King Thrushbeard

A king had a daughter who was beautiful beyond measure, but she was also so proud and haughty that no suitor was good enough for her. She turned away one after another, and mocked them too.

One day the king held a great feast and invited from far and near all the young men who wished to marry. They were all lined up in rows according to their rank and station: first the kings, then the dukes, princes, counts and barons, and last of all the noblemen. The princess was led down the rows, but she found fault with every one of them. One was too fat: "The wine barrel!" she said. Another was too tall: "Long and thin, walks like a tightrope walker." A third was too short: "Short and fat, a beehive." The fourth was too pale: "Pale as death." The fifth was too red: "A rooster's comb." The sixth was not straight enough: "Green wood dried behind the stove." And so she made fun of everyone.

She made especially merry over one good king whose chin was a little crooked: "Look, his chin is like a thrush's beak!" From then on that king was called Thrushbeard.

When the old king saw that his daughter did nothing but mock people and scorned all the suitors gathered there, he grew very angry and swore that she should marry the first beggar who came to his door.

A few days later a street musician began to sing beneath the window, hoping to earn a few coins. When the king heard him, he said, "Bring him up." The musician came in, in his dirty, ragged clothes, sang before the king and his daughter, and when he had finished, asked for a little charity. The king said: "Your song has pleased me so much that I will give you my daughter for your wife." The princess was horrified, but the king said, "I swore I would give you to the first beggar, and I will keep my oath." No objection did any good. The priest was sent for, and the princess was married to the musician. Then the king said, "Now that you're a beggar's wife, you can't stay in my palace. Go with your husband."

The beggar took her by the hand and led her out, and she had to walk with him. They came to a great forest. "Whose is this lovely forest?" asked the princess. "It belongs to King Thrushbeard. If you had married him, it would be yours." "Oh, poor me! If only I had taken King Thrushbeard!" Then they crossed a meadow. "Whose is this lovely green meadow?" "It belongs to King Thrushbeard." Then they passed through a great city. "Whose is this fine big city?" "It belongs to King Thrushbeard. If you had married him, it would be yours."

"I don't like you always wishing for another husband," said the musician. "Am I not good enough for you?" At last they came to a very small house. "Whose is this tiny little house?" asked the princess. "This is my house and yours, where we shall live together." The princess had to stoop to get through the low door. "Where are the servants?" "What servants? You'll have to do whatever needs doing yourself. Light the fire at once and put on water and cook my supper. I'm very tired." But the princess knew nothing about lighting fires or cooking. The beggar had to help her.

A few days went by like this, and their food ran out. The man said, "Wife, this won't do. We can't eat and drink without earning anything. You must weave baskets." He went out, cut some willow branches and brought them home. She began to weave baskets, but the tough branches cut her tender hands. "I see that won't work. Try spinning; perhaps you'll be better at that." She sat down and tried to spin, but the coarse thread cut her soft fingers so that they bled. "You're no good at anything," said the man. "Then sell pots and earthenware at the market."

The princess sat at the market and sold the pots. Because she was beautiful, people were glad to buy from her and paid what she asked; some even paid and left the pot behind. One day, as she sat at the corner of the market with her wares, a drunken horseman came galloping along, rode right through the pots, and they all broke into a thousand pieces. She began to cry: "Oh, what will become of me? What will my husband say?"

She ran home and told him what had happened. "Who puts earthenware at the corner of the market?" said her husband. "Stop crying. I can see you're no good for anything. I went to the king's palace and asked whether they needed a kitchen maid, and they promised to take you. You'll get your food there too."

The princess became a kitchen maid in the king's palace. She helped the cook and did the hardest work. She kept a little pot in each pocket and took home the leftovers in them, and that was how they lived. One day the wedding of the king's eldest son was to be celebrated at the palace. The poor woman went upstairs and stood by the door of the great hall to watch. As all the candles were lit and the guests came in, each finer than the last, and everything glittered in dazzling splendour, she thought sadly about her own fate and cursed the pride and arrogance that had brought her so low and into such great poverty.

Just then the king's son came in, dressed in silk and velvet, with golden chains around his neck. When he saw the beautiful woman standing by the door, he took her by the hand and wanted to dance with her. But she refused and was frightened, for she saw that it was King Thrushbeard, the suitor she had once mocked and turned away. Her resistance was no use; the king drew her into the hall. As he did so, the pots in her pockets fell out, and the leftovers spilled onto the floor. When people saw this, they laughed and jeered. She was so ashamed that she wanted to sink a thousand fathoms into the ground. She ran to the door to escape, but on the stairs someone caught up with her and brought her back. When she looked at him, she saw that it was King Thrushbeard again.

The king spoke to her kindly: "Don't be afraid. I am the musician who lived with you in that little house. I disguised myself because I loved you. And the horseman who rode through your pots was me too. I did all this to break your pride and to punish you for mocking me." She wept bitterly: "I have done a great wrong, and I'm not worthy to be your wife." But the king said: "Be comforted. The bad days are over. Now let us celebrate our wedding."

The ladies of the court came and dressed her in the finest clothes. Her father came too, with all his court, and they were overjoyed that she had married King Thrushbeard. Only then did the real celebration begin. From that day on the princess never again mocked anyone for the way they looked. Whenever she saw a poor woman selling pots at the market, she stopped, bought a bowl from her and thanked her with a smile. For now she knew that pride can bring a person down from the highest place to the lowest, while humility can lift a person from the lowest place to the highest.