The Goose-Girl

The king of a great land died and left his queen to care for their only child, a daughter who was very beautiful. Her mother loved her dearly and was kind to her, and a good fairy, fond of the princess, helped watch over her. When she grew up she was betrothed to a prince who lived a great way off; as the time to be married drew near she prepared to journey to his country. The queen packed costly things—jewels, gold, silver, trinkets, fine clothes—for her dowry, and appointed a waiting-maid to ride with her and deliver her safely to the bridegroom. She also gave her a horse named Falada, which could speak. Before they parted she went into her chamber, took a knife, cut her finger until three drops of blood fell on a white handkerchief, gave it to her daughter, and said she must keep it carefully on the road, for it would be her protection.

They took a sorrowful leave. The princess seated herself on Falada, her maid on another horse, and they set off with the rich baggage. When they had ridden some distance the princess grew thirsty and said to the maid, “Pray get down and fetch me some water from the brook in my golden cup.” “If you are thirsty,” said the maid, “get it yourself; I will not be your servant any longer.” The princess, being meek, dismounted, bent over the water, and drank from her hands. As she drank, the three drops of blood on the handkerchief cried out, “If your mother knew of this, her heart would break.” She said nothing and rode on. The day grew hotter; she thirsted again and asked once more for water in the golden cup. The maid answered still more proudly that she would not serve. The princess drank from the brook as before; again the drops spoke; and as she leaned over, the handkerchief slipped from her bosom, fell into the water, and floated away. She was so frightened that she did not see it go. But the maid saw, and knew she now had the princess in her power, for the protecting charm was lost. Without pity she ordered her mistress to change horses and clothes with her, threatened to kill her if she complained, and made her swear by heaven to tell no one at court. The true princess, terrified, exchanged her royal dress for the maid’s mean one and gave up Falada. The horse saw and remembered.

On they rode to the prince’s capital. He met them with joy, took the waiting-maid for his bride, and led her into the palace while the true princess was left in the courtyard. The old king looked from a window, saw the delicate girl standing alone, and asked the false bride who she was. The maid said she had brought a girl along for company on the road—give her some work. So the true princess was sent to help Conrad, the boy who kept the geese.

Soon the false bride feared Falada would speak of what he had seen. She told the prince the horse was bad-tempered and must be killed. The true princess heard and wept; she found the man who was to kill Falada and promised him a piece of gold if he would do her a small service—nail Falada’s head under the dark gateway she passed each morning with the geese. He accepted her request, killed the horse as ordered, and nailed the head under the gate.

In the morning, when she and Conrad drove the geese through, she looked up and said, “Falada, Falada, there you hang!” The head answered, “Princess, princess, there you go! Alas, if your mother knew, her heart would break.” Then they went into the field. She sat down and unbraided her hair to comb it; it shone like pure gold. Conrad saw and tried to grab a lock. She saw him coming and said:

Blow, breezes, blow!
Let Conrad’s hat go!
Blow, breezes, blow!
Let him after it go!
Till I have combed my hair,
And bound it up once more.

A wind rose and carried Conrad’s hat far over the fields; while he ran he could not catch a single hair, and she finished and braided her hair up. When he came back she was driving the geese home. Angry, he went to the old king and said he would not tend geese with that girl any more—she talked to a horse’s head on the wall, and she made the wind blow his hat away so he could never touch her golden hair.

The old king told him to drive the geese as usual next day; he would watch himself. At dawn he rose early, hid behind the dark gate, and heard her cry to Falada and the head’s reply. He followed them into the field and saw how she let down her golden hair and how the wind, at her word, carried off Conrad’s hat. When they returned he took her aside and asked why she did these things, and who she was. She answered that she dared not tell, for she had sworn an oath to speak of it to no human being. He asked what that oath could be worth if it hid such sorrow; still she would not break it. Then he said, “If you will not tell me, tell your grief to the iron stove in the kitchen.” She agreed. He sent her to the kitchen and stayed outside himself, laying his ear to the stovepipe, and heard her pour out the whole story—how the maid had forced the exchange, stolen Falada and the bridal place, and bound her to silence.

The old king put royal clothes on her and ordered a great feast. When the guests were gathered, the true bride in her splendour sat at the young king’s one side and the false maid at the other; the maid did not know her. When they rose from table and were merry, the old king put a riddle to the false bride: what should be done to a person who had deceived a master’s child so, taken her place, and sworn her to silence—and he told the tale without names. The false bride answered angrily that such a wretch deserved to be stripped, shut in a barrel stuck with sharp nails, and dragged by two horses from street to street until she was dead. “You are she!” said the old king; “and as you have judged yourself, so shall it be done to you.” Then the young king was married to his true wife, and they reigned over the kingdom in peace and happiness all their lives; and the good fairy came to see them and restored the faithful Falada to life again.

Where this story comes from

“The Goose-Girl” is from Germany, not India. The Brothers Grimm had it from Zwehrn, and it is number 89 in Margaret Hunt’s 1884 translation (Die Gänsemagd). The English wording here comes from the Gutenberg edition drawn from Taylor and Edwardes.

The tale repeatedly uses speaking witnesses: the drops of blood, Falada’s severed head and finally the princess addressing an iron stove. This retelling follows Taylor and Edwardes in restoring Falada to life at the end.

The cruel ending is kept from the source: the false maid names her own punishment without knowing it is meant for her.

Read the original: Grimms’ Fairy Tales, tr. Edgar Taylor and Marian Edwardes (Project Gutenberg #2591, The Goose-Girl)

Reading guidance: older readers. Includes death threats, an oath forced by intimidation, the killing and display of a horse’s head, and a gruesome execution. A promise imposed through threats does not require a victim to keep abuse secret.

Reading the story closely

Clothing lets the maid pass as royal, but Falada and the princess’s speech preserve an account the disguise cannot erase. Conrad, meanwhile, objects when she prevents him from grabbing her hair. His complaint helps bring the king’s attention, although her boundary is reasonable. The story’s admiration for royal appearance should not be confused with a claim that servants have less human worth.

List what each witness knows: the horse, Conrad and the old king. Which observations reveal an identity, and which reveal harm? Then separate exposing the deception from the king’s execution order. Having the maid name a cruel punishment does not remove his responsibility for carrying it out.

Talk about it

• Why did the princess not tell anyone what the waiting-maid had done?
• How does the old king hear her story, and what does his hidden listening change about the scene?
• Was it right for the princess to keep her promise to the maid, even though it was forced? Explain.

Related stories

• Ashputtel — another Grimm girl forced into servant’s work whose true worth is finally seen
• The Twelve Huntsmen — a Grimm bride in disguise who waits for her prince to recognise her
• Snowdrop — a princess targeted by a guardian’s murderous jealousy, from the Grimm collection