
children of a king, but very small and ignoble creatures.
The wrens were very upset when they heard this and began to shout:
-No, no, no, we are not what you tell us; our parents are
nobles; You will pay dearly for this injury.
The wolf and the bear were afraid when they heard this threat and took refuge in their
holes.
But the little wrens continued to shout and make noise, and said to their parents as
soon as they came to bring them food:
-The bear has come to insult us, we will not move from here and we will not
We will eat nothing until you have established our reputation.
"Do not be careful," the king told them, "I will return for your honor."
And he flew with the queen to the bear's hole, where he shouted:
-Grumpy old man, why have you insulted my children? It will weigh on you, because
We are going to wage war on you to the death.
Once war was declared, the bear called to his aid the army of the quadrupeds,
the ox, the cow, the donkey, the deer, the roe deer and all their fellow creatures. The
wren, for his part, summoned all those who fly through the air, not only the large and
small birds, but also the winged insects: such as flies, cymphs, bees and wasps.
When the day of battle arrived, the little king sent spies to find out who was the
general of the enemy army; The cynife, as the smallest of all, flew to the forest where
the enemy was gathered and hid under the leaf of a tree, around which the council
was deliberating. The bear called the fox and said:
-Compadre, you are the most cunning of all animals, you will be our general.
"With great pleasure," he replied, "but it is necessary to agree on a signal."
No one dared to say a word.
"Well," he continued, "I have a very beautiful tail, long and thick like a red plume;
As long as you have it raised high, things go well and you move forward; But as soon
as I lower it to the ground, it will be the sign of every man for himself.
The cinif, who had understood well, immediately went to tell the little wren
everything.
At dawn, the quadrupeds roamed the battlefield; galloping in such a way that the
earth trembled under his feet. The wren appeared in the air with his army, which
buzzed, screamed and flew everywhere in a way that caused vertigo. They attacked
each other with fury. But the wren sent the wasp with the order to get under the fox's
tail and sting him with all his might. The fox could not help but jump at the first sting,
but still keeping his tail in the air; the second he was forced to lower it for a moment;
But on the third, he could not hold her up any longer and squeezed her between his
legs, shouting sharply. Seeing this, the quadrupeds believed that everything had been
lost and each one began to flee to his hole, and thus the birds won the battle.
The king and queen immediately flew to their nest, exclaiming:
-We are winners, children; drink and eat merrily.
-No, -answered the little birds-; the bear needs to come and ask us
pardon and declare that you recognize our nobility.
The wren flew to the bear's hole and said:
-Grumpy old man, go ask for forgiveness in front of my children's nest now.
declare to them that you recognize their nobility. Woe to you, if not!
Frightened, the bear crawled closer and asked for the requested forgiveness; so
At last the little kings calmed down and spent the night happily partying.
THE TWELVE HUNTERS
Once upon a time there was a prince who had a girlfriend, whom he loved very much; He
was always at his side and was very happy, but he learned that his father, who lived in another
kingdom, was mortally ill and wanted to see him before he died; Then he said to his beloved:
-I have to leave and abandon you, but here you have this ring in
memory of our love and when I am king I will return and take you to my palace.
He set out and when he reached his father's side, he was

dying, and addressed him these words:
-My dear son, I wanted to see you one last time before dying; Promise me to marry the
woman I designate for you.
And he named him a princess who was to be his wife.
The young man was so distressed that he answered without reflecting:
-Yes, dear father, I will fulfill your will. And the king closed his eyes and died.
The son then began to reign and after the time of mourning had passed he had to fulfill his
promise, so he sent for the king's daughter whom he had given his word to marry. He met his
first girlfriend and felt his infidelity very much, almost losing his health. Then his father asked
him:
-Tell me, dear daughter, what are you missing? What do you have? She reflected for a
moment and then answered:
-Dear father, I would like to find eleven young people just like my face and
height.
The king replied:
-Your wish will be fulfilled if possible.
And he ordered a search throughout his kingdom for eleven maidens who were equal to his
daughter in face and stature.
When he had found them, they all dressed as hunters with completely identical outfits; The
princess then said goodbye to her father and left
with her companions to the court of her former boyfriend; He asked if he needed hunters and if they
could all enter his service. The king looked at her and did not know her; but since they were all such
good young men, he said yes, he would gladly receive them. And the twelve hunters remained at the
king's service.
But the king had a lion, which was a magical animal, because it knew everything
hidden and secret, and one night he said to him:
-Do you think you have twelve hunters?
"Yes," answered the king, "the hunters are twelve." But the lion added:
-You are deceived, there are twelve maidens.
The king replied:
-It can not be true; How will you prove it to me?
"Send peas into your room," replied the lion, "and you will see it easily." The men have a firm step;
When they walk on peas, none of them move; but women walk uncertainly and hesitate and peas roll.
The king followed his advice and ordered the peas to be spread. But a servant of the king, who
loved the hunters very much, when he learned that they had to be put to a test, told them, saying:
-The lion wants to prove to the king that you are women.
The princess thanked him and said to her maids:
-Be careful, and walk with strong steps through the peas.
When the king called the hunters the next day and went to his room where the peas were, they
began to walk strongly and with such a firm and sure step that not a single one rolled or moved.
When they left, the king said to the lion:
-You have deceived me, they walk like men.
The lion answered:
-They have known it and have tried to do well in the test, making an effort. But order twelve spindles
to be brought to your room and when they enter you will see how they smile, which men do not do.
The king was pleased with the advice and ordered the spinning wheels to be taken to his room.
But the servant, who was increasingly fond of hunters, went to see them and revealed the secret.
Then the princess said to her eleven maidens, so that they were alone:
-Be careful and don't look at the spinning wheels.
When the king called the twelve hunters the next day, they entered his room without
looking at the spinning wheels. The king then said to the lion:
-You have deceived me, they are men, because they have not looked at the spinning wheels.
The lion answered:
-They have known that they had to be subjected to this test and have tried
expire.
But the king no longer wanted to believe the lion.
The twelve hunters constantly followed the king on the hunt, who had come to truly
love them; But one day, while hunting, news came that the king's wife had arrived; His
former girlfriend, upon hearing it, felt it so much that her strength failed and she fainted
on the floor. The king believed that he had given his beloved hunter a bad heart, he
approached him to help him, took off his glove and saw in his hand the ring that he had
given to his first girlfriend; Then he looked at her face and knew her, his soul being so
moved that he gave her a kiss and when he came to he said:
-You are mine and I am yours, and no man in the world can separate us.
He sent his other bride a knight telling her to return to his kingdom, since he was
already married and they soon celebrated their wedding, forgiving the lion because he
had told the truth.
THE BRAVE LITTLE TAILOR
A little tailor was sitting at his table near the window on a beautiful summer morning,
sewing happily and in great haste, when a woman happened to pass by on the street
shouting:
-Who buys good cream? Who buys good cream?
This word cream sounded so pleasant to our man that, sticking his little head out of
the window, he exclaimed:
-Here, good woman, enter here and you will find a buyer.
She carried her heavy basket up the three steps of the tailor's shop and had to put
all her pots in front of him so that he could look at them, handle them and smell them,
one after the other, concluding by saying:
-I think this cream is good; give me two ounces good woman and
even if it is a quadroon.
The saleswoman, who had thought she was doing a much better business, gave him the
what he asked for, but he left grumbling and grumbling.
"Now," exclaimed the little tailor, "I beseech God to bless

This good cream to give me strength and vigor.
And taking the bread from the cupboard, he broke a long slice to spread his cream on top.
-How good it's going to taste! -he thought to himself-, but before I eat it I'm going to finish
this jacket.
She placed the toast next to her and began to sew again and her joy was such that she
made the stitches bigger and bigger. But the smell of the cream attracted the flies that covered
the wall and they came in large numbers to settle on top of it.
"Who called you here?" said the tailor, throwing out these uncomfortable guests.
But the flies, ignoring him, returned in greater numbers than before.
He then became uncomfortable and took out a piece of cloth from his drawer:
"Wait," he exclaimed, "I'll fix you," and he hit them mercilessly.
After the first blow, he counted the dead and there were no less than seven, who were
with their legs outstretched.
-Damn! -he said to himself, admiring his courage-, it seems that I am a brave man; is
It is necessary for the whole city to know.
And in her enthusiasm she made a belt and embroidered it with very beautiful letters.
fat girls: "He killed seven with one slap."
"But the city is very small," he added immediately; The whole world should know it.
His heart was jumping with joy inside his chest, like a lamb's tail.
He put on his belt and decided to travel the world, because his store seemed to him
since then a very small theater for its value.
Before leaving his house he looked everywhere for what he was going to take, but all he
could find was a rancid cheese that he put in his pocket. In front of the door there was a bird
in its cage, which he put in his pocket with the cheese.
Then he bravely set out on his way, and as he was clever and active,
He went for a week.
He passed by a mountain, at the top of which there was an enormous giant who calmly
looked at the passengers. The little tailor went straight to him and said:
-Good morning partner; what are you doing sitting there? Are you watching the world move
at your feet? I have set out in search of adventure; Do you want to come with me?
The giant answered him with an air of contempt:
-Scoundrel, sietemesino!
"How dare you tell me that?" exclaimed the tailor.
And unbuttoning his vest, he showed him his belt saying:
-Read here and you will see what kind of man I am.
The giant read, "seven in one slap," he imagined that the tailor had killed men and looked
with a little more respect at his weak interlocutor. However, to test him, he took a pebble in his
hand and squeezed it with such force that water oozed out.
"Now," he said, "do what I do, if you have so much strength."
"Isn't it more than that?" said the tailor, "well that's child's play for me."
And putting his hand in his pocket he took out the cheese he had in it and
He squeezed his hand so that he squeezed out all the juice he had.
"What do you think?" he added; is there any difference between the two?
The giant did not know what to say and did not understand that a dwarf could have so
much strength. He picked up another pebble and threw it so high that the most discerning eye
could barely see it and said:
-Come on, little man, do what I do.
"Well thrown," said the tailor, "but the stone has fallen." I'm going to throw another one
that won't fall.
And taking out the bird that was in his pocket, he let it fly.
The bird, happy to be free, left faster than an arrow and did not return.
"What do you say now, comrade?" he added.
"It is very well done," replied the giant; But I want to see if you carry as much as you pull.
And he led the little tailor in front of a huge oak tree that was fallen in
soil.
"If you really have the strength," he told him, "you must help me
raise this tree.
"With pleasure," answered the little man, "carry the log on your shoulders."
back, I will carry the branches and the top, which is the heaviest.
The giant put the trunk on his back, but the little tailor sat on a branch so that the
giant, who could not look back, carried the entire tree and also the tailor who had settled
down peacefully and was singing with the greatest joy:
-Three tailors were riding together one afternoon.
As if it had been child's play for him to carry a tree. The stunned giant lowered his
weight and, unable to resist taking a few steps, shouted:
-Look, I'm going to throw him to the ground.
The little man jumped very cleverly on the ground and, taking the tree in his hands,
arms as if he had carried what belonged to him, he said to the giant:
-You are pretty lazy for being so tall.
They continued on their way and happened to pass in front of a cherry tree, the giant
grabbed the top of the tree where the ripest one was and, bending it to the ground, he
put it in the little tailor's hand so that he could eat the cherries, but he was too weak. to
support him and as soon as the giant released him, the tree straightened up and took the
tailor with it. He went down without hurting himself, but the giant said to him:
-What is that? You don't have the strength to bend over such a trifle?
"It's not about strength," replied the little tailor, "what is that for a man who has
knocked down seven with one slap?" I jumped over the tree to escape the bullets,
because down there there are some hunters shooting in the bushes. Do the same if you
can.
The giant tried, but he could not jump over the tree and remained trapped in the
branches. Thus the tailor kept the advantage.
"Since you are such a brave boy," said the giant, "you must come to our cave and
spend the night with us."
The tailor consented to this with great pleasure. As soon as they arrived they found
other giants sitting near the fire, each one eating a roast ram that he had in his hand.
The tailor thought the room was much larger than his shop.
The giant showed him his bed and ordered him to lie down, but as the
bed was too big for such a small body, he curled up in a corner. At midnight, the
giant believing that he was sleeping soundly, took an iron bar and hit it very hard
in the middle of the bed, with which he thought he had decisively killed the dwarf.
The giants got up at dawn and went to the forest; They had forgotten the tailor,
when they saw him come out of the cave with a very happy and somewhat
cheeky air; Full of fear and fearing that he would kill them all, they began to run
without waiting any longer.
The little tailor continued his journey and after having walked for a long time,
he arrived at the garden of a palace and since he was a little tired, he lay down
on the moss and fell asleep. The people who passed by began to look at him
from all sides and read on his belt: "Seven in one slap."
"Ah!" they said to themselves, "what is this ray of light coming to do here?"
war within peace? He must be some very powerful lord.
They went to inform their king, adding that if war were to be declared
He would be a very effective auxiliary, so we had to beat him at any cost.
The king was pleased with this advice and sent one of his courtiers to offer
him, as soon as he woke up, a job in his service.
The envoy remained as a sentinel near the little man; and when
He began to open his eyes and stretch out and made the proposal.
"With that object I have come," answered the other; I am ready to enter the
king's service.
He was received with all kinds of honors and was given a room at the Court.
But the soldiers were jealous of him and would have liked to see him a thousand
leagues away.
-What will all this lead to? -they said to each other.
-If we have any displeasure with him, he will throw himself at us and kill
seven at once. None of us will survive.
They resolved to go to the king and all present their resignation.
"We cannot," they told him, "stay next to a man who demolishes
seven in one slap.
The king was very sorry to see himself abandoned by all his loyal servants
and he wished he had never met the one who was the cause of this and whom
he would have gladly gotten rid of. But he did not dare to dismiss him for fear
that this terrible man would kill him and his people, to seize a throne.
The king, after having thought about it a lot, found a file.

He sent the little man an offer that he could not fail to accept in his capacity as a hero. In a
forest in that country there were two giants who committed all kinds of robberies, murders
and arson. No one approached them without fearing for their lives. If he managed to defeat
and kill them, the king gave him his only daughter as a wife with half of the kingdom as a
dowry. To help him if necessary, they put one hundred horses at his disposal.
The little tailor thought that the opportunity to marry such a beautiful princess was very
good and that he would not meet every day. He declared that he agreed to go against the
giants, but that he did not want the escort of the hundred horses at all, since the one who
had killed seven with one slap was not afraid of two adversaries at the same time.
turn.
He set off, followed by the hundred horses, and when he reached the entrance to the
forest, he told them to wait for him as he alone would deal with the two giants. Then he
entered the forest, looking around cautiously. After a while he distinguished the two giants;
They were asleep under a tree and were snoring so loudly that they made the branches bend.
The little tailor filled his two pockets with pebbles and, climbing the tree without wasting any
time, he slid down a branch that jutted out between the two sleeping giants and dropped
some pebbles, one after another, onto the stomach of one of them. The giant did not feel
anything at first, but finally he woke up and pushing his companion said:
-Why do you hit me?
"You're dreaming," said the other, "I haven't touched you."
Soon they fell asleep again. The tailor then threw a stone at the second.
"What's up?" he exclaimed. What have you thrown away?
"I haven't thrown anything at you, you dream," answered the first.
They argued for some time, but since they were tired, they ended up keeping quiet and
going back to sleep. The tailor, however, continued his game and choosing the largest of the
pebbles he threw it with all his strength on the stomach of the first giant:
"This is too much!" he exclaimed and, standing up, he jumped on his companion, who
paid him in the same coin.
The combat was so terrible that they uprooted entire trees to use them as weapons and
did not stop until both were dead on the ground.
The little tailor then came down from his post.
"Fortunately," he thought to himself, "they haven't also uprooted the tree where I was
standing, otherwise I would have been forced to jump to another one like a squirrel."
but in our job we are all smart.
He took out his sword and after having given two good blows to the chest of
each of them, he returned to gather his escort to whom he said:
-I have already concluded; I have given them the coup de grace; The business
has been close, they wanted to resist and have even uprooted trees to throw at me,
but what good is all this against a man like me who knocks down seven with one slap?
"Aren't you hurt?" the soldiers asked him.
"No," he said, "they couldn't touch even the tip of a hair."
The soldiers did not want to believe it; They entered the forest and indeed found
the giants swimming in their blood and the trees uprooted everywhere around them.
The little tailor claimed the reward promised by the king, but the king, who
regretted having pledged his word, looked for a way to get rid of the hero.
"There is," he said, "another adventure you must undertake before you obtain
my daughter and half my kingdom." A unicorn haunts my forests and wreaks a lot of
havoc, you must take control of it.
-A unicorn scares me even less than two giants; seven of a

slap is my motto.
He took a rope and an ax and entered the forest, ordering those who accompanied
him to wait for him outside. He didn't have to walk long; The unicorn soon appeared
and ran towards him to hurt him.
"Little by little," he said, "very quickly is not in order."
He remained motionless until the animal was close to him, and then he slipped
very cleverly behind the trunk of a tree. The unicorn, which had thrown itself against
the tree with all its strength, stuck a horn so deep into it that it was impossible to get
it out, and so it caught it.
"The bird is in the cage," said the tailor, and coming out of his hiding place, he
approached the unicorn, put the rope around its neck, broke off its horn stuck in the
tree with an ax blow, and when he had finished, He brought the animal before the
king.
But the king could not bring himself to keep his word and imposed another third
condition. It was about taking over a wild boar that was wreaking great havoc in the
forests. The king's hunters were ordered to help him. The tailor agreed, saying that
this was nothing more than child's play. He entered the forest alone without the
hunters noticing him, whom the boar had received and often in such a way that they
had no desire to return. The wild boar as
When he saw the tailor, he rushed towards him, foaming and showing his sharp fangs, but the
light little man took refuge in a nearby hermitage and immediately came out again, jumping out
of the window. The boar entered after him, but the little tailor returned in two jumps and closed
the door so that the beast found itself trapped, since it was too heavy and big to save itself by
the same way. After this feat he called the hunters to see the prisoner with their own eyes and
presented himself to the king, who this time was forced to give him his daughter and half of his
kingdom in spite of himself.
It would have been much more difficult for him to decide if he had known that his son-in-law was
not a great warrior but an unhappy little tailor. The wedding was celebrated with much
magnificence and little joy, and a tailor was made king.
Some time later, one night the young queen heard her husband dreaming.
-Come on, boy, finish that vest and mend those pants or else
I'll hit you with the rod between your ears.
She then understood the place in which her husband had been brought up and the next day
she went to complain to her father, begging him to free her from a husband who was nothing
more than a miserable tailor.
To console her, the king said to her:
-Leave your room open tonight; My servants will be at the door and as soon as he is asleep,
they will enter and take him loaded with chains to a ship that will take him away from here.
The queen was very happy, but a king's squire who had heard it
everything and that he loved the new prince, he went and revealed the plot to him.
"I'll fix it," the tailor told him.
At night he went to bed as usual and when his wife thought he was well asleep she went to
open the door and lay down next to him again. But the little man, who was pretending to be
asleep, began to shout out loud:
-Come on, boy, finish that vest or I'll hit your ears with the rod.
I have knocked down seven with one slap, I have killed two giants, I hunted a unicorn and a wild
boar, will I be afraid of people who are hidden at my door?
Upon hearing these last words, everyone was so frightened that they ran as if they had
seen the devil, and no one dared to declare themselves against him. In this way he kept the
crown all his life.
THE THREE GOLDEN HAIRS OF THE DEVIL

There was a woman who gave birth to a son, who was born standing up, so
They predicted that at the age of fourteen he would marry the king's daughter.
During the same days the king passed through that village without anyone knowing him
and asking what was new, they answered that a child had just been born standing and that
everything he undertook would turn out well, that they had predicted that when he had Fourteen
years old he would marry the king's daughter.
The king had a very bad heart and this prediction made him uncomfortable. went to search
to the newborn's parents and said in a friendly tone:
-You are poor; Give me your son and I will take care of him.
They of course refused, but the stranger offered them a lot of gold and they said to
themselves: "Since the child was born standing, everything that happens to him will be for his
good." And they ended up giving in and handing over their son.
The king put him in a box and took him to the banks of a river, where he threw him thinking
that he was freeing his daughter from a lover she did not count on. But the box, instead of
going to the bottom, began to float like a boat, without a single drop of water entering it; The
current carried it two leagues beyond the capital, where it stopped next to a mill lock. A servant
of the miller who was there by chance saw it and took it out with a hook, expecting to find great
treasures when he opened it, but he found a very pretty, alert and happy child. He took him to
the mill and the miller and his wife, who had no children, welcomed him as if God had sent
him. They treated the little orphan very well, who grew up in their house in strength and good
qualities.
One day, the king was surprised by a storm and entered the mill and asked the miller if
the young man was his son.
"No, sir," he answered, "it's a foundling that we found in a box that was washed away by
the water to the mill lock about fourteen years ago; my servant took him out of the water.
The king then recognized that this was the child who had been born standing and whom
he threw into the river.
"Good people," he told them; Couldn't this young man carry a letter from
mine to the queen? I will give you two gold coins for your work.
"Whatever Your Majesty commands," they answered, "and told the young man to
prepare to set out.
The king sent the queen a letter in which he ordered her to arrest the bearer, kill him and
bury him, so that when he returned he would find him dead.
all.
The boy set out with the letter, but got lost and arrived at night in a very thick forest. In the
distance he saw a weak light in the midst of the darkness and heading that way he arrived at a small
house, where he found an old woman sitting by the fireplace. Surprised to see the young man, that
woman told him:
-Where do you come from and what do you want?
"I'm coming from the mill," he replied, "I'm carrying a letter to the queen, I've gotten lost on the
way and I'd like to spend the night here."
"Unfortunate young man," the woman replied, "you have fallen into a den of thieves and if they
find you here, you will die without remedy."
"Thank God," said the young man, "I'm not afraid, and besides, I'm so tired that it's impossible
for me to go any further." He lay down on a bench and fell asleep; Shortly after, the thieves arrived
and asked uncomfortably why the stranger was there.
-Ah! -said the old woman-, he is a poor child who has gotten lost in the forest and
I have received out of compassion; He brings a letter to the queen.
The thieves asked for the letter to read it and saw that it contained the order to kill the bearer.
Despite the hardness of their hearts they pitied the poor devil; The captain tore up the letter and
put another in its place, in which he said that as soon as he arrived the young man would marry the
king's daughter. Then the thieves let him sleep in the bank until the next morning and as soon as he
woke up, they gave him the letter and showed him the way.
As soon as she received the letter, the queen executed what it said in its contents, the weddings
were celebrated with magnificence, the king's daughter married the boy born standing and since he
was handsome and kind, she lived comfortably with him.
Some time later the king returned to his palace and saw that the prediction had been fulfilled and
that the boy born standing had married his daughter.
-How did you do that? -said-; I had given a very different order in the letter.
The queen showed him the letter and told him that he could see what it contained.
He read it and saw that they had changed his.
He asked the young man what he had done with the letter he had given him and
why had he given another one.
"I don't know anything about that," replied the young man, "unless they have changed the
night I spent in the forest.
The king, angry, said to him:
-This can not continue; He who claims my daughter must bring three golden hairs from the
devil's head from hell. Bring them to me and then my daughter will belong to you.
The king, upon giving him this commission, believed that he would not return again.
The young man answered:
-I'm not afraid of the devil, I'll go look for the three golden hairs.
And he bade farewell to the king and set out on his way.
He arrived before a large city, at the gate of which the sentinel asked him
what his status was and what he knew.
"Everything," he answered.
"Then," said the sentry, "please tell us why the fountain in our market, which always gave
wine before, has dried up and flows only water."
"Wait," he replied, "and I will tell you when I return."
Further on, he came before another city; The sentry at the gate asked him what his condition
was and what he knew.
-Then please tell us why the big tree in our

The city, which used to always produce golden apples, no longer even produces leaves.
"Wait," he replied, "and I will tell you when I return."
Even further he came to a wide river that he needed to cross. The boatman asked him his
condition, and what he knew.
"Then," said the boatman, "please tell me whether I should always remain in this position
without ever being relieved."
"Wait," he replied, "and I'll tell you when I return."
On the other side of the water he found that the mouth of hell was black, full of smoke. The
devil was not in his house, but he found his landlady, who was sitting in a large armchair.
-What do you want? -he asked her, with a rather sweet tone.
-I need three golden hairs from the devil's head, without which I cannot
live with my wife.
"That is a lot to ask," he told him, "and if the devil sees you when he enters, you will spend a
very bad time; However, I am interested in you and I will try to help you.
He turned him into an ant and said:
-Hidden in the pleats of my dress; here you will be safe.
"Thank you," he replied; I think this is going well; But I also need to know three things: why a
fountain that always flowed wine no longer even flows water; why a tree that produced golden
apples no longer even produces leaves, and if a certain boatman must always remain at his post
without being relieved
Never.
-Those are three very difficult questions, but don't be careful, put
Pay attention to what the devil says when he pulls out the three golden hairs.
At night the devil returned to his house and as soon as he entered he noticed a strange smell.
-What's new here? -said-; It smells like human flesh.
He searched every corner, without finding anything, and the landlady created a dream for
him.
"I just swept and tidied everything up," he told her, "and you're going to mess it up; You're
always smelling like human flesh, sit down and have dinner.
As he was tired, as soon as he had dinner, he put his head on the landlady's knee and told
her to groom him a little, but he soon fell asleep and snored.
The old woman took a golden hair, plucked it and put it next to her.
-Oh! -exclaimed the devil-, what are you doing?
"I had a bad dream," said the landlady, "and I grabbed your hair."
-What did you dream? -the devil asked her.
-I dreamed that the fountain of a market that always flowed wine, has dried up and no longer
even gives water; What can be the cause?
-Ah! If they only knew! -answered the devil-; there is a toad in the fountain, below
of a stone, all they have to do is kill it and wine will flow again.
The guest began to groom him again, fell asleep again and began to
snore.
Then he pulled out the second hair.
-Oh! What are you doing? -exclaimed the angry devil.
"Don't move," he replied, "it's a dream I've had."

-What did you dream? -he asked him.
-I have dreamed that in a certain country there is a tree, which previously gave golden apples
and now does not even have leaves; What can be the motive?
-Oh! If they only knew! -replied the devil-; There is a mouse that dries up the root; All they have
to do is kill it and the tree will produce golden apples again; but if you continue to gnaw on it, it will
dry out completely. Now leave me alone, you and your dreams. If you wake me up again, I'll slap you.
The landlady pacified him and groomed him again until he fell asleep and began to snore. Then
he plucked the third golden hair. The devil stood up screaming and wanted to hit him; but she knew
how to deceive him, saying:
-Who can get rid of a bad dream?
-What have you dreamed now? -he asked him curiously.
-I have dreamed of a boatman who complains of always passing the river with his boat, without
anyone ever replacing him.
"Ah! the fool," replied the devil, "has only to put the oar in the hand of the first one who is going
to cross the river and he will be free, the other being forced to serve as boatman in turn."
Since the landlady had plucked his three golden hairs and had known the three answers he
wanted to know, she left him alone and he slept until the next morning.
As soon as the devil left the house, the old woman grabbed the ant from
between the folds of her dress and returned the young man to his human form.
"There you have the three hairs," he told her.
-Have you heard well the devil's answers to your three questions?
"Very well," he replied, "I won't forget them."
"Then you don't have to worry anymore," he said, "and you can continue on your way."
He thanked the old woman for how well she had helped him and left hell.
very happy to have had such good fortune.
When he reached the boatman, he was shown to the other side before
give him the promised answer and then gave him the devil's advice.
-You just have to put the oar in the hand of the first one who comes to cross the river.
Shortly after he arrived at the city, where the barren tree was, the sentinel was also waiting for
his response.
"Kill the mouse, which gnaws at the roots," he told him, "and the golden apples will be
born again."
The sentinel gave him two donkeys loaded with this precious metal in gratitude.
Finally he knocked on the city, whose fountain was dry and said to the sentinel: -In the
fountain, under the stone, there is a toad; Seek him: and kill him, and the wine will flow
again in abundance. The sentinel thanked him and also two donkeys loaded with gold.
The child born standing finally reached his wife, who rejoiced wholeheartedly at his return
and in particular at knowing that everything had turned out well for him.
He gave the king the three golden hairs of the devil; the king was very satisfied
When he saw the four donkeys loaded with gold and said to him:
-Now you have fulfilled all the conditions and my daughter is yours. But, my dear son, tell
me, where did you get so much gold? Well you have brought a real treasure.
"I caught it," he answered, "near a river that I crossed; it's the sand
what's on that shore.
-Could I take the same amount? -asked the king, who was very miserly.
"And much more," he replied; There is a boatman, go to him to cross the river and you will
be able to fill all the bags you carry.
The miserly monarch immediately set out and when he reached the bank of the river he
signaled to the boatman to bring the boat in. The boatman ordered him to enter and as soon
as they were on the other side, he put the oar in his hand and jumped out. The king thus
became a boatman in punishment for his sins.
-Is it still that way?
-Ah! without a doubt, since no one has taken up the oar.
THUMMBER
A poor farmer was sitting one night in the corner of the hearth; While his wife was spinning
at his side, he told her:
-How sorry I am not to have children! How silent there is in our house while
In the others everything is joy and noise!
"Yes," answered his wife, sighing, "I would be happy, even if we only had one as big as
our thumb and we would love him with all our hearts."
During this interval the woman became pregnant and after seven months she gave birth
to a well-formed child with all his limbs, but who was no taller than his thumb. Then he said:
-It is just as we have wished for it, but that does not make us love it any less.
And his parents called him Tom Thumb, because of his size. They raised him as best
they could, but he did not grow and remained as he had been since his birth. It seemed,
however, that he had talent: his eyes were intelligent and he soon showed in his little person
the cunning and activity to carry out whatever occurred to him.
Prepare the labrador for a day to go cut wood in a forest and decide:
-How glad I would be to have someone to drive the car.
"Father," exclaimed Thumbelina, "I want to guide you, I; Don't be careful, it will arrive in
good time.
The man start laughing.
"You can't do that," he told him, "you're too small to carry the
bridle horse.
-What does that matter, father? If mom wants to hitch, I'll get in the horse's ear and direct
him where you want him to go.
"Okay," said the father, "let's see."
The mother hitched the horse and put Thumbelina to her ear and the little man guided
him along the path to take, so well that the horse went as if it were being driven by a good
carter and the cart went to the forest on the right path.
As they turned a bend in the road, the little man shouted:
-Soo, arre! -Two strangers were passing by.
"My God," exclaimed one of them, "what is that?" Here is a cart that is walking: the
driver's voice is heard and no one is seen.
"It's quite a strange thing," said the other, "we're going to follow that car now."
See where it stops.
The cart continued on its way and stopped in the forest, precisely in the place where
there was cut wood. When Tom Thumb saw his father, he
He
shouted: -Do you see father, how well I brought the car? Now let me down.
The father took the bridle with one hand, with the other he took his son out of the horse's
ear and put him on the ground: the little boy sat happily on a straw.
Seeing Thumbelina, the two strangers admired each other, not knowing what to think.
One of them called the other aside and said:
-That imp could make our fortune, if we taught him for money in
some city; you have to buy it. They approached the farmer and said:
-Sell us that dwarf: we will take good care of him.
"No," replied the father, "he is my son and I am not selling him for all the gold in the world."
But upon hearing the conversation, Tom Thumb had climbed through the folds of the
his father's dress going up to his back, from where he said in his ear:
-Father, sell me to those men, I will return soon.
His father gave him to the men for a beautiful gold coin.
-Where do you want to stand? -they told them.
-Ah! Put me on the brim of your hat; I will be able to walk around and see the countryside
and I will be careful not to fall. They did what he wanted and as soon as Thumbelina said
goodbye to his father, they left with him, walking into the night. Then the little man shouted to
them: -Wait for me, I need to go down.
"Stay in the hat," said the man; I don't care what you have to do, birds do a lot more
sometimes.
"No, no," said Thumbelina, "put me down right away."
The man took him and put him on the ground, on a piece of land next to the road; He ran
for a moment between the furrows and then went into a hole he had specifically looked for.
"Good evening, gentlemen, you're already here," he shouted to them, laughing.
They tried to catch him by putting sticks in the hole, but it was a lost job.
Little Thumb hid deeper each time and suddenly starting to get dark, they were forced to enter
his house uncomfortable and empty-handed.
When they were far away, Thumb came out of his cave. He was afraid to venture into the
middle of the field at night, because his leg would soon break. Fortunately he found an empty snail:
"Thank God," he said, "I will spend the night safely in here." And he settled there.
When he was going to sleep he heard two men passing by and one said to the
other:
-How would we manage to steal the gold and silver from that rich priest?
"I'll tell you," Thumbelina shouted to them.
-What's up? -exclaimed one of the frightened thieves-; Have I heard anyone talk?
They continued listening, when Tom Thumb shouted to them again:
-Take me with you and I will help you.
-Where are you?
-Look for me on the ground, where the voice comes out. The thieves finally found him:
"You little excerpt of a man," they said to him, "how do you want to be useful to us?"
"Look," he told them, "I'll slip through the bars of the window in the
priest's room and I will give you everything you ask of me.
"Well, let's try it," they told him.
As soon as they reached the presbytery, Thumbelina slipped into the room; Then he started
shouting at the top of his lungs:
-Do you want everything that's here?
The frightened thieves told him:
-Speak softly, you'll wake people up.
But he, pretending not to have heard them, shouted again:
-What do you want? Do you want everything there is here?
The maid who was sleeping in the next room heard that noise, got up and listened. The
thieves had retreated; In short, they took courage and, believing only that the rascal wanted to
have fun at their expense, they turned back and said to him under their breath:
-Stop joking, pass us something.
Then Tom Thumb began to shout at the top of his lungs:

-I'm going to give you everything: open your hands.
The maid heard clearly this time, jumped out of bed and ran to the door. The thieves,
seeing this, ran as if the devil had appeared to them; Not hearing anything else, the maid
went to turn on a light. When he returned, Tom Thumb went to hide in the hayloft without
being seen. The maid, after having searched every corner without discovering anything, went
to bed and thought she had dreamed.
Little Thumb had gone up to the hay, where a little bed was made up; He planned to rest
there until daylight and return immediately to his parents' house. But he still had to suffer so
many trials! There is so much bad in the world! The maid got up at dawn to feed the cattle.
His first visit was to the barn, he took an armful of hay with poor Thumbelina asleep inside.
He slept so soundly that he did not notice anything and did not wake up until he was in the
mouth of a cow that had caught him with a handful of hay.
At first he thought he had fallen into a mill, but he soon realized where he really was. Avoiding
letting himself be chewed between his teeth, he ended up sliding down his throat into his
belly. The room seemed narrow to him, without a window and he saw neither sun nor light.
He disliked the house very much and what made his situation more complicated was that new
hay was always coming down and the space was becoming more and more narrow.
Full of terror, he finally shouted as loud as he could:
-Enough hay! Enough hay! I do not want more.
The maid was precisely at that moment busy milking the cow; That voice that she heard
without seeing anyone and that she recognized as the one that had woken her up the night
before, scared her so much that she fell to the floor, spilling the milk.
He ran to look for his master and said:
-Oh! My God! Lord priest, the cow speaks!
"You are crazy," replied the priest, and yet he himself went to the stable to make sure
what was happening.
But no sooner had he entered than Tom Thumb shouted again:
-Enough hay! I do not want more!
The priest in turn was scared and believing that the cow had the devil in its body, he said
that it was necessary to kill it. They killed her and the belly in which poor Thumbelina was
imprisoned was thrown into the dung.
The poor thing worked hard to untangle himself and was beginning to stick his head out,
when a new misfortune happened to him. A hungry wolf
He threw it on his belly and swallowed it at once.
Little Thumb did not lose heart.
"Maybe," he thought to himself, "this wolf will be treatable."
And from his womb where he was enclosed, he shouted:
-Dear friend, I want to show you where you can find good food.
-Where? -the wolf told him.
-In such and such house; You just have to slide through the sewer to the kitchen and
you will find cakes, bacon, sausages, whatever you want.
And he designated his father's house with the greatest exactness.
The wolf did not wait twice: he entered the kitchen and gave the provisions a good preview.
But when he was fed up and had to go out, he was so bloated with food that he couldn't
get through the sewer. Little Thumb, who had counted on this, began to make a terrible noise
in the wolf's body, jumping and jumping with all his strength.
-Do you want to stay still? -said the wolf-, you are going to wake everyone up.
-And? -the little man answered him-. Haven't you given yourself away? I also want to
have fun.
And he started shouting as much as he could.
He ended up waking up his parents, who ran and looked in the kitchen,
through the lock.
When they saw that there was a wolf, they armed themselves, the man with an ax and
the woman with a sickle.
"Get behind me," said the man to his wife, when they entered the room, "
I'm going to hit him with my ax, if I don't kill him with the blow, you'll cut his belly.
Little Thumb, who heard his father's voice, began to shout:
-It is I, dear father, who is in the belly of the wolf.
"Thank God," said the father, full of joy, "that we have found our son."
And he ordered his wife to put the sickle aside so as not to hurt her son.
Then he raised his ax and laid the wolf dead with a blow to the head, then he opened its belly
with his knife and scissors, and took out little Tom Thumb.
-Ah! -he said to him-, how worried we have been about your fate!
-Yes, father, I have run a lot, but fortunately, here I am, returned to the light.
-Where have you been?
-Ah, father! I have been in an anthill, in the belly of a cow and in the
belly of a wolf Now I'm staying with you.
"And we will not sell you again for all the gold in the world," his parents said,
hugging him and holding him to their hearts.
They fed him and bought him clothes, because theirs had become
damaged during the trip.
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Machine Translated by Google

Grimm brothers' stories

Jacob y Wilhelm Grimm

THE THREE SPINNERS

-Good, but tomorrow it is necessary to start working.

-Don't forget your promise, you won't have anything to regret.

-Welcome, dear cousins.

Then addressing the one with the wide foot:

-Why do you have such a big foot? -he asked him.

-Why do you have such a droopy lip?

-Of having wet the thread, of having wet the thread.

And to the third:

-Why do you have such a long finger?

-Of having twisted the thread, of having twisted the thread.

JOHN THE FAITHFUL

door without opening it, and asked him the reason.

And I wanted to open by force.

The faithful Juan restrained him by saying:

-The evil is done! My God, what is going to happen to us?

And he made him drink a little wine to regain his strength.

"I'm a merchant," he replied.

And opening his belt, he showed him his wares.

-What beautiful things! -he exclaimed.

-It's so well done, I'll buy it all from you.

But he answered him.

His curiosity was further excited by this, and he finally exclaimed:

-Well, take me to that ship, I want to see your treasures myself.

But the king, presenting his hand to him, said:

"Yes," answered the second, "but it is not yours yet."

"How," said the third, "isn't she sitting next to him?"

-But can that be avoided? -said the second.

The second crow said in turn.

-Is there no recourse to avoid it? -said the third.

The third crow added:

-I will save my lord, even if it costs me my life.

"I'm going to ride it," he said, "to go to the palace."

But the young king still insisted.

"I grant it to you," said the king.

The queen and the king were very sorry.

-Ah, my faithful Juan, who could return your life!

-Oh, my faithful Juan, why shouldn't I be able to save your life!

But the statue, speaking, said to him:

-Every sacrifice for me will have its reward.

-Have you prayed in church?

-We owe him that sacrifice because of his selflessness.

THE JEW IN THE THORNS

-How much is your treasure? -the little man asked him.

-Three eights, in good coins and well counted.

Then the dwarf replied:

-When you ask for something, no one can deny it to you.

"Go, rascal," he said to the Jew, "and take your bird."

The Jew stood on all fours to enter the thorns.

But the boy continued, thinking:

The Jew cried out in pain:

But the judge said:

-Why not give him that last pleasure?

Furthermore, he could not deny him, because of the boy's gift of

The Jew shouted:

-Oh my god! Tie me, tie me well.

-I grant you forgiveness, but stop playing.

THE FROG PRINCE OR IRON HENRY

The frog answered:

-Daughter of the king, the smallest, open to me.