Sweetheart Roland

A witch lived with her daughter and stepdaughter. She favored her own daughter and hated her stepdaughter. The stepdaughter had a pretty apron; the other envied it and told her mother she must have it. “Be quiet,” said the old woman; “you shall have it. Your stepsister has long deserved death. Tonight when she sleeps I will cut her head off. Lie at the far side of the bed and push her to the front.” The poor girl was standing in a corner and heard every word. All day she dared not go out. At bedtime the witch’s daughter got in first to take the far side, but when she slept the stepdaughter pushed her gently to the front and took the place by the wall. In the night the old woman crept in with an axe, felt for whoever lay outside, and cut off her own child’s head.

When she had gone, the girl rose, went to her sweetheart Roland, and knocked. She told him they must fly at once—her stepmother had meant to kill her and had struck her own child; at daylight they would be lost. Roland said first take the magic wand, or they could not escape pursuit. She fetched the wand, dropped three drops of the dead girl’s blood—one before the bed, one in the kitchen, one on the stairs—and hurried away with him.

Next morning the witch called her daughter to give her the apron; no one came. “Where are you?” “Here on the stairs, sweeping,” answered the first drop. She saw no one. “Where are you?” “Here in the kitchen, warming myself,” cried the second. Empty. “Where are you?” “Here in the bed, sleeping,” cried the third. In the bed she found her own child beheaded. In a passion she sprang to the window, looked far into the world, and saw the stepdaughter and Roland hurrying away. “That shall not help you,” she cried. She put on her many-league boots—an hour’s walk at every step—and soon overtook them. The girl, seeing her stride near, changed Roland into a lake and herself into a duck swimming in the middle. The witch stood on the shore throwing breadcrumbs, trying to entice the duck; the duck would not come, and at night the witch went home as she had come. Girl and Roland took their shapes again and walked all night.

At daybreak the maiden changed herself into a beautiful flower in a briar hedge and Roland into a fiddler. The witch strode up and asked to pluck that flower. “Oh yes,” said the musician; “I will play while you do.” As she crept into the hedge to pluck it—knowing who the flower was—he played a magical dance. Whether she would or not she had to spring; the faster he played, the wilder she leaped; thorns tore her clothes and wounded her until she bled; he did not stop until she lay dead on the ground.

Set free, Roland said he would go to his father and arrange the wedding. She would wait, changing herself into a red stone landmark so no one would know her. He went; she stood in the field. But at home another woman so fascinated him that he forgot the maiden. She waited a long time, then in sadness became a flower, thinking someone would trample her. A shepherd saw the pretty bloom, plucked it, and laid it in his chest. From then on strange things happened in his house: by morning the room was swept, benches cleaned, fire lit, water fetched; at noon the table was laid with a good dinner—yet he never saw a human being. “Pleased but afraid,” he asked a wise woman. She said enchantment was behind it: listen early; if anything moves, throw a white cloth over it and the magic will stop.

He did so. At dawn he saw the chest open and the flower come out; he threw the cloth; instantly a beautiful girl stood there. She admitted she had been the flower and kept his house, told her story, and when he asked her to marry him she refused—she would stay faithful to Roland though he had deserted her—but promised to keep house for the shepherd still.

Near Roland’s wedding, custom called all the girls to sing for the bridal pair. The faithful maiden was so sad she would not go, but the other girls took her. When her turn came she hung back until she alone was left and could not refuse. As her song reached Roland’s ears he sprang up: “I know the voice—that is the true bride; I will have no other!” All he had forgotten rushed back to his heart. Then the faithful maiden held her wedding with sweetheart Roland, and grief ended and joy began.

Where this story comes from

This is a German tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, not an Indian one. Taylor and Edwardes called it “Sweetheart Roland”; Margaret Hunt’s 1884 translation has “Dearest Roland”, number 56, from the German Der Liebste Roland.

The linked version joins a pursuit tale to a recognition tale. Magic first conceals the girl’s identity; later, her own voice makes Roland recognize her.

The narrative retains a child’s killing, a fatal forced dance and the heroine’s despair. These events require more than a general description of magical adventure.

Read the original: Grimms’ Fairy Tales, tr. Edgar Taylor and Marian Edwardes (Project Gutenberg #2591, Sweetheart Roland)

Reading guidance: older readers. Includes a caregiver’s planned killing, beheading, a fatal forced dance and a girl wishing to be trampled after abandonment. Faithfulness should not require self-destruction or remaining in a harmful relationship.

Reading the story closely

The same ability to change shape serves different needs. As a duck or hidden flower, the girl acts to escape danger; as the waiting stone and later flower, she makes herself still while Roland moves on. Her song finally restores recognition through expression rather than concealment. The ending does not show Roland explaining or repairing his abandonment.

Make a transformation chart with form, purpose and who controls the choice. Contrast the red stone’s silence with the final song. What would a conversation between the reunited pair need to address beyond recognizing a familiar voice?

Talk about it

• How does the stepdaughter turn the witch’s wicked plan against her?
• Why do you think Roland forgets his sweetheart, and what finally makes him remember?
• The girl changes into a duck, a flower and a stone; Roland becomes the lake. If you could change into one thing to escape danger, what would you choose and why?

Related stories

• Fundevogel — two children escape a wicked cook by turning into a rose and a pond
• The Six Swans — a faithful sister keeps silent for years to save her brothers
• The Goose-Girl — a Grimm princess whose true story finally comes out at court